#id say could apply to other things too but the problem there is said humans are also weird af so inhuman creature than gets a skewed

[mooifyourecows]

moo i need advice. i’m gonna talk to my therapist n some other people ab it too but i’m taking all the help i can get.

there is a Situation at my work. i am a female presenting human at work and i have this coworker (we’ll call him A for simplicity’s sake) my age who was hired last month or the month before. he used to work at this coffee place in the same parking lot and spent his lunch breaks in my store sometimes so i knew him and we talked a bit before he was hired. i considered him an acquaintance bordering friend when he was hired. but some of my closer coworker friends told me last week that he said something like “i only applied here because i thought she was interested in me.”

i have been literally nothing but nice to him. i have never ever ever flirted with him or have done anything on my end other than just general customer service and coworker banter and conversation. i have had a serious long distance partner for over a year, best friends for 7 years before we even started dating. so when i heard he said that, after i clocked out and was waiting for my ride, i made it GLARINGLY obvious that i was taken in front of him (showed a pic of my partner to a coworker nearby him and did all my fun little gay jokes). it wasn’t directly at him but it was enough that he got the message. he knew i had a partner before this, but i just figured this would drive it home yk?

then after i left one of my coworkers texted me and said A was saying some MORE shit along the lines of “i dont care that she has a partner because they’re long distance and i want to take things slow anyway.” after i heard this i immediately went to my store manager to let her know and tell her that A makes me extremely uncomfortable and if it didn’t stop i was going to go to HR about it. none of this was said directly TO me, to my face, so that’s why i went in that direction. also this way there was a record of it and if my SM needed someone to vouch, she could ask the coworkers who he said this in front of. the night shift manager is now keeping him busy away from me when i work register whenever our schedules have an overlap which is good and the SM said she would talk to him and that if she heard (or heard about) anything else come out of his mouth like that, he’d be fired. i asked her to leave my name out of it, to not let him know that i said anything (ie, word it so it sounds like someone ELSE made the complaint because i don’t feel safe) and she agreed.

but last night he sent me a text saying that he wasn’t sure what he did wrong but he was told he did something to make me uncomfortable and apologized, explicitly telling me i didn’t need to respond to it because it was late and he had made me uncomfortable anyway (i blocked his number after that, i only had it for work related reasons in the first place but i realized i could use the store phone to call him if needed so it didn’t really matter).

now i have a couple options im juggling atm. one, show my SM the text and ask her what exactly she said to him to make him believe sending an “apology” text was okay. two, skip showing my SM and go directly to HR (which i really dont know how to do, id need help with that for sure). or three, talk to A directly (likely through text or in person with a witness) and see if i can get it figured out that way (only problem with this is that he got fired from his last job for yelling at THEIR store manager, so i’m a little spooked about what he would do if i confronted him at all about this).

again, im asking a bunch of people their opinions, especially my therapist about what to do because im totally fuckin clueless on the steps i need to take about anything. but u seem knowledgeable in dealing w assholery so it’s worth a shot to get your opinion too. idk. shit freaks me out and i would like to kick him very hard in the shins

Sounds like quite the predicament! First of all, I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and taking precautions to ensure your safety. It sounds to me like you've made all the right choices so far, especially letting your managers know your feelings so that they can have it on record and also take steps to protect you.

I know its difficult understanding what is right in situations like this. Maybe your coworker doesn't have any bad intentions and just genuinely has a crush on you. We can't fault people for their feelings but we CAN establish our boundaries and recognize when actions overstep those boundaries.

The fact that he took your politeness for interest is not your responsibility. It's his and his alone. The fact that feminine presenting individuals have to literally put on a cold and distant facade to protect themselves from unwanted advances from men who can't tell the difference between friendliness and flirting is tiresome and unfair. And it's not your fault that he's decided to misinterpret your actions and words.

Again, MAYBE his intentions hold no malice but the things he's said and done make you uncomfortable and that's completely understandable. Specifically getting a job in order to pursue you based off his misconceptions is predatory behavior! Maintaining his intentions to pursue you after you made it clear you are not single and not interested is predatory behavior. Him not realizing that it is doesn't make it any less exactly that.

Good job reaching out to your bosses! Seeing as this is a workplace problem, it SHOULD be on their radar. It is up to them to protect you in these situations. I would advise against confronting him on your own because your safety is the most important thing and its not your responsibility to explain to him what hes done wrong. Even if he wouldn't try to cause you harm and this IS all a misunderstanding on his part, he needs to understand that his actions are inappropriate. No hand holding. Leniency leaves room for hope. He cannot think that it's all just a little "oopsies, better luck next time" type of situation rather than the literal workplace violation it is. If he thinks that this is a problem only because you dont like him back, he could possibly move on from you to try doing the same thing to someone new in the future.

He needs to understand that he CANNOT act this way with his coworkers. It's not just disrespectful and inappropriate, but it's literally against the rules, and to some degree, against the law. Sexual harassment comes in all shapes and sizes and the sooner he understands that, the better! Letting men get away with stuff like this breeds more and more audacity which results in more and more uncomfortable and unsafe women. It could even advance to literal assault.

My advice is to inform your managers about the text and see what they think about it. If you feel like they are too lenient with their response, then absolutely go to HR. in fact, it might be good to fill HR in on the situation anyway, just in case. I'm not super well versed in workplace rules but I think just letting them know what is happening now before it escalates could be beneficial. They might even take the time to reach out to A and educate him on the rules and explain to him how his actions are inappropriate. I understand if you're worried about him getting fired or getting angry at you, but I dont think they'd outright punish or fire him on this one offense unless he did something much more extreme.

If you're scared to contact HR on your own, you can ask your managers to do it for you. I'm sure they would be willing to do so. It'd be beneficial for them too, honestly, to inform HR of the situation before it progresses because them knowing and not taking the necessary steps to protect you could make them look bad.

Overall, don't worry about this guy's feelings. If he really intended no malice, then yeah it might be embarrassing for him, but your safety and the safety of potential future victims is more important than his male fragility! It's best for him to learn now when he still has time to correct his mistakes than later when he's already deemed his behavior to be normal and acceptable!

Keep your friends and coworkers updated so they can keep their eye on the situation and take necessary steps to protect you. Don't let A pressure you into speaking to him, especially without other people around. If he wants to apologize, he can do so with multiple witnesses, and then move on and do his work without pestering you again.

I hope that he learns from this experience and doesn't try it again with you or anybody else! He needs to pursue romance in acceptable environments, not at work.

Good luck and stay safe! 🖤 I'm hoping it all goes smoothly and you can put your concerns to rest soon 🌈

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Facebook thrives on criticism of "disinformation"

The mainstream critique of Facebook is surprisingly compatible with Facebook’s own narrative about its products. FB critics say that the company’s machine learning and data-gathering slides disinformation past users’ critical faculties, poisoning their minds.

Meanwhile, Facebook itself tells advertisers that it can use data and machine learning to slide past users’ critical faculties, convincing them to buy stuff.

In other words, the mainline of Facebook critics start from the presumption that FB is a really good product and that advertisers are definitely getting their money’s worth when they shower billions on the company.

Which is weird, because these same critics (rightfully) point out that Facebook lies all the time, about everything. It would be bizarre if the only time FB was telling the truth was when it was boasting about how valuable its ad-tech is.

Facebook has a conflicted relationship with this critique. I’m sure they’d rather not be characterized as a brainwashing system that turns good people into monsters, but not when the choice is between “brainwashers” and “con-artists selling garbage to credulous ad execs.”

As FB investor and board member Peter Thiel puts it: “I’d rather be seen as evil than incompetent.” In other words, the important word in “evil genius” is “genius,” not “evil.”

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1440312271511568393

The accord of tech critics and techbros gives rise to a curious hybrid, aptly named by Maria Farrell: the Prodigal Techbro.

A prodigal techbro is a self-styled wizard of machine-learning/surveillance mind control who has see the error of his ways.

https://crookedtimber.org/2020/09/23/story-ate-the-world-im-biting-back/

This high-tech sorcerer doesn’t disclaim his magical powers — rather, he pledges to use them for good, to fight the evil sorcerers who invented a mind-control ray to sell your nephew a fidget-spinner, then let Robert Mercer hijack it to turn your uncle into a Qanon racist.

There’s a great name for this critique, criticism that takes its subjects’ claims to genius at face value: criti-hype, coined by Lee Vinsel, describing a discourse that turns critics into “the professional concern trolls of technoculture.”

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

The thing is, Facebook really is terrible — but not because it uses machine learning to brainwash boomers into iodine-guzzling Qnuts. And likewise, there really is a problem with conspiratorial, racist, science-denying, epistemologically chaotic conspiratorialism.

Addressing that problem requires that we understand the direction of the causal arrow — that we understand whether Facebook is the cause or the effect of the crisis, and what role it plays.

“Facebook wizards turned boomers into orcs” is a comforting tale, in that it implies that we need merely to fix Facebook and the orcs will turn back into our cuddly grandparents and get their shots. The reality is a lot gnarlier and, sadly, less comforting.

There’s been a lot written about Facebook’s sell-job to advertisers, but less about the concern over “disinformation.” In a new, excellent longread for Harpers, Joe Bernstein makes the connection between the two:

https://harpers.org/archive/2021/09/bad-news-selling-the-story-of-disinformation/

Fundamentally: if we question whether Facebook ads work, we should also question whether the disinformation campaigns that run amok on the platform are any more effective.

Bernstein starts by reminding us of the ad industry’s one indisputable claim to persuasive powers: ad salespeople are really good at convincing ad buyers that ads work.

Think of department store magnate John Wanamaker’s lament that “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” Whoever convinced him that he was only wasting half his ad spend was a true virtuoso of the con.

As Tim Hwang documents brilliantly in his 2020 pamphlet “Subprime Attention Crisis,” ad-tech is even griftier than the traditional ad industry. Ad-tech companies charge advertisers for ads that are never served, or never rendered, or never seen.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#wannamakers-ghost

They rig ad auctions, fake their reach numbers, fake their conversions (they also lie to publishers about how much they’ve taken in for serving ads on their pages and short change them by millions).

Bernstein cites Hwang’s work, and says, essentially, shouldn’t this apply to “disinformation?”

If ads don’t work well, then maybe political ads don’t work well. And if regular ads are a swamp of fraudulently inflated reach numbers, wouldn’t that be true of political ads?

Bernstein talks about the history of ads as a political tool, starting with Eisenhower’s 1952 “Answers America” campaign, designed and executed at great expense by Madison Ave giants Ted Bates.

Hannah Arendt, whom no one can accuse of being soft on the consequences of propaganda, was skeptical of this kind of enterprise: “The psychological premise of human manipulability has become one of the chief wares that are sold on the market of common and learned opinion.”

The ad industry ran an ambitious campaign to give scientific credibility to its products. As Jacques Ellul wrote in 1962, propagandists were engaged in “the increasing attempt to control its use, measure its results, define its effects.”

Appropriating the jargon of behavioral scientists let ad execs “assert audiences, like workers in a Taylorized workplace, need not be persuaded through reason, but could be trained through repetition to adopt the new consumption habits desired by the sellers.” -Zoe Sherman

These “scientific ads” had their own criti-hype attackers, like Vance “Hidden Persuaders” Packard, who admitted that “researchers were sometimes prone to oversell themselves — or in a sense to exploit the exploiters.”

Packard cites Yale’s John Dollard, a scientific ad consultant, who accused his colleagues of promising advertisers “a mild form of omnipotence,” which was “well received.”

Today’s scientific persuaders aren’t in a much better place than Dollard or Packard. Despite all the talk of political disinformation’s reach, a 2017 study found “sharing articles from fake news domains was a rare activity” affecting <10% of users.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aau4586

So, how harmful is this? One study estimates “if one fake news article were about as persuasive as one TV campaign ad, the fake news in our database would have changed vote shares by an amount on the order of hundredths of a percentage point.”

https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.31.2.211

Now, all that said, American politics certainly feel and act differently today than in years previous. The key question: “is social media creating new types of people, or simply revealing long-obscured types of people to a segment of the public unaccustomed to seeing them?”

After all, American politics has always had its “paranoid style,” and the American right has always had a sizable tendency towards unhinged conspiratorialism, from the John Birch Society to Goldwater Republicans.

Social media may not be making more of these yahoos, but rather, making them visible to the wider world, and to each other, allowing them to make common cause and mobilize their adherents (say, to carry tiki torches through Charlottesville in Nazi cosplay).

If that’s true, then elite calls to “fight disinformation” are unlikely to do much, except possibly inflaming things. If “disinformation” is really people finding each other (not infecting each other) labelling their posts as “disinformation” won’t change their minds.

Worse, plans like the Biden admin’s National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism lump 1/6 insurrectionists in with anti-pipeline activists, racial justice campaigners, and animal rights groups.

Whatever new powers we hand over to fight disinformation will be felt most by people without deep-pocketed backers who’ll foot the bill for crack lawyers.

Here’s the key to Bernstein’s argument: “One reason to grant Silicon Valley’s assumptions about our mechanistic persuadability is that it prevents us from thinking too hard about the role we play in taking up and believing the things we want to believe. It turns a huge question about the nature of democracy in the digital age — what if the people believe crazy things, and now everyone knows it? — into a technocratic negotiation between tech companies, media companies, think tanks, and universities.”

I want to “Yes, and” that.

My 2020 book How To Destroy Surveillance Capitalism doesn’t dismiss the idea that conspiratorialism is on the rise, nor that tech companies are playing a key role in that rise — but without engaging in criti-hype.

https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59

In my book, I propose that conspiratorialism isn’t a crisis of what people believe so much as how they arrive at their beliefs — it’s an “epistemological crisis.”

We live in a complex society plagued by high-stakes questions none of us can answer on our own.

Do vaccines work? Is oxycontin addictive? Should I wear a mask? Can we fight covid by sanitizing surfaces? Will distance ed make my kind an ignoramus? Should I fly in a 737 Max?

Even if you have the background to answer one of these questions, no one can answer all of them.

Instead, we have a process: neutral expert agencies use truth-seeking procedures to sort of competing claims, showing their work and recusing themselves when they have conflicts, and revising their conclusions in light of new evidence.

It’s pretty clear that this process is breaking down. As companies (led by the tech industry) merge with one another to form monopolies, they hijack their regulators and turn truth-seeking into an auction, where shareholder preferences trump evidence.

This perversion of truth has consequences — take the FDA’s willingness to accept the expensively manufactured evidence of Oxycontin’s safety, a corrupt act that kickstarted the opioid epidemic, which has killed 800,000 Americans to date.

If the best argument for vaccine safety and efficacy is “We used the same process and experts as pronounced judgement on Oxy” then it’s not unreasonable to be skeptical — especially if you’re still coping with the trauma of lost loved ones.

As Anna Merlan writes in her excellent Republic of Lies, conspiratorialism feeds on distrust and trauma, and we’ve got plenty of legitimate reasons to experience both.

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/09/21/republic-of-lies-the-rise-of-conspiratorial-thinking-and-the-actual-conspiracies-that-fuel-it/

Tech was an early adopter of monopolistic tactics — the Apple ][+ went on sale the same year Ronald Reagan hit the campaign trail, and the industry’s growth tracked perfectly with the dismantling of antitrust enforcement over the past 40 years.

What’s more, while tech may not persuade people, it is indisputably good at finding them. If you’re an advertiser looking for people who recently looked at fridge reviews, tech finds them for you. If you’re a boomer looking for your old high school chums, it’ll do that too.

Seen in that light, “online radicalization” stops looking like the result of mind control, instead showing itself to be a kind of homecoming — finding the people who share your interests, a common online experience we can all relate to.

I found out about Bernstein’s article from the Techdirt podcast, where he had a fascinating discussion with host Mike Masnick.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210928/12593747652/techdirt-podcast-episode-299-misinformation-about-disinformation.shtml

Towards the end of that discussion, they talked about FB’s Project Amplify, in which the company tweaked its news algorithm to uprank positive stories about Facebook, including stories its own PR department wrote.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/22/kropotkin-graeber/#zuckerveganism

Project Amplify is part of a larger, aggressive image-control effort by the company, which has included shuttering internal transparency portals, providing bad data to researchers, and suing independent auditors who tracked its promises.

I’d always assumed that this truth-suppression and wanton fraud was about hiding how bad the platform’s disinformation problem was.

But listening to Masnick and Bernstein, I suddenly realized there was another explanation.

Maybe Facebook’s aggressive suppression of accurate assessments of disinformation on its platform are driven by a desire to hide how expensive (and profitable) political advertising it depends on is pretty useless.

Image: Anthony Quintano (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Zuckerberg_F8_2018_Keynote_(41793470192).jpg

Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

#pluralistic

[minnarr]

Don’t Talk to Me About Naboo’s Moons

Last month, I had a little too much time on my hands when I ran out of things to do at work, so I made a Powerpoint. I did not expect to have 20 slides worth of yelling about Naboo’s moons, but here we are.

[ID: PowerPoint slide. The title, in big letters, reads “Don’t Talk to Me About Naboo’s Moons.” In smaller letters, the subtitle: “(Star Wars Writers Sure Didn’t Talk to Each Other About Them, Either)”. /end ID]

And now I’m adapting it to a Tumblr post, because why not.

How many moons does Naboo have?

I'm glad you asked

Three

Inside the Worlds of STAR WARS Episode I (2000) stated that they had one moon, and from TPM footage it’s hard to claim for certain there’s any more than that. Apparently taking their cue from Secrets of Naboo, a supplement to the WOTC Star Wars RPG, later sources have run with three moons

Source: https://www.theforce.net/swtc/orbs.html#naboo

Thrawn: Alliances (2018) compares another system’s moons with Naboo’s: “They were small moons, smaller than any of Naboo’s three…” (Ch. 15)

Nexus of Power (supplement to the Star Wars Force and Destiny Roleplaying Game) says Naboo has “three small moons”

[ID: Moonlight over Theed, The Phantom Menace. One obvious moon shines in the sky over Theed palace. Another bright object in the sky may also be a moon. /end ID]

[ID: Amidala’s starship passes a moon of Naboo, The Phantom Menace. The moon in question is tan and barren-looking. /end ID]

So, we have designations for three or fewer moons, right?

Wrong

There's five candidates: Ohma-D'un, Onoam, Rori, Veruna, and a “nameless mass”

Sources and Canon in Star Wars

Before we go on, let’s look at how we get information about the Star Wars universe, and how I select from contradictory information. If you’re familiar, obviously, feel free to skip ahead to the next section. The imaginary audience for the PowerPoint might not have been.

The old EU passes into Legends

On April 25, 2014, in the leadup to The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm announced that all previous Expanded Universe material would now be published under the Legends banner. All six previous movies plus The Clone Wars series “are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.” Novels, comics, and other expanded universe material published after the changeover to Legends is now known as New Canon (or Disney Canon).

Every fan ultimately comes to their own arrangement with what they consider canon — which pieces of New Canon and Legends they stitch together to come to a satisfying understanding of the Star Wars universe.

Canon status of roleplaying game materials

The canon policy of Wookieepedia is fascinating and I have not even scratched the surface, but the section on roleplaying games makes for especially convoluted reading. Both the West End Games and Wizards of the Coast licenses for RPGs ended before the Legends changeover; these are firmly Legends. 

Fantasy Flight Games, however, gained the license to card, board, and roleplaying games in 2011, just three years before the switch to New Canon. Lucasfilm Story Group has made no public stance on whether their material is canon. 

For this reason and because their publishing time for the RPG sourcebooks stretches before and after the changeover, Wookieepedia has gone case-by-case and selected which books apply to Legends, Canon, or both for article-writing purposes.

Mainstream solutions to the three-moon problem

[ID: A quote from Nexus of Power: “Three small moons - Ohma-D’un, Rori, and a nameless mass that is little more than an overgrown asteroid - house small colonies as well as a handful of offworld and orbital shipyard and factories.” /end iD]

Nexus of Power is an FFG sourcebook that was determined by Wookieepedia’s standards to apply to Canon as well as Legends articles. Its entry on Naboo, however, differs from the later sourcebook Rise of the Separatists, which Wookieepedia deems canon and cites in its selection of moons. 

The Rise of the Separatists entry reads:

Three moons—Ohma-D’un, Rori, and Veruna—orbit Naboo. They host small colonies with shipyards, orbital dockyards, and factories.

So even within one publishing license and one context, different moons have been attributed to Naboo.

Wookieepedia

Wookieepedia’s Canon page for Naboo lists Ohma-D’un, Onoam, and Veruna. Each of these comes from a different source:

Ohma-D’un cites Rise of the Separatists

Onoam cites Leia, Princess of Alderaan

Veruna cites Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia

They’ve made a choice—but it’s definitely not the only plausible choice. Each of the four names we’re given for Naboo’s moons has at least some backing in New Canon.

Onoam

Onoam is the only moon on this list that is fully and non-dubiously canonical, as Leia spent some time there in the 2017 novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan. It is, however, the funniest name choice: someone recently pointed out to me that it’s just an anagram of “a moon”

I love this, but Claudia Gray sure muddied the Naboo Moon Name Waters by making this the only choice it is impossible to reject. No shade, though. I loved the LPOA Naboo crumbs.

Onoam has both mines (plagued in the Imperial era by corrupt leadership and miner safety issues) and luxury housing. Before his assassination, Moff Quarsh Panaka resided in a chalet on Onoam, and Queen Dalné had a home there.

Sidebar: The Mining Moons

When discussing the assassination attempt on Padmé in Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu says, “Our intelligence points to disgruntled spice miners on the moons of Naboo.”

Leia, Princess of Alderaan establishes that Onoam was one of these moons; it mentions strikes and minor political violence a generation before Leia’s. It also establishes that Onoam is mined for medicinal spice, which by law can only be mined by humans, not droids

In Queen’s Shadow, which takes place in 28 BBY, the mining moons “struggle to maintain the balance between the rule of Naboo and their allegiance to filling their quotas”; the mining jobs are much less lucrative than farming on Karlinus

Veruna

[ID: a rather barren, tan-colored moon /end ID]

Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia (2017) identifies the moon pictured above as Veruna. The same moon was identified as Ohma-D’un by The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (2008), according to Wookieepedia. I have access to neither, but it looks like the moon the ship passed in TPM. For being one of Wookiee’s choices, the evidence for this name is astonishingly thin, but the same can be said of some of the others

Sidebar: King Veruna and his moon

The likelihood is that Veruna (the moon) was named for Ars Veruna, Padmé’s predecessor as Naboo’s monarch in Legends novels Darth Plagueis (2012) and Cloak of Deception (2001)

It is very probable that Veruna is no longer canon, and it is certainly impossible that he served a decade-plus term that ended shortly before Padmé’s reign:

Padmé’s immediate predecessor, according to Queen’s Peril (2020), was Queen Sanandrassa

Sometime during Eirtaé’s childhood, Réillata served a single two-year term, according to Queen’s Shadow (2019)

Even if he’s placed somewhere before Sanandrassa, there’s not really room for him to have reigned that long unless there are two monarchs between him and Padmé 

Rori

Rori was named and fleshed out in the 2003 game Star Wars Galaxies, which is now Legends. While it is one of the names given in the Fantasy Flight Games sourcebooks, it doesn’t seem to have a source anywhere else in New Canon.

Ohma-D’un

Ohma-D’un has one New Canon source outside of RPG sourcebooks: the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Smuggler’s Guide. In Smuggler’s Guide, Tyro Viveca (one of the owners of the in-universe book) mentioned seeing bursa-baiting on Ohma-D’un. Bursas are bear-like creatures originally from Legends material, where they were known to attack and destroy Gungan settlements.

I had a picture of a captive bursa for illustrative purposes, but honestly it made me too sad so I deleted it. Nevertheless, that’s stronger detail and evidence than we have for either Rori or Veruna.

Bonus fact: Naboo officially has no such thing as prison. When Panaka mentions this to Rabé, she says, “Only because we send everyone to the moon” (Queen’s Peril). Enjoy those implications!

TL;DR

While Onoam is definitely one of the moons, what you call the other two is up to each person’s discretion until something else is stated. Personally, I prefer Ohma-D’un and Rori, rather than Veruna. This partly because I don’t like Veruna the Legends figure (petty) and partly because Rori has some interesting Legends lore that could be drawn on in a pinch, which as far as I can tell Veruna does not. 

#star wars #naboo #star wars meta #my headcanons #the subtitle isn't like. a real dig. #there isn't a lot of info about them! kudos to gray and johnston for picking up on mace's comment abt miners #there are so many little details i miss in the movies they've made interesting in books

[poulpichou]

Government failures and fucked-upperies in France

Ok, so I recently wrote a bit about the situation with police brutality in France, but now I would like to tell you more about WHY the government needs the police so much. A lot of my sources will be in french (and marked (F) like this) because there are a lot of cases that didn’t make it to the international press. Many sources also come from the newspaper Mediapart and require a subscription.

I’ve had a lot of people telling me “BuT It’S nOt ChInA” and let me tell you, yes I know it’s way worse in other countries (Peru, Thailand, Nigeria and so on, a lot is happening right now in the world), but where the fuck do you draw the line? The kind of things I’m gonna tell you about is unacceptable, and so hypocritical when a country calls itself a democracy and the land of human rights, and we should be angry about that and try to make it change. Here I’m talking a lot about Macron but let’s not forget that many current problems began under Holland’s presidency, who was supposed to be from the left, and even before. Alright, here we go.

President of the wealthy

Soooo let’s begin with how Macron was elected by wealthy people: half of the 16 million euro collected for his campaign was financed(F) by 1200 people, mostly living in Paris, by banks, and also by rich french people living abroad. So of course the first thing he did when he could was to reward them for his victory and he cut their taxes in december 2018. He deleted the “taxe on fortune” that was in place for 40 years (minus 3 years under Chirac first presidency) and replaced it with another that taxes way less, in the name of trickle down economy (you know, the same way Thatcher and Reagan did) saying that rich people would invest more and thus creating more jobs. Of course that didn’t happen and rich people just got way richer without any effects on poor people.

At the same time, he cut down housing benefits for students and poor people (1/4 of people between 18 and 24 are under the poverty line) and cancelled housing helps for 50,000 people. In december 2018, he wanted to pass a law that would increase fuel prices in the name of ecology, but that would once again mainly affect working and middle classes. That’s how started the yellow vest movement, because people were becomming poorer and poorer and they felt like the government only gave to the rich and took from the poor.

In 2018, 14% of the french population was under the poverty line, and 21% suffer from food insecurity and it has only worsened since.

At the end of 2019, a student even set himself on fire at his university because he was in such financial distress he couldn’t go on anymore.

Yellow Vest movement

If you have to read one article about it, it’s this one.

In 2017, Macron said in one of his speeches about a train station that it was “a place where one encounters people who are succeeding and people who are nothing”. The yellow vest movement came from these “people who are nothing”. For the first time in decades, people who were not heard, people who didn’t have a place in the political landscape in France were on the front scene. A lot of protestors never demonstrated before, or even engaged in politics. Many of them now protested because “they had nothing else to lose” (F). People were angry from not being listened to and being used only to allow rich people to get richer, and oh boy they showed it in the street.

The first protests took the government by surprise. They were not expecting the numbers of protestors, nor their determination. The protest were also completely different from the demonstration the state was used to deal with: there were no official leaders, making it really difficult for the government to negotiate, demonstrations were often not declared beforhand in prefectures (F), and people were systematically targetting (F) banks, major brands like Apple or McDonalds and luxury shops, causing millions euro worth of damages.

On the 1st of december 2018, protestors in Paris took over the Arc de Triomphe and completely overfloaded the police.

One policeman said afterward that on this day, “the Elysée could have fallen” (F). Police forces were not prepared, the right orders were not given at the right times and some police company were surounded by furious protestors. The same policeman said that in that moment, “they forgot about their code of ethics”, that they were just shooting rubber bullet wherever they could and “trying protect their life”. The following weeks, police put on steel fences around the Elysée and members of the government and their collaborators were asked to lock down and put away all of their documents(F) before the weekly demonstrations, in case the protestors were able to take over the buildings.

It was a turning point in the protests, and from then the orders given to the police changed completely. From then they’ve been allowed to litterally do whatever it took to keep the country in order. The government understood that the last thing between them and the furious people they betrayed was the police, and that’s precisely why they are trying to give them even more power today with the law on global security (see my last post, and probably a next one I’m gonna write soon because it would be too much for this post).

Since December 2018, a journalist, David Dusfresne, documents and keeps count on the police brutality, first on twitter and then on the online newspaper Mediapart(F) (TW for really graphic pictures of wounds and blood). For now he counted 4 deaths, 30 people who lost an eye due mainly to rubber bullets, 6 who lost a hand due to detonative grenades (France is being the only european country to use them against its own population), 346 wounded to the head (fractured skull mainly, due to the rubber bullets and baton blow) and a total of 969 documented reports on police brutality (and that’s only for 3 years).

Since then, a total of 9 police officers have been judged guilty, 7 of them being only suspended temporarily and avoiding prison, with only 2 of them ending up in prison(F) and being expelled from police forces.

People began to record the police more and more to prevent any brutality or to have proofs in case it happened, and then the police began to target journalists and anyone who had a camera.

They began to lie to people, telling them it’s forbiden to record the police (for now it isn’t), they forced photographs to delete their photos in the middle of demonstrations. They covered their ID number on their uniform (F), they covered their licence plates.

The government also began to talk about legitimate protest, aka the peacefull one, and put the name of “casseur” (thug) on anyone who would be too angry. to their taste, saying that the latter were taking the former in hostage. Basically they were saying tht yes, protestors took aver the arc de Triomphe, but it was only hooligans who just wanted to burn things, nothing political behind that.

Here began the preventive arrests (F) before demonstrations (arresting people who had done nothing on the only presumption they will), the arrest of journalists, the arrest of people having masks and protection glasses on them. From now on the administration can ban someone from public demonstration without going through the justice system.

Between November 2018 and November 2019, around 3,000 person(F) from the yellow vest movement were senteced to community services, fees, suspended prison sentence, and for 1/3 of them prison sentences. Those numbers are underestimated because many cases have not been judged yet. Some protestors were sentenced for shouting slogans(F), for wearing protective masks(F) (F), other were sent to prison for damaging radars(F) on highways, or for filming riots while wearing a yellow vest(F). There has been a massive tendency(F) for the state to sue people for “participation to a gathering with the intent to commit violences against persons or goods”, allowing them to give fees, community services or even prison sentences to people based only on the intent they gave them. Many people found guilty of attacking police forces were judged with the only proof being the declaration of police officers, and even though a lot of them claimed to be innocent they were still sentenced because they couldn’t bring proof of their innocence.(F) Amnesty International talks about the criminalization of demonstrators(F) that’s happening in France and warns about the instrumentalisation of laws that goes against international law. (F)

The ban on masks (they can be considered as weapons) during demonstration allows police to take protestors(F) who have some on them or in their car to the police station for a maximum of 48h for the sole purpose of making them miss the demonstration. This law is not applied nowadays because of Covid, but it still exists.

With the yellow vest movement, the part of the population who wasn’t used to the police actually began to endure what POC have been living for decades.

Racisme

France is a fucked up racist country. It was born in colonisation and slavery, and still rely on its former colonies to prosper economically. Young men perceived as Black or Arab are 24 more times likely to be stopped in the streets. The overwhelming majority of people killed by the police are black or arabic(F). When the police kills POC, the judiciary system often refuses to do a full investigation, refuses to hear some of the witnesses, refuses to watch some of the video tapes from surveillance cameras (F). A lot of autopsies are proved to be ballant lies, founding heart diseases(F) or blood infections(F) when the victim was actually killed by suffocation due to ventral tackle, a police technique that got France sentenced by the European court of human rights (F).

BAC

Since the mid 90′s, France has special police forces for working-class neighborhoods, the Brigade Anti-Criminalité (BAC), that operate in suburbs (in France rich people live in the city center and poor people in the suburbs) where a majority of imigrants and people from black and arabic descent live. BAC agents are all volunteers, they act in unmarked cars and civilians clothes and can carry weapons(F).

Their purpose is to roam the streets and to catch misdemeanor in the act, and they’ve been known (as well as regular police) to harass population by proceeding to systematic identity cheks(F) (often outside of what’s allowed by law), by insulting people(F), provoking people with racist and homophobic insults(F), by beating them(F) and charging them for “outrage” or “rebellion”(F) when they protest (charges that always give reasons to police officers when there’s no recordings of the arrest and allow them to get money for the prejudice). There have been reports of torture on adults(F), tennagers(F) and children(F), and cases where the BAC agents took victims to quiet places so they could beat them up(F). There have also been reports of agents inventing charges when their provocations didn’t push the victim to confront them(F).

They are basically above the law. There have been cases of massive corruption(F) where the agents returned to their unit(F) after the end of their suspension, and the person who leaked the info got fired.

As they are field agents, their role is also intelligence: they gather intells in the suburbs and they also infiltrate demonstration(F) and wear the attire of “casseurs”, to gather intells on violent individuals. Since the beginning of the Yellow Vest movement, they’ve participating in containing demonstrations as well even though they don’t have any training in that field.

Refugees

Police is being extremely violent against refugees, particularly in Northern France and what used to be the “Jungle” of Calais. Amnesty International reported that police had been beating refugees with baton, confiscating their clothes and tent daily during winter (it also happened in Paris(F)), urinating on their tents, spraying teargas directly in the face of sleeping men. A group of 4 associations also issued a report(F) on police harassment against volunteers who helped refugees, with as much as 646 instances of police harassment and abuse against volunteers between November 2017 and June 2018 in Calais. Human rights observers reported harrasment techniques such as body search of female volunteers by male officers, insults, pushing, threats of legal suits and threats of arrest. Volunteers who reported these behaviours were told by the police internal investigation body that the reports where defamatory and could constitute a crime.

At the beginning of the year, associations that were not approuved by the state were forbidden to distribute free meals to refugees(F).

Islamophobia

France has always been an islamophobic country but it has been more public and accepted since the 2015 terrorist attacks. Many laws promoting laicity are actually used to target Islam:

The ban of public display of religious items in public institutions (schools, libraries, government buildings) target mainly women wearing hijabs when many mayors keep on installing nativity scenes during Christmas(F). In 2016 some cities made wearing a burkini (full body covering bathing suit) on the beach illegal and we had some astonishing scenes of police officers asking a women (who wasn’t even wearing a burkini) to undress on the beach in the name of the law.

The law that says people have to uncover their face when being in a public space only target muslim women and is now completely useless as we have the obligation to wear a mask everywhere

The law that says street prayers have to be autorized in prefecture beforehand only target muslim community: when a muslim association organized a street prayer(F) in 2017 to protest their eviction from their place of cult in the city center they were charged 10,000€ (5,000€ from the association and 5,000€ from its president), whereas catholics students organized a street prayer(F) last month and didn’t face any charges. Legally, any autorization must be asked more than 3 days in advance and in both cases it was only asked on the day before.

Following the killing of Samuel Paty, a teacher who was attacked mid october for showing caricatures of the prophet Mohamed in class, four 10 years old children were arrested for “terrorism apology”(F), interrogated for 10 hours and their houses checked by police forces in full gears. The minister of interior also disolved the Collective against Islamophobia in France, saying that, since it was prottesting against anti-terrorist laws (that are super islamophobic) it was promoting radical islamism and terrorism. A minute of silence was imposed in schools and the names of people who didn’t follow the procedure were given to the minister of education, who said “none of them will be left unpunished”.(F)

To sum up: the government is being super islamophobic but muslims who voice their concerns are seen as radical islamists and are associated with terrorists.  Furthermore, it’s now easier for islamophobic people in government to ban associations or to pass shady laws thanks to the state of emergency.

State emergency

Following the 2 years of state emergency (2015-2017), France passed a law against terrorism(F) that normalized a lot of the state emergency’s characteristics: it took power away from the justice system to give it to administrations, directly under the control of the government.

The government, who previously had to be accountable in front of a judiciary judge, can now do many things under the only control of an administrative judge(F). The actions of administrative judges are controled by the council of state, and the president of the said council is the prime minister or the minister of justice, named by the president.

Here is what they can now do(F):

place people under house arrest with obligation to check in police stations every day for a maximum of a year

deny or restrict access to public events to some people, or proceed to body search

make someone wear an electronic bracelet when they didn’t commit any infractions

close places of worship for a maximum of 6 months when the ideas discuted there promote hate, discrimination, violence or terrorism

require people to give their login of any account on internet to the police

investigate on civil servants using secret services files

create a national centralized file with the names of people travelling in and out of the country by plane or boat

With the autorisation of a judge of freedom and detentions, they can also search houses and seize computers or phones to inspect the contents.

If people refuse to do any of the above when they are asked to, they risk 3 years of prison and a fee that can go up to 45,000€.

The offense “terrorism apology” was used against hundreds of people, with a large proportion of them being underaged (1/3 of them in 2015), sometimes for something as unsignificant as a non-violent facebook comment, a situation pointed out by Amnesty International(F). The NGO also highlights the fact that the fear of being considered as an extremist or the fear of facing judiciary consequences sets limit to freedom of speech.

Since 2015, the government has used the power given to them by the state of emergency to place 24 environmental activists under house arrest for the duration of the COP21(F) and to search the house of people who were protesting against the construction of an airport(F), construction potentialy linked to corruption(F), and also to close temporarly more than 30 mosques and install security cameras inside(F).

The consulting national commission on human rights pointed out a “highjack” of the state emergency, that was used to silence protestors, unions and refugees with abusive means, like unnecessary handcuffing, adults and children being aimed at with assault riffle during house searches and house being damaged during searches.

2015 was also the year of the Intelligence Act, a law that allows inteligence agencies to install scanning devices on the infrastructure of telecom operators so they can collect data on communications that are likely to reveal a terrorist threat.

Covid 19

When the epidemy started to be problematic in France in February 2020, hospital workers had been on strike for 11 months(F) and were asking for doctors and nurses jobs opening, and more beds in hospital. At the beginning of february, 600 administrative hospital workers had quit(F) so they were not “accomplices of the management of misery”. Healthcare workers had been saying for years that the deterioration of the working conditions in hospitals were gonna lead to patients death.

Since the beginning of the 2000′s, 100 000 beds have been removed(F) from hospital services and there has been a budget cut close to 12 bilions euros(F) for the health services.

Then comes Covid 19, and the government asks health workers to always do more with less, in the name of common good. We applaud them at our windows every night, and then they don’t get the bonus(F) the government promised, the healthcare system doesn’t get any budget increase and even worse, it still has to face a 800 milions cut in the middle of the pandemic(F).

The newspaper Mediapart issued a report(F) exposing the lies of the government:

They decided to get only small quantities of masks at the beginning of january against experts opinion, they said the virus wouldn’t reach France.

Government lied about the usefullness of masks to prevent people asking for them when they didn’t have some to distribute to the whole population. They said it was useless, and even dangerous because we didn’t know how to use them, they actively encouraged people not to wear them, and they lied about mask shortage. I really want to insist on that point, the instensity of communication on the subject was incredible. Every day we had many different high-ranked person in the government telling us on TV, on the radio or in newspaper that we shouldn’t wear masks. They only made wearing masks compulsory in public spaces mid July, 6 months after the first case in France(F).

Healthcare workers didn’t have enough masks and thus faced higher risks of contamination but the government still allowed non essential big companies like Airbus to use milions of the precious FFP2 masks. The government still refuses to give the number of healthcare workers who died from Covid19(F), the only count we have is made by journalists, and it’s believed to be underestimated.

To this day, healthcare workers are still on strike for better working conditions and better pay. I took this pic earlier this month from one of the firestations in my city, you can read written in white paint on the doors “understaffed, population in danger”, “18 months of strike and still NOTHING”, “Covid bonus ???” and “SOS”. Firefighters also write this on their trucks and their helmets, and hospitals have had banners deployed for more than a year now. All of these people are still working to ensure everyone’s access to health services but they refuse to transfer data to the state sickness insurance for example (and they are now facing administrative sanctions(F) and are threatened to not be given cancer drugs if they don’t end the strike(F)).

Regarding Covid, we are one of the only countries in europe to use self-filled certificates to be able to go outside. These certificates are controlled by the police, and like I said earlier, increased police controls harm a certain part of the population (young people and POC). Amnesty International issued a report(F) on the violences comited during french lockdown, pointing out repetitive and significant illegitimate actions from the police, such as beatings, use of tasers, illegal arrests, racists and homophobics insults and verbal threats. In April 2020, Mohamed Gabsi, a homeless person, was killed by the police after being arrested for being outside during the lockdown(F). The officers who killed him are still in service.

The covid crisis brought us in the worst recession we had since WW2, and the Secour Populaire (french association that helps poor people) had to help 45% more people than it helped in 2019(F). In my city, there are so many people coming for food distribution on certain days they had to install permanent fences in the street so people can queue in order.

Corruption and Other Stuff

In France (as in many other countries) it’s rare to have politicians who’ve never been prosecuted in any judiciary or administrative case.

Here I’m only gonna tell you who have been accused and who have been prosecuted for what in Macron’s government, and quite frankly it’s not exhaustive because one wikipedia page just brings me to 5 more.

The following tab is quite heavy so feel free to just check the left column with the legend.

(Now let me cry thinking about this Swedish minister who had to quit over a chocolate bar)

(All my sources are from french newspapers, I can give them if you ask me but I’m not gonna put them here because there are way too many)

People who had to quit the first government were still appointed deputy governor of the Bank of France (Sylvie Goulard), president of the national assembly (Richard Ferrand) and chief of foreign affaires commission at the national assembly (Marielle de Sarnez). They are being investigated for corruption and embezzlement and they still have a successfull political career, and more important they still heavily influence the laws of our country and of Europe. Sylvie Goulard was even chosen by Macron to seat at the European Commission but european deputies decided it was fucked up and rejected her appointment (F).

In this list I only talked about members of the government but there has been other scandals linked to people around Macron.

Benalla cases: It all began when we discovered Alexandre Benalla, chief of security and travels for the president, was participating in demonstration as a policeman (which he wasn’t) and used his position to beat up protestors and passerby. The rest of the case is filled with destruction and hiding of evidences(F), illegal sharing of public surveillance videotapes by the police, undeclared guns(F), illegal but unpunished use of data by the police(F) and the Elysée(F), breaking of the judiciary control by Benalla, illegal diplomatic passports and meeting with african’s leaders, russian contracts with an alleged mafia boss(F), office searchs for a newspaper ordered by the State, who tried to seize the proofs and the sources the newspaper had on the case(F) and so on. The case involves several members of the government and members of special forces, and some journalists who were writing on it were then auditionned for disclosure of state secret(F). The case in general highlighted the impunity members of the government and police officers have, as well as anyone who is close to the president, but also the dysfunction in the justice system and the impossibility for high ranked people to face justice. The fucker is still free, taunt people on twitter and still gives interviews to national television.

Kohler case: Alexis Kohler, general secretary of the Elysee and Macron right hand man during his campain, hid his personnal links to the sea transporters MSC and then attributed them huge state funds. He also lied in his involvement in the decision. We discovered Macron sent a letter to the national financial prosecutor's office to clear him, which they did, until an anti-corruption association relaunched legal proceedings. The guy is now being prosecuted for corruption and bribery. (F) (F)

Conclusion

Fuck the police, eat the rich, let’s forbid them from being elected, a next long post on the Law on Global Security the governement is trying to pass is gonna come soon if you’re interested.

Please tell me if you see any inconsistency in this post, I tried to source it as much as I could and to verify everything I wrote but like anyone else I have bias and sometimes I wrote things at 5am so I’m aware I might be incorrect  and I’m open to constructive criticism. Also sorry for my approximate english sometimes.

#France #Macron #up the baguette #yellow vest #what the france #french government #french politics #french side of tumblr

[chaoticbi-cheesecake]

Paper Airplanes and Face Masks (Hournite)

Summary: Beth has Rick over for the night and is determined to get him in a face mask.

Warnings: Mild allusions to abusive gardian.

Category: Fluff

Note: this is my first attempt at fanfiction, please leave your thought about it below:)

Training lasted longer than usual that day. By the time it was over, the sun was already saying goodbye and slowly receded to the west. Pat had tried his best to make the obstacles more difficult in an effort to mirror what he believed was to come in the battles ahead.

The new JSA tried their best to work with and without their abilities, all while trying to work together as a team. It was challenging to say the least, not many of them had much experience working with others.

Curly blonde locks stuck to Courtney's face as she asked Yolanda if she needed to be driven home. The other girl thankfully accepted the offer before running off to grab her things.

Pat, hearing he was now driving Yolanda, went to the next girl who had no mode of transportation.

"Do you need a ride?" He asked Beth who faced away from him, her eyes instead on the boy leaning on the entrance of the building.

"Oh, no thank you." she replied sweetly.

"Okay, just make sure to get home safe." the man instructed, making his voice loud enough for the boy to hear him as well.

Rick turned his head to Pat, giving him a single nod before pushing himself off the wall and walking out toward the road.

"Will do Mr. Dugan." Beth replied brightly before briskly walking in the direction of the boy, goggles slung around her neck, the straps of her backpack gripped in broth her hands.

She found him standing still outside of the building, staring at his path home with a scowl.

He wasn't all that fond of going back to his house, knowing who would be there when he arrived, though with the hourglass he would be able to defend himself if need be. He quickly found himself sinking into his own mind, the multitude of reasons why that was a very bad idea taking over his thoughts.

His dark thought process was interrupted by a hand delicately brushing against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked in her sweet, yet concerned voice.

Rick nodded curtly and turned his gaze to the ray of sunshine beside him. Beth wore her wide smile and big doe eyes, wearing him down and making him want to tell her everything.

But he didn't, thinking better of it.

"I'm just getting ready to walk home."

"Me too!" she shook her head eagerly.

He nodded once more, awkwardly, in a gesture of understanding.

The two stood in a thick silence, Beth's hands were now shoved deep in her jean pockets as she contemplated opening her mouth again.

Rick began to walk in the direction of his house when Beth let out a quick, "Do you want to come over to my house?"

The boy stilled wondering if Beth had actually offered.

"I mean, you can if you want to. My parents are working tonight, and tomorrow night, and most nights. They've been doing that a lot recently." she laughed in an attempt to hide her sadness.

"It's getting dark, my uncle won't like me out for so long."

He heard the girl shuffle closer.

"You know, if he tries anything, Pat can always take his robot and exchange some...words," she tried. "Or any of us could suit up and do it. Not just for this, just any time you need."

Rick almost laughed, the image of Beth in her costume coming to his door to threaten his uncle, huge goggles and all, entering his head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm still not sure that's the best ide-" he stopped himself at the sight of Beth, shoulders slumped, but eyes still bright as ever.

He realized in that moment that she was just like him, lonely and in need of some company.

"Umm...maybe just for tonight." he gave in.

"Yes!" Beth squealed excitedly, hooking her arm through his and turning them in the direction of her house.

As they walked, Beth rattled on about everything from homework to superheroes. Rick had to hold back the smile that threatened to make it's way onto his face at the sound of her enthusiasm.

They made it to Beth's house quite quickly. The girl unlinked their arms and began to rummage through her bag in searched of her keys. Rick wouldn't admit his disappointment at the lack of contact, but he would make note of how he suddenly felt the warmth leave his body when Beth pulled away.

They entered into darkness, no one was home and all the lights were off, Beth haphazardly used her hand to search the wall beside her for the light switch. As she flicked it on, brightness washed over the two. Rick squinted his eyes at the sudden intrusion of light.

"Okay, you can put your stuff here, or you can take it to my room, or just keep it with you. Whatever you want to do." Beth supplied as she began speeding to her kitchen. "Alright, what kind of snacks do you like? We have a bit of everything, sweet, sour, savory. Unless you wanted some dinner, I should have some leftovers from the other day that I could heat up for you." she offered.

"No thanks."

"Are you sure, I have cookies." she called, walking out of the kitchen and holding a clear container filled with some cookies she had caught Rick eyeing the day prior.

This time he couldn't stop his lips from turning upward in a small grin, he nodded his head.

Beth pumped her fist in the air before grabbing Rick's arm and dragging him to her room. She plopped down on her bed opening the container and taking a bite out of the sweet.

"So what do you want to do first?" she questioned, extending the box for Rick to take from. "We can do homework, watch a movie, Chuck has this great karaoke setting-" she gasped. " Ooh, we can do face masks. I was going to do them with Court and Yolanda next weekend but there's no time like the present."

"No."

"What why?"

"Cause I don't want you putting anything on my face."

"But it'll be fun." she tried.

"Nope. Let's just finish the homework and then you can pick a movie." Rick countered.

" How about we finish the homework and then we do face masks."

"Not happening."

"I can help you," she sang "and Chuck knows all the answers."

"Still no." Rick shook his head calmly.

Beth's shoulders slumped but she soon fixed her posture and shrugged. She grabbed her backpack from the side of her bed. She shuffled through it and pulled out her folder full of assignments. She grasped her geometry packet and began working on it. Rick sat down at the foot of the bed, he too got out the homework and began start on the page.

They worked in mostly silence for half an hour, Beth occasionally looking to Chuck for guidance, earning a long and extremely detailed account of every question and answer she asked about. Rick tried his best to focus on the paper in front of him, but he was just plain disinterested in the numbers, letters, and shapes on the page. He instead opted to scribble down the first answers that came to his mind, accuracy be damned, just wanting to finish as soon as possible.

He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to restore the little energy he had before taking out the assignment to no avail. When he looked back to the work, he was surprised to see a paper airplane made out of a sticky note set on top of his work.

He stared at the small plane in front of him before turning his gaze to Beth who was laying on her bed, appearing to be concentrated on the packet on her bed, tapping her pencil on the comforter as she looked over the page.

Rick moved his eyes back to the paper airplane, gingerly unfolding the wings to see in neat handwriting the words,

Face mask plz:)

He snapped his head to the girl who's face was now hidden behind her folder. She peeked her head out shyly only to see Rick rolling his eyes playfully and once again shaking his head no.

Turning his attention back to his homework, Rick wrote down the solutions to three more problems before an airplane landed on his lap.

He haphazardly opened the paper up to read the words,

Please. It'll be really fun. Please.

Before Rick had the chance to reply with a no, yet another airplane cascaded across his field of vision landing just beside his shoe. He leaned to pick it up and undid the neatly folded paper.

Pretty please with cookies on top?

Rick furrowed his brows and turned his body to face to girl, who was now at the foot of the bed, her chin was resting atop the box of cookies from before. Her big eyes and hopeful smile pleaded with him to reconsider.

He caved.

He let his head fall to his chest and pinched the bridge of his nose. He raised one hand and lifted his index finger.

"Once, we do this once."

Beth's entire face lit up as she squealed "Yay!" dashing off her bed she leaned down to give Rick a quick hug before running to get the supplies from her bathroom.

Rick begrudgingly made his way over to the side of her bed and sat down uncomfortably. But if he was being honest, he would do this a thousand times just to see the overjoyed expression that overtook her features at his compliance.

She returned holding a tube in one hand and a brush in another. Rick guessed to brush would be used to apply the mask.

"Okay, you ready?" she asked, popping open the cap and squeezing out a dollop of the mixture onto the brush.

"Why is it green?" Rick interrogated.

"Because it's matcha." Beth said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. At Rick's confused face she explained sweetly, "it's a type of green tea that's really popular to use in face masks."

He nodded cautiously as Beth stepped closer to him. She was directly in front of him as she softly touched the brush to his face. He hissed and pulled back quickly.

"Why is it cold?"

"It's not necessarily that it's cold. It's just that you're hot." Rick's eyebrows shot up. Beth didn't even realize what she had said until he made the gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! Not that you're not, it's just that- ugh, I meant body temperature. The average human body is between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit and this," she held up the face mask tube, "is very much below that temperature." she rambled. "Besides, would you rather this be warm?"

Rick just stayed silent.

Beth gently brushed all around his face, sometimes imploring him to stop scrunching up his face. Rick hated to say it, but it was actually kind of relaxing. There weren't many times where someone tried to take care of him for a change.

"Alrighty, all done." the girl announced, removing the brush from his face and stepping back.

"How long do I have to keep this on for?"

"Until it's completely dry."

"And when is that?"

"Ummm..." Beth searched for an answer. " once it's hard to smile, you should be good to wash it off."

"I don't smile."

"I'm well aware, you can just wait till I take mine off."

She moved over to her mirror and began applying the mask to herself.

"I feel like an idiot." Rick complained.

"You are not, you look super cute!" Beth chided.

"I'm not sure if that's worse."

The boy watched her apply the mask all over her face, he couldn't control the expression of love and adoration that graced his face as he observed her.

He stayed like that for God knows how long until Beth turned to fully face him. He could say with the utmost confidence it was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his life. Her face was green like his and a wide smile lit up her face.

There was no denying the smitten appearance he held as he gazed at Beth.

He was ripped from his trance when he heard the snap of Beth's phone camera. She smiled cheekily and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Beth." Rick began dangerously. "Don't do it Beth." already knowing she would share the photo.

"Just let me send it to Court and Yolanda." she pleaded.

"No, Beth."

Beth gripped her phone tightly behind her back as her eyes wandered to her open room door. Rick saw the plan forming in her mind and raced to beat her to the door. She ducked under his arm and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Rick knocked on the door frantically, "Come on, Beth. What's the point?"

"The point is you look adorable and that is not something that should be hidden from the world. And by world I mean the team." she called from behind the door.

"Beth Chapel I will turn this hourglass over right now and take this door off it's hinges." he said in an attempt to sound threatening.

"We both know you won't," Beth stated matter of factly.

"Dammit." Rick grit his teeth knowing she was right.

He heard the door unlock behind him, Beth wore a wide grin. He groaned, knowing he was completely incapable of actually being mad at her.

"Was it at least a good picture?" he asked, defeated.

"You tell me," Beth instructed, handing over her phone to the boy before slipping past him and back to her room.

The screen showed a picture of Rick, covered in a green face mask. But that's not what really got him. Plastered on his face clear as day was a lovestruck expression that could rival that of Beth's favorite rom-coms.

He sighed, accepting his fate. There would for sure be hell to pay the next day. He was certain Courtney and Yolanda would never let him live it down. But at the moment he wasn't to bothered.

"Is it okay if I put on 'The Breakfast Club'?" He heard from the other room. He lowered the phone and walked back to the room, prepared to spend the rest of the night with the adorable being that was Beth Chapel.

The End ♡

Again I will reiterate, this is my first time posting a fanfic so I would really appreciate some positive feedback, or if there was something you saw that you didn't really like please leave it in the comments, politely please. I am but an emotionally fragile egg trying my best. If you want to see more hournite oneshots or headcanons let me know. Thanks

Sincerely, Tessa.

#hourman #hournite #rick and beth in face masks just vibing #beth in a face mask #like rick in a face mask #rick tyler #beth chapel #but like beth is perfect #HourNite #hournite fanfiction #oneshot #fanfic #my heart belongs to these babies #honestly these two are my babies. #i only want them to be happy together #they're so adorable it hurts my soul #cw stargirl #stargirl 2020 #stargirl #stargirl fanfic #please be nice to me. #Rick Tyler #Beth Chapel #yolanda montez #courtney whitmore #Stargirl #Wildcat #Baby JSA #Let them be cannon

[bitch-in-a-bag]

can we talk about how the LGBT movement has changed in the past 15 years?

in the light of the events surrounding Chris chan, and people prioritizing pronouns over the rape of a woman with dementia, I think it displays just how... different things are.

i personally feel like it's been co-opted by the more loud and entitled mtfs/ males/penis-havers/whatever pc term exists for the XY chromosome'd, who go too far and aren't reasonably kept in check. I think terf no longer has meaning anymore because it's just become a word we use to silence anyone that disagrees with a trans woman. immediately you're going to call me a terf, I accept that, but please continue reading. I may suprise you. calling someone who's transgender a terf is kinda messed up anyway, and that's exactly why im writing this.

I also think that everyone else (allies, ftms, etc) have followed suit because they've written this messed up narrative that EvErYoNe iS VaLiD. except for trans penis-havers, bc they're the most oppressed and the most valid, actually, regardless of their experiences.

I never used to believe the above because it was always written off as terf shit, and ignoring it kinda benefitted me, but between seeing ftms getting bashed for refusing to follow new "TME" rules as if they aren't trans too, and seeing outrage around Chris chans pronouns, I think it's time to start saying things that may make people uncomfortable. innocent people are already getting hurt by this, and we need to do better. it's time to get uncomfortable.

I want to remind you that perception is both the relying factor, and also the downfall of newer lgbt theory. if my profile were mtf coded, maybe it currently is, you'd call me a self hating trans and I wouldn't be that big of a deal. terfs would probably target me.

if my profile was ftm coded, I would be absolutely skewered for daring to speak out about these issues, even though they do actually affect ftms disproportionately. terfs would try to convince me that being trans is a plague and a mental illness, and to just ~be a cis woman~!

and if assumed cis, I would 100% be assumed radfem terf, and everything I say would immediately be dismissed because of the genuine damage terfs have done. but terfs would still probably flock to this post and berate me for daring to validate trans people At All, because to them, being transgender is a mental illness akin to an eating disorder, and "giving in" to it is "self harm". clearly I don't believe that, so hopefully you'll give me at least some benefit of the doubt.

so, does my identity matter? i have a feeling you'll say yes, because it gives us a good idea of experiences I do and don't have expertise in, and thus room to talk about. but I refuse to directly identify what I actually am because I want the focus of any resulting conversation to be my message and not my self identification. if you read between the lines and figure it out that's just fine, but I would like to be heard first and foremost.

my profile is thus an attempt at being cis female coded, somewhat out of comfort, and that is likely what I'll be assumed to be due to the beliefs I am expressing, even though there is a substantial risk of getting misgendered and dismissed, no matter what my birth sex may actually be. i will give you a hint about my identity: I am transgender, on HRT and everything, and I have been personally affected by all of this. rest assured, this is well within my lane to speak about, and it does matter if you misgender me.

I want you to really think about that. before you respond, really think about if someone saying words on tumblr, talking about their OWN experiences and their take on recent history that applies to themself, really more worthy of being misgendered and harassed than... someone who said they transitioned so they could date lesbians, and then raped their own mother with dementia.

is that fair or just? or is this just a new way of letting people with penises do whatever they want? I personally think it's the latter. we need to hold people like Chris chan accountable without getting caught up on something as minor **in comparison** as misgendering and self identification. Is it sad and confusing that someone who self IDs as transgender became 1:1 with the most dangerous stereotypes that exist for trans women? Of course it is. But it doesn't mean that self identification is suddenly more important than a literal crime being committed.

I would normally dismiss it as a fluke or outright trolling if the evidence weren't so damning that this is in fact a real event that happened. If I hadn't seen this happen to other people, and if I didn't literally know another mtf person who used their dysphoria as an excuse for date rape on multiple occasions and never got any consequences for it.

It's not a one time thing, it's a developing problem that we need to stop before more people have their lives ruined. I can't even imagine how traumatizing and messed up it is for an FTM person to be date raped, by another transgender person no less. When I, an abuse survivor, told people of this MTFs red flags, people violently silenced me. People who didn't know I was trans called me a terf and transphobic. We, as a community, could've protected someone from getting date raped, and we didn't. Trans women can be awful, horrible fucking people, because they are people. Protecting them at all costs is wrong. Protecting them from transphobia is what we should be doing.

That being said, misgendering is still skeevy, and I haven't done anything like raped a disabled woman who is no longer able to consent, or date raped my own partner. if you give a shit about respecting my identity, please use they/them for me. if not, use visual perception and make assumptions that will most likely be incorrect, skew your own argument, and put me on the same level as a rapist, and arguably a fetishist. And I do need to remind you that calling someone transgender a rapist and a fetishist without evidence is still definitely classic transphobia, to the letter, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that.

as someone who is same sex attracted, I also want to bring this up as well.

in the US in the past 15 years, the movement as a whole pretty much went "YEAH BORN THIS WAY" with Lady Gaga, and then jumped ship to prioritize mostly mtfs at every angle. do mtfs need support? absolutely. but they don't need misguided toxic positivity, and that's what it's turned into.

it's gotten genuinely homophobic to the point where actually homosexual people are constantly being erased and demonized via "genital preferences are a fetish uwu", and vulva havers, especially the trans ones, are constantly being told to shut up about their experiences.

as much as you want to deny bioessentialism, its still very much well and alive with newer trans movement sentiments when we classify ftms as not worthy of speaking about their own issues with terms like "TME". it's also incredibly ignorant towards FTMs who pass, but dress feminine for comfort, and get mistaken for MTF, and treated like garbage because of it. They are not remotely exempt from misogyny, transphobia, or the intersection of the two, and it is not anyone's job to tell them they don't ever experience that when they do. Turning ftms and biological homosexuals into our enemies-- especially when the actual cause is transphobia and harmful gender stereotypes-- does nothing good or healthy for our movement.

Dont be mistaken, though, passing isn't the focus or end all be all here, it's the perception of others that ends up drastically effecting your experiences. There are words like misogyny that imply treatment via birth sex, however this too can be reliant on external perception. If an MTF individual either transitions very young, has an abundance of resources to transition, or just gets lucky and passes well, chances are she will experience a lot more misogyny than people may give credit to. inversely, someone who just started questioning yesterday, but lived as a male their whole life up until then, they genuinely cannot speak about misogyny with that much room because they simply haven't experienced it at an accurate enough angle or for enough time to understand it as a repeated and sociological force.

It works the other way as well, though; someone who's known that they're trans for a long time and haven't had the resources to transition, or do not or cannot pass in the eyes of society; these people suffer pain that we don't neccesarily have a word for yet, imo. It makes dysphoria worse and it makes living seem hopeless. And as a community, we deal with this is in a really messed up way by over-validating them instead of solving the core issue at hand. and people who suffer from this, but also acknowledge they can't claim what they haven't experienced, are left with nowhere to go.

And its important to acknowledge these things because they're integral to the over-encompassing trans experience. Instead of lying to everyone and telling everyone they pass/giving out unconditional positive regard, our focus should be making it so that it **doesn't matter if you pass**. that you're still worth respect and dignity if you're transgender, no matter what passing is or what it means to you, and no matter how you present. But also, if you do something awful, you still need to be held accountable, especially if you use yourself, your body, or your trans status to contribute to other axi of oppression.

Transphobia is a word that encompasses and addresses all of that, regardless of birth sex. "TME" shuts that down in favor of only letting MTF's speak. Which is still very bio-essentialist, and I can't help but feel like we've gone full circle.

Once upon a time you couldn't even get married if your partner had the same genitals as you. in the US, this was less than 7 years ago. and if you care about human rights activism, you know damn well that legal modification is not the end all be all. people who are genuinely homosexual are still oppressed, but the trans movement has started stepping on them to make ground we don't deserve. homosexuals are ok and valid. it's not a genital preference, and the prescence of trans people doesn't make conversion therapy sentiments ok, ever.

we've gone full circle, and it's not right.

#trans rights #homosexuality #human rights #lgbt #lgbt community #trans #tw: rape #transphobia

[iworshipkeanureeves]

There Are No Rules (2/3)

Keanu Reeves x Reader (The Devil Wears Prada AU)

A/N: We are getting closer to @toomanystoriessolittletime​ birthday, so I’m updating the story dedicated to her birthday challenge. This one is a little dramatic with a lot of mixed feelings and some angst, but I hope you’ll enjoy it :)

Summary: Reader applies for a job in a fashion magazine where Keanu is editor-in-chief.

Warnings: angst, brief mentions of alcohol

Words: 3.2K

-Part 1-

“Keanu Reeve’s office, how can I help you?”

These words got carved into Y/N’s brain over the past couple of weeks. She had been repeating them at least fifty times a day, usually through her gritted teeth, and most of these calls would eventually leave her on the verge of tears.

No matter how much she hated this job, every day seemed easier than the previous one. Y/N felt like she was finally getting the hang of it all, and it was a little glimpse of hope that perhaps she was going to survive this madness. Maybe she was stronger than she thought she was.

Was Reeves as terrifying as everyone had told he would be? Yes, but in a strangely different way.

He had never really shouted or insulted her directly, yet Keanu had his way with words to make Y/N understand how immensely she had failed assigned tasks. Sometimes just his presence was fearsome, as his nit-picking gaze would land directly on Y/N’s desk, making her guts squeeze. Even if Y/N knew she was doing everything correctly, she felt like it wasn’t enough, it was impossible to live up to his standards.

When not in meetings, Keanu would sit in his office swiveling in his chair, enjoying the spectacular view of the New York skyline. Honestly, it didn’t appear like he was doing much, but Y/N could tell from his focused eyes that his mind was constantly at work.

Creatively Reeves had no rules, but when it came to his office, he preferred having everything structured. Every morning Y/N would receive a text stating Reeve’s breakfast order, and she had to get it before he came to work. A cup of plain black coffee, ready on his desk on time, was essential in order to make the day better for the whole office. Y/N was responsible for that, and whenever she failed, every co-worker would be badgering her for the remaining day.

The worst of them was Emily, who wouldn’t shut up about her upcoming Fashion Week in Paris and all expensive garments she was going to be able to wear. Y/N was neither bored nor jealous, but it was very hard to concentrate hearing Emily babbling for the whole day. Eventually, it would leave Y/N making more mistakes, which led to even more disapproval received from Reeves.

---

It was one of those calm days when Keanu didn’t have much on his hands. “Y/N, come over,” he called, and based on his frigid tone, Y/N immediately knew something was wrong. “Where are the Valentino samples I asked for the run-throughs?”

Y/N could already feel her hands sweating and her heart beating through her chest. “What?” her brows furrowed with tears threatening her eyes, she was simply too tired. “But you never mentioned those…”

“Please tell me you’re kidding,” Reeves sighed expressing his disappointment, which at this point was so familiar to her. “Will you ever do anything right here?”

Anything right…?

His words left Y/N helpless. For the past couple of weeks she had been working hard like never before, giving all her energy to keep the office organized and satisfy every single one of Reeves’ whims. Yes, she had made a few mistakes, but they were nothing compared to how much right she had done.

It was the moment Y/N realized she had had enough, she wasn’t even an assistant anymore, she was Reeves’ maid and it was time to save the last bits of her dignity.

“Oh come on,” her eyes were beginning to fill with anger, tears evaporating in the feverish air. Y/N didn’t even notice her clenched fists with nails digging into her damp skin. “Most of the things I do here are right, they are freaking perfect,” she breathed out, nearing to his desk. It looked like she was ready to fight him.

“It’s nice that you think so, but…”

“You never even notice, do you?” Y/N cut him off with a slight rise in her tone. “All you do is sit in your office, drinking coffee and flipping through the same couple of pages for the whole day,” she knew she was exaggerating, but Y/N was furious, she wanted to make Reeves feel bad, just like he had been making her this whole time. “You know, you couldn’t even manage to tell me to go get those samples, maybe you should start doing things right yourself?”

“Oh sweetheart,“ Reeves exhaled fixing his expensive scarf and stood up in need of reestablishing his dominance over Y/N, his wide shoulders were blocking the sun and casting shadow over her enraged face. He confidently walked around his table, and as Y/N saw him getting closer, she got scared not knowing what he was about to do next. Luckily, Reeves stopped crossing his arms and was ready to say something, but Y/N interrupted him again.

“Don’t sweetheart me,” Y/N knew she had crossed the line and there was no way back, disrespectful words had already escaped her throat, so she decided to go even further. “I am the only one here working my ass off, while Emily is barely functioning on her messed up diet. And yet somehow she’s still taking all the credit for my work. I-I just can’t deal with you and your crazy people anymore. You’re all delusional here,” she was practically shouting at this point.

It all felt like a dream to Y/N, she could barely understand what was happening, and her hammering heart was leaving her lightheaded. Y/N was gasping for air, all trembling and looking a little disoriented, Keanu could see that she physically wasn’t doing well.

Y/N felt his presence closer than before, his warm breath tickling her forehead. “Go on, I’m listening,” Reeves said, raising his hands up to her shoulders for better support. His words were unbelievably calm again, but this time it seemed like Keanu had no intention to intimidate, he genuinely wanted for Y/N to slow down a little and breath. She was questioning though, whether Keanu truly cared for her, or he just didn’t want to deal with the problem of Y/N passing out in front of him.

“I’m done,” she grunted escaping his grip. “I’m so. Fucking. Done.” Her words were quiet but convincing.

For a moment they stood still, Y/N was breathing deeply, debating whether it was time she should turn around and go, but Keanu’s sly smirk managed to catch her eye. “What’s so funny?” she asked, still annoyed, but slowly realizing she had been acting a little crazy, Y/N was beginning to regret her words.

“I’m proud of you, Y/N,” Keanu grinned, leaving her extremely confused.

“What?” She expected Reeves to be angry with her, maybe even come back with more hurtful words. But he didn’t.

“You’re done walking around with those sad puppy eyes, and I can finally see that you’ve got something in you. I saw that fire burning inside, keep it up.” He was about to come closer again, but tucked his hands back in the last second, keeping a polite distance.

“U-uh, okay..?” Y/N was still in shock, trying to understand how he could be so nice to her all of a sudden, especially after this little tantrum she had just thrown.

“Now I can be sure you’ll keep things in place here when I and Emily leave for the Fashion Week,” he tried to locate her sight, checking if she was fine. “Unless you really meant it when you said about being done, but I don’t think you did,” he gave her one last encouraging grin and returned to his usual state, solid and untroubled.

Indeed she wished she could take her words back, Y/N needed this job more than anything, she wasn’t going to find another one soon that would pay enough, and she couldn’t afford to be unemployed. She had secretly applied to a couple of other magazines, but since no one had reached back to her yet, she had to settle for what Reeves was offering her.

Still, it left Y/N wondering whether Keanu had been playing her all along, pulling strings one by one in order to see how far she can go before lashing out. She felt like his little toy, maybe one of his creative projects, something for him to have fun with. But Y/N was having no fun at all.

“I’ll go call Valentino about the samples,” Y/N exhaled turning around and rushed to the phone. Her heart was still racing with adrenaline flowing in her veins, and honestly, she was proud of herself too.

---

At 1:00 AM Y/N’s phone rang and she really thought about not answering it. Just in case, she decided to open her eyes and check the caller’s ID, unfortunately, it said Keanu Reeves.

In an hour, Y/N was standing on his doorstep holding a custom Tom Ford suit tailored just for Reeves. Of course, Keanu made them work on it until the very last night before leaving for Paris, and Y/N had to be the one bringing it to him.

“What took you so long?” He reproached opening his front door. Y/N was expecting to find him all pampered in some chic robe, but he was wearing simple jeans paired with a grey t-shirt, and his hair was messily falling over his face. To Y/N’s surprise, he looked like a normal human being, completely different from what she was used to see.

“Sorry, I was trying to be as quick as possible,” she smiled apologetically, hoping he wouldn’t be too mad.

Keanu just sighed opening his door wider, implying Y/N should come inside. She was immediately looking around for something to hang the suit on, so that she could quickly turn around and go home.

“Yet, here you are, wearing a full face of make-up,” he spoke locking the door, and Y/N took this as a sign that he wasn’t going to let her easily leave. “You know, showing up twenty minutes earlier would have impressed me much more.”

“Come,” he invited her up the stairs, waiting for Y/N to make up her mind. She was quite reluctant at first, lagging in the hallway, but she was also very intrigued, and ultimately, curiosity took over her.

Y/N was following Reeves mesmerized by the penthouse he was living in. High ceiling and tall white walls decorated with colorful artwork, it seemed like he was living in an art gallery. Every painting was more eccentric than the previous one, but it wasn’t happy kind of art. In fact, Y/N felt surrounded by a somber ambience, and the quietness of his home only added to it.

“So, you live here all alone?” Y/N realized she knew nothing about his personal life, no one had even gossiped about him in the office.

“Mhm,” Keanu hummed, showing the way to his living room, where his luggage was set ready, together with the rack curving from numerous expensive suits, which all looked the same to Y/N. “Hang it here,” he commanded turning to the console table to pour himself a drink.

Y/N was very careful, afraid the rack wouldn’t hold any more weight. Fortunately, everything went fine, and she was about to leave the room, when Reeves stretched his arm handing the bottle to her. “Help yourself,” he offered, leaving Y/N unsure whether she should accept it or not.

“U-uh, I think I should go,” Y/N kind of wanted to agree, she was interested to learn more about him, but at the same time she thought it would be wise to keep a professional distance between them.

“Do you have someone waiting for you?” He was unexpectedly persistent to make Y/N stay, and she didn’t really know what to think of it. 

“No, I just don’t want to disturb you,” she was trying to turn him down, but her words didn’t sound too convincing. Maybe it was his tacit loneliness bringing sympathy to Y/N’s heart, which was forcing her to stay for a little longer.

“Be my guest.” His arm was getting tired, so he pushed the bottle further, practically sticking it in Y/N’s hands. Instead of waiting for another rejection, he went past her and got himself comfortable on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

For a minute Y/N still hesitated, she wasn’t afraid to tell him no, but there was something mysteriously captivating about Reeves and she wanted to explore it further. Y/N poured herself a modest glass and went to join him for a conversation.

“Did you force me to go get you Tom Ford in the middle of the night just because you wanted company?“ she asked jokingly, but then immediately realized it was probably true and the question might have sounded a little offensive.

“Don’t you already know the answer?” Keanu mumbled looking down, and Y/N couldn’t believe it was the same man that she had been terrified of before. Now he seemed vulnerable and exposed, without that mask putting a stone cold expression on his face.

“Can I ask you something else then?” Y/N was much softer now, sipping her drink and thinking if the alcohol was going to start working soon.

“Go ahead,” he smiled.

“Why did you hire me?” It was the question bothering Y/N from the very beginning. She had been feeling so out of place at Vogue that even she wouldn’t have hired herself there.

“I needed some fresh air, I was getting tired of seeing the same kind of people.” Y/N was looking at him hypnotized, his husky melodic voice was like music to her ears. When at Vogue, Y/N would pray for Reeves to just shut up and go away, but now she felt like she could sit for hours just listening to him. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Vogue girls, I really fancy them. They live on caffeine, nicotine and five hundred calories a day, yet they’re still always perfect and on top of their game, it’s impressive… But honestly, they can be depressing sometimes, and I thought I just needed someone like…” Keanu stalled, thinking about his next words. “Like you,” he silently said.

“What am I like?”

“I don’t know, you’re just different. You seem like you don’t care at all.” Keanu put an empty glass down, shifting his core towards her.

Every little move was bringing them closer, and Y/N knew she was walking a very thin line here. “And that’s good?” Y/N asked getting a little bolder, she was curious to know more of his opinion on her.

“It’s definitely not bad,” Keanu murmured, gazing into Y/N’s eyes. They both had their elbows leaning on the backrest and Y/N felt Keanu’s hand gently landing onto hers. She was trying to think of possible questions to keep the conversation going, but his touch was too distracting, and Keanu got the chance to speak first.

“What would you do if I kissed you now?” He asked, locking his eyes on Y/N.

Her mind went blank and she didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. Briefly she thought that maybe the words were all in her head, just her imagination disclosing her deepest desires, but very soon she realized this was a real question.

Maybe Keanu was playing her feelings again, provoking and expecting a reaction, but fuck, she really wanted him to kiss her. Part of her hoped it was the alcohol speaking, but Keanu only had so little of it that it was an impossible case. It was all him, loud and clear, asking Y/N what she would do if he kissed her…

“A-are you going to?” Y/N stuttered, feeling the weight of his sturdy palm pressing on her.

A long silent pause followed after her words, or maybe time just felt different as Y/N was anxiously waiting for Keanu’s actions, she was desperately holding herself back from falling into his lips.

“No,” Keanu suddenly came back to his senses sliding his hand away. It was obvious he felt uneasy too, getting all flustered and trying his best to stay composed. “That would be highly inappropriate. I am your boss.” He exhaled with disappointment in his voice.

“Y-yes,” Y/N gulped, downing the remaining of her drink.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, that would be inappropriate.” Y/N stretched her arm trying to grasp the handbag lying next to her on the sofa. “And I should get going, it’s late,” she blurted standing up and heading towards the exit. Y/N completely understood that running away was not very mature, but she thought it was better this way than staying to talk this through and saying something much more stupid.

Meanwhile, Keanu was rushing after, following her to the front door looking all worried. Y/N was relieved remembering she would not have to see him for another week and she foolishly hoped that everything would be forgotten once he came back. Keanu, on the other hand, had something else in mind.

“Wait” he grabbed Y/N by the wrist, turning her away from the door. “Come to the Fashion Week with me.”

Keanu struck Y/N with his words for the second time this night. She knew they had to leave in the morning and Emily was probably sitting at home with her bags full, getting ready for the event she had been dreaming about for so long.

“What?” Y/N knew that agreeing would make her a terrible person. “No, I can’t, Emily would never forgive me,” she was eagerly shaking her head, failing to understand what the hell was happening. She didn’t want to reject Keanu, but betraying Emily like that was not an option too. What would that make her? No different than any other person from Vogue.

“Why do you care?” he asked moving closer, and all Y/N could focus on was his lips, the ones she almost got to taste tonight. “Just please don’t tell me she’s your friend, because trust me, there are no friends in this business.”

“No, we’re not friends, but still… Don’t you understand how mean it would be to do so?” Y/N was trying to uphold her values, but Keanu was ripping them away from her.

“Has she ever been nice to you?”

“Well not really, but…”

“Great, I’ll call her to tell the news,” Keanu said with his chest almost pressing Y/N to the door, while he was working behind her to undo the lock. For a moment Y/N felt like Keanu was kidnapping her, but at the same time, she knew that a simple ‘no’ coming from her could resolve everything. She just didn’t want to say it. “I’ll pick you up at eight, good night,” Keanu smiled letting her go.

“Good night…” Deep down Y/N knew how wrong it all was, she didn’t feel like she deserved it, not to mention how devastated Emily was going to be, and on top of everything, there was that awkward kiss moment, which Y/N still couldn’t fully comprehend.

Nonetheless, it was Y/N’s chance, her big opportunity to put herself out there, make connections, and maybe soon she was going to be the journalist she had always dreamt being of.

-Part 3-

Tag-list: @keandrews @rdjloverxxx @jadore30-deactivated20200603​ @danceoftwowolves

>Masterlist<

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves fanfiction #StephsBirthdayWritingChallenge #keanu reeves series #the devil wears prada #the devil wears prada au #there are no rules #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fic

[canon-critical]

⇲Date Posted: January 15th, 2021

⇲Source: wings of fire (book) by tui t sutherland, canon

⇲Posted/Sent by: canon-critical

⇲Includes: mentions of abuse, victim blaming, mentions of genocide, very very brief mention of slavery

⇲ Criticism: the treatment of abuse victims in canon and the harmful messages surrounding it

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

you wanna know what really pisses me off and what people need to talk about more? about how wings of fire repeatedly pushes the idea that not forgiving your abusers is a horrible thing.

it might not seem like it at first, but if you spend even a minute looking at how abusers and their victims are treated in canon youll see what i mean in no time.

characters who DIDNT forgive their abusers

darkstalker - (rightfully) refused to forgive his abuser and its treated as a villainous trait. yes, darkstalker is an assand deserves no sympathy, and he has million other villainous traits and ways to treat him as a villain, but the fact that he doesnt forgive arctic is treated like one when its not.

tsunami - didnt forgive the guardians. she didnt forgive kestrel for everything she put them through or dune and webs for just standing by, and as a result canon treats her like shes being unreasonable for it. like shes just "holding onto a childish grudge"

glory - kestrel full on physically and verbally abused her for 6 straight years. kestrel was planning to KILL HER. and webs and dune just sat back and willingly did nothing. so they escape and glory, ofc, doesnt forgive any of them and shows no remorse when kestre dies and webs is hurt, which she is 100% in the right for. but what does the story do? treats her like shes being "cruel" and "unfair" for it

characters who did forgive their abusers or tolerate them

peril, clay, starflight, sunny, anemone, turtle, cricket, probably a handful of others with tui's track record

yes, moving on from the past is important and i could maybe forgive it if it was only one or two or if both were treated as a fair option (which it IS*), but it isnt. 3 characters** dont forgive their abusers, and theyre viewed as harsh for it. I DONT CARE how much you like these books or want to defend them. this series has an target demographic of 8-12 year olds, kids who still have a lot of growing to do. it doesnt matter how "mature" a child may be. when that kind of message, that you MUST forgive those whove wronged and seriousky hurt you no matter what or youre being unreasonable, is shown over and over again in a story and neither the story or fandom acknowledges that its wrong and an actual problem? that kind of shit sticks throughout that kid's life.

it wouldve still been bad if the message was used for smaller stuff like an accidental insult or a joke that hit too close to home, but the fact that its being used for ABUSIVE relationships and situations makes it so much worse.

dont even get me started on the darkstalker -> peacemaker thing, which pushes the whole "no matter how bad you are you deserve a second chance" message. that message is bad enough on its own considering how it can be applied to so many bad people (abusers being the one at the forefrony of my mind), its ESPECIALLY bad for darkstalker.

why? for a whole list of reasons including his actions and how he manipulated and abused and routinely threatened his family, his girlfriend, and his friends in order to get what he wants, but for 2 main ones.

1) HE ALREADY HAD SEVERAL "SECOND CHANCES. in his book, darkstalker legends, its shown that hes know about the paths from the moment he hatched. he knew which path was the bad one, and he willingly ignored the good path. i could maybe excuse that one considering hes pretty much the human equivalent of a newborn, but he keeps this choice as he grows despite by then having the ability to seperate right vs wrong. second and third chance? both times clearsight told him what would happen and asked him to stop. what did darkstalker do in response to this? the first time he brushed it off and told her to stop thinking about it. then 2nd time he spells her without her consent in order to FORCE her to stop thinking about it. his fourth chance? when he was released from the mountain. what did he do with THAT chance? betrayred moon's trust, forced everyone to like him, and went right back to doing what got him buried in the first place.

2) he literally tried to commit genocide against an entire tribe. twice. three times, if you count the night/ice battle. he has said/shown that he has no remorse whatsoever for his actions, and would do it again if given the chance. saying he deserves a 5th chance sends a message that souldnt be sent, especially to kids as young as 8-12.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

*it IS a valid choice. you are under NO obligation whatsoever to forgive your abuser, or try to make them "better people". they hurt you, and youre allowed to be angry. youre allowed to be upset about it. not forgiving them doesnt mean youre being unfair or that you cant "move on" or whatever other bullshit. theyre the ones who hurt you, theyre the ones who can deal with the consequences.

**3 characters, excluding any from arc 3. there are a few reasons for this. the first is that the arc isnt done. yes, sundew is a victim of abuse, but since the arc isnt done i have no idea if shell forgive her parents, or if itll be treated as being unfair id she doesnt. the second is that with the exception of cricket (who does forgive her abuse), the third arc doesnt really have any ties to abuse. it has to do with slavery. and how canon treats that issue is a whole different can of worms ill be opening for a different crit (spoiler alert: it isnt treated well)

#mod spade #wings of fire #wof #wings of fire criticism #character hate #bc darkstalker is a fucking ass and i aint ashamed to say it #canon criticism #abuse m #genocide m #brief slavery m #like #very brief

[headoverhiddles]

Like A Heretic - Marilyn Manson x Reader [Fluff]

Synopsis: You know Manson from one (1) party, yet he feels the need to drunk text you his obscene propositions at 2 am on a Wednesday? 

Notes: What?? I wrote a fluff fic?? Yea, it’s been known to happen. Shhh. Pale Emperor era. Also, this one is gender neutral, reader can be any gender! 

You collapse into the plush of your down comforter, feeling the fluffy feathers sink beneath you. Smiling to yourself, you clear the day away in your brain, bulldozing over every worry, publicity problem, or stressed manager that could be dealt with the next day. For now, you’re in your bed, and nothing can come between you and a peaceful night’s sleep. 

You cuddle into your pillow. The feeling you’ve got right now is comparable to a the perfect orgasm-- you never want to leave this bed. Your mind starts to drift, and you picture yourself on a beach somewhere, where no one can reach you. No one... no one... except that bee buzzing in your ear.

Groggily, you open your eyes. That’s not a bee. It’s your phone. 

Dammit, why didn’t you put it on silent? You go to turn it off properly, but the text on your screen makes you hesitate. You blink a few times, squinting through the dark at your phone. Were you reading that right?!

Manson: Hey (y/n) psssst. I’ve got a secret can I tell you the secret 

“What the fuck?” you mumble out loud, and sigh, turning on your bedside lamp. Manson? What... oh. Oh, yeah. About two months ago, you had attended a music awards event in New York, and had met a few new people. One of them had been Marilyn Manson. He had been a lot more down to earth than you had imagined he would be, and the two of you hit it off pretty well. 

It struck you as interesting as well, but he had followed you around that night like a lost puppy. He always wanted to be around you, and it had been him who had suggested you exchange numbers, maybe hang out, go see a movie or something. You had excitedly given him your number, but didn’t think much would come of it. He probably got lots of people’s numbers, then forgot about them the next week. 

So why was he texting you at... 2:13 in the morning?! You stare at the same text again. 

Manson: Hey (y/n) psssst. I’ve got a secret can I tell you the secret

You bite your lip, and type out a quick text back.

(y/n): Shoot.

His reply is almost immediate. 

Manson: I wanted to say when I saw you and we hung out at radio city last month you were cute really sexy n beautiful ad I miss you :( :(

You blush a little bit, but type back a cautious text. 

(y/n): You feeling alright? 

Before you can hit send though, another text from him comes in.

Manson: If you think I am drunk and handsome you are correct, i’m both

You giggle a little, and sit up fully. Manson’s drunk texting you, telling you you’re cute? This couldn’t get any crazier if you made it up. 

Manson: Do you know what sexting is? 

You raise your eyebrows. 

(y/n): I’m familiar with it, yes. 

You bite your lip. Should you add a winky face? Before you can, he writes back. 

Manson: what if i told you I wanted to lick your body ad probably do butt stuff with you too? 

You feel yourself heat up even more, and you don’t know whether to laugh or get aroused. 

(y/n): You fucking with me, Manson?

Manson: I would like to fuck you, yes. 

(y/n): So... tell me more, then. What else would you do to me?

Manson: Id cum on your chest

Manson: oops was that too far?

(y/n): No... go on.  

Manson: maybe on your face then if you want that, I wanna be respectful 

Manson: I’d also punish your sex hole. i’m really good at that

(y/n): You sound like a porn bot lol 

Manson: dirty old man in your area looking for hot singles <3 that looks like a pointy dick

You giggle, and are about to sign off so you can sleep for real, but he texts again with something that makes you pause. 

Manson: Wanna cum over? 

You stare at the text, waiting to see if he’ll write again. You wait, and wait. Nothing else is coming in. You type out a few possible responses. Then you finally hit send on your last one, biting your lip. 

(y/n): What’s your address?  

Shit. Shit shit! What are you doing? Looking back at your bed though, you can’t deny you feel a thrill. This is the shit you moved here to LA to do. 

---

Pulling up to Manson’s address, the place is just like him-- not what you were expecting. It’s a dark apartment above a liquor store, with black out curtains covering the window. You walk over to the stairs, and catch the door when someone walks out. Heading inside, you look down at your phone, and find his number. Apartment 15. 

You knock softly, and wait. When he doesn’t come to the door, you shoot him off another text. 

(y/n): I’m at your door, don’t leave me hanging or I’ll leave you with a hard on

He doesn’t respond, and you hear a moan inside. You frown, and try the door handle-- it’s open. You walk in, forgetting momentarily where you are, and see that the place is a relative mess. Piles high of books, records and movies are stacked along the walls, and there’s like, one dying plant by the darkened window. It’s laughable to assume the poor thing gets any sun, which is also a statement that could be applied to the rock star you’d come to sleep with. 

A bunch of album artwork for his new record, the Pale Emperor, is laid out on his table as well. You take a quick glance at it, before dropping your jacket. 

“Hey,” you call out, “I’m taking my top off! You’re gonna miss it if you don’t come find me!” You hear the moan again, and walk down the hallway. “Oh, fuck.” 

“’M alright...” He’s on the floor, in a puddle, four small cats surrounding him. One rusty colored one is lapping from the puddle. Was this a Jimmi Hendrix situation???

“Please don’t tell me that’s piss,” you mutter, “Cause I am not cleaning that up.”  

One of his four cats meows loudly. Manson just laughs. “It’s vodka. I slipped and broke the bottle.” 

“That I can clean up,” you nod, but first, you help him to his feet. He wobbles a little, and falls into you. Pinned against the wall, his lips are inches from yours... until his head thumps beside yours, lips pressed into your neck. He’s so fucking gone. You look around, and spot the washroom down the hall the other way. You help him slowly, and he keeps talking the whole way.   

“You’re so fuckin’ gorgeous,” he mumbles, “My brain camera remembered you were hot but I didn’t remember you being this hot... mmhm...”

“You still down to fuck me?” you tease, helping him sit on the edge of his bathtub. His eyes widen a bit as he licks his lips and points a swaying finger. 

“Baby I was born ready to fuck. I came out of the womb with an erection.”

You cringe. “That’s... a very disturbing mental image.” 

“You know what else is disturbing? My DICK.” He frowns a little, nose scrunching up. “But not for... it’s not disturbing, it’s just disturbing how big it is... or...”

“Stop, you’re turning me on,” you smirk sarcastically, and get a towel, dabbing his face down with cool water. “How does that feel?”

“Oh baby, you feel so good, fuck,” he moans, and you blink. God damn, he really is wasted. 

“Good to hear.” You plant a kiss on his cheek as you sponge down his arms, and he purrs like a big happy cat, nuzzling into your chest. 

“Do that again?” You smile, and lean in, kissing him again, this time closer to his mouth. Then you kiss him again, and again, each one earning more praise from the god of fuck before you. “Mm yeah-- oh yeah-- yeah yeah, right there-- yeah yeah right there...” He grins, eyes closing. “Mmm, delightful.” He blinks up at you, swiping a hand across his smudged eyeliner. “Will you... be my friend?” 

“Sure. Friends to lovers is always a fun way to go.” He seems genuinely happy with this. “You know, you’re sexy too,” you say, helping him take his shirt off. You glance down his chest and stomach at his tattoos, trying to focus on the project at hand instead of actually picturing riding him right now. “I thought so the night I met you at Radio City, and I think so now.” 

“Really?” he hums, reaching up in his stupor to put a hand against his chin. He suddenly seems bashful, and realizing how vulnerable he’s made himself, hides half of his face. “Even without my makeup?” 

“Definitely. I happen to think you’re beautiful.” He purses his lips.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not! In fact, if you weren’t absolutely shit hammered right now, I’d probably want you balls deep.”    

He groans. “Fuck it if I’m drunk, that’s when I’m in my strongest form!” He slips a little, steadying himself on the toilet as he stands. 

“I would disagree with that, but...”

“Besides, with all those compliments, you’re... you’re making my dick hard, see? And now it’s... ahh, it’s gonna be mad at me if I don’t... you know, fuck you, so...”

“Shh, for now try to walk straight.” 

“Where are my asshole cats?”  

“They were all watching you describe your dick to me,” you say, and he wags a finger their way. 

“Dooon’t listen to daddy, my loves. Nonono. Bad. This is grown up human people talk!”

You giggle. “You must like cats.”

“I am a cat person, I love cats. That’s why I don’t give it doggy style, cause I’m a cat man. The crazy cat man. That sounds like a serial killer...”

You giggle, and guide him back down the hall. “Where’s the bedroom?” He lifts his chin to gesture to it. 

“Last door on the right.” You help him into bed, and he tosses a pillow at a tall vase in the corner, sending it shattering. “Goddamn ghosts in my house, watching me sleep,” he slurs, and points wildly to his closet. “The sex toys are in there, if you wanna get yourself started...”

You smile, politely neglecting the sex closet of the rock star you’d been booty called by. Masturbating in said rock star’s home while he’s passed out shitfaced doesn’t look good for anyone involved. 

“Goodnight Manson,” you sing song, and shut his door. Pressing your back against it, you exhale. What just happened? 

You carefully walk over to the spilled vodka, and check the shards of glass. Thankfully no blood anywhere-- that would have been even worse to clean up. You grab a rag from the kitchen, and start mopping up the floor. One of his cats walks over from the bathroom, and starts to rub against your ankle.

“Well, hi. What’s your name, love?” You check the tag. “William. Very handsome name. Handsome just like your dad.” You sigh, as William follows you around the apartment. You feel like you shouldn’t be here anymore. It was a mistake-- he was obviously too drunk to do anything to or with you tonight. You should just leave. Yeah. Go back home, forget this ever happened and... maybe check in with him tomorrow morning, see how bad his hangover is. If he responds. 

Just as you’re about to leave though, you hear his slurred voice call from the bedroom. “(y/n)--!” 

You hesitate, then walk back in, shutting the door. You walk over to his room, and open the door. “Yeah?”

“...Get into bed with me? Please? Wanna hold someone...” 

You look behind you, and then to him again, where he’s laying, tangled in his limbs, in the large bed. You nod, and close the door to a crack, coming in. You unzip your hoodie, and before you can come to your senses, you get into one side of his king sized bed. You hear him breathing softly, and smile a little at the sudden intimacy of it all, turning over in fetal position. Not how you expected this night to turn out, but it might be even better. 

Just as you’re falling asleep in the bed of the Antichrist, you feel arms wrap around you from behind, and feel his head in the nape of your neck. Beginnings of rare stubble scratch your skin pleasantly. 

“This an okay alternative to butt stuff?” he mumbles, and you reach up to hold his wrists against you. 

“It’s perfect.” 

#marilyn manson x reader #marilyn manson #reader x marilyn manson #reader x Brian warner #brian warner x reader #brian warner #brian hugh warner #marilyn manson imagine #marilyn manson imagines #marilyn manson fic #marilyn manson fandom #marilyn manson fanfiction #fluff #marilyn manson fluff #bandom #bandom fanfiction #bandom fic #pale emperor #pale emperor era #the pale emperor #the pale emperor era #tw alcohol #tw alchoholism #ps i'm not trying to romanticize alcoholism #cause I wouldn't go so far as to say manson is an alcoholic

[memelover1024]

Salvatore-Mikaelson Chapter 2

Tvd Series

Salvatore OFC-Mikaelson OFC

1300 words

Now Part One

Third-person POV

Detroit, Michigan 2009

The bar was loud, Athena sat in the corner booth waiting for the informant she was meeting, nursing a glass of vodka mixed with O-. she saw a tall man wearing a leather jacket walk into the bar, he looked around but when he spotted her he slowly made his way over, a douchie smile on his face. He sat down at the other end of the booth.

"that strawberry?" he asked gesturing to the drink in her hand

"Strawberry blonde, want some?" without waiting for his answer she turned and gestured to the young bartender with a scarf wrapped around her wrist to come to the table. When the girl got there she sat down next to Athena and offered her her clothed wrist. Athena gracefully removed the scared from her wrist and sank her teeth back into the holes in the skin she had made earlier. She brought the girl's hand over her glass and applying a small pressure to one of the veins, blood spilled from her arm and into the glass. Once Athena's cup was full enough she stopped applying pressure, and it stopped bleeding immediately.

"How did you do that?" the man asked her

"Science and medicine, learn enough about the human body you can do basically anything." he nodded, Athena gestured to the girl to go over to him and she did. He sunk his teeth into her arm and drank greedily.

"Don't kill her, she's very helpful," with that the man withdrew and with a gesture from Athena, the girl wrapped the scarf back around her wrist and went back to work.

"I agreed to meet you because you claim to have information that would be useful to my brother and I, what is it?" Athena demanded, all hints of kindness gone from her voice, face now in resting bitch mode.

"Kathrine Pierce," he said with a smile on his face. She gave him a confused look and thought for a moment, then it hit her.

"Ahh, Katerina Petrova. Have you found her?" she asked.

"No, but-" he was interrupted.

"Then why are you wasting my time?!" she asked sternly. He hesitated for a moment, terrified of angering her further. Hed heard the stories of what her and her brothers were capable of.

"I've found her doppelganger," Athena froze, Katerina was the last of her family line, Klaus had said so himself, he'd made sure of it.

"That's impossible, Katerina's family line ended with her. And vampires can't have children."

"I don't know how it's happened, Mrs. Mikaelson, but it is. She's in mystic falls, Virginia. Her name is Elena Gilbert. She looks just like Katherine, and she's human.'' Athena looked at the floor deep in thought, then she smiled a genuine, excited smile. The curse could finally be broken.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, now tell me, what reward do you want for this information."

"Assistance," the man said.

"Assistance?" Athena responded amused. "Whatever for?"

"My friends and I have been imprisoned underground for 150 years, we want revenge on the people who did that to us, but the Salvatore brothers have gotten in our way, I ask that when the time comes for you to go to Virginia to claim the doppelganger you destroy mystic falls in the process." Athena saddened at the mention of her long-lost brothers, even though she had a new family she still missed them. She had not seen Stefan in 90 years on account of what Klaus had done to Stefan's wife, Athena's adoptive sister, Rebekah. And she had not seen Damon since she was human, on account of what he did to her sons. She missed Stefan with all her heart, and even though she missed her twin, she didn't think herself capable of forgiving him for what he did. She nodded at the man's request.

"Now that good sir, is something I can do," she replied boastfully, smirking.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Athena pulled up to her brother's Dearborn, Michigan mansion in her green, 1966 Lamborghini Miura. The house was small for Klaus's usual lodgings, but it was only temporary. She walked up the stairs to the front door and let herself into her temporary home.

"Klaus! Where are you," she called not loudly since she knew he could hear her.

"I'm in my studio!" he called back from the other side of the mansion.

She made her way through to the back of the house to a sunroom on the edge of the house's garden. There was Klaus on a stool sitting in front of a large canvas. He was painting a small red bird that was 10 feet in front of him in the garden, the red paint of course was the blood from the body lying at his feet.

"Nik!" she screamed and gestured to the body on the concrete floor.

"What?"

"You're going to stain the concrete! You know you can't wash blood off of stone!"

"It's fine sister, were only going to be staying another couple of months anyway,"

"Yes, about that..." Klaus turned from his painting to look at her, puzzled. "I have a surprise for you." he smiled.

"Do you now?" he inquired, Athena just grinned. "Well? What is it?"

"I.. or rather one of my minions, has found us a doppelganger." he stared at her, expression unreadable.

"That's impossible..." he started

"That's what I said, but my informant is positive, she looks just like Katerina and she's human," she told her brother, stepping towards him. He smiled, but noticed the hesitation hidden in her eyes.

"What else? There's something off I can see it.'' Athena scoffed, she hated how he could always tell when something was up with her.

"My brothers, or my biological brothers to be specific, Stefan and Damon. They have named themselves her protectors. They'll be a problem, and it's not like we can just kill them,"

"Why not?" she gave him an annoyed look. "Alright fine, I won't hurt them, I see why you would want to protect Stefan but hey Damon after what he did-"

"I thought we agreed to never speak of that," she cut him off, hurt by the memory he had dug up.

"I'm sorry," Klaus said, genuinely noticing her change in mood.

"Its fine," she responded, setting aside her emotions, "so, we have a doppelganger, it won't be that hard to procure a vampire and werewolf, we have a witch, and I could also always do the spell myself, all we need is the moonstone."

"Katerina stole it when she escaped, we have no idea where she or it is," he told her.

"But we do, my brothers have dated not one but two doppelgangers. So id say they are as smitten with them as they are. Katerina turned them for a reason. And having a doppelganger who is basically a biological double out in the open-"

"She has too much to lose if she doesn't come out," Klaus surmises.

"Exactly, she knows we can find her using the doppelgangers blood, and she doesn't know Stefan and Damon are my brothers, she thinks you will kill them on sight. Shell try to protect them. She might even come out just to stop you to get back at Elijah for breaking her heart,"

"Elijah's not here, he's working against us,"

"She doesn't know that, and it's the last thing she'll expect,"

"So we just wait till she shows herself, then make a move," he asks.

"Yes, we shouldn't tip them off that we're coming until we are ready to strike. They can't stop us but they will make it harder." Klaus smiled at her.

"Alright! So where am I going to commit my next massacre,"

"Home."

[theskyeandsea]

How We Survive || Erin & Skylar

Timing: May 11th, 2020

Location: Nic and Skylar’s Home

Tagging: @corpse--diem

Description: Erin helps Skylar get her things back from where she left them after the events of this chatzy. Grateful for the help, Skylar shares her secret with the other woman.

TW: Medical Blood

Shutting her laptop, Skylar forced herself to slide out of bed. The second her feet hit the ground, a spasm of pain traveled up her injured calf and she held back a yelp. Biting the inside of her cheek, she took a deep breath before putting pressure on her feet and forcing herself to walk from her room out to the entryway. She could feel fresh blood beginning to seep through the bandages around her leg, but she’d doubled up on the dressing after she’d bled through the initial wrapping the woman on the beach had applied. Walking to the front door, she unlocked the door before making a bee-line to the living room. Dizzy from the effort, Skylar collapsed on the couch and leaned her head against the armchair. A cold sweat had broken on her forehead, but she needed to be here. To make sure that Erin would come in and see her-- not Nic. She didn’t need him to know how poorly she was doing. She didn’t want to bother him with… any of this. When a knock came from the door, she raised her voice as much as she could, “Come in!”

The voice on the other side was one Erin was only just getting familiar with. Sounded like Skylar but it also… didn’t? When she flew into the home in a flurry and saw the young woman on the couch, pale and sweaty, her panic seemed wholly founded. “Jesus, Skylar,” she murmured under her breath, kneeling in front of the couch. She only felt a little awkward, fussing over someone she didn’t really know all too well. Knew enough that she was a good soul who was in a bad way right now. “What happened?” She asked, hesitant to do more than give her a proper glance over and touch her forehead to make sure she wasn’t running a fever. Infections could sneak up quick and that seemed like the last thing they needed to be worrying about on top of all of this. 

In one moment, Skylar was alone on the couch. In the next, Erin was next to her, pressing her hand against her forehead. A bit startled, she blinked as the woman began to speak, the words hard to hear. Without her hearing aids, it was difficult for her to hear the higher pitched tones. And, on top of it, her head was spinning as she tried to read the woman’s lips. Doing her best to focus, Skylar swallowed thickly, head lolling slightly. “I… I was at the river. I couldn’t talk. And…” She hesitated for a moment. Nic knew about her secret, but Erin-- she wasn’t a part of this, was she? She didn’t know what Nic did, right? But, she couldn’t think of any way to lie about this, her head was still spinning too much. Slumping against the back of the couch, she shook her head, “A hunter came after me. He wanted my skin. I’m… not, not human.” She said. “But, I need, I need my hearing aids back. I need my car. And… and… everything.”

Fuck. In her panic, Erin had nearly forgotten that Skylar didn’t have her hearing aid. But she sat back, confident she wasn’t fighting a fever at this rate, and listened. A hunter. Skylar wasn’t human. Her eyes grew wide as the questions started to pile up and something Marley said felt like it was screaming on top of all of that. Hunters would kill me without a second though. She didn’t know where to begin and could only nod slowly. Whatever Skylar was, above all, she was kind. And she needed help. “Alright,” she spoke slowly, keeping her own features as soft as possible despite the concern wracking her insides. “We’ll get them back. Don’t worry about that.” She gave her another glance over, trying to remain as level-headed as possible, then met her eyes again. “I can get them later? Is that okay? Or do you need them now?”

Fighting against the urge to close her eyes, Skylar did her best to keep herself alert and awake. The pain in her leg was keeping her awake, the slight jostling of Erin leaning next to her enough to make the wound in her leg yell in protest. “I need them. They’re… my car. They’re in my car with my phone and my, my teeth.” She said, her head hanging low as she avoided Erin’s eyes. She didn’t want her to see the teeth, her horrible, jagged teeth, their tips dulled from when she had tried to file them down as a child. The teeth that had ripped through that man’s arm, shredded it as though it was nothing. Swallowing, she could still taste the coppery, thick blood in her mouth. “I… please. Please don’t tell Nic. I-- I don’t want him to know about this.” She pleaded, looking at Erin with earnest, desperate eyes. 

Her teeth? Erin couldn’t help it, and her eyes instantly went to the ones that were definitely in her mouth already. Sharp ones. Oh. Of all the bombs Skylar had been dropping, this one still threw her for a loop. By this point, running in the opposite direction of a nonhuman species wasn’t her MO anymore, thankfully. But she’d definitely have more questions for her when she got back. “I’ll go get them,” she nodded, withdrawing and standing above her, crossing her arms against her stomach. “Where, uh--where did you leave your car? By what river?” She held her hand up, urging Skylar to stay. “I’ll go. You just stay here and rest, okay?”

Erin had seen her teeth, of course she had. Skylar grimaced, this time not out of pain, but of regret. This wasn’t how she wanted to tell her about this. In fact, she had honestly hoped not to tell Erin about it ever. But, she was here, helping her. Swallowing, Skylar gestured to the key ring by the door where her spare set of car keys were. “It’s parked out by the Whye River. Off the road, not far from the university. I… My things should all be there.” At the woman’s urging her to stay, she wanted to protest. But, just the effort of pulling herself out of bed to unlock the door had left her dizzy. “Okay. Sounds good.” She said with a nod. As she spoke, Dundee padded across the floor, jumping up onto the couch to curl up next to her. While she still didn’t like the dog, at least she’d have company until Erin came back.

Erin nodded, her instructions pretty clear. “And don’t worry--I won’t tell Nic,” she blurted out after she grabbed the spare keys. Remembered just now that Skylar had pleaded with her about that. Didn’t feel great, but when Skylar looked at her like that, entrusting her with something as big as this? She couldn’t turn her back on that trust. It didn’t take her too long to find Skylar’s car when she finally got there. The car would have to stay for now--it didn’t look like Skylar was in a state to drive anywhere just yet--but she bundled all of Skylar’s belongings into a bag, quickly and quietly. Doubted that the hunter was still around, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious anyway. In and out in less than a half hour, Erin was pulling back into the their driveway. “It’s me!” She called out loudly as she entered the house.. So far, no Nic. “Still doing okay?” She asked as she found Skylar still on the couch, the little dog saddled up against her. She couldn’t help but smile as she passed off her belongings, taking a seat across from her on the coffee table. 

Skylar hardly noticed when Erin left, she was already falling back asleep. The pain, it was searing and awful when she moved. But, when she was still, she was able to ignore it just enough to fall asleep. Dundee, for his part, didn’t bother her much. He was happy to just wedge himself next to her and the couch cushion, curled up in a little ball. In her dreams, Skylar could still see flashes of the man, staring at her. The gun, trained on her, pressed against her. And the blood. All of the blood. She wasn’t entirely sure what woke her, the dreams or the feeling of the door slamming shut behind Erin, sending a slight shockwave of movement through the otherwise still house. Staring blearily at her, Skylar blinked, not sure what Erin had said. But, it didn’t really matter. Her phone, the cases with her hearing aids and veneers, they were on the table. Leaning forward, she grabbed her hearing aids and immediately slipped them on. Sound. She could hear Dundee snuffling in his sleep, could hear the hollow sound of her case hitting the table. A sense of relief, the first in weeks, washed over her. “Thank you. I… I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t get my things back.” She said swallowing. “I’m sorry. For bothering you. For making you go to the trouble.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Erin insisted, offering a small smile at the very visible relief washing over Skylar at the moment. Those questions she had were still sitting at the tip of her tongue, but bombarding the injured girl with them right off the bat didn’t seem like the best move. So she watched her, a little more anxious than she was conveying. “Can I get you anything else? Water? Are you hungry? I can make something?” Her eyes moved to the area Skylar was nursing the most, no doubt where she’d been shot. Erin lifted the tote bag she’d brought over originally as well. “I brought some more bandages too, in case you need it. Just--say the word. Whatever you need. I’m here to help.”

A bit disoriented from the sudden return of sound, it took Skylar a little to process all the words that Erin was saying. Instead of immediately answering, she sat up and looked at her phone-- it had died, but at least she had it back. Her ID and credit card was still tucked into the pack of the case, which was another relief. She didn’t bother cracking open her case with her veneers, she wasn’t going to put those in right now. Looking at the tote bag, Skylar looked at her a little apprehensively. “I’m not hungry, but thank you. I… Do you--” Pausing, she mulled over her words, not sure how to ask this. She didn’t want to look at her leg. She didn’t want to see it again. But, she needed to change the bandages. And if Erin was offering them, she wouldn’t say no. “Thank you. I’ve… I’ve been running out. I,” She swallowed, very aware of her mouth full of sharp teeth. “I’m a selkie and, apparently we have a lot of blood. So… I’ve had trouble with the bandages.” Skylar said, not wanting to go into the details of her situation. Even if Erin worked at the mortuary, she didn’t want to share all that. 

“You should still eat,” Erin added on without thinking. Human, selkie, whatever--when you were bleeding like this, you needed to stay nourished. Obviously she didn’t know much about what Skylar was, but as a general rule for most life forms, that statement would hold true. “One sec,” she said and disappeared into the bathroom. Grabbed the first aid kit she bought Nic for his birthday, hoping he hadn’t used it up already. There was plenty to utilize still, but she couldn’t help but notice that he’d already dipped into it. Not shocking. She returned with warm washrags, just in case and gestured towards Skylar’s leg for permission. Knelt down near her again, glancing up at her warily for just a moment, then focused back on preparing the bandages. “So,” she cleared her throat, trying not to look at her teeth. Just the gauze and tape. “What’s a selkie?”

“It’s okay. I’ll eat later.” As kind as it was for Erin to offer, Skylar really didn’t want food. Not only was she not hungry, she didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness of explaining that she couldn’t eat anything that wasn’t meat. And she didn’t want to eat and show her teeth. She knew that they were awful to look at, she hated looking at them just as much other people probably did. But, she wasn’t about to put her veneers in after they’d been sitting in her car for days. When Erin returned with a familiar looking first aid kit, Skylar grimaced but nodded all the same. Sliding her leg off the couch, she showed Erin the bandages around her calf. They were dyed dark brown, with fresh spots of red bleeding through as well. She’d only just changed them this morning. “Um. So. They’re people who can turn into seals. Not like… werewolves do, but when they want to.” She said, not super willing to go into detail about her skin. She liked Erin and she was doing her a big favor by helping her out. But… she still didn’t like talking about the specifics of her situation.

Seals? Had Erin heard that right? She didn’t mean to be surprised by that, but of all the creatures she could’ve chosen to be able to morph into, seals didn’t even touch the list. From the way Skylar seemed to withdraw with each question. “Sorry,” she grimaced, getting to work with the bandages. She wasn’t squeamish, but Skylar hadn’t been kidding about the sheer amount of blood. “We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to,” she assured the younger woman. “I’ve just--literally never heard of that. Of selkies.” It sounded like something that could’ve lived in folklore. Selkies. Bugbears. Hunters. Maras. Zombies. That was her world though, wasn’t it? Her’s as much Skylar’s. She suddenly felt very little at the thought. “But that’s why this guy came after you? Just because of--that?”

Glancing down at her leg, Skylar averted her eyes as Erin helped her with the bandages. She might not want to talk about… her selkie situation, but it was better than looking at her leg. Shifting slightly, she winced as the movement aggravated the wound. “Thanks. And, I get that… before I moved here, neither had I.” She said with a glum expression on her face. Just a year ago, she was still living with her parents. She was still in school, she was still talking to her family. And now… she had been stabbed, hunted, shot, was best friends with an actual zombie and was living with pretty much Batman. Her life was nothing like she thought it would be. Swallowing, she nodded. “He wanted something of mine. And when I didn’t… didn’t let him take it, he shot me.” Skylar said, a lump forming in the back of her throat. The hunter had meant to kill her. Even if she was still alive, she couldn’t shake the fact that he wanted her to die. If she hadn’t bit him, if she hadn’t fought back, she would probably… be dead. Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked at Erin again. “There are people out there who hunt people like me. I’d only ever met good ones before, but… he,” Skylar stared out into space, lost in the memory of him signing at her, “He was evil.” She said numbly.

A man wanted something, didn’t get his way, and reacted violently. Something tensed in Erin at the explanation. Not because of Skylar, of course. Anyone who could react that way to someone as kind as her was nothing short of a monster, human or not. “And you didn’t get a name? Could you describe him?” She asked, wiping some of the dried blood that had caked around her wound. It wasn’t as bad as she had been picturing, but it wasn’t great either. “You should tell Nic,” she added after a long pause, biting her lip. He deserved to know, and he could be more of a help than anyone in catching the bastard. Placed a fresh gauze pad down and glanced back up at her. “And if you can’t tell him, I have a friend who could probably help track him down too.”

Noticing the way that Erin reacted, the way her shoulders seemed to tighten, Skylar blinked. She didn’t expect that sort of reaction. But, before she could answer her question, the edge of the wound twinged and she let out a quiet hiss of pain. “Ah.. No. It was dark. I couldn’t get a good look at him.” She lied, looking at her hands in her lap. As much as she hated the man, as much as she hated how much pain and fear he’d caused her… she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. If he was a Hunter, raised like Rio, like Nic… She couldn’t blame him for giving in. For becoming the murderer his family wanted him to be. Not everyone could be brave enough, or strong enough, to escape the circumstances of their family. At the mention of Nic, Skylar shook her head. “I don’t want him to worry about me. He’s got enough going on. And I… It’s okay. I don’t, I don’t want anything to do with the man who did this.” She said. As Erin applied the new bandages, Skylar focused on keeping her breathing even and smooth, even though her heart felt like it was going a mile a minute. “Thank you, though. For the offer.”

Erin tried to be as gentle as possible as she finished up. It wasn’t a deep wound, a graze more than anything, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t going to hurt still. In her defense, most of the wounds she patched up weren’t on live people. She had to remind herself to work with a little more finesse. “He’s going to find out either way,” Erin raised a brow at Skylar’s argument. They lived together. And it had taken everything Skylar had just to get close to the door to greet her earlier. Had she told anyone about what happened? Had Erin finding this all out just been a matter of circumstance and luck? She shook her head, gently resting her leg back onto the couch and moved to the far end to give her space. “If there’s someone out there who’s just going to go around shooting people, someone’s got to put a stop to it.” Erin insisted again, finding Skylar’s eyes Didn’t feel right dropping it like this. “What if he does this to someone else? Because he will. If he could do it to you, he could do it to anyone. Don’t you want to stop that before it happens?”

As the bandages were wrapped back in place, Skylar felt the stress ease from her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized she’d been so tense. “Nic already knows that I got shot, I just… I don’t want him to go and do something that would put himself in danger. The man who did this, I didn’t know who he was. I’ve never even seen him before.” She said, shaking her head. She was sure Nic was more than competent at his job. But, she didn’t want him to put himself in danger because of her. As Erin slipped away, Dundee raised his head sleepily from next to her. With a small sigh, Skylar rested her hand tentatively on the dog’s head. The chihuahua let out a small yawn before going back to sleep, unaware of what was happening around him. “I don’t-- that’s not… I just…” She sucked in a deep breath, not sure how to explain her feelings. Who was she kidding? She didn’t even understand why she felt this way. The man had shot her, hurt her. She should hate him. She should want him dead. But… “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. And I don’t want anyone to die. Not even him.”

“I’m not saying we go run off after him with pitchforks, but Skylar--he tried to kill you.” Erin scoffed, baffled she had to actually say the words. “Someone’s already hurt, and I don’t care if this is what he does for a living--it doesn’t make it okay. There should be consequences.” Maybe Skylar was too kind to see it that way. And even if she did, and she was fighting it, it was too late for Erin to bottle those emotions back up. Not when she was sitting here after redressing her wound, watching her lay quietly on the couch. When the effort of doing anything else was too much for the young woman to bear. “Let me ask around, at least. Maybe see what I can find out. I know you can’t remember what he looked like, but someone’s out there telling a story about almost catching a selkie.” Right? Probably.

“I know.”  Skylar said, her voice firmer than she felt. And, the reality of the statement, it terrified her. But, the taste of the blood in her mouth, the way it had felt when her jaws clamped down around the man’s arm… that was even scarier to her. She had attacked him. She had bit him. And it had brought her right back to when she was a child, shocked and scared and so, so angry. And she didn’t want to be that way. She couldn’t be that way. Going after him, after he’d come after her? She wouldn’t do it. “I…” She said, but the words didn’t come. How could she possibly explain this to Erin? How could she explain any of this? Leaning back into the couch, Skylar looked at her with tired eyes. “What will you do when you find him? He shot me, like this. He doesn’t care if people look human.” Or if they desperately want to be. 

What would Erin do? That was a good question. If she could get Skylar to see some reason here, and speak to the police, they could get him put away. If Erin had her way, she’d sick Marley on him. Make the man cry from his own fears. She shook her head, glancing down at her lap, knowing either of those answers were unlikely to happen. “I don’t know. But I sure as hell don’t like that he’s out there.” She rubbed the side of her face before letting her head rest in her palm, elbow on the back of the couch. “I can’t make you do anything, but I think you should. That’s all I’m saying,” she watched her, a pang of guilt piercing her chest at Skylar’s exhausted features. “And… if or when you want to do anything, I’m here. Don’t forget that.”

“I don’t like it either. I just don’t… want anyone to die. Not even him.” Skylar said. When she’d stared at the man, when she’d seen him, really seen him-- she’d said the first words in nearly a week. That she forgave him. Not for what he’d done, not really, but for who he was. Who he had become. She forgave him for the mistakes he’d made. Mulling over the woman’s words, Skylar let out a sigh. “What do you think I should do?” She asked. She genuinely wanted to know what Erin thought. Because, in her eyes, there wasn’t anything she could do other than hide and look around every corner, trying to protect herself from an attack that could come from any direction. If she went to the police, they’d ask why she hadn’t told them sooner. They’d ask why she didn’t go to the hospital. And then she’d be subject to a whole host of questions that she didn’t even want to think about, much less answer. 

Erin mulled over her question for a long moment. There were plenty of things she’d do that Skylar likely wouldn’t agree to. Going to the police, for one, was at the top of the list. Going after this fucker with everything she had was also battling for first place. But that wasn’t realistic for Skylar she realized. “I think you should rest. And heal,” she nodded, leaning forward, wringing her hands together. Gave her a brief smile. “I know what I would do, but I don’t think you and I want the same things.” She stood again, crossing her arms over her chest, letting out a long sigh. “I’m hoping maybe you’ll change your mind once you’re feeling better but if you don’t, that’s okay too.”

Rest sounded good. Healing… The wound would heal, she knew it would. But the rest of it? Skylar wasn’t so sure how easily that would come. But, it was nice of Erin to say that, even if it wasn’t what she would do. “I think I’ll do those things. Or at least,” Skylar swallowed, thinking back to the images that haunted her every time she closed her eyes. “I think I’ll try.” She said with a weak smile. At Erin’s last words, her smile faltered. Even if she didn’t change her mind, it’d be okay? Blinking, Skylar looked at her hands. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had said that to her. That it was okay. For her to stay the same, that she didn’t need to change. “Thank you.” She nodded, not meeting Erin’s gaze. “For, um, for everything.”

Erin watched Skylar’s eyes dip, clearly avoiding her. She understood. She’d probably do the same if the roles were reversed. Accepting help wasn’t easy. “Hey, thanks for letting me help,” she smiled softly, watching Dundee move just enough to curl against Skylar a little more snugly. “Can I do anything else?” She asked, that empty feeling where direction action against that motherfucker should be shouting at her. “Are you sure I can’t make you anything to eat?” She raised her eyebrows hopefully. “Maybe watch a movie or something, if you want the company?”

At Erin’s words, Skylar offered a small, tight lipped smile. She didn’t want to flash her teeth at her, she knew how it looked. But, it felt… nice, in a way. To be taken care of. To know that, for the moment, she was safe and looked after. Even if it was coming from someone she hardly knew. “No, thanks. But… Company would be really nice actually.” She said. As much as she liked living here, she still wasn’t used to how large it was, how empty it felt with only her and Nic and the little dog in the house. Particularly now, when Nic wasn’t around. Reaching out to grab the remote from the table, Skylar handed it to Erin. “You can go ahead and pick, I don’t mind what we watch.” She said. Having someone else here, to help her feel less alone, less afraid, that was what really mattered. 

“You got it,” Erin smiled over at her, grabbing the remote from her. Gave Dundee a little pat on the head before taking a seat at the far end of the couch again. This was a little weird, they could both probably feel that, especially given the shiny, new information Skylar had tossed her way with this one visit. Weird how that worked out, too. Erin helped the living grieve. She was good at that. Knew what to say before someone could even whip out the tissues. Comforting someone like this? That was still taking some getting used to. But she was here now, so she would stay and do what she could.

#p: hws #p: erin nichols #wickedswriting #medical blood tw

[isamabella]

Any tips for those of us going into our freshman year of college? Thank you for your time!

 Sooooo I definitely accidentally wrote you a literal 2 page essay with horrible grammar so im very very sorry ahead of time and I'm sure you regret asking😬

I think the first thing that comes to mind is be flexible. I used to plan out classes months ahead of time and make back up plans. That’s great, but freshman got last pick for classes. Even more if your last name was toward the end of the alphabet like mine. This meant classes I planned ahead of time were waitlisted or closed by the time I could enroll. This often left me frantic even though it it worked out every time. The Nevada higher education system also “encourages” students to take 15 credits per semester instead of 12. By encourage, I mean threatening to take financial aid away. I think knowing that was hanging over my head and ability to pay for school only made it worse. So yes, make a plan, but don’t be so rigid that you’re basically anxious every day because of it. Most people change majors multiple times. I changed it 3 times in a year and a half. If you decide to do a minor, don’t feel pressure to make it related to whatever your career goals are. I did my bachelors in public health with a minor in addiction treatment services. They went well together, but I chose the minor because I was interested in it. If you want to be an art major with a biology minor, go for it.

Find balance! I struggle with this constantly and I’m 6 years and two degrees in. I won’t tell you not to procrastinate, because that’s how I operate. So many people would tell me to “just get it done early”. It’s just not how I work even now. I will say try not to binge study. Even when you’re studying the night before an exam, take breaks. It probably sounds like common sense, but just like times when I procrastinate, I also have the terrible habit of trying to learn everything at once. I did this the other day actually. I learned 148 anatomical terms and locations in about 7 hours for a 15 question quiz. I should’ve taken breaks and spread out the time frame.

Professors! You’re going to have some loose butthole professors. Generally though, just be respectful of them. College students can be massive assholes toward the professors, don’t be another one. I’d also encourage utilizing office hours. I never did and I actually think I put myself at a disadvantage. Oh! I was a TA my senior year for my friend’s class. From my perspective as a TA, once again don’t be a jerk. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. From experience, professors want to help. Side note, some like hearing you liked the topic and stuff like that. Especially when it’s a rough class. Be genuine though. Don’t do it to suck up. It’s hard to teach huge classes. My friend’s was 180 the semester I was his TA. There were a couple times when he just said he was done teaching for the day, because of how terrible some of the students were being in class. Most professors are trying their best. Remember that. They’re human too.

Kind of odd, but please know how to write an email! One of my many roommates I’ve had over the years took the class I TA’d with her friend. Her friend emailed me asking about the midterm. The problem was that her email didn't have her actual name, there was no general greeting like “hey”, there was no signature, AND no subject line. So I didn’t answer it. She ended up asking me when she was at my apartment one night why I didn't answer. You won’t get an answer if you don’t do the bare minimum of writing a decent email.

Know your student ID number. You may or may not need it, but know it or have it on your phone in case.

For the love of god, if you need a question answered for a class, check the syllabus multiple times before emailing. Kind of related, I work at one of my school’s offices, and the idea of researching applies here too. I can’t tell you how many times students ask why they got kicked out of classes or why they didn’t graduate. It usually comes down to whether they actually paid their fees. Sometimes they don’t even declare a program! They don’t look at their school account regularly where they would see all this info. One graduate student actually told me they didn’t know why the school was threatening to kick them out of classes. What happened is that they enrolled in a class after school started and didn’t pay for it. They thought they did by magic I guess, because even though they thought they paid it, they also said they didn’t make an actual payment. PLEASE DON’T BE THAT STUDENT. Know how to register for classes, be aware of enrollment deadlines, and tuition deadlines too. On that note, MEET WITH YOUR ADVISOR BEFORE YOU ENROLL EACH SEMESTER. They’re there to help you! My undergrad advisor switched my curriculum to the newer one my junior year so I didn’t have to take an extra class.

Don’t be afraid to try out new things. I was always afraid to go into theatre or participate in other clubs. I regret that so much to this day. For me, it wasn’t even about making friends. It was about gaining new experiences and exploring what I liked. So if your school does a club fair- virtual or otherwise- go for it and try something out. You don’t have to commit, but it’s worth a try!

Know your resources! That professor I’m friends with? He talks to students about addiction, suicide, sexual assault, and just life in general. Before working with him as a part of  two student organizations, I didn’t know how to help myself or others in situations like I mentioned earlier. School wasn’t very good about putting out those resources, because colleges in general don't want to admit these are issues students deal with. My school has counseling, $5 therapy by the grad students getting licensed, and a school psychiatrist. I’d recommend knowing how to get in touch with all your school’s mental health resources. Remember, you don’t have to be in crisis to go to therapy.

BIGGEST LESSON:

You’ll be studying and doing homework a lot, so really try enjoy everything else. I’m a huge introvert so I basically have about 1 really good friend from school and he was my professor (the one I TA’d for). I love him to death, but I wish I wasn’t so worried about what others thought (and still think) about me. I don’t drink or use drugs so it was really hard finding people that didn’t pressure or question my decisions about it. Find your people. If they’re not right for you, don’t be afraid to let them go. That’s probably the biggest piece of advice I would give myself 5 years ago. The good times aren’t worth it if your friends cause you to feel bad during the rest of the time. I can honestly say the “friend” group I had for most of undergrad was the root of my sudden depressive episodes, disordered eating behaviors, constant anger that I internalized, and engaging in behaviors that I didn’t know were considered to be on the suicidal ideation scale. It was an endless cycle. They weren't bad people, but they were bad for me. I think it took years to finally come to terms with it, because prior to college, I never had problems with friends and I was never involved in drama so I had no clue how I was supposed to handle all the problems. The cherry on top was that I lived with these people so I couldn’t just leave. In retrospect, I think those friendships were borderline emotionally and mental abusive. The constant walking on eggshells because of the hot and cold environment was a lot. Know your worth and enjoy your college time!

Sorry for the novel, but there was just so much to write about. If there’s something specific, let me know and I’ll try and help. :)

@archetypal-archivist

#ask

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 22/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan! D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

"Is he okay?"

"He's been like this for the past half month."

"I'm sure he's fine, could be that Professor Severus pulled a prank on him."

"No, impossible. Professor Flitwick was probably the one that pulled the prank on him."

"Even so, Mr. Elric never spent this much time complaining about it. He would get even."

A chorus of agreement ran through the Friday Alchemy class. Which counted being all thirteen students that are studying said subject. For the past half month, they had taken note at how their teacher has been moping around and grumbling under his breath in Amestrian. Whatever the reason for his behavior, it has to be something big.

Edward ran a hand over his face, mentally preparing himself what he is about to say to his class. He was about to announce something to them that will surely spread like wildfire. Even if he was not going to tell them, the old man was going to announce it to the school any other way. The main difference between what he and the Headmaster are that Edward is providing more detail on the matter. "Settle down everyone. I have an announcement."

Once everyone sat in their proper seats and giving the Golden Blonde their full attention, the announcement was made.

"Next week, the Emperor of Xing will be visiting along with a group of Amestris. The Mustang Unit, most of you already know... The reasons for them coming to Hogwarts has to do with politics and other random things that do not concern any of you for now. Emperor Ling main reason to come here is to see how magic works, the id... he is planning on creating a magical in Xing for his country. Don't be surprised if you see him wondering around once he gets them."

"What about the Mustang Unit, Mr. Elric?"

"Continuing negotiations with the Ministry of Idiots, I mean Magic... Plus, Xing and Amestris are in friendly terms. Plus... General Mustang, Doctor Marcoh, my brother, a Princess from Xing and a Mr. Scar will be giving the school a performance in alchemy..."

"They are going to perform Alchemy to the entire school?"

"Why everyone? No one else is learning alchemy but us."

"That's the problem, do you remember how many took the exam? How many of us passed? How many are there left at this point? People are degrading Alchemy for the fact at how Mr. Elric is presenting it. To get more people into it, there has to be some sort of show to get noticed."

"Exactly. That's it!"

"Or they are just coming to degrade Mr. Elric."

"That's a possibility too."

Edward slowly blinked at his class, he couldn't help but shake his head. They were coming up their own theories onto why his friends are coming to Hogwarts. Let thing think and wonder why they are coming. They'll see once they arrive.

-.-

Once Dumbledore announced the fact that an Emperor of far east is coming to Hogwarts. On top of that, a delegation will be coming from Amestris to act as a type of go-between for the Emperor and Ministry of Magic. What really got everyone's attention is the fact Mr. Elric is in charge of taking care of them once they arrive. It came into light that Mr. Elric is very deep connections to both countries to the point he could wave off the fact he knows an Emperor... by a first name base.

Nope. The Alchemy teacher is actually dreading the date that is quickly approaching for the fact he does not want any of them to come. He just does not like any of them in general, something about corrupting his students and taking them away from him.

-.-

"Oooooooohhhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh! What is thaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Emperor Ling Yao jumped all over the Headmaster's office, his expression completely transfixed at everything in the room. It was just so whimsical! He wants it all. The group he came with either shakes their heads at his antics, failing at trying to hide their smiles or just ignoring what he was doing. His group is comprised of Unofficial-Official Advisor/Bodyguard/Future brother-in-law Alphonse Elric, younger sister/princess of Xing/bodyguard/advisor Mei Chang, and the final one the Emperor's bodyguard/unofficial advisor Lan Fan. "Lan Fan! Look at it! It's so beautiful..."

Ling's attention is fully focused on Fawkes, the Phoenix seemed to enjoy the attention. The Phoenix took in the attention he was receiving from the Emperor of Xing.

The other occupants in the room are Dumbledore, the four Heads, the Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold, along with other government officials and a couple of Aurors. They were either talking among themselves or paying close attention to the fireplace in the office. They are still waiting for the Amestrian diplomats or as Mr. Edward Elric calls them, Mustang Unit. The moment came to be when the fireplace grew and the flames changed color signifying the short arrival of the group.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Curse.

Curse.

Grumble.

Bigger thump.

Squeak.

Pain in general.

Several individuals dressed in blue uniforms fall out of the fireplace, piling one on top of another. The ministry officials and Aurors recognized said pile to be the same group of people that visited the Magical World previously. The only one that did not end up in the pile is Captain Hawkeye, she simply strode out of the fireplace and shaking her head at her team's antics. After her is a man dressed like a monk, a man dressed in a cloak with a hood that hide his entire face, and finally came out is Edward Elric himself.

The Alchemy teacher looked down at the pile with a snort, he grinned when he realized who is on the bottom of the dog-pile. He said something in Amestrian that sounded an insult that resulted with a grumble from underneath the pile.

"Is this everyone, Mr. Elric?" Dumbledore asked the young man, interrupting him from his possible argument slash fight.

"This is everyone that is supposed to come. Hope none of you mind I invited Dr. Tim Marcoh and uh... Jugemu-jugemu Gokōnosurikire Kaijarisuigyo-no Suigyōmatsu Unraimatsu Fūraimatsu Kūnerutokoroni-sumutokoro Yaburakōjino-burakōji Paipopaipo-paiponoshūringan Shūringanno-gūrindai Gūrindaino-ponpokopīno-ponpokonāno Chōkyūmeino-chōsuke... Scar for short." Everyone that did not know the man's name, sweat dropped. That was one hell of a long name and for it to be shortened to Scar? Well... could be for the fact the man has a scar on his face.

"I can't feel my face..."

-.-

General Roy Mustang is a shallow and self-absorbed man. An aura of selfish and narcissistic surrounds him and every word he speaks. Acts just as immature as Colonel Edward Elric. Pushes off most of his work to his Captain, Captain Riza Hawkeye, whom he flirts with every moment he has. (It seems to be one-sided...)

Captain Riza Hawkeye, quiet and collected, serious but courteous. Disciplined and rational, keeps her colleagues on track. Strict, rigid and puts fear into everyone that works with her. It notes her aliases, 'The Hawk's Eye' is just putting it lightly to her talents in marksmanship with her muggle weapon.

Captain Vato Falman remarkable memory.

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc laid back...

Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda an imbecile.

Sergeant Major Kain Fuery weakest link...

Emperor Ling Yao is a right down childish, idiotic ruler by far we have ever encountered. Extremely easygoing and trust people far too easily, the only problem is his advisors and bodyguards.

Masked Bodyguard #1 keeps to the shadows or right by the Emperor's side at all times. A porcelain mask keeping their identity a secret and it appears they are acting as an advisor or secret keeper to the young Emperor.

Mei Chan is the seventeenth royal princess of Xing, younger sister of the current Emperor. It is noted by Colonel Edward Elric, General Roy Mustang and Emperor Ling Yao that she has a mastery in Alkahestry that rivals in terms of Alchemy. (Turn to page 5 to see what Alkahestry is.) She is currently teaching Alphonse Elric Alkahestry, continuing her mastery of the subject.

Alphonse Elric, younger brother of Colonel Edward Elric by just a year. It is heavily applied by Colonel Elric that they are on par in their Alchemy skills and helps with the Alchemy Curriculum. Something else worth noting is that he is far nicer than his older brother...

Tim Marcoh, a doctor.

.... Scar, a monk.

Dolores Umbridge rechecked her notes she created on the foreigners that arrived at Hogwarts. She is going to need every bit of information in order to go head to head to any of them. The only thing she ends up doing is adding more and more to her notes or revising them. The longer she spends her time with both groups, the Ministry Official wonders about the sanity of everyone. Her every attempt to question any of them are met with far too kind smiles or complete disinterest.

Every turn that was attempted to gain a favor for the Ministry, ended up backfiring. Speaking to the Emperor is like talking to a very, very...very... immature child. The only times he even speaks English is to ask random questions that did not pertain to anything to the negotiations. The only time he got serious is when he speaks to Mr. Alphonse Elric or General Mustang. The former of the two would translate everything for him and Dolores swore... the youngest of the two Elric's is the secret to securing Xing. Now if she could have the Amestrian's to stop blocking her way to him.

"Ugh... why did they bring the pink horror?" Edward grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Ling, Roy, and Alphonse to hear him. The former of the two men snickered at his set of words, neither of them was fond of the walking pick terror. They would comment on how she looks like a toad, but that would be an insult to their friends that are chimeras. So, they are sticking towards a theme of her hideous wardrobe and sickly sweet words that makes them want to vomit. Oh, how people will act to gain a favor...

"Edward...Big Brother... be nice." Alphonse said warningly, all the while he had a smile on his face.

"Meh... you weren't there the first time I meet that... thing!" Edward pulled a face when he remembered the first time he first saw Ms. Dolores Umbridge. That isn't a pleasant memory to remember. "A warning Al, she wants to know about your exact connection to the Military."

Alphonse's nose scrunched up at his brother's words. Of course, people would want to know about his connection to the Amestrian Military. In Amestris and the Military itself knows that his only connection is his brother who is a State Alchemist. In Xing, it is more or less but that is less and less as time goes by. He made it a point that his only connection to the Military is his friends in said group and his brother. It doesn't control him or give him orders, hypnotically speaking. They could ask him or mention something here and there, but not order him as they do to Edward. "Now they are going to ask my connection to Xing."

"And what exactly are you going to say about that?"

Roy and Edward looked at Alphonse expectantly, waiting for an answer. Luckily for Alphonse, Ling answer it for him. Ling swung an air around Alphonse's shoulder and gave Roy and Edward a closed eye smile. "He's my advisor, bodyguard, future brother-in-law, confidant, best fri-"

"Wait..."

"What?"

Edward and Roy stopped walking and faced Ling and Alphonse. This caused everyone around to also stop walking and glance over at the scene before them. It appeared whatever the Emperor of Xing is informing General Roy Mustang and Colonel Edward Elric are giving them mini heart attacks and looks of complete shock. It didn't help how the younger Elric brother is trying to pull away from the Emperor.

"Marriage!"

"I feel so old!"

"Please let go of me..."

"Once Alphonse marries Mei, you and I are going to be brothers, Edward! Isn't that great!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone stopped walking at this point and turned their attention to the eldest Elric brother. How said brother is now on his knees blubbering out words that no one could comprehend. It seemed to involved his younger brother and the Emperor of Xing. The only one that appeared not at all surprised by such behavior is Severus. He actually walked over and smacked Edward upside his head. "Behave."

Edward stopped his blubbering and glared at Severus. "You do not understand what is happening... In a couple of years... I will be related to this idiot. My brother is going to marry one of his sisters..."

By this point, Alphonse to make himself smaller and inch away from the upcoming questioning stares. Mei, on the other hand, is blushing heavily but made no way of moving from her spot. She has many sisters and Edward made no mention she is said sister.

"Alphonse is marrying a princess and Edward marrying his childhood sweetheart... You have to step up your game, Boss." Jean sniggered at Roy's look of astonishment and deep realization of several aspects of his life. "They're beating you to the punchline."

"I'm actually surprised Fullmetal did not attack tall, dark and creepy."

-.-

"Have you seen the visitors?"

"Yeah! The so-called Emperor of Ping? What a bloody joke!"

"He's a complete idiot!"

"Shhhh! Didn't you guys know? He has a guard that blends into the shadows and could pop out of nowhere!"

"Naw, that can't be true."

"Don't believe me, ask the Weasley Twins. They're still recovering from that prank they did on the Emperor of Xing?"

"Wait... is that why they are in the Medical Wing?"

"Yes, I was there when it happened."

".... Whoa..."

"I know..."

-.-

"He's so handsome!"

"His smile..."

"How is he even related to Mr. Elric?"

"I know! They act nothing alike!"

"They do have the same eye and hair color..."

"That's where the similarities end."

"I heard he's engaged..."

"WHAT!"

"NOO!"

"Why is it all the good ones are always taken!"

-.-

"She's is... Amazing."

"Adorable even."

"If only we could understand what she is saying."

"That only makes it even better."

"Everyone... She has a bodyguard."

"I thought only the Emperor had a bodyguard."

"The princess has a tiny rat bear cat thing, the demon thing bits or scratches anyone that comes their way."

-.-

"He looks like a potions accident gone horribly wrong, don't they have any sort of healers where they are from?"

"He looks terrifying..."

"Hah! He looks like a freak!"

"True! Hahaha!"

"Hey! Shut up! Don't talk about Dr. Marcoh like that!"

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it, Hufflepuff?"

"Oh I show you, you damn Gryffindor!"

-.-

Let it be noted... All of this occurred in the span of two days...

Permanent Tag List:

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#Alchemy Series #Magic vs Science #Chapter 22 #Hp/FMA #FMAB #HP #HP/FMAB #AU #Crossover

[pfandghoul]

what the sokovia accords really are

a quick study bc what the fuck guys

(copied from the mcu wiki entry about the accords - all of it and not just parts of it)

here goes:

The currently known regulations established by the Sokovia Accords include:

Any enhanced individuals who agree to sign must register with the United Nations and provide biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA samples.

- Any who AGREE to sign. I dont think this is asking too much. If ur working for a government agency, if ur using force in any way during ur work, I think its fair to ask you to give them biometric data. And if its only so in case there is an investigation afterwards (which their always should be imo) its clear distinguishable who was where and did what.

- Also, what if someone suddenly decides "something happened, im changing sides, imma take revenge" (no matter if its a concious decision or brainwashing 👀)? Would probably be good to have some data and perhaps be able to track them. If its managable or not- hm. But theres no harm in giving that data if ur only goal is working towards a safer world.

-----

Those with secret identities must reveal their legal names and true identities to the United Nations.

- Oh nooo, no unknown vigilantes that might make mistakes while fighting on their own and then cant be held accountable? No one is perfect, OF COURSE, but from a realistic pov I wouldnt feel safe with someone running around fighting whoever-

And I know we love the romantic comic fantasy of "everybody can be a hero", and I swear I love it as much as you! But imagine ur just a normal person while spiderman is swinging above ur head- or even imagine ur spiderman- and then one tiny thing wents wrong. The normal person is crushed, dead or paralysed- Spiderman is in shock because that was Not supposed to happen and he is so so sorry!- But what now?

- If enhanced people were to work under an organisation (that is ideally not as shady and riddled with Hydra as Shield was) then those incidents would be covered. Yes it would still be terrible but Spiderman would get mandatory therapy session to work through it and the normal person... well if theyre dead then i guess the organisation would at least pay for the funeral and compensate the family (like if they were the only one providing for partner and kids), additionally a conversation between both partys if possible.

-Basically: nothing can be swept under the rug. The enhanced people can be protected!!! PLUS they only have to reveal their identity to the UN and not the world.

---------

Those with innate powers must submit to a power analysis, which will categorize their threat level and determine potential health risks.

- This would benefit the person with power too, you realize that, dont you?

You cant possibly know how much power you actually have. Is there gonna be another level-up for you? Are you Jean Grey? We wouldnt want to repeat that specific clusterfuck, right?

But if you submit to an analysis it can help find ways to train you, circle ur weaknesses, etc.

Yes the UN would know ur threat level- and that would be bad why? Are you planning to attack Them? If not then no problem. Instead they would know if they should send you in or not- depending... you dont need a level 5 when there is a cat in a tree. We want to avoid unnecessary damage, thank you. If ur a level 1 you also dont want to be on the front lines against an alien invasion for example- better help evacuate non-powered individuals and not die immediately.

- Also worth mentioning: this is all still part of the "if you agree to sign" paragraph

-------

Those with innate powers must also wear tracking bracelets at all times.

- Yes I admit this one sucks. I could argue the pros but I dont really want to because this one is literally just a "we want to control you" rule and should be scratched.

------- (new paragraph in the accords)----

Any enhanced individuals who sign are prohibited from taking action in any country other than their own, unless they are first given clearance by either that country's government or by a United Nations subcommittee.

- I really want to think I dont have to say anything here but I feel I do.

No I do not want a guy wearing an american flag running around in my country if my government didnt explicitely allow it. Same for a giant tin man or a creepy spiderlady.

- If anything then this paragraph would help improve the communication between countries. Yes people fear that in emergencies this will all take too long but 1) thats not the Accords fault and 2) I think we already have situations like this irl and most times it does work.

---------

Governments are forbidden from deploying enhanced individuals outside of their own national borders, unless those individuals are given clearance as described above. The same rule also applies to non-government organizations that operate on a global scale (including S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers).

- Same reasoning. I really really dont want Shield around with their shady everything.

- And always needing consent before weaking havoc in other countries? nice

--------(new paragraph)-----

Any enhanced individuals who do not sign will not be allowed to take part in any police, military, or espionage activities, or to otherwise participate in any national or international conflict, even in their own country.

- Basically if you dont sign up then you cant be a super-cop. Groundbreaking.

(This is very much explained in the first paragraph already.)

----------

As a corollary, they will not be allowed to participate in any active missions undertaken by private or governmental law enforcement/military/intelligence organizations (such as S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers).

- s a m e t h i n g

--------(new paragraph)-----

Any enhanced individuals who use their powers to break the law (including those who take part in extralegal vigilante activities), or are otherwise deemed to be a threat to the safety of the general public, may be detained indefinitely without trial.

If an enhanced individual violates the Accords, or obstructs the actions of those enforcing the Accords, they may likewise be arrested and detained indefinitely without trial.

- Cancel the without trial part and then Id say its just. This way it stinks and I feel Ross had his hands in this. No, I am not defending this one. Its Not Okay.

------(new paragraph)-------

The use of technology to bestow individuals with innate superhuman capabilities is strictly regulated, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology (such as Asgardian and Chitauri weaponry).

- You cant just experient and turn urself into the Hulk anymore??? Where is the fun in that?? //sarcasm//

- I dont need to go deeper into this, do I?

-------

The creation of self-aware artificial intelligences is completely prohibited.

- Here comes a problem. For Tony mostly.

- I can think of a few reasons for this but I dont think many people are even capable of doing this. I think it would bd enough to file a request if you want to try and build an AI.

--------(new paragraph)----

The Avengers will no longer be a private organization and will operate under the supervision of the United Nations.

- See.. all of the above on why this is a good thing?

- The Avengers as a private organisation is actually a super scary thought. And if you arent at least a little freaked out about this (all from the point of looking at this as if it were real) then idk what to tell you.

---------(new paragraph)-------

For the purposes of the Accords, an "enhanced individual" is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities. This includes individuals whose powers are an innate function of their biology as well as individuals who utilize highly advanced technology to grant themselves superhuman capabilities. However, individuals with advanced prostheses do not seem to be considered "enhanced", even if their prostheses give them capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans. 

- Basically just explaining what they mean by "enhanced individual": people with powers. Doesnt matter if you are born with ur power or built urself a supersuit.

-If you got leg protheses that are super bouncy you arent considered an "enhanced individual" (to put it as simple as possible).

-----

All members of the Avengers are subject to the same conditions as enhanced individuals, even if they are not enhanced themselves: Black Widow was required to sign so she could continue serving on the Avengers, and Hawkeye was incarcerated on the Raft after violating the Accords.

- I think this is fair because if you consider urself an Avenger and fight with them then you also should be held accountable.

- You wouldnt want a Someone to work in super-person capacity which both gives a great deal of responsibility and allows a high chance of fuck ups and destruction without them having any regulations, okay?

AND THATS ALL THERE IS

THATS ALL THE MCU WIKI SAYS THERE IS

Which is ofc bullshit because the Accords were thick and 117 countries worked on them for idk how long. Do you understand what that takes? The compromises and politic battles thats been fought over this document?

And yes it is still not perfect.

But who in the seven Hells said that this was the final draft? Who??

"I dont wanna sign away my freedom of choice" F you! What about my freedom of choice of having some costumed weirdos run around my town blowing stuff up killing people?

"We cant save everyone" yEAH but maybe just mAyBe if you werent a dumb cunt then mayyybe with some teamwork with the countries respective secrurity personell (as every fucking country does have) then maybe Kyle, Maria and Dembe would still be alive?? Who knows.

So what I hear is "I dont wanna give up my freedom and continue to do as I see fit. Because I think I am a better judge than a UN committee and 117 governments that dont want me breaking into their countries on a semi-regular basis."

and thats why im generally pro-Accords :)

#marvel #marvel civil war #civil war #captain america civil war #cacw #sokovia accords #iron man #pro accords #anti-steve rogers #no i dont wanna fight lma

[famous-aces]

Morrissey

Who: Steven Patrick Morrissey

What: Musician

Where: English (Active, internationally)

When: May 22, 1959 - Present

(Image Description: a black and white photo of Morrissey from 1992.  He is a young white man in his early thirties with dark hair and eyes. His hair is short and messy.  He has thick eyebrows and a strong jawline. He is smiling very slightly. He is wearing a pale knit sweater. End ID)

Morrisey is one of those world-famous single named singers: Cher, Sting, Prince, Madonna, Morrissey. Perhaps a little Bono as, while he is more ironic and droll than the U2 frontman, he also has a reputation for douche-baggery.  Morrissey is famous for his music's bleak drama blended with bleak humor, sexually ambiguousness, themes of the past and self-reflection, and being an all around "anti-pop idol".

Morrissey made a name for himself as the frontman for The Smiths in the 1980s (1982-87), but has a successful solo career since 1988 with only a brief hiatus from '98-'03.  His most beloved albums include The Queen is Dead (1986), Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), Viva Hate (1988), Your Arsenal (1992), Vauxhall and I (1994), You are the Quarry (2004), Years of Refusal (2009). His most recey album (California Son) came out in February of this year (2019).

He is outspoken politically on, for example, vegetarianism and animal rights and against the monarchy and Americanization. In 2006 a BBC poll voted him the second greatest living British cultural icon.

I admit that while I like the Smiths well enough I had never liked them enough to really follow Morrissey's career, which is odd as I do like the whole punk/new wave/post punk scene very much. But I started listening to him a bit for this and a bit depressing but quite good.

(Image description: a photo of the Smiths backstage in 1984 by Tom Sheehan.  From left to right Andy Rourke [a white man with brown hair and a leather jacket. Below that he has on a shirt with what I think is a crow on it. He has his bass slung around his neck and his hands behind his back. He has his head slightly cocked], Morrissey [wearing a striped shirt with a low neck, long necklaces, and square glasses. He has his arms crossed], Mike Joyce [pale with black hair spiked up and his bangs falling into his face. He has on a Smiths t-shirt and is mostly hidden behind the others], and Johnny Marr [pale with a black mop top with long bangs, he is thin with an angular face, he is wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He has his guitar slung around his neck and fingers on the frets.] End ID)

Orientation: Humasexual (A word of Morrissey's own creation meaning "attracted to humans" but I will go into why, in Morrissey's case, it seems to fit under the asexual umbrella.)

I'm breaking my own rule here. Morrissey does not call himself "asexual," but uses his own term: humasexual. But as he defines the term and the nature of his sexual/romantic orientation it fits under the aspec umbrella. At one point Morrissey identifed as a bisexual who "hates sex" and later a "non-practicing bisexual," but be later abandoned that terminology. By the 2010s he was very open on the exact nature of his orientation.

While I would not go up to him and demand he identify as aspec the experience he describes does fit in fairly neatly into our letter of the Alphabet Soup. Again, I would not demand anything of him. He is a human person. Sexual orientation is, in the end, highly personal and individual. Do not be The Guy/Gal/Person. In the end everyone is entitled to name and define their own experience.

It may seem odd that a man who writes a lot about sex/sexual desire in his music could be asexual, but I don't think writing is necessarily indicative of the writer's true feelings.  Morrissey agrees, saying time and time again from his earliest fame that he is writing a general story, not a biography. He says of his lyrics that "It was very important for me to try and write for everybody...nothing is ever open and shut.". Remember, while the artist always leaves a trace of themself in their art it is not always in the most obvious way.

I believe his humasexual might be closer to demi (or perhaps gray) than it is to utterly asexual. Aspec, but not at the zero/zero point, when we get to the quotes section I will explain further.  Morrissey is definitely not aromantic. But he was intentionally celibate until his mid-thirties. It was then he had his first serious relationship, all by his own admission, not being interested in sex much before that.  He still seems to have stints of celibacy. Sex as a "maybe" or a shrug rather than a necessity. And again it took a deep personal connection to his partner for him to even feel the urge to have sex. Indeed, he claimed to "hate" sex before that.

I hope to clear things up in the quotes section when I let Morrissey speak for himself, which he has done, extensively. I included quotes from his most recent public discussion on the matter from 2013.

(Image Description: a more recent photo of Morrissey performing on stage this one in color. He has graying hair now and is slightly larger than he was as a younger man, though he is not overweight. He is just less trim. He is wearing a dark suit. His face is wracked with emotion, eyes closed, mouth open. He has one hand in front of him, open palmed. The other holds the mic to his mouth.  End ID)

“Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans.  But, of course . . . not many.”

-Morrissey in a statement from October 2013 (quoted by Time Magazine. Emphasis in original as it is the same in multiple sources) (I think this should be obvious. Again, labels are entirely up to the person using them and thus I am not applying one to Morrissey, but clearly he could stand under the ace umbrella mspec romantically and aspec sexually)

"[F]or the first time in my life the eternal ‘I’ becomes ‘we’, as, finally, I can get on with someone, Jake [Owen Walters] and I neither sought not needed company other than our own for the whirlwind stretch to come.”  

-Morrissey in his 2013 memoir Autobiography.  (Walters was his first serious relationship.  The relationship began in 1994 and ended in 1996. It describes sentiment echoed by many demisexuals "'I' becomes 'we'" and "finally I can get on with someone". Also the idea of solitude may reflect an aspec relationship.)

"Girls remained mysteriously attracted to me, and I had no idea why, since although each fumbling foray hit the target, nothing electrifying took place, and I turned a thousand corners without caring … Far more exciting were the array of stylish racing bikes that my father would bring home.”

-Morrissey on being a teenager in that same memoir

"I don't recognise such terms as heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and I think it's important that there's someone in pop music who's like that. These words do great damage, they confuse people and they make people feel unhappy so I want to do away with them."

-Morrissey in a 1985 interview. (I don't agree with him in the least, my label makes me very happy and I know it makes many other people happy [although I did feel like this before I had my asexual label.] I think he might have been projecting. I think his not quite fitting into anything made him uncomfortable and it shows why he might not be inclined to stick to a traditional label and instead invent his own.)

[Nick] Kent: …[Y]out write a lot about homosexual longing.

Morrissey: I've always said that I leave things very open and that I sing about people. Without limitation. And I don't think that automatically makes me homosexual.

Kent: What about...sexual relationships?

Morrissey: I don't have relationships at all. It's out of the question.

Kent: Why?

Morrissey: Partly because I have always been attracted to men or women who were never attracted to me. And I was never attracted to men or women who were attracted to me. So that's the problem. I've never met the right person.

-A 1985 interview with Nick Kent, quoted by David Brent in Morrissey: Scandal and Passion (2004) (not finding "the right person" seems quite demi to me. He also says that is "part" of the reason. So there is probably a more complicated reason too. Also of note, Morrissey doesn't like Kent [or at least didn't at the time] so odds are he was disinclined to further articulate his most personal life to him. But that is purely speculation and it is dicey waters even speculating that much.)

(Image Description: the album cover of You are the Quarry. It shows Morrissey on a red background holding an old fashioned Tommy gun and wearing an old fashioned pin stripe suit. He takes up most of the left side of the image. Beside him on the right it says "Morrissey, You are the Quarry." End ID)

#lgbtq #queer #asexual #ace #20th century #europe #bi #21st century #modern #english #british #entertainers #musicians #bio #Morrissey

[fanficimagery]

Imagine being the only human friend to the Viking vampire of Louisiana. Technically he hasn't laid claim to you because you refused to be known as his human pet, but all the vampires know better than to lay a hand on you. Humans, however, like to think that Vampire law doesn't apply to them. So when you show up to Fangtasia one night, beaten and bruised, your Viking is out for blood.

Trigger Warning! This mentions and talks about physical abuse. Don't really know if that's a trigger, but yeah. Just thought it'd be better to put it out there before you decide to read.

Author's Note: This is my first and most likely last time I will attempt smut. Excuse the awkwardness, even if the smut barely last a few sentences.

Eric X Reader

Tossing money at the overly judgmental cab driver through the opened window, you turn around to face the almost nondescript building that is Fangtasia. The only interesting things about the building is the small red awning above the front entrance, the red neon sign on the window that reads Fangtasia and the intimidating statuesque blonde vampire checking all the human ID's before permitting them entry.

Sighing, you make quick work of zipping up your hoodie and placing the hood atop your head to hide your face in the shadow it offers. Walking is currently quite painful, but you know you have to face the music sooner or later and you rather it be sooner than have an overbearing vampire knocking down your door when you don't return his calls.

The line is quite long given that the night has only just begun, but you're lucky enough to be on good terms with the vampires who own the place. So heading straight for Pamela who's rocking a leather dress and sky high stilettos, you mumble her name as soon as you near the velvet rope she's manning with your head ducked.

"Back of the line, breather," Pam drawls.

"Aw, Pamela, is that any way to speak to your friend?" You lift your head, grimacing a little and nearly flinch when her fangs click down.

"Fuck," she drawls as she takes in your split lip and half swollen face.

"Is Eric in?"

"He's gonna kill whoever it is that touched you."

"Counting on it." Pam briefly looks startled at your words, but in the next moment her own progeny Tara is at her side. Tara's eyes widen as she takes in your own appearance and you nod in greeting. "Hey, T."

"Girl, what the hell happened?!"

"Long story. I just- I need to see Eric first."

"Come on,” Pam sighs. “Tara, cover the door. I’m taking Y/N to Eric."

One second you're standing outside in front of Fangtasia and the next Pam is cautiously setting you down on the couch in Eric's office. Just as you're attempting to curl up on the cushions, the door slams open and in walks the six-foot-five Viking vampire Eric Northman.

"What the fuck happened?" He crouches in front of you, his cold hand gently grasping you by the chin to tilt your face upward.

"You always told me he'd take it one step too far," you mumble. "Well you were right. Only he took it a lot too far this afternoon."

"Jesus." Eric attempts to pull you into a seated position, but when you whimper as your back hits the back of the couch he's quick to pull you forward. "What is it? Is it your ribs? Why aren't you in the hospital?!"

Your eyes fill with tears. "I don't want to scar. Please don't let me scar."

There's a click of fangs descending and both you and Eric look at Pam. "I smell fresh blood."

Eric frowns as he looks at you and you start to cry softly. Hiding your face in your hands, you don't object when you feel hands pulling up the back of your hoodie and shirt. Both vampires hiss as they see the once again bleeding welts littering your back.

When you chance a look up, you see Eric standing to his full height, chest heaving. His expression is carefully blank, but you can practically feel the power radiating off of him in his anger. "He's dead."

"Had he not lashed me with his fucking belt, I'd had argued for his life," you tiredly tell him. "But I'm done. I came to you because I-" You pause and then gulp, not too sure about how this is going to go down. "Look... I know you're always saying the blood is sacred, but I could really use something right now. I wouldn't be too upset if Clint wound up dead and left on his best friend's front lawn. After all, his bestie was there when the beating started and didn't do anything to help me. I wanna see his face when he realizes I'm completely fine while Clint is dead."

"Oh, sweetheart, you don't even have to ask."

You're too startled by the term of endearment in what you've come to known as Eric's native language that there is no objection when he shoves his bleeding wrist to your mouth. You weakly glare at him before swallowing your first mouth full and then your eyes close in pure bliss as your hands fly up to secure his arm to your mouth. Somewhere in the back of your mind you’re horrified at the moan you let loose, but after your fourth gulp the wound has closed and Eric is gently taking his arm back.

Panting briefly, your mind clears and your eyes snap open. "Way to be a dick, Northman. You could have poured your blood into a glass."

Pam chuckles from her guard by the door and instead of getting angry for speaking to him the way you did, Eric merely smirks. "Grab a shower while I'm gone. Pam will find you something to wear."

"Aye, aye, boss."

"Sweet dreams, Y/N."

Eric and his infuriating smirk are gone before you can retort, and you look up at Pam who's staring at you expectantly. "...what?"

"Eric's been waiting for nearly two years for you to open your eyes to that pathetic excuse of a boyfriend of yours," she muses.

"Yeah. And?"

Pam's smirk widens. "You don't get it, do you? Eric isn't the type of vampire to wait patiently for what he wants. You've heard the story about how he chased that little fae."

"Get to the point, Pam."

"My point is that you just let the Viking feed you his blood while also giving him permission to kill the only competition he's ever had for your affections." Her meaning finally sinks in and your eyes widen. She laughs. "Sweet dreams indeed. Come, little one. Lets go find you something to wear so you can fall asleep."

Back arching off the polished wood of the desk, your hands grasp for the head of blonde hair that's made it's temporary home between your legs. Tongue swirling around your clit, a moan rips free and a chuckle reverberates against your nether lips.

"Eric... fuck! Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop."

"I love it when you start babbling, kitten." His chin rests on your lower abdomen, and you whimper when you catch his icy blue gaze sparkling at you in a mixture of amusement and lust.

"Goddammit, Viking! I said not to stop."

"But you're so adorable when you're denied an orgasm." Eric slowly climbs up your body, nipping and licking his way to your lips where he takes your bottom lip between his teeth and bites down hard enough to pull free another whimper.

"Stop teasing me, Eric, and just fuck me already!"

"As you wish."

You feel Eric's own arousal teasing your entrance and in one swift thrust, he's-

You gasp awake, heart pounding and your lady bits pulsing with arousal.

"Good dream?" Pam drawls. When you glance at her, she's smirking knowingly.

"Eh," you sigh and squirm until you're comfortable. "Apparently my subconscious really wants to be tongue-fucked on Eric's desk."

Pam cackles and you tiredly smile at her, but your total casual-ness flies out the window when the private bathroom door opens and out saunters Eric- Eric who looks freshly showered and is now wearing a black muscle tee that shows off his nicely muscled arms. "That's good to know."

Groaning, you glare at Pam. "Thanks for the head's up."

"Anytime." Then with a wink, she's out of the room before you can even utter a reply.

Eric grins as he walks over to the sofa, towel drying his arms and face as he takes a seat directly next to you. "So I take it things went well?"

"Obviously." He tosses the towel aside and stretches his arm out across the back of the sofa. "Clint was still at your shared home and it was all too easy to glamour my way in. I could smell your blood and see the splatters of it from where you were assaulted, so I called in a vampire clean-up crew. They removed all evidence of any assault and then I took Clint to a remote field where I took care of him. I made sure to give him every mark he gave you before dropping him off at his friend's house. We'll have an alibi for you should the friend start pointing fingers."

"I know I should be upset... or something, but I'm actually quite relieved." Eric practically purrs as you subconsciously move to where you're curled up in his side, your head resting against his shoulder as you throw your legs over his. You sigh in contentment. "This was always inevitable, wasn't it?"

"You were always mine. You just had to accept it."

"Yeah, well, I think everyone's going to accept it now. All the vampires are going to smell you even more on me. And worse... in me. They're going to smell you in me and it's not because we got up some hanky panky."

Eric snorts. "The hanky panky can be arranged." You laugh at how the words sound coming from him, but then sober up at what comes next. "Is this going to be a problem? That I now have an official claim on you?"

Taking a moment to honestly think about it, you can't think of any other reason why you never let Eric publicly claim you other than you didn't want to be called a fang-banging whore. But you're way passed what anyone thinks and now that you don't have to worry about Clint's abusive behavior... you're at peace with just about everything.

Eric's chuckles knock you from your thoughts. "I take that as a no."

You realize a second too late that you're rubbing your cheek against his pec like some sort of cat. "Shut up. You should've told me that your blood would make me feel like I was stoned. The racy dreams and you feeling everything I feel, I expected. Wanting to rub up on everything and finding me a smorgasbord of food to eat, I did not."

"The fun's only just begun, Älskling."

You practically swoon at the Swedish term of endearment, your thighs clenching a moment later. Eric's laughter silently rumbles and you punch him in the ribs. "Don't be a dick. You know what your voice and your native tongue does to a woman."

"Hmm. Yes, my tongue can do a lot of things. Want me to show you? On my desk, perhaps?"

You groan, too turned on to even be embarrassed. "You're going to be so much trouble."

"As if I'd be anything else."

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