#please please listen to venezuelans in this time of need

[hwasoup]

Tale As Old As Time

Playlist !!

songs to listen along with: the beast, etc..

art credit goes to Marbipa

OMG guys, I literally hat to let this one sit and marinate for a while even though I typed it out like so long ago. AND I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT TO ADD THE SONGS FOR LAST CHAPTER, DW I DID THOUGH. Ugh and I literally also just found out that i had a textbook for a class, i didn't deep dive into the syllabus. AHHHHH regardless I hope you guys enjoyyy !! our favorite characters have finally met!!

like always tell me if you’d like to be tagged !!

prev | ch.4

warnings: wrongful incarceration, bargaining, yelling, really bad british slang, mexican spanish (im sorry y’all im venezuelan ☠️)

word count: 3.3k

Chapter 3: The Beast

After going through the thick woods, trusting Felipe to take her to where she needs to go…

Y/N makes it deep and far in the woods and stops Felipe from galloping when she spots her father’s wagon. She looks at all of the scattered food, items, and even his invention. In worry, she clutches on Felipe’s reins tightly and directs him to keep on going. After riding Felipe some time, the air gets thicker and fog covers the entirety of the forest. She then notices Felipe starting to trot and make his way down a gravel path. She looks around the dead trees and notices the large gates and the grand castle in front of her. “What is this place…” she says nervously. Felipe then starts nickering and anxiously moving as he didn’t want to go inside the gates. Y/N had to get off to comfort the horse and calm him down. After a few moments, she turns around and peeks inside the gate to see her father’s hat. She opens them and she reaches for the hat and holds it tightly in her hands, her worry now increasing for him. “Come on Felipe, we have to go inside” 

She mounts the horse once more and goes inside the gate, going through the garden until she makes it to the steps of the castle. Y/N then gets off Felipe and carefully goes up the stairs, grabbing a large stick from the stairs as a weapon incase if she needs to defend herself. She then makes it to the top and carefully opens the door. Peering inside she walks in hesitantly, as she looks around. 

“Look Jess…it's a pretty girl” 

“I can see that Miles, I lost my hands.. Not my eyes” 

 Miles then peeks at Jess and whispers “but what if she’s the one who’ll break the spell ?” Y/N turns around confused at the sound of whispering “Who said that ?” She looks around to see nobody except for a candelabra and a clock. She quietly approaches the two of them looking at the inanimate figures confused at what she heard. Her thoughts however were shunned as she could hear her father’s cough from a distance. In her desperateness to find him, she takes the candelabra and goes to look for him. Jess looks at Miles being taken and she simply sighs. 

Y/N follows the sound of coughing to a set of stairs, as she gets closer she then peers into a hall that goes up a tower. She anxiously walks up the stairs as she yells out “PAPA ??” She walks up the stairs faster as the coughing gets louder “ERES TU PAPA ??”  Y/N then gets to the top of the tower and gasps seeing her beloved father inside a dungeon. She throws the stick to one side and places the candelabra on a nearby shelf and places it there. Y/N then gets on her knees as she looks at her father in relief after searching for him “Oh papa, que paso?? what happened to you, your hands are ice cold..” she says holding him tightly through the metal bars. Mauricio looks at her in awe and simply says “how did you even find me ?” 

“That doesn’t matter, we need to get you home !” 

“Y/N please…listen to me it’s not safe here, you must leave at once! This castle is alive !” he says in a whisper, tightly holding onto Y/N’s hands. Y/N looked at him confused until she heard a deep growl echoing in the distance. She grabs her stick once more from the floor and looks around the dungeon. She firmly grips onto the piece of thick wood, as she gains the courage to look around and protect herself and her father. “Who’s there, WHO ARE YOU ?”

“Who Are YOU?” 

The voice of a man echoes throughout the dungeon, his silhouette appearing in the distance. “I’ve come for my father..” Y/N says with determination in her voice. The sound of someone coming down the stairs is heard in the dark dungeon. “Your Father….is a thief”. Enraged, Y/N yelled out “LIAR!” The silhouette has now fully come down the stairs and standing before her, his silhouette still only seen “He stole a rose..” Y/N raises an eyebrow appalled at his words “I asked for the rose, punish me not him !” Mauricio looks at his daughter and shakes his head “No, Y/N don’t… he means forever, apparently that’s what happens around here cuando uno elige una bendita rosa” 

Y/N even more appalled turned to her father and back to the silhouette “A life sentence for a flower ?” A loud roar is heard as it approaches her even more, she steps back a little but not entirely to stand her ground despite the small shivers down her leg. “I received eternal damnation for one” the figure said, the growl in his voice becoming deeper. “Then take me instead” The figure growls and looks away and angrily says “YOU-” his expression then softly changes as he was shocked at how willing she was. “Tú....Tú tomarías su lugar?”

Y/N bites her lip and nods a whimper coming from her lips releases in her voice “If I did…would you let him go ?” The silhouette’s voice became a bit softer but still gruff in its dominant position “Yes, but you must promise to stay here forever” he says. Y/N looks down and blinks thinking of what to do next, she notices there’s a light right between them, separating the two from fully seeing each other. “Come into the light” she demands. The silhouette becomes smaller as she starts to see two large paws, she then looks up to see not a man but a beast with the horns of a goat, a thick mane that covered his entire body and crimson red eyes that peered into hers.  Y/N covers her mouth in shock and turns to her father dropping the stick yet again to hold his hands. “No, Y/N to te puedo permitir que hagas esto” 

Y/N kisses her father’s hands and approaches the Beast, her voice faltering to a whisper “you have my word..” The Beast then growls and opens the door dragging Mauricio out and pushing Y/N in, not even letting the two share a proper departure. He then drags Mauricio all the way out of the castle and throws him inside a carriage “Take him to the village” Mauricio cries out to him “SPARE MY DAUGHTER PLEASE!” The Beast ignores him and growls as he closes the carriage door “She’s no longer your concern…” Mauricio cries out to him to let him out, but The Beast was already walking back inside his castle. 

After a moment, The Beast is seen walking back inside the castle on all fours with an annoyed expression on his face. Miles had already hopped down halfway to meet him. “So, Uh Sir ?” 

“WHAT” the Beast growled out. Miles cowered a bit but then adjusted himself “soo uh since the girl is going to stay with us for quite some time, erm umm” he rubs his other two candles together “I was thinking that y’know you wanted too uhh, bring her to a more comfortable room” he says with a sheepish smile. The Beast growls at him and keeps walking up the stairs ignoring what he said. “Or not” Miles says. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up in the tower after a week ….

Y/N wept as she whispered comforting words to herself. She thought about all of those times with her father, how he told her that home is where the heart is. But she wasn’t home, she was lonely and locked away. Her face drained as she thought of making the tiny dungeon her home, tears kept on spilling out as she thought about her poor father, all alone with nobody to lean onto in her terrible village.

She then sees a shadow loom over her and notices its The Beast. “You didn’t even let me say goodbye..I’ll never see him again..” her tears taint her cheeks that have been stained from the grime of the dungeon. “I-I’l never..see h-him again..” she says in between sobs. The Beast then looks at Y/N and a bit of guilt plagues his mind. He scratches his head and then considers what Miles told him earlier.. “I’ll show you to your room..” he says softly as he walks out the dungeon. 

“My room? But I thought -” 

“You, YOU wanna stay in the tower ?” 

“No..” she says softly.

 “Then follow me..” The Beast says.

The Beast then guides her out of the tower and back into the castle, taking Miles with him along the way so that he could light up the hallways. As Y/N is escorted, she looks around the castle and its statues and notices how dark and lonely the place seemed to be. Her eyes stare fearfully at a statue of a hideous gargoyle and speeds up to catch up with The Beast. 

The Beast heard her gasp and looked behind to see a single tear falling down her cheek, he looked back in his direction as he felt a bit more guiltier. “You should say something to her y’know” Miles says softly. The Beast nodded and turned to her “I..uhh…I hope you like it here” he looked back at Miles to see if it was ok. Miles then looks at him encouraging him to say a bit more. “The castle is your home now, so you can go anywhere you would like…except the west wing.” Y/N’s curiosity perks up and she asks “what’s in the west wing ?” He growled out “IT'S FORBIDDEN”. His voice echoed out into the empty halls of the castle. He then takes her to a suite and opens the door for her. “If you need anything…my servants will attend you.” Y/N walks in and looks around the room. She then turns back to him and softly asks “but what’s your name ?” The Beast looks down as he didn’t want to remember his name, as he isn’t human or anything similar to his name. “It’s Miguel..”

Y/N nods as she looks back to the room and looks around. Miles then in a corner of Miguel’s viewpoint whispers “dinner, go invite her to dinner” Miguel nods and he tries to find the best way to speak to her “YOU WILL JOIN ME FOR DINNER…Th-THAT”S NOT A REQUEST” he says gruffly as he slammed the door. Y/N in shock of his words looked back at the closed door and back to the room. Spotting the bed she runs towards it and throws herself onto the pillows and cries her heart out. She hasn’t even realized that it has already started snowing outside signifying the start of winter.

About a couple of hours later, There was a soft knocking on the door. Y/N who was too busy crying hears it and softly says “who is it ?” She then hears a man’s voice “Its, Peter” Y/N approaches the door and quietly opens it and peers outside. She didn’t see anyone until she saw a serving cart with a tea pot and a small cup. “Oh wow you’re very pretty ma’am” he says politely with a smile. “I thought you would like a small cup of tea” Y/N backs up surprised at the sight and bumps into the wardrobe. Hearing a voice from the wardrobe she looks at it in shock “ooh, watch it ‘ere mate” Y/N backs up to her bed and sits down surprised. “B-but, this is impossible!” 

“I know mate, but ‘ere we are. Oh and the name’s Hobie” Y/N looks around in awe and surprise and just sits, processing the whole situation. The little teacup then spoke, “I told you she was pretty daddy!” Peter chuckles and pours some tea into his daughter “alrighty May, go and hand it to her, gently without spilling” Mayday happily hops to Y/N and waits for her to pick her up. “Why… Thank You” Y/N takes it softly. She then takes a sip of the tea and hums softly, enjoying the taste. “Wanna see me do a trick ??” Mayday then giggles as she breathes in and blows bubbles into the tea. She gets scolded quickly by her father though.

Peter chuckles and looks at Y/N. “Y’know, that took guts kid,” Hobie nods and agrees with him “the whole castle’s buzzin ‘bout it.” Y/N sighs in disappointment “but, I’ve lost my father, my dreams, I’ve lost almost everything..” Peter smiles and gives her a warm smile “aww, don’t worry kid, things always turn out better in the end.” Peter then realizes that he’s still supposed to be in the kitchen “oh crap, i forgot i’m supposed to be helping in the kitchen.. Anyways it was lovely meeting you” he says as the serving table wheels away from her room and leaves.

“Well now, let's get somefink good for youse to get dressed for the old geezer ‘ere.” Hobie then opens his drawers and sees some moths fly out “m’bad dovey” He then pulls out a nice dress for her and says “ ‘ere ya go, somefink pretty for you dovey” Y/N looks at the dress and smiles softly “oh, that’s very kind of you Hobie, but i’m not going to dinner” Hobie then shrugs and puts the dress back inside his drawers “aight then, youse definitely gonna make that geezer more laughable” he says. A small pattern is heard walking inside the room, Jess walked in and took a breath. “Come on honey, dinner’s waiting” she says trying to lighten up the mood. 

Down at the dining table however, Miguel is pacing back and forth anxiously waiting for Y/N’s arrival. He then growls annoyed “What’s taking her so long ....I told her to come down…” He then looks at Miles and a smaller candle who’s named Lyla. “aww come on Miguel, you do realize that she’s literally lost her freedom and her dad like last week” Lyla says, stating the obvious. Miles then nods and says “soo uhh, Sir, Haven’t you thought that this girl.. Might be the one who could break the spell ?” MIguel looks up to the two candles “OF COURSE I HAVE..I’M NOT STUPID” Miles then smiles and says “Then you fall in love with her, sheee falls in love with you, and POOF! We’re human! We should be back to normal by midnight !” he says with a confident smile. Peter on the table however, digresses on the situation. “Miles buddy, it's not that easy y’know… these things take time” Miles then frowns and softly says “but, Peter ...the rose is already starting to wilt..” 

Miguel then looks down and sits on all fours and grumbles “Oh, it’s no use..” he runs a paw through his large mane “it's just that she’s just so beautiful, and i’m well.. WELL LOOK AT ME” he says with a snarl. Peter then sighs and looks at Miguel “aww come on Miguel, you have to help her see through all of that” Miguel then growls lowly “I don’t know how” he says as his ears flatten to the sides. Lyla then grins and pitches in “then how about a quick lesson on how to be a gentleman 101: Sit up and try to be kind.” Peter smiles and also shares a few thoughts “oh then don’t forget to give her a sweet smile, come one show me one Migs” Miguel then proceeds to give the most toothiest and quite horrible smile, even Lyla had to step back a little out of surprise. “Now don’t scare her, charm her” Peter says. Miles then blurted out “Oh, OH and impress her with your intelligence!” Miguel looks at all four of them trying to absorb the information, his mind whirling at almost everything that he has to do, that just seemed utterly impossible. The quartet continued to bombard him with a whole bunch of manners until they all said at the same time “and the most important of all, CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!!!” Miguel wipes his face from the small bead of sweat that was forming. 

Then, the sound of a door is heard opening, Miguel looks up in anticipation but is met with only Jess coming inside. “SO, evening everyone..” she says nervously. Miguel then raises an eyebrow “Well ? where is she ?” Jess takes a deep breath in, just knowing how Miguel is definitely going to react “soo, she’s…yea she’s not coming”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAT ??!!!!”

Outraged, Miguel leaves the dining room and runs as quickly as his legs and hind legs could take him, all the way upstairs and into the east wing. Peter yells out “Nononono, WAIT MIGUEL !” 

Miguel manages to outrun them and make it to Y/N’S door and basically smacks it as hard as he could “ I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN FOR DINNER” y/n behind the door responds to him “I’m not coming” she says with a little huff in her voice. Miles, Lyla, Peter, and Jess just facepalm and shake their heads in disappointment. A sigh was even heard from behind Miguel from the huge letdown. “YOU BETTER COME OUT, OR I’M- YO VOY…VOY A ROMPER LA BENDITA PUERTA !”

Miles whistled and just said “so, just a quick suggestion , but uh….that really isn’t the best way to impress a girl..” Jess nods and sighs “Miguel just for once, can you actually just be polite to her?” Miguel gestured to the door “But, she is being so DIFFICULT”  Peter then comes beside him and softly says “gently Miguel, you’re spooking her..” Miguel groans and lowers his tone at the door “Will you come down for dinner ?” he closes his eyes hoping that she would say yes to this tone in his voice. “No!” Y/N says. 

Miguel’s eyes widened and his ears shot up in surprise and he gave a look pointing to the door as he tried to prove his point to the servants. Miles then says “suavemente y gentilmente…” 

Miguel then takes a deep breath and tries again, “It would give me a great pleasure, if you would come out and join me for dinner.” He looks up to the door slightly hoping that she would come out this time…although his temper is starting to boil. 

Jess coughs “COUGH- we say please- COUGH” 

Miguel rolls his eyes and softly says please

Y/N simply says “NO, THANK YOU !” Everyone watching the interaction watches in shock as they know he’s going to blow. 

Miguel then belts out “YOU CAN’T STAY IN THERE FOREVER”. 

Y/N on the other side of the door yells out “QUE SI!”

Miguel snarls and roars out “FINE THEN GO STARVE FOR ALL I CARE PINCHE DESGRACIADA”

He looks down to his servants “IF she doesn’t eat with me, then she doesn’t eat at all” Miguel then growls out and runs off away to his room into the west wing. He opens the door annoyed and just grumbles to himself “I ask nicely but she refuses, like que quiere?? que yo hago? BEG ??” In a flurry of rage, he goes to a table where the enchanted rose is encased in a glass dome. Beside it is his magic mirror that was gifted by the enchantress. Miguel then grabs his magic mirror and looks into it “ensename la niña” 

The mirror then glows a greenish blue color and shows him y/n sitting in bed being comforted by Hobie. “Aww come on Dovie, the old bloke ain't so bad..” Y/N however was sitting in bed dejected and not too convinced. “I don’t want to though...I don’t even want to do anything with him!”  Miguel, shocked, puts down the mirror as he feels that same familiar feeling of hopelessness takes over his mind “who am I fooling…she’ll never see me as anything other than .... than a monster” he says as his voice shakes. He looks at the rose and sees a petal that slowly fell down and wither making the castle shake and crumble a bit.

“It’s hopeless…”

taglist: @cupcakeinat0r , @miguelhugger2099, @mcmiracles, @xxsugarbonesxx,@codenameredkrystalmatrix,@deputy-videogamer,@lxverrings,@miguelzslvtz,@itsameclinicaldepression,,@ricekrisbris,@loser-alert , @thedevax, @uncle-eggy, @m4dyy, @freehentai, @synamonthy, @razertail18, @s0lm1n, @badbishsblog, @faimmm, @opalwitchart,

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Young Royals Season 2 play-by-play analysis

Alright, moving on to episode 2. I realize that a lot of what I did as I wrote my thoughts down was copy down a lot of the quotes, for future reference (both for analysis and for fic-writing), but I’ve deleted all of the standalone quotes, for space. I also hope that, by the end of the year, I will have a more advanced grasp of Swedish and be able to compare the script in Swedish and the dubbing/subtitles and get a better understanding of cultural context (in the meantime, I’m thankful for Swedish-speaking or Swedish-adjacent users who share their wisdom and knowledge with the rest of us).

EPISODE 2

Wille standing at the doorway, listening to Simon play the Hillerska melody on piano… the melody that he taught him how to play in that very same room… and feeling so distant… He’s not allowed to come near, he should give him space… Simon was on a date last night with someone else… he looked happy…

”If I wasn’t an adult I wouldn’t have been allowed to move here, my mum wanted me and Simon to drop out after his… s-sex video…” Awkward silence. The video is never going away. Everyone knows the truth. (It’s traumatizing still that everyone refers to it as a sex video, as if it were his fault, his and Wille’s for getting filmed, like they should have known that they could get caught, like it wasn’t a massive breach of privacy and also child pornography, like it wasn’t two kids involved, it’s victim-blaming).

Simon singing Feliz Cumpleaños to Sara and then talking about pabellón… makes me wonder why we never hear Sara speak Spanish, not even a word, while Simon speaks fluent Spanish, switching between both languages without problem. Meanwhile Sara understands it because both Simon and Linda say things and she responds, but in two seasons she hasn’t said a word in Spanish. Frida Argento, who plays Sara, probably speaks at least some Spanish, since she had been living and working in Barcelona, Spain, before working on the show. But maybe her accent is too strong…? (I doubt it; even hearing Edvin speak Spanish, I noticed that his accent is not as heavy as, for example, Americans speaking Spanish. In fact, Edvin pretty much nails the Venezuelan accent.) Or maybe it’s because Frida would have a Spanish accent instead of a Venezuelan one…? Or maybe (and this is, in my opinion, the most likely hypothesis) Sara, despite understanding and speaking Spanish as fluently as her brother, doesn’t like to speak it because it’s like showing that she’s an outsider, that she’s a second generation immigrant. She might not be proud of her heritage because she wants more than anything to fit in. (It would make sense, I’ve known quite a few people like that, who grew up in a foreign country and didn’t want to speak their native language because they didn’t want to feel like outsiders, and it’s particularly common amongst young Latin Americans; even Omar Rudberg himself talked about that in that show Taste Buds when he and Edvin Ryding eat Venezuelan food, that if his mother hadn’t forced him to speak Spanish, he would have only spoken Swedish, because he wanted to fit in, he decided that Swedish was cool and Spanish wasn’t, and now he’s glad that his mother forced him, and he’s so proud of it, and now he’s trilingual, but not all Latin American immigrants are so lucky). So maybe Sara could very well speak Spanish but it’s a conscious choice that she doesn’t.

“At least he doesn’t need to be rescued all the time.” Sara holds on to the concept that Wille is this disaster person (which he kind of is) and that Simon is constantly the knight in shining armor, sacrificing himself to protect/save him. That happened one time, Sara!

Did Henry just hug Simon during the game? More Henry/Simon bonding, please.

Wille not knowing how to handle his frustration over Simon “moving on”. Poor baby. First breakups are hard.

“I’m just trying to be honest about my feelings. Maybe you should try it sometime.” Ooooh ho ho Simon, you asked for it, and Wille delivers.

That whole silent exchange between Simon and Felice… I need them to be friends soon. I need Simon to put behind past grievances (the way Felice treated Sara at first, his jealousy over her and Wille kissing, etc), and realize they could be besties. (At least we get a little supportive interaction on ep 5 and 6).

How fast did the information that Wille is being forced out of Hillerska spread??? Fucking August being all “He hasn’t been well.” Fuck you, asshole. Fuck you and your satisfied grin that you’re “trying” to hide.

The snow globe breaking will never not hurt my little heart… and Wille’s face, and his trembling fingers trying to put it back together…

“At least you don’t have to be the Crown Prince.” Need more flashbacks to Wille and Erik, please. Is Wille wearing the same orange sweater that he wears on his first day at Hillerska? That he was wearing earlier in that scene and took off (conveniently leaving it behind for Simon?) If it is, then Wille wears that sweater more often than we expected, so it’s kind of strange that by the end of the season he hasn’t noticed that he’s missing it (but it’s okay, he had other things in his mind).

Kristina being so manipulative. “Your father and I love you just the way you are”, how sweet, “but if you are the first one in our family to choose to live in an unconventional relationship…” Oh well so much for that… the way she says “choose” and “unconventional”… “You should be able to choose when to come out… BUT not yet.” She’s holding on to the hope that he will get over this, she still thinks that this is just a phase, just an unfortunate romance.

And then she just says “okay” and hangs up on him. She’s so frustrated with him. But she doesn’t even try to be his mother for one second. She doesn’t even say goodbye. You’re supposed to be the fucking adult here, Krissy. You’re the fucking queen, and your teenaged son is going through a lot of shit because of you, so be a fucking adult.

Wille is so shocked to see a crowd gathered. The embarrassment continues. Poor baby. It’s like he’s everyone’s favorite drama, but it’s his fucking life. It’s so unfair.

“I talked to my mum and told her that I can’t be king or prince if I can’t be allowed to be who I am.” I don’t think Wille even cares what that means. I mean, he doesn’t care about labelling himself at all, it’s just a matter-of-fact to him, ‘whatever I am doesn’t matter, the point is I’m in love with this boy, I should be allowed.’

“They support me,” yeah right. “We will discuss things when I turn 18, what I want.” Sure thing, baby. Your mum just wants to postpone the discussion until your will has weakened. A discussion doesn’t mean they will agree with you at all. It’s so sad to me that he doesn’t know it, that he still trusts her a bit. He’s willing to do anything to get Simon back, even agree to such bullshit conditions.

“I think it’s really great that you feel like they’re supportive and stuff but…” Yeah, Simon doesn’t buy it either. Your mum doesn’t want you two to be together, those are empty words.

“I can’t be your secret again.” Here it is. He uses the word ‘secret’ again to refer to what they used to have, before the video, before everything. But it wasn’t a secret, really, it was private. But when everything blew up, and Wille denied being in the video, that’s when their relationship became like a dirty little secret. That’s why Simon says that he doesn’t want to be someone’s secret, when Wille comes back from the interview and apologizes but says that nothing has to change. But that wasn’t really Wille doing that, that was his mother who convinced him, that was her manipulation. But Simon still doesn’t understand that, he doesn’t understand that Wille truly was given no choice, he was scared into doing it. And Wille doesn’t understand where Simon is coming from, because he so desperately just wants to be with him, he just wishes Simon would agree and be with him on his terms and that’s it. At this point Wille has not reflected at all on what Simon asked him before the break. He hasn’t put Simon’s needs ahead of his own yet. He hasn’t accepted the part he has played in their relationship breaking down.

Stella is so frustrated with the heteronormativity of the game… “What if it’s not a guy?” And Fredrika, without even having to think about it, says “it’s a game for girls!”, implying, ‘Of course it’s about guys, why would it not? We’re all heterosexual women here.’ Nooooo, Fredrika…

“It depends on how you count”. Well at least she has a slightly more open view on what constitutes sex.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna… no way. Yeah… no…”. Maddie, queen of privacy. I love you. She doesn’t want the girls gossiping about Wille and Simon, and she’s definitely not going to start gossip about herself. In this house we stan Madison McCoy too.

That whole conversation, about sex vs penetrative sex, masturbation…

Sara’s invasion of Felice’s privacy, how the heck did she get into Felice’s phone, and her checking out the entire conversation between Felice and Wille… why Sara, why… I can understand some of the other terrible decisions that she makes during this show, which often relates to her being neurodivergent, but there is absolutely no excuse for going through someone else’s phone. That is pure sneakiness.

Simon smelling the sweater, then looking at the fish tank as he does, allowing all the memories flood him, getting inspired to write about it, letting it wash all over him… then seeing himself in the mirror and becoming angry at himself. He’s so frustrated at himself for holding on to these feelings, for not being able to get over Wille…

And every time that happens he just goes for the easy option, which is try to move on with Marcus… try to drown out the thoughts, the feelings with noise (Marcus). He wants to distract himself. But that’s all it is, a distraction. It doesn’t work like that, baby.

He’s psyching himself to try to replace everything with Marcus, everything he’s ever felt for Wille. The memory of holding pinkies during the horror movie? Let’s set up a horror movie and see what happens. But he’s so desperate he can’t even wait, so he kisses Marcus, just goes for it, just do it, hopefully it will be so good that Wille who? And it’s like… zero chemistry… Simon just keeps pushing, hoping that it will suddenly be there, just zap! But no, baby, that’s not how it works… And he knows this, by the way he looks sort of guilty and ashamed when Marcus stops him. That’s not you, Simon, that’s just your desperation talking. And as much as I detest Marcus, I do appreciate that he at least didn’t follow Simon’s lead, he stopped him. And I do feel a bit bad that Simon tried to use him like that (not because it’s Marcus, I would feel bad for any guy in this situation, as perfect as he could be). That little peck and then Simon following with his lips, then Marcus putting his arm around him and Simon just looking so tense… yep, he definitely feels absolutely no chemistry, but he’s just going with it, like really hoping it will come… fake it till you make it…

Sara wearing so much purple this season… the color of royalty… like it’s wishful thinking.

August being confused about Sara kissing him at first, then giving in, then his little smile and laugh when she leaves… August has self-esteem problems, and this girl has paid attention to him, not once, not twice, but three times. She’s helping him, and she seems to want him, physically at least. He’s catching feelings. At this moment he doesn’t really care that she’s lower class, that’s just a thing he has been conditioned to care about, that he’s allowed to be a big part of who he is and how he conducts himself. She sees him, and for someone who has a very low opinion of himself, due to how he perceives himself physically, due to the fact that he’s broke but he can’t talk about it, due to his need to be outstanding and the addiction that he has as a consequence, due to what he did to his own cousin and the precarious position that he’s in because of that, that’s just what he needed. Plus he’s living in fear of the social and legal consequences of what he did.

We get to see more about how Wille’s anxiety manifests itself. Picking and fidgeting are so common unconscious tics.

“My brother… he, um… I, I became Crown Prince…” there’s a heartbreaking post about how Wille deals with his grief, and another even more heartbreaking one about how the only time that he actually said the words “my brother is dead” was to August, he was sincere, expressing his feelings, and then August betrayed him, and he hasn’t been able to say it again since.

I love Boris. He’s so patient and good at his job.

I really relate to the way that Wille knows that he has severe anxiety, and wants to be able to fix that, but is embarrassed or apprehensive to talk about it. We see him pick up the brochure and browse through it, then pretends to put it back but actually takes it, hoping no one saw. I relate to that because for the longest time I thought I should be able to fix the problem on my own, and because it was difficult for me to seek help without feeling judged. The pressure that Wille feels due to his position, due to what has been embedded in him by his mother, doesn’t allow him to be open about these things yet, but he knows there is a problem and he needs to fix it. It’s just so hard to see that often, when it comes to mental health, the most effective way to “solve” it is to seek outside help. You seek medical attention for any other health problem, why wouldn’t you seek it for a mental health problem too?

The secret coup. Yikes.

“I mean, if he’s moved on so quick, what did I mean to him?” Boy is so emo. He’s not the jealous type, he’s the moping type. He cannot for the life of him be rude or mean to the guy who just went on a date with his ex, he’s just awkward and in pain…

Felice’s commentary is so bestie commentary. “You’re better looking than him.” “You need to spend more time with Simon, show him that he can trust you.” I’m not saying that she’s wrong (about the first comment, at least), but it’s so funny to me how this shows how much she’s into her bestie role. She’s doing the exact same thing that Rosh and Ayub are doing for Simon, and that is… giving bad relationship advice: whilst Rosh and Ayub are pushing Simon to get a rebound (not seeing that Simon is not the rebound kind of guy), Felice tells Wille to get closer to Simon (not realizing that the best advice, the thing that worked out in the end, was for Wille to give Simon space, let him go). At least things turned out well despite all the bad advice…

Felice is also doing much better now that they’re friends, now that there’s not that awkwardness from when she was trying to attract his attention (more on that later, of course, because of that scene). It’s like they were always meant to be friends like this, if Felice hadn’t been brainwashed by her mother to do everything in her power to get with the prince.

This friendship feels a bit one-sided at the moment. Felice is doing everything to be supportive to Wille in his circumstances, but hopefully if Felice needs his support in season 3 he will be there for her too.

“We deserve the privileges that traditions gives us…” uuugh, such entitlement… that whole sentence sounds so oxymoronic. Nobody really deserves privilege, it’s only given to them (privilege, in this context, is being handed things because of status and money and whiteness and maleness, etc, not because they were earned by hard work, dedication, good values and qualities, etc…)

“And who should I congratulate on that thankless, shit assignment?” It’s funny that August points out how “awful” it is to be prefect, yet he wants it with his whole being. Just like he wants to be a royal so badly, despite everything that it entails. But he doesn’t really truly think of how bad it is, even though it might be. Because being in a position of power to him means holding power, it’s just as simple as that. Being on top, being in control, being the authority. He doesn’t really think about the sacrifices because he’s not willing to sacrifice anything.

“Fucking Brutus, man.” Really, August? You’re calling someone else Brutus? (And then Wille appears on cue, like on a Shakespeare play. Fantastic).

“Congrats, he’ll be a thousand times shittier than I’ve ever been.” I mean, he’s not wrong, but it’s funny to me that he doesn’t say “shittier than you think I’ve been”, so he admits that he’s been shitty as a prefect. (Unless that’s not what he said in Swedish, but I’m guessing it’s not far off.)

The whole hair pulled back thing, I don’t remember them doing that during the first time that Sara slept over in Manor House (unless that was a special occasion, but doubtful). Maybe it’s different when it’s lunch and when it’s dinner?

“Some kind of socialist nonsense.” Jesus Christ, Vincent. He IS much worse. At least more outspoken.

I think it’s cute how Simon could have arrived and stood at either end of the group, but he went for the center, right next to Wille. He either did that automatically or on purpose, because it feels to me that it would have made more sense to stand at either end, to go under the radar since he was late.

“Why do you care?” Duh, Simon. Why would he not care???? That’s like asking why is water wet… Just because things happened the way they did, doesn’t mean that Wille is not still crazy about you… But Wille can’t be honest about it without shoving his lingering feelings for Simon onto him, so he has to make up an excuse.

“So you mean like cheating?” A recurring theme in the series has been Simon cheating to get ahead, and then it not paying off at all. He cheated when he made a deal with August to get the alcohol for the initiation party in season one, getting involved with his dad, and then August didn’t pay him back. He cheated when he tried to get private tutoring and then he didn’t have the money to pay for it. He cheated when he stole his father’s meds to give to August to sell, and now it’s a massive thing hanging over him, threatening him. And Wille cheated for him by throwing Alexander under the bus to protect Simon, which brought a whole bunch of other problems. Simon cheats to try to get ahead, because he’s always at a disadvantage, but the privileged kids will always still be ahead of him.

Wille knowing that Simon is not telling the whole story about how he knows Marcus. But don’t worry, Wille, you don’t know the whole motivation behind that.

Nils realizing that Vincent is a despot… Should have campaigned for himself.

Wille smiling all hopeful, thinking that surely he is in Simon’s good graces for helping him get a spot on the team… then going and sneaking a glance at Simon’s phone. Bad Wille, bad! First Sara and now you??? (At least he didn’t get into Simon’s phone, which again, how did Sara manage to get into Felice’s…?)

August feeling his blood freeze at Jan-Olof’s message. Karma, bitch? If only…

(Resisting the urge to rewatch the show from season 1 again…)

(Hmm, I haven’t actually done a play-by-play rewatch of season 1… maybe i should…)

(No! You’re supposed to be writing! Stop procrastinating!)

(Okay…)

[wortverlust]

SNLRGPNEQGIRPN I HOPE SPENCER IS OKAY!!!!!!

poor boy, i understand his fears :( i had to make a friend hold my hand whilst getting my vaccine, which was both humiliating yet needed. FUCKING NEEDLES. my trainer laugher at me when i had to walk away from moj and the massive fuck-off needle they were about to stab him with. my trainer and the stable-hand whO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE REALLY CUTE AND FUCKING SAW ME ALMOST FAINT GODDAMNIT–

aight, consider yourself: pickle related. what a title to have.

but fr they're one of my favourite things to like, randomly grab out the cupboard and CoNsUmE but now all imma think about is just devouring your pickle legs IM SO SORRY I KNOW YOU NEED THEM BUT THEY'RE SO TASTY–

the existence of pickles should 100% be celebrated they bring me so much joy as a human being

......the fact i didn't think of JOcket actually pains me as a master of the dad jokes... I CANNOT BE SURPASSED

TALK AS MUCH AS I WANT???? oh you are playing a dangerous game here jo... one that may end with really jacked fingers from typing so much ajwbfpberpigbo

I HAVE INDEED EATEN! SLEPT? eh. DRANK WATER? amongst other things..... ALSO THERE ARE SO MANY BATS AROUND AND ITS BRINGING ME SO MUCH HAPPINESS but i am secretly harbouring a poor moth who fluttered into my room and got scared :(

i wouldn't wanna be a moth at this time either little buddy

ilysmmmm LOOK AFTER YOURSELF

ESSA!!! YES!!! TALK AS MUCH AS YA WANT TO!!! I'LL LISTEN!!!

H-HOLD ON BATS?!?!?!?! CUTE FLUFFY FLYING BATS?! AND where is the photo of the lovely moth in your room? I once had a moth in my room which was as big as my fist… that actually scared the shit out of me… and…please…do you know the Venezuelan poodle moth? No? look it up….THIS MOTH IS SO FLUFFY LIKE… NEXT LEVEL!!! And yeah…moths definitely play drums

okay…do I need to put a warning here? IDK!!!?? WARNING: me BABBLING about needle experience

naah!!! It's totally fine to have something against needles. (Well…at least you didn't faint! I fainted 2 times…not bc of needles…but yeah ^^;;) ALSO I'm the type of person which ALWAYS WATCH what they're doing with their needles. nurse: "You can look somewhere else."me: "Nah…have to know what you're doing and what you put in my arm" The last time the nurse got kinda nervous…maybe bc of me…not sure….but she poked me 5 TIMES WITH THE FUCKING NEEDLE… and didn't get any of my blood <_< SO another one had to come … I swear my arms had a lovely dark purple a few h later - some haematoma… And for my PICKLE knee surgery they offered me a sedative. But I said no… so I was fully awake while all these people prepare everything around me…that actually was a pretty dum decision…^^;; BUT the surgical team was funny (:

[theotherpages]

National Poetry Month Number 17 - Keorapetse William Kgositsile - Anguish Longer than Sorrow

You can listen to the podcast version of today’s article on Spotify, ITunes, Anchor, Breaker, or Google Podcasts. Click Here to access links. (https://anchor.fm/steve-spanoudis) Look for the podcast titled National Poetry Month at the Other Pages.

Welcome to National Poetry Month at The Other Pages. My name is Steve Spanoudis and I curate the series each year, with help and contributions from Bob Blair, Kashiana Singh, and (Nelson) Howard Miller. I’m coming to you from Coral Springs, Florida, on the eastern edge of the Everglades.

I have emphasized that poetry, because it has the ability to fix things in memory, to make them understood and memorable and give them emotional weight, is highly effective at saying the important things that need to be said in this world. Along with the things that amuse and entertain, that describe and narrate, that create wonder and introspection, we need poems that say the important things.

Earlier in this series we had poems from Ladan Osman and Maria Nazos that were in that category. Today’s poem by South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse William Kgositsile is very much in this vein, and if you remember nothing else from this year’s articles, I would like you to remember this one.

First, a few comments about the poet. Keorapetse William Kgositsile (1938-2018) was born and grew up in an impoverished South African Township, witness to many of the ills not only of Apartheid, but to the long-lived consequences of European colonialism on the African continent.

He became active in the African National Congress, as journalist and as an outspoken voice, but was urged, for his own safety, to leave the country in 1961. He spent most of his twenty years of exile in the United States, where, after earning his Masters at Columbia, he became a visible presence as a spoken word performer in New York. He taught at multiple universities and published ten collections of poetry and two more books on writing poetry.

Today’s poem, Anguish Longer than Sorrow, is about the accident of birth, or, as he describes it simply, referring to the children of families fleeing violence and starvation:

Empty their young eyes

deprived of a vision of any future

they should have been entitled to

since they did not choose to be born

where and when they were

So yes, if you have not figured it out yet, today’s discussion is about borders. In the U.S., discussions of the southern border have been an incendiary topic, fanned by political interests to polarize the population and garner money through fear. But the topic is global. This problem is everywhere.

Through my work with the Red Cross and its Missing Maps program (https://www.missingmaps.org/), I have spent many hours building maps of refugee areas around the world. When I teach a mapping class to volunteers, or to Red Cross employees or partners, a continued comment I make is that there are more displaced persons in the world right now, than at any time since the second world war. The Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, the Syrians fleeing the non-top devastation of their homeland, people from many African and Middle-eastern regions fleeing to Europe to escape famine and persecution. Palestinians who have lived their entire lives in refugee camps. Venezuelans fleeing food shortages and economic collapse.

Almost forty years ago, National Geographic famously ran a cover image of a shell-shocked teenage girl named Sharbat Gula, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl) one of many iconic images that resonate strongly with The words Kgositsile’s poem. The sadness, in part, is that there are so many such images.

Across the African continent in particular, the root of the violence in some areas stems from artificial boundaries drawn originally by colonial European powers, divvying up who gets to plunder and enslave which pieces. Those boundaries fragmented local societies and ethnic groups, creating countries that were, from the start, at odds with themselves. Kgositsile writes:

If destroying all the maps known

would erase all the boundaries

from the face of this earth

I would say let us

make a bonfire

to reclaim and sing

the human person

At the end of the poem, after talking about the horrors and burdens of the victims of displacement, ends with a simple declarative statement, almost a one-line manifesto:

to have a home is not a favour

Meaning, it should be a fundamental right. I am including links here in the text to Lyricline (https://www.lyrikline.org/en/poems/anguish-longer-sorrow-5908) where you can read the full text of the poem, and, more importantly, hear it in his voice, with his diction. I think it’s most impactful that way. It's also available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6RXqJwOvMM) but without the text.

As another personal note, much of my own writing, the books and characters of The Republic of Dreams (https://www.facebook.com/therepublicofdreams), are displaced persons, many of them made homeless by the rising of the seas. I live at three meters above sea level, so I’m physically closer to that issue than many of you. And as my mapping activities show me on a regular basis, that is on the horizon as an inevitable issue. Let me end with a nod to Greta Thunberg, the personification of the world’s conscience on that issue.

Once again this is Steve Spanoudis for theotherpages.org.

Thank you for Listening. If you’re enjoying these commentaries, and the poem selections, please share them - either the text versions or the podcasts - on social media.

You can find more at theotherpages.org, or at The Other Pages on Facebook or Tumblr.

[tenemos-que-hablar]

“Are you seriously this cool all the time?”

(Macarena Achaga interview for InStyle Magazine, October 2019)

This phrase stuck in our heads when we stalked Macarena Achaga on her social media (that is, before an interview, we read, investigate, and we even get into those forgotten corners of the internet to know about the celebrities on our cover.) And we believe that this is the one question that many ask the Argentine actress...she answers it for us.

“I’m so excited, what did you think of the photos?” asks Maca about the photoshoot we did in Barcelona, ��​with the new collection of the Spanish brand “Desigual” (we love them, by the way). Precisely, she is an example of that (desigual), of originality embodied in a person; not only transcending from being a teenage entertainer in Mis XV, to becoming the actress whose character, along with Barbara Lopez, became the first lesbian couple on Mexican television in Amar a muerte, a telenovela written by Venezuelan Leonardo Padron and produced by Lemon and W Studios.

“I don’t want to discount any of my work because each of them has taken me to where I am now and shaped me professionally; I started with Mis XV and there I learned the importance of freedom at a young age. I am very grateful to have done it with maturity and that my parents always gave me the chance to make my own decisions; I constantly say that it’s better to regret the consequences of your own choices than to regret the ones that were decided for you. From a very young age, I faced and lived many things that, without knowing, would later give me the weapons to tell other people's stories and have empathy so that girls feel recognized.”

“That was the number one factor that happened with Juliantina; we were able to raise our voice for so many people out there who don’t have the opportunity to do so and who don’t have the freedom that I had. The transition in my career has been immense, but going through different experiences gave me the strength to go out and act. I do this because it allows me to be the voice of so many who don’t have one. Following what my heart says lets me do my job with a purpose,” confesses the artist who began more than 12 years ago in middle entertainment and today is one of the coolest faces on the small screen.

The growth that the Argentine has had has been tremendous, but she has also encountered unexpected challenges and obstacles. The industry is difficult, “as humans we are made to please. I think that it is one thing to pretend to fit in and quite another to want to belong. I don’t think it’s the same to fit in by changing who you are than to be with a group of people who are moved by the same things you are; however, I don’t look to change my way of being. I’m guided by the projects that align with my way of thinking. When I am old and I look in the mirror, I want to say ‘You did everything out of love’. I look to play roles that touch someone from a different point of view, but at the same time tell a message that I believe in.” And it’s precisely that, that she’s sure is how things are flowing and has been the success of her career.

She even told us a story of one of her castings, that she realized how the camera connects you to the audience, and because of that she is transparent with her acting and she feels that is part of the movement that is taking place with Juliantina.

Without a doubt, there are many girls, regardless of their sexual orientation, who have felt moved after seeing her performance as Valentina, who is part of a same-sex couple: “She encouraged them to speak without such filters. I don’t label myself and I want to convey that message. Of course, this opens up the conversation that you can have the relationship you want in the way you think it best; I think that these stereotypes and ideas that are so deeply rooted in society have finally begun to fall. I feel proud and responsible--even blessed--because so many girls have chosen me to be a voice that gives the message of equality and put it out there with the ideals of thousands of people. I am inspired by the change I see. As for the sexuality argument, it seems to me that it shouldn’t be a topic of conversation, not because it’s bad, but because it shouldn’t remain a taboo.” Macarena celebrates individuality and is sure that being yourself is the path to happiness, although she knows how difficult it is to translate into words.

And for the Juliantina fans comes a very important project: the movie that will take the couple to the big screen. Undeniably, it will mark a before and after in the history of Mexican television in which an LGBTQ+ couple transitions from a telenovela to a movie.

“It's beautiful to listen the community of women who are making themselves heard and who want to see the story that touched them so much. I thank God I was chosen to play it; it needed to be told. It is a romantic story, but above all, real. For me, it’s a response to the audience that’s socially responsible and their hope to see so much love and camaraderie. This opens a window for the world to be part of a turning point of love stories in general,” she emphasizes.

For her, it is important to go beyond generations, to reach entire families and that the audience connects with this moment of change. “It’s inevitable, urgent, and necessary that these issues are on the table, discussing important things requires courage. Talking about sexuality is uncomfortable, but it has to be done and we are opening the conversation. Recently, I had coffee with a fan from Brazil who told me that after a time of struggling, then seeing me on TV, and then on my social media, she realized that there was a life out there that she wasn’t enjoying. I want to end the prejudices and not have to explain, when many times you yourself are still discovering what is happening with you”.

Macarena is different, rebellious and breaking the rules since she was a child because she has a conscience that allows her to identify with what she likes and what she doesn't, although she admits that she couldn’t have accomplished it without the support of her family and fans who send her gifts, even from Korea, and make her feel special. 

“I like to break the rules and it’s important to learn how to say no and be an example without shame. End the excuses, give the answers from a place that comes from confidence in who you are,” she declares.

So yes, the answer is that Macarena is this cool, all the time.

--

Interview: Karla Jáuregui

Photos: Paola Vivas

Styling: Paulina Zas

[gorebabybunny]

(If you're not american, don't like politics, or are a communist, keep scrolling)

It woulda cost you zero dollars to spread hate and lies

It woulda cost you zero dollars to do your research

You woulda gained so much from reading

Instead ya post bull and whine about a broken society

If I see one more post about how "amazing" socialism is, Imma lose my fucking mind

Ask Venezuela how "awesome" socialism is

I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you why it DOESN'T work

Why democratic socialism is just as destructive and has never worked EVER in recorded history

I'm sure all the people, displaced from their homes, starving in the streets, and escaping to better countries away from their families in hopes of sending money back to them, Im sure they just LOVE socialism

Seriously, if you support socialism, I encourage you to look at who is leading you to believe its a good idea

If they don't have a job, jesus fuck why listen to a lay about who doesn't wanna throw their weight in the ring

If its a fuckin rich person, living the high life, in what fucking world do you think they'd want socialism? Socialism that would lower their wealth to the equivalent of the rest of society

I'll tell you right now

In those cases, just as its happened every. Single. Time. Those rich bastards promoting socialism are TAKING ADVANTAGE

They don't share their wealth

They hoard it

They're exempt from it

THATS who you want to listen to?

A moocher of the state or a rich man lining his pockets?

Really?

Seriously?

Yeah fuck that shit

I'm in america now because before my time (luckily for me) my family had to ESCAPE from so called socialists (who never really are socialists, but rather communists, marxists, and villians)

HITLER RAN UNDER THE SOCIALIST PARTY

The people wanted him

They wanted what he promised

But Hitler, like every other person who offered such a 'wonderful' idea, lied and took advantage

He had no intention of using socialism.

He was in power.

He could do what he wanted.

Socialism birthed the Nazi party.

Socialism leads to communism.

Socialism leads to starvation. Poverty. And death.

There are NO recorded cases of successful socialism

Not a single fucking one.

Don't buy into bullshit without reading for yourself.

And, I MEAN ON EVERYONE.

You don't have to believe me, you don't have to trust what Im saying.

You should do your own research.

Social media is NOT a valid resource.

Twitter is full of lies.

Tumblr is full of lies.

Facebook is full of lies.

Read facts.

Don't be a fucking sheep.

I don't want to have to leave my country because morons bought into the idea of total financial equality.

We are so so lucky, to live in a society where we can better ourselves and live a good life. Life is hard. Life is hard everywhere.

Count your blessings.

We, as Americans, are much much more privileged than many countries.

We have the power to raise ourselves past our current status.

We have the power to work hard and earn more for our time.

We have power.

Would you go to school for eight years, and then some, become a doctor, to earn minimum wage?

What would be the point?

There wouldn't be one.

Socialism, the total equality of wealth, means higher taxes, to put everyone on an equal bar.

So what would be the point?

You could work at McDonald's and at the end of the day make the exact same as a doctor.

What would be the point in working harder? To try and get the manager position if it makes no financial change?

To work harder for LESS?

Please, for the love of everything, read and do your research.

I encourage you. Just PLEASE.

If you want to help Venezuelans, heres a support link

This is a great reference article but I highly encourage finding your own

Never forget.

Because of this, I am a first born american. I am so. So. Thankful to be here.

My family fled to Canada because of the holocaust, where only a portion of us survived.

My mother was gifted that life in Canada

And I was gifted this life in the USA.

I am THANKFUL for my life here.

I will continue to fight to keep socialism AWAY from our nation.

[simplelittlebrowngirljae]

What being a black student at a PWI taught me

I grew up in working class family. My father was in the military and my mother was a civil servant. Neither had went to college, but they did have job training. My sister was a first generation college student of our immediate household, although I had an aunt who had her PhD and her daughter had gone to college and had her Master’s and was officer in the Air Force, we didn’t speak much about college in my family until it was time for my sister to graduate. I went along on college tours, financial aid nights and many other things associated with getting ready for the college experience. It was very exciting to see what this was all about because this was not anything we had ever experienced. My mother became ultra-educated and an advocate for my sister and wanted to get the most for our dollar and the best experience possible for my sister’s college years. My sister ultimately landed on attending Norfolk State University, and urban Historically Black College and University or HBCU for short. She also received a prestigious scholarship. When the time came, we dropped her off the short 30 minute drive and wished her well. She came home virtually every weekend or we went over there to attend events and football games and I got to see what it was like to be in college too. And I learned what things I wanted in a school and started to think about if I even wanted to attend college.

College was a foreign concept because many of my peers came from these legacies of college graduates from specific schools and that is all the spoke about, even when I was in middle school. They pretty much already knew where they were going because their parents graduated from a specific school, and their grandparents graduated from there and their great grandparents graduated as well. I was not so lucky and had to do so much research about degree programs and campuses and what I actually wanted in a school because well, college just didn’t run in my family like that. While yes my sister went to college, and I had an aunt and a cousin who attended school, we just didn’t openly discuss life after high school except that you had 3 options: get a job, go to school or join the military. I knew I couldn’t join the military because I was flat footed and had asthma so it was get a job or go to school. If I wanted any type of future, I was told going to school was the path I should take. So I started exploring colleges and then I took the SAT’s and ACT’s and school brochures started flooding my mailbox. I started making a list of schools I wanted to see because of what they offered. I attended local alumni events of schools to chat with past students and get a feel if that school could be for me.

The summer before my senior year I took a road trip to visit several schools in South Carolina and North Carolina. I loved them but then my mom broke my heart and told me if I go too far away from home I wouldn’t be able to come home like I want. So I started to factor distance into my choices. As my senior year began, I started looking at schools close to home and there was one school in particular that was just AMAZING and I fell in love with. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was just different. It was in an urban setting and just yelled ‘’Hello Opportunities”. I went to the campus many times, worked hard and applied. I received acceptance letters from so many schools and waited anxiously for my decision from VCU. The day it came I was beyond elated I almost hit the roof! I was ready to start this next chapter of my life.

Now, I applied to a variety of schools, to include HBCUs and PWIs or Predominantly White Institutions. I didn’t even think about if a school was an HBCU or a PWI. I just applied based on how their programs ranked. I wanted a good education. And honestly when counselors were working with us, that did not even come up and my counselor was black and graduated from an HBCU. So why does it matter? I will tell you why. In this day in age, it is almost as if you are judged about your blackness by where you went to college or the things you did while in college. HBCUs do provide a very unique experience and are the pillar of the black community, I will say that. There is a magic and wonder that is unparalleled, especially at their sporting events and homecomings. I will say I did not have that where I attended college. And HBCUs were there when White schools would not allow us to attend. I respect them. However, it was not for me. I visited several and did not feel at home. When I walked on VCU’s campus I felt at home. And that is why I chose to attend. But because I chose to attend a PWI does not mean I do not support HBCUs. I 100% do. And because I did not attend an HBCU does not mean I am any less of a black person. I am still very black, please remember that. I have been made fun of and criticized for my choices, or told I am not really black because I went to a PWI and didn’t pledge as well ( meaning join a black sorority during my time there. That is not true either. Newsflash: you can attend a PWI and be black and not join a sorority or fraternity and maintain your blackness. My choice to attend was to grow myself and learn things and well, all of that happened. Let me share what I learned during my 4 years there:

 1. I can hold a diverse conversation- While at VCU, I came across some unique individuals. And for that reason I have had to adapt and adjust my conversations and ways of talking to many situations. I am grateful to have been in an environment that allowed to experience such because it has made me more aware of the population I am engaging with and tune into sensitive to topics of conversation, in addition forcing me listen to understand and not just respond.

 2. I am very cultured – VCU is one the most diverse schools in the world. We actually have a campus in Qatar! We have so many countries represented it is just overwhelming! I remember checking into my dorm and seeing people from India, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Laos, Israel, Nigeria, Puerto Rico among other countries and it just blew my mind. Where I am from, we had some diversity, but nothing as rich as this! With so many diverse cultures I learned about different traditions, their food and other great things. Around campus we had food from these different cultures as well. I remember tasting Indian food for the first time, and then Thai and then Venezuelan. It was like “whooooaaa… what have I been missing my whole life?!?!”

 3. I know how to network- now, not saying I would not learn this at an HBCU but I had many an opportunity to attend so many events at the State Capital and with other officials which has made me learn to network and engage with others. These opportunities have been unparalleled and I am beyond grateful to have attended this institution and to have had mentors who worked hard to present these opportunities to us students.

 4. I have refined my public speaking skills- this is self-explanatory. I had to give umpteenth presentations and take God knows how many classes on public speaking, but I am thankful for the rigorous curriculum that was provided to me that made me refine these skills. With my public speaking skills also came great research skills so I am grateful for that as well.

 5. I learned about topics I would have never imagined to include veganism, Islam, Celiac’s disease, and various holidays- this is pretty self-explanatory. Being around so much diversity and around many unique persons allowed me to learn about many different things. So many things I had not been exposed to and I was beyond thankful to have been in an environment to learn, experience and understand.

 6. I met my best friend who is from a totally different county and culture than myself- my best friend is form Sudan and is Muslim. She has taught me so much it’s unreal. Like I learned about different foods, about Africa, about Islam, the Quran, and not just learned about these things but have developed a strong respect from African culture and Islamic culture. She is one of the best things to happen to me and I swear I learn so many things from her every day…yes you read that correctly, I learn something new daily from her.

 7. I was presented with many opportunities to travel and participate in conferences and events- many of my professors belonged to many organizations and would speak at many conferences, they would have spaces available to take us to conferences with them and we would get credit for it! So I was able to travel to several conferences and meet amazing people and learn about various career paths and how to integrate what we were learning into the real world. All of that was invaluable.

 8. I learned it is okay to ask for help – this was a big one. I found myself in many a situation where things were not going as planned and I was epically failing. And my pride would not let me ask for help. But then things got so bad to where I had no choice. The crazy thing is, I should have asked for help sooner because I would have been better off. Like, those who were providing the help were more than kind and more than gracious and wanted to help. So the moral of the situation, don’t let your pride stand in the way of you getting what you need.

 9. I learned that therapy is great and not a bad thing- in Black culture, therapy is shunned. And we often suffer in silence. I was very stressed out one semester and it came out as anger. So I went to the Student Counseling Center and go help. It was the best thing I ever did. At VCU, they publicize and encourage students to use counseling services. It is a beautiful thing. Never feel ashamed of needing therapy. It is there to help you, not harm you.

 10. I learned a lot about poverty and its effect on communities and America- VCU is an urban campus. The downfall of that is that there is a large homeless population that roams around the campus. Many of these persons have mental illness, and in a few of my courses we learned about whey people are homeless and how the resources for those with mental illness are almost nonexistent once they are discharged from inpatient care. We also learned how community mental health is a joke as well and many families often disown their family members who have mental illness because it becomes too much. We also learned that there are some homeless people who are actually not homeless and who have a lot of money and who just sit on the corner asking for money for fun. It was quite interesting to learn about such. On the flip side of all that we learned about the ‘working poor’ which are folks who may be working and barely providing for themselves but they live in substandard housing but cannot afford much else. We learned about the implications of such on public health and it taught me so much and guided my whole career essentially. Because of where VCU is located we actually got hands on service learning in such topics and it made our education worthwhile.

 11. I learned about drugs, alcohol, their distribution and economic impact in society – so many men would hang out on campus during the day trying to pick up women. And the sad part is, many were drug dealers and these young innocent girls did not know. After a while one would pick up on such, however we wouldn’t engage them to the point of a relationship. I would say I would engage theme enough to learn about drugs, and how they system worked and that was enough. Ladies, just know everything that glitters isn’t gold and you should respect yourself enough to walk away from situations. Know better, do better.

 12. I learned that self-care is imperative – we all take on so many things and it can get overwhelming. I learned in my 4 years it is essential to take breaks and set boundaries in order to protect your peace. People may get mad but you cannot pour from an empty bucket.

 13. I learned it is okay to not have it all figured out- college is supposed to be the best time of your life. However, as you get closer to graduation things get a bit scary. And there are some people who expect you to have it figured out. Well guess what, it is okay to not have it figured out. VCU had a great internship program and Career Services department. And it was mandatory for me to have a 700 hours of an internship to graduate and go to the Career Center 3 times before I graduated. I learned that it was okay not to have a concrete plan during these times. I learned that sometimes the plan you had will change direction because of circumstances. And that made me feel great.

14. I learned to hold my own- because there were so many races and cultures, I had to hold my own. I had to ensure my voice was heard among the other while still portraying a positive image. I broke stereotypes and learned to outshine others. I learned to be loud without saying a word. Sometimes I was the only black female in a class but I learned to be comfortable with that and how to contribute in my own way. I learned from my professors who looked like me and who didnt look like me and it made me a stronger woman...it molded me to be the woman I am today.

 15. I became comfortable in my own skin- this is the biggest lesson I learned. I have always been judged for how I look and how I talk. I have been called white girl, told I talk white criticized for how I dress among many other things. But being in this unique setting at VCU taught me it was okay to be me. There was nothing wrong with how I dressed or spoke or the music I listened to or any of that. I am fearfully and wonderfully made and all of these things make me who I am. I am no blacker because of my likes and dislikes or how I talk or because of my hobbies. And that alone is worth gold.

 Now, am I saying that I could have only learned these lessons at a PWI? No. But I know that my experiences at my school made me who I am and even made me more comfortable in being a black female in today’s world. I feel more prepared to handle certain situations because of my situations which caused me to learn certain things. My experience was amazing. Now, if giving advice to a young black student trying to choose I would tell them this: explore your options, do your research, pick the school that feels most comfortable to you. It can be an HBCU or a PWI. But don’t ever think that going to a PWI makes you less black. You are black regardless of your choice.

[le-souriant]

#MusicMonday Review - February 2022

#MusicMonday is the hashtag I've been using for quite a while to share music recommendations from up-and-coming artists. Always fresh, and always different, trying to look for trends before they become one. You can check January's review for more music.

This month's general theme circles around ballads, with some twists between them. They may sound different, but they can share an emotional vibe in the end. Let's have a listen, with a word from the artists themselves. 🎧

Dinarés – Foliada

Está canción es para dos (vos) y lleva en ella un sentimiento: siempre hay lugar para el amor, pues disfrutemos el momento.

As you may have noticed from our Artists Wanted contests, Spain has a very strong artistic presence, and Dinarés is no exception. Coming from Barcelona, this Latin Ballad came to life just to be played on a special evening:

"The song was created as a present for a couple of friends who got in love and decided to live together. They were divorced from their previous partners and were already more than fifty five years old when they met. The are from Galicia and had planned to celebrate their love in a great party with friends and music (that is what Foliada means in Galician language). Unfortunately COVID arrived and forced them to postpone the Foliada."

Harry Gustafsson – Incomprendido

Por mas que quiera No voy a cambiar mi forma de ser Por nadie por nadie

Dime si tú cambiarías también Si fueras igual que yo Un poco jodido e incomprendido

Dime que hacer en esta situación Si hacer maleta otra vez O seguir sufriendo cuando nadie me ve

Not all ballads are the same, and this track coming from Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, proves it with its Rocky sound. This is how it sounds when you're misunderstood by 'small minded' people:

"My personal experiences are reflected in most of my songs. This one captures the emotional experience of feeling ambivalent about commitment. Especially when forming romantic connections at the expense of freedom and individualism."

One Dream – I Need a Break Away

I have seen the darkest places I have ever known Try to please a thousand faces Ended up alone.

Can I catch a break I need to find a new place I need to break away

Vocal Trance should be make a comeback, and if you want to know what you may have been missing, just have a listen to this energized Polish track which reinvigorates an old genre:

"I was inspired by the old classic trance (Sylver, Ian van Dahl). I also wanted to add something from our times and you can hear what came out from my studio 😀"

Emmanuel Da Silva – Found My Feet

I've got a couple dollars, some dreams in my luggage, my life left behind I've been around the world trying to find where I belong

If I've found my feet It's because I've seen the light There's no turning back from here

For a different take on a Ballad, this Venezuelan artist shows us how it's done Country style:

"It's basically my own story as a migrant. I was forced to flee my home country and had to start over again. I also wanted to inspire people who are struggling and encourage them to never give up on their dreams when starting from scratch."

Veda Rays – Past Gone

We were grinning and our scars felt so numb hard truths could bend Worlds were spinning as if time had come undone We were too young to pretend

There was singing as if angels had begun to descend Heard the ringing like the echo of a gun I was not sleeping then

From Brooklyn, NY, we end this month's selection, with a Post Punk bassy track that will take you on a spellbinding trip through the dark atmosphere of your memories: so complex, yet very elemental. I would turn around today, if I could get back:

"It’s partially autobiographical, the lyrics peppered with personal references, but with the hope that maybe they are delivered in an open-ended enough way that listeners could attach their own stories and meanings. The personal events I’ve based much of it on are not dissimilar to what I get from Leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat, though Past Gone sort of ends on a darker note, I suppose.

Another layer was the idea of time and distance distorting the memory of a thing. The image of the tape player in the video speaks to this. I would often think of the scene in David Lynch’s Lost Highway in which Bill Pullman's character is talking to the cops saying something about not liking things taped but instead preferring to remember things in his own way, not necessarily the way they happened."

Listen to them and much more on the Playlist

[stupidpianist]

24 october 2018

17:20: Guess what George has been doing all day? Has he left the apartment? Has he brushed his teeth? Is he “out of commission”? The answer to all these questions, and more, coming up!!!

Not gonna “get into” what happened last night, feel like it’s a “breach of privacy” that I don’t want to do. Yeah, no, not going to. It was a really good night, though, what a turnaround for the day! Wasn’t expecting that in the least, was expecting something a lot… More dreary, I think. Dungeon World was engaging in a surreal way, like, I was having a ridiculous amount of fun playing that. Chose bard as my class, for obvious reasons, I think, and elf as race. Really looking forward to the next time we do this, felt distinctly “wholesome” and “creative” as a group activity. Left at 21h30 in order to make it to a metro station in time to meet up with someone to get drinks with. Was, like, wow. Was a good night. Still riding waves from it now, as I’m writing this update.

Didn’t jot down any timestamps for today, but here’s the answers to the questions I posed earlier:

-George has been studying all day. It’s disgusting and reprehensible and he hates it. But at least it’s cozy in his apartment; he’s listening to Glenn Gould play some Haydn (for once, hahahaha), and has been steadily consuming tea all day. It’s okay, I guess, in the end. It’s good that he even has a roof over his head and doesn’t have to worry about his next meal. He’s very, very grateful for that. He is grateful for not being sick, and for not having to always be on the lookout for physical violence. Yes.

-He HAS left his apartment! Sort of. Sort of, not really. He stepped out on the porch. For like three seconds. That’s it. It was kind of chilly. It was earlier in the day. It was in the morning. It was nice but then he went back inside.

-He’s not exactly “out of commission,” he’s just got a boatload of stuff to do. Midterm to study for that’s happening tomorrow, and another stats assignment that he just totally didn’t know was due tomorrow that he’s gotta plow his way through. It’ll be okay, though, he’s feeling strangely optimistic about all this work he’s put off.

17:38: Going to keep updating today’s post from here on out, didn’t include any updates before because, like, just been… sitting… in front of the computer, alternatively watching YouTube and trying to study… But, seems like a good check to just make sure I’m focused. Stay tuned.

Going to head out now to catch the last of the sunlight; the sky is so light today, like, baby blue light, and the sun looks really mellow and embracing and not harsh like it often is. Gonna maybe walk to the market across the street and buy some pasta sauce supplies, or something. Maybe some other “treats”? Mussels? French fries? Hmm. Mmmm. Mm. Yum.

17:42: Facebook group chat with Dungeon World “crew” really active right now. Phoebe asking if anyone wants to go to this Venezuelan place around the corner from my house. Even better. Way overspending on food but if I get the cheapest thing on the menu it seems like it’ll be okay?? Could “use a study break” now anyways, this is a good excuse to go outside. I like Dungeon World “peeps.” Smiling to myself softly.

18:39: Back at home. Phoebe “shamelessly stealing” my wifi (my internal words, meant facetiously, I’m trying to be funny, I’m not actualy begrudgingly doing this, lol) to do a work related call that she needed to do at seven. Gonna sit on bed and “stare at things on the internet” in one half of my screen, solve my stats problems on the other half. Dinner didn’t cost that much, like, ten bucks, thankfully; was actually pretty good, will probably go back to that place. Called Arepera, it’s right near where I live; I’ve walked by it so many times but just have never gone in. Need to start budgeting better to allow for more “restaurant exploration,” need to stop just wasting money on fast food purchases when I can just as easiliy throw something on the stove...

Chatting with Phoebe about incompetency of people, feeling extremely introverted, feeling further and further more resigned about “being alive” as we get older. Idly drinking the rest of the mate I made earlier, it’s stone cold now, “bone cold,” but still tasty. Usually never have caffeine this late in the day, but it shouldn’t be enough where it’s inhibitory towards sleep, I think?

20:00: Phoebe finished with work call. Leaving now to “go home and feed her cat.” Was nice idly working in my bed, actually, usually I really hate it when people are in my space but this was ironically focus-inducing. Told Phoebe I’d “try to study for probably another two hours and then just give up,” which is probably wishful thinking; probably won’t even make it another hour, but going to really “see what I can do.” Probably going to do my usual habit of sleeping early and waking up early tomorrow morning to finish the assignment, it doesn’t actually seem that hard this time, a LOT easier than the first assignment for some reason? Can also study for the midterm throughout tomorrow since it’s not until, like, four or five or something.

Before leaving Phoebe recommended an album by Mariya Takeuchi, a Japanese singer songwriter. I think it’s called “Variety,” or, at least, this song she recommended is on Variety originally, I am pretty sure, after some Googling? Apparently it’s a concept album about someone falling in love, getting married, separating, getting over the relationship. Sounds “right up my alley,” going to “listen the heck out of this” tonight. If any of you have music recommendations, please tell me too?? I am always listening to music like almost ceaselessly throughout the day and always want more to listen to, give me suggestions, especially if they’re depressing, or concept albums, like this one. Thank you in advance.

20:23: Little brother signed into Overwatch, I sent him a message asking if he had time to play a game, he said yes!!! These little gaming interactions with him make me so happy, I love voice chatting him and just playing a few rounds (or several). He seems inundated with school work so he can only play one game.

Overwatch inexplicably not launching... Seems really bad, getting a lot of anxiety, like, a LOT that I’m going to miss my “window of opportunity” to play with him... Going to try restarting computer, wish me luck...

20:45: Finished playing round of Overwatch. Went Zarya so our team had a tank, we took A site pretty easily, but couldn’t break through B. Brother had lag issues all game, I’m sad he didn’t have a better time, it’s always so frustrating to play with lag. Sad I can’t play more with him, feel “heavy hearted.”

20:52: Going to walk across the street to grocery and buy some beef jerky or something, and a can of beer. Feeling excited to wake up early tomorrow, going to take down notes on how to solve the rest of these stats problems but not actually solve them, shouldn’t take me more than an hour to complete this problem set.

Missing little brother a lot right now.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

#5yrsago NSA/Snowden roundup: Spain and other European countries were told he was on Bolivian plane

The Spanish foreign minister says Spain and other European countries were told that US whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board the Bolivian president's plane earlier this week. Evo Morales' plane was grounded for 13 hours in Austria after being banned from European airspace. Who's responsible? No one's saying. Yet. [BBC News]

"Europe broke all the rules of the game," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said shortly after arriving at the Cochabamba airport. "We're here to tell President Evo Morales that he can count on us. Whoever picks a fight with Bolivia, picks a fight with Venezuela." [Reuters]

South American leaders are furious over the plane grounding incident, which they believe was the work of US government officials. "The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Venezuela and Uruguay joined Morales in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba late Thursday to address the diplomatic row. Morales used the gathering to warn that he would close the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia if necessary." [NYT]

Morales isn't messing around: "United we will defeat American imperialism. We met with the leaders of my party and they asked us for several measures and if necessary, we will close the embassy of the United States," Morales said in the city where he started his political career as a leader of coca leaf farmers. "We do not need the embassy of the United States." [AP]

The New York Times, on Snowden’s résumé: he was no common sysadmin, he was a skilled "ethical hacker." It "provides a new picture of how his skills and responsibilities expanded while he worked as an intelligence contractor. Although federal officials offered only a vague description of him as a “systems administrator,” the résumé suggests that he had transformed himself into the kind of cybersecurity expert the N.S.A. is desperate to recruit, making his decision to release the documents even more embarrassing to the agency."

"Russians are a little bemused at all that fuss over surveillance. Many believe that the authorities can read their mail at will, listen in on their calls and sprinkle bugs around as they please. 'Wiretapping is so common, so this is not news,' said Alina Gorchakova, a 48-year-old account manager who stopped to chat on a city street." [Washington Post]

Iceland is still a possible option for Snowden's escape, and one longtime Wikileaks ally is working to make that happen. [Forbes]

https://boingboing.net/2013/07/05/spain-and-other-european-count.html

[lavidademarimar]

~ Masterlist ~

Jack put the kettle on when Carlos opened the door. 

“Shit!” Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “Mate, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to meet ye like this.”

Carlos eyed Jack up and down, seeing him in wearing just black briefs and laughed. “It’s all right, mate. I’ve seen way worse than you. Great to finally put a face to the famous Scotsman.”

They shook hands. 

“She’s still sleeping?”

“Probably, yes.”

Carlos checked his watch. “She’ll wake up soon. Her hunger usually spikes around 11 am. I’ll leave my stuff in my room and I’ll get started on breakfast.”

“Mate, it’s fine, we can go get something?”

“It’s all right, Jack. I’m on weekend food duties. I’ll let you guys know when the food’s done.”

“Thanks, mate.” Jack grabbed the cups and made his way back into Elena’s room.

She was just waking up. Her hair was all over the place and she smiled when she saw him. “If it wasn’t for the cologne, I would have thought it was all a dream.”

Jack loved how Elena was so soft when she woke up. That hadn’t changed from the beach. He smiled and gave her a quick peck. 

“I’m really embarrassed Carlos saw me like this,” said Jack, shaking his head. 

Elena giggled. “I wanted that view all to myself. Now what?”

Jack smiled. “I don’t really think ye’re going to share me with him.”

“Would you like me to share you with anyone?” Elena had a devilish look on her face. 

“This is a trick question,” Jack shook his head.

Elena laughed. “Would you ever do a threesome with me?”

“Not a chance,” he said firmly.

“Why?”

“Because I am not sharing ye with anyone else in the world.”

“Not even a girl? Can you imagine, babe? She could blow you while I sit on your face and you make me come.” Elena’s hands went up and down his chest until she played with the trail of hairs that went from Jack’s bellybutton to the band of his briefs.

Jack took a deep breath but his cock responded before his mind could shut off those thoughts. Elena smiled and cupped the increasing bulge. Jack sighed to her touch. 

“Okay, but if we ever decide to do that it has to be with a stranger. It can’t be with someone we know.”

“Oh!” Elena laughed, “I would never do a threesome with you and someone I know. I don’t like to share you either.”

Jack grabbed Elena’s cup and set it on her nightstand before pouncing on her naked body. She slid off his briefs immediately, Jack lined himself and thrust inside her without thinking too much. Her moans were considerably quieter than yesterday, but he didn’t mind because he knew how her body responded. 

He flipped them over so she’d be on top but in a swift move he turned her around and her ass was in his face and he was licking her mercilessly. These moans she couldn’t hide. She loved to be surprised and Jack always managed to leave her wanting more of him. In this new position, she took him in and devoured him. She loved blowing him almost as much as she loved fucking him and he had pleased her immensely yesterday. He came first and she swallowed him completely, the sound of her licking her lips afterwards almost made Jack explode. If he had more come on him it would have probably blown up in Elena’s face. 

Elena bit her lip to hide her moans when Carlos knocked on the door, telling them breakfast was ready. 

“Coming!”

“Ye already did, Birdie,” said Jack, his face glistening. 

Elena grabbed his face and kissed him. “Come on, let’s try and be presentable.”

Jack sat expectantly while Elena set the table. Carlos made arepas as a test for Jack, to prove his worth. 

“What are we having?”

“Arepas,” said Carlos. “Did you try them in Portugal?”

“We didn’t usually make the breakfast rounds,” Elena giggled. 

“We were very bad people to go on holiday with,” said Jack, embarrassed. 

“Olivia made them once, I think, and they weren’t staying with us yet.”

“Ah! So this is your first time. Well, prepare to be dazed,” said Carlos, sitting down across from them. 

“This mix is called Reina Pepiada, and this is shredded meat, and here’s some cheese. You can eat the arepa slicing it like this and you fill it up, or you can cut it like this, or you basically eat it however you want. The experience is life changing either way.”

Jack waited until Carlos and Elena sliced their arepas so he would do it them the same way. Elena went for the Reina first because it was her favourite and Jack followed. 

“This is amazing! Why didn’t we ever eat this?” Jack was truly amazed. 

“Babe, you have a little bit of mayo on your cheek,” Elena laughed, grabbing her napkin and wiping it off. 

“I love this. What’s in it?”

“Chicken, mayo, avocado, salt and pepper,” said Carlos. 

“Bloody amazing.”

Jack devoured the first one and then tried the second one with the meat. He stopped talking and continued eating. Elena and Carlos shared a look and he nodded. Jack had passed the final test. 

“Are there any more?” Jack asked. 

“Yeah, babe. Give me your plate.”

Elena put two more on his plate and he ate them without complaining. Jack was truly happy. He was with his girl, eating delicious Venezuelan food after fucking her all night and early this morning. Things were good. Life was good. 

“Do you guys have any plans for today?” Carlos asked.

“Not really, no. Do you?” 

“Andres said something about a food truck festival later today. Would you guys be up for it?”

Jack nodded as he still had food in his mouth. Elena laughed. 

“Yeah, sounds like a lovely plan,” she said, her hand on Jack's thigh. 

“Mate, by the way, you can’t fuck her after four arepas. You’ll have a stroke.”

“Carlos Germán!” Elena said in absolute Spanish. 

Carlos laughed, stood up, cleaned his plate and put it in the dishwasher. “I’m going to rest a bit and then go to the gym. I’ll see you guys later.”

Elena started clearing the table and Jack slumped back to his seat when he stood up, hands on his stomach. 

“Bloody hell, I’m so full.”

“Babe, you ate a lot. But I’m happy because you like arepas. I would have broken up with you if you didn’t like them.”

“I like how proud ye are of where ye come from. I feel like that as well.” Jack was not moving from his chair. Elena ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. 

“You are lovely. Come on, let’s go nap.”

AMIS Group Chat

Carlos: Okay I met Jack. I like him. Andres: Told you he was solid. Carlos: I did meet him wearing only boxers, which is way more than I wanted to see, but I will let that slide. Andres: well, considering the number of guys you’ve seen naked, the boxers are an upgrade Elena: What is this slander?! Enough! Carlos: I’m saying I like Jack. Guy ate four arepas. Andres: Four arepas?! Elena: yeah, he’s passed out next to me. Andres: He’s going to fart his arse out later Elena: Ew! Carlos: oh you can talk about swallowing cum but you can’t stand farting jokes? Elena: I have my limits Carlos: Anyway, we’re on for the food truck thing Elena: yes Andres: Solid. I think we’ll be all right if we leave here around 4? Carlos: yeah, that’ll give Elena and Jack plenty of time to fuck before leaving. Elena: ignoring yoooooou byeeeeeee

The group walked around the food trucks, looking for an empty table to sit on. Andres had a slider in his hand and Valeria a cone of fries. Elena and Jack had a can of Leffe beer each, his arm swung over her shoulder. He was too happy to control himself. The afternoon had gone exactly like he had wanted. He got along perfectly with her friends, he thought it was great that Elena was loved so deeply by such great people. He related to Carlos and Andres and he knew they were good lads who took care of Elena. He couldn’t complain. 

“What are you thinking about? You have a face,” said Elena, stroking his beard.  

Jack smiled. “Nothing in particular, Birdie. I’m just happy to be here with ye. I like yer friends. I like this beer. Good day.”

“I’m so happy you three got along. I was a bit worried about that,” said Elena, looking into his eyes. 

“I was a bit worried about that too, honestly. I am aware I’m disposable if yer friends don’t like me,” Jack shrugged. 

Elena wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “You won’t be disposable yet.”

“Guys! There’s a table over there. Let’s go get it and finally sit. My feet are killing me,” said Carlos.

“You need to buy new shoes,” said Elena. 

“You can buy them for me with your sweet EU job. Us mortals working for you and your research aren’t as lucky,” Carlos mocked her. 

“Not my fault you’d rather spend your money on Nutella and stroopwafels.”

“What are stroopwafels?” asked Jack. 

Carlos faked indignation. “You haven’t showed him what are stroopwafels?”

“Well, considering he’s been here for less than a day, no, I haven’t.”

“Elena, this is so much more important than you two fucking!” 

“If you insist, I will take one out of your drawer and share it with him, since you are being so annoying about it,” said Elena, cockily. 

Carlos stopped, in mock horror. “You will do no such thing.”

Elena rolled her eyes. “We’ll buy a pack before you leave.”

“When do you leave, Jack?” asked Valeria. 

“Monday morning. My plane leaves at 9,” said Jack, his hand across Elena’s waist. 

“What are your plans for tomorrow?” asked Andres.

Elena turned to Carlos with a menacing glare. “If you say ‘fucking’ I will end you.”

The group laughed. Jack was surprisingly calm about this whole thing. He was usually very private with his life and extremely possessive about Elena, but he didn’t mind that these people were talking about his sex life. He kissed Elena’s cheek and she blushed.

“Ye were right, by the way,” said Jack walking into Elena’s room with two brews.

“Right about what? I do try to always be right about everything. It’s one of my many talents,” Elena smiled. 

Jack rolled his eyes and handed Elena her cup. “I mean, ye can really hear everything. Carlos is listening to Blink 182 really loud.”

Elena laughed. “Is he? That’s because he thinks we’re fucking and he doesn’t want to hear us.”

Jack’s eyes darkened. “Really?”

Elena put her hand on his thigh. “Really.”

“Let’s see if it works then,” He grabbed both cups and set them on the nightstand, just as he had done in the morning, and kissed Elena. 

Blink 182 eventually won the battle. Damp sheets, limbs intertwined, and Elena's head on Jack's chest breathing calmly made him smile. He tried to stay awake long enough to remember this moment in his head. The last time he'd felt at peace like this was on the thirteenth day of his holiday, in a similar setting to this one. However, he was grateful that this bed was exceedingly more comfortable than the one they previously shared.

Jack walked into his kitchen with a spring in his step. 

“Good weekend, mate?” asked Fionn, knowing the answer.

“Aye, great weekend,” said Jack as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. 

“Oi! You’re back! How was the crazy?” Tom asked. 

“Manageable. I don’t want to say it too much because it was too good,” Jack shook his head as he sat down next to Tom. 

“Well, just so you know, Harry’s going next Friday because he wants to meet Andrea,” said Tom, taking a sip of his beer.

Jack immediately tensed. “He what?!”

“Oh, they’ve told you already,” Harry’s voice came from behind him. 

Jack took a deep breath and let it out. He knew he had nothing to worry about. He wanted Harry and Andrea to happen. He was so used to antagonising Harry that he’d forgotten this was actually a good thing. He shook his head. 

“When are ye flying in?” Jack asked calmly. 

The boys stared at him. 

“Friday morning,” Harry would take advantage of this Jack for as long as he could. 

“Cool. I think they have half day next Friday. Ye should validate with Elena.”

“What are you plotting? You shouldn’t be this nice about it.”

Jack laughed. “Mate, I met Andrea, and it’s going to be so much fun to see ye pursue her. I can’t wait to watch. But this is the only time ye’re staying at Elena’s. Ye do this while I’m there and I swear to god ye’ll hear us shagging.”

"You'll see them shagging because you can see her bed from the sofa," said Tom, matter-of-factly.

"Ye saw my bird sleeping?” Jack wanted to see how Harry would lose it. 

"I slept with your bird and her friend on her bed," Tom laughed, knowing what Jack was up to. 

"What the fuck?!" Harry yelled. 

Jack laughed, relishing this moment. He already knew this and didn't give a fuck. He was more carefree now, and he didn't understand why, but he did have some peace of mind regarding Elena. He knew the crazy would pop back up any minute now, but he knew Elena and her walls were worth sticking it out. He would fight with her demons until she believed in the two of them as much as he did. 

"I've been waiting for this for too long," Jack put his hand on Harry's shoulder and went to his room.

Harry sat in a cafe that was across the Berlaymont watching trainees, young professionals, and serious adults in a hurry all grab their coffees to go and rush out the door. He thought about how lucky he was to be in the profession he was and how he could ease his schedule when he wanted to, instead of having a 9-to-5 job that would leave him miserable.

He was in the middle of this train of thought when Andrea walked in and stood at the back of the queue. She kept staring at her watch. Harry knew he had to act now or wait until Elena introduced them later in the day and he didn’t want that. He wanted it to be all him. She was going to be his conquest and his alone. 

He walked over to her and stood a bit too close to her, enough to make her realise there was someone next to her. She looked into his eyes and felt the air kicked out of her lungs. His smile could solve world wars. 

“‘Ello, I’ve seen you’re in a hurry. What are you drinking? I could give you my still hot drink and you can give me your number,” Harry said confidently. 

Andrea laughed genuinely. “I need to know how many times has that worked?” 

He was hotter than summer but she wasn’t going to cave that easily. 

Harry laughed. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

Andrea rolled her eyes but laughed. “I’ll take the drink, thanks,” she grabbed the cup, turned around and left the coffee shop. 

Harry stood there, dumbfounded. He shook his head and followed her. 

“Oi! That wasn’t part of the plan!” Harry screamed, making a bit of a scene. 

“Listen, smooth operator. Keep it together. Don’t embarrass yourself. I’m not a plan to follow,” said Andrea, taking a sip of his drink. “Mmmm, tea. Of course.”

“Name?”

Andrea shook her head. “Yours?”

“Harry.”

He looked familiar but she couldn’t really place him anywhere. 

“What’s your deal, Harry?”

“What’s my deal?”

“Yeah, why do you pick up busy girls in coffee shops with cheesy lines? You’re hot. You could do better.”

Harry took a step closer to her and Andrea took a step back. 

“Easy there, don’t get acquainted,” Andrea never backed down, not this soon anyway.

“You and I are going to get more than acquainted, trust me,” Harry winked at her. 

Andrea made a throwing up sound and laughed. “You’re so confident. I pity the girls who have fallen for this routine.”

“Give me your name,” Harry almost begged.

“No.”

“Aren’t you in a hurry?”

“Who said I was?”

“You said you were busy and you were checking your watch all the time.”

“Busy is more a state of mind than a fact. I’m waiting for someone,” she said absentmindedly, looking to the metro station.

“Who? Boyfriend?” Harry's dimples were on full display, like a male peacock doing a mating ritual. He wanted to impress. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Harry! Couldn’t you bloody wait until we saw each other later today?” A familiar voice said from behind.

Busted.

Andrea turned abruptly to Elena, who had a coffee from the same place in her hand. She shook her head. 

“Ellie! I thought I’d surprise you by getting here earlier,” Harry kissed Elena’s cheek and hugged her.

Elena stared unamused, not returning the hug. “Yes, I see that. I am overwhelmed with joy.”

“You’re spending too much time with Jack. You’re being grumpy, love,” Harry pinched her cheek.

“Aha!” Andrea said louder than she expected. “You’re one of Jack’s friends! I knew I’d seen you somewhere else.”

“Have you been checking me out?” Harry turned to her and gave her a cheeky grin. 

Elena rolled her eyes and grabbed Andrea’s arm. “Enough, Harold. I’ll see you later. Here are the keys to my house.” She shoved her hand into her purse and gave Harry her keys. “You have the address, please don’t get lost. We’ll see you later.”

Harry understood the tone behind the ‘we’ll’. Elena pulled Andrea into the building while she stared at Harry and giggled.

"Holy wow! Where do they make these men?"

"The UK," said Elena.

Andrea laughed. "I have to say. I don't know who's hotter: Jack or Harry?"

"The correct answer for you is Harry," Elena stared her down.

Andrea rolled her eyes. "Dude. I'm not saying I want to, but I could literally give Jack a lap dance completely naked and he'd ask me about you. Don't get crazy."

Elena sighed. "I kind of miss him. My bed still smells like him."

"Kind of?"

"Okay, I miss him a whole lot," Elena giggled. 

They got out of the lift and started walking to their unit.

"So, tell me about Harry."

"Are you interested?"

"Hell yeah, I'd be fucking stupid not to."

"Well, maybe we can do something about it."

Andrea smiled that smile. "Are we going out tonight?"

"You are going out tonight. I'm... going to stay home and Skype sex with my boyfriend."

"Are you going to leave me alone with him?"

"He won't know what hit him once you're done with him."

"I like how that sounds," Andrea smiling, staring into the unknown. 

"You're going to fall for him, just so you know."

"I hope he's not an idiot," Andrea sighed. 

"He's an absolute dream. Don't worry, I got the one with the lousy attitude," said Elena. 

"So did he," Andrea said, nudging Elena in the ribs. 

Elena laughed that loud laugh she does when something is ridiculously funny. "I'm not even going to threaten you because that was really funny."

"Should I--"

The conversation got interrupted by Cyril opening the door to his office. 

"My dream team! We have a security workshop today. Don't forget. You have to go."

Elena and Andrea groaned. 

"I know, I know. We have to go. I'm unit leader and am in charge of evacuations and you need to go because I enjoy torturing you."

"Cyril, who does a security workshop on a Friday? Seriously?" Elena asked.

"Fantastic question. These people have a very twisted sense of humour. We have to go anyway."

"Can we get early Friday next week?"

Cyril smiled. "I will think about it."

Andrea knocked on the door wearing a floral romper with beige tights and boots. She flipped her hair once just to make sure it had the bounce she wanted. Harry opened the door and stared at her for a minute too long. 

She took him in as well. 

He wore a thin button down shirt that made all his tattoos visible: the two swallows by the neck, the huge butterfly on his stomach, and the two ferns. She couldn't think straight. The only thing she wanted was to ride him and see sweat running down through all of them, and know she was the one causing it. 

"Why are you two staring at each other like a couple of morons?" Carlos asked, eating a bag of crisps and smiling a cunning smile. 

That snapped them both back to life. Andrea ignored Harry and walked into the flat. Harry closed the door and followed her with his eyes. 

Elena opened the door to her room wearing sweatpants, yawning. 

"I thought you were getting ready!" Harry said.

"No, you tosser, I was napping. Is it time to go already?" 

"It's almost 11," Harry was unamused.

"Oh, so late. I can't be arsed. I think I'm coming down with something. Why don't you two go on without me? I'd hate to be a bore. Andie's looking smokin' and well, you Harry, there's not much to work with, but you can take care of my girl for a night, can you?"

Harry understood. 

He flashed the biggest grin he could muster, making Elena giggle, and thought about giving her a kiss on the lips to thank her for this golden opportunity, but abstained because he was sure to get his ass kicked by Jack as soon as he made his way into his house. 

"Are you sure?" asked Andrea.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm knackered. This week was awful. Have fun without me!" Elena made her way back into her room and closed the door behind her.

Jack was on the computer screen.

“Hey, all done,” said Elena.

“Oi! Did they believe ye?” Jack was eating Chinese food. 

“Nope, but I don’t care,” Elena shrugged and giggled. 

“I miss ye,” said Jack. 

“I miss you too, Babe,” said Elena. 

“How was work this week?”

“Absolutely dull. Can you believe Cyril made us sit through a security workshop today? Who does shit like that on a Friday?”

“Don’t get me started, Birdie. Theresa decided we needed to go over the Asia numbers at 4 pm today,” Jack shook his head. 

“Your boss loves you. Should I be worried?” said Elena making ‘sexy faces’ to the screen. 

Jack laughed and shook his head. “She does because I’m bloody efficient, but she can be a pain in the arse more often than not.” 

“You seem to surround yourself with that type of woman,” Elena smiled and winked.

Jack let out a husky laugh. “I believe yer right, Elena. It’s definitely on me.”

“Film?”

“Yeah, what are ye in the mood for?”

“Something surprising that doesn’t make me think too much,” Elena opened Netflix. 

“Superhero movies?” Jack’s voice was loud in her room. She could feel him next to her if she closed her eyes.

“Birdie? Where’d yer mind take ye to?” His voice brought her back again. 

Elena shook her head. “Sorry! I feel great about superhero movies.”

“Okay. I chose the genre. Ye pick the film.”

“Wonder Woman,” Elena said without skipping a beat. 

“Elena, ye’ve watched it over ten times,” said Jack, a bit judgemental.

“I don’t get your point,” Elena stared cockily at the camera.

Before Jack could reply, Carlos opened the door.

“Jello, Green Mango guy is here,” said Carlos.

Elena clapped. “Give me a sec, babe. My food’s here.”

"Ready for the night of your life?" Harry couldn't hide how happy he was as he opened the door of the building to let Andrea out.

She turned to him abruptly. ”You need to stop being so fucking corny. You're going to make me vomit, and I don't think either of us want that.” 

Andrea walked ahead of him, almost in a hurry, in control of the situation. Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She almost tripped and her hands landed on his chest. 

"What would you like me to do to you?" he whispered.

Andrea felt herself puddling but she needed to keep the high ground she had. Nothing was going to happen if she didn't want to, and she would use that power to her advantage. 

“Stop being a bad teenage heartthrob! Did you watch too many episodes of the Vampire Diaries or something?” Andrea cackled.

“Are you always such a pest?” Harry spat.

“This is me being nice to you,” Andrea smiled.

Harry grabbed Andrea by the waist and put her up against the wall. She was losing her power. He stared at her trying to figure her out. 

“Who made you be like this?” Harry asked, in a whisper. 

“What? Get off!” Andrea’s walls were not coming down.

Harry pushed back again. He laughed. “God, Jack warned me. I should have known you would be crazy like Elena.”

“What the fuck is your problem?! You talk shit about her again and I will ruin you!” Andrea was incensed. 

“Talk shit? Mate, Elena is bloody mental. We all know it. She knows it. I love her and I think she’s amazing, but thinking she’s crazy is not mutually exclusive from my affection towards her,” Harry explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

Andrea lifted one of her eyebrows in suspicion. She was annoyed. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. 

“Whatever. Should we go fuck then?” Andrea said nonchalantly.

Harry was taken aback by the bluntness and took a step back. “What?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here for? The coffee earlier today, the smiles and the winks? The flirting? Should we just cut to the chase?”

“Andrea, do you think I came to Brussels for a shag? London’s pretty big, mate. I haven’t destroyed the city yet.”

Andrea laughed, but Harry noticed something different this time. Her eyes were sad. She was disappointed. He knew the tough exterior was fragile, unlike Elena, who was a fucking fortress. 

“Listen, we’ve got off on the wrong foot. Allow me to clarify some things for you: 1) I knew your name before I asked for it, 2) I’ve been stalking you on Elena’s social media since Tom went to visit because I think you’re beautiful, 3) My curiosity was sealed when Jack told me you would never give me a chance, 4) The only reason I’m here in Brussels is because I wanted to see if you were worth the effort. I am not here to fuck you…yet. So, how about we start over? Let me take you out to dinner and then we’ll see where the night takes us?”

Andrea’s mouth swung open. This amount of honesty was unexpected. She took a deep breath. Maybe Harry wasn’t a complete arsehole?

“Dinner sounds nice,” was all she could say. 

Harry smiled. “Where could we go at this hour?”

Andrea jumped and clapped. “There’s a great McDonald’s at the centre.”

“Mcdo? Seriously?”

“First dates don’t have to be like you always imagine them, Harry,” said Andrea with a more serious tone. 

Harry stared at her, knowing he had said that to herself as well. He smiled and offered his hand. 

She took it.

NEXT: Crash and Burn

[custom-nomad]

I finished it!

After so many weeks!!! This personal proyect was a bit ambitious for me as I had never made a book jacket before.

I haven't printed it yet, probably I'll do it by the end of the week and test if I made the good decisions on measuring lol.

I measured a sketch of mine for this, so I could actually use it.

If it fits perfectly I'll put it on Gumroad to download, if you like it.

I'll tell you something about this proyect:

When I was little I had like an obsession with my country, I used to dress up in folcloric clothes and dance to the music that was deep in my country traditions, I used to love to play with the toys we made, to sing the songs we wrote and to rejoice in the folclore because I was so proud of being Venezuelan and I felt my country mine indeed.

Today the story is different: I don't feel anymore that that country is mine or that I want to go back to it. But don't get me wrong I don't feel sad for that. I like the land, but I no longer feel connection to it... It's weird for me to explain.

But the stories I used to listen to, those stories I find powerful yet. I still love the magic in them, I find they trascend borders and cultures and I just enjoy them so much.

So I wanted to do someting with them, I have like a collection of my favourites and I chose 5 of them to make a six month proyect to improve in some areas I really need to work and to share with you this part of my childhood.

Here's the line up:

1 - Maria Lionza - Book Jacket DONE

2 - The owner of the Fire - Zine Comic

3 - The 5 White Eagles - ?

4 - The owner of the Light - ?

5 - The owner of the Water - ?

Most of them are origins stories, or stories that explain how things got to be on the first place. I love those, it's something I adore of the colective imagination and the folclore.

The other ones I chose them because I always have found some kind of connection to the characters, maybe because is not so easy to find these characters in an ancient story.

I still don't know what I'll do with the rest of the stories (the ones with the *?* in them), I'll figure it out in the road, but the main theme is to have fun! hehe. I sure know I want to do a silent book with one of them tho! That's really hard!

So who was Maria Lionza?

Here's the translated text:

Please note I'm not a writer and this is an edited text of some version of this legend.

"Yara was a Nivar maiden, daughter of one great Nirgüa's Cacique.

Her eyes were clear as the water and her hair smooth and so long it reached her waist, the village's Chaman predicted when she was born that the God of The Rivers and Waters would fall in love with her and keep her forever. Her father decided then that she would live then enclosed in a cave and so during 16 years she lived like that.

Until one day, a powerful yet misterious enchantment made the 22 guards that kept Yara safe fell into a deep sleep and she could came out of her confinement for the first time, so she looked herself in the river and was delighted with her reflection.

But in doing so she woke up the God of the River who emerged as a giant Anaconda snake and rapted her into the water.

Upon learning this, the Spirits decided to punish the God of the Water by making Him swell, explode and die.

Yara was never again seen in the realm of the living. But the Spirits were sorry for her and named her the Goddes of Love and the Forest.

Today, by the Sorte mountain, on days that are specially warm and when the dew is yet in the air, She can be seen passing by Her reigns mounted on a Jaguar or on a Tapir.

-The cult that surrounds Maria Lionza is very strong in Venezuela, thousands of believers go always to Her to make them offerings during Easter and Columbus day.-"

A Note: when the Spanishs came, they "converted" Yara into the catholic religion and named her: María de La Onza del Prado de Talavera de Nivar* or María Lionza.

*I know

I'll keep you informed on the next part of the proyect: The owner of the Fire and its zine comic. So far I just have a very vague lining of the pages...

It's a very fun story.

I send hugs :D,

Natha.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/root-stories-17779724

[feministdragon]

Win Florida: The Pam Keith Interview

Andrea Chalupa:

With all of this combined, what are the chances of Biden winning Florida, and how could Biden overcome all these obstacles?

Pam Keith:

It is very hard to say. I don't know if you know who Rachel Bitecofer is. She's a data person, statistics person. She dives in and does these really deep analytical takes on things that are going on.

Pam Keith:

Her take is that Florida is Biden's to lose. I think I agree with her. We have what we need here to win in terms of votes, but we have execution issues and we have focus issues and we have resource issues.

Pam Keith:

The Republicans are treating Florida like it is the alpha and the omega of the election. They are outspending Democrats five to one here. The Democrats–especially the donor class–are obsessed with the senate, and rightly so. I'm not saying that that's wrong, I'm just saying it's ubiquitous, which means that because Florida doesn't have a Senate race it's just like we are the wicked step child of the election cycle.

Pam Keith:

We only have three, what we consider competitive pickups. We have two that are sort of border, just outside of what we consider competitive and then we have one major one that we're defending in Miami, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. That's it. That's a total of 6 out of 29 seats.

Pam Keith:

Of those six, only a handful are drawing money from out of state. Does Joe Biden's team make up the difference with hundreds of millions of dollars? Well, even if you were to say, “Yeah Bloomberg money is going to be playing here”, but it's playing in Orlando, Miami Dade and Broward. It's playing in the big media markets to buy ads.

Pam Keith:

To some extent, I guess it's augmenting other kinds of spending, but the problem is that big campaign–that gubernatorial or that senatorial that would do all the work of organizing volunteers up down in congress–that is missing.

Pam Keith:

To the extent that the Florida Democratic Party is doing grassroots work–and it is–it's doing it principally with respect to voter registration and vote by mail registration. It's not doing it in terms of getting candidates names out or connecting voters to candidates, mind you.

Pam Keith:

So, this is the problem. We are building an entire state turnout model on the degree to which people like or don't like Trump and Biden, and that's beyond foolish. Because as we've found out last night, the narrative between Trump and Biden can change on a dime.

Andrea Chalupa:

Last night being the Trump testing positive for COVID.

Pam Keith:

Right. That draws the narrative of the presidential into total whiplash chaos, right? But if I'm building rapport and name recognition and brand with the voters in my district, I'm the safe harbor for them. They're here for my success and it's my campaign that's organizing all of that.

Pam Keith:

So, we have 600 volunteers that we organize and deploy to get people to vote for me. But also at all. Right? And that's not dependent on the mood nationally, that's dependent on what's going on on the ground here locally.

Pam Keith:

Not having that local ground build is just incredibly foolhardy. I think to a certain extent that was the mistake that the Hillary team made in Florida and I'm seeing the same mistake being made now.

Pam Keith:

Florida is unusual in that it has such a diverse, caucatised minority vote. Right? It is not like Texas where the overwhelming majority of Latino voters are from Mexico or Mexican heritage. Here, we have a totally different attitude and background from the Cuban immigrants and also when those immigrants came to Florida, because if they came in their 20s and 30s, they are completely different politically than the people who came during the Bay of Pigs time, who are completely different than the people who are coming now, right? Totally different voting ideas there.

Pam Keith:

We have Dominicans who think very differently than Venezuelans, who think very differently than Guatemalans. Complete, radically different world views. And we don't seem to have the kind of pocketized messaging that's effective with that kind of diversity.

Pam Keith:

The Haitians don't want to be viewed as same as native Black here. Neither, by the way, do Jamaicans or Bahamians. Don't confuse Jamaicans with Bohemians or Trinidad and Tobago immigrants. They don't want to be viewed as the same.

Pam Keith:

The tough nut to crack in Florida–in terms of mobilizing from the ground–is that it requires not only a tremendous amount of resources but also it requires a tremendous amount of local knowledge and pocketed communication, which the party never seems to be able to unpack.

Pam Keith:

It seems to have this one size fits all Latino engagement model that works in Nevada but will really not work here. That's why the congressionals and the gubernatorials and so forth provide that kind of local intelligence about how to talk to these pockets of votes.

Pam Keith:

That's being just completely cannibalized in this election cycle because we just don't have that big eye popping race that brings money to Florida. On election night, if Florida is in the red column, what does election night look like?

Pam Keith:

Let's think about the strategy of the GOP here. Their goal is to put Florida in the red and then attack the late count midwest states who are going to be counting ballots after election day. Then they're going to try to force courts to stop the vote counts, throw out those ballots, say that they are fraudulent or whatever. They're building that narrative right now. Right now they're building that narrative. Right?

Pam Keith:

So, if Florida is in the blue column on election night, none of that other stuff matters, right? They're not going to win if Florida is in the blue. But the whole thing is now in jeopardy if Florida is in the red. So, when I'm on call time calling donors all over the country and I'm saying, "Hey, we need your help here." They're like, "Oh, congress is good. I'm not giving congress. I'm only giving to the Senate and Joe." I get that literally over and over and over and over again. I'm like, "Yeah, but Florida is still 29 electoral votes." Don't think of me as a Congressional candidate; think of me as the Senate candidate for Florida, because this campaign is the one that's going to do the pocketized, local, savvy work to turn out those votes.

Pam Keith:

If that's what we need to win Florida, then this is the campaign that's doing that.

Andrea Chalupa:

Wow. So how can people listening get involved? How can they get involved to help your campaign?

Pam Keith:

First and foremost, go to the website, find out more about me. But second of all, go to Facebook. We have a great Facebook page–I hate Facebook but we do have a Facebook page–called Go Pam Volunteers. Go Pam Volunteers. That is how you can interface with the campaign by doing text-to-voter. We are very, very robust with text-to-voter.

Pam Keith:

We have note cards, we have letters to voters and of course we have own thinking, which is incredibly impactful. We are a campaign that will be getting on the ground and door knocking and being on the ground in the community.

Pam Keith:

I know there's risk involved. I know we're going to do everything we can to be COVID safe, but we're just not going to foreclose the most effective way to involve people in politics, and ask them to believe that their candidate actually gives a damn about them, and I do, so we're going to be out there.

Pam Keith:

So, if you're interested in that, please go to Go Pam Volunteers. Of course, resources, resources, resources. We got to pay canvassers in this day and age. So, if you have a few spare bucks you can go to PamKeithFL.com, my website. PamKeithFL, for the state of Florida, .com, and give what you can. If it's $5, it's impactful. If it's $50, it makes a difference. If it's $500, it makes a difference. Every contribution is an act of resistance and an act of salvage of our future.

Pam Keith:

So, a $1 contribution is a $1 drop that loads the buckets towards salvation of our country. Enough drops fill a bucket and the bucket tips the scale and the scale comes our way. So, I feel the thing that's going to save this country is us. It isn't going to be the courts, it isn't going to be the media, it isn't going to be the Congress, it's not going to be the Senate, it's going to be us, and everybody has to deputize themselves as a warrior in the salvation of our country because nobody else is going to be deputize you to do that. It's up to us.

Andrea Chalupa:

Thank you so much Pam Keith for that urgent reminder. Grassroots power is the only reliable power we have left. So, please go to PamKeithFL, FL for Florida. PamKeithFL.com. Make a donation. Go to the Facebook page and make some phone calls, send some texts. We need Pam in Congress and we need to win Florida. Win Florida. Save the world.

https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/episodes-transcripts-20/2020/10/15/win-florida-the-pam-keith-interview

[tswiftcometovenezuela]

Hi! This is me

I’ve been off a bit but since the new era started I want to come back. I’ve been a swiftie for a long long time. I remember the first song I heard was ‘love story’ and i thought “I need to know more about this girl.

When we are young we look for somebody to look up to, of course I have my mom, she’s the best when it comes to have a role model but in music, I never had any fav female singer who I loved or followed. I liked Selena or Demi but somehow I didn’t felt a connection or love so big that I experience with Taylor.

The day I decided to investigate and do a research about her, I immediately fell in love with her music, her sense of humor, her laugh, her beautiful soul and voice. She has brought pure light to my life, she made believe in friendship, I learn more about self care, how to embrace yourself; also I won a family, a big beautiful family. You guys have been a blessing in my life too.

I send you so many letters that don’t even know if you ever got them, hopefully there were a lot of swifties who told you about me. That Venezuelan swiftie who was doing the impossible to get to you and let you know that your Venezuelan swifties will always be here for you and that when everything changes here, we have our arms open to you, if you want to come here, someday.

All of the things that came with this journey have been amazing. I never got to see Taylor in any of her tours but I always followed her, support her and obviously loved her more than anything. She’s my happiness in the hardest times, she’s a best friend, she’s also the person I look up to as a woman, she inspires me and makes me believe in me.

To this day I can say that Taylor made my teenage days really happy, and still.. I am almost 19 and no one has ever been that kind and special, she has the power to make me smile for the whole day. Just thinking of her, knowing that I have her even if she’s far, someday God will unite us.

Being a swiftie is something that I’ll be forever. There’s a line in long live that says ’'if you have children someday, when they point to the pictures please tell them my name”; I’m pretty sure (if I have kids) I’ll be the happiest mom showing them pictures of all of the eras, listen to the songs with them and let them know how talented and beautiful human being Taylor is. Nothing will make me feel that blessed and lucky, that 10 years from now I can still have you and Taylor.

This is a post for you, swifties and specially for Taylor. I want you this: keep being the same you are, let’s celebrate every single release of a new single, new mysteries, new albums, new eras. Let’s just create theories of how is gonna be the next album, love and respect each other. This family is bigger and bigger everyday, let’s take care of us and stay unite.

Taylor, thank you for being here for us when we needed, for all the songs, your support but most of all for believing in us. This is a beautiful family and you are our big sister, the one that make us proud every single day. Never change that beautiful soul, we need more like you. Te amo with my whole heart.

This Venezuelan swifties will always be for you. I’m never gonna get tired of saying how much you mean to me and how much I love you.

Hope you can see this someday @taylorswift. I thank u from the bottom of my heart!!

-Arianna.

[shamelesssoulkidvoid-blog]

Mexican lecturer Daniel Habif gave an emotional speech at the concert for the entry of humanitarian aid Venezuela Aid Live.

In his words, the Mexican referred to the Latin American country as one full of "brave" who have fought hard against the situation. "Here we are and we are doing well," said Habif, mentioning each of the Venezuelans calling them "unstoppable."

Read here a fragment of the lecturer's speech:

Today I brought a message to all of you if you are willing to listen to it, boys. I need you to pay attention, please, we come to that.

There is no better phrase than the one that starts with a thank you. Thanks Venezuela, thanks for putting up. Thank you for bearing the weight of the pain. Thank you for supporting the indifference of so many. Thank you for not giving up and curing yourself for terror. Thanks for not giving up. Thank you because you have to be very brave to smile when we are broken inside. Thank you for giving me a deeper reason than our conveniences to all of us who have risen in this scenario.

Thanks for waiting for us. This Mexican loves you and dreamed you long ago and today we are face to face, it is the first time that reality has won you a dream and you are more beautiful in person. How glorious is the Bravo town! And here we are fine, what do I say well, we are doing very well! We go with scars and crying, but fierce fighters. Gochos, llaneros, maracuchos, orientals, unstoppable caraqueños. I insist nothing is small when we talk about this country, because we are talking about giants we are talking about Venezuela, fuck.

How many dreamers are there behind? How many dreamers are there? Dear dreamer, your job is to make reality a deeper plane. It is to tell the modern world and the distorted reality that with him and his dreams he does not play. The work of a dreamer is to imagine how to end the pain of others, how to open borders, how to fill all empty stomachs, how to heal broken hearts, depressed spirits, how to give shelter and clothing to all, how to break through the walls and build bridges.

And you Nicholas rotted before maturing. Know this: that the most powerful leader in the world is not one who has an army under his command, or a fortune at his feet, or a hundred servants, or a thousand women, or a nuclear bomb at the pulse of his thumb, or a dictator who dominates the masses and minds with fear and terror.

In fact, these men are usually hidden, spoiled and frightened children who use the weight of power as their amulet of dignity. The most powerful leader in the world is the one who does not give power to anyone or hurt him and gives power to God to do what he wants with him. The most powerful leader in the world is the one who loves others more than himself. He who conquers without leaving a trace of blood or raise an army, which opens borders, which deals with good.

Señor Nicolás remember this day well because it will be your own allies who will bite your ankles. Every day you can sleep less and nightmares every day will be more real. The bird that will speak to you, this time, will be a vulture giving you the date of your departure.

[32flavasshoetique]

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Venezuelan Brides

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However, there is actually a fantastic chance to bring in every thing far better. If you decide to find a truthful, soft as well as pleasurable gal along withwhom it is pleasant to hang out as well as build partnerships, after that it deserves picking amongst Venezuelan women.

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Great Parenting

Latin American ladies have actually been actually educated to regard conventional values considering that youth. They recognize that a loving companion, a toughloved ones, and also little ones are the basis of females’ s joy. Ladies from Venezuela may appreciate her spouse, listen to his desires and be faithful for many years. Domesticity withthem is missing any sort of conflicts or scandals.

They Develop Comfort

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They are Charming

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Passion and Tenderness

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They Share Your Interests

Do not assume that marriage is monotonous as well as dismal. If you are a getting married to a Venezuelan girl –- the planet all around is actually polishing along withbrand-new shades. A wonderful lady witha terrific sense of humor and a fire in her eyes is actually now your best buddy. It’ s great to talk withher on any subject matter or take an energetic rest. She will respond to any sort of deal and is going to merrily sustain you in any type of organisation. This is actually a correct partner.

Choosing an Excellent Dating Agency is actually Basic

The World wide web is a surprisingly practical as well as valuable factor that can aid in any type of organisation. The customer can easily opt for some of the numerous firms delivering Venezuela mail order bride-to-bes. There are actually dozens of companies, but certainly not all work equally professionally. For the correct option, it is actually important to carry out an in depthstudy as well as take notice of some elements.

Convenience

The impression of the website need to be enjoyable. Top notchstyle helps your eyes not to get tired, and clear capability –- swiftly go throughthe enrollment procedure and also locate the ideal part. It’ s good if the provider possesses a mobile use. Then you may use all the functionality anywhere there is actually a World wide web hookup.

Popularity

Segment innovators possess a sizable individual foundation (in some cases manies 1000s of accounts). This selection is actually assured to locate a pair. But the problem is actually that some services carry out not call for verification when enrolling an account. For that reason, you may not connect along withthe girl you have actually picked. It is very important to figure out exactly how the company gives quality work as well as customer treatment.

Modern Explore Plans

Progress is moving fast. Every day, new formulas appear that allow you to find best suits in several ways. The even more tastes a consumer can easily specify, the better. It’ s good when the organization right away supplies you a Venezuelan girl suited in every components (age, body weight, body, faith, mindset to cigarette smoking and also alcohol, need to develop a household, and so on). Qualified companies offer a lot of searchfilters.

Agency Online Reputation

Over the years, eachcompany has developed a track record. You can easily learn whether it is really good or even poor, what conveniences and disadvantages it has, throughevaluating the discussion forums. Listed below, true consumers express their opinion. Occasionally it is adverse, but this must not fear. You can not bring in all the customers delighted. But if muchmore than 30 percent of the point of views are reprimanded by the company, this is an explanation to decline to register on the site.

Rates

Eachbusiness possesses its own costs. Some services are actually complimentary or even provide restricted performance totally free. Other web sites need a deposit prior to exploring and talking along withfemales. All these points, including the schedule of extra functions (automatic deposit replenishment, VIP-account, etc.) have to be actually clarified prior to registration.

Protection of details

Internet fraudsters may hack your profile as well as learn info on bank cards if the company carries out not supply trustworthy security. The most safe method is actually to make use of the SSL 3.0 process. It has a 128-bit cipher that can certainly not be cracked. The necessary info may deliver the assistance solution of the company.

Venezuelan Women for Marital Relationship –- Absolute Best Agencies

If you examine all the websites offering Venezuelan women dating, it is going to take a lot of opportunity. Yet you wishto swiftly find an appealing, tender and also attractive woman that are going to become your soulmate. Properly, our company have carried out all the benefit you and propose that you inform on your own along withthe listing of the very best providers.

LatinFeels

A wonderful option to find the best partner for a lengthy relationship or even sunny teas. All profile pages are actually verified, so you interact withthe lady you have chosen. At the fingertip of individuals a substantial variety of tools (texting, email, photographand video recording) as well as an individual translator. The client can make use of the cost-free functions or get to additional choices throughobtaining a VIP account. Outstanding as well as convenient solution aided to find joy and happiness for countless lonely hearts. Rating –- 9.5/ 10.

BridesVenezuelan

A specialized internet site where several venezuela dating are actually signed up. A significant base and accelerated searchprotocols assure the collection of a perfect match. The consumer can easily suchas the profile page they as if, and also wait on a solution or even immediately begin a chat withthe gal they just like. Most women are actually concentrated on severe partnerships, so the solution is not appropriate for teasing. Ranking –- 9.3/ 10.

LatinWomenDate

One of the segment leaders along withyears of adventure. It gives a beneficial internet site along withvery clear performance and a well-optimized mobile app for iphone or Android. The visibility of a cost-free searchchoice as well as the potential to start a discussion withcosts consumers alongside compulsory confirmation permitted our team to receive a higher credit rating of 9.1/ 10.

Latamdate

A qualified and also handy company that allows you to comply withthe Venezuelan lady of your dreams. Modern programs withseveral filters are going to quickly locate the perfect match. Dependable defense of individual data deals withthe danger of hacking throughhackers. Find affection swiftly, reputable and also secure. The company rating is 8.9/ 10.

LatinAmericanCupid

A company that works not simply along withVenezuelan females however additionally bachelor girls coming from all over Latin America (Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Southamerica, etc.). An outstanding reputation was created as a result of the highquality work of the service, abundant performance (withfringe benefits for VIP users) as well as good registration costs. Some think about the concept and functionality of the website a setback, whichreduced the score. Rating –- 8.7/ 10.

RomanceTale

Agency operating for over ten years. In the course of this time, 1000s of individuals discovered their happiness on the web site. Pleasant layout, premium mobile phone function as well as a lot of profile pages. All this, in addition to modern hunt plans allows you to promptly discover the excellent match. The drawback is actually the absence of obligatory proof after sign up. Rating –- 8.5/ 10.

Conclusion

Well, it stays to go a practical means coming from solitude to an enchanting relationship, full of love and contentment. The road takes a few steps.

Pick up a phone or even tablet and activate the Web;

Find and examine sites where you may locate Venezuela bride-to-bes;

Choose the best choice (the BEST list will aid you);

Become a client service as well as fill in a profile;

Set the filters as well as operate the hunt plan;

Analyze all fits and also start interaction withyour preferred Venezuelan females;

Invite her out on a date.

You view, the excellent lady is currently expecting you on among the sites. It stays only to take guts as well as take the 1st step. Let luck will certainly perform your edge.

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