#trying to secure some powerful allies (lesbians)

[st-hedge]

Lesbians requested midzel for pride so midzel ye shall receive 🩷🧡🤍

[asscreeds]

Heila - Chapter 1

“Heila,” an Old Norse verb meaning “to heal.”

Self-insert F!Eivor/Reader fic where the reader is a Dane from a clan with an unhinged leader that lands them in a heap of trouble, and are captured by Saxons after a failed raid. Eivor rescues the mortally wounded reader from certain death & with a little help from the Raven Clan, they are nursed back to health, and Eivor and Reader grow a little closer via helping eachother to overcome their traumas. Then inevitable lesbian pining and one or two (a little horny) dream sequences that suggest Eivor and the reader have actually known eachother for a very, very long time.

Reader is DFAB and uses she/her pronouns.

There are very specific trigger warnings for this chapter that are only referenced to later on in the story - graphic descriptions of violence, physical & psychological t/orture, religious fanaticism, wh/ipping, v/omit, blood, and minor/background character d/eath.

Read on AO3. i havent rlly posted fanfiction before on tumblr be nice to me

The morning waves broke calmly against the eastern shore of Cent, the salty sea breeze & sting of sand against your face and arms both familiar and calming to you; despite being weeks away from the place you once called home, it seemed the ocean would never change, no matter where you went. You could hear seabirds cry above you, and the gentle bustle of your impromptu settlement as your clanmates began to stir and prepare for the day to come. This was not your home, nor your intended destination when you had departed from your homeland - but, hopefully, you & your clan would make a home out of it yet. Originally you were to sail to Normandy but an unexpected and powerful storm threw your ship off course & you'd landed somewhere in England, according to your navigator, Vilmar.

Sitting around & watching the sun rise would not do much to help your people build a base camp. Before you could even get up, you heard footsteps in the sand behind you, and turned to find Gunnar. "There you are, y/n!" he bellowed, helping you to your feet as you giggled. "We've been looking for you for a meeting - needing your level head and all. We need supplies quickly," he said, quickly guiding you to your leader's tent, the both of you somehow avoiding bumping into clansmen carrying lumber, goods and the like. "Oh, needing my guidance for once, Gunnar? Or are you going to suggest we ride into the heart of a storm again?" you jested, elbowing his side as you walked up the green hillside. He made some sort of huffing sound, like a grumpy animal, and simply ushered you into the tent where your leader Frederik & Vilmar were already arguing.

"We need supplies, Vilmar! Else we'll all starve by the end of the week!" Frederik growled, slamming his fist into the table, sending little carved statuettes out of their places on the map.

Vilmar moved to speak, then saw you and Gunnar standing at the entrance of the tent, visibly deflating & waving the two of you over. "Hello Gunnar, y/n." Your arrival didn't seem to placate Frederik at all… 

Vilmar continued with his thought. "I know we need supplies, Frederik, but the risks outweigh all rewards at the moment. We musn't rush in blindly going a-vikingr, we must make allies first and set up a trade route," he said, rearranging the statuettes to their original places. "We've sent scouts out to every corner of this kingdom, as far as we could, and every single one has come back with word of a potential allyship, and a warning that every single village here is armed to the teeth. We cannot afford to raid right now." 

Frederik seethed quietly, seemingly first accepting Vilmar's words, then growing even more agitated. "And how long will it take,Vilmar, to establish a trade route?" he spat, staring down at the other man with something unreadable behind his eyes. Vilmar held his stare, then looked down at the map. "...A week."

The effect was instantaneous. Before you could even get a word in, Frederik stormed out of the tent, leaving the three of you bewildered, confused & frightened. You knew Frederik could be hellfire at his worst, and he'd always been obsessed with the tales of glory & kings that were told to children, and you had always chalked it up to him barely being 22 winters old, but this was something else. Sharing a worried look with your friends, you chased after him, & were met with a small crowd that had already gathered in the center of the encampment. Frederik's clear & raucous voice rang out over your clansmen, and you saw him pacing back & forth on a wooden platform. Like a king.

"Hear me, kinsmen! We may have landed in a strange land, but it is not an unknown land! We are upon the shores of England, the holy country," he spat out the world 'holy' like an insult, "and we are not the first Danes to do so, and we will not be the last. England is the same as any other land - full & ripe of pickings for the vikingr. Any and all of the able-bodied, you will ride the waterhorse with me to their Christ-House, and we will deprive them of their stores & silver!"

No, no, no, no, no. This was suicide.

Frederik leapt down from the platform, immediately heading for the armory, his wolf-fur cape billowing behind him as if he were a great hero from the old tales, though you knew he was anything but . This was not a good plan, nor a sound plan. He was insane if he thought a band of two dozen sea-soaked & exhausted Danes could pillage a monastery & live to tell the tale. You rushed ahead & grabbed his arm. He did not look at you.

"Frederik, please! Listen to me! This will not end well for you, nor for this clan! Follow through with Vilmar's plan instead, please, I am begging you -" you cried, and were met with the man shaking you off as if you were a fly. He turned to you with a wild look in his eye, forcing himself in your space, close enough for you to finally smell the ale on his breath & to see the dullness in his honey-brown eyes. "I have seen great glory in my dreams, y/n. I will not be denied it." You didn't know what to say, staring at him in shock. He looked at you again, and decided something, muttering something under his breath. "You will ride with me," he growled.

This shocked you out of whatever daze you were in. "What? No! I…" you yelped, but he had already turned from you and stormed off again. This was not good. You were never an adept fighter. Sure, you had trained once or twice in your early years, but you would never call yourself a drengr. But to go against your leader's word & break your oath to him would be a worse fate, consigning you to Helheim. Begrudgingly, you went off in search of armor & a weapon, the distant sound of thunder rumbling in the sky.

A few hours had passed, and to the best of all of your abilities, your clan had mustered up a small yet intimidating army. Maybe things would go right, and you'll topple their church like a house of cards, but you couldn't shake the ever-present feeling of something being wrong. Finishing the warrior-braid in your hair and tying it with a leather strip, you donned the leather & fur armor handed to you by Runa, your weaponsmith. It did not fit you perfectly, but still fit, and would serve its purpose and protect you yet from whatever weapons the English would use to defend themselves. Your weapons of choice, an axe & a flail, hung from the belt around your waist heavily, and you were not used to the weight of them. A shield adorned with your clans symbol, the stag, laid against your back like a mockery of a security blanket. Taking a swig of mead to warm your belly & calm your nerves, you give one last glance to your tent & personal belongings - the dried flower & a bag of jewelry (that you've had to hide from your kinsmen many times) from your mother, a lovingly-written & tear-stained letter from your father, among other things given to you by your friends & family as parting gifts before your departure from Denmark. 

You did not know it would be the last time you would see them.

Taking a deep breath, you exited your tent and headed for the shore, where many of your clan had already hopped into the three longships, painted red & blue, the stark coloration of the paint looking even brighter against the dark waves of the sea. Were you looking at them any other time, you would have called the scene pretty, but not while you had to wade through knee-deep oceanwater to try and scramble up the side of one of them. You struggled for a bit before a hand grasped your arm and pulled you up, and you heard a familiar voice. "y/n? What are you doing here? You should be staying here, with the women & children!" Gunnar spoke, his voice hushed so that the figure of Frederik somewhere behind him could not hear. You could only send him a sad but stern look. "Frederik insisted." He looked at you for far too long, and you could almost hear him thinking - he knew that you were not a drengr, either. He made some sort of soft sound & pulled you fully up onto the boat, and turned back to face forward in his seat. You could not read the expression on his face.

You sat next to him, both looking forward to Frederik, who turned around as the rest of the drengr boarded the ships, his face somber for a split second before shifting to another, more spry and almost violent expression. His voice rang out against the waves, his blonde hair had already begun falling out of his warrior-braid, sending tendrils of it flying in the wind, and his iron armor shone brightly when the sun allowed it. He was a picturesque vikingr, one you would see in the margins of fairytale books.

"Hear me, kinsmen! Today we sail for Raculf Monastery, upon the Northeastern Shore, for glory & for life! For there it is where we will find the supplies we need to replace those we lost in that dreadful storm, and there is where we will succeed! I know many of you have become doubtful, but fear not - I have dreamt of these moments and seen the glory within, and I have all of my faith in the nine Nornir that we will prevail!" he quaked, earning a few rejoiced battle cries from those around you, and even you felt a little energized, his words setting a newfound battlelust within you that you didn't know you even had. 

Your clan set sail immediately, the wind from the brewing storm to the south boosting your speed on the short journey to the monastery. It would only take an hour or two to get there, if Vilmar's predictions were correct. Nervously you checked your weapons, feeling & testing the sharpness of your axe's blade-edge, and Gunnar gently elbowed your side. "Never took you for an axe woman," he said with a light chuckle, sending you an uneasy smile. You couldn't bring yourself to match it. "I have never been forced to choose, Gunnar." 

His smile dropped momentarily, then returned, albeit a bit smaller, and he turned to you fully. His blue eyes shone with confidence. "Listen, y/n. I know you are worried as I am, but I have faith in both Frederik & the Gods that everything will go right for us this day," he said, gently setting his huge hand on your shoulder and giving a friendly shake. Slowly, you returned his smile. Maybe so.

It was difficult, however, to be so confident & blindly trusting in Frederik & your luck when the storm roared behind you, moving just as fast if not faster than the longships. Too soon you had seen the white pires of the monastery in view, the columns of smoke from countless houses & other buildings rising high into the air as the monastery's denizens continued their lives unaware to the coming danger, and too soon had you heard Frederik's voice over the roar of the sea again. It began to rain heavily, soaking through the leather of your armor and chilling your bones. You felt as if you were in a dream.

"Look there, men! Our prize, to be split open & savored! Prepare yourselves!" he roared, and it seemed like you had blinked and were suddenly upon the shore: the sails lowered, and just as Frederik blew into his horn, a deafening crack of thunder prevailed your raid, and a fire had already started, the hay-roof of a villager's home struck by lightning. Frederik gave a booming laugh, joyous & strong. "Thor is with us!" 

And like that, you and your three-dozen clansmen descended upon the monastery, moving together like some unstoppable force. Taken off guard the Saxon warriors had little time to prepare for the assault, and many were immediately fell by the first wave of your brethren; thankfully you were at the back, but this left you open to attack from reinforcements - hopefully they would not come. You quickly entered some sort of fugue state where it felt like you were not truly there, not truly controlling your body, letting your arm guide itself, your axe cutting the chests & necks of already weakened Saxons, spilling red red bubbling blood - was this the battle fury felt by berserkir? 

You did not enjoy it. You did not find glory in taking these men's lives.

By the time you had advanced closer to the church, many of the buildings were already set ablaze, the smell of wood-smoke & hair burning making you choke. Not even the pouring rain could douse the fires. All at once you were overwhelmed by the sensations, the sounds - iron clashing, battle cries, the screaming of civilians caught in crossfire - it was too much. You felt yourself shake. But you pressed on, finishing the weak off as before, checking corpses (both of your clansmen and Saxons, though notably more of the latter) as quickly as you could to make sure none of them were breathing - you did not know what you would do if you did find one still alive, either kill him or spare him - and, thankfully, you were never injured. Somewhere along the line you had reunited with Gunnar, and you helped him finish off the last of the Saxon warriors, to which he gave a grateful nod towards you, then a nod to the church. Come with me.

The locked timber doors of the monastery's inner sanctum were no match for the wrath of the vikingr, and crumbled as easily as any other. You both had finally breached the walls of the church when you heard Frederik's victorious cry, and when you turned the corner you could see why - barrels upon barrels and boxes upon boxes of supplies, food, raw materials, and the like. 

You had done it. You had won, raided a monastery, and lived to tell the tale. You felt yourself let out a breath and breathe deeply in, something that felt entirely alien to you, as if you had not taken a breath in your entire life. You felt as if you could pass out on the spot. This alerted Frederik of your presence, and he turned to you and Gunnar immediately, wild-eyed and ecstatic. "We have done it, my drengr! Here is our lifeblood!" You couldn't match his enthusiasm, standing as still as a statue, but managed to let out a light chuckle. You had done it.

The chuckle turned into a scream as two arrows pierced your shoulder from behind.

Frederik let go of you and you crumpled to the floor with a sharp cry, taken aback as a dozen or so more Saxons forced themselves through the church's doors, and another had a knife to Gunnar's throat. Reinforcements.

If they had gotten to the three of you, who knows what became of the rest of your clansmen.

You writhed on the marble flooring, your blood staining the tiles red as you tried to gain your footing, your breathing, anything to keep you grounded in this world and alive as your body could not stand to produce adrenaline anymore from the strenuous and long battle, the sharp pain of the arrows lodged between your shoulder blade & your spine making it hard to do anything but lay there. At least it had not been your head.

You felt a boot come down upon your back, knocking the wind out of you again, and a hand tangled itself in your hair, pulling harshly against your scalp to raise you up from the floor - seemingly higher than you've ever been - and another hand came to pull your arms behind your back, as if you could even hope to try and break free. A Saxon, a zealot, you would later say, stepped forward from the rest towards Frederik. 

"Hail, heathen," he spat, the rustle of his gilded armor & the voice behind his helmet too loud, too harsh against the once-peaceful quiet of the church. You squeezed your eyes shut. "What brings you here to this House of God, to commit acts of heresy? Tell me why I should not slay you and all of your kin for defiling this place." Thunder roared outside the church, stained glass windows shaking with the sound.

Frederik seemed in shock & at a loss for words. He took a breath, then two, and the Saxon grew impatient. "Speak, worm."

"I, I - we came here for supplies, and -"

"And you thought you could pillage and raid and steal, or maybe you have tried to make peace and were rejected and thought this was the answer. I've heard the same story and the same lie from the other dozens of you Danes that I have slain. I want you to tell me. Why should I not slay you?" You were suddenly very aware of how much of your blood was outside of your body on the floor, where it should not be, and you felt bile bubble up in your throat, saliva drooling from your mouth as if you were a sick animal.

Frederik could not respond. In his mind, he did what he thought was best, not for his clan, but for him; he ran. 

At once arrows were drawn upon him, but the Saxon merely waved an arm & they were dismissed. "Ah, I love a good coward. Let him run & tell other Danes of his failure. Let him live with it. Take the others to Canterbury to be converted." 

You were again jostled around, catching a glimpse of Gunnar in your periphery, who had cast his gaze down at the ground with a blank stare. You both had the same thought.

He left us.

Before you could finally let yourself pass out from shock, you felt a hand on your jaw, turning your head this way and that. "You're a pretty one, eh? Not a fighter like the others. What are you doing out here with these barbarians?" The Saxon from before. You couldn't meet the man's gaze, locking eyes for a just a second before you looked to the floor again. He gave a light chuckle. Thankfully, he said no more, and you felt yourself grow weaker and weaker as you and your kinsmen were bound & loaded into carts like animals, the rain having let up, only lightly sprinkling now. You fell asleep and dreamt nothing. It was both a blessing & a curse.

You all sat there quietly for the remainder of the morning, any attempt at conversation harshly shushed by a well-armored guard standing nearby on watch. From what you could see, he was bored… as if these circumstances were normal to him. Capturing & abusing prisoners. These Saxons were a new ugly.

When you awoke, you were corralled in some sort of cage with a few others, and you could feel the morning sun beating down on your back. You went to move but were suddenly reminded of the arrows still present in your back and let out a wheezing, pained sound, frightening some of your clansmen around you, waking up others. They had not sustained much injury in the battle aside from bruises and little cuts - your injury, amongst all of those still alive, was the worst. The Saxons had not even been so courteous to break off the shafts, and the nauseating feeling of the arrowheads moving between your muscles as you sat up nearly made you wretch onto the dirt. You were not used to pain like this. Among the others in your cage - all women - you found Hanne, Runa's daughter; Ulla, who you truly didn't know her origins but she could fight like a bear; and little Lissi, a winter younger than you, and in almost the same boat, though she had trained for combat for several seasons now. They all sent you sorrowful looks as blood began to drip from your nose & mouth onto your front, staining your tunic further. Tunic? You looked down. The Saxons had stripped you of your armor, at some point when you were asleep. Figures.

At some point, maybe during noon or after, bells sang from the church on the hillside, and a small, squirrely-looking old man had come down to bring all of you some dry bread & bowls of water. It was not a filling meal but you ate it gratefully regardless. He looked upon you & your kith, bound & shackled and being handfed like dogs, with great pity. An hour passed, and you were all allowed to relieve yourselves, though for some it had come too late. Then dusk came, and a different man approached your cages, followed closely by another armored Saxon. The man spoke in a strange tongue from an open book with a cross on the front, and from what English you understood you supposed it was some sort of rite, or blessing, or maybe a curse. Then they both went away, and you were all left alone for the night. They had not treated your injuries, nor given you anything to eat past the bread & water from midday. You thought of those back at the settlement, and hoped that they were safe… they did not deserve this mistreatment. And then you thought of Frederik, and a new fury from somewhere deep within you came to light. That fucking ergi. Abandoning his people. Maybe he had gone back to them, alone, and the thought of it made your blood boil - what lies would he tell them? It did not even matter if he told them, there would not be enough men left to rescue you. You looked up to the world around you in the cage, ignoring the burning of the arrows, and studied the night sky, and how the lights of the city reflected against the villager's homes, and how the moon seemed to give the church its own glow. This is what Frederik gave me , you thought. Consigned to die in a cage, locked up by an animal by the Saxons. Or worse. You saw a lone crow circling the church's highest point. And to yourself, you made an oath.

I will see to it that the coward faces what he has broken.

Another day went by, the same as the last, and then another. Some priests came by in the early morning of the second day and finally rid your back of the two arrows, though they did not truly clean the wounds, only simply broke off the shafts & quelled the bleeding. You were all only fed bread and water. On the third day, you refused your "meal," partly because of your burning hatred of Frederik to do anything properly, partly because of the fever that had set in and worsened rapidly over a few hours. You did not feel like yourself.

As you did every day, you sat still in the corner of the cage & observed villagers, soldiers, priests & pilgrims pass by, like a dog staring from the back of a kennel. Today, however, you were given the chance to see two new faces pass by - two new outlander faces. One of a tanned man with a beard in strange white & red gear, who looked upon you & your kith with a strange expression, and a tall, hooded woman with bear fur draped about her shoulders. A Norseman, plain in sight, and none of the Saxons in the city had even batted an eye at the pair. She looked at you with pity first, then her brows furrowed, and muttered something to her companion, who gave a short reply. They continued up the hill to the church - pilgrims, maybe? Doubtful.

An hour passed, and then two, then three, and another priest approached your cages. He spoke of conversion, some rite, and honestly you'd tuned him out after the first few words. Suddenly he turned to you, and the ice-blue of his eyes shocked you still. "Will you accept the love of God into your heart?"

You didn't know what to say. This felt like an insult, after all these people have put you through. You made up your mind quickly. Maybe it was your fever speaking for you. "No."

He made another sort of sad face, and then was suddenly shadowed by the same Saxon that had cornered Frederik, back at the monastery.

"Then we will make an example out of you yet, little heathen." You did not have time to prepare for the pair of armored guards dragging you out of the cage, your arms still bound behind your back, and maybe kicking and screaming was not the best reaction, given one of them suddenly backhanded you and shocked you into quietness. A handful of villagers had heard & perhaps caught a glimpse of the debacle and stopped to stare for a moment, before another heavily armed Saxon waved them away. You were brought away from your kinsmen closer to the church, where a foreboding column of wood jutted out of the center of a clearing. Its purpose was made clear as you were made to kneel and your arms were tied to the bough of it, in mockery of a praying position. Public humiliation. Or worse.

Unfortunately worse. A notable crowd had gathered, and though you could not see them, you could hear them mutter amongst themselves somewhere behind you. Some cheered for your punishment, some began to cry, knowing what was coming. The Saxon zealot circled you twice. You did not meet his gaze.

When he spoke, he bellowed his words so that the crowd may hear. "Here we have the little Dane, a fork-tongued thing that has dared to cast aside the love of God! What heresy," he said, his words poisoned with sarcasm & mockery. Somewhere to your left, you heard the squirrely-man's voice call out for mercy. "Please, Eadwulf! This is not the way of God!" Eadwulf simply waved the man away. "These pagans killed more than two dozen of our men at Raculf. Only one death of theirs is a kindness." Death? Oh, no. You did not sign up for this. You don't deserve this. You found a new will to live in the way you squirmed against the bonds to no avail. Fuck.

Eadwulf prowled somewhere behind you, and you felt sweat dripping down your brow. You heard a chain, or a whip maybe, rattling, and the sound of the crowd's murmurs growing louder, and how the entire city seemed to grow quieter. This is not how I am meant to die.  

"If you will not accept the love of God, heathen, then bend to his wrath."   How poetic. The first slash was unexpected, painful, making your entire body seize up as if you were dropped into both boiling & freezing water as the cloth & skin between your shoulder blades split, fresh blood spilling down the already-stained tunic. The second came only a few seconds after, worse than the first, and you let out a scream loud enough to frighten a flock of crows from a nearby tree. You felt warmth on your back. Whenever you moved, you could feel the lashes rubbing against the dirty & coarse clothing, made doubly worse by the dull, throbbing pain of the arrows. The third came nearly half a minute later, unexpected, and you screamed again. Then the fourth, fifth & sixth came in quick succession. You felt bile rise in your throat, spilling out onto the too-soft grass beneath you, onto the lumber in front of you. The seventh, eight, ninth and tenth came and went, and in your shocked, adrenaline-addled state, you barely felt them. You felt yourself grow weaker against the pole, the too-warm sensation of your own blood running down your back almost a comfort. Eadwulf said something else, you don't quite remember, and then the crowd dispersed. You were left there to die a martyr.

You don't know exactly when you had passed out, but you awoke during the quiet coolness of the night to a blurry image of the strange hooded Norse woman in front of you, cursing. "Are you still alive, kona? Stay with me," she said, voice somehow strained yet comforting all the same. You could only barely lift your head to look her in the eye, to which she cursed a little more colorfully. "I'm getting you out of here." She cut you loose from the wood, and helped you to stand (which you could barely do) before realizing that wasn't really an option. Cursing even more colorfully, a feat you didn't know she could accomplish, she took her hood off & draped it over your back, making you sharply inhale as the cloth stuck to the dried blood at your back. "I know, little crow. I know it hurts, but please, you must stay with me." She whistled faintly, and a black horse came trotting over, giving you a weary look. Even the animals had pity! Or maybe it didn't want some half-dead creature on it's back. Either way, she set you on the saddle, sitting behind you so that you didn't fall off during the ride, apologizing immediately for any discomfort the position might cause you. Before she could grasp the reins, you stopped her. 

"Please…" your voice was hoarse, and you did not recognize it. "Please, my friends, my kin… are they still imprisoned?" The woman made some sort of sound, as if she had forgotten of the others she passed by today. "Yes, they are, but I fear it will be some time before they are freed. When we get back to my home, I will send my best warriors to retrieve them. Does that sound okay?" You could only nod your head, the simple action sending your world off kilter. She bid the horse to trot out of Canterbury to an unknown destination, breaking into a full gallop once you had left the city's boundaries. Both you and the Norsewoman understood you had mere hours left. She tried to keep you awake on the journey, asking questions about your name, clan and where you were from, though she mostly got one-worded answers.

"Are you a Dane?" "Yes." You pass over a bridge, the woods of England looking all the same to you.

"Why have you come here?" "Storm." An answer she didn't understand at the time, but continued regardless. The landscape slowly changed from forest to open plain, then to forest, then to marsh. You crossed two more bridges. It was your turn to ask the questions.

"What is your name?" Your speech was slurred, more incoherent. "Eivor."

"Why were you in Canterbury?" A question that she did not outright answer. "Looking for someone."

"Where are we going?"

"Ravensthorpe." A place you did not know, nor seen on any map.  "We're almost there. Stay with me."

You couldn't fight to stay awake anymore. "I'm sorry," was all you said before slumping forward on her horse.

She thought you'd died, grabbing hold of your wrist and feeling a wave of relief at finding your faint pulse. She rode twice as hard to her home then, only taking another hour.

When you awoke, you were not dead, nor in your own bed, and could feel bandages straining around your chest, and the scent of herbs filled your senses.

[guiltydumpling]

The Guard: Chapter 4

[KUVIRA X READER ROYAL AU]

Summary: “I called you all here to announce that we have a guest arriving sometime later today. Princess Y/N of the Kingdom of Elysian” The people in the throne room looked at one another confusingly. “Their palace was under sieged and the king had to send the princess away to keep her safe from any assassination attempts. Their kingdom has done a lot for us and has proven to be great allies for generations. She’s come a long way and has been traveling for a week, I expect nothing less than for all of you to treat her as you do a member of the royal family and to attend to everything and anything, she might ask for… This poor child has already been through too much.” There was silence in the throne room for a while, as they let the information sink in. “Dismissed.”

A/N: Hi beautiful beings <3 This chapter has mature content (i.e. explicit lesbian sex and um... death) so please stop reading if you get uncomfortable !!

Word Count: 5.5k

Your kiss grew deeper and more intense. You eagerly pulled at each other as close as you possibly can and you feel Kuvira’s tongue tracing your bottom lip asking for entrance, and you let her. The butterflies in your stomach left your body and all you were feeling at the moment was pure bliss. Your tongues collided and you were slowly being pushed against the wall beside your door.

One of Kuvira’s hands leave your waist and leans it against the wall beside your head. She pulls away from your kiss and you almost whined in disapproval but was immediately replaced by a soft moan when you felt her lips attach to your jaw. She continued to trail wet kisses from your jaw to your chest, careful to not leave any marks that may be difficult to cover up. Your fingers go to her hair and you pull the pins that were holding her usual bun together, letting her hair cascade down her back and you entangle your fingers through them lightly pulling at it “fuck” Kuvira moaned, revealing that she liked a little pain with her pleasure and you pulled on it a little more to satisfy that desire.

Kuvira travels her hand from your chest to your waist to the back of your thighs before hoisting you up and you wrap your legs around her waist as she pinned you harder against the wall. Once you were secure, her hands go to your ass giving them a squeeze while she travelled her lips to your breast, pushing the neckline of your robe to the side. You gasp in pleasure when she takes your right nipple into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it and you grip her shoulders. Your post-masturbation heat warming up again and you pull her with your legs tighter longing for some sort of friction.

Kuvira notices and her hand insinuates to your heat, releasing your nipple from her mouth with a pop and brushes her lips to your ears, giving you goosebumps. You swallow in an attempt to hold back a moan, breathing faster and heavier against Kuvira. Your eyes fall shut as Kuvira lets her fingers idly stroke your blazing heat, teasing you. You release a string of soft moans when Kuvira traces the shell of your ears with her tongue and her touches becomes bolder. Her one hand still gripping your ass through your robe and the other scratching your clit lightly, slowly up and down and your breath hitches when it traces down to your slit. You try to release some tension by moving your hand to her chest to palm her breast through her unform and you feel her heaving from arousal.

“I love whenever you would wear this night robe around me” she whispered in your ear. “I would drive myself crazy thinking about the things I want to do to you when I see you wearing only this… Your neckline falling low… Nipples marking through the silk… I always wondered what it would feel like to slip my hand underneath it and have you moan my name” You massage her breast harder and you take your free hand to place it between your thighs on top of Kuvira’s hand.

You press your palm against the back of her hand consequently putting more pressure on her fingers against your clit and you release a moan. Kuvira chuckles “Eager, are we?” and you hum in response not trusting yourself enough to talk. She obliges and she rubs your clit harder, her other hand pushing your robe up to grip your now bare ass. “fuck Kuvira…” you moan into her ear and she increases her speed. Moans fall from your lips and you start to undo the first few buttons of Kuvira’s uniform revealing a black sports bra. Her forehead was now against yours and your lips were brushing as you felt each other’s breath grow heavier by the second. You lifted her bra to reveal her plump breast and you wasted no time in massaging it against your palm, twisting her nipples between your thumb and your index as your free hand moves to Kuvira’s hair once again to lightly tug on it and Kuvira releases a moan.

Kuvira keeps her fast pace on rubbing your clit and you were already so wet for her. You moan her name repeatedly as you feel yourself closer to the edge. “That’s right princess… come for me…” Kuvira whispers against your mouth and you feel your legs around her growing weaker, overwhelmed from bliss. “Come for me Y/N” she says before increasing her speed against your clit even more and you had to bury your face between her neck and her shoulder to keep yourself from being heard by the entire palace. You climax and your left leg slipped from Kuvira’s waist as she holds your right leg up to keep you from falling on the ground. She continued to rub your clit slowly as she let you ride your orgasm out and you slowly lifted your head up from her neck only to meet Kuvira’s lust-filled forest green eyes.

She slowly pulls her hand away from your heat and drops your right leg to the ground to let you stand on your own now. You stare deeply into each other’s eyes and you take her by the hand “Come here” you say as you lead her to your bed. When you reached the foot of the bed you put both your hands on Kuvira’s shoulder pushing her down to sit on your bed. You don’t break eye contact when you stand between her legs and start to slowly untie the ribbon of your robe. You let your robe fall open for a while, teasing Kuvira when you see her eye your body up and down. You should feel conscious. But you felt powerful. Finally, being able to control something for once in your life. You loved it.

Kuvira couldn’t stop herself from gawking at your naked body as she lightly dragged a finger from your knees to your thighs to your ass and giving it a gentle squeeze. You giggle and you leaned down to give Kuvira a deep kiss before pulling away shortly to let the robe fall from your shoulders and pool at your feet. She grabs you by the waist to pull you closer as she starts to place gentle kisses on your body “You… are… so… fucking… beautiful…” she mutters in between the kisses around your breasts and your stomach and you hum in pleasure, enjoying this sweet and erotic moment.

When she pulls away, you gently push her down the bed and she hold herself up with her elbows as she eyes you in desire. You climb on to the bed, your knees on either side of Kuvira’s waist straddling her and you lean in slowly to brush your lips against hers, and you linger your lips there for a while and you slightly pull away enough to not let Kuvira close the gap between your lips when she lean forward. She does another attempt to kiss you and you repeat your previous action, smiling in amusement when you hear a low growl of frustration from her. “Eager, are we?” you whisper to her and Kuvira lets out a small chuckle, “Are you teasing me princess?” she says, and you hum in response. You start to trace kisses from her jaw down to her neck and you feel Kuvira’s breathing grow heavier and faster as you go further down. When you reach the strap of her sports bra, you now realize that she is still fully clothed.

You suck on a spot between her collarbone and her neck knowing that it will be covered by her uniform anyway as your fingers expertly undid the last few buttons up her already opened top she lifts herself off the bed a little bit to take her arms out from the offensive clothing. You take this moment to release her neck and pull her sports bra off and flinging it to spirits knows where across your chambers. And you go back to brushing your lips against her again while one of your hands fondled with her breast. She makes another attempt to kiss you and you pull away again making her whine “Stop teasing me” she says in a more serious tone and you shake your head, still not moving an inch. “I’ll stop when I want to stop Vee… and right now… I want you to want me… crave me… I want you to desire me like you’ve never desired anyone before…” You whisper against her lips and her half-lidded eyes were so full of lust.

You trace the butt of her lips with the tip of your tongue agonizingly slow. And Kuvira’s eyes were closed now, clenching the sheet beneath her to stop herself from pinning you down and you appreciated it. Even in the heat of the moment she’s still willing to compromise herself for you. Her chest is now heaving when you slid a hand down between the two of you, easily, undoing the button of her pants. Once you did, you slipped a hand in there, situating your hand to her center, her underwear being the only barrier from your hand, and you put pressure against her underwear. Kuvira furrows her eyebrows and gasps in pleasure. “Keep going” she says, eyes still shut. So, you do.

You apply enough pressure to make sure she can feel the friction as you expertly increase your speed. Kuvira still gripping the sheets you move your mouth to her jaw down to her chest and you take a nipple into your mouth, licking and sucking. You lifted your hand only to slip it in once again, this time under the offensive garment and your head was spinning with arousal when you feel how drenched her heat was. This is all for me, you thought. Kuvira arched her back in pleasure and her hips rolled and rocked against your hand desperate for more, creating a rhythm. Letting go of the sheet beneath her, she takes her hand to entangle it to your hair gently massaging your scalp “F… fuck” she moans and she opens her eyes wide enough to meet yours and you release her breast from your mouth still moving your hands between her legs. “Take it off” she says, referring to her bottoms. And you waste no time in pulling your hand away from her to fully undo her bottoms, removing Kuvira’s shoes in the process. You ran a hungry gaze over her beautiful flushed face, collarbones, muscular arms, beautifully toned stomach, and her perfectly shaped thighs.

“Enjoying the view?” She retorts, voice strained. “How can I not?” you say with a playful smile and you lean down to place your lips beside her ear, “You’re so fucking beautiful Vee” and kiss the spot behind her ear. You situated your right leg between her, and your heat was now hovering over one of her legs. You continue to kiss her all over her jaw and her neck and you insinuate your hand between her legs once more caressing her now exposed heat. “… So beautiful” you whisper between kisses and you apply more pressure to your fingers against her blazing heat and increase your pace.

Kuvira’s breath becomes deeper and faster and you take this as a sign to continue increasing your pace. Still holding herself up with her forearms, Kuvira puts her hand on your ass giving it a light squeeze before pushing you down to her leg. Your heat was no directly on her bare thigh as Kuvira grips your hip gently guiding you to rock against her leg which you obey. Your arousal from servicing Kuvira together with the sensation of her leg grinding against your heat was almost too much for you. The exchange of moans and names falling from both your lips echoed through the room as you kept the fast rhythm. Kuvira’s leg was starting to shake and you  knew this all too familiar body reaction. She was close. You grind harder on her leg and you take your free hand to grip on her hair and tug at it “oh fuck…” Kuvira moaned and you pressed your forehead against hers not wanting to miss a moment of her falling off the edge.

“Y/N…” she moaned against your lips as she moves her hand that gripped your hip to the back of your neck forcing your lips to meet hers, no longer wanting to wait. You both moan into the kiss and you were already feeling yourself come close. You don’t stop your kiss in an attempt to muffle the noise you were both making as Kuvira reaches her climax, and after a few more hard grinds you reach yours too. She pulls away first and you look at one another for a while trying to calm your heart rates down, feeling the moist from both your bodies turn into sweat.

Kuvira gives you a small smile before flipping you over so you were now beneath her. “I’m not done with you princess” she says with a mischievous look and you raise an eyebrow “Oh?” you replied in amusement.

“You teased me… now it’s my turn” she says and your heart beats faster when you feel your heat start to warm once more.

Kuvira gives you a deep peck on the lips before trailing wet kisses from your jaw to your neck, chest, breast, stomach, navel, until she was lazily kissing your inner thighs and your breath hitches when her lips brush against your clit. You were so sensitive now and her breath tickling your heat was enough to for you to release a moan and Kuvira chuckles lightly, “I haven’t even done anything princess” she playfully says and you were about to retort back until you felt her press a kiss on your clit and your head falls back in pleasure as you release another moan. She hooks her around your leg to keep it open for her as she starts massaging your clit with her tongue. Her soft tongue against your oversensitive clit was proving to be too much when you feel your legs and your core stiffen “Spirits Kuvira… Fuck…” you moan as you reach another climax and you grip the sheets on the bed to release some of the tension in your body.

She presses a few more kisses on your heat causing your body to jerk in response due to the oversensitivity.  You pull her up from her position and press your lips against hers tasting yourself from her own tongue, but you didn’t mind. You actually liked it. You make out for a while and Kuvira pushes your legs apart once more, tracing her fingers up and down your heat down to your slit and she pulls away from the kiss. “All this… for me?” She whispers as a statement rather than a question, referring to how wet you were right now, and you hum in confirmation.

She continues to trace around your slit and your body was now growing hungry once more. You wanted her inside you. “Vee…” you whined “What?” she asks, locking eyes with you.

“What do you want princess?” she repeats

“please…” you whined

“please what?” she pushes “tell me what you want… what do you want?” she whispers against your lips, not breaking eye contact with you

“I want you…” you mutter

“You want me to what?” Kuvira asks softly already knowing the answer from the way your lust-filled eyes looked at her “I want to hear you say it”

“Fuck me…” you answer breathless

“You want me to fuck you?” She reiterates and you nod your head yes “fuck me… please Vee” and you feel her middle finger pressing to your entrance slowly sliding it in “Yeah?” she asks again “Yeah” you confirm and your eyes fall shut when you feel her bury her strong finger in your heat.

She pumps her one finger in and out slowly before adding a second finger in. Your breath hitches and a string of moans fall from you lips when she starts pumping faster and deeper hitting your sweet spot and you grip her shoulders when she does. Kuvira slowed down for a while before sliding her fingers deep enough to curls her fingers inside you directly hitting your sweet spot and you let out another moan. She doesn’t stop curling her fingers knowing very well what she was hitting. You open your eyes to meet hers and you were so close.

“You like that?” and you nod your head, not trusting yourself enough to form words. “That’s right baby… Come for me one more time… Come for me Y/N” she says, and you were now rocking your hips to meet her fingers as you shut your eyes once more feeling the intensity of your nearing orgasm “Yes Vee… Don’t stop” and you mutter this like a mantra until your body is now jerking from climax. You were breathing so heavily now, moaning Kuvira’s name repeatedly as she slowly pumped her fingers inside of you letting you ride your orgasm out. She pulls out and licks her own fingers clean. Spirits, it was the most erotic thing you’ve ever seen. Your body collapses onto the covers of your bed and Kuvira joins beside you a few moments later your heavy breaths the only thing echoing in the room.

~ ~ ~

It was passed midnight and you were under the covers with Kuvira. Your head was on her chest as she had one arm wrapped around you, her index tracing lazy patterns on the dip of your waist, legs in a tangled mess. You were both staring in the dark.

“Vee?” you whispered, and she hummed in response, “Have you ever been in love?” you asked

“No” she answered. “You?”

“I don’t know” you answered, and she chuckles. “What do you mean?” she says, and you think about it for a while, “I don’t know what it feels like” you finally answer

“love is… when you’re willing to do anything for that person. Suffer for them, work for them, even die for them. When you want nothing more than to see them happy… even if it’s not with you.” She says quietly and you frown. “love sucks” you simply answer, and you feel Kuvira chuckle at your response, “yeah… I guess it does” she agrees, and you lift your head up from her chest to look up at her. You stare into each other’s eyes and you wonder how you’ve lived all your life without knowing this woman. How did you last more than a month in Zaofu without feeling this woman this close, being this intimate? And what do you do when it’s all gone?

“I love you.” you say, “Even if it sucks?” Kuvira replies and you suppress a smile “Even if it sucks.” You respond and Kuvira takes a beat before pulling your face into hers, giving you a sweet kiss.

“I love you too.” She says after pulling away “Even if it sucks?” you ask back and she laughs lightly, “You could be the death of me, and I would still choose to love you Y/N” she answers and your heart swells. You two smile at each other like idiots. You two were idiots. You press another kiss to her lips before laying your head back down on her chest.

None of you spoke after that. You felt Kuvira’s breathing slow and your eyes were drooping down. You fell asleep in each other’s arms.

You here something shuffling in the dark and you stir only to feel the other side of the bed empty. You slowly pry your eyes open and you see Kuvira in her pants and sports bra searching the floor for something.

“Vee… What are you doing?” you mutter half asleep

Kuvira finds her top and wears it, doing the first few buttons before walking towards you. She sits on the edge of the side of your bed and caresses your sleepy figure, “I have to go” she whispers. You groan in rejection and you lazily tug at her arm, “no… the sun is barely up… go back to sleep with me” you whine, and she laughs lightly at your childishness. “I would love nothing more princess… But I have to get ready for the day and make my rounds” she explains, and you groan in frustration “fine” you say sleepily. You feel her get up from the edge of the bed only to have something tosses at you a few moments later. Your eyes snap open and you immediately sit up. You looked down at the tossed item and you see a robe.

“You wouldn’t want Zhu Li catching you naked in bed now, would you?” Kuvira asks playfully standing at the foot of your bed and you secure the robe around your waist as Kuvira walks towards you again. She takes either side of your face and kisses the tip of your nose and you smile at the gesture before she gives you another peck, but this time on the lips. She holds your face for a while before she pulls away “I have to go…” she whispers with a disappointed tone and you shake your head in disapproval “I’m a princess so what I say goes and I want you to stay” you answer playfully earning a smile from Kuvira “I’m just kidding… do what you have to do captain. I’ll see you later” you smile at her and Kuvira kisses you deeper this time. “I love you, princess” she says after pulling away and you almost tear up from the fullness of your heart. “I love you, captain” you respond, and she moves away from you, much to your dismay and left the room.

You looked out the window, and the sun is barely peeking through. You let out a deep sigh and fell back into bed quickly drifting off to sleep once more.

A few hours later and Zhu Li enters your room with the sun shining this time and you greet Zhu Li with a bright smile and an overly enthusiastic “Good Morning!” and Zhu Li stops in her tracks and looks at you suspiciously. You stare back at her in confusion “what?” you ask.

“You seem… happy?” she says cautiously walking towards you to place your tray of breakfast down on your bed and you pretend to look shocked, “Am I not allowed to be happy?” you ask, faking offense. “No I’m glad you’re happy your highness it’s just… out of the blue” she explains and you were about to say something when you were cut off by a knock on your door and Kuvira entering your chambers, in a crisp new uniform and armor.

“Good Morning!” She says brightly with a big smile. Zhu Li raises an eyebrow and looks back and forth between you and Kuvira. After a few seconds of silence and staring at one another Zhu Li clears her throat and adjusts her glasses.

“I can’t say I’m surprised” she finally says, motioning between you and Kuvira, and you try to suppress a smile.

~ ~ ~

Another month goes by and you have never felt more happier in your life. You and Kuvira decided to keep your relationship between the two of you for practicality except for Zhu Li. You went through everyday as you usually would. You would spend your mornings either training with Kuvira or watching her train, the afternoon with Suyin or in the library, and the evening with the Beifongs during supper before you retire to your chambers with Kuvira as an “escort”.

You weren’t allowed to show public displays of affection, even alone in the library, you would sit a chair apart and would just occasionally steal glances or exchange passive flirtations and that was about the most you could do. You were still a princess after all, and she was a guard. Someone could easily walk in and catch the two of you.

You lived for your moments with Kuvira during the evening in your chambers. The walls you built around you during the day immediately crumble when you two are left alone. You two talk about anything about everything as you cuddle and share sweet kisses. A reserved quiet princess and a respected captain, now just simple people in love. After over a month of this dynamic, you two were more than just lovers now.

You two would share drinks, soak in the bath, or watch Kuvira make incident reports or she watches you sketch before you fall asleep in each other’s arms. It became a regular thing whenever Kuvira would sneak out before dawn for precaution and as much as you disliked waking up to her empty side of the bed, you understood. You had to.

You received another letter from your father two weeks ago saying that the rebels were surrendering, and they were in the process of meeting terms and negotiations which you were glad to hear. As much as you were happy, you missed your father, and it guilts you that he’s alone in Elysian taking care of a mess he shouldn’t have to because he was betrayed by his most trusted advisor shortly after the death of his own daughter and your sister. Meanwhile, you were here in Zaofu, not able to do anything about it. Kuvira tells you that your father would want you to be happy and that you shouldn’t guilt yourself that you are. And knowing your father, Kuvira was right, but you still can’t help but feel the guilt.

At the moment, you just finished bathing and you exit the bathroom in your night gown to see Kuvira on the couch reading a new book. You smiled and walked towards Kuvira, situating yourself beside her. She automatically extends her one arm to wrap around you and you put your head on her should before tucking your feet underneath you. “Am I dreaming or are you reading a book?” you ask playfully, and she rolls her eyes. “I’m just teasing” you say before giving her bare shoulder a peck. Kuvira’s eyes does not leave the page.

“What are you reading” you ask. “The Lord of the Flies” she answers shortly, “What is it about?” you ask as if you have never read the book and Kuvira raises an eyebrow at you knowing well enough that you knew what is was about “I’m not about tell you a story you already know” she states and you giggle, “You don’t know that… What if I’ve never read it?” you challenge, “I would bet our relationship and a million yuans that you’ve already read this…” and you pretend to frown.

“I genuinely thought I was going to be in a relationship with a princess, not an old lady stalker who’s read every scripture to ever exist and draws me in secret hoping I wouldn’t notice” she says playfully eyeing you, and you blush pretending to be offended.

“Well pardon me, for not being as cool as you, miss captain of the guard” you retort

“You wish you were as cool as me” she says as she closes the book and puts the book down

“I can be cool… I’m a master archer” you say as archery was literally your only impressive skill and she rolls her eyes at you. “Which reminds me!” you add, “I can’t believe you quit on our first lesson… I’m not that bad of a teacher, right?” you say somewhat seriously, and she laughs lightly. “What?” you ask not understanding her reaction.

“No… you were a good teacher actually” she says, and your eyes widen in surprise. “Well then why did you quit on our first lesson?” you ask and Kuvira locks eyes with you, her features tightening to look more collected as if she was about to tell you something very important.

“When you were teaching me… You were very close to me and your hands were touching mine.” She says seriously and your mouth falls slightly open in the revelation “your boobs were pressed against my back and you were whispering in my ear the entire time” she continues, and you stifle laugh. “At that point it was either I quit our lessons to make sure I’m never teased like that again, or I fuck you right then and there… obviously I chose the former to be more appropriate” she said with a smirk and you still couldn’t believe her reason “You fucked me a week after anyway so it didn’t really matter did it?” you joke and Kuvira laughs, “Are you complaining princess?” she asks and you shake your head no

“… I thought you quit because I was bad” you said and she shakes her head with a smile leaning closer to your face, “you were wonderful, my love… I’m afraid the issue was on me” she says before giving you a peck and before she pulls away you grab the back of her head pushing her back in again to deepen the kiss.

She snakes her arms around your waist, and she pulls you on top of her and you were now straddling her lap. Her hand settle on your ass gently squeezing when she pulls away to trace kiss down your jaw to your chest. You were about to pull the pins that held Kuvira’s hair up when—

Knock knock

causing you both immediately halt your activity and you instantly slide off Kuvira’s lap. “Who’s that?” Kuvira whispers in an alarmed tone and you shrug your shoulders “I don’t know, nobody knocks on my door in the evening except for you” you whisper back.

Knock knock

You two start to panic. “Should I hide?” Kuvira asks and you nod your head “just… stay here and out of sight okay.” You say

Knock knock

“Hold on!” you say loud enough to make sure whoever is on the other side of the door can hear you. You get off the couch and make your way to the door, grabbing a shawl on the for extra coverage. You swing the door open to be greeted by Suyin.

“Your majesty!” you greet surprised and you do a curtsy. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” you ask and Suyin does not say a word. She just looks at you with sad eyes. “Your Majesty?” you ask after a few moments of silence and you start to become nervous. You hear Kuvira’s footsteps as she walks to the door to reveal herself to Suyin.

Shock and realization flashes in Suyin’s eyes but she still did not say a word. You feel Kuvira walk closer to you and she gently puts a hand on your lower back discreetly. “Su… What’s wrong?” Kuvira asks for you, and Suyin’s eyes were glistening before a tear falls and your hands were starting to become clammy from nerves.

“Oh, my child… Someone’s here to see you” She finally says.

~ ~ ~

You were led to the receiving hall by Suyin with Kuvira shortly behind you and your mind was running wild of who might want to see you and what news they may bring. You were sure it wasn’t your father considering that he was in the middle of making terms and negotiations to finally end the attacks on your kingdom without having to start a war.

You enter the hall and you see a tall man with his back facing you. He was looking out of the stained-glass window with his hand behind his back. He was wearing an armor with your family crest on the shoulder cap. He looked familiar.

He turns around to face you and you immediately recognize this man, he was the King’s Guard. What is he doing here? He should be with my father. He walks towards you and kneels before you with his head down, “Your majesty” he greets you and your brain lags for a moment. Your majesty. That was meant for kings and queens why would he— “oh…” was all you managed to say not quite sure how to react.

“I am so sorry…” Suyin says as she pulls you into a hug and you bury your face into her neck. You didn’t know what to say or what to do. All you know is the pit in your stomach, the emptiness in your chest, your knees wanting to cave in, and the tears that were now streaming down your face. “Oh, my child…” Suyin gently whispers as you pull her tighter and your sob becomes louder. You feel Kuvira’s hand gently rubbing your back, but you refused to let Suyin go afraid that you might collapse if you do. You continue to cry.

He’s gone… The king… The only family you had left… Your father… is dead.

[souoes]

    ⌜ SHAY MITCHELL  |  SHE/HER ⌟  ——  ANGEL PASCUAL is a THIRTY THREE year old CIS FEMALE  .  they are located in DISTRICT TWO where they are employed as a RIGHT-HAND  . they are known to be BOLD & SINCERE  ,  but they can also be TEMPERAMENTAL & POSSESSIVE  .

below the cut are a few connections for angel  !  i’ll definitely add and edit as we go  ,  but these are just some starting points  .  feel free to like if one (  or more  !  ) catch your eye  ------  i’d love to see any and all of them taken <3

🌹  𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃  →  𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐔𝐀𝐋 .

➤  bonds.   i’m trying to pay off an old debt to a generous benefactor  ; i wish my sweetheart had come with me to pursue my destiny  . ➤  flaws.   i can’t resist a pretty face  ;  i have trouble keeping my feelings hidden  ,  my tongue lands me in trouble  . ➤  status.  membership known by fellow district members  ,  right-hands / leaders of other districts  ,  select others  (  undercover  )

    in the past she was a childhood celebrity  ,  starring in a string of films that helped secure her parents’ favorites as they cozied up to the government and used their connections to conceal the dirty work of her uncle  ,  a phantom rider himself  .  the pascuals and the phantom riders have always enjoyed a tenuous relationship  ,  a source for a lot of anxiety within the two groups as they grapple for control and power in chicago  ,  but angel believes heartily in reaping the benefits of someone else’s hard work  .  after realizing she wasn’t interested in starring in films anymore  ,  she attended college and earned a degree in art restoration  .  she currently works at a museum with a wing dedicated to preserving and protecting historical artifacts praising their city’s history and the Party  .  no one suspects she also slipped into her uncle’s favor and began working alongside him with the riders --- first as a drug runner to the glitz and glamorous parties of the city’s reckless elite  ,  then as a spy  .  angel’s taken the helm as the right-hand just recently  ,  and she’s in no mood to prove that this is where she belongs  .  

    connections.  childhood friends  (  connected to upper-class citizens  ,  or with access to the film / art industry  )  ,  a mentor within the phantom riders  (  or the child / connected to her mentor  )  ,  college connections  ,  old party friends  ,  someone she recruited into the phantom riders and sort of moms  ,  (  possibly  ) the love of her life where they broke up but the wounds still feel too fresh  (  heads up she’s lesbian af  )  ,  a ride or die who keeps her ass in line  ,  people who don’t trust her or her family because of their strong ties to the Party  ,  someone she used to be best friends with but they’re in rival districts  (  district 1 or 4  )  ,  someone in an allied district she doesn’t trust at all  (  district 3  )  ,  an escort she frequently takes to public events  ,  a fresh face in the districts she’s a little too sweet on  (  definitely have ulterior motives  )  ,  a favorite in the phantom riders she’s taken on as a personal adviser or bodyguard  ,  a friends with benefits situation  ,  her older sister’s ex and they’re supposed to work together but it’s Hard  ,  her personal trainer and drill sergeant and arch enemy  (  only when they’re working out  )  ,  a pain in her ass  ,  someone she’s positive is going to kill her one day  ,  yikes she stole your woman  ...  #notsorry  ,  shopping ad brunch buddy  

[ninjagoruinedmylife]

Lost and Found - Ninjago OC Shipping Week Day 1

@ninjagoocshippingweek

Holo friends, and welcome to the beginning of our adventure!! I think i'm the person who should say it since i post the first day prompt: for this challange, me, @clumsinessinperson and @evelinaonline decided to ~collaborate~, which means that each of us will do two prompts and then we all post something on the final day! We decided that because we are all lowkey chaotic and don't have time to do smth for all the days our OCs exist within the same universe and we lowkey adopted each others' OCs and love them as dearly as our own *dabs*

For today, i wrote a fanfic about how Cora (@evelinaonline daughter) and Ava (the daughter of us three) met!! It takes part in "our" season tho it's more like a special episode or s10 when it comes to the lenght lmao in which Teddy (@clumsinessinperson daughter) gets kidnapped and i don't have time to explain everuthing okay let's go lesbians let's go-

***

Cora could only blame herself for the situation she just got in.

Once they sneaked into the gang's hideout, the guards were immediately alarmed due to the suprisingly good security system, which meant that they had to be quick. Everyone parted ways and started searching each of the many corridors in the building. Cora didn't even dare to ask for a partner who could help her - the more people were exploring the place, the bigger was the chance that they will find Teddy quickly. She thought that she will figure something out, like always.

Since she was blind and had no one to let her borrow their sight, she looked through the eyes of the guard she found in the next hall, walking in front of her. Unluckily for her, he noticed her after a some time, and she had to act - without much thinking, she hit him in the stomach with her staff. The last thing she saw before he passed out after crashing into the wall was her confident smirk.

Way too confident, it turned out.

Cora suddenly realised something quite important: until she finds someone, she's gonna be fully blind. Trying not to panic, she lowered her staff and started using it as a cane. She took a few steps forward and desperately searched for the memories of the few times when Jacob wanted to teach her how to function without using her powers. In calm, normal situations she managed to remind herself some of them and use them, but at that moment everything seemed like falling apart. She should be better than this, Teddy's life was at stake, damm it! But there she was, lump growing in her throat as she tried to navigate through a never ending hall...

And what if Teddy was asleep or unconcious? How is she gonna find her like that? How is she even gonna get out of there like that?

She let out an annoyed sight as she nearly walked into the wall. The panic inside of her only grew when she turned right and entered yet another hall. She wanted to focus on her other senses, just like her dad taught her, but she couldn't gather her thoughts at all. The voices ringing in her head told her that while the others are out there fighting and saving Teddy, she's wandering, clueless and useless. Cora had to go on, she had to help her best friend, she had to support the others, but suddenly it got harder to breathe and her brain was flooded with dark thoughts and she couldn't see anything she couldn't rescue Teddy-

She tripped and fell on her knees, breathing heavily. She had to calm down, breaking like that wouldn't help anyone and she had a mission, a personal one, to fulify... Usually motivating herself like that saved her from completly losing her mind, it kept her in a state good enough to finish what she had to do. It was selfish to focus on yourself when you should focus on someone else.

Though at that exact moment Cora just couldn't do anything, for anyone.

She let out a muffled sob and tried to stand up; no way, she was too dizzy for that. She tightened the grip on her staff ad managed to get on one knee like that.

"Come on," she whispered to herself, and with the sound of her own voice in the deadly silent hall the knot in her chest loosened up a bit.

Wait, but was it still deadly silent? She suddenly heard someone's quick steps and loud panting. That person was going to appear in front of her soon, Cora realised, and then took a few deep breaths. She had to be ready to use her power anytime. She closed her eyes and waited, the steps only getting closer.

Now! She opened her eyes and saw herself kneeling on a floor a few meters away from the person. She raised her head at them as they stopped instead of running right at her and attacking her in her weak moment. Weird.

"Are you hurt?" A soft, deeply caring voice asked her. The girl whose sight Cora was using pulled a streak of long, blonde hair from her face.

She couldn't be a part of the gang, or at least it was highly doubtful. Would anyone here really care whether she was okay or not?

After the first wave of confusion, Cora realised she still didn't answer. Not trusting her voice, she just nodded quickly.

"Are you Teddy's friend? I heard an alarm and someone mentioned ninjas, and-"

"Where is she? Can you take me to her?" A new hope appeared in her after girl's words, a hope strong enough to make her stand up and take a few steps forward. Now they were standing face to face, close enough that she could see her own expression hardening with determination.

"I'll lead the way." The girl nodded, grabbed her hand and turned around. Now it seemed that they were going back to where she came from. "I'm Ava, by the way. I've been taking care of Teddy, so I can assure you she's alive. Not in a best state, but I did everything I could to help her. Poor thing, she really didn't deserve to be in the centre of this mess..."

"That's... nice of you," Cora blurted out, suprised by Ava's kidness and compassion. What a person like her did in a place like this? "Also, my name is-"

They walked into another corridor and saw a tall men leaning on the wall and saying something into a walkie-talkie. His eyes widened, but before he managed to do anything, Ava harshly took the comunicator from him and turned it off.

"What..." he mumbled and knitted his brows. Ava tilted her head, stepped on his foot, hit him in the nose and then kicked his chest. He fell on the floor, fully knocked out.

She turned back at Cora and, with her knuckles covered in blood, grabbed her hand again.

"Cora. I know. Teddy talked about you." Ava said. Cora could've sworn that the other girl smiled after seeing her mouth forming a perfect o. "Now let's move forward, shall we?"

That was impressive, she had to admit. And effective, which mattered the most.

With an ally like this, she was going to get Teddy out of there in no time.

[thelastrose98]

Things I’ve learned so far about ENVS in college

Note: I am a white (questioning/gender non conforming) cafab lesbian with Jewish heritage experiencing ADHD, anxiety and PTSD. I have access to this knowledge because of my parents middle class standing and my ability to attend a college where I can be allowed to explore these topics of conversation.

My experiences are not universal and therefore my viewpoint is not the only one that exists. I encourage you (the reader) to do your own research if you have the time wether that means talking to local groups around you or being able to take a class of you have the financial means.

Do not look over the voices/ testimonials of PoC in favor of what I am telling you.

I am using this as a tool to spark deeper conversation common in white environmentalism and putting it here as a reminder to not take everything at face value- when you are striving to make a more moral consumer choice. I do not know everything and am always learning- some things I’ve heard/ weighing consequences of are the following:

Vegan does not equal completely cruelty free (see: farm workers rights, exploitation of colonized countries for labor and natural reseources)

Vegan is not always sustainable (see: plastics in vegan leather vs natural materials and post consumer waste)

Green washed consumerism is not always better than “wasteful” consumption and is not the same as changing your consumer behavior

“Organically Certified” grown food is not always healthier, remember to check where the certifications are coming from, what are the impacts on both the environment AND the people who produced it!!

Don’t judge someone for not choosing “more ethical” consumer practices- you do not know if it is inaccessible to them due to financial circumstances (We CAN actively try to shift the culture to change towards more wide access to more ethically produced/ healthier/ better quality materials AND the treatment of the people responsible for making them)

Having access to more “fruits and vegetables” does not mean that someone has *access* to prepared nutritious food. Your 24 hours are not the same as everyone else, not everyone can afford to spend the time to make a healthy and nutritious meal from scratch all the time.

Food security also acknowledges the importance of culturally appropriate food to allow for the preservation of cultural communities, particularly communities of color who- due to the effects/actions of environmental rascism are targeted by the creation of “food deserts”.

Access to culturally appropriate food creates community through shared skill/taste/heritage and the ability to connect with others. Erasure of culturally significant foods and their availability is an impact of white colonialism and is a method of breaking down cultural identity.

Principles of Environmental Rascism should be fundamentally be apart of conversations around conservation projects (who do they really serve?), development vs gentrification, discussions of “wilderness” in white environmentalism and conservation efforts, land stewardship and sustainable use of locally accessible natural resources. Don’t be afraid to question why things are a certain way!

What is E.R? Disproportionate displacement of the negative effects of production on communities predominantly made of people of color is slow violence contributing to inter generational effects of rascism imposed by systemic structures built to keep white people in power.

The solution? It’s complicated but at the moment the forefront of Environmental Justice movements are led by PoC particularly I’ve noticed an encouraging growth of women of color their importance in environmental spaces- empowered by community, creating policy that dismantles systemic harms and aims to give communities and individual people of color the power to navigate spaces predimately held to serve the interests of rich white people. Advocating for better education on big complex issues that have more factors than commonly present at face value for people who are not impacted by them. Accept that you as a person will always be learning, you will never know everything, having compassion for your fellow humans and LISTEN. Try not to react defensively when told you are passively contributing to these issues, make an effort to USE YOUR VOICE amongst other people who don’t understand their impacts and STEP BACK for historically disenfranchised groups of people to be given a chance to advocate for themselves (this doesn’t mean that you can’t be an active ally, but realize it’s not your place to take up space in a social justice movement and be wary of becoming complicit in the “white savior” complex).

I wrote this post so other white people might be able to start questioning things we take for granted as “enough” when it comes to social justice in environmental movements and hopefully let some non ENVS/ESCI majors into the discussion happening right now in conversations towards improving/ redefining a better vision of the future of environmentalism.

Please add more- I didn’t get to elaborate on everything as this is a tumblr textpost and I just had the urge to get this down- (thank you hyperfocus)

I am open to criticism as I know that I cannot possibly understand everything and want to learn more so that I can be apart of active social change that provides the foundation and context for my degree (Environmental Science)

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2018 Anime I watched ranked from weakest to strongest

I watched six anime during the Summer 2018 anime season and I’ve now written full length reviews for each of them! So here my personal rankings of what I watched from weakest to strongest. Each anime title links to my in-depth review of said series, so feel free to click! For all the reviews at once, please see my anime overview tag here.

I wouldn’t call any of the anime on this list bad, nor would I give any a blanket anti-recommendation for any of them. It’s just some of these series were weaker than others in my opinion and there’s ups and downs and things to warn for. Hope you enjoy and find it useful!

Banana Fish (episodes 1-12)

Eiji meets a seventeen-year-old gangster named Ash Lynx on a trip to New York and is quickly pulled into a world of violence and conspiracies.

When we judge this series as an adaptation, its definitely the weakest thing I watched, because the modern update of this 80s manga is almost entirely superficial and that can be quite jarring. We’re supposed to believe this is set today, but the narrative is extremely 80s and some of the conversations the characters have don’t make much sense in a modern setting. Though the story is something that’s fascinating and valuable taken in the context of its place in the history of shoujo manga, removing it from that context doesn’t do it any favors.

There’s charm to both the characters and the sweetness of the romantic relationship between Ash and Eiji, but a lot of the content is both endlessly and melodramatically tragic and also potentially triggering. Definitely be prepared for a TON of rape, csa, abuse, violence and murder if you watch this. 

Phantom in the Twilight

Bailieu Ton arrives in London expecting an exciting college life, but instead ends up on a quest to rescue her best friend who has been kidnapped by demons. She finds allies in a gang of supernatural young men who were acquainted with her magically powerful great-grandmother.

While the plot is mediocre and the animation even moreso, this series shows its value in being an otome story that has a truly awesome leading lady. Ton is dynamic, self-possessed, has a strong friendship with another girl and she kicks a TON of ass. She has a fun relationship with her squad of boy-toys and is always on equal footing with them and the few times any of them try to act controlling they are called out hard.. So if you want a reverse-harem story/paranormal romance that features a more active heroine and jettisons the more toxic tropes that pervade the genre, this is a good choice, even if the narrative itself is nothing to write home about.

My Hero Academia (episodes 52-63)

Izuku Midoriya continues his quest to become the greatest superhero and takes his hero provisional license exams.

This is probably among the weakest arcs MHA has had so far, though it still has its fair share of entertaining and worthwhile moments, not to mention one truly excellent episode. The characters introduced at the very end of the season have potential too. Mostly it was an enjoyable enough watch, but definitely didn’t live up to the high-stakes thrills of the arc before it.

Cell at Work!

Anthropomorphized cells do their best to keep the body they inhabit alive and well. 

This is an extremely cute edutainment show. It’s nothing mindblowing, and the narration can be a bit much, but if you want an adorable, fun time that teaches you a little something about the human body, this is a good choice. Also I want to marry NK Cell.

Planet With

Soya Kuroi is an amnesiac boy living with with a weird cat monster and a cheerful but mysterious girl dressed like a maid and his life gets even stranger when he’s told to jump in a giant robot and  fight the local superheroes.

These 12 episodes contained more plot and climatic moments than a lot of anime has in 50 episodes and despite the breakneck pace and huge amount of events packed in, it was extremely cohesive and solid story throughout. The characters were lovable and varied, there was a loft of thematic heft to the series exploration of pacifism and freedom vs justice and security, it was goofy and weird while also being emotional heartbreaking at times...I definitely recommend this show. It’s the full Wacky Space Mecha Anime experience in a compact package. Also, it has cool ladies.

Revue Starlight

Karen Aijou is doing her best at her Takarazuka theatre school, only for everything to change when her childhood friend Hikari suddenly transfers in. She follows Hikari down a mysterious elevator and discovers her friend is engaged in a bizarre swordfight competition to become the “Top Star”, preceeded over by a talking giraffe.

If you love Takarazuka, theatre, sword fights,lesbians, weird metaphors, Revolutionary Girl Utena and other Ikuhara work or all of the above, I definitely recommend this show.. The series surreally and smartly explores Takarazuka, show biz and adolescence with lots of creative, beautifully animated musical fight scenes and contains a lot of twists and turns along the way. While I think it could have stood to be a bit longer, more in-depth and bit stronger with its characters, it’s definitely a series that’s fun to analyze and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the discussion that’s come out of it (see some linked in my review). Strap in for a wild ride and enjoy one of the Top Stars of the season.

[iobnewsnetwork]

After Erdogan’s Attacks, Fear Spreads Among L.G.B.T.Q. People in Turkey

When Yasemin Oz, a lesbian lawyer in Istanbul, heard President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claiming victory after a runoff election on Sunday, she said she feared for the future. In his speech, he declared “family is sacred for us” and insisted that L.G.B.T.Q. people would never “infiltrate” his governing party. They were familiar themes, heard often throughout Mr. Erdogan’s campaign for re-election: He frequently attacked L.G.B.T.Q. people, referring to them as “deviants” and saying they were “spreading like the plague.” But Ms. Oz said she had hoped it was just electioneering to rally the president’s conservative base. “I was already worried about what was to come for us,” said Ms. Oz, 49. But after the speech, she thought, “it will get harsher.” The rights and freedoms of L.G.B.T.Q. citizens became a lightning-rod issue during this year’s election campaign. Mr. Erdogan, facing the greatest political threat of his two decades as the country’s dominant leader and seeking to woo conservatives, repeatedly attacked his opponents for supposedly supporting gay rights. The anti-Erdogan opposition mostly avoided the topic for fear of alienating some of its own voters. That left many L.G.B.T.Q. people fearing that the discrimination they have long faced by the government and conservative parts of society could worsen — and feeling that no one in the country had their backs. “People are scared and having dystopian thoughts like, ‘Are we going to be slashed or violently attacked in the middle of the street?’” said Ogulcan Yediveren, a coordinator at SPoD, an L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group in Istanbul. “What will happen is that people will hide their identities, and that is bad enough.” Turkey, a predominantly Muslim society with a secular state, does not criminalize homosexuality and has laws against discrimination. But in recent conversations, more than a dozen L.G.B.T.Q. people said they often struggled to find jobs, secure housing and get quality health care as well as to be accepted by their friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. Supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrating his victory in Istanbul on Sunday.

An aerial view of a mosque and an election poster for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Kayseri, Turkey in April. Turkey is a predominantly Muslim society with a secular state. In recent years, they said, they have encountered new restrictions on their visibility in society. Universities have shut down L.G.B.T.Q. student clubs. And since 2014, the authorities have banned Pride parades in major cities, including in Istanbul, where crowds in the tens of thousands used to participate. That tracks with Mr. Erdogan’s vision for Turkey. Since the start of his national political career in 2003, he has increased his own power while promoting a conservative Muslim view of society. He insists that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, and encourages women to have three children to build the nation. Rights advocates say that as Mr. Erdogan has gained power, his conservative outlook has filtered down, encouraging local authorities to restrict L.G.B.T.Q. activities and pushing the security forces to crack down on gay rights activism. Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. rhetoric was more prominent during this election than in past cycles, even though there are no looming legal changes that would expand or limit rights. No political party is trying to legalize same-sex marriage or adoption, for example, or expand medical care for transgender youth. Instead, Mr. Erdogan and his allies use the issue to galvanize conservatives. “What they want to impose on society in terms of other values is full of hatred and violence toward us,” said Nazlican Dogan, 26, who is facing legal charges related to participation in pro-L.G.B.T.Q. protests at Bogazici University in Istanbul. “It was really ugly and it made us feel that we can’t exist in this country, like I should just leave.”

Bambi Ceren, right, and other members of a Pride week organizing committee gather in an apartment in Istanbul. Nazlican Dogan, who is facing legal charges related to pro-L.G.B.T.Q. protests at a university, in Istanbul last week. During his campaign, Mr. Erdogan characterized L.G.B.T.Q. people as a threat to society. “If the concept of family is not strong, the destruction of the nation happens quickly,” he told young people during a televised meeting in early May. “L.G.B.T. is a poison injected into the institution of the family. It is not possible for us to accept that poison as a country whose people are 99 percent Muslim.” In April, his interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, went even further, falsely claiming that gay rights would allow humans to marry animals. SPoD, the advocacy group, asked parliamentary candidates during the campaign to sign a contract to protect L.G.B.T.Q. rights. Fifty-eight candidates signed, and 11 of them won seats in the 600-member legislature, said Mr. Yediveren, the coordinator. His group has also tried to expand legal protections for L.G.B.T.Q. people. While certain laws prohibit discrimination, they do not specifically mention sexual identity or orientation, he said. At the same time, the authorities often cite vague concepts like “general morals” and “public order” to act against activities they don’t like, such as Pride week events. “This week is very important because we don’t have physical locations we can come together as a community to support each other,” said Bambi Ceren, 34, a member of a committee planning events for this year’s Pride week, which begins on June 19. Image

A drag performer who uses the stage name Florence Konstantina Delight at a club in Istanbul.People socialize at Ziba, a gay-friendly bar in Istanbul. Last year, the police prevented Pride events and arrested people who gathered to take part, committee members said. SPoD runs a national hotline to field queries about sexual orientation, legal protections or how to access medical care or other services. The group can solve most issues related to services, Mr. Yediveren said, but most callers’ problems are social and emotional. “People are feeling very lonely and isolated,” he said. Transgender individuals struggle to find jobs, housing and proper medication and care. And gay men and lesbians are sometimes forced into heterosexual marriages and fear coming out to their families and co-workers. Worrying about, “‘Will I be caught one day?’ causes a lot of stress for them,” Mr. Yediveren said. And the threat of violence is real. Some L.G.B.T.Q. people said they had been beaten by the security forces during protests or met with indifference from the police while being harassed on the street. A survey last year by ILGA-Europe, a rights organization, ranked Turkey second-to-last out of 49 European countries on L.G.B.T.Q. rights. Another group, Transgender Europe, said that 62 transgender people had been killed in Turkey between 2008 and 2022. Many L.G.B.T.Q. people fear that the demonization during the campaign will make that threat more acute. A queer university student from Turkey’s Kurdish minority, who grew up in a smaller city with no significant L.G.B.T.Q. presence, said she feared that bad days were ahead. Image

Members of a Pride week organizing committee spraying graffiti in Istanbul. Berat, an openly gay architecture student, works as a hairdresser in Istanbul. People who would not normally commit violence might feel empowered to do so because the government had spread hatred for people like her, she said, claiming they were sick, dangerous or a threat to the family. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being attacked. Despite the increased danger, many L.G.B.T.Q. people vowed to keep fighting for their rights and maintaining their visibility in society. To deal with the fear of random attacks, they plan to look out for each other more to ensure they are safe. In Istanbul, a 25-year-old drag performer who goes by the stage name Florence Konstantina Delight and uses gender-neutral pronouns called the new attention unsettling. “In the whole history of queer life in Turkey, we could never be that visible,” they said in an interview. “But because of the election, everyone was talking about us.” They described growing up in Turkey as “full of abuse, full of denial, full of teachers ignoring your existence and what happened to you, like your pals bullying you.” At age 16, Florence accepted their sexual identity, attended a Pride parade and set up a Facebook account with a fake name to contact L.G.B.T.Q. organizations and make friends, eventually stumbling upon someone at the same high school. They later moved to Istanbul, where they perform weekly at a rare L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly bar. Mr. Erdogan’s win on Sunday caused Florence despair. “I stared into space for a while,” they said. Image

A woman dancing at a lesbian bar in Istanbul in front of an image of Kemal Kılıcdaroglu, who lost to Mr. Erdogan in the presidential election. Read the full article

[rainofaugustsith]

Suvia Kallig, for the oc tag ask c:

Thank you so much for the ask! :D    Full Name: Suvia Kallig (Darth Nox)    Gender and Sexuality: Female, lesbian  Pronouns: She/her  Ethnicity/Species: Twi'lek  Birthplace and Birthdate: 3662 BBY, Ryloth. In Western zodiac she would be a Leo.  Guilty Pleasures: Suvia likes spas, manicures, getting her lekku buffed. Also ancient/expensive jewelry.  Phobias:Anything that is tight around her neck (slave collar trauma memories there), being trapped in small spaces  What They Would Be Famous For: Her rise to power and her vast knowledge of Sith history and lore.  What They Would Get Arrested For: Probably killing the wrong person, but after surviving Darth Thanaton’s vendetta it’s unlikely anyone would attempt this with her. OC You Ship Them With: None. Suvia was with Ashara before the Eternal Empire took her out of commission, and right now she’s single. 

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Probably Lira the Jedi, although head to head in a fight, it’s very unlikely that Lira would win against Suvia. For the others, Viri adores Suvia - they are friends and colleagues since Viri’s Wrath days; Jia also knows her and gets along with her, and Taran and Brynn would not even try. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Books and documentaries about history and ancient Sith lore. If she were in our world she would probably be addicted to the History Channel and National Geographic. 

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Suvia hates redemption and forgiveness arcs, and slasher/graphic horror.     Talents and/or Powers: Suvia is not physically the strongest person by a long shot, but she’s a powerhouse when it comes to the Force. Force storms, lightning, chokes, telekinesis, she can do it all, and she’s constantly improving her powers. Part of my head canon for Suvia is that she lets the old Lord Kallig and the other ghosts tutor her in every and any Force skills they are willing to show her, and that Khem Val also teaches her as much as he can about Tulak Hord’s techniques.    Suvia is also extremely smart. She learns new languages quickly and has a nearly photographic memory. Tell her something once and she won’t forget it.  Why Someone Might Love Them: Suvia loves learning and if someone else wants to talk to her about history, the Force or Sith lore, she will geek out and talk to them for hours. It’s one way to actually get to know her. She’s very loyal to friends and allies and unlike others, she will never, ever sell them out. She’s come a long way and overcome much to become Darth Nox.  Why Someone Might Hate Them: Suvia received some hate when she was a Dark Councillor because she was young, female, a Twi'lek and a former slave. But she has no time for assholes with such prejudice. Suvia is another one of my characters who truly can be frightening if you’re on her bad side, as well.  How They Change: Much like Taran, a lot of Suvia’s journey in the class story is about finding people who truly have her back and like her for her. She’s stunned when Zash’s apprentices want to help her, and when Khem Val nearly sacrifices himself to save her from Zash’s ritual, and don’t stab her in the back afterward. She learns how to have friends and be a friend. She finds an actual blood relative in Lord Kallig, and she’s never before had anyone watch out for her that way. Suvia’s also finally able to explore her own sexuality with her first real relationship, with Ashara (who is about the same age, is also trying to figure her world out, and is also new to it all). By the time you get to Shadow of Revan, where Suvia is a member of the coalition (Viri is the lead, but Suvia and her team are right there and they storm the Temple of Sacrifice together. Lana and Suvia are the team members who do the ritual to help destroy Vitiate’s device), she feels she has actually allies and friends and a lover she cares about. 

When Suvia is rescued after KOTET (Viri and Lana finally discover where she’s being held in carbonite) she again has to reacquaint herself with the idea of people who like her for her, without an ulterior motive.    Suvia also grows a lot in the Force and is able to finally feel secure doing what she wants - learning - instead of constantly fighting for her place.  Why You Love Them: Suvia was my first Sith Inquisitor and my second character, after Viri. Her story and her journey with friends really was compelling for me.    Suvia essentially forced me to pay attention to her. When I first started making other characters I was not sure how they could fit into Viri’s head canoned world. My initial idea was just to head canon that they’d all die when the Eternal Empire attacked so I shouldn’t get too attached to them. And then Suvia said “Not so fast, there” and walked into Viri’s world and set up camp, and she’s there to stay. My stubborn Darth Nox made me love her, and I’m grateful she did.

[lesbiancouplescounseling]

If you’re ready to create a secure and juicy relationship, but you can’t make it to our Denver office, we’ve got you covered. We now offer online lesbian relationship coaching to anywhere in the World.

Whether you’re in a committed relationship that needs a major tune-up or you’re flying sola and you’re (finally) ready to get back to dating…we can help. One of our expert relationship coaches at The Lesbian Couples Institute will be your ally and guide. Lending you a hand as you move towards ultimate relationship success.

Please, don’t just try to fumble or wish your way into relationship bliss.

I promise, you’ll get there quicker with an LGBT relationship coach that can teach you the short-cuts and proven wining relationship strategies.

Lucky for you, there’s no stigma against hiring a relationship coach. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that it’s a very hip thing to have your own coach these days. And for a very good reason…

Relationship coaching works! And often, it works better than counseling or therapy.

Why?

Because coaching is focused on solutions and building skills for today and your future. While therapy is often focused on the past and on discovering and treating underlying pathology.

Lesbian relationship coaching is a no-nonsense approach to help you identify your ideal relationship and show you the exact steps to get there, fast.

If you work with one of our talented coaches at The Lesbian Couples Institute, I can assure you that she’ll support and challenge you to stretch in the direction of your vision. You’ll be focusing on where you’re headed instead of spending so much time looking in the rear-view-mirror of your life.

Are you ready to create an amazing future?

At LCI, we offer relationship coaching for couples and for individuals. Which of our Lesbian Relationship Coaching services is right for you?

Lesbian Relationship Coaching for couples is the right fit if:

Both you and your partner want to work with a relationship coach together

You’re each motivated to learn communication skills to last a lifetime

One (or both) of you are concerned about your future

You are both weary of feeling disconnected, unheard, and lonely

The adjustment to parenthood is kicking your butts

You feel like you’ve lost your independence and your individual identity

Sex isn’t happening as often as at least one of you would like

You want to learn how to become a remarkable team

Each of you is sick of either fighting so much that you have a toxic relationship, or avoiding conflict to the point that your relationship has gotten bland and boring

Lesbian Relationship Coaching for individuals is your best bet if:

Your partner is refusing to get relationship help with you

She’s told you that she’s not in love with you anymore and she doesn’t think coaching or counseling will help

You want to stop making things worse in your relationship

You’re thinking you’d like to make healthy changes in yourself that can have a positive impact on your relationship

You’ve recently gone through a breakup and you don’t want to jump right back into a relationship until you deal with your s#*t

Being single is getting lonely, but you’re scared you’ll make the same mistakes that you made in the past

You have no clue how to attract lesbian love that lasts

Life stress is weighing you down in a big way

Relationship Coaching is not recommended if:

You and your partner are reeling from an affair and you want help as a couple (A private Lesbian Couples Retreat in Denvernwould be a better fit)

You’re suffering from a mental illness (such as depression or bipolar disorder) that will respond better to individual therapy nor couples counseling

There is violence or abuse currently happening in your relationship

You can keep limping along, feeling sad that you don’t have the relationship of your dreams. Or you can contact The Lesbian Couples Institute, today, to get started on creating a powerful and happy relationship.

Yep, you’ve got a choice to make.

And since you’re still here reading this, I’m guessing a part of you is ready to step forward and fight for a relationship that you can be proud of.

You don’t have to fight for that alone. One of our expert coaches will be there to help you quickly master the tools you’ll need to design and build a secure and happy relationship. A relationship that will endure for life.

A good, satisfying relationship (more than fortune or fame) is the most rewarding thing we can achieve in our lifetime.

Don’t be shy about reaching out for state-of-the-art lesbian relationship coaching at LCI. Our coaches are excited to have an opportunity to help you create the relationship that you deeply long for.

By the way, our coaches aren’t just terrific because they’re each highly trained relationship coaches. They are also great because they are part of our LGBT community.

So, you can feel completely comfortable and at ease knowing that they get you. That they’ve literally walked in your shoes. And not only do they really understand the issues that are unique to lesbian couples, but they know the best way to fix them.

Lesbian Relationship Coaching FAQs

Do I have to go to Denver to get coaching from The Lesbian Couples Institute?

So glad you asked! No matter where you live, we can help you.

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What if I want to sign up for relationship coaching, but my partner refuses to?

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Definitely! We offer coaching for single women, too. If you need help with life stress, healing from a breakup, or preparing for your next relationship — we’ve got your back. Give us a call today, so that you can make your life vision your reality.

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Unfortunately, no. Like gym memberships and other services that promote your well being, coaching is a not a service that the health insurance industry has chosen to cover.

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[3d10fire-damage]

red sun summary (09/10/2020)

this session began with zoroe, flanked by her “security detail” calypso and khaela meeting with Princess Rubatu in her chambers (with special guest Ori playing the princess). the princess looked as if she were trying to breathe easily again, like she was not yet out of the woods, while her retainer Miltu hovered nearby. zoroe bowed in a polite greeting and received a confused looked from the princess, who returned her greeting without meeting her eyes. zoroe asked the princess how she had been, even though it hadn’t been that long since they last met. Rubatu looked to Miltu, and the pair scooted closer together, joining hands. only then did the princess meet zoroe’s eyes. Rubatu was obviously terrified and trying to hiding, not really doing a good job of it. zoroe shot a concerned look to her “bodyguards” and asked if Rubatu was well. the princess nodded and asked what zoroe wanted of her.

zoroe simply said she was checking on Rubatu, who asked if this was a joke. Miltu also questioned why zoroe bothered. “when we came in yesterday, i realized i hadn’t been taking things... i’ve been changing my perspective. i don’t think we made the wrong decision, but the decision impacted many and i don’t have a say in the lives of others. i thought it best to come and see how things are before we leave.” Rubatu still remained confused, and said that this wasn’t the party’s fault. “i didn’t do the right thing. i deserve what i get, and i’ve accepted that. i appreciate you trying to make me feel better but i’ve come to peace with it.” now zoroe was confused. “but weren’t you kidnapped?” Rubatu said yes, but she could have said no to the King. but she didn’t and now others were dead. zoroe politely disagreed with that line of thinking, but she added that she wasn’t here to argue. she came to the palace to make sure Rubatu was well and ask some questions.

“what do you know of Dasari?” the princess explained that Dasari had been in the royal guard for a long time, that she was a good fighter and politician, that she had served Rubatu’s dad, and that she was very good at her job but she wasn’t a warm person. zoroe glanced briefly at Miltu, then back to the princess and asked what she imagined was coming for her, as a result of all this. Rubatu shrugged and guessed something like imprisonment or death. once again it was clear that she was nervous but holding up a front. then there was a knock at the door before Dasari appeared in the doorway. she hadn’t realized the princess was having company and asked if she should come back later. Rubatu, scared, said that she could do whatever and allowed her to come in.

Dasari entered, saying that that Rubatu’s private quarters were still hers, even if her power didn’t go far beyond that. then she greeted the three members of the party, jokingly asking if they were plotting a new coup already. calypso just gave her a mischievous smile. Dasari set down some clay tablets on Rubatu’s table. “seeing as your are entertaining guests, we will meet later, but have a look at these documents.” then she gave a salute and left. calypso suddenly burst out with a question of her own. “why don’t you just leave?” Rubatu explained that her family had ruled for a long time, and if she run off the family would be looked down on. calypso countered with “not to be an asshole, but you already are.” then she asked what Rubatu, herself, wanted. zoroe, mortified, put her hand over calypso’s mouth, only for the tiefling to lick her palm. free to speak again, calypso repeated her question. what did the princess want to do, not as someone’s daughter, but just as herself? khaela seemed to agree with calypso’s questioning, a sense of understanding among those who ran away from their homes. looking first to Miltu, Rubatu admitted that she wanted to run and never come back. “then do it!” “but if the people want to have me pay for what i’ve done, i will accept that.”

at this point there was a little banter between the party members, so Rubatu took a moment to look at some of the documents Dasari had given her. there were reports of depleted food stores, as well as details for her future relationship with Dasari as rule, spelling out that Rubatu would be a puppet princess that gave full blessing to Dasari. she would have full autonomy in her chambers but no authority beyond that. Rubatu explained some of this to the group, and zoroe concluded that it didn’t sound fun at all. “i suppose not.” then the princess leaned closer to Miltu. khaela, pointing out the obvious, said that those two should just be together. Miltu was mortified, turning away but still holding Rubatu’s hand. khaela went on to say they were cute and they shouldn’t go die in a hole just because people think they should. “you should redeem yourself in other ways rather than just being a puppet. you can make up for the bad you’ve done.” zoroe added that she wasn’t convinced what the princess had done was “bad” but it didn’t sound to her like what was planned for Rubatu is anything she herself would condone.

calypso asked if Rubatu would want to be in charge like before, if Dasari wasn’t here. Rubatu looked nervous. “...i’ve never wanted this.” calypso nodded and smiled knowingly. khaela said that that checked out. zoroe nodded as well, gently saying “would you like to leave?” Rubatu recalled that Dasari did appear to want Melu to prosper and be free. she might be skewed to favor the elites and nobles, but she would take care of the people. the princess looked at zoroe and admitted that she would like to leave, prompting an honest, sunshiney smile from the naga. “i see. i’ll see what i can do. for now... enjoy your company.” she glanced at Miltu, who told her that was unnecessary. the princess thanked the group before turning away. khaela looked smug, while calypso winked and gave finger guns to the princess and her retainer. Miltu threw a pillow at khaela as zoroe pushed her two idiot children out the door.

next the group went to an office near the throne room, finding Dasari sitting at a desk reading. zoroe greeted Dasari with a bow while calypso looked at a chair next to the desk, planning on putting her feet up. but zoroe stopped her with a “don’t.” “can you read my mind?” “i just had a feeling.” calypso rolled her eyes and just leaned against the wall instead. Dasari asked what the group needed, since she didn’t have all day. she mentioned she had been working roughly 17 hours, further suggested by the scrolls and tablets all over the room. zoroe asked about the role of princess in Melu. Dasari explained that Melu needed a princess as she is a blessing of the gods, according to the people. “but she can’t do the work, so i’m in charge of the work.” zoroe asked if the people would accept someone with Dasari’s standing. “if i was princess, sure, but i’m not. Rubatu and i aren’t related so i can’t claim birthright inheritance.”

again, calypso cut to the chase. “what if you just called yourself princess? oh, what if Rubatu faked her own death? that would be fun.” Dasari simply stated that would not work, but after a moment did seem to consider the idea of declaring herself princess. she said that Melu’s priest owed her, and could maybe get her to give her the blessing of princess. khaela clapped and said “yeah, let’s do that.” “why do you care?” khaela shrugged and said that politics sucked, and this would be easier (also, she’s all for lesbians getting what they want). zoroe pointed out that the princess seemed stressed from all this, to which Dasari responded that she had just been in a coup. “you were too. you and her are in similar positions.” “yeah, but i’m not a wimp.” then calypso summed up the plan for Dasari to become princess, and the group left. “go team. that went well, huh, fangs?” “yep.” zoroe just looked tired. calypso admitted she was still a little drunk from last night. the three of them stopped by to tell Rubatu what Dasari would be doing before they left the palace and met back up with the rest of the party. after some recap for phosphorra, cluk, and davke, the party set out to see Kissare again. at their arrival, Kissare perked up and grabbed zoroe, dipping her for a kiss. calypso whistled for them. after That, Kissare said to cluk that they had something to discuss. zoroe, looking dizzy and leaning on her staff, asked calypso “you’ve passed out before, is this what it’s like?” “sure.” meanwhile, Kissare was like “cluk! that girl you were with, Elahe? she’s been asking about learning info-gathering techniques from my girls. fair warning, when the training is complete, she’ll probably know all about you and your friends. and she will probably have been kissed at least once.” cluk was cool with that. Kissare said she would tell her girls to let Elahe join them for a bit to learn the ropes, and told cluk to keep being cute.

addressing the whole party now, Kissare assumed they were asking for their next moves. she suggested the best thing for them to do would be to go to the King, since they already knew the way to Misitu and a way in, hopefully. she also suggested that they don’t go directly through the streets since they’re enemies of the state. Kissare said she would be wrapping up here in Melu and heading back to Etaqu. calypso asked if Kissare would be going with them to fight the King. “no, i’m busy and i don’t wanna steal your kill.” phosphorra spoke up that, while she understood the Kissare was busy, this was the Big Thing. “everything stops if we go to the King, so if there is any possibility you could delegate, we’d appreciate it.” “sorry, cutiepie, no can do. it’s you guys and any friends you can gather, and i do suggest finding allies. i think you can do it! i believe in you!” zoroe mentioned the meeting with Dasari and Rubatu that morning, like “you’re going to this is so funny...” Kissare seemed to think that Dasari might be a better negotiator than the princess had been, and that this turn of events was unfortunate but they could make do. Kissare asked if zoroe had been worried she’d be mad, which zoroe denied. Kissare reached across her desk to put a hand on zoroe’s cheek. “honey, i could flatten this city regardless of who’s in charge.” calypso clapped for her. zoroe put her hand over Kissare’s and said she just thought she should know.

phosphorra presented the bag she had taken from Sapphira to Kissare, asking about the crimson phoenix symbol. after some quick inspection, Kissare tossed the bag to khaela and asked that she tell the party about the symbol. at first khaela was confused, but taking a closer look at the symbol, she recognized it and got very angry. she threw the bag on the ground and stomped on it, muttering under her breath. calypso eyed this display and phosphorra cowered. zoroe frowned, as if at a child throwing a tantrum. khaela said that the bag was from her birth family. calypso gave a simple “huh.” and phosphorra wondered if it was just a coincidence. zoroe suggested the group hold on to the bag so they would know who to burn later on (she said she got the idea from calypso). khaela said she just wanted the family dead. taking back the bag (and dusting it off), Kissare said she would have it inspected by her girls. phosphorra muttered that it had been a nice bag.

phosphorra approached khaela and apologize for bringing up painful memories. khaela said that she would just rather kill her birth family than have them be around. zoroe told her that they would take care of them, and asked if she’d like a hug. calypso offered for khaela to punch her, let some steam off. but khaela turned to a corner, doing some brooding. leaving her to it, phosphorra mentioned the potions she and davke had purchased. each member of the party ended up with one Potion of Poison Resistance. since phosphorra and zoroe had spent a lot of their money that day, calypso offered some of her money to them. she figured she didn’t need as much to spend on magic items and such, but the two of them declined her offer.

heading out, the party started to discuss who they might want to recruit for their fight against the King. they formed a list including Ku-aya and her ghosts, the tiefling Mistral that helped the party into the tunnels under Misitu, the druid Feher,  Allitum the wight, Hex, Big Mun, and the minotaurs from Madbari. khaela, having finished the majority of her brooding, said that she had a meeting planned at Fort Suqu, with some people from her (vampire) family. calypso seemed excited about this. “more vampires versus a dragon? FUCK YEAH.” “no, they’re just giving information. they’re not strong and gifted at battle like me.” khaela also mentioned that her sister was the leader of her coven. going to Madbari first, calypso called out to Lawitse, one of the minotaurs. she said she recognized calypso, who was like “s’pretty hard not to.” calypso asked if Lawitse wanted to fight a dragon with the party. “why?” “why not! she’s fucking shit up!” Lawitse explained that she didn’t really care about politics, and that the village really needed all hands on deck for the harvest. she said that it would take 400 gold pieces to cover her absence if she were to go with the party. calypso went to discuss this offer with the party, and it was assumed that Mistral would probably also ask for money for her help. khaela stepped up to the minotaur and tried to persuade her to lower the price, saying that the King didn’t care about the land or towns and that she was letting a dangerous cult run free to maybe cause havoc and damage, possibly with experiences on the natural life. basically, the King needed to be stopped or else places like Madbari could be in serious danger. but Lawitse didn’t seem convinced, saying she was just a girl who had settled. “i can fight okay, but this is beyond me.” the 400 gp price remained.  phosphorra said that they had given it a good try, but it wasn’t going to work. again the party weighed their options, particularly Mistral and Hex, the latter of which they weren’t sure of a possible hiring fee. phosphorra used Sending to contact Hex, who asked for 200 gold pieces and the first pick of a magic item in the King’s loot. and she would bail if she were about to die. there was some deliberation on this offer as well (zoroe wasn’t certain if they should hire Hex), but eventually the party determined they had enough gold to hire both Lawitse and Hex if they split the costs among themselves. calypso and khaela split the cost for Lawitse, while phosphorra and davke would split up Hex’s cost. phosphorra messaged Hex again, telling her they would be picking her up soon. MINOTAUR ACQUIRED.

once the party had stopped travelling for the night, calypso approached khaela and said “fangs, fight me.” zoroe and phosphorra were startled by this. zoroe, mom senses going off, said that calypso shouldn’t just declare it like that, even if the idea of sparring had come up before. calypso insisted that it was fine. “sit your ass down, square.” “listen--” but khaela agreed to spar, hand-to-hand only, no weapons. cluk, naturally, provided fight music. the fight was a bit of a blur, with calypso grinning the whole time, almost dancing around khaela. the paladin did manage to land some good punches, but ultimately the tiefling was too dodgy (and landed a Stunning Strike) and calypso took the win. but she made sure to pull the last punch so she didn’t full on knock khaela out. zoroe quickly made her way over, ready to heal, but calypso told her to wait because she wanted to suplex khaela. this attempted finishing move didn’t go well though, as khaela (even at 1 HP) managed to overpower her and reverse the move, suplexing calypso instead. cluk’s music became a bit more sensual. zoroe, fretting, resumed her healing. the party returned to the Waqrat estate, spotting a skeleton outside, though it didn’t react to their arrival. phosphorra assumed that was because Hex would know they were coming. the estate was cleaner than it had been before, much of the dust and wreckage swept up. the whole place felt more lived in now. passing through the ballroom, it was clear that the damage from cluk’s Shatter had been tidied but the railing on the balcony was still very busted. zoroe apologized to Davke, since the estate had belonged to her family. Allitum waved at the party and phosphorra said that she was glad to see her again, asking how she had been. Allitum described Hex as the “boss lady” and said she had been out foraging but had recently returned. “we’re going to kill a dragon.” “sounds fun!” but Allitum didn’t want to join in the fight against the King. the upstairs wasn’t as tidy as the downstairs, but the master bedroom appeared to be clean, sporting a new door with a lock. phosphorra knocked on the door, and Hex opened the door (though she wasn’t standing at the door when it opened) and told them to come in.

phosphorra walked right in, while the others sorta hovered near the doorway. Hex was sprawled out in her cozy nest bed (apparently not in a very ladylike position, though i’m not sure what counts as ladylike posing when you don’t have legs). “oh, it’s phosphorra, right?” at the question, calypso audibly thunked her head against the doorway. davke and phosphorra gave Hex the gold to hire her on. “well, let’s go kill a dragon.” phosphorra thanked Hex for her help, and Hex said she figured this would be interesting. phosphorra asked how Hex had been. “i’ve been prepping for the drought.” “i thought we were already in the drought?” “we are, but it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” phosphorra mentioned the ghosts the party met in Misitu, and Hex seemed perhaps interested in speaking with Ku-aya. the two continued in conversation, doing some catching up, and eventually calypso mentioned to Hex that they had fought in a riot. “...okay.” “that’s all you have to say?” “i mean... it’s cool that you didn’t die?” calypso just narrowed her eyes and shrugged, looking away. HEX ACQUIRED.

next the party went to Fort Suqu. the fort was a bit wrecked, some of the buildings burned. waiting in the husk of a building were khaela’s contacts. these two appeared to be young vampires, neither of them looking beefy like khaela, rather more like rogues. they exchanged bows with khaela and asked how they could help. khaela requested any information they had on enemies against the King. they said that the King had crushed most of the significant ones, but the clever Mistral remained in the capital. there was no real organized resistance to the King, though khaela and some of her sisters had come to the capital a few times. khaela grinned and nodded, allowing the rest of the party to ask any questions they had. zoroe was curious about how long these two had known khaela. one of them said 17 years, the other said 16 years. both of them had known her since before she arrived in this region (which was about 14 years ago) and had traveled there with her. at some point the word “teethling” came up and cluk repeated it, making calypso smile and phosphorra facepalm. khaela asked if there was any private hiring in the area, and the vampires told her there wasn’t really anything of the sort, outside the King’s own hiring. khaela also asked if they had had any personal dealings with the king. “we don’t make enough noise to get her attention.” they insisted khaela could count on them. “good. i don’t want to come rescue you.” zoroe asked about the whereabouts of the tiefling twins, and they were apparently usually in the Misitu arena when they were on jobs. zoroe also asked if these two had any info on A. “we’ve heard of A. they seem to have the King’s authority, but we can’t vouch for how close they are to her.” finally, khaela asked if they had heard from the main coven and what had been going on with them. the young vampires said they hadn’t been in touch, and they weren’t expecting messengers for months. with that, they exchanged bows, and the party was off again.

the next morning outside Misitu, the party awoke to find that it was harder to breathe than it should’ve been. the sky was clouded in ash, the sun covered in darkness, becoming an indistinct shape almost like an angry eye glaring down. bad vibes. phosphorra recalled there were a couple volcanoes in the general area(ish), the largest of which being at the island nation of Peleset in the west, though it wasn’t very close. the city of Misitu didn’t appear to be on fire, and the ash was coming from the west, so Misitu wasn’t the origin of the darkened sky. phosphorra suggested this was perhaps all from Peleset and the smoke had floated this way overnight. there was the thought that this might be following a prophecy of some sort, like the whole corrupted sun thing mentioned by Sapphira. nobody drew any certain conclusions though. calypso shrugged and said “maybe the world is just ending.” phosphorra thank calypso for that, hyperventilating. calypso patted her on the shoulder. sneaking through Misitu via the underground tunnels, the party met up with Ku-aya first to request her assistance. Ku-aya didn’t recognize the Kingdom of Thorns, and calypso pointed out that she was (not) living in it. once Ku-aya understood that the King had been the one responsible for destroying her home, she agreed to help the party drive her out. phosphorra introduced Hex to Ku-aya, and the two seemed to be interested in conversing. KU-AYA ACQUIRED. the party then went to Mistral’s place, the guard there recognizing the group and fetching Mistral for them. Mistral said that it had been a while since she last saw the party. zoroe agreed, saying it had been too long (putting on some charm). “i was wondering if you’d like to join me for an adventure.” Mistral leaned against the wall and said “i don’t know, i’m not adventurous at all...” zoroe played along, saying that Mistral had a cozy house right under the King’s nose, and she must hate her. phosphorra asked why zoroe didn’t just say what she wanted, and zoroe insisted she was being suave.

Mistral said that the threat was a thrill and that she would consider the offer. she considered it for about 13 seconds and then said that she wanted 400 gold up front and an equal share of the loot inside the King’s palace. zoroe’s sense of suave stopped as she looked to the others for money. she persuaded Mistral to lower her price to 350 gold because Mistral can’t say no to a pretty face. cluk, who had the most gold at this point, was like “so i’m the buying the girl...” calypso specified she was buying her services. Mistral told cluk she was quite lucky to be doing so, since she’s “a luxury few can afford.” despite zoroe having lowered the price, cluk gave Mistral all 400 of her gold pieces, telling her to remember who paid for her. MISTRAL ACQUIRED. the party searched for Feher, but couldn’t find her. phosphorra cast Sending to contact her, finding out that Feher wasn’t in the city and she suggested the party go without her.

following Mistral’s map, the party made their way through the winding tunnels toward the palace. there wasn’t anything to fight, just the occasional small creature scurrying in the dark, sounds echoing. gradually the water flow within the tunnels grew to almost a stream, and the party reached a dead end with a ladder going up. davke said “only one way to go, huh?” and the party climbed up. at the top of this ladder was a blank room (labelled Cistern Access) that led to a hallway with a closed and locked green door. following down the hallway, the party found themselves in a dimly lit room with a door on the left. hearing no sound on the other side of this door, the party proceeded through to another dimly lit room with a single torch. this appeared to be an armory, well-used ad stocked well enough for a guard unit or a militia. back tracking a bit, the party went to another room with stone walls and double doors on the opposite side of the room. there was no furniture aside from some empty straw mats.

calypso pointed out that this was pretty boring for a palace so far. phosphorra wondered if they had known the party would be coming. zoroe suggested going back to the locked door, but phosphorra said that she didn’t know how to open locks. calypso said it was an easy problem to fix, simply kick the lock to break it. khaela could also use Siege to bust the door open. but the party decided to go through the double doors. when they were about a third of the way through the room, there was a loud thud as a bronze portcullis fell and blocked the door the party had come through. then the doors at the other end of the room opened, light flooding in.

so next time... probably some fighting. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[go-redgirl]

Exclusive– Richard Grenell on Trump: ‘He Doesn’t Play Identity Politics’

Richard Grenell, the former Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, told Breitbart News this weekend that President Donald Trump making him the first openly gay cabinet member in U.S. history has nothing to do with “identity politics” and simply reflected that the president picks the most effective people for federal positions.

“The one thing I love about President Trump is he doesn’t care about these issues,” Grenell said on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125 the Patriot Channel. 

“He doesn’t play identity politics. You know, somebody recently asked me how many gays and lesbians work in the Trump administration. I had to answer, ‘I have no idea. I really don’t know.’ This person said to me, ‘well, there you go — that’s the reason — because we had 2,410 in the Obama administration, the Obama-Biden administration.’ 

I said, ‘I’d be pretty offended that I was on a list that says here’s our gay and lesbian list.’ Thank God we don’t keep a list. 

Thank God we don’t hire people because they come out of a box and say ‘here is a black, here is a Hispanic, here is a gay person.’ President Trump, I know him well, he doesn’t care about these types of issues. They’re irrelevant characterizations about someone. What is relevant is whether or not they can do the job.”

Log Cabin Republicans this past week released a video of Grenell, which the president shared on Twitter, hyping the fact that it was Trump — a Republican — who had the first-ever openly gay cabinet member in U.S. history, something former Democrat President Barack Obama never did.

“When I’m talking to President Trump, I’m talking about NordStream 2, I’m talking about troops in Germany, I’m talking about the table of substance and substantive issues,” Grenell told Breitbart News. “What’s different about the Democrats is every four years they want to bring out a black person or a Hispanic person or a gay person or a woman and say, ‘look at this, we’ve got these extra people that we’re counting as part of us — aren’t we great?’ 

But then, the decisions are made by the elite men in a backroom. Donald Trump doesn’t do that. He’s got a table of advisers who are all sorts of different parts of America, and they’re there because they’re the best people he can find for these issues.”

Grenell continued, “I think we have a completely different philosophy about gay and lesbian issues, and when we articulate that to the gay community, there’s a huge response. People are super smart and substantive and are tired of being at the table down the hallway. 

They want to be at the main table. They don’t want to have like what the State Department was pushing for in a gay czar and they were hitting Trump saying, ‘you don’t even have a gay office or gay department at the State Department.’

 I said, ‘Thank God we don’t.’ Because every single bureau at the State Department, whether it’s the Middle East bureau or Latin America bureau, should have in their mindset: ‘we’re going to treat everybody the same.’ We don’t need to make a policy and then go down the hallway to check in with the gay czar to see how or what extra thing do you need here to be happy. I don’t want to be the extra. 

I don’t want to be taken out of the box every four years and be paraded around and sent out on a press release that says, ‘here’s our list.’ I want to be the guy who’s making the decisions at the table and that’s what Donald Trump allows us to do.”

While Grenell was leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), he declassified many documents and transcripts as part of a broader nonpartisan push for transparency from the government as it relates to the effort the Intelligence Community embarked on during the Obama administration to spy on President Trump’s campaign.

“Let me just say briefly that transparency is not political,” Grenell said when asked about this. “It shouldn’t be viewed as political. I’ll give you that it is a very rare concept in Washington, DC, because they like to have decisions made by a few people in the basement.

 It made me quite sad for our country when I became acting Director of National Intelligence and I started reading about what the Democrats were presenting when it came to this Russia collusion. What’s said on television to the American people was one thing, and that’s ‘oh there is this really incredible Russian collusion.’ 

Then when these same people were under oath in the basement of the House committee, in Congress when they were alone with their lawyers under oath, they said, ‘we didn’t see anything; we don’t know anything; nothing illegal happened.’ You can read these transcripts. You can go to the ODNI website. 

You can read exactly what they said under oath. Where I come from, when you say one thing to a few people and then you’re called on the carpet publicly and you say something else, we call that a lie. What has happened in Washington, DC, is this is a consistent part of everyone’s day. They present information to the American people that’s not true. 

They just keep getting away with it. So when I went in to head ODNI, I wanted to just give as much information as possible, obviously not giving away sources and obviously not giving away the method in which we collect or how we got our information — sources and methods must be protected, we get that. 

But, what I found is a whole bunch of information was classified just to protect government agencies that had messed up. It was a PR move to protect a brand of a government agency. I think this is why many people call it the swamp — they kind of protect each other; it’s very murky and it’s unclear. Transparency is called for.”

Grenell also said, adding that President Trump agrees with him, that the federal government should spread its agencies and departments out across the United States rather than centralizing the power of the government in Washington, DC.

“I want to just say, I think it’s super important — and I know Donald Trump does as well — that government agencies should not all be collected in Washington, DC,” Grenell said. “We’re getting the same pool of people for the Education Department, Interior, DNI, all of the different government agencies pull from the same group of people in the Washington, DC, metro area. Those people are in on the game. They know that you can’t speak out too much, otherwise, you won’t get promoted. 

They know that their neighbors are a big shot at the Labor Department, and if they ever wanted to move over, they better play the game. They know that their other neighbor is a media reporter and that media reporter needs them to leak in order to have really good neighborly relations. This whole thing is a system we call the swamp. It’s really true, and I believe that one of the solutions is to move out some of the agencies and begin to say, ‘no more building up in Washington,’ and maybe, ‘we’re going to move the Labor Department to Kansas,’ or maybe, ‘we’re going to move the Interior Department to South Dakota.’ 

Why can’t we have Health and Human Services based in Florida? This is especially important as the Washington, DC, crowd is talking about making D.C. a state. Washington, DC, was designed to be a place where the federal government was, where you went temporarily and then you left. You moved back home. Home wasn’t supposed to be Washington, DC. It was supposed to be somewhere else. 

And yet, what we have is a system, over time, where we have made Washington, DC, a home to the point where they want to be a state. Well, if you want to be a state, you’re going to have to get rid of all these agencies that are there because it’s not fair to put all these agencies in one state.”

Grenell also laid out the difference between Trump’s America First vision for foreign policy versus Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s globalist vision for the United States on the world stage. “America First is all about making decisions for America, first. We have to protect our own people,” Grenell said. “This other idea that Joe Biden has been pounding is that our allies get to be in consensus with us. So you’ve got the approach from Donald Trump who’s saying, ‘what’s good for America?’ and then you’ve got the Joe Biden approach where he’s saying, ‘what’s good for all of our allies?’”

“I spent eight years inside the U.N. Security Council,” Grenell continued. “There are 15 countries that sit inside the U.N. Security Council. Trying to get 15 countries to agree to a statement, let alone implementing policy — trying to get 15 countries to agree to a statement means that that statement is mush when it comes out. Everybody gets to veto a word or a phrase or an idea, and so, it’s the lowest common denominator of what 15 countries believe. 

I’ll give you a more real-world example: Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of the genocide in Syria where Bashar Al-Assad gassed children. The Obama-Biden team didn’t do anything. 

They had a front-row seat. They were watching it, and they didn’t get up out of their chair, and the reason why they didn’t do anything is because ‘consensus’ stopped them. Instead of making decisions for America’s national security, to stop ISIS’ growth in Syria and to stop Bashar Al-Assad, instead of acting on behalf of America, they got together with a whole bunch of Europeans and a whole bunch of countries in the Arab world and they asked, ‘what should we do?’ 

Well, seven months later, they were still talking because of this ‘collective consensus.’ Now, consensus is good if we can get all those countries to back our idea. That’s why at the United Nations, I always say, we need somebody who’s really strong and somebody can say, ‘get with us, here’s the plan.’ 

The U.N. doesn’t work unless the United States is in the lead. The problem is we don’t need to be in the lead on every single issue. Contrast that with Donald Trump being in office, and he did two things to really make a difference in the Middle East while bringing troops home and not starting new wars: He took out Soleimani who was the terrorist strategist inside of Iran. He took him out. 

The second thing he did was when Assad crossed the red line that Barack Obama put down and failed to act, within a couple of months of the Trump administration coming in when Assad crossed the red line, Donald Trump acted and it worked. 

It really sent a strong message to the Middle East. It’s why we have peace between the Emiratis and the Israelis today, and we don’t want a return to the Joe Biden policies.”

READ MORE STORIES ABOUT:

2020 Election Politics Radio 2020 Presidential Race America First Donald Trump Globalists Identity Politics Joe Biden LGBT Log Cabin RepublicansOn the Hill Ric Grenell Richard Grenell transparency

[frozenartscapes]

Ok, so... I might say some things not everyone is going to agree with. But I’ve been thinking about this all of June pretty much and after seeing an article about the upcoming Ottawa Pride parade in August everything’s been dredged up again.

The article is yet another in a series that has been all too popular this year regarding Pride: whether or not the local police should be allowed to march in uniform. And here’s my opinion:

They should.

More under the break, because this gets long and ramble-y.

Before I get started, I want to say that I understand why people don’t want to see police in uniform there. What with all the stuff regarding corrupt police officers and systematic racism and Blue Lives Matter etc, from both recently and throughout the years I can understand why people don’t want people representative of all those things showing up at what’s supposed to be a “safe” space. I know things aren’t perfect and there have still been plenty of issues recently that call people’s trust of the police into question. But here’s the thing though: there is a pretty good chance that the people you take issue with aren’t going to want to walk in Pride. The officers who wish to showcase who they are as both police officers and LGBT+/allies are more likely to agree with you that things need to be made better.

I’ve noticed this a lot lately in groups that would be on the Left side of the political spectrum. There is so much division going on. Racism, sexism, homophobia - they’re all the big ticket items that are often used to differentiate the Left and Right, but here’s the thing: not all people on the Right are going to be racist bigots and not all people on the Left are going to be open and accepting. Generalizing is dangerous, but even more so when it leads to a “holier than thou” mindset that splits apart people who are already minorities. It turns things like Pride that are supposed to be celebrations of not just who we are but also the things that tie us together into a privilege contest, and a chance to separate into clique-like groups that constantly fight each other for who gets the prize of “most oppressed therefore should see the most retribution”. When this happens, you start to shut out people who might not be part of your group but who still want to support you.

And before I get a million hate-filled comments about checking my own privilege: yes, I don’t get the same treatment some of these other minorities do. I understand that I’ll never be able to comprehend from a first-hand perspective what it’s like to be discriminated based on my skin colour or other factors (although I can argue re my sexuality as it is one of those that is widely debated within the LGBT+ community itself). But here’s the thing though: I do have empathy. While I might not be able to attest to something from personal experience, I can still hear other people’s stories and try to follow up on their concerns. While I might not experience something, it doesn’t mean I still can’t empathize with the people it does happen to, and more importantly, it doesn’t stop me from wanting to support them despite it not necessarily being my issue.

And that’s the key thing here about the police: they want to show their support. Not only are there plenty of actual LGBT+ cops, but there are also plenty of straight cops who aren’t total jackasses and who want to show that they aren’t the cops of the past. I know it sometimes doesn’t seem like a lot has changed, but it has. People, at least with regards to Pride, are more open about it. Whether or not their intentions are 100% pure (such in the case of sponsors) you can’t deny the fact that these police agencies and companies and straight people who show up are doing something that even ten years ago might not have happened. Pride may have started out as a protest, and it should still be remembered as one and treated as one, but it’s not just a protest anymore. It’s also a celebration of, well for lack of a better word, pride. It’s about being proud of who you are, who your friends are, who your family members are. It’s about being proud of your community and your neighbourhood and your city. It’s about being proud that things like love and acceptance have conquered things like hate and fear.

But hate and fear are coming back. And it’s not just BLM. The whole community is dividing into groups that are all pitted against each other. Something that came about as a rally for unity and acceptance of all who are different has now become the exact opposite - a contest for who is the most different and therefore who deserves the most pity points. People who are straight but allies are discredited based on their sexuality and told they aren’t allowed to participate. People shout things like “no straights” and seem to forget that trans people can be straight. People like me who fall on the ace spectrum or are bi but have an opposite sex partner are yelled at for “passing” and shoved out of the community altogether. Even gays and lesbians can’t really get along. The entire community is falling apart under all those different coloured striped flags. And while being proud about where you are in those communities is fine, the key thing here is that we’ve forgotten that we’re all part of one large community, too. We might all have different flags, but we are all one in the same under the Rainbow flag.

When we say things like “no cops” or “no straights” we are excluding people. And while in theory that might work to keep out the “bad” ones, for something like Pride where no one is forcing anybody to show up what you are instead doing is shutting out people who want to support you. You might feel good about it in the short term, you might feel powerful and high and mighty because you stood up against a group of “oppressors” but, in the end, all you’ve done is hurt an ally. You’ve given people who might not feel strongly one way or another a reason to not support you. And you’ve made people who would support you start to think twice about attempting it again.

Something like a Pride Parade is a massive undertaking, especially in a large city. Often streets need to be closed down, security needs to be put in place, different organizations contacted, events planned, resources purchased, etc. That wasn’t always the case. It started as a riot, a protest, something that wasn’t planned in a city council boardroom but rather in the bars and clubs and on the streets themselves. It was a revolution: a wave of people fed up with the mistreatment who rose up to say “hey, we’re human beings and we deserve respect”. But now, there is respect. Cities willingly shut down massive chunks of their downtown cores for these parades. Security detail is given to make sure nothing bad happens during the event. Stores and businesses along the route show their support by hanging the rainbow flag in their windows or their doors. Things have changed. And before you say that those are all just shallow gestures to gain more community support, ask first why would they bother if it wasn’t important to the majority of the community. Why would a major corporation bother with sponsoring a Pride parade if there wasn’t a call for them to do so? They could just as easily not care at all, not give money to help the event even happen, carry on as if none of this was an issue. But they do. And while, yes, a lot of these corporations and police departments could improve in the inner workings and how they handle actual issues facing the things they claim to support, it’s still a baby step. How many corporations were willing to help Pride protesters when it all first started?

And yes, Pride started as a riot. But it’s not anymore. Police - most of them, anyway - aren’t your enemies anymore. There might still be issues but there are also just as many people actively trying to make change for the better. The unfortunate thing is that we only ever hear about the bad stuff. Pride was once an illegal protest, but now it’s not only a legally organized event but also the police want to walk alongside you, not try to stop you.

The thing is, something like Pride is unique in that it is about connecting all kinds of people. It’s about unity and community. It’s about supporting each other as human beings. It’s about love. But love and support can’t happen when you start excluding certain groups of people. Cherrypicking who gets in and who doesn’t won’t help your cause, and it only hurts the people who want to show support. You’re not adding to what Pride is meant to be by citing its history and trying to replicate it, instead you’re tearing down it’s potential future. You’re making it solely about you, an individual group, when it’s not about just one group but a whole collection of groups joined together for a common cause. By all means, protest the atrocities you care about and want to see ended and resolved. Remind people that things still need to change. Fight for a better tomorrow.

But don’t do so in a way that stops other people from doing the same in their way.

[amorremanet]

10 facts about meme: Lucy? And Adelaide, if you don't mind doing two?

send me one of my oc’s and i tell you ten facts about them

This is the shitty, “I fell asleep instead of doing this last night, and then, when I was almost fucking done, trying to make tumblr instant messenger stop doing something made it decide to click over somewhere else, and Firefox apparently doesn’t let the Lazarus extension work anymore, so I lost everything and am completely skimming out of frustration because the original was detailed and cool, and I lost basically all of it” version

LUCY

1. Has never completed a Pokémon game with a grass or water starter. She just doesn’t bond with them as much as she does with the fire starters, and any time she tries to pick a grass or water starter, she inevitably gives up, restarts, and picks the fire starter instead.

2. Since she turned 18, she’s made a point of giving blood as often as possible, because she’s type-O negative (the universal donor), and the Red Cross is pretty much always running short on blood, which can leave a lot of people totally screwed when they need to get transfusions.

3. Doesn’t believe in astrology and dismisses most of things in that vein as a cold-reading scam that’s based on exploiting people’s ability to project themselves onto anything…… but she does have an interest in dream interpretation.

4. She finds recipes confusing, and is even more befuddled by the Food Network and, “how to make [x baked goods]” videos on youtube, to the point that she finds them more stressful than getting a, “We need to talk” text from her parents. And yet, she is not confused by instructions in a chemistry lab.

5. She loves her red hair, but hates being called, “ginger.” It’s not that she thinks the word is offensive or anything; she just thinks that it sounds weird and slightly disgusting.

6. One of her favorite forms of, “teenage rebellion” was watching televangelists (or more accurately, having them on while she did other stuff because it’s really easy for Lucy to tune them out), which Lucy wouldn’t have liked so much if she’d actually paid attention to any of them (because of how televangelists exploit their viewers’ pain and suffering, get rich off of it, and don’t have to pay taxes on most of that money because they call it, “religious donations”) — but it did successfully annoy her very Catholic parents and very Catholic, “he’s a legit priest and everything” uncle.

7. A horror movie can be as political or politically coded as it wants. Unless it does something truly novel with the genre, like Get Out, then Lucy will probably just roll her eyes, complain about how many people value, “edginess” over quality, and then go watch The Great Mouse Detective for the umpteenth time. It’s not even that she gets squicked by horror movies, because she stops at dismissing all of them as edgelord garbage and doesn’t give them a chance.

8. She has even less patience for the films of Christopher Nolan, and literally the only one that she doesn’t go in too hard on is The Dark Knight, which only gets any consideration because Heath Ledger died not that long after making it, in ways that were pretty heavily associated with the movie in popular culture.

Not that she really cares about Heath Ledger, or even about the taboo on speaking ill of the dead, but she figures that he isn’t Ronald Reagan levels of terrible, or worse, so it’s easier to just not get into it with people over Heath Ledger when all that she wanted to say was that The Dark Knight isn’t actually that great

She will, however, talk shit about Ronald Reagan pretty much any time she’s given an opportunity, and especially if her Mom and Dad are around (because they were big Reaganites, back in the day, and annoying them with her hatred of the Gipper keeps them from paying attention to things like how her, “best friend” Sara Grace is actually her girlfriend)

9. Her answer to the question of whether she prefers cats or dogs will probably be something like, “iguanas” because she hates the assumption that it’s not possible to love cats and dogs more or less equally, but she also has better things to argue with people about.

10. She can’t whistle, she’s not really a very good dancer, and the last time she tried to tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue, she wound up swallowing it.

ADELAIDE

1. At 5’11”, Addie is taller than her big brother and their Mom (who are both 5’10”), and when standing up as best man when Max and Linda got married, she didn’t try to make him feel short, but she did wear a nice pair of heels and didn’t really go out of her way not to make him feel short, either.

2. By all rights, Addie probably should’ve been diagnosed with ADHD a while ago, but because her childhood and adolescence lasted from about 1986-2000 (when she turned 18), and because in 2017, ADHD is still badly misunderstood and under-diagnosed in AFAB kids, Addie got missed and made it to 33, thinking that all of her ADHD symptoms are just personal quirks or failings.

3. Her favorite color is purple. The darker the shade, the better.

4. Her ability to interpret song lyrics is often questionable. Like, on one hand, she’s totally made the mistake of hearing, “There’s a bathroom on the right” instead of, “There’s a bad moon on the rise” during the chorus of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”

—and on the other hand, she completely missed that most of Missy Elliot’s “Work It” is explicitly about cunnilingus until Pete asked her what the Hell she thought the lyric, “Go downtown and eat it like a vulture” was referring to, especially given its proximity to Ms. Elliot talking about shaving her chocha. (All Addie has to say for herself is that she got caught up on the, “Girls, girls, get that cash / If it’s 9 to 5 or shakin’ your ass” verse.)

She also thought that Spice Girls were singing about group sex in “Wannabe,” rather than singing about making sure that your significant other can get along with your gal pals, and she kept thinking this until mid-September 2012.

5. As far as her family knows, Addie almost got arrested on her 18th birthday and had to run from the cops while she and a few friends were kinda drunk and screwing around in New York City. What really happened was that her birthday was on a Saturday, so they signed themselves out of school for the weekend, went to NYC, and saw the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar because her parents bought them tickets.

Then, they used fake ID’s to get some alcohol and got kinda drunk. Then, while they were screwing around in Brooklyn instead of going to cousin Jeremy’s place and crashing for the night, they wound up going by a gay bar, where Addie tripped over her own feet and got caught by a cute butch lesbian who happened to be dressed as a sexy cop for a themed party at said gay bar and had gone outside for a smoke break.

Then, one of Addie’s friends mistook this poor woman for a real cop and insisted that they run, and despite putting it together in the cold, sober light of day that there had been no actual danger, Addie told Sebastian the, “We so totally almost got arrested” story because she thought it sounded cooler, and at this point, it’s been 15 years, and she doesn’t see a point in correcting her family when her younger cousins get the, “Don’t get too rowdy on your 18th birthday or you may end up running from the cops like Adelaide” cautionary tale.

6. She would probably try to play real-world Quidditch, if she could get anyone to play with her, but that’s not going to happen, because everyone who knows her also knows that Addie is competitive as fuck, and that playing “muggle Quidditch” with her is a good way to get at least mildly injured.

7. She can see where the dislike that a lot of people in her life have for the All-Stars comes from, but personally, Addie doesn’t buy into it herself. She doesn’t really care to defend them, either, but at this point, she feels like most of the world’s problems can’t be solved with super-strength or heat vision, and they’re more complicated than the All-Stars’ image would allow them to handle, so it’s best to see the All-Stars as entertainers, rather than actual heroes.

Not that she begrudges anyone their annoyance with the fact that the All-Stars make, “we are actual heroes” a cornerstone of their so-called “brand,” but if you ask Addie, it’s not all that much different from how U.S. politicians lie up one side and down the other about basically everything, and how much of U.S. politics is increasingly little more than a theatre spectacle to cover up what’s actually going on

Oddly enough, Addie is accidentally on to something with that, because a lot of the supervillains in this universe are not truly participating in any shadowy conspiracy…… but they are being manipulated by members of one, and alternately being used as a source of talking points, or as distractions, so that the folks in said shadowy conspiracy (who are a mix of mutants and not) can push through their own agendas and try to secure their own power at the expense of anyone who gets in their way

Not that it’s really here or there at the moment, but this is totally going to bite them in the ass, partly from the people they’ve been exploiting and screwing over for decades putting shit together and pushing back, and partly because they decide to bank on installing a puppet who isn’t as easily controlled or as easily made to serve their agendas as they think. Anyway, as I was saying.

8. If Adelaide hadn’t gone into the family business and started vying with Max to see who’s going to become CEO when their Dad retires, she probably would’ve gone into advertising. If not that, she most likely would’ve gone to law school.

However, despite the fact that her Mom and several of her cousins are lawyers, Addie’s notions about how being a lawyer works are mostly derived from Legally Blonde, Ally McBeal, and Law and Order: SVU, so it might be a good thing that she has no idea what she’d actually want to do at law school.

9. Popular wisdom holds that she only isn’t the worst driver out of her siblings because Sebastian is the one who should’ve racked up multiple DUI charges by now, by all rights shouldn’t have his license anymore, and rarely uses it these days anyway because he, “doesn’t have PTSD, he just doesn’t like driving okay, it kinda freaks him out” (…which it does because of the PTSD that he allegedly doesn’t have but that’s another matter)

Addie holds that this popular wisdom is misogynistic bullshit being passed off as familial teasing, because actually, she’s a much better driver than all three of her brothers (with both cars and motorcycles, though only she and Seb have ever driven one of those, so it’s a little unfair to Max and Ambrose)

—and she may not know how to fix more complicated car problems, but she can at least get a better grasp on what might be wrong than, “I don’t know, it keeps making a thunka thunka thunka sound if you go above 60 mph” and she has more than once fixed something for her brothers that turned out to be something like, “You were driving with the parking brake on, dumb-ass”

10. Her go-to karaoke night songs are Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl” — the latter of which would be funnier to Adelaide if she’d intended to sound hella bi when she first started doing it, rather than picking it because she was kinda drunk and knew all the words, then getting really into singing it and having no conscious idea where those emotions were coming from

[marketingadvisorvietnam]

LGBT parents create safe spaces to share painful stories

Marketing Advisor đã viết bài trên http://www.ticvietnam.vn/lgbt-parents-create-safe-spaces-to-share-painful-stories/

LGBT parents create safe spaces to share painful stories

There is a popular perception, justified to an extent, that parents and families are the main stumbling blocks for members of the LGBTQI community in terms of their coming out and finding acceptance in mainstream society.

An attempt to change this is being made by Vietnamese parents who’ve confronted their own demons in dealing with their children’s different sexual orientations.

At a public talk show last month, such parents shared some real life stories of LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex) people, highlighting social prejudices that affect all stakeholders.

One of the main organizers of the event was PFLAG, the first community of its kind in Vietnam. PFLAG stands for “Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays”.

It was not a crowded gathering, but the stories it elicited were overwhelmingly touching.

Mother Chau, a prominent figure in PFLAG community, who has a gay son, was the first to share the story of a lesbian she met at a restaurant she used to work.

PFLAG member Chau shares an LGBT case she helped with. Sititng next to her is another PFLAG member, Thang (left). Thang and Chau are both familiar parent faces in the LGBT community. Photo by Sen

Family honor and marriages of convenience

Because of her sexual orientation, the woman no longer lived with her family. The problem wasn’t her parents – it was her grandmother who would reprimand her harshly. The grandmother’s last words, just before she died, set the tone for the rest of this woman’s life: “She has to get a husband.”

To appease her relatives and maintain the “family honor,” the young woman returned home for a wedding with a paid groom, who was told of the situation. He was fully compensated for his participation in the face-saving marriage, but it did not stop him from getting drunk and raping his lesbian wife one day.

The rape not only traumatized the woman to the extent of requiring prolonged medication, it also made her pregnant. She gave birth to a “slow child” as a result of all the medicines she’d taken to deal with her mental trauma.

Chau was almost in tears as she narrated the story.

“This is a wake-up call for parents out there,” she said. A healthy woman gave up her way of life and true self to fulfill a death wish, with tragic results.

“Is this the price one must pay for family honor?” Chau asked all listeners.

“Because the pregnancy was helping the woman recover her mental health, abortion was not recommended. Now she is doing much better and is no longer heavily dependent on medication. Her child now goes to school,” Chau added.

The accidental father claimed that the contractual nature of their “marriage” meant he had no responsibility towards his victim and child. The family did not press charges.

It might have been love that motivated the family to coerce the woman into the accepted mold of gender norms, but that love was a recipe for disasters, Chau said.

“Now we see love resurrected with healing power in this story, as the rape victim and her child are now living in the caring, affectionate arms of a woman.”

No sex life

Mother Yen Ly, president of PFLAG Vietnam, shared another story of suffering and healing.

A man in his late 30s, a resident of the central Thanh Hoa Province where traditional prejudices against gay people still hold strong, was married and had a teenage daughter, but his life was hell.

The couple had no sex life because he was gay.

“Every night I would try to find work somewhere to do and only come back home when my wife is asleep. It was a glimpse of hell every time I crossed our bed,” he told Ly.

He finally decided to put everything on the table, literally, with a letter of confession to his wife. This is not something any heterosexual married woman expects to experience. She was heartbroken, and his parents were furious. Coming out of the closet created an immense distance between him and his family.

Following Ly’s advice, the man invited his parents to different workshops organized by PFLAG for parents of LGBT children. Gradually they came out of their hate and prejudice to welcome their son for who he was.

The man is now happily divorced and his daughter visits him frequently.

Unheard of

Huynh Minh Thao, aka Sas Ri, director of communications and services of ICS – the first LGBT rights organization in Vietnam, said “loveless marriages benefit neither our society nor the relationship.”

He reckoned that the root cause for this happening was Vietnamese parents’ fear that their LGBT children were destined to live a tough life without a life partner that could bear them children.

“Getting married, bearing offspring and being taken care of by them is the most favored normal way of living. The idea of LGBT individuals having a healthy, happy life outside of this model is unheard of, for a lot of parents,” Thao said.

Still a man’s world

A panel guest – a media expert who requested anonymity, said gender disparity was another problem that rears its ugly head in LGBT issues, and that the victim was not always the person with a different sexual orientation.

He shared the story of a highly respected teacher in a small city, who is also a government official in the local educational department.

Everything about the teacher’s life goes according to the book – a Vietnamese middle-aged man, secure career, dedicated wife and kids.

There is just one caveat: he likes men.

Unlike the previous story, this man has not bothered to keep his orientation from his immediate family. He has built a private room in his house where only he and his lovers are allowed. “The room is fully equipped and super romantic,” said the expert.

However, this does not mean his wife and children are free from living a lie because they cannot utter a word to anyone, given the status he has in society. For the same reason, divorce is out of the question.

Outwardly, the wife is going through the life of a normal, traditional Vietnamese woman – devoted to her husband, whose happiness comes before hers. But her real life suffering has no outlet.

In this case, it was the straight spouse, the wife and a mother, who has been victimized and needed help, the guest noted.

Teddy, a guest advises others on coming out successfully. Sitting next to him is his mother, Dinh Thi Yen Ly, president of PFLAG. It took Ly five years to accept her son’s sexual identity and mend their relationship. Sitting across them are another mother-LGBT son pair who’ve also been through their own journey towards understanding one another. Photo by Sen

A strategic coming out

One of the most asked questions in the LGBT community is: “How do I come out safely?”

And it was raised again at the event.

Teddy, a university lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology, recommended a strategic approach.

He said: “You need to calculate all the risks. If you want your parents to understand you, make sure you are also willing to understand them.

ICS director Thao elaborated on this. She said there was no blanket solution that fits every family, but the some steps can be useful.

“First of all, know thyself. LGBT members need to know who they are, what they need, and essentially equip themselves with relevant LGBT knowledge.

“The second step involves finding an ally in the family, who has an open and receptive mind. Last, but not the least, team up with that person to find other family members who can sympathize with your situation.”

Thao advised: “Every family is different, but having an ally means you will be protected to an extent, especially when that person has a big influence in the family.”

Everyone attending the event agreed that more time and effort was needed to raise understanding and empathy so that the sad stories narrated would, in the future, become an anomaly in the country.

That is the mission that ICS and PFLAG Vietnam have set for themselves. While ICS works towards LGBTI+ community empowerment, social change, and law advocacy, as well as providing consultation and legal aid, PFLAG devotes its resources to similar initiatives and organizes safe platforms for LGBT discussions.

Parents are scared, too

A key aspect of the LGBT experience highlighted at the talk show was the parents’ plight.

Chau said that it is always difficult for parents to keep up with their children, who shift from one milestone of growth to another.

In the case of different sexual orientation, “you should help your parents confront the naysayers and enrich their LGBT knowledge,” she told a teenager.

She said it was fear and ignorance that made some parents strive hard to protect family honor for the sake of outsiders while “attacking their own children.”

The event’s host said he felt parents of LGBTQI+ chide their children not because they do not love them, but because they are deeply offended by outsiders’ mocking of their loved ones for their unorthodox sexual orientations. They want to change that, “but sometimes they direct their anger at the wrong person – their own children.

“Even you need time to accept and welcome yourself, how can parents instantly accept you” an event organizer asked.

“When you are becoming more cognizant of the fact that you are different, think about your parents. Have you ever considered your parents’ perspective? That they are scared too because they are different for having a gay child?”

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[theconservativebrief]

Once upon a time in the misty days of the American past, an aggressively progressive Supreme Court stalked the land mandating school desegregation and holding that Americans’ individual liberties included the right to use contraceptives and seek abortions. An echo of the Warren Court’s legacy lived on until the present day on the legally narrow but politically and culturally salient question of gay and lesbian Americans’ rights to live free and equal lives as citizens.

As every action calls forth a reaction, this long-ago progressive court called into being a reactionary counter-rhetoric that disdained “activist judges” and celebrated the humble wisdom of democratic self-government. Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination turns the counterargument into the central argument and redefines the mission of the Court.

While it’s certainly true that a few important remnants — most notably, some semblance of a legal right to abortion — of that old debate remain relevant, the real debate in the American judiciary is whether the Constitution allows the people’s elected representatives to meaningfully regulate the national economy.

Kavanaugh clearly believes it does not: He has called the existence of independent regulatory agencies — notably including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau but potentially the entire alphabet soup of FCC, FTC, CFTC, SEC, FEC, etc. — a “threat to individual liberty.”

But rather than debate this squarely, we are instead faced with grifters like Kavanaugh’s former boss Ken Starr insisting in the pages of the Washington Post that Kavanaugh stands for nothing more than a simple “pro-democracy, let-the-people-govern-themselves vision.” The truth is quite the opposite — Kavanaugh’s vision, which he shares with Starr and the bulk of the conservative legal academy, is one in which the courts should stand as staunch allies of capital and block any effort at democratic control of big business.

The notion that Kavanaugh holds a pro-democracy vision is what the Post put in Starr’s headline, but the full sentence makes it clear that the former special prosecutor is running a shell game. Starr’s claim is not that Kavanaugh believes in deference to the elected branches of government and will be reluctant to strike down laws as unconstitutional. Rather, what Starr argues (emphasis mine) is that Kavanaugh’s “pro-democracy, let-the-people-govern-themselves vision has been evident in his incisive questioning of the modern-day judicial emphasis on courthouse deference to administrative agencies.”

In short, Starr praises Kavanaugh for favoring judicial activism in pursuit of a light-touch regulatory agenda.

The way the American political system works is that passing laws is clunky and difficult. Between bicameralism, the presidential veto, the committee system, and the filibuster, it’s just very hard to get new legislation enacted. At the same time, the business world moves fast to try to exploit profit-making opportunities. So if you want to regulate business effectively, you can’t play legislative whack-a-mole and spot abuses in real time. What reformers do instead is try to create regulatory agencies that are given broad mandates to police areas of conduct.

A classic example is the Clean Air Act, which charges the Environmental Protection Agency with identifying forms of harmful air pollution and promulgating rules to cost-effectively reduce it, rather than counting on Congress to pass new laws every time science or business practice changes. To make this system work, judges need to show deference to the regulatory agencies and acknowledge that the congressional reformers who created them wanted the agencies to have some flexibility and discretion. Kavanaugh, as Starr correctly observers, does not believe that this deference should be granted. This is a crucial aspect of his judicial philosophy, and Starr is right to call attention to it.

But Kavanaugh’s doctrine is not about the promotion of self-government or even about deference, it’s about viewing discretion as a one-way street that is always biased against regulation.

If you read Kavanaugh’s decisions on cases regarding EPA regulations, you see a judge who poses as a defender of congressional prerogatives over an executive run amok. But if you glance instead at his ruling on a case relating to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you see the opposite.

When creating this agency, Congress decided that the best way to create effective consumer protection would be to grant the agency a good measure of independence from the president — giving the agency a single director (rather than a five-person commission like the SEC or FCC) and giving the director a fixed-term. This, according to Kavanaugh, is unconstitutional because it violates the unitary nature of the executive branch.

So we cannot allow executive agencies to regulate aggressively because that would step on the prerogatives of Congress, but we cannot allow Congress to set up an aggressive regulatory agency because that would step on the prerogatives of the president.

Perhaps most tellingly of all, in an aside on a ruling related to the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh suggests that a president could simply choose not to enforce the law’s provisions. The absence of regulation, in other words, is always a permissible form of discretion and deference, whereas its presence is always suspect — with the question of who is supposed to defer to whom tossing like a hot potato according to the nature of the case.

The point, however, is not that Kavanaugh has some peculiar and inscrutable ideas about deference. It’s that he and the broader conservative legal movement have the very scrutable idea that the Constitution should be read primarily as a property owners’ charter, whose purpose is to stymie economic regulation. All kinds of specific provisions and doctrines can be pressed into service for this purpose, the most interesting of which in the short term is probably going to be the First Amendment.

In one of the most startling developments of American history, the Reconstruction-era Congress passed the 14th Amendment to try to establish black people’s civil rights, only to see Gilded Age courts rule that the 14th Amendment’s reference to “due process” prohibited all kinds of economic regulations — including civil rights laws! — ultimately culminating in the Lochner-era jurisprudence that was discredited in the 1930s but that many conservative intellectuals are now trying to rehabilitate.

Meanwhile, we have in recent years begun to see the outlines of a new form of it, this time invoking the First Amendment rather than the 14th. This began with the discovery first in Buckley v. Valeo but then later in McConnell v. FEC and continuing to the better known Citizens United case that the constitutional prohibition on censorship also prevents Congress from enacting any kind of meaningful restraint on rich people’s ability to purchase influence in the electoral system.

In this year’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling, the Court opened a new front, arguing that the First Amendment limited states’ ability to enact anti-discrimination laws. The justices decided the case narrowly, but with Anthony Kennedy replaced by the more conservative Kavanaugh, we may well see further rulings in this direction.

They also found, even more curiously, that the First Amendment prohibits states from requiring that workers who decline to join their union pay a representation fee to prevent free-riding. The ruling in the Janus case was limited to public-sector unions, but most of the reasoning seems to apply equally well to private sector cases and, again, swapping out Kennedy for Kavanaugh could easily push it in this direction.

Kavanaugh himself has pushed the First Amendment even more aggressively than the Supreme Court has, deciding, for example, that net neutrality regulations violate the free speech rights of cable companies.

There’s no telling exactly how far the Court will push this logic, but the pernicious thing about it is that the initial premise in the campaign finance cases that there is an intimate connection between money and speech is not totally absurd. Most economic activity, at the end of the day, has at least some kind of expressive component, and one could conceivably invalidate anything from a statute punishing fraudulent banking practices to a minimum wage law as a limit on people’s right of self-expression. The crucial issue is the lens of values and priority through which one sees the world.

The point, however, is not that Kavanaugh is an aggressive invalidator of government action. He does not think, for example, that the Fourth Amendment curbs the National Security Agency’s ability to engage in bulk, warrantless surveillance of Americans.

But where a progressive judge might see judicial intervention as primarily warranted in order to protect the powerless against assaults from the powerful, Kavanaugh and the conservative legal mainstream see it as a tool to protect business owners from majority rule. If one is a sufficiently unprincipled liar — which Brett Kavanaugh certainly is, as we saw in his remarks after Trump introduced him to the nation — one can dress this up in the language of democracy or originalism or whatever else.

Brett Kavanaugh: “No president has ever consulted more widely or talked to more people from more backgrounds to seek input for a Supreme Court nomination.” pic.twitter.com/26LSUnSobB

— Axios (@axios) July 10, 2018

But in truth, the clash of constitutional visions represents not a disagreement about originalism or novelty, but an ongoing disagreement that dates back to the founding of the Republic.

Is the Constitution a charter of self-government that allows the people’s elected representatives to try to find reasonable institutional solutions for the varied problems of the world? Or is it a charter for property owners that allows them to craft a state that’s well-armed and capable enough to defend their rights but incapacitated to govern the economy in any way?

Original Source -> Brett Kavanaugh and the new judicial activism, explained

via The Conservative Brief