#people who arent larries but follow larries for some reason ¿?¿?¿

[louvedbyyou]

.

#people who arent larries but follow larries for some reason ¿?¿?¿ #please unfollow me

[twopoppies]

Firstly No pressure to read any of the below it’s just a lil rant after I ended up on the wrong side of tumblr!! ( + I have ADHD and i forgot my meds lol so its a bit disoriented and all over the place) and no response necessary unless you want to!

Oh god I accidentally ended up on the wrong side of tumblr....never ever ever ever again, I went back so fastttt lol im laughing at myself rn for how quickly i clicked away from disgust

i ended up on a blog that stalks u and some other larries and says absolutely atrocious things abt louis (I can send u their @ if u'd like so u can block them) and fully bought the stunt bs happening rn and it was horrible obvs but like i just do not understand like it was so creepy gina and im just so disgusted bc why? yk?

like u were not joking abt anti's actually being obsessed with larries - like half this person's blog was talking abt you and amy and i was just so shocked cause why??? like mate come on what the actual f? get a life please?? (im quite new so im like just now realising how insanely weird and obsessed these anti's are)

Also it was just an overall eye opener for multiple things:

Starting with that 1. the way 1DHQ and 1D Management managed to alienate larries actually worked and i like knew but truly doing a proper deep dive and seeing multiple blogs hate on larries and like obsessively stalk us was insane?? Like they truly believe everything they’re being fed???

Side Note: Lowkey feeling very lucky to have had the education i have because even before i even joined this fandom i believed partially none of the relationships in the news bc like i knew abt this industry and how it worked yk? i mean its logic? i have so many mates that arent even in the fandom that know i am in the fandom and texted me when the articles started rolling out calling it out for what it was: A PR stunt

Hell someone i know whom i had never even talked abt fandom stuff/stunt stuff fully texted me making a joke out of it!!! like people who aren’t even in our fandom can see it and its just insanely surprising that if they can why cant the antis?? im just a bit shocked rn

both from 1. finding someone who actually believes in this stunt and 2. multiple blogs that fully commit their time to stalking u and other larries and once again i knew but fully seeing it

YK AT FIRST I WAS LIKE IS THIS A JOKE I DIDNT BELIEVE IT GINA I THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS PULLING MY LEG OR THIS PERSON WAS IDK BEING SARCASTIC AND HAD A MESSED UP SENSE OF HUMOUR but ye anyway

It made me realise that 1DHQ knew what the fuck they were doing when they were trying to alienate larries from the rest of the fandom, once again i am feeling extraordinarily grateful to have grown up with an education where i was literally taught to never trust anything and to always think things thru using logic - “does it makes sense to you? if not find out why, there usually a reason behind everything” my yr 9 english teacher used to say smth like that all the time and it just never left me bc she was always teaching us to judge everything and to take every piece of news we read entertainment or otherwise with a grain of salt and to always if we’re gonna give someone else our opinion or spread this information do our research (its what i am when i say i feel lucky to have had the education i have had)

Eye Opener 2: Anti’s are fully standing y’all u were 100% correct this is some next level stan behaviour if i’ve ever seen some, you’re famous gina!!

It is while surprisingly to realise that anti’s fully believe these things, more surprising to see how they treat larries bc why on earth would u treat any other human being this way??? like dont get me wrong they’re horrible ppl and i fully felt like sending them a message telling them exactly that but i would never bc i just dont want to make another person feel bad abt themselves even if they are that shitty of a person and it was very tempting

I just would like to understand why they feel the need to do this? like why hate on a whole other person? for what believing smth diff to u? having a difference of opinion? how tf are they gonna make it when they get a job??? like??? do u know how often i run into a person with a different opinion then me? it shouldn’t be that big of a deal! we should still be able to be friends with antis! but we’re not - not for lack of trying btw!! they’re just so mean and rude??? when i was in other fandoms when someone believed different things there was never this much hatred at someone for it!! hell there was barely any bc it was understood that it was normal to have diff opinions abt things and i just am truly fascinated by these ppl i swear they remind how stupid the human race can sometimes be not for what they believe (altho ngl a lil of that too) but for how they treat other ACTUAL human beings with different opinions to them

Eye Opener 2.5: Some people need lives, man like they proper do need lives and something to do maybe a hobby or smth? just like a life they need to get one of those and actual live it

and Eye Opener 3: I already felt this way but like even god damn stronger now you deserve a formal apology from both 1DHQ and the universe

and until we get that u deserve amazing things coming from the boys on your bdays to make up for it

Lastly Gina I hope you didn't read thru all that bc I couldn’t even read it over and thus sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes and I would also like to say that I love your blog and everything about you! you’re an absolute angel and one of the kindest ppl I have ever had the pleasure of well not meeting but stumbling across, you truly make this fandom a much much much better place with your presence (I shudder to think of it without u) that said if you ever need to take breaks or leave Im sure you already know but you should 100%

You first!!! Always! :)

Have a good day Gina, I hope its an absolutely amazing one!

Hi darling. LOL! Reading this was like talking with my kids when they don't take their ADHD meds. Lots of excited thoughts!! I loved it.

And yeah, that blog and their 4 followers are really... not well. But you're very right. 1DHQ made this fandom a breeding ground for people to hate larries and to think it's something Harry and Louis would both approve of. It's gross.

The gaslighting here is powerful, so thank goodness for fans like you who know to question what they're told and to look at things with logic and to do their best to see through their own biases.

Thank you for all the sweet words and your offer to kick butt (in your other message). I really appreciate it!

#long post

[detective-gum-chew]

okay okay okay

i know this isnt an orginal idea by any means but roleswap!narumitsu is just so good

so youll have to indulge me because this lives in my head rent free and i want to write it down concretely somewhere (also this gets LONG so ill pop a cut in here)

alright so:

1. at least in my writing of it, this is also a no-dl6/gregory lives au. but as well at that, miles and phoenix didnt go to school together

2. this means that there was nobody to defend phoenix at the class trial (yes i know the money stolen was edgeworths but shhh lets pretend it was someone elses, kay?) this lead to phoenix becoming not only bitter, but somewhat obsessive over the idea of punishing people that do wrong

(if someone can find that quote where phoenix talks about how he could have become a prosecutor because of the trial i will give u a gentle kiss on the forehead) 

3. Edgeworth was raised by Gregory and ends up becoming a defense attorney

4. in this, Von Karma goes down and Franzy is adopted by Gregory, and she assists Miles in his cases. (she can still have a whip, as a treat.)

5. anyway with that set up, lets get into some cases

6. Larry gets accused of Cindys murder, Miles defends with Franzy

7. Lets say Mia was in the crowd of that trial and decided to contact miles, seeing as he appears to be another uncorrupt lawyer and asks him for his help in taking down Redd White

8. He agrees, and she sets a time for him to meet at her office so they can talk. Mia then calls her sister and updates her on how shes going to recruit another person (Redd White hears this)

9. Much like the original case, Mia gets murdered, but this time, Maya isnt here to be blamed. Instead, its Miles himself, as the name that White heard over the phone (so basically we’re speed running to the “defend yourself in court” part)

10. the prosecutor today is Phoenix Wright.

11. but before that lets go into some backstory actually. Phoenix had encountered Mia previously during the Terry Fawles case. He had respected her as a peer, if not for just her determination and deductive skills. (After all, he was young at the time and solely focused on punishing the wicked) After Diego’s poisoning, he had briefly reached out for condolences

12. but anyway, Phoenix had distantly respected Mia, and now that she was dead, he was going to be tough on whoever he thought murdered her.

13. Miles proves his innocence, although it takes some baiting to get Redd White out of his building and actually into court. 

14. Wright is... not pleased about this, but theres not much he can do. His displeasure for Mias murder has shifted, but theres a new displeasure for Miles, the man who could beat him in court. (”well well well, you managed to save your own skin. But you should hope you get as lucky as you did in your next case”)

15. Next case! We know Miles is a steel samurai fan, so even without Maya it takes very little convincing for him to take the case. (Fran is not as amused but trusts her brother... enough.. to follow his lead)

16. Case proceeds mostly as normal, with Phoenix requiring Dee to re-do her testimony (maybe something deep within him still itches to put the true bad guy away, even if its harder than the accused)

17. I dont think Phonix would deliver the unnecessary feelings line, although there definetely is that moment in the lobby where hes like “hm. maybe you arent a bad person, but that doesnt mean i have to like you.”

18. and now, now now now, we finally get to the part where i somehow managed to put the most thought into. (for context it is nearly 2 am when i am writing this)

19. sleep schedule aside, you couldnt have thought i would made this WITHOUT some good angst, so here we go. case four is similarly structured to the original, but with an extra side of Phoenix angst.

20. Miles wakes up to Franzy shaking him. She points to the television. the news is on, but the voices are drowned out by a distant ringing as he stares at the image on the screen.

Famed Prosecutor Phoenix Wright Arrested For Murder

21. it just doesnt make sense. So he gets out of bed and into the closest clothes he can find and out the door with his sister in tow. He sits in the cold detention room, thinking about the other side of the glass.

22. Phoenix Wright looks dull. He asks what they want. Miles says he wants an explanation. Wright sneers and asks why. For some reason, that pisses Miles off. He slams his badge to the glass and Wright looks surprised.

“Do you know what this is? It’s my attorneys badge.”

“the badge doesnt mean youre a good lawyer.”

“Well Mr Wright, its 2-0, so i dont think you have any right to say that.” Miles glares at him and Wright sits back in his seat. He watches Miles for a long time.

“If im going to defend you, you need to tell me what happened.“ Wrights eyebrows shoot up and Franziska squawks at his side

“What do you mean defend him!”

“What she said.”

Miles narrows his eyes at Wright as he ponders to himself the answer. Why is he doing it? the answer comes to him. 

“Because i dont believe you did it.”

For all his snark, Miles cant bring himself to believe that the man in front of him would kill someone. Theres something about him, either in his eyes or the way he carries himself that makes the idea itself preposterous. Wright looks at him for a long time after he says it.

“Very well.”

21. Miles doesnt seem him until court, but at least he testifies. The next person up, a red head by the name of Melissa Foster, gives a testimony that seems airtight.

22. that is, until he looks over at Phoenix, who is pale as he looks at the woman on the witness stand. Phoenix catches his eye, and very carefully, very slowly, mouths one name.

Dahlia Hawthorne

23. (I really wish i could continue with the more narrative parts of this but im honestly running out of steam and ill get to the point lol. Maybe ill finish it later.)

24. Terry Fawles dies on the stand. Diego Armando falls into a coma. Dahlia Hawthorne walks free. Even after what happened to Diego, Phoenix is convinced he can do better. He sets up a meeting with Dahlia.

25. Doug shows up, trying to persuade him away from it, saying he overheard Dahlia’s plan to kill Phoenix when she arrives. Phoenix is cocky, and the pair fight. Doug gets shoved into the powerline. Phoenix, thinking him dead, panics and runs.

26. Dahlia, having overheard, goes back and finishes him off, drops some poison into his mouth perhaps. With an accidental death with a cause so obvious, nobody bothers to run blood tests (until Miles)

27. Its years later, and Phoenix gets a note that tells him they know what really happened to Doug. Phoenix arrives to a meeting place to find a dead body. He picks up the vial of poison almost absently. 

28. After all, Dahlia had gotten rid of Diego and Mia was dead. Now all she had to do was get rid of Phoenix

29. It plays out similarly to case four, with Phoenix being absolved of the first murder, then confessing to the old one. Miles has gone through the work to save his life once, that he cant not do it again.

30. but happy endings (ish) for all, with Phoenix being freed, Dahlia imprisoned and Miles having a better understanding of both him and Phoenix.

31. maybe more happens but we’re at bullet point 31 so its time to stop for now lmao. uh but yeah! roleswap au..... brainrot really.

#lmk what yall think #sorry to maya for writing her out but i couldnt find a way to put her in ;-; #sorry if it gets repetitive towards the end i did not edit this at all #roleswap au #defense attorney!miles #prosecutor!phoenix #ace attorney #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #aa au

[quakerjoe]

It is important to remember that, because, as New York’s Sarah Jones writes: “Tara Reade is difficult to dismiss.”

Since she publicly accused her former boss, Joe Biden, of sexual assault, multiple outlets reported corroborative evidence that supports her account. She says she told her brother; The New York Times and The Washington Post confirmed that she did. She says she told an anonymous friend; reporters confirmed that too. She told the Intercept that her mother, distraught over her treatment in Biden’s office, called into Larry King Live to ask for advice around the time of the attack, and the clip emerged. On Monday, Business Insider reported the most significant piece of circumstantial evidence to date: A former neighbor and a former co-worker of Reade’s both told the outlet that Reade disclosed a traumatic event to them in the mid-’90s.

The news cycle moves at a breakneck pace in the Trump era, and time passes oddly in lockdown, but Joe Biden’s coronation and the third-party support for Tara Reade’s assault allegation (which Biden denies) are both very recent developments. Pete Buttigieg, Beto O’Rourke, and Amy Klobuchar all endorsed Biden at the beginning of March; Reade’s interview with Katie Halper, containing her new, more serious accusations, came at the end of that month; The Intercept and Business Insider partially corroborated her story over the last week.

It is, as I mentioned, now the start of May. Thus far, the Biden campaign and Democratic Party organizations have, for the most part, dismissed the story. As The New York Times reports, “progressive activists and women’s rights advocates” have spent weeks urging the Biden campaign to “address the allegation” more thoroughly. They drafted a letter pushing him “to model how to take serious allegations seriously.”

Biden simply chose not to. The groups sat on the letter.

As the Times puts it, Biden’s aides have said they “remained unconcerned about any significant political blowback from Ms. Reade’s accusation.” They are “confident that the allegation will not shake voters’ perceptions of Mr. Biden’s character,” and they “believe that voters will view the allegation with great skepticism.”

All of that could be true. It is also answering a different question than the one those activists and organizations thought they were posing. They, ostensibly, should not be worried about whether Biden can win with a strategy of waiting for these allegations to go away on their own. But that is all the Biden campaign can offer them. (So far. Biden is scheduled to appear on Morning Joe today, and he is expected to answer some sort of question about Reade’s allegations.)

What his campaign is trying to imply is that Biden’s nomination is inevitable, instilling resignation in those who feel queasy about the allegations but who desperately want to beat Donald Trump in November. They want people who might, under normal circumstances, push a politician facing an accusation like this one to open up the Senate records that could shed light on the veracity of these claims to instead come up with reasons why Biden should keep them closed. (Biden has reportedly sent operatives to look through the records.) It is hard to ask the Biden campaign to “model how to take serious allegations seriously” when it seems more interested in following the old model—of having your fiercest partisans defend you in the press with blithe hypocrisy.

But instead of throwing up your arms at being forced to choose between either defending Biden or simply holding your nose and voting for a man you now suspect may have done something terrible, remember—it is only May 1.

Biden is the presumptive nominee in large part because the party leadership coalesced around him, signaling clearly to voters that he was the right man. The most respected and admired figures in the party could now coalesce around another path: Biden bowing out and the presidential contest continuing.

The 2020 Democratic primaries were notable for featuring a huge slate of candidates who were all broadly acceptable to the rank and file. The majority of Democratic voters regularly told pollsters they had favorable opinions of all of Biden’s closest competitors for the nomination. The candidates who couldn’t crack 50 percent were, for the most part, not unacceptable to Democrats but mainly unknown. Loyal Democrats paying the closest attention to the race bemoaned the early exits of numerous perfectly qualified candidates.

Guess what? They can return, if they want to.

The right circled the wagons around Brett Kavanaugh when he faced allegations of sexual assault that were hard to disprove, in large part because he was replaceable. To stick with him was an important display of power and dominance; to withdraw his name and advance an ideologically identical replacement would have made no difference to the right’s larger political project, but it would have been a demoralizing surrender to the forces they hate. There are now some on the Democratic side who feel even more tightly attached to nominee Biden because they, too, are determined not to surrender to the forces they hate, citing Bernie Sanders or Vladimir Putin or both.

But (among the commentariat, at least), there are more left-of-center voices responding with hopelessness or helplessness. I can’t believe male politicians, and the political establishment, are making me do this again threatens to become a common refrain. That reaction would be understandable if the bulk of the corroborating evidence had emerged in October (there is suggestive evidence that right-wing groups had had the Larry King Show tape filed away for just such time; suspiciously, they had it ready to post almost as soon as The Intercept published its story). But it is not October. It is May. Joe Biden is not the nominee. The primaries are still happening. It is within your power to demand an alternative.

The organizations that wasted weeks drafting a letter urging the Biden campaign to come up with an acceptable response to all this could now draft one instead urging Biden to step aside and let the primaries continue. Barack Obama could gently suggest that Biden do what he knows is right. Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, and Amy Klobuchar could unsuspend their campaigns. Or some of them could choose, just as they chose to throw their support to Biden, to endorse a well-qualified also-ran they believe deserves another shot, such as Jay Inslee or Julián Castro. And then the Democratic voters could decide. That’s how the system is supposed to work: 

Neither the Constitution nor the bylaws of the Democratic National Committee require that the guy leading the delegate count on May 1 win the nomination.

If Biden left now, on his own terms, perhaps with some polite fiction about his health or stamina, the rest of the primaries could play out as designed, in a civil, well-managed continuation of the contests, and the eventual Democratic nominee could emerge without being seriously wounded.

Based on how the Biden campaign has responded to the allegations so far, and on what they have asked the most principled and loyal Democratic partisans to do, or even to think, a Biden victory in November could be nearly as demoralizing (if not as existentially dangerous) as a Biden defeat. His campaign is run by some of the most cynical people in the Democratic Party apparatus, and unless today marks some sea change in the way they view these allegations, they will continue to believe that they can ignore and dismiss this story and still win. They may well be right. And if you are comfortable with that, there’s not much else to say. But no one is under any obligation to adopt that cynical argument and use it to excuse anything. They would like you to believe that the choice before you is-

All In With Biden or another four years of Trump. That is not remotely the case.

The alternative scenario is not some outlandish, unprecedented piece of political-junkie fan-fiction, in which backroom deals at a virtual convention produce an Andrew Cuomo–Stacy Abrams ticket. The elections already on the calendar would simply continue with an existing slate of perfectly qualified candidates.

That is possible. It’s not even unreasonable, nor would it necessarily hand the election to Trump. Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee in June 2008. He had plenty of time to unify the party, introduce himself to the rest of the nation, and win the November election.

But just because Biden could step aside and allow the primaries to continue without him doesn’t mean that he will. And it is worth reflecting on why that is. Democratic leadership would panic, obviously, at the thought of changing horses in what they already view as the middle of the stream. But they also seem to believe their die-hards won’t care and the people most vocal about wishing to change things won’t demand a reckoning. They are relying on people already fully invested in a Joe Biden campaign—not just the campaign operatives and donors and elected officials, but the outside organizations and the professional activists, and the think tanks and the media personalities, and even people who seem to do nothing but post all day—to entertain no possibility of disinvestment. But with months to go before the convention, there is plenty of time for people with power and platforms to use them.

#democratic party

[jlf23tumble]

I’m loving how people are coming clean about how poorly some writers (and honestly content creators in general) are being treated within this fandom. I’ve been writing for years (not super consistently and maybe my fics arent 100k but that’s still tough work!!) and I’ve just never felt appreciated for the amount of work/stress that goes into it. This fandom focuses too much on the same writers/tropes/pairings so if you’re outside of that bubble you’re basically nonexistent & it’s discouraging :(

Oh, man, I’m so sorry to hear that, I get it, though!! @homosociallyyours had a good post about that, about how big this fandom is and the amount of content that comes from it, how things can get “lost” or buried or overlooked for all kinds of reasons, most of them having nothing to do at all with the content itself. But as an author, it’s gotta be tough because you end up comparing yourself to other authors, ugh. I came to this fandom late, so I’m always boggled by the way people talk about how many hits or likes or reblogs or whatever used to happen, so I think there’s also a skewed focus on metrics and what they mean (i.e., what they’re worth). But that said, I also feel like smaller groups in different pairings and tropes are slowly finding their crowd...it takes a bit of hunting, but they’re out there! If you see someone writing in your preferred pairing, reach out to them! Support each other!! Hype each other! There’s a LOT of content, and I try to keep up myself, but I’ve found some fic only by following authors who aren’t larries, people who aren’t assholes about larries but who write in other pairings (and trust me, they’re out there, and they’re producing great stuff). I hope you can fight through discouragement...it’s a smaller group, but I know there are readers out there for you!

#i do follow the ao3 larry tag #and some of these new fics are straight outta 2011 #but there are all kinds of new fics #and they aren't in that tag #they're out there tho

[wirakor-blog]

Chapter 2: The Nest

After I explained what was going on, most of them seemed like they regretted volunteering, but Warren and Ingrid seemed a little too excited about it. In my car was Larry, Tommy, Ingrid and Henry, the other car had Alex, Ryan, Karen, Warren, Gus and Mike. This nest that Celestine pointed out was about 35 miles north of our base, the ride there was pretty smooth, nothing to much to worry about. As we approached we noticed that there were a lot of Wirakor. More than we have ever seen in one group.

“Alright guys, Henry, Karen and Mike, take the fire crackers and go distract them, please. Be careful. Larry, Warren, Tommy and Alex, help me carry the explosives to the nest. Ingrid and Gus watch our 6, and Ryan, stay back and watch for other people, or if things go south, take the car back and tell them what happened. Everyone understand?”

“Yes sir.” Larry jokingly says

“Understood.” Tommy said barely audible.

“Loud and Clear.” Ingrid said with a smirk, I couldnt tell if she was mocking me or just excited.

The others nodded.

“Good, then move out.”

We waited for the sound of the firecrackers.

Pop Pop Pop

We hurried over to the nest as we see them all run towards that direction. I turned around to see if I could find them, the three made it back to Ryan safely. The smell of the nest was horrid and it felt as if it were burning my lungs. Inside was even worse, the floor was covered in this sticky substance that was hard to walk on. There was something in the middle of the building, it looked like a beating heart, so thats where we decided to place the explosives. As we are planting the explosives Gus leans in and whispers.

“I see one walking back, you better hurry up.”

I looked up to see and I was sure it had spotted us, it felt like I made eye contact with it. He screeched the others came running towards us.

“Fuck! Ingrid have them start the cars. Hurry the fuck up and plant these quicker.”

Panicking, I knew what had to be done.

“Go back to the car!”

“Davey, we arent leaving you!”

“Damnit Larry, thats a fucking order! Id rather die alone then bring you all down. Go now!”

“Fuck your orders, I am not leaving you behind.”

“Fine! The rest of you, leave now!”

While the others followed my orders, Gus stayed back, trying to by us time. Its like he didnt even hear what I said, he didnt even think about leaving. There was no more time to be wasted. They had entered the building. I lit the fuse and we all ran.

“Ah! Fuck!”

I turned around and saw Gus on the ground. I ran back as fast as I could, but it was too late. The bastards had gotten him, the screams that Gus let out were terrifying.

“Im sorry Gus…”

But it was too late, he didnt hear me, he was already gone. They started running towards me again.

“Davey! Lets go or youll end up like him!”

Before I reached the car the bomb went off. We didnt realize how big the explosion would be and I went flying. I dont remember after that. All I know is I woke up in the hospital bed. Celestine, Larry and Melissa, the nurse, were all beside me. I jumped up and immediately regretted it as pain shot through my body. Celeste jumped out of her seat and pushed me back down.

“Oh thank god youre okay…”

Larry walks over

“I was worried about you brother, one hell of an explosion.”

“How long was I out for?”

Melissa, with hesitation,

“Um, almost a week…”

“What? Are you serious? Did everyone else make it back?”

Melissa nods.

“Yeah, everyone but Gus.” Larry almost choked up. Gus was one of his close friends as well.

Celestine looking sharply at the nurse and Larry

“Could you give us a minute?”

They both nodded and left. She slaps me across the face.

“Ow! Fuck was that for?”

“Scaring me. I almost lost my best man out there. But good news, I sent the scouts back out and the nest is completely gone, the whole building was brought down. Not a single Wirakor in that area. The plan fucking worked.”

“Good. Gus didnt die for nothing.”

“We are currently trying to locate more. I think we finally figured out how to kill them effectively, and in big numbers.” Celeste said with a huge smile.

“Yeah, I just hope we dont have to lose more men like that. His screams, they were unbearable to hear.” I said sitting up, with each slow movement being painful and taking the breath out of me more and more.

“Dave, you know what its like out there. It breaks my heart to say it, but we will lose more people. But I think they are okay with it knowing that the Wirakor numbers would go down this drastically.”

She gets even closer and hugs me. I gasp in pain as she tightens the hug a bit more.

“Please. Dont scare me again like that.” She gets off and walks out telling them to come back in.

I wont lie, I was kind of hoping for another kiss, perhaps another time. Larry and Melissa come back in.

“So, you smash yet?” Larry whispered in my ear.

“Its not like that, she just…” Larry cutting me off just like Celeste.

“Bro, she is totally into you. You should feel honored haha.”

“Maybe. I dont know, you mind getting me some water?”

“Sure.” He walks out of the room.

“Melissa, you got anything for this pain?”

“This should help.”

She sticks a needle into my arm, there is this green liquid in the syringe.

“What is that?”

“Its a drug that numbs the nerve endings, reducing your pain. You should be good to go tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you so much. You too Larry.” He hands me the glass of water.

“Ill see you around, I gotta go for a quick run.”

“Be careful out there.”

I lay back down in my bed. She was right, the pain is basically gone. That stuff is wonders.

I woke up, the pain isnt as bad, but before leaving I get another dose. I walk out to the main lobby and everyone starts cheering and thanking me and welcoming me back. I grab a plate of food and sit down. Eating was a pain in the ass as well. My whole body was aching. Celeste was waiting in my room.

“Hey Dave. Can we talk?” she seemed really nervous.

“Yeah, everything alright?”

“Its Larry. He hasnt returned since he left and he lied to me, said he was bringing a group. He left by himself.”

“Hell is his problem? He knows whats out there. Why would he just…” I trailed off.

“Celeste. I know where he is going.”

“What? How?” she seemed a little pissed.

“Well… I didnt want to say anything yet. But Larry and I, we planned to leave for a while. Go to America, see if we could find out families. Bring them back. And I am assuming he has to be going to the docks. He probably found a boat. Although I cant say the reason. We were supposed to go together.”

“What the fuck dave? When were you gonna tell me? Huh? I mean whats your problem? Just gonna leave? Were you even going to tell me?” She walks over and slaps me again. Im still weak and I stumble.

“Of course I was going to! Just not yet, we didnt plan on going soon.”

“I cant fucking believe this.” She isnt even looking at me anymore.

“Celeste…”

“Stop it.”

“Celeste. Would you want to help us?”

She looks at me, staring sharply.

“I have a faction to run. I cant leave. But I wont stop you. And if you do leave. Dont bother coming back.” She slams the door.

“Fuck!”

I slammed my desk, and once again immediately regret it as pain went through my body. I started packing my belongings and headed to see Celeste before heading out.

Knock Knock

“Who is it?”

“David.”

“Go away asshole!”

“I just wanted to say goodbye. Im leaving now.”

“Like that? All in pain?”

“Well yeah, Larry didnt really give me a choice.”

“Hold on.”

I wait outside her room. She comes out geared up.

“I wont go to America, but ill take you to the docs.”

So we leave the bunker and start our long journey to the docs.

[viralhottopics]

To Understand What Obamacare Replacement Would Do, Follow The Money

Youve heard all about pre-existing conditions, and allowing young adults to stay on their parents health insurance policies. But if you want to understand what Republican plans to replace the Affordable Care Act would mean for the country, and perhaps for you individually, pay close attention to the money.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the federal government now spends tens of billions of dollars each year providing financial assistance to people who buy insurance through HealthCare.gov or one of the exchanges (like Covered California) that some states run on their own. The financial assistance takes two forms tax credits that discount premiums, and direct subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket costs.

Most of the Republican schemes under consideration, including a working draft of House legislation that Politico obtained last week, envision the federal government continuing to provide assistance to people who buy coverage on their own. But the assistance would take a different form with a new formula for the tax credits, and no special assistance for out-of-pocket costs.

The result would be some fairly dramatic shifts in who gets insurance, how much they pay for it, and, eventually, what kind of insurance they have. This isnt accidental. The decision to restructure financial assistance for insurance flows directly from the very different way Republicans and Democrats think about health care.

Basically, Democrats believe there should be a right to decent, affordable insurance. They wrote the Affordable Care Act with that principle in mind. Democrats didnt achieve their goal millions of Americans remain uninsured, while millions more with coverage still face high costs. But something like 20 million people now have comprehensive policies they didnt have before. Overall, financial security and access to health care have improved.

Republicans take a different view. They are willing to give people a tax break to defray health insurance costs, and some Republicans are even willing to extend assistance to lower-income people who dont make enough money to owe income taxes. But Republicans reject the idea of government guaranteeing coverage, and their proposals to replace Obamacare wouldnt even attempt to provide such a guarantee.

Its a big reason why the mainstream Republican plans would likely result in more uninsured, weaker coverage, or some combination of the two.

How Obamacare Assistance Works

Under the Affordable Care Act, if you buy insurance through HealthCare.gov or one of the state-run exchanges, you can get tax credits that help offset the cost of premiums. These are special tax credits, in that they go straight to the insurance companies at the beginning of each month, so you dont have to wait until tax-filing season to get the money.

The tax credits are also refundable, which means that if your income tax liability is smaller than the value of the credit, or if you have no liability at all, you still get the full value. This is very important in health care because a large number of people buying through exchanges are working in low-paying jobs. They are hotel housekeepers and clerks at big-box stores, home health aides and security guards. If the credits werent refundable, they wouldnt get much or any assistance, even though they are the ones who need it most.

Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation

The formula for calculating these tax credits is important. It varies based on income, so that youll get a bigger tax credit if you make less money. The value also varies depending on how much insurance costs in your area in particular, the price of the second-cheapest silver plan, which the law treats as a benchmark. (Silver plans, which are less generous than typical employer plans, cover roughly 70 percent of the typical persons medical expenses.)

Then there is the assistance on cost-sharing. It is available only to consumers who buy silver policies and whose incomes are below 250 percent of the poverty line about $30,000 for an an individual and $61,000 for a family of four this year. It gets very little attention because even most of the people who get the money dont realize it. (The exchanges factor in the assistance automatically, so that policies simply appear to have lower deductibles and co-payments.) But for the millions who get it, its the difference between insurance that works and insurance that doesnt.

Yes, the whole scheme is awfully complicated. But put it all together and what you have is a system in which, generally speaking, people who need more financial assistance get it.

How GOP Tax Credits Would Work

So what would Republicans do instead? At the moment, nobody can say for sure, because they are still arguing among themselves over some pretty basic design questions. Moderates talk of repair as much as replace, while conservatives are determined to tear the law down entirely and then put little or nothing in its stead.

Just this week, for example, several conservative Republicans in Congress said they would vote against any bill with refundable credits, because they would consider giving money to people with no income tax liability akin to creating a new entitlement. Of course, a bill with no refundable credits would, by definition, leave out a huge chunk of the population now getting coverage through Obamacare.

This approach … would make it impossible for most lower-income people to purchase adequate health insurance coverage Linda Blumberg, The Urban Institute

Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) havent gone that far, at least not yet. The draft legislation that leaked last week still had refundable credits, and looked a lot like the plan that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price had proposed when he was in Congress last year. The Better Way proposal, a set of reform principles that Ryan released over the summer, also had refundable credits.President Donald Trump also endorsed tax credits during his speech to Congress on Tuesday night, although he didnt specify what kind.

But the tax credits in the Republican bills are different from the Affordable Care Acts. Instead of adjusting the value to account for premiums and income, as the law does today, the Republican plans envision tax credits whose value would vary based only on age. In the leaked bill, for instance, 25-year-olds would get $2,000 a year, while 55-year-olds would get $3,500. It wouldnt matter how much these people make, or what insurance costs in their communities.

The federal government would still be spending a lot of money on tax breaks for people getting health care. But it wouldnt steer that money in the way that the Affordable Care Act does in other words, it wouldnt target people who struggle the most with medical bills.

Why The Difference In Tax Credits Matters So Much

Several recent studies, including two that were released on Wednesday morning, examined what the Republican approach would mean in practice.

Researchers at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation looked exclusively at the premium tax credits and how theyd affect different groups of people. The results were predictably complex, with lots of variation from person to person, but the general pattern was clear. Lower income and older people and those who live in high-premium communities tend to get less help, Larry Levitt, senior vice president at Kaiser, told the Huffington Post. Those who are higher income and younger and live in low-premium areas tend to do better.

Linda Blumberg, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, decided to take into account how changes to financial assistance would interact with other changes that Republicans propose, like allowing insurers new flexibility over what to cover and how much they could charge. If such a plan became law, Blumberg concluded, it would be impossible for most lower-income people to purchase adequate health insurance coverage, given their limited financial resources and potential medical needs.

Three health care experts broke down the original Price bill, to see how it would affect total costs for enrollees in other words, not just premiums, but also out-of-pocket costs. They published their results in Voxlast week:Although premiums would be lower under the Republican plan, this decrease would be offset by an increase in cost sharing. Once the differences in tax credits are accounted for, the Republican plan would increase total costs for every age group except for those under 25.

McKinsey & Co.ran a rough analysis on the leaked House bill, and presented its findings to a meeting of the nations governors over the weekend. Some presently uninsured young people would get coverage, McKinseys analysts predicted, because the GOPs tax credits would make insurance more financially attractive. But those gains would be more than offset by older people dropping insurance as it suddenly became a lot more expensive. Overall, McKinseys researchers said, non-group insurance that is, coverage for people buying on their own would decline by 30 percent to 50 percent.

None of this should be surprising. The architects of the Affordable Care Act were trying to make sure everybody could get decent insurance, regardless of income, and they were willing to adjust financial assistance in order to make that possible. The Republicans who would replace the Affordable Care Act arent trying to put insurance within everybodys reach. They are simply trying to offer a tax break that would available to people buying health insurance, and even then only under some circumstances.

The Republican approach would be a lot more straightforward, and it would likely mean a lot less federal spending. But it would also mean many fewer people buying insurance, much weaker coverage for those who have it, or both.

Thats an alternative to the Affordable Care Act not a replacement.

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from To Understand What Obamacare Replacement Would Do, Follow The Money

#To Understand What Obamacare Replacement Would Do #Follow The Money