#if you voted for the orange get the hell off my blog and out of my life permanently

[saccharii]

How to Win Back Your (Villain) Ex Boyfriend

A guide by Hawks

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Summary:  Arresting Dabi and putting him in prison has put quite a big of strain on his and Hawks’ relationship, but Hawks is determined to work through it.

AO3 Link

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“Hey,” Hawks says and sits down at the table that Dabi — no, not Dabi; his real name is Touya, Todoroki Touya, and hadn’t that been a ride? — is handcuffed to. “It’s been a long time, huh?”

Dabi (Touya?) glares at him flatly, his head propped up on his hand. His orange prison jumpsuit clashes with his purple scars and now red hair. His hollow cheeks and pale skin serve to make him look more sickly than usual.

That’s fair. Hawks probably wouldn’t be very friendly towards the guy that arrested him either.

“So... what have you been up to?”

Dabi’s expression doesn’t change. Hawks winces. God, why is he so awkward? What has he been up to? Prison. Prison is what he’s been up to.

In front of a camera Hawks is as smooth as silk, but sit him down across from his (ex?) boyfriend that he’d arrested and all of a sudden everything that comes out of his mouth is pure idiocy.

“I’ve been good. Doing hero stuff,” he forges on, bravely or stupidly, he doesn’t know. “Arresting bad guys, posing for pictures, the usual.”

Dabi’s glare sharpens.

“I’ll cut to the chase. Are we still dating?”

“No.”

“Cool, cool. Totally understandable. Do you want to get back together?”

“No.”

Hawks clasps his hands in front of his face and braces his elbows on the table, giving his best puppy dog eyes.

“C’mon, please?”

“No.”

“How about friends with benefits? They have conjugal visits at this prison. I checked.”

He wants more than friends with benefits, but it’s a start. He can work from there. That’s how it happened the first time, after all.

Ex boyfriends to friends with benefits, back to boyfriends, then in a few years when Dabi’s out on parole: Boom. Marriage. Maybe they can buy a house with an actual, walled off yard. It’ll be expensive as hell in this area, but between Hawks’ salary and Dabi’s trust fund they can pull it off. Married with a dog, not a cat. Cats always try to attack Hawks’ wings.

His plan is foolproof. This sort of thing happens all the time; he’s seen it on those rom-coms that Rumi hates but agrees to watch with him anyway because he’s her only friend.

Dabi’s mouth drops open slightly, and he furrows his eyebrows. “Hawks, what the fuck.”

“That’s the idea. Us the fuck.”

Haha. Why did he say that? ‘Us the fuck’? That doesn’t even make sense.

“Do you proposition every villain you arrest?”

“Only the hot ones — both literally and figuratively.” Hawks winks and shoots finger guns.

Finger guns. Why. Why did he do that? Holy fuck, he has to get out of here before he humiliates himself further. Lesson learned. Next time he’ll practice what he’s going to say in front of the mirror.

Dabi says nothing, presumably stunned into silence by Hawks’ finger guns. (Why finger guns? Why is he like this?)

“Anyway,” Hawks says quickly. “I gotta get going. Want me to bring some of that strawberry shortcake you like so much next time?”

Dabi mouths the words ‘next time’ with an incredulous look on his face.

“What the fuck, Hawks? You fucking tricked me and arrested me. Now you’re here asking me out and offering me cake? Why do you think I even want you here?”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Hawks raps his knuckles on the table and stands up. “I’ll bring some cards next time, too.”

He signals the guard who escorts him stiffly from the room. As they pass through the heavily armored door he gives Hawks some serious side-eye before he realizes Hawks saw him and looks away.

Oh yeah. He just witnessed the whole ‘begging his felon ex boyfriend to take him back’ debacle. Complete with finger guns. (That’s something that’s going to haunt him for the rest of his life, isn’t it? He’ll be eighty and lying in bed and it’ll pop into his head. He won’t be able to remember what day it is but he’ll remember the goddamn finger gun incident from when he was twenty three.)

“So, uh, I don’t suppose I could pay you not to ever tell anyone about that?”

“We are bound with a strict confidentiality clause,” the guard says, staring straight ahead, determinedly looking anywhere but at Hawks. “Nothing you do or say here will be released to the public.”

Hawks nods. “Gotcha.”

Confidentiality clauses don’t do much from Hawks’ experience. Sure, the guard won’t run to the presses or blab on his blog, but once he gets home there is no doubt that he’ll immediately tell his spouse or call up his best friend or someone, and who knows who’ll find out after that. Before you know it one of Hawks’ sidekicks will pull him aside and ask him if it’s true that he shot finger guns.

Hawks claps his hand on the guard’s shoulder. “Good to know.” He looks at the guard’s name tag. “Officer Naya. I’m trusting you.”

Lay the guilt on thick enough and maybe he won’t tell anyone.

“Right, right,” Hawks mutters. He grips the edge of the sink until his knuckles turn white. “I can do this.”

Dried toothpaste flakes under his hands. The sink hasn’t been cleaned since Dabi last scrubbed it months ago, before Hawks arrested him. Hawks’ lackadaisical attitude towards wiping down counters drove Dabi nuts. Who knew someone who looks so much like an unwashed hobo would be such a clean freak?

Yet every night Dabi would put on thick rubber gloves, wipe down the bathroom, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, pick up the living room and bedroom, and vacuum the carpets, complaining the whole time.

Hawks was shocked by how domestic Dabi is, nothing like the twenty something disaster he expected him to be. (Well, he was a twenty something human disaster, just not when it came to chores.) Hell, Dabi had even packed Hawks’ (very delicious) lunch everyday. Damn, he misses that. KFC has nothing on Dabi’s homemade chicken karaage.

It probably has something to do with his scars. Dirty sheets and open wounds do not go well together. Every day Dabi disinfected the entire apartment, and every night he doused himself with antiseptic and bandaged along his seams with sterile gauze. Hawks hopes they’re taking good care of his scars in prison.

He takes a deep breath, holds it for four seconds, then breathes out to quell the anxiety twisting in his gut. It doesn’t work. He’s such a disaster without Dabi here. He was a disaster with Dabi here too, but he was a disaster with a clean apartment and home cooked food.

He slicks his hair back with water. He can do this. Hero monthly voted him the hottest single hero in the country; he can seduce his ex boyfriend back.

(Dabi had grinned and waved the magazine in his face, then proceeded to prove just how single Hawks wasn’t.)

He can do this. He runs his fingers through his hair one more time. “Hey,” he says to the mirror in his most seductive voice.

He can’t do this.

“Goddamnit, why am I so bad at this?”

He slaps his cheeks and stares at himself in the mirror.

“Let’s try this again.” He smiles his best TV smile. “Hey Dabi,” he says. “I just want to talk more about what we discussed last week. You know, things didn’t end well between us. Honestly they ended terribly, so, uh, I want to fix that. I think we had something good going on, before I arrested you and you set yourself on fire trying to get away.”

Shit. This isn’t Hawks. He isn’t the planning type. He’s more of the ‘winging it’ type. (Heh. Winging it. That’s a good one.) Alright. One more time.

“Hey! I’m back. I, um, brought you flowers.” Hawks grabs a toothbrush from the holder and mimes giving it to the mirror. “I don’t know if you like flowers, since I’ve never given you flowers. I’ve never given anyone flowers.

“I know that things ended badly between us, but I’ve never felt this way about anyone else before. So I was thinking, maybe, we could try again? God this is so stupid it’s never going to work.”

Hawks rubs his face, almost accidentally stabbing himself in the eye with the toothbrush. Okay, maybe he should start small. He said he was going to bring cake next time, so he’ll start with that.

“I brought that cake you like so much, just like I promised.”

Hawks groans. He has no idea what to say. Looks like he’ll be an awkward mess, but  he’ll be an awkward mess with flowers and cake.

At least his makeup is on point. You can’t even tell he has bags under his eyes and a stress pimple coming in. His eyeliner is amazing. Wings sharp enough to kill a man. He looks good.

He checks his phone. He’s got an hour until he needs to be at the prison. That’s just enough time to run to the bakery and the florist. He takes a deep, fortifying breath.

He can do this.

He lied. He can’t do this

The flower shop is so small that every time Hawks turns around he nearly knocks everything off the shelf, and that’s with his wings tucked close. The overwhelming fragrance makes his head spin.

He doesn’t know anything about flowers. Apparently some have certain meanings and others have different meanings and if you choose the wrong ones you accidentally end up saying ‘I wish you were dead’ instead of ‘I like you.’

“Can I help you, sir?”

Hawks starts and spins, knocking vases off the shelves. Only two feathers and quick reflexes prevent disaster. How did some florist sneak up on him? He’s the number two hero, for god’s sake.

“Yes, thank you,” he says with practiced, disarming charm. “I don’t know anything about flowers. Maybe you could recommend something?”

“Of course.” The florist’s voice wobbles. Ah, she recognizes him. “What do you need them for?”

He scratches his chin.

“Hypothetically, if you were a spy,” he says slowly, “and you fell in love with your mark, then arrested him, what kind of flowers would you give him to apologize and ask him back out?”

“Oh,” the girl says, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a perfect ‘o’. “Um. I... I’ve never encountered that, uh, exact situation before. Maybe some sort of apology bouquet? Or something to indicate, that, uh, you’ll wait for him? To get out of jail?”

“I like that second one. I kinda had to arrest him, and I’m sorry, but not really sorry, You know?”

She nods, her eyes wide and glazed. “I understand completely.”

What a trooper. Hawks is pretty sure she doesn’t understand, but he appreciates her putting up with him anyway. It’s not everyday the number two strolls into your shop and makes such a bizarre request.

This is going to be all over the tabloids tomorrow, if not tonight, isn’t it? His PR team is going to kill him. Oh well, it’s bound to get out eventually. No way is he going to be able to marry a convicted felon without someone cottoning on.

After a half hour of back and forth over the pros and cons of what various flowers mean and how they would look together in a bouquet, they finally decide on a bouquet of forget-me-not (for true love), white anemones (for sincerity), and camellias (for waiting) tied together with a blue ribbon the color of Dabi’s eyes. It looks kinda like a bridal bouquet. Hopefully it isn’t coming on too strong. He doesn’t want to seem as desperate as he actually is.

“These flowers look nice,” Hawks says idly as the florist lady (Okumura, he found out. Her quirk is making no noise when she moves which is how she snuck up on him. Thank god he isn’t losing his edge.) rings him up. “Maybe I’ll get some of them next time.”

Okumura glances at the flowers in the vase next to the register. “Those are yellow tulips. They mean ‘unrequited love’ in hanakotoba.”

“Ah, I don’t want those flowers.”

“No, probably not.” She hands him the bouquet. “Three thousand yen, please.”

Hawks pays and bids Okumura goodbye. What a nice lady. She did a great job taking his ridiculous request seriously. If it was him, he would have laughed in his face.

He checks his phone and grimaces. He has less than thirty minutes to drop by the bakery and get to the prison in time for visitation. Hopefully there won’t be a line.

Shit, shit, shit. He’s late. How did this happen? He’s supposed to be the hero that moves too fast.

Hawks hops from foot to foot as the guard, a small woman with a spider web of glowing blue lines around the corner of her eyes, undoes the complicated locks on the heavy, metal prison door. He hates being late. It makes his skin itch.

He fidgets, trying not to drop the pastry box in one hand or the somewhat squashed bouquet in the other. He’s on friendly terms with the baker from his favorite bakery, and the man keeps special reinforced boxes made to withstand flight on hand, but Hawks hadn’t thought of how he would carry the flowers, so he had to stuff them down his jacket.

The prison guard yanks the thick door open with ease, and Hawks nods at her in thanks and enters. (How did she manage that? She’s so petite.)

Dabi is once more handcuffed to the table, reclining in his chair, head back and eyes closed.

“So,” he says, and opens his eyes, piercing Hawks with an intense stare. “You came back.”

Hawks shivers. That look never fails to get him. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

“Did you shave? You look like a twelve year old.”

Good to see that prison didn’t break Dabi’s lovely personality.

“I think it looks nice,” Hawks mumbles. “I brought you something.”

Hawks holds the flowers out to Dabi. He looks at them dispassionately and makes no move to take them. Hawks places the slightly squashed bouquet down carefully in front of him. Dabi looks him straight in the eyes and pushes them off the table with the back of his hand.

Yep. Same old Dabi.

“I have allergies,” he says.

“Noted. Good thing I have backup.” He puts the pastry box on the table in between them with a flourish. He picks at the thick tape, cursing. Goddamnit, why do these things have to be so difficult to open? There’s cake inside, not government secrets. Hawks sharpens one of his feathers and slices through the tape. Dabi huffs out a quiet, amused breath, and Hawks’ cheeks pinken.

He gingerly lifts the slice of cake out of the box. “Tada! I got strawberry shortcake for you and chocolate cannolis for me. And-” He pulls a thermos out of his coat. “-I remember how you feel about cake without milk.”

Dabi resists for all of two seconds before he takes the cake. Hawks tosses him a plastic fork before he can start shoveling it in his mouth with his hands like the heathen he is. Dabi doesn’t thank him, but he’s never thanked anyone for anything before, as far as Hawks is aware, so it’s not like he was expecting it.

“Here. Check this out.” Hawks unscrews the thermos and places the lid on the table. “The top doubles as a cup. Neat, huh?”

Dabi takes the thermos and drinks directly out of the container. Alongside the whole Dabi-is-a-Todoroki-holy-shit revelation was the realization that Dabi came from money and probably had a rich kid’s upbringing. Which means that Dabi knows how to use his manners, he just chooses not to. It’s such a Dabi thing that it makes Hawks smile.

Hawks snags one of the chocolate cannolis. He got two because he knows Dabi will steal one. He takes a bite and sighs with pleasure, his eyes fluttering closed. The crisp shell contrasts perfectly with the creamy filling. Watanuki’s pastries really are the best. (And the most expensive.)

He misses this. He misses eating in silence across from Dabi. He misses the comfortable stillness that comes with familiarity. He misses Dabi.

He slowly opens his eyes and his gaze meets Dabi’s. For a moment he sees his own emotions reflected in those eyes before the walls slam down again.

Dabi snorts and wipes his hands on his prison jumpsuit. “Nice try, birdy, but it’s not gonna work.”

“I brought cards, too.” Hawks slips the deck out of his pocket and takes the cards out of the box. “I thought you could use some entertainment.”

“The cake was a better bribe.”

Hawks shuffles the cards with a perfect riffle and bridge. Dabi can’t do it. Every time he tries he sends the cards flying. It drives him crazy. He pretends it doesn’t bother him, but Hawks knows.

“Do you know how to play bullshit?”

“No.”

“Damn. Neither do I. I saw some people on TV playing it and it looked fun. How about egyptian rat screw?”

“That’s a three player game.”

“Is it? Maybe guard lady can join us.” Hawks turns in his seat to face the guard. Huh. The glowing spiderwebs around her eyes are gone. “Hey guard lady, you wanna play egyptian rat screw?”

Guard lady regards him solemnly then shakes her head.

Dabi snorts. “You’re not going to get anything out of her. She’s got a giant stick up her ass. All about ‘professionalism’ and ‘protocol.’ At least the other guards will talk to you or crack a joke.”

“Fine, fine. Poker, then?”

They play the world’s most boring game of poker. With only two people and no stakes, there’s no risk or room for scheming. When Hawks suggests strip poker, guard lady finally says something for the first time — a sharp ‘no’.

The hour passes too quickly. Dabi’s parting “Fuck off and die” is less venomous than last time, but he’s still shut off. More so than before.

Hawks is going to need some outside advice.

[iwantthedean]

Two Prompt One-Shot #45: Makeshift Medic

Summary: Sam is severely injured on a hunt; you do your best to save him, despite Dean’s doubts.  Pairing: Dean x Reader Word Count: 1265 Warnings: Description of injuries and makeshift medical attention, some really ridiculous medical stuff that probably doesn’t make sense at all and only serves the purpose of this story.  Prompt: Bolded in fic; chosen by those who voted for the next Two Prompt One-Shot back in mid-September. In true Nicole fashion, it took me until now to finish it. Here is the original post, if you need some explanation. 

Your eyes grew wide as the werewolf shoved its claws into Sam’s abdomen. It had been the younger Winchester’s own idea to set himself out as bait and, not for the first time, things had gone terribly, terribly wrong. 

Dean screamed out his brother’s name before acting quickly, riddling the werewolf’s body with silver bullets. The creature dropped the ground, returning to its human form, eyes staring into nothing before the orbital muscles relaxed and his eyes closed. 

Sam was on the ground too, blood pouring from the wound in his side. Dean pulled off his flannel and pressed it to Sam’s side in an effort to stop the bleeding. 

“Dean, we can’t stay here,” you reminded him, looking around for the rest of the pack to quickly descend on the three of you. “We have to get him out of here.”

“Yeah, all right. Help me get him to the car.”

Between the two of you, but mostly with Dean’s effort, you got Sam slumped into the back of the Impala. His face was going pale as the blood saturated Dean’s flannel. Sam’s eyes grew glassy, and you told him to hold on — you were going to get help. 

“He’s never going to make it if we don’t stop the bleeding,” Dean called over his shoulder as he raced down the road. 

You nodded, pulling out your phone. This was going to be a huge risk, and Sam was not going to enjoy it, but you were going to figure it out. 

“You’re googling?” Dean demanded. 

“Shut up,” you said, quickly typing in a search inquiry. How to stop severe bleeding; once you got through all of the ‘Call 911, go to the ER’ type information, you found a survivalist site that gave a how-to on makeshift stitching for internal injuries. 

Rummaging in your bag for the first aid kit, you pulled out a needle, thread, a lighter, and some rubbing alcohol. You also found a fifth of something or other which you made Sam take a long swig of before you poured the alcohol over his wound. 

“Fuck!” Sam cried out, the alcohol stinging his exposed flesh. 

“Sorry,” you winced. You held the lighter to the end of the needle and pushed the thread through the eye. “Okay, Sam. You ready? This isn’t forever, just long enough for us to get you to a hospital.”

Sam took another swig of the alcohol and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I’m ready.”

“First of all, this car is moving,” Dean reminded you. “Not to mention, you’ve never done stitches before, and that shit is deep, Y/N.”

“Well, like I said, it’s not forever. Thanks for the vote of confidence, by the way,” you muttered. 

Dean rolled his eyes and fixed his eyes on the road while you fixed your eyes on Sam’s wound. You took a deep breath, said a quick prayer, then put needle to flesh. 

Sam cried out with the first puncture of that deepest exposed layer. You could only imagine the pain he was in; you apologized over and over, with every dip of the needle back into his muscle. 

A couple of minutes later, Sam passed out. Blood was dripping over the seat of the Impala, and you could only imagine how that contributed to Dean’s concern over the whole matter. 

“You better hope he wakes up,” Dean growled. “Or we’re going to be in bigger trouble than explaining how he got hurt in the first place.”

You rolled your eyes and continued working. Some of the stitches broke through the tender flesh, requiring that you go back and redo them in meatier portions of the tissue. Sam’s pulse stayed as strong as it could with that level of blood loss, until you were done. 

“He’s looking really pale,” Dean said, looking over his shoulder. 

“Well, he lost a lot of blood,” you sighed, rummaging in your bag for supplies you kept only for the most dire of circumstances. 

After opening everything you would need, you splashed more of the rubbing alcohol over your arm and then Sam’s. Pulling your belt out of its loops, you tightened it around your arm and positioned the needle above the throbbing vein there. 

“What the hell, Y/N?”

You sighed. “Last hospital we were in, I grabbed a couple transfusion kits. Pretended to be a student, got taught how it works in trauma situations like this. Just trust me.”

The needle stung only for a second when it went in; you managed with one hand to tape down the needle, clamp the tube, and then got the belt off of your arm. You wrapped it around Sam’s arm, but before you could insert the needle into his vein, the Impala swerved to the side of the road. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” you demanded. “I’ve got a needle in my arm and I’m ready to put one in your brother’s and you swerve like that?”

Dean got out of the car and opened the backseat. “We’re just gonna call an ambulance. Forget this transfusion business. We can’t do this.”

“We aren’t doing this, I am. By the time the ambulance gets here and finds us, Dean, it could be too late. We’re in the damn middle of nowhere! You need to keep driving and let me do what I’m doing.”

“We can’t —”

“If you tell me again we can’t do this, I’m going to kick you somewhere you’re not going to enjoy,” you threatened through clenched teeth. “I want to save Sam just as bad as you do, but your doubt is really not helping things. Now. Get in the driver’s seat, get us to a hospital. Now.”

Dean still looked skeptical, but he managed to follow your orders. You finished setting up the transfusion, and then Dean carefully navigated the Impala back onto the road. 

When you finally reached the hospital, Dean ran in and yelled for help. A whole crew of hospital staff rushed out, their eyes wide at the scene in the backseat of the car. 

“He was stabbed,” you quickly explained, “some weirdo roaming around while we were camping. He lost a lot of blood while I did his stitches …”

“You did good,” one of the doctors assured. “Let’s get both of you inside.”

Sam was placed onto a gurney, and you followed beside the bed until a nurse could safely clamp the transfusion tubing again and pull the needle from your arm. She gave you some graham crackers and orange juice to help with the blood you had lost in the process, then sent you out to the lobby to wait with Dean. 

The minute he saw you, though your clothes were covered in blood and relief dragged your posture down, Dean pulled you close to him, kissed your forehead — then gave in to his own relief and hugged you tighter. 

“You saved his life,” Dean sighed. “And you didn’t give up your own in the process.”

You pulled back for a moment. “Is that what you thought was going to happen?”

“I dunno,” he shrugged, running his hands up and down your arms. “I didn’t know how much blood you were giving up. Thought I might lose both of you.”

In a rare moment of public affection, you pressed your lips quickly to his. “I would never let you lose either of us, if I could help it.”

Dean let his forehead fall against yours, working to catch his breath and slow his mind until the doctor came out to update you both on Sam’s condition. 

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[omfgtrump]

A Light At The End OF The Tunnel

I know I said goodbye, but I just couldn’t stay away. Though The Don, for now, is banished and Twitterless in Mar-a-Lago, he still is the primary power broker in the feckless Republican party. Though I am living less inside a Trumpian pinball machine, lurching from outrage to outrage, I am still living in a world of Republican offal that fills me with bile. The thing about bile, is that if you store too much it makes you sick, and frankly- I could do without that. So thank you for letting me share some of my bile with you.

But there is hope in America. We have a president who is getting things done. 50% of Americans have received at least one shot of the vaccine, and 31% are fully vaccinated.

We have a president that doesn’t insult people or suggest foreign policy on Twitter.

We have a president who is committed to tackling economic inequality and acknowledges institutional racism.

We have a president who has proposed bold initiatives in the battle to change the devastating course and impact of climate change.

We have a president who is proposing a real infrastructure bill, which will create millions of jobs, fix our dilapidated roads and bridges, expand broadband throughout the country, and address issues of childcare.

We have a president that believes in democracy. Now how strange is that?

There is light at the end of the tunnel of despair that we have all been living in this past year.

But all light is not the same. Remember ultraviolet light?

You know that stuff you can get inside the body and zap the hell out of the virus to stop it dead in its tracks? Mix a little Clorox in there, and abracadabra, 1, 2, 3 goodbye Coronavirus. That light?

Remember Deborah Birx, sitting there sheepishly, saying nothing, as The Don waxed on about the beauty of these treatments. (Just weeks before, Birx gave credibility to this dangerously delusional man by telling the nation that the Don was a smart dude you was doing a deep dive into the data.)

Well we just passed the one-year anniversary of that event!

By that point, 50,000 had already died. More than 500,000 more have died since then. How did the data man perform, Dr. Birx? Did he just forget to add three zeros in his calculations? Did his disregard of social distancing and masks throw the numbers off? Did his disregard for human life fuck up his calculations?

The Prince of Darkness’s denial and refusal to deal with reality, coupled with the complicity of those charged to protect us and give us the truth, led to what I have called The Genocide of Neglect.

The pain and suffering this caused is immeasurable. The narcissism and idiocy of the man charged with leading us out of this devastation pushed us further into it. It’s like a general telling his troops to go into enemy territory without a plan of action. Imagine the general saying:

General: Go forth, and let the light be your guide.

Soldier: But general, it’s certain death for us all.

General: Just follow the light and all will be well.

Soldier: Are you leading us into battle, sir?

General: Umm, wish I could, but I have a golf game set up. Remember, the light will be with you.

Soldier: You mean “The force will be with you.”

General: Whatever.  

After watching the ultraviolet news conference rewind, I had a nightmare. Think “Handmaid’s Tale” with Mr. Clean as the top dog.

In the dream, Mr. Clean is making a speech from his golf course.

“Today is a great day in America. We have cure for the Coronavirus. Frankly, vaccine roll out has been a real pain in the ass and most of MAGA world ain’t rolling up their sleeves, risking damage to their tattoos for nobody. They are the real Americans.

So what are we doing about it? Dr. Birx, isn’t this the coolest thing ever? Today I am announcing we will be opening up sun tanning salons across America. For anyone who has symptoms or just tested positive, this is for you. Pop-up salons will appear on every corner where the people, rather than getting a shot in the arm, can get a suntan while the coronavirus is being eradicated in your body. Talk about two-for-one deals! The initiative is called: “Shine a Light on America.” Isn’t this amazing, MAGA people? Not only will you stay healthy, but you can get that orange glow and look just like me. And you can have all this for the unbelievably low introductory membership offer of $39.95. This offer includes three ultra-violet treatments, a free MAGA hat, and- wait, wait, wait- a bottle of my new cleansing drink Trumlox, which is three times more potent that any Clorox product. Just think, after a half hour of luxurious tanning, a cool drink to make sure that whatever the light doesn’t get, Trumlox will. But you gotta act now because this is a one-time offer.

I am also announcing some changes in the distribution and delivery of the vaccine. As of today the following changes apply:

In homage to the beautiful new voting laws being enacted across the country, which will ensure that no election is ever stolen again, I am removing 3 out of 4 vaccine sites from every city. Also, those who voted for me will have priority for receiving the vaccine. Who needs voter suppression when you can just eradicate the voter? HA! Ha! Just joking. God, you all take me so seriously. Can’t you tell when I am being sarcastic?

Yes, that was my nightmare. But honestly, if The Don had won (remember, in the battleground states it was so close, and 77 million people did vote for him despite how he practically destroyed the country!). What kind of real nightmare would we be living in now?

And though there is light at the end of the tunnel, darkness, in the form of the Republican Party, looms everywhere. The very essence of our democracy is challenged everyday by a soulless, power hungry, obstructionist bunch of scoundrels who deny science, talk about the January 6th insurrection as if it were an unruly picnic that broke out into a food fight. 50% of Republicans still believe the election was not legitimate and the assault on voting rights and the encouragement of a white supremacist narrative is front and center. The dog whistle has morphed into a bull horn. The Republicans need to be called out for the vile offal they are. To do justice to the G.O.P’s vileness, I have renamed the Grand Old Party, the Grand Offal Party.

Umm, now that I think about it, that’s a great name for a new blog! I’ll very soon be hard at work getting a new website set up to host these new articles; so in the meantime, please feel free to sign up to be notified when it goes live:

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So if you you enjoyed OMFG, I hope you continue the journey with me. The Don may be gone (for now), but the lies carry on, and the siege against decency and democracy continues.

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[ollie-oxen-free]

Mapleblossom. On the surface. Papyrus is struggling—‘cause humans are dicks, or because his dream of being in the royal guard has fallen to pieces, whatever—and Slim is trying his best to comfort him...but he doesn’t know how.

sometimes, in life, you come to a crossroads where you have to make a hard decision. sometimes, in life, you let the flip of a coin decide for you. and sometimes, when the coin gives you an option that you dont agree with, you stick both middle fingers up in the fucking air at the coin and do whatever the fuck you want, barreling through the middle of the roads, despite the underbrush and thorns and shit. this prompt? this fell into the very last one.

so, i rolled shitpost, but literally FUCK THAT because i am the one in control of my fate here. i choose what lives and what dies on this blog, and i chose to make things hard on myself. in the end, you got both! congrats to you (and to me, for writing them in a timely manner) ((shitpost is at the end for those who just want the uhhhhh shitty fluff, yeah)

anyways i took a bit of liberty with the prompt, and in the end i may have? strayed with it? my mind kept going like 50 places at once and i had to cut off the first before it got to 2000 words so enjoy maties

Slim walked out of the house, the din of voices suddenly becoming muffled as the door shut behind him. There was a small breeze in the yard, making the leaves rustle in the dark and bringing a slight chill to the cool summer night. His eyes scanned the porch before they landed on the figure he had been looking for, sitting on the edge of the porch with his knees drawn up to his chest.

The floor creaked as he walked over to sit beside his counterpart with a groan, setting his drink down to the right of himself with a sigh. “Hey, Paps. What’s up?” There was no response, and Slim shifted the slightest bit before continuing. “Your bro said you were out here.”

Papyrus still didn’t answer, but there was a slight shifting sound as his hand came up to his face, wiping at the space just under his eyes. Slim felt his own sockets widen in sudden realization. He was… crying? He’d never seen Papyrus cry before- at least, not in real sadness- hell, he’d never even seen the other look even remotely sad about anything. So of course his mind immediately went to the worst.

“Are you hurt? Fuck, are you okay?” He was panicking a bit since he couldn’t see anything physically wrong with the other, so it must have had to do with his soul. Green magic started to spark down his arms and hands, and he tried not to flinch at the prickling sensation, counting his breaths so he didn’t hyperventilate as he shoved down old memories. He reached out to touch the other’s shoulder. God, even in their universe, only the sickest bastards attacked the soul itself, when he was certain the other was okay he was going to find out who had hurt him and hunt them down and make them fucking pay-

The magic simply swirled over the other’s form, not finding any injuries, before it started to trail back to Slim, working its way up his arm. He felt the prickle of the small chips in his bones beginning to pull together and yanked his hand away, cutting off the magic flow immediately. He wasn’t injured? Then why the fuck was he-

Papyrus turned to him, wiping off another faint orange trail of tears before dropping his hand down, shifting so he was sitting cross-legged as opposed to hugging his knees to his chest. He sniffed, his voice thick. “H-hey, Slim.”

The hands came up to his knees, rubbing his palms against the loose jeans he was wearing before he wrapped them around his torso in a semblance of comfort.

Slim swallowed, looking back to the window of the Tale brothers house where warm light was pouring out to the skeleton in front of him. It was funny, Papyrus was almost a head taller than him, but he seemed so small in this moment.

He swallowed, arms jerking forward before he forced them to come back to his sides. Fuck. “Uh, do you- do you want me to go get Sans?”

“N-no.”

Well fuck. “Do you, uh, want to be alone?”

His voice was quieter this time, and Slim found himself wishing that the other would go back to his loud and boisterous self. “No.”

Papyrus took in a shaky breath, shifting a bit, before he sat up straighter. His hands were gripping his knees tightly, and his eyes were closed as he tried to calm his breathing. “Slim? You’re my friend, right?”

“Of course.” The answer was out of his mouth before he even had to think about it. “You’re my best friend, probably.”

It was quiet for a few moments, and Slim started to relax, thinking that the other just needed a reassurance- he just needed those too, sometimes. A few leaves that had been knocked loose by the wind blew across the yard, and Slim tracked their movement with his eyes. It was almost peaceful.

Papyrus shifted. “So I can count on you to be honest with me, right? If I were to ask you something?”

Fuck.

He chuckled, trying to emulate the easygoing shrug that the other “lazies,” as they were called, were so skilled at doing. As it was, he just gave an awkward, unnatural jerk of his shoulders. “That would depend on the question, I guess.”

It was quiet again. Slim glanced sideways at his plastic cup, wishing to god that he had managed to get at least some alcohol mixed in before Red had grabbed the whole bottle, chugging it straight as he flipped everyone off.

Papyrus let out sigh. “I supposed as much.”

Slim flinched at his tone, moving his gaze anywhere but the other. “Sorry, I uh.” He cleared his throat, crossing his legs and starting to bounce his knee. “What do you want to know?”

“Do you…” He trailed off, brow furrowed as he tucked his head down into his scarf. And then he seemed to steel himself, closing his eyes as he took a slow breath. “Do you think that I’ll ever make it into the guard?”

Slim opened his mouth- of course you will, man, you’re the greatest- but paused, hesitating. It must have been enough, since Papyrus let out a heavy sigh, slumping forwards as his hands came up to rub at his eyes. Slim let his teeth close with a small click, looking away, then back, then away again, before finally settling his gaze on the other. He reached a hand out slowly, resting it on his shoulder and lifting it up and down in the semblance of a pat. You’re supposed to encourage people that are upset, right?

“Paps, with as great as you are you can do anything that you set your mind t--”

“Don’t patronize me.”

Slim winced, yanking his hand away. Fucking abort, he fucked up again, fucking fuck. Papyrus rubbed at his eyes again before he looked up to the sky. “I obviously wasn’t ‘great’ enough, since I’ve been working for years and…” He laughed. It was bitter. “Did you know that there was a competition for all the trainees today?”

He nodded, opting to stay silent. How could he not know about it? It was all that Papyrus talked about for the past month. “I came in first. On everything.”

Slim turned with a grin, intending on answering brag how it was intended to be answered: with agreement. The look on the other’s face stopped him. He didn’t seem happy about it.

“They didn’t let me in.”

...Oh.

Papyrus continued with another laugh, arm waving in front of himself before he let it flop down beside him. “One of my best friends was the one who chose, and I still didn’t get in! Not that I would have wanted a pity vote, mind you, but… I was the best there, in a non-bragging, completely honest truth! Why wouldn’t they- she- let me in?”

Slim shifted. His mouth was moving before he could filter out his words. “Maybe you weren’t the best there.”

He’d regretted a lot of things in his life- choices that he’d made, relationships that he’d ruined, MERCY ignored- but at the current moment his lack of foresight in that sentence took the fucking cake.

Thankfully, Papyrus didn’t seem upset. Shocked, maybe, but curiosity winning out. “What do you mean?”

Great. Now he had to come up with reasoning as to why. “Maybe it’s not that you couldn’t be a guardsman, but that you shouldn’t.” It made more sense, now that he’d said it out loud, and he found his confidence in the topic growing as he continued. “The guard- they don’t do the best things all the time. Even here.” More than one news story of a royal guard’s job being investigated after they defended themselves flashed across his mind before he pushed them back. “Undyne’s doin’ what she thinks is best for you, and that just so happens to be keeping you away from what she’s had to do.”

He wasn’t the most holy of them all (a LV like his own can’t be gained solely from self-defense, even in a Fellverse), but he knew the flicker in someone’s eyes- eye, in Undyne’s case- that came with holding the weight of someone’s dust on your back, the EXP in your SOUL. And some monsters were just too good to carry that.

Papyrus included.

“Regardless of the reason why, I still just wasn’t good enough!” His face was twisted into something pained. “I’ve been trying for so long, and I just seem to keep failing!”

“Maybe…” Looking away, his eyes found the leaves in the yard again. They’d stopped moving around. The night was still. “Maybe you’ll keep failing.” Wow, Slim. Crush someone’s dreams, why don’t you? “Maybe you’ll try over and over again, but fail every time, but the thing is that you have to keep failing.”

Chuckling, he turned back to look at Papyrus. Or at his shoulder, more like, since he wasn’t totally sure that looking him in the eyes was the best idea at the current moment. “Honestly? It’s fucking incredible that you keep failing like you do. I’d have… I did give up a long time ago. But you? You keep failing and you keep getting up and just moving on or trying again.” His face started to heat up a bit. He shoved it down. “It’s probably the coolest thing about you.”

It was quiet for a few moments and he swallowed, going to apologize, before Papyrus lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his torso and hugging him tightly. Slim tensed, arms hovering above the other awkwardly before he slowly brought them down to rest on the other’s back. It was odd, how the other smelt like chalk and something sweet, and Slim found himself relaxing into his hold.

The embrace ended far too soon, Papyrus pulling back and wiping at his face with something resembling a small smile. “Sorry, I know you don’t like to… Thanks.”

He grinned, ignoring the odd tightening of his chest, as he nudged the other’s shoulder with his own. Fuck yes, he was the actual best at encouragement. “No problem.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Or, at least, probably comfortable on Papyrus’s part since Slim was intensely aware of the heat of the other’s body from the closeness of their seating. Keep calm, Slim, don’t make it weird.

There was shifting from beside him, and Slim glanced over out of the corner of his eye to see Papyrus taking off his scarf, adjusting it so it was folded evenly in half before wrapping it back around his neck. “So do you think I should keep trying for the guard?”

And there was the million dollar question. I’ll take “answers that are likely to shove away the ones that I love” for $500 Al. It would be so easy for him to just say yes. Yet, as he looked at Papyrus, he realized that the other would take what he said to heart. He swallowed, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out a toothpick, starting to gnaw on the end. Sans would probably kill him for this. Most of the others would, more likely than not.

“No.” He let out a huff of air through his teeth, breaking the toothpick in his mouth before flicking the splinters away. “It’s not- You could do something so much greater.”

He really could.

Papyrus looked over as Slim walked out of the house, holding a blunt that was the size of like a really big blunt. “Hey, Papyrus. I heard that you were depressed about the guard or something. It sounds really fake edgy and I, the awkward shitstain that has a crush on you is going to do some hella comfort.”

And right now I’m really fucking tired but they both got lit with the blunt and it was cool, and they were just hanging like bros when Snoop Dogg came up, and it was kinda like his new album with him holding his phone with that smile that he does except Trump’s corpse wasn’t there. “Hey, Papyrus,” He said like Snoop Dogg, since he was, in fact, Snoop Dogg, “so I heard that you were fucking bummed. Don’t do that.”

And Papyrus was immediately better comforted than the shitty conversation he might have had with Slim, since that conversation was entirely fake edgy and just really waxing poetic. He didn’t like wax. It would always stick between his bones really weird and uncomfortably. Yes, that conversation that they didn’t have was really, really awful.

“Wait!” He cried, hands throwing up in the air. OH GOD HIS HANDS WERE GONE. But it was fine, because he needed to talk to the Dogg. “How did you know that I was upset?!”

And the other smiled his creepy, knowing smile. “I’ve been Snooping around.”

---

Papyrus jerked awake with a small snort, blinking quickly around his surroundings. There was the yard, the leaves, and- He looked down to the warm weight on his shoulder, seeing Slim leaning against him, deep in sleep. Papyrus brought his hand up to his face, rubbing at the dried tear tracks around his sockets that had left an uncomfortable tightness around his eyes.

That.

Was a weird dream.

[ishxallxgood]

Tag I’m it

Tagged by @mamakat926

Full name - Joyce (that’s all you need to know, stalker)

Zodiac sign - Capricorn 

3 Fears - earthworms, heights, being unloved

3 things I love - my kids, my husband, victuuri

4 turns ons - arms, tattoos, humor, compassion

4 turns offs - dirty fingernails, stupidity, facial hair, ?

My best friend - is a dork and I love her for it although she refuses to watch Yuri On Ice (HOW AM I STILL BEST FRIENDS WITH HER!?)

Sexual orientation - demisexual

My best first date - take me to a great restaurant and make me laugh the whole time

How tall am I - 5′5″

What do I miss - NANA updating  

What time were I born - ???  It doesn’t say on my birth certificate

Favourite colour - Orange

Do I have a crush - Only on animated characters

Favourite quote - “It’s all good.”

Favourite place - My bed

Favourite food - Sashimi 

Do I use sarcasm - Oh no, never.

What am I listening to right now - Darren Criss singing “I dreamed a Dream”

First thing I notice in new person - Uh... idk

Shoe size - 7.5

Eye colour - brown

Hair colour - black

Favourite style of clothing - dresses

Ever done a prank call? - as a kid sure

What colour of underwear I’m wearing now? - grey with hearts

Meaning behind my URL - it was my favorite phrase to use in middle school

Favourite movie - Interview with the Vampire (don’t even ask me why idk why)

Favourite song - Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat” (go ahead, judge me, but tell me that’s not a good song)

Favourite band - Backstreet Boys.  My 90′s fangirl is showing

How I feel right now - meh

Someone I love - @mamakat926

My current relationship status - married

My relationship with my parents - pretty good

Favourite holiday - CHRISTMAS

Tattoos and piercings? one tattoo, ear piercing, and belly button

Tattoos and piercing i want - I want two snowmen on my inner wrist

The reason I joined Tumblr - For quality Saboala do you see any Saboala on my dash?  No, didn’t think so.  xD

Do I and my last ex hate each other? no, I was invited to his wedding

Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts? not really

Have I ever kissed the last person you texted? Hahahahaha no... 

When did I last hold hands? a few minutes ago... but you know so my three year old wouldn’t run off in a parking lot

How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? 5 minutes?

Have I shaved your legs in the past three days? no

Where am I right now? dining room table

If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me? husband

Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? usually loud because I’m scream-singing along

Do I live with my Mom and Dad? no

Am I excited for anything? victuuri

Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to? my husband.  but he normally tunes me out.  but to be fair, I’m normally either fangirling about Victuuri or something Yuri on Ice related (that’s my everything)

How often do I wear a fake smile? never

When was the last time I hugged someone? always hugging someone.  but my little monkey is a cuddler

What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me? I’d be pretty pissed considering it’s my husband

Is there anyone I trust even though I should not? probably?

What is something I disliked about today? it’s too hot

If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Darren Criss

What do I think about most? Victuuri

What’s my strangest talent? i don’t really have an “unexpected” talent?

Do I have any strange phobias? earthworms

Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? both

What was the last lie I told? That I called the lawyers in NYC when I haven’t

Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? online

Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens? yes, to an extent. and yes

Do I believe in magic? I believe in the Holy Spirit

Do I believe in luck? yes

What’s the weather like right now? too effing hot

What was the last book I’ve read? FANFICTION

Do I like the smell of gasoline? sometimes

Do I have any nicknames? my husband likes to call me wither Beaker or Cactuar because he’s an ass an insists I talk in “whomps”

What was the worst injury I’ve ever had? I’m boring, probably just a badly sprained ankle

Do I spend money or save it? save.  I’m stingy AF

Can I touch my nose with a tongue? no

Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me? a blow up flamingo

Favourite animal? Wolves.  Sharks. Snakes. Flamingos

What was I doing last night at 12 AM? sleeping

What do I think is Satan’s last name is? trump (too good an answer)

What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? Megan Trainor’s “Me Too”

How can you win my heart? feed me and tell my you like my writing

What would I want to be written on my tombstone? I just want a picture of a snowman

What is my favourite word - supermegafoxyawesomehot

My top 5 blogs on tumblr  - @lucycamui @omgkatsudonplease @forovnix @majestically-fangirling @ineffectualdemon

If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say? CHULACOMETTI

Do I have any relatives in jail? not that I know of

I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power? teleportation or flight

What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? It depends.

What is my current desktop picture? @barechu ‘s Creation of Victor

Had sex? yes

Bought condoms?  yes

Gotten pregnant? yes

Failed a class? yes

Kissed a boy? yes

Kissed a girl? yes

Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? yes

Had job? yes

Left the house without my wallet?  yes

Bullied someone on the internet? no

Had sex in public? yes

Played on a sports team? no

Smoked weed? no

Did drugs? other than weed? no

Smoked cigarettes? no

Drank alcohol? yes

Am I a vegetarian/vegan? hell no.

Been overweight? probably

Been underweight? no

Been to a wedding?  yes

Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? yes. i feel like this is a trick question?

Watched TV for 5 hours straight? yes

Been outside my home country? yes

Gotten my heart broken? no

Been to a professional sports game? yes

Broken a bone? no

Cut myself? accidentally yes

Been to prom? yes

Been in airplane? yes

Fly by helicopter? yes

What concerts have I been to? Two Backstreet Boys concerts.  One in the early 2000′s and one in like 2012 xD (I’ve been to countless Musicals though)

Had a crush on someone of the same sex? yes, but like most of my crushes she was animated

Learned another language? yes

Wore make up? yes

Lost my virginity before I was 18? no

Had oral sex? yes

Dyed my hair? no

Voted in a presidential election? yes

Rode in an ambulance? yes

Had a surgery? no

Met someone famous? yes

Stalked someone on a social network? yes

Peed outside? yes

Been fishing? no

Helped with charity? yes

Been rejected by a crush? yes, but it turns out he was gay so yea...

Broken a mirror? yes

What do I want for birthday? ChulaCometti

How many kids do I want and what will be their names? TWO! Chloe and Cara

Was I named after anyone? no

Do I like my handwriting? Yes

What was my favourite toy as a child? Birthday bear carebear (I still have him.  He’s 30 years old)

Favourite Tv Show? Criminal Minds

Where do I want to live when older? San Diego

Play any musical instrument? Piano and a little Violin

One of my scars, how did I get it? Smallpox booster shot

Favourite pizza toping? sausage, mushrooms and green peppers

Am I afraid of the dark? no.  I thrive in the dark like a vampire

Am I afraid of heights? terrified... though all I want to do is fly... weird eh? I suppose I’m more terrified of falling

Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad? yes, but I mean is cutting school to stalk the Backstreet Boys in NYC really bad?

Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? yes

What I’m really bad at - not freaking out on my kids

What my greatest achievements are - meeting Johnny Weir, just kidding, it’s successfully stalking the Backstreet Boys as a teenager

The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me - that they don’t want to be my friend.

What I’d do if I won in a lottery -invest my money

What do I like about myself - my humor

My closest Tumblr friend - @mamakat926 and @d2diamond and @mygeekcorner y’all asked for one you get three  (FOR SHAME @mamakat926, FOR SHAME!  I’VE ACTUALLY MET YOU! I BOUGHT YOU DINNER AND DRINKS! I BOUGHT YOU KATSUDON! LOSER.)

Something I fantasise about my ex - no but I do sometimes have dreams about this one guy I had a crush on in middle school... I mean 15 years later he’s still as adorable as he was back then... xD

[nanabeats]

Stealing a thing!

Stealing this from @a-kitsuneet-and-a-cybele, but instead just answering things down the list that I can or feel comfortable enough answering

1:Full name Alice Armstrong.

2:Age 22, last I checked

3: Fears? Mostly anxiety-related things, but something you might not expect is a fear of silence. Better dead than deaf, imo

4: 3 things I love I’mma be a dork and list @daxreythaak here. Also, music and good  food

5: 4 turns on Nope! Try again later.

6: 4 turns off Bad grammar, low intelligence, persistent clinginess,  and big egos.

7:My best friend Not answering this because it’s not a competition

8:Sexual orientation Yes.

9:My best first date Uhm. Dates? Right, people do those...

10:How tall am I 6′3

11:What do I miss Headshots. Every time. 

12:What time were I born Grammar o’clock. 3:44 AM, I think?

13:Favourite color Purple

14:Do I have a crush No, though I might go get one from the gas station. Orange sounds tasty right about now

15:Favourite quote This changes based on the day. Give me a topic, I’ll come up with something quotable for it

16:Favourite place My bed

17:Favourite food Knowing that Dax is reading this right now, General Tso’s chicken is fucking delicious

18:Do I use sarcasm? Never. Is there any other answer to this?

19:What am I listening to right now: Ga1ahad and the Scientific Witchery by Mili. @grexion just put it on in Plug. https://plug.dj/makais-shipyard

20:First thing I notice in new person: Hair

21:Shoe size Big

22:Eye color Blue with hazel flecks, or hazel with a blue ring around it. Depends on who you ask

23:Hair color? Very very brown

24:Favourite style of clothing? Simple.

25:Kiss someone that starts with the letter “R”? No/

27:Meaning behind my URL I wanted Foxy-thoughts but it was taken. Also foxes. And thoughts. And personal blog. Pretty self explanitory

28:Kiss someone that starts with the letter “M”? Teeeeeeeeeechnically?

29:Favourite song: At the moment, Zenmajikake no Kami wa Kaku Katakiri by Automata Girl. If I haven’t posted it yet, I will tomorrow

30:Favourite band: Depends on the day, but Alstroemeria, Shibayan, and RD-Sounds are my top three

31:How I feel right now? On a scale of 1-10? Ask Ana mains how they feel about onetrick Genjis stuck in low Silver, and convert that to a number. 

32:Someone I love: Already tagged @daxreythaak

33:My current relationship status Taken by ^

34:My relationship with my parents? FUCK NO

35:Favourite holiday: yule/Winter Solstice 

36:Tattoos and piercing i have: None

37:Tattoos and piercing i want: None

38:The reason I joined Tumblr: Long story short, @the-cursed-swordsman is a fucking cool blog.

39:Do I and my last ex hate each other? Normally? No. Presently? Fucking pissed at him for something that happened an hour ago

40:Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts? The latter, occasionally

41:Have I ever kissed the last person you texted? EW NO! She has 44 years on me and I could go on for ages ranting about why that’s a bad idea

42:When did I last hold hands? Either this morning, 8:30 AM or last night, 8:00 PM

43:How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? Depends on how long I’m given. On a day where I have nothing to do? Three to five hours. Emergency? Three to five seconds, depending on how quickly I can get my legs over the edge of the bed 

44:Have You shaved your legs in the past three days? No

45:Where am I right now? Work

46:If I were drunk &; can’t stand, who’s taking care of me? The morgue. I don’t drink.

47:Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? Reasonable. Normally.

48:Do I live with my Mom and Dad? I’d murder the former and the latter hasn’t been in my life for twelve years now. Thank god. No.

49:Am I excited for anything? POP|CULTURE 6, Alstroemeria Records

50:Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

51:How often do I wear a fake smile? Nope!

52:When was the last time I hugged someone? Today, 9-ish AM

53:What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me? I’d be confused as hell...

54:Is there anyone I trust even though I should not? Probably

55:What is something I disliked about today? Everything but Plug and so far, this list

56:If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Nah, I’m content as I am

57:What do I think about most? Anxiety things!

58:What’s my strangest talent? I guess I can kick myself in the face if I want to? Don’t ask how I learned that or where I got a prize for it?

59:Do I have any strange phobias? Silence

60:Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Behind.

61:What was the last lie I told? “Fine, I won’t drag you into this discussion”.

62:Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online? Chatting online. I hate phone calls.

63:Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens? If they exist, they exist. If they eventually matter, they eventually matter.  However, they do not matter to me at this moment, therefore they are not something I am concerned with

64:Do I believe in magic? To an extent

65:Do I believe in luck? Aye

66:What’s the weather like right now? Cloudy

67:What was the last book I’ve read? The Iron Druid Chronicles book two, Hexed, I think?

68:Do I like the smell of gasoline? No?

69:Do I have any nicknames? Plenty

70:What was the worst injury I’ve ever had? Rolled my ankle once. Hurt worse than the road rash from ditching my bike when a car cut me off, so probably more severe. I don’t get injured. I get sick.

71:Do I spend money or save it? Spend...

72:Can I touch my nose with a tounge? With someone else’s, yes

73:Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me? Grammar. And no.

74:Favourite animal? DO YOU HAVE TO ASK?

75:What was I doing last night at 12 AM? Getting ready for bed. The night before that? Talking to people

76:What do I think is Satan’s last name is? Zhou.

77:What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7xai5u_tnk

78:How can you win my heart? Nope!

79:What would I want to be written on my tombstone? Something that other people will see as fitting

80:What is my favorite word?

81:My top 5 blogs on tumblr

82:If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

83:Do I have any relatives in jail?

84:I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

85:What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

86:What is my current desktop picture? I have entire folder of these that I could share sometime if anyone wants me to.

87:Had sex? Yes

88:Bought condoms? Yes

89:Gotten pregnant? No

90:Failed a class? Only once, when sabotaged by my mother. I was still one of the best students in that class

91:Kissed a boy? Aye

92:Kissed a girl? Yup

93:Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? I think so?

94:Had job? Kinda

95:Left the house without my wallet? Who needs a wallet when you’re broke?

96:Bullied someone on the internet? Yes

97:Had sex in public? Kinda

98:Played on a sports team? No

99:Smoked weed? Not actively, though my stepdad was a dealer and the house always smelled of it

100:Did drugs? HELL no

101:Smoked cigarettes? Nope

102:Drank alcohol? Kinda, leaning no.

103:Am I a vegetarian/vegan? No.

104:Been overweight? Aye

105:Been underweight? No

106:Been to a wedding? Once

107:Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? Frequently

108:Watched TV for 5 hours straight? When younger

109:Been outside my home country? Yes

110:Gotten my heart broken? Kinda?

111:Been to a professional sports game? Twice

112:Broken a bone? No

113:Cut myself? Never intentionally. I’ve cut myself ON things, but I’ve never self-harmed

114:Been to prom? And hated the picture from it

115:Been in airplane? No

116:Fly by helicopter? No

117:What concerts have I been to? I’d rather not...

118:Had a crush on someone of the same sex? What part of “Sexuality? Yes.” do you not get? Yes.

119:Learned another language? Partially

120:Wore make up? Yes

121:Lost my virginity before I was 18? No, actually

122:Had oral sex? Yes

123:Dyed my hair? It would kill me

124:Voted in a presidential election? No, the only one that I’ve been old enough to vote in was the most recent one, and at that point I was stuck in legal limbo between two counties and couldn’t get to where I was registered

125:Rode in an ambulance? No

126:Had a surgery? Not yet

127:Met someone famous? Kinda?

128:Stalked someone on a social network? Kinda

129:Peed outside? Yes

130:Been fishing? Yes

131:Helped with charity? Yes

132:Been rejected by a crush? Kinda? But not really.

133:Broken a mirror? Yes

134:What do I want for birthday? A “my” in this question. Also for people not to pay attention to it. Or maybe a new laptop would be nice

135:How many kids do I want and what will be their names? Five. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. Never. And Fat Chance. Really though, please no kids

136:Was I named after anyone? No

137:Do I like my handwriting? No

138:What was my favourite toy as a child? I don’t remember

139:Favourite Tv Show? Presently? Rick and Morty, though I watch it online.

140:Where do I want to live when older? Somewhere peaceful

141:Play any musical instrument? No

142:One of my scars, how did I get it? Set my hand on a broken mirror.

143:Favourite pizza toping? Topping. Bacon?

144:Am I afraid of the dark? No

145:Am I afraid of heights? Kinda?

146:Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad? Gotten caught? Almost. Once. Though it wasn’t “bad”, per-se. My mother walked into my room unannounced during my first ever orgasm. That was... Interesting. She still doesn’t know about this.

147:Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? Aye

148:What I’m really bad at: Lots of things

149:What my greatest achievments are

150:The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me: I don’t really hold on to things like that

151:What I’d do if I won in a lottery Invest

152:What do I like about myself: Well, I’m a fairly influential person when I choose to be, and I’m fairly good at pulling through tough spots

153:My closest Tumblr friend Not a contest, so not answering

154:Something I fantasise about: [REDACTED]

[bluraydisco]

Fatherly...advice?

Got a DM from my Dear ol Dad that read as follows:

"I know it's your life but PLEase Donot post any pictures of you in make up or wigs etc it just freaks me out and i can handle alot but this no way -alot thank you -in my Facebook timeline Dad-$140 for he man stuff i see enjoy"

To be followed up with

"or videos of you walking in make up and wig, etc."

Keep in mind, I'm a grown ass adult. I promptly ignored the ridiculous message and unfriended him but I don't have the heart to block him. No matter how uneasy I make him feel.

This just irks me. Number one, he thinks I'm sending these posts directly to his profile. Which is absolute Bullock's ! He's a "man of a certain age" therefore he has no idea what the "unfollow" button is, no matter how many times I explain it to him. That and the phrase, "I know it's your life but..." pisses me the fuck off.

He's so belligerently ignorant and he's so stuck on the LGBT etc stereotype perpetuated by Hollywood and the MSM in the 70s, 80s and 90s that he totally thinks I'm the "worst kind" of Homosexual and I'm sure he thinks I'm on drugs, having all sorts of unprotected sex and eventually that I will end up with AIDs.

The fact is that I'm the proverbial "social butterfly". I surround myself with an extremely excellent group of diverse, like minded friends in the Boston scene and they will never do me wrong. I just get all glammed when I go out, drink, dance and order a Lyft back. I'm having a blast and being safe. I'm not harming anything but his fragile "guido-bro" ego and his toxic masculinity.

***For your information, yes, he still wears tight A- shirts and tank tops to show off his "guns" during the Summer. I still think he has the gold horn necklace too. However I mention NOTHING whenever he posts what I deem "embarrassing" content! He's comfortable in his skin, and that's great! So why does he find it inappropriate for me to find comfort in my own? Thus, dictating to me what I should and shouldn't put on Facebook, Twitter, Insta, etc?***

I know I'm not the son he wanted. He wanted me to be a carbon copy from the getgo. So much so he wanted me to be a "Junior". (My Mum had none of that, by the way). I'm not an athlete or a body builder or a ladies man. Never have been. Never will be. Much to his chagrin.

I'm more or less a sensitive, empathetic, liberal, and artistic individual that is in tune with the femininity of things. I'm self expressive, neon, loud with a penchant for 80s music. If I die it better be on a dance floor or a stage.

I do love my Dad. No matter how bigoted and inept he is. Even the fact he voted for the orange buffoon in 2016, I still can't hate him. He's blood.

I admit, he spoiled me as a kid. He got me a dog (who had the same limp as I). So I know there has to be at least somewhat of a soft heart beneath the rough exterior. There were the pool parties and cook outs during the Summer. The movies he had taped off of cable gave facilitated my love for Star Wars, Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Time Bandits and heck even Krull. He, and my late Step Mom, even sat me in front of MTV. (and boy did I get all giddy when "West End Girls" came on!). It was all probably just to keep me occupied, but still. That is the reason why geekdom runs that deep, nowadays.

Hell, even my adoration for *He-Man came from him buying the action figures, vehicles and playsets for gifts of awesome Christmas' and birthdays past! There were Pool parties. Cook outs. By GAWD we even had Super Mario 3 in the garage one year!!!

***Oh, and about the He Man thing? I bought the collection of four via preorder (with MY tax money). This particular set of action figures is based on the 1987 MOTU movie! The reason behind the purchase is simply because I've been waiting for these variations to be released since that flick was released!!! (The Langella Skeletors look AMAZING, by the way). I maybe over forty but trust me nostalgia is one hell of a drug. ***

However, he always was a helicopter parent. He still watches me eat whenever I'm home, because I choked on a piece of steak...ONCE!

He never let's me help with technology nor wants me touching anything because I would "break it". Just two years ago he wouldn't let me touch the DVD player because it wasn't playing the disc properly. (I'm in my 40s now btw and definitely can figure out and handle a simple task such as that).

Apparently, he also has a file on me. My Mother and my Mother's past employers. Including newspaper clippings and what not. I'm sure my Dad has some sort of mental disorder.

I don't even know why I'm venting so much on here. Nor do I know why I chase his love and acceptance when clearly he doesn't have the balls to be happy for me for living my life and my truth. My Dad is the epitome of "Ye of little faith". He's the reason I always doubt myself and my abilities whenever I think about getting back into acting, doing comedy or to just do my day job. His voice comes up in my brain and says "You can't do that." Oh well. I apologise if the structure of this blog is semi incoherent. I just needed to let loose to anyone who would listen.

Thank you all for reading! <3

#lgbt #WhyAmIStillDealingWithThisShit #DadDoesntGetIt #Im40 #HeThinksIm4 #DadIssues #ControlFreak

[isaac-lacey]

Weird tag

So ummm I tag @mikeywrites and @callum-vaughan just pick 10 or so of the questions but you can do all of them if you want 

1: Full name: Isaac Nial Lacey (we don’t speak of my middle name)

2: Age: 16

3: 3 Fears: Spiders, heights and the dark

4: 3 things I love: My boyfriend, food and tea

5: 4 turns on: Dicks, cuteness, awesome personality, sweets (what, you can’t deny, sweets are hot af XD)

6: 4 turns off: Douchey deodorant, non emo, vagina (I’m gay and I have no filter me saying this is a given)

7: My best friend: I don’t really have any friends

8: Sexual orientation: Gay

9: My best first date: Haven’t been on a date (I plan on taking my boyfriend on one when I visit him/he visits me)

10: How tall am I: 176 cm

11: What do I miss: friends

12: What time was I born: 7:32 (I think it was am)

13: Favourite color: Purple

14: Do I have a crush: On my boyfriend yeah

15: Favourite quote: *shrugs* I dunno

16: Favourite place: My bedroom

17: Favourite food: ummm if I had to pick I’d say pizza

18: Do I use sarcasm: nooooo I would never (what do you think)

19: What am I listening to right now: the sounds in my head

20: First thing I notice in new person: their eyes

21: Shoe size: 8 in new Zealand

22: Eye color: my eyes are kinda weird, they’re green/blue with a yellow/brown/gold/orange kinda ring around my pupil

23: Hair color: I’m not sure, light af brown or dark blonde I dunno

24: Favourite style of clothing: anything emo

25: Ever done a prank call? Nope because fuck that, one I would be terrible and 2 it’s scary as fuuuuck

27: Meaning behind my URL: It’s my fucking name

28: Favourite movie: Don’t have one

29: Favourite song: Ummmmm

30: Favourite band: I have way too many

31: How I feel right now: Depressed as fuck

32: Someone I love: My boyfriend Jacob

33: My current relationship status: Taken

34: My relationship with my parents: I think it’s bad, they seem to think it’s good

35: Favourite holiday: Ummmm christmas I think maybe, I get to eat a LOT at christmas

36: Tattoos and piercing i have: I don’t have any, I do want to get a small tattoo one day though maybe

37: Tattoos and piercing i want: Small rainbow coloured rose

38: The reason I joined Tumblr: writing stuff

39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?: Well considering he tried to rape me I think that’s a solid yes

40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?: Yusss from my boyfriend all the time, he’s so sweet

41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?: I doubt it

42: When did I last hold hands?: Yesterday, I had to babysit my one year old brother and he dragged me outside by my hand

43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? It depends, I multi task so it can take ages but also not take long

44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days? No

45: Where am I right now? In my bedroom

46: If I were drunk and can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?: Not sure

47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?: It depends how I’m feeling if I’m honest

48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad? No, they divorced, I live with my mum and step dad

49: Am I excited for anything?: Getting to talk to Jacob

50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?: No, like I said I don’t really have any friends

51: How often do I wear a fake smile? All day every day mother fucker

52: When was the last time I hugged someone?: Fucking AGES ago, I don’t like human contact, my sister tries to hug me but I don’t let her (most I’ll go for is holding hands with most people)

53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?: I wouldn’t care

54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?: No

55: What is something I disliked about today?: Being depressed upon waking up

56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?: Jacob, in person anyway

57: What do I think about most?: Jacob

58: What’s my strangest talent?: I don’t really have anything I’m good at

59: Do I have any strange phobias?: *shrugs*

60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?: Behind usually but I’m ok with being in front of it every once in a while

61: What was the last lie I told?: Well I told my brother (the oldest one I have that is still younger than me) that I was ok with him (I really don’t like him)

62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online? It depends who with, all calls make me nervous as fuck, I mostly video call with Jacob but with anyone else regular call if I can even manage that

63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?: Nope

64: Do I believe in magic?: Eh

65: Do I believe in luck?: Nope

66: What's the weather like right now?: warm outside

67: What was the last book I've read?: Dripping gold

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?: Ew no

69: Do I have any nicknames?: Izzy and Zac, I like to go by Izzy to most people

70: What was the worst injury I've ever had?: *shrugs*

71: Do I spend money or save it?: *shrugs*

72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue?: Nope

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?: ummmm not that I can see

74: Favourite animal?: Dog maybe

75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?: watching anime

76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?: *shrugs* tf kinda question is this?

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?: anything by paramore

78: How can you win my heart?: buy me food

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?: ‘little shit that had no friends, loved his boyfriend more than anything, is emo trash even in death’

80: What is my favorite word?: Nervosa

81: My top 5 blogs on tumblr: @elliewants2write @glorious74 @mikeywrites @koalamuffins and @tru-problems-of-a-bitch

82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?: Fuck off

83: Do I have any relatives in jail?: I dunno maybe

84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?: Telekinesis

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?: I dunno

86: What is my current desktop picture?: It’s literally just a black screen

87: Had sex?: Nope

88: Bought condoms?: No

89: Gotten pregnant?: Considering I have a fully functioning penis and not a fully functioning vagina I’m pretty sure I haven’t

90: Failed a class?: Nope

91: Kissed a boy?: Yes

92: Kissed a girl?: When I was 8

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?: No

94: Had job?: Kinda

95: Left the house without my wallet?: Yes

96: Bullied someone on the internet?: Hell no

97: Had sex in public?: No

98: Played on a sports team?: Fuck off hell no eww

99: Smoked weed?: Nah

100: Did drugs?: Nah

101: Smoked cigarettes?: Nope

102: Drank alcohol?: Yes

103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?: No

104: Been overweight?: No

105: Been underweight?: yes

106: Been to a wedding?: a couple times

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?: just 5 hours? Hell yeah, I’ve been on for 8 hours straight, in fact more than that

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?: Yeah ages ago, I wouldn’t do it now though

109: Been outside my home country?: Yus

110: Gotten my heart broken?: Nah

111: Been to a professional sports game?: Eww no

112: Broken a bone?: No

113: Cut myself?: Many times, still do sometimes

114: Been to prom?: Nope

115: Been in airplane?: Yes

116: Fly by helicopter?: Nope

117: What concerts have I been to?: Nope

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?: Obviously

119: Learned another language?: Trying to

120: Wore make up?: Yes

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?: No

122: Had oral sex?: No

123: Dyed my hair?: twice so far

124: Voted in a presidential election?: Nope

125: Rode in an ambulance?: Nope

126: Had a surgery?: Nope

127: Met someone famous?: I think so

128: Stalked someone on a social network?: Eh kinda

129: Peed outside?: *shrugs*

130: Been fishing?: Yes, a couple times

131: Helped with charity?: Yus

132: Been rejected by a crush?: Yus

133: Broken a mirror?: Yes

134: What do I want for birthday?: I dunno

135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?: I dunno and I dunno

136: Was I named after anyone?: Not to my knowledge

137: Do I like my handwriting?: Eh

138: What was my favourite toy as a child?: I dunno actually

139: Favourite Tv Show?: Don’t have one

140: Where do I want to live when older?: *shrugs*

141: Play any musical instrument?: Nope

142: One of my scars, how did I get it?: I stepped on a nail

143: Favourite pizza toping?: Hmmm not sure

144: Am I afraid of the dark?: Yes

145: Am I afraid of heights?:Yes

146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?: Umm yes

147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?: Yes

148: What I'm really bad at: Life

149: What my greatest achievments are: ...

150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me: *shrugs*

151: What I'd do if I won in a lottery: *shrugs*

154: Something I fantasise about: *shrugs* not sure

152: What do I like about myself: Nothing

153: My closest Tumblr friend: Probably @mikeywrites

[crayonlead2-blog]

Links 3/18/19

Patient readers, we just this instant switched on the codes for a new advertising vendor. A very much unintended and unexpected side effect is that some of you may be seeing video and other pop-ups. We were very clear in that these types of ads were not allowed. We are working to make them go away as fast as we can, because we know how much you hate them (and we do too)! –lambert

Update by Yves: The site seems to load faster with the new ads (the ads were what would slow down loading times), so once we get the popups sorted out (which thank God are appearing only on the landing page and so aren’t interfering with reading articles), this should be a net plus to readers once we get past transition issues.

Stonehenge-like monuments were home to giant pig feasts. Now, we know who was on the guest list Science

What’s the cost (in fish) between 1.5 and 3 degrees of warming? Anthropocene

Home Of Strategic Command And Some Of The USAF’s Most Prized Aircraft Is Flooding (Updated) The Drive

Radical plan to artificially cool Earth’s climate could be safe, study finds Grist

Fire Breaks Out At a Houston-Area Petrochemicals Terminal Bloomberg. Second in a week. Video:

The heat is deforming this metal storage tank. Some of the first responders are worried it will collapse. pic.twitter.com/Y3ZsjJ96zj

— Respectable Lawyer (@RespectableLaw) March 18, 2019

Leave the oil in the ground, and this doesn’t happen…

The Fed has exacerbated America’s new housing bubble FT

Churches are opening their doors to businesses in order to survive CBS

Some county treasurers have flouted Iowa gift law for years Bleeding Heartland

Corporations Are Co-Opting Right-To-Repair Wired

Brexit

What will it take to push May’s Brexit deal over the line FT. The arithmetic: “To overturn her 149-vote deficit, she would have to win over at least 75 MPs. The most plausible route starts with the DUP’s 10 MPs. If they backed her deal, then some 50 of the nearly 70 Tory Eurosceptics who voted against it last week may change sides. Then Mrs May would need a further 15 Labour MPs, in addition to the five Labour and former Labour MPs who backed her last week.”

Northern Ireland’s farmers urge DUP to back Brexit deal FT

Around 40 Tory Rebels Told Theresa May: We’ll Vote For Your Brexit Deal If You Quit Buzzfeed

Labour likely to back public vote on UK PM’s deal, says Corbyn Reuters

Brexit by July 1 unless UK votes in EU election: Document Politico

The Irish Backstop: Nothing has changed? It has actually (PDF) Lord Bew and Lord Trimble, Policy Exchange. Bew is a Professor of Irish Politics. Trimble is a former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Well worth the clickthrough to read the entire PDF. Here is the final paragraph:

All of this suggests that a backstop that functions for more than a short period of time – and the DUP has indicated in Parliament that it could live with a short backstop – is likely to be an extremely unstable affair. If it does not negotiate a trade deal with the UK in the next year or so, the EU is also likely to become increasingly aware that the Protocol will give it nothing but grief as it gets sucked into the Northern Ireland quagmire. In this quagmire, the UK Government (which has the support of the majority of the population in Northern Ireland and which pays the subvention which subsidises the entire society), holds most of the cards.

Politico’s London Playbook calls their report “a ringing endorsement of the tweaks to the backstop agreed by Theresa May in Strasbourg this month.” Readers?

NORMAN LAMONT: History will never understand Tory MPs if they kill off Brexit Daily Mail

Brexit will mark the end of Britain’s role as a great power WaPo. Surely Suez did that?

Macron calls for ‘strong decisions’ after violent Yellow Jacket protests Politico

Among the Gilets Jaunes LRB

Syraqistan

Months after saying US will withdraw, now 1,000 troops in Syria to stay Jerusalem Post but US denies report it is leaving up to 1,000 troops in Syria Channel News Asia. And what about the mercs?

Saudi Crown Prince’s Brutal Drive to Crush Dissent Began Before Khashoggi NYT

A Palestinian Farmer Finds Dead Lambs in His Well. He Knows Who’s to Blame Haaretz

Algeria After Bouteflika Jacobin

North Korea

Investing in resource-rich North Korea seems like a good idea — but businesses find there’s a catch Los Angeles Times

Picking Up the Pieces After Hanoi Richard Haass, Project Syndicate

New Cold War

How ordinary Crimeans helped Russia annex their home Open Democracy

How Russia Gets To Build Its Most Controversial Pipeline Riddle

Trump Transition

The Pentagon’s Bottomless Money Pit Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone. How are they gonna pay for it?

Government withholds 84-year-old woman’s social security, claims she owes thousands for college WISH-TV

737 Max

Flawed analysis, failed oversight: How Boeing, FAA certified the suspect 737 MAX flight control system Seattle Times

737 MAX disaster pushes Boeing into crisis mode Phys.org

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

All the Crime, All the Time: How Citizen Works NYT

Global Mass Surveillance And How Facebook’s Private Army Is Militarizing Our Data Forbes

More Than a Data Dump Harpers. Why Julian Assange deserves First Amendment protection.

Democrats in Disarray

Establishment Democrats Are Undermining Medicare for All Truthout. As I kept saying with my midterms worksheets, the liberal Democrat leadership’s #1 priority is to prevent #MedicareForAll, and to that end they shifted the center of gravity of the electeds against it. Now we see this strategy born out in falling sponsorship numbers.

Even a Vacuous Mueller Report Won’t End ‘Russiagate’ Stephen Cohen, The Nation. “[T]he Democrats and their media are now operating on the Liberty Valance principle: When the facts are murky or nonexistent, ‘print the legend‘.”

Venture capitalist Steve Case spreading funding to Middle America with “Rise of the Rest” CBS

Class Warfare

What’s Wrong with Contemporary Capitalism? Angus Deaton, Project Syndicate

Bill McGlashan’s firing exposes hypocrisy in impact investing Felix Salmon, Axios

The College Admissions Ring Tells Us How Much Schoolwork Is Worth New York Magazine

How Parents Are Robbing Their Children of Adulthood NYT

‘Filth, mold, abuse’: report condemns state of California homeless shelters Guardian

Wall Street Has Been Unscathed by MeToo. Until Now. NYT

What the Hell Actually Happens to Money You Put in A Flexible Spending Account? Splinter

‘Super bloom’ shutdown: Lake Elsinore shuts access after crowds descend on poppy fields Los Angeles Times. “Desperate for social media attention, some visitors have trampled through the orange poppy fields, despite official signs warning against doing so.” Thanks, influencers!

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Links on March 18, 2019 by Lambert Strether.

About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

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Source: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/03/links-3-18-19.html

[chefbstrikesagain]

Mid Year Break

The past couple of weeks have been a blast. No routine, accompanied by my closest friends, made for countless memories and little sleep. My holiday technically started on May 24 and lasted until June 11- felt like 3 months but was definitely a busy 2.5 weeks. The trip began on the morning of May 24 where Me, Martin, Joey, and the rest of the Sabah Gang headed to Kota Kinabalu to an early 4th of July party at the U.S. Embassy. We were extremely undressed for the event as we didn't want to pack super formal clothes. I sound ridiculous but dressing nicely would have meant backpacking around with dress shoes and a suit for the remainder of our travels. This resulted in sweaty me changing in a parking 20 minutes before the event into khakis in a button down. Sweaty and wrinkled I began shaking hands with people dressed in tuxes and needed a drink stat. Upon arrival, trusty old Janna had already scoped out the salmon sandwiches and wrangled down a waiter to get us all glasses of red wine from the open bar. After about 8 glasses, a passenger van arrived to take us to the airport for the start of our mid year programming. We landed in KL around 1am and it took another hour to get back to the beloved Dorsett Hotel. The Dorsett is where we spent our 2 weeks when we first got to Malaysia for orientation and holds a special place in everyone's hearts. Other than being extremely hungover everyday of programming, this was my favorite meet up yet. Fulbright let us do most of the talking and voice our specific problems. Mid year felt like a 'choose your own adventure book' which really helped people cope with specific problems they were having. After many icebreakers and a sleepless few nights I shared a grab car to the airport with Eleanor, Lissy, and Katie to make my 6am flight to Hanoi. Arriving in Hanoi meant that I was just 24 hours away from seeing my roommmates from COLLEGE. It has been so long since seeing them, or pretty much anyone from the U.S.. I spent the first day in Hanoi alone sightseeing. However, about an hour into my solo expedition I met a girl on a motorbike named Ming. Ming is from Hanoi, Vietnam and is a University student (or so she told me) in Pharmacology. Because it is her summer, she was looking for work taking around tourists on the back of her bike. She pulls up, offers me a helmet and an unbeatable price (10USD) for 3 hours of bopping around the city. She took me to local places to eat, explained the history of so many temples, and was a good pal to take selfies with. She dropped me back off at my hostel around 4pm and I spent the rest of the evening chit chatting and watching Netflix on the blazing fast wifi. The next morning I woke early, excited and anxious for Jackson, Rob, and Ang to arrive. I grabbed an uber moto to the airbnb which must have been a site. A 6'2 male with a 25 pound hiking backpack jumping on the back of this small Vietnamese man's motorbike. All in all I made it to the airbnb unscathed and had a few hours to kill. I was still pretty tired from all of our going out during mid year but a nap was not in the cards- I was just too excited. I laced up my running shoes and went for a short jog on the treadmill and then laid by the pool for a few hours. In what seemed like an eternity, I finally heard a knock at the door and APT. 6 was finally reunited. They looked, and smelled like hell but I was still so excited to see them. We chatted about the flight and the fact they were across the world for an hour before we decided to grab some local food and settle in for the night. Don't ask Rob about getting some of the local food. He was convinced we were all going to get Hep B the entire time. The next few days in Vietnam were a blur but included Vietnamese massages, local coffee, a trip to the famous Ha Long Bay, and loads of walking/sightseeing. We set off for Siem Reap on the 31st with our luggage in tow and arrived around 8pm. After Ang getting stuck in customs we found ourselves in 2 tuk tuks hauling down the road towards our villa. Tuk Tuks are such a fun way of transportation! We took them everywhere our entire stay in Cambodia mainly because of the price but also because they were everywhere. Our resort was beautiful and full of warm orange and yellow colors, fresh flowers, and statues of Buddha. We were welcomed with a cold cloth compress and fresh squeezed juice at reception. The owner asked us about where we came from and gave some suggestions (a full 4 day itinerary) on what we should do. We agreed that we wanted to do sunrise and before we knew it our alarms were blaring at 4:45am to go meet the tuk tuk driver. The first few hours of the morning were hazy. Our driver spoke almost no english and would just drop us off places and we would cross our fingers we would be able to find him later on. The sunrise was beautiful but a little disappointing to be honest. A lot of online blogs said it was a really spiritual experience, maybe if I had done it again it would have been better but between the photo shoots and the sweat dripping down my legs and forehead, all I wanted was the pool. We were 'templed out' by 2pm and finally made our way back to our villa where we enjoyed drinks and more food by the pool while we rested until going out that night. The night can be summed up in two words by my 3 pals 'puke city' and I'll leave it at that for their sake ;) It was an interesting time to be in Cambodia. They were undergoing elections and parades of people were campaigning in the street blasting music from cars and tuk tuks hoping their candidate would be chosen. Small business owners hoped for the opposition to take power as they promised more distribtion of wealth, while the reigning party kept their pockets lined. According to Uncle Google, Cambodia's government is extremely corrupt.. However, because of these elections, many bars and activities were closed due to people leaving to return to their villages to vote. There was also a city wide alcohol ban on the bars one night which led to us turning in early and catching up on some well deserved sleep. The next day was busy but involved ATVing through the countryside and rice paddies. Jackson found the tour and for 30 USD we spent hours driving through giant puddles and essentially causing havoc. Rob's chain fell off about halfway through his ATV which was unfixable out in the fields so he had to ride on the back of mine until a new ATV could be dropped off about 15 minutes down the path. ATVing might have been the highlight of my time in Cambodia- such an adrenaline rush. Later that night we were able to meet up with some of my Fulbright friends at a restaurant in Cambodia where fortunately, Claire snuck in a bottle of whiskey in her bag big enough for all of us. We spent hours polishing off the bottle between the 8 of us and made our way down the street to some of the clubs. Cambodia was where we spent most of our time but seemed like a blur, before we knew it we were up early (once again) and at the airport where our heavy bags caused some major problems. At the check-in counter Ang and I both got flagged because our bags looked overweight. I was able to talk the guy down from $40 to only a $10 charge by explaining I was a teacher in Malaysia and i've never had a problem traveling with my bag before. Ang, on the other hand, ended up getting a little confrontational with the guy who wouldn't budge. The ole American way of dealing with confrontations seemed to make bad worse. I don't think the AirAsia employee appreciated Ang taking photos of the man and threatening to call his manager. Honestly thought he was going to be kicked out of the airport- but our bags were checked and against all odds we made it through security. This was a low point of the trip for sure. We were all still feeling the night before and tried to remedy our hangovers with some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Ang got a burger which I think ended up working out well in his favor. An hour later we boarded the most turbulent flight of my life. Jackson, Rob, and I respectively filled row 22 on our AirAsia flight to Phuket. Andrew, was moved up towards the front of the plane by himself which he smugly smiled back at us thinking he was first class- smh. About 45 minutes into the flight the seat belt sign turned on and the plane became turbulent. Before I knew what was happening it felt like we were dropping out of the sky. Jackson, Rob, and I were fighting back vomit as our greasy breakfast sandwiches and hangovers mixed violently in our stomachs. This turbulence was intermittent and just when you though it was over we felt our stomachs move up to our throats as the plane dropped 100 feet. We finally landed safely on the ground but when we got outside the airport we understood how bad the conditions were. As we were waiting for a taxi 4 Thai men and woman were holding a taxi stand down to prevent it from being taken by the monsoon that was only gathering strength. We arrived at our Hostel, Lub D, and made our way up to our room and we all posted up in our beds for a good amount of time still trying to recover from the flight. We grabbed food as the rain finally subsided at a small restaurant just a few blocks away where I enjoyed my first authentic pad thai! With our spirits lifted we made our way back to the hostel and formed a game plan for our short time in Phuket. Over the 3 days 2 night we were there we were able to go to a tiger sanctuary, have a beach day, explore the nightlife, and go to an all day event at an Elephant sanctuary. These were all unique and incredible experiences within themselves and I'll elaborate later but definitely some of my favourite parts of the trip. After what seemed like a week, but was only 2 nights, we made our way back to yes you guessed it, another airport, where we boarded our quick flight to Bangkok. Somehow Angus made it on the flight with 2 bags to our surprise! We checked into our hostel around 12:30am and had a solid sleep until we woke up to explore Bangkok. Claire and Kelsey, two other ETA's, were staying at the same hostel as us so we spent the morning at a coffee shop getting to know each other, and then set off into the city. We were able to see the Royal palace, the Emerald Buddha, the reclining Buddha, a canal tour, and even go out that night. It was such a busy day but the night seemed to last forever. After downing buckets of red bull and rum while listening to an incredible live band, we left for the 2nd best bar, according to trip adviser in Bangkok. Set 64 floors up, SkyBar Bangkok, was insane. Insane because of the views but also because of the 690 Baht drinks, which we seemed to have no problem spending.... Ang ordered a cuban cigar and we were actually living the high life. Our last day was sad and was mostly spent talking about our trip, prepping for their flight home, and we also got measured in case we ever wanted to order custom suits from a tailor in the city. We spent our last few hours in the bean bag lounge in our hostel awaiting the inevitable. After a long 2 weeks it was finally time to say goodbye. With the song yellow by coldplay in the background and the rain pounding the windows we hugged goodbye as the Uber arrived. It was a bittersweet moment but makes me really appreciate how good I have it in terms of friends. These guys flew across the world not only once but twice, to come visit and get a taste of what life was like for me. By the end of the trip I had a feeling that they were ready to go as the sleep deprivation and 2 week bender had finally started to set in for everyone. With runny noses and giant backpacks they set off for the final leg of the trip- the ride home. Having these 3 visit was a huge mental relief for me. Being gone from home for 5 really begins to take a toll on you and don't realize how caught up in life you get while over here. They reminded me of what is important and that I need to finish strong as life is pretty much the same back home - despite my fomo.

[cstesttaken]

BRITAIN: BBC Comedy Show Spawns Social Media Storm With Real Housewives Of ISIS Sketch [VIDEO]

Joking about the Islamic State can be a dangerous matter. A BBC comedy show featuring a sketch called “The Real Housewives of ISIS” has come under fire for trivializing the very real issue of Jihadi brides. The sketch, lampooning the Real Housewives TV series and posted online Tuesday to promote the show Revolting, features four British women in hijabs discussing their new life in the Islamic State.

Perhaps predictably, the response from social media was less than enthusiastic. Many said it was “distasteful” when there were many cases of British girls under the age of 18 who had been groomed online and lured to the Islamic State. But not everyone has been offended, with several Twitter users pointing out that the whole point of satire was to bring people down to a level. “If you can mock something, you’re not scared of it,” posted one person. “ISIS want to be feared. Don’t give them that. And yes I’m Muslim, and a leftist.”

The Milkman

I have a hard time being sympathetic toward people who are either so stupid or so unstable that they can be lured into joining ISIS via online “grooming”. Mockery is the least they can expect.

ElenorRigby

If you’re that weak-minded, maybe the world is better off without you.

Jeffrey

It is, though it’d be great if you could just pass yourself away without taking a hundred bystanders with you.

Yalma Cuder-Zicci

This is how I’ve felt about “Trump as comedy” for the last six months. It trivializes how dangerous he actually is.

Todd20036

It helps us to deal with evil when we can laugh at it.

james1200

I heard someone say, maybe even right here on JMG, that the best way to deal with fascists is to laugh at them, because they just can’t deal with it. That is certainly true about the humorless Trump; his skin is as thin as his political qualifications. We need to do nothing but laugh at Trump, ISIS and other lunatic fools because it gets to them and throws them off their game.

Ore Carmi

You have a good point. During the summer, I did not believe Trump would ever be elected. I underestimated the lack of rationality of the American populace. I’m mortified. I’d found him funny and worthy of ridicule. After the election, I couldn’t even smile.

Bared Bear

I’m still holding out in my mind (yes, I’m a little bit of a Pollyanna) that Trump was never really elected by voters, that he was projecting when he kept saying that the election was rigged, and that he was given the title by a clusterfuck of Mafioso, Russian, and FBI working together to bring on another coup to they can harnass “merikkka for their own evil agendas. But I so often misunderestimate the stupidy of ‘merikkka.

Ore Carmi

It’s frightening when we start asking, “wait, would a coup be bad?” For me, honestly, it’s more about all the frightening things the Republicans in Congress are trying to push through–dismantling healthcare, giving subpoena power to their staffers, gutting ethics oversight, messing with Medicare, wrecking the economy… How do we stop them?

fuow

Well, for starters, we could vote.

marshlc

I believe this to be true. The entire election smells to high heaven.

fuow

PT Barnum got the number of ‘real’ ‘meriKKKans’ right a long time ago. What we liberals are bad at, awful at – voting. It makes us even stupider than they are.

marshlc

I think mockery serves a useful political purpose.

But it’s got to be intelligent mockery, and have a point.

I know that the “orange cheeto” type mockery of Trump is popular around here, but to my mind it’s not the most useful kind. Making fun of Trump’s hair turns him into a kind of pet, rather than pointing out the outrage that he is.

The kind of mockery that Jon Stewart used to do, on the other hand, can help deflate the Emperor with no clothes.

Yalma Cuder-Zicci

I agree. I am afraid that because Trump is such an infinitely ludicrous person people are going to settle into this dense fog of mockery as a source of entertainment and not take his real dangers seriously.

safari

another_steve

“Laughter: The best medicine.”

Silver Badger

I hope this skit does not cause bloodshed. Muslims have no more of a sense of humor than christians.

Michael R

My first thought was ( unfortunately ) worry about the safety of the actresses .

kaydenpat

Yep. ISIS deserves mocking though.

Goodboy

It’s not a matter of if but when. Their religious psychopaths take being made fun of as a insult worthy of death.

Bj Lincoln

Only the extremists are humorless. The average Muslim probably found it funny because they know it is only extremists

kaydenpat

Is it bad that I laughed?

safari

Only to people who don’t understand comedy.

Bj Lincoln

Bared Bear

Nah. I laughed too. Religions (or anything that takes itself so seriously) to me are pretty much the epitome ridiculousness. I mean Christianity is a complete sham and has shunned even the façade of what is supposedly their most sacred reasons for existing (helping those in need, loving one another, bring compassion into the world, etcetera) over to just being the power-mongering, political bitches in heat that they are.

I do have a hope that in 50 to 75 years, that Islam will truly be the religion of peace and rightfully supersede Christianity… which will be relegated to even more obscure idiots like those who pay for Scientology membership. And that at least 100 years from now, humanity will have totally outgrown the need for religion.

kaydenpat

To be honest, I wouldn’t want to see Islam supersede Christianity. I’d just like to see all religions take their rightful place outside of politics and the public square. Worship whoever and whatever in the privacy of your homes and places of worship. I don’t need to hear about it.

another_steve

^^ Yes. Very well-put, kaydenpat.

Worship whomever you want. Worship the corner fire hydrant if you want. I could not care less.

Just don’t make me pay for it out of my taxes — and do it privately, outside of the public square.

Bared Bear

I agree that religion must be kept separated out from politics and the public commons. But I do think there’s a lot of beauty to their religion… to many religions. I don’t need to believe in it to appreciate it. (Just like I can appreciate Scarlett Johansson’s beauty… but that doesn’t mean that I want to worship her sexually).

It’s when religions are allowed to metastasize… to become something much more in a society or your personal life than something that should be quietly contemplated like a nice cup of hot tea that you enjoy all the fuck alone and not thrown in your neighbor’s face (or bed).

Colonel Panic.

Budge up and make room on the naughty seat then.

Goodboy

I think it was great and brave of the producers and actors.

Sean Williams

karmanot

Yes, why yes, but you can ALWAYS sit by me and do it!

geoffalnutt

That’s a great way to get dead. Religion doesn’t take kindly to being made fun of. Hello?

Bj Lincoln

Only humorless extremists take it the wrong way. They are the ones with the problem.

Ore Carmi

I disagree. People who have been recently traumatized by ISIS would probably also not find this funny. Not that that should bar people from making comedy.

boatboy_srq

If you’re going to exclude from comedy any humorous situation that is potentially painful, pretty soon you won’t have anything you can laugh about.

Cousin Bleh

That video is no more distasteful than the actual Housewives. And at least it was funny.

dcurlee

PeterC

I might have found it funny, if I could have understood it. On my computer it arrives on U tube which is in short blips (stops and starts) which makes it totally Non-understandable., Must rely on pictures.

james1200

I really wish the press would stop covering it as news when a few hundred people are outraged about something stupid on Twitter. The P.C. Brigade on Twitter are not a representative sample of the population at large (any more than the Nazi Brigade there is) and the mainstream press is feeding into this constant “outrage cycle” in the news about utter bullshit like this. It just wears people down and they tune out real outrage being committed out there (and it will help Trump, who’s actual criminal actions will just be part of the background noise.) This skit was funny; fuck anyone who thinks otherwise and I refuse to believe even the British have become this humorless.

safari

If you think twitter is bad, wait until you see tumblr.

james1200

Tumblr seems awesome and not just because Tumblr porn is so much better and kinkier, lol! I love Tumblr! They have a PC brigade but they have everything and whatever happens on there isn’t covered by the press like it reflects the attitude of everyone in our society, which is how the press covers Twitter, which was my point.

btw, I don’t know if this makes me a hypocrite since I was condeming being overly PC but this is one of my fav Tumblrs and it will be very important in the age of Trump’s Nazis; a Tumblr that makes employers aware of any racist assholes they have working for them and getting their ass fired.

safari

Tumblr does have superior porn.

Millstone

I didn’t know tumblr had any content other than really filthy, really great porn.

David Walker

I can’t decide whether you’re being redundant (filthy = great) or really, really enthusiastic. Both are totally acceptable.

Mike Solo

I laughed, and comedy is a very important tool. Now that it has aired, maybe more will realize that groomed jihadi brides actually is a problem

another_steve

Making fun of the enemy is good therapy.

We here on this blog do it all the time, most recently with respect to Donald Trump, the Sexual Predator-Elect.

David Walker

Hell, Mel Brooks says that’s why he wrote the movie “The Producers.” That was a bit more than 20 years after WWII and he felt that making a musical about Hitler was a way to knock him down. Great concept, great movie.

BeaverTales

If you are dumb enough to leave the UK to be a jihadi wife, you probably deserve to be widely and resoundingly mocked for your stupidity.

james1200

Didn’t we all used to laugh at ourselves? I laugh at gay stereotypes, or the mocking of them, and in fact most human beings can laugh at themselves. But it’s not just Jihadis who’re humorless: a lot of people in our society want exemption from being laughed at, including Trump’s followers, who according to even some on the left, are victims of PC culture (because they can no longer call people the “n” word without being called on it, I guess), and because Hollywood ignores them by not setting romantic comedies in Kansas but always setting them in New York and the general mocking of their culture by mean liberals (which is sister-fucking and making meth in the back yard, as far as I can figure out.) There was a Vice article talking about how Trump won because we’re big, elitist meanies to the flyover states and even Bill Maher has said something similar. Everyone wants protection from being made fun of now, I guess.

PickyPecker

Frederick

Also see: Chaplin, Charlie ‘The Great Dictator ‘

Ore Carmi

Maybe it’s because I haven’t been directly affected by ISIS violence, but I was amused.

Dot Beech

I can see PBS affiliates optioning this for viewing in all the US Red States.

MBear

This white male colonialist (//hatever the current terms are against why I find this funny) in me found this funny. #Awkward

Andymac3

This ‘twitter storm’ is a storm in a tea cup. it’s what the Daily Mail and all the day time news shows thrive on.

The comedy clip was great, I really miss British humor over here almost as much as I miss dropping the letter ‘u’ from the word humour.

pj

next episode….the housewives help out by duck taping a sassy gay guy to a chair.

Snarkaholic

If you can mock something, you’re not scared of it!

Natty Enquirer

Looks fantastic. If people aren’t pissed off, your satire isn’t working.

If people watched the whole show they would realise it takes the piss out of all politics, not just ISIS, but also the Labour Party, UKIP, and the Conservatives. It took a stab at the lack of resources in the NHS, also council houses that were being knocked down for property for the rich and so on. Some of the skits were part Candid Camera style too. It was very well done. Attacking injustices with humour is very effective way of memory retention of a bad situation. American politicians should be mocked more in this manner, for their ass-holery. If you are thinking of joining ISIS you are an ass-hole, if you try to evict poor people from their homes you are an ass-hole, if you are a conservative trying to turn health care into American version of it you are an ass-hole…and so on.

fuow

Yup, make fun of something evil – it works about as well as anything else to end it. Seriously. Of course the SJWs and the humour-challenged PC-Politessas are upset about this. A sense of humour is the one essential difference between gay activists and feminists – we have one, they all too frequently do not.

The sketch is clearly about the women who want to become Jihadi brides, not the ones who are forced. If the implication had been “What’s true for the dangerously unbalanced members of ISIS and their psycho groupies is true about all Muslims” I would have been offended. After watching it, I’m only offended because so many of the jokes felt a bit stale.

no religion lacks a “force virgin pre-teens into “sacred” marriages” sub-sects, my friend. they all do it.

June Gordon

It was cute, but went for all the obvious jokes. That being said, I think it is important that NOTHING be sacred from mockery, especially religion.

Megrim Twist

We need MORE satire, not less.

well, go on and hate me now. cause, i had no problem with it. it was a bit heavy handed, but the joke parts were funny, and like jokes that i make, if a bit less obviously.

religion isn’t “special.” it’s OK to say, “believing in mythological beings is stupid.” you shouldn’t want to shoot me or fire me or kick me for saying that. if you do, YOU are the problem. Jeebus and the rest of them will come and spank me silly when they get mad enough with me. i’ll be over here, waiting for that to happen. meanwhile, all of us should be focused on our bills, kids, dogs, food, bridge game making a small slam, yoga… if the fairy beings need help, let them come and ask for it, or better still, pay for it.

Jmdintpa

well i see we are starting off the new year right… offended !

karmanot

For Allah’s sake, let the Burka Badies BE!

Earl

I might sign up to watch tv again if it’s shown here.

Acronym Jim

Perhaps young women seeing this kind of satiric skewering will be less inclined to be groomed online.

Jean-Marc in Canada

Personally, I laughed; then again, I’m an adult who can discern comedic satire and not some wilting regressive left/far right snowflake. Seriously, the only people who should be offended are ISIS and that’s a good thing.

Source

http://www.joemygod.com/2017/01/05/britain-bbc-comedy-show-spawns-social-media-firestorm-real-housewives-isis-sketch-video/

[shatteringicybones]

I'm just REALLY fucking angry right now.

Sitting at work, working a lipstick of a soft peach color onto the center of my lips, I just realize how fucking angry I am. I am 5 days off my meds again. Amazed at how angry I am at just the smallest change of wind. What made me this way that I can no longer function like a human being and I want to rip the throats out of everyone who has dared do me wrong. To rip through the center of everyone I love and I care about during this phase of my life cycle. What has made me so angry that I can't fucking breathe through gritting teeth?

An episode on March 3, 2017 was a massive tipping point that may be the start of a horrible spiral. I was told I may have died. Only by one person. One little individual. Two immediate persons didn't even say that phrase that knew something was happening while everything was occurring. Two others to check that I'm okay and a simple yes completed that conversation. I haven't been able to properly talk to anyone about it. 4 1mg klonopin(oral), 2 50mg vyvanse(oral), 2 40mg viibryd(snorted), 1 750 robaxin(snorted), 5 16oz Redd's Wicked Blood Orange, and 1 double edged razor blade. Memory missing from after I had taken all the drugs and was on my third can of Wicked. When I was cleaning up the weekend after I found 5 cans total. Extremely spotty memory of the following Saturday. I remember being so hungry and I kept trying to cook, but I stayed in bed asleep. There were visitors in my home and each of them told me how I wouldn't wake up right away. My mother wouldn't physically touch me to wake me up, so she didn't. Out of fear that I was dead? Probably not. We just don't have that kind of relationship. Like any physical touch what so ever between us is extremely weird and strange for the both of us. She doesn't know I went on an episode at all. Sunday I was still pretty tired and weak and spent most of the day trying to remember everything as well as gather information. Monday was spent doing roughly the same thing as well as juggling work. I went back to feeling "myself" on Tuesday, but have had so many mood swings and suicidal thoughts since then.

That Monday I walked into the first day of training his wife. The only spark of jealousy I have come across if the fact I can't talk to him about what happened. My tears are watering at the thought and I'm having to take serious deep breaths to keep them back just typing this. That and my right contact lens threatening to pop out has me forgetting my train of thought. I know his entire past and almost everything about him. He knows me better than anyone else I have ever come across. I know he won't baby me, I know he probably won't be supportive. The hardest things is he may begin to distance himself from me should I burden this possibly suicide attempt on his ears. On his fears. When he feels he may lose someone, he creates distance. So when you're gone, you will not phase him in the least amount. There will be no care for you long before you are gone. But maybe he knows something that I can't see that will help me push pass this. I just know I can't lose him. I was so terrified that he was going to die so much sooner than anyone expected. Not solely for any of my selfish reason, but for his kids. They are absolutely everything to him, and he's too good for them to be without him.

During this increasing week I have become a ticking time bomb. One internet attention thing after the next. I've half reading her facebook post. With all these people. Read through a conversation about an infamous Cynthia. Try to give her a hint at it. At what I see. Miss Internet Famous was working her way through once more. Every detail of her life in such fucking public view. I don't think that's the most agitating piece of all this, it's where is the real Miss Internet Famous? Where's the actual real life flesh breathing fucking human being? I've been searching since day one of, "I miss how close we once were." Maybe it's jealousy? All these people that see you. Even if they are not friends, they easily could be because they all see you. Want to know who sees me? No one. Not a soul. Blogs? I do them so that I have a greater chance that SOMEONE, any FUCKING one will see me. They never do, but hell, at least not everything is bottled inside me all the time. At least when I go out with a bang, there is a change that someone will have seen in coming. Everyone else can act all shocked and surprised until they get to see just exactly how shredded my shell is. Strangers can tell you I am or have been unstable at one point in time, but my actions will not tell you anything is wrong on the outside. Only if you try to get close enough and I try to scare you away. No Miss Internet Famous. She's plastered everywhere if you look hard enough with more than enough hints that anyone could figure out the jest of what she is going through. Look even harder and you have a nice detailed report. I'll be a shock to the world one day, but she will live and die in such fucking glory I'll be the dust in the air of the devil.

Just writing this I can feel myself beginning to drown. My teeth start to ache, I haven't stopped moving for since I sat down. My leg bouncing or foot shaking or hitting my thumbs against the plastic beneath the space bar. My skin itches and I have so much other stuff I can be doing, but I'm here. Here trying not to scream and cry and entertain the thoughts of mixing bleach with my drink and finishing off whatever pills are in my cabinet at the moment. I don't even know what half of them are anymore.

My current vent. I have one person I can half insanely vent to, and I don't see that lasting too much longer. How he lasted this long, I probably will never honestly know. His own loneliness and depression maybe? I can't be sure. I use to help people. I use to at least try. I stopped trying. Selfishly seeking some kind of answers or direction is all I can seem to focus on. I know that's exactly how things are so super fragile between us. I shouldn't say that I don't, but maybe it's that I can't care. If he leaves I expected it, if not encouraged it. Not wanting the actions to happen isn't a choice. That's how trapped I'm feeling in myself. I just can't care if I lose everyone around me. I've already lost myself so there's just not much after that. I feel better talking to him. I feel better having him around for about an hour or so. My actions scare me. Not with only him, but anyone that comes into my home just to be around me and have some company. I'm truly afraid of any actions I may take. I don't want to commit to anyone. Maybe that's an issue I've been struggling with. I'm not ready to open myself fully to being hurt. I want to fight and scream and cuddle and have everything be okay, but that's not how relationships work. Thankfully neither of us has our shit together to even try to get into serious feelings and the sorts. My fear is maybe I will never be ready.

Almost three years later, and I no longer hate him. We fought. We fucked. And I felt free. I got a text near the end of February for a booty call. It's easy to fuck someone you already know. That you've already been with. I'd lie if I said I didn't enjoy it, and I doubt he lied when he was trying to pull me into a friends with benefits situation. I am not afraid of any feelings stirring up. I'm afraid of hurting others. I'm afraid of the marks on my skin. I'm afraid of the fat stuffed under said skin. I'm afraid of the entirety of my vessel.

An hour drive to see a couple. I'm facing a half that adores me and I half that I can still tell isn't so fond of me. I tried to be close to angry half yesterday. Attraction to hate? Energy wise this is completely possible. Sagittarius doesn't get along with other Sagittarius in this story. Maybe I wanted a fight, or just something to even out the energy that's trying to suck me deep inside happy half's gut so I can never leave. Happy half asked me for dinner and clung to me and was so thrilled. Happy half knows she's trapped and may not be able to wiggle herself free. I'm her only temporary breath of a life besides the one she's dreadfully dragging through. I left with a hand on my cheek and eyes that could kill. I always left with a kiss on my lips and a promise I would spend a weekend. Fucking Gemini sucking me in.

Driving home I lost my sense of whatever little fantasy story I thought I was living in. I might as well have died that night. Now I'm just a body paying on an empty house and wondering when I will have money for me again. I made this decision because I had to, but I'm not so sure I want to be a grown up right now. I'm not so sure I want to pay bills and vote and drive and fake smile constantly. If only there was an outer shell I could slip in and out of easily so I could destroy myself with no one else knowing.

[joiminer]

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Yeah I said it, now what? I was the portal that dopeness chose to enter this world and I ain’t ashamed to say so. Lol. No, but for real. Have you ever looked at your child and been like, “you’ve been here before,” or “if you’re this dope, then I must be like the supreme Goddess of dopeness because I actually grew you,” or “you’re going to be the most awesome adult ever”? I do it every day, with both of my girls. But my oldest, my first born, my Mango, she’s BY FAR, the most awesome person I’ve met… and that says a lot because I know a LOT of super awesome people! I mean, like famous and almost famous, and even local celebrity type people. But my daughter is one of my favorite people in the world to be around, hands down.

My baby ain’t a baby no more. 

The funny thing is that this is the time when most mothers are wanting to strangle their teens. I invite mine into my room, we sit up and listen to music and write and talk for hours, she tells me almost everything and I am SO open with her, too. My momma told me recently that I was so lucky because by 15, she was ready to buy my headstone and dig me a hole. I was a mess. And I’ll admit it. Then, she did the worst thing a Southern mother can do to her child… she cursed me. Told me that Phoenix was gonna be the one to get her payback for her. Like, really momma? Dang. Lol. So, I’m just telling y’all right now, ten years from now, don’t be coming back over here looking for another “my teenager is dope” post. It’ll probably be more like, “5 ways to maintain your sanity when raising a diva who can’t even drive…” Lol. But I digress. Back to the one I got it right with the first time.

I know… I know, y’all probably think that I’m biased because she’s my daughter. Well, let me nip that in the bud. I’m gonna give you just the 3 MAIN reasons that my 15-year-old is dope and I bet you’ll be agreeing with me by the end of this post.

Reason #1:

She’s an artist

Her wall of drawings

More drawings and paintings

Ok, let me clarify. I’m a poet/novelist/publisher/editor. I can do ANYTHING that involves words. But Mango… she can do that and then some. Like, she’s a writer/poet/photographer/videographer/editor/painter/graphics designer. Yes, she does all of those things. And does them all WELL. She writes better than I do, and I ain’t even jealous. I mean, we want our children to be better than us, right? She’s on my mixtape as a poet. She hosted the open mic at my Sowing Seeds event back in August featuring world-renown Poet Sunni Patterson, the only teen in a room full of adults and she kilt that shit! Yeah, I said kilt. Lol. She’s reclusive in real life but a powerhouse onstage, man… for real.

She’s a 9th Grader at Ramsay IB High School, and was voted VP of her school’s Creative Writing group. She wrote an essay to get them funding for their newsletter. She wrote a poem about me, comparing me to a flower in a vase whose nourishing water was her own tears. Yeah… that one there, gets me every time. She got her first poem published in the 8th Grade. (Thanks DISCO.) She’s writing her first novel.

I mean, I could go on and on with this one alone. But I’ll just share the song that we did together for my upcoming mixtape, also featuring my sister Poetic Puff, as evidence. Ya know, so you don’t think I’m making it all up. Lol.

Mind of Mango is a private exclusive, only being shared here. Enjoy! (Feel free to download.)

Reason #2

She fed the homeless for her birthday

I’ll forever remember this as one of the many moments that meant so much to me. My daughter came to me and told me that she wanted to feed the homeless people around her school (5 Points South in Birmingham) for her birthday. Now, most teenagers want their learner’s permit. They want a part-time job. They want gifts, but she wanted to feed others. She was going to use her allowance to do it, but, come on… what mother wouldn’t want to make this wish come true for her child?

Mango, the mastermind

The bags

Inviting people over to take the bags

I have no idea what I’m saying here. Lol.

Well, it snowed on her birthday, January 7th. That was dope because she loves the snow and y’all know we barely get that mess here in Alabama. But the next weekend, we were up at 7 in the morning. Well, they were, I was asleep but they came and got me and were dressed and excited. By 9am, we had bought Wal-Mart out of all of their toothbrush travel packs, bought a couple cases of water, juice, oranges, boxes of chips, granola, gloves and skulleys. So… a Facebook post, that got the help of several of my dear friends and fans of both myself and my baby girl, and a couple hundred dollars later, we were ready to feed the homeless.

That face is priceless!

“You’re gonna let ME put this on your hands. Lol.

Phoenix was the official hand sanitizer distributor, happy to help her big sister make her dream come true. My dear friends AJ and Rob (soon-to-be Mrs. And Mr. Danner III) and their children came up from Prattville with more water (and fussed me out for not asking them to help more). Poet Brint Story and the beautiful Jasmine Enriquez were also there to help distribute the food and supplies. It was a MONUMENTAL day, man. Like, worth every dollar, second, and smile. Check out the slideshow below. Photos courtesy of Mr. Danner.

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Still not convinced of her dopeness yet??? No worries, there’s more. Lol.

Reason #3

She pitched and landed her own teen open mic to give herself and her peers a judgment free zone of expression

Mango is an artist, beyond the shadow of a doubt. But, as you can see, she’s also a very caring person. She approached me last year, after she hosted the open mic at my event, and said that she wanted to create one of her own for the teens in the area. She said she feels like they have nowhere that they can express themselves and their voices be heard. Of course, as always, I was all for it. She wanted to start in the Spring and have it at Avondale Park.

Well, the way the Universe is set-up, things happened a little differently than planned. In November, I spoke to the students at Putnam Middle School at the invitation of my dear poet friend, Mojo Mama. There, I met Liz Hughey, who owns DISCO (Desert Island Supply Company). I thanked her for having me, and told her that they’d published my daughter’s first poem. She asked who my daughter was. I told her Mango Miner. She nodded, smiled, and said, “that makes sense.” That, by far, is one of the most flattering compliments that I’ve received to date. Lol. I told her about Mango’s desire to start a teen open mic and she was all ears.

The next morning, I received an email offering the venue to Dira for her open mic. I just want you to read that part again… I’ll wait.

Ok, now I’ll proceed. Now, because I’m a teacher and mother first, I didn’t take it upon myself to do anything else but thank Mrs. Liz and tell Mango about the opportunity. Then, I emailed Mango a pitch that I’d done in the past and she emulated it and… her first teen open mic is on Friday, February 17, 2017. I did nothing. She did it all. On her own, with a little coaching from her entrepreneur mom. Even now, the meetings, the planning, the FB Fan Page, the promotions. All her. She’s fifteen. Hell, when I was 15, I was still trying to figure out why boys were so stupid. (Still haven’t figured that one out by the way. So, anyone with the answer, please feel free to share.)

But it gets better. (I feel like I’m on an infomercial… “But wait, there’s more.” Lol.)

Soooo, she wanted to call it “Mic Check.” But there’s already a popular event here by that name hosted by an awesome married couple, G.I. Magus and Jacqueline Jones. So, on the pitch, by the name of the event, I told her to put “TBD” and explained to her that it meant To Be Determined. Well, she chose to keep that name because she said that, as teens maturing into adults, their lives, their destinies, their everything is still being determined. Pretty cool, huh? (I will take a moment to say that she was heartbroken that “Mic Check” was taken, but she respected the reason that she couldn’t use it. She’s a better bad news taker than most adults I know. Lolbvs.)

I reached out to a few friends and they agreed to sponsor the event through the provision of chaperones every 1st and 3rd Friday night. She was excited about the sponsorships, but livid with me for bringing adults into the mix. See, Mango wants her event to be “by teens for teens.” Of course, all of my adult friends want to come show support, but she ain’t having it. Like, she even told me I could just drop her off. *insert hurt face with pearls clutched here*

Nahhhh, not for real, I don’t even wear pearls, but I was kinda hurt. But then, she explained it to me… she said, and I quote, “Umi, people, especially teens who are unsure of themselves, are less likely to open up and be true to themselves when they are in the presence of someone that they feel is superior to them.” Well… what could I say after that but, “ok, what time do I need to drop you off”?

So, as any proud mom would do, I’m blogging and posting all over social media about my daughter’s first ever artistic endeavor. That’s she’s doing with little to no assistance from grown-ups. Well, her dad did design the flyer… and I coached her… a little… and adults are providing the venue, but you know what the hell I’m trying to say. Sheesh!

Bragging Rights

See, I have an issue with bragging on myself, but I have no qualms whatsoever when it comes to bragging on my children. You know why? Because they are my Magnum Opuses. They are the greatest achievements I will ever have in my life and, books and performances and accolades aside… THEY are my legacy.

Now, are you ready to admit my teenager is doper than yours yet? If not, ‘tis cool. I wouldn’t expect a good parent like you to sell your baby short like that anyway. But… you’ve gotta admit, she is REALLY dope. Grown-ups wanna be her… Hell, I wanna be her! I WAS her one year for Halloween, actually. I told her that on my birthday, I could be anyone or anything I wanted to be (yes, I’m a spook baby), but I chose to be her. That did wonders on her self-esteem, man. She even styled me to make sure I got her swag right… do people still say swag? I can’t even keep up with the slanguage nowadays.

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Always

All

Smiles when we’re together!

Joi Miner as Mango Miner

Mango Miner

But I will say that when it comes to dope teens doing dope things, I truly believe I have the dopest of the dope.

3 Reasons Why My Teenager is Doper Than Yours! Yeah I said it, now what? I was the portal that dopeness chose to enter this world and I ain’t ashamed to say so.

[xdivinexchaosx]

When is it no longer opinion but fact?

I got into a debate with a girl I went to school with today online… Opinion is relative, and most of my statements are indeed fact, not personal opinion. It’s not my opinion it’s raining when I’m standing in a downpour. It’s fact. I literally don’t have the time to fact check you on everything you said. There are so many things inaccurate with what you just said (also fact). But let’s give this a go, cause I’d hate to just leave you uninformed so heres just the short list. 

You can claim Trump isn’t racist, but his words and statements are often racist, not sure how you draw the line between racists words from one person repeatedly, and them being a racist. Fact: (http://www.realtruenews.org/single-post/2016/08/18/FACT-CHECK-Is-Trump-Racist) There were literally so many videos, websites, polls, and references I couldn’t decide, I liked this one because it also provided links to other sources. Look them up for yourself. In terms of “groping a woman” you literally just defended by saying it was 10 years ago. So… he’s 70 years old, it’s okay for a 60 year old man to grab or kiss a woman without her consent? Here’s the video, his own words for a refresher: (http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/trump-brags-groping-women-vulgar-remarks-caught-tape-42662787)  and these aren’t just words, these are him talking about his behavior, things he actually did. “I just kiss. I don’t even wait… Grab them by the pussy.” And of course, never to disappoint there is many more gross, lewd and mean comments about women both audio/video as well as tweets from him, not the media. Your response for this behavior is it “is minimal to some of the stuff I have heard from men,” so because you’ve heard meaner, grosser, and greater level of inappropriate comments these are excusable? I don’t condone any unwanted, cruel or malicious comments. That’s harassment, and is not okay, no matter how high a level of inappropriate. Christine, we’re not talking about the Clintons, we’re talking about Trump (and don’t bring them into this because you assume I support the clintons), and if we’re talking about rape, lets see, didn’t Trump get accused of the rape of a 13 year old girl? Yes he did (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-rape-case_us_581a31a5e4b0c43e6c1d9834) and she is still suing him. No, I don’t support victim blaming (reference my statement earlier of not condoning mean comments) but we’re not talking about simply talking badly about them, we’re talking about, again, condoning, accepting or making excuses for the behavior of a person who is actually accused of doing them, that you yourself support. Moving right along, you brought up one of my favorite topics, “His win was a landslide, if all these people felt so strongly against Trump, why did they not vote and let their voices be heard? That’s a way to get your voice heard, to exercise your right to vote.” We did, the nation did, the American people did speak, and they didn’t pick Trump (http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/president). Here, I did the math, just incase you didn’t want to.That is 2,864,974 MORE people for the other candidate, thats 2,864,974 more than Donald Trump. That is almost 3 million people more, and I didn’t even include the votes for other parties, thats even MORE people who didn’t pick him. They, we the people did speak. The electoral college won him the office, not the people. Do you know how the electoral college works? You seem to be confused on the voting numbers and how he actually got into office. Now, conservatives love to speak down about protestors and damage. I don’t like the damage either, if I’m being honest. I’m much more peaceful, but sometimes it just has to happen, you know how this country was started, you know how the progress of this nation has leaped forward?  By literally fighting and tearing down the power’s hold on things.The Boston tea party- guess what Britain, we’re not standing for your shit anymore. Which lead to a war, because Americans were tired of being oppressed by the royal regime. The Civil war, was fought over many things but is often attributed to the end of slavery. Which then lead, through a number of instances to the many movements throughout time, the women movement, the civil rights movement, the sexual revolution and most recently the gay rights and equal rights movement. And here were are again. And you know what all these things have in common, besides wanting equality and freedom? Some shit just had to get broken. And, since you’re so keen on lacking proper information about your chosen leader, let me help you out again, Trump supporters have been involved with violence (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anti-muslim-hate-trump-supporters_us_57fbcd79e4b0e655eab66379) and here’s a video, there’s actually lots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC0eRPIsBbQ) now I’m not saying the opposite hasn’t happened, because I know it has, there’s video of those too. But not many support it like Trump does here he is with his own words again, “Knock the crap out of them… I promise you I will pay for the legal fees.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzYv5foyAS8) Where is that mending bridges and mending the divide, Christine? Where? And this train just keeps plugging along, we now reach Obamacare, which is actually the affordable care act, and I don’t know your personal body issues, I don’t know your health, your doctor, your income or the plan you selected and/or were eligible. There are so many variables, I can’t make comment and again I’m not sure what part you played in getting to that number. But I rather have some then none, and I know many of my friends would, again not opinion, fact. They need their meds to live. Fact. They needed that doctor visit, to check on their baby. Fact. They needed that cancer screening. Fact. So you can opinion all you like with people’s lives, I can’t. I’m worried about more than myself… The march, Trump doesn’t agree with the march? I wonder why that is? Who actually opposes equality? Who opposes your right to chose? And I mean for anything not just sexual health and concerns, I mean for all aspects of your body. And the march, literally the largest march, gathering, protest (whatever you’d like to call it) in our country’s history and possibly the world, because the world literally also stood with us. The number is still coming in but over 3 million people in the United States alone rallied yesterday in the name of women, equality and love. There were no arrest, no vandalism, it was possibly the most peaceful and largest human gathering of protest on Earth, in history. And if that alone, isn’t a little scary that the election of the man you support literally brought the world together in such an event is staggering. And don’t for one second try to give him claim that he did that, he gets to play his part because the world is afraid of him in this powerful position of president…. “I was offended by certain things bill Clinton did but did I burn buildings or lash out at others for it?” No, I don’t think you did because you were between the ages of what, 5 and 13? I don’t think either of the Clintons are perfect, and I am fully aware of their faults (again don’t assume I’m their fan, let alone leader of their fan club, I’m not)… “I have been judged, bullied, lost friends and family all because I have a different opinion than others.” There is a big difference between being being called out on/made fun/bullied based off opinion than that of your very being. You ever stop and wonder why they distanced themselves from you? Could it be because the person you support (Trump) makes them (your friends and family) feel unsupported so by default (since you support him) you must not support them? And it is true, you can’t okay your friends and family, say you support them and then condemn their friends, partners and relations to the whims of everyone else by the simple fact of, “well, I don’t know them.” Because in someone else’s house, your friend/relative/loved one is the person they don’t know. I am gay, thats never been a secret. That’s not a choice, that’s not an option. It’s a FACT. There are other species on this planet with homosexuality in them, 1,500 roughly, humans too. It’s not my opinion, it’s FACT. It’s often religious, and (claimed to be) moral questioners that deny and fight that. There is a difference between someone bothered you liking oranges over someone not liking your very existence. Something tells me you weren’t told you deserved to be murdered, beaten up, to go to hell for you having the audacity for showing up to school that day. And for years, not just a conversation, not just a small group. Years. Years of people who know nothing about me except I happen to like dudes saying the most heinous, vile and hateful things because I exist. Not because I like oranges, not because I voted for a certain candidate, because I just want to be left alone and be equal. Because I want to just go about my day un-assaulted. No one makes laws, religious bible print outs, laws, bills, propositions and the like that limit, deny or strip the rights away for you to like Trump or to like baked goods. Fact, 28 states are fighting over anti-LGBTQ legislation over 200 bills are being proposed to deny rights and various other forms of protections and equality, and thats just in the past two years, lets not speculate on the future and I can’t even tell you how many laws have come and gone in the past (http://www.hrc.org/blog/anti-lgbt-bills-introduced-in-28-states). Now tell me one law that restricts your right to like Trump, or not even Trump, anything else, over your beliefs and feelings. So lets clarify again once more, these aren’t feelings I speak but facts. I know the cause and effect, I know the cost and not only to myself but to the people of this country and to the world. America doesn’t need to be great again, America is great. I know I’m part of the solution, I know I’m part of the inclusion, while your leader divides, I’m over here fighting for women, gays, trans, people of color of all nationalities and countries all around the world for their chance, their rights and their equality. I march with my brothers and sisters, I will march today, tomorrow and the next. I will protests, I will speak out because that is America. We are built of discourse and disobedience, we’re also built of every race, creed, color, religion and orientation. And I wont thumbs up someone who questions that.