#to prove that you aren't doing that to commit fraud

[aro-culture-is]

trans aro culture is telling your best friend without a hint of irony "when i change my name legally i'm taking your last name because my family sucks. you're stuck with me now" and them joking that since both of you were planning on platonically getting married to someone to adopt kids anyway you might as well just marry each other

.

[basofy]

Hey like, ignorant USAmerican here. Im trying to understand the situation going on in Venezuela and since, well, you live there, I'd like to hear ur voice. The actions of Maduro seem really indefensible but I worry about the US governments involvement in the opposition. I can't exactly do anything but it seems like the Venezuelan people are stuck between a rock and a hard place. I pray for your safety and that your land doesn't become a vassal state for the USA.

hello, i appreciate you reaching out to me to know more. the issues we are going through now don't really have anything to do with the usa, or probably not at the extremely big scale that annoying people online are saying. the opposition candidates we are rooting for (María Corina and Edmundo) are simply trying to prove the legitimacy of the votes in which Edmundo ended up with 70% in favor in contrast to Maduro who got 30%, i think the number in favor of Edmundo has even been going higher now that they're registering more votes.

on the day of the elections, me and everyone i know were watching reports of how the elections were going in other states, we watched as all the votes were being counted and Edmundo was proclamed winner in every state. there are recordings of the government attempting to steal the boxes (some did get stolen) and mistreating and even killing civilians for it. María Corina stated that the priority right now is protecting the votes and that's all she's asked from the country as of now (aside from some peaceful concentrations in places where she's spoken). venezuelans of all areas, of all economic classes have been protesting agaisnt Maduro, which i think is really good to note because, we used to be extremely divided in between people who opposed chavismo and people who wanted it, but lately the number of people opposing it has been really high, to the point that symbols of chavismo like statues and posters have been getting ruined everywhere by the people. even people who used to depend on what the government gave them (because Maduro created a situation where many people of low resources had to either put their trust and love in Maduro waiting to get something good out of it (and not even that good) or starve) realized they didn't want to depend on him anymore. nobody wants to 'just survive' anymore. this has been going on for 25 years, my country and my people have been deeply hurt. people are tired. and Maduro's mandate didn't even start in a fair way either, he has been commiting fraud everytime, the difference being now that people are more united and also more tired than before.

as for what you might've heard regarding USA i think you might have been seeing the people who say that the opposition is a bunch of cia leaders led by the US who only want Venezuela's resources. look i'm not saying the USA doesn't suck or that our resources aren't very preyed on, but that isn't what is happening here. it's a problem inside our country, it's a problem of people wanting their vote to be respected, who have had to fight for it and oppose the regime and the police and the military and risk their life for it. people have been getting abused and even kidnapped and tortured for protesting.

i would like to mention that people with the ideology that the opposition is an us backed coup have been dehumanizing us venezuelans to no end and refuse to listen to us. they don't know the reality of venezuela as of now and don't want us to explain it to them and put every excuse possible for it. it's just a bunch of people who talk about politics like it's videogames. they talk like every person opposing Maduro is a privileged white person when most of the people fighting right now are from the poorer areas of the country, the people they are suppossedly 'defending'. they feel more betrayed than everybody else does.

if USA is only supporting us for our resources rn i'm honestly unaware and wouldn't be surprised but as i said that isn't the issue at hand rn, and chavismo and Maduro have been profiting off our resources all these years leaving the people with nothing so thats to keep in mind. the disaster you fear the usa might do has already been done by chavismo

i would also like to mention that the supposed numbers in favor of Maduro don't even match with the amount of people protesting. all the people protesting outside aren't in his favor, and he has been suppressing every demostration of opposition with police brutality.

as for María Corina i can't say i 100% trust her, for different reasons, but she seems more ready than past figures of the opposition have been and has managed to unite the country alongside Edmundo, the people have hope and are willing to give it their all and i don't want the rest of the world to ignore this.

we are indeed in between the sword and the wall here but it's because this is a chance that we really need, not because of the USA preying on us but because we just want to be free from chavismo and Maduro once and for all.

unfortunately it's hard to find good articles in english about this but i've found some trustworthy posts in instagram that very well summarize about what is going on, you might want to look at them

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[formulatrash]

oscar piastri? put respect on his name. thats mclarens new #1 driver

idk if this is some meme beef or whatever but: the intense way people want to see Lando "humbled" for finishing in the top 3 twice, knowing he beats the absolute shit out of himself for any error, is genuinely fucking weird.

ok it's sports! we all have emotions! I texted three of my friends "HAHAHAHAHA FUCK OFF MAX" after sprint qualifying because it was satisfying seeing someone else on top. but I didn't follow it up with sending other people messages calling him a fraud. this is the stupid bit people don't get on the internet: you can say one thing to your friends and other people aren't your friends. they don't share your biases. you go talk about that with your friends you can beef your friends who like other teams, it's part of what makes it fun.

beefing random people or doing the internet equivalent of flyering your agenda is just fucking stupid aggression that makes you look like a poorly informed twat and embarrasses the person you're a fan of. Oscar isn't out there calling Lando washed, he just committed to work with him for years to come.

Oscar is so, so good. it's clearly very good for McLaren and for Lando, who's now passed George for number of career podiums. which, clearly the Merc is having a cringe period in its flop era currently while the McLaren has improved but even so, that proves how strong Lando and Oscar are as a pairing to be able to guide those improvements and exploit them.

they agree about car development, they obviously want to beat each other but moreso they want to work with the team - Andrea Stella spoke about it in depth before the weekend in what's a really insightful interview about the way they work together. he says neither of them have any ego about it and that's one of the best things, that Lando isn't trying to throw his weight around or keep Oscar behind him. that there isn't a #1 driver.

not every team is the dick-waving contest you have made up in your own head. in fact, very few functional ones are. there literally is a competition in F1 and it happens on track you don't have to invent other ones.

[happyk44]

hi bud, do you have literally any worldbuilding or other hcs about camp jupiter/new rome? would love to hear about it from you ^.^

OKAY! So I'm gonna break it down between Wolf House and Camp Jupiter/New Rome because I do have some ideas lol. Warning for mention of abuse, suicide and self-harm.

The Wolf House:

Most of the kids arrive at the wolf house between 9 to 12 years old. Jason and Frank are uncommon outliers. All demigods and legacies who live outside of New Rome have to go to the Wolf House (unless they receive an exception from their godly parent). Legacies who live within New Rome may be able to bypass the Wolf House if they prove themselves to Lupa as capable. It's uncommon for legacies to bypass the Wolf House in this way, as Lupa has high standards, but it isn't, like, rare or anything. It can happen, and a lot of parents do train their kids in some way so a lot of the legacies from New Rome do have more skills by the time they end up at the Wolf House.

Exceptions can be made for demigods or legacies who live outside of New Rome. The exceptions have to be requested by their godly parent. Hazel is an exception, with Nico providing her exception to Camp Jupiter from Pluto (debatable if this was valid or if he forged his dad's signature, lol, I like the idea he faked it, channeling that "Hermes was my babysitter and taught me fraud" energy). I also HC that Reyna was an exception, given by Circe who, as a surrogate mother, didn't want her to undergo further trauma via the Wolf House.

Some exceptions can be given if the demigod or legacy in question in signficantly physically disabled in some way. These exceptions aren't very common, and might be dismissed if the disability isn't considered severe enough by Lupa - like if the kid were deaf or blind, well, yeah, she's still gonna have them trained at the Wolf House. However, if they're a quadriplegic, then, yeah, an exception can be made. It is very rare that they can get an exception to Wolf House training/joining the army for mental disorders/disabilities though.

The Wolf House is traumatic. Kids learn unhealthy coping mechanisms and may commit suicide. This is where a lot of the survivors, especially Jason, pick up the idea that suicide is cowardly and pathetic. These kids are not remembered in a positive light. Legacies tend to commit suicide less than demigods because they are more prepared by their demigod parent(s) for what to expect by the time the wolves come to get them. But they still end up just as fucked, which is why a lot of demigods parents try to get their kids to bypass the Wolf House by training them early.

Abuse is also common in the Wolf House. It is a secluded location with significant isolation from external and alternative authority figures. Older kids can and will take out their fustrations on the younger kids. The wolves do their best to correct this behaviour when they see it because it goes against the idea of a healthy pack, but it does go unnoticed pretty frequently, especially with training being so physical. You can unload on another kid without reprimand if you're both supposed to be wrestling.

Sexual abuse is uncommon, but does happen, especially as kids start puberty while they're at the Wolf House.

The kids are forced to rely on the garden and hunting for food. They're not really allowed to leave the Wolf House until their training is complete. Kids who die, whether by the wolves or suicide, are buried in the garden as fertilizer. When Ceres' kids are buried, the garden doubles, sometimes triples, its output. When Pluto or Mors' kids are buried, the garden remains completely free from pests. So, in times where the garden might be fucked from weather conditions or the fact that the kids don't know how to garden, these kids might be targetted by the others out of desperation.

Training typically takes about a year. Some kids might stay longer or be allowed to leave earlier. They make the trek to Camp Jupiter in groups (except for Jason, who had to do the journey alone). The final leg of training before they leave is usually the kids being hunted by the wolves over the course of three days. It's a practical application of what they've learned in the Wolf House, and helps them better work together as a "pack"/team. They hide and live in the nearby forest surrounding the Wolf House. They are only allowed one weapon and the clothes they're wearing in order to really learn how to pick apart their environment to survive.

If you've lasted to this end of training, then there's about a 85% chance you'll survive. The 15% of kids who die are typically those who are seen as weaker by the group they are with or kids who were abusive - they either get left behind to die or are shoved in front of the wolves as an unwilling sacrifice. They might be killed directly by the other members of the group, but this is less common.

Camp Jupiter/New Rome:

There are more legacies than demigods. Because godly power gets diluted over time when it comes to legacies, especially those with mortal parents, "designer" legacies are common. Certain/powerful demigods are encouraged to have sex with each other to carry on the power of the godly parents, especially if the godly parents are complimentary to each other. The types of demigod who are most encouraged:

Kids of the Big Three (Pluto, Neptune, Jupiter)

Kids of the Archaic Triad (Jupiter, Mars, Quirinis)

Kids of the Aventine Triad (Ceres, Liber, Libera/Prosperina)

Kids of various war deities, like Bellona, Victoria, etc

Kids with natural powerful ability

So once Jason became old enough, as a child of Jupiter, he would've been heavily encouraged to procreate with various people, like Reyna or Hazel even.

Because these kids are born more for the benefit of the collective instead of inherent desire from their parents, blended families are very common in New Rome. Fertility treatments and rituals are also very common. There are a lot of rituals done before sex in order to encourage more of the positive traits of each god to be passed onto the kid, i.e. level-headed discipline instead of anger issues in grandchildren of Mars.

Camp Jupiter and New Rome have two primary source of funding: quest payments and child support. Gods will typically send a sum of money for each kid that they have at Camp Jupiter. The money for each kid does reduce when the kids move to living at New Rome, but it's still present until they die. Some gods send the money annually, some may send it monthly. Whenever a child of Pluto or Prosperina joins the camp, everyone rejoices because Pluto always sends a signficant sum of money since he likes to spoil his kids. He also gets them the best deals on materials needed for crafting. These kids are very heavily encouraged to stay at New Rome instead of leaving once they're finished with their service at Camp Jupiter.

While CHB tends to receive quests through the oracle and they're not as frequently delivered, quests at Camp Jupiter are very frequent and generally distributed directly from the gods themselves. Common types of quests:

I lost something, go find it

Mercury stole something, go get it (and maybe smack him a little because this is getting old)

My child's mortal parent passed away, please go collect them as they're too young to go to the Wolf House

I need something from someone but I'm not talking to them right now so go get it for me

There's a magical item in a dangerous location and I want it but I don't feel like fighting my way through the dangers so you go do that for me, thanks

Quests are always paid upon completion.

Camp Jupiter and New Rome is fairly self-sustaining. They have a large agricultural output. People who grow up in New Rome are taught farming and homestead basics, even if they never do those things full-time. Their diet is very healthy and vegetable forward. If they do eat junk food, it's usually stuff that can be easily made by the average person, like ice cream or cookies, not things like Skittles or doritos. As a result, a lot of the legacies who grow up in New Rome don't like certain food outside of New Rome that is made by machines/large companies, like bottled fruit juice or certain bread, because it tastes weird to them since they're not used to it.

For kids who are given an exception due to disability, they are still trained and taught how to protect themselves and others, even if they aren't drafted into Camp Jupiter. Legacies who live outside of New Rome but close enough may attend these trainings in their free time.

If a legacy has a mortal and demigod parent and the demigod parent passes away, there is a major effort by people at New Rome to bring the kid over to New Rome and raise them there, even if their mortal parent is still fully capable of raising them. The mortal parent is not allowed to live at New Rome though, so obviously they're not appreciative of the people trying to essentially kidnap their kid(s). I imagine some legacies do end up being kidnapped from their mortal family, especially if they're very young when their demigod parent passes. This is why, if someone does choose to live outside of New Rome, they typically leave California and live in another state (or country).

Also, demigods are prioritized as members of Camp Jupiter. So if there are a lot of demigods joining camp in one year or there are no open spots in the Cohorts, the legacies who were supposed to join (and survived the Wolf House) may return to New Rome as a reserve instead. They generally end up working the fields as part of their service instead, and may still be called to go on quests. They still do training with the others, but it's not like an every day thing, maybe once or twice a week in order to keep them fresh in case they're called upon.

As I've said before, I think the kids at Camp Jupiter/New Rome are more in touch with the ancient Roman traditions than the kids at CHB. They follow the Roman festival calender and rituals (updated for modern times/limitations, i.e. Octavian sacrificing stuffed animals instead of real ones). Worship of gods is commonplace. It's not out of the ordinary to see a small group of kids collected around a statue or public shrine to pray as you walk around.

Most have two or three primary gods, with their godly parent/grandparent(s)/great-grandparent(s)/etc included in the count. If they have a direct connection to a specific god, they're also usually included, for example, Jason worships Jupiter (his father), and Juno and Lupa, who he views as mother figures as he is Juno's champion of sorts and was raised by Lupa. For Reyna, she worships Bellona (her mother) and Circe (her surrogate mother). For legacies with more than two godly connections, they tend to choose the gods whose traits and powers are strongest in them. This is generally the god(s) who are most recent in their lineage, but not always (recessive genes and whatnot, lol).

Camp and New Rome also focus more on the collective than the individual, and because there are more legacies than demigods, casual use of magical power isn't very common. Part of this is because legacies tend to have weaker magic power compared to demigods, so it takes a lot of effort to utlize their powers and thus they don't use their powers very much outside of battle. The other part is that, since the Roman gods have less kids than their Greek counterparts, a lot of the time some demigods don't have siblings or even legacy counterparts who can train them to use their powers.

When they have power that comes instinctually, they're usually notched as one of those people that will end up having a bunch of people convince them to have lots of babies, lol. Especially if their power is super strong. But otherwise, they tend to struggle with exploring the use of their powers. It's not like they don't use their powers casually at all, but unless it's related to battle, farming, or whatever job they have (think a child of Prosperina who is a florist, or Octavian as an augur), you don't see it much and if casual use of power is done, it's typically from demigods, not legacies.

Jason probably uses his powers the most out of the current set of kids at Camp Jupiter (and Hazel, technically, but summoning metal is involuntary for her, so I don't really count it), and he doesn't really use his powers very much in general, aside from, maybe, flying.

Uhhh, there's probably more, but, ha, this is pretty long as is, and after two hours of thought and writing my brain is now cutting me off, so I'm gonna end it here. Thanks for asking!

[socialistexan]

I feel like it has been repeated hundreds times in the past month, but eliminating due process (something Constitution explcitly spells out as a right afforded to anyone on American soil, regardless of status) for "non-citizens" or "terrorists" or "criminals" before they are sent to a foreign torture prison camp.

It doesn't matter if you committed a crime or not, all they have to do is say you did, you have no way of presenting evidence to say you didn't. If being accused of a crime is what eliminates your ability to prove that you haven't committed a crime, an accusation is all it takes.

It doesn't matter if you are a citizen, all they have to is say you aren't one. How can you prove your a citizen with no hearing? No evidence can be presented. "Oh I'll just present my documents" (leaving aside that "papers please" is classic fascism), they can just say your documents are fake and you have no way to disprove them wrong if suspected non-citizens have no right to due process.

And how will citizen even be defined moving forward? They're already trying to eliminate birthright citizenship (again, something explicitly spelled out in the Constitution), therefore the concept of citizenship can be changed at any second on any whim. Citizenship could mean someone who is born in a country. It could mean having to prove every relative going back a certain number of generations were citizens. It could mean only people who agree with a certain ideology, only those who kiss the king's ring.

Their current push to say any trans person is committing identity fraud? Well, that means none of your ID documents are valid, you can't prove you're a citizen, time to go to El Salvador.

Did you participate in an anti-Teala protest? The AG is trying to define that as domestic terrorism, and now "terrorists" have no due process, go straight to the camps.

Did you look funny at a Gestapo ICE Agent? That's a criminal threat to a law enforcement officer, and criminals get no due process, see you in Guantanamo.

I don't think y'all understand quite how bad this is.

Oh.

We're at "traffic tickets are justification for disappearing people off the street and sending them to death camps with no due process" levels of fascism now.

Okay yeah we're like fucked, fucked.

[ourlordapollo]

Uh oh girl my Kristoph Gavin musings are calcifying into unshakable headcanons

Have we already talked about his pathological need for validation. Can we. Can we talk about it again.

Obviously this is all speculation and knowing the writers, the Gavins probably have some fucked up supernatural backstory and dead parents, but the writers aren't here right now. *locks the doors*

Anyway, for the sake of minimizing stupid ppl yelling at me (assuming I'm brave enough to maintag this instead of letting it rot in obscurity, unrebloggable), please mentally insert "IN MY OPINION" before every statement I make

This is a classic case of choosing a conclusion and retrofitting evidence to support said conclusion but. I'm allowed to do that. I'm not turning this into Professor Fandom for a special grade in "FAN 485: Feverishly Justifying Your Own Bullshit."

Anyway.

Let's recontextualize Kristoph's actions using the following framework:

Kristoph Gavin is a sad little boy in a man's suit, desperate for the validation of everyone around him to the point that he would do anything to get it.

1. Phoenix

A lot of people (alright, haters. A lot of haters. You made me talk like Donald Trump. Are you happy now). *ahem*

A lot of haters like to paint this move as stupid like it's some kind of "gotcha".

"What move?"

The dual move of voting in Phoenix's favor and choosing to befriend him.

Here's the thing.

Of course it's fucking stupid. We're not looking at the pinnacle of criminal masterminds here

Why did he do that? The psychosexual need to force Phoenix to submit? (Actually wait keep talking I want to hear this—) Paranoia? By this point in the timeline, he's already shown a willingness to commit murder, so why not just kill Phoenix?

Because (say it with me now):

Kristoph Gavin is a sad little boy in a man's suit, desperate for the validation of everyone around him to the point that he would do anything to get it.

He's not some wannabe criminal mastermind.

He wants to be Phoenix's savior. He wants to be the only thing Phoenix has. He needs to be the sole recipient of Phoenix's gratitude and admiration. Because he's better than Phoenix, dammit! Of course he's better than Phoenix. Law is a meritocracy, he's got money, he's got white loafers for fuck's sake, he wins trials by working really goddamn hard because being a lawyer is hard for everyone, you don't just stumble ass-backwards into the courtroom and win every case by stuttering and sweating and stalling so OBVIOUSLY KRISTOPH GAVIN IS BETTER THAN PHOENIX WRIGHT! SAY IT! SAY IT! Look! Look at them together! Look who's still a lawyer and who's an evidence-forging fraud! Look how nice Kristoph looks next to this sad burnout! Look! LOOK AT HOW MUCH BETTER HE IS!

Do you see what I'm getting at here.

Obviously on some level he knows and fears that Phoenix really is better than him, and that matters, so he he really really needs Phoenix's validation

And lbr, he probably does have a deep psychosexual obsession with the idea of forcing Phoenix to submit to him

2. Forging evidence

I'm not gonna speculate on Kristoph's lawyering skills here. Really, I'm not. However I'd be cautious about making the argument that he forged evidence solely because he thought Zak was guilty and he reeeaally wanted to win. We saw that it was an extremely tricky case and that Zak's innocence would have been very difficult to prove. It's entirely possible Kristoph believed in Zak's innocence but didn't think he'd be able to prove it without cheating.

That being said, I don't think it matters.

It matters that the case was complicated, but it doesn't matter whether Zak was innocent or guilty or a secret third thing, because Kristoph would have cheated regardless becaaauuuuse

Say it with meeee...

Kristoph Gavin is a sad little boy in a man's suit, desperate for the validation of everyone around him to the point that he would do anything to get it.

He was up against a fucking rockstar. A famous, hotshot, cocky, little upstart rockstar. A young prodigy. A fucking teenager. It didn't matter one bit that they just so happened to be related. Or did it.

Of course he needed to win.

(If you want to get really headcanony with it, which I do, I think the Gavin parents definitely raised their kids with an extreme superiority complex, setting them apart from their peers by straight-up telling them "you are better than they are. You are not like them."

Klavier goes on to prove them right by becoming internationally famous and beloved and Kristoph. Well, Kristoph is, uh. Well, he's a pretty good lawyer. Got his own little office and everything. And then Klavier comes into his domain as a cocky lil teenager with a HUGE, high-profile case and here is Kristoph's chance to demonstrate to the world what he already knows: that he's special too. That he's special. Dammit. Why can't anyone else see that.)

And then Zak takes that away from him. And gives it to Phoenix.

Unforgivable.

3. Apollo & Vongole

Sorry for putting Apollo in the same category as a literal dog but. That's kind of point here.

I've seen ppl theorizing that, although Kristoph seems like a stereotypical cat person, he got a dog (specifically a golden retriever) out of a sense of paranoia bc!! That's normal! Normal people have dogs!!! Wealthy people have purebred golden retrievers!!! I am so normal and wealthy, look at my very average typical status symbol dog!

I humbly disagree. Even the Wiki seems to point to paranoia as Kristoph's chief, driving factor, but I.

Well.

I humbly disagree. Let's not circle back around to this; I'm not trying to discount anyone else's headcanons.

Anyway.

Why a dog and not a cat?

Because cats have a reputation for independence, for coming and going as they please, for not needing you. "Dog," meanwhile, persists as a synonym for "loyal." To call someone a dog implies ultimate trust, ultimate submission, to someone higher than them. To their master.

Now.

Why hire Apollo, specifically, an orphan with few friends or connections and a fuckload of trauma?

Why mentor Apollo? Why adopt a dog? (Why befriend Phoenix?)

The answer is the same:

He needs people to depend on him. He needs others to view him as a kind, benevolent benefactor. He needs their praise, their admiration. He needs people to tell him he's special and he needs other people to see those people telling him he's special and also believe he's special and then he needs additional people to talk to those people and hear about how special he is, he needs the whole wide fucking world to say that KRISTOPH GAVIN IS SPECIAL!!!!

(Although. Maybe he just likes dogs. Not everything has to have a shady ulterior motive. People don't fit neatly into your preconceived categories of "good" and "bad." Maybe he's a murderer who loves dogs and genuinely thinks of Vongole as his best friend. Maybe he saw promise in Apollo and genuinely likes the guy. Did you ever think about that.

Or maybe. It's both. Two things can be true simultaneously and people, both fictional and real, contain multitudes and contradictions we could never hope to understand.)

4. Murdering a guy with a wine bottle, Psyche Locks

I'm gonna be so so real with you, I don't think even Kristoph knows why he did that. I think he blacked out. I think he was a lil drunk ("grape juice" my ass), I think paranoia and fury, the fear and resentment of 7 long, long years, collided like atoms in his brain and fucking exploded I think the bottle was cool in his hand I think his arm hurt I think he felt the impact all the way up his elbow I think the cards were red I think the cards were blue I think he saw Phoenix Wright's face dripping blood I think he blinked I think he heard Vera Misham calling him "angel" I think he watched himself do it from behind his own back

Do you understand.

To even begin unpacking why he did that, he'd have to address that nagging fear that maybe he's not special, that maybe he's just some guy, that Phoenix Wright is special and Gramarye was right in choosing him over Kristoph that Gramarye was justified in taking away Kristoph's shot at admiration and acclaim and Kristoph killed him out of revenge because he couldn't handle the truth that he's not special he's not special he's not special. Phoenix Wright is special and Klavier Gavin is special and now even Apollo Justice is turning out to be special and Kristoph Gavin is an okay-ish lawyer who sucks at poker and talks way too fucking much. That he committed so many monstrous acts and ruined his own life out of the perverse desire to be loved by others because he doesn't. love. himself.

(I call these "load-bearing neuroses" because if you knock one pillar down, the whole structure goes down with it.)

5. Vera Misham

So I think Kristoph is good with kids because he was, for the most part, old enough to be a Small Person when Klavier was born and because I don't think he gets off on exercising that brutal, domineering kind of power over the powerless. I don't think outward cruelty appeals to him.

Why?

Well...

Kristoph Gavin is a sad little boy in a man's suit, desperate for the validation of everyone around him to the point that he would do anything to get it.

Fear and deference are not validation. People talk badly about you and think badly about you when you're a bully. He charmed Vera instead of threatening her because he needed her to like him. He needed Drew to like him. Good god, he needs everyone to like him so much. Talk about him when he's not in the room and tell him what you said. Write him a letter of recommendation and let him read the contents. Sing his praises at your local bar, then send him a recording.

6. "Keep the riff-raff out!"

Ohhh, buddyyyy :( You said the quiet part out loud

Because law is a meritocracy. Because Kristoph Gavin is kind of a big deal. People know him. He's very important. He has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany.

Only special people are able to become lawyers. And Kristoph is such a special, special boy. He's so special that he got Phoenix disbarred. He's so special that he helped Klavier attain acclaim as a prosecutor. He's so so so special.

But when a group of select people are special, it means that there's another group. The un-special group. The group that Kristoph is so afraid that he's a part of.

By admitting that they exist, that he believes that other people are beneath him, he's asserting his belief in his own inherent superiority one final, desperate time. He's clinging to it so hard his fingertips are cracking the marble. He's starting to bleed. It's starting to hurt.

Before Phoenix, Klavier, and Apollo fucking spin-kick the pillars propping up his self-identity, toppling them and sending the foundation of Kristoph Gavin collapsing into jagged pieces on the floor of his psyche.

—

Personal note but everyone seems to be in agreement that Kristoph's Psyche Locks fuckin. shattered into little bitty pieces during that scene. Don't you think that hurt? Don't you think that hurt like fucking hell? When you break [REDACTED]'s Black Psyche locks in DD, they cry out in pain several times and imply that their head hurts. And that was Phoenix doing it right that time! So I say again:

Don't you think that hurt?

[anamericangirl]

What if the people he was questioning the ancestry weren't actually Native Americans? What if he was right and the government was committing fraud and non-Native Americans were taking advantage of legislation intended for Native Americans? And the government was actually committing fraud and allowing Non-Native Americans to be accepted into Native American Tribes? Is it still racist then? if those he was questioning actually weren't Native Americans?

Um yeah it would’ve still been racist because the whole basis he was going off of was what his own standards of being Native American was. Do you think we measure Native American ancestry by looking at them?

And he wasn’t right, there was no evidence to back up his claim because there’s already rules in place. Native Tribes already have their own qualifications & not to mention the state had no right to interfere with them because they have distinct governments. Everyone on reservations are Native Americans, do you think anyone can just claim ancestry? That’s the entire point of why Trump sounded like a complete idiot because he had no valid proof and was going off his own racial stereotypes.

Tell me who you think the Native American is.

Like no you idiot I know we don't measure Native American ancestry by looking at them however you can made an educated guess and that's what Trump did. He didn't determine Native American ancestry. He had a suspicion based on his observations in an industry and environment he was actively working in. That's not racist you moron.

And if one more of you anons think you have to have evidence to make a fucking observation and be suspicious about something I swear to god I'm going to have a conniption.

These aren't people who were determined to be Native Americans through a Native American tribe. These were people who the US congress approved reservations for that hadn't been confirmed to be Native Americans by Native American tribes. They were just people that told congress "oh yeah I'm Native American so you should give me one of those reservations that are preserved for Native Americans" and the government just said "sure bro. It would be racist for us to ask you to prove you're Native American in any way so sure have a reservation."

The fact that all of you are completely blind to the actual subject matter of this whole exchange and just see "omg Trump said a person didn't look like a Native American to him!! That's basically a hate crime!!" just shows how stupid people are these days.

[allegra-writes]

"Cherry"

Peter Parker x SHIELD Agent! Reader

NSFW

Warnings: Smut. Dom!Peter, jealous, Possesive!Peter, rough sex.

Weeks after the island, Peter finally sees you again. But you aren't alone...

Part of the "Fine Line" series but you don't need to have read that first.

Series Masterlist

Peter couldn't breath. His clothes felt stiff and restrictive, the bowtie, suffocating. This was a bad, bad idea. He wasn't cut for this. He was just a Parker, not a Stark, he had spent most his life trying to be invisible, not even getting superpowers had changed that. He had never wanted to stand out. He didn't want to be seen, to be recognized. 

Even Quentin Beck had realized that. That's why he had done what he had, because he knew it would be the best way to ruin Peter's life. It had been almost a month since his return from Eroda, since Pepper and Fury had managed to clear his name and expose Quentin Beck as the fraud he was, trying to frame Peter for his murder with an adulterated video out of jealousy and envy. The greedy, insane employee gone mad after being overlooked in favor of the young intern, chosen by Tony Stark himself to be his successor. Spider-Man had just been doing his job as Peter's bodyguard when the incident at the bridge happened.

That was the official story, and the press had bought it with gusto, plastering the wide eyed boy's face on every cover, every paper, every magazine, every news site. A few weeks later, he was pretty much America's new sweetheart. Everybody knew his name. Everybody knew his face. His anonymity was gone.

Quentin Beck had won. 

And now, there he was, being blinded by flashing lights, walking the red carpet of his first gala as the official heir of Stark Industries… two seconds away from throwing up.

"Breathe, Peter" Pepper whispered to him, voice calm and reassuring, "Just focus on a point above their heads, and keep your head high" 

She took a step forward and Peter couldn't help but stare: she looked like a queen in her white gown, complete with cape and everything. She was an elegant woman but it wasn't just about her beauty, it was about the power, the authority she commanded, every eye in that red carpet had no choice but to focus on her. 

Tony had been like that too, albeit in a different way: charismatic and bigger than life. Peter wondered how anybody could look at him, awkward and pasty, and think he was related to the man. Because he knew what people were saying...

"Parker, how are you holding up, mate?" A tall, blond boy patted his back, pulling him out of his thoughts. Harry Osborn, the only person there to introduce himself to Peter and actually take the time to try and make him feel comfortable. At first Peter had thought it had something to do with his family being the one hosting the gala but the youngest Osborn wasn't exactly famous for his good manners or decorum. 

"I think I'm about to have a panic attack" more like sensory overload, but Peter wasn't sure how could he explain something like that to his new friend.

"Well, you are not hungover and puking on the photographers" The blond flashed him a brilliant smile, "so you're already doing better than me on my first red carpet"

Peter couldn't help the burst of laughter, but far from offended, Harry's grin turned even brighter. The flashes went wild.

"There you go, that should make for better photographs than the deer-in-the-headlights look you were sporting"

Peter offered him a grateful smile,

"Thanks dude, really"

"Don't mention it" Harry shook his head, "You're actually doing me a favor, letting me hang out with you. You're saving me from looking all lonely and pathetic in front of these vultures, since apparently I have been stood up..."

Peter stared at the blond in surprise. With those sharp cheekbones and icy blue eyes, it was hard to believe any girl could resist him. He suddenly felt a lot less bad about showing up dateless. 

"Alright, we've spent about fifteen minutes out here, we can go in now" Harry instructed, already a pro at this kind of event, gesturing for Peter to follow. 

He noticed the whispers as they walked into the massive lobby together, Oscorp and Stark Industries were rivals, just as Norman Osborn and Tony Stark used to be. His mentor used to find the other billionaire shady and his experiments, unethical. Even now, Pepper's and Norman's relationship was strained, at best, so seeing both heirs so friendly with each other was a little shocking. But if Harry didn't care about that, neither would Peter. Whatever sins the father had committed, he wasn't going to hold them against the son. That wasn't Peter's style. 

"So, what do you think of your first gala, so far?" Harry sauntered in front of him, stealing two champagne flutes from a passing waiter and handling one to Peter.

"Oh, I- I don't drink, thank you"

"Good, that's a wise choice, don't change it" Harry praised, taking the glass back and downing that one too. Peter shook his head.

"I like it," He replied, looking around at the huge salon decked in lavished green and silver banners, the tables gilded with intricate floral arrangements, the huge shiny dance floor in the middle. "Stark Industries' is having one for Christmas, but it's going to be held at a hotel…"

Harry made a face,

"Yeah, that would be the norm, actually. But my father wanted to have it here this year, to prove the facilities are safe, you know?"

Peter thought back to that fatidical field trip all those years ago, to this very same building, when he was bitten by a stray radioactive spider that had escaped one of the labs. He hummed noncommittally. He seriously hoped mister Osborn was right, for the good of everyone attending the party, Harry included. Because truth was he really liked his new friend, he made everything easier just by offering Peter his company, by giving him someone his age to talk too, amongst all those old, stuck up gazillionaires that stared at him with curiosity at best, and open contempt at worst. 

But of course all good things had to come to an end, such was the Parker luck. Harry took his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket.

"Would you look at that! It seems my date has finally arrived" He announced, eyes glued to the screen, smitten smile on his face, "One would think an influencer would jump at the chance of being photographed by the press at a red carpet… But not her, of course. No, she arrives an hour late… I'll go find her, be right back, Parker"

That was when he saw you. Entering the ballroom, a siren in your long golden dress, scanning the crowd. You looked stunning, hair longer, lighter, done in elegant waves cascading down your back.   Your smile was dazzling as you found what you were looking for, and Peter didn't see his new friend make his way to you, entranced as he was by your mere presence.

Until he reached your side, and kissed your lips. 

Harry Osborn offered you his arm, and you took it graciously, and he walked you through the room, proud swag on his steps as he introduced you to practically everyone in the party, Peter's heart breaking a little more with every step you took towards him.

He hadn't heard from you since the island, and now he knew why: You had already found someone new. Someone better, more handsome, and classier than Peter. Than the awkward boy you had been sent to protect. 

Because underneath the Stark's money and his spider powers, that was all Peter was: some orphan kid from Queens who didn't belong. Harry could take you on dates to fancy restaurants without mispronouncing the names of the dishes, he could take you walking around his mother's art gallery in the upper east. He, with his aristocratic features, his british boarding school accent, his old family money, was a much better fit for a princess like you. You wanting Peter had never made much sense anyway. 

And you looked good on Harry's arm, better than ever, actually. You looked happy. Peter hated it, and he hated himself for it. 

"Parker! I want you to meet my date, Sixtine Boucher, influencer, it girl, philanthropist..." Harry was saying, suddenly in front of him, but Peter wasn't listening. You were there, close enough to touch, in the flesh. He could hear your heartbeat, smell you, sunshine and sweetness under the chemical tang of your expensive perfume for the first time after so long and it was almost overwhelming.

"S-Sixteen?"

"Sixtine" You corrected him, sighing as if it was something you did all the time and you were tired of it, "Bonsoir, Peter."

You sounded… funny. 

"You know each other?" Harry's voice asked, politely curious.

"We met during vacation, at the…" You trailed off, eyes meeting Peter in a silent request to play along, disguised as a struggle to find the right words, “... Comment dis-tu ‘plage’ en anglais?”

"Beach" Provided Peter, his brain catching up at last "Yeah, at the beach… when I was on vacation… a-at the french riviera"

"What a small world!" Harry chuckled but it sounded nervous, uncertain. No doubt he could feel the tension between the two of you, growing with every passing second. Along with Peter's understanding. The hair, the dress, the french accent? It was a costume, you were a spy after all. You weren't there for leisure, you were there for work. This was a mission. Harry was your target, or maybe your cover. Whatever it was, it wasn't you. It wasn't real. 

But then again, had Peter really met the real you? After all, not that long ago he had been your mission too…

When the next waiter passed in front of him, Peter stopped him. It probably would no nothing to his spider metabolism, but alcohol was looking more and more like a good idea. He had a feeling he was going to need all the help possible to get through the night. Harry arched a brow but luckily didn't comment, as he was beginning to get a clearer idea about how you and the brown eyed boy knew each other.

A glint on your cleavage caught Peter's eyes and he frowned. There, hanging from a long gold chain, nested between your breasts and almost completely hidden by the, admittedly low cut, neckline of your dress, rested a familiar crystal sunflower. The cheap jewel didn't match your cover, or your outfit, the only reason why you could be wearing it, was him. 

He nodded, almost imperceptibly, letting you know he understood, and you let out the breath you were holding. 

But awareness didn't make watching you, plastered to Harry's side all night any easier. It didn't stop him from seeing red every time you called Harry "baby", the endearment close enough to the "baby boy" you used for Peter to feel like a betrayal. It definitely didn't save the glass of wine he was holding from shattering under his grip as he saw you sneak outside of the room with him in the middle of dinner.

"Peter! Are you alright?" Pepper fussed over his hand, looking for cuts, and motioning to a waiter to help clean the shards of glass from the table.

"Yeah" He murmured, distractedly, eyes never leaving the doorway you had disappeared through, "I-I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me"

He didn't even wait for Mrs. Stark's reply as he got up from the table, giving chase to you and your date through corridors and elevators, following your giggles and the faint trace of your perfume. His persecution led him to the upmost floor of the building, where a single mahogany awaited him, but the fingertip scanner on the lock told him he wasn't going to be able to open it. 

He cursed, barely catching himself from making a dent on the wall with a punch. You were doing your job, that was all, he repeated, like a mantra. Whatever was happening behind that door meant nothing. You were wearing his sunflower, that had to mean something, it had to.

After a few minutes, that felt like hours to him, the door opened.

"Peter! Shit, I was hoping you would be smarter than to follow me!" You hissed, as he pushed you back, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind him.

"Where is Harry?" 

"Knocked out in the bathroom" You pointed at a door by the side. Peter took a look around the room, by far the biggest, most luxurious office he had ever seen in his entire life. And he had been inside Pepper's so that was saying something. The view of the Manhattan skyline through the floor to ceiling window was nothing short of breath taking. "I just needed him to get in here"

"Right. Of course. I knew that" 

You squinted in suspicion at his flat tone,

"Pete, are you… jealous?" You smirked, amused. But Peter wasn't in the mood for your teasing, his patience finally reaching its limit.

He was on you in a heartbeat, pushing you back against the wall, caging you with his body. There was a dangerous, possessive spark in his eyes that you had never seen before. One that promised trouble for you. 

"So what if I am?" He challenged, bracing himself on one hand on the wall next to your head, the other one slipping through the high slit on the skirt of your dress, fingertips digging on the sensitive skin at the inside of your thighs, "So what if every time I saw him put his hands on you tonight, I wanted to break his fingers? What if every time he kissed you, I felt like dying?" 

The pain was evident in his voice, breaking your heart a little. But this was you, you were a special agent, this was what you did. Peter had said he wanted you, wanted to get to know the real you. Well, this was it. 

"I'm not going to apologise for doing my job…" 

"I'm not asking you to" He interrupted

"Then what are you asking of me?" 

Peter pinned you with a long, considering look and you did your best not to squirm under its intensity.

"I'm not asking anymore, mon chérie " he finally spoke, "I'm taking"

He crushed his mouth, and his body, to yours, trapping you under his familiar weight and, for the first time since returning from the island, you felt home. He tasted like wine, and the cherries from dessert and heat. You had almost forgotten how his warmth felt like sunlight against your skin, until every starved pore opened to soak him up. His teeth grazed your bottom lip, making you moan. God, how you had missed him on your lips! 

You must have said it out loud, because you felt his smile against your jaw as he broke the kiss to let you breathe. 

"Did you, now?" He inquired, nuzzling down your neck, "Where else did you miss me, cherry?" 

You felt his long, talented fingers find their goal, tugging your underwear to the side, slipping into you with no warning once he realized how ready you already were for him.

"Did you miss me here? Did you miss me inside you?" 

There was a buzzing in your coms and the reality of what was about to happen, andwhere it was about to happen hit you like a bucket of cold water. 

"Peter, wait, not here!" Peter ignored you, lips latching onto the spot just under your ear that Peter knew made you see stars. He couldn't wait, couldn't tear himself away from you, from your body. You were already breathing hard and he knew your halfhearted resistance wasn't going to last much longer. He speeded up the movement of his fingers inside you, tearing an involuntary cry out of your mouth. He was working you expertely, wave after wave of wetness bathing his hand, undeniable proof of your pleasure. 

"Gonna leave so many pretty marks on you..." He promised, puncturing his words by biting down, hard, on the column of your neck, "Everybody's going to know who you really belong to..."

"Peter, please!" You sobbed, implored.

"Want me to stop baby girl? Really?"

You shook your head no. You didn't, you couldn't. Fuck the mission, fuck Oscorp, you only wanted to feel him. It had been too long, way too long. You took your coms out of your ear and smashed it under your hill. You'd deal with Hill later. 

Peter slid the straps of your dress down your shoulders, lowering his face to your exposed chest, all wet lips and hot tongue as you hurriedly undid his button and zipper, finally freeing his angry, hard member. You pumped him once, and he bit on your nipple with enough strength to draw a single, sweet drop of blood. 

"Oh god… feels so good" Peter's words were muffled against your collar bone, as he stretched you, burying himself deep inside you, as far as he would go, "being one with you again…"

"I missed you" You confessed, "so much, baby boy!"

Peter leaned back, stormy eyes capturing yours, holding you hostage,

"Oh no, my cherry, after your little stunt calling Harry baby all night?" He tsked, "No, you don't get to call me that anymore… now, you're gonna call me 'daddy'"

With that, he started thrusting up into you roughly, hips almost cruel in their onslaught as they slammed into you, truly railing you against the wall, unyielding, unrelenting. You wrapped your arms and legs around him, holding on for dear life, taking what he gave you like a good girl cause that was what Peter needed from you. 

But god, did it feel good! His large thick cock, hard as vibranium, stretching you to your limits, a fit so tight you could feel every bump, every vein, as he hit all the secret spots inside you, tearing the pleasure out of you. Your orgasm was building fast, so fast it made you dizzy with the way all your blood rushed to your center. As your walls began to quiver around him, and you met Peter's fierce, furious face, you knew he wasn't going to be satisfied with just the one. Oh, no, he was going to rip out at least one more orgasm from your ravished body before releasing you. Undoubtedly not before marking you from the inside with his own release, you had long ago learned Peter was animalistic like that, all higher reasoning disappearing when it came to making you his. 

"Tell me you're mine" he breathed, demanding, against your cheek, hand sneaking between your bodies to tease your pearl, making you explode in sensation, and prolonging your climax, keeping you there where he wanted you, right on your peak until you were at the edge of sanity, your brain unable to process that much pleasure so suddenly and for so long.

You tried, but you couldn't remember how to form words, the only sound leaving your lips a delirious,

"Peter!"

"Say it, my cherry" he insisted, feeling his own release approach much quicker than he would like, but it just had been so long, and he had missed you so much and you just felt so fucking good  "let me hear you say you're mine as I make you come again…"

"Yes!" You cried, finally finding your voice, "I'm yours, Peter… only yours!"

"Damn right… all mine… only mine…"

He was almost there, and judging from the way your muscles were tensing and locking around him again, Peter knew you were too. But something was going on outside, his super hearing catching the sound of the elevator doors, and footsteps on the hallway. Still, he couldn't stop. He was so close, so fucking close… He had to come, had to make you come, before they did. There were voices outside, one of them he even recognized, telling the others to stop, to listen. Peter sneaked an arm around your waist, getting you away from the wall, moving you up and down his cock at inhuman speed, and he finally felt you fall apart. He came with a final cry of triumph… right as the doorknob started to turn. 

Faster than any human could, he ran behind the door, with you still in his arms, to buy himself a couple of seconds as he slipped out of you, fixing your dress so you were completely covered before even thinking about tucking himself back inside his pants. 

"Oh, for fucks sake!" Norman Osborn's exasperated voice was the first thing your pleasure addled brain was able to process as you stood on shaky legs, Peter's frame still hiding you from view. He took of his suit jacket, helping you put your hands through the sleeves and fastening it close.

"Put down your weapons, you goons! High security breach?.. Horny teenagers are not a menace, I should know!" Norman was still yelling at his guards. Peter turned around to face the old man, and you muffled your histerical laugh against his sweaty back, breathing him in. 

"S-sir… sorry, we-we we-were just" Peter babbled, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, save it, boy! I know exactly what you were doing, this whole place stinks of sex!" 

You snorted and Norman finally seemed to notice who you were,

"I'm sorry, weren't you my son's date?"

You could only laugh harder.

"He passed out" provided Peter, as innocently as he managed, "in the bathroom"

"He's in the…" the billionaire's eyes widened, "Wait, you… you three were…"

"He really liked Peter" You announced, unhelpfully, fake accent restored. 

"Ignore her, please" Peter sounded apologetic, not wanting the blonde boy that had so kindly offered his friendship to him to face unjust consequences for his own fuck up "Harry has nothing to do with this. My girlfriend was just trying to make me jealous. It worked. Harry's only mistake was to get drunk"

Norman rolled his blue eyes, so alike his son's,

"A common mistake for him. Trust me, boy, you don't need to make excuses for him… God knows I got tired of making them myself a long time ago." He sighed, gesturing to his guards to check on Harry inside the bathroom.

"Now, get out of here, both of you, so I can call the cleaning crew… not Tony's son my ass, this is the exact same shit your father used to pull at all my parties!"

Peter opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but you tugged on his arm, it was pointless to try and deny it, Osborn senior was never going to believe him. 

Peter took your hand,

"Right. Of course… we'll be… going, then"

You chuckles at his cute, nervous babbling became a full on belly splitting laugh as you ran out of the office and locked yourselves inside the elevator. 

"Oh my god, his face!" You clutched at your stomach, doubled over, "that was… the best alibi in history! They didn't even search me!!" You showed Peter the tiny pendrive with S.H.I.E.L.D's logo where you had copied all the information inside Norman Osborn's computer. Peter tilted his head in confusion,

"Six, where were you even keeping that?!" Osborn's security might ot have searched you, but his own had been… pretty thorough. 

You merely winked, 

"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?"

This time, it was Peter's turn of barking a laugh. He pulled you to him, kissing your forehead.

"Come on, let's find Happy and tell him to get the car. I want to get out of here…"

And he was taking you home with him. 

To be continued...

[nothingbegetsnothing]

It's only a conspiracy theory in that as with all of their global social engineering efforts, they aren't sure if it will work. It is literally a theoretical plan enacted by a handful of people in the right places. It's not exactly farfetched or sophisticated.

Kalergi was a Jewish count who wrote an actual agenda for this racial-engineering (eugenics) theory, titled Practical Idealism. The racist theories he espoused would get any UK citizen repeating it charged with hate speech offenses.

Mind that our entire economy functions based on "economic theory." As this proves only to be a euphemism for new ways to commit large-scale fraud via inflation and market manipulation, even amateurs on Reddit have figured out the applications of it in coordinated pump and dumps of GME stock. Not so theoretical anymore.

This website (and everyone on it, it seems) is fueled by queer and feminist theory. If everything theoretical is inherently worthy of derision, then by extension so too are you.

Critical [race] theory tries to rationalize and obfuscate why crime stats for blacks are so unfavorable, as they simultaneously chant "diversity is strength" while they Maribel Boatlift minorities into every western nation. Israel seems to be the only first world nation who doesn't seem interested in embracing domestic diversity, despite its alleged strengths. But I digress.

Black-on-black crime outclasses all others. The worst serial killer in American history (Samuel Little) is a black dude with 2x the kill count of any of the handful of white guys you've seen countless shows about. We can't meaningfully address the underlying problem if we use "critical theory" to deny and obfuscate its existence in the first place. The UCR doesn't lie, but now some police departments book everybody as white to juke the stats by race. Newspapers in some states are also refraining from mentioning race or showing mugshots, for some reason. Lying by omission is not how you validate theory, it is how you commit fraud. Any minority demographic raping women more than others is not doing so because they're poor and deserve pity.

Which brings us back to conspiracy theory. They want you to associate nonsense like QAnon, aliens and chemtrails with it, but there is nothing theoretical about the tribal affiliation of Biden's entire cabinet, or the heads of the major drug companies and the CDC. There is nothing theoretical about the NYPD satellite office in Tel Aviv. There is nothing theoretical about the Sacklers pushing Oxycontin as harmless. There is nothing theoretical about the Jewish agitators stoking violence at Israel protests here and abroad. There is nothing theoretical about the price of insulin and Epipens. There is nothing theoretical about Larry Fink's ESG initiatives, or the messes instigated through reckless adoption of DEI over competence at Boeing and elsewhere. There is nothing theoretical about AIPAC sponsoring both of the political parties allowed to function here.

There is only collusion between active conspirators at every level. "Actual fucking conspiracy" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, or evoke imagery of tinfoil hats.

Elites participating in sex trafficking rings was denounced as conspiracy theory too. How silly, Prince Andrew banging kids in the dingy basement of a pizzeria.

Then Epstein Island surfaced.

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Good Bi Love: The Unexpected Thing That Keeps Me Going When I'm Tired Of Being Bi

By Zachary Zane

January 15, 2018

This isn't something I care to admit, but it's the truth: I sometimes get tired of being bi. I get tired of justifying my sexuality to naysayers. I get tired of explaining to people that even though I primarily date men, I'm still bisexual. I get tired of feeling the need to justify or prove my sexuality, even though I know I don't have to.

The idea of settling down with one person frightens me, but not for the reasons you think. It has nothing to do with commitment. (If I do decide to be monogamous in the future, I believe I'll know and be ready.) It's because I know that if I do settle down with one person, folks will assume I'm gay if I'm married to a man or straight if I'm married to a woman. I don't like the idea of having these assumptions made about me. I don't want to appear straight or gay when I've embraced my identity as a queer, bi man.

In fact, I wonder if I do settle down with one person, whether I'll be quiet about my (bi)sexuality. Should I reaffirm my attraction to other genders, when I'm with a person of one gender? Wouldn't that make my monosexual partner feel insufficient— like they're not enough— if I'm constantly reclaiming my bisexuality? If I do decide to be monogamous or committed to one person, I want them to feel like they're enough. So constantly correcting people, telling them I'm bi, seems like I'm repeatedly reminding my partner that I'm attracted to other folks. That doesn't seem like the courteous thing to do to the person I love.

I'm exhausted from telling people that bisexuality doesn't perpetuate the binary. That the two in bi stands for genders that are your own and genders that aren't. I feel upstaged and out-queered when I say I'm bi and someone else says, Oh, I'm pansexual. Given that I'm attracted to all genders, I ask myself why I don't tell people I'm pan instead of bi. Isn't that the younger, hipper, more inclusive label that millennials are using? Why am I clinging to this older label, when there is another label, right now, that fits me?

I sometimes wonder if it's even worth it to date women. I'm currently more comfortable around men and I love gay male culture and spaces. I feel less awkward flirting with men and being myself around men. I don't question if I'm being too aggressive or too effeminate. I also get rejected significantly less by guys. So why do I put in the effort to meet women, especially straight ones? Besides, research has shown that most of the time straight women won't date me because I'm bi. So why do I try to date them?

I hate feeling part of gay culture, while simultaneously isolated by it. I hate feeling like I have this community, only to bring a girl I have a crush on out with my gay friends and to feel like a pariah and fraud. I hate how quickly gays turn on me when I simply talk about a woman, in a way that shows I'm sexually attracted to women too.

Wouldn't my life just be a hell of a lot easier if I identified as gay? If I only spoke about, dated, screwed, and loved men?

Yes, I believe it undoubtedly would be... if I were gay.

But I am not. I'm not gay at all. I never have been, and I never will be.

And while at times I may question whether it's worth it— so to speak— to claim the bi label, I always come to the same conclusion: Yes, it really is.

And it's something somewhat unexpected that brings me back to this conclusion. It's not that I want to live my life as my most authentic self (although that's part of it). It's not my desire to claim my own identity for myself and not to give other people that power over me (although that's part of it, too).

It's my exes.

I have been blessed to have dated some of the most incredible people in the entire world. From my first love, Sarah. She taught me that I have the capacity to love and care for others more than I love myself. She also helped me with the self-esteem issues I struggled with when I was 16. She saw the diamond in the rough before anyone else did.

To Jenny, the genderqueer/transgender bi dominatrix who I dated for a year after college. She was the first person to unconditionally accept me for who I was after coming out as bi. She pushed me to question myself and others.

To my most recent ex, Jason. He introduced me to polyamory, helped me overcome my issues surrounding jealousy, and encouraged me to explore myself more. We were one of the most compatible couples that have ever existed. I shared many of my happiest moments in life with him. In fact, many were directly because of him.

It's clear that each one of the people I loved helped me grow as a person. They all challenged me. They've all taught me things about myself, others, society, culture, history, art, and everything else imaginable.

They were also all folks of various genders.

It pains me to think that if I forced a route of being gay or straight or anything else other than bi, I wouldn't have had these experiences. I wouldn't have had these lovers. These people who shaped who I am. If I forced a monosexual route now, I would be forgoing intimate relationships with future partners too. Nor do I ever want to deny the important role these relationships played in my life. I'm only 26. I have my whole life ahead of me. Many more partners to share my life with. Many people to love and to love me.

I believe that we were put on this Earth to make meaningful connections. To have loving relationships. Being bi has allowed me to connect with more incredible people. Thus, only in embracing my bisexuality, and my attraction to all genders, can I live my life to the fullest.

[mourning-again-in-america]

banger from gorsuch in a case over aggravated identity theft in gov't health care fraud:

MR. SURI: …Second, I acknowledge, yes, it is possible that when it's a small amount, we could still prosecute. But we'd have hurdles thatwe'd have to overcome when it's a small amount.It's going to be harder to convince a jury of fraudulent intent when the amount is extremely small. I take, however, the point of the question -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Counsel, it seems to me you've just given up the ghost and -- and clarified things substantially that every time anyone overbills for anything, that triggers this statute, and all you have to prove -- now it may be small, as the amounts here were, $338, or it might be rounding up, a lawyer rounding up his hours to the next tenth of an hour, but that is still identity theft because you are using somebody's identity in a way that is unlawful and perhaps arguably exceeds their permission. If that's true, where do we stand in terms of federalism, given that (a)(7) speaks in much the same language and would seem to federalize pretty much every state misrepresentation claim? Where do we stand in terms of vagueness, notice to the world, fair notice to the world? I'm not sure most waiters in America appreciate that they're committing identity theft when they bill for that bottle of wine. ...

JUSTICE GORSUCH: Well, okay. Suppose we did read them the same way. Then you would concede there would be a federalism problem? MR. SURI: No, I wouldn't concede that because there's also a jurisdictional element in 1028(a)(7). That's contained in 1028(c). And that jurisdictional element ensures that every prosecution is within -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: How? MR. SURI: -- the federal government's authority. It has a list of elements that must be satisfied in order for an (a)(7) prosecution to be brought. And I grant one of them is affects commerce, but -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Yeah. So, if he runs the credit card and it goes across state lines, good to go? MR. SURI: But this Court has held that -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Can't you concede that's a serious federal -- federalism problem if we were to read those terms the same way? MR. SURI: No, because this Court has held that that's within the scope of the Commerce Clause. So it's not a federalism -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Every fraud in America is within the scope of the Commerce Clause, counsel? MR. SURI: If that's a problem, Justice Gorsuch, it's attributable to the Court's Commerce Clause cases and not to this -- (Laughter.) JUSTICE GORSUCH: Okay. All right. It's our -- it's our fault. Fine. How about the -- how about the vagueness problem then? MR. SURI: I -- I -- I -- might I finish explaining why -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Well, move on to the vagueness problem. MR. SURI: Yes. JUSTICE GORSUCH: You know, what about the vagueness problem? What notice does this provide to people in the world that they're committing a federal felony? MR. SURI: Again, Justice Gorsuch, you can avoid that problem by reading "in connection with" -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: I understand that. Put that aside. I asked you to put that aside, counsel. Please do so. MR. SURI: Yes. JUSTICE GORSUCH: Answer my question about vagueness. MR. SURI: The Court's vagueness precedents are concerned with ensuring that law-abiding people aren't trapped into being prosecuted for a violation that they couldn't have anticipated. And that problem doesn't arise with respect to either of these statutes because these statutes apply only if an individual has committed a predicate crime in the first place. So -- JUSTICE GORSUCH: Well, we -- we know, though, that the law has to provide notice not just that you committed some crime; it has to provide notice to the bad man that there are more consequences for worse crimes. And I don't doubt that the waiter who overbills for that bottle of wine knows he's committed some sort of state misdemeanor or maybe even felony, but does he know that he's committed a federal offense too? MR. SURI: The way he would know is by reading that statute and by looking at the elements and finding that his conduct fits within the most natural reading of those elements.

[brazenautomaton]

Are you shitting me? Are you actually shitting me right now? No laws broken? Are you actually shitting me? You give me these things that "aren't crimes" and give the most flattering possible summary of them as if it was the whole case, but we can SEE WHAT HAPPENED in these cases and that wasn't it!

He had no evidence the election was shady, he was butthurt he didn't win when he wanted to win. He didn't ask his lawyers to see what legal routes he could take to see if it holds up! There are things he could have done if he had evidence there was malfeasance, which he did not, and he didn't do those things. He instead told his people to just make him win because he wanted to win. He begged people behind the scenes to make him win because he wanted to win. This isn't something you sum up as "he asked his lawyers to look into it" because we saw what happened and that wasn't it. Every single lawyer he talked to and every single other person he talked to said "No, you can't do that, there is no evidence of fraud at all, these things you want to do are illegal," and he kept trying to do them anyway. You don't get to just "nuh-uh" that! You don't get to say he was just investigating if the election was fishy when everyone, including all the people he appointed, said "no it isn't you can't do these things" and he just kept trying to do them anyway because he's a petulant child with no control over his emotions and cannot accept that he didn't win something he wanted to win! He, in fact, lied! He lied a whoooooooooole bunch of times! And not just like "he said the election was stolen and it wasn't so that's a lie" -- he lied about specific provable events that he knew were not true! He made specific claims about voting machines in this and that location being hacked, he made specific claims about dead people here voting for Biden, and not only did he have no evidence for them, not only did he have nothing that even looked like evidence for them, but his own advisors and legal people had specifically told him "no these things are not true you can't keep saying they're true they didn't happen!" The fact that "alternate electors have been used before by the VP" doesn't change the fact that in THIS case, as laid out in things they fucking wrote down, their intent was to delay the election with a fraudulent message from the Justice Department stating that said Department had reason to believe the election was compromised (it didn't, nobody would sign off on that), and then their "alternate electors" would specifically be used so that it looked like they were the legitimate electors -- you know, like you do when you're committing fraud!

You don't get to do that! You don't get to say "Well, I'm pretty sure this election was stolen because it says I lost when I wanted to win, so if I lie about what evidence I have, and I lie about what other people are saying, and I present "alternate electors" without telling anyone they are alternate electors and acting like they're the real ones, it doesn't count as a crime!" That's very, very illegal! And Trump cannot control his emotions, so he cannot do anything but double down! He cannot recognize that this isn't going to work, because nothing can overcome his petulance that he should have won because he wanted to win!

You know why his cases kept getting thrown out? It wasn't because they were being quashed by corrupt judges. It was the same thing pretty much every time: the Trump people would file a suit alleging all sorts of fraud and juicy wrongdoing. The court would say "Okay, can we see any evidence of that, do you have anyone willing to testify?" And then the Trump people all of a sudden amended the complaints down to only the things they could prove, which most of the time left them not even alleging any wrongdoing. Trump's team never prosecuted an election fraud case because every time they were asked to provide evidence for an election fraud claim, they amended the claim to take that out. The only cases they went forward on were, as I recall, a couple of civil-rights claims about a couple of people who said they were not allowed to vote when they should have, which didn't even come close to anything the Trump camp claimed.

The fact that he could have declassified documents when he was president doesn't change the fact that there's a way he has to do that, and he didn't do that, and he admitted he hadn't done that, and he lied about having them multiple times. But, like, I can't go for every point like this. There's such a density of wrongness packed into your post it's a neutron fucking star. You're a gullible idiot who doesn't seem to realize that words are supposed to refer to reality, and instead think that everything is just a battle of unfettered Will where details don't exist. The options are not just "trust Trump's summary of events" or "trust what Trump summarized his opponents' summary of events to be." You can try to find out things about those events as they occurred in reality! Try doing that instead of shitting all over a post next time!

[i-found-your-shoe]

Where My Demons Hide - Part 3

[Sam, Dean, Reader]

In the month and a half since you had joined the boys, Dean's attitude towards you had changed. You weren't lying when you said you lived on whiskey and cheeseburgers, which impressed him. You shot better than he thought you would, though you could use better technique. And you didn't complain about the music he played in the car, singing along at times, and even agreeing that Bon Jovi rocks - on occasion.

He taught you defensive maneuvers and better shooting techniques, Sam taught you lore and how they do research, and in return, you taught them Krav Maga.

And currently, you were teaching them to not underestimate you at the pool table. You were bent over the table, lining up your shot and pretending to not see Sam staring at your ass. You bit your lip, hit the cue ball, and sank your shot in one try. Sam cheered. For once, he bet against his brother, much to Dean's chagrin. You winked at Dean, who sat his beer down a little too hard, and lined up his shot. You leaned back against the wall and lit a cigarette. This was the only room you were allowed to smoke in and you took advantage of it.

You took a sip of your beer as Dean took his shot and remembered your news. “Oh! Guess what?”

“Fuck!” Dean exclaimed as he missed. “What?”

“After this last batch of paperwork clears, guess who will be a fabulous millionaire?”

Sam choked on his drink. “Wha-? MILLIONAIRE?”

“Multi.” you laughed. “And it'll stay that way as long as the stock market stays up.”

“You play the stocks?” Dean asked, setting his pool stick down.

“My father didn't raise a fool. He taught me a few things. My current account is sitting at over a million and a half at the moment. Some from a trust fund, some from stocks.. Most hard earned, though.” Both men looked at you, bewildered. “What? You thought the two of you were paying for the nicer hotel rooms?”

“How - uh, how much exactly are you getting?” Sam asked, genuinely curious.

“Five or six from my parents accounts. Four from insurance. As long as I'm around, no more shitty motels.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Maybe we should keep her.”

“You're just spoiled by the continental breakfasts.” you laughed.

“Unlimited bacon, (y/n). Unlimited freakin’ bacon.” he shrugged.

“Nothing is final yet. But it should go smoothly. And then, you boys don't have to commit credit card fraud anymore. Just think of me as your Sugar Momma.” You bent over the pool table again, tongue poking out of the side of your mouth, and lined up your next shot. “Sam, you got winner?”

“Huh?” he replied; your question snapping him out of his trance.

You laughed again. “I've almost won. Am I kicking your arse next? Or are we done?”

Sam watched as you took your shot, sinking again on the first try, and victoriously picked your cigarette up from the ashtray. He knew you thought it was a horrible habit, but he was mesmerized by the way you tucked your bottom lip in to lick it before you raised your fingers to your lips. And the tiny, perfect little O shape you made when you exhaled. And the way you glanced at him, subconsciously licking your lip again.

“You won't kick my ass.” Sam smirked.

“We'll see about that.” you replied, raising an eyebrow at his cockiness.

After thoroughly wiping the floor with both Winchesters, you took your winnings and headed back to your room and settled into bed.

A few minutes later, Sam pointed his head in the door. “Hey, you, uh, planning on keeping your ass in bed tonight? Or creeping into my room again?”

Your eyes widened and you played dumb. “I…don't know what you're talking about.”

Sam opened the door all the way and threw your pillow at your face. “This was in my floor, liar.”

You sighed. “Sorry… I, uh… Couldn't sleep. So, when I can't… I've been camping on your floor. Just…once or twice a week, maybe.”

“Nightmares, still?”

You nodded and he walked in, sitting in your desk chair. “I didn't want to say anything. I, um, I've been working so hard to prove that I can do this. I didn't want Dean, or you, to see it as weakness or something…”

“(y/n), believe me. Dean and I? We're…professionals at the nightmare thing. Sometimes it comes with the territory. Nightmares are a no judgment zone. You've been doing great. You even took down that vampire like a pro.”

You chuckled. “One vampire out of, like, fifteen.”

“You saved me, didn't you?”

“Purely selfish reasoning, of course. If you died, Dean would have to teach me how to research.” You faked a grimace.

It was Sam's turn to laugh. “That would be pretty horrible. He can barely Google.”

“But he does know how to find beautiful, busty Asians.” You groaned, remembering when you accidentally came across his porn stash while researching the vamp nest.

“Get some sleep, (y/n). And if you find yourself having any more nightmares, my bed is open. You know.. So you aren't sleeping on the floor.” Sam cleared his throat as his cheeks turned pink.

“Are you asking me to sleep with you? Most men offer me dinner first.” You grinned, causing him to blush harder.

“I-”

“I'm kidding. Drinks will do.” you winked. “Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight, (y/n).”

The next morning, you trudged into the kitchen to see Sam making breakfast and Dean struggling with the new coffee maker you had bought.

You let out a yawn as Dean grinned. “Mornin’, Stitch.”

“Oi, fuck off.” You groaned. He hadn't mentioned what happened the day before and you were hoping he had forgotten, but obviously he hadn't.

“Am I missing something?” Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

“(Y/n) has a tattoo.” Dean grinned wider.

“Yeah. I know. We've seen them.” He rolled his eyes.

“Oh ho, not this one.” Dean chuckled, finally getting his cup of coffee to begin brewing.

“Dean….walked in on me changing while you were out yesterday.” You grimaced.

“It's on her butt.”

“On your b-” Sam began to ask.

“YES, ON MY BUTT. STRAIGHT ON THE ARSECHEEK.” You groaned again. “I got it when I was 16 with my best friend. It's Stitch and it says Ohana.”

“On your ass cheek.” Sam stifled a laugh.

“The left one.” Dean chimed in.

“Fuck you guys. I'm going back to bed.”

“Oh, come on, (y/n). Don't be a spoilsport. I'm just messing with you.” Dean stuck out his bottom lip.

Sam chuckled as he made himself a cup of coffee. “So when do I get to see it?” he asked, cheekily.

“That's why I don't tell people about it. Everyone always asks me to see it.” you replied, taking the fresh cup of coffee out of his hands and taking a sip.

“Hey!”

“That's what you get, Sammy.” you winked.

Dean curled his lip. “Get a room, you two.”

You stuck out your tongue and began adding sugar to the coffee. “So, now that we've addressed my arse, when are you going to let me kick some more monster butt?”

“Don't get cocky. You've killed one vampire.” Dean stated. “And you shouldn't have even been there for that one.”

“But I was there. And I was awesome.” You shrugged.

“Cocky gets you killed, (y/n).” Dean raised an eyebrow.

“And yet, here you stand. The cockiest of us all.” You challenged.

“Yeah, and I've been to Hell and back more times than you can count. How many times do you think I've died, Sammy?”

“Are we counting the Tuesday? Because if we count the Tuesday…. Roughly, 120.”

You raised your eyebrows and your eyes widened in shock. “120? As in twenty more than a hundred?”

“To be fair, The Tuesday was a time loop. But I died a lot. Sammy still can't watch Groundhog Day. Or listen to Heat of the Moment.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, it was kinda traumatic.”

“Fine. Cocky gets you killed. I get it.” you crossed your arms over your chest. “I'll wait then. Ignoring the fact that I'm more of a hands-on learner and everything. I'll just read books and look at websites and do nothing completely productive.”

“(y/n)....” Sam began.

“Look, Stitch..” Dean started at the same time.

“Oh, is that my nickname now?”

“Of course. Look, I'd rather you be safe than dead. This is still a trial run. If you die, you will bet know if you'd have made it or not.”

“Research is just as important as the hunt. You can't hunt if you don't know how to kill what you're hunting.”

“I said I get it.”

“You're no good to us dead, (y/n).” Sam gave you a small smile.

“I know.” you returned a very unenthusiastic smile.

[masseffectdoctor]

Also worth noting is that the politicians wanting to cut the funding will still attack the service. Everyone's enrollment does not guarantee safety.

However, it DOES make it a hell of a lot harder for them to justify it. It's a lot harder to prove in any official capacity food stamp fraud and other social services fraud than people not making use of the social service. Also of note so few people actually commit any ACTUAL definition of fraud you are not actually doing so. And even if you do in some minor way, you aren't gonna be pulled into a congressional hearing about it. If you're even investigated at all.

So point being made: apply for social services. Do it. Even if they deny you those numbers matter and can affect funding and also may affect it's availability. You could seriously help yourself or someone else just by applying and being rejected.

I think it's important to remember, as a rule of thumb, if you take advantage of a social service, it actually makes it easier for other people who need that service to access it. Most of the time, when these services get cut, it's because politicians will look at usage and say "see, no one is really using this thing, we can afford to trim the budget for food stamps by at least half". Whereas if you decide to step up and use these programs, even if you feel like you "don't really need it", at bare minimum it's another data point advocates can use to say "hey, look, people are using this thing, this is an important service we are providing, do not cut our funding".