#Germany Under 21

[sebnameyourcar]

wait would you u want to explain the context of multi 21?

MULTI-21: A HISTORY LESSON

MODERN ASSUMPTIONS:

it has been over a decade since the 2013 malaysian grand prix. as the years have gone on, people have forgotten, or smoothed out, the minutiae of it.

when people talk about multi-21 nowadays, it tends to fall under three headings:

• evil supervillain seb was addicted to winning and didn’t care about his team. selfish emotionless robot. got booed for a year and deserved it

• cunty brat seb was a disobedient child and refused to listen to his team and faced no consequences ever because he was red bulls special little boytoy

• poor mark webber was betrayed by his team as he had been for five years. the win was his and seb stole it

but of course, nothing is ever so simple

BACKGROUND

by 2013, sebastian and mark had been teammates for 5 years, and part of the extended red bull “family” for 7.

when they became teammates in 2009, mark was the older, more experienced head. seb was the young wunderkind who already had a race win under his belt, more than mark had.

(ironically, mark won his first race in germany in 2009. seb wouldn’t win his home GP until 2013. seb has since called mark’s 2009 german gp win as one of the most impressive drives he’s ever seen.)

anyway. let’s go back in time. it’s japan. it’s 2007. and it is raining. it’s lap 45, under the safety car after alonso crashed out. the rain is TORRENTIAL, and mark (red bull) is running in 2nd. he’s so sick that he’s vomiting in his helmet. seb (toro rosso baby. 20 years old) was 3rd. hamilton was leading, and braked quite dangerously. seb was caught out by this, and crashed into the back of mark. both of them had been running in the podium places, and both had to retire. mark called seb a kid without experience fucking it up. seb cried in his garage. this is the first time they crash. mark later referred to it as the first time they made love on track because he’s a freak

fast forward to turkey 2010. they are teammates now, and have been for over a year. fuji 2007 had largely been forgotten. water under the bridge. they are fighting for the championship against ferrari and mclaren. mark got pole, but around lap 40 seb had caught up to him as mark had to save fuel. they “merged towards each other” (generous). mark didn’t give seb enough space, seb was too over-eager. people will have different opinions. unless you’re helmut marko, who will always back seb, since seb is a product of the red bull academy whereas mark wasn’t. mark went on to finish on the podium, seb had to retire. seb was PISSED! (sexy). this is seen as the start of the “rivalry” by many.

britain 2010. aka the mark-webber-slams-water-on-desk moment. seb was given the new front wing from marks car for qualifying because he was a better qualifier because his had broken in fp3. he would ultimately get a puncture in the race, whilst webber with the old wing came first, and graced us with the “not bad for a no.2 driver” radio message.

so, where are we by summer 2010 and spring 2011? fuji was no one’s fault really, turkey was six of one half a dozen of the other, but mark felt the team favoured seb. britain made that feeling CONCRETE in marks mind. then seb won the title in 2010 after not leading until the final race of the season. in the press conference before abu dhabi 2010, seb kept getting asked if he’d let mark past it if would win mark the championship, and he kept evading the answer. see, mark had been ahead in the championship, but he qualified 7th while seb got pole and won. so, come 2011, webber was convinced the team favoured seb. however, seb was by far and away the better driver.

so. britain 2011. an underrated moment of the vettel webber rivalry. mark qualified on pole, with seb p2. seb quickly took the lead in the race. later on in the race after some botched pit stops and drama, mark was close to seb. red bull told mark NOT to pass seb.

mark ignored this team order. he tried to pass his teammate, but ultimately failed to do so. it’s often forgetting in vettel/webber rivalry lore that mark was the first of them to ignore a direct team order. the difference was he just wasn’t able to make the overtake. here are two interesting quotes from just after the race:

and now. brazil 2012. another forgotten multi-21 backstory. it was the last race of the season, and seb was fighting for his third straight championship, only alonso could possibly beat him. mark qualified 3rd, seb 4th, and alonso 8th. seb had a rocky start to the race, which resulted in him being hit from the back & spun around. he pulled off the mother of all recovery drives to win the championship. alls well that ends well right? wrong. horner admitted a few years ago that seb felt that mark was to blame for the rocky start by forcing seb into the wall. horner even went as far as to say that this lack of teamwork was directly in sebs mind when malaysia 2013 came around. that that was seb’s revenge.

conspiracy theorists will say that mark forced seb towards the wall because he wanted his mate alonso to win the championship over his teammate. definitely possible but not confirmed.

so. here we are. malaysia 2013. it’s been 5 years of crashes, ignored team orders (mark), favouritism (seb) and finally an almost championship-ruining shove towards a wall.

seb qualified on pole, mark 5th. but mark took the lead after the first round of pitstops. around lap 46, seb was gaining on mark, who was on old hard tyres. team orders came through for seb not to fight mark. multi 21 literally means that car no 2 should stay in position ahead of car no 1. just as mark ignored team orders in britain 2011, seb ignored them here. the only difference was seb actually got past. mark was furious (“yep that’s good teamwork!”) seb, a bad liar, was hilarious (“i was really scared… all of a sudden he was moving… i had to…”) horner was regretting most of his life choices (“this is silly seb come on.”)

seb won the race. the most awkward of all cool down rooms ensued (“multi 21 seb. yeah? multi 21”) seb chugged an entire bottle of water. poor lewis hamilton just trying to disappear into thin air. underrated moment is you can see a clip of seb trying to explain something to mark and neither of them are having a good time. on the podium interviews after mark said “seb will have protection from the team as always” - harkening back to his long-felt belief that the team favoured seb, yet ignoring his own history of ignoring team orders, and ignoring brazil 2012.

seb would later apologise.

…

three days later seb would rescind that apology.

(“i was racing i was faster i passed him i won.”)

at this stage, seb had been the dominant driver for four years running and some crowds had grown annoyed at him, so used this as an excuse to boo him at basically every race for the summer swing of the season. seb spoke at the end of 2013 about how hard this was for him, and how he was thankful for the support of his family and girlfriend during the hard times. it’s important to remember that seb was only in his mid 20s when all this booing and controversy was happening. it’s a lot to shoulder, especially when you’re only doing what you’ve always done, what you’re being paid to do: winning.

mark would retire at the end of the 2013 season, though apparently he had already made up his mind before malaysia.

seb would stay at red bull for one more year before moving to ferrari.

when asked in 2022, seb said he wouldn’t change what he did in malaysia 2013. and in my opinion, he’s right.

unlike the mclaren clusterfuck of hungary 24, there was YEARS of history between vettel and webber before multi-21. grudges, crashes, hurts, pride, friendship, rivalry, championships lost and won. this was the cumulation of their entire careers to date, all of their mistakes and their motivations for better or for worse.

basically, it was never so simple as “seb ignored team orders because he was an arrogant brat” or “poor mark the team never liked him” it’s… well it’s all of the above. cheers for reading. fuck me i went on a bit

[gunsandspaceships]

Tony Stark’s achievements

Childhood:

“Brilliant and unique mind”

At age 4 built his first circuit board

At age 6 built his first engine

Cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare

Went to college at 14

Built cool smart robots (Dum-E and U) when he was a teen

At 17 graduated summa cum laude from MIT

Polyglot

Before Afghanistan:

“Da Vinci of our time”

Became an owner and CEO of Stark Industries at 21

Successfully ran the company for decades

Advanced the world of technology, not only in weaponry and robotics but also:

created advanced AI J.A.R.V.I.S.

created holographic interface technology

created repulsor technology

Participated in charity

In and after Afghanistan:

“I’m sorry, I’m not Tony Stark”

Survived an open-heart surgery in a cave, without general anesthesia

Lived with, in fact, a debilitating wound, shrapnel, and a huge and dangerous technological device in his body for years and was willing and capable of doing not only his usual work but also being a superhero and doing all these next things...

Did not give up under torture and fought with his captors

Invented and built a miniaturized Arc Reactor, in a cave, with a box of scraps

Invented and built Iron Man armor, in the same cave, with the same box of scraps

Escaped from captivity by himself (with help from Yinsen, but without any armed assistance)

Became an expert in piloting and driving

Saved people in Gulmira

Saved a USAF pilot

Probably the best hacker in the world, was able to easily hack networks of the Pentagon, US government, AIM, and SHIELD

Fought with Iron Monger after nearly died. Defeated him and saved many lives. Was ready to die for that

Built many more different Iron Man armors

Fought terrorists between IM and IM2 (IM2 tie-in comics)

Saved a submarine crew (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

Saved a woman from a fire (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home)

“Stabilized East-West relations” (IM2 - newspapers in Vanko’s home), so the world was “enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years”

Organized Stark Expo

Was able to keep Iron Man armor in his safe hands despite the government’s and HYDRA’s attempts to take it for themselves

Defeated Ivan Vanko in Monaco

(Re)Discovered a new element

 Synthesized it, by building a particle accelerator, at home

Revolutionized energy industry and science. Gave clean energy to the world

Defeated Vanko in New York with Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper and saved many lives again

Saved Peter Parker (IM2)

Made it so that the Abomination would not leave prison and join the Avengers

Built Stark/Avengers Tower powered by Arc Reactor technology

Saved Steve Rogers and many civilians in Germany from Loki

Was able to fight with Thor on equal terms

Biggest brain on Earth, arguably - in the Universe:

best scientist on the team, in SHIELD, on Earth, in the Universe

expert in nuclear, particle, and quantum physics

was able to learn very quickly – became an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics in one night

Successfully tracked Tesseract by its gamma radiation with Bruce

Saved Helicarrier with the Avengers and SHIELD agents on board, almost died

Saved Rogers from a merc right after that

Fought with Chitauri, killed many of them, saved a lot of people

Was able to blow up a Leviathan by himself

Saved New York City by redirecting a nuke to the wormhole

Saved the world by destroying Thanos’ Chitauri army, almost died again

Founded The United States Department of Damage Control to clean up after battles

Rebuilt Stark Tower into Avengers Tower and gave each team member their own quarters

One of the best biologists and biomedical engineers on Earth, even if it’s not his main area of expertise:

helped Maya with Extremis back in 1999, because knew more in her own field, and even didn’t remember that

was head hunted by Aldrich Killian to work on Extremis with/instead of Maya, who was the leading expert in tissue regeneration

improved and stabilized Extremis, so it became safe regenerative technology, and with it…

cured Pepper

healed extensive injuries in his chest

invented and implanted devices for remote control of his suits (into his forearm in IM3, and most probably into his brain for Mark L armor in Infinity War)

invented build-in diagnostic system in his suits

Invented many devices for protection purposes (ex. bomb disposal)

A capable detective. Figured out the cause of explosions in IM3 on his own

Saved Pepper instead of himself by putting Mark 42 on her during the attack on his Malibu mansion

Survived the attack with a barely working prototype suit. Shot down a helicopter with a piano

Was able to fight with enhanced fire-breathing regenerating terrorists without armor and weapons in Rose Hill. In handcuffs

Knowledgeable and skilled in medicine:

saved a kid with his arc reactor in a deleted scene from IM3, selflessly pulling it out of his chest and performing defibrillation under electric shocks

knew how to recognize hyperglycemia when Harley was eating 3rd bawl of candies

closed his wound in Infinity War with nanoparticles

performed first-aid on Bruce after his snap

Built a lot of stuff from random things he bought in a store for the assault on the Mandarin's mansion. In a motel

Successfully stormed the Mandarin's mansion full of armed and huge security guys with dogs. Alone. Without his armor

Successfully escaped captivity in the Mandarin's mansion with just a few pieces of armor on

Saved all the people who fell from the Air Force One

Stormed Roxxon Norco ship with Rhodey, without a suit. With one handgun

Saved the US president

Defeated Killian and his Extremis-enhanced terrorists, saved many lives

Built quinjets

Created Iron Legion

Became the benefactor of the Avengers, provided them with everything, was a combatant, and also the team’s pilot, hacker, engineer, medic, and scientist

As an Avenger saved many lives on missions, including destroying the rest of HYDRA in AoU

With Bruce’s help created Veronica and Hulkbuster suit

Defeated a rogue Iron Legionnaire with a fork

In contrast to other team members was able to function after Wanda played with his mind

Defeated mad Hulk. Saved a lot of lives in Johannesburg

Easily hacked nuclear codes in Nexus and found J.A.R.V.I.S. “in the world’s biggest haystack”

Created advanced AI F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Many advanced AIs

Created Vision

With the Avengers defeated Ultron and his army

Evacuated people who were left in Sokovia

Saved a falling evacuation shuttle with people on it

Together with Thor saved Earth by destroying the falling Sokovia

Rebuilt Stark Compound into Avengers Compound for the team in Upstate New York

Invented several medical devices, including leg braces, blood toxicity detector

Sponsored the development of technology for psychotherapy (B.A.R.F.). Prevented it from being used for harm

Funded all the students’ projects at MIT

Did everything possible to legally, politically, and physically protect the team before, during, and after the Civil War

Was able to disarm Winter Soldier without a suit, with only one armored glove

Figured out Spider-Man’s identity

Created Spider-Man’s suits

Mentored, sponsored, and looked after Peter Parker

Saved Peter Parker (SMH). Twice

Saved the ferry from sinking

Invented nanoparticles

 “Earth’s best defender”

Went to space to save Peter, Strange and bring back Time Stone

Saved Peter Parker (IW)

Saved Strange on the Donut spaceship. Killed Ebony Maw

Cloak of Levitation chose him as his second favorite (deleted scene with Tony wearing Levi and Strange in Mark L)

Was respected by Thanos himself

Withstood when Thanos hit him with a moon

Fought Thanos, made him bleed, kept fighting even without armor

Survived a severe injury thanks to his own invention

Was able to function, tried to fix Benatar, and return home while injured and ill with an infected wound

Built a lab for Bruce and helped him to become one with Hulk (combine the best of both worlds)

Became an amazing dad

Became an expert in time travel physics

Discovered/invented (controlled) Time travel

Built a time machine

Went on Time Heist and stole Tesseract from a guarded military base

Created his own Infinity Gauntlet

Thus brought half of the universe back to existence (Bruce snapped and partially sacrificed his health, but nothing would be possible without Tony)

Saved Bruce’s arm by providing emergency medical care

Fought with Thanos again and…

Saved the whole Universe

[cheriladycl01]

Female Max Verstappen, Our Little Lioness - F1 Drivers x PlatonicF1Academy! Reader.

Plot: You are in F1 Academy after getting stuck in F3 with no progression so to get onto the scene of bigger teams you join the Academy with Rodin. Your dominance makes people call you the Mini Max Verstappen.

You'd grown up in the world of motorsports, your dad being a racing legend and your mum being a MotoGP engineer.

You grew up with heroes like Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at your doorstep. When you expressed and interest in karting at a young age your dad of course made prepartions to help you into your driving career.

And like most children of F1 drivers you had this natural talent in you. You were beating all the kids in your age range and were asked to move up. However, even with a dad known to the motorsport world people were apprehensive to take on girls in this sport.

You competed in many championships, in the UK, in the US, across Oceania and Asia. It was all a bit of a blur if you were being honest. You'd done as much as you could, in order to get yourself closer to F1. You'd driven Rally you'd done test drives in IndyCar, but getting a place in anything higher than Formula 3 seemed impossible.

So when Suzie Wolff offered you a place in the F1 Academy under an Disney Sponsor. You found it hilarious when a company you genuinely loved was wanting to support you. Your race suit was so cool having an overall Blue Colour same to the Disney + sign. And then there were characters splattered across it, ranging from Mickey to Flounder the Fish.

You loved the car as well having a similar style to your race suit being the same shade of blue. And having the Disney Logo plastered on the side.

F1 Academy was to get young women into the eye of the motorsport media, and that'd exactly what you needed. You were driving at the level of an F2 racer, and hated the fact that no-one would progress you.

So, F1 Academy should get you in the picture.

Your first race was in Jeddah, which you stormed through, winning both races there. Celebrations were great on the podium in Race 1 with, Doriane Pin and Abbi Pulling in P2 and P3 and then Race 2 with Abbi Pulling and Maya Weug on the podium with you.

You and Abbi were the same age, both 21 and you'd competed in some other championships with her before when you were younger. So sharing a podium with her twice on the first race was very special.

You were close with all the girls in the F1 Academy but none of them had seen you race and were shocked with the 13 second gap on both your races.

After that and some testing in Germany, it was time for Miami. The minute you touched down on American Soil from Lewis' jet you were so excited. You flew out the week early and Disney as your sponsors drove you up to Orlando with Abbi and Jessica as your teammates in Rodin.

You spent the week before the race going to each park and filming it for content for both Disney, as your sponsor, AMEX where you used an American Express Credit Card for each purchase you guys made as Jessica's sponsor and obviously stuff for Alpine as Abbi's.

You were out of qualifying when Lia Block spun out and went into your car from a bump on track that was later investigated and starting from P16, right at the back of the grid.

You ended up coming P3, still on the podium having made some insane over-takes and had incredible tire management throughout which made it so that you only needed one pit-stop unlike the others with two.

When it came to the second race however, you won as your second fastest lap had been allowed, so sharing a podium with Bianca and Amna. You were very close with the two of them, despite having different sponsors and being from different teams, you guys all gelled really well.

You'd left Miami in P1 of the Drivers Championship with 92 points.

Then you were invited to the Monaco Grand Prix, it was an exciting opportunity where you got to meet a lot of the drivers and constructures who knew who you were.

You also got to meet some of the current F2 drivers, people who hoped would maybe be driving with you next year. Ollie Bearman was the kindest, expressing how driving in F1 was and that it was such an exciting opportunity for him and there were talks of him going to Haas next year to prepare him for the Ferrari seat.

Then you joined the F1 group in Barcelona. It was a circuit you'd driven at before in real life. Not just online in a sim.

However, despite the June sunshine it rained and the hadn't called the flag early enough for visibility. You didn't anticipate how early Lena was going to break and you ended up skidding off into the gravel to avoid her and your race was over, no points in race one for you.

However, despite that it was still raining and you managed to come P1.

In Zandvoort you had won both your races with a 15 second time gap behind you in race one and a 8 second gap in race 2. It was a straining track however, one of your best and you'd proven that.

It was at that point that you had three teams come to you. All of them were F1 Academy teams and were proposing 2025 F2 racing for you. You'd done F3, and yes F1 Academy was a downgrade because the car was slower, but you saw no other way to get yourself on the scene.

And it was working splendidly.

Rodin, your current team, Prema and Campos had all asked if you had any 2025 plans. They were to attempt finding a way into Endurance, Rally or do F3 again, but ... F2.

You accepted the offer to take Zane Maloney's seat who was, by this point pretty set to win the championship. Good Car, Good Driver.

It was said to be annonced in Singapore that you would move into F2, and you were so excited. However, you were made to sign an NDA and couldn't tell anyone about it. You were bursting at the seems to tell someone, anyone. It was such exciting news.

Singapore came, and it was announced on media day that you'd signed a contract with Rodin Motorsport and would be promoted to F2 finally.

"Lewis, what do you think on Y/N Y/L/N moving to F2, after this F1 Academy Season?" an interviewer asks and he smiles.

"I think that F1 Academy is doings it's job really well. I've been watching Y/N for a while and it's definitely long overdue getting her into F2!" he smiles.

"And what do you think on her being referred to as the female Max Verstappen? A lioness?" he asks further making Lewis laugh.

"I'd agree with that statement, she's very strong, very dominant in F1 academy like she was in F3 where she won her championship. I think seeing her in F2 and getting her to that step closer to F1, it's important" he smiles.

"Thank you Lewis, oh here lets talk to Max! Max!" the interviewer shouts over your male counterpart.

"Hello!" he nods fixing his Red Bull hat.

"We wanted to talk to you about Y/N Y/L/N!" he asks and Max looks confused for a second.

"Oh, the Academy Driver?" he asks rubbing the towel across his face from the humidity of Singapore.

"Yes! Did you hear the news of her being promoted to F2!" he asks and Max nods.

"Yeah, I'm proud of her and a lot of people don't know it yet, but she's got lots of F1 teams fighting to get them onto their driver academy. I'd love to have her as in the Red Bull Academy, to mentor her ... as my mini me" he smiles and the interviewers nods before talking to him about the weekend ahead.

"Lando, Oscar. Hello, how are you?!"

"Hello!" Lando grins cheesily, and Oscar nods politely.

"We've just been going round asking people about the current news going around the paddock!" the interviewer asks to see if the McLaren boys are keeping up with the latest news in the paddock.

"About Y/N?" Oscar smiles happily. He and Y/N were pretty close. They'd met at a race and Y/N had ended up stealing Lily for most of the day as they watched the race and ate food. Her and Lily became really close friend after that so it wasn't uncommon for him to see you around.

"Yes! Thoughts?"

"Well, I think it just goes to show how well the F1 Academy is working to promote these young female drivers and it makes me proud of my sport that we are moving forward this way. Y/N is an insane driver and I could see her joining F1 in the next few years as and when a seat comes up. I think getting her into F2 now is really really important and I'm proud of her and everything she's doing!" Lando explains.

"I agree with Lando, it's really important her making these connections and I think she's so loved on the motorsport community that even if she doesn't make it to F1 there will be other top driving series that will be gunning for her. I hope she does get into F1 though!"

He then heads over to Carlos who smiles kindly.

"Hello Carlos!" the interviewer asked looking towards him.

"Hello, how are you!" he asks politely.

"We've been talking to your colleagues about Y/N Y/L/N!" he replied cheerily forcing the mic closer to the Spanish man.

"Ahhh she has done well, no?" he smiles thinking of the cheeky young girl that always brought him a small Tupperware box of Chili Peppers whenever they had race crossovers.

"Yes, we've had a lor of people talk about her driving ability but she's always quite cheeky with you, am i right in saying that?" he asks and Carlos laughs.

"Ahhh yes Y/N is a funny girl. She deserves everything that she has worked for thus far and more, and one day I hope i am still around in F1 to race alongside her" he nods before his PR team usher him off.

"DANIELLLLL" the interviewer shouts having to have the other Aussie in his segment before he was cut short.

"Heyyy what's up mate!" he says with his big smile, that makes anyone feel like melted honey.

"Just wanted to see if you were aware of the news of Y/N Y/L/N!" he asks and Daniel's smile widens even more.

"Oh she's a great driver right. She deserves that place in F2, and I think this is a really good step for her and other women in motorsport, I'm excited to see her progression from her onwards!" he smiles.

You watched each interview of the F1 drivers talking about you and it made tears come to your eyes, just the kind words spoken by your future colleagues and competition... it doesn't get better than that.

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul l @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @seomako @urdad-hot @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount @styl1shl1v

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The unexpected upside of global monopoly capitalism

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TODAY (Apr 10) at UCLA, then Chicago (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Here's a silver lining to global monopoly capitalism: it means we're all fighting the same enemy, who is using the same tactics everywhere. The same coordination tools that allow corporations to extend their tendrils to every corner of the Earth allows regulators and labor organizers to coordinate their resistance.

That's a lesson Mercedes is learning. In 2023, Germany's Supply Chain Act went into effect, which bans large corporations with a German presence from using child labor, violating health and safety standards, and (critically) interfering with union organizers:

https://www.bafa.de/EN/Supply_Chain_Act/Overview/overview_node.html

Across the ocean, in the USA, Mercedes has a preference for building its cars in the American South, the so-called "right to work" states where US labor law is routinely flouted and unions are thin on the ground. As The American Prospect's Harold Meyerson writes, the only non-union Mercedes factories in the world are in the US:

https://prospect.org/labor/2024-04-08-american-workers-german-law-uaw-unions/

But American workers – especially southern workers – are on an organizing tear, unionizing their workplaces at a rate not seen in generations. Their unprecedented success is down to their commitment, solidarity and shrewd tactics – all buoyed by a refreshingly pro-worker NLRB, who have workers' backs in ways also not seen since the Carter administration:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

Workers at Mercedes' factory in Vance, Alabama are trying to join the UAW, and Mercedes is playing dirty, using the tried-and-true union-busting tactics that have held workplace democracy at bay for decades. The UAW has lodged a complaint with the NLRB, naturally:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/alabama-mercedes-benz

But the UAW has also filed a complaint with BAFA, the German regulator in charge of the Supply Chain Act, seeking penalties against Mercedes-Benz Group AG:

https://uaw.org/uaw-files-charges-in-germany-against-mercedes-benz-companys-anti-union-campaign-against-u-s-autoworkers-violates-new-german-law-on-global-supply-chain-practices/

That's a huge deal, because the German Supply Chain Act goes hard. If Mercedes is convicted of union-busting in Alabama, its German parent-company faces a fine of 2% of its global total revenue, and will no longer be eligible to sell products to the German government. Chomp.

Now, the German Supply Chain Act is new, and this is the first petition filed by a non-German union with BAFA, so it's not a slam dunk. But supermajorities of Mercedes workers at the Alabama factory have signed UAW cards, and the election is going to happen in May or June. And the UAW – under new leadership, thanks to a revolution that overthrew the corrupt old guard – has its sights set on all the auto-makers in the American south.

As Meyerson writes, the south is America's onshore offshore, a regulatory haven where corporations pay minimal or no tax and are free to abuse their workers, pollute, and corrupt local governments with a free hand (no wonder American industry is flocking to these states). Meyerson: "The economic impact of unionizing the South, in other words, could almost be placed in the same category as reshoring work that had gone to China."

The German Supply Chain Act was passed with the help of Germany's powerful labor unions, in an act of solidarity with workers employed by German companies all over the world. This is that unexpected benefit to globalism: the fact that Mercedes has extrusions into both the American and German political spheres means that both American and German workers can collaborate to bring it to heel.

The same is true for antitrust regulators. The multinational corporations that are in regulators' crosshairs in the US, the EU, the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea and beyond use the same playbook in every country. That's doubly true of Big Tech companies, who literally run the same code – embodying the same illegal practices – on servers in every country.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has led the pack on convening summits where antitrust enforcers from all over the world gather to compare notes and collaborate on enforcement strategies:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cma-data-technology-and-analytics-conference-2022-registration-308678625077

And the CMA's Digital Markets Unit – which boasts the the largest tech staff of any competition regulator in the world – produces detailed market studies that turn out to be roadmaps for other territories' enforces to follow – like this mobile market study:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63f61bc0d3bf7f62e8c34a02/Mobile_Ecosystems_Final_Report_amended_2.pdf

Which was extensively referenced in the EU during the planning of the Digital Markets Act, and in the US Congress for similar legislation:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2710

It also helped enforcers in Japan:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-to-crack-down-on-Apple-and-Google-app-store-monopolies

And South Korea:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/skorea-considers-505-mln-fine-against-google-apple-over-app-market-practices-2023-10-06/

Just as Mercedes workers in Germany and the USA share a common enemy, allowing for coordinated action that takes advantage of vulnerable flanks wherever they are found, anti-monopoly enforcers are sharing notes, evidence, and tactics to strike at multinationals that are bigger than most countries – but not when those countries combine.

This is an unexpected upside to global monopolies: when we all share a common enemy, we've got endless opportunities for coordinated offenses and devastating pincer maneuvers.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all

[morbidology]

Anneliese Michel was born on September 21, 1952, in Leiblfing, Bavaria, West Germany. Raised in a devoutly Catholic family, Anneliese was described as a kind and studious girl. Her life took a drastic turn when, at the age of 16, she experienced her first seizure. She was subsequently diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and began treatment with anticonvulsant drugs. However, her condition did not improve, and she soon developed severe depression.

As her health continued to decline, Anneliese began to report seeing demonic faces and hearing voices telling her she was damned. She became increasingly convinced that she was possessed by demonic forces. Despite medical treatment, her condition worsened, and she exhibited disturbing behaviors, including self-harm, aggression, and the refusal to eat.

Frustrated with the lack of progress through conventional medical treatment, Anneliese's deeply religious family sought help from the Catholic Church. They eventually found two priests, Ernst Alt and Arnold Renz, who believed that Anneliese was indeed possessed. In September 1975, Bishop Josef Stangl granted permission for an exorcism to be performed under the Roman Ritual of 1614.

Over the next ten months, Anneliese underwent 67 exorcism sessions. During these sessions, she displayed extreme behaviors, including speaking in different voices, contorting her body, and exhibiting extraordinary strength. Despite these intense and grueling sessions, her condition continued to deteriorate.

On July 1, 1976, Anneliese Michel died in her home. An autopsy revealed that she had succumbed to severe dehydration and malnutrition, weighing just 68 pounds at the time of her death. Her knees were broken due to continuous genuflections, a common part of the exorcism ritual.

The death of Anneliese Michel led to criminal charges against her parents and the two priests who conducted the exorcisms. They were accused of negligent homicide for failing to call a doctor to address her deteriorating physical condition. The trial, which began in 1978, drew international attention and sparked widespread debate.

During the trial, recordings of the exorcism sessions were played, providing disturbing evidence of Anneliese's suffering. The defense argued that Anneliese had the right to refuse medical treatment and that she had chosen to undergo exorcism. However, the prosecution contended that the priests and her parents should have sought medical intervention.

In the end, all four defendants were found guilty of manslaughter resulting from negligence and were sentenced to six months in prison (later suspended) and three years of probation.

[pavedinashes-if]

Paved in Ashes

The only constant in your life is the board beneath your feet.

Slice of Real Life Drama Focus: Romance and Life Struggles

⫸ STORY:

You're only 20 when suddenly your life goes bam! Throwing you into a whole new city, a different country even. Wasn't part of the plan, but you know how life loves to mess with plans. People happened, stuff happened, and suddenly you're on the move. The new chapter ahead? Buckle up, 'cause it's not gonna be all sunshine and rainbows. And guess what? Your step-mom? Yeah, she's right there in the same city. She's always had this knack for trying to steer your ship, like every decision's a GPS checkpoint.

But hey, there's this one thing that's never let you down—your skateboard. It's like the buddy that's been with you through thick and thin, the one that never bails. Among all this craziness it's like your anchor. So, the big question is—can you break out of the loop you got in? Find your place in the world and restart or lose yourself in temptation? Time to find out.

⫸ LOCATION:

Hamburg, Germany - Known as the Gateway to the World, featuring Germany's most sinful mile. Welcome to your new home!

⫸ YOU: Customize your own Main Character

Looks: Hair, Body, Scars, Piercings & Tattoos and much more

Gender identity and sexual orientation

Personality: Sarcastic / Genuine, Rude / Polite, Grumpy / Friendly, Aggressive / Peaceful, Stoic / Emotional, Shy / Bold, Deceitful / Honest, Arrogant / Humble, Selfish / Generous, Oblivious / Aware, Disinterested / Curious, Cautious / Reckless

Nickname: What do people call you?

Fashion: Pick your clothes to match your personality

Custom Skateboard: Design the look of your board

Skate Style: What's your riding style?

Vices: Alcohol, Drugs, Smokes, Gambling, Aggression, Self-Harm

Job: pick one of several professions - or don't

Hobbies: pick a hobby that makes you happy

Housing: live with your step-mom, find a place for yourself, share a flat - or don't

ATTENTION - Regarding Qs

inbox open for game-related asks, No scenario asks, what if asks Progress updates will be posted once there is something to announce

Status 23.07.24 - Editing Phase of the Demo

⫸ FEATURES: Juggle a new home, new friends, new romance, new profession, new temptations, old and new vices, crazy night life, your stepmother and build yourself a reputation out there.

⫸ ALL 12 DATEABLE & OTHER NON-DATEABLE CHARACTERS BELOW All romance in this story is optional and can be skipped all together if preferred. Still, the platonic relationships will be rewarding and deep on a different level. There are poly options available and each character has their own expectations, needs, wishes and desires, which you'll have to discover.

Note: Throughout the story, you'll encounter the ROs at various points. However, not all of them are destined to remain in your life; some seek fleeting enjoyment while others might become sources of annoyance. Just like reality, there's a mix of success and setbacks, reminding you that heartache is an authentic part of the journey. #heartacheisreal E.g.: If you behave like an a*hole, there's a chance they'll break up with you.

⫸ DATE OPTIONS - Overall 12 ROs & flings available

Samual / Samantha "Sam" Peters, 25 - 💙

Your Neighbour [m/f]:

Occupation: Police Officer - Life's flipped you into a whole new city, right? Newsflash! Next door's got a friendly face that's making things a bit less chaotic. Only thing is, you're starting to wonder if there's more to this neighbor than the casual chats. Are they keeping something under wraps? 💬 "In front of my eyes? Are you serious?" ♡ Loyal, Observant, Dedicated, Reliable, Friendly & Approachable 🚩Overprotective, Controlling, Difficulty Switching Off 🛹 Does not skate Looks: tba Social Media: Samantha Playlist: Spotify #pia: samantha #pia: samual

Felix / Felicia Nowak, 21 - 🩷

Your Ex [m/f]:

Occupation: Rich Kid - Old flames flare up as your past strides right back into your life in this brand-new city. Sparks are undeniable, but so are the reasons things didn't work out. Can you give this a second shot, or is it just history playing its track again? 💬 "Your mother always loved me, you know it." ♡ Confident, Generous, Driven, Charismatic 🚩 Impulsive, Superficial, Entitled, Manipulative 🛹 Does skate Looks: here Social Media: Felix (xF!MC), Felix (xM!MC) #pia: felix #pia: felicia

Alex Czarnecki, 25 - 🧡

Your New Foe [m]:

Occupation: Lawyer - None other than a face that seems to have it out for you. Every encounter feels like a clash, sparks flying in every direction. But hold on, could there be more to this hostility than meets the eye? 💬 "I am looking forward to making your life a living hell." ♡ Sharp-Witted, Analytical, Passionate, Perseverant 🚩 Stubborn, Guarded, Confrontational 🛹 Does not skate Looks: tba Social Media: Alex Playlist: Spotify #pia: alex

Noah / Naomi Cho, 20 - ❤️

Your Best Friend [m/f]:

Occupation: Photographer - Your ride-or-die best friend's on the other side of the world. They're just a text away, keeping your spirits high as you dive into this new city's chaos. The catch? Obviously the distance, but: Is there more to this bond that's worth exploring, or should it stay in the "friend zone"? 💬 "Pah, plane tickets are so cheap these days." ♡ Optimistic, Spontaneous, Loyal, Empathetic, Playful 🚩 Conflict Avoidant, Flakey, Jealous 🛹 Does skate Looks: tba Social Media: Naomi(xGF) #pia: naomi #pia: noah

Xavier Hoffmann, 22 - 💚

Your New Friend [m]:

Occupation: Musician - So, you meet this new friend at an event, and suddenly life's got an extra splash of excitement. But hold on—there's something about this new buddy that's keeping you guessing. Can you really put all your cards on the table, or is there some trick up their sleeve? 💬 "See? Super easy and nobody will ever find out." ♡ Inspiring, Free-Spirited, Passionate, Charming 🚩 Attention-Seeking, Impulsive, Unreliable 🛹 Does skate Looks: tba #pia: xavier

Bianca Wolf, 19 - 🩵

Your Childhood Friend [f]:

Occupation: Student - A chance encounter brings back memories of your childhood friend. It's like life's throwing surprises your way, and this friend's becoming more than just a blast from the past. Can you pick up where you left off, or are you diving into uncharted territory? 💬 "I have to admit, seeing you kind of...messes with my head." ♡ Supportive, Empowering, Trustworthy, Honest, Kind-Hearted 🚩 Mood Swings, Stagnation, Drama-Prone 🛹 Does skate Looks: tba Social Media: here #pia: bianca

Laurenz / Laura Svenson, 20 - 💛

Your Rival [m/f]:

Occupation: Pro Skater - Rivalry's a familiar tune - Drama is to be expected 'cause they don't give you an inch of space. Competition's getting a different flavor once you both aim for the same goal. Can you navigate these uncharted feelings? 💬 "Oh, you will so damn fuckin' much regret it!" ♡ Spontaneous, Humorous, Enthusiastic, Entertaining 🚩 Egoistic, Control-Freak, Insecure 🛹 Does skate Looks: tba Social Media: Laurenz Playlist: Spotify #pia: Laura #pia: Laurenz

Francesco / Francesca Moretti, 22 - 💜

Your Best Friend's BF / GF [m/f]

Occupation: Model - They always knew what they wanted, and they always got it. Truth is, you fell for them even before they got with your best friend. Then, you behaved - but your friend is not here now. As their gaze draws you in, loyalty falters in the face of desire. Can you resist, or even want to? 💬 "Not even they know about it." ♡ Artistic, Sensual, Inspirational, Ambitious 🚩 Dishonest, Neglectful, Envious 🛹 Does not skate Looks: here Social Media: Francesca Playlist: Spotify #pia: francesca #pia: francesco

Dima / Dalia Petrov, 34 - 🖤

Your Boss [m/f] *

Occupation: Club Owner - As you step into the dark world of nightlife your paths cross. Soon you'll navigate the complexities of the club scene with all its secrets. Can you decode the hidden motives and stories behind their actions? 💬 "I bet you have never seen anything like this before." ♡ Confident, Assertive, Initiative, Alluring 🚩 Possessive, Aggressive, Manipulative, Deceitful 🛹 Does not skate Looks: here Social Media: Dima Playlist: Spotify #pia: dima #pia: dalia

Dr. Michael / Michaela Sturm, 29 - 🤍

Your Doctor [m/f]

Occupation: Doctor - Unfortunately, your meeting is based on an accident. Will your face stand out amidst the sea of faceless patients? Can you unravel the layers of their identity and unveil the person beyond the white coat? 💬 "How did you even survive for so long?" ♡ Charitable, Open-Minded, Witty, Empathetic 🚩 Restless, Workaholic, Burnout 🛹 Did skate Looks: here Social Media: Michael #pia: michael #pia: michaela

„Sparks“, 24 - 🩶

Your Supplier [m/f] *

Occupation: Drug Dealer - You heard a name, often, by many people, some you trust and some you don‘t - but they all agreed they are the one you should talk to. Sometimes it seems they don‘t offer earthly goods only. Soul for sale? 💬 „It‘s actually kinda fun and I make tons of money. But if I had been given the choice…“ ♡ Outgoing, Spontaneous, Genuine 🚩 Non-Reliable, Trust Issues, Volatile 🛹 Does skate Looks: tba Social Media: Sparks (M) Playlist: Spotify #pia: sparks

Paul / Paula Gerwig, 38 - 🤎

A Stranger [m/f] *

Occupation: Executive Vice President - There‘s no way you can read their true intentions, but why would you want to? They manage to surprise you in the craziest - good - ways and even allow you to cause some chaos. 💬 „My chauffeur will pick you up at 9pm.“ ♡ Generous, Attentive, Driven, Reliable 🚩 Hard-To-Read, Provocative, Hot/Cold 🛹 Does not skate Looks: tba Social Media: Paula Playlist: Spotify #pia: paula #pia: paul

⫸ OTHER CHARACTERS (non-romanceable):

Kassandra [redacted], 45 - Your Step-Mom [f]

Occupation: CEO - She changed. Though she was never an easy person and always particularly strict towards you, she once had the kind heart your father fell for. But that was long ago. Now all that matters is that everything meets her expectations. At any cost. 💬 "You need to grow up before you are a shame to us." ♡ Responsible, Committed, Vigilant, Perceptive, Ambitious 🚩 Controlling, Obsessive, Dismissive, Authoritarian 🛹 Does not skate #pia: kassandra #pia: step mom

Manfred von Kulversteyen, 56 - Your Step-Mom's Partner [m]

Occupation: Lawyer - You have no idea how he ended up with your step-mom. Seriously. He seems to have it out for you and in some moments you are very lucky she is around. 💬 "If you were my blood, I would have beaten you into shape already." ♡ Driven, Efficient, Confident 🚩 Intolerant, Choleric, Arrogant, Unpredictable 🛹 Does not skate

Henric [redacted], 44 - Your Dad [m]

Occupation: Documentary filmmaker - Choosing happiness and authenticity over material pursuits, your father's separation from your stepmother revealed his unwavering commitment to a meaningful life. Unfortunately that also meant sacrifices. 💬 "I couldn't be any prouder of you. And I don't care what they say. I love you." ♡ Patient, Understanding, Affectionate, Supportive 🚩 Worries a lot, Inconsistent, Overcompromising 🛹 Did skate

Nader / Nazrin Davani, 23 - Your Roommate (#1) [m/f] *

Occupation: Art Student - They moved from London to HH a few months ago, when their parents opened a new hospital in Hamburg. Their parents try real hard to push them in the medical direction, but all they want is to shape a destiny distinct from their family's expectations. Be their muse? 💬 "I wouldn't mind settlin' in 'ere for the night, just to paint you." ♡ Trustworthy, Hilarious, Fun-Loving, Rebellious, Creative 🚩Over-Sensitive, Perfectionist, Self-Doubt 🛹 Does not skate

[redacted], 21 - Your Roommate (#2) [f] *

Occupation: [redacted] 💬 "I have to admit I did not expect to see you again under such circumstances, but I must admit it is a pleasant surprise nonetheless." ♡ Spontaneous, loyal, affectionate, protective, confident 🚩Perfectionist, self-reliant, argumentative 🛹 Does skate

„The Queenpin“, 58 - A Stranger [f] *

Occupation: ??? - Here's the scoop—an accidental run-in with a total stranger's changing the game. But there's this vibe you can't shake, a sense that there's more to this stranger than meets the eye. Is it fate playing games, or is there a hidden agenda in the mix? 💬 „Who clipped your wings little bird?“ ♡ Caring, Protective, Patient, Nurturing, Enigmatic 🚩 Controlling, Unpredictable 🛹 Does not skate

??, 18 - A Stranger [nb] *

Occupation: Barista - soon 💬 "If you were my type I would totally smash you. Right here, right now." ♡ soon 🚩 soon 🛹 Does skate

??, 35 - A Stranger [m/f] *

Occupation: Tattoo Artist - soon 💬 "Ha, THIS one will definitely surprise them!" ♡ soon 🚩 soon 🛹 Does not skate

??, 24 - A Stranger [m] *

Occupation: None - soon 💬 "I love my life. No restrictions, no nothing. I can do what I want." ♡ soon 🚩 soon 🛹 Does not skate

People working at Laces - Club* :

Sasha* Fernando* Pat* Pepe* Hana* Anders*

* the appearance of characters with an asterisk depends on your choices

⫸ WARNING: Paved in Ashes will be rated 18+ because of explicit language, explicit sexual themes, drug and alcohol (ab)use, violence, moral ambiguity, and more. Full list here: PiA Trigger Warning

[louisupdates]

Prince William's Royal Night Out

Published Jun 21, 2024 at 4:49 AM EDT | Updated Jun 21, 2024 at 9:44 AM EDT

Prince William visited Germany on Thursday to attend a high-profile soccer match on the evening before his 42nd birthday.

The prince was photographed alongside European royalty at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament group stage match between England and Denmark. He attended in his capacity as president of the Football Association in Britain, a role he was given by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.

[…]

William not only met European royalty at the game but also pop royalty, in the form of former One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson.

Footage of the prince and the singer chatting behind the scenes at the stadium has gone viral online. It is not the first time the two have met. The pair were photographed together at the Royal Variety charity performance in 2014 and 2017.

In 2018 when William and Kate named their youngest son Louis, Tomlinson posted a lighthearted social media message dedicated to the prince, including the line: "Young Louis welcome to the world. I'll take you under my wing lad."

[exercise-of-trust]

seemingly cool fiber arts person i followed a little bit ago just put radfem shit on the dash, anyway the blanket statement that the only contributions of men to textile production are capitalist/exploitative and the only contributions of women are household-centric/victimized is patently untrue. while less of a documented presence, women in medieval europe [1] absolutely participated in weaver's guilds and commercial cloth production [2], and men have been participating in household knitting in all parts of europe for as long as knitting has been a thing there [3]. like i'm not trying to say women haven't been deeply excluded from economic opportunities in the textile trade for centuries but you cannot be making sweeping statements like that about everyone in every part of the world through all of history and expect them to be true. do, like, a basic level of research and have a basic understanding of nuance, i beg of you [4]

footnotes/sources/etc under the cut, sources are a bit basic because i just grabbed whatever was nearest to hand but they should suffice to prove my point:

[1] i'm only referring to western europe here because that's the only region i feel comfortable talking about in any detail without embarrassing myself. systems of medieval cloth production in european guilds are not gonna look anything like the systems of hundreds of servants employed to do textile production for a household in china. don't make categorical statements about everyone everywhere all at once, you will end up with egg on your face.

[2] quotes from "when did weaving become a male profession," ingvild øye, danish journal of archaeology, p.45 in particular.

england: "in norwich, a certain elizabeth baret was enrolled as freeman of the city in 1445/6 because she was a worsted weaver, and in 1511, a riot occurred when the weavers here complained that women were taking over their work" + "another ordinance from bristol [in 1461] forbade master weavers to engage wives, daughters, and maids who wove on their own looms as weavers but made an exception for wives already active before this act" germany: "in bremen, several professional male weavers are recorded in the early fourteenth century, but evidently alongside female weavers, who are documented even later, in 1440" -> the whole "even later" thing is because the original article is disputing the idea that men as weavers/clothiers in medieval europe entirely replaced women over time. also: "in 1432-36, a female weaver, mette weuersk, is referred to as a member of the gertrud's guild in flensburg, presently germany" scandanavia: "the guild of weavers that was established in copenhagen in 1500 also accepted female weavers as independent members and the rules were recorded in the guild's statutes"

[3] quotes from folk socks: the history and techniques of handknitted footwear by nancy bush, interweave press, 2011, don't roast me it was literally within arm's reach and i didn't feel like looking up more stuff

uk/yorkshire dales: "...handknitting had been a daily employment for three centuries [leading up to 1900]. practiced by women, children, and men, the craft added much to the economy of the dales people." (p.21) uk/wales: re the knitting night (noson weu/noswaith weu) as a social custom practiced in the 18th/19th c.: "all the ladies would work on their knitting; some of the men would knit garters" (p.22) uk/channel islands: "by the early seventeenth century, so many of the islands' men, women, and children had taken up the trade of knitting that laws were necessary to keep them from knitting during harvest" (p.24) -> this one is deeply funny to me, in addition to proving my point uk/aberdeen: "the knitters, known as shankers, were usually women, but sometimes included old men and boys" (p.26) denmark: "with iron and brass needles, they made stockings called stunthoser, stomper, or stockings without feet, as well as stockings with feet. the men knit the legs and the women and girls made the heels" (p.32) iceland & faroe islands: "people of all ages and both sexes knit at home not only for their own use but for exportation of their goods as well" (p.35)

[4] actually? no. i'm not begging for shit from radfems. fuck all'a'y'all.

[justinssportscorner]

Alex Abad-Santos at Vox:

Despite being a time when people from all over the world come together in equality and peace, the Olympics are still uncertain territory for transgender athletes. There are no transgender athletes who are competing outside of the gender they were assigned at birth at this year’s Games. Transgender women who transitioned after puberty aren’t allowed to compete in major sports on a college level. Athletes Nikki Hiltz, a runner, and Hergie Bacyadan, a boxer, both identify as transgender (Hiltz also identifies as nonbinary), but both have always and continue to compete in the women’s division, which is the sex they were assigned at birth. Athletes who do not identify as trans, like Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, have also been scrutinized for their gender. Along with China’s Lin Yu-ting, Khelif is one of two women boxers who failed a “sex test” from the International Boxing Association last year. They have since been connected to discussions of sports and Differences of Sexual Development (DSD), a rare group of genetic and hormonal disorders allowed under International Olympic Committee guidelines. After Khelif’s Italian competitor Angela Carini conceded their match less than a minute into their bout, many have weighed in, including Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling.

Outside of the Games, trans people face so much backlash, often for simply existing. The conversation around sports is particularly fraught, from children’s athletics right up through the pros. Despite the International Olympic Committee vowing to be more inclusive, the future for trans athletes is unclear. It all raises the question: How did we get to this point, and did it always have to be this way? The answers found in historian and journalist Michael Waters’s The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports might be surprising. Waters’s book traces the emergence of Zdeněk Koubek, a track and field star representing the country formerly known as Czechoslovakia who, at 21, won two medals — a gold in the 800m and a bronze in the long jump — at the 1934 Women’s World Games. (The Women’s World Games was the precursor to women competing at the Olympics). In 1935, Koubek announced that he would be living life as a man and swiftly became an international celebrity.

Perhaps the most intriguing facet to Koubek’s story was in the public response. Koubek was more welcomed and celebrated than we might imagine. There was an open-mindedness and empathy to the reception of Koubek and his gender identity and expression in the 1930s. Waters also pinpoints where and when that changed, specifically at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Armed with a propensity for eugenics, gender anxiety, and a startling lack of scientific evidence, a small set of Nazi officials influenced the International Olympic Committee into gender surveillance and trans panic — stuff that eerily mirrors the transphobic attacks that athletes, cis and trans alike, face today.

Anti-trans discrimination in the Olympics stretches as far back as the infamous 1936 games in Berlin.

[phoenixyfriend]

If you do the thing for "valid" reasons, then you can't pick it. (e.g. if you don't swear because your religion forbids it, or don't drink because of a family history of addiction, then you can't vote for that option, because you don't have the Childish reasoning that the poll is about)

Basically "is this something that someone would feel comfortable making fun of you for, without an 'excuse' on hand that would be socially unacceptable to continue mocking?"

If you can snap at them about being on meds that interact poorly, or having asthma, or not being able to afford real jewelry, it's a "valid" reason and you can't vote for that option. Also it's pretty cultural; I get a lot more shit for the cigarette avoidance in Serbia than in the US, and someone in Germany is less likely to be mocked for the spice thing than someone in Texas.

If it's more than one (very likely), then just pick the one that people feel the most entitled to be dramatic about to your face.

(I was gonna say 'over 25' but half the site is under that age. Then I was gonna say 'over 20' but then I'd have to deal with people talking about underage drinking because America. So instead here.)

[aimeedaisies]

King pays tribute to ‘heroism and sacrifice’ to mark 80 years since Arnhem

Monarch’s words spoken by the Princess Royal to remember troops who fought in Operation Market Garden

21 September 2024 5:57pm

The Princess Royal is representing the King at the Arnhem anniversary events PA/Ben Birchall

The King has said the “heroism and sacrifice made by so many in the pursuit of peace” will never be forgotten as the 80th anniversary of a famous Second World War operation was commemorated.

The King’s words were spoken by the Princess Royal, representing the King at events this weekend marking the efforts of troops who in 1944 fought in Operation Market Garden, with the bold aim of ending the war that year.

The Princess, joined by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, delivered her brother’s speech at a reception staged at the Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands.

It is a former hotel that served as the headquarters of the British 1st Airborne Division during the Battle of Arnhem, part of the operation that aimed to push through the Netherlands and into Germany just a few months after the D-Day landings.

The Princess met Geoff Roberts, 99, believed to be the only British soldier to travel to Arnhem for the commemorations this year PA/Ben Birchall

The Princess said on behalf of the King: “Eighty years ago, on this very weekend, Operation Market Garden was under way in this region of the Netherlands.

“An ambitious joint airborne and ground forces operation designed to seize crucial bridges to enable the advance into Germany, its ultimate aim was to end the war within a matter of months.

“The friendships made during those difficult days of September 1944 between the Dutch and their liberators continued after the war.”

“I saw this for myself five years ago when, as Colonel in Chief of the Parachute Regiment, I attended the 75th anniversary commemorations.”

The Princess met Geoff Roberts, 99, believed to be the only British soldier to travel to Arnhem for the commemorations this year.

Mr Roberts flew by glider into Arnhem during Operation Market Garden but was captured as the Allies retreated after their efforts. Immortalised in the film A Bridge Too Far, the Allies were thwarted by strong resistance from Nazi troops, and he spent the rest of the war in a German prisoner of war camp.

The Princess Royal watches a fly-by at the Airborne Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek, Netherlands PA/Ben Birchall

The Princess continued the King’s speech, saying: “Tragically, despite the endless courage of all those who served in an operation whose renown echoes through the generations, the Netherlands had one more terrible winter to suffer before liberation finally arrived.

“Today, on this 80th anniversary, it is with a deep sense of gratitude and humility that we remember all those in the British, Allied and Commonwealth forces who served and died fighting for our freedom.

“Let us also remember those magnificently courageous members of the Dutch resistance and gallant civilians who endured so much during the Second World War.

“We will never forget the heroism and sacrifice made by so many in the pursuit of peace and liberation. My wife joins me in sending the warmest possible good wishes to all those taking part in this weekend of commemoration.”

On Sunday, the Princess, in her role as president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, will attend the annual service marking the operation’s 80th anniversary at Oosterbeek Airborne Cemetery.

She will join around a thousand guests and will read a lesson and lay a wreath at the foot of the Cross of Sacrifice.

Earlier, paratroopers from eight Nato member countries, including the UK, the USA, Portugal and Spain, parachuted from 12 aircraft into Ginkel Heath, a nature reserve near the Dutch town of Ede.

Some 700 paratroopers took part in the jump, including the Red Devils, the British Army’s freefall parachute display team, as part of the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem.

Turned into defensive battle

Among those to parachute into the occupied Netherlands were 1,900 allied airborne soldiers from Britain’s 4th Parachute Brigade.

The plan involved seizing key bridges with a combination of airborne and land forces.

But the airborne forces’ landing zones were around nine miles from the bridge at Arnhem, losing them the element of surprise and giving the German troops time to build blockades.

While the operation succeeded in capturing the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen, it failed in its key objective: securing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem.

A defensive battle was fought, which saw nine days of prolonged street fighting, until the order to withdraw was given on Sept 25.

More than 8,000 British soldiers were killed, missing or captured in the offensive.

[callumsgirl]

ONE SHOT

strawberries and dirty talk (pt. 2)

or: Bucky surprises Gale with another weekend pass. A little hopeful spark in John's mind lights up and gives him an romantic and crazy idea: Why should it be all temporary and hidden with him and Buck when they both deserved so much?

It had been a long, exhausting few weeks. Between all the breakneck, dangerous missions over Germany, where more of John's friends were shot than he could count. It had been a constant dance with the devil and death. A power struggle that was different every day and a single moment could change and decide everything.

Every pain he felt, every blow he took and every enemy plane he shot out of the sky. Even though he was exhausted and at the end of his rope, it was Gale who kept him alive.

John had finally found a piece of peace in all this chaos - his own reason to survice all of this god damn war...Gale was worth it.

It had taken all his charm and persuasive arguments to talk Colonel Harding into a weekend pass for him and Major Cleven. Harding had slid into his leather chair, grumbling, with a cigar between his lips, and had finally waved him away with a gesture of surrender. Bucky hadn't been able to wipe the broad grin off his lips that morning. Nothing could dampen his spirits, not even when only 11 of the 21 planes that had taken off returned to base.

A soothing and calming warmth had spread throughout his body when he walked into the canteen and saw Buck sitting there. Almost completely alone, his head bowed and a steaming cup of coffee on the table in front of him. One of his arms was resting over the back of the chair next to him and with the other hand he was shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. But as John came closer, his footsteps getting louder, Gale raised his eyes - almost automatically - and that small, barely visible twitch of the corners of his mouth almost made Bucky go crazy.

The urge to circle the table, to pull Gale up from that uninspiring wooden chair and just kiss him almost overwhelmed him. This urge was so strong that it squeezed all the air out of his lungs and his chest suddenly felt terribly constricted. God...he got my fully heart and soul, Bucky thougt. He's only smiling at me and i go crazy.

While fragments of him and Buck danced around in front of his inner eyes, he cleared his throat instead and dropped into the chair opposite him.

"Mornin' Major…" Gale had murmured in a pleasantly low voice, looking at him under half-lowered eyelids. The blue of his eyes so bright, warm and engaging that John's heart threatened to explode in his chest.

Unobtrusively, their feet had touched under the table, bumping against each other, and Bucky had smiled as if drunk.

"I've got a surprise for you," he'd said, and Gale hadn't let his curiosity get the best of him, but John had noticed the way Buck's fingertips had tightened around the back of the chair beside him and his pink lips had parted.

Gale had raised an unimpressed eyebrow and pushed a toothpick between his lips: "Oh yeah? Tell me, Bucky"

That had been the start of everything and John had come out with the tingling truth. Harding got them permission to left the base for a few days for recovery. Afterwards, they had both packed their bags, joking around with Bubble and Crosby before they thrown their bags into the back of John's jeep and driven out of the barracks.

A contented sigh escaped Bucky's lips as the thoughts and memories of the past 24 hours rolled over in his head. His mind was in chaos and his thoughts blurred, dancing salsa and leaving nothing but a warm, sluggish feeling in his body.

It was saturday morning, 6:30 a.m. and the sun rised slowly. The sky was painted in different shades of red, orange and pink, and it was almost silent outside. The only noice was coming from singing birds through the open windows and a light breeze blew the curtains in gentle waves. There could be nothing more beautiful John thought in the moment when he finally woke up.

Looking at the sky almost staying in flames...there couldn't be much better.

Being pressed against Gale's sleepy-warmth and bare skin, his palm laying on his stomach and his fingertips drawing circles. The white sheets around their legs and hips, a total mess, but it didn't boather Bucky at all.

He blinked sleepily and looked around the bedroom. There were clothes all over the floor and he couldn't help but smile happily.

The last 24 hours felt like a distant dream that was finally within his grasp. Bucky didn't need to be told twice and reached for it when Harding agreed to let him and Buck go. Not forever, but for a while.

Now that he had Gale all to himself, time could stand still. He was pretty sure he could stay in this small, hidden house by the lake forever. As long as he could feel Buck's body against his, hear his heartbeat and taste his sweet lips, this twisted world was all right with him.

Sighing, he buried his face in the crook of Gale's neck again. His lips brushed over the soft, sensitive skin and John noticed how Gale presses closer to him, still half asleep.

Circles, unrecognizable patterns … His fingertips traced out lifeless lines and shapes on Gale's skin. He savored the peace and quiet and the fact that Buck lay beside him in bed, completely relaxed and healthy.

There were only a few bruises on his chest and a lightred scar on his cheek. In a few days or weeks, it would all be gone. It would just be a shadowy memory in Bucky's head.

His lips tingled as he let them brush over Buck's skin again and again, slowly opening his mouth to brush his teeth over the dark red hickey. John smiled as Gale winced slightly and moaned sleepily.

John was convinced that he had never heard a more beautiful, raw and beguiling sound. His hand automatically traveled over Buck's abs, up his chest, and he tried to memorize every ridge and valley. The thought that he could find every freckle, ridge and hard valley between Gale's muscles blindfolded in record time made him chuckle. It was the most sensual of routes he had ever explored with his fingers. Bucky's hand curved half around his jaw, half around his neck and his fingertips brushed over Buck's soft skin. Beneath his touch, he took in Gale's sleep-warm skin and the contrasts that brought out the blond stubble. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Buck grumbled into his pillow, making John laugh. He knews only too well that Gale wasn't a morning person, and god it was 6.30 a.m. on a saturday.

"You're such a son of a bitch, waking me up so early," Buck complained, sighing as Bucky stroked the sensitive skin on his neck again. His lips opened slightly, and John didn't miss the opportunity to slide his thumb over the curve of his lip.

Gale's opened his mouth a little wider and sucked John's thumb in. For a tiny moment, Bucky's heartbeat stopped. He breathed once, then a second time deeply and then exhaled again until his heartbeat galloped off again. Buck's tongue left a moist, warm sensation on his finger. The tingle of the touch spread throughout his body within seconds and his muscles tensed in joyful anticipation.

Slowly, Gale turned onto his back and looked lovingly at Buck. John's hair was completely ruined. Strands of his dark brown hair were sticking out of his head in disarray and some strands were falling into his face.

Gale lifted his left hand and brushed a few loose strands of hair from John's forehead. He buried his fingers in them and opened his mouth. Bucky withdrew his thumb and leaned forward. Their noses touched and Buck whispered, "Mornin'."

"Was that an attempt to suck me off?" Bucky teased him with a dark glint in his eye.

"It would have been a ridiculous attempt if it had been one. You know I can suck you off much better…making those forbidden erotic circles with my tongue around the tip of your hard cock," Gale whispered in a low, husky voice that sent a shiver through John's whole body. He pressed his bare chest against Gale's and moaned softly. He was already hard and ready to fuck Buck's tight ass. But he was patient, because they had all the time in the world and after last night, they both needed a break and then a first slow, sweet fuck.

"I can still remember what that potty mouth can do…" John pressed his thumb against Gales' lips again and they both shuddered as they felt a warm explosion in their stomachs.

Last night had been a total mess of impatient fingers, swollen lips and passionate snogging. They had hardly been able to wait to finally be naked again and enjoy each other. It was restless and hot - almost like the first time, when they had been so nervous and shaky. They didn't know what to expect, and then every touch had simply exceeded all expectations.

So they spent the whole morning stealing kisses from each other, laughing and enjoying this carefree time out. At first, they had both stood up, staggering rather than steady on their feet, and staggered towards the outdoor rain shower. Only to kiss there under the warm water jet, jerk each other off and then come to orgasm together.

Reaching this tingling high was exhilarating, and for a moment John's eyes blurred black. Various veils of color danced behind his eyes. A soft sound echoed in his ears, as if a swarm of bees were buzzing repeatedly past his head.

Gale had knelt in front of him and taken him so deep in his mouth that he had become dizzy. The magic of the tip of his tongue and the rhythmic movements of his hand had given him a tremendous high.

His breathing was loud and heavy and it took him minutes to calm down. Then he had grabbed Gale's face with both hands, pulled him back to his feet and kissed him so passionately that they had both lost their balance. Buck had laughed without breath against his swollen lips and the smell of freshly cut grass, sweet apples and John's salty, slightly bitter cum had mingled on their tongues.

Afterwards they had fallen back into bed with only towels wrapped around their hips and had exchanged more sweet kisses until they were both breathless and sleepy.

Gale had grabbed the shaving cream and a razor, stood between Bucky's thighs and shaved him. This intimate moment of closeness and vulnerability had felt somewhere special and precious to them both. Like a sign they had both been waiting so long for, and in the aftermath, the afternoon had passed them by in a few breaths.

When evening came and the sun slowly disappeared into the distance with a spectacular play of lights, they were both still in bed.

Bucky was leaning with his bare back against the headboard of the bed. The comforter was spread over his legs, pulled up to his lower abs. Gale close beside him, lying on his stomach with a crossword puzzle from The Times in front of him. A pen in his left hand and his eyebrows drawn together in concentration. Buck repeatedly stroked his lips with the pen while John scrutinized him. The last rays of sunlight fell through the open window and bathed the entire room in an exclusive play of pink and orange - Bucky and Buck in the middle of everything.

"A seven-letter word…a synonym for passionate," Buck read aloud with a deep voice.

Bucky grinned and stroked Gale's sun-warmed back with the flat of his palm. His fingertips left fuzzy goose bumps, which John noted with self-satisfaction. Buck's body shuddered softly under his touch and John heard Gale gasp audibly.

"Stop distracting me…" Buck complained, grumbling, but he could also hear the grin that resonated in his words. "A seven-letter word…a synonym for passionate", he repeated.

"Sorry darlin'," Bucky replied, still smiling and leaning closer to Gale. He bent halfway over Buck's back from behind and positioned his hands next to Buck's torso on the mattress. Then he lowered his lips to Gale's sensitive skin and savored the way he looked again. More forcefully this time, and when Buck lowered his head momentarily, John sucked gently on Gale's neck. "It's just too easy to distract you. Besides, it gives me great pleasure to taste and touch you."

To emphasize his words, he rubbed the tip of his nose against the shell of Gale's ear and blew gently into it.

Buck's hands crumpled the pages of the newspaper and he lowered his head further. "John," he whispered hoarsely. "That feels good."

"Hmmm..." Bucky breathed a series of soft kisses on the side of Buck's neck and throat, and approached his ear again. Then he whispered in a quivering voice, "How about amours?"

For a moment, unspoken confusion floated through the room and Bucky enjoyed how much he managed to distract Gale. He nudged him with the tip of his nose, tickling his cheeks and repeating, "Try amours."

Buck took a deep breath and checked the available letters. "It doesn't fit," he mumbled back, swallowing hard as John stroked his right hand over his shoulder blades and then down the side of his ribcage.

"How about burning? Does it fit?" he asked, intensifying his kisses. He opened his lips slightly and began to suck on Buck's neck. From behind, he lowered himself further onto Buck's backside and when their naked, warm torsos collided, Gale let out a soft, stifled moan.

"No," Buck replied, feeling his body temperature slowly rising. His cheeks took on a pinkish-red hue and his heart beat as fast as a hummingbird's wings. "It doesn't fit…there's an "I" and an "N" in it….God, Bucky," he groaned. The groan that slipped over his lips mingled with John's heavy breaths as he rolled his hips against Gale's ass with definite, rhythmic thrusts.

As his hard cock slid between Buck's firm, warm ass cheeks, a tingle ran through Bucky's veins. The fluffy towel increased the pressure between them. "You feel so damn good, Buck. I really wanna fuck this tight ass", Bucky whispered in a voice veiled with lust.

"Bucky," Gale replied, sounding breathless, excited and yet Bucky could hear the hint of doubt in his voice. So far, they had never gone further than kissing each other wildly, wet and hard, touching each other. Just the fact that Gale's swollen lips already felt so forbidden, what would it be like when he slid his cock between his beautiful ass cheeks.

"I know, darlin'. We'll do everything in your tempo...but it almost kills me to fully have your attention here and can't have all of you", he reassured Buck.

Bucky wrapped one hand around Gale's neck from behind and tilted his head to the side. With his lips, he breathed a trail of kisses on the exposed skin and when he found that one sensitive spot, he began to suck. He felt Buck's body relax beneath him and he leaned closer into John's touch. "I know you're not stressing me out…I want you too, but I'm scared too."

"I'll catch you…how about intense?" Bucky suggested in a warm voice and Gale was glad he was offering him this little distraction. In an instant, his racing heartbeat calmed a little and the agonizing tension left his muscles, giving way to the tingling and prickling that shot through his veins.

"Yeah," sighed Buck. "That fits perfectly," he added, filling in the last gaps with trembling fingers. His handwriting was barely legible, but his thoughts were already drifting off into darker abysses.

Bucky replied: "Good." He could think of other, more sensual things that went perfectly together…or into each other. For example, his hard cock in Buck's tight, warm ass.

"Now turn around and let me see your beautiful blue eyes", he commanded.

He gave Gale just enough room to turn around under him. As soon as their eyes met, Buck reached out for John's cheeks and pulled him down to him. The kiss was different - more intense and fiercer than the breathy kisses on his neck before.

Invisible bonds formed between them and Gale's body vibrated and with every second that John touched him, his desire increased. He opened his mouth and asked Bucky's lips to let him in with his tongue. John intensified their kiss and opened his lips wide so that their tongues could touch. They both breathed loudly and heavily through their noses as they kissed. Gale's one hand traveled from John's cheek to his neck and then his fingers buried themselves in his dark, soft hair. The small touch of Gale's fingers in his hair made Bucky moan.

"You're driving me crazy," Bucky confessed as their kiss ended and he leaned in on his elbows. His weight pressed them both deeper into the soft, yielding puss and Gale spread his legs wider so their hips were touching.

"Not as much as you drive me crazy," Gale fired back with a wink. His hand still buried in strands of John's hair, he pulled him down for another brief, fierce kiss.

"You know how much you mean to me, don't you?" murmured Bucky, stroking his thumb over Gale's chin. His blue-green eyes sought reassurance and security in Buck's gaze, and when he found all of that, his heart warmed terribly.

Gale, lying beneath him, blinked a few times and whispered, "Why are you asking me that? It almost sounds like you want to leave me, John"

Bucky opened his eyes in shock and shook his head wildly. "What? No way…I don't know why I said that either…but actually I did…" he gloried in his words and it was a rare, amusing and refreshing moment for Gale.

He could only remember a handful of conversations where Bucky hadn't known how to phrase something.

"Relax…I love you, okay?" whispered Buck, kissing his jaw.

"That's exactly the problem," Bucky replied, smiling wistfully. His thumb brushed over Gale's bottom lip and he added, "I love you so much and knowing I'll never have you completely-never kiss you in public or hold your hand - almost kills me."

Buck swallowed and his throat suddenly felt dry and terribly constricted. He frowned and cleared his throat, hardly trusting his own voice. "I'll always be with you. No matter what the others will say…there will be a time when all this will be possible."

"What if it takes our whole lives and we have to live a lie?"

Buck shook his head slightly and stroked John's neck. "Who knew you could be so sentimental and brooding, Major Egan?" he teased, and when Bucky's features relaxed a little, Gale leaned forward and kissed him briefly. Then he added: "There won't be a lie as long as we know the truth, okay?"

"Marry me," Bucky murmured, leaning back until he was kneeling over him. His thighs pinned Gale to the mattress on either side of him and he unfastened the collar of his dog tags.

A strangled laugh escaped Gale. "John what are you talking about? Are you going crazy?"

Bucky shook his head, barely visible. An engaging smile on his lips as he repeated, "Marry me, Gale Cleven." Then he leaned down to him again. The tips of their noses touched and Gale could barely breathe as he realized the seriousness in John's words, the meaning of them catching him completely off guard and burying him like a wave.

"You know we can't...", he started when closes his mouth again, struggeling finding the right words. The bedroom was filled with loud breathing and pounding heartbeats, and when Gale moved in again to shatter Bucky's dream, John simply kissed him.

"Forget this world for once. No more prohibitions, no more judgments, no more hiding…. would you marry me then?"

Before Gale could fully comprehend the words, his heart had already made a decision and he blinked several times. He was so close to John that he could feel his warm, minty breath on his skin. Time seemed to stand still between them and it seemed like an eternity to Bucky, but it was only a few seconds before Buck finally answered, "Yes, I would marry you, John Egan."

The next kiss between them got completely out of hand. Their lips collided and their loud breaths mingled as Gale opened his lips and they both kissed with their mouths half open and their tongues dancing together. Sometimes John gained the upper hand in the kiss, sometimes Gale reclaimed it, and when they breathlessly broke away from each other, John breathed another loose kiss on Gale's forehead and sat up.

As Gale tipped his head back and gasped for air, he watched Bucky undo the clasp on his one necklace and as he held his dog tags in his hands, he took one off and placed it on Gale's bare stomach.

"What are you doing?" asked Buck, taking the small, cool metal plate in his hand.

"I'll give you a piece of me," Bucky explained, smiling gently. "Hold her tight," he added, running both palms over Gale's chest. His thumb stroked one of his nipples and as it hardened sensitively, he grinned in satisfaction. "Lift your head," he ordered Gale and took off his own necklace. Still speechless, Buck watched as John exchanged a dog tag and then closed the clasp so that Gale now wore his own and John's dog tags around his neck. John did the same with his necklace and when he had closed the clasp, he bent down to Gale. "…and you give me a piece of you, baby. Unfortunately, I can't put a real engagement ring on your finger, but this way you have my promise that I'm yours."

"…and I'm yours," Gale whispered, sounding hoarse, and breathless, and hopelessly in love.

Then the next few minutes blurred between them and there were only restless kisses, wandering hands and desire.

Bucky kissed Gale's lips slowly at first, gentle pressure, soft, wet touches echoing in his ears before he eased away from him and attacked his neck.

Gale's hand settled on his cheek, holding him close, and the love he felt in that moment made his heart pound desperately. The only sound Buck could hear was his and John's loud breathing and the blood rushing through his veins. He threw his head back and closed his eyes in pleasure as Bucky opened his mouth and scraped his teeth across his collarbone.

"John," he sighed excitedly, lifting his hips. Hoping Bucky understood his restlessness and his urge for more, he slid both hands over John's back and placed his palms on his hips. "I need you closer."

Bucky finished his kiss trail and smirked, "This hickey looks absoluty stunning on your skin, darlin'."

"I want that you mark me all over with your lips," Gale whispered, his blue eyes momentarily losing their focus as his thumbnail scratched over the fresh hickey.

"Are you challenging me?", John asked slowly and his controll almost fliped away.

"Maybe a bit." Gale closed his eyes in desperate lust and bit down hard on his lower lip as a shiver ran through him. His fingertips twitched, digging them deeper into John's hips.

"Fuck," he groaned, blinking at Bucky under half-closed eyes. "Are you trying to get me so turned on I'll go crazy?" he asked with a smirk on his lips, snapping at John's lips.

"No, just drive you crazy enough that you relax and let me touch and fuck your beautiful ass", he teased him back.

Gale inhaled deeply through his nose and as he looked at Bucky. Memorizing every detail of him, a feeling of deep satisfaction spread through his belly. Suddenly there were no more doubts or fears. There was only lust, desire and …. love left in him, and he didn't care that it wouldn't be perfect or maybe hurt a bit first, because the only thing that mattered to Buck was that he made every moment with John count.

Gale blinked and rested his forehead against Bucky's. He closed his eyes and as his finger stroked Bucky's lip, tickled by his beard, he finally said, "I'm not afraid anymore, John. I'm ready for the next step, I'm ready for everything as long as I do it with you."

"Are you sure?" Bucky's voice sounded raspy. "You don't have to feel forced into it."

"Yes, I'm sure." As soon as those words crossed Gale's lips and got through to John, he kissed him. These kisses felt more passionate and special - they were reckless and heated.

Gale lost himself in the taste of John's lips and skin as he pressed his face into Bucky's neck and kissed him there. He lost himself in the taste of him, a little salty, a little sweet, and absolutely addictive.

Then a fever suddenly broke out in him and an unstoppable heat raced through his limbs. Gale opened his mouth and licked over Bucky's warm, slightly damp skin.

"Hmmm", John moaned loudly. "I like your mouth on my skin."

Meanwhile, John's hands stroked his ribcage and as they undid the knot of his towel and pulled away the soft white fabric, he shivered slightly.

In the next breath, a warm, rough fist closed around his hard cock and an electrifying wave shot through Buck's body. He bit his lip and tried to hold back his lust, but he couldn't fight the urgent feeling in his arms and legs that was driving him wild. A shiver rippled down his back and made his spine tingle, making him squint as Bucky stroked his tip with his thumb.

"You're already wet," John whispered, ecstatic and surprised. "So sensitive", he added with dark glinted eyes. Then he lifted his gaze from Gale's cock and licked his lips seductively as he brought his thumb to his face. Inevitably, Gale held his breath and stared at him as Bucky opened his mouth and licked his thumb. Another wave of heat rushed through Gale and within a breath his face was in flames. "You taste the sweetest of all drugs."

A strangled sound escaped Gale's lips and made the corners of John's mouth twitch. His slightly swollen, full lips curled into a traitorous, hot smile. "Want more?"

Buck's throat was dry as dust and not a word escaped his lips. He didn't trust his voice and wrinkled his nose slightly as he nodded.

"Let me hear you, baby," Bucky begged him, closing his fist around Gale's erection again. He encircled it with light pressure and began a steady, slow rhythm. Sometimes Bucky slid his thumb over the sensitive tip of his cock again and Gale lifted his hips toward him each time. A desperate attempt to increase the friction, and at other moments John would twist his wrist slightly and increase the pressure around the base of Gale's cock. Hot cold shivers chased over Buck's body and veiled his eyes.

"Fuck John. Please…" Gale begged, sliding one of his hands under the pillow to find purchase in the soft fabric. But the various sensations racing through his body were unstoppable and merciless. They burned him from the inside out and left him with nothing but insatiable desire.

"Please what?" Bucky teased him, sliding his open mouth across Buck's chest. His lips brushed his right nipple and as he gasped for breath, John repeated the process. He slowly closed his lips around the sensitive bud and said, letting him feel his teeth. Echoing Gale's heartbeat beneath his lips, John lifted his gaze and stared at him under half-closed lids. Buck lifted a hand and wrapped it half around his neck, half around his shoulder. His fingertips dug into John's warm, firm skin with gentle pressure. With light, barely perceptible pressure, Gale invited him down further - a desire, a wish Gale would never have spoken aloud.

We'll get there some day, Bucky thought boldly, sucking harder on his nipple one last time.

"I want your mouth", Buck replied huskily. His eyes almost on fire and dark.

"You have my mouth, Baby."

Gale grumbled angrily and exhaled loudly before lifting his head from the pillows and frowning. "You know where I want your lips."

"Yes," John smirked dirtily. "Here?" he asked, kissing Gale's upper stomach.

"Further down" Gale directed him, dropping his head back into the pillows.

"Here?" asked Bucky innocently, blowing two or three kisses on Gale's lower belly. Under his lips, his muscles tensed deliciously and John dipped his tongue into Gale's belly button.

"Shit, further down." The grip on his shoulder tightened, and when Gale finally buried his fingers in his dark hair, he knew he'd broken through an invisible wall. Mouth open, he licked further down to Gale's hipbone, where he scraped his teeth.

He was pushing Gale's patience to the limit. John could feel under his lips how close he was to pushing Gale over the edge. As he sped up the rhythmic up and down movements with one hand, he sucked on Gale's easily irritated skin with his lips. He left another hickey in his wake.

Gale let out an almost silent scream and looked Bucky straight in the eye before asking hoarsely: "Can..can you please suck me off?"

It only took John a second or two to react. Then his lips closed around the tip of Buck's cock. The feeling of being surrounded by wet warmth made Gale dizzy. Watching John's pink, swollen lips stretch around his cock almost made him cum. His hips jerked and he inevitably pressed his cock deeper into John's throat.

"Sorry…" Gale gasped, trying to hold back. But Bucky shook his head imperceptibly and wrapped his other hand around Gale's wrist, which was still resting on his shoulder. "You want me to…" Gale asked breathlessly and Bucky's eyes flashed brightly.

Bucky raised his head briefly and took a breath. "Don't hold back and relax. Don't think about what comes next." He breathed a wet kiss on Gale's thigh and slid further down his body until his elbows were resting on the mattress, spreading Gale's legs.

A hint of panic flitted across Buck's face, but when John curved his lips around his erection again, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the tingling in his body.

Then John's tongue licked over his entire length and he shuddered again. The combination of firm, twisting hand movements, Bucky's wet lips and the cool air hitting his heated skin drove him further towards climax.

Bucky's warm palm rubbed over his lower abs and then fingers wrapped around his thigh. With gentle pressure, John spread his legs wider and for a tiny moment Gale felt terribly naked and vulnerable.

"Bucky," Gale whispered, cupping John's chin. He sounded throaty and slightly uncertain, but he suppressed the hint of fear. "Can you move your fingers…I'd like to feel it," Gale stuttered and sighed. Once again, he found it difficult to express his desires openly and dirty. But that didn't matter because Bucky knew exactly what he wanted and needed.

"Don't worry about it," John encouraged him and leaned over him briefly, kissing his lips and then reaching over to the bedside table.

Gale closed his eyes, embarrassed, and when he felt a soft rustling and then John's body heat again, he shuddered.

"It's still a mystery to me how you can be so embarrassed and at the same time so uninhibited when I'm sucking you off and hopefully fucking you soon," Bucky whispered, stroking his heated cheeks with his knuckles.

"Shut up, John." Gale pressed a hand on his's shoulder and pushed him back between his legs. "Do it before I change my mind."

"Yes, Major," Bucky winked and kissed his groin and thigh. Again, he closed a hand around Gale's erection and pumped a slow, firm rhythm. With his other hand, he opened the lube and dipped two of his fingers into it. He then rubbed his fingers together and warmed the gel.

John squeezed Buck’s dick in time with his thrusts, as sweat dripped from his brow onto Buck’s thigh. He speeded up and then slowed down the movements of his fist and suck again - hard and deep this time.

Bucky groped blindly beside him and grabbed a pillow. "Raise your hips," he demanded and Buck did so. The soft fabric and the elevated position would make things a lot easier, Bucky knew from previous experiences. It had been that way with many women…why should it be any different here?

"Jerk you off, baby," John demanded in a raspy voice. He watched as Gale's hand replaced his own and began to pump. "Slow down," he laughed as Gale rolled his hips. Buck wrapped an arm around his waist and pressed him back into the sheets.

"God damn…make me come," Gale hissed breathlessly.

"I'll darlin'…just relax," Bucky begged. "Close your eyes and just feel." Gale sighed and pressed his head into the pillows. Then John kissed his thigh one last time and ran his palms over his firm, twitching muscles to his ass.

As his hands gripped Gale's butt and he slowly spread his ass cheeks, they both inevitably held their breath. John only realized it when his chest began to burn. Gasping hard for air, he whispered again, "Relax. You're beautiful."

He slid his hands over Buck's thighs and bottom several times until he clearly felt his muscles relax. Only then did he continue, blowing a kiss on the base of Gale's cock and further down. He ran his fingertips carefully between his ass cheeks.

"Ahh," Buck gasped and John paused. He repeated the touch and pressed his thumb gently against the firm ring of muscle. Along the way, he spread kisses and applied light pressure to Gale's tight hole. "That feels intense…" Buck whimpered.

"To much?"

Gale shook his head, "No...keep going!"

Bucky breathed a sigh of relief and drew a few circles with his thumb. Gale's firm muscles worked under the tip of his thumb and when John lowered his lips again, licking his tongue between his ass cheeks, Gale moaned loudly and deeply.

"Okay?" Bucky asked slowly.

"Better than okay," Gale whispered, squeezing his cock hard to curb his desire.

John rubbed his thumb over the ring of muscle again and when it was soft and wet, he pressed the tip of his thumb against Gale's ass with gentle but firm pressure. Half-lowering his eyelids, he squinted up at Buck and followed every movement on his face as his thumb broke through the muscle.

He paused and waited until Gale's muscles relaxed a little. "You're doing so good," he praised him. "You feel amazing around my finger - it's hot and tight."

He continued to look up at Gale as he moved his thumb slightly and slowly began to slide it in and out.

"God…this feels…more Bucky. Give my a little more," Gale begged in a raspy voice, sliding his own thumb over the tip of his wet cock.

John moved his thumb in and out a few more times at a slow pace before dipping his tongue in and then sliding his ring finger in. "You look breathtaking…I can't wait to take you…slow and deep," Bucky murmured, swallowing hard to control and ignore his own desire and the urgent throbbing in his cock a little longer.

"I'll add a second finger," he warned Buck. A few breaths later he pressed his wet fingers against Gale's tight hole and this time it was much easier for him to thrust through the tight ring of muscle.

"I won't last much longer," Buck groaned, licking his dry lips. "I'm ready."

Gale's cheeks were on fire and his muscles shook with the effort. The slightly stinging friction of John's fingers inside him triggered waves of emotion he had never felt before. Heights he had never thought possible. His mind was blank - all thoughts completely swept away as Buck's fingers slipped out of him and for a strange, brief moment he felt empty and cold. Then the next few breaths blurred, and as he felt Bucky's body weight and searing heat against his skin again, he grabbed John's wrist with one hand. "Don't leave me," he pleaded breathlessly, his voice tinged with fear.

"Never," Bucky replied in a heavy voice. His tongue felt sluggish and he clasped Gale's left cheek. "We can stop anytime," he reminded Buck.

A tiny nod was all John needed before he positioned himself at Buck's entrance and leaned down for an all-consuming kiss. Just before their lips met, he whispered in a husky voice, "Take a deep breath."

Gale's grip on his wrist tightened and John followed Buck's every reaction with his eyes. He thrust his hips forward slowly and deliberately, feeling the resistance of Gale's hot, tight muscles. John lowered his head and rubbed the tip of his nose over Gale's heated cheek. His lips breathed kisses on his smooth skin as he pushed himself centimeter by centimeter into Gale's tight hole. They were both breathing loud and heavy, and when Buck let out a huff of air, John slid fully into his ass.

Reassuringly, he rubbed his nose over Buck's heated skin and held still, waiting for some sign. A sigh, a moan, or Gale's muscles tensing and relaxing.

Bucky didn't know how much time had passed when Gale licked his lips and exhaled. Fingertips brushed over John's slightly sweaty skin as Buck slid his hands over his torso and finally placed them on his hips. "Are you okay?" Bucky asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Gale whispered in a raspy voice and when John moved his hips, pulling back and then slowly thrusting forward again, he let out a strangled groan.

"You feel fantastic." Buck felt dizzy and on the verge of passing out as Bucky began a slow and sensual rhythm with his hips. His right hand slid from his hips up to his neck and he pressed his lips hard against John's.

The kiss was wild and unbridled. Their mouths collided, teeth scraped over lower lips and their tongues took turns fighting for dominance. Buck felt like John was setting him on fire with each successive touch, each kiss, each rhythmic thrust of his hips. He was about to explode like a spark of dynamite and burst into a thousand pieces.

"Fuck…John," Gale moaned as he changed the angle of his hips and thrust deeper, somehow even more intensely into him. "Just like that", he begged and started to jerk himself off again. This time rougher and faster.

"Looking at you and feeling your heat is killing me," Bucky gasped. "You feel great…you're taking me perfect, darlin'"

Bucky felt weightless. Having Gale beneath him, feeling him completely and watching him burst into flames was almost like flying. As electrifying and ectastic as jumping out of a plane without a parachute and being shaken by a thousand volts at the same time. A tingling sensation rushed through his veins - one hotter and more urgent than the previous one and as he accelerated his thrusts and now thrust deeper and a little harder, his heartbeat began to falter.

They were both about to burn alive and burn to ashes. John pressed his face into the crook of Gale's neck and breathed a few kisses on the salty skin. His breath caught in Gale's ear and when he wrapped one hand around the back of Bucky's neck and the other around his hard cock, John lost control.

"I'm close," he whispered in a raspy voice. Gale pressed his lips to his skin and stifled his moan.

"Me too…a little harder," Buck gasped, intensifying his own pumping motions. "John," he warned him brittlely. "Make me come…make me fly."

"I will," Bucky promised, thrusting harder and more rampantly. An urgent heat gathered in his belly and as he lifted his head, his eyes meeting Gale's, a fireball exploded in his chest. "I'm about to come."

Gale cursed quietly to himself and arched his back. His hips thrust against John's and he sank deep into Gale's ass a few more times.

Bucky thrust into Gale as deep as he could, his hips rocking in unison with Gale's. Some thrusts hit Gale so hard and unpreparedly intense that he bit his lip, shuddered and his muscles tightened around John's cock

"God…you're so tight and hot, and perfect," Bucky gasped, dropping his sweaty forehead against Gale's as his hips jerked uncontrollably and he shuddered to climax. "Fly with me, Buck."

"I'll come...I...John", Buck moaned surprisingly loudly and in a sensually deep voice. At the same time, he felt Gale tense beneath him and seconds later, warm, thick cum shot between their torsos.

Bucky breathed a wet kiss on Gale's forehead and stroked his red cheek with his fingertips. His heartbeat raced in his chest and he let out a breathless laugh. "There aren't many things, but this…with you…felt better than flying," Bucky murmured.

Beneath him, Gale's muscles twitched and his bright blue eyes glittered in the last of the sunlight. He was slow to come down from the climax he had just experienced and the wild rhythm of his heart thundered in his ears. His hips were still rolling back and forth in small, lazy thrusts. Bucky tried to prolong the aftershocks a little longer. They had left a mess everywhere, but especially on Gale's stomach and he could feel the cum drying up.

"How are you feeling?", he asked und kisses Buck's lower lip softly.

"Giddy, satisfied, overwhelmed," Gale murmured. "I've never felt anything so intense...but I'm good, baby."

As the words filtered through to Bucky, he couldn't help but think of The Times crossword puzzle and everything that had happened afterwards. "Feeling like this every time i look at you", he teased.

Gale laughed and the sound was beautiful. He propped himself up on his elbows and slowly slid out of Gale. They both shuddered at the sudden loss of contact and John quickly scrambled to pull the covers over their sweaty, sticky bodies.

"You made a mess," Gale whispered with a glint of pure contentment, snuggling into him sideways.

The corners of Bucky's mouth twitched and he cupped his hand around his chin, lifting it and smirking dirtily against his lips, "I just like rocking your world and you've never looked better to me…relaxed, sweaty, covered in love bites and really well fucked."

Gale blushed again, making Bucky laugh. For a moment it was timeless - the two of them happy, naked and deeply connected. His heart threatened to explode when Buck wrapped his fingers around his necklace and pulled him close by the dog tags. "I love you…I've never flown higher than with you."

"Fyling high…say yes to heaven, say yes to me…" whispered Bucky.

"A thousand times yes," Gale smiled. "I'll be your co-pilot today and forever."

"Good," Bucky replied and kissed him. "I couldn't fly without you." Nothing could touch them, and when Bucky realized he never wanted to hold anything but Gale in his arms again, everything was pretty much perfect.

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 27 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

(Sorry Cale, I will be, once again, taking away your peace and quiet)

How is everyone today? Me? I AM IN SHAMBLES! I just finished the Penacony Story Quest Act 1, and my mind and heart are broken. But I still want to finish the 31 days of plot bunnies so here I am with day 27.

This plot bunny is literally an entire series of books. More precisely, this plot bunny is my rewrite of Harry Potter with Cale Henituse (and other characters from the novel) as part of the actual cast.

I titled the plot bunny: "A small change in the script"

I will explain the idea below, but beware it is going to be kind of a long explanation. So, enjoy my rambling! (And I am gonna post some memes about this Au pretty soon)

PS: This is really long. I go through the first 5 years at Hogwarts in some detail (I still have a ton of things I haven't spoken about because brain power is very low and I just wanted to get the idea across first). Also, I am sure I made some miskates, so please forgive me. So beware before you start reading!

We start with Cale Henituse and the Henituse and Thames families in this world.

Starting with the Henituse side, they are a pure-blood wizard family that live in the far north of Germany. They are a family that excels at Charms, especially the Shield Charm, Protego. They are known to be neutral when it comes to the idea of muggles and muggle-borns learning about magic. Or rather than neutral, they think the following: "If the muggles/muggle-borns bring trouble, we will do something about it. But if they don't endanger anyone, there is no need for us to intervene." As such, the family keeps out (for the most part) of the drama that the Wizarding World seems to deal with.

Since they are located in the far north of Germany, Deruth attended and graduated from the Drumstrang Institute, just as many other members of his family.

On the other hand, we have the Thames family. They are a pure-blooded (originally) nomadic wizard family that is scattered around the world. They have (lesser known) ties with the Pevrell and some who know members from this family would say that the Thames family have made deals with Death just as the Pevrell brothers did, for they seem too... welcoming, for the lack of better word, of death.

The Thames family are more akin to a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to their magic. Jour Thames, herself, was extremely talented at Dark Arts (mostly in knowing how to repel them), but her parents were more oriented towards Herbology as a subject of specialization.

Jour Thames had decided to remain in Britain once she got her letter to Hogwarts, while her remaining family still wandered the world. She ended up as a Slytherin, beginning in the same year as Severus Snape (and the rest of the Marauders + Lily). She was pretty much Snape's friend (alongside Lucius) in Slytherin.

Jour and Deruth met during the summer before Jour's 7th year at Hogwarts when she decided to take an impromptu visit in Germany. The one who fell first was Deruth.

Deruth was always interested in Muggles and their technology. He is dead set on settling in the Muggle world and living there for the rest of his life. Jour liked the idea enough, as long as she is still free to go to the Wizarding World to talk with her friends and help them in certain missions - Deruth, of course, had no problem with that.

They married after graduating from their respective schools, moved into a muggle city in Germany (somewhere around Berlin) and had Cale Henituse just 2 years after, when they were 20 (Jour) and 21 (Deruth). Six years later, Jour died under mysterious circumstances, leaving a grieving 6 years old Cale and her husband Deruth behind.

Just a year later, Deruth remarried to Violan, a muggle, who already had a son, Bansen. Violan becomes pregnant with the Lily Henituse the following year, making Lily two years old when Cale leaves for Hogwarts.

As a side note, we also have Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo, and Lee Soo Hyuk, who attended Hogwarts and were in their 4th year when Jour and Snape entered their first. Kim Rok Soo was in Hufflepuff (everyone in there called him "the little snake that was raised as a badger" because, technically speaking, he would have done splendidly in Slytherin); Chou Jung Soo was in Griffindor; Lee Soo Hyuk was in Ravenclaw.

Kim Rok Soo grew close to Jour Thames, to the point where Jour is ready to publicly claim Rok Soo as her sworn brother, which in turn should make him Cale's uncle. Kim Rok Soo was one of the people (besides Snape, Lucius, and Narcissa) called by Jour after Cale was born to see him. Btw, the date of Cale's birth still coincides with Kim Rok Soo's own birthday (November 8th), and Rok Soo believes Cale to be akin to a blessing to him, which is why he vows to protect the kid even after Jour is dead.

Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk will later form the "Supernatural Prevention Team" within the Ministry of Magic, a separate type of organization that is mainly about finding whatever "supernatural creature/phenomenon" that appeared in the Muggle world and eliminate it before magic/the supernatural is revealed to Muggles. (Think Mystery Inc. gang from Scooby-Doo but the monsters are half of the time actual real creatures and not just some dudes in constumes)

Cale's name was written in the Book of Admission since the day he was born, mostly because, upon being born, baby Cale managed to let out an influx of magic along with his first cry which shattered the windows of the hospital they were at - thankfully, Jour decided she will give birth to Cale in a Wizard Hospital rather than a Muggle one.

Growing up, Jour basically taught Cale both magic and how to handle magical creatures (I can just imagine that Jour became friends with Aragog during her stay at Hogwarts and she was like "Give my son a giant spider friend too"). Cale, just like the rest of the Thames Family, is a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to his magic and, just like the members of the Henituse Family, he uses Protego a lot more than other spells.

When he goes to Hogwarts, on the train he meets with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. All of them are 1st years, but Cale finds the other two a bit... too childish - especially when Ron starts insulting the Slytherin House and its members by calling them all "evil" and "deranged". But instead of lashing out, Cale calmly points out that Merlin was a Slytherin too, while also calling out different names of people from the Griffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who were branded as criminals in the past. When asked by Ron how he knows so much, Cale's response is "Unlike you, I do enjoy reading books", before taking out a book and starting to read, completely ignoring the other two.

When Cale gets sorted, the Sorting Hat pretty much is at a loss. Cale has recklessness of a Griffindor, the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, the loyalty of a Hufflepuff, and the cunningness of a Slytherin. Cale's own mentality of "I don't care in which house I get sorted into" doesn't help the Hat either. So the Hat spends well over 5 minutes trying to dig deep enough into Cale's character so that it can actually put him in a house. In the end, the Hat finds that Cale's ambition - which is to take over Kim Rok Soo's position as the current leader (which he got mainly because Lee Soo Hyuk decided ot will be funny to put Rok Soo as the leader) of the "Supernatural Prevention Team" - is pretty strong and decides to sort him into Slytherin. Snape is pretty pleased with that since he also wants to look after Cale. Dumbledore isn't as pleased since Cale looks like a smart kid, and he thinks he is very vulnerable to Voldemort's influence.

Cale integrates pretty well into the Slytherin House, getting along well with Blaise Zabini and, somewhat well, with Draco Malfoy. (It's mostly as "babysitter" type of relationship at the beginning: Cale makes sure Draco doesn't get in that much trouble by calling him out of some things, while Draco is basically the sulky kid that was told "no" for the first time in his life - Cale is not impressed by Draco's attempt at "puppy dog eyes")

However, Cale also ends up, more often than not, around Harry, Hermione, and Ron and deals with their shenanigans. He is the one who convinced the 3 that it was impossible for Snape to be behind Harry's broom going out of control during the Quiddich match and, while they Ron and Hermione don't truly believe him, Harry thinks Cale is not lying. The reason Harry believes Cale so much? Because Cale has never in the months prior ever told lies - Harry fact checked even the names that Cale said were criminals on the train at the beginning of the year, and it turned out he was correct. Same goes for anything else Cale has said before.

Because of this, they reason that Professor Quirell might have been behind all of this, but without proof, they can't be sure of anything.

When they find out that the Philosopher's Stone is in danger of being stolen, the 3 (who also kinda dragged Cale with them) attempt to get to the stone and protect it while Dumbledore is away in London. Cale takes a liking to Fluffy and employs the methods that his mother taught him to calm down magic creatures of all kind - sharing a bit of his magic with them. By doing this, Cale basically shares his emotional state with the creatures he gave magic to, and manages to calm them down as long as Cale himself is calm.

He insists that the other move quickly after Quirell and tells Harry to be careful because he just knows that Quirell's magic just feels off. Once they are gone and Fluffy is back asleep, Cale goes to Snape and informs him of Quirell's actions. Because of this, Snape ends up there when Quirell dies from a combination of Lily's protective charm and the true Quirell's will fighting against Voldemort's control at the very end. (Basically while his body was burnt from the protective charm, Quirell's mind was trying to keep Voldemort from doing too much damage because he realized... Harry is a fucking child and this is wrong on so many levels. So Quirell fights back, but still dies)

While Dumbledore tells Harry he did the right thing, trauma is a bitch, and I refuse to think Harry wouldn't have trauma from seeing someone die in front of him. Cale finds Harry looking like he is about to cry in the hallways so he takes Harry away and, once more, puts his mother's teachings in action. Jour told Cale when he was little that in Hogwarts, as long as you actually need it, you can ask Hogwarts itself for a room - be it if you need it for studying or just as a place to hide.

Cale asks Hogwarts for a place where he and Harry can be alone, and Hogwarts obliges. Once in the silence and safety of that room, Cale tells Harry he can let it go. Harry starts crying. While he may not be the best at comfort, Cale shares that Harry is not the only person who went through something like that since Cale himself watched his mother die on a hospital bed. Harry feels closer to Cale after this instance and thinks to himself that he will try his best to be a good friend to Cale as he was to him. (Cale: Since when was I a good friend? Since when are we friends?)

In the 2nd year, Cale's interest was piqued when Harry spoke Parseltongue during his duel with Draco Malfoy. This alone made Cale suspicious about how intertwined their family lines were with the Slytheirn line since Cale can also speak Parseltongue.

Since the Secret Chamber's serial petrifications cases already started, Cale is immediately suspicious since he knows Harry doesn't have the spine to do such a thing, and Cale himself thinks it's too much of a bother - so someone else is doing something here, and Cale has a strong belief that there is something more to Moaning Myrthle, the ghost from the girl's bathroom on the second floor. (In the meantime, Harry is freaking out because he is half convinced he is doing something while sleep-walking)

After Hermionie is petrified and Hagrid is sent to Azkaban, both Cale and Harry (and Ron, who still didn't like Cale all that much) decide they should do something.

Trying to prove that Hagrid is innocent, Harry and Ron take Hagrid's advice to follow the spiders while Cale tries to find something by asking Hogwarts. Cale asks if there are any books that might help them discover the reason why students are getting petrified. Hogwarts' response is to get him into a room with books on magical creatures.

Once Cale finds out about the Basilisk and about the Acromantula. Knowing that both Harry and Ron went to the Forbidden Forest following Hagrid's advice, Cale immediately goes there as well, making use of his mother's way to tame magical creatures to get to Aragog's lair. Since Aragon knew Jour, Aragog recognizes Cale's magic as belonging to someone blood related to Jour. By sharing his magic with Aragog, Cale gains Aragog's favor and lets the 3 go. (It's way more complicated that I made it look here, but the words elude me for the moment, so this is the short version)

After this, Ron seems to be just a tad nicer to Cale since he pretty much saved them from the giant spiders. Cale tells them about what the information he found about the Basilisk, a creature that fits the narrative of what has been happening recently. Finding a note in the petrified Hermione's hand just proves Cale's deductions correctly. And then Ginny is kidnapped.

When they hear that Lockheart wants to deal with the creature himself, Cale advises Harry and Ron to be careful when dealing with Lockheart since Cale's instincts scream danger whenever the guy is near. They still go and try to tell him what they found about the Basilisk but instead they find that Lockheart, as per Cale's ("frankly scary" as Ron would say) intuition, is a fraud and tries to use the Memory Charm on them too. Cale disarms him.

This time around, both Harry and Cale are trapped inside the Chamber of Secrets after the ceiling caves in due to Ron's broken wand's misfire (don't worry, Lockheart still gets a taste of his own medicine called the Memory Charm).

This is where Harry learns that Cale can also speak Parseltongue and where Cale informs Harry that it is mostly only the descendants of Slytherin who can speak it, bringing forth the idea that in some way they are both related to Slytherin by blood.

During the battle with Tom Marvolo Riddle, Cale is the one who decided to take a leap of faith and protect Harry when Tom ordered the Basilisk to kill him. Thinking fast, Cale orders the Basilisk to stop altogether, banking on the fact that he might also be a contender for the "Slytherin's Heir" position. If the gamble fails Cale dies, but if it succeeds Cale, Ginny and Harry will manage to live. The gamble pays out as the Basilisk stops and, through broken hisses, wishes for her death so that she will not become a weapon of war for Tom Riddle.

Harry pulls out the Sword of Griffindor from the Hat and stabs the Basilisk, after which Tom decides to take matters into his own hands by attacking Harry. Cale, during the battle, talks with the Sorting Hat and finds out that Basilisk Venom will kill whatever the Tom Marvolo Riddle in front of him is as long as he uses it on the source of the magic. To put an end to everything, Cale is the one that stabs the diary with one of the Basilisk's fangs, causing the Tom before them to dissipate.

Towards the end of the year, Cale is dead set on getting him and Harry to Gringotts, where they could have a test done to decipher their family tree and relations to other families. Once there, Cale teaches Harry another thing: the Gringotts Goblins can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so choose wisely. Cale's associate from the bank, a goblin named Rodnar, is the one that they met and the one that helps them with the test.

Turns out, both of them are related to the Slytherin Family, which explains the Parseltongue. They expected that much. Harry got confirmation about his own family and was informed that he is the one in charge of the Potter Family Vault - provisory for now, permanent holder once he reaches 17 years of age.

At the same time, because of the tests they had to do, the Goblins become somewhat worried when they detect foreign magic inside of Harry Potter's body - specifically, dark magic.

Remembering what happened with Voldemort during their first year, Cale and Harry accept a full test on the dark magic and decide that if it is Voldemort's, they will find a way to get rid of it. This marks the beginning of a 3 year-long plan to get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

During the summer before the 3rd Year, Cale spends time with Kim Rok Soo and his team. Rok Soo tells Cale stories of his years at Hogwarts, and he teaches Cale the Patronus Charm. Cale's Patrons turns out to be a Thestral - mostly because most of the happy memories Cale has are with his mother and her death affected Cale a lot more than people think at first glance.

Year 3 begins with both Cale and Harry meeting a Dementor on the train, with various reactions to it. While Harry faints and develops as deep fear of Dementors, Cale's experience is a bit different. When the Dementor appears before him, Cale's magic seems to go just a bit out of control, which makes the Dementor flitch due to its potency. Cale doesn't seem to be as affected by that encounter, which is something Remus Lupin takes note of when Cale comes and visits Harry's train compartment to check on him.

When Harry sneaks into Hogsmeade, he meets up with Cale, who is there to buy candy for Bansen and Lily as Christmas gifts. While Harry is in one of the shops, Cale notices a black dog and starts petting it, finding the animal quite cute. When Harry comes out and finds Cale petting the dog, he not only recognizes the dog but also believes it is weird for the dog to have followed him around.

When it is time for them to return, Harry tells Cale both about the dog and about the tunnel he used to get to Hogsmeade (and the conversation he overheard). Cale is immediately suspicious about the dog and very interested about the Marauder's Map, thinking that whomever created it is a very skilled wizard.

After the divination class where Professor Trelawney gave her prediction about what will happen in the future, Cale contacts Rodnar and asks him if he can find anything on the case of Sirius Black, since he believes something is not quite right there. Rodnar contacts Cale back a bit later, telling him that there is no such thing as a court hearing of Sirius Black and that he was sent immediately to Azkaban. From there, Cale works with Susan Bones and her aunt to resolve this clear lack of justice accorded to Sirius Black's case and to get his name cleared.

In the meantime, Harry, Hermione, and Ron hear about Buckbeak's execution and try to prevent it.

The more Cale digs into the past of Sirius Black and his crimes, the more suspicious everything becomes. Then, he remembers Scabbers looks peculiar for a pet rat - specifically, that Scabbers is a rat with a missing finger. Realizing Harry and the others are in danger, Cale attempts to reach them in time to help, only to end up coming a bit too late and assisting Harry and Hermione with the Time-Turner, coming with them to the past and having his Patronus help Harry's when they need to get the Dementors to back away from Sirius and past Harry.

Once Sirius is safe, Cale presents to Sirius his options: 1. He continues like this and hides for the rest of his life or 2. He can accept help from Cale and present his case to the Ministry of Magic and get some mind healing sessions, after which he will be free to take custody of Harry.

Of course, Sirius accepts Cale's help, and Remus Lupin even jokes that if he didn't agree, Remus himself would have dragged him to get help. When Sirius asks why Cale is doing all of this, Cale just replies that this will help Harry and annoy a certain people he quite dislikes. By the 5th year, Harry is in Sirius's custody.

Towards the end of the 3rd Year, Cale tells Harry to meet him in the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry arrives, Cale tells him that there is something very strange about the Chamber - it was way too empty. Understanding where he is going with this Harry asks if Cale found anything that tells him there is something more to the Chamber. Cale says that it is merely his intuition.

The two spend the night there trying to find something amiss within the room. During this time, Cale tells Harry he should be weary of Dumbledore. When Harry asks why, Cale replies: "Men like Dumbledore care only about their plans, not about the people that are part of their plans. Dumbledore is the same type of person that I am. So be careful around him and scrutinize every word he says."

Harry, internally, disagrees on the view that Cale has of himself, thinking that although Cale might not show it the conventional way, he truly does care about him and the others.

The two, in the end, find that there is a secret library inside the Chamber of Secrets, full of books from the time of Salazar Slytherin. They even find his journal. Cale decides to try and memorize as much of this library as he could, looking for ways to try and get rid of Voldemort, whom Cale suspects to be behind the Dark Magic inside Harry's body. In the library, Cale and Harry find some information on Horcruxes - something even Salazar Slythrin called "a practice that no one should ever attempt at any point in their life" and they both start making connections between Voldemort and Horcruxes. This is how year 3 ends.

Year 4, for Cale, starts with hearing about the Death Eaters raid after the Quidditch Championship. Knowing that this is merely the beginning of the trouble, Cale starts conversing with Kim Rok Soo about the situation. Kim Rok Soo asks Cale to be careful and not to be reckless should he ever come across a Death Eater.

At Hogwarts, Cale decides to make more progress in the memorization of the books in Salazar Slytherin's secret library. The book that he starts reading explains the concept of "magic reflection" as a defensive technique in a duel. Cale starts thinking if this could be used against the Unforgivable Curses that Mad-Eye Moody showed them during the Defense Against the Dark Arts.

When the Triwizard Tournament starts and Harry is suddenly and inexplicably chosen to be part of it, Cale immediately suspects Dumbledore of putting Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. He tells as much to Harry and the others, feeling that even if his suspicion turns out to be wrong, at least they will keep their guard up during the competition.

During the competition, Cale tries to help Harry as much as he can to prepare - and that includes stopping Ron's jealousy from going too far. So Cale invites Ron to have tea with him and talk to him about his insecurities. Cale tells Ron not to let his feelings destroy a friendship that he cherishes, and instead, invites Ron to come to him and talk about whatever he wants as a way to get things off his chest. Cale reasons with himself that he already does that (in some capacity) with Draco since the second year so having Ron do this too is not that much trouble now.

From there, things progress normally. During the Yule Ball, Cale attends with Susan Bones. The two discussed the happenings in the previous year and what happened this year as well. Susan is well aware that Harry couldn't have gotten into the TriWizard Tournament without someone else putting his name in the Goblet, and she feels pity for Harry, who has to deal with so many things happening to him. Both Susan and Cale decide that this year protecting Harry and finding who made him part of the Tournament is the most important thing. Both also remark how Rita Skeeter is a very annoying type of journalist and that if she becomes a problem, both of them will do their best to deal with her.

On the day of the last task for the tournament, the Weasley Twins decided to pull a little prank and, though sheer bad luck, Cale ends up being the one that the prank falls on. Cale has to change clothes due to the twins' prank, and a Hufflepuff student tells Cale he can take his spare robes. (The Hufflepuff kinda like Cale ever since Susan vouched for him despite being a Slytherin.)

Cale takes the offer. Feeling that something is about to go wrong, Cale asks Harty before hand if he can borrow the Invisibility Cloak. Harry, although confused, accepts.

When the third task starts, Cale sneaks into the labyrinth with the Invisibility Cloak and tries to stay around Harry to make sure he will be fine. Cale loses sight of Harry at one point but finds Cedric Diggory, a 7th year Hufflepuff student and gives himself away in his haste. When Cedric asks Cale why he is there, Cale tells him he is not there to intervene with the Tournament, he is just there to make sure Harry makes it out in one piece. Liking the loyalty Cale showed and fully agreeing that Harry is in need of protection, Cedric tells Cale he will help Harry if he is in a any trouble. Cale thanks him and the two make their way through the maze, later meeting Harry at the place where Cup was.

When Cale realized that the Triwizard Cup was a Portkey, Cale also held onto the Cup being transported with Cedric and Harry to the graveyard where Peter Pettigrew was. When Peter tries to use Avada Kadavra on Cedric, Cale employs the "magic refection" technique he read in the Chamber's library, casting Protego and praying that the Unspeakable Curse will bounce off the shield he created. It does happen, but Cale miscalculated and Harry still ends up injured and his blood is used to raise Lord Voldemort from the grave.

Voldemort and Harry still duel, which resulted in the Priori Incantatem still taking effect. Thinking fast, Cale tells Harry to come behind him with Cedric and sets up a new shield. This buys the three kids time, as Cale tells Harry and Cedric to take the Cup once again while their are under the shield so that they can go back. When the two ask Cale what he will do, Cale just tells them he will be fine. Once they are gone, Cale turns his attention towards Voldemort and his followers. Voldemort is indignant at the attitude of a mere Hufflepuff child and fires another Avada Kadavra. Cale knew that if that spell hit the shield will not save him. As such, Cale did another stupid thing: he used a type of magic he only read about before, Apparition.

Cale ends up in the Forbidden Forest, with a shoulder injury but otherwise alive after his 1ts successful Apparition.

Later on, after Cale makes his way back to Hogwarts, he finds out that both Harry and Cedric are alive and well. Harry and Cedric were worried sick about Cale but unanimously decided not to mention Cale's presence in the graveyard because they know Dumbledore doesn't like Slytherin students and they both fear Cale will be in trouble.

When Dumbledore talks with Harry in private later, Harry keeps in mind that Cale warned him not to trust Dumbledore. Cale's works seem to be proven right when Harry noticed Dumbledore looks triumphant when he hears Harry's blood was used to bring Voldemort back to the living. Feeling hurt, Harry seeks out Cale to tell him thing, and Cale comforts Harry as best as he can.

A bit later, Cale tells Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Cedric to meet up to discuss what happened during the tournament. Cedric shows up and brings with him most of the other classmates who also feel something is weird about this. When Harry tells about his conversation with Dumbledore, everyone is quite mad because they don't like that Dumbledore went to the extreme of putting Harry's name in the Goblet to use him as a pawn in his own schemes. When someone points out that Barty Crouch Jr. who disguised as Mad Eye Moody could have done that, Harry points out that Moody was Dumbledore's friend, so would Dumbledore really be fooled by Barty's act?

When that was pointed out, everyone became quiet. Cale breaks the silence by telling everyone that whatever is happening will not be resolved by the Ministry of Magic. Susan backs Cale up, stating that her aunt told her that Fudge is not as reliable as people think.

Cale proposes everyone to work together from the inside of Hogwarts since they will most likely be in danger, most are skeptical - especially Ron who doesn't trust Draco or any of the other Slytherin that much. Cale tells Ron it is understandable for him not to he OK with this arrangement but if they don't work together, the ones that will lose will be them.

Someone asks Cale if he has a plan since he is so sure of what he said. Cale looks at Harry, who nods in response, and says: "Harry and I have a plan. It's risky and very difficult to put in action. But my main question to you all is: Do you trust us?" The others nodded, some faster, others more reluctant. Cale smiles and then proceeds to tell the: "Then trust me when I say, we need to help the Slytherin students to be on our side. They are just kids. They are scared more of their parents' words/actions if they disobey, rather than the consequences of their blind loyalty. That undying piece of shit is using them as a means to an end, and when their usefulness expires, he will get rid of them. Just because they are Slytherin doesn't mean they don't deserve to be helped." Harry takes it from there: "Which is why we want to show them that they still have a choice. Cale has tried his best until now to make his fellow Slytherin understand that, but to no avail. Now, if we work together, we might just be able to save them from all of this."

Draco is a bit surprised by this since he never realized Cale tried to help the others in the Slytherin House. Cale, seeing his reaction, explains to Draco that when dealing with Slytherins, you can't show too much that you are against the Dark Lord's orders since that will immediately alert them. The Slytherin kids know that if someone betrays the Dark Lord, they should tell their parents, or they will be called an accomplice to their betrayal. So Cale cannot be upfront with the others, but putting seeds of doubt in their minds is better than nothing at this point. If they play their cards right, the other Slytherin will doubt the validity of the Dark Lord's words at one point or another. What they need is to make that happen sooner.

The meeting ends with that and with a confirmation from Cedric that he will help Cale with whatever he needs over the summer. Cale tells Cedric, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Neville, Luna, Susan, and Terry to meet him again during the summer because he needs their help with something that is essential to their plan.

(After the meeting, the Hufflepuff house pretty much adopts Cale as well. Especially after Cedric tells them that Cale saved his life during the confrontation with Peter Pettigrew and later with Voldemort. When they realize Cale's shoulder is still hurt after the Apparition, the entire house puts Cale into blankets and makes hot chocolate for him. Cale, albeit confused, doesn't complain)

During the summer, the group meets up and, amidst all the planning, they bond. Draco becomes more friendly with Harry and his group, much to Cale's approval. Meanwhile, everyone starts seeing Cale as the leader of the entire movement/group, although Cale remains oblivious to that. Harry is officially put under Sirius's care during this time, to Dumbledore's disapproval. (Not that there is much he can do about it since the Ministry of Magic not only approved of this but pushed for this to happen. All thanks to Amelia Bones, btw.) Because of this new arrangement for Harry, Cale ends up visiting him at 12 Grimmauld Place during summer and, though Cale honestly doesn't know why, Kreacher takes a liking to Cale, while still disliking Sirius and, somewhat, Harry too. (Look, don't ask Cale. He was just polite to Kreacher. He was taught to be polite to older creatures since young goddammit)

Also, Cale and Harry get some useful updates on the research for a way to get the Dark Magic out of Harry from Rodnar and the staff at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. All in all, the summer passes quickly for everyone. Especially with the hearing Harry has to go through in August - thanks a lot, Dumbledore - but at least now they know fully that no one believes that Voldemort is back. They can cross out the idea of going to the Ministry for help in this situation.

Then, the fifth year starts, and everyone is introduced to Dolores Umbridge, their new DADA teacher for the year.

When Harry first gets the Umbridge Detention experience, complete with the (illegal) enchanted quill, it is Cale that he chooses to go to first. Cale, although enraged with Umbridge, tells Harry to keep his head down and try not to go against Umbridge. When asked why, Cale replies with: "I have a plan to deal with her, but I need you and everyone else to keep out of trouble for now." Harry, reluctantly, agrees to that.

Meanwhile, Cale poses as a perfectly obedient student in front of Umbridge, telling her that his father has chosen him as the successor to the family business and that he has to conform, and, as such, he won't be able to join the little army of students she is making. Umbridge, seeing that as a pertinent excuse, agrees and notes that Cale and his family would be a wonderful addition to the Dark Lord's army, especially once they are swayed to his side. Cale, on the other hand, is actually digging for misdeeds of Umbridge so he can report her.

To make sure that the report would actually work, Cale meets with Snape and asks what the requirements for a Hogwarts teacher are to be expelled from their position. Snape, guessing where this is going, tells Cale that there needs to be 3 wrongdoings recognized by the Ministry of Magic (with proof) for the teacher to be expelled. He also warns Cale that he will not hesitate to expell Cale should he be found out to be the one behind whatever he is trying to do. Cale takes that as a challenge and asks Snape for a favor: to give Cale lessons in Occlumency. Snape does agree. However, he states that the lessons will stop the moment Cale makes one mistake or the moment he thinks Cale's little scheme to get rid of Umbridge (which Snape also wants to happen mind you) will be found out. And so, before in October, Cale's first lessons in Occlumency begin.

During this time, Cale works with Harry and the others and creates the Hogwarts Army, once it is clear they won't learn anything from Umbridge as their DADA teacher. They use the Chamber of Secrets as their true meeting spot, with the Room of Requirement as a front. Meanwhile, Draco, who is part of the group created by Umbridge, named the Inquisitorial Squad, is trying to do as Cale told them at the end of last year - to place seeds of doubt in the minds of the other Slytherin students. Draco chooses to do so by pointing out that Umbridge's temperament is getting worse - today she was screaming at some 2nd year kids from the Hufflepuff house, and tomorrow she might just start screaming at us. To divert suspicion from himself, Draco just says that he just finds the old hag's attitude annoying since she is merely a half-blood compared to most of the Slytherin students who are pure blooded and that if she ever rises her voice at us then should we, pure-bloods, just stand there and take it? ("My father will hear about this" intensifies)

This attempt does plant some doubt in the others although Draco sees it as a failure.

Until Januray, Cale puts his little scheme in action. First, using the Occlumency Lessons from Snape, Cale makes sure to create a pensive containing the memory of Umbridge stating that she is part of the Swayer Family - which he will use later in the year. Next, after digging into Umbridge's past, he strikes a deal with the Ghosts of Hogwarts - including Peevees - that has them spreading rumors around about Umbridge and whatever mistakes and scandals he could find in her past. Finally, he contacts Kim Rok Soo with these findings and urges his uncle to finish his part of the plan before coming to Hogwarts to take care of Umbridge.

When Harry has his vision of the attack on Mr. Weasly, instead of bringing it up to Dumbledore, Harry finds Cale and tells him that they need to start putting their plan in action. This leads to Harry still taking Occlumency Lessons, but instead of Snape teaching him, it is Cale (who took the Polyjuice Potion to look like Snape) that teaches him. This is merely a front for part of their plan. Since they know now that Voldemort is the owner of the Dark Magic inside Harry, the two want to use this connection Harry has with Voldemort to find out about the locations of his Horcruxes. The principle they use is something studied by Salazar Slytherin, who writes in his library that there is a way to feed false information to someone but that person's mental state should be less than perfect for it to work. Combined with the knowledge that whomever attempts to create a Horcrux will have their mental state damaged, Cale and Harry decide they can actually try this on Voldemort. So Cale teaches Harry how to implant imaginary situations inside Voldemort's head, with Voldemort thinking that these are Harry's actual memories that seeped through their connection rather than just made-up scenarios. In the meantime, Harry learns about the Horcruxes: the diary they have destroyed during their 2nd year; the Gaunt's Family Ring that is currently in Dumbledore's possession; the Slytherin Locket - location unknown; the Hufflepuff Cup - location unknown; Ravenclaw Diadem - location unknown; and finally Nagini, who is always with Voldemort.

Knowing they have to destroy these items, the two start searching for them using the easiest way they could think of - asking Hogwarts. Cale asks Hogwarts if there is any room inside that castle that has a Horcrux inside of it, and, in response, Hogwarts opens the way to the Room of Requirement where the two find Ravenclaw Diadem - after a long time of searching.

From there, they announce Rodnar and the Gringotts Bank about the fact that there are more Horcruxes than anyone could have guessed and tell them what items they are. Knowing this, the Goblins make an inspection of the vaults in search of a signature of dark magic, finding the Hufflepuff Cup and giving it to Cale. With 2 Horcruxes in their hands, 1 already destroyed and 1 in Dumbledore's hands, the two decide that the Slytheri Locket should be their next target. But, with no concrete location for it yet, the two turn their attention towards dealing with Umbridge, who has been getting more and more angry due to the rumors that were spread around by the Hogwarts Ghosts.

Umbridge's temperament is truly getting out of hand, for she even starts yelling at her own Inqisitorial Squad when the rumors don't stop. This makes the Slytherin doubt their choice of loyalty even more since Umbridge is a half-blood and she is allowed to yell at them (pure-blood wizards) and the Dark Lord seems to not have heard or done anything about it.

In April, where Umbridge would become the Headmistress in canon, instead there is a visit from Kim Rok Soo, his teammates and 2 other officials from the Ministry of Magic because Cale sent the evidence that he found about Umbridge. They accuse Umbridge of "impersonation of a successor to a pure-blood wizard family" with the proof being the pensive that Cale send of Umbridge claiming she is related to the Swayer Family which turns out to be a lie. Next, they present the evidence of her taking bribes and other means of payment as a member of the Ministry, which is illegal by all means.

During these accusations, Umbridge becomes more and more furious, knowing that it was a student who organized all of this. Since the accusation scene takes place in the Main Hall with most of the students and teachers present, Umbridge sees Cale, who appears (to her) a bit smug. Knowing that even if she tries, she can't prove her innocence anymore, she decides to take Cale down with her. Umbrige uses Crucio on Cale, which causes him quite a lot of pain.

Meanwhile, Cale is very much aware that there is a chance that Umbridge will attack whomever she thinks is responsible for her downfall. He, however, is fully ready to take whatever Umbridge will do because 1. it will only serve to incriminate her further and 2. Cale was the one that came up with this plan, he will not let someone else take the fall for him. (Although Umbridge casting Crucio was not in his plans)

The pain that Umbridge's Crucio brings Cale is quickly stopped by Kim Rok Soo who punches Umbridge and leaves her unconscious. (Go get her, Rok Soo!!!!)

This incident happens in front of the already doubtful Slytherin students, who know (read: think they know) Cale is innocent and immediately jump to help him since he is pretty much down for the count, Draco and Blaise being the first ones to try and see if Cale is alright. Harry and the others then point out that this is not the only time Umbridge has resorted to punishments such as these, telling the officials of the Ministry about the enchanted blood pen that Harry was forced to use in detentions. (To say that Snape and McGonagall weren't horrified was a lie) Other students, including the Slytherins, came up to tell about how Umbridge kept yelling and blaming them for every little thing that went wrong for her.

Cale was taken to the infirmary where he is recovering, while Kim Rok Soo is very much aware that Cale might have even planned for himself to become a target of Umbridge to further incriminate her. Kim Rok Soo doesn't like that one bit. He tells as much to Snape in private (with whom he is still friends btw) and asks Snape to look after Cale. Kim Rok Soo is not able to stay long since they have to get Umbridge to an interrogation (Kim Rok Soo promises to make her scream during it btw) and, later, to incriminate Fudge who was responsible for putting Umbridge in charge of children at Hogwarts. (In other words: Operation "Ministry Take Over" is a go!)

A few days later, Cale wakes up at the infirmary. He is still in a bit of pain, but not nearly as much. Snape is the one that stays with him and the one that is there when Cale wakes up. Snape does tell Cale that what he did was extremely dangerous and stupid (2 attributes that are very much Griffindor-esque), Cale counters with "I can't just let her send a Crucio at another, probably, even younger student, right? Also, how was I supposed to know she knows Crucio of all spells?" Still, Cale does get a lecture from both Snape and, later, McGonagall. And it's not like his friends (from any house) are pleased with this either.

After this, things go back to normal. However, in May, Cale gets a letter from Kreacher. Kreacher feels like Cale and the late Regulus Black share a lot of things - specifically their desire to make things right. In the letter, Kreacher states that he knows where the Slytherin Locket is and that he knows (from the Goblins that he converses with) that Cale is after the Horcruxes. Kreacher says he is willing to give the Slytherin Locket to Cale as long as Cale promises that what they are doing will bring justice to the death of Regulus Black, the last member of the Black Family that Kreacher actually cares for. Cale sends back his promise to do so and tells Kreacher he could come and see that the promise is kept towards the end of the year.

When the O.W.Ls begin and Harry has that vision of Sirius dying, the group knows it is time to move. Harry and Cale instruct the remaining members of the Hogwarts Army to be in full alert mode, knowing that Voldemort plans to keep Hogwarts occupied by sending an army of Dark Creatures while he is at the Ministry of Magic. Harry also tells Sirius to not, under any measure, come to the Ministry of Magic - advice which is ignored and Sirius even brings Remus along since he was there when Harry sent the message. (Thankfully, Kim Rok Soo intercepted the 2 idiots or they would be dead)

Cale, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, Terry, Susan, and Cedric go to the Ministry of Magic, fully aware of Voldemort and his Death Eaters being there, but also fully aware that they have a plan.

The final showdown happens in the Department of Mysteries, where Cale has convinced his uncle, Kim Rok Soo, to set up the trap that they need to get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

When Voldemort and his Death Eathers (Bellatrix included, but no Lucius) appear, the trap activates, and there appears an array under their feet. The ten kids start their incantations (all of them having different ones, mind you), and a shield separates Voldemort and his minions from the kids. As they continue their incantation, Voldemort tries to use Avada Kadavra on Harry or Cale, but the shield redirects the spell towards Voldemort himself (tho it doesn't quite hit him). Bellatrix is also trying to use any spell against the kids, Neville in particular, but they are also bounced back. Seeing that their spells are ineffective, Voldemort and his minions resort to taunting to make even one of them lose their concentration, which could lead to the array breaking. Bellatrix starts taunting Draco saying things like "If your parent saw you doing this, they will do everyone a favor and kill him on the spot" or "You are a traitor who sided with the mugles. Do you really have no shame or respect for your pure-blooded origins?". Draco, although he is deadly afraid of his father's opinion of him, is also fully aware that he had never felt more at ease than when he is around Cale and the other. He, aware of the consequences, decided to take matters in his own hand and chose his own path - and he chooses to help Cale and Harry. He doesn't falter in his incantation, nor does he fall for the taunts of Bellatrix, which annoys her.

Voldemort, meanwhile, is going back and forth between trying to get a raise out of Cale and Harry or trying to recruit Cale in his army by telling him about the power he will be given. Neither budge.

When the incantations are complete, Voldemort and his minions find themselves sealed inside a crystal ball. The walls of the crystal ball basically absorb any spells thrown at them and reflect them right back. This makes Voldemort and his minions into a non-existent threat. Cale even taunts Voldemort saying that only our blood can get them out of the crystal balls now. The 10 kids congratulate each other for a job well done. Before they leave the Ministry, they meet with Lucius. Voldemort and Bellatrix are gleeful, thinking that Lucius will kill the kids. The one that speaks up is Draco, who tells Lucius not to get in their way. Lucius looks at his son, lowers his wand, and let's them through, telling Draco that he is proud of him. Voldemort and Bellatrix call Lucius a traitor, but Lucius looks at them as says: "The only one I was ever loyal to was my family. You are not part of my family" before ruffling Draco's hair and leaving. Draco is still in shock (but also very happy) even after they leave the Ministry and go to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the rest of the Hogwarts Army decides to take part in the fight against the Dark Creatures sent by Voldemort, much to the disagreement of the teachers. During the fight, Slytherin students also enter the fray on the Hogwarts Army side. Most of the Slytherin students were already against the Dark Lord after seeing how Umbridge behaved towards them and how she attacked Cale. Now, they make a full statement by fighting against the Dark Lord. The fight ends without casualties - the injuries the students get are not death threatening.

When McGonagall and the other teachers (including Dumbledore) are about to ask/scold the children for their recklessness, Cale and the others return with Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the crystal balls. When Cale starts explaining the plan that has been in the making for the last 3 years (at least), Cedric, Ron and Neville dissappear for a while, only to return with the Hufflepuff Cup, the Ravenclaw Diadem, and the Sword of Griffindor and a vial of Basilisk Venom in hands.

Cale tells everyone present of what Voldemort did to his own soul and how the items that were brought here are some of the Horcruxes. Ron takes the Sword of Griffindor and puts Basilisk Venom on it, before bringing it down onto the Cup and the Diadem, destroying 2 of the Horcruxes in front of Voldemort.

Luna and Hermione look at Dumbledore and tell him to give them the Gaunt Ring that they know is with him so that it can be destroyed too. During all this, Cale explains how he and Harry came across the connection between Harry and Voldemort and how they used said connection to make sure that they found the Horcruxes. When Occlumency is mentioned, it finally clicks for Snape what Cale used his lessons for. When Snape asks Cale why he couldn't tell him directly of his plan, Cale says: "You were already in a lot of danger since you played the double spy for Dumbledore, Professor Snape. If I told you all of this, it might put you in even more trouble with either Voldemort or Dumbledore." (Cale has suspected that Snape was a double spy since the beginning but with no proof it was hard to even say this; the others started suspecting this during this year). The Ring is also destroyed, this time by Cedric.

Voldemort laughs since there are 2 more Horcruxes, and the kids don't have them. Cale stops him by calling out for Kreacher, who is waiting with Dobby to make his entrance. Kreacher gives Cale the Slytherin Locket and, while looking straight at Voldemort and Bellatrix, tells Cale to destroy it and finally fulfill the last wish of his late Master Regulus.

Cale takes the Locket and looks at Kreacher, who nods. He takes a breath and speaks, for the first time in front of everyone, in Parseltongue, and thus opens the Locket. Once open, he holds out his hand to Cedric, who gives Cale the Sword of Griffindor, and Cale destroys the Slytherin Locket. Now, 5 of the Horcruxes are destroyed. But there is still Nagini, who is still missing.

When Voldemort points that out, Harry looks at the clock and tells everyone to wait a bit.

After a while, Kim Rok Soo (together with 2 dogs *cough* Sirius and Remus *cough*) enters the Main Hall and says: "Sorry I was late. I was snake hunting, and I found 2 dogs on the road as well, " and points to Nagini (who is struggling against some magic binds) and Sirius and Remus, who look like confused puppies.

Cale and Harry tell them they were just in time. Cale then looks at Voldemort and states: "I thought about how you deserve to die, Voldemort, and I felt like a quick death is too kind for you after the amount of trouble you gave everyone. So, I decided I should let you die the death you fear most: the death of muggles. No death in a battle, nor by a sword. But by starvation. Slow and painful."

While Cale was speaking, Kim Rok Soo brought Nagini closer. However, in a last-ditch effort, Nagini manages to free herself from the bindings and makes a dash to bite Cale. Neville, although scared, takes the Sword of Griffindor from Cale's hands and kills Nagini, protecting Cale.

And with this all the hope Voldemort ever had vanished as Nagini dissipates.

Everyone congratulates Neville for his bravery, although Neville doesn't feel like he did anything much - he just says that his body moved on its own and that this was by far the scariest thing he ever went through.

Cale and Harry share looks, and then they say things aren't really over yet. Cale passes Harry a bottle of liquid and tells everyone that Voldemort has one more Horcrux, one not even Voldemort knew about - Harry. He then proceeds to tell everyone about their findings at the end of the 2nd year and what the St Mungo Hospital found as a solution - it is a potion that will expell any magic in someone's body, be it theirs or someone else's. Harry says he will take the risk that the potion poses because he trusts Cale to bring him back if something goes wrong. Harry then proceeds to find a chair nearby and sit down. He drinks the potion and slowly falls unconscious.

Cale keeps a keen eye on him the entire time while explaining how the potion works. Whoever takes the potion will have their magic slowly seeping from their body into the air around them. This can kill the person, which is why a maximum of 5 minutes of unconsciousness is the amount permitted before someone actually dies. If the person who took the potion spends more than 5 minutes into unconsciousness they will defines die.

During the next 2 minutes, everyone witnessed a black fog exiting Harry's body, and after it is fully gone, Cale goes to Harry and makes him drink another potion, the one that will wake Harry up.

During his sleep, Harry enters the Limbo, where he meets and talks with a young Tom Riddle who feels very guilty about everything that Voldemort has done. He apologizes to Harry for all that he went through and explains that the piece of Voldemort's soul that Harry had inside of himself was the last piece of humanity that Voldemort possessed. Tom then explains that he had tried to stop Voldemort from going down the path he did, but he was always brushed aside. Voldemort created so many orphans when he himself lived the life of an orphan before. Voldemort went against everything that was his old person when he killed Harry's parents and tried to kill him. So, when the opportunity appeared, he attached himself to Harry and tried to help warn him of Voldemort's presence around him. Harry says that it is not his fault, for he tried his best and failed. As such, Tom has no reason to apologize, and the one who should feel guilty is Voldemort and not him. Tom thanks Harry before saying that he will spend his remaining time here, in Limbo, as he waits for Voldemort's remaining soul to follow him into death. He also tells Harry not to worry, for he has made peace with Death and is ever eagerly awaiting the slumber now. Before Harry comes back to reality, Tom tells Harry to live well and cherish his friends.

Once awake, Harry asks if it worked, and Cale answers with a resolute yes. After this, he is hugged tightly by Sirius and Remus, who were worried beyond words.

Cale takes the crystal balls containing Voldemort and his minions and gives them to Kim Rok Soo for safekeeping. When asked why Kim Rok Soo gets to keep the crystal balls, it is revealed that Kim Rok Soo took over the position of Minister of Magic after he and his team arrested Fudge after it was found out that him and a good chunk of the Ministry of Magic were supporters of Voldemort. Kim Rok Soo referred to the whole thing as a "Well needed sping cleaning" and mentioned that most of them are currently in Azkaban or awaiting trial. He also mentions to Dumbledore that he is also on the list for the amount of sketchy things he had pulled over the years and that because of this, from the next year onwards, either Snape or McGonagall will be Headmaster/Headmistress. Snape immediately gives the position to Minerva, stating he is already done with children for the rest of his life. Everyone laughs at that, and Rok Soo says gleefully that Lee Soo Hyuk owns him money now, which earns him a glare from Snape.

And so the 5th year ends. Voldemort and Bellatrix are basically waiting for their death in the crystal balls, and the other Death Eaters (bar Snape and Lucius, who are exceptions - one because he worked for the Order of the Phoenix; the other because he turned himself in and even turned other Death Eaters in so Kim Rok Soo decided to lighten his sentence to a life of working for the Ministry under a blood contract) were hunted down and send to Azkaban.

What no one knew was that while everyone was high on the relief of getting rid of Voldemort or focused on getting the Death Eaters, Voldemort was visited by an individual. This individual wore a mask and was very disappointed in Voldemort: "Taken down by a bunch of kids? Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is why you were never going to be the strongest wizard - no matter what you wanted or sacrificed for it" said the masked man. "Too bad. I didn't think I had to take the stage this early but oh well. I would say you were useful for as long as you existed, but I would be totally lying. Enjoy death, Tom Marvolo Riddle." said the masked man before putting Voldemort out of his misery, his body dissolving inside the crystal ball.

Even though Cale and Harry expect their 6th and 7th year to be way less eventful, what awaits them is a fateful meeting with the one that calls himself "White Star."

A war is on it's way and they can only hope to survive.

And done. Thank fuck this was long as hell, but then again, I did go through 5 years worth of events for this fic. And, I still have some little details I need to speak about:

Cale was born on the 8th of November 1979. This makes him 11 on the 1st day of year 1 at Hogwarts, and he turns twelve just a bit after the Troll Incident.

Cale is extremely happy to have someone like Kim Rok Soo in his life, and he is also very grateful for his presence. Kim Rok Soo feels more like an older brother that Cale never had, rather than an uncle.

Cale's boggard is... well, himself, in a way. After his mom died, Cale tended to lash out at everything and everyone. He fears returning to the type of person he was back then, when he would say hurtful words even to Kim Rok Soo.

Kim Rok Soo took Cale around with him and his team during the summers after the death of Jour, mostly to make Cale have some good time and a change of scenery.

This is how Cale met Alver in France. (I swear I can't NOT have Alver as French. He looks like he would eat a baguette and correct your pronunciation of "croissant" - I know you think the same now)

Here, Choi Han is Choi Jung Soo's nephew. Choi Han goes to Drumstrang btw.

Ron and Beacrox are still serving the Henituse family. (Cale also feels guilty for saying bad things to them as a child)

Bansen is a muggle, but Lily turns out to be a half-blood. This is one of Cale's main reasons for going against Voldemort - a world where Voldemort wins means a world where Bansen and Lily can't live.

There are a ton of things that I haven't even mentioned: like how many people Cale (unwittingly) befriends at Hogwarts; Cale also stress bakes (which makes him share whatever he ends up baking with other students, which results in him being liked because who would turn down baked goods?); Cale is friends with most of the Elves and they like Cale because he is nice; Cale and Hagrid become good friends because they share their adoration for magic creatures; Ron admits that Cale has "balls of titanium" after he approached Fluffy without fear - and ever more so after meeting Aragog; Blaise feels like he is the only truly normal and sane Slytherin whenever he watches Cale;

I want to introduce Raon, Ohn and Hong, but I dunno if they should be introduced from year 1 or if I can introduce them during Year 6.

Cale, as always, destroys White Star's evil plan in 2 years tops while juggling graduation and studies. For reference, taking down Voldemort basically took 5 years, so yeah, WS should be ashamed since his minion was harder to deal with.

You read that right, Voldemort was thrown down the road he went by White Star. He was the one who actually gave Voldemort the information about Horcruxes.

I want to mess with the canon because canon is dead to me for the most part. This also means I want to make new ships. I wanna put Draco with Ginny (it will work out later on, I feel); Harry either with Hermione or Hannah Abbott; Neville Longbottom with Luna Lovegood; Cale might get together with Susan Bones (political power couple these 2 are); Ron either with Hermione (like in canon, if Harry doesn't end up with her) or Lavander Brown. Trust me, I know the ships are weird but if the narration works, the ships will also work.

Harry and Cale kinda end up like brothers - mostly because they have the same amount of bad luck and they end up in the same shit-show together.

Cale feels indebted to Fred and George Weasley after the prank from year 4 because he was in Hufflepuff robes instead of Slytherin robes when Cale went against Voldemort, so he was kinda saved from a lot of trouble. Cale literally tells them "Whatever you need, whenever you need it, as long as I can get it - it is yours".

Lee Soo Hyuk becomes again the leader of the "Supernatural Prevention Team" after Kim Rok Soo becomes Minister of Magic. He is still laughing since Kim Rok Soo ended up with even more paperwork to do than him. (This usually ends with Rok Soo giving him more paperwork to do)

Rok Soo might end up with Severus Snape... at least as an implied relationship. They have been friends since Jour basically forced them to become babysitters for her in Hogwarts and implicitly trust each other.

Lucius is more loyal to his family than to Voldemort here, which results in him just turning his back to Voldemort once it is clear he is dealt with. He never wanted Draco to end up as a Death Eater and is very proud he never did.

After the confrontation with Voldemort at the end of Year 5, Draco can perform a Patronus Charm. His Patronus is a Falcon.

And yes, Draco actually gets friends and a personality beyond being just a bully in the first 4 books/movies. Like seriously, let him be a child, and he can change for the better goddammit. (Cale will be a good influence on Draco, but, essentially, Cale is bad for Draco's heart rate because he is damn crazy)

Kim Rok Soo's Patronus is Runespoor. Choi Jung Soo's a St. Bernard. Lee Soo Hyuk's is a Crow.

I haven't planned out Year 6 or 7 yet but I do know that White Star quickly became a problem for everyone.

Also, during years 6 and 7, the Thames family and the Pevrell family became more important. I know I want Death to still be intertwined with White Star and the 2 families. (And yes, Death is still very much a whining child that wants either Cale or Harry to take his place like in the TCF/LCF canon)

Cage and Taylor are working at St. Mungo's Hospital. They are the ones that create the potion for Harry.

Dumbledore will answer for the bullshit he pulled - especially, for putting Harry with the Dursley's and keeping him there, whether he knew about the abuse or not. He will also answer for the whole "Sirius's missing trial" thing.

Yes, I am giving Sirius therapy. You can't expect him to take care of Harry without going through therapy first, can you? Some other kids will also get therapy through osmosis from Cale himself.

I will also explore Jour's time at Hogwarts as well - probably in a separate series, like a prequel. Also, the reason Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo, and Lee Soo Hyuk are in Britain is because their families fled Korea after the Korean War that ended in 1853. Kim Rok Soo is around 34 when Cale is starting Hogwarts, just for reference.

Cale is very mature for his age, and Kim Rok Soo kinda hates it because, to him, Cale is still a baby, and he needs to be protected. But fate said a big "Fuck You" to both of them.

This is all my brain is capable of rn. This damn thing took 2 weeks to write - because I couldn't stay and write it in one go like many of my other ideas.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? That I am high on magical mushrooms with this?

Hopefully, you had fun with my ramblings despite the length of this idea.

Either way, I hope you have a great day/night and that you take care of yourselves!

See you soon (because I need to recharge after this),

- TooManyPlotBunnies- Send Help

[talkinfanfic]

Episode 307 - Interview with HeyJulien, Football RPF and Carraville writer

🎧 Episode available on any podcast app, Spotify, or stream here!

Like a bicycle kick goal at minute 95, Sara finally completes editing on a much overdue interview with fellow Carraville author @heyyjulien ! 

Sara and Julien talk about the world of football RPF (as in soccer, for all you Yankees); specifically the delightfully odd-couple rivals-to-lovers ship of English football pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher. Other talking points scattered across the pitch include: football as war, derby days and football rivalry; the joys of local non-league football, the Bundesliga and fußballkultur; to switch POV, or not to switch POV; the annoying beauty of David Beckham; and of course, we discuss the tragically under-utilized in fic friendship of Paul Scholes and Gary Neville (or, Scholesy as the Kermit to Gary Neville’s Miss Piggy). 

Join us, if you like!

Correction - at 03:27:40 we incorrectly refer to our wonderful fellow Carraville author as ‘player1604’-- their handle is @player1064, which is a reference to Gary Neville’s England legacy number. Gary was the 1,064th player to play for England’s National Team. More notes, references, and time caps below the cut.

Contact and Credits:

Intro Theme: Kyle Laurin "Oasis Supersonic Theme" (Twitter: @cobrakylemusic)

Tumblr: talkinfanfic.tumblr.com 

Instagram: @talkinfanfic

Email: talkinfanfic@gmail.com 

Time caps:

00:10:39 - Chelsea v Liverpool result in the Carabao Cup Final AND “Football and Butts”

00:13:17 minutes - Picking an English team as an outside fan, local rivalry in sport, and the mechanisms of tribalism

00:21:10 - Football pride as a substitute for national pride in Germany

00:22:57 - League structure in european football, the purity of the local club, financial doping, and German “fußballkultur”

00:32:57 - A late introduction to HeyJulien ! Julien’s earliest reading and writing memories.

00:36:36 - First encounter with fanfiction and Youtuber RPF

00:42:11 - Path into Sports RPF

00:45:28 - The specific allure of Hockey RPF

00:53:54 - Getting into Football RPF and Carraville

01:11:07 - Carraville fic, start of “Zombies” discussion, and Julien’s real-life plot inspiration

01:20:04 - Excerpt 1, from “Zombies” 

01:39:12 - Strategy and instinct of switching POV’s 

01:59:50 - “The Victorian Era” 

02:06:13 - Excerpt 2, from “The Victorian Era” (apologies from Sara for the botched English accents)

02:23:17 - Cat cameo by Daniel Pickles - and the theme of power in “The Victorian Era”, Gary and Victoria’s friendship, and writing moments that “show” instead of “tell”. 

02:32:27 - The fun of writing about “bad people”, and recurring themes popping up in our works; AND the specific joys of fanfiction enriching “real life”

02:40:36 - “Tasting Syrup On My Tongue”

02:50:45 - The joy of Stevie G and Scholsey in Carraville fics

03:00:46 - Sara’s childhood soccer experience

03:02:49- Rapid Fire Questions!!! 

03:17:21 - Michael Owen Quotes

03:31:00 - Coffee Shop Scenario

03:37:32 - Julien’s fic recs

03:43:11 - Final question- “What do you think it is about sport that lends itself to fiction and fanfiction?”

Episode References

FIC - ‘These zombies in the park, they're looking for my heart’ by HeyJulien 

FIC - 'The Victorian Era' by HeyJulien 

FIC - ‘Tasting Syrup On My Tongue’ by HeyJulien

https://www.fanfiktion.de/ - Julien’s first fanfic site!

CBS Champions League Today "Best Of" - Youtube video, example of CBS crew compilation, ft. Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards, Thierry Henry, and Kate Abdo

"Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher's BEST moments! 👀🍿"   - Youtube video that Julien sent Sara to kick off the Carraville spiral

Gary Neville’s interview with Jamie Carragher on The Overlap - Youtube

"Neville and Carra - the perfect TV double act make their Monday Night Football debut" - Daily Mail article from August 2013, describing Jamie’s MNF debut alongside Gary. 

And another 2013 article, this one from Stretty News on the Carraville punditry duo, described as “a dream pair”. 

‘Tasting Syrup’ reference - Footage of John Terry head injury  in the 2007 League Cup Final, Chelsea v Arsenal - Youtube

‘Tasting Syrup’ reference - Footage of Jamie Carragher head injury in a match against Arsenal in April 2011 - tumblr link

Fanart - Man United v Liverpool lineup as envisioned by the genius k-ky - tumblr link

Article - "Bastian Schweinsteiger dragged the modern Germany to ultimate glory with blood, sweat and tears" - on Schweinsteiger’s heroic and gritty performance in the 2014 World Cup Final (October 2019)  

Some more brilliant Michael Owen quotes (unverified but highly entertaining)

Julien rec - Sara's fic, [the gap between crack and thunder] WIP! 

Julien rec - Quell the Tide by Imnotreallyhereatall - the hockey RPF julien mentions loving (Ao3, locked)

Julien rec - Take a Chance on Me by @zevons, @jjjat3am (Ao3, locked)

Julien rec - keep your silver, give me that gold by @thesecretdetectivecollection (Ao3)

Julien rec - Gary Neville is Still a Red, Just a Different Shade by @fanficburner (Ao3) 

[spale-vosver]

About Me

UPDATE: Y'all lost anon privileges because you're too pussy to insult me and put a face to it.

I'm Geoff, a 21 year old history major and aspiring archivist. I use he/xe/xey pronouns, and I'm a crippled transsexual faggot converting to Judaism.

This blog, much like my interests, is very eclectic, and will largely consist of reblogs -- though I'm not opposed to making my own posts when the mood strikes.

I'm incredibly nerdy and love to ramble, so please don't hesitate to ask me about any of my interests! Said interests, along with more info and DNI, are under the cut. Also, please feel free to spam like and reblog, as well as message me!

* I am an adult

I'm 21, and will more than likely post adult content with NSFW text and subjects. However, I will never post explicit sexual content, gore, etc. This is your warning. Please keep this in mind if you choose to interact with or follow me!

* I'm disabled

I'm autistic, have ADHD, OCD, ARFID, BED, and OCPD. Physically, I have asthma, chronic leg and ankle pain that causes me to limp, dysautonomia, chronic fatigue, and suspected migraine disorder. I use identity first language (autistic man, disabled man, etc), and identify strongly with the cripplepunk movement. I personally don't care who uses the word cripple or identifies with the movement, but that's because I don't give a shit about slur discourse.

* I'm converting to Judaism

After five years of convincing myself out of it, I've begun the process of converting to Judaism, and will blog about it here. I have a sponsoring Conservative synagogue and will be beginning conversion classes in August. I will not share the name of my synagogue nor its location for obvious reasons. I do not and will not tolerate antisemitism, nor will I answer bad faith questions about Israel/Palestine. If you absolutely have to know my opinions, I'm pro-Palestine, pro-cohabitation, and politically anti-Kahanist and vehemently opposed to Likud and the Israeli government.

To my knowledge, I do not have any Jewish heritage -- both sides of my family are strongly Catholic and are from Ireland, Germany, and Poland. If there are any Jews in my family line, we either don't know about them or they converted to Christianity.

* I do not budge about my identity

I am a transsexual crippled faggot who supports dykes, trannies, cocksuckers, muffdivers, queers, fairies, aces, aros, and who, again, does not give a shit about slur discourse within the queer community. Don't try to start that with me. You will be blocked. I loudly and proudly support all good faith queer identities. Yes, even those ones.

* Interests

As mentioned, I'm a huge huge huge nerd! Right now I'm obsessed with Doctor Who (Five is my favorite), but I'm a big sci-fi/fantasy fan in general. I also love trains and sustainable urban planning and am prone to going on rants about the absolute state of train travel in America.

* Please ask me to tag things!

I'm really bad about tagging in general, so please ask me to tag any potential triggers! I will probably forget if I'm not explicitly asked. However, I will not tag any slurs that I can reclaim or use.

DNI

Exclusionists (ALL TYPES), antisemites/islamophobes/racists/queerphobes/ableists/bigots/etc, if you think queer is a slur, if you think minorities have to be "nice" or "polite" to earn your support, if you use "Zionist" to mean "Jew I don't like", antitheists, exvangelicals/exmos/etc who refuse to deconstruct their cultural Christianity, and probably more I forgot to mention. I'm not going to humor your shit. I will block you.

[coffeewithcutcaffeine]

One more post for today's anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia, simply because I think talking about personal experience is just as important as remembering the historical facts:

When the armies of the Warsaw Pact arrived in Bratislava, my mother was nine years old at that time. However, she says she will never forget the morning of Wednesday, August 21, 1968. She and my grandparents woke up to the rumble of tanks going through the street, then saw the tank gun being positioned right towards their windows — one shot, and they would be dead.

Our family had problems because of its class profile before as well, but 1968 changed everything for the worse. My mother's uncle (an ice-hockey player at that time) and his family emigrated to Western Germany because of the invasion, just like thousands of other people. But just like thousands of other families, ours suffered in reaction to that, too. My mother almost wasn't accepted into high school because of her class profile. She was also beaten brutally (when I say brutally, I mean brutally) during one of the interrogations by ŠtB (the communist secret police) and ended up in the hospital, not being able to talk about her injuries with anyone outside of her family our of fear that something worse might happen.

Fifty-six years after Operation Danube, strange things are happening in Slovakia. It seems like we have not learned from our mistakes just yet. This is why it is all the more important to share these stories, of our families, of those who survived, of those who suffered under the regime. There is one side that succumbs to the selective optimism when looking back and trying to convince everyone how "Communism was amazing, we had everything we needed". It wasn't amazing — it was a dictatorial regime that ruined the lives of millions of people all over Europe.