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Me too.

I grew up in South Florida.Not far from Mar-a-Lago, actually. Near Hutchinson Island. I did Boy Scouts all over the state, even got to do stuff with Sea Scouts, Venture Crew, Order of the Arrow. The folks who do all the cool shit. I learned to love my world.

One side of my family was coal miners from West Virginia. We went when I was in 4th grade for a family reunion and I was in love. One night my cousin and I wandered off and it was so dark we damn near fell off the mountain. I’d never seen anything like that darkness, coal mine darkness.

My other grandfather, my dad’s dad, had been a lifelong admirer of the Blue Ridge. I think he was originally from New Jersey but just adored these mountains and spoke lovingly about them whenever he could. He always had coffee table books around about the Appalachians and Montana. The two places in the world that impressed him most, the Blue Ridge and Big Sky.

We moved here when I was 17, just before my senior year of high school in 2003. I was bitter about the timing (what a way to fuck up my social life) but pretty happy about where we ended up.

I’ve been here over 20 years now and keep falling more and more in love with the region. Did you know these mountains are older than bones? And that the Appalachian Trail now officially continues in Scotland, since they used to be connected? No wonder so many Scottish people ended up here, it felt like home.

We are a rainforest (just not a tropical one), and recieve more rain each year than Seattle. Who’s known for it.

There are over 250 species of birds you can see here, about 100 or so are migratory birds that stop on the way elsewhere like Canada geese. You should hear it in spring. I sat in my driveway one day last week and was brought to tears. Im not kidding. One of the highest regions for biodiversity on the entire continent, with species of salamanders and turtles that aren’t found anywhere else. We have some of the greatest fishing rivers in the world, people travel from all over the globe to fish our streams.

And the fireflies! Not many people still have a real show at night anymore like I do. I’ve done my best to let my yard be a haven for pollinators of all sorts. It’s beautiful, every night, all summer long. It won’t last forever, I know how precious what I have is.

But these fucking fascists are taking this all away from me. My family and I are starting to take steps to flee so my son can go to school safely and I don’t have to worry about masked Feds kidnapping my immigrant wife from me.

I love my home. It’s a double-wide trailer and sure I’d really like to build my own house - I’m an electrician who used to frame houses, so I can - but it’s a good enough house. The neighbors, human and otherwise, are lovely, and I’m right in the middle of the whole area for my job. But my home? My home is here, in these mountains. I’ve been homeless, like, really homeless, and i knew it was okay because i had my mountains. It’s my right to love these mountains in spite of the predations of the White Man. Despite all the crimes committed against them and the people who were here before. This is my goddamn home and I want nothing more than to kill for it, to take vengeance on the ignorant bullies I’ve dealt with my whole fucking life who are actively dismantling a country I only barely ever cared about to begin with, but I’ll be goddamned if I let these fucking Confederates destroy my family. So I’ll leave. I’ll take my family where they can be safe. And I can speak.

I am so furious I have trouble expressing it properly. But once I’m on foreign soil and don’t have to worry about losing my wife over speech, I intend to speak VERY loudly.

I’ve spent twenty years learning who I was here, with queer people and immigrants and communists and poets and union organizers and drug dealers and witches and Satanists, and they all deserve better than this BULLSHIT.

Lmao if you want liberals to gear up for civil war, that’s one way to do it.

Jesus christ

Could’ve been one sentence.

‘You are what you eat,’ the Blue Fairy told Pinocchio, who turned his gaze on the elementary school.

Removed unnecessary adjectives, they distract from the punch imo

I believe it flows better this way, too. The reader goes directly from A to B to C with a brief stop at horror between B and C, right where you want it.

The thing is, you pay way more attention to your behavior than other people do. At least half of them out there have the exact same insecurities. For real. And they’re focused on themselves just like you are.

So it’s okay, just do your thing :)

But when you’ve earned the confidence it feels really good

If you’re working on getting somewhere, keep at it.

Someone’s already at the back door

Should’ve listened to the anarchists 🤷‍♂️

Nah this has been around since way before AI

And there was much rejoicing.

I was gonna say when the mushrooms hit you and your buddy WAY different 😂

Friend 1: super chill and enjoying the vibes

Friend 2: I SEE GOD

Yeah, it’s a really shitty pattern. Unfortunate, I was kinda looking forward to Marathon despite the drama.

Oh! Lookie here, a fascist for breakfast. My day is off to a lovely start.

The difference is in the history. America has NEVER been honest about its origins. No other modern nation was built on slavery like we were. Britain abolished it decades before America. And after WWII, they gave up the rest of their colonies because it was the right thing to do. That’s when the American Empire took off. Naval bases in every country. Global watchdog, above the laws everyone else has to follow.

America? It only stopped genociding Indians when they were such a small population that they couldn’t pose a threat to the white man, and it still fucks them over every chance it can. Edit: oh yeah, and then it painted them as villains in cowboy movies for half a century. Nice.

Racism is so deeply embedded in America that the simple claim that black lives matter turned into a controversy. You know what a normal nation would’ve done? Examine their police. Us? We said fuck those people, let the racist cops do whatever they want. Do you have any clue what it’s like to raise a black son in America? I’m white myself so I can’t speak firsthand, but I have talked to numerous people who’ve told me about “the Talk”. You know about this? It’s not the birds and the bees, it’s about how to behave around cops so they don’t kill you. How insanely fucked up does your country have to be for that??

This is called honesty. Progress can’t be made without it.

I’ve made it my life’s work to fight white supremacy in the blue collar South and I’ll fucking devour you whole.

Edit: I’d like to print out to anyone stumbling across this that that sumbitch knows I’m right and is lying bloodied in the mud at my feet, crying, like a little bitch. Just like the ones I’ve beaten in real life after they insisted on dancing. Bullies have come after me my whole fuckin life and I’ve learned EXACTLY how they work. I know the strategies fascists use on forums like these. And I’ll bet you’ve logged me, maybe you’ve got someone looking into me. I don’t doubt the fascist Musk’s AI has flagged me for all kinds of shit and it’s just a matter of time now.

I ain’t fuckin scared of you, and your mother should be ashamed.

Dictatorships be like that. You never hear about these problems with co-ops, just saying…

You can still be a wizard! I’m trying to befriend my local crows currently.

Idk there’s a lot of pissed off restaurant workers out there who can appreciate it

Man, I should watch that again. It’s been ages.

I’ve always been a fan of that trope. I like to do a Brooklyn goblin from time to time.

I’m honestly not sure what point you’re trying to make.

Painting them yourself is easier than ever though! Contrast paints and washes alone can accomplish amazing things. Trust me, if you’ve thought about trying, do it. You can absolutely do a better job than that in no time.

And everyone’s hands shake, you work around it :)