#how someone else identifies or what someone calls themselves- or what flag someone uses.

[arcadequeerz]

I just do not give a single shit about lg-bt-q disc-ourse anymore.

[msfenriss]

Operation Bridgehead

I’ve been asked what I can recall about Operation Bridgehead. I think it must have been 2006, and at that time there were still active text forums as well as the growing community who met in Second Life. SL was a real bandwidth hog at the time, and few girls had systems that could run it at a tolerable frame rate, so much of the conversation was still in text.

There was already an Embassy established in SL when the Operation Bridgehead announcement appeared on the forum. It may have been the Blue Camellia Club, but my memory is a sieve, and I could be wrong. I remember that the accompanying graphic was a screenshot from SL of a military brunette avatar silhouetted in front of the flag of the Empire. The gist of it was that Operation Bridgehead was a formal declaration that the community of Aristasians who existed in Elektraspace were a protectorate of the Empress.

I know I am making a hash of this. I can’t recall the language, or even how the scope of it was defined. As far as I can tell, the Embassy in SL was considered the center of operations, but all girls who identified as Aristasians-in-Telluria and had some means of connecting with us should be considered under this protection, SL account or no. I wish there were someone I could ask to correct me if I have this wrong. There seemed to always be a philosophy that what truly made an Aristasian was her sincere desire to be one, and little else mattered. That inclusivity is why I spent so much time with them. And it’s a bit ironic, now that I think of it. They always seemed to pride themselves on their elitism, but when it came to interacting with any person who identified as a girl, and wanted to visit and learn what it was all about, there could never have been warmer, more pleasant hostesses.

I say “they,” and I should clarify. It was often noted that Aristasia-in-Telluria consisted of concentric rings, and most girls never made it very far into the center, which was perfectly ok. The great majority of girls, myself included, had no wish to live full time Aristasian lives. I felt that I was a part of the outermost ring. So collective pronouns may vary.

I think it can’t have been very long after this announcement that there was strife of some kind. I know that there were disagreements among core members of the group, but as you can imagine, they were very private about conflict, and I do not know specifics. I think my memories of that time are happier without that knowledge. I do know that a few individuals seemed not to be around anymore, even as the population of new girls seemed to be burgeoning.

The school established for newcomers may have been called Sai Thame. Again, atrocious memory, but given that Janya’s purview it tracks. It didn’t exist for very long I’m sad to say, but the time I got to spend there was pure fun and pleasure for me. I loved feeling so safe from the disturbing content you sometimes run across in virtual worlds. The wooden desks lined up in the classroom felt strangely comforting. I got giddy little flushes of gender euphoria from standing to let a blonde sit. The tea garden was full of the sort of flowers you’d find in an English cottage garden, and there were always butterflies, and it was all the wonderful parts of Virtualia without the ugly parts. I’m forever grateful for that.

[seerofmike]

can i ask y you reject the q 'slur' but willingly embrace the f slur?

there are like 3 big reasons why but the main and biggest reason is like. a sense of control?

i am going to assume u are asking genuinely and not being inflammatory. but like. nobody in the community is calling me a faggot without first checking to see if i'm okay with that. it's treated with caution. it's acknowledged that it's a harmful word. nobody assumes you identify yourself personally with the word faggot. members of the community and allies don't call us the faggot community, broadly speaking. when people say fag on this hellsite they're usually referring to themselves or using it to refer to a fictional character whom it does not actually harm. if someone ESPECIALLY a straight person asks me how i as a faggot felt about fag representation they'd be rightfully scorned.

when i call myself one it is because i have taken control of the word. when i let my gay friends call me that it's because i told them its okay. and if anyone else uses that word with me or a corporation chooses to slap it on a flag then thats obviously fucking bad because they dont have the right. thats what reclamation is

this is not the case with queer. there are large swathes of the community who will call you that without asking, and get offended if you don't like it. it's on every bit of cringe ass pride merch that corporations can get their grubby hands on. cishet people will say the word with full confidence. and if you have a problem with that then you're a TERF and not actually lgbt and fuck you , you should accept this term no matter if you like it or not.

i have zero problem with people identifying as queer or referring to themselves personally in that way. my problem comes from the community as a whole being called 'the queer community' because it ignores the fact that a Lot of people don't actually identify with that word for various reasons, and from other lgbt people wielding that word with little regard for other peoples' feelings. i get its because a lot of them are young and don't know any better but i think people need to learn that you can't actually force reclamation on someone just because you personally have reclaimed it.

[manie-sans-delire-x]

you know i care about you immemsely but i got a lot to say.

i haven't been any of these anons but they've been right, it honestly is a minor change to the English language. ppl that are against it or see entitlement in it don't recognize their privilege. the way you're talking about it seems kinda super pointless. i have my own gripes with afab and amab as indicators, but you're clinging to these ideas with such a death grip, and i need to tell you it genuinely is the smallest change. i get that like there's a lot of room for you to not acknowledge your privilege or whatever, but something common in the phrasing/language you're using reminds me of how language changed reluctantly from everyone, if not the majority of ppl, saying "nigger" to them saying "black person." now ofc there are ppl that say "african american" and a good chunk of us that would much rather just be referred to as "black people" but that's not something I'd let a white person handle the debate on (and in this context african American and black people on an argument of terms doesn't equate with the debate between using female/male vs afab/amab). so the fact that people are upset that someone who isn't trans or doesn't identify as trans is making these comments about redundancy and genuinely fighting back makes sense, like your behaviour seems concerning.

now biology doesn't just go away when you change the terms, people know this and acknowledge this, and can acknowledge that biology is in fact more complicated than simple male or female in the first place, and that our designations of such are asinine. your way of thinking is just a little too traditional if you're caught up on change needing to be evolutionary, and that society is meant to cater to the majority. just because that is the way we live doesn't mean it's the way we should live. lest we forget that "should" in all its connotations is a subjective term. it's taken a lot of constant outspoken behaviour for any of us to get this far, you're seeing changes occur as you grow because there's more space for it with all the media we have and the effort people have been putting in since time has had some effect.

besides all that though, you did say "everyone else is forced to be fine with being called afab/amab/cis," but like i can't think of any women in my life that have enjoyed being referred to as "female." like that genuinely has been a red flag in both men and women for years now. we have grown to use sex based terms for the sake of bigotry, and the people that want to oppose said bigotry offer changes and your idea is to spit on them. you're calling them word obsessed but you're pressed over the logistics of using afab instead of just saying female.

but also language is intricately tied to genocide, eugenics, and any type of bigotry, it has an impact, people WILL believe the words they say and will act on it. you want to say people have a lot deeper problems going on that they should explore, but what you don't understand is that this is a way of exploring. the change in phrasing is not that big of a deal, you're not getting dumber, you're not losing anything, but if you want to say it's entitled to change, anyone else can easily say it's entitled to stay the same. people can and will and have identified how bigotry has been maintained over the years, and the language and behaviour you use has been a part of said continuity. like think of how it's considered inappropriate to use self deprecation as jokes, and how changing that has had more positive outcomes for ppl than just continuing to degrade themselves casually.

you can simply acknowledge that there are aspects of people trying to use afab and amab that are redundant and move on, but I've seen you get caught up on all these gender related things and complain and get stumped and belittle them each time. idk homie, maybe take a course in gender studies for fun or something.

1- Its not a small change to change the whole English language my dude. And what about every other language and culture? Them too? That is entitlement to an extreme. Demanding the entire world change for 1% of the populations feelings. Are animals no longer female and male? Are humans not animals anymore?

2- You compare calling someone a female or male to a slur? Really? "But that's not something I'd let a white person handle the debate on" So then why are people who (according to them) arent female or male deciding what words to use and what they mean?

And ok, lets compare it to race for a second. So youve said repeatedly before that a transwoman understands what a woman's upbringing is like, despite not being treated socially or legally as a girl or seen by others as a girl. So if a white person put on black face and says they identify as black, could they claim to know what its like to be born and grow up as a black person? Why not, by your logic?

If someone accepts transgenderism, they have to accept trans-race, even trans-species. It follows the exact same lack of logic and is all feelings based. If you feel it, you are it. In fact trans-race is way more logical, because unlike sex, someone actually CAN be half black, half white, 1/4 asian whatever. They can move to a country and learn their language and customs. They can get citizenship. Race is a social construct, right? We know this. Humans havent evolved long enough to create true distinct races. So who are you to say now that they cant do that? You bigot.

3- "I can't think of any women in my life that have enjoyed being referred to as "female." Its not about enjoyment its about objective reality. Most women have no problem at all being called a female in any kind of academic, professional, or medical context because we ARE female. The only ever problem there ever was with the word "female" was when it was used by misogynists to demean us- for being female. (Woah hold on I thought womens oppression and misogyny had nothing to do with our sex- wild). It was always about the context in which it was used, and the intent behind it. I think you know that.

4- You sound like you think getting rid of the words female and male will decrease misogyny and bigotry. Its not the word that the problem, its the attitude that there is something wrong with being the word, with being female. Hey, say we're "reclaiming" it if that makes it easier for you. The very fact that you dont think its a big deal, to erase our sex's existence... As if we arent already pushed to the side and erased from history.

5- "But if you want to say it's entitled to change, anyone else can easily say it's entitled to stay the same." No cuz see, entitlement is about prioritizing your own wants and needs above everyone else. Above the vast majority, thinking that you are special. People cant be entitled to something 99% of the world agrees with and lives by, with a basic concept thats been present though out all of history in every culture.

I encourage you to study womens history and current world issues that womens are facing, although it certainly wont be fun. Women's oppression is so blatently sex-based that its a slap in the face to deny that, and painfully idiotic.

You're smarter than this Nix, jesus christ. Begging you to get a grip.

[schizoidpath]

How to Spot a Sociopath: Identifying Traits & Signs of Antisocial Personality Disorder

Co-authored by Liana Georgoulis, PsyD and Glenn Carreau

Source: WikiHow

Things You Should Know

Look out for signs of a sociopath including superficial charm, a lack of empathy, and chronic lying. Sociopaths manipulate others to get what they want.

Pay attention to other red flags like impulsive and immature behavior. Sociopaths tend to be selfish and unable to take responsibility for anything.

Watch for thrill-seeking behavior or even conflicts with the law, as sociopaths don’t care about social norms. They can also become aggressive abnormally fast.

Signs & Characteristics of a Sociopath

1. See if they’re calm in alarming situations or have a cold “sociopathic stare.” This is because a sociopath can experience events that trigger strong emotions in others without feeling any emotion themselves. They're calm, cool, and emotionally absent in situations that may frighten or upset others. If they forget to mimic someone else's emotional response, they might respond with a cold, blank stare.

Whenever everyone else is flustered and panicking, but the suspected sociopath doesn't seem concerned, it indicates impaired empathy on their part.

Some people are more even-keeled than others, but most eventually display some form of anxiety. Someone who never seems anxious under any circumstances might be a sociopath.

The cold, blank stare is called the "sociopath stare," characterized by a frighteningly emotionless look in the sociopath's eyes. If they notice their stare makes people nervous, they might use it for intimidation too.

2. Look for a lack of empathy and remorse towards other people. Individuals with APD cannot understand or relate to another person's feelings, so they don't often recognize when they hurt someone with lies, manipulation, or aggressive behavior. Without the ability to empathize, a sociopath will rationalize and defend their behavior because they don't care that they did something wrong.

Because they don't feel remorse, a sociopath also won't accept any blame when someone confronts them about their behavior.

Sociopaths tend to crave power and control over other people and pursue it ruthlessly. Their lack of empathy typically means they have no shame in manipulating people to get their way.

It's not impossible for sociopaths to feel a little regret after doing something they know is wrong, like lying or cheating. The difference is that a true sociopath won't let that feeling stop them from doing it again.

3. Watch out for someone superficially charming and persuasive. Sociopaths often turn on the charm when they first meet someone because they want that person to like them and be willing to do them favors. A sociopath will make grand gestures to make someone feel special but change over time. Once a sociopath feels like they can control someone, they'll become cold and manipulative.

For example, a sociopath might go out of their way to help strangers or be incredibly generous with people they hardly know—while being the total opposite with family and close friends.

Sociopaths want to be in control and get their way all the time, but to do that, they need to blend in and charm people into feeling comfortable around them first. That's why they have so much superficial charm.

A sociopath's charm is just an act; their behavior is highly polarized, ranging from fake charm to completely antisocial, which means they isolate themselves from others and often experience anger or anxiety.

4. Take note of someone who exploits others using emotional manipulation. Sociopaths tend to target people with insecurities and coerce them to do what the sociopath wants. They also use gaslighting to control other people's choices and actions. Gaslighting is a manipulation tactic that involves undermining someone’s confidence, so they feel like they're the problem or making up problems that don't exist.

For example, a sociopath might tell someone they're being irrational until they believe it's true and start relying on the sociopath to tell them what's real and what's not.

If a sociopath is lying to someone, they might try to confuse and manipulate the other person by accusing them of being a liar, deflecting the blame from themselves.

Lack of empathy means that sociopaths rarely have any reservations or regrets about manipulating people for their own gain.

5. Look out for someone who lies and deceives repeatedly. When a sociopath wants to get their way, they'll lie, distort the truth, and trick others. Sociopaths lie regularly, even about the smallest things—and when caught, they'll backpedal and lie again to cover themselves. Even when forced to confess the truth, a sociopath will pretend to be sorry and fall right back on their old behavior.

For example, a sociopath might promise to get help and never follow through or start making changes for a little while before returning to their old ways.

Some sociopaths will go to great lengths to make their lies believable. For example, a sociopath might pretend to go to work every day, even when unemployed.

Sociopaths often lie about their pasts, but there are usually inconsistencies in the story. Note anything that doesn't make sense, or if someone who knows the sociopath disagrees with their version of events.

6. See if they only develop superficial or short-term relationships. A sociopath typically won't have many close friends, if any. They might have a few people they can regularly manipulate or boss around through intimidation but no meaningful connections. Instead, a sociopath will probably leave behind a string of exes, friends they've abandoned or betrayed, and "frenemies" who don't really trust them.

Look for lack of connection with the past. If the person has virtually no friends from high school, college, or any part of their past life, it could be a red flag.

Consider family members, too. If the person isn't in touch with any family members and never talks about them, there may be a problem.

Sociopaths have trouble forming healthy relationships because they lack empathy. Building a close bond with them is tough without the ability to understand another person's feelings.

7. Notice if the person has a big ego and delusions of grandeur. Sociopaths often think they're the most important person in the room. They'll be unresponsive to criticism and have an inflated sense of self, believing they can do no wrong. In addition, they tend to have a strong sense of entitlement, assuming that they deserve amazing things without considering anyone else's well-being.

The sociopath might think they're better than everyone else without evidence of their superiority.

A sociopath may also have an unrealistic view of their own abilities, such as believing they are excellent singers or dancers when, in reality, they have almost no skills in those areas.

8. Pay attention to repeated immature and impulsive behavior. Sociopaths rarely learn from their mistakes; subsequently, they don't grow or develop like others. As a result, their behavior may appear highly irresponsible. Sociopaths also make snap decisions that serve their interests without thinking about how their choices affect others. Examples of immature behavior include:

Sociopaths often feel entitled and believe they should have everything they want. When it comes to sharing, they're usually reluctant.

Sociopaths can be needy, expecting you to be available whenever they need you. They'll demand your time and energy without thanking you or returning the favor.

Sociopaths often struggle to take on any meaningful responsibility. They'll skip work, let someone else do their job, ignore deadlines, and ignore bills due.

Impulsive and erratic behavior is one of the main differences between sociopaths and psychopaths. Psychopaths are more controlled and able to plan ahead.

9. Look out for sudden anger, aggression, and even physical violence. Most people have a wide range of emotions, but sociopaths are prone to anger more than anything else. They're easily irritated and likely resort to yelling and aggressive outbursts when upset. In extreme cases, sociopaths can even get violent and hurt the people closest to them when angry.

If they're challenged or confronted about their aggression and anger, a sociopath will attempt to point the finger away from themselves, hoping that the other person will let it go or even apologize for confronting them.

The person may have sociopathic tendencies if, despite their outward calm, they can snap and become violent at any moment, then calm down again soon afterward.

This is another big difference between sociopaths and psychopaths; anger is much easier for psychopaths to control, and their behavior is more detached overall.

10. Notice if they take dangerous risks and disregard social norms. Sociopaths don't have much concern for society's moral codes. Consequently, they'll violate unspoken rules that most people follow without question—from minor things like telling a lie or cutting in line to hurting people or breaking the law. They're also thrill-seekers, driven by impulsivity and boredom to find taboo things that excite them.

For example, a sociopath might turn to drugs or alcohol simply because they're chasing a high. They might also overindulge in things like food, shopping, and gambling.

Sexual promiscuity can also occur when a sociopath doesn't care about social norms. A sociopath in a relationship might have multiple affairs, while an unattached sociopath might overindulge in sex.

[accountantinnewyork]

7 Benefits OF Hiring A CPA To Manage Your Bookkeeping

Are you overwhelmed by the bookkeeping process? Do you feel like you're not getting the most out of your accounting software? If so, it may be time to consider hiring a CPA to manage your books. A CPA can help you save time and money, and they can also help you stay compliant with tax laws.

Here are seven benefits of hiring a CPA to manage your bookkeeping.

1. To have a clear picture of your business finances

Bookkeeping services help businesses keep track of their financial information. If you don't know how much money you're making each month, you won't know if you need to hire additional staff or cut back on expenses. A bookkeeper can also help you prepare tax returns and stay compliant with accounting regulations.

2. To make sure you're not overpaying taxes

If you're self-employed, you may not realize that you could be paying too much in taxes. Bookkeepers can help you determine whether you're eligible for certain deductions and credits.

3. To avoid fraud

Fraudsters often target small businesses, so having someone else do your books makes it harder for them to steal your money. Bookkeepers can spot unusual transactions and flag any suspicious activity.

4. To reduce paperwork

A lot of small businesses find themselves buried under piles of paper. Having a professional handle your books means you'll only have to deal with one set of records instead of dozens.

5. To save time

You probably spend hours each week doing basic bookkeeping tasks. Letting a professional take care of these tasks frees you up to focus on running your business.

6. To get accurate results

Most bookkeepers use software programs to enter data, which helps ensure accuracy. If you try to do your own books, you might miss something important.

7. To improve efficiency

When you hire a bookkeeper, you'll have access to detailed reports about your business's performance at any given moment. These reports can help you identify problems before they become big issues.

Questions

Are you searching for professional bookkeeping services in New York City?

If yes, then you have landed at the right place. Braj Aggarwal, CPA, P.C offers professional bookkeeping services in NYC.

Why should you hire us?

We are known for offering high-quality services at affordable prices. We understand the importance of time management and we make sure that we deliver quality work within the stipulated time frame. We ensure timely completion of projects and we always adhere to deadlines. We have been providing bookkeeping services since many years now. You can count on us for any kind of bookkeeping service. We offer customized solutions according to the requirements of our clients.

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[leonidas1754]

God it is INFURATING to see people label Ao3 as containing CSEM.

Because it doesn't. And this is the same fucking problem we had with the term "Child porn." I don't know much about how the term actually came about, but I know that fandom largely uses it now because the meaning behind "Child porn" has been nuked into "anyone who makes content of two characters who MIGHT have the SLIGHTEST chance of being underage kissing." And no, that's not an exaggeration, it doesn't even have to be porn. I wish I was fucking joking. Sometimes the characters don't even have to be underage, in canon or in the fanwork created. It's that bad.

And now that we've changed the terminology for the actual fucking thing, referring to actual shit as Child Sexual Exploitation Material, they're trying to label that again.

I'm so fucking tired of fandom, I'm so tired of watching these debates and seeing the meaning sucked out of these important terms. I'm tired of seeing someone get called a pedophile and having to ask if they have actually hurt real life kids or if they just wrote about two boys kissing.

Click out of a fic if it contains shit that squicks you out. That's what the tagging system is for. It's not your fault if someone hasn't tagged their shit properly, god knows I've stumbled into my triggers before because people didn't tag things right, but you back out, at most you leave a polite comment asking that they tag that. That's it.

Because guess what! Writing about two underage characters having sex ISN'T FUCKING CHILD PORN, CSEM, OR WHATEVER OTHER TERMS WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO RUIN THEM WITH ALARM FATIGUE. These things are labeled crimes because they hurt REAL PEOPLE. Not fictional characters!

And hey, there's a lot of reasons people make this shit, and your definition of how to """respectfully""" address it doesn't mean shit! Because your definition of 'respectful' and everyone else's doesn't line up, because it's all subjective!

Respect towards other people is more important than respect towards fictional characters. And that goes both ways. You respect the author's right to create for whatever reason they have, you respect that you are not privy to that reason if they don't wish to share it, and the creator respects that not everyone wants to read about that shit and tag things appropriately. You respect people's right to autonomy and the right to decide for themselves what they are and aren't comfortable consuming. They don't need you to protect them from the horrible evil stuff, regardless of whether or not they enjoy it.

I can't enjoy noncon content, so I don't click on it in the first place, and if I stumble into it not-tagged, I click out. That's it. (Well, maybe comment on or report it if the author chose "No Archive Warnings Apply" instead of "Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings" since it is a major archive warning, but you get the point)

If you're fine with murder, violence, drugs, and whatever else existing in fanfic, but you're not okay with sex existing in the same, you're a hypocrite and part of the problem. You are part of the reason fandom a more dangerous place both for creators and in general, and for making it easier for actual predators to get away with shit due to general alarm fatigue and teaching people the wrong sorts of things to identify as red flags.

People making fanfic about teenagers having sex aren't the problem. People who try to make them out to be predators for it are.

[mischiefmanaged71]

Bad Romance - Joaquin Torres X Reader

Song: Bad Romance - (961) lady gaga - bad romance ( s l o w e d ) - YouTube

Summary: The reader is an enhanced individual with the ability to replicate other people’s abilities. A member of the Avengers, she has been working alongside Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes to investigate the Flag Smashers but the man calling himself the next Captain America poses an obstacle when he takes interest in her abilities. 

Author’s Note: Hello! So this is my first time posting a fic I've written. I’ve been writing since 2018 but never had the courage to post anything so I hope you all enjoy my story. Torres has only been in ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ for like five minutes but I’m in love with him. There obviously isn’t enough fiction out there about him so I took it upon myself to write one. This is an idea I came up with in my head, aside from the plot of the show. Listen to the song for added effect. I’ve inserted timings as well :)

Pairing: Joaquin Torres X Fem!Reader

Warnings: TFATWS SPOILERS, Canon-level Violence, blood, romance

Word count: 2.5K

Darkness is all you’ve known these past hours.

It’s been almost twenty-four hours since you’ve last had contact with anyone. Sam would usually check in with you about now, but that didn’t seem a likely possibility. 

Your right eye is almost swollen shut and you’re pretty confident that you have a few broken ribs from how difficult breathing is. The sound of metal creaking echoes in the empty room as you rattle your restraints. 

You’ve been quite literally chained to the wall. 

They weren’t taking any precautions.

Especially after witnessing the dozen agents you could take down all by yourself. 

Leaning against the wall, you try to reach some semblance of comfort, laying some of your weight against the hard-rock. Your neck burns from the collar they attached when you caught you off-guard. 

It was during a recon mission, you were chasing a lead about the Flag Smashers’ next meet up when they showed. Half a dozen armed men in tactical gear. 

They snagged a collar on you, disabling your powers.

You didn’t anticipate this.

All you heard was a piercing noise and then you blacked out.

You couldn’t access your powers as soon as that light buzzed. Trying to summon fire warranted a little electric shock to your system. Little, meaning severe enough to take down an elephant. 

Yeah, so getting out of here would be tricky.

Isn’t it always?

Five guards have remained in the room for the past two days, monitoring, watching. 

For what? 

You have only the slightest idea why.

The double doors which have remained close for the past two days creak open. The blue uniform is familiar to you but the face donning the outfit is not. He’s an imposter wearing a costume, a mock of the real thing. John Walker, along with his so-called ‘American squadron’, had grabbed you as a statement. Sam and Bucky certainly weren’t going to stay out of it because someone told them to. You all followed a code, to protect those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

“Hello, Y/N, it's been a while since we met last...I’m sorry for the way you were handled on the way here but it was the only way I could get to talk to you.”, he said, looking at the bruises beginning to form.

He talked nonchalantly as if this were a normal conversation. Your wrists were raw from pulling away from the cuffs, clothes covered in dirt and dried blood. He strode up to you, pulling his helmet off and placing it carefully on a metal crate.

“Now, I know Bucky and Sam had a lot to say about me, but you, you were always silent. I thought we had an understanding.”

‘An understanding?’

You refuse to look at him.

“You talk big words for someone who couldn’t begin to understand the legacy of that uniform.”

“I earned this! I put in the work. All they want is someone to look up to. To show them that justice still exists.”, he paces in front of you.

“Justice. Is it?”, your eyes narrow.

He pauses in thought, seething with internalised spite. Pacing the floor, he turns his back to you.

“Have you had time to think about my question?”

You remain silent, glaring at his mockery of Steve’s uniform.

“No? Okay. That’s fine,”, he whispered.

Walker signalled for a guard to open the doors once more and two more men entered, dragging someone along. You squint your eyes to identify the person as they dump them in front of you. 

“No”, you whispered desperately, your breath caught in your throat.

You spot Joaquin’s dark hair and tan complexion, more so, the blood staining his clothes. The men dragged Joaquin next to Walker, letting him slump to the floor. From what you could see, he had been beaten pretty badly, the bruises already beginning to form on his face. His hands are cuffed behind him and he’s unable to hold his own weight. 

Panic fills Torres as he notices the chains securing you to the wall. The last he heard over the coms was a struggle. He and Sam had been surveilling to get anything they could on your kidnappers.

You could only hear the rapid beating of your heart in your throat as blood rushed to your face. Your breathing quickens as you don’t quite know what will happen next. 

John broke the silence,

“I’m going to ask you again.”

“Then, I'm going to count from three.”, he said, pulling a silencer out from his waistband and cocking it at Joaquin who rested on his knees.

“What are you?”

You stare at him incredulously, unresponsive. 

You look down at Joaquin as he gazes up at you, helpless to move with guns trained on you. He’s telling you to stop, to lie, to do anything but give yourself up.

“What answer do you want?”, you asked, using all your strength to lift your head up.

“You want me to say I’m a freak? A mutant? An experiment? What good does that do you? Everyone knows it.”, you huff, sharpening your glare.

He stares down at Joaquin and kicks his foot out against the ground, clicking his tongue. Walker threw his foot into Joaquin’s back, pushing him into the floor.

“Not that.”

You watch as he points the gun harder.

“Tell me. What. You. Are.”, he grits out.

You clench your jaw hard, shutting your eyes tightly. A burning sensation fights in your chest, spreading to your arms. You suck in a breath desperately, a whimper tearing from your throat as your head drops.

The click of the safety echoes loudly.

(1:26s of the song)

Your eyes shoot open, blazing red and as the chains snap free from the wall. The metal clangs loudly against the floor, triggering the five weapons now pointed at your chest. A surge of fire ignites as you swipe your leg, knocking the agents back. The two standing closest raise their guns as you tilt your head and launch a blast of fire from your hand. The next agent replaces him, firing his gun consecutively, but you strut towards him, swiping them away with blasts omitting from your hands. You send a roundhouse kick with a wall of fire, propelling him through the exit. The remaining three encircle you with their weapons, clicking the safety off.

Your hands burn, glowing red with the heightening energy,

“Okay, you got me.”

You raise your hands in surrender as one of them steps towards. Faltering a step, you inhale deeply as he grabs your arm. Once he sets a hand on you, you exhale, breathing out a stream of fire. You twirl in a circle, the fire pushing them back and blocking their sight of you as they flinch from the heat. Dropping to the floor, you strike the cement and crack the surface. The building’s structure shakes as a cloud of energy dissipates from the contact, incapacitating the last of the soldiers.

Walker fixes his gun on Joaquin but you focus your glare on him. You wait as he stares at you, knowing he has the advantage.

"I'd stop right now, if I were you."

You silently stare at him with blazing fire burning in your orbs. The clicking of the safety reverberates in your mind as all movement stops. The muzzle of the gun is inches away from Joaquin's head.

“Alright, you’ve had your show now.”

You've got mere seconds to make a decision here.

He remains still, as Joaquin’s eyes meet yours and you nod your head slightly. 

It’ll be okay because you’d never let anything happen to each other.

"Walker, you've made your point. Look, it's me you really want, not Torres.", You snipped, grabbing his attention. 

Joaquin’s heart raced faster, 

What were you doing?

You could see the gears turning in Walker’s head, his eyebrows perk up.

"C'mon, this whole thing was to get to me, right? To weaponize me. It's my power. So take it. Just let him go." 

Walker pauses in thought,

"I don't think I will." 

You knew that'd be his answer but he was too busy looking at you to notice anything else. Joaquin threw his leg out, kicking Walker’s shin to knock him off his centre.

Moving quickly, you roundhouse, knocking the gun from his hand and driving your foot into his knee. He lets out a pained yell, ducking your elbow jab and rolling behind you. You roll forwards, swooping your flames across the floor to knock Walker on his back. He rolls to the side, standing again to flick open a compact switch from his pocket. He struggles for a moment as you strut over, but he presses the button down with conviction. 

You falter in your steps as a loud piercing sound breaches your cranium and hearing. It’s overwhelming, threatening to shatter your skull. A whimper falls from your mouth as both hands grasp your head. You can faintly hear Joaquin yelling your name from behind. The pain is unbearable. Joaquin bangs the cuffs on a metal crate behind him, forcing them to break. 

Your vision blurs as you clumsily move towards Walker. Once you’re close enough to him, you throw an uncoordinated right hook but he catches it and returns with a kick to your chest, knocking you to the floor. The pain continues, eliciting a moan from you as it grows worse with each second. Joaquin watches as you scream in agony, sprinting towards Walker and tackling him to the floor. Walker loses the switch from his hand, punching Joaquin in the jaw to get him off. Joaquin hisses as his head hits the floor, but he’s quickly grappling for the switch before Walker can get his hands on it. Scanning the floor, he sights it inches away from where you’re curled up in a ball. He’s crawling over to make it but a grip on his shoulder halts him, flipping him over and punching him repeatedly. 

Over the intense clanging, you see black dots form in your sight as you want to pass out. You hear grunts nearby and the sound of a fist making contact with skin. You flicker your eyes upward to see Walker’s figure looming over someone. 

‘Joaquin...where’s Joaquin?’

You close your eyes and force yourself up, struggling to gain your bearings. Upon opening your eyes, you notice something within your reach. Crawling forward, your fingers barely touch it. You try again and again before you feel the metal beneath your fingertips. Finally, you have it in your hands and crush it. The metal crunches and the ringing ceases. A sigh of relief leaves your mouth as you push yourself off the floor.

More coherent now, you angrily send a blast of energy to knock Walker off of Joaquin. Scrambling off the floor, he brings his fists in front of him, but you've already there, standing in front of him.

"I’m going to count from three.”, you said.

Striking a wave in his direction, you blast fire into his chest, your eyes imbuing fluttering embers.

‘Three’

You continue your onslaught, attacking him with multiple blows of rage. 

Your figure looms over Walker, blocking Joaquin from his sight.  

‘Two’

Your hands emit a fiery glow as you project flames, igniting a huge blast which sends Walker crashing through the window and down below.

‘One’

Gazing down the terrace, you saw Walker’s unconscious body laying on the crushed roof of a car. The authorities would show up eventually. 

Looking back inside, you finally start to feel the adrenaline rush declining. You move away from the window to find Torres leaning against a crate. Joaquin's face is bruised and cut-up as he holds his side with a grimace. 

"Joaquin, are you okay?!", 

You rush over to hold his other arm, scanning him for serious injuries. 

He stops your moving hands to grip them,

"(Y/N), I'm okay, I'm okay. It's you I'm worried about. You almost died. How did you do that?", Joaquin asked, concern lingering in his eyes at the magnitude of your powers.

"I-I don't know. I guess my powers have always been linked to my emotions and then you were in danger. It was kind of instinctive, you know?"

"I could never let anything happen to you. Never.", She whispered silently, not noticing if he had caught it.

Joaquin moved to grasp her chin in his hand, pulling her head up so he could look into her eyes.

"You saved me."

You glanced over his face and the clear pain he was hiding from his injuries. 

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're okay. I-I was afraid...It shouldn't have been you.", You said to Joaquin, tears glinting in your sight.

"I'm not going anywhere. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.", he said, moving closer as your eyes meet his deep and endearing gaze.

"We should call Sam.", You suggested.

"I'll call him later."

Yours eyes met as he leaned his forehead on yours. You inhaled deeply as he gripped your hands tightly as if you would fall out of his grasp. Joaquin's arms encircle your waist and pull you in his embrace. Your arms rest around his neck, nestling your head against his shoulder.

You hold each other tightly in a moment of calm, seeking comfort from that person. The one person you would always seek out. 

You pull away, but his arms remain around your waist.

"You're so beautiful.", He whispers.

Your breathing shudders for a second before you decide to go for it,

"I-I love you, Joaquin."

You gauge his reaction as his eyes widen slightly. He leans in and guides his lips to yours. He kissed you slowly and passionately, his hands still gripping your waist. You sigh and stand on your tip-toes, tugging the hairs on the back of Joaquin's neck to bring him closer. You both pause, gasping for air for a moment. Kisses linger in between breaths as you both wind down from the intense 24 hours you've had, emotionally and physically.

"For the record, I love you too.", He grins, laughing at your eye roll.

"I didn't quite catch that, why don't you show me again?", You winked, biting your lip as his arms swooped around you again and tugged you closer. 

Barely brushing your lips, he looks between your eyes and then your lips.

"I think we can arrange that."

Your breath catches as your lips brush his. You smiled, closing your eyes, as does Joaquin. You swayed in his arms as his lips encased yours once more. 

Suddenly, red and blue flashing lights breach your vision from below. Sirens surrounded you both. You separated, glancing outside the broken window. 

Police cars surrounded the building. Reinforcements had arrived. His hand still grips yours and you motion to help him take some of his weight, wrapping an arm around his waist. 

"We should get of here.", You pushed open the door to exit down a flight of stairs. 

"Yeah.", Joaquin replied, grinning down at you as you walked out together.

Reblog, like, comment if you liked it and any thoughts xx

[st-just]

Hey, Cuba-anon again with a slightly different question. Less about Cuba, more about foreign policy and ethics in general. I am interested to know what you think about Nationalism and it’s place in the modern world. How should one view their relationship to their country versus their relationship to the global community?

To give my point of view, I think I am a pragmatic nationalist? I am not gung-ho about America because “it is the best nation ever and the president is never wrong, uwu”, but rather because I live here, my parents and grandparents live here, and if something in the world negatively impacts America it will by extension negatively impact me. I don’t think other countries are beneath me or anything, but I also know that the feeling is not always reciprocal. So, to me, putting the well being of Americans first and everything else second is similar to putting on your air mask first before helping others in the event of a plane crash.

Either way, would love to hear your point of view and see how others tackle the question.

(sorry for the delay in response, got halfway through writing this then saved it to drafts and completely blanked on it)

But okay, interesting question, and worth breaking down.

So, you know how through the '90s and early 2000's there was this just utterly overpowering narrative where the last chapter of every history textbook ended with a chapter about how national borders were less and less important and how through the magic of The Internet young people were more connected and cosmopolitan than ever, with the strong implication that the weight of history was pulling us inevitably towards a post-national utopia of frictionless exchange and understanding. Call it the Star Trek ideal.

Hasn't exactly worked out, of course. And to a large degree was bullshit even at the time (or the optimism of academics expecting all of humanity to think like they do, being charitable). But in my heart of hearts, that's still how I think things should work.

But okay, to get a bit less abstract, a bunch of barely connected thoughts-

- Nation-states (and states generally) are, at best, convenient administrative divisions of humanity. They have no value outside the services they provide to their residents, and certainly no rights or moral worth outside that. America doesn't deserve your loyalty or life anymore than the state of Ohio or city of Baltimore do (replace with wherever you live.)

-If you accept the basic idea of humans having equal moral worth (or anywhere close to it), then the entire idea that someone's entire life should be defined by what side of an imaginary line on a map they were born on seems obviously absurd as soon as you start thinking about it?

-Nations - in terms of borders, whose included, what characteristics are 'national', etc - are also both contingent and a great extent artificial, defined by state and cultural elites via a standardized language, a mythologized national history, patriotic holidays, nationalizing and creating traditions and rituals, national education and entertainment, etc, etc. There's nothing primordial or inherent there.

-Unfortunately, people really, really like having teams to identify with, and like excluding people from those teams and/or treating them like shit for not belonging to them even more. (People talk a lot about x or y horrible thing being fundamental to human nature, but I really think this is one of the places where human nature really lets us down.)

-Nationalism is an extremely easy and powerful way of dividing the world between us and them, and across the world there has been massive success using it as a locus for identity formation and to organize populations around basically every sort of project imaginable, from funding public education and welfare to genocide.

-Nationalism is, as mentioned, inherently exclusive - and no matter what it's proponents say, in practice there's always someone within the borders of the nation who doesn't quite fit (in the European context, Romani and Jewish people are the most obvious examples). Cases where the nationalist imagination doesn't perfectly overlap with state borders, or with the identity of some subset of the 'national' population also tends to go, uh, badly.

-However, within the national population, appeals to national solidarity or theoretically shared ideals can often be (to a limited degree) useful in transcending or working to ameliorate regional, ethnic, class, etc divides.

-While it's true that large chunks of the American (Canadian, British, French, Japanese, etc) populace benefit quite a bit from their position in the current international system, it's almost universally the case that what foreign policy elites consider 'the national interest' extends far, far, far beyond anything that provides concrete benefits to the average citizen - I'll just gesture vaguely towards Afghanistan, here. Or World War 1 - and quite a lot of death and misery is inflicted for the sake of a narrow slice of the elite's material interests and entirely meaningless concerns around national glory and prestige.

-To be frank, in specifically America's case, putting the interests of co-nationals first and everyone else second is less putting your own air mask on first and more launching a life boat at half capacity to make sure you have leg room.

-But, again, the fruits of pursuing the national interest really, really aren't evenly spread. Does the US government's tireless and vicious championing of stringent IP laws, regardless of how many needless deaths result from the constraints on the drug supply they create, really do much for the average American?

-Which, to go back to the air mask analogy, brings up the awkward point that very often it's not so much putting your own mask on first as tearing the masks off people around you so you have extras, just in case. How much less is the life of someone on the wrong side of the border worth? Half as much? A tenth? A thousandth? The pursuit of America's national security and national interests has a death toll well into the millions.

-Honestly, even if you don't care at all about foreigners, in terms of domestic policy it's just a useful heuristic to instinctively distrust anyone who relies too much on nationalist rhetoric to justify themselves. I mean, the music's almost always bad and anyone who actually gets invested in the symbolism of their flag is reliably a complete killjoy, but even beyond that - they're just very reliably the worst people. This is admittedly unkind and not always true. But, well, see that quote about patriotism being the last refuge of the scoundrel, which applies wonderfully to both people and organizations. If someone's trying to sell something by wrapping it in the flag, that usually means they don't want you looking too closely.

-Viewing the world through a nationalist framework and caring about zero-sum issues of national prestige also make it incredibly hard to coordinate around issues that don't care about national borders, or are going to disproportionately hurt people without rich and powerful nation-states defending their interests. Like, I don't know, global pandemics. Or climate change.

-Anyway, in conclusion, borders bad, nationalism bad, and also any officially codified 'Patriotic' culture is instantly cringe. Hopefully some of this makes sense.

[agenderlessromantic]

Thinking abt John’s nature...

Ok I am Not a Gideon / Harrow the Ninth blog at all but I finished HtN like two weeks ago and have been obsessively thinking abt it and consuming content and I have Thoughts. Heavy spoiler / content warning for Harrow the Ninth.

A lot of folks (from what I can gather in the tags) believe John to be hiding behind a kindly and socially-awkward exterior and in reality he’s manipulative, calculating, and generally an evil fucked-up guy. There’s a lot of support for that - he’s shown to be capable of far more powerful magic than anyone else and only uses it occasionally and for his own good, actively hid the truth about Lyctorhood for 9,000+ years, and allows everyone to worship him while trying to appear humble (he’s got a fuckin silver leaf and baby bone crown ffs). Not to mention the imperialist war-mongering society he’s built that actively goes and destroys planets and wages war against civilizations trying to protect themselves from the absolutely terrifying force that is necromancy. This is not a John apologist post. All of those things are true. But I’m interested in the themes and ramifications of what if, well, he didn’t mean for any of this to happen?

When I read HtN, I took John at face value - partially bc that’s always my first instinct on consuming media and partially because he seemed familiar. To me, he felt like someone with extreme social anxiety, who just nods and smiles and isn’t willing to correct people and goes “this might as well happen,” who is suddenly immortal and also the reason the solar system and local humanity still exists. He didn’t mean to become God, but everyone he’s resurrected is calling him that and it would be rude to try and correct them. He didn’t mean to lie by omission about perfect Lyctorhood, but one of his new (accidental cult) followers went and killed and spiritually ate their best friend because they thought that’s how it’s done and how is he supposed to tell them the truth after that? And now whoops, everyone’s done it. He doesn’t mean for his cult-army to commit genocide and terrorize the galaxy, he just has a problem to solve and his solution (if it was his idea originally) just so happens to include literally severing the souls of entire planets and really, necromancy is great and the people who are fighting against them just don’t understand that yet. He’s like people we all know: they feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders but are afraid of hurting or upsetting someone at any point ever, so they just nod and smile and only take action when they feel it’s necessary - usually when it’s a personal matter - or when they think it’s expected of them. Except this one is an all-powerful being with nobody to challenge his thinking or behavior until millennia after he’s been set in his behavior. And absolutely none of this excuses what he’s done. He is still responsible for all of it.

I’m interested in the possibility that John and the readers will be confronted with the idea of evil through inaction and the responsibility people in power have to not just try their best to be kind, but to actively stop the people within their influence from committing heinous acts and creating oppressive systems. Even if John didn’t mean for any of this to happen, he’s still a colonizer, and a war-mongerer, and a murderer. He still lied to his Saints and allowed the Houses and the Cohort to build the ways that they did. He is still their God, as much as he might blush at being called that by Harrow; he accepts that title and he never meaningfully intervened on any of the horrific things his followers have done. Whatever or not he originally thought these things, he’s become entrenched in the ideals and beliefs of the society that only exists because of him.

I see John as a caricature of well-meaning, centrist-liberal politicians we have in America (and in many other parts of the world, I’m just American and it’s VERY visible in our politics) who can identify that certain things aren’t right about our society and try to not be as personally distrustful as what we’re used to from people in power, but they’re still not actually doing anything to change the problems and are, either through inaction or through trying to remain relevant and likeable, participating in and furthering systems of oppression. They’re approving police budget increases, they’re talking about how great the military is, they’re giving empty speeches about equality while surrounded by their imperialist country’s flags and shaking the hands of war criminals. Give that person godlike powers, immortality, and the responsibility of an entire solar system and rebuilding civilization, and you’ve got our favorite Celestial Kindliness, the First Reborn, and The Necrolord Prime, and they’re just as guilty of the crimes happening under their watch as someone who deliberately orchestrated them.

That ALL being said, I’ve only read through the book once and have probably missed details that run counter to my perception of him. I’ve definitely gotten new realizations from reading other peoples’ posts that I didn’t pick up on my own, and I’m sure there’s a lot more I didn’t see. Still, I’ve been thinking about this a lot & wanted to see if folks in the fandom had thoughts, given it’s a different take than I’ve seen most people have. I’d love to talk, I just haven’t interacted with a fandom in like 6+ years so forgive my awkwardness if there is any!

[zombiegurlmode]

Sad that Camren Shippers are to blame. But alas, scape goats are necessary for someone to thrive

I’m not done ranting apparently. Clearly, after all of my satirical nature has come to pass, truth of the matter is, for someone who spoke so openly and highly of valuing love and honesty and all that jazz. Your words cut deeper than any knife could. And for someone who openly “claims” of being a part of the LGBT+ community, (whereas the numbers are thriving so much that more letters are added and we’re almost about to fill in the entire alphabet) we have yet to receive such a backlash coming from “supposedly” one of us. Imagine the horror right? True, perhaps your words may have been misconstrued by the public at large or twisted in some form to suit everyone’s selfish needs. I mean after all, isn’t that what camren shippers are called for - delusional AF and toxic as hell. Well, we don’t deny it and couldn’t deny the fact that yes, there are plenty of us who are quite enthusiastic to a fault. Honestly, tell me in what space or bygone era have toxic people never appeared in. Truth of the matter is, it’s how you deal with things and toxicity that affect each and everyone of us. Happiness is only a matter of possessing the right attitude. And no one, not any one, can take that away from you. Not even hardships.

There are several things I would like to personally address though. Camren shippers most likely than not have in some way or the other connected with you. We all something that we could relate to, From your internalized phobia, or from you getting to finally openly admit your own sexuality and fully embracing it wonderfully, or some other things that the others felt truly connected or as you love to so put it “resonate” with you. So don’t blame your fans if they are passionate in expressing themselves because all humans have escapism in them. And to some, perhaps, this is the only means they have some semblance of control to freely express themselves openly. No one is undermining your hardship when you were outed, or that fact that you were bullied for it, or pressured to act in a certain acceptable way so you may be deemed as socially normal “acceptable” human being, whereas all you truly deserve was love and compassion. But I would like to remind you of one very fine detail. When you were outed, camren shippers were there to support you. Because they (wasn’t here yet when it happened so I can’t include myself) understood well above and beyond that what you encountered was so horrendous. You were cheated and robbed of that one pleasure and right given to every LGBT+ member to pride on - the true nature of coming out. See the thing is, the homophobes corrupted the words coming out so much that even as LGBT+ members sometimes forget the true existence of it. it’s not about public declaration or waving the flag, or marching in rainbows, or stamping a giant sign across your forehead declaring that you’re a proud, frolicking, fun-loving, women-loving lesbian (or in any way the others identify themselves as). No! Coming out and its true nature is simply coming to terms with yourself on your own pace and leisure. So truly I am sorry that you have been cheated out of this privilege. But it wouldn’t be fair for you to lump it together with your emotions and throw it at your brethren (if you even consider us as such). Perhaps, that is not your intention. Just to be clear, I am not invaliding how you’ve felt or how you’re feeling now. No one has the power to do that to someone else - I’m referring to telling others how to feel. Yet the message we perceived is quite clear. That we, as a collective known as Camren Shippers, who “supposedly” belong to the LGBT+ community (ok, maybe not all of us. that’s too presumptive on my part) and pride on understanding your own volitions caused this very volitions to surface or in your words “manifest” in you. We are the hindrances that robbed you of your chance to have a decent flirtation towards the same sex. Ironically speaking, Camren Shippers were the ones also on the forefront of defending your honor when some boy belonging to a particular boy band along with his bandmates ridiculed and degraded your feminine existence simply because they thought they were joking around. I mean aren’t jokes like that - it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Jokes most often than not are made at the expense of others. Doesn’t make it any less right, but then again who are we to blame them for something they thought of as a joke. Let’s all face it people, we are all guilty of this act. And yet, the CS never did falter. Carrying their banners of delusions and brandishing their armors of grandeurs, all in the name sake of defending someone who is belittled for the sake of “fun and games”. Even after deliberately attacking the CS for their enthusiasm and calling it invasive, they were still there for you especially so when they saw how pressure started affecting you. They were always so attuned to you that they were the first to notice signs that you may possibly be queer or you may possibly be undergoing some form of inner conflict. They all wish you good health and as you put it in words “send their love to you” so you may never feel alone enduring all this pain. And now imagine the heartache that every shipper might or might not be going through right now. Because apparently, that same support that they have been sending you is perceived as pain and suffering from your end. How would you feel if the very thought that the love and adoration you have causes someone pain and insecurity? So far, all that you have discussed is the negativity that surrounds an apparent DEAD SHIP. Negativity? Sounds familiar right? You preach on it on numerous occasion. You even wrote a song 50FT. Maybe you should be the one to listen on your own attunement. You brought so much negativity on the topic whereas it was meant to be about your coming out. Again, sorry that you’re coming out seemed more like a burden than liberation for you. And again, I apologize that we are the reason behind it.

Just to clarify. We never undermined your suffering. We know all too well the pain that one undergoes in this journey called self discovery of one’s true sexuality. To be honest, those of us who fear coming out or being outed because of rejection, bullying, disowning, we are the lucky ones. There are some of us who undergo far more threats by simply accepting who they truly are. They fear for the safety of their family, they fear for their own safety, they fear the valid threats of rape and degradation and being treated as if you are worse than animals. There are those individuals where the very soil that they stood upon view homosexuality as ILLEGAL and violation of such law would yield severe punishments. So tell them, tell them that they don’t know the risks, the pains, the sufferings, the deteriorations of ones’ sanities, tell them that they don’t understand it because all they ever care about is Camren. Tell them that they’re only glimmer of hope on priding on someone that may have found what they yearn for is invalid. Tell them that living vicariously on your life brings so much distraught on your otherwise calm existence. Tell them that and they have been the first ones to apologize that you felt that way. Because I’ve read their posts and I’ve felt their pains. And we are sorry to cause you so much pain.

I will remind you. No one forced you to audition for xfactor in the pursuance of your dream. You even have the support of your family for your journey. And we are all grateful that you did. Otherwise, we may not even have bothered you so much. Otherwise, we may not even know that you existed. So let me remind you that the industry you belong to - spotlight is king. So don’t go complaining if your put under the it - that’s the point of the industry my dear, the limelight. I’m a purchaser, I can’t complain if my daily tasks comprise of purchasing goods. Otherwise, I have no business being a purchaser. I’m clearly in the wrong field if I felt that way. So it wouldn’t be fair to tell your fans (if you even consider us as such) to blame us for putting you under the spotlight. May I make a suggestion? Try holding a concert without the lights on next time. You do have sensitive eyes because of the lack of melanin in your eyes. We get that.

Also, you know Becky G never did mention about camren. You brought it up on your own. Just like you’ve given us “it’s camren yo!”. You did say and i quote (uh oh i’m sure going to butcher this. I failed in quoting people all the time) “i don’t really talk about it” and then preceded to have entire litany about camren and whatnot. Ok, I get it, it was part of your coming out process. Cool. Then you’ve touched upon how reading fanfics have ruined you. And made you feel like a predator. Firstly, camren fanfics are intended for shippers only. Like all mediums, they have their own specific intended audieces. For you to wander into uncharted terrains, you must have understood the risks it entails. I don’t know which ones you’ve read, but most fics from decent authors have disclaimer on them. Did you even bother reading the disclaimer? On the onset of something that made you feel awkward or uncomfortable or disturbing, you should’ve stopped on your own and never be bothered with it again. That’s the usual thing to do. If any human find something or someone repulsive, they would ceased to seek it. But it bothered you so much and made you feel like a predator then you’ve read the entirety of it (maybe i’m exaggerating, ok a good chuck of it, sounds better?) Well someone did tell me it could have been born out of curiosity. Yeah curiosity did kill the cat, you know? Unless of course you’re a masochist, then now I finally understand and I have nothing more to add.

So for my parting words, I would again extend my deepest, sincerest apology I could muster in my current sane state for being the cause and hindrance for your inner peace and wellbeing. I am not mocking you. This is just the nature I write. Troublesome, I know. But I’m being honest. If my being a fan of you, and shipping you in our own little niche, caused you so much pain and suffering then I respect your wishes. It would be foolish of me to continue pouring my support to you when all along I’m actually doing the opposite and harming you in the process. I mean what decent human being would like to inflict pain unto others. So in honor of my last words relating to your brand Lauren Jauregui or the very dead ship that apparently troubled you so much, I bid you the very best. May you flourish on your career and find inner peace and true happiness forever and always. I would not like to be a fan of any brand that I’m the apparent cause whether directly or indirectly impedes in attaining their endeavors. All the best in your album release and who knows maybe I’ll stumble upon your music again someday. 

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Hi Ralph! I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Harry, and the way he interacts with the world. There was the guardian interview and his weird statement about dilution (which I agree with your thoughts on so I won’t harp on about here). In the vein of weird interview comments Harry has made in interviews, one I also think about a lot came out in 2017-ish after Miley Cyrus came out. I can’t remember the exact quote, but I do remember the interviewer asked him, basically, what he thought of Miley’s coming out, and if he felt like he as a person in the public eye had any duty to publicly declare his sexuality too, knowing what it would mean to a lot of his fans who are struggling with their own sexualities, and Harry said “I think that’s a weird thing to expect of someone else, and everyone should just be who they want to be.” I don’t necessarily disagree with the content of his comment - you don’t owe anything to anybody when it comes to your sexuality - but I feel a little weird about the message behind the comment which I took to be “just let me sing and make music and stop asking me for anything else.” I think a large part of the reason I extrapolated that from his comment (and I do realize I was reading into it) has been his general reluctance over the years to get involved with any sort of political movement. The only two real exception I can think of are (1) LGBTQ rights kind of, although to be honest some of this seems performative to me, and (2) his weird and sort of short lived foray into BLM with the march he joined and his Instagram post. That, combined with his decision to move forward with his tour and the general outrage and feeling that Harry is “disconnected” from his fans, that he is “money hungry” that he is “using his fans” etc. has had me thinking. I disagree with the discourse vilifying Harry for his tour decision, and I think a lot of it is that people are angry and scared and frustrated (for valid reasons) but they are equating their rightful feelings of frustration with the situation to mean Harry failed them on a personal level, which I don’t think is true or fair. But I do think Harry is a celebrity who seems generally out of touch with what the rest of the world goes through, and worse he doesn’t actually seem to care. I feel like he withdrew so much after 1D days, and in general I do applaud that decision - I imagine he was dealing with a lot of trauma, and a retreat to as much of a private life as he could manage was probably well called for to protect his mental health. But his withdrawal has continued, and we only really see him when he has something to promote. We don’t get anything at all from him expect his music and now his movies. I don’t want this to come across as me yelling “Harry tell me about your personal life!!!” Because it’s not. I believe he should have complete privacy in that realm, if that’s what he wants. But to me, Harry cutting so much of himself off from the world has made him feel incredibly shallow and disconnected from his fan base, except when he has something to sell. And I do wholeheartedly think when you’re in the position of massive privilege that Harry is, you have a duty to be a well educated, well informed, active participant in your communities, and to throw your weight around for good. On the one hand, I do want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He came into this life he has now at 16, after leading a childhood that seemed to be fairly untouched by any real hardships. He has lived a life that is largely insulated from the way the rest of the world lives. On the other hand, he has the ability to educate himself, and not having those lived experiences personally doesn’t, I think, excuse him from learning about them and working to help who and where he can. I don’t think I really have a question here, I guess I’m just interested in your thoughts. I value your input, and your answers always push me to think about things in ways I hadn’t before. This has been taking up a lot of my mental space, and I’m curious if you’ve thought about it any.

Oh anon - there's a lot here and I'll try to untangle some of my reactions.

First of all - leaving outside the politics of all of this - I think there is part of Harry, both artistically and how he presents himself as a celebrity, which is very good at suggesting things, and leaving space for possibilities. And I think, at least at this stage, there isn't necessarily a solid core in there if you push. And that's OK, it has a lot of value artistically - blank space is pretty core to any design. But by the same token, it's OK if you want more. If you're dissatisfied with Harry you don't need to be fair for him - you can just think 'I want something you're not offering at the moment'.

But obviously I'm me so I can't leave the politics aside for long. I want to start with the interview - because context is important - that interview was Dan Wotton and the fucking Sun. Here is what was printed, which I think is a little different from what you remembered:

I ask Harry about sexuality in pop, a topic in the headlines after MILEY CYRUS spoke openly about her pansexuality. What’s his take?

He says: “Being in a creative field, it’s important to be ­progressive. People doing stuff like that is great.

“It’s weird for me — everyone should just be who they want to be. It’s tough to justify somebody having to answer to someone else about stuff like that.”

So has Harry personally labelled his sexuality?

He replies: “No, I’ve never felt the need to really. No.”

Would he like to elaborate? “I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.”

I want to be clear that everything Dan Wotton was doing here was wrong, from existing to obviously trying to push Harry out. And while Harry was also wrong to be doing an interview with the Sun, he did a really good job of not saying anything he didn't want to say in difficult circumstances.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm with Harry. It is tough to justify somebody having to answer to other people about their sexuality. I mean particularly when that person is Dan Wotton working for the fucking Sun.

But in general I don't think there's anything wrong with Harry saying implicitly and explicitly 'Just let me sing and don't ask me for anything else'. More than that I reject the whole premise. In the questions you imagined Dan Wotton asking, you set up the idea that the only way a queer artists could speak to queer fans is by coming out. And I think it's important to push back at that at every opportunity. I've said it before, but that I identify more with Louis reciting the women he's pretending to be attracted to by rote, much more than I ever have with anyone waving a rainbow flag. I reject every part of the premise of 'you coming out would mean a lot to people and somehow that is your problem'.

Throughout what you've written me, you emphasise a belief that celebrities should be active politically - and I really want to push back and ask why? What good does that expectation do you or the world? I think the last thing this world needs is more commentary from people with large microphones and without knowledge or a perspective. The world isn't made better if celebrities feel oblige to talk about politics. And your experience

You seem to think of politics like charity - as something you do for other people out of a sense of obligation. I would argue that very little useful politics has ever been done under that model. Instead I would argue a model of politics based on solidarity: 'If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.' (Aboriginal Activist, 1970s).

I think this is what makes the English football team so powerful. Marcus Rashford is fighting for school lunches, because he knows what it's like to be hungry. They're taking the knee, because they have experienced racism, or are expressing solidarity with teammates who have experienced racism. I think Jordan Henderson believes that his world and life would be better if queer fans could be themselves at a football match.

Harry has said in so many ways that he hasn't figured out to relate politically, and he doesn't have anything more to say. That might change, but in the meantime, believe him.

Last off I want to point that you seem to be drawing a parallel between him being disconnected with his fans and not interacting politically and I don't think there is any connection at all. You said:

But to me, Harry cutting so much of himself off from the world has made him feel incredibly shallow and disconnected from his fan base, except when he has something to sell. And I do wholeheartedly think when you’re in the position of massive privilege that Harry is, you have a duty to be a well educated, well informed, active participant in your communities, and to throw your weight around for good.

There is no connection between these two points - none. I also don't think there's anything wrong with being cut off from your fan base, or silent on politics. But they're also independent (I mean look at Shawn Mendes at the period of his career when he wouldn't turn anyone down a selfie. He wasn't at all active in politics then).

I don't think there's anything wrong with valuing an artist being out, politically active, or connected with their fan base. But there are plenty of artists who are out (Lil Nas X, Olly Alexander, and I'll give a shout out to Grace Petrie) and there are plenty of artists who are politically active (Jade Thirwell, Dua Lipa, Stormzy). I'm sure there are also lots of artists who connect with their fan base (although I don't track that personally). If that's what you want, find artists that meet those needs. Rather than choosing an artists who offers something else entirely and having expectations they will never meet.

[writing-with-olive]

A few tropes to avoid: LGBT addition

Note that this is not a complete list, but rather some tropes that I tend to see a lot that are tiring if not downright offensive and hurtful. This turned out to be a very long post, so most of it ended up below the cut. Press J to skip.

Gay/Lesbian

[id: two flags. The one on the top is the lesbian pride flag. The one on the bottom is the gay pride flag /end id]

Anything hypersexualizing

It’s just... not good representation. No one likes to be hypersexualized. Ever. 

The one gay/lesbian in the heterosexual friend group

This tends to come across as tokenism. Not real representation. Also, people tend to be friends with people they connect with. This is why a lot of LGBT people form groups. It’s actually far more likely in the real world for there to be a gay friend group with one straight person.

The homosexual dies first

Yay there’s a gay/lesbian person! Representation! oh... they died five minutes in? That sucks. 

Look, if there’s a lot of death happening in your story, it’s fine if a gay person dies, but please stop making the first death a gay person. And if you decide to kill of a gay person, make sure it’s not the only one.

The gay that refuses to admit he’s gay but he’s super feminine so he has to be

Femininity does not equal being gay. I’m not entirely sure where this trope (and general misconception) came from, but it’s tiring to see it getting beaten into the ground

Femininity is fine as a trait, but it should not be the tell that a character’s gay. Finding other dudes attractive or being attracted to other dudes should be the main tell.

(Bi/pan, Trans, Nonbinary, Genderflux/genderfluid, Ace/aro all below the cut)

Bi/Pan

[id: two pride flags. The one on the top is the pansexual pride flag. The one on the bottom is the bisexual pride flag /end id]

Anything hypersexualizing

See above. I’m tired of it. It’s not good representation.

The bi/pan character is a cheater

Bi/pan people aren’t any more likely to cheat than anyone else. The fact that the general pool of people bi/pan people are attracted to is larger doesn’t really change that. Please don’t make your bi/pan character a cheater.

The “no this character is with a [guy/girl] now so that means they’re [straight/gay] not bi”

This is bi erasure. Bi/pan people are still bi/pan when they’re dating a dude. Bi/pan people are still bi/pan when they’re dating a girl. Bi/pan people are still bi/pan when they’re dating a nonbinary person. Period.

The “this character can’t be bi/pan - they’ve only slept with one gender/they’re a virgin”

Being bi/pan is about being attracted to people of two or more genders/being attracted to people regardless of gender. It doesn’t matter who they’ve slept with. If they’re bi/pan, they find more than one gender attractive.

Trans

[id: the trans pride flag /end id]

“Hi I’m John, but I used to be Jane.”

In no world is this realistic. Trans people are not going to introduce themselves to anyone by using their deadname (their name given at birth that no longer applies to them). There are lots of other ways to show a character is trans.

Trans dudes have to be hypermasculine, and trans girls have to be hyperfeminine

This is just untrue... being a more affeminate trans dude doesn’t make him any less of a man. Being a more masculine trans woman doesn’t mean she’s any less of a woman. Not conforming to the most stereotyped version of their gender does not mean they’re not a valid person

“He - she - did the thing” when referring to a trans woman and vice versa for a trans man in prose.

I specify in prose because if someone has just come out, and characters are tripping up over pronouns but trying to learn and correct themselves, then that’s usually fine (though make sure to research what’s acceptable around this and what isn’t).

The whole calling attention to someone’s pronouns by misgendering someone and then flamboyantly correcting yourself when they’re trans thing can actually be kind of transphobic. When you’re writing prose, you don’t have any excuse so don’t do this.

The trans guy finding a bunch of ace bandages (or something similar) and using them to bind his chest

Yes, this is realistic. Yes, a lot of people do this, but it is an extremely unsafe way to bind. If your character binds, do your research. If they bind unsafely then SHOW THE NEGATIVE RESULTS of binding unsafely (difficulty breathing, cracked ribs, spinal problems, etc) they can be pretty severe. A lot of people don’t know how to bind and take cues from what they see in the media. Don’t perpetuate false information.

Nonbinary

[id: the nonbinary pride flag. /end id]

The nonbinary character has to be flatchested and vaguely masculine in order to be nonbinary

Nonbinary people are still nonbinary when they’re feminine. Nonbinary people are still nonbinary when they’re masculine. Please reflect this in your stories, as people take cues for how society works based off of the cumulation of the media they recieve.

Misgendering during an argument

This is actually really damaging to nonbinary people. What happens is that people see that it’s okay to misgender someone if they’re mad, when in reality, pronouns are a right, not a privilage to be stripped away whenever you get mad. If you were really mad at your country’s leader, you wouldn’t misgender them when you rant. You can hate them with all of your being and you probably still wouldn’t misgender them. Why is it any different with nonbinary people?

All the nonbinary people were AFAB (assigned female at birth)

It’s not inherantly wrong to have AFAB nonbinary folk in your story, but it is nice to see AMAB (assigned male at birth) nonbinary characters as well. There’s a lot less representation for them, so the more representation the better.

Being nonbinary is a phase - you’re actually binary trans or cisgender

Some people identify as nonbinary and do later find out that they identify more with a binary gender, but there’s also a lot of people who are just... nonbinary. It’s hugely dissapointing when a character that’s meant to be representation turns out to actually not be. Especially if they were the only nonbinary character.

Genderfluid/Genderflux

[id: two flags. the one on the top the genderfluid pride flag, and the one on the bottom is the genderflux pride flag /end id]

The one character in the background who’s genderfluid/genderflux in chapter three and then never seen ever again

Just include a genderfluid/genderflux character that’s actually relevant. It’s not that hard, and it’s really not that confusing. Their gender changes sometimes. They might switch their pronouns accordingly. 

The genderfluid character who’s short, vaguely masculine and has brightly died hair.

This one isn’t exactly offensive, per se, but it does feel like this is the only representation of a genderfluid character that I ever see, and that my friends ever see. Diversity is more than just having people who use different labels. It’s also about showing the different walks of life within those groups. There are a lot of genderfluid/flux people who don’t look like the stereotypical genderfluid/flux person, and they deserve representation just as much as everyone else.

The genderfluid character is the alien

This is a cop-out. It’s fine if you’ve got a race of genderfluid/flux aliens. Awesome, actually! Just add a genderfluid/genderflux human character too.

The genderfluid person who wakes up in the morning and “decides” if they’re going to be a boy or a girl today.

There are a couple things wrong with this. The first is that genderfluid people don’t just “decide” which gender they are. Their gender is more of it’s own entity. There’s not much of a choice with it. It just is.

From my own experience I can assure you that genderfluid people don’t just wake up in the morning with a random gender and then that’s their gender for the day. For me personally, my gender will change somewhere between once every three hours and once every three days, but it’s surprisingly rare that it’s overnight. It can even happen in the middle of conversations and stuff like that.

Genderfluid people don’t just switch between being a boy and being a girl. There’s a lot of space in between: nonbinary, maverique, agender, just to name a few.

Ace/Aro

[id: two pride flags. The one on top is an aromatic pride flag, and the bottom is an asexual pride flag. /end id]

The character’s horrible backstory turned them ace/aro

This is not to negate the fact that some people do identify as ace/aro after a traumatic event. That being said, most ace/aro people are just...ace or aro. There wasn’t any backstory. That’s just the way they are. Seeing that a lot more represented would be awesome.

The character’s got a mental illness because they’re ace/aro

Being ace/aro does not mean you have a mental illness. The idea that it does being spread through the media people consume is very harmful and it increases the stigma around being ace/aro, in a place where there really shouldn’t be. Yes you can have a mental illness and be ace/aro, but they’re not usually correlated.

The ace character can’t be ace because look they’ve got a partner!

Ace is short for asexual meaning you don’t feel any sexual attraction. That does not mean you can’t feel any romantic attraction. Therefore, your character can be hella ace and still have a partner that they’re romantically attracted to

If your character was aroace (a term that’s short for aromantic asexual), then they probably wouldn’t be interested in having a partner.

The character who’s aro/ace but then “finds the right person” right at the end

If they’re demisexual/demiromantic, then that’s different, but it does make it feel like the “flaw they were overcoming” was being ace/aro, and that’s both damaging to the community, and it’s also just dissapointing. There are a whole host of other flaws that your character could have that are much more worth the reader’s time.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by mathmaticalknight)

“Alright, remember everyone: this is a rescue mission.” The Doctor, a knife as long as her forearm in hand, was giving a final brief to her team. “We already have ground teams clearing the streets of Reunion so we can get in, find survivors, and get them out of here to somewhere much, much safer, whether that’s RI or somewhere else. Do not engage hostiles unless absolutely necessary, especially since they may be confused civilians and not Reunion. Are we all clear on our objectives here?”

A hand came up in the back of the vehicle. “When do we meet back here?”

“You’ll rendezvous with our mobile command center whenever you escort survivors to it. Once you’ve filled your van, you’ll stand by the MCC to provide additional security, as the more people we find, the more likely tensions might rise. Thank you for the question, Fang...Anything else?”

“If a civilian does attack us,” Gavial added, “we try non-lethal force first, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, incapacitate as a first measure. If that is insufficient...do what you need to for the sake of the rest of those you find. Alright, going once...Twice...Each Squad has been given a direction; each of you should have a navigator to make sure you’re mostly sticking to that direction. Watch your GPS units, notate where you search and where you find survivors. Let’s go. Anyone who doesn’t know where you’re going, you’re with me.” And with that final clarification, each team found their assigned van, and the rescue team dispersed.

“Do you want to drive, Doctor?” Amiya gestured to their van.

“That I do not.” She handed her protege the keys. “But I do call shotgun.”

Gravel bolted into the vehicle. “I call behind the Doctor!”

“The undying thirst continues.” Warfarin rolled her eyes but nonetheless followed the Zalak’s lead.

“I did remember to teach you how to drive stick-shift, yes?” The Doctor asked once they were all in the car.

Amiya gave her a quizzical look. “Dr. Kal’tsit taught me to drive, Doctor.”

“Oh...” She looked around for a second seatbelt before taking a deep breath. “Well, girls, this might be a little bumpier than I expected...”

And with that, the Caster set her pedal to the metal, and they were off.

“From what I remember, we encountered a heavy presence coming from the direction of Peterheim Middle, so we should at least make a pass by it...Left at this intersection.” The Doctor had given herself the role of navigator for her team.

“I see a flag!” Meteor called out. “Right side of the road, two buildings up!...If you can call it a building still.”

Savage grimaced. “Geez. It looks like it collapsed in on itself.”

“Catapult’s work. Just the blast residue is enough to identify that much...Amiya.”

“Right.” She slammed the breaks, accidentally turning it just enough to send it spinning out of control for a moment. Luck was with her, however, as the spiral left them not only still on the road, but on the sidewalk next to the crimson flag. “Um...Sorry about that!”

The passengers recollected themselves quick, fast, and in a hurry to get to the business at hand. “Savage, looks like you’ve got some work to do.”

“If there are people in there, though, I might hurt them. I don’t have fine control over how much force I transfer...”

“If you swing at the left wall, it’ll destabilize it to the point the rest of the debris will fall to that side.” The Doctor gestured with her blade to a point in the left wall. “Flag’s on the right side, better chance they’re on that side than the other.”

Gravel returned from a trip around the building. “They’re on the left! I just talked to someone named Rada! They’re all in the kitchen, along this wall!”

“The wall I was gonna smash for you, Doctor~” Savage walked over to the right wall of the building, looking for the best place to hit from.

“Thanks, Gravel.” The Doctor sighed. “Alright, Warfarin, be ready for first aid just in case. Meteor, you’re on overwatch, just in case. Amiya, Gravel and I will standby to help them get out-”

There was a *boom* as the already degraded structure fell in on its right side, removing a great deal of the rubble stacked precariously in the center and making the left side seem manageable. “Step 1 done! I wonder if-”

“Gah!” Accompanied by the sound of someone exerting a great deal of effort, a single brick was pushed out, followed by a hand. 

“Alright, new plan!” The Doctor dashed towards the rock pile. “Everyone except Warfarin, let’s clear this rubble out!”

As four pairs of hands worked to safely clear away bricks in order to leave a hole without collapsing any on those trapped inside, the hand that broke through initially revealed itself to belong to a teal-haired Ursus girl in a tattered middle school uniform, looking for all the world as if she’d crawled on her hands and knees through hell and back. Another figure, a blonde Ursus, joined in as well, babbling her thanks as Gravel and Amiya tried to calm her down. Eventually, they’d safely cleared enough for a crawlspace, which they both climbed through, followed by three more of what could only be presumed were their classmates.

As Warfarin administered diagnostics and emergency nutrition, one of the survivors, a reddish streak visible in her hair even through caked blood and dirt, walked over to the flag as if in a trance and tore the cloth from the pole before wrapping it around her arm. Amiya noted this as Warfarin gave the Doctor the details of her scans. “Principle concern is dehydration - they’re surprisingly well-fed, all things considered, and most of the blood isn’t theirs. Even so, their adrenaline is causing massive spikes in their heart rate, so I would advise returning to the MCC so they can be calmed and more properly attended to.”

“Hmm...Yes, we should probably-”

“Savage!” Meteor called from further down the street. “We’ve got another one!”

The Cautus bounded that direction, skidding to a stop in front of a cellar door with what might’ve been a slab of foundation keeping it from being opened; through a crack in the boards that composed it, another Ursus person was visible, breathing feebly. “...Stand back!” With a grunt, she swung at the offending chunk of concrete, powdering it completely, before helping the Kuranta wrench open the door and retrieve another school-aged survivor. “Her heartbeat is so slow...We’ve got to move. Doctor! Start the van!”

“Amiya, the keys?” She handed them over instantly. “Thank you. Savage, can you hold her- Holy shit.”

“With all due respect, now’s not the time to stall out!”

“Right, right! Everyone’s in?” Confirmation from her team, acknowledgment from the teal-haired survivor. “Vroom.”

-----

“She really said ‘vroom’ as she drove us back?” Leto asked Istina as the six members of the USSGG sat around the dinner table.

“She did,” the advisor nodded. “It was such a strange occurrence, I’d be rather hard-pressed to forget it.”

Zima tore off a piece of steak as she said, “I was sure I took a bandana, not a flag.”

“They called it a flag, whatever it was originally. More tea, Zoya?”

“No, I’ve had enough, thank you.” Absinthe sighed. “This does explain why Meteor has her eye on me, despite the fact I’m not a Sniper.”

Gummy nodded. “She’s also really friendly. We should go to one of her board game nights some time!”

“That sounds like a great idea. Natalya, did you get everything you need?”

 “Yes, this should be sufficient.” The Sniper finished her notes with a flourish. “I must say, I’m impressed you remember so much about that day, considering the state we were in.”

Istina shrugged. “There are some moments you can never, must never forget...As we all know quite well.”

“Mmhmm.” Six Ursus nodded their heads in unison.

“I should take this to the Doctor before her shift ends.” Rosa set her teacup in the middle of her empty plate and stood up. “Don’t start the movie without me.”

The general flashed her a mutinous smirk. “No promises.”

“Right. I’ll be back soon!”

“...So are we starting the movie?” Leto asked, looking around the table. “I mean, we can at least get the trailers out of the way, right?”

The chef got up. “Zoya, can you help me with the dishes tonight?”

“Sure, Rada.” Absinthe took her own plate, Zima’s, and Leto’s, and walked off to the kitchen.

“It feels like we’re a real family now, doesn’t it?” Leto leaned back in her chair, pushing her legs against the round table’s center post. “Like a sisterhood or something!”

Zima gave her a quizzical look. “Family, sure, but sisterhood? Your brain stays on after 2100 hours, right?”

“I dunno, Sonya. Deepcolor has a couple books that-”

“That’s enough of that.” Istina took her place in the precisely-established TV room arrangement. “We’re waiting for them to finish with the dishes before starting the movie, yes?”

The general and brawler followed her, with Zima giving the advisor a nod. “And for Nat, is she’s not back by then.”

“Oh? So she is growing on you, huh?” Leto tapped her target’s shoulder playfully.

“Yeah. That a problem?” She grinned back, returning the play-punch a little harder. “I won’t hesitate, bitch.”

The brawler tackled her, landing squarely in the brawl-space Istina and Rosa had set aside specifically for moments like this. “Then I won’t, either!”

“...Hopefully Natalya returns before one of them knocks the other unconscious.”