#really putting the tech in Texas

[quisters]

Obsessed with Outlaw arming Texas with sci-fi future tech

[shitouttabuck]

what if i wrote a twisters au……….

[noonesgaylikegatson]

Here's the thing: Republicans are the party of the rich, but policies that help the rich fuck everyone else up, so they are inherently unpopular. Republicans hitch their wagons to white supremacists and religious fanatics who will gladly vote for them in hopes of bringing their own agenda. Rich people believe that their money is able to keep them unaffected by their social policies that harm mostly minorities.

Present day: Religious Fanatics and White Supremacists have gone too far. Their plans are so corrosive that they will actually affect the rich; Not to mention, there are a lot of nouveau rich who are also these fanatics.

So now, these rich people, "never-trumpers" want to join the democratic party and make it into a party for them. They are anti-progressive because they don't want to pay more taxes and they don't want more regulations. They want a milquetoast white democrat leader, and not one like Joe Biden who has embraced progressive policies and is now further left than 2008.

They don't want Kamala or Pete Buttigieg or Corey Booker or that skater boi from texas. They were to the left of Biden when they ran in the 2019 primary. They want someone to the right of Biden. A more corporate friendly democrat.

And keep in mind, these republicans have always been racist. And have always been white supremacist for them. This departure from the republican party is not a moral one. It's because the oppression that these Trump Republicans want isn't profitable.

These republicans were fine with rounding up Black people on bullshit charges and sending them to prison to do make them money on prison labor. (Biden ended the use of private prisons on a Federal Level fyi). They're not fine with rounding up 20 million undocumented people and putting them in internment camps and deporting them, that would cost so much money that would be better spent giving to them via tax cuts. (I bet you they'll get on board when someone touts the idea of using the undocumented people for unpaid labor)

They're okay with banning abortions or just limiting. They're not okay with stripping all of woman's freedoms (because many of them are women and like to spend the money they have) because women going back into the homes, means the spending power of the economy shrinks.

Less Women and Men of color going to college means less student loan payments. Not to mention, the policies that Trump will enact with Project 2025, would just wreck the economy. Government workers would lose their jobs. Facilities and infrastructure would crumble. The middle class would all but disappear, the gap between the poor and rich would grow, to the point where there is just no more money to extract from anyone in the lower classes. The money would have to come from them.

If trump gets in office by 2028 there will be so many evictions, its impossible to keep up. The rich would have to bribe police officers (made legal by the supreme court btw) to get people evicted. Not all rich people are rich equally. Those who can afford to bribe will be new upper class, those who can't will be suckers.

FDIC will be gone. So imagine you're one of those rich suckers, and the bank you have your money goes belly up cause the new upper class used it to fund their next yacht?

You can't be a tech mogul in a country with poor infrastructure. All that AI requires massive amount of electricity. How can you have any developments if your company shuts off the power every few weeks and there is no policy in place to keep it going, to fix it. Look at texas? Every hurricane gets rid of the power for weeks. Imagine when Project 2025 gets in and there really is no regulation at all.

What is the point of all this? Biden is the correct choice. He is the incumbent, he won the primary, and the election is less than four months away. This talk about replacing him is a bunch of rich assholes trying to take over the democratic party and making it into the new republican party. The literal worst night mare: socially liberal, financially conservative. They are antagonist towards the democrat's base: Black voters, because black voting population support centralized government, regulations, higher taxes, and a robust social safety network (because its literally the best way to govern)

Focus on getting people to vote for Biden or just not vote for Trump.

[justwhisperingfantasies]

Girl At The Rockshow Part 3

Characters: Jensen Ackles (xreader). Aunt Patty (o.c)  Jared Padalecki. Genevieve Padalecki.

Warnings: Language, Fluff,  Talk about losing loved ones. LMK If I forgot any.

Summary: Getting dragged to that live show might have been the best thing that ever happened to you. Now you get to spend the day with Jensen as he shows you around Austin. 

Word count: 6,009 words

A/N: When you get to the question part. Some of his are true (found them via interviews and panels.) some are just for story purposes. I tried to do (insert answer) for reader answers, but it just kept taking me out of the story. Hope ya'll enjoy 💗

Part 1

Part 2

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{} Reader’s P.O.V {}

“I get to drive Baby?!” You said standing there. 

“Yes ma’am,” He said 

“Are you sure? What would Dean say?”  

He chuckled. “ I think he would make an exception for you.” He shook the keys at you. “ You better take them before I change my mind.” You smiled, took the keys, and hopped in. He walked around and got into the passenger seat. 

“So what if I wreck? What if I break her?” He opened his mouth to rebuttal but you cut him off. “ What if I hit a cow and total it?” 

He laughed. “If you see a cow the break is right.” He grabbed your leg and put your foot on the pedal. “There. I think you’re capable of not wrecking and she doesn’t break easy.” You turned the key and Baby hummed to life. “ There’s a bar under the seat to move it up.” He helped you scoot the seat into the right position. “Don’t worry darlin’ you got this.” He slapped your knee for encouragement then wrapped his hand around your thigh. You put the car in reverse and look behind you to make sure you can start backing up. “ Go out the way we came in and turn right on the main road. Who would you rather have as your navigator me or Siri?”

“You, but you have to sing the directions.” He chuckled.  

You made it to the stop sign at the main road turning right when you were clear. You hit the gas pedal a little too hard and the tires squealed for a second. Your cheeks got warm. “Sorry.”

He laughed. “Easy there turbo. I thought you were trying not to break her.” 

“I'm sure I’m not the first to squeal her tires.” 

“Fair enough.” He grinned. “You’re gonna go straight through 4 lights. At the 5th one turn left.”  You gave him a nervous look. “Don’t worry I’ll remind you before you get there.” He turned the radio up and started belting out the lyrics to Back in Black making you smile as you went through the first light. The second one was red as you came up on it. You were more careful with the gas pedal this time as you started to go. You made it to the 3rd light. Red again. 

“Do you intentionally pick the streets with the most red lights on them?”

He chuckled. “Trust me, I feel the same way you do.” Back in Black faded out and The Dance by Garth Brooks starts to play. You turn the volume up a smidge and start singing along. “ You know Garth Brooks?!?” He said shocked. 

“Yes. I like country music too Ackles.”  

He grabbed his chest like he was in pain. “My heart!!’” He smiled. 

You smiled back at him. His thumb started to stroke your leg as you both sang along. The light finally turned green and you started to go.”So Mr. Ackles.” He looked at you with raised eyebrows. “ Why acting?” you said in your best reporter voice. 

“Oh, didn’t know I had an interview today,” He smirked, “ Well, My father is an actor. He played in a few Dallas episodes, and 5 episodes of Walker Texas Ranger, and he did some supporting roles in movies. I used to watch him study the script and help him memorize his lines. I was amazed. How he could flip a switch and just be another person. I did some modeling and commercials when I was young. Got bullied for it so I took a break, and got really into sports. The plan was to go to Texas Tech University and become a physical therapist. Ya know help out my fellow jocks,” he chuckled. “ I loved sports. Still do, but it just wasn’t the same. My real passion was acting. So my sophomore year I decided I didn't care what everyone thought. I took a theater class.” You made it to the 5th light ”Left at this light sweetheart” you got in the turn lane and waited. “After this light straight through 2 lights, over the bridge, then go under the train tracks.”

“2 Lights over water under the train tracks. Got it.  

 He smiled and continued his story. “ After I graduated I moved to L.A to pursue it fully. Started auctioning and landed a couple of guest spots. Then my big break was on Days Of Our Lives.” You looked over at him with wide eyes. He put his hand up “Shush I learned a lot on that set. I did Dark Angel, Dawson’s Creek, and Smallville. Got to do a movie with my dad in 2005 right before Supernatural.” He turned back to you “Why Med school?”

The light turned green and you rolled forward as the traffic started to go. “Well, My father was a surgeon so it was determined before I was even born that I was to follow in his footsteps.” You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye. You had his undivided attention “I wasn’t all in until one night when I was 14 my dad and I were coming home from a baseball game. There was a bad crash and He didn’t hesitate he rushed in and started triaging people and helping them while I dialed 911. It was amazing. I even got to help out after the operator told me help was on the way. After watching him there wasn’t a doubt in my mind. I wanted to be just like him, a hero, saving people.”

 “ Your pop sounds like quite a guy” 

“ Oh, He was.” The smile left his face. “You should have seen him on the day I got my acceptance letter from Columbia. He was so proud. Same premed program he went through ya know.” You made it through both lights green, you started on the bridge. “ The 3rd week into premed he was killed by a drunk driver.”

“What year was that?” 

“August 23rd, 2005.”

“Yeah, 2 weeks before. So after that, I immersed myself in school. Nothing else mattered” You started under the train tracks

“And now I feel like a complete jackass.”

“Don’t feel that way, hun. You didn't know.” you put your hand on top of his. He turned his hand over and laced his fingers through yours. “ But directions might be nice.”

“Shit sorry, straight 2 lights. Right at the 3rd.” He looked at you 

You could feel his question in the air and the silence was getting overwhelming. “You can ask why I didn't go through with it..” He looked at you with furrowed brows. “ Yea like you weren't thinking it?”

“Maybe. So what happened?” 

You got to the 2nd light before you hit a red light. “ So, I got my bachelor’s degree, passed the MCATS, Got through medical school, and during my internship, I talked my mom into moving to New York. We got closer than ever.” you took a deep breath, “ My second year of residency she got sick and didn’t make it.” The light turned green and you started to go. She was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer. I lost all motivation for medicine and everything that went along with it.”

“I can take over if you wanna pull over.”

“Thank you, but I’m ok,” you said, turning at the 3rd light. He looked over at you with questioning eyes. “Seriously I’m ok.” 

“Watch out for pedestrians up here. Straight through 4 stop signs. Left at the light. Then straight through one light. Right at the second.” He was quiet for a minute. “I'm sorry about your folks, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?”

“Um, no way. This might be the only time I get to drive this car.”

“Not if I can help it.” He winked at you, and you smiled. You made it past the pedestrian stop signs “ What was your mama like?” 

“She was my best friend. After she moved to New York I swear she decreased in age. More like my sister than my mom. She was crazy.” You said with a smile on your face.” you stopped at the first stop sign and went through it. “You’ll probably like this one. One of the biggest Cowboy fans you’d ever meet.”

“Oh yeah?” 

You nodded.  “She always told my dad she was gonna leave him for Troy Aikman.” He chuckled. “ Everyone tells me I look just like her. Their wedding photo is on my lock screen. You handed him your phone as you stopped at the second stop sign then continued. 

“Aw. You do look just like her.” You smiled. “ They are beautiful”

“Thank you.” You smiled at him as you stopped for the third stop sign. He was so cute. Not just in a physical way. He was genuine and such a nice guy. You thought to yourself, You just hoped this wasn’t too good to be true. 

“What?”

“Oh, Nothing.” You said as you went through the intersection. 

He shook his head and chuckled. “So you ever think about going back into medicine?”

Stopping at the 3 cars deep at the 4th stop sign you sighed. “ I don’t know. Mac mentioned it a couple of times. I’m not gonna lie, I have thought about it. It would be nice for my job to mean something to someone, but if I were going to I would become a Physician assistant maybe. To become a surgeon I’d have to finish the resident years, then go through a surgical internship then a lot of testing for board certifications and licensing. I’m too old for all that. If I did I would just want to jump in and do it.” You looked at him as you stopped at the crosswalk. He was smiling at you now. “What?”

“You’re cute when you ramble.”

“Not rambling, thinking out loud,” you said in a mocking tone. He laughed.  You went through the intersection, You made it through the 3 lights green as you both sang along with the music. 

“Don’t hate me. Straight through 7 red lights.” He said wrinkling his face. 

“SEVEN?!” 

“Yes.”

“Oh my freaking gosh. I’m going to die of starvation Jensen.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make a deal and bring you back.” You let out a loud dramatic sign. He chuckled. You made it through 4 lights green. “See that wasn’t so bad.”

“I'm sorry I couldn’t hear you over the growls of my empty ass stomach.” He laughed and slightly threw his head back. You made it to the last light before you got stopped again. 

“Almost there, I promise. Tell me. Who's your favorite country singer of all time?’

“Randy Travis” you didn't even have to think about it. 

“Really?”

“Absolutely. His voice is incredible!”  You said as the light turned green and traffic started to go.”You?”

“Garth Brooks.”

“I see that. I saw him live once with Mac.”

“Oh yeah? Me too, not with Mac thou.”

“I’m sure she’d be interested if you want me to set it up.” He squinted at you “I’m just sayin.” 

He rolled his eyes. “I think you and Padalecki would get along. You both got some dumb jokes.” you chuckled. “Right at the next road and it's the first building on the right. Uh, how are you at parallel parking?” You squinted at him now, turned right, and parked with ease. You turned to him and stuck your tongue with a wrinkled nose. He laughed. 

 “This is Paperboy.” He said with excitement in his voice. “One of my favorite breakfast/ brunch places in Austin.” You turned the car off and got out. He met you at his side of the front of the Impala. He held his arm out. You took his hand and wrapped his arms around your shoulders while wrapping your around his waist. He grinned. The building was cute, a white building with a funky brown lattice. A small patio by the front door and the second floor was an open patio as well. You stopped at the hostess stand and he asked for an upper patio table. “Of course Mr. Ackles.” The hostess grabbed 2 menus. “Will Mr Padalecki be joining you two today?”

“Nope. Just the two of us.”

“Alright, follow me.” Once you got to the stairs he unwrapped his arm and gestured for you to go first. You followed her up the stairs to the patio. She sat you at a shaded table in the back corner. You pick your chair and Jensen sits across from you.  “Patty Sue will be right with you. 

“Thank you,” you both said as you started to look over the menu. 

“So, what looks good?”  You looked up at him up and down raising an eyebrow. He chuckled as his cheeks got slightly pink. “On the menu darlin’.”

“Well, I'm just so hungry everything looks good.”

“Aww you poor little thing.”  He said in a playful tone making you laugh.

“Hello, my name is Patty Sue. Oh Jensen, How are you dear?”

“Hi, Aunt Patty. I’m good. How’s your day going?” 

“Ya know this place is busy as always.” 

“Aunt Patty this is (y/n). She’s new here in Austin and I got the honor of showing her around today.”

“Hey there sugar.” you shook her hand. “What have ya’ll been up to?

“We just got done canoeing at Barton.”

“Aw, how fun, Are you enjoying Austin so far?”

“It has some good attractions.” you winked at Jensen and he smiled his bedazzling smile again. 

“Well. Ya’ll probably worked up an appetite, Wanna start with some drinks?”

“Just sweet tea for me please,” you said 

“Make it two.”

“I’ll be right back guys.”

“Thank you, Aunt Patty,” he said as she turned to walk away. He sat his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hands.”So, what’s next (y/n)?” 

“I don’t know. You said you had a mini round trip planned.” 

He chuckled. “No, for you. Job, car, Boyfriend?” He raised his eyebrow at the last word. And your cheeks got warm. 

“Well remember how I said Mac has mentioned medicine a couple of times?” He nodded. “The first time we talked about it I told her what I told you. About being a P.A. The second time she brought it up she just so happened to run into Erica. Erica and I interned at the same hospital. And can you believe they have an opening in their office?”

“Let me guess for a Physician assistant.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s like your psychic.” He smirked. 

“Here’s your drinks my dears.” Patty said sitting down your teas.” What can I get ya to eat?” Jensen gestured for you to go first. 

“Can I get the steak and egg sandwich with a side of cheesy hashbrowns, please?”

“You sure can honey, Jay you want your usual?”

“Please” 

“Alright, I’ll get that in for ya.”

“Thank you,” you both said again. And you smiled. 

“So, you gonna call Erica about it?” he asked taking a drink.

“Like I said I’ve thought about it and it would be nice to feel like I’m doing something that matters.” you took a drink “Mmm this sweet tea is amazing.”

“Just wait till you have the food.” He smiled. Then he readjusted his hand.” So, I’m not pushing, but I think you should.”

“I know. I just don’t want my mama to feel like I betrayed her. Since ya know medicine failed her.”

“Sweetheart. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting your mama, but I don’t think she would feel betrayed at all.”

“That’s what Mac said.”

“See 2 against 1,” he said and you smiled. “You could give it a try and if your heart is not there try something else.”

“You make some good points, Ackles.”

“I usually do,”  he said in a smartass tone, making you laugh.

“So, What lies ahead for the famous Jensen Ackles, Big movie? Starring in another TV show? Supernatural reboot?” you used your reporter voice again. You grinned and took another drink.

“Stop.” He said smiling. “ I would actually love to do a Supernatural reboot, but I can’t confirm nor deny if I’m ever going to get to. I’m gotta fly to Vancouver here in a couple of days and shoot this episode for Tracker. Should only take a couple of weeks max. Waiting on a call from Kripke about shooting the final season of The Boys. And Countdown should start later this year. We’ll see,”

“How exciting.” again in the reporter's voice. 

“Would you stop?” he grinned. 

“Ok, I’m done.”

“Here we are, guys.” Patty came back carrying your food. “Everything looks good?” You both nod. “Anything else I can get for ya?’

“No, This looks great. Thank you.” Jensen said as he started mixing the egg and steak tips on his plate. 

“No problem Dear. Yell if ya’ll need anything ok?”

“Will do” you said as she walked away. “Well that looks delicious,” you say looking at his plate. He chuckles stabbing a piece of steak with his fork and reaches it over to you. “Mmm,” 

“I am going tomorrow morning to pick up a car from the dealership,” you said after swallowing and picking up your sandwich. 

He swallowed his food. “So what was next?” He smiled his bedazzling smile. Your cheeks got hot and you could feel them turning red. You took a bite of your sandwich pointed to your full mouth and shrugged. He laughed “ Ya gotta swallow eventually.” You cough almost choking as your mind takes his comment in a dirty way. He smiled. “Perv.”  you raised your eyebrows and dropped them with smirking lips. The food was amazing though. You would definitely be coming back here. 

“ More sweet tea?” Patty asked walking over. 

You swallowed your bite. “Yes please.” Jensen nodded with his mouth full. 

“So her question you’ll answer,” he said after swallowing his bite. 

“I’m sorry i just have to get something in my stomach after stopping at all those red lights.” 

He laughed “So dramatic.” You smiled and continued eating. Patty was back in a flash with 2 more teas. As you finish your food you debate in your head about the P.A job and Jensen’s boyfriend question popped up a couple of times. Was he crazy? You haven’t even known each other for 24 hours yet? But it’s not like he was asking to be your boyfriend more like a Are you open to the thought. Were you open to the thought? “Penny for your thoughts darlin’,”

His voice snapped you out of your head. “I’m gonna call Erica about that job tomorrow.”

“Yeah?” He smiled. “ You sure?”

“Yes. I’ll take your advice if I don’t love it, I’ll try something else.”

“Good.”

 You both finished eating and Patty came to clear your plates. “Anything else for you guys?”

“Nope. I am stuffed.”

“No Aunt Patty just the check please,” Jensen said.

“Ackles?” He turned around as soon as he heard his name. 

“Oh my god! It’s Jared Padalecki!!” And let out a squeal. Jensen stood up to hug his friend. “ And Genevieve Padalecki?!” He squealed again. “(y/n) he played Sam Winchest.. oh wait never mind.”

You rolled your eyes. “And I’m the dramatic one?!” You stood up and stuck your hand out. “I’m (y/n)”

Jared laughed and took your hand. “I’m Jared. This is my wife Genevieve.” 

“You can call me Gen.” She said as you shook hands. 

“So… Whatcha ya’ll up to?” Jared asked Jensen with raised eyebrows and a huge grin. 

“ You’ll have to excuse my friend,” Jensen said to you and turned to Jared. “ (y/n) Just moved here. I met her last night at the radio company show. I’m showing her around Austin.

“So, like a date?” Jared asked. Jensen rolled his eyes. 

“Jared quit,” Gen elbowed his stomach. 

“We just finished, but do you guys wanna sit down?” you asked them.

“No, we don’t wanna impose,” Jared said.

“No imposition, Give me the dirt Padalecki.” You said and Jensen glared at you. You raised your eyebrows and shrugged. “What? You said we’d get along.”

“Really?! “ Jared turned to Jensen.

“Yeah, you both tell dumb jokes. I think that is what I said.” Jensen admitted. 

“Are you sure?” Gen asked. 

“Sit down, Genevieve,” Jensen said. You all sat down. Jensen looked at you and raised his eyebrows and licked his lips.” Jared, get this shit. (y/n) has never seen Supernatural.” Your lips went in a hard straight line as you looked at him with a blank stare. He poked the tip of his tongue out at you.

“Are you kidding?’ Jared turned to you. “How have you never seen Supernatural?”

“Oh I don’t know, just not my thing I guess” You took a drink. Jared opened his mouth to say mouth, but stopped when you put your finger up “However, Gilmore Girl though. So good. Dean Forester seems so much better than Dean Winchester.” You smirked at Jensen with a wrinkled nose. Gen and Jared laughed.

“I like her Ackles.” 

Patty brought your check back. “ Well look what the cat drug in.” Jared and Gen got up to hug Patty. “ How are you two? How are the babies?”

“We are all good Aunt Patty,” Jared said as he squeezed her. “Hey. We’re gonna let ya’ll get back to it. See you later Jensen.” Jensen got up and hugged Jared. You got up to shake his hand, but before you knew it you were in his embrace. You squeezed him back. “It was really good to meet you. I hope we see you again.”  

Gen stuck her hand out. “Again sorry about him. It was really nice to meet you though.” She said with a smile. 

“You guys too.” You said with a big grin. They turned and started walking to their table. You sat back down. 

Patty laid your check in the middle of the table “ I better get his food going. We all know how he eats.” Jensen chuckled. “ Ya’ll have fun and (y/n) don’t be a stranger.” you smiled at her. 

 “Your friend is a goober,” you said to Jensen after Patty walked away.

“I’m sorry have you met your friends?” You both laughed, 

You snatched the check folder. Jensen’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. “Uh I think the fuck not!” he put his hand out. You slowly shook your head with a wide grin. He took a deep breath closing his eyes and loudly sighed. He raised his hand then dropped it again palm up. “Now!”

“Or what?” you bit your bottom lip

His eyebrows raised. And he brought his first to his chin resting it on his thumb and closed his eyes. “(y/n)” He said in a deep growl.

“Jensen” You lowered your voice as much as you could. He smiled for a split second then his face was hard again.

He quickly slid to the chair beside you and put his hand on your knee. You manage to keep your composure. “Last chance.” Your heart starts racing as his hand slides up to your mid-thigh. “3.” He tightened his grip. You bit your lip fighting the urge to laugh. “2” he squeezed even harder. He opened his mouth to say 1 but you couldn't hold in the laugh anymore. He releases his grip and then squeezes again.  “Alright, you win,” you said while laughing. He started to squeeze again “Take it.”  He took the folder with his free hand and sat it on the table. He gave you a wide grin and started tickling your leg. You grab his hand and lean towards him, pushing it back into his lap. You swallowed hard when you looked up into his mossy eyes, his lips just inches away from yours. Your heart almost burst out of your chest when his soft, full, perfect lips met yours. The kiss was short and sweet. He ended the kiss and nuzzled your nose with his. You whined. “Public place, there babe.” you nodded and tried to catch your breath. He kissed the tip of your nose as you pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He sat straight up picking up the folder. You lean back in your chair. Your cheeks warmed as you thought about how you’d be kissing him if you weren’t in a public place.

Putting his wallet away he asked, “You ready for that road trip?” His voice snaps you back to reality again.

“Restroom first.” 

“Downstairs by the front doors.” He said.” I gotta make a phone call and say bye to Jared. Meet me at the front door?” he said taking his phone out of his pocket. 

“Sounds good Ackles.” You grabbed your purse, and as you passed behind him you stopped, you felt his muscles tighten as you put your hands on his shoulders and leaned down to his ear.  “Don’t forget to tell him what an awesome driver I am,” you whispered. Walking away you hear him chuckle and then talk into his phone.

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{} Jensen’s P.O.V {}

He couldn’t stop himself from watching her walk away as he finished his call. Damn, what I would do, He shook his head trying to get the naughty images out of his mind. He stood up and slid his phone back into his pocket as he started for the stairs. 

“Oh my god, it’s Jensen Ackles,” Jared said and started fanning himself as Jensen walked up to his table. 

Jensen dropped his jaw. “Where?!” Jared and Gen laughed, 

“So?” Jared asked acting giddy. 

“So?” Jensen repeated. Jared raised his eyebrows. Jensen grinned.“ I’ll call you later.”

“You better.” They bumped fists. “Love you.”

“Love you more,” Jensen said walking away. 

As he walked down the stairs, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He tripped and almost fell. Come on, Jensen. He stopped once he got to the doors and waited for her. He opened the door open for an elderly couple. “Thank you, young man.” The older woman said to him.

“Not a problem ma’am,” he told her as she walked through. He looked over and there she was. Watching him with the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. After the couple passed through he gestured for her to come through. “My Lady.”

“Good sir,” She said as she walked through. She pulled the keys out of her pocket and held them out for him. He opened her car door and shut it after she got in. Walking around to the driver's side he smirked as he noticed her scoot more toward the middle. Her cheeks pinkened as she realized she was caught. So freaking cute he thought. 

He got in and started up the Impala. “Here, connect to this thing.” He disconnected the Bluetooth adapter from his phone. “I want to hear this epic playlist you were telling me about.”

She smirked, “I don’t know if I’d use the word epic, but it’s got some good tunes.” She said pulling her phone out. He watched her. Darlin’ everything about you is epic he thought to himself. 

“Yeah Yeah. Play me some music, cowgirl.” She laughed as Friends in Low Places started to play, He wrapped his arm around her. He watched from the corner of his eye as she snuggled up to him and started to sing. Oh sweetheart what are you doing to me? 

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{} Reader's P.O.V {}

He started singing along as he pulled out. “Jensen, I have a question. “

“Shoot.”

“Can you this one time please.” a puzzled expression came over his face “ Not take the route with the most red lights and stop signs?” 

“I’ll think about it.” He laughed as he turned onto I-35

You made it through about 30 minutes of halfway driving before you had to do something.. “Alright Ackles, you got courage for a round of 21 questions?” You asked raising your eyebrows. 

He chuckled. “ I think I’m up for it” 

 “Ok let's start easy. Favorite color?  

“Blue. Favorite season?” He asked

“Fall. Favorite Movie?”  

“Saving Private Ryan. What's your favorite color?” 

“Pretty Sure there's a rule against repeats.” 

With a smile, he says“Oh I didn’t realize we are in a championship match where the rules matter.”  

You rolled your eyes. “Smartass.”  

“You know it kettle.” he chuckled. 

 You smiled.  “It's Teal or blue. Favorite holiday?”

“Christmas. You get one superpower. What is it?” 

You thought for a second. “ can I pick 2?”

“You get 1.” He smiled. 

You sighed. “Fine. Probably the ability to fly. 

“What was the other one?”

“Invisibility.” He raised his eyebrows. “Oh come, how fun would that be. I would just fuck with people all day.”

He laughed “Of course you would.” 

 “Who was your favorite character to play.” He opened his mouth “Besides Dean.”  

“Hmm,” he thought. “Ben. Soldier boy from the boys. He was really fun. First celebrity crush?”

 “Tom Cruise. Favorite horror movie.”  

He thought for a second. “ The Shining. Dream vacation?

“Uh. Either Italy or Bora Bora.” He smiled. “First concert?”  

“Michael Jackson 1984. Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Sometimes yes, sometimes no.” You shrugged. “ Favorite Food?  

“Steak.” He thought for a second. “The best gift you've ever been given?” 

“My locket.” 

“Go on ” 

“ Mac gave it to me a couple of Christmases ago. It has a picture of my mom on one side and my dad on the other.” He looked at your neck. “ Favorite radio company song to sing?” 

“City grown Willow. What's your favorite radio company song?” 

You smirked. “City grown Willow or Let Me Be.”

He smiled. “ I gotta know why.”

 “City grown willow, the lyrics and melody with your voice is mwah.” You gestured a Chef kiss. He chuckled..” Let Me Be, because of the fun you had last night while singing it.” 

“So you were watching me?” He said in a hitch-pitched voice. 

“Kinda hard not to you.” He smiled and his cheeks turned pink. 

 “Favorite music genre?” 

“Country. Favorite TV show?

 “Friends. If you could look into a crystal ball and see everything about your future,  would you do it?

He thought for a second. “I don’t think I would.’

“Interesting.”

“Ok Freud” You giggled. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope. I'm an only child.”

He smiled. “That makes sense.”

“Excuse me?”

“Calm down.” He chuckled. “Only children tend to be more independent.”

“Oh. I thought we were going to the spoiled brat route.”

“Eh, not yet.” He joked. 

You laughed, “What's the first thing you notice about me?”

“ You're hair. It looked really soft and I wanted to touch it. You?”

 “Of course, I'm gonna say you're eyes. Have you seen them suckers?” He laughed. “ When did you have your first kiss?”

He sighed. “Preschool.” 

“Oh, so you started young huh?”

He laughed and then his face went serious.  “Are you looking for a relationship?” 

“Really Jensen?” 

“I'm just playing the game sweetheart.” He grinned slowing down on the exit onto I-35 Frontage Rd.

“Maybe.” You raised an eyebrow at him. 

“A maybe Isn't a no.”

 “Birthday?” you asked. 

“March 1st.  Favorite subject in school?”

“Science. Yours?”

“Look who's reusing questions now.” He chuckled. “Algebra. Favorite food?”

“Loaded nachos. Craziest place you've had sex?” 

He cleared his throat. “Spicing things up are we?” 

“I'm just playin' the game sweetheart”

He chuckled “Bar bathroom.” He slowed down for the red light ahead. When the light turned green he turned right onto Wonder World Dr. “ And no it wasn't a random hook-up.” 

“I wasn't judging.”

“Sure.” He smiled. “ you?” 

“Playground” He looked at you with raised eyebrows. “It was after dark, Nobody else was there.”

You turned to him. “ Have you ever cheated?”

He sighed. “Once. I was 19. I was young and stupid. It hasn’t happened since and It never will again.” At least he was honest and it did seem like he was remorseful. 

He looked at you. “Dealbreaker?” 

You thought for a second. “Not necessarily.” you cleared your throat “Everyone has done things they aren’t proud of. The thing that matters is you learn from them.” 

“Ok, Freud.” you smiled, “ Trust me I did.” 

You two stayed silent as Turn The Page faded and  Sounds Of Someday started to play “Oh my god, this band is so good.” Jensen chuckled. 

“I saw them live last night, They’re ok.” You said as you shrugged your shoulders. He threw his head back and laughed. 

“Is there ever gonna come a day where you don’t give me shit?” he asked.

“Eh, probably not,” you confessed. He laughed again. “What number are we on?”

“16 I think and I do believe it’s my turn.” you gestured with your hand for him to go. “It’s the zombie apocalypse is here. You get 3 people for your team. Who is it?”

You chuckled. “ Well, I have heard about these 2 brothers that are really good with that stuff.” He chuckled. “ Oh, Rambo. He’d fuck some shit up.”

“Is that your 3?” He asked slowing down for another red light. 

“Yeah, I think so. Worse case I have some eye candy before I die.” He rolled his eyes and smiled. 

“So, 17 would you rather be 15 minutes late or 1 hour early?”

“Definitely early. I hate being late.” He shook his head. “When was your first kiss?” 

“About an hour ago. ”You burst out laughing as he looked at you in shock with wide eyes. “I'm just kidding. 4th grade.”

“Not funny.” He declared as he started to go after the light finally turned green. He went straight onto route 12.

“I’d have to disagree”

“So. Mr. Ackles, He looked at you. “Are you looking for a relationship?” you raised your eyebrows. 

“I wasn’t, but ya never know.” He winked at you making you grin.  

“Biggest turn-off?” He asked. 

“Rudeness.. I can not stand rude people.” With an approving expression, he nodded You sighed loudly. as he slowed for another red light making him laugh.

“This is like the third red light, diva.” He joked.

“Of this drive, The 136th one of the day though.”  Your rebuttal made him laugh  “Have you ever sent nudes?” 

He chuckled nervously  “Yes. You?”

“Yes.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Interesting…”  you scrunched your lips as your cheeks turned pink. He smiled 

“Who would you haunt if you were a ghost?”

“Either Jared or Misha. Yeah, I see your point that would be fun.” he chuckled as he slowed down for the red light. Your cheeks got hot as he kissed your cheek. “Almost there darlin’.” he turned left onto County Line Rd 1492 ‘ What smell do you hate that doesn’t seem to bother other people?” 

“Patchouli.” you scrunched your nose. “I can’t stand that smell.” he chuckled. 

“Now, don’t take this the wrong way, Ackles.” 

“Um ok?”

“I’m not asking, never mind. I’ll ask something else.”.

He smiled. “Just ask the question.” He said turning left onto Winn Valley Dr. 

“Fine. Would you ever get married again?”  His face went blank. “See it’s weird we can move on.” 

“Honestly. It depends.” he said as he drove through the open-ended cul-de-sac.“I’m not opposed to it, but I couldn’t just going to jump into it. There would be a lot of thought put into it.” He looked at you. “Does that make any sense?” he nervously chuckled. 

“Yes.” You look over to see a sign. “Ranch Madrone?” You knitted your brows at him.

“You’ll see.” He continued down the road. “Last question. How are you with heights?” 

You looked at him with a puzzled look. “Really? That's your last question?” He pointed to a say sign that read Wimberley Zipline Adventures. Your heart started pounding “We are zip-lining now?!”

“You up for it cowgirl?” He said with a grin

“Oh hell yeah!!.”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

♡♡ Tag List ♡♡

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@idk6505

@whimsyfinny

@nightxcreature

@impala67rollingthroughtown

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If you'd like to be added to tag list click here 💜

[cherryg]

The internet censorship is coming..(again)

There are two well known censorship bill known as KOSA and the EarnIt act.

These bills both promised that they will protect children but unfortunately these are misguided bills that says they’ll do something but then they will do the opposite or make things worse.

Both of these bills are serious threat to the LGBT community and will censor a lot of content especially there

the EarnItact will also get rid of NSFW content and deem it as illegal, and will also get rid of section 230

The KOSA act will let attorneys from Florida and Texas take control and decide what people could and could not watch and sue websites and anything they don’t like and will not protect children but mostly put many vulnerable teens and children at risk while going as far as to even censor important information like sex education, health issues, suicide prevention hotlines and many more

We have stopped these bills from passing before but the cofounder Richard Bluemenhal is clearly not giving up and trying hard and hard again to push these bills back on congress

Last year more than 90/100 human rights groups urged lawmakers and congress to not pass KOSA in the omnibus bill and it got shelved and the same then happened to Earn it last year on February/March

But now he is trying a third time,using and manipulating grieving parents and young people into supporting and lobbying his bills, whiles even accepting anti trans and LGBT groups into supporting his legislations. He’s trying to find any type of scandal a platform is currently facing and turn and twist it on behalf of his agendas.

He says he supports abortions and the LGBT community but his bills will censor those things he claims to support. He can’t have it both ways.

But he was stubborn enough to ignore every criticism and scrutiny he gets about the legislations, being childish and all.

Not to mention that they are also both privacy nightmares to everyone and globally too

That’s why it’s important that you call and email your representatives and lawmakers and urge them to drop Kosa and the earn it act

Let any human rights group you trust knows and tell anyone you trust about it weather it be a friend or family member.

For more information, click these links below ⬇️

You can also help us by joining our discord server on how to stop internet censorship

There also a petition made from Fightforfuture recently about the KOSA act

(Update # 2)

Hey guys I’m back to warn everyone about yet again another bad internet bill it’s called the safe tech act

This act is supported by 7 democratic senators including bluemenhal which is never a good sign with him when it comes to internet bills.

This is a misguided 230 reform and when reading it, all it shows is that these people have no understanding of 230 whatsoever.

It’s just another dangerous censorship bill that threatens everyone’s free speech. The creators claim that it’s won’t hurt free speech but it actually does and they do not understand how important 230 is in its current form right now!

Here is a good article explaining the safe tech act really well and why it’s dangerous :

Also talk to your representatives about this and why it’s bad and if you can, try to explain to them about why section 230 is important. Support digital advocacy, human rights and any other groups that supports free internet and expression and let them know about these legislators and their bad ideas!

Update 3

The EarnIt act is sadly coming back after failing two times, now they are trying a 3rd time.

This legislation is dangerous for privacy and free expression and speech. It will bring lots of surveillance and is just as bad as the restrict act.

https://act.eff.org/action/the-earn-it-act-is-back-seeking-to-scan-us-all

Now it’s being reintroduced by two senators and two representatives if you don’t know what this bill actually does there is more information about it here from these links : https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/earn-it-bill-back-again-seeking-scan-our-messages-and-photos

The second one is called KOSA (KidsOnlineSafteyAct),

now this bill has failed to pass last year because a lot of opposition from 90/100 human rights.

It claims it’s would protect kids but it’s actually has a lot of censorship and is very dangerous to lgbt/trans kids and many other kids that are in abusive households. It will actually hurt them instead of protecting them.

If that’s not bad enough it’s tragically gaining momentum and attraction by these child advocacy groups and being sponsored by Dove and Lizzo. And there has been petitions in supporting this unconstitutional bill, One of them having somewhere around 30k signs…

I really wish I could say I’m joking but this is sadly true.

If you want more info on KOSA here they are:

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/censorship-wont-make-kids-safe/

Please everyone call your senators and representatives and tell them to oppose these bills. We really need help into fighting off these bill so we could keep a free opened internet!

[i-heart-yellowstone]

A Boy Named Cooper Norris

Hello, my readers. This is a preview of a Yellowstone / Landman crossover idea that I had recently. Please let me know if you would like this to actually happen.

Raised Fair Share of Hell

Faith's pov

Walking on the campus I felt the wind blow up the back of my green dress. Thankfully I decided to wear leggings underneath it even if it was another hot day in Texas.  Frantically moving my head back and forth I knew that I probably looked like a fool not being able to even find my way back to my dorm room after leaving my family in the parking lot seeing as they had a long drive home.

Stopping on the middle of the sidewalk I turned the campus map in different directions in my hands hearing someone walking up behind me so I asked my question.  "Excuse me, could you point me in the direction of the East Wind dorm building?"

"I can show you something better than that.  My bed specifically." A guy tan with short black hair smirked quickly walking up and pushing my body up against the nearest campus light post.

I grunted against his tight grip on arms, dropping my backpack and map on the grass.  "Please let me go.  I - I don't know you.  I'm just looking for my dorm."

"You want me.  You want me by walking on this campus by wearing that dress.  I know it." The guy put his face closer to mine making me get even more uncomfortable.

Shaking my head I attempted to push him off of me but he was much stronger than I was.  "Please just let me go."

"Nah.  I'd rather have my way with you."

Another male voice joined the conversation causing me and the guy holding me hostage to turn our heads in the direction of the new voice. "The girl said to let her go."

"I wasn't asking for your permission." The stranger snapped at the other guy who had begun to take a few steps toward us.

The new guy who was wearing a red baseball cap with a big letter T on it.  He turned his hands into fists challenging the stranger.  "Clearly you didn't ask for hers.  Now you heard her, let her go before I make you."

"You're gonna make me.  Ha. Yeah right, little worm." The stranger dryly chuckled hiking up part of my dress

The other guy suddenly ran forward tacking the guy who previously had his hands on me.  The new guy wrapped his arms around the guy's waist slamming him down onto his back on the grass.  "I warned you once.  I don't want to have to warn you a second time." The guy who was bothering me moaned in pain, stumbling up to his feet.

"I'll remember this, worm." The stranger spat in his direction walking away and leaving the two of us alone.

Releasing a breath I didn't realize I was holding in I brushed my hands down my dress fixing it as much as possible.  "Thank you.  Um can I ask how you learn to fight like that?"

"I wrestle here at Texas Tech.  I haven't seen you around here before.  Are ya a new student?"

Tucking some loose hair behind my left ear I replied.  "I am actually.  My parents had to head back to our family ranch in Montana this morning.  And I um - don't even know where my dorm building is at."

"I can help you find it.  Oh here's your stuff back.  I'm Cooper by the way.  Cooper Norris." He reached down scoping my backpack and map into his hands while introducing himself with a weak smile on his lips.

I smiled sliding my backpack onto one shoulder eyeing his face seeing he had dark brown hair tucked underneath the Red ball cap and dark green eyes.  "I'm Faith, Faith Dutton."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Montana." He chuckled, gesturing with his hand with me standing beside him where we appeared to be almost the same height.  "Come on, your dorm should be just around this next corner."

Comments really appreciated ❤️

Tag list @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @whatelsecouldgowrong

[talesfrommedinastation]

Every so often, I'll ask myself, "Were the Bad Batch really the ultimate form of Space Rednecks?"

The simple answer? YES. YES THEY ARE.

That's why half of them look white. The Kiwi gods snatched that melanin and cheekbones back when they saw what trashy nonsense these Florida Men of the Republic were up to.

Let's take a quick look from one of their first introductions in The Clone Wars' season 7 episode: "A Distant Echo".

Barely a minute long, and the following redneck nonsense happens:

Clone Force 99, Rex, and Anakin Skywalker (who looks actually happy to be with these dingbats) fly into some absolute garbage dump of a planet that has all the raw grace of Port Arthur, Texas.

They arrive in their crappy second-hand work truck that's filled with leftover food, gun posters, other guns, a Twi'Lek Playmate of the month, and who knows what else. Notice Rex refuses to take a seat in that dump.

"I done heard that folks round here ain't civilized and they do worship the devil or something. Check it out!" - Tech.

Giant critter and its illiterate, backwoods, hillbilly owner knock their car over.

Everyone runs out to gawk.

Everyone whips out their guns.

Hunter and Wrecker literally yells at said giant critter to get off the car and are stymied when Anakin tells everyone to put the guns down.

Of course Crosshair shoots the critter while Tech helps him scope it out.

And Hunter goes for a drag race while cheering.

My neck is significantly redder after writing this out.

[catsushinyakajima]

I have a bone to pick with some Keith headcanons

For the most part they're great! But some I disagree with (im not offended by them like idc im so nonchalant if you headcanon these things)

I'm aware that Keith isn't the most tech savy in the group and that he kind of lives under a rock. But that being said, a lot of hc take this info and completely turn him into a BOOMER. Yes, he's not up to date with the trends and hasn't spent much time on social media. But that was because of his upbringing and also the war. Theres HCs that he's not too socially aware/present, which I do like, but that doesn't make him incompetent with current news/all slang. Like guys, Keith knows how to google search. He knows how to look at the news and accept slang/lingo from other people. He might not know a pop artist or a trending phrase but he'd know how to look it up if he cared (he doesn't need to ask Lance how to do this). Some of those examples were specific.

There's this headcanon of Texan!Keith which essentially puts every Texan stereotype onto him. Like cowboys and ranches and horses and owning trucks and speaking with an accent and listening to only country music. Some of these stereotypes could be true and some aren't even "Texan" things but rather indigenous. I just think it's really funny that this exists cuz like. Guys Texas is just a state. And it's huge too - a majority of Texan people do not live the wild west lifestyle. I guarantee you Keith is just some average joe.

[mollyjimbly]

🚨🚨🚨DANGEROUS INTERNET CENSORSHIP/SURVEILLANCE BILLS WILL NUKE THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT🚨🚨🚨

WE WILL BE SPIED ON DUE TO NO ENCRYPTION

LGBTQ CONTENT WILL BE WIPED FROM THE INTERNET

SEX WORKERS WILL BE CRIMINALIZED

The EARN IT Act of 2023 threatens to undermine online encryption by punishing companies that provide encryption services. And by repeating the same mistakes as a previous bill called SESTA/FOSTA, it would lead to widespread Internet censorship and crackdowns on marginalized communities. When EARN IT was previously introduced in 2020 and 2022, it was shelved in the face of overwhelming public outcry and opposition from human rights groups. Now, lawmakers are introducing EARN IT for a third time, hoping to pass it and break the internet while we’re distracted.

KOSA claims to make kids safer, but it’s really a dangerous censorship bill that would give the government unprecedented control over the internet. This would put youth in danger by preventing them from accessing potentially life-saving resources. Lawmakers concerned about online safety should reject KOSA and instead work to protect all internet users from abusive tech companies by passing a Federal data privacy law.

Lawmakers claim the RESTRICT Act addresses privacy and security concerns around TikTok. But this is about so much more than just TikTok. RESTRICT gives Biden (and all future presidents!) extraordinary new powers to ban Americans from using entire apps simply by claiming they pose a “threat to national security,” outside of any democratic process. Politicians are pushing this bill to show they’re “tough on China”—but instead of protecting us, this law would lead to an internet censored by the president.

Regressive states across the country are taking away teenagers’ online rights. It started in Utah with two laws that create a mandated social media “bedtime” and give parents complete control over their kids’ accounts, messages, and passwords. Utah lawmakers claim their curfew-and-control bills help children, but these bills actually make children less safe by increasing state and parental surveillance and restricting access to community. To make matters worse, legislation like this is spreading. Arkansas has passed a copycat bill. Louisiana and Texas are trying to follow Utah’s lead, and it’s been introduced federally in Congress.

STOP CSAM wouldn’t actually stop CSAM. Instead, it would make CSAM cases harder to prosecute—like SESTA/FOSTA before it—while reducing privacy protections in ways that would harm vulnerable people. Like EARN IT, STOP CSAM undermines end-to-end encryption, a technology that’s vital for LGBTQ+ youth, survivors of interpersonal violence and stalking, abortion seekers and providers, and activists. Weakening E2EE as a means to funnel more information to law enforcement also sets an alarming precedent for government surveillance. All of us, including children, need to be able to communicate in the digital age without our conversations being spied on.

ALSO WE CAN TACKLE ALL OF THEM TOGETHER, LINKS BELOW

DISCORD THAT YOU CAN JOIN

[its-not-a-pen]

fucked up things i noticed in TTOU: chapter 18 Spoilers alert

colony ship is filled with semi-willing convicts. im predicting that when they get to their Space Australia there will be a) sentient creatures already living there a) xeno conflict and b) lots of fucked up dangerous animals to contend with. im gonna put forth a box jelly that flies or something.

there's a fun mystery mold that’s developed antibiotic resistance to the filters (never a good sign) getting a lot of zombie virus/cordyceps fungus vibes from this. i'm guessing the previous captain's severed arm had something to do with this.

chekov’s citrus allergy

chekov's bee allergy

chekov's genetic resistance to re-entering stasis

sythnerves; if you can’t maintain your own nervous system during stasis, storebrought it fine. dont worry about the fact that it seems permanent and is linked to the ship in some way. (im assuming this is linked to the big plot point i unwittingly spoiled for myself)

the republic of fucking texas sdkfbskdhfs

the Public Universal Friends seem almost too nice to be true, there’s got to be something really messed up below the surface other than them being overly-selfless and rejecting individualism. im thinking a slightly more benevolent form of megachurch brainwashing (benevolent being that the participants do this willingly) that is aided by future tech.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 4/2/2024

in which i try to clean two different boxes with varying success

new people: hello! the tuesdaypost is a weekly roundup of stuff i've been listening, reading, watching, playing, and making. it is NOT a recommendation series, although i sometimes dabble in critique. when im firing on all cylinders i ask "what is the core concept of this? does it succeed in what i think it's trying to do and what it says it's doing?is it well-made but i dislike it/beautiful but not for me? why? what parts Really Work?"

if you are into purity culture, yelling at other people about the problematic media they consume, or are under 18 i am going to have very little patience for you.

listening

now that i live in houston i am legally obliged to loop the new beyonce album 24/7. there is absolutely truly nobody fucking doing it like her. every song is a multimedia art piece. goddamn do i miss the album as a tool to convey a specific concept/listening order/flow. sometimes (chappell roan most recently comes to mind, although it does feel unfair to compare anyone to beyonce) every individual song is pretty good but the listening experience if you sit down and listen all the way through the album is unpleasant and choppy. not so here. NEVER here.

my favorite like Dance Number is YA YA (it samples nancy sinatra's boots! and the beach boys' good vibrations! wildly different tones despite coming out a year apart!)

the one that goes on four different character/tone playlists is BODYGUARD.

great early roundup of influences, samples, and collaborators. delighted to see five fingers for marseilles listed, a rocky but underrated south african neo-western free on tubi rn for americans

-

reading

also very texas-relevant with the recent pornhub lawsuits! pornhub and sex tech (among other things) have been samantha cole's beat for almost ten years. i trust her to report sensitively and not for like. shock clicks

this site has a free paywall (sign up with your email for a link to the full article) so bots have a harder time scraping articles: this is a journalist-founded site with only the four founders running it and writing articles. while annoying i do think this is a reasonable measure

The platform still has problems, but after years of critical reporting and a litany of legal and reputational consequences, Pornhub is now more heavily moderated than any other porn platform, and most major social media platforms, for that matter. A growing list of age verification laws has put Pornhub in a position where it is compelled to block access to its site in seven states and counting. In theory, these laws are designed to prevent children from being able to access pornography online. In reality, what is going to happen is that children are going to end up on pornographic sites that don’t care what the law says, and where some of the most harmful content that exists online is actively promoted to them.

she's also got a new limited series podcast with CBC about the rise and fall of pornhub, which was fascinating and kept me company during an extremely early morning drive

-

watching

i'm lukewarm about this one but i spend a lot of time getting there, much like this movie

ive been watching a lot of frankly dogshit thrillers, which has made me wonder: what's the deal with supervillans? where did they come from? and thence arrived at the prototypical film Dr Mabuse the Gambler (1922, dir. Lang). the four and a half hour cut on Kanopy is two normal-length movies superglued together, which makes sense as a streaming product but it is sort of a terrifying runtime and took me three days to get through.

sometimes, as we know, i get a real bee in my bonnet about visiting the early versions of things. dr mabuse is the blueprint for every james bond and mission impossible villain, or really any shadowy supervillain with power over [INDUSTRY] or [THE MARKET]. it is a four and a half hour long cat and mouse game through lavish, eccentric sets between mabuse and prosecutor wenk. it has some trouble sustaining itself bc it is four and a half hours long but does deliver on the cat and mouse aspects. this letterboxed review has interesting things to say about the political climate of 1922 germany and how lang subverts the formula of the pulp serial.

really the film opens with mabuse yelling at his cocaine-addicted assistant, but the film properly gets going with mabuse's henchmen stealing a trade agreement (nothing really carbon dates a movie more than a missing trade agreement. vanishingly few post-early-30s movies have missing trade agreements as plot points) and then he crashes the stock market. for fun and profit.

however. i think every time you see an evil man who is a banker or stockbroker or generally uses money as power you have to interrogate whether it's antisemitic. the answer here is "maybe" but i'm not sure if intent matters when contemporary nazi critics were eager to hold mabuse up as "this is the typical jewish criminal". (sorry about the link directly to wikipedia, it's been touch finding online sources for this section). mabuse is not specifically jewish, but there are certainly elements of stereotype. i am still not good at being presented with "this movie has a shadowy behind the scenes figure manipulating the government and all the money ever" and going "hey wait a minute".

after that tremendous glaring caveat, for which i read more contemporary reviews and reviews in general than i ever read for movies in these posts, is it good? eh. a contemporary VARIETY review remarked (and i largely agree)

The direction of Fritz Lang has moments – but Lang somewhat negates his good technical effects by twenty forty-word captions of a ludicrous unconciseness.

the night scenes are particularly well done, and imo are better than many modern night scenes--other contemporary reviews remarked

In this film the techniques of the film camera (Carl Hoffmann’s brilliant photography) are brought to perfection. The problem of how to film lit-up streets at night has been solved for the first time. It is unbelievably impressive to see the glaring lights of speeding cars flash through the night or the rapid passing of an elevated train of the initially blurred, then gradually focussed glimpse through a pair of opera glasses on to the variety stage, the nuances of light and shade—these things alone prove the value of film documentary.

look at this shit! filmed from within the cars! in 1922!!!

this film asks you to believe hypnotism is real and really effective, so i don't think it's that big of a leap when it asks you to believe in ghosts. i don't understand that quibble from contemporary viewers. there are several on screen suicides with like. specific methods. which is not currently regarded as good filmmaking practice. im curious to know what contemporary audiences thought but couldn't immediately turn anything up, and wading through masters’ theses on cinematic suicide is a little beyond my current mental health.

if i were a more content-minded woman this would turn into a clickbait video essay about the antisemitic origins of every supervillan. however i am unqualified and untalented at video editing and i'm sure there are forty theses on this already. this movie is a hard sell to anyone jewish or employed. it is also a stunning example of cutting-edge film technology and part of the genesis of the modern supervillan. Fritz Lang films tend to fall in the category of “movies i am happy to see once and feel no need to revisit”.

-

playing

playing what is effectively the same game three times back to back (breath of the wild, tears of the kingdom, genshin impact) has sort of burned me out on open world games with a focus on battle skill progression and stumbling across little puzzles in the overworld. i have to get itch.io up and running on this pc and find the most linear jankiest possible one-sitting indie thing. or several of them. i might try the solo ttrpg Gentleman Bandit i seem to have acquired in one of the giant charity bundles

brief breath of the wild update bc i don't want to pull screenshots off my switch: i have gotten to the boss fight for the gerudo and goron regions, have not completed them bc my focus in this game is NOT hearts, and am in the middle of the zora temple. despite the quality of life improvements and new regions in totk i think i prefer botw: progression is a bit easier, there are fewer mmo-style hub quests and repeatable quests. things like the stable photos are cute but very repetitive, so are the sign bracing puzzles, and the sky crystal quests for sky shrines feel VERY samey. also dislike how the CLEAR OUT: [REGION] quests with the monster suppression squads reset at the blood moon.

anyway! to genshin! there was an exceptionally fun little event with a surprisingly involved management sim tacked onto the game??? you make and sell potions fulfilling different requirements, and can eventually stock travelling merchants all over the continent. the actual act of making the potions was this block-filling 1010! style thing (screenshot from polygon)

the new region, a port town and tea-growing area called Chenyu Vale, is maybe the prettiest one in the game so far? it's the one that feels the most picturesque and Designed, like this is one huge mansion garden studded with follies. they also added background chatter and noise in the cities and towns, which really startled me and makes them feels much more lived in! this is a fun trick to avoid putting in a thousand NPCs and making everyone's framerate crash. the less stuff in your game, the less shit can go wrong.

also pulled for and got chiyori, a geo-aligned seamstress (and sometime spy???) swordswoman who has what i can only call domme voice

-

making

ok now we'll talk about boxes. i was rearranging my kitchen, as unemployed women are known to do, and noticed this recipe box i picked up back in mass was disgusting. the finish is starting to fail but it was genuinely grody and last summer i packed my kitchen in a blind panic inside an hour and did not have time to address it. i have never seen a recipe box at an estate sale before or since and it made me desperately sad.

it was full of a lot of stuff.

i went at it with a somewhat inadvisable combination of things: wood soap didn't budge it, so i dampened a paper towel in vinegar and wiped it down in the vain hope it would do something. the thing that worked, and would be inadvisable for anything veneered or less densely textured, was baking soda paste and the scrubby side of a sponge. it still smells Very musty even after 48h of loose baking soda inside with several changes, but that might be partly the recipe cards' fault. i would like to refinish this at some point but i don't have polyurethane on hand and the fun little project budget is empty until further notice/i get a job.

the hinge did rust a bit despite my best efforts but that has since been lightly steel wooled and oiled. a well loved object! it's possible the lady who died just fucking sucked and that's why literally her entire estate including many other things families usually keep was on sale, but i would like to think perhaps she simply had no other family? a well loved/used object even if all the recipes are for semi-horrifying fifties new england recipes.

the other box, pre-acids but post-washing: this topp trading card box with seven episode one packets of cards was intact with the original seal. i have verified it was not worth much more than the $5 i paid for it with the trading card obsessed man in my best friend's husband's friendgroup. i bought this three months ago but the man was unavailable to open it until uhhh last week. some sort of liquid got inside it at some point and it was super corroded. i was going to store embroidery floss in here but even with all my powers (barkeepers friend. brasso.) i cannot completely remove the corrosion. it's not corroded Through but it looks bad and feels rough. so it goes. it'll probably hold the tiedown straps in my car bc that plastic bucket is rapidly failing

[ouroborosorder]

what do you think the most stellar examples of arknights' vfx are?

Okay so there are a lot of examples, so I'm going to try to keep my description of each one short. Unsurprisingly, most of my favorite effects are on more recent, paid skins for fan-favorite/meta 6* operators, since those are the ones they put their whole ass into.

Executor the Ex Foedere. The way that it weaves blasts of light and the shapes of Sankta wings into his shotgun blasts is absurdly creative. Perfect for a saint of Laterano.

Passenger's Skin. Specifically his S3. Stellar lightning is a weird pitch, but it's so fucking beautiful that it works. This is the effect that convinced me that I might enjoy being a VFX artist after all, not fucking kidding.

Jessica Alter. Look. Her skills are underwhelming as fuck, they're all the same shot effects every time. But. Do you genuinely understand how amazing these gunshots look? Do you know how hard it is to make a stylized gunshot that doesn't just look like magic? These are breathtakingly good. The glass shattering on hit genuinely made my jaw drop when I first saw it.

Eyjafjalla the Hvit Aska. It's hard to make a healer that genuinely looks unique, but Eyjalter's dreamlike colors and flat effects manage to bring the visual style of So Long Adele into every map and make it look reasonable with the artstyle.

Kirin R Yato. Monster Hunter's effects are extremely distinct, and seeing them recreate MH's style in Arknights' is really lovely. My one sorrow is that I wish there was more lightning, since like. Kirin.

Lin. Glass is a legitamately hard thing to pull off because it so often just looks like crystal, but leaning more into glass dust and shards makes it work perfectly. Her skin is also quite pretty, but it loses the glass look that made me love Lin to begin with.

Reed the Flame Shadow. Holy fucking shit holy fucking shit holy fucking shit holy fucking shit fire made of flowers?? The way the fire looks secondary to the whole thing while being undeniably present is stunning. Her skin is nowhere near as good tho.

Penance. Penance has such a stunning aesthetic that it immediately endeared me to her. Her vibe of gilded thorny chains carries to her effects and it works.

Texas the Omertosa. Fucking. Duh. It's hard to make a normal sword swipe look unqiue but Texas nails it. Her skin's effects are even more stunning, even if the animations are awful.

Minimalist. It's hard to make effects that are minimalist and still look good.

Specter the Unchained + Skin. I need to specificially call out her skin. Her skin may be one of my favorite pieces of effects at all time. The colors, the aegirian poetry as part of the visuals, the stellar water, it's all practically perfect.

Kazemaru. A sleeper hit!! She's got a lot going on with the "paper-controlling ninja whose clone has a completely unique aesthetic" thing so it seems like she might be too busy, but it manages to pull it off. Shoutouts to her clone's spawn, which actually does the slash mesh slightly wrong intentionally because the ring look actually helps a lot.

Goldenglow. It's rare that I see a lightning character and say "I have never seen anything like that before in my life" and Goldenglow's pink and blue stylized lightning genuinely shocked me.

Ling (Does it Wash The Strings). If you want my choice for best VFX in the game, this would at least be in running for first. It's flashy as hell, but manages to not be overbearing. The S3 dragon attacking with mountains rising from the earth alone is stunning, but the normal attack impact is my favorite part of the entire thing. It's so simple and elegant and stylish.

Amiya Guard. Amiya's Guard form is the combination of Amiya's Arts, Sarkaz Arts, Ch'en's swordfighting, the normal AK Arts and sword design languages, and a tiny bit of weird space tech to represent the Precursors. And it manages to come together to something that feels really cohesive while still drawing attention to how incongruous these elements are. The effects actively tell the story of Amiya - a girl with big shoes to fill, carrying the legacy of so many.

Ceobe, and her Unfettered Freedom skin. At this point in Arknights' lifespan, they had a much more defined visual language for how Casters look compared to melee units. Ceobe, being a Caster who throws fucking enchanted melee weapons instead of casting spells? So she combines their languages, with the buildup and trails of Arts casters and impacts of melee units, it's subtle and I love it. Unfettered Freedom deserves a special shoutout because I love geometric magic so fucking much.

Conviction's Skin. Why is this so good they're a joke operator.

Dorothy's Skin. I may have mixed opinions on this skin, but the effects are objectively stunning. I am personally heartbroken that she doesn't have the sand anymore, but that's a personal thing. I also don't like that her S3's range is obfuscated by the explosion but again that's nitpicking.

There's probably WAY more that I've missed and even more I cut for time, but those are my favorites after browsing the list of operators and skins for like, two hours straight. If there are a few I missed... Look, this list is this long already.

Also note that I didn't really list enemies or anything other than playable operators. Their enemy effects are usually... servicable, with a few standout exceptions with Talulah and Frostnova.

[nbasource]

She - a lot of people don't know this - my mom missed my first ever game my freshman year of college because the plane didn't take off to get to Lubbock to go to watch Texas Tech. Before my freshman year, my mom had never missed a game of mine. My mom has been my everything for me to get here. I can't even put into words - to explain everything - but I'm just really appreciative of you, mom, because of all the stuff of us growing up, and pushing me to be where I am today, and making sure I could get to every trip, making sure my teammates made it to every trip. It just means a lot to me. So, I love you, and I'm really appreciative of you. Thank you, mom.

TYRESE HALIBURTON, after signing a max extension with the Indiana Pacers

[thenixkat]

Just picture instead of the bullshit that was everything Rebirth did and how much it fucked up Ted's character and turned Dan into less than an afterthought:

(Using the Palmera City is also Hub City and somewhere in Texas not terribly far from El Paso for setting)

The Covenant of Ka (retconned to be a cult of assassins, mystics, and warriors that formed around the Blue Beetle that held the title before Kha-Ef-Re) tries to steal the Scarab from retired superhero Ted Kord and kidnaps him to perform a magic ritual to break his bond with Khaji Da as its host since he refuses to use it due to previous 'murderous alien parasite tried to make him and his mentor who it revived from the dead fight to the death over the title of Blue Beetle'.

Let's say they use the (considered inferior due to being made by Kha-Ef-Re, the Blue Beetle that no one liked and who broke the passing down of the true blue Scarab for 3000 yrs, who used impressive by Earth standards magic and non-consensual cloning of a chunk of Khaji Da) as part of the ritual to un-Blue Beetle Ted by forcing him to bond with the inferior Scarab via brainwashing/mind control.

(in this the Red Scarab not having a copy of Kha-Ef-Re's personality in it, is its own very very young and inexperienced but murderous, ruthless, and hedonistic personality)

Retired chubby ex-superhero turned full time CEO and researcher Ted Kord isn't a push over mind you, and puts up a good fight against Scarab. Which leads to Khaji Da being lost somewhere in Texas due to falling out of both fighters' hands during the battle. Ted does end up kidnapped. And the ritual happens to break his bond with Khaji Da as the Covenant of Ka can track down the blue Scarab's unique energy signature later.

Due to the ritual and mindcontrol, Ted Kord is overpowered by the consciousness of the red Scarab and becomes Blood Beetle. Who is then sent to retrieve the blue Scarab so the Covenant of Ka can appoint a new willing Blue Beetle.

(B/c we love face-monster turns in this house. And let's throw a dark mirror at Jaime.)

Meanwhile, Jaime finds a neat blue bug-shaped rock while walking to school with his friends one day. That fuses itself to his spine when he sleeps that night and starts giving him superpowers. And gets him mixed up with the local superpowered street gang (The Posse) and the local magic artifact-collecting crime lord (La Dama).

Meanwhile, Vic Sage/The Question starts investigating the disappearance of his friend after getting contacted by Ted's wife/confidant/assistant/copilot Traceywho's running the company in Ted's absence. Apparently, Vic can sense chi and tracks what he thinks is Ted's chi signature after examining the scenes of the fight and finds Jaime a very new meta in over his head and dealing with a lot. (The chi signature that Vic thought was Ted's was actually Khaji Da's)

The Question becomes Jaime's off-and-on mentor as he continues his search for Ted Kord.

Jaime dealing with having a Zen Buddhist, weird conspiracy theorist, faceless, somewhat able to do magic but prefers martial arts, street level detective politically focused superhero attempting to help him with magical shit, alien shit, assassins, and another bigger badder fucker in an alien magi-tech bug suit all out to get the kid. Both coaching him in how to superhero better, learn how to fight without the bug suit, and pointing him at places to try and help get the Scarab out of him and/or showing him how to help people outside of heroing if he really doesn't want to be a superhero.

I think it is very important that Jaime is presented repeatedly with options to not be a superhero if he doesn't want to be. Like shown superpowered folks who choose to live as normal people (like Mr. Calhoun and my version of Tracey who is magic b/c I think it'd be neat and also funny to have two magic Traci/Tracey's running around)

And so and so, several adventures. Eventually, folks figure out that Blood Beetle is Ted and rescue him. And congrats Jaime you have two mentors now. Tho Ted is more cynical about Khaji Da being very fucking dangerous given past experiences and the murder puppy red clone of Khaji still stuck in him just suppressed. On the plus side, Ted is more straightforward mentor and around more and a bit more personable. (Also Ted Kord's tendency to take care of people he cares about. Like that man has got the Reye's family's back financially for life.)

[darkmaga-returns]

The State Department revealed in a Monday filing that they are "substantially likely" to shut down their $100M Global Engagement Center (GEC), which was revealed in early 2023 to have been funding a "disinformation" tracking group which worked to pressure advertisers to demonetize outlets it accuses of spreading "disinformation."

Except, they're really just "realigning" the "Center's staff and funding to other Department offices and bureaus for foreign information manipulation."

The move comes amid a lawsuit from Texas AG Ken Paxton and several conservative media outlets listed a GEC-funded "dynamic exclusion list" of websites it doesn't like, which it would then distribute to ad tech companies - such as Microsoft's Xandr - in order to try and "defund and downrank these worst offenders," and deprive said sites of ad revenue.

h/t Autism Capital

As Headline News' Ken Silva notes further; it’s unclear how the GEC’s closure will affect the lawsuit. Monday’s court filing said lawyers for all parties are still discussing the  implications.

[Elon] Musk put the GEC on the map in March 2023, when he deemed it to be the “worst offender in U.S. government” when it comes to censorship and media manipulation.

According to revelations from the “Twitter Files”—a trove of internal records about the censorship decisiosn made within the social media company—the GEC funded groups such as the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which in turn compiled blacklists of Twitter accounts that were supposedly tied to foreign disinformation campaigns. The Digital Forensic Research Lab sent those blacklists to Twitter so that the company could deactivate the accounts listed.

[lesb0]

Yeah that’s what a friend of mine said: the best talent is abroad.

I feel the underlying implication is- Americans are stupid . Which yes. However… The United States produces many qualified tech workers. How am I/ anyone meant to believe there aren’t enough.

I’ve met many idiots at “top universities”. But tech is logic based. Are we really meant to believe the 100k plus tech graduates every year are no good? MIT, GA tech, Harvard, Yale, Cal tech, University of MI, Cornell, Columbia, Texas A&M, etc (should I go on?) they aren’t giving the corps enough? Not even mentioning women or black American descendants of chattel slavery!!! I don’t believe your prof. Think of all the dirt gen immigrants this puts at a disadvantage. It’s corporation’s trying to implement slavery, I hope to god I’m wrong

If I’m wrong how to we explain the layoffs. Americans are undereducated- is the only reason. If that is the reason; shouldn’t we aim to lift the education standards? Give people here a chance before outsourcing. Which is not nationalist driven.. not racially driven. The people who stand to benefit the most, in an ideal world, are children who are descendants of slavery and native Americans m Children whose ancestors built everything. People who’s parents came here in the 80s. Idk I feel It’s deeply sinister

Girl go off but I don't know what the hell you're talking about or why you're bringing this up