Grump Maestro

You might have answered this before but is there any aus or routes where Machete doesn't get assassinated, and he and Vasco get to live somewhat happy lives together? Or is the heartbreak and tragedy always set in stone?

Asked by Anonymous

I think in order to avoid the bad ending he’d have to resign from his position and find something less distressing to do with his life. I’m not entirely sure how that works though, I believe relinquishing cardinalship for example is extremely unusual and a big deal even in modern times, usually you hold these titles until death, retiring isn’t part of the plan. And since he’s had to fight tooth and nail to get where he is and his sense of self-worth is tied to it, I find it hard to believe he’d have enough sense to just leave everything behind. Besides, he was saved, raised and trained by the church, in some way he must feel like he owes his life to it.

I feel like the modern au, not that such thing exists at the moment, would be relatively happy and free of drama and tragedy. Now that I’m thinking about it, the root of Machete’s problems must be health issues. In present times he wouldn’t get left behind for being weak and ill so he wouldn’t have any specific reason to pursue ecclesiastical career. I don’t know what job he’d land but I don’t think he’d be a priest. Having access to modern medicine and diagnostics would certainly help a ton, no more bloodletting, valerian root and laudanum for him. I see no reason why he and Vasco wouldn’t be happily married. They’d probably travel a bunch and have a habit of frequenting snobby little bistros and overpriced restaurants. Machete would drag Vasco to museums, theatre and opera. He’d still be workaholic but with the additional boost of very strong coffee. Vasco would own some sort of garish Italian sports car. He’d be good at cooking and baking. He’d still ride horses. Maybe he’d be an avid football fan even.

predstrogen:

predstrogen:

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obsessed with the last two things people saw of oxford comma are someone saying theyll eat out their ma and someone saying theyll eat him. 10/10. fantastic website

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we got him again girls

bogleech:

zooophagous:

bonnettbee:

zooophagous:

Seeing people shoot raptors in other countries is fucking wild to me because we have a whole system of super strict laws governing how you can handle an individual FEATHER off of an eagle, and it doesn’t have to even be a dead eagle. One can molt and you can find it on the ground and if you’re caught with it the warden will fuck your entire life. What do you mean people are out there shooting them to protect a fucking pheasant. A pheasant??? That thing I have to avoid running over approximately 459 times any time I leave a major highway???

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My good friend @prismaticate has asked a very good question here, and while I’m not entirely sure I’m qualified to explain it and would love some input from more qualified sources, my SUPER simplified understanding of why the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and its numerous modern revisions and addendums have clauses about this included is this:

-It’s basically impossible to tell a feather that’s been picked up off the ground from one that’s been taken from a poached bird

-This used to be a MAJOR problem when bird-feather hats and the like were in high demand back in the day, because several bird species on the edge of extinction kept getting poached in spite of the new laws protecting them since people would just say they “found” any feathers from protected species used in the stuff they were selling, and you couldn’t prove otherwise unless you literally caught them in the act of poaching

-This eventually got SO bad that they had to just make it illegal to have the feathers at all, with certain exceptions made for members of different indigenous groups, or authorized organizations that display them as part of efforts to educate the public about the species they belong to

@zooophagous is this a reasonable rundown? Was there anything I missed/any better sources you might recommend to learn more about this? I know it’s probably far more nuanced than that, but this was kind of the explanation I’d always seen floating around. 😅

That’s pretty much the gist of it! Eagles and eagle feathers have more laws on top of that because of their sacred uses in certain indigenous practices, how they relate to legal falconry, and because eagles at one time were highly endangered while at the same time being a national symbol. Where a cop or a game warden may shrug and look the other way if you, say, illegally picked up a chickadee feather from your bird feeder, if they see a real eagle feather they will notice and will be VERY interested in where it came from.

Not long ago here someone was arrested and charged for violating these laws because they tried to sell a plains feather bonnet at a pawn shop, claiming they had “found it while exploring an abandoned house.”

The clerk suspected it was real eagle, the warden confirmed it was, and because those feathers are so tightly tracked they were able to locate the family of the previous owners who said the item had been stolen some time ago.

If nobody knows you have it, obviously you can get away with it. But if they see it, or God forbid you try to SELL it, the hammer will fall.

Im surprised every time people think it’s a crazy sounding law, it is genuinely one of the only things preventing a lot of native birds from extinction or any asshole could kill as many as they want and just say they found them on the ground

athingofvikings:
“chokopoppo:
“chaointe:
“princecharmingtobe:
“cephalopodvictorious:
“queerscout:
“direwolf-distributor:
“filipfatalattractionrblog:
“liluglydudefromdetroit:
“So play like a noob? got it
”
You’re joking, but it actually is a popular...

athingofvikings:

chokopoppo:

chaointe:

princecharmingtobe:

cephalopodvictorious:

queerscout:

direwolf-distributor:

filipfatalattractionrblog:

liluglydudefromdetroit:

So play like a noob? got it

You’re joking, but it actually is a popular theory in chess that a complete noob potentially can beat a master by confusing them - as the noob doesn’t know what they’re doing the master is unable to recognize which of valid strategies they’re pursuing and cannot deploy proper counterstrategy.

Chessmasters when their opponent doesn’t make one of the five approved optimal opening moves:

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#used to do shit like this when we fenced#for real tho a newbie is way more of an issue than a master because WHAT are you doing???

I’m currently a fencing coach for a high school club and my least disciplined fencer routinely beats kids who have been fencing for 5-6 years because he’s just so unpredictable and messy that his opponents have no idea what to do.

I know what a master is doing, I just may not be faster than them. I know I’m faster than a newbie but hey what the fuck is happening?

I have, on rare occasions, won pokemon battles like this. I have no idea what the meta is, and just slap things together that sound cool. It’s fun when you win by taking someone completely off guard because “Who would run that?!” Idk man, the noob that just kicked your ass. I’m not smart enough for all these mind games that go into serious competitive pokemon, but I do know big laser go pew.

The Newbie Flail™ is the most terrifying attack imaginable.

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Originally posted by oldtimeyfights

“The best swordsman on the planet doesn’t fear the second-best swordsman. He fears the new swordsman, because he has no idea what the lunatic will do.”

oneheadtoanother:

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zer0-g:

unfortunatpanda:

genquerdeer:

demilypyro:

I was told the last Sage Leaf trial was really hard but I kinda got gold on my first try, lol

typical Demily W

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staticcolour:

[ID: Dr. House looks at the viewer with a silly expression and two thumbs up. White text in front of him reads: today is Yaoi Saturday. End ID]ALT

dogposts:

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Cerberus at the pet store

an-asuryampasya:

thatevakid:

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[ID: Tweet by @/MichellCClark that reads “sending love to everyone who wants to do better but can’t find the energy to make the necessary changes. sending love to everyone who wonders if their exhaustion is permanent. sending love to everyone who’s tired of feeling stuck.” /end ID]

creepymutelilbugger:

notafamousblog:

creepymutelilbugger:

empress-belosbeck:

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that little squirrel boy is about to get it

get what

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