#that Democrats are burning shit down and are happy about it.

[cyarsk52-20]

Fuck them midterms. I’ll write Kamala Harris’s name on every line I can just you wait!

Dearest diary

Black women had a meeting.

We are very much TEAM FUCK THEM MIDTERMS.

If you’re offended GOODT.

Now you know how it feels.

Like I’m so ready for my reasonable sociopathic era watching this world burn and letting those who ask for it suffer

[paulic]

Something that always bothers me is how people talk about Paul taking the role of the manager after Brian's death.

Yes, Paul took the initiative and managed a lot of the projects like MMT etc. and especially John and George were pissed off by this, but when you think about it for literally two seconds, you realize why Paul did it. He's always said how important the Beatles were to him, has called them his second family. He never expressed any interest in managing the band while Brian was still alive and after the Beatles broke up, his focus was always on making music, not the managing part of his job. Everyone makes him seem like this power hungry demon who was just waiting for his turn at the steering wheel, but there are so many things that point to him just trying to literally save what was most important to him: this band.

He's been known to throw himself into projects when grieving, mourning by not mourning. John was devastated by Brian's death and (I assume) in no fit state to think about what project would make the most money or whatever. While everyone was sitting on their asses (I know this is a mean way to put it, but I'm pissed off), Paul actually took matters into his own hands.

"He was too bossy". Was he bossy? Probably, yes. But someone fucking had to be, or the Beatles would have crashed and burned. I do understand why everyone wasn't happy with how things were going, George who already felt like the little brother who was sort of tagging along but not being taken seriously enough was obviously pissed that this "power dynamic" for lack of a better word was only increasing, and John, who had always been equal to Paul in literally anything didn't like the idea of Paul having power like that and being "above" him. But really, what would have been the better scenario? John managing the band? The same person who pissed off entire countries in like every second interview and had to make public statements and apologies about half the things he said? I think John was very smart and I find his wit and candor very endearing, but if he had been the one in charge, chances are the Beatles would have blown up. He's a fantastic artist, but not very smart about money etc etc, so not exactly the perfect fit for the role of a temporary manager. George? Perhaps he’s smarter about money (although he apparently didn’t understand the importance of paying taxes?) and publicity, but at that time he was completely infatuated with India, Hinduism and meditation and so on. I don't mean to say that was inherently bad, but I think Paul was the one with the most common sense. He knew how to charm the press to keep from getting into scandals (I mean, even when he was arrested for weed, he managed to sort of wiggle out of it. Nobody gave a shit). If Paul hadn’t been born a musical genius, I think being a manager would be a good fit for him. As for Ringo, I love the guy more than I can say but half the time in Get Back while decisions were being made he was completely zoned out, staring at walls. I honestly don't think he was very much interested in managing. So, perhaps a democratic regime where everyone gets a vote? Sure, if you want to get absolutely nothing done at all you let many people decide. I don't mean to sound like a monarchist, but I very much doubt an anarchistic management would have worked.

Now when you look at the years that came after, everyone was half in love with Allen Klein, but Paul was weary and didn't want to back down. And who turned out to be the Judas in this Bible? Allen fucking Klein. I don't mean to say Paul should have become the official manager, but I just find it baffling when people make it seem like he was trying to gain power over his best friends or whatever. There was no ideal outcome of this situation, because Brian was fucking dead. Of course it wasn't all peaches and cream. But there weren't (m)any scandals and they got a few albums done. That's, in my opinion, more than what would have happened if Paul had sat back and watched.

[unhingedhearties]

The Burned Photo Evidence!

Someone anonymously sent me screencaps of a Twitter exchange that mentioned the infamous burning of Erin's photo incident. The original post was deleted, but on a hunch I put the URL into the Wayback Machine and by luck the deleted Tweet was archived, although the video of the photo being burned was not saved. That's what I really wanted, however this is close enough and I'm feeling generous, so pinned this post will be for 2 months.

It’s like reading a Tweet or message on Instagram today. It really is the same insane behavior. It’s just coming from “the other side”.

This Team Lucas Team Nathan nonsense needs to be put in a highschool textbook as an example of horseshoe theory. Forget analyzing how Democrats and Republicans act, that is the prime example. 

“Nathan carried those last three seasons”

So you’re weird hatred of Elizabeth aside, NONE of the other characters were fun to watch? Nobody? I could understand this mentality if you were watching a show with a small cast and you only care for one character, but how do you sit and watch an hour long show with a large ensemble of characters and only care about one person who gets, what, ten minutes of screen time an episode?

Of course they tagged the actors, writers and producers. Because when you’re showing your ass in public, you want the largest audience possible. 

“If they hadn't humiliated our Mountie like they did we might even think about rooting for her.”

It astounds me how many people, on both sides, don’t treat Elizabeth like a person. She is just a physical embodiment of validation. They don’t actually care about the character or her journey. A lot of the time it feels like they hate her. But they want her to approve of the man they’ve chosen to obsess over. “Yes, pick the same man I also picked. Now shut up and let me project myself onto you.”

I feel like this needs to be said:

Chris is not going to **** you

Kevin is not going to **** you.

The sooner some of you people come to terms with that, the healthier your lives will be. 

God Bless Emma and TeamHeartieElizabeth for trying to bring some sanity into this situation.

“If you didn’t like it, just don’t see it!”

That is some brilliant logic. 10/10 big brain thinking.

“If was a joke”

You have a shit sense of humor. I doubt if someone did that with your photos you’d be laughing. You’d be throwing down the victim card so fast your wrist would break.

“I don’t care about being criticized!” *post deleted*

The Internet is public. Anything you do on it is public and open for ridicule. That is the thesis statement of this Tumblr.

[qqueenofhades]

i'm genuinely curious... is it even possible to win in states like florida and texas at this point? even in georgia, after it flipped blue in 2020, the republicans rushed to make things even harder for marginalized voters (i'm pretty sure that's why this runoff is happening a month earlier? i could be wrong, but that's what i've read). with everything so divided between the democrats and literal fascism in the gop, i feel like every time we make any kind of progress they'll strip it back and make things even more difficult. i really don't mean this to sound cynical, and i'm so sorry if it does, i'm just curious. i wasn't old enough to vote in 2016 (i still had a few months before i turned 18) so i feel like my experience w elections in this country has generally been so much division that's only gotten worse

Yes, it is possible, and I'll tell you why:

Fascism is not inevitable.

This is not Pollyanna-ing, or "hopium," or whatever else the professional doomsayers like to jump in with (borne of the same school of thought that brands happy endings in fiction "unrealistic," because clearly the Real World is nothing but pain and suffering all the time) whenever someone expresses cautious optimism for the future, as if it's a coolness contest to see how to be the most pessimistic all the time. I'll tell you how I know: because if the Republican Party in its current incarnation thought that its ideas were genuinely popular or actually supported by the American public (and not just a grudging corollary of WAH WAH GAS PRICES!), they wouldn't spend absolutely ALL THEIR TIME doing their damndest to suppress voters. They wouldn't dwell endlessly on imaginary fraud, make endless voter suppression laws, run psyops convincing younger (and thus liberal-leaning) people that it's a waste of time to vote, etc etc. They are SHIT SCARED of any change that makes it easier for the general public to vote, because they know if they do, those people will vote, the Republicans will lose power, and due to the shifting demographics that see old Republican voters dying out and picking up only a minority of the next generation, they will not get it again. They are especially horrible right now because they are TERRIFIED, especially after seeing those Gen Z numbers for the Democrats. But because youth turnout overall was still bad, they likewise bought themselves a few years more to hang on. Still, the future is ours, not theirs, and they are fucking losing it.

Basically, the gamble the GOP made in this election was that they could howl about The Economy (which is doing shockingly well overall, despite high inflation etc), and voters would just ignore all their ludicrously dangerous nutcase beliefs on abortion, democracy, election denialism, etc, and vote for them anyway, even though they offered absolutely no plan to fix it apart from their usual method of blaming the Democrats for everything. Well, to say the least. That did not work. Election deniers running for positions where they could majorly influence state elections got across-the-board thumped, and abortion rights won everywhere, even in home of Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul (ugh) Kentucky. Voters do care about The Economy, but they also do care about basic things like bodily autonomy and representative democracy, and they aren't willing to throw those things away and go full MAGA even if WAH WAH GAS PRICES. That matters, and it will also matter in 2024, when we have to do this all over again.

Likewise, the Republican establishment/media is finally starting to visibly turn on Trump-- not because he's literally the worst person alive, but because they're realizing what an electoral liability he is, and all they care about is power. Once Trump is in the way of that, they will get mad at him, but Trump won't go away quietly and will do his best to burn them down on the way out. If the GOP is turning against Trump, there may also be less opposition if or, pray God, WHEN the DOJ finally fucking indicts him and drags his stupid orange ass to jail. That is likewise a good thing.

Anyway: yes, Democrats (and democracy in general) can win in Florida and Texas, if they put in the bottom-up effort rather than immediately trying to flip the flashy and high-profile offices. Both of those states have been institutionally designed to maintain the crazies' power, and it works very well. But if people keep putting in the work, it will not be forever, and the Republicans know the tipping point is not far in the future. There are more of us than there are of them. Fascism is not inevitable. It works by disheartening you and making you decide that there's no point in fighting, because it will just happen anyway. That is not true, and it needs to be challenged whenever it turns up as "received wisdom." Because. Yes.

Anyway, once more and as ever: Vote every election, especially if you are under age 45. Vote Blue. Make the Fascists Big Sad. Repeat.

Thank.

[dirty-kids-do-it-best]

So, in light of the supreme court decision on roe v. Wade I propose we riot and burn some shit down...I'm in Las Vegas right next to the world market center on grand Central parkway... ladies, bring a brick a glass bottle, 12 fl. Oz. Of gasoline or kerosene and a thic cloth and I'll show you how to make a decent Molotov...

1825: 3 African slaves led a revolt in Guamacaro Cuba that began the revolution to end African slavery

June 28th to July 3rd 1969: Stonewall INN, located in Greenwich Village NYC, Marsha P. Johnson, an African American trans woman stood in defiance against illegal police raids in gay communities. This turned into a riot, the first gay pride parade...Marsha, who was described as happy, loving, caring, was found dead in 1992 ruled suicide by cops who didn't want to waste time on the "colored fag" this woman fought, not just for herself but for the social injustice against her community. She died a martyr.

1968: Democratic National Convention Chicago, Civilians filled the street, all of them opposed the Vietnam war, had gathered in protest. After days of harassment and threats the police opened fire with tear gas and mercilessly pummeled unarmed civilians with batons. All because they gathered in a park without a permit. As the fight ended with the protesters bloody, broken, some critically injured, a couple dead, began the chant "the whole world is watching"

2020: country wide Black Lives Matter riots. After multiple instances of police brutality resulting in death against the black community people took to the street and returned the brutality.

Dr. Martin Luther King has a quote/speech...I can't fully remember the whole thing but I'm going to do my best, while adding revisions...

"Contrary to Dr. King, intelligent as he was, that I am committed to MILITANT FUCKING VIOLENCE when dealing from a direct action point of view. He believed that riots only intensified the problem, I stand firm in the belief that people don't listen until you Kick Their Fucking Teeth In. The conditions in this mocking joke of a country are absolutely fucking intolerable and it's time to take a stand. A riot is the collective voice of a people unheard. And what exactly has the supreme court failed to hear? No, not failed... just fucking blatantly ignored? It's the cries of all you women who deserve not just the American right but the human right to govern your own body. The united states' government took your bodily autonomy and gave your uterus to "God". A god who might I remind everyone, sent his only begotten son to be tortured and crucified. Women's rights have been set back 50 years. They claim to care about the child's life but neglect countless children in foster care or homeless, children who are abused and many times killed by caregivers. They don't give a fuck about life, they care more about their bullshit christian fairy tale and keeping the status quo. You should all be disgusted by this, Female and Male alike. And this isn't only about women's rights, no ladies you're just the first domino to be toppled. Religious belief took your rights, next it will be the sanctity of marriage and LGBTQ right are going to be attacked, then African American rights, then before we know it we're going to be back in the Salem witch trials because they are no longer separating church and state. The time is now to stop this before it gets too much momentum. I'm willing to die for this, who's with me?"

[queenk00k]

Across the Aisle - Rafe Cameron

a/n: here’s the prologue my friends. please enjoy - i hope it gets you excited for my first proper chapter. as always, i really welcome reblogs/comments/messages/asks as it motivates me to get this shit done!

summary: 

Olivia Spellman is your classic rags-to-riches story; a twenty-seven-year-old living the revered American Dream. With an absent father and a single mother working her way up from the Cut to Kook status in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Olivia knows what it’s like to work hard for what you want. She finds herself stuck in a job she hates, with more passion than she knows what to do with and a burning desire to finally make something of herself.

Enter the race for North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. If Olivia can make it past the Democratic primary, all she needs to do is beat out a young Republican with a track record of failure – her ex-boyfriend Rafe Cameron.

Olivia is determined to win, no matter what, and she knows she has her district’s best interests at heart.

But Rafe Cameron, backed by his wealthy father Ward, is no stranger to fighting dirty.

With a history of dark secrets uniting them, how far will the former lovers go to win?

And what happens when they realise that maybe, just maybe, that spark is still there?

warnings: mentions of death, drug use, mentions of blood

MASTERLIST

when you are young, they assume you know nothing

It all happened so fast.

Nothing was supposed to happen at all.

Not like this.

It was just meant to be like every other Friday night they’d spent together.

Olivia had heard that when faced with a near death experience, you’re supposed to see your life flash before your eyes. Your childhood, your loved ones, happy memories – almost like a film reel of all the experiences you took for granted that you were about to lose.

Olivia thought that sounded like bullshit. She hadn’t seen her life’s film reel as they hurtled towards the thick oak tree, no, she was too panicked to think of anything at all, too high to even really comprehend what was happening.

The group was on their way to a frat party after pre-gaming at Olivia’s apartment off campus. It was a given this pre-game involved white powder, organised into neat lines with a black American Express, a product of the company Olivia was keeping since she started college the previous fall. She hadn’t set out to join the party scene, not one to waste the opportunities her mother had worked so hard to give her, but Olivia’s boyfriend was convincing and charming, and she was in love.

Not that any of that seemed like it mattered now, since “being in love” didn’t seem like a reasonable excuse for letting someone clearly high out of his mind get behind the wheel of a Range Rover.

Olivia climbed out of the mangled wreck, hands shaking and bloody (she wasn’t sure if was hers or someone else’s), and stumbled across the bitumen, the strewn glass sparkling up at her as if were taunting her. She blinked away tears, but they fell anyway, thick and hot down her flushed cheeks. Her throat constricted as she sobbed, as she willed herself not to hyperventilate and make the situation worse.

It was a fruitless attempt, of course, as Olivia whipped her head around, panicky, looking for any signs of life from the others in the car. Of course, she could have walked back over to the garbled mess of metal and looked for herself, but she couldn’t bear it. Olivia couldn’t bear the thought of what she might see – her friends, or admittedly even worse, her boyfriend, dead.

The only clarity Olivia had was that this was undoubtedly the last time she would ever touch drugs, no matter the outcome of the night.

Olivia shoved her hand into the pocket of her jeans clumsily, the cocaine making her jittery, and was relieved to see her iPhone still worked despite the smashed screen. She dialled 911 with shaking hands, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood as she waited for them to pick up.

She answered the operator’s questions almost robotically, terrified to give herself away, but she couldn’t avoid the situation for long.

“Have you, the driver, or any of the passengers taken any illegal drugs tonight?”

Olivia was silent, before she finally answered quietly, “yes.”

“Ma’am, I can’t hear you, I’m going to have to ask you to speak up,” said the operator, who had a comforting, almost motherly tone.

It made Olivia feel even more ashamed.

She cleared her throat. “Yes, we all have,” Olivia said more clearly, her voice still raspy. She must have screamed more than she realised when they crashed.

“Okay. Do you feel safe enough to wait on the side of the road for the emergency services to arrive?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you ma’am, ambulance and police are on their way. You sit tight now.” And with a click, the operator hung up and left Olivia alone with no one else around but the car full of her friends who she couldn’t bear to look at.

The ambulance and police cars arrived soon enough, their loud sirens jolting Olivia out of her pacing alongside the road.

In a frenzied blur, paramedics were covering her in the warm foil she had only ever seen in the movies and were making their way over to the mess of a Range Rover. Olivia could do nothing but watch as they shouted, placing her friends’ bodies onto stretchers and wheeling them into the waiting ambulances.

As a black body bag was placed onto a gurney, the sound of the thick zipper reverberating inside Olivia’s skull, all she could think of was that it must have been instinct that had her reaching for Rafe’s hand in those final moments.

tagging mutuals and ppl that seemed interested:

@thevortexclubposse​​ @stargazingstarkey​​ @sortagaysortahigh​​ @shawnssongs​​ @ims0golden​​ @jjsmentalpolaroids​​ @jjmbanks​​ @jjmaybcnks​​ @void-maybank​​ @girlsru1eboysdroo1​​ @milaonthemoon​​ @thatjohnd​​ @rafecameron​​ @pogue-writings​​ @diverdcwn​​ @sunnypogue​​ @harrysbbby​​ @ptersparkers​​ @anonymous0writer​​ @outerbankslut​​ @bricksatanakinswindow​​ @storiesbymads​​ @pit-zuh​​ @drewstarkey​​ @starlightstarkey​​ @butgilinsky​​ @moldisgoodforyou​​ @softstarkey​​ @maybankiara​ @sofiesshitshow​ @yeslifeofateen​ @obx-saltlife​ @outrbanks​ @summerpogue​ @prejudic3​ @milamaybank​ @oopmyheartwent-obx​ 

pls message if you want to be tagged in this series!

[angryhausfrau-writes]

I Travel Troubled Oceans: Chapter 15 - Meditations Two! Electric Boogaloo

There's something to be said for having a home to come back to at the end of the day. Especially when Charles is coming home battered and bloody and with his blood singing in his veins, “You're still alive, motherfucker. You're still alive.”

Because against all odds, he is still alive. And it's starting to feel like he's going to stay that way for a while. Like he isn't just dancing on a knife's edge where a single misstep gets him dead. And the steps more and more complex everyday, til he's jigging for his life to the devil's tune, too caught up in the steps to ever stop cuz if he stops he's dead. And he ain't quite ready to end it all – not just yet, not without a good reason.

So he'd smoked up – from a bong, from a crack pipe – and tried to forget for just a little while that he is where he is (the boneyard) and that he's living how he's living. Just a tiny misstep from dying.

And it's fine. He's got a crew, to help catch and steady him, just as he's there to catch and steady them. Make sure there's at least a little margin of error in the dance. Make sure there's a guy rope tying them together. Keeping them all balanced on that blade – or all falling together.

But the thing about living that way is that it ain't really living. Charles had never known anything else but this, so it feels like a life. But all it is is being dead and not realizing it yet.

Or maybe he had realized, just a little. Been able to catch tiny glimpses of another way of living through the cracked and dirty glass separating him from the living. Able to see out into the real world, with its real people. People who were safe and clean and happy and free.

And Charles had hated them.

Hated them for having what he could never have. Hated them for living when he was just dying slow. Hated them for being free – for having the ability to make choices about what kind of life they lived when he can't choose, not even between living and dying, not really.

And Charles got bitter. Spiteful. Angry. He'd fought back the only way he could. Telling himself that they were weak. That he was strong.

Look at how coddled they are. How loved. He'd never needed any of that shit to survive. He'd toughened up, and they could stand to do the same, the fucking pansies.

So it had become a kind of mantra. Rules to live by, in a world where he's half dead already.

Loving things makes you weak. Loving things makes you vulnerable. And out on the streets, vulnerable means dead. Better to love nothing and be free than to chain yourself to worthless comforts. Better to love nothing than to chain yourself to vulnerabilities.

So Charles had loved nothing. Not even his crew. His crew who'd feared and respected him as he'd respected and occasionally feared them. But there's no place for love – not there on the streets and not with the kind of people he'd invited into his crew – into himself. Strong people. Fierce people. Fighters.

And then Charles had fallen in love with Eleanor Guthry. Or he'd though the had, anyway. Eleanor might not actually be capable of that emotion. And even if she is, she certainly wasn't in love with Charles, making the whole relationship just a touch one-sided. And that was before she got him sent away for that two-stretch. The bitch.

Because that's the thing about Eleanor, the thing that had originally attracted Charles to her. She's a monumental bitch. Ruthless and callous and cold. Just like him.

Equals.

And she'd played the part of fellow gang boss well. Acting tough. Acting like she could understand the life of someone like him. Like she could care about street trash like him.

But it had all been a not-particularly-well-constructed facade.

She'd only put up with Charles for what he could get her – money and thrills and respect from the street. As soon as his usefulness was gone, he'd been disposable.

And Eleanor herself. Well...

She was no gang boss. She was not strong, not in the ways that mattered on the streets and not in the ways Charles has learned are strong in the world of elitist fucks he lives in now. No. Eleanor had been coddled. She'd been safe and spoiled and pampered by everyone she'd ever come in contact with. Completely divorced from the consequences of her actions – at least until Max had taken a go at her.

Max who's another lover scorned and tossed aside when Eleanor grew bored. Which means the justice is just fucking poetic really. And Charles is so fucking glad he'd gotten to be part of Max's revenge. Gotten to see Eleanor toppled from her marble pedestal. Gotten to be the one to send her crashing down to shatter on the streets with all the other gutter trash.

But he's also glad he got to be part of Max's revenge cuz it means he's part of the con she's running now. The con that involves a fancy house and fancy clothes. And safety – real safety.

When he'd gone away for that two-stretch, Charles had chafed under the pointless rules, the petty tyranny of the guards. The lack of humanity – from the guards and from the other prisoners.

But he'd had three hots and a cot and nobody'd fucked with him, not even the most sadistic guards, not after he'd threatened – and committed – enough violence to make his point. His point that he was the toughest motherfucker around and they'd better take that into account going forward.

And, since he didn't know any better – hadn't ever experienced anything else – he'd thought that was safety. He'd thought that was freedom from fear. And it had just confirmed his belief that you couldn't have safety without giving up the freedoms that made life – even a half-life on the streets – worth living.

And then he'd gotten out, gotten back to the streets. Back to Jack running the crew and Max planning the cons. Just in time for the rug to be pulled out from under him – for him to get shoved into the kind of life he'd always derided, always sneered at. The life of soft, safe, spoiled fucks with no drive in them to ever achieve anything. So used to the gilded cage that they'd never walk out, even if the door was left open for them.

He'd chafed at the idea at first. Remnants of his mantra echoing in his head. Love nothing. Care for nothing. Cuz then it can't be taken away. Only then are you free.

Plus, he'd been pissed as hell at Jack for manipulating him into this shit. Cuz he knew – he knew – Charles'd fight it tooth and nail if he'd approached it honestly, democratically. But Jack's always been a slippery fucker. Charles can't honestly say he'd expected any different from him – though Anne's easy acquiescence to the plan had surprised him, Jack's machinations or no.

But Charles is man enough to admit when he's been beaten. So he'd gone along with the plan. Dolled himself up in designer togs. Submitted to Mary's ridiculous social media campaign. Insinuated himself into a circle of shallow, self-obsessed, backstabbing aristocrats. And all for a plan he hadn't really believed in.

But Jack's the captain of their little crew. His word is law. So now Charles is living like one of those rich fuckers. And as it turns out, the half-life he'd been living out on the streets wasn't even close to the real thing. Jail just a pale imitation of what safety could mean.

Cuz it turns out that when you're rich, you can have the food and clothes and safety. But you also have the freedom to do whatever the fuck you want. The freedom to live.

That's the big fucking secret. The thing they don't want you to know, cuz you'd burn the whole fucking city down if you knew about the caviar at breakfast eaten off of an ivory spoon. About the champagne filling the Jacuzzi of a penthouse hotel suite with enough gilt to make the Church green with envy. About the blood and spend and filth on your hands – just what it takes to get you that multi-million dollar view, that corner office.

When you're that kind of rich, you can do whatever the fuck you want. No rules, no laws affect you. The little people – the normal people - don't matter at all. They're worth about as much consideration as a bug on the sidewalk – noticed, reviled, and then immediately forgotten.

Charles and Max and Anne and Jack, they're all rich enough they can live like that. No regard for anyone's rules but their own. No concern for anyone but themselves. Content to live cut off from all consequences, surrounded by splendor. Never having to face the grit and the grime of the streets again if they don't want to.

But that's the thing. It ain't about having fancy cars or fancy clothes or a fancy house.

Sure, it's fun to ride around in a limo. Fun to wear ridiculous outfits that cost more than most people make in a fortnight, hideous and tacky and camp, because you can afford to. Fun to live in a mansion with more rooms than they know what to do with.

But that's not the thing that makes him free. That's not the thing that makes this living.

It's the smaller things. The quieter things.

Things like having a place to return to at the end of a long day. A place to rest. A place where he can rest, without worrying someone'll try for him. Without having to put up a facade of power, of ruthlessness.

Charles had mocked Flint for his domesticity once. For his desire for the finer things – well, finer for them, anyway.

But there is something comforting in having a favorite mug in the cabinet of your kitchen. Of having tea to drink out of it, breakfast to eat along side it. To have people around you who you can dare to care about because you're not just clinging to survival – you're living.

People you can do things like sitting out in the garden with, having a tea party like some kind of posh fucker. And people you can trust to patch you up after a night at the underground boxing ring, instead of licking your wounds all alone in the dark.

Because Charles has never felt stronger than the morning he stood in the bathroom with Jack wiping the blood away from his face with a posh hand towel. Berating him for coming home in this state. Begrudging in his ministrations. But his hands were gentle. And worry lurked behind his eyes.

And Charles had realized that Jack cares for him. Anne cares for him. His crew care for him. Care rather than fear.

And Charles cares for them in turn. Can care for them. And that is safety. That is strength that can never be taken away.

Even if they were to lose everything tomorrow, all the money and the house and the whole con going up in fucking smoke, that can't be taken away. Charles knows now what it is to be strong. Strong in a way that even the rich fuckers who they're conning can never be. He knows what it means to be free.

Because the rich aren't free.

They might look free. They might act free. But they've chained themselves inside a new kind of prison, one they made for themselves. Because the thing holding them back, the thing keeping them weak, keeping them civilized, is shame.

The idle gossip of their neighbors. The scandal that can ruin them as easily as it had ruined Eleanor and Woodes Rogers. The fear of offending the wrong other rich fuck and ending up “penniless” and on the streets – or, shudder, a lower-middle-class neighborhood.

That fear, that shame, is what keeps the rich from being free.

But Charles has been penniless on the streets, and he survived. Charles has been low and nearly dead and he'd lived. He isn't tied to the money and the disgusting excess and the whole fucking pretend pageantry of nobility.

And the thing about Charles - about Jack and Anne and Max and Mary - is that they don't really feel shame.

[max--phillips]

can i ask why you're picking today out of all days to all of the sudden criticize joe and kamala? i'm sure you have black followers and other followers of color. people of color know about struggling and fighting better than most. we know that no matter who we put in the white house the fight never stops for us. this is why we deserve to enjoy a bit of positivity at least for our small victory today. we don't need white people and their fear mongering and doom and gloom on this happy day

Okay so hi I know I don’t talk about politics a LOT on this blog, and when I do it’s typically in the form of vague jokes about leftists and the US being stupid, but let me make something extremely extremely clear:

This is not the first time I’ve criticized either of these people. This is not me “suddenly” criticizing Biden or Harris.

I have, in my personal life, openly expressed my dislike for pretty much the entire Democratic Party. There are a few people that more or less get it and I don’t have issue with, but overall I just don’t. Like the people running (or trying to run) our country on both sides of the aisle. I’m a diehard leftist, and unless we basically burn it all down and start over, nothing our existing government can do will completely make me happy.

But, dear anon, please note who I was speaking to at the beginning of that post.

Yes, I have followers of color. I know that POC know about struggling and fighting better than most. I know that POC know that no matter who ends up in the White House the fight never stops. But that’s why I was talking to white women, who will be a key factor in whether or not we continue on this path. If white women shut up and sit down, we won’t get nearly as much done as we want. White women have historically been... y’know, not great; they voted for trump in 2016 and I can only imagine they did again this year, but if we can get the ones who sorta give a shit to stay on the ball and not “go to brunch,” who knows what we can accomplish. Minorities need them to amplify their voices & contribute money to their causes and organizations.

I’m not saying you can’t be happy about this win; I’m happy about this win! I’m overjoyed! But I’ve been prepared to get other white people’s asses in gear to keep giving a shit since the polls hinted at Biden maybe possibly winning. I definitely wasn’t intending to fear monger, and christ I hope that’s not how I came off. I just want other white people to keep giving a shit. POC, y’all do whatever you want, take a vacation, self care day, whatever. Celebrate. (But also, please stay safe; who knows what maga morons are going to be doing now that their precious Cheeto has been ousted.) It’s white people, particularly white women, who are not off the hook.

[kihyunswrath]

An essay on why I fight for Wonho

I think there has been too much of this “why do you even care that much?” bullshit lately and I’d like to make things clear, at least for my part. And I am assuming many other Monbebes can relate.

Indeed, why do I care? Wonho was never my bias, I have always liked other groups too, I have seen hundreds of groups come and go, it’s just one member in that group and although I want him to return, I actually want this entire industry to burn down to ashes even more and yes, that would mean death sentence to all idol groups. 

But first of all, let me ask this question in return: Why does it bother you that we care? Who gets to define what’s a useless endeavor? What makes you think I can’t simultaneously care for “more important” issues? Why the hell are you judging us for wasting time on this, when we all already know you wasted days watching that useless Youtube vine compilation, binge-watched that one Netflix series you didn’t seriously even care about, played that one stupid mobile phone game when you should have been sleeping, ate those two boxes of cookies that could’ve lasted you two whole weeks? Who are you to say things are useless just because it’s not your favorite idol group or whoever the fuck you care about, who’s under attack? Why do you think we have explaining to do, when literally none of this has anything to do with you personally and it’s literally you who fail to see the implications this incident had?

I don’t need to explain why I found a person inspiring as an idol and human being, why I found his background story motivating and moving and why I found his presence in Monsta X very important for the entire group’s mental health, group dynamics, success and happiness. I don’t need to explain why I find it upsetting that the people I cared about are torn apart because of no fucking reason, and that I can see that pain from their faces as they’re forced to pretend Wonho does no longer fucking exist?

I don’t fucking think I need to explain why I have empathy for a person who is under a police investigation just because. I don’t think I need to explain why I don’t find it fair that someone is under an attack for doing something that is not deemed as illegal in the most civilized, democratic countries. I don’t need to explain why I want to defend someone who’s kicked out of his group because of conservative internet trolls and a couple whose own background is about ten times more shady than Wonho’s. I don’t think I need to justify myself protesting for him, when he is fired from a job that has absolutely nothing to do with the things he’s being accused of. I don’t think I need to explain that unlike many others, I am indeed capable of reflecting this incident against the bigger context and see how flawed the entire Korean legislative system is. 

But let me do your homework for you asshats and explain what this bigger context is. It’s the context where simply having an allegation of whatever kind placed against you is enough to ruin your entire career. The context where people are literally lying about a person’s background and have been caught doing that, but can still continue with the investigation. The context where people can be punished again and again for things they did ages ago, apologized for, moved on and learned from. The context where literal rich drug dealers, convicted criminals sitting in prison, their minions and ENTIRE companies (cough pdx101 cough) might be able to escape from justice, but this one unfortunate person whose existence is only justified by the Korean population if he is superhumanly perfect and flawless, is brought down for allegedly committing a crime that was not harming anybody and was committed six fucking years ago. The context where you can be punished for something so meaningless that it feels like there is indeed space for a conspiracy theory or two. The context that paints idols as literal gods and goddesses who are not allowed to have pasts, backgrounds, redemption arcs or flaws to their character. The context that is taking idols from their hard-earned positions just because someone influential enough had a personal grudge against them. This context where Koreans are not protected by their own companies or labor unions but can be treated like non-human playthings, chess pieces and pawns just for having human traits.  

I don’t think I need to explain why I have empathy. I don’t think I need to explain why this bigger picture I see doesn’t only clash with my morals, but also potentially hurts hundreds of thousands of other people, because something like this could easily happen to them, too, especially if we now use this incident as an example of how things should be handled in similar situations. And if you as a person fail to connect the dots, if you personally fail to see why this is giving an ugly view into a ruthless society many of my friends and loved ones have no other options but to live in, I think that’s on you. That’s literally your personal problem, not mine.

Wonho was not inspiring because he was flawless, he was inspiring because he demonstrated character growth. He was not inspiring because he never did any mistakes, he was inspiring because he kept improving and kept sharing his love and gratitude toward his fans. He was not inspiring because he had wealth, connections and endless virtuosity, he was inspiring because he built his career from nothing and still remembered to explicitly thank his family, his friends, his loved ones and his fans every single day. That alone is something we can’t say from many other people.  

And if you think my argument is flawed because I was biased? Yes. I am biased. It’s not suspicious that people care about stuff more when it turns out to be personally relatable. Stop fucking pretending you are so virtuous, wise and pure that you already fought against bigotry, oppression, discrimination and bullshit in its all forms, way before you were even fucking born. That does not give you more social justice woke points, it just makes you annoying. Just because some Monbebes woke up to notice how flawed, ugly, embarrassing and pathetic the kpop industry can be now that their own favorite idol is attacked, is not a bad thing if it leads to them protesting against similar incidents in the future. Just because people cannot fully grasp issues before it has something to do with themselves doesn’t mean they can’t now use that realization as a boost to change the entire society. 

Yes, we intend to not bring only Wonho back, but also bring down the entire industry that made it possible for things like these to happen. Yes, we as human beings are capable of empathizing with people who we don’t have much to do with, but it’s not wrong if we fight even more fiercely when we try to protect our own. When was the last time you have done something similar? 

If our movement brings light to the fact how little protections workers have in Korea, if our movement makes people see how devastating consequences bullying and baseless accusations can have on people, if our movement continues talking about the same problem that caused a person to commit literal suicide a month earlier? If our movement makes it transparent to everybody how much power all these companies have over their idols and how they can not only treat them like shit after trusting and rooting for them for several years, but also silence all the remaining members and force them to continue even if they’re at a breaking point? If our movement brings light to the fact that maybe, just maybe it’s not fair to punish people for things that they might not only NOT have done, but also are literally meaningless even if he did them ALL, especially because they happened before he ever even was an idol? 

Well, I’ll call it a movement that exists for a good fucking reason.

One of my Korean friends, after being told about this, said that well, the only thing I now need to do is to change my favorite group and move on with my life, because I am literally just a customer and I can’t change things. And you know what? That is exactly the problem here. Without knowing it, she summarized the entire problem up perfectly with that one sentence. 

She and so many other Koreans (and non-Koreans) consider idols mere products. They think idols are here to sell us a certain image of a perfect, successful person who does not really exist as a human being. Idols just represent something the Korean society aspires to be, but if enough people get fed up with them for whatever reason, just to bolster their own feelings of revenge and jealousy like in this case, idols can be dumped and forgotten in a matter of minutes. That hurting one idol does not really matter, because there are people lining up behind him to do his job even better. That being an idol is an endless cycle of improving oneself, requiring less and less time for resting, recovery, privacy and human rights and asking less and less forgiveness from the audience. That if you get an important position in the society, it’s on you if you cannot handle the negative publicity that might follow. That if you have done one mistake once, it prevents you from ever moving on in your life, because it can come and bite you in the ass whenever, arbitrarily, just because, even if technically you had already been forgiven long time ago. That people who have gotten money and fame do not earn those positions because of hard work, but because they are supposed to be superhuman. And because there is no such thing as a superhuman, every and any idol can be brought down whenever they show the smallest sign of humanity. Even if that sign of humanity is just them showing open solidarity and empathy for a friend and colleague that was wrenched from them for no reason.

She and so many other Koreans think the only thing they can do as normal citizens is to pretend this one “flawed, miserable” individual never existed, because they are powerless against the decisions of the companies, press and rich conservative trolls?

And for some reason, somehow, these same Koreans fail to see how that reflects the state of their entire society and how it affects their own rights as workers, as human beings. They fail to see this very, very crucial factor: that idols are more similar to everyday Koreans than they are to the entertainment companies, wealthy chaebol CEOs and a couple of filthy rich drug dealers who escape their own punishment because of their even richer dad.

Idols are NOT extremely wealthy celebrities who have a freedom to choose their own paths, influential politicians who can escape from scandals after scandals or sons and daughters of the company leaders and estate owners of Korea. 

They are workers who have inhumane working conditions. They are faces to faceless, cruel companies who are intentionally hiding behind them to cover their own tracks. 

Idols have no real rights, freedom or future, and thus, they represent us normal people. What you do to one of these idols, you essentially do to every single one of his/her fans. You take our dreams away, you punish us unfairly for things we tried to learn from, you take away our voices that we used to express our own oppression and challenge the status quo.

Idols are not us, but they represent us more than any of these companies, leaders, rich heirs and heiresses and CEO’s could ever do. 

And that’s why I’m fighting for Wonho.

__

And please miss me with that cultural relativism bullshit. I know injustice when I see it. I can distinguish suffering and pain even in cultural contexts I am not born into. Also? Maybe if Koreans don’t want us to meddle with how they handle their own problems, maybe they should have really been thinking twice before trying to buy the entire world with the help of their idol industry. We can hold companies accountable. We can demand change. Companies and wealthy shitheads are not representatives of a culture. We know there are Koreans with us in this fight. 

And if this doesn’t change with us, right now, today... it will sit down with us until something like this happens again, and then the change will come in the shape of a fucking tsunami. 

And what are you going to do at that point, stand in the fucking way, or pretend your past mistakes can no longer hold you accountable?  

[cyarsk52-20]

President Biden said eff this country and we're here for it all!

Black women had a meeting.

We are very much TEAM FUCK THEM MIDTERMS.

that’s right FUCK THE MIDTERMS! Literally, this idgafq mentality has been my for the past month!

Yes it fq 2026 midterms!

FQ THE MIDTERMS!

Am I supposed to feel bad??🤣😂

Is that what you want out of me.

A white woman who belongs to a shitty voting bloc thinks I’m supposed to feel bad 😂🤣

like darling it’s Fuck you and them upcoming midterms! You know I’ve been saying that I hope Trump supporters get everything Trump has promised them, but what I really should be saying is I hope Trump goes after the media too. I hope he destroys y’all. 💁🏾‍♀️

The crowd that voted in a twice impeached convicted felon and rapist is upset that Democrats are burning shit down and are happy about it.

Did they really think with their stupid asses we would be SAD forever?

it’s okay to be remorseless at this point.

some call it sociopathy, I just call it I’m just not in the mood to be nice to anyone

Figure it the fuck out without Black women.

And I hope Trump goes after the media in the absolute worst way possible.

They truly deserve it. Like They really do. I hope he calls them scum! every evil and harmful word he calls them, they deserve. And I’m here for it.

Unless it’s towards Lawrence O’Donnell then I’m angry because he’s the only MSM reporter that matters

I don’t care if they get freaking lynched for their harlotry for him.

Heck let me watch this, it’s so a YouTube moment!

If you’re offended GOODT.

Now you know how it feels.

[masterserris]

all things considered, i think the blue lions ending is the “true” ending and at least the happiest of endings... we’ll see when the dlcs come out tho

spoilers under cut

THE TEA IS SIPPETHED

it’s literally the only ending in which dimitri lives and becomes the “savior king” and saves the continent and creates a new democratic government to fix the broken old noble/chest system.

edelgard dies but like. she did that to herself by LITERALLY STARTING A WAR AND KILLING THOUSANDS OVER 5 YEARS. like that bitch had it coming. she may have wanted a better future by getting rid of a corrupt church but fuck that bitch honestly she coulda gone about it in a better way

idk about the golden deer route, i havent seen much on it, but eh dimitri still dies and i think so does edelgard so it isnt much better. just slightly better than the black eagle route. church route is also in the same boat.

idk man dimitri and the blue lions literally did nothing wrong. the kingdom did nothing wrong, they only ever acted out of self defense. so fuck the empire honestly afjsafnjaksfajksfjaks for as wack as dimitri gets it ONLY happens because of MASSIVE ptsd, depression, and anxiety caused BY the empire, his step mother, and edelgard. like his step mom had his whole family killed in front of him, blamed it on duscur to destroy them, then she got killed by edelgard i think or smth. his dad LITERALLY was beheaded in front of him and people/buildings were burned too. like holy fuck he’s just a KID goddamn

anyways, the empire is literally the invading imperialistic army so. yeah. no. edelgard can’t just be like: “aw ur in the wrong dimitri!1!! you are a bad person to keep fighting back and killing more people!!111!! even tho i started all this shit and killed thousands of innocent people to begin with!1! i burned a whole village mother fucker!” 

“UR A DELUSIONAL PRINCE FOR DEFENDING YOUR HOMELAND AND CHURCH ALLIES”

before killing him. like fuck. that. bitch. UGH.

like he didnt even know it was his step mom that did it until later when he finally takes the throne. it’s bullshit, all he knew is some bastards like the flame emperor were behind it, that’s all. he wanted Rightful revenge for the murder of his family, the destruction of garreg mach and the “death” of his teacher, AND the 5 year war that butchered the continent and his homeland.

dimitri is valid as FUCK for being pissed at her and the empire. wack. it’s all wack. he’s the best boy and the only route that leads to a good ending for him and the kingdom overall is the blue lions route so there. 

he gets all crazed but honestly who wouldnt. dont gaslight the man for having a super fucked up life and stressful from like age 10 and on. he deserves peace for all he’s been through and he does a fucking fantastic job once he gets his shit together.

edit: based on all the likes i’ve been getting on this i can probably just assume that I Am Right About This

sorry i dont make the rules nsfjanfjannfjnnjk

also all the shit edelgard wanted? dimitri went and did anyways. he got rid of the bullshit nobility and made things more of a democracy. like all she did was kinda pointless and made a lot of enemies.

sure, byleth still has that thing in their chest but who GIVES A FUCK. they still live their life just fine like damn. rhea retires the fuck away regardless. so she aint being a tyrant anymore. byleth is in charge. like damn all the “good shit” from the black eagle playthrough is IN THIS ONE PLUS DIMITRI LIVES AND MORE PEOPLE LIVE AND HAVE GOOD LIVES.

so yeah 

also also: empires always ALWAYS crumble as nations desire their independence. in a few decades after edelgard leaves you can BET your ass someone will wanna revolt from their control. imperialism never works forever folks. look at all of human history for that example. the other nations in fodlan should remain free.

i think by the end dimitri rules all the lands in fodlan? mainly bc the empire just got dethroned and they are destabilized (the alliance is also destabilized but i think they are mostly ok), so it makes sense he would rule/join the two (empire/kingdom) together for mutual growth. but they are still at least sorta recognized as their own territories. they aren’t just wiped from history like edelgard did ffs.

ALSO. ANOTHER THING (sorry i keep editting this bc i have so many thoughts)

THE FINAL FUCKING CUTSCENE OF BLUE LIONS

AFTER FUCKING EVERYTHING HE OFFERS EDELGARD HIS HAND. EVEN AFTER THE WAR. AFTER SHE TURNED INTO A FUCKING DEMON AND TRIED TO KILL HIM. AFTER. FUCKING. EVERYTHING. HE STILL GIVES HER ONE LAST CHANCE

HE FUCKING MEANS IT TOO, THIS AIN’T SOME BULLSHIT PLOY.

BUT NO, SHE FUCKING STABS HIM WITH THE KNIFE HE GAVE HER ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. SO HE HAS TO KILL HER WITH HIS LANCE. HE ISN’T STARTLED OR SURPRISED. JUST HURT.

STONE COLD AFTER BEING BETRAYED BY HER OVER AND OVER AGAIN. HE JUST RIPS THAT SHIT OUT AND DROPS IT ON THE FLOOR. HE’S DONE WITH HER AND NEEDS TO MOVE ON.

BUT! BUT! BYLETH LOOKS BACK AT HER AND SO DOES DIMITRI, BUT BYLETH STOPS HIM. DON’T LOOK BACK. MOVE ON. THE FUCKING HAND HOLD. LIKE DAMN. BEST BUDS FOR LIFE. THEY GOT EACH OTHER’S BACK LIKE NO ONE ELSE.

AND THEY MOVE ON INTO THE LIGHT TO THE CHEERING CROWDS BECAUSE AT LONG FUCKING LAST THE WAR IS OVER AND THEY STILL HAVE THEIR INTEGRITY.

after all the bullshit, they still have the highest moral ground and actually fix things. even after offering their enemy peace.

----------------------------------------------

after the cutscene!! the epilogue!!

LIKE MOTHER FUCKER, THIS IS ALL THE PROOF YOU NEED THAT HE IS THE BEST BOY AND HAS THE BEST ROUTE FUCK OFF

DEMOCRACY: CHECK

HELPING THE DISADVANTAGED: CHECK

LISTENING/HELPING TO MINORITIES/FOREIGNERS/DUSCUR: CHECK

CORRUPTION FREE: CHECK

BYLETH IS FINE AND IS THE NEW ARCH BISHOP FOR A BETTER CHURCH, RHEA JUST PEACES OUT: CHECK

MOVING PAST HIS MENTAL ILLNESS AND PTSD FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HIMSELF AND OTHERS/THE KINGDOM: CHECKITY FUCKING CHECK

THE ABSOLUTE LEGEND HIMSELF, DIMITRI

edit edit: also look at the murals specifically, i’m gonna point out some shit real quick. 

first, dimitri’s:

It’s in nature. Birds and trees and leaves. Calm and harmonious.

Children are playing and smiling, food is being passed out by the soldiers to the people. they are thankful. 

byleth is addressing the people, writing out reforms and decrees, making sure things are aright.

the people of duscur are literally at the side of dimitri, the king. 

looks like people from the alliance are on the far left of the mural, they are carrying gifts but they dont seem unhappy about it. just. normal.

dimitri is lower than everyone on the canvas besides a person on their knees asking for help and literal children. he is seated down at THEIR level, smiling AT them and doesn’t mind the kid pulling at him and playing. very relaxed. he’s sitting on just a regular ol’ tree stump. no throne. no opulence. just him, bc that’s all that’s needed.

NOW, LET’S LOOK AT EDELGARD’S OOHH BOY:

she is the tallest above them all, next to her is a divine figure, she is holding a staff as well. she is power. she is above all other peoples. she is STEPPING on a national flag with impunity. she doesn’t CARE she is the one in charge and no one can stand against it.

everyone from the other nations are bowing their heads and being submissive, but they certainly dont look happy. they look anxious as hell. their kingdoms are literally being trampled by the emperor. she is in her grand castle, gold and red and opulent. power and riches and rule.

the common folk, however look up to her. they see her as a second saint seiros. a better one. hence the divine figure next to her. she is like a god to them. not ideal. they seem happy, but no. they are looking to her for guidance in a troubled time caused by HER actions.

let’s not forget the mage in the back holding a knife. things are far from peaceful. 

the two very different moods of these pictures say all. one is true peace where everyone seems to be thriving with a compassionate ruler.

the other is domineering and crushing in presence. people are anxious about the future with violence still on the horizon. 

yeah, no. blue lions >>>> black eagles.

(i’m currently playing through golden deer which is looking p good so far, def better than black eagles and then im gonna do the church route. we’ll see how THAT goes anfjanjfnnfasjns)

edelgard stans dont interact

[queenshadowofleaves]

🍒

Hehehe ramble time!!! Thanks!

I’m gonna ramble/infodump about Ronald Reagan cause I just had a history test about him and also cause I can. So he was elected in the 1980s by a whole bunch of people who were really mad at Carter for being weak and doing nothing. Reagan got a bunch of conservative Christians to vote for him by demoting things like homosexuality, interracial marriages, abortion, stuff like that. He got a fuck ton of votes and won office, promising to limit government control and to cut taxes and protect people against the “evil Soviet Union”. So Reagan instituted something called supply side economics, which gave lots of tax cuts to the wealthy. It was supposed to make them have more money that they would invest in things, which would then “trickle down” to the poorer society members (hence why it was also called “trickle down economics”). It was also supposed to give money to the government in the long term, but it just made them start to go in debt.

So yeah, Reagan caused the economy to be pretty bad. He caused Black Monday on 1987 that was the largest single-day stock market crash (but the textbook only went up to 2014 so honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump had a bigger one). The pay gap also increased a whole bunch with him. The poor got poorer and the rich got richer. The median household income also lowered. Plus, he put a fuck ton of money into the military and tried to create “Star Wars” space lasers that were supposed to hit missiles and deactivate them mid-air. So yeah, that didn’t work out too well. He also cut funding to social security programs that helped minorities since everyone who wasn’t part of these programs were like “yeah this is useless and government control” which is dumb but like he and all the Republican presidents after him cut funds to those programs so....

Reagan hated the Soviet Union with a burning passion (I mean most of America did at that time so he wasn’t really special). But then the Soviets got a new leader, Mikhael Gorbachev (yes I’ve memorized his name whoops) who gave citizens a lot of freedom and free speech and even some capitalist policies, so Reagan was like fine I guess I can try to negotiate peace with him. Reagan got really pissy and a peace treaty wasn’t created until the two leaders met a couple times, but they signed a treaty that made each of them get rid of a lot of their nuclear weapons. So Reagan was like “neat!!! We won the Cold War!!!” and Americans were happy. (Except then we started fighting a bunch of other countries and things got more ugly but that was mostly with the Bushes so I’m gonna ignore that part right now.)

Reagan also completely ignored the AIDs crisis cause like “gay people disease” or some shit like that. It killed a bunch of people but he only cared when a bunch of people got upset that straight people were starting to die too. Some famous basketball player (who was 100% a straighty) got it and everyone completely freaked out, so I think it was only around that time Reagan even addressed the issue at all. So yeah, Reagan was a jerk and useless. Apparently pretty much the rest of the heterosexuals in the country were too, which is fun /s.

After 8 years in office, Reagan finally got replaced by his vice president W. H. Bush for four years, and after he got into a bunch of fights with a bunch of countries and tanked the economy even more, he was replaced by Clinton. But bottom line is, Reagan pretty much ruined the economy and also completely politicized social issues like abortion and gay rights that weren’t previously political. Also, the government has never not been in debt after his presidency except briefly with Clinton. All the Republicans cut taxes and the deficits rose like crazy, and the Democrats would try to fix it and fail (also Obama’s conservative Senate made it real hard for him to pass anything substantial.)

Yeah, that’s my educational ramble! Message me if you want more cause I have more!

[ofpcrfections]

it’s  not  that  he’s  annoyed  ,  he’s  actually  thankful  that  he  got  the  time  slot  he  did  because  it  gave  him  an  excuse  to  not  be  involved  in  the  ordering  that  would  come  in  that  day  .  god  ,  carrying  kegs  to  their  proper  section  in  the  basement  would  forever  be  the  death  of  him  .  there  is  a  smirk  that  moved  onto  his  features  as  he  realizes  that  it’s  damon  downstairs  now  ,  probably  struggling  just  like  he  had  .

picking  up  the  apple  without  a  second  of  hesitation  ,  dallas  bit  into  it  before  wrinkling  his  nose  at  the  taste  .  since  when  does  dallas  pick  up  an  apple  to  eat  ?  soon  enough  ,  he’s  downing  the  coffee  in  hopes  that  the  burning  hot  liquid  is  erase  the  attempt  at  eating  healthy  from  his  tastebuds  .  once  he  finished  the  coffee  ,  he  hears  the  door  behind  him  finally  opening  .  if  only  he  had  his  watch  on  him  ,  he  could’ve  totally  made  a  comment  about  their  inability  to  be  on  time  .

‘‘  good  afternoon  .  you’ve  been  called  in  today  to  just  answer  a  few  routine  questions  .  there’s  no  right  or  wrong  answer  ,  just  us  wanting  to  get  inside  knowledge  on  how  things  are  running  &  if  we  need  to  improve  any  of  the  regulations  .  we  pride  ourselves  on  being  a  very  democratic  government  .  we  love  to  have  your  input  .  ’’

‘‘  me  ?  dude  ,  you  know  who  you’re  talking  to  ,  right  ?  you  think  i’m  holding  useful  information  up  here  ?  ’’  dallas  asked  ,  tapping  his  left  temple  ,  but  still relaxed  back  in  his  seat  ,  waiting  for  the  first  question  .

Q1.  please  state  your  name  ,  age  &  profession  for  the  record  .

‘  name’s  dallas  winston  .  don’t  need  my  middle  name  ,  not  useful  to  you  .  i’m  thirty  three  &  a  bar  owner  .  co  -  owner  ,  damon  will  kill  me  if  i  say  it’s  only  mine  .  ’

Q2.  where  were  you  between  the  hours  of  10:00  pm  &  8:00  am  on  the  date  of  september  19th  ?

‘  the  bar  ,  at  least  from  ten  to  about  two  .  after  that  i  was  home  ,  usually  need  to  let  off  some  steam  so  i’m  happy  to  give  you  the  beautiful  woman’s  number  that  was  with  me  if  you  need  .  ’

Q3.  did  you  see  ,  feel  or  simply  hear  about  anything  strange  going  on  within  those  hours  ?  if  so  ,  please  specify  .  be  as  detailed  as  you  possibly  can  .

‘  did  i  ?  god  ,  did  you  see  what  happened  ?  not  only  did  the  streetlights  cause  chaos  outside  ,  but  then  the  fuckin’  time  jump  just  fucked  us  all  up  .  so  many  bartenders  thought  we  were  serving  after  the  proper  time  ,  thought  they  were  gonna  lose  their  job  .  heard  about  the  sun  bullshit  ,  but  i  didn’t  wake  up  for  it  ,  but  i’m  used  to  sleeping  through  sun  .  the  snow  ----  that  was  fucked  ,  didn’t  even  have  my  proper  leather  jacket  on  when  it  happened  .  think  it’ll  happen  again  ?  should  i  pull  out  my  winter  jacket  ?  ’

Q4.  if  you  were  to  choose  between  a  cherry  pie  or  a  freshly  made  chocolate  chip  cookie  ,  which  would  you  choose  ?

‘  gross  ,  neither  .  peanut  butter  cookies  or  an  apple  pie  or  i’m  good  .  cherry  pie  ?  who  the  fuck  eats  that  willing  ?  ’

Q5.  we’re  thrown  back  into  the  sixties  .  what  is  your  ideal  aesthetic  ?

‘  ah  shit  ,  i  would  absolutely  be  an  outlaw  .  you  know  like  someone  with  greased  up  hair  ,  sporting  jean  jackets  ,  probably  have  a  switchblade  on  me  .  probably  in  a  gang  ,  not  even  going  to  deny  that  .  ----  shit  ,  could  that  implicate  me  ?  i  don’t  have  anything  on  me  right  now  .  ’

Q6.  do  you  believe  that  laws  ,  policies  &  regulations  are  needed  for  a  positive  environment  &  well  run  society  ?  if  so  ,  please  state  what  you  believe  is  the  best  law  that  has  been  made  .

‘  well  obviously  we  need  laws  ,  not  that  i  agree  with  all  of  them  .  since  being  a  bar  owner  ,  i  guess  the  whole  shoplifting  rules  benefit  me  ,  huh  ?  ’

Q7.  the  purge  begins  .  all  crime  legal  for  twenty  four  hours  .  do  you  shoplift  at  your  favourite  store  or  do  you  erase  your  name  from  all  government  data  to  wave  your  debts  ?

‘  are  those  my  only  options  ?  damn  ,  well  i  guess  i  would  go with  the  erase  my  name  .  could  i  make  up  a  new  name  afterwards  ?  i’d  make  one  bomb  ass  runaway  .  ’

Q8.  could  you  tell  us  which  you  believe  came  first  &  why  ---  the  colour  orange  ,  or  the  fruit  .

‘  that  ---  is  way  to  ...  what’s  the  word  ?  philosophical  ?  yeah  ----  too  philosophical  for  me  to  answer  .  better  luck  with  the  person  after  me  ,  man  .  ’

Q9. do  you  believe  in  other  lifeforms  ?  this  includes  ,  but  is  not  limited  to  ,  vampires  ,  witches  ,  werewolves  ,  aliens  ,  ghosts  ,  etc.  why  or  why  not  ?

‘  nah  ,  it’s  all  legend  bullshit  .  not  that  i  wouldn’t  want  to  be  a  vampire  if  allowed  ,  look  at  me  .  i’d  make  one  fucking  amazing  vampire  &  i’d  look  like  this  forever  ?  either  way  ,  nah  ,  none  of  that  shit  is  of  interest  to  me  ,  so  they’re  all  fake  in  my  head  .  ’

Q10.  if  you  were  to  live  anywhere  in  the  world  ,  where  would  it  be  ?

‘  shit  ,  that’s  a  good  question  .  detriot  ,  maybe  ?  or  california  .  don’t  ask  me  why  because  those  just  came  to  me  now  ,  couldn’t  tell  you  why  .  ’

[uzumaki-rebellion]

“Stark’s New Intern” Chp. 7

Summary: Erik receives a clue from his past...

"Leave me breadcrumbs for the ride To guide me back Leave me breadcrumbs for the ride To guide me back Leave me breadcrumbs for the ride To guide me back Leave me breadcrumbs for the ride To guide me, guide me back…"

Jamila Woods (Feat. Nico Segal) —"Breadcrumbs"

Devika pulled in front of Erik's apartment unit and Maria was already standing by the curb waiting for him.

"Thanks for the ride," Erik said.

Devika nodded and Erik was surprised to see Giselle walk down their apartment steps to meet him too. Her eyes glanced at Devika in the BMW.

"See you tomorrow, Erik," Devika said.

She drove away and Erik faced Maria and Giselle.

"Where have you been?" Maria asked.

"Stark had me at his—"

Maria's arms were thrown around his waist before he could finish speaking.

"I thought you were gone for good until I saw your luggage," she whispered into his chest.

"It's all good. Stark had me work in another lab and then he took me to his house."

"For what?" Giselle asked.

Erik hoped she would hug him too, but she stood next to Maria with concern in her eyes. She was worried about him too.

"He had a party and I followed him around. That's it."

"He doesn't have a house. He has a mansion that is out of this world. I saw pictures of it in Architectural Design," Maria said.

"So you're not leaving the internship?" Giselle asked.

"Nah."

She let out an audible sigh and he followed them both back into the apartment.

"Who brought you home?" Maria said.

"Stark's secretary."

Erik looked at Giselle.

"Why are you over here so late?"

"Maria called me."

Maria showed him her cell.

"I received this email from our Project Manager. It says I have to meet in a different department tomorrow morning—"

Maria's face looked stressed out and beyond worry. Erik removed his bowtie and pulled off his tuxedo jacket. Both women ogled his clothes.

"Don't trip. You and Valentina are moving to a new department with me."

"Why? I thought…I thought they liked my work—"

"They do, but Stark let me move to a place that wanted me and he asked me to name two people from my team to go with me. I chose you. And Valentina."

"You chose me?"

Maria's face lit up and she hugged him again.

"Lemme change real quick," Erik said prying her fingers from around him again.

His luggage was on his bed and he quickly slipped into shorts and a t-shirt.

"I gotta warn you Maria, where you're going is pretty intense. The boss of that lab ain't no joke."

"I can handle it," Maria said.

"I know you can," he said.

"I'm going to bed so I can be ready. I can finally go to sleep. Night Giselle!"

Maria scurried into her room, her spirits lifted, and Erik let his eyes rest on Giselle. She looked shy almost, her eyes breaking away from his stare.

"Guess I'll head home," she said.

"You don't have to leave."

"It's really late. I'm glad things worked out."

"Me too."

He walked over to her, stepped close enough so that his face was near hers. Her energy was pleasant, but she wasn't welcoming in the way he wanted. Professional. Bet.

"Night then," he said heading to the front door and opening it for her.

Giselle patted his shoulder and left.

###

Valentina and Maria brought their A-game.

Erik was in the middle of trying to interface two software programs that had maddening glitches that stumped him all morning when Janine pulled him aside.

"You gave me some sharp picks, Stevens," Janine said munching on baby carrots.

"Yeah?"

"Valentina and Maria fit right in. You have a good eye for talent. Tell me something…what do you want to gain from this internship?"

Erik rolled back his standing chair and faced Janine as she snacked in front of him.

"Practical real-world experience with coding applications—"

"No, your endgame. Don't give me the resume speech. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Erik smiled.

This always happened.

His work ethic, extreme focus, and interests in multiple fields always brought the curious his way. His being Black never let him blend into the background with white people like the Asian staff. Being the small five percent of Black faces in Stark's offices never allowed anonymity. And when one was as good as Erik, that subconscious threat always reared its ugly head: Who is this uppity negro blowing up the spot? Janine wasn't even aware of how she was sounding to him. They never were. It showed up as curiosity, but the goal was to assess where they stood compared to him. Was he coming for their spot? Janine really had nothing to worry about, but after two weeks of him helping that department make progress in such a short span of time, she needed to know if Erik was aiming to become permanent.

"I'm joining the Navy. I want to be an officer."

Janine bit into a carrot and nodded.

"A Navy career. No interest in working for us at all?"

He shook his head.

"Been wanting to be in the Navy since I was little. It's why I went to the Naval Academy."

"Our loss," she said walking away.

Erik rolled back to the computer viewscreen. Janine was glad he wasn't trying to stay there. And she would use his brain up all she could before he left.

"Erik, can I see you for a minute?"

Valentina's face popped up on the viewscreen in a smaller chat screen. Erik closed down his work station and padded over to another station.

Valentina lounged in a beanie bag with her keyboard on her lap and her floating screen hanging above her.

"'Sup," Erik said.

"Does this look right?"

Erik enlarged the string of code near his face.

"What are you trying to do?" he said.

"Bypass all this junk code. There's got to be a better way to streamline all of this. We're on deadline and Janine wants a working simulation by Friday. This is going to take longer than Friday."

"You tell her that?" Erik asked swiping images, searching for problematic links.

"I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders."

"Want me to talk to her?"

"No. If you do that, then she might question why I'm here. Can you look this over later? Maybe you can catch something I'm missing. I'm getting a migraine over it."

"Let's go to lunch."

"Outside of the cafeteria?"

"Yeah."

Valentina powered down her computer and grabbed her purse. They walked through the hallway and found an express elevator they could crowd on. Once they made it to the lobby, Valentina gave out a loud sigh.

"How can you deal with Janine? She makes me feel like I'm not pulling my weight," she said.

"She giving you grief?"

"She doesn't say anything, just gives you those looks with those creepy eyes of hers. It's like playing poker and she has that neutral poker face, but with shades on. And a ten-gallon cowboy hat. And six-shooters on her hip waiting to take you down."

"She ain't that bad."

"I enjoy the work that I do, so don't think I don't appreciate your name dropping me, but sheesh…every time she comes to my station, I feel like I'm under a guillotine."

A bit of a ruckus stirred up near the entrance as Tony breezed in followed by reporters. Security surrounded the paps as Tony pulled off his shades. His head security officer, a big dude he heard Tony calling Happy, posted up next to him with his hands folded in front of him but his green ear bud glowing as he whispered instructions discreetly to the rest of his staff.

Tony held his hands out to the paps.

"There is no connection between my deal with the Afghan government and the SICA rebels. I am a businessman who works with many countries and I don't deal in politics—"

"But your weapons systems give certain groups advantages that our government has questioned because of anti-democratic behavior and human rights abuses—"

"And our government does business with plenty of countries with anti-democratic behavior and human rights abuses…China anyone?"

"Tony-!"

"Mr. Stark-!"

Tony turned away from the paps and Happy herded them out of the lobby with security in tow.

"Stevens, Berlotti…"

Tony's eyes swept over them.

"We're heading out for lunch," Erik said.

Valentina stood next to Erik a bit starry-eyed.

"Where to?" Tony asked looking at his platinum watch.

"The taco spot—"

"Cool, let's go," Tony said.

They followed Tony to a side exit.

"You not worried about reporters following you out here?"

"Happy has that under control," Tony said.

Alberto's Tacos was a small vendor cart that Erik found to his liking. The carne asada street tacos were flavorful and cheap and washed down with a cold Coke, it was heaven. The three of them sat on a bench not too far from the Stark building. White-collar workers streamed past them and no one took notice of Tony scarfing down greasy meat with his fingers.

"This is really good. Had no idea this stand was here all these years," Tony said licking his fingers.

Erik gulped down his Coke and Valentina kept quiet as she listened to Erik shoot the shit with Tony. He couldn't understand why she didn't ask the questions she was burning to ask him that she was always pestering Erik about during their lunch breaks. Tony took notice.

"You're really quiet Valentina," Tony said, his eyes taking her in.

"I'm just soaking it all in, Mr. Stark," she said, her eyes darting over to Erik.

"Things working well for you in your new set-up?"

"Yes—"

"Janine makes her nervous," Erik said.

Valentina nearly choked on her Sprite as she pulled the can from her lips.

Tony chuckled.

"You alright there, Berlotti?"

"Yes…yes, Sir. Went down the wrong pipe," she said wiping her lips.

"Janine is a tight ass, but don't let her chilly façade scare you. Are you worried about something?"

Erik gave Valentina a look for her to open her mouth and speak on her concerns openly. Her perfect bow lips quirked and then she put her soda can down. Erik nodded his head slightly at her.

"I'm worried about an assignment I have due on Friday. I won't be able to finish it because I need more time to work out the kinks because there are so many of them. There is no feasible way to have a working simulation up and running by then. There are four of us working on it and I'm the lead, but I can't…I can't fix it under this rigid time limit."

She pushed her hair back behind her ears. Her face looked ashamed. She sipped her soda again and Erik felt all of her confidence drain out into the ether.

"What do expect to happen on Friday?" Tony asked.

"Failure. I asked Erik to take a look at the work—"

"What about your immediate team?

"They are working on it—"

"Why aren't you with them now?"

Tony's eyes were bright and firm looking. He wasn't here for excuses.

"I have to eat."

"Working lunches are a thing Berlotti. You are the team leader. You wrangle your people and you figure the problem out. Why are you asking Stevens to look at your work? He has his own deadlines and team to worry about. You want him to take on your workload too? Alvarez has the same deadline and you know where she is right now? At her desk grinding. Janine said jump, Alvarez asked how high."

Valentina crushed her soda can and tossed it in a trash receptacle. She stood up and stared at Tony.

"I better get back to work," she said. The click-clack of her heels echoed as she left them.

"That was cold," Erik said.

"Cold? How?"

"She was confiding in you."

"That's what you're for. Not me. I expect results. Janine answers to me. So who do you think needs those codes running on Friday? Me."

"Did you have to throw Maria in her face like that though?"

"Maria works her ass off—"

"Valentina does too. She just hit a snag."

"And she will unravel the snag."

Erik finished his taco and Tony made a quick call.

"Let's get back to work," Tony said.

Erik followed him back to the offices and when they separated, he texted Valentina.

You okay?

He thinks I'm shit.

No he doesn't. Just high expectations.

Did he talk bad about me when I left?

Said you'd figure out the problem. Want me to look at the codes tonight?

No. I'll figure it out.

I know you will. Badass.

She sent him a happy face emoji.

"Erik Stevens?"

A guard at the information desk stopped him from going to the elevators.

"Yeah."

The guard reached down behind the desk and handed Erik a FedEx package.

"This came for you twenty minutes ago."

"Thanks," Erik said.

He walked over to a lobby couch and sat down. The return address was from his Uncle Bakari in D.C. Erik quickly opened the package. A folded note was taped to a small black notepad.

"JaJa,

Hope this finds you well. We found this in some of your mother's belongings when we cleaned out our attic for some installation issues we were having. Don't know how we missed it. Looks like it belonged to your father. We didn't want to throw it out. Not much written in it, but we wanted you to have it.

We are proud of you and look forward to seeing you at the end of August.

Love and Hugs,

Uncle Bakari & Aunt Shavonne"

Erik quickly pulled out the small black notepad. He flipped through the pages that had his father's distinct script written in it. All in Wakandan.

His eyes darted around where he sat. No one was paying attention to him. He jumped up and walked briskly to the nearest restroom.

Locking himself in a stall, Erik pulled down the toilet seat cover and sat down. He opened the notepad again and flipped to the first page. His fingers touched the paper gingerly, and he saw his fingers shake. His tongue touched his top lip and he felt the sting of tears prick the corners of his eyes.

"Baba," he whispered.

Wiping his eyes, he tried to gather himself together. The writing was neat, legible, and concise. Erik's brain shifted its language mode. Memories flooded his mind.

Sitting in his room back in Oakland tracing letters.

Wakandan letters.

Baba singing to him in his language, telling him stories about his homeland. Copying Baba's habit of writing in journals.

Stringing symbols to make sentences that looked otherworldly.

Think.

Remember.

Translate.

These were numbers. Cardinal directions.

Coordinates. GPS coordinates.

His father had made a handwritten map. For himself or someone else?

The numbers came to him quickly, but it took several minutes to accurately make out the rest.

Three places.

There was something buried in three different locations.

One of the places wasn't that far away. Joshua Tree. A little over three hours away.

Erik stepped out of the restroom stall and washed his hands. He stuffed the notepad in his shirt pocket right over his heart.

He wiped his face with a paper towel, and when two interns walked in chattering away, Erik slipped out and onto an elevator.

Baba left him a treasure map.

He just needed to figure out a way to go find what was buried in all three places.

###

Part 8

Tag List:

@fd-writes​ @soufcakmistress  @cherrystainedlipsbaby @tclaybon  @thadelightfulone @allhailqueennel @bartierbakarimobisson @cpwtwot @shookmcgookqueen @yoyolovesbucky @raysunshine78 @the-illllest @terrablaze514  @l-auteuse @amirra88 @jimizwidow @janelledarling @chaneajoyyy @sweetestdream92 @purple-apricots @blackpinup22 @hennessystevens-udaku @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @bugngiz @stariamrry  @honeytoffee @meilintheempressofdreams

[quakerjoe]

A CUPPA JOE for 21 January 2020: Let the Games Begin

Today, the Impeachment Trial of trump begins and I’d like to remind you all of something. This is not a trial to see whether or not trump is going to be removed from office and then tried for his crimes. This is not about trump. We already KNOW Moscow Mitch is going to do everything he can to whisk this whole thing on through, sloppily and haphazardly, and he’s going to exonerate the permanently impeached angry orange.

 This trial is about you. It’s about all of us in the United States, and the world is watching. WE are the ones on trial today. We KNOW beyond shadow of a doubt right now before this even begins that trump is guilty of a multitude of corruption charges and abuse of power to enrich himself. It’s been clear since before, during and after the Mueller Report. There’s enough evidence in the REDACTED version of it to warrant trump’s removal from office. The recent interview with Parnas has just pissed a ton of gas onto this dumpster fire and we know it, even if a fifth of what he said is true.

 Here’s what’s likely to happen. Fuck-all nothing. McConnell’s “rules” set this sham of a trial up to be done after midnight and during a time that will minimize the time Chief Justice Roberts can attend. He’s setting things up so that not only will new evidence NOT be admissible, but that the EXISTING evidence won’t be either. He thinks he’s got enough GOP support to pull this off, and he may be right. The Democrats have many, many charges to throw at this administration, but so far they’ve lead with their weakest hand and everyone’s having a nutter over it.

 WE are on trial now. WE must decide if this is a severe miscarriage of justice being carried out by the GOP and the Senate, of if we’re going to show the world that we simply don’t give a flying fuck and that we’re perfectly happy to let a corrupt bag of dicks tear down what little is left of our Republic and full-on burn the Constitution to ashes as we slip into Kleptocracy and become a Oligarchy; a Fascist state run by the rich and supported by the feckless idiots who can’t be bothered to study a bit of political science on their own because schools don’t really seem to teach it anymore.

 WE THE PEOPLE are the ones on trial here. We’ve literally reached a point where we’re trying to save not only our nation, but to save sanity, reason, our place on the world stage, and most importantly, the planet itself. If the GOP doesn’t hold an actual, fair trial complete with accrued evidence from before the submission of the Articles of Impeachment as well as after and allow for the calling of Witnesses (like an ACTUAL TRIAL does and this IS a trial) then they’ll have demonstrated that they are irrefutably corrupt and MUST be recalled by their states and summarily FIRED. They CAN do that. Kentucky, for instance, CAN recall McConnell and fire his sorry ass if they 1- even KNEW they could do that (it’s not like the GOP would make that public knowledge) and 2- really WANTED TO. The eyes of the nation are looking at them and wondering “Why do you keep sending this asshole to DC?”

 EVERY Senator today is on trial. We, the VOTERS are the judges, juries, and executioners come time for the election. If YOUR members of Congress have been hampering the investigation into ‘Individual 1’ and have supported measures to protect him from the reach of Justice, then you had damn well take notice because one day it may be YOUR guy on the dock and looking at a trial. The GOP had NO problem with interviewing everyone-and-their-mother during Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial but now the complete opposite is the accepted norm for trump? Fuck off, GOP; seriously? Right out in the open you’re doing this crap? You don’t even pretend to want to carry out justice anymore. YOU are the ones on trial, GOPers. YOU on the Left aren’t out of the woods either. If you Dems don’t get your heads out of your asses up there at the DNC and LEARN from 2016 that we are in a time where brave, bold measures are needed to unfuck the situation we’re in and that a centrist, “Status Quo” candidate will only get trump re-elected come 2020, then We the People need to replace ALL of you from the top down apparently.

 Once this sham of a trial is done and over with, and it will be oddly quick and not remotely thorough, trump is going to walk back to the White House or, more than likely, Mar-A-Lago, and sleep like a babe. This WILL happen. He’s going to curl up to go to sleep, laughing the whole time because not only did he win, but We the People LOST. We ALL lose this trial. Rule of Law will not mean fuck-all NOTHING. What little respect there is left coming from our allies around the world will be gone. Nobody will trust the USA be it fighting terrorism or trade agreements. Meanwhile, the GOP will continue to wield power, your rights will wane away, and the economy, while seeming great for the rich twats on Wall St. will continue to be stagnant for the Average Joes out there and this notion of the “Middle Class” will become simply “The Working Poor” altogether.

I mean, face it- the Middle Class are the Millionaires. The Upper Class- Billionaires. The Poor- That’d be YOU. You think you can retire at a certain age? You think your pension will carry you through retirement? (I hear most of you asking ‘my what?’ here) You think you’re safe from crippling medical bills? You think the GOP cares about YOU? Don’t be thick. You think Democrats are coming to save the world? Bollocks. They’re paid to lose. Centrist assholes like Biden are the GOP if yesteryear. This is why Clinton lost in 2016, people. We the People do NOT want the goddamn status quo, but the Dems will offer us that because we’re spiraling down the drain under the GOP so to them, they’ll get to keep the corporate cash because they’ll be slowing down the rate of decay compared to the GOP. Yeah; great choice, Democrats.

 Until we get more BRAVE Democrats willing to take a Progressive stand and call the Corporate Dems out on their bullshit and make trump and his cohorts accountable for their crimes, we as a nation are going to lose this trial that We the People are under right now. We ALL are going to lose, from the stupid fuckwits who thinks trumps just all that, to the frustrated, disenfranchised Independent voters who are going to throw their hands up and just NOT vote because there’s NOTHING to vote for. We are ALL on trial today. Today we will see, not the shit-show going on about trump, but the absolute, Olympic-grade fuckery of the Senate under the GOP, and if YOU, the Average Joe, don’t get active and recall those GOP assholes or at the VERY LEAST vote their asses out of office come November and hold them ACCOUNTABLE, then YOU lost this trial. We will have lost our nation, and from here on out, as the wings of liberty collapse, the wages plummet, and the inevitable rumblings of revolution grow louder to the point where the nation collapses into the next Civil War, we’ll have nobody to blame but We the People Who Did Nothing and we’ll deserve the horrors that follow. Let’s not let it get to that, eh?

Once this little shit-show is over, it’s up to YOU to get the current GOP shit-birds OUT so that an actual FAIR trial can happen. If Pelosi is every bit this legendary mega-mind her fans are raving about, then she’ll see to it that NEW charges are compiled and that trump becomes the first to be impeached TWICE. With a new Senate and a REAL trial to work with, maybe then justice will be carried out. Today’s inevitable debacle will be, or at least SHOULD be a wakeup call to ALL of us that the GOP is unwilling to uphold the Rule of Law that oddly enough the rest of us are expected to obey. The time to hold them and their supporters accountable is past due- Democrats needed to take the Senate last election cycle, not JUST the House. It wasn’t this big Blue Wave like they’re advertising. Loss of the Senate has led to where we are now and that’s on We the People. This is why there’s a mile high stack of passed, bi-partisan legislation sitting on McConnell’s desk right now collecting dust- because ‘We the People’ allowed him to remain in charge of the “Get Nothing Done” Senate.

 So, I wish you good luck today. Pay attention, because with our current track record here in the US, We the People seem incapable of actually having the balls to call out our own government’s fuckery and we’re about to see nothing happen at all and the consequences will be the collapsing of the pillars of which hold this nation up. We’re witnessing history with this, and I’m betting that this is the beginning of a very horrific end of the United States of America. This is, of course, a bet that I’d be more than happy to lose.

[gffa]

Master and Apprentice | by Claudia Gray OKAY, HERE’S WHY I KEEP YELLING ABOUT QUI-GON AND HIS AMAZING HYPOCRISY.  It’s not just this, there are a bunch of ways (most notably, he completely misjudges the Jedi Council, thinks the worst of them, they hate everything he says, they only want people who agree with them, who lick their boots!, then five minutes later they’re offering him a position on the Council specifically FOR his diverging viewpoints, because they value that, and he STILL refuses to re-evaluate his opinion, STILL refuses to trust them or work with them) but this is really the heart of it. Qui-Gon believes it’s immoral to do nothing about slavery and he is absolutely right about that.  Where he becomes a hypocrite about it is that he believes the Jedi should just go ahead and do whatever they want, they should impose their will on other beings.  He grudgingly admits that human morals are not always the same for other species, but insists that slavery is not one of those things.  Again, he’s still sort of right, except he’s ignoring that just making people do what you want them to do, instead of going through a democratic process, IS WHAT FASCISM IS.  He still wants to just go ahead and go rogue and do whatever they want and his intentions are incredibly well-meant, but he acknowledges nothing of what consequences that would bring. He acknowledges nothing about how the Jedi are in the same exact position he’s in--there is one Jedi for every 7 to 20 billion beings in the galaxy.  If one Jedi isn’t enough to go free the slaves on Pijal by himself--something Qui-Gon never even considers doing--then the Jedi going up against the rest of the galaxy (and, make no mistake, with how clearly canon has established that people fear the Jedi’s inherent abilities, they would absolutely band together and kill the Jedi if they went rogue, the only reason they’re not in the same position as the X-Men is because they realized oversight and accountability goes a long fuckin’ way with people) would be in an even worse position.  But he never acknowledges this, nor does he include himself in being immoral for this.  No, only the Jedi are immoral for doing exactly what Qui-Gon himself does in an situation that is perfectly analogous.  Sure. Where it gets absolutely INCREDIBLE, though, is that he wins the day and even frees the slaves through his connection to the Republic, through the use of Republic law and might.  Why do they have a Republic?  FOR THIS MOMENT RIGHT FUCKING HERE.  Obi-Wan being an official representative of the Republic (after Qui-Gon is relieved of it for fucking it up) is what allows them to free the slaves.  If the Jedi had gone Qui-Gon’s way, this happy ending for the slaves wouldn’t be here. Does he recognize this?  Does he even acknowledge that being part of the Republic is what gives them the authority to do EXACTLY what he did?  That if they went rogue, they wouldn’t be able to do this? Nope. Nor does he acknowledge that Rael Averross is on the planet, in the position he is, specifically because the Jedi worked with the Republic and worked within the system.  The reason this got fucked up is because Rael fell prey to some nasty attachment issues--and, frankly, proved the Jedi’s point in a rather startlingly undeniable way, that he nearly fucked over A THIRD OF THE POPULATION, because he was focused on Fanry only--but if someone who had their shit together was there?  THEY COULD HAVE PREVENTED A WHOLE LOT OF SLAVES.  Yoda even says it, we have to get that treaty changed, because that’s bad news. They are helping people and Qui-Gon refuses to acknowledge it, because it’s not how he wants to do it.  aka, going in there with lightsaber blazing, damning the wars and deaths--because, let’s also be clear, the second you go in there with force, rather than with legal authority and the law on your side, it’s the slaves who are the hostages in this situation, it’s the slaves who are going to die first, as well as it would have started a war with the entire Republic over the whole thing. It also makes this moment incredibly hypocritical:

He could go free those slaves.  He could just lightsaber Watto in half, take Shmi and Anakin and rather easily (at least as easily as the Jedi could just go do what they wanted in the same way, probably far more so) free the rest of them on Tatooine.  Yet, he doesn’t.  Why? Because he has to know, even if he doesn’t want to admit it, that it wouldn’t actually address the underlying problem, it would only result in more deaths of the people who are already the victims here, and it would fuck over all the other people on Naboo who are dying because they’re here.  That is exactly the same position the Jedi are in and it’s an understandable one. You cannot change this situation with leeroy jenkinsing it, because it will only resurface (and get a shitload of people killed along the way).  You have to try to change it within the system, you have to work to better the system, you have to keep trying even when it seems hard, because NOTHING WILL EVER LAST unless the system (and the general public) backs you up on this, that is the only way to get things to crawl forward to a better future. And also let’s be real fuckin’ clear about getting involved with politics--do I think the Jedi should have leaned in harder?  Yeah, of course.  Literally EVERY PERSON IN THE REPUBLIC should be held to that standard!  But the Jedi are not the political power house that we want to think, their influence is tiny in comparison, especially once the war happens and they’re busy putting out twenty tire fires a day and, you know, DYING EN MASSE for a people who don’t want to fight themselves.  We do see them trying to advise, to push for better options--and we see Palpatine consistently shutting them down every time they try! This is also why I think it’s a good idea to read Queen’s Shadow at the same time, as one of the major subplots is basically all about Padme trying to make effective change AS A POLITICIAN, WHERE THIS IS HER FULL TIME JOB and it’s incredibly difficult.  Imagine not even having a fraction of the political clout she did and still fighting the same exact uphill battles! Of course it should (and is) being done, slavery is abhorrent and it’s on the public to hold their governments responsible to enact meaningful change.  But I have no patience for those who put forth empty rhetoric over actually offering viable real solutions, not just “Someone should do something!”  Like, wow, yes, thank you for that insight, now would you care to share with the class specifically how that could be done without getting everyone killed? Nor do I have patience for people who criticize methods that are getting actual results and hold themselves to be The Only Moral One Here while not actually offering anything new of substance to the problem that would actually work.

--Queen’s Shadow, by E.K. Johnston You work with the system (and, in the Jedi’s case, step TWICE AS CAREFULLY, because, hey, guess what, if you seem like you’re getting TOO much power, they’ll literally stand and watch as your Temple burns and your babies are murdered, that’s how little they trust you, how much they fear you, how much they’re just waiting for you to abuse your power, because they don’t understand your connection to a Force that they can’t feel, that it’s not as straightforward as Qui-Gon wants it to be, it’s a hell of a lot more complicated) because that’s how you have any kind of ability to hold people to decent fucking behavior. It’s like in The Last Jedi where Luke tells Rey that, oh, the Jedi would just say let the attacks happen to the native people.  When, no, what they actually did was align themselves with the only reasonable government around (THE OTHER OPTIONS WERE WORSE, LET’S KEEP THAT IN MIND) so they had the ability to say, “If you try this shit again, we have legal authority and the weight of the Republic behind us, to come after you if you come back.” And that’s what saved the day in this book.  Obi-Wan being the Republic’s representative, the weight of the Republic behind them, the law being used in a good and moral way because the Jedi worked to get everything into the right place so that this could have a real happy(-ish) ending, is what let those slaves go free. Qui-Gon wants the Jedi to go be hippies on backwater planets to connect to the Living Force, but he also wants them to be involved in politics and push harder for democratic reform (WHICH WE SEE THEM DOING BASICALLY IN THIS BOOK) and make the laws, like, that whole thing is absolute mess with no clear direction of what he wants, other than that he wants to be able to whatever he wants whenever he wants and not wanting to face the consequences himself for it, but make others face those consequences.  You could leave and do exactly what you’re proposing, Qui-Gon Jinn, but you don’t.  And you know why you don’t. To be clear, in closing, Qui-Gon is not even remotely a bad person, he cares deeply and I wouldn’t have a problem with his point of view if he weren’t judging others for it (a thing that is a theme throughout this book, he gets real judgy sometimes) or maybe if he actually stuck to his own beliefs.  He’s coming from a place of deep care, but he is not self-examining on the level he needs to and instead projecting that blame outwards, instead of actually doing something about it.