#oval forum

[archaeologs]

The Oval Forum of Gerasa (Jerash). Illustration by Joseph Ramon Casals. Learn more / Daha fazlası https://www.archaeologs.com/w/gerasa/

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Another thing that‘s kind of a missed opportunity, the general public never loses trust in LB and CN like ever. Of course they‘re the good guys but I feel like the s4 finale should‘ve maybe kicked off doubt about the superheroes and they have to gain everybody‘s trust again throughout season 5

This is one of the many things that falls under "why Miraculous fails as a formula show." The season four ending does feel like something that should lead to the general public losing trust, but the general public losing trust requires major changes to the status quo and we can't have that, so the best they can do is Reunion, the episode where Jalil - Alix's brother - gets caught up in absurd conspiracy forums online:

Alliance Lila: PalMonarch said: Monarch is the good guy. He just wants the Miraculous to make a wish, and a lot of people say that his wish is for world peace. Ladybug and Cat Noir are against it because if there's peace, nobody will need them anymore.

And, by the end of the episode, Jalil is all aboard the Ladybug-is-Awesome! train, which is honestly disappointing because the reason Jalil goes down those rabbit holes is the fact that he's terrified about his 15-year-old sister basically disappearing:

Jalil: How could you let her go?! Alim: Jalil, enough already! Jalil: Alix was brainwashed by Ladybug! She forced her on a crusade without us and all you're doing is... nothing! Alim: Your sister wasn't forced. She went into hiding in time so that Monarch couldn't take over the Miraculous of the Rabbit. Marinette: Alix is helping Ladybug and Cat Noir restore peace!

Which is not the sort of conflict that can have a satisfying resolution in a 20-minute episode where it's not even the main focus. Both it and the public-doubt plot point deserve better than this episode and that's not even getting into the horrible Egyptology. Ma'at was NOT the goddess of random trivia! That's not what truth means in this context! While truth is associated with Ma'at, her oval role is less about pure truth and more about maintaining cosmic order, but let's not go down that rabbit hole...

[tellmeallaboutit]

knock knock (Raphael x F!Player)

Chapter 15, In Which You Dance Twist With Mr. Goat (Pulp Fiction Style)

AO3

TAGS: self-harm, sharp objects, glass, politics

There was a time, not so long ago, when you were terrified of flying. 

The mere thought of that huge metal thing plummeting from the sky for no apparent reason (well, the human factor. It's always the human factor), a minute of sheer terror, descent, and then boom.

No survivors.

No bodies ever recovered.

You used to fear situations that so brazenly took control away from you. 

Well, you were wrong; there was something strangely comforting about letting go; about snuggling up in the plush comfort of an oversized leather seat, scrolling through messages on your phone to the roar of the twin engines. 

Raphael's hand was always on your knee, his tail wrapped tightly around your ankle, as if you could escape him on the private jet - or off it. A black diamond ring on your finger sparkled in the sunlight filtering through the oval windows. 

Across from you sat Camilla, while Jens occupied the far corner seat. Yurgir was conspicuously absent; you didn't pry into his reasons, just assumed his size exceeded the weight limit of any aircraft.

A headline in the Daily Mirror caught your eye: "Who is Anya Berger? What do we know about the mysterious girl who won the heart of a billionaire in ten days?"

What do they know, you wondered and clicked.

"Walk me through the panels again," Raul asked. "And the key people to talk to."

"Morning is boring," Korilla replied. "Mental health crisis, supply chain disruptions, sustainability regulations. You start in the afternoon, sir: your first is the AI discussions with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for Technology."

"I won't say a word about this soulless drivel," Raphael said, skimming through the agenda.

Camilla choked on her coffee while Jens flinched at her sudden movement, his hand swiftly resting on the gun now.

"Mr D'Avergni, Avernus' portfolio is 15% invested in AI technologies," she said as soon as she collected herself. "What do you mean 'soulless nonsense'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I will not say a word about these abominable technologies. I have been made privy to information that they are cannibalising art and I will not stand for it". 

"Where did you hear this nonsense?" whispered Camilla. "Tumblr? Anya? Is that your doing?"

"I'm totally against AI," you interjected, without looking up from your phone, engrossed in the news article about your grunge heroin chic and manic-girl attitude.

They recommended black nail polish, drawing dark circles under your eyes and perfecting the look of total derangement to repeat your success. There were also some advanced blowjob techniques at the bottom of the article. 

"What is this panel 'Securing an Insecure World'?" asked Raphael. "I quite fancy the name."

"Sir, it has nothing to do with you. This is the macroeconomic panel on the dying middle class, youth problems, inequality, blah blah blah. Fear-mongering."

"Fear-mongering?" said Raphael. "I seem to have found my stage."

Camilla closed her eyes and put on her best smile. The flight attendant glided by in her pressed uniform and replaced your coffee; you were momentarily struck by the amount of cleavage she was showing as your eyes glanced upwards. 

To see very familiar eyes and a smile. Haarlep put a finger to her lips and gave you a little wink. You smiled back.

"Sir," Camilla said gently. "It doesn't work that way. You can't just speak whenever and about whatever you want in a global forum. It's all scripted, all pre-written."

"Astute observation," said Raphael. "Scripted conversations, scripted problems, scripted solutions, no room for improvisation. Davosneeds a breath of fresh air. Of honesty. Of a genuine hope for change".

Camilla said, "Of course, sir," and forced a smile. 

Back to the article: did they really get your ex-boyfriend to give an interview about you? Did he have anything good to say, that bastard who regularly forgot to flush the toilet?

Yes, he had plenty to say, mostly about you being not right in the head. You put him on your hit list and stroked Raphael's tail, which in turn stroked your ankle. They even got your mum on the phone, who thankfully had nothing much to say except that you were a good Catholic girl.

You saw some frantic movement out of the corner of your eye.

Camilla was waving you over to the plane's galley. You tried to get up, but were stopped by a tail wrapped around your ankle like a boa constrictor. "May I go to the toilet?" you asked, and Raphael uncoiled his tail, three times, with a slight reproach in his eyes. Jens did his best to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Camilla pulled you deeper into the galley. She smelled of fresh coffee and burnout. 

"Anya, listen, I am very sorry that it has to come to this, but just between us girls..." she said, her fingers fidgeting with her diamond necklace. "Did Raul remember to take his medication today? I don't like his mood”. She shifted on her feet. "God, I miss the days when you could smoke in these things”.

"I'm not his doctor," you shrugged.

"Well, maybe it would be worth reminding him," Camilla drawled. "I'd rather not see viral videos of him committing political suicide in Davos. And I'm sure you'd agree."

You weren't so sure.

"I'm not going to poke the devil, and I suggest you don't either," you said, leaning against the galley counter.

Camilla sighed and gave you a very sympathetic smile.

"Anya, may I give you some friendly advice? Raul may seem like a half-god to you, but I've seen him curled up in a ball sobbing about how Daddy never loved him when he was high as a kite on coke. He's... as human as the rest of us. For better and worse”.

Just then, the plane shook violently, sending you both clutching the walls for support. The pilot quickly apologized over the intercom.

"Don't patronise me, Korilla," you said. "Do you think I'm just some pathetic, love-struck girl Raul likes to abuse?"

Camilla paused for a moment before suppressing a grin. "I'm going to invoke my right against self-incrimination. So tell me, my dear: who are you really?"

"Much more than meets the eye." You straightened up, standing slightly taller than her (which was not difficult). "I'm the one who gave him all this power in the first place."

"Wow," Kamilla snorted out in surprise. "Wow. Okay. Cool. Never mind."

"You need proof?" you said quietly. 

"Not really," she said.

"I wish you would get down on your knees and kiss my hand."

"What?" Kamilla burst out laughing. "Maybe you should share your medicine with Raul. Ask Dr Bambauer for a family discount. He will be at Davos, by the way, speaking on the mental health crisis".

"I wish for you to kiss my hand," you insisted. "Come on, do it, I have a point to prove."

You really need to learn how to calibrate these things. This one worked, though; she complied, sinking to her knees before you, a wild look in her eyes. Then she planted a surprisingly gentle kiss on your palm, leaving a crimson mark. 

"What the hell?" she whispered as she looked up at you. Raphael was engrossed in his paperwork, oblivious to the scene, so was Jens.

"See, Korilla," you started again after letting the moment hang awkwardly in the air for longer than necessary, "don't worry about Raphael talking nonsense. You'd be surprised how many people eat it up."

"Who the fuck is Raphael?"

"Your new boss," you said. "Well, old boss actually. Ahh... you won't really notice much of a difference; I hardly do myself sometimes," you lowered your voice to a minimum. "But don't tell them that, they'll get angry. You can get up now, this is getting a bit weird."

She tried to say something, her lips barely moving. You think it was 'how'. She was asking ‘how’.

"You see," you said. "The devil thinks I am very, very  special”.

Having said that, you came back to your seat. Raphael's tail immediately darted to your ankle and wrapped around it. You leaned back in your chair and watched Haarlep flirting with the pilot out of the corner of your eye.

It would be really stupid to crash because Haarlep wanted to have a quickie in the cockpit. The plane began its descent to Samedan St Moritz airport. The rugged Swiss Alps came into view out the window, snow-capped peaks glistening in the afternoon sun. 

***

When you book a presidential suite you no longer have to check in, you can just walk straight past the reception. The hotel was a mountain resort so exclusive that the website was just an artistic photo with no way to reserve a room. 

Raphael was eerily calm as he watched the staff unpack your belongings. His calm demeanour lasted until some poor sap nearly wrinkled his suit while trying to hang it in the en-suite cloakroom. A deafening growl sent the trembling fellow scuttling from the room.

The rest were given very generous tips.

Soon after, you found Raphael rehearsing his speech in a mirror, repeating the same phrases three times in a row, "when youth was told their souls were worthless, easily replicated by machines". Each time he spoke, there was a subtle change in tone, as if he was trying to capture some emotion - you were not quite sure what he was getting at - was he trying to imitate genuine concern? 

If so, he could work on his delivery.

He gave it another shot, the tension in his back muscles evident through his shirt.

"Excellent choice of attire, gattina," he gave you a look you approached. "Might I suggest an improvement? Not these trousers. The black pencil skirt with the white vertical stripes, the Saint Laurent one from the spring collection."

"It looks absurd on me," you looked away. "I don't have the body for it."

"You have the body for anything," he said. "Don't debate me on this. Slip into the skirt, return here and see how right I am”.

That damned skirt was a nightmare: so constricting that any wrong move felt like a tear waiting to happen; clearly designed by someone who either had never laid eyes on an actual woman or harbored a deep-seated resentment towards anyone the wrong size and proportion, which would be everyone. 

Yet somehow, you managed to wriggle yourself into it and made your way back to him.

"Now that's what I want to see," Raul smiled. "A beautiful woman and all mine."

"It's two sizes smaller than what I wear".

"Come closer, you silly creature, and grasp how breathtaking you are."

He tugged you towards the full-length mirror and swept your hair to one side so that you could take in your entire reflection.

Only it wasn’t yours.

When you played Sims and tweaked the controls to create the ideal you, you ended up with someone like this. Every trait similar to what you had, only better. A lot better. Smoother skin, better hair, smaller waist, perkier tits.

"They will see you through my eyes," Raphael said as his hands slid under your blouse and cupped your breasts. "These mortals will seethe with jealousy, envying me for having you and you for having me."

The woman in the mirror looked like someone Raphael would choose to be his consort. The skirt looked perfect, as it was tailor made just for you. 

"That’s not me," you said, mesmerized by the eerie reflection.

"Nonsense. You didn't know who you truly were until you met me," he whispered in your ear. "If it's not you I'm putting my arms around, why would you feel them?"

You felt his palms squeeze your breasts and roll your nipples between his fingers. His lips brush your neck. His growing bulge against your backside.

"Now would you be so kind?.." he asked. 

You could swear the woman in the mirror was bending over before you did, eagerly offering herself, sliding her panties down to her knees and placing her palms on either side of the mirror for leverage. His hands kneaded your buttocks, spreading you apart as his erection pressed against your entrance.

Foreplay wasn't on his agenda, you realized with a shiver. True enough, he penetrated you with a single thrust. First sharp pain, then the very familiar pleasure, liquid and pitch black and all-consuming.

"Look," he said. "Look at yourself. Look at me. Marvel at what you see."

The woman in the mirror moaned in response, pleasure etched on her face as the devil behind her ravaged. Her features twisted and blurred in ever-changing motion, skin wobbling like waves of water; she was shifting between all the women you ever dreamed of being - one moment Tav, then Christine, then Sarah Williams.

"It's not real," you moaned. 

His eyes remained fixed on the mirror the whole time he fucked you. You arched backwards into him, grinding against him with each thrust, skin slapping against skin.

"There is no reality," he whispered back. "Other than what you see in that mirror”.

His thrusts came harder now, jolting you against the cold glass. The woman in the mirror seemed to have gone insane from how well she was being fucked, her face twisted in a barely human grimace of bliss.

"Climax," he commanded with a snap of his fingers.

You saw the woman in the mirror go limp in his arms, a look of absent bliss on her face, and then remember that the woman was you. A jagged sound ripped from you. Your body responded to the command like a dog thrown a biscuit; your cunt tightened around his cock once.

Twice. 

The woman in the mirror morphed again; now it’s someone you’d seen a thousand times, the weird pale girl nobody ever gave a second look. 

You. 

Thrice.

The mirror you were propped against shattered - spectacularly so, its razor-sharp fragments raining down like confetti.

"Hang on," you managed to gurgle out in sheer terror as you tumbled, losing your balance. "Raphael, hold on..."

He didn't. Instead, he let gravity take over and you fell face-first into the broken mirror below, his weight following right after. Your scream of pleasure morphed into a wail of agony as countless tiny shards opened up on your skin; mutilating, cutting, obliterating. 

oh god it hurts 

Raphael groaned as he drove you deeper and deeper into the jagged fragments, your writhing and screaming doing nothing to deter him. The shards under your skin thrust in and out with each thrust, piercing right through you, through your face.

oh god it hurts; pulsated the single thought. The pain was nothing like you had felt before; it was the clearest sensation your clouded mind had ever processed.

A growing pool of blood spread like spilled wine on the white marble tiles beneath you. You closed your eyes tightly, but that didn't make the blood disappear. You blinked them open again... then closed them... 

Blood was still there. Raphael thrust once, so hard there wasn’t a single shard left that didn’t hurt you. 

Twice.

Three times, and he came inside you, spitting curses in Italian between ragged breaths. 

The pain suddenly vanished as if snapped away by his fingers; but its ghostly memory kept your tears flowing.

"I swear to God, kitten" Raul murmured as he rolled off you, "the way you're screaming would make anyone think I'm murdering you."

You opened your eyes and stared at the perfectly white tiles.

No blood.

No shards. No cuts. No pain.

Nothing. You looked up in the mirror: the Gorgeous Version of You looked back. You looked down on yourself. 

Exactly how you always wanted to be. 

You laughed in blissful abandon. Then, you rolled onto your back, catching sight of Raul's gobsmacked expression which made you laugh even harder.

read the rest on ao3

[teamhappyme]

an adjustment period

josh lyman x female!reader

word count: 2.7k

warnings: politically inaccurate portrayal of the white house, aka the west wing, projecting all my feelings onto josh lyman

a/n: me? posting two fics in one month? groundbreaking. I really am in my josh lyman era sue me idc.

“He will call you back at his next availability. I don’t know when that will be, Congressman.” You pulled the phone away from your ear as the Congressman yelled at you through the receiver. “I will let him know. Thank you, have a nice day Congressman.” 

You slammed the receiver against the base until the rest of the communications bullpen looked over at you. 

“I swear to god,” you mumbled to yourself as you barged into Sam’s office. “This is the first and last time I ever fill in for Ginger. Congressman who-gives-a-shit wants you to call him back at your earliest convenience.”

Sam looked up from his briefing, a small smirk on his face. “You would rather help me with research for the state of the union than answer my phone? I’m shocked.”

“Sam, if you don’t give me back my encyclopedia and the keys to my office,”

“Relax,” he interrupted, throwing your keys back to you which you caught easily. “I have a meeting in the oval, walk me there and I’ll give you your precious encyclopedia.”

“Fine.”

You walked through the communications bullpen, bumping into a frantic Kathy juggling a stack of papers in her hands.

“Sam owes you lunch everyday for the next two weeks until he leaves,” you told her, a small smile spreading over her face. “And if he tries to give you a hard time, call me, and then the President.”

“I’m not made of money, you know.” Sam piped in while leading you back into the route of the Oval Office. 

“I have three words for you: Gage Whitney Partner.”

“Touché.”

The two of you rounded the corner past Josh’s office, and you couldn’t help but peer in to see if he was there. 

It was a habit that started first out of survival. In the beginning of your tenure in the west wing you couldn’t walk past Josh’s office without him singing the Yale fight song. Then, after a heated argument in the Roosevelt room between the two of you over the relevance of the Oxford comma, you took every opportunity to occupy his free time to support your argument in favor of the beloved punctuation mark.

Four years had gone by, and somewhere along the way, the small squabbles turned into advice sessions on policy or speech writing. Sometimes, if either of you were feeling sentimental, you would share stories of your times at Yale. 

Over time, it became part of your everyday routines to check in on one another, and it was one of the best parts of your day.

Behind writing speeches for the President of the United States, of course.

“Remind me to edit the concluding paragraphs of the President's speech to the education forum. Toby told me I’ve been using too much passive voice.”

“You do use too much passive voice.”

He stopped in front of Charlie’s desk, glaring at you for the comment.

“Hey, I like the passive voice as much as you, but Toby hates it, therefore I don’t use it.”

“He’ll be ready for you in a minute.” Charlie told Sam before leaving his desk for the Oval.

“Hey, have you guys found a new you yet? Toby has gone through like ten interviews and half of them left looking like they were going to cry.” You said as Charlie waved him in to the Oval. “I mean, the solution to this would be to not have you leave and become a congressman, because that’s boring and you can’t even write your own speeches. In fact, that’s exactly what you should do.”

You walked him to the doorway of the oval, waiting for him to hand you your encyclopedia that had been held hostage.

“Why don’t you come and join me and the President, he would like to be the one to tell you who we picked.”

“Why can’t you just tell me now? You know I have absolutely no patience for these things.”

He didn’t answer you, instead he looked into the Oval Office, a small smile on his face. You looked in after him, curious as to what he was so amused with. 

All you saw was the President leaning against his desk, staring at the two of you, I’m sure not happy to be kept waiting.

“I don’t have all day you know,” President Bartlet joked before waving you both in.

Wait a minute.

“Sam,” You looked over at your boss, his smile now grinning from ear to ear. “No, Sam, it can’t-“

“Come on,” he interrupted, pushing you into the oval with a steady hand on your back.

You’d been in here plenty of times; usually with a group of people, and usually not when you’re getting offered the job of a lifetime. But when it’s just you and the President, it’s the most terrifying place in the world.

“I’ve never seen you scared a day in your life, don’t tell me today is the day you decide to be scared of the White House.” The President commented as you tried to relax.

“Well if you offer me a drink from the fancy decanter I can promise you I’ll be a lot less scared, sir.”

You and Sam sat down across from the president, and waited for the rest of your career change. 

It was hard for you to listen to anyone praise your work ethic, character, and dedication to your job, let alone from the commander in chief himself. You worked for Toby, so there weren't a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings being spread around. So when the president mentioned that, yes, Sam recommended you for his position, but it was Toby that practically locked him in the Oval Office saying it had to be you, you were more than shocked.

You knew deep down he was a softie.

After accepting the position with absolutely no hesitation, it was off to the races with another meeting for the president.

“Mr. President, just one more question.” You asked as he walked you out. “Is there any way we can rework this position so that Toby answers to me and not the other way around?”

“Dream big,” the President said through his laughter, which brought a smile to your face. 

Once you and Sam cleared through Charlie and Mrs. Landingham, you landed a sharp smack to his chest.

“What the hell was that for?” He asked, resting his hand over his hurt chest.

“You couldn’t have told me that you were going to nominate me for your job? Or that the president was going to offer me the job himself in the Oval Office?!”

“Well, then I wouldn’t be able to see your anxious shaking and clammy hands as the President raves about you.”

You rolled your eyes as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, and the smile quickly returned to your face.

“You deserve this. I’m just sad I won’t be able to see you and Josh fight in Senior Staff meetings.”

“Oh don’t worry, we’ll be visiting you on the hill.”

Sam walked you back to your office and handed you the responsibility of finishing the President’s remarks for tonight’s Town Hall meeting.

“If it isn’t the new Deputy Communications Director in the flesh.”

Josh was waiting for you in your office, holding a gold box in his hand while swiveling around in your office chair.

“Technically we’re equals now, so I can tell you to get the hell out of my chair without fear of losing my job.”

“Technically, I outrank you, but since you don’t answer to me, I’ll let it slide.” He stood up from your chair, moving to stand across from you. “Did you quake under the stress of wondering what the president wanted from you?”

“Did you come here to congratulate me or make fun of me?” You asked, a smirk appearing on his face. “And is that present in your hand for me or your new accessory?”

“Do you have to ruin all the fun?” He commented and handed you the present.

You opened the box, taking out the tissue paper to reveal a book, The Social Contract to be exact.

“I know we both went to Yale, but I’m not sure I share the same affinity for the literature of Rousseau that you do, I’m more of an Austen or Didion kind of gal.” You joked. 

“I thought I’d get you something that you could quote from in your State of the Union address. You know the President loves the cheese.”

You opened the cover of the book to find a note from Josh written on the inside. There were butterflies in your stomach before you read the first word, because that’s just the effect he had on you.

The relationship you shared with Josh is one that you greatly cherished. Your work rarely overlapped, being an underling of Sam in the communications department didn’t leave a lot of room for talking major policy with Josh. But after your own squabbles, and then overhearing a debate between you and Toby only days into your tenure at the White House, he quickly found any reason to work with you.

He would volunteer to work on research with you when he had any spare time, and he always requested you when he needed an extra hand when heading over to the Hill. You finally asked him about it a few months into the arrangement, and he shrugged before admitting he’d never seen someone stand up to Toby like that. 

“You’re gonna go further than a speech writer in the communications department. One day I think you may run this whole building.”

You read aloud from his note, the same thing he said to you three years ago on your walk to the Hill. 

You didn’t think he meant it then, and you surely can’t believe it now.

“I told you I’m good with words, Sam and Toby just never give me a chance.”

You closed the book, the weight of this new position pushing you back against your desk. You’re senior staff now. You’re in charge. You are going to be in the room where it happens.

“What if I’m not good at it.” You admitted in the open air. 

“Hold on-“ Josh tried to interrupt you.

“Sam, Toby, and the President of the United States just told me they want me for this job. I don’t have a law degree, Josh. I have a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Masters in Political Science from Yale, but I don’t make laws. I don’t have an illustrious career in politics, I’m not even a head speechwriter for Christ’s sake. I crumble under the image of the Oval Office, and unless I’m correcting Toby’s grammar, I don’t particularly like to debate with people. I am going to be in charge of a department, responsible for people to get things done the way I want. I barely get things done the way I want. I am not going to be good at this.”

“Hey, I went to Yale, don’t drag her down.”

You threw him a look as he moved from his spot in the doorway.

“For the last three years, I’ve watched you handle more crises and speeches than any other deputy in the communications office. Sure, the President showered you with compliments for your writing skills, but it’s you, the person behind the speeches, who is going to make real change here.”

“Josh,” you protested, your voice becoming a whisper as you grew uncomfortable with the accolades once again.

“I’m serious,” he began, moving to stand in front of you. “No one ends up in the West Wing by chance. You were meant to be here. And I have no doubt in my mind that you are going to run this building one day.”

You shook your head, letting your hair fall in front of your face to shield Josh from seeing the tears forming in your eyes. No one has ever believed in you like Josh does.

“Hey,” he worriedly said, slowly reaching for your hand. “What’s really bothering you?”

You looked down at your hands, fingers laced with his for what felt like the hundredth time. The line was always a bit blurred with Josh. You worked on so many projects together, spending hours on end in one office or another. Three years of small spaces and critical decision making led to post-meeting breakdowns, confiding in people you spent hours on end with.

Josh quickly became your person at work, and after the shooting, you became his. Neither of you spoke of it, you just knew that he would be there for you whenever you needed it. Josh knew it all, from screaming matches with Toby, to family emergencies, and the never ending question of what your purpose in life is, which was looming over everyone’s head that worked in the West Wing. 

You had always felt something more for Josh. Maybe you read too much into it when he would walk you home from a late night event at the White House, or how he would call you in the middle of the night to get your thoughts on how to best proceed with policy. It was easy between you two, and with Bartlett’s second term in the White House now halfway through, you thought this friendship would finally shift to something more.

But now that you were equals, senior advisors to the President, holding extreme responsibilities for the republic in your hands, you knew that the dynamic would change. There was no room to slide into a new relationship.

“Things are going to change now, between us. And I know that nothing has really been said but, I’d like to think something was… shifting into more.” Your voice trailed off at the end, embarrassment taking over. 

“There was.” Josh reassured you, a small smile breaking over his face.

You nodded, and in an attempt to hide the goofy smile crossing your own face, you continued to look down at your hands. You reached out for his other hand, which he gladly surrendered to you.

“Things don’t have to be different. There are no rules against a devilishly handsome Deputy Chief of Staff dating a gorgeous Deputy Communications Director.” He joked, trying to get a laugh out of you.

He was right, there really wasn’t a rule against it. And if there was, you’re sure it had been broken before.

“I’m sure you’re right. But if I really want to make a difference here, I need to focus on this job, and not be distracted by an annoying Deputy Chief of Staff.”

“I understand,” he said with a smile, giving your hands a squeeze. “And I think a two month adjustment period is plenty of time before I ask you out on a date.”

“Josh,” you said through a laugh, “Are you really that impatient you need to put a timetable on it?”

“Yes. Four months sound better?”

“Six months.” you said, but as you looked at him longer, you knew you couldn’t possibly last that long. “With a check-in at the three month mark to see how I’m adjusting.”

“That sounds like a great plan.”

A great plan indeed. 

To an outsider, the two of you looked like school kids interacting with their first crush. And that’s exactly how you felt, butterflies in your stomach and your brain all fuzzy.

“Josh!” You could hear Toby yelling through your closed office door, and you couldn’t help but sigh.

“You’re Director is a real pain in my ass.”

“I tried to get his job while I was in there, but the President said no.”

He laughed and tried to pull away, but you held on to his hand even tighter.

“Josh,” he turned back to you, and you couldn’t help but wrap your arms around him. It took him a minute, but his arms wrapped around your waist, and you finally felt like you could do this. “Thank you for the book.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve got this.” He said and dropped a kiss to your shoulder, then your cheek before pulling away. “I’ve gotta go find the dictator before he breaks every door down.”

“Go ahead, I’m going to spare myself from him for as long as I can.”

“Ok, I’ll see you in Senior Staff tomorrow morning. Newbie brings a full breakfast.” he joked.

“In your dreams,” you said with a roll of your eyes as he went to exit your office. 

“You really are going to do great here.” He winked and wrapped his knuckles on the doorframe before yelling into the bullpen himself for Toby.

Yeah, there’s no way you guys are lasting six months.

****

[arendelle-archives]

Hi, I just wanted to say something on Arendelle weather analysis - as a person living in Norway, I must say you sadly got the whole aurora thing wrong. It's totally possible to see aurora as south as in Oslo or Bergen, even in other locations further south, and not only in late autumn/early spring. This year, I saw it as late as 20-30th april, below Bergen. When the conditions are good, and aurora strong enough, it's even possible to spot it in countries like Poland or even Switzerland!

Hi,

First of all, thank you very much for your constructive feedback on my post (published on my main blog as bigfrozenfan), especially from someone like you who lives in Norway and has seen the Northern Lights with their own eyes much more often than anyone living far to the south in the middle of Europe, like me in Germany.

For me, the Aurora Borealis has so far only been a dream, even though last year the Northern Lights were sometimes even visible in England and Switzerland. But unfortunately not for me. That's why Norway, especially near the Arctic Circle, has been my next priority destination for a few years now. Unfortunately, it's a question of finances for me and Norway is very expensive.

In my post i wrote the following as last paragraph, which could be misunderstood about the seasons i have to admit: "…the Aurora Borealis is in spring (March/April) and autumn (September/October)". What i meant was from-to (September to April), not only in this specific months.

Of course, it all depends on the strength of solar activity, how far south of the usual places for sightings of the Northern Lights these occur. Keyword northern lights oval! As I said, last year was a very good time for this, but you still couldn't see them everywhere, despite all the predictions.

For my post, I have used generally valid statements from travel websites to Norway, also with regard to the probabilities in the different seasons. The tour operators plan their routes depending on the time of year (usually from the end of September to the end of March) to the usual places advertised for this, as they naturally want to avoid travellers having to return home disappointed.

In Norway, the most popular places are usually Tromsø, the island of Senja, the Lofoten Islands, Vesterålen, Andenes or Nyksund. But Bodø, Alta, Varanger, the Lyngenfjord region, Kirkenes, Svalbard, Narvik and of course the North Cape itself also have the best chances according to all the statements on the websites and forecasts are only made for the most popular locations. All locations that are around or above the Arctic Circle.

Bergen or further south is not even advertised due to the low probability and even in forums it is said that there are only good chances in Bergen if there is a massive solar storm. Hard to plan if you want to book your trip in time!

Thanks again for your message but please understand that people like me who live outside Norway can only rely on the info they find online (trip reports, websites of Norway itself, metereological websites).

By the way, you've sent your submission to Arendelle Archives, not directly to my own blog @bigfrozenfan . I'm a co-member on Arendelle Archives too but my post was only a reblog there, not the source.

[mariacallous]

Donald Trump’s answer to a question about child-care costs last month was eye-opening — not because of what it said about his agenda if he were to return to the Oval Office but what it said about his ability to do the job.

Asked at an economic forum in New York what specific legislation he would back to make child care more affordable, Trump rambled incomprehensibly for nearly two minutes without answering the question.

“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down,” Trump said. “You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, child care is child care, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to.”

The rest of his answer provided no clarification about a connection between import tariffs — if that is what Trump was referencing — and child-care costs. The lack of context, or even complete sentences, made his comments as clear as mud.

But what was crystal clear was the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.

President Biden, after struggling with his answers during a June debate with Trump, ended his bid for a second term in July. That decision came after Democrats publicly voiced concern about Biden’s cognitive fitness and the press pursued the controversy breathlessly for weeks. Editorial boards, including the Globe’s, had even urged Biden to step aside.

Yet neither the media nor Republicans have shown that kind of urgency as Trump has repeatedly shown himself to be, to put it kindly, unwell. That is not only unfair and irresponsible, it is dangerous for the future of our country.

The next president will enter the Oval Office at a time of immense challenges: an economy on the upswing but still hamstrung by persistent inflation; the ongoing domestic threat of home-grown radicalized terrorism; a surge in racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic hate crimes and bias incidents across the nation; expanding conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine; and the ongoing global threat of political and election interference by China, Iran, and Russia, just to highlight a few.

The next president must be sharp and nimble in confronting those perils. Trump’s decision to halt an Oaks, Pa., town hall last week after two attendees needed medical attention and then convert the event to an impromptu dance party, dancing awkwardly to the tunes of the Village People and Barbra Streisand for over a half hour instead of answering voters’ questions, does not a paint a picture of a man up for the task of being commander-in-chief.

Trump and his campaign seem to be aware of his addled appearance. He canceled several interviews in recent days. At a rally last month in Johnstown, Pa., Trump tried to pass off his meandering verbal style as an intentional strategy called “the weave.”

“Friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing they’ve ever seen,’ ” Trump said. News flash: That’s a lie too.

I’m not a doctor, but in a report for STAT, several cognitive experts who have studied Trump’s speaking patterns over the course of several years say his disjointed way of jumping from one subject to another — called tangentiality — and his increasing reliance on superlatives and absolute terms are consistent with several causes of cognitive decline.

Though cautioning that they could not diagnose Trump without examining him, experts said his speech patterns match those of people experiencing the effects of things like mood changes, aging, and dementia.

“There’s reasonable evidence suggestive of forms of dementia,” clinical psychologist Ben Michaelis told STAT. “The reduction in complexity of sentences and vocabulary does lead you to a certain picture of cognitive diminishment.”

Yet Trump’s party has not urged him to step aside for the good of the country, as Biden’s did. And much of the press is doing the American people a disservice by treating Trump’s obvious cognitive slippage as just “Trump being Trump.”

Yes, the press has a lot to wrestle with when it comes to Trump, including his embrace of authoritarian strongmen, his refusal to vow to accept the election results, his criminal conviction and civil judgments for fraud and sexual abuse, and his racism and disparagement of women, LGBTQ people, and immigrants.

But his diminishing cognitive ability can’t be ignored. He may not be able to get a grip, but it’s long past time the news media and Republicans stop participating in the gaslighting. We can see reality with our own eyes.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Smith at The Guardian:

Donald Trump didn’t need to wait for the black box flight recorder. He knew what caused the mid-air collision of a passenger plane and army helicopter that killed 67 people. Or he thought he did. “They actually came out with a directive – ‘too white’,” the US president told reporters on Thursday, seeking to blame former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for including Black and Latino people in the federal workforce. “We want the people that are competent.” That it took Trump less than a day to exploit a tragic plane crash for his crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs should come as no surprise. The 78-year-old president is on a mission to win the “culture wars”, acting with speed and ferocity to bring his rightwing agenda into every corner of American life. It is a form of shock therapy that aims to rewire society itself.

Less than two weeks back in office, an emboldened, unapologetic Trump has launched a series of executive orders and policy changes that broadly target DEI, education curricula and political protests. The actions aim to reverse so-called “woke” policies and restore “merit-based” systems. Trump said during a remote address to executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: “My administration has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense – and these are policies that were absolute nonsense – throughout the government and the private sector.” The president has also moved to eliminate “radical gender ideology and critical race theory [CRT]” from the nation’s schools. He has targeted LGBTQ+ rights, making it official government policy that there are only two sexes while seeking to ban federal funding or support for youth gender-affirming care and ban transgender individuals from serving in the military. Trump’s sledgehammer, aimed at smashing decades of progressive gains, has made a mockery of “We are not going back” – the slogan of his vanquished election opponent, Kamala Harris.

Chris Scott, a Democratic strategist who was Harris’s coalitions director, said: “What it has made clear is that a second Trump term is working to turn America back into pre-civil rights America during the Jim Crow era. That’s what we’re seeing with a lot of these policies.” He added: “It is an absolutely terrifying time in this country. When we talk about ‘Make America Great Again’, a lot of folks understood what that means, particularly people of colour, particularly Black folks. We are on the precipice of going back, returning to our darkest times within this country.” [...] Trump’s election victory last year took this hostility from the fringes to the Oval Office. Despite gaining less than 50% of the national popular vote, the 47th president believes he has a mandate to impose a fundamental cultural realignment, not by increments but with sudden and overwhelming force. Trump’s administration has branded DEI initiatives in the federal government as “discriminatory”, “anti-American” and driven by a “far-left agenda”. He has ordered the elimination of all federal DEI programmes and related offices, placing staff on leave and removing related websites because they represent “immense public waste and shameful discrimination”. The order directs the administration to review which federal contractors have provided DEI training materials to government agencies and revokes the Equal Employment Opportunity order signed in 1965 by Lyndon Johnson. Trump directed agencies to stop using gender identity or preferred pronouns. And federal workers have been told to report colleagues who may seek to continue DEI programmes. There are signs that the assault is not confined to the government alone but seeping into wider society. Companies such as McDonald’s, Meta and Walmart have reportedly pulled back on DEI programmes in response to political pressure. It is a dramatic reversal from the diversity push that followed the police murder of George Floyd, an African American man, in Minneapolis in 2020.

In two weeks of 47’s term so far, Demented Donnie’s crusade against “wokeness” (eg. DEI and LGBTQ+ rights) has done calculable harm to America.

[darkmaga-returns]

To Make America Great Again, Separate Money and State

by Ron Paul | Jan 27, 2025

“Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis” is the title of one of the many executive orders President Trump issued in his first week back in the Oval Office. This executive order directs federal agencies to “deliver emergency price relief” to the American people by reducing federal regulations that increase the cost or limit the supply of healthcare, housing, energy, and other goods and services.

Repealing regulations is an effective way to reduce costs and increase supply in the affected industries. However, the price increases caused by regulations are sector specific. Economy-wide price increases are caused by the Federal Reserve.

Widespread price increases are the result of inflation. Inflation occurs when the central bank lowers interest rates by increasing the money supply.

In his remarks by video on Thursday before the World Economic Forum’s yearly meeting in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump said he would soon meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to “demand” the Fed cut interest rates in order to help Americans cope with high prices. Pumping more money into the economy may give some consumers a temporary boost in purchasing power, but a long-term effect of the cut will be further erosion of most Americans’ standard of living as the influx of new money causes the dollar to lose value.

[todaysdocument]

President Clinton met with gay and lesbian leaders on April 16, 1993. This was the first Oval Office meeting with LGBTQ leaders, and was nine days before the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. 

Collection WJC-WHPO: Photographs of the White House Photograph Office (Clinton Administration)

Series: Photographs Relating to the Clinton Administration

Image description: President Clinton poses for a photo in the Oval Office with nine other people. Left to right: Keith Boykin (White House Office of Communications), Billy Hileman (March on Washington Committee), Andrew Barrer (Coalition ‘93), Torie Osborn (National Gay & Lesbian Task Force), President Clinton, Phill Wilson (Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership Forum), Nadine Smith (March on Washington Committee), William Waybourne (Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), Tom Stoddard (Campaign for Military Service), Tim McFeeley (Human Rights Campaign Fund). 

[foxes-that-run]

In that pleasing tiktok which, he's wearing rings again which he hasn't been since the shows I think. Do you know if there's any significance to those specific rings?

It's also interesting they deleted the one using style fast which makes me wonder if some intern accidently did it otherwise makes no sense.

Hi Anon, thank you for the ask. :)

An account like Pleasing would probably have quite robust approvals for a TikTok, I'd say especially with Harry's hand, so I think that chaos was intended. Pleasing's Tik Tok has a clear soundscape that doesn't fit with. So I don't think intern, I do think HS knew and I think it was deleted because he's particular and cares about it being cohesive. Once it went viral they didn't need it the deletion adds to the mystery.

The rings he wore in the TikTok today are ones he wears quite often:

H&S are custom Gucci, he's worn them since 2019 and represent himself. An etched version is available for sale

Stevie Nicks gifted him the large pink stone ring in his first ever show at the Forum for Fine Line's launch in December 2019. He wore that in the Falling Music Video also.

The Ruby Ring is one he has had since May 2017 when his Debut Album came out, I think it is about his solo career, but it's a ruby...

The mosaic ring appeared in 2021 I don’t know the meaning but it’s so pretty! This posts thinks it could be about Robin. Alessandro has a similar ring

The pearl ring has a woman holding the pearl and also appeared in 2021. I have more detail on this here First seen at the Grammy's March 2021, Peace ring not seen much since.

And it looks like his Gucci lion on the end

He doesn't talk about them so we can only guess any meaning, also impossible to know if the first time we see a ring is when he got it, unless it changes hands like the Haylor one. The ones wonder if may be to do with Taylor are:

the Rose, he wore this 6 March 2017, just before his first solo album. He wore it all through the promo and was lost at an Ariana Grande Concert in August 2019 and he seemed worried. The reason I wonder if it could be connected to Taylor is the rose. He references roses in LOML Lyric video, she only uses roses in Lyrics, videos in connection to him and he got the rose tattoo while they dated. He wore it on the cover of Rolling Stone when he left the table when the interviewer brought her up.

Haylor Ring - it was hers, she gave it to him in 2014 when Style came out, he wore it up to 2017. It's in his last B&W Instagram in 2016 and on Carpool Karaoke in 2017.

Gucci Lion - he has at least 3 Gucci lion rings, silver with a purple stone, which is a custom combination, gold with a black stone and gold with a purple stone. He got all 3 in 2018, first seen in silver in Japan in October 2018. Taylor wore the earrings from same collection in the lAWYMMD video 10 months before he wore the ring. Gold first seen here October 2018 when a fan found it at Coachella it has an inscription of 'second time's a charm'. Taylor wore one at Electric Lady Studios to the wrap party for 1989 TV in April 2023. Taylor also wore one at Zoe Kravitz birthday in maybe December 2021. Taylor & Gucci lion

Ruby ring, It's also on the Rolling Stone Cover from 2017, and at the Today Show when he played Stockholm Syndrome in May 2017. IDK - it's red, he refers to her as red in his songs (e.g. grapejuice) and they started dating in the Red era and I think it's his favourite album of hers, he refers to it a bit. But this and the Rose may just be about his solo career.

Grateful Dead ring it appeared while they dated in 2014, she referenced it in Delicate.

Peace Ring appeared while they dated in 2013, the timing and that he also wore it during the Falling Music Video along with the Ruby. I have a detailed post about this ring and why it is Haylor.

Other rings:

The Camille ring - an oval garnet he wore while they dated from July 2017-2018. Different to the square ruby.

Bear ring - not seen in a long time. From 2013

This round gold stone or diamond ring from September 2021

[friday-911]

Trumpocalypse - 1/23/25

RISE RESIST REPEAT!!!

What we're covering

• Trump outlines economic plans: President Donald Trump delivered virtual remarks to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos this morning, where he slammed his predecessor’s policies and said his presidency began a “revolution of common sense” as he warned global business leaders to make their products in the US or face tariffs.He also said he wants OPEC and Saudi Arabia to cut the cost of oil to help end the war in Ukraine.

• Immigration agenda: Trump’s crackdown on immigration is in full force. The acting secretary of defense directed 1,500 ground personnel to the southern border. A new Justice Department memo outlines plans to challenge sanctuary city laws by threatening to prosecute state and local officials who resist. The first hearing to challenge Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is scheduled for this afternoon in Seattle.

• Cabinet confirmations: The Senate has scheduled a key procedural vote to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth as defense secretary for this afternoon.This comes as the chamber’s committees continue to approve other Cabinet nominations on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, the House voted Wednesday to pass a GOP-led bill to require detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes, handing an early legislative win for Trump.

-Stay safe and sane!

[nordleuchten]

24 Days of La Fayette - Day 4

This portrait is again one of my favourite pieces of La Fayette (I must be careful to save at least one more favourite of mine for the 24th …) although it employs a stylistic device that I do not necessarily like when it comes to La Fayette. But more on that later.

Portraits in Revolution, Works by Thomas Sully, Marquis de La Fayette, 1825-1826 (12/04/2023).

This is a portrait of La Fayette by American artist Thomas Sully. He first painted an oil study as a preparation for the full length portrait seen above. As you can see, the study does not look particularly like the painting from Scheffer (Day 2). That is because La Fayette actually sat for Sully – sort of. La Fayette was received on September 8, 1824, just two days after his 67th birthday, in the Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It apparently was quite the evening. The city officials later approached La Fayette and asked for his consent to commission a painting of him by Thomas Sully. La Fayette agreed, but his busy schedule demanded that Sully followed him to Washington where the study was painted. The actual painting was finished in 1826 in Philadelphia – La Fayette left America in 1825, never to return and so he never saw this painting with his own eyes.

A short compositional overview of the work:

In the study, Lafayette stands on the north apron of Independence Square before a pillar of an arch, designed by architect William Strickland after the triumphal arch of Septimus Severus in the Roman Forum. The prop was covered with allegorical figures and statues which Sully recorded in a pen and wash sketch, but which he eliminated from the study and final portrait, calling attention instead to his subject. Through the arch, the viewer sees Lafayette’s admirers crowding the windows and roof of Independence Hall. Flags billow from poles along the balustrade while mounted and standing members of one of his escort troops, the Washington Grays, are in the mid ground. Wearing a black suit with white shirt and collar and a black cape lined in red satin held loosely in place by red and gold tassels, Lafayette gazes into the distance, not at the viewer. Sully has given the Marquis a neo-classical oval face and his toupee of close-cropped hair a reddish cast. His proper left arm beneath the cape is akimbo adding mass and strength to his body and his gloved hand holds his right glove that he removed to hold a top hat and cane. The Marquis’ face is unlined, belying the effects of time and gravity.

Lafayette College, Lafayette College Art Galleries, Thomas Sully, Lafayette, study for 1824-1826 (12/04/2023).

As you can see, there is a lot of symbolism and Sully clearly had a very clear picture in mind that he want to paint of La Fayette. The portrait is extremely flattering – La Fayette does not look like a 67 year old that had been in prison for many years, that had seen war and revolution, that had been in exile, lost his wife and a child. He looks fresher, younger and more energetic. Perhaps the artistic liberty taken here is best explained like this:

Sully portrays Lafayette not as he appeared on that September day, but as he might appear in Elysium with his fellow warriors.

Lafayette College, Lafayette College Art Galleries, Thomas Sully, Lafayette, study for 1824-1826 (12/04/2023).

I normally have objection to putting people on pedestals. La Fayette was not young anymore, he was ageing, and I think he earned himself the right to look old. He lived through a great many monumental changes and events; he survived what many others had not survived – there is no shame in being or looking old! But I also have to say that I do mind so much with Sully’s portrait as I normally do.

There is one other thing that always makes me smile when looking at this painting – I can name three paintings from the top of my head where La Fayette wears the same or a very similar outfit.

[itsallmadonnasfault]

For the first time in close to a decade, the Material Girl returned to the Inglewood Forum in a breathless two-hour, forty minute-plus mammoth, visually enthralling, techno-savvy concert covering her 40-year career. The last time she played this L.A. haunt was October 2015 with her Rebel Heart Tour.

From the onset of her show, Madonna always lets you know that you’re in for a ride. Her Confessions tour, which kicked off at the Forum in May 2006, began with a wide-screen, oval-shaped landscape screen (amazing for its day), displaying black and white footage of her taming the horse that threw her. It was her way of showing that she had prevailed from her 2005 accident which cracked three of her ribs, and broke her collarbone and hand. For Celebration, the Bay City, Michigan native drops jaws again with a flipping circular light bridge against three screens as she takes the stage like a Mother of God, but in black, with a lightbulb lit halo singing, “Nothing Really Matters.”

Full review

[roboe1]

Corruption at it's finest.

From on of my favorite bloggers, check it out. As stated so many times here, what less could we expect from a clan who bragged to the WEF of their own corruption? When we have someone in the Oval Office who is so comfortable with his corruption that he brags about it to members of the World Economic Forum and their audience, then we have nearly reached the pinnacle of corruption. What…

[innerfeather]

Body shapes for men!

Even if the fashion world is way more centered in women, men also deserve to know their body type to know what clothes suit them better. Unluckily, there is very little information for them – not to say there is NONE for non-binary people. I’ll do my best to approach this issue in faour of inclusivity, as ALL OF US deserve to know our shapes in order to find synch and harmony with our body.

Sources agree that men can have FIVE different body types: triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, oval or trapezoid.

Triangle body type is characterized by narrow shoulders and wider hips. To find proportions and balance in this body, it is necessary to wear clothes that focus the attention on the shoulders, to make them look wider. Clothes that can help them do this are structured tailoring, shoulder pads and not very fitting clothes. It is best to use vertical lines and prints. Examples of this body type are Kany West or Adam Levine.

Inverted triangle bodies are described as having broad shoulders and narrow hips. It is the typical body type of swimmers and gym bros, as the upper half of the body is well-developed. Unluckily for them, most fashion brands tend to design clothes for men who are out of shape. They should wear things that highlight the pectoral lines, like V-shaped necks, slim-fit T-shirts and horizontal lines, and avoid vertical lines and prints. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a classic example of inverted triangle:

Rectangle men appear tall and have the shoulders and hips around the same width. They should focus on creating structure, wearing layered outfits, scarves or structured tailoring, and can wear horizontal lines and prints. An example would be Matt Bomer or David Beckham:

Oval body type present its most width in the middle of the torso, with smaller shoulders and hips. It usually comes with sorter, broader limbs. They should use solid and dark colors and avoid prints and lines. Other tips: use suspenders instead of belts, and always use your size, don’t try to fit in smaller clothes. This applies to trousers, but also jackets and shirts. Elton John, who has always displayed his own personal style, has an oval body type.

Trapezoid body shape fits between rectangle and inverted triangle. The shoulders are slightly wider than the hips, but the body has balanced proportions. Men with this shape won’t have problems to find fitting clothes as most designers use this shape for their adjustments. It is advised to avoid loose and saggy clothes, and you’re both average build and average height, you could be in danger of blending in with crowds. Try to always have a few distinct details in your outfit, like a nice watch. Somebody with a rocking trapezoid bod would be Daniel Craig:

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a calculator, as for the female body types. If you are a man and want to know your body type, I can only tell you to take a picture of yourself standing straight. Place the camera at chest level and don’t tilt it.

This post is based on https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/, one of the few web sites that I found that address this issue. I hope some day I get to see more forums dedicated to male and non-binary style advise.

[beyondthisdarkhouse]

Image description: Chain of tweets quoting a screenshot of a tweet from Jan 12, 2025 with the username blacked out. It says: "Unfortunately die work wear or whatever is a psyop to turn men into women. Cuz why the hell else would he be telling them to dress that gay"

Retweet from "derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social", same day: The year is 2035. I meet President AOC in the Oval Office. "You've done well," she says. "By telling men to dress gay, you've lowered the population rate by 90%, thereby reducing carbon emissions." She slides me a manilla envelope. I can now afford a home in a walkable neighborhood

The year is 2030. My gay nemesis from a menswear forum angrily shakes his fist in the air. "I can no longer tell who's gay because everyone dresses gay," he pathetically shouts. I've ruined his ability to find love. I've won.