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mariacallous · 1 month

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In 1968, the American scholar Jerome M. Gilison described Soviet elections as a “psychological curiosity”—a ritualized, performative affirmation of the regime rather than a real vote in any sense of the word. These staged elections with their nearly unanimous official results, Gilison wrote, served to isolate non-conformists and weld the people to their regime.

Last Sunday, Russia completed the circle and returned to Soviet practice. State election officials reported that 87 percent of Russians had cast their vote for Vladimir Putin in national elections, giving the Russian president a fifth term in office. Not only were many of the reported election numbers mathematically impossible, but there was also no longer much of a choice: All prominent opposition figures had been either murdered, imprisoned, or exiled. Like in Soviet times, the election also welded Russians to their regime by serving as a referendum on Putin’s war against Ukraine. All in all, last weekend’s Soviet-style election sealed Putin’s transformation of post-Communist Russia into a repressive society with many of the features of Soviet totalitarianism.

Russia’s return to Soviet practice goes far beyond elections. A recent study by exiled Russian journalists from Proekt Media used data to determine that Russia is more politically repressive today than the Soviet Union under all leaders since Joseph Stalin. During the last six years, the study reports, the Putin regime has indicted 5,613 Russians on explicitly political charges—including “discrediting the army,” “disseminating misinformation,” “justification of terrorism,” and other purported crimes, which have been widely used to punish criticism of Russia’s war on Ukraine and justification of Ukraine’s defense of its territory. This number is significantly greater than in any other six-year period of Soviet rule after 1956—all the more glaring given that Russia’s population is only half that of the Soviet Union before its collapse.

In addition to repressive criminal charges and sentences, over the last six years more than 105,000 people have been tried on administrative charges, which carry heavy fines and compulsory labor for up to 30 days without appeal. Many of these individuals were punished for taking part in unsanctioned marches or political activity, including anti-war protests. Others were charged with violations of COVID pandemic regulations. Such administrative punishments are administered and implemented rapidly, without time for an appeal.

On March 4, 2022, a little over a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Russia’s puppet parliament rapidly adopted amendments to the Russian Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code that established criminal and administrative punishments for the vague transgressions of “discrediting” the Russian military or disseminating “false information” about it. This widely expanded the repressive powers of the state to criminally prosecute political beliefs and activity. Prosecutions have surged since the new laws were passed, likely leading to a dramatic increase in the number of political prisoners in the coming years. In particular, punishments for “discrediting the army” or “justification of terrorism”—which includes voicing support for Ukraine’s right to defend itself—have resulted in hundreds of sentences meted out each year since the war began. The most recent such case: On Feb. 27, the 70-year-old co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, Oleg Orlov, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “discrediting” the Russian military.

As the Proekt report ominously concludes, “[I]n terms of repression, Putin has long ago surpassed almost all Soviet general secretaries, except for one—Joseph Stalin.” While this conclusion is in itself significant, it is only the tip of the iceberg of the totalitarian state Putin has gradually and systematically rebuilt.

As in the Soviet years, there is no independent media in Russia today. The last of these news organizations were banned or fled the country after Putin’s all-out war on Ukraine, including Proekt, Meduza, Ekho Moskvy, Nobel Prize-winning Novaya Gazeta, and TV Dozhd. In their place, strictly regime-aligned newspapers, social media, and television and radio stations emit a steady drumbeat of militaristic propaganda, promote Russian imperialist grandeur, and celebrate Putin as the country’s infallible commander in chief. In another reprise of totalitarian practice, lists of banned books have been dramatically expanded and thousands of titles have been removed from the shelves of Russian libraries and bookstores. Bans have been extended to numerous Wikipedia pages, social media channels, and websites.

Human rights activists and independent civic leaders have been jailed, physically attacked, intimidated into silence, or driven into exile. Civic organizations that show independence from the state are banned as “undesirable” and subjected to fines and prosecution if they continue to operate. The most recent such organizations include the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, Memorial, the legendary Moscow Helsinki Group, and the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum. In their place, the state finances a vast array of pro-regime and pro-war groups, with significant state resources supporting youth groups that promote the cult of Putin and educate children in martial values to prepare them for military service. Then there are the numerous murders of opposition leaders, journalists, and activists at home and abroad. Through these various means, almost all critical Russian voices have been silenced.

Private and family life is also increasingly coming under the scope of government regulation and persecution. The web of repression particularly affects the LGBT community, putting large numbers of Russians in direct peril. A court ruling in 2023 declared the “international LGBT movement” extremist and banned the rainbow flag as a forbidden symbol, which was quickly followed by raids and arrests. Homosexuality has been reclassified as an illness, and Russian gay rights organizations have shut down their operations for fear of prosecution. Legislation aimed at reinforcing “traditional values”—including the right of husbands to discipline their wives—has led to the reduction in sentences and the decriminalization of some forms of domestic violence.

Many of the techniques of totalitarian control now operating throughout Russia were first incubated in territories where the Kremlin spread war and conflict. Chechnya was the first testing ground for widespread repression, including massive numbers of victims subjected to imprisonment, execution, disappearance, torture, and rape. Coupled with the merciless targeting of civilians in Russia’s two wars in Chechnya, these practices normalized wanton criminal behavior within Russian state security structures. Out of this crucible of fear and intimidation, Putin has shaped a culture and means of governing that were further elaborated in other places Russia invaded and eventually came to Russia itself.

In Russian-occupied Crimea and eastern Ukraine since 2014, there has been a widespread campaign of surveillance, summary executions, arrests, torture, and intimidation—all entirely consistent with Soviet practice toward conquered populations. More recently, this includes the old practice of forced political recantations: A Telegram channel ominously called Crimean SMERSH (a portmanteau of the Russian words for “death to spies,” coined by Stalin himself) has posted dozens of videos of frightened Ukrainians recanting their Ukrainian identity or the display of Ukrainian symbols. Made in conjunction with police operations, these videos appear to be coordinated with state security services.

In the parts of Ukraine newly occupied since 2022, human rights groups have widely documented human rights abuses and potential war crimes. These include the abduction of children, imprisonment of Ukrainians in a system of filtration camps that recall the Soviet gulags, and the systematic use of rape and torture to break the will of Ukrainians. Castrations of Ukrainian men have also been employed.

As Russia’s violence in Ukraine has expanded, so, too, has the acceptance of these abominations throughout the state and in much of society. As during the Stalin era, the cult of cruelty and the culture of fear are now the legal and moral standards. The climate of fear initially employed to assert order in occupied regions is now being applied to Russia itself. In this context, the murder of Alexei Navalny ahead of the presidential election was an important message from Putin to the Russian people: There is no longer any alternative to the war and repressive political order he has imposed, of which Navalny’s elimination is a part.

All the techniques and means of repression bespeak a criminal regime that now closely resembles the totalitarian rule of Stalin, whom Putin now fully embraces. After Putin first came to power in 1999, he often praised Stalin as a great war leader while disapproving of his cruelty and brutality. But as Putin pivoted toward war and repression, Russia has systematically promoted a more positive image of Stalin. High school textbooks not only celebrate his legacy but also whitewash his terror regime. There has been a proliferation of new Stalin monuments, with more than 100 throughout the country today. On state-controlled media, Russian propagandists consistently hammer away on the theme of Stalin’s greatness and underscore similarities between his wartime leadership and Putin’s. Discussion of Stalinist terror has disappeared, as has the memorialization of his millions of victims. Whereas only one in five Russians had a positive view of Stalin in the 1990s, polls conducted over the last five years show that number has risen to between 60 percent and 70 percent. In normalizing Stalin, Putin is not glossing over the tyrant’s crimes; rather, he is deliberately normalizing Stalin as a justification for his own war-making and repression.

Putin now resembles Stalin more closely than any other Soviet or Russian leader. Unlike Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Konstantin Chernenko, and Yuri Andropov—not to mention Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin—Putin has unquestioned power that is not shared or limited in any way by parliament, courts, or a Politburo. State propaganda has created a Stalin-like personality cult that lionizes Putin’s absolute power, genius as a leader, and role as a brilliant wartime generalissimo. It projects him as the fearsome and all-powerful head of a militarized nation aiming, like Stalin, to defeat a “Nazi” regime in Ukraine and reassert hegemony over Eastern and Central Europe. Just as Stalin made effective use of the Russian Orthodox Church to support Russia’s effort during World War II, Putin has effectively used Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill as a critical ally and cheerleader of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine. And just like Stalin, Putin has made invading neighboring countries and annexing territory a central focus of the Kremlin’s foreign policy.

Putin’s descent into tyranny has been accompanied by his gradual isolation from the rest of society. Like the latter-day Stalin, Putin began living an isolated life as a bachelor even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Like the later Stalin, Putin lacks a stable family life and is believed to have replaced it with a string of mistresses, some of whom are reported to have borne him children for whom he remains a remote figure. Like Stalin, he stays up late into the early-morning hours, and like the Soviet dictator, Putin has assembled around him a small coterie of trusted intimates, mostly men in their 60s and 70s, with whom he has maintained friendships for decades, including businessmen Yury Kovalchuk and Igor Sechin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and security chief Nikolai Patrushev. This coterie resembles Stalin’s small network of cronies: security chief Lavrentiy Beria, military leader Kliment Voroshilov, and Communist Party official Georgy Malenkov. To others in leadership positions, Putin is a distant, absolute leader who openly humiliates seemingly powerful officials, such as spy chief Sergey Naryshkin, when the latter seemed to hesitate in his support during Putin’s declaration of war on Ukraine.

Through near-total control of domestic civic life and media, his widening campaign of repression and terror, relentless state propaganda promoting his personality cult, and his vast geopolitical ambitions, Putin is consciously mimicking the Stalin playbook, especially the parts of that playbook dealing with World War II. Even if Putin has no love for Soviet Communist ideology, he has transformed Russia and its people in ways that are no less fundamental than Stalin’s efforts to shape a new Soviet man.

Putin’s massive victory in a Soviet-style election last weekend represents the ratification by the Russian people of his brutal war, militarization of Russian society, and establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship. It is a good moment to acknowledge that Russia’s descent into tyranny, mobilization of society onto a war footing, spread of hatred for the West, and indoctrination of the population in imperialist tropes represent far more than a threat to Ukraine. Russia’s transformation into a neo-Stalinist, neo-imperialist power represents a rising threat to the United States, its European allies, and other states on Russia’s periphery. By recognizing how deeply Russia has changed and how significantly Putin is borrowing from Stalin’s playbook, we can better understand that meeting the modern-day Russian threat will require as much consistency and as deep a commitment as when the West faced down Stalin’s Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

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inlocusmads · 1 year

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vigilance and other nice qualities ~ trystan x nora

Nora gets help from one of her old contacts to learn more about her royalty of a client and is faced with some surprising observations.

banner art -> Saint Cathrine Bartolomoe by Vento, ca. 1520

wc: 2.9k, tw for violence and strong language, teen and up audiences

a/n: tagging @choicesbookclub

link to nora x trystan (crimes) masterlist

At the centre of every social circle that the city was built on, Bull was in at least twenty eight of them. He took boxing lessons from a Hollywood stunt director who flew in and out of LA and sold tabloid photographs from gathering more tabloid photographs - a middle man situation. When Nora first met him, they decided not to fight. He wanted a private eye’s influence and knew that she’d need him more than he’d ever need her. But years passed. He evolved from a part-time hairdresser with a terrible boss in 1992 to an information emperor. Nora would be doing him a disservice if she were to compare him with her aunts back at home. At least her aunts didn’t engage in physical violence.

Bull threw her a wad of cotton to stop her bleeding nose. He grabbed an old handkerchief hanging on some metal pole and tied it around his freshly formed wound.

“You fight well, Nora.”

“Yeah, it has been that long, huh?” Nora sniffed, the pain coursing through her nostrils.

“You grew your hair. You were not recognizable at first. Forgive me for instigating action.”

“No -- forgive me.” Nora insisted. “It’s weird that it has happened twice. It’s all on me.”

“Well, I’m glad you are taking blame because this wound is going to need some stitches.”

Nora sighed. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a roll of loose cash, tossing it at him while managing the pain of a nose half-broken, likely.

“You come prepared too!” Bull expressed joy, counting the bills. “Do you want something to drink while we are talking?”

“I’ll get out of your hair in a few. Don’t need all that trouble.”

“Nonsense. You can’t leave without having a drink, at least for old times’ sake.”

“Just one. It’s a work day.”

Bull had found a stable job, Nora was surprised. He’d switched careers so often, she’d once found him married to an up-and-coming designer, dressed in silver fleece back in 2017 and in the same year, he’d gotten divorced and started a taxi business. Clearly he was so well-to-do, he didn’t need a new job as an undercover mechanic. Although the warehouse he worked at was pretty neat and nice; the floors were tiled, a taken-apart car sat on a towing crane and a supposed Go-Kart project he was working on, was at the front - a toolbox sprawled open, with a welding kit connected to a transformer. And they weren’t the stuff you’d find in a parts shop. No, it was all new - prim and polished, with professional gloves.

The drink was nicer too. Single-malt Irish. The glasses weren’t plastic - they were more verdant than the stuff Uncle Tommy kept around. Nora took a sip from her glass, setting it down instantly.

“So- what’s up? What are you doing these days?” Bull asked.

“Oh you know --” Nora shrugged. “Desk job.”

“Not too different from police work, now is it?”

“Sometimes I get to --” she gestured at the air, “-run?”

Bull poured some more whiskey into her glass. “Run around for what, exactly? I mean, I don’t know about the business, but PIs somehow have it worse. Runt of the litter and everything, y’know? Joseph from the 47th Precinct started one and guess what? Shut it down the very next week. Now I think he’s teaching middle school baseball.”

“I can teach middle school baseball.” Nora said, missing the point.

“You’d be a shit coach.”

“Never said I’d be a coach. Just that I’d teach baseball.”

“All right. What you’re here for?”

“You’re familiar with uh— small potatoes royalty?”

“Would never call anyone small potatoes. First mistake anyone makes is undermining them. Why? Finally running around with the big leagues, aren’t you, Nora?”

“The electricity bills aren’t getting any cheaper.” she shrugged. “You know Trystan Thorne?”

Bull paused. “I think so.”

“What’s his uh - deal?”

“Seriously?”

“What? I’m sorry my questions aren’t too specific.”

“No, it isn’t that. I can’t exactly give you a Cliff’s Notes version of everything.”

“Fair point. You do run a business.” Nora wiped the rest of the blood off her nose, grabbing a bandage and plastering it on. It was painful without something to clean with and the constant stench of iron only made her impatient and hasty with dressing it. Oh well, it’s a short walk home. Wasn’t like she had a life to get to, anyway. No rush. She finished her glass of whiskey, a smidge drunk to help with the pain.

“Is he your client?”

Nora nodded.

“Holy shit.”

“Supposed to be good or bad?”

“He’s quite a hit with the paps. He makes you think he’s an open book, y’know, with everything just out in the open.”

“I just want to be able to trust his words, considering he might be a — person of interest. I don’t care for him other than that.”

“Then I’ll be helping you do your job and you know my requirements.”

“Come on, Bull. What’s his character like? Is he after a — specific thing?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“Because I’m not trying to date him to have deep conversations.”

“Not everything’s a simple yes/no answer.” Bull shrugged. “I mean, he is charismatic. He presents a very trustworthy front and it’s good for his image, since he comes from a family of liars and swindlers. And he’s gotten smart, because the paparazzi bothers him less and less when he plays into the ‘black sheep of the family’ persona. They’d have nothing else but to print the same thing over and over again. Oh look, he’s spotted getting a herb tea! How different can he get?. Wears the same thing outside - classic trick to make photographs unusable.”

“So he’s smart.”

“Very smart.” Bull said. “He doesn’t have a press team or anything. It’s just him and his — psh- sister, I think. She runs a luxury business here. Not to mention he’s got some wild contacts. I mean, traditionally, where do you usually find celebrities?”

“I dunno— sex parties?”

“No, you idiot. With whom?”

“I guess other popular people.”

“Trystan here is friends with practically anyone he meets. Comic book authors, critically acclaimed authors, amateur filmmakers, film students, nail artists, pharmaceutical execs, street dealers, Hollywood stars — the list goes on. He puts himself out there, deliberately.”

“Artists.” Nora supplied, making cotton balls out of the bloodied wads.

“All kinds of artists.” Bull tossed the cotton out of her hands. “And he’s quite an academic. Not in your Oxfordian-pretentious-asshole way, but in an actual smart, resourceful way. He probably knows way more about you than you about him.”

“He thought I was a stripper in a detective costume initially.”

“You’re going to let that fool you?”

Nora gave him a nonchalant shrug. “He did hire the Agency after the first two hours of working with me. When I barely knew him. Reckon he’s done some Googling?”

“Googling?” Bull took second-hand offense. “He probably knows your coffee order by now. The place where he’s from - Drakovia, doesn’t skimp on funding intelligence. He’s earned military training in the past. He knows how to — uh — talk, if you get it. Almost a borderline psychic gift. I don’t know how he does it, but you have to play your game just right, like extremely carefully. When you’re talking, count your words. Take note of things he says in throwaway lines, when he’s at the peak of his comfort.”

“Do I tell him anything?”

“Nothing that isn’t relevant to whatever — jewel thief he’s hired you to find out.”

Nora was reluctant on sharing about the case. It’d hit the news stands in about two or three days anyway, Bull would find out eventually.

“Quick n’ easy. You do your job. Get out. Don’t fuck with smart people. You and I - we aren’t that smart, I think you agree.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good talk, Bull. I’ve got to get to work.”

“Stop dicking around, all right, Nora?” Bull gathered up the mess of bloodied tissues and cotton wads.

“What’s he after?”

“Who? Trystan?”

“There’s got to be something these guys want. Like how actors want big breaks and writers want big breaks and uh - you know, something I can —” Nora gestured, “I can really sink my teeth into and use it as a killswitch.”

“Gain his trust. He’ll tell you on his own.”

“How do you know that?”

“I happen to know he enjoys belladi from just being his waiter at a fundraiser once. All I did was ensure his flute of champagne remained full and listened. Really listened. That man has got centuries worth of stories to tell and nobody to listen to. That’s what you do. Listen without making preasumptive opinions.”

“Yeah, okay, don’t fuck with smart people, got that. Ciao.” Nora gave him a quick salute with her fingers, turning on her heel towards the doors.

“I’m afraid you didn’t got it- Nora- argh—”

Nora found him on the sidewalk, patiently waiting. Trystan leaned against his sports car, watching and smiling at the pedestrians who didn’t smile back.

“Oh good, you are here.” Trystan beamed at her. “Your uncle said you had stepped out— what happened to your nose?”

“Kitchen accident.”

“Right.” he narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe her. Or maybe he was trying to study her - deduce something out of her microexpressions and body language. Nora suddenly grew aware of Bull’s advice and the hot blood coursing through her veins in panic. She noticed he had his hands tied to his back, as if he were hiding something. It was a brown paper bag.

“It was a kitchen accident.” she insisted. “What do you have there?”

“Oh, just something I picked up.” he handed it over. A brown paper bag with a croissant in it, with some raspberry filling and a paper cup of coffee with the order written on the side. She took a closer look at what the barista had scribbled in blue ink: dark roast coffee, two pumps of cream, one sugar. Bull was not joking. Her hands grew stiff, as she continued reading the list of ingredients, before Trystan interrupted.

“I figured we would not have time for breakfast.”

Nora’s first thought went to poison. She dealt with the idea for two seconds before rejecting it, considering Trystan needed her more than she needed him. He was going to have to keep her alive. Unless there was some sort of truth serum that made her run loose with her words, there was no reason to suspect anything could be spiked. Could just be a peace offering. A thank-you of some kind, grateful she accepted Sonja’s case when none of the cops were willing to take it forward and no other agency barely credible or within a half hour’s drive from Trystan’s penthouse. Still, it wasn’t like someone could Google Nora’s coffee order.

It tasted good per usual. She saved the croissant for later in her left jacket pocket using her left hand, just to throw Trystan off, in case he had some ideas of gifting her a can opener next time meant for right-handers. Considering the kitchen accident was the only excuse she had for suspicious injuries, it wouldn’t be too thickheaded to assume he’d give her a can opener sometime later.

“Are you going to say goodbye to your uncle?” Trystan asked, as he got into the driver’s seat in his car. Nora strapped in her seatbelt with her left hand, adjusting it to make sure the croissant in her pocket didn’t disintegrate.

“I’ll call him. We’re on a time crunch here. Ruby’s got a copy of the toxicology report. It should help us analyse some injury patterns and compare it what we know about the kind of weaponry or poison we can track down. To put it simplistically.”

“Right.”

Liar. Nora thought to herself. He’d have pored over Forensic Science For Dummies last night. Heck, he would have even arranged an intimate dinner with one of the leading forensic scientists in the country, discussing precisely this. He was pretending to be this unassuming ‘foreign diplomat’ or whatever he called himself, and very good at it too.

Trystan drove down the street, meeting a chunk of 10AM traffic in the middle of the high road.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. You must be devastated after yesterday.”

“I actually got a good night of sleep.”

“That’s — good.” Is that good? Good for Trystan? Someone who definitely sleeps with one eye open at all times?

“Yes, I am very reassured that we will find Sonja’s murderer and bring him to justice however means necessary. A lot more hopeful than I usually allow myself to, but I have got a very good feeling about this, actually. Today, I woke up with this — interesting — can I say lust? Lust for hope and it is an interesting feeling. Perhaps we might obtain a —break through, so to speak in the evidence present.”

“Of course, of course, hope is just — y’know how I’m all about the hope.” Nora attempted to make conversation. “Did you get a good look at Sonja’s other paintings?”

“Nothing different apart from the eldritch horror-looking work.” he chuckled dryly.

So he did look at her paintings later. Nora realised Bull wasn’t just right. He was prophetic. Was that good? She’d seen her fair share of amateur detectives who’d seen an episode of Elementary or CSI and assumed they could do the same, but Trystan didn’t seem like those pop culture fanatics. He was invested in the case, and not just acting out of emotion due to the grief his friend’s passing had caused. He was actively taking charge and Nora wasn’t sure if this was the right idea. Bull did tell her to keep him talking, to underline his throwaway lines and go from there, but how? When he seldom talked in full sentences and only used his extensive vocabulary to flirt with people? Or maybe that’s another guerilla tactic too. This was difficult. She couldn’t be vigilant all the damn time.

“You must know a lot about art history, then.”

“Not entirely.”

The car stopped at a stoplight junction.

“I absolutely loathe the traffic sometimes. It just forces these unnaturally long mundane conversations, do you think? Which is why I always carry some downloaded music with me-” he punched some keys on the GPS screen that doubled down as an entertainment system. “- do you happen to enjoy some classic pop?” - he set the volume to three, probably to not let the music overpower the constant horn sounds, playing ABBA’s I Still Have Faith In You. “- Queen, John Lennon, King Crimson, Bowie- they were some of my first Western artists I listened to when I came to America. Queen has a special place in my heart. It was a gateway to learning more- collloquial English, if I can say that. Diplomatic-speak can get very boring and sometimes off-putting. You would not want your date complimenting your good handshake and your choice in dress suits and ties. Who does that? Anyway, I have grown a lot. Companionship was so much easier back at home. People had so much trust to spare. Or at least, I had so much of that to pass around.”

“Well, your faith is in the right place.”

“You think so?”

“I’m fairly good at my job. I don’t think you would have anything to worry about.”

“I am not worrying about anything. Rather I am more than happy to know I have placed my faith well.”

“Strong sense of judgement, yes.”

“That I am still yet to learn how to do that.” he grinned. “So what are we now? Partners? Considering we are working this together?”

“That’s uh — fast— but sure. Partners work.”

“Wonderful! I can finally place the order for the matching shirts.”

“You got us matching shirts?”

“Yes, the ones with ‘I am his’ and ‘I am hers’ but with partners in brackets. I am sorry, but it is a Drakovian tradition for good luck and I have some requirements as a client and a partner. Maybe I should have run it by your boss first-”

Nora stared at him, eyes widened. Trystan hid back a smile for approximately a second before erupting into laughter. “You would really believe me, just like that? It is such fun messing with you!”

“No I don’t, but I do have some complicated feelings about merchandizing.” Nora’s cheeks flushed red.

“Ooh complicated feelings. I love some complicated feelings. Tell me some more.”

“For starters, I don’t like texts on shirts. It makes it hard to read.”

“So you just —stare at people’s chests? My, my Detective, how juvenile of you, tch tch-”

Nora sighed. “There is no winning with you, is it?”

“Nope. There is no losing either, because it is time well spent, right?”

The car rolled into the parking lot of Astoria Forensics, Ruby’s place of work. Nora didn’t even have to supply him an address.

“Let us get this case a-rolling, shall we?” Trystan pressed a button to open the door for her.

_______

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed reading this! The one pet peeve I had with the book is that we never got to see the initial scepticism besides it being fodder for the banter. I really wish we could've experienced the doubt and the stress MC was going through, while trying to learn to trust Trystan and his story.

Tagging:

If you'd like to be tagged for my works, please drop a comment down below or reblog. Thank you.

Perma: @quixoticdreamer16 @trappedinfanfiction @writing-not @peonierose

Crimes only: @ofmischiefandmedicine @aallotarenunelma @ao719 @lilyoffandoms @cassie-thorne @twinkleallnight @jerzwriter

#crimes of passion fanfic #choices book club #trystan x nora #w:inlocusmads

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nightingaelic · 2 years

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I got a question, who do you think out of all 3/New Vegas/4 companions would make the best to worst roomates? Like from the ones who become your best bro to the ones who are horrible yet contribute to chores/rent in some way while still being bad.... This might be in some form of modern Au or the fallout universe

(excluding the bots/soggos/super mutants)

excluding the bots/doggos/super mutants

But why? 😊

Here's my tier list, brought to you by Tiermaker. Detailed explanations below the cut, starting from the bottom.

40. Jericho

Asshole who will trap you in the kitchen when you can't escape and start going on and on about how the #MeToo movement went way out of control.

39-38. Dog/God

This guy desperately needs therapy, and by god, he's going to make it your problem. Doesn't shower.

37. Clover

Clingy in the worst way, to the point of possessiveness, and has no other friends for a variety of reasons. Also needs therapy.

36. Sergeant RL-3

Annoying nationalist who is probably the reason you keep getting ads on your YouTube account encouraging you to donate to conservative think tanks or join the National Guard. At least he does the dishes.

35. Joshua Graham

Pulls out lectures about redemption and changing your ways every time you forget to turn a light off or leave the door unlocked. Insanely judgmental for a guy who believes in loving thy neighbor.

34. Rose of Sharon Cassidy

Rarely sober, and often trying to encourage you to join her in inebriation. Will hold your hair back when you puke, and will make you late and hungover for work.

33. Strong

Judgmental of any change in his environment, be it furniture, climate, or guests, and unafraid of voicing that disgruntlement immediately. Totally willing to share any of his food in the fridge, even if half of it is expired.

32. Dean Domino

Elitist mild talent who will drag you to open mic nights just so he can show off how much more accomplished he is than you. Will pick up the tab on dining out rather than do dishes when it's his turn. Doesn't take 'no' for an answer, or at least doesn't take it well. Does have great fashion advice.

31. Porter Gage

Cleanliness standards do not match yours, but he's got a knack for repairs and will fix anything in your living space that breaks, including minor welding projects. Needs to be reminded to shower. Unwilling to take a stance on anything from politics to which side of the toilet paper roll should be facing out, and will dump the blame on you if anyone has any complaints.

30. Cait

Fiercely protective of you once she's warmed up to you, but fiercely defends her own personal space, too. Cleanliness standards don't match yours, and occasionally needs to be reminded to shower. Often aggressively drunk and cries a lot over small things, but makes up for it by having your back whenever you're having a bad day, especially if that means kicking someone's ass. Also needs therapy, but she at least acknowledges it.

29. Mayor John Hancock

Laid back, new best friend material, provided you're willing to overlook some big character flaws. Shares everything he has in the fridge, cupboards, closets, provided you ask first - heaven help you if you don't. Invites friends over for wild parties without giving you advance warning. They're good parties, but they're always on bad nights for you, and the aftermath mess never gets cleaned up fast enough. Knows every drug dealer within 50 miles on a first-name basis.

28. Robert Joseph MacCready

Cleanliness standards are not the same as yours, but it's more of a neatness problem than a general hygiene problem. Will tidy up if asked to, but you're always going to have to ask him to. Shy, slow to trust other people, and insists on paying you back immediately every time you pick up the tab on something. Shares custody of his son with his ex-wife, and you can tell he's a great dad even if he isn't a great roommate. Good cook.

27. Deacon

A total mystery, in both good and bad ways. Knows all the best places in the area to drink. Disappears for up to a week at a time and refuses to tell you where he's been when he finally returns. Eats primarily breakfast cereal. Does not have any social media that you know of, but knows about news and trending topics well before you do. Eclectic fashion sense. Pays rent in cash. You don't even know how old he is. Your friends speculate about his identity to no end.

26. Butch DeLoria

Knows how to cut hair, and he'll do yours for free. Likes to complain for fun using vivid recreations of interactions he's had, which can be entertaining as hell or horribly annoying. Takes over doing the laundry entirely because he's worried about his clothes getting damaged, or maybe he just finds the work soothing. On good terms with his mom, even though she's going through a rough patch. Not a fan of your other friends, no matter who you introduce him to.

25. Christine Royce

You know she has a social life, but she seems determined not to share it with you. She's even more tight-lipped about her family life, so much so that you think maybe she's cut ties. What she lacks in openness she makes up for in organization skills and thoughtfulness - the fridge and cupboards are clean, her things are neat, and she'll make late-night breakfast food if you're feeling hungry after an evening out. Has night terrors, but won't talk about them outside of her therapist's office.

24. Follows-Chalk

Avid camper who likes to take long trips into the wilderness and return with the best pictures you've ever seen of national park landmarks. Self-sufficient when doing chores, but seems a little clueless about social etiquette, even if he's eager to make friends. Willing to talk to just about anyone he meets, including scary bikers in dive bars, transient people outside grocery stores, even postal workers who are just trying to deliver your mail. Remembers all of their names. Gives the best birthday presents.

23. Charon

Ex-military who seems to regret it, even if it got him out of a bad living situation. Quiet, well-read, and a little scary when he needs to be if the neighbors or landlord are being unreasonable. Glued to your side if you go out anywhere because he refuses to mingle with anyone he doesn't already know. Doesn't drink, but if you catch him after 2 a.m., he'll talk for hours about anything from hitchhiking to deep sea exploration to the Cold War. Mysterious past, and after you part ways, a mysterious future.

22. Old Longfellow

The foul-mouthed, devil-may-care grandfather you and your friends never had. Doesn't want to be bothered unless it's an emergency, but it's fun to bother him anyway and see what new insults he'll invent just to tell you to fuck off. Can de-bone a fish, peel a crustacean, and rustle up a chowder faster than any line cook you've ever met, and he gets a discount from every stand at the farmer's market for unknown reasons. Lost his wife a while back, and it's clear he really loved her and respected her. Can out-drink you and everyone you know. Disappears every year for deer hunting season.

21. Craig Boone

Another ex-military who still lives like his superiors are around the corner and are going to critique how he made his bed and cleaned the bathroom. Doesn't really regret his service, but doesn't NOT regret it - you can't get a good reading on his feelings, and it's complicated by the fact that whatever he did was pretty classified. Doesn't seem to associate with many of his former division, at any rate. Makes great stir fry, knows all the best pair workout routines to lose fat and build muscle, and has lots of non-specific stories about traveling around the world. His last break-up was very painful and he WILL bring it up. Might have PTSD, but he's in denial about it.

20. Piper Wright

Easily consumed by her latest writing project and may forget to feed herself or go outside. When she does remember to go outside, she disappears for long stretches of time and comes back with the craziest stories, which are great material for re-telling at parties. Nosy as all hell, and doesn't have many friends as a result, so she's appreciative of those who stick around anyway and tosses you the latest neighborhood gossip if you ask for it. Primary caretaker for her little sister, who's still in middle school and got you into watching the Owl House.

19. Raul Alfonso Tejada

Keeps to himself, unless there's some kind of tangible project he can tackle that brings him into the shared living spaces. Adopts random furniture on the street and brings the pieces home to refurbish, then sell online. Fixed one broken washing machine on a whim and somehow got hired as the building handyman, which knocks some money off your rent. Addicted to reality television. Refuses to join any of your group chats, and half of your other friends don't even think he's real.

18-15. All of the Dogs

Basic dog roommates. Give walks and food, receive unconditional love and protection. Rex still doesn't like people with hats.

14. Paladin Danse

Current military service member, and proud of it. Still, not afraid to call others in his line of work on their bullshit. Doesn't really get the whole roommate bonding thing unless it's done on a local sports team or in a camp obstacle course, but he knows how to be civil and keep his living spaces neat and clean. Gym rat who will try to rope you into going too, so much so that he's willing to lie and say you're in a relationship to get you on his own membership pass. Always looks great in photos, and half your friends want to seduce him.

13. Nick Valentine

Witty, low-maintenance guy who's easy to befriend. Runs a private investigation business online and will occasionally have clients over in the living room, in varying degrees of distress. Always lets you know ahead of time, is always understanding if it isn't a good time for you to deal with that, and will move his operations to the local coffee shop if asked. Insomniac. Owns multiple sets of the same outfit, but is still a snappy dresser. Buys donuts if there's a sale. Suspicious of anyone you bring home.

12. Arcade Israel Gannon

Anxious, but manages it. Doesn't set out to be friends, and it might take a bit of poking before he decides to give you a shot and get to know you better. Shy, occasionally judgmental, and needs to be convinced to give others the benefit of the doubt. Hates ordering out and prefers to cook for himself, and he'll happily share if it's a new recipe he's trying out. Physically incapable of sleeping in. Well-read to the point of getting annoyed at random strangers online because he knows they're wrong, but refuses to comment and correct them and would rather stew.

11. Codsworth

Polite, neat, model roommate to brag about to your friends. Does cleaning chores for fun, often right before you had planned to do them. Clingy, worries about you when you go out, texts to check in way too much. Permanent designated driver, and viciously guards the best macaroni and cheese recipe you've ever had. Loves Downton Abbey and Bridgerton.

10. Curie

Still figuring herself out, and she's happy to enlist you in the process as her new best friend. You think she might be home-schooled with how little she knows about the wide world, but she embraces each new experience fully, with the enthusiasm of a duck in a puddle. Suggests trying a new restaurant every time you order food, tips delivery drivers way more than normal, and insists on doing the dishes as soon as they're dirtied. Dances like nobody's watching while she's vacuuming.

9. Veronica Santangelo

Set out to share a living space in order to get away from her family and a recent failed relationship. Honest and open about all of that, and about how she's hopeful she can move on. Participates in a local boxing club and roller derby team, and most of her wardrobe consists of sweatshirts and yoga pants. Content to lounge, eat popcorn in front of cheesy romantic comedies, pick out the worst dialogue with you, and run it into the ground over the next week. Also loves to go fancy clothes shopping, and books reservations at an upscale restaurant once every few months in order to justify the money she drops on Depop.

8. Star Paladin Cross

Legacy buzz cut lesbian who may or may not have military service under her belt. Either way, she's fit as fuck and hasn't slowed down her social life just because she's getting older. Well-known in the local community as a Pride event organizer and activist, tends a box garden outside one of the nearby churches, and jogs every morning to stay in shape and say hi to everyone she cares about. Often has guests over unannounced, but they're all upstanding members of the community and usually come with a bag of produce to stuff in your fridge.

7. Waking Cloud

Older than the rest of your friend group, but she's perfectly happy being out of the loop on the latest fad. Sweet and caring. Has three grown children who drop by now and then to catch up with her and get to know you over tea. Certified doula who disappears overnight occasionally on an assignment, but she always texts to let you know she's okay. Great cook. Demanding cleaning schedule. Will mom the shit out of you.

6. ED-E

Doesn't say much, and doesn't need to. Television addict who can spend hours binging every new show on Netflix. Works for the local post office and is on good terms with just about everybody you know. Insists on carrying all your bags if you go shopping together. Can't cook for shit, but can do all the other chores better than almost any other roommate you've had.

5. Ada

Kind, practical, and solution-oriented. Just as willing to listen to you vent as she is to unclog the sink. Interested in tech that can make your lives easier, which led to her purchasing a high-end security system and a Roomba. You're a little worried that the upgraded tech is spying on you, but you're also pretty sure that she's tinkered with it to the point that it's no longer connected to any corporate networks. You're unsure of the legality surrounding that, so you stay out of it. Loves to travel for sightseeing and watches MythBusters on repeat.

4. X6-88

Strong, silent type. Answered the ad with three months' rent ready to go, plus the security deposit just in case. A little socially awkward, but in a way that makes people give him a second glance. Follows a strict diet and won't deviate, even for special occasions. Organized to the point of eyebrow-raising. Will eventually open up about his control-freak beginnings, and grow more and more loyal in his friendship as he shares. Wears a lot of black sweaters, and looks damn good in them. Can't stand pet fur though, and he'll go through a lint roller a week if you come in with a dog or a cat.

3. Fawkes

Works night shift as a security guard, so his days are largely free. Volunteers at the local library and reads every book under the sun. Always has the best YouTube recommendations for you, and pulls the best recipes to try out off of TikTok. Mildly clumsy and may break some dishes, but he'll apologize and replace them if it happens. Bleeding heart animal lover who will temporarily adopt any strays he finds, which is usually adorable but can be stressful.

2. Preston Garvey

Stays out of your business, unless you ask for his help, in which case he throws his everything into backing you up. Volunteers at the local homeless shelter and food pantry, and still makes time to join you for movie night with pizza and the latest Marvel release.

1. Lily Bowen

Your new grandma. Literally everyone in town loves her. Will make you breakfast in bed on weekends and chicken noodle soup when you're sick. Bakes constantly. Makes the best cookies. Turns cleaning chores and grocery shopping into a game, and runs a book club and knitting circle out of your living room. All her grandma friends love you too, and they keep trying to set you up with their grandchildren.

#fallout #companions #fallout 3 #fo3 #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout new vegas #fnv #tier list #and they were roommates

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 1 year

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By: Yasmin Zenith

Published: Jan 27, 2023

Something troubling is happening in premier UK medical institutions like the Royal College of Psychiatrists. There is a schism between the influential proponents of gender ideology, which is ascendant across the NHS, and those who view it as unscientific and an impediment to safe-guarding and freedom of speech. Dissenting clinicians are concerned about an increasingly dogmatic promotion of gender identity ideology. Their resistance was explicit during a fraught webinar presentation at the RCPsych on 23 November, which was partially leaked on Twitter.

The gender presentation and its themes will be familiar to anyone who has experienced similar training under the aegis of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). The presenter was Dr Joseph Hartland, EDI Deputy Ed Director at Bristol Medical School. In the leaked slides, pronouns are pivotal. They are the visual symbol of allegiance to the new orthodoxy. Everyone is encouraged to prominently display them. Pronoun agnosticism is discouraged. One slide asserts that failure to use examples such as ze/hir correctly constitutes an “act of aggression”. In another slide, biological sex is described as “socially contrived” instead of fundamental to life. “People with testes” is presented as an example of “appropriate language”. Failure to insert a space between “trans” and “woman” is potentially pejorative language. This linguistic minefield requires delicate navigation and constant self-editing. Dr. Hartland concluded by exhorting his audience to stop talking about “gender dysphoria” and instead “help patients achieve euphoria”. The implication is that the pathway to this destination is pharmaceutical.

Perhaps Dr. Hartland expected applause or silent compliance. He was unprepared for questions from the members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and his reaction to being challenged was less than professional. He denounced the forty-five questions as “80 per cent transphobic”, posted a picture of nail marks he had made on his hand in an act of catharsis and then locked his Twitter account. This is surprising behaviour from one of the premier authors of a medical charter already signed by 80 per cent of UK medical schools. There are serious questions about the level of scrutiny conducted prior to signing this binding document and about its ambiguous contents.

According to its website, the GLADD (Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors and Dentists) charter was written by “queer medical activists” in conjunction with GLADD and Lancaster University Medical School. Its ostensible purpose is to effect a ban on “so-called conversion therapy”. Its critics are concerned that it is a flawed, unscientific document motivated by activism, not clinical considerations. They worry that it promotes the “affirmative care” paradigm which dominated the Tavistock and is currently under review by Dr Cass.

One experienced medic speaking under conditions of anonymity put it starkly. He told me, “This is not the language of medicine. It is the language of religion.” The charter’s language is clunky and repetitive; definitions are obscured. Its lack of clarity is striking. One core principle asserts that it is important to “affirm” the gender of LGBTQ+ people. Medical schools must “produce graduates” who do not “favour one gender over another”. What implications does this have for the clinical treatment of a 12-year-old girl who diagnoses an incongruity between her physical body and metaphysical identity? Should she be “affirmed?” Is the clinician’s role to facilitate a pharmaceutical pathway via puberty blockers and hormones to attempt an alignment? Will a graduate of a school welded to this charter be primed to prioritise that treatment? Another charter principle requires “joyful representation” of LGBTQ+ people in curricula. Will this prevent medical schools from discussing the phenomenon of detransitioners like Keira Bell? Will it prevent a scholarly examination of the troubling clinical decisions which enabled her to have irrevocable medical procedures including surgery which she now regrets?

What critical analysis was conducted by the institutions who have signed this document? Did they delegate it to their EDI departments? One possible reason for its rapid adoption by almost all the UK’s medical schools is that their students have been actively encouraged on social media to demand their colleges sign. There is an updated display online showing boxes with a blank space to highlight missing signatures. One of the Charter’s authors, who is an NHS doctor, told his Twitter followers that failure to sign was indicative of “queerphobia” and to “let them know we’re watching”. Is this an environment conducive to considered debate? Will the Charter’s adoption and implementation enlighten or hobble the medical education of future clinicians?

In a curious parallel, the Culture Secretary, Michelle Donelan, recently announced that the government intends to enact a legal ban on “trans conversion therapy”. The difficulties in writing such legislation without causing serious unintended consequences is already evident. How is “trans conversion therapy” defined? How can parents or clinicians discuss a child’s gender distress if any deviation from a rigid affirmative paradigm is criminalised? It will require surgical linguistic precision and rigorous critical analysis. If the last two decades of UK politicians exemplify one consistent principle irrespective of party, it is that bad policies and bad laws are simple to write. Removing them once written is an arduous, if not impossible task.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists denounced its audience for their “appalling” questions in response to the gender webinar by Dr Hartland. The RCPsych tweeted that “appropriate steps will be taken”, an ominous warning which elicited a scathing backlash. Does the RCPsych believe that unsubstantiated, unscientific assertions should be accepted without challenge by its members? An orthodoxy imposed from above which demands submission and views questions as heretical has no place in the medical arena. Its ascendancy within the medical establishment should concern us all.

This is cult authoritarianism.

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ewan-mo · 7 months

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Under the mango tree

Wednesday 27th September 2023

My favourite clinics are held under a mango tree. This morning we joined Amuron to do just such a clinic. But it was a little bit complicated to get there..

Amuron was our first Jamie’s Fund graduate. When we first met her we were struck by her warm compassion and her heart for people with mental illness. She is now a fully qualified Psychiatric Clinical Officer, and with her colleague Joseph, leads the mental health service at Kumi Hospital, a former leprosy hospital, way out of town and usually very peaceful.

Our driver Hassan picked us up at 8.15 and we called first at the hospital for the customary meeting, chaired on this occasion by the in-charge of Human Resources. Warm appreciation on both sides was definitely part of it. Once again we are struck by their expressions of thanks:

“Thank you for loving us”.

“Thank you for loving Uganda and for coming to us”.

We believe it matters that we do come, to express what someone has called the ministry of presence.

Out then to the clinic, a fair way away. We are out in rural Uganda here, and in some senses traditional Africa, with the old thatched roofs, even though the walls are brick.

Our route led us down smaller and smaller roads, until we were joined by a local man, who cheerfully ran ahead of the vehicle to show the way down the ever tinier paths to the mango tree where the patients were waiting.

One older lady raised her arms in the air with a great chorus of ululations to welcome us, and the others joined in as we shook hands with everyone.

They had come! Always the first challenge. And they had brought their records, in an exercise book, many pretty dog-eared but still functioning. Amuron gave some health education and the clinic proceeded.

Quite a mix: mostly epilepsy but with some mental illness, including new patients. Older and younger, including some toddlers, male and female. Shy quiet ones, and some great characters. All of human life is here under the mango tree.

One lady appeared very low and tearful, but was reluctant to talk. I watched Amuron deal so kindly and gently with her and begin to form the relationship that will be the beginning of healing.

I hope you have gathered that everyone is sitting around together. They listened to each other’s stories – or not, if they were attending to babies or going to the toilet or other necessities. But no one thinks twice about the confidentiality that is so important to us.

This is a collectivist society, different from our own individualistic one. People belong together, share each other’s concerns, pray for each other, understand each other. It is of no great importance if they hear each other’s consultations; they need each other in order to get through their lives with so many challenges.

The person who clearly did not want others to be involved was the quiet tearful lady. We think there is more to her story than we yet know, and Amuron will continue to talk gently with her for as long as needed.

This was one of the bikes used to get to the clinic – old and tough, no gears and not much in the way of brakes either. It will have carried all kinds of things over the years. Some welding on the frame, but it is still very useful.

These are flip flops made from old car tyres. Called “thousand milers” by some

After the clinic we had a four hour drive back to Bushbaby lodge, which was a pleasantly easy one. It is cooler here. Kampala tomorrow. We just heard this afternoon we can meet the lead for Mental Health in the ministry tomorrow afternoon. Glad that that has fallen into place.

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