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lesbianakaashi · 3 years

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The Forgotten Shounen: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

This is not a “Why you should watch/read khr” or anything like that. This is just me going into the deep dive and throwing my findings at you. I’m making this because khr used to be my favourite series when I was 15 (I had plushees, posters, tradingcards, the art book etc) and now as an adult I constantly find myself baffled at how unknow it seems to be.

1. Okay first what is khr?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or just Reborn! is a series by Akira Amano which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2004 to 2012 (with 42 volumes) and got an anime adaption which run from 2006 to 2010 on Tv Tokyo (with 202 episodes and one OVA).

2. What’s it about?

Khr is a parody of the italian mafia and plays in a world where the mafia is heavily influencial. The protagonist is the japanese middle schooler Sawada Tsunayoshi who is known as “No good Tsuna” because of his failing grades, general weak and cowardly personality and weak physics.

He becomes aware of the mafia world when a 2 year old baby called Reborn arrives at his house claiming to be the greatest hitman and declaring himself his home tutor. Reborn was send by the 9th head of the Vongola famiglia who is ready to retire and looking for a new heir. Which of course, is supposed to be Tsuna and now it's Reborns job to shape him into a worthy sucessor.

Tsuna rejects the violence of the mafia world and refuses the position as the 10th. Thanks to Reborn and his general craziness Tsuna meets different people and starts to make real friendships. Reborn wants 6 of those friends to be Tsuna's future guardians, basically a group of people which will be closest to him in the vongola famiglia. Tsuna might have no interest in those positions but the friendships he builds with them become really precious to him.

Reborns arrivial also brings in the enemies of the Vongola family which leads to Tsuna being forced to engage in battles. Generally Tsuna openly avoids fights and prefers to run away but will put himself in danger for his friends' sake or because of something Reborn did.

Through out the series Tsuna matures and gains strenght but he never becomes a power fantasy. He's just a guy with many flaws who grows through the human connections he makes.

Personally I think the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna is one of the best student teacher reltaionships in all of manga only topped by Mob and Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Especially the last arc really underlines their unique relationship to me.

Furthermore, khr offers a new and unique battle system: The flames. I'm not gonna go into to too much detail but the general idea is that one fights with their dying will flame which basically turns off your the savety switch so you can fight with everything you have. The flames are seperated into different categories such as: sky, storm, mist, rain, sun, lightning and cloud and have different attributes asigned to each one. Tsuna's use of the sky flame and his transformation when using it is still one of my favourite shounen transformations to this day.

3. What happened?

The series did really well and then not so well over the course of its serialisation. After the manga got an anime adaption it increased in populairty and video games, light novels, and other products such as CDs were created based on the series. Reborn is one of the best selling series of Weekly Shōnen Jump and has sold around 30 Million volumes overall. It was and still is very popular in Japan but rather unknown in the west.

According to the article "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" khr was the 10th bestselling series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, with a total of 7 million copies sold in 2007.

This number increasing to 15 milion in 2008. Which placed khr into the 4th best selling series of 2008 in Japan.

Between 2008 and 2010 those sales declined but still kept strong with khr as the 6th top selling manga in 2009, 8th best selling in 2010 and then 24th best selling in 2012.

In November 2014, readers of the Da Vinci magazine voted khr number 17 on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

After the anime came to an apprupt stop in 2010 for unknown reasons the manga sells took a visible hit. (Apparently the studio wanted to put the anime on halt because they were busy with other projects and give Akira Amano time to develop her story but I couldn't find any source for this claim) Furthermore, the rushed last chapters of the manga in 2012 declined the popularity of the series even more. There's no offical statement as to why the manga was ended in such a way but it's reasonable to assume that Jump either cut it considering the decreasing sales or Akira Amano choose to end it for personal reasons.

Nontheless, Tsuna not being included in Jump Force (a fighting game where you can play as different characters from Jump) in 2019 even tho he made it in earlier Jump Stars games also underlines the decreased interest in the series.

Rumors on a reboot or anime adaption of the last two arcs surface from time to time but are genereally unlikely. Artland the studio which made khr has gone bankrupt around 2015-2016. It might be taken on by another studio but rather uncommen especially with such an old series.

4. Art style

The khr anime ended over 10 years ago and the old art style might not be appealing to newer audiences.

Especailly because the anime adaption follows Akira Amanos old art style which heavily developed within the years. Here a picture comparing characters in the new art style:

A modern anime adaption in the new art style would be aesthetically pleasing. It would probably look similiar to Psycho Pass since Akira Amano did the concept art for this series.

(My personal art student hot take is that both art styles are unique and fun. Up to this day Akira Amano still has my favourite art style and even if the amount folds in the characters clothing is a little extreme I love it dearly.)

5. Criticism

The show is not without flaws and even if I greatly enjoy it it wouldn't be right not to adress them.

Daily Life Arc:

A lot of people view the first 20 to 25 episodes as fillers and quickly lose intererst in the series. This is due to the fact that Akira Amano inteded the series to be a gag manga and focuses the first chapters on world building, character introduction and comical narratives. It's rumored that the decision to develop the story into a battle shounen was made because the sales weren't doing well enough at first. So the first chapters/episodes may seem titidious but are necessary for the story and the development of the characters. The tonal shift from a more gintama like gag manga to a darker battle focused story can also be offputting to some viewers.

Either way a lot of people blame this arc when discussing why khr never got an english dub or didn't end up on Toonami. I've also read that the manga never finished serializing in the north america. However, it finished in other western languages like german and spanish.

Censoring:

The anime censors A LOT. From Gokudera's smoking habit, Yamamoto's whole character arc which deals with heavy themes such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The general bloodiness of the manga was censored and sometimes whole chapters and characters were left out even if those were important to the devolopment of others.

Filler episodes:

Out of the 202 episodes the anime has around 29 filler episodes which makes roughly 14 %.

Sexism:

Even if Reborn was written by a woman most female characters are rather flat and their storylines often tied to a male character in one way or another.

Genereal things:

Khr, like many other long running series, is sometimes criticised for a lack of world building or unpopular narrative choices.

6. Hope?

Khr isn't exactly dead. As stated before the series is still very popular in Japan and still gets new merch pretty regulary. There are also petitions floating around for a reboot or a new anime season but those never get a lot of traction. Furthermore #Reborn2期アニメ化 (#Reborn2ndAnimation) used to get some traction on twitter not too long ago. Last year the Anime News Network did a poll on which anime the readers would like to see a rebooot of and khr placed second.

Either way here's a collection of recent khr things I could find.

- In 2018 a new bluray set was released in north america

- The khr stage play reached yet another new season

- A mobile game was released last year

- Currently ongoing anime cafe event called "Concerto di Vongola"

- Last month there was an event with the former VAs and stage play actors where they discussed their favourite khr episodes.

- There has been an increase in blind reacts to the openings on youtube which might bring in a new fan base. The biggest one I could find had around 90k views and was made in 2019. On this note check out the soundtrack. The first openeing Drawing Days by SPLAY still makes me go insane (but I'm biased of course)

There also renewed hope for a new season/reboot because Shaman King, Inuyasha and Bleach got anounced for new seasons after a long hiatus. It's important to keep in mind that the circumstances for those series are differnt tho. For example bleachs new anime is often tied to the immense success of the gatcha game.

7. Conclusion

Khr is a series which used to be a flagship for Weekly Shounen Jump and is deeply beloved by it's fans, especially in Japan. It influenced other shounen series like bnha. It would be nice to see it gaining a bigger fanbase in the west :)

#khr #khr meta #anime analysis #shounen jump #katekyo hitman reborn #mirytalks #long post #manga

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yoongsisbae · 3 years

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Check-in Tag

Tagged by the bestest @inkofyoongi ☺️

1. why did you choose your url?

Because yoongiisbae was taken 😡😡😡

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them?

This IS my side blog lol, I have it because I am not quite ready to admit to anyone that I write fanfic hah 🙈🙈

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

oh my god since before 2008, I am pretty sure I was one of the first users as I moved over here from livejournal, so it's been way too mf long. I am an ancient being.

4. do you have a queue tag?

I don't know what that means (after 12 years 🥲) I save almost all my posts to drafts and then carefully choose certain posts to publish throughout the day like an actual maniac.

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

idk why I went with BTS (I mean I do know they hot as fuq), but during a particular bad length of time, I decided to start writing down my dreams to cope with things which somehow morphed into this bts fanfic blog so here we are. It's been an odd journey to say the least.

6. why did you choose your icon?

the first time I saw that JK meme I died laughing, so now I get to constantly be put in a happy mood every time I come on tumblr, not so bad if you ask me.

7. why did you choose your header?

bob ross bts is the funniest thing ever that's why 😂

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

right now Caught! House of Cards is number one, which was so surprising to me. I should have known yall like the freaky shit. It’s okay I do too 🤝

9. how many mutuals do you have?

technically since this is a side blog I don't (cmon tumblr get it together, let me at least leave replies 🥺) but I always squeal a bit inside when someone who I have been following forever on my main will suddenly follow me here, like a true senpai noticed me moment right here 🥲

10. how many followers do you have?

346 and I love you all so much

11. how many people do you follow?

444

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

definitely, mostly thirst posts tho 😉

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

too much, quarantine really screwed me and now I am down the rabbit hole once again.

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

No, but I will fight random anons on the internet if they are rude to other strangers on the internet whom I just so happen to like. Stop being rude to content creators!

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

like in regards to fanfics and fanart, they are not wrong. A lovely person reblogged an old chapter from HOAL and I legitimately got over 20 new followers and a ton of likes just because they were sweet enough to do that. If they had just liked it, that would not have happened. So, if you are annoyed when content creators bring up reblogs, idk reblog it and tell me why 😋

16. do you like tag games?

I do but I also feel like I’m bothering people 🥲

17. do you like ask games?

I do which is why I am doing this even though no one asked me to 🙃 edit: someone asked me to 🥺🥺

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

you are all superstars imo

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

technically not a mutual and YEAH I DO HAHA but actually I really do love all of you ❤️

#check in tag #tag game

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locktobre · 3 years

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What got you interested in Barbie 7 years ago? If you didn’t grow up with the movies how did you discover them?

The short answer (from what I remember): I got “Free” stuck in my head one day, listened to it, and then decided to watch the whole movie on a whim. And then I discovered there were many more movies and decided to watch those, too. And then there went the rest of my life lol.

The longer answer: I have literally no idea. I do not remember watching PatP when I was a kid. But I know that I must have, at one point, bc a) the aforementioned “Free” thing, and b) even as a child I was upset by Dominick’s doll coming with Julian’s outfit, bc I knew that was not correct. But I don’t know how I knew that, bc I have no memory of watching the movie. When I watched PatP 7 years ago, it was like it was brand new to me.

I have vague memories of watching the trailer for Nutcracker. I saw a scene from Fairy Secret at my cousin’s house in I think 2011 or 2012, but I didn’t realize what it was until later. I had some dolls from the movies (Dominick, Eric, Daniel, and Odette, that I remember), but I don’t remember ever really connecting any of them to the movies, except knowing that Dominick wasn’t right. Like, I renamed my Odette “Kamryn,” she was never Odette to me. (I played with her a lot, I thought her screening was really pretty.) I wasn’t one for re-enacting movies, tho, my Barbie time was very soap opera-esque, so it’s hard to say if that was the reason the characters became other ppl to me.

On a related note, I actually played with Barbies until I was about 14 (2008). I loved my dolls, and it really killed me when that part of my imagination kinda died and I just couldn’t make it fun anymore. It really did. I loved Barbie so much, and I didn’t want to give that up, even if it was like, a “baby” thing or whatever. And the years between then and when I discovered the movies (2013) ended up being some of THE hardest of my life, and honestly I felt like I was floundering. Barbie was such a huge part of my personality, and without that, I felt like I just didn’t know who I was. Which I know is really dramatic, but Barbie has (almost) always been such a HUGE part of my life. Like, as a kid, I would have days where I didn’t even play with my dolls, instead I would spend that day setting up to play the next day. I took it so seriously. And then there was a huge void in my life when I couldn’t play anymore. I still had an interest, I still liked to look at the doll aisle any chance I got, but I didn’t buy anything bc I thought there was no point. (I wish I’d known about doll collecting then.)

Anyway, those 5 years really sucked, partly bc of stuff that happened, partly bc my life felt like it really had no structure without Barbie. Like, who am I without Barbie? (A question I literally cannot answer, btw.) So finding the movies was like a godsend, a way for me to have Barbie in my life again. (I also started collecting dolls, which was only somewhat related bc I wasn’t just collecting Barbie.) And however it happened, I am just so, so, SO grateful bc it was exactly what I needed at the time, and honestly, it helped me so much. Not just bc it was Barbie, or bc it was lighthearted (which I desperately needed), but bc there were so many female characters that I just adored. I had a lot of internalized misogyny back then, tbh. But I unlearned all of that, bc of Barbie. That’s something I don’t talk about very much bc it embarrasses me to think I was like that, but it’s true. I was 19 and didn’t really know better, but boy do I now. It changed the way I thought about a lot of stuff, for the better.

I have no idea where I would be right now if I hadn’t (re?) discovered Barbie, I honestly don’t. I wouldn’t even have my best friend, or really any friends now, since I met all my current friends either thru my best friend, or thru Barbie. Like. The sheer impact of one random song getting stuck in my head! Incalculable. I can’t believe it. I’m amazed at my luck every day and I’m thankful for Barbie every day and tbh I never want it to be any other way. Barbie forever.

#mel irl #barbie babbles #I put in a cut bc I got dramatic askdjnsdf but I get passionate as we all know #anonymous #thanks for asking

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ivalice-tifalucis · 4 years

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youtube

Suddenly in some random mood with this song again. This song is a prove I was meant to be a Take That fan and most importantly a Gary Barlow fan. I don’t think I have ever told you how important this song is so bear with me. I’m gonna swim deep into this, also telling how I found out about this song which later lead me to become a Take That fan.

This song is a piece from the “dark” days when Gary solely became a songwriter and producer. If you go back to this era, you might think of Blue or Westlife as these lucky people who got Gary (and Eliot Kennedy obvs) as their songwriters. But for me, Delta Goodrem is what always gonna be in my head. I don’t even like Delta Goodrem and “Not Me, Not I” is the only so that I know from her yet this song is one of my favorite song of all time.

“Not Me, Not I” was written in 2003 by our dear Captain and Eliot Kennedy with Kara DioGuardi, Jarrad Rogers, and ofc Delta Goodrem herself. Based from what I read on wikipedia, Delta Goodrem, who at that time was known for her piano ballad singles in Australia, was making her debut album. The whole concept of the album, “Innocent Eyes” was a piano-based pop and ballad. Therefore, she worked to make a good pop ballad songs with bunch of produsers and songwriters and yes two of them were Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy. Actually, after I know more about Gary’s discography, I can feel Gary’s presence in the piano ballad. No, he wouldn’t write that kind of lyric, but the piano sound, especially the intro part, it sounds like the reverse version of Forever Love. It’s reversed because instead of being lovey and poetic, this intro feels like sad, anger, and strife. Since then, everytime I listen to this song, I would imagine what Gary was like when he wrote this song and record the piano section for Delta. Tousled short hair, awful goatee, slightly chubby, looking gloomy, sitting with his keyboard in recording room.

Anyway, Gary and Eliot also wrote and produced couple of other songs on this album but only this one became a single, the third single to be exact. It was number one in Australia, all is good.

Cut to around 4 years later, in 2007 (I guess, because I forgot when exactly, could be 2008), Take That was back as TT4, Gary was no longer writing songs and producing them for other people because after more than 5 years, he can finally grace the public eye without being shamed, humiliated, and compared to Robbie Williams. He can write songs that he and his three other mates will sing and perform. All is good. However, at that time, I didn’t know Take That, yet. “Patience” probably played randomly on local radio but I wouldn’t care because I was in my manga/anime and Disney phase, with Queen and Guns N’ Roses and other hard rock bop as a weird mix in between. I rarely listen to radio even then, opting for mp3 mix that me or my dad made. But this is the time when I know this song. It was from my dad, he bought bootleg mp3 mix on mp3 stores (there were plenty back in the day before music streaming became a thing) and one of many songs inside that mp3 mix is this one. My first impression was that this song is a good pop ballad. I replayed this song during the car rides and then my dad ended up loving this too. I love this song so much that I made the cover out of it (and couple of years later I uploaded it to my soundcloud). One of the best song I’ve ever heard yet I had no idea who Delta Goodrem even was.

Cut to three years later, 2010. At this moment, I knew “Rule the World”. One afternoon during fasting month, I came home from school early and accidentally watch Stardust on HBO then came the credits and I love the credits song. Took me a while to find it but I finally found out it was “Rule the World” from IMDB. A song by a band named Take That. It also became one of my favorite song of all time. My brother and my dad also enjoyed it when I tune the song during car ride. My dad even once played “Rule the World” over and over again until I’m sick of it. If only I knew at that time Take That finally as TT5 with Robbie who completed the puzzle. They went to make the best album they ever made, Progress. Sadly, I was also on the brink of depression. New school, new environment, no friend to share, some bullying, betrayed by best friend. To cope with that, I was in youtube phase where I watched so many youtube videos and eventually also music covers. I couldn’t careless about some boyband consists of 5 middle age men. I also watched the “Rule the World” music video but you know that video. The quality is awful you can’t see anyone’s faces. I was also convinced at that time that Take That is a pop-rock band 😂 but Rule the World mv confused me tho. Why were all they singing? But why only the frontman is heard? 😂

Two years later, 2012, I watched them perform “Rule the World” in Olympic closing ceremony and that was when I realize Take That is actually a group band.

2013, I listened to “Impossible” by James Arthur thanks to the fact that it was played on supermarket many times. Later on, I found out this song is a cover and that he sang this as his winner song for The X Factor. I watched the video when he sang this and won and realized that one of The X Factor judge is that guy from Take That. So I googled that to confirm, yep it’s true. I didn’t remember his name tho. I just remember he’s handsome 😂

And then five years later, I got the news that Robbie Williams was filling in as World Cup 2018 opening ceremony performer. To this day I still think it’s weird why they invite Robbie instead of the World Cup song’s singer (should be Jason Derulo or Will Smith). I have known Robbie at this point because my dad sometimes would sing “Feel” or “Better Man” during karaoke. So I watched the ceremony on tv. It was good. So I decided to found out more about Robbie Williams beyond “Feel” or “Better Man” while ofc following the World Cup. By the end of World Cup, I knew so much more about Robbie Williams than I was for the last 23 years of my life. The big shock was when I found out he was in Take That!! What?? But he’s not in “Rule the World”??!! Oh but he left in the 90s, so Take That is originally a boyband in the 90s?? But wait, his most recent stint with Take That was in 2010??!!! They made a successful album??! Then I watched “The Flood” music video where Robbie Williams sang the main part and Take That frontman who also that handsome judge in The X Factor sang the second. It was epic!!!! Then I start to remember his name, Gary Barlow. That name would never be erased from my head as I read his wikipedia page to found out that he wrote “Not Me, Not I”. One of my most favorite song of all time. The song that I’ve been singing so many times. Turns out, he made that song. He made “Rule the World”. I was mindblown. No wonder I love these songs.

And that’s the beginning of the journey.

Anyway, this is the album version where you can hear (possibly) Gary’s piano playing. I put Delta’s 10th anniversary version from youtube at the top because I love her performance there. Such an underrated singer.

#take that #gary barlow #mark owen #howard donald #robbie williams #jason orange #tag all of them because #tt4 #tt5 #delta goodrem #my ramblings #story of my life #Youtube #Spotify

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goodguydotmp3 · 3 years

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hi i came across ur answer about harry/his music, there was this -- "I also really hate that one song that Zayn did with Usher and Chris Brown, because you have these awful men completely misunderstanding what it means to write a love song, and then you have Zayn at the very end all like “actually I really am in love tho…” I thought the same bcz his verse is so different & feels like it doesn't fit can you explain more about it if you'd like plz? thanks :)

SO I had to re-listen to the song for this ask and it was just as uncomfortable as the first time <3

Alright lets break this down.

I. General Feel

Okay so this song is. It’s just not a good song let me put it like that. It’s an pop R&B song, obviously meant to be at the very least sexy. You have three men that are known for their sexy pop/R&B lyics and/or songs, and somehow two of them forgot how to be sexy? make it make sense. Where is the romance? the ambiance? the vulnerability? No not like that Chris Brown.

And yes there were three other writers, but that just means there is even less of an excuse for this nonsense. It literally makes my skin crawl.

II. Lyrics

Girl bye.

a. Usher, what is you doing? He starts off the verse with

Come and ride on me like the waves I flip the pages 'cause I wrote the book On the way how to sex you up, sex you up We can do it like I'm on the stage, we'll have an audience Baby, I'll show you the way that I sex you up

When I tell you I could fucking scream. Who let Usher Raymond do this? I want names, phone numbers, and addresses.

This sounds juvenile. If someone rapped this over a Nitti Beat back in 2012 I would have thought this was fire. That’s how fucking childish this is. This can’t be the same man you used to sing stuff like “if you didn’t know you’re the only thing that’s on my mind, cause the way i’m starin at you makes me wanna give it to you all night” or “I’ve been waiting all day to wrap my hands around your waist and kiss your face” or “I’ll get you hot I know you oh so well”. now are those groundbreaking lyrics? No. But they sound leagues better then whatever the hell he was doing here, Especially in context, especially when he sung them but I wanna talk about that later.

Next point of contention is:

Or I can lick you up and down 'til you say You love how I eat on that pussy You just might go put a tat' on that pussy That says Usher, Usher There's no other, other (Yeah!) Damn girl, yeah, you got that juicy Love when I make you cum, I make it gushy One without the other I'm the champion lover, lover Fuck you to sleep, wake you up again (Oh) I go so deep, beat it up again (Oh) Girl, come and sit on my tongue again 'Cause I love to taste you, yeah

Would someone be so kind as to let me know when 2010 lil Jon possesed Usher? Or maybe it was 2008 Lil Wayne? 2012 Pitbull? Either way, 2016 Usher just aint got it like. Truly if this was being rapped in a club with the bass all the way up and the melody loud enough that you couldn’t hear it, I would be like “ okay maybe horny people wanna shake they ass” but this is supposed to be sexy? Who is this seducing????? Are they okay? Can they name the current President? How many fingers am I holding up?

Last of his verse is what really gets me heated like

I can tell you been eating your pineapples (Mmm) Girl, your pussy taste like pineapples (Oh) Girl, when I hit your G, you feel like you gon' pee Baby, cum for me

First off, pussy taste like pussy you fucking coward. Second, stop god modding you clearly don’t know all that if you still think pussy taste like pineapples. And this is that immaturity coming back into play I feel like, who is this song for? Not adults. Not like this. I feel like I can’t over emphasize that this man had been putting out original music for 26 years. 26! Not only are your fans too old for this nonsense, but you should be a master song writer! I know this song came out in 2016 but that’s still over 20 years of experience.

b. Chris Brown

Huh, now where you been? It's been a year Baby, I ain't seen you, you know I miss you (Oh, woah) Baby, let me love you back to sleep once more And I know we don't speak no more (Oh) But I just wanna tell you I'm sorry (Hey!) For fucking 'round with Keisha and MaKayla (Huh) For all the Georgia peaches in Decatur For all these bitches in the elevator I just want you to love me (Yeah, yeah) Yeah, baby, don't test me (Huh), you know I'll do it You want me to say your name, girl? Okay, Karrueche

I Just

What...praytell...is sexy or romantic about...anything said there.

See this is what I was talking about in my other post, He completely misunderstands what it means to white a love song , but more than that, to be vulnerable. Saying you’re a cheating whore and begging for forgiveness in this manner is not actually apologizing for your actions, it’s just airing your dirty laundry.

If he wants to do that then fine I guess?? But I feel like he wasn't. Like, the idea totally reminds me of Charlene, Wherein Anthony Hamilton name drops his lover and begs her to come back to him. The thing about Hamilton’s song is that he doesn’t sound like a manipulative ass for one. Hamilton makes it clear there were several places he knows he fell short in the relationship, and in the end, he doesn’t make it out to be a callout post, but he does let her know that he intends to wait for her should she come back, and then promises to change his behavior. This is not that at all. When Beyoncé and Alicia Keys said Say you love me and Put it in a Love Song, This is not what they meant.

ALSO DON’T REFER TO WOMEN AS BITCHES

c. Zayn

Baby, just stay comfortable, I want you as you are Baby, just lay there naked waiting for me Let's not get emotional, let's be who we are Can we do that? Can we do that? Can we? Know it's been a long day, it's 'bout to be a long night So keep your eyes closed 'til I roll through So, baby, when you're feeling like a woman in the sheets Somebody splitting your knees, don't worry that's me I'm over here putting work in Baby, you ain't gotta tell me what you want

Am I Floored? No. Is this his best work? Also no. Is it a helluva lot better than whatever the fuck Usher and Chris B thought they were doing here? Hell yes. The vulnerability! The pleading! The fucked up headspace! This verse has it all!

III. The way the song is sung

terribly Let me start there. Wtf was usher trying to do here. The lyrics were chringy, and so was the delivery. It felt choppy as hell. Like who is fucking to this? Asking for a friend. WHo is aroused by an usher vulva tat

we need to have words.

second Chis Brown sounds like a whiney piss baby I really hope no one actually paid for that song thinking they were getting a sexy R&B hit and got that.

Zayn sounds fine on this song, like the tone is overall bittersweet, but it matches the lyrics.

okay the last thing I want to talk about is the chorus. after hearing the verses It really doesn’t match. It’s a really basic premise I feel and Usher and CB felt like they were on another song in between the chorus. Like In Sex Room, Ludacris talks a really big game, and the chorus is really simple, but It’s literally all about what he plans to do in said “Sex room”, Usher like someone told him he was gonna be singing a sex song and then went back and put a line that tied to the song at the last minute if that makes sense?

and then CB....okay.

The last thing I wanna say about Chris Brown is I actually listened to the original song, thinking maybe the original was also trash. No actually? It’s not the best, not even by Chris B standards but its not bad like?? Who let him but out this remix monstrosity?

Anyway, I actually have a Sexy R&B playlist if you’re looking for something...better. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t all romantic, but they’re damn sure sexy, and way better that wtf this song has going on

#chris brown #usher #Zaynie to the max #I got carried away lol #lemme know if you have questions :>

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icyharrington · 5 years

Text

Is It Wrong?- Part 3 (Michael Langdon X Reader)

so i got a lot of requests for michael to be put in his place, and i just gotta say... that doesn’t exactly happen in this part lmao. it will definitely happen in a future part tho!! y’all also wanted jealous!michael, which i was glad to deliver!! i really hope y’all like this part. please reblog and leave comments if u do!!! :)

please check out my masterlist for part 1 and 2, since i’ve heard that including links in posts now fucks with the tags (i don’t know if this is true, but just to be safe i’m not gonna include links). lmao

plot: michael langdon is a picture-perfect fuckboy, and, lucky for you, he’s also your stepbrother. how will you survive?

warnings: inappropriate relationships, fuckboy michael, fem!Reader, high school au, underage drinking, smoking, jealous!michael, teen angst, public (ish) sex, fingering, choking, blowjobs/facefucking, rough sex, hair pulling, degradation, spanking (both traditional and non-traditional, if yanno what i mean...), dirty talk

word count: 7k

tags: @alicecooper19 @blackfyrez @bbyduncan @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @satansapostle @trelaney @tickled--pinkmoodpoisoning @alexa-is-on-fire @kissydevil @langdonalien @langdonsdemon @sloppy-wrist @wroteclassicaly @langdonsinferno @duncvn @langdonsrapture @ccodyfern @starwlkers @xtheinevitableprophecyx @americanhorrorstudies @sodanova @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @divinelangdon @sojournmichael @kahhlo

A month had passed since the… incident with Michael, and since that time, you’d transformed into somebody you hardly recognized.

You and Michael? Well, you and Michael had begun to get along quite well. Gone were the days of pointless arguing- if there was ever a problem, it usually wouldn’t be long before Michael’s dick was somewhere inside of you, and by the time you both were done, neither of you would have the energy to fight anymore. You still bickered, of course, and you both loved nothing more than to get on each other’s nerves, but the initial hatred you’d harbored towards your stepbrother was now, for the most part, gone.

The change was obvious and palpable. Sometimes you were surprised that your parents hadn’t caught on to something going on between you and Michael, but you figured they were just happy you were both coexisting. We’re finally like a family, your father had said, beaming, when you and Michael had shared a blanket during family movie night.

You’d exchanged a look with Michael, uncomfortable giggles passing both of your lips. If only your father had known where Michael’s hand had been placed, right that very minute, underneath the blanket.

You supposed that what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

In the mornings, Michael would drive you to school without complaint. You suspected this was because of the opportunities for quick car… activities: on several occasions, he’d fingered you on the short drive to school, testing himself to see how quickly he could bring you to an orgasm, your hands clamped around his forearm as his fingers moved between your thighs, tinted lens-covered eyes focused on the road.

That boy was always in the mood, you’d come to realize.

On this particular day, Michael seemed to be more in the mood than usual; he’d given your ass a particularly hard slap as you passed him in the hallway that morning, a cocky grin crossing his face when you’d told him, only half-seriously, to fuck off.

God, this was fucking ridiculous. You knew this was ridiculous, that this was wrong, that you should feel unclean, dirty, every time you let him touch you. It made complete sense, logically, for you to cut things off with him.

Besides the glaringly obvious fact that he was your stepbrother, he was also a total douchebag, a fuckboy, a player. He’d been balls deep in at least a quarter of your grade at some point or another. He objectified you- you (admittedly fondly) recalled a time he’d pushed you up against the sink one morning, snaking those big hands up your pajama shirt to grab a fistful of your tits before walking off like nothing had happened.

And, like the fucking idiot you were, you’d been left in a state of absolute, pathetic euphoria, your cheeks flushed and heart pounding, teeth sinking into your lower lip like a pornstar.

Sometimes you really hated yourself.

Scratch that, you hated yourself a lot more than sometimes.

When you’d finally come downstairs for breakfast, dressed in your usual jeans and sweater, you’d noticed Michael’s gaze lingering on the curves of your thighs, prominent through the form-fitting denim material. Had he always checked you out like this?

“You need a ride to school today?” Michael asked, shoveling a spoonful of your favorite cereal into his mouth. You pursed your lips disapprovingly, but decided not to mention it.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Miriam seemed pleased with this exchange, shuffling over to where Michael sat and ruffling his hair affectionately, much to his obvious dismay. “I love seeing you two finally getting along. See, isn’t it so much better being nice to your sister?”

Michael raised an eyebrow at you, hands lifting to adjust his hair back to how it’d been before Miriam touched it. “Yeah, it really is. Right, sis?”

You cut your eyes at him, leaning your elbows on the counter and checking the time on your phone. “We’re gonna be late, bro.”

Michael stood up, again leaving his bowl on the table like the entitled, spoiled brat he was. He looked good, with black jeans and his favorite, faded pair of Doc Martens, paired with a white t-shirt and his beloved leather jacket. Lately he’d been letting his hair grow out, and his soft curls were nearly reaching his shoulders now.

When you noticed the chain that he’d attached to his belt loops, you snorted.

“Nice chain. Good luck on your Hot Topic interview.”

He looked down at the silver appendage, leveling it idly with one hand before looking back to you. “You don’t like it?”

“I’m not saying I don’t like it, I’m just saying you look like you’re about to pull up to a My Chemical Romance concert circa 2008. All you need is some eyeliner.”

He walked past you to the front door, seemingly unaffected by your comment. “Honestly, eyeliner doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

You followed behind him until both of you were outside. It was almost admirable how little Michael cared of what other people thought of him; his confidence was probably why he was so popular, even though he didn’t necessarily fit in with the frat-boy-to-bes who were usually at the top of the high school food chain.

“So,” he said as you walked side-by-side to his car, giving you that familiar look that you knew so well. You swallowed, knowing fully well how little self-control you had when it came to Michael.

“I was thinking, maybe we should ditch first period today.”

You huffed, pretending to be opposed to this idea, even though you willingly went along with nearly anything Michael suggested no matter what it was. You got in the car, inhaling that telltale mixture of cologne and cigarettes and fast-food grease, getting yourself comfortable before answering.

“Michael, I can’t miss math again. I’ve already missed three times in two weeks.”

“So what’s one more time?” He ran his fingers through his hair before turning the key in ignition, the golden morning sun hitting his angelic features just right. Your mouth watered, and all at once your will dissolved into nothingness.

“I really hate you.”

He looked at you from the corners of his eyes with a smirk, pulling his sunglasses off the front of his shirt and putting them on.

“Fine.”

ii.

This is why I can’t fucking resist him, you thought, breath slow and heavy as Michael laid kiss after sloppy kiss across your collarbones, hand placed firmly between your thighs.

Michael had put in his favorite Pink Floyd CD once you’d arrived at the abandoned parking lot (the same one that his creepy friend had taken you to- apparently it was a popular place for teenagers to fuck). You’d both sat there for a bit, making small talk and sharing a joint that he’d pre-rolled, knowing fully well what you’d both come there to do.

I kind of wanna stretch my legs out, he’d finally said, voice low, the baby blue of his eyes accentuated by the red tinge surrounding his irises. Why don’t we go in the back?

Leave it to Michael to get straight to the action.

He’d gotten you undressed in a matter of minutes- your jeans and boots were discarded on the already cluttered floor of the car, leaving you in nothing but your sweater, socks, and pale blue underwear. He’d looked unbelievably sexy, lips red and glossed with spit, when he’d drawn back to pull off his jacket, eyes clouded with a voracious, possessive lust.

Part of you wondered how many other girls had seen him in that exact state.

The thought dissipated, however, when he’d pushed aside the thin fabric of your underwear and promptly slipped two long fingers inside you.

“Always so fucking wet for me,” he’d murmured, playing with the hem of your sweater before pulling it off over your head. The warmth of his breath against your neck and the lewdness of his raspy words may as well have made you melt into a puddle right then.

Who’s gonna show this stranger around?

Ooh, I need a dirty woman

Ooh, I need a dirty girl

Michael’s fingers seemed to match the beat of the song playing, thumb flicking at your clit as he sucked a trail of bruises across your heaving chest, marking you, claiming you. You moaned, rolling your hips against his, feeling his hard length pressing into your thigh through the tough material of his jeans; you reached between his legs and squeezed it, making him chuckle against you, and he brought his head up to face you.

“And you’re always so eager,” he said, retreating back onto his knees. Then he slid your underwear off and tossed it amongst the rest of the clothes that had piled up, hands flying to unzip his pants once you’d been disrobed. “My baby sister is such a bad girl for me.”

You considered reminding him that he was only a month older than you, and that you were hardly a baby, but you didn’t have time to correct him before he pulled his pants and boxers halfway down his thighs, allowing his erection to spring forward.

Your legs spread instinctively for him, and he inched towards you, positioning himself on top of you while your back rested partially against the door. He aligned the head of his cock with your opening and you sighed, reaching up his shirt from behind and pressing your fingernails into the smooth skin of his back.

“Fuck,” he grunted, eyelids fluttering as he pushed inside your tight heat, your narrow walls swallowing him up. Wrapping your legs around his waist to pull him in closer, you moaned softly, heart rate increasing when he began to thrust slowly, but with just enough force to make your legs feel weak.

Every time he fucked you was like the first time; he was huge, and you weren’t sure you’d ever get used to the feeling of him stretching you out. You loved the pain, though, loved the way you couldn’t walk right when he was finished with you, even when he went as gently as he could; you liked the bruises, the scratches, the indents of his short fingernails where they’d dug into your skin.

“Michael,” you sighed, bucking your hips up to meet his rhythmic thrusts, both your sounds of pleasure becoming diluted by the drums and guitar and keyboard blaring from the stereo.

He buried his head in the crook of your neck, and you were sure he could taste the salt of your sweat, his tongue darting out to trail along your skin as he fucked into you.

You were stricken with ecstasy, shivering when Michael’s firm torso made friction on your clit, and you brought one hand up to run through his sweat-dampened golden waves.

“H-harder,” you choked out, and he sank his teeth into your shoulder before mumbling a half-hearted response to your plea.

“You want me to fuck you harder, baby? Wanna feel me for the rest of the day?”

“Mhm.” You gave his hair an urgent tug, and again he tilted his head up to look at you, his eyes so dilated they almost appeared entirely black. Placing one hand loosely around your throat, just like he knew you liked, he pulled himself all the way out of you; there was a vulgar slapping noise as he gave a hard, pointed shove of his hips, impaling you to the hilt, and you cried out at the fullness.

“Fuck, you take me so well,” he praised, eyes locked with yours while he pounded you into the leather seat, hard enough to bruise. His grip tightened around your neck as he came closer to his release, forehead slick with perspiration, perfect mouth agape.

This was everything, everything you thought about, everything you wanted: moments like this, your bodies pressed flush together, moving in perfect time. You caressed Michael’s hair so softly, one might mistake it as a loving touch, your other hand making shallow scratches up and down the expanse of skin beside his spine.

Your cunt clenched around him and you were almost there, his thrusts becoming sloppier with each passing second; there was a moment of silence, amplifying the raw sounds of sex as the song came to an end; that silence was followed by a quiet whirring, and then another song came on, psychedelic chords flooding your senses along with- fuck-

The head of Michael’s cock hit something sensitive deep inside of you, sending your lower body into convulsions, and you were sure your fingernails were drawing blood now, clawing onto Michael for dear life.

oh god-

-your thoughts weren’t coherent anymore, and then you were crying out, Michael’s cock working you open like your fingers never could, head lolling back and nearly colliding with the window, and-

“Oh god- oh fuck-“

The pads of Michael’s fingers pressed harshly into your throat, his eyes half-open in pure, fucked-out bliss, while yours rolled back into your head. It took only a few more strokes for you to cum, and then Michael was too, and you were glad you’d went on birth control for your period cramps when you were sixteen because holy shit did it feel good when he spilled his hot load inside you.

He pulled out of you, admiring the sight of his cum leaking down your inner thighs; he slid one finger up between your folds, gathering the sticky secretion and rubbing it against your pulsing clit, a self-satisfied expression crossing his face when your body twitched at the sensation.

“Ew, Michael,” you said, wrinkling your nose. He was so fucking smug every time he came inside of you, like he’d just marked his territory.

He just laughed at your reaction, moving back to pull his pants back up and refasten his jeans, reaching into the back pocket to pull out his package of cigarettes once he was finished re-dressing.

“Don’t wanna go back to school,” he grunted, retrieving a cigarette from the pack and sticking it between his teeth.

“How come? All your adoring fans are there,” you said, having found yourself in a sarcastic mood. You put your underwear back on, followed by your sweater; you decided you’d wait until later to put on your jeans, given the limited amount of space you had right now.

“I like you so much better when I’m inside you,” he said, picking up a lighter from the floor of the car and lighting his cigarette. “You’re too busy moaning my name to give me any attitude.”

You narrowed your eyes, but you were too exhausted to come up with a biting response. “Fuck you.”

“Just did.”

A trail of pale gray smoke wafted in your direction and you waved it away, coughing dramatically for good measure. “You know you can open the windows, right?”

“You know it’s my car so I can do whatever I want, right?” He took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke directly in your face, eating up your resulting look of disgust.

Some things would never change, and no matter how many times you let him fuck you raw, no matter how many times you brought each other to orgasm, you doubted the stepsibling rivalry would ever completely fade.

From the front seat, Michael’s phone vibrated, and he cursed under his breath as he grabbed for it.

“Hey, man,” he said once he’d accepted the call, resting his elbow against the window, flicking ash carelessly onto the floor of the car. The worry that it’d been Miriam calling to inquire about your whereabouts disappeared, and you reclined back against the seat.

“Uh, yeah, I skipped first period.” He shot you a warning look, indicating for you to stay silent, and you rolled your eyes. “Yeah, uh, I’m picking up some shit for tomorrow.”

He sucked at the end of his cigarette, waiting for a response from his friend, while you picked your jeans up and put them on, struggling slightly as you attempted to get them on in a sitting position.

“No, I told you I can’t steal my stepdad’s shit anymore. My dumb fucking stepsister ratted me out and now he has a lock on the cabinet,” he said into the phone, shooting you a contemptuous scowl from the corner of his eye.

You batted your eyelashes innocently as you worked the tight denim up your legs; you were still proud of yourself for that one.

“Yeah, I’m picking up a few cases of beer. I- yeah.” Long pause. He flicked away some more ash, this time onto the seat, and you could see an orange ember still glowing in one of the tiny piles that had landed beside you. You wriggled your hips, finally getting the waistband of your jeans up and securing the silver button in its place. “Fuck no, dude, I’m not buying any of that 4 Loko shit. You remember what happened last time?”

Another pause. You were somewhat intrigued now, and Michael could tell; he held up his hand, dwindling cigarette poised between two fingers, waving you away with an obnoxious flourish.

“Yeah, man. I’ll see you in gym, dude-“ you could hear his friend speaking on the other end of the line, and Michael laughed at whatever he’d said. “Yeah, dude, those gym shorts Zoe Benson wears shouldn’t be allowed. I don’t know how anyone expects us to focus on fuckin’ volleyball with her ass hanging out like that.”

More laughing.

“You’re such an asshole,” you muttered, and Michael held a slender finger up to his lips.

“Yep. Bye, man.” He pressed his thumb into the “end call” button, before putting his cigarette out on the door and turning to you. “C’mon, we gotta go pick some shit up.”

You grabbed your boots from the floor and pulled them on. “For what?”

“None of your business.” He slung his leather jacket over one shoulder and got out of the car, the rubber soles of his combat boots slapping noisily against the asphalt as he walked around to the driver’s side.

You followed suit, hoping Michael couldn’t see how difficult it was for you to walk as you made your way to the passenger’s side and got into the car.

“C’mon, just tell me,” you said with a pout; in all honesty, you were fairly certain of what Michael’s plans were- he did the same thing nearly every single weekend, house party-hopping with his friends until he came home past 2 am, stumbling by your bedroom with absolutely no attempt at discretion.

The difference now, though, was that you kind of sort of wanted him to invite you to come with him for once. You were a senior in high school, after all, and you’d never even once been to a high school party. So sue you for being curious!

“If you must know,” he said, putting the car into drive, “it’s for a party. You don’t go to those.”

“You don’t know that,” you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Uh, I kinda do. I’ve never once seen you at a party. And I go to a lot of them.”

Wow, Michael, you’re sooo cool, you thought bitterly.

You had to admit, though, he was right.

He noticed the look on your face and snickered, perhaps a bit too condescendingly for your liking. “Aww, what, does my baby sister want her big brother to take her to her first high school party?”

Your skin prickled, and you looked out the window to avoid his piercing stare. You couldn’t believe the number of times you’d allowed this total douchebag to cum inside you. Even worse, you couldn’t believe that you were definitely going to let him do it again. “I wouldn’t be caught dead at a party with you,” you managed through clenched teeth, thoroughly embarrassed.

“Yeah, I know you wouldn’t.”

He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road, starting in the direction of the local gas station which was infamous for not carding underaged kids when they went to buy alcohol.

Fuck it. If he wasn’t going to invite you to come, you’d find your own way.

iii.

Later that day, you’d asked your slightly-more-social acquaintance for a ride to the party that weekend, since your former best friend was no longer an option. She’d agreed, and you were surprised at how easy it’d been to get an ‘in’ on the high school social scene without Michael’s assistance.

You couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when you walked into the party.

You’d searched through your drawers and in your closet for something cute (and also enticing enough to catch Michael’s attention, although you’d never say that outright) to wear; eventually you’d found a little red tank top, which your best friend had always said made your tits look good, and a pair of high-waisted jeans that you’d always thought made your butt look bigger.

Turning around in the mirror, observing your exposed midriff and pronounced chest and round ass, you had to admit you felt positively mouthwatering.

On the night of the party, your acquaintance arranged to pick you up at ten, which was perfect, since Michael had headed out at 9:30. You wanted this to be a surprise, and so a fashionably-late entrance was ideal.

You got yourself ready, straightening your hair and dousing yourself in perfume with hints of cinnamon (Michael’s favorite scent, although you swore to yourself you hadn’t done this on purpose). You smudged black eyeliner under your eyes, hoping this would make you look sexy and not like a raccoon, and put on a red lipstick that you only ever wore on special occasions.

Seeing yourself like this made you wonder why you didn’t dress up more often.

Before your ride came, you found your father’s key to the liquor cabinet (just as you’d expected, he’d hidden it inside one of his steel-toed work boots, which collected dust by the front door all year long while he continued to insist that he needed them for an upcoming ‘project’, whatever that meant) and unlocked it.

With shaking hands, you’d poured yourself a few shots, holding your nose each time you threw one back, throat burning and body shuddering at the awful flavor that you figured was probably what gasoline tasted like.

By the time you got the text from your acquaintance, alerting you that she was outside, you were decently drunk. Your thoughts were clouded with a thick fog and your cheeks were hot, but you liked it, liked the way your insides felt warm and uplifted, the way your mind felt numb; holding your hand against the wall to steady yourself as you walked to the front door, you attempted to mentally prepare yourself for the night to come.

You didn’t think you’d ever been so ready for something in your life.

iv.

In less than an hour, the party had gone from decent to good to great.

You knew the girl who was throwing the party, albeit very vaguely; you’d spoken a couple of times to her about school-related things, and she’d been nice enough. From what you’d heard, her parents had gone out of town for the weekend, and she’d taken full advantage of the opportunity.

It reminded you of when Miriam and your father had gone off on their honeymoon in July, and Michael had taken it upon himself to throw 3 consecutive keg parties in your fucking house. Well, technically, your backyard. But still. You’d stayed up in your room those nights, kept awake by the thumping bass coming from outside, ranting to your (ex) best friend over FaceTime about how goddamn much you hated the newest addition to your family.

And, of course, she’d gone and fucked him.

Could you really judge her, though? You were fucking him now, too, and you had infinitely more reasons than she did not to fuck him.

But that was besides the point.

The small group of girls who’d been in the car when you were picked up immediately dispersed upon arrival, leaving you to your own devices; already intoxicated, you’d begun your search for Michael in the crowd of drunken teenagers, keeping an eye out for that impeccable, lush mop of blonde hair.

You didn’t know what you were planning to do once you saw him. You couldn’t approach him, especially not if he was with his friends, but you wanted him to see you in all your glory, wanted him to see that hey, look, I can go to parties too if I want, and I don’t need you.

Michael, however, found you first.

It was much later (though you couldn’t be quite sure how much later), after you’d given up on your search, opting instead to talk to a cute boy who you thought looked very similar to one of Michael’s friends.

Honestly, it probably was one of Michael’s friends- at this point, you were too drunk to tell, having indulged in one or two (okay, more like three or four) more shots during the time you’d spent weaving through the party.

You were in the middle of telling the boy exactly how you knew that Chuck E Cheese recycled their pizza slices when a thick, slurred voice interrupted you.

“(Y/n)?”

You turned, eyes heavy-lidded, a stupid, sloppy smile plastered across your made-up face.

That smile only slightly faltered when you saw who had spoken. It was Michael (because who else would it be?), looking stupidly beautiful like he always did, face twisted up into something you couldn’t quite decipher- maybe you were too drunk to tell, or maybe he was too drunk to properly convey his emotions; either way, you were unsure of what he was planning to say to you.

“Who did you come here with?” he asked. He was practically yelling, struggling to be heard over the shouts of teenagers and blasting rap music.

“Wouldn’t you-“ you hiccuped- “like to know?”

His line of sight suddenly dropped down to your chest, and then to your hips, and then back to your eyes, and you were 99.9 percent sure you’d just witnessed his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.

When he realized you’d noticed him looking, he made an attempt to save himself. “Huh. Looks like you actually put effort into looking good for once.”

You probably would’ve been offended at this comment, had you not been multiple shots deep.

“You think I look good?” you purred, rocking back and forth on your heels like a spoiled little girl asking for her father for a pony.

He ignored your question, focusing his attention now on the boy you’d been talking to.

“There you are, dude, we were wondering where you went.” He poised an eyebrow, not bothering to conceal his confusion with the situation at hand, which was, of course, the fact that you were mid-conversation with one of his friends. “So, um... whatcha doing?”

He dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans, a venomous smile stretching across his full lips. He wasn’t happy, that much you could tell.

The boy let out an oblivious chuckle. “Your sister was just telling me about- what was it, (y/n)?”

“Chuck E Cheese,” you said quietly, probably too quietly for Michael to hear. Not that you really believed Michael cared much about what you’d been talking about.

“Right- well, did you know that there’s like, a conspiracy, I guess? That they-“

“-Don’t fuck around with my sister, okay?” Michael interjected, his tone firm and unyielding, and you felt your face bloom with color. “It’s my fucking sister, man. I would back off if I were you.”

All at once, the boy’s smile faded, as did yours. So apparently Michael was an aggressive drunk. Noted.

“Michael, I can talk to whoever I want and there’s nothing-“ you jabbed your finger at Michael’s chest, giggling uncontrollably at the resistance of the muscular surface. “-you can do about it. So suck. My. Dick.”

The muscles in Michael’s face tightened, and you got the smallest urge to run your tongue along the sharp, angular stretch of his clenched jawline. Of course, you refrained.

“I would’ve thought you learned not to run around with my friends after the first time, but I guess I was wrong,” he said with a shrug that you could tell was meant to make him appear indifferent to the matter; it didn’t take a psychologist to tell, though, that he cared far more than you knew he’d ever admit.

“Yeah, I guess you were,” you slurred, spinning around to take hold of your new friend’s hand. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Without another word to Michael, you walked away, your new friend allowing you to guide him as you searched for somewhere else to go. Swaying your hips with each step, you hoped Michael was getting a good eyeful of your ass in those skintight jeans of yours.

God, it was like a natural high whenever you got under Michael’s skin, and right now, you were over the moon.

You should’ve known that things would end up like this, because your life was one massive cacophony of clichés and this was just the way things played out in every single teen sitcom.

It felt disrespectful, somehow, being pushed up against the wall of a total stranger’s bedroom, your tongue tangling with some kid you hardly knew, the taste of liquor ripe on the back of your throat.

It felt even more disrespectful when you sat him down on the edge of the bed, sinking onto your knees so you were between his jean-clad thighs, and it felt downright indecorous when you unzipped his pants to pull his cock out of his boxers.

You shut your eyes to avoid accidentally making eye contact with any of the pictures adorning the wall, especially the family photo enclosed within a picture frame that had Family Is Everything written across the bottom in hot pink script.

What the fuck were you doing?

Taking the boy’s cock in your hand, you applied a few thoughtless licks to the head of his dick, his sighs audible even over the muffled music that spilled into the room underneath the closed door. You bobbed your head down, taking him into your mouth, his fingers gently lacing with your hair as you dipped further.

With your eyes closed, you could almost pretend that it was Michael’s dick in your mouth, and not one of his not-as-cute friend’s.

“Fuck yeah, baby,” moaned the boy, and you cringed at his dirty talk; still, you took more of him into your mouth, pressing your tongue flat against his shaft, wishing he’d put more pressure on the back of your head with his palm like Michael always did.

Fuck Michael Langdon, fuck the way you wanted him even when he was a total asshole to you, and fuck the fact that he was on your mind, nonstop, even when you had another guy’s dick in your goddamn mouth.

You brought your hand away from the boy’s shaft and instead placed it on his thigh, pushing your head down until you were gagging around him, nose nearly reaching his balls. The boy gasped, inadvertently lifting his hips and shoving himself deeper in your mouth, and you sputtered.

From out in the hallway, you heard someone talking about finding the bathroom, the voice growing louder and louder until the mystery speaker was directly outside the bedroom; it didn’t occur to you to be concerned, or at least not until it was far too late and the door had already swung open, and you heard two startled shouts- one from the boy you’d been sucking off, and one from the person who’d just barged in.

“Michael-“ exclaimed the boy, and it was then that you realized how truly fucked you were.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Michael said, and you felt a hand entangle with your hair to yank you back, painfully, so you were sprawled on your ass.

You looked up at your stepbrother, his nostrils flaring in that way that only happened when he was pissed, and silently you scolded yourself for thinking that he looked hot like this.

“Didn’t I tell you not to fuck with my sister?” he continued, grabbing his friend by the front of his shirt and jerking him to his feet. The boy looked positively terrified, lower lip trembling as Michael whirled him around and sent him catapulting out into the hallway.

“You ever touch her again and I’ll snap your fucking neck,” he yelled after him, sounding so dead serious that you thought it’d be foolish not to believe his threat.

Now it was just the two of you, and honestly, you were pretty fucking scared (though why, oh why, did you also feel something like excitement building up in your belly?). Michael slammed the door shut before coming to tower over you; you scrambled back, moving to stand up, but he stopped you.

“No. You stay down there,” he spat, voice laden with disgust. “Who knew you were such a little slut? If you wanted something to suck on, (y/n), you could’ve just asked me.”

“Mi-Michael, I-“

“-Shut the fuck up.” He reached down to take a fistful of your hair in his hand, using it to bring you roughly to your knees.

Why the fuck was this happening? And why the fuck were you so completely turned on?

“If cock in your mouth is what you wanted, then that’s exactly what you’re going to get,” he said, unzipping his pants and retrieving himself from the confines of his boxers; he was already hard, his cock springing forward so suddenly it almost hit you across the face, and you flinched.

“Aww, what’s the matter? I thought you liked having cock in your face,” he taunted, taking his thick shaft in hand and slapping you across the cheek with it. He did this a few more times until the side of your face was stinging, sadistic laughter bubbling past his lips each time you squeezed your eyes shut in utter humiliation and arousal.

When he grew bored of this, he reached down and manually unhinged your jaw, wasting no time before pushing himself into your mouth, brushing the back of your throat with his first thrust.

You gagged, drool already seeping from the corners of your lips, balling your hands into fists at your sides as you allowed your stepbrother to mercilessly use you.

He snapped his hips forward, his cock so deep in your throat that you were now face-to-face with the soft curls surrounding his pelvis.

“I bet he didn’t fuck your face like this,” he said between pants, holding your face against his balls before pulling out and fucking back into your hot mouth. “Bet he didn’t show you who you belong to like I do.”

You moaned around his stiff skin, sending vibrations up the length of his cock, and he cursed loudly; tears streamed down your face, no doubt ruining your makeup, but you were too far gone to care.

Michael pulled out of your swollen mouth, strings of saliva stretching and breaking between your mouth and his glistening cock. You took in a much-needed breath just as he took you by the front of your shirt and forced you to stand, groping your tits as he thrust you backwards onto the bed.

“Did you let him inside you?” he demanded, making quick work of removing your jeans and tossing them off the side of the bed.

“No, Michael, I swear-“

He cupped your pussy, making you squirm when he pressed two fingers against your clit through the thin material of your panties. “I better not find out that you’re lying.”

He pulled your underwear off and discarded it on the floor, leaning down to spit a thick wad of saliva onto your dripping cunt. You whimpered, wiggling slightly against the mattress, and in turn he pinned you down by your hips with a bruising hold.

“I’m gonna be as clear as I can be,” he said, flipping you onto your stomach and lifting you up by your waist so your ass was in the air. He wrapped a strand of your hair around his hand, tugging your head back, and you could feel his hard length pressing against your thigh as he brought his head down to whisper in your ear.

“This pussy?” He landed a painful slap on your cunt, and you jumped. “It belongs to me.”

You bit your lip at his words, ringing in your ears even after they’d left his mouth. He let your hair go, hooking his fingers around your cheek to push them inside your mouth, and obediently you opened up for him.

“And this pretty mouth?” He lined his cock up with your slit, pumping his fingers in and out of your gaping mouth, your eyes watering when he pushed them down on the back of your tongue. “It’s mine too.”

In one swift motion, he pushed all the way into you, not allowing you any time to adjust before he began hammering inside at a ruthless pace; you cried out, overtaken with the seamless blend of pain and pleasure that Michael had gotten you so accustomed to, more tears streaming down your cheeks and dropping onto the sheets below.

He pulled his fingers out from your mouth, using his hand instead to smack the rounded curve of your ass. You buried your face in the pillow, hoping you wouldn’t stain the case too badly with your smeared makeup, arching your back higher so you could feel every inch of Michael’s cock filling you up.

The vulgar, wet sounds of his cock slamming in and out of you were almost too much to bear, a mixture of your arousal and Michael’s spit dripping down your inner thighs in a crude display; Michael gripped your hips for leverage, undoubtedly forming five fingerprint-shaped bruises on your padded skin in the process.

“Oh fuck- Michael, please-“ It hurt, the way he was fucking you, but you would’ve sold your soul right then if it meant always being able to feel this intense, rapturous pleasure.

“Who do you belong to?” Michael barked, voice raspy, but still harsh enough to cut through your consciousness like a knife.

“Y-you, Michael, fuck,” you moaned, twisting the bedsheets in your hands until your knuckles turned white, eyes rolling back into your skull as Michael bottomed out inside you again and again and again.

For a moment, he steadied his thrusting so he could catch his breath, slowly pressing himself all the way inside so his balls rested against your ass.

“You- take me- so- well,” he said between sharp inhales, tracing one hand gingerly down the length of your spine. Your skin erupted with goosebumps at the tenderness of his touch, your hips grinding back to increase the stimulation.

It only took a few moments for Michael to recuperate himself, and once he had, he was back to his animalistic ways; behind you, you could hear him grunting, and you could only imagine how beautiful he looked back there in all his fucked-out bliss.

“I’m- I’m-“ you couldn’t get the words out, your walls clenching around him as you came unexpectedly, your juices dribbling down your inner thighs and all over Michael’s cock.

“Holy shit,” Michael laughed, coating his fingertips until they were slick with your essence and observing them in awe. You went to get up, but he turned you onto your back, kneeling over your shoulders and promptly inserting himself down your throat.

He groaned, releasing his thick, salty load in your mouth; he was so deep in your throat that you didn’t even have to swallow.

“Fuck,” Michael said, falling back to lie beside you. You were a mess, trails of mascara staining your cheeks and red lipstick smudged, and you had no idea how you were going to leave the room without someone wondering what the hell had happened to you.

You got into a cross-legged position; you definitely weren’t in any position to get up or walk anywhere at this point in time. “So were you actually pissed that I sucked your friend’s dick? Or was that just an excuse to throw me around and fuck my face?”

It was an earnest question that you genuinely didn’t know the answer to. Why did Michael care so much anyway? Especially considering the times he’d fucked your (ex) best friend?

“Little bit of both,” he said, hoisting up his hips so he could pull up his boxers and jeans. “Look. I- I may have overreacted just a little bit. I just don’t want my douchebag friends putting their hands on my sister, you know?”

You scoffed. “We both know you don’t consider me your sister.”

“Doesn’t matter. I just- I don’t know. Forget it.” He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rising to his feet. “I’m gonna go see if I can find makeup remover somewhere. You look like a fucking wreck.”

There was something about that statement that made your heart swell in your chest; Michael was actually doing something nice for you?

“Aww, really? Thanks, Michael,” you said with a smile.

He scrunched up his face. “Alright, calm down.”

He opened the door and disappeared into the hallway, leaving you half-naked and alone with your thoughts. You felt conflicted, like you always did after you spent time with Michael, but you couldn’t help but feel that there was something, deep down, inside the hardened, fucked-up heart of your stepbrother, that actually resembled something good.

Or maybe it was just the alcohol talking.

#michael langdon #michael langdon smut #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon one shot #michael langdon x reader #cody fern #duncan shepherd #american horror story #ahs apocalypse #apocalypse #ahs smut #ahs imagines #mine

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gdwessel · 4 years

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G1 Climax 30 Night 3 - 9/23/2020; RIP Road Warrior Animal (9/12/1960 - 9/23/2020); Finlay v. Romero in ROH Pure Tournament; Fredericks on Last Night’s Prime Time Live

G1 Climax 30 resumed today, with A Block matches live from Hokkaido. You can see it now on NJPWWorld.

- 9/23/2020, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell

Gabriel Kidd d. Yuya Uemura (Double-Arm Suplex, 7:21)

G1 Climax 30 A Block: Jeff Cobb [FREE] d. Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] (Tour Of The Islands, 11:44)

G1 Climax 30 A Block: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club] (Money Clip, 12:01)

G1 Climax 30 A Block: Taichi [SZKG] d. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] (Black Mephisto, 12:11)

G1 Climax 30 A Block: Will Ospreay [CHAOS] d. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] (Stormbreaker, 18:20)

G1 Climax 30 A Block: Jay White [Bullet Club] d. Kota Ibushi (Blade Runner, 20:28)

Switchblade is now 2-0 against Kota Ibushi since Ibushi bested him at the G1 Climax 29 Final last year. Naturally, he declared he will win G1. And he might! Ospreay will not win G1, but is on a streak anyway, because NJPW are high on him and don’t care if he got a woman blackballed from the industry.

Taichi had a very good homecoming to Hokkaido for once, getting the win over his Boss. NJPW are now calling Okada’s Cobra Clutch the “Money Clip.” And still trying to make it a Thing. Shingo is 0-2 so far, but that means he’ll be assured a good late run. Gabriel Kidd gets his first ever singles win in NJPW!

Current A Block standings:

Ospreay: 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Taichi: 4pts (2W 0D 0L) White: 4pts (2W 0D 0L) Cobb: 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Ibushi: 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Okada: 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Suzuki: 2pts (1W 0D 1L) Ishii: 0pts (0W 0D 2L) Takagi: 0pts (0W 0D 2L) Yujiro: 0pts (0W 0D 2L)

(L-R: Road Warrior Hawk [Michael Hegstrand], Road Warrior Animal [Joseph Laurinaitis], Power Warrior [Kensuke Sasaki])

Just as I was getting ready to start writing this post, it was reported that Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis) had passed away at the age of 60. The Road Warriors are, of course, one of the most famous and well-regarded tag teams of all time in the wrestling business, and Japan were a huge part of their stomping grounds, although in terms of number of matches, they were more known in All Japan Pro Wrestling than NJPW. The majority of Animal’s matches in NJPW came in 1996, when the Road Warriors were still with WCW, and some of those were in tandem with Kensuke Sasaki in his Power Warrior persona (long story). Nevertheless, the Road Warriors were huge in Japan, working in AJPW, NJPW, Tenryu’s WAR promotion, and even Riki Choshu’s ill-fated Fighting of World Japan Pro Wrestling company in 2003. (Road Warrior Hawk, Michael Hegstrand, would die later in 2003.) Animal even wrestled a select number of matches in Battlarts in 1998 and 2000.

Animal’s brother John is pretty well-known in the wrestling biz, having not only been an executive, both on-screen and off-, for WWE, but also as Johnny Ace, most notably in AJPW, where at one time he had a very well-regarded tag team with Kenta Kobashi, among others. His son James played college football at Ohio State University, as well as an 8-year NFL career, mostly at the then-St. Louis Rams, before retiring after a season at the New Orleans Saints in 2017.

Regardless, there’s nothing I can write that will adequately say what Animal, and the Road Warriors, meant to pro wrestling. Our thoughts and condolences to his loved ones and close friends.

While left out of G1 Climax selection yet again, David Finlay Jr. is keeping himself busy, competing in Ring of Honor’s Pure Tournament. This is the revival of ROH’s former Pure Championship, which was unified and abandoned with the ROH World Title back in 2008 in a classic (but ultimately costly, for the competitors involved) match between Brian Danielson v. Nigel McGuinness.

Finlay’s opponent for this round was Rocky Romero, who he would defeat. This match is on the current episode of ROH TV, but I’m not even sure which Sinclair Broadcasting sub-network it’s on nowadays (Comet? Charge!? It’s not on YouTube in full). We’ll see how far he gets in this. I can’t imagine he’s happy working ROH again tho.

In other news, the LA Dojo’s Karl Fredericks appeared last night on the United Wrestling Network’s iPPV event Prime Time Live #2, shown on FITE TV for $7.99. This concept is through United Wrestling Network, Billy Corgan’s National Wrestling Alliance and Thunder Studios, being run out of Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, a weekly PPV concept. I hesitate to remind that this is how TNA/Impact started.

Fredericks defeated Slice Boogie in the semi-main event of the show. Danny Limelight, late of NJPW Strong, was also on this show, losing to Kevin Martenson. The main event saw Thunder Rosa retain the NWA Women’s Championship against Priscilla Kelly, which is good as it maintains the storyline Rosa is having in AEW right now.

Tomorrow’s show also comes from Hokkaido, and features the second group of B Block matches, including one that may have some implications down the line depending on how the results go.

- 9/24/2020, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell

Yota Tsuji v. Yuya Uemura

G1 Climax 30 B Block: Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] v. SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

G1 Climax 30 B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Toru Yano [CHAOS]

G1 Climax 30 B Block: Juice Robinson v. KENTA [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 30 B Block: YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. EVIL [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 30 B Block: Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables] v. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG]

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justsomeantifas · 5 years

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its 11:59 its still technically tonight so

this is gonna be my reference point to questions abt venezuela, at least regarding things pre- May 19 2019. Its a bit scattered and it may get edited down along the road, but yeah.

short version that draws some similar conclusions: https://www.salon.com/2019/05/17/the-plot-to-kill-venezuela_partner/

one difference in scales that’s important to keep in mind: the lifespan of people is 2-7 decades. the lifespan of colonialism lasts centuries. the lifespan of media memory is a couple years, tops.

Most western narratives of venezuela start meaningfully at chavez, which is a mistake. The focus point in history around which the country flowed was the Caracazo. You probably already know about this, but a massive uprising took place in the heart of Caracas, against decades of dictatorship both formal and informal, after severe instability in the global oil market. The people were hungry, the riots were fiery, and the bullets bled. knows the death toll even now, but its estimated well into the thousands. This happened pre-chavez, and started a cascade of events which brought him into limelight that you can read about here. not gonna go into more venezuelan history, but i talk a bit more here

chavez was democratically elected, multiple times.

in 2002, after his first democratic election, he was kidnapped by US-backed troops and replaced by someone who threw out the 1999 constitution, which was as legitimate as any other made in venezuela’s colonial and violently capitalist history, seeing as it was the first (aka only, so far) of 26 constitutions actually approved by popular referendum. He was reinstated largely due to massive protests in support of him. Maduro however doesn’t really have as much of the charisma and support of chavez, which is creating problems - as well as exacerbating problems created by the economic crises ramping up just around chavez’s death. In 2015, there were elections to the National Assembly, which ended up with the Opposition winning a majority of the seats (which does show that there’s some degree of fairness in the elections, at least verifiably up til that point, yet that isnt rly accounted for when western media describes it as “undemocratic” - many of whom don’t apply the same scrutiny to their own country: such as this UN Human Rights councilor who also happens to be the crown prince of british-iraq, currently residing in the noted democracy of the Kingdom of Jordan, which has no vested interest or control over any particular export of Venezuela.).

This turnout showed most of all that maduro had alienated as many as 2 million of his supporters, who didnt end up voting (though many also voted against him - trying to act on their feeling that whatever they want, its “not this”). This decreasing support also accelerates whats known as “Everyday Sabotage” - people not trusting in the government, and look out for their own interests contra everyone else. This is a danger inherent to tying “Socialism” to a primarily state project.

However 1999 Constitution was never meant as an eternal document & it created mechanisms to call for new popular constitutional referendums to be held. That’s what the “Constituent Assembly” is about, which is what a lot of the western world is describing as him singlehandedly rewriting it (while also being “vague about its contents”), or “created by him”. Elections to the constituent assembly were boycotted by opposition, so that it would be government controlled & look like a sham in the eyes of the broader world. That being said, the assembly was called both as a reaction to losing election but also in response to intensifying crises - it was put forth (i don’t see any reason to believe in bad faith) as a way to come together and figure out how to address the needs that were driving people to protest - to address the desire for “not this”, but bc of the uncertainty, it was easily twistable by reactionaries by putting all emphasis on the former. Also timing corresponds with increasing fears of maduro straying from the path of chavez, the image of scrapping one of his strongest plays for smth unknown is risky - tho if there are other meaningful options given the situation im not sure. And the body’s got at least as much constitutional legitimacy as Guaido (Chapter III)

The 1999 constitution also enabled a recall election to be called against maduro in 2016, bc it was written with particular attention to holding public officials accountable - similar noble commitments helped to end the presidency of Rousseff & bring in Bolsonaro (who was also one of the people spurring on the investigations and whipping up a social base).

(speaking of guaido & bolsonaro)

on Guaido:

part of student group in 2007 protesting against non-renewal of coup-assisting network, who the CFR (one of the major think tanks of the cold war still playing a big role in foreign policy today) considered “most important network”

close friend of Leopoldo Lopez, the aforementioned coup plotter.

politician since 2010, won a couple small elections

Unknown to majority of general population until 2019, most venezuelans surveyed didnt know him

Plan Pais

plans to privatize state owned industry & allow investment from foreign oil companies

center-right neoliberal draped in platitudes of “stability”, “revitalization”, “security”, and “rescue” - a message seemingly deliberately targeted to become more and more resonant with increased sanctions.

/on Guaido

governing is about the expression of power. I wanna live in a world where that power isn’t expressed, but as long as the exploitation of the global working class continues unabated, id prefer some of that power be put towards helping the poor.

there is no such thing as a static state of affairs, there’s no “goldilocks zone” out in the political universe where we tweak things finely until we find whats best for everyone, only different rates of change in different dimensions. what we need to do is figure out how we can push that state of affairs in a direction so that everyday people have the power to take control of their lives. re

re: “constitutionality” - if the supreme court calls it constitutional then its constitutional. period. There’s no such thing as a supreme court as an “independent branch” of government, but there are different degrees of integration into the rest of it.

The Supreme Tribunal of Venezuela has 32 members, (a bit more than a dozen put in by the national assembly, while the PSUV held it), and the opposition holds abt 3 away from a supermajority. Each member of the court holds their spot for 12 years. If that’s “The Most Corrupt In The World” according to Transparency International, i wonder what world the 9-person lifetime-appointed US Supreme Court (2 of which appointed by trump, and save for pulling a Weekend At Ginsbergs, likely 3) is on. In fact, one of the tactics that the more radical circles of democrat voters are putting forward is to pack the Supreme Court. Because thats how shit actually gets done, or at the least how shit is prevented from being committed w the stamp of legality. FDR learned that lesson too, in trying to pass what is today known as “The New Deal”

My comparisons to trump are for specific end: these actions are exerted on levers of liberal democracy, and every single liberal democracy is susceptible to them in some ways.

whats a “dictator”? if hes unelected, the millions of people who participated in the elections dont seem to think so. if maduro is a dictator, then what is donald trump? the majority of ppl didnt vote for him yet hes still governing. macron’s popularity has at several points been less than 1/3, and the yellow vest protestors have been violently attacked - why is he not “a violent dictator with only the support of the military”? These terms are not neutral.

“their elections are highly flawed” So What? show me a country whose elections arent.

“opposition jailed” - ok but coup plotters don’t get off easy in any liberal democracy. If someone - say Bernie Sanders - said “enough is enough” and succeeded in overthrowing the current government with the help of a foreign government…. you think they’d let him go free? what if ten years later he was getting his supporters all riled up to do it again? how long you think he’d be in jail for (assuming he can survive well into his 100’s)? You think more than 13 years? Think he’d get house arrest? Some US states lock you up for posessing weed up to 10. If you stay long enough around this blog, youll find plenty of other examples of much more cruel and unusual punishments. Look at Chelsea Manning, look at Oscar Riviera… look at the US protestors saying Guaido is illegitimate

what we have to keep in mind most of all, is to show that the contradictions being exploited are inherent to Liberalism. Contradictions are just expressed most freely at the margins - the interstices

poor economic decisions happen everywhere - 2008/2009 still affecting the entire world there’s violence thats “natural”, and violence thats “intolerable”. The dividing line is whether we have anything to gain by changing things.

sanctions: started under obama, originally targeted specific individuals, used as precedent for more generalized. They’re indirect - they have a “squeezing effect”, takes already-existing problems & just makes them markedly worse. also doesn’t necessarily correlate with emigration, bc it takes a lot of money to start a new life somewhere else, and sanctions disproportionately affect the poor.

war wouldnt likely look like (many) US boots on the ground - we’ve got plenty of other places to be. It’d look like guns being smuggled to counter-protestors. It’d look like sending resources to neighboring countries like Colombia or Brazil who would then use their troops. Colombias ruling party is right wing populists - much of current president’s campaign was run on fearmongering abt venezuelan socialism - they’re raring to go. It’d look like drones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracas_drone_attack. Also means there likely won’t be a sudden trigger, its a gradually escalating stressful gradually-more-warlike situation.

If war does break out - where would the refugees go? In reality the majority would go to Colombia, but if anything significant breaks out there will be a stream of those looking to find shelter in the US, which has advertised itself as a beacon of hope - what would happen to them? some may get taken in as a gesture of showmanship, but nowhere close to the majority.

speaking of the US - imagine if trump and bolton manage to actually plot a winning coup. Do you think that that wont be his main bullwark against ppl like Bernie? you think the media and rest of the democratic party wont jump on that narrative and “begrudgingly” support a fascist because the alternative might mean supporting single payer and not-having-good-for-ratings-climate-apocalypse?

another term thrown around without regard is “once vibrant” - for whom?

most articles ive seen just take this as an axiom, and dont find any cognitive dissonance when also saying chavez reduced poverty hugely.

The answer to that rhetorical question: Citgo is venezuelan, before chavez none of the wealth went back to venezuela - thats what “vibrancy” means.

many similarities with BP (the-artist-formerly-known-as-the-anglo-iranian-oil-company)

in age of climate change & vocal ppl about phasing out oil, the more one’s livelihood is connected to oil, the more unstable ones country will be - either that, or the more instability ones country will cause.

“Oil exports fell by $2,200 per capita from 2012 to 2016, of which $1,500 was due to the decline in oil prices.”

The drop in price that affected the venezuelan economy so much in 2014 was largely by US shale fracking

in 1970’s Chile, copper was the main product of Chile - allende nationalized the mines, and in return wall street dropped the

(also worth noting that venezuela’s got non-insignificant untapped shale basins)

At least venezuela used the oil money to fund social programs instead of like, pad the pockets of Raytheon.

also oil price wars in africa highly correlated w oil (whose annual production doesn’t even combined total venezuelas)

a couple ppl have raised concerns abt my strong stance on equivocal dismissal - if there’s a difference, if there’s some way of reading your statement that says “X country that the State Dept wants to invade is an anomoly in the otherwise free world”, then that’s acting to push the discourse towards normalization & invasion. It’s not “whataboutism”, just basic consistency.

now more than ever, narratives are affected by people. They may not be ones we had a hand in forging, but the way that we propagate them actually does have measurable effects on the larger-scale political outcomes. Always look for the base assumptions, as well as the direction

sure denounce Chavez. sure denounce Maduro. denounce Kim, Xi, Castro, anyone. But if there’s no equally or proportionally loud denunciations of the horrors perpetrated by allies - the “assumed”, “natural” violence, then you’re acting to reinforce the narrative of exceptionalism.

Just make sure after you take a breath, you denounce Saudi Arabia & Yemen, Israel for Palestine, the conditions which brought Argentinian/Brazillian, Brazilian coup, the US for Puerto Rico, the conditions which have murdered dozens of journalists in Mexico per year…

what people want most of all is stability. “A debate over whether it is mismanagement and corruption by the Maduro government or the sanctions that are the author of the crisis is largely irrelevant. The point is that a combination of the reliance on oil revenues and the sanctions policy has crushed the policy space for any stability in the country.”

government’s errors and tensions

fixed exchange rate -> black market

took 5 years to address changing relation between dollar & BsF, all the room between those two curves left a huge room for intensifying crises, though since it also corresponds with the death of chavez, it sorta makes sense.

antidemocratic actions and remarks by maduro

scattered responses filled w half-solutions

diversification needed, but how do you diversify an economy filled with rampant poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy…

(nominally begrudging) support for mineral extraction 12.4% of territory opened to extraction - “Special Economic Zone” as a method of managing decay

this is also what much of the reality of “economic diversification” looks like

not enough socialism. (even fox agrees!) Venezuela shows the limits of Social Democracy in countries living outside of the Imperial Core - esp the dangers if you’re in the crosshairs already bc of oil

started out as populism, gradually grew as confronted more. shows shaping influence on political organs from actions of foreign actors - if you’ve survived a coup before, you’re gonna become paranoid about any more of them - especially when the coup plotters say “hey lets do more coups”

also shows the weakness of only having a small number of charasmatic faces representing the movement - if one dies and theres no clear and popular replacement, then you’ll lose ppl who were largely brought in by the charisma, weakening your political project, and creating cracks for reactionary forces to take advantage of - especially in times of transition.

bourgeoisie still control a majority of the economy. Capitalist businesses are internally unaccountable, and in this age of intensified global trade, one can punish countries for straying from the pack by moving business & focus away. If you’re looking for dictatorships, look at the thousands of private companies run as dictatorships daily

capital flight is a real effect, precisely because socialism is fundamentally and irreconcilably against the self-interest of the bourgeoisie. not necessarily against the interest of the humans-who-are-also-bourgeois, but of the impersonal self-sustaining force of capital.

Have you ever pulled something out of an electrical socket, and seen a quick spark? The reason that occurs is bc of what’s called an induction current, which is a fancy physics word for flowing electricity not liking to suddenly change its flow. If you accidentally touch that spark, you might feel it, but youll live to tell the tale. But if you only take the plug out halfway & touch it, that’s a different story. Capital flows similarly.

my country (lithuania) has been facing sky-high emigration since the collapse of the USSR (with an added boost after 08-09), we have also consistently had one of the highest suicide rates in the world (#7), a minimum wage of about 3 Euros an hour (after a recent increase), as well as one of the highest prison populations in Europe (discounting Russia & Belarus… which like….)

when are we gonna be invaded? when will the US media talk about our pain?

oh wait, they did. We cried all pretty for the TV cameras, then they got a bozo nobody really knew of to denounce the government, who they called dictatorial (though it was far from ideal, massive bureaucracies dont tend to mix well with single-person-decision-making). And to be fair, the fact that the government was unpopular wasnt entirely undeserved. But what was promised to us was the idea of “Freedom”, “Free Enterprise”; to “Get Rid of Corruption” and institute “Real” Democracy". They said we’d be integrated into the glorious capitalist west, and we understood that to mean that we’d be in the position of a Germany, or at least an Austria or smth. But they never meant to integrate us into the imperial Core, we have always been seen as part of the Periphery - the “assumed” violence that “naturally” happens.

Then we got to where we our today. Some of the stuffs more available, but expensive. Most of the bureaucracy’s still around, it just helps fewer people. We stand as an example of what to expect, in one of the best case scenarios, you would join our emigrees now making up a significant percentage of underpaid house-servants aka maids across the EU.

if we want the people of Venezuela to be healthy, safe, and fulfilled, then:

speak out and pointing to the effects of US sanctions is incredibly important. They’ve already killed 40,000 people in the last year, and 300,000 more are in extreme danger (and millions more in long-term risk).

what does it mean when you simultaneously sanction trade with a place but also demand they let you give them humanitarian aid?

if there is to be action taken by the international community, then the US has forfeited its right to speak. They threw it away once in 2002, and obama rhetorically picked it up and dusted it off so that trump could throw it in a bigger dumpster, thats also on fire. However we also still live in a world deeply shaped by US Hegemony, so the opinions of its close trade partners & closest-knit media buds should be seen as influenced as such. Doesn’t mean that theyre wrong on everything too, but they still feel the magnetic pull of the US economy and ecosystem (as well as their own potentially imperial interests) and the effect of that force cannot be discounted.

transitioning our economies away from oil & away from globalized neoliberalism which only values peripheral states by their exports - dissolves tensions of how to produce in unproductive terrain

socialize medicine in the US, so that drug companies run by dictatorships can’t control their lives & ours. healthcare is especially reliant on imports, sanctions affect especially strongly.

normalize the ideas of Socialism, without taking the easy way out of “oh no dont think of Venezuela, think of sweden or denmark”. None of them are Socialist, but to avoid the complexities of Venezuela is to imagine that US attempts at socialism wouldn’t involve significant capital flight. If we don’t consider that, if we don’t have solid actionable plans to deal with that, while also facing the inherent complexity of changing material conditions, then we’re gonna waste whatever shot we get.

redirect conversation normally centered around government towards support of the tens of thousands of small business co-operatives, where people live their daily lives in a democratic manner.

on The Communes:

“delegating responsibility throughout all members, and bringing important decisions to the whole to work through and find the best possible solution… They create “collective criteria” together; agreements stipulating whether individuals have power over certain decisions or whether it is up to the whole group. However, he assures that these “are not rigid, they can change at any moment.” The cooperative I lived with in Venezuela had regular organizational meetings where they informally came to agreement and were even able to come back to re-evaluate decisions that didn´t seem to be satisfactory for the whole group in this same way. Decisions and decision making, in this way, are viewed as a process not contained by meetings and discussions in board rooms, but are always being analyzed and made better by the process of putting them into action, and not only by thinking them out and writing them down.”

- the “Self Government of the Producers” - aka what it looks like for cooks to govern.

they have communal councils as well - neighborhood councils in the same vein that so many (rightfully) find inspiring in Kurdistan . They preexisted chavez, but they were able to proliferate and be given legal recognition through him. I understand that legal recognition can act to ‘name’ a body & pin it to smth that doesn’t match its requisite variety - how dynamic it is, but imo as its currently legislated it recognizes a good amount of the autonomy that they had already been excersizing. - liable to change government recognition of co-ops has drawbacks too, and correlates negatively with that coop’s success

"A good example of this intention is the de-emphasis that cooperatives in Venezuela put on advertising or “marketing” products, and instead push to find more people to become part of the cooperative, and choose the services or products they provide based on community decisions about what is needed. A cooperative I worked in […] was originally a family owned and operated theater group that traveled around the country performing theater pieces that highlighted social and environmental issues. When they joined the […] cooperative, the larger co-op did an analysis and decided they wanted a natural fruit juice concentrate producer and gave the group a loan to acquire capital and start producing. They have been doing this for only a couple of years now but have already paid back the loan to the larger cooperative and are bringing extra money in to support themselves, better their services, and supply extra funds to the larger cooperative for community projects such as the recently [2012] built community health center…

The cooperative services I experienced and learned about in Venezuela were health, dental, food, and a separate example of trash services. A dental cooperative […] provides quality dental services (I know because I used them) almost every day for affordable prices. You don´t have to be a member of the cooperative, and you don´t have to make an appointment. It takes only a couple of hours, and emergency situations are treated with urgency. The health center, built with funds provided by all the associated cooperatives[…], works the same way. Anyone can go there, the services are subsidized by the cooperative so they are affordable, the clinic and workspaces are clean and well taken care of, and the quality of the service is great. Worker-members of the cooperative receive health care at the facility without charge except for the massage and acupuncture services that they also provide at a really low price.

[…] food services are priced to provide more access to food for the community in which it exists. The original and persistent intention is to make the best situation for people on all ends of the process. The producers are part of the cooperative and are part of the group that decides the prices that growers get, as well as the prices that the food is sold for. This means that both farmers and workers at the market decide what to charge a person, which ultimately affects how much money the growers receive, as well as if the food is affordable for the people who need to eat who live in the city. In a normal capitalist market system these parties are separated and put up against each other, raising prices for consumers and lowering them for small producers, excluding those people from getting enough money to afford all the necessities that are typically only provided at a high price.

One communal council, a parallel governing organization of community members linked to investment funds from the national government, in the city of Merida, Venezuela organized themselves to get funds to buy a trash collection truck. The truck at the time was used for a specific waste removal project that removed waste from their community regularly but was not a traditional collection service. However, they did have plans to expand the project to start their own collection service, and this would be provided by the commal council, an anti-capitalist organization which does not require people to pay for the service. Although this is not a “co-operative” as some hardliner co-operative enthusiasts might point out, it is a horizontal anti-capitalist organization widening access of necessary services to the larger community run by community members; following cooperative values of equity, inclusion, and solidarity I believe this to be an example of cooperative economics and action. It appears to me that economic inclusion is much more likely to widen only when those who are being excluded are included in the process of organizing the services and are in control of the economy.“

until the communes, workers cooperatives, and the like are strong enough to rule themselves, having Maduro in power is the only option given to us which doesn’t trigger the control of reactionaries. People make their own history, but not in situations of their choosing - the exact outcome isn’t predetermined, but there’s only a limited number of poles - gravitational attractors - towards which that trajectory is heading at any particular time.

if maduro acts to squash the power of the communes, then thats a different situation. but until that point, we outside of the country must work to center any discussion on these bodies - they are the heart of the country and of whatever social revolution has occurred/is further possible. They are filled with lessons for us to learn from, and show how rich and dynamic the organized populace can be if they are allowed to control their communities. (ex of dealing with gang violence from @ 22:50)

This is all said with recognition that many chavistas have acted against communes, the bureaucratic machine acts to co-opt much of their energy, its linguistically obscured the concept of "ownership” with that of “control”, and that the state has changed its messages over time. But the heart of the communes is what’s a priority, and they have acted against the government overstepping its bounds & mis-identifying them. But whats important is that there’s a feedback process in the gvt to actually allow them to assert their autonomy. Liberals will do their utmost to close those channels.

If Guaido and the Popular Will take control of power, be assured that whatever gains made in organizing the everyday people of Venezuela will be at the top of the chopping block. How effective that suppression turns out to be is undetermined - it might turn out to strengthen the communes, but that outcome would be damage control, not something to try and bullseye.

Effective Propaganda knows that its more effective to control what’s left out than control what’s put in. Keep that in mind, and study trajectories and forces.

other links:

https://next.podbay.fm/podcast/1363342644/e/1551711604

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voc08vh9cJY

https://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/21/a-cowboy-in-caracas/

https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/the-tragedy-of-venezuela/

https://www.multpl.com/venezuela-gdp

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/04/fivethirtyeights-venezuela-problem

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-venezeulas-middle-class-is-taking-to-the-streets/

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/bjkmq8/fiery-protest-leader-leopoldo-lopez-faces-13-year-sentence-in-venezuela

https://potent.media/minimum-sentencing-for-marijuana-possession

https://www.thoughtco.com/core-and-periphery-1435410

https://popularresistance.org/building-the-commune-radical-democracy-in-venezuela/

http://www.antiwar.com/regions/regions.php?c=Venezuela

#venezuela #reference #imperialism #chavez #maduro #socialism #capitalism #extraction #oil #war #emigrant #communes #cooperatives

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mcrmadness · 4 years

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I was tagged by @cupcakecurl a while back (thank you!) and finally I’m on the mood for doing this myself as well!

Rules: tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better!

Top 3 current ships: I actually have just one OTP, which is Bela/Farin (aka FUB) from Die Ärzte, and then multiple smaller ones here and there. I’m finding new ships way too easily and sometimes it bugs me because I meant to enjoy a thing and boom, suddenly I have a ship there to fuck up with my brain. B/F is pretty much the only ship that I can say to actually ship, the rest are more like just for fun, I enjoy seeing stuff but I don’t really do anything about it, you know?

But now as I think of it, I think of it, I could say another band ship here: Paulchard aka Paul Landers and Richard Z. Kruspe from Rammstein, about these I have also watched videos and read some fancomics too and last summer’s tour was a wild one and I was following the events quite a lot.

And then maybe I could throw one fictional ship here too as it’s pretty much current one since I just finished watching the 5th season of Gotham last week, and that is, of course Nygmobblepot aka Penguin/The Riddler aka Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma. I’ve never in my life shipped these before, even tho I’ve been a Batman fan since 1999 (I was 8) as I saw the 60s series on TV and I can remember almost shipping Batman and Robin back then, and I was only 8 years old!, and then had been watching the movies more or less during my childhood, but this was never something I’d even think of before I started watching Gotham and things started happening in the show. But it’s an interesting one. And I have to admit that while the show was still running and I couldn’t watch it because I live in Europe (and was too lazy to look for a website to watch it :D), I was still browsing the tag on Tumblr after each episode and giving myself spoilers of what happens with them. But I think the ending was a lot different than what I thought based on the Tumblr posts, and I’m actually not sure what to think of it. Imho it was not as bad as everyone else seemed to think.

I’m putting this under a read more link as this is getting way too long and I don’t know if people are interested in reading my weird thoughts about ships and other random stuff, so here you go...

Top 3 all-time ships: Oh my gosh, I have had so many but only like 2 actually strong ones? And I have to say Bela/Farin here as well, the reasons are found from above and I’m just so obsessed with them and idc what it is, already the friendship is like friendhip goals, you know? But yeah, I’ve been making videos about these two idiots for like last 10 years so... :D

And the next one, okay I’m usually not so talkative about ships. I can talk about them with people in private but I don’t like to go and shout about them publicly, probably the only one I talk about this way is Bela/Farin but it’s because Tumblr is a safe place for this and there’s no hate with this ship or anything (and the other one is Paulchard, every now and then I will reblog something that crosses my dash). But mainly I like to keep ships to myself and like I said in that other tag game post, ships are more like a guilty pleasure. Maybe because of my age as it was very normal at the age of 15 but now as I’m 28? Why am I still “in love with other people’s love”? I actually don’t mind it but I think many people would find it weird, especially when I don’t read fanfictions anymore and I don’t want to imagine anything, I just like seeing cute stuff, but with many ships I don’t even want to see too much, I just like seeing them being close but with many ships even seeing them kiss would be too much.

But anyway, top 3 all-time ships... I think I need to mention here a ship that I was very much obsessed when I was 15-17, that I wrote LOTS OF fanfiction and was there to make lots of fan theories and all, and that one was Frerard aka Gerard Way/Frank Iero from My Chemical Romance. I was SO obsessed it’s insane. If you know anything about MCR and Frerard, you maybe are aware of how was the year 2007 and you can probably imagine how crazy we all went when Project Revolution stuff happened. So yeah, I need to mantion that here even tho I no longer “believe in this ship”, but I guess I’d lie if I said, that I didn’t believe that there was something there back in the day. I’ve actually recently been watching some Frerard theory videos just for fun, because there’s so many things I had forgotten and so many things I still can remember, but also lots of stuff that I kinda missed because they happened in 2010-2012, and even tho I was still very much in the fandom and I was to their second gig in Finland in 2011, I still was not that much into the Danger Days album so I was not so into digging up stuff either. And I had my own identity crisis and Die Ärzte had been my favorite band for 1-2 years at that time so I was spending lots of time watching DÄ videos, so MCR was kinda at the background. And then the whole band went quiet for some time until they quit in 2013 (and now they’re back), so all that Frerard hype kinda died after each of them started to get married to other people and the kids were born, so there just... kinda was no more room for the ship, you know? But Freard was my first actual huge slash ship, I’ve had others before it (for example, my first touch to slash fiction was Harry Potter fanfiction and of course Harry/Draco stuff, but that one also later died out), but it was the first really strong one and then Bela/Farin kinda took its place as Frerard died out but B/F has been going strong and the ship has been sailing itself since the 80s, so... :D

And as the last one I think I could again mention something fictional but at the same time something that is super weird for me as it’s not slash fiction but hetship, which is something REALLY weird for me. I usually don’t like heteroships as they’re just... boring and so cliché. But I need to mention this one that I got into when I was 15: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files. Yeah I know it was 2006 and the series had ended already in 2002, but I was a new fan! I had known about the series since I was a little kid as my dad was watching it back then, but I started watching it myself when the show had a rerun here in 2004-2005. And then I met my friend in 2006 when we were 15 and we found out that we both were very much into TXF and I remember how we somehow both started to ship Mulder and Scully (having no idea of how the series ended), and it was probably until the 6th season (there was 9 seasons at the time) when they stopped airing it altogether, so we were so furious about the fact because the last episode was such a cliffhanger and we NEEDED TO KNOW, so I had to buy them on dvd! So I remember how we would meet at school every day and after every episode, we went so crazy, discussing what had happened in the episode and if there was any Mulder/Scully activity, we were just so hyped :D And then, as we STILL hadn’t seen all the seasons, we went to see the second movie (”TXF: I want to believe”) in theaters in 2008 or so, and it’s set to happen after the events of the seasons, we were both so blown away by what was in the movie because we had no clue :D Fun fact: I actually finished watching the 9th season only last year. So now I understand the events of the second movie a lot better, and I’ve also seen the 10th and 11th seasons so now I’m finally aware of everything. But that really is a hetship that I accept and that is not like a typical movie romance type of ship. It has interesting dynamics.

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Last song: Tatuoituna by Tehosekoitin

Lipstick or chapstick: Chapstick, I don’t use any make-up, but chapstick I need to use daily.

Last movie: Iron Sky. I’ve seen it before tho, but we’re gonna watch the sequel soon, so we had to watch this to remember what happened :D (And it’s made partially by Finns, so..!)

Reading: Atm I have 3 books I’m reading, all of them in Finnish:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which has all the short stories in one. But I think there’s some of the newer ones missing and that’s why I bought this bit newer book with more stories, and I’m gonna read those once I’m finished with this one. And I’ve been reading this now for years lol... but I’m slowly getting there, I’m already over halfway through :D

A collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, I don’t know the name for this book and it doesn’t say any name for the original. This one I also started to read a years back, only to pause if for years and then last year I borrowed it again from my dad and tried to continue from where I was left the last time.

The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I’ve been reading his books ever since I was a, well, teenager probably, and I have had a long pause with these books and reading overall, but now I’m back at it and trying to buy and read all of his books I still haven’t read.

I wanted to read the latter only after finishing with SH and Poe’s stories but I needed to read something and they’re bit too difficult reading at the times, and I needed something lighter but also didn’t want to start over with Harry Potter for the 5th time so I decided to go for this series instead. I really like reading SH and Poe’s stories, but like I said, they’re bit difficult at the times. You can’t just read them, you need to think and use your brains meanwhile you’re reading, and sometimes it’s just so incredibly hard to stay focused on it and I need to go back so often because I wasn’t paying attention and then had no clue what was happening and why.

And I sometimes I skip some of Poe’s stories because they’re so purely scientific about a topic that I cannot comprehend nor care about, e.g. this one story that was almost like a science essay about hot-air balloon flight in the form of a story, probably super interesting for someone who likes this kind of stuff and even more interesting for a writer interested in stuff like that, but I’m really not the target audience of that story :D But then there’s also lots of really interesting ones, I especially like the ones that have something to do with insanity. I guess people would call them as the horror stories, but idk, I just love that kind of mystery. For some reason all of my favorite stories are those where there is a dead woman/love interest :DD But probably my ultimate favorite is the one about writing an article to a magazine with horror stories, and how this guy become beheaded and all just to write a story about how it feels like and stays alive meanwhile, and I just LOVE IT when fictional works play with death and when something that is supposed to kill you, doesn’t, and I just love the idea of that story so much :D It’s just that you never know how a story will be like, as you start reading, is it a scientific essay or a mystery or a horror story or about insanity or what is it? And then when in the middle of reading and you realize this is bit boring or uninteresting, but still want to finish, but also want to skip, and that’s why I get stuck with that book, and I change to SH or something else. Often I also grab some of the comics (or non-fiction books) I own whenever I feel like reading but these books feel too heavy for that moment.

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I should tag 9 people but I don’t even know that many people to tag lol. Okay I do know people, but I still don’t know who wants to be tagged and who doesn’t. Maybe I’ll be boring and tag @stufenlosregelbar again? :D And idk, maybe @annika-of-the-lost? Eh, I’m so bad at this whole tagging thing. I’m having a bad conscience if I don’t tag anyone/enough people in case they want to be tagged and I can’t read minds; and then I’m having bad conscience when I DO tag people in case they’re all somewhere facepalming and screaming “WHYYYYYY” into the void, as I still can’t read minds. So you can choose, do this tag game or ignore it and ban me from ever tagging you people again, I don’t mind :p

#mcrmadness' random stuff #tag games

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chasingshhadows · 5 years

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RNM S01: A Progressive Review

I want to talk about diversity, representation, social issues, and the way Roswell New Mexico succeeds and fails in that particular department. It’s 2019 and we no longer live in a world where it’s acceptable to ignore the societal implications of the media we consume. That said, it’s also 2019, and Roswell is doing some things that place it far ahead of its peers in media in ways that make it an absolute pleasure to watch. Like honestly, I’m fucking thrilled with this show ok.

I’ve read and skimmed a lot of discussion about the ways in which RNM has failed to be this perfect paragon of progressive representation, and I’ve read/skimmed far less discussion – by both fans and TPTB – about the ways in which the show is trying to be better than its forebears.

However, there seems to be a wide divide between people recognizing the former and people recognizing the latter, and I very much believe it’s irresponsible to try to focus on either one without at least acknowledging the other. So I’m going to talk about those failures and successes, and I’m gonna zig-zag that line so that if you want to read about how I feel about one of those things, you’re gonna have to at least skim the other.

[read more]

I tried to be as concise as possible, but even so, this is rather long, mostly because I didn’t want to make several posts about this. I want to say what I have to say on the topic and then get back to the story because that’s really why I’m here.

Also to note: I understand – and I hope we all understand – that we are in the first season of this show. This means that they should have plenty of time to follow through on or fix many of the issues I will point out, but that also leaves room for them to torpedo many of the positives I’ll discuss. Just – please know that I know we’re only one season in, and anything could happen.

On lived race

This show does a fabulous job exploring how race intersects with these characters’ lives and how it plays an active role in shaping not only who they are, but how their story lines play out. With Liz & Arturo, their race – and immigration status – are openly discussed on screen and inform their decisions and how they present themselves to others, as well as how they are received by their town. This is, in fact, a major aspect of the first season arc/plot as a whole, not just as it pertains to Arturo & Liz (and Rosa), but as it pertains to all the characters, so it’s worth emphasizing.

With Maria, we see her discuss her race as a factor in her isolation from her hometown, as well as seeing how she owns it in the face of racist customers. With Kyle, we see his compassion as a fellow child of immigrants in treating Arturo off the books, and with his mother, we see her perspective on that situation based on her own experiences as a Hispanic immigrant. And with Mimi, we see, tho tangentially, how the intersection of her race and gender and the stereotyping around those have had a negative impact on her healthcare. Even what little we saw of Arizona was washed in her experiences as a Native woman, and her (rightful) disdain for white people.

On the other side of that coin, we have white characters, namely the three alien siblings, whose White Privilege plays an active role in their actions and how they conduct themselves. I know some people have frustrations that these three main characters were all cast as white, but I’ll be honest, after having seen 1.06 (Smells Like Teen Spirit), I would not have bought that any of these characters were a POC. Can you imagine a Black or Hispanic teen being thoughtless enough to frame a WOC – who also happens to be the daughter of a known undocumented immigrant – for the drug-induced vehicular manslaughter of two white girls and not expect the entire town to then turn on that family? Even as a teen, no POC would be race-blind enough to not have had that forethought. It would not be believable, without an immense amount of heavy lifting in the backstory, for a POC to have framed Rosa instead of either of the white women, to have made the decision to put her in the driver’s seat over the other two.

And in this way, the show also does an amazing job in showcasing how good, liberal white people can still be thoughtless where it concerns race. Especially at 17. The White Privilege of the alien siblings, and their lack of awareness of it, serves as a major negative driver of the show’s plot and is the root cause of much of the conflict throughout the first season. That’s real, that’s believable, and that’s important to show.

This, all of this, is vital in portraying accurate, true-to-life representations of how marginalized racial communities interact with each other and white populations, and also gives those communities characters they can point to that not only look like them, but also share their experiences – experiences which are unique to POC and also give white viewers a clearer picture of what it’s truly like to live in this country as a person of color.

On meaningful racial representation

I feel rather let down that the show didn’t follow through on Alex’s heritage in any of the meaningful ways that they did with the other POC on the show (see previous section). All of those characters had clear and explicit aspects of their narrative which centered their race as an part of their story – again, rightfully, as that is how it’s lived IRL. We got to see them express and experience their race as more than just the color of their skin. We didn’t get that with Alex. (or with Noah, but he’s a whole other story)

It’s particularly disappointing considering that Alex is the only POC on the show who passes (that we know of, ofc). Many people will be upset at my bringing this up, but it’s true and we should be talking about it. His ability to pass – the ability for anyone to look at him and not know immediately that he is of Native descent – does not in any way negate his POC identity. Not even remotely. Not a little bit, not at all. All it means is that as a POC, Alex has the ability to be spared from certain microaggressions experienced by others in his community. Not all, not even most, but some. But it also means that he is subject to microaggressions that others in his community will never experience – such as someone making disparaging comments about Natives as tho there aren’t any in the room, or by people assuming he’s “basically white” bc he looks white and erasing his heritage entirely. Those are experiences unique to his race that other Natives who don’t “pass” would never experience.

Roswell didn’t follow through on that this season. We saw no indication, other than the casting of his brother as a Native actor (which I was very pleased about, mind you), that Alex Manes is not as white as he appears. Portraying and giving accurate representation to POCs who pass is just as important as giving it to POCs who don’t.

On consent

WOW this show does a marvelous job at portraying how people should approach getting active and explicit consent from those around them. Active consent is so deeply ingrained in the foundation of this show that its absence is used as an indicator to the audience that something is very very wrong - and on more than one occasion. In order to pull that off, the show has had to set an abundantly clear standard for the type of consent that these characters should expect from each other when things are not horribly wrong, and that standard is appropriately high.

Max and Liz are the obvious duo with which this is explored. From the first, when Liz wants to kiss Max outside of the cave, he stops her because he’s concerned that her judgement may be impaired or impacted by the effects of his powers. He refuses to take advantage of that state, making a direct call to the behavior women wish we could expect from men when our own judgement may be impaired. This continues later when she asks to be left alone and he just immediately backs down and away, not pushing or persuading. He treats her word as law, as he should. We see even in his past, as a teenage white boy in 2008, that he consistently asked for Liz’s consent to even be in her presence.

We see it between Michael and Alex in very different but still very present ways. A lot of Michael and Alex’s communication is silent and, as such, so are their consent check-ins. Before their first kiss, you see Michael checking in with Alex, watching Alex’s body language as he approaches and making sure Alex is receptive before he goes for the kiss – and Alex is, clearly. Michael asks what Alex wants and Alex says that doesn’t matter while stepping toward Michael. Michael stops and looks at Alex and Alex continues to move closer, looking back and forth from Michael’s eyes to his lips. This type of silent communication and consent checks continues throughout the rest of the season, from the scene at the drive-in to the teenage scenes and on.

We also see clear attempts at getting explicit consent between Liz & Kyle, between Cam & Max, and even when Michael was guarding Maria at the gala (I can go get Liz if you want me to leave) and later when he approaches her following the events of 1.13.

This has honestly been so fucking cool to see like this, on a CW show especially, to see how easy and essential it is to get that consent in all situations. It’s an important representation that we don’t see laid out clearly enough in media today and I’m so fucking proud of Roswell for doing it so effectively.

On disability & erasure

This show started to do something that was really incredible in portraying one of the main characters as an amputee. We see his crutch, we see the way he moves with it, we see how he struggles with it, and we see how he is determined to life his life as an amputee, and not just despite it.

There was certainly plenty of room to improve in even that regard - specifically where it concerns coaching on exactly how a recent amputee might move their body and center their weight and whatnot, even, or maybe especially, if that person were trying to hide their struggle. But it’s clear that the show was trying to represent a type of character we don’t get to see often.

But then Alex loses the crutch. Rather suddenly and very cold turkey. This is not an accurate representation of how someone with a recent loss of limb would experience their recovery, no matter how much that person may want to hide it. Recovery takes time, it takes practice, and it includes bad days. We didn’t see any of that.

It's particularly frustrating considering the show gave themselves the perfect opportunity to do this transition far better and didn't take advantage of it. There was a six-week time jump between episodes 8 & 9. Had we seen Alex try to go without his crutch when he confronted Liz in ep 7, and then have to return to using it after the long day out, and again in episode 8 with his father - wouldn't it have been so amazing to see him collapse in his chair after Jesse leaves and rub his leg because he's been ignoring the pain all day in an attempt to intimidate his father? And then we could see him moving more independently after that six-week jump.

The show dropped the ball there, in my opinion. In a big way. That beautiful representation was given and then promptly taken away. And then the show set itself up perfectly to explore how the invisibility of disability can be experienced, and has not followed through on that at all. Quite literally the last indication at all that we get of Alex's amputation is Michael commenting on his having lost the crutch in episode 9.

One of the harsh truths of disability is that no matter how much one might try to ignore and hide that aspect of who they are, it will always be there and it will make itself known. It might be invisible to others, but Alex will experience it anyway, will be affected by it anyway. He may be able to do anything that anyone else can do, but he’s gonna have to work ten times harder at it. We should have gotten to see that.

This same problem of erasing disability happens with Michael’s hand in the last episode. Michael’s scars, what they prevented him from doing, how they affected his work - all of that was so important to see, and then he gets the unconsensual healing power of magic and suddenly he gets his happy place back. And as happy as I was as a Michael!Stan to see him find that, this sends a bad message, that people with disabilities just need to be “fixed” to be happy. And as I mentioned above and in other posts, it is wildly apparent that Max healing Michael’s hand without his consent is meant to be an indicator that Max is Very Not Okay and is a prelude to him literally going so mad with power that he kills himself to resurrect Rosa. That noted, from a representation standpoint, I wish another mechanism had been used to show that.

On unapologetic politicism

Roswell makes it absolutely clear where it stands on the political spectrum and who this show is for. This show exists in the post-2016 election, post-#MeToo era and it embraces that culture and does not shy away from being political, on everything from race, sexuality and misogyny to immigration status, gun control, and even research science. It uses context and even hero dialogue to make the audience aware of what is right and what is wrong on these topics, and it does so without ambiguity or nuance.

It (appropriately) paints ICE as the enemy of good, hardworking people in literally the first scene of the show. Liz starts ranting about being stopped because she’s Latina and I just did a little dance inside because Yaassss, these are my people. And the show doesn’t let up there - the shadow of ICE hangs over Arturo’s - and by extension, Liz’s - head the entire season in a way that makes the audience uncomfortable and angry on his behalf.

The show consistently, from multiple characters both in law enforcement and not, refers to undocumented immigrants, the homeless, and prostitutes as “the most vulnerable members” of society, and not as a scourge or a menace to that society. These are good, worthy people deserving of protection and justice. The show paints anyone who views differently as firmly In The Wrong, from the disgusting Wyatt Long to the self-righteous Sheriff Valenti.

The dialogue calls out everything from subtle racism in police descriptions to building a wall to #AllLivesMatter to fake news to the terrifying ease of buying a gun to homophobia to the president himself - it does not hold back and it does not leave room for excuses or sympathy on the part of the more conservative characters.

Most of the dialogue on the show that wasn’t explicitly Alien-centric feels very organic in the ways that it makes offhand quips about immigration and racism and sexism and everything in between - that’s the way I and my friends speak and converse. That stuff just filters into our conversations about really anything because it’s always at the forefront of our minds. We call those things out when we see them and talk about idiots like they’re not sitting right in front of us (“I think that’s Hank speak for ‘he wasn’t white.’”) There aren’t a lot of shows that nail that so perfectly and the only one that’s coming to mind at the moment is Dear White People, which was the first I saw to pull this off so well.

This is media that doesn’t try to paint a picture of “there are good people on both sides.” This media isn’t playing middle ground, or trying to please everyone. It’s making a statement in these choices and it doesn’t shy away from pissing off toxic people - this media isn’t for them. Most popular successful media (*cough* MCU *cough*) achieves that status by very carefully toeing the line between left and right, by using subtext to attract progressive viewers while keeping the explicit storyline clean and moderate. Roswell doesn’t do that - its progressivism is explicit and unmissable, as it should be. And that makes it, truly, an absolute joy to watch.

On Maria’s arc

Maria DeLuca did not start this season as an extension of Michael’s - or anyone’s - storyline, and I’m incredibly frustrated that, narratively, that’s how she ended it. That’s easily my biggest disappointment regarding the season as a whole, exaggerated by the fact that Maria is a black woman and because of that, her storyline carries more weight than many of the others. This post does a good job of discussing why POC rep matters more, and while it focuses on race-bending (which this show has also done with Maria, in a positive way), I think it still makes the point that Any POC Rep will just always hit harder, good or bad.

When that Rep is good, it’s fantastic. When it’s bad, it’s terrible.

And for most of this season, it was hitting very very good well. Maria throughout most of the season was this fierce, beautiful firecracker of personality and suppressed issues. She had a history and a deep well of issues both pre- and post- the loss of one of her closest friends, followed by the physical separation from her other two best friends. She’s got an amazing relationship with a mother who is slowly losing grip and slipping away from her. Those things, how they shaped her, and how they expressed themselves made her relatable, tangible, and easy to love.

That was actually one of my favorite parts about her hooking up with Michael, that these were main characters seeking comfort and distraction in one another, rather than just with throwaway characters. Maria is her own person with her own story that we had already seen explored as an independent arc from any of the other main characters

However, that arc never quite got the same attention as Kyle’s or Alex’s and certainly not as much as Liz or the Pod Squad. A lot of that likely has to do with her ignorance of the alien presence in the town (which appears to be coming to a close, but I won’t speculate on that) and that makes sense, narratively. As she couldn’t be actively involved in pushing the alien mystery plot forward, there was only so much the show could do with her, and I think they did take advantage of what little wiggle room they had there.

That said, given that she’s the only black woman on the main cast, it’s very disappointing that she rounds out the season by being drugged, possessed, and either talking about, pushing away, or engaging with Michael. My own perspective on this show may revolve around Michael, but that doesn’t mean I think our black woman should share that fate narratively.

And I’ll note that characterization-wise, I understood the ways Maria’s thoughts and actions could become consumed and fixated on a love interest. Oh, holy wow, have I Been There. But allowing that - and essentially, only that, narratively for Maria at the end of the season, as the only MC black woman on the show - is a disservice to her character and the community she represents. Which is not to say that I take issue with how Michael and Maria come together at the end, either from a narrative or a character development standpoint; what I take issue with is that that is all we get of her in the later episodes. Maria deserved more, and so did we.

On fighting for WOC

One of my favorite things about this show is how the characters on this show again and again come to bat for the two main WOC, despite that both of them are portrayed as absolutely capable of fighting for themselves. Both Liz Ortecho and Maria DeLuca are shown to be strong, multifaceted, beautiful (neither because of nor in spite of their race - just beautiful, end of story), desirable, and worth fighting for - and unapologetically and undeniably women of color.

Our “main hero” Max makes it absolutely clear that he will Throw Down for Liz Ortecho. He risks his own life and the lives of his siblings to save her, and nearly torpedos those relationships entirely on her behalf. He loves her absolutely, flaws and all. And he acknowledges those flaws - he doesn’t put her on a pedestal or pretend she’s perfect - she doesn’t need to be for him to love and respect her.

We see Alex and Michael and Liz all show up for Maria at different points in the story, fighting on her behalf, defending her, and making the statement that Maria is precious and should be protected. More than that, through Michael’s eyes, we stand in awe of Maria DeLuca - she is a standout, she is impressive, she is powerful, and she is her own savior, every time. And through all of that, she is beautiful and desirable and absolutely worthy of being the center of attention.

These storylines and characterizations are unfortunately still incredibly rare for women of color in modern media. Women of color rarely get to be these fully fleshed out characters with their own backstory and own motivations, and even more rarely do we get to see them be viewed by others as special and valued. Roswell isn’t sidelining its WOC or centering their storylines around white men (my comments above re Maria’s last couple episodes notwithstanding). And that’s amazing and should be celebrated.

On aesthetics

No matter how important something is to the plot or how in-character it would be, the sociological aesthetics of media are still relevant. Plot-wise, the roundabout Wyatt leading to Maria leading to Noah was an interesting mechanism, and it makes sense, character-wise for Cam and then Isobel to suspect Maria’s involvement. And it makes sense, character-wise, for Liz to then defend Maria against those suspicions.

But - aesthetics matter. And watching a scene in which two white blonde women accuse a WOC of horrible crimes at another WOC is immensely uncomfortable and very tone-deaf. That wasn’t fun or engaging to watch, I don’t feel drawn into the mystery of it all in that moment, I feel pretty grossed out, actually. Because this show has set a standard for itself of being better than that, and in that scene, it failed its own test.

On bisexual representation

This one I’ve already talked about at length and having finished out the season, my feelings haven’t changed. This show does a damn fine job showing us a bisexual character living out his life, his pain, and his unhealthy but entirely relatable coping mechanisms. They don’t try to portray him as perfect because he’s not and he shouldn’t have to be for us to respect and love him.

On bi-baiting

I’ll admit to being disappointed that Isobel’s feelings for Rosa turned out to be artificial and driven by the man living her in mind. It took the whole situation from amazing bi rep to aggressively heterosexual. Not only was our queer woman not actually queer, but all of those feelings and attraction toward another woman were actually driven by a really toxic man that was actively violating Isobel to pursue that attraction.

Once again, the show started to give us something really fucking amazing - two bisexual main characters - and then appeared to take that away. We’ve been given no indication that Isobel’s attraction to Rosa was anything more than Noah in her head or that she herself is anything other than Very Straight.

This doesn’t diminish the amazing bi representation they’ve given us with Michael, but that amazing representation does not excuse or erase our having been baited into falling for another bisexual character only to find out it was all very likely a sham. While there are certainly not enough bisexual men in media, there is also not enough queer women at all. So dangling that in front of the audience before yanking it away is frustrating.

On respecting survivors

*Content Warning: sexual assault*

So I’m going to talk as a survivor for a moment and explain how Holy Shit Muther Fucking Important it was to see another survivor being told that other people’s feelings and needs didn’t matter. What She needed mattered. I was sobbing through that scene because no one has ever told me that. No one ever told me that what I needed trumped other people’s comfort or anger or needs.

But Isobel got to hear that. She got to hear that her brothers’ needs Did Not Matter (and that, particularly, hits hard for me). The only thing that mattered was whatever She needed to get through this, to feel better, and to heal. She got to hear that taking care of herself was the most important thing, that she was allowed to be selfish and think of herself. She didn’t have to put others first, or make sure everyone got what they wanted. What they wanted is nothing compared to what she needs. I needed to hear that just as much as Isobel did.

The show did not shy away in facing just how violently violated Isobel was by her husband - body and mind. It doesn’t brush off what he did as just another evil act by an evil man - this was invasion of Isobel in every possible way by someone she loved and trusted.

And it doesn’t try to artificially portray her as too strong to care, or too weak to handle it. She’s strong, but she’s affected. She’s shattered inside, and she’s handling it. A lot of us know what that’s like in ways people that haven’t experienced it never could. And as someone who finds therapy in being understood, in seeing my experiences in media, this scene was everything I needed.

On villainizing POC

This one has sparked a lot of valid discourse. Media has a really ugly history of telling society who is good and who is bad based on casting choices and always always always making the villains the POC, particularly MOC. It’s unconscious bias leading to more unconscious bias, teaching viewers that we shouldn’t trust POC bc they’re always the bad guy.

It’s a problem and every additional casting choice like this contributes to that problem. No show or movie is immune to it simply because they had a good reason, or even because they wanted to give a POC a job. Studios can give POC jobs by writing roles for them from the beginning, rather than slotting them into damaging stereotypes.

While I do acknowledge that it is unfair and in many ways problematic to deny an actor a role simply because of their race, aesthetics matter. There has to be some forethought in the casting choices regarding the message that choice will send. If the desire is to have more POC characters, then write more POC characters.

And that’s another way in which Roswell doesn’t really succeed with Noah. While there’s at least mention of Noah’s race on the show, he falls into the same category as Alex in that we never see his race expressed or lived. They cast a South Asian actor to play a raceblind role, which means they cast a POC actor to play a white role. POC characters have different stories than white characters - Roswell dropped the ball on giving us that with Noah.

Roswell does a lot right where it concerns race on this show, and it is refreshing that our POC villain is far from the only POC on the show. That said, I was taught something in college that I will never forget: oppression is a moving sidewalk. In order to work against it, you cannot stand still (i.e. casting POC on both sides). You must actively walk the other direction in order to affect change.

Like with the issue of Isobel’s baited bisexuality, giving us amazing representation in one hand doesn’t change that you’re using the other to flick our ear.

On centering queer stories

*hugs myself in delight* This is a big one and is probably the aspect that Roswell gets the most right. Both in impact, screen time, and even in literal scene-splitting, Roswell again and again makes it clear that Michael & Alex’s love story is just as vital and central to this story as Max & Liz’s. They intercut their scenes at numerous points, and characters even within the show compare how similarly their stories have played out. The two relationships experience major milestones on the same day on more than one occasion.

Michael and Alex’s relationship has depth. It has conflict, it has history, it has heartbreak. There is tension and pain and softness and love. It has laughter and safe spaces; it has big gestures and powerful words. These two men who crash together and fly apart but whose whole beings seem to orient toward the other and who, at the end of the day, are willing to let themselves be destroyed for their love.

This queer love story playing out on season 1 of Roswell has more foundation, development, chemistry, and payoff than some of the most romanticised straight couples in media history. It’s been a week since the finale and I’m still just utterly in awe at what we’ve been given here. Roswell is absolutely succeeding in giving us thorough, relatable, meaningful queer representation with Michael and Alex. They are not holding back or sidelining or tokenizing. And they are following through on narrative promises instead of just baiting or relying on subtext. And that’s…. so fucking insanely satisfying to finally get to see.

Ultimately, I’m far more happy with how the show treats its underrepresented identities and modern social issues than I am critical. Most of the content on this show is akin to looking in a mirror and seeing my own worldview reflected back. I am a queer progressive woman and a survivor, so many of these issues are personal for me.

But I’m also white, and my disabilities are not physical. As such, I am not and should not be the authority on some of these issues. I am more than open to feedback from those who feel I was either too harsh, or not harsh enough, where it concerns those issues.

But for now, this is essentially Chasing’s Progressive Review of Roswell New Mexico, Season 1. And now I’m gonna go roll around in meta and fanfic and gifsets for the next several months cuz I sure as hell ain’t done talking about this show.

#roswell new mexico #malex #echo #michael guerin #alex manes #max evans #lix ortecho #maria deluca #noah bracken #isobel evans #kyle valenti #candy #rnm #i just have a lot of feelings #rnm meta #chasing's progressive review of rnm season 1

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