#still iffy on the policies and all that but i read through all the stuff and it doesn't seem much more heinous than anywhere else? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

therealvinelle · 3 years

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I've always wondered this, but what do you think the Cullen's political viewpoints would be, given their individual backgrounds? if vampires don't change after they turn, then surely they would all be extremely racist (especially Jasper). would this not come up at some point? they aren't like the Volturi because the Volturi are too old to care, but the Cullens are young enough that they have been brought up with opinions on stuff like sexism, racism, homophobia and the like.

Oh fuck.

You get an early answer because otherwise I'll just chicken out and delete this one, pretend I never saw it.

UMMM.

Since I'm guessing you meant American political viewpoints, we need a disclaimer. I am not American, and not too knowledgeable about your politics. Not just in the sense that I don't follow the day-to-day drama, but as I am not an American citizen there are several things I don't know, can't know because I've never lived in your country and therefore can't know what the effects of living in a country ruled by American policies is like. What I do know is based off of the news in the foreign section, social media (by which I mean tumblr posts), and Trevor Noah's Daily Show.

I am an outsider looking in.

Which is really rather appropriate, since the Cullens are too.

The Cullens go to high school and college, Carlisle works, they pay taxes, they own real estate, and submerge themselves in American culture. Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Bella are young enough that this is in many ways their world, and apart from timeouts they've more or less spent their entire lives, human and vampire, integrated into American society.

Not fully integrated, mind you, they do what they need to to fit in and get to school or, in Carlisle’s case, to work. They go no further. No extra-curriculars for the kids, no book clubs for Esme, no game nights for Carlisle. They walk parallel to humans, not among us.

In addition to this they're obscenely rich, which puts them another thousand miles from the experiences of your average American. They won't deal with the health system, which means healthcare is a non-issue, they're not going to need welfare or other social programs, unemployment is another non-issue. Name your issue, and the Cullens don't have personal stake in it. Even the climate crisis won't be a problem for them the way it will for us.

What I'm trying to say is, American political issues are a concept to them, not a lived reality. Just like they are for me. So hey, you made a great choice of blog to ask.

I'll also add here that you say the Volturi are too old to care, and I agree- from an ancient's point of view, racism is a matter of "which ethnicity are we hating today?", and it all looks rather arbitrary after a while. Same with every other issue - after a while it all just blends together into "what are the humans fighting over today? Which Christian denomination is the correct one? Huh. Good for them, I guess."

I can't put it any better than this post did, really. The Volturi are real people, humans are nerds and tumblr having Loki discourse. Aro thinks it's delightful and knows entirely too much about Watergate (and let's be real, Loki discourse as well), but the point I wanted to get at is that politics really don't matter to vampires.

And I don't think they matter to the Cullens either.

So, moving on to the next point while regretting I didn't put headlines in this post, I'll just state that I don't think vampires' minds are frozen. Their brains are unable to develop further, and they can never forget anything, but... well, this isn't the post for that, but in order for this to be true of vampires they would barely be sentient. They would not be able to process new impressions, to learn new things, nor to have an independent thought process. Yes, we see vampires in-universe (namely, Edward, who romanticizes himself and vampires) believe they're frozen and can never change, but there is no indication that this is a widespread belief, or even true. Quite the contrary - Carlisle went from a preacher's son who wanted to burn all the demons to living in Demon Capital for decades and then becoming a doctor and making a whole family of demons. Clearly, the guy has had a change in attitude over the years. Jasper, in his years as a newborn army general, slowly grew disenchanted with his life and developed depression. James initially meant to kill Victoria and hunted her across the earth, then became fascinated and changed his mind about it.

Had these people been incapable of change, Carlisle would still be hating demons, Jasper would be in Maria's army, and James would still be hunting Victoria.

It goes to follow, then, that they are able to adapt to new things.

The question is, would they?

Here I finally answer your question.

So, we have these people who don't really have any kind of stake in politics, who keep up to date all the same (or are forcibly kept up to date because high school) and are generally opinionated people.

Where do they then fall, politically?

(And this is where you might want to stop reading, anon, because I'm about to eviscerate these people.)

Alice votes for whoever's gonna win. She also makes a fortune off of betting each election. Trump's 1 to 10 victory in 2016 was a great day to be Alice. MAGA!

The actual policies involved are completely irrelevant, she does this because it's fun. Election means she gets to throw parties. Color coded parties for the Republican and Democratic primaries, and US-themed parties for Election Night! (Foreigner moment right here: I at first wrote "Election wake" before realizing that's not what y'all murricans call it.)

Alice loves politics. Doesn't know the issues, but she sure loves politics.

Bella votes Democrat. She actually knows about the issues, and cares about them. This girl is a Democrat through and through.

Carlisle doesn't vote. I can't imagine it feels right. Outside of faked papers he's not a US citizen, this is meddling in human affairs that he knows don't concern him.

More, this guy has never lived in a democracy.

In life, Carlisle lived under an absolute monarchy that, upon civil war, became an absolute theocracy. From there he learned that vampires live under a total dictatorship.

For the first 150 years of his life, democracy was that funky thing the Athenians did in history books thousands of years ago, no more relevant to him than the Ancient Egyptian monarchy is to me. Then the Americans, and later other European countries started doing this.

Good for them.

There's this mistake often made by those who view history from a... for lack of a better term, a solipsistic standpoint. A belief that the present day is the culmination of all of history. “My society is the best society, the most reasonable society; all the others had it backwards. Thank god we’re living in this enlightened age!”

The faith in our current system of government is one such belief. We (pardon me if this doesn’t apply to everybody reading this post) have grown up in democracies, being told this is the ultimate form of rule, and perhaps that is true - but remember the kings who have told their subjects they had were divine and the best possible ruler based on that. Remember also that most modern democracies haven’t actually been democracies for very long at all, America is the longest standing at some 230 years (not long at all in the grand scope of things) and they have a fracturing two-party system to show for it.

Every society, ever, has been told they’re the greatest, and their system of government the most just. Democracy is only the latest hit.

This is relevant to Carlisle because he’s immortal and decidedly not modern. Democracy has not been installed in him the way it was the rest of the Cullens, Jasper included. To him- well, it’s just not his world. He has no stakes in our human politics, and as he is older than every current democracy and has seen quite a few of them fall, he’s not going to internalize the democratic form of rule the way a modern human has.

I think the concept of voting is foreign to him.

It requires a level of participation in human society that he’s simply not at. He does the bare minimum to appear human so he do the work he loves, but nothing more, and I find that telling.

As it is I think he'd be iffy about his family doing it. He won’t stop them, but in voting they’re... well it’s kind of cheating. They’re not really citizens, none of this will affect them, and by voting they’re drowning out the votes of real human voters. He does not approve.

Edward votes Democrat. He's... well he’s the kind of guy who will oil a girl’s bedroom window so he can more easily watch her sleep without being discovered, justifying it to himself as being okay because if she were to tell him to get lost he’d stop immediately. Same guy is so sure that he’d leave and never return again if she wanted him to, except this is the man who returned to Forks to hang around his singer, knowing there was a significant chance he might kill her. To say nothing of his Madonna/Whore complex, or of the fact that he tried to pimp out his wife twice, and was willing to forcibly abort her child.

This guy is very much in love with chivalry, with being an enlightened and feminist man who supports and respects women, while not understanding the entire point of feminism, which is female liberation.

He votes Democrat because he’s such an enlightened feminist who cares about women’s rights.

Emmett doesn’t care to vote, but if he has to he votes Republican. The guy is from the 1930′s, and has major would-be-the-uncle-who-cracks-racist-jokes-if-he-was-older vibes.

Esme doesn’t vote, that would require getting out of the house.

More, I just... can’t see it. I can’t see her being one to read up on politics and The Issues, period, but if she has to then I doubt she’d be able to decide.

Jasper doesn’t vote. Alice can have her fun, he does not care.

There’s also the whole can of worms regarding the last time he went to bat for American politics.

I imagine he stays out of this.

Renesmée doesn't vote. She has no stock in the human affairs. Who would she vote for, on what grounds? When Bella tries to pull her to the urns, she points out that she's three years old.

Rosalie, guys, I’m sorry, but that girl is definitely gonna vote Republican. Perhaps not right now as it’s become the Trump party of insanity, but the Mitt Romney type of Republicans? Oh yes.

And for the record, yes I imagine she does vote. To step back from politics would be another way she was relinquishing her humanity, and that’s not allowed to happen. So, yes, she goes to the urns, less for the sake of the politics involved and more because like this, she’s still a part of society in some way.

Now, onto why I think she’s Republican, I think it’s both fiscal and social.

This girl was the daughter of a banker who somehow profited off of the Depression, and who then became part of a family with no material needs that would soon become billionaires thanks to Alice. Poverty to Rosalie is a non-issue, as it is I imagine she views it as a much lesser issue than what she’s had to deal with. The humans can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, Rosalie’s infertility is forever.

Rosalie’s empathy is strongest when she’s able to project onto others, and she won’t be able to project onto the less fortunate at all.

Then there’s the fact that the Republican party is all about traditional family values, and pro-life.

Rosalie, a woman from the 1930′s who idolizes her human life and who‘d love nothing more than to get to live out this fantasy, is down for that. And as of Breaking Dawn she’s vocally pro-life, so there’s that.

This all being said I don’t think Rosalie cares to sit down and fully understand these politics she’s voting for, the possible impact they’ll have- that’s not important. What’s important is what voting does for her.

TL;DR: I bet anon regrets asking.

#long post #twilight #twilight vampires #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #politics #history #twilight history #carlisle cullen #alice cullen #bella swan #renesmée cullen #jasper hale #rosalie hale #emmett cullen

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tisfan · 4 years

Text

The Works

Title: The Works Written by: @tisfan (3023) Square: R2 - Hydra Won (swapped square) Rating: Mature (for horror) Triggers/warnings: Tags: Hydra Won, ambiguous ending, incomplete Created for: @tonystarkbingo Word count: 2346 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23753566/chapters/59696779 Summary: It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted. And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--He couldn’t remember.

__________

¬░▒╛┐z░¬ date ┴╗╣⌐g__d morning soldier ▒¬º╖ç

The old AI wasn’t working.

Which had been the plan, Barnes, get it together.

The man above him -- well next to him now that Bucky had sat up -- was something like a vision. They exchanged names, greetings. The man. Tony. Had asked some questions.

Bucky’s lips were warm. Tingling.

Tony had kissed him. To wake him up. To break the spell.

“Hydra won,” Bucky said. He wasn’t even sure he was speaking out loud, but he must have, because Tony was responding.

“That’s long since over,” Tony said. “There’s no Hydra anywhere in this sector.”

“She’s sleeping, because I was sleeping,” Bucky said. “I shut her down by shutting myself down. She might be back.”

“I didn’t see anyone else on this ship, except you and an awful lot of rabbits.”

“Rabbits?” Kobik had had some pet rabbits; a whole hutch of them. Part of the experiment. Could a space station become truly self-sufficient? The answer still looked like no, but some hutch and farm animals did function pretty well. There’d been goats at one time, too, but in the last days of the war, Bucky thought they’d all been eaten.

“They’re all over the place. My AI tells me they’re rabbits. I’ve never seen one, honestly.”

“Where th’ hell’d you grow up you ain’t never seen a rabbit,” Bucky wondered.

“I did mention the part about three hundred years, right?”

“Right, yeah,” Bucky said. “Uh, is there anything to eat?”

“There’s some mealpacks back at my ship,” Tony offered. “But unless your stuff is in permastore, I don’t think anything from here will be safe.”

“Water?”

Tony pulled out a canteen. That, at least, hadn’t changed much in form or function for centuries. Spout to put liquids in or to drink from, a standard filtration system, and a strap to carry it with. Why improve on something that was already perfect? Filters would, of course, adapt over time to whatever contaminants were in the water. “Human physiology hasn’t changed all that much,” Tony said. “I don’t think my filters will hurt you. But you have to be careful. Don’t drink from a Centurian’s canteen. They add in a lot of stims and endorphins to their water. Warrior race, but it gives the rest of us a twitchy stomach.”

“Good to know,” Bucky said. “How will I know who they are?”

“Don’t worry, they’ll usually tell you,” Tony joked. “They’re blue-skinned marsupials, with a red crown of-- head spikes, for lack of a better word.”

“Marsupials?”

“They carry their young around in a stomach pouch until they’re old enough to walk around. It’s a convenient arrangement,” Tony said.

“Okay, then,” Bucky said. He took a few sips of Tony’s water and then returned it to him. The nanites in his system would filter anything harmful out, and if he could eat soon enough, would get him back to fighting fit. Otherwise, he might possibly go into a cyber coma. He didn’t see the need to alarm Tony just yet. It wasn’t urgent. “We can check the mess, see if there’s any supplements left. They won’t go bad.”

Worst case, he could probably chase down one of the rabbits and skin it for food.

The whole station was both dead and alive at the same time. The hydroponics bay had escaped containment; there were vines and plants everywhere.

They’d probably grown, at least somewhat, in the remains of the dead. Bucky shuddered.

The rabbit colony hopped in and out of the dense plant growth. Unafraid, and why would they be? A rabbit only lived nine or ten years. There had been generations of them, since they last saw humans.

“Did, uh, did the colony ship get away?” Bucky asked.

It had been his last act, getting the sleep-pods onto the ship and launching it, the whole time, holding Hydra at bay, keeping her here, keeping her distracted.

And then she’d struck, casting some evil magic over him, over--

He couldn’t remember.

»£┼¬░▒-▒¿╟┼longing▒░┼╝º

“We never came across any ships from the Ring,” Tony said, as if apologizing, “but if you can give us mass and trajectory, I might be able to track it down for you.”

Sleep pods would last. If Bucky’s lasted, theirs would last.

He shook his head, wondering. Maybe they’d gotten out, maybe they’d gotten away. Away from Hydra, locked in her cold sleep with Bucky.

He wondered where she was.

She might still be on the station. He turned his gaze on Tony. That would be a strange form for her to take; Tony seemed sincere. But then, witches always seemed sincere, didn’t they?

“Sir, I’m reading some strange energy spikes in the station,” a voice said, coming from-- from Tony.

“My AI,” Tony said, as if apologizing. “Anything hazardous, Jay?”

“Not as yet, but you might want to consider retreating in the next few hours. Radiation levels are rising.”

“What’s the plan with the bunnies?” Tony asked. “Can we evacuate them to a planet?”

“I’ve already sent out a beacon pod, locating the station. Hopefully it will be able to float through the Ring, and broadcast from there.”

“Good job.”

“Of course, sir.”

“You’re worried about the wildlife?” Bucky asked, incredulous. Definitely not the witch, then. She wouldn’t have cared about the life of a bug, beast, or boy.

“They’re alive,” Tony said. “There’s no point in killing them. We’ve got biologists back on the various Initiative ships that can relocate them somewhere that they won’t be an invasive species. Well, technically, they’ll be invasive, but a careful selection will make sure they will fit in with the local ecosystem. Worst comes to worst, we can sell them as pets and novelties on Knowhere Station.”

“We do have cargo space in the lower deck,” JARVIS pointed out, “if you’re not planning to salvage much.”

“Salvage, right,” Tony said, snapping his fingers. “I got so carried away by Sleeping Beauty here that I forgot I was looking for valuables. What say you, hot stuff? You got anything worth selling on this floating coffin? Split it with you, 50/50.”[]

¥ƒ▀¥▒╜┼┼pжавыйÉ»¥┼╟╞─rusted▒╗▓

Bucky shook his head. “I think it’s all salvage now, rules of the drift,” he said. “Do you have policy in place for survivors?”

Back in his day, anyone found on the drift in space -- hypersleep accidents happened often enough that people could outlive their assets, their grandkids, their governments -- that some effort was made to track down any remaining property, they got a six month high intensity sleep-learning degree, and sent off into the world with a small stipend.

Bucky’d known a couple of them. Steve Rogers had done a Big Sleep, seventy years or more. Gone to sleep as a Private, cook’s assistant during the war and woke up as a Captain through time in rank.

Strange thing, really.

“You might be considered the longest standing prisoner of war,” Tony said. “Not that it matters, there’s a fortune to be had on this station. Split it with me, you won’t have to worry about it. This is all approved salvage. I have a license.”

He knew his way around the station, even with the plants and the rabbits. The rabbits were freaking him out a little; they kept following-- sticking their curious noses out of the underbrush. He wondered how they’d lived so long. Usually life support shut down when no one was breathing it.

Which meant Hydra had to be on the station somewhere.

“Why split it with me, then?” Bucky wondered. “License for salvage, you don’t need to--”

“Because I may be an asshole a lot of the time,” Tony said, “but I am not one hundred percent a dick.”

╜£Éëδ╗»╟┼╞─┬┴seventeen╜╝╗▒»▒┼

“If you want,” Bucky said. They finally made it to the messhall, and the sub-freeze was still reading green, so Bucky used his thumb print to open it. “I can recon some of these food packs.”

“You call this stuff food,” Tony said, incredulously. “You, my friend, you have been suffering. Recon has come so far since your day. Jay, can you dish up a four course for us?”

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS said.

“What’s considered a high value item?” Bucky wondered, picking out a few recon packs. He added water to the cooker, stuffed the packet in the slot and watched as the not-particularly interesting, but high calorie, high vitamin cereal poured itself into a reusable cup. The spoons were a little iffy, so Bucky added more water, and then drank it as a gruel. Yuck, but it would keep his systems intact for a while longer. Just a little while longer.

He just needed to know what happened to Hydra.

Where was she?

Not in the messhall, that was for sure.

Tony was still running down a list of items -- elements that could be repurposed. Titanium, protactinium, thorium. They’d had those in ample supply at one point. Potable water, preferably in ice form, which was easier to tow.

“Wait, what was that last thing?”

“Etherium gas,” Tony said. “Might as well as for unobtainium, or wishalloy.”

“What, why?”

“As far as we know, stable etherium is a fantasy,” Tony said. “We’ve got plausible theories, but no one’s ever gotten a hold of the stuff before. I was spinning castles in space.”

“Um.”

╟S│ªS▒»░▒O1█┼daybreak▒»╟╗╣╕ë

“We have a tankful, at least,” Bucky said, “if nothing’s changed. That’s what we were mining, here--”

Tony was staring at him as if he’d said the moon really was made from green cheese.

“A-- let me get this straight. A tank. How much is in a tank?”

“It’s not really my department,” Bucky said, “but last I checked, about twenty thousand gallons of liquid etherium.”

Tony stopped moving, he seemed to stop breathing.

“I think we just became the richest men in the galaxy,” he said, finally. “Show me where this tank of yours is. Can we detach it for hauling?”

Bucky nodded. It was the gas, he thought. That attracted Hydra. She’d come because of the gas, and they’d fought her over the gas.

Witch.

Monster.

╟╗▒░ªÜfurnace▒»½▒╟┼╣

“Tony--” Bucky said, reaching out his hand. He caught hold of the other man’s wrist. “The gas--”

“Perfectly safe, cupcake,” Tony said. “We’ll make sure there’s no leaks, then we can just haul it away. Easy peasy, nice and cheesy.”

Bucky was pretty sure the phrase didn’t go that way.

And it wasn’t safe.

If Hydra was still on the station, that would be where she was.

Hibernating, maybe.

Or just waiting. Lurking.

He wanted to speak, it was like he’d forgotten the words, and so instead of saying anything, he just turned and led Tony deeper into the station. Down into the Works, the mag-engines and the hydropods, the storage and the plumbing, the fuel cells. It was dark there, wet and heavy somehow. The plant life stopped, which wasn’t surprising, and while there were a few rabbits down this deep, they didn’t seem… normal.

Mutations, perhaps.

Bucky shuddered the thought away.

Tony had said he’d sent out a beacon.

Help-- someone could help them.

Maybe someone would come.

I don’t have to run faster than Hydra, I just have to run faster than you.

Not true, and everyone knew it. Hydra was so fast. She was there before you even knew it. She wasn’t a sight, or something to touch. A witch, some sort of presence.

“Here,” Bucky said. “This is the shut off station. We’ll need to disconnect, and run diagnostics. That can take a few hours--”

“Don’t worry, Jarvis is already in the works, he’s a lot faster than your old systems,” Tony said. “We’ll be on our way back to civilization before you’re even sleepy.”

╟»▒░½Ü¢Ö▒»╟┼nine┼»Q▒»░▒╟┼

“Do you hear something,” Bucky said. He took a few steps down toward-- he didn’t even know. Something was down there. Calling him. Like a magnet that he was too pinlike to resist. A flame, to draw away a moth. It would burn him up, and he knew it, but he could not--

“Hey!” Tony’s hand was hard on his wrist, the fingernails biting lightly into his skin. “Hey, Bucky. You okay?”

“No, I don’t think I am,” Bucky said.

“Jay, how’s it look?”

“You may come back to the ship at any time, sir,” JARVIS said. “I can handle the disconnect from here.”

“Gotta be sleep-shock,” Tony was saying, “I’m so sorry, you seemed okay, let me just--”

Tony was leading him away.

Away from answers.

Away from--

▒┼╟╗╦Ñ▒»╟benign▒┼╫D░▒½¬

“It’s all right, you don’t have to do anything else, I’ve got you,” Tony said.

And he did. Somehow, this man was… carrying Bucky. Like he was a sleepy child. Bucky blinked.

“Nanites,” Tony said. “They’re pretty amazing. I know you had ‘em back in your day, my scans show you’ve got some yourself. I think there’s something interfering with yours, though. Maybe they’re just old. We can do a filter, get you fixed up. It’s all right, just let me take care of you.”

That was nice, somehow. The idea of just letting go. Of letting Tony take care of things. Letting him take care…

Of Hydra.

Would it even be possible? That the witch could be defeated by something as simple and small as human technology?

“Jay, get me a stretcher, would you, buddy?”

Bucky couldn’t see anything; everything was getting cold, frozen. His eyelids were frozen shut. Winter--

Winter was coming.

The winter.

He remembered climbing into the sleeppod, knowing she was right behind him, knowing--

He’d known something, once.

What was it--

▒┼╟»ª╣╝»homecoming▒»╣¥╝¡☺”

Static in his head, like snow. Freezing. He was so cold. Tony’s hands were on him, but he couldn’t see, and if Tony was talking, he couldn’t hear it.

She was coming.

Hydra was coming.

They’d woken her up, somehow, and she was on her way to claim him.

“You need to run,” Bucky said, hoping Tony could hear him. That he could do something. Anything.

Live.

Run.

▒»╟┼┴▒½¡╝one▒ªñªú┼╝│

“Tony, run--”

“Freight car.”

Bucky closed his eyes and went away.

The Winter Soldier was here.

“Hail Hydra.”

A/n - @27dragons wouldn’t let me post this until everything was resolved, so, I have written 2 more chapters and I will post them in the next 2 weeks or so.

#tonystarkbingo2020 #winteriron #horror #space bunnies #not mutually exclusive #apparently

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omnitf · 4 years

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You do realize that, regardless of whatever pictures you use and if it shows a dick or not, your content is still porn? Like your stories are literally gay porn. They’re good, hella sexy, but I don’t understand why you might not understand that a mod might go below surface level and actually READ the post and flag it?

Please read this all the way through, Anon. You wanted me to address your argument, and this is a very firm rebuttal on all fronts. Read it thoroughly.

Anon, you clearly have a different definition of pornography than I do, and more importantly than the rest of the world does. The content I write has nothing to do with sex, other than perhaps some characters talking about it as their transformations progress, and even that’s iffy. Arousal may happen to some characters, but I am very careful how I handle each instance of that occurring to keep it outside the bedroom and generally touch on it only lightly. I don’t write about masturbation, nor do I write other graphic forms of sexual intercourse. The closest I have come to writing about it has been in Endemic Evolution when it was implied in a conversation overheard by one of the main characters. Is my content arousing to the reader?

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. Which means it would likely fall under the classification of erotica in that sense, at least. Muscle transformation is a niche, and it’s one that I also find arousing as I transform the individuals in my stories both mentally and physically.

But let me make one thing clear to you, Anon. I’m a Christian who takes his morals and his religious beliefs very seriously. I’ve written a total of maybe three works of fiction that involve characters becoming gay as a part of their transformations. These instances were in part to experiment expanding my boundaries in fiction, and in part because it felt right to do that for those characters or was requested as a part of a commission, depending on the case. The rest of my characters when they transform are straight and remain straight.

You’re the one who chooses to turn my writings into lewd thoughts as part of your own fantasies. You’re the one who uses your imagination to carry my work into the field of graphic sexual arousal and acts. So, please don’t go telling me that I write pornography.

To back my claims, here is Tumblr’s own definition of what they consider adult content, along with exceptions to that rule. I’ll bold the most pertinent portions in rebut to your claims.

What is "adult content?"

Adult content primarily includes photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.

What is permitted?

Examples of exceptions that are permitted are exposed female-presenting nipples in connection with breastfeeding, birth or after-birth moments, and health-related situations, such as post-mastectomy or gender confirmation surgery. Written content such as erotica, nudity related to political or newsworthy speech, and nudity found in art, such as sculptures and illustrations, are also stuff that can be freely posted on Tumblr.

So, whether my writing is erotic or not, I can tell you right now that it is not pornographic in nature according to Tumblr’s own guidelines. And whether my writing falls under the classification of erotica or not, it is still protected under tumblr guidelines, hence why I was saying that Tumblr broke their own guidelines, and that they should trust me more in my own judgement about what is and isn’t appropriate.

Also, please note that erotica is defined as any content that leads to arousal. So, by that definition, that means that in the case of pedophiles, viewing, say, a public school yearbook with kids smiling at them could be classified erotica to them, because they may find that arousing.

For the record, I’m not saying I support such behavior. Pedophilia is not okay. It never has been, and it never will be.

But you can see why I differentiate between erotica and pornography here. And more importantly why Tumblr and the world differentiate between the two. The one can cause a person who reads it to feel aroused. The other is deliberately designed for that purpose by portraying or writing graphic sexual intercourse, human genitalia, etc.

So, no, Anon. My writing is not gay porn. It’s not any form of porn. It will never step into the boundaries of pornography, no matter how much you may wish it to do so. I don’t know if you are, but I’m saying it in the event that you may be.

I hope that this reply helps you to understand my position, and that it educated you more on the subtleties and differences between porn, erotica, and plain old fiction/fantasy.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely,

Omni

P.S.

For the record, I have nothing against gay people or including gay relationships in my fiction. They’re real and should be acknowledged, even if my religious beliefs are opposed to homosexuality. Heck, I have multiple gay friends online, and we get along just fine. Look back to my previous post about transexuals for my standing policy on how I feel I should treat those who are not of my faith and would be considered sinners, sinning, or “living in sin” by its doctrine.

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boozedancing · 5 years

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G-LO: Well, you did it again! A red-eye flight from LAX to JFK on Tuesday evening, an afternoon of eating and drinking in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon followed by a 4 hour Kosher BBQ and whisky event in Battery Park at a little thing called Kiddushfest – World of Whisky, Brews, and Que, post-event whisky and cocktails at The Dead Rabbit, a MASSIVE slice of artichoke pizza in the West Village at 1AM, 2.5 hours of sleep, and then a 9AM flight from JFK to LAX on Thursday morning. What’s your secret???

AK: We can sleep when we’re dead. Or at work. The thrill of the whisky festival chase gets the adrenaline flowing. So we chase. And chase. And chase. Oh, and the thought of seeing you was a huge thrill. Zzzzzzzz…

G-LO: WAKE UP! No sleeping on the job!

AK: I’m awake now! Jeez! That was my good ear you were yelling into.

G-LO: And yes yes, whisky festivals always get the blood pumping. Though as we’ve said before, it’s less about the actual whisky, and more about the opportunity to see friends. Whisky is THE excuse for all of us to get together. It’s a catalyst for chrissakes!

AK: Oh, indeed, we’re surely at the point these days in our whisky journey to admittedly care more about the people we see, the sights and sounds, and the food. Cask Strength GlenOak 12 “The Overly Ryed Series”, Single Barrel Old Whipper Snapper 18, and similar mean less now after realizing that all are overpriced, pretty horrible, and unnecessary. Whereas the friends we see at these events are none of those things.

G-LO: Whipper Snapper 18? I must have missed that one. I really should pack my reading glasses when I go to these things. I’m really glad you mentioned the food by the way! The NYC Jewbilee always took the food really seriously, so even though they’ve been mothballed for an undetermined length of time, I was very VERY pleased when we broke the news that their caterer, Ari White of The Wandering Que, was launching Kiddushfest to take its place. Mmmmmm….. BRISKET!

AK: Did someone say Brisket? Mmmmmm…I so gloriously recall Jewbilee II that we attended at the West Side Jewish Center in Midtown Manhattan. The Center was packed with people. It was packed, hot, and sweaty. I didn’t know anyone except from this thing called the internet. For all I knew, you were were a 5’ 8” blonde bombshell in 8” stilettos and fishnet stockings. Boy, was I wrong! I was scared beyond the capacity for rational thought. But I was also overwhelmed by the smell of whisky and cholent. I felt like I was in my grandmother’s house in Inglewood, CA. All the fear left my body as I waited in line for Ari’s delectable offerings. My head basically exploded. Then my stomach. I might have the order wrong.

G-LO: Explosion is an ugly (and messy) word. How about if we describe your experience at the outstanding Jewbilee II as a food and whisky-gasm? Much more appealing, and a little naughty too. In a nice way. The tagline for Jewbilee II should have been, “Leaves you satisfied and yearning for more…”.

While Kiddushfest was built around the same framework as the Jewbilees of Yore (that sounds like the name of a new BBC mini-series, no?), going from the West Side Jewish Center and Studio 450 (home of NYC Jewbilees III through VII) was quite a big change. We went from the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan and the monolith that is Penn Station and Madison Square Garden to the just slightly less hustley and bustley area of Battery Park. In a way, we went back to the beginning, i.e. back to where the first settlements of what was once called New Amsterdam took place.

AK: Found this in my research (i.e. Wikipedia) on the origins of Battery Park as a public space in the 1840s:

Proponents said that the park would serve three purposes: abetting good health, improving the behavior of the “disorderly classes”, and showcasing the refinement of the city’s elite.

Well, my brand of public policy and civic benefit clearly believe that Kiddushfest is a great example of all three of those. Ok, maybe not the second one and the third one is kind of iffy but I’m sure we’re in way better health after the event. Who doesn’t feel better after a night of whisky and BRISKET?!

G-LO: While I can’t speak for you and your delicate constitution, I can speak for my very robust, Sicilian constitution, and let me tell YOU, I felt fan-freaking-tastic after Kiddushfest! I am quite confident in saying that the heady mix of yummy vittles, bottomless pours of The Water of Life, and delightful company in a picturesque waterfront location left me feeling refreshed and ready to take on The Town. Ok, so maybe not the WHOLE town, but I was definitely ready for a couple cocktails and some late-night snacks. And speaking of yummy vittles, you spent quite a bit of time speaking with the orchestrator of said yumminess, i.e. Sir Ari White! What was that all about?

AK: First off, my constitution is as robust as anyone!

Narrator: It wasn’t.

G-LO: Who was that???

Narrator: This was true. He was clueless.

G-LO: OK, that’s just freaky. I’m feeling like the Priest in Season 2 of Fleabag right now whenever that 4th wall was broken!

Narrator: But not as freaky as this blog.

AK: I’m forging ahead, pretending it’s one of the many voices in my head. Where were we?

G-LO: Ari White and The Wandering Que.

AK: Sounds like a band I’d like to be in. Talking to Chef White about smoky heaven. He can get all bbq nerdy or meaty egalitarian with ease. I’ve been nerding out on The Gospels of Aaron (Franklin) and Steven (Raichlen) as of late, trying to change my life, and make the perfect brisket on my Weber Kettle. Talking to Ari is another step in the process. And from a whole different angle since he cooks Kosher meat. But let’s not get too deep in the coals.

G-LO: You and your goddamn Brisket! I’m still holding out for an invite to the next West Coast Office Brisket & Whisky Fest. Bastard.

AK: First, it’s G-d damn Brisket. Let’s be respectful, you heathen. And second, my table always has a place for Elijah the Prophet, Scarlett Johansson, and you.

Madame Skiver-Barton enjoying a smoke and a whisky.

G-LO: I only heard bits and pieces of your Q-chat with Ari. While you two were talking, I was also listening to the Whisky Advocate peeps (Susannah and her Minions) discuss some stories that they were working on. I may be an eavesdropper, but I ain’t no multitasker! Especially when it comes to listening to two conversations at the same time. Tell me more about this Que-chat with Ari.

AK: Oh, we chatted about pink butcher paper, Aaron Franklin, wood, smoke, bark, cooking for a large group. You know, regular stuff. Probably the same stuff Ms. Skiver-Barton was going on about. You know how she is. She gets rolling on a topic and before you know it, you’re in the North Carolina weeds lost amongst the sycamores and fist-sized bugs wondering where the nearest fillin’ station is.

G-LO: Please, don’t even get me started on that Skiver-Barton woman. You know how it goes with those hyphenated last name people. Trouble with a capital “T”! Yes, I know that rhymes with “P”, and that that “P” rhymes with pool. But this ain’t River City, Pal! And we’re not talking about starting a marching band for wayward youth. We’re talking whisky and BBQ! And Madame of The Hyphenated Last Name most definitely knows her way around a North Carolina BBQ pit and a whisky distillery, so yes, we were most definitely in the weeds that night, but thankfully, the bugs weren’t so bad, and they were nowhere near fist-sized. What the hell were we talking about again???

AK: There may be nothing scarier than a hungry Susannah Skiver-Barton (aka SSB or Super Sonic Barton for short) waiting in line for brisket. The stomping of sensible shoes was surprising, I must say. I expected the drooling since I was too and, to be factually correct, we were standing by the door to the kitchen with the wafting of barbecue coming our way. Who wouldn’t drool? C’mon!

G-LO: Drool is such an ugly word. It’s right up there (or right down there depending upon your perspective) with moist. I prefer to say that our mouths were watering, and that the brisket was juicy and delicious. You know, cause it really was!

All this talk about brisket is making me hungry. Again! Let’s talk a bit about the whisky. Thoughts on the selections? Was there anything that really tickled your fancy? I mean, I certainly wasn’t gonna tickle your fancy! There’s a Mrs. West Coast Office for that bit of funny business.

AK: You’re such a tease. Well, we knew that Ari’s food would be A+ and it was! I might have had a couple of helpings of brisket. Only my tailor knows for sure. But we had no idea (at least I didn’t) what the whisky offerings might be. Seeing Señor Joshua (née Jose) Hatton downstairs manning the IMPEX-JVS booth made us muy happy. Kilchoman, Port Askaig, Penderyn, and Single Cask Nation offerings! Woohoo! There was one table that was confusing. Port Ellen, Laphroaig, old Macallan and more!!! Butttttt….that was for some kind of raffle that I didn’t quite understand. There was also an odd table of some spirits from Gardena, CA(!). Now this intrigued me if only because Gardena is where this chap started out in life. Who knew the little bedroom community has a distillery? Or does it? We need to research.

G-LO: I am most definitely a tease. I’m the teasiest tease that ever teased. You know who isn’t a tease? Señor Hatton! He’s no tease. He aims to please. He brings the whisky AND delivers one hell of a hug! While he and IMPEX-JVS definitely delivered The Goods, I gotta say, there were some significant holes in the whisky selections when compared to the last Jewbilee we attended. Wassup with that, Bro?

Joshua “Yo Yo Yossi!” Hatton of Single Cask Nation, IMPEX-JVS, and The One Nation Under Whisky Podcast

AK: Upstairs at Battery Gardens… did we mention where we were for this shindig?… there were plenty of spirit tables. Well, about 20, I’d guess. Mostly names we knew but definitely some unfamiliar ones like the tequila table whose name escapes me. It was great to see Laws Whiskey House from Denver. I love their Rye. Señor Hatton turned me onto them at Jewbilee in Chicago-bang bang. And who doesn’t love Compass Box? Corsair had a table too. But I was hoping for more Scotch names. My guess is that it’s hard starting up a new festival and getting commitments from brands to attend.

G-LO: You’re right! We did NOT mention the venue. Battery Gardens was the name. Battery Park is where it’s at. While I definitely enjoyed what was on offer, I can’t help but be a bit chagrined by what wasn’t there, i.e. Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Glenmorangie, The Balvenie, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Lagavulin, Talisker, The Glenrothes, and many many more. I’m sure you’re right about the difficulty in getting brands to sign up for a new event, especially in a hyper competitive markets like New York where they’re constantly doing promotional work. I also think that part of the problem stems from the fact that whisky is HOTT (that’s right, HOTT with two Ts!) right now, so well known brands probably get less impact from events like this. On the flipside, there’s no shortage of new brands out there, so if you can’t get the established brands, why not go for the up and comers? Speaking of up and comers, it was neat to see the Heaven’s Door whiskies at the event. While what I tasted from them was pretty good, it’s the artwork on the bottles that really blew me away. Me likey the pretty shiney packaging!

AK: I’m no Bob Dylan fan, but the artwork on his Heaven’s Door bottles was pretty cool. And yes, H-O-T-T, Baby! That’s what whisky is these days. And I’ve seen the lack of brands at shows here in LA too. It’s depressing. I was at show and there was a winery with a booth. They were pouring a wine that had rested in a bourbon barrel. That might be stretching the product definition a wee bit. I think for Ari & Co. it will be an ongoing effort to bring in bigger names, and if anyone can do it, he can. I can’t imagine the logistics of putting on this type of event and all the tentacles that need slaying.

G-LO: I’m sure it’s a royal pain in the ass to get brands to sign up, and if anyone knows from royal pains in the ass, it’s me. Mostly cause I am one. Kudos to Ari & Co. for fighting the good fight and making our NYC Whisky event in June dreams come true! There’s definitely room for improvement with regards to the whisky selections, but I’d say he nailed it with the venue, venue location, and food. And with regards to the food, I know we talked up the brisket quite a bit (and deservedly so!), but I gotta admit, the Kosher fish dishes on the ground floor were nothing to sneeze at! Love the Salmon Pastrami, and a few of those herring dishes were quite delicious, especially the one with the Israeli spices. Molto molto buono!

AK: OMG!, as the kids say. The smoked salmon and herring from The Rebbe’s Choice. Can I just roll around in that stuff for 7-10 days with crackers nearby? May G-d bless us all with this on our plates. Baruch HaShem. I believe you speak of the za’atar spices which are a must for the home or office. Ask for it by name. Accept no substitutes.

G-LO: You know what would be awesome? Getting Ari’s perspective on this whole Kiddushfest thing which he is definitely turning into #AThing. Do you think two can-do guys such as ourselves can make that happen?

AK: Let me wave my magical barbecue tongs…POOF!

G-LO: Wait… Magic??? I thought magic died when Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield broke up. Tell us more about these magical barbecue tongs of yours. Can they make a perfectly cooked smoked brisket appear at any time? You know, the kind with the perfectly burnt, burnt ends, bark, smoke ring, and juicy center. Can they also make pitchers of sweet tea and bottles of vintage Port Ellen appear? If so, work your magic, Mr. Blaine, and make that Wandering Que interview magically appear before our eyes! Are you an “Abracadabra” or a “Hocus Pocus” kinda conjurer? Or do you just let your hands and those tongs do the talking? You know, like a Marcel Marceau type. Friggin mimes.

AK: Jeez, I wanted Teller, and I get Penn. Chill, Houdini! Wait for it…

Fade to wavy visual with eerie piano music…

youtube

We spoke to organizer and master barbecuer, Ari White, via e-mail on various topics including Kiddushfest, event planning, the Jewish side of whisky festivals, and barbecue!

AK: Ari, great event! We were excited to be there for the first one! How did Kiddushfest come about and what made you decide to jump into the whisky festival world?

Ari White (aka The Wandering Que or TWQ): Going back 11 years, my wife Gemma and I threw our first Kosher whisky festival which grew into a series of catered paired Whisky Dinners, Burns Suppers and the like around NYC. I first met Mark Gillespie at our first one (click the following link and listen to one of Mark’s early podcasts: http://whiskycast.libsyn.com/whisky-cast-episode-134-march-2-2008) where a young newly married me gushes while my blushing bride talks about her grandfather rubbing her teeth with whisky (swirling a Straithisla ’64 in her glass). The events were high end, pour lists epic, and locations varied. It was within the midst of those early whisky dinners that [Whisky Advocate magazine’s] WhiskyFest made their fatal move, and we were connected to Joshua Hatton in Single Cask Nations’ infancy. It was love at first dram, the rest is history.

Editor’s Note: Whiskyfest was held on a Friday night in New York City back in 2012. Since this is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, many of the local Jewish community could not attend. Single Cask Nation saw this as an opportunity to bring a high-quality whisky festival to the New York while not excluding the Jewish community by having their new event – Whisky Jewbilee – on a Thursday night initially.

AK: For sake of conversation, let’s assume you’re a whisky drinker (HA!), when did you start your whisky journey?

TWQ: I grew up down in the West Texas town of El Paso. Cheap Mexican beer and tequila were the wet nurses of my youth. In college, my horizons expanded to include bourbon, based more on price point then pomposity, I reckon. At 23, passing through the World of Whiskies in London’s Heathrow Airport as newlyweds, we were tasked with spending a £100 note on our first bottle. The statesmanlike salesman named Michelle spent an hour (at 8:00 am) sampling with us before we settled on a 25-year-old Glenmorangie for 75 quid (he called it a “lady’s dram”) [and] leaving room for a Glenfarclas 17 to boot. He gifted us a leather-encased flask that I still carry for kiddush on Shabbat today.

We called East 109th Street our home back then, across the cultural divide left behind at 96th Street. South of that border, Shabbat and Hashkama [morning prayers] Kiddushes at Congregations Orach Chaim and Kehilath Jeshurun [on New York’s Upper East Side] never ever disappointed with pours the likes of Springbank 33’s, Port Ellens, and countless single barrels of all ages every single week after services, maybe a few times in between, who’s to say?!

AK: What’s your go-to dram?

TWQ: Asking for a go-to dram is like saying what song do I like on the radio. Punk rock of young Kilchomans do me pretty right. With that said I’ve got a finger of Tamdu 001 left as I finish this second question.

AK: Putting together any large event like a wedding, bar mitzvah, or whisky festival takes a lot of planning. After three b’nai mitzvahs in my house, I know! Tell us about your plan of attack for Kiddushfest.

TWQ: Large scale events is what we do, day in and day out, year-round at the Wandering Que and for the last 13 years under Gemstone Catering. The logistics of this beautiful Hudson River waterfront beat the crap out of what we had to go through the last half-decade pulling off Whisky Jewbilee at Studio 450’s penthouse and its one service elevator.

AK: How did you assemble your team and the roles that they played?

TWQ: The team assembled itself when friends and industry colleagues alike stepped up to the plate offering their help in everything from vendor hunting and social media marketing, to day of ticket check-in, and swag bag assembly. It takes a village. With way too many to name, I’d be remiss to not mention Ari and Leah Cohen who just went way above and beyond any level of normalcy to make the evening a success.

AK: Whisky Jewbilee became iconic as a hardcore whisky-centric show. Your amazing food only added to the festival’s high regard in the community. We’ve been to many expensive festivals with pretty sad food offerings that leave us…hungry! But the boys of SCN (Jason and Joshua) have “moved on” from it, leaving a sad void in the festival world. Why do you think Whisky Jewbilee succeeded and how do you see Kiddushfest filling that void to the whisky community?

TWQ: The Jewbilee made everybody happy. The vendors loved the exposure to a knowledgable purchasing market segment that based a year’s purchases on to what they would be informed of that night. The kosher crowd loved access to events of that caliber where they could drink AND eat everything making a $100++ ticket price easier to wash down. #BrisketChaser. The food was always just the hook; it was the bonus of putting on our own festivals. Bless Joshua. The guy is a vegetarian and still enabled my brisket and sausage debauchery every year.

What really set the Jewbilee aside in my book was the accessibility to the brands and their ambassadors in comparison to all the larger or more established festivals already on the circuit. Our crowd was always engaged and curious rather then just on the road to drunken dipshittery. The venue was iconically NYC with 360° rooftop views and cigars to boot. It became the best bang-for-the-buck kosher event in NYC hands down and even when everyone laughed at the Jewbilee for moving to the middle of the summer, nothing could stop us from selling out year after year. I knew we were doing something right when over a third of our tickets were being sold to non-Jewish Kosher keeping guests. It put us nose to nose with the biggest festivals NYC has ever hosted. [With Kiddushfest] even with a space expandable to over 1,000 guests, we are totally set on keeping the size approachable and mob mentalities at bay.

AK: Jewbilee was created as a whisky festival “by and for whisky geeks”. It was an event that whisky brands wanted to be at. What’s the strategy for Kiddushfest to get those names to attend in the future?

TWQ: This was by far and large our biggest challenge this year. With a glut of new festivals popping up every year in both the non-kosher and kosher food scenes, I totally appreciate many brands’ main challenge is choosing which ones bring back the best ROI. Any hope that my involvement in the Jewbilee from its inception would guarantee the same excitement was quickly dashed. With a new location and new name we were on our own and starting from scratch. There were enough vendors excited to not lose this summer event that we had some great momentum from the get-go. With 12 months to plan next year’s Kiddushfest rather then the 12 weeks we pulled the last one off in, I’m excited to say we’ll fill all 40 brand tables with 15 more breweries and ciders outside.

AK: I’ve yet to use the words “Kosher” and “Jewish” (but YOU have!). They are important in the discussion, especially for an event called Kiddushfest. Tell me how you see the cultural and religious aspects to the festival, and your thoughts on bringing in a wider audience.

TWQ: There is a rogue element within the observant world that get together for a quick dram on the Sabbath. They get together between and sometimes just maybe during the prayer services. On the one hand, they often catch flack for the time and place chosen for these rendezvous. On the other hand. they are for many of us, the one short chance to catch up with old and new friends with or without a Highland Park and piece of herring. No different then the Kiddush Club #safespace we built at the Whiskey Jewbilee, Kiddushfest was very [much] modeled around the same Sabbath-like setting complete with Smokehouse cholent, potato kugels and yapchik (mind-blowing, look that one up) [We did… https://www.kosher.com/recipe/potato-flanken-kugel-yapchik-6966]. We aimed to create an environment where friends could get together, without ditching the family or Rabbi’s sermon.

I wouldn’t call the festival a religious one. I do hope that the values that we have tried to embrace show with this [festival] bear fruit. I am proud that we were able to raise $4,000 that evening for our two charity partners. I can’t imagine too many other whisky festivals where a group of 50 guys would go outside at 9pm past the cigar bar and riverside cabana facing east to pray Ma’Ariv – the evening service – before diving right back in for the last 30 minutes of the show. Cholent [Jewish comfort food] is the original melting pot, [and] it fits the NYC scene just fine. I love that we have had such large numbers of women attendees and was thrilled with the large groups of non-Jewish guests as well. I hope it means we are doing a few things right.

AK: Let’s talk barbecue. It’s obvious that this is your happy place being from Texas. Barbecue and Kosher are generally not words you hear together too often! How did you get into it? How did The Wandering Que start? How many events do you do in a year?

TWQ: Shit, Hoss, that’s a horse of another color! Wood smoked BBQ is like home for me, and moving up to NYC all those years ago I got homesick. There wasn’t so much as a lick of smoke in anything they were calling BBQ up here 10 years ago in the kosher world. I’m glad to say those days are done with the fires of southern cooking burning low and slow everywhere. Having grown up in a town without any kosher food (way before the days of Food Network), I am fortunate to play Johnny Appleseed traveling around the Tri-State, smoking up one community at a time before hitting the road to do it all over again. We cater well over 100 events a year with our BBQ and Charcuterie products now going into supermarket and gourmet food stores all over the country. Throw in five kids under the age of 11. Sleep is highly overrated.

AK: You were in Philly the weekend after Kiddushfest. The Wandering Que travels! How do you take your show on the road?! Do you have a food truck type of set-up?

TWQ: I do have two offsite BBQ Setups and teams. One is based around a 7,000 lb. 18′ offset stick burner BBQ pit by Gator Pit in Houston Texas. The other is our new 28′ BBQ Concession Trailer which is a little more closely related to a food truck, just minus the truck part and 3 times the size with an 8′ porch sporting a two ton Hog Cooker from Bubba Grills. And we have spent the last two years installing and building out my new kitchen to operate an Oyler 1300 by J&R Manufacturing in Mesquite Texas. It has an 1,800 lb capacity and runs entirely on burning wood. It’s a game-changer for me and by the Grace of God, I get to turn it on for the first time in 10 days after our final inspections by our local Departments of Building, Fire, and Health.

We travel far and wide hitting street fairs, music festivals, [as well as] private, corporate, and charity events. I run out of china at 700 people and we have served as many as 1,500 over a six-hour service. My pit crew and team are hardcore and I would be remiss (again) to not mention Samba, Joe, One-Stop, Lala, Mario and the STAR-K for being the real superheroes that make really make the magic happen.

AK: Last question for the barbecue nerds: What type of wood is your wood of choice?

TWQ: My favorite wood to smoke with is Pecan leaving me plum outta luck up here. We generally burn oak, cherry, and maple. I love any fruit wood I can get my hands on.

AK: So Kiddushfest #1 (or Echad) is in the books. The gates are closed! How do you think it went? What are the areas you’d like to work on for Kiddushfest #2 (or Steim)?

TWQ: The night’s early piss poor weather forced us to abandon the outdoor space and reset everything upstairs to include the dozen booths and our entire Wandering Que food station. [A] logistical nightmare I’d love to circumvent next year with blue skies, please. With that said, the venue was stunning and [we’ve been] invited back next year already where we are shifting back to the Thursday night model. The vendors seemed thrilled with both the turnout and the level of engagement. An interesting observation one pointed out to me was that at no point in the night did they have an empty table. I look forward to expanding the beer garden next year as well to really take advantage of that outdoor space. With room for another 200 people next year, I also look forward to doubling the numbers of [whisky] on the pour. Small things come to mind: digitized check-in, printed pour lists in advance, much more water on the floor, spit buckets, beef ribs, and world peace. All pretty doable after smokin’ them Beef Ribs.

AK: Amen! Ari, mazel tov on Kiddusfest I and thanks for taking some time to chat. We hope to be there for next year’s and all of the future ones.

TWQ: It’s 2:00 am and my Tamdu is long since turned over, so I’ll wish y’all a hearty l’Chaim and my thanks for all the love along the way, not just this year but for the many past as well. It’s been a great trip so far, I’m excited to see what we get to share together along the long road to come.

_____________________________________________________________________

Many thanks to Ari White for taking the time answer our questions and for the media pass hook-up to this Que-tastic event!

It's #Kiddushfest Chat-time w/ @AaronMKrouse and Ari White of #TheWanderingQue! #BBQ #Whisky G-LO: Well, you did it again! A red-eye flight from LAX to JFK on Tuesday evening, an afternoon of eating and drinking in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon followed by a 4 hour Kosher BBQ and whisky event in Battery Park at a little thing called…

#Ari White #Battery Gardens #BBQ #Drinkwire #Interview #Kiddushfest #Kosher BBQ #Photography #Photos #Review #Reviews #The Wandering Que #Whiskey #Whisky

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a-dinosaur-a-day · 7 years

Note

Answer them all

I should have seen this coming, in retrospect

1. What’s your middle name?

Caroline

2. What are you listening to right now?

As per the last ask; The Violence by Rise Against

3. What was the last thing you ate?

A candy hug (I haven’t had breakfast yet)

4. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?

My Dad

5. Do you drink?

Occasionally, but not heavily

6. Do you smoke?

Gd no

7. What is the first thing you noticed in someone?

Their excitement about whatever it is they’re talking about

8. What is your hair color?

Brown

9. What is your eye color?

Hazel

10. Do you wear contacts/glasses?

Yup

11. Dogs or cats?

Neither

12. What’s your favorite animal?

Living? Orca whale. Extinct? Maiasaura

13. What’s your favorite television show?

Orphan Black

14. What’s your favorite movie?

Jurassic Park

15. What’s your favorite band/singer?

Rise Against

16. How old are you?

17. Do you have a crush on anyone?

Since I’m in a fairly serious long term romantic relationship, I dare say I do

18. What’s your sexual orientation?

Pansexual

19. What’s your favorite color?

Aqua

20. What was your most embarrassing moment?

As per the first ask:

At one point I was trying to get Max ( @plokool) to get a new hobby and I wanted to talk about putting ships into bottles

What I said was “putting jars into bottles”

At any rate, Max still makes fun of me for that

21. Do you ever wish you were someone else?

All the time, to be honest :/

22. What were you like when you were a kid?

Quiet, I read a lot; very much a know-it-all; got bullied a shitton

23. What would your dream house be like?

Small, with lots of books and birds; and lots of windows so I can look outside

24. What last made you laugh?

Max saying something cute

25. What is your favorite word?

Compassion

26. What is your least favorite word?

Oligarchy. I don’t know why

27. What turns you on?

As per the first ask: Kindness, empathy/sympathy, passion about one’s hobbies, getting excited about things, being nerdy; some physical attributes

28. What turns you off?

As per the first ask: Cruelty, a lack of willingness to understand, an inability to modify one’s opinions, willful ignorance; not listening to me when I talk

29. What is your star sign?

Leo

30. What are your favorite books?

Harry Potter (the whole series); Pillars of the Earth; Ishmael/My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

31. Do you have any siblings?

5 (4 older sisters, 1 little brother)

32. Do you like to dance?

Eh, not really

33. What is your definition of cheating?

Doing something romantic or sexual in nature with someone other than your partner, and you have not agreed to an open or polygamous relationship with them. Having feelings for someone else, but not acting on them, doesn’t count. You can’t help feelings.

34. Have you ever cheated on someone?

35. Do you regret anything?

Tons of shit. Lots of things.

36. Do you have any phobias?

Spiders

37. Ever broken any bones?

Nope

38. Ever come close to death?

Yeah

39. What is your religion, if any?

I was raised Catholic. I am currently not Catholic, and am converting to Judaism through the reform movement.

40. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist?

Yeah, since my freshman year of high school

41. Are looks important in a relationship?

Eh, they’re important in initial attraction, but not really after that point

42. Are you more like your mom or your dad?

I like to think I’m an even mix of both

43. What is your favorite season?

Fall

44. Do you have any tattoos?

Nope

45. Do you have any piercings?

Earlobes

46. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?

Just the two

47. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

All the fucking time

48. Who is your celebrity crush?

None?

49. Are you a virgin?

Nope

50. Do you get jealous easily?

Eh, only of people who’s lives I wish I had, not of like, friends of Max’s or anything

51. What is your favorite type of food?

Italian

52. Do you ever want to get married?

I’m iffy on the concept but Max and I are eventually going to get married, yes

53. Who was your first kiss with?

My first boyfriend

54. Have you ever been cheated on?

As per the first ask: Probably? The first person I dated was a chicken who refused to break up with me even though they wanted to be with someone else, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they cheated on me before breaking up with me.

55. What is your idea of the perfect date?

Going to the Field Museum or some equivalent and spending the whole day together looking at fossils :D Alternatively, the zoo, but looking at birds

56. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I honestly have no idea. I need alone time to “recharge,” but too much alone time makes me ridiculously depressed, so both I guess.

57. Do you believe in aliens or life on other planets?

Decidedly.

58. What talent do you wish you’d been born with?

Eh, I don’t think we’re really born with talents. People may have more of a propensity for this or that, but in the end it’s all about what you stick with.

I wish I had stuck with piano playing more, or with drawing, but I didn’t, which is my own fault.

59. What is your saddest memory?

Some stuff that happened to me in High School. Or another, equally terrible event in college. I don’t want to bum everyone out about it.

60. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Gd no. Lust yes, but not love.

61. Do you believe in soul mates?

A part of me does

62. Have you ever dyed your hair?

I dyed the end of it blue last summer! I kind of want to do that again sometime

63. Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you?

A lot in high school, sadly

64. Would you go against your moral code for money?

Right now, given money is very tight, probably :/ But otherwise no

65. What are three things most people don’t know about you?

- I fucking love trigonometry - I enjoy reading the Foxtrot series of comics - I have an unfortunate caffeine addiction

66. Who are you jealous of?

As per the first ask, Various internet personalities who are actually making decent money from their work in science communication; actual paleontologists

67. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy?

Too many of them. I have an addiction to stuffed animals

68. How long was your longest relationship?

Max and I have been together for over four years now

69. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Half full

70. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?

I feel like the correct answer is not appropriate for this blog; buuuut honestly just taking an interest and listening to me when I talk about the things I enjoy and am excited about? is a PG answer I suppose

71. Who is your most loyal friend?

Probably Max? But also my friend Sara, whom I’ve known since the sixth grade. We went to different high schools and colleges but we’re still best friends.

72. Are you in a relationship?

Yup

73. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?

How excited he gets when he talks about his hobbies

74. Are you a bad person?

I like to think I’m not

75. Are you a lover or a fighter?

Lover

76. What did you do on your last birthday?

Went to the zoo with friends!

77. What is your favorite quote and why?

“Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” ~ Theodosius Dobzhansky

78. If your best friend died, what would you do?

Oh gd. Since my best friend is Max, I don’t really want to think about it. It wouldn’t be good.

79. If you had to go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?

How I handled my mental illnesses.

80. If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do?

Spend it with Max

81. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had?

I once had a very long and elaborate set of dreams in which I angered the Capitol and as such had to design a Hunger Games in which all my loved ones were the competitors. It went on for like, a week, and spawned various inside jokes, as @a-sleepy-dinosaur can testify

82. Are you happier single or in a relationship?

I’m happy in my relationship

83. Who were you in a past life?

Probably some sort of bird

84. What is your happiest childhood memory?

Watching dinosaur documentaries with my mom

85. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?

All the bleeping time

86. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

Yup!

87. If you were the president, what would you do?

Prioritize science & environmentally friendly policies

88. What is your ideal career?

Honestly? I’d like to be the bird/feather-evolution equivalent of Neil Shubin, if possible

89. What is your political affiliation?

Generally liberal. Most of my opinions are similar to that of Bernie Sanders. But I hesitate to call myself a Democrat.

90. Are you conservative or liberal?

Liberal

91. Is the male or female body closest to perfection?

This is a very stupid question given trans individuals and the fact that gender =/= biological attributes.

92. Do you like kissing in public?

Definitely!

93. If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change?

Make people better able to consider the humanity of those not in their in-group

94. Where would you like to live?

Edinburgh

95. Where would you go on your dream vacation?

Scotland XD

96. Describe yourself in one word.

As per the first ask, Tenacious

97. Describe yourself in one sentence.

As per the first ask:

(I know this is a double negative but it’s a stronger statement than doing the positive equivalent)

There has never been a subject I didn’t want to explore to it’s completion.

And I guess I won’t answer any more of these xD

#about #not dinosaurs #long post #Anonymous

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arse-blathanna · 6 years

Text

always at your six - 6/?

Chapter 6 : daily briefing

[Ao3] [Fic Tag]

Fic Summary: The Mother of Invention went down barely a year ago, and the time in between has been rough for York and Delta. It’s been tough for Tex too, but she has information, and she needs someone to help her get some things before someone can beat her to it.

It’s a good thing York’s out of work.

Rating: M

Relationships: Eventual York/Tex/Delta.

Chapter Summary: York and Tex do their last bit of mission prep before getting to work.

Word Count: 4,620

Author’s Notes: Thank you for reading!

York wakes up early in the morning, groggy and feeling like he never wants to move. But he’s going to have to, either because his bladder is angry at him for sleeping or because Tex is going to make him get up. He pushes himself upright halfway and looks around the room, only to find that it’s empty. Tex has run off on him, and that's not something that York likes. It leaves him feeling tired and worried. The night before had been a little... weird. Weird enough that York didn’t want to think about it.

Maybe she'd just decided that he was done with him. Or maybe she'd decided that it was just time that she leave him behind because there's no reason for him to help her. Maybe he's outdone his usefulness at this point. It wouldn’t surprise him, with the way that the decryption has gone so far.

[Read it on Ao3]

He hauls himself out of bed and blinks. "Delta?" York asks, hoping to be able to make some sort of contact with the AI. He's being quiet, and while that usually means that Delta is just at work, York's still worried.

"D?" He asks again, when it's still silent.

"York." Delta says, his projection appearing in the room near York. "I apologize."

"It's fine, D." York says, making himself comfortable on the bed again and letting his hand cup the back of his neck where Delta has been implanted. The chip was still there, intact and unmoved. "I just got worried."

"I am aware." Delta says back to him, as calm as ever. "Your heart rate experienced an increase by a percentage of-"

"That's fine, D." York mumbles, blinking and hoping to get the exhaustion to go away from him. "I just don't like getting up alone. You know that. Where's Tex run off to?"

"Agent Texas went out to get some things before the morning." Delta explains, his voice still calm. "Last night she, myself, and the Omega AI managed to make significant progress with regards to the information that you gathered."

"Thank you." York mumbles, hoping that it'll be enough to make him feel better. He's pretty sure that it won't be, but that's just the way that things go. "So she's going to be back?"

"Affirmative." Delta responds to him. "When she gets back, she will be expecting to do some sort of briefing with you. I would recommend taking the steps necessary to wake yourself up before then."

And yeah, if there is anything about this that York doesn't like, it's that he has to go through a briefing first thing in the morning. That had been a part of life in Project Freelancer that he'd been more than glad to leave behind. Apparently that was where his luck had decided to run out.

Which sucked.

York got up though, since he might as well have gotten himself something to drink to start with. Coffee would be able to put his brain into order. Once that was working, then he and Tex could get ready for what was to come.

As things were, York made a mug of shitty coffee on the motel coffee maker that he definitely didn’t trust (which only had half to do with the fact that it that looked like it was probably older than his parents.) Really not something that he wanted to think about, but seeing as it would be his only chance at waking up, York had to take it. Maybe a shower would have been a better way to wake up, but York wants coffee.

He sits there, drinking his bitter drink and letting Delta run off with anything that he wanted to report. Usually in the mornings it was simply recordings and observations that Delta had gathered that night from York's subconscious. Normally that was something that York didn't like Delta prying into. Somehow it felt like the things that he dreamt about were things that were best left unexamined and unsaid. Besides, there had been a few very uncomfortable conversations from when he’d first gotten Delta and before their rules had been set in place that York desperately never wished to repeat.

When Tex gets back, York is already halfway into his second mug of coffee.

She knocks on the door, and York mumbles that she can come in. It’s not like he has anything to hide.

Tex comes in, dressed in a new set of civilian clothes that York has never seen before. On her arm there rests a bag or two, and York cranes his neck to get a look. She walks over to where he’s sitting on the bed before dropping one of the plastic bags into his lap.

"What's this?" York asks, poking at the bag and feeling the plastic of it crinkle.

"Clothes." Tex responds, straight faced as always and not wanting to go too far into it. "And your breakfast."

York raises an eyebrow, because Tex bringing him food was always an iffy thing to begin with. He didn't know how to read into it, and her buying him clothes-

It feels like she is trying to tell him something. York doesn't know what, but he has a feeling that he really doesn't like it. Maybe it’s that he smells. Or still looks like a homeless person.

It’s probably that he still looks like a homeless person. York makes a mental note to get a haircut sometime. And to shave before they head out.

"Thanks." He says, digging through the bag until he found a small warm package. He brought it up to his nose. It smells like a gas station breakfast sandwich, which he guessed probably resembled actual food just as much as the gruel they were fed up in space did. "Delta tells me you had an interesting night?"

"We did." Tex says. She drops onto the bed next to York and opens up the second bag. He tries his best to peek, and finds that she has collected a selection of wiring and mechanical pieces. When York gets a good look, he knows exactly what it's for. The thick copper wire is the biggest indicator, followed closely by the battery and the iron rod.

Not something that he would have thought that Tex would have been interested in. It can only mean that she’s expecting trouble.

York blinks. "So, do you care to share with the class why you have the pieces for an induction coil?" York gives Tex a look, not sure that he is actually going to get a good answer out of her. It's going to be risky for them to think about even beginning to touch as a piece of equipment.

"Yeah," Tex answers. "Me, Delta, and Omega got to work last night and finally got those files decrypted."

"Yeah, D mentioned that." York mumbles as he rips open the package of food that he'd been brought. Real cheese and bacon. The egg obviously isn't real, but it's been so long that York doesn't even know if he remembers what real eggs actually taste like.

"Good." Tex mumbles. "We got some does that can get us into the building, and a dossier of some supplies they have on the site. The induction coil is just an insurance policy. I figure between the four of us we can figure it out-" She gives him a look. “Although I’m guessing you’ve done it before.”

York gives Tex a stare and he feels beyond frustrated by it. Because the use of the phrase insurance policy tells York exactly what she wants to build that stuff for. It's because she isn't putting faith in him. Because he screwed up on locks a few times.

"You know, a vote of confidence with the locks would help a lot." York grumbles, setting the sandwich down on its wrapper in front of him. "I know that you found access codes, but-"

"It's to fry the cameras, York." Tex mutters. "I know that you can handle the locks. The fact that there are going to be cameras is what I'm worried about."

"I don't trust that thing." York mutters. "Trust me, I know the value of being able to cook the wiring in something, but I'm not too keen on it when you're robotic, and I have D and the neural implants. Feels risky."

Tex gives York a dead stare, one that he isn’t able to read into that easily because all that he is getting from Tex was that she’s far from amused with him. And sure, that was something that he had dealt with a lot, but that doesn’t meant that York wants it levelled on him. He and Tex are teammates, after all. He doesn’t want to feel like the useless one any more than he already does. Which is a lot.

"You think that I don't know that?" Tex asks him, matching York's gaze. "It's going to be a final line of defense in case something happen."

York eyes the bag of supplies warily. He knows how to rig an induction coil (and if he didn’t, Delta definitely would), but that doesn't mean that he wants to. As things were the situation that they were in was already going to be difficult enough. Adding the chance of them melting their own wiring only made it worse.

"Right." He sighs, doing his best to hide his frown. "So the plan is to go in right now, we get past the doors with the access codes that we have, and then we find the equipment that they're housing there."

"Exactly." Tex says, making herself more comfortable while York nibbles away at his breakfast. "It's going to be up to you and Delta to do a lot of things."

"I figured." York mumbles between bites. "Should I be worrying about your onboard passenger?"

Really, that’s probably the one question that York needs an answer to more than anything else. He can account for himself, and he can do the same for Delta. York has already trusted Tex with his life more times than he can count. But Omega? York doesn’t trust him for a second. Not after what Tex has told him.

Tex shrugs, clearly without a good answer for herself. For just a second, York could have sworn that he'd seen a quick flash of dark purple in her stormy eyes. It makes York's heart skip a beat because it's so wrong and so obviously not Tex. It's something else entirely and something which York very distinctly does not like.

Delta picks up on York's discomfort, and York feels more than hears the pulse that Delta lets out. It runs down York's spine like coolant, not enough to relax him entirely, but enough to calm him. Slowly, he feels his own heartbeat getting a little slower- when he hadn't even realized that he'd started feeling nervous enough to beat hard in the first place.

The amount of control that Delta's using with him is frankly uncomfortable. It leaves York feeling wrong, surprisingly... hollow.

He frowns and lets his hand cup the AI port on the back of his head though. Delta gives him another pulse, and this time it feels as though it does a little bit more for York. It feels more tangible in some ways, which aren't necessarily comfortable for him. But it's Delta, and York can trust Delta. They'll be sure to be having a conversation about this later though.

York swallows hard and rubs at his left eye. "Just promise me-"

"I already have, York." Tex responds before he can even finish what he was saying. "You need to promise me that you can trust my judgement."

"I do trust your judgement!" York responds, feeling a little bit defensive. That was something that he hadn't necessarily been preparing for. "That doesn't make me feel any less nervous."

Tex nods and she pats York's shoulder, getting up and beginning to pace the room even though it probably didn't offer her any real benefits. "We're going to get in," She says, doing what she can to reassure in her own way. "We'll find what we can, and we'll take anything we can get."

York nods, remembering the contract that they'd made at the beginning. Tex had promised him whatever he could carry, and that was probably still true. At least, York hoped that it would be true. At the very least he wants a chance to get his things back together and get his gear working at full capacity again.

"Right." He mumbles, finishing off his food and crinkling the wrapper back up. "I should clean up."

"Yeah," Tex says. "You should. We're going to move out later."

"Got it." York responds, sighing. "Thanks, Tex."

He hovers by the bathroom door for a moment too long, looking for words and trying to work through feelings he has no way to actually deal with.

Things are too awkward, York decides as he slips through the door and begins a shower.

The truth is that Tex has tried really hard to be transparent with York about what they're doing. That's the reason that the two of them have gone through countless briefings over the course of the day, and the same reason that she is doing her best to keep Omega in check. It's the same reason that she's spent most of her nights with York pressed up against her with his head resting against her leg.

There's a lot that they need to get used to, and that hasn't changed.

York is ultimately good at his job. Very good at his job, when he wants to be. Tex does what she can to keep him in line, and when thoughts that she really doesn't want to deal with creep up, she ignores them.

Omega hasn't helped much. The last thing that Tex had needed was a constant monologue on how she had some seriously crossed wires when it came to York.

As if she didn't know that it was messed up. He was flesh and blood, he was kind and smart- if a little bit all over the place when it came to the emotional side. He'd had some weird feelings for all sorts of people, and Tex had no right to interfere with York now.

Him apparently having some confused feelings towards Carolina was an issue in itself. It made Tex glad that she didn't have the memories of the woman she was built to emulate.

At least that way she could feel somewhat less guilty for it

York comes out of the shower, with just a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair in complete disarray. He has a second small towel that he is using to pat the back of his head dry, apparently nervous about his AI port. His face is bare. He took the chance to shave.

"Hey," York greets her, like the morning had already been forgotten. He walks over to the bed, apparently not even caring that she's there. "So, what time do you want us to head out?"

‘Your attraction to that fool is pointless,’ Omega taunts in the back of her head, clashing with her own code in all of the most unpleasant ways. ‘You know that some equipment won't keep him alive forever.’

"Shut up, Omega." Tex hisses before glancing back over at York. The towel's been dropped, and for the first time Tex is realizing just how extensive his scar tissue is. It makes her wonder how many times he should have died before without his healing unit to hold him together. She shakes her head, trying to pull her attention from York before he notices.

"He's being a dick again?" York asks, and Tex can hear the sound of what she can only guess is him pulling on some underwear. She glances back over her shoulder, and he's standing there in heather gray boxers, rifling through the bag of clothes that she’d brought him.

"What do you think?" Tex asks, because really, it does seem like it should be a bit obvious.

"Right." York laughs, picking up the shirt that she'd just bought him. He unfolds it and she watches York's face screw up for just a second before he shrugs and pulls it on. "So, about when we're going-"

"Two hours." Tex responds before York can go on anymore. "Please tell me you can be ready for that."

York laughs quietly, but there is obvious nervousness in his tone. "Of course I can." He mumbles, pulling on a pair of pants now. Tex can't help but feel a slight spike of disappointment over him being dressed again, but that is still something she can't be thinking about. "I just... want to know so that I can be ready."

He looks at her, eyes wide and a little bit sad.

Tex nods. "We'll be able to do this. Worst comes to worst-"

"One of us gets shot." York finishes for her, turned away and somehow managing to sound like he's bored. "I should warn you though-"

'This should be good'

"What do you want to warn me about?" Tex asks, already running through possibilities.

"I had D run some numbers earlier." York mumbles. "The healing unit in my armor is functional, but not by much. We can't go relying on it too much. I don’t want to find out what happens if we overdo it."

"Got it." Tex says. It's not promising at all, but it's something that she can keep an eye on. Maybe Omega will be more use to them than they'd originally thought he would be. "But you're going to be good?"

"Yup." York flops back onto the bed, clearly wanting to relax before they have to go and do anything. "Sit with me?"

"Course." Tex responds as she takes the spot next to him. He's too close, and she can feel Delta right there. "Any reason you want this?"

He looks away from her, blushing a little bit and even looking guilty. "It's nice. Being around you."

“That can’t be the only reason.” Tex says, feeling more than a little bit skeptical about York’s explanation.

“Keeps me calm.” York mutters, his one good eye flicking down and then back up, a little too fast. “It helps me keep from only focusing on the things that are going wrong.”

Tex nods and pats his shoulder. “You should get ready.” She says anyways. It’s assuredly not what York wants or needs to hear, but they need to be ready to go anyways. “Armor takes time to get on.”

“It does.” York grumbles before getting up and walking over towards the stack of armor that he'd set in a corner. Tex had chosen a different place for her own gear, and deemed it best to follow her own advice. She too went to her things and began to prepare to put on her own armor.

For a moment, she lingers there with her hands on the undersuit. It's the same material as it has always been, still meant to be a better skin than the synthetic substance that they'd put over her. Without the armor, her skin would tear and she would be left without a way to fix it.

Tex doesn't want to focus on it at all. She just gets up and slips off her shirt. No reason to wear things that will make getting into armor harder.

"Tex?" York says, and he's over on his side of the room, undersuit halfway pulled on and shirtless. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine." Tex says, turning to York and slipping out of her pants. No need for them either.

York's gaze lingers on her, and she can see him get more nervous. There is a nervous bob of his adam's apple as he swallows. "Right." He says, shaking his head and purposefully turning back away from her.

Tex wonders what he saw that was so wrong, stepping into her undersuit and beginning to pull it up on her legs. She tries not to think about how she can see the obvious differences in her body and York's, or anyone else's.

She doesn't have pores and she doesn't sweat. Her joints don't always look quite right, and her lack of a proper ribcage is obvious. In some ways she was put together to be the perfect copy of a real woman, but there were some things which her frame couldn't account for.

"I wanted to know if you wanted some baby powder." York says, his voice hesitant and him clearly taking his time as he pulls on the rest of his undersuit. "For your skin."

"Baby powder?" Tex asks, zipping things up to her neck. "Are you really that sensitive?"

"No." York grumbles. "It just makes it easier to get in and out of."

Tex hasn't heard that one before, but she figures that this is the first time she and York have actually had access to that sort of thing. "If you say so, York." She mutters as she reaches for her leg armor.

"This is weird, right?" York says, almost laughing while he does the same. "All of this?"

"Is it?"

"I dunno." York says with a shake of his head. His hair flops forward with the motion, still soft from his shower. "I think I just want to get this over with. Missions at Freelancer never felt so weird though."

"Because it's just us?"

"Because I don't feel like I have to compete with anyone."

That wasn't the answer that Tex had been expecting. She figures that is a big change for York. Freelancer had made it so that for a lot of people all that existed was competition. She knew that, she'd heard the stories and seen some of it firsthand. It's part of the reason that she and York are there now.

But she was never actually made to compete. Instead it all had felt more like games than real competition.

York lost an eye over a game that he never even had a chance of winning.

Tex wishes that she had something good that she could actually say to York over that.

"I mean," York shakes his head, obviously frustrated and his brow furrowing. "It's just weird is all." He swallows, and Tex sees his expression changes, like he's talking to Delta again. Whatever they're talking about, it's private- that much is obvious. "I like working with you though."

"You aren't completely terrible yourself." Tex says, pulling on her breastplate now. It feels like it weighs absolutely nothing, but for York it is clearly a little bit more of a struggle. "Just try to worry about what will happen tonight."

"I am." York says, stretching. He bounces nervously a little bit as he pulls on his own gear. She watches him take a deep breath like he was trying to calm himself down. Whether or not it would actually work seemed to be up in the air. "Delta's ready to sync for all of this."

"I figured." Tex says, and she feels the push of Omega against her once again. "I can't really speak for Omega."

"I figured." A little laugh escapes York at that. "He seems like he's a lot to handle."

"You have no idea." Tex snaps the breastplate in place and then goes for her shoulder guards next. They go on easily, followed by her gauntlets and then finally her boots are the thing that she needs to top it all off.

York is ready, aside from his gloves and his helmet. He's turning a glove over in his hand, checking for rips or something. Tex doesn't know exactly what.

“Is there something wrong?” Tex asks, craning her neck.

York’s head jolts up, whatever he was looking for probably figured out at that point. Not that Tex knows what he was looking for. He stands up, looking a little bit unsteady and taps his fingertips together, like that will be able to help him concentrate.

“Yeah, I’m good.” York says, beginning to slip the gloves on. “I was checking for holes.”

“Holes, York?”

“Yeah, I mean-” York stretches his hands out again, shaking them out like he is trying to get something to get away from him. “I need them in the field is all. They help me feel out what we’re-” He shakes his hand. “They’re sensory, that’s all..”

Tex cocks her head to the side, because while York had offered an explanation for her, it wasn't really what she wanted to know. She looks down at York's hands as he pulls on a second glove, stretching his hands out a little bit more.

York looks at her and took a breath. "They help me feel when I'm picking locks. Not because there's something wrong with me but-"

"But you work with holograms."

"Yeah." York smiles a little bit, visible relief showing on his face. "They aren't my only thing to help me with that, but I still like to know that they're working and in good shape. Wouldn’t want to have to try and find a way to replace them."

Tex pats his shoulder, as gently as she can manage. "I trust you, York." She sighs, feeling a push from Omega for her to get moving. "Just get ready."

"What's our plan to get in?"

"Pelican drop." Tex says with a shrug. "I know that-"

"We don't have a pilot-"

"I know." Tex reiterates. "But it's a chance for us to cause a distraction while we get in through another way."

York nods, stretching and finally pulling his armor on a little bit more and double checking his kit over. "I figure we can get D to set the trajectories, if that's the way that we're doing things. Sound good to you?"

"I trust Delta." Tex says. "Just... make sure that you're ready."

"I am." York sighs, getting in close to Tex again. He's a little bit too close to comfort and she can practically hear him thinking of things that he wants to get out into the open. There are things that he wants to say, that's obvious. Maybe it's some joke, maybe it's something else. Perhaps he's just got nervousness thrumming through his entire body that won't go away.

Tex doesn't know.

She pats his shoulder once more and doesn't get the feeling that he's relaxing at all. That's fine, it's just a sign that the two of them need to be ready for what was to come that evening.

York doesn't let himself relax at all, instead more interested in busying himself in the room and looking for things that could distract him away from what he was doing. He spends his time stripping his shotgun, or counting ammunition, or doing just about anything other than talking for some time.

Tex makes a point to herself that she needs to do the same, for his sake more than anyone else's.

At the end of the day, Tex knows what she is. York is something more precious.

'You worry too much for him.' Omega growls in the back of her mind, forcing himself to the front of her consciousness. There's a rough push against her own thoughts, that makes Tex grit her mechanical teeth even though she has no need to do so.

'I'm just looking out for him.' Tex responds, not wanting to give Omega too much to play with. That would be too dangerous, and Omega would only use it as a chance to get further under her skin and make things worse. 'I'm not worried about us.'

'That's a mistake, Texas.'

'Yeah,' Tex squeezes her eyes shut. 'I know.'

#agent york #agent texas #delta ai #rvb #red vs blue #york/tex/delta #oops my hand slipped #mantiswrites #always at your six

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