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misterradio · 1 year

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okay here are my renfield 2023 thoughts [peace sign] you have been spoiler warned.... and long-post-warned.....

okay first off this is the first movie i have watched in a theatre in years and it was really fun ::-) i do have a headache now though. there werent a lot of people in the theatre and apparently at some point someone came in just to have a muttered conversation in his phone and left? RUDE! also the seats were very comfy.

anyways here are some actual movie thoughts:

the set design and lighting was so cool ESPECIALLY for dracula's lair with the eerie lighting around the blood-bag throne. so cool!! i liked renfield's house which was very much the opposite where it was very colourful. him finding his own modern sense of style was a neat detail.

did not care for the cops. didnt even really care for the crime ring plot. actually i didnt really feel invested in any of the characters even though i feel i shouldve... i watched this movie bc i wanted to see how it went and that i did! i wish i could have had stronger positive feelings.

my brother said that it was a very "modern movie" and i have to agree... i've been watching a lot of various older movies in general, this one definitely had a very different vibe. maybe im just not familiar with the genre? it just had like... modern humour / sensibilities... i dont knoowwww

re; the last two points: a lot of this movie was focusing on analyzing renfield and draculas relationship, but it used very clinical language to describe everything, so it did a lot more talking about the idea of an abusive relationship than really making me feel like that's what was happening ??!?!??!!?? also they were really throwing the concept of narcisists under the bus.

i liked the music during the credits but i have to admit i didnt think about the music during the movie. the credits in general were also cool they had really neat visuals ::-)

F--K COPS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what else can i say.

one review i read said the gore was over the top and played for comedy aand they were RIGHT i was actually quite shocked at first how much gore there was. it wasnt even good most of the time but that was kind of making it funnier.

it was fun and good in a way that a lighthearted action comedy splatter movie would be good. do not expect emotional depth? (which seems like it wouldve been an important factor to get strong in this movie?) also remember this is following the concept of the 1931 movie not the book lol. i dont think you need to know either of them to enjoy this movie but the background knowledge is nice.

i wish i could see a dracula (book) adaptation where the characters are intact and also renfield is actually 59 years old... he is so young all the time please age this frickin guy

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le more thoughts i am adding on after thinkin on it more....

i didnt think of it while the movie was going but they never quoted dracula ever. bit sad. i would have been delighted by any book references (besides the obvious). the most they do is have a characters father be named 'morris quincy' (like quincy morris from the original novel).

how does dracula exist in this universe? ppl seem to acknowledge familiarity with him, but is it as a fictional character thru a book, or a mythological figure, etc..?

i said this in another post but, i would have liked to SEE renfields rocky relationship rather than having it be stated for the audience via narration... i also would love to know how renfield went from the wacky ~insane~ guy in the 1931 movie (which they acknowledge renfield in the asylum here!) to being a regular plain guy in the present. how did he change so much.... was he delusional or did dracula make his delusions real......

also tumblr was dropped by name. in this movie. and i have to say. it was actually funny.

they should have had nick cage look gorey and gross more often. i liked his look when he like had his skin on his face just barely on there. so cool.

#original nonsense #personal

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jjkyaoi · 3 years

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i’ve seen a couple people post their dsmp hot takes, so i figured i should post my own :]. throws this in the pit of hell

• I DON’T THINK DOOMSDAY WAS ACTUALLY THAT BADLY WRITTEN LOL

i mean i understand the criticism, but like to be honest it’s probably one of my favorite dsmp events. yes it frustrates me to hell and back due to the unfair disadvantage that everyone else a part of new l’manberg had , but honestly i think it captured a good like. feeling of heartbreak, and loss, and all the raw emotions that the characters felt as they mourned for l’manberg was really something that i liked about it! it wasn’t happy, it wasn’t fair, it was sad and frustrating and heartbreaking and that’s why i liked it lol!!! maybe i enjoy too much of these characters suffering /j, but even though i’m forever a l’manberg stannie, narratively, it had to go imo

• I DON’T LIKE C!TECHNO

I’ve been pretty open about this before but he is probably one of my Least favorite characters. i think there’s so much more that could be done with his character— there’s so much more that could be explored, but he’s so stubborn in his own views that aren’t even as unflawed as he thinks they are that he’s kind of at a character standstill. i don’t like the way he treats anarchy, because what he says is anarchy is not, and it’s just mindless violence in destruction while throwing that name on it in a misused way. ( one of the reasons why doomsday frustrates me so much). c!dream makes me incredibly uncomfortable, so c!techno’s continuous nonchalance and almost friendly banter with him even with the signs c!tommy showed that c!dream had done something bad to him in exile puts me off and is yet another reason why i just don’t like the guy

• DADSCHLATT IS TOXIC AND IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE

lmao okay, listen, from what we saw while c!tubbo was working under c!schlatt their relationship wasnt healthy. c!schlatt would constantly snap and yell and berate c!tubbo for no reason— and, if i remember correctly in one stream c!tubbo even hid from him in a closed off room— and not to mention that c!schlatt literally fucking publicly executed the kid, so the fact that the fandom took that and turned their relationship into a happy family thing has always made me wiiiiildly uncomfortable bc their relationship from what we’ve seen was not like that !! in the least !! i’ll accept dadschlatt as long as it’s not portrayed in a good way, anything else leave me Alone /hj /lh /nm

• I DON’T LIKE THE WHOLE “michael dying” scenarios

once again something about this fandom that makes me wildly uncomfortable, and maybe i’m being a baby about this but the whole “michael getting killed” or “c!ranboo killing tubbo” thing that went down in this fandom made me wildly uncomfortable, because even though it’s a literal minecraft mob the idea of somebody killing this kid that we’ve grown to recognize as a child— as somebody’s adoptive son, always made my fucking skin crawl dude lol. make ur angst scenarios but the idea of brutally killing a kid like that has always made me. eugh

• STOP MINIMIZING C!TUBBO DOWN TO ONE CHARACTER ASPECT.

we know that c!tubbo’s a really complex character, and so it’s strange to me that people always minimize him down to one character aspect and have that be his entire thing. like, first it was bees and now it’s just “boom boom nuke boy” you’re making him a one dimensional character when he’s way more beyond just a couple things he’s spoken about one or twice. he can be a bee boy and a nuke boy!!! he can be more than those two things!! he is more than those two things!! /nm

• ROMANTIC C!TNTDUO MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE

i know it’s just characters, but it’s still uncomfortable to me to see people shipping two characters together of cc’s who have both expressed their discomfort towards shipping in general— haven’t given their go ahead towards it. the “they’re so gay” jokes and writing or drawing smut of these two people together are completely different things and it just always makes me uncomfortable !! just make them friends!! i’m not here to control what u do ofc but that makes me :// eugh

• I DON’T CARE FOR THE SYNDICATE

maybe it’s because i don’t agree with their ideals, or maybe it’s also because they’ve been doing nothing but. chilling and hanging out and that’s why i can’t get emotionally invested in their plot— though it’s mostly because i don’t agree with their ideals whatsoever yes i’m stubborn— but i’ve never really cared for the syndicate. beyond c!ranboo. c!ranboo <3.

• I DON’T HAVE SYMPATHY FOR C!DREAM

what he’s going through is horrible, yes, and nobody should go through that, but his character makes me wildly uncomfortable so i don’t give a shit <3 i don’t have sympathy for child abusers. call me a horrible person . get nae naed on bozo 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💪🏼

#BWKBWJWBWJWJ #but yeah there it is #mcyt #mcytblr #dream smp #tommyinnit #mcyters #/roleplay #dream smp spoilers #c!techno neg #c!techno crit #c!dream neg #c!dream crit #tubbo #ranboo #tntduo #/rp

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grxceblqckthxrn · 4 years

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hi @chocolatecarstairs came up with these post-CHOG questions and i really want to answer them because im sad that im finished reading it :((

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

what was your favorite part, 1 or 2?

Honestly I loved both parts, but I’d say I loved part two just a little bit more for the time that James wasn’t under the curse anymore and LOVED Cordelia

which scene in the book was your favorite?

EVERY scene that had Matthew and James being wholesome parabatai in it!!! my favourite chapter in this book was Blue Ruin, the one after Grace takes the bracelet back from James (aside from the whispering room ofc).

what scene (or scenes) made you cry the most?

ok ngl i didnt spend much of this book crying, but the only scene that actually made me tear up was when james was dying and matthew could feel it and jesse (WHO I FUCKING LOVED MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD) gave him his last breath :(((((

what scenes were unsatisfactory?

there were not enough Christopher scenes (but to be fair, even if the entire book was just Christopher it still wouldnt be enough for me)

but fr, i cant think of any off the top of my head but i’ll edit this if i do later

what made you laugh the most?

matthew!! james!! thomas!! christopher!! also some of the things Jesse said

what bored you?

this wasn’t boring, but the whole charles/alastair plot line didn’t have me very invested. I did love the alastair/ cordelia scenes tho, so it was just charles that was the problem

also no offense to james bc he was my first actual fictional crush after reading TMH/NBS but like whenever he talked about being in grace i would literally zone out lol the bracelet curse makes him so boring but whenever he isnt in the curse/ is with someone who is NOT grace i just!! love him!!

what disappointed you?

cassie honestly had me kinda shipping matthew/cordelia for a solid FIVE SECONDS there when he stepped in to dance with her after james left her standing there, but that was one of the only scenes that made me feel like they had natural chemistry (along with the scene where he drops her off at her house). I felt like the during the rest of their interactions in the book, cordelia was kind of uncomfortable, which made me really sad because even tho she has every right to feel that way, i felt bad for matthew. I kind of want him to fall for someone else completely and for it to be reciprocated. also, i just really want for matthew and cordelia to become good friends because i feel like they could have such great natural chemistry if matthew didnt love her.

what is the top thing you wish had been done differently?

see above.

what things did you predict that came true?

JAMES BURNING DOWN BLACKTHORN MANOR I FUCKING SAID HE WOULD DO IT TWO FUCKING YEARS AGO IF YALL WANT ME TO LINK THE THEORY LMK

what are some things that were really unexpected?

ok there’s quite a few things here so bear w me babes:

- James genuinely loving cordelia from the start. I wasn’t expecting him to naturally feel nothing for grace at all, so i was expecting a slow burn jordelia, but finding out that he actually loves her makes me so happy but the end where cordelia thinks he was just pretending breaks my heart :(((

-matthew liking cordelia lol definitely was not expecting another parabatai love triangle but i hope it doesnt last. i do think it adds to the plot and i love it, it just hurts to see matthew so emo :(((

-I was expecting to like cordelia as a character, but i ended up LOVING her so fucking much???? she’s so three dimensional to me, and it’s interesting to see how her personality adapts around different characters as people adapt around different social circles irl

-liking jesse as much as i did

-ok so james’ entire character was a surprise to me. it’s so fascinating to see how the bracelet actually affected his personality.If you recall him in The Midnight Heir from TBC. he’s like an entirely different person. i still loved him in TMH but i went into CHOG thinking that if he was gonna be like that the entire time i’d probably get over him really quickly. i was pleasantly surprised by how much i ended up loving him even more tho

-i didn’t expect oliver hayward to die and im going to stay emo about it

- Christopher is so much more clear headed than he was made out to be prior?? like there were so many scenes where he was fully there and when he defended anna to alastair i just kfdsnfkld i love him

are there characters that you didn’t like before that you like now?

yikes umm... Alastair, maybe? he’s somewhat okay to me now, I dont dislike him as much as I used to. ooh and Hypatia Vex. the only scene i remember liking her in QOAAD was when she helped out kit, ty and dru (me, going a whole TSC post without somehow mentioning kit? not possible)

are there characters that you liked before that you don’t like now?

I started CHOG ready to give Grace the benefit of the doubt, and I was surprised by how timid and shy she seemed at the start, but it was interesting to see how it was all an act and how she doesn’t have an actual personality yet. one could argue that she actually does love james, but i doubt it at this point. i dont hate her yet, even tho she IS fucking up james’ life, but she’s on thin fucking ice.

who was your favorite new character?

does new character mean completely new or just never been in a novella new? because for the first, it would be Cordelia (i LOVE her sm!!) and other wise it would be james, matthew and co. also!!! jesse!!

what places in the book would you like to visit?

that hell dimension sounds pretty lit ngl

did you like the ending?

ok so. we KNOW that jordelia is gonna be endgame. cassandra clare always takes the hardest path to get there, but when has she not delivered? it’s just a matter of waiting. so, yes, i did like the ending in sense of the plot because it was a great twist, but i also feel really bad for all of them even tho ik they’re eventually gonna be together :(((

what did you think of the epilogue?

i wasnt surprised, since we alr know that Tatiana is shady asf, but i just really wanna know how she partnered up with a GREATER demon like lol wtf. again, im really happy in terms of plot with this

what are your thoughts on the engagement?

i feel so. fucking bad. for cordelia. and james too, even tho he’s under the bracelet’s curse so he doesnt even KNOW he’s being manipulated. but i love how even through the curse, james still loves cordelia in his own way.

what did you want to see that didn’t happen?

matthew getting therapy periodt

umm honestly i just want more “merry thieves” content like i just love. all of them.

what do you wish had been resolved that wasn’t?

i really want matthew to tell james or cordelia what happened because i just need him to be loved and supported lol i want to give him a hug.

what is your favorite pairing as of now?

jordelia!!! and lucie and jesse are kind cute rn, and i like them if theyre gonna be pining after eachother but i feel like if they actually get together i wont like the relationship as much.

which characters would you like to see more of in the next book?

CHRISTOPHER CHRISTOPHER CHRISTOPHER

ANNA!!! i lovED reading about her she’s so badass

matthew!! jesse!! also i wanna see more of those bitchy girls lol just so we can see anna or cordelia tell them to stfu

what is one character whose death you would undo if you could?

ok i know that jesse is still very much a conscious character despite being dead but like,,, i want him to be the way he was before and also i want him to come back to life

and barbara!! she seemed so sweet

which characters got bad/unsatisfactory endings?

ummm barbara? i cant really say much on this yet bc its still only the first book and when has the first book ever ended up with anyone being happy.

oh but also can we sign a petition to make cassie let matthew actually survive the series because my heart aches just at the THOUGHT of eventually having to read a scene where he dies

which characters got what they deserved?

literally. none of them yet. :(

who should have died but didn’t?

Tatiana lol also lowkey charles but i also feel pity him to an extent

what plotline are you most excited to see in the next book?

okay the entire jesse plot has me hooked because i LOVE his character. also i love the bracelet plot but its making me MAD because i just want james to be happy but

what is one scene that you wish hadn’t happened, but you know was unavoidable?

THE ONE WHERE GRACE PUTS THE BRACELET BACK ON JAMES. i mean obv there was no way he was completely done with grace, but i literally got so sad at that part like why HIM of all people smfh let him be happy

which pairing do you like the least?

alastair x charles, grace x james, lucie x matthew bc neither of them actually like either imo lol

what are some theories you have for chain of iron?

- not necessarily for COI but i think matthew is gonna get exiled and turned into made into a mundane

- the bracelet will break (?)

- jesse will come back to life (like actual life) at the end of the book

-grace is gonna do something to help the main characters, making it hard for us to hate her.

what characters do you think should have gotten more plot time?

lol are yall gonna hate me if i say christopher again (also anna)

anyways this was really fun!!!!! PLEASE ASK ME STUFF ABOUT MY OPINIONS AND STUFF OR JUST SAY ANYTHING ABT THE BOOK BC IM DESPERATE TO TALK TO PPL ABOUT IT

#chain of gold spoilers #chain of gold #james herondale #Cordelia Carstairs #Matthew Fairchild #lucie herondale #anna lightwood #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #charles fairchild #christopher lightwood #grace blackthorn #jesse blackthorn #tatiana blackthorn #the last hours #tlh #cassandra clare #the last hours spoilers #chog spoilers

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ilikelookingatthings · 4 years

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Miraculous ladybug and the love square part 1

there are alot of thoughts about the love square.

I’ve got some mixed feelings about Marinette and everyone in the show pushing for it. especially in the movie.

On one hand I love mari to bits. she’s stubborn, has a temper and can be a little petty and can have ulterior motives that aren’t always the most pure(usually involving adrien). can sometimes be a bit insensitive and not completely think through how others might feel in response to her actions, but thats usually when she is understandable distracted thinking about justice or her own emotions or over whelmed or distracted by something. and when she does realize maybe somethings gone wrong she always tries to fix it.

her feelings for adrien comes from the right place. being impressed that he was wiling to be vulnerable to someone who shouted and accused him and refused to listen to him even though he was actually trying to help. that he was willing to talk to mari and be vulnerable and admit he was new to everything. and then offer a umbrella to mari, who had judged him because of his friend, and risked getting wet himself. and he understood that her judging him due to chloe was justified with her history with chloe.

she wants him to be happy. she is very emotionally invested and observant and cares about his feelings. even helping him with another girl despite her own crush. she went up against his dad and convinced Gabe to let Adrien come. and even if most of her gifts she doesn't actually give to him she does make him gifts and macaroons. and she’s gotten better at not acting on her jealous and trying to separate Adrien from other girls now.

and mari always helps her friends and gos above and beyond. and mari is super talented in gaming, designing, dancing, baking, fencing reflexes, being a leader ect.

but on the other side while she means well and feels deeply...she doesn't exactly handle her crush on Adrien in a healthy way. Like alot of teenagers she laments the friendzone not realizing that friendship is the base of heathy relationships. she struggles to have normal conversations with adrien or staying near him for long periods of time enjoying his company without something else to focus on. We know she means well but some of the stuff she does can be a bit creepy.

like when she broke into his room to deliver a gift and sniffed his pillow. or wanting to keep a hair. the schedule that she memorized is a bit weird but useful since he does have a full time table they need to know when they can hang out. and she is class rep. its not completely unreasonable that she could have it. but her forging a no parking sign with the plan to separate adrien from his driver. knowing adrien keeps his phone in the car so he couldn’t call to check on the gorilla and wanting to concidentally go on a date without asking him out. or that she has followed him on multiple occasion. that time she ditche the girls to try to sneak into the boys only party(which was rude of them to hold without the girls when they were suppoused to work...but the girls have their girls only meetings as well). breakig into his locker to steal his phone to delete the message instead of just asking adrien to not listen to the message and to delete it. she as ladybug has seperated adrien from girls before. like kagami and chloe and even lila(though lila we found out was a double red flag so kudos trying to drive lila away).

she almost doomed paris and herself by trying to give up her miraculous for a illusion of adrien instead of looking for a different way to save him. she attacked a innocentsanta that adrien told her wasn’t a akuma which caused a akuma when she got ahead of herself. and she lets adrien influence her too much. Sometimes that can be good. Mari can be a quick to judge bean sometimes and adrien and chat has helped her realize there can be other routes and that people even like chloe aren’t pure evil.

but he can have too much influence on her. he thinks Mari is honest with him and would tell him if she disagreed with him because she doesn’t hesitate in any other aspect whensaying her opinion. but WE know she wants him to like her. so she fully commited to being class president after adrien said he though she’d make a good one to put the finish touchon alya encouraging class pres marinette. Mari joined the gaming tournament not because she wanted to join the tournament but because she wanted to trian with adrien in the same room to the point mari over looked alya pointing out that max was actually invested in the tournament and had rained for months so of course he’s be hurt and would be more invested. Mari changed her stance on chloe even when she probably coul have gotten adrien to understand her and the clases perspective since chloe sucked around them. but instead mari leaned into adrien was right.

She joined the fencing because of adrien as well. went to chlloe’s I’m trying to be nice party even though she had been determinded not to go because adrien would be there. and even though adrien toldmari to talk to him if lila was still a issue, mari instead focused on adrien telling mari they should try to give lila a chance and never told him about lila threatened her or about lila stealings his book. stuff to show lila wasnt just someone looking for attention.

Mari focused on following adrien’s advice instead of telling him more of her view about lila. or consdering adrin’s asvice was more about mari’s jump on every lie tactic was making lila stronger.

and mari didn’t like kagami for a while due to adrien and kagami hanging out together often. and mari even used adrien being stolen by kagami to japan as a excuse to tam up with chloe to mess with kagami.

and mari has even put down others like the class to raise adrien up like when she said out of the class adrien is the least likly to steal a braclet...accidentally implying everyone else was more likly than adrien. how how sometimes she puts chat down a little to bring adrin up at times in the show.

and mari even helped adrien with kagami even though she did not want to because adrien asked. adrien would hate to make her do something she is uncomfortable with but mari went along with it. and while it was cute with the scarf situation to want adrien to be happy even if you don’t take credit. mari puts herself down when she compares herself to adrien.

Adrien praises her all the time and boosts her up and helps when he can and has expressed how important mari is to him(even if its not romantically like she wants). but mari who is normally pretty confident in herself in the show in her designs and plans and talents that she can standup to people tends to put herself down when it comes to adrien. and tends to put her feelings beneath what she things adrien wants even though we know adrien would want her to be happy to and wouldn’t want to unknowingly hurt her. like in the wax museum situation.

like mari pushed kagami and adrien together with the icecream even though it was clearly not nessacary. Kagami told her she didn’t believe in the romance fate of the icecream for one and both Adrien and kagami just waned to hang out all three of them for a little longer. its why they wanted mari to choose the icecream flavors as thanks. MARI decided to make it a romance moment instead of a friendship moment. and decided to put adrien and kagami together out of her own insecurity that if mari compete’d honestly with kagami and was honest about her feelings...that mari would be rejected.

even though Kagami told Mari that while Kagami didn’t want to give up on Adrien just because Mari liked him, that Kagami also didn’t expect Mari to give up because Kagami liked him. Kagami saw both of their feelings valuable and valid and that its better to be honest and try with no regrets ad still be friends. Kagami eve encouraged Mari to not hesitate and we know Adrien does have a strong soft spot for Mari.

and mari has used adrie to worry about designs that won a contest and that she had been confident in. or that Adrien might hate her over something silly.

Mari does alot for adrien like helped him with parazzi in her pajamas and helped him with a date as well as convincing his dad to let hi come to newyork. and we know about the scarf, the hat on christmas, all those birthday gifts she hasn’t given him and fresh macaroons she hasn’t given him. And we know adrien does have a sweet spot for her so I want them to just be together already. but Mari doesn’t really acknowledge Adrien isn’t perfect. she’s gotten to know him better and they are good friends now. but we also know Adrien considered them good friends even in season one when she could barely talk to him. But she doesn’t really get to see Adrien negative sides. like him being angry, or lashing out or how he can be petty at times or his reckless sides. She even tried to get him to be Aspik and more importantly play guitar when it was clear adrien was a piano guy and luka was the better choice. adrien had to tell her that.

I want mari to be happy but girl can’t really relax around adrien all that much which can be frustrating at times. Mari deserves good things.

#miraculous ladybug #chat noir #marinette #ladybug #adrien #luka #kagami #lovesquare

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calleo-bricriu · 4 years

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Thank you so much for the advice! (im the one who asked about the cheating thing) it helped me a lot, yeah some time I already knew it, that it wont work and all that, but when this started, he fought so much for this relationship, he supported me a lot even when I didnt deserved it because sometimes im a bitch so he stayed and helped me in everything, thats why it makes me fight for it too. The thing is that out of nowhere he changed he wasnt like before, so thats the reason of my question. 1/2

2/2 And everything you say is right, so thank you so much to take your time and sorry if a bothered you. :)

Him doing the bare fucking minimum isn’t reason to fight for anything other than to kick his ass to the curb yesterday.

If only one person is fighting to save a relationship, that’s the biggest warning sign that the relationship is, in no way, worth saving.

People who are ready for or invested in their relationship don’t only support their partner when their partner is in a good mood.

Him supporting you even when you were being “a bitch” is the bar on the ground where what you should reasonably be able to expect from your partner is concerned.

If he was unhappy or if he felt you were being unreasonable, there is no justifiable reason that he could not have been an adult and had a discussion with you about it after things had cooled off.

If he felt that wasn’t an option or if it was a pattern of behaviour that kept happening despite discussions about it in the past and he felt he couldn’t deal with it any longer, for whatever reason, there is no justifiable reason he could not have broken it off.

To put it another way: If I walked out every time one of my partners had a rough day or their mood took a dive, I very rightly would not have anyone willing to put up with me because that’s holding other people to an impossibly high standard that even I wouldn’t be able to meet.

#relationships #divination #tarot

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babybluepeaches · 6 years

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Permission pt. 2 {a killmonger fic}

pt. 1 / pt. 3

AN: Since your first wild adrenaline-filled meeting, you and Erik have been inseparable during your nightly dope deals. But tonight, you might discover a secret side of himself he’s been hiding when your life is threatened in a deal gone awry. Stay tuned for the sex in part 3 ❤︎

....

1:27am

1 new message

Sender: Y/N

Message: “Bout to be outside.”

Erik picks up his phone and shoots back a text. Getting out of bed, as per his new nightly routine, he changes out of his pajamas into his outside clothes. After a bit of deliberation he settles on a black T-shirt and camo pants.

He had been seeing Y/N for a month now, just going with her on her nightly drop offs. He wasn’t one to keep up attached relationships, but there was something about Y/N that made him almost forget about everything. Besides the sex and free “gas”, he liked that she didn’t ask him any heavy questions, being a dealer she wasn’t too into trading personal information. When they hooked up they just drove, talked, and smoked. It seemed effortless.

Erik had to admit to himself, he liked her energy. She was cool, confident, and she didn’t have any expectations of him. This worked perfectly for Erik, who wanted nothing more but to escape the tidal wave of feelings he had been keeping at bay about his so-called family and his legacy.

Grabbing his essentials, he heads out his apartment and walks towards a black car.

….

1:36am

1 new message

Sender: Erik

Message: “Bet”

You glance at your phone before putting your car into park in front of Erik’s place.

You didn’t want to admit how much Erik Stevens had influenced you over the past couple of weeks, but it was unmistakable. The long car rides, the impromptu hook ups, you had even slept over his place a couple of times. Not to mention he influenced you into getting that single gold cap grill you always wanted. It shined in your mouth’s top row of teeth, a little dollar sign flashing when you smiled.

Hell, it helped to have his intimidating body in your passenger seat too. Your thirsty customers used to ask to sit in the back of your car. “Just to sample what you got,” they would say. Now when they lean in to check you out, they see Erik too. You’ve lost count of the times you’ve had to stop yourself from laughing at their disappointment. Sometimes Erik grabs your thigh when you’re bagging for them, or talks to you casually. With all the creepy niggas at bay, you actually started to enjoy the night. So it’s safe to say Erik became your part-time partner in crime.

….

While you were adding songs to your tidal queue, Erik opens your door and climbs in the car.

“‘Sup E,” you say, now shifting your attention to program your first address into the GPS. Before you had even glanced over, Erik’s smell and presence wafts into the car. He always smelled like sandalwood and honey. It was a small comfort, not that you would admit it.

“Wassup sis,” he said with a smile, making fun of what your underlings call you.

“You are not allowed to call me that,” you say, returning his grin and pulling off the lot.

“Damn, okay Y/N,” he says, followed by, “Where we going?”

“Melrose, Highland, some random ass place out East.”

“Dope,” Erik says, picking up your phone to add his preferred songs to your tidal queue.

You’re cruising, rapping along to X by 21 Savage. You loved to drive and Erik didn’t mind when you zoned out. Your vibe was interrupted when Erik abruptly says, “Oh my god pull in here.”

“Pull in where?” you yell over the music.

“Girl.The In-N-Out. What you think?”

You laugh and hang a left to the In-N-Out drive thru. This boy was something else.

When you drive up to order, Erik climbs in the back seat and you pull up so he can reach the mic. Erik’s upper body hangs out the window and he strokes his beard.

Licking his lips he says, “Yeah hey Cindy. Imma get a double double with 4 slices of cheese. A chocolate shake, a root beer, and a coke. Thanks.”

You hear Cindy make a remark about his 3 drinks and Erik laughs in response.

“Nah the root beer’s for my girl,” he says smiling. As he thanks Cindy and gets back in the passenger seat, you try to wipe the smile off your own face.

When Erik dips his body back in the car, you drive around to pick up the food. You pull up, Erik pays, and the In-N-Out worker hands you a small bag with 3 drinks.

Sticking your straw in your mouth you pull out of the parking lot. After a moment you propose casually, “So I’m your girl now?“

“You tryna be my girl now?” Erik returns, mimicking your casual tone.

“Only if it comes with refills,” you say, shaking your drink. Erik laughs and writes you off.

You drive around the city making your runs while Erik destroys his In-N-Out. Striking off name after name on your list, you land on the last one. Small amount of tree, they request to meet up on the East side. An easy quick one to end the night.

….

You pull up to the street you’re supposed to meet the mystery client and park, semi incognito of course. This place was no where you’ve been before.

In fact, no one was around. No old woman hobbling home from church, no old men sitting on any porches. You lean onto your stirring wheel and hold it to your chest while you peer out the windshield.

“This… Is hella sus,” you say to Erik, who’s been absorbed in a text message.

“Huh?” Erik turns off his phone screen, “You ain’t been here?”

“Nah,” after another second of scoping the neighborhood, you start digging in your backseat.

When you sit up you toss Erik one of your emergency guns.

“Stay alert,” you say, reaching for your own gun. Before you can touch it, Erik’s head snaps up and peers out your window. He squints.

“Yo is that… Lil Pump?”

Your windows are tinted but you cant mistake that gangly white frame coming towards your car.

The figure approaching your car wore a black hoodie, black baggie pants and a black shirt. All of which would be very discreet, if he wasnt also sporting greasy multicolored dreadlocks and a lollipop face tatt.

“Fuck, it’s Rare,” you groan. What was his raggedy ass doing here?

Rare showed up on the scene a few months ago as a new dealer a couple hoods over. You had always laughed at him, you couldn’t help but find his white boy thug front amusing. Once, he actually approached you and tried to get you to work some “big deals” with him. You blew his offer off with a laugh, and ever since he’s always had something cocky to say to you.

“Who?” Erik says.

“He’s a dealer. Not too fond of me,” you roll your eyes at the thought.

Rare approaches the car with a smile, signaling for you to roll your window down. You shake your head no, but he pulls up his hoodie to reveal an AR-15 rifle strapped to his torso, something strong enough to blast through the windows if you wouldn’t comply.

“Talk about overcompensation,” you mutter as you roll down the window.

“What is this? A deal?” you spit at him.

He smiles and when he gets close enough he pulls a second gun and pressing it to your temple. He coos, “Mmm, how about a set up?” smiling to reveal a whole mouth full of rainbow grillz.

You feel Erik’s body stiffen and his energy set on fire, you shoot him a quick look you hope communicates ’don’t do anything stupid.’

“I see you brought some muscle,” he says eyeing Erik, “So did I.”

Rare gestures to his cronies, which have now fanned out around the car. They’re all armed, all have ski masks covering their faces.

“Let’s go inside and make some arrangements shall we?” Rare says, as he reaches inside your car to open your door. He pulls you out and zip ties your arms around your back. Erik is getting the same treatment by the masked goons.

For a minute you’re both facing each other, and you cant help but notice Erik’s demeanor has changed completely. While he lets himself be restrained he’s as attentive as a soldier, nothing but his scowl and his lazor focus on you denotes any emotion. You see a inferno in his eyes though, even with his calm expression Erik seems dangerous.

Before you can give Erik any nonverbal reassurance, Rare is pulling you up the steps of the house by your locked arms. When filed inside one of Rare’s men pipes up.

“Uh, what should we do with him?” referring to Erik, who seems even more pissed at the sight of you being manhandled.

“Sit him down, see if he knows anything useful,” you and Rare watch Erik be tied to a chair, “if he causes any trouble, kill him,” Rare smirks and pulls you toward one of the back rooms.

Kill?

You look at Erik one last time before the door shuts. Safe to say, your world starts shaking internally.

Shit I shouldnt have dragged him into this. He has my gun though he has my gun it’s fine we’re gonna get out of this, we’re-

Your thoughts are interrupted by Rare slamming you down in your own chair.

“Oh J,” he says, shooting you your fake name while he sits across from you. “You know why they call me Rare, right?” he grins, showing off his grimey technicolored smile.

“Nah, actually I don’t,” you say. Omitting the ‘I heard that’s what they call your dick game, medium rare’ you’d love to drop on him.

“Its because ain’t nobody can do it like me,” he says, placing his elbows on his legs to lean close to you.

“So why did you lure me here?” you tilt your head and squint at him, “If you’re so rare you wouldn’t need me.”

“I don’t need you, sweetheart. I need to know where you keep your money,” he smiles and lifts your chin with his gun.

“Seriously?” you laugh, “You out already?”

“I want to make a few investments, and I got to thinking that Imma need more.”

Before you could respond, three rapid gunshots are heard from the front of the house.

“Shit.” Erik.

All rationality goes out the window, you needed to know Erik was okay. Now.

Pushing yourself away from Rare with your feet, you headbutt his gun to the ground and run out of the room with your hands still zipped behind you.

“Eri-” you begin, but stop in your tracks to see what was unfolding in front of you.

Erik hand gotten his hands free and was round house kicking a gun out of one of the guards hands. He grabs the man and uses him as a human shield to block gunshots coming from another direction.

You notice Erik appeared roughed up, his shirt had ripped at the front. His eyes were wild and his movements were unbelievably quick. You watch in awe as he threw the man he was using as the shield at the one shooting at him. While they stumbled Erik knocks their feet from under them and they tumble to the ground.

When Erik turns to face you, you feel Rare roughly yank you back by your restraints and press his gun to your head.

“It’s up to you,” he says to Erik, “Tell me all about her little operation and maybe,” he pauses with a grin, “I won’t blow her brains out.”

You could practically hear your heartbeat blasting in your eardrums.

Ba-dump

Erik’s eyes fly between you and Rare.

Ba-dump

In one swift motion, Erik grabs Rare’s hand holding the gun and pulls it away from your head, getting behind him. You move out of Rare’s arms, right in time for him to shoot wildly in Erik’s grip.

Erik releases him and raises his leg to kick him hard in the back. Rare flies into some dusty coffee tables and you’re sure he’s going to have some broken bones to attend to.

Bodies of the masked members of Rare’s crew littered the floor, and Erik was standing over them huffing. Nostrils flared and torn shirt, he was looking more wild than you’ve ever seen him.

Erik turns away from the bodies and immediately goes behind you to begin untying your arms.

Before you can thank him, you both hear police sirens in the distance and his actions freeze momentarily. Someone must have heard the gun shots and called 911.

#black panther #black panther fic #Erik killmonger #erik killmonger x reader #erik killmonger fic #permission

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thelifetimechannel · 6 years

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#tlcstuck #dirk strider #dave strider #walkaround 3 #some bits of writing this one were indirectly autobiographical lmao

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littlegesturesworld · 3 years

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feelings

just wanted to find a space to let my thoughts run wild. things ended couple days ago with my ex and i am still not able to let it sink in... at the start of the relationship i was really hesitant because there wasn’t enough feelings for me to get into something that was out of my expectations. with the continuous courting i have decided to give it a try. to lean in to something that ive been actively seeking for the past 20 over years of my life. things were great at the start, late night calls, houseparty, games etc (yknow how it is during lockdown). when restrictions lifted, we started to meet each other more and more together with our peers just enjoying the best days of our life. i would say the constant thought of how unsuitable we are still creeped up constantly during our dates which was also why i kept rejecting the proposal to get into a serious committed relationship. In between now and then, i can’t even make up my feelings for him and also were still looking for tell tale signs that this wouldnt work (other prospects etc). we finally ended things during one of my friends bday. i felt like he wasnt constantly putting my needs above his friends and at that point of time, that was what i expected out of a relationship. packed with all the numerous arguments we have, things werent looking great. couple days past and i realised ive already started liking this guy a LOT and at that point of time it feels like i couldnt live without him. i knew what i had to do. we talked and got back together only this time, it is official. he opened up to me and shared with me his darkest secret. to which i am amazed that i dont despise and am willing to accept him for who he was. because to me, this person is worth it. to me, this person is the one i want to spend the rest of my life with. our friends were REALLY against us getting together as we are really different people fundamentally. but i didnt care. i love him and thats all that mattered.

Fast forward to couple months later, things were moving slower, he didnt treat me the way he used to before. he was always saying that our relationship is moving at a comfortable pace and theres nothing to worry about. but me being me, a lot more was required for me to feel love in this relationship. i would constantly challenge him about his behaviours and compare it with others saying that his wasnt the norm. i guess that somewhat forced him up to a wall, suffocated. i would always feel like we dont have enough quality time together, we dont talk often and he doesnt share. i was afraid that the first break up made him walled up. i was afraid that at the end of the day, i am not the one he chose to go back to if he needs help or to recharge. this couple of months made me even more dependent on him. i would turn to him for every single issue i faced but he did the opposite. i guess it strained him out. our last argument, he told me he doesnt love me anymore. it hurts so badly but at the same time, i chose to believe that the love he had for me just couple months ago is still there. its just walled up so deep in fear of getting hurt once more, in fear of getting teared down again. what else could i say but to let things go. i know that my feelings for him has evolved and i do not love him the way i did during the first break up. the feeling now is more of like a feeling towards your family member. i feel invested in him, i feel comfortable with him and i see myself growing old with him together. he’s ingrained in every part of my life. it hurts to let him go but i do not want to see him lose his sanity/happiness because of my selfish reasons.

After ending things, i heard words about his actions. i felt emotionally traumatised. it wasnt who he was during our relationship. it wasnt what he told me he was into. it wasnt none of that. why is he like this now, is this his usual self? i know i have no reasons to care, but i couldnt leave him in the lurch like this, i couldnt. he was the one person who matters the most to me this life, after my grandma has passed on. i couldnt take another departure, i just couldnt. but i know telling him i know what he has been doing is just going to make him feel more walled up and he might not even be able to do things his way to forget about all this. hes going to be more depressed and subsequently just break. ive decided to close an eye and let him do whatever he wants, as long as its safe. but it hurts so much that it wasnt with me. it hurts so much that he didnt tell me all this during our relationship. it hurts so much that throughout all this, when i am being completely vulnerable to him, hes all walled up and at the end of it, i dont know who is this person. i want to fight for this. i do, despite the differences because i can see myself living with this person. but i cant fight alone. maybe, just maybe, he really lost his feelings. maybe, just maybe i wasnt the one for him. he has a type and i probably dont fit into that category. through our time together i could tell, even if he didnt say. now what hes looking for, proved it all. i just wish for one more chance for me to be all that. but i guess its all too late. if he doesnt love me, if hes not sexually attracted to me, theres nothing much i can do. but at the end of the day, i still dont think feelings can fade in mere couple months. should i let go, should i chase on, should i continue being the guardian angel that he needs. thoughts being left for another day.

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askderynsharp · 7 years

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Prince Aleksander Ferdinand of Hohenberg and Midshipman Dylan Sharp have been my ultimate otp to end all otps since I first read Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld in the eighth grade.

This could be because they exist in one of the coolest examples of biopunk meets steampunk I’ve ever experienced.

It could be because the one of the pair is a subtextual transman so instrumental to my own gender expression that I named myself after him.

But I think that out of everything, its because the romantic aspect manages to be the center of attention without subtracting quality from the plot.

The reason that I’m so invested in these two more then anything else in the series is because the book isnt about anything else. Scott Westerfeld seems pretty open about the fact that Leviathan is supposed to be a young adult romance with the backdrop of characterature of the great war. But unlike so many romantic stories, especially those geared towards young adults, Scott uses the dual narrative to expand on both of the lead’s experience. The story could have very easily been Alek’s alone, while a major player in the world Dylan’s point of view wasn’t completely necessary if the intention was ever going to be Alek getting his throne in the end.

The same goes the other way, if it were just a story of a transman’s developing gender identity, we wouldn’t have any reason to hear from Alek. Both Alek and Dylan could easily have been shoved into a ‘supporting character’ role, but they weren’t.

Simply put, Dylan and Alek are in a love story where neither of them are love interests. They’re both player characters, people we see inside the heads of. We spend the entirety of the first book getting to know them as individuals before they even meet, we see their interactions in a non-romantic light for the first few chapters, and the romance doesn’t start to bloom until it makes sense based on what we know of the characters.

Dylan doesn’t just think Alek is hot and decide he likes him just because outta all the men on the ship theres just something about the one that happens to be the other main character (*cough* kaider *cough*)

The reason he likes Alek is because they shared a very intimate and emotionally charged scene together that strengthens their friendship and ends with with a physical embrace. Its kinda like that trope where a kid goes to a party and then sits on a patio and talks with a complete stranger about life for an hour and is convinced they’re totally in love by the end of it.

Even if this exact scenario has never happened to you, you can see how someone so young ,and in Alek’s case vulnerable would develop a little bit of a crush

But even then, its just an infatuation at first. Something dumb and stupid that Dylan dismisses as such. It’s not till they share ANOTHER couple of emotionally charged and intimate moments in Behemoth that Dylan starts to take his crush more seriously, and only in Goliath does Dylan stop dismissing his feelings altogether. There is time devoted to Dylan coming to terms with the fact that maybe the crush is a bigger deal then it probably should be, and that he cant make it go away by telling himself that its a bad idea.

The Leviathan Series is kinda a double edged sword to me. It is a love story, but done so well people dont think its a love story. When I talk other fans about it being a love story, they insist that it isnt. Its an adventure story because there’s so much action. Its a drama because the characters struggles don’t revolve around their relationship. It cant be a romance because there’s so much other stuff going on. But those elements dont mean its not a love story, those elements just mean its a competent one.

There’s a reason that the last book closes on the romance coming to a fruition instead of the peace treaty signing. There’s a reason the bonus chapter is a fanservice one shot of them basically going to prom together. There’s a reason Goliath opens with the quote: “To everyone who loves a long secret romance, revealed at last.”

Becoming emperor and ending the war wasn’t Alek’s destiny. Being an emperor at all is probably his ‘bad ending’

People make him incredibly uncomfortable, he cant take even the smallest criticism, sucks at anything to do with being in command, constantly doubts himself, and has a fundamental blind eye to gaging other people’s emotions. As a starting point the series could have easily made him overcome these things with an arc that would make him into an ideal leader, but they didnt go that rout because it wasnt important.

The war was never the real plot of the book, but rather the setting. The lesson we learn by the end is basically that you have to let go of old ambitions sometimes and open yourself up to new ones. The new destiny that Alek made required him to abandon a throne he probably wouldnt have wanted in the long run. Dylan has to leave the Leviathan, but does so gladly because he understands that his destiny is fluid. Both of the main character arcs revolve around letting things go, and their mutual attraction is what pushes them to understand that. The priority of the series has always been the romance.

The fact that we think its not a romance story because the plot and characters manage to stand on their own is rather telling about the level of quality we expect in the genre. I think by calling Leviathan a love story it demands that other love stories take the time and effort Leviathan did to flesh out its world and characters before trying to get us invested in their relationship.

I think that its incredibly pessimistic to say that if a romance story manages to execute other elements well it no longer counts as a romance. As if to say that romance as a narrative theme is so shitty that you need to dum everything else down to properly appreciate it.

So often I see people praising books solely because there’s no romance in them, or because the romance has some new dumb twist that makes it not like other romances. Boy meets girl can be interesting on its own if boy and girl have names you can remember and personalities that you want to cheer for. Just because Leviathan is cool doesnt mean its not romantic.

I’ve made no secret about my issues with the Lunar Chronicles narrative, but at least in the trainwreck of truly ludicrous cause and effect, it puts its characters first and foremost and uses the setting to its greatest advantage. It takes the time to explain why they do the things they do, why they like what they like, and even if the outcomes of their decisions are improbable, they still feel earned because the author makes sure to let you know why the plan would work in her world as opposed to ours.

Saying that The Lunar Chronicles isnt a love story is insulting to the work. You dont read those books for the sci-fi or the plot. The plot’s a joke and the sci-fi is terrible. The world makes absolutely no sense and couldn’t exist anywhere within our reality. Not only is the science impossible, but identical to the foundation of any cyberpunk setting with even the smallest bit of thought put into the way shit works. (one example includes an evil mistress who doesnt give a enough of a shit about her pet hacker to supply regular haircuts, health inspections, or clean water but was kind enough to install artificial gravity in her satellite prison and keep it running even when she herself isnt aboard.) But the rivalries and friendships between the factions are unarguably excellent, and the obvious priority of the author when she was writing these books.

And thats fine because she does it well, and if our mass perception of the quality of romance is any indication, its hard to do romance well. She is celebrated for doing the romance so well.

So why cant romances that manage to do both be celebrated as romances? Why do we have to demean the YA romance genre to praise the YA romance genre?

I meant for this post to be like a paragraph, mod out.

#dylek #aleksander hohenberg #dylan sharp

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coin-river-blog · 5 years

Link

U.S. House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other New York politicians just chased off 25,000 Amazon jobs that could have created salaries of at least $115,000 jobs each. Unfazed and stunningly arrogant, these politicians are taking a victory lap following their dubious success.

AOC’s Cringeworthy Response To Amazon Decision

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CCN reported earlier today that Amazon had scrapped the spacious campus it had planned to build in Long Island City, Queens, which would have created roughly 25,000 well-paying jobs. The residual job creation was estimated to be an additional 67,000 jobs.

The cheers that followed Amazon’s decision to pull out of New York are misguided and troublesome. Too many politicians seem tone-deaf to traditional ideals, like job creation, in their relentless effort to denigrate anything related to big money.

Following Amazon’s announcement, some of the loudest cheers came from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives had previously described the e-commerce giant’s HQ2 plans as “creeping overreach.”

Thursday, she proclaimed victory and showed once again she doesn’t see the destruction her misguided ideas can cause.

She tweeted:

Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world. https://t.co/nyvm5vtH9k

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 14, 2019

If that wasn’t enough, she followed up with comments that indicate it’s about her, not her constituents.

A reporter caught up with Ocasio-Cortez Tuesday, and she seemed oblivious to the fact that her district is out thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. Even more aggravating is her suggestion that she possesses a concrete, viable plan that would be better than Amazon’s firm plans.

She stammered to the reporter:

“We were subsidizing those jobs so for… the city was paying for those jobs. So frankly, if we were willing to give Amazon three…if we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves if we wanted to.”

Amazon Stops Just Short of Calling Out Ocasio-Cortez by Name

Amazon will no longer build a 25,000-employee corporate campus in Queens. | Source: Shutterstock

In explaining why it couldn’t move forward with building in New York, Amazon strikingly said it was due to the politicians.

In its statement about the cancellation, Amazon said:

“While polls show that 70% of New Yorkers support our plans and investment, a number of state and local politicians have made it clear that they oppose our presence and will not work with us to build the type of relationships that are required to go forward with the project we and many others envisioned in Long Island City.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attacked Amazon for abandoning its HQ2 plans.

He said:

“You have to be tough to make it in New York. We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world. Instead of working with the community, Amazon threw away that opportunity.”

Maybe Ocasio-Cortez Should Retake Basic Math

Once again, Ocasio-Cortez falls a little short in basic math here. Even CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin took her to task. He pointed out that this would have been a subsidy only if the state got nothing back for giving it.

Sorkin expressed his disagreement in terms of the huge missed opportunity.

“It’s one thing to win the war on Twitter, it’s another when it happens in real life, and it happens to real people with real jobs and real families. I don’t get that upset about a lot of things. “[This] wins a great Twitter war. It looks great on Twitter, but in real life, it’s a very different story.”

New York to Miss out on $27 Billion from Amazon HQ2

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The politicians seem to be missing some good old-fashioned economics logic. Sorkin broke it down like this. The $3 billion in subsidies will provide a massive return on investment in the form of economic spending and growth.

“[The state] would have effectively been paying out $3 billion in incentives for what would have likely been the equivalent of $27 billion over 25 years. You can play with the math, and you can tell me that there were going to be additional costs, and there likely would have been, but if I handed you $3 billion and you gave me $25 billion back, or you gave me $15 billion back, or $10 billion back, that could have been used for roads, schools, police, and subways, I think that’s a good deal.”

That slight from the De Blasio was even more unsettling because the mayor had ostensibly negotiated the deal in good faith.

“Then it seems he hit them on the way out the door today.”

These reactions are silly, childish and not productive. Beyond the loss of Amazon and its associated $27 billion in economic growth, they signal to other major companies that perhaps states like progressive-leaning New York aren’t as friendly to businesses as officials seem to hoodwink people into believing.

Lots Of Cheering Now Turning Into Lots of Crying For Others

As the politicians bask in the glory of running off a major corporation that could have provided jobs for their constituents, they seem to be ignoring others who will be negatively affected.

A lot of moves had started to be made after Amazon announced plans that it would build in Long Island City. For example, over the course of the 14 weeks since the announcement, contracts to buy homes, mostly condos, jumped a mind-boggling 181% compared to the same period a year ago, according to CNBC. Now you have to wonder if those people who signed those contracts will try to pull out.

Other Finalists Put Up ‘We Still Want You’ Signs

Long Island City won out over 19 other cities that Amazon chose as finalists that wanted the company to build their headquarters in their locales.

Arlington, Virginia’s local government reassured residents that Amazon still planned to proceed with its new HQ2 campus in Crystal City.

They tweeted:

Statement from Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey on Amazon: "After speaking with an Amazon representative earlier today, we have confirmed that we are moving forward as planned with Amazon’s upcoming headquarters in Arlington – nothing has changed." (1/3)

— ArlingtonVA (@ArlingtonVA) February 14, 2019

Summing up the fallout for New York City, Council Minority Whip Joe Borelli said it nearly perfectly, in an interview with Fox Business:

“Amazon was facing local politicians who weren’t going to negotiate in good faith for the real challenges that would befall anybody developing a large area of the city.”

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, CCN.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Image from Win McNamee / Getty Images / AFP

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theluckysnug · 7 years

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third boy pt 2

so i messaged him around christmas letting him know i was going to be out in our home town and to come by if he wanted to catch up. he came over christmas eve with booze and i had the fire pit going and he left like, four days later. i had a boy of sorts in brooklyn and queens was still dangling, but i cut em both when i got home. we spent new years together and like every subsequent weekend for like 6 weeks. i met his family and they’re all like “are you soul mates?” “high school sweethearts” etc etc etc and i was like OMG. what? i’m sorry what? while i’m aware the L word has been exchanged, what? …in the what? but theres this unfamiliar level of safety i feel around him. i dont …care? i’m immediately completely self aware and unaware in equal proportions and i find artistic flow in bed with him. around him i feel radiant in this way thats not normal for me. we even cuddle. (i generally avoid intimacy at all costs - borderline touch-me-not)

i signed my divorce papers and the crazy slowly unleashed. i sent a crazy letter in the mail - the actual fucking mail. (UNSEND!! UNSEND!! ITS GIBBERISH) then another letter explaining myself, he never read it. also in the actual fucking mail. with stamps. (UNSEND!!) while i simulaneously had my nervous breakdown. very good. well done. i should have been more forth coming that i was actually a fiery mess of a train wreck that was emotionally unstable. but that first weekend i was like i’m good, i’m golden, i wasnt expecting him to stick around long enough to see this wasnt true. i wasn't expecting to literally breakdown. i was two or three months out of an eleven year relationship, my mother is dying of brain cancer, i’m swimming in debt. i’ve been working really hard on having no emotional investment in anything and making my life as comfortable as possible for a long time. i’m trying to human…

i want to apologize. im sorry you get me at my worst. over and over and over again. you literally get me at my most unhinged, unloveable, most broken places. “a broken dog for a broken girl.” i replied: “i’m not broken.” (and the lie detector showed that was a lie) you may flake, suck at communication and take days to return my calls. you’re forgetful and busy. i’m overly attentive and keep to-do lists. you may show up so late that i’m like omfg are you serious, but you keep showing up. for this heaping pile of what the fuck that is me. that dresses like a boy and wears make up as a utility and only does her hair when she has to- like, what are you doing? i dont get it. if i were you i would literally run in the other direction. probably run past my car and my bike just for effect. and i hate running.

this weekend you joked that you werent real. i said i preferred it when i was the one who wasnt real. you said i was very special to you. in that same conversation you asked me if i loved you- before i replied i asked if you loved me. “i love you” “i love you”

#love #what the fuck #broken girl #break your own heart #fuck it all up #stop being crazy #get your shit straight

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dearbigman · 5 years

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Gumon

Is what I typed on telegram first thing in the morning when I woke up.

Of course I broke down crying after that.

Because really it’s still wired in me to do simple things like this. And it really hurt me that it doesnt seem the case for you.

I’m trying to do this cognitive whatever shit to just rationalise all the breakdowns to see what triggers it. Why is this entire end of dating thing so painful for me when I’ve been telling myself it’s not a proper relationship I shouldnt be invested so much.

Because really I’ve been invested this much on you.

I think my use of the word invested is grammatically wrong but you know what I’m trying to say.

This entire dating thing didnt start from the day you asked me to cuddle on your bed after prawning. It didnt start when I visited your house weekly to teach you MDT.

For me it all started when you first texted me for audition and I saw your Yui dp.

Immediately just from that very shallow interaction, my gut was sending me this sign that I should keep an eye on you. And so I did when the entire jamband thing started.

First practice you didnt have a bassist and I asked Mark to come along. It was actually my way of telling him something that I found interesting. I kept on telling Mark about how it’s so amusing that you graduated with music diploma and how I was so confident you knew your shit. (spoiler alert: mark wasnt impressed LOL)

Then second prac was when I brought nic in. I slided something to provoke you, to see whether youre single or not haha, something about you said female bassist was so rare to which I reply “calm your hormone yo” HAHA then you said you had a gf. Fair.

Practices had been so great but really the only motivation for me was you at that time. Especially when I was in band 1 hahaha, I was really there cause you’re so amusing and interesting.

RITN happened and Nikki was there, again, fair. At least there was Yokes and all so that was fun.

And then near to Fuse you told me you’re struggling for your academic and so I initiated that board thing. I really hope you liked it. At least I know you kept it somewhere in your house cause of that story about it falling to your mom’s head HAHA. Again, I kinda did that because my gut feeling tells me it’s right. I would indeed do it for my other friends, but only close friends who really had helped me somewhere somehow and I feel indebted to them. You at that time? not that criteria yet.

Fuse happened, next thing I know you broke up with Nikki, and deep down in me I thought I had a chance. I must’ve faked a few wrong messages for you - yes a few of those mis-sent messages were fake and I deliberately sent those to you. Little did I know that you got close to Nic and I was so devastated back then. Especially when our friendship at that time was already so sour (I turned quite toxic HAHA you were texting her when I was studying with her, and she looked so happy, but instead I was like scolding her LOL cause really I was so jealous)

Then I went home and it was a clueless summer for me because I didnt have a job but in between so much emotions related to that uncertainty was something like a relief - well at least I have no reason to meet or talk to you anymore so you’d be just another crush I let go.

Boy was I wrong.

You texted me after Nic ended things with you and at that point I was asking the universe: is this a sign? I’m sure you forgot but when you got too nice I told you something like “You’re giving me the wrong signal here” cause really I already had a crush on you at that time. I’m sure you can relate right, it’s like your indo EC Callista. I just got the wrong kind of happiness from the simplest gestures from you cause really I was already that deep into you.

Summer ended and when I came back to Singapore my brain was just following my gut feeling. No logic involved. It didnt make sense why would I come all the way to yewtee to teach you MDT for 1hr or less? Why would I come all the way to NTU to meet the band I wasnt so attached to? Theyre all because I was already so into you.

It wasnt an easy fight, but I pushed on. There were a few times I told myself that this got unhealthy cause i’ve been trying so hard to get your attention - way too hard than I should. I tried talking to DanTai and to make him my rebound guy (haha sorry dan!!) but at the same time I used him to test you to see whether you’re giving me any indication of jealousy.

I really dont know if you really did get jealous or was that just my denial again speaking. But I really think we did get closer to romantic after that so I suppose it worked differently from my original intention (either way sorry dantai HAHA).

So yea, then January happened and “we” happened for couple months before you withdrew yourself from me, romantically. Platonically you were around but my heart was never for platonic relationship with you. And that’s why I’m hurting so much right now. It had been 1 semester of waiting for you to be available, 1 semester of struggling to get your attention, but unfortunately the next 1 semester I let my guard down and thought you would stay without me putting anything more to this but I was wrong.

And because of this I blamed myself every second I’m no longer your “date”. For you it’s probably silly because we’re never even there yet and I’m already this sad. Like I mentioned, you are worth it. You have always been worth the wait, worth the struggle, and I shouldve continued the effort to make you stay because that’s what your worth is.

And for this, I’m sorry for not engaging you in this past few months, for only thinking about how you can contribute to my life but never I to yours, for not taking the responsibility over the died spark when really it takes 2 side to maintain the flame. I’m sorry.

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relationshipadviser-blog · 5 years

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Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

New Post has been published on https://relationshipqia.com/must-see/is-sex-the-answer-to-your-relationship-woes/

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Sex

Inner life

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Amelia Hill

@byameliahill

Sun 21 Jan 2018 01.00EST Last modified on Sun 21 Jan 2018 09.52EST

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Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, says Michele Weiner-Davis. Illustration: Andrea De Santis/Observer

How does it make you feel when your partner is cold and distant? Or when theyre critical and prickly? Does it make you want to rip their clothes off, order in a vat of whipped cream and install a chandelier to swing from?

No? Well theres your problem according, at least, to Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor whose Ted talk explaining her unconventional advice to warring couples has been viewed almost 3.5 million times online.

Her advice couldnt be simpler: shag. Do it even if you dont want to, do it especially if you dont want to and, most important of all, do it frequently whether you want to or not. To make it even clearer, shes borrowed one of the most famous advertising slogans of recent times: Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, she explains from her clinic in Colorado. Its a win-win situation for both of you!

Weiner-Daviss self-confessed zealotry for marriage has its roots in the moment her mother blew her teenage world apart by announcing that her seemingly perfect marriage had been a sham for its 23-year duration. She was 16 at the time, and says she wasnt the only one who didnt recover from the bombshell: her mother never remarried and her two sons rarely speak to her.

The experience, says Weiner-Davis who states that her greatest achievement is her own 40-year marriage was transformative. She became a staunch believer in the fact that most divorces can be prevented; that the relief of a post-divorce life is temporary but the pain of divorce is permanent; and that if couples put enough work into staying together, they can fall back in love and live happily ever after.

Over the years, Weiner-Davis has honed her message. Shes now stripped it back to what she believes is the essence of a successful marriage. Gone is any therapeutic consideration of a couples history; of their emotional travails; of cause and consequence. Now she is entirely one-track minded: no matter how appalling the state of a marriage, she believes that kind, generous and frequent sex can bring it back from the teetering edge of collapse.

Her realisation was hard-won. For decades, I was in the trenches with warring couples, she says. But there were times when I was not too effective. I realised that there was a pattern to the times Id failed. There was always one spouse desperately hoping for more touch and because that was not happening, they were not investing themselves in the relationship in other ways.

Weiner-Davis stopped focussing on the couples difficulties from an emotional angle and addressed them exclusively as sexual problems. that when the so-called low-desire partner who is, she is at pains to emphasise, just as likely to be a man or a woman was encouraged to have sex they didnt particularly want, not only did they end up enjoying themselves but the high-desire partner became a much nicer person to be around.

I heard the same story from my clients so often that I did some research, she said, and found several different sex researchers who confirmed what I was finding: that for millions of people, they have to be physically stimulated before they feel desire.

Armed with this new theory, Weiner-Davis began encouraging her low-desire clients to be receptive to the sexual advances of their high-desire spouse, even if they werent feeling up for it. I found that unless there was something a lot more complicated going on, she insists, there were usually substantial relationship benefits to making love with your high-desire partner.

She rejects any suggestion that shes advocating a sexually subservient, anti-feminist, lie back and think of England approach. In fact, she says this is the embodiment of female empowerment.

Its not just telling women to spread their legs, she insists. This is not just about sex. For a high-desire spouse, sex isnt usually about the orgasm: its about someone wanting to feel that their partner desires and wants them. Im hoping that women will feel empowered that they are getting their own needs met through understanding their partner.

No still means no, she says. But it helps to not just say no. Instead, explain why you dont want to make love, suggest a later date and ask whether theres something you can do for your spouse right now instead. But heres the deal, she adds: There had better be a whole more Yess or Laters than Nos because if the Nos win, it leads to the problems I have been talking about.

Weiner-Davis points out that while its commonly accepted that couples should make all their important family decisions together, when it comes to sex, who ever has the lower sex drive makes a unilateral choice for them both. And, just to rub salt in the wound, she adds, the disenfranchised, high-desire one is expected to stay monogamous. No wonder, she says, they get cross.

I mention Weiner-Daviss theory to some female friends of mine. The overriding response is: Oh God, not another thing for my To Do list! Weiner-Davis is quick to condemn this response. Imagine if, when a woman said she wanted to have more intimate conversations or a date night, her husband said: Its just one more thing on my To Do list! For a high-desire spouse who experiences love through touch instead of quality time, its exactly the same impact. Ive had grown men crying in my office, crying about the sense of rejection they feel from their low-desire wives.

I then regale her with the experience of a friend whose husband had started his own business which quickly went catastrophically wrong. The family finances were in peril and he couldnt cope. His wife stepped in. Alongside her own job and while juggling the childcare, she worked late into the night for weeks to stabilise their security. During this time, she was scrupulous in not blaming her husband, either explicitly or implicitly.

With crisis narrowly averted, the stressed and sleep-deprived wife realised her husband was being snippy and sulky. When she asked what was wrong, he exclaimed: We havent had sex for weeks! Surely, I ask Weiner-Davis, this shows that not all demands for sex should be met with her Just Do It ethos.

Not at all, she says. This woman knew his ego needed to be protected and tried to do that by not blaming him for his mistakes. But it sounds like the bigger statement for him was: Am I still a man and do you still desire me?

But its the selfish, uncontrolled behaviour of a spoilt child, I insist. Weiner-Davis doesnt disagree. Women often say that they feel they have three children instead of two children and a husband, she admits. But the fact that this husband was telling his wife what he was feeling sad about is a really good sign: some people throw in the towel.

Is the deal explicit, I ask, does the low-desire one say: OK, well make love more often, but then you have to turn your iPhone off every once in a while so we can actually talk?

Yes and no, Weiner-Davis says. This isnt about keeping score. Relationships are not 50:50. Theyre 100:100. We have to take responsibility for doing everything that it takes to put the relationship on track even if youre not getting the response you want initially. Thats really hard.

Its about asking yourself, she says, when he or she speaks and acts badly, whether its because you have not had sex for four weeks. Is their anger actually about feeling hurt and rejected? If it is, the low-desire spouse needs to be more sexy even though they will not want to do this. And the other one needs to ask themselves when the last time the couple spent quality time together.

On the other hand, Weiner-Davis admits there is a limit. Id say that after several weeks, if nothing has changed in terms of reciprocity, then the couple do need to sit down and identify whats missing in their relationship for each of them and what they would like to have.

Michele Weiner-Daviss cure for a sex-starved marriage

If you have a low sex drive try to adopt the Nike philosophy and Just Do It!, even if you feel neutral towards having sex at that moment.

If youre the one with a high sex drive, try to discover the way your partner wants to receive love. Its typically through quality time, words of affirmation, thoughtful, practical acts of caring and material gifts.

If you dont want sex at a particular moment, explain why and suggest another specific time – and ask whether you can do something else physical at that moment for your partner instead.

If you have a higher sex drive than your partner, try to empathise with them and accept they might never want wild or creative sex, but see the increased level of intercourse as a gift showing their love.

Remember theres no daily or weekly minimum to ensure a healthy sex life. As a couple you need to work out together what works for you.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

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mysteriouslyzealouspandalov-blog · 5 years

Text

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

New Post has been published on https://relationshipguideto.com/must-see/is-sex-the-answer-to-your-relationship-woes/

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Sex

Inner life

Is sex the answer to your relationship woes?

Michele Weiner-Davis, the marriage-guidance counsellor, explains why she thinks having sex even if you dont feel like it is the foundation of a happy relationship

Amelia Hill

@byameliahill

Sun 21 Jan 2018 01.00EST Last modified on Sun 21 Jan 2018 09.52EST

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share via Email

View more sharing options

Share on LinkedIn

Share on Pinterest

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Just Do It. Your partner will be grateful, happier and therefore nicer, too, says Michele Weiner-Davis. Illustration: Andrea De Santis/Observer

She rejects any suggestion that shes advocating a sexually subservient, anti-feminist, lie back and think of England approach. In fact, she says this is the embodiment of female empowerment.

Is the deal explicit, I ask, does the low-desire one say: OK, well make love more often, but then you have to turn your iPhone off every once in a while so we can actually talk?

Michele Weiner-Daviss cure for a sex-starved marriage

If you have a low sex drive try to adopt the Nike philosophy and Just Do It!, even if you feel neutral towards having sex at that moment.

If you dont want sex at a particular moment, explain why and suggest another specific time – and ask whether you can do something else physical at that moment for your partner instead.

Remember theres no daily or weekly minimum to ensure a healthy sex life. As a couple you need to work out together what works for you.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

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fmservers · 5 years

Text

Why longer term sheets are better

Recently in a conversation, the length of term sheets came as a topic (I assure you, it was a riveting conversation). The complaint was that a term sheet which had recently been received was too long, and therefore the VC who sent it wasn’t being founder friendly. The travails of successfully raising money!

Actually though, a longer term sheet is much more founder friendly and good business practice, and founders should be leery of VCs bearing short contracts.

Historically (i.e. about 6 years ago), term sheets used to be staid affairs, printed on plain white paper in standard Times New Roman font right out of Word. It was a wretched and horrifying world until the cool VCs showed up, who added design accoutrements (Bolded section heads! Logos! Colors!) while claiming that they had a “single-page” term sheet for founders, implying that the term sheet’s simplicity and prettiness showed that they weren’t really investors, but more like a Brooklyn barista with an art side hustle (and a lot of cash).

Here’s the thing, term sheets have an incredibly important purpose, which is to set forth in clear language the terms of a deal. Unfortunately in modern venture capital, there are a lot of terms that have to be negotiated in any equity round, from financial terms to option pools, to board structure, to voting rights on major business decisions like selling the company, and much more. Simpler term sheets either relegate many of these items to “standard venture capital terms apply” or some other vague language, or just wholly don’t mention them at all.

The challenge is that once the term sheet is signed, it becomes the blueprint by which the legal counsels for the VC and founder begin to write up the legal contracts that allows the VC to buy equity in the startup. When term sheets are clear, precise, and comprehensive, the lawyers just go to work and turn those agreed-upon terms into legal language in relatively short order.

When there are key terms that are “standard” or absent from a term sheet though, lawyers do what lawyers have to do: they negotiate for their respective party. Suddenly a term that seems fairly standard is up for debate, and unless a founder (and their VC) is paying very close attention to the legal process (from experience, no one really is), then the legal bills for the round can spiral very, very rapidly. That can pose a double whammy for a startup, since many VCs continue to charge the legal fees of conducting a round to the startup they are investing in.

I’ve seen founders in absolute sticker shock after seeing the legal costs of their round total into the upper tens of thousands of dollars because their lawyers racked up time trying to plow through term after term that could have been made clearer by the parties up front.

So, what’s more founder friendly: a longer term sheet that sets the deal terms clearly up front and likely saves the founder legal costs, or a shorter (but color!) term sheet that can end up costing far more down the line?

This is mostly a problem for first-time founders raising their first round of capital. I have a sinking feeling that many VCs take advantage of this naiveté to get better terms than they might have gotten otherwise had they actually walked through all the language up front. In later rounds, founders either ask all the right questions about the next round of capital, or their other existing investors figure this out on their behalf.

It’s good legal practice to always get all material terms figured out before your lawyers start writing contracts, whether in fundraising, or customer contracts, or what have you. You can’t always predict if there is something else that will end up being a disagreement, but getting most of the terms squared away will save legal time, and that is money ultimately in your pocket.

Side note: Extra Crunch published part two of five of our comprehensive guide to legal issues facing startups, this time focused on intellectual property. Don’t miss out on part one which focused on corporate issues.

Extra Crunch’s first conference call is today

We are hosting the first conference call for Extra Crunch subscribers today at 2pm EST / 11am PST. Call-in details are being sent out to members by email roughly one hour in advance. Today, Eric Eldon and I will talk briefly about Extra Crunch, and then TechCrunch social and product maestro Josh Constine is going to talk about the strategic issues confronting the social giants. Join us!

More SoftBank Vision Fund sadness

Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Written by Arman Tabatabai

Get out your popcorn because there’s more drama involving SoftBank’s giant Vision Fund and its LP base. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund stated that it no longer planned to invest in the Vision Fund. Despite previous discussions with SoftBank, the fund plans to instead put its money into infrastructure across areas like energy, healthcare, and education.

With assets of roughly $15 billion under management, Bahrain’s fund is small potatoes when it comes to SoftBank, and its contribution likely would have been much smaller than those of its Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia counterparts. However, after recent reports that Persian Gulf LPs are growing frustrated with the Vision Fund and are putting more money to work in infrastructure, Bahrain’s decision could indicate a broader change in sentiment towards the Vision Fund. Just look at the comment the CEO of Bahrain’s Fund gave to Reuters:

“We talked with them and with many people, but it shows we’ve not seen something we think we can add value to or it could add value to us.”

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has wanted to scale up the size of Vision Fund II, but that dream may well be fading as more large wealth managers decline to engage.

Steam and video game streaming

Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Extra Crunch writer Chris Morris had a dive into the challenges facing Steam yesterday. Steam is facing two trends. First, publishers are increasingly getting smart about owning their customer relationship, which is hard to do with the design of Steam’s platform. The second is that video game streaming is getting closer to reality, and that doesn’t bode well for a game store. Plus, developers want to keep more of their revenue, and Steam takes a lot.

What’s interesting here is that publishers (and I mean big, AAA publishers) are increasingly comfortable with the notion that they can attract customers to their own independent store fronts and don’t have to pay the Steam tax in order to get in front of customers. What concerns me is that indie developers both don’t have the leverage to negotiate with Steam and don’t have the marketing budgets or fanbases to reach out to a wide audience. That’s not a great world, and an opportunity I think to figure out how to create a more even playing field for independent game creators.

The chip space keeps getting hotter as Korea’s SK leads round for Chinese chipmaker

IvancoVlad via Getty Images

Written by Arman Tabatabai

TechCrunch writer Rita Liao reported overnight that the A.I.-focused Chinese chipmaker Horizon Robotics raised a $600 million round led by subsidiaries of Korea’s SK Group, including its semiconductors segment.

We’ve previously discussed the intensifying global competition in the chip space, and SK’s investment shows that no one wants to miss out on the next innovative technology like previous incumbents who now find themselves playing catch up.

It’s worth noting that Intel’s venture arm, Intel Capital, is also an investor in Horizon and led their previous fundraise, as Horizon seems to offer up another opportunity for the US chip giant to make up lost ground in AI chip innovation and to gain share in the Chinese market now that they have canceled a partnership with China’s state-backed chipmaker Unisoc.

The data point is another positive for Chinese chipmakers, who seem to still have access to foreign capital on top of more than enough domestic — often state-backed — investments. The city of Beijing just raised its first venture fund with $1.5 billion focused on chips, A.I., and other areas, while China is reportedly nearing the closing of its second state-backed semis fund that some estimate might be nearly $50 billion in size.

More news

Written by Arman Tabatabai

California may have canceled HSR, but China is moving forward with an IPO

While US high-speed rail (HSR) projects continue to fall flat on their face, China Railway Corporation is now planning to IPO its Beijing to Shanghai HSR line within the next year. There’s always some financial risk with publicly-traded infrastructure, but the line’s securely profitable and the deal should help shore up the finances of its owner as it plans to make its largest rail investments ever this year.

Japan’s antitrust investigation is the latest in Asia’s new wave of regulatory scrutiny

Japan is reportedly initiating an antitrust investigation into the country’s biggest ecommerce platforms. Investigators will be looking to see whether Amazon Japan, Rakuten and SoftBank-subsidiary Yahoo! Japan launched benefit programs that ultimately are subsidized by and cut into the revenue of its small-to-midsize vendor suppliers.

The investigation is the latest in Japan’s broader effort to increase regulatory scrutiny on big tech, a global trend that seems to be permeating Asia as seen in our previous discussions on India. While it’s unclear how the heightened scrutiny will impact companies’ perception of these markets, it’s certainly clear that the “move fast and break things” playbook is getting tougher to run.

Obsessions

We have a bit of a theme around emerging markets, macroeconomics, and the next set of users to join the internet.

More discussion of megaprojects, infrastructure, and “why can’t we build things”

Thanks

To every member of Extra Crunch: thank you. You allow us to get off the ad-laden media churn conveyor belt and spend quality time on amazing ideas, people, and companies. If I can ever be of assistance, hit reply, or send an email to [email protected].

This newsletter is written with the assistance of Arman Tabatabai from New York

Via Danny Crichton https://techcrunch.com

#TechCrunch

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