#the way that georgia overreacted….

[whimsyberry]

🎀 filthy rich live-blogging pt.4 🎀

okay yearning. i’m here for it.

but this is why men ain’t it frfr- bc then this comes out of his mouth 🙄

and georgia is rightfully upset by this!!!! bc ashton goes on abt having a one night stand despite georgia being in love with him for years!!!!

& then we get THIS ((why are his eyes blue im lowkey ticked 😒))

no hate to the artist & all bc it’s obviously a beautiful piece of art…. but again… WHY ARE HIS EYES BLUE!?!? blue eyes are so overhyped- brown eyes are LOVELY!!!! @ SO HOT!!!!

@ least my boy ashton actually looks like himself here 🙌

[ingravinoveritas]

fluffyfurbies replied to your post "Just noticing how Michael's body language shifts…"

the fact that in this episode, instead of david tennant being "a british celeb" or just "david tennant" like the british icon actor that he is, he is called specifically "your mate, David Tennant" Michaels 'mate'. now i know this is a synonym for friend but theres just something about them starting to be recognised as a collective unit that... well, people sure are catching on, it feels like am i overreacting to this @ingravinoveritas ?

@fluffyfurbies No, I don't think you are overreacting at all. This actually speaks to something I mentioned on another post just the other day, about how, when it comes to Michael, it seems like David is "his" David now. It also ties into something @cloud-based-and-rainpilled said about "mate" being used very commonly in the UK, yet it has a distinct and specific feeling to it when applied to Michael and David (also as mentioned, Georgia on the Blank Podcast last year is another example). And I think it's because of what you said, of them being recognized as a collective unit in a way they haven't been before.

What's interesting to me is that David has been a very widely recognized actor and public figure in Britain for almost twenty years. (Michael I would argue has less public recognition, but a tremendous amount of industry recognition.) So there is no need for either of them to be so connected to each other for career or professional purposes, which means that what is being recognized by people--inside the industry mostly, but now the public as well--isn't just them as coworkers. It's something else entirely.

David in particular has had much longer personal/professional associations with other actors--Billie Piper, Nina Sosanya, Catherine Tate, among others--but none have really fallen into the realm of seeing them as a collective unit. Nor has it ever felt like something is missing when he doesn't do an interview with one of them. But that is noticeably the case with Michael. And it's hard not to think that that is for a reason...

[opencommunion]

"Britain’s largest gathering of counter-terrorism experts assembled in London last month to discuss what one police chief called 'legal but harmful protest' following Israel’s war on Gaza. Inside a cavernous Docklands conference hall, companies at the Counter Terror Expo displayed gas mask-clad dummies and crowd control systems as enthusiastic AI reps promised revolutionary advances in surveillance. Tools for hacking phones with 'brute force,' monitoring someone’s emotional state based on their social media and rapidly digesting the contents of an 'acquired' computer were all up for sale. Among the potential customers were foreign police departments, including officers fresh from Georgia’s violent crackdown on anti-Russia protests.

Several salespeople declined to explain their products to the media. 'I can’t believe they let you people in here,' one rep told Declassified after seeing our press card. 'I think it’s disgusting.' Her company markets AI tools for military and law enforcement to process recordings of people’s voices. 

When delegates weren’t browsing spyware or sipping craft beer with a £12 'world food' meal deal, they could listen to the security industry’s leading lights. These included detective chief superintendent Maria Lovegrove who runs Britain’s Prevent strategy against radicalisation. She trumpeted 53 arrests for terrorism offences since October 7. Only one of these was for violence. The rest concerned social media posts or attending gatherings. Asked whether this data suggests police are overreacting to peaceful pro-Palestine protests, Lovegrove valorised an 'early intervention' approach. She told Declassified this was the 'greatest tool in preventing terror attacks' and insisted officers 'only arrest and prosecute when we have to.' Among those arrests were three women found guilty for wearing paraglider stickers at a protest.

Dom Murphy – the Met’s counter terrorism commander – told delegates he was monitoring 'legal but harmful' protests and the risk of 'low-sophistication' attacks by people radicalised online or at university since October 7th. 'If there are 100,000 people at a protest, and one person holding a Hamas flag, we will find them and arrest them,' Murphy reassured attendees. A majority of recent arrests targeted individuals aged under 17, he boasted, as proof that the 'early intervention' approach was working. 

Another panellist praised Britain’s ability to pre-emptively arrest people for public order offences at demonstrations and target them for terror offences further down the line. Craig McCann, a former senior Prevent officer, expressed the mood in the room when he described ceasefire marches as a 'permissive environment for the transfer of extremist ideology.' Like other speakers, he sought to delegitimise opponents of Israel’s war on Gaza by characterising pro-Palestine protests as an 'Islamist camp conflating with far-Right anti-Semitism.' McCann explicitly linked Palestinian nationalism with Nazism, an Israeli propaganda point. Fellow panellists claimed parts of London were a 'no-go zone for Jews.' Discussing threats from 'street protest all the way through to terrorism,' the conference presented far Left, far Right, 'Islamist' and 'environmentalist' ideologies as equal, inter-related threats to British society. ... After lunch, discussion turned to 'British values' and protecting England from the menace of social media and foreign flags that vexed thousands of officers under Murphy’s command. Many felt the next-generation tech on display would ensure ever more effective crackdowns on street protest and dissent."

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Winter Wolf: Part 14

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, fluff, angst

Word Count: 3,523

A/N: Finally got the muse to finish this story! YAY!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Part 13

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who’s the cutest little princess in the whole wide world?” Bucky cooed from your bathroom as he gave Anastasia a bath, while you caught your notebook up on the last two years of your life. You smirked to yourself as your daughter giggled away and splashed in the water in her blow up bath tub in the shower. “You are! Yes, you are!”

“Thought I was the cutest in the world.” You called out, playfully as you leaned to the side the slightest bit to see your husband with your eyebrow cocked.

“Not anymore!” He cooed, teasingly with barely a glance over at you. “Ana wins that, hands down now. You didn’t age so well in the dinosaur years.”

“You’re rude!” You laughed as you chucked a pillow at him, easily hitting him in the side to which he completely overreacted to make Ana laugh harder.

“What was that?!” He asked her as he shook his head and pushed himself off where he had purposely fallen to his hip. “Did Mommy just hit me, go boom?! Oh, yes she did, and Daddy’s gunna remember that shit later tonight, too. Yes he will.”

“Are you receiving company?” Tony asked as he knocked gently on your open bedroom door. You froze the slightest bit and closed your notebook as you looked over at him in shock.

“Umm... yes? How am I supposed to answer that, Tony.”

“I know I ruined your birthday.” He started as he opened up his tablet and held it out to you. “And I also didn’t get you a wedding gift. But I figured I’d at least try to kill three birds with one stone with this as a way of apologizing for what I put you through, after everything you have done for the world.” You nodded and scooted across the bed to take the tablet as Bucky did his best to get his daughter out of the bath peacefully for bed so he could see what was going on. You looked at the screen and almost instantly felt the scalding heat you felt the day you watched your home burn to the ground.

“My plantation.” You whispered as you looked at the charred remains. “It’s still there?!”

“It’s technically a historical site.” Tony said as he glanced over at Bucky as he leaned on your door frame. “You owned the biggest plantation in Georgia during the Civil War. It was on the market for a while back in the late 1800’s, early 1900’s but then was taken off...”

“When I moved to London to go to school.” You said with a nod. “I was a doctor... my Lord.” You whispered with a shake of your head.

“Well the property went to the government some time in the 1920’s, and was deemed historical. So they maintained the property and the other houses and stables. But they never rebuilt the main house...”

“There’s an old willow tree a ways to the right of the house.” You said as you closed your eyes and tried to look past the last day you were there in your mind. “It was nearly as tall as the house and I could see if from my bedroom window. Is it still there?” You opened your eyes and looked over at Tony, who slowly shook his head and shrugged.

“I’m not sure. It took me a while to track this place down, because no one knew who the owner was after the war, and I haven’t been down to look yet. Figured you’d want to go first.” You nodded your head and looked back down at the photo as Bucky sat down on the bed beside you with Ana.

“It had a huge wrap around porch.” You told him as you showed him the photo with a small smile as more memories flooded your mind. “John made us rocking chairs that sat right here so we could watch the sun set. Mine had a hole in the right arm from when I stabbed it with my knitting needle after a disagreement one night. And it had these big white columns in front that held up the roof and the small porch up there. Look, baby... this is where Mommy lived.” You said to Ana as you traded Bucky her for the tablet when she tried to get away from her dad.

“We can leave in the morning if you’d like.” Tony said as he pushed off the door frame. “Jet’s ready. Just let me know when you are, whenever you are.”

“Tony.” You called out before he could walk away as your daughter used you as a jungle gym. “Thank you.” He gave you a tight nod and a small smile before he turned and walked away, leaving you to catch up on your memories with your husband.

“So you owned a plantation?” Bucky said, because it was partially news to both of you.

“I inherited it when John passed.” You said with a nod as you wrangled your toddler into your lap. “It’s strange, until I saw that photo, all I could remember of that place was the day I was shot and left. But now, I’m seeing the giant wood burning stove in the kitchen, and the stone fireplace in the parlor. I can see the staircase that ran up the right side of the main hall, that led all the way to the back with this... oh, God it was the most hideous carpet in the world, but it belonged to John’s mother and he loved it.” You scoffed and shook your head as you got up to put Ana in her jammies. “I am not sorry to see that carpet burned down. I wonder if the fire went all the way down to the basement.” You said as you paused at Ana’s dresser and turned around with your brow furrowed. “There’s... there’s something in the basement... I can’t remember...”

“Well, do you want to go look tomorrow?” He asked, pulling you from your thoughts so you could get your daughter dressed. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind seeing this ‘biggest plantation in Georgia’ that my wife owns.”

“It was a big plantation.” You agreed with a huff. “Pain in my rear to work and hotter than all get out most days.”

“Oh, and we’re turning Southern with it.” He laughed as he scooted up on the bed to relax in his spot. “You worked the fields?”

“I did.” You said with a slow nod as you picked up your clothed daughter and walked over to the bed so she could have her night time bottle before bed. “I was a woman before my time back then, and still a Yankee at heart you could say. When John and I married, I convinced him to free our slaves, and made sure they all worked for pay. He was very well off, he could afford it, and they all worked even harder if at all possible once the overseer was let go. But when the war happened, money got a little tight, and we lost quite a few hands to typhoid but the work still needed to be done. So yes, I worked my fields until the war was dropped on my doorstep one night.”

“You know, you get more and more impressive every single day.” He said as he set Tony’s tablet aside to lay down beside Ana so he could look at you. “I am so honored to get to call you my wife, doll.”

“Even though my memories come in snippets and I’m dinosaur old?” You teased as you picked up your notebook to update some past notes.

“Absolutely.” He laughed as he reached across the pillows to rub your back. “Makes you mysterious.”

“OK, we’ll go with that.” You laughed as you handed him the remote so he could put on the ‘Good Night Moon’ show Ana loved before bed while you wrote. You hummed and shook your head as you opened your notebook and clicked on the plantation memories page. “Mysterious, he says. Crazy I say.”

“Go write your notes!”

——

You were glad to see that the massive live oaks lining your driveway were still just as gorgeous as ever, but it absolutely disgusted you to see that your front lawn had been turned into a giant gravel parking lot. A deep growl rolled from your chest, and Steve gently reached over the front seat to grab your wrists, while Bucky put his hand on your knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“We can fix it, sweetheart.” Your husband said softly as Happy, Pepper’s assistant, parked his rental car beside the one Tony, Pepper, and their lawyers were in, since parking the jet on your property was apparently not an option. Your growl turned into grumbling as you got out of the car, but turned right back into a much deeper growl when you turned to see a six foot tall, chain link fence around your old home. But all noises simply stopped when you saw your willow tree.

“I’m gunna fucking kill someone.” You said as you ripped away from Bucky and Steve and stormed over to your tree, where a young couple was carving their initials amongst the decades of others, including your and John’s original carvings. “Back the fuck up!” You roared as you let your claws fly just as Steve wrapped his arm around your upper torso and yanked you back.

“Just back away from the tree.” He said quickly to the terrified kids with a shake of his head. “Go on.” The second they were clear, he set you down, and you retracted your claws to walk over and run your fingers over the destroyed wood.

“No...” You said with a shake of your head with tears in your eyes as you looked around until you found the faint, misshapen heart that was almost gone with age, and distorted letters carved by your late husband.

“We’ll see if we can fix it, baby.” Bucky said softly as he touched the small of your back. “Look, the older ones are already fading.” You nodded your head slowly and looked up at the higher names, that were a little less distorted than yours, but were fading as well.

“You must be Mr. Stark.” A peppy older woman in period clothes said as she headed over to the group. “My name is Abigail, I’ll be your guide of the Jackson Plantation...”

“I’m sorry, the what?!” You said as you whipped around to look at her with rage in your eyes, which made Tony step between the pair of you with a tight ‘all business’ smile.

“You’re gunna want to clear the property.” He said evenly with a nod. “Now. For everyone’s safety.”

“Oh! Oh, I’m afraid I can’t do that...” Abigail said as you stormed away from the group to look at a metal plaque on your side of the fence around your house.

“Oh, this is not good.” Bucky said with a shake of his head as you read the lies someone had made up about your house, before you simply ripped it off the post and easily crumbled it in a ball before Steve could get to you.

“Wait, you can’t do that!” Abigail shrieked as you ripped the fence open with more grumbling and headed up to your house with Steve, and Bucky right behind you.

“I’m warning you once more.” Tony said as he simply watched your guide’s horrified expression. “Clear the premises...”

“I’m calling the police!” She cried as she pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her dress.

“I am the fucking police here!” You roared from the front steps as you rounded and glared at her. “This is my fucking land! You are trespassing here!”

“This is property of the National Parks Services...” She tried with shaky hands, which made the Wolf rear her ugly head at the woman’s weakness as a sinister darkness filled your eyes.

“And that’s where you’re fucking wrong.” You said as you slowly walked back down the steps toward her. “This land belonged to my first husband, John William Scott, who was a confederate soldier that died in the war. The plantation, which was named Green Pebble Hill by his aunt, Cecelia Ann Scott MacDonald when she was a child because of the moss covered pebbles in the stream in the back fields by the way, was left to me, (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N) Scott, his sole heir because I’m not able to bear children due to my mutation. Find his will, I know he had one. It’s dated May 16th, 1864, the day before he left to join ranks before the war even started.

The house was burned down by Yankee soldiers in July of 1865, four days after I got a letter saying my husband was killed, not by looters in 1868 like your historically inaccurate sign claims. Burned down by men who were instructed to kill me when they found that I was helping both their soldiers and ones of the confederacy. I was shot in the left lung for helping wounded men, no matter what color their coat was, because that is what good people do. But thanks to my mutation, I can’t fucking die! My body just rejected the musket ball as they burned my home to cinders. Now, get these people off my fucking property immediately or you will learn all about the hell I’ve been through the past one hundred and twenty four years since I first learned how horrible people could be just for the fucking sake of it!” She nodded her head frantically as you turned on your heel to head back up to your house, grumbling under your breath. “Stevie, help me with this.” You said as you carefully walked up on the porch again. “There’s a safe in the basement. It has that letter... I think the will...”

“Babe, be careful.” Bucky said as you grabbed a long, charred, weather warn piece of wood that made up part of the wall of your first floor and lifted it up so that your best friend could see a similar piece of wood that was attached to it on the far side of the house.

“OK, I see it.” He said as he jumped down and ran to the other side as tourists began to flood toward the parking lot to leave.

“(Y/N), we can get a construction crew...” Pepper tried, but Bucky quickly looked back and shook his head at her.

“Just leave her. She’s being buried by new memories, and she’s battling the Wolf. No one can stop her right now.” 

“Get ahold of your boss.” Tony said as you and Steve chucked the wood away from the building. “I want contact information to whomever believes they own this land. We’ll be taking it back from them now.” Abigail nodded her head again and continued making phone calls as you and Steve made a path down to the basement that seemed relatively untouched thanks to it’s all stone frame.

“It’s...” You said as you jumped down into the basement after twenty minutes of clearing the rubble of your upper two floors and hesitated. You closed your eyes and tried to picture yourself putting the letter in the safe as Steve jumped down in front of you to help. You turned around in your spot and went through the motions of the memory, before your head shot up and to your left. “Over here. Under some flour sacks.”

“I need a light!” Steve called out as you took a step in that direction but stumbled the slightest bit over a small pile of stones. “Wait, (Y/N). We’re getting a light.”

“Here, Tony said just put it on.” Bucky said as he carefully leaned over the edge and dropped Tony’s Ironman helmet down to Steve. Your best friend held it out to you and you squeezed it on to your head before squinting at the bright screen that popped up in front of you.

“Man, what did I do with only lanterns down here?” You asked yourself as you awkwardly stepped over the stones, around whatever had started to grow in the dark space, and over to the sacks of flour that was your safe’s cover with the help of the night vision from Tony’s suit. Once they were thrown to the side, you picked up the three by three cast iron safe with a grunt, and carried it back over to Steve.

“Alright, hold on. Let me get out first.”

“How do I get this thing off... Oh.” You gasped as the mask opened and shrunk down to sit like a thick necklace. “That works.”

“You find it?” Bucky asked as Steve found solid ground and kneeled down to help. You passed it up to him and climbed out yourself as Tony, Pepper, and his lawyers talked to the cops that came to deal with the ‘disturbance�� with Abigail, her boss, and a pair of local representatives from the National Park Services.

“OK, wait just set it here.” You said as you pointed to the ground by the back steps as you kneeled down beside it. “Shit. When is his birthday? Or was it the day we met.”

“Don’t think of it that way.” Bucky said as he came around to the back of the house to see what was inside this little mystery box. “That’s not gunna help here like it doesn’t help you find your cell phone at home, remember? Walk through the last time you used it like you did in the basement. Picture yourself with the letter in your hand.” You nodded your head and closed your eyes as you held out your hand with the letter in it. “Down the stairs, to the left. You moved those bags and kneeled down. You reached out and turned the dial to...”

“Thirty-two.” You said as you opened your eyes and leaned forward. “Seventeen. Nine. His birthday backwards.” A smile spread across your face as the locked popped open, and the metal door creaked as you pulled it open. “Thank you baby. I never would have remembered that. See, the letter.” You said as you carefully pulled it out and unfolded the telegram. You looked over the slightly faded ink with a small sigh, before wiping off the top of the safe and setting it down. “Oh, look. His will. I didn’t know I had the original. Oh, look at this.” You laughed as you pulled out an old photograph of you on your wedding day. “I made that dress by hand. And this picture took forever to take. Cameras weren’t what they are back then.”

“God, you haven't change a bit.” Bucky said as he sat down beside you to look, as Steve crouched down on your other side.

“I aged like a fine wine.” You teased as you added the photo to the stack. “Oh, and this is John. Oh, sweetheart.” You sighed as you slowly shook your head with a fond smile. “Bless his heart, that man couldn’t grow a beard to save his life.”

“He’s... a lot older than I expected.” Bucky said as he took the photo from your hands, delicately.

“Ten years senior.” You said with a nod as Steve excused himself softly to let Tony know you had the original will. “That was normal back then. I married him when I had just turned seventeen so we were together... like seven years before he passed.”

“Wow.” He breathed as he handed you back the photo.

“What else do we have? Confederate bonds. What’s this? Oh, gold. Could have used that. Oh, my jewelry...” The pair of you sat for another twenty minutes or so, going through old memories and things you had kept safe when John left. You were ecstatic to find the deed to the property along with his father’s will and a couple other documents related to his family.

“OK, I have to say this is blowing my mind a little bit.” Bucky said as you pulled out a pistol wrapped in an old t-shirt to make sure there was nothing left underneath it. “Like... this is your stuff. Not your relatives, yours. You actually touched these documents before today.”

“Gives being older than dinosaurs a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?” You laughed as you started carefully putting everything back in the safe.

“And you own this land.” He said as he looked up at the massive, 2000 acre property in front of him.

“I do.” You said with a nod as you closed the door of the safe. “Legally and soon, officially.”

“Damn.” He said with a shake of his head. “Yea, we’re raising Anastasia here.”

“I’m absolutely OK with that, my love.” You said as you stood up and picked up the safe. “I just have to prove who I am to the US government after spending nearly one hundred years trying to avoid doing just that. That’s gunna be the real fun.”

Part 15

[beardedmrbean]

It was an unusual protest, even by the standards of a city that has experienced hundreds of them over the decades.

A Leap Day demonstration this past Thursday at the shipping container wall around People’s Park in Berkeley continued a tradition of using leap year’s extra day for protest. But in addition to the usual banners, chants and music accompaniment from a small marching band, there were… slingshots.

Organizers from the Slingshot Collective launched seed bombs — solid dirt balls filled with seeds — over the double-stacked shipping containers and into the now-former park using slingshots, both store bought and homemade.

“People go to a lot of boring protests, and this is an alternative and we are protesting real issues,” volunteer James Palmer said during the event. The Slingshot Collective has hosted a Leap Day protest every four years since 2000, according to Palmer.

The Leap Day protest began at the corner of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Avenue, with demonstrators marching to Chase bank to protest their climate policies and support for the “Cop City” development in Atlanta, Georgia, before making their way to the perimeter of what was formerly known as People’s Park.

“With the shipping containers, obviously we can’t push them over, we can’t get over them,” Palmer said. “We wanted to figure out a way to express our displeasure, not only at what’s happening, but at the ridiculous overreaction of building a wall like this.”

“We wanted to figure out a way to express our displeasure, not only at what’s happening, but at the ridiculous overreaction of building a wall like this.” James Palmer, protester

A recent Berkeleyside report that found UC Berkley spent upwards of $4.4 million dollars on security at the site, “…which is like a crazy overreaction to basically a small number of Berkeley hippies,” according to Palmer.

“We are the people who they’re worried about, the people that they’re trying to keep out, and we’re not dangerous,” Palmer said.

Protesters like Elisa Smith are hopeful that the community that centered around People’s Park will find a new home.

“The park, it’s all ages, all colors, all genders, all economic backgrounds, all together and that kind of breaking of bread that can happened in common space — it’s something magical at the park,” Smith said. “These days it’s like a real lucky thing to have a place where we’re all together, just all walks of life.”

Although the protest was peaceful, community members who did not appear to be present for the march to the location began spray painting shipping containers as the event came to a close. No arrests were made, but officers took photos and video of at least two adults and one child using spray paint on the containers.

[antitheticaldreamgirl-13]

I’ve just been thinking of how much of a victim narrative Taylor Swift has and how that fact totally clashes with the idea that Taylor Swift, regardless of her sexuality, is uncomfortable with the speculation but…for some mysterious reason…hasn’t said anything.

I love her, but she does tend to think she’s being persecuted when she’s not. I’m not saying that celebrities can’t face many many challenges, and there was definitely a lot of sexism and unfairness going on around the rep era, but I think she blows them up too much. She has every right to do that, she’s human and is allowed to react and, yes, overreact, but I guess my point is that if she really were bugged by the speculation about her sexuality, wouldn’t she have made an *explicit* comment like she has done with many things before??

My brain is not cooperating with me and is not letting me think of examples, but I’m sure you can think of some. Almost everything that bugs her—she’s said something about it. 

Okay here’s an oddly specific example. Way back in the old days of 2021, she had a big reaction to this one line from a show called Ginny & Georgia: “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.” Taylor’s reaction was this: ““Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse s–t as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana this outfit doesn’t look cute on you Happy Women’s History Month I guess.”

Like….this was over one line from a show, but Hetlors are saying she wouldn’t respond to speculation that has been going on for *years* now? Are they joking?

[m0tel6mxzzy]

rue bennett, ginny miller, and lack of nuanced perception in how mental illness in black women works

i think the tragedy of euphoria (if i had to list just one) is partially the fandom’s lack of understanding of rue, leslie, and gia…cultural attitudes in the black community have a lot to do w why leslie acts the way she does. and then race is never mentioned bc sam levinson doesn’t comprehend the nuances of race and mental health in the black community.

he can comprehend addiction, but nothing like the fact rue being a black woman will have her heavily stigmatized by the black community as well as the predominantly white one she lives in as her “proving black stereotypes.”

he can comprehend addiction, but nothing like the fact rue being a black woman will have her heavily stigmatized by the black community as well as the predominantly white one she lives in as her “proving black stereotypes.”

that just hits a lot harder knowing in the beginning of s1, she has zero hope and so it feels very hollow when lexi encourages her sobriety, and again in s2 from jules when she’s going thru withdrawals. she is tired of being the scapegoat by everyone around her, even if they have valid reasons for wanting her to get clean and she is making decisions that harm others. and she feels during the s2 interaction with cassie that she is being pitied, simply cannot take it anymore, and retaliates bc she is just so tired of everyone around her being believed to be innocent and pure when they are not, and her being expected to be even in the throes of addiction and it being perceived as “not her.”

bc in a sense, rue is not her addiction. however, she’s lived with it so long that she is used to it, practically revels in the deviant label her entire schools mocks her with, and thus feels like she cannot leave. jules conflicts with this, because she cares for rue as a friend and romantically but is not going to associate with her if she continues. but even when she is sober, people like nate are shit talking her efforts to stay clean when they simply have no idea what she’s gone through, yet jules is proud of her despite rue finding it hard to stay clean. cassie only does the same as nate because she needs a defense for having gotten with him but not taking accountability for how that hurt maddy, even if she was right rue’s friendship with lexi was incredibly toxic and transactional. the issue here is everyone has valid points abt rue except for nate, but no one is seeing the nuances of her situation. it’s either “she’s good because she’s clean” or “she’s bad because she’s not” and jules seemed to be the only one blurring that line because she’s dealt with addiction in her family before.

leslie kind of reminds me of my mom in that she did help me thru mental issues, but it was a very “deviant” thing to do bc of how in most of black american society, racism is seen as something you need to be “stronger” than and thus stronger than any other obstacle. so realistically, some black ppl in rue’s extended family might actually ridicule her or attribute her addiction to personal flaws or solely her father’s death. rue is an atheist, but also her mother was this religious church girl in her youth and rue is seen in church settings during rehab. there’s a possibility leslie didn’t even tell others abt rue’s hospitalizations or if she did and word got around, she had to fabricate some sort of lie so rue would not be judged for her addiction.

and ppl perceive leslie as “overreacting” as they do gia and that’s very suspicious to me. idk like, as compared to ginny and georgia ginny has severe depression and georgia is like, praised for a lot of the manipulative shit she says to ginny when that’s a huge contribution to her mental issues not being resolved for as long as they were in the first place. i personally think a lot of the g&g fandom missed the point of the show—georgia is not perfect. loving your kids does not mean they don’t get to feel traumatized when you admit to murdering their step father. generational trauma is a thing and you cannot love someone into not acknowledging or feeling their extent of their own.

ginny and georgia somewhat makes that distinction in the therapy sessions by explaining bc georgia is white there is a lot of experiences she cant understand ginny has, so she cant just invalidate them. however the fandom is so corny and anti black that they will compare ginny’s trauma to georgia’s to undermine her. and then praise georgia for doing what she should’ve done as a parent which is support ginny and complain how ginny should be “more grateful to have her.” and say the same abt her father. that truly just paints an insidious lack of compassion for black women dealing w/ mental health issues. bc abby and marcus, dealing with their own, have quite never been given such animosity for having mental issues, they’ve actually been given much more sympathy.

[bisluthq]

I think I’m sort of in the middle? Taylor knows the amount of hate her exes get when she does these things, it’s not like she’s unaware of her “power”. So in situations like this, and other stuff like the Ginny and Georgia tweet, it does feel like she wants her fans to actively hate on people. But at the same time, she’s built her whole career on sharing her experiences with people and that’s why people relate so much to her. She’s dialed that back so much since the earlier days, she doesn’t do the secret messages anymore. I saw a video the other day showing that debut had “to all the boys who thought they could break my heart, guess what? Here are 14 songs written about you. HA.”. She’s not doing that anymore, probably because she’s a 34 year old woman, but still. She’s clearly dialed that back and it doesn’t look like she’s actively trying to attack anyone. I don’t know where the line is between sharing your story and sending your fans to undeservingly attack your ex. I would also like to add that people exaggerated how good Joe was, he had to be the best at literally everything. If Joe didn’t complain about that, he can’t complain about people making him out to be worse than he actually is. It also makes sense that when Taylor put him on such a high pedestal (again, higher than he should’ve probably been), and then fans put him on an even higher one (Taylor mentioned many problems even in the good songs that I feel fans ignored), that the fall from it would be even bigger. Fans talk about him as if he betrayed them. They’re mad at him because they thought he was perfect and, since Taylor can do no wrong, they have to blame him for anything and everything that could have gone wrong. I think Taylor is at fault for making her fan base what it is, but she also couldn’t have possible known, as a petty 16 year old, that it would ever come to this. So idk, there are some things she might be able to do, but I don’t think they would help that much

I agree with literally EVERYTHING you’ve said (except that there are things she can do bc idk what those would be lol). The reason I was personally so invested in T/J is the songs NEVER made him - or her - out to be perfect and it felt like such a real relationship that was so wonderfully open to us. She made it very clear IN THE SONGS that he’s moody, that he gets cold sometimes and pulls away, that he can be a little sanctimonious and that he can be a little flirtatious with other girls but it never goes further than that. That’s all in the lyrics. And those aren’t great qualities but like come on, you’re never gonna find someone perfect and for 6.5 years-ish it worked. She also made it clear that she’s moody and temperamental and overreacts to shit, that she wants to be acknowledged for the goddess that she is (which imo she is but like I see why when you’re living with her you wouldn’t necessarily feel that way every day), that she takes a lot of things super personally, that she’s petty and a lil basic and that she’s got a whole host of other issues. That’s ALL like FROM HER LYRICS. That’s WHY I was invested in that relationship. Because it was the first time I heard an artist in real time speak through something that was weird and complex and flawed but obviously beautiful??? And I did kinda feel like a friend lol ngl because she shared so much. It almost felt like my friend K’s relationship (the one that kinda set me up with my now bf like she introduced us not expecting a romantic connection but lol neither were we - she was just like “I know you two would have fun together because you’re so similar”) where I constantly think they’re about to break up but I also wouldn’t be shocked if they outlast my bf and me because we… have our own cockroaches in our heads and shit lol and we’re both very temperamental people and like we say this is forever (hence the bracelets) but like what is forever lol yk? He’s tried forever before and failed and I’m personally not willing to commit to that.

fans chose to ignore the lyrics and focus on her telling sessioners he’s the perfect boyfriend which like… should remind fans that sessioners aren’t her friends lol. No one is perfect. She wasn’t claiming he is in the music - which imo is very honest from her POV and that’s why *I* love her. She obviously wasn’t going around claiming that to her friends (“I talk shit with my friends”). But like when she met with randoms wtf else do you want her to say??? Do you meet random people and tell them like “my partner is ok for the most part like I’ll stay but he/she pisses me off sometimes”?

as for connecting all this to teen Taylor idk what you expect lol like do u want a teenage girl to like… not hate her exes??? Especially ones who cheated on her (Samx6) or who moved on really quick (not domestic violence Drew)?? Like obvi she was pissed off and she didn’t expect it to get to… this when she was lol.

but yeah I agree with your thesis and like idk Swifties are weird and if you listen to the music and like apply it to your life she makes the best music in the world imo. I’m not as invested in T/TK as T/J yet because I don’t have the music. It’s the music that really makes me love her. If you don’t love her music or don’t understand it and just like harass her exes like that’s ok the internet is a wild place go ahead but idk if you’re a fan of the music/artist or you’re just a weird person on the internet (of whom there are many).

[karlrose]

Just woke up from a really weird dream in which the theme was "Me having reasonable reactions to the things happening around me and people laughing at me for having said reactions". It was fun. Can you taste the sarcasm? It started with me at an event with my mother and her side of the family. My mother and I are currently not on speaking terms for various reasons. The smallest of which is that she lied to my children's faces whilst calling me a liar. My kids know what she's about so they didn't believe her, but FUCK WOMAN!! The largest reason is that she never has anything nice to say to me or about me and I felt like shit everytime I talked to her. My entire life she's been making fun of me or putting me down, trying to make me feel small. She's NEVER hugged me, never told me she loves me, never told me I was pretty. In fact her favorite nickname for me is "thunderthighs". And her family is no better. They treat me like I don't belong and like I'm not good enough for them. I don't see any of them anymore. So in the dream, there is basically a horror house set up going on in the halls of whatever building they're having this event at and when I scream and run away from what is clearly a monster chasing me down the hallway, everyone looks at me like I killing the mood at this shit party where it's not even my grandmother's birthday, but because it's a celebration, she's demanding we celebrate her too so she gets a big cake. I tried to find a way out of this building but because it's a dream, I have trouble finding the exit. These two men I've never met before offer to lead me to the exit and take me home so I follow them. (Not an important detail, but I remember them feeding me dates and figs) Once we're on the road, this is where we get into really weird dream teritory. Evil sky pants. There was a giant pair of jeans with Audrey Bourgouis gold high heels in the sky ruling over the world. This understandably freaks me out. Once again, I am laughed at and told that I'm overreacting. I am then taken to a large building and placed in a room with other children. I am not a child, I am 32, but apparently in the dream I was 16 again. I freak out and find a way to call my dad because this isn't my home and I'm convinced I have been kidnapped and placed in some kind of cult barracks. When someone in this facility FINALLY comes to talk to me, they laugh in my frightened face, telling me that we are in a shelter for women and children and I point out that they shouldn't make fun of me because SOMEONE should have been at the entrance to explain this instead of just throwing me in a room. They acted like I was being unreasonable and arguementative. They then told me that I was in Wyoming. I have never been to Wyoming and I live in Georgia! I could hear my dad's panic on the other end of the phone. The people working at this facility laughed at his concerns too. I demanded that they give my father the address so he could come get me and instead THEY HUNG UP ON HIM. I got in a physical fight with them at that point. Then I woke up.... And HOLY FUCK am I tired. I just woke up and I am already emotionally and physically drained.

[dulcetmuses]

          elena wanted to argue against that, but deep down she knew that kai was right. disagreements and flipped humanity switches had her group of friends trying to kill each other more often than not, and elena was included in that too. it’d be a challenge, but maybe she could be a little more forgiving to kai.  ❛  in your own twisted way, you’ve helped us in the past. thank you.  ❜  she gave a soft nod.  ❛  i’m willing to give you a fresh start with me, i can’t say the same for anyone else.  ❜  elena was already trusting kai more than she ever wanted to, she’d kept this entire thing a secret from damon given his tendency to overreact. but then kai was stepping closer and— wow, had he always been that attractive? it was a thought that elena quickly pushed the the back of her mind.  ❛  uh yeah, here.  ❜  elena handed him the vile of jeremy’s blood and followed after him.  ❛  he’s supposed to be in georgia right now. if he’s anywhere else then i’m driving out there and kicking his ass.  ❜ 

         “ hey,  i’ve got like one or two of them. ” kai protested,  just to be the pain in the ass he always was.  though,  on the real they both knew he did end up with some type of emotions back when he merged with his brother luke.  “ look,  as long as you’re not actively trying to kill me and i’m not actively trying to kill you or your friends,  we’ve got no beef — right? ” and he wasn’t looking to kill any of her friends.  at the moment,  anyway.  “ i’ll pretend i didn’t hear that little stipulation and just move on to the jer—bear part of your issue. ” kai smirked,  stepping a bit closer.  “ let me get my map, ”  he murmured softly toward her ear as he leaned in a bit while he continued past her.  “ assuming you have his blood? ”

[spookyboywhump]

This one got long. I was inspired by This Anon so this is a follow up to This Piece

CW: Rape mention, mentions of hand whump, mentions of past mouth whump

***

His right hand had seen quite a bit of damage over the years. It had been broken during his first week with the Whitakers, and then operated on to repair it. He’d broken fingers and split open his knuckles countless times. And now he’d sliced it open, stitches running all across his hand. He was starting to think he would need to learn to use his left hand, just in case it stopped working all together. For now, he kept his eyes on his hand so he wouldn’t have to look at his moms. Now that they were home from the hospital he couldn’t avoid it much longer, they wanted to know what happened, why it had happened, and he had to come up with an explanation now- though every time he tried to think of one, it just sounded ridiculous to him.

“I’m sorry.” He finally said quietly, keeping his eyes down. He wished he hadn’t told Eli he could do this alone, he knew he couldn’t but he also knew he needed to. Eli had seen him angry enough times, he knew what it was like, he knew how and when he’d calm down, and he knew where it came from. His moms didn’t understand that though, how could they when he never told them anything? He didn’t blame them for being concerned, and though he knew it wasn’t a bad thing, he still wished they weren’t, wished they could just ignore him and all the problems that came with him.

“You don’t have to keep apologizing…” His mom said softly.

“We… we know you didn’t mean for it to happen, Zander.” Georgia said, speaking gently with him, as though he were still on the verge of breaking down, like he was a bomb just waiting to go off. He almost wished they were angry with him, it would’ve felt better than this. “You got hurt, and you… maybe overreacted a little bit-”

“I need to clean up the glass.” He tried to get up, but his mom gently grabbed his arm.

“Sit down.” She told him, he wasn’t getting out of this that easily, and he obeyed immediately. Good dog.

“We should’ve talked to you earlier in the day.” Georgia said. “We shouldn’t have waited for it to get bad. I’m sorry.” She said, but he just shrugged.

“I wouldn’t have told you anyway.” He didn’t know how to, the only reasonable path was telling them the truth and he just couldn’t do that. I had a nightmare and the man that raped me, tortured my brother, and tortured the boy I loved was in it. The dream wasn’t about him nor was it about that incident, but he was there and it pissed me off. I haven’t stopped thinking about it, about him, about everything since I woke up. I don’t know how to feel anything other than anger anymore and I snapped at the first major inconvenience. I’m unruly, uncontrollable, disobedient, and I should go back where I came from since I don’t know how to act like a human being anymore. The words were clear in his mind but no, he couldn’t say that, they couldn’t know about that. Not even Wren knew about that, he knew he had to keep it a secret.

“Zander, we want you to talk to us.” His mom said. “And- if not us, somebody else, anybody, a doctor even. None of this is easy, but you can’t get better by bottling it all up inside.”

“I know.” Of course he knew that, but it didn’t change the fact that telling people anything about the past seven years was difficult, he didn’t even expect people to believe any of it if he did tell them. The only person he knew understood was Elias, but he had so many of his own problems that he couldn’t stand the idea of adding to them. “I’m sorry. I… I know I need to control myself better… and talking about any of it is hard… I don’t want to upset anybody and I… I don’t want to act this way… it just happens before I can stop myself…” He murmured.

“That’s why you need help.” Georgia said. “You can’t get better all on your own, but you already know this is just hurting you. That’s what worries us the most- you’re home Zander, you’re safe, but you’re still hurting, you’re hurting yourself. I know it’s not easy, you won’t get better over night, and you won’t return to who you were “before”, but you’re still you, and you’re here, and while we may not know the extent of what you’ve gone through, we do know that after all of it, you deserve to finally be at peace, to finally feel as safe as you are.” She said, before softly adding, “We’ll do everything that we can to make sure you feel that way.”

He sniffed, reaching up to wipe at his eyes with his uninjured hand. He didn’t want to start crying, he hated crying in front of them, but he couldn’t help it. He loved them both so much, and he appreciated their concern but more than anything he just felt guilty for worrying them in the first place. He didn’t know how much he could keep apologizing, but it’s all he wanted to do, tell them I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry over and over again for the pain he caused them. When he lowered his hand his mom reached for it, and he glanced up as she gently squeezed it.

“We want you to know you’re safe, and… and we want to see you happy again, someday.” She said, and she looked so sad it broke his heart, he knew he’d never seen her look like that before all this had happened. “I just miss seeing you smile…”

“I-I… I can’t…” His voice nearly cracked when he said it. He tried to smile, though it was wavering and pathetic, it was still a smile, and he raised his shaking hand up to point at one of his gold canine teeth. “Wh-when I smile… people can see them… it’s n-not so bad when it’s you guys, or Eli, or Alondra b-but… other people get scared, I’ve seen how- how people look at me, they step back, or they- they always look away so quickly… s-sometimes they stare and I… I don’t want people to see them… it’s better if I don’t smile at all…”

“Oh, Zander…” His mom said, giving him a sympathetic look, “You know we can fix that? They’re already fake, they, we can replace them with normal ones, whenever you want.” She said, but he shook his head.

“What’s important is that you feel comfortable, whenever you’re ready we can make sure you get it done.” Georgia said, but he shook his head again. It took him a moment to decide if he really wanted to tell them, but with the subject at hand he felt it was finally somewhat necessary.

“I’m… I’m scared of going to the dentist…” He said slowly. He knew they were confused, it had never been a fear of his before, but he did explain this time. “When… when I got them uh… o-only one of my teeth had been knocked out… the other h-he… he pulled it out… with pliers…” He said quietly, almost flinching when his mother gasped. He decided to leave out Eli’s involvement in it. “But… after that, when he uh, took me to get the fangs… I wasn’t… numbed, or- or put under or anything, th… they just strapped me to a chair… and they did it… I felt everything until I passed out, and afterwards I… didn’t get any painkillers until they more or less stopped hurting…”

“Oh god… Zander, that’s awful…” Georgia sounded horrified, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at either of them.

“I know… I know that won’t happen if I go to the dentist, but… just the thought of it scares me. My chest gets tight and it’s hard to breathe and I just… I can’t do it. I’d rather keep them hidden than get them removed…”

“You don’t have to get them removed until you’re ready… I’m so, so sorry…” His mom said, her voice cracking, and Zander almost wanted to cry.

“Stop apologizing to me… you two didn’t hurt me… I need to apologize for freaking out like that…”

“You’ve apologized enough. What you need is to get some rest now, after the stitches and everything…” His mom said, sounding worried, and he sighed, getting to his feet even though he was still dizzy.

“I need to clean the glass up first. It’s my mess, I need to take care of it.” He said, and this time his moms didn’t stop him from leaving the room. They could probably tell he was desperate to get out of there, and it was best to just give him the space.

It didn’t take long for him to clean up, and after saying Goodnight to his moms, he went back to his room, where Eli was waiting, splayed out on Zander’s bed. He sat up when he came in though, still looking worried.

“Hey… how are you feeling…?” He asked as Zander came and dropped down onto his bed.

“Like shit.” He muttered. “I’m tired of talking about it. They already talked to me.”

“Alright… do you want me to stay?” He asked, and after a moment Zander nodded, Elias moving closer to him. “If you do want to talk about it, I’m here, you know that?” He said, and Zander nodded again.

“Thanks…” He said quietly. He appreciated it, he really did, but that didn’t change the fact he didn’t want to bother Eli with it. The boy had enough problems as it was, Zander had no desire to add to them.

He knew they wanted him to talk, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to tell them truth so why say anything at all? It would only hurt them, upset them, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause them anymore pain. He saw the way the reacted, heard the pain in their voices when he told them about his teeth, and it twisted his stomach into knots, he couldn’t do that again. They didn’t need to know anymore, and he desperately hoped he could keep it that way.

[ingravinoveritas]

Firstly i dont think she adjusted since moving to the UK what do u think?

And secondly this post feels that its all about her again like and the character is based on her in real life but the project was longed talk about in 2017 as michael said on the Graham norton show to which michael was with Sarah at that point. It's again trying to be the centre of attention again and stay irrelevant just cos she not getting it from michael

What ur thoughts on this recent of post of Al

So, apologies that it took me all week to answer this--I feel like the entirety of the month of February has just caught up with me, which essentially feels like a lot of tiredness hitting all at once.

I did see this on Monday, however, and I just...am again at something of a loss. I got a bit down on myself over my response to her Insta story from the first preview of Nye and thinking I was overreacting/reading too much into things...and then this happens.

The first thing I would say is that I agree with you that AL is making it all about her again. The post itself comes across as PR, which it likely was because Georgia also shared the same clip that day--albeit with a caption that was actually about Michael/centered on the show. And the contrast becomes even more stark when you look at this post from Caroline Sheen. Caroline is Michael's cousin and she had a small role in The Way, and her post is much more personal and essentially what you would expect from someone who is close to someone in the production. Which subsequently makes AL's post look even more like PR in comparison.

But I think what irritates me the most about Anna's post is that it's yet another instance of her making a dig at Wales. Talking of patterns as I tend to do, she did this previously in September of last year (the #FromManhattantoTonypandy hashtag), and in both of these cases it's her reminding everyone of where she lived before, and likely where she still wishes she lived. In thinking of your initial question, AL may have adjusted to Wales in some ways, but it's clearly not where she belongs or thinks she belongs. I've written previously on my blog about her likely thinking she would be living the celebrity life in New York or London, and Wales was almost certainly a place she didn't even know existed until Michael. So this entire post feels like it's tinged with passive-aggressive resentment as a result.

Let me be clear: In no way do I think that moving to a new country is an easy thing, and it is more than understandable that someone might not love every single thing about the place in which they live, especially if they are an outsider coming from a completely different culture. But the thing is, The Way is literally about Wales. It is entirely focused on Welsh identity and history, and it is a project into which Michael has poured a tremendous amount of his passion and energy and time, which speaks to what you mentioned about him talking about this since 2017.

Why, then, would you make such a snarky comment on a post promoting a show so centered on Wales? That your own partner directed, no less? At best, it comes across as thoughtless and self-centered, and at worst, as deliberately disrespectful.

I can also fully understand why Michael put out a tweet of his own promoting the second episode less than an hour after Anna posted that story. If we are to say that Georgia is a good representative for David on social media--which she arguably is, most of the time--then Anna, by contrast, is the worst possible representative for Michael. And a post like the one above only further highlights how mismatched and wrong for each other they truly are. I also think it's pained him to refrain from tweeting for this long, and now he finally has a reason to start again, for which both we and Michael can be thankful.

So yes, those are my thoughts on AL's story from earlier this week. Glad to hear from my followers as well about your reactions to this. Thank you for writing in! x

[plus-size-reader]

Never Have I Ever

Daryl Dixon x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1662 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Daryl gets a bit too rough after having a drink with Beth and the reader has to remind him who he really is

——————————————————————————————————

You knew that playing that game with Daryl and Beth was a bad idea.

He had his daddy's temper when he drank, which was why he didn’t do it in the first place, and he was impossible to reason with. The only fights you two had were when he drank.

That was why he didn’t.

The last time he’d had a sip, you told him you’d never speak to him again if he ever treated you that way. So, he didn’t do it, from that moment on, he decided that staying sober and keeping you safe was more important.

In this world, he didn’t have the luxury of being what he was before. He didn’t get to drink and spend all his nights in the woods alone. You counted on him, and now Beth did too.

Being that way was dangerous, and he didn’t want to lose you because of something like that. Alcohol could never fill the space in his life that you filled when he met you.

You were his everything.

...But sometimes life caught up to you too fast and you did things that you weren’t really planning on.

That was how he ended up taking that jar from Beth, and drinking the whole thing, before finishing another and another after that. It was a slippery slope like that, and it always had been for him.

Not that that was an excuse for how he was acting.

You had chosen not to drink any of it, knowing for a fact that you hated moonshine. The only time you’d ever drank it, you’d been so sick you were spewing chunks for days.

It was horrible.

The last thing you wanted was to have to go through that again. So, you sat back, between the young blonde and Daryl, watching her twirl the liquid around the bottom of the glass.

It smelled like rubbing alcohol, smacking you in the face with every twist of that mason jar, but that wasn’t nearly as bad as the musty smell of the old house.

It was just like the house Daryl had grown up in, and nearly gave you flashbacks to when you used to spend time with him there. Some of them were happy memories, but most of them were just loud and chaotic.

Just like most of his childhood had been.

It started out slow, with Daryl slowly grasping the point of the game, his eyes focused on the young girl's face as he spoke. “I've never been out of Georgia”

Beth seemed almost shocked at that, confusing you but you chose not to acknowledge it. You knew that Daryl had seen it too, you could tell based on the tightness in his jaw.

There was something wrong, but you didn’t have to guess what it was. The booze had just started to hit him, which had to be why he was being so bitey.

It wasn’t until she continued with her bubbly teasing that things really started to escalate.

“I've never... been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner”

That did it.

Beth didn’t mean any harm by it, you knew that but it didn’t matter. Daryl had enough to drink that any semblance of calm left him immediately but more than anything, he was hurt.

It was hard enough for him to be in this place, but now she was questioning his character as a person, as if he was dangerous or something. He couldn’t believe it.

“Daryl-”

You started to speak, to try and calm him down before he could get himself too worked up but the wheels in his head had already started turning and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

“Is that what you think of me?” there was a pain in his voice, a pain that was quickly replaced with anger. It hurt him, but it filled him with rage more.

He had been working his ass off to keep her alive, and to help as many people as he could, but clearly that didn’t matter. She didn’t think anything of who he was.

All she saw when she looked at him was some criminal, and nothing was ever going to change that. That was how everyone saw him, and they always would.

He was just some redneck from the mountains of Georgia and they all knew. He wasn’t going to be anything more than that if they didn’t let him. If she didn’t let him.

It escalated from there.

Daryl ignored your every attempt to calm him and fully spiraled into his anger and upset, until finally you were forced to stop him, knocking him on his ass.

The action alone caught him off guard, but you didn’t care.

He was acting like a total jackass and you weren’t going to let him act that way just because she’s made one comment.

“What the hell are you doing?” Daryl barked, looking up at you with shock dressing his handsome, dirt covered face. There was a brief flash of recollection on his face, telling you he knew he was overreacting.

However, it was too late for that.

There was an anger in your face now too, letting him know just how much he’d messed up.

“You stay there until you get your head out of your ass and stop acting like a child!” you huffed, reaching out casually to take Beth’s arm in your right hand, pulling her away from where Daryl had just had her.

He didn’t do it to hurt her and never would in his right mind but he wasn’t in his right mind right now. As of a few seconds ago, he had been swinging her around like a rag doll, playing with a corpse like a party game.

It was ridiculous and Daryl was better than that.

You knew that Daryl was better than that and you weren’t about to let him act like his daddy and his drunkard of a brother just because he got his feelings hurt.

All over some children's party game.

You could hardly believe it.

~

“Don’t worry about it sweetheart, I love him but he can be a real asshole when he drinks” you sighed, reaching out to brush one of Beth’s stray blond hairs out of her face.

She wasn’t afraid of Daryl and seemed to understand that the alcohol had a huge impact on the way he was acting, but that didn’t stop her from laughing.

To her, this whole thing was pretty amusing.

You had practically put Daryl in a timeout just now and it was hard not to think that was hilarious. Before now, she thought he was untouchable but that clearly wasn’t the case.

Where you were concerned, Daryl couldn’t bring himself to argue, especially not knowing that he was wrong.

He could have seriously hurt someone or gotten one of you killed and that wasn’t okay. Not to mention the way he’d acted, toward you and toward the girl.

You had every right to do what you did and more but realizing that wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was dealing with what happened afterwards, when he had to apologize for acting that way.

When you first met, he told you that he didn’t believe in apologizing because Merle said only bitches did that but he didn’t believe that.

He never really did believe that. Still, he had always hated apologizing, even though it was absolutely necessary.

“You finally got up outta the dirt?” you started, calling out to him as soon as he rounded the porch, to find both you and Beth sitting there, drinking water and watching the sun go down.

Personally, you had been waiting for him to come but you knew how stubborn he could be, especially if he knew he was wrong. It didn’t surprise you that he was upset.

...But you were just glad he’d showed up before dark.

“‘Sorry ‘bout all that”

The words were for Beth, as they should have been after how he treated her. You were upset with him for how he acted but he hadn’t wronged you, not in the way he had hurt her.

Every word of his apology had better be just for her, but once he’d gotten all settled with her and she had forgiven him, Daryl had a much more foreboding task ahead.

He had to talk to you.

After the last time, he promised you that he wasn’t going to drink again. It was bad for him and bad for everyone around him and that wasn’t even taking this world into account.

He could have gotten himself killed and you weren’t just going to move on from that.

“I-uh”

It was more of a grumble, coming from his throat as he sat down beside you on the wooden porch. He didn’t know where to start, he didn’t even have a clue but it didn’t matter.

The best part about the two of you was that you always knew what he was going to say, even if he didn’t know how to.

“I know you’re sorry, you big lug. Drink up” you suggested, though it was much more of an order as it left your lips. You weren’t in the mood to deal with his stammering apology, you just wanted him.

You wanted your Daryl, not that drunk clone of his big brother who you’d had to deal with for so many years already.

Daryl took the water you offered him gingerly, letting his free arm come to rest across your shoulders, so that you could rest on his chest.

It had been such a long few days, the last thing you needed was to be at each other's throats. “We are never playing that silly game ever again” you muttered, taking in the scent of him.

Daryl smelled like a mix of musk and dirt but to you, he smelled like home and you didn’t need any poorly-made moonshine tainting that.

[sickslickman]

Welcome to the Table States

Been thinking of doing this for a while, just a cast list for Welcome to the Table by main, major recurring, minor recurring, and guest spots. Let me know if I missed anyone. Also I don’t know sports teams worth a damn, so if I don’t name the state’s jerseys as they should be, that’s why.

Main cast:

(These are characters that premiered in the first episode and appear in most if not all of the episodes. Note: unless otherwise mentioned, all characters in this series are portrayed by Ben Brainard)

DC: The District of Columbia. Runs the meetings. Acts as the leader, but occasionally the shady side of politics comes out of him. Trying desperately to keep his sanity amid the virus, BLM, and everyday American life. His appearance goes from wearing a polo shirt to a suit and tie. Appears in every episode.

Call: “I’m about to do something drastic!”

Florida: The Sunshine State. The Mr. Hyde to DC’s Dr. Jekyll, he is all for absolute chaos and fun over order and following guidelines, and basically comes to the meetings solely to ruin DC’s day. Knows how to call every state because everyone eventually moves to Florida. His appearance is usually a tank top, shorts and a bucket hat. Believes that the coronavirus is a hurricane (or a tropical storm, it varies from day to day). Appears in every episode.

Call: “Duval!”

Texas: The Lone Star State. Usually represents everything the conservative side stands for (guns, politics, religion, women’s rights, big government, you get the drill). His appearance is a red button down shirt and a black cowboy hat. Appears in most episodes.

Call: Sing lines from “Who Put All My Ex's in Texas” by Willie Nelson

California: The Golden State. Usually represents everything the progressive liberal side stands for (abortion, anti-police, anti-fascism, anti-confederacy, BLM, you get it). His appearance is hipster based with beanie and thick-framed glasses. Appears in most episodes.

Call: “Hey Human Torch!” (Unknown if that’s official call or if it just worked because of the wildfires currently ongoing in California)

New York: The Empire State. Tends to be gruff, abrasive and sometimes hostile with his arms almost always folded. Politically is sort of the middle ground between Texas and California; mostly would rather be doing anything else. His appearance used to be a winter coat and hat but has since switched to a Giants jersey. Appears in most episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time, but does react when someone claims their pizza is better.

Major Recurring:

(These are states that make frequent appearances and/or have a strong presence)

Louisiana: The Pelican State. Florida’s best friend and main partner in crime. Very laid back. Only character that speaks with a Cajun accent. His appearance was initially a bucket hat and suspenders with no shirt, but has gradually shifted to wearing LSU gear. Loves daiquiris and gators. Appears in most episodes. His premiere episode is the most watched episode of the series.

Call: “Who dat? Who dat?”

(Note: At this point he has appeared in as many episodes as the main cast, considering bumping him up to main.)

Georgia: The Peach State. Always acts like he just got out of bed, and is almost never seen without a mug of coffee. His appearance has gradually shifted from pajamas to Panthers gear. About as chaotic as Florida, but more out of being dim-witted than out of desire for chaos. Appears in many episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time

West Virginia: The Mountain State: The only state to appear in the pilot episode that is not a main character. Appears very infrequently. His appearances usually involve following coronavirus guidelines and his usage of the word “f***.” Initially dressed in Amish clothing, he has since changed to a Mountaineers football shirt and hat.

Call: Unknown at this time

Washington: The Evergreen State. As the American spread of the coronavirus originated in Seattle, he is almost always coughing but passes it off as “allergies.” Usually wears a dark short-sleeved button down and hipster glasses with ear buds. Appears in several episodes.

Call: Unknown at this time

Massachusetts: The Bay State. Appears frequently and loudly. Has a love-mostly-hate relationship with New York. Tends to be a very abrasive and loud voice of reason. His appearance has gone from a Celtics jersey to a Bruins one.

Call: “Is that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck?”

Utah: The Beehive State. His appearance is a dress shirt and tie and he usually carries a Bible. He is a Mormon and very religious. Has an antagonistic relationship with Florida, who constantly belittles him and inquires about his multiple wives (which Utah does not do anymore). Appears semi-frequently.

Call: “I wish someone were here to tell me about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”

Kentucky: The Bluegrass State. Usually wears a dress sweater and carries a picture of Governor Andy Beshear with him everywhere. Tends to be a voice of reason and one of the least problematic states at the table, which is surprising given who his senator is. Appears semi-frequently.

Call: Pronounce “Louisville”

The Carolinas: Both make frequent and strong appearances, and both have a rough relationship with Florida. Both wear T-shirts reflecting their states.

South Carolina: The Palmetto State. Likes to remind Florida of the Jameis Winston crab legs incident. Gets annoyed if you say his barbeque is trash. Loves college football and is always talking about Clemson.

Call: “Carolina BBQ is trash!”

North Carolina: The Tar Heel State. Although he has only appeared in the series fairly recently, he has already become a recurring character. Loves barbecues and basketball. Tends to get hit with a lot of natural disasters.

Call: “It’s bo time!”

Colorado: The Centennial State. Wears a blue T-shirt and a ski hat with goggles. Is usually high all the time and constantly talks about weed. Appears semi-frequently.

Call: Howl like a wolf

Alaska: The Last Frontier. Has only appeared a couple of times but has made a strong impression. Wears an “Alaskan grown” shirt and winter hat. Speaks in a slow but patient voice. Likes to be left alone. Has a friendly rivalry with Texas on account of size. Is a little weird but friendly enough.

Call: None. He is always there. Like Batman.

Minor Recurring:

(These are for characters that are more like supporting characters. Note that although several of these states have had episodes focusing on them, their overall presence is less than that of the major recurring)

Indiana: The Hoosier State. Has only appeared twice. Has trouble coming to terms with Mike Pence’s alleged homosexuality. Not much else notable about him.

Call: Sing the Indiana Jones theme (Although he would prefer “Hoo hoo!”)

Pennsylvania: The Keystone State. Appears semi-frequently but is mostly a slightly less abrasive New York or Massachusetts. Wears an Eagles jersey in most appearances. Constantly asking for a drink. Constantly asking people to choose between Wawa or Sheetz.

Call: “We are!”

Wisconsin: The Badger State. Wears a giant foam Swiss cheese hat on his head. Is perpetually drunk. Argues in favor of the rights of the people (although not always in the best ways). Hates Illinois and especially the Bears.

Call: “Anyone need anything from Quik Trip?”

Illinois: The Prairie State. Mostly just known for Chicago and not much else. Wears a Cubs jersey and hat. Seems rather old fashioned and does not like alcoholics. Everyone in his state seems to hate each other. Hates Wisconsin and has arguments with New York in regards to who makes better pizza.

 Call: Unknown, but seems to react to someone insulting the Bears.

Ohio: The Buckeye State. Loves skyline chili and wine at two o’clock. Begins just about every sentence with “ope.” Used to dress like a rapper wannabe, but now dressed in Ohio State gear. Hates Michigan and given the chance would kill him himself.

Call: “O-H!”

Michigan: The Great Lake State. Wears a Lions jersey and hat and brings a bottle of Vernors with him everywhere. Hates Ohio and wants to beat Ohio State at football.

Call: “Liberate Michigan!”

New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment. Appears very infrequently. Speaks Spanish on top of English. Is intelligent to a degree but will throw down if necessary. Mostly talks about cultural things. Wears a blue hoodie-looking sweater.

Call: Unknown, but responds when someone claims to have better green chili.

Mississippi: The Show Me State. Claims to be the “Harvard of the South.” Carries a water bottle with him wherever he goes. Gets into arguments with California over Confederate momentos.

Call: Unknown at this time

Alabama: The Cotton State. Mostly appears in the weekly recap videos. Represents the philosophies of the Deep South. Not much else known about him.

Call: Unknown at this time

Arizona: The Grand Canyon State. Appears mostly as a semi-frequent character in the weekly recap videos. Not much else is known about him.

Call: Unknown at this time

Missouri: The Show Me State. Appears semi-frequently in the weekly recap videos. Not much is known about him other than he likes barbeque and has a feud with Kansas over Kansas City.

Call: Unknown at this time

Oklahoma: The Sooner State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos but has made other appearances too. Tends to be rather sarcastic and blunt, but is prone to overreaction at times. Hates Texas.

Call: Unknown at this time

Tennessee: The Volunteer State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Tends to be high-pitched and melodramatic.

Call: Unknown at this time

Oregon: The Beaver State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Was very active during the BLM protests and was vocal against the use of police brutality and unmarked abductions.

Call: Unknown at this time

Minnesota: The North Star State. Appears mostly in the weekly recap videos. Was very active during the BLM protests and in support of defunding police and reallocating resources. Tends to be a voice of reason.

Call: Unknown at this time

Connecticut: The Constitution State. Has only appeared a few times in the weekly recap videos. Tries to avoid dealing with Florida as much as he can.

Call: Unknown at this time

Maryland: The Free State. Wore a T-shirt in early appearances but is now decked out in crab gear in recent ones. As abrasive as a northern state, but with as much pride as a southern one. Early episodes had a running gag of Maryland’s issues regarding coronavirus tests.

Call: “Anyone have any Old Bay?”

The Dakotas: Appear infrequently. Only have about thirty-six people among both of them.

North Dakota: Has only appeared a couple of times. Not much is known about him.

South Dakota: Has appeared more often than his brother, but usually only talks about the Sturgis Bike Rally. Also is trying to fight meth.

Call: “Who’s the better Dakota again?” (will call both of them)

Iowa: The Corn State. One of the biggest running gags in the series is that no one seems to know where he is or how to get in touch with him. Tends to come and go from meetings whenever he sees fit.

Call: Unknown at this time

Background characters:

(Characters that only appear once or have no real significance to the series)

Nevada: The Silver State. Has only appeared once. Dresses like a Vegas dancer.

Rhode Island: The Ocean State. Has only appeared once to discuss his name change.

New Jersey: The Garden State. Has only appeared once. Doesn’t like it when New York keeps visiting him.

Wyoming: The Equality State. Has only appeared once when Florida insulted his name.

Nebraska: The Cornhusker State. Has appeared a couple of times but has had no real significance.

Kansas: The Sunflower State. Has only appeared a couple of times. Tends to feud with Missouri over Kansas City.

Idaho: The Gem State. Has only appeared once(?).

Arkansas: The Natural State. His only real appearance was in the poker episode when everyone told him he couldn’t play on account of he never shuts anything down and can’t weigh in with anything.

Delaware: The First State. Has only appeared twice. Like the state itself, nothing of significance has yet been noted.

Virginia: The Old Dominion. Has only appeared a couple of times, and his only notable role was in the mask debate.

States that still have not made an appearance:

Montana

Vermont

Maine

New Hampshire

Hawaii (Note that Brainard has stated he wishes to find a Hawaiian native actor to play this character.)

Other characters in this series:

CDC: The Center of Disease Control. Originally played by Ben Brainard, the role has since been taken over by comedian Drew Lynch. An overworked, underappreciated man who tries to get the states to adhere to coronavirus regulations. He has a bad stutter and has not slept in weeks. He may be being kept alive purely on coffee and good intentions.

International DC: Played by Elana Rose. Has only appeared once. DC’s sister and the international relations part of the federal government. She’s not very good at her job and tends to act very “mean girl.”

Mother Nature: Played by Liz, aka “lozclaws”. The goddess of earthling weather. Has an on-again off-again relationship with Florida.

Claire: Also played by Liz. Mother Nature’s...roommate? Mother? Not entirely sure. Tries to be a voice of reason to a pair with very little reason between the two of them.

The National Guard: The national army. Has only appeared twice, once to bodyguard Maryland, the other to discuss the BLM protests.

The 3rd Amendment: The third amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Only appeared once. It was very confusing.

Virginia: Kentucky’s sign-language interpreter. Only appeared once. Was deeply offended by Florida (as we all are).

Greg the Sound Guy: The guy who handles the audio and holds the mic boom for the show. Only appeared twice. Probably doesn’t get paid enough.

[narrie]

taylor swift was so annoying with that tweet trying to shame ginny and georgia, i understand she was upset with that but it was way out of context and now here racist ass fans attacked a black lead actress on that show. Like for all things to get upset over taylor swift a multi millionaire chose this to advocate for on the first day of women's history month and its funny she chose the day after black history month to speak on "feminism"

anonymous said: taylor way overreacted... her fans give her such bad advice. BUT, the tone of that tweet was all her. she works with netflix once and suddenly they're never allowed to mention her name in a joke again????

see, i think she def had a right to say sumn about it but the way she did it was just so.......i noticed that too with the whole “happy women’s history month”, like she was waiting for black history month to be over to hit send on that tweet looooool and then her minions go and attack a young black actress, nice! just very reflective of her past white feminism “activism” too. also i’m not one to defend a corporation but as if netflix is an entity that reads every script for every single episode of every show they’re producing just in case there’s a taylor swift joke in there bc they worked with her once, come on now lmao anyway she knows what kind of impact she has and what her fanbase is like so especially regarding that she should’ve known OR knew that those words would cause smth that’s way out of proportion 

[hellsbellschime]

taylor swift drama gets weirder....

carrie courogen, who writes for publications like glamour, paper, and vanity fair who for years has tweeted shitty things about taylor swift [see above]. she then calls out taylor for calling out netflix and ginny&georgia for the offensive joke saying it’s cancel culture. swifties then come out at her from every which way and call her out for her years of hating on taylor and now thinking it was an overreaction for her to stand up for herself against the slut shaming. some swifties crossed the line and doxxed her and so she went private and started mass blocking all swifties, even ones who had zero interaction with her. while i think doxxing is fucked and super uncalled for i also have a hard time finding sympathy for someone who has spent years trolling someone and saying misogynistic things and then hiding behind the “feminism isn’t about blindly supporting one another” like no one is asking you to write pro-taylor pieces, but it’s weird how much you hate someone you don’t even know. saying she’s not a “real woman leader” because she doesn’t fit your definition of a feminist icon is just so weird to me. and this is coming from someone who may causally like taylor swift songs, but wouldn’t classify myself as a fan. 

I mean it’s not doxxing if she’s a professional writer making these statements online, but I don’t know why anyone should give a fuck about what she has to say. Like, if you want to talk shit publicly no one is stopping you, but you can’t throw a fit if the person you’re shit talking calls you out either.