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baranedizille · 3 years

Note

Hi !! I saw that you gave fic recommandations in October do you have other ones that are good? Lawlight or others?

I’m quarantined in Spain and it’s beginning to be longgggg

Yes, I have!

Fanfiction Rec List Part 2

(all lawlight again)

After October, I’ve been very horny, it seems. Really, nearly all of my recs are mature or explicit.

⚫ means multichaptered

⚫ stories about stars (relight) (UNFINISHED) by anonymous on ao3

Rating: Mature

Soulmates in college AU mmm. Finally read it! A fandom classic as far as I know, and for a reason! The text style was quite unusual for me, but soon I understood that it worth a try. Really, try it.

⚪ Two Wills by Mintulip on ao3

Rating: Mature

So so goood, can’t belive I haven’t found it earlier.Light’s thinking about what could be, read it right now!!

⚪ Untethered by butchrem (Harlecat) on ao3

Rating: Mature

Yotsuba arc. Very good characterization, I loved it so much. After some hesitation, L followes Light into the shower.

⚪ Trading Blows by gayraito (Mercurial_Magic) on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Trans!Light, Yotsuba arc. Ah that was so good, good characterization + good smut + Light and L talking a lot, I love when they do it in pwps, ok?

⚪ Change OR the one where L and Light get married by avoidfilledwithcelluloid on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Trans!Light, trans!L. Ahhh I still haven’t read the whole thing but hey, it’s fanfic about Light and L’s wedding and werry well written for sure, so read it!

⚪ Golden Boy by g g cummings (Katarable) on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Yotsuba arc timeline. Very short one, so, really, give it a read. Oh, and Light has a praise kink!

⚪ God Be Praised by catpyramid on ao3

Rating: Mature

Yotsuba arc, Light has a praise kink once again, and L uses it. Oh, and it has shower sex.

⚪ How L Increases His Thinking Power By More Than 40% by WizardPartyForever on ao3

Rating: Explicit

L and Light discuss a case while fucking (and it helps to solve it).

⚪ All In Due Time by WizardPartyForever on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Yotsuba arc. Time to time at the middle of night L annoys Light with his manlyman problem, and this time Light punishes him. So, Light forces L to touch himself and then doesn’t let him come. I must say, this author writes some good smut, so check their profile.

⚫ Triangular Theory of Love by Devilinthebox (princegrisejoie) on ao3

Rating: Mature

Beware! professor/student smut. It was pretty hot ok

⚫ A Cure For Love by halfpromise on fanfiction.net

Rating: Mature

Good plot, good humor, good lawlight, in a word, Halfpromise. It’s one of these ‘Light and L fall in love during Yotsuba arc’, but there’s also a terrorist organization what steals the death note, so yeah, the investigation continues.

⚪ Casual Affair by cantdoausername on ao3 (one chaptered but pretty long)

Rating: Explicit

Other pairings: Light/Misa, Rem/Misa, Light/Takada

Light is heteronormative gay-gay mess, nothing new. Light marries two times and cheats on his wives with L, lawlight here is so good and sweet (apart from Light being cheating bastard). Well written, and the author gave Misa-Misa justice, I love when authors do that.

⚫ Kira-Kira by GhostOfTasslehoff, ZombieJesus on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Light is a private dancer named Kira-Kira (and he IS Kira, it’s an AU but with death note),and L gets him on his birthday. Light doesn’t go further than dancing with his clients, but with this one... Well, it’s a very-very hot smut. Also fluffy. I mean, what else a girl like me need?

⚪ Almost Oblivion by Serria on ao3

Rating: Mature

Yotsuba arc. Unfortunately, I remember only that it’s very good and very angsty, definetely worth to read. There’s that one thing that I really love to see in Yotsuba!Light, his hesitancy and discomposure. Ah, and L being a dick.

⚪ subsumed, piece by piece by shirohyasha on ao3

Rating: Mature

“Yagami’s son is still pretty. He is pretty even on camera when he thinks he is alone, where most people would allow themselves to relax, allow themselves to slip. Light is still pretty”. I copied the summary because it’s beautiful. Ok, this one follows dn plot from L’s perspective. The writing is amazing, the angst is heartbreaking.

⚪ Morality is Overrated by MinervaEvenstar on ao3

Rating: Mature

Yotsuba arc, the tags give a good description: ‘Light is a flirt’, ‘L has a HARD time resisting the urge to tap that’. Short, good and pretty funny. L really tries to be “decent”.

⚪ Distraction (Beautiful, Dirty, Rich) by GhostOfTasslehoff on ao3

Rating: Mature

Yotsuba arc. Fluffy post sex conversation, “L isn't used to being playful. He might need some work at it”.

⚪ russias greatest love machine by ruruka on ao3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Light and L are playing just dance 2 also they’re drunk. So yes, this thing is funny haha.

ONGOINGS

There’re some fics to what I’m subscribed but didn’t read or read very roughly, they seem to be good and interesting, so I’ll share them here too.

⚫ After School Enigma by LA_Elias on ao3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

L is handed a case involving a string of murdered teens. Light Yagami is his number one suspect...looks like L will need to go undercover as a High school student. Meanwhile, an innocent Light Yagami does have a secret, but not one as morbid as L believes.

⚫ Catch Perfect by Resilicns, ZombieJesus on ao3

Rating: Explicit

Light’s desk catches on fire during the placement of L’s illegal surveillance cameras in the Yagami household, burning up the Death Note early on. Light forgets everything, the killings suddenly stop, and Kira fades away from the public consciousness but never from L’s. Six years later, Ryuk returns to Earth with a new Death Note for Light, now an agent in INTERPOL, ready for Round 2. L’s ready too.

⚫ Passengers by Pyreneese on ao3

Rating: Explicit

It comes in the middle of the night, on the eve of L's death. Both L and Light find themselves on a train right out of science fiction, handcuffed and totally unprepared.

I love the concet so much, and it reminds me of that Mob Psycho special episode khkh

⚫ Quid Pro Quo by Sychronergy on ao3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Other pairings: BB/Light, BB/L

Japan sends their most promising investigator to dissect the brilliant mind of Beyond Birthday. Every day, for one month, they will speak for one hour.

⚫ Renewal by butchrem (Harlecat), Harlecat on ao3

Rating: Mature

Things go a little differently and, though he gets the Death Note back, Light is unable to kill L and is placed under house arrest. Nearly a year later, criminals start dying, and the two are pushed back together as the case is reopened; L needs to keep his primary suspect under surveillance, and the first Kira needs to find his would-be usurper.

Collaboration is made difficult by the fact that they were hooking up during the Yotsuba arc, and despite being geniuses, neither seem to have grasped proper communication.

⚫ Underground by TranquilBloom on ao3

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

When a nuclear bomb strikes the Kanto Region of Japan, most of the remaining population is forced to remain indoors in underground bunkers for an indiscernible amount of time. How will the stubborn, proud detective, and his main suspect for the greatest serial murder case he’s ever taken on cope?

Hhhhhh yes please, post-apocalyptic AUs make my life, but lawlight post-apocalyptic AU....

#fic rec #fanfiction recommendation #lawlight #death note #ask #anonymous

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bethanysnow · 3 years

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Red Empress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nKqslNcYAE&t=1762s

(Inspired by above playlist)

“-And who are you?”

“OH HI YOU ARE REAL!?” The ‘hero’ yelled in shock.

“Yes, I’m real. And what do you want? You interrupted me watching British Bake off…”

“..wait, you’re not gonna...shoot me? With like, a freeze ray, or cut my head off. Send dogs after me, none of that?”

“...Do you want me to hero?”

“NO! I uh I mean no. Ma’am-”

“Then what the fuck do you want…I am busy.”

The hero looked up to a woman similar to what he had expected. She had black hair, wore gold jewelry, and glasses sat on her nose. But the person in front of him? The Terror of the 9 Hells, Dante’s Apprentice, The Red Empress? Wasn’t there. She had a grey cardigan on, yoga pants. She looked down at the little hero with disdain and an air of condescension. Like he was trying to sell her girl scout cookies and doing a bad job at it. The hero looked at his research. Scribbled into a composition notebook was the address of what he thought was the evil lair to the greatest supervillain of their era.

“I am a future hero, or I want to be-” She raised a hand, cutting him off.

“-So you came down to my apartment, which by the way is super creepy. How you got my address I do not know. Then decide to knock on my door. Knowing who I am, you still did so. Did you think this was a good idea?” Slightly amused look fixed onto her face.

“No, I don’t think it was a good idea. But I need to know.” He said with all the sincerity in his heart. “My grandma, she loves you. Has some of your newspaper clippings on her wall. She won’t shut up about you. Saying ‘there weren’t any more good heroes today’. Google just showed me all your recent stuff about how bad you are. You disappeared for like...10 years. Then came back a villain.”

She looked him over. Grabbed his notes out of his hand despite his protests. Flipping through pages she takes a red pen from behind her ear and starts writing in his book. Once she hands it back, it's annotated. Edited. Like how a teacher reviews a paper from a student. Leaning on the doorway she looks into the hall.

“Kay-” Standing back up on her feet she opens the door all the way pushing him in. “-You get until my episode of Bake off is done. C’mon kid.” Grabbing a fistful of his hoodie she leads him to her living room.

The apartment looked over all of Manhattan. Marble floors, red plush furniture. Bookshelves dotted with ‘souvenirs’. Some he recognized as heroes' weapons and memorabilia. A stone head looked in fear out into the room. The head was of the previous ‘supervillain’ from the 50s. A silver glove with runes carved into the surface glowed as the hero passed. A gun from the ‘Manhattan Mad Hatter’. A drugged out ultra-rich chemist who made it his mission to destroy and flatten everything from here to Tokyo in the 00’s.

“You want to talk, kid, or do you wanna look at the knick knacks?”

“Right!” He blurted, going to the couch next to her. A small brown dachshund curled into a ball on her lap. “Where did you go for ten years?”

“Rehab, Therapy for a bit. Um, Austria. Russia for a while. Went to Tasmania. Seattle. Mainly Rehab though-”

“-For ten years?”

She smirked. “You try being a hero for 30 some odd years and not have a drug problem. The 60s and 70s everyone was...disposed. In something. Or someone. There was always a cult to join, doctrine to follow, party to go to. Lots of those Heroes from the glory days died from cocaine, or other drugs. The cops shot the bodies so they could report that they died in the line of fire.” A dark and far away quality clouded her eyes. “-10 years for rehab after seeing your friends, coworkers, freaks of nature you got to call family die? Sounds reasonable to me. I spent the 80s in a fog. God knows what I really did.”

“Oh....”

She scoffed. “Yea- oh! They don’t tell ya that in history class do they?”

“No, Ma’am…”

“Thought as much.”

“You were a hero though! Post WWII there were comics, radio stations, songs, all praising you. Some I saw where you punched a Nazi and went for ice cream after. Don’t take this the wrong way please. I would like to get home today, but you look like you’re in your 30s. You should be 90 somethin”

“That I did do- but ya. And who said I wasn’t 90 somethin? You ever hear that fuckin super solider bullshit? They made Rogers and Bucky do? Where did you think the research was tested? They had to go from somewhere and I dunno...I had the day off.” She shrugged. Her face flickered with rage when mentioning the previous heroes. “And look where it got them, Steve is dead, and Bucky is off with some fuckin retirement bullshit. At least I didn’t retire! I got a job to do, I got taxes to pay.”

“...you pay taxes????” The boy looked at her very confused.

“I am a villain, not an asshole.”

She started to pet her dog, them nuzzling into her hand.

“So you became a villain- came back in 2000. Crashed the Met Gala. Stole the artifacts on display. Crashed a car. Set fire to buildings- why?”

“Ah- the age old question.-” She looked at him. Took a minute of silence with her. The air slowly left the room he felt. Under the steely gaze of the most deadly woman in the world.

“I got tired. Of being owned, propped up, posed, told what to say. The Hero's Union, a committee of people ‘sworn to protect the sanctity of Heroes’ and what they represent and fight for’ never was actually there for us. Type casted us into America's sweetheart, Funny side character. Big strong hero to save the day. Every interview I ever did as a ‘hero’ was never my actual words. I would have been a fuckin amazing actress I’ll give ya that. Smile and tell the people watching not to panic. Not to worry. Us ‘Hero’s got it handled. We were let to suffer unbeknownst to the general public. ‘Lady Justice’? She was 5 months pregnant and the Union wouldn’t let her stop the missions. She ended up having a miscarriage due to stress and what they were putting her body through. It's not just her, it's everyone.”

“So why not just quit? If it was that bad, go on strike or something.”

“That's easy for you civilians to say. You can strike when you work a normal 9 to 5. You can quit your job. You can move on. But as I said, little hero. I was out there for 30 somethin years. Punching Nazis, saving people. Being a Hero. When you are made basically immortal and are a freak of nature- there are things you learn you cannot do anymore. I can’t drive a car. I can’t work out without all the machines sparking out on me and breaking. No one wants to hire a freak now do they? There is no ‘pensioners plan’ for elderly heroes.”

“I guess not…You don’t seem all that Villainous to me though.” He says with a giant smile on his face. Ever the optimist.

She rolled her eyes, focusing on her show.

He looked closer at her face. Grey eyes with blue flecks. Slightly salt and peppering at the sides. She looked strong, obvious defined biceps and calves. Her neck and arms were covered in scars. A long scar ran from her forehead down her face leading in a curve to her jaw on one side. The red pen stuck behind her ear. Big 70s aviator glasses. Before he knew what was happening his hands were bound behind his back and his face was being pressed into the cold floor. She had not changed her position.

“You keep staring at me kid things will go badly for you.” She spoke not looking away from the TV in front of her. “-I don’t look evil, sure. But I will ask you.”

“What does ‘Evil’ look like? I was once a hero too.”

#Original work #story #creative writing #marveloc #Superhero #Superheros #Marvel #DC #OC #Red Empress

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officialleotolstoy · 3 years

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Oh Anatole Brainrot* We’re Really In It Now, aka Anatole playlist annotations!

*I only have brainrot about him in terms of his relationships with Hélène and Dolokhov idc about him on his own 🤢

This playlist is infuriating because it has so many good songs on it and he does NOT deserve to have a playlist that slaps so hard :/

My Type - Saint Motel

“You’re just my type; you’ve got a pulse and you are breathing”

The lyrics are literally just I Will Have Sex With Anything That Breathes which is Anatole’s only personality trait. It just is.

Fool For Love - Lord Huron

“I’m asking her to be my bride, I know there’s another man but he ain’t gonna delay my plans”

This song is about eloping with a girl who already has a boyfriend, it is THE Comet section Anatole song. Which angers me because it’s such a good song, it doesn’t deserve to be associated with him in my head.

The Cult of Dionysus - The Orion Experience

“Wine and women and wonderful vices”

HEDONISM BABEY!!! Also the phrase “wine and women” with “he spends his money on women and wine” in Comet...makes ya think.

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

“Look so good I might die, all I know is everybody loves me”

You know that quote that’s like “[Anatole] cultivated an air of superiority blah blah blah whatever” (paraphrased)? This is that in song form.

Bedroom Hymns - Florence + The Machine

“The wine and the women and the bedroom hymns”

Thottery AND the phrase “wine and women”? Anatolecore.

Talk - Hozier

“I’ll try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I’m imagining you”

I think if he needs to, Anatole can sugarcoat carnal desire with pretty words. It kind of comes down to “I’m pretending to be eloquently and romantically interested in you but I really just want to have s*x with you”. He might not have that much self-control, but the bottom line is that this song is horny and so is he.

Someone New - Hozier

“I wake at the first cringe of morning and my heart’s already sinned”

All my notes say is “commitment issues thot anthem” which is fair. I think it’s physically impossible for him not to fall in love with someone new every week, which is the entire point of this song. Also “you knew who I was with every step that I ran to you” tracks, Anatole doesn’t really try to hide it.

Paradise City - Guns N’ Roses

“Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”

I won’t lie, I’m not sure if this is what the song is actually about but that bit at least has hedonism energy. Also this came up on genius lyrics and it feels like something Anatole would do:

Hallelujah - Panic! At The Disco

“I got caught under the covers with secondhand lovers”

Ok whore. But also the vibes of knowing you’re a sinner and reveling in it feels like Anatole. It’s the complete lack of shame for me.

Why Should I Worry - Billy Joel

“Why should I worry? Why should I care?”

Has he ever actually cared about anything other than his own personal wellbeing? Jury’s still out. This song implies he has street smarts which may not be true but not every lyric is gonna work 😔✌🏻

Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel

“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun”

The entire song is just seducing a devoutly Catholic girl, and it doesnt exactly work but I always assign this in my head to that time he tried to marry Marya B. But just in general, the reckless seduction vibes work.

Mambo No. 5 - Lou Bega

“To me flirting is just like a sport”

Unironically this is such an Anatole song. Listing off all his different lovers and their attributes is absolutely something he’s done. This is just a carefree thot song which is his vibe.

Ex’s and Oh’s - Elle King

“Ex’s and oh’s they haunt me like ghosts”

This is also on the Hélène playlist but this time the ex messing things up is his wife (not that any of that was her fault). I also think the general vibes of “I’m gonna make you want me so much and then leave you” are Anatoleish

Rasputin - Boney M.

“Russia’s greatest love machine”

LOOK ME IN THE EYES AND TELL ME THIS DOESN’T WORK. It’s about the seduction of upper-class Russian women come ON

I’m Born To Run - American Authors

“I’m gonna live my life like I’m gonna die young”

This is almost a more wholesome version of his careless hedonism, more skewed toward seeing the world rather than just having drunken fun but the energy is still there

Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen

“Tonight I’m gonna have myself a real good time”

It’s the “having fun is the only thing that matters” mindset. He doesn’t deserve this song 😔

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen

I don’t have a lyric for this one, it’s just like. Yes I am a professional flirter! He is not this into commitment but i imagine he tells a new person this every week.

Oops!...I Did It Again - Britney Spears

“But to lose all my senses, that is just so typically me”

The lack of commitment and not treating relationships seriously is very Anatole, and so is the refusal to take responsibility for the heartbreak you directly caused.

How Bad Can I Be? - The Lorax

“How bad can I be? I’m just doing what comes naturally”

I KNOW I KNOW. HEAR ME OUT. This is pretty much Tolstoy’s “defense” of him verbatim. It’s the idea that he’s just so naturally like this it has never occurred to him to be any other way or to think about other people’s wellbeing. Anatole is the Onceler and Natasha is a straight girl on tumblr circa 2012.

Runaway Baby - Bruno Mars

“When I play, I never stay”

He would never be this self-aware, but otherwise it fits. The whole thing is about an inability to commit and a propensity for causing heartbreak. Also, I’ve had a grudge against this song for years and the blind rage it fills me with is reminiscent of the blind rage Anatole fills me with.

California Girls - The Beach Boys

“I’ve been all around this great big world and I’ve seen all kinds of girls”

This song is like, “What if we objectified every woman ever but made it a bop?” which is massive Anatole energy I think.

Girls, Girls, Girls - Motley Crüe

“I just need a new toy”

Literally the exact same justification as California Girls

It’s Raining Men - The Weather Girls

If I’m gonna add songs about objectifying women, I’m gonna add songs about objectifying men too. Equal opportunity whorery.

Parental Guidance - Judas Priest

“You say I waste my life away but I live it to the full”

This is just him to Vassily. Refusing to be controlled by your parents’ expectations and just going off to have fun is Vassily’s whole gripe with him and also the point of this song.

How To Be A Heartbreaker - MARINA

“You gotta have fun, but baby when you’re done you gotta be the first to run”

The bits about not getting close to anyone because you’re afraid of getting hurt don’t really apply but the “here’s how to make people like you and also we are for sure not staying together this is just for fun” definitely fit.

The STD Song - Top Memes

“Sinning with your naked bod is evil and atrocious”

I uh. I forgot this was on here but I was RIGHT when I added it. This is the lecture Vassily gives him after his Polish wife debacle-

Do It All The Time - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

“I’m only doing anything I want to do because I do it all the time”

He literally just does whatever he wants without thinking about the consequences. It’s just got huge entitled kid thot energy which is Anatole’s whole character. And the line “I’m taking your girl and I’m making her mine” is deeply Anatoleish.

Until The Night Turns - Lord Huron

“I got a helluva view for the end of the world, I've got a bottle of booze and a beautiful girl”

This doesn’t fit into any particular situation but I do think if the world was ending and Anatole was drunk with a pretty lady he would have this exact reaction. Also the repetition of the word sunrise (which is what the name Anatole means) is just a fun little extra bit.

Girls - The 1975

“What’s the fun in doing what you’re told?”

Rebellious kid energy! Also “she can’t be what you need if she’s 17” is everyone with morals @ him about Natasha (I know she was 19 at the time shh it’s about the energy).

Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) - The Offspring

“In his own mind he’s the dopest trip”

This man is The Worst but he really thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips huh! Literally everyone can tell he’s not the brightest bulb in the bunch EXCEPT HIM. Smh.

#anatole kuragin #war and peace #my post #w&p playlists #unfair of this playlist to slap so hard when it’s for the worst character #im gonna post the ship ones a bit later bc im a narcissist and i want more attention xo

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britishraptor · 3 years

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Me trying to get ready for bed is like

I am joyful I am sad I am full of rage I am hateful I am ambivalent I -oooo kitty footprints on the sink, small, small beans, too dirty is the UN human rights commission actually doing anything are they even real? War crimes are happening at an incredible pace - I’m almost out of toothpaste, what is toothpaste made out of could I make toothpaste out of humans how do you quantity life? What is life what is love baby don’t hurt me- ra RA RASPUTIN - wait why does my toothpaste taste weird did someone use my toothbrush shit am I being too loud can’t wake people up gotta be SNEAKY hahaha god why does my body crack like a glow stick im 23 and RUSSIAS GREATEST LOVE MACHINE goddamn do I have an open music tab playing somewhere oooo I left my necklace in the bathroom so shiny wait no bad person gave it to me. Bad. But so shiny wait shit what time is it IM LATE FOR BED can you be late for bed yes you can and it’s worse than being late for work cause late for bed makes late for work and GOD I HAVE WORK I GOTTA SLEEP

#luna rambles #like really really really rambles #delete later #me to my mum: I just have trouble falling asleep sometimes #my mum: you’ve got to turn off your brain #me: what #like; all of it???#how?

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sevenyeargap · 4 years

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50 Questions You’ve Never Been Asked Before

tagged by @bardingbeedle i adore u

tagging:

What is the colour of your hairbrush?

purple

Are you typically too warm or too cold?

so I feel warm but people tell me I'm basically freezing....... idk what that means

What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

sleeping... it’s 8pm.... LMAO

What is your favourite candy bar?

idk how they're called but it's like a chocolate bar with smarties and it's so GOOD

Have you ever been to a professional sports event?

no never!!

What is the last thing you said out loud?

“shut up” to my cat bc this little man is annoying during evenings

What is your favourite ice cream?

if you ever come to Paris you HAVE to go to berthillon and try their rose/peach ice cream I would kill for it

What was the last thing you had to drink?

water...

Do you like your wallet?

it’s yellow AND sparkly so yeah I love it

What was the last thing you ate?

pita bread and carrots (I’m sick lmao)

Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

my dude I can’t recall the last time I actually bought new clothes rip

The last sporting event you watched?

does reading omgcp count

What is your favourite flavour of popcorn?

I’ve only ever had salt and sugar ?????

Who is the last person you sent a text message to?

my therapist.....

Ever go camping?

YEAH I love it

Do you take vitamins?

yep! + calcium idk if that counts bc I’m lactose intolerant 😔👊

Do you go to church every Sunday?

I’ve been to church one (1) time in my life and it was for a funeral so.... no

Do you have a tan?

@bardingbeedle said “i don’t get tans i get sunburns” and I felt that

Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza?

ok so like I was actually living in Beijing last year so I got to try actual real chinese food and it’s SO so different from the chinese/Asian food we have here in france so like I’d say I prefer Chinese food when it’s in China.... otherwise pizza

Do you drink your soda with a straw?

What colour socks do you usually wear?

i have some works with little animals on them and they have lil ears so.. animal colours I guess

Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

I don’t have my driver licence...

What terrifies you?

Abandonment...... also fires and spiders

Look to your left, what do you see?

my cat sleeping

What chore do you hate?

changing bedsheets like idk why but I HATE it

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent?

???

What’s your favourite soda?

u know those regionals colas ?? Yeah

Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive-thrus?

i much much prefer food delivery oof

Who’s the last person you talked to?

my parents

Favourite cut of beef?

i don’t like beef :/

Last song you listened to?

ra ra rasputin..... russias greatest love machine...........

Last book you read?

small spaces by katherine arden!! its horror for middle graders bc I apparently cant handle anything scarier than this LMAO

Favourite day of the week?

saturday

Can you say the alphabet backwards?

can YOU???

How do you like your coffee?

I dont like coffee :/

Favourite pair of shoes?

platform shoes bc the goth in me never truly left

The time you normally go to sleep?

usually 10pm but during quarantine its anywhere from 6pm to 3am jdkdks

The time you normally get up?

usually 7/8am but right now it's more like 11am oops

What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets?

sunsets!!!

How many blankets on your bed?

one comforter + my cat

Describe your kitchen plates

lmao my dad loves cooking so he always make something ~healthy~ but during quarantine we went kinda wild and tried a lot of new things

Do you have a favourite alcoholic beverage?

I dont like alcohol

Do you play cards?

nope

What colour is your car?

dont have a car

Can you change a tire?

LMAO no

Favourite job you’ve ever had?

this isnt really a job but in french schools you have to do an internship during your last year of middle school and my depression was at the worst it's ever been (I was just out of the hospital after trying to kill myself) and my internship was in a kindergarten and kids are just so cool

How did you get your biggest scar?

i have a LOT of moles (the average is 20 per person, I have 29 on my left arm only) so I had to get some surgically removed :(

What did you do today that made someone else happy?

I gave my cat his food.....

tagging @wildflower-at-sea @sscorpiusmalfoy @tonyrights @tinanewt @newtmsa @anncbeth-chase @antifatonystark and anyone who wants to do it!!

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justforbooks · 4 years

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The End of Communism in Russia Meant the End of Democracy in the West

Alexander Zinoviev, along with Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov, was one of the three great intellectual giants who became dissidents during the late Soviet period.

This remarkable and prophetic interview was originally published in 1999 in the French Figaro Magazine. Its original title was: ”The West and Russia – A Controlled Catastrophe”

Q. With what feelings are you returning home after such a long exile?

A. With a feeling that I once left a strong, respected, even awe-inspiring power. Returning now, I found a defeated country in ruins. Unlike others, I would never have left the USSR if I had had a choice. Emigration was a real punishment for me.

Q. Nevertheless, you were welcomed with open arms here! (in Germany – Ed. Note)

A. That is true… But despite the triumphant recognition and the worldwide success of my books, I have always felt like a stranger here.

Q. After the collapse of communism the Western system has become the main focus of your research. Why?

A. Because what happened was what I had predicted: the fall of communism turned into the breakup of Russia.

Q. So the fight with communism was a conspiracy to destroy Russia?

A. Precisely. I say this because once I was an unwitting accomplice of this action that I found shameful. The West wanted and programmed the Russian catastrophe. I read documents and participated in the research, which under the guise of ideological struggle worked towards the destruction of Russia. This became so unbearable for me that I could no longer stay in the camp of those who destroy my people and my country. The West is not a stranger to me, but I consider it an enemy empire.

Q: Have you become a patriot?

A: Patriotism does not concern me. I received an international upbringing and I remain loyal to it. I cannot even say whether I love Russians and Russia or not. I am part of them. Today’s suffering of my people is so horrible that I cannot stand watching them from afar. The barbarity of globalization manifests itself in many diverse, unacceptable ways.

Q: Nevertheless, many former Soviet dissidents speak about their former homeland as a country of human rights and democracy. Now that this point of view has become commonly accepted in the West, you are trying to refute it. Isn’t there a contradiction here?

A: During the Cold War, democracy was a weapon in the fight against communist totalitarianism. Today we understand that the Cold War era was the history of the West’s apogee. During that time the West had it all: unprecedented growth of wealth, true freedom, incredible social progress, colossal scientific and technological achievements. But at the same time the West was imperceptibly changing. The timid integration of developed countries launched at that time has developed into the internationalization of the economy and the globalization of power that we are witnessing now. Integration may help the growth of common good and have a positive impact if it is driven by the legitimate aspiration of fraternal people to unite, for example. But the integration in question was conceived from the beginning as a vertical structure strictly controlled by a supranational power. Without a successful Russian counter-revolution against the Soviet Union, the West could not have started the process of globalization.

Q: So, the role of Gorbachev was not positive?

A: I look at things from a slightly different angle. Contrary to common belief, Soviet communism did not collapse because of internal reasons. Its collapse is certainly the greatest victory in the history of the West. An unheard of victory which, let me say it again, can establish a unitary power monopoly on a planetary scale. The end of communism also signalized the end of democracy. The modern epoch is not only post-communist, it is also post-democratic! Today we are witnessing the establishment of democratic totalitarianism, or, if you will, totalitarian democracy.

Q: Does not it all sound a little absurd?

A: Not at all. Democracy requires pluralism and pluralism implies an existence of at least two more or less equal forces which oppose each other and at the same time influence each other. During the Cold War there was world democracy, global pluralism, with two opposing systems: capitalist and communist, plus other countries with an amorphous system which belonged to neither. Soviet totalitarianism was sensitive to Western criticism. In turn, the Soviet Union influenced the West, in particular through the latter’s own communist parties. Today we live in a world dominated by one single force, one ideology and one pro-globalization party. All of this together began to take shape during the Cold War, when superstructures gradually appeared in various forms: commercial, banking, political and media organizations. Despite their different fields of activity, what they had in common was essentially their transnational scope. With the collapse of communism they began to rule the world. Thus, Western countries ended up in the dominant position, but at the same time they are now in a subordinate position as they gradually lose their sovereignty to what I call the supra-society. The planet-wide supra-society consists of commercial and non-commercial organizations whose influence extends far beyond individual states. Like other countries, the Western countries are subordinated to these supranational structures. This is despite the fact that the sovereignty of states was also an integral part of pluralism and hence of democracy on a global scale. Today’s ruling supra-power suppresses sovereign states. The European integration unfolding in front of our very eyes is also leading to the disappearance of pluralism within this new conglomerate in favor of supranational power.

Q: But do not you think that France and Germany remain democracies?

A: Western countries got to know true democracy during the Cold War. Political parties had genuine ideological differences and different political programs. The media also differed from each other. All this had an impact on the lives of ordinary people contributing to the growth of their wealth. Now this has come to an end. A democratic and prosperous capitalism with socially oriented laws and job security was in many ways thanks to a fear of communism. After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, a massive attack on the social rights of citizens was launched in the West. Today the socialists who are in power in most European countries are pursuing policies of dismantling the social security system, destroying everything that was socialist in the capitalist countries. There is no longer a political force in the West capable of protecting ordinary citizens. The existence of political parties is a mere formality. They will differ less and less as time goes on. The war in the Balkans was anything but democratic. Nevertheless, the war was perpetrated by the socialists who historically have been against these kinds of ventures. Environmentalists, who are in power in some countries, welcomed the environmental catastrophe caused by the NATO bombings. They even dared to claim that bombs containing depleted uranium are not dangerous for the environment, even though soldiers loading them wear special protective overalls. Thus, democracy is gradually disappearing from the social structure of the West. Totalitarianism is spreading everywhere because the supranational structure imposes its laws on individual states. This undemocratic superstructure gives orders, imposes sanctions, organizes embargos, drops bombs, causes hunger. Even Clinton obeys it. Financial totalitarianism has subjugated political power. Emotions and compassion are alien to cold financial totalitarianism. Compared with financial dictatorship, political dictatorship is humane. Resistance was possible inside the most brutal dictatorships. Rebellion against banks is impossible.

Q: What about a revolution?

A: Democratic totalitarianism and financial dictatorship rule out the possibility of social revolution.

Q: Why?

A: Because they combine omnipotent military power with a financial stranglehold. All revolutions received support from outside. From now on this is impossible because there are no sovereign states, nor will there be. Moreover, at the lowest level the working class has been replaced with the unemployed class. What do the unemployed want? Jobs. Therefore, they are in a less advantageous position than the working class of the past.

Q: All totalitarian systems had their own ideology. What is the ideology of the new society you call post-democratic?

A: The most influential Western thinkers and politicians believe that we have entered the post-ideological epoch. This is because by “ideology” they mean communism, fascism, nazism, etc. In reality, the ideology, the super-ideology of the Western world, developed over the last fifty years is much stronger than communism or national socialism. A western citizen is being brainwashed much more than a soviet citizen ever was during the era of communist propaganda. In ideology, the main thing is not the ideas, but rather the mechanisms of their distribution. The might of the Western media, for example, is incomparably greater than that of the propaganda mechanisms of the Vatican when it was at the zenith of its power. And it is not only the cinema, literature, philosophy – all the levers of influence and mechanisms used in the promulgation of culture, in its broadest sense, work in this direction. At the slightest impulse all who work in this area respond with such consistency that it is hard not to think that all orders come from a single source of power. It was enough to decide to stigmatize General Karadžić or President Milošević or someone else for the whole planetary propaganda machine to start working against them. As a result, instead of condemning politicians and NATO generals for violation of all existing laws, the vast majority of Western citizens is convinced that the war against Serbia was necessary and just. Western ideology combines and mixes ideas based on its needs. One of these ideas is that Western values and lifestyle are the best in the world! Although for most people on the planet these values have disastrous consequences. Try to convince Americans that these values will destroy Russia. You will not be able to. They will continue to assert the thesis of universalism of Western values, therefore following one of the fundamental principles of ideological dogmatism. Theorists, politicians and media of the West are absolutely sure that their system is the best. That is why they impose it around the world without a doubt and with a clear conscience. Western man as the carrier of these highest values is therefore a new superman. The term itself is a taboo, but It all comes down to this. This phenomenon should be studied scientifically. But I dare to say that it has become extremely difficult to conduct scientific research in some areas of sociology and history. The scientist who desires to research mechanisms of democratic totalitarianism will face extreme difficulties. He will be made into an outcast. On the other hand, those whose research serves the dominant ideology are flooded with grants while publishing houses and media are fighting for the right to work with such authors. I have personally experienced it when I have been teaching and working as a researcher at foreign universities.

Q: Does not this super-ideology you dislike, have ideas of tolerance and respect for others?

A: When you listen to representatives of the Western elite, everything seems so pure, generous and respectful to people. Doing so they use the classic rule of propaganda: hide the reality behind sweet talk. However it is enough to turn on the TV, go to the movies, open a bestselling book or listen to popular music to realize the opposite: the unprecedented dissemination of the cult of violence, sex and money. Noble speeches are designed to hide these three (and there are more) pillars of totalitarian democracy.

Q: What about human rights? Is it not the West who honors them the most?

A: From now on the idea of human rights is increasingly under pressure. Even the purely ideological thesis that these rights are intrinsic and inseparable today will not sustain even the first stage of a thorough analysis. I am ready to subject Western ideology to the same scientific analysis that I did with communism. But this is a long conversation, not for today’s interview.

Q: Does Western ideology have a key idea?

A: The idea of globalization! In other words, world domination! Since this idea is rather unpleasant, it is hidden under lengthy phrases about planetary unity, transformation of the world into one integrated whole… In reality, the West has now commenced work on structural changes across the whole planet. On the one hand Western society dominates the world, on the other hand it itself is being rebuilt vertically with the supranational power on the very top of the pyramid.

Q: World government?

A: Yes, if you will.

Q: To believe in it, doesn’t that mean to be a victim of delusional fantasies about global conspiracy?

A: What conspiracy? There is no conspiracy. The world government is controlled by the heads of well known supranational economic, financial and political structures. According to my estimates, this super-society, now ruling the world, has about fifty million people. Its center is the United States. The countries of Western Europe and some former Asian “dragon” countries are its basis. Other countries are dominated under a tight financial and economic ranking. This is the reality. Regarding propaganda, it presumes that the creation of world government under control of the world parliament is desirable because the world is a big brotherhood. All these are just stories designed for the plebs.

Q: The European Parliament as well?

A: No, because the European Parliament exists. But it is naive to believe that the European Union was a result of the good will of the governments of the member states. The European Union is a weapon for the destruction of national sovereignties. It is part of the projects developed by supranational organisms.

Q: The European commonwealth changed its name after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As if to replace the Soviet Union, it was called the “European Union”. After all, it could be called differently. Like bolsheviks, European leaders call themselves commissioners. LIke bolsheviks they head commissions. The last president was “elected” being the only candidate …

A: We must not forget that the process of social organization is subject to certain rules. To organize a million people is one thing, to organize ten million is another, to organize a hundred million is a very hard task. To organize five hundred million people is a task of colossal proportions. It is necessary to create new administrative bodies, to train people who will manage them and to ensure their smooth functioning. This is the primary task. In fact, the Soviet Union is a classic example of a multinational conglomerate led by a supranational management structure. The European Union wants to achieve better results than the Soviet Union! That is justified. Even twenty years ago I was stunned by the fact that so-called flaws of the Soviet system were even more developed in the West.

Q: Like what?

A: Planning! The Western economy is infinitely more planned than the economy of the USSR was ever planned. Bureaucracy! In the Soviet Union 10 to 12% of the active population worked in the country‘s management and administration field. In the US this number is 16 to 20%. However the USSR was criticized for its planned economy and the burden of bureaucratic apparatus. Two thousand people worked in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The Communist Party apparatus reached 150 thousand workers. Today in the West you will find dozens, even hundreds of enterprises in industrial and banking sectors employing more people. The bureaucratic apparatus of the Soviet Communist Party was negligibly small compared with the staff of large transnational corporations of the West. In fact, we must recognize that the USSR was mismanaged because of the lack of administrative staff. It was necessary to have two to three times more administrative workers! The European Union is well aware of these problems and therefore takes them into account. Integration is impossible without an impressive administrative apparatus.

Q: What you say is contradictory to the ideas of liberalism promoted by European leaders. Do you not think that their liberalism is just a show?

A: The administration has a tendency to grow greatly which is dangerous in itself. It knows that. Like any organism it finds antidotes to continue its normal functioning. A private initiative is one of them. Another antidote is social and individual morality. Applying them, power fights self-destructive tendencies. So it invented liberalism to create a counterweight to its own gravity. Today, however, it is absurd to be a liberal. The liberal society no longer exists. The liberal doctrine does not reflect the realities of the unprecedented era of concentration of capital. The movement of huge financial resources does not take into accounts the interests of individual states and peoples consisting of individuals. Liberalism implies a personal initiative and taking of financial risks. Today any business needs money provided by banks. These banks, whose numbers are diminishing, implement a policy which is by its nature dictatorial and manipulative. Business owners are at their mercy because everything is subject to lending and therefore is under the control of financial institutions. The importance of the individual – the basis of liberalism – is reduced day by day. Today it does not matter who heads this or that company, this or that country: Bush or Clinton, Kohl or Schröder, Chirac or Jospin, what is the difference?

Q: The totalitarian regimes of the 20th century were extremely cruel, which cannot be said about Western democracy.

A: It’s not the means that are important, but the end result obtained. Would you like an example? In the struggle against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union lost 20 million people (according to the latest figures of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation – 27 million. – Ed. Note) and suffered tremendous destruction. During the Cold War, a war without bombs and guns, there were a lot more losses any way you look at it! Over the last decade the life expectancy of Russians dropped by ten years! The death rate is much higher than the birth rate. Two million children do not sleep at home. Five million school-age children do not attend school. There are 12 million registered drug addicts. Alcoholism has become universal. 70% of young people are not suitable for military service due to various physical defects. These are the direct consequences of the defeat in the Cold War, followed by a transition to a Western lifestyle. If this continues, the population will drop rapidly at first from 150 million to 100 million, and then to 50 million. Democratic totalitarianism will surpass all previous totalitarian regimes.

Q: Through violence?

A: Drugs, poor nutrition, and AIDS are much more effective than military violence. Although after the immense force of destruction of the Cold War, the West invented a “humanitarian war”. The military campaigns in Iraq and Yugoslavia are two examples of collective punishment and retaliation on an exceedingly large scale, while the propaganda machine shapes them as a “good cause” or a “humanitarian war”. Turning the victims of violence against themselves is another, different approach. An example of its use is the Russian counter-revolution of 1985. However, when they unleashed the war in Yugoslavia, the countries of Western Europe led war against themselves.

Q. In your opinion, the war against Serbia was also a war against Europe?

A. Absolutely right. In Europe there are forces that can compel it to act against itself. Serbia was chosen because it resisted the ever-expanding globalization. Russia could be next on the list. Before China…

Q: In spite of its nuclear arsenal?

A: Russia’s nuclear arsenal is huge, but it is outdated. Besides, the Russians are morally disarmed and ready to surrender… I believe that the monstrosity of the 21st century will surpass everything that mankind has seen to this day. Just think about the coming global war on Chinese communism. To defeat such a populous country one will need not exterminate around 500 million people, not 10 or 20 million. Today, given the level of excellence of the propaganda machine, it is quite possible. Naturally, in will be done in the name of freedom and human rights. Unless, of course, some PR organization invents a new and no less noble a cause.

Q: Don’t you think that people can have their own opinions, and that they can vote and thus express themselves?

ANSWER. First of all, even now people don’t vote that often, and they will vote even less in the future. With regard to public opinion in the West it is shaped by the media. Suffice it to recall the universal approval of the war in Kosovo. Remember the Spanish war! Volunteers from all over the world traveled to that country to fight on one side or the other. Remember the war in Vietnam. But these days, people are so well shepherded that they react only the way that the purveyors of propaganda want them to.

Q: The Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were the most multi-ethnic countries in the world, but they were destroyed nevertheless. Do you see a connection between the destruction of multiethnic countries, on the one hand, and the promotion of multi-ethnicity on the other hand?

A: Soviet totalitarianism created a genuinely multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society. It was the Western democracies that made superhuman efforts to fan the flames of various kinds of nationalism, because they considered the breakup of the Soviet Union as the best way to destroy it. The same mechanism worked in Yugoslavia. Germany had always sought the obliteration of Yugoslavia. United, Yugoslavia could strengthen its resistance. The essence of the Western system is to divide in order to make it easier for the West to impose its laws on all parties, and then act as Chief Justice. There is no reason to assume that this know-how will not be applied in relation to the dismemberment of China in the future.

Q: India and China voiced their opposition to the bombing of Yugoslavia. If needed, could they form a core of resistance? After all, 2 billion people are no joke!

A: The means of those countries cannot in any way be compared with the military might and technological superiority of the West.

Q: Were you impressed by the effectiveness of the US military arsenal in Yugoslavia?

A: Not only that. If such a decision had been made, then Serbia would have ceased to exist within a few hours. Apparently, the leaders of the new world order have chosen a strategy of permanent violence. Numerous localized conflicts will now keep igniting one after another so that the “humanitarian war” machine, which we have already seen in action, could keep extinguishing them. In fact, this is likely to become the solution to extending control over the entire planet. The West controls most of the Earth’s natural resources. Its intellectual resources are millions of times greater than the resources of the rest of the world. This is the foundation of the overwhelming hegemony of the West in technology, the arts, media, IT, and science, and this implies its superiority in all other areas. It would be too easy to just conquer the world. After all, they still need to rule! And this is the fundamental problem that the Americans are trying to address now… Remember that in the time of Christ, the population of earth was only about 100 million people. Today, Nigeria alone has that number of inhabitants! A billion “westernoids” and the people assimilated by them will rule the entire world. However, this billion, in turn, also needs to be controlled. In all probability, two hundred million people will be required to control the Western world. But they must be chosen and taught. That’s why China is doomed to failure in its struggle against the hegemony of the West. The country does not have enough control, nor economic and intellectual resources to implement an effective administrative system consisting of approximately 300 million people. Only the West is able to solve the problems of global governance. It has already started to do so. Hundreds of thousands of “westernoids” in the former communist countries, such as Russia, tend to occupy leadership positions there. Totalitarian democracy will also be a colonial democracy.

Q: According to Marx, apart from violence and cruelty, colonization also brought with it the blessings of civilization. Perhaps the history of mankind is simply repeating itself at this new stage?

A: Indeed, why not? But, alas, not for everyone. What kind of contribution to civilization has been made by American Indians? Almost none, as they were crushed, destroyed, and wiped off the face of the Earth. Now look at the contribution of the Russians! Let me make an important point here: the West did not fear Soviet military power as much as its intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential. The West saw that the Soviet Union was full of life! This is the most important thing that must be destroyed, should one wish to destroy one’s enemy. Which is precisely what was done. Today, Russian science is dependent on US funding. It is in a pitiful state because the US is not interested in financing its competition. Americans prefer to offer Russian scientists jobs in the United States. Soviet cinema, too, has been destroyed and replaced by American movies. The same thing happened to literature. World domination manifests itself primarily as an intellectual, or, if you prefer, a cultural diktat. Which is why in the last few decades, Americans have so zealously tried to bring down the cultural and intellectual common denominator of the entire world to their own level – it will allow them to impose this diktat.

Q: But might this domination turn out to be a blessing for all mankind?

A. Ten generations from now, people will, indeed, be able to say that it all happened in the name of humanity, i.e. for their greater good. But what about the Russians or the French who are alive today? Should they be happy that their people will have the same future as the American Indians? The term “humanity” is an abstraction. In reality, there are Russian, French, Serbs, etc. However, if the current trend continues, then the nations who founded modern civilization (I mean the Latin peoples), will gradually disappear. Western Europe is already bursting with foreigners. We have yet to speak about it, but this phenomenon is not accidental, and it is certainly not the consequence of the allegedly uncontrollable human migration flows. The goal for Europe is to create a situation similar to the situation in the United States. I suspect that the French will hardly be delighted to learn that mankind will come to be happy, but only without the French. After all, it might well be a rational project to only leave a limited number of people in the world, who could then live in a paradise on earth. Those remaining people would certainly believe that their happiness is the result of historical development… No. All that matters is the life that we and our loved ones are living today.

Q: The Soviet system was ineffective. Are all totalitarian societies doomed to inefficiency?

A: What is efficiency? The US spends more money on weight loss than Russia spends on its entire public budget. Still, the number of overweight people is growing. And such examples are many.

Q: Would it be correct to say that the intensifying radicalization in the West will leads to its own destruction?

A: Nazism was destroyed during total war. The Soviet system was young and strong. It would have continued to thrive, had it not been destroyed by outside forces. Social systems do not destroy themselves. They can only be destroyed by an external force. It’s like a ball rolling on a surface: only the presence of an external obstacle could break its movement. I can prove it like a theorem. Today, we are dominated by a country with enormous economic and military superiority. The new emerging world order is drawn to unipolarity. If the supranational government manages to achieve this by eliminating all external enemies, then a unified social system can survive until the end of time. Only a person can die from their illness. But a group of people, even a small group, would try to survive through reproduction. Now imagine a social system comprising billions of people! Its capacity to anticipate and prevent self-destructive phenomena will be limitless. In the foreseeable future, the process of erasing differences across the world cannot be stopped, since democratic totalitarianism is the last phase of the development of Western society, which began with the Renaissance.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #Alexander Zinoviev

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musikat18 · 4 years

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Kat Recaps Legends Because She Missed Her Time Gays 501 “Meet the Legends”: The One Where Sara Needs A Hug But Everyone Is Busy Being The Real Legends of The Waverider

Spoilers under the cut:

I am a Behrad Tarazi stan first and a human being second.

Ava Sharpe is a constant mood, her trying to figure out how the fuck to life after the Bureau got shuttered is iconic.

Nate: “Something’s missing” *Tala Ashe’s credit appears*

I n t e r e s t i n g

Mona and Mick? New BrOTP too bad the show said FUCK THAT GOODBYE WOMAN OF COLOR

Ray’s smiLE WHEN HE SAW THE WELCOME BACK PARTY

The TIME BRO HANDSHAKE

WE STAN ONE TRIO OF DOOFS

Johnny and Gary: Disaster Bis strike again

Why did we yeet Charlie out for now. Why. Why did we do that. Why can’t Nora be allowed to greet her precious boyfriend. Why can’t I have my Darhkatom. Why-

RA RA RASPUTIN RUSSIA’S GREATEST LOVE MACHINE-- *is shot*

It took me a second watch to realize ALL of Gideon’s “glitches” were related to Zari in the original timeline-- “cat,” “time loop,” “donut,” “Jonah Hex” were ones that stuck out to me.

Zari eating donuts even in Nate’s memory of her we stan one queen

The LOOK ON MICK’S FACE WHEN MONA LEFT. STOP HURTING THIS ANGRY SOFT MAN.

Petition for Kevin to come back as a villain b/c that’s what Legends does best.

#musikat speaks #musikat watches #legends of tomorrow

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immigrationquebeccanada · 4 years

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21 Amazing Things You Should Know Before You Migrate to Canada

It's hard not to get eager about Canada migration. The place is delightful and the people are renowned for their good characters. You have a bowl of maple syrup for breakfast, ski to work and say 'sorry' to everybody en route. Simply be mindful so as not to chance upon any bears. We'd prefer to disclose to you all the most significant things about existence in the Great White North, from ice-hockey and twofold duplicates to packed away milk. So, read on!

1. Canada is huge

Canada's extraordinary for people who like it, in light of the fact that there's totally heaps of it. The nation is the second biggest on the world after Russia estimating almost ten million square kilometers. In the event that that doesn't mean anything to you, think about this: you could fit the United Kingdom into Canada more than 40 times. It would take you more than four years to walk its coastline, in the event that you ever wanted. The city of St John's in Newfoundland (east coast) is in reality nearer to London than it is to Vancouver (west coast). Wood Buffalo National Park is greater than the Netherlands. To make everything a touch more reasonable, Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. Simply take the nation each piece in turn.

2. The cities are world class

Metropolitan life in Canada is the honey bee's knees. In the Economist's 2017 ranking of the world's most liveable urban areas, no under three Canadian urban communities put in the best ten. They were Vancouver (third), Toronto (fourth) and Calgary (fifth). The five variables were medical services, education, infrastructure, environment, and stability. It's hard to believe, but it's true, these urban communities are basically asking to be lived in. With regards to the significant stuff, the Canucks just ca-thump the ball directly out of the park. One thing to be cleared , the capital of Canada is Ottawa, not Toronto.

3. It’s very multicultural

People simply love moving to Canada, and Canada simply adores having them over. Over 20% of Canadians were conceived in another nation, and this is required to reach almost half by 2031. That is an insane pace of migration, however there's all that anyone could need space to go around. There are almost 200 nationalities the nation over (and more than 250 ethnic origins), including heaps of Aboriginal people. We surmise Canada is only a major, lovely rainbow.

4. Two official languages

One authority language was insufficient for the Canadians, so English and French have equivalent status over yonder. In the event that you believe that sounds troublesome, envision being in Singapore (four official languages) or India (sixteen official languages). You don't generally see the Frenchness of the nation except if you're in the eastern territory of Quebec, where people are making a decent attempt to keep things as French as could reasonably be expected. There are laws upheld by the OQLF (essentially the language police) to ensure everybody utilizes enough French. In the event that a shop doesn't put French on its signs and welcome its clients in French, it's in difficulté.

5. You’ve got good healthcare options

Canada's medical services are the jealousy of their American neighbors toward the south. It's an expense financed Medicare system where the government pays for people's fundamental health insurance, which is then conveyed by the private area. It resembles the NHS; in the event that you require any fundamental clinical services, you get them for free. It just includes a touch of waiting.

Indeed, Canada's hold up times aren't incredible; a 2017 Commonwealth Fund survey found that solitary 43% of Canadians see a medical professional around the same time as looking for help. Luckily there are heaps of ways around this, for example, being companions with a doctor, marrying a doctor,, or surely becoming a doctor. All joking aside, considering your private healthcare options is really reasonable, especially in the event that you need to evade those long holding up times.

6. The landscapes are beautiful

Indeed, the urban areas are good, however the spaces between the cities are far and away superior. 90% of Canadians live inside 100 miles of the American borders, which implies there's a genuine measure of space for investigating in the north. In the event that you need to move away from different people for some time (or surely forever) at that point the open door's there. Beside bubbling deserts and tropical rainforests, Canada basically has each scene going. There's the tough coastline of Pacific Rim, the supernatural Meadows in the Sky, and the rock piles of Gros Morne, to give some examples. The Alberta Badlands are especially very nice in the event that you need to feel like a cowpoke in an old western film. Yee-haw!

7. Lakes, lakes and more lakes

You know the familiar axiom: everybody's either a freshwater individual or a saltwater individual? Indeed, with the longest coastline on the planet and 20% of the Earth's lakes, Canada has the best of the two universes. New people and pungent people can live respectively in concordance. There are around 2,000,000 lakes in Canada, including the totally walloping Lake Superior, which is about the size of Maine. You can do all the fun watersports that the Australians do, however without stressing over the sharks. It's one major straightforward sprinkle party over yonder.

8. It’s freezing cold

There's a bad situation for words like 'chilly and 'nippy' in Canada. At the point when we state it gets cold, we mean truly ridiculous cold. Aside from the nation's west coast in British Columbia, no place else in Canada does the normal temperature surpass zero in winter time. Tremendous pieces of the nation can plunge as low as - 30°C or - 40°C, which makes going outside genuinely unenjoyable. Toss in the serious breeze chill and nature are an off limits. The coldest temperature ever recorded in North America was in Yukon, Canada in 1947 at - 63°C, which is truly equivalent to the surface temperature of Mars. Out of nowhere those lakes don't appear to be engaging.

9. They’re obsessed with ice-hockey

Hitting a weighty item around with sticks wasn't hazardous enough for the Canadians, so they chose to do it on ice. What else would you say you are intended to do with each one of those solidified lakes in the winter? Referred to just as "hockey" over yonder, the sports is fundamentally a religion. Just to give you a thought, the Canada versus USA men's hockey last at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010 was the most watched in front of the TV broadcast in Canadian history. There's even an image of children playing hockey on a solidified lake (known as shinny) on the Canadian $5 bill. It turns out the game was really developed in England, but don't tell any Canadians that.

10. Milk comes in bags

On the off chance that you think purchasing a major plastic sack of milk sounds odd, you are completely right. It's a peculiar practice that goes on all through Ontario and Quebec. Three individual bags of milk are set in one bigger sack, which the sharp Canadian milk-consumer at that point hauls home. The customary container of milk appears to work for every other person, yet in certain pieces of Canada it's the bag or nothing. When the nation changed to the metric system in 1970, milk makers needed to change every one of their machines so they could create diverse estimated bottles. Bagging it up just appeared to be much simpler. So here we are.

11. Everyone loves poutine

Poutine is Canada's public dish. "Poutine" is slang in Quebec province for "a mess", which is essentially what you get. Chips shrouded in sauce and half-dissolved cheddar curds. It doesn't seem like an especially humble supper, yet the Canadians love it in no way different. It was invented in 1957 when a driver requested that somebody put cheddar on his chips and sauce. One person needed a touch of cheddar and out of nowhere a public dish was conceived. Gourmet specialists around the nation have attempted to make it a touch more extravagant, tossing in things like lobster and foie gras, however it's a losing fight. Simply keep an eye out for those calories; a side request of poutine in Burger King contains 740 of them. Heavy meal.

12. And maple syrup

Truly, the generalization is valid; Canadians are distraught for maple syrup. That sweet, sweet goo can be found in virtually every kitchen the nation over. The stuff basically courses through their veins. Maple trees are all over Canada and they're wonderful, turning a brilliant red shading in the fall. Some time ago, locals in Quebec told the French the best way to gather the sap from maple trees, and afterward the French bubbled it to make the syrup. It was an upbeat coordinated effort that Canada is extremely glad for. The bubbling cycle expands the sugar content in the sap from around 2-8% to a monstrous 70%, which is completely unfortunate for your teeth. Today, Canada produces 71% of the world's maple syrup, and the US is their greatest client. In 2012, thieves attacked Canada's maple syrup holds and took US$30 million worth of maple syrup. That is one sweet heist.

13. They had a flag design competition

How would you make a public banner that the entire nation is happy with? You request that they plan it. In 1965, Canada understood that they actually didn't have an official banner, so the people at the top concluded they ought to get one. Different nations had just taken all the straightforward plans, so the Canadians needed to get imaginative. Furthermore, kid did they convey! An aggregate of 3541 banner plans were put together by residents the nation over, with the vast majority of them including either a maple leaf, a beaver, a fleurs-de-lys or a Union Jack (and now and then each of the four on the double). The triumphant passage originated from Colonel George F. G. Stanley, with his basic red and white maple leaf plan. The one we as a whole know and love. Also, the one that all Canadian voyagers demand having on their knapsacks.

14. The education is top notch

In Canada, school is cool. With regards to showing their children, the Canadians don't play. In the OECD's 2017 positioning of nations' grown-up training levels (in light of the level of long term olds with a degree), Canada started things out with 56.27%. It may be awful for your teeth, however maple syrup unmistakably accomplishes something for the mind. In the event that you end up in a bar test against a lot of Canadians, it's likely best to return home before it gets excessively humiliating.

15. Learn the slang

'Canadian English' is an extraordinary sort of English. The Canucks talk their own language and it can confound the hellfire out of any ill-equipped outsider. There are just so often you can request that somebody rehash themselves before you simply gesture and grin. The most popular expression is 'eh', which Canadians like to slap on the finish of practically any sentence. Explanations, questions, affronts, orders; everything is reasonable game with regards to 'eh'. In the event that somebody goes to the "biffy" at that point they're set for the latrine. In the event that it's cool, at that point you'll require a "hat" (a beanie) on your head. A $1 coin is a "loonie" and a $2 coin is a "toonie". The lively word for a kilometer is a "klick". On the off chance that anybody converses with you about "the 6ix", they're discussing Toronto. At the point when they state "about", it seems like "aboat". It's all exceptionally overpowering.

16. Sorry!

"Sorry" is Canada's most significant word. Each Canadian is only edgy to apologize to different Canadians at some random chance. They're a broadly obliging pack, and "sorry" is their meat and potatoes. Toss enough "sorry"s at a circumstance and there is no reason to worry. Stroll down a road or through a grocery store and you'll hear constantly it. Actually, Canadians utilize the word such a great amount of that in 2009 they needed to pass an 'Expression of remorse Act' in Ontario. It implies that if any Canadian says 'sorry' at the hour of a wrongdoing or episode, it won't consider an affirmation of blame – only a declaration of compassion. Without this, there'd presumably be a ton of regretful Canadians in jail.

17. Timmies is everywhere

In a rundown of exceptionally Canadian things, Tim Hortons is likely third – soon after maple syrup and expressions of remorse. Referred to warmly as 'Timmies', it's a chain of espresso and doughnut shops and there are branches all over the place. They're in shopping centers, train stations, films, public stops, the rundown goes on. Practically every town across Canada has a Timmies. On the off chance that a space opens up on the high road, it will get loaded up with a Timmies. Leave your nursery sufficiently long and it will in the end grow a Timmies. Evidently eight out of each ten cups of espresso bought in Canada are from Timmies (source: Timmies). A public most loved is the Timmies "twofold", which is an espresso with two sugars and two creams. An additional huge one of those has 340 calories. Have too some twofold pairs and you'll be in a tough situation inconvenience.

18. Canada’s furry friends

The moose and the beaver are Canada's public mascots. They're both on the cash, and the pair of them were lining up directly behind the maple leaf to go on the banner. Nonetheless, likewise with most public creatures, they've gotten somewhat of a bug. A moose regularly weighs between 350-450kg (contingent upon sexual orientation), which is fine. Be that as it may, they simply love to go across streets, and they're not awesome at it. Moose-vehicle impacts can be intense, so you'll see heaps of caution signs on Canadian streets. The beavers are planning something sinister either. They're assaulting canines, gnawing hands, flooding streets and just for the most part causing devastation. Certain people have attempted to separate them however it's exceptionally disputable. Simply take a gander at how adorable a child beaver is (called a unit). Envision separating that.

19. Beware of the bears

Canadian bears. They're somewhat less "fun and fleecy" than the beavers and a smidgen more "large and perilous". In the event that a bear needs to murder you, it can and it will. There are three sorts of bears to stress over, from least to generally terrifying: wild bears, mountain bears and polar bears. Wild bears don't will in general go close to people except if they're really starving. They're incredible tree-climbers and there are around 500,000 of them the nation over. Wild bears are a lot greater (around seven feet tall when standing), so they can't climb trees however they can run more than 30 mph. Numbering around 20,000, grizzlies are considerably more liable to assault people than their little dark siblings. At last, there are the polar bears. There are around 17,000 polar bears in Canada, which is about 70% of the whole worldwide populace. Super cold, these ones need no encouragement to assault you. Inhabitants of Churchill, Manitoba really leave their vehicle entryways opened on the off chance that somebody needs cover. Fortunately polar bears actually haven't turned out to be the means by which to open a vehicle entryway.

20. There are bridges for animals

One answer for all the creature vehicle crashes in Canada is to assemble spans for them. Also, it really works. The extensions are lush, verdant and only a stunning method to go across the street. They're a raving success with the creatures in Banff National Park; somewhere in the range of 1996 and 2012, eleven types of enormous vertebrate were recorded utilizing these scaffolds more than 150,000 times. This incorporates moose and bears – creatures that would positively have caused a genuine mishap in the event that they took the standard street course. Certain moose were so quick to utilize the extensions that they were traverse them before they'd even completed the process of being assembled. Banff has started the precedent and now puts across Canada have connect fever, for example, British Columbia and Alberta. It's a success win for all.

21. Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik

It may seem as though a feline has quite recently strolled over the console, yet this is really a spot in Canada. It's a lake and its name (in the local Cree language) signifies "where the wild trout are gotten by fishing with snares". Magnificently, there is no deficiency of crazy spot names in Canada. A few people simply haven't accepted the position genuinely enough. Look at these towns and towns: Goobies, Dildo (Newfoundland), Balls Creek, Lower Economy, Mushaboom (Nova Scotia), Punkeydoodles Corners, Crotch Lake, Ball's Falls (Ontario), Finger, Flin Flon (Manitoba), Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head Lean Man, Eyebrow and Big Beaver (Saskatchewan). The best part is that there's Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! In Quebec. Indeed, there are really two 'Ha!'s.

Final Thoughts

Ideally you're feeling beautiful Canada-insane in the wake of understanding that. It's a tremendous, lovely and multicultural nation with all that anyone could need enjoyable to go around. Get yourself a hockey stick and a bag of milk and you'll be an out and out Canadian before you know it. What's more, you shouldn't let the bears put you off – they simply make going external a smidgen all the more energizing. Now are you excited to move in Canada?

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ordinaryoddness · 4 years

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“OH, DROKK THIS!”

Anyone that knows me will be aware of my love for 2000AD, a sci-fi anthology comic that’s been going for longer than I have been on this earth. Since its inception in 1977, 2000AD has featured thousands of stories, giving birth to some of the greatest comic characters of all time.

One of which is, Judge Joseph Dredd, a hard-hearted, law enforcement officer in a far flung American future. Judge Dredd featured a cynical new world, where cops (Judges) could execute on the spot and throw people in the slammer for the pettiest of crimes.

Mega City One, is a mass of ‘Blocs’, entire towns condensed into gigantic, rocket-shaped apartment buildings, usually named after minor British celebrities (There is a ‘Sue Perkins Bloc’ for example) or politicians. This world saw humans, mutants and droids live side-by-side, mostly at odds with each other, or the various (sometimes surreal) criminal elements that threatened an already shaky and paranoid city.

Judge Dredd is not a hero, not in the conventional sense. He is a mostly cold, blank slate of a man whose sole purpose is to uphold the law and literally nothing else.

Dredd has killed MILLIONS of people in the years he has been active. In one story, Dredd dropped a nuclear weapon on Russia, ending a war but killing millions of innocent people in the process. He is a machine of little sympathy and patience. Dredd is so infused with the law, and the upholding thereof, that he NEVER TAKES HIS HELMET OFF (Please, remember this) and he literally has no time for friendships or human things like emotion. Judges are sworn to not have romantic relationships and Dredd is above all of that. He doesn’t even think about it. Love is for creeps.

In the comics, Dredd may as well be a robot, or a Robocop. (Dredd inspired that classic film) but, unlike Alex Murphy, Joe Dredd has no family (Well, not in the conventional sense but we’ll get to that in a wee while)

Basically, Judge Dredd is awesome. I advise you to dig out the books and throw yourself into a world I’ve been enjoying since I was 8. Also, check out the 2012 film adaption called ‘Dredd’ because it NAILS the comic, the world and the character (with loads of cool references for longtime fans). It also features Judge Anderson, my absolute favourite female comic book character. 2000AD has, for the most part, featured strong female characters and the Dredd universe is no exception.

1995 then. ‘Stallone IS Dredd’

Sly Stallone. Is. Dredd. Judge Dredd. A unfeeling, facially unknown, killer for the law. A character to be booed as well as cheered.

I was 15 when Judge Dredd came out. I was pretty excited. Didn’t last.

In less than ten minutes in, Judge Dredd takes his helmet off and by the end, he’s smooching Judge Hershey.

I get why fans get annoyed when films mess up their characters. Sometimes, it’s a little off kilter. I care not for changing the race of a character. Who cares as long as they embody that person? I would have taken a non-white Dredd. All the actor had to do was live by the code of the character, to be best representation of the man on the big screen. (Yes, Dredd has to be male. It kind of doesn’t work if he isn’t)

Stallone was not that man. The only thing that made him remotely qualified to be Dredd was that they both have distinguishable chins.

Judge Dredd: The Movie was a cynical cash grab for a character that was kind of niche. Dredd wasn’t huge in America, even when he fought Batman. He was cult, through and through. It was a film that needed to be made by people that KNEW the material, that honoured the little/big things. Karl Urban, who played ‘The One True Dredd’ was a fan of the character and you can tell he was having a blast bringing him to life. When you watch Sly, you can see that one eye is on the scene, and the other is on the sack of money in the corner.

The film, to delve into the travesty, is mostly harmless to those that just want to watch Sly wobble about like he does. For fans (I’d go as far to say that I’m a ‘super fan’, I’ve paid my dues) it’s like watching a shit cover of a great song on ‘X-Factor’. It’s soulless, lifeless and so lazy. No one wins in this, even 2000AD who, after it came out, could barely hide their dislike for it.

It takes an old story and adds a few things to it. To give the film one single positive point, it looks the business. Chris Cunningham did a great job of the special effects, The Angel Gang and Hammerstein look awesome. THERE was the love and passion, all around people that couldn’t care less.

Judge Dredd: 1995 Edition worst crime is that it’s boring. It’s really, really boring. It tries to be funny, even drafting in Deuce Bigelow in as ‘comic relief’, again playing a character that’s completely different to the original material. Judge Anderson isn’t in it, which is a blessing. They would have probably re-imagined this cool, smart and female hero into a ditzy, blonde bimbo who keeps going all ga-ga over Rambo.

They would have cast Pamela Anderson, wouldn’t they?

Diane Lane is in there, playing an equally iconic female character, Judge Hershey. She does, indeed, go ga-ga over Rambo and they have a kiss at the end. No real reason why. It doesn’t even make sense in the film and in the comic, they would never do that for about a million reasons.

While they do use the famous ‘I AM THE LAW’ catchphrase, they also give the helmet-free, happy-go-lucky Dredd a new motto. In the film, he keeps saying “I knew you’d say that”, which is like something a sales manager would say, not an action hero. They really try to ram it home during the film. I bet Sly thought it was great, probably because when he says “Law” it sounds like he’s about to shit himself.

When Armand Assante (playing Dredd’s ‘brother’ Rico) says ‘LAAAAAAAAAAAW’ to mock Dredd, it sounds like he’s reached a climax. Maybe he was channelling hopeless directer Danny Cannon who was hoping that this shit show would be that years ‘The Fifth Element’ (The film seems to take more cues from that movie than it does the comics)

Films are just fluff though, aren’t they? It’s kind of pointless to get all wound up about what is ultimately fleeting. I feel bad for feeling anything towards it. It’s probably the last time I was ‘angry’ at a film. Although, that being said, I saw ‘Batman Forever’ not long after and watched another favourite character be reduced to a dancing bear. Embarrassingly, I came out and, annoyed about a two-punch combo of crappy comic movies, I booted a cardboard cutout of ‘Batman Forever’ and declared, overly loudly, that I would never go to the cinema again. I did, about a year later but by then I was getting into indie-films and just wanted to watch people talking for 90 minutes.

Judge Dredd is a bad film, whether you love the source material or not. I’m more annoyed at it for tarnishing the later, superior Dredd film. A sequel and a series is so long overdue and it bothers me that the best representation of Judge Dredd and his universe is ‘I knew you’d say that’

As a little caveat, I did manage to get a measure of ‘revenge’ (probably too strong a word but there you go) with regards to JD 1995, In 2006, I ended up working on a film (didn’t come out) with a producer that knew Danny ‘Judge Dredd’ Cannon. He had actually tried to get his friend involved, giving him a copy of the film I wrote. In one of my many, many phone calls from sunny L.A to shady Quarry Bank, I was picked up on an exchange within in the film, where the two main characters, briefly take about Judge Dredd being terrible. There was a line (I won’t repeat it here) that, apparently, Danny Cannon was very offended by and I was asked to remove it. I was 26 at the time, sat on the stairs of my shared house, and it felt like a one in the eye for Hollywood. I am the law, thank you very much.

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enouementiisms-a · 4 years

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✰ it’s time to wake up, DR ALEXEI, you’ve been in cryosleep for too long and the people of STRANGER THINGS miss you. when you went into slumber you were THIRTY-ONE years old, your pronouns are HE/HIM, and you WERE VOLUNTEERED for the expanse program. now that you’ve awoken, your position as a SCIENTIST is waiting for you. remember, the expanse thanks you!

THE BASICS;

NAME: Alexei

ALIAS(ES): none

AGE: 31

BIRTHDAY & ZODIAC: 26 February

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: He/Him/His

FACECLAIM: Alex Utgoff

PERSONALITY: ESFJ-T

A DEEPER LOOK;

BACKGROUND: Alexei became a scientist to help people, not get them killed. Hardly a decade into his work, everything he ever loved about being a scientist was ruined by the people he had to work for. His work was taking lives and he hated it. The final straw was when he witnessed his own mentor be strangled to death right in front of him. The task to open the doorway was put on his shoulders and unless he wanted to end up like his mentor, he had to do what was ordered of him. When he was arrested by American police, he took the opportunity to use his arrest to his advantage and get away from Russia and all the people that destroyed his hope of being a positive force in the world. It wasn’t easy continuing to keep it a secret that he could understand everything his captors were saying, but he did his best because he knew he wasn’t safe from being brought back home until he defected to the U.S. officially. By keeping it quiet, he hoped he was also protecting his captors. Enough people died because of him and he was tired of being surrounded by the ghosts of lives he could have done more to protect.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: Joyce Byers, Murray Bauman, Jim Hopper (friends); Ozerov, Stepanov, Grigori (enemies).

WEAPONS: none

POWERS/ABILITIES/SKILLS: Highly intelligent

GREATEST STRENGTH: Practicality

GREATEST WEAKNESS/FLAW: Vulnerability

OUTFIT THEY WOKE UP IN: t-shirt layered under a button down, slacks, dress shoes

FAVORITE FOOD: Cherry Slurpee

ONE FEAR: The door to other worlds being opened

ONE HOPE: To become a citizen of the U.S.

ONE HEADCANON: Alexei actually can speak English but chose not to reveal that fact to anyone back in 1985 because he didn’t want to be used as a spy.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE;

How does your character feel about being dropped into the expanse program? Are they excited? Suspicious? Confused? -- Alexei knows that his life was saved by the Expanse’s arrival. At first he was overwhelmed but once he got his bearings, his thirst for knowledge drowned out everything else and he’s eager to continue with the program for as long as he can.

What does your character hope to see the most during the expanse 009’s journey? -- Knowing the Expanse is basically like the door to other worlds, he’s hoping there is no life to be found on the other side of the “door” and that what happened in the testing room was just a freak accident.

If your character could bring one thing from home, what would it be? -- His own personal cherry slurpee machine.

#˜”*°• intro || alexei •°*”˜#expanse:charintro

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phroyd · 5 years

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Trump Moves To Create and Sustain an Imperial Presidency. There are no longer three Branches of Government. - Phroyd

William Barr, the attorney general, came face to face this week with Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, at the Capitol in Washington. Shaking her hand, Barr was said to have joked:“Madam Speaker, did you bring your handcuffs?”

The remark, at a ceremony honouring fallen law enforcement officers, was a riposte to Pelosi’s quip a week earlier that if all members of the Trump administration were arrested, the jail in the Capitol basement would be overcrowded. (There is in fact no such jail.)

But it was also indicative of how Barr, and his paymaster in the White House, are perceived to be laughing in the face of congressional oversight and the rule of law. Indeed, following the sporting maxim that attack is the best form of defence, Trump had adopted the language of a tinpot dictator, denouncing the Russia investigation as a failed “coup”, branding his pursuers as traitors and threatening to lock them up.

“My Campaign for President was conclusively spied on,” he tweeted at 7.11am on Friday. “Nothing like this has ever happened in American Politics. A really bad situation. TREASON means long jail sentences, and this was TREASON!”

He’s attempting to create a counter-narrative based on conspiracy theories in which the FBI is cast as the villain

The intention, critics argue, is to turn the tables and delegitimise the case laid out against him in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference, or at least crank up a giant fog machine that leaves the electorate weary and confused. But one side-effect could be a slide into an imperial presidency.

“Investigate the investigators!” has been the battle cry of Trump, Republicans and media allies ever since Barr produced a four-page summary of Mueller’s report that misleadingly implied Trump had been completely cleared of collusion and obstruction of justice. In fact the report documented numerous contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials and identified 11 instances in which Trump or his campaign attempted to illegally impede the investigation.

On 25 March, the day after Barr’s letter was released, the Fox News host Sean Hannity bristled with self-righteous indignation and thirsted for vengeance.

“This must be a day of reckoning for the media, for the deep state, for people who abuse power, and they did it so blatantly in this country,” he told viewers in a furious 25-minute monologue. “If we do not get this right, if we do not hold these people accountable, I promise you, with all the love I can muster for this country and our future for our kids and grandkids, we will lose the greatest country God has ever given man. We will lose it.”

That set the template for Trump, a regular viewer. Having spent two years trying to discredit Mueller’s work as a witch-hunt and hoax, he stepped up demands for an investigation into its origins and pushed the claim that the FBI spied on his 2016 campaign.

Sidney Blumenthal, a former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, said: “He’s attempting to create a counter-narrative based on conspiracy theories in which the FBI chiefly is cast as the villain of the deep state. It’s what is known as chaff. It’s to throw people off of the actual object itself and distract them from his well-documented crimes of obstruction of justice in the Mueller report.”

Trump is backed by Republicans, eager to grab ammunition that comes to hand. They have falsely claimed the investigation was triggered by a dossierfrom the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, which included reference to a so-called “pee tape” in Moscow, and cited anti-Trump text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page to allege inherent bias.

But it is Barr who has emerged as the president’s most indispensable ally, his improbable Darth Vader. Testifying on Capitol Hill earlier this month, the attorney general used the incendiary word “spying” to describe FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign, a term later rejected by the FBI director, Christopher Wray.

Barr has asked John Durham, the US attorney in Connecticut, to examine whether the FBI erred in seeking a special federal court warrant to conduct surveillance on the former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. An investigation into the legality of the warrant is already under way, led by the justice department inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who is due to release his findings in coming weeks.

Barr is also working with Wray, the CIA director, Gina Haspel, and the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, to review intelligence-gathering techniques used to investigate the Trump campaign. In the meantime, ever loyal to Trump, Barr continues to defy Congress’s demands for the release of the unredacted Mueller report and underlying materials.

Democrats sense a crude ploy by Trump to deflect and distract, parry and prevaricate. Congressman Jared Huffman of California said: “It’s a smokescreen, obviously an attempt to change the subject like everything else he does. I almost don’t want to dignify it because it’s so preposterous that any time someone investigates Donald Trump or disagrees with Donald Trump they are being treasonous or they need to be locked up.

“This is a slippery slope to a banana republic if this is where we’re heading. And I think most Americans get that. You just don’t call for your political enemies to be investigated and jailed in the United States.”

Huffman called for an impeachment process and hearings.

“If [Richard] Nixon was the imperial presidency, this is the imperial presidency on steroids without any sideboards or adult supervision of any kind,” he said. “It’s a real crisis. I still believe we’re going to get through it because I think the institutions and the fabric of this country are still rooted in the rule of law and democracy and checks and balances, but we’re being tested like never before and I would be lying if I said I didn’t worry about it.”

‘Trumpification of the DoJ’

One of the rich ironies of Republican claims of bias in the FBI is that during the election the agency kept its Trump investigation secret but talked openly about its scrutiny of his opponent, Hillary Clinton. The then director, James Comey, held an extraordinary press conference in which he branded Clinton’s handling of emails as secretary of state as “extremely careless”. Eleven days before the election, Comey announced the FBI was reviewing more Clinton messages. Many Democrats have still not forgiven him.

Barr says Trump’s campaign was ‘spied’ upon. Trump claims treason. Both are incendiary. Neither is true

Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, tweeted on Friday: “Barr says Trump’s campaign was ‘spied’ upon. Trump claims treason. Both are incendiary. Neither is true. Barr suggests a finger was put on the scale to affect the election. But the Trump probe was kept secret; the Clinton one wasn’t. It’s the Trumpification of the DoJ.”

Matthew Miller, former director of the office of public affairs for the justice department, said: “There are a few galling things. First, it would have been crazy for the FBI not to investigate [Trump’s] campaign given what Mueller found. Second, it would have been very easy for the FBI to stop Trump becoming president if that was their intention by leaking what they found. Third, the FBI publicly criticised his opponent: the FBI did have an impact but it was to hurt Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump!”

Miller, now a partner at Vianovo and justice and security analyst for MSNBC, added: “It’s a brazenly cynical strategy by the president and his allies. He hasn’t had a great explanation for what he did so what he’s done for two years is attack the investigation.

“The notion has existed since Watergate that there should be a separation between the White House and Department of Justice. It’s been erased. It’s just gone. It will probably come back when there’s a Democratic president, because they tend to be more sensitive to elite opinion, but the next Republican president will [not] see any reason to restore it.”

Just as the justice department is succumbing to Trump, so Congress is also struggling to maintain its status as a co-equal branch of government. The White House continues to stonewall House subpoenas for documents and hearings, not only regarding the Mueller report but Trump’s tax returns and other matters. The Democratic-led House judiciary committee has voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress but the party is divided over whether to impeach his boss.

Max Bergmann, a former state department official, said: “We’re seeing an effort by the president to neutralise this as an issue for the 2020 election. He sees a gap because the Democrats have shown reticence in their willingness to prosecute the case against him. We have a situation where there is a vacuum and Trump sees an opportunity to attack the investigation, partly because Democrats aren’t using the results of it to attack him.

“The problem with not using the levers of congressional power is that it lends credence to the arguments Trump has been making. In the public’s mind, it might seem that because Trump is not being impeached, maybe he was exonerated. What is amazing about the Republican side is the ability to manufacture outrage over nothing; they eat, sleep and breathe scandal politics. Democrats are terrified of it and and run from it, even when it’s the biggest political scandal in American history. The inaction over the last four weeks has been unconscionable.”

‘We’ve crossed a Rubicon’

It was perhaps no coincidence that Trump hosted Viktor Orbán, strongman leader of Hungary, at the White House this week.

Bergmann, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress think-tank in Washington, and director of the Moscow Project, charting Trump’s involvement in Russian attacks on US democracy, said: “We’ve crossed a Rubicon. For the past two years, Trump has not been able to use the justice department to seek revenge against his opponents and as a political tool.

“Now he and his team have learned, and Trump has appointed someone in Barr who is a Washington insider, knows the justice department and is able to operate as the president’s hatchet man. For the past two years, we’ve said the institutions have held. Now we’re at a critical pivot where Trump has learned how to use the institutions to his advantage.

“It’s a dark turn. With the decline of our institutions, the decline of our moral authority, Trump is trying to turn the the moniker of an ‘imperial presidency’ into an autocratic presidency along the lines of Viktor Orbán or Vladimir Putin.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher for the future of American democracy in 2020.”

Phroyd

#donald trump #trump administration #us politics #us news #trump-russia investigation

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