#that it turns me into a fucking mens rights activist

[wearethewinx]

look, in all seriousness:

if you're suggesting 'removing the men from winx,' you had fucking better have reams of worldbuilding prepared explaining the new gender system you came up with to replace it. because otherwise you're just doing 'eeeeewwww, boys!' gender essentialism. it's gross.

if you think winx would be better without yucky boys distracting you from the pretty girls kissing, you don't want a story, you want a porno. go write one.

[utilitycaster]

I think another massive flaw in some Ludinus' arguments is ... he has been free to roam the world for how many centuries now enacting his plans and justifying his means? He has been preaching to people all over Exandria with his magic megaphone and swaying plenty of people to his cause, freely. Looks to me like the Divine Gate solution works pretty well, no?

TRULY like we know for a fact the gods can just. Cast a 9th level spell every turn when they are physically present even when bound partially by mortal form, and Ludinus knows this too. If the gods were actually controlling everyone's every move why didn't they kill him. Why didn't they destroy the Dwendalian throne for banning half the prime deities, or kill Delilah when she was off fucking around with trying to create a new Betrayer god. The story of Aeor being destroyed by the gods is on the historical record and has been for at least 7 years and they haven't shut it down. Why didn't Pelor just blast Abaddina to bits the second she started talking. Why does Lolth have to wait for a teenage girl to put a hat on before she can act through her. How come Keyleth is out there having been furious at the gods for 3 decades and none of them have taken her off the board. Ludinus keeps being like "we are FORCED to worship them" you literally aren't, Chetney's out here pushing 400 and he's like "I can barely keep the names of the gods straight and have not thought about them for more than 30 seconds at a time until joining Bells Hells", there's entire "godless lands" in parts of Issylra, countless people in Exandria simply aren't religious and truly, no one gives a shit on a large scale. Keyleth and Allura and Percy are all on good terms with Vasselheim; Bertrand was from the Quad Roads and I do not think he had the Lawbearer's blessing if you know what I mean. Ludinus is mad about the Calamity (valid) but he's ultimately just as mad that his mommy and daddy still worshiped the Arch Heart or the Moon Weaver or whoever instead of simmering in rage for the remainder of his life. He and frankly most of the Vanguard sound like that guy who became a violent men's rights activist because his mother made him take an anti-diarrheal when he was a kid.

[someone-will-remember-us]

Tickle vs Giggle has placed the delusions of trans activists over biological reality and women’s hard-won rights.

The courts Down Under have gone topsy-turvy. At 9am Sydney time, a judge handed down a ruling that eradicated the category of sex in law, finding in favour of a man who was denied access to a women-only app. Justice Robert Bromwich stated that according to Australian law, sex is ‘changeable and not necessarily binary’. The case, known as Tickle vs Giggle, has set a dangerous legal precedent that the world may now follow.

The legal row started when Tickle – an angry man in a frock who changed his name to Roxanne – saw some posts on social media that annoyed him. He is a trans activist who has gone to some lengths to ‘pass’ as female. He had so-called gender-affirmation surgery in 2019 and changed his birth certificate to obfuscate the fact that he was, to use his words, ‘assigned male at birth’. His sex obviously remains male, as perfectly illustrated in photos by his five o’clock shadow, even if on paper he is legally a ‘woman’.

The tweets that upset Tickle were posted by Sall Grover, founder of the women-only social-media app, Giggle. Giggle, a small tech start-up, used facial-recognition software to screen out men. Tickle put this to the test, and initially was accepted on to the app. But after seven months his picture was clocked, either by Grover or the screening function, and his access was restricted.

Tickle then responded in the way that unpleasant, petulant men do when they’re spurned. He huffed, puffed and sent numerous emails and made phone calls to Grover. When that failed to get him reinstated, he took her to court.

Tickle argued he had a right to use Giggle because he is a woman on paper. The judge agreed, noting ‘the imposed condition of needing to appear to be a cisgendered female in photos submitted to the Giggle app had the effect of disadvantaging transgender women who did not meet that condition’. (‘Cisgendered female’ is trans-speak for ‘real woman’, while ‘transgender women’ refers to men.)

For their part, Grover’s legal team agreed that Tickle had been discriminated against – but on the grounds of his male sex, not his claims to have a female gender identity.

The judge went on to explain that although the science of sex difference was not in dispute, ‘the issues in this case involve wider issues than biology’. He considered and then dismissed expert opinion from evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, author and philosopher Kathleen Stock, and campaigner Helen Joyce. Remarkably, he declared Joyce, author of a best-selling book on transgenderism, as having ‘no recognised expertise in any of the areas in which she expresses an opinion’.

Reading the ruling, it is clear that Justice Bromwich understands that blokes can’t become Sheilas; he just didn’t think that biology was relevant to the case. Instead, he stuck to a narrow, administrative understanding of sex and gender, stating that ‘Tickle is a legal female, as reflected in her updated birth certificate issued under Queensland law’ (sic).

Strip away the robes and legalese, law is supposed to uphold what we collectively agree as a society to be right. But trans activists have broken that covenant. They are twisting justice itself to meet the desire of an entitled few to be affirmed as something they are not. Perhaps Justice Bromwich ought to consider the words of the great Australian feminist, Germaine Greer: ‘Just because you lop off your dick and then wear a dress doesn’t make you a fucking woman. I’ve asked my doctor to give me long ears and liver spots and I’m going to wear a brown coat but that doesn’t turn me into a fucking Cocker Spaniel.’

What ought to send a shiver down the spine of all right-thinking people is that this ruling could have huge ramifications for those in other countries across the globe. The Convention to Eliminate All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the UN. It is an agreement that recognises the specific needs of women. Giggle’s defence argued that Australia’s ratification of CEDAW obliges the state to protect women’s rights, including single-sex spaces. That Justice Bromwich rejected this will have ramifications for the 186 countries that have ratified CEDAW, as judges across the world look to landmark rulings like this to inform domestic decisions.

The real cost of Justice Bromwich deciding that ‘female’ is a legal identity rather than a biological reality is likely to be felt by those in CEDAW signatory countries where violence against women is highest. Judges in countries including Pakistan, El Salvador (the femicide capital of the world) and South Africa (which has the highest reported rate of rape in the world) are now likely to take their lead on the interpretation of CEDAW from Australia. Even if misogynist imans in Pakistan, woman-killers in El Salvador and rapists in South Africa all know which sex they are targeting, there is now a real risk their nations’ judges will follow in the heavy tread of Australia in abolishing the category of woman.

The human rights of the most marginalised women in the world have been put at further risk – all because an angry man in Australia wasn’t allowed to play with the girls on a social-media app. Despite the comical name, there is really nothing funny about Tickle vs Giggle.

(archive)

[nekropsii]

Small Atomic Ask Bomb!!

I've got a bunch of short asks that I'd hate to spam the dash with individually, so I'll just put 'em here, under the cut!!

Content Warning: Long, Brief Discussions of Racism, Misogyny, Grooming, Brief Mentions of Incest and Pedophilia in Fanfiction.

I've always been a hater, and I honestly don't really think it's a bad thing - not as much as everyone says, at least! I think being kind of a bitch about things that don't matter is good for you, actually. Gets the urge to be angry out in a way that's healthier than just snapping at people in critical moments. I also just think being strong and passionate in your convictions is good for you. Being a hater gives you a spine if you do it right, and it fires a gunshot and scatters people you don't really want to be around. It also has the funny side effect of people thinking I take things way more seriously than I do, just because I'm opinionated and will state said opinions clearly. Big fan of this meme:

This is me.

------

I used to peek in there every now and then, just to be nosy. Incest at the top, always. Or straight up pedo shit. Sigh. Looked in the Mituna tag a couple times. CroTuna fucking nightmare hell dimension, always. Or KanTuna, which I also have gripes with. Or KanMiTula, which I have even more gripes with.

It is my understanding that the state of Homestuck fanfiction hasn't gotten much better since the 2010s. Everyone is wrong and no one is normal. Sad.

------

I don't know if the mere act of only making Jade and Jake brown out of all the Kids is Racist on its own, per se, but it is kinda silly in the sense that, you know, John and Jade are siblings, so realistically they'd look similar. And... People absolutely do get racist about it. Like, making Jade and Jake uniquely huge, hairy, threatening, and oddly shaped - gangly in the context of Jade, buff as hell in the context of Jake. I've seen some SEVERELY racist drawings where Jade and/or Jake were the only hints of melanin in the Kid line up and... Oh my god. It can get to straight up caricature levels. Watermelons and everything. Just comedically racist.

------

Genuinely one of the dumbest fucking things in the world. People will say literally anything. Saying Damara isn't Japanese is on par with calling Porrim a fucking Men's Rights Activist. It's a funny little claim people who are grievously wrong say as a condemnation of the Alpha Trolls for no reason. Why. To look smart? To fit in? Dumbass. Notice how they always have to invent bullshit lies to critique anything instead of just saying things that are true. It really frustrates me how 99.9% of Alpha Troll criticism just isn't at all legitimate when there's some real, genuine issues you could critique. It's stupid horseshit. I hate it so badly.

I don't actually care whether or not someone likes the Alpha Trolls, but at least hate them accurately. Come on.

------

@sleepy-apparition

Everyone is so, so quick to turn a blind eye to just how violently misogynistic Kankri is, lmfao. Genuinely, I don't think I've ever seen anyone other than myself bring up the fact that he's an avid Slut-Shamer in the modern day. Other than that, I only really saw older Mituna fanatics bring it up over in the early-mid 2010s, but none of them are around these days.

Genuinely, some of the shit he says is so appalling, lol. Kankri FULLY deserves to get his ass beat.

------

I have said this before but I'll say it again - I do not think a Red Romantic Relationship will fix Dirk, or even really help him all that much. Before he gets into a RedRom, he needs some therapy, a break, and mood stabilizers.

However, I'm thoroughly of the opinion that a good BlackRom could work wonders on him, way more than a RedRom would. I think a solid, established Pitch Relationship with, like, Caliborn would be genuinely great for him, both mentally and in a Character Development sense. I hold zero interest in watching Dirk and Jake badly fumble a traditional romantic relationship - that notion is painful to me. ... But I do think I could read a full Intermission's worth of Dirk and Caliborn fucking around and not get tired of it once. They have a fantastic dynamic. It'd be good for Caliborn, too, I think.

This has been my Dirkuu propaganda bit. Thank you.

Also, the Voyeuristic feel of how people handle his Mental Illness. It makes me uncomfortable.

------

True. I don't have any other remarks to make about this, you're just correct. True.

------

... Fuckin'... Why, though? What- what's the appeal? There's nothing there. I literally cannot conceive any way in which that would be compelling, and I'd say Hal and Kankri are pretty high up there in the list of Male Homestuck Characters I Enjoy.

People will do anything but pay attention to Female Characters for five minutes. God. Lol.

------

It's literally just DaveKat 2. I don't think it even qualifies as a Crack Ship when it's just a variant of The Fandom's Most Darling M/M OTP. It's just a deeply mid RarePair. Crack Ship would be, like, Dirk Strider x Rainbow Dash.

Dirk x RD was a popular Crack Ship, sure, but it's still a Crack Ship on basis of being a Crossover Pairing.

------

I can't recall any specific instances of seeing this myself, but I'll believe it. People will do anything except be normal about Vriska. People will fight the war against Vriska on the side of and against Vriska at the same time. People will call her a Huge 8itch but then call her pathetic when she stops being a Huge 8itch.

We love Misogyny, I guess.

------

Well, he is based on Tumblr, after all. Particularly how dogshit the politics are on here. Of course he would. He'd do numbers on here, considering his Woke Hate Speech.

It's called Bubblr, by the way. Like, canonically. We do know what it's called.

------

It's actually based on the Three Wise Monkeys. You know, that old Japanese Proverb that goes "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil"? That.

Kurloz is Speak No Evil, Meulin is Hear No Evil, Mituna is See No Evil.

------

Great Question. My personal guess is that he's a little too nuanced for a lot of people to be comfortable with handling. He throws out too much surface-level Bigotry that people aren't willing to ignore because it isn't Racism for many to feel comfortable making him their Blorbo. When Dave says the N-Word and talks about how fucking Racist he is and it literally never gets acknowledged or resolved, that's fine and dandy, but god forbid Caliborn be a Misogynist in the funniest way possible AND have that get acknowledged literally constantly as a problem. The fact that Caliborn isn't a Fuckable White 13-Year-Old Twink means none of his crimes are ever forgivable because he's ugly and unshippable, or whatever.

The fact that he's Mentally Disabled doesn't help. People can't fucking STAND IT when a character is Mentally Disabled in a way that isn't Cute and Consumable, much less a character who is Unconsumably Mentally Disabled AND Complicated. It's just not allowed!!

[gatheringbones]

wickie stamps, from I am your Frankenstein, from leatherfolk: radical sex, people, politics and practice, edited by mark thompson, 1991

[“My activism began right after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., with a donation to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In my twen- ties, in hopes of reaching women like my momma who were locked away from their children, I joined forces with men and women whose families, like mine, were imprisoned. A decade later, I expanded this work to include battered women who were incarcerated for killing their abusers. Although my activism has spanned the communist and anti- intervention movements, it was in the anti- psychiatry, the women's health, and eventually the violence- against- women movements that I would directly wage war against the madness in my past.

For over half my life, I've sat on dozens of progressive boards, volunteered thousands of hours, held down back- breaking, poverty- level movement jobs, and attended many protests. I have watched fellow activists collapse, and institutions and movements I fought to build dissolve. Because of ill health, poverty, breakdowns, and emotional abuse, most of my peers have left political work. My activism is the only weapon I have ever had against the domestic violence, alcoholism, homophobia, and sexism that have maimed me, my family, and my friends.

Since coming out as a sadomasochist, I have felt a perpetual scream of rage against a movement that has betrayed me. I do not know if I will ever be able to express how deeply I have been wounded. For my sadomasochism has turned me into a pariah. The compliant face of sisterhood, which once comforted me, has now cracked open to reveal a poisonous Medusa's head. My movement is now just like my familial home, a house filled with hissing vipers.

After twenty years of movement work, I am alone again. Right before a scene, in my leather or my lace, I sit on the edge of my bed and wonder, where are all those women activists to support me now? Where are they for my lover, who is much more experienced than I, and has paid dearly for pursuing her desires? If I tarry too long she must come into the room, sit down beside me, and hold me while I cry. Where is the army of women- “proud sisters" is what they said- to cheer us in our courageous act?

When an ex- lover who was angry about our breakup grabbed me and threatened my life, where the fuck were my sisters, so concerned with violence against women? Could I have found a haven in the scores of shelters I helped build? Or found my image in their literature, the words I helped write? Could I have asked for a return of the support that I’d given them? Or, now that I am a sadomasochist, are they wedded to their vicious theories that heap more blame on me than my lifetime of abusers?

In my family, words— in the form of eagerly awaited letters— were the only thing I had to cling to. Words, mailed across the madness, the miles, and the years, are the most cherished and untarnished heirloom that has been given to me. Violence and disease took everything else. Somehow in words we could love, laugh, and be the family we knew we weren't. When I received letters from my incarcerated momma, I would sit, late at night, cross- legged on my bed and gather them into a big pile on my lap. Then I drew them up into my arms and tried to squeeze the love inside of me. In my letters back to her I intentionally let my tears drip onto my childlike scrawl just in case she might not know that I was devastated from the loss of her or that my daddy was scaring me. To this day, when a letter from my sisters or my stepmother arrives, I carry it for days. Words were all we had.

And it is now words, the gift of my demolished family, that have become my source of strength. They are carrying me through rage and agony for a movement that has maimed me. With words, I can stake out my ground and wage my war. If I do not let their hatred against me come too near, I will not be hurt. For I am beginning to break the silence about the sickness within my movement. It is a way to help her heal. During those dark times, when my movement's fascistic sexual theories and hollow voices almost convince me I am sick, it is my anger rechanneled into clear prose that snaps me back from the edge that my feminist comrades persistently nudge me near.

There are amends to be made, reparations due, and many questions that in my writing I am beginning to ask. I want to ask," You, who demand accountability for batterers and rapists, what about the last decade of S/ M women you abused, denounced, and banned from your meeting places? When are you going to hold yourself accountable for your own violence against women?

After twenty years of devotion to a movement, I find myself searching for a new place of solace, and some reflection of myself. But where can I turn? To a movement gone mad? To old friends who love me but who, as I journey deeper into S/ M, feel so far away? To old theoretical iconoclasts- Andrea Dworkin, Mary Daly, Marilyn Frye my life- roots that now lie rotting? Or to the new leathermen and women in my life whom I know so scantily and whose support I need so desperately? When the final limb breaks and I am pitched into my abyss of fear, many eyes will see, but what hands will reach out to break my fall?

Although my voice is in growing disharmony with the matriarchal movement, I have decided that I will not betray that which bound my wounds. For she taught me to sound the depths of my rage and forge my fury into a sword to wield against my enemies. She gave me back the memories of my blood sisters and taught me to love my momma for her courage. She led me into my lesbianism, and eventually into my sadomasochism. But now she writhes in her own poisons. So while her sexually neutered goddesses are napping, I will slip into her lair and, with pen filled with my family's blood, confront her with the madness that she's trying to say is mine.”]

[mandatory-blog-stop-asking]

I feel like the worst thing they ever did to Xavier's character was putting a mild version of him on a pretty popular cartoon and then a movie where Patrick Stewart played him, cuz it made people think the man never goes full-on "the salvations begins and ends with me" pretty early on in his character biography. So when they go to the comics and he's like, a pretty complex character doing bad shit to good people with a straight face on the regular since the 80s, they go "what is this character assassination???"

Like yeah there's been stories where he was the kind voice of reason who could do no wrong, but damn man, that guy's been canonically a "in my house it's clean mutants only" kinda white savior ever since like... the Morlocks popped up. It's a cool exploration of activism from a place of privilege that shouldn't be stifled by people being used to Captain Picard being above those things. That's an adaptation cleaning up messy aspects of the source material, but the source engages with that shit for a reason.

The guy just does what's on his mind as "the kindest thing to do" so often without caring what it does to others that the X-Men didn't even notice he had been replaced by Cassandra as he was monumentally altering their lifestyles by bringing the entire X-Mansion out of the closet on national television without a heads-up or accounting for their opinions, cuz at the end of the day, that's still something he'd do to them, without really minding what it does to their lives. Because in his head, it *is* his X-Men. He means it when he calls them.

People praise Magneto's 40-year-strong character arc from genocidal maniac to symbol of hope on the same breath they basically go "hey I wish Xavier was nicer", yeah that's the point of the character! I wish he was nicer too! Don't implicitly trust your heroes just because you admire them! They're people and people are fucked! Adapt to them or they might take you down a bad path while their idealism turns cynical and their unrealistic dreams turn into realistic replacements for oppression!

It's just a bit frustrating to talk about X-Men as it comes back into the limelight and having people go "I wish the messy character with complicated opinions and too-real politics was simpler like when I was younger." Like... yeah, I get it, but you can't talk about the traps of white people putting themselves above visible minorities as the example to be followed like that. You can't talk about people being thrown in and out of conflict due to imperfect leaders who they slowly stop agreeing with like that. You can't talk about how starting a movement shouldn't elevate you to godhead status like that.

Morrison knew about it and left us clues in their works, I guess is what I'm saying. Even if that story pretty much ruins Magneto, it does bring this side of Xavier to light pretty well. The adaptations making Xavier a perfect activist and a fair and reasonable leader who's always right and only loses when he's tricked doesn't quite have that PROFESSOR XAVIER IS A JERK energy that I find vital to the character.

[radykalny-feminizm]

Lmao there's another polish male leftist "activist" who turned out to be a fucking disgusting predator. Am I surprised? Not really. But it still gives me a major ick bc we kinda expect right wing men to hate women, but there's still many women who believe that leftist men genuinely care for them. Which time and time again is proved to be false.

The man's name is Łukasz Polański. He was very active on twitter, described himself as a feminist and lectured men on how they should treat women. Well, turns out that he was messaging a 14yo girl about his BDSM fantasies 🙂 And it became known accidentally, when his girlfriend admitted that they're in a poly relationship 🤡 He also manipulated women, saying that he needed their "touch" because of his anxiety. What can I say besides that's your classic leftist man. Don't you ever trust these mfs.

[agoodpairofsocks]

tell me about rich inc pretty please

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY TO COME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : D

Okay so. Shit. where do I start. Be prepared to read.

In 1977 there were two college students in New York, Solomon Bruno and Richard Mann, who were childhood friends experimenting on rats in Solomon's mother's basement trying to increase the longevity of their lives. Right? Right.

This next sequence of events is what leads to Richard becoming an evil, homicidal billionaire and leads to Solomon joining the anti-Rich INC activist group known as the Mortal Men, who is trying to prove Immortality is quite literally made of the blood of the innocent- One night Richard and Solomon are outside a diner and there's a cute girl inside, they flip a coin and ultimately decide that Richard is the one who gets to talk to her- Her name is Helen, she's studying at Harvard to become a lawyer. They begin dating. On Richard's 21st birthday Helen throws him a huge house party which he pretends to like, even though Solomon knows better and knows he doesn't enjoy those types of social gatherings. Richards not enjoying himself and ultimately decides to leave, he tells Helen who accidentally lets the words "I love you" slip from her mouth. Ruh-roh, Richard says NOTHING back and just. Leaves.

Solomon sees Helen rush upstairs, crying, and goes to check on her. One thing leads to another, and, they be boinking. ANYYYYWAYS fast forward like two months later and Helen goes on a trip to Africa (she loves elephants and endangered species) and Solomon is trying to deal with his guilt of sleeping with his best friends girlfriend, he's wondering if he should tell him.

One night, while one of the newer testing rats is in the same cage with the oldest test rat- the elderly rat eats the younger one. And, surprisingly, it starts displaying signs of youthfulness again! Its gray hairs disappear and it starts behaving like a younger rat. So, Solomon and Richard, not thinking about the implications of this strange development, just decide to celebrate their accomplishment! Yay!

They smoke some herbage, they drink some drinkage, they're havin' a good time !

They turn on music, they're slow dancing! Like friends do!

And then Solomon, thinking about his guilt and sleeping with Helen is like, "Hey, I have to tell you something."

And Richard straight up goes, "You don't have to tell me anything," And he kisses Solomon on the mouth.

But wuh-oh. Solomon punches him in the eye! .... Not cool dude ! he yells at Richard to "get the fuck out" of his house . And uh. yeah they're not friends anymore. To say the least. A few months later when Helen is back in town, Solomon gets into a car crash when a black cat runs in the road and he swerves out of the way. He ends up in the hospital, sedated, when Richard shows up and has him sign this document Helen wrote up. Which, he does, not knowing it's basically a false admission that he had NOTHING to do with the development of immortality and that he owns no rights to the profits or credit. Which. The actual story takes place in 1999 and it follows: A young man named Jasper, who is an aspiring writer from Canada living in a dingy apartment in New York with his hairless cat named Ugly. He ends up working for Rich INC as Richard's assistant. A young woman named CJ, who is the leader and founder of the Mortal Men, her life's work is to take down Richard, and avenge her brother who went missing four years prior. 👀 Solomon, who is now a jaded and bitter forty year old man who has dedicated his time to trying to fighting Richard any way he can and getting the credit he deserves, throwing away his life in the process. Richard, who is now a cold and compassionless horrifying billionaire who gets away with everything he does, has the world in the palm of his hand and feels he still has nothing that he wants. And Helen, Richard's unloved wife who is perpetually trying to fill the void of the dreams she lost. UHHHHHHHHH if you read all this fucking. thank you lol. also questions are very appreciated... dbihkbshkbkhsb thanks for asking about Rich INC. I should start on maybe making it into a graphic novel around January...... but we'll see

[soup-mother]

i was gonna make a joke about how let's all rp divorced mens rights activist guys and turn our dash into like "my wife left me... all because of pronouns and also my domestic violence" sorta stuff but i remembered that's basically what the notes look like any time you make a basic fucking feminism post on here.

[elizabeth-dicewielder]

I don’t usually post about politics tbh but I am just. Infuriated by the way people are talking about the debate. News sources and activists whose opinions I trusted and values I thought aligned with my own have resorted to blatant ableism, ageism, and black-and-white thinking. Biden is old and has a stutter. If you do any research whatsoever you’ll find that he is still extremely effective at his job. So get the hell over it.

And I am exhausted of people putting Trump and Biden on any kind of similar basis.

“They’re both old white guys.” And one of them has difficulty explaining complex concepts in a two minute interval while the other repeatedly spouts lies. One of them continues to champion racial equality while the other wants immigrants dead. One of them signed an executive order to protect abortion rights while the other promises to ban abortion drugs entirely upon entering office. I understand the frustration that the presidential office is still restricted to this demographic, but them being old white men simply does not make them similar in any way that matters.

“We’re voting for the better of two evils.” Every politician, yes even the ones you love, has done or will do something that harms people. That is going to happen on a much larger scale when it comes to someone with as much power as the president. Trump and his supporters want to turn America into a dictatorship. He actively wants millions of people dead. I’m not going to pretend Biden has no blood on his hands. But please try to understand that people do actually have nuance. And pretending that Biden is flat-out evil is going to get people killed.

Others have said these things better than I have. I know the people who are gonna see this most likely already agree with me. But I am just so fucking pissed off that this is how people responded

[fandom-hoarder]

Today in: TERFdom is inherently and inevitably linked to antisemitism:

Shaun has uploaded another great long video essay. Content warning in his description (thanks for not letting me copy/paste anything, fucking YouTube)

A highlight from the video closing:

"Hate groups do not say: 'We hate this minority group for no reason. We're just irrationally hateful, I guess. Now, do you agree with us or not?' That sort of thing would be easy to spot and stand against, right? And it's easy now, looking back, to say you obviously would not have fallen for nazi lies about Jewish people. But I think it's a worthwhile exercise to consider seriously if you actually might have. [...] People who assume propaganda will never work on them are always the most susceptible to being influenced by it, because they don't think there's a need to be vigilant against it.

We live, right now, in a time of intense anti-trans propaganda; because there is no silent majority just waiting to speak up like [KJK] thinks there is, that majority needs to be built --- over time, with a sustained propaganda campaign. And if you're ambivalent on this issue, you would've been ambivalent about all those historical civil rights fights that you'd like to think you'd've been on the right side of. I'm not saying you would've been openly hateful even, but if you fall for arguments about dangerous trans people in women's spaces, you would have fallen for arguments about dangerous black men coming into white spaces to abuse white women, or dangerous gay men in schools, or so on.

[...]

So I'll say to any cis people watching this video: Be vigilant about attempts to turn you against trans people. The "reasonable concerns" era is long over by now --- we've got JK Rowling offering to bankroll the legal actions of an eliminationist anti-trans activist who's launching a political party! We've gone WAY beyond the "reasonable concerns" phase.

[...]

But seriously, cis people watching this, stand with trans people. Reject this sort of bigoted propaganda, and recognize that it's the exact same sort of propaganda that's been used to hurt different minority groups all through history."

[erebusvincent]

The full on rage that you see from trans rights activists both online and in person is an illuminating illustration of how toxic and detrimental the ideology of transgenderism is to both society at large and the individuals infected by that ideology.

It's not normal behavior to have psychotic breaks in strangers inboxes. It's not a successful debate strategy and it's not healthy for the psyche of the person doing it. And, it's not a behavior you see associated with any other ideology. I'm an atheist but I wouldn't furiously type out an unhinged screed against a religious person. I wouldn't walk up to JD Vance and screech at him over his misogyny. That's not something feminists do and it's not something mentally sound people do.

Which brings me to the delusions suffered by trans rights activists that have no basis in the real world. Being transgender is not a real thing, but no one is calling for the people who are claiming to miraculously and unconvincingly be the opposite sex to lose their civil rights. Civil rights are protected by the equal protection clause of the Constitution. They aren't something that can be waved away on a whim, not even by the meanest of old hags.

It's important to remember that not everything is a civil right though. Men cannot violate the rights of women because they do not value the humanity of those women, and kind of just feel like it. It's baffling that in the twenty first century the country has decided that's an open debate.

No one is calling for the deaths of people who claim to be transgendered either (except of course the sex pests, natch.). However, TRAs are certainly calling for the deaths of women whose brains are not rotted by postmodernist nonsense. Supporting women's rights and the rights of children and homosexuals is not a call for any type of "genocide," actually. This is another case in which the delusions of the ideology are actively harming the brains of the people who profess it in the loudest and most deranged fashion.

To get back to abnormality, it's abnormal to hysterically pound your keyboard to tell complete strangers, "FUCK YOUR FAMILY" and "I hope you die." It may take a few years, but the people who choose to do that will eventually look back with horror at that choice. This socially constructed sociopathy will pass, and when the miasma of madness leaves their minds they will regret how they behaved and what it turned them into.

It's necessary to reengage with reality. Delusions cannot persist in the human mind without eventually causing some sort of mental breakdown. The extreme rage and unhappiness that comes with obsessive devotion to the cult of transgenderism is proof of this. Stop letting your minds be damaged for the sake of narcissists and perverts.

[chaos-event-horizon]

An update of a sort.

Have been informed that Goldie is looking at this blog and screenshotting it to make comments about how she doesn't like or support proshippers and "doesn't give special support to anyone" and that includes trans people, because trans people are normal humans, but has never once said anything bad about them or incorrectly gendered anyone.

Hmm. Interesting.

"I couldn't be further from a trans exclusionary feminist, I respect trans people and don't align myself with feminists!" || "Trans rights activists are so dramatic! The person who has called for their rights to be taken away and supports groups calling for their murder is OBVIOUSLY in the right here! They should really just listen to her, I'm sure they'd agree that they are horrible people if they did!"

Ah, yes, how big and different of you.

"Anyone with a uterus is a woman. All afab people are women. Didn't your mommy teach you the difference between men and women? I am ignoring the fact that you specifically mentioned trans people because I think that as long as I don't mention them, no one will read between the lines here when I say that if you were born with a uterus you are a woman and nothing will ever change that. This cannot possibly mean that I am disrespecting trans people because I am ignoring them."

You're right, what else could that possibly mean?

And not a proshipper? Not supporting proshippers?

Hmm. How very strange. Then maybe you should stay the fuck out of the tags and stop using them to promote yourself? Since all this shipping stuff doesn't matter to you, why bother forcing your ass in? Since you think proshippers are so stupid and dramatic, why are you using them to try to get people to interact with you-- something that clearly is not working, since you claim to not like anyone here besides the person who is telling everyone involved with "problematic" media to kill themselves?

I'd say that this could all be chalked up to misunderstandings, as it is implied that you are from Germany... however, English is not my first language, and I seem to be able to understand these things well enough.

I'm aware that there are people who follow Rian and I, and who we interact with, who still interact with this person and claim that she's a lovely person who would never hurt a fly. You know, except for the very obvious blood kink and sado-masochism. Whatever, I do not care. The only thing that concerns me is the health and happiness of my family and close acquaintances, and whatever drama is attempting to be stirred up about this is just needless internet dick measuring.

But if you're going to have a pissing contest, at least have the decency to not chew on your own feet while trying to aim. The results might get messy.

As for avditor or whatever, I know all I need to. He's an asshole who sends threats and calls people pedophiles for liking fictional things. He's a twerp. He's an idiot. He's a blowhard who is simultaneously claiming to defend and bow down to a group while talking over them and telling them to kill themselves when they correct him. And I personally think it's hilarious that he hides behind all those acts, just like you do-- and yes, Goldie, I know someone is showing this to you for your viewing pleasure, in the hopes that they get to see more drama to light up the inevitable darkness of all of your worthless existences. I'm fairly certain that if I hadn't put my foot down and turned off anon, we would have been hit by another laughable wave of bitches and cunts that seem to be at the neck and call of that sad little group.

So go ahead. Say what you will. Eat your own tail as you all bend over backwards to justify your own hypocrisy while condemning people who do far less. I quite honestly do not give two shits, except insofar as how it effects Rian. why not screen shot this and pass it to your own followers? You can circle-jerk and claim victory to your heart's content, and eat shit while doing so, as I will no longer be addressing these issues directly.

I however am tossing this whole farce aside, now. Because quite frankly I'm too busy to deal with arrogant insects. Enjoy whatever conjecture you wish to continue spinning on this, because I will no longer be publicly speaking on this matter, and neither will Rian.

But if I hear about anyone sending anon threats on our behalf, I hope you imagine the sound of my crushing your skulls and think better of it. We will have none of that.

[tirfpikachu]

this is controversial as fuck but i mean this is radblr... complex discussions and nuance are our meals of choice, right? right???

if you hate me after this that's okay. i want to say i at least have more experience in jewish spaces and with jewish history than most, though i obvs am not as knowledgeable as a historian who knows jewish history. so my pov is different than someone who has never been in a synagogue, where jewish history is constantly discussed at length. i'm open to people deeply informed about jewish history, and not just from tiktok vids and tumblr posts and articles written by greedy war-hungry journalists sensationalizing it all.

i have seen a jewish world where the gratitude for the land and the desire to have peace between all kinds of folks, all religions and all races and both sexes (on the leftist side anyways) permeates every speech a rabbi would give. jewish ppl were persecuted and enslaved since the beginning of time. pharaos enslaved jewish ppl bc they were seen as a lesser race and not deserving of their own land, so of course they wouldn't want to oppress another group, only their rich greedy men would, and the rich greedy men would feed their civilians lies and try to turn it into a coliseum battle. we are talking about two heavily marginalized groups with different needs. we are talking about a very complex situation, just as complex as the situation between biological women and transfem activists; at least in the eyes of transmasc & detrans women who have seen the issues in both tra communities and radfem communities and have unique perspectives. ppl hate us, duh. we make things more complicated. it's always so easy in war. one side is obviously righteous and deserves the land (even 100+ years after those new ppl settled there, and even if the current people never chose to take over the land, they were just born there and are usually at the mercy of rich privileged men who are a total minority in israel and heavily exploit people both israel and palestine, terrorizing their women and destroying their country with greed). greedy male billionaires are at the hands of most countries. do you really think people of israel wouldn't choose to go back to their og place if they could go back in time? sure. but right now their family has hundreds of years of connection with the land. i don't want them to have to leave or bow down to me or whatever. i want canada-like response to palestinian injustice. i don't wish for what hamas wants and has called for. you may want to look up everything he's actually said.

if you would not support... and i mean truly support, think about it as if it happened for real to you and your loved ones and local community, how chaotic it would get, how much stress and turmoil it would add to your life. if you would not support native americans - i'm saying this as a part mi'kmaw woman who partially lived in a rez in my very impoverished native community and facing the harsh impact of the government not caring abt indigenous peoples, so i know how much better things would be if white ppl had never come. if my female ancestors didn't get assaulted into pregnancy by white men, and became subhuman in the laws of the society. my family wouldn't be full of generational traumas and internalized racism. it would've been fucking amazing. but it didn't happen. and it would've probably made things worse in some way anyway. "winning" at war against white men wouldn't have solved everything either. i would've wanted peace between everyone who has been a resident of the country and has roots there. i am pro-immigrants. i am pro- focusing on the future and not the past. i am into reform and making the rich greedy men in charge alter their laws to respect palestinian victims and their families and truly atone. i want no more injured. any day spent fighting means more injured ppl, right? so wouldn't it be best to end the war? but i know ppl love a good gamble.

i don't want it to happen between indigenous folks and non-indigenous people. bc i care about my white friends and friends of color who aren't native, and if they suddenly lost their homes or citizenships, on top of their usual life stress, it would be heartbreaking for me to watch. i want white ppl to do better, i really do. and i'm white passing so i can only talk so much about that, but i did see it affect my native fam and i know the dynamic. i want white people to do better in a realistic way. i don't want to daydream about a forceful takeover of canada. hell, canada learned from things and inserted SOOOOO much stuff in laws and in schools to redeem themselves or at least prevent further oppression. and while it's not perfect and they can be stingy, to me it's 100% the right path. it's the right way to do things, the path towards international peace. is war the right way to solve this? aren't israel and palestine democratic countries? isn't there activism to be done THERE instead of just going out in the streets and cheering like war cheerleaders at hamas or at least making a snarky remark and brushing it off. are young progressives (it's mostly younger ppl celebrating the war lbr) really having a positive impact on palestinian lives? or are we just adding fuel to the fire? do you still see yourself as anti-war? or is some war rational, healthy, and worth it? you are cheering for a war. you are empowering a group that is trying to force its ways into a country through weapons and taking in hostages. you aren't doing fuckall to stop the situation for palestinians stuck in that hellish war-damaged land. do palestinian civilians deep in the war really want israel to give up the land and cease to be called israel after hundreds of years of history and culture and immigrant families (palestinian included) making lives there and getting attached to israel and feeling pride in it, since it is a country ravaged by more powerful governments overseas for years and years growing more and more corrupt politically? do citizens not want peace first and foremost? don't they just want the war to end? but people are saying "well this side is right and it's okay that they're encouraged to keep fighting! i want it to win :) yaayyyy go team palestine!!!!!" you are empowering people, hamas included, to harm not just israeli people (low on your priority list, i know... weird how in the russian-ukranian war, no one was cheering for the party who's in the right...? bc we knew that it'd just lead to furthering the war leading to more injuries and deaths and tortures, by encouraging either party and framing them as the inherent heroes who should get to win righteously (valkyrie style) like when schoolchildren fight and one side obviously is right but the fight isn't productive so it needs to end BEFORE they can figure out what happened, you can't try to deal with powerful men by making it a debate room. you can only deal with them by removing the weapons. activists should be focused on destroying weapons of war and empowering gaza civilians into doing protests and try to become a rebellion

you need to empower the marginalized to fight their own battles. and those battles are AGAINST THE RICH MEN, NOT THE OTHER CIVILIAN SIDE. YOU GOTTA BE WELCOMING THE OTHER SIDE AS ALLIES BC CLASS IS A HUGE DIVISION AND MOST OF US ARE BROKE UNDER CAPITALISM. THEY WERE ALL CIVILIANS SCREWED OVER BY POWERFUL MEN TOO LIKE THE CIVILIANS OF ALL COUNTRIES, FROM THE AGES OF GREEDY KINGS. WE NEED TO DETHRONE BOTH RICH PALESTINIANS IN POWER AND ISRAELI PEOPLE IN POWER BC OBVIOUSLY THEY KEEP FUCKING UP. most of the ppl in offices are older, and are stuck in old ways and make the country do dumb shit against another country. like with blm, like with #metoo, born this way, etc we had bystandards cheering for those social activist movements and the marginalized people made sure to have a strong message and clear demands, otherwise it was wasted breath and wasted activist energy. once dust settled and the injured were healed and ppl were housed properly, then we would reach out to the other side, do peaceful protests, and try to find realistic compromises. once both sides had time to cool their heads down and prioritize peace above all. gyns... we should be focused on the innocent civilians, especially in gaza, who are fucking struggling. we should pour water on the war flames, not boost the ego of one side, bc listen gang the rich men are in feral mode, they're privileged rich toddlers with too much influence, too stuck in the thrill of battle to notice the ppl hurting and if we keep the war going they'll get dumber and dumber. one side asks the other to stop the war, but the other side says that they're in the right so they need to rekindle the battle and settle the score properly to atone by doing something super drastic and unrealistic, and something that would be economically desastrous and dangerous for women and children especially. and something the other side doesn't fucking want to do bc it's been hundreds of years and their peoples (immigrants included) have settled there and built pride as a jewish people, a people who was heavily oppressed but now gets a life of safety after years and years of slavery and torture and mass killings by antisemites, especially around times of political stress. and ofc gaza has been ravaged with political tensions and greedy rich men for ages. there shouldn't be a war. people should be left to pick up the pieces of their life and rebuild their homes and get proper food and water before any kind of battle to prove their worth was to happen. at the very least there should be rules in the war. but usually one side is too inflammatory and it starts the bickering again. violent bickering btw. men in power during wars are greedy, impulsive toddlers who don't care about casualties. it's not israel that's the threat that needs to be squished down, it's the rich men in charge of BOTH SIDES

please read up on the actual history of israel & palestine. something NUANCED for once, with no bias whatsoever, totally neutral information gathering. if the message you're reading is simple and obvious, then you're probably not reading something nuanced. the world will always complex. more than tiktoks make it sound. radblr is about knowledge gathering and neutral sharing of information, right? so we should be able to have respectful female discussions of current events without bickering or generalizing or demanding for uncompromising forceful actions by a powerful greedy man (do we really trust hamas? do we? a greedy rich dude who has so much to gain by being the King of the war? has anyone done a background check on this guy? what is actually going on in gaza, are influential groups actually treating palestinians well? should they really be empowered or will the war just keep hurting civilians and isn't worth it in the end? is palestinian pain just collateral damage to us?

we should be able to sit down as a community, throw out the term zionist bc so many people are misusing it, cool off our heads as civilians, mostly civilians barely if at all impacted by the war and just watching on like sports commentors. we get caught up in the lore and the storylines too. we get really hyped up wanting Our Side to win. just need one more battle! and THEN we'll win. nope, we can't possibly consider stopping the powerful men battling it out. we can't possibly simply state "i believe in this bc of xyz" and talk it out spock style, like there's a marriage counsellor between the people tras call zionist and palestine activists. we're on the left, people. most of us are marginalized in some way, shape or form. do we really want two marginalized group to dish it out and hurt their civilians? just for an ego boost at finally winning at war? can you even truly win at war?

didn't we use to say that no one wins in war? like oldschool movies? didn't we use to look up to hippies?

hippies would be ashamed of the left.

oldschool anti-war cartoons would be ashamed of leftists.

victims are who matter the most, not the righteousness of men.

also, horrific things are happening to jewish ppl everywhere. antisemitism has always been consistent and terrifying. synagogues get so many fucking threats, even before all this. now it's next level. make sure to be a good ally to ALL marginalized folks. and, ofc, don't forget to call shit out on the jewish side too.

i am anti-war. can you really say the same if you don't want it to end? or you only want it to end "successfully"?

victims matter most.

peace is essential.

minimizing harm is our #1 priority. which means ending the war.

everything else is secondary.

and i know righteousness feels great. i know we want the perfect magnificent revolution. but if you watched a war movie before and listened to the war-stricken civilians... you know how this movie would end. you know how the survivors of the "winning side" feel years after winning. they're full of bitterness. or maybe romanticize it in their minds. but they have deep, haunting regret about the chaos it cost in everyone's lives, and anger at the greedy men in charge. it's why they're so full of ptsd. bc war is hell. fuck the war.

what is it good for? absolutely NOTHING!!! we are pawns being used by powerful countries who want to influence control over their citizens. they often love being at war and are excited at the violent prospect of taking over the other side. war can make them even richer. it can give them foreign women at their mercy. it can give them political power and pawns to play with to make their nation the greatest, of whatever patriarchal bullshit goes through their mind.

so yeah. fuck capitalism. fuck the war. end it first and foremost or palestinians will be more traumatized and tensions between the peoples will escalate year after year endlessly. end the war!!!

who knows though. maybe i'm just a naive feminazi hippie who dreams of peace and love and an end to all wars lol :']

[pentagramstars]

If anyone is having their rights taken away it's women and girls. We haven't even had the right to single sex spaces for a hundred years in North America before all you male supremacists decided to take it away again with "Identification" politics. Pro trans is anti woman. "Trans rights" and women's rights cannot exist together, as trans ideology contradicts feminism. If I'm picking between liberation for all women and girls and babying grown mens feelies, I'm absolutely picking women and girls' liberation every time. If you're against that, you're a misogynist and an antifeminist. Open your eyes

OK so this is something that I've been thinking about for a really long time as I've been getting an influx of terf rhetoric I've been Starting to hold in on the movement in itself because and I've come to the conclusion that terfism is feminism's house slave.

If you don't know in a lot of POC circles Specifically black circles how slave is kind of like a common way we identify black people who do not believe in the black movement. Black people who have fallen for the racist capitalistic lie that if you are a model minority you will not be treated wrong. This is kind of against your own cause rederick that being a terf is being a terf is founded on 3 basic principles:

- That being being a woman is an inherently terrible experience and that's anyone who would willingly want to be a woman must some sort of alterior motive

- That anyone born with a uterus cannot think for themselves and thus transmen cannot think for themselves

- And final that anyone lacking a penis is weak and needs protecting

Most terf talking point can points can be boiled down to these three points. You notice all of these ideas are inherently sexist ideas that we all kind of know aren't we sexist and yet all it took for these women to buy into this rhetoric wholeheartedly is for to be turned on transpeople. You rarely see turfs talk about the actual problems facing women the oversexualization of teenage girls , the workplace abuses women face, what being perceived as weak does to both female and male abuse victims none of this matters to them what they care about is hating trans people and that's so fucking weird right. Because as I've just stated there are problems facing women problems that these people mostly ignore such problems in favor of make up reasons to hate trans people.

Because terf are the evolution of the pick me girl they are white women begging to be victims without actually wanting to be activist. It 12 years old girls cosplaying Katniss everdeen.

Tldr terfs hate women and if buy the Nazi propaganda game so bo you.

[liminalpebble]

Sex and Death: Chapter 10, Covers and Protectors

Masterlist link

Minors DNI

Chapter 10: Covers and Protectors

Noura stood over the boardroom table once again in the Ystad Station. Along with the rest of the team, she stared down at a new coded letter from the killer with a cold feeling of fear and dread lodged in her stomach. The pages were laid out like rectangular tiles in their plastic forensic sheathing, remind the young academic uncomfortably of body bags. The bulky envelop had arrived that morning, and the lab had immediately descended upon it for any trace of clues.

She sighed, fiddling with the thick band of her turtleneck. (Thanks to Magnus she had to dig for one in the back of the closet that morning, realizing the number of sanguine mementos he'd left on her skin). It was amazing to her; the contrast between the cocky passionate filthy lover who had fucked her senseless (to her utter satisfaction) and the sweet mild-mannered gentleman he also was now. When he'd noticed the livid marks in the shower, he'd softly and sheepishly exclaimed, “Oh darling! I'm so sorry!” and blushed. She assured Magnus it was perfectly fine, but still teased him about how her scrambling to find a way to cover the evidence had made them a few minutes late. Mentally, she found herself thanking a god she didn't believe in that it was winter so no one would question a bulky garment.

And now she was glad for the extra layer of warmth against the cold dread of another imminent murder. This was the killer's pattern; taunting them with letters, sent more and more frequently over several days, culminating in a new murder or missing person.

Wallander cleared his throat and then addressed Noura, gently enough to surprise the other detectives after Harik's outburst during their last meeting. Aside from Magnus, no one else would have realized that the dust had settled. “Harik...Martinsson, what do we have here? First impressions.”

Noura came closer turning the laid out pages carefully in gloved hands. Her mind felt sluggish and tired as she fought for some clarity. “Well...the code seems to be similarly constructed to the others...a style of cryptogram. I don't think it will take me too long to decode it. It has the same symbols in the margins (swastikas, etc.) just like the others...so Neo-Nazi affiliation of some sort...but we already knew that,” she sighed, annoyed with herself for the lack of help she was being. Then something caught her eye. “Huh...on this set there are some new symbols and motifs...ones generally used more exclusively by a subset of younger, online extremist. Self-described 'incels' and 'men's rights activists' in addition to being neo-nazis. Although there are certainly older groups with the same ideology, these images have been used almost exclusively by a small subset of young men online, between the ages of 20 and...What was the statistic from the program, Magnus?”

He shook himself out of the reverie of listening to her to respond. “Oh...the program indicates men between the ages of 18-30 for these...and these.”

“Good...good,” Wallander mumbled and nodded, making a conscious effort to be kinder to the two. “Let's start there. Svendsen, let's take a look at local recidivists in that age group...call in any stand outs.”

Magnus cleared his throat then raised his voice to speak. He loathed doing this, knowing Noura was about to be furious with him, but he wouldn't let it go. He rushed to spit it out as everyone was just turning to leave. “One...one more thing, Kurt.”

“Yes?”

“Yesterday there was evidence of someone snooping around Harik's building...someone who couldn't get inside. The same person then went on to harass a Syrian couple who run the grocery down the street.”

Wallander scowled with concern, “Harik...why didn't you tell me about this?”

Noura could feel her face and neck turning red and hot beneath the high neck of her sweater. She spoke up as clearly and forcefully as she could. “That's one theory, Kurt...going on nothing but footprints in the snow and one customer saying some asshole thing under his breath. It could be absolutely nothing. That kind of thing happens all the time in that neighborhood. This is just the first time a cop was there to notice it.

Her onyx eyes seemed suddenly hard and lethal as they stared daggers into Magnus.

Kurt rose his voice slightly, “It could be nothing, but it could very much be something, Noura. I...” Wallander scanned the room, realizing they were all still surrounded by the others in the meeting. He mumbled, “Okay...everyone you have your tasks. Please have at it and leave us the room, if you'd be so kind.”

They shuffled out, happy to escape the tension which had settled over the room like suffocating smoke. Noura still stared at Magnus, arms crossed, while his eyes fixed to the floor.

“Noura, I know you want to play this off as nothing...It might be nothing, but we simply don't know and we have to be careful.”

“Spare me, both of you! Does it matter more now because I'm someone you know?” she spat. “I wish your superiors would have shown this level of interest and diligence at the beginning, then maybe we wouldn't be in this shit storm of a situation now.” She took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. “I'm...I'm sorry. That wasn't fair to either of you. I know you weren't in charge of that.” She said, looking more kindly to both of them as Magnus dared to raise his eyes to her, looking a bit like a kicked puppy.

She turned to Martinsson, “Did you have to announce it in front of the whole team, Magnus?”

He inhaled, bracing himself, “Yes...yes I did.” He looked to Wallander for affirmation, and received it in a nod. “We all need all the information we have. They might see something we've missed.”

She lowered her eyes. He was right but she'd be damned if she let him know it.

Kurt chimed in, “He's right, Noura. It doesn't feel right to me either. I have a hunch about it that I don't like.”

She looked back and forth to both of them, “What? What is this, some detective cop shit the poor little academic wouldn't understand? A hunch isn't evidence...and a badge and a gun doesn't make either of you smarter than me.” She knew she was being defensive now. It was a sore spot with her; never wanting to be treated like a damsel in distress, never wanting to be dependent, protected, or rescued. Although her time with Magnus as a house guest had been heavenly, she still chafed at the idea of why he was there. But, at the end of the day, she wasn't a cop. She didn't know how to protect herself in the way she would need to and she had to admit it.

Kurt chuckled and said quietly, “Noura, I know for a fact that I am not smarter than you...either of you, actually. I know it's hard to swallow...needing protection. I struggle with it too. I'm asking you, from one stubborn person to another, to accept some help.”

Martinsson blinked in disbelief at the admission, as if slapped across the face.

Harik considered this and nodded, pulling herself reluctantly back to her normal, logical self. “I can admit when I'm bested...and I am,” she said very deliberately, looking with a tired smile to them both, “this is over my head. I commend the effectiveness of your tactic on me, Wallander.” They all chuckled with the faintest relief.

Kurt asked, “How are things there now? How is the couple.”

Magnus spoke up. “I left them a card...told them to call the station or me anytime, even if it might be a false alarm.”

“Good. But I want to send a security detail to them as well...unmarked cars though. And Harik's building?”

“The front door requires a key, but it's just a glass entry way to the lobby. Not particularly secure. I didn't get a chance to check the fire escapes. No security guard or system on site. The shop doesn't have them either.”

Wallander looked to Noura regretfully. She said, “I'm not going to like what you're about to say, am I?”

“No...I'm afraid not. While you're on the case...while the killer knows who you are since you've been interviewed in news and we know he's following it, I don't want to take any chances. Martinsson, escort her back home at the end of the day. Harik, you're going to pack a bag for a few days. Do you have friends or family outside of that neighborhood to stay with...a boyfriend...someone like that? Someone who could also drive you, ideally?”

“No...nothing like that. I'm alone.” she said, a little too quickly, but if Kurt noticed he didn't say. Magnus knew she had to say it, but it still stung.

“Come back here when you have what you need. I know it's not the most comfortable situation but there's a small suit here in the station for those of us who have to stay over sometimes. You're going to have to be there a little while.”

“For how lon...!?”

The superior put up a hand. “I know...I know. Please, do this for me. As a favor to an old man who is worried about you. I don't want you staying there.”

Noura agreed and thanked them curtly, then left the room, without another word.

----

Magnus heard the tap of her laptop closing, as she packed up for the day. He had been listening for it, itching for the time when they would be in the car together and alone...and hopefully able to talk. For her part, Noura wanted to stay mad at the junior detective. She had remained cold and professional all day. In fact, they actually got quite a lot done. Both staying angry at him and being productive seemed like miracles, considering every other minute she would be visited by the intrusive memory of him naked and fucked-out on her kitchen floor, her wet red panties held between his teeth as he smiled triumphantly. What a shame. I liked that pair. Worth it, though. She thought.

Shaking off the thought for the hundredth time that day, she crossed the room to him. “Ready?” she ask in a blank tone.

He smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yes, all set.”

He opened the door for her as she swung out. Goddammit, who does charming shit like that anymore? She thought.

They walked silently to his car, but as soon as they settled in, and the doors shut he turned to her, rambling, “Noura...I'm so sorry, but I had to. I was too worried, and I had a bad hunch, just like Kurt and I just couldn't stand the idea of...”

He trailed off as her eyes met his and he watched them soften at the care in his voice. The oceanic blue of his eyes began to mist over. He didn't notice it until he felt his breath catch in his throat like sharp pebbles. Both of them were caught off-guard by the depth of his reaction, knowing the unspoken end of the sentence.

I just couldn't stand the idea of losing you.

I just couldn't stand the idea of you being hurt or killed.

I just couldn't stand not protecting you.

She reached out for his hand, squeezing his broad palm tightly. “I know,” she gently whispered. “It's okay, Magnus.”

“It is? We're okay.” He sniffed, tightening his grip as if frightened she might slip away.

“Yeah.” She smiled bitter-sweetly, pulling him in for a tight hug, kissing his warm forehead and nuzzling into his mess of curls. He exhaled a sigh of relief as she said, “Yeah, golden boy, we're okay.”

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