#Advanced Reported Speech

[sunum-teknikleri]

İleri Seviye Reported Speech: Karmaşık Dolaylı Anlatım

İngilizce'de başkasının söylediklerini aktarırken kullanılan Reported Speech (Dolaylı Anlatım) yapısının ileri seviye kullanımlarını, özellikle zaman ve kişi zamirlerindeki karmaşık değişimleri detaylı örneklerle açıklayan kapsamlı bir rehber. https://www.fullofenglish.com/ingilizce-dilbilgisi/ileri-seviye-reported-speech-karmasik-dolayli-anlatim/

[covenofvenus]

A Historical Deep Dive into the Founders of Black Womanism & Modern Feminism

Six African American Suffragettes Mainstream History Tried to Forget

These amazing Black American women each advanced the principles of modern feminism and Black womanism by insisting on an intersectional approach to activism. They understood that the struggles of race and gender were intertwined, and that the liberation of Black women was essential. Their writings, speeches, and actions have continued to inspire movements addressing systemic inequities, while affirming the voices of marginalized women who have shaped society. Through their amazing work, they have expanded the scope of womanism and intersectional feminism to include racial justice, making it more inclusive and transformative.

Anna Julia Cooper (1858–1964)

Quote: “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class—it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.”

Contribution: Anna Julia Cooper was an educator, scholar, and advocate for Black women’s empowerment. Her book A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South (1892) is one of the earliest articulations of Black feminist thought. She emphasized the intellectual and cultural contributions of Black women and argued that their liberation was essential to societal progress. Cooper believed education was the key to uplifting African Americans and worked tirelessly to improve opportunities for women and girls, including founding organizations for Black women’s higher education. Her work challenged both racism and sexism, laying the intellectual foundation for modern Black womanism.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)

Quote: “We are all bound together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul.”

Contribution: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a poet, author, and orator whose work intertwined abolitionism, suffrage, and temperance advocacy. A prominent member of the American Equal Rights Association, she fought for universal suffrage, arguing that Black women’s voices were crucial in shaping a just society. Her 1866 speech at the National Woman’s Rights Convention emphasized the need for solidarity among marginalized groups, highlighting the racial disparities within the feminist movement. Harper’s writings, including her novel Iola Leroy, offered early depictions of Black womanhood and resilience, paving the way for Black feminist literature and thought.

Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)

Quote: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

Contribution: Ida B. Wells was a fearless journalist, educator, and anti-lynching activist who co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Her investigative reporting exposed the widespread violence and racism faced by African Americans, particularly lynchings. As a suffragette, Wells insisted on addressing the intersection of race and gender in the fight for women’s voting rights. At the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., she famously defied instructions to march in a segregated section and joined the Illinois delegation at the front, demanding recognition for Black women in the feminist movement. Her activism laid the groundwork for modern feminisms inclusion of intersectionality, emphasizing the dual oppressions faced by Black women.

Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)

Quote: “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Contribution: Born into slavery, Sojourner Truth became a powerful voice for abolition, women's rights, and racial justice after gaining her freedom. Her famous 1851 speech, "Ain’t I a Woman?" delivered at a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, directly challenged the exclusion of Black women from the feminist narrative. She highlighted the unique struggles of Black women, who faced both racism and sexism, calling out the hypocrisy of a movement that often-centered white women’s experiences. Truth’s legacy lies in her insistence on equality for all, inspiring future generations to confront the intersecting oppressions of race and gender in their advocacy.

Nanny Helen Burroughs (1879–1961)

Quote: “We specialize in the wholly impossible.”

Contribution: Nanny Helen Burroughs was an educator, activist, and founder of the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., which emphasized self-sufficiency and vocational training for African American women. She championed the "Three B's" of her educational philosophy: Bible, bath, and broom, advocating for spiritual, personal, and professional discipline. Burroughs was also a leader in the Women's Convention Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention, where she pushed for the inclusion of women's voices in church leadership. Her dedication to empowering Black women as agents of social change influenced both the feminist and civil rights movements, promoting a vision of racial and gender equality.

Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1847–1919)

Quote: “The ballot in the hands of a woman means power added to influence.”

Contribution: Elizabeth Piper Ensley was a suffragist and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in securing women’s suffrage in Colorado in 1893, making it one of the first states to grant women the vote. As a Black woman operating in the predominantly white suffrage movement, Ensley worked to bridge racial and class divides, emphasizing the importance of political power for marginalized groups. She was an active member of the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association and focused on voter education to ensure that women, especially women of color, could fully participate in the democratic process. Ensley’s legacy highlights the importance of coalition-building in achieving systemic change.

To honor these pioneers, we must continue to amplify Black women's voices, prioritizing intersectionality, and combat systemic inequalities in race, gender, and class.

Modern black womanism and feminist activism can expand upon these little-known founders of woman's rights by continuously working on an addressing the disparities in education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for marginalized communities. Supporting Black Woman-led organizations, fostering inclusive black femme leadership, and embracing allyship will always be vital.

Additionally, when we continuously elevate their contributions in social media or multi-media art through various platforms, and academic curriculum we ensure their legacies continuously inspire future generations. By integrating their principles into feminism and advocating for collective liberation, women and feminine allies can continue their fight for justice, equity, and feminine empowerment, hand forging a society, by blood, sweat, bones and tears where all women can thrive, free from oppression.

[ozzgin]

OZZGIN!

May I request an idea/imagine?

It is about yandere! mental asylum patient and psychiatrist! reader, who is very practical and strict regarding her job, takes no BS from others. But, for some reason, she has a soft spot for yandere! mental asylum patient. The reason could either be he had a hard childhood in which he had to do what he had to do, which brutally killed his father, who used to abuse his mother and sister, but when the father tried to sell the sister into prostitution to buy more alcohol, all hell break lose. Psychiatrist! reader thinks what yandere! mental asylum the patient did was OKAY, and she wants to get him out of the asylum. They love each other deeply and would do anything, so far as to kill for one another. If you can, make it as twisted as you can. I live for some dark romance!

Please ignore my request if you are not able to do it. I completely understand. Thank you in advance! <3

Oh my, this request hits somewhat close to home as I have a friend incarcerated for similar reasons. I'm pondering the logistics behind this context you've provided, since murdering someone won't necessarily land you in a psych ward unless there are other symptoms that come with it. And so I've taken the liberty to expand the character's profile if that's alright. (Conveniently enough I still have my psychopathology lecture notes)

I want to add, however, that this story in no way romanticizes mental illness! If anything, one may consider it an opportunity to reflect on the fact that so many people struggling with disorders do not receive the proper care for it, or only do so when it's too late. Furthermore a medical professional should never, ever behave like this and whatever is written here should stay in the realm of fiction!

Yandere! Patient x Psychiatrist! Reader

Featuring a patient that's pushing the boundaries of your work ethic and might even succeed.

Content/warnings: female reader, detailed mentions of mental disorder, violence, obsessive behavior, breach of professional conduct

You roll up your sleeve and check your watch. He should be here soon. Out of habit, you shuffle the papers for a quick case review, even though you already know all the details by heart. You carefully set aside the patient’s MMPI and WHODAS entry assessments, then your first interviews. Your eyes briefly rest upon the resulting report you’ve comprised: Schizophreniform Disorder (Provisional) with good prognostic features; Diagnostic criteria consisting of delusions, disorganized speech (frequent derailment with episodes of incoherence, echolalia) and comorbid catatonia. Responds well to antipsychotic (clozapine 25mg/12 h) with no imminent need for dosage increase. As it currently stands, he will be fit for proper incarceration in less than 6 months. Is it something you agree with? Not quite. You’ve presented your case many times and it has always been met with pitiful shrugs and dismissals.

The door opens and you fix your posture, sweeping the documents back into your drawer. “And? How are you feeling today?” You ask, flashing a professional, cordial smile as the assisting nurse leads the patient to his seat and prepares her leave. “My chest hurts.” The man answers in a low voice, glaring at the nurse. He taps his foot against the plush carpet, seemingly restless. “How bad would you rate it? Chest pain is a somewhat common side effect of your medication.” You retort, following the movements of the woman finally excusing herself and exiting the room. Once you’re alone, the man’s shoulders droop and he visibly relaxes. “It’s not that, you know it. When can I touch you again?” He pleads, despair twisting his features. You tense up at the words. “Behave yourself. It hasn’t been that long.”

It’s not something you’re particularly proud of. In fact, you might even call it one of your great shames in life. You’ve always been a textbook professional, perhaps even too strict according to your coworkers and most patients. Not even in your wildest dreams would you have dared to imagine you’d violate the code of ethics by falling in love with your patient. But something about his situation stirred your sense of justice. Surely one cannot be punished for protecting their loved ones. The only criminal in the equation, at least in your eyes, was that joke of a father and he had it coming. So you found yourself wrestling against a blooming protectiveness and favoritism towards the young man brought here last month.

What would have normally compelled you into action had therefore been silently swept under the rug. Or even worse, you secretly indulged in it. A patient showing signs of affection towards you would instantly be transferred to a different psychiatrist. Yet you couldn’t put away the letters written by this one. Erratic, crumpled notes of “I love you” written countless times, pencil dug so deep it tore into the sheet. Bizarre illustrations that looked almost threatening. His elaborate delusions before medication was introduced, where he’d detail in grand narratives how you were fated for each other and nothing would stop him from having you sooner or later. You do not know what forces possessed you into this addictive plunge, but you’ve come to enjoy his violent, frenzied confessions. So much, that during one of the unsupervised meetings you let yourself pushed into the sofa as his hands tugged at your body in rabid need. It was so out of character that you wondered if it truly happened, though the bite marks and scratches on your neck and chest proved otherwise.

“Are they going to send me to prison?” He changes the subject and stands up, walking towards your desk. “Most likely. What you have is the result of a traumatic event, not a lifelong condition. Sporadic episodes that can be kept under control with antipsychotics aren’t enough of a reason to keep you in the hospital.” You press your legs together nervously and glance at him. “Can’t you just say it’s no longer working?” He suggests, kneeling before you and placing a hand on your thigh. “You know I can’t lie on the report.” You really don’t like it when he manipulates you like this. “Ah, yes, because lying is worse than fucking your patient.” He scoffs, annoyed. “Don’t threaten me like that”, you say as you turn towards him, but you’re stopped by the rough grip of his hand over your cheeks. “I’m not threatening you, I’m threatening everyone else. Listen, (Y/N), I’m not fucking around. I don’t mind pretending to be crazy if I have to. Will the meds still be working if I steal a shaving razor and cut the nurse open?” You try to open your mouth, but his fingers are pressed into your skin, locking your jaw into place. “I’m not going to prison. I’m not. Then I’ll never see you again and that can’t happen. You know that.”

Eventually he releases his hold, allowing you to speak. "I understand. Then there's no choice but to arrange your escape." You sigh, defeated, and he raises his eyebrows. "Won't that get you in trouble?" You chuckle at his statement. "Either way I'll be in trouble. You said it yourself. Might as well quit before I have to stand in front of the ethics board and have my license revoked." You'd prefer to keep the last ounce of pride if possible.

He sits on the floor and you notice his trembling hands. "Nervous?" You ask. "No. Just really happy. I'm not a bad person and you were the only one here to see it. But God, (Y/N), I'd kill anyone if it was for your sake. I can't wait to hold you whenever I want." He gazes at you as a smile widens on his face.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 A father checks on his injured son laying on the floor of a local hospital after the Israeli occupation forces bombed their home in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, resulting in a number of casualties. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

273 DAYS OF GENOCIDE IN GAZA: ISRAELI OCCUPATION SENDS DELEGATION TO RENEW HOSTAGE EXCHANGE TALKS WITH HAMAS, GAZA TO FACE DISASTER AS FUEL BEGINS TO RUN OUT, ISRAELI OCCUPATION ARMY CONTINUES MASS SLAUGHTER OF PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS

On 273rd day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 4 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 58 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 179 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands, of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

The Israeli occupation Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his Security Cabinet have implemented the decision to send a delegation to meet in Doha, Qatar, for hostage exchange talks with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Netanyahu met with his negotiating team prior to their departure to stress "again that the war will end only after achieving all of its goals, and not one moment earlier."

Meanwhile the occupation Prime Minister held a phone call with US President Joe Biden where Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to the Israeli occupation's goals in its ongoing genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, even as the occupation sends it's delegation to meet with the Hamas resistance group he swears to destroy.

The Israeli negotiating team will be led by the Mossad Chief David Barnea, who is expected to meet with the Hamas delegation prior to the arrival of the rest of his team, who will be brought in if the negotiations progress.

US Officials say they are optimistic that a deal can be reached, and the Americans said they welcomed the decision of the Israeli Prime Minister to send his delegation to Doha to continue with talks.

An anonymous American official who spoke with Reuters on Thursday evening said the Hamas proposal “includes a very significant breakthrough.”

"It can serve to advance negotiations. There’s a deal with a real chance of implementation. Though the clauses are not easy, they shouldn’t scupper the deal,” the official continued.

Another senior official told reporters on a conference call on Thursday that Hamas had made a significant adjustment in its demands for a hostage exchange deal, and expressed hope that it could lead to an agreement that would be a step towards an eventual ceasefire.

“We’ve had a breakthrough,” the official said in the call, going on to add that there were still some outstanding issues related to implementation of the agreement, and that a deal was not expected to be closed for several days.

The latest proposal is closely related to the one outlined by President Biden in a speech he gave back in May, which would introduce a format based on three stages of talks, which could ultimately lead to an eventual ceasefire and the release of all hostages.

The Israeli Prime Minister has faced intense criticism from both sides; some that want the government to reject all talks, versus groups such as the mother's of the hostages being held by the Palestinian Resistance who continue protests, demonstrating in Habima Square in Israeli-occupied Tel Aviv, joined by more than a thousand protesters to demand the Netanyahu regime come to a deal for the release of all hostages.

Meanwhile, in other news for Friday, July 5th, the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning the Gaza Strip faces a fuel shortage which could result in "catastrophic" consequences, as the enclave's healthcare system faces a potential collapse of basic services that require electricity to function.

Speaking on the social media platform X, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that "Further disruption to health services is imminent in Gaza due to a severe lack of fuel."

The WHO warned that just 90'000 liters of fuel entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, even as the healthcare sector alone requires a minimum of 80'000 liters daily just to provide basic care.

Fuel also must be provided to the some 21 ambulances which are still operational in Gaza, while the WHO said that fuel supplies were currently being rationed to "key hospitals", including the Nasser medical complex and Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis, as well as the Kuwaiti Hospital in the city of Rafah, in Gaza's south, while the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis has been out of service since Tuesday under threat of Israeli bombardment.

Further, Tedros Ghebreyesus gave warning that “losing more hospitals in the Strip would be catastrophic.”

In other news, the skin disease known as "scabies" has begun to spread widely among the Palestinian populations in densely populated camps, where Palestinian refugees in Gaza have taken shelter during the ongoing genocide.

Medical sources in Gaza say the accumulation of sewage water between the tents of the displaced, combined with the lack of hygiene due to the scarcity of clean water and basic necessities such as soaps and detergents, threatens to cause the accelerated spread of various infectious diseases and epidemics.

Currently, around 2 million displaced Palestinians live in shelters and camps under harsh conditions, with few resources or necessities that the population needs.

Worse still, a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies threatens complications for the sick and wounded, who've packed into Gaza's hospitals by the hundreds and thousands. Already, dozens of Palestinians have died due to the shortage of medicines and supplies.

Since the start of the Israeli occupation's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, international institutions and non-governmental organizations have warned of the spread of disease and epidemics among the displaced as overcrowding and a decline in personal hygiene has overtaken the majority of the population.

Medical sources have confirmed that thousands of Palestinians remain under threat of death as a result of continued lack of medicines, supplies, hygiene products and fuel for generators at the handful of remaining hospitals after 10 months of Israeli bombardment.

At the same time, the Israeli occupation's genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continues unabated as the occupation army intensified its bombing and shelling of residential neighborhoods and shelters, as well as public infrastructure.

In some of the latest attacks, Occupation warplanes bombed the Sheikh Nasser area, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinians who were transported to the Nasser medical complex in the city.

Similarly, Israeli fighter jets bombed a house in the Nuseirat Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing four civilians and wounding several others, while two others were killed after Zionist air forces bombed a gathering of civilians in the Al-Mawasi area, northwest of the city of Rafah, south of Gaza.

In another atrocity, Israeli occupation aircraft bombed a house belonging to the Al-Rifai family in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City. After the bombing, civil defense crews and local residents managed to recover the bodies of two citizens killed in the strikes.

The horrors continued in Gaza's north when the Israeli occupation army bombed a site in Jabalia al-Balad, killing 5 Palestinian civilians, including at least 3 children, and wounding a number of others.

At the same time, occupation artillery shelling pummeled several areas in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, as well as the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza.

In another assault, Zionist warplanes bombed a residential home belonging to the Al-Bardawil family in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of 4 civilians and wounding several others who were taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city.

Simultaneously, occupation fighter jets bombarded the eastern neighborhoods of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, coinciding with intense gunfire from Zionist soldiers, who detonated a number of homes in the neighborhood, continuing the army's systematic destruction of Palestinian housing.

In another massacre, Israeli occupation forces bombed a residential house belonging to the Khader family on Old Gaza Street in the town of Jabalia, north of Gaza, killing 5 civilians, including Bassam Khader, his wife and three children.

The atrocities continued with the bombing of an Israeli occupation drone, which targeted Al-Sikka Street east of the Jabalia Camp, north of Gaza, resulting in the death of a civilian and injuring three others who were transported by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya.

Another body of a Palestinian who was killed by the occupation army near the Tahrir Station on Salah al-Din Street, east of the city of Rafah, was transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Meanwhile, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the Al-Nasr area, northeast of Rafah City, while at the same time, Zionist armored vehicles and other military vehicles penetrated into the Abu Halawa and Abu Al-Hussain areas, as well as the outskirts of the Al-Nasr area, east of Rafah City.

Additionally, occupation fighter jets bombed a home belonging to the Radwan family in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of Adly Radwan, and wounding his wife, who was transported to the Nasser medical complex in the city.

The Israeli occupation forces also fired flares in the southeast of Khan Yunis, while Zionist warplanes bombed an uninhabited house in the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of the city.

The Zionist army went on to hammer the northwest of the Al-Nuseirat Camp, in central Gaza, using artillery shelling and gunfire, while occupation artillery shelling also targeted the north of Al-Zahra'a city, also in central Gaza.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the endlessly rising death toll now exceeds 38'011 Palestinians killed, including upwards of 10'000 women and well over 15'000 children, while another 87'445 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

July 5th, 2024.

(No updated figures for death toll have been announced for July 5th)

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#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Tips for Critical Reading

You'll find many ways to read and understand a text, but keeping a journal as you read is one of the best ways of exploring a piece of writing. By integrating reading and writing, you can interact with the work more fully.

Begin each new novel, play or poem without predetermined bias. If you decide in advance that all good art uses realistic settings and promotes your personal moral values, you close out the possibility of new experiences. You do not have to, nor should you, enjoy every work of literature that you read, but you should be willing to recognize that the imagination is limitless.

Read slowly. This suggestion can't be stressed enough. If you roller-skate through an art museum you won't see the paintings.

Read with pen in hand. Underline key phrases, speeches by major figures, or important statements by the narrator. But don't limit yourself. Underline or highlight anything that seems important or striking. Take notes on ideas or questions (don't trust your memory). Write in the margins. Keep a list of the characters and/or major events on the inside of the front cover. Circle words used in special ways or repeated in significant patterns. Look up words that you don't know or words you think you know but seem to have a special weight or usage.

Look for those qualities that professional writers look for in real life: conflict, contrast, contradiction, and characterization.

Look for rhythm, repetition, and pattern. Successful works of literature incorporate such structural devices in the language, dialogue, plot, characterization, and elsewhere. Pattern is form, and form is the shaping the artist gives to his or her experience. If you can identify the pattern and relate it to the content, you'll be on your way to insight.

Ask silent questions of the material as you read. Don't read passively, waiting to be told the "meaning." Most authors will seldom pronounce a moral. Even if they do, a work of literature is always more than its theme. Use the questions devised by reporters: Who, What, When, Where. Why and How may take more study—such questions probe the inner levels of a text.

Keep a reading journal. Record your first impressions, explore relationships, ask questions, write down quotations, and copy whole passages that are difficult or aesthetically pleasing.

The Reading Journal

Christopher Thaiss in Write to the Limit (Chicago: Holt, 1991) notes that the word journal comes from the French word for day, which is jour.

The word indicates that a journal is kept daily.

Thaiss also suggests that journals are kept for many different reasons: to record events, to keep an ongoing public record, to record feelings, to make close observations for scientific purposes and, finally, to explore emotions, memories and images in order to think and learn about any subject.

Don't feel overwhelmed. Just relax; notice and feel things.

Associate ideas with other subjects, objects or feelings.

Try the following 3 steps:

First, write what you see in the text at the surface level.

Next, write what you feel about what you see.

Finally, write down what you think it means or why you think it is important.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[thereyouarewhereveryougo]

Trump's record on military and vets

Trump can fuck off and die, Semper Fi

Only 1 Trump in America has served in the military (Fred Trump, Don's brother, served in the Air National Guard); this spans 5 generations, and every branch of the family tree. In fact, the reason his grandfather immigrated to America was to avoid military service.

Children of deployed US troops will no longer get automatic American citizenship if born overseas during deployment. This includes US troops posted abroad for years at a time (August 28, 2019)

On August 2, 2019, Trump requisitioned military retirement funds towards border wall

On July 31, 2019, Trump ordered the Navy rescind medals to prosecutors who were prosecuting war criminals

In July 2019, Trump denied a United States Marine of 6 years entry into the United States for his scheduled citizenship interview (Reported July 17, 2019)

Trump made the U.S. Navy Blue Angels violate ethics rules by having them fly at his July 4th political campaign (July 4, 2019)

Trump demanded US military chiefs stand next to him at 4th of July parade (reported July 2, 2019)

In June, 2019, Trump sent troops to the border to paint the fence for a better "aesthetic appearance" (June 7, 2019)

Trump used his D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers to attack a Vietnam veteran (June 6, 2019)

Trump started his D-Day commemoration speech by attacking a private citizen (Bette Midler, of all people) (reported on June 4th, 2019)

Trump made his 2nd wife, Marla Maples, sign a prenup that would have cut off all child support if Tiffany joined the military (reported on June 4th, 2019)

On May 27, 2019, Trump turned away US military from his Memorial Day speech because they were from the destroyer USS John S. McCain

Trump ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan (May 15, 2019). The ship's name was subsequently covered. (May 27, 2019)

Trump pardoned war criminals (May, 2019)

Trump purged 200,000 veterans healthcare applications (due to known administrative errors within VA’s enrollment process and enrollment system) (reported on May 13, 2019)

Trump deported a spouse of fallen Army soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaving their daughter parentless (April 16, 2019)

On March 20, 2019, Trump complained that a deceased war hero didn't thank him for his funeral

He refused to sign his party's funding bill, which shut down the government, and forced a branch of the military to go without pay. This branch of military was forced to work without pay, otherwise they would be AWOL. However, his appointees got a $10,000 pay raise (Dec 22, 2018 – Jan 25, 2019)

He didn't pay the Coast Guard, forcing service members to rely on food pantries (Jan 23, 2019)

He banned service members from serving based on gender identity (Jan 22, 2019)

He denied female troops access to birth control to limit sexual activity (on-going. Published Jan 18, 2019)

He tried to deport a marine vet who is a U.S.-born citizen (Jan 16, 2019)

When a man was caught swindling veterans pensions for high-interest “cash advances," Trump's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined him $1. As a reminder, the Trump administration's goal was to dismantle the CFPB, installing Mick Mulvaney as the director, who publicly stated the bureau should be disbanded. (Jan 26, 2019)

He called a retired general a 'dog' with a 'big, dumb mouth' (Jan 1, 2019)

He increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer waits and higher taxpayer cost (2018)

He finally visited troops 2 years after taking office, but only after 154 vacation days at his properties (Dec 26, 2018)

He revealed a covert Seal Team 5 deployment, including names and faces, on Twitter during his visit to Iraq (Dec 26, 2018)

Trump lied to deployed troops that he gave them a 10% raise. He didn't give them a 10% raise (Dec 26, 2018). He initially tried to give the military a raise that was lower than the standard living adjustment. This was before Congress told him that idea wasn't going to work. Then after giving them the raise that Congress made him, he lied about it pretending that it was larger than Obama's. It wasn't.

He fired service members living with HIV just before the 2018 holidays (Dec 19, 2018-present)

He tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for Veterans to $0, and eliminate the unemployability extrascheduler rating (Dec 17, 2018)

He got three Mar-a-Lago guests to run the VA (unknown start - present, made well-known in 2018)

He called troops on Thanksgiving and told them he's most thankful for himself (Thanksgiving, 2018)

He urged Florida to not count deployed military votes (Nov 12, 2018)

While in Europe commemorating the end of WWI, he didn't attend the ceremony at a US cemetery due to the rain - but other world leaders went anyway (Nov 10, 2018)

He used troops as a political prop by sending them on a phantom mission to the border and made them miss Thanksgiving with their families (Oct-Dec, 2018)

He stopped using troops as a political prop immediately after the election. However, the troops remained in muddy camps on the border (Nov 7, 2018)

Trump changed the GI Bill through his Forever GI Act, causing the VA to miss veteran benefits, including housing allowances. This caused many veterans to run out of food and rent. “You can count on us to serve, but we can’t count on the VA to make a deadline,” one veteran said. (reported October 7, 2018)

Trump doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections (July 5, 2018)

Trump deported active-duty spouses (11,800 military families face this problem as of April 2018)

He forgot a fallen soldier's name (below) during a call to his pregnant widow, then attacked her the next day (Oct 23-24, 2017)

He sent commandos into an ambush due to a lack of intel, and sends contractors to pick them up, resulting in a commando being left behind, tortured, and executed. (Trump approved the mission because Bannon told him Obama didn't have the guts to do it) (Oct 4, 2017)

He blocked a veteran group on Twitter (June 2017)

He ordered the discharge of active-duty immigrant troops with good records (2017-present)

He deported veterans (2017-present)

He said he knows more about ISIS than American generals (Oct 2016)

He said vets get PTSD because they aren't strong (Oct 3, 2016) (note: yes, he said it's 'because they aren't strong.' He didn't say it's 'because they're weak.' This distinction is important because of Snopes)

Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a fan at one of his rallies and said: “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” (Aug 2, 2016)

Trump attacks Gold Star families - Myeshia Johnson--gold star widow, Khan family--gold star parents, etc. (2016-present)

Trump sent funds raised from a January 2016 veterans benefit to the Donald J Trump Foundation instead of veterans charities (the foundation has since been ordered shut because of fraud) (Jan, 2016)

Trump said "I felt that I was in the military in the true sense because I dealt with those people" because he went to a military-style academy and that he has "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military". (2015 biography)

For a decade, Trump sought to kick veterans off of Fifth Avenue because he found them unsightly nuisances outside of Trump Tower. “While disabled veterans should be given every opportunity to earn a living, is it fair to do so to the detriment of the city as a whole or its tax paying citizens and businesses?” - 1991

Trump dodged the draft 5 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs.

[morbidology]

The story of Genie is one of the most tragic cases in the study of child psychology and linguistics. Genie's life began in conditions of severe abuse and isolation that left her profoundly affected. She had been born in Arcadia, California, in 1957, and was the fourth child of Clark and Irene Wiley.

Her early life was marked by extreme abuse and neglect. Clark Wiley, her father, believed she was mentally disabled and imposed a regime of isolation and deprivation on her from a very young age. For over a decade, Genie was confined to a small room, often strapped to a child's potty chair or bound in a sleeping bag, unable to move freely. She was deprived of normal human interaction, rarely exposed to light, and subjected to severe physical punishment if she made noise.

Genie's diet was restricted to baby food and liquids, and she was denied basic medical care and personal hygiene. The isolation left her with severe physical and mental disabilities. When she was discovered in 1970 at the age of 13, she could not speak, was severely malnourished, and had the social and cognitive development of a much younger child.

Genie was discovered when her mother, who had been partially blind, finally sought help and left her abusive husband. Authorities were alerted to Genie's condition, and she was placed in the care of the state. She quickly became the subject of intense study by psychologists, linguists, and medical professionals, eager to understand the effects of her severe isolation and deprivation.

Initially, Genie made remarkable progress. She began to learn to speak, although her language development never reached normal levels. Her case provided invaluable insights into critical periods in language acquisition and the effects of extreme social isolation on cognitive development. Researchers such as Jean Butler and James Kent, along with linguist Susan Curtiss, documented her progress meticulously, offering both hope and new knowledge about human development.

However, Genie's story is also one of ethical controversy and further hardship. As she moved through various foster homes and institutions, her progress fluctuated, often hindered by the instability and further trauma she experienced. The initial optimism surrounding her rehabilitation turned into disputes among the professionals involved in her care. Questions about the ethics of the research conducted on her arose, particularly concerning the balance between scientific interest and her well-being.

Eventually, Genie was placed in a series of foster homes, some of which reportedly subjected her to further abuse and neglect. The promising advances she had made in her speech and social skills largely regressed. As of the last reports, Genie resides in a private care facility for adults with disabilities, her exact location and condition kept confidential to protect her privacy.

[rottenpumpkin13]

If AGS HAD to to secondary/high school teachers, what would they teach and what are they like?

Sephiroth: Chemistry teacher. Never raises his voice but somehow makes "please solve this equation" sound like a death threat. Has a perfect record of student attendance because no one dares to skip his class. Somehow always knows when students are using calculators without permission, even with his back turned. Teaching style consists of staring in silence when students give wrong answers until they correct themselves. Somehow always knows when someone's on their phone without looking up. Has never once sat in his chair, just stands menacingly. Once made a kid cry by simply writing "explain" on their paper in red ink. Rumor has it that strategic placement of apples or treats on his desk at the beginning of class can result in extra credit.

Angeal: P.E. teacher who's also a yapper. Students spend 15 minutes exercising and 35 minutes listening to lectures. Has never once completed a full lesson without using the word "honor" at least 15 times. Has a mysterious ability to appear behind any student who's about to give up during exercises, launching into an impromptu speech about perseverance. Makes students run the mile in complete silence "to hear the voice of their dreams." Currently in an ongoing battle with the administration about why cleaning the entire gym with toothbrushes should be part of the curriculum. Always has snacks to hand out though.

Genesis: English teacher who doubles as the head of the drama department. Has a full-size skeleton that he dresses according to whatever play they're studying (stolen from Sephiroth's class). Dramatically perches on his desk rather than sitting in it. Has a collection of prop swords he uses as "advanced pointing sticks" during lectures, has been known to let students duel for bonus points while he lounges at his desk, observing the chaos like a Roman emperor enjoying a gladiator match. Gives automatic A's to students who bring him high-quality apples, but will dock points for bringing "peasant fruit." Regularly derails lessons to gossip while he sits on his desk. Has been reported to throw apples at sleeping students with concerning accuracy, no one knows where he keeps getting them from. The school's fire alarm mysteriously goes off whenever he grades papers.

[gabessquishytum]

Hi there! I don't know if anyone else in this fandom is as Unhinged about the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs as I am but it has the PERFECT setup for a Dreamling AU and I need to share. (This got SO long, apologies in advance.)

So Hob's an orphan. Has lived his whole life in a fairly dismal orphanage- normally the kids there get either adopted or kicked out in their mid-teens, but he's been allowed to stay to age 18 because he's been such a help with chores around the building/with the other kids (in other words, he's been used as free labor).

And he's staring down a pretty dismal future- no matter how "generous" the people in charge of this orphanage were letting him stay on, they really can't justify letting a full-grown adult stick around, and he's about to be kicked out into the wide world with no money and no connections.

And then the orphanage hosts a dinner for its trustees, and two of the younger trustees (a pair of siblings) somehow get their hands on a little speech Hob wrote. The speech is mostly making fun the trustees as a group and the "orphanage hosts a dinner so a bunch of children can Properly Express Gratitude and thus earn money for clothes and food and shelter" of it all. It's not terribly polished, mostly just Hob expressing his resentment, but there's a stubborn little current of hope running through the thing.

Death is charmed. Dream is not. Death decides she's going to use the family money to pay for Hob to attend college, and ropes Dream into the plan. Dream ends up agreeing to meet with Hob occasionally (Death pitches it as 'I think you should get to know him before passing judgment', Dream agrees because 'I will meet with him and prove to you that this is a bad idea', and then ends up continuing to meet with Hob because he finds him fascinating.)

Hob knows nothing of this. He just gets told by the director of the orphanage that one of the trustees will pay his tuition, on the grounds that he meet once a month with the trustee's representative. Hob is ecstatic.

(In the books it's letters, not meetings, and the main character writes letters to her benefactor while also getting to know him in person, not realizing they're both the same man. Which could be an interesting angle but I am sticking with closer-to-Sandman-canon for the moment)

So Hob spends his first few months at college having the time of his life, having all these experiences he's never gotten to have like "his own room" and "clothes that aren't hand-me-downs" and "playing A Sport". He meets with Dream the first time and spends it telling Dream how exciting and wonderful it is having heater in his bedroom and playing cards with his dorm-mates. Dream is a little stupefied that he can find so much pleasure in something so mundane. And then Hob starts talking about his work with the school newspaper, just as enthusiastically if with a certain degree of "this will never go anywhere" sheepishness. Dream, reluctantly, is charmed.

They keep meeting over the course of Hob's time at college. Hob is keeping quiet to his new friends about how he grew up, so Dream is the only one who knows, and the only one Hob talks to about how lonely it is not having family to write him letters and see him for holidays. Dream actually finds himself opening up to Hob in turn (although he leaves out the bit where he is related to Hob's benefactor, not just a coworker.)

The meetings become less "Hob gives a progress report about his degree" and more "they're meeting for the sake of seeing each other" as the years go on. It's a very gradual change- the meetings go from mostly just Hob talking, to Dream offering him advice, to more and more of a conversation. Hob opens up about how grim his childhood was and Dream finds himself opening up in turn. They initially meet up in some on-campus meeting room, then move to various cafes and restaurants in the area, and then to Dream just taking Hob to see various museums and plays he never had the chance to experience before. Eventually he like. Invites Hob to stay with him over the summer, since Hob has nowhere else to go.

And Hob thought Dream was gorgeous from the moment he saw him, obviously, and only falls harder and harder as they get closer. But for all that their meetings have started to become more and more like dates, Dream's never once made a move. They have, however, been in situations where it very much seemed like Dream was about to make a move, and then all of a sudden got ridiculously, chaperone-formal. So that's confusing.

Meanwhile, Dream is falling more and more in love with every conversation, but he's convinced himself that His Love Is Poison and Hob deserves better than him. He's not. Good at staying away from Hob, though- at this point he is entirely just meeting up with Hob because he likes him, it has nothing to do with the Mysterious Benefactor thing, and yes, Hob has managed to coax this piece of information out of him.

And as this is going on, Hob's started getting gifts from his Mysterious Benefactor. At first it was just a "his tuition and living expenses are paid" deal, but then after he gets sick and has to miss a meeting with Dream, his benefactor sends him flowers. And after that the gifts start to pick up, a piece of jewelry here, an interesting book there, until Hob is being showered with gifts at all times- clothes, food, supplies for whatever weird hobby he's picked up this month, you name it. It's always something relevant to his interests, but in a vague enough way that he assumes Dream's been mentioning "oh yes, Hob's decided he's into soap carving now" to his benefactor every so often. And Dream is fairly scrupulous about asking, on the benefactor's behalf, if he likes whatever gift, so clearly that's how this mysterious person is getting an idea of his tastes.

(Dream is sending the gifts himself, with his own money. He thought that would be an outlet for his feelings while still keeping some distance between him and Hob. It did not work!)

And then, just after Hob's graduation, he suggests to Dream that they start officially dating/courting/just get married, and Dream turns him down (because Hob deserves better than him, although he doesn't give Hob that explanation, just a refusal).

They each go off to nurse a broken heart.

Hob had only officially met Death, and been introduced to her as his benefactor, at his graduation, but they keep talking afterwards, which means that Death eventually works out that Dream had been spending a lot more time with Hob than she'd ever expected, and apparently? Had been buying Hob gifts? As her?????

So she confronts Dream about that whole deal, Dream admits to her that yes, he's in love with Hob, but Hob deserves better than him, will be happier without him, and she's like "yeah you're very wrong there I talked to him a few days ago he is miserable without you." And maybe, to keep with the book, she mentions that Hob got injured in some sort of stupid accident recently.

Dream drops everything he's been doing to go to Hob and apologize. Hob's got like. A broken arm or something, but Dream was expecting the worst and there is a tear-streaked reunion.

And then Dream admits to who he is, that he's the one who's been buying Hob all the gifts, that he does love Hob, he does want a relationship with him, if Hob can find it in himself to take him back...

He doesn't finish explaining before Hob tells him of course he does, he'd have waited for Dream for centuries.

And they live happily ever after and found an orphanage that actually treats the orphans well the end.

Anon this is adorable 🥹🥹 and you gave me a new story to add to my reading list! I love stories that are made up wholly or partly of letters, I think it's such a wonderful way to construct a narrative and I WISH contemporary authors used the style more often! I think that the letters from Hob’s pov would be so funny, as he experiences all kinds of new things and shows Dream a new perspective on the world.

Keeping with the story, it would be very funny if Hob cheekily addresses his benefactor as "daddy". This makes Dream very flustered, and of course Hob keeps on calling him that after they're together. It still makes Dream blush!

Thank you for telling us this story, anon, I think you've created a delightful little drabble here. I'm so glad that you shared it with us!

[slowburningechoes]

Have you seen "The Boys Next Door"? Because I would love to read your opinions on the portrayal of Barry Kempler's schizophrenia, since you have a psychology background

Ty in advance if you decide to do it <3

YES!!! i did have the opportunity to watch The Boys Next Door! overall, I was impressed with the film, especially since it was from 1996.

personally, my clinical and research focus area is trauma rather than severe mental illness like schizophrenia, but i have had many clients present with psychosis and actually just started working with someone with newly developed and early management schizophrenia.

so — when I watch TBND, I really thought of Barry through a trauma lens.

not only is he reported presenting with symptoms of schizophrenia (delusions, disorganized speech at times, eventually catatonia and flat affect - no hallucinations that I remember), but he has a SIGNIFICANT history of complex trauma which we pick up on when his dad comes to visit. i definitely think Barry would meet criteria for some kind of trauma related disorder as well, likely PTSD with dissociative symptoms. when we hear him learn that his father will be coming, his symptoms worsen (on top of not taking his meds). we see him sit in the bathroom, curled up like a child. he spends more time alone and smoking. he seems anxious when his dad arrives and after the horror of that visit, he is extremely dysregulated and ends up in severe “freeze” with catatonic and dissociative symptoms, which leads to his hospitalization.

the boys and his social worker act as stable attachments for him, which is what we call a “corrective emotional experience” but when his father shows up with all his expectations and anger, it is overwhelming.

i truly believe that without Barry’s long-term relational trauma, his symptoms of schizophrenia would likely be more easily managed. his negative relationship with his father and various forms of emotional/psychological (and likely physical) abuse compound an already challenging diagnosis.

personally, i think Bobby did an excellent job demonstrating some pretty intense symptoms — especially those related to trauma. as someone with ptsd myself (in partial remission woohoo!) and has worked with people who have severe trauma related symptoms, i saw that reflected in his performance, particularly leading up to his dad’s arrival and following the golf incident when he is there.

i adore Barry Klemper!

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

📢 ANNOUNCEMENT: April Fools Pranks Prohibited

To all staff, students, and visitors,

We regret to announce a new policy following the unfortunate fallout from an April Fools' prank gone awry. While the Gallifrey Institute for Learning values creativity and humour, the use of temporal technology in pranks is strictly prohibited without prior approval.

Incident Overview:

On Earth's April 1st, an individual adjusted the temporal stabilisers on the Chancellor's chair, intending to make the chair move a few seconds ahead of its occupant. The chair is now permanently unstuck in time, materialising randomly across the Institute and delivering fragmented snippets of the Chancellor's speeches from various historical and future moments.

Impact:

Spontaneous Applause Confusion: A fragment of the Chancellor's speech from a future award ceremony led several staff members to mistakenly stand and applaud mid-meeting.

Embarrassing Anecdotes: The chair has begun materialising during events to announce deeply personal facts about Rassilon's daily life.

Research Interruption: The chair appeared mid-experiment in the Temporal Sciences Wing, colliding with sensitive equipment and accidentally generating a one-second time loop. Some researchers are now perpetually one second behind everyone else.

Policy Reminder:

Pranks involving temporal, psionic, or advanced Gallifreyan technology require a minimum of three approvals:

The Vice-Chancellor.

The Technical Oversight Committee.

The Head of Temporal Safety and Regulation.

Failure to obtain these approvals will result in disciplinary action.

Request for Information:

Anyone with knowledge of the individual(s) responsible for this incident is encouraged to report to the Vice-Chancellor immediately. Your cooperation will ensure the safety and functionality of our shared spaces.

Let's work together to maintain the dignity of our Institute—and keep all furniture securely tethered to this timeline.

Thank you for your understanding.

Announcements by GIL

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[political-us]

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has engaged in several actions to censor or restrict media outlets:

1. Barring the Associated Press (AP) from Presidential Events: In February 2025, the Trump administration prohibited AP journalists from covering events in the Oval Office and traveling on Air Force One. This decision was in response to the AP’s refusal to adopt the administration’s directive to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” in their reporting. 

2. Canceling Subscriptions to Major News Outlets: The State Department, under President Trump’s directive, canceled subscriptions to prominent news organizations, including The New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, and Bloomberg News. This move was part of a broader initiative to reduce government spending on media subscriptions deemed non-essential. 

3. Investigations into Media Organizations: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed by President Trump, revived investigations into alleged bias by major networks such as CBS, ABC, and NBC. Additionally, the FCC initiated probes into National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) regarding their sponsorships, with recommendations to halt federal funding for these public broadcasters. 

4. Manipulation of Language in Official Communications: The Trump administration has been noted for intentionally altering language in official communications to advance its agenda. Examples include rebranding offshore drilling as an “energy emergency” and renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” Such linguistic changes have been criticized as attempts to reshape societal narratives and historical facts. 

These actions have raised concerns among journalists and free speech advocates, who view them as potential infringements on press freedom and the First Amendment.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Donald Padgett at The Advocate:

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued an ultimatum to transgender service members this afternoon, advising them to voluntarily resign by June 6, 2025, or face eventual involuntary termination. He released the statement in a post to social media two days after he denigrated trans service members in a speech to special forces operators, saying, “No more dudes in dress. We’re done with the s**t.” Hegseth referenced Trump’s executive order and policies barring trans service members from serving in the military in today’s video statement. “It was challenged in court, and, of course, we appealed. And two days ago at the Supreme Court, our policy was upheld,” Hegseth said. “And so we’re going to continue to advance that policy here at the Defense Department. So, in accordance with the policy now reinstated, service members who have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily. There’s a timeline here, and eventually, involuntarily if necessary." The official directive provided more specificity to the new directive. "The eligibility window to self-identify for voluntary separation is extended to June 6, 2025, for Active Component Service members and July 7, 2025, for Reserve Component Service members,” the directive states. Those service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation will undergo immediate processing for their discharges. Hegseth also left no doubt about the speed and seriousness of the administration’s resolve in banning transgender warriors from the U.S. military, warning he will initiate “involuntary separation processes” for those who have not yet resigned. The Pentagon will now begin moving up to 1,000 out transgender service members out of the military in addition to the option to self-identify, the Associated Press reports.

DUI Hire Pete Hegseth to trans troops: resign by June 6th or face involuntary termination.

Hey Hegseth, go fuck yourself with a dildo!

[snakebites-and-ink]

Ember

Prompt

When you live for centuries, it’s easy to get bored.

Truth be told, that’s why I let them approach, when I smelled two humans outside of my cave. Not out of any particular sense of mercy towards those who would invade my home, but because I was bored enough to entertain this.

At least one of them was wounded. Even before they came into view, I could tell by the tang of iron in the air and the uneven rhythm to the steps.

The wounded human entered the main cavern where I lay, clutching a bundle in his arms. He was a soldier, wearing the colors of the current local human kingdom.

He was leaving a trail of blood on my floor. I might have flamed him for that if I hadn’t already decided to see how this would play out.

He fell to his knees, even though it pained him. A nice show of respect.

“Please, great dragon,” he implored, his breath labored, “take care of the princess. There is nowhere else she will be safe.”

I watched him with glittering eyes. Humans always draw back when they meet my gaze: they can recognize a predator when they see one.

But he showed only the slightest hesitation, perhaps too close to death to fear what more I might do to him. “Please, she is innocent. The war is lost. They’ll kill her for fear she’ll threaten their reign. But she doesn’t need to take the throne, please, just let her live.”

I wasn’t moved by his speech. Things die all the time, innocent or not, and if the humans—barbarians that they were—wanted to get rid of each other, that was far from my concern.

But his heroism touched something in me. Selflessness, as he had climbed up a mountain with this little thing instead of getting his wounds tended to. Bravery, as he had dared to enter a mighty dragon’s den and beg of me a favor. All for the tiny princess he owed no loyalty to in a new regime. That was worth something.

Besides, I was bored. Raising a human would be novel if nothing else.

“Very well,” I granted. “She shall reach human adulthood unharmed.” I delicately plucked the bundled infant from his arms with two talons.

The soldier slumped in relief, eased of his burden both literally and figuratively. He thanked me as I found a place to set the little princess down.

The soldier breathed his last not long after. I ate the body he left behind. I never had much of a taste for human flesh, but I’m not one to waste.

The soldier hadn’t told me the child’s name, and she was too young to tell me herself, so it fell to me to give her one. I called her Ember: a dignified name, fiery yet reserved. Fitting enough for a human with a dragon upbringing.

And so I cared for the little human. I drew on what knowledge I had for their needs, flying to places that I knew would not report to the new king with the questions that remained.

As dragons had no milk, I had to feed her with my blood. Dragon’s blood is a magical substance; it would have side effects, but it would provide all the nourishment she needed to grow until she was ready for solids. I cultivated more plants that were edible to humans outside my cave so that when that time came, she would have more than meats to feed upon.

I spoke to her often, even when she could not say anything sensible back. That was the best way to teach human children how to talk. Besides, it was a welcome change after having no-one to speak with at all.

As she grew, I understood why humans measured their age in years instead of decades. Her development was rapid compared to my kind.

As Ember mastered speech and locomotion, I began teaching her more advanced things. I passed on the highlights of the knowledge I’d gained in my many centuries, and though she could not fly, I taught her to stalk and hunt as it was possible to do from the ground.

An almost familial affection blossomed, and before long our relationship grew to be more than a promise to a dead human.

It didn’t seem long before Ember had reached the beginning of her third decade, adulthood for a human.

She’d grown into a strong and beautiful young woman. Her mind was sharp enough to make up for her lack of claws. Her body was fit and powerful, honed by years of hunting and living next to wild lands. Having taken dragon’s blood into her as a child, her eyes were keen even in darkness, her lungs filtered out smoke more effectively, and her flesh stood up to fire and heat, though it was not a perfect immunity as scales would grant.

And it was time to trade out protection for freedom, if she wanted that. She’d figured out long ago that she wasn’t a dragon by blood, but I had kept her with me, determined she make it to adulthood before risking what the other humans might do to her.

Now, I invited her to go to a nearby village and meet with human society. She was excited. She went.

I couldn’t come with, for a dragon can’t hide among humans. Those days were nerve-wracking: I feared with each one that passed that she wouldn’t make it back.

But finally, she returned in one piece, and with stories to tell.

The stories were not pretty ones. The people of this kingdom were unhappy. The conqueror who had seized the throne was a vicious tyrant, ignoring the principles of justice, treating the people of this kingdom as second to his first one, and putting heavy loads on the backs of most for the benefit of a privileged few. Ember wanted to help them.

I pondered this. “You can do much good for them, but you are not ready yet.”

I explained at last the full truth of her bloodline, and that she could challenge the king’s hold on the throne. And once I had extracted a solemn promise that she would not do anything foolish in the meantime, I left. I flew across the world in search of the things she would need in order to help her people: knowledge and wisdom. I came back with every book I could carry on leadership, strategy, philosophy, and justice, as well as verbal accounts from those courageous enough to speak with me.

And Ember studied. She learned, she pondered, she grew. She also practiced fighting and drawing upon the abilities she’d gained as a child, though it was understood that these things were secondary to good leadership.

As her fourth decade dawned, we agreed she was ready.

I offered to help her, but she said it would be better in the eyes of the people if she did it herself. But I waited hidden nearby in case she should need me.

She did alright on her own, though, at least at first. She snuck past the guards and into the palace undetected. After all, she’d learned how to stalk from the top predator.

She made it all the way to the throne room, where the tyrant sat. But that was where the security was strongest. There was inadequate opportunity to remain hidden in her approach to the king, and she was sorely outnumbered by the guards.

But she did not give up her quest. A dragon does not raise a coward.

She glared at the conqueror through darkly glittering eyes, and the humans who saw her gaze drew back slightly. They can recognize a predator even if she resembles them.

“I am Ember, lost princess and rightful ruler of this kingdom. I have come to reclaim my birthright.” Her voice and stance alike were strong; she did not waver.

She charged at the king, and his guards charged at her. Ember put up a good fight. Though she had but thin nails instead of claws and flattened human teeth instead of fangs, she was skilled and she was strong. She was determined and even vicious when she had to be.

But she was still too human, and even she could not beat all of them at once.

They caught my Ember, but she did not call for me yet.

As she was cruelly gripped by the arms and wrestled to her knees, one of the humans announced, “You have committed treason by attempting to claim the throne, threatening and attempting to attack the king. The punishment for this is death, though the accused may choose the method.”

And Ember smiled. “Burning,” she declared.

Though they didn’t expect someone to choose to be burned, the humans honored their tradition of letting the one executed decide the means. They built a pyre and tied Ember to the center. They drew a crowd to witness what would happen to those who defied the tyrant. They set the pyre ablaze.

Ember smiled as the flames climbed up to flesh blessed by dragon’s blood. Though her immunity was imperfect, she only needed the ropes to burn faster than her skin. And burn they did, allowing her to break free.

She stepped down from the pyre, fire blazing around her but leaving no more than gentle kisses on her skin. The humans stared in awe and exclaimed in wonder.

And Ember announced herself to the crowd, declaring her bloodline and her rightful place on the throne. Shouts rang out that it must be true, look how she was spared from the execution!

Few dared touch her after that, and those who did were quickly overpowered. Word spread of the princess’s return and miraculous defiance of the conqueror’s violence. All the oppressed rallied at her side. And soon the kingdom was hers.

As for the tyrant, well. I never taught Ember any particular sense of mercy towards those who would invade her home…and she hasn’t lived long enough to get bored to the point of indulgence.

Over time, rumors spread of her dragon-like sight and immunity to smoke and fire. Some said it was a gift granted to aid her in her crusade against the tyrant, some that it was a blessing bestowed to compensate for her time away from her birthright. Very few guessed the truth. Thus she first she gained a reputation for being powerful.

She ousted the invaders and reinstated justice in the kingdom. Now she cares for her people as once I cared for her. So she gained a reputation for not only being strong, but just and good.

They call her the Dragon Queen, and I couldn’t be prouder.

[inbabylontheywept]

"I think we underestimated the human population by eight or nine orders of magnitude."

The war room was reeling. The human population had been estimated in the mere hundred billion range. They should barely have had enough of an economy to field two light cruisers, least of all the goddamn armada that was ravaging the inner worlds. After the alpha strike, the human flotilla should’ve been completely crippled. Instead the number of ships they were fielding kept growing.

Tan-Hauser was the first target struck by a human attack, and they reported seventeen craft before they lost comms. Attican was hit just three days after that, but their reports already showed numbers above ninety. Any doubts that the fleet was growing were eliminated when Outpost Batan reported 1,217 FTL pings two days before the loss of Kira.

The number reported was so big it was written off as a sensor malfunction. Twenty-five billion souls lost, all because nobody in the war room could face reality.

They were going to face it now. The Kirarian in front of them was the primary sensor engineer for the Batan outpost, a specialist with more expertise in analyzing space lanes than warships. He’d been up for at least the last two days, poring over the sensor data, and only now was ready to begin to share his findings.

From the pain in his multifaceted eyes, it was clear he was still reeling from the loss of his homeworld.

Seeing that he had the room’s attention, he began to speak. The translation units each member of the war council had implanted experienced a moment of lag as they struggled to convert the almost musical tonal humming of the Kirarian tongue to more common galactic speech.

"The simplest data that can be analyzed from an FTL ping is the distance that the ship traveled before dropping to sublight. The contracted space in front of the craft traps small particles, even light itself for a short period, compressing its wavelength and then releasing it when the field disengages."

The war room nodded along. The explanation was mildly technical, but anyone that had traveled on an FTL shuttle before knew the hazards of exiting FTL directly in front of your home destination. Blasting your home station with a wave of alpha, beta, and ultraviolet rays was hardly a warm welcome.

The engineer continued.

“The… issue with this is that we’re used to the majority of the ping being in the UV spectrum. We aren’t entirely sure what the spectrum of the signals we got from the ships were because Batan station can only detect up into the low gamma range, but that’s still what the majority of the human’s FTL pings were detected in. That’s at least ten billion times the frequency that we’re used to. Since the frequency of the burst can be roughly modeled by multiplying the mean radiation per unit distance by the length of the path, that implies one of two things: That the human ships are either traveling through areas with ten billion times the standard background flux, or that they are traveling extragalactic distances.”

The engineer paused for a few seconds at that statement. The pain of loss still shone in his gemstone eyes, but something more immediate was beginning to take center stage: Fear.

“Because the craft is essentially throwing… well, normally it would be the next three or four days worth of cosmic background radiation at you. In our case it’s more like several decades. But because it’s just giving you an advance on your normal cosmic background radiation, you can track the void in the next several days' worth of background noise to determine the ship's approach vector. The 1,217 crafts that arrived weren’t coming from the same spot. There were actually hundreds of converging vectors, but more importantly…”

He trailed off, a small 3D model of the local space appearing in the center of the holo table. A spiked ball of vectors protruded from the galactic disk, each piercing cleanly through his former homeworld.

His voice cracked a little, the hum turning into a hiss. The translator tech paused a moment too, struggling to convey the subtle emotional cues into the message.

“They’re all coming off the galactic disk. That doesn’t just mean that we’re surrounded, that doesn’t just mean that we’re outnumbered… It means that each attack that we’ve seen up to this point is from an entirely separate group. What we’ve been mistaking for fleets, I believe, are simply the beginning trickles of their exploratory forces. Each of the sites that they’ve targeted hasn’t been of significant strategic importance; they’ve just been sites with unusually strong output signals. I think they’re just using our transmission stations as makeshift beacons for their FTL jumps." He took a deep breath to steady himself before providing his final thought. "I think we underestimated the size of the human population by eight or nine orders of magnitude.”

There was a heavy silence in the war room as that last sentence was processed. The engineer was already out the door before he heard the panic begin to set in.

Part of him felt a little guilty. It would’ve probably been kinder for them to go out not knowing what was about to hit them. Still, it wasn’t often you could force people with this much power to realize that they’d just lost everything.

There was a bitter satisfaction in that.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Silver Lining 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, speech impediment, bullying and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

Characters: silverfox!Bucky Barnes

Summary: You have an unpleasant encounter with an older man.

Note: I was going to add this to the bookstore au but realised Bucky is a side character in Steve's and not old so....

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging.

You stand on the corner, head down, book in hand, right at the crux of the tall shelves. You squint at the pages, doing your best to block out the figures and noises all around you. You remind yourself it's okay to take up space when you need it.

As you close the book and slip it back onto the shelf, you slide out another, ignoring the lingering shadow, looming closer like a vulture. A year ago you would sidle away empty-handed to save yourself the awkward tension. Not anymore. You're done being a pushover.

As you check the price inside the book jacket, the customer nearest you clears his throat and coughs. You sense his impatience. He wants you to move. Too bad. Lisa, your therapist said it's okay to hold your ground. You'll be happy to report back that you did just that.

You keep the book, it's not a bad price, but you're looking for something a bit different. You keep browsing, the customer next to you edging ever nearer. You hold your breath, static in your ears as you fight the urge to retreat.

You deliberately take your time reading the next synopsis. The customer, a man, brushes his arm against yours as he reaches for a book. He clears his throat again as if to say ‘move!’

You refuse. You switch books again. You feel his proximity radiating towards you. You plant your feet, focusing on the words but not understanding a single one.

You give up. You tried. You made it that far but it's too much. He wins.

You set the book in your hand on top of the other and sidle away, pretending to peruse the shelves on your other side.

You turn to face the opposite shelves of books as he sighs. Loudly. You get it. You took up his precious time.

As you put your head down and grab another book, this one random, merely an excuse to peek over at him. Typical. Male, 50s, silver-haired, stocky but not out of shape. That certain type that is the scourge of any retail environment.

As if he can sense your sneaky glimpse, he peers over, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening. He looks back to the book in his hand and flips it over. He sets his feet wide, taking up at least twice as much room as you had.

You don't know why he gave you that look. This is a store open to the general public. People are going to get in the way. You just don't get why other people can't just chill out. Whatever, in twenty years when you're his age, you hope you're not a total asshole.

You leave the aisle, taking a deep breath as you break free of the tension. You stroll along the next lazily, taking your own advice as you calm down. Don't let him get to you. Like Lisa says, you can only control yourself and how you react.

You make a slow advance through the store like a Sherman take sneaking up on the Wehrmacht. Sure your references aren't the most relevant but you're not worried about entertaining anyone else. Love yourself first and all that.

You go to the counter and checkout, grabbing a cute koala pen before paying. You take the paper bag from the cashier with a thank you and tally up your spending. You could go for a treat without breaking the bank.

You sweep out the front doors, buttoning up the top of your coat as the winter greets you frigidly. You cross the lot to the cafe in the same plaza. Inside, the ambiance is warm and soft, the lights dimmed, the tables low, and the aromatic coffee wafting delightfully. You greet the barista with a slight stutter; you're still working on that.

"White hot chocolate," you order the season special.

"Would you like to make it candy cane?" The girl behind the till asks. "No extra cost."

"Hmmm, uh, s-sure! Why not? Tis the s-season, r-right?" You try to smile through your embarrassment. You get a little tongue tied. Well, a lot.

The door jangles loudly as you move towards the pick-up window. You bounce on your feet anxiously and catch yourself humming to the holiday music. You know this one. You know most of them but your family always made fun of you for that.

You admire the white Christmas tree set up by the window, not paying attention as voices mingle through the cafe. You sense someone behind you as they join the queue for pick-up. Maybe you'll stay in. You're in no hurry to go home. You're sure no one would miss you anyway.

"Dark roast," the barista sets out a cup of black coffee, "Bucky."

You try to move out of the way of the customer behind you only for them to move the same way. You knock into them before they can reach their coffee and they growl. You skirt back and face them.

"S-s-sorry, I didn't m-mean to," you stammer out, biting down as you recognise the stranger.

He scowls and grabs his coffee just as your name is called next along with your order. He puffs out a nasty scoff and eyes you. You raise your chin. You're not going to lose this one.

"Watch it," he warns as he steps past you and puts his cup down at the stand where they have the diary and sugar set out.

You roll your eyes and take your cup, going to the other end of the counter to grab a plastic lid. As you do, he mirrors you and his hand comes down on yours. You retracts, pulling free several lids as they fall over the counter. He huffs again.

"Hot chocolate," he mutters as he pops a lid onto the brim of his cup, "shoulda guessed."

You blink and frown, swallowing as your heartbeat picks up. Passive aggression, that's easy, that's woven into your genetics, but actual confrontation? That's another thing.

"W-what d-does that mean?" You challenge as you clean up the lids and put them back on the stack.

"Who goes to a cafe to get sugar?" He snorts, "I'd also guess the military books are for show too."

"Huh?" You scrunch your nose up. You don't need to explain yourself to this man.

"Leave the heavy lifting to the big boys, sweetie," he gives a trite smirk and turns on his heel, "and get some glasses."

You stare after him dumbfounded. What a grump. You get it, it's stressful being out in public but you hardly think you earned all that.

"W-well," you call out after him, not able to stop yourself as your heart surges, "m-maybe you should get g-glasses, old m-m-man!"

He stops right by the door. His shoulders square but he doesn't look back. He pushes outside and you're left to stand in the echo of your lame insult. You refuse to look around yourself, instead turning to flee into the customer bathroom. You'll hide there until the coast is clear.