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justinspoliticalcorner · 11 months ago

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Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

Last week, two anti-transgender provisions were quietly added to the National Defense Authorization Act in the Senate. These provisions were included in the “must-pass” budget bill with the help of Senator Joe Manchin, who cast the tie breaking vote to include the provisions in each instance. The bill was then recommended to the full Senate on a 22-3 vote, with many Senate Democrats voting to advance it despite the anti-trans provisions. When asked about the vote by a reporter from The Independent, Senator Manchin expressed confusion about his own vote but then doubled down, expressing support for federal restrictions not just on the military but on all gender-affirming care using funding bills, a major anti-LGBTQ+ Project 2025 policy.

The two provisions in question would use federal funding mechanisms to restrict transgender care for those in the military. One provision would bar the government from paying for transgender surgeries deemed medically necessary for transgender soldiers. Another provision would bar TRICARE, the insurance service for U.S. military service members, from covering any gender-affirming care for those under 18. Both provisions would significantly impact transgender service members and their families, as obtaining care can be difficult for those enrolled in the military without federal support.

Both provisions narrowly passed with a 13-12 vote. Many Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee, responsible for the bill, moved it forward despite its anti-trans amendments. Only Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jack Reed, alongside Republican Senator Tom Cotton, voted against it in the committee. By favorably reporting the bill out of committee, anti-transgender federal funding bans are closer to becoming law than in previous budget battles, where similar provisions were added to House bills but ultimately rejected by the Senate and President Biden.

[...] However, a spokesperson followed up not only defending the vote, but espousing a federal funding ban on all gender affirming care, stating, “Senator Manchin believes that Americans who want to serve our country and can meet the standards should have the chance to do so. However, taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for any services or treatments that are associated with gender transition.”

[...] None of the anti-trans funding bans targeting health insurance, healthcare research, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Education, and more were passed in the budget showdown. These provisions ranged from sports bans to healthcare funding bans around the provision of gender-affirming care. One bill even aimed to defund children’s research hospitals if they provided gender-affirming care. The impacts of such bills would affect health insurance, hospital systems, and doctors providing transgender care nationwide.

These bills are key components of the anti-LGBTQ+ provisions found in Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation document outlining a new path for the United States. This document aims to empower the executive branch, remove reproductive healthcare rights, and target LGBTQ+ people nationwide. It seeks to institute an analogue to the Hyde Amendment targeting abortion providers, calling for an end to all “public moneys for transgender surgeries,” though many of the funding provisions in recent fights go even further, targeting all transgender care.

Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) has come out in support of bans of federal funding for all gender-affirming care, thereby spitting on the trans community.

#Joe Manchin #Transgender Health #Gender Affirming Healthcare #Transgender #US Senate #118th Congress #Project 2025 #NDAA #Hyde Amendment

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time-being · 9 months ago

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Another reason I'm done with liberalism (on top of the genocides in Gaza and Lebanon, e.g. Biden.has started World War 3) is because liberalism has also revealed itself to be worthless on its own terms.

Consider abortion. It's been obvious for at least 30 years that right wingers in the US were dead set on outlawing abortion/overturning Roe v Wade (technically Casey is the relevant case) and then Griswold.

And for that whole time, the liberal wisdom was always that Republicans wouldn't act on it, because then they'd lose abortion as a campaign issue. "Roe is settled law!" "Susan Collins says she wouldn't let that happen."

It was always bullshit. It was always obviously bullshit. And they led the US to where it is today.

Obama, while negotiating the Affordable Care Act with Republicans (he negotiated and gave them concessions for no votes) agreed to Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion under the ACA.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg decided to die on the bench instead of retiring after her first several cancers.

For 30 years (at least), Democrats sat idle as abortion became less and less available in vast swaths of the country. Even back in 2009, there were huge areas where the nearest abortion clinic was over 300 miles away and abortion doctors had been firebombed and terrorized almost completely out of state.

Abortion, in the US, is not much less available today than it was in 2009. Democrats did little/nothing about it then and will continue in that vein.

I'm not in the liberal political coalition. I'm not surprised they don't do fuck-all about my policy needs. They shouldn't be surprised that I don't have any support for them.

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ier-6d · 8 months ago

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Point of intersection found: This is a Degree 4.

Misty Rosas played Snivvian Bartender/Saifir/Pirate Coxswain/Kuiil Performance Artist/Frog Lady in The Mandalorian. Debbie Lee Carrington did stunts for Van Helsing and played Romba Ewok in Return of the Jedi and Weechee in The Ewok Adventure. Deep Roy was a stunt performer for Van Helsing and played Droopy McCool in Return of the Ewok.

Uncredited amendment found: Debbie Lee Carrington did stunts for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Weechee in Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

Deep Roy was a stunt performer for Van Helsing and had uncredited roles as Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back and Droopy McCool in Return of the Jedi. Tim Harrington was animation sequence supervisor: ILM for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Naboo Security Guard in The Phantom Menace.

Nelson Hall was a model maker for Van Helsing and had uncredited roles as Stormtrooper [special edition] in A New Hope, Stormtrooper/Rebel Technician/Imperial Officer in The Empire Strikes Back, and Doda Bodonawieedo/Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi.

John M. Levin was a visual effects match animator for Van Helsing and had uncredited roles as Naboo Fighter Pilot/Naboo Citizen/Senator in The Phantom Menace and Jedi Knight in Revenge of the Sith.

Steve Gawley was an uncredited model maker for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Death Star Trooper in A New Hope. John Goodson was an uncredited concept modeler for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Jedi Knight in Attack of the Clones.

Lori Arnold was a visual effects coordinator for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Theater Patron in Revenge of the Sith. Craig Hammack was cg supervisor: ILM for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Theater Patron in Revenge of the Sith.

Nina Fallon was a visual effects coordinator for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Stass Allie in Revenge of the Sith. Katherine Farrar Bluff was a production assistant for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Theater Patron in Revenge of the Sith.

Grady Cofer was inferno supervisor: ILM for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Theater Patron in Revenge of the Sith. Daniel Zizmor was a character animator for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Kit Fisto in Attack of the Clones.

Julie D'Antoni was a visual effects associate producer for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Outlander Club Patron in Attack of the Clones. Juan-Luis Sanchez was digital simulation artist: ILM for Van Helsing and had uncredited roles as Temple Jedi in Attack of the Clones and Jedi Knight in Revenge of the Sith.

Bobby Porter did stunts for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Ewok in Return of the Jedi. Martin Klebba played an uncredited Dwerger in Van Helsing and was an uncredited stunt performer for The Rise of Skywalker.

Dominic Pace was a stand-in: Frankenstein’s Monster for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Bounty Hunter Gekko in The Mandalorian. Joseph S. Griffo did stunts for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Jawa in The Mandalorian.

PeiPei Alena Yuan was visual effects: previz for Van Helsing and played an uncredited Jedi Knight in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Michael Munoz played an uncredited Dwerger in Van Helsing and was a stunt performer for Skeleton Crew.

Kacie Borrowman played an uncredited Dwerger in Van Helsing and played Neel in Skeleton Crew.

We wrap up Monster Month 2: The Dead are Rising with our Halloween Monster Mash episode (shhhh it's still technically Spooky Weekend, let us have this), and what else COULD we pick for that in strike free times but 2004's Van Helsing, which much like The Mummy (2017) is a much maligned attempt to reboot the Universal Monsters... but is it good actually?...probably not. But is it fun? Hell yes. Join Jas, River, Callie, Ellie, and Justin as we discuss the joys of monsterfuckery, the issues with a lack of character development, and what a ridiculous roller coaster ride this movie is. This podcast contains swearing and discussions of violence and sexual assault.

#in each retelling #van helsing #based on: dracula (1897)#based on: frankenstein #based on: strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #degree 4 #uncredited amendment #horror media #period pieces #podcast episode

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prolifeproliberty · 10 months ago

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Problems with Trump’s new proposal to make insurance companies/the government pay for IVF:

1. IVF is immoral. Human life begins at conception. Human embryos are human beings. IVF commodifies, destroys, and endangers human embryos. An embryo created in IVF is statistically more likely to die before birth than to make it to term. Even in “ethical IVF” where only one embryo is created and implanted at a time, for a woman under 35 that child has a 49% chance of dying before birth. There is no other circumstance in which we would tolerate putting a child in a situation where they had a 49% chance of dying. For women over 35 the survival rate goes down dramatically. Since older women are more likely to be candidates for IVF (you have to have been trying for a while before it’s even recommended, and many women today don’t start trying until their 30s or later), the chance of death for many embryos created in IVF is between 75-95%.

It is impossible to know the success rate for natural implantation, because a woman cannot know if she has conceived until after implantation has already occurred. However, it would be reasonable to assume that the natural method of conception would be less risky for the embryo than creating an embryo in a lab and trying to perfectly time the implantation attempt, often by using drugs that artificially manipulate the mother’s hormonal cycle.

Note: in the article linked above, a 60-65% success rate is referenced before they get to the age breakdown. However, it should be noted that that rate is for “genetically normal” embryos, implying that you only get that rate if you’ve already destroyed any embryos that are not genetically perfect. But even if you decide to be a eugenecist and not consider generally “inferior” embryos to be people, that’s still a 35-40% risk of death, which again we would not tolerate for any other situation involving a child.

2. Religious freedom. For the same reason we have the Hyde Amendment to prohibit federal funding of abortion, and for the same reason that Hobby Lobby won their Supreme Court case, forcing either taxpayers or employers to fund IVF is forcing people to participate in something they consider to be morally indefensible. Both the Catholic Church and the Southern Baptists have condemned IVF, along with many smaller denominations and individual churches/religious groups.

3. It is not the best solution to our birth rate issues. IVF will not get us to replacement rates. We need cultural shifts that encourage women to start having children in their 20s (many fertility issues stem from waiting too long) and better overall health for women (healthy food, less environmental toxins). Let’s instead focus on letting RFK Jr. step in as part of Trump’s cabinet and work on getting the toxins out of our food and fixing nutritional recommendations to reflect the actual science, not lobbyist agendas.

#IVF #Trump #abortion #pregnancy #infertility

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mariacallous · 8 months ago

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Hi mariacallous! Some of my friends have started spouting the 'abortion is a class issue because rich women always have access to abortion' BS, and I was wondering if you had any resources/articles etc that might be helpful in convincing them. Sorry to barge into your inbox!

The notion that rich women will be fine, regardless of what the law says, is probably comforting to some. But it is simply not true.

Yes, abortion bans will disproportionately affect poor women and women of color in a country that already has appallingly high maternal mortality rates, no federal paid family leave and little support for parents who struggle to provide for their children financially. As Rebecca Traister pointed out in New York magazine, this is nothing new: The Hyde Amendment and state restrictions have already made abortion effectively inaccessible to many women without means or mobility.

But we should not lose sight of the reality that the Supreme Court decision has created a crisis for all American women. Even the richest Americans — the one-percenters and the upper middle class — will not escape the effects.

Attenuating the rights of half of the population will have systemic effects akin to climate change. Just as no amount of investment in Mars-bound space colonization, air-conditioned bunkers and private firefighting services will save the rich from terrible outcomes if the planet becomes uninhabitable, the rich cannot avoid the effects of the overturning of Roe. Residents of blue states won’t be exempt. And men who think the ban won’t affect them are mistaken; it will affect women they know and love, and it will change the political economy in which they live and operate.

The persistent myth that the wealthy will be unaffected is predicated on the vague notion that they’ll be able to find and purchase abortion pills by mail, travel to places where abortion is legal or get abortions from local providers willing to break the law.

And sure, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which a red state one-percenter has his daughter or wife airlifted to another state for an abortion — or, potentially, for in vitro fertilization, if it becomes illegal to terminate embryos. We are accustomed to different rules and privileges for the wealthy, and witness these injustices daily. People with more money and privilege conferred by race and class — people who have access to better lawyers — experience our justice system differently. They also get better health care and pay less in taxes as a share of income. We hold the rich to a lower, not higher, standard and tacitly accept that they will get away with cheating various systems.

But the wealthiest are in for some unpleasant surprises when it comes to abortion. The scenarios in which a woman needs an abortion include medical emergencies in which any delay in treatment can have severe, even fatal, consequences — and in those circumstances abortion pills obtained by mail won’t help.

One in 50 pregnancies in the United States is ectopic, for example, in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus. The embryo must be removed, and delaying that treatment can result in sepsis, internal bleeding and death. Placental abruptions must be addressed immediately to avoid extensive bleeding, renal failure and even, in some instances, death.

Any woman who finds herself in either of these scenarios is not going to be able to pack her bags and go for a long drive. Even for someone with the means, an airlift to a medical facility in another state may not be quick enough to save her. She will need to be treated locally and immediately. Some of the bans going into effect around the country include medical exceptions for these situations, but if there’s any ambiguity about what the law allows, the time it takes a medical professional to consult a lawyer may be the difference between life and death.

Some states are expected to try to ban interstate travel for abortions. Bans in Texas and Oklahoma leave room for that possibility. Planned Parenthood’s Montana branch has reportedly decided that it will no longer provide medication abortions for patients from certain states where bans are in effect or in the works, citing the “rapidly changing” legal landscape. It’s also clear that many Republicans view the Roe reversal as an inroad to a total federal ban. If they gain electoral victories in 2024, this is a very likely outcome, and in that case there will be no blue state abortion clinics to travel to. Even now, the lines and waiting times at abortion clinics in safe haven states are likely to get very long.

Many people also assume the wealthy can always find a local doctor willing to perform an abortion, even in a state where it has become illegal. This seems unlikely. While some providers did flout the law and provide women with abortions before Roe in 1973, the ubiquity of digital surveillance and other mechanisms for violating the privacy of women seeking abortions have made it far more difficult for them to do so privately and safely. Trigger laws are already forcing medical professionals to consult lawyers before they provide care, and laws that criminalize abortion leave health care workers with little incentive to violate them. When faced with the prospect of prosecution or losing a medical license, how many doctors will take this risk, even when money is offered? Meanwhile, anti-choice conservatives are already working to make it harder to obtain abortion pills.

Some believe abortion bans won’t affect them because they’ll never find themselves in need of an abortion. Conservatives might imagine the typical woman who needs one fits an archetype: poor, single, liberal, promiscuous, anti-family and irresponsible. But most women who get abortions are already mothers (60 percent). Nearly half of abortion seekers live below the poverty line, but a significant portion are not poor. (Women with higher incomes have more access to contraception, but that dynamic might change if the Supreme Court follows through on Justice Clarence Thomas’s suggestion to revisit earlier rulings, including the right to contraception.) Conservative families also include teenagers and young women whose privacy, autonomy and ability to seek medical care, regardless of whether their parents approve, will be severely compromised by abortion bans.

The reality is that women from every demographic need abortions. Well-off conservative women are not immune to contraception failures, gynecological emergencies, miscarriages, incest or rape. Many women find that despite their beliefs, carrying a pregnancy to term is just not something they can go through with, for a range of reasons. Pregnancy itself can be life-threatening for women with certain existing medical conditions, and even for women who don’t have those risks, it is life-altering. The kind of person who might need or want an abortion is, put simply, any person capable of getting pregnant.

Women will die because of this — disproportionately poor and middle-class women but not just poor and middle-class women. Rich women could just as easily suffer and die, too, even those who think that they would never need an abortion or that they would never be denied essential medical care in the United States of America in 2022.

There will be other effects: Roe is a privacy law, and there are implications for the ruling outside of the issue of abortion. Forced birth will take women out of the work force in an already tight labor market. Women could be treated like criminals for having miscarriages, which are incredibly common. And women who are pregnant when their partners don’t want them to be will be more at risk for domestic violence and homicide. Individual wealth won’t prevent these outcomes, either.

It is, of course, true that the wealthy are the least vulnerable in the new post-Roe world, and this is not a requiem for them on a tiny violin. But it is important for all parties to understand that all people are going to participate in this nightmare, whether they realize it now or not. The wealthy unfortunately have an outsize influence on politics, so how much the bans harm them, inconvenience them or enrage them will most likely affect the will of politicians to vote for and maintain abortion bans.

The overturning of Roe will affect all of us. And if you are lucky enough to be wealthy, your money probably won’t shield you.

The Persistent Myth That Restricting Abortion Rights Won’t Affect the Rich

the problem is that it's a class issue, but not only in the way they think, and the point is that all women are impacted by it, but obviously some way more than others

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 6 months ago

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“Unmasking an unutterable crime - How a newspaper exposé revealed a grisly trade in trafficked girls – and landed its editor in prison

In July 1885, the Pall Mall Gazette ran a series of articles on a scandal that was so explosive that they were preceded with a content warning. “Squeamish” and “prudish” readers who preferred to live in “selfish” ignorance were advised not to read the paper. Those who dared were promised “an authentic record of unimpeachable facts, abominable, unutterable, and worse than fables yet have feigned or fear conceived”.

The articles, collectively entitled ‘The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’, was the product of a ‘Special and Secret Commission’ led by the magazine’s editor, William T Stead, on the trafficking of young girls into prostitution in London. Stead took readers on a tour of the capital’s brothels typically frequented by wealthy men in search of ‘maidenheads’ to deflower.

Through interviews with procurers and brothel-keepers, Stead reported how girls aged 11–15 were groomed, or purchased from parents, sent to collusive doctors or midwives to have their virginity certified, drugged with chloroform, and then raped in locked rooms. “In my house,” boasted one brothel-keeper, “you can enjoy the screams of the girl with the certainty that no one hears them but yourself.”

Stead even went so far as to purchase a child for himself. Thirteen-year-old Lily (later revealed to be Eliza Armstrong) was allegedly sold by her alcoholic mother for £5. Stead described the girl’s panic when she woke to find herself locked in a room with a man (ie Stead), emitting “a wild and piteous cry… a helpless startled scream like the bleat of a frightened lamb”.

The public response to the articles was overwhelming. As the newsagent WH Smith refused to sell it, large crowds gathered at the magazine’s office to obtain copies. The reports were reprinted in European and American newspapers. On 14 August, parliament passed a Criminal Law Amendment Act, which raised the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16 and gave the police greater powers to prosecute streetwalkers and brothel-keepers. Days later, 250,000 people gathered for a demonstration in Hyde Park to demand its enforcement.

Stead had succeeded in his aim – to use human-interest stories, sensation and scandal to galvanise support for social change. He had also overstepped the mark. For his role in the procurement of ‘Lily’, the editor was convicted of child abduction and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour.”

- Rosalind Crone

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jiliansky-blog · 7 months ago

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How to love a dream. Chapter 2. Getting along

Pairing: Morpheus x FemaleReader

Rating: PG

Words: 2400

Morpheus

“Are you going to be busy today too?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, my friend,” he said. “But my weekend is going to be soon. And we can spend some time together.”

“So, what shall I do?” I asked.

“Y\N is going to visit you here if you don’t want to go anywhere,” he said.

“She probably has her own business,” I admitted. “And I don’t need to be supervised. I can handle on my own.”

“I know that you can,” he smiled. “But I don’t want you to be alone. I know that it’s a hard time for you, and you shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m alright,” I refused.

“No, believe me, it’s not alright,” Hob sighed. “Do you believe me to take care of you?”

“Yes,” I sighed too.

“Then trust me when I leave you with her,” he winced. “And don’t scare her away with your gloomy look.”

“What gloomy look?” I frowned.

“And with your dark demeanor,” he continued. “But she agreed to come here, so that means she wasn’t scared.”

“As you said,” I said.

“See you later, dear friend,” he patted me on the shoulder and went to work.

And soon enough, Y\n came.

“Don’t you have lessons?” Morpheus asked later.

“I know that you don’t want to see me,” you said. “Without your comments.”

“It wasn’t my intention to comment anything,” he said, pouting. “Just a simple question. I thought, as a student, you should have lessons.”

“Well, professor made amends,” you smiled. “And I don’t have many lessons today anyway. And he said that you can help me with history.”

“I thought that it’s Hob who is a history teacher,” he noticed.

“Well, yes,” she said. “But he said that you love telling stories,” you hesitated. “You don’t need to tell anything, if you don’t want to.”

“And what are you planning for today?” Morpheus asked.

It seemed to you that he relaxed a little bit. Maybe he wasn’t so hostile to you, as you thought.

“Maybe, watch something?” you shrugged. “And I can cook something, if there is no food.”

“I would rather go to some park,” the man said.

“Alright,” you agreed. “Do we need to tell professor?”

“No, I hope I can return before him,” he said.

“As you wish,” you smiled and waited for him to collect his coat.

When he wasn’t frowning, he looked even more beautiful. You guessed how two so different people can be friends. Professor is so cheerful, and Morpheus was quite opposite.

“It’s time when you should tell about yourself,” he said suddenly.

“I should?” you asked.

“We are going to spend some time together while Hob is working,” he replied. “So I want to know my companion.”

“Fair enough,” you agreed.

“So what makes you a favorite Hob’s student?” he asked.

“The interest in everything magical, I suppose,” you admitted.

“Are you interested in magic?” he frowned. “Do you practice magic?”

“No,” you laughed. “I just love to believe in magic and stories about some supernatural creatures and events.”

“I see,” he relaxed a little bit.

What a strange reaction it was. Is he afraid that you are a witch?

“Did you think I’m a witch?” you smirked.

“No,” he replied. “But why are you interested in magic?”

“Life would be more interesting,” you said. “If there were something supernatural. You don’t think so?”

“Perhaps you are right,” he replied.

You came to Hyde Park. You like to see colorful trees there. And fortunately there weren’t a lot of people. And Morpheus looked at everything like he saw it for the first time.

“I used to feed birds here,” Morpheus said.

“When was the last time you were here?” you asked.

“A few years ago,” he said. “I sometimes feed the birds when I need time to think.”

“Do you want to think now?” you asked.

“I don’t have bread,” he admitted.

“We can go to some shop and buy some,” you said. “And while you feed them, I can but us some hot chocolate and street food.”

“I don’t want you to buy more food for me,” he rejected.

“I insisted,” you smiled. “By the way, the professor wanted to finance me, but I rejected. I remember asking you not to tell him.”

“I just said that you were run out of money,” he said. “Why did you reject his offer?”

“I can handle this,” you shrugged. “He helped me enough. And I don’t mind walking with you, brooding stranger, here.”

“I’m not brooding,” he refused.

“A little bit,” you admitted. “Why are you so serious all the time?”

“I don't know,” he frowned even more. “Apologies, it’s just the way I am.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” you replied. “I’m just curious. It’s not a bad thing. I think that smile can suit you.”

“I don’t think so,” he said quietly.

“So, I challenged you to find something that can make you smile,” you said. “Let’s go and buy bread for your birds.”

“They are not mine,” he admitted.

“I know, come on,” you said.

You didn’t know why you were trying so hard for him. But it felt like the right thing to do.

Morpheus

Why did she keep trying for me so hard? I couldn’t understand this. Maybe, Hob told her to do this. It would make sense.

“Did Hob tell you this?” you asked.

“What?” she looked at me surprised.

“Did he ask…entertain me? To make me smile?” I asked. “I can imagine him wanting this. But I can’t understand why you want this.”

“No, he didn’t,” she shrugged.

“Then why?” I insisted.

“Because I think that everyone deserves to smile,” she said. “You seem sad…and lonely. I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t tell about this.”

Her voices echoed in my mind. It reminds me of that time when Hob said this too, and I abandoned him under the rain.

“Oh no, I made you sadder,” she panicked. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m alright…” I said.

“You don’t look alright,” she said. “I just think that professor wants a company for you so you won’t be lonely here in his absence.”

“I’m not lonely,” I succeeded to answer.

My wounded pride wants me to leave her in this park and return to the Dreaming like this time when I abandoned Hob, But… I’m trying to change. Though I don’t know how not to escape if she continues this subject.

“Of course not,” she said carefully. “Here this shop. Come on.”

She bought a big baguette and gave it to me. When we were going back to the park, she didn’t return to the previous subject. And I was glad.

“Here,” she said, when we reached the point with birds. “I will return quickly.”

She smiled and went somewhere else. I felt abandoned. Did Hob feel the same? Why do all emotions so heighten now?

I started feeding the birds. Perhaps her company isn’t so bad at all. At least I wasn’t left alone with all my thoughts and worries.

“Here I am,” Y\n returned with a cheerful voice. “Why are you even more serious than before? I was away for a few minutes.”

“It felt too long,” he said.

“Now look who is getting used to my presence,” she smirked and gave me a paper cup. “It’s hot chocolate, not a poison.”

I took it. It was pleasantly warm.

“Yes, have fun at my expense,” I said and swallowed. “Maybe…you were right. I don’t like…being alone.”

“I am not mocking,” she said. “But you look adorable when you’re pouting. It’s not an offense.”

She blushed after that and returned to her own drink. And I blushed too after being called adorable. I’m kind of a nightmare; I can’t be adorable. But right now, I am only human.

“I’m not adorable,” I said.

“A little bit,” she smiled. “And I need to say that I don’t like being alone either. Don’t you want to try your chocolate?”

I made a sip. It was hot and very sweet. It was delicious.

“I have never tried something so delicious,” I said.

“I’m glad you like it,” she smiled. “Who would know that you have a sweet tooth.”

“Didn’t Hob tell you?” I asked.

“No, he didn’t tell me anything,” she looked at me. “I told you he didn’t tell me anything. Just that you need company.”

“Hm,” I didn’t know what to say.

She was…kind and attentive. She shouldn’t buy me staff, but she did this anyway. Maybe, that is why Hob likes her.

You watched him drink his coffee carefully. He behaved like a curious but careful cat. Maybe, he wasn’t that bad or serious. Maybe, he was just lonely.

“Did you feed the birds?” you asked.

“Yes,” he said, showing only the half of the baguette.

“Do you have a vocation now?” you asked.

“Why do you ask?” he became cautious again.

“I don’t know, you just are spending all the time here,” you shrugged. “Maybe, you are worn out at the work.”

“Maybe…” he said quietly. “But that is…everything I can do.”

“I think you are wrong,” you said. “Everyone has more in their life than work. And you are more than your work, too.”

“You don’t understand,” he swayed his head. “I had only work in my life. It is very important. I…came to this life to do it.”

“And what is that work?” you asked.

“It’s…very important work,” he was so hesitant to say. What is so secretive about it?”

“Well, even if this is as important as saving the world, you still need not forget about yourself. If you're burned out, it won’t help.”

“I will think about your words,” he said. And that was progress.

“That was…good,” he said later when he finished his drink.

“That sounds like a compliment,” you smiled. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“Maybe a little bit,” he replied. “But don’t take me to restaurant.”

“We can buy some food and return to the professor's flat like he asked,” you said. “What do you think about this?”

Morpheus was considering it for a few minutes, then nodded. He looked a little bit relaxed after the hot chocolate.

“Very well,” he said.

“You need to taste fast food now,” you smiled.

“I remember it to be greasy and unhealthy,” the man noticed.

“But also, it’s very delicious,” you said.

He didn’t look convinced but follows you anyway. He was like a boat that was drifting in the open ocean. Not only that, but he looked like he had nowhere to go.

“Don’t worry,” you said. “We started from something not so greasy.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Like Japanese food,” you replied. “Sushi.”

He didn’t say anything, just looked at her with the same doubt in his eyes. And still followed you to the supermarket.

“Such a crowded place,” he said when he bumped into someone.

“Everyone needs to eat something,” you noticed. “We just came in at the wrong time.”

“Can we go now?” Morpheus asked.

“Wait till we buy our food for today,” you replied, and then finally you can buy what you want. “But perhaps you’re right. There were too many people there. We could order food from home while sitting in comfort.”

“I began to think that you want to torture me,” he admitted.

“I’m not…” You started to speak, but then noticed that he almost smiled.

Has he just made a joke? He can actually joke! And he almost smiled.

“You’re kidding me,” you said. “Unbelievable.”

“No, I am serious,” he said.

“Very funny,” you said.

“What is that?” asked Morpheus, putting chopsticks out of a bag. He looked so confuse.

“You need to eat sushi with a help of that,” you smirked. “Very important mission.”

“Now you’re kidding me,” he narrowed his eyes. “It’s impossible.” So you should show him how to do this right. He was annoyed and just couldn’t do it right. In the end, you let him do things in his own way.

“It’s ridiculous,” he admitted.

“No, It was kind of funny,” you smiled. “Actually, I also couldn’t do it right for the first time. For a long time I was doing it in the wrong way.”

“Why humans should make everything difficult?” he asked.

“You said like you are not one of them,” you replied with surprise.

“Most humans, I wanted to say,” he said, but then became awfully quiet.

“Do you like it?” you asked to break the silence.

“What?” he looked at me.

“Sushi,” you said.

“It’s…something else,” Morpheus replied. “But I can’t say that it’s not delicious. Also, I suspect that you need a lot of them to feel full.”

“To feel full,” you laughed. “Sounds funny.”

“Are you having fun of me again?” he looked.

“No,” you smiled. “You’re just….something else.”

“You’re definitely making fun of me,” he narrowed his eyes again.

“No, it’s true,” you said. “You’re different from anyone I know. In a good and a little weird way. You’re interesting.”

“I can’t figure out if it’s a compliment or offense,” he pouted.

“Definitely a compliment,” you smiled.

Very soon, professor Gadling joined you after the work.

“You were walking in the city,” he smiled.

“In the park,” you smiled back. “Morpheus didn’t want to sit inside.”

“I’m right here,” he murmured.

“Sorry, friend,” the professor smiled. “Did you spend time well?”

“Yes, we fed the birds and drank hot chocolate,” Morpheus replied.

“I see, and you’re going to have lunch here with Japanese food?” Hob asked.

“Yes, you can join us, professor,” you offered.

“It’s very kind of you,” he said. “Though there are not many left.”

“You won’t believe me, professor, but Morpheus almost smiled,” you teased the man. “I thought he couldn’t.”

“I won’t anymore if it concerns you so much,” he said, deadly serious.

“That’s quite progress,” the professor's smile shines like a diamond. “I’m happy that you get along so well. What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” you said. “What do you say, Morpheus?”

“I can go to some place where there won’t be many people,” he replied.

“Well, that’s a good question to think of,” you said. “But I will be busy at the university tomorrow. Maybe after the lessons?”

“Alright, I think I can’t take you away from university for the long time,” Mister Gadling agreed. “My friend, you can visit me in the university.”

“It’s not the place without the people,” he replied.

“No one will touch you there,” the professor said. “Everything will be fine. Of course, they will be curious about you. But they are well-behaved.”

“I see, I don’t have a choice,” Morpheus sighed.

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