#is letting it in my house a favor? an insult? basic manners?

[hamable]

I’ve known about the Walrus vs Fairy debate for about 11 minutes now and I’ve never been more angry in my life you’re all wrong and I’m taking it personally.

#walrus vs fairy #fairy is more surprising. I’m this close to writing multiple paragraphs on why #walrus is an initial shock and then I’m delighted and varying degrees of concerned while I make some calls #i see a fairy?? I’m fucking elated and I’m fucking terrified and both emotions are ongoing. #if I can classify a hereto undiscovered creature as a fairy upon opening my door by my cultural idea of what a fairy is #then I’m fucking panicking #bc there 800 varying rules and laws about fairies and I cannot off the top of my head know which ones to trust #I’d be terrified to speak a word lest it be twisted on me. do I let it in my house? #is letting it in my house a favor? an insult? basic manners? #I wouldn’t say it’s my Roman Empire but once in a while I think about fairy rules and get stressed tf out #even saying shit like no thank you can get you in a world of trouble #if I open the door to a walrus that’s crazy but I would reasonably know what to do about it #I’m having three crises at once if I see a fairy and at least one of those crises is about linguistics

[dancingdimitri]

Let me talk about Dimitri and sincerity and honesty for a minute.

“Sincere” is the word Byleth uses to describe Dimitri at their first meeting, and even just from Dimitri’s self-introduction it struck me how self-aware, eloquent, and expressive he is. Even when his emotional response to something might be considered excessive (like when he gets excited about seeing Byleth and Jeralt fight together, or Byleth’s smile) he makes no attempt to deny it and expresses it anyway, albeit apologetically. And it’s not just Dimitri himself, either -- he actively encourages those around him to be sincere as well. Even though he sometimes takes insult at Felix’s disparaging remarks, Dimitri defends Felix’s freedom of expression; he doesn’t want Felix to pretend he thinks Dimitri is the best thing since sliced bread purely for his sake. You might even say Dimitri is earnest to a fault; I’ve seen him get some pokes from the fandom for being so straightforward on more than one occasion. In truth, I find Dimitri’s honesty really refreshing. I feel like I’m so used to defending their own position or their ulterior motives that they’re okay with undermining other characters somewhat for their metaphorical step ahead. And I imagine it’s not particularly easy for him, either, since from what I gather his upbringing as a prince wasn’t particularly favorable to his sensitive, expressive personality. Basically, I feel like Dimitri is one of the last people I would expect to lie to my face, especially for his own personal gain.

...Which isn’t to say he’s never not fully truthful. One of my favorite parts about the story/writing in Blue Lions is the gradual, bit-by-bit release of information, with respect to Dimitri’s backstory and his personal motivations. We get the inkling that he’s up to something when he stays up late in the library, apparently perusing records of donations to the Church of Seiros, without ever saying what for. When things take a turn for the worse, insists that his headache is just from lack of sleep; he insists that he’s fine when he’s clearly distressed at the situation in Remire Village. It’s not until afterwards that he tells Byleth he’s out for revenge, and it’s even later that Dimitri inadvertently lets slip that it’s his dead family’s voices commanding him to secure that vengeance. Even in spite of his honest character, he does withhold information from others, whether to prevent them from getting in his way, or for his own safety -- because let’s be real, with the understanding of mental health (i.e. lack thereof) people probably have in the world of Three Houses, if anyone knew the Crown Prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was hallucinating, he’d be in what might be vaguely described as a heap of trouble (and in that case, who can blame him?). But even then, he still never tries to deny his emotions and actions. He’s very apologetic about alarming the Professor and the others, yes, but doesn’t try to pretend that the incident at Remire Village never happened. And even if it’s true that some more transparency (with the Professor, at the very least) could have been been beneficial to him in Part 1, I can’t find it in myself to blame Dimitri for not opening up more about things that are obviously deeply personal to him and might even be called his “deepest, darkest secrets,” especially when he takes longer to genuinely trust others and learn to depend on them a little more.

--Which brings me to an aspect of his growth in Part 2 that I particularly appreciate. Even with how earnest and straightforward he already is, he learns to be more honest and truthful with people to whom he is close, around whom he feels safe - people he really does trust - even when doing so makes him emotionally vulnerable - something that can hardly be called easy to do, which is perhaps why I find such growth so admirable. I think to me this is the most powerful aspect of his anagnorisis (the “rain scene” after chapter 17): in admitting that he is wrong and asking Byleth for help, Dimitri knowingly puts himself in an incredibly vulnerable position for a chance at changing for the better. From this point in the story onwards, he opens up to Byleth noticeably more, even to the point of discussing his thoughts with them in a straightforward manner upon being asked “Are you okay?” And he still doesn’t deny any of his less favorable actions or aspects, acknowledging that all of them are real parts of his “true” self.

I forgot if I had some sort of conclusion in mind for this, but I guess I just wanted to express how much I appreciate Dimitri’s sincerity -- especially because “sincere” is kind of just. a word that’s tacked onto his face in the prologue on the player’s behalf, and it’s pretty easy just to take it at face value since it seems like such an obvious descriptor of his earnest demeanor. Though he is unusually honest, at the same time he’s far from perfectly truthful, yet in ways that I find it difficult to fault him for given his circumstances and what he feels is most important. And still he finds ways to improve once he’s in a situation where he feels it is safe to allow himself the vulnerability it often takes to be fully honest with oneself and others. Maybe you could say that’s a particularly admirable growth, and anyway, because of all this, I do find him especially trustworthy.

#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #fire emblem #dimitri #or something! words are hard #i wrote a lot of this in my head earlier today but it took longer to type out than i expected #so i spaced out a few times in the middle and lowkey forgot what i was trying to say #and i'm still not ENTIRELY sure what i'm trying to say?? but yeah. dimitri good

[sylvanfreckles]

Blinded (FebuWhump 18)

Fandom: Fire Emblem: Awakening Summary: When a renegade noble tries to blind Chrom with a caustic liquid, Robin steps in to protect his friend.

* * *

Robin let his gaze travel around the room as Chrom made his plea for support to Lord Rasmir. Three of the noble houses of Ylisse had yet to acknowledge his friend's right to the title of Exalt, and Chrom was trying to win them over with diplomacy before his public coronation. He didn't need the support of all the noble houses, but presenting a unified government so soon after the war with Plegia would be good for the people.

Unfortunately, Lord Rasmir didn't seem to agree. He hadn't been outright disrespectful, but Chrom and his delegation had been brought in while the lord was holding a dinner party, and had been left standing in front of the high table rather than invited to join. Rasmir himself seemed to be listening to Chrom, although his slouched posture showed a lack of interest, and he toyed with the wine glass in front of him rather than drinking from it. Most of his guests ignored the royal delegation altogether, carrying on with their own conversations despite the Exalt's presence.

Rasmir picked up his wine glass, seemed to reconsider, and set it back down in favor of running his fingers down the cheek of the young woman sitting to his left, curling a lock of her blonde hair around his finger. “House Rasmir has always supported the Exalt,” he finally said.

“You have always pledged support,” Chrom agreed diplomatically. “I am only asking for a public gesture—for your formal attendance to the coronation in two weeks.”

The lord's eyebrow twitched. It was such a small, understated gesture that Robin wasn't sure he would have noticed it if he hadn't been looking. Rasmir lifted his wine glass, his lips twisting into a sardonic grin. “Then I propose a toast: to the reign of the Exalt. May he live long enough to see it.”

Robin saw the movement a heartbeat before it happened. Instead of drinking, Rasmir flicked his wrist to dash the wine over Chrom's face and chest. Robin leaped in front of his friend to try to wrestle the wine glass away from the lord, seeking to at least save his friend the humiliation intended by the insult, but he only succeeded in turning himself into the target. Dark red wine seeped into his hair and clothes and ran down his face and neck...and then it started to burn.

“Robin!” Chrom caught him from behind when his legs gave out. “Shepherds, to me!”

He could hear their friends charging, intent on protecting their Exalt and tactician, but there was the sudden ring of steel-on-leather echoing throughout the room around them. Robin tried to pry his eyes open to see what was going on, but whatever had been in the wine glass burned against his eyelids and the world around him was reduced to shadows.

“Is this a coup, Rasmir?” Chrom demanded angrily. His body was taught with rage, and Robin could feel the subtle shift in his friend's body as Chrom prepared to join the defense.

“When a wounded lion walks into your camp, you'd be a fool to let it walk out again,” Rasmir taunted. “Did you really think you could just take the throne, after everything your family has done?”

“Maribelle,” Chrom called as he shifted, dragging Robin to his feet. “Take Robin and my sister and find someplace to hide. Keep them safe until it's over.”

Lissa started to protest, but Robin found himself suddenly thrust against her as Chrom spun around, then the ring of steel against steel as the prince blocked a blow meant for them. “Now!”

“Come along, dearest,” Maribelle was on Robin's other side, pulling his arm over her shoulder. “Chrom's right: we have to get you out of here.”

The princess didn't argue further, and Robin found himself supported between the two young women as they fled the scene of battle. The liquid on his face burned, trickling in fiery lines down his neck and chest. He wanted to dig at it, to scrape it off of his skin, anything to stop the horrifying burning.

“Here, I'll try this one,” Lissa panted and slipped away from them. With one arm free, Robin dragged his hand up to dig at his eyes. It was worse than the time he'd rubbed his eye after helping cut hot peppers for the evening meal, but it was all over his face this time, and the tips of his fingers were starting to burn.

“No, Robin, don't touch it,” Lissa gasped, pulling his hand away from his face. “Here, I got it open.”

“Excellent, Lissa,” Maribelle sounded breathless as they half-carried Robin into the room. It smelled of clean wood and water, and the women gently set him down against the interior wall before setting off for their own tasks.

There was the heavy sound of the door closing, then the scraping of something heavy against the floor, and a splash of water.

“That should hold it, at least for a while,” Lissa's voice was strained with worried. “Do you think the others...”

“They'll be fine.” Maribelle was back at Robin's side, and he heard her shifting around before the delicate touch of a damp handkerchief was brushing over his face. “Dear heart, is there a bucket? We have to wash this off of him.”

“Mmm...there's a big bowl...I don't think they store much more than the water barrels in here.”

“That would be perfect. Yes, Robin, it's all right. I'm sorry it hurts so much.”

For all her airs, Maribelle actually had a kind bedside manner. She clasped Robin's hand in one of her own and dabbed at his face with the other.

“He's bleeding,” Lissa siaid worriedly. She'd taken Robin's other hand between both of hers, and he thought it was as much for her comfort as his.

“It was some kind of acid or poison,” Maribelle replied. “Miriel can tell us more; she's made a study of such things. Do you have a handkerchief, dearest? No, just hand it to me...you need to keep him calm.”

Robin tried to say he didn't need to be kept calm, but his voice came out as a whimper. Lissa squeezed his hand and scooted closer. She sniffed, and a splash of water landed on the back of his hand.

He tried again. “Liss...”

“I know,” Lissa sniffed, pulling one hand away for a moment, probably to wipe at her own eyes. “I just don't want to lose any of our friends.”

“We won't,” Maribelle replied, her voice ringing with sincerity. “Not in here, and not out there. Lissa, I'm so sorry, could you bring me some clean water? See how it's getting stained? I don't want to risk further contamination.”

It seemed to carry on for hours. Maribelle asked for clean water frequently, but though her ministrations were putting an end to the spread of the acidic burning nothing was easing the pain of the affected areas. Eventually the women worked together to shift Robin's head into Maribelle's lap, which was at least more comfortable than the floor, though the pain on his face and neck was started to drain his strength. She'd resorted to just covering the burned areas with cool, damp handkerchiefs in an effort to at least draw some of the heat out.

“Lissa?”

Lissa gasped. “It's Chrom!”

Robin felt the air shift as she leaped to her feet, then some uncertain sounds like something heavy being shoved around on the floor. “Chrom!”

“Are you all right?” Chrom's strong, familiar voice made something inside Robin relax a little. He hadn't realized how worried he'd been until now.

“We weren't harmed, but it's bad,” Lissa explained. “That stuff, it burned him...he can't see, Chrom.”

Chrom knelt next to them—his friend's presence always familiar, even when he couldn't see him. “Miriel and Stahl are searching the manor for whatever was in that glass. We'll find a cure, my friend.”

Robin nodded, though the movement sent a sharp pain through his head.

Of course they'd find a cure. How hard could it be?

* * *

“It's not as easy as it sounds,” Miriel explained. “We neutralized the acid itself, but there was extensive damage. Regeneration potions or spells are still mostly experimental.”

Chrom let out a sigh and dragged a hand over his face. “Are you saying it's permanent?”

“No, of course not,” Miriel adjusted her glasses. “The damage to Sir Robin's eyes, while extensive, did not result in the loss of his vision. That's due to the inflammation of the surrounding tissue. We're searching for a way to ameliorate his body's natural recovery, but he will recover with or without our help. It will just take time.”

Another sigh, this one of relief. “Have you told him?”

The mage nodded. “He seemed in high spirits when I left his rooms. Now, if you'll excuse me, Your Highness, I must return to this current set of experiments.”

Chrom waved her away, watching for a moment as she bent over a rack of phials with two of the palace's healers and the herbalist from Ferox. At least it was basically good news...he would have hated Robin to face such a challenge permanently, though he was confident his friend would have overcome it.

They'd put Robin in a room close to the healer's workrooms, and Chrom made his way there next. Rasmir's attempted coup had caused more problems within the council, and he'd had to spend most of his time on his return in meetings with advisors, governors, or other lords to convince them Ylisse was not on the point of revolt. He finally had a few hours free now, and was determined to spend some time sitting with his convalescing friend.

“Hello, Chrom,” Robin greeted him as soon as he entered the door. The tactician had a length of clean bandage wrapped around his eyes, to protect the irritated skin beneath, but he still followed Chrom's progress through the room as though he could see him.

“How did you know it was me?” Chrom asked with a smile.

“I'm developing more acute senses due to the loss of my vision.”

Chrom stared for a moment, mind whirling through the possibilities, then Robin was doubled over laughing.

“I wish I could see the look on your face,” he wheezed. “You all sound different when you walk; as long as I pay attention I can usually guess. I do it all the time when I'm reading, you just never notice.”

“Very funny,” Chrom teased, settling into the chair next to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Robin shrugged, raised a hand to pick at the bandages on his face, but pulled it back down when he realized what he was doing. “A little impatient to be well, I suppose.”

Guilt twisted in Chrom's chest. “Robin, I...”

“Don't,” his friend turned to face him, a grim smile on his face. “Chrom, do you really think I regret this? That I could  regret saving you, even if it meant it hit me?” he gestured toward his eyes, and Chrom winced. Robin hadn't come out of this without a few scars, though they would fade with time. Patches of skin on his face were rough and irregular where the acid had burned too deeply. There were salves and treatments that could help with scar tissue, but they had to wait until Robin's eyes healed.

“So...is there anything I can do?” Chrom asked awkwardly. Robin's face brightened, and he pulled a thick volume out from under his blankets and held it out to Chrom. The prince laughed as he took the heavy book. “Why were you hiding this?”

“Lissa thought I needed to focus on something 'more cheerful' for my recover,” Robin said sourly. “But this one looked really interesting, and I haven't found anyone to read it to me.”

Robin had obviously taken this book from the palace library before their visit to Lord Rasmir, though how he'd smuggled it into his sick room Chrom would never know. “Well...” Chrom teased, gently thumbing through the rough pages. Gods, this one was old...they'd both fall asleep while he was reading it.

“Please?”

Chrom laughed, turning back to the first page. “All right...The Tactics of War Mage Tychius, chapter one. 'In the course of my years serving in the high court of...'.”

* * *

Real talk: Real talk, Robin was probably carrying that book with him the entire time. You never know when you might get the chance to read!

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday18 #i can't see #blinded #fire emblem awakening #fic #fanfic #chrom #robin #lissa #maribelle #miriel (briefly) #temporary blindness #chemical burns #hurt robin #robin still likes books

[nachohypno]

Pine’s College Jocks 2 Ch. 4 - A Normal Day

The quad is one of my favorite places to be at. I got used to it during last year, and it was a relaxing place to stay in between classes.

I liked the coffee shop, but it was usually overcrowded, so the quad was a safe bet. Students normally just passed by, they didn’t hung out a lot in here unless they were in a large group.

Stacy arrived, and left two cups of coffee and a bag of cookies in front of my book.

“Thanks, I needed this” I said, moving my book from the stone table and putting it back in my bag.

She sat on the other side of the table, and nodded “No problem, you seem pretty tired today. Have you been sleeping properly or did you stay up all night studying again?”

Truth is, I didn’t want to study, as crazy as that sounds.

I could barely sleep last night; I was too anxious to do that. I tried to binge-watch a show, play some video games, study.

Anything, to not think about mind control nor my plan. I wanted a little rest for today. Just being a normal college student, who was an entire football team (coach included), a frat president, and is planning to get a sports club too.

Yeah, a more chill, normal change of pace would be nice for me.

“Kind of, yeah. Gotta maintain my place as first of the class” I said, giving a long sip to my coffee. “And studying helps me clear my mind”

She gave me a funny smile. “I mean, if you ever need to clear your mind, you live with the great and only Mike Travis”

I rolled my eyes. Rumors fly, and a year of partying gave my best friend a pretty amazing reputation for his sex skills. Mostly after fucking half of the sorority.

“He’s really good at sex, I’ll admit that. But I can’t just wake him up at 3 am and be like ‘oh hey, let’s fuck’”

Just a little lie, I could perfectly do that and Mike wouldn’t mind at all. He was always up to fuck, or be fucked. His libido was always above the ceilings for some reason I’ll probably never understand.

“Why don’t you take a break from everything, then? Nicky used to tell me that coach Peter is a real pain in the ass, I can’t even imagine being his assistant” I sometimes forget that his brother is one of my enslaved football players.

We all had the façade that the coach was still a dick, but in reality he was like this really awesome coach who jokes with his players and cares about each one of them.

He’s still really serious with his work as a coach, but doesn’t treat them like shit anymore.

“He’s an asshole, but I grew to like working as his assistant. Each time I do something wrong, I learn a new insult to use when dealing with assholes!”

She shook her head in disapproval “I’d kick his ass gathering information and exposing him, but he seems to have the whole administration in his hand. The journalist in me wants the truth, always!”

It made me feel bad not being able to tell her about the whole mind control thing. I’m kind of hoping she finds out one day I forget to be careful, to save us from having to sit on the couch and having “the chat”.

But that would also get a lot of consequences, so… better not.

We kept chatting as we enjoyed breakfast. It served as a great distraction, after we dropped the football team subject.

Until it was time for the next class to start. This day seemed to be going well so far!

Stacy finished the last cookie and got up “I’ve got to head to the sorority house before my next class, I forgot to grab a book” She grabbed her bag and said “You should go to the next frat party, it always helps me clear my mind and forget about my problems”

“Uhm… You think so? I think I may get more worried if I go to a crowded place” I said, mildly nervous, but trying to appear chilled.

“Just don’t burn yourself out with work and studying. These are supposed to be the best years of our lives, after all!” She answered, really excited. We fist bumped before she got on her way to the sorority house.

“Alright. Still a while until my next class. Focus Piney, you’re doing great” I told myself, as I grabbed my books from the bag again and put them on the table. “Social Sciences Core, here we go!” I threw a punch to the air before focusing on my studies.

‘I hope nobody saw me doing that!’ I thought, blushing a bit from the embarrassment.

---

Leo’s POV

I wondered what went wrong yesterday.

I mean, we did enslave that guy! That was our objective, right?

‘Who cares if he has personality as long as he serves your commands?’ I thought, as I got off my car and entered the campus. My fellow mind controller should be here.

I wanted to apologize, because he seemed really angry at me yesterday. Although, I must say that not speaking to me after that little incident was a little childish on his behalf, but I’m willing to let it pass because I’m still really excited about meeting another mind controller.

I don’t think anything good would come from fighting between us. I mean, I’m really powerful as it is, but imagine if we allied our powers and tried to… I dunno, mind control an entire town, or something like that?

I could do that on my own, but it would require so much work that it hurts my mind just thinking about it.

Truth be told, I didn’t know where the guy was, so I just walked around the campus hoping to find him.

I looked around, and noticed a map at one side of the road that led to different buildings.

“You’re here” I whispered, checking out the map and looking for my location.

There. Now, where could my little partner be… Sports complex, that’s right! The guy may be training his football team!

‘Leonard Woodward, you’re such a handsome genius’ I said to myself, before snapping a pic of the map and leaving it to follow the indications. According to this, it should be a really big area…

There it was! Huh, things were so much simpler with a map in hand!

It’s was a bit far from the entrance, yes. But, nothing that I couldn’t handle.

When I arrived, my first instinct was check the football field and locker room, to no avail. Both places were empty. Next, I went to the soccer field, the wrestling mats, but again, no luck.

I went to the gym next, hoping to see my fellow mind controller, but I was getting tired of looking and he wasn’t around again.

Maybe some of the jocks in here knew where he was and could lend me a hand on finding him? It’s always good to ask!

I walked up to one of the guys at the gym. Maybe he would know were Pine was, I wasn’t going to lose anything by asking.

“Excuse me,” I tapped a guy’s back as he finished a set of bench press. “I’m looking for a… kind of small guy, wears glasses, has black hair and nervous but also annoying manners?”

He smiled at me “Sorry, you’re describing most of the nerds around here. Could you be more specific, man?”

I sighed. “His name is Pine, like a tree” Who names his son ‘Pine’, by the way?

Oh, this guy knew him, I suppose. That, or he’s being bothered by me. He frowned as soon as I mentioned his name “Oh, Carter. I know him, but I don’t know where he is right now, bro. Now, if you’d excuse me…”

He tried to lay back down on the bench to continue with his sets, but I said “Sit back down and look at me” And he got back in place, almost immediately.

His eyes were glassy before he snapped out.

“Now, be completely honest,” This is going to be fun “Why did you frown when I mentioned Pine?”

The guy’s frown returned. God, he must really hate Piney, I wonder what he did.

“I don’t like him, he’s… a faggot” Alright, I don’t like this guy. Seriously? He may have another reason. Please have another reason, I don’t want you to be so… basic, random dude I haven’t seen before.

“C’mon! I know there must be something more besides that, isn’t that right?” I said. I always enjoyed using my powers like this. Dominating minds for my entertainment, it never gets old.

“Uh…” The guy’s eyes glazed over again, but this time they remained like that, as he was staring into my eyes. A few more seconds and we would have a mind link prepared. “He… He also cheated on our pledge challenges… I’m sure of it”

This guy had to be joking.

“Okay, what’s your name?” I asked, starting to get a bit tired. He seemed to be really a cliché-y jock, who just hates the nerdy guy for being gay.

“I’m… Luke Martin...” He answered, pretty zoned out. I liked my guys that way.

“Well, Luke Martin, did you ever try to hurt Pine after he allegedly cheated on your pledge challenges?” I rolled my eyes, I couldn’t care less about this guy’s bad loser behavior.

“I-I… I did start to prank him a lot… A-and it worked at the end, he moved out of the frat house” Wow, pretty mean of him, but nothing from another world.

“And so… what? You just hate the guy because he ruined a few of your plans, one time? That’s it?”

Luke nodded, his frown vanished and was now replaced by a little, dumb smile on his face. The mind link was ready.

I sighed, but then, an idea came to my mind “Alright… And since you hate him, that means you would probably beat him up at the first chance you’ve got” Not a question anymore, more like a command.

I don’t intend to hurt Pine, if anything, I’m doing him a favor.

Luke nodded “Yeah… Yeah, I would… If it wasn’t for those stupid frat rules…”

“Oh, but you see, I can’t let you hurt my little friend. That wouldn’t be good, wouldn’t it? In fact, you are very ashamed for even thinking of hurting your fellow frat bro, that makes you a horrible frat boy!”

His smile vanished, as his expression turned to complete sadness. His eyes became teary, which was kind of funny to see in such a big guy. Like I just hurt his feelings with my words. “I’m awful. How… How could I do that to my bro?! I don’t deserve being in the frat!”

He was about to start crying, when I patted his back “There, there. You are a shame, that’s right. But, you can still make it up to him, isn’t that right?”

I could see in his mind. He was embarrassed of his attitude, and he wanted to listen to me. “I… Can I? How?” He said. I looked around, to see if any of the others university jocks noticed us, but they were very focused on their own work outs to notice their mate being mind-fucked by me.

This was easier than I expected. Although, it’s always an easy thing to do. Makes me miss my university years just a bit. Except for the studying, you can’t mind control your way to a PhD in business administration, but you can mind control a business administrator to do the hard work for you.

“Just listen closely, alright?” He nodded, still staring into my eyes “You will go to Pine’s flat, and there you will give him a blowjob, understood? You will become mildly obsessed with making up for your hate towards him, doing what I’m telling you as a good, lovely slave. Is that clear?”

The jock started to nod, in complete bliss. He started crying again, but this time from happiness “Yes sir! Thanks so much, I’ll go right now to his place and I’ll make up for my rude attitude!”

I petted his head “That’s a good boy” Then I looked around, as I searched Pine on the surroundings. I would check the football team’s locker room before giving up for today, I was getting bored of aimlessly walking around. I could call later or something, since I’m pretty sure he’ll like my gift.

He likes to do good deeds for others with his powers, so I guess he’ll be happy to see I did a good deed, too!

---

Pine’s POV

Honestly? I had a great day. Studying was my happy place, definitely.

I decided to also skip football practice, leaving Mike in charge of the jocks for the day. Because… Brody was active at the moment.

I wanted to test out coach Peter’s skills on the field, but… everything happened, and my rest day was going just… too great. I wanted it to keep being that way, not thinking about mind control at all.

So yeah, my boyfriend was playing the coach, the coach was playing the football jock, and I am playing the average student who is trying hard to concentrate.

Funny enough, me and the whole football team started the rumor that Brody was actually Peter’s brother who came to visit. That would explain their similar appearance and his younger attitude, and wouldn’t raise suspicion as to why the head coach is playing with his team instead of training them.

We didn’t let him go to parties, but he was around the football team when I triggered him and they all loved him. First time I introduced Brody to the team, and made them think it was normal to have him, it was like a shower of ‘bro bro bro bro’ started on the locker room.

I finished my last class of the day already, so I decided to go back to my place. Mike still had an hour or so before returning.

I walked out of campus, coffee in hand, and headed to my place. It wasn’t close to the campus, but it wasn’t far either. The perfect zone, with an accessible price for a good apartment. (Although, my laziness sometimes made me wish I had a car).

I couldn’t stop smiling, for some reason. This day had been nothing but nostalgic, it reminded me of my teenage years, when I wasn’t a mind controller. When life was as simple as “Study, eat, sleep, play videogames and hang out with your friends”, and the only step left was playing video games.

I arrived at the building and headed upstairs. I wasn’t worried about the sports club today, I would get back to that tomorrow, or in a few days. No rush, right?

As soon as I about to open the door with my key, I noticed noise inside.

‘Fuck’ I thought, as I swallowed some saliva to have my voice prepared. I was about to panic, was someone really robbing my place?

I took a deep breath, before opening the door and yelling “FREEZE!”

Someone fell to the ground in front of the couch. I closed the door and walked towards the person, only to find Luke laying on the ground, with glazed over eyes and a shocked expression. I may have scared him when I bursted in screaming, but it wasn’t my fault.

How would I know that he was in here? What was HE doing here? And most importantly, HOW DID HE GET IN ANYWAY?

As I calmed myself down, I took a few more deep breaths, and left my bag on my room. I was curious about what was he doing here, but I was kind of delaying it. I wasn’t in a hurry to unfreeze him; I was going to wait until I’m pretty much calmed down again. Then, he’ll have his time to speak.

I grabbed a glass of water, walked back to the living room, sat on the sofa and just… looked at my rival.

‘Alright, I can’t leave him like that’ I thought, leaving the glass on the coffee table and lifting the jock from the floor. ‘Fuck, he’s heavy’

I tried to place him on the couch, like some kind of mannequin, but it was quite difficult.

But, after some good effort, I finally made him sit normally on the couch, as his shocked face looked at the ceiling.

“Alright… unfreeze” I said, looking at the guy. He blinked, but his eyes remained glassy as he started moving again. He stretched a bit, as he looked around. It all seemed normal, but as soon as he noticed me, he got a big smile on his face, like he was actually happy to see me.

“Pine? When did you get in?” Luke asked, pretty confused. I think his glassy eyes gave him away: He got mind controlled by Leo.

“I won’t answer that because it’s my place, I’d rather ask how did YOU get in, since the door was locked!”

“Uh? Easy, man! I went in climbing through the fire exit! You should really close those windows” Oh, cool. Now I have a new thing to worry about every time I go outside. “I’ve been waiting for you for a few hours!”

He got up and kneeled in front of me. ‘What the heck is he doing now?’ I thought, before he tried to pull down my pants. I was glad I was using a belt, then I pushed him back from me and asked “What the fuck?!”

“Sorry bro! I just really want to make up for everything I did to you! Can I blow ya, bro? It won’t make us even but it’ll be a start! I won’t be an awful frat boy anymore!” He said, with some hope in his voice. I wondered what did Leo wanted to prove with this.

“No! You can’t just break into my place and offer me a blowjob like it’s the most normal thing in the world!”

But he didn’t seem to listen. He just tried to throw himself at me as I kept pushing him away from me.

“Would you- Could you- ALRIGHT, CAN YOU FUCKING STOP?!” I yelled, at the top of my lungs. I had lost my patience, but somehow, it got to him.

I don’t know if Leo’s mind link would be over by now and I could mind control him, but seems like he’s not mind controlled anymore.

His eyes returned to normal, as the jock crawled a few meters away from me in fear.

“What… How did I get here? I was at the gym… And what are you doing here?!” He asked, shivering. Must be terrifying, lose your mind for a big lapse of time and not even know why.

“Luke, calm down” I said, even though he seemed to have no intention of hearing me out. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

He took a deep breath, before answering “I was at the gym, and this weird guy wearing preppy clothes came up to me. He started asking about you but… It’s foggy. Can’t remember what happened next”

I grabbed my phone, wanting to text Leo about this whole thing, when I noticed a message from him. [Hope U enjoy my gift, P!]

I sighed, and put the phone back in my pocket. Again, I didn’t have the energy to deal with him, maybe tomorrow or after a few days.

I looked back at the scared jock that was against the wall, a few meters in front of me.

“Do you want to talk?” I said, motioning to the couch and sitting down at one side.

He looked around, trying to get his surroundings before nodding and sitting beside me. “Do you have an explanation about what happened? I know you’re really smart, but this is too freaky, Carter. Where the hell am I?! What happened to me?!”

That’s the normal Luke. He doesn’t call me by my name, nor ‘bro’. He uses my last name.

Maybe… If I told him the truth? I couldn’t come up with an excuse of what happened to him.

“Well… You’re in my apartment.” The jock raised an eyebrow. Hell, what could I lose? If he reacts badly, I can easily erase his memory. “And, this may sound crazy, but you got mind controlled by the guy you saw at the gym. You tried to suck me off but I managed to wake you up. We’re on my apartment now” I said, like it was a normal thing. Maybe it would be easier to digest that way!

It obviously didn’t go as intended.

He started chuckling, like I was telling some kind of joke. But the chuckling quickly became sobbing, as he started crying.

“That’s… That’s crazy shit, Carter…” He said, in between sobs “There’s no such thing as… mind control!”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling bad for the poor guy… A few years ago, I would have taken revenge on him because of the pranking me a lot on the frat house.

Now I’m just… okay with it. I guess that’s why I decided to move out of the frat house instead of mind controlling him –Besides the overloads-, because I didn’t really care about this guy, so I preferred to no spend my time and mind links doing something against him.

Leo obviously had another idea in mind.

But… It may have not been Leo’s fault at all, either. There’s no way he could have known about Luke, unless they just meet up as a coincidence, and he somehow discovered our little ‘friendly’ rivalry.

Karma is a bitch, they say.

I hugged the guy as he kept crying. “It’s okay, there… just get it out your chest, alright? I’m here for you” He just kept going as he hugged me too and moved to cry on my shoulder.

I heard chatting outside of the apartment, and seconds later Mike opened the door, followed by coach Peter- Brody, he was Brody at the moment.

“Hey bro! I thought about inviting this big guy for… the…” His voice slowed down as he noticed the little scene going on at the living room. He was confused to see Luke, but even more confused as he noticed him sobbing. “What is going on?” He asked.

Brody, on the other side, had actually a big smile on his face, like he just had a blast of a day and couldn’t wait to spend more time with his bros.

I passed my hand through Luke’s hair, trying to ease him. I looked at Mike and mumbled “Leo”, then he nodded in realization. “Hey bro, let’s go to my room, alright? We can play some Smash there!”

“Smash? Awesome, bro!” The jockified coach said, before following Mike to our room.

I watched them go away, as I kept comforting the jock in my arms.

“Luke?” I said.

He sniffed before answering a “Yeah, Carter?”

“Look at me,” He did as I said, before I started putting power in my words “You will forget that this day happened. You just went to the gym, had an amazing workout, and just went back to your frat room to rest, because your muscles were sore-y”

His eyes glazed over again, as a dumb smile appeared on his face. The sadness quickly fading away as I carefully rewrote his memories of today. “Y-Yeah…”

I continued “If you had any classes, you will remember them completely and will get a good focus on your studies, wanting to have good grades besides a good performance on… whatever sport you play” I forgot which team was he part of, but honestly, I think I never cared since I never really liked Luke. “Understood, Luke?”

The jock kept nodding in complete bliss “Yes, Carter!”. Hearing my last name was somewhat bothering me.

I patted his back, before getting up from the couch. “Now, I’ll walk you out of the building and you will return to campus. Once there, the commands that the ‘elegant man’ told you will have disappeared and my commands will take effect, as you completely forget what happened today, understood?”

He got up from the couch too, following me “Of course!”

That’s what I wanted to hear. I walked him outside and we went down the stairs towards the lobby. Once there, I gave him a pat on the back and said “Now go”

He made a kind of military salute, still zoned out in his blissful state, and walked out of the building, heading back to campus and to the frat house.

I sighed as I lazily went back upstairs. There goes my normal day, almost being sucked off by a fellow frat brother I don’t like at all.

As I walked into the apartment, I closed the door behind me and just threw myself to the couch like you normally would throw a paper into the trash can.

Mike came from our room, noticing that Luke was now gone. He went to the couch and sat on the armrest. The big guy started to caress my hair as I just buried my head on the cushions. I wasn’t sad, by any means. Just tired, and upset.

Seeing that I wasn’t intending to give any answers, Mike easily lifted me from the couch, sat me down, then sat down beside me.

He placed his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a kiss. I kissed him back, feeling warmer as I did. Safer, with my quarterback boyfriend. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to…” He whispered to me, in a sexy way. “…But I know something’s wrong and I want to help you feel better, bro”

Heck yeah, I love this guy. We just kept kissing, like nothing mattered. At some point, he took off his tee and pushed me to laid back to the couch, before getting on top of me and resuming the make out session.

He began to grind against my ass, and I found it pretty nice. It would be good to not be in control today, and I missed being the bottom.

“Bros?” Asked Brody from the room’s door. Mikey stopped the kiss and looked at him, while I tried to get up and do the same. “What about me?” He said, I wondered what did Mike tell the coach before leaving the room.

I smiled “Well, we could use another guy in here” Mike said, as he smirked at him and motioned at the guy to come closer “Gotta make Piney feel better, bro”

A few seconds later, a shirtless Mike was sitting on my right, and a shirtless Peter/Brody was sitting on my left. Both jocks waiting expectantly for me to say anything, waiting for my permission to start with the threesome. But… I had something else in mind.

My normal day was ruined already, so why not bring out the mind control powers to the fun?

While they waited for me to give them permission, their eyes started glazing over as I reached for their mind links. I’ve always found their blank stares hot, and even hotter once I deepened the links.

Both jocks started to open their mouths and drool a bit as I created a backup of their personalities and emptied out their thoughts.

I closed my eyes and focused on the mind links, feeling the room around me vanishing. I started to reprogram their minds swiftly, making sure to pump out their love and desire for me to the brim. I can notice both their hearts starting to beat harder and harder while I flood their thoughts with cheesy and romantic thoughts about me. 

Mike was already my boyfriend, but to have Coach Peter as my lovesick boyfriend sounded hot right now. It would be temporary, so nothing to worry about.

Both jocks started to pant and moan under my power. Their dicks were either visible at the top of their pants or already making wet spots inside it.

I smiled after opening my eyes and returning to the apartment. “Okay, do whatever you want guys”

Brody immediately grabbed me before Mike did, and started roughly kissing me like his life was on the line or something like that. It was… weird, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Mike accepted the defeat pretty quickly and got up from the couch, only to kneel in front of us and pull down our pants. I barely noticed this, as I was too lost on making out with the mind-fucked coach. But I did notice their eyes were glassy at the moment.

Brody grabbed my hand and moved it towards his muscled torso, as Mike grabbed my cock and started to suck it slowly. I was pretty much liking this little distraction they were pulling out for me, honestly.

Mikey’s lips felt awesome on my cock. I tried to moan softly as the older jock kept making out with me, and wanted to make me feel up as much as I could of his body.

At some point, Mike got up and Brody took it as a sign to take his place. The older guy got on his knees in front of me and started sucking me off.

Mikey was much more gentle than Brody, so I enjoyed it a lot more. “Feeling better, my love?” Mike whispered to me, as Brody stopped for a second and looked up at us with a big smile.

I chuckled “Yeah, thanks a lot guys”.

Brody nodded “A pleasure, sir!”, before getting back to blowing me.

Mike nicely rubbed my back a bit, reassuringly. “Love you, babe. Want us to move to the bed or should we stay here?���

Not gonna lie, both jocks sucking me off got me really horny already, so I said “The first one sounds nice, and you can top if you want”

Mike smiled. “Hell yeah, I love topping! Thanks so much, babe!”

But we would have to switch positions from time to time, too. Poor lovely Brody shouldn’t feel left out!

I got up and motioned the guys to follow me. While the couch was comfy, it wasn’t the best place for a threesome. Things would get uncomfortable after we had to start repositioning.

I took the moment to take off my shirt, as the other two guys took off their pants and underwear. They definitively cheered me up by now, now I’m just really horny.

Mike pulled me in for another kiss, before we climbed the bed. I got on all fours as he positioned himself behind me, grabbed a bottle of lube from our night table, and lubed up his cock.

I was trying to come up with an idea for what could Brody do… Got it!

As Mike got ready to fucking me, I said “Wait. Brody, get below me facing my cock”.

Brody smiled and answered a fast “Yessir!” before doing what I ordered. I almost forgot he referred to me as ‘sir’ instead of ‘bro’.

Mike and I moved a bit, as the bigger guy positioned himself facing to the ceiling, before I moved back to my initial position and he was ready to suck me off. A 69 while being fucked? That was a new deal for me.

“Oh, and remember,” I said, powering my words again. “Don’t cum until I do, understood?”

“Yeah, babe!”  said the guys almost at unison, before we resumed the action.

Brody already knew what to do, as he took my leaking cock in his mouth slowly at first. I thought about returning the favor as I started sucking his. Meanwhile, Mike finished his preparation and started to slowly thrust inside of me.

Mike is an amazing bottom, but he’s an even better top. Probably because he has more practice, being a sex machine at parties.

Everything felt so good… My boyfriend placed his hands on my shoulders as he started to pick up the speed, meanwhile Brody and I were busy with our little 69.

I just… left myself go and just enjoy this pleasurable moment, as Mike hit the right spot. I left out a moan there, but it was silenced by the quarterback’s grunts.

A few minutes later, I came in Brody’s mouth as he tried to swallow it all. Now that I was done, Mike and the former coach followed suit. 

The guy below me came as I was still sucking, I’m not a fan of swallowing but hey, gotta do it sometimes. 

I felt my control over coach Peter getting stronger the more he swallowed. That was an usual thing that happens when one of my mind linked slaves drank more of my cum. It strained a bit less to use his mind link, as he became more connected to me. I could feel Brody’s mind becoming clearer with the stronger link, as the man seemed to be in a blissful state for a few minutes.

My boyfriend was the last one to cum, doing so inside of me and pulling out after a few more grunts.

The three of us laid together in bed, as Mike planted a soft kiss on my lips “Feeling better?” He asked, in a cute voice.

I took a moment to return them their backup personalities. As hot as this was, I didn’t want to fall asleep and forget about doing it.

After that, I answered. “Much better, thanks Mikey” I looked at the other jock beside me, who closed his eyes and seemed about to fall asleep. “And you too, Brody”

“No problem… sir…” He said, tiredness being noticeable in his voice. I’ll let the coach sleep for a while, maybe the personality change tired him at a faster rate? I couldn’t say for certain, but that would make sense since he went from Peter to Brody, and then to Brody in love with his master.

It was still pretty early, though. I got up from bed and Mike followed me, grabbing me from behind. “Would you still like to play smash, bro? Or should I cook something for us?”

It’s impossible to not love this guy. He tried so hard to be an amazing boyfriend every day.

“A shower would be nice, wanna come?” I suggested, and we also had to change the sheets. I’m not sleeping on the wet spot.

“How could I refuse, bro?” He said with a big smile, lifting me again on his arms as he took me to the bathroom.

-----

Chapter 5 is already available in my Patreon!  And by pledging you also get access to other stories before they go public!

#PinesCollegeJocks #mind control #brainwashing #brainwashed #hypnosis #straight to gay #gay hypnosis #hypnotized

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Trollhunters Fanfic AU idea: Heartstone Sun

A stupidly long ramble about themes I’m obsessed with. Warnings: mentions of people getting eaten, other horror elements, redemption speculation, and pontificating about hatred, dehumanizing propaganda, and the cycle of abuse (and an idea of how to break those three things). I’d love to write this if I can figure out how to do it justice, but that may take a while. Criticism is welcome; I can’t hone an idea to proper sharpness if I don’t see its dull spots.

What if the sun is actually a Heartstone - like The Great Gramma of all Heartstones (in this solar system, at least)? And was placed under an enchantment/curse by a prehistoric human coven that Had Enough because trolls outclassed humans in pretty much every arena, and people were getting eaten with impunity by extremely durable apex predators that laughed at their sticks and slings and fire? It's not like trolls really needed to eat humans - these mofos were powered by the sun (and could probably do crazy magic with all that excess power, to boot) - they just like how we taste.

Though perhaps humans also have a knack for passively absorbing Hearstone energies, and that's what they used to essentially poison the Heartstone against Trollkind? And that same passive absorption is why humans make good supplements for trolls who don't have a Heartstone to rely on, as shown in the comics? Since trolls couldn't gain Heartstone energy directly from the sun during the night, if they were injured and/or had a hankering, they'd have to eat creatures that still could. So maybe trolls tended to mostly eat people at night back then when they needed a quick boost because they couldn't get sunlight? And perhaps this contributed toward a more intense, visceral fear of the dark in humanity's evolution - like our common fear of the dark, but on steroids?

Gunmar's comment about "They try to make the night brighter. They fear the darkness," not only speaks to real human fears of the dark, but a mentality that was essentially beaten into Pleistocene-Era humans by impossibly strong and scary opponents (though I love the idea of some troll groups teaming up with humans and having various mutually-beneficial symbiotic shenanigans).

You could see all manner of behavioral, instinctive differences in these humans based on that. From a death-like, numbing paralysis intended to spare them the agony of their last moments, to an overwhelming itch to hide when it grows dark, to a need to sleep in groups for protection, etc... I imagine most beds in most cultures would be in hidden places within a house. Some cultures might even develop "false bedrooms" as traditional parts of their home to trick trolls or evil spirits that are more inclined to hunt with stealth.

This is partly inspired from a weird experience I had one night where I got this sudden, intense fear, and I've never experienced it since, and I still can't figure out what caused it. But some part of me felt a hostile presence in the woods by the house, and I knew it was far too powerful to fight, and I had the overwhelming urge to shut off all the lights, quiet everything that was making noise, and huddle in a closet until whatever it was passed. "Don't let it know you're here," kept playing in my head. I imagine being a human in this AU, especially in the Bad Old Days, would feel a lot like that.

After the Sun Curse (but before humanity regards trolls as myth), I imagine a common survival rule would be: Travel by day (when trolls can't, or at least have a harder time of it), and hide by night (so you don't run into them; if they find you, make them work for it, don't give yourself away).

Humans in this AU love to fancy themselves apex predators not simply as a power trip, but a denial of their true position in the food chain as prey. They can lie to themselves all they like, but their instincts remember and know better.

So to give humanity a fighting chance, this prehistoric coven developed a powerful spell to make the sun toxic to trolls, which would allow humans safety under the sun, which until then, had been a main source of power and sustenance for trollkind.

As an unforeseen catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions, much of trollkind's lore at the time was lost as they scrambled to deal with this development. Their cultures had to adapt, and new lore and methods of dealing with this catastrophe overtook lost histories (mostly verbal at the time). There was very little evidence left of how the sun was cursed, or that humans were behind it - the coven responsible did their utmost to destroy any sign or record of what they did, knowing that such information would rally trollkind against humankind. And even if trolls were weakened without their most sacred life source, they were still a dangerous enough threat that, if they could cooperate with each other, they'd surely wipe humanity out.

They almost succeeded in destroying all knowledge of it, but a certain tribe connected to a certain Heartstone found out, and their resulting fury at this act of desecration gave rise to Gunmar the Black.

This curse would be a deep source of anger and resentment at humanity for having stolen not only trollkind's ability to roam freely on their own world (which they were the dominant species on), but for poisoning a vital and sacred life-source. This is what Gunmar would be talking about when he talks about 'taking back the surface lands'. It's not just propaganda to him, it's his peoples' birthright, and it was stolen from them, and he emerged to set it right. This coven may have acted out of self-defense, but what they did was an unforgivable act of desecration. Gunmar and his Gumm-Gumms would still see it that way, but over time, as humanity loses their knowledge of trolls and turns their attentions toward each other, the rest of trollkind moves on and adapts and forgets their hatred, or their history of having once owned the world. The Gumm-Gumms are still angry about an ancient injustice, and the rest of trollkind, now believing themselves to have always lived underground, sees this 'take back the surface lands' talk as warmongering propaganda against a group that is seen as relatively ridiculous and tasty, but now off-limits depending on who follows the Pact.

While on that note, I imagine Gunmar would find the Pact outrageous and absurd. Humanity has no end to hold up in return, it's basically a heavy restriction on trolls who have already had so much taken from them. It's adding insult to injury, and that any troll would agree to it galls him to no end.

Before the curse, trolls ate fleshlings because we taste good and are satisfying sources of indirect Heartstone energy. Now, Gumm-Gumms also eat humans as an act of rebellion and punishment for what their ancestors did.

CHARACTER PROFILES:

JIM

I love Jim. But I think I'm going to handle him a bit differently in this AU than how he is in canon because I see an opportunity to say something important and relevant to a possible theme of this AU, and I'm not sure canon Jim would really be up for that.

I love the warm, nurturing, gentle side of Jim, and how he likes taking care of his friends. I love how he loves cooking for them, which is the quintessential nurturing act. I love how protective he is of his friends and his mom, and how even though he has made mistakes, he makes those mistakes with protective intentions. His heart's in the right place. This is the side of Jim who looks at Rule #2: Always Finish the Fight, and says "No," and spares Draal's life, and takes care of Chompsky instead of 'taking care of him', and risks precious time to go back for Nomura. This is the Jim I love, and the side of him I want to focus on in this AU.

And that side of him (it seems to me) clashes rather loudly with the other side of him that refuses to apply Rule #1 to Strickler in favor of rebellious mouthing-off, and treats the deaths of his enemies with sassy quips.

With regards to my attitude about that last part, I blame Faramir from Lord of the Rings. His brief monologue about 'the enemy' was formative for me. He fought to protect his people, and in doing so, he had to kill other people. And he didn’t hide from that fact. He had the strength and honesty to both do what he had to do, and to acknowledge that tragedy. He didn't try to diminish their deaths, and I cannot stress enough how important that is to me to see in a protagonist. So in this idea, Jim can be sassy in some cases, and he will kill if he believes he has to, but #2 is a last resort, and when it comes to that, he won't lie to himself or diminish what has happened.

Seeing someone as an obstacle or problem is a crucial step in making it easy to hurt or kill them, and it's one of the goals of particularly dangerous forms of propaganda: dehumanize the enemy. It's a perspective shift that makes fighting easier, but I believe it's one of the very worst lies we can ever tell ourselves or each other.

Acknowledging someone as a person, and not an obstacle or a problem, is (potentially) a powerful way to break the perception that you yourself are an obstacle or problem. If you want a chance to see someone’s relatability/"humanity", you first have to show yours. And they won’t always see it, and even if they do, they won’t always care – you might be hurt or killed anyway. But I think this re-framing is a crucial step in non-violent conflict resolution (in particularly intense cases). It’s risky as hell, so it’s not very popular, but when successful, it broadens perspectives and opens new paths in their minds. And I think that's a powerful and worthy theme; one that Jim could champion. A better way to Finish The Fight.

GUNMAR

In this AU, Gunmar has plans that stretch far beyond the Eternal Night (which, in this AU, would instead be a cure for the curse). From his perspective, he's trying to piece the world back together after several Apocalyptic-Grade Disasters. He's bitter and stressed, but he has stayed tenacious and ambitious despite millennia of warfare, failure, and being forgotten by the vast majority of the world while trapped in the Darklands. He's trying to lead his people out of a bad situation and restore their birthright, and he's annoyed and angry with the significant number of trolls who accept the current status quo when they could have so much more.

Because Gunmar emerged from a corrupted Heartstone and doesn't seem to have parents (perhaps no tribe/clan/colony? I love the extra-spooky supernatural vibe it grants him) I like the idea of him wanting his own tribe. He had a son whom he seemed to care for, and their regard for each other was the one and only thing in canon (in my mind) that elevated Gunmar. I'd like to capitalize on that in this AU. Gunmar was born tribeless, as a symbol of trollkind's general animosity toward humanity, but he obviously doesn't want to stay tribeless. He wants to establish his own line; he wants to create a future for his descendants to thrive in. His ultimate goal isn't so much about putting humans in their place as it is about giving his own people the prosperous future he thinks they deserve. To those who follow him, he's not their tyrant; he's their hero. His aggression is largely directed at humanity, but his goals are NOT human-centric after all.

Gunmar’s backstory (in canon) fascinates me. He was born from a Heartstone that had been transformed by the trollish population’s animosity toward humankind. I think this was supposed to reflect the classic Evil Corruption you see in a lot of fantasy, and leans on a kind of Victorian notion of "bad breeding" and the idea that because he emerged from evil conditions, he is evil by nature. But I think it’s more interesting to look at it as a wound, because that gives his anger a sharper sense of purpose that I think it otherwise lacks. Gunmar manifested from a rift between two populations, and has used the hatred that formed that wound to try and heal it – by taking the surface world and devouring the impudent humans who stole it. The method of devouring them didn’t simply develop because we taste good – it’s also a punishment, born of that same hatred, that says: “You thought you were better, but you are lesser. You wanted a vaunted place for yourself at great cost to us, but your true place is as nothing more than our food. This is what you deserve for trying to shut me and my kind out of our own world, and poisoning something sacred against us.” (referencing the curse on the Heartstone Sun, not the Killahead Banishment, which would come much later).

That may seem to him like a perfectly reasonable way to fix what he sees himself as (both literally and symbolically) born to fix. But even if all his dreams were to come true, that hatred would persist throughout the myriad abuses he would inflict upon humanity (if he’d bother to keep us around as livestock and/or slaves), and long outlast the last of the human population. It would linger, it would continue to fester, and it would be poised to be unleashed upon whatever other sufficiently threatening group crosses trollkind next. After all, that method ‘worked’ on humanity.

But you don’t quench hatred or fix abuse by indulging it. You fix it by learning (and accepting) the truth: no one is a mere obstacle, object, problem, or hated symbol. You did not deserve the abuses you suffered, but re-creating them and re-living them will not put you in control of them or absolve you in any way. (Though the temporary illusion of control may become addictive, it will remain fleeting and false). Abuse, if you let it define you, begets abuse. If Gunmar had achieved all his goals, sooner or later, he’d see his own reflection in a human born of the horrors he inflicted, and of the hatred humanity would have for him and his kind. This human would not see trollkind as anything other than a problem that they were born to solve, just as Gunmar sees humankind. But this would not surprise him at all, because that’s how Gunmar already thinks humans see trollkind. It’s easy to hate someone if you think they hate you. And it would not matter who would win that conflict, because the hatred and abuse would survive to be re-created and re-lived and inflicted on whoever the winner meets next. Nothing would be learned, and no one would heal.

I don’t know what would show Gunmar the truth, much less in a way that would matter to him. But in keeping with Jim's best tendencies in avoiding Rule #2, I think it's necessary for Jim to make the attempt in this AU. Whether or not this would result in Gunmar getting a redemption arc doesn't exactly matter - this is really about Jim's efforts to be the best guardian he can be for two interlinked worlds with a lot of bad blood between them, and I want to do those efforts justice. I don't currently know how, but I have some idea of where to start.

I think two key parts of non-violent conflict resolution are convincing the other party that 1) you care about the same thing they do, and 2) you either can make it easier to achieve, you see a better path to achieving it, or you may be able to improve the final outcome beyond what they originally thought or hoped was possible.

In this case, the goal for both sides is to heal that ancient wound between trollkind and humankind. It’s the plan that everybody disagrees about. Protagonists and antagonists (often, but not always) both ultimately want the same thing – they just disagree about what that’s supposed to look like, or how to achieve it.

Currently, I think that to truly heal, trolls and humans have to come to terms with each other. This is no small undertaking - it would change the world irrevocably - and might never be fully achieved, even after centuries of dedicated work on both sides. A healthy relationship (regardless of it’s nature) isn’t something you achieve and consider Done; it’s dynamic, it’s lived, it requires constant attention and respect, and the acknowledgment that it may change irrevocably as life throws its weird curve-balls. Most of all, it requires a dedicated effort to understand the other person. The surest way to kill a positive relationship is to allow oneself, during times of hardship, to slip into the mindset of seeing that person as an obstacle, problem, or symbol, rather than continue the effort of trying to understand them or why they’re acting difficult. And that’s just taking failing positive relationships into account. Consider all the hardship that comes from starting from a mindset of seeing people as obstacles or problems, and you could see hate-crimes between the populations. Now consider how many trolls and humans may interact with each other as they try to move forward together, and you can get some idea of how easily everything can fall apart, back into the same attitudes that led to the same wound that Gunmar manifested from.

And that’s not even touching on how trolls would have to watch their strength and their tempers around delicate little humans (even the ornery ones), and how humans would have to put a certain amount of trust, patience, and good faith in a group that was, in the past, known for eating them (and that still thinks they taste delicious). It will be easier for some than for others, but for those others, it may feel impossible.

I’m not saying it can’t be done. I believe it’s necessary and worthwhile. But I also believe it’s important to not downplay how difficult it would be. It would be stressful, it would come with times of crisis and doubt, and some might give up entirely, and it would be up to the rest to persevere despite the inevitable tragic incidents; to be brave, and not take such incidents as proof that peace is impossible. “Fear (if you don’t let it rule you) is but the precursor to valor.”

There would be hate-crimes (committed by both sides) between the groups. And there would be heroes (from both sides) rushing in to stop them. And there would also be vigils, gatherings of both humans and trolls, in honor of the victims who couldn’t be saved in time, and in solidarity, in honor of the peace they’re working for together. And I think, in that act of mourning and solidarity, therein lies their victory.

Love and grief are some of the most powerful, relatable (rather than ‘humanizing’ which is an embarrassingly ironic and limited word, especially in this context) emotions out there. And I think it’s that relatability that has the power to reveal people as more than obstacles or problems.

I doubt witnessing it would cause every Gumm-Gumm to reconsider their stance on humanity, much less Gunmar himself, but it could be a little step toward a better path; a seed of doubt – a check to keep them honest when they try to tell themselves tales of what humans and troll ‘traitors’ want, or deserve.

Another thing I imagine might challenge Gunmar’s perceptions has to do with the Decimaar blade. At first, I wasn’t sure what it’s supposed to symbolize in the show other than as an explanation for why anyone would follow someone so careless with their lives. It would also explain why no one assassinated him while he was weakened and starving in the Darklands. (Curiously, no one else seemed to be starving, and I’m not sure what to make of that. I think I missed something important.)

At first, I thought the Decimaar blade symbolized the ultimate hatred/abuse: it enslaves, it wipes out its victims' identities; it turns people into objects to be used by their master, and obstacles to be rid of by their enemies. There’s no loyalty involved, no sacrifice – nothing of meaning that is gained from willing service is preserved. It is simply the use of others – abuse made manifest. In that, I saw the Decimaar blade as an extension of Gunmar himself; a symptom of the conditions of his birth. The cruel irony here was that he had the power to turn his own people into the exact, flat, threatening (obstacles/problems) monsters humanity expected them to be. So from this, Gunmar wasn’t just born from trollkind’s hatred, but humanity’s, too. And just like with abuse un-dealt with, un-treated, he perpetuates it.

And then I learned that the Decimaar blade was won from Orlagk, so there goes that idea. Or at least the part of it being a part of Gunmar. But somehow now, I feel that helps it fit even better; I don’t currently think the Cycle of Abuse starts with Nature (in the whole Nurture vs Nature argument). I currently think abuse (in all it’s myriad forms, intentional or not) is inherited. Gunmar may have emerged from hateful conditions, and he may have inherited a direct metaphor for coercive abuse, and he may pass it on, but it’s not truly a part of him. Therein lies a little glimmer of hope that he might eventually see it for what it is - what it's doing to him and his people (who he was born to protect and provide for as a leader) - and reject Decimaar not only as a weapon, but as a way of thinking.

I'm a sucker for redemption arcs. I'm not sure I can give Gunmar one, or if I should even try. But I think in this, Jim has to make the effort to try to understand Gunmar and what he wants, and to convince him that there is a better way. Whether this version of Gunmar (eventually - I imagine it wouldn't come easy if it happens at all) takes him up on it or not, I don't know.

IF I go for it, though, I want to do it justice. Redemption is not about forgiveness or acquittal. Redemption is about climbing, no matter how far you’ve fallen, and even if you can never reach the top, you can still try to give others a boost along the way. Redemption (just like a relationship) isn’t achieved; it’s lived. And it doesn't necessarily mean joining the Good Guys. You won't see Gunmar Reformed agonizing about all the blood (human and trollish) he has spilled, or asking "Haven't I redeemed myself?" Gunmar Reformed (at least the way I'd hope to write him) may still have a great deal of contempt for humans in general, but he has learned enough about them that he can no longer see them in simplistic terms. He may privately think on What Could Have Been had he changed his perspective sooner, but he doesn't have the time or patience to dwell on regrets - the world is still hecked up, and he still has work to do (although the nature of that work has changed dramatically). I imagine if Gunmar changes his plans, he'll chase his new objectives his own way. The Trollhunters might have occasional, tenuous, scary, and unpredictable alliances with him when their goals align, but it might be a stretch to call them allies - a lot has happened, both sides are still angry with each other, but they've come to an understanding and have a degree of mutual respect, and can demonstrate enough good faith in one another to surprise each other. Gunmar will still have all his old ferocity, he'll just be channeling it in a new direction.

#Trollhunters fanfic AU idea #Heartstone Sun #theme talk

[lattehatteofyourdreams-blog]

In Dire Need of A Friend

~Hey guys! This is not very good because I didn’t really edit it at all, I just wanted to get some content out, constructive criticism and feedback is always welcome!

~Basically this is a little side story off of when Emma said she brought the Professor groceries, and the follow up of the Professor coming to Beanies! 

    This month had been the lowest of the low. Professor Hidgens had been coming to fewer and fewer of his own classes. He could not muster the strength to pull himself up from his bed it seemed. Another production company had rejected the script for his musical, which had been the catalyst for this depression slum. He had actually been doing well before his interaction with the production company. Working on his musical and the start of the new school year had pushed down the sadness so far in his body that he had nearly forgotten the ice cold feeling of complete despair. But the second he read the words of that email that horrible feeling cropped up in his chest and head once more.'We regret to inform you that we will not be accepting 'Working Boys; A New Musical' as our fall production this season.' The words had traveled like a bullet straight into the heart of the balanced routine that he'd been managing. Some of his students were beginning to notice the weight he was shedding, the greasy hair, and the very deep circles under his eyes. On the fourth day of Professor Hidgens not showing up to class one of his students, Emma, decided that someone needed to do something. 

    Emma was a college student, so in other words she really didn't have much money. She worked at a coffee shop near campus called Beanies and while her income wasn't much, it was enough for her to have a little savings. She decided her money could be well spent in some groceries for Professor Hidgens. So on her way back from her last class of the day she stopped at a small grocery store before making her way to the edge of town. Professor Hidgens had one told her about his home, about how lonely such a big house gets. She was confident she could find it with the vague description of where it was located. She did indeed find the large home and was shocked to find that the gates guarding the place were wide open. She pushed on and securely parked in the long driveway beside Professor Hidgens's dirty looking car. Emma picked up all four full bags of groceries she had purchased and marched toward the front door. She pounded the sturdy oak door heavily, and waited for a response. Within a few minutes the sound of multiple locks clicking open vibrated against the door. The door swung inward, revealing a disheveled Professor Hidgens. His gray bush of hair looked like wild bedhead, and his clothes looks wrinkled in ways only a few days of wear can produce. His body language was riddled with exhaustion. His eyes were droopy and he was ringing his hands. 

    "Hi Professor!" Emma beamed cheerfully. "It's Emma, from your intro to biology class." 

    "Yes of course, but w-what are you doing here?" Professor Hidgens insisted, leaning heavily on his door frame, almost as though he needed to balance himself. 

    "Well, you've missed a few classes Professor. I wanted to stop by and, well..." She trailed off, not really sure how to explain what she was doing. 

    "Oh..." He suddenly sounded choked, like he couldn't continue. "I guess I have." 

    "I, uh, I got you some groceries. I assumed you might be kind of busy." She smiled warmly. 

    Emma didn't want to insult the man by insinuating he couldn't take care of himself. She hoped it wasn't obvious that she was scrambling for an excuse for buying the groceries for him. The professor looked up from where his eyes had been trained on the floor earlier, there was something glinting in his watery eyes. Something to the tune of gratitude, confused gratitude, but gratitude nonetheless. He sucked in a deep breath and rubbed at his eyes quickly. Emma didn't want to rush him but the bags were nearly breaking her weak arms. She shuffled the bags slightly trying not to be too obvious. Professor Hidgens noticed, removing his hands from his face and plastering on a small smile. 

    "Where are my manners, come in Emma." He said, swinging the door open further and ushering her inside. 

        Emma was making quick work of putting the groceries away. She had gotten the necessities for the basic college kid diet, she hoped it worked for professors as well. She was nearly heartbroken to find that upon opening the fridge there was nothing but a carton of spoiled milk, a mushy apple, and half a head of lettuce inside. Professor Hidgens mulled over a glass of water while Emma shuffled about the kitchen putting things away and throwing out things horrendously past their sell-by date. When she was finished she joined the man at the table, noticing that he had thankfully nearly polished off the water in the glass. She wondered if she was seem to pushy offering to get him another glass. It had fallen dark outside and Emma knew she would need to leave soon, but she was content to sit with the Professor and talk for a while if that's what he needed. 

    "I can't tell you how thankful I am that you stopped by Emma. I was in dire need of... some groceries." Professor Hidgens uttered, not looking up from his glass. 

    "Of course! Your house isn't far from where I work so it was no trouble really." She assured. "I work at that Coffee shop on the corner of Eighth st. and Park. Beanies." 

    The Professor nodded as if to think about it heavily. They continued to speak quietly as the minutes ticked on. The Professor talked briefly of his musical and Emma made sure to show extra enthusiasm as he explained it. She didn't miss the way his eyes lit up as he illustrated every detail. It was evident that he cared greatly for his creation, it was heartwarming to see him so animated and excited. Before either of the two of them had realized it was nearly midnight and Emma needed to leave. She excused herself apologetically, wishing she could stay later but an early shift at Beanies preventing anything of the sort. 

    "I'm going to go now professor. I left out a box of that instant macaroni, it's pretty shit but it's something. Please eat it." Emma pleaded, getting up and making strides toward the door. 

    "I will." The Professor nodded, a tired smile on his face. 

    "Maybe if you're feeling up to it I'll see you at the next lecture?" Emma hinted, almost out the door. 

    "Maybe." The Professor replied. 

    "Bye, Professor Hidgens." 

    "Goodbye, Emma." 

    It had been a week since Emma had stopped by the Professors house and he still hadn't made it back to class. On a particularly slow day at Beanies Emma began to plot on maybe dropping by again due to his ever present absence  when a silver head of hair popped in through the glass door. Emma's eyes lit up as Professor Hidgens stepped through the door. He didn't look fantastic, but he looked better and that made her happy. The bags under his eyes had let up slightly and he was wearing new clothes. Professor Hidgens strode up to the counter, smiling brightly at her. Emma was thankful that Zoey had gone on break because she wasn't very patient with customers that weren't 'normal' so to speak and the Professor was a bit eccentric. 

    "Hey Professor!" Emma sparkled, waving. 

    "Hello Emma, I thought it was only fair that I come return the favor since you payed me a visit last week." He boomed in his powerful voice. 

    "Well, what can I get you?" Emma smiled, gesturing at a large menu above her head.

    The Professor thought carefully, scrunching his nose to show he was deep in thought. His eyes scanned the menu thoroughly. He finally decided on a Chai Latte. Emma gave him directions to sit in the clump of tables closer to the store front, and informed him that she would bring him his coffee. He agreed and marched over to sit. Emma was glad he seemed to be doing so much better. She flew through making his drink, writing 'world's best professor' where she would normally write the customer's name. Emma figured that would make him happy. Her eyes found the clock on the wall. Only 2:35. She figured it was okay to take her break now. She joined Professor Hidgens at his tables and set the drink down carefully in front of him. He scanned the drink. Reading the words scribbled on the sweating plastic in Emma's loopy handwriting. A wide smile spread across his face. They talked quietly for a while, Emma casually slipping in some wellness checks in between her jokes and stories. Before she knew it the hour was up and she needed to go back to work. She looked around, as if to take stock on everything in the small store. There wasn't a single customer in the place. She figured it couldn't hurt to extend her break just a little bit. 

    "Don't you need to get back to working?" Professor Hidgens poked, a hint of something knowing in his voice. 

    "Eh," Emma shrugged with a small smile. "This is more fun." 

    Emma and Professor Hidgens continued their little party in the corner of Beanies, despite the nasty looks she was receiving from Zoey. She flipped her the bird and smiled falsely. Emma didn't consider herself a recluse by any means, but she didn't ever really have the kind of conversation she was having now. She didn't get to laugh and feel understood. She didn't get to care for someone else. Not since her sister's death. And she was definitely not going to let Zoey ruin that for her. 

    The sky burnt orange and pink as the sun began to set. Golden light blared in through the glass store front. The Professor had long since finished his drink and was now fiddling with a pen he had pulled out of his jacket's pocket. Only a few customers had come in for a drink. Nothing Zoey couldn't handle by herself. And she was unwilling to disturb Emma again after she had kindly implied where she could put her opinion. She left thirty minutes before her shift was really over, clicking off the neon open sign hanging in the doorway. Emma could swear she saw a soft smile and curt nod from her usually less than agreeable coworker. Emma knew she needed to close up shop soon. She waited until the Professor was done telling his story before sliding up and out from her chair. 

    "I've got to get home professor, but hold on I'm going to go grab something really quick." She gingerly moved to the kitchen, her converse smacking against the tile floor loudly. 

    Emma quickly folded up the largest delivery box available and began shoving left over food inside. She stockpiled it full of muffins, croissants, cookies, and scones. Spinning on her heals she pulls a cup from the dispensers and begins filling it with their homemade peach iced tea. Emma nimbly placed a lid on top and stabbed a straw through the plastic. She gathered her treasure and made her way out of the kitchen once more. When she returned to the storefront Professor Hidgens was now behind the register, that pen still clutched in his hand. 

  �� "Here, Professor. This is for you." Emma chided, pushing the coral box and translucent cup towards him. 

    "Emma, I can not except all this from you." He insisted with a slow shake of the head, his gray hair falling slightly out of place. 

    "Come on, sir. We're just going to throw it all out anyway!" That wasn't wholly true, but the items would not be missed. 

    Another smile broke out on Professor Hidgens's face, although he was still shaking his head softly. His protest resolved and he slid the box and cup off the counter and into his arms. He seemed to stroll happily to the door. Emma was excited to see the familiar pep in his step. 

    "You'd better get home soon Emma, if I'm going to see you tomorrow bright and early for class." The Professor practically glowed. 

    "Absolutely. I'll see you then Professor." Emma grinned, the bright smile reaching her eyes. 

    The Professor nodded, pushing out the door and into the parking lot. Emma felt accomplished. She felt great. The professor was going to come to class tomorrow, she was confident he had enough food to at least get him through the week, and he had even left his house to come visit her at work. Emma decided that she needed to get decent sleep for Professor Hidgens's class tomorrow, so she began to clean and close up. She noticed a crumbled napkin at the table the Professor had been sitting at. She ventured over to sweep up what appeared to be a bit of garbage, but before doing so she noticed Professor Hidgens's scribble-y handwriting. She read it out. 

Thank you for stopping by Emma, I was in dire need of a friend. Fantastic service deserves a good tip! ~Professor Hidgens

    Emma detached a twenty dollar bill that had been hidden inside the napkin. She smiled to herself. A friend. She could do with one of those. 

#tgwdlm #the guy who didn't like musicals #professor hidgens #emma perkins #lauren lopez #robert manion #starkid

[bloodfromtherock-blog]

KAVANAUGH & THE CORONATED CREEPS

Daniel Hutchens October 10, 2018

"It would be naive to depend on the Supreme Court to defend the rights of poor people, women, people of color, dissenters of all kinds. Those rights only come alive when citizens organize, protest, demonstrate, strike, boycott, rebel, and violate the law in order to uphold justice." -Howard Zinn **********************************************

Kavanaugh repeatedly lied to the US Senate under oath during his job interview for Justice of the Supreme Court. These lies have been well-documented at this point, and aren’t even being contested; the essence of the reply from the Republican oligarchy is, “It doesn’t matter.”

And American women at this point have been demoted to second-class citizens by the Trump administration. This is clearly observable. Trump’s attacks on women are relentless; his push toward more restrictive policies on contraception and abortion, his rollback of gender equality pay laws, removal of paycheck transparency, forced arbitration clauses for sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination claims...for me, as the father of an 11 year old daughter, this is all a sinister slap in the face. But more to the point, Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court now puts Trumpsters firmly in control of the move to strike down Roe v. Wade. Understand this clearly: female American citizens are considered nothing more than property by the Old Boys Club, and women’s voices regarding reproductive rights and their own bodies are considered irrelevant. In Trump’s eyes, women are cattle to be branded and used as deemed appropriate.

Kavanaugh is staunchly anti-abortion and has no intent of ruling objectively on this issue. When Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, shadily swung her support to Kavanaugh during the hearings, she apparently felt compelled to grandstand dishonestly for the cameras, maybe in deference to the power of the #MeToo movement, considering her stature as a female Senator. Her behavior reeks of a back room deal, after her previous assertions that if Kavanaugh lied he should be disqualified. She helped Republicans by putting a woman’s face on their warped campaign to shame and discredit survivors of sexual assault, thereby aiding Trump’s shitty backlash against #MeToo, and his brain dead catch phrase, “It’s a very scary time for young men in America.” #MeToo is so powerful that people like Susan Collins have to pretend to support it. She said that Kavanaugh would preserve Roe v Wade and legal abortion. Bullshit. “Operation Rescue,” a group working since the ‘80s to “make America abortion free,” and the rest of the extremist anti-woman crowd have all supported Kavanaugh’s nomination right down the line.

The looming abortion showdown is grim news for American women and those who care about them, alright. The notion that there’s some religious or ethical justification behind returning to back-alley amateurs and economically-selective access to these medical procedures is a sleazeball scam. And just for the record, the “religious right” who have supported Trump have completely forfeited all claim on morality, forevermore, end of discussion. Their previous hand-wringing over opposition candidates for sexual scandals, affairs etc.—then their ridiculous postures that “God chose Trump,” and they “weren’t electing a Sunday school teacher,” their transparent indifference to his cheating on all his wives with porn stars, scamming American citizens with rackets like Trump University etc., his history of racist business practices, his shady record of tax fraud and his whole laundry list of decidedly unChristian behavior, in the most basic sense of spirituality and genuine concern for others, which some of our parents actually schooled us about...yeah, those evangelical hucksters are exposed and discredited and can shut their mouths permanently about abortion and everything else. There are people with genuine soul convictions about these issues, but there are also plenty of imposters and their servility to a snake like Trump spotlights their insincerity. Ye shall know ‘em by their fruits, I’ve heard tell.

Of COURSE Trump wanted Kavanaugh on the Court. Kavanaugh has confirmed himself as a “get out of jail free card" should Trump ever be charged with any crime. Not to mention that Trump and Kavanaugh are plainly fellow members of a perverse fraternity we might as well call “The He-Man Woman Haters Club,” with apologies to the Little Rascals. They both have histories of a predatory mindset, insulting attitudes toward women in general (and no, hiring a few females or minorities does not erase acts of bigotry, and none of us fail to understand the concept of “making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality”)…and Trump’s recent sideshow of mocking Dr. Ford was one of the most jaw-droppingly ugly little political performances this nation has witnessed in many years. (Excepting other Trump tantrums, of course.) Not so long ago, such a warped demonstration would have dropped like a stone any American politician from favor by both parties, immediately and with extreme prejudice. Not so in today’s world of Trumpian “alternative facts” and low-rent bullying.

Also revisit the whole Justice Kennedy/Deutsch Bank scandal, and put the pieces together. Plenty of in-depth and sobering articles are available on this subject, and the bottom line takeaway is that Russian money and influence indeed are swaying American policy and elections, and the whole thing is directly tied to the slow-moving Republican/Russian takeover of everything from our Supreme Court on down. By all means, don’t take my word for it, but by all means do your own research and do your own thinking. But these topics expand and branch out mighty far. Let’s snap focus back onto Kavanaugh.

******************************** “The politically convenient, scientifically baseless theory that sexual assault so traumatized Christine Blasey Ford she mixed up her attacker is now something like common wisdom for many Republicans… less than three weeks ago, when the mistaken-identity theory was first formulated, it was so widely ridiculed that a pundit who advanced it on Twitter subsequently apologized and offered to resign from his job.” -Avi Selk ********************************

October 5th Dr. Ford cover Illustration by John Mavroudis for TIME. © 2018

Some of Kavanaugh’s defenders have criticized Dr. Ford for being “coached” and otherwise manipulated. I have no doubt she got some advice from lawyers, etc., nor that the timing and presentation of her complaints were orchestrated through Democratic channels. That’s the name of the game in Big Time American Politics, folks. But her testimony was believable and compelling, and she retained adult composure through her emotions (it’s tough to imagine the storm of criticism she would have received from Republicans if she had behaved anything like Kavanaugh.) But the implication that Kavanaugh wasn’t also coached (with a professional eye toward manipulating opinion) is high-grade bullshit, or else a stunning level of naivete. Kavanaugh’s TV appearance in which he portrayed himself as a meek little virgin til long after high school, etc., was harshly disapproved of by Team Trump, and they coached him up with specific instructions for the Senate hearing: their advice was that he needed to unleash his anger. And Kavanaugh ran with the “anger” bit and it got away from him; that much-reported nasty temperament of his glared through the cracks in his public facade, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Kavanaugh’s face...God have mercy. Now in addition to Trump, we have another bitter, hideous visage to haunt our collective dreams. Understand we’re not discussing aesthetics. I’m referring to that old notion that eyes are the windows to the soul, and that intuitive interpretation of facial displays gives us significant information about an individual’s attitude, sense of humor, empathy...or the lack of it. And we were burned by flashes of Kavanaugh’s inner demons during the hearing. Much like Trump, Kavanaugh’s features contorted into a repellent mask of childish temper, ill-mannered impatience and lurking malevolence. It was a freak show that could have taught Hollywood’s monster make-up artists a trick or two. To the extent that Kavanaugh was moved (instructed) to write a quasi-apologetic op-ed piece after the hearing. But we all know what we saw.

During that hearing he raged at those who had questioned his nomination and he hinted not-so-subtly at retribution. He was prodded by White House counsel Don McGahn, who sat directly behind Kavanaugh during the hearing. The whole performance was sickeningly indignant, unashamedly entitled and arrogant, and stunningly partisan in a way that would have disqualified any nominee from previous years—but again, not so in today’s atmosphere of Trumpian distortion and pettiness.

Plenty of us out here recognize Kavanaugh for who he is. We’ve all known “that guy” in our lives; the spoiled, sneering little punkass who talks differently about women as soon as they walk out the door, and who suffers delusions of superiority, and who no one wants to hear any more shit from down at the corner bar.

Kavanaugh’s appointment was questioned or condemned by vast numbers in this country, represented by such organizations as the American Bar Association, Yale Law School, over 2400 Law Professors nationwide, many former classmates and friends, and the National Council of Churches (which represents 100,000 churches and about 45 million churchgoers.) Not to mention the many womens’ groups, the #MeToo movement, etc. Such outright opposition to a nominee for the Supreme Court is extraordinary, and the fact that said opposition was mocked, belittled and outright ignored by the Republicans determined to ram this nomination through come hell or high water—“we’re going to plow right through it,” as Mitch McConnell claimed without shame—yeah, such utter disregard for mass portions of the population is ominous. (And by the way, Trump’s dumbassed claim that Kavanaugh was “proven innocent” indicates a farcical, childish lack of legal comprehension.)

And of course, the meager FBI “investigation” allowed was nothing but a front. The whole circus was rushed and hushed, with zero perceivable interest in knowing the real truth. If team Trump had any interest in uniting the country or in general fairness, they could have trotted out any of a dozen other nominees, all of whom would even have satisfied the wish list of the conservative right, without all the unnecessary baggage. But there are higher priorities for these particular elected officials than fairness or the genuine best interests of the nation.

To pretend Kavanaugh isn’t a partisan shill now planted in the land’s highest court is preposterous belief in “alternative facts” and simplistic hype. The only ones who are fooled by Trump’s blather at this point are those who want to be fooled. His outright nonsense and habitual lies are easily spotted from miles away, but the sad fact is that his supporters don’t give a fuck. They don’t care if he lies, or demeans women or minorities or stirs up international diplomatic firestorms with “shithole countries”-style verbal diarrhea. As Trump himself famously said, he could “shoot somebody and not lose voters.” It’s strangely, sadly true.

It’s also true of Trump’s new handpuppet, Kavanaugh. To whom the idea of “a personality that is even-handed, unbiased, impartial, and dedicated to a process, not a result” in no way applies. Certainly not at this point, after he ranted about “the revenge of the Clintons,” and openly attacked “the Left,” “Democrats” and (for Crissakes) “the media” during his whinefest in front of the US Senate…beyond the pale, folks. We live in a strange new land, in strange new times.

Post-American, by many accounts. The much-revered and much-hated icon of the Left, Michael Moore, predicted Trump’s election in a written article in 2016. The prediction was often reprinted and ballyhooed as campaign-banner fodder by the Far Right. But they missed the warning flash of Moore’s article, and the unnerving prediction: “And now you’re fucked…When the rightfully angry people of Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin find out after a few months in office that President Trump wasn’t going to do a damn thing for them, it will be too late to do anything about it…Goodnight America. You’ve just elected the last president of the United States.”

Pretty dramatic words, but unfortunately the further we sink into the era of the Trump regime, the less incredible such sentiments sound. We’re witnessing an active dismantling and attempted discrediting of institutions ranging from public education to the Free Press. And the schemed attack on the Supreme Court, again, has proven successful for far-righters who don’t give a damn about being even-handed or protecting an independent judiciary.

Trump said that Dr. Ford seemed “a very credible witness”and “very compelling” on one day. Then a few days later he openly mocked her like he was a dimwitted schoolkid. He gushed about what a great man Kavanaugh is, then the next day said, “I don’t even know him!” It’s all topsy-turvy and bizarre, the truth is treated like a curious artifact from a long-dead age, and Trump’s supporters act like it’s all “normal.” But it’s not. And the glimmer of hope is that there are plenty of us out here who understand perfectly well that Emperor Trump ain’t wearing any clothes. We see very clearly what’s happening in this country, the legitimizing of white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, and bigotry of every stripe. We see you. We see you and know you and so does the whole world, and so will the history books, baby.

“I know Brett Kavanaugh but I wouldn’t confirm him,” wrote Benjamin Wittes, who had previously published and even admired Kavanaugh. “I cannot condone the partisanship—which was raw, undisguised, naked, and conspiratorial—from someone who asks for public faith as a dispassionate and impartial judicial actor. His performance was wholly inconsistent with the conduct we should expect from a member of the judiciary.”

And the message to women in this country, again, is sadly obvious. “Shut the hell up. Because if you ever dare to speak up about this kind of thing again, we will openly ridicule you and no one in power will ever take you seriously.”

******************************************** “Kavanaugh, though, has a distinct honor: He will be the first justice nominated by someone who lost the popular vote to earn his seat on the bench with support from senators representing less than half of the country while having his nomination opposed by a majority of the country.” -Philip Bump *********************************************

CODA: Yeah. The country is divided in a way it hasn’t been since Vietnam. Extremists are multiplying, and they’re nurturing diseases that were seething under the surface for many years before Trump. And indeed, we’re witnessing a perverse resurgence of tolerance for fascism and white supremacism worldwide. But here in America, Trump is the ringmaster of the new Ugliness; his lowering the bar of public discourse, his smug approval of greed and cruelty, his nod-and-a-wink okey-dokes to racism, misogyny and all manner of bigotry—he has legitimized, pardoned and coronated the creeps, the rotten underbelly of our society, the very worst we have to offer.

Let’s vote some of these bastards out in November, folks.

#Kavanaugh #Trump #SupremeCourt #Resist #MeToo #DrChristineBlaseyFord

[stefandesofia]

Stories from the Unliving Ch 4

“So you’re the girl, huh? I have to say, quite a looker. I was really expecting worse, knowing the guy there, but hey, glad to be proven wrong!”

“I would really appreciate you not insulting me, thank you for that” said the young man. “She’s real intelligent and was very curious about meeting you”

“I bet! I’m not your run of the mill, pond-dwelling skeleton, that you meet in most other lakes. No, I also have some pretty fat fish too!”

“No need to be aggressive like that, she just wants to talk to you”

“Fine, fine, sorry. What did you want to talk about? ...... Hello?”

“She actually can’t speak, and uses her little writing board to communicate”

“Ah, sorry, my bad. But yeah, just write your messages and I’ll just work with that. ...... Ah yeah, I don’t know my name, don’t remember it any more. I already explained this to your friend here, but I’ve been alive for over 30.000 years, so a lot of the early stuff is gone. Stuff like who I was, family, friends, but after meeting soooo very many people, doing soooo many things, nothing gets left. It’s like, the more I learn, and experience, the closer the cutoff gets. The first thing I remember, at this point is when my flesh had just started to decay”

“He speaks the truth, but even still, he remembers so many others! He is a veritable academy’s worth of knowledge.”

“Sure, why not. ...... I mean, I live here, it’s my home, I don’t need to breathe or eat, or whatever, so I’ve made my home at the bottom of the pond here. I moved in here about 7000-8000 years ago, I had a house, actually, right over there, but decided that the upkeep on that is way more than I can be bothered with, so instead, I carved some stone furniture, and pushed it in the water, the house just degraded over time, and by now, the only thing you can see left of it, is that stone over there. That was my fireplace. Never even used the thing, it was just for aesthetics”

“I never realised you had a house here. I had assumed you’ve always lived in the pond itself. What made you go under the water?”

“Folk like you, actually. Or, I guess, how you were. Swords and armor, and ‘begone foul beast’ while I was just chilling on my porch. ...... I mean, I can’t die, so why would I fight back? Furthermore, I’m a pacifist, and I really try to be non-confrontational, sort of, you don’t mess with me and I don’t mess with you. And honestly, even if you do mess with me, as long as you don’t go too far, I won’t be doing much.”

“But what about your honor? Do you not feel the need to defend what you stand for? Why, if someone were to attack my home, I would pick up a sword and punish the person myself!”

“I’m sure you will. But again, non-confrontational, and I just don’t care too much. Obviously, you try messing with my fish, I will mess you up. I have stuff that you primitives can only dream of, and even then. ...... No offence, it’s just very high technological level. Even I only get the general idea of how it works. Something about deionizing your atoms, doesn’t ‘cut’ in the traditional sense, but more like, takes you apart when getting close to the edge. ...... Nah, haven’t used it in a long time. Last I did was for carving the stone furniture down at the bottom. It works on almost everything that the blade approaches.”

“It sounds like a mighty weapon! If that got into the wrong hands, it could mean disaster for maybe a whole kingdom!”

“I mean, yeah, but they have to actually come here, go through me, dive to the bottom of my pond, which isn’t very shallow, I’ll have you know, get the blade, and then still fight their way through to using it. ...... Nah, I don’t think I will, it’s perfectly safe where it is. I mean, only the two of you know about it, so if someone else was to find out, I’ll know who to blame.”

“I would never betray your trust like that!”

“It’s happened before, it will happen again. It’s human nature. But it doesn’t bother me too much. Always expect the worst and you can never be disappointed, I always say. ...... You’re dark! I’m a realist! And besides, I have my fish, and yeah, technically they mostly just are here for the food and the great environment I’ve created for them here, but they can’t betray you, since, you know. They’re fish. Yes, you Pete Liv! ...... Oh, this is Pete Liv. Say ‘Hi’ Pete Liv. ...... His called Pete, but he is the 54th Pete that I’ve had, so Roman numerals, that’s LIV.”

“What’s a Roman?”

“Errr, they used to be this real big empire thing a looooong time ago. I really don’t remember the details any more. I think someone stabbed someone else? Maybe the other way around? Who cares? Think it might have been over the throne.”

“Any good kingdom would never follow someone who took the throne by stabbing the previous leader! It’s just undignified and downright evil! The people will never trust a person who relies on violence to lead them!”

“Congratulations, you just discovered the basis for democracy. ...... That’s a way of governing people where basically, anyone eligible puts their name down on a list and the people get to choose who they like most. Supposedly it isn’t rigged, but there’s always someone paying for votes. ...... Well, if you’re the previous president, you’d want to keep being that, since you get quite a lot of benefits from it, and the pay’s nothing to shake a stick at. So, with your vast amounts of money that you have from, well, being you, you just invest a very small portion, and pay out enough people to tip the scales in your favor, so you keep staying in power, and you keep getting all the benefits and money, and whatever.”

“I am getting confused now. Is this system a good thing or not?”

“It’s complicated. You’ll get to it eventually, but from what I can tell you’re still pretty early in the development, so monarchy it is! ...... Well, I’m still alive, but I get your question. Don’t remember, to be honest with you. I’d guess we went through a bunch of different options. There was likely a monarchy, democracy, tyranny. Dunno, maybe some others. I’ve seen quite a few governments after that, that had all sorts of varied styles. I told your friend here about that time I was an evil overlord, and put forth an age of prosperity for all involved. Until I got bored, anyways.”

“It’s true, It was an amazing tale to behold!”

“There was just so much infighting, and the previous ruling class, hoo boy, they weren’t happy I overthrew them all and made them all potato farmers. Apart from me, literally, everybody else was equal. Everybody got an equal amount of food for free, everybody got an equal living space for free, equal pay, equal everything. Took a while to tear everything down, and the people with the big houses, they really didn’t like me. But you get used to conformity. It’s easy to have everything provided for you.”

“The way you put it, that reminds me a little of the tyranny that you mentioned.”

“It wasn’t like anybody was suffering, I had knowledge of past ages, of more advanced medicine, that I implemented, so everyone was unnatural healthy for the age that they were in. I remember, one time they brought in a guy that was bitten by an animal. Foaming at the mouth, super excitable, trying to break free, clearly rabies. And the people were basically asking me if they should let him in the woods so he can die without causing trouble for anyone else. I just laughed, took a syringe with the vaccine and injected him. Within a few hours he had calmed down, and within a few days, he was back to farming potatoes, or whatever it is he was doing”

“That was a very good thing to do, helping a man. We have this same illness in our time too, but we call it Mad Eyes, because of the look people get when they catch it. It’s amazing that you can heal it! You would be able to save so many people, if you wanted to!”

“Nah, not in the superhero business any more. I had that phase for a while, but got over it pretty quickly. Did you know everyone just expects heroes to do their heroing just because? And without any form of compensation? I didn’t really mind, since I didn’t need to eat or had the need for money, other than just fixing what was broken from my equipment, but someone that needed to eat, pay rent? They couldn’t keep a regular job because of all the time from it they’d had to miss. So that whole thing was short lived.”

“But you had the opportunity to save people, and do the ultimate good! Why would you give that up?”

“Ultimate good doesn’t buy toys! I didn’t just sit in some cave staring at the bats on the ceiling until I would hear someone calling. I had hobbies, and did things. And volunteer work doesn’t pay for a new graphics card. ...... Old technology, but somehow always gets inventent. Guess it’s real perfect in the way it works. I’m sure in, oh, I’d say, 7-800 years, you lot will also have those. too. But when I said ‘always gets invented’ that reminded me, did you know crabs have evolved over 15 times, completely separately from each other. It’s like nature really wants those things around. I just imagine Mother Nature being like this breen nerdy chick in an oversized turtleneck sweater, and she’s totally obsessed with this cute little crab picture with shiny eyes and everything, so she just keeps making them, just having crabs everywhere. ...... You don’t know what a crab is?”

“We’ve never heard of such an animal! What manner of mighty beast is it?”

“Ha, I wouldn’t exactly call them beasts, but picture these 2 large blacksmith tongs on its forelegs, and another 6 legs that look like spikes, 3 on each side, with a squat little body, and everything is covered in this real hard armor. You really never heard of them?”

“They sound terrifying, why, even I might be taken aback by such a foe!”

“Less of a foe, and more of a dinner, to tell you the truth. They were pretty good, as far as I remember, though I haven’t exactly tasted them in a very long time, so who knows. You know, I haven’t exactly seen any around either, so they might have gone extinct in the time I’ve spent here. Imagine Mother Nature grew bored of the things after some time, ha! But I’m speaking too much, you guys tell me something, how did you meet?”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful tale! I had just arrived into town, armor shined, and chin high. You know, this is my first real adventure, as I have only trained before.”

“That would explain you actually talking to me. All the old grizzled veterans really just went to kill me usually with a yell that is supposed to be scary, but honestly, it’s just stupid, flailing about like madmen.”

“Of course, noone benefits from a shout in combat and you would only distract yourself by doing so, it is the basics of armed combat.”

“I personally prefer the completely silent approach, where I just wipe the floor with the opponent, without so much as saying a single word. That way the victory is sweeter! ...... Ah yeah, sorry, you were saying?”

“Ahem, yes, and I was looking for work. At first, everyone would walk past me, not looking at me. Even in the tavern, I would only get single word responses from the owner. It was likely how young I look, and noone trusted in my skills.”

“I have to say, you do have quite the baby face”

“Well, I was getting desperate, and it was soon becoming night time. I had just stuffed my pack under my head and trying to go to sleep on a bench in the town center, when she walked by! She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen! Her hair - perfectly styled, the dress - waving behind her, her eyes - reflecting the street lights. My mouth was agape! Then I saw a shadow following her. It was a hooded figure, but it was clearly a man. I decided I would follow. The figure was just staying out of sight for her, and me - out of sight for him. Eventually, she was about to go home, when I saw the man rush towards her, taking out a dagger. I acted before I could think, drawing my blade and throwing it at the man, who got pierced, let out a loud yell, alerting everyone of his presence, and most importantly, alerting her. ...... Aw, think nothing of it, I would have done it for anyone, but for you, it gave me great joy to be able save you, as I did. But she was quite terrified, so she rushed inside.”

“And you just kinda, killed a guy, and happy end?”

“Not exactly. While I was cleaning my sword, some city watch arrived, and questioned me about what had happened. Apparently, the man was a well known tanner, and he was doing a good job at what he did, and I was just a stranger that had walked into town and had killed a person. Well, things were starting to get fiery, when she came out, and defended me! Using her little board, she explained to the guards what had happened, and how I saved her. They let it go, and took the body away, while she invited me over for dinner and she let me stay the night, in front of her fireplace, so I don’t freeze outside.”

“Well, that was sweet of you. He was a stranger to you, a guy with a bloody sword, essentially, yet you defended him. Not many people would do something like that... ...... No no, Just thinking out loud. Do you guys have any plans for the evening?”

“Yes, we will be having dinner in this eatery hall in town - The Black Goose. I’ve heard that they have this special type of roast, where they first boil the whole cleaned goose in lard and herbs for 4 hours, and then roast it on an open flame so it gets this well roasted outside, and I have just been anticipating going there.”

“What do you think? ...... Yeah, it does sound a little heavy, but maybe they have some vegetables they made in the lard. Good luck on your date!”

“I am not familiar with that word, but we will make sure to enjoy our outing, won’t we?”

“You do that! And tell me how the duck is tomorrow!”

“We’ll bring some back for you.”

“You do realise I can’t actually eat it, right? Like, I have no mouth”

“It matters not, as I like to say, what truly matters is that the people close to you, paid you mind.”

“A little clunky and long, don’t you think? Wouldn’t ‘It’s the thought that counts’ work better? Same meaning, just a little shorter”

“Hmm, I do prefer my version better, but I thank you for your input. I truly do value it! Well, we’re off! We’ll see you later!”

#Stories from the Unliving #storytelling #writing

[45news]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/34zFMD4

#Blogger

[ngulliepija]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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[usuallyleftnight]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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[bersiuniverse]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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[foulengineerzombie]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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[lovehardenemycollector]

LOS ANGELES -- The crowd was buzzing with Hollywood types -- actress Patricia Arquette, producer Norman Lear -- at a private film screening on Sunset Boulevard one recent Sunday afternoon. But here in liberal America, the biggest celebrity in the room was not someone who makes a living in what people call "the industry."It was Rep. Adam Schiff, the straight-laced former federal prosecutor who was on the brink of prosecuting his biggest defendant yet: President Donald Trump.These are heady but perilous days for Schiff, the inscrutable and slightly nerdy chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump. Adored by the left, reviled by the right, he has become a Rorschach test for U.S. politics. Depending on one's point of view, he is either going to save the republic or destroy it.Here in his home district, at the screening of "The Great Hack," a film about misinformation in the 2016 election, Lear introduced Schiff as a "current American hero." As the audience leapt to its feet in a standing ovation, the congressman emerged from backstage in standard Washington uniform -- navy blazer, white shirt, light blue tie -- his manner as inoffensive as his attire."We thank them for their patriotism," Schiff said somberly, praising whistleblowers, including the anonymous one whose complaint against Trump prompted the impeachment inquiry, "and we hope others will follow their courageous example."Now Schiff, 59, is poised to take a much bigger stage as his inquiry moves from a secure office suite in a Capitol Hill basement into nationally televised public hearings. He will make the case against Trump to a divided nation, in what amounts to an epic courtroom drama meant to unveil evidence of the president's pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to smear his political rivals -- a moment that is bound to be must-watch TV.At home in his district, which stretches from West Hollywood to Pasadena and north to the San Gabriel Mountains, Schiff is well acquainted with the celebrity lifestyle.He lives with his wife, Eve (yes, Adam and Eve), and their two children in suburban Maryland, but they also have an apartment in Burbank, home to Walt Disney Studios. He favors vegan Chinese food and drives an Audi whose license plate frame bears a line from the movie "The Big Lebowski" ("I don't roll on Shabbos"), from which he can quote at length. He has dabbled at screenwriting, once drafting a script that featured a prosecutor as the hero. He tried stand-up comedy, too, during a fundraiser at the Improv in Hollywood."He did a whole riff on being a nihilist," said one of his best friends, former congressman Steve Israel, who joined him onstage. "Basically, we got told to stick to our day jobs."But if Schiff has a sense of humor (his friends insist he does have a dry one), he rarely shows it in Washington, where he has carefully cultivated his image as the stylistic and substantive opposite of Trump: calm, measured, reserved and brainy.He makes no secret of his disdain for the president, who refers to him as "Little Pencil Neck" or "Shifty Schiff" when he is not replacing the congressman's surname with a similar-sounding expletive. In an interview, Schiff called Trump a "grave risk to our democracy" who is conducting an "amoral presidency" and has debased his office with "infantile" insults."What comes through in the president's comments and his tweets and his outrage and his anger toward me in particular is, this president feels he has a God-given right to abuse his office in any way he sees fit," Schiff said.Trump and his allies, sensing the threat posed by Schiff's inquiry and divided over how to defend the president against damning testimony, have united in trying to undermine the congressman's credibility. They sought unsuccessfully to have the House censure him and have accused him of running a "Soviet-style impeachment inquiry."On Saturday, Trump proclaimed him "a corrupt politician" on Twitter and claimed that if Schiff "is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers & others that are & were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems purposes."Republicans who work side by side with him on the Intelligence Committee contend that he has changed as his star has risen alongside Trump's. A figure they once saw as a serious and studious policy wonk they now describe in viscerally negative terms, as a liar and a hypocrite who will stop at nothing to oust a duly elected president.Schiff has an "absolute maniacal focus on Donald Trump" said one committee Republican, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, who accused Schiff of routinely lying to the press and the public about what happened in private interviews and conducting the inquiry's initial hearings out of public view so he and other Democrats could distort the findings.And Schiff has let the publicity go to his head, Turner said: "Schiff finds the media intoxicating. And he is pretty much willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top of the media cycle."Schiff has made some missteps. His dramatized description of the president's phone call with the leader of Ukraine drew attacks from the president and Republican lawmakers, who said he was fabricating evidence -- and surprised even a close friend, Alice Hill, who knows the congressman from their days as young prosecutors in Los Angeles."I was a bit surprised because he is reserved and not prone to overstatement, very careful with his words, very careful with the facts and keeping to the facts," she said, adding, "It felt out of character."And Schiff's assertion that he had not had any contact with the whistleblower who incited the inquiry drew a "false" rating from The Washington Post; the whistleblower had approached his panel for guidance before filing his complaint. Schiff conceded he "should have been much more clear" about that.Democrats, who are united behind Schiff, counter that the attacks are opportunistic; Republicans, they said, are attacking Schiff over process because they cannot defend the president on the merits of his behavior.There is little room for error as Schiff pushes the inquiry forward in the coming months. His performance could determine not only Trump's future but also his own. Schiff is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and viewed by some as her possible successor. At a recent news conference, Pelosi -- not ordinarily one to cede control -- took the rare step of sitting with reporters to watch admiringly as the congressman spoke."He's a full package," Pelosi said in an interview, praising Schiff as "always gracious, always lovely." She added, "He knows his purpose, and his purpose is not to engage in that silliness that the president is engaged in."A lawyer educated at Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff tried his first big case three decades ago when, as a young federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, he secured the conviction of an FBI agent who was seduced by a Soviet spy and traded secrets for gold and cash. In 1996, he won a seat in the California Senate; in 2000, he was elected to the House by beating a Republican who had been a manager in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.In Washington, Schiff joined the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats, and made a name for himself as a national security expert. He joined the Intelligence Committee in 2008 -- drawn to it, Israel said, because he viewed it as "a quiet place for bipartisanship."His breakout moment came in 2014, when the Republican-led House established a committee to investigate attacks on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Schiff had argued that Democrats should not participate in what he viewed as a partisan exercise, but Pelosi put him on the committee.But it was the election of Trump that elevated Schiff's profile and made him a sought-after speaker and fundraiser in Democratic circles. As the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee last term, when Republicans still had the majority, he vigorously investigated Russian election interference and questions around whether the Trump campaign had conspired with hostile foreign actors, becoming the most recognizable public face explaining the biggest story in Washington on national TV. When Democrats won the majority in the House, he helped Pelosi draft an investigative strategy.Schiff was a late convert to the impeachment push; like Pelosi, he held back until revelations about Ukraine emerged. For the last five weeks, he has spent much of his time in a secure room four floors below the Capitol, overseeing the closed-door questioning of witnesses. He opens each witness interview and sometimes steps in to conduct questioning himself."The American people have a right to know -- they have a need to know -- how deep this misconduct goes," he said, adding, "There's no hiding the president's hand in any of this."These days, Schiff has tried to tightly control his public profile. He goes on television less than he used to and zips wordlessly through the Capitol, trailed by a phalanx of aides and a scrum of journalists, smiling wanly as they pepper him with questions.It has all given him "a new appreciation" of the struggles his celebrity constituents face in maintaining their privacy, he said. And he is well aware that, out there in the rest of the U.S., he has become a polarizing figure."I feel I've become kind of a human focus group," he said during a panel discussion after the screening here. "People will stop me in the airport in close succession. One will come up to me and say, 'Are you Adam Schiff? I just want to shake your hand -- you're my hero,' immediately to be followed by someone else who says, 'Why are you destroying our democracy?' "The congressman paused and concluded that both couldn't be right "because last time I checked, I'm the same person."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2019 The New York Times Company

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Tasting the 2018 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Variants

No matter what you think of Goose Island these days, if you like beer, you’re curious about the 2018 Bourbon County variants.

“Let’s do ’em all.”

Those were the words of Goose Island brewermaster Jared Jankowski, standing in front of a room of beer media, influencers, writers, other brewers and various beer types last week explaining the thought process behind this year’s parade of Bourbon County Stout options.

This year sees the release of eight different Bourbon County stout and barleywine beers, topping last year’s number which makes this the busiest year for BCS collectors ever. It’s also perhaps the most interesting year in terms of questions we have to ask about the lineup: Why coffee barleywine and not coffee stout? Why wheatwine and no regular barleywine? Why is the most interesting beer, Midnight Orange, its own release when this year’s Proprietors is just a metric shitload of chocolate jammed into a barrel?

I don’t have those specific answers here, nor, really do I need them. I assume the answers are a mix of “there’s only so many hours of the day” plus a bit of “we just felt like it.” Which is fine. Goose is gonna do what Goose is gonna do and they’ll sell a ton of beer doing so. So basically, here’s what happened when I tried a bunch of barrel-aged stout and took some notes (all while Goose Island president Todd Ahsmann sat directly to my right and yes, I did catch him peeking at my notes at least once).

This year’s beers come to us after a nap in 4-year Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace barrels, with the exception of Reserve which hung out in barrels which held an award-winning version of Elijah Craig. There are, as every year, winners and losers, though this year doesn’t quite hit the heights of last year, nor the lows of the restrained post-infection outing.

I’ll give you my ranking of all this year’s BCS variants in a bit — but to tell you about them, I’m going to take you through them the same way Goose took us through them, starting with perhaps the most delicate and pure distillation of barrel character ever in a Bourbon County beer, which would be …

Bourbon County Wheatwine:

The first outing for the first new style in the Bourbon County line in years is a winner. And this is from a guy who generally doesn’t even like barleywines … so what made Wheatwine so much fun to sip?

For a beer that’s about 15% ABV, they managed to make a light, clean, sharp, nuanced brew that’s rich with clean caramel and butterscotch flavor but moreover just a symphony of spirit and barrel. Clear notes of vanilla, whiskey and oak in waves on top of a wash of clean wheaty goodness. I genuinely enjoyed this beer at least 5x more than I thought I would. It’s lighter in color, lighter in body but still rich with surprising flavor and just a fun new entry into the world of barrel aging.

(Wheatwine was also the first variant label to emerge from the TTB earlier this year … followed by a parade of labels both real and fake. When I asked about those fake labels after the night’s tasting, a rep told me that all the labels they submitted “were at least considered for production” … but was unable to look me in the eye when making that statement.)

Bourbon County Stout Original:

It’s not so much that the OG is back, per se, as it is that this year’s is a bit of a return to standard status from last year’s relatively wobbly base barrel-aged beer. I still think that the 2016 Original remains my favorite of recent years, that being the flag that Goose had to plant in the year they returned from their BCS infection woes. Then 2017’s was … iffy, and now in 2018 the beer is back to its rich, hearty, balanced, fudgy, chocolatey self that we know and love.

Sometimes you get a little smoke or tobacco from a BCS Original, this year gives you a good dose of lightly roasty stout + spicy bourbon with a touch of raisin as it warms and you should be pretty happy with hit. It’s a down-the-middle barrel aged stout, which shouldn’t be considered an insult since they popularized the style with just such a thing.

I am still seeing plenty of 2017 BCS on store shelves (including run of the mill convenience stores around the North Side of Chicago, should you ever wonder how accessible this beer is year-round in the city) but I would think that ’18 will move quicker.

Bourbon County Reserve:

Here’s what we said about last year’s BCS Knob Creek Reserve: “Big. Bold. Rough. Unrefined….This is old-school stout character where it couldn’t be roasty enough, couldn’t be boozy enough.” This year’s Reserve is not nearly quite so aggressive and suffers accordingly. The more restrained, balanced character of this beer will probably work for most drinkers, but if I’m comparing Reserves (which I kinda have to) I want this beer to be a graduate-level discourse in bourbon-topped insanity paired with an ass-kickingly rough stout.

This year we got a beer that spent a decent stretch of time on 10-11 year Elijah Craig barrels — which was named Whiskey of the Year last year. Did that make the beer better? The brewers spent a lot of time telling us about how great the barrels were, and how great the juice inside them was … and then served up a beer that was smooth, sticky with toffee flavor and an almost berry-like sweetness … that just made me wish for a pour of last year’s. Sorry, guys.

Distro is expected to stick mostly to Chicago and Kentucky, like last year, though some will also likely hit New York as well as perhaps the Philadelphia brewpub location as well.

Bourbon County Midnight Orange:

Now we get into the fun stuff.

Midnight Orange absolutely delivers on the expectations it promises — it is a beer that tastes like chocolate and orange. Actually, let me rephrase — it is a beer that tastes like orange, with chocolate. For the second year in a row, Goose Island has taken on a dangerous fruit-based flavor and made it work. Last year’s banana-y Proprietors remains a truly pleasurable surprise of a beer, while Midnight Orange is pleasing…but not an all star.

If you think it sounds like the Xmas treat you’ve had for years, you’re right — that’s exactly the inspiration that was described to us. The orange flavor walks right up to the level of “industrial cleanser citrus” acidity and just brushes on overwhelming — but doesn’t quite cross over into a flavor that’s irritating, offensive or otherwise bothersome. Even a touch more would have pushed it there, and the underlying chocolate notes could have stood out louder behind the trumpet-blast of Natalina Orange peel and pith.

Brewer Mike Siegel noted that this was not the first year that the orange+chocolate combination was submitted by a Goose employee as a potential variant so props to Quality Lab employee Paul Leavens and brewer Oscar [no last name given per the brewery’s press release] for getting it past the gates this year.

Is orange+chocolate primed for a trend? At this year’s GABF, New Holland was promoting a version of their Dragons Milk that was also infused with orange and chocolate — which I tried knowing full well I’d have the BCS shortly thereafter and it compared very favorably — so all we need is about one more of these and we’ve got a movement.

Bourbon County Coffee Barleywine

WTF, Goose? No traditional barleywine, no beloved coffee stout … but we get a coffee barleywine? This is this year’s Northwoods — you’re going to like it or not; I don’t see anyone truly loving this one. Divisive, interesting, and probably better on paper, coffee barleywine is a huge blast of rough coffee grounds and beans on the nose, green and raw, like tearing off the top of a bucket of Maxwell House and jamming your head right in.

That green, fruity character of the coffee extends on into the flavor itself, in an equally jarring, aggressive manner. Stout and coffee play great for a lot of reasons, pairing roast with roast and contrasting smooth chocolate with zippy espresso — whereas coffee and barleywine just get into the barrel together and beat the shit out of each other until the ref calls a draw and the judges award the match to coffee but only barely.

Jankowski called this “the most scrutinized of the variants” due to the hour-by-hour checking of the brew as it got infused with coffee through a sort of “dry beaning” technique. They put the raw beans on a flow of beer to pull the flavor straight from the bean vs dilute the beer with a cold-brew coffee extract. That gives you the strongest coffee beer I’ve had in quite some time in terms of ABV, but also pure Guatemalan accelerant.

Note the shredded cacao nibs, berry gelato, orange peel and coffee beans around the beers — Goose provided small samples of the infusion ingredients. Guess what? Raw cacao doesn’t taste great.

Bourbon County Proprietor’s

It’s a barrel-aged stout with a shitload of chocolate in it. It was … yeah, it was chocolatey.

Bourbon County Vanilla

Hot damn, does Vanilla deliver on aroma alone. Intoxicating to the point of cloying, it’s almost cake-frosting rich in smell and flavor with shredded Madagascar bean in such quantities that Siegel reported that people actually got skin rashes from working with that much ingredient.

If you can get past the vanilla bean bomb lingering in your olfactory receptors and put some of this down, you’ll find a beer that stands up to the vanilla richness to deliver some chocolate, some light roast and a touch of bourbon, all smoothed out by a waterfall of what I imagine would be a tan-and-pearl-white wave of buttercream frosting. You want pastry stout? This is the icing on the cake stout.

Finally, I’ll say this for Vanilla: There were a few empty seats around the room for the tasting, all of which had full pours of each variant sitting there all night. Vanilla was the only variant I saw a staff member sneakily grab away for themselves.

Bourbon County Bramble Rye

Not a lot of subtlety here either — this is BCS blended with berry juice, no more, no less. You like raspberry and blackberry in your stouts? Then you’ll like this one. It’s the thinnest and the lightest beer of the year thanks to the juice dilution, which makes it an easier sipper, but I imagine this is a 500ml bottle best split a couple ways because the acidity builds up on you and the base beer is pretty much washed out.

Fruited stouts are always a bit hit or miss — see Midnight Orange and last year’s bananas-foster Proprietors in the “hit” category, whereas last year’s blueberry-almond Northwoods was a big miss. This year’s berry outing isn’t quite as much of a dud as that one, but it’s on the miss side for me anyways.

The Obligatory 2018 BCS Rankings:

If I had to come back to one beer from this year’s batch, one beer that had me asking questions and wanting more and curious to see what’s going to happen with it: It’d be Wheatwine.

I know. I am pretty damn surprised by that too. Everything else fell to about the middle of the pack to me, but here’s where I think things land.

Wheatwine

Midnight Orange

Vanilla

Original

Proprietors

Reserve

Bramble Rye

Coffee Barleywine

I could honestly re-sort those last three if I came back in an hour and thought about it again — it’s that close. Reserve just doesn’t have enough going on with the spirit focus for me this year, Bramble Rye just isn’t my fruity speed and Coffee Barleywine is just nothing but internal conflict. I appreciate the experimentation of it, but I won’t be coming back to it.

One final thing: If Goose Island offers to make you a stout float with gelato, chocolate whipped cream and original BCS…you say yes. Because wow, was this good:

There you have it – another year of Bourbon County stouts are coming our way in a few weeks. Details on this year’s Proprietors Day have been released and can be found here. For $30, you get the opportunity to purchase two bottles of Prop and one bottle of Vanilla; you also get the obligatory tote bag and plastic snifter glass along with sample pours of this year’s BCS.

As always, thanks to Goose Island for throwing open their doors (of the Clybourn space this year) and letting us take a pass at these beers — they remain the most scrutinized beers of the year and I appreciate their annual willingness to let a bunch of us critics and skeptics come through and give things a go.

More From Guys Drinking Beer

About the Author

Karl

Twitter

Karl has written about food, travel and beer for Chicago Magazine, Draft Magazine, Thrillist, Time Out Chicago and more. His book, Beer Lovers Chicago, is now available via Amazon and other booksellers. If you're buying, he's likely having a porter or a pale ale.

Source: https://www.guysdrinkingbeer.com/2018-bourbon-county-stout-wheatwine-coffee-barleywine-variants-goose-island-beer/

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Amazing Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 Homes Available For Purchase In Every Region

Well, there are no surprises here: Your primary step in the Keller Williams Realty Listings for property-buying procedure is to determine your budget, just as you 'd likely provide for any other significant monetary choice.

However where should you begin?

" As a basic rule of thumb, you need to be taking a look at home rates that are 2 to 3 times your annual earnings," says Tom Gilmour, a CFP ® at LearnVest Planning Services. "This assists guarantee that you're not handling a bigger mortgage commitment than you can afford."

Mentioning home mortgages, Gilmour suggests that payments normally not go beyond 28% of your month-to-month gross earnings-- but if you have other high expenses, such as private school tuition, it can be smart to pare down this percentage even more. If you're unsure what's sensible, consider looking for help from a financial professional, who can assist stroll you through an appropriate breakdown, based on your private situation.

How much is my home worth instantly?

You can discover what your house is worth by calling [phone].

As soon as you have actually specified your spending plan, it's time to look at your money reserves. Gilmour recommends saving up a minimum of 20% for your down payment in order to avoid needing to purchase personal mortgage insurance coverage, plus another 3% for closing expenses.

You'll likewise want to make certain you have sufficient cost savings left over to help spend for any home improvements, decors or miscellaneous moving and maintenance costs that might pop up-- completely. Translation: You must not be utilizing your emergency fund to cover these expenses.

" Being a Keller Williams Realty propertyowner often features surprises, like a burst pipe in the middle of the night that requires to be repaired immediately," Gilmour says. "So you need to be financially ready for these surprises, which implies you should not diminish your emergency fund for expenses like furniture or remodeling."

Now that you have actually pin down your numbers, it's time to start looking for a mortgage loan provider with a credibility for good client service and prompt closings. You'll likely have a great deal of questions-- like the length of time the procedure will take and what the certifying standards are-- so select a lending institution that answers them all adequately.

Next, decide which mortgage makes the most sense for you. There are plenty of various options to consider. Although Gilmour encourages selecting one of the most typical two: a fixed-rate mortgage, in which your interest rate stays stable throughout of the loan, or an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), in which your rate varies to show market modifications.

" [ARMs] can be an excellent choice-- but typically only if you plan to reside in your home no longer than the original set duration," Gilmour says. "Otherwise, if the interest rate rises, you might find yourself with a mortgage payment that's higher than you prepared and, depending on your budget plan, might not be sustainable."

When it comes to the length of your loan, Gilmour favors a 30-year term over 15-- even if you believe you can pay off your home much faster.

" Building equity in a Keller Williams Realty home can be a great way to grow your wealth, but it is very important that you do so in a manner that doesn't extend your finances too thin," he cautions. "Things can get truly awful when the real estate market decreases, so it may be a great concept to take out a 30-year mortgage however accelerate your monthly payments as if you had a 15-year mortgage. If you ever need to decrease your payment in the future, you'll still have that choice."

Next up on your order of business: Look for a pre-approval, the procedure in which a lender reviews your monetary information-- like your credit report, W2s and bank statements-- and dedicates to offering you a mortgage for a specified interest rate. It's a great idea to think about doing this now since it can show to a seller that you're a certified purchaser, and once a deal is made, the bank will simply need to evaluate the KW Realty house-- not the property and your financial resources.

However an advice: A bank may authorize you for a bigger loan than you've identified you can afford. So don't be seduced by their findings-- and stick to the number you arrived on in step one.

If the idea of not having the ability to afford your mortgage keeps you up during the night, this action is all about mitigating those worries by replicating the experience of being a Keller Williams Real Estate propertyowner-- before you buy.

Start by totaling up all of the monthly expenses related to a Fort Gratiot MI residence purchase, including your predicted mortgage payment, tax and insurance quotes, HOA fees and home maintenance expenses. And don't fret if you do not have concrete numbers-- the point is to see if you can manage a ballpark amount.

If the sum of the expenditures equals more than what you're spending for housing now, then deduct your lease from the total. The difference is what you should consider moving to your savings account for a few months to imitate what you 'd be paying to cover your month-to-month new-home costs.

If you can easily pull this off, then felt confident that you can most likely handle the common costs of being a Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 homeowner. However if you can't-- or you're making unpleasant compromises-- think about adjusting your home rate until all of these expenses are possible on your existing earnings.

It's the unusual fortunate person who discovers the best home within their budget plan, so before you go house hunting, brainstorm a list of what you definitely need to discover in a Keller Williams Realty house-- and which features are merely great bonus.

Examples of must-haves might consist of the variety of bed rooms and restrooms, distance to work and other places you frequent, and access to your preferred school districts. You might also have a strong choice on the amount of outside area a house offers, and whether it's move-in ready.

Things that should not be on your must-have list? The method a house is decorated, well-manicured landscaping, a swimming pool-- or anything else you can easily repair or install yourself.

Describe this list if you need help down the line making an unbiased decision between 2 or more houses-- along with to remind you of what's truly important, versus what could be tempting you to pay more than necessary.

Now for the fun part: house searching! Searching online resources like Trulia for available Fort Gratiot MI properties in your community is a good place to start, and can help confirm whether your budget and house must-haves are reasonable because of what's for sale. You can learn more information here on Youtube

This is also a prime-time show to choose whether you'll employ a realty agent, if you have not currently. While you're under no responsibility to do so, there are several prospective advantages to working with one. First off, an agent can provide access to more home choices than you'll likely find yourself, as well as established seeing appointments. Since home-buying can be a psychological process, an agent can likewise serve as a conciliator in between you and the seller.

To discover somebody, interview several purchasers' agents-- this suggests they solely represent you, and not the seller, too-- until you recognize somebody who understands your needs and makes you feel comfortable. As a last action, examine your state's real estate licensing board's website to ensure they're signed up, and do not have any problems or suspensions logged against them.

However whether you choose to work with an agent, you must strike the ground running now on viewing as numerous houses as possible.

Your loan provider will likely need the name of the company providing you with home insurance, which is why you ought to shop around for a quote while you're still house searching.

Standard insurance coverage usually covers fire, theft, storm damage and liability ought to someone get hurt on your property and sue you. However you can likewise add on riders for things like costly fashion jewelry, furnishings and home office devices, along with select to get extra flood insurance if your home is in a flood-prone area.

To find a supplier, you can search online, from firm to firm, or utilize an independent agent, who can offer several quotes to review simultaneously. It differs based on your area and, obviously, the value of your home, but you can approximate your expenses.

So you have actually fallen in love with a property that satisfies all of your needs and a few of your wants-- and it's within your price variety. Let's make a deal!

However here's where it can get tricky: You do not wish to low-ball your deal, and risk losing the Fort Gratiot MI residence to another buyer or insult the seller-- but you also don't wish to pay more than is required. So how do you land on the ideal number?

While there are no absolute rules, a few elements can assist notify your choice.

Initially, take a look at other home sales in the location. Is your house you desire priced fairly in comparison? Did other Keller Williams Realty Listings for residences cost less or more than the asking cost? If they sold for an amount that's comparable to your seller's sale price, that's an excellent indication you should be offering a number close to asking.

Next, think about for how long the Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 house has actually been on the marketplace, and how incentivized the Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 propertyowner is to sell. For example, if the seller is living in a shift home while waiting to offer, you may have a much better possibility of getting the seller to accept a discounted deal. However if he's delicately putting the Fort Gratiot MI house on the marketplace to see how much he can net, the seller may be more apt to wait on the ideal cost.

Lastly, what's the marketplace like in the neighborhood? Is it like New York City, where condominiums get taken up with all-cash deals, or are you in a Las Vegas-esque location, where empty Fort Gratiot MI residences are a common website? In the former scenario, it might be an excellent idea to start with a strong offer to beat out an army of other suitors, whereas you may have more leeway in a market like Vegas.

The seller accepted your offer-- congrats! However prior to you sign on the dotted line, you must ensure to review the contract thoroughly and comprehend each and every single stipulation.

Pay special attention to contingencies in the contract, which spell out situations when you can back out of the sale to help safeguard yourself in case something fails. For example, such scenarios can include if you find that the Keller Williams Realty home has severe physical defects or if your bank rescinds financing.

Speaking of defects, now is likewise the time when you'll get the Keller Williams Realty Listings for house inspected, which generally costs in between $200 and $500. If there are issues, such as a non-functioning fireplace or an old boiler, you might be able to request a cost decrease to help cover the cost of repairs. And if you find any offer breakers, such as an unsteady structure or serious mold, you have the choice of backing out now.

As soon as your inspector confirms that there are no huge flaws that might impact the Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 residence's worth, you'll send a mortgage application. Evaluation all closing expenses-- the ones you have actually hopefully conserved up 3% to spend for, which might include an attorney's cost, title insurance coverage and partial property taxes-- prior to you sign the agreement.

Who is Keller Williams?

Keller Williams is the world's largest real estate franchise by representative count, has more than 975 offices and 186,000 affiliates. The franchise business is likewise No. 1 in houses and sales volume in the United States.

Before the big day, you're entitled to a walk-through to confirm that nothing has actually altered because the examination. After that, make sure you have all the money required for the closing wired into the appropriate account.

Ask the settlement agent for copies of all the documentation you'll sign before closing, so you can thoroughly evaluate them at your leisure. You'll be putting your John Hancock on several products, including the HUD-1 settlement declaration, which details all of the expenses associated with the Keller Williams Realty Listings for property sale; the Last Truth-in-Lending Act declaration, which details the expense of the loan and the rates of interest; and your final mortgage documentation.

On closing day, bring your photo I.D., in addition to any documents you received throughout the Keller Williams Realty Listings for residence-buying process, including insurance coverage and home assessment certificates.

As soon as you've signed the documentation, you'll be handed the keys ... and you'll formally become a Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 houseowner!

Purchasing a house requires a great deal of effort and time, however these 10 steps can help make the Keller Real Estate house buying process workable and help you make the very best choices possible.

As quickly as you can, begin checking out Web sites, newspapers, and magazines that have property listings. Take down particular Keller Real Estate homes you are interested in and see how long they stay on the marketplace. Likewise, keep in mind any modifications in asking rates. This will give you a sense of the real estate patterns in specific areas.

Lenders usually recommend that people try to find Fort Gratiot MI properties that cost no greater than three to five times their annual home income if the Keller Williams Realty Fort Gratiot MI 48059 residence purchasers plan to make a 20% deposit and have a moderate amount of other debt.

However you should make this decision based upon your own monetary situation. Use our Affordability Calculator to see how much house you can pay for.

To assist you save for your deposit, attempt Discover Bank's AutoSavers Plan, that makes it simple to put aside loan each month.

Prior to you start trying to find a Keller Williams Realty INC property, you will need to know how much you can really spend. The very best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you simply require to supply some financial details to your mortgage lender, such as your earnings and the quantity of savings and financial investments you have. Your loan provider will examine this info and inform you just how much we can provide you. This will inform you the price series of the Keller Williams Realty Listings for homes you should be looking at. Later on, you can get preapproved for credit, which involves supplying your financial files (W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, checking account declarations, and so on) so your loan provider can verify your financial status and credit.

Property agents are essential partners when you're purchasing or selling a KW Realty home. Realty agents can offer you with valuable details on KW Realty homes and areas that isn't easily accessible to the public. Their knowledge of the Keller Real Estate property buying procedure, negotiating abilities, and familiarity with the location you want to live in can be very valuable. And most importantly, it doesn't cost you anything to utilize an agent-- they're compensated from the commission paid by the seller of your home.

Step 5: Purchase Your Home and Make a Deal

Start exploring Keller Williams Realty Listings for houses in your cost range. It might be handy to keep in mind (using this practical list) on all the Keller Williams Realty INC properties you visit. You will see a great deal of houses! It can be hard to keep in mind whatever about them, so you might want to take images or video to assist you remember each home.

What is the largest real estate company in the us?

Keller Williams Real Estate is an American innovation as well as global real estate franchise business with head office in Austin, Texas. It is the primary franchise in the USA by sales quantity, ranking number one in representatives and systems marketed in 2017.

Ensure to take a look at the little information of each house. For example:

Check the pipes by running the shower to see how strong the water pressure is and how long it takes to fume water

Try the electrical system by turning turn on and off

Open and close the doors and windows to see if they work effectively

It's likewise essential to examine the area and make a note of things such as:

Are the other Keller Williams Realty residences on the block well maintained?

Just how much traffic does the street get?

Is there enough street parking for your family and visitors?

Is it conveniently situated near places of interest to you: schools, shopping centers, dining establishments, parks, and public transportation?

Take as much time as you need to find the best home. Then deal with your property agent to negotiate a fair offer based upon the worth of comparable Keller Williams Realty Listings for houses in the very same neighborhood. As soon as you and the seller have actually reached agreement on a rate, the house will go into escrow, which is the time period it requires to complete all of the staying steps in the Fort Gratiot MI home buying process.

Usually, purchase offers are contingent on a Fort Gratiot MI property inspection of the property to look for signs of structural damage or things that might need fixing. Your real estate agent generally will assist you arrange to have this assessment performed within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency secures you by giving you an opportunity to renegotiate your deal or withdraw it without penalty if the examination reveals considerable product damage.

Both you and the seller will receive a report on the Fort Gratiot MI house inspector's findings. You can then choose if you want to ask the seller to repair anything on the property before closing the sale. Before the sale closes, you will have a walk-through of your home, which offers you the opportunity to validate that any agreed-upon repairs have been made.

Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loan programs and a credibility for remarkable customer care. You will have lots of concerns when you are purchasing a Keller Real Estate home, and having one of our skilled, responsive mortgage lenders help you can make the procedure much easier.

Every home purchaser has their own priorities when selecting a mortgage. Some are interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible. Others are interested in making certain that their monthly payments never increase. And still others pick a loan based on the understanding they will be moving once again in simply a few years.

Lenders will schedule an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the worth of your home you are purchasing. The appraiser is a member of a 3rd party company and is not directly connected with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties included understand that you are paying a fair rate for the Keller Williams Real Estate residence.

As you can imagine, there is a great deal of paperwork involved in buying a house. Your lender will arrange for a title company to manage all of the documentation and make certain that the seller is the rightful owner of your house you are buying.

At closing, you will sign all of the paperwork needed to finish the purchase, including your loan files. It generally takes a couple of days for your loan to be funded after the documents is gone back to the lender. When the check is delivered to the seller, you are ready to move into your new home!

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