#that kind of rancid take wouldn't surprise me

[hazel2468]

To the person who reblogged this saying, in the tags, that the solution they propose is giving "palestine back to the palestinians" and then sending the israelis to london because "britain caused this"...

I sincerely fucking hope that is a very, very tasteless joke.

Because otherwise. Your solution is to take a bunch of people who have either lived in Israel for all of their lives, their parents, lives, their grandparent's lives, so on and so forth, who have been there for generations, OR people who have been in Israel for either all of or most of their lives because they or their parents or grandparents were forcibly expelled from the countries they were living in- both before, during, AND after the Holocaust (for reference, my family on my dad's side fled Russia due to the fucking pogroms- some came to America, some went to what is now Israel/Palestine).

And put them in a city in a country that is actively hostile to them.

There sure as fuck isn't an easy solution to this. But that shit ain't fucking it.

Seems like a good time to remind people that the phrase "from the river to the sea" - while apparently popular on this hellsite, is basically a call for the total eradication of not just the Israeli state (and by that I don't mean the government, I mean EVERYTHING) but of every Jew in that area.

SO. If I see it on your blog? Bye. I do not trust you to have anything even remotely approaching a nuanced take to this fucking tragedy.

[yokowan]

It was early in the autumn last year, just as the leaves were beginning to turn, that I found myself in the company of the most peculiar maid. Or, so I call it, for want of a better word. You see, by my very nature I am extremely disorganised. My clothes cycle between the floor and my person, maybe finding themselves in the wash from time to time if I feel so daring. Papers and writing implements are strewn about every level surface of my residence. Soiled dishes pile high and are not cleaned until I entirely run out or the smell becomes intolerable. My absent and aimless mind has led me to live in a kind of squalor that the most rancid maggots might turn up their noses at.

One weary late night, I readied myself to sleep. As I always do, I picked up the pile of clothes off of my bed and tossed them approximately in the direction of a chair. Imagine my surprise, then, when I looked over and saw the clothes had somehow perfectly folded themselves as they flew through the air and landed in a neatly squared stack. If not for the dreadful hour of night I probably would have stepped in to investigate, perhaps attempting the same a few more times. Instead I laughed at the bizarre coincidence, and collapsed in my bed.

That following mid-afternoon, after I had awoken and persuaded myself out of bed, I lumbered into the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee. As I approached the counter I stopped and rubbed my eyes. There was already a cup of coffee there, piping hot. Perhaps I sleepwalked? I've always known myself to be a restless sleeper, tossing and muttering through the night, but never have I seen evidence of myself walking about, let alone brewing an entire cup of coffee. Well, I've never been one to refuse a spontaneous gift, even one from an unconscious version of myself, so I picked up the beverage and took a sip.

It's sweet.

Perfectly brewed, just as I like it, but I always take my coffee black. In my waking state I don't even know where my sugar dish is!

I brushed the miscellaneous on papers on my couch to one side and sat down to ponder the event as I drank. Had I, in some trance, managed to go through my entire morning routine and then return to bed with absolutely no recollection of these events, I surely would have at least made my coffee by muscle memory. Somehow not only had I made the drink, but I'd also found the sugar which I most certainly purchased at one point but has never been used since. And all this done without disturbing a single thing in my kitchen! It's so unlike me!

Perhaps it wasn't me. Perhaps some strange and bizarrely covert infiltrator entered my house and helped themselves to my kitchen before being turned away by guilt. Or, perhaps I could have been under the spell of some benevolent coffee-making warlock, or possessed by a spirit, or somehow otherwise under the influence of some magicks beyond my comprehension. Or perhaps, and oh how I laughed when the thought crossed my mind, the coffee just did that on its own! Remembering the spontaneously folded pile of clothes from the preceding night, I considered that maybe the clockwork of the universe aligned just so that the moisture in the air would come to rest in my cup and powdered coffee would fall from my shelf in just the right measure and sugar would appear from God-knows-where and…

What a preposterous idea.

I arose to investigate around the kitchen some more. The dishes on the counter and items in the cabinets were all in precisely the same order, or rather disorder, which they were in the night before. Odd. Absentmindedly, my fingers find themselves brushing against the kettle. It's stone cold. Even more odd. The coffee was hot as if just brewed when I found it, surely the kettle wouldn't have had time to cool down by now. I checked the stove, too, for good measure. Cold as well.

I sighed and stared vacantly as I took the last sips of my coffee. What a perplexing mystery indeed. I set my cup down on the counter. I nearly failed to notice before walking away, but it had just barely caught my attention that the bottom of the cup was entirely clean. I picked it back up and scrutinized it further. Not only was it clean but it was completely dry. As if there had never been any coffee in it at all! Perhaps I had hallucinated the whole ordeal, maybe the beverage in its entirety was illusory? But I could still taste the coffee on my breath! I ran to the closest mirror to look my teeth and indeed the residue of coffee still stained them slightly. No, the coffee could not have been an illusion.

I sat down on the couch with a frustrated "harumph!" What sort of silly games is the universe playing on me. Perhaps this is all a dream? Maybe, but it feels much too real. And besides, it would be a completely useless wager to make; if I'm wrong I'll wake up anyways.

My eyes wandered to the other end of the couch, where I noticed the pile of papers that I'd shoved off to the side. They were organized. Neatly in a stack. The unpaid bills that I'd intentionally shoved to the bottom of the pile some days ago had all found themselves on top, as well.

What sort of treacherous divine mockery is being made of me! Is some bored ancient deity teasing me for my carelessness? Or has the machinery of creation at last taken pity on this dreadful sloven? "What is happening to me!" I cried out in desperation.

As if in response, a stiff draft blew through an open window, lifting an empty bread bag into the air, from where it drifted ever so gently into my wastebasket. I slumped back in my seat. It seems lady luck has made herself a maid.

[hawkfawun]

choose violence: 3, 19, 24, 25

This one is so salty. I'm sorry. I don't know how to make it less salty.

3. Screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

bad take. SPEEDRUN!!!! (mostly) Griffith addition.

1- "Gennon is the victim and not Griffith in their encounter. Griffith is cruel for killing him." I get that you don't like Griffith, that's fine. You are saying the pedophile who took advantage of him when he was 12-14 is in the right though?? Also when he killed him the guy was actively trying to kidnap him to be a sex slave.

2- It is "disrespectful to Miura" to ship griffguts. Miura has expressed interest in queer themes and basically said Griffith is gay before. I don't think the man was a pearl clutcher.

3- "Guts should have just killed Griffith when he was disabled." Guts would NOT have done that.

4- Age gap discourse. All the main adult characters are supposed to be roughly the same age. I have no interest in debating if adults fighting the horrors are allowed to have 3 year age gaps lol.

5. "Griffith is Jeff Bezos" ?? Ah yes free education and housing. What Jeff is commonly known for. Not that I love calling him a communist either. I could write a lot on this but. Eh.

19. You’re mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

WELL. I am pretty damn shameless on here. A lot of people don't like my ships and thats fine. Best to block me though.

I'm not mad exactly but I do think it is surprising I ship Judau/Casca a bit! Normally dislike that kind of ship but I think there's a lot of room for it to be done in a compelling way. The way his insecurities play out is super realistic and interesting to me. I do think he seriously puts Casca above himself and loves her for who she is not who he wants her to be. Also, I just want nice things for them both. ^^

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse?

Casca. Literally anything about Casca. You can be like "Wouldn't it be fun to draw an apostle casca" and people will act like you committed a real actual murder. Never mind if you have some criticism of the eclipse rape or Elaine.

I STILL get asks. btw- if you make sock puppets to harass people for being "too sensitive about rape" that makes you look like a creep fullstop.

Also anything with Griffith but that's a given.

25. Common fandom complaint you are sick of hearing.

Hmmm... anytime anyone has an even mild critique of berserk everyone complains you are literally "spitting on a dead man's grave." It is rare fans complain about the manga itself.

Also rare they complain about Miura. Berserk fans would rather send death threats to fans posting interviews than believe their made-up image of him is wrong.

for the record, I obviously love berserk and think very highly of Miura in a lot of ways. I get why people are defensive of it but phew. Berserk fandom is a little too defensive!

thanks for the questions!

Choosing violence ask meme

[tsuki-sennin]

Geats~! 42 and 43! I slowly continue to get back on the ball. Things spiral ever quickly out of control. Shit's really hittin' the fan now.

Spoilers, I guess... though at this point, you know more about this than me.

-Festering parasites, Keiwa becoming truly ruthless, and a world

-Holy shit, not even an execution, this is a full-force beat down.

-Azuma...

-I think it's rather interesting that Keiwa's wish technically stays the same but his reasons for it have clearly radically changed.

-I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuga Sato's career blows up after this is all over the way Fumiya Takahashi's did.

-You're giving me absolutely

-J

-JITT????

-I thought Jitto was kinda dumb but like

-Jitt is a word the crappy (first) English localization of Azure Striker Gunvolt made up to substitute cussing.

-I can never take your ass seriously again, you steel rod wielding fuck

-Motherfucker's got a hitlist.

-Daichi's gone full Orteca.

-"It's all mine now~!"

-Oh thank god, Michinaga, you're here.

-Human memories, hoarded within the treasure room of his mind palace.

-Brain Tomatoes.

-And then there's this little demon.

-"Despair's a way better look for my oshi!"

-New Rider Forms, yippeeeeeee

-Premium Kekera! Premium Beroba!

-"...those are not Rider Forms."

-Frog Man's got hops.

-Oh shoot Command Form.

-Haven't seen that in a while.

-Y'know Buffa's kinda doing a lot better than expected.

-I mean it makes sense, Michinaga's a seasoned veteran and Beroba and Kekera did just get these forms.

-Azuma...

-"Oops. Oh well, not my problem."

-Yo there, Neon.

-Oh hi Ace. Nice of you to join us.

-"Dude, you're vibe is all off. Absolutely rancid."

-"It's called apotheosis, fox boy. Maybe if you just laid down, this'd be unnecessary."

-No justification, just an "eye for an eye".

-Hello, Samas. Guess you're enjoying your newfound promotion.

-Now comes the climax of the episode.

-A true battle of the dweebs.

-...that is nasty, even for a Reiwa Rider villain's standards.

-Now that I can compare them, the Premium Supporter forms look a lot like the

-Bujin Sword.

-They're bleaching her!

-OH?

-AN INSERT? AT A TIME LIKE THIS???

-Okay, sure!

Daichi: Kekera! What the fuck?! Help me, you piece of shit!" Kekera: You kidding!? This is exactly what I want!

-I'm convinced that if Kekera were real, he'd be the biggest Snyder-Verse dick rider.

-Daichi, I realize you're about to be as extinct as the trilobite you transformed into, but I don't think pointing fingers over things that you clearly planned meticulously is a good idea.

-"Yesssss! Kill!"

-Hello, Geats.

-Nooooo, not Negaiiiii

-Little Bro Ace... Big Sis Tsumuri...

-Oh

-She broke out!

-Somehow!

-...I won't lie though, she kills in that white hair look.

-Jitty don't play nice.

-Congratulations, Keiwa Sakurai! You brought back everybody who ever lost their lives to the Desire Grand Prix! Are you proud of yourself?

-Oh, new head molds?

-G

-Gya-Go???

-Oh man, Old Man Kousei's apparently done being a deadbeat jerkoff.

-The World of Keiwa Sakurai.

-"This is different."

-Good job! The DGP gave you exactly what you wanted! And as a cool bonus, they gave you new friends~!

-Oh Christ, a wild hog!

-For the record, in the United States we have a massive problem with invasive hog species that results in a lot of destruction of wildlife and (often) human casualty.

-"GEATS WHAT THE FUCK?"

-"Don't look at me, man! Tycoon was the one who made the wish! ...terribly!"

-I swear if Geats IX struggles against Mr. Warthog, I'm gonna shit.

-What's his name, anyway?

-"GEATS?! OH MAN!"

-Head?

-Honestly Keiwa you have nobody but yourself to blame for this one.

-"They're all dead! Again!"

-Kirito... Kirito???

-Damn, he grew up to be a real bastard.

-Guess all that digital.

-"Bad End, kid. Game over. Thanks to you, ratings have spiked thanks to our sadist fans."

-"...this isn't the kind of jailbreak I wanted."

-NEON

-Yeah, that fire extinguisher works.

-OHHHHHHHHH THAT'S AKARI'S KIDNAPPER

-He was a DGP player too?

-Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.

-Neon...

-You are far too good for us.

-Hello, Keiwa-kun.

-"I"m going to kill every last one of you."

-Not even a second.

-"That's my boy."

-The shogun now has his army.

-Instant green.

-...is this a game mechanic?

-"Goddessfication" sounds like an absolutely horrifying

-Sunk cost fallacy is a hell of a drug.

-"I need to fix this."

-You're pitiable, old man.

-"Good job, idiot." Michinaga's never gonna let any fan of Daichi's quiz show success live this down.

-It all amounted to absolutely nothing, huh Daichi?

-Guess this guy just had nothing better to do with his life than ruin someone else's.

-Irumi and Kousei, as cruel and selfish they were miserable.

-It's like a fuckin' Greek tragedy.

-What a terrible realization to never have until too late.

-Neon's just 100% done with all this. At this point what, if anything, would make her hate Beroba any more?

-Once upon a time, Kousei Kurama met a fox on the bridge.

-Is that Kirito's snout? Are we reusing suit parts mid episode now?

-Oh, that's... that's new.

-"I want to play your game. There's a mistake I can't even begin to make up for without your help."

-Time Fire!

-Fantasy!

-...that's Brave's Fantasy Gamer armor.

-Nice repaint at least, I like the blue and gold.

-Oh!

-He's a wizard.

-A mountain lion wizard.

-"It's rude to open fire on the show, you know."

-NA-GO RETURNS LET'S GO

-I'm constantly flip-flopping on how much I like Geats, but right now it's in the "Yeah, this is epic" zone. Might change, might not, who knows?

[teddytorture]

wait what does zionist mean because nearly everything i find online says it means "the belief that jewish people should establish a homeland by colonizing palestinians"

Note that the "you" in this is general, not specifically the asker

What kind of Zionism would you like to know? Because I bet among all that propaganda, no one told you there was more than one. I bet no one told you that ethnically cleansing Palestinians is KAHANISM, not Zionism. I bet you didn't know that Arab countries, while Arabs are minority in the west, have been and are ethnically cleansing Jews [1] [2] [3]. And I'm sure JVP would love to have you believe them, but they aren't a genuine Jewish organisation and absolutely love appropriating our culture and spreading disinformation [1] [2] [3].

And, to be quite honest, if you won't have a conversation with Jews - of call kinds, not just the ones you agree with - you are racist. You are an antisemite. You are complicit in our colonisation and genocide. If you would so willingly listen to non-Jews about a culture that isn't theirs and a war that they have NO stake in, but refuse to take in anything from the wider Jewish community, you're not the ally you think you are, and you definitely wouldn't "punch a Nazi". You wouldn't even hide me in your fucking attic from the Nazis. You would believe Hitler's message about "dangerous Jewish ideals" - you'd fucking love him. Like my ex mutual who unfollowed me when I said that my people being killed isn't a cause to celebrate. Fucking Nazi.

If you actually give a shit, start talking to Jews and Israelis, or mind your fucking business. Read about our experiences. Learn from US about OUR CULTURE. Because this post-modern colonial shit? Denying our indigeneity? Not fucking cool. It's rancid Hitler shit.

I come off as mean, because - big surprise - I hate being colonised. I hate going into the street and knowing I could be beaten or killed. I hate knowing I can't speak my language or wear my cultural attire in public. I hate that my face - that I CANNOT change - means I'm "allowed" to be discriminated against. But if you GENUINELY want to learn, I am happy to talk. And there's thousands of Jews willing to talk. Even just on Tumblr.

[soupbabe]

Hi there! Could I ask for some hcs for La Squadra with a gn!S/O who's into like thrifting and upcycling when it comes to fashion? Like they'll just walk in on their s/o trying on a shirt they thrifted and sewed/edited and they get curious? Tysm if you end up taking this request, have a wonderful day/night! 💕

La Squadra w an S/O that Goes Thrifting!

~~

Sorbet and Gelato

- They will follow you everywhere you go

- Shopping with them can be a hassle, it's mostly because Sorbet has a tendency of overspending

- Especially when it's at a thrift store, everything is so cheap it's very easy to forget it all adds up at the end

- Please make/pick out outfits for them omg

- They wouldn't be with you unless they didn't think you had a suberb style, it's only natural they want a Y/n-inspired fit

Formaggio

- He's also a frequent shopper of the thrift store, but he's surprised you found something good

- Ngl I just think half of his outfits are thrifted, the other half stolen out of a dumpster

- Finds out you can sew? Oh yea he's asking if you can sew all the tears in his pants for him

- Prosciutto and Melone know how to sew clothes, but Formaggio's clothes can come to them rancid

- Both in stench and in how bad of a condition they're in

- If it's not reduced into a string, Maggio will still wear it

- He adored your sense in style and was shocked to you bringing in bags of clothes from the thrift store

Illuso

- You didn't know he was there. He was hanging out in your mirror

- Confused him greatly when you started taking measurements and cutting up the bought up items

- You nearly cut yourself on sewing scissors when he showed up, going off about how you're wasting money

- "Illuso, I upcycle them. I make most of my clothes"

- Is he embarrassed to know he was wrong? Yea. But he apologizes anyway (though it was just a brief "sorry" and into the mirror he goes)

Prosciutto

- He is so impressed that you make/upcycle your clothes

- He always had a knack for more expensive tastes so seeing you create something out of (what he believes is) nothing, he thinks he adores you even more

- You once took him thrift shopping and he found himself enjoying it

- Granted, half of the clothes there are tacky t shirts and clothes that obviously belonged to someone's grandparent, but he was able to find some diamonds in the racks

- And when you made him his own upcycled outfit?? Oh my god he loves it, only wearing it for special occasions

Pesci

- He's very impressed and will constantly compliment your work

- He'll also do whatever he can to help you make your outfits

- Even if it's something as simple as pinning fabric down, he's just so happy to help

- He also happy to go shopping with you, sometimes pointing out clothes that he thinks would look good on you

- Overall Pesci thinks you're so stunning and creative shdjdjdn

Melone

- I feel like you two mostly bonded over your fondness of sewing

- Ngl it's obvious that Melone made his own clothes, there's no way in hell you'd find his bodysuit anywhere else

- I think going thrift shopping is a common date between the two of you, giving each other small projects/challenges to do out of the stuff you find

- He adored your creativity and your fashion style

- It's a common thing for your go to gifts for each other are various outfits

Ghiaccio

- I feel like he likes to watch you make your clothes

- He doesn't really care much about your fashion, though he likes how you look and create your own style, he just thinks the process is fascinating to watch

- Though something just tells me he's the kind to nag you about your process if it's not up to his standards 💀

- But it's mostly safety concerns and him putting your pins back into the pin cushion

- He's not a big fan of going to thrift stores though, he doesn't like being surrounded by dirty clothes

Risotto Nero

- He knew that you upcycled clothes, you've always offered to fix his up all the time

- Sometimes you make him clothes and he enjoys trying them on

- Literally the only time you find him wearing a shirt is only when you made it for him

- His taste could be more out there, so having someone who knows their way around a thrift store is a big help when he wants to find something

- And when you show off your new clothes?? He gets so happy to see the proud look on your face, spinning around to give him the full view of your new work

[fanfiction-artist-prototype]

I wish you would write a fic where it is afo/wash angst because a villain dismantled Wash... and AFO has to take his REVENGE

Arbi this is just cruel.

HOWEVER:

Satoshi can hardly breath, the chain around his neck tight enough to restrict his breathing but not enough to fully suffocate him, which when coupled with the way these sick freak-ish abominations are circling him adds to the nightmarish situation he finds himself in.

He'd woken up, naked and tied to a chair, chain around his neck choking him with the Nomu from the news circling him like he was a particularly amusing dog treat and tried to cast his mind back to if he had ever insulted Shigaraki Tomura or any of his subordinate's. As far as he was aware he hadn't, but he must have (in some way or another) to find himself here. Whilst Satoshi had never been 'here' before he'd heard of Shigaraki's torture chamber, a gift from the man's faceless sensei where opposition to the league was brought and 'questioned'. A friend of his had ended up here once and described a situation similar to the one he found himself in currently, sure the guy had come away with fewer fingers and long-lasting trauma but he'd left alive.

That was what he had to focus on, no matter how violent Shigaraki would get, he didn't kill his victims; he was sadistic and liked to watch them limp around like decrepit dogs. He wouldn't be killed, no matter how much it would feel like he was going to be.

A creak from the door had him flicking his eyes over, gulping when a man who was absolutely not Shigaraki Tomura walked over to him.

Walked was the wrong word, stalked fit the man much better. Over two meters tall, baring curly white hair and bloody eyes he could feel the power coming from the man before he'd even finished his first stride.

"You're awake I see," the man kept distance, about an arms length, and gestured as if he were showing the content of the empty room off to some imaginary buyer, "I'm glad, it's no fun when you're asleep."

Satoshi didn't want to ask what wasn't 'fun' when he was asleep, but the distinct lack of torture implements was starting to worry him. Not only that but-

"You aren't Shigaraki..."

Scarlet eyes burrowed under his skin and made Satoshi feel like he wasn't being looked at and in his place some foul rancid sewer creature was sat in his place. Before this man he was less than human, and with his life very much out of his own hands he couldn't do anything about it.

But then the man smiled.

"I may not be Tomura, but I can assure you I am a Shigaraki." It wasn't a nice smile, it was the kind of smile Satoshi imagined you gave before you spat in someone's face, "You might recognise me as Sa-sa."

The nickname was so childish that Satoshi almost laughed, and he would have. Had the bone chilling realisation that ploughed into him like a train not hit, "...You're Sa-sa?"

He'd been surprised when he realised Wash was married and to be fair, he hadn't meant to kill him when he was on the phone to his husband. But still-

"That I am, I'm also called All For One."

Oh.

Oh... oh Fuck.

"Scream for me will you, I'm going to take each limb from you in the exact order you took them from my husband, so you had better get the order correct or I'll make sure your head coming off is the single most painful event of your life." Satoshi gulped, "And then I'll make it fucking worse."

[heleneplays]

Here's a little snippet of a thing I thought up for the modern college roommates au that wouldn't go out my head until i caved & wrote it <3

anyways disclaimers: every character aside Helene Spillane is owned and created by James Shaw for his interactive fiction book/game Relics of the Lost Age & sequel titles :)

please check them out & play when you can, I PROMISE it's really good <3

---

"Helene, i'm freaking out a little. Tell me something nice?"

Helene gives him a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about it Rémy, I gotcha! Your ass is looking hella cute and you're radiating impeccable vibes--"

"--of a rancid tomato. Now can you clowns get out? We're trying to finish our work here."

Both brunette & ravenette turn towards María, looking scandalized.

"García! Oh my god. It's supposed to be positivity hour!"

"The rituals are intricate, María; and your tone seems very pointed right now."

The redhead glares over her textbook and points to the door. Rémy sighs dramatically and swans out, crop top & glitter shorts and all. Helene follows suit, pausing at the threshold of the foyer.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to come with? It's literally that time of the year we get pissed drunk and all..."

"Spillane, you and Fournier should already know the rest of us are too busy trying not to fail Johnson's class, 'specially that one--" Cleo's voice pipes up from the adjacent kitchenette.

"Stone, shut your mouth, I swear to fuck--"

"Ooooooooo what are you going to do Pippi--"

"Girls, you're both pretty. Now can you please focus--" Esme interjects, but instead of calming down they go into a three-way sniping match.

Abdul & Zhu come into the rooms' hallway bearing coffee in to-go cups & a bags of snacks.

"This is why we can't have nice things." Zhu deadpans, placing the groceries down before beelining to his room.

Meanwhile, Abdul looks at Helene, who was looking sappily towards the redhead facing away from her.

"Did you purposefully rile them up just so you can do that?" He asks quietly, making the young woman jump.

"What? No! Oh my god. I can't believe you'd think that; i'm not that kind of bitch... At least not towards this squad-- You know this, Ab." Helene rolls her eyes, and he nods.

"Good. Now can we have your notes so they can finally calm down?"

"Sure, the copies are in the blue folder on the desk in my room, just lock up after taking it."

"Right. Have fun and take care."

"Don't worry, Me & Rémy can handle ourselves."

---

It was almost 4 am when the four of them called quits, passing cups of coffee (and one cup of tea from Zhu who got out of his room for one) to finish while packing up their papers and textbooks.

"What time is it?"

"God, my brain is melting."

"You have one?"

"García, I will murder you in your sleep."

The redhead winces, before smoothing her expression.

"Sorry, not used to not being a bitch towards everyone else."

Esme squints.

"Did you just--? Nevermind, I will let it pass this once, as long as you say another magic word!"

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. Tha--"

RING.

"...So who would ring this late--?"

///

"Hi Ab! Can someone please pick me up? I'm scared. And alone. And also very hungry."

Abdul sighs. And looks towards the ceiling.

"Hold on, I'll see if there's anyone available."

"Okie dokey, text me when! I'm..." The address is a mumble, but Abdul repeats it to confirm after jotting it down.

Cradling the reciever to muffle himself, Adbul turns around and explains.

"Fournier's detained for the night, and Helene's waiting for a ride. Who else can go right now?"

"Rémy's arrested? What's he getting charged with?"

"Probably public indecency. I'm surprised it took this long."

"Forget that, who's moderately sober enough to drive and get my- I mean, pick Spillane up?"

Zhu sips on his tea. "I may have an idea."

///

20 minutes later, the door opens to a messy-haired Helene, being propped up by Dominique by the shoulder. She looks a little harrassed with her bandaged knuckles and a split lip, but brightens up as she steps into the dorms.

"Home~ finally. Thanks Domi, I owe you."

"Of course, expect me to collect sometime soon, Spillane."

"I always do. See ya around, dearest RA <3."

"Get some rest, you little trouble maker."

"Get off my ass, i'm just several inches shorter than you-- also, no you."

"I'm not the one who got into a bar brawl halfway blackout drunk."

"I'm already sober, and may I remind you it's NOT our fault. the guy who started it wasn't affiliated with us, just brought us into as meatshields--"

"What."

"But I took offense and we DID finish it. Also no, you'd get into one WHILE being in zone." Helene pauses, cocking her head, listening. All was silent, as it should be. "Now shoo please, I'm sure everyone's asleep."

"Yeah yeah, bye."

Helene pulls out her tongue before closing the door at Dominique's fake-scandaloused face.

She moves to hobble upstairs when she meets five (5) people in the common room, staring at her in various states of shock, concern, increduility--

---

honk honk that's the extent, thanks for reading & let me know if i should write more :)

also can i just say the flavor of this messy found family squad??? is 10/10?? coz i just think it is :)

[ringobean]

Hambourg 1960

A week later, Hannah and her band settled the last details of the trip, loaded their belongings into a large van that they had equipped to store their instruments and mattresses to rest, and then set out for Hamburg, heading for the Kaiserkeller. After 8h drive they arrived at the club where Koschmider was waiting for them, the club was in the St. Pauli quarter, and was dangerous for anyone that looked different than the usual clientele.

"What a crappy rat hole, this neighborhood," Ben says.

"Damn, Hannah, what shit did you get us into, I knew we couldn't trust that fucking Nazi," Says Simon.

"you become weak or what guys, it's ok, we've seen worse" says David

they came out of the van.

Koschmider came to greet them, showed them the club, and told them how it worked.

"You will be 3 bands to play every night one after the other, for the moment one of the groups who'll be the headliner of the festival, isn't available, they'll be there in 2 weeks, so you and the another band'll play a little longer, 3 hours each, until the 3rd band come, as these two bands plays only covers, you will pass last, because I don't know how'll react the public, with songs that they don't know,but the majority of our audience are men, and your singer is charming, I think it shouldn't be a problem, you have questions?"

"It looks good," says Hannah.

"Well now follow me, I'll show you where you'll sleep and I'll introduce you to the other band."

They walked a hundred meters, then arrived in front of a porn cinema, "The Bambi Kino".

"Uh, but it's not a hotel" says Ben.

"I said that I host you for free, I didn't talk about hotel, I already pay you enough, to make additional fees"

They entered the cinema by the back door, there was a strong rancid smell, everything was dirty, they entered a small room, just as dirty as the rest of the cinema, with cots on the floor, and shabby blankets.

"you have the toilet right here where you can wash"

There were already 5 boys sitting on the ground playing cards.

"I introduce you to the Beatles, they come from Liverpool, you will play after them every night, I let you meet them. Hannah darling, I can't let such a charming young lady sleep surrounded by so many young men, it wouldn't be suitable, I can make you a small place at home, you will be more comfortable."

He said with a perverse smile while watching her butt.

"No thank you, I'm staying with my boys, I think I'll be fine, and they don't look very dangerous ..." she said with an air of disgust at the proposal of the old pervert.

"As you want, take care Mademoiselle, I leave you, see you at the club tonight at 18:30"

The 5 boys looked really young, especially 2 of them, who didn't seem to be of age.

"Hannah, I want to smash your skull, look at that damn fucking dorm, welcome back to misery, such a fucking Nazi," Simon said.

"don't bother me Simon, we've lived worse, you're not going to do your princess, let's stop talking French and we'll introduce ourselves. Hi, I'm Hannah, we're "The Frenchies" and here's Simon, Ben and David"

"Hi I'm John, and here's Paul, George, Pete and Stuart, nice to meet you, you're french then?"

"Yes, only Ben and I speak English, the other 2 don't understand a lot, they can be real assholes, with their looks of killers, but they're cool, when you know them," she said to the worried look of boys.

"Oh ok, I like France, I'd like to visit Paris one day"

"oh well, come and see us when you come. How long have you been there?"

"we arrived in Hamburg in May, before we played in another club that closed, and we play since early September at the Kaiserkeller."

"Oh so it's been a long time"

The young boys found Hannah super attractive, but with the 3 mastiffs who framed her, nobody dared to flirt with her. They get to know each other, and keep chatting all afternoon, even David and Simon got into the conversations, with their lack of English. 

"So you're the singer, Hannah?" Says John.

"Yes, and im playing bass too"

"Women, shouldn't play guitar"

"Why John, do you play guitar with your cock?"

"Whaaat, uh no!"

"Well, i can't play bass with my pussy either, so i use my hands just like you, then woman can also play what they want..."

"ok ok, well done, you win"

"ahahah, she put you in your place in one sentence " says George.

"and I also write our own songs, Ben composes the music..."

""compose" a big word ... we try to find sounds that sound good with our instruments and David and Simon follow." Says Ben.

"With John we compose a lot of stuff too, but for the moment in public, we only do covers." says Paul.

"Why? You should play your own music, it'll be great!"

"we don't know, people mostly want to hear songs they know, maybe when we'll be enough famous, we can play our songs. Besides, it's surprising that the boss lets you play your own music."

"We also have to do covers, but I guess he let us play our songs, more because of my physical, than for our music, fucking pervert, he thinks I'll attract male customers to his club."

"without offending you guys and you of course, it's true that you're pretty hot, love."Says Pete with a charming gaze.

"Why do you call me love?"

"Chill out, it's just a British expression!"

"Oh, ok!"

They were cute, but none interested Hannah, she found them too childish, too kind.

it was almost time to go to the club, they tried to get ready and wash as they could, in the middle of the grime and stench of the place.

"3 months without a real shower, it will be long, fortunately this bastard pays us well"

"Simon you act like a cunt, even me who's a girl, I don't complain as much, you will be happy when you pay your bike!"

They were finally ready and went to the Kaiserkeller with the Beatles.

[watching-pictures-move]

Put on Your Raincoats #29 | Carter Stevens Double Feature

House of Sin opens with a woman's car having broken down. Who shows up and offers to help but our old friend Robert Kerman? (He plays a character named "Marvis", which not only sounds like a typo, but happens to be the name of a toothpaste brand. He dodges the question when asked if it's his first name or last name.) Lucky for her he gladly helps her put her things into his trunk and drives her over to his place where she can stay until her car situation gets sorted out. But given the title, things are not what they seem, as we soon find out. It turns out the Kerman is some sort of evil satanic figure, and the house is full of his disciples who practice some kind of devil worship through fornication. That's about all there is to the plot, and we have to sit through a number of basic variations of sex scenes, most of which end with the participants pledging their loyalty to Kerman (who watches most of the action approvingly alongside the heroine). There's little energy in the execution of most of these, although the loud squealing of the bedsprings had me a little worried about the structural integrity of the beds being used and the potential for injury for the performers. I must note that the scene with Tigr (who was my primary point of interest for this movie; judge not that ye not be judged) has her temporarily upside down. (What's she doing upside down? Because I am a gentleman, I'll let you figure it out.) There's also a BDSM scene at the end involving Phil Prince regulars Mistress Candice and David Christopher, which the heroine watches while making disgusted faces. This is therefore the most interesting sequence. A lame attempt at a mindfuck ending caps off the affair.

I've reached some kind of a shameful low point when I watch a porno and my primary criticism is that it isn't sleazy enough. Let me explain. Director Carter Stevens made this for the Avon theatre chain, which distinguished itself with cheaply made, unpleasant roughies (full of rough sex, BDSM and rape). This is supposed to be evil, satanic sex we're talking about here, but most of what follows is pretty routine stuff, and filmed in the most perfunctory way possible. I contrast this to the films Phil Prince also made for Avon, which aren't necessary more artful, but seem more committed to their depravity. (I do think those movies have an interesting, if crude, aesthetic that results from their meager production values. The ones I watched had a surprising stylistic and tonal consistency given that they were made for purely cynical reasons. They're also intentionally funnier, if usually in a more rancid way.) While I normally like Robert Kerman, he's a little too nice to play the villain here (going back to Prince's work, I think of the demonic energy George Payne brings to his roles there), and the qualities I find most intriguing about Tigr as a performer are absent here. If I can say some nice things about the movie, it's that the soundtrack (mostly punk or hard rock, some atmospheric rumbling, but with some wildly out of place twangs of sitar early on) makes this sound a lot more exciting than it is, and that the extensive print damage on the transfer I watched helped make this feel grimier than the actual direction. There's also some comedic value from the hairdo of Kerman's right hand lady, who sports an unbraided rattail. With the caveat that I actually like lady mullets, who thought this was a good hairdo? Did her stylist play a practical joke on her? These are answers House of Sin refuses to provide.

Much more fun than House of Sin, if still not especially well made, is Punk Rock, which is an attempt to mix punk, noir and porno. The story involves a private detective played by Wade Nichols as he tries to rescue a girl from a sex slavery ring run by an evil punk musician played by Elda Gentile of Elda and the Stilettos. The most notable thing about this movie is that Debbie Harry was at one point a member of the Stilettos and that Stevens originally wanted her for the role. (This seems like wishful thinking to me, as Harry was already conquering the charts with Blondie by the time this movie was made, but one can still dream.) I naturally assumed that the musicians would be nowhere near the porn elements, but nope, a late scene has Elda and her friends hanging around and offering colour commentary during a lesbian scene. Joining the fun are Robert Kerman as a police detective also investigating the case and Bobby Astyr as a low level pimp who runs an establishment called the Polynesian Pleasure Palace. It even has a pinball machine, and at one point we get a pinball montage, which I'm sure the raincoat brigade must have been thrilled to see.

To be honest, this isn't the best made movie, but the mix of elements gives it enough novelty to make it worth checking out. The sex scenes are done in a pretty perfunctory manner, but the movie comes alive during the noir elements, taking relish in the touch guy banter between Nichols and his foils. Nichols, with his chiseled jaw, immaculate mustache and steely gaze, is almost a primal image of a male pornstar, but his streetwise charisma and sarcastic delivery make him a pretty fun noir hero, and has in Kerman and Astyr two sturdy character actors to bounce off of. It helps that the movie has a decent sense of humour, like when he promises Kerman "no rough stuff" and mercilessly beats Astyr in the next scene ("That was for general principles") or when he explains the presence of a spinning dummy ("Just a routine precaution, I happen to be very popular with murderers this season"). Apparently there's a version where the hardcore footage is replaced by musical performances, and while I wouldn't say the Stilettos are all that good (oddly enough for a punk band, they have a saxophonist and two nude dancers, but I guess Blondie wasn't a typical punk band either), I suspect that version plays somewhat better given that the sex scenes are the least interesting thing about this.

[ceasarslegion]

Okay, no, I'm serious to some degree.

There's a couple of bands I still listen to from then: Billy Talent, Green Day, Fall Out Boy. I'm only counting bands that are still around and putting out music, because I pretty much relegated myself to their new stuff as I got older. Billy Talent especially was a bit of an intro to music for me, as a ton of my earliest memories related to music involve their stuff, but I haven't delved into anything from before Afraid Of Heights in a long time. But other shit included Bad Religion (THIS one was big too), The Clash, Rancid, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, etc. Classic punk rock was my introduction to a type of music that I actually vibed with, basically. I didn't like any of the rest of my family's music, I liked this fast-paced, staticy guitar, raw and gutteral emotion to the singing kind of deal.

I got viciously bullied in school a lot for exhibiting behavior that wasn't considered normal in the most conservative part of the country. Aka, the early signs of being trans/mentally ill. My family is very... dysfunctional and confrontational (we're dutch AND immigrants [second-generation crew raise your hands] AND jewish okay what did you expect) and hot-tempered so I spent a lot of time playing music/watching movies in the basement rather than listen to the never-ending angry dutch battle waging upstairs.

Music became one of my earliest and longest-running passions and a therapy tool, essentially. And what did I listen to? See above. You get a kid who feels a bit alienated by a conservative social surrounding, throw in a bunch of music with lyrics like "to those who don't fit society's mold/learn to swim or you will drown" and there's gotta be some kind of psychological effect there even if they don't realize it at the time. Having constant messages of "he's the farmers' barren fields/the force the army weilds/expressions on the faces of the starving millions/the power of the man/the fuel that drives the Klan/he's the motive and the conscience of the murderer" playing on in an impressionable kid's ears are gonna stick, even if they don't fully comprehend the nuance of it yet. And once they do start grasping how politics and society works, they'll remember that shit with a whole new angle of understanding. Especially when you get a kid like I was, who liked to watch the music videos, too. Like, go watch American Jesus by Bad Religion (which is the song I quoted above, actually) and tell me that wouldn't influence a young mind to some degree.

I wouldn't say it was a bad thing that I essentially "radicalized" myself by accident. I was told to question everything through subliminal messaging I didn't even catch when I was a kid, so it's not much of a surprise that I always seemed more privy to doing exactly that than other people I knew. I think it's a matter of what kind I got, so to speak. I got the brand that told me to forge my own path and draw my own conclusions through a lens of ethics and a strong moral code and to fight against injustice wherever I see it instead of the opposite, alt-right version that veers young impressionable kids on the path of Richard Spencer.

I don't know, I guess all of this really just speaks to the power of propaganda in every form it takes. I mean, propaganda is not inherently bad. It's everywhere. It's how you use it that determines its ethical standpoint. The "Canada is a celebration of Indigenous genocide" posters wheatpasted on streetlights here is a form of propaganda, and I agree with it and think more people should see it. Music can be used as a form of propaganda. National anthems are propaganda!! So is the shit I listened to!! It's just used to try and break societal brainwashing instead of to perpetuate it. That's the difference, imo.

This MCR reunion has me down a rabbit hole of music i used to LOVE when I was a kid/and angsty middle schooler and listening to some of these lyrics I suddenly recall so clearly I think I...

I think I accidentally radicalized myself just through this shit