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boysplanetrecaps · 3 months

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Build Up, Ep 5: The First 3x3 Death Match Performance

Welcome back to your favorite recap series that you’re currently looking at: My Build Up Recaps! In the previous one, we covered all the setup for the next round of performances, the 3x3 Death Match. In this one, we’ll finish off episode 5. We’ll check in with the judges and see a performance. Let’s go!

(By the way, I am not going to spoil who is in any of the performances above the read more link, post elimination, so that if you’re behind on the show, my page will always be safe to visit.)

It’s performance day -- time for some banter between the judges.

Alas, Seungkwan from Seventeen won't be here today since he was a one day judge. I’ll miss him, and I’ll miss Team Pledis.

Both the female judges are dressed to the nines. Solar looks especially gorgeous in a black dress with gathered spaghetti straps and perfectly wavy hair, kind of a Veronica Lake look.

Wendy has gotten extensions since we saw her last, and she looks beautiful in an off the shoulder ruffly white dress.

Meanwhile, the male judges showed up in whatever they found on the chair next to their beds.

What is Baekho wearing?? Does it say Fart? It can’t say Fart. What does it say and why does it say Fart? What is happening? He still looks hot, though.

The guest judge arrives, and it's Lim Seulong of 2am.

I admit, I'm not really a fan of 2am -- not to say I dislike them, just that I don't know them. Originally they were part of a group called One Day, which split into two halves, 2am and 2pm. You may know of 2pm as the original performers of “My House” of Boys Planet fame. Unlike their poppy, dancey brother group, 2am is a vocal group that mostly sings ballads.

Seulong says that he's been watching the show and knows how talented the guys are. He seems especially impressed that they can dance and rap as well as sing. VCG says, “well you can dance too,” and Seulong reminds him that 2am is a ballad group. But the MNET editors have dug up some past footage of Seolong in a real 2nd generation looking outfit, dancing uncomfortably. The judges laugh together about how bad balladeers can be at dancing, which reminds them that apparently recently VCG was seen somewhere dancing to Baggy Jeans by NCT. “I think you dance the most of anyone here,” teases Baekho, and everyone laughs.

Dahee comes out and introduces herself, and everyone claps and cheers for her. Backstage, some of the guys -- led by Woong -- do a cheer for her.

You guys, I don’t know WHAT Dahee is wearing. I mean, I’m here for it, I’m here for whatever she does. But it appears to be a thin, long sleeved white shirt under a pink spaghetti strap corset dress with large external pockets, made out of textured fabric or jacquard. Or maybe it’s not a dress? Maybe it’s a top and a skirt combo? What are those long white things hanging down? Is she wearing only one earring? What is happening? Still here for it though.

Everyone applauds the guest judge Seulong, and then Dahee reminds us all that this is the Triple Death Match, in case we haven’t been having nightmares about it for weeks. Dahee says, “The judges will watch both teams perform and then pick the team of three that is well built. All winners will survive and all losers will be disqualified.” This seems to be news to Solar, who gasps and says, “Ohmo!”

Allow me to theorize here: Though Dahee doesn’t say anything about this, I think the judges will save one person from the 15 losing contestants. Otherwise, they’ll have 15 remaining guys, and then what? Have them perform as 5 groups of three, or 3 groups of five? Doesn’t make sense. But if the judges save one person, then they’d have 16, which is is four groups of four, and I think that’s ideal. So, I’m holding on to that idea for now. I guess we’ll find out.

The judges talk about how high the stakes are, and that they’re looking for harmony among the teams. That gives them all an excuse to flatter/tease Solar about how amazing Mamamoo’s harmony is. “They even greet in harmony,” Baekho exclaims, and Solar is obviously pretty flattered. It’s cute.

Mama, mama, moooooo…

Dahee asks the judges what they’ll be looking for. Eunkwang says that, unlike the first two rounds when he evaluated everyone separately, this time he’s going to judge the team as a combined whole.

Jay, Wumuti, and Hayoon, backstage, bring their fingers together to symbolize their union.

Based on how they’re dressed, I wonder if they’re going to sing Blooming Day by Exo-CBX.

Guest judge Seulong talks about how important it is for a team to really get along and sing as one entity on stage, because whenever 2am had fights with one another, it led to poor performances. This does seem to match up with what we frequently see on Produce/Planet style shows -- the team that gets along better often wins. Jaehwan adds, “So, you guys listening in the green room, if you’re not getting along, make your amends before you come to the stage.”

Backstage, Wumuti turns to Jay and says, “We’ll just have to hide it well.”

Ok, I know I said the guys got dressed in whatever they found on the chair by their bed, but I take it back: Jaehwan has been raiding Park Jihoo’s closet and stealing the ugly clothes he wore for the Nitro comeback.

I will never stop being angry about the clothing in this video. I’ll be recapping Boys Planet season 53 and still complaining about this.

Why is he wearing a leather vest and a bolo tie? I guess a better question is, what else did you expect from Jaehwan but utter chaos?

Dahee says the death match starts… NOW! Everyone is nervous, including me! Including you!!!

The first teams up are Jeup’s team and Bain’s team. Oh no! This is the match up I’m most sad about.

Jeup’s team comes out looking great in suits and ties.

Jeup has a dapper three piece pinstriped suit on that looks great, and Seunghun has altered the shade of his hair a smidge, I think -- it looks much nicer. Choi Suhwan has decided for some reason not to wear a tie, and I wish he had, but they still look great overall. My guess of their song, based on their outfit, is Hey Mama by EXO-CBX. That would be a great choice, too, btw.

Bain’s team comes out looking… I don’t know, like motorcycle cowboys.

Bitsaeon has on a shiny leather suit with I think no shirt underneath, just a red tie. Bain’s hair is darker, which suits him better, and he has shiny pants and a short sleeved blazer with a wide lapelled white shirt and a bolo tie. Why? Why this? And Minseo is wearing shiny leather pants, a shiny leather vest, and a big cross necklace over his white shirt. Maybe they’re doing Unforgiven by Le Sserafim? Or Cowboy by f(x)? I mean obviously it’s not Cowboy by f(x). But imagine if it was. I can’t think of any other Kpop song with a slightly “country” edge besides Bad News by Kiss of Life, which they wouldn’t be doing. So my official guess is Unforgiven.

Sunyoul is like, “this feels like the semi-finals!”

Everyone has these huge reactions to the match up, which is silly since they’ve known who would be matched up since their encounter with the Moodboard of Doom.

We head into flashback most. First, we're reminded of how well everyone did in the previous mission. Referring to the stacked matchup, Wumuti says, “We made this happen. I feel bad.” And then we get a flashback to the whole Moodboard of Doom moment, which was like, five minutes ago in this same episode. Yeah, we didn't have time to watch Lee Hwanhee sing but we did have time to watch clips of stuff we already saw, and time to watch Wumuti move things around on the Moodboard *twice*.

Anyway, we get it, it was smart of Jay’s team to make sure that for sure one of those two teams would be eliminated. But I'm still sad about losing either of these teams.

Neither team is happy about the match up, but they both promise to do their best, and nod at each other respectfully.

Jeup is already nervous, because he knows how important song choice is going to be here. Strong agree!

We get a flashback-within-a-flashback montage of Jeup’s experience so far. He was praised by judges, but not chosen as top tier. He got a standing ovation, but his team came in fifth. He’s disappointed at not doing even better than he has been. “Now I need to show something else,” he interviews, as his cheekbones shine in the stage lights cheerfully. “If not I might get eliminated.”

He, his cheekbones, and his s w e a t e r all are extremely stressed out, but he’s thinking clearly enough to suggest a song that might work: Prayer (I’ll be Your Man) by BtoB. You might remember the song from when Stray Kids covered it on Kingdom (they swapped songs with BtoB).

Anyway, Jeup explains that it’s a risky decision to tackle Eunkwang’s song, but “in order to win, I wanted to pick one of the judges and do a face-to-face match.” I get it -- you can’t play it safe here because there is no safe. It’s win or go home. So a “nice” performance won’t do; you’ve got to shoot for the moon. I’m not a huge fan of the song -- it’s a “I’ll never let you go” kind of dealie that actually kind of sounds like IPV to me but like, I get it, it’s “romantic” because it’s in the form of a song. I’ll let you read the lyrics and decide for yourself.

Oh, Seunghun is wearing a s w e a t e r too! Nice. Suhwan, you’re dead to me. Dead! Imagine. A sweatshirt. ::grumbles::

They’re meeting in… a basement? A carpeted basement with wheely office chairs, but no table…? I feel like I’ve seen this room in my dreams. My boring, boring dreams. No, but seriously, we can tell in another scene that they’re at Suhwan’s agency, Lynna. The editors blur the name out but it’s still perfectly visible. The editors also sporadically blur out a logo on Jeup’s hat, and it makes me feel like I’m having a stroke.

Anyway, the guys are worried about the high-speed rap section, and with good reason -- it doesn’t sound like you can leave it out of the song, and also it sounds like it would be challenging to do, partly just because it’s so fast, and partly because a lot of it is straight up in English. (Peniel, one of their members, is American and mostly just rapped in English for his entire tenure with BtoB.)

They pretend to debate who is going to rap, even though it’s clear they already know and are just recreating this discussion for the cameras. Jeup says that his own rapping is bad -- they’d kick him off the stage. Seunghun says, as if it has just occurred to him, “Shall I try it?” He says he used to listen to the song a lot and sing along, so he already knows it, and he can practice a lot. They try it through once, and he struggles a bit, but promises to get better.

Wow, Seunghun looks great. He must be glad he got his braces off.

Seunghun vows to work really hard, because he wants to pull his weight in the team while the other two hit those high notes. We see a montage of him practicing, and he is really getting into it, to the point that he’s wearing beanies down over his eyes.

This is what a rapper looks like!

We also see him working with his CIX teammates to help improve his rapping. And it really works!

Jeup is wearing glasses and I thought you might like to see.

Jeup is leading the team in this endeavor, and his team is working hard. I wish they weren’t going up against my other favorite team. Sigh.

We cut back to the performance stage. Eunkwang says he isn’t really on board with them doing the song, because he feels like it’s a bit boring without dancing. (Here’s a live performance of BtoB doing the song, if you’re curious how it looked on stage.) The judges all seem to want them to do well.

Solar gets into the praying spirit.

The performance begins.

Full version without reactions

My thoughts:

They did a really good job. This isn’t a song I particularly like -- I’ve never been a fan of this kind of super-serious-rapping-over-a-ballad thing that you sometimes get in kpop (and western pop). It’s just not my thing. But I can still tell that they did really good job.

Seunghun has really mastered the art of the soft, gruff intro notes. I don’t really speak Korean, but I trust everyone else who says his pronunciation in the rap was good, and it sounded good in terms of tone and rhythm to my untutored ears. He strained a bit on the high notes, though, making faces that shows how hard he’s working to hit those notes, and his vocal color isn’t quite as pretty as the others. When Jeup harmonized first with him and then with Suhwan, the transition was stark -- it sounded much nicer with Suhwan. That said, he did a good job, a better job than I would have guessed. I believe that rapping is a subset of vocal skills, and that if you can rap well, you have half the skills of a good vocalist (at least), so good for Seunghun for getting this mastered.

Suhwan was sort of the all-round guy in this performance, doing main vocals, harmonies, and a fair bit of rapping. He is so good at harmonies, I really have to give him props for that. There’s a moment when Jeup had the lead and it almost sounded like there was some sort of playback of harmonies, but no, it was just Suhwan singing more softly and sounding like a full on backup track. That isn’t easy to do. There were one or two slightly pitchy notes, but they wouldn’t have been noticeable to a casual listener, I don’t think. He also is obviously straining a tiny bit on high notes -- he hits them well, without closing his throat or anything, but I still feel like he’s hurting his voice when he hits them. That’s a minor quibble. Overall, excellent job.

Jeup’s was the MVP here. As charming as I find his shoulders, I do sometimes not *love* his vocal color, but here it just works. He can match his tone to whoever is harmonizing, and true to his brand of Cheekbones N’ Chest Voice, he hits high notes without bothering with falsetto. He just is a vocal powerhouse. I don’t like this song much, but I think this was his best performance so far on the show.

If this three became a vocal trio, and sang songs I *liked*, I’d certainly enjoy listening to them.

The staging was good here, too. The suits worked, the dry ice fog worked, the background images of lightening and whatnot worked, it was all good.

In the MNET edit, they go to a commercial right before the guys perform, so the editors obviously believed that this is compelling.

When the guys start singing, the judges have faces that are tough to read.

Eunkwang is definitely affected by this performance. Is he enjoying it? Not sure yet.

Wendy is so engrossed she forgets to make a pretty face.

I mean she’s still pretty but you know what I mean.

I think Solar is engrossed?

After one of Jeup’s effortless high notes, Solar and VCG both let out a WHOA! We also get a bunch of shots of the judges and the other contestants expressing surprised approval of Seunghun’s fast rapping.

When the guys fall to their knees, everyone reacts as if they never saw anything like this before in their lives. BtoB does the same thing in the original choreo! Sigh. Anyway.

Side note: We get this shot of some on-deck guys being surprised, and I was like, wait, who the fuck are these people?

I only recognized Kim Seohyung at first, but then I realized that that’s Geonu on the left and Soomin on the right. I guess I really connected Soomin to his slightly frizzy/curly look and didn’t recognize him like this. I approve of the color change in Geonu’s hair, but I do wish he’d consider restyling it. He has a kind of round jaw line that makes him look a bit like Suho from Exo (that is a big compliment!) and I think he’d look better with a haircut a bit like this:

Is this just an excuse to put a picture of Suho in this unrelated recap? YOU be the judge!

I also think that Geonu could pull off the controlled mullet that Suho rocked in Hurdle.

Are you ever just happy that Suho exists? Because I am.

Basically Geonu needs to have his hair bigger on top to balance his rounder jaw. That’s my entirely unexpert opinion as someone whose hair is down to her mid-back at the moment because she so fears haircuts.

Ok, back to the performance. Where was I? Oh yeah, the part where they fall to their knees. Everyone is so amazed by Seunghun’s rap that we have to have multiple instant replays.

The judges say…

When the guys are done, Jaehwan is on his feet, while the others are just sort of quietly muttering, “Wow.” Baekho gets to his feet too, and VCG just sort of repeats, “Wow, that was so good. That was SOOO good.” Backstage, Inhyuk says that this is the first time a performance on this show gave him goosebumps.

Backstage, poor Bain’s team is like, well, we’re screwed.

The judges banter a bit, and tease Eunkwang that he shouldn’t even try to critique them -- he should just tell them they did a good job. Eunkwang agrees and says that he almost cried.

Dahee asks the judges for their feedback, and the trio looks anxious.

The three faces of terror. LTR: Jeup, Seunghun, Suhwan

Eunkwang goes first. The translation here is bad, so let me paraphrase as to what I think he was saying: “As I was watching, I almost cried. So thank you for doing such a great job. It’s harder to do it without choreography or anything like that, but you did great. If my group, BtoB, were to sing it like this, all stripped down and without choreography -- I don't think we could. Your youthful energy carried you through, and I found the performance refreshing.”

Solar says, “We’ve seen many performances so far, and I liked this one the best. I think it was the most perfect performance so far. I got chills toward the end. I have no words. It was really good.” And Baekho points out that Solar was so engrossed in the performance that she crumpled her note-taking paper without noticing.

Bain’s team backstage is like, well, we’re screwed. And BRP-unnie, watching on an airplane, is like, well, I’m screwed.

Jaehwan compliments Seunghun’s rapping, and everyone talks about what an all-rounder he is.

VCG talks about how they can be moved even hearing lyrics in English (that they don’t understand) because of the song’s mood. Hey, man, us Western k-pop fans know that feeling well! He also compliments Jeup’s amazing high notes that he hits without using falsetto. Jeup really is an amazing singer.

Then Dahee announces the next team, whose performance we won’t see until next episode.

They’re obviously pretty nervous after what they just saw. Bitsaeon compliments the other team but says that they came here to do their best, and that’s what they’re going to do.

Baekho says, “This song isn’t easy, either!” Wendy says, “But I think it suits these three.”

What is the song? I still think it must be Unforgiven from the outfits…

But we hear a tiny snippet of it before the episode ends and it’s just enough for me to identify the song as

BAD NEWS BY KISS OF LIFE

I’m dead, I’m officially dead. I’ll have to save some of my talk about KIOF for the next post but omg I love them soooo much.

Man, if Team Bit-bain is eliminated on Bad News, I’ll be bummed. But I’m so glad that Baekho and Wendy know the song and have an opinion about it. Kiss of Life is getting to be known!

Ok anyway we’ll talk more about it in the next post, when one of these two amazing teams is going to be eliminated, and I have a theory as to which one and I’m already bummed about it. But that’s what we all signed up for when we decided to watch this show.

See you in the next one!

#bpr recaps build up #mnet build up #build up mnet #build up #suho #cix #imfact

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danglovely · 9 months

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Regrading Taskmaster: S04E05 Meat.

*Score changes noted in parenthesis.

Prize Task: Cutest Thing

Lolly brings in a photo of herself as a baby, getting a loud "awww" from the audience. As someone who doesn't really see cuteness in human babies . . . Lolly was a cute baby. We're assuming Noel's prize is the hammer with googly eyes and not the plate of googly eyes itself. I gotta admit, I'd root for that hammer in a Pixar movie.

Joe brings in a photo of Bertie the dog. I may be alone, but it's not actually all that cute of a dog (I'd probably give it more credit if Joe actually brought in the dog). Hugh seems like he's just trying to get one point now. I think Mel gets marked down because she over-sells what appears to be a pea plush that could be sold by Sanrio. Objectively, it may be cuter than Bertie, but it's also just a commercial plush toy. Greg mostly has the right of it here.

Hugh: 1 (0) Joe: 3 (-1) Lolly: 5 (0) Mel: 2 (0) Noel: 4 (+1)

VT 01: Slide the furthest. You have 20 minutes and one attempt.

There's a little ambiguity here as to where an attempt concludes. The task language is vague enough that it should signal to the contestants to go as wild as possible. Joe and Lolly . . . don't and they are the obvious losers. I take issue with Greg using "the longest of the slides" for Noel. Only the first slide should be used because anything after was a subsequent attempt. However, it is fair to use the 14-meter measurement for Noel because prior to that he says "let's see if this works" indicating it was practice, not an attempt.

Another point of ambiguity: Does furthest mean from your starting position or aggregate distance traveled? In studio they use the aggregate. This is fine as the task probably would have specified if it was meant to be understood as distance from the starting point.

This is a really long-winded way of saying the scoring was correct in studio.

Hugh: 4 Joe: 2 Lolly: 1 Mel: 5 Noel: 3

VT 02: Maintaining constant eye contact and making continuous small talk with this Swedish person, put on the wetsuit, flippers, face mask and snorkel. Your head may not leave the Swedish person's frame at any point. You may not move the laptop from its current position.

Fred's back! "Your head may not leave the frame" reads like a disqualification requirement, but it seemed pretty damn impossible not to do it at least once (unless, you know, bring the laptop with you while you move).

Let's knock the bonus points out to start -- Joe easily put the wetsuit on best . . . I'm not so sure Noel made the best small talk. He mostly just narrates to Fred what he's doing in the moment and gives Fred no opportunity to respond. Joe clearly has the best conversation with Fred, but a lot of it consisted of flirting and deep topics. For pure small talk with a genuine vibe, I think Mel deserved to take that bonus point.

Now, hear me out . . . there's an argument that Noel shouldn't be disqualified. Really the only contestant to actually put the thing on in a reasonably correct way was Joe -- meaning you should either give Noel five or DQ everyone other than Joe. The one saving grace here is that none of that crap was staying on Noel's head if he removed his right hand, so even his bare-bones definition of "putting on" is a stretch.

Hugh: 3 (0) Joe: 5 (0) Lolly: 5 (0) Mel: 3 (+1) Noel: DQ (-1)

Team Task: Put as many different things in the bathtub as possible. Seal the top of this bathtub with cling film. Fill the bathtub with water.

It doesn't take much analysis to conclude that the team of two wiped the floor with the team of three on this one. I'm tempted to make it a 5-0 split, but absent a DQ, we settle on a 4-1.

"Noel was there . . . pissing into a bathtub while Rome burned."

Hugh and Mel: 4 (-1) Joe, Lolly & Noel: 1 (+1)

VT 04: Throw something into something.

The criteria is "most unbelievable throw wins," and the editors didn't do anyone any favors by showing all the attempts because that makes every throw very believable. Still, I think Greg got a little too caught up in his fictional meat business with Alex, cause the scoring here is trash.

I'm only basing my scoring on the one successful throw each contestant made. Lolly is an easy 1-point because if you throw a handful of Skittles at a mug, you'd expect one to go in. Hugh's toaster throw starts off from an impressive distance, but slowly becomes less impressive when he gets closer and uses a ladder.

Greg's dismissal of Joe's throw is completely unacceptable. Throwing a walnut into the small end of a traffic cone that is completely perpendicular to you seems incredibly difficult. The shot itself looked like it threaded a needle.

Noel's only successful throw is throwing the tennis ball into the caravan. This is a feat I would expect most people to achieve on their first try (Greg gave him 4 points for "ambition"). Even less impressive is Mel throwing a mannequin torso into the very large hatchback trunk of a very slow moving car.

Hugh: 4 (+1) Joe: 5 (+3) Lolly: 1 (0) Mel: 2 (-3) Noel: 3 (-1)

Live Task: Make the longest continuous noise.

Alex is a lot more thorough about judging this task in Series Eight, but here we must literally play it by ear. I honestly think Mel's crackling noise stops less than a second in, which drops her below Noel. Alex also gives Joe and Lolly extra time past a pause on each of their attempts. Joe still beats Lolly, but I'm convinced he dropped out around 20 seconds meaning he should have placed behind Hugh.

And yeah, Hugh's belt windmill was fun to listen to.

Hugh: 6 (+1) Joe: 4 (-1) Lolly: 3 (0) Mel: 1 (-1) Noel: 2 (+1)

Final

Hugh: 22 (+1) Joe: 20 (+2) Lolly: 15 (0) Mel: 17 (-4) Noel: 13 (+1)

Hugh wins again. No tiebreaker needed.

#tm regrade #taskmaster #hugh dennis #joe lycett #lolly adefope #mel giedroyc #noel fielding

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stygianheart · 1 year

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Fear of Sharing

*staring at ao3 as I try to learn how to publish a chapter* how the actual craphorns do I work this? HTML— I dunno how tf to do that—

Warning, very long rant coming up. Highly doubt anyone will read it but still. Short summary is: as a person who is currently in the process of publishing a book, I am paranoid due to past experiences of being accused of plagiarism when it was my work stolen, and being told that my writing is nowhere near good enough for the public eye. But I started to share my stuff again! So thank you to all who like my stuff!!

꧁———————————꧂

I have, like, the weirdest fear of sharing my writing. Which is funny, cause I’m currently physically/officially publishing a book and and hell, that’s definitely sharing my writing to the world.

I love writing. I’ve been writing stories since kindergarten, but I’ve always been afraid of sharing it. I think that’s coming amongst writers, because we don’t want to be told that our writing is horrible. When I got my first rounds of edits and feedback from my Editor, I refused to look at the paper until my friend read it out loud for me. I was so scared about getting possible negative feedback that I didn’t even think there would be any positive. (Which turned out to be wrong, almost all of the feedback was complimenting me and my ability to write flowing and easy dialogue, captivating scenes, a fascinating world and likable characters. Which is absolutely astounding in my opinion, I never thought I was that good.)

But it’s gotten to the point where the only people outside of my editor I share any my writing with is my close friends, who, as much as I love them, have a biased opinion. They’re literally my best friends. And I’m especially paranoid of sharing ideas with people, and for good reason.

Few years back, I had this idea for a story I was going to write for fun and for a school project, and it really was a clever idea. I don’t remember much about it anymore, because that was five years ago, but I do know that I shared it with people because I wanted someone else to be excited with. That was a horrible idea, because someone told someone who ended up stealing the idea as a whole. They stole the plot, stole the characters, stole the setting, and submitted it before I submitted mine. I was later accused of plagiarism because I happened to turn my story in a few days after the other person and I had to rewrite the whole thing from scratch. Being accused of plagiarizing a fellow student, who in truth stole it from me, made me realize I shouldn’t share my book ideas. And I guess that grew to a paranoia to not share my works entirely, because even if I have copyrighted it and everything is legally mine, I have the nagging believe that someone is going to steal it. In which I found was perfectly capable of happening. Just 2 years ago, I made a whole book and published it to an online site that, regretfully, does not offer the ability to copyright. I mean, it IS my own wiki on Fandom, so of course it doesn’t. Silly me. I later found a scholarship for people who submitted their own works—poetry, books, short stories, etc, and as a person who desperately wanted to be a English Major for creative writing, I submitted the book. (I named it You Can’t Go Back Home Again, and it’ll be up on my WattPad some day when I have the time.) However, a few weeks later, I received a email that told me I was disqualified from the scholarship for plagiarizing my book. A few online friends dug into this for me and as it turns out, someone had the audacity to take my book and publish it on their own platform. And they claimed it as their own. This person hadn’t entered the scholarship, thankfully, but the idea that I had stolen someone else’s story was still enough to get me disqualified. I was luckily able to fight back with evidence that the story was in fact mine, but I had still been taken out of the scholarship. (Summary: People who plagiarize are wetsocks and limpnoodles.)

So of course paranoia began to settle into my mind about sharing works online or with people. And since then, I’ve rarely shared something I made, out of fear of it being stolen and out of fear of it flopping terribly. Making the decision to publish my own book was a huge one that induced a lot of anxiety, but in the end, my desire to share my work overcame my fear of sharing it and being falsely accused of pirating. But as mentioned before, I was also afraid of my work crashing and burning.

I have been told once that my writing sucks. That it has no reason whatsoever to be available to the public eye. That it was “overly dramatic” and had too much “forced humor.” And sure, that was when I was in 5th grade and my writing style was beyond dramatic and over exaggerated, but it’s stuck with me since. I do try my best to add some humor into what I write, because a lot of the shit I come up with nowadays is extremely dark and needs some humor sprinkled in there so readers don’t go into a depressed mood (which is what my mom told me, not my words.) I’ve gotten complaints that I write mostly about male main characters and that there’s already enough of that in the world, I need more female characters. I definitely got an angry reaction when expressing the idea of making the only ‘girl main character’ in my book go through a gender-questioning arc later on in the series before coming out as a demigirl, telling me that as a biological woman, it’s my duty to write about women. (I’m non-binary, but I am AFAB.) And it’s been pointed out that a lot of my OC’s are queer and that I need to add some variety to it. I’ve noticed these things, yes, but it’s a part of how I write. Yes, a lot of the main characters in my books are boys/men/males. Yes, 9/10 times the main characters are gay. (I’m gay, what the fuck do you expect, you little judgmental wetsocks.) None of that means my writing and stories suck, but they’re excuses and reasons I’ve been told on why my writing sucks.

So in summary of my last few paragraphs, I’m scared of sharing my writing due to past experiences of being falsely accused of plagiarism and being knocked down by hateful people. So when I got just 1 like on my 3 am KobyLu fic, what remained of my little pride to share my stuff skyrocketed. When I checked on it the other day and saw a reblog and 14 likes, my heart was literally singing. And then I got a fic request from someone who said they loved my writing and wanted me to write a story for them. (I came off as “pffft nah” but Anonymous, that really made my heart cry out in joy.) The fact that people on here, complete strangers, liked my stuff that much meant the world to me. So I decided “hey, I think I’m going to start sharing my shit again.” I reopened my long since abandoned WattPad account and started uploading a story I wrote. I created an official ao3 account just so I could write the fiction request. And while I’m still terrified of sharing, just so much as 1 like or 1 reblog sends my minuscule ego flying up the roof.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still scared shitless of sharing my stuff. I write for the fun of it, really, but getting positive feedback and likes on something that feels like a part of my soul means the world to me.

Basically, this whole damn long post was a call out to the people who’ve liked my KobyLu fanfic and requested for more. You truly don’t know how much that meant to me, that my work so much as even crossed your forum and you liked it.

And thank you to all of the future peeps who will hopefully like the uprise in writing that will appear on my blog!

#writing #writing struggles #writer problems #thank you #it means the world to me #plagiarism sucks ass #please read? Maybe?#Copyright your work authors #I love getting likes #struggles of a writer #falsely accused #I’m sorry for the freakishly long story about me #I just didn’t know how else to write this without explaining why I’m so grateful

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itscrochetnotknit · 2 years

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I am really angry over what they said about Chasity. Just because someone has a chance to do something and make money does not disqualify them from being able to win? I’m sure they cut our other reasoning but that’s what we saw on TV and it made no sense. Shantall was already on Latin PW and was runner up so how is that not someone who could make money?

I don’t think Chasity should have one just because I think she is still finding herself but I do think the editors should really get yelled at for how they did her in this episode.

#project runway #season 19 #live blogging #s19e14

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emotionsofthesoul · 3 years

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Chapter 36 _ Te Lo Has Ganado

The day of the competition had finally arrived. Juliana was nervous; as were most of the contestants. There were three hundred entires in total but only 50 made it into the actual show. The competition was broken up into two segments. The first was a secret session where the judges would get to view all the pieces as they looked on the mannequin. The second would be the runway show.

The night before the runway show the contestants were to deliver their pieces and set them up on mannequins to prevent them from getting wrinkled. What they didn’t know was that they each had a judge helping them set up their piece.

The students were divided in groups of ten. The first group arrived and Penelope was among them. She was helped by the magazine editor who would be featuring the winning pieces. Josie arrived in the third group and was aided by Lucia who had been asked to be judge by Renata. Juliana arrived in the fifth and last group and had her favorite professor help her, Mr. Contreras.

Once the students had all come and gone, Valentina was summoned by Renata to photograph every piece. Valentina was to print ten copies of each piece for the judges for the following morning. Valentina didn’t get much of a chance to spend time with Juliana on the eve of the competition or the morning of. She did a quick edit of all the images the night before and printed and filed every one with Hope’s help. She and Hope were enamored by each piece.

The competition was to begin at noon. For this occasion Valentina had recommended her friend Jerome to Renata to photograph the event as she would be Juliana’s model.

At 10:00am, Hope Valentina met up with Juliana and the rest of the girls at the loft as planned. Lizzie was to be Josie’s model and Penelope had chosen one of her mothers to be her model. The girls had decided to all get ready together. Penelope’s mothers were there as well since Penelope would be doing her mom’s hair and makeup. Kim, Penelope’s model had fallen in love with the loft and the view from the living room.

“Love of my soul, what do think Zach would say of the view?” Kim asked her wife in a joking yet curious manner.

Trini smiled at her wife adoringly and proceeded to say, “He would say that I’m the luckiest woman alive.”

While all the girls awed, Penelope laughed as Kim blushed and told Trini she meant the view from the window.

Everything was laughter and joy until Valentina received a call from Renata. A call that would change the mood in the entire room. Renata called to inform the girls that there had been an incident with their pieces and they had to make their way to the auditorium as soon as possible to salvage what they could. They still had an hour before the show began.

Juliana’s piece was the first in sight. It had been cut up and there was no way it could be salvaged. The second piece was Josie’s, the white organza fabric had paint splatters in hues of blue. Penelope’s piece was next and it had been cut in half vertically.

The girls dried their tears and got to work. They would save their pieces no matter what it took. The other three contestants affected were not as optimistic and decided to drop from the competition all together.

Valentina drove Juliana home in silence, simply holding her hand. Juliana had been working on three pieces for the show and that narrowed it down to the one that was now ruined. Once inside her apartment Juliana walked to her studio with Valentina in tow. She had been silent since the incident and Valentina knew she could burst any minute now.

“I know who did it.” Was all Juliana said as she packed up the new piece leaving Valentina dumbfounded.

“What do you mean? Who did it? Why didn’t you say anything to Renata?” Valentina asked in an urgent tone.

Juliana finally able to look up at Valentina, tears filling her eyes as an expression of anger took over her beautiful features, said, “Juan Carlos. He was in my delivery group. He walked around eyeing everyone’s pieces and I didn’t like the way he was looking at mine. He had an expression of anger that he quickly masked when he noticed me watching him, but obviously I have no proof it was him.”

“You might not but the cameras had to pick up something, anything. I’ll give Renata a call. Valentina pulled out her phone and dialed Renata’s number telling her what Juliana had said.

Renata informed her that they were already going through the camera feed. While on the phone they too came upon the culprit and confirmed Juliana’s theory.

The couple made their way back to the auditorium and upon arrival they saw people already in line ready to take their seats.

Once inside they made their way to Juliana’s cubical to get Valentina ready. The taller girl now wore a beautiful tan ball gown. The dress had fuchsia rose vines running up the right side and making a loop around the waist of the dress and going up the left side to wrap around the neck.

Two cubicles down Penelope was finishing up her piece. She had made a black business suit with a blood red edging along the bottom of the suit jacket and sleeves as well as the bottom of the suit pants. The suit would be accompanied with a white high-neck ruffled blouse. To fix her suit jacket Penelope decided to add buttons along the back where it was cut, in order to add a blood red corset lace. Her mothers were incredibly proud of her quick thinking and ability to work with what she had. The pants were reattached seamlessly and still fit Kim perfectly. Once Kim was all dressed up and ready Trini could not take her eyes off her wife leading their daughter to make a gagging noise to show her fake disgust.

Josie and Lizzie on the other hand had it much easier than Penelope and Juliana. Josie’s dress already had blue in the original design. Similarly to Juliana’s design it had flowers and branches but flowing down from the high-neck. The paint splatters were fixed by Josie, Lizzie, and Hope. They got to work as soon as Juliana and Valentina left to pick up her piece. The girls painted blue roses where the paint had landed. They ended up making 30 roses of different sizes all around the dress. Hope helped Josie get Lizzie in the white and blue dress which made Lizzie’s red lipstick pop. She had her hair in an updo with a tiara. She looked like royalty and Hope knew then and there that Lizzie would look beautiful on their wedding day, one day.

Meanwhile Renata and the judges were taking matters into their own hands in regard to Juan Carlos. Renata and Ricardo pulled him aside to talk, security not far away. They told him he was disqualified and expelled from RIC for playing dirty and to leave without making a scene. They warned him the contestants he interfered with could and should press charges for destruction of intellectual property. Juan Carlos tried to argue that they couldn’t expel him, that he had too much to lose and it was just a prank. He began shouting that it was unfair of them to expel him for a harmless prank. Juliana as well as the other contestants could hear the commotion and she couldn’t help herself. She grabbed her destroyed entry and walked towards him.

“This is harmless? This?” Juliana spout angrily, “This is destruction of property. This was done to keep me from competing. This was done to make sure I had no chance of winning. This was one of six you tampered with. This was my semester’s work. This is not a joke or a prank. This is evil. And I don’t care what you have to lose, you should’ve thought about that before you tried to play God with this competition. It was jus that, a school competition. What kind of petty bastard do you have to be to do what you did? I hope you learn from this and change your ways because life does not have mercy with people like you.”

Juan Carlos was left speechless as Juliana walked away having said what she needed to say and the rest of the people backstage clapped. Thankfully the DJ made sure the music was blasting loud enough that the crowd was not aware of what was occurring. Not long after, Juan Carlos was escorted off the premises by security.

The judges made their way to their seats while Renata went to check on Juliana. She found her in her cubical with Valentina talking to her calmly as she held her. At the sight of Renata and her open arms Juliana got up and hugged her. She thought Renata would scold her but instead she told Juliana that she couldn’t have said it better herself.

Soon after, the models were called to the line and Juliana was amazed with Penelope’s and Josie’s creativity. The designers made their way to their seats once they made sure their models were ready for the runway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, due to unforeseen circumstances 4 of our contestants are unable to participate in today’s runway but the judges did have the opportunity to see their pieces last night and will be including 3 of them in their judgement.” Renata told the audience with a bright smile. “And now, let the show begin!”

Guillermo was in charge of saying the names of the designers and the models as they walked the runway.

Juliana, Penelope, and Josie were seated together and were each holding hands, hoping their last minute changes were well accepted. Their nerves were calming down as the show went on and they began enjoying themselves. They loved being able to see the pieces their peers designed.

As the judges tallied up their points the models were told to return to the stage in order of how they walked out. The judges then asked 5 of the models to step forward 3 of which included Valentina, Kim, and Lizzie.

“Every piece was a work of art. Each and every one of you put all your effort into your design and for that you should all be proud, you did a fantastic job. These five designs stood out the most but every single one of you, who participated should be proud.” Lucia said on behalf of the judges. “I know this competition is supposed to have 3 winners but we wanted to honor the other 2 pieces. On behalf of the judges and with permission of the owner and director of this school, I’m honored to offer you a scholarship for the remainder of your studies at RIC.”

Everyone in the audience gasped and were excited at the news.

“Now without further ado, I have the name of the winners in my hands. First place goes to Ms. Josie Saltzman for such a creative rescue to her piece. With very little time left she able to turn a beautiful gown into a work of art. The roses were a late addition after the unfortunate incident of earlier.” The audience clapped for Josie as Lucia paused for a second. “Second place goes to the brilliant Penelope Park. She too was under tremendous pressure after having her design tampered with but overcame that obstacle with tremendous grace and added the beautiful lace going down the middle.” At that Kim spun slowly so the audience could get a better look at her daughter’s work.

“And lastly it is with great joy that I announce 3rd place, Juliana Valdes, who went above and beyond with her submission. Unfortunately she too was an undeserving victim of the sabotage. She lost her original piece completely as it was ripped to shreds but being the over achiever we all know her to be, she had not one but two back up pieces.” Lucia said with pride in her voice.

Once the group made their way back to the loft with their family to celebrate, Juliana was taken aside by Lucia and handed a glass of champagne. Lucia praised her work and told her that even though the first was ruined the judges had unanimously decided that had it not been for the incident with Juan Carlos and Josie and Penelope’s creativity in such a devastating situation, she would’ve received first place and as such she too was being offered a scholarship for the remainder of her time at RIC.

“I’m honored but why? Who’s funding it?” Juliana asked skeptical crossing her arms as if hugging herself. She didn’t want her life handed to her on silver platter.

Lucia knowing very well that Juliana wouldn’t accept el Grupo Carvajal to sponsor her studies and that she wanted to know it was by her own merit not who she was associated with told her the truth. “The magazine editor, Iliana Castro, said her boss was very impressed with your work. She was in he audience. She asked Renata to show her your portfolio after the show and took it upon herself to sponsor your entire scholarship. At that Renata and I offered to help with half but she wouldn’t have any of it. She wants to meet with you later this week to discuss it.” Lucia said putting her hand around Juliana’s arms. “It’s the least you deserve. You have the talent, the vision. I know you’ll get as far as you want with this. Take every opportunity you think will help advance your future, Juliana. I know you work very hard to pay for your schooling and I admire that but take this as a win. You’ve earned it.”

Juliana was rendered speechless. She had no words to express how she felt. She could only hug Lucia. Looking over Lucia’s shoulder she saw Valentina and Renata watching them from afar. Being filled in on the scholarship, Val had an arm over her very pregnant sister in law’s shoulder smiling widely at her girlfriend.

The party ran well into the night and Juliana spent the evening glowing with pride. Proud of herself and her best friends. Things could’ve been much worse and yet they had prevailed against all the odds.

#forever #Forever update #forever ch36 #juliantina #juliana valdes #valentina carvajal #juliantina fics #hi guys I'm back

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everyendeavor · 3 years

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Robert Hubbell, Daily Newsletter

The Sedition Caucus

January 5, 2021

Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. The Constitution tells us so. Nothing that has happened in the last week will change that outcome. The rest is detail. Indeed, a handful of GOP Senators have made clear that they will not object to the Electoral votes from any state. It is over for Trump.

But we cannot ignore the damage caused by the effort to overturn the election. In yesterday’s newsletter, I called the Republican Party a “cancer” on democracy. After reflecting on my choice of words for 24-hours, I believe I was too soft on Republicans. I failed to mention that the Sedition Caucus of GOP is composed of the same cowards who refused the constitutional command that the Senate shall “try all impeachments”—that is, to hold a trial on the articles of impeachment. Instead, in the face of overwhelming evidence that Trump attempted to bribe Ukraine to damage Biden, GOP Senators refused to allow testimony from witnesses. They refused to admit any documents not presented to the House Judiciary Committee. They refused to issue subpoenas so that House prosecutors could obtain evidence from witnesses who refused to testify unless compelled (like John Bolton). Against that shameful refusal, those same Senators now assert that Trump’s discredited allegations of fraud are sufficient to suspend the Constitution to convene a Soviet-style show trial to overturn the will of the people. Those are not the actions of a cancerous lesion on democracy. Those are the actions of enemies of democracy.

Several readers expressed surprise at my ire over the GOP’s effort to overturn the election by objecting to the Senate’s count of Electoral votes. They are right—I am angry. If you are not, you haven’t been paying attention to what is happening. The reason every American should be angry is not merely because the GOP has attempted to overturn the election; they should be angry because the damage from the failed effort cannot be undone. A sizable portion of the GOP caucus has adopted the view that the party holding a majority in the Senate has the unilateral right to choose the president—voters and the Constitution be damned! We are fortunate that their view will not win the day on January 6, 2021, but there is no guarantee that a different set of Republican Senators will restrain themselves in the future. They have revealed themselves as a party opposed to democratic rule. With a modicum of effort, Trump persuaded Republicans to exalt his desire to retain power over fealty to the Constitution. If that does not disturb you, nothing will.

The betrayal by the GOP Senators deepens with each passing hour. Their initial decision was seditious but became exponentially worse after they learned of Trump’s attempt to extort Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger. Their objection to the Electoral votes on January 6th will make them accessories after the fact. As Jennifer Rubin wrote in the Washington Post,

The Dirty Dozen and reportedly 140 or so House members who also plan to challenge the results are attempting to obtain the same results Trump did by threatening Raffensperger . . . [T]he GOP has become an authoritarian, unprincipled party whose only purpose is to retain power by whatever means possible. It should permanently disqualify these Republicans from holding office.

Trump’s criminal conduct is getting worse by the hour. During Trump’s effort to extort Raffensperger, Trump insulted the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta as a “never-Trumper.” (BTW, the so-called “never-Trumper” was appointed by Trump.) It was an offhand comment but suggested that Trump viewed the Atlanta U.S. Attorney as an impediment to filing criminal charges against Raffensperger for failing to support Trump’s allegations of election fraud. In an ominous sign, the above-mentioned “never-Trumper” U.S. Attorney abruptly resigned on Monday, saying that “unforeseen circumstances” required him to quit his job two weeks early. See Talking Points Memo, “EXCLUSIVE: Atlanta-Based U.S. Attorney Abruptly Departs Office Sooner Than Expected.” A reasonable inference based on the above events is that Trump ordered the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta to file baseless criminal charges against Raffensperger. It appears the Trump-appointee declined to violate his oath and took the easy way out—heading for the exit.

It is true that some members of GOP leadership are speaking out. See Politico, “‘A new low’: Republicans chastise Trump over his Raffensperger call.” Despite the promising headline in the Politico article, the story cites only two sitting Republicans who have made negative comments about Trump’s call (Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger) but notes that several Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, defended Trump.

It is also true that a handful of GOP Senators have said they will not object to the Electoral votes of any state. See The Hill, “Senate Opposition Grows to Objecting to Electoral College Votes.” GOP Senator Tom Cotton issued a lengthy statement explaining that objecting to Electoral votes is at odds with the Constitution. Cotton wrote,

The Founders entrusted our elections chiefly to the states—not Congress. They entrusted the election of our president to the people, acting through the Electoral College—not Congress. And they entrusted the adjudication of election disputes to the courts—not Congress. Under the Constitution and federal law, Congress’s power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states.

Senator Cotton’s statement is correct. But before we give a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Cotton, let’s remember that he voted to exclude evidence in the mockery of Trump’s impeachment proceedings in the Senate. If Cotton had honored his constitutional oath in January of 2020, we might not be dealing with a second call in which Trump resorted to bribery and extortion. While we should all be grateful that a handful of GOP Senators will foil the Sedition Caucus, we should remember that all GOP Senators are responsible for empowering, enabling, and excusing Trump up to this point. They are the reason Trump believes he can act without restraint

Concluding Thoughts.

I promise to return to my usual format tomorrow, with less outrage and more commentary. But we cannot let this moment pass. We must never forget those who have revealed themselves to be anti-democratic autocrats who see the Constitution as a trifle when it blocks their pursuit of power.

I received several thoughtful emails from readers who urged me not to condemn the entire Republican Party because of the actions of GOP members of Congress. One argued that there are responsible Republicans (citing Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney). Another reader said that we must be open to the possibility of healing the rifts between Republicans and Democrats. I previously agreed with those viewpoints. No more. The Republican Party is Trump’s party. Ninety-four percent of Republicans voted for him in 2020. They voted for him after he attempted to bribe Ukraine and his impeachment. They voted for him after he locked children in cages to punish their parents for coming to America. They voted for him after he encouraged white nationalists and neo-Nazis to resort to violence. They voted for him despite the fact that he is a misogynist and racist. They voted for him after he blamed unarmed black men who were shot in the back and slowly executed in public. Virtually all Republicans know exactly who Donald Trump is, and they are just fine with that fact. The leadership in the Republican Party is responding to the base. Let’s not pretend otherwise. GOP leadership is not the problem. The entire party is the problem.

Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and will be for four years, at least. If you are still a Republican, your presence in the Republican Party gives him a veneer of respectability. Get out before it is too late to save your honor, dignity, and reputation. (Italics, o.p.)

In 2020, Biden won the election because he convinced 20% of Independents to abandon Trump. While I won’t try to dissuade readers who want to devote time to healing the supposed “rift” with Republicans, I believe that Democrats have more useful things to do with their time. Like registering new voters, increasing turnout, and convincing Independents their future is with the Democratic Party. The Republican Party has crossed the Rubicon, declaring itself to be an opponent of democracy and an adversary of the Constitution. The only path forward for Democrats is to double-down on democracy and embrace the Constitution's promise more fully. If pursuing a path of greater justice, equality, and liberty means that we bruise the feelings of those who oppose those values, so be it. We have important work to do, and we must not tarry. The mid-terms of 2022 are hard upon us!

About this newsletter. I started this newsletter at the urging of my wife (a.k.a. “Managing Editor”) as a way of providing support and hope for my three daughters and close friends who were shocked and anxious about Trump’s election. This is a private communication among friends and like-minded people who opt-in. I try to be accurate, but I have a definite point of view and sometimes resort to satire (I hope that is obvious). The last thing I want to do is add to anyone’s stress, so read these newsletters only so long as they are helpful to you in making sense of these turbulent times. Otherwise, put down your smartphone and go for a walk. Be well!

Robert Hubbell

[email protected]

Los Angeles, CA 91436

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theliberaltony · 3 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

sarah (Sarah Frostenson, politics editor): On Sunday, The Washington Post published leaked audio of an hour-long conversation President Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, where he urged the Republican to “find” enough votes to overturn the result in Georgia and declare him the winner.

This story has captured headlines, as it is by far Trump’s most brazen attempt to overturn November’s results, although it is hardly his first time trying to do so. Trump has repeatedly tried to cast doubt on the election results since Biden was declared the winner on Nov. 7, citing false claims of voter fraud and launching countless futile lawsuits to try and overturn the election. And now as Congress prepares to vote on Jan. 6 to certify the election results in what should be a largely ceremonial, low-key affair, a faction of GOP senators plans to mount a protest vote, even though it is destined to fail.

There is no question that this is bad for democracy — polls have found a record number of Americans distrust the election results — but let’s talk through some of the biggest consequences of this push to delegitimize the results, in addition to whether this jeopardizes Trump’s role as the de facto party leader once he’s left the presidency.

To start, what do you view as the biggest consequence of all this?

perry (Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer): I think the biggest potential danger is that in any election where the Republicans earn fewer votes, they will make unfounded and exaggerated claims of voting irregularities and fraud and try to toss out or overturn the results. No election is conducted perfectly, but using minor problems as a pretext for invalidating the outcome is a huge problem. You can’t have a democracy if one of the main parties can’t admit defeat.

I am really worried about this in the context of these Georgia Senate runoff races. If Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both win their races, that would give Democrats total control of Congress. So will Republicans be able to accept losing these races if they do? Or will there be an endless stream of lawsuits trying to prevent Ossoff and Warnock from being seated?

julia_azari (Julia Azari, political science professor at Marquette University and FiveThirtyEight contributor): Biggest consequence: This splits the GOP and deepens the dilemma for Republicans (and possibly Democrats) about how to deal with the other party. Namely, can they continue to thread the needle in arguing that the other party’s constitutional and political views are illegitimate, but the processes are legitimate and thus they sometimes win? Or will the other party’s victories, as Perry suggests, not be tolerated?

I don’t want to “both sides” this — obviously, the Democrats are not the ones creating the current situation, but I think this creates potential dilemmas for them, too, regarding the way they treat the idea of legitimate opposition.

sarah: What are some of the dilemmas you think Democrats face as a result of this, Julia?

julia_azari: Well, take the debate happening over how Democrats should react to this news. There’s a question of whether the House should consider impeachment, which I’m guessing they probably won’t do. On the one hand, I’m not sure impeachment would have much public support, and there’s plenty of other issues that Congress needs to work on. But on the other hand, it does sort of leave the impression that these kinds of norm violations are sort of begrudgingly tolerated.

This will linger after Trump leaves office, too, I think. You’ll have Democrats who want to move on and not ratchet up the stakes of partisan disagreement. And you’ll have others who want to seek accountability for some of the laws that they think were broken by the last administration.

sarah: That’s a really good point, Julia. One thing we saw after the 2016 election was a big drop in the share of Democrats who thought the election was fair and accurate, but it’s nowhere near as big as the drop we’ve seen among Republicans here in 2020. That’s why what you and Perry are hitting on — how the parties handle loss and what that means for voters’ trust in democracy — is the biggest consequence of all this to me.

But maybe you all disagree? Should Democrats be digging into Trump’s behavior more for the reason Julia cited — that this behavior otherwise seems begrudgingly tolerated?

julia_azari: Well, the fact that COVID-19 continues to pose a very real challenge for the country, creates a bit of a problem for Democrats, because if they look like they’re focusing too much time on investigating the Trump administration, they look like they’re ignoring the pandemic and its consequences. But if Democrats try to take this on in a less high-profile way — subpoenaing lower-level officials, etc. — then maybe they’re accused of not being transparent enough.

The impact of this norm-breaking administration isn’t just that it violates these unwritten rules, but that it behaves in ways that make the whole system of usual practices not work. That makes things extra challenging for Democrats.

perry: Questions about what the Biden Department of Justice, congressional Democrats and state attorneys generals do about Trump’s conduct are all still very much up in the air. If there was some criminal activity, he should not be above the law. Perhaps there are some congressional hearings — and maybe even charges filed by the DOJ and/or attorneys generals — involving some Trump associates and maybe Trump himself. I don’t expect Biden to talk about Trump that much, but other actors might weigh in.

sarah: What is the end game here for Trump and Republicans? Trump admitted on the call to Raffensperger that, “I know this phone call is going nowhere.” I know we can’t speak to the president’s state of mind, but what can we point to for why refusing to concede the election has become Trump’s defining stance?

julia_azari: Well, it fits in well into this idea that “grievance politics” have turned into a somewhat successful brand — especially in a place like Georgia, where a history of racist voter suppression informs the context, and where Democratic victories are especially tied to the mobilization of Black voters.

However, I don’t see how having this kind of split within congressional Republicans is helpful to the GOP in the long term.

perry: Trump has lied and cheated in a lot of different venues in his life. That is just the truth. So him insisting that he won an election that he lost is nothing new. He likes to push and push people and see if they will uphold their ethics or bend to his will. For the Republican Party, part of this is just the trajectory they were on anyway, even without Trump at the helm. When you are writing voter laws targeting Black people with “surgical precision” (North Carolina Republicans), making it harder for felons who served their time to vote (Florida Republicans) and gerrymandering in a way that almost makes a mockery of majority rule (Wisconsin Republicans), then unfounded voter fraud charges that aim to disqualify the votes of Black people in particular are just a more aggressive step in an anti-democratic direction.

But part of this is directly tied to Trump. Elected and aspiring Republican officials know he is very connected to the party base, so aligning with Trump is aligning with the party base. So that is why you see Georgia Sen. David Perdue, in light of this phone call, attacking the secretary of state for leaking it, and not Trump for what he said.

2/ “To have a state-wide elected official, regardless of party, tape unknowing – to tape without disclosing a conversation – private conversation of the President of the United States and then leaking it to the press is disgusting,” Perdue told Fox.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 4, 2021

julia_azari: I think the intersection of what Perry and I have said is this: “The future of the Republican Party is the division between those who say the quiet part out loud and those who don’t.”

One key difference is that Republicans used to win national majorities with the quiet part. That’s no longer the case. Per Rep. Thomas Massie, who along with six Republican colleagues authored a letter that pointed out the necessity of preserving ‘s comments on the Electoral College, the bullhorn can occasionally at least win a plurality. Matt Glassman, who studies Congress as a senior fellow at Georgetown University, on it:

The Senate vote on the objections will be lopsided—at a minimum 70-75 votes against, probably more like 80-85—and also starkly split the GOP caucus.

It may feel like the end, but this is really the beginning of the party fight over the meaning and future of Trumpism. https://t.co/8E9AW9GJul

— Matt Glassman (@MattGlassman312) January 4, 2021

sarah: If Glassman’s whip count is right, though, we’re still talking about a smallish wing of the GOP, right? In other words, it’s possible that the battle over Trumpism splinters the party, but that maybe the movement loses power?

Calling the integrity of the election results into question has clearly become a litmus test or demonstration of fealty for those in the GOP, but some senators like Ben Sasse and Mitt Romney are speaking out against it. Do you think it’s possible that Trump is ruining his ability to be the party’s leader post-presidency?

julia_azari: Well, our readers should stay tuned for my upcoming piece where I address that question!

But to give you a sneak peak: I think political scientists would frame this question as, “Can populism, on the right, be compatible with participation in a pluralistic, multi-ethnic democracy in which you sometimes lose even when you claim to truly represent the Constitution and the people?” The issue is that a wing of the Republican Party has skirted answering that question for decades now.

perry: Having covered the GOP in the era of Trump for the last six years, I will always bet on the more extreme wing of the party carrying the day. The fact that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not acknowledge Biden’s win until mid-December was extraordinary. If I had told anyone that in 2015, they would have thought I was crazy.

The moderate voices in the Republican Party are not well organized, not connected to the party base and have no real compelling leaders, whereas the more extreme voices in the party have Fox News, Newsmax, One America News Network, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson and Trump. I see very little chance that the Republican Party changes its general direction, even if Trump himself recedes.

Would you bet on Sasse winning a battle over the soul of the Republican Party against anyone whose last name is Trump?

julia_azari: I would probably bet a small amount that it is possible, Perry, especially since Sasse seems like a fairly skilled politician and the Trump kids do not.

That said, I generally do not disagree, but I wonder about the sustainability of it all. I think I have some questions on what counts as “moderate” — specifically, considering the GOP, as political scientist and Bloomberg View columnist Jonathan Bernstein has been saying for quite some time, is post-policy.

perry: When I say moderate, I mean people like Romney or Sasse, who are quite conservative on policy but generally avoid white identity politics-style moves (attacking Black Lives Matter or immigration reform) and are full-throated in favor of democratic norms and values. Republicans who are moderate on policy, like Susan Collins and Larry Hogan, are basically nonexistent among top Republicans now.

sarah: That’s largely what FiveThirtyEight contributor Lee Drutman outlined in his piece on why there are so few moderate Republicans left, Perry.

Given how favorable the down-ballot results were for Republicans, however, one of my takeaways from the 2020 election was that a lot of voters rejected Trump but not necessarily the Republican Party, making it a little harder for me to understand the extent to which the GOP has lost moderate voters.

At the same time, it’s hard for me to see a Romney, Hogan or Sasse winning the 2024 Republican nomination, given the current dynamics we’re seeing play out in the GOP — a largely ceremonial, non-headline grabbing vote on certifying the results of the Electoral College, for instance, has now become this big-stakes issue. That said, I’m not sure we can know at this point the success of Trumpism moving forward. I think, for instance, Democrats will face some real tests in the next four years on whether they can keep their big umbrella coalition of both moderates and very liberal voters happy, and that might create opportunities for more middle of the road or moderate Republicans.

perry: I am not confident who will win the 2024 nomination. I have no idea. I do think in the short term, though, that Trump will remain highly influential in the GOP, as will his style of politics.

I just don’t see an easy path for the Republicans to get off that ramp.

julia_azari: This is a bit of a cop-out but I’d need to think more about the costs and benefits for various Republicans. I’m gonna hold off on 2024 predictions until I get a feel for what politics in the Biden administration looks like. And per my earlier comment about how Trumpism has changed the unwritten rules for everyone, I feel a lot more uncertain about what this will look like now once Trump is gone than I have in previous administrations.

sarah: A lot probably hinges on how the Senate runoffs shake out tomorrow, and like you’ve both said, I really don’t have a sense of how “Trumpism” plays out now. It’s unclear to me, for instance, whether Trump is doing a lot of harm … or if he’s the future of conservatism in the U.S.

But at the very least, can we agree that the lasting consequence of this might be an escalation in how the parties oppose each other when an outcome is in dispute?

I’d argue we’ve seen a ramping up of this in the last decade, but it’s largely been over more procedural things, like the Senate changing rules around judicial appointments, and making it a more partisan affair. But now we have this extreme example — contesting a free and fair election. That ups the ante, no? And it seems as if partisan infighting could get much worse.

perry: I’m not sure I’d say we’ll see an escalation in how the parties oppose each other, at least not yet. I think it’s a change on the Republican side. I don’t expect Biden, for instance, to be fighting his defeat for two months if he clearly lost by a wide electoral margin (not one state by 500 votes) in 2024.

julia_azari: I agree with that, Perry. But I think it’s possible that Democrats will start to feel pressure to both uphold norms and be “reasonable” while also responding to norm violations more forcefully.

perry: I am wary of suggesting we are seeing escalation on both sides, though, as I think we are really only seeing big escalations on the GOP side. And I worry things could get worse. If Republicans controlled the House right now, I would be really worried about this election certification issue, for example.

julia_azari: For me, it comes down to a question of sustainability, and of possible splits among Democrats on this issue. But to be clear, I don’t see any of them supporting the scenario you described, Perry. But I could start to see them play a bit more “constitutional hardball.”

sarah: Yeah, I think Julia is getting at what I meant. I definitely don’t want to “both sides” this. But I do think what Julia touched on earlier, about the mechanisms for expressing legitimate opposition being brushed aside, leaves Democrats in an awkward position, as Trump’s brand of politics has challenged how the whole system works.

julia_azari: My main point here is that the parties are not self-contained, and I don’t think the Democrats have really figured out answers to some of the questions posed by Republicans’ norm-violating behavior (which again, is a situation Democrats did not create).

perry: Julia is getting at an important and complicated question here, and one we kind of saw play out around whether Democrats should add justices to the Supreme Court given Republicans’ rush to nominate Amy Coney Barrett before the election.

Biden was clearly uncomfortable with it, but the party activists really pushed him on the issue. So what does Biden/the Democrats do about what we have seen over the last two months?

Biden, in this pre-inauguration period, is basically ignoring Trump and suggesting Republicans will work with him. And I can’t tell if he is 1) pretending, 2) clueless, or 3) Republicans will actually work with him. But Biden’s theory of the case and how other Democrats approach this issue, not to mention how the two parties interact on this, will be interesting. I truly do not know the answer to this question.

sarah: Exactly. It will be interesting to see how Biden and the Democrats work to address this — or whether Trump’s brand of politics has upended everything.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #A FiveThirtyEight Chat

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tlbodine · 5 years

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What to Look for in a Small Press

OK since my post about small press publishers has gotten a bit of attention lately, I thought it might be nice to follow up with some tips for what to look for if you’re thinking of submitting your book to a small press publisher.

First: Why go small press?

The odds are, if you’re going with a small publisher, you’re not going to get any lavish book tours, end up on a best-seller list, or see wide bookstore distribution in major chain bookstores.

Then again, you probably weren’t going to get that as a debut author anyway, so get that straight in your mind.

Here’s the deal: There’s nothing a small press can do that you cannot also theoretically do as a self-publisher. The difference is that if you’re doing it yourself, you need to spend $$ up-front. You have to be prepared to pay for:

Cover art

Interior design/formatting

ISBN#

Printing costs/distribution

Audio recordings if you want audio books

Professional editing

And you carry 100% of the costs of marketing/promotion.

Yes, you can DIY the things above, but you’ll be competing with people who are hiring professionals to do it, so you won’t be on even footing.

So: What an indie publisher does for you is absorb the start-up costs. You should still go into it expecting to have to market your ass off to get the book noticed. With me so far?

Not All Publishers are Created Equal

Ok. So you’ve decided you want to query a publisher. First, how do you find one?

You can search market listings with a resource like Writer’s Market, Duotrope, Ralan’s, Dark Markets, etc.

Or you can look for books like the one you’ve written, or books that are doing well in your genre, and look up who the publisher is on each one.

Or you can find the genre award (say, a Hugo or a Stoker) for the last few years and look up who all the publishers are.

Whatever the case, make yourself a list of promising-looking publishers. Then assess each one:

Does the website look professional? It doesn’t have to look super polished, but it should look like it wasn’t slapped together on Angelfire in 1996.

Does the site look like it’s primarily geared toward people looking to buy books, or to writers? You should be able to find a submissions/guidelines page somewhere, but that shouldn’t be the sole focus of the site.

Navigate to the catalog. How many books do they release at a time? A publisher with a ton of titles per month probably isn’t giving them much individual attention and is instead just shotgunning them out hoping that 1 or 2 will stick.

Have you ever heard of any of the authors they’ve published? Google them. You’ll probably see a lot of debut novelists, but you should be cautious if they’re only publishing debut novelists. Who are these authors? Are they winning literary awards? Do they have social media presence? Do they have decent reviews? Are they “somebodies” in any sense?

Order a book or two. How does the cover look? How does the interior look? How is the editing? Does it look clean and professional? Would you pay money for it? Does it look like somebody did pay money for it?

Do they have social media? How many followers? Do people seem to be engaged and friendly or are there a bunch of angry reviews, spam, etc?

Cross any publisher off your list who’s churning out work that looks like something you could do yourself.

Next up, verify that the publisher is legitimate (OK you can do this step first, but I think the research is easier with a shorter list, and you can knock a bunch of publishers out of the running just by glancing at their website)

Do a google search for the company + the word “scam” and see if anything incriminating pops up

Check in with the site Preditors & Editors (currently under maintenance) or SFWA’s Writer Beware section: https://www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/

Check the Absolute Write watercoolor forum. You don’t have to join or post - you can just do a cursory search.

In general a publisher you work with should have an established presence on the internet, and that presence should be basically positive. One angry Yelp reviewer or ranting blogger isn’t necessarily a disqualifier...but anything that looks like a pattern of bad behavior should immediately knock the publisher off your list.

If the publisher seems on the up-and-up, go ahead and read their submission guidelines, and take some time to make sure you’re following them all by the letter. (One exception: Simultaneous submissions. Some publishers don’t mind them, some say they’re not allowed. You can generally ignore that. It can take up to a year to hear back from some publishers, you can’t wait on a string for them. Just send it where you’re going to send it, and if you sign a contract, email everyone else to withdraw the manuscript).

Okay. So now you’ve submitted your manuscript, and they’ve offered you a contract! What are you looking for?

You should be paying NOTHING of your own money out-of-pocket for editing, packaging, or distributing the book. You do not send a publisher money. You either are paying professionals yourself to outsource things, or your publisher is absorbing those costs. You do not pay the publisher.

The royalties should be reasonable. 10% on hardback/paperback and 30% on ebooks is pretty standard. Some places offer a higher %, some lower, but if they’re outside of that range, there should be a reason why that makes sense.

Is there an advance? There may not be, and that’s fine -- their monetary investment in your book is an advance. But if there is an advance, how are you being paid, and how does that advance affect the royalty rate?

What rights are they buying? Ideally you’re wanting to keep as many rights as you can, and want to avoid selling rights for things the publisher can’t actually do (ie, don’t sell international rights if the publisher doesn’t distribute internationally).

When do rights revert back? You should never be selling lifetime rights to something, or exclusive rights to future projects, or anything else extreme like that unless, like, they’re giving you a shit ton of money and even then maybe not. A lot of publishers will have something like, they own the rights until the book has gone X long without selling X copies, X many years after publication, and that’s what you want. Then the book can be reprinted or whatever in the future.

Every contract is different, so all I can really advise you here is to read over it with a fine-tooth comb, look up any terminology you don’t understand, and ask someone to help if you have someone available. Mostly, go with your gut. Do you feel happy with what they’re offering? Or does it make you feel uneasy?

What to Avoid?

In general, you should avoid querying any publisher who:

Advertises directly to you via spam or targeted ads in your email/social media

Charges you money for anything or offers to upsell you on “premium” services

Has no existing catalog of work*

Isn’t producing something you’d want to buy (as a reader) or pay for yourself (as a writer/self-publisher)

Hopefully all of that helps! I’m by no means an expert in this stuff, but these are some tips I’ve learned along the way that can maybe help you out with getting your book published (or at least feeling less scared of the process).

#writing advice #publishing #publishing advice #small presses #independent publishers

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thatyanderecritic · 6 years

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Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

Title: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii

Media: Manga. Written/Drawn by Konishi Asuka

Yandere(s): Miyama Kirishima

Yandere Scale: 0/5 *edited*

Criticism written by: Kai

Editor: Julie

Review:

Edit note: Hey there everyone! Kai here and I just want to drop in to say that in recent chapters, it is revealed that Miyama is not a yandere. It a special chapter where we get to see Miyama and Somei’s married life together. In that omake, Miyama is still banging other women and not at all loyal to Somei. It is now confirmed, Miyama is not going to change throughout the manga. You can take this with a grain of salt though since opinions vary on this scene. You can read here and here for the two cases. But to bury the hatchet on this with alternative points, I’ll mention two things about Kirishima. Kirishima has an NTR fetish. As we seen with the Deathless review, NTR, cheating, open relationships, and so on do not mix with yanderes. A true yandere would never be comfortable or even ENJOY having their S/O get taken away by another. So that’s a check off from Kirishima. Another thing about him is that... he doesn’t really love Yoshino for who she is. Kirishima just loves her bitchiness and that she’s fuel for his NTR fantasies. A yandere gotta love their S/O for their entirety... not for their fetish. With that being said, I still hope you all enjoy this old review.

Hello everyone! ( ᐛ )و Today, I just finished reading Raise wa Tanin ga li (the English translation of the manga is “An outsider is better in the afterlife”). It was a manga that was brought to my attention after seeing a post from fuckyeahmaleyandere. I recommend follow this their blog since it contains tons of male yandere recommendations! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ I should mention though that the manga is not at all complete and it only goes up to chapter 6. Normally, I prefer waiting for a series to be over before making a review, but based on the yandere score on Kirishima, I have a couple of things to say. Now! For the review.

The manga starts off with our protagonist, Somei Yoshino finding out that she is now engaged. Yoshino is actually the granddaughter of the head yakuza family in Osaka and she was engaged to the grandson of the head yakuza family in Tokyo. Their wedding is supposed to be the union of the two factions (East and West) but there’s no actual pressure for them to get married. It’s just really encouraged by the two families. To encourage their relationship, Yoshino is transfer to Tokyo and live with the Miyama family for a time. At first, Yoshino considers Kirishima as a normal but nice guy. But soon she learns that he’s really fucked up in the head and a bonafide yakuza through and through. At first, Kirishima was bored of Yoshino who seems to be an ordinary girl. He expected her to be a yakuza lady. A queen bee, THE bitch. But unfortunately, she wasn’t what he expected and encouraged her to either go into prostitution or gtfo of Tokyo and go back home. At first, she wanted to do just that. Go home. But after a prep talk from her grandpa, she was encourage to fight back Kirishima and show him a “yakuza lady”. So what did she do? She sells her fucking kidney to pay Kirishima back for her expenses and told her bullies to fuck off. At this, Kirishima suddenly falls in love with Yoshino. Turns out Kirishima is a highkey masochist. And so, the relationship between Yoshino and Kirishima begins!

Now in theory, Kirishima appears to be a yandere I would like. He fit’s my #YandereAesthetics. He’s always smiling. Always telling Yoshino how much he loves her. He’s clingy, (slightly) manipulative, and acts rather cutely towards her. And the shit he says. Kirishima says some pretty good yandere lines. But unfortunately, his words do not match actions. He may sound appealing but he breaks many of the standards me and Julie made for this blog on what makes a yandere a yandere. The only reason why I even gave him a 1 out of 5 is just because he says and did like, two yandere actions. First, I should say what disqualifies him as a yandere. Two things, I don’t think Kirishima really loves Yoshino and Kirishima fucks other women even though. I think the second point is rather obvious. Yandere’s don’t play around with other people when they have an S/O that they love already. They aren’t a yandere if they do that. But I’m sure some people are surprise that Kirishima doesn’t love Yoshino. It’s a yandere’s whole thing! It literally means “love sick”! Well, I believe that Kirishima loves the “concept” of Yoshino but not herself. The problem lies in how he fell in love with her. Before, he couldn’t give less of a crap for her but the moment she acts like how he wanted her to act he fell in love with her? Kinda weird my dudes. Doesn’t that mean if she goes back to how she was before that he would drop her like a hot potato? These two points are literally the foundation of what a yandere is. Without them, Kirishima is just a psychopath who just happens to be infatuated with Yoshino or can even be considered a yangire.

But in the end, is Kirishima a yandere? I don’t know. I can’t say for 100% certainty if he is or not due to the fact that the manga isn’t finished. But all I know that right now, he isn’t a yandere. But could he turn into a proper yandere as the story develops? Maybe? I most certainly see that he does have the potential to be a proper yandere. With what he says, I can see. But now we have to see if he’s all bark or actually have a bite. I would like to know what you guys think! Regardless if he’s a yandere or not, I do encourage everyone to check this manga out. I found it rather entertaining and the #YandereAesthetics is perfect (even if Kirishima isn’t really a yandere at the moment). I even found Yoshino to be a pretty decent protagonist! (Though Julie would argue with me that Yoshino is pretty vanilla). So give it a shot everyone!

Overall Score: 5/10 *Edited*

#Raise wa Tanin ga Ii #yandere #male yandere?#review #opinion #manga

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mtvchallengeblogarchive · 2 years

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There is no joy in Mudville -- Episode 8

First, just for the record…, I liked Svetlana. The other girls didn't like her and were being cliquish. It pissed me off, and I was trying to give her advice along the way. I really did like her and I had her back. Anyway, on with the story…

It all begins… Brad, Evan and I are in one of the guy's rooms.

I asked Brad one question "Is it true that Robin wants to take me on in the duel?"

Brad responds to say that he never said that. I said "Fine." Robin is in the other alliance, so if that is what she wants, and I find myself having to pick who I go against, then I would know Robin is OK with me picking her. But Brad wanted to know who told me – it's like a replay of the Susie/Cara/Brad thing from Gauntlet 2. I told him that I didn't remember because the "who" was unimportant to me, while the "what" was important. He said it was bullshit that I didn't remember and wanted to know who it was.

Hey, everyone, I truly didn't remember. Who cares who told me?!!!! He thought I was making it up, but that is so "Brad." Then Svetlana, who was not even involved in the conversation but overheard it, butts in and says "Brad, you told me that!!!!" And they start fighting!!!!! Brad gets really nasty and makes Svet cry, which was totally unnecessary – all to defend himself from admitting the apparent truth.

They decide it was my fault and I'm the "shit starter." It's so easy to just blame Beth. Grow some balls, Brad, and take some responsibility! So Svetlana is hating on me. I didn't tell her to open her mouth to Brad; she did it all on her own. I was so unnecessary and destructive because I know how to deal with Brad. It's her first challenge and she reverts to emotions, AKA "Key West" when it was absolutely the wrong thing to do. It's really dumb.

I do need to address how MTV has labeled this episode at MTV.com. Their summary reads as follows: "This week Beth tries to sabotage Svetlana's reputation with other cast members, and winds up facing her in The Duel." Who writes this BS? It is absolutely untrue and the episode itself does not even suggest, let alone prove, that I did anything of the sort. It's outrageous. Svetlana was in our alliance at the time and our common objective was to take out the Drama Mafia.

The beach race -- I was in the lead until I got the paddle. I kept going around in circles, which production should have shown because I probably looked really silly. Before I do another challenge, I'm going to learn how to paddle. It was something I'd never done before (And now I know how easy it is). So close to a win but number 2. I'm sorry, Drama Mafia, am I still a bad competitor? I don't think so, and neither do you or you wouldn't have been worried about me.

The Duel -- Svet was calling me every name in the book. I couldn't believe it, but the editors can't show that, can they? She was crying and screaming and fell to the ground, giving up. I was just getting started, she was doing all the pushing while I was waiting for her to exhaust herself, which she did, both physically and emotionally.

I do know what the others were thinking, because you could hear the fear in their voices. Everyone was scared... "If Beth wins, there is no way I can beat her in the duel." That's exactly right....

When Svet fell to the ground and gave up, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was such a bad loser!!!!!! I pulled the flag which was barely on the hook and unhook the carabineer. They announce that Svetlana wins because I'm disqualified.

Total Bullshit. What can I do??? I wasn't going to cry and scream. It' just a game, a game I know I could win.

I could write about TJ, but what would be the point. This is the guy who in the first episode we see with his arm around Tina telling her that it's too bad that she has to go. His bias is as obvious as Paris Hilton's acting talent is laughable.

You should know that all of my comments during the episode about the duel and Svetlana, including the comments about the Svetlana/Brad fight were recorded the day after I was disqualified, and after spending a night in a terrible hotel far from production's hotel. I don't think my comments were unfair, but I wasn't in the best of moods at the time. Still, I left as a winner and I laughed all the way home thinking of the horror on everyone's face when I was kicking Svetlana's ass. I have to thank the production people who were kind enough to tell me the next day that they knew I was robbed, but what can you do. And a special thank you to Wilson, our driver and guide to Buzios. Wilson, you are great! Sorry you had to put up with all of us crazy people.

I also love the way they make me out to be this huge person (a size 6, people!!). Do I weigh more than Svet and most of the girls- YES. Let's get one thing clear. I am not two times their size. I did have 30-40 pound on Svetlana which did help, but am I much different than Jodi or Robin? No. It also takes strength and endurance which this old lady still has....

Had I stayed, I believe I would have won. It's with that conviction I can say… "I'll be back!"

Sunday, November 26, 2006

#beth stolarczyk #the duel #mtv #the challenge

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ptbf2002 · 2 years

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Animated Atrocities - Kings Of The Con

Show - The Loud House

Episode - Season 4, Episode 13

Air Date - October 14, 2019

Writer(s) - Sammie Crowley & Whitney Wetta

Director(s)/Editor(s) - Kyle Marshall Darin McGowan (Storyboard) (Act I) Ari Castleton (Storyboard) (Act II) Jules Bridgers (Storyboard) (Act II)

Episode Rating - 7/100

Other Note(s) - Oh Boy, Does This Episode Super Hero Special Makes Me Really Mad And Disappointed! Because Lincoln's Sisters Are Just One-Dimensional, Selfish, And They're Not Just Famous In This Episode, Lana Is Out Of Character Here, She Acts Selfish Towards Lincoln And Clyde, Same As Brawl In The Family, Lincoln And Clyde Were Unfairly Mistreated In The First Half, While In Brawl In The Family, Only Lincoln Was Mistreated! At The End Of The 1st Act, They Make Lincoln And Clyde Act Selfish And Unlikeable! The Fight With The Kitty Is Really Stupid, And A Fight With A Dangerous Cat Is Considered As Animal Abuse, Which is Illegal In The United States, 2nd Act Was Also Stupid, Because The Loud Sisters Only Get To Be The Super Heroes, And Do You Know What's Worse? These 2 Con Judges Unfairly Disqualified Lincoln And Clyde And They Tell Them Only To Play As The Role As The Pooper-Scoopers Of The Kitty, WHAT THE ACTUAL F**** IS THAT SHIT!!!!! YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE 2 SUPER HEROES BECOME THE VILLAINS JESUS CHRIST!!!!! All 10 Sisters Should've Been Punished By Lynn Sr. And Rita For It, And These 2 Con Judges Both Should've Been Fired From The Con By The Manager Of The Con For Making Lincoln And Clyde To Play As The Role As The Pooper-Scoopers Of The Kitty, And I Also Wish That The Manager Of The Film Company Made Lincoln And Clyde To Bring Their Super Heroes Roles. Does This Special Episode Is Very Poorly Written And Mean-Spirited, So Basically, Justice Wasn't Served In My Opinion!

Original Meme Template: https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/196127392/MrEnters-Notebook

The Loud House Belongs To Chris Savino Jam Filled Entertainment (Canada), Boat Rocker Media, Nickelodeon And ViacomCBS

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spellcastersjudgement · 6 years

Note

scoopshipping #20 😊

hm yes the second 5ds otp so now yall gonna see the other part of the 5ds world i’ve created in my head and it’s gonna be another headcanon dump with a side of hella feelings

#20: a kiss on a scar

Carly peeled herself off of the dining room chair, cursing the weather with every bead of sweat that ran down the back of her neck. It was the end of August, classes had just begun, and now the air conditioner had decided it wanted to break. Jack, who was usually an endearing level of insufferable, had now passed into flat out insufferable. Several loud phone calls later, hollering at the top of his lungs, sweating to death in the leather outfits he adamantly refused to take off because it’s what the fans want, Carly (even though they were at home where there were no fans), the HVAC company had agreed to come out–on Saturday. It was Thursday, and Carly was not looking forward to sweating through forty-eight hours with renowned duelist and diva Jack Atlas.

As she watched the water dispense into her cup, she thought about crawling into the freezer. Jack could lift her up, stuff her in there–she could probably fit if she dislocated a few joints, but it would be relief. Unfortunately, Jack wasn’t here to lift her up, and there wasn’t any light in the freezer for her to finish her assignment–what kind of professor gave homework during syllabus week?–so the table would have to do for now.

Shorts were supposed to make it easier to tolerate the heat, but as Carly sank back down into the chair and all she could think about was how if she were wearing leggings she wouldn’t be sticky. The laptop seemed to be a space heater, only adding to the discomfort, and as Carly put her glasses back on to stare at the video editor she thought of how Akiza would never be subject to the horrors of an overheated computer. This would be the one situation where she’d rather stare at books than look through a camera lens, and she texted her best friend as such.

Akiza responded after a moment, telling her to come down to Yusei’s shop and work with her, the air conditioning worked and she could come over afterward, Jack was welcome too.

That wouldn’t be a bad idea–the going to Akiza’s afterward. Going to the shop would end in a very unproductive evening, as when Jack and Yusei got together they did more arguing or running off to some corner of the garage to tinker with Yusei’s latest pet project. Either way no work got done and Jack would get a smudge on his shirt or get a pimple on his chin a couple days later and blame it on the impure air of the shop.

She texted Akiza asking if she and Jack could come crash in their living room tonight, thinking about the sweat sliding down her spine, making her shiver in disgust. Jack would be home any minute from training–or was today interviews? There was too much to keep track of in Jack Atlas’s schedule and Carly could only be bothered to remember his matches and tournaments so that she could attend and cheer for him.

Pushing sweaty bangs back with an equally sweaty hand, Carly thought about convincing–or well asking, because it’s not like Jack would need to be pushed–him to call the HVAC company back and demand that they come out today instead of Saturday. This was a hostile work environment, the phone nearly sliding out of her fingers as she sweat.

The sound of a motorcycle in the driveway made Carly stand up–bad idea, she thought as once again she felt her thighs peeling off the chair–walking over to the door, opening it to lean against the door frame.

Jack turned off the engine, pulling his helmet off and running his fingers through his choppy blonde hair, cheeks glistening with sweat–it looked like highlighter, like he’d carefully, artfully applied the sweat to his face to accentuate his cheekbones. Of course, he looked absolutely miserable as he swung his leg over the motorcycle, the tight pants barely allowing him to bend his legs enough to walk. Carly, who lived in leggings and oversized t-shirts, most of which she stole from Jack who wouldn’t be caught dead leaving the house in them, never understood her boyfriend’s need to be fully dressed and made up, especially in such horrible weather, but watching his clothes hug every bit of muscle as he walked toward the door made her thirsty, and not for water.

It was too hot to even think about that, ugh.

“Hey!” she tried to inject her usual energy into greeting him, but just lifting her arm to wave was exhausting, the humidity making everything heavier, harder.

He didn’t say anything, only towered over her, putting a gloved hand on her head to ruffle her hair, his standard greeting. Today she’d tied it back in a ponytail, leaving only her bangs free to move, which annoyed him–she could see by the slight narrowing of his lilac eyes, the downward quirk of his mouth. He was fond of her hair, had even helped her dye it last time–she could feel another rant about the stupid repairmen and how it was their fault she was wearing her hair up coming on.

“Shorts,”

Carly shut the door. “Oh yeah–unlike you I’m not interested in dying of heat stroke,”

“Hmph,” Jack set his helmet down on the dining table, next to her laptop, crinkling the edge of her notebook.

“Take your clothes off,” Carly followed him into the kitchen, reaching out her hand to tug on the back of his shirt.

“Aren’t you being bold today,” Jack quipped. “It’s too hot for that, Carly,”

Somehow her face managed to get hotter as she realized the innuendo. Jack opened the fridge, and from where she was standing behind him she could feel he blast of cold air, making her think of crawling in there and dragging Jack with her. “That’s not what I meant, you ass! Looking at you in long sleeves and pants–it’s making me sweat and I’m tired of looking at you in it,”

He popped open a can of that horrid sparkling water he so loved, turning back around, looking down his nose at her as he took a long sip. She looked up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Jack, come on–we’re going to Akiza and Yusei’s tonight, but for right now, please take that off,”

“If I didn’t have a headache, I would be throwing you over my shoulders,” Jack put down the can, stripping off his shirt without pretense, dropping it on the counter. “You picked a horribly inconvenient time to be so demanding,”

“I’ll remember that for when the house is at a normal temperature,” she laughed, even getting a small smile from her boyfriend that he tried to conceal behind another sip.

“When are we going over?” he asked, leaning against the counter.

“Um, uh–I guess when Akiza gets home,” Carly said.

Jack nodded, looking down, but not quite at her, something slightly to the left holding his attention. Carly looked to the right, expecting to see a mirage of a swimming pool or a bathtub full of ice–her head was certainly foggy enough to start hallucinating. There was, unfortunately, nothing but the air waving as light poured in from the kitchen window. Maybe Jack wasn’t looking at anything–he did say he had a headache.

“What’s that?”

Carly looked up at him. “What’s what?”

His hand landed on her shoulder, pulling the thin strap of her tank top down, his fingers tracing a thin, raised line that ran from her deltoid to her clavicle. His palm was searing against her skin as he rested it on her forearm, still rubbing the spot with his thumb.

“Oh, oh–in high school I played volleyball. I tore my rotator cuff and had to get surgery–never played again but I was the manager and worked with the coach and stuff. Got to take lots of pictures and go to all the games and write about them in the yearbook,” Carly explained, the fond memories bringing a smile to her face. “I thought I told you about it,”

“You did,” Jack said, crushing the can with his right hand and tossing it into the recycle bin, not even bothering to look, still staring at her scar. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before,”

“Hey, when I’ve got my shirt off in front of you it’s not like you’re looking at my shoulders,” she laughed. “It’s not a big deal, I mean, it’d disqualify me from military service since I have the full range of motion, but I’m not too beat up about it, y’know,”

Jack was silent, still stroking the scar with his thumb. Carly couldn’t figure out why he was so entranced, but she knew her boyfriend well enough to not interrupt him in his musings.

“Did it hurt?”

“The surgery? I mean the physical therapy was annoying but not too painful. If anything it was great because I got out of so many tests and stuff because I couldn’t use my dominant hand–oh, oh! And my mom finally bought me that tripod for my camera because I couldn’t hold it steady with my left hand, so actually, no I don’t think it was painful,” she answered. “I mean, that’s when I really started getting into photography and stuff, and–”

She stopped talking as Jack bent down, pressing his lips to the scar, bringing his right hand to rest on her other shoulder. His bangs tickled her neck, the heat radiating off of him adding to her discomfort but she was not going to move away–Jack was pulling back, looking down at her, eyes uncharacteristically soft, the slightest frown on his face.

“Jack?” she asked.

“I hate thinking about you hurting,” he whispered.

“Don’t worry,” she reached out to tug on one of the strands of hair that came down well past his pectorals. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, I promise,”

“Will you tell me if it does?” he asked.

She twirled the blonde strand around her index finger, smiling up at him. “Of course, Jack,”

His hand slid up her shoulder, her neck, laying on her face, and Carly thought she was going to faint from the affection in his eyes, the way it was making her blush, only adding to the heat in the room.

“Come on, let’s go,” Jack broke the moment by picking her up without warning, his shoulder digging in to her ribs as she yelped, his hand resting on her backside, making her blush even more.

“Where? What are you doing?” she asked, kicking her legs as Jack started up the stairs. “Jack! I can walk!”

“My headache’s gone,” he said. “It’s hot, and after telling me to take my clothes off I want a shower. With you,”

Carly’s feet hit the bathroom floor. Jack was already stripping off his pants.

“Get in. We can’t show up to Yusei’s smelling like this, and I’m not interested in christening his couch,”

“That’s a lie, Jack,” Carly laughed.

He looked at her, thoughtful. “You’re right. I would love to see his face. You know what, Carly? Put your clothes back on,”

That wasn’t usually what he told her. “What?”

Jack looked up from where he was re-buttoning his pants, a devious grin. “We’re going to Yusei’s–we’re going to destroy his couch, then we’re going to steal all of his hot water,”

#2andahalfpotatoes #asks #scoopshipping #i loved this i love them #i love carly shes so fucking cute #i love how jack pretends not to have feelings but he's a fucking sap

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Why Dont Republicans Want To Impeach Trump

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-dont-republicans-want-to-impeach-trump/

Why Dont Republicans Want To Impeach Trump

The Reluctant Trump Critics

Geraldo: Why GOP want new witnesses in Trump impeachment probe

Shelley Moore Capito, West VirginiaI think the president does own this, Capito told reporters. I did support the president, and I did support the policies, and I think the policies were good for West Virginia. But this is inexcusable. The president was convincing people all along that it was stolen, Capito said today. The facts didnt bear that out. He was using his power to convince them of a result that was never going to happen, which was to overturn the election and to force us into accepting that, into breaking our constitutional duties. She also said that on a personal level, the experience that day had been horrifying.

Richard Burr, North CarolinaToday, Americas core principles were threatened by those seeking to forcibly stop our electoral process and overturn the results of a presidential election with which they disagreed, Burr said in a statement after the riot. The President bears responsibility for todays events by promoting the unfounded conspiracy theories that have led to this point. Burr will not seek reelection in 2022.

Mike Lee, UtahIts unlike anything Ive seen in 10 years in the Senate, Lee said. He called the rioters an angry, lawless mob who should rot in prison for the rest of your lives. He also said he was not pleased by the presidents words.

They’ll Stand By Their Man Even When Doing So Is Bad For Democracy

Former President Trump will once again make the kind of history you do not want your name associated with on Tuesday when his second impeachment trial commences in the U.S. Senate. As with Trump’s first trial , the outcome is not in doubt. But just because we know how it will end doesn’t mean the trial won’t be gripping. Members of Congress narrating their terrifying Insurrection Day ordeals will be a riveting spectacle. And just as we did in the House last month, Americans will get a quick and dirty head count of how many Republicans value democracy itself more than their own political fates.

Don’t get your hopes up on that score. While the political and evidentiary cases for GOP senators to convict Trump and bar him from ever holding federal office again are straightforward, the path to 67 votes is not. Instead, viewers should brace themselves for torturous arguments about how it is unconstitutional to impeach a former president, and some extremely “It depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is” galaxy logic about how Trump did not incite the crowd to insurrection because he did not literally say the words “please go and lay violent siege to our national legislature.” Gathering more than one Republican in a room these days is a plain invitation to this kind of sophistry.

That they still refuse to do so says more about them than it does about Trump.

Opinionwe Want To Hear What You Think Please Submit A Letter To The Editor

Boebert live-tweeted about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location during the Capitol insurrection Jan. 6 as Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, was being rushed to a secure location. Greene, among other offenses, made in 2018 and 2019 suggesting that she supported executing prominent Democrats.

Some of the senators who endorsed Paul’s motion Tuesday might be tempted to think they can simply move on from Trump and therefore want to avoid an impeachment trial so his entire shameful presidency can be forgotten as quickly as possible.

But they’ve helped to create a disaster much bigger than Trump. By giving in to him at every turn, Republicans helped create the epidemic of conspiracy theories and alternative facts rampant in the Republican Party.

Perhaps most consequentially, they endorsed his Big Lie about the election. It wasn’t just Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri who propagated fantasies about widespread voter fraud, irregularities and a “steal.” Fourteen Senate Republicans announced before the attack on the Capitol that they planned to object to counting at least one state’s electoral votes, even though Trump had won none of his more than 60 lawsuits trying to overturn the results and even though no evidence of widespread voter fraud was found by election officials in any state regardless of party.

Recommended Reading: What Is Republicanism And What Does It Value

The Situation In Wisconsin Looks A Bit Different Than The National Polls

A of Wisconsin released yesterday is a reminder that the national poll results were seeing are a bit different than the attitudes in top battleground states for 2020.

In the poll, 46 percent of registered voters in Wisconsin say there is enough cause for Congress to hold impeachment hearings on Trump, versus 49 percent who disagree. That 46 percent is lower than the majorities weve seen in most national polls supporting the impeachment inquiry.

The poll also finds 44 percent of Wisconsin supporting Trumps impeachment/removal from office, versus 51 percent who oppose it.

Trumps job rating in Wisconsin is 46 percent in the poll slightly higher than his national average in the low 40s.

And in hypothetical general-election matchups, Biden leads Trump by 6 points in the state, 50 percent to 44 percent. Thats compared with Bernie Sanders 2-point lead , Elizabeth Warrens 1-point lead , and Pete Buttigiegs 2-point deficit .

Most national polling shows all of these Democrats ahead of Trump by double digits or high-single digits.

Senate Trial To Restart At Noon Wednesday

Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will reconvene at noon ET on Wednesday after a day of arguments about the constitutionality of trying a former president for high crimes and misdemeanors.

The Senate voted by a 56-44 margin that the proceedings are constitutional, as only six Republicans joined with all Democrats.

On Wednesday, the nine House impeachment managers prosecuting the case against Trump and the former president’s defense team will start arguments about whether Trump incited an insurrection when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Each side will have up to 16 hours over no more than two days to make their case.

The House managers are expected to start Wednesday by rebutting the arguments Trump’s lawyers made before the constitutionality vote. Jacob Pramuk

You May Like: What Color Are Democrats And Republicans

Republican Rep Offers Two Good Reasons Why Joe Biden Should Be Impeached

Joe Biden should be impeached, and Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy has offered two excellent reasons why it should happen.

Remember the flimsy reasons Democrats used to impeach Trump? This is nothing like that. This is real.

If Republicans take the House and Senate in 2022, they should make Chip Roy the point man on making this a reality.

TRENDING:New Text Messages Reveal 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Were Given “a Countdown” Before Kabul Airport Bombing – It Started About Two Hours Out – They Are Now Being Silenced

GOP Rep Says Biden Comment on Constitutionality of Eviction Moratorium Is Impeachable

President Joe Biden is under fire for comments about the constitutionality of the eviction moratorium, after he bucked the Supreme Courts deadline of July 31. Biden caved to progressives who asked him to extend the moratorium after Congress failed to legislate an extension.

I cant guarantee you the court wont rule that we dont have that authority but at least well have the ability to, if we have to appeal, to keep this going for a month-at least. I hope longer, Biden said in response to a question about the moratoriums constitutionality:

Why is the eviction moratorium constitutional, I asked the president. Biden told me I cant guarantee you the court wont rule that we dont have that authority but at least well have the ability to, if we have to appeal, to keep this going for a month-at least. I hope longer.

Philip Melanchthon Wegmann

Mollie

The Senate Had No Business Voting On Whether A Former President Could Be Impeached Its Only Role Is To Determine If An Impeached Person Is Guilty

Forty-five Republican senators;voted this week to dismiss former President Donald Trumps impeachment trial before it even started. Although their maneuver failed, it focused the spotlight on a question of constitutional procedure the Senates ability to try a former official. Senate Republicans wishing to duck their constitutional obligation and avoid giving offense to Trump and his loyal supporters;would like nothing more than to engage in debates about process. That way they can avoid talking about the actual insurrection Trump incited;and the damage and death it caused. But like so many legal arguments Trump intimidates GOP officials;into making, the question isnt a close one.

The Senate concluded long ago that it had jurisdiction to try a former officer, expressly voting on the question after the House of Representatives impeached former Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.;They did so because the Constitution makes clear that impeachment serves two important goals removing a bad actor from office and forever disqualifying him or her from holding or enjoying any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States. That is clear not only from the plain text of the Constitution, but also from the precedents the framers drew upon, such as the 18th century trial of Warren Hastings;in England. He left office in 1785, was impeached in 1787, and was acquitted in 1795 after a seven-year trial.;

Recommended Reading: Who Are Democrats And Republicans In Us

Trump Impeachment Lawyer Castor’s Drawn

Political watchers covering the impeachment trial on social media quickly lost patience with Bruce Castor Jr., the first lawyer on former President Donald Trump’s legal team to deliver arguments in the Senate.

Castor, a former district attorney in Pennsylvania, took the chamber floor to argue that the impeachment trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer president.

But viewers quickly got lost trying to follow Castor’s rhetoric and took to Twitter to mock the speech as confusing, rambling and at times incoherent.

Even some of Trump’s supporters gave Castor’s performance dismal reviews.

“There is no argument. I have no idea what he’s doing. I have no idea why he’s saying what he’s saying,” said Alan Dershowitz, who previously said he would be willing to defend Trump in the trial.

Kevin Breuninger

Donald Trumps Second Impeachment Trial Rests In The Hands Of Republican Senators

Impeachment defence slams Dems who ‘don’t want to face Trump as a future political rival’

With a two-thirds majority of senators required to convict the former president, 17 GOP lawmakers would have to join the Democrats

Democratic control of the US Senate could create problems for Donald Trump in the weeks ahead when the former president likely faces his second impeachment trial but not because Democrats by themselves would be able to convict Trump on the charge at hand: incitement of insurrection.

A two-thirds majority of voting senators 67 if all 100 members vote is still required to convict the president, and the Democratic caucus will number only 50 senators. Thus they would need 17 Republicans to join them to convict Trump.

If convicted, Trump could be banned from ever again holding public office. If not, Trump, who won the votes of 74 million Americans just two months ago, might simply run for president again in 2024.

Late Thursday it emerged that Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is proposing to push back the start of the Senate trial to give Trump time to prepare. He said he is suggesting the impeachment charge be presented to the Senate on 28 January and the trial to start two weeks after that.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said he was negotiating on timing but added make no mistake about it. There will be a trial, there will be a vote, up or down or whether to convict the president.

I suspect this is the kind of thing that the Senate parliamentarian is hunkered down with somebody figuring out, Bowman said.

Recommended Reading: How Many States Are Controlled By Republicans

The Latest From California

Theres been a sharp decline in support for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Melanie Mason reported. The latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll finds 35% of voters in the state approve of Feinsteins work. Thats the first time that her job approval has turned negative. The poll also gives early readings on Harris and newly appointed Sen. Alex Padilla.

For the record: Wednesdays newsletter said Fox Business had filled Lou Dobbs slot on the network with former Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow. The new program with Kudlow is not taking Dobbs time slot.

And a quick programming note: Essential Politics will take Monday off for the holiday. Well be back in your inbox on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Stay in touch

Trump Attorney Schoen Accuses Lawmakers Of ‘insatiable Lust For Impeachment’

Trump’s second defense attorney to speak on Tuesday, David Schoen, delivered a scathing critique of the impeachment process in a speech that accused Democrats of seeking to go after the ex-president in any way they could.

“The denial of due process in this case of course starts with the House of Representatives,” Schoen, a former lawyer to Trump ally Roger Stone, said from the Senate floor.

Schoen’s remarks, which he at times read from prepared notes, were more direct than those made by Castor, who assumed a folksy persona and appeared to ramble.

“In this unprecedented snap impeachment process, the House of Representatives denied every attribute of fundamental constitutional due process that Americans have correctly come to believe is what makes this country so great,” Schoen said. “How and why did that happen? It is a function of the insatiable lust for impeachment in the House for the last four years.”

Schoen played a video montage of Democrats, including the lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., calling for Trump’s impeachment as far back as 2017.

Other Democrats shown in the video included Keith Ellison, the former Minnesota congressman who now serves as that state’s attorney general, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Read Also: How Many Republicans Are In The Senate Currently

The Republican Senators Who Are Being Asked To Judge Trump Are Guilty Of The Very Same High Crime For Which The Former President Has Been Impeached

Senator Lindsey Graham speaks at his press conference on Capitol Hill a day after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington on January 7, 2021.

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To Lindsey Graham, who said Donald Trump could count me out after the Capitol attack on January 6 but has spent the last month scurrying back to him, is apparently offended by the impeachment case presented by the House managers. I think most Republicans found the presentation by the House Managers offensive and absurd, he tweeted. And hes probably right: Reporters in the Senate chamber are saying that some Republicans are engaging in performative disinterest, reading books or refusing to look at the videos of the violence, like theyre a bunch of Judd Nelsons who are too cool for school. Some are even refusing to sit in the chamber, as they are required to do.

Why Would They Do This

We know the Democrats and most of the Republicans hate President Trump.; He stood for the average American.; ;He stood up for Americans and didnt go to Washington to enrich himself but to enrich the average American and bring pride back to America.

President Trump hoped to drain the swamp but he and America never knew how corrupt the cesspool in Washington really was.; Now after doing all he can to help America protect its citizens, increase the economy, allow Americans to keep more of their own money, protect its borders, create peace deals and bring its soldiers home, the globalists and deep state scum despise him.; He was successful and too popular for standing up to the corruption and for Americans.

TRENDING: Trump Campaign Banned From EMAILING Supporters After Being Suspended By Mail Service Provider

So they are going to impeach him with 11 days left in his Presidency:

Democrats Release Latest Draft of Articles of Impeachment Will Formally Introduce Documents on Monday Via Bannon War Room

Why would they do this?

The President just won the 2020 election with the most legitimate votes of any US president in history.; More than 74 million Americans voted for President Trump.; But the Democrats and the Biden campaign stole it.; Weve pointed out millions of votes that were fraudulent and when addressed would easily give the election to President Trump.; The fraud in three states alone when properly if ever addressed would give the win to President Trump:

Read Also: How Did Republicans Do In The Primaries

Senate Republicans Don’t Want Trump To Testify In Impeachment Trial

Senate Republicans on Thursday said they don’t want former President TrumpDonald TrumpIran president: Country ready to resume nuclear talks without Western ‘pressure’ Trump in advanced talks to sell DC hotel: reportMORE to testify as part of a second impeachment trial after House impeachment managers formally requested the former president;testify under oath next week.

The public pushback comes as his legal team appears to be shooting down the request from the House impeachment managers, dismissing it as a “publicity stunt.”

GOP senators say there’s no reason for Trump to testify after the House impeached him for a historic second time without calling any witnesses,;a move that was different than the 2019 impeachment effort.;

House;Democrats argued they could move more quickly this time because lawmakers experienced the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol firsthand and had witnessed Trump’s speech;just prior;to the riot, where he urged supporters;to march to the Capitol building.

Lindsey Olin GrahamMcConnell: Biden ‘is not going to be removed from office’Biden’s Afghanistan exit: A decision for the long termHeavy fighting reported in last Afghanistan province not under Taliban controlMORE , a close Trump ally who said he spoke to the former president “a couple of days ago,” dismissed the House impeachment managers’ request as a “political ploy.”

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shewhowantsmouseears · 6 years

Text

The Son Of Scheherazade, 16

Notes: As always, big thanks to my amazing editors, Drucilla and BlueShifted!

Not gunna lie, this chapter actually drained me emotionally after writing it. Aside from taking characters I love to bad places, I also used to have major anger issues when I was younger, so, sore spot. But here we are, and the next chapter will be silly. So silly. Prepare for major silly.

Also also, I had three or four different endings planned, including having Goofy and pals "save" the day. Oh well, maybe next time.

Summary: What does it mean to carry the sins of your family? Is hate naturally born, or does it get inflicted upon you? The contest is over, but there are things worse than losing.

The rest of that day and the following day were much of the same – silly displays of what Father Wander and his servants considered to be the truest of true love. This involved feeding each other cake, reciting poetry made up on the spot, dramatic re-tellings of their first encounters, carrying their bride over dangerous thresholds, and so on and so forth. More couples continued to be dragged away when they didn't meet the ridiculously high standards of Father Wander, but there were still enough people for Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy to lose Runner-Up. All four of them did their best, refusing to give up, and took everything as seriously as possible.

… Well, three of them did.

Donald and Minnie had no troubles with their tasks, so devoted to their friend that they were able to give masterful performances. When Donald accidentally dropped a piece of cake on Minnie's dress, she merely laughed it off, and they chatted about favorite desserts. Minnie discovered she had a talent for rhyming during poetry, Donald made up a well-thought out story of love at first sight, and they crossed their threshold – theirs lined with dangerous metal spikes – without a scratch. Working together, they found there was nothing they couldn't do, and happily enjoyed each other's company.

Mickey and Daisy were such a different story, one could almost say they were another genre entirely. Mickey was trying to play the role of a devoted husband as best he could, but Daisy continued to have fun at his expense. She smashed her cake into his face, wanting to “recreate their wedding”. For poetry, she made an entire list of made-up phobias he had, assuring him that she loved him despite all his weaknesses. As Mickey tried to create a story about their first meeting, Daisy kept interrupting with new details that Mickey had to struggle to connect. Their threshold crossing, which involved fire and brimstone, ended with a singed tail and Daisy whining about her poor ashy dress. Each new section of the contest was like another heavy burden on Mickey's shoulders, and his temper was rising.

By the end of the second night, Mickey had trouble sleeping, due to how much Daisy had utterly and thoroughly annoyed him during all hours of the day. If she had been planning to act this way the entire time, why couldn't she have chosen Donald and left him alone?! He hated thinking this way, wanting someone else to suffer in his stead, but she was driving him crazy. In addition to this, he missed Minnie terribly. Even though he saw her as often as he could, it just wasn't the same as having her by his side and hearing his name. Each part of the contest was a reminder of the things he promised he wouldn't do to her and with her until she was free – and at times he hated himself for making such a promise, even though it had been the morally right thing to do. He wanted to earn her love the right way, but what if when she was free, she only thought of him as the Son of Scheherazade?

Morning came and Mickey was exhausted, having slept very little. Donald flashed him a look of pity as they lined up for breakfast, but when he asked what was wrong with his friend, Mickey barked that nothing was wrong, he just missed his dear little wife so terribly. Donald winced, but didn't give up. “It's the last day,” Donald reminded him, trying to offer a smile. “In just a few hours, this will all be over, and we'll be back on the ship.”

Mickey gave this some thought. “...I guess I could make it a few more hours,” he finally replied, fighting off a yawn. “But after this, I kind of never want to see 'Donna's' face again.” The men were taken to a small dining room, where a hearty meal was being served, and Father Wander was standing at the end of the table, always pleased to see everybody. Mickey tried not to look at him. “And I'm convinced this guy wouldn't know actual love if it bit him on the face.”

Donald paused to consider this. “I guess if we're actually fooling him, you're right. Makes this whole thing a sham, doesn't it?” Perhaps after doing this contest for years and years, the competition had lost its original meaning. It was a shame, he thought, because an actual celebration of happiness that being with certain people brought would have been something great. Maybe once upon a time there hadn't been temptation tests or cake-eating or poetry. As they sat down, Donald lightly slapped Mickey's shoulder, still wanting to help. “When we win the map and get back to the ship, we should have a party!”

Mickey blinked at him, his anger beginning to settle down. “A party?”

“Yeah! To celebrate getting a huge leap closer to your folks! We can be our real selves again, and sing and dance and be with all our friends! Wouldn't that be fun?”

Actually, that did sound like fun, and Mickey missed Goofy and the others, all their odd behavior included. “That's not a bad idea,” he said as he imagined Panchito playing the guitar, Jose asking for all the details, Clarabelle and Horace arguing then dancing together, and Goofy giving Mickey one of his affectionate ruffles between the ears. “Yeah! We should absolutely do that! It'll be great!” Now that he had something to look forward to, perhaps his anger would stay in check today -

Or perhaps it wouldn't as his chair was knocked over, due to Grimwold shoving himself into the next seat adjacent. “Move it, shorty.”

Donald was up in seconds. “Hey! You did that on purpose!”

Grimwold didn't reply to Donald – as he was actually slightly terrified of the duck, who had somehow zapped him into unconsciousness days before – and kept his sights on Mickey. “I still have a bone to pick with you.”

Mickey clenched his teeth as he put his chair back up. “A bone? All I ever did to you was tell you to stop bullying people! It's not my fault you're a huge jerk!” He slammed his hand down on the table, starting to get the attention of the others.

“It's not bullying when someone is clearly stronger and better than you!” Grimwold leaned over Mickey, sneering right back at him. “No one has ever talked back to a Gloom and lived to tell the tale! I think it's about time we settle this!”

“Fine by me!” Mickey snapped back, ignoring Donald's tugging on his sleeve and insistent pleas that this was not the time or place for such an argument. “The sooner I get you off my back, the better! I can't stand people like you, who think they should always get what they want! The world doesn't work that way, and people aren't your toys to play with!” Was he yelling at Grimwold, or someone else?

“Then let's finish this, mano a mano!”

“Right here, right now!”

They both could've sworn they heard the ringing of a boxing bell – except it turned out to be a real bell, much to their confusion. This was Father Wander, ringing a small bell in his hand, eyebrows quirked at the display presented before him. “I must say, gentlemen, I am surprised by this behavior! This isn't in the spirit of our romantic competition!”

Donald jerked – was this impromptu fight going to get them disqualified? He thought quickly, then flailed his hands. “Yes it is! Of course it's in the spirit! Because... because they're fighting over... whose wife is prettier!”

Father Wander watched the two in genuine hopes this was correct. “Really?”

“... Yeah, sure.” Grimwold stood up straight, smoothing down his blue hair. “After all, my Hilda is like a goddess in human form! And this miscreant thought his ragamuffin could honestly compare to her. It's laughable really!”

This was supposed to be the part where Mickey was going to falsely gush about Daisy's beauty and grace and all her likable features, but he couldn't. He was so sick of having to tell lies and praise a woman who was getting on his last nerve, especially to the guy who was getting on the second-to-last nerve. Mickey was angry, Mickey was incredibly angry at everyone and everything – at Grimwold for picking such a stupid fight. At Donald who thought Mickey needed help. At Father Wander for not noticing the obvious, at this whole moronic competition that was never about real passionate love, at Daisy who put him through this, at the Phantom Prince who took his parents and made him go through this ordeal – and then he found anger at people who had nothing to do with anything, except to make this anger grow, Goofy, for agreeing with this whole farce, and Panchito and Jose who never shut up and Horace and Clarabelle for their insipid arguments, and his mother for lying to him and his father for -

And his father for -

IT'S NOT FAIR! HOW DARE YOU LIVE?! WHY DO YOU DESERVE TO LIVE?!

His heart began to beat in his ears and suddenly he was a little boy and he was scared and confused and his parents weren't there and there was blood and there was pain and screaming and tears and -

“Awww!” Father Wander's very loud coo startled Mickey out of his past – Mickey who had begun to sweat and shake, his fingers clutching the tablecloth so hard he'd begun to tear it, his breath coming in and out rapidly. “Mortimer, you're so offended on your wife's behalf, you just can't control yourself, can you?”

It took Mickey a moment to remember where he was, and his breathing slowed, suddenly very aware of all the eyes on him. He felt nauseous, and his hand flew to his neck, rubbing the scar over and over. “Yeah,” he answered quietly, afraid of where he'd just been. “I just... love her so much, you know.” The answer came automatically without thinking, and he sat back down, not touching his food. Grimwold also sat down, deciding not to push his luck any further, although he was smirking. As far as he was concerned, he just laid down the first part of his trap. Donald watched Mickey, worried, but over what he wasn't sure of. In that brief second, Mickey had changed into someone unrecognizable. The body had been Mickey's, of course, but the eyes had grown dark and instant, reflecting a hate so powerful that it threatened to swallow everyone whole. Donald had never seen anything like it, not even in Flintheart's cruelest moments, and he could've sworn that if Father Wander hadn't inadvertently put an end to it, the thing that looked like Mickey was going to strike.

“That's just the mood we need for our final day!” Father Wander continued, ringing the bell again, this time for the melody. “We only have one more display of love to go through, and then my friends and I will decide the winners! Ooh, isn't this exciting?” he applauded, expecting everyone to do the same, but didn't mind when they chose not to. “At noon, we'll have everyone gather in the prayer room of the chapel. In there we have a set of magic mirrors! We'll have the chosen pair stand in front of the mirrors, and their reflection will show who they truly love.”

Donald spat out the juice he'd been drinking. “What? Magic?! Honest to goodness magic?!” Why in the world hadn't they just done that on day one and saved everyone the trouble? How were they supposed to fool magic? Their lies would be revealed in an instant! Did Daisy know about this? No, perhaps this was beyond even her – Donald desperately wanted to believe that Daisy had an ounce of goodness, or basic sense, in her. It was probably the desire for another kiss making him believe this, which still popped into his head every day. Donald looked at Mickey, hoping for him to have an idea or to be equally upset, but Mickey was still not entirely there.

The prince now had his hand on his mouth, fighting a battle in his chest, trying to still the monster that had threatened to come out. He had barely heard anything Father Wander had said, the competition now the last thing on his mind. He could not let the beast out now, not ever. His anger had always been one of his biggest flaws, but it had never ate at him so badly before – perhaps because he had been so spoiled and privileged until his parents were taken away. But now he had problems and people he didn't know how to handle and his insides were bubbling hotly. Maybe it would go away on its own. He hoped so.

“Until then,” Father Wander had utterly ignored Donald's outburst, “You're free to spend the day as you wish! I bet you've all missed your significant others so much! So eat up, and then love up! Noon's not that far away!” He tried another attempt at applause and was still met with rejection.

Mickey stabbed a piece of meat with his fork and forced it into his mouth, even though he had no appetite. Donald kept asking him over and over if he was okay and Mickey would not answer. Once Mickey's plate was entirely clear, he shoved himself away from the table, hopped off the chair, and walked away as fast as his feet would take him. Donald wanted to follow him, but felt he still wouldn't be answered. Maybe the girls would have some ideas, he wished, and once he finished his meal he set out to find them. Perhaps for now it would be best to leave Mickey alone with whatever thoughts were haunting him.

Things would be all right, Donald was convinced of this. They would win the map, and have their party, and Mickey would be happy, and Minnie would be happy, and Daisy would tell them where the next part of the map was, and they'd dance and sing and be merry. There was nothing to be worried about. Mickey would be fine.

So why did he keep staring at Mickey's empty chair with a sense of dread?

~*~

Donald did manage to meet up with Daisy and Minnie, and while he told them of the magical mirror mishap, he didn't mention the argument between Mickey and Grimwold. He felt it would serve little purpose, and given Daisy's All Seeing Eye, maybe she already knew. Besides, the mirrors would be a real challenge.

The three of them were sitting outside on the church steps, trying to decide what to do. “Maybe we can use a wish on this,” Daisy suggested, her usually manipulative brain running low on ideas. “I think this is a desperate times call for desperate measures deal.”

Minnie sighed, shaking her head. “My Master is dead-set on not using my wishes. He only uses them when his life is in danger... or a slip of the tongue.” With faint amusement she recalled a time when Mickey had almost accidentally wished Jose to stop smoking, but he had caught himself just as he said the word wish – he slapped his hands over his mouth with such force that he knocked the back of his head against the wall. He then profusely apologized to Minnie, only stopping when he heard her giggling.

“Maybe we can make up some kind of hokey-story to explain the reflections.” Donald furrowed his brows. “Father Wander and his goons believe just about everything we say to them already.”

Daisy smirked as she heard Donald's plan, making her own decisions, and Minnie pouted, looking around. “We really should be discussing this with my Master. Where is he now?”

“I don't know.” Donald didn't meet her eyes, still reluctant to share what had happened. “He just needed to... blow off some steam. I'm sure he'll come find us before everything starts. Worse comes to worse, we can just beg for that map, and maybe they'll have some pity on us.”

Minnie leaned back on the seats, watching the sky. “I hope he's all right. He's been working so hard on those maps every night... Do you think he's getting enough sleep? Or enough to eat?” Minnie missed Mickey just as much as he was missing her, though neither guessed that the other was longing for them so deeply. She disliked sleeping away from her lamp, if only for the fact that it meant she couldn't be at Mickey's side at a second's notice. She just wanted to be useful to him in any way imaginable.

Daisy clicked her tongue. “What are you, his mother?”

What was meant to be a tease brought Minnie somewhere else, as she faced Daisy with a curious expression. “By the way... why is my Master's mother so important anyway? Why was it a big deal that she has the All-Seeing-Eye instead of telling stories?”

Donald made a startled noise in his throat. “What? You don't know? Everyone knows the story of Scheherazade. Even I got told that tale, before my nannies got too scared to watch over me. It's the most famous story in the whole wide world!”

Daisy lit her pipe, coming to the correct conclusion instantly. “Maybe so... but then, not every master thinks their slaves should know everything about the world.”

Minnie bit her lip, saying nothing. It was true that many of her past masters, even ones who had started out kind and generous, treated her more as an object than as a living person, much less a friend to share stories with. It was possible they thought if she was more educated, knew more about the world, she'd try to leave them or influence their wishes. Now it made her feel like a fool, left out of the earth's most obvious facts. “I feel like there's something my Master isn't telling me.” Her voice was quiet, her eyes downward, remembering the hesitation Mickey had shown the last time they spoke of his mother. “If Sultana Scheherazade is such a wonderful and amazing person... why won't he tell me what the story is?”

Donald and Daisy looked at each other, a cold dread creeping up their backs. They had a fairly good idea that it wasn't so much Mickey's mother that was the problem. Was it their place to speak of it? Even Daisy, who reveled in the pain of others, seemed to be debating. She was about to come to a final choice, when the church bells rang, loud but melodic. She exhaled a stream of smoke. “They're probably about to start setting things up in the prayer room... Let's get there early and try to see what we can do.”

Minnie frowned, but made no objection. The explanation could wait another day, she supposed, and if they lost the mirror challenge, they could try to find a way around it. Nothing was impossible, so long as they had her magic and Mickey's cleverness. Maybe that's what he was doing now, using his brilliant mind to think of a winning strategy. Dear, darling, clever master. Minnie didn't need, nor want, fancy poetry or cakes or fights to prove how Mickey felt about her, since he wore his emotions on not just his sleeve but his entire outfit. As long as he was himself, Minnie was content. She hadn't realized she began smiling, but Donald did, and he felt that worry from before get stronger.

No, surely everything would be all right. The three of them thought this calming phrase over and over – everything would be all right.

~*~

Mickey had been, of all places, up on the roof. To him, it was the closest thing that resembled the balcony of his room back at the palace. He had hoped that the familiar view would calm him down, and while it did ease his anger, it didn't erase it entirely . His hate found new forms to attack with, and they all centered around himself. How could he be so immature, rising to Grimwold's taunts, when there were much fiercer enemies up ahead? If he couldn't handle himself in front of a simple man, how could he hope to defeat the Phantom Prince? He was doing nothing but bringing shame to his parents. The only thing he was grateful for was that Minnie hadn't seen that childish display. Minnie, Minnie, Minnie, he wanted to see her, he wanted to see her so badly, he wanted her touch and her kiss and her love even though he hadn't done anything to deserve it.

If she could just fall in love with him before she knew what Mickey's father had done, what his mother had done, what the story was, then maybe things would work out. She could love him for him and not where he came from. But in the end he knew that it was far, far better to be worshiped as a false idol than to be hated. He knew what it was like to be hated. And while it was not impossible to say she wouldn't hate him if she knew, that one in a million chance would never go away, even though he had not been at fault. The sins carried through his blood. He felt nauseous again.

The church bells rang, and Mickey was glad to hear them. Now he could enter the final lap of this whole frivolous affair, get the map, get back on the ship, and hear his name again. He stood up, smoothed down his robes, and headed for the door that led back into the church – only to find Grimwold was on the other side. Mickey slammed the door in his face. “First off,” Grimwold said on the other side, “Rude. Second, there isn't another way down.”

Mickey sighed very, very deeply, before opening the door. “The bells are ringing, that probably means the last part of the contest is ready. If we're late, they'll probably disqualify us. So we don't have time to fight.”

But instead of taunting or insulting, Grimwold backed up from the door, showing the stairs. “Actually, I wanted to make you an offer. You were right, bullying isn't going to get me anywhere. It certainly hasn't helped with the contest one bit.”

That was... suspiciously nice and quick of a conclusion. Mickey squinted, and headed for the stairs, Grimwold trailing behind him. “An offer? What are you talking about?”

“The truth is, there's really only one prize me and my amazing Hilda are after.” Grimwold put a hand to his heart, closing his eyes to emphasize his sincerity – but this wasn't the best idea, as he tripped and fell down, and had Mickey not stepped aside in time he would have joined him. Mickey blinked at the crumpled heap on the floor, wondering if perhaps the Glooms had more bark than bite. But then Grimwold popped back on his feet, using the same pose, as if nothing had happened. “You see, we never got the honeymoon we wanted. I just want her to have the best in life, and if I could help get her that prize, I'd be the happiest man in the world.”

Mickey walked onto the floor and into the hallway. “What's that got to do with me?”

“I'm no fool.” Grimwold now walked at Mickey's side. “The judges have been studying you and your wife intensely. You're going to be a winner, I can tell. Maybe that's why I can't help but... act impolitely to you and your friends at every opportunity.” A hearty chuckle. “Why not let bygones be bygones, and have a chat about what to do about it? We can use the men's chambers – with everyone filing into the prayer room, it's sure to be empty. And since you guys entered last, you'll probably be chosen last for the mirror match.”

Mickey stopped walking to give Grimwold a deadpan look. “This is a trap.”

“A trap?” Grimwold staggered backwards, his acting getting so hammy a pig would've been envious. “A trap! I am wounded! I am hurt! Here I am, offering an olive branch of friendship, and you dare call it a trap!”

“A-huh.” Mickey crossed his arms, unimpressed. “So if we go into the men's chambers, your wife isn't going to be there to help outnumber me, and you two aren't going to threaten me into dropping out?”

It took five seconds for Grimwold to answer – Mickey counted. “...Nnnnooo.”

The prince rolled his eyes so far in his head he almost saw brain matter. These two almost weren't worth getting angry about. But Mickey thought this through – if he denied Grimwold now, maybe he'd do something worse in the prayer room, disrupting the whole thing for a temper tantrum and making this whole ordeal longer. If it was a trap, and it absolutely was, Mickey believed he could handle the Glooms very easily. His combat skills had improved immensely during his time on the ship, and what did they have? Bottles of acid he could dodge, and a stolen sword – he saw it on Grimwold's hip – that they didn't even know how to wield? Maybe once they were defeated, they'd shut up and leave Mickey alone.

With a regretful sigh, Mickey resumed walking. “Yeah, sure. Let's go and hear the offer.”

“Yes! Excellent!” Grimwold rubbed his hands, genuinely under the belief that Mickey had fallen for the asinine plot. “Right this way, my young friend!” It was only a hop, skip, and a jump to the chambers, and when they opened the doors, Mickey was totally and completely not surprised to see Hilda there, standing in the middle of the room, hands on her hips, bursting into evil laughter.

“Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly!” Hilda cackled, giving Grimwold a thumbs-up as he closed the door behind them. “You've fallen right into our trap!”

“Oh no,” Mickey said without a single trace of emotion. “A trap. I never would have guessed. Oh gee. Oh my.”

Grimwold frowned and looked over at his wife. “Honey, I don't think he's appreciating all the hard work we put into this plan!”

“Well, he'll care when we tell him the real reason we're here.”

Mickey could feel his temper rising again, and he rubbed one of his temples. “You two can have whatever prizes you want, okay? We just want the map! A map that's of no use to anyone else! So you win, hurray, good for you, can I leave now?”

“You're leaving all right,” said Hilda as she began to walk forward. “But with us... the Phantom Prince has big plans for you, Son of Scheherazade.”

Those two titles slammed down onto Mickey like falling bricks, and hearing them together by someone else's voice was such a shock that at first Mickey was sure it couldn't have happened. He knew his real name hadn't been used once, not once, and even if it had, no one else even knew what or who the Phantom Prince was. After all, wasn't it only a legend that a dying tribe passed along? “What... did you say?” His voice came out weaker than expected.

“You heard us, your highness.” Grimwold pushed Mickey from behind, making him stumble. “As if we need some cheap prizes to prove we're the best couple in the whole world... the Phantom Prince has promised us riches beyond our wildest imaginings if we bring you in! Do you have any idea how far his dark power reaches?”

“He's told us all we need to know,” Hilda added, leaving out the more truthful interpretation that they only knew what they had asked. “So if you don't want any more trouble, you'll be a good boy and come along with us quietly.”

So far they had only been right about a few things – Mickey had no idea how far the Phantom Prince's reach was, or how many minions he had around the world, lying in wait to capture him. How many were willing to sell him out for their own greed? How did they find Mickey in the first place and know to enter the contest? Was his mother being forced into using her All-Seeing-Eye? Was she being threatened into doing so? Tortured? Heat filled his head. “You two can't possibly think I'd just agree to be your prisoner!” He placed one foot back, and steadied his arms, remembering the vital lessons Horace and Clarabelle had taught him. “If it's a fight you want, that's exactly what you'll get!”

“Now why would we make such a mess.” Grimwold pulled out his sword, but made no threatening moves with it just yet. “When we can do this the easy way? Either you come with us now... or we can all head into the prayer room together... and Hilda and I will tell everyone who you really are!”

“Forget about just disqualification.” Hilda moved to stay by Grimwold's side, her heels pressing hard into the floor. “But what about your precious wife? Does she know the full story? Does she know where you came from?”

Mickey gawked – they knew who he was, but didn't realize Daisy's role was fake? It was laughable, and he almost did laugh, except – except there was someone who didn't know the full story. Someone who Mickey cared very deeply for. He could feel his arms trembling. She didn't know. She didn't have to know. She didn't have to be given the choice of love or hate, not yet, not today, that wasn't fair, they didn't have a right to say anything.

“I must say.” Grimwold smirked, rubbing his nose. “Fetching yourself a beauty like that is impressive... and it'll be amazing to see her reaction when she finds out her husband is the Child Born Of Blood.”

It's not fair. It's not fair. Mickey's heart was thumping hard, and his breath came in quickly through his nostrils. They couldn't say this. They didn't know anything. They didn't understand.

“In a way, we'd be doing her a favor.” Hilda nodded to herself. “After all, history does tend to repeat itself. We could be saving her life by telling her who you are. I bet you're just the exact image of your father... in every single way.”

Shut up.

It wasn't like that.

He didn't mean to. He lost control. He stopped. He learned.

Mickey wasn't like that. No he wasn't. He could never be like that.

They had no right THEY HAD NO RIGHT -

Grimwold approached Mickey, the sword out, but he didn't feel he'd really have to use it. “So, what's it going to be? A harmless get-a-way with us, or do we get to play storyteller to the love of your life?” He pointed the sword at Mickey's neck, right where the scar was -

He pointed the sword at Mickey's neck -

And suddenly – and suddenly -

And suddenly Mickey was four years old, a bright little child who was the apple of his parents' eyes. It took longer for him to learn how to walk and talk because his parents spoiled him endlessly. Mama was telling one of her stories even though Mickey could only grasp at a few concepts, and was paying more attention to the plush bear she was playing with, making it mime walking and talking. He giggled and clapped his hands, and Papa was trying to get in on the fun, tickling Mama until she shrieked with laughter. Papa loved Mama and Mama loved Papa, and Papa and Mama loved Mickey, and Mickey loved them.

But their good time was interrupted when one of the older servants entered the room, a kindly quiet maid whose hair was graying several years too early. An ambassador had arrived a whole day early, much to his parents' surprise. The maid offered to put Mickey down for his nap while they spoke with the ambassador, and she picked him up, cuddling him close. Mickey fussed about naptime, but she booped his nose with a wrinkled finger, and he laughed again. Mama and Papa left, but Mama was frowning, deep in thought.

The nice maid carried Mickey off to his room, telling him how lucky he was and how everyone loved the Son of Scheherazade. Mickey merely nodded, sucking his thumb. In his brightly colored room, she didn't put him down on the bed. Instead she knelt on the floor, and sat him down. “You love your Mama very much, don't you?”

Mickey smiled. “Love Mama!” he repeated with true enthusiasm.

The woman smiled back, but her smile was dark, secretive, something ugly brewing under the surface. “And you love your Papa very much, don't you?”

“Love Papa!” Mickey agreed, clapping his hands. Was this a new game?

“I had someone I loved once,” the maid said, reaching to grab something hidden in her dress. “But your Papa took her away from me. Your Papa took away so many people's loved ones.” Her sickly sweet voice began to hiss with strong acid, her pretty eyes swirling into a loathing that Mickey couldn't fathom. “But now your Papa gets to live happily ever after. And you get to make him happy. That doesn't seem fair, does it?” Mickey didn't answer, couldn't answer, he didn't understand what was being asked of him. “Why do you, the Child Born of Blood, get to live, when my sweet sister didn't? What great purpose do you serve in life? Why were you born?”

Mickey didn't know what was going on, but he did understand he was very afraid, and he wanted Mama and Papa. The woman then struck her hand onto his chest, pressing him down into the floor, and in her hand was a sharp knife, and she was hissing and crying, “He doesn't deserve to be happy! And you don't deserve to live!”

Mickey screamed even when the knife sliced into his neck, screamed as the hot blood gushed out of his skin, screamed as the doors burst open and his parents rushed in with the guards, screamed as his hysterical mother took him into her arms and yelled for someone to get a medicine man. But no matter how loudly he screamed, he could still hear the maid even as she was dragged away.

“IT'S NOT FAIR! HOW DARE YOU LIVE?! WHY DO YOU DESERVE TO LIVE?!”

No, it wasn't fair. None of this was fair. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his fault. Was not, was not, was not his fault, they couldn't do this to him, wasn't fair, wasn't his fault, they wouldn't do this to him, not, not, NOT, NOT, GOING TO DO THIS TO HIM, NOT AGAIN, NOT EVER EVER AGAIN!

~*~

The mirror competition was starting, and several couples had been eliminated. The process was kind of simple – the couple stood in front of two golden, rather plain-looking mirrors, and waited to see their reflection. If they saw their own face, they were booted out. If they saw their loved one – and the “right” loved one – they stayed. Minnie, Donald, and Daisy nervously waited in the pews, glancing at the door every so often to see if Mickey would run in late. Minnie's patience was wearing out, and she whispered to her friends, “What could possibly be taking him so long? I think we should try to find him.”

Donald nodded nervously. “Yeah, we're really cutting it close. 'Donna', can you use your All-Seeing-Eye to find out where he is?”

Daisy huffed. “Such nervous Nellies. Fine, fine, but if I catch him doing something embarrassing, that's on you.” She leaned back in her seat, concentrated...

… And then went very pale. “Oh. Oh, no.” Her voice was unusually hushed, a fear that Donald and Minnie had never seen before, had never thought Daisy was capable of. “By the gods... we...we have to stop him!” She was on her feet then, but her legs were weak, sickened by some display, breathing erratically, not caring if she was making a scene. “We have to find him, now!”

“Stop him?” Donald asked, trying to catch Daisy from falling. “Stop him from what?”

“JUST GO!” Daisy screeched, catching everyone's attention and not caring. “Find him, now!” She couldn't even make out what room it was, too horrified by what she was seeing.

Minnie backed up, and then began running, even as she heard Father Wander ask what was going on. It didn't occur to her to simply will herself to Mickey's side, because if Mickey was in danger, he'd call her with his lamp, wouldn't he? So, logically, he shouldn't be in any danger, right? Yes, surely this was one of Daisy's tricks – even if she truly looked like death itself. No, Mickey was all right, had to be all right. She checked every door she came across, calling for “Mortimer”, and then she found the men's chambers, and opened the door.

The first thing she saw was blood.

Blood splattered across the walls in small spurts, broken beds and destroyed drawers, the carpet was ripped, and the stench of blood was everywhere. Hilda was thrown in a corner, suffering from many sharp cuts, dark bruises on her pale skin, her ankle twisted if not outright broken. She was on her hip, crying out for her husband, begging someone to stop.

And there, in the middle of the room was... a monster that had taken the form of her master.

Grimwold was on his back, both eyes blackened, and unlike Hilda, there was no doubt his arm was broken – no, not just broken, it was as if every last bone had been shattered. He was also cut to ribbons, bleeding openly in many places, and he would have been excruciating pain if he wasn't unconscious. Yet despite having clearly been knocked out, the beast that was sitting on his chest was still punching his face, smashing out a tooth, a mangled snarl behind his lips.

Minnie could not even blink. She knew this was Mickey but it couldn't be Mickey, not sweet, gentle Mickey who wanted her freedom and embraced Donald at the height of danger. This was a nightmare and she'd wake up any second now. She felt a sting in her eyes, and her breath caught. Don't cry, don't cry, you absolutely mustn't cry, if you cry everything will get worse, it is the law of genies, you must not cry, even if what you're seeing is enough to drive you to the brink of utter despair. She could not find words, could not find strength, could not believe this was the Mickey who stammered her name and touched her hands with softness.

The creature spotted the sword which had been dropped during the brawl, and he reached for it, because wouldn't it be fitting? Grimwold wanted this stupid sword so badly, he could have it. He could have the thing driven into his heart, and then he would learn, oh he would learn. Then they would never come after Mickey again, they would leave him alone, and he held the sword high, they would leave him alone and his parents alone and everyone would just shut up and stop blaming him and -

“STOP IT, MASTER!”

The world.

Went.

Still.

Mickey's body stopped where it was, and he slowly, slowly, slowly lifted his head. There was Minnie, now in front of him, her hands clasped around the sword in a desperate attempt to stop him, her fingers sliced open in the process. And it was here that Mickey saw in her eyes, those deep gorgeous green eyes that gave him comfort in his dreams, he saw something just as terrible as hatred – fear. Fear of him, and what he had done, and what he could do – and it was then that Mickey understood just what he had been doing.

His eyes widened, taking in the room, finally hearing Hilda's retching sobs, feeling the man he almost murdered breathing underneath him. “No,” Mickey whispered, dropping the sword, hands falling at his side. “No,” he said again, knowing it was futile, tears filling his eyes. “No... I didn't mean...” What had he done? What was he about to do? He hadn't meant – he just wanted – what did he want? There was no justification here, this had been a foolish pair of humans who hadn't thought things through, there had been no need to do... this.

Mickey crawled off Grimwold's body, his vision blurry from tears. It wasn't too late, and he looked at Minnie – then couldn't bear to look at her again. She was afraid of him. She sat where she was, staring at him as if he was a new breed of animal that'd been hiding in the darkest of shadows. Her body trembled, one of her hands on her pounding heart, the blood on her fingers staining her clothes. She was clearly fighting not to cry, with staggering breaths and a choke in her throat. How could he explain things to her when he couldn't explain it himself? “I'm sorry,” he pleaded, to Hilda, to Grimwold, to Minnie. “I'm so sorry.” But sorry wouldn't make things better, wouldn't save the man bleeding on the floor. “I wish... I wish the Glooms were healed.”

Minnie raised her hand, and Mickey's scar glowed – a glittering rain of sparkles descended onto the humans, and with each touch of pixie dust their bruises faded, their wounds closed. The familiar pain struck both mice, making them heap forward to gasp for air, but it seemed so mildly insignificant now compared to what had been done to the Glooms. Hilda didn't care what was happening or why, scrambling to reach her husband and cradle him in her arms. She pressed her forehead to his, weeping openly, telling him that she loved him and she was going to take him home, and the Phantom Prince could find someone else to do his dirty work.

Mickey tried to stand and couldn't, but knew it wasn't just the wish draining his energy. Minnie's eyes were still upon him, her gaze like a cold dagger of ice right into his heart. He deserved it. Even with magic, there was no reset button to undo what he'd done. He needed to get away from here. “I wish... I wish we were in my room, on the ship.”

In another puff of pink smoke, Mickey was suddenly on his bed, startling his sleeping dog. The agony of two wishes, and the crash of adrenaline from the fight, made every muscle in his body burn in pain, his bones aching as if they were being pulled apart, and even breathing became a fight with hard, loud gasps. Mickey laid on his back as Pluto yipped in concern, only having enough power to move his eyes to try and find Minnie, maybe explain what had led to everything. He didn't see her body, but he saw her pink smoke entering the lamp, and understood she was there now, and would be there for some time, unable to stand the sight of him.

“I'm sorry.” Mickey felt himself crying again, and the self-loathing he had managed to bury for so long came back with a furious vengeance, eating at his soul. “I'm sorry...” Pluto climbed onto the bed, snuggling up to his master, wishing to comfort him somehow.

He could not blame her for her fear, and he was now afraid as well – afraid of the monster called Mickey.

~*~

Donald would have gone on to chase with Minnie, but he was so concerned with Daisy's well-being that he couldn't bring himself to let her go. He held her close as she trembled, stroking her hair and asking what was going on, and the other couples and servants gathered around, hoping the poor girl was all right. Daisy finally began to show signs of calming down, sighing in relief once she “saw” that the Glooms would be healed. “They're going to be okay...”

“Well and good, whoever they are,” Donald said, cupping Daisy's cheeks. “But what about you? Are you okay?” As much as he wanted to get to know the “real” her, he never wanted it to be like this.

Daisy at last seemed to realize Donald was there, and had been there for some time, comforting her as she broke down. “Didn't I tell you to go?”

“But... I couldn't just leave you like that.” Donald hoped he wasn't in for a lecture or teasing. “He's important to me, but so are you, so's everyone in the crew. No man left behind, right?”

Daisy blinked at him, perplexed, because she thought she understood Donald completely, which made him so easy to mess with. This was not what she thought he was capable of, and it was... charming, in a way. Silly, foolish, and not helpful, but... charming. That could lead to problems. Speaking of problems, they were still surrounded by everyone, and she cleared her throat to alert Donald about the situation.

Father Wander made his way through the crowd. “My goodness, what in the world is going on here? Why did Madeline run off like that? And what's with you two?”

Donald looked at Daisy, and Daisy looked at Donald. It looked like the jig was up. Daisy rolled her shoulders, and grew serious. “Father Wander, it's time you heard the truth.”

“The truth?!” Donald spat, startled. “You're choosing now, of all times, to speak the truth?!”

Father Wander frowned, leaning forward but still trying to believe the best of them. “And the truth is what, exactly?”

Daisy placed her hands together, begging for understanding. “We've been lying to you this whole time. I'm sorry... but we had no choice. We never meant to make a mockery of your blessed celebration. I don't dare ask your forgiveness.”

Donald ran a hand down his face, but if Daisy was going to spill the beans, he might as well go along with her. “I know it was a dumb thing to do, but if you'll hear us out, I'm sure you'll agree, we had to do it.”

Daisy took Donald's hand and squeezed it. “Yes, for you see, the truth is...Gladstone and I are the ones in love!”

“Yes, that's exactly-” Donald's brain caught up with his ears. “... Wait, what?”

Daisy was easily back in lying mode, slumping her body against Donald's and cuddling up to him. “Our cruel master, Mortimer, made us enter this contest so we could win those prizes! So he forced me to pretend to be his bride! But I can't hold it back anymore...Gladstone is the one I'll always love, and I don't care who knows! Nothing Mortimer can ever do to me will stop me from loving him! As long as we're together, I can endure anything!”

“...You're unbelievable.” And Donald did not mean this as a compliment. Come on, surely even Father Wander wouldn't fall for this – he was going to fall for it, wasn't he.

“That's...so...romantic!” Father Wander began to cry, in loud, heaping, overly dramatic sobs. “A forbidden love inside a forbidden love? It's too beautiful! It's exactly in the spirit of Rumansy!” He threw his arms around Donald and Daisy, hugging them tightly. “We have true love right here! I don't need to hear anything more, they deserve a prize for having to hide their precious love! Never hide it again, it must be shared with the whole wide world! Shout it from the rooftops! I'll do it myself if I have to!”

“Please don't,” Donald insisted.

“Well, we don't need much,” Daisy fluttered her eyelashes, upping her innocent act. “Buuut... my darling Gladstone enjoys collecting maps, so if we could have the Runner Up Prize, that would just make everything worth it!”

“Of course, of course!” Father Wander signaled to the servants. “Hurry up and get that map piece out of storage! Glad to get rid of the weird thing, anyway.” As he flagrantly ignored his own rules and regulations, the remaining couples couldn't help but think if entering this contest had been worth anything. Luckily for Father Wander, websites devoted to giving tourist location reviews had yet to be invented.

As the servants rushed to fetch the map, Donald whispered to Daisy. “Did you plan this since the start, or have you been making it up as you go along?”

“Fiddle-dee-dee. I'll never tell.”

Donald made an exasperated sound, but found it difficult to get really mad at her. He wondered why that was, and it was a long time before he let go of her hand. He didn't notice that she didn't let go of his for a long time either. Instead he focused on what he knew to be correct – everything had turned out all right.

Yes, everything was all right, wasn't it?

#disney #fanfic #the son of scheherazade #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #daisy duck

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