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thesoappope · 3 months

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My thoughts on Chaggie/ Charlie x Vaggie

Before we begin, no this isn't a "I hate chaggie post" and no I will not be hating on those who ship it either. Rather this is just my thoughts on chaggie at the moment.

So, I'm just gonna say it, Chaggie is my OTP. Not because it is perfection, but because it's in my opinion one of the most interesting relationship canon/noncanon, I love both the characters in the relationship, and any moment of intimacy (not just kisses and such but any intimacy that reads as romantic) is cute. And with that I want to talk about the relationship so far.

Now I've been seeing people say their relationship is toxic or unhealthy, and to that I say...that's a bit strong. Let me explain. So because hazbin is kinda speedrunning it's plot (which I understand bc limitations on episodes and seasons green lit) we don't get to deeply know all the characters and specifics on why they make certain choices and how they ended up the way they did so we have to rely on the broad and limited information provided in each episode.

Based on the 6 episodes released, we can tell Charlie is very optimistic, to a fault at times, passionate, a go getter with some direction, very empathetic, ablivious at times, and ultimanty wants to be a leader but lacks the confidence and authority (despite begin a princess bc we love the royal that doesn't know how to rule troupe, genuinely) to be one.

Vaggie on the other hand, is like Charlie, very kind, but isn't as willing to put faith in a person till they've proven they deserve it, protective, loyal, good intended, not very trusting, lacks confidence, and dependent on Charlie.

Now when you put these two together, while the two do help eachother supplement what the other lacks, whether through reassurance, doing what the other can't or doesn't want to do, or giving the other what they need at the moment, even if that isn't them, it's clear who relies more on the other. After it's revealed how Vaggie and Charlie met, it really reframes Vaggie's character. No longer is she just a slightly insecure girlfriend who just wants to make sure her partner is happy and is being supportive and good enough to her, she's now a character who has bad identity issues. I mean can you blame her?! Her whole life disappeared in an instance and started all over when Charlie found her. I imagine they haven't really been apart since then except for a couple hours maybe, but never for days or longer. And being with someone for so long especially in an unfamiliar place, of course you become attached to them. Add Charlie basically saving Vaggie's life, there's an imbalance there. A feeling of indebtedness even if Charlie never said Vaggie owed her bc wow that would be way out of character.

Now as I mentioned before, Charlie is a bit ablivious to certain things, she's especially ablivious to how vaggie feels and what she's going through. Now that's not entirely her fault, she didn't know Vaggie was an angel and that Vaggie may feel indebted to her for saving her life, but also it's clear Charlie doesn't understand social cues and again, because of her trust in Vaggie, she'd assume Vaggie would tell her anything that was wrong or bothering her since the contrary just isn't something established in there relationship. And if Vaggie didn't want to talk about something she'd say it, not lie. Like in all honesty I think Charlie won't be upset by Vaggie being an angel, but rather hiding it. Now it may sound like alot to ask of Vaggie, but again, Charlie is under the impression that Vaggie would be explicit about what to talk and not talk about. Also Charlie may be hurt because she may feel like Vaggie doesn't trust her enough or think she wouldn't accept her. So I get both sides.

So to me there relationship feels like any relationship, complicated. The relationship Itself isn't unhealthy, but some of the actions of the two involved aren't healthy or the best. Don't think I forgot about Charlie being pushy at times, I understand why she does it, but combine it with her abliviousness it's not so great. I definitely think Charlie and Vaggie can bounce back and maybe the two can have a moment together that helps the two be better together and separate. Which brings me to another thing I'd like to talk about.

My hope for Chaggie in the future is this. In the next episode, the two give eachother space, and they hangout with people in the hotel. I like the idea of Vaggie, Husk, and or Angel hanging out. Charlie and Lucifer or Charlie, Sir Pentious, Husk, or Angel spending time with her. Then half way or 3 quarters through the episode Vaggie and Charlie have a moment together after talking and hangingout with the others, talk about it/maybe apologize, make up, and have there first kiss in the show (other gestures like their foreheads touching or noses touching or a combination of gestures work as well). Then of course setting up for the 8th episode.

Another thought I had, is also the two trying to act as if nothing happened, they continue with there plans with the hotel, then when everyone notices the obvious tension, while they want to prepare for the extermination, they also want to figureout/help Vaggie and Charlie get through what ever happened. Then I imagine they either try doing the exercises and such Charlie plans but secretly use it as a way to help Charlie and Vaggie, in the end Vaggie or Charlie blow up. Shit goes down and then they make up. Or it's still not working so they try getting the two away from eachother by saying they need help with stuff, talking to them, then the two make up. Or one last one I swear, Vaggie or Charlie say to take a break from this. Everyone does, Charlie and Vaggie talk or argue. Walk different ways, Vaggie stays at the hotel and Charlie leaves the hotel. After the two end up figuring shit out, I like to think Charlie got into some shit, Vaggie saves her, they talk as they deal with the trouble Charlie's in, make up, and have an intimate moment.

Now the last thing I wat to say is kinda related but not, so if you came just for Chaggie you can leave. Anyways, with the current state of chaggie (especially with the lack of typical romantic intimacy) I noticed people shipping Charlie x Emily. And while yes I see it, personally I don't ship it just because they've only met in episode 6, they're too similar, and in my opinion, I like them as friends. With that being said, I do like them together so long as Charlie is still with Vaggie. Like I just love Charlie and Vaggie together so much, I don't want them to split. So either I'd have them as a throuple, or Charlie is dating them both but Emily and Vaggie are just friends. Either one is a pretty interesting shipping dynamic and great for fanfiction. Also just to clarify, I'm not hating on Emily x Charlie, it's just not one I'm strong about. So if you like it, more power to you. And you know what, I'll probably still look at content of it anyways cause even if it isn't my fav it's still cute.

Uh anyways, I hope you enjoyed my word vomit and thoughts? Idk how to end this...uh goodbye!

#hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel vaggie #charlie x vaggie #chaggie #hazbin hotel emily #charlie x emily #vaggie x charlie x emily #shipping

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useless-catalanfacts · 2 months

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2nd February 2024. Photos from Vilaweb.

Demonstration in front of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (the highest court of the Spanish judiciary system in Catalonia) in Barcelona in support of Dani Gallardo, a young Spanish anarchist who is sentenced to prison because the took part in a peaceful demonstration held in Madrid (Spain's capital city) in favour of Catalan people's right to self-determination and against the Spanish police's violence against Catalan people.

We have explained Dani's case before, you can read it in this post:

Dani has been sentenced guilty to send a message. Until his case, more than 4,200 Catalan people had been sentenced guilty for their involvement in the 2017 Catalan independence referendum or the protests that followed it. The Spanish judiciary system has proven that they won't stop at punishing Catalan people, they also sent the police to beat up the protestors who demonstrated for Catalonia in Madrid (Spain) and they're also jailing a Spanish man for his solidarity.

Dani was sentenced guilty of public disorder and attempt against authority with made-up claims that had been fabricated hours before he even got arrested. The Spanish police already planned to arrest people and blame them for this even before the event happened. Dani spent 13 months in pre-trial jail, then he was released for some time, and now has received the order to go to prison for 2 years and 11 months more.

Cases like this is why there is a demand for an amnesty. After the last elections to the Spanish government, the PSOE party needed the support of other parties to get enough votes to form government. One of the must-have demands of the Catalan political parties was an amnesty law (amnesty laws are not uncommon in Spain) that would cancel the punishments of people who have been found guilty of political crimes related to the independence movement since 2017, because none of these thousands of people committed real harmful crimes. This law is currently being negotiated, but the Spanish parties are trying to write it in a way that will leave as many people out of the amnesty as possible. At the same time, the Spanish judiciary system continues accusing new people of terrorism for attending peaceful political demonstrations.

For example, two democratically-elected pro-independence politicians (Puigdemont and Wagensberg) are being accused of terrorism for supposedly calling for people to protest in the Barcelona airport, a protest that was completely peaceful and which was called by a civil society organization and not by these politicians. But they're influential, so Spain looks for any way to punish them. How are the Spanish judiciaries claiming that Puigdemont and Wagensberg should be sentenced guilty of terrorism for an action where there was no terrorism? The Spanish judges' imagination has no limits when it comes to sentencing Catalans and Basques. They are saying that it's terrorism because some of the protestors had weapons. What weapons? Fire extinguishers, bottles, and the metal carts that people use to carry their luggage:

Because there were fire extinguishers and luggage carts in the airport and people brought their own water, a completely peaceful protest that happened there is terrorism. The worst part is that it doesn't outrage or surprise us anymore, because we're so used to this nonsense.

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saintsugu · 2 years

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Daddy’s Girl.

pairing: ran haitani x fem!reader

contents: daddy kink, possessiveness, jealousy, oral sex (f), teasing, ran kinda views you as property, overstimulation, mentions of him owning you, unestablished relationship, unprotected sex, creampie, violence, implied murder / assault

word count: 2.8 k

author’s note: first re-upload on here !<3

The phone rings once—twice, before the man on the other line answers.

“Why are you calling so soon, doll?” His cocky tone is quickly cut off by the sound of you sniffling. “Doll, what happened?”

It’s been close to a month since he’s heard from you. You started seeing someone else and decided to break off contact for the time being. He didn’t put up much of a fight, because he knew that it was only temporary; knew that in the end, you’d come crawling back to him like you always do.

“He left, he broke up with me.” You sound weak, but he can tell that you’re trying your best to stay strong while on the phone with him.

Ran can feel his teeth grind as he immediately grabs his keys. The thought of someone—some lowlife, jackoff doing this to you, makes him seethe with rage.

“Can you…can you come over?” You timidly ask.

“I’m already on my way, pretty,” he states as his car starts, engine roaring as he opens the garage.

He can still remember the way his blood boiled when you told him that you started seeing someone. Besides the obvious jealousy, he genuinely didn’t have a good feeling about this guy. He told you his thoughts on the matter, but you marked it off as him not wanting to let you go.

There wasn’t really much he could do or say, considering you were just fuck buddies and nothing more. But in the end, you’re calling him in tears and once again, he’s proven right.

The streets are barren since you called him so late at night, and he’s able to make it to your place in under ten minutes. He rushes up the stairs and uses his spare key to unlock the door; one that you don’t even know he has.

“Ran?” Your voice is shaking as you speak and he despises the sight in front of him.

You’re curled up on your floor, knees to your chest and used tissues are balled up on the carpet surrounding you. Face red and eyes puffy as you sniffle.

“The door was unlocked,” he lies, making his way to you. “C’mere, baby.” He scoops you into his arms, letting you grab onto his neck and wrap your legs around his waist as he carries you to your bedroom.

He sits on the edge of the bed with you still placed in his lap. He leans back, motioning for you to do the same, and from this position, he wipes away strands of your hair to look at your face.

Your beautiful face, that should only look like this because of him. You should only be crying if it’s because he’s fucking you too well; because he’s pushing past all of your soft limits and making you cum more times than you thought possible. You should only ever be crying because of him, not some two-bit piece of shit.

“Why are you crying, sweetie?” He coos, gently caressing your cheek.

“He used me,” you sniffle. “Just like you fucking said he would.”

He doesn’t say anything, probably hoping to coax you into continuing; spoiler alert, it works.

“Said he only…” you’re still having post-crying hiccups as you struggle to regulate your breathing. “He only used me for my body.”

Suddenly, Ran sees red. This dick that he allowed you to see, was using you for Ran’s body? That doesn't fly for him. You’re his, and his only. He’s gonna make you see that.

“Listen to me, doll,” he whispers, tilting your head up so that you can look him in the eye. “I’m gonna make you forget all about him, okay? That sound good to you?”

You nod, still taking short breaths in as you sniffle. You let him set you on the mattress, laying down flat on your back. Even if you didn’t realize it at the time, this is exactly why you called him earlier.

“Don’t gotta do a thing. Just let your daddy take care of you, yeah?”

His lips find your neck and he already knows what spot he needs to focus on. As soon as he starts to suck a bruise onto the flesh, you let out a soft moan. It’s been a month since you’ve slept with him, which also means it’s been a month since you’ve been properly taken care of.

Ran knows you better than you know yourself. He knows every single thing that makes you tick, no matter how big or small it may be.

His hand slips under your shirt and since you’re conveniently not wearing a bra, he easily starts to palm your tit.

“Ran,” you whine.

“Patience.” He silences you with a single word. “Let me take my time with you.”

You whine and buck your hips against him, but you don’t dare defy him; you’ve learned your lesson from the multiple times he’s made you get off on his thigh in the past.

He leaves a line of kisses down your sternum, sucking marks as he goes. He needs to cover every inch of your skin in him, needs to get rid of any sign of your shitty ex.

“You’re so wet, and I haven’t even done anything,” he muses as his finger slips under the band of your panties. “Poor baby, did he not take good care of you?”

You shake your head no, hoping that it’ll spur him on to do something. Ran’s always been very competitive in the end.

“Don’t worry,” he presses a kiss on your lower stomach, right above the top of your shorts. “Daddy’s here, now.”

As he pulls your shorts and panties down in one fell swoop, you quickly shut your legs because of the cold and bitter air, but no, Ran’s not taking that.

“Thought you were gonna be good for me. Thought you were gonna listen to daddy,” he hums, prying your legs open again. “Daddy never said to shut your legs.”

“I’m sorry…”

“‘Sorry’, what?” He sucks on the inside of your thigh, waiting for you to answer before giving you what you crave so badly.

It takes you a moment, probably too embarrassed to say it right away, but you come around and utter the words, “I’m sorry, daddy.”

He pulls away from the skin with a pop, and smirks at you. “That’s my girl.”

It’s the last thing he says, before his tongue is on you. He licks your clit until it’s puffy enough for him to suck it into his mouth. You squirm and whine in his grasp, but he keeps his forearm crossed over your waist to prevent you from moving too much.

“Ran,” he lightly slaps your thigh, making your whole body jolt before you correct yourself. “Daddy, I,”

“What is it, pretty girl?” He returns to licking your clit, occasionally slipping his tongue into your clenching cunt just to hear you moan.

“W-want your cock,” you struggle to think with him stimulating you and it takes a little longer than usual for you to finish your statement. “It’s been too long, please.”

“Gotta get your ready for me, baby doll. Or did you forget my size?” He wolfishly grins. “How about this, you cum for daddy right now, and I’ll fuck you the way you want me to. Sound good?”

You’re biting down on your lower lip, trying your best to contain your moans as you shake your head in agreement. He goes back to sucking on your clit and before long, you’re coming undone on his tongue.

He groans against you, letting his tongue dive into your hole to lick up your juices. He continues to stimulate you through your orgasm, sucking your clit raw until you tug on his hair to pull him off, whimpering about how, “‘s too much, daddy, please.”

He almost feels bad for you. You don’t realize that this is just the beginning—just the warmup. He wants you crying for him. Crying over the pleasure he’s causing you, and not the pain some no-named jackass caused.

When he’s done with you, you won’t even remember your own name, let alone his. When he’s content, the only thought left in your dumb brain will be about your daddy and his big fucking cock.

“Oh, sweet girl…” He sits up, towering over you as he presses a kiss to your cheek. “We’re just getting started.”

The words send chills down your back, but you’d be lying if you said you weren’t excited. You watch in awe as he sheds his clothes layer by layer. You haven’t seen him like this is in too long, you almost forgot how much you missed the view.

His tattoo is on display, the light falling on it perfectly as he undoes his belt.

“If this wasn’t the first time in so long, I would’ve used this on you,” he hums, belt wrapped around his palm before he tosses it to the floor; the sound of metal hitting echoing through the room.

“I can take it—” He doesn’t let you finish, simply cuts you off with a finger to your lips as he crawls onto bed.

“Shh, daddy’s thinkin’, sweetheart. Let him decide what’s best for you, okay?” You’re looking at him with wide eyes, and your lips are sealed tight as you bob your head up and down. “So obedient,” he coos, gently petting your cheek.

He climbs off the bed, leaving you docile and vulnerable as he rids himself of his pants. He doesn’t even give you enough time to stare, before he’s dragging you to the edge of your bed by your ankles.

He lines himself up with your entrance, a cocky smirk on his face as he asks, “You ready, sweetheart?” You know that he doesn’t even care about what your answer is, but you say yes anyways.

Without warning, he pushes into you, sheathing himself fully inside. Your eyes are wide and your mouth opens in a silent scream.

“So good, such a good cunt,” he murmurs, shallowly thrusting as you get used to me being inside of you.

“Too big, too big,” you mumble, an arm thrown over your eyes as you pant.

His lips spread into a wide smirk as he leans in to lick at your neck. “What, my baby doll wasn’t getting good cock while her daddy was away?”

“N-not like yours,” your back arches as his speed picks up.

Even though he just started, due to your previous orgasm, he’s already starting to fuck you dumb. His hips snap against you over and over again, not giving you any sort of break or mercy.

“Well, no worries,” he coos. “I’m here now. Y’gonna let me have you whenever, yeah?”

You nod with teary eyes, fingers entangling in his hair as you start to cry; just like he wanted you to. Your fingernails drag against his scalp and you’re gripping his hair so tight that it hurts, but after all, that’s what he likes.

“You’re mine, sweet girl, right?” You let out a choked up moan of ‘yes’, feeling that coil in your stomach start to tighten again. “Never gonna let you leave me again.”

With a few more minutes of this, you feel you’re ready to snap, but you know better than that. You know that you can’t do a damn thing without his permission, so you start to beg.

“Daddy, gotta cum. Need it s’bad, please.” He finds your words cute. He’s also glad that no matter how much time you spend away from him, you still know all of the rules he’s set for you.

“So good n’ obedient.” He slows his strokes down, but makes them deeper; making sure to push as deep inside you as possible and hitting every one of your special spots.

This is why you always run back to Ran. No matter who you find, what guy tells you they love you, no one will ever fuck you like Ran does. No one will ever be able to make you cum this much in such little time.

“Since you’ve been so good, why don’t you cum on daddy’s cock, yeah?”

As soon as you process his words, you’re shouting his name and letting everything go. Your moans blend together as you clench down on him, tightening like a vice. He’s determined to bring you to another high before he fills you completely, but god, you’re making it hard for him.

He doesn’t let up as you cum, his pace being as fast as you allow him with how tight you are around him. His thumb flicks over your clit, trying to bring you to your breaking point in record time as he struggles to keep his own high at bay.

“Too much,” you moan, tears falling down your face as you look up at him, helpless and pleading. “‘s too much.”

“It’s only too much when I say it’s too much, or have you forgotten who owns you?”

“No,” you start to babble the word over and over. “You own me, daddy. I’m yours.”

“That’s what I thought,” he smirks, pressing a kiss to your cheek, before whispering, “Now, is my pussy g’nna cum for me again?”

The question breaks something inside of you and you go dumb on his cock as he brings you to your third and final orgasm of the night. This time, he cums simultaneously. You practically scream his title as he fills you; so much cum shooting inside of you that some slips out and drips onto your sheets.

As you come down from your highs and he softens, he pulls out and lays beside you.

“Feeling good, baby doll?”

“More than,” you whisper, voice a bit hoarse. “Can you make me some tea while I take a bath?”

“Of course.” He places a kiss on your cheek before standing up. “I’ll go clean off and start the water, okay?” Your response is a weak nod as you drunkenly smile at him.

Once he’s clean and dressed, he carries you to the bath and then heads to the kitchen. He brews your tea and pours a cup of water for you. Once everything’s done, he puts the drinks, along with a snack, on a tray and leaves it with you in the bathroom.

He writes you a quick note, informing you that he’ll be back soon, before heading out to his car.

It doesn’t take long for him to get an address, just a quick phone call to his brother and he’s on his way to the man’s house. While he’s parked across the street, he slips on his white gloves and grabs his gun from his glove box.

He has a twisted grin as he crosses the street, knowing that he’s about to make his point very clear; no one touches what’s his.

You fall asleep in the bathtub after finishing your tea, so you didn’t even hear Ran leave. When you enter your room to get dressed, you read the note he left on your nightstand.

Be back soon, baby doll. Had to take care of something for work.

You don’t think much of the note, especially since Ran’s opening your front door when you’re slipping on an old shirt of his that he had left at your place, so he must not have been gone for too awfully long.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower, pretty girl,” he says, walking into your bedroom covered in blood. “Do you mind washing these for me?”

“‘Course not. Just leave them on the counter, I’ll get them in a second,” you reply with a dopey grin, still elated just to see him.

Leaving Ran was never a good idea in the first place, you knew that. But you grew tired of the same thing over and over again, so you tried to find an actual relationship, but Ran’s like a drug; you’re addicted to him, and no matter what, you’ll always make your way back to him.

While he showers, you rinse his clothes to get the blood off, before tossing them in the washer. You’re used to him being in blood and you’ve gotten to the point that you really don’t question it anymore. You might be naive, but you’d rather be complacent and clueless than be scared of him.

Once you’re done with everything, you lay in his arms as you fall asleep. You’ve missed being around him, more than you’ll ever admit. He’s sick and twisted, views you as his property even though he’ll never dare ask you to be his officially, but for some reason you feel at peace with him. It’s estranged and toxic, but it’s what you know, and you aren’t planning on giving it up any time soon.

#ran smut #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers smut #ran haitani #tokyo rev x reader #.ezra’s writing #.file } ran

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featherstorm2004 · 3 months

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After the finale of Hazbin Hotel I've seen some people theorising that Alastor used to be or is an angel due to his lines in the ending song.

And whilst I personally think that this was simply a metaphor, it is a fun theory and it has been proven that angels can hide in plain sight *cough* Vaggie, so it wouldn't be completely out of left field for this to be the case. Especially when it is heavily implied in the show that Alastor's deal whatever it was, is highly constricting his powers, not to mention the fact that when he manifested in hell he was already extremely powerful.

So, I would like to discus the possibility and logistics of Alastor being a fallen angel.

First, we know for a fact that Alastor has made a deal with someone and the two most likely candidates are Lilith or Eve, the reason most believe this is due to Alastor's instant hatred of Lucifer for seemingly no reason, there are a limited number of beings in hell that are stronger than him and the fact that he and Lilith disappeared 7 years ago is extremely suspicious. Not to mention that Alastor appears to have been summoned by Lilith during the pilot after Charlie called her, that and the fact that Alastor appears to stare at Lilith's portrait for longer than any other.

Eve is also a good option since we know that she also apparently fooled around with Lucifer in Eden and she also ate the apple of knowledge which most likely landed her in hell, plus due to the fact that Adam never mention's her and openly talks about sleeping with other women implies that they aren't together anymore. So Eve would have a very good reason to want to get revenge on Lucifer's family and heaven.

However, if Alastor was originally an angel it would be unlikely for him to meet these two let alone make a deal with them unless he had some form of importance in heaven, which would also make his disappearance not go unnoticed at the very least. But that being said, it doesn't have to be Eve or Lilith to make this theory work there is one other person who Alastor could have made a deal with and had enough power and authority to keep it a secret.

And that's Sarah after all she has been shown to make corrupt plans with the likes of Adam and perhaps even Lilith to keep heaven safe. There's also the fact that since Alastor manifested he has been exclusively targeting overlords, which would make sense if part of his deal with Sarah is to weaken hell by taking out their most powerful evils. As for why he may have disappeared I have no idea however, it's clear that if they have a deal they do not have a positive relationship with Alastor being desperate to escape his chains, which could be his main reason for seeking out the hotel and Charlie is his best option of escape.

But the biggest question for this theory is how on earth Alastor could have gotten into heaven, after all it has been stated that he was a serial killer in his mortal life and may have even cannibalised his victims. But that may not be as big of a deal as you think after all someone like Adam was able to get into heaven and he has killed thousands, not to mention it has been revealed in episode 6 that no one actually knows what gets you into heaven. So, it's safe to say that there's still a good chance that Alastor got into heaven naturally and chose to leave for whatever reason.

But year that's my thought's on how this theory could work if it was ever implemented in the show, I might make a part two but I'm fine with is for know.

#hazbin hotel #alastor #alastor hazbin #radio demon #hazbin hotel alastor #the radio demon #alastor the radio demon #hazbin hotel spoiler #hazbin spoilers #hazbin hotel theory #hazbin hotel season 1 #hazbin meta #meta analysis #theory #fan theory

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mariacallous · 5 months

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war, especially his seemingly preternatural support for Israel, has been criticized across much of the U.S. political spectrum. An NBC News poll published Nov. 19 found that just 34 percent of registered voters approve of how Biden is handling the war. Many younger voters in particular are angry; and some Arab and Muslim Americans are telling pollsters they won’t vote for Biden in 2024 because of his stance.

The Democratic Party itself is deeply divided on the issue, with even some moderate Democrats urging Biden to do more to restrain Israel. And inside the administration, the president is seeing dissent from staff in the White House and State Department of a kind these two authors never witnessed during our government careers. Biden has even been accused of supporting “the genocide of the Palestinian people” by a member of his own party.

Yet given the president’s long and deep attachment to Israel, the brutality of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, and the lack of policy alternatives in the first several weeks of the crisis, it’s doubtful that Biden could have followed another course that would have been more successful. Standing by Israel, deterring Hezbollah and Iran from escalating the conflict, and pursuing negotiations to secure the release of hostages as well as buy time and space to ameliorate—though admittedly not end—the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza have proven to be the right, though hardly perfect, choices.

Still, having tethered U.S. policy to Israel’s war aims—the eradication of Hamas—Biden now finds himself in a bind. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the exponential rise in the deaths and suffering of Gaza’s civilian population have undermined U.S. credibility at home, in the Arab and Muslim world, and in the international community. Going forward, the success or failure of U.S. policy may well rest on whether Biden can reshape Israel’s military campaign, alleviate the humanitarian situation, and engage Israel and other partners in coming up with a workable plan for post-war Gaza.

Like most of the world, the Biden administration was stunned by the timing and severity of the Hamas attack. But the potential damage to U.S. interests was clear from the get-go. The administration had previously concluded that a major effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian issue given the Netanyahu government’s priorities would be futile and had shifted focus instead on negotiating an Israeli-Saudi normalization accord. The Hamas attack, along with Israel’s punishing response and the rising death toll it has caused in Gaza, put that on hold, as did the increasing danger of a new front opening along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Preventing an escalation and widening of the war that could pull in the United States was now a key priority, as was trying to limit the damage to U.S. relations with the Arab and Muslim world as Israel’s military action claimed thousands of Palestinians lives. Securing the release of the estimated 240 hostages—including at least 10 Americans—kidnapped by Hamas also moved to the top of the administration’s priorities, both for moral reasons and to create humanitarian pauses in fighting in exchange for their release. In an effort to regain some ground with the Arab states and Palestinians, the administration began to talk about the importance of not going back to the Oct. 6 status quo, the U.S. commitment to a two-state solution, and the need to create a new post-conflict reality in Gaza.

For Biden, though, backing Israel wasn’t a hard choice; it was virtually guaranteed. His Oct. 10 speech—one of the most powerful of his presidency to date—set his frame: The United States would give Israel the time, space, and support to do what it believed it needed to do against Hamas. U.S. policy began to evolve as the deaths of Palestinians and destruction in Gaza began to rise. But despite growing opposition, that frame has remained remarkably consistent.

Biden faced an Israel that had already been moving sharply to the right and was now thoroughly traumatized by Hamas’s sadistic and indiscriminate killing of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7. An Israel, in other words, primed to respond with extreme violence and disinclined to worry too much about Palestinian civilians. Indeed, like Hamas, which doesn’t regard Israeli civilians as innocent, some Israelis—especially Netanyahu’s far-right political allies—consider Gaza’s population to be complicit in Hamas’s atrocities. The fact that Hamas uses civilians as shields against attack reinforces this attitude.

The Biden administration also faced an Israel that saw this moment as an opportunity to deal decisively with threats from Lebanon and Gaza that it has been living with, if uneasily, for years. And because Hamas’s rage was unleashed on Gaza’s border communities, which contained a disproportionate number of liberal Israelis who notably detest their current government and favor a two-state solution, it unified Israeli support on the right and left for a crushing response. Moreover, because the attack was made possible by Israel’s own blunders, the government felt that it needed to restore perceptions of power and its willingness to use it. This all pointed to a no-holds-barred counteroffensive.

Biden has dealt with these obstacles as well as anyone could.

To manage the risk of escalation, Biden did two things—one privately and the other publicly. Privately, he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israeli preemption against Hezbollah in Lebanon—a very real possibility early in the crisis—was a nonstarter. Washington would not support it, and for Israel to proceed would damage U.S. interests; not a good idea when Israel was isolated internationally. Biden then deployed two carrier strike groups—a total of 180 fighter bombers—to the Eastern Mediterranean and beefed-up U.S. military power in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

The message to Hezbollah and Iran was clear: Don’t start anything. Thus far, both adversaries have indicated publicly and privately that they got the message. Yes, Hezbollah-Israel exchanges have been at their heaviest since the 2006 war. But both parties have pushed but not exceeded the rules of the game. The threat of a regional war that could suck in the United States is, for the time being, in abeyance.

Through Biden’s visit to Israel, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s repeated trips and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit, Biden made it impossible for Israel to launch its ground offensive in Gaza until the United States had at least weighed in and the Israeli fury had cooled somewhat. He bought time for Washington to influence the pace and scope of Israel’s campaign. The reason U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn, who commanded the U.S. forces that participated in the anti-Islamic State campaign in Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, was dispatched to Israel ahead of the planned ground offensive was to caution the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) against a scorched earth strategy and suggest ways they could meet their military objectives in Gaza without the kind of wholesale destruction the United States unleashed on Islamic State-occupied cities in Syria and Iraq.

Granted, there was no way this warning would influence the Israeli air campaign already underway in Gaza, especially in its initial phase—partly because the violence was expressive but also because Hamas had deliberately tunneled under heavily populated civilian areas, and the IDF had no good ideas about how to deal with the situation without bombing.

Biden was also successful in compelling Netanyahu to accept the need for humanitarian corridors and resume the flow of water and now fuel to Gaza. Without Biden’s intervention, it’s a safe bet that none of these Israeli concessions would have been forthcoming. Indeed, it’s unlikely the current humanitarian pause, which has allowed more aid into Gaza and significant hostage releases, would have happened without Biden’s personal effort and U.S. intervention. Israel on its own would not have gotten there until things were much worse, if ever.

Could the Biden administration have forced Israel to embrace a more permanent ceasefire, as many have urged Biden to do? What threats might it have used? A halt to U.S. military assistance would have sparked a firestorm in Washington, destroyed Biden’s demonstrated influence on Israel’s crisis response, and pushed Israel to rely on less precise weapons, leading to more civilian deaths—and all likely without changing Israel’s actions.

Imposing conditions on Israel’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons is another option being raised not just by progressive Democrats but by a few more centrist ones as well, though the latter group is so far just asking questions and requesting information rather than pressing for restrictions. Such an approach would have to involve looking at individual weapons: how they are deployed, what are legitimate military targets, and whether Israel has carefully calibrated the impact on civilians in the area. This seems almost impossible in the middle of an active warzone and in any event likely would not alter Israel’s operations.

Should the United States have withdrawn military support for Israel in other ways, such as by redeploying the carriers in the eastern Mediterranean, the U.S. destroyer in the Red Sea, and the U.S. X-band air defense radar installation in Israel’s Negev desert? Doing so would undermine the U.S. objective of deterring Hezbollah and Iran from escalating the conflict and likely trigger an Israeli preemptive war against Lebanon. Such a step would, in effect, play into Iranian hands and undermine, not strengthen, deterrence.

Recalling the U.S. Marine expeditionary force whose missions include embassy and country evacuations, hostage rescue, and other special operations would undermine U.S. readiness for any number of contingencies. Voting against Israel in the United Nations can be guaranteed not to move Israel’s needle one bit. The administration might have considered using U.S. forces to protect aid convoys entering Gaza against Israeli wishes, but this would pose risks that would truly be incalculable.

As the Israeli ground campaign now renews, so do the greatest challenges for the Biden administration’s policies. The United States cannot prevent Israel from resuming military action in northern Gaza or the more worrisome unfolding of a major military campaign to root out Hamas’s infrastructure and kill its leadership in the south. With nearly half of Gaza’s population displaced into the south and disease and lack of necessities taking their toll, a massive ground campaign in densely populated areas there would be disastrous. Indeed, when comparing pre-Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas conflicts with the appalling Palestinian death toll of the past month and a half, it’s clear that Israel is being far less discriminating this time around and has expanded its rules of engagement in attacking Hamas targets embedded in or near civilian areas.

The question is whether Biden can, through pressure and persuasion, reshape Israel’s thinking and create the requisite time and space not just for safe zones but for reliable channels to deliver humanitarian assistance. Having had Israel’s back over the past 50-plus days, the U.S. president is in a position to wield influence over what may well be the most important juncture in Israel’s war against Hamas. Still, Biden must be realistic: Stopping Israel from dealing Hamas’s military capacity a death blow was never in the cards.

The other issue is how to bring the Israelis around on the elusive question of an endgame in Gaza. Privately, the Biden administration has been hammering the Israelis to think this through, though Netanyahu has been reluctant to engage largely because of the demands of his extreme right-wing coalition partners.

Blinken has already laid out publicly a number of “nos” for post-conflict Gaza, including no reduction in territory, no forced relocation of Gazans, and no use of Gaza as a platform for launching terror attacks. We still have no idea how Israel sees the future, other than the certainty of some Israeli presence and perhaps buffer zones until some new reality that can guarantee Israel’s security could be established. But who does Israel envision governing Gaza? And what will Gaza’s relationship to the West Bank be? Biden has called for renewed negotiations for a two-state solution. Both that issue and the future of Gaza will ultimately depend on whether and how the war reshapes Israeli and Palestinian politics.

Uncertainties abound—hardly an unusual state of affairs in the middle of a major Middle East conflict. Yet despite all of the criticism and the grim death toll among Palestinians and Israelis, and given the constraints and things beyond his control, Biden has fared pretty well so far in preserving U.S. interests and preventing matters from getting worse. For a crisis with so many moving parts, that is no small achievement.

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anarchywoofwoof · 5 months

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tomorrow will mark week number 3 without my vyvanse. needless to say, it has not been the easiest 3 weeks of my life.

that being said, this is probably a fitting time to remind everyone that there are quantifiable reasons for the ongoing stimulant shortage, which is projected now to last through 2024 despite federal attempts to remedy the problem.

first, while yes, there has been increased access to medications via telehealth, keep in mind that people with long COVID are using ADHD drugs to treat their symptoms. this is a proven medical approach that has not been accounted for in the ongoing production of ADHD medications.

about 41.4 million Adderall prescriptions were dispensed in the United States in 2021, up more than 10% from 2020, and it's anticipated that number will rise again.

but that is a problem, because US health officials are purposefully hampering production, not having considered the differences in treating an illness such as ADHD vs. disorders that may require opioids:

what’s different about ADHD is that the first-line treatment is a stimulant drug with the potential for misuse or addiction — and so it’s a matter not just for pharmaceutical companies but for law enforcement. The Drug Enforcement Agency has hedged on the side of keeping production of these drugs down to limit the potential for abuse. The fear is that Adderall would follow the same path as opioid painkillers: careless overprescribing would lead to an epidemic of drug addiction — this time, to stimulants.

...

Manufacturers are not mandated to report the reasons for a drug shortage and any public information they do provide can be vague. That has proven true with the Adderall shortage too. However, experts say that the role of the federal government in regulating one of Adderall’s active ingredients makes this shortage distinct. One of the active ingredients in Adderall is amphetamine, and therefore the drug is regulated as a controlled substance under federal law.

...

The DEA also sets annual production quotas for Adderall, as with other controlled substances that have recognized medical uses, based on estimates of legitimate medical and scientific needs, as well as the potential for diversion and abuse. However, those quotas are not well understood; while the agency announced in 2019 that it was allowing for more production of Adderall, given the apparent growing need in the patient population, we still don’t know exactly how much production has been authorized or the limits set for individual companies. “The DEA gives the companies a set amount of raw material ‘quota’ to manufacture these products, but we don’t know which company gets how much,” said Erin Fox, a pharmacist at the University of Utah and leading expert on US drug shortages. “Some companies say they’re short, but DEA says that they haven’t used it all, so lots of finger-pointing.” Indeed, the companies that produce Adderall and its generic version have cited both a shortage of the active ingredients and an increase in demand to explain their ongoing shortages. But another factor, new limits on the dispensing of the drug at US pharmacies, is making the situation worse. In 2022, drug distributors reached a settlement with most states over their role in the proliferation of prescription opioids that helped create an addiction and overdose epidemic. Bloomberg reported this week [in April 2023] that, as part of that settlement, secret limits were placed on the dispensation of controlled substances last July [2022]. That has in turn prevented pharmacists from filling the prescription of every patient who comes to their pharmacy with an Adderall order. According to Bloomberg, in essence, manufacturers are supposed to limit a pharmacy’s supply of drugs covered by the Controlled Substances Act, which includes opioids as well as stimulants. Pharmacists can only fill a certain number of prescriptions over a set period. But there has been widespread confusion over these rules because the pharmacists themselves don’t know what the limits are or when they are approaching them. Sometimes, they won’t know their access to Adderall has been cut off until trying to fill a prescription.

in other words, the ass-backwards failure that is America's "War On Drugs" continues to rage on, this time at a pharmacy near you.

rather than approaching a complex situation that requires a delicate understanding of the plight of the common person suffering with mental health issues or other disorders that affect their daily life, the US Government has chose a brute force, one-size-fits all approach. because when you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

as i highlighted above, this problem will continue throughout 2024. in other words, no end in sight.

one side note, as someone who has the (misfortune) of working in the industry: the technology sector is going to feel this at some point, if not already, given their heavy reliance on Adderall to get anything done. the Class War eventually comes for us all, in one way, shape or form. tech bros are going to realize that they aren't as immune as they maybe once thought.

#text #war on drugs #adhd #adhd problems #mental health #united states

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sirowsky-stories · 7 months

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The Old Prince

Part 6

Author's Note: We're finally getting to the romance part! But, this is me, so there's also some tension.

Description: To prepare you both for the battles ahead, the time has come for you to meet the dragon and confront your fears.

Rating: Mature 18+ONLY Warnings: Monster Oberyn Martell x Female Reader, AU fic, obviously Halloween themed, reader cusses. Angst associated with past trauma. Explicit smut (piv, creampie) but romantic. Word Count: 6312 Author's Masterlist

Somehow, taking Casper back to the Mackey farm is when it finally hits you with full force that you’re never gonna be able to go back to your old life. That no matter what happens with the spirits, your very existence has already been irrevocably altered. You’re a slave to your own fate now, whatever that might be, leaving you no choice but to dance to this new tune, even though you neither know the words nor the melody. The only solace to be found being that at least you have a partner in this dance of destiny.

He’s right there, always by your side, afraid to leave you alone for just about everything but the bathroom. So, when the horse is led away and you crumble in on yourself, he’s the one that holds you together. Not with false promises that everything will be alright, which no one can guarantee, but simply with the act of being there. With the silent but already proven commitment that he will continue to be there, no matter what.

You’ve already prepared the house, putting everything away, throwing all the food out and turning the water off, so that if you ever do make it back, it’ll just be dusty and stale rather than destroyed by mold or frozen pipes. Casper is the last stop before the journey back to the castle. The last remnant of the past for you to pack away.

Once you’ve calmed, the two of you get back in your car and drive for twenty minutes to a spot in the woods where you’ll dump it, to be found by some hiker, probably. You wonder what everyone will think. What conclusions they’ll draw from all these bizarre events involving you. If finding the abandoned vehicle will make them think that Oberyn’s taken you and that they were right all along to suspect him.

But the true sadness of it all is that it doesn’t matter one bit what they might think. It’s completely irrelevant compared to the reasons behind your departure. These people that you called friends, neighbors, customers… all they are now are lives to be saved, no more or less important than everyone and everything else that lives. Because it’s only the whole fucking world that’s in danger.

You park the car in the middle of the dirt road. No need to hide it any further since it doesn’t matter how or when it’s found. You even leave the keys in the ignition. It’s been snowing for the past two days, all the time you’ve spent making these preparations, so your boots sink into a full foot of fresh powder as you step out. It shines against the full moon that’s only just climbed over the hilltops, illuminating the otherwise so ominous woods, turning the landscape into something mystical. Ethereal, even.

You’ve always been afraid of the woods in the dark, but now, when unknown beings might actually be watching you, your fear has been taken past its old limits. Where you used to chastise yourself for twitching at every sound, you’re now forced to think of those sounds as potential threats, as real as the ground beneath your feet. In a cruel twist of reality, everything you’ve ever feared is now substantial and terrifying.

Oberyn knows this, and he does his best to make you feel safe. But this time, he is the greatest source of your concern, so instead, he tries to keep his distance.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” you ask for probably the tenth time.

“Yes. There is no part of me that wishes you harm,” he reiterates, still so enduring and calm with you, despite your exaggerated disbelief.

Because you do know, somewhere deep down, that he’s already proven that the dragon isn’t a threat to you anymore. But the thing is… you still haven’t seen that for yourself. You know that he’s the one that saved you and brought you home after the spirits had attacked, but you were passed out for almost all of it. And the same goes for the two other times that you know you’ve been in the presence of the beast.

There’s a disconnect between what you consciously know and what you can actually recall from your encounters with it, leaving an abyss of uncertainty sitting between you and the creature you’ve only glimpsed during times of intense stress. But the only way to build a bridge across that abyss, is to meet the dragon. To stand eye to eye with it, once and for all, which is what’s about to happen now.

“Are you ready?” he asks once you’ve stepped a little further away from the car.

You hesitate, but he doesn’t push. He waits patiently while you take a deep breath, only nodding your agreement after you’ve gotten your breathing under control.

“Remember, once I’ve changed, I can no longer speak to you. But you will know that it’s still me because I will always bow to you, my Valya. Anything you ask of me, I will do.”

As he finishes saying that, a golden shimmer appears in his eyes, and then it happens.

His hair turns green even before his body starts to grow. The scales seem to rise from underneath his skin, standing upright as they cut through the dermal layers and then fall into place on top of them, in perfect symmetry, even as his mass doubles, over and over. It’s quick and so smooth, feeling like less than a second’s passed before hands have become giant paws with equally giant claws, and that soft and kind face has been distorted into a massive pair of jaws and a horned skull behind them.

You were so wrong. He does resemble the traditional Asian dragons, with the long snakelike body, the radiant color and the hair, but that’s also where the common traits end. The wings aren’t some small appendages on his shoulders, more like enormous, wide spans of what doesn’t look like skin at all, but instead more scales. Still green but transparent. Millions of them, like little diamonds, and probably just as sharp.

There’s no funky looking moustache, pointy ears or doglike rounded nose either. Instead, you can’t even see his ears and his nostrils sit like black slits at the tip of his bony snout, scorching the air before him with each exhale. But more than anything, it’s the entire image that somehow doesn’t fit with the pictures and tattoos you’ve seen. He’s somehow… sturdier. Heavier, but without looking bulky. He doesn’t look like he slithers through the air, he looks like something the air moves out of the way for.

You’ve completely lost control over your breathing again, as your eyes unbiddenly trail the length of his body, ending in a pointed club instead of a tip on his tail. His body has to be at least a hundred feet long. Maybe as much as a hundred-and-fifty, it’s hard to tell when he’s curled up to fit in between the trees. And with each new detail that’s being forever engraved into your mind, panic builds stronger within your chest, taking you further and further away from the memory that this is still Oberyn.

What you remember isn’t the man, but the teeth. How they’d felt as they’d pierced your skin. The unyielding force with which you’d been brought to a stop and the practically cementlike strength that had held you in place. And suddenly you can recall the burning of his breath as it had fanned down over you. The smell of ash and charred meat that had accompanied the heat. A buried sensory memory that you hadn’t been aware of before this moment.

Your fear spikes, wringing all thoughts and reason from your brain, and you turn to run. The snow is light, so it doesn’t slow you down much, but why you would even register that tidbit of information when the beast only needs to take one step to catch up to a dozen of yours, is anyone’s guess. You can hear it the moment that he sets off in pursuit. The slight growl and the scraping of his claws against the bedrock, somewhere deep beneath the moss and dirt.

“Whatever you do, once the transformation is complete, you cannot run. The dragon’s instinct is always to hunt anything that runs. It’s the one thing about the beast that I have never learned to control, so you must not trigger it.”

His words of warning echo through your fear-sick, but otherwise empty mind, and even though nothing has ever scared you more, you stop cold, freezing to the spot as if thinking that he can’t see you if you don’t move. That was the Jurassic Park t-rex, you idiot! You mentally scold yourself, while you listen to him approach from behind you now.

Your chest is so tight that each breath feels smaller than the one before, giving the sensation of choking, even though you’re filling your lungs with every inhale. It seems to take so long before his head eventually comes into view next to you, slowly creeping up alongside your right, so close that the edges of his scales are brushing against the fabric of your jacket.

Willing yourself not to faint, you turn your head just as his eye comes up beside you. There’s no resemblance to Oberyn within that golden orb, nothing at all to indicate that he’s still in there. He meets your gaze for what feels like minutes, and then a deep growl makes the very air around you vibrate, forcing you to move when it does the same thing to your blood a mere moment later.

You turn so that you’re still facing him as you back away, and his expression immediately seems to grow less intense. As if your proximity somehow heightens his sensitivity. Realizing that you need to remind him of who you are and what you might mean to him, you try to think of a way to signal him, assuming that he won’t respond to speech when he’s riled up like this.

Unable to come up with anything other than what he’d told you himself, you stop backing away, straighten yourself out and then you bow to him. You try to take comfort in the fact that he did stop chasing you as soon as you stopped running, but it’s a small solace in the face of what’s before you. And when he raises his head and every strand of feathery light and soft hair on his body suddenly stands up like individual razor blades, that comfort is blown away.

You’re momentarily distracted by the realization that the sound it makes when those hairs become rigid like that, is the same creaking sound you’d heard that night. And now that you see it, you understand why you’d heard it twice. Just like when a dog raises its hackles, maybe this is an instinctive response to stress. You know that he’d tried to stop himself back then, so what if the hairs standing up twice was the result of him momentarily regaining control and then losing it again.

“Oberyn, listen to me,” you call out, trying to keep your voice soft and hoping that the man will hear you even if the beast doesn’t. “I’m your Valya. You protect me against the spirits. We’re on our way to your castle, remember?”

Slowly, the hairs soften and begin to sway with his movements again. But his eyes remain vigilant. There’s something hungry within them, and you don’t like that.

“You promised me that I would always be safe with you,” you remind him, stepping closer as the fears inside you are being replaced with something more solid. “You said that you will always do what I ask, have you forgotten that?”

It’s your fault for running away, you know that. But you need him to remember.

“Well, I’m asking you to be my Oberyn. The man who treats me better than anyone ever has, who’s always kind to me, even when I don’t deserve it. Please… be my Oberyn,” you plead, the solid feeling within you revealing itself to be sorrow, although where it comes from right now, you’re not sure.

A low hum sounds in the dragon’s chest then, and shortly after, you do see the telltale mannerism of the human, as he finally bows to you. Relief sends a huff and a smile across your lips, and you watch as he lays down flat on the ground, and in a perfect imitation of a dog or a horse, begins to roll on his back as if trying to scratch an itch.

Snow flies everywhere, spilling from the branches of the trees that he collides with and cascading down on him like white veils, almost as if he’s attempting to clean himself of the darkness within. Coming back to his stomach, he rises to his feet but instead of shaking the snow off, he seems to vibrate his scales somehow, leaving behind only the white powder that still clings to his hair.

His gaze finds yours once again, and now, however impossible it might appear, you do see Oberyn’s eyes in there. His age-old wisdom and tired old pains, but especially his warmth.

“There you are,” you smile as the sorrow departs.

He lowers his head at your words, slowly coming closer while turning his cheek towards you, probably to spare you from the scorching air of his nostrils. He stops when he’s just a few inches away, waiting for you to decide if you wish to touch him. The surfaces of the scales are impossibly smooth, and a lot warmer than you’d expected, given that they were covered in snow only moments ago.

But perhaps most surprising of all is that you still feel that same heat inside yourself when you’re this close to him. The same inviting and slightly intoxicating scent fills your nostrils and beckons you closer, even now, when you’re face to face with the beast. Then again, if you ever need more proof that he is still the same person, this would be the definitive one. Because you’re sure as shit not sexually attracted to the damned dragon.

-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-

He had tried to prepare himself for the very real possibility that your body would react so strongly to seeing the dragon once more that you would be unable to control your fear. But against the allure of the hunt, he is still mostly powerless. Even someone so precious to him as you, are not immune to the instinct. But he is relieved to realize that you are unique enough to his senses that the moment you stopped running, the instinct began to fade.

In fact, he is not certain that your life was ever truly in danger. Even as he had chased after you, he had not felt compelled to kill and consume. The interest had remained within the hunt itself, which is something he has never experienced before. Still, it had taken him too long to regain his full senses and reassure you that he would not attack you, and he will need to work on that, since he must be able to protect you while you are on the run, if the need arises.

Happily, you don’t seem rattled by the experience. Instead, you now appear intrigued with everything you are beginning to learn and understand about him. Which is also a first. No human has ever stood beside him without fearing him before. Your touch is careful though, which is good, because his scales will cut your skin without effort should you not pay adequate attention.

But however much he might wish to let you continue to explore his mythical alter ego, you are too exposed out there in the woods, so with a gentle nudge against your hands, he signals for you to move, and you understand his intent. For a moment, the beast wants to react to your movements, although not to give chase. Something else stirs within the primal mentality of the creature. Not a hunger or need of any kind. It feels almost… playful.

Whatever it might be, he does not have the luxury of exploring it further at this time, so he quells the feeling, silencing it under the weight of reasoning and the many fears he carries within his being. And he is a bit shocked at how easily he remains in control of the dragon right now. Never before has he won the battle of conflicting instincts so effortlessly. Which makes him wonder if perhaps he has simply never had sufficient motivation to claim that control before.

But wouldn’t the deaths of thousands of people have been enough motivation? For a weary soul, too broken by his own existence to have much care for others, the answer is sadly no. It is only this newly awoken man, bathed in the light of your existence, who is capable of ignoring all the years of pain and instead willingly chooses to look beyond the known and mind-numbing, in the hopes that this time, he might find something different.

You lead the way back to the car and the duffel bags which contain most of your life. Lifting them out of the trunk before you close it, you are left standing there, staring at the vehicle as though it has taken on a different meaning to you, now that you must part with it. He’s worryingly aware of the increasing threat that you will be found by the spirits if you linger here for too long, but he has not the heart to tear you away without consideration.

“I’ll never be able to come back,” you suddenly whisper, as if talking to yourself, before you look up at him with tears in your eyes. “Will I?”

He has no answer for you, and you know this. You ask only because you need to say the words. To allow them to exist in your mind so that you may save yourself the hurt of being forced to accept them at some point in the future, whether you are prepared to or not. It is a form of self-preservation, well known to him because it’s a tactic he has often used himself, with varying degrees of success.

Using his tail, he gently nudges you closer to him, while he picks up your bags with one of his rear paws and prepares to take off. You let him direct you, coming right up to his side without a trace of fear now, perhaps already at ease with the beast specifically because you have seen him both lose and regain control of himself. And probably also because you managed to control your own fear of him, empowering yourself in the process.

He wants to let you ride him, sitting atop his shoulders, so that he can use all four legs to fight, should one or more of the flying spirits find you, but he worries that his hair might cut you if he is startled. But just as he is about to lift his front legs off the ground and grab you, a pair of birds are startled out of a tree further up the hillside, distracting him.

Only moments later, he sees it. The pale white shine of Caelum as she glides silently across the treetops, coming straight for you. And suddenly the control he has been so proud over this evening, is blown away with the heat of the anger which floods his blood at the sight. From one second to the next, there are no more thoughts, only the need to protect and escape.

-=<>=-=<>=-=<>=-

He grabs you as he’s already moving, leaping up over the trees at the same time that both front paws wrap tightly around you, and then those giant wings unfold and in one big thrust, the seven hills have almost disappeared against the dark horizon already. But the owl is just as fast, taking up pursuit and even gaining on Oberyn as he continues to accelerate and climb.

It comes closer, leaving a trail of what looks like black smoke in its wake, with its eyes fixed on you and all you can do is watch, while the dragon snarls in warning and tries to hit it with his tail. And when that doesn’t work, he presses you against his chest, covering as much of your body as he can with his paws, and then the world becomes an incomprehensible abstract painting.

Speed isn’t enough, so he’s using agility, twisting, spinning and slithering through the air with such rapid and random movements that the spirit can’t get to you. Still, it isn’t giving up, and that seems to seriously piss off the beast. He stops so abruptly that the owl shoots past, at which point, he opens his jaws and spews out a large flame.

It seems like a strange thing to do when the bird is already too far away for the fire to reach it, but the serpent has another trick up his sleeves. In the same moment as the flame leaves his mouth, he beats his wings together while angling them forwards, and that somehow creates a beam of light and heat that hits the spirit as though a bullet had been fired.

From what you can make out, the owl isn’t seriously hurt, but it does leave, and Oberyn resumes your journey, keeping up the same mad pace as before and almost colliding with a commercial jet along the way. But somehow, you make it to the castle without further incident, and he lands on the courtyard but doesn’t change back right away like you’d thought.

Instead, he runs inside on three legs, and he doesn’t stop until you’re deep within the structure of stone walls, in a room small enough that he has to twist around himself twice to fit in to it. Clearly still stressed, he keeps holding you to his chest even after he’s stopped moving, as though he expects something to crawl out of the walls and snatch you from him, all while sniffing the air and looking around frantically.

You know that he won’t hear you so long as he’s this riled up, so you let him fret while you marvel at the truly magnificent being that he is, now that you can finally bring yourself to appreciate it. He’s holding you right by his heart, and in between the giant breaths and the clicking of his claws against the stone floor as he restlessly shifts his weight, you can hear it beating.

Stretching your arms out to the sides and resting your ear against his scales, you close your eyes and just listen to it. It must be bigger than you, and it thumps so fast in there, flooding his body with oxygen and adrenaline and keeping him on edge. You don’t know for sure that you’re safe from the spirits here, but you think so. You think that if they’d been hellbent on getting to you tonight, they would’ve already showed up.

So, to try and calm him down, you start singing to the dragon. A sweet little lullaby that your foster mother had taught you, which speaks of restless men and angry seas, being stilled by the grace of the sun. He stops moving the moment he hears the first notes, and for each line that follows, his heart slows a little bit more.

And by the time the song ends, his scales have been folded away and the soft fabric of his coat is once again pressed against your cheek. You wonder where it goes when he transforms, because you can clearly remember seeing his scales come out straight through it and then it had just sort of disappeared into his skin. But it’s still intact now that it reemerges, and that fascinates you.

Then soft lips are pressed into your forehead, and you look up to see brown eyes peering down at you, while a tender smile adorns his lips.

“You are quite amazing, my dear,” he says quietly, warmly, and all at once, that heat sparks within you again.

“So are you… my Oberyn,” you reply, and his breath hitches at the claim you make on him.

“Yes,” he whispers, because that’s as much as he can get out. “Yes, I am yours.”

Your arms are already around one another, but as you tighten your grip, so does he. And when you reach your lips towards his, he meets you. It’s soft and careful at first. Exploring and learning how you fit together. But pretty soon the heat within becomes unbearable, and you begin to crave. So much that he has to grab your hands to keep you from groping him through his trousers.

“Take a breath, Valya. If you touch me there, I will have nothing left for your craving sex.”

“God, I’m sorry… I don’t know what’s come over me,” you pant against his lips before he kisses you again, much heartier this time.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you dissatisfied,” he promises, and you believe him.

Then he steps away, leaving you stunned by the sudden cold of the air around you, which is when you first look around and realize that you’ve never been in this room before. He’s moved over to the fireplace to warm it up, and while he does, you notice that there’s a large bed to your left, big bookshelves and a large chest of drawers to your right, and on the walls are the most beautiful paintings you’ve ever seen.

The tower is the only other room you’ve set foot in here that was decorated. Which has to mean that this is his room. For a moment, you’re almost moved to tears by the notion that the dragon, in a state of fear and distress, had brought you to his most private and personal space in this world. The one place that Oberyn has never allowed you to visit before.

He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t love you. If his feelings for you weren’t powerful enough to break the barriers between the man and the beast. And that thought changes everything. When he returns to you, it isn’t his body you desire, but all of him. So, once he’s back within your reach, and that heat flares inside of you again, you let it spread through every cell in your body, warming not just your sex, but your very bones.

You reach for his collar and begin to undo the buttons, and he helps you by starting on the ones from the bottom, and when it falls open, you’re surprised to find nothing underneath. No shirt or sweater, just lovely golden tanned skin, revealed to your scrutiny and your touch. He lets the coat fall to the floor with a shrug and you can see in his eyes that even if you hadn’t found him absolutely gorgeous, he wouldn’t have taken offense.

He’s confident about himself like this, even exposed and vulnerable, and you suppose that given his other self, which people have probably run away from the very sight of, his human form must feel simple and comfortable in comparison. You’re not usually that confident about yourself, but right now, when he begins to unzip your jacket and peel off your layers, you’re not particularly nervous at all.

He strips you down to your underwear and then he pauses to hold and kiss you again, as if he wants to remind you that this isn’t just about your bodies. You kiss him in return and then slip your hands down his back, until your fingers find the waistline of his pants and you greedily slip them past the fabric, pushing it down as far as you can so that you can feel the tantalizing swell of his cheeks.

Because yes, this is more than just physical, but it is also very physical, and he takes the hint without further ado. Mirroring you, his hands find the supple lower edges of your ass and pulls you into his groin, grinding against your sex and making you gasp, both at the sensation and at his size. Not trusting your own nerve endings, you pull back and look down, needing to know if he’s as big as he feels, and he damned well is.

“Whoa… dragon indeed,” you breathe as you trace the contours of him with your eyes.

He tilts your head back up then and when you meet his gaze, there’s a worried crease in his brow, probably from concern that you won’t trust him not to hurt you. But that worry disappears when he sees your expression, because there’s no fear in you. What you feel is anticipation and quite a lot of excitement, because somehow, you just know that this man isn’t gonna settle for anything less than your absolute satisfaction. Anything other than that, he would probably consider a terrible failure on his part.

The final items of clothing on both of you are quickly removed when he realizes that you do trust him and that you’re only eager to be with him. The air flares with heat as he lets go of his inhibitions and releases his passion, pressing your bodies together while he moves you towards the bed, and then lets you go so that you fall back onto it. A very different kind of hunger than anything you’ve thus far seen in him, floods his features and leaves his chest heaving with each breath.

You watch as he lets his hands roam over you, confirming that he’s found all your trigger-points, and then his mouth joins in. Before he’s even started on your sex, he’s got you writhing for him, mewling unintelligibly at him, whining when he pinches your hands down so that you can’t influence him, and then teasingly moves further away from the heat at your core.

“I need you to open for me, sweetheart,” he whispers into your ear while he drags his cock against your opening and then your clit, sending spasms of pleasure through you.

“I need you soft and pliant before I give it to you. And you know what makes you malleable, don’t you?” he continues, before running his tongue down your neck and nibbling at the top of your shoulder.

He knows exactly what he’s doing, and it fascinates you that he can bring you to the brink of an orgasm by only barely manipulating the parts of you that are dedicated to that specific function. But he wants you to come, and come hard, so that your pussy will relax thoroughly afterwards, and somehow, the fact that he’s barely touched you only heightens every sensation.

So, when his upper body settles on top of you and his hands slip to your thighs, grabbing them hard right at the junction to your groin and holding you down while he uses the head of his length to nudge and tease you, the forcefulness of your orgasm is enough to lift both of your torsos off the mattress.

It takes you several minutes to come back down, and every second of them, he’s pleasuring some part of you, keeping your body active and responsive, preparing you for more. He doesn’t tell you before he begins to push inside, he just does, knowing that advance warning will only make you tense up. And fucking hell, are you glad that he warmed you up first, because even now, when you’re as pliant as you can be, he stretches you a lot.

Of course, it doesn’t help that you haven’t seen any action in years, but still, the girth of this man is no joke. It isn’t painful, though. He’s done what he needed to do to make this pleasurable for you, and by gods it is. It’s a new sensation for you, being absolutely filled, but it’s a wonderful one. More than that, he seems to fit you. Putting pressure on all the best spots inside you.

Then he starts to move, and everything gets turned up to eleven. Suddenly you’re on fire, being electrocuted and washed with soothing cool water all at the same time, as he overstimulates you in the sweetest way possible. You can hear him try to say something, but it vanishes among his own mewls of pleasure and desperate fight for air as his body reacts, removing all thoughts and reason from his mind since he's got no use for them in this moment.

You aren’t sure if you’ve already come a second time or not, until the pressure suddenly builds again and surges through you without mercy or any consideration for your already singed nerves. It’s an entirely different sensation when he’s inside you. Intense in a deeper way, less spasms and more like a pleasurable ache that flows through you with each heartbeat. Something that seems to reach into your most primal self, satisfying a part of your being that can only be reached like this.

He follows right behind you, spilling into you with hard snaps and rolls of his hips. He wraps his arms around your back and fastens your bodies together, pressing all air out from between you in his need to have you as close as is physically possible. It’s almost hard to breathe with how firm his grip is, but you don’t mind. You love that he wants you that close. That your body and your touch is so desirable to him.

Locked against him, you have no choice but to feel every tension of his muscles as he rides out his high, and it’s an incredible thing. There’s so much power in him. He could easily crush you if he wanted, you’re absolutely sure of that, just like you’re sure that he never would. Tonight, he’s proven exactly how much you mean to each side of him, and now that you think about it, really think about it, it’s almost frightening how much he cares for you.

Not frightening in the sense that you’re scared of him, but rather for him. Because what happens to him if the spirits succeed? Lying there, overwhelmed by both physical and emotional sensations, it hits you that you’re both equally capable of destroying the world. You with darkness, and him with fire. What a pair you make.

“I love you, Oberyn.”

You wait until you’ve both cooled down somewhat before you say it, because you don’t want him to think that it’s something you just say in the throes of passion. You need him to know that you mean it.

“I think I have from the moment we met,” you continue while he’s still trying to lift his head and look at you, probably to make sure that he isn’t imagining it. “Obviously not the very first moment, that was scary as hell, but the other one.”

He’s regained enough strength to rise to his elbows and meet your eyes then, and he looks so vulnerable. So scared but also incredibly happy. And you realize that you have his entire heart in your hands right now, and that you need to be careful with it.

“I don’t know why, but I feel like… this is meant to be. Like I belong right here, in your arms. Does that make any sense?” you ask, smiling at him, and he responds in kind.

“Yes. Yes, I know exactly what you mean,” he shakily says, confirming that he feels the same. “For six thousand years I have wandered alone. Loved and lost so many times that my heart turned cold and dark. And then, in just one fraction of a second, you changed everything. Not just my heart, but my thoughts, dreams and hopes. All the parts of me that makes life worth the effort.”

Okay, the sweet declaration of love aside: what the actual fuck?!

“D-… did you just say six… thousand years?” you ask, truly unable to fathom the enormity of that number.

“Well, I don’t remember exactly, but I know that it is at least that.”

“Jesus… I can’t even wrap my head around that.”

“Don’t worry about it. You have my head wrapped up tightly enough,” he says, and his tone leaves no doubts that he’s referring to the tip of his now soft member that’s still deeply embedded inside you.

“Hmpf. Aren’t you cocky, all of a sudden,” you retort with a grin, and he laughs softly.

It’s the first time you’ve ever heard him laugh.

“Does that mean you want me to pull out?” he asks, still with a boyish grin on his face.

“That depends. I’m not a garage, so unless you’re planning on pleasuring me more tonight…” you start, but he silences you with a kiss, and then swallows your surprised moan when he thrusts into you again.

“I have told you repeatedly: anything you want, my love,” he purrs once he breaks the kiss, but then seems to change his mind. “Although, on second thought, I think I might follow my own desires tonight. If that’s alright with you.”

He didn’t phrase it as a question, but you still nod to let him know that you’re with him. That whatever pleasure you can offer him, you’ll happily agree to, because that’s how completely you’ve come to trust him tonight. As it turns out, and as he spends most of the night showing you, you were right in thinking that what he derives the most amount of pleasure from is knowing that he satisfies you.

And he does. To the point where you don’t even remember the last orgasm that he gives you because you pass out from exhaustion halfway through it.

Part 7

The Ten Spirits of the World Air - Forest - Water - Stone - Night - Autumn - Winter - Spring - Summer.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! If you wish to be notified when this story is updated, follow @sirowsky-stories and turn on notifications, or just ask nicely, and I'll tag you.

@harriedandharassed @kittenlittle24 @joelswritingmistress @pedrostories

#oberyn martell fanfiction #oberyn martell x female reader #oberyn x reader #au fic #game of thrones fanfiction #game of thrones au #modern!au #halloween writing #halloween fic #spooky season fic #spooky season #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfiction #sirowsky stories

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exilethegame · 1 year

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Marcelle weirdly makes me feel sad. Not because she's my favorite chracter; its hard to feel forgiving with the little we know she's done so far. But its like watching someone preparing themselves to selfdestruct and knowing that you can't help them because they've already proven they are unwilling to change course and now you can only watch them continue to spiral downward, wondering if the end goal will be really worth all the sacrifices.

Listen: no one has as many complicated emotions for Marcelle as I do. She is honestly one of the most tragic characters I have ever written, and thinking about her generally makes me so, so sad. But all the hate people have for her? The burning anger? I understand it, too. Because Marcelle is really, really not a good person with what she's done, either.

I can't say much more about her-- it's imperative I keep any info about her as vague and limited a possible. But I can say this is a road she's been going down for such a long, long time. And, as the author, sometimes I look at Marcelle and then see the little girl she used to be 40 or 50 some years ago. Because yes, I'm writing the tragedy of the Commander, but at the same, in order to write this story, I've had to write the story of a little girl in Plaithus becoming heir and not understanding the monumentous weight that has been put on her shoulders.

Also, because I'm obsessed with Marcelle yet quite literally cannot share anything meaningful about her, take some songs I heavily associate with her! (*cough* it's a lot of Chelsea Wolfe *cough*) (*Cough* it's the lyrics *cough*)

Ptolemaea by Ethel Caine

The Warden by Chelsea Wolfe

Feral Love by Chelsea Wolfe

Sick by Chelsea Wolfe

Brigmore Lullaby from Dishonored 2

#pheo talks #marcelle

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dr-spencer-reids-queen · 6 months

Text

Cold Comfort: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.2k

Summary: You meet another psychic on a case that doesn’t want to work with you, and everyone’s faith is tested on exactly what you can do.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

The three victims found are Annette Hagen, the first, Erin Bonham, the second, and Melissa Claire, the recent one. The only one who is still out there is Brooke, but you know she is still alive. All three victims were embalmed, but they all died of blood loss.

That means they were alive when they were embalmed.

Tox screens show significant levels of Barbiturate which is a heavy sedative to the point where someone can become unconscious. All three women were found with the same haircut even though they were taken with much longer hair, which means the unsub cut it. Another thing the unsub has done to them was pierce their ear so that they all have double piercings.

None of them were sexually abused since there has been no tearing or bruising, but the ME did find trace amounts of semen.

The unsub had sex with their bodies after they died.

You don't want to pressure Sandra into making a decision on who she wants to work on the case, so you head back to the station where you're needed.

"Hotch," you say and he excuses himself from talking to someone, "I just talked to Stanely and he refuses to work with me."

"Don't bring him in, Aaron," Rossi backs you up. "Y/N is here. She's proven she can take care of things."

"We won't bring him in," Hotch shrugs.

"I just spoke to the families," JJ walks into the room. "None of the victims had double-pierced ears at the time of their abduction."

"He's changing them."

"Into what?" Derek asks.

"Not what," you say, "it's who. The burial suggests an affection for his victims, which says he might be remaking them into the image of a loved one."

"The ME found high traces of Barbiturate, right?" JJ asks.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's something the psychic said. Brooke felt tired and heavy."

"Why are we talking about the psychic? It's a scam. These guys talk without saying anything and you fall for it."

"Is it so wrong to want to believe?" JJ argues.

"JJ, you know the profile. A necrophiliac has no use for a live victim."

"Can I talk to you?" you ask Rossi. You pull Rossi off to the side away from everyone else. "If there is a small part of you that believes what I can do, doesn't that mean you should believe in what other people can do? Not all psychics are frauds."

"You've proven to me you know what you're doing."

"I understand that, but you're limiting yourself by not giving people the benefit of the doubt. You did it with me."

"You kind of forced it on me."

"Yeah, I did," you chuckle, "but that doesn't mean it's not true."

"What did you read about him?"

"Stanley is mostly right with his ability. There are things that are so obvious that he can pick up, but he's not as strong as me. I read between the lines, he sees what's right in front of him. He puts the puzzle together and guesses, and because of that, he was named a fraud. He thought he could get away with it."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"I'm just theorizing. I make mistakes too, Rossi."

Rossi is already walking away and calling Penelope. He won't listen to reason, but you have more important things to do like give the profile. Detective Ron Fullwood gathers his men and women to hear what your team has to say.

"By now we know the DNA found on the victims did not match anyone in the system, so we're gonna have to look beyond physical evidence to identify the killer," Hotch begins. "Our unsub is a white male in his mid to late twenties with a lot of money. He lives alone in a large residence. There's enough space and ventilation to accommodate an embalming suite. He's awkward with people, especially with women. An inability to relate socially is common in homicidal necrophiles."

"Because of the alterations to the bodies, we believe the unsub is attempting to recreate a woman he once loved. Like a girlfriend, wife, or mother. Someone who left or died suddenly."

"This projection of the loved one coupled with his need to preserve the victims through embalming is similar to the psychopathology of serial murderer Ed Gein," Spencer explains. "Gein had an oedipal complex which developed in the years he nursed his paralyzed mother back from a stroke. After she died, his obsession compelled him to dig up the corpses of women who resembled his mother. He was so persistent to resurrect his dead mother, he actually dressed in female suits fashioned from human skin. Eventually, Gein grew unhappy with the flesh of dead bodies, which had a tendency to dry and crack. So, he shifted his focus to live victims whose bodies he could better preserve."

"The evolution from dead to live victims will also be mirrored in our unsub's maturation. We've put together a list of incident reports prior to 2006. You're gonna want to follow up on these. They are inappropriate postmortem conduct, cadaver theft, and graveyard disturbances," Emily says.

"Sixty percent of necrophiles work in the death business, so be sure to canvass local cemeteries, mortuaries, and morgues. Since we have the killer's DNA, we're gonna be sending you out with kits to swab potential suspects."

"The odds of finding Brooke Lombardini alive are slim, but the quicker we identify the killer, the better her chances are. For her sake, let's work fast."

Everyone broke into teams of two to go around the area and talk to different suspects, different MEs, and anyone else who might have information on the case. You're paired with Hotch and you walk into the third ME office that afternoon. You didn't get anything with the other MEs but hopefully, this one has information. When you explained the situation to her, about someone defiling corpses, she wasn't that surprised.

"I won't lie. It happens in the industry, and we put a stop to it when it does."

"You don't report it to the police?"

"We like to keep that kind of thing quiet."

"A killer is dressing up his dead victims and violating them. Maybe quiet isn't the best way to go," you say.

"He dresses them up?"

"Does that mean something to you?"

"We hired an apprentice a while back. He's an odd guy even for this business. I didn't like the attention he paid the female cadavers. I came to find out he liked to do their makeup and put a wig on them and such."

"Can you describe the wig to me?"

"I can do you one better. I have the wig he used on the females." The ME brings you over to the box they have with the wig. "We cleaned out his locker after his termination. He never came back for it. Imagine that."

"I need this man's name."

Ivan Bakunas lives close to where he used to work, so you and Hotch head over there immediately. Detective Fullwood wants to come along to catch this guy since he promised Sandra that he'd find her daughter alive. If this man truly killed the three victims, then you will be able to feel them on him. This either could go very well or not well at all. You knock on the door and Ivan answers. He keeps the door cracked open slightly as if he's nervous or scared for someone to see what's inside his house.

Just from one look at him, you know he didn't kill those women. You've seen the bodies, and his energy doesn't match up to the energy left on them.

"Ivan Bakunas?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" he stutters.

"You could invite us inside. It's a little cold out here."

"I can't. Mother's sleeping."

"We're investigating a series of murders in the area. We believe the killer works in your field."

"You're kidding. Do I know him?"

"You might. His victims are just your type with blond hair and blue skin," Hotch accuses.

"You're suggesting I'm some kind of murderer? You are way out of line."

"So, you wouldn't object to giving us a sample of your DNA?"

"No."

"We can get a warrant."

"I think I've said all I'm gonna say."

He shuts the door in your face since he refuses to talk to you further.

"He didn't do it, Hotch. He's an icky person, yes, but he's not our killer. His energy doesn't match up to the ones I found on the bodies."

"Are you a psychic?" Ron asks.

"Yes, a better one than Stanley is." You look at Hotch. "It'll hurt a little bit if you don't believe me at this point in our relationship."

Hotch believes you one hundred percent, but he still has Penelope look into him. If he's a killer for other women you haven't found, then you can kill two birds with one stone. By the time you get to the police station, Penelope has some dirt on Ivan.

"Did you find anything on Ivan?" Emily asks.

"Nothing in juvie, but he was expelled from Evergreen State for sexually assaulting his girlfriend. He was slipping her tranquilizers and having sex with her while she slept."

"That qualifies."

"Between that and the wig, we should be able to persuade a judge," Ron says.

"Listen, Ivan is icky, and he's done stuff he should definitely be arrested for, but he didn't kill these women."

"How do you know?"

"You won't understand."

You look at Hotch for backup, and this time, he stands up for you.

"Detective, Y/N has been with us for years. She's helped catch killers and save victims plenty of times by using her abilities. I'm not gonna stand in your way if you want to serve a warrant on Bakunas, but I think you're wasting your time."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Alongside Y/N, we profiled a man of means. According to his tax records, Bakunas hasn't held down a job since he graduated college. He lives with his mother and doesn't have a car. The embalming equipment and the drugs aren't cheap."

"Look, this guy likes to get it on with dead people. If that's not probable cause, I don't know what is."

"Hotch," JJ interrupts, "a 911 operator just got a distress call from someone claiming to be Brooke."

You follow JJ into a conference room where she has a recording of the 911 call Penelope sent in. Brooke's mom is also in the room so she can identify her daughter's voice.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hello?" Brooke whispers.

"Can you speak up, ma'am?"

"No. He'll hear me. This is Brooke Lombardini. Please, I need help."

"Where are you calling from, ma'am?"

"I'm being held prisoner."

"Okay, ma'am. Can you look outside? Can you see a street name or an address?"

"Please... I think he's gonna kill me. Please help me."

The call ends there like Brooke hung up abruptly since the unsub came to check on her.

"That's her. That's Brooke," Sandra says.

"You're certain? She's barely audible. Any surveillance expert will tell you it's almost impossible to positively identify a whisper."

"You think I don't know my own daughter's voice?"

"Why would someone who was not Brooke call 911 and say they were?" Ron asks.

"Sometimes people get off injecting themselves into the story. You've been on TV now and that could bring out a lot of sick individuals."

"Stanley said she was alive. This proves it."

"Ma'am, Stanley isn't reliable. He has a vested interest in telling you that your daughter is alive," you say.

"Do you have a vested interest in telling me that she's not?"

"He has a record, ma'am," Rossi says. "I had a colleague look into it. Usher was charged with fraud in Oregon before he moved here."

"I need my baby to be alive."

"Listen to me, Sandra," you interject. "I'm not Stanley, but I am more than happy to help you out. I don't have a record, I am not a fraud, and I am the real deal. I want to help you find your daughter just as much as you want her to be alive. Let me give you hope."

She looks around the room at everyone before moving closer to you.

"You better find her alive. I'm placing my faith in you now."

She leaves the room and everyone inside is speechless. They all stare at you as if you promised to move mountains.

"I'll find her alive," you promise.

"The only reason I have so much faith in you is because you've proven yourself that this is real," Hotch says. "You can do things others think are impossible. What is your true and honest opinion about Brooke?"

"I believe she's alive. Her mother is her anchor, and I can feel her through Sandra. I feel her alive."

"Alright," Emily gets back on track, "the 911 call came from a disposable cell. There's no ID but they traced it to the nearest tower. That narrows it down to a twenty-mile radius just southeast of Seattle."

"That's a densely populated area. Were they able to triangulate?"

"Garcia tried to ping the phone, but it was already dead. The unsub probably turned it off when he found her with it."

"What do we think?" Hotch asks. "Why is the unsub keeping Brooke alive? How long do we think she has until he kills her?"

"Maybe he needs them alive to effect their transformation."

"I don't think so. The change in the hair, makeup, and pierced ears would only take a few hours. He's had her for almost five days."

"Maybe it's about something more than just appearance. Maybe it's something deeper. On the phone, she made it sound like she was being locked up, and she sounded drugged. These are control mechanisms used in cases of sexual slavery and mind control. It's brainwashing."

"So, he's trying to break her down and make her surrender her identity. That's what he's waiting for. That's the version of them he wants to hold onto. The longer she holds out, the longer she stays alive, and as soon as she accepts her new role, her fate is sealed."

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

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communistkenobi · 8 months

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and ultimately my critique of Serano is not that she is making terf arguments but that she making liberal ones - her gender essentialism appears to be the product of a very narrow, non-materialist conception of what “the social” is, which means that a lot of the gendered behaviours, feelings, and thoughts that can be found in society and throughout history fall outside this narrow conception of the social, and so in order to account for these things, she falls back to biology. and some of this deference to biology is a strategic move that can be very persuasive to cis people! Biology has a lot of rhetorical authority in conversations about gender because biology is something that can be much more easily and quickly proven than the social production of gender (assuming a liberal framework, of course), biological conceptions of gender flatter cis people’s understandings of their own bodies and genders as well as give trans people a quick-and-dirty kind of authority in justifying our existence, and transmedicalism has the advantage of being backed by doctors and psychologists, both of whom also enjoy large amounts of authority in these discussions. If you want to make an argument for a purely social conception of gender, the kinds of proofs you need to engage in are matters of history, politics, class, patriarchy, white supremacy, settler colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and so on - which is a much larger undertaking, and can also probably feel like an overwhelmingly large scope if you want to stay focused on “just gender” as a discrete category for investigation and analysis. this imposes severe limitations on what kind of analyses you can conduct, of course - which is the source of my criticism, the same type of criticism that can be levied at liberal feminism et al.

terfs do not have an exclusive claim to biological determinism or gender essentialism (see: western medical and psychiatric institutions), and the way this essentialism is conceived and operationalised is how you can tell the difference. so I find charges of Serano’s arguments as “radfem rhetoric” or whatever pretty silly, given that all of her arguments I’ve encountered so far much more closely match transmedicalism, which is already the mainstream, liberal, hegemonic conception of gender that all trans people are forced to fit within if we want to pursue medical and administrative (name/gender marker) transition.

#whipping girl

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givehimthemedicine · 1 year

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not to get the morbs on main but do you ever just sit with how incredibly sad "Goodbye, Mike" is? that little El is that ready to sacrifice herself?

the fact that she paused to say goodbye means she expected to die, or at least to get incapacitated and recaptured, which is also extremely sad. I lean towards thinking she didn't know she'd disappear to the UD.

I still don't get what exactly is happening when she does That to Henry and the demogorgon, but regardless, she seems to think it's killing ("if you touch her again I will kill you again") so I don't get the impression that she's aware getting transported is a possible outcome (she doesn't remember '79 in '83). she's already drained from killing the agents and doesn't have the option to recharge, and I think she accepts that the exertion necessary to kill the demogorgon will be more than she can survive.

El has spent a week hearing that Will is important, finding Will is what really matters. and of course she gets the idea Will is more important than she is. he is loved. this is El's first lesson in what that even looks like. this boy is sorta like her real-world counterpart - she's occupying his space in his world, and she's getting a glimpse at what it looks like for a kid her age to be a person, loved and missed, and not just a thing with a serial number on it that its owner wants back.

for that week, El is important because Will is important.

nobody has ever valued anything about El except what she can do with her powers, so she thinks her only value to the party and Joyce is in her usefulness in finding Will, or protecting them. tbh they didn't do a ton to challenge that assumption in season 1 in ways that would be clear to her (not that they had any idea of her experience).

"but the hug at the quarry!" yeah I love it, but she had just saved their lives. even though hugs are nice and she never got them at the lab, she still could think it's because she did something for them. "Joyce hugs her at the end of the bath!" one of the best moments in the series, but again, El had just done something for Joyce. that may be the only motive she sees for it. maybe it's all just lab taffy. what affection has anyone given El that doesn't look to her like part of an exchange or a reward for performance?

El's willingness to sacrifice herself isn't just about loving her new friends and wanting to protect them but like. by that time, she'd done all she could on the Will mission. he's Schrodinger'd at this point, it doesn't even matter the outcome. he's either irretrievable or being retrieved, either way, now that she's served her purpose she's of no further value to them.

if that's her impression, is she proven wrong? while she's still vulnerable from submitting herself to a triggering, exhausting experience to help them, Hopper betrays her location to Brenner in exchange for a longshot chance at finding Will.

(Yeah I know his options were limited and of course he's gonna be more committed to helping Will because he has a longtime relationship with Joyce. but. an authority figure handing a horribly abused child back to her abusers after she trusted him for help does not make me a big Hopper fan, even if he planned to try to doublecross them later. "I'll tell you where your little science experiment is" please.)

but as hurtful as Hopper's trade is, the saddest part is that El is willing to make a very similar one herself. it's more important for Will and these people to have each other back than for her to try to have her freedom. she wouldn't want what's been stolen from her to be stolen from anyone else. it's better for her to be the one that goes away, to make it safe for all of them. she has no one to miss her, not how Will does.

I have to wonder if the way she killed the demogorgon ("killed" "the demogorgon") was the only way she could've gone about it. like, she didn't try to snap its neck first or anything. her Plan A is a method that jeopardizes her own life.

does she see a future for herself in the outside world? one where she isn't forever hunted, and a constant danger to her friends? one that doesn't dead end back in the lab, under crueler conditions than ever before? is that a life she hopes to survive for?

imagine if ST really ended up being an anthology, and all she went out with was one resigned little "Goodbye, Mike" and we never found out any more about it. I would be in an institution

#angst #character analysis #eleven #mine #the way she acted in the UD school scene looked like it was her first rodeo. it didn't seem like she knew that was gonna happen #she was definitely unfamiliar with the portal/goop situation #and the fact that she goes straight back to Mike's house and sees all the fbi cars and THEN realizes she can't return #I don't think she planned to fake her death and disappear for the party's safety #long post #tw death #<- i guess #st: what precious children let's watch them accept their mortality. yes that one. and that one. and th

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beevean · 8 months

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I really think that I have found the core issue with this whole 'Mimic infiltrates the Diamond Cutters' plot (which, yay! My frustrations are clear to now, I guess XD): it's the fact that the dramatic irony is so forced characters either do not notice or do not comment on things they should, in order to keep the plot train going smoothly. And that makes for teeth-grinding reading where Lanolin can be her bossy self scolding Silver where we know he is objectively going to be in the right yet has to be chewed out by the other characters for a bit first, for drama or whatever. Of course the writers are limited to the amount of pages they have and what-not, but Silver should have noticed Duo kick him. The Diamond Cutters should have noticed Duo's statement that he could not save Silver does not match him defending himself to Silver by saying he was going to get help. Whisper should have spoken up in Silver's defense yet did not. But we as readers realise this... because we already know the whole plot that Duo is Mimic and is going to inevitably betray them and try to kill them all. The comic couldn't have spelled that out more clearly. I don't know, I can't help but feel even stronger now that perhaps these tiny details would have been less noticeable to us if the whole Duo = Mimic plotline was kept a surprise from us too. Wouldn't it have been cool if Duo suddenly moves to kill one of the Diamond Cutters at a moment where they need him most and after a tense battle he gets defeated and slowly morphs back into Mimic? That is probably going to happen now too, but instead of an epic reveal for us where our theories get proven right, it's just going to be eyeroll-worthy when the characters only then piece together the truth and what they've accidentally been enabling. (And no apology for Silver. I can feel it in my bones, lmao.)

You took the words right off my mouth :P

And this is why I hate this kind of plot. Characters are twisted to be either jerks or idiots to keep the "dramatic irony". It's not fun, it will never be fun. I also wish Duo's nature was kept a twist: wouldn't it have kept the readers more engaged, as they theorize on what's actually going on with him? C'mon, I know IDW is a "kid's book", but that doesn't mean the writing has to be dumb.

Another problem is that we don't know Lanolin! So it's not that she was twisted to be a jerk, she is a jerk. This is her characterization now. If, say, Amy was in her place, and she called out Silver (hopefully without sounding like his mom), it would be an OOC moment - bad writing, no less frustrating, but that wouldn't make her a bad character, because we know she's usually better than this.

Lanolin just waltzing in and acting like she owns the place is a problem for many reasons: because she doesn't have the authority nor the experience to speak like this, because it's demeaning towards a canon character who by all means deserves more respect, because no one calls her out (to the point that Whisper had to reveal in private that she knew Silver was in the right), and because now she will forever be remembered as the no-fun-allowed strict bossy mommy. Who apparently hates Tangle too. Yeah that scene with the paddle was just as mean as Sonic mocking Silver in #8. What the hell are Flynn and Stanley doing with this character.

#fans don't look #and apparently we'll see a similar plot with surge and kit!#they're going to join the resistance and sonic and amy will be suspicious about them #the writing is degrading in front of our eyes but as long as it puts the cute ocs in the spotlight everything's fine i suppose

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celestemagnoliathewriter · 6 months

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I’m honestly sick and tired of people claiming everyone is bi if they find the same sex attractive. JKR wanted us to know who was attractive and who wasn’t, since the story was from Harry’s pov everyone has put a label on his sexuality. Like can we not normalize appreciating the same sex without labels? I remember being teased for being bi if I said a girl or woman was beautiful and it annoyed me because they automatically labeled me without asking me. Does that mean the next time I see a dog and say “that’s a good looking dog” I’ll be labeled as someone who’s attracted to animals? Just because a man thinks another man is attractive does not make him bi. Now if Harry had sexual feelings for the same sex in the book then yes he could be bi, but did we even a hint of that? No. So ppl need to stop claiming this as canon when it’s more of a fan theory.

I think there are a couple of layers to this, anon, and I apologize in advance for a long post as it led to quite the reflection on my end.

On the one hand, there's something to be said about heteronormative readings about texts, in that assuming is everyone is cishet until proven otherwise is limiting, to say the least. I'd like to gently ask you to think about the way you compared attraction to people to attraction to dogs, as that's a big leap. I understand the point you are making, and this reaction you have about being labeled as bi, attached to the reaction over the HC (not actual canon) of bi Harry, gives me pause.

By that I mean I had a very similar, sort of visceral reaction to a lot of the HCs and fan theories I found when I started participating in fandom and joined Tumblr. As the years go by I continue to reflect on these reactions, where they came from, and where I'm going next.

So let's talk about bi Harry for a minute and about some other thoughts I've had.

First, I don't think Harry is bi, based entirely on the authorial intent and the world JKR created. That's not to say we can't read it in other ways but I do think it's important to recognize that the world she created, wrote in, and promotes is fundamentally heteronormative. Yes, Dumbledore is gay, and his sexuality was revealed by JKR directly and not in any concrete depiction. You could argue that she couldn't say anything because of the time period, but let's face it - after PoA, she could publish these gargantuan books and the texts got darker. We also have to remember that just as 'men writing women' is a thing, so is 'women writing men.' JKR has admitted she's bad at writing romance. She calls several men handsome in the text, through Harry's eyes, and we do have to acknowledge the author's voice in the character.

Second, I don't think there's a reason Harry can't be bi. That is, we can definitely say he's into women (Cho, Ginny), and like many many people throughout history, they discover their sexuality later in life. There's no reason why Harry can't figure out later that he's bi. That's not saying that he is or has to be - it's more making room for this reality that I think is at the heart of what these HCs are getting to.

The reason for this is that queerness in history has been largely erased. I think there's value in trying to read texts, even if they were written in a heteronormative context, to make space for queer characters and readings. The sort of visceral reaction I see in this ask, which I shared a couple years ago, led to rethinking a lot of the way I see the role of representation and the diversity of voices in fiction, or broadly speaking, anywhere.

I do think that if we stick with a very strict reading of the text, according to what JKR planned out, then yes, we'd probably find that most everyone is cishet. But as we're occupying this space of fanfic, where we take the characters out of the texts and give them lives in missing scenes, why can't we explore queerness in them or take what we have in canon and sculpt it to find voices that have otherwise been silenced? This isn't to say they're canon - but that they can exist in canon and can be compliant or coherent.

There's another thing I want to very gently point out in your ask, anon. Why does it bother you so much?

If someone asked me that a couple years ago, I'd have said something along the lines of 'well, it's ridiculous. obviously he's straight, and assuming someone's bi or gay because they say or do x, y, z, is nonsense.' BUT, here's where I am a couple years later. Is it not the same concept to assume someone is straight because there's no specific marker that signals them as queer?

What I am trying to point to is that if it's the assumption that bothers you, then it's what (I believe) bothers those who are queer themselves. The assumption of "straight until proven otherwise" and "you must be bi because you find the same sex physically attractive" direct us to a similar pressure point. No one wants assumptions to dominate the way we are perceived, or the way a certain population is treated.

That's why, even if I read JKR's world as heteronormative across many, many categories, if I want to enter that world in a more detached sense and think of these fictional characters as real people, I will find queer characters because I find queer people in history.

Some characters are easier to do this with than others: I find writing canon Harry in the canon timeline as bi to be really hard. This might be my own heteronormativity speaking. I'm extremely aware of how frequently I say the wrong thing or word something in a way that isn't exactly right, but I am trying.

Writing bi Harry later in his life? Easier. Definitely easier, because of our own historical context. It wouldn't surprise me if a teenage boy in the 90s would struggle with, suppress, or even ignore bisexuality in himself. In the 00s? 10s? 20s? Different story.

I'm still not going to write bi Harry though, partly because I don't like writing Harry, and there are other characters that I find more interesting to explore with their sexualities.

But back to your point, anon. Though I understand your frustration, having been there myself, I would encourage you to understand why people say these things. There's a desire for representation, which is sorely needed, and has been historically lacking. There's a desire to normalize--or, perhaps put in a better way--be more accepting/less surprised when queer people simply exist.

If nothing else, like I have gone through my own growing pains of trying to be more open minded (a decade-long process at least), I would encourage you to do the same. I'm not saying you aren't open minded or accepting - let me be clear about that - though the way you phrased some things did lead to my own reflections about how I've thought about this.

Last, but not least, I do agree with the frustration over claiming things as canon versus fanon. There's a layer in the middle though, of canon compliant, that is a hot, hot mess.

Is bi Harry canon? No. Is bi Harry canon compliant? Why not? Why can't Harry figure out that all those times he thought a man was handsome was actually sexual attraction? No reason he can't figure that out and be happily married to Ginny. No reason he can't figure that out and be a devoted father and godfather.

I've been going on and on for a while. I suppose I'll stop here before my exhaustion leads me to say anything I'll regret. I do hope I've given you something to think about, and I'll be continuing to reflect on it as I keep going, as I hope you will do too.

#asks #send asks

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 1 year

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By: SEGM

Published: Apr 18, 2023

The field of gender medicine must stop relying on social justice arguments and return to the time-honored principles of evidence-based medicine.

A new article in Springer’s Current Sexual Health Reports, “Current Concerns About Gender-Affirming Therapy in Adolescents,” provides an up-to-date overview of the current state of evidence about the practice of gender transition in youth in the Western world and discusses the international debates surrounding this controversial practice.

The authors identify the key area of concern: It is unknown how gender-transitioned young patients fare in the long term. Systematic reviews of evidence of youth gender transition are naturally limited by short follow-up times, as the practice only began at scale after 2015. For this reason, it is informative to look at long-term adult outcome data. Unfortunately, the long-term studies of adult transitioners have repeatedly failed to show lasting psychological improvements, and studies with the longest follow-up suggest "the possibility of treatment-associated harms."

In fact, the disappointing long-term outcomes of adult transitioners were used to justify transitioning minors, in the hope that earlier intervention would lead to improved outcomes. However, every quality systematic review of youth gender transition to date has failed to find credible benefits even in the short-term, issuing conclusions about the risk-benefit ratio that range from highly uncertain to unfavorable.

The authors observe:

There has never been a dispute about whether medical and surgical interventions can feminize or masculinize secondary and some primary sex characteristics. For children and adolescents, the debate is not whether such transformations are possible, but “at what age can youth meaningfully consent,” “upon fulfilling which criteria,” and perhaps most importantly, “just because we can – should we?”. Such questions have provoked an intensity of divisiveness within and outside of medicine rarely seen with other clinical uncertainties. This passion reflects decidedly different prioritization of scientific evidence, medical ethics, and social values.

Ten key unproven—or disproven—assumptions underlying the practice of youth transitions

The authors note that while a “growing number of European countries recognized deficiencies in the evidence supporting the highly medicalized “gender-affirming” approach to treating gender-dysphoric youth, in North America, the narrative that “gender-affirmative care has been scientifically proven” has been remarkably resilient.”

The authors observe that the practice of “gender affirmation” of minors using hormones and surgery is based on 10 key fallacious assumptions that are misrepresented as proven facts:

The emergence of a trans identity is the result of reaching a higher level of self-awareness.

Whether the trans-identity emerges in very young children, older children, teens, or mature adults, it is authentic and will be lifelong.

All gender identity variations are biologically determined and inherently healthy.

The frequently co-occurring psychiatric symptoms are a direct result of gender incongruence (the so-called “minority stress” model).

The only way to relieve, or prevent, psychiatric problems is to alter the body at the earliest signs of puberty.

Psychological evaluations and attempts to address psychiatric comorbidities should only be used to support transition.

Attempts to resolve gender dysphoria with psychotherapy range from ineffective to harmful.

Gender-dysphoric youth must have unquestioning social, hormonal, and surgical support for their current gender identities and desired physical appearance.

All individual embodiment goals, even those that do not occur in nature, must be fulfilled to the full extent technically possible.

Science has proven the benefits of early gender transition, and low rates of regret and detransition further validate the practice.

The authors refute these assumptions, focusing on the three most critical fallacies. They recount the evidence that identity formation in adolescence is far from complete, and a trans identity for many will prove to be temporary. They note that the rationale for “gender-affirming” interventions has shifted from reducing extreme suffering, to merely fulfilling individual embodiment goals, which undermines the original premise of administering drastic, irreversible interventions off-label to young people whose identities are far from fully formed.

Finally, the authors note that the claim that gender-transition is a proven net-beneficial practice is demonstrably false. The claims by gender medicine clinicians that these interventions are “proven” collapse when scrutinized through the lens of systematic reviews, which are a fundamental requirement of evidence-based medicine. Unlike “narrative reviews” which the field has come to rely on, and which cherry-pick “favorite” studies and merely restate those studies' biased conclusions, systematic reviews require the analysis of all the available evidence, subjecting each study to a critical appraisal for risk of bias and other methodological problems, issuing an overarching conclusion which states the effects of a given treatment, and grades evidence for quality/certainty.

To date, every systematic review of evidence has concluded that the evidence of benefits is highly uncertain. The only disagreement is about the harms: some consider the harms also uncertain, while others note that the evidence of potential harms to bone and cardiovascular health, and the expected infertility and sterility, render the practice net-harmful for most youth today.

Clash of Ethical Principles and Value Systems

The authors note that most clinicians involved in the heated debate over gender-transitions of youth believe that they are practicing according to the principles of medical ethics. The disagreement comes from a clash in value systems:

Those who insist that a young person has the right to receive any medical intervention they desire now, and the right to regret that intervention later, privilege autonomy above all else. Those who advocate for sharply curbing the practice of medical interventions in gender-diverse minors because they view the practice as a major source of iatrogenic harm, privilege the principle of non-maleficence.

They also acknowledge that there is disagreement about what constitutes beneficence:

Each side claims they are pursuing beneficence, but sharply disagree on the solution: one side insists that the most benefit is derived by undergoing a transition as early in puberty as possible to achieve the best possible cosmetic outcomes, while the other asserts that achieving cognitive maturity, emotional stability, and obtaining life experiences (including sexual experiences) prior to making the decision to undergo irreversible transition will provide the most long-term benefit for affected individuals.

Detransition and Regret

The authors point out the growing evidence of significant rates of medical detransition, which has reached 30% in at least one comprehensive analysis of US data. They note that while not all detransition signifies regret, the claims of less than 1% regret rates are not credible.

Most studies reporting low regret rates define regret narrowly, such as requesting a legal change of sex markers or beginning the administration of natal-sex hormones. However, many detransitioners do not have their gonads (ovaries and testes) removed, so they have no need to supplement with natal sex hormones upon detransition. One of the most-frequently quoted studies of “very low regret” would not have considered Keira Bell, one of the best known regretters whose case contributed to the UK’s current restructuring of its approach to managing gender dysphoria in youth, to be a regretter.

The authors acknowledge that regret is a complex phenomenon, and regret and acceptance can co-exist. For many people who have undergone the most extensive physical changes, detransition is not possible, and many choose an adaptive approach of making the best of their lives without undergoing more invasive procedures. However, as the numbers of detransitioners grow, regret and lawsuits by harmed patients will likely increase in number and visibility.

The Reversal of “Gender-Affirming Care”

The authors note that public health authorities are increasingly aware that hormones and surgery are being administered to a growing number of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria who are unlike previous cohorts of transgender-identifying individuals. In years past, the majority of youth seeking to transition were male and had longstanding gender dysphoria. Today, the preponderance of young people with gender dysphoria are females whose transgender identities emerged only in adolescence and who suffer from pre-existing mental illness and neurocognitive disorders.

After public health authorities in England, Finland, and Sweden conducted systematic reviews of the available evidence to determine whether the benefits of youth gender transition outweigh the risks, they concluded that the benefits do not outweigh the risks and have revised their practices and policies, sharply restricting medical and surgical transition of children and adolescents. Reassessment of policies governing gender transition of youth also is underway in France, Norway, and several US states.

In the United States, a number of states have begun to pass laws that sharply restrict the availability of "gender-affirming" interventions in general medical settings. The authors suggest that politicization of this complex issue may have been a direct result of the US medical societies' decision to privilege civil rights arguments over the principles of evidence-based medicine:

Many US state laws have been introduced to limit or ban gender transitions of youth. The reluctance of the US medical societies to recognize the apparent problems with medical “gender affirmation” of youth may have contributed to the unfortunate and preventable politicization of this complex issue.

The authors remind clinicians that while social justice, civil rights, and freedom of expression are compelling arguments, they complicate “clinicians’ consideration of how to respond to gender dysphoric adolescents and their families." The authors note that concerned family members want to know: " 'Where is this identity coming from?' 'What about my child’s previous difficulties?' and critically, 'Will transition give my child the best chance for a happy and fulfilling life?' "

When faced with such questions, "clinicians are ethically bound to honestly represent the uncertainty of the current state of knowledge, rather than asserting that body modification is the best, safest, and most effective treatment. When a concerned family seeks our counsel, they are seeking our knowledge, not our political ideation and beliefs.”

#SEGM #Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine #medical transition #queer theory #genderwang #gender ideology #trans identity #gender identity #sex trait modification #gender pseudoscience #medical malpractice #medical scandal #gender affirmation #gender affirming #affirmative therapy #affirmation model #detransition #detrans #religion is a mental illness

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