#seriously fuck off columbiners

[rrotcodfox]

actively ripping off my skin because why cant you little school shooter fanatics use context clues tell me why i would post a video about loving and adoring ‼️‼️NORMAL‼️‼️kmfdm fans and want to know about how you found kmfdm from two little boys who happened to be feeling edgy and killed a bunch of people?????

[gurogutted]

hey guys someone obsessed with columbine just followed me and i had to block them. reminder that i like fucked up media and everything bloody and stuff but you're a weirdo if you're romanticizing real life tragedies, like the person who followed me did!! (had photos of the shooters on their carrd, considered the shooting to be "media").

its completely 100% okay to be interested in crimes and tragedies and all that, i have many special interest/past hyperfixes or just general interests that are related to horrible things in history, but its seriously fucked to romanticize it like that. im not saying your approach to it needs to be exclusively feeling sad or whatever, but theres a point its no longer interest or curiosity or what have you and that its just bizarre.

like i get PURPOSLY putting in images of it to be edgy or whatever. i get that. but theres a line you dont cross without looking like someone whos romanticizing it (...like listing the columbine shooting as "media" right next to tv shows and video games. the transparent image of the shooters on their carrd irked me but i would have brushed it off as just being edgy because i get that.... if it wasnt for how genuinely weird it is listing it like its some sort of video game or fandom or something???)

my page is not a safe space for those who romanticize school shootings/killers/mass murders

calling it out like this because i did not have this in my dni or whatever and im considering adding it to it or something similar. i never thought i needed to because i didnt believe i'd ever come across this issue in 2024 lmao.

being edgy or whatever does not mean praising real life shooters like gods.

if u gen wanna romanticize school shooters go watch zero day or something idk /j (i tried watching it once but it was boring so i gave up idk anything about it)

[toter-welpe]

≈Blog of a degenerate, you should leave≈

✠ — Redecorating for inclusion of a DNI list —

○ - Generally speaking I noticed a few people stumbling into my wretched corner of tumblr and I like looking put together*

✠ – Blog ran by [---] Welpe and sometimes [---] Katzchen, He/it – He/him respectively.

○ - TW: Fuckin' nasty. In all seriousness, expect beyond sex, violence/torture (physical and verbal nature), death (necrophilia included), cannibalism, codependency, stalking, jealousy, heavy leaning into bdsm and sort of paraphillia, etc etc. BLOCK, no reporting, pretty please.

✠ — 𝔻.ℕ.𝕀. — ✠

° Columbiners (please do not compare me here or on main to Eric or Dylan, do not follow me for 'the vibe' I give off, I do not post and do not care about Columbine or TCC)

° terfs, bigots, racists, homophobes, maps, radqueers,

° thinspo, dollettes, pro ana, pro ed, pro mia, coquettes, all related, you are more disgusting than I could ever be.

° Romanticisers of mental illness of any kind, this space is sort of a vent page at its core and a safe space. Deniers of mental illness too.

° dd/lg blogs of any kind (I hate you), lolita enjoyers, infantilisation enthusiasts, the typical Lana del ray fantasy shit - get the fuck out you make me want to throw up. Also abdl's if you still exist, out. Right now. You look the same to me. Also fauxcest, incest, etc. Die.

○ Dictionary ○ :

≈ Welpe's wails — the puppy is upset

≈ Kusse vom katzchen — kitty reblog privilege at last

≈ Emptying the drafts — exactly as it sounds

✠ — Blog made specifically for my lover and nobody else, so baby I hope you enjoy the new visuals it took me a bit get everything to look nice, that being said; — ✠

𝓴𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓶𝒆 𝓹𝓵𝒆𝓪𝓼𝒆!!!

[unicorntyrant]

THIS KIND OF SHIT RIGHT HERE IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE DECIDE ACAB IS RIGHT! 🤬

All the bullshit and lies is what makes situations like this particularly infuriating. Police in the US as a whole don’t seem to realize social media and smart phones poke holes in their lies faster than they can tell them. Also, as a teacher, I find the first point to be VERY upsetting because it is absolutely true.

And FUCK, I did not know the cops got a kid killed with their complete and utter incompetence AFTER they got to the shooter. JFC, the US police system is a damn failure! We seriously need to address this as a country, but given the current politics, that’s not happening anytime soon. 😒 SO fucking sick of this country’s BS right now.

*Warning* Discussion of events from the Uvalde school shooting. Some of this is fucking awful.

"They could have been shot. They could've been killed."

Copied/Pasted:

“In case anyone wants a recap of what happened on Tuesday in regards to the police response (correlated by Brynn Tannehill on Twitter & other sources). Here is the failure we know so far, with more to come out:

- The armed school officer watched him enter the building, didn't stop him, & just sat & waited for backup. We've been told that armed cops assigned to schools were supposed to stop this from ever happening.

- The heavily armed & geared up officers all waited 60 minutes before entering the school while kids bled out, wasting a golden hour. They could have saved the lives of some children who were shot if they had received medical attention in time.

- A child repeatedly called 911 during the hour the gunman was inside, per press briefing. Gunshots could be heard over the line. "Please send the police now," the child begged. Texas DPS official says the on-scene commander believed the active shooter situation had ended & children were no longer at risk. "It was the wrong decision," he said.

- The officers tazed, pepper-sprayed, handcuffed, & arrested parents who were begging them to go in, all while still hearing shots being fired inside of the school.

- Angeli Rose Gomez, a mother of 2 students, drove 40 miles to the school when she heard about the shooting. After arriving, she was quickly handcuffed for "intervening in an active crime scene" & eventually persuaded law enforcement to release her. She moved away from the crowd, hopped the school fence, sprinted inside the school to grab her children, & made it out of the school with them alive.

- When officers did enter the school, they went to rescue their own kids rather than deal with the shooter & promptly went back out of the building to resume hanging out with the other officers.

- At one point, a few fathers got fed up, broke a classroom window, & started pulling children out themselves.

- Officers lied & said that the shooter barricaded the door when it was just locked. They said that they were incapable of knocking down or opening the locked door to the classroom where the shooter was, so they had a school employee come do it for them with a key, putting that employee's life in extreme danger.

- Uvalde SWAT team had done a walkthrough of the school in February to prepare for a situation like this.

- Outside observers say Uvalde police ignored every lesson learned since Columbine.

- When the police did enter the classroom, they failed to neutralize the shooter first. As a result, another child died due to their incompetence because one of the cops hollered out, "Yell if you need help!" A girl called out "Help!" The shooter instantly shot her.

- It was an off-duty border patrol officer who went in & took down the shooter without any backup while the local police were outside handcuffing & tazing parents & claiming they were waiting for more & more & more backup.

- Initially lied about the timeline, lied about what the shooter was wearing, lied about their response, lied about a "barricade," lied about multiple details.

- Police is 40% of Uvalde's budget.

- Initial reports by police that they pursued & pinned down the shooter in a classroom were false. In reality, the shooter had plenty of time & locked himself in a classroom.

*And the best part, because of the Supreme Court decision in Castle Rock v. Gonzales, a 2005 decision delivered by Scalia, no matter how incompetent, cowardly, or negligent officers are, they cannot be held accountable.*

Edit: all this info can be found at Washington Post, NPR, Huffington Post, the Associated Press, NBC, New York Times, & many more, as well as cell phone videos released by the parents at the scene."

Please share or C & P.

[i-watch-too-many-movies]

Favorite First Viewings of August 2020

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) (dir. Roy Rowland)

A bright, bold, surreal musical about a boy who wakes to find himself trapped in a bizarre dystopia where he and a bunch of other kids are forced to play the piano for a dictator. The set design is creative, the characters are weird, and Dr. Seuss’ script is delightful, showcasing humanity’s fear of tyranny post-World War II all while being as playful and childlike as it could be. 

All About Eve (1950) (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewickz)

“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.” Bette Davis is a pure movie star, and she owns it in All About Eve as Margo Channing, a Broadway actress trapped in a sexist industry that decides it’s done with its leading ladies when they turn 40, and forces them to compete with younger stars, like Eve Harrington. A hilarious, catty, and yet dark look at the entertainment world. 

Born in Flames (1983) (dir. Lizzie Borden)

An Afrofuturist film, a look at a future that shows that a revolution did happen, but morphed into neoliberalism. It successfully showcases the rage that Black queer women had felt, how they were ignored, and how they plan to revolt again for true equality. I love how the documentary-style filmmaking intersects news footage telling people how great everything is with the injustices of America, particularly that through bosses and police officers.

Elephant (2003) (dir. Gus van Sant)

A cold, minimalist film, one that’s about a school shooting in Portland, Oregon, based off of the tragic Columbine massacre. The violence and the shootings are not romanticized by any stretch of the imagination, as the kids are shown as the uncool, Nazi sympathizing dumbasses with guns that they are. I like to believe that the tracking shots on the kids who are eating lunch, walking from place to place, and developing photographs are Van Sant and cinematographer Harris Savdies’ tribute to the kids who lost their lives. 

Losing Ground (1982) (dir. Kathleen Collins)

Kathleen Collins’ semi-autobiographical film, one that shows the struggles that people can go through anytime they date self-important male artists. How they are not treated with respect and are seen as getting in the way of the man’s art, and when they manage to get away from that toxic environment, they become happier. The costume design and color palettes are to die for. 

Millennium Actress (2001) (dir. Satoshi Kon)

Another film to add to my favorite genre, “Falling in love in a short amount of time.” Gorgeously animated, and full of ache and longing. It perfectly showcases that quest to feel that same brief moment of bliss and love that you felt as a young person. The work you put into your art stems from the desire to be loved again, as well as from the heartbreak you experienced. Much like Kon’s previous film Perfect Blue, the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred, but the emotion that is felt is the viewer’s guide to understanding where Chiyoko is in her life.

Night Moves (2013) (dir. Kelly Reichardt) 

What starts as a thriller about three environmentalists and their plan to blow up a dam turns into a crushing study about the nature of guilt and how it affects the human body and mind. One of Jesse Eisenberg’s best performances, as he perfectly plays a character who tries to remain calm and collected yet constantly lets his own negative emotions and dark impulses get the best of him, and Reichardt’s direction and Christopher Brauvelt’s cinematography showcases a lonely, cold world for the characters of Josh and Dena. 

Rafiki (2018) (dir. Wanuri Kahu)

A sweet, lovely Kenyan romance between two women, and much like Gus van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho, it deals with the choice of being able to truly express yourself and conforming in a town that hates you but you must conform to in order to survive comfortably. The colors and lighting pop, and the last conversation between Kena and Ziwi is just beyond heartbreaking.

Safety Last! (1923) (dir. Sam Taylor & Fred C. Newmeyer)

An iconic silent comedy, with Harold Lloyd’s innocent charm and cute glasses and hat making him one of the greatest figures of classic Hollywood. Best remembered for its climb up the clock tower, which is still one of the most thrilling moments in film history.

Sherlock Jr. (1924) (dir. Buster Keaton)

Another silent classic, with Buster Keaton arguably being the greatest stuntman of all time. Silent films are some of the greatest uses of the visual medium, as Keaton’s timing as a comic actor is pitch-perfect, and his direction allows him to perfectly sync up his stunts to the score. I love how heroic he tries to be in this one, imagining himself as the world’s greatest detective so he can finally impress the woman he loves and clear his name. 

Shirley (2020) (dir. Josephine Decker)

One of my favorite films of the year so far. A surreal, swampy, sweaty look into the life of Shirley Jackson as seen through two friends of hers that move into her house. I love the way it explores mental illness and isolation. Even though Jackson was a writer worth taking seriously, her husband’s need to control her and her colleagues’ way of shutting her out because her depression is too much for them to handle is heartbreaking. Shirley and her roommate Rose’s relationship is complex and showcases a mutual bond born out of their frustration with their spouses. 

Sun Don’t Shine (2012) (dir. Amy Seimetz)

There are no logos or opening titles in Sun Don’t Shine, the film puts you immediately in the violent and worst parts of Crystal and Leo's relationship. Seimetz's direction and use of close-ups on Crystal and Leo's face show an abusive relationship you can't look away from. And yet, those same close-ups show an intimacy that is there, showing how Crystal can fall for Leo's abuse, as his face is full of faux innocence and false love. Now that we know what a garbage human being ex-partner Shane Carruth turned out to be, this movie only becomes scarier as a result. A strong feature debut from director Amy Seimetz, I'm even more excited for She Dies Tomorrow. 

Synecdoche, New York (2008) (dir. Charlie Kaufman)

A film about a crushing loneliness that follows theater director Caden Cotard. He can’t maintain a loving relationship with his wife, his daughter, or even close friends because all he can think about how he can use these moments shared with them in his art. If we ever met Caden, we could see him as an asshole, but Philip Seymour Hoffman brings such tenderness and vulnerability to this character, making it one of his greatest performances. A surreal, saddening film, with a final shot and line that will be burned into my brain forever,

Totally Fucked Up (1993) (dir. Gregg Araki)

Gregg Araki’s follow-up to The Living End shows a group of disillusioned gay teenagers, their loneliness and sadness. A beautiful lo-fi aesthetic and a script that perfectly captures the real-life angst these Gen X queer teens had went through, as well as the violence and hatred that was inflicted upon them. One of the saddest endings I can remember. 

[imaginativeart]

I'll never understand the notion of wanting equal suffrage for the next generation...

"My father worked in the coal mines and died of black lung to afford the shack I grew up in, and I'm developing scoliosis from my construction job to afford our double-wide trailer home, so NO! YouTube is not a career!"

"I have slaved for two decades paying off my student loans, so NO! This generation shouldn't have their student loans cancelled!"

"I had to pay $7,000 when I broke my leg in '83, so NO! Healthcare shouldn't be free!"

Like....it completely sucks that earlier generations, had to deal with a bunch of bullshit, don't get me wrong, but why would you not want better for the future?? Millenials to Gen-Z grew up with the birth of the technology we see today. We adapted to it, it became part of us. With that evolution came more knowledge, ingenuity, career opportunities and cultural crossroads like never before. 

Disclaimer** You should never be a leech. You still need to work hard for what you want in this world, and with every door closed in your face, you need to press on if you truly want to reach your goal!

But this generational scoff that Boomers, and Gen X does at the prospect of YouTubers, TikTokers, Activists, Climate Change, Racial Justice, Feminism, etc. Is mostly whining at this point.

Unfortunately, these generations were subject to:

- Having children at younger ages

- Lack of Social Media (an advantage in some ways)

- Tabooed subjects (Molestation, Rape, Abuse, LGBTQIA2+)

- Stifflement of Women and POC- and so many, many more....

But it's crazy to me, this concept of "Entitled Millennials", or "Socially Inept/ Sensitive Gen-Z".....like, no....

Our generations saw "Flava of Love" revolutionize Reality TV; Paving that avenue for income. We saw Napster, LimeWire, and iTunes pave the way for artists unknown. We watched MySpace dissolve, Facebook emerge, Instagram takeover and TikTok be born, allowing the notion of social notoriety and income streams cross paths. RuPaul's Drag Race is one of the top watched/rated shows ever, giving voices to queer people across the world. We watched the footage of Columbine, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Vegas and more horrible tragedies, thus opening us up to conduce conversations on mental health and gun issues. We studied economics and flooded the stock market with damn Blockbuster and thwarted trust-fund baby, Anglo-Saxon capitalists at their own games. We saw a black man become President, and a daughter of immigrants become Vice President.

Formally, as a "tail-end millennial" I apologize to those of generation's past. I sincerely do. I think of the millions of queer people who took their own lives in a world unable to accept them. I mourn for the hundreds of thousands placed in asylums or not taken seriously and told to get over it. I personally feel that all those who did pay off student loans, if they are forgiven for the rest of us, should be reimbursed. And I'm sorry you've had to work in a field that is not your passion. I really am...

But please....the point of having children (if you have them) if to want a better life for them than you had to endure. Respectfully, get down to the music, or stand on the wall and have a drink. 

To Conclude:

Love is Love

Climate Change is Real

Billionaires Shouldn't Exist

Treat Mental Illness

No One Needs a Machine Gun

Women Deserve Respect

All Religions/Gods Are Valid

Life's Too Short To Settle

Don't Be Fucking Racist But hey....I'm just a Left-Leaning, Native, Pansexual, Mentally-Ill Socialist Snowflake, with Luciferian and Ancient Spiritualist beliefs.....what do I know...

[hardforbenhardy]

scandal | rogerxfem!reader

summary: you and roger had been married for multiple years and now, and your relationship could not have been going better. or so you believed.

warnings: angst, cheating, basically dickhead!roger

word count: 2.8k

this was the first fanfic i ever wrote for roger, and i must say i’m kind of proud of it! it’s pretty sad but yakno. there’s a lil snippet at the end some may recognise because this oneshot was inspired a lot by the song ‘burn’ from hamilton! hope you enjoy :) (it starts as a news article btw)

i’ve decided i will make a part 2 if this gets 100 notes :)

Queens Second Scandal?

Just after the release of the bands hit Scandal, drummer Roger Taylor has been caught getting cosy with a mystery woman, despite being in a 6 year marriage with wife Y/N Y/L/N at the time. With Queen being on hiatus after the Magic Tour of '86, Taylor formed new rock band, The Cross. With the band having been on a 3 month tour of the UK and Germany, his wife was left to her own devices; evidently giving the member free reign of the well-known strip clubs around Germany and nearby cities. Being the 'sex on legs' of Queen, all fans were sceptical of the idea of Taylor finally settling down with marriage and children – seemingly, being correct to do so after pictures have recently been released of the musician leaving a nightspot with one of the workers of a German sex club, arm in arm, getting into a taxi.

You were reluctant to ever marry Roger; marriage was never something you expected to happen in your future, having commitment issues after your first relationship left you single for a majority of your life. Men seemed to be the bane of your existence; every man you had tried to get close to turned out to be lowlife scum who either tried to use you or just turned out to be downright arrogant. So, of course meeting Roger Taylor instantly put you off him; he was cocky, conceited and far too overconfident in his charm and good looks. Yet you could not deny that there was something about him that made him so alluring, meaning you fell very hard very quickly. He proposed on your one year anniversary in the year of '82, by taking you on a romantic holiday to the country you had been wanting to go to for years; Italy. He had it all planned out;

"Roger, you remembered" You breathed, chuckling softly in disbelief that he had done all this for you. You held the delicate, flowy material in your hand, admiring the floral patterns that canvased the dress. You had seen a summer dress in a shop down the street from your hotel a few days before, and obsessed with it the moment it had met your eyes. Your favourite part was the blue floral print; there were bellflowers, bunneras, columbines, desert bluebells, irises, sea hollies – all of which contrasted with the background white. The neck cut was rebelliously low, but you knew it would look ravishing when on your body – it was like the dress was made just for you. There was one problem; it cost far too much for you to afford, and after spending all the money on this trip, you didn't want Roger to have to splash out again. "I thought we agreed it was far too expensive?"

"Y/N, you are the love of my life – I'm always going to splash out on you when I get the chance. And it's our anniversary, you deserve it for being the most incredible girlfriend I could ask for" Roger cooed, making you blush and face the ground, only for Roger to place his hand gently under your chin to lift your head to face his once again. You stared into his piercing, ocean eyes before saying "Thank you" and planting a soft, passionate kiss against his rosy, plump lips.

"Well, go try it on! I want to see my sexy girlfriend in the dress I spent hundreds on" Roger laughed, pushing me into the bathroom to try on the dress. Let's just say, he got to see his girlfriend with the dress for about 5 minutes before it was off again.

He finished the romance-filled day with an evening boat ride down the Grand Canal; the idea having been on your bucket-list since you were a teenager and discovered a thing called romance. Having voiced this to Roger multiple times during late-night drunken conversations and post-sex pillow talks, you weren't shocked he had picked this to be way to end the day. It was more the action after the ride that rendered you speechless. While you turned around to admire the view behind you, Roger had found himself knelt on one knee in front of you, ring box in hand. So of course, when you turned, you were met with the one image you had only dreamt of.

"Y/N, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?" Those words alone had you hooked and you were sure, in that moment, you wanted to spend the rest of your life with this man. There was nothing that could change that decision.

That was until the events of this morning. After being sent by Freddie down to the studio reception to collect the weekly paper, you didn't quite expect something so disturbing to be plastered on the front page. The paper fell to the ground out of your hand, unable to read on. Your mind repeated the words 'getting cosy with a mystery woman' over and over, completely unable to comprehend what you had actually just read; Roger cheated on you?

Of all the ways you saw your relationship crumbling, cheating was not one of them. Of course you knew Roger was previously known for sleeping around, he was basically a fairground for all the groupies. But he had made it very clear; he would never, ever in a million trillion years cheat on you. And you believed him. You seriously, truly believed him.

You bent down to scrunch the paper tightly in your grasp, before storming up the stairs back into the studio. You threw the door open, your hand clenching tighter and tighter around the news second by second. Unsurprisingly, you immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room; Brian and his current girlfriend were slumped on the couch talking about astrophysics, Freddie was pacing around the room warming up his vocals, John was sat cross-legged on the floor tuning his bass, while Roger sat at his drum kit banging the melody to recently released Scandal. They had all clearly noticed the streams of mascara-stained tears cascading down your cheeks and your increased breathing rate as they all stopped in their tracks to look up at you. Though your eyes remained solely on Roger; his head shot up in an instant, stopping the beats he was making to jump out of his chair and make his way over to you.

"Y/N, love, are you okay? What happened?" He fretted, his arms searching up and down your body for any sign of injury or physical harm that may have caused your sudden outburst. John was also quick to his feet, handing you a tissue to wipe away the tears, but you angrily declined telling him to fuck off. Admittedly, John did nothing to deserve such a reaction, in fact he deserved completely the opposite reaction; but you were too choleric to even entertain the idea of being polite to people. "Y/N, what on earth has gotten into you?"

"You said you would never do that to me." I breathed, scoffing at his utter arrogance of the situation. He knew exactly what he had done, and you knew it, but you knew he wouldn't admit it without you confirming you knew. "You promised"

"What are you talking about?" He questioned, furrowing his brows in confusion, looking you up and down. You couldn't bring yourself to say it, knowing you would easily breakdown if they even touched the tip of your tongue. Instead, you shoved the paper harshly against his chest, making him stumble back slightly and grab onto the crumpled paper you had slammed into him. He began to unscrew it open, reluctant as he could see exactly where this was going. His eyes scanned over the first sentence, and you noticed them glass over. "I'm talking about that"

He grasped onto your lower arm, yanking you into the room next to the studio, as to keep the commotion away from the rest of the band; it being a private matter of course. Your anger only grew at the fact he had the audacity to seem irritated at you right now, he was the one who had cheated on you. You stormed to the other side of the room, turning away from Roger as you could barely even look at him. You leant forward on the office desk, hanging your head low as you tried your hardest not to carry on crying. There was a choking silence filling the room, eating away at the tension of the atmosphere, which was quickly broken by Roger. "You seriously believe this? The tabloids always lie, they take every chance they can to twist a story, because it makes them money. Y/N, you know I would never do that to you, I-I love you" His voice cracked saying the three final words, alerting to you Roger wasn't angry – he was ashamed, upset, distraught even.

"Do you? Do you really? Because that German hooker seems to have a different opinion" you spat, turning around to finally face Roger and pointing you finger firmly against his chest. You did your best you could to avoid meeting Roger's sorrowful eyes, but failed miserably when your eyes flickered up to witness tears rolling down his crimson cheeks. You almost felt conscience-stricken and apologetic; how badly you just wanted to give into your wifely instincts and wipe the tears away, caressing his cheek gently and holding him tightly in your arms for comfort. That was until you remember exactly why he was like this. He had betrayed you. Roger urgently lifted the paper back to this view, scanning over the page even more for some kind of indication of what you meant. That's when he saw it:

"[Roger] had spent the whole evening in the club, indulging in the performances and everything we had to offer – he seemed extremely stressed, and was most likely looking for a form of relief that his wife was unfortunately unable to provide at the time" - The worker, seen leaving the nightspot with Roger, has explained – "I had asked, ensured both his wife and him had given full consent before he took me home and we had an eventful evening. I can't deny; he lives up to the expectations of the nickname."

"You told her I had given consent for you to go fuck another woman? Are you out of your mind? She has told the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed. In clearing your name, she has ruined my life. You are always so paranoid how people perceive you – you, you, and you. Never me, never our relationship, never our two children. Did you ever stop to think how this might affect me, how this might affect Felix and Rory?" You cried, struggling to even say the names of your two children.

"Y/N, I swear this isn't how it looks-"                          

"Isn't how it looks? Roger, she made a fucking statement saying you had fucking sex – and you told her it was okay?! How can you say this isn't how it looks?" You sneered, getting closer and closer to Roger every second, only for him to stand there rendered silent. He didn't know what he could say to fix the situation, considering you wouldn't let him get a word in edgeways without having some form of comeback, although he certainly didn't blame you for the way you were acting. Therefore, he let you speak; he let you pour out every emotion before he would even try to make a contribution. "You know, I saved every letter you wrote me. From every single tour; The Game tour, Hot Space, The Works, even the Jazz tour when we weren't even dating. And from the moment I read each one, I knew you were mine – you said you were mine. D-do you know what V said when we saw your first letter arrive? She told me how she could see how much you truly loved me, apparently John called it to. Told me to be careful, he'll do what it takes to succeed. I re-read each of those letters every single night when you would be out recording, or drinking with the boys, or doing a press conference. I was scanning and searching for answers in every line, for some kind of sign, that you still loved me. You want to know why I believe it, why I believe her? Because for the past year, you barely ever put the effort in. You were never home; you would turn down sex way too often for someone with the nickname 'sex on legs'; you always found excuses for me to stay home while you hung out with guys; y-you took every chance you could to sleep on the couch; we'd argue way more than usual. That's why I believe it. Because as I kept falling in love with you every day, you started falling out of love with me" Your voice was barely above a whisper with your last words, the tears you had been holding back finally taking their course, joining the other stale tears you cried when you first read the paper less than 10 minutes ago.

"Y/N, baby, no please don't think that. I love you, I love you so much. I will always love you with all my heart, nothing can change that. Not the boys, not the boy's wives, and certainly not some German prostitute."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Look, it's a long story and I can't explain it all right now, please can we just go home and we can sit down and have a proper talk about it all" He tried to comfort you, rubbing your upper arms slowly and caressingly. But those words alone stood you frozen.

"So you did do it? You slept with her? God, why did I ever trust you? From the moment I met you, I knew I would want to spend my life with you in some way or another. A-and when you proposed, on that boat ride in Italy, I knew for sure the way I wanted to spend my life with you was married, getting a family, living together – you know whole shebang. I thought it was too good to be true, and it turns out it was. I'm erasing myself from this narrative; let the journalists wonder how Y/N reacted when you broke her heart. Roger, the world has no right to my life; they have no right to our bed. And when the time comes, you can explain to the children all the torment and humiliation you put their mother through – when will you learn that they're your legacy; I'm your legacy?" You practically spat, not even feeling a hint of sadness anymore but rather just pure resentment and fury for the man, all the care and love you held for Roger had dissipated. How dare he put you through such distress when all you had done was love and support him through everything he did; he had the audacity to make you feel like you meant nothing to him as if he hadn't spent the last 10 years with you.

"Y/N, please, give me a chance to expla-"

"No, you don't get that chance. You lost that chance when you took the girl back to your fucking apartment and fucked her fucking brains out." You breathed, before shoving past Roger's paralysed body, approaching the door. You were almost resistant to walk out, considering you knew all the boys would be sat out there – most likely having heard the conversation that had just took place taking into account you weren't exactly quiet through any of it. The only thing that tipped you over the edge was the fact you could not stay in the room any longer with that cheater. You turned to face Roger one more time, seeing him stood there more fragile than you had ever seen before, before pulling your ring off your finger and placing it on the table that was beside you. Roger's eyes widened at the sight, tears pricking his eyes once again as his breath hitched in his throat. "N-no, please, keep the ring on, don't take it off."

"Hey, Rog, at least she got a good orgasm though" You mumbled, sarcasm running sharply through your tone before opening the door.

"Y/N, please no. Y/N wait-"

And with that, you were out the door.

[simpsonsnight]

Episode #183

WHAT THIS?

The Cartridge Family Season 9 - Episode 5 | November 2, 1997 Homer gets himself a gun and joins an NRA-like organization. It might just be the NRA. I forget. But I bet they changed it for the show. Again, not sure. Don’t remember. Don’t feel like looking it up. Please don’t write me and tell me. This is getting published almost a month after I wrote it so I won’t even know what you’re talking about. This is very much a Mike Scully episode, and in fact this is the first non-Treehouse-of-Horror Scully-produced episode to air. The thing that sticks out to me the most is the lil scene where Homer is sitting on his front lawn lamenting that he has to wait to get his firearm, and while this happens a bunch of targets (a truck with the TARGET logo, some rabbits, Flanders on a riding mower) all present themselves in front of him as we fast forward through Homer’s waiting period. It’s set to "The Waiting” by Tom Petty. It takes a little context to realize that Mike Scully is an impossibly lame dadrock guy (NRBQ hasn’t shown up on the show at this point.... yet). This is the era where I first noticed that the show was indulging in a lot of uninspired musical montages, usually extremely right-brained in nature: Here we have a classic rock song called “Waiting” while Homer Waits. It’s the Simpsons simply telling you that they can afford expensive music cues. The first act is also not that great, an extended riff on Soccer being a boring sport. It’s a comedy idea that’s as fresh as... well, off the top of my head I remember the SCTV Godfather episode made a big rude soccer joke. So like, early 80s? At least? Damn. As far as season 9 goes, I guess this episode is better than most? I like scenes in this, and I remember watching it on TV and not thinking that it was particularly bad. It’s only through hindsight that I see the cracks now. So, I guess I’ll keep this one.

THE B-SODE:

A Brief History of the United States Segment from "Bowling for Columbine" | May 16, 2002 Micheal Moore movies were one of the few respites from the shitty inescapable politics of my backwater redneck town. I saw them all. They made me feel stuff. I was young. I’m not anti-Moore but he definitely has shitty stuff about him. Like, for example, this cartoon, which appears at the point in the movie after he interviews Matt Stone from South Park. But here’s how Moore did Matt dirty: this cartoon is heavily implied to be from Matt & Trey, but it’s not. They had nothing to do with this. It actually resembles their cartoon “American History”, which was a student film they made in the early 90s. I forget where, but I recall Matt & Trey being annoyed at this, and Matt in particular felt used. This kind of thing Moore does is irresponsible and shitty to do, and I don’t think he should be above criticism just because he leans the same political direction I do. In fact, I was such a Moore devotee that I had all the episodes of The Awful Truth and TV Nation, the later I had to get nth-generation tapes from eBay. But I still read up on his dishonest film-making practices and took criticism of him seriously enough that if people asked me if I liked him I’d reply “he’s a decent satirist but a shitty documentarian”. All of this lead up to the moment when “Fahrenheit 9/11″ came to Redding. I worked as an usher at the time, and I actually came in before I started work so I could watch the first showing before my shift. Air America had been on for a couple months or so, and I listened to it a TON. I read all the blogs they cited, I started reading the news paper, I was WELL-INFORMED and POLITICALLY ACTIVATED, and GODDAMN IT, I CARED ABOUT ALL THIS STUFF DEEPLY. So a particular PACKED showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 plays and I’m sitting in the theater watching the last ten minutes and my heart swells while the credits play, and the theater is emptying out and I’m just waiting till it empties most of the way out so I can start picking up other people’s garbage. An old woman walks up to me. “You see this movie yet?” “I have!” I said proudly. “What do you think of it?” she asked me. “Well...” I started thinking about how dishonest Michael Moore can be, and how his films require more scrutiny than just looking at them at face value. “The movie effected me emotional and I agree with the message, but I feel like I need to do more reading about--” she cuts me off: “start reading the newspaper. It’s all in there.” she walks away, setting her half-eaten popcorn on a chair for me to pick up for her. And THAT’s why I fucking hate democrats.

[throwrocksatboys]

I don’t want to co op this post, so I’m making my own.

I was in sixth grade when Columbine happened. Aside from OKC, it’s the first real tragedy I remember. (I didn’t learn of Waco until later) And it’s the first mass shooting I remember. I remember how everything changed after that. Absolutely everything.

Before Columbine, school issued ID cards for everyone to be used for the bus and the lunch line and taking out library books. After Columbine, they came up with this ridiculous idea that everyone had to wear them as a necklace at all times. And if you got caught without it, you got written up and thrown into detention. Mind you, these things clipped on to the end of the lanyards they issued us, so losing it while running between classes or changing for gym was a fairly common practice.

Anyhow, seventh grade. A few months after Columbine. First year of high school. Now I loved photography. Still do. And for some reason I carried my camera in my backpack. (Film bc it was 1999) There was a kid in my English class who was routinely a problem. He made threatening comments like “I could blow up the whole school and no one would care”. Threatening the girls was common. One time he slammed my wrist so hard into a desk I thought he broke it. Another time he put his hands on another girls neck so hard he left marks. I took pictures with my camera of the red finger prints left on her neck.

You know what happened to him? Absolutely nothing. Seriously. Nothing. No one did a damn thing. We complained. I went to the nurse and the office when he threw my wrist into a desk. I told people when he made the threats about blowing up the school. I don’t know what the other girl did about him grabbing her neck. (And yes, the teacher was aware of all this. He heard the “blow up” threat and told him to sit down) Eventually he failed the seventh grade and was held back. So we didn’t have to deal with him anymore. But still. Nothing ever happened to him. This was MONTHS after Columbine and he wasn’t expelled or even suspended.

So when Ben talks about the Dayton terrorist, about how he has a history of this kind of violence, and no one did a damn thing, I’m not surprised in the least. That terrorist was a fucking infant when Columbine happened. If nothing happened to my classmate twenty fucking years ago, why would anyone assume anything would have happened to the Dayton terrorist??

We need gun control. But we also need to stop letting this kind of bullshit go. We need to stop ignoring the warning signs. “Boys will be boys” should be used to roll your eyes when a 6yo falls off the jungle gym, breaks his arm, gets a cast, and climbs the fucking jungle gym with his damn cast on. It should NOT be used to excuse sexist, violent behaviour.

[popwasabi]

“Joker” Review: Send in the (Problematic) Clowns

Directed by Todd Philips

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beets, Frances Conroy

 “Joker,” on paper at least, has a message most us can all agree on.

Over the last five or six years, mental health has been a subject of increasing importance for a variety of reasons from millennial burnout, substance abuse, increases in suicide and the stigma is slowly dying away. People are more concerned than ever about it and, generally speaking, everyone wants the system to do better at addressing it in society.

(”Office Space” continues to be more and more relatable every year...)

Throughout its two-hour runtime “Joker” makes the case for better mental healthcare and a society that’s more empathetic to the mentally ill. For some viewers this is a much-needed discussion on a complicated topic through the medium of pop culture’s most famous psychopath. 

For others (me), the problem is it goes about this in an extremely problematic way that grossly mischaracterizes the problem, the people afflicted by it and namely who the victims really are, making some of the pre-film controversy unfortunately not all too inaccurate.

“Joker” takes place in early 1980s where a man named Arthur Fleck cares for his disabled mother in an increasingly hostile Gotham battling the unfair social structures of society. Arthur struggles with his mental health, seeing a social worker each week, taking multiple psychoactive drugs to keep his mind intact, and failing to keep down a Tourette like laugh that estranges those around him. As the world gets increasingly more difficult to live in around him Arthur begins to see himself in a new way and wonder’s what the point of participating any longer in it, thus beginning a series of events that will change his life and the city forever.

One of the core appeals of Gotham’s most sadistic psychopath, The Joker, has always been that the motives behind his violence have rarely had a clear reason behind them.

Other than to piss off Batman, The Joker just kind of does things because he can and kills for the exact same reasons. There’s no reasoning behind it, he just doesn’t believe in much of anything. It’s just chaos and he loves it. There’s some twisted nihilistic appeal to that in a cruel world that relentlessly reminds us many times of it and it’s what made the Clown Prince of Gotham such an iconic villain across all forms of media.

Because we all kind of want to stop caring, even just a little.

(Iconic.)

But what happens when you try to give a character like this a reason behind his twisted psyche? Does it take away or enhance the character? Many writers have toyed with this concept but never concretely answered it whether it was Alan Moore alluding to him having a “bad day” in “Killing Joke,” or the intentionally vague and confusing backstory Christopher Nolan gave the character in “The Dark Knight.”

The question behind who The Joker is, and why he is, is never truly answered in any case. They still tend to keep it mysterious because well, giving a concrete reason to this character’s particular madness kind of takes away from what makes him interesting. To quote Ledger’s Joker he’s an “Agent of Chaos” and nothing more. The Joker doesn’t care so why should we?

(Let’s really not care about this version though. Like seriously. In fact, throw it in the trash and shoot it into the sun...)

But director Todd Philips decided to give the character his first real motive behind his psychosis in “Joker” and while it can be admirable that he attempted something no other writer or director has done, and in some small way has a positive message to it, the results is at best a boring slog of a movie and at worst a problematic depiction of the mentally ill.

“Joker” certainly get’s A-pluses in plenty of areas of course; Joaquin Phoenix probably deserves an Oscar for his twisted depiction of a pre-clown prince Joker as he fully takes on the character’s twisted, emaciated skin and Philips certainly creates a believable pre-Batman Gotham city with some effective Scorsese-esque shot creation and sets. The movie though is extremely predictable as nothing all that surprising happens from beginning to end. It’s just one shitty moment for Arthur after another, culminating with (SPOILER) Arthur’s encounter with a young Bruce Wayne that leads to the final moments of the film.

(Did we really need to put Bruce through this again onscreen? The MCU gave Uncle Ben a reprieve at least...)

I wish I could get into the more superficial reasons this movie doesn’t work, such as its overly self-serious dialogue, Philips making some perhaps unintentionally humorous moments in the movie but the problem is truly it’s muddled script that appears to not really understand what mental health issues look like and who the real victims are.

“Joker” appears to make the case that society has largely ignored and left behind those with this stigma, that we are responsible for not engaging with the problem actively and not caring about the problem. Throughout the film, Gotham and its inhabitants are relentlessly cruel to Arthur, sometimes to the point where it can be over the top, showing that this is what we do to people like Arthur in the real world. They are beaten both physically and mentally and we refuse to understand or acknowledge their existence and their problems.

In this way the film almost endorses Arthur’s eventual turn to violence as the price paid for ignoring people like this.

(I’m amazed how literal some of these memes ended up being after watching this movie...)

Again, the problem with this film isn’t that this isn’t a tremendous issue in society because it is; suicide rates are climbing, despite progress in mental health awareness many country’s still stigmatize it as a “you problem,” and healthcare in this country, well you know the drill. The problem is the film seems to make the claim that these folks who are left behind by these broken systems are in danger of becoming violent monsters and it’s fucking gross.

I cannot stress this enough when I say this but there is NO CONNECTION between mental health problems and an increase in violence. In fact, they are far more likely, ten times more likely in fact, to be the victims of the kind of monster The Joker is in this movie.

The idea that simply better healthcare will make those with mental health issues less likely to commit violence isn’t a new one. The NRA and other small-brained politicians (left and right) have been scapegoating them since the days of Columbine and our doofus of a “president” isn’t far behind in licking those boots. 

In the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, as protesters did walkouts to decry gun violence, the mental health “advocates” made a counter protest called “walk-up” encouraging students to talk to each other more and engage with the outcasts in their schools.

While I certainly can agree that we should all try to be nicer to each other instead of not at all, it grossly ignores the fact that the shooter, Nicholas Cruz, was reportedly abusive, sexist and racist to his fellow classmates. Tell me, in what world would it be smart or safe, especially for a female student, to engage with a guy like this? Cruz didn’t kill people because he had “mental health problems,” he killed people because he was evil asshole.

(Yup, these people definitely look just some misunderstood social outcasts who were just in need of a few more hugs and some happy pills. Yup....)

Again, I can’t stress this enough lack of mental healthcare doesn’t make super villains; it’s pure fiction like this movie. Throughout the film Arthur is bombarded with slight after slight after slight be it from the institutions that leave him in the dust or the people around him. The movie kind of wants to state that the intuitions need more help but weirdly at the same time shouldn’t be trusted as Arthur is openly hostile with them throughout the movie. It’s almost comical at times as after a while and some viewers might find themselves after a while going “ok, we get it. The world is really mean to this guy, when does he become The Joker?”

The point is though, the motives behind great acts of violence have rarely, if ever, been about not being able to get access to some guy’s prescription drugs. In fact, the truly mentally ill are far more likely to be a danger to themselves than to others (as stated in a few of these articles linked already).

But for argument’s sake let’s pretend that this is not meant to be a literal depiction of how mental healthcare in society has failed people. Let’s say its metaphorical instead, that those with mental health issues become monsters within their own minds, hell the movie kind of alludes to a bent reality that may or may not have happened within Arthur Fleck’s mind.

(It’s actually one of the few narrative choices I liked about this movie, so A for effort, Mr. Philips.)

The problem with that is that again it depicts the mentally ill as monsters instead of the victims of those kinds of people. The movie does make a point of depicting the system as monstrous but again a person like The Joker as a product of that is misleading of what is actually going on.

Depicting the mentally ill as monsters, be it metaphorical or literal, will do more harm than good to those who are afflicted by these issues.

While I do not subscribe to the idea, necessarily, that movies create shooters these films definitely don’t exist in a vacuum either. Afterall there are still d-bags who think Tyler Durden is the real hero of “Fight Club,” and idolize maniacs like Al Pacino’s “Scarface” because they’re “badass’s.” I went into this movie thinking the pre-trailer controversy was likely overblown but I came out of it thinking some incel asshole could absolutely find something to relate to in this particular version of The Joker.

This movie has proven to me that the Joker’s origins are simply best left mysterious. He is just best used as a stand-in for chaos and anarchy with no specific goals or ideologies. Though his psychosis has certainly been the stuff of speculation behind his motives for decades by the fans its never been about him being crazy so much as it is about him being the antithesis to Batman’s ridgid sense of law and order.

(Probably the best cinematic depiction of that clash of ideologies.)

The Joker is a fascinating character and there’s a reason fans have gravitated to him for so long and inspired plenty of writers, directors and actors to try their hand with him. But any amount of understanding regarding what’s going on with mental health in society will take you out of this movie almost instantly for most people.

I think fans of this movie have perhaps latched on to the right messages of the movie, namely that we do need to do better with mental health and the mentally ill in this country, and I definitely don’t disagree with that, but the conclusions this movie appears to come to just aren’t right and it makes the movie damn near unwatchable for myself at least.

I’ll close with this though, “Joker” is inspiring in one way and one way only for me and that’s that it may cause a change in the way Hollywood see’s this genre of movies. I’ve written extensively myself about how, at times, the MCU has too rigidly adhered to the blockbuster formula and created almost a factory-line style of movies for the general populace to devour but a film like this, that is enjoying quite a bit of success right now, could change the way major studios approach these characters.

(The blockbuster formula can be great though sometimes if done right. Exhibit A ^)

Superheroes are modern Greek myths these days and have tons of source material and nuance to mine for directors and writers. Restricting them just to simple heavily CGI, action blockbusters is a disservice to their extensive catalog of stories and the comic book writers that made them famous.

While “Joker” is definitely not my favorite comic book movie of all-time I can respect that it took the risk of doing something different and going against the grain of most of the rest of the genre. If it inspires Hollywood to greenlight newer and more unique depictions of these characters I’m all for it.

In the end though, “Joker” is a mess of a movie that sends some right messages but ultimately the wrong one. If you enjoyed it great, I won’t stop you but I do ask  you to think about how this movie could be twisted in the wrong ways as well.

After all, we live in a society...

 VERDICT:

2 out of 5

Can we all agree at least this is still the best version of The Clown Prince of Gotham?

[kurtty-drabbles]

Misfit au (the start)

N/A: I´d say redemption for characters is good if is earned, not every evil character should or can be the good guy, but, if DC can make Harley the good guy...why not the others?

@djinmer4 @sailorstar9 @dannybagpipesarecalling @discordsworld @look-ma-no-hands336

The weather is humid and is giving the impression of noir, as someone is running from prison, which, ironic, is the perfect feeling for this night to a certain group. The government of the US is sending their top agents to retrieve the fugitive, dead or alive, sadly for them, the fugitives are still missing.

"Miss Weller" the captain is talking with his boss "the Suicide Squad is still unknown" the captain speak uneasily as the general and the other men are searching in the dark for something that may be already out of the state, only God can know what those freaks can do.

"Captain Smith, retrieve your men right now, at this point, find them will be impossible, let´s clean our steps" is a silent order with many implications and the Captain understand what his real command is as the man shoot the scientists and their assists.

"The operation is cancelled" the Captain explained as many scientists are shoot "there´s no register of Suicide Squad"

Meanwhile, the fugitives are in the sewer, much to their dismay, the old cliche of comic books ended up saving their lives. Columbina, Blink, Ice Woman, Polaris, War Path and Croc Man are walking in the sewer and watching rats and crocodiles(an Urban Legend, but, this is New Gotham) alike without caring.

"So" Columbina  speaks breaking the silence "we went to magical electroshock that should have killed us, but, manage to take the chip in our minds, without giving any sequela, and we´re here...in the sewer, full of dirty water" Columbina speaks as she has a hard time to believe in anything that just happened, well, in a sense, Columbina needs to believe in order to keep her sanity.

Polaris, being the one with any source of light, as the sewer was never designed to have light, even in New Gotham " No, what impressed me is the someone design this" she points the sewer " to be bigger enough to any person or meta-human to walk freely, but, they refuse to put lights"

"Sometimes, we got to wonder," Columbine said "how self-aware is New Gotham truly is"

Tori only sighs and complains about taxes. "Seriously, I do my taxes for that?!"

Blink intervene "we´re under the Suicide Squad, no one pays taxes, ironically, this has to be the only advantage the government ever give to us"

Warpath watches the two women complain about taxes and government, as Kitty is finding amazing how they went through electroshock and their hair doesn´t even look messy. And Dr Croc really wants a beer.

"What" the Apache man speaks gaining the attention of the others " we will do now? Return for our old lives? Do we have this option?"

Kitty said nothing, neither did Polaris, as the green haired woman only speaks one line "I´m looking at a door, in the fucking sewer, and I can only say, only in New Gotham"

The silence rules of the group and the future is uncertain, Warpath is musing about the experience and the uncertainty of everything makes too real, freedom was a vague dream, and now, she´s offering many, many possibilities.

Freedom is at their hands and they still smell like they just get out of a sewer, well, they really did. And now, Polaris and the others are planning on what to do, New Gotham is dark now, and the sounds of sirens can be heard, is for them or for someone else?

People wearing hoods show up, speaking in a dialect that is akin to Chinese, Kitty deduces as she used to study languages before...Suicide Squad and the hood figures show weapons and are ready to fight.

Collective all they speak one thing. "Only in New Gotham" and quickly they all begin to fight with the hood figures, who, of course, know all the martial arts and magic one can think of, in the end, Suicide Squad wins over the hood figures as Columbina used her hammer to finishes the last enemy.

No blood or guts was meet, instead, only sand is left on the floor. "So, sand people are real?" Columbina asked and before she could receive an answer they are transported to a mansion.

Tori only sighs as she points out they are still in New Gotham, of course, in the Magical part. "When you´re rich why stay in the non-magical part of New Gotham? I hate rich people" Tori aka Ice Woman complains and War Path wonders what´s real anymore.

"Ah, finally, the Suicide Squad arrives" a new voice jolts them and they take a step back as Ra Al Ghoul is drinking wine and looking at them as a good host, everyone knows who Ra Al Ghoul is. Never make an enemy of this man. "Oh, please, don´t be afraid, if I´d want you dead you would be dead already"

"Thanks, that really breaks the ice," Kitty said and Tori resents that line. "But, why are we here?"

"I´ll explain, but, first, Lorna Dane Lesher, I owe you the biggest apology I can give " this surprise everyone, including Lorna herself, as no one expected this. Deep down, they are all thinking if Columbina is right and maybe the dirty water and the electroshock are a bad combination.

"Judge by all your confusing faces, I better explain myself, Lorna, your father, Erik Lesher was a good friend of mine, Magneto, the master of Magnetism, and when you went to live with your family by your mother´s side, Magneto asked me to keep an eye on you, you see," Ra paused for a moment and continues "he had many enemies and he wanted you, his only daughter, to be saved and have a normal life, I did the best I could, but, I was a fool to not think the government wouldn´t use someone with your abilities and for that I apologise" Ra finishes his speech and Lorna has no idea what to say. Lorna looks at Kitty and asked her, with her green eyes pleading and only that, to do something.

"Look," Kitty said "we went through hell, maybe you had seen many versions of hell" Ra agree he did, Kitty is not surprised "but, offer sand people to kill and apologies will do shit to our situation, we had no life, and nothing to grab on reality...I can´t speak by the others, but, I want revenge or justice, whatever appropriate word is need here, against the monsters who used me as a weapon, I want to kill them, and I´d not think you want to help us"

"But, Miss Pryde...I´d want to help" Ra speaks offering a smile "You all want to murder, and I can sympathise with revenge, but, I can give more than a shiny weapon, well, no one here needs a weapon, I can give you a cover"

Lorna now speaks, still shocked(in more ways than another) about the revelation and is gazing at Ra Al Ghoul "how can you help us?"

"And what this will cost us?" Kitty adds as no one would give big favour for free, especially someone like Ra Al Ghoul.

"I can give you the perfect cover, now, for the price...I just want everyone´s discretion" he offers in a velvet tone and the others take a minute to consider the option.

"Well, when the devil makes an offer and we have no other option and we just defeat sand people, why not?" Kitty said shrugging comically. Lorna has still no concrete idea of what to think right now, her father passed away and still surprises her even in the grave.

3 years later, one of the popular shows is "You´re wrong" is the most popular Talk show in the history of TV, only losing to "sketch TV" a show that introduces the news how people like and the fans and haters often point out many of the greatest or worst moments of the program, often using each moment to prove journalism is dead or is doing alright.

Few realize that Sketch TV is not a channel of journalism, is a comedy show, lead by Kitty Pryde, Tori Drake and Lorna Dane, Clarice Fong, James Jonathan Proudstar and Eric “Croc” James

"Ryder, careful" Vera speaks drinking her cup of coffee "you can be overshadowed by this Sketch TV"

"Vera, they are a comedy show," Ryder said a bit amused, but, as he´s looking at some of the old sketches, Kitty giving details about how a person can steal a diamond, something clicked in his mind "but life is a comedy" and he is off to investigate and prepare his next news.

[fsouth-park-is-imaginative]

THE ANGELS ARE WATCHING CHAPTER 4: ROTTEN ON THE INSIDE

We are all candy covered on the outside Peel away the shell and we're rotten on the inside

We are all angry, angry on the inside Peel away the shell and we're frightened on the inside -lollirot

Her skin was purple in the light. A halo of light surrounded her like she was the Virgin Mary. The Bullet Hole, a bar famous for a shootout back in the seventies, was not very busy. I could hear the small chatter of the drinkers at tables. I chose, perhaps, the most depressing spot I could think of. The bartenders have a sense of humor, they joke about sex and death. The regulars go there because nobody they know will walk in on them drowning themselves in alcohol. Everyone comes in drunk, they leave close to alcohol poisoning. The alcoholics and sex fiends flock to the Bullet Hole to milk out the blood from each other, and the sorrow from themselves.

“So uh, what’s up with this place?” She asks.

“Its a fun place to get a drink at,” I say, “it’s called the Bullet Hole.”

“Why?”

“About ten ish years ago it was the site of a triple murder-suicide.”

“Gnarly. Why are we going into it?”

“Because it’s a fun place to get a drink at.” I repeat

“You sure? Because it looks like a place you’d go to because there are no kids within a ten mile radius.”

“Don’t worry you’re safe. I’ve been here tons of times. It’s just sad divorcees and old war veterans. They won’t bother you.”

“I’m not worried about that, I can handle myself.” She retorts.

“Of course you can, you’re what? Five feet in socks? Terrifying.” I joke. She rolls her eyes playfully.

“More like five foot one and a half inch, mister.”

“Oh, even scarier!”

“I am, yeah!”

“I could crush you by resting an arm on your head. You’re fragile like paper.”

“Am not.” She argues. I raise an arm and place in on her head like she’s a countertop.

“Huh, how’s the weather down there echidna?” I say in an aloof voice.

“Hey!” She laughs. I’m careful not to apply too much pressure.

“Hmmm I think I hear a voice, but it’s…. so low down…. I can barely hear from so far away…” I take my arm off her when she makes an annoyed noise.

“Shut up.” She says. And after a moment she continues. “Echidna?”

“Yeah, it’s uh,” I struggle to justify my reasoning. “A small animal.”

“Oh. Is it cute like I am?” She asks, teasingly.

“You’re cuter. Your junk isn’t on your chin.” She laughs

“Echidnas sound gross.”

“They are. They look like genitals with necrosis.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah,” I hold open the door “shall we?” She nods and walks into the bar.

Each chapter part two

———————————

Tonight he noticed how the women's eyes Passed from him to the strong men that were whole. How cold and late it is! Why don't they come And put him into bed? Why don't they come? -disabled, Wilfred Owen

“So you’re saying you’ve never heard of Oscar Wilde.” She states incredulously.

“Nope. Not a word. Why, is he an actor or something?” I ask. She shakes her head, fully astonished.

“No! He is only THE best writer in the entire WORLD” She says.

“Oh yeah? What did he write?”

“Many things! He wrote the picture of Dorian Grey, The decay of lying, the importance of being Earnest, a story about a nightingale and a rose…” she trails off. “You’ve seriously never heard of him?” I revel in her shock and subsequent attention.

“Nope. He any good?”

“Yes! He’s super good- he’s the most influential and important person ever. He is the most beautiful man-“

“Wait. Cuter than me?” I tease

“Well, no, I guess not. He kind of looked like a Columbine shooter, but that doesn’t matter. He’s beautiful purely by virtue of existence.” She says, as if she had memorized her lines ahead of time.

“By virtue of existence.” I echo. I had, in fact, heard of Oscar Wilde. I had read a  poem his a while ago, after I read the last few lines in bright yellow graffiti under a bridge.

“Yeah. Anyway, not to make you jealous or anything,” She laughs. I smile.

“Never.” I lied.

I take another sip of alcohol. I have a higher tolerance, I’ve been drinking since fourteen. The little miss love of my life hadn’t drank a drop before her birthday last month. I’m in the clear, she’s slurring her words. She laughs.

“Anyway, isn’t he beautiful?” She says. The alcohol is making her brain fuzzy, and I slip something into her drink while she isn’t looking.

“The one that looks like a columbine shooter?” I ask, teasing.

“Yeah. Him. I don’t like school shootings, I don’t like murder. It’s morally wrong and makes me feel all icky. But I’d love to watch something die at some point. I want to be there to see the light leave their eyes. Death intrigues me.” She says.

I chuckle darkly, looking away at the dirt-caked floors and cockroaches.

“You might just get your wish.” I say dryly.

“What? Oh, look! Fire!” She points over at the corner, where indeed, there was a fire. It was very small, but in the minds of several drunks, it rivaled the twin towers. Several patrons ran out screaming, while others seemed to have caught the suicide train and stayed in their seats, sobbing for the flames to take them. I flinched, imagining my blackened skin curling like paper under the deceptively beautiful golden flames.

“Fuck.” I say. I grab her hands and lead her out the door. There are three exits, I use the one with less frantic drunk people going through it. She laughs

“Fire! Fire! Fire!” She claps, laughing like she’d just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Yeah, fire. Fire.” I echo.

I hope she’s not a necrophiliac.

The fire was instantly squashed out, apparently it happens a lot there. The owner of the Bullet Hole came out in the cool night air and addressed the crowd of disgruntled drunks and divorcees.

“Listen,” he said, old hoarse voice full of annoyance. “Apparently one of you drunk idiots decided it would be a good idea to start a fire in a cup of alcohol, despite the fact that there is a strict no lighter policy in the bar.” He pointed at a sign outside the door. Sure enough, there was a picture of a lighter with a cross over it. “If nobody listens to the signs, what’s the point of them? I’ve got THIRTY FUCKING TWO SIGNS OVER THE ENTIRE JOINT” he starts yelling. “SO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. STOP LIGHTING THINGS ON FIRE.”and with that, he took a deep breath, let it out, and went inside the bar. The door locked and the fluorescent open sign turned off. I turn to Alice.

“You okay?” I say. She nods.

“Fire is scary. But it’s also… hot. Fire is the whore of agony! I love it! I love it! I love it!” She starts laughing again. I shake my head.

“It’ll start to kick in soon.” I say.

“What?”

“Yeah. And you’ll run, right? Because you’re afraid? It’ll happen. It’s the chemicals in your brain. Thirty minutes in.”

“You’re funny.” She said.

I took out my phone. 8:17. The day was blue with the setting sun. The night sky gets dark early now. I look at her. Her face looks loopy. Her hair is tangled. She’s got dark circles under her eyes. She looks like someone that got tuberculosis in the Victorian era. She looks like someone thought her dying form was so beautiful they put her picture in every newspaper to commemorate the tragic beauty. She looks like if Simonetta Vespucci was born in the 20th century, and people treated her the same. She looks like people treat her like she isn’t a person, she’s just that beautiful.  I don’t, I know that she’s alive. I know that she has thoughts and feelings. I know that she’s so intelligent she could look like absolute shit and it wouldn’t matter. I know her. I know her. I know her. And if I wrote a book about our love I would write her name over and over again for the prologue.

Alice. Alice. Alice.

She looks alarmed.

“Have you decided I want to kill you? I don’t. That’s just the drugs” I say, “and you can be afraid all you want. But I’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you safe forever.”

“I-uh-“ she stammers, award of the sudden danger I possess to her. That’ll be a side effect of the drug, I assume. Intense fear. She takes off running and I stay back to watch her suddenly retreating from. I’ll give her a head start.

[medea10]

Medea Rambles...It’s Reality

I would really love to put up a review today. Really, I would. And I would love to talk about the latest Pokemon episode, really I would...But, I'm not in the mood. Because of certain events, I'm not in any mood for my usual Sunday shenanigans.

Whenever I pick up my phone and see that damned CNN Alert message, I think one of three things has happened.

1. Trump said or did something incredibly stupid, illegal, or dickheadishly stupid.

2. A celebrity from my childhood died.

3. A massacre has occurred and was caused by gun violence.

And in the past seven days, that third option has come up more often than not. Now, by no means am I fully against guns. It's not my thing, if you like hunting, by all means. If you feel you need it for protection, I don't give a flying fig. However, there are certain guns that really shouldn't be in the hands of anyone. Period! And each time I hear about what a gunman uses, it's usually an AK or an AR-15 or some other monstrosity that really shouldn't be in the hands of (what it seems like) very unstable men. And in a lot of these massacres including the last three prominent tragedies, these very unstable men are under the age of 25.

That is fucking frightening.

Why would anyone want to go to an open place like a school, a Walmart, a gay nightclub, a concert on the Vegas strip, a church, a mosque, a synagogue, a local pub, a college campus, or a garlic festival to shoot up innocent people?

Oh yeah, all of these places have been shot up in the last couple of years. And again I need to say, THREE OF THESE HAPPENED JUST THIS WEEK ALONE!

I remember being in middle school when the Columbine shooting happened and in shock over what I was witnessing. Now it’s by no means the first gun massacre in our country and sure as fuck wasn’t the last. But the mere fact that this was a high school and these were students being slaughtered raised a lot of eyebrows. Now not much action was taken at the time, but there were plenty of back-and-forths over who was to blame for this. Being in middle school, they pretty much blamed all the things I liked including video games, South Park, and Marilyn Manson. Seriously, just because Dylan and Eric listened to Manson, all Manson listeners were going to go on a killing rampage? Fuck you then and fuck you now!

Then I remember 12 years ago with Virginia Tech and freaking out because, hey, I’m a college student. Who’s to say UNM wouldn’t end up on the national news one day because of a tragedy involving gun violence? Then again, I’m just a paranoid, autistic person and I worry over everything.

But then it wouldn’t just be at a school...it would be in places you wouldn’t expect. A strip mall in Arizona. A theater in Aurora, Colorado. And even an elementary school in Connecticut.

Yes, I have to talk about Sandy Hook! Twenty 1st graders and their educators were gunned down. That should have been the final straw in taking some freakin’ action! These were six and seven year olds going to school. AND RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS FOR CORN SAKE! Because of this, my cousin has a quiet room in his home where his daughter used to play and sleep.

Yeah, not-so fun fact about Medea. I have a relation to one of the victims in Sandy Hook.

So imagine my disgust with pukes like Alex Jones attacking these families, calling them out for faking their children deaths. Alex Jones can just drop from the face of the earth and I’ll sleep like a baby at night. But like with Columbine, not much action was done. Even though President Obama tried, he couldn’t get Congress and Senate to pass any kind of gun regulation laws.

I would like to blame it on the fact that both the house and senate were Republican-led at the time and whatever the black president wanted to happen, they told him to sit and spin because fuck your needs! Yeah, I want to say that they’re all a bunch of racist crackers, but most of them are still kinda lobbyed by the NRA. And when I say kinda, I mean, these guys are willing to lick boots for the NRA and screw the safety of the people.

So, no gun regulations happen and more tragedies continue happening. It wasn’t really until the San Bernadino tragedy that lawmakers wanted to do something. But not about gun regulation! No, because in that particular tragedy, the people causing the mayhem were part of ISIS (or so they claim). If the shooter is someone from a different place other than the U.S., they hate us for our freedom and this is terrorism. But if a white guy from Ohio does it, it’s just a sad day in America.

Now there are many of factors to these killers. Mental health is a big factor played in many of these tragedies. Yes, that is a biggie in general. Because people suffering from mental illness are statistically more likely to be a victim of gun violence than to commit one. People only bring up mental illness if the shooter is a white, American-born boy and soon enough, they’ll drop the subject of helping folks with this problem. How about we talk about gun regulation?! Have weapons of war off the streets and out of our homes! No one needs guns that can turn a body into swiss cheese in a matter of seconds given to a regular joe. Oh and once again, nothing happens. Even after we get some of the worst shootings after Sandy Hook! Because while 20 1st graders being gunned down in a classroom was pretty fucked up, we ended up with more obscene tragedies.

Just to name a few, the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, FL where 49 people lost their lives (during Pride Month no less), an outdoor concert on the Las Vegas strip where 58 people died, and another high school shooting in Parkland, FL where 17 students lost their lives. At least with the last shooting I mentioned, the surviving students had ENOUGH and demanded action. In some ways, change did happen. We have a new generation ask the questions my generation didn’t and the generations before ignored it all.

With the swearing-in of a new Congress in January (the first time it was Democratic majority since 2010), the first issue they took up was on gun regulation. And it passed the house! The only problem is that the leader of the senate has refused to let ANY of these bills pass. He just let’s it die. And then you have that same sonuvabitch send out thoughts and prayers? The Congress is trying to do something so we wouldn’t have to go through these horrible tragedies time and time again! Fuck you Mitch! No seriously, fuck you and shove those thoughts and prayers up your ass because we know what you’re all about! We saw you during the days of Sandy Hook!

And so we continue with this wave of gun tragedies! Only now, a lot of these recent shootings seem to have a certain, controversial thing in common. All of them either liked Donald Trump or praised his rhetoric. I know I shouldn’t tie any tragedy to any serving president. I didn’t blame Clinton for Columbine. I didn’t blame Bush for Virginia Tech. And I never blamed Obama for Aurora, Phoenix, or Sandy Hook. But Donald Trump is a whole ‘nother level of blame.

It’s safe to say we’ve NEVER had a president quite like this. Someone who would rile up his supporters in some frightening ways. I don’t want to repeat ANYTHING of what this fool says. He carefully words his statements to his base and watch these fringey people go off the deep-end. When you have a president blaming Mexicans, banning Muslims, and criticizing African-Americans, there’s a lot of toxicity to absorb. And I am sick of it!

A lot tragedies in the past two years have had the essence of Trump lingering around it. The man who sent bombs to Trump’s enemies last fall was a staunch Trump supporter. The man who shot up a Jewish synagogue last year, also believed in Trump’s words. As did the Parkland shooter! Oh, let’s not forget the man who shot up the mosque in New Zealand earlier this year, he believed in Trump too. And same with the two of the three shootings that has happened in the last 7 days. People trying to enjoy themselves as they eat garlic-flavored foodstuffs in Gilroy and families buying things they need for the upcoming school year in a Walmart in El Paso...all of them taken out by white supremacists guided by words of a lunatic leader who believes black and brown people are the enemy.

His words are not helping. His words are damaging.

I know gun violence has been a major issue way before Donald Trump became president. But this recent onslaught of violence is too much to bear. If he was a decent person, he would put an end to his disturbing rhetoric. No more of these “Go back to where you came from” tweets. That means calling out white supremacy when you see it! And cut the shit about good guys on both sides! When you have one side marching and shouting, “Jews Will Not Replace Us” and the other side finding offense to those words, this shouldn’t be a fucking debate!

This country needs to fucking change and change now. Whether it’s through legislation, replacing political representatives with people willing to give a damn, or overthrowing a dictator. Do it and do it now!

Sorry for this rant, but...I’m just tired of this happening over and over again. I’m almost to the point of being numb by these tragedies. And that shouldn’t happen.

[the-columbine-reports-blog]

Library Witness – Andrew Fair

Masterpost

First of all let me remind you that this summarizes a testimony. The victim was going through an horrific situation and his memory and perception may have been altered by fear. However, if there is a mistake I made or an important point I forgot to mention, please tell me.

He was interviewed in a private office at the Light Of The World Catholic Church (23/04/99).

A counsellor at the church called the sheriff’s office, saying they should meet a black Columbine student called Andrew Fair.

Andrew was in the library typing a report when he started hearing noises that sounded like someone “hammering on nails” coming from the outside.

Everyone ignored it and some even made jokes.

He assumed the noises were firecrackers, the result of a senior prank.

A female teacher came in and said “There’s a man with a gun! Get away, get down!” then “Where’s Miss Keating?”

That is when the students took her seriously and went under the tables.

Mrs. Nielson said “Everyone get down! Back away from the door!”

The fire alarm was off and he could see smoke that began to fill the library.

A white male entered the library. He described him as “six threeish,” blond hair that came “past the ears, but not over the shoulders” and “strangley.” He was wearing a black baseball-style cap that was on backward, and black clothing. He carried what looked liked a “machine gun,” a long gun, thin barrel.

The suspect said “This is for all these years of shit we’ve had to go through! Or, you’ve put us through!” Andrew was uncertain of the exact words used. 

The shooter then said, “Everyone stands up or I’m gonna kill you all!” No one moved at that point.

The very same suspect said “Look what we have here! We got a Nigger here!” Andrew believes he referred to Isaiah. He then heard “laughing and chuckling” followed by a gunshot from the first subject [Dylan].

He saw a black strap across the chest of the second shooter, and on strap were “slots” which he believes were intended to hold ammunition.

The second suspect was “much shorter,” between 5’10” and 5’11”.

At that point, one said: “Who’s next?”

Andrew and the other students were under the table, but their legs were “sticking out” and visible.

He heard a girl say “Oh my God! Oh my God!”

One of the shooters said “You know I’ve always wanted to do this!” and that “this” may have been said about wanting to “cut someone” with a knife. He was not sure if he heard it and if someone had told him afterwards. 

One of the shooters said “You better get the fuck out of here, we’re gonna blow this fucking place up!” and the other one started laughing.

He saw the first shooter [Dylan] behind the librarian’s desk and say “We have a problem here,” a few “pump” action of a shotgun racking, two “boom” and then the shooter said, “done.”

He remembered asking another student saying “Are they gone? Are they gone?” and being answered, “be quiet.”

Andrew saw a student lying nearby with “smoke rising from his stomach.”

A girl under the table said “come on guys, let’s go!” and they cautiously got up and either crawled or ran out of the library.

[lunar-landscapes]

Hey someone wanna talk about what the fuck is going on in Denver right now? This shit is fucked up and this shit is why I fucking hate the "true crime fandom" and "columbiners". I dont like to hate on people on this blog but jesus fucking christ I know many schools in the south Denver area are fucking canceled due to safety concerns cause a fucking Columbine fan keeps making threats on schools in the area, including my old high school. I'm not in Denver rn but this shit is seriously fucked up and NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT except those who are sharing that school is cancelled. Sorry for the rant but I'm pissed about this and I'm pissed that theres a fucking "true crime fandom" on this hellsite and no one says anythi ng. Like theres one thing to have an interest in true crime, I do myself, but people on here make fucking mood boards and shit for the fucking Columbine killers and this is what that zhit does. So fuck off true crime fandom, fuck off columbiners. I wasn't even alive when Columbine happened, my family didnt live in the Denver area at the time, I didnt even go to school in the same district as columbine, I dont live there right now and I'm fuming. Fuck this hellsite.

Sorry for the rant, I'm mad

My heart goes out to the victims of Columbine and their families, as well as anyone in Denver right now who is afraid for their safety because of these threats

[lesbiampire]

okay so i just have some notes on the bold type season two’s newest episode (betsy), aka what i’ve started calling ‘the gun episode’, because i have some serious issues with how the writers chose to do this one, as i’m sure many other people do.

so, i wasn’t surprised they chose to tackle this. tbt has always attempted hot-button topics, i just wasn’t expecting this one to feel so far removed from the characters, what they do, and what we know about them. did anyone have any clue sutton had a shotgun? has this ever been brought up before? if it has then i’m sorry, but to me it felt random and kind of forced its way into the narrative.

the episode starts and we find out that sutton’s instrument from school is actually a shotgun. okay. jane is understandably freaked out by this and sutton makes a show of how she thinks jane is overreacting - my first issue here is with this characterisation? because, has sutton been watching the same show as the rest of us? it’s pretty typical jane sloan behaviour to be freaked out by everything, and if sutton knew ‘she would react like this’, that shows just how much she should have told her. this isn’t just some secret from high school, it’s a weapon that has been living in their shared apartment! i’m sorry but sutton’s reaction is the most out-of-character thing i think i’ve seen all season, it was enough to make me pause the episode to let off some steam, it took something away from my viewing process.

my second issue is with jane’s reaction, or rather, the reason for her reaction. it’s very sensitive and i was seriously worried tbt would fuck it up. jane lived only a few miles away from columbine when it happened, and she even knows some people who died. introducing real-world events into tbt is nothing new and i commend its efforts for trying, but in this case it’s not the content of that so much as the way they consistently choose to characterise jane. my question is: why can’t jane just have opinions on things without having to have been influenced by some real-life event for her to feel that way? 

think about it. this is just one example - you also have her mom when it comes to the breast cancer episode back in season one, and also her reluctance towards christianity shown earlier this season is also because of a lived experience. they are painting jane as some kind of tragic heroine who has lived through a lot, and if she just has - fine! but it’s consistently used to validate her beliefs about things and at this point it feels tired, i look and jane and wonder why the writer’s seem to think she couldn’t have had an opinion on guns without this. any character who seems to have had no contact or knowledge about guns - for example kat - is shown to be almost apolitical towards the subject, and it’s not only lazy, in this episode it also subtly seems to be implying anyone who has an opinion on guns without this first-hand contact just... shouldn’t! what. isn’t that what most pro-gun people say when trying to defend their 2nd amendment rights?

it also feeds into my wider issues with jane’s characterisation, too. she was fired from incite because, true to her moral values or not, she does make things about herself. which is fine because personal, inward-looking journalism is interesting, and jane is clearly a-okay with being vulnerable and revealing in her work and that’s great. but she does it way too much, apparently so much the show now seems to think even outside of the writing room she can’t say or do or mean anything when it’s not in direct relation to herself or her own lived experience. in this episode, this comes across as particularly pointed and lacking because...

we’re being fed this “two sides of the story” bullshit. they’re utilising jane’s fault of not looking outward at those around her to preach that we should be paying attention to sutton’s point of view in this storyline. which, fair enough. usually i’m all for listening to those who have differing opinions - it’s the only better way to understand a topic and expand your own viewpoint. but, honestly, i’m okay to just not when it comes to gun control? especially when they make sutton say shit like “guns don’t kill people, people do.” i wanted to rip my own eye sockets out. i forgive sutton because she does seem to come around to the idea of guns actually being dangerous by the end of the episode, but they still never challenge that ideology and that leaves me questioning what the bold type was actually trying to say.

because, okay. if we absolutely had to do this, here’s how i would have done it. sutton has a gun, she has a gun for some very understandable reasons during her teenage years, she’s out with her friends shooting skeet (not birds, phew) and having a good time of it. i have no problem with this. what she’s doing in and of itself isn’t dangerous, and she’s doing it because she can’t handle the lack of control she seems to have in her own life. plus, she’s very good at it. okay - all that i can deal with. i'll even suspend my disbelief and say she hadn’t told jane due to her dreading jane’s reaction and the inevitable explanation. okay.

now, here’s where the bold type could have made an interesting statement: whilst sutton’s enjoyment of shooting skeet is valid and non-malicious, is her need to do that greater than other people’s need to be safe? the answer i would have gone for, as most viewers probably would have, is no. that way, they could have still explored sutton’s character and history without having to have her preach some scary ideology for the sake of “hearing both sides”. jane does need to hear more sides than her own, this is true, but exploring this issue with her character in this episode was not a good choice. having other characters like kat be completely neutral to this is almost unbelievable, and generally, the entire episode is a bit of a shambles. sorry to tbt, which i do adore, but you guys really missed your mark on this one.