#on a mean giants streak today :P

[delimeful]

unexpected backfire (1)

Day 20: Grow

warnings: fear, panic, captivity, abduction, mention of injury, virgil being good at playing the villain, theyre both dumb morally ambiguous assholes here

-

Virgil woke up to harsh fluorescents over his head and cool metal under his back. He groaned, his head aching and a sour aftertaste in the back of his throat.

“Ugh, what did I do last night?” He grumbled, trying to block out the light by crushing his eyelids together harder.

“Became a bigger nuisance than usual, for one.” A horrifyingly familiar voice responded coldly. 

Virgil couldn’t help it, he immediately tried to jerk upright, only to find heavy bands over his chest and arms. Literal ones, not the kind that squeezed all the air out of him during a panic attack. He squinted against the light, staring down at himself. 

He appeared to be strapped to a lab table. 

“Oh, thank god.” He sighed, slumping back down. When he turned his head to the side, he was met with the sight of Logan Crofters, resident vigilante ‘Logic’, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“Not the reaction I anticipated.” He said, noting something down on a clipboard. Cute. 

Virgil snorted. “I heard your voice first thing in the morning after a night out on the town and assumed the worst. This is preferable to finding out that I had a one night stand with you of all people.”

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you.” Logan set the clipboard down, circling the table with a manic glint in his eyes. When had he last slept? “Do you know why you’re here today, Anxiety?” 

Virgil pretended to think about it, pursing his lips. “Because I’m your mortal enemy and you decided today was a good day to abduct me and go on a mad scientist ego trip?”

“Incorrect.” He said, and he didn’t even get the little amused tilt to his lips that he normally got when Virgil snarked at him. Virgil began to wonder if he was actually in trouble. 

“Then, uh… No idea.” He shrugged the best he could while in restraints. They were kind of uncomfortable. “As kinky as this is, I know you wouldn’t risk your precious good name murdering me or whatever, so maybe we could just talk about this over coffee like normal people? I’ll let you pay.” 

Logan loomed over him, eyes obscured by the light reflecting off his glasses. “This is about Ro- Creativity.” 

Virgil winced internally, needing no further explanation. He really had gone too far, losing his control over the shadows under his skin. Normally, they only reacted so violently when he was afraid for his life, but the hero had been prodding dangerous buttons. Still, he was a villain to combat the corruption of society and get revenge, not to brutalize people. Not even irritating heroes. 

Still, he couldn’t admit something like that. As far as the public was concerned he was a figure to be feared, and he wanted to keep it that way. He rolled his eyes. 

“Maybe he shouldn’t pick fights he can’t win, then. Aren’t you the one who’s always talking about being a neutral party? Since when does an illegal vigilante care about some upstart hero?” 

In a heartbeat, there was something cold and humming under his chin, pressed into the soft flesh of his neck. He didn’t have to be Logic’s mortal enemy to know the telltale indigo glow of one of his inventions. 

“Since now.” Logan hissed, eyes blazing. 

Virgil’s heart rate shot into the triple digits, and he swallowed carefully, searching Logan’s expression. He’d never seen the scientist so impassioned about anything but hard facts before. “Huh. Never thought you’d be picking sides.” 

“I never thought you’d go that far.” Logan scowled down at him. “He could have been irreparably hurt because of your actions.” 

Right. It was always his fault, even though he hadn’t chosen to have these powers forced on him, even though Creativity had done worse to him. The shadows bubbled under his skin like boiling water, and in the back of his mind, he was glad Logan had the foresight to put power-draining cuffs on him. Things could have gotten messy otherwise.  

“Are you going to kill me, then?” Virgil asked, feeling a bitterness rise in his throat. Logan was the closest thing he’d had to an ally, especially after he’d found out the vigilante’s identity and kept it secret, strengthening their bond. It hurt to lose that. Badly.

“No.” Logan answered, but he didn’t move the glowing weapon from under Virgil’s chin. “Creativity can decide what should be done with you. I’m simply going to make you more… manageable. Travel-size, if you will.” 

Virgil looked down at what he could see of the weapon and then back up at Logan in disbelief. “You’re going to zap me with a shrink ray?”  

“I would not have been up all night working on it if I didn’t plan to use it.” Logan said, which was as good as a confirmation. “I needed a discreet way to transport you anyhow, since your capture is a get-well gift for Creativity. Rest assured, it wasn’t designed to hurt you. It hasn’t been tested on a person though, so I hope you’ll remain conscious enough to tell me how the process goes.” 

Virgil opened his mouth, horrified, but anything he might’ve said was cut off by a sudden sharp pain in his head as Logan pulled the trigger, making the gun emit a blinding light. 

His body went numb, but he could still watch, and as such he saw the exact moment when they both realized that something had gone terribly wrong. The restraints snapped off with a clack, because he wasn’t shrinking. 

He was growing. 

Logan, sleep-deprived as he was, stared at Virgil for a moment before looking down at his invention, confused. “That’s impossible…” 

Feeling began to return to Virgil’s limbs as he continued to grow, the space in the room getting more and more cramped until he was crouched over to fit in the room, and even then his back was pushing ominously against the ceiling. Logan seemed to finally realize the hazards of the situation, dropping the gun and backing up, his gaze flitting to the exit. 

Without a second thought, Virgil reached out and grabbed him, marveling at how easily his hands could lift the alarmed scientist. The building began to groan around him, and he hunched over the vigilante’s increasingly small form to protect him from falling debris.

By the time Virgil stopped growing, his hands were big enough that one alone would nearly dwarf the man, cupping him against his chest as he stood up, staring in bewilderment at the city around him. He lifted Logan up to eye level, eyes widening at the sight of the now doll-like scientist wriggling in his grip. 

“Put me down!” He demanded, as though this wasn’t exactly what he’d been planning on subjecting Virgil to. Feeling a surge of anger, the villain didn’t even pretend to consider it, idly fidgeting with the vigilante’s small form. 

“Nah, I don’t think I will.” He pinched his fingers around one of Logan’s legs and let the rest of him go, leaving him dangling upside down in front of his face. “Lucky break for me though.” He tapped his chin mockingly in thought. “I wonder if your favored heroes will come for you?” 

“Anxiety, wait- !” Logan’s cry was cut off as Virgil tossed him back up into his grip and casually shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, darkly amused at the man’s ineffectual struggles against his fingers. Who knew tiny people made such good fidget toys?

He surveyed the city around him once again, taking in how small it all seemed at this size. Well, he thought as he began carefully ambling through the streets, there were plenty of things he could get done much easier like this. He should thank Logan, really. 

Dealing with his heroes was going to be fun.

[supernaturallyobsessedchic]

Our Girl

J2 x Reader

Word Count: 1,419

Summary: Jensen and Jared treat the reader to an exciting birthday.

Warnings: Smut (P in V, Anal sex, protected sex and unprotected sex, Oral Fem Receiving, fingering, double penetration, overstimulation, threesome.)

Masterlist

a/n: Could be a teaser for a possible J2 Series, still in the brainstorming works.

a/n#2: Originally a Birthday Girl rewrite, but just so there’s no doubles on here, and not an attempt at a Re-entry on Jen’s SPN Tell me a Story Bingo.

~

She laid between Jared and Jensen as they slept through the night. She had snuggled against Jensen, laying her head on his chest while Jared snuggled in behind her.

As the sun began to rise over the horizon, and the world slowly waking up, she tossed onto her back, Jared being long awake.

Jensen woke up, admiring the beauty he woke up to. Brushing her hair from her face. She looked so peaceful as she slept.

He realized the day as he laid there. It was her birthday. She has turned 30 today. Originally, they didn’t plan on doing anything for her birthday, she didn’t ask for anything. But Jared and Jensen wanted to treat her to a day she won’t soon forget.

He laid a gentle kiss just below her jaw, traveling down her neck. Sucking at her pulse point. Drawing out a moan from her sleepy lips.

His hand hiked up her shirt, palming her breast, pinching the hardening bud between his fingers. He was slowly pulling her out of a deep slumber, feeling her squirm under his touch in her sleepy state.

His kisses traveled down her torso, up her thigh as he worked her panties off of her. Seeing a wet streak from her heat. Making him smirk.

His kisses got higher up her thighs to her soaking mound. And he placed a kiss on her sensitive clit. Her hips jerked up at the warmth his lips offered.

The covers were pulled off over his head, seeing her darkened eyes looking back at him.

He worked her legs over his shoulders as he made himself at home and went to work. Lapping his tongue over the sensitive bud.

She threw her head back with desire as a moan escaped her throat.

He pinned her hips when they jerked again wanting more friction. His lips locked on as his tongue worked around and around her clit, building her up.

“Fuck Jay,” she moans. Her hands running through his hair, holding him in place.

She felt his thick fingers enter her aching heat; her breath hitched in the back of her throat.

His finger rubbing against her g-spot ever so gingerly, driving her nuts.

“Oh lookie here.” Jared says entering their room.

Making a B line for their bed, his lips latching on to her neck, kissing and sucking her sensitive spots. Driving her ever crazier.

She felt the heat in her belly grow, and grow with each lap of Jensen’s tongue, every thrust of his fingers, every suck of Jared’s kisses. Until it, snapped in a nuclear explosion of pleasure.

Her back arched off of the bed as she came on Jensen’s mouth. His fingers thrust slowly to a stop, and eventually once she calmed down, he pulled his mouth off of her mound, his beard soaked in her arousal.

“Happy Birthday Y/N.” He says with a dark smirk.

“I’m loving what you got planned so far.” She pants.

“I can think of something, because seeing you two like that, I gotten so hard, I want some of this.”

“Sam here.” Jensen says.

“Then why not come get it,” she says wiggling her hips.

They discard their clothes like they were on fire. And they weren’t joking at how hard they’ve gotten.

“Fuck me.” She groans at the sight of them.

“We plan on it baby.” Jared says.

She was sandwiched between the two giant Texans, Jared delivered a passionate, hungry kiss to her lips. Jensen behind her kissing the nap of her neck.

“How do you want us baby?” Jensen asked.

“I want Jared behind me, and you on top of me.”

“And do you want me in your ass, of do you think you can handle both of us in that tight little pussy of yours?” Jared asked.

“Oh god, so tempting. Let’s try both.” She smirks.

“One at a time baby.” Jensen says.

Jared hopped up to the nightstand to grab the bottle of lube, Jensen taking his place on top of her, kissing her ever so passionately. Their tongues dancing across each other’s mouths. Sucking his lip, driving him crazy.

Jared settled behind her, his hands traveling down her shoulders to her back, then sliding between her cheeks. Her hips bucked into his hand; Jared smirked.

“Very impatient little birthday girl you are.” Jared says in her ear. Before kissing behind her ear, bringing her ear lobe between his teeth gently.

Pulling away slightly, he lubed up his fingers, prepping her tight hole.

The distraction was enough for Jensen to drive his cock balls deep into her core. Her jaw drops, letting a wanton moan escape from her throat.

And that distraction was enough for Jared to scissor his fingers in her hold, prepping her for him.

Pulling his fingers free, Jared slides on a condom before lubing up one more time and inches his way into her.

A low, pleasured moan escapes her lips into Jensen’s shoulder. Feeling her holes fill up with her two favorite men in her life.

“You love that feeling? Feeling how full you are of our cocks?” Jensen says lowly into her ear. Making her whine and grind her hips against them.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Jensen adds.

“And I’ll even take that as, someone move.” Jared chuckles.

“Well lets not keep her waiting.” Jensen says as he pulls out before slamming back in. the sensation causing a yelp escape from her mouth.

Jared slightly pulling out, the head not even escaping from the opening, before slamming back in, his balls smacking against her.

And then they started a pace that had a rhythm when one pulls out someone thrusts in and rinse and repeat.

Y/N bounced up and down against Jared at the force of which they were delivering.

Her breathing was catching up as the coil in her abdomen built up in intensity. Each moan escaping with each breath.

“Sounds like she’s close again,” Jared growled.

“Lets give it to her.”

“God, I’m…” She moaned.

Her walls clamped down hard without warning around them, she could feel a warm, wet ooze spill inside her womb as Jensen’s thrust slow.

Her back arched off of Jared’s chest, the back of her head nuzzled in the crook of Jared’s neck as she came with a strangled wanton moan.

“Got one more left in you Stacks?”

“Damn right I do, lets see how stretched she can get.”

“Fuck me.” She pants.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, we’ll get there.”

Jared slowly pulled out, he smiled proud at how stretched open she was from him.

Jensen stilled inside her as Jared guided his still hard cock to her soaking heat.

“Focus on me sweetheart, he’s gonna go slow. Just holler if you can’t take it.”

She nods against Jared. Jensen held her close giving Jared enough room to maneuver close to her so he could inch his way in.

She could feel her walls stretch to accommodate not only Jensen but now Jared, as he inched his way further in, until he was balls deep.

“What a trooper.” Jensen congratulated, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Oh god, someone start moving.” She moans.

They moved at the same time, nearly pulling out before thrusting back in.

“Oh god!” she moans.

Their pace starts slow as they worked her back up with each, full, thrust.

Her heart spiked into her throat as her coil slowly built up, a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Their paced quickened as they felt their end coming to a head.

“Oh, guys,” she moans. Her legs quivering and shaking as her orgasm draws near.

“Almost,” Jensen growls.

“There,” Jared adds, as his hips buckled against her, the used condom filling up with more of his seed.

Jensen’s hips buckled and spasmed not long after Jared, spilling more into her as her walls clamped shut around them nearly milking them dry, as she came with a scream, their names on her tongue.

She saw pure white, heated pleasure as they worked her through her high. Getting them through their own.

 She woke up, to Jensen and Jared passed out, sandwiching her between them. She noticed a certain glow on them as they slept, they noticed the same glow before sleep to them.

She snuggled more into them as best as she could, feeling their release slowly oozing out of her as she adjusted herself. Smiling, content with what she did with her two loves of her life.

A birthday present she will never forget, but she does have to think of something for them.

~

Tags:

@pandazombie69​, @luci-in-trenchcoats​, @supernatural-jackles​, @becs-bunker​, @evansrogerskitten​, @akshi8278​, @jayankles​, @jeaniespiehs20​, @winchesters-favorite-girl​, @mlovesstories​

~

Copying and reposting someone else’s content is plagiarism and illegal. This work is property of supernaturallyobsessedchic. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. An electronic reference link to the original posted work may be provided for purposes of promotion or assistance of publication by the readers discretion, if proper credits are given to the author in the re-post. 3/9/2021

[mysmedrabbles]

Fourth of July with the RFA

Happy fourth of July to my American followers!! Sorry this was written so quick I got this idea like 5 seconds ago and I have plans for today whoops not the best time.idk why jumins is always the longest tf?

!!!Said RFA member and mc are in America for summer holidays with an American MC!!!

Enjoy!~

-mod alex

______________________________________________

Jumin

-when you told him you were planning a party for the fourth he got excited

-mainly bc he knows how classy most of your parties turn out

-when he shows up to a barbecue grill out with tiki torches, too much beer, something called a “sloppy joe” and 99 cent store American flag streamers he’s more than confused and slightly appalled

-also because hes literally wearing his best suit to a backyard bash

-finds a way to look more casual (you know, taking off the jacket, rolling up his sleeves, no tie, shirt slightly unbuttoned, aaaand now im nosebleeding)

-at first doesnt understand why the heCK there are sloppy joes its a mystery to us all

- is his normal charming self with your relatives you better watch out, that pervy cousin is making eyes at jumin

-makes a speech about american independence bc hes an extra lil shit and ends it with, “so therefore, if the british had never given america independence...i wouldve never met the love of my life. Happy fourth of july.”

-everyones drunk tho so no one really heard that but you and the one overemotional 4′5 aunt who cries at everything

-sitting on the grass and watching the fireworks show

-him putting his jacket around you when you get cold, you just leaning your head on his shoulder as he kisses the top of your head

-he doesnt understand sloppy joes but likes spending time with your family

Jaehee

-vaguely knows what its about

-buys you red white and blue flowers

-you guys go with your family to a local festival

-going on a merry go round together? you betcha

-going on a ferris wheel? ofc. kissing her every time the ferris wheel booth you guys are in goes up bc shes mildly scared of heights? y e s

-you guys eat some of the weirdest things, like fried butter? bacon and maple donuts? sloppy joes? fried cotton candy?

-playing the expensive festival games that are obviously rigged

-little did they know that baehee had prepared for this moment by practicing devil tricks with multiple youtube videos lmao

-she wins you a small stuffed panda and you cherish it forever

-walking around with her, hand in hand around the festival

-getting red white and blue streaks painted on your guys’ face

-kissing under the fireworks

Yoosung

-is so excited for this holiday

-i mean he loves all holidays but hes never experienced the horror fun of an American holiday

-you guys buy some wacky red white and blue sunglasses with “Fourth of July” written on top as well as those obnoxiously tall fluffy America flag hats (yall know what im going on about)

-”look honey! a fourth of july sale!” “yoosung, love, its the fourth Walmart we've passed they all have sales”

-trying various themed recipes together (granted since youre here for holiday and are at your parents, your younger sibling often intervenes)

-"moooooommm mc and her boyfriend are kissing in the kitchen againnnnn"

-him back-hugging you as you stir fry some shit idk cooking lingo all I eat is doritos and ramen

-kissing your shoulder as you finish making the decor on the America themed cake

-him getting along great with your family and fitting right in

-it seems so natural, how easily he smiles and cracks jokes with your parents

-wants to help with the barbeque but thats your thing to do and you will stand by that

-him buying you roses

-both of you guys playing tag with your younger siblings and cousins you guys lost

-when the fireworks start he probably yells out a scream from shock

-flinches every time one of them goes off so you guys go inside and move the couch so that youre still facing outside but the door is shut so no noise

-making out when it gets dark

-he tastes like cake and strawberries

-with the fireworks in the back y'all look like youre in a disney movie

Seven

-stay in watching documentaries on the revolutionary war

-you guys just mute it at one point and he starts doing silly voice overs for the show

- “I’m mad at some dudes so I’ll lift up my hat at you while I row away with these big guns and all your husbands and sons hrrrrrr”

-eating red white and blue candy and drinking an inhumane amount of Dr.Pepper

-you drag him outside to the park to watch fireworks that the neighbors are throwing

- “look theres one!!” “ah did you see that one??” “that one was so pretty!” “damn you just missed a really big one”

-you guys would hang out in the park until three am just enjoying each others company

-yall would probably go on the kids playground and goof off, playing on the swings, going down the like,,, three foot long slide, just being little kids

-any holiday is the best holiday with him

Zen

-he sings the star spangled banner 😂

-he's got an amazing voice but youre p aure hes holding the last note just to show off

-you guys buy matching tshirts that say "sloppy joes come and get some this is AmErICa" with a picture of childish gambino dabbing bet you wished it said smtn abt sloppy joes now huh

-going down to the beach for the day

-getting one of those giant donut rafts and just chillin together y'all better hope you aint on the west coast w one of those

-a tickle war breaks out, resulting in you falling off the raft

-zen dramatically "saving you" its like 6ft of water people cmon

-him giving you mouth to mouth cpr even tho you dont need it so basically y'all are just making out

-going to a local restaurant for sloppy joes burgers and fries

-new drinking game: every time I say sloppy joes , take a drink

-going on the boardwalk at sunset and watching the fireworks from the cruise ships

-he cant stop staring at how gorgeous you look, staring at the fireworks like theyre magic

-cant help himself from kissing you

-late night pretzels

[italicwatches]

Comic Girls - Episode 10

Oh my god I finally have all this healthcare bullshit sorted out and appointments re-made. I can fucking breathe. So what’s happening now? Well, anime, of course. It’s Comic Girls, episode 10! Here we GO!

-We begin with…Those aren’t lilies. Oh shit it’s winter. The Christmas season, even, and Ririka has gotten a Christmas tree for the dorm! And gotten out decorations! Oh my god I’d fight someone for winter chill right now. Meanwhile…Ruki is being sad in the snow, because she dramatically hates Christmas?! Oh no!

-Opening! There’s the lilies.

-So a tired Tsubasa comes padding down the stairs and finds a very well decorated Christmas tree. …What day is it today? The 22nd. Of December. Right, right, December…Haaave you two seen Ruki?

-She’s… been standing dramatically outside of the dorm all morning. And now she’s pacing. It’s kind of weird. So Tsubasa goes out to talk to her and I’m just saying, Ruki gets awfully blushy at Tsubasa calling out to her with “Hey pretty lady”. …Now get back to work. And Ruki has a freakout because yes, ultimately the reason she dislikes Christmas is because it’s a romantic day and she’s an erotic manga artist with no lover. Tsubasa even made a handy graph to show the way these romantic days fuck with Ruki’s motivation.

-See also when she completes a page of her manuscript to prove she’s not all screwed up inside, and yet she gets jealous of her own character.

-Is it weird that the most unbelievable part in all of this is Ruki insisting she wants a boyfriend? And not a small pink moeblob? So Koyume and Kaos try to perk her up and, Koyume’s attempt doesn’t work because you have a solid crush you spend all your time around! And Kaos reminds Ruki of her fan-letters, a perfect motivator to fill her with love! …Except they just remind her that she’s got nobody to be romantic with. Wow this is the worst Tsubasa has ever seen her.

-Okay, new plan! Why don’t they all help Tsubasa on the next chapter of The Dark Hero? Some battle manga will be a great change of pace! …But the chapter she’s working on has the eponymous hero being very cutely tsundere to the princess and Ruki breaks.

-The next day! Ruki has come to Suzu for desperate help, and Suzu is entirely happy to continue to let Ruki cling to her, as they talk about the unusual pressures of erotic and horror manga and the lonely lives they have to lead…Though Suzu is more…Shall we say…Motivated, than Ruki. And finally she leaves, trying to push herself to get back to work…

-When she finds the room empty? And dark? Completely—

-And the lights come on and poppers go off! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Ruki! Congratulations on turning six…teen…Wait huddle. She’s only sixteen? She was only fifteen a minute ago? Tsu could have sworn she was around 24. (YOU WENT TO ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL WITH HER.) They even made her a cake with Ririka’s help! And, presents!

-A giant version of her favorite plush, and a massage pillow, and…And Kaos panics because she erred on her gift choice. Calm yourself, Kaos! So what is it? It’s a cosplay outfit of Kaos’s favorite idol who is also a tall, graceful, purple-haired onee-sama type. I suddenly realize this long string of nonsense words is what normal people hear when I talk about anime.

-Also it’s the special Christmas outfit and…Kaos. Kaos please dial it in. But Ruki also soaks up all the praise and attention like a sponge, which Kaos is more than willing to provide.

-Until, finally, it’s…Actually well past Christmas. It’s in fact the end of the year, and everyone’s going back home to celebrate New Years with their family(and give Ririka an actual few days off from the life of a landlady and dorm matron). The good news is that Ruki is pulling back from the depths, but also Kaos realizes she hasn’t told her mom she’s coming back. Oh dear, she should…

-The answering machine gets it and she’s on vacation in Hawaii with her beloved husband and stacks of manga. And looking at her mom, who basically looks like if you put real human legs on our little moeblob…A lot of pieces of how Kaos came to be the sort of person she is suddenly fell into place.

-Of course Kaos has a panic and is off in depression land. Though now everyone’s trying to figure out where they can put a Kaos. Koyume wants to take her home, but Koyume’s family is planning a trip. Ruki would do it, but her house lacks a guest room and her little sister is going through an angry, shouty puberty. …Tsubasa? Not happening. So Kaos decides to just find all of her humanity in her favorite bishoujo figurines. The gang’s all here dot gif

-Fine, FINE, you’re coming with Tsubasa. They get to the train station, and Tsubasa in her warmest cosplay cloak, steps into the bathroom…And out comes an entirely normal looking teenage girl?! TSUBASA IS THAT YOU?! …Speak nothing of what you’re going to see, Kaos. Tell no one anything of this week. That is the price you will pay for room and board.

-Hard cut to…Does Tsubasa live in a castle??? Is she a princess?!

-SHE”S A FUCKING PRINCESS

-ababababa

-With LOVING PARENTS?!!!

-AND EVEN THE STAFF LOVE HER?!

-HOW

-WHY

-WHEN

-WHAT

-WHERE

-WHO

-ABABABABABA

-Yeah Kaos I feel your broken brain. And it turns out that Tsubasa is also a…trained pianist…? Except she’s doing rough. …Tsubasa what’s going on here? And that’s when Ruki races in at FULL FORCE. She got here so intensely that she left tire streaks on the stone walkway from her bike.

-And she’s here to cover for Tsubasa. Which at least means this is Tsubasa’s actual family and she’s not pulling some identity theft. She’s just lying about where she’s going to school and what she’s doing there and she’s forced Ruki to help in the lie. Also Tsubasa has no good photos…But Ruki photoshopped some! YES!

-Oh god why did we let Ruki do the photoshopping

-Also it turns out that Tsubasa is operating under an agreement with her mother to keep her grades up to the tip top and if she was just drawing manga all the time, she’d get dragged back here into the abyss. …Oh. Oh dear. Tsubasa is panicking so bad she turns into a Konosuba character and screenshot found. Click. Her mother is like a great demon lord.

-So it all comes out in Tsubasa’s room, how Tsubasa owes her entire life so far to Ruki and her help was enough to smuggle Tsubasa out of this place and into the dorm but under tons of conditions…RUKI YOU SAVED HER and now she’s all clingy and Kaos please dial in the thirst this is serious.

-Episode 10: It’s Not Fair That Michiru Gets All The Love

-New Year’s day! Tsubasa is in full proper dress and behavior and Kaos doesn’t know what to do. All the proper behavior is coming back out and Kaos is very confused. It’s like the Tsubasa she knows is slipping away! (More that she’s carefully boxed that Tsubasa up and hidden it in the crawlspace.) And Kaos has to draw the true Tsubasa back out of the crawlspace! FOCUS, woman, the fans need their Dark Hero! Also if you don’t draw your manga she’s gonna send this picture of you sleeping cutely to Koyume. NEVERRRRR DELETE DELETE DELETE

-To the girls all getting together at a shrine, with Koyume wishing she could have seen the photo, and Tsubasa being able to loosen up a little here. She’s still all very proper because it’s a New Year’s shrine, but she is able to at least dress like a proper prince instead of a pretty little princess. So with prayers done, it’s time for fortunes…Where Kaos gets literally the worst luck possible. And then her whole day goes wrong at the shrine.

-By the time they’re wrapping up, she’s feeling dead inside, as they decide to fight all this with a good luck charm! Now breathe, breathe! Back to the dorm, where…Is that smoke? OH GOD IS THE DORM ON FIRE?!

-No, Ririka just set up a little campfire out back to do some traditionally roasted sweet potatoes. She does it every year. It’s also the time to do a big cleaning session and gather up all the sketches and storyboards that aren’t worth keeping. Tsubasa is very hesitant to ever give up her sketches to the flames. Ruki, to contrast, shreds her shit the instant her publisher has a copy tied only to her pen name. You never know what could happen. She could get hit by a bus tomorrow, and she needs to be damn sure nobody ever realizes she was drawing porn! Ruki that’s a bit much.

-But then Tsubasa points out that the records of her sending those manuscripts in are going to last forever and a day in corporate vaults. You will never be free!

-And Koyume is willing to burn it all in trade for the sweet potatoes. Also Suzu is here to be spooky. As per usual. And damn, there’s some heavy stuff in those rejects…When Kaos sees a page she can’t bear to burn! You all stay here and save your valuable prizes! She’s going to gather up all of her rejects.

-She…has a lot. And as she starts to pour things in, the girls are looking over what’s still to go in. Oh god this sucks. But they’re also seeing quite a lot of potential in a lot of these. There’s meat here worth coming back to.

-But finally, the sweet potatoes are done! And they’re delicious. And for just a moment, everyone can relax, and put the troubles of the past and future aside…

-Credits!

So that whole Tsubasa part was bananas.

And I did not get nearly as much Rukaos as I was expecting. This is unfortunate. Perhaps we’ll get some next time, in episode ELEVEN of Comic Girls! Wait for it!

[orbemnews]

As China Targets H&M and Nike, Local Brands See Their Chance Tim Min once drove BMWs. He considered buying a Tesla. Instead Mr. Min, the 33-year-old owner of a Beijing cosmetics start-up, bought an electric car made by a Chinese Tesla rival, Nio. He likes Nio’s interiors and voice control features better. He also considers himself a patriot. “I have a very strong inclination toward Chinese brands and very strong patriotic emotions,” he said. “I used to love Nike, too. Now I don’t see any reason for that. If there’s a good Chinese brand to replace Nike, I’ll be very happy to.” Western brands like H&M, Nike and Adidas have come under pressure in China for refusing to use cotton produced in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has waged a broad campaign of repression against ethnic minorities. Shoppers vowed to boycott the brands. Celebrities dropped their endorsement deals. But foreign brands also face increasing pressure from a new breed of Chinese competitors making high-quality products and selling them through savvy marketing to an increasingly patriotic group of young people. There’s a term for it: “guochao,” or Chinese fad. HeyTea, a $2 billion milk tea start-up with 700 stores, wants to replace Starbucks. Yuanqisenlin, a four-year-old low-sugar drink company valued at $6 billion, wants to become China’s Coca-Cola. Ubras, a five-year-old company, wants to supplant Victoria’s Secret with the most non-Victoria’s Secret of products: unwired, sporty bras that emphasize comfort. The anger over Xinjiang cotton has given these Chinese brands another chance to win over consumers. As celebrities cut their ties to foreign brands, Li-Ning, a Chinese sportswear giant, announced that Xiao Zhan, a boy band member, would become its new global ambassador. Within 20 minutes, almost everything that Mr. Xiao wore on a Li-Ning advertisement had sold out online. A hashtag about the campaign was viewed more than one billion times. China is undergoing a consumer brand revolution. Its young generation is more nationalistic and actively looking for brands that can align with that confidently Chinese identity. Entrepreneurs are rushing to build up names and products that resonate. Investors are turning their attention to these start-ups amid dropping returns from technology and media ventures. When patriotism becomes a selling point, Western brands are put at a competitive disadvantage, especially in a country that increasingly requires global companies to toe the same political lines that Chinese firms must. China’s consumer protests are “a historic turning point and will have lasting impact on the Chinese consumers in the long run,” Mr. Min said. “The Chinese consumers don’t want to eat the same crap foreign brands have been feeding them. It’s essential that foreign brands respect Chinese consumers as much as the Chinese brands do.” Foreign brands are far from done in China. Its drivers helped power a jump in Tesla deliveries. IPhones remain immensely popular. Campaigns against foreign names have come and gone, and local brands that emphasize politics too much risk unwanted attention if the political winds shift quickly. Still, interest in local brands marks a significant shift. Post-Mao, the country made few consumer products. The first televisions that most families owned in the 1980s were from Japan. Pierre Cardin, the French designer, reintroduced fashion with his first show in Beijing in 1979, bringing color and flair to a nation that during the Cultural Revolution wore blue and gray. Chinese people born in the 1970s or earlier remember their first sip of Coco-Cola and their first bite of a Big Mac. We watched films from Hollywood, Japan and Hong Kong as much for the wardrobes and makeup as the plot. We rushed to buy Head & Shoulders shampoo because its Chinese name, Haifeisi, means “sea flying hair.” Today in Business Updated  April 6, 2021, 9:08 a.m. ET “We’ve gone through the European and American fad, the Japanese and Korean fad, the American streetwear fad, even the Hong Kong and Taiwan fad,” said Xun Shaohua, who founded a Shanghai sportswear company that competes with Vans and Converse. Now could be the time for the China fad. Chinese companies are making better products. China’s Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2009, doesn’t have the same attachment to foreign names. Even People’s Daily, the traditionally staid Communist Party official newspaper, is getting into branding. It started a streetwear collection with Li-Ning in 2019. That same year, it issued a report with Baidu, the Chinese search company, called “Guochao Pride Big Data.” They found that when people in China searched for brands, more than two-thirds were looking for domestic names, up from only about one-third 10 years earlier. As with so much in China, it can be hard to tell how much of the guochao movement involves politics. Building up homemade brands fits snugly with the Communist Party’s desire to make the country more self-reliant. Officials also want Chinese people to shop more: Household consumption makes up only about 40 percent of China’s economic output, much less than it does in the United States and Europe. Patriotism aside, entrepreneurs argue that their ventures rest on a solid business foundation. Similar trends happened in Japan and South Korea, both now home to strong brands. Local players better know the abilities of the country’s supply chains and how to use social media. Mr. Xun’s sports brand has half a million followers on Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace and sells at the same prices as Vans and Converse, or even slightly higher. He said his brand competed by making shoes that fit Chinese feet better and offering colors favored locally, such as mint green and fuchsia. He sells exclusively online and teams up with Chinese and foreign brands and personalities, including Pokemon and Hello Kitty. At 37, he’s the only person in his company who was born before 1990. The guochao fad has also reinvigorated older Chinese brands, like Li-Ning. For many years, sophisticated urbanites considered the brand, created by a former world champion gymnast of the same name, ugly and cheap. Its signature red-and-yellow color combination, after the Chinese flag, was mockingly called “eggs fried with tomato,” an everyday Chinese dish. Li-Ning was losing money. Its shares were on a losing streak. Then the company introduced a collection at New York Fashion Week in early 2018. Its edgy look, combined with bold Chinese characters and embroidery, created buzz back home. Its shares have risen nearly ninefold since then. Now Li-Ning’s high-end collections sell at $100 to $150 on average, on a par with those of Adidas. As ambitious as these businesspeople are, almost everyone I spoke to admitted that the Chinese brands still couldn’t compete with megabrands such as Coca-Cola and Nike. Alex Xie, a marketing consultant who works with companies in China, used the sportswear industry as an example. Nike holds a yearslong lead over Chinese brands in research and development. It enjoys a deep network of relationships in the sports world. It works closely with athletes to develop better shoes, sponsors many events and teams, including China’s national soccer, basketball, and track and field teams. “It simply has a much stickier relationship with its customers than any Chinese brand,” he said. But for these Western megabrands, the Xinjiang cotton dispute is a big challenge that could help their Chinese competitors. While previous outrage against Western brands such as the National Basketball Association and Dolce & Gabbana passed pretty quickly, this bout could linger, many people said. “In the past, some Western brands didn’t understand or failed to respect the Chinese culture mostly because of lack of understanding,” Mr. Xun said. “This time it’s a political issue. They have violated our political sensitivities.” Then, like any savvy Chinese entrepreneur who knows which topics are sensitive, he asked, “Could we not talk about politics?” Source link Orbem News #brands #Chance #China #local #Nike #targets

[darkestwolfx]

TAG S2E21 - ‘Home on the Ranch’ Review

What an episode!

Firstly, everyone on Earth, training at the family ranch = brilliant. I don’t think there are doubts about that. I love how our favourite brothers are having so much fun with this ‘training exercise’. There were some brilliant expressions too and lots of silent communication. Basically, just plenty of moments to enjoy.

Uh-oh! Evil MAX. That’s not so good.

I like Manoeuvre Seventeen.

I begin to wonder if Gordon stands a chance… Lady Penelope and John seem to have quite a few scenes together at the moment. One of my new favourite lines. Parker’s speech just tops it off so well!

“Nice hof your father to build this little ‘ome haway from ‘ome.”

And, hooray! A mention of Mrs Tracy for once.

“Actually, the ranch belonged to the boys’ mother. It’s been in her family for generations.”

And the hints just continued. I’d been hoping they throw some line to us eventually and here we have it!

“Hey, remember when Mum used to take us all horseback riding?” “Oh yeah, especially when Gordon was facing the wrong way. I think there’s a picture here somewhere.”

Typical Gordon – what more could we expect?

“Alan, are you alright?” “I don’t really have much to add to the conversation.” “Hmm, I know what you mean.” “Oh yeah right, you were away at school most of that time too, weren’t ya’?” “Don’t you worry, there’s still plenty of times to make our own memories here.”

There’s some interesting history in this conversation here. And was that an Alan and Kayo hint dropped? It would make sense seeing how Alan and Tin-Tin were originally a kind of ‘item’, but there’s not been little hints to this relationship for a while now.

Well, back in the saddle as they say – hey, the intruder alarm would go off, wouldn’t it?

One down, two down… will there be a third? Very nearly… Poor Parker, he’s always managing this sort of thing. Did anyone else immediately think back to ‘Tunnels of Time’ (S1E10) as he sat down and want to scream “don’t”?

I’d love to know how the reporter found them…

I like the new hanger design for the ranch. It’s a little cramped and not as upgraded as the Tracy Island system, but I think it works well. John joined the crew in Thunderbird Two as well. There really is a first time for everything in this new half of series two.

I think we had the best launch ever today;

“Thunderbirds are- Oh, come on!”

This poor face.

Look at Brains showing off some strength. And here they are! The hover bikes of TOS. And no, Gordon, we’re not kidding you.

They may be old Scott (and you may be desperate), but I’m not sure your father would appreciate you booting them. Or proving to us viewers that anything which won’t work, might if you kick it hard enough. Something to try with our laptops next time they fail maybe? I mean, if it works in 2060, why not now?

Okay, it’s definitely worth a try – Gordon kicked his twice. It’s no wonder he had to, considering he wasn’t very nice about them. Words matter you see people.

And this could have been such a powerful image, but then we just get their faces!

And shouldn’t it have been Hover Bikes are go, Scott?

Yes, more EOS time! I’m so glad the writers have suddenly remembered they have her character to utilise.

Oh Kat, you shouldn’t insult our heroes;

“You know who I am, don’t you?” “Yeah, I do. And we know what you’ve been saying about us.” “I’m surprised you didn’t just leave me here to rot.”

And then Scott delivers us what I think is one of the best lines yet, which really does sum up International Rescue and this family in a nutshell.

“Right now, you’re someone in a tough spot that needs help. Who you are or what you’ve done doesn’t matter.”

Brains just amuses me at times. He volunteered!

“M-maybe I shouldn’t be the one up here. I’ve never b-been one for h-high p-places.”

Hmm, like we don’t already know this for certain. Where did that blinking bagel come from! Seriously, what is this family’s obsession with them? The Mechanic didn’t look particularity impressed though… A new one for us all to remember – attack with bagels, and take them everywhere.

Poor FAB One! I could just imagine a cry of “not the seats!” from Parker. Good improvised system though. Scott is brilliant. He’s so good at keeping calm and at helping people who haven’t always been nice to them. He even held her hand. That is dedication right there in blue.

EOS’ concern for John was adorable. John’s concern for Grandma Tracy was perfectly realistic. I just love these little John and EOS moments – there’s so much packed into them.

“And that someone is still here in the compound. Grandma went looking for Brains. They could both be walking into a trap! I have to warn them.” “John, wait. Then you might caught in it as well. Let me try something. There. I now have a subroutine nested in the transmitter room server.” “Is Brains in the room?” “Yes. And so is The Mechanic.” “The Mechanic? Grandma!”

What a great rescue! Scott can move really fast and they all work in perfect synch. Even Lady Penelope was quite quick to react and she doesn’t do that everyday. I did like Alan and Scott’s little interaction.

“See? That wasn’t so bad.” “Easy for you to say, little brother.”

The return of MAX. And The Mechanic really puts his foot into it this time. Didn’t he learn from The Hood that the Tracy’s don’t take well to having their home invaded? That was bad move one. Here comes number two;

“No one lays a finger on our Brains!” “You need to work on your intimidation tactics, Grandma.” “First of all, only family get to call her that, and second: EOS, we need to separate the machine from the man.” “With pleasure.”

Go on John – look at that Tracy family anger streak emerging.

The technical team strike again! Question though – how did no one notice The Mechanic’s quite frankly giant and ridiculous ship? It felt a bit like the Charge of the Light Brigade at the end. What a disappointment in having to let The Mechanic get away, but I see John’s logic.

Scott very nearly put his foot in it there too.

“In the meantime, if there’s anything you want to know about us, all you gotta’ do is ask.” “Really? Anything?” “Well, there are some things we have to keep secret. There may be a lot of mystery around International Rescue, but really we’re just a regular family.”

But then, as though to prove the point, what do the Terrible Two have to do? I don’t think they even have to try. John and Brains are so absorbed in working it doesn’t even bother them.

“Hey, that’s my chair!” “No it’s not! I was here first!” And this end exchange just has to make it in for the fun of it; “You want to hear a real story? Let me tell you some of the things Gordon says in his sleep.” “Oh no you don’t!” “Hey, watch the hair!” What is this family’s obsession with hair? I swear it’s another genetic feature. “Alright you two, knock it off.” “But, he started it” “Quick, somebody take a picture.” I wonder what picture? Left to our imaginations, I suppose. “Cameras are rolling. We’re making memories, Alan. Hold still.” “Come on.” “Come here!” “Oh, you’re a lot stronger than you look, Fish Boy.”

Lastly, the tune playing this episode out was the same as the one Virgil played in TOS S1E1 (‘Trapped in the Skies’).

[stylishanachronism]

A-Z meme

Tagged by @dreamerinsilico

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

A - Age: 25. Almost 26?

B - Birthplace: Santa Clara, CA

C - Current time: 3:17 it’s now 11 p.m. I am very good at this

D - Drink you last had: a mocha with added chestnut praline, because we still have a bottle but it’s technically expired so we can’t sell it, and today was sad and wet and also I hurt like anything.

E - Easiest person to talk to: My best friend, Patty who is only my sister at work.

F - Favorite song: I recently fell in love with Karine Polwart, and more specifically Waterlily, which is both very sad and very beautiful. There’s an excellent live version, in which she explains the provenance of the lyrics, somewhere on youtube if anyone’s interested.

G - Grossest memory: I had a dead rat fall on my face when I was twelve. It’s a long story.

H - Horror yes or horror no: Heck yes, but I have to be careful with it. A lot of modern horror centers around rape as a visual metaphor? and I’m not here for that. Also a lot of modern horror just... isn’t scary. Lots of time and effort get put in to showing you the monster, and jumpscares, and not into, say, the script! Or telling a compelling (or complete) story! So there’s a lot of... gross things? and being startled? But I’m not going to wake up in a cold sweat or anything.

Someday I’m going to finish writing the paper titled ‘Everyone wants to show you the monster, or why modern horror doesn’t work’, but it’s really not going to be anytime soon.

I - In love?: I have a huge ugly useless crush on Mary the Bakery Assistant with the currently red and black streaked hair, because I am the most useless lesbian to ever not be a lesbian, it’s super awful, I’m pretty sure she’s straight and also that she thinks I’m ridiculous because I can’t talk to her, she’s too cute.

J - Jealous of people?: Not.... really? Frustrated when people who don’t have my brain issues tell me something that should be easy should be easy, instead of listening to me saying ‘this is not easy’, sure, but like... don’t get even, get mad, I guess?

L - Love at first sight or should i walk by again?: I’ve done the love at first sight thing, and the ‘oops here’s a giant crush’ thing too, but as pickup lines go, this one’s not really interesting.

M - Middle name: I’ve got two (sort of), which one do you want?

N - Number of siblings: One. But Ko is my sister-in-law at work, which means I have two sisters at work. (my logic is flawless, fight me.)

O - One wish: I would like all the house stuff to be completely done by July, which realistically isn’t going to happen.

P - Person you called last: My (actual) sister? Or maybe she called me? She’s the last person I spoke to on the phone, certainly.

Q - Question you are always asked: Currently? ‘So, are you Irish?’ (no.) The big, more long term usual ones are ‘Are you single?’ (but not from people who want to date me, it’s a whole thing) and ‘Is this person your twin?’ (usually about somebody I’ve either never met, have met only briefly, or look absolutely nothing like, or some combination of those answers)

R - Reason to smile: I got a present from one of my regulars today! And by present I mean she was clearing out her hat collection and thought of me, and also gave me her old hairdryer. Since I’ve been telling myself I needed a hairdryer for about three years now, that’s actually pretty great.

S - Song you sang last:  The Eurovision theme for (a different) one of my regulars. It was a whole thing.

T - Time you woke up: 3:00 a.m. god help me

U - Underwear colour: So I actually got a very very very cute new bra on clearance, which a lot of people have seen already, though I did not flash the new Dean so all is well. It’s eggplant purple, with lace and corset detailing up the front, and it was $20, so.

V - Vacation destination: Italy. I want to go put my face all over the art. (And figure out how to take an assassin’s creed picture for my professor, which is yet another story.)

W - Worst habit: Avoiding making appointments for things.

X - X-rays: Just my teeth, mostly. I got my foot done the first time I broke it, too, but since they said, basically, that there was zero things to be done about it, I haven’t gotten it looked at any time I’ve broken it since.

Y - Your favorite food: Chicken with shallots and artichoke hearts. Messy as heck to make, but it’s a one pan dish and I would literally kill a man for it.

Z - Zodiac sign: Aries/Taurus. Hooray for being born at the end of the month!

I’m tagging @outside-your-window, @sweetdreamr, @violetoccurrences, and anybody else who wants to do it, really, because I’m tired and the tagging is fighting me.

[elizabethrobertajones]

12x14 watching notes

this show normally never makes me cry except that 1 episode in season 7, but god dammit Berens got me TWICE I’m disowning him

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Expectations - it's the 14th episode of the season. (This isn't snark, have you ever gone back and looked at the 14th episode of the season since, say, oh, season 9? Talk about a winning streak you don't want to break :P)

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I woke up with a migraine which is getting worse after being up for like... half an hour... so I'm just launching straight into watching it before today is totally ruined.

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At this point from the recap I genuinely can't tell if there's a meta point to make about Dean as a killer and vampires, or you can't recap it without implying it because vampires are just that tied to Dean's identity as a hunter/killer

- or, well, that arc that Buckleming anvil'd Mary onto last episode where Ketch told her SHE was a killer. 

For what it's worth, they picked 1x20 and 6x05/6x07 to use the most of instead of the sympathetic vamps from later. NOT any of the Gordon stuff visibly on screen. Missed the boat on using "see you next season" in the recap. Anyway, lots of reminders of vampires as a monster; the Twilight knock off vampires, the alpha vamp because duh but in his season 6, not 7, iteration, and of course mixed with Dean's reaction to vampires, him saying it gets funnier every time, and reminders of the time Dean WAS a vampire, to make it Dean-focused.

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I guess Ketch using the rocket launcher was so expensive they're always gonna show it and you know what if every episode for the rest of the season starts with Cas staring down that explosion I'm all for it. Anyway, reminder that they blast vampires with radiation, which I'm sure won't cause any problems this episode, and a recap of why we don't trust them.

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Season 1 Colt recapping - it's kind of terrifying to see tiny season 1 Sam n Dean on screen when you're not prepared for it at this point. It's like looking at their own children or something. John continues not existing in the narrative except for a faceless appearance of his arm handing the Colt to Dean. It's significant that vampires were the first reason to use the Colt, that John then gave it to Dean the episode after and passed on the revenge arc to him, and that Dean then used it to fulfil it. We also see Dean pointing it AT "John" in 1x22 and Sam failing to shoot Azazel in 1x21, and MARY'S repeat of of the "There's only 5 things in creation it can't kill" which blurs her, Samuel and Lucifer nicely >.>

Then of course the horror of 1x01 on screen (AAAH SMOLLEST WINCHESTERS) "You think Mom would have wanted this for us?" Sam asks, cut immediately to Mary like "Nothing comes before my family" before the only 3 lines you need from 12x13 about their argument re: Sam and Dean being a little suspicious of her and then Mary being like "hi you need to be a lot susicious of me".

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The Margikugel beer is in pride of place in this shot

"Just hear me out." "Wow... Just, wow." Oh no, there Dean goes, freezing her out like he said they had in the promo from slightly later in the episode >.>

This angle on the war room table always makes it look like a coffin.

Mary makes some defences that she's aware that the BMoL kinda suck and Sam cuts into that with "When." Mary answers with exactly what he wanted to hear which was "exactly how much has this already screwed us over" so she phrases her answer by measuring time with common era as "the lake house" which I'm pretty sure was that time travel romance with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

Mmmokay Dean uses "Cas almost died" against Mary and I've decided that's something I really hoped would happen but now I heard it it just feels terrible :P Like, it's weighing their stock against each other and Cas obviously outweighs Mary on found family points in almost infinite supply and now Mary's being tested not on abstract family love from blood ties, but the gritty stuff, and... yeah. Looks bad, Mary. Cas is their most treasured family for like however many years before you come back and then you get him hurt >.>

Oh and then Sam's like "a hunter died" I mean talk about the personal with Cas and Dean vs impersonal with Sam and some other perspective thing they do *all* the time. Is that like, the star example now?

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"I watch him die every night" YOu weren't even theeeere

(Also Wally was married apparently... yikes. Piling on the angst.)

"Good." Oh dear, that's the "You're dead to me" look. Mary probably shouldn't start cataloguing these looks to chide Dean about...

[title card]

[ow]

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Ooh is this like the Campbell's compound? Looks like Mary's gone dark, literally, wearing her dark beanie hat and Mary-sized version of Ketch's going around killing things suit. I wonder if they also give her fancy tailored suits for their down time. Anyway I have no idea why the BMoL have access to such a thing - you'd have to assume they have internal help here, Muggle proofing if not, or are ready to deal with the problems of randomly making an armed compound in the wilderness in America.

Or they're on a remote industrial estate in Northumberland.

TBH if they're just bribing local authorities to look the other way while creating a massive armed compound full of foreigners I wouldn't actually be that surprised.

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More random egg shaped BMoL devices. Some BMoL version of Q really has a thing for that shape. "Gonna spray paint it gold." "WHY. What about stealth?" "They ain't gonna need stealth with whatever this egg thingy does"

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Mary and Ketch both space out remembering what the gold whistling egg thingy did. Ketch looks slightly turned on. Mary looks like she's having a bit of fridge horror about what her job currently involves. It definitely feels like she's washed up in a dystopian future and I think we should be treating her POV on it like "time traveller to the far flung future where everything is awful" and not like any continuation of the world she used to know >.>

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Ah they're living in shipping containers. This is now definitely the Doctor Who vibe I got from the promo and didn't want to mention anything about because Tumblr vs Doctor Who these days, but shh I'm both nostalgic for RTD era and British, okay. It looks like those episodes where they just show up on a research base on some planet/under the sea/in space which is a bunch of shipping containers bolted together, with a high tech interior, and then shit goes down on the tiny enclosed shipping containers, with a great cast of random one off characters who usually get eaten >.>

Also this means the BMoL basically just shipped over a base and plonked it in the American wilderness and have a sort of razor wire over the fence keeping the monsters out mentality about it. They've seen just enough Doctor Who (it's a national passtime) to know what to do here, and America is all full of ikky monsters, and should definitely be treated like a hostile alien environment.

I suppose this is their "embassy" for their diplomatic mission and I am rabidly curious about how it looks to the locals, because the Campbell compound at least had that American survivalist weirdoes feel to it, where you kinda know there's a strange local family on their huge compound out of town and they all have guns but you just... don't ask questions and hope they're only waiting for the Rapture or something.

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So it turns out Ketch is a total dick. Surpriiise. I hope Serena kills him and survives the episode. "I have three phds" - she's the hyper competent one who in Doctor Who would probably end up being the only one knowing how to press some button and stay behind to save everyone and get ejected into space or something. Or be the only survivor because she's smart and the Doctor appreciates her :P I have no idea why I'm making this into Dr Who cross over territory but I'm just waiting for the other personnel here to fit some of the usual tropes.

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Mary in a tank toooop

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Surprise surprise it's Dean she's been texting and is morosely checking her phone about instead of Sam, but if she tried him, the other promo video showed that he's attempting to make peace. Winchesters, I swear. *shakes head*

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They do all look good in tank tops though

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OH NO more conversation.

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"Our whole lives, you've been GONE" Oh DEAN this is... the kind of stuff I have been expecting/wishing they'd say to Mary and it's so terrible that they CAN'T COMMUNICATE so it takes something so ridiculously messed up to make them talk about something like this.

They're FINALLY telling each other how hard it has been to deal with being back/having her back... and because they left it so long, it's all fucked up :(

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*sits here misery-eating an apple* I might have go to get the giant box of waffles downstairs and eat them if it gets any worse than "How about for once you try and be a mom!?" "I am your mother!" (so they have 2 different definitions of this - Dean wants her to ACT like it, she's using it like a title, and to HER that has all that complicated and REAL love but it's all so abstract from what Dean WANTS and AAAH) "But I am NOT just a 'mom'" And that's all I wanted out of this season but it's so painful I just wanna find the receipt and return it :P "And you are not a child" "I never was" bonus thing I only hoped in my wildest dreams we'd get out of the season but I feel like every single Dean!girl just took a critical hit and is laying on the floor in agony...

brb finding the floor

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"between us and them" "yeah MARY it is" 

oh great she's not "mom" any more with the title to Dean... 

"and you made your choice"

I can't believe there's actually a scene worse than 6x20's confrontation out there like how does that even happen

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Oh Sam, sitting here watching all that while Dean speaks for the both of you :S

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But he gets up and follows Dean

"You should go" It's more neutral, not judging her per say but obviously she can't be here while Dean has told her to leave and Sam can't take her side, he can just... not intentionally cast her out.

The stuff between him and Mary is stuff from the past - the stuff from 4x03. The stuff between DEAN and Mary is his early childhood vs what's going on NOW. Sam and Mary stuff is being dealt with another way - this is the Dean part of the arc and Sam has to give up his mother for it

Argh >.>

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Well that was horrible but I really appreciate the BMoL compound set.

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"We already have the best Winchester"

uh

I have a pretty compelling argument for all 3 of the others (the third being Cas :P)

Obviously they did not see the footage of Dean in Purgatory

Or any time Sam does the shoulders thing

I mean Mary's great and all but... we've seen 12 years of Sam and Dean being incredible hunters so it's a bad argument to the audience :P

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Ketch and Mick do have an interesting dynamic, I'll give them that. Mick made Ketch kinda smile. Mick's happy at his desk job. Please let him get menaced by a vampire and scream a lot. It's all I ask for after that heartbreak. Lighthearted goofy vampire episode.

(Okay Berens is like, angst central. I think he couldn't write goofy if he tried but that's not why we love him :P)

-

Anyway someone higher up wants Sam and Dean recruited - right when the whole Mary thing seems to have cut ties forever and lost all chance they'd EVER consider it since it's now the face of Betrayal and Families Being Shattered and all.

I guess 12x06 establishes that the Winchesters are semi-legendary themselves (although a very dubious look from Dean about the stories told about him) and Wally also seemed to idolise Dean in that diner scene. It's a fair chance the BMoL "Old Men" are right about this re: other hunters. Unlike Cas and his actions getting him kicked out of Heaven and losing all social standing with the angels, one way or another the Winchesters seem to have scraped by as admired figures in their community. Mom Winchester is not well-known and the Campbells lost all cred years ago after most of them were murdered by Azazel's lot and later Samuel's little group also ended up all dying and getting a lot of their hunters killed (6x07, which no one seems to remember or watch but DOES introduce alpha vamp so it's on my mind)... Not sure anyone knows them.

-

Okay Sam's fucking around with the rings on the table but he's assembled them in such a way they look like a kid's toy - that one where you stack all the rings. Sam seems like he barely moved since the Mary thing, still being at the Conflict Table. Dean stormed off but now he's stormed back and this is the promo scene, so let's pay much closer attention to the words now I know the context...

-

Ugh Dean not dealing. He just wants something to hit. While wearing that red shirt of his Mark of Cain murdery moments (10x10, 10x17)

What even IS Sam doing on his laptop if he isn't finding cases. 

Youtube. Happy dog videos.

-

"Do you want to talk about it" "Not really." *starts talking about it unprompted*

Dean's stewed on it, Sam has got all philosophical about it, once again putting his own feelings to the side to think about how Mary feels. "She must have had a good reason" Argh he's just... so good... I love him.. This episode is making me love all the Winchesters (Mary included) more than I thought possible. I am in paaain.

I'm totally gone on this family. I love them.

-

"For once why don't you pick a side?" FINALLY we see what Sam was hiding on his phone - that he's been staring sadly at all the messages from Mary. Who is not saved as "mom" in his phone as she was in Dean's, right? I should go check that.

oh god she was in 12x04, when Dean was still asking if it was weird to call her mom or not

and then he called her "mary" cold as anything

*I* need a drink

(went and got chilli hot chocolate)

-

Anyway yeah the trouble with telling someone to pick a side is that they may pick the one you don't want and Sam's last message from Mary was that she had urgent business to meet him, while Mary's last text to Dean was just that she wanted to talk to him in a way that was still clearly about the fight. "urgent" implies new developments, a reason to go... Does she KNOW that the BMoL want to snare her sons or is she walking into it by just wanting to reconcile?

-

Sam goes to at least give the other side a chance, even if he's not picking it.

Also is he driving a rental car. It doesn't look so much like the car Soulless Sam had but it's certainly not the junkers and stolen cars and vans Sam's used before.

-

Also did she just go and give Sam the address of this place??? Not even meeting at a diner or something? I suppose it is a cool set.

-

Sam gives the compound a weird look like "wtf" as a sort of incidental moment when Mary references it

-

Anyway ARGH Mary telling him she's working with the BMoL so that there's a world without monsters - the magical endgame where the world is totally normal (but how do you stop witches and ghosts and all the stuff that happens in a world which is not like "Our" one in the French Mistake, where no magic at all happened... you'll ALWAYS need hunters) if she doesn't want to be JUST their apple pie mom, but to be a hunter too, she's taking away her OWN way of living in an attempt to save them from their version of normal life

That Sam says he's chosen. Argh, after all that waffling about whether he wanted to, or that he was only doing it because Dean is... I think when he gets to Mary saying that, suggesting a world where it's not their life and no chance of going back... Maybe he really feels it for the first time? 

(”Normal life” ignoring, of course, ghosts and the fact unless you turn off magic and delete Heaven and Hell, there will ALWAYS be shit going on... Seasons 1-2 are the "normal" baseline type of this world, minus the extra demon activity attempting to destabilise it. And Sam and Dean mostly worked on ghosts, magic, and generic monsters, in a way that these things were just a part of the background of the world. Stuff like Provenance or Bloody Mary or Asylum were cases deeply rooted in their own history and with a long story behind them before the Winchesters stumbled into them, stuff John had been keeping notes on for years without tackling it, or had collected only half the picture. Or stuff which had been out in the world and would always have surfaced and kept on killing people if hunters hadn't helped. Stuff like that, you can't stop just by obliterating all the vampires. Monsters were isolated and stuff like the wendigo *takes a shot* were the sort of thing that just sort of happens, a horrible natural phenomenon along the lines of ghosts being created...)

-

I do wonder with Mary saying they can have normal lives, how much 2x20 is haunting this entire season as well, because the entire burden there that turned Dean to go save himself and go back to the shitty world where he was a hunter, was to hunt and save people. He even gave up being with Mary and Sam who was happy and with Jess and safe from the whole demon blood arc, because people had DIED. But Mary's djinn dream I think would be eerily similar to that one - one where the responsibility was off them and they could be themselves but not hunters. It's interesting to look at what she wishes - or the one that's been planted in her head, because she is echoing the "world without monsters" thing... She too has hunting in her blood and 12x06 showed that too, that she never could give it up. She's been paralleled to Dean a lot with that, and 2x20 is the episode where Dean is finally after wanting to give up all of season 2, brought to a point of decision and commits to, I guess, being a hunter for life and giving up that normal world where everyone's happy and at peace.

Same decision from season 5/6 - that "peace or freedom" talk Dean and Cas had.

Now it's Mary's turn to go through the same arc. She's going for, essentially, something we can parallel to the Archangels and their idea of paradise where everything is perfect. Dean kept talking about it being "stepford" then...

-

Oh noooo she brought up Sam going to school oh noooo

Why is every line in this dang episode just pure pain

where are my goofy vampires

"You've got to understand, things are going to change" Yeah, their plans are already underway and the threat is not going to be stopped by JUST talking Mary out of helping them. Have you seen the compound?

-

Uhoh Sam and Mary are walking in step. He's like... so much more leg than her

-

And Mary shows Sam the control room so he can SEE that the BMoL are already deeply underway with their thing.

Since he and Dean are separated the vibes I'm getting are 9x17 (maybe because Mittens was talking about it yesterday) but because at the end of that having seen Abaddon's soul mining operation, Sam comes back and sits with Dean and is way more onboard with taking her down than before and it unites them... Not saying that will happen here (more likely it will be subverted some way) but Sam's getting a peek behind the curtain at what the bad guys are up to while Dean's off drinking and moping around (see also, 10x17 although that time Sam was actively trying to save Dean while he was drinking also we now have at least 3 episodes were Sam and Dean were separated and the main reason given was that Dean was off drinking, this is getting PAINFUL)

-

"The Brits talk like they're roughing it" yeah you can't get the right fuckin' tea in America, you have to bring all your own teabags and then Americans make fun of you for it. And there aren't any jaffa cakes! What the hell!!

Sam sees Mick and is like "!!!" Mick sees him and is like "!!!" and then it's super awkward.

Yeah don't shake his hand, Sam.

"Yeah, um, I really dig the whole low budget Mission Impossible vibe, but I'm going to head back." I LOVE WHEN SAM DOES THE POP CULTURE SNARK

He's much quieter than Dean, so without him around he really gets to shine :P

Also amused at the budget comment because obviously Supernatural can not have the same budget as MI

-

"Sammeh!" I love it when he does that. I guess he's stumbling in drunk. The shot of the sword to introduce us back to the Bunker was actually TERRIFYING. It also had an empty glass and whiskey decanter so I guess the bros or at least Dean have been wandering around the Bunker drinking everything/everywhere. >.> 

Nice establishing shot.

-

Sam's note is not in upper case something is WRONG

-

Dean discovers MORE empty decanters and bottles. Wow you hit it hard. You should probably listen when Ramiel tells you you all have fucked up livers.

-

I'm assuming this is like 12x01 and the Bunker is "not safe" but this time the threat is real and not a fake out that it's Cas coming home

and also Dean doen't have his mom with him :(

-

Wait no apparently they knock

-

Heeeey it's the other people I was expecting from the generic Dr Who cast. Geek with long hair and curly haired dude. Serena to keep them all in line. Mick as the weird sketchy boss.

-

Sam is the Doctor in this scenario, FYI

-

Tall and knows better than them.

-

"Hello mate"

I mean at least he knocked

-

I love Dean and Ketch looking each other up and down.

Also Ketch doesn't think he's as good as Mary, so tension - and not just that he wants to recruit Dean, but that Dean has to pass his opinion of whether he's good or not.

This should probably end with Dean and Ketch like, grappling each other.

-

"how did you find us" "this is a Men of Letters Bunker"

-

Wow Dean being bribed with rare scotch. I'm reminded both of Crowley in general and how Dean won entrance with Rufus back in 3x15

but also think that his alcoholism needs to be addressed and he should, like, chill, because I swear he just CAME from getting a drink and he's already desperate for another, enough to let Ketch in >.> Bad idea, he’s like a vampire. The regular non spn sort.

-

I mean his alcoholism has been mentioned a few times, especially with the liver comment

-

Awww curly haired dude is an American hunter, so there's only like, 3 Brits here.

-

"Serena Coleman" - because of the twilight episode reference I'm just reminded of using the actor's names so blatantly. Serena was already dressed like whatserface played by Jenna COLEMAN as a Dr Who reference but now this? Like, I have no idea if this is just confirmation bias but I really hope someone else got such ridiculous vibes from it as me :P

-

I am really quite disturbed by how many different countries they're operating in

-

241 vampires in the mid west. That's REALLY not a lot when you think about it, I mean, comparing them to demographics of people. Assuming the BMoL have been wiping them out with a focused effort, still means there really aren't that many in general. I mean, back in season 1 & 2 they were recovering from being nearly hunted to extinction by hunters like Gordon and Dean spent a lot of season 10 killing vampires... I am reminded a lot of Eve talking about the natural order, about how a few of her children killed a few of the humans, and they killed a few but not ALL of them... a sort of equilibrium. And the natural order of how this world runs IS important and rarely mentioned. I've been thinking about Eve a lot in relation to this episode without knowing how to bring her into it really, but I guess this a good wedge to get her in >.>

-

ACK there's only 11 vampires left

that's just scary

-

*gratutious vampire flashbacks*

Oh they are so scary. I actually feel sorry for the vampires just for the fact the BMoL are so ruthlessly efficient and deal with the vampires this way, which makes you scared about how any organisation with the right resources could watch and profile in this way...

And we know the vampires can be SO much more complicated, like Lenore or Benny...

I mean they don't know about the cure, the whole case by case basis of dealing with vampires in case it IS more complex and there's still some humanity in them/can be saved from them, which the one on one process of the Winchesters treating them less like statistics has done... I mean sure the whole waiting for a trail of bodies thing isn't ideal, but... doing the job HUMANELY stands out here.

-

Sam looks like he's rooting for the vampires too. :S

-

Oh no, now some sympathetic vampires

-

*feels sorry for them*

-

Even while they're drinking human blood.

I mean I am literally in a blanket and have drunk hot chocolate to recover - she is very relatable

-

ALPHA VAMP

Always got to have a dramatic entrance

-

Oh dear, Dean and Ketch, savouring their drinks, the bottle in the neutral territory on the map between them. I've only watched them drink so far, and I can tell this is going to be a top 10 use of this table, ever.

-

"Not much for small talk" He is when he likes you

-

Ugh his face when he's talking about Toni. Ketch is not allowed to talk about women. He's disgusting and filled with hate, and this actually does make me like Toni a little better just because I resent him talking about her as a neurotic time bomb

Also Dean, I know you hate her but don't listen to this >.> Do not let him get to you a little by having a bonding moment over how awful she is. I know you are in a really dark place right now but don't make me go through this with you >.>

"We used to date" Ugh.

I actually now feel sorry for her :P 

Berens: most reliable un-Buckleming-er on the show.

-

Ugh, I really hate this :P I mean, for Dean, because Ketch is intentionally channelling all the worst in him. This is where 12x11 and where I was horrified about Dean as an attack dog when it was all stripped away comes back. 

But he has a dual basic nature - SAVING PEOPLE, HUNTING THINGS. He was a sweet goof who loved and cared about people who were kind to him even when he had no idea between Sam or Rowena. He has a HEART. Ketch does not, but Dean has enough darkness in him to feel like he doesn't have a heart, and he's dealing with having told his mom where the door is. But he DOES have lightness in him. Ketch is like, dark side seducing him, with the whole "Inclinations" thing cluing us in it's queercoded and a seduction... This has happened to Dean before. He's wearing a red shirt he bought during the Mark of Cain crisis after CROWLEY dark side seduced him.

Of course that all involved the love triangle with Cas who represented the good side of Dean's duality for having an angel and a demon on his shoulder, and feeling the pull between them... Dean here is taking on Ketch alone and there's no pull in the other direction because Dean is isolated in the Bunker and Cas doesn't have an opposing role to the BMoL so he has no narrative tug back in the other direction, on the side of them having a HEART.

(I just watched 9x22 last night and I'm still dying about how much Dean loves Cas)

Anyway Ugh. I don't like the queercoded implications about demon!Dean that it seems more overt when he's evil and I don't particularly like that this is all Ketch "seducing" Dean to the dark by linking killing to that SO queer word "inclinations" about the both of them - I mean enough that Dean has to comment on it and wow that's a moment and a half, for the bi!Dean annuls, but UGH.

Have to stop and meta in 3 paragraphs about how Dean has a heart and isn't evil but is still queer and not because he's a killer >.>

-

Jesus christ we're at the halfway point - this is like the opposite problem of a Buckleming episode. I know Berens can DESTROY me in about 2 minutes of screen time, so I'm just, like, permanently on edge.

-

Anyway aside from everything else I hope Dean got to ride on the motorbike

-

I mean that scene was just so harsh on Dean, with Ketch winning his way in with scotch, and then winning Dean out the door with the promise of vampires to kill that he couldn't find on his own earlier

(Big business came and stole all the work from small local businesses. They are a vampire hunting supermarket)

-

Yeeeee Rufus mention.

-

Aww poor terrible hunters. It's like Garth - "How are you still alive!?"

I'd say Pierce should probably be black if he's from Baton Rouge but honestly if he's meant to be a dingus, then all the good hunters are probably escaping this by bad association and we don't see a hapless idiot PoC hunter :P They're all the top shelf ones Ketch can't win over

-

The ones who take pride in their work and have enough confidence in their skills to not want to go work for the big supermarket >.>

-

*Dean disappointingly follows Ketch in the Impala*

They probably raced

-

Checking out each other's equipment. Ketch opts to take one of Dean's knives. You know, Dean has a corrupting influence on everything he meets, I swear :P Like, Ketch was complaining it was too easy, but still just going along with his job, he meets Dean, seems to be off-assignment because he's just GONE to do it, no idea Sam wasn't even there tbh, but gets Dean, lures him out, and then Dean just has to make the old school way of hunting look cool by waving a knife around and suddenly Ketch wants in and also has a go at flipping a knife... And he's already getting “where are you??” messages from Mick. I mean, just the compulsion to meet the Winchesters on honest ground - now everything's in the open. He didn't even like them as much as Mary? But once he knows they need to be won over he goes to get at least one of them... But now he's not answering his mobile, and Dean's handed him a knife aaand

they really are being reckless by going in here alone without checking to see if something like the ALPHA VAMP isn't here

-

Oh wait shit the vampires are coming to the BMoL

Maybe there really is nothing in the hotel

-

Oh no there's just the sad vampire I was sorry for

Ketch don't you dare kill blanket vampire

-

Okay, now Dean feels sorry for the vampires

That was a surprisingly short line to cross before Dean's like hey stop being mean to the monsters

HE HAS A HEART

I guess if we're subverting Bloodlust all you can do is make Dean not like the Gordon parallel even SOONER- in 2x03 he NEARLY fell for it... he WANTED to. He knows so much better now

-

(Bennyyyy)

-

This vampire looks EXACTLY like a girl I used to work with who coincidentally... was called Magda

-

"Hunting... they went hunting." "Hunting whom?" "The hunters"

That was SUCH a good exchange. DRAMA. TENSION. SHEER TERROR ABOUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO BELOVED CHARACTERS

This season, notable exceptions, is SO much on its A game. Almost every episode has been like, High Drama.

-

Vampire tiiiime

-

Sam taking chaaaarge

I love it

-

Aw no don't kill the one random black guy here. :<

WHY DID THEY LEAVE ALL THESE DOORS OPEN?

Is it because sealing yourself into shipping containers sucks and is probably airless and stinky?

At least in space they wouldn't have this problem

(In a good Doctor Who episode even the random guards would have names and personalities and a decent story arc for a side character even if they get killed... In this episode the guards aren't exactly the only hired muscle to save them because there's at least 3 hunters in the building and one of them is Sam Fucking Winchester, so he'd be more likely protecting the hired muscle regardless :P Not like killing them did anything but remove characters to worry about rather than raise the threat level that would be in an episode when everyone else was nerds instead of trained killers)

-

Mick's got soft hands though

All I ask is one scream of horror

-

"Our intel has him in Morocco. He's been there for at least the last decade." Sam, with barely a side glance, "Wrong."

Yeah that's been a theme all season and as far back as "Cassiel" - their intel SUCKS

-

Read the Winchester Gospels

Or... don't. That actually turns you into an effective enemy

-

I love when Sam's got the snarky interrogation face on. It's a fun Sam

-

Mary's wearing basically Sam's red and black plaid but in a Dean way

-

Oh Mick is scared

-

And Sam has a headache at the stupid

-

Considering there's only 3 hunters in the room they managed to scrounge up a lot of weapons.

Not enough...

"Where is it?" *significant looks* Okay, Sam's going to find out now. He's been much kinder towards Mary, obviously, even if he's still got a ton of issues and meant to leave when shit started happening, but... yeah. Is he as forgiving or at least willing enough to hear her out when THIS is revealed?

-

*Mary side-glances at Sam*

-

*sword in the stone moment for Sam*

Who is literally crying to have such awful history returned to him. He knows this weapon is cursed.

-

I can't deal with Sam crying openly while writing the ingredients for the bullets and also the lore dump of how they make the damn things like AAH I ALWAYS WONDERED

And Mick's EYES. Like "what the fuck sort of hunters ARE these guys?"

This is what happens when you unexpectedly come across Legendary level hunters and you are all noobs

he's met the alpha, lived to tell the tale, and now is telling you how to make bullets that could kill him

-

Sam Fucking Winchester

(I just wanted to say that)

-

Oh the red flashy lights in the corridors is SO Doctor Who

-

It occurs to me that 11x14 also was the sort of episode that mimics the tropes of one of those but this one has the aesthetic.

-

I think Berens just wants to write for Doctor Who

-

Pleeease, two vampires against Sam Fucking Winchester

-

[slightly evil nyoooom] Nyooooom

-

Mick sounds scared while doing the incantation over the bullets. Hope it works.

-

Dude, don't stand with your back to the open door

-

... Amazingly that didn't take more than a second to pay off.

-

Noooooo Serena

I liked her :<

-

*Sam Fucking Winchester kills everything*

-

Can't believe the blatant disrespect for England that the alpha vamp doesn't like us

-

Actually starting to worry Mick's last episode is right here and now :P

-

Aww Mary is hurt and Sam's instinct is to be all "mom!" and help her

I am so emo about this family, help.

-

I am so with the alpha vamp

-

I mean I will miss Mick but nah. Byeee.

-

Aww nope fortunes change all at once

-

*Mick legs it away from the alpha vamp and goes and stands behind all the hunters*

-

"If that were true I'd be dead already" I bet the lore about the 5 things is both right and wrong at the same time - we KNOW it doesn't work on Lucifer, but I bet a ton of stuff pretends it won't work on them, and honestly Lucifer might not have been right about 5, and basically there's "recorded" like at least a dozen things it won't kill

but in this case Sam calls his bluff because the alpha vamp is still talking with the gun trained on him instead of just fighting them...

-

Anyway Sam's just like, ready to throw Mick to him

-

"Who said I was here to save all of us. My family and I, we kill vamps when they get outta line. And you've LET us." "I have many children, Sam. What's one, two, here or there..." "Exactly! So? Let my mom and me go. We'll walk away, go back to the way things were. To the way things are SUPPOSED to be. Hunters and vampires. Cops and robbers! A fair fight!"

!!! I LOVE SAM SO MUCH

Also that "the way things are SUPPOSED to be" is denying everything Mary said about a world without monsters, and calling back to Eve's natural order.

-

Poor old Mick

Maybe he'll turn him into a vampire

-

"What are you doing?" "Picking a side"

LOVE HIM

-

That was a badass montage of how Sam got a bullet in the gun

-

Bye bye Alpha Vamp, Dabb tidies up another loose end and sits back smiling to himself - not a plot hole so much as the itch of “see you next season” being for nothing

-

Serena nooo

All the dead people

-

Oh, wait, I'm having the same moment as Mick

-

Mary like "come on" to him, quite gently

aaand walk out and there's Ketch and Dean, 5 minutes late to the party.

Ketch lecturing Mick on his ivory tower and how people die...

Oh Ketch your attempt to get Dean didn't work.

-

Awwww Dean was worried about Mary and Sam's deducing it because Sam's all deduce-y and stuff. When he has to deal with things on his own, he really shines. You should do more episodes alone. I've really missed you, Sam :P I feel like I haven't seen you since 11x14

-

Are the Winchesters making up??

"It's not your job to make me lunch and kiss me goodnight" Help

-

Aww they all made up

-

Ooops and here's Ketch back being all awful and with the traitor hunter. Who's "gone rogue"

I suppose this compares to 12x06 AGAIN, where they let Bucky go because they don't kill their own, just ostracise them

but um

Still thinking about Samuel Campbell... is that ever going to come up? In this case the Winchesters seem to agree that killing this guy for selling them out to vampires is appropriate. Or, well, whatever Ketch does to him. Worse than death, maybe

-

Maybe Mary would understand despite the fact it was her father >.>

-

Had not considered that until after seeing this episode

-

Aw Sam no, I CRIED WITH YOU TODAY.

Was Sam talking crap with the Cops n Robbers speech or did he change his mind about the status quo? He picked his side in the moment Mick helped get the bullet to him? Or? Thinks the MoL are such idiots the only way to protect Mary is to go with her?

-

Dean looks kinda isolated at the end with Sam and Mary standing next to each other but he has had reason to DISLIKE Ketch after he roughed up the poor vamp girl, and he still indicates he doesn't like Mary's decision but he loves her anyway...

Kinda feel bad pointing out if he doesn't go for it (and one of them needs not to) that kinda does mean he and Cas are left alone on this side :P

Don't feel bad enough NOT to point it out and end on that note >.>

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

[Review] THE DOMESTICS is Bloody, Brutal, and Suprisingly Hopeful

There’s a lot of people out there in the world today focused on surviving the inevitable apocalypse. People are stocking up on 5-gallon buckets of legumes and are fortifying their basements or storm cellars. Radio personalities are selling you multi-packs of MRE’s and discounts on all the nutrient pills that you will need after the global system collapses. I even saw an ad on Facebook for a bomb shelter kit I can assemble at home for the low-low price of $19,750. What none of these ads talk about is what happens to you and your family after you have survived. What if simply surviving isn’t enough?

Mike P. Nelson’s first feature film The Domestics takes a look at what happens after we leave our affordably priced bunkers and face a world that is full of other survivors.

    The Domestics focuses on Mark and Nina, a married couple from Two Harbors, Minnesota played by Tyler Hoechlin and Kate Bosworth. They are loading up the car and heading south in an attempt to reach Milwaukee and the home of Nina’s parents. We can tell right away that there is something very wrong with this relationship. They are cold to one another, with Mark even claiming to his friend that he doesn’t want to make this trip at all. Nina seems disinterested in anything Mark has to say and, at times, doesn’t believe that he can do anything to help her get to the safety of her parents.

To set up the ominous tone for the rest of the film, Mark’s friend mentions the dangers they will be facing over the next 200 miles. “You get one flat tire and you’re dead”, he says to Mark before they leave. It turns out that he is absolutely correct, for the countryside is divided up into territories of several different gangs. The Sheets (who dress like ghosts), Plowboys (pretty self-explanatory here, they drive around in giant plows), Gamblers (who leave everything up to chance, even going so far as to set up a casino of sorts where they play cards and Russian roulette) and The Nailers (who wear gnarly Mad Max-style headgear and seem hellbent on causing as much pain and sorrow as possible). Our protagonists must weave their way south-east through Wisconsin farmland occupied by these vicious gangs.

    The film, which was actually shot in New Orleans, is filled from start to finish with gorgeous shots of a world that has been left behind. Streets are empty, homes are abandoned and vehicles are left to rot in the rain and sun. Mark and Nina hole up in an empty home for the night only to find that the previous owners were brutalized and killed in their own bed. Red splatters and streaks cover the walls like Pollock was using their life’s blood to create an imitation Kandinsky. As they sleep, a couple of Nailers enter the home looking to take Nina. Mark tries to calm Nina down in the attic, asking her to say “We’re going to be alright”. She looks Mark dead in the eyes and simply says “Be careful”. She doesn’t believe in him or in his ability to make things “alright’. It’s a small moment in the film, but it says everything you need to know about just how broken their marriage is.

As Mark and Nina travel on from that encounter, they run into another survivor in an abandoned grocery store. He invites them over to dinner as his son obliterates a gang of Sheets with a machine gun. It’s a stark juxtaposition of friendly neighbor-manners and body-decimating automatic gunfire. This stranger is named Nathan (Lance Reddick) and he brings the couple over to his home where his wife and two kids eat and play. They drink some wine, eat a casserole, and discuss what exactly it means to survive and what lengths you must go to keep those you love safe. Nathan and his family have a dark secret hiding beneath the banter and coloring books. What looks like the perfect American family is not what they claim to be. Or are they? Nelson uses this section of the film to force his audience to explore the limits to their humanity in such a beautiful way. He forces you to ask yourself some seriously existential questions that work on your brain a lot longer than you expect in an action/horror film.

  “Good people didn’t survive… We did.”- Nathan 

  The final act of The Domestics is something glorious to behold. After a run in with some Gamblers, Mark and Nina are holed up in her parent’s subdivision in Milwaukee. Unfortunately for them, the gang has followed them and they bring down holy hellfire on those tranquil streets. What follows is a non-stop, chaotic scene where you are in the middle of the action from start to finish. You start to feel yourself dodge and weave in your seat as the couple fight back against those that mean to destroy and obliterate. Nelson was able to get more on screen in those 20 minutes than most directors can with 10-times the budget and twice the time.

The film isn’t all doom and gloom, however. David Dastmalchian makes a wonderful appearance halfway through the film as film-obsessed psychopath Willy Cunningham. This southern bell of a young man travels across the country with his giant friend chained to his side making others fight for his entertainment. It’s a fun respite from the stressful trek Mark and Nina are going on.

The Domestics is a post-apocalyptic love story that is filled to the brim with blood, guts, brutality and hopefulness. In this world we live in today, we oftentimes find ourselves avoiding the things we love in the name of making it through to the next day. We cut people out of our lives so that we don’t have to hear about how great they are making America again. What this film forced me to ask myself is, without these human connections, without love, what is the point of surviving at all? We live in a nasty world, maybe not as brutal as the one in this film, but it’s close. So, instead of retreating and hiding in our own echo chambers, how can we use love to make it a world worth living in?

Mike P. Nelson proves in this film that he has an eye for gorgeous visuals and he knows how to deliver bombastic action on a tight budget. He is definitely a director to watch moving forward. There are some plot points that didn’t any make sense to me and the conclusion is a little mind-boggling, but overall The Domestics is a film that should be seen and enjoyed for exactly what it is: a blow-it-to-smithereens shoot-em-up that is also an exploration of what it means to be human and what we need in our lives to make survival worth it.

3/4 eberts

  You can check out The Domestics in select theaters or on VOD. Once you’ve had a chance to see it, hit us up on our Facebook Group, Horror Fiends of Nightmare on Film Street, and let us know what you think! While you’re at it, bookmark our homepage at NOFS to stay up to date with the finest horror news, reviews and retrospectives the internet has to offer!

The post [Review] THE DOMESTICS is Bloody, Brutal, and Suprisingly Hopeful appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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[siodymph]

Boombox Week Day 5

And here's day 5! I decided to go with a sick fic™ where Junkrat is the one taking care of Lucio. I hope you enjoy! (Also I've been rereading over all my stories and I'm sorry for all the grammar and spelling errors, and in the near future I'm going to go back through and editing it all. Just so you know.)

We're already at the half-way point of the week! It's going by so fast :P But it doesn't have to end on Saturday so I've decided to open up boombox requests until the 22nd. So if there's any story you'd like to see with your favorite DJ and Junker then just send me a request (non-NSFW please)

And as awlays you can read my story under the cut if you like or over on my AO3 if you prefer!

Lucio seldom liked to say he hated things. He always liked to see the best in people, things or ideas. In fact so far there were only four thing’s he’d even admit he actually full-out hated. And they were Vishkar and any other company that thought it was good to enter foreign countries and monopolize their industries, the weird relationship between appropriation and gentrification, people who steal credit for someone else’s art, and lastly getting sick.

And while he had power of helping stop and prevent the first three. There was really nothing he could do when he got sick besides wait it out. And he was a pretty healthy guy, stayed fit and active, ate healthy, made sure he got vaccines whenever he was on tour. It had been three years actually that he’s gone without catching a really nasty, so-bad-you’re-bed-ridden level of sick. But today that three-year streak was being broken.

The team had been traveling a lot in the past few weeks, jumping from one mission straight into another. It had been intense, but nothing Lucio couldn’t handle. But apparently not seeing as now he was stuck in his bedroom with a churning stomach and a migraine throbbing right under his eyebrows. When he’d gone to Mercy for help she thought he simply must have caught a bug while they were traveling and that paired with high stress-levels had finally taken their toll.

Stress? Lucio was probably the most laid back person on the entire team! He never let the pressure get to him. He hadn’t even thought their last few missions had even been that hard, just speed around healing everyone up and avoiding Talon fire. Sure everything had been pretty back to back, their only break being on the jet from one city to the next. And at one point he remembered almost getting shot down by some Talon forces had Hana and Junkrat not come down into the street and protected him. That gave him shivers sometimes still thinking about it. But he was Lucio Correia dos Santos! He rolled with any and all punches! Could brush off anyone, even giant corporations wanting his head on a platter. He didn’t let something like a little pressure knock him down!

But apparently it had because now what had started out as a little headache and the sniffles had transformed in the span of a few days to gross vomiting and sleeping for entire days. Oh well, that three year streak was nice while it lasted. Sure he would of liked avoiding getting sick for the rest of his life. And even though he hated this, he knew that pretty soon he’d be brushing this off and back to his normal self. He’d fought off Talon, and Vishkar, he was certain he could fight off this dumb little bug too.

He counted himself lucky though that Mercy was there to make sure he didn’t get any worse. Gave him some stuff to help keep his white blood cells happy and keep his stomach from completely dissolving itself. But it wasn’t like she could spend all her time taking care of him though, no there were like eight other people who had fallen ill too, not to mention she had her own projects to get done. So when it came to constant care, he had been put in the trusty hand of his boyfriend.

He didn’t understand it. Of all people how did Junkrat not get sick? If anyone he expected Junkrat to be bedridden after all this traveling, not him! Out of everyone here he probably had one of the longer lists of medical problems, a list that included radiation poisoning! Even Roadhog had the sniffles by the time they were back in Gibraltar. He just didn’t get it.

But being one of the few healthy people left standing Junkrat had made it his personal job to look after Lucio. At first he’d sincerely feared Junkrat would kill him on accident. The Junker hardly ever took care of himself, how did he expect to take care of another person?

“Oh come on Froggy!” He’d teased when he first came in. “I can be a healer too! Remember that time I healed Phara in Oasis?”

“That was a glitch! Seriously dude you’re gonna get yourself sick if you keep sitting so close to me.”

But Junkrat ignored his protesting, plopped down in his computer chair and swiveled his way right next to his bed. He didn’t even lean away when a Lucio broke out in a fit of wet coughs. Once he was done Junkrat shoved a box of tissues in his face. “Have a little faith in me, mate!”

While he caught his breath he thought it over. He groaned trying to find the warm spots on his bed he’d been jostled out of in his coughing fit.

Not that he actually had much say in this either way. “Just please don’t kill me.”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Froggy! You know I’d never!” He laughed leaning in closer.

“Junkrat no! No! I’m sick!”

Instead of on the lips Junkrat pecked him on the forehead.

“You’re gonna get so sick man.” Lucio groaned, this was going to be a very long week, especially if soon they were both going to be under the weather if this kept up.

Junkrat just giggled and kissed him on the forehead again. “Think I can deal with the consequences mate!”

And once again he found himself being surprised. In the past few days Junkrat had almost never left his side. Pretty much the only reason he’d leave was to get him food. It was all mostly canned crap but still it was keeping him alive. Junkrat had kept most the lights off, only his color-changing lamps, so his migraines didn’t feel even worse. And whenever his stomach got sour Junkrat had held his hair back and softy rubbed his back while he felt like complete utter shit. Somehow he almost always knew what to do.

Near the end of the week when he’d finally gotten his strength back enough to stand and walk around again he decided to ask him while they were in the bathrooms, all the hot water was cranked to their highest settings turning one whole corner of the place into a make-shift steam room.

“Hey Rat? How do you know all this kind of stuff?”

“Wot?” Junkrat mumbled, pulling the towel off of his head so he could see Lucio. Sure enough over the week he’d become slightly congested but nothing like Lucio was going through.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, I love you, but self-care doesn’t really come off as your forte. But you’ve been doing all this stuff like it’s an instinct or something.”

Junkrat shrugged while dropping his towel back over his face. “Eh, kinda gotta learn for survival I guess. Back home if you were bedridden ain’t nobody was there to watch out for you.”

“No one? Not even family?” Lucio asked unsure. He didn’t want to press to far, Junkrat almost never talked about his past and he knew it had to be for some pretty strong reasons.

“Nope, not that I can remember at least.” Junkrat sighed, sitting further back in his spot on a bath tub’s edge. “What I do remember though is if I was sick there was no way I could collect scrap. So I learned fast, picked up any advice I could from old folks who’ld lived before the crisis. Make sure I was never too weak to take protect of me’self. Cause nobody had my back in the whole Outback… besides Hog.”

When he heard that Lucio knew that the sinking feeling in his guts wasn’t from the bug. He couldn’t imagine being a little kid and being so utterly on his own like that. Even as a young adult he’d had his family loving and supporting him as he went into music. “Junkrat, I’m sorry.”

But Junkrat just waved off his apology, “Eh if you ask me I think it turned out alright. Certainly came in handy after me and a few mates got really sick after going into the Omnium. Made sure everyone got back up and running. Made sure I didn’t bleed out or get infected when I got mark I and II here.” He said wiggling his prosthetic arm and leg. Oh god. Did that mean what he thought Junkrat was trying to imply? The thought alone gave him shivers. He almost didn’t hear the last thing Junkrat said.  “And now I’m making sure you get back to your springy self! Lucio? Mate are you feeling- wot?”

Junkrat was at a loss for word when out of the blue Lucio stood up, walked directly up to him and gave him the tightest hug in his life. He could feel his ribs being pressed in Lucio squeezing him like one of those snakes. But it also felt kinda nice, even if he had no idea why Lucio was doing this. So his unsure arms wrapped around Lucio’s frame, trying to reassure him that whatever he was thinking he was fine.

“Junkrat I’m so sorry.” Lucio repeated, sounding even sadder this time.

“Mate don’t worry-“

“No!” Lucio stopped him from brushing off what he obviously wanted to say. He took a deep breath before continuing, still holding him in a tight hug. “I’m sorry you had to grow up like that. Stuff like that isn’t normal, isn’t healthy. And thank you for taking care of me all week but I want you to know that you don’t have to keep looking out for yourself anymore. I have your back. I love you… I can take care of you too.”

Junkrat wasn’t sure what to say to that. The only other person to ever make the promise to him was Roadhog. So instead of saying anything for one of the few moments in his life he stayed silent. Just holding Lucio close, letting him know that he was here, alive and kicking. And that they would always have each other’s backs no matter what.

They would take care of each other.

[eldritchsurveys]

919.

5k Survey XXXVIII

1951. Would you ever participate in a ‘sock hop’? >> Nah. 1952. Once there was a green house and inside it was a white house and inside it was a red house and inside it was a bunch of little brown babies. What are we talking about? Solve this riddle. >> Some kind of fruit or something, probably. I don’t know. 1953. Have you ever built something? >> IKEA furniture. :p 1954. What is the hardest thing to face each day? >> *shrug* 1955. Who’s voice irritates you like fingernails on a blackboard? >> I can’t think of a specific person, but anyone whose voice is above a certain pitch or level of shrillness will annoy me in pretty short order.

1956. What is your favorite plant? >> I don’t know. I like sunflowers? 1957. What simple things in life do you appreciate? >> You expect me to just name some shit at random? I don’t know, man. 1958. Have you ever read a book by Tom Robbins? >> I don’t think so. 1959. Are you more of a maker and giver, or a taker and user? >> I think the best way to be is to know when it’s appropriate to be a maker/giver and when it’s appropriate to be a taker/user, and to not vilify being a taker/user, or glorify being a maker/giver. 1960. What do you contribute to society? >> I don’t. 1961. Do you take naps? >> I usually don’t, but I was tired and bored as fuck watching this movie earlier and I definitely napped through part of it (I paused it first, lol). 1962. Do you have any cavties? >> Yes. 1963. What is the difference between art and fine art? >> I don’t know, that’s not something I’ve ever been concerned with. 1964. Do you believe that there has been a man on the moon? >> Sure. 1965. What music makes you so happy you could burst? >> That one Trans-Siberian Orchestra song (the one everyone knows, you know). 1966. What do you think of the band They Might be Giants? >> I don’t remember what they sound like. 1967. Would you ever go into a sex shop? >> I’ve been in a lot of sex shops, but I don’t have any reason to go to one now. 1968. If you had to choose would you rather go into a sex shop with your mom or your dad? >> --- 1969. Do you buy holiday gifts early or at the last minute? >> I don’t buy holiday gifts. 1970. What do you want to do today? >> I was going to play FFXIV but then I lost the desire. 1971. You see a girl in a long ruffled off white dress carrying a bag painted with a sunflower and playing a ukelele while twirling around the cafeteria. What is your first reaction? Could you become friends with this girl? >> Cafeteria? I’m not in school, lmao. In general, I have no opinion on reaction to someone doing this. It doesn’t strike me as remarkable or anything. They’re just as eligible for acquaintanceship (friendship is a tall order, for anyone) as anyone else. 1972. Let’s just say your school team is on a winning streak. One of the cheerleaders cheers both for your team and the other team during games. Does it make you angry? One day you ask her why she does it and she says that, “It’s just so much fun, no matter who wins.” What do you think of that? >> That sounds like my kind of cheerleader. 1973. Do you laugh when there is no joke and dance when there is no music? >> No? 1974. What would the perfect pair of socks look like? >> I like socks with fun patterns on them. 1975. What is the longest you have ever gone with out sleeping? >> A few days. 1976. Have you ever had a hallucination? >> I’ve had a lot of hallucinations. 1977. Are you generally happy? >> No, I’m generally neutral. 1978. Are you a sore loser? sore winner? Neither. I like to talk smack during games just for fun, but whether I win or lose doesn’t matter to me. 1979. Were you an 80’s baby? >> I was a baby during the eighties, yes. 1980. What’s in the room with you right now that you can’t see? >> There’s a backpack near the foot of my bed, which I can’t see from this vantage point. 1981. Do you ALWAYS thoroughly wash your hands after going to the bathroom? >> Yeah. 1982. If someone else were to describe you what would you hope they would say? >> *shrug* 1983. What is the sound of one hand clapping? >> --- 1984. You are filling out a 5000 question survey. What would you rather be doing right now? Why aren’t you doing it? >> If I wanted to be doing something else, I’d be doing it. 1985. Do you prefer carnivals, festivals, circuses, parades or fairs? >> I don’t have a preference. They all seem like the same kind of thing to me. 1986. Are you useful? >> Sometimes, I hope. 1987. Are you a: bitch/bastard? Oh, hah, what a throwback. Haven’t heard this song in years. lover?  child?  mother/father?  sinner?  saint?  1988. What is the dirtiest habit you can think of? >> I can think of a lot of dirty habits, but I’d really rather not right now. 1989. What kind of person will you ABSOLUTELY never date? >> I don’t date, period. 1990. What were you doing at ten fifteen last Saturday night? >> I don’t know, but I was definitely in bed while I was doing it. 1991. Do you ever need 'quiet time’? >> Frequently. 1992. What are you made of? >> Primordial ooze. 1993. What does 'you are what you eat’ really mean? >> This phrase amuses the shit out of me for very specific reasons... 1994. What was the last thing you counted? >> I don’t remember. 1995. Do you think it is harder for a parent to outlive their child or for the child to lose a parent? >> I think grief is hard on everyone and it’s pointless to try to make comparisons like this. 1996. Do you believe in psychic ability or is it a sham? >> I don’t have an opinion. If it exists, great. If it doesn’t, I wasn’t paying attention anyway. 1997. What is your favorite classic rock song? >> Imagine just having one favourite of an entire genre of music. What’s that like? 1998. Who are you anyway? >> I’m Mordred. Are you your resume? >> I don’t have a resume, so I would assume not. 1999. When are you the most insecure? >> When amn’t I? 2000. Who would your fantasy threesome involve? >> My fantasy threesome is my Inworld reality, thanks ~

[coin-river-blog]

Neither Dow futures nor the bitcoin price showed much conviction ahead of Wednesday’s US stock market open, as Wall Street pined for a dovish FOMC statement on interest rates and crypto traders waited for BTC to make its next major push.

Dow Futures Hover Near Tuesday Close

As of 9:05 am ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had lost 14 points or 0.05 percent, implying a loss of 25.38 points at the open. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also slipped into the red, dropping 0.04 percent and 0.02 percent, respectively. Futures tracking all three indices had traded higher earlier in the day.

Dow futures bounced around Tuesday’s index close ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell. | Source: Yahoo Finance

Join CCN for $9.99 per month and get an ad-free version of CCN including discounts for future events and services. Support our journalists today. Click here to sign up.

On Tuesday, the stock market opened to sharp gains but bled lower throughout the day. By session close, the Dow had lost 26.72 points or 0.1 percent, while the S&P 500 ticked down by 0.37 points or 0.01 percent. The Nasdaq, despite giving up earlier gains, managed to close at 7,723.95 for a session increase of 9.47 points or 0.12 percent.

The afternoon sell-off was partially driven by China, which reportedly yanked key trade concessions, including removing the controversial Boeing 737 MAX 8 from the draft list of American products that it would buy to help the US reduce its trade deficit.

Stock Market Confident of Dovish FOMC Statement

This morning, US stock futures are bouncing around index close prices as Wall Street awaits the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision, which will be published within the Federal Reserve’s policy statement this afternoon at 2 pm ET.

As CCN reported, Fed Fund futures imply a staggering 98.7 percent chance that the Federal Reserve will not change interest rates, with the remaining 1.3 percent hedging against the outside chance that the Fed lowers rates more quickly than expected. Futures suggest there is virtually no chance that the central bank will raise rates in 2019.

“The more interesting development will be what the ‘dot plot’ signals about their intentions for the rest of the year,” JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli wrote in a note on Friday. “We suspect the median dot moves down from the two hikes they signaled in December to either no hikes or one hike for this year. We see somewhat higher odds of zero than one.”

Clearly, a dovish FOMC announcement has already been priced in, but that doesn’t mean the Dow and S&P 500 won’t bounce when the Fed sets that decision in stone.

Dow Recovery Under Pressure from Global Slowdown

Still, analysts continue to warn that a global economic slowdown could thwart the stock market’s ongoing recovery, particularly as a possible recession takes root in China.

On Tuesday, package delivery giant FedEx reported weaker-than-expected earnings and slashed its annual guidance target. The company blamed “slowing…macroeconomic conditions,” partially the result of trade disputes including the one between the US and China.

“Slowing international macroeconomic conditions and weaker global trade growth trends continue, as seen in the year-over-year decline in our FedEx Express international revenue,” Alan B. Graf, Jr., FedEx Corp. executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in statement.

Fearing that an imminent recession will catch the US by surprise, bearish hedge fund Crescat Capital – one of 2018’s top-performing funds – has initiated what it boasts is the “trade of the century.”

Hedge fund Crescat Capital is shorting the stock market and buying gold. | Source: Bloomberg

Speaking with Bloomberg, Crescat Global Macro Analyst Tavi Costa explained that the $50 million hedge fund is buying gold and shorting the stock market, which it believes is stuck in a “bear market rally” and will soon capitulate to the economic slowdown.

“Soon the buy-the-dip mentality and bull-market greed will turn to fear. Selling will beget more selling. That’s how bear markets work,” Crescat wrote in a note. “There is so much more ahead to profit from the short side of the market. The bear-market rally is running out of steam!”

Has Bitcoin Entered a Bull Market?

The bitcoin price continues to trade in an extremely tight range around the $4,000 mark. | Source: Yahoo Finance

Meanwhile, the bitcoin price continues to hold near the crucial $4,000 mark as cryptocurrency investors cross their fingers and hope that the embattled asset class has finally turned a corner and begun to creep into a bull market.

Strategy firm Fundstrat recently published analysis indicating that bitcoin – as a high-risk asset – is closely tracking with the performance of emerging markets stocks. In late 2018, EM “pulled down” bitcoin, forcing the cryptocurrency to yearly lows. However, emerging markets are outperforming in 2019, suggesting that bitcoin could have plenty of upside.

CRYPTO (1/2): earlier this year, we noted the “macro” factors such as rally in risk assets plus USD no longer surging are tailwinds 4 $BTC #bitcoin

Chart shows EM in 2018 pulled down $BTC. Notice especially how #bitcoin tried to diverge in late 2018 but ultimately succumbed. pic.twitter.com/kWoPXYctOf

— Thomas Lee (@fundstrat) March 17, 2019

Unless, of course, the EM rally reverses, which is precisely what TS Lombard strategists say is likely to happen in the near-term.

Crypto broker BitOoda warned clients on Tuesday that plunging bitcoin futures volumes portend that BTC could make a “false-break out” toward resistance at $4,200 and that traders who FOMO-buy into that rally would end up taking heavy losses as sell pressure returned to the market.

ThinkMarkets UK CHief Market Analyst Naeem Aslam, on the other hand, said that bitcoin’s recent push past its 200-week moving average, coupled with the end to its longest-ever monthly losing streak, indicated that the market was turning bullish and could set bitcoin on a path well past its current all-time high.

Right now, bitcoin is trading at $3,996 on Bitstamp, representing a 24-hour decline of 0.16 percent. Most other large-cap cryptocurrencies have demonstrated similar single-day stability, as the overall crypto market cap has shifted just $140 million since Tuesday.

[michaeljtraylor]

Welcome to Jobs Day – POLITICO

Editor’s Note: This edition of Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

Welcome to Jobs Day — Job creation expected to slow in the January employment report out at 8:30 a.m. Expectations are for a gain of 160K with unemployment staying at 3.9 percent and wages up another 0.3 percent. The shutdown shouldn’t have a huge impact as BLS will count furloughed workers receiving back pay as employed.

Story Continued Below

But it could be a signal that the economy is slowing down a bit and White House hopes for sustained 3 percent growth could be wishful thinking. By the time 2020 rolls around, job creation could be slowing to around 100K per month. More below.

China talks end with a fizzle — Two days of high-level talks concluded with an Oval Office meeting and some mildly positive tweets and comments from President Donald Trump. But there was no concrete progress on the “complete deal” the president says he wants.

Trump talked about an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at which he hopes to complete a deal. But there’s very little chance Trump is going to get something both sweeping and verifiable by then. But the president still wants a deal to goose markets so he’ll probably find a way to declare victory. More below.

Herman Cain for the Fed? — Former pizza magnate, failed presidential candidate, gold standard enthusiast and accused sexual harasser Herman Cain is on a long list of potential nominees a Fed Board seat, per NEC Director Larry Kudlow. The White House is in no rush to fill the two open seats. More below.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum. **

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Welcome to February! 14 days until the next shutdown. Email me at bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at aweaver@politico.com and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver.

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES — Patrick Temple-West on trial lawyers and big asset managers’ are scramble to stop the SEC from allowing companies to block shareholder lawsuits. To get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m., please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or info@politicopro.com.

Jobs report at 8:30 a.m. … ISM manufacturing at 10:00 a.m. expected to rise to 54.3 from 54.1 … University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 a.m. expected to drop sharply to 90.7 from 98.3

TWEET DU JOUR from Bloomberg’s @JenniferJJacobs: “SCOOP: Trump is considering Herman Cain, the former pizza company CEO who ran for president in 2012, for a seat on the Federal Reserve board, five sources told me.”

REACT — Cumberland Advisors’ David Kotok emails: “I can guess at the political analysis behind the proposed appointment. He is a complete unknown on monetary policy. But maybe the toppings will become more interesting when the FOMC orders pizza for lunch?”

TRANSITIONS — Per POLITICO’s Katy O’Donnell: “The Federal Housing Finance Agency has a new chief of staff: John Roscoe, a special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Roscoe will report to acting director Joseph Otting starting Monday.”

MORE ON JOBS DAY — Moody’s Mark Zandi emails: “Employment should increase by 180,000 jobs in January. The government shutdown is responsible for shaving 30,000 jobs from mostly government payrolls. …

“Abstracting from the vagaries of the data, the job market gracefully navigated the government shutdown. … However, policymakers should not take from this that government shutdowns don’t matter to the economy … Business and consumer confidence did suffer, and it wouldn’t be too much longer before nervous businesses scaled by their investment and hiring, and consumers their spending.”

Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “We have few doubts that labor demand remained strong in January, but the chance of a repeat of December’s 312K payroll gain is slim. It’s true that businesses appear to be searching for huge numbers of people, but it’s also true that since mid-2017 they haven’t been able to find as many as they’d like.”

TRUMP EYES “COMPREHENSIVE” CHINA TRADE DEAL — Our Doug Palmer and Adam Behsudi: “Trump said … talks with China aimed at defusing a bilateral trade war were making good progress, but top aides directly involved in the negotiations stressed there are many difficult issues that need to be worked out.

“‘I think we’re going to make a deal with China. But it’s going to be a very comprehensive deal. We’re going to cover everything, OK,’ Trump told reporters … However, a White House statement issued hours later stressed there are still big differences between the two sides. It also reiterated that a March 1 deadline set two months ago in Buenos Aires to reach an agreement still ‘represents a hard deadline.’”

HOUSE PANEL TO WADE INTO TRUMP TAX RETURNS ISSUE — Our Bernie Becker: “A House panel next week will be the first to wade into Democrats’ efforts to ensure that … Trump and his successors release their tax returns, setting the stage for possible political and legal battles to come.

“The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee specifically called next Thursday’s hearing to discuss a legislative proposal that would require presidents, vice presidents and major party nominees for those offices to release a decade’s worth of tax returns. But the hearing is likely to also touch on the Ways and Means Committee’s efforts to acquire and release Trump’s returns” Read more.

WARREN SETS FEB. 9 ANNOUNCEMENT — Our Natasha Korecki: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to formally announce her plans to run for president next week in an event that follows her New Year’s Eve exploratory-bid filing.

“In a message posted Thursday evening on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the Massachusetts Democrat told supporters to expect a major announcement on Feb. 9. … After the Feb. 9 event, Warren is expected to immediately ramp up her campaign travel schedule.” Read more.

TRUMP calls the congressional talks on border security funding a “waste of time” in a NYT interview and suggested he’s ready to declare a national emergency.

Get “Freezin’ for a Reason” with Special Olympics DC. Support more than 1,600 Special Olympics DC athletes and take the “Polar Plunge” on Saturday, Feb. 2. Proceeds provide sports, health and inclusion programs that benefit both children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the District. Visit www.dcpolarplunge.org to register as an individual, as a team or join an existing team.

S&P 500 SEES BEST JANUARY IN YEARS — AP’s Damian Troise and Alex Veiga: “Wall Street got its mojo back in January after finishing 2018 with its worst December since 1931. Stocks finished higher Thursday, closing out the month with the best gain for the S&P 500 index since October 2015. A series of strong corporate earnings helped power the monthlong rally, which followed a dismal December that nearly brought the benchmark index into a bear market, meaning a decline of 20 percent from a recent peak.” Read more.

But it was a rough day for Amazon — Bloomberg’s Spencer Soper: “Amazon.com Inc. shares dropped after the e-commerce giant gave a tepid first-quarter sales forecast and raised concerns about rising costs, slowing retail growth and a murky outlook for its business in India. Sales will be $56 billion to $60 billion in the current period, the company said Thursday, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $61 billion.” Read more.

WORLD’S LARGEST PENSION FUND TAKES A HIT — Bloomberg’s Keiko Ujikane and Shigeki Nozawa: “The world’s largest pension fund may have incurred a record loss after a global equity rout last quarter pummeled an asset class that made up about half of its investments. Total assets at Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may have dropped to 155.6 trillion yen ($1.43 trillion) as of the end of December … That would be a record decline of about 14 trillion yen from the end of September.” Read more.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TODAY’S JOBS REPORT — NYT’s Ben Casselman: “American employers have added jobs for 99 consecutive months, easily a record, and most economists expect the streak to hit 100 with Friday’s report. The unemployment rate is under 4 percent for the first time since the Clinton administration, and wage growth — long a weak point — has been picking up. December’s job figures, which will be revised on Friday, were among the strongest of the entire recovery.

“But the shutdown idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers for much of January, and left hundreds of thousands of others working without pay. Ripple effects hit everyone from unpaid government contractors to Washington lunch spots that lost business.” Read more.

CENTRAL BANKS SHIFT ON STIMULUS PLANS — WSJ’s Brian Blackstone: “A slowing global economy and low inflation has central banks around the world rethinking plans to gradually pull back financial stimulus from markets and the banking system.

“The role reversal could support the economy in the months ahead and bolster markets and sectors like housing and autos. Central bankers have geared their messages toward pausing on tightening steps rather than imminently launching new stimulus. That is because they doubt the global economy is going beyond a slowdown toward outright recession.” Read more.

ITALY SLIDES INTO RECESSION — NYT’s Jack Ewing and Jason Horowitz: “Italy has officially slipped into recession, and Europe as a whole is essentially at an economic standstill, raising anxieties that the world is on the verge of a significant slowdown. …

“The Italian economy shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the third quarter, Istat, the Italian statistics agency, said. It was the second quarter in a row of declining output and that, by one common definition, means a recession. It is Italy’s third since 2008.” Read more.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. The event will be held from 9AM-2PM. No-cost attendance includes lunch and a cocktail hour following the event. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum.

The Forum brings together hundreds of industry stakeholders, policymakers, academic experts and financial regulators to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the future of the housing finance system. With a vested interest in protecting the nation’s housing market, NAR continues to examine and advocate for potential approaches to housing finance reform efforts that would be most beneficial for consumers and promote broader credit access.

Featured panels will focus on lessons learned from the housing crisis and innovative solutions for the future role of the GSEs. Participants will include former Chairmen Jeb Hensarling and Barney Frank. **

Source link

from RSSUnify feed https://hashtaghighways.com/2019/02/03/welcome-to-jobs-day-politico-2/ from Garko Media https://garkomedia1.tumblr.com/post/182520282119

[nicholerestrada]

Welcome to Jobs Day – POLITICO

Editor’s Note: This edition of Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

Welcome to Jobs Day — Job creation expected to slow in the January employment report out at 8:30 a.m. Expectations are for a gain of 160K with unemployment staying at 3.9 percent and wages up another 0.3 percent. The shutdown shouldn’t have a huge impact as BLS will count furloughed workers receiving back pay as employed.

Story Continued Below

But it could be a signal that the economy is slowing down a bit and White House hopes for sustained 3 percent growth could be wishful thinking. By the time 2020 rolls around, job creation could be slowing to around 100K per month. More below.

China talks end with a fizzle — Two days of high-level talks concluded with an Oval Office meeting and some mildly positive tweets and comments from President Donald Trump. But there was no concrete progress on the “complete deal” the president says he wants.

Trump talked about an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at which he hopes to complete a deal. But there’s very little chance Trump is going to get something both sweeping and verifiable by then. But the president still wants a deal to goose markets so he’ll probably find a way to declare victory. More below.

Herman Cain for the Fed? — Former pizza magnate, failed presidential candidate, gold standard enthusiast and accused sexual harasser Herman Cain is on a long list of potential nominees a Fed Board seat, per NEC Director Larry Kudlow. The White House is in no rush to fill the two open seats. More below.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum. **

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Welcome to February! 14 days until the next shutdown. Email me at bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at aweaver@politico.com and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver.

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES — Patrick Temple-West on trial lawyers and big asset managers’ are scramble to stop the SEC from allowing companies to block shareholder lawsuits. To get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m., please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or info@politicopro.com.

Jobs report at 8:30 a.m. … ISM manufacturing at 10:00 a.m. expected to rise to 54.3 from 54.1 … University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 a.m. expected to drop sharply to 90.7 from 98.3

TWEET DU JOUR from Bloomberg’s @JenniferJJacobs: “SCOOP: Trump is considering Herman Cain, the former pizza company CEO who ran for president in 2012, for a seat on the Federal Reserve board, five sources told me.”

REACT — Cumberland Advisors’ David Kotok emails: “I can guess at the political analysis behind the proposed appointment. He is a complete unknown on monetary policy. But maybe the toppings will become more interesting when the FOMC orders pizza for lunch?”

TRANSITIONS — Per POLITICO’s Katy O’Donnell: “The Federal Housing Finance Agency has a new chief of staff: John Roscoe, a special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Roscoe will report to acting director Joseph Otting starting Monday.”

MORE ON JOBS DAY — Moody’s Mark Zandi emails: “Employment should increase by 180,000 jobs in January. The government shutdown is responsible for shaving 30,000 jobs from mostly government payrolls. …

“Abstracting from the vagaries of the data, the job market gracefully navigated the government shutdown. … However, policymakers should not take from this that government shutdowns don’t matter to the economy … Business and consumer confidence did suffer, and it wouldn’t be too much longer before nervous businesses scaled by their investment and hiring, and consumers their spending.”

Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “We have few doubts that labor demand remained strong in January, but the chance of a repeat of December’s 312K payroll gain is slim. It’s true that businesses appear to be searching for huge numbers of people, but it’s also true that since mid-2017 they haven’t been able to find as many as they’d like.”

TRUMP EYES “COMPREHENSIVE” CHINA TRADE DEAL — Our Doug Palmer and Adam Behsudi: “Trump said … talks with China aimed at defusing a bilateral trade war were making good progress, but top aides directly involved in the negotiations stressed there are many difficult issues that need to be worked out.

“‘I think we’re going to make a deal with China. But it’s going to be a very comprehensive deal. We’re going to cover everything, OK,’ Trump told reporters … However, a White House statement issued hours later stressed there are still big differences between the two sides. It also reiterated that a March 1 deadline set two months ago in Buenos Aires to reach an agreement still ‘represents a hard deadline.’”

HOUSE PANEL TO WADE INTO TRUMP TAX RETURNS ISSUE — Our Bernie Becker: “A House panel next week will be the first to wade into Democrats’ efforts to ensure that … Trump and his successors release their tax returns, setting the stage for possible political and legal battles to come.

“The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee specifically called next Thursday’s hearing to discuss a legislative proposal that would require presidents, vice presidents and major party nominees for those offices to release a decade’s worth of tax returns. But the hearing is likely to also touch on the Ways and Means Committee’s efforts to acquire and release Trump’s returns” Read more.

WARREN SETS FEB. 9 ANNOUNCEMENT — Our Natasha Korecki: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to formally announce her plans to run for president next week in an event that follows her New Year’s Eve exploratory-bid filing.

“In a message posted Thursday evening on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the Massachusetts Democrat told supporters to expect a major announcement on Feb. 9. … After the Feb. 9 event, Warren is expected to immediately ramp up her campaign travel schedule.” Read more.

TRUMP calls the congressional talks on border security funding a “waste of time” in a NYT interview and suggested he’s ready to declare a national emergency.

Get “Freezin’ for a Reason” with Special Olympics DC. Support more than 1,600 Special Olympics DC athletes and take the “Polar Plunge” on Saturday, Feb. 2. Proceeds provide sports, health and inclusion programs that benefit both children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the District. Visit http://www.dcpolarplunge.org to register as an individual, as a team or join an existing team.

S&P 500 SEES BEST JANUARY IN YEARS — AP’s Damian Troise and Alex Veiga: “Wall Street got its mojo back in January after finishing 2018 with its worst December since 1931. Stocks finished higher Thursday, closing out the month with the best gain for the S&P 500 index since October 2015. A series of strong corporate earnings helped power the monthlong rally, which followed a dismal December that nearly brought the benchmark index into a bear market, meaning a decline of 20 percent from a recent peak.” Read more.

But it was a rough day for Amazon — Bloomberg’s Spencer Soper: “Amazon.com Inc. shares dropped after the e-commerce giant gave a tepid first-quarter sales forecast and raised concerns about rising costs, slowing retail growth and a murky outlook for its business in India. Sales will be $56 billion to $60 billion in the current period, the company said Thursday, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $61 billion.” Read more.

WORLD’S LARGEST PENSION FUND TAKES A HIT — Bloomberg’s Keiko Ujikane and Shigeki Nozawa: “The world’s largest pension fund may have incurred a record loss after a global equity rout last quarter pummeled an asset class that made up about half of its investments. Total assets at Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may have dropped to 155.6 trillion yen ($1.43 trillion) as of the end of December … That would be a record decline of about 14 trillion yen from the end of September.” Read more.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TODAY’S JOBS REPORT — NYT’s Ben Casselman: “American employers have added jobs for 99 consecutive months, easily a record, and most economists expect the streak to hit 100 with Friday’s report. The unemployment rate is under 4 percent for the first time since the Clinton administration, and wage growth — long a weak point — has been picking up. December’s job figures, which will be revised on Friday, were among the strongest of the entire recovery.

“But the shutdown idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers for much of January, and left hundreds of thousands of others working without pay. Ripple effects hit everyone from unpaid government contractors to Washington lunch spots that lost business.” Read more.

CENTRAL BANKS SHIFT ON STIMULUS PLANS — WSJ’s Brian Blackstone: “A slowing global economy and low inflation has central banks around the world rethinking plans to gradually pull back financial stimulus from markets and the banking system.

“The role reversal could support the economy in the months ahead and bolster markets and sectors like housing and autos. Central bankers have geared their messages toward pausing on tightening steps rather than imminently launching new stimulus. That is because they doubt the global economy is going beyond a slowdown toward outright recession.” Read more.

ITALY SLIDES INTO RECESSION — NYT’s Jack Ewing and Jason Horowitz: “Italy has officially slipped into recession, and Europe as a whole is essentially at an economic standstill, raising anxieties that the world is on the verge of a significant slowdown. …

“The Italian economy shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the third quarter, Istat, the Italian statistics agency, said. It was the second quarter in a row of declining output and that, by one common definition, means a recession. It is Italy’s third since 2008.” Read more.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. The event will be held from 9AM-2PM. No-cost attendance includes lunch and a cocktail hour following the event. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum.

The Forum brings together hundreds of industry stakeholders, policymakers, academic experts and financial regulators to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the future of the housing finance system. With a vested interest in protecting the nation’s housing market, NAR continues to examine and advocate for potential approaches to housing finance reform efforts that would be most beneficial for consumers and promote broader credit access.

Featured panels will focus on lessons learned from the housing crisis and innovative solutions for the future role of the GSEs. Participants will include former Chairmen Jeb Hensarling and Barney Frank. **

Source link

Source: https://hashtaghighways.com/2019/02/03/welcome-to-jobs-day-politico-2/

from Garko Media https://garkomedia1.wordpress.com/2019/02/03/welcome-to-jobs-day-politico/

[orbemnews]

As China Targets H&M and Nike, Local Brands See Their Chance Tim Min once drove BMWs. He considered buying a Tesla. Instead Mr. Min, the 33-year-old owner of a Beijing cosmetics start-up, bought an electric car made by a Chinese Tesla rival, Nio. He likes Nio’s interiors and voice control features better. He also considers himself a patriot. “I have a very strong inclination toward Chinese brands and very strong patriotic emotions,” he said. “I used to love Nike, too. Now I don’t see any reason for that. If there’s a good Chinese brand to replace Nike, I’ll be very happy to.” Western brands like H&M, Nike and Adidas have come under pressure in China for refusing to use cotton produced in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has waged a broad campaign of repression against ethnic minorities. Shoppers vowed to boycott the brands. Celebrities dropped their endorsement deals. But foreign brands also face increasing pressure from a new breed of Chinese competitors making high-quality products and selling them through savvy marketing to an increasingly patriotic group of young people. There’s a term for it: “guochao,” or Chinese fad. HeyTea, a $2 billion milk tea start-up with 700 stores, wants to replace Starbucks. Yuanqisenlin, a four-year-old low-sugar drink company valued at $6 billion, wants to become China’s Coca-Cola. Ubras, a five-year-old company, wants to supplant Victoria’s Secret with the most non-Victoria’s Secret of products: unwired, sporty bras that emphasize comfort. The anger over Xinjiang cotton has given these Chinese brands another chance to win over consumers. As celebrities cut their ties to foreign brands, Li-Ning, a Chinese sportswear giant, announced that Xiao Zhan, a boy band member, would become its new global ambassador. Within 20 minutes, almost everything that Mr. Xiao wore on a Li-Ning advertisement had sold out online. A hashtag about the campaign was viewed more than one billion times. China is undergoing a consumer brand revolution. Its young generation is more nationalistic and actively looking for brands that can align with that confidently Chinese identity. Entrepreneurs are rushing to build up names and products that resonate. Investors are turning their attention to these start-ups amid dropping returns from technology and media ventures. When patriotism becomes a selling point, Western brands are put at a competitive disadvantage, especially in a country that increasingly requires global companies to toe the same political lines that Chinese firms must. China’s consumer protests are “a historic turning point and will have lasting impact on the Chinese consumers in the long run,” Mr. Min said. “The Chinese consumers don’t want to eat the same crap foreign brands have been feeding them. It’s essential that foreign brands respect Chinese consumers as much as the Chinese brands do.” Foreign brands are far from done in China. Its drivers helped power a jump in Tesla deliveries. IPhones remain immensely popular. Campaigns against foreign names have come and gone, and local brands that emphasize politics too much risk unwanted attention if the political winds shift quickly. Still, interest in local brands marks a significant shift. Post-Mao, the country made few consumer products. The first televisions that most families owned in the 1980s were from Japan. Pierre Cardin, the French designer, reintroduced fashion with his first show in Beijing in 1979, bringing color and flair to a nation that during the Cultural Revolution wore blue and gray. Chinese people born in the 1970s or earlier remember their first sip of Coco-Cola and their first bite of a Big Mac. We watched films from Hollywood, Japan and Hong Kong as much for the wardrobes and makeup as the plot. We rushed to buy Head & Shoulders shampoo because its Chinese name, Haifeisi, means “sea flying hair.” Today in Business Updated  April 5, 2021, 4:00 p.m. ET “We’ve gone through the European and American fad, the Japanese and Korean fad, the American streetwear fad, even the Hong Kong and Taiwan fad,” said Xun Shaohua, who founded a Shanghai sportswear company that competes with Vans and Converse. Now could be the time for the China fad. Chinese companies are making better products. China’s Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2009, doesn’t have the same attachment to foreign names. Even People’s Daily, the traditionally staid Communist Party official newspaper, is getting into branding. It started a streetwear collection with Li-Ning in 2019. That same year, it issued a report with Baidu, the Chinese search company, called “Guochao Pride Big Data.” They found that when people in China searched for brands, more than two-thirds were looking for domestic names, up from only about one-third 10 years earlier. As with so much in China, it can be hard to tell how much of the guochao movement involves politics. Building up homemade brands fits snugly with the Communist Party’s desire to make the country more self-reliant. Officials also want Chinese people to shop more: Household consumption makes up only about 40 percent of China’s economic output, much less than it does in the United States and Europe. Patriotism aside, entrepreneurs argue that their ventures rest on a solid business foundation. Similar trends happened in Japan and South Korea, both now home to strong brands. Local players better know the abilities of the country’s supply chains and how to use social media. Mr. Xun’s sports brand has half a million followers on Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace and sells at the same prices as Vans and Converse, or even slightly higher. He said his brand competed by making shoes that fit Chinese feet better and offering colors favored locally, such as mint green and fuchsia. He sells exclusively online and teams up with Chinese and foreign brands and personalities, including Pokeman and Hello Kitty. At 37, he’s the only person in his company who was born before 1990. The guochao fad has also reinvigorated older Chinese brands, like Li-Ning. For many years, sophisticated urbanites considered the brand, created by a former world champion gymnast of the same name, ugly and cheap. Its signature red-and-yellow color combination, after the Chinese flag, was mockingly called “eggs fried with tomato,” an everyday Chinese dish. Li-Ning was losing money. Its shares were on a losing streak. Then the company introduced a collection at New York Fashion Week in early 2018. Its edgy look, combined with bold Chinese characters and embroidery, created buzz back home. Its shares have risen nearly ninefold since then. Now Li-Ning’s high-end collections sell at $100 to $150 on average, on a par with those of Adidas. As ambitious as these businesspeople are, almost everyone I spoke to admitted that the Chinese brands still couldn’t compete with megabrands such as Coca-Cola and Nike. Alex Xie, a marketing consultant who works with companies in China, used the sportswear industry as an example. Nike holds a yearslong lead over Chinese brands in research and development. It enjoys a deep network of relationships in the sports world. It works closely with athletes to develop better shoes, sponsors many events and teams, including China’s national soccer, basketball, and track and field teams. “It simply has a much stickier relationship with its customers than any Chinese brand,” he said. But for these Western megabrands, the Xinjiang cotton dispute is a big challenge that could help their Chinese competitors. While previous outrage against Western brands such as the National Basketball Association and Dolce & Gabbana passed pretty quickly, this bout could linger, many people said. “In the past, some Western brands didn’t understand or failed to respect the Chinese culture mostly because of lack of understanding,” Mr. Xun said. “This time it’s a political issue. They have violated our political sensitivities.” Then, like any savvy Chinese entrepreneur who knows which topics are sensitive, he asked, “Could we not talk about politics?” Source link Orbem News #brands #Chance #China #local #Nike #targets

[garkomedia1]

Welcome to Jobs Day – POLITICO

Editor’s Note: This edition of Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

Welcome to Jobs Day — Job creation expected to slow in the January employment report out at 8:30 a.m. Expectations are for a gain of 160K with unemployment staying at 3.9 percent and wages up another 0.3 percent. The shutdown shouldn’t have a huge impact as BLS will count furloughed workers receiving back pay as employed.

Story Continued Below

But it could be a signal that the economy is slowing down a bit and White House hopes for sustained 3 percent growth could be wishful thinking. By the time 2020 rolls around, job creation could be slowing to around 100K per month. More below.

China talks end with a fizzle — Two days of high-level talks concluded with an Oval Office meeting and some mildly positive tweets and comments from President Donald Trump. But there was no concrete progress on the “complete deal” the president says he wants.

Trump talked about an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at which he hopes to complete a deal. But there’s very little chance Trump is going to get something both sweeping and verifiable by then. But the president still wants a deal to goose markets so he’ll probably find a way to declare victory. More below.

Herman Cain for the Fed? — Former pizza magnate, failed presidential candidate, gold standard enthusiast and accused sexual harasser Herman Cain is on a long list of potential nominees a Fed Board seat, per NEC Director Larry Kudlow. The White House is in no rush to fill the two open seats. More below.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum. **

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Welcome to February! 14 days until the next shutdown. Email me at bwhite@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at aweaver@politico.com and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver.

THIS MORNING ON POLITICO PRO FINANCIAL SERVICES — Patrick Temple-West on trial lawyers and big asset managers’ are scramble to stop the SEC from allowing companies to block shareholder lawsuits. To get Morning Money every day before 6 a.m., please contact Pro Services at (703) 341-4600 or info@politicopro.com.

Jobs report at 8:30 a.m. … ISM manufacturing at 10:00 a.m. expected to rise to 54.3 from 54.1 … University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 a.m. expected to drop sharply to 90.7 from 98.3

TWEET DU JOUR from Bloomberg’s @JenniferJJacobs: “SCOOP: Trump is considering Herman Cain, the former pizza company CEO who ran for president in 2012, for a seat on the Federal Reserve board, five sources told me.”

REACT — Cumberland Advisors’ David Kotok emails: “I can guess at the political analysis behind the proposed appointment. He is a complete unknown on monetary policy. But maybe the toppings will become more interesting when the FOMC orders pizza for lunch?”

TRANSITIONS — Per POLITICO’s Katy O’Donnell: “The Federal Housing Finance Agency has a new chief of staff: John Roscoe, a special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Roscoe will report to acting director Joseph Otting starting Monday.”

MORE ON JOBS DAY — Moody’s Mark Zandi emails: “Employment should increase by 180,000 jobs in January. The government shutdown is responsible for shaving 30,000 jobs from mostly government payrolls. …

“Abstracting from the vagaries of the data, the job market gracefully navigated the government shutdown. … However, policymakers should not take from this that government shutdowns don’t matter to the economy … Business and consumer confidence did suffer, and it wouldn’t be too much longer before nervous businesses scaled by their investment and hiring, and consumers their spending.”

Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “We have few doubts that labor demand remained strong in January, but the chance of a repeat of December’s 312K payroll gain is slim. It’s true that businesses appear to be searching for huge numbers of people, but it’s also true that since mid-2017 they haven’t been able to find as many as they’d like.”

TRUMP EYES “COMPREHENSIVE” CHINA TRADE DEAL — Our Doug Palmer and Adam Behsudi: “Trump said … talks with China aimed at defusing a bilateral trade war were making good progress, but top aides directly involved in the negotiations stressed there are many difficult issues that need to be worked out.

“‘I think we’re going to make a deal with China. But it’s going to be a very comprehensive deal. We’re going to cover everything, OK,’ Trump told reporters … However, a White House statement issued hours later stressed there are still big differences between the two sides. It also reiterated that a March 1 deadline set two months ago in Buenos Aires to reach an agreement still ‘represents a hard deadline.’”

HOUSE PANEL TO WADE INTO TRUMP TAX RETURNS ISSUE — Our Bernie Becker: “A House panel next week will be the first to wade into Democrats’ efforts to ensure that … Trump and his successors release their tax returns, setting the stage for possible political and legal battles to come.

“The House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee specifically called next Thursday’s hearing to discuss a legislative proposal that would require presidents, vice presidents and major party nominees for those offices to release a decade’s worth of tax returns. But the hearing is likely to also touch on the Ways and Means Committee’s efforts to acquire and release Trump’s returns” Read more.

WARREN SETS FEB. 9 ANNOUNCEMENT — Our Natasha Korecki: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to formally announce her plans to run for president next week in an event that follows her New Year’s Eve exploratory-bid filing.

“In a message posted Thursday evening on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, the Massachusetts Democrat told supporters to expect a major announcement on Feb. 9. … After the Feb. 9 event, Warren is expected to immediately ramp up her campaign travel schedule.” Read more.

TRUMP calls the congressional talks on border security funding a “waste of time” in a NYT interview and suggested he’s ready to declare a national emergency.

Get “Freezin’ for a Reason” with Special Olympics DC. Support more than 1,600 Special Olympics DC athletes and take the “Polar Plunge” on Saturday, Feb. 2. Proceeds provide sports, health and inclusion programs that benefit both children and adults with intellectual disabilities in the District. Visit www.dcpolarplunge.org to register as an individual, as a team or join an existing team.

S&P 500 SEES BEST JANUARY IN YEARS — AP’s Damian Troise and Alex Veiga: “Wall Street got its mojo back in January after finishing 2018 with its worst December since 1931. Stocks finished higher Thursday, closing out the month with the best gain for the S&P 500 index since October 2015. A series of strong corporate earnings helped power the monthlong rally, which followed a dismal December that nearly brought the benchmark index into a bear market, meaning a decline of 20 percent from a recent peak.” Read more.

But it was a rough day for Amazon — Bloomberg’s Spencer Soper: “Amazon.com Inc. shares dropped after the e-commerce giant gave a tepid first-quarter sales forecast and raised concerns about rising costs, slowing retail growth and a murky outlook for its business in India. Sales will be $56 billion to $60 billion in the current period, the company said Thursday, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $61 billion.” Read more.

WORLD’S LARGEST PENSION FUND TAKES A HIT — Bloomberg’s Keiko Ujikane and Shigeki Nozawa: “The world’s largest pension fund may have incurred a record loss after a global equity rout last quarter pummeled an asset class that made up about half of its investments. Total assets at Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund may have dropped to 155.6 trillion yen ($1.43 trillion) as of the end of December … That would be a record decline of about 14 trillion yen from the end of September.” Read more.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM TODAY’S JOBS REPORT — NYT’s Ben Casselman: “American employers have added jobs for 99 consecutive months, easily a record, and most economists expect the streak to hit 100 with Friday’s report. The unemployment rate is under 4 percent for the first time since the Clinton administration, and wage growth — long a weak point — has been picking up. December’s job figures, which will be revised on Friday, were among the strongest of the entire recovery.

“But the shutdown idled hundreds of thousands of federal workers for much of January, and left hundreds of thousands of others working without pay. Ripple effects hit everyone from unpaid government contractors to Washington lunch spots that lost business.” Read more.

CENTRAL BANKS SHIFT ON STIMULUS PLANS — WSJ’s Brian Blackstone: “A slowing global economy and low inflation has central banks around the world rethinking plans to gradually pull back financial stimulus from markets and the banking system.

“The role reversal could support the economy in the months ahead and bolster markets and sectors like housing and autos. Central bankers have geared their messages toward pausing on tightening steps rather than imminently launching new stimulus. That is because they doubt the global economy is going beyond a slowdown toward outright recession.” Read more.

ITALY SLIDES INTO RECESSION — NYT’s Jack Ewing and Jason Horowitz: “Italy has officially slipped into recession, and Europe as a whole is essentially at an economic standstill, raising anxieties that the world is on the verge of a significant slowdown. …

“The Italian economy shrank 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared with the third quarter, Istat, the Italian statistics agency, said. It was the second quarter in a row of declining output and that, by one common definition, means a recession. It is Italy’s third since 2008.” Read more.

** A message from the National Association of REALTORS®: Talks on GSE reform are gaining momentum in Washington, as federal control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is now in its 11th year. Join NAR for a comprehensive Housing Finance Reform policy forum on Thursday, February 7, at the Grand Hyatt. The event will be held from 9AM-2PM. No-cost attendance includes lunch and a cocktail hour following the event. Register today at nar.realtor/events/nar-policy-forum.

The Forum brings together hundreds of industry stakeholders, policymakers, academic experts and financial regulators to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the future of the housing finance system. With a vested interest in protecting the nation’s housing market, NAR continues to examine and advocate for potential approaches to housing finance reform efforts that would be most beneficial for consumers and promote broader credit access.

Featured panels will focus on lessons learned from the housing crisis and innovative solutions for the future role of the GSEs. Participants will include former Chairmen Jeb Hensarling and Barney Frank. **

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