#real people who caused a lot of real suffering is this the hill you want to visit and maybe die on are you really sure you're not makinh a.

[starpros-sunshine]

Hi what the fuck is reichblr?????

[good-fwiend-in-wome]

well i made another post like this after biden's debate but this time there's no kamala twist to send things in a better direction.

it has truly never been more over for the US. americans have once again decided they prefer fascism over women. american friends please make sure your passports are up to date and consider buying guns, cause everything is about to get a hell of a lot worse.

the people who abstained or voted green are all complicit, but hey at least you didn't vote for holocaust harris amirite? congratulations, you'll get to be the smuggest purest people on the trains to the camps.

other people with blood on their hands include every single republican voter, who i don't wish the consequences of their own actions on even if they knew exactly what they'd be, the democrat campaigners who lobotomized kamala after the DNC because god forbid a candidate have energy and bite, and of course kamala herself who just couldn't get biden's and Israel's dicks out of her mouth long enough to do anything, and who insisted on talking about "unity" and such horseshit when half the country was gleefully saying they want fascism. fucking fantastic job everyone real shining city on a hill shit right there.

so what now? gaza is gonna be glassed, with online lefties telling you with a straight face how it's exactly identical to the situation under biden, Ukraine's ability to hold back russia is gonna be severely fucked if not fail entirely, the entire world economy is gonna suffer as trump puts 2d100% tariffs on every random thing and country he doesn't like, many countries are probably gonna follow along with the fascism because the us is the most influential country on earth on top of the fact there's already an international wave of fascism hitting many countries especially in europe, and of course basically every single domestic issue imaginable in the US is gonna be even more fucked and your democracy will backslide as will civil rights of queer people and people of color. and your fucking eggs are sure as shit not getting cheaper. but hey at least the president isn't *gasp* a female.

good luck everyone, we'll all fucking need it

[quirkthieves]

You say not a hill worth dying on but maybe you should post receipts on people on your DNI. To protect others from them.

weird how similar this is to the shit i got in May. starting to have my suspicions but i wont say nothing cuz i dont say nothing without backing it up

Anyways, I'll repeat myself again, in the clearest language possible, avoiding sarcasm or insults, so that we can all be on the same page. Sound good?

A DNI is not a callout. It's simply not. A callout is (and I will be speaking from what it "should" be, since I'm aware this is often not how it is carried out in real life) a post/other publicly curated list of grievances, ideally with evidence and analysis of that evidence and the context of that evidence that proves the point attempting to be made. A callout should be made for the sake of public interest, whether that be because of the subject matter, number of people involved, continued duration of behavior, et cetera. Callouts used for petty personal business are what I like to call "this could have been a dm", and I'm not interested in them. I'm not perfect. I'll admit, in the past, especially when I was 15-16, I was involved with people who went out of their way to take things in bad faith, but I do make an effort to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and exercise discretion in conflict.

A DNI is exactly what the acronym stands for: a "Do Not Interact". People have plenty of reasons to not want interact with someone. Sure, lots of people have been put on DNIs because of callouts, but it's putting the cart before the horse to try and flip the cause and effect, or to ignore the other reasons (like, for example, personal falling outs that had a lot of feelings involved, but aren't malicious or big enough to be a matter of public interest) that people may be put on one. I've seen "DNI if your name is [xyz]" because of someone's personal boundaries. I can respect that, and I don't need them to justify anything to me.

Now, when it comes to my DNI, I will say this: I have people on there that did heinous shit, and I have people there that are matters of personal falling-outs. I have been very diligent in emphasizing that them being on the same list is NOT me conflating our conflicts as all being on the same level. I expect people to give me the same good faith I give them: an understanding that these things have nuance and that if they want a clearer picture they are free to ask. I've even had people message me in the past like "hey, is it okay if I interact, I'm [nuanced reasoning here]" and I both appreciate the honesty and am willing to work with people because things are complicated.

And that means I have a couple reasons for not "adding receipts".

In the case of individuals like Myers, the content in question is incredibly graphic. And there's a lot of it. I don't want to expose people to 100+ pages of violently upsetting material when they're just trying to read my blog rules. It's not the appropriate time or place to do so. Furthermore, the Myers situation was incredibly public. Keeping it taped up on my door would just drag out bad memories for everyone.

Similarly to above, for Myers and certain other individuals, those situations involved something traumatic happening to me as part of that situation. I've said before that I'm a fairly private person when it comes to things like that, and I don't owe anyone the performance of my suffering when I have no control over who can view it.

For situations that weren't insanely traumatic, I don't think receipts are necessary. I've said before-- I don't believe in meddling in people's relationships. Telling, hypothetically, "everyone" about the personal arguments I had with someone feels like going out of my way to point and be like "see? aren't they a bitch!!!" when it's really not necessary. I know that there may also be context or changes behind the scenes I've not been aware of because I don't speak to them. I think our respective mutuals can be trusted to make a reasonable, educated decision about the friend circles they want to curate, and I entirely understand that people have the right to "choose" the other person over me. I'm happy that people can have close friendships! Yes, a lot of those had to do with issues I had as a matter of MORALS, but I'm not all-seeing and all-knowing. Just because I took issues with someone because of my strongly held beliefs does not mean I think of them as a danger to other people. One has to practice discretion.

A DNI is simply about signalling that for whatever reason, people who meet certain criteria aren't going to find your personal space as a welcoming one. Clearly, in this latest situation, Ire thought that me being friendly and trying to engage for the sake of not excluding them in the server was weird and crossing a line-- so I don't know why me saying that I don't want their close friends in my friend circle is so offensive. We don't get along, I don't know why they would want their friends to be particularly close to me either. And that's their right! I'm not mad or offended if anyone decides they would be uncomfortable being around someone they don't get along with and don't like for whatever reason, and I'm not mad at people who see that and decide that they value their relationship with the other person over the one they have with me. Does it hurt my feelings sometimes? Sure, yeah. I'm a person too. Do I not understand it sometimes? Absolutely. But they are allowed to do that, and I won't begrudge them for it. If they don't like me, I don't... want them to be in my space, either? Having "more friends" isn't worth it if they're miserable being around me. I'd rather they just be upfront and say they do not want to continue our friendship.

Just because a person was bad to me or a bad fit FOR me does not mean they will not or are incapable of having healthy, positive, productive relationships with other people. I want to respect those and I'm happy for them. I just don't want it in my personal space, and when we do end up in a mutual space, I'm willing to be cordial for the sake of not jeopardizing the relationships they have with our mutual acquaintances. That does not mean I want to be friends. I just do not want to be cruel and drag personal mess. If I thought they were dangerous to that mutual friend, I'd say something in private, but otherwise, I'm willing to remove myself first (especially if they have seniority!)

I'm frustrated that I keep having to say this over and over again. And I'm frustrated that my attempts to stick by what I believe in is constantly skewed and seen in the worst faith possible, and that no matter the effort, people are always going to see me as a "nosy-ass tweaker" who "ruined the rpc" or an "attack dog" or any other of names I've been called over the years, just because I can be abrasive or sarcastic or hyperbolic. I'm willing to admit that I don't always do myself favors with how my tone comes across in text, and I'm starting to realize that sometimes anger is the only language I know how to express myself with, and I don't like showing my belly to people, especially publicly. But I have feelings too, you know? I get sad, or anxious, or tired, or any other number of things. And it makes me sad to put in so much effort trying to keep my blows from getting too low even with someone I don't like and not even have those efforts acknowledged or reciprocated.

I defended someone on my DNI in may (alex). Just because I have issues with someone, even if they're serious, does not mean I'm going to act negligently and publish or spread serious accusations that I have no evidence or context for, and I'll tell other people to do the same. I even reached out to let them know those things were being said, because I feel that when it's that serious, they have a right to know so they don't get blindsided by rumors. If someone came into my askbox saying Ire murdered puppies, I'd do the same. I've done it before with other people, I'll continue to do it, but it would be nice to have someone acknowledge that sometimes.

Anyway, my answer to that question is : nah. dun feel like it

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

omg since you’re taking off todya from studying can we hear some of your beatle hottakes?

ughhhhhhh sorry, these are so hard to come up with these days

meta take: I sort of wish we could have a genuine conversation about the blurry line between wishful thinking/headcanon and more objective (or, aspiring to be objective) historical analysis – I get the headcanons, I really do! but just in the past year, there's been several instances of people in good faith asking about sources or questioning "fan favourite" anecdotes and being shouted down for "ruining people's fun". If you want to engage with this stuff in a more lighthearted way, that's fine! but accept that that's what you're doing. Being rude to people trying to get to the truth is not a good look. Your imagination can withstand it, I promise.

more people need to jump on the Day Tripper tinhatting train. shit's crazy up here

the more I listen to Double Fantasy the more I'm offended that a certain brand of John fan basically only names songs from 1970/71 as his best. ditto with Walls and Bridges…

Again And Again And Again: best Denny solo-written Wings song ( it's hard to gauge how much is him and how much is Paul for their collabs. Anyways, No Words my beloved)

Sexy Sadie is kind of perfect… The lyrics, the chords, the distorted doo-wop it all embodies that DISAPPOINTMENT so well. The guitar solo is great, the high-pitched oooooooooohs. No notes, underrated song for sure.

the Mind Games album cover is soooooo deranged but so fucking good. That and Ram might be the best post-Beatles album covers.

this isn't exactly a take but the SADDEST part of Hey Jude is when John harmonizes with Paul. I can't not hear all the unspoken pain.

I kind of hope we get versions of Free As A Bird and Real Love with cleaned up John vocals like Now And Then. I don't want to erase those originals because the audio quality tells a story of its own, but Real Love especially suffers so much from it. I listened to it earlier today and nearly got teary. "No need to be alone" kind of gives me goosebumps. There's something so raw and emotional about all three of these songs…

This is almost the opposite of a hottake, but it kind of Doesn't Matter To Me who Now And Then is about. It could be about Paul, it could pretty easily be about Yoko too, and a few people I've seen say they think it's about May, which could be too! It perhaps not being directed at Paul doesn't take away from the song for me, because the song feels bigger than just its direct inspiration.

On that note, I sort of think that sometimes people could stand to.... Die on fewer hills? Like, the notion that Now And Then could be about Yoko doesn't negate John and Paul's relationship or most things people theorize they may have gotten up to. Now And Then Release Week bonus round, cause it's been long enough to talk about it a bit:

Paul (and Ringo and George! they also have a writing credit, guys!) making editorial choices about John's unfinished song with the blessing of his widow is literally fine. "But John might not have approved–" yes, this is how death works. John also might have found the song embarrassing and not wanted it released at all. It wasn't on Double Fantasy after all! Or maybe he would have specifically wanted to remove the same bit! (which I maintain is musically strange and unfitting at worst and at best a still really rough idea that would probably require a lot of work in of itself – echoing the chord progression in the instrumental bit is the best compromise I could imagine)

I actually really get the George girls who were a bit bummed out by the rollout of the song. He DID get the short end in this situation! but… what would have been better? I saw some people say Paul isn't nearly as good a slide guitarist at George. Okay well then… So Paul should've hired a session musician? How does that makes sense? Paul should've asked Dhani to find some random guitar bit George recorded 25 years ago and frankensteined it onto this song? I'm asking this honestly: what should have been done instead? Because… I sort of got the feeling from some of the criticism that the only acceptable solution was to not release this song at all. And TBH I don't think George "getting the short end" is worse than not allowing Paul and Ringo the closure of completing this song. This wasn't perfect but again: yes, this is how death works.

[dareactions]

I'm a sucker for angst and tragedy, so I'd love to see your take on how Romances would react to an Inquisitor who's become corrupted by Red Lyrium- maybe sort of like Corypheus? God-like powers at the cost of sanity... but it's fiiiine cause they're on *our* side... right?

So, I'll be honest I think a lot of them would dip if this went down, like instantly. Specifically Iron Bull and Blackwall probs? I think they'd either try to make you reach your expiration date faster or run for the hills, but like, what if they didn't.

Also this was written while suffering some real shit health issues so apologies for any spelling mistakes ;; I haven't really been able to move around a lot rip

Cassandra: She isn't one for staying silent. Cassandra watches quietly for the shortest of moments before she voices her concern over the situation, it's hard to not do so to the Inquisitor directly but Red Lyrium makes people temperamental at best. Cassandra is the first to bring up being ready, in case something ever goes wrong. In case they finally step over the threshold Corypheus did. There's something so unsettling about watching someone you know slowly crumble underneath a pressure they have no control over, watching them slowly go from a perfectly normal person to the husk of who they were. Romanced: It's worse when it's someone you love. Her eye keeps searching them for any trace of the person she loves and sometimes, just sometimes, she can see it in the edges of how they look at her but it's not the same. There's nothing to really remove the evergrowing pit in her chest, the way it aches and cracks more and more every day as they go further down a path that Cassandra can't really do much to save them from. Being the person she is, there's that obvious need to protect- but you can only do so much to protect someone from their own downfall.

Blackwall: It's really hard for Blackwall to not just instantly run off. To not tuck his tail between his legs and dash out in the dead of night because he made a promise to follow the Herald, the Inquisitor, someone who stood strong and bravely in the face of disaster- not whatever has taken their place. He does his best to spend as little time around them as possible because in a way they feel like a bigger reminder of his own failings. The inquisitor gave up what is practically themselves for the greater good, and he is well aware he could never even consider following their lead. But that doesn't change the unease, the way he can't help but feels his fingers twitch for a blade whenever they get more obviously inhuman so to speak. Romance: His heart will never recover from this. After everything, all the ups and downs and this might just be what makes Blackwall properly break. He watches their gradual change with a twisted expression of grief and knows he can do nothing. There is no talking someone out of this, once it begins it doesn't really stop. Blackwall can make as many toy horses or wooden ornaments as he'd like, it doesn't ease the stress of knowing the person he loves is slowly dying and he has no power to stop it. The worst part is even if he did, Blackwall isn't entirely sure if he would. They made this choice, a choice that cost them everything but a choice made with so much love for the world around them he isn't sure if he could take that from them.

Dorian: In some ways, it reminds him of Blood Magic. The way the Lyrium corrupts and takes whatever it gets its hands on, and he is equally uncomfortable watching this. Dorian has seen people fall for less and the idea that the Inquisitor is now walking the thin line that most have failed to walk before without tipping in either direction makes him nervous, to say the least. It's heartbreaking, really, to watch someone you cherish and in the past looked to for guidance become this and Dorian will probably never stop questioning if he could've done something. Magic can do so many things but not the thing he wants it to do. Sometimes he sees a hint of the old Inquisitor, and that's almost worse than dealing with the current corrupted personality he sees daily. Romance: Dorian never dealt well with grief, it's not quite an emotion he likes to linger on. And here he is, feeling it heavy on his heart more so than ever, watching the love of his life slowly dwindle into nothing more than a memory. He isn't really sure how to cope, if there is a right way to go around it, or if he can even do anything to help. There is one thing he knows for certain though and that is that people are far too quick to give up hope. Dorian can see his love in the small actions that nobody else seems to notice, the remaining sliver of hope shining like a beacon in the dark. The Inquisitor is slowly becoming more and more corrupted, but Dorian loves them and he isn't ready to give up hope yet and he isn't sure if he ever will be.

Iron Bull: There are some things Bull doesn't fuck with, and demons are one of them. Even if this is different, a corruption, unlike anything he has seen it is eerily familiar. He doesn't want to be on guard around the Inquisitor, they're taking one for the team- they're pushing themselves so far they're willing to become something unrepairable. And maybe that is a part of the reason he feels bad whenever his fingers twitch to reach for his axe when he holds his breath occasionally when they pass. There is a level of trust but it is far more brittle and he isn't sure how to go around it. Bull has seen more stable people do horrible things and the fact that every day the Inquisitor threads closer to something similar to Corypheus horrifies him. Romance: I can't see him not making his stance on the matter very much known instantly, if this was an accidental thing there is just heartbreak- but if the Inquisitor did it as some self-sacrifice I imagine him to be very hesitant to even let them. It's their choice, it is their sacrifice to make but Bull loves them so wholeheartedly and he wonders if there really isn't any other way. He values every little second more than ever though, the small moments have all the more importance because he knows it might be the last moment where they are themself. It is partly overshadowed by the fact that he knows that if it comes down to it, there might be a day when they're gone and there is just an empty husk in their place and he isn't sure if he will handle it.

Sera: The way Sera pulls away is instant. She doesn't fuck around with demons, and even if the Inquisitor isn't one entirely- they're all the same in her book. They're doing it for the greater good- blah blah, it doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day, she has absolutely no reassurance this won't turn around and backfire. It just shows that the inquisition is like every other political faction and organization in the world, it doesn't matter who is being torn down or hurt if it's for the cause. As long as it's for the good of the people a little damage doesn't hurt, which is fine and dandy when you're fighting rogue templars or mages- but not when you watch your friend and leader slowly turn into a less horrific version of the man you're trying to end. Romance: She has never really been one to hold back and that doesn't change even when she is in a relationship, I think there'd be an instant discussion because if Sera doesn't like something- she won't let it happen. Her words become snappier and the occasional comment becomes a daily occurrence, her distaste for the situation is obvious and she has no intention of hiding it - and if she is ignored she'll take her leave even if it breaks her heart a million times over. She isn't going to watch the person she loves break themselves down from the sidelines, she isn't the person to do that.

Solas: Oh, what has he done? Solas always edged on the feeling of remorse, pity, and regret for the fact that these are the steps he has to take to reach his goal. This wasn't in the plan. There is something so grotesque watching someone pull themselves apart at the seams because of you, because of something you put in place and orchestrated. He watches the Inquisitor lose themselves with morbid curiosity and horrified dread because it's something that in many ways is on him. This is his goal and agenda affecting the world and he gets to see it in the worst possible way. Solas keeps telling himself it is worth it, even if he feels an unsettling sense of dread settle in his stomach more and more every day. Romance: Every action, whisper, and loving word is given with a steady hand that is entirely held up by a devouring sense of guilt. Whenever he looks at them, their form and being slowly corrupting more and more with each passing day and sanity fickle- he knows it is his doing. Yet Solas selfishly loves them, he takes and gives and then takes some more because gods the way they smile at him and say his name - it's enough to make any sensible man lose their wits. But he lays away, staring at his hands as he wonders just what he is doing- what he has done. He ruined the person he loved, but it's for a cause, it's a must. A necessary sacrifice, or so he will continue to tell himself as they crumble from the ripples of his actions.

Cullen: Every time they are in the same room he feels that familiar suffocating panic that he did in the tower. There's only so much he can ignore, so much to look away from and it tears him more every day. But Cullen is no stranger to dealing with horrible conditions and accepting questionable morals to get the job down. He has no issues swallowing his doubts and concerns if it means the world becomes better, and they save people. If that means being unable to rest easy at night or holding his hands closer to his sword than he is comfortable doing, so be it. If Romanced: There isn't much that can make Cullen falter in his affections, not even this. If anything, to him this is a showing of his own failings. Damned, be this templar and his ability to turn everything into something he has done wrong or can fix. He isn't as blind as most probably think he is, Cullen sees the alarming signs of instability and they scare him- of course they do. But Cullen is just better at hiding it than some of the others, he just knows how to keep his concerns within the innermost circle, and keep the crying behind closed doors. But it's tearing him down slowly and it's just a matter of time before his love just isn't enough.

Josephine: From a work basis, she despises it. Josephine has always been quite good at separating her feelings when it comes to work, she can look past her own feelings on the matter to realize just how hard this will be to sell to the world. To make them realize the price someone is paying for their safety. But then there are obviously the personal thoughts, the ones that creep in late at night as she stares into the burning candle on her desk. The Inquisitor is a friend, a close one at that and she has to watch them slowly die practically. She isn't sure what to do about it, what she can even say or do or think to make this situation not feel like watching a person get tortured. Josephine lives every day with the anxiety that one day there might not be recognized in their eyes when they look at her. Romance: Nobody knows when Josephine will break, but mostly everyone knows she will. It's obvious in the way she seemingly cradles the fragility of her relationship with the Inquisitor in her hands. They will one day be gone and she probably won't get to do the things she wanted. Go to places they discussed, have her family meet them properly- these are all things that won't take place because they're a walking corruption. Proof of the fact that the veil keeps taking from everyone- the Inquisitor especially. One day she'll crumble into pieces and not be able to entirely pick herself up, and it'll be the day that the Inquisitor is the closest thing the world has ever seen to a god- and that will be the day they will most likely be killed, and Josephine will be defenseless to do anything.

[waheelawhisperer]

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to Sex Appeal Saturday on VNN SportsCenter! I'm your host, Waheela "Jimmy Earl" Whisperer, and tonight I'll be bringing you all the juiciest updates about the RWBY Hottest Character Poll's recently-completed Round of 32. There's a lot to cover, folks, so let's dive right in!

Consensus top seed Yang Xiao Long has regained her spot atop the odds after defeating Pyrrha "Blazing Hot" Nikos in decisive fashion and covering the spread by a respectable 2.8 percentage points. Miss Xiao Long may have started off slow, but her Semblance is warming up and she's just about ready to Burn!

She's gonna need that heat as she takes on her mother, who narrowly defeated both Cinder Fall and the spread in a closely-contested Maidenbowl that captured the hearts and minds of the viewers and caused considerable property damage. The oddsmakers at the Sporting Commission have Yang as the heavy favorite here, but Raven Branwen has drawn perhaps the hardest bracket so far and come out ahead, so her experience may yet give her the edge over her remarkably talented daughter.

Speaking of dark-haired MILFs, by the way, Kali Belladonna suffered our first upset in a match against sudden dark horse candidate Sienna Khan, who many pundits believe has a chance of making an Elite Eight run if she can take down Robyn Hill. Mrs. Belladonna was remarkably sanguine about her loss, and, instead of dwelling on her defeat, took the opportunity provided by her postgame interview to wax poetic about the size, shape, and consistency of her husband's pectoral muscles. It was very important to her that I understood that Mr. Belladonna is a very large man, for some reason.

Ghira's going to need all that size and strength, and the love of more voters than his wife, if he wants to make it past the Elite Eight. He's expected to defeat Roman Torchwick in the current round, but the competition will only get fiercer.

Speaking of fierce, the wicked Queen of the Grimm managed to knock off Glynda Goodwitch in a ferocious contest over the title of Remnant's Ultimate Mommy GF. Salem's victory over an opponent some considered a candidate to make the Final Four is unexpected, but not undeserved, and many pundits think she's poised to make a deep run if she can defeat her ex-husband in the Sweet Sixteen.

Salem vs. Glynda wasn't the only close matchup. Fan favorite Neopolitan barely managed to hold off a challenge from May Marigold, and in fact did not hold off a challenge from the spread, much to the chagrin of a number of bettors. Prior to the tournament, Neo was a favorite to reach the Elite Eight, but the fact that she's come up against one of the overall favorites in the Sweet Sixteen means her sweet dreams are likely to come tumbling down.

Winter Schnee is still the favorite to most of the computer polls and has yet to face a serious challenge, though Neopolitan seems likely to correct that oversight, despite the fact that Winter remains heavily favored. The challenge comes at the right time, as any opponent she could draw in the Elite Eight will be battle-tested and riding on a hot streak.

Speaking of hot, the Sun's out with his guns out. Mr. Wukong has coasted through the bracket so far, but now he's up against Lie Ren in a match that the four people on this website who are attracted to men are watching eagerly. We know that Sun's got plenty of fans (just ask the audience at the Vytal Festival), but Ren's got Nora and her willingness to break the legs of anyone who doesn't vote for him on his side.

Miss Valkyrie's doing quite well for herself, beating out Penny Polendina in the last round. She had a real struggle to cover the spread, but her victory was still decisive and she's looking to capitalize on that to continue deeper into the tournament, though she may be better served by focusing on her own matchup instead of worrying about Ren's.

Robyn Hill has continued to build on her strong performance from the initial round, covering the spread and earning herself a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. Her postgame interview was once again entertaining, as she expressed the belief that "this poll is bullshit" and claimed that the host was "a dick" for forcing her to battle one of her Happy Huntresses before rushing off to console Fiona Thyme, who did not need consoling in the slightest and was actually cheering for her leader at the time. Miss Thyme, for her part, expressed a hope that one of the Faunus candidates remaining in the tournament would ultimately take home the trophy.

Blake Belladonna seems best positioned to make Fiona's dream come true, much to the chagrin of her fellow Faunus. After a decisive victory over Velvet Scarlatina, wherein she managed to cover the spread by a couple of points, Blake has finally managed to avoid committing Faunus-on-Faunus violence by drawing a matchup against Emerald Sustrai, who earlier repeated her Vytal Festival performance by taking down Coco Adel. Blake is expected to win comfortably, and unless Miss Sustrai proves more dangerous than anticipated, Miss Belladonna may struggle when faced with more battle-hardened opponents in the Elite Eight and beyond. The pollsters still have her listed as the candidate with the third-best odds to take the crown, but she'll need to prove she can handle top-notch competition sooner rather than later if she wants to come out on top.

The tournament is heating up, and the betting is only going to be more lucrative. Place your own at www.XiongSportsBooks.com (no relation to the notorious Xiong crime family), and don't forget to deck yourself out in the newest gear, available on our website, to show your support of the candidates. Use the code ICE-CREAM-SUNDAY at the concession stand to get our buy-one-get-one-free deal on a wide variety of frozen treats and ROMAN-CANDLE for 30% off fireworks and custom ammunition in our online shop!

Thanks for watching, folks, and tune back in next time for live coverage of the Sweet Sixteen! Here at VNN SportsCenter, we're committed to bringing you top-notch coverage of all Valean sporting events. As always, let us know how you felt about this broadcast on Glitter using the hashtag #flexappeal, and check out behind-the-scenes footage and photos of our contestants at www.hunstagram.com/SportsCenter, and see you all next time on Sex Appeal Saturday!

[hextechmaturgy]

i'm sorry but you and the person in your replies are stupid if you think "we all agree israel should be kicked from the show ❤️" is a good excuse to watch and fund by viewing a TV show that OPENLY supports israel and zionism, going as far as even having a ZIONIST SONG win one of the contests. what you're basically saying is, "Yeah, we all agree, amazon should treat its workers better ❤️" then ordering next day delivery. european or not, you're dismissing the struggles and suffering of palestinians and funding a show that openly supports israel and zionism. saying, "i disagree with israel and want them off the show," literally isn't enough. but honestly, this is the most european attitude to have towards the situation, so i honestly don't know why i'm surprised. also - some contestants holding a flag for palestine doesn't negate the support the show itself gives to israel. you need to remember that the people suffering in palestine are real and more important than a competition show for, historically, the most racist countries on earth with shit music on it. the fact that you stating "indeed!" and the user in your replies stating you're both aware of the situation is worse than being ignorant and unaware. i will block you just because you are clearly going to die on this hill because what does it matter to you, a white european person, if brown people die so long as you get to watch your silly little music show, which you know, is still openly supporting israel by not excluding them from the competition despite russia's removal. i suppose the white victims of russia are easier to empathise with than the brown lives lost in palestine. i'm embarrassed that i ever bought any of your art.

hello again :) first of all, i appreciate that you're passionate about this topic, it's a good cause to champion and i'm sure there are a lot of ignorant ESC fans that could use the reminders, lord knows you can't escape the zionists on twitter. alas, you don't know me personally, and i don't know you at all, so our back and forth here on tumblr dot com asks seems a bit pointless, especially if you're blocking me anyway? hence my brevity before, but maybe that came across as me generally not giving a damn about anything, and if so, i am sorry

eurovision's 'apolitical' stance (as if anything can be apolitical) is and always has been bullshit, whether it's about how hip europe pretends to be regarding queer issues, misogyny, and other major conflicts like the ones you brought up, such as the war with russia and, of course, israel and palestine. this really isn't a well kept secret, and neither is the response this incites in activists everywhere. there have been protests, petitions, boycotts, there's a heated discussion about eurovision every time we have eurovision, and rightly so, i fully encourage them. the sad truth in my eyes is that people people can only do so much to set things right. EBU is in this to make money and they're fucking great at it. nobody fixed russia by booing and banning them from the show, it was just more profitable to throw them out than keeping them in because 'communism bad', which is a trend among western countries

i've watched eurovision almost every year since i was a little kid, and it's pretty obvious that my stance on this whole thing is privileged. war has never been loud outside my door, i have a reliable supply of food and water every day, a sturdy roof over my head. i can spare myself some respite, and music is a big part of what constitutes my peace, always has been. i'm an enthusiast of foreign arts, of songs and languages that are difficult to get exposed to with how american-centric the music charts are nowadays

and so, the way i see it - and i understand if this is a line you're not comfortable drawing - the artists performing at eurovision aren't the EBU. i watch it for them. many of them who are just young singers looking for their big break, many others who are older and confident using their platform to say the uncomfortable things the organizers want to keep on the low. they're all gathered in one spot to represent a different culture, many singing in different languages, sharing traditional garb and dance. ethnic and LGBT minorities take to a huge stage that connects them to every point of the world, and i'm sorry if this all sounds quite silly in the grand scheme of things, but this is the one thing the show can do right in it's current state. europe is diverse, and sometimes it looks like even europe doesn't know that

i'm sad to see you go, but i respect that you've drawn this line, and i'm thankful to hear you've supported my art in the past. keep fighting the good fight, and may the world be a little less shitty sooner rather than later

[abiiors]

ok i had a full nights sleep. i am coherent. i am fixing to copy/paste the tweets here for your enjoyment. its a lot.

ok so parx twit had a “trend” on unpopular opinions about the band during the sneaking out of heaven tour (their most recent one) one person said this

“Had to be said. You forgot his over dependence on nyquil and sleep drugs that borderlines abuse, he claims he's straight edge though ✨”

she deleted and posted a noted app apology

“Hey friends, I'm writing this to you, not just as an apology for writing dumb shit on twitter with no thought behind it, but to also share that I do suffer from my own personal addiction to pain medication, and have been since I was 17. Addiction is a real thing, it's a problem and it should be talked about, but not at the expense of others and making baseless assumptions. We all know where false acusations can lead, and it's never a good time. I've been reflecting on my previous inflammatory tweet about Awsten and his use of Nyquil and I want to say that I am truly sorry for my, dumb, offensive and very thoughtless tweet. I didn't stop to think before I wrote something so dumb and hurtful and I'm sorry for that. I'm not perfect, l'm human and I make mistakes. I know I fucked up hard and I'm sorry to anyone that was offended by my words. I can delete a tweet, but I can't take away the fact that I wrote it, and that it's out there causing anger to people, so l'm acknowledging that, and owning my mistakes. I am also very greatful to the people that took the time to educate me on this, I always appreciate any guidance. Moving forward I want to do better, internet etiquette is hard to get right especially when you're in a fandom spanning multiple generations and culture's but l'm definately gonna try harder.”

awsten saw the tweets and now that tour has been over for a while he has responded.

“HEY AND BTW WHEREVER THAT ACORNBRAIN WALMARTMOUTH BREATHING TWITTER DULLED CLOWN IS AT THAT SAID I HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM BC I TAKE ZZZQUIL TO SLEEP IN A BUS ON A THIN ASS MATTRESS, I APPRECIATE UR CONCERN AND I HAVENT HAD ANY SINCE TOUR ENDED, YOU CURED ME OF MY ADDICTION”

“GET COOKED WORMBREATH DUMBASS !!! I HOPE YOURE LIKE 14 BECAUSE IF YOURE OPERATING LIKE THIS AT FULLY GROWN, I FEEL SO SAD FOR YOU HAHA PAINT DRINKER”

he quoted a tweet with this after that.

“THIS AND THEN SELF-RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE SMELLING BLOOD IN THE WATER SWOOP IN TO PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK AND ABSOLVE THEM LIKE A PRIEST SAYING "we weren't trying to cancel u we wanted to hold you accountable thank you" LMFAO0000000 I LAUGH EVERY TIME, ITS A FULL CIRCLE OF STUPID”

“it's either a notes app apology or an "i'm taking a break" and they go priv and come back in like two days” ^quoted tweet

he also tweeted a picture of a confessional with “you are… forgiven”

“DUMBEST HILLS HAVE EYES MUTANTS ON HERE WILL BE LIKE “uM personally i think he is so immature and Anyone should be allowed to say Anything and Everything at All Times with no repercussions” SIKE BITCH THIS IS THE REAL WORLD OPEN YOUR EYES”

the person who tweeted what hes talking about is between 32-34 and followed them for a majority of the us tour. they flew in from australia for it. somebody tweeted the photo of the tweet that caused him to say that cropped so the persons @ was cut out and his response to that was

“NO MORE CROPPING NAMES, I DONT GIVE A FUCK, WE SHAME IDIOTS, WE SHAPE THE FUTURE”

“WORLD PEACE

IM OUT”

her response to the paint drinker shit was

“loved waking up to you caling me an idiot, thanks Awsten. This fucked up my mental health something fierce and put me in a really bad place”

“Woke up and burst into tears, thanks Awsten”

and a “Awsten what the fuck”

hold on ill link a few of my favorite tweets from the situation because now what the fuck tweet is a whole fuckin joke.

https://x.com/lowkeyashan/status/1782178428982059407?s=46

https://x.com/aioevera7/status/1782185227428729005?s=46

https://x.com/tantrxmbee/status/1782170160209531077?s=46

-🦞

okay what i'm about to say might be a bad an unpopular take because i only have the context that you've given me in this ask so idk if this user used to be disliked before this, or used to be beloved or super popular or whatever else.

anyway i think awsten is... in the wrong here.

this is not to say that the user who tweeted about his alleged drug addiction is saintly and pure and innocent, that was a fucked up tweet to make regardless of if awsten would have seen and/or responded.

however... if i was a popular celeb with a wholeass fandom i would NEVER say these things publicly like sure i understand being mad that someone is talking to flippantly about drug use and speculating about your drug use online but then to go ahead and call them a bunch of names as well as essentially weaponise your fanbase in a way where they're now making memes about this person, making fun of them etc. i'm glad they're not 14 like he said but he didn't know if they were 14 or not, what if they were super young... what if someone who's barely a teenager had to deal with this not only from someone they adore but also from a whole fandom they considered their own??

anyway... yeah i hope tweetuser is fine and i'm glad there's no addiction here. ooofff that's a messy situation wow 😬

[itsfayehr]

Exodus 3: 16-22

16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.

21 “And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

I think the best title for this is When God Sees.

It seems that God is complicated. If He says He will be with His people, then why is He sending Moses? It's because we are co-participants in His mission of salvation. Also, why is God sending Moses to do something that will not even work?

Let's break these verses down.

first, God introduces Himself as the great covenant keeper. Here He says that He is the God of Moses' forefathers. I think He mentions each of them to show Moses that He is the same GOD to every person, regardless of the generation. He was the same then, He's the same now. What He promised, it will come to pass.

Second, God is a God that pays attention. He's not simply a prime mover who is the efficient cause of existence. He is. He is the is-ness of things. As Pastor David Guzik would say, God is separate, but not necessarily distant. God is separate; yet God cares and connects Himself to our needs.

Third, He never tells us to ignore what we are going through. He sees it, and we should see it as well. Some philosophies would command us to ignore our feelings. This is also why Christianity also is different from other religions in that it demands us to pay attention to our suffering, and that it's not simply an illusion. Our circumstances are real, and God pays attention. After all, why would God save us if what we are going through is simply an illusion?

fourth, we are co-participants in His plan. Our obedience is just as important as the plan for salvation. In a way, God tells us to fix the mess we are in. But, God shows us HOW. But the question lingers- why would God ask us to do things knowing they will not work? God is more concerned about our heart in faith than the plan. Also, God wants us to have faith in Him, and not in a plan.

finally,

wherever God sends us, He will never send us empty handed.

The next question lies here. Okay, this sounds cool and dandy, but what does it have to do with me?

what we go through, God sees. Our lives can be quite like slave jobs. we work everyday, barely pay our bills. Sometimes people feel dead inside, and I've said it many times myself. Egypt in the Bible is a form of hell, and so is our everyday circumstance. I have depression, and it constantly feels like my own personal hell. And I know a lot of people go through the same form of internal slavery. As of 2021, suicide remains to be the 11th cause of death for most Americans. Some days are okay, but about 90% of my days consist of a struggle. It feels like Sisyphus, pushing a boulder up the hill. But God's plan for salvation is not some ancient history mumbo-jumbo that was applicable only in the past. The same is applicable to us today.

Salvation is never a one time thing. Sometimes, our own personal Exodus may take over years. But when it seems bleak, God pays attention. And that is what separates believers, we have hope. And we need to keep that hope to live. And everyday, we have a choice to keep suffering and accept it as fate, or to keep our hope that one day, we will be free. It may be freedom from addiction, depression, or whatever keeps us from following God truly. God will set us free.

[lestwritewhilewaitingforajobcall]

The Odd Rumble of Thunder - Thor x Reader

(A/N)

Hey guys! I wanted to personally thank you all for the kind comments and messages, they really inspire me to continue writing more and the support truly means a lot! Also, I just found out how to access post replies, I apologize I haven’t gotten to reading them since my first story, I’m still trying to figure out the gist of things here on Tumblr! Anyways, recently I’d only been posting more on Poseidon, so here’s a special one for our Norse god of thunder (aka the god I simp for the most). This idea came to me while out on a camping trip, I hope you guys enjoy it! Feedback would really be welcomed and appreciated!

This is for entertainment only. Record of Ragnarok belongs to Shinya Umemura, Takumi Fukui and Ajichika. I also do not own you, the reader.

The Odd Rumble of Thunder

Thor x Reader

Even before the news spread like wildfire, Thor had become under the tyranny of a good habit to bringing his wife with him wherever he may go. It stood to reason that he would never be so careless to invite you over to danger, hence why, at a god’s ephemeral notice, he had stopped seeking direction for his combative side, but when, at last, he had to venture, he made much quicker work of it than when he would have otherwise.

Inarguably, if you’d wanted to lay down and rest instead, it was a surety you’d receive your meals in bed, unbothered. But for Thor there was no guarantee he’d ever have to worry about you, so the whole of Asgard knew by now he’d drop whatever he was doing to accompany you, uncaring about diplomacy in the first place.

Not that Odin nor Loki minded either; especially since the Allfather knew more about the concerns of a father expecting their first child. Moreover, Loki enjoyed shapeshifting into his cousin during days he was absent. It was much more fun to cause mischief legally, as he would say.

Today, Thor stood by his wife who sat comfortably in her rocking chair on the porch, allowing a full view of the hills that sloped gently down to the grand gardens. You were seven months along, approaching the eight month, the swell of your stomach now far more prominent.

At the very moment you had begun to show, you had a companion of whom would almost never leave your side, your husband’s absence in the kingdom gradually becoming more frequent, more lengthened, till at last his presence among his people became an exception. Despite your constant reassurances that you would be fine, Thor insisted on staying, casually sweeping aside your thoughts regarding his habitual sense of duty.

“I would only be gone for nine months to tend to my wife and child, they should fare well on their own lest they are more incompetent than I would’ve thought.” Thor had told you once before, and you’d decided not to question him further on that. You understood your husband’s concerns, to be truthful, you had a few of your own as well, so having Thor assist you alleviated some of the stress and worry concerning your child’s safety.

Especially now that you were nearing your due date. For instance, you were having the toughest time moving, suffering primarily from the weight in your belly and pains in your back and legs that made walking and even standing difficult. What made the physical strain worse too was your child’s eagerness to know you and Thor both, unable to stay long in one position, much like their father’s enthusiasm for battle.

“How are you feeling?” Thor’s question rested upon a rather precise calculation of the last time he had asked the same only a short moment before. It was quite visible in his actions that he did not want to cause any negative feelings if he could help it, though desiring you to avoid stress as much as possible.

You smiled. “Come close. You’ve been standing there for ages just ogling at me.” You opened your arms out wide. “Are you not tired?”

Truth be told, despite Thor’s constant need to remain close to his wife, he felt a real, undeniable fear of touching you, specifically, your abdomen. He closed the distance between until he was right in front of you, staring down at you with hard eyes. Longing leaped like a flame reaching out in his celestial yellow orbs.

“Love, I am always grateful for your concern for me. And I am feeling much better just knowing you’re beside me.” You raised yourself up, pushing against the chair to try to stand. Thor rushed forward, held you then put his hands under your arms to lift you up. Your child was growing fast. “But how about you? How are you feeling?”

You inched closer, your fingers playing with the locks of his hair that you could reach. “Aside from the stress of waiting, I’ve noticed that you have something else weighing on your mind.

“Tell me, what is it?”

At the sight of you through his warworn eyes, his mind was filled with bliss. For that loving glance of yours, he felt a divine presence and holy atmosphere that seemed to pervade everything around you. Having an inkling of what you were hinting at though, he broke your gaze, in an attempt to avert the guilt you conferred on him.

“Please. We’re in this together, I would want nothing more than to help you back as much as you’ve helped me.” Thor felt you shift in his arms, get more comfortable. He felt the bulk of your child across his legs, the weight no doubt pulling you down. Seeing you in pain like that, was sad and unbearable, and the gnawing feeling grew stronger. And since he knew you were always so full of strength and determination, always unrelenting in your attempts to make him feel better, he began,

“I am afraid.” Red eyebrows drew together.

“Afraid of what?”

“That I might accidentally hurt you and our child,” Thor took a deep breath in then let it out in a sigh while taking a step back. “I do not want that to happen, even if I want to be at your side at all times. And this frustrates me to no end.”

Thor did himself a favor by giving attention to anything other than his wife, refusing to be a witness on the sadness and any he may have caused. Dealing with his own disappointment was nothing new, but he had trouble dealing with the fact that he was the cause of yourpain. He wished he could take his troubles which escaped, hanging in the air, and all the bad feelings on himself and let things continue as they were, but he knew it didn’t work that way. You needed to know that he only wanted you and your child safe and protected, even from himself.

He could not understand how the cosmos could play such a cruel joke on the both of you: you, bore so much pain because of one of the greatest affairs of life, and him, the strongest deity in the Pantheon, was powerless against the natural laws of existence.

Strong shoulders slumped, head bowing as stray strands of red hair fell over Thor’s brow. Not again. He did not wish to be reminded of the cautious sympathy his father and cousin had approached him with. His stomach lurched whenever the subject of your frailty came up. Dread and a terrifying fear overwhelmed his soul for the first time, the thought of losing you−

“Hey,” Your voice which lingered on the gentle breeze brushed against Thor’s face, pulling him out of his stupor. He refocused, turning his gaze onto your sweet face.

How were you able to hold yourself up well despite your obvious pain and suffering? Did you not bear the same nervousness as he did? The answer was obvious, practically screaming in Thor’s ears but became deaf following his guilt and clouded instincts. For a long time since you’d first told him about the news, he bore these worries in silence; but when at length he’d been perplexed by your introspection−or seeming lack of it. Why, in fact, did you concern yourself with him at all? Compared to you, there was hardly any threat to his own life posed. Why had you always done more to make him feel better when you were the one who needed it most?

Cutting through the haze he found himself in was the shape of you, or maybe your hair billowing in the wind, a wisp of it across your face, and then suddenly the feel of your skin, the sense of your head on his chest. Even if it were fleeting, that alone brought him the possibilities of comfort that he’d so needed. Oh, how he missed this; you cupped his big callously marble hands around yours, caressing them so tenderly, as if he were fragile and might break, so short it could never be pulled back.

As he relished the warmth of the blaze you gave him for the winter of unease, he’d realized much sooner that the coldness that inched its icy fingers up his spine still threatened to battle your kind words, you, his very own wife, and he detested himself for being unsure whether or not it was of his own doing; was he pushing you away when you’d only wanted to offer your help?

Thor’s immediate impulse was to pull back from you, abruptly halted by your fingers which slipped between his now splayed hand. You wrinkled your nose in a delightfully unguarded manner that caused his breath to hitch in his throat.

“Do you remember the first time we said our vows?” If only you knew the way Thor perceived you: in his eyes, your radiant smile reflected the morning sunlight of Valhalla, for a split second picturing the moment you’d walked down the aisle, that headpiece on your head instantiating the paradox of mystery that once lifted revealed your beautiful face, marking it the best day of his long life. Something warm bloomed in his chest once again and spread its heat out through every vein in his body. He remembered the smooth feel of the veil against his cheek after sealing your promise with a kiss, his lips parting with a breathless sigh.

“Your hands caressed my fit of nerves with light, tender touches and then inspired me with hard, passionate embraces,” With effortless ease, you lifted your intertwined hands to your mouth and kissed his knuckle. Thor watched with great admiration your every move, the desire to distance himself was now but an afterthought. Nothing would ever separate him from you when all you’d ever done was pull him closer than ever.

Then, you sought out his hand, kissing his palm as he stroked your face. You clung onto his arms, gripped at his chest as if you were searching for warmth, as if you needed his touch, and much like him, couldn’t bear to be even an inch away. His mind was still slowing its racing to let him mutter something in response, so he allowed himself to be entranced by how smooth and sure of yourself you were, with nothing to mar the calm serenity of your features. Your smile seemed to be a natural adornment, the utter gentleness in your eyes, reminded him of every morning when he woke up, he would see you by his side, as well as your sleeping snoring face. Right at that moment, the silly scream finally made it to the deaf god’s ears:

He was your haven,

The place you called home and went to find peace.

As Thor immersed himself in your smell, your sparkling eyes, he felt the excruciating cold all melt away in your warmth. No more seeds of doubt with which to sow and seek his destiny. Slowly, he began to see his surroundings from a keener point of view, realizing, then appraising them: from the passing wind your hair messed which he pushed aside, tucking it behind your ear, to how his sash seemed to fit him better indeed, rather than cling onto his skin even tighter as brutally as it had done before. He noticed the minute changes since he’d last taken a good look at you months ago: a little flusher on your skin, lines around the eyes a little deeper, a little increase in body temperature.

He pulled you closer, his actions not arising from calculation instead led by instinct. You let him take more of your weight, your belly pressed against his stomach as you sighed, his fingers working wonders on massaging the muscles that had been much abused in carrying the baby’s weight. A sudden wrenching through his sash struck Thor’s heart and had him holding his breath.

The baby had moved, and he’d felt it.

Bending down, he buried his nose in your hair, closing his eyes as he drank in your scent. Your arms wrapped around his back as he connected in this loving embrace, feeling his heart beat in rhythm with your own.

“Our child would no doubt love to be enveloped in their father’s safe arms,” With a light, gentle touch, your fingers ran through Thor’s hair, making him shiver with delight.

On that day, only the beautiful gardens of Asgard became privy to nothing more than a moment in which husband and wife reached for the same comfort and their concerns met. These gardens were simultaneously the very same place where Thor had first avoided the problems that plagued his mind, but also became exactly the same place where he’d find solace in the arms of his lovely wife.

Resting his hand on where his child was, he recognized that familiar feeling turning up, but upon realizing the bittersweet irony of and within these gardens, the revelation came to him: happiness could also come from the very object of fear.

And as you had an unmovable trust in him, there was an unspoken mutual understanding that he too, should put his trust in you.

[stormcrow513]

Ok so I just got a follower that upset me real bad. When tumblr actually lets me see whose following me I like to go look their blog over. It can be neat to see and if it a pornbot then I wanna block.

So I'm looking at this blog and I see this:

Wanna make somethings clear:

First all nice that this person thinks they have a right to decide what anyone spends their own money on.

2.I'm not one of those vegans(I'm not even vegan all can't afford it and its not environmentally sustainable) who care more about feeling good about themselves but don't actually give one god damn bit about animals and the planet we live on. Bees are not harmed by their keepers honey good fucking over agave(sp?) plants bad. Giving sheep haircuts keep them healthy and my ice cube toes warm. Vegan leather is plastic and plastic is killing the planet and the ANIMALS that live in it. Life consumes life that is the state of this world. We need to be in harmony with that.

3. Life is life a living being is in pain it DOES NOT MATTER if that being is human or animal if you can help you should. I don't know how to explain this right to explain that humans are not inherently better or more deserving of life. That everything has a soul and should be protected cherished the best we are able. Yes we sometimes must prioritize our lives and what/who we love. But what right do you have to whole sale say human life matters more. Why for what reason?

4. My whole fucked up abused life I have only ever had kindness from in order my ma, animals, a handful of humans. So maybe I'm screwed up to a lot of you because of that, but I'm not the only person who loves my animals as family who mourns that loss, who sees other asking for help to save their furry family member and wanting to help.

I admit that in a situation where I could save a dog or a human in a burning building I'd save that dog and I know some people likely consider me evil or insane for that. But the way I see it humans have abilities to save themselves that animals don't and there is always someone ready to save that human but let that dog burn to death because their not human less important they don't contribute to society. Well guess what I don't contribute to society either due to my disabilities so in your world I should be left in that fire too.

In my opinion compassion for all life means I care about animals trapped in fires, abused, killed cruelly made to suffer when that is not needed. It means I once fought with my sister to save a spider. It means I would fight a Nazi to protect a Jew. That I'd hide anyone from ICE. That if terfs are coming at trans people that they can come through me first. That black lives matter. That I care about the humans in Ukraine suffering and dying and I care about their animals that are suffering and dying. And that of the humans and animals suffering in Iraq and everywhere else. It means I care about the old growth forests disappearing from our world. That I hate people who kill old trees cause it doesn't match their aesthetic.

So all in all if you got a problem with that you probably should not follow me because defending the inherent value in LIFE animal human plant other is a hill I am willing to die on.

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

So, I know you made a post about Martyn's comment about Grian having Stockholm Syndrome, but I feel like there's a lot of angst potential. Maybe something about Martyn and Skizzle trying to convince Grian to join them, but Grian refusing to even leave Scar's side of they kill him.

i feel like this one kinda accidentally became Grian’s villain origin story but ngl i’m not complaining

…

Martyn and Skizz are walking together through the forest, on their way to the desert to do some surveillance. They’re just walking up the hill near the edge of the forest when a random thought occurs to the latter. “Hey, what’s that thing where you, like, get close to your captor?”

“Huh? Oh, uh… Stockholm Syndrome, isn’t it?” Martyn responds.

“Yeah, that’s it. Stockholm Syndrome.”

“What made you think of it?”

Skizz shrugs. “I dunno, I was just thinking about Grian and why he doesn’t seem to be eager to leave Scar anymore.”

Martyn shoots him a sideways look. “You think he’s got Stockholm Syndrome? Huh. Honestly, I think you might have something there. I’ve known Grian for a long time and I know for a fact that hates people telling him what to do.”

“I really wanna save him, dude,” Skizz says. “I hate the idea of him having to slave away under Scar for even another day.”

“I do too,” agrees Martyn. “But I don’t think we can-.”

“My ears are burning,” comes a familiar voice.

The two look sharply up to find Grian himself sitting on a high branch in the tree directly in front of them, right at the top of the hill.

“Eavesdropping again?” Martyn demands. “How much did you hear?”

“Just something about slaving away under Scar. That’s how I knew you were talking about me. Not nice to talk about someone behind their back.”

Skizz and Martyn both frown. There’s something different about Grian today; he’s not his usual self. It’s worrying particularly to Martyn, who’s known him for a very long time.

“Grian, we need to talk to you,” says Martyn. “About Scar.”

“Uh huh.” Grian hops down from the tree and dusts off his hands. “You’re not gonna kill me, are you? Oh, no, wait: neither of you can. Martyn cuz you’re green and Skizz because you’re spineless.”

Skizz blanches. “Wh-What the hell?! That came out of left field!”

Martyn steps towards Grian, carefully making eye contact with his old friend. “Grian, this isn’t you. Scar’s red life energy is corrupting you, turning into something you’re not. It’s not healthy.”

“Healthy?” Grian tips his head on one side. “Huh. That’s one way of looking at it.”

Martyn pushes on: “We can help you leave him. Either we can take your first life or we can help you escape him.”

“We can keep you safe,” Skizz adds, pushing aside his hurt feelings over Grian’s prior comment. “If you’re worried about what he might do to you.”

“You think I wanna LEAVE?” Grian scoffs.

Martyn and Skizz exchange a look. “What do you mean?” asks the former slowly.

“Scar is my excuse to kill people,” Grian responds. “That goes away if I leave him.”

“Yeah, you’ve already killed at least five people, including me,” Skizz responds. “Are you really sure you wanna keep going?”

A grin slowly appears on Grian’s face as he grabs a block of TNT and lights it. “Let’s find out.”

“Skizz, move!” Martyn yells in a panic.

The two simultaneously spin round and take off running but the TNT quickly explodes behind them, the force sending them both tumbling off the top of the hill.

Martyn groans as he pushes himself up, his whole body aching from the rough landing. His left ankle, which he felt himself land heavily on, throbs. He glances warily around him and finds Skizz lying on his side a few blocks to his left, unconscious.

As Martyn crawls over to him to check on him, he spots a figure emerging from the trees. His breath catches in his throat as he registers Grian slowly and dangerously coming towards them, a flint and steel clearly in his hand.

“Grian, get away,” Martyn snaps, unable to hide the fearful shake in his voice. He moves awkwardly in front of Skizz, protecting him from Grian. “Get away from us.”

“Killing Skizzle will be delicious,” says Grian, grinning maliciously. “His last life. I wonder what it’ll feel like to take a red life? To know that the person I’ve killed will not respawn?”

“Don’t you dare!” growls Martyn. “Kill me if you want but don’t hurt him.”

“Martyn, Martyn, Martyn…” Grian shakes his head in mock disappointment. “You keep doing this. Every time you swear you don’t care about people, every time you swear you won’t get attached to anyone else, you do. Would you really sacrifice one of your lives for him, Martyn? Someone you’ve only known a few weeks?”

“Skizz has proven himself a generous and loyal ally,” Martyn replies steadily. “He’s shown himself to be perfectly willing to sacrifice his last life for us so I’m willing to sacrifice my first for him.”

Grian shrugs. “Okay, that can be arranged.”

As he steps closer, Martyn pushes himself to his feet, holding his left foot gingerly off the ground. “Please, Grian, don’t. You don’t have to let yourself get corrupted by Scar any longer.”

“Corrupted?” snorts Grian. “That’s cute.”

“Seriously, you’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. You don’t-.”

Grian laughs loudly, interrupting Martyn. “Stockholm Syndrome?! You really don’t get it, do you, Martyn? Scar is useless on his own. You think he would’ve been able to do HALF the damage I’ve done? If it weren’t for me, he’d have lost his red life about half an hour after his second. I’m the one keeping him alive; not because I care about him but because he’s my excuse to kill people as a green lifer. I have the highest body count on the whole server and I’m still green. Martyn…”

He moves closer to Martyn and grips his shoulder almost painfully, a terrifying smile on his face. “I’m the mastermind. Scar thinks he’s in charge and that’s what ties this whole arrangement together so neatly. Everyone focuses on Scar because he’s the red lifer and oh poor innocent Grian is stuck doing everything he says. Nobody EVER suspects that I’m anything more than just Scar’s puppet.”

“He’s yours,” says Martyn quietly. “Isn’t he? He’s just your puppet.”

“He is. But I can tell you’re trying to stall. Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon.” Grian takes hold of Martyn’s other shoulder, trapping him on the spot. “But I don’t want to kill my old friend, no matter how much you beg me. Not yet, anyway.”

Before Martyn can react, Grian shoves him roughly aside. His ankle rolls again as he hits the ground, causing more pain to explode up his leg. “No!” he yells, as he spots Grian advancing on a semi-conscious Skizz. “Grian, don’t!”

Skizz tries to get away from Grian but the green lifer draws his sword and presses the point against his chest, forcing him to stay still. He stares into Grian’s eyes and sees nothing but evil in them. “Grian, please…! Please, don’t!”

“It’s either you or Martyn,” responds Grian. “You pick.”

Skizz meets Martyn’s gaze, and Martyn knows immediately what he’s going to say.

“O-Okay,” Skizz whispers, tipping his head back in defeat. “Kill me and leave Martyn alone.”

“NO!”

But as Grian raises his sword, a battle cry echoes through the trees and seconds later, three figures burst out of the forest: Ren, BigB, and Etho.

Grian scrambles back in shock as they charge towards him, before turning and fleeing back into the trees. BigB and Etho pursue him but Ren stays behind to drop down at Martyn’s side. “Thank god we got here in time! Are you two okay?”

“Apart from my ankle, I’m fine,” says Martyn, letting out a sigh of relief. “Skizz?”

“I-I think I’m okay,” Skizz responds, pressing his hand against his forehead. “But my head hurts.”

Martyn frowns sympathetically. “You were out for several minutes so you probably have a concussion.”

“Let’s get you two back to Dogwarts to rest,” says Ren kindly.

But just as Ren moves to help Martyn up, a notification flashes up on their communicators.

Bigbst4tz2 was slain by Grian

Ren lets out a low growl. “That’s it. Those filthy desert hippies have gone too far.”

“No, Ren,” Martyn says. “It’s not them; it’s just Grian. He’s the one who orchestrated all this. If you hadn’t turned up, he’d have killed both of us. He’s the real threat, not Scar. Not even Scott and Jimmy. They all do what Grian says; he’s got them all in his pocket. He’s…” He pauses, recalling Grian’s words with a shiver. “He’s the mastermind.”

Ren gazes at him for a moment. “Okay, it seems we have some things to discuss when we get back to Dogwarts. But for now, I need you two to head home while I help Etho and BigB.”

“Yes, boss,” says Martyn. “But I-I may need some help; I’m not sure if I can walk at the moment.”

Skizz sluggishly stands up and makes his way over to Martyn, whom he helps to his feet. He then lifts Martyn’s arm over his shoulder, supporting him. “I got you, buddy,” he says gently. “I got you.”

Martyn lets out another quiet sigh. He still can’t believe he and his friend are both alive and relatively unharmed, but he’s unspeakably grateful for it nonetheless.

“Thank you.”

[jabitha-endgame]

A rant/Jabitha/and Bughead fandom

Ugh! I’m so sick of some people claiming Jabitha came out of no where. I’m sorry you all had your shipper goggles on and weren’t actually watching the show but cherry picking BH and then extrapolating your own fan fiction from it. What is hard for you all? Betty sleeping with Archie? Or saying she “wanted to do that since HS”? Or Betty literally not caring if Jug was missing or dead (and told Tabi she shouldn’t either)? Ignoring and being passive aggressive about him (until this most recent episode)? What do you think playing that VM was about? It wasn’t to make Tabi and Jess feel warm and fuzzy about Jug, it was to paint herself as the victim cause he was “mean” when all he did was bag on the fact that she cheated on him (and V by extension) and has blown him off for YEARS. As for Jug I’m sorry BHers you didn’t understand Betty IS JUGS TRAUMA. She was perceived as just as toxic as Jess (in his most recent hallucination) It’s not that he can’t move on from Betty, he can, he dated Jess longer than B, its that he can’t form any deep meaningful connections because he trusts no one, because the two people he trusted most betrayed him in the worst way. And I don’t want to hear how Jugs parents fucked him up (first), of course they did but they pretty much always sucked and Jug knew it, he was consistently let down by them, Betty made him believe he was worth someone loving and pulled the rug out from underneath, sorry that you don’t get that’s worse. Sorry you don’t get her lack of compassion after he almost died and was still suffering various after effects, including PTSD and depression was horrible. And insult to injury cheated with his best friend, her childhood crush, a guy who didn’t graduate while throwing Jugs academic situation, through no fault of his own, in his face. THAT IS JUGS TRAUMA. And all these years later still no real apology or explanation. (and DON’T get me started on Betty jumping Jugs bones while he was reeling from the shock) As for Tabitha herself if she wasn’t going to be a love interest for Jug why introduce her at all? The core 4 could’ve returned to Riverdale on thier own, all thier lives were a mess, a trip home to reset would’ve worked just as well (or better) But instead they had Pop’s retirement and made Tabi the granddaughter of the only character everyone can universally agree on. If the role was just going to be supportive black BFF cheerleader to BH why cast her at all? Wasn’t that what Vanessa was complaining about? If it was just so Jug had a friend the Serpents were right there, hell fellow outcast Reggie would do. Why not some random recurring character? And I’m sorry you BHers didn’t understand that Jabi agreeing to be “friends” was Jug and Tabi tabling a relationship because Jug knew he wasn’t in a headspace to date (which makes him more self aware than anyone else in that town) and liked Tabi enough not to jump into anything until he was ready. The false equivalency and cognitive dissonance of a certain corner of fandom is telling. Why do you ship Tabi with ANYONE BUT JUG? Why is Jug not good enough for Tabi but okay for Betty then? Why do you want Tabi relegated to BH cheerleader? Do you not know how systemically racist that trope is? Really? Why are you okay with Betty “getting Archie out of her system” (so she realizes Jug is the one, which is just 🤢, that’s a horrible mind set, 7 yrs apart and absence hasn’t made her heart grow fonder??) But now that Jug is in the same town as Betty he needs to be celibate until Betty decides to grace him with her attention? FUCK THAT! Jabitha has been building slowly but surely all season, you just took scenes that were supposed to show how disconnected Betty and Jughead were and turned them into the opposite of what you were being shown and told. Meanwhile the Jabi scenes were trivialized and to pile on that insidious racism so many BHers are unaware of, if the scenes between Jug and Tabi had happened between Jug and Betty you’d be loosing your shit and crying from the hill tops how cute it was and how much they were into each other and

true love. I hate to break it to you but Jabi has had more build up than any couple on the show. Tabi is Pop’s granddaughter for a reason, its not an accident she is related to the only person who has ALWAYS been good to Jug. Maybe deep down you BH stans know it and that’s why your so angry and deep in denial. For me personally a former Bughead stan, who was convinced they were endgame I don’t want it anymore. From my perspective too much has happened to walk them back now, better to let them both move on and be happy elsewhere.

Sorry for bringing this rant into your blog but I deleted mine a while back and I have read A LOT of nasty things about Tabitha, Jabitha and Erin and I needed to get it off my chest. If you made it to the end thanks💙

[kadeu]

THE DECK; OCTOBER 2024

Sweet breeze! Good riddance summer. Now, usually we adore the summer season, the fashion, the events, the lively shows and all the trouble the socialites get up to. And yes, the fashion was there but eyepatches in the heat are not ideal. Our beloved socialites flocked to the beach and we have enough tales of drunken debauchery yes, and even those who remained in the city with their enchanted blocks of ice and selective guest lists, we still have heard the deeds. But the heat, something about this summer’s heat, made it not as enjoyable.

Speaking of the beach, there is mourning up in the highranked hills of Diamonds. Once Kings, demoted in scandal to Jacks, the Sobongs have met rough waters while enjoying what was supposed to be a calming row out to sea in Umibe. Their staff reported that, “the once peaceful seas suddenly became enraged as if a Tempest beset it and pulled them under.” The Sobong fortune is now up in the air as the only true heir, their son Korain, has long been presumed dead. Korain's only heir is none other than Ace of Diamonds Moon Ara, but sources say the Sobong's will doesn't name their estranged granddaughter at all. 

It is rather fortunate though, inheriting a vast sum, especially when one half of the marital income pool couldn’t even afford box seats at the other’s place of employment. We wonder just how much money is in that estate. Enough to kill for? Only time will tell.

In Hearts, once jeweler to the elite facecards yet now blacklisted from those circles, Lee Hyeonju seems to be looking from Hearts for a way into Diamonds. Formerly disgraced now reinstated Academy Professor Parker Luke, seems to have accepted the advances of Hyeonju and has been spotted every night for two whole weeks within his apartment. Sources close to both men say that Hyeonju has been giving the professor the royal treatment in hopes he sponsors his defection!

Whispers throughout Heart society say that the Ace of Hearts, once an avid patron of Hyeonju’s has refused his service in lieu of newly popular Fae artisans. The Ace’s mood as of late is unreadable on that topic, but sources say Hyeonju has been barred from his presence and that has other highrankers and artisans have been following suit, preferring to not gain the Ace’s disfavor. This has lead to instability in Hyeonju’s prospects in Hearts. No wonder he is looking to flee to Diamonds. 

But he’s not the only one out of favor in Hearts. Ex-courtesan turned restaurant owner, Meesong Nari has been seen without her usual entourage of Zuihuo guards and attendants. Rumor has it she has been kicked from that mansion she was gifted and the Clan favor mark is gone from her arm. Not sure what she did to separate herself from that protection and comfort but we are sure all those bridges she burned ascending in the ranks will happily revisit her. They tell us as kids right? What goes up must come down. Watch your back Nari.

THE TENSION BETWEEN CLUBS AND SPADES;

Amidst the growing tensions between Clubs and Spades, Ace of Clubs Mallick Sai Shah,  held the opening for his Hunter’s Lair. It seems it was mostly a hit, with fights breaking out away from the venue, not in it! One club said, “it’s better to just enjoy things now than wait for whatever comes next,” and we’re considering stitching it on tunics and selling them as aid relief! Business owners suffering from Spade mandated ban through the Joker found it hard to mingle and feast while their own stores suffered. Worse, a gag order was in place against all negative comments on Spades. We sense a lot of fake smiles and grumblings over bread but can’t confirm as we were refused an exclusive invite to report the event!

Still, as an unbiased news source, we gladly accepted the request for a sit down with Ace Shah to address the actions taken in his faction. Our reporter braved the streets of Clubs to give a completely impartial interview. 

How has it been as an Ace? The jump from low ranker to sitting atop the faction must be hard.

Hard? Surprising and unexpected would be the words I would use to describe how this whole situation feels. I used to be a highranker after all and making my way up to even higher ranks before a tragedy struck me, was that an unknown fact?

But you’ve never been Ace? How is that jump?

No, never been. The title itself is not omnipotent, it has its limitations and brings forth unwanted attention that stands in the way of the current progress we wish to bring to the faction. But it's an important role even if only in word, one has to still use it respectably. But the short answer is the jump is still happening. Ask again in a few years when I've landed where it takes me.

How did you think of the Club council? Is it true you were inspired by the Diamond council?

I didn’t think of the Club council, it was a meeting of minds, I wouldn’t have been able to have any council at all if it was only my contribution going into the making of said council. While I have a deep respect for Diamonds and how they tend to go about their politics, I can’t say I was thinking about them when the idea came to be, I was more concerned on how it would affect Clubs in general and how it would be accepted within the faction. But I can now see why they have one, it has its benefits and I applaud them for having the idea to immediately instill it in their system.

How many people really support you as ex-resistance? Can we even believe you’ve left the criminal enterprise?

I can’t possibly begin to tell who truly supports me as ex-resistance or not, but so far I haven’t had anyone personally challenge me in the faction so in this case I think that means even through reticence people might just believe in the good I want for this faction. 

That’s definitely a tough one, all I can say is I was young, hurt and I made mistakes. If I can be forgiven for them then I will be happy, if not I will understand. However, to be judged for the mistakes of your pasts when you’ve recognized them and clearly show that you’ve completely turned away from them, that’s an unfortunate way to see the world or the people around us if you ask me. But yes, to your question, you can believe that I’ve left the criminal enterprise.

I suppose you maintain your innocence in the killing and raid on spade? If you didn’t do it then who is behind such a foul act?

I absolutely do, I had nothing to do with the unfortunate incident even if allegations brought forth the information that some key evidence might link me to it. My hands are clean and I can’t even begin to think of who would be behind this. But whoever it is, the council has decided to lead an investigation into the matter because it’s not just my name and reputation that is on the line, it is also the honor of this faction that will be yet again tarnished. If you find any more clues before we do, I’m certain you’ll pass the message to the rest of the city, won’t you?

Of course! So you suppose you are being framed? Why would anyone frame an already known murderer?

I don’t take lightly to being called a murderer, but if that’s a title I have to wear for ridding the faction of an Ace who cared none for the lives of the people he wanted to lead to an unending civil war and unrest, then there’s not much I can do about it. But yes, I’m being framed, because of the criminal enterprise’s affiliation I had in the past and the label of murderer I have on my back. I mean, wouldn’t you say it’s easier to believe that I would be the one behind someone’s death and demise considering those two demeaning factors? It’s even a little unfair to not see how blatantly obvious they went about it.

You must know, the Academy was attacked a few years ago with your resistance taking ownership. Were you not involved?

The resistance I was part of and that I do not own, you mean? I did hear of it when the incident occurred. I was not involved and I found it disheartening. I'm against attacking innocents and causing the loss of innocent lives.

We’ve heard that your people were harassing Spades in your faction? Our sources say, ‘Urine and feces were tossed on a patron in a popular tavern for saying ‘Spades should be respected.’ Should Spades not be respected?

I’ve had no time to hear these rumors but of course Spades should be respected. Everyone deserves respect for that matter, tossing urine and feces doesn’t seem like a respectful action taken either. But if this rumor is true I can simply apologize for the mistreatment and ask that less impulsive measures are taken in the future because, as you can see, I don’t have any means to control anyone to stop tragedies from occurring. If I did you wouldn’t be here as no shipment would have been ambushed and no lives would have been lost. Unfortunate, isn’t it?

This Ace of Clubs only brings more questions when questions are asked.  He made it clear to our interviewer that the resistance was a mistake he made in youth and he acknowledges them as all as criminals. He even seemed scared to admit the inspiration for the council he created in Clubs. Maybe those on his council are the real danger here. ‘A meeting of minds’ he claims, but it sounds more like he was coerced by darker agents. We’re certain this council is filled with the same resistance criminals he is trying so hard to claim he has separated himself from.

And yet he proclaims his innocence, insists he is being framed. In round about words he points to some conspiracy with no proof of innocence offered. And where is this council if they are unified in their ruling? Should they not have joined this interview to show their unified cause? The future of Clubs is bound to be as blood soaked under this Ace as the last. At least that Ace stood solidly on one point without a questionable background and motive. 

His unwillingness to out other vagrants that would no doubt bring that peace to the faction like he claims to want, make his alleged innocence and investigation a joke. Our own investigation finds King of Clubs, Wainwright Rook, with high suspicion for the fight that broke out in his tavern. There a Spade had feces and urine thrown on them which led to a brawl that left the very foundation of the tavern with a cracked that travelled up the building.  Yet Ace Shah acts ignorant of it. No wonder Spades must do their own investigation.

In Spades, they are increasing drills and the policing of their border. We wonder if an invasion will come soon. Whispers amongst their ranks lean to disdain for the Club Council. Refugees who chose to leave the safety of Spades were met at the border with medical personnel and fighters as if the Club Council thought that Spades were abusing those they rescued during the terror of the war between their last Ace and the new one and his resistance criminals. The council passing suspicion to Spades who have done more for their corner of the city is laughable.

Well, at least the weather is cooling down. Hopefully that eases some of the tensions. The weather is predicted to be far more comfortable though still a bit warmer for the season. We’re calling it a second attempt at summer.  

NOW PLAYING AT THE PALACE;

Fresh from the mind of director Ace Moon Ara, comes a gruesome tale of lost love and revenge. With intense, dark themes, The Palace recommends not bringing children to this production and reminds all of it’s patrons that the theater is NOT responsible for the adverse affects the production may have on younger minds or weak stomachs.

The Fiendish Barber of Kadeu

Evil Judge Turpin (Budrelda Beryl) lusts for the beautiful wife of a simple barber, Benjamin Barker (Adrian!). In order to claim the beautiful woman for herself, Turpin frames the barber, and has him transported to a far away prison for a crime he did not commit. Returning after 15 years and calling himself Sweeney Todd - the new name given to him by the fiend he managed to conscript, the now-mad man vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs. Lovett (played by Ara’s protégé from Wing Theatrics), who uses them in her meat-pie shop. Though many fall to his blade, he will not be satisfied until he slits Turpin's throat.

Its a wonderful start to the fall season, our reporters loved their screening but warn of its hauntingly good effects.

[michaelbogild]

Lines by Leonard Cohen

As someone long prepared for the occasion In full command of every plan you wrecked – Do not choose a coward’s explanation that hides behind the cause and the effect

And it's stronger than drink And it's deeper than sorrow This darkness she's left in my heart.

And I'll dance with you in Vienna I'll be wearing a river's disguise The hyacinth wild on my shoulder, My mouth on the dew of your thighs

He wants to write a love song An anthem of forgiving A manual for living With defeat

The birds they sang At the break of day Start again I heard them say Don't dwell on what Has passed away Or what is yet to be.

You never liked to get The letters that I sent. But now you've got the gist Of what my letters meant. You're reading them again, The ones you didn't burn. You press them to your lips, My pages of concern.

I caught the darkness It was drinking from your cup. I said: Is this contagious? You said: Just drink it up

Everybody talking to their pockets Everybody wants a box of chocolates And a long stem rose Everybody knows

A cross on every hill A star, a minaret So many graves to fill O love, aren't you tired yet?

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming Everybody knows that it's moving fast Everybody knows that the naked man and woman Are just a shining artifact of the past

Yeah I missed you since the place got wrecked By the winds of change and the weeds of sex looks like freedom but it feels like death it's something in between, I guess

I walked into this empty church I had no place else to go When the sweetest voice I ever heard, whispered to my soul

I heard the snake was baffled by his sin He shed his scales to find the snake within But born again is born without a skin The poison enters into everything

And summoned now to deal With your invincible defeat, You live your life as if it’s real, A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m slowing down the tune I never liked it fast You want to get there soon I want to get there last

When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant

Her thighs they slipped away from me Like schools of startled fish Though I've forgotten half my life I still remember this

And if no leaves were on the tree And no water in the sea And the break of day had nothing to reveal That's how broken I would be What my life would seem to me If I didn't have your love to make it real

And yes she lied about it all Her children and her husband You were born to judge the world Forgive me but I wasn't

O troubled dust concealing An undivided love The Heart beneath is teaching To the broken Heart above

The pull of the moon, the thrust of the sun And thus the ocean is crossed The waters are blessed while a shadowy guest Kindles a light for the lost

How come you called me here tonight? How come you bother With my heart at all? You raise me up in grace, Then you put me in a place, Where I must fall.

And everybody knows that it's now or never Everybody knows that it's me or you And everybody knows that you live forever Ah when you've done a line or two

It's coming like the tidal flood beneath the lunar sway, imperial, mysterious, in amorous array:

The lights went out behind us The fireflies undressed The broken sidewalk ended I touched her sleeping breasts They opened to me urgently Likelilies from the dead Behind a fine embroidery Her nipples rose like bread Then I took off my necktie And she took off her dress My belt and pistol set aside We tore away the rest

The Maestro says it's Mozart but it sounds like bubble gum when you're waiting for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

The sea so deep and blind The sun, the wild regret The club, the wheel, the mind, O love, aren't you tired yet?

The wounded forms appear: The loss, the full extent; And simple kindness here, The solitude of strength.

If the sun would lose its light And we lived in an endless night And there was nothing left that you could feel If the sea were sand alone And the flowers made of stone And no one that you hurt could ever heal Well that's how broken I would be What my life would seem to me If I didn't have your love to make it real

But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone I'll be speaking to you sweetly From a window in the Tower of Song

I said I’d be your lover. You laughed at what I said. I lost my job forever. I was counted with the dead.

It failed my little fire But it's bright the dying spark Go tell the young messiah What happens to the heart

Good night, good night, my fallen star I guess you're right, you always are I know you're right about the blues You live some life you'd never choose

looks like freedom but it feels like death it's something in between, I guess

I've seen you change the water into wine I've seen you change it back to water, too I sit at your table every night I try but I just don't get high with you

The present's not that pleasant Just a lot of things to do I thought the past would last me But the darkness got that too

The splinters that you carry The cross you left behind Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind

I wish there was a treaty we could sign I do not care who takes this bloody hill I'm angry and I'm tired all the time I wish there was a treaty, I wish there was a treaty Between your love and mine

I’m lacing up my shoe But I don’t want to run I’ll get here when I do Don’t need no starting gun

Thanks For The Dance

Ah, they're dancing in the street — it's Jubilee We sold ourselves for love but now we're free I'm so sorry for that ghost I made you be Only one of us was real and that was me

And I'm still working with the wine, still dancing cheek to cheek, the band is playing Auld Lang Syne, but the heart will not retreat.

And maybe I had miles to drive, And promises to keep: You ditch it all to stay alive, A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Baby don’t ignore me We were smokers we were friends Forget that tired story Of betrayal and revenge

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all I'm standing by the window where the light is strong Ah they don't let a woman kill you Not in the Tower of Song

Show me the place, help me roll away the stone Show me the place, I can't move this thing alone Show me the place where the word became a man Show me the place where the suffering began

And you're weak and you're harmless and you're sleeping in your harness and the wind going wild in the trees, and it ain't exactly prison but you'll never be forgiven for whatever you've done with the keys.

Steer your heart past the Truth that you believed in yesterday Such as Fundamental Goodness and the Wisdom of the Way Steer your heart, precious heart, past the women whom you bought Year by year, month by month, day by day Thought by thought

Word of words and measure of all measures Blessed is the name, the name be blessed Written on my heart in burning letters That’s all I know, I cannot read the rest

And O my love, I still recall The pleasures that we knew; The rivers and the waterfall, Wherein I bathed with you.

You said how could this happen You said how can this be The chains are gone from heaven The storms are wild and free

I cried for you this morning And I’ll cry for you again But I’m not in charge of sorrow So please don’t ask me when

Both of us say there are laws to obey But frankly I don’t like your tone You want to change the way I make love I want to leave it alone

Behold the gates of mercy In arbitrary space And none of us deserving The cruelty or the grace

Then I came back from where I’d been. My room, it looked the same – But there was nothing left between The Nameless and the Name.

O longing of the branches To lift the little bud O longing of the arteries To purify the blood

I to my side call the meek and the mild You to your side call the Word By virtue of suffering I claim to have won You claim to have never been heard

I know I said I’d meet you, I’d meet you at the store, But I can’t buy it, baby. I can’t buy it anymore.

I was idle with my soul, when I heard that you could use me I followed very closely, but my life remained the same But then you showed me where you had been wounded In every atom broken is the Name

I fled to the edge of the mighty sea of sorrow Pursued by the riders of a cruel and dark regime But the waters parted and my soul crossed over Out of Egypt, out of Pharaoh’s dream

They whisper still, the injured stones The blunted mountains weep As he died to make men holy Let us die to make things cheap

Sounded like the truth Seemed the better way Sounded like the truth But it's not the truth today

Hurt once and for all into silence. A long pain ending without a song to prove it. Who could stand beside you so close to Eden, When you glinted in every eye the held-high razor, shivering every ram and son?

Sleep baby sleep The day’s on the run The wind in the trees Is talking in tongues

And I loved you when our love was blessed and I love you now there's nothing left

There's silt on your ankles and sand on your feet The river too shallow, the ocean too deep You smile at your suffering, the sweetest reprieve Why did you leave us, why did you leave

I saw some people starving There was murder, there was rape Their villages were burning They were trying to escape I couldn't meet their glances I was staring at my shoes It was acid, it was tragic It was almost like the blues

If you want a partner Take my hand Or if you want to strike me down in anger Here I stand, I'm your man

Ah I don't believe you'd like it, You wouldn't like it here. There ain't no entertainment and the judgements are severe.

The opposites falter, the spirals reverse And Eve must re-enter the sleep of her birth

I don't need to be forgiven for loving you so much It's written in the scriptures It's written there in blood I even heard the angels declare it from above

Sometimes I’d head for the highway I’m old and the mirrors don’t lie But crazy has places to hide in That are deeper than any goodbye

If you want a boxer I will step into the ring for you And if you want a doctor I'll examine every inch of you

Yeah we're drinking and we're dancing but there's nothing really happening and the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night And my very close companion gets me fumbling gets me laughing she's a hundred but she's wearing something tight and I lift my glass to the Awful Truth which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth except to say it isn't worth a dime And the whole damn place goes crazy twice and it's once for the devil and once for Christ but the Boss don't like these dizzy heights we're busted in the blinding lights, busted in the blinding lights of CLOSING TIME

I want him to be certain That he doesn't have a burden That he doesn't need a vision That he only has permission To do my instant bidding which is to Say what I have told him to repeat

Though I take my song From a withered limb, Both song and tree, They sing for him.

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking Everybody knows that the captain lied Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died

Ditched on a beach Where the sea hates to go With a child in my arms And a chill in my soul And my heart the shape Of a begging bowl

And she says, Drink deeply, pilgrim but don't forget there's still a woman beneath this resplendent chemise.

You don't need a lawyer I'm not making a claim You don't need to surrender I'm not taking aim I don't need a lover, no, no The wretched beast is tame I don't need a lover So blow out the flame

O gather up the brokenness And bring it to me now The fragrance of those promises You never dared to vow

And I don’t really know who sent me, To raise my voice and say: May the lights in The Land of Plenty Shine on the truth some day.

There's a bar where the boys have stopped talking They've been sentenced to death by the blues

I know the burden’s heavy As you wheel it through the night Some people say it’s empty But that don’t mean it’s light

Ten New Songs

I better hold my tongue I better take my place Lift this glass of blood Try to say the grace

You came to me this morning and you handled me like meat. You’d have to be a man to know how good that feels, how sweet.

A sip of wine, a cigarette, And then it’s time to go. I tidied up the kitchenette; I tuned the old banjo. I’m wanted at the traffic-jam. They’re saving me a seat. I’m what I am, and what I am, Is back on Boogie Street.

Down in the valley the famine goes on The famine up on the hill I say that you shouldn’t, you couldn’t, you can’t You say that you must and you will

So we struggle and we stagger down the snakes and up the ladder to the tower where the blessed hours chime and I swear it happened just like this: a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss the Gates of Love they budged an inch I can't say much has happened since

And I'll bury my soul in a scrapbook, With the photographs there, and the moss And I'll yield to the flood of your beauty My cheap violin and my cross

Then she dances so graceful and your heart's hard and hateful and she's naked but that's just a tease. And you turn in disgust from your hatred and from your love and comes to you light as the breeze.

I see the Ghost of Culture With numbers on his wrist Salute some new conclusion Which all of us have missed

I tried to love you my way, But I couldn’t make it hold. So I closed the Book of Longing And I do what I am told.

And up through the system the worlds are withdrawn From every dominion the mind stood upon And now that it's over and now that it's done The name has no number, not even the one

You got me singing Like a prisoner in a jail You got me singing Like my pardon's in the mail

You can add up the parts But you won't have the sum You can strike up the march, There is no drum Every heart, every heart To love will come But like a refugee.

Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes And everybody knows

It's coming from the sorrow in the street, the holy places where the races meet; from the homicidal bitchin' that goes down in every kitchen to determine who will serve and who will eat. From the wells of disappointment where the women kneel to pray for the grace of God in the desert here and the desert far away:

Even though she sleeps upon your satin Even though she wakes you with a kiss Do not say the moment was imagined Do not stoop to strategies like this

I smile when I'm angry I cheat and I lie I do what I have to do To get by But I know what is wrong And I know what is right And I'd die for the truth In My Secret Life

I loved you for your beauty but that doesn't make a fool of me: you were in it for your beauty too and I loved you for your body there's a voice that sounds like God to me declaring, declaring, declaring that your body's really you

O baby I waited so long for your kiss for something to happen, oh something like this.

O let the heavens falter And let the earth proclaim: Come healing of the Altar Come healing of the Name

If you're squeezed for information, that's when you've got to play it dumb: You just say you're out there waiting for the miracle, for the miracle to come.

You put on a uniform To fight the Civil War You looked so good I didn’t care What side you’re fighting for

Did you confuse the Messiah in a mirror and rest because he had finally come? Let me cry Help beside you, Teacher.

It's coming to America first, the cradle of the best and of the worst. It's here they got the range and the machinery for change and it's here they got the spiritual thirst. It's here the family's broken and it's here the lonely say that the heart has got to open in a fundamental way:

I said to Hank Williams: how lonely does it get? Hank Williams hasn't answered yet But I hear him coughing all night long A hundred floors above me In the Tower of Song

Sail on, sail on O mighty Ship of State! To the Shores of Need Past the Reefs of Greed Through the Squalls of Hate Sail on, sail on

Ah the wars they will Be fought again The holy dove She will be caught again Bought and sold And bought again The dove is never free.

I should have seen it coming It was right behind your eyes You were young and it was summer I just had to take a dive Winning you was easy But darkness was the prize

The party’s over But I’ve landed on my feet I’ll be standing on this corner Where there used to be a street

I know you had to lie to me, I know you had to cheat, to pose all hot and high behind the veils of shear deceit, our perfect porn aristocrat so elegant and cheap, I’m old but I’m still into that, A thousand kisses deep.

It’s not a trick, your senses all deceiving A fitful dream, the morning will exhaust – Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost

If you want a lover I'll do anything you ask me to And if you want another kind of love I'll wear a mask for you

It's dark now and it's snowing O my love I must be going, The river has started to freeze. And I'm sick of pretending I'm broken from bending I've lived too long on my knees.

Well I don't know about tomorrow but I know what's coming next I've used up all my questions; I have no answers left

As for the world the job the war I ditched them all to love you more

The story's been written the letter's been sealed You gave me a lily but now it's a field

Your story was so long, The plot was so intense, It took you years to cross The lines of self-defense.

And soon there's sand in every kiss And soon the dawn is ready And soon the night surrenders To a daffodil machete

Waiting for the miracle There's nothing left to do. I haven't been this happy since the end of World War II.

The troubles came I saved what I could save A thread of light, a particle, a wave But there were chains, so I hastened to behave There were chains, so I loved you like a slave

his waltz With its very own breath of brandy and Death Dragging its tail in the sea

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom For trying to change the system from within I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

They oughta give my heart a medal For letting go of you When I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too

Had to go crazy to love you You who were never the one Whom I chased through the souvenir heartache Her braids and her blouse all undone

Well the mouse ate the crumb Then the cat ate the crust Now they’ve fallen in love They’re talking in tongues

There’s other ways to answer That certainly is true Me, I’m blind with death and anger And that’s no place for you

I'm guided by a signal in the heavens I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons

I was fighting with temptation But I didn't want to win A man like me don't like to see Temptation caving in

I know that I’m forgiven, But I don’t know how I know I don’t trust my inner feelings – Inner feelings come and go.

And sometimes when the night is slow, The wretched and the meek, We gather up our hearts and go, A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I dreamed about you, baby. It was just the other night. Most of you was naked Ah but some of you was light.

I don’t know why I come here, knowing as I do, what you really think of me, what I really think of you.

Had to go crazy to love you Had to let everything fall Had to be people I hated Had to be no one at all

I used to love the rainbow And I used to love the view I loved the early morning I'd pretend that it was new But I caught the darkness baby And I got it worse than you

Traveling light It's au revoir My once so bright, my fallen star I'm running late, they'll close the bar I used to play one mean guitar

I dreamed about you baby You were wearing half your dress I know you have to hate me But could you hate me less?

The night of Santiago And I was passing through So I took her to the river As any man would do

Let's keep it on the level When I walked away from you I turned my back on the devil Turned my back on the angel too

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed, I’m back on Boogie Street. You lose your grip, and then you slip Into the Masterpiece.

So we'll go no more a-roving So late into the night, Though the heart be still as loving, And the moon be still as bright. For the sword outwears its sheath, And the soul outwears the breast, And the heart must pause to breathe, And love itself have rest.

You got me singing Even tho' it all looks grim You got me singing The Hallelujah hymn

I'm aching for you baby I can't pretend I'm not I need to see you naked In your body and your thought

If your heart is torn I don’t wonder why If the night is long Here’s my lullaby

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean I love the country but I can't stand the scene. And I'm neither left or right I'm just staying home tonight, getting lost in that hopeless little screen.

Now in Vienna there's ten pretty women There's a shoulder where Death comes to cry There's a lobby with nine hundred windows There's a tree where the doves go to die There's a piece that was torn from the morning And it hangs in the Gallery of Frost

Oh I want you, I want you, I want you On a chair with a dead magazine In the cave at the tip of the lily In some hallways where love's never been On a bed where the moon has been sweating In a cry filled with footsteps and sand

And everybody knows that you're in trouble Everybody knows what you've been through From the bloody cross on top of Calvary To the beach of Malibu

Ah you drift into my dreams as if you had the right And you show me how you broke me doing all the little things I really like

I gave her something pretty And I waited till she laughed I wasn't born a gypsy To make a woman sad

There is no God in Heaven And there is no Hell below So says the great professor Of all there is to know But I've had the invitation That a sinner can't refuse And it's almost like salvation It's almost like the blues

The war was lost The treaty signed I was not caught I crossed the line, I had to leave My life behind I dug some graves You'll never findI was not caught Though many tried I live among you Well disguised

Now I'm living in this temple Where they tell you what to do I'm old and I've had to settle On a different point of view

Too late to fix another drink – The lights are going out – I’ll listen to the darkness sing – I know what that’s about.

I loved you when you opened like a lily to the heat, you see I’m just another snowman standing in the rain and sleet, who loved you with his frozen love, his second hand physique, with all he is, and all he was, A thousand kisses deep.

And death is old But it's always new I freeze with fear And I'm there for you

I don't smoke no cigarette I don't drink no alcohol I ain't had much loving yet But that's always been your call Hey I don't miss it baby I got no taste for anything at all

I’ll try to say a little more: Love went on and on Until it reached an open door – Then Love Itself Love Itself was gone.

I said there'd been a flood. I said there's nothing left. I hoped that you would come. I gave you my address.

So I let my heart get frozen To keep away the rot My father says I'm chosen My mother says I'm not

O Crown of Light, O Darkened One, I never thought we’d meet. You kiss my lips, and then it’s done: I’m back on Boogie Street.

Ah, the moon's too bright The chain's too tight The beast won't go to sleep

And he cut my lip And he cut my heart. So I could not drink From the river dark.

O solitude of longing Where love has been confined Come healing of the body Come healing of the mind

My mirrored twin, my next of kin, I’d know you in my sleep and who but you would take me in, a thousand kisses deep.

Suddenly the night has grown colder The god of love preparing to depart Alexandra hoisted on his shoulder They slip between the sentries of the heart

But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags that Time cannot decay, I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet

The autumn moved across your skin, got something in my eye, a light that doesn’t need to live, and doesn’t need to die. A riddle in the book of love, obscure and obsolete, till witnessed here in time and blood, A thousand kisses deep.

There's nobody missing There is no reward Little by little We're cutting the cord We're spending the treasure, oh, no, no That love cannot afford I know you can feel it The sweetness restored

The ponies run, the girls are young, The odds are there to beat. You win a while, and then it’s done – Your little winning streak.

I like to take my time I like to linger as it flies A weekend on your lips A lifetime in your eyes

Then he struck my heart With a deadly force, And he said, ‘This heart: It is not yours.’

Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you've been faithful Ah give or take a night or two

Steer your way past the ruins of the Altar and the Mall Steer your way through the fables of Creation and The Fall Steer your way past the Palaces that rise above the rot Year by year, month by month, day by day Thought by thought

Your crazy fragrance all around Your secrets in my view My lost, my lost was saying found My don't was saying do

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack a crack in everything That's how the light gets in.

Steer your way through the pain that is far more real than you That's smashed the Cosmic Model, that blinded every view And please don't make me go there, though there be a God or not Year by year, month by month, day by day Thought by thought

You sent me here You sent me there Breaking things I can't repair Making objects Out of thoughts Making more By thinking not

And you who were bewildered by a meaning Whose code was broken, crucifix uncrossed – Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost

I see you standing on the other side I don't know how the river got so wide I loved you baby, way back when And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed But I feel so close to everything that we lost We'll never, we'll never have to lose it again

If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame You want it darker We kill the flame

I used to be your favorite drunk Good for one more laugh Then we both ran out of luck Luck was all we ever had

There'll be the breaking of the ancient Western code Your private life will suddenly explode There'll be phantoms There'll be fires on the road And the white man dancing You'll see your woman Hanging upside down Her features covered by her fallen gown And all the lousy little poets Coming round Tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson

Confined to sex, we pressed against The limits of the sea: I saw there were no oceans left For scavengers like me.

I was born like this, I had no choice I was born with the gift of a golden voice And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond They tied me to this table right here In the Tower of Song

I’m naked and I’m filthy And both of us are guilty

the fiddler fiddles something so sublime all the women tear their blouses off and the men they dance on the polka-dots and it's partner found, it's partner lost and it's hell to pay when the fiddler stops

I've seen the future, brother: It is murder

Who broke the heart and made it new? Who's moving on, who's kiddin' who?

So I knelt there at the delta, at the alpha and the omega, at the cradle of the river and the seas. And like a blessing come from heaven for something like a second I was healed and my heart was at ease.

And there's a mighty judgment coming, but I may be wrong You see, you hear these funny voices In the Tower of Song

Upheld by the simplicities of pleasure They gain the light, they formlessly entwine And radiant beyond your widest measure They fall among the voices and the wine

When you've fallen on the highway and you're lying in the rain, and they ask you how you're doing of course you'll say you can't complain

You always said we’re equal So let me march with you Just an extra in the sequel To the old red white and blue

She stands before you naked you can see it, you can taste it, and she comes to you light as the breeze. Now you can drink it or you can nurse it, it don't matter how you worship as long as you're down on your knees.

By the rivers dark I wandered on. I lived my life in Babylon. And I did forget My holy song: And I had no strength In Babylon.

All your moves are swift All your turns are tight Let me catch my breath I thought we had all night

Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. It's coming through a crack in the wall; on a visionary flood of alcohol; from the staggering account of the Sermon on the Mount which I don't pretend to understand at all. It's coming from the silence on the dock of the bay, from the brave, the bold, the battered heart of Chevrolet: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

And let the heavens hear it The penitential hymn Come healing of the spirit Come healing of the limb

There's a lover in the story But the story's still the same There's a lullaby for suffering And a paradox to blame But it's written in the scriptures And it's not some idle claim You want it darker We kill the flame

I was alone on the road, your love was so confusing And all my teachers told me that I had myself to blame But in the grip of sensual illusion A sweet unknowing unified the name

Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name Vilified, crucified, in the human frame A million candles burning for the help that never came

They're lining up the prisoners And the guards are taking aim I struggled with some demons They were middle class and tame I didn't know I had permission to murder and to maim

So come, my friends, be not afraid. We are so lightly here. It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear.

I see my life In full review It was never me It was always you

We'll be going down so deep the river's going to weep, and the mountain's going to shout Amen!

Show me the place where my head is bendin' low Show me the place where you want your slave to go

I’m tired of choosing desire I been saved by a blessed fatigue The gates of commitment unwired And nobody trying to leave

Yeah my friends are gone and my hair is grey I ache in the places where I used to play And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on I'm just paying my rent every day Oh in the Tower of Song

There's an attic where children are playing Where I've got to lie down with you soon In a dream of Hungarian lanterns In the mist of some sweet afternoon And I'll see what you've chained to your sorrow All your sheep and your lilies of snow

We find ourselves on different sides Of a line nobody drew Though it all may be one in the higher eye Down here where we live it is two

I've seen the nations rise and fall I've heard their stories, heard them all But love's the only engine of survival Your servant here, he has been told To say it clear, to say it cold: It's over, it ain't going Any further And now the wheels of heaven stop You feel the devil's riding crop Get ready for the future: It is murder

I've heard the soul unfolds in the chambers of its longing And the bitter liquor sweetens in the hammered cup Ah but all the ladders of the night have fallen Just darkness now, to lift the longing up

Why don’t you come on back to the war, that’s right, get in it, why don’t you come on back to the war, it’s just beginning.

If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.

An Eskimo showed me a movie he’d recently taken of you: the poor man could hardly stop shivering, his lips and his fingers were blue. I suppose that he froze when the wind took your clothes and I guess he just never got warm. But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice, oh please let me come into the storm.

I loved your master perfectly I taught him all that he knew. He was starving in some deep mystery like a man who is sure what is true.

I have begun to long for you, I who have no greed; I have begun to ask for you, I who have no need. You say you’ve gone away from me, but I can feel you when you breathe.

Hungry as an archway through which the troops have passed, I stand in ruins behind you, with your winter clothes, your broken sandal straps.

Well, you tell me that your lover has a broken limb, you say you’re kind of restless now and it’s on account of him.

Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon Show me slowly what I only know the limits of Dance me to the end of love

I tried to leave you, I don’t deny I closed the book on us, at least a hundred times.

And I can’t wait to tell you to your face And I can’t wait for you to take my place You are The Naked Angel In My Heart You are The Woman With Her Legs Apart It’s written on the walls of this hotel You go to heaven once you’ve been to hell

Then let the other selves be wrong, yeah, let them manifest and come till every taste is on the tongue, till love is pierced and love is hung, and every kind of freedom done

O come with me my little one, we will find that farm and grow us grass and apples there and keep all the animals warm. And if by chance I wake at night and I ask you who I am, O take me to the slaughterhouse, I will wait there with the lamb.

Ah they’re shutting down the factory now Just when all the bills are due And the fields they’re under lock and key Tho’ the rain and the sun come through And springtime starts but then it stops In the name of something new And all the senses rise against this Coming back to you

Like a baby, stillborn, like a beast with his horn I have torn everyone who reached out for me.

We met when we were almost young deep in the green lilac park. You held on to me like I was a crucifix, as we went kneeling through the dark.

And there are no letters in the mailbox, and there are no grapes upon the vine, and there are no chocolates in the boxes anymore, and there are no diamonds in the mine.

I cried, “Oh, Lady Midnight, I fear that you grow old, the stars eat your body and the wind makes you cold

So daily I renew my idle duty I touch her here and there – I know my place I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty and people call me traitor to my face

But my darling says “Leonard, just let it go by That old silhouette on the great western sky” So I pick out a tune and they move right along and they’re gone like the smoke and they’re gone like this song

And why are you so quiet now standing there in the doorway? You chose your journey long before you came upon this highway.

But I swear by this song and by all that I have done wrong I will make it all up to thee.

It was deep into his fiery heart he took the dust of Joan of Arc, and then she clearly understood if he was fire, oh then she must be wood.

And Jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said “All men will be sailors then Until the sea shall free them” But he himself was broken Long before the sky would open Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone And you want to travel with him And you want to travel blind And you think maybe you’ll trust him For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind.

Your master took you travelling, well at least that’s what you said. And now do you come back to bring your prisoner wine and bread?

Your pain is no credential here, it’s just the shadow, shadow of my wound.

And here where there is no description Oh here in the moment at hand No sinner need rise up forgiven No victim need limp to the stand

I met a woman long ago her hair the black that black can go, Are you a teacher of the heart? Soft she answered no. I met a girl across the sea, her hair the gold that gold can be, Are you a teacher of the heart? Yes, but not for thee.

Oh bless thee continuous stutter Of the word being made into flesh

The cripple here that you clothe and feed is neither starved nor cold; he does not ask for your company, not at the centre, the centre of the world.

Yes, you who are broken by power, you who are absent all day, you who are kings for the sake of your children’s story, the hand of your beggar is burdened down with money, the hand of your lover is clay.

the patron Saint of envy and the grocer of despair

She used to wear her hair like you except when she was sleeping, and then she’d weave it on a loom of smoke and gold and breathing.

And may the spirit of this song, may it rise up pure and free. May it be a shield for you, a shield against the enemy.

And deep into his fiery heart he took the dust of Joan of Arc, and high above the wedding guests he hung the ashes of her wedding dress.

to wear upon my swollen appetite.“ Well, I’m glad to hear you talk this way, you know I’ve watched you riding every day and something in me yearns to win such a cold and lonesome heroine.

Come over to the window, my little darling, I’d like to try to read your palm. I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy before I let you take me home.

Then I took the dust of a long sleepless night and I put it in your little shoe. And then I confess that I tortured the dress that you wore for the world to look through.

And the light came from her body And the night went through her grace All summer long she touched me And I knew her, I knew her Face to face

Let’s meet tomorrow if you choose Upon the shore, beneath the bridge That they are building on some endless river

And I’ve read the Bill of Human Rights And some of it was true But there wasn’t any burden left So I’m laying it on you.”

I listened to your kisses at the door I never heard the world so clear before You ran your bath and you began to sing I felt so good I couldn’t feel a thing

Like a worm on a hook, like a knight from some old fashioned book I have saved all my ribbons for thee.

Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc as she came riding through the dark; no moon to keep her armour bright, no man to get her through this very smoky night.

And we read from pleasant Bibles that are bound in blood and skin That the wilderness is gathering All its children back again

And now this woman by your side, well, she’s asleep And there’s nothing you can give her and there’s nothing you want to keep

Just take this longing from my tongue all the lonely things my hands have done. Let me see your beauty broken down like you would do for one your love.

And she shows you where to look Among the garbage and the flowers There are heroes in the seaweed There are children in the morning They are leaning out for love And they will lean that way forever While Suzanne holds the mirror

Ah but if you cannot raise your love To a very high degree, Then you’re just the man I’ve been thinking of – So come and stand with me.

You who wish to conquer pain, you must learn, learn to serve me well.

Why don’t you try to do without him? Why don’t you try to live alone? Do you really need his hands for your passion? Do you really need his heart for your throne?

I left a wife in Tennessee And a baby in Saigon – I risked my life, but not to hear Some country-western song.

I did my best, it wasn’t much I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you And even though it all went wrong I’ll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Oh take this longing from my tongue, all the useless things my hands have done, untie for me your hired blue gown, like you would do for one that you love.

I heard of a saint who had loved you, so I studied all night in his school. He taught that the duty of lovers is to tarnish the golden rule. And just when I was sure that his teachings were pure he drowned himself in the pool. His body is gone but back here on the lawn his spirit continues to drool.

It’s like our visit to the moon or to that other star I guess you go for nothing if you really want to go that far.

Well I’ve been where you’re hanging, I think I can see how you’re pinned: When you’re not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you’ve sinned.

I lit a thin green candle, to make you jealous of me. But the room just filled up with mosquitos, they heard that my body was free.

Too early for the rainbow, too early for the dove These are the final days, this is the darkness, this is the flood And there is no man or woman can be touched But you who come between them will be judged

He tried to make a final stand beside the railway track She said, “The art of longing’s over and it’s never coming back.”

The judges said you missed it by a fraction rise up and brace your troops for the attack Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action Oh see the men of action falling back

Now the crickets are singing The vesper bells ringing The cat’s curled asleep in his chair I’ll go down to Bill’s Bar I can make it that far And I’ll see if my friends are still there Yes, and here’s to the few Who forgive what you do And the fewer who don’t even care And the night comes on It’s very calm I want to cross over, I want to go home But she says, Go back, go back to the World

Those who dance, begin to dance Those who weep begin Those who earnestly are lost Are lost and lost again

I asked my father, I said, “Father change my name.” The one I’m using now it’s covered up with fear and filth and cowardice and shame.

Even in your arms I know I’ll never get it right Even when you bend to give me Comfort in the night

And the last time that I saw her she was living with some boy who gives her soul an empty room and gives her body joy.

Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne, and she cut your hair And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Ah, there is no comfort in the covens of the witch, some very clever doctor went and sterilized the bitch, and the only man of energy, yes the revolution’s pride, he trained a hundred women just to kill an unborn child.

Oh, your chains are too dark For the seas you must swim You are smiling at the seaweed But your smile is too grim

And I thank you, I thank you for doing your duty, you keepers of truth, you guardians of beauty. Your vision is right, my vision is wrong, I’m sorry for smudging the air with my song.

But here, right here, between the birthmark and the stain, between the ocean and your open vein, between the snowman and the rain, once again, once again, love calls you by your name.

For now I need your hidden love. I’m cold as a new razor blade. You left when I told you I was curious, I never said that I was brave.

Your letters they all say that you’re beside me now. Then why do I feel alone? I’m standing on a ledge and your fine spider web is fastening my ankle to a stone.

I leave the lady meditating on the very love which I, I do not wish to claim, I journey down the hundred steps, but the street is still the very same.

And I sing this for the captain Whose ship has not been built For the mother in confusion Her cradle still unfilled

Well, I argued all night like so many have before, saying, “Whatever you give me, I seem to need so much more.” Then she pointed at me where I kneeled on her floor, she said, “Don’t try to use me or slyly refuse me, just win me or lose me, it is this that the darkness is for.”

Some girls wander by mistake into the mess that scalpels make. Are you the teachers of my heart? We teach old hearts to break.

And now the infant with his cord is hauled in like a kite, and one eye filled with blueprints, one eye filled with night.

I believe that you heard your master sing when I was sick in bed. I suppose that he told you everything that I keep locked away in my head.

Do you remember all of those pledges That we pledged in the passionate night Ah they’re soiled now, they’re torn at the edges Like moths on a still yellow light No penance serves to renew them No massive transfusions of trust Why not even revenge can undo them So twisted these vows and so crushed

I am the distance you put between all of the moments that we will be.

I choose the rooms that I live in with care, the windows are small and the walls almost bare, there’s only one bed and there’s only one prayer; I listen all night for your step on the stair.

And now I hear your master sing, you kneel for him to come. His body is a golden string that your body is hanging from.

Through windows in the dark The children come, the children go Like arrows with no targets Like shackles made of snow

Like any dealer he was watching for the card That is so high and wild He’ll never need to deal another He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

Where are you, Judy, where are you, Anne? Where are the paths your heroes came? Wondering out loud as the bandage pulls away, was I, was I only limping, was I really lame?

And it’s time for the burden it’s time for the whip Will she walk through the flame Can he shoot from the hip

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don’t really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah

But you’ve used up all your coupons except the one that seems to be written on your wrist along with several thousand dreams.

Maybe I’m still hurting I can’t turn the other cheek But you know that I still love you It’s just that I can’t speak I looked for you in everyone And they called me on that too I lived alone but I was only Coming back to you

And they’re handing down my sentence now And I know what I must do Another mile of silence while I’m Coming back to you

The door is open, you can’t close your shelter You try the handle of the road It opens, do not be afraid It’s you my love, you who are the stranger

I’m on the side that’s always lost Against the side of Heaven I’m on the side of Snake-eyes tossed Against the side of Seven.

But you lost them in your freedom And you need him now, you’re wild Blessed is the memory Of everybody’s child

Then fire, make your body cold, I’m going to give you mine to hold,“ saying this she climbed inside to be his one, to be his only bride.

Now the clasp of this union who fastens it tight? Who snaps it asunder the very next night Some say the rider Some say the mare Or that love’s like the smoke beyond all repair

With one hand on the hexagram and one hand on the girl I balance on a wishing well that all men call the world.

As a falling leaf may rest A moment on the air So your head upon my breast So my hand upon your hair

I’m not asking for mercy Not from the man You just don’t ask for mercy While you’re still on the stand

And many nights endure Without a moon or star So we will endure When one is gone and far

And then leaning on your window sill He’ll say one day you caused his will To weaken with your love and warmth and shelter

The rain falls down on last year’s man An hour has gone by And he has not moved his hand But everything will happen if he only gives the word The lovers will rise up And the mountains touch the ground But the skylight is like skin for a drum I’ll never mend And all the rain falls down amen On the works of last year’s man

You’re faithful to the better man, I’m afraid that he left. So let me judge your love affair in this very room where I have sentenced mine to death.

If I, if I have been untrue I hope you know it was never to you.

Then I saw you naked in the early dawn, oh, I hoped you would be someone new. I reached for you but you were gone, so lady I’m going too.

And there’s nothing to follow There’s nowhere to go She’s gone like the summer gone like the snow

That’s all I can say, baby That’s all I can say It wasn’t for nothing That they put me away I fell with my angel Down the chain of command There’s a Law, there’s an Arm, there’s a Hand

Lost in the rages of fragrance Lost in the rags of remorse Lost in the waves of a sickness That loosens the high silver nerves

When I am on a pedestal, you did not raise me there. Your laws do not compel me to kneel grotesque and bare. I myself am the pedestal for this ugly hump at which you stare

We are so small between the stars, so large against the sky, and lost among the subway crowds I try to catch your eye.

You met him at some temple, where they take your clothes at the door. He was just a numberless man in a chair who’d just come back from the war.

And when we fell together all our flesh was like a veil That I had to draw aside to see The serpent eat its tail

Some women wait for Jesus, and some women wait for Cain So I hang upon my altar And I hoist my axe again And I take the one who finds me back to where it all began When Jesus was the honeymoon And Cain was just the man

But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still My falsity had stung me like a hornet The poison sank and it paralysed my will

in city and in forest they smiled like me and you, but now it’s come to distances and both of us must try, your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye.

Now my heart’s like a blister From doing what I do If the moon has a sister It’s got to be you

And where, where, where is my Gypsy wife tonight I’ve heard all the wild reports, they can’t be right But whose head is this she’s dancing with on the threshing floor Whose darkness deepens in her arms a little more

Do you want to be the ditch around a tower? Do you want to be the moonlight in his cave? Do you want to give your blessing to his power as he goes whistling past his daddy, past his daddy’s grave

If it be your will That a voice be true From this broken hill I will sing to you From this broken hill All your praises they shall ring If it be your will To let me sing

The age of lust is giving birth, and both the parents ask the nurse to tell them fairy tales on both sides of the glass.

But let me ask you one more time, O children of the dusk, All these hunters who are shrieking now oh do they speak for us?

And the vow of compassion That you swore through your teeth When the war began to end And the photographs weep

Goodnight, my darling, I hope you’re satisfied, the bed is kind of narrow, but my arms are open wide. And here’s a man still working for your smile.

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control. It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.

I’m not looking for another as I wander in my time, walk me to the corner, our steps will always rhyme you know my love goes with you as your love stays with me, it’s just the way it changes, like the shoreline and the sea, but let’s not talk of love or chains and things we can’t untie, your eyes are soft with sorrow, Hey, that’s no way to say goodbye.

Do not dress in those rags for me, I know you are not poor; you don’t love me quite so fiercely now when you know that you are not sure, it is your turn, beloved, it is your flesh that I wear.

A war between the odd and the even.

Well I stepped into an avalanche, it covered up my soul; when I am not this hunchback that you see, I sleep beneath the golden hill.

And here, right here, between the dancer and his cane, between the sailboat and the drain, between the newsreel and your tiny pain, once again, once again, love calls you by your name.

I changed my style to silver I changed my clothes to black And where I would surrender Ah now I would attack

She said, "I’m tired of the war, I want the kind of work I had before, a wedding dress or something white to wear upon my swollen appetite.”

Then lay your rose on the fire The fire give up to the sun The sun give over to splendour In the arms of the high holy one

And draw us near And bind us tight All your children here In their rags of light In our rags of light All dressed to kill And end this night If it be your will

I met a man who lost his mind in some lost place I had to find, follow me the wise man said, but he walked behind.

I asked her to hold me, I said, “Lady, unfold me,” but she scorned me and she told me I was dead and I could never return.

Well I lived with a child of snow when I was a soldier, and I fought every man for her until the nights grew colder.

Into this furnace I ask you now to venture…

She took his tavern parliament, his cap, his cocky dance, she mocked his female fashions and his working-class moustache.

Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free.

She took his much admired oriental frame of mind and the heart-of-darkness alibi his money hides behind She took his blonde madonna and his monastery wine – “This mental space is occupied and everything is mine.”

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river You can hear the boats go by You can spend the night beside her And you know that she’s half crazy But that’s why you want to be there And she feeds you tea and oranges That come all the way from China And just when you mean to tell her That you have no love to give her Then she gets you on her wavelength And she lets the river answer That you’ve always been her lover And you want to travel with her And you want to travel blind And you know that she will trust you For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind.

So, now that you’ve decided To follow the sun Like a shadow of birds Or a king on the run

Well, I’ve been waiting, I was sure We’d meet between the trains we’re waiting for I think it’s time to board another Please understand, I never had a secret chart To get me to the heart of this Or any other matter While he talks like this, you don’t know what he’s after When he speaks like this, you don’t know what he’s after

Or she’ll make a break for the high plateau where there’s nothing above and there’s nothing below

The baby’s crying, so you do not go outside, and all your work it’s right before your eyes.

I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark Oh one by one she had to tell them That her name was Joan of Arc

And you wrap up his tired face in your hair and he hands you the apple core. Then he touches your lips now so suddenly bare of all the kisses we put on some time before.

I fought in the old revolution on the side of the ghost and the King. Of course I was very young and I thought that we were winning; I can’t pretend I still feel very much like singing as they carry the bodies away.

Oh, you are really such a pretty one. I see you’ve gone and changed your name again. And just when I climbed this whole mountainside, to wash my eyelids in the rain!

Do you need to hold a leash to be a lady?

And who are you?“ she sternly spoke to the one beneath the smoke. "Why, I’m fire,” he replied, “And I love your solitude, I love your pride.

Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove

Just open up your dainty little hand. You know this life is filled with many sweet companions, many satisfying one-night stands.

And come forth from the cloud of unknowing And kiss the cheek of the moon

But climb on your tears and be silent Like a rose on its ladder of thorns

the crumbs of love that you offer me, they’re the crumbs I’ve left behind.

Yes, and here, right here between the moonlight and the lane, between the tunnel and the train, between the victim and his stain, once again, once again, love calls you by your name.

There’s a blaze of light in every word It doesn’t matter which you heard The holy or the broken Hallelujah

There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn’t.

Oh sometimes I see her undressing for me, she’s the soft naked lady love meant her to be and she’s moving her body so brave and so free. If I’ve got to remember that’s a fine memory.

O lady with your legs so fine O stranger at your wheel, You are locked into your suffering and your pleasures are the seal.

He said, "I locked you in this body, I meant it as a kind of trial. You can use it for a weapon, or to make some woman smile.”

But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever and the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame She said at last I was her finest lover and if she withered I would be to blame

You will never see a man this naked I will never hold a woman this close

And you say you’ve been humbled in love Cut down in your love Forced to kneel in the mud next to me Ah but why so bitterly turn from the one Who kneels there as deeply as thee

I went down to the place Where I knew she lay waiting Under the marble and the snow I said, Mother I’m frightened The thunder and the lightning I’ll never come through this alone She said, I’ll be with you My shawl wrapped around you My hand on your head when you go And the night came on It was very calm I wanted the night to go on and on But she said, Go back, Go back to the World

May Christ have mercy on your soul For making such a joke Amid these hearts that burn like coal And the flesh that rose like smoke.

As the mist leaves no scar On the dark green hill So my body leaves no scar On you and never will

I showed my heart to the doctor: he said I just have to quit. Then he wrote himself a prescription, and your name was mentioned in it! Then he locked himself in a library shelf with the details of our honeymoon, and I hear from the nurse that he’s gotten much worse and his practice is all in a ruin.

And though I wear a uniform I was not born to fight All these wounded boys you lie beside Goodnight, my friends, goodnight

One by one, the guests arrive The guests are coming through The open-hearted many The broken-hearted few And no one knows where the night is going And no one knows why the wine is flowing Oh love I need you

I greet you from the other side Of sorrow and despair With a love so vast and shattered It will reach you everywhere

So you moved away the mountain That the sun rose behind And you said yourself a prayer And laid down with the blind

Your body like a searchlight my poverty revealed, I would like to try your charity until you cry, “Now you must try my greed.” And everything depends upon how near you sleep to me

and I lean from my window sill in this old hotel I chose, yes one hand on my suicide, one hand on the rose.

Ah the silver knives are flashing in the tired old cafe A ghost climbs on the table in a bridal negligee She says, My body is the light, my body is the way” I raise my arm against it all and I catch the bride’s bouquet

Children have takes these pledges They have ferried them out of the past Oh beyond all the graves and the hedges Where love must go hiding at last

It’s hard to hold the hand of anyone Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender

The river is swollen up with rusty cans and the trees are burning in your promised land.

Your father’s gone a-hunting Through the silver and the glass Where only greed can enter But spirit, spirit cannot pass

And all the ladies go moist, and the judge has no choice, a singer must die for the lie in his voice.

and there is no space but there’s left and right and there is no time but there’s day and night

Your father’s gone a-hunting And he’s lost his lucky charm And he’s lost the guardian heart That keeps the hunter from the harm

It’s not the news of burning towns that ruins your mind Like a spool you turn and you turn but it won’t unwind No these wars you did not start, they don’t tear your sleep apart It’s just a man taking what he needs from the store room

True love leaves no traces If you and I are one It’s lost in our embraces Like stars against the sun

And the crickets are breaking his heart with their song as the day caves in and the night is all wrong

Now the courtroom is quiet, but who will confess. Is it true you betrayed us? The answer is Yes. Then read me the list of the crimes that are mine, I will ask for the mercy that you love to decline.

I sang my songs, I told my lies, to lie between your matchless thighs.

Why do you stand by the window Abandoned to beauty and pride The thorn of the night in your bosom The spear of the age in your side

And clenching your fist for the ones like us who are oppressed by the figures of beauty, you fixed yourself, you said, “Well never mind, we are ugly but we have the music.”

Trav'ling lady stay awhile until the night is over. I’m just a station on your way, I know I’m not your lover.

Just take this longing from my tongue, all the useless things my hands have done, let me see your beauty broken down, like you would do for one you love.

Let your mercy spill On all these burning hearts in hell If it be your will To make us well

Oh the world is sweet the world is wide and she’s there where the light and the darkness divide and the steam’s coming off her she’s huge and she’s shy and she steps on the moon when she paws at the sky

And while he talks his dreams to sleep You notice there’s a highway That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder

For the heart with no companion For the soul without a king For the prima ballerina Who cannot dance to anything

You kept right on loving, I went on a fast, now I am too thin and your love is too vast.

I saw her wince, I saw her cry, I saw the glory in her eye. Myself I long for love and light, but must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?

I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm, your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm, yes many loved before us, I know that we are not new, in city and in forest they smiled like me and you

Well you know that I love to live with you, but you make me forget so very much. I forget to pray for the angels and then the angels forget to pray for us.

I know you need your sleep now, I know your life’s been hard. But many men are falling, where you promised to stand guard.

And she comes to his hand but she’s not really tame She longs to be lost he longs for the same

Now I look for her always I’m lost in this calling I’m tied to the threads of some prayer Saying, When will she summon me When will she come to me What must I do to prepare When she bends to my longing Like a willow, like a fountain She stands in the luminous air And the night comes on And it’s very calm I lie in her arms she says, When I’m gone I’ll be yours, yours for a song

Through the days of shame that are coming Through the nights of wild distress Tho’ your promise count for nothing You must keep it nonetheless

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone. They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can’t go on. And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song. Oh I hope you run into them, you who’ve been travelling so long.

Dance me to the children who are asking to be born Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn Dance me to the end of love

The walls of this hotel are paper-thin Last night I heard you making love to him The struggle mouth to mouth and limb to limb The grunt of unity when he came in I stood there with my ear against the wall I was not seized by jealousy at all In fact a burden lifted from my soul I heard that love was out of my control

Your standing days are done,“ I cried, “You’ll rally me no more. I don’t even know what side We fought on, or what for.

[flying-elliska]

I finished Midnight Mass. Overall, I enjoyed it, even tho much like his last it didn't feel like "real" horror (don't have that much of an issue with this because I am a huge scaredy cat)

On the plus side : really good look at how religious fanaticism/social pressure/the need to believe/fear of death/despair (or a mix of those things) can cause people to warp their perception of reality to convince themselves of what they want to be true ; the true horror of this is both how it enables really bad people to gain influence (like Beverly) and some more complex people with good in them (like the priest) to delude themselves into a horrific spiral of terrible decisions while arguably meaning well/caring a lot. Monster stories reflect cultural anxieties dominant at a certain time, and this is pretty damn obvious in a time where extreme beliefs have caused mass suffering ; this is the true monster of the show. The central concept is a very clever, fresh take on a classic monster, too. The take on faith is very layered and nuanced, it shows both how easily it can be manipulated and distorted, leading to terrifying self delusion, but some of its more positive sides as well. The two Muslim characters, father and son, are two of the most positive, clearly heroic characters in the whole series. On the whole, it's a tragedy, the ending is not a happy one, but it remains very humane, signifying that even in the "end times" acts of courage, kindness and humanity still mean everything. The slow, almost meditative pace, will not be for everyone but it mostly didn't disturb me ; it worked well with the windswept, lonely island, the light saturated skies and grey houses, slowly weathered away as the island dies - to create a liminal vibe, a sort of purgatory, a mix of slow creeping despair, desperation and elegiac peace ; it's very interesting in terms of tone. Also, as somebody raised Catholic-adjacent, I feel it makes really good use of the fucked up nature of a lot of its symbolism. Also, all the performances are great and it has some very attractive people in it.

On the less good side : yeah, so, the slowness and the monologues are absolutely too much in places. It definitely feels like it could have been scarier and more intense but in places it felt like it was working against any tension instead. At times the sentimentality feels kind of overblown and...a bit manipulative ? Like it just pushes it in your face that it wants you to feel EMOTIONS about this in ways that feel a bit forced. Also, Mike Flanagan has very interesting things to say about addiction, trauma, grief, and how to break cycles of despair, but there seems to be this running theme in his stories about ill/mentally ill/traumatized/generally "broken" characters sacrificing themselves or having their deaths romanticized in ways that I find a bit iffy, and makes me a bit uncomfortable - maybe it's the almost sugary tone of the endings after a shit ton of horrifying stuff - this is something I also thought after his other shows, even though I also really enjoyed those (and he has characters like these who also recover and have happy endings so it's not like, glaring). All in all, I liked the characters here, but I didn't get super attached to any of them like I did in Bly Manor (which remains my favorite of his, an unpopular opinion I'm sure) - this show often feels oddly detached from its own characters, they don't seem to be doing much except drifting about and having sad conversations, like they're already ghosts. So the big revelations and moments hit me less hard. Also, there are lesbians but they're a lot less prominent than in Hill House or Bly Manor.

Overall still a nice interesting thing to watch this time of year.