#oops that turned out long

[perlukafarinn]

Okay so I have a few experts I need to share from the story "Surprise!" by Nichelle Nichols, published in The New Voyages II in 1978.

It's about the crew throwing Kirk a surprise party, and Spock running around trying to keep Kirk from finding out (at Uhura's request), and it is bonkers. Kirk and Spock flirt so much, both with each other and also with Uhura (get it, girl!). Let's just get into it...

Talking about birthday spankings on the second page of the story. Nichelle is not messing around.

Then a couple of pages later, Kirk is teasingly asking Spock to tuck him in and Spock actually teases him back and then Kirk has to back down because he's not sure Spock wouldn't follow through.

Afterwards, Spock is all "phew, resisted that temptation" and talking about how his Vulcan decorum is "none too secure" when it comes to Kirk and this was published in 1978.

And then.... oh boy, I have to include this entire page and a half. I have to!

(Scott's eyes "did not even widen" what fresh gay hell is this)

I do not wanna know what mental gymnastics Spock performed to go from "must distract Kirk" to picking him up and carrying him around but I'm sure it was all very logical.

(Also, "Kirk whispered silkenly"? Nichelle actually writes Kirk as not only very flirty in this story but kind of seductive in an almost demure sort of way. I'm very into it)

Then later, Uhura is in Spock's cabin for plot related reasons, while Kirk is in the shared bathroom showering. And then for whatever reason

Kirk enters Spock's cabin in nothing but a towel, still dripping wet from his shower. Is this a common occurrence????

Next is my favorite bit (aside from Spock's completely necessary and flawlessly logical decision to pick Kirk up and carry him around like his newlywed bride, of course)

Kirk and Spock are in Spock's cabin and Kirk thinks he hears something in the next room. It's Uhura and co, but since Kirk isn't supposed to know about the surprise party juuust yet, Spock goes full gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss on his ass

Spock knows exactly which buttons to push to most effectively distract Kirk. Kirk's actually blushing and I am going insane

(1978!!!)

That is a direct reference to Amok Time. Nichelle Nichols, you beautiful genius.

But we're not quite done!

I just. I can't get over how obvious this is. Kirk is blushing and bashfully looking at Spock over the rim of his glass and flirting like there's no tomorrow. Insane. Insane!

In short, thank you, Nichelle Nichols for your service and thank you @1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt for bringing this story to my attention.

[inkskinned]

being single in your late 20s & 30s is so fucking wild bc on one hand it's fun and flirty and you skip a lot of the bullshit because you know what you're looking for and you know how to spot a red flag from a mile away and you've learned to set boundaries and communicate your own and be upfront about your needs and most of the time they've learned it too - and if they haven't, you can tell after the second date that they haven't been to therapy

and every time you feel lonely and dried up and an ugly husk there's a whole community of other single people out there who are just as unhinged and want to hang out with you because they just need a plus-one like you do and you get introduced to like. people in their 60's and 70's and 80's who are all like - nope, single life is my choice and i love it and you feel warm and seen and like okay, it's not the end of the world if i'm not seeing anybody. and yeah it's hard and sometimes exhausting but part of getting better is that you do make like so many friends and do so much wild shit because you made a promise to yourself that you'll actually get out there and try shit and actually work on your hobbies and skills and friendships because to be honest in relationships you wouldn't push yourself this hard and it's actually been super rewarding because it came from you and from what you wanted

and yes of course the apps such and dating in general can suck but after one of the bad dates you go back to your apartment and call up those friends you made and make jokes about what the other person said and it rolls right off your back and you have plans for self-care in the morning. you prioritize yourself and your happiness and you really actually don't mind it, a lot of the time, unless it's like at a wedding and they're doing one of those couples-related things. most of the time it's not even a problem except when you can tell people pity you for it and you're like - i'm actually fine, babe, even without a partner i am still, like a person and yes of course it would be nice to have a partner but you have established yourself as a person and as an adult in a way that feels really hard-won and well-earned and you're protective of that and of the life you're living and honestly you're pretty happy, all things considered

and at the same time you do have to tell your father that you are single on purpose right now and that, yes, believe it or not, they're letting women be single past the age of 30 these days without burning us at the stake (can you imagine!) and you have to kind of sit pretty while people make jokes about how you're losing your marriageability and you're like, a little too old for the bars and the clubs and whatever but you do still want to go out dancing and it's like. the other day you went to a board game party and had the time of your life and then your mom calls you and says she's worried because what if you never find the one, shouldn't you be spending more time looking? and you're like - trying to balance this place where you're actually, like, perfectly okay? except you hear this thing over and over and over - oh no. that's so sad. i hope you find your lover. and you weren't really upset about it until someone suggested that you're running out of time and until someone said that it's so miserable that you live without someone to kiss and you're like why can't anyone believe that i'm genuinely happy. like. joy. like. bliss.

and then they look at you and they look at their partner and the look passes between them that says - poor thing. you're just lying to yourself about this.

[meamiki]

5% of a color headcanon.... two versions since b&w emphasizes the dagger more i think but i still like the warm tones ASFSADA

i am not biased towards rainbow daggers whatsoever i promise (lie)

((also friend is streaming now and im there too!! bit more info linked here, its rated mature tho))

[jellydragons]

tetra is having a Day

[fatherphaniel]

how has it only been 2 weeks since the first tit show, i feel like i've lived 10 lifetimes

[splickedylit]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Homestuck Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Gamzee Makara & Karkat Vantas, "It's Complicated" Grand Highblood (Homestuck) & The Signless | The Sufferer Characters: Gamzee Makara, Karkat Vantas, The Signless | The Sufferer, Grand Highblood (Homestuck), Sollux Captor Additional Tags: Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Alternate Universe - Emperor Vantases, Harems, Pale Harem, Ghosts, Art/Writing Mention of the Sufferer's execution including;, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Dubiously Consensual Body Modification, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence Summary:

==> Gamzee: How the fuck did you end up in the Conciliatrium of His Triumphant Ascendance?

Motherfucker that is exactly what you headed out today to find out. -- (An imported Choose Your Own Adventure from my pale porn tumblr, compiled here for ease of browsing)

[desultory-novice]

"There Will Be Blood Shed"

" '...Don't do it?' " " 'I want to live...?' "

"I wanted to live too."

"...Once..."

-

Soooooo, as you can imagine, I finally listened to "The Only Thing I Know For Real" from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and while apparently the character in question became something of a meme, for a first time listener, the song hit hard enough that before I knew it, I was sketching murder boy doing what he does best.

Like, not every line hits hard, but a significant number do.

"Memories broken" -Check

"The truth goes unspoken" -To Adeleine? Oooh yes

"I've even forgotten my naaaaaame" -Check and check

"I don't know the season or what is the reason I'm standing here holding my Blade" -I love the "don't know the season" part especially because on Shiver Star "summer" is what we would call "winter." Poor, mixed up kids

"A desolate place without any trace It's only the cold wind I feel" -That's Shiver Star in a nutshell

"It's me that I spite as I stand up and fight" -"Spite" in the sense that he's only hurting himself by doing this but also he regrets finding himself forced onto this path, yep...

"The only thing I know for real There will be blood shed" -See title

"The man in the mirror nods his head" -Reminds me of the Apologies title card I drew where Noir and Blade are reflected upon each other in the gleam of the sword.

"The only one left will ride upon the dragon's back" -....Okay, I have no witty comment here. Dragons are just a rock song thing! Oh! He did wear that dragon onesie when he was little??

"Because the mountains don't give back what they take." -Pfft! I'm sorry! I got curious and listened to "Wheelchair Sam" FIRST and thanks to that visual of him rolling down the mountain, I can't hear any of the "mountain" lines without laughing XD

"Losing my identity Wondering have I gone insane?" -Ahem! Back to serious and yeah. Though, Noir was usually too focused to stop and question what he was doing (...he couldn't dare...)

 "Looking downward from this deadly height Never realizing why I fight" -Ahh...this one hurts, thinking about all the nights he would sneak out of bed to hang out on the roofs and the number of times he peered over the edge (into the abyss...) Though Noir knows why he fights, he probably spent a lot of time wondering why he's alive

-

「やめろ？」 「まだ生きたい？」 オレも生きたかった… …かつて、な。

Sometimes I hear certain chunks of dialogue in Japanese in my head first and have to translate them into English to get down what I want them to say XD And I just really like the idea of Noir being "I might've sympathized, but I just don't have room for that anymore. I have too much to do before the end and you're standing in my way."

[clockworkrobotic]

[the-first-spinjitzu-master]

It’s the first time I’ve used watercolor in years!! I thought I’d practice on my favorite character of all time <3

[jojea]

“From here on out it's pretty simple: wherever you are, there I am.”

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

I was talking about the last Airbender with one of my friends and how the whole "ending the cycle of violence" actually works really well and serves the story and the message it wants to send. it's one of these only instances where the choice of not killing the big bad guy makes SO much sense beyond the "murder bad".

It's the air tribe SURVIVING the genocide the fire nation despite all the hurt. It's so thematically powerful.

But having the supposedly anti imperialist show KEEP the military at the end? Is misguided at best. We're talking abt the same military that is built upon the blood and exploitation of others. Like the point is RIGHT THERE, and yet...

And gen I think that's what Arakawa is; misguided.

Cause she gets so many things right in her works that I don't get how else she could've chosen to end Scar's arc like *that*.

I just think she hasn't been properly introduced to intersectionality and radicalism and thus she's stuck in the liberal limbo. But then again, I might be wrong idk ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

ATLA shares a similar anxiety towards the oppressed who become "too violent" ala Jet and Hama. Pulls the classic "make the radical/angered victim of genocide behave cruelly to their fellows in order to equivocate the violence of entrenched power with those lacking".

Though I can give it to ATLA that, narratively, Aang defanging Ozai rather than killing him is an act of reclamation of his culture, as the sole surviving Air Nomad. Though we can ask how the meta-narrative uses this cultural context to soften the blow against an empire. But, given the homage to existing pacifist practices and ideologies, it feels more earnest and less nakedly protective of imperialist institutions compared to mangahood. But the cycle of violence is the growth of the Fire Nation as an imperial power, not the retaliation against the war machine; if Aang had chosen to kill Ozai, that's not a perpetuation of a cycle. Empires don't arise simply because someone took one down, and empires don't conquer and slaughter people because an empire had been quelled. The cycle of violence doesn't really map onto such things as imperialism, not without flattening all violence to "bad always".

It's been a long time since I watched the show; contrasting it to Brotherhood would work well, but who has the time? If nothing else, ATLA at least follows the victims and survivors of the Fire Nation's imperialism and massacres, rather than mangahood which largely stars genociders and imperial citizens. From what I can recall, it also has better pacing, doesn't squander its more serious and sombre moments with ill-timed gags, and the comedy/gags are more seamless/less intrusive than Brotherhood in particular. So hey, there's that too.

The supposedly "leftist", "anti-imperialist" show (Brotherhood) sure does a lot of excusing, coddling, and valorizing the military as an institution. It rests on a juvenile conception of noble idealism that, surely, all proud upstanding soldiers want to achieve for the nation. Positive nationalism! That's good and righteous, yeah? (No.) We sidestep the fact that no amount of 'noble' propaganda changes the exceptional violence that a military is literally meant to wield against those the state governs/wishes to govern/wishes to eradicate because, actually! It's the homunculi! Father makes the military and the nation it controls bad!

So there, problem solved. Anti-imperialism achieved.

We can only speculate on Arakawa's personal political beliefs. One's works are not necessarily indicative of every thought, belief, and action you hold or wish to see in the world. So no doubt she is simultaneously misguided on some things, liberal/nationalist/reactionary in others, and perhaps holds some quality beliefs as well. People are multifaceted messes, all of us. But, at least while looking at the politic of this one work of hers, it is boldly pro-military, pro-nationalist via reformism and the maintenance of the hegemon of powerful nation, and, frankly, racist towards brown people. Arguably mangahood is orientalist in its treatment of Ishval (exotified and negative/"savage"/"primitive"), Xerxes (exotified and 'positive', excuses and exemplifies the protags and their heritage, "advanced"/"civilized"/tragic in contrast with Ishval which is seen as aggressive on par with Amestris), and to an extent Xing.

Tbh, my biases prevent me from shaking the thought that she hated that Sho Aikawa et al had Amestris be shone in the hideous light of its systematic cruelty. That she resented Scar being made to be the enemy of Amestris as an entity, and a direct enemy of its military. (Oh no, he's an enemy of all the "~good~" that militaries stand for! 😱😱😱/immense sarcasm)

Perhaps she always planned for her version of her character to be 'reformed' (I have to hold in my bile). Perhaps that plot beat only blossomed in her mind after witnessing Scar kill off 7000 soldiers in his final act, 1) because she thinks that's cruel to the soldiers (🙄🙄🙄), and 2) because waaaah Scar died 'evil' (🙄🙄🙄🙄). As Brotherhood carried forward in its plot, all I could see were direct inversions of 03. And Liore (as well as Scar) is a prime example. Look at how Brotherhood assures us that actually the Liorans are fiiiiiiiine, they all banded together to work as a team to rebuild, they just got all turned around and violent but it's no one's fault except the nebulous sins of humanity, haha whoops! They're super happy, their outlook bright and cheery! No more military aggression here, and all without the violence of resistance fighters! We don't even blame the guy who upended the theocratic rule of the city, no sirree. All is well! Rose even thanks Ed for showing them "the way". All of this is a direct rebuttal to the horrific violence of the military invasion shown in 03, of the mass slaughter, of the rape, of Ed being shown the part he played in this destruction. Edward surrounded by the crowded graveyard of murdered Liorans as Scar stands above him, having been right all along about the role people working in the military will play, is one of 03's clear-eyed condemnations of the sabotage and subterfuge powerful states use against their targets. Rose doesn't thank Ed for what he did, for what happened to Liore, and the mass suffering caused on behalf of the state, for which his meddling accomplished.

It couldn't be more clear that Arakawa was not ok with any of this. I could chalk it up to "she simply wanted to set her manga apart from the first anime" which I know to be the case more broadly, given her statements on the matter. But it's the way she ignores Liore in her version of the story, the way everyone is oddly... fine. The way Rose assures Winry that they've improved as a people as a result. And the way Scar is just routinely tarred and flogged until he bends to the military while decrying his own actions as "terrorism" (I won't dive into the numerous meanings of such a loaded term for now). It's all of that that makes me see her work as a more active, intentional political statement rather than an accidental, incidental one.

As I stated before though, neither of us can be certain on what she believes within herself, let alone what she would claim. (People have a tendency to feel one way but their actions and reactions may claim otherwise. You can say you're against imperial violence while making millions of excuses for imperial nations.) It's still worth dissecting what can be seen, directly stated, and interpreted from mangahood itself, sans the author. Because regardless, the works themselves do have a voice. And that voice is often heard without the context of 03. Because I'm sorry, but mangahood would not be so stringent on its reformism without 03's more stark, relatively realistic take on militarism and imperialism.

Yet mangahood purists would have us believe that it exists not in conversation or rebuttal to 03 but instead in a vacuum. Pure. At best some fans see mangahood as a 'correction' of the 'mistake' of the 2003 adaptation, simply because the source material is king even when that source material doesn't fully predate the 03 anime. And that's fucking ridiculous and warps the chronology of fma's history as a franchise all for the convenience of ignoring mangahood's glaring contrivances and issues.

[dazais-guardian-angel]

kinda wild to me that one of the most compelling aspects of both Chuuya and Kunikida's characters to me, that I never really see talked about, is how they're heavily set on a doomed crash course towards complete and utter destruction, and how I am so, so worried for them both.....

[lampochkaart]

Kirumi

Little analysis⬇️

I don't think we talk enough about how manipulative Kirumi can be. When she was considered the main suspect, she began to lie, emphasizing that she always valued the needs of others more than her own. This is partly true, but in that situation she was not caring about THEM, but about other people. And in order to remove suspicion from herself (and make everyone vote incorrectly), she used any methods. She even tried to evoke pity by crying. But the dirtiest method she used was that she used Kaede's wish to convince them that she would never try to deceive them. She knew that this wish became a symbol of hope for the group, she knew that Kaede was very important to Shuichi, she knew that it was still very difficult for him to reveal the truth. But she used it to her advantage.

When she was found out and already chosen as the killer, Kirumi tried to force everyone to fight Monokuma for her (which would inevitably lead to someone's death), causing everyone to feel guilty towards the entire country for which she was responsible. And it almost worked.

But Kaito brought everyone to their senses with his speech that there is no such thing as the “price of life.” They can't just give their lives because "it's would be better that way". Their lives matter. " Life's purpose is to be lived". He firmly stated that he wanted to live, which was actually a very brave act, because people could've called him an egoist for putting his life before the lives of an entire nation. However, he was supported by... Kokichi. He brought the group's attention to what Kirumi was actually trying to do. He revealed that she planned to use them to escape. And she confirmed that he was right with her words.

Also how different her behavior was before this from how aggressive she becomes when she sees that her tactics didn't work (and at a couple of other points during the class trial when she was just starting to get accused).

I'm NOT trying to make her out to be a villain and say she's bad. But I don't like how this imperfect side of her character is often ignored. She is often positioned only as a selfless servant, which in my opinion is wrong. I DO NOT deny her selfless devotion, but I believe that the trial brought out another side of her. She really wanted to survive. She really wanted to get out. I believe that one of the reasons of her breakdown was due to the fact that she broke under the pressure of all the responsibility that was placed on her.

In the official manga, Kiyo analogizes their situation to a tradition called "jincan", where many poisonous insects are sealed in a jar and they begin to devour each other until only one insect remains. Kirumi reasons with him that if any being sees a chance to get out of the hell they are locked in, they will do anything to achieve this goal.

I love how Danganronpa often defies obvious expectations. Like, you expect Kirumi to become a killer because someone will use her and she won't be able to refuse because of her desire to serve. But in reality, she almost sacrificed the lives of the entire group in order to get out herself.

In conclusion, I think it is important to recognize Kirumi not only as a obedient Ultimate Servant, but also as a girl who desperately wants to live, who is ready to do ANYTHING to get out. She is ready to go to great lengths if necessary to achieve this goal.

Many of Kirumi's moments have a theme of surviving no matter what: her behavior at the Class Trial (the fact that she initially tried to frame Himiko, who can not stand up for herself), her manipulation at the end of the trial, her breakdown before her execution, execution itself, where she tries to escape so desperately that she climbs up a thorny vine through a tunnel, not stopping even when circular saws appear from the walls (her escape attempt was clearly part of the execution, Monokuma knew what she will try to do and made sure to cause her as much despair as possible, giving her hope of getting out).

She wanted to get out not only to continue to serve, but also because she just wanted to survive. She wanted to do something not only for the sake of others, but also for her own sake. Perhaps for the first time in her life.

I love seeing complex characters who have many sides and flaws. So I find it strange to see that sometimes Kirumi is only described as a obedient servant. She is so much more than that. This is exactly what I love about Kirumi, what makes her so interesting.

***

Uh, hey. I just wanted to ask if you would be intrested in seeing here more of my drv3 analysis (spoiler: most of them are ch 5 related). And if you are, should i make drawings to accompany them (like in the beginning of this post) or just post them as they are

[anemone-ships]

HEEHEE happy six month anniversary to us!! 🎉

i can’t believe it’s been that long since i unexpectedly started spinning this silly guy in my brain with little cartoon hearts floating above my head. :) he’s grown to mean so much to me in that time, and i can't wait to see him on the big screen again next year! thank you for making my life a little brighter, mike 💚

[summerlimeismethebrony]

@sullystar I finally did the thing!!

[spacedace]

@proshipper-on-ship​ thank you for the Dick & Dan idea you added to my other post, please enjoy some of the fall out your comment resulted in haha

“So,” Bruce tried, looking hesitantly pleased at the surprisingly light atmosphere around the table. “Anything new and exciting going on with anyone?”

There was a smattering of answers from around the table. Jason didn’t offer anything - which wasn’t surprising, that he was even there and largely not starting a fight was more than enough as far as Dick was concerned - but with some ribbing from Steph, Tim eventually admitted to finally asking that boy he’d been interested in out. Dick joined in on teasing his little brother - and even Jay gave, for him, some gentle ribbing over finally getting the balls to do something, eh Timberland? - while very carefully avoiding mentioning his own sorta-kinda thing with Dan in Bludhaven. He’d deal with his siblings making him miserable and embarrassed over it all when he actually scored a date with him thanks very much.

Things were going good.

And then Damian cleared his throat, looking imperious and uninterested at the same time as he waited for everyone to turn to look at him.

“I have an announcement on an alteration to my personal life.” He declared, chin up and looking like he was already over this whole family-bonding-time thing, which was fair. Damian had gotten better over the years, but he was still not exactly the cute and cuddly little brother. Dick still had the scar from the last time he tried to hug Dami without warning a year ago and got stabbed for the effort. Still, he was sharing, willingly even! That’s progress!

At the head of the table Bruce tilted his head, looking as cautiously hopeful as Dick felt over the youngest Wayne actually offering to share something personal. “Have you decided on what college you want to go to then?”

“No.” Dami dismissed easily, without more than a glance in Bruce’s direction. “Night and I have decided to take some time to travel before continuing any further schooling.”

Huh, honestly, Dick was kinda surprised. With how much of a perfectionist Dami was, he’d thought he’d throw himself into college with the same ferocious, competitive drive he did everything else. But then again, if Elle Nightingale was going to be taking a gap year or two, it wasn’t as if it was that much of a surprise that Dami would go and join her.

The two gremlins had been practically inseparable since they were twelve and discovered a shared love of stabbing people and adopting every animal they see. If Dami’s best friend was going to go gallivanting across the world like she always dreamed of doing, Dick couldn’t actually be that  surprised that Dami would be going with her.

Dick took a sip of his drink as Dami opened his mouth to continue with what was probably going to be to most people the world’s most harrowing game of “how many incredibly dangerous animals can we see before we end up dead on our gap year” that the two demons were undoubtedly planning.

He regretted taking that sip almost immediately as Damian said, “Night and I took our marital vows yesterday. She sends her regrets that she was unable to join us for family dinner tonight.”

Predictably, the room broke out into utter chaos.

Dick choked on his drink, spraying across the table and splattering Babs with a shower of wine. She didn’t even seem to notice, dropping her own glass as she snapped her head over to stare at Damian, the sound of breaking glass and a deep red stain pooling across the table following as she did. At the end of the table, Jay made a noise like a dying goose as the samosa he’d just popped in his mouth threatened to kill him. Cass, perhaps the most outwardly calm at the proclamation, only stared with wide eyes at her younger brother as she hit Jason on the back in an attempt to make sure he didn’t die.

Dick could practically hear the old shrieking AOL dial up noise that was Tim’s brain attempting to process what his little brother had just said, while sitting next to him Steph gave a small shriek of you what? Duke’s head was on a swivel, eyes darting from Damian, to another family member, to Damian and back again as if unsure who to even look at in the moment.

Bruce just…stared, frozen in place, face caught in the most open look of shock Dick thinks the man has ever shown in his life.

---

Damian sniffed and cast a caustic look towards - of all people - Jason, “Unlike some people, I share my good news with the family in a timely manner.”

Jay sputtered, “You know what, fuck you! Fine, you want me to share the news?” Jay snapped his head towards the rest of them. “Jazz is pregnant, baby is due next month on the sixth. Baby shower’s next weekend at Robinson Park, show up or don’t, I really don’t give a fuck.”

Or maybe he was just going to try to kill them with a heart attack.

“What the fuck?!”

“Language!”

“Who the fuck is Jazz?!”

“Language!”

“Night’s elder sister and guardian, Drake, keep up. You should know this, you’re dating her brother.”

“I’m what?”

“And Grayson is having flirtations with her other brother.”

“Dan is Elle’s older brother? Wait - how do you know about that?”

“Todd and I are in the Nightingale family group chat. We have endured far too much waxing poet about your posterior over the past months.”

“Why do they all have variations of the same name? Who gives all their children the same name?”

“He likes my ass?”

“Oh my god, bigger picture Dick, focus.”

“Seriously, do they all have the same name outside of the older sister? I feel like we need to acknowledge they all have the same name.”

“Can we go back to the fact that Damian got married? To Elle? Yesterday? How did you even do that without anyone knowing?

“Dr. Nightingale is a notary.”

“...Dr. Nightingale as in the woman Bruce is investigating Dr. Nightingale?”

“Okay but the name thing? Please tell me you’re not naming the baby some variation of the name Daniel.”

“If the gremlins get their way it will be. Do you know how many lists we’ve made that they keep sabotaging?”

“So you have Dan’s number? Could you give it to me?”

“Jesus Christ, Dick I’m begging you.”

“Why did you guys even get married?”

“For the diplomatic immunity.”

“You don’t have diplomatic immunity.”

“I do now.”

“What does that mean?”