#why is it okay when muslims are hurting and wrong when others are????

[jesuis-snips]

LIES: Palestine is murdering civilians.

TRUTH: Palestine is expelling occupiers.

LIES: Palestine is attacking Israel.

TRUTH: Palestine is standing upon its rights in its own lands.

LIES: Hamas is giving Israel reasons to attack them.

TRUTH: Israel has already been attacking Palestinians without a reason for years. Every resistance counts and weakens Israel.

LIES: Israel is the victim.

TRUTH: Israel is suffering for its sins for the innocent children they have killed.

[jordanianroyals]

Queen Rania of Jordan 's Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Decries Western Double Standard and Deafening Silence on War on Gaza, 24 October 2023

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Jordan is home to 40 percent of the total registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, according to the UN. That is simply a huge number, especially for a small country. Jordan's Queen Rania is herself of Palestinian descent. And she's joining me now for a world exclusive from Amman, the capital. Queen Rania. Welcome to our program.

QUEEN RANIA: Thank you, Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Can I ask you first, as an Arab, as a Palestinian, as a human being, a mother, how you are feeling ever since October 7?

QUEEN RANIA:  Well, look Christiane, I cannot begin to describe to you the depth of the grief, the pain, and the shock that we are feeling here in Jordan. All of us are united in this grief, regardless of our origin. We just can't believe the images that we're seeing every single day coming out of Gaza. We're going to bed seeing those images and waking up to them. You know, as a mom, we've seen Palestinian mothers who have had to write the names of their children on their hands, because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies turning into corpses, are so high.

I just want to remind the world that Palestinian mothers love their children just as much as any other mother in the world. And for them to have to go through this, it's just unbelievable.

And equally, I think that people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world's reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen, you know, a glaring double standard in the world. When October 7 happened, the world immediately and unequivocally stood by Israel and its right to defend itself, and condemned the attacks that happened. But what we're seeing the last couple of weeks, we're seeing silence in the world. Countries have stopped at just expressing “concern,” or acknowledging the casualties, but always with a preface of declaration of support for Israel. Are we being told that it is wrong to kill a family – an entire family – at gunpoint, but it's okay to shell them to death? I mean, there is a glaring double standard here and it is just shocking to the Arab world.

This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire. So the silence is deafening and, to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit through their support and through the cover that they give Israel, that it is just trying to defend itself. Many in the Arab world are looking at the Western world as not just tolerating this, but as aiding and abetting it. And this is just horrendous and it's deeply, deeply disappointing to all of us.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Queen Rania, I'm going to ask you more about this and go deeper into your feelings about this. But first I want to ask you, you know, the Israelis are shocked to their core, the grief… What happened to them has never happened in that way since the Holocaust. And they are shaken to their core, as I said, and in grief. I just want to get from you what you felt on October 7.

QUEEN RANIA: Well, of course, I was shocked. Jordan has made its position very clear. We condemn the killing of any civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. That is Jordan's ethical, moral position. And it's also the position of Islam. Islam condemns the killing of civilians. As my husband mentioned recently, the Pact of Omar, which was issued on the gates of Jerusalem 15 centuries ago – that's 1,000 years before the Geneva Conventions – orders Muslims not to kill a woman, child, or elderly person,  and not to destroy a tree or hurt a priest. So this is what we believe are the rules of engagement at time of war. But they need to apply to everybody.

So yes, there was the shock and there is the condemnation. But why isn't there equal condemnation to what is happening now? I just want to emphasize that this conflict did not begin on October 7, although it has been being portrayed as that. You know, most networks are covering the story under the title of ‘Israel at War.’ But for many Palestinians on the other side of the separation wall and other side of the barbed wire, war has never left. This is a 75-year-old story; a story of overwhelming death and displacement to the Palestinian people. It is a story of an occupation under an apartheid regime that that occupies land, that demolishes houses, confiscates lands, military incursions, night raids… The context of a nuclear-armed regional superpower that occupies, oppresses, and commits daily documented crimes against Palestinians is missing from the narrative. You know, for too long, Palestinians lives…

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR:  Queen Rania, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I want to ask you a specific question because you're using a lot of words which clearly many in the Arab World have used – words like apartheid and the rest. But you know that you are going to come under a lot of criticism from Israel and its supporters. And I'm wondering whether you're coming out to speak…

QUEEN RANIA:  But let me just emphasize that “apartheid” is a designation that was given not by Arabs, but by Israeli and international human rights organizations.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: You wrote in an Instagram story just in the last week, “It isn't self defense if you're an occupying force,” and you showed the destruction of Gaza. And you have posted a video of yourself from a presser in 2009 during that war, saying “It is heartbreaking to see how little has changed. The world cannot remain silent. This has to stop.” Do you feel that you have a particular voice, you know, as Queen of Jordan, in a country that has a peace treaty with Israel, to speak up?

QUEEN RANIA:  It's not about me, it's about speaking up for humanity. You know, this is not about being pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. This is about choosing the people, the everyday people on both sides. And explaining again that the Palestinian people have for too long been living under oppression and dehumanization. They suffered daily indignities and human rights violations, whether being jailed or humiliated or harassed. They do not have freedom of movement. There are over 500 checkpoints scattered all over the West Bank. You have a separation wall, which is deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, that has separated the territories into 200 disconnected enclaves. And you've seen the aggressive expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, and those have interrupted the territorial contiguity of the territories and has deemed an autonomous, independent Palestinian state not viable. So this is the background of this conflict. There is a hyper-fixation on Hamas now because of what happened in the last couple of weeks. But this is a problem that far precedes Hamas and will continue after Hamas. This is a fight for freedom and for justice, and that is what needs to be heard.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Can I ask you this question then? Because, quite a brave…I think she's Saudi anyway, a journalist on the Saudi television network Al Arabiya, took this and hammered Khaled Mashal, the former head of Hamas, and said to him, the butchery – well, that's my word – But she said, what everybody is seeing on their screens has turned the world away from the Palestinian cause. And just to expand, people are saying Hamas and what it did has brought this down on these poor people of Gaza. Do you accept that?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, I do not believe in, as I said, in the killing of civilians. But this is a story of violence that has been going on now for so long. And this violence needs to be condemned. But at the end of the day, what we're seeing today, and what people need to understand, is that yes, under the guise of the right to defend itself, we are witnessing atrocities.

You know, every country has a right to defend itself, but not through any means – not through war crimes, not through collective punishment. 6,000 civilians killed so far, 2,400 children – how is that self-defense? We are seeing butchery at a mass scale using precision weapons. So for the past two weeks, we have seen the indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza. Entire families wiped out, residential neighborhoods flattened to the ground, the targeting of hospitals and schools and churches and mosques and medical workers, journalists, UN aid workers – how is that self-defense? Why is it that whenever Israel commits these atrocities it comes under the banner of self-defense, but when there is violence by Palestinians, it is immediately called terrorism. Is the word “terrorist” just reserved exclusively for Muslims and Arabs

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Well let me ask you then…

QUEEN RANIA: There's a real double standard here that we’re seeing. A false symmetry that we see…

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Well, let me ask you this, your husband, King Abdullah…

QUEEN RANIA: Yes, false symmetry, because these are not two equal people in the conflict. One is an occupier, and one is the occupied. One has a military, the mightiest in the world, and the other doesn’t have a military at all. So there is a false symmetry here that is being drawn. And also, when you say “the right to defend itself,” that does not say the entire story. It doesn't say the story of the violation of international law, international humanitarian law. It doesn't tell you the suffering and the story of an occupation. You know, Israel is in violation of no less than 30 UN Security Council resolutions that require it, and it alone, to act to withdraw from territories occupied in 1967, to stop the settlements, the separation wall, the human rights violations. This is at the crux of this issue. It is not this hyper-fixation on Hamas.

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR: Can I ask you, you know, to sort of elaborate, because your husband, King Abdullah, I believe it was last weekend at the summit of Arab leaders in Cairo, he said, “The message the Arab world is hearing is loud and clear. Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives.” I know you've said a lot about your feelings about what's going on right now. But do you think in general, that that’s true? That even world leaders and others, and you meet a lot of them, and so does the King, which is why he said that, I assume?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, like I said, it has been very disappointing to see the double standards in the world today. To see that the strong condemnation of what happened on October 7, but very little condemnation of what is happening today.

Why isn't there a call for an immediate ceasefire? We are seeing staggering human suffering happening today. Why is the narrative always skewed to the Israeli side? The Western media and policymakers are quick to adopt the Israeli narrative. When Israel attacks, Palestinians “die,” but when Israelis die, they are “murdered in cold blood”. It’s a massacre. So even like on October 7, we've seen the situation described as savagery, barbaric, bloodthirsty, cold-blooded. We're not seeing that terminology describing the situation today, even though the atrocities are of greater magnitude.

I'm not arguing accuracy, Christiane, I am arguing equivalence and double standards here. When the President of the United States is told that, you know, he has seen evidence of children beheaded, only to retract because the IDF said that there's no proof of that, that is confirmation bias. Even at your network, Christiane, you know, the CNN website at the beginning of the conflict reported a headline of Israeli children found butchered in an Israeli kibbutz. And when you read through the story, it hasn't been independently verified. Now, my question to you, would you publish, such a damning yet unverified claim made by a Palestinian?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Queen Rania, I just need to stop you right there. Because there have been pictures shown by the Israelis and our journalists have been down there. I'm not talking about beheadings; I'm talking about babies’ bodies riddled with bullets and things. But let's – it is just all so horrible, as you say.

I want to ask you about what Jordan has said. And your husband the king has said that there has been anyway, an attempt or suggestion to move Palestinians who are trying to seek safety either into Egypt or into Jordan, your country. And the king has said, “This is a red line. I think the plan by certain of the usual suspects to try and create de facto issues on the ground. No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt.”

QUEEN RANIA: Well, look, the people of Gaza now are facing two choices: either they leave or they face death or collective punishment. So essentially, they're given a choice between expulsion or extermination, between ethnic cleansing and genocide, and no people should have to face that kind of choice.

And what my husband was referring to is the people of Palestine, of Gaza, should not be forced to be moved again. Most of the residents of Gaza are already refugees. And right now, at least a million have been displaced from their homes. So, we do not want another mass displacement of Palestinians, like what happened at the Nakba in 1948. And that's what my husband meant about this being a red line. The Palestinians have the right to remain on their land.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Yeah, because they were concerned about so-called forcible transfer and never be allowed to come back.

There have been quite a lot of protests in your country, as in many other parts of the world. And you have explained what is shaking up, and that is a very different narrative about what's happening depending on what part of the world people come from, and certain leaders come from. There's a most definite taking-of-sides. That's absolutely going on, as you illustrated. What about though – or are you kind of used to it now and have to manage it – the protests on the streets, even against the 1994 peace treaty? Are you concerned about the anger and wider war or wider instability in countries like yours or in others around the region?

QUEEN RANIA: Well, you would be concerned if there's division, but we are absolutely united in our stance. We all believe in the same thing, we are all feeling the same pain, we all want the same thing. And so, I think there's a lot of unity in the Arab World. And like I said, there is a sense of: do our lives matter less, you know? Why is it that when people are coming to represent, you know, the Palestinian issue, at the top of an interview, they have to have their humanity cross-examined, they have to present their moral credentials: “do you condemn?” We don't see Israeli officials being asked to condemn, and when they are, people are readily accepted by “our right to defend ourselves.” I have never seen a Western official say the sentence: Palestinians have the right to defend themselves.

And so, you know, we are seeing this even in western democracies. Freedom of speech is apparently a universal value, except when you mention Palestine. When people gather to support Israel, they're exercising their right to assembly. But when they gather for Palestine, they're deemed terrorist sympathizers or anti-Semitic. So you're seeing these double standards and it's creating all of the disillusionment in the Arab world, and in many who are just seeing the injustice.

And I just want to emphasize, Christiane, that at the end of the day, there is no military solution to this issue. Wars are never won; they're always losses on all sides. Victory is a myth that politicians make in order to justify immense loss of life. Even if Israel goes and defeats or kills every last Hamas member, then what? Haven’t they left a trail of terrible memories, horrific memories, that will just create a new generation of resistance that is fiercer and more violent? Because, at the end of the day, you can only have a political resolution to this, and my husband has for so long always emphasized that there could be no peace and stability in the Middle East without a political resolution.

So, even if you're an ally to Israel, you are doing it no service by giving it blind support. Your expediting and expanding the provision of lethal weapons to Israel is only going to expand this conflict. It’s only going to prolong and deepen the suffering. There can never be a resolution except around the negotiating table. And there's only one path to this and that is a free, sovereign, and independent Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the state of Israel. That is the only path that's going to that's going to get us there. 

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Many, many analysts are already talking about that. And we hope that something like that can emerge from the ashes in this catastrophe. Queen Rania, thank you so much indeed for joining us.

[caffeinatedopossum]

AH! Okay Im reading the Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Dalai Lama was asked how he could experience joy when he had so much stuff thats happened to him and he said, based on a practice from another teacher, basically it was if you cant do anything, why worry, and if you can, why be worried? In other words ofc but thats a phrase we use a lot, isnt it?

But then he talked about being exiled and all his people who are suffering from it, too. If he looked at just that he would be really worried, but if he looked at how the muslims are also struggling and the people in China? He can unite his suffering with theirs and not be so worried. Like, he can see we are all human brothers and sisters suffering together (not comparing pains and saying his is less than or anything). Which I guess means he cant do anything with worry on that scale except be responsible for his joy and mental state. (And point to ignore, since western ideals is that if youre not worried then you must not be doing anything, it doesnt mean that at all. Hate that bit of propaganda, i swear).

How do you think this works? And what it means? And how to apply it to other situations, like being disabled or having been hurt by another in the past or something. I really like the idea but my brain is giving me an error warning. Though buddhism is one of those things you just vibe with and cant think about lol

Oo! First of all, I love thought-provoking things like this so thank you c: also hope you're doing well!

I think the simplest way I've heard it put is "pain shared is halved, joy shared is doubled" so even when we or people around us are suffering from things outside our control, the simple ability to connect with or relate to each other is really powerful.

On that same note, though, I don't think happiness/contentedness is something we have complete control over. I mean, it'd be a little weird if I did, as someone who was miserable until I got the right antidepressants recently. I always used to feel like I was just doing something wrong, like there was something I was missing if I couldn't make myself happy or okay. But then I got these meds, and it was like a switch was flipped, and suddenly everything was just okay.

I think ultimately this concept is about acceptance and connection - like accepting what you can't control and taking comfort in the unity of pain. With being disabled, I guess what that means for me is just reminding myself that this could happen to anyone (and it does happen to others) and that even though my pain and limitations may be of a different nature or intensity than most people I see day-to-day, that doesn't mean we don't have anything in common. We both still have felt pain, no matter what. That's just a part of life everyone can relate to.

[halaldua]

Dua For Success and Happiness in Marriage

In Islam, having a good marriage is really important. It's not just about two people getting together, but it's a big deal because it helps keep people on the right path and makes life better in many ways. Let's talk about why having a good marriage in Islam is so necessary and the good things that come from it. In this we will know how dua for successful marriage can help you in getting success in your marital life.

Significance Of Dua For Successful Marriage

Duas are like a shield that protects your marriage. By asking Allah to watch over you and keep your relationship safe, you're inviting His blessings and mercy into your lives. Dua for successful marriage help you stay away from things that could harm your marriage and make it stronger.

To sum up, saying prayers is really important for a happy marriage in Islam. It helps you ask for Allah's help, brings you closer as a couple, helps you get through tough times, makes you appreciate each other, strengthens your spiritual connection, and protects your marriage. By praying together, couples can make their marriage even stronger and happier with Allah's blessings.

Staying Good and Doing Right: Being married in Islam helps people stay away from doing bad things and keeps them focused on being good. When people are married, they can have a special relationship that's okay in Islam, and it keeps them from doing anything wrong.

Feeling Complete and Happy: The Prophet Muhammad once said that when you get married, you've done half of the important stuff in your religion. This means that being married can make you feel complete and happy, and it helps you grow as a person in your faith.

Making a Family and Having Kids: Getting married is the start of making a family in Islam. It's important because it gives kids a good home to grow up in. Families in Islam are supposed to be loving and teach kids about what's right and wrong.

Helping Each Other Out: When you're married, you have someone to help you with everything. You share your money and chores, and you support each other. This makes it easier to handle problems and be happy together.

Protecting Each Other's Feelings and Honesty: Being married means you promise to stay true to each other. It's a special bond that keeps you away from doing anything that might hurt your partner's feelings. You're loyal to each other, and that's important.

Showing Love and Being Kind: In Islam, marriage is all about love and being nice to each other. The Quran says that spouses should be loving and kind to each other. When you're married, you show love and care for each other, and that's really special.

To sum up, having a good marriage in Islam is super important because it helps people do good, stay happy, and build strong families. It's about being there for each other, staying true, and showing lots of love and kindness. By being good spouses, Muslims can make their marriages strong and happy, which is really important in Islam. You can visit our website to know more about dua for successful marriage in Islam.

[neeharlow]

I am not a religious person. I don't believe in God. I believe there could be a God but, not likely. I'll believe in aliens before I ever believe in God. I'm all for others being religious as long as you don't try to push your beliefs on others or say I can't do something cause it's against your religion. At that point I'll tell you to fuck right off. My mother tried to raise me catholic. Church every Sunday, First Comminuion, confessions, the works. Hated every moment. Rebeled every chance I got. Thankfully after my Grandma died when I was 10 my mom didn't return to church until about a year or so before she died when I was 19 and by that point she didn't force me. At that point she would invite me but that's about it. My mom, thankfully, wasn't a strict Catholic. She would let me do whatever. She even sat in and did a few wiccan spells with me around a candle lit table when I went through a witch phase when I was 16. So I hold no ill will against her for trying to raise me catholic. It was how she herself was raised. Now my Dad... *rolls eyes* Didn't ever go to fucking church but would lose his goddamn mind if he saw anything that looked like a pentagram. Which got really fucking annoying when I got into Slipknot cause they have the nano-gram, nine points, nine members. Anyway, my dad is a POS and I don't feel like getting worked up about his fucking ass right now.

So as an adult I am not religious at all. My husband considers himself spiritual. But he hates Christian nut jobs like me and will actively go around and cut down those "JESUS OR HELL" signs when he sees them. (Almost got into a fight with some Nazis over one. He's a bit of psycho and will defend himself so I'm glad there were cop cars going by cause that could have ended much much worse. He literally would be bringing a knife to a gun fight.) Cause that sort of shit fucked him up as a kid and as a little boy he was scared to death of going to Hell.

My husband's grandma is a MAGA cultist. She added me on fb years ago. She never really commented on my posts. I don't sugar coat shit on fb for family. So she has found out that I don't believe in God. And she has brought this up multiple times with my husband on the phone. And it annoys the shit out of him. Mainly cause it's super passive aggressive. The convo went like this...

Grandma: "Why doesn't Renee believe in God?"

Tyler: "I don't know Grandma. It's just her beliefs."

Grandma: "Well even tho she doesn't, just know I'm praying for her."

Every time she says she's praying for me she always adds the "Even tho I know you don't believe in that stuff.." Every. Damn. Time. Normally if someone says they are praying for me I thank them. There have been several times when in the hospital nurses or doctors will offer to pray with me. And honestly, I'm like okay, cool. I'll pray with you. Good vibes aren't going to hurt. Christian prayer, Muslim prayer, Jewish prayers, any prayers (I know there's many, many more religions those are just off the top of my head) are all good vibes and nothing wrong with putting goodness into the world. But constantly bringing up the fact I don't believe just rubs me the wrong way. I asked my husband why and he's like, "She's just terrified you're going to Hell." So yeah... a bit aggravating.

[everything-is-crab]

ok i am not an american (though i do live in a western country) and am not a rightwinger either, i'm fairly centrist, and definitely i am anti-interventionist and far more isolationist than the average progressive. 9/11 was an act of US gov against its own citizens to justify further aggressive action abroad with the consequences we both know. the civilians in the twin towers were just as innocent as anyone in the middle east.

progs loooove to say peoples are more similar together than to their governments, and vice versa, and this everyone loves to cite when it benefits them (let me come to your country! i am like you!) however as soon as americans are killed and subjected to police state by their own gov (a fact of 9/11 and its later policy) then it's open season.. i find it inconsistent. in the end, everyone - EVERYONE - even bleeding heart liberals, cares more about those close to them. it's normal, and they are entitled to, as long as they do not denigrate others.

Bro what are you getting mad at? Did I even argue that those people were not innocent? What are you arguing against?

And if you're a centrist then idc. Ik progressives today want more foreign intervention (totally unaware of imperialism), I told you to even the check that survey. And that's why my criticism was and is directed at mainly liberals and leftists. You can leave.

Idgaf about arguing with "centrists" or anyone close to the right wing. I left that a long time ago cause it's a waste of time, as you're proving to be. No offense but our core beliefs differ. I get where you're coming from but you're thinking from an individual pov and I am not individualist (but you are cause you're a centrist and that's why idc about taking this further).

"Everyone cares more about those close to them" ok so in this context, it's nationalism. Caring more for your own people than others. What did I say wrong then in my og post? I just shortened what they do and believe in one word.

"As long as it's not denigrating" that's literally what I said in og post. You should find it inconsistent on how the Internet memeified another country's tragedy as I pointed out in the og post and then expected sympathy for themselves from the same people in return. And in your previous ask too (by providing link to a post where people are saying shit like "they had it coming to them" and yada yada).

So what's your point? I don't think it's worth arguing cause clearly your politics are much different than mine at the core. I care about other minorities. That's why I am anti Hindu nationalist and am with Muslims in other countries as well even though I am a Hindu myself. Do you think the whole GS is just one place and we don't have our own complex relations with each other? If you don't care about others then okay. Good for you

And you clearly are not ready to own up American civilians weren't innocent in supporting the war (do not even lie about that, all of you swallowed propaganda like candies) which killed more people in other countries than Americans killed in 9/11. That's why it's "open season". You were hurt? Fine you have our condolences. You use that to hurt others? You're gonna get shit on for it and don't expect any sympathy after that in return especially when your regrets and apologies aren't sincere.

[indy-gray]

It's I'm bitter about religion time. And by religion I really mean Christianity.

What is it with Christians that scream and shout about other people needing to "respect their religion" but then the MOMENT someone does respectfully disagree with them, or even just openly says "I don't believe what you believe and that's okay" they whine and cry and complain about being oppressed???

Like why do I have to be respectful in the face of Christian fascism just because people I love are Christian? But nobody has to show me respect because I'm an atheist?? My Jewish friend regularly has to deal with direct and overt antisemitism everywhere she goes, she's very devoted to her faith and observes her culture with care and dignity and defends herself when it is safe to do so (and sometimes when its not, looking at you German airport security). Never once has she looked at me and said that my lack of religion was wrong or that I would change my mind one day. (Real quotes from actual Christians)

My Muslim friends loved partying with me, not because they drank or ate what I did but because they liked watching me make a fool of myself. Never once did they feel the need to tell me I was living my life wrong. (Real quote from actual christians) They did of course make sure to video me dancing on tables. But I feel that's fair.

My Sikh friends rarely spoke about their own religion, only in the context of "I'm not Muslim but Islamophobia is directed at me too" during our discussions.

My Buddhist friends always showed me respect in return for my own. They don't care if I eat meat as long as I didn't try to manipulate them into eating it.

I've met many different types of Christians of many different sects and what they all have in common is this oppression complex like they're somehow the victims of other people disagreeing with them. I literally have never had a single problem with anyone of any other faith EVER. But Christians just can't handle the diversity of an entire goddamn planet.

It's always "I demand respect for my beliefs!" But then when you say "cool believe what you want, I'm still going to live my life how I see fit" and they're all offended that you could possibly hurt them in this way.

Anyway I have a hard time respecting any Christians at this point. Like you can be all "I respect everyone, I'm not like those other Christians!!" But at the end of the day it's about action and I haven't seen a single Christian ever in my life put their own pride to the side to show me respect in return for respect for them.

[lorei-writes]

Basic Guide on How Not To: Slavic Characters

Well, as most of you have probably realised by now, I’m Polish. Truthfully, I am quite upset now. I generally tend to avoid most content involving Slavic people, because well, stereotypes are plentiful and I have only one stomach - there is only so much anger I can fit inside of it. However, this time I was merrily watching an episode of a series, for goodnight sleep, and got smacked in the face with just that... So, I suppose, let’s use my anger towards something - hopefully - productive. This is a very hard post for me to write. It may be closer to my personal experience, although I did try to be more general.

Contents:

Where Do I Even Begin or Sad Slav Filter

Common Stereotypes - Professions & Jobs

Common Stereotypes - Characteristics

Few basic issues with languages & names

Where Do I Even Begin or Sad Slav Filter

Grey buildings, empty plazas, ominous blocks of flats with walls up to the very sky. Snow. Gloom faces. Dark nights. Red. Gold.

To start with, be aware that this sort of image is oftentimes not only written into stories or presented in picture-based media, but that I had the displeasure of seeing it being used for cover art for several books.

What I jokingly call sad Slav filter is presenting the reality of Eastern Europe* through, well, pessimistic glasses. The architecture speaks of terror, of being post-communist state, of never having recovered. The streets portrayed in such fashion are gloom, unwelcoming, threatening in a way. Winter is oftentimes the season of choice, to add an extra layer of depressive atmosphere and cold. Nobody smiles. One may say that usage of gold and red brightens the image - however, those connect directly to the communist flag, thus locking the entire space in a rather obvious context.

The reality?

Yes, old blocks of flats built in 60s or so still exist. Some are even grey and in dire need of being re-painted! However... Many are not in such a state. In Poland, the common colours for elevation of such buildings are white, pastel orange, pastel yellow and pastel green, oftentimes put together in combination of stripes or other geometric shapes. What also should be noted is that such estates were designed with plenty trees and other plants around them in mind, as to accommodate for a development of a community - especially for older blocks of flats, those are most likely situated nearby a primary school and a kindergarten, not to mention stores and other services. It is not uncommon for playgrounds to be present as well. You could also expect small flower gardens.

Parks exist here. Architecture does not begin and end at the blocks of flats, especially not in the major cities - most, if not all, have old towns or historical representative streets. Buildings dating back to medieval still do exist in plenty of places. Churches & Tserkovs - those are oftentimes tourists sites for a reason! 

It may happen that the side of a building will be decorated with a mural. It is not very common, but does happen. Here are some examples (from Poland). The designs sometimes relate to other works of art, or to some forms of traditional art.

mural by NeSpoon, a street artist who incorporates motives of koronka ludowa [a type of lace] into her artwork

Overall, I come from a poorer region of Poland, from a small town to add to that. The one thing I would list about it? Flower gardens. All of my neighbours had flower gardens in front of their houses. In the recent years, I’ve seen plenty of new houses being built, plenty of renovations being made. Especially in spring and summer, it is all far from grey. Some major cities started investing in fields of wild flowers, as to aid pollinators. And winters? Well, the way it should be (as climate change shows and I have not seen a proper winter in a while), they should be snowy. Yes, it may involve a rather depressing image, at least in places where snow cannot just rest over the ground and glitter... But I do think it may be the case in plenty parts of Europe, as winter days are overall shorter as well, which hardly helps :”) Eastern Europe as a region is not locked in an eternal winter.

People may not be smiling, but they are not frowning either - it is the... Neutral resting face.

*- that being said, Eastern Europe is not inhabited only by Slavic people, even if it is often presented like so

Common Stereotypes - Professions & Jobs

List of common stereotypical jobs/professions usually performed by characters of Slavic descent:

a member of a mafia (Russian mafia)

a drug dealer

a spy

a prostitute

a maid / a cleaner

As you can see, nearly all of those involve crime, the only exception being a maid / a cleaner (which, I’d argue, speaks of a lower socio-economic status). If you do not plan to have more than one Slavic character in your work, I advise you to avoid those - especially if you wanted to make your character Russian. I do not think I have to explain why representing a group of people nearly exclusively as criminals is hurtful. 

Certain stereotypes exist in media. They do influence the reality. I have seen covers of books about spy programs (non-fiction, referencing an issue from 2000s) which involved clear references to communism (+ used the most hideous Sad Slav Filter I have ever seen). The title suggested all Russians are spies. This is not okay.

If you want to have a character who is performing any of the above, and want to make them Slavic, but then never have their heritage influence anything about them - ask yourself why.

EDIT: Do allow me to also add that being a sex-worker may not be a choice for all Slavic women. Sex-trafficking of Eastern Europeans is a real issue. You should be mindful of that when writing a story - even more so as it affects some countries more than others. Research is due.

Common Stereotypes - Characteristics

Common hurtful characteristics in depicting slavic characters:

uneducated or otherwise stupid

rude, loud, uncultured, violent

an alcoholic / addicted to drugs

extremely conservative / religious

Do I have to explain it? Yes, alcoholism is a social issue, same as addiction to drugs. Yes, some people are conservative and / or religious. However! We are not a monolith! Social issues are not the general rule! 

Scale of conservativeness and religiousness also differs greatly by age group and region. In Poland we have an entire category of practising atheists - non-believers, usually from smaller communities, who appear in church once or twice a year, despite not believing. Due to social pressure. What religion? This differs greatly too! Roman catholic, Greek orthodox, Muslim? Slavic people are not a monolith.

(about women specifically):

beautiful (must put plenty effort in her physical appearance)

looks for a rich (western) husband

submissive

obedient 

Well. This ties into the greater issue of objectification and sexualisation of Slavic and Eastern European women. Admittedly, such portrayal [including all of those] is more so present in online spaces, if you turn a few wrong corners down the roads of the internet :) It is dehumanising.

If your Slavic character happens to be a woman and must be extremely sexy femme fatal spy - this reeks of stereotypes.

Few basic issues with languages & names

As I’ve hinted already, it appears that oftentimes Slavic = Russian. This, however, is not true, both language-wise and culture-wise. Despite sharing some common elements, Slavic cultures do differ. Polish characters, unless they are 50+ years old, won’t generally speak Russian. Czech and Ukrainian are different. Ukrainian is not just another version of Russian.

I decided to single out this paragraph for one reason: authors oftentimes do not bother to check for appropriate names and just use whatever seems right. If you want to write a Slavic character, do make some research. 

The common mess-ups I’ve seen:

inappropriate form of the surname (about Russian surnames in particular; giving a woman a male version of the surname, giving a man the female version of the surname - Slavic languages are heavily gendered!)

claiming a character is of nationality B, while giving them a surname which is most definitely speaking of nationality A (e.g: Polish character with a clearly Hungarian name & surname)

wrong spelling

using very rare forms of names for all the characters written into the story (it sounds very unnatural - in one particular case it seemed to have been done on purpose, as I’ve had to google whether some names were even names. They were used as code names for few organisations during WWII. That sort of uncommon).

nicknames derived from the actual names that would not work at all (Żegota -> Zeg; It just would not work like this. It would be literally more likely for a character named Żegota to be nicknamed/renamed Staszek than for somebody to call him Zeg. It does not only not include the ż sound, but it also ends with g - which a Polish person would simplify to k when speaking. In other words Zeg -> zek. This, meanwhile, is not only not exactly pleasant to say, but it also sounds like a grammatical form of another word, albeit pronounced with a heavy lisp - “river”; It is possible to find appropriate nicknames online).

Also, unless you want for some character to be a dick, do not make them purposefully mispronounce the name of a Slavic character or have them name them after an object/thing. (Calling “Maciej” by “Magic” because they can’t be bothered to learn to pronounce the name or at least try to get it close is not nice).

[chit-a-to]

❗❗ TW ❗❗ sexual assault

Her statement scared me... Like... Okay I got it, when I was still a kid I used to like (much) older guys, too, maybe like 10 yrs older or something. But then as I grew up I realized that even though it was a harmless crush, it's still dangerous and morally wrong to build a relationship between a minor and an adult. Still, it is understandable because as a kid we're still learning and cannot really differentiate yet as to what is morally wrong or not.

Now if this Lina person said that when they (sauceribs) were kids they thought Rin was going to ended up with Sesshomaru, shouldn't they be growing out of that mindset? Because they're adults now and they should've learned that romanticizing a minor and adult can be constituted as supporting grooming which is part of pedophilic behavior. Even if she they said that "it's just a drawing! it's not a big deal!", then again every time there's an animation that features POC or people from non-christian religions (e.g. buddhists muslims, &c.) as the main characters, we called them "representation". So, what makes it so different when it's a child or a teenager on screen? Won't it represents children/teenagers/young adults, too?

What I'm afraid of is not her mere statement, but what it might implies. If sauceribs' ways of thinking are like that, and they all now are adult, I'm afraid that they might let that mindset seeped into their every day's life. For example, they see a 20 yrs old something man hitting on a teenage girl and they'll be thinking "Oh yeah, that's totally fine. The girl definitely wants to be with him."

And that's on a very basic and very common example of what grooming looks like in our modern society. But there are also child predators who is unheard of with appearance like a good, law-abiding citizen. Who knows that one of them are a mangaka? 👀 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm not saying that if you support sessrin then you'll become a pedophile. What I mean is that if you couldn't realize the disturbing nature of their relationship, it could potentially blind your judgement towards similar cases, real life or not.

Oh and one more thing. It seems that raisins and proshippers always deflect antis' statement with "So if you think that liking sessrin making me a lolicon/groomer supporter, then by that logic I wanna be a murderer too if I watch anime that has murder scenes huh?"

That's a good analogy and I've been thinking about it, too. But after some pondering, I don't think those are the same thing. Because, in the case of murder, we have been thought ever since we're little kids that it's bad to hurt other living creatures. So, even if we watch anime/movies with the MC being a killer, we'll realized - albeit unconsciously - that that's a wrong thing and we shouldn't do that. Only in some unfortunate (and extreme) cases where people are actually get inspired to murder other people or kill animals after watching anime/movies with that theme.... [1] [2].

Meanwhile, as for the case of grooming &/ other sexual abuse, we learned about all of that only recently, and just bit by bit too, thanks to the increased interest in law protection for women and especially for survivors who are brave enough to share their stories. Most of the time we can't sniffed it out immediately, particularly if we haven't known the couple for a long time or their background stories, because we've been told that "it's not our business" to know what's happening between a couple. That's why seeing a seemingly innocent couple in an anime/movie and being told "that man/woman sexually abuses his/her partner!" feels like a foreign thing to us, and of course for the die hard fans of the couple it feels like an insult hence the denial and deflection.

Again, if you wanna ask "wtf does the anime/movies couples hv to do with rl cases? 👿👿". Then I wanna ask you too, can you look at a teenager or a young adult who has been a real victim of sexual abuse and think "poor little thing..." but then proceed to watch an anime/movie that portrays a character with similar backstory? Will you be irked by the similarity or will you keep gushing over it?

In conclusion, justifying/normalizing sexual abuse in a mainstream media can leads you to justifying/normalizing sexual abuse in real life, too.

[punemy-spotted]

The Cut

Pairing: Helmut Zemo x Muslim-Coded Reader

Warnings: Explicit Content; Smut; Oral Sex (F-receiving); Discussion of FGM/Clitorectomy; Allusions to Child Abuse; Allusions to Scars; Angst; Mention Cutting;

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary: You cannot carry all your pain on your own.

Author’s Notes: When I was five years old, I was subjected to a clitorectomy, a procedure that was a violation of my human rights and bodily autonomy. It has fundamentally changed the way I view my sexuality and challenged my ability to see myself as a person worthy of sexual pleasure and love. This procedure was done very deliberately to make me a person who did not have sexual autonomy and did not derive pleasure from sex. And for a long time, it worked.

When Dibs at @gotnofucks #dibspositivitychallenge came out, it really only felt right to do a piece that represented this story, because if I don’t give voice to this pain, then there’s a good chance no one else will either. Which is why I’m submitting it as part of the challenge — and it was a challenge! I’ve alluded to FGM in other, now mostly-abandoned pieces, but never anything where it is acknowledged and soothed, and for the most part, endured it alone.

And before this note becomes almost as long as the piece, thank you, @gotnofucks, for the opportunity to be okay with the things we are not.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

No, not like that.

Helmut Zemo invades your life like a virus, consumes your loneliness in greedy kisses, winds his arms around you like he might just swallow your pleasure whole, might make you a part of him to carry away forever. Bare yourself to him and he might sink his fangs into you, drain you of all your fears and leave only obsession in its wake, might turn you into the same cold lover as him, might just make you fall in love.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

You are soft and delicate and precious under his lingering gaze, under appraising fingers, under appreciative hums. He bids you Lay still, sweetling, bids you Let me look at you, bids you You are a masterpiece made flesh, and you believe him, and you forget.

You forget, as he claims your soft mouth with his own, willing and wanting. You forget, as his tongue explores the pleasurable symphony of your surrender. You forget, you forget everything. There is only the hunger of his lust, the wanting he leaves on your skin, marking you with nips of teeth and suckling kisses, makes a game of your yelps and whimpers, chuckles against your tender form, So needy for me, sweetling.

And you are.

Helmut, you plead, running fingers through his hair as he simpers with lips wrapped around the pebbled skin of your breast, watching him wide-eyed and enamored, a halo of dark locks around your face and you are made of adoration and to be adored.

Darling, he purrs, fingers sliding along your sides, Do you trust me?

And oh.

Oh, you do.

Let him kiss along the planes of your body, let him love the soft lines of you in the early morning light and bid you spread your legs for him Yes just like that, darling, good girl…

Helmut Zemo hums against your skin, takes in the sight of you full of want and wanting, your hands tangled in silk sheets and lips curved around the praise of your love and he is lost to you just the same.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

The softness of your sex is an intoxicant and the kisses he places to the plush apex of you is a whisper of a promise, seeking the sweetness of you on his senses and if he notices the scars where the missing parts of you are then he does not speak and if he notices the way your breath hitches and you tense then he does not speak. He only presses the flat of his tongue against that which you have, taking a decadent lap of your sweetness while you whine and if there are tears in your eyes, sweetling, let him pause to wipe them away, let him watch you in adoring silence to see if you will utter to him the words which will put a stop to this worship and bring about another kind. You are exalted and let him raise you to the heavens just like this, Just like this, sweetling.

He does not devour you, he is no beast, but he does drink of your pleasure, letting his tongue delve into your softness. Gentle hands holding you in place, encouraging you to surrender, writhe and move and let him nuzzle deeper, let him moan, soft and hungry against the feast he adores so much and when you surrender, sweetness, he is overcome.

The first time he touches you, he asks nothing.

The first time he touches you, he sees everything.

Does it hurt?

The next time he touches you, he is curled around you in bed, fingers languid and lazy against the plushness of your sex, finding the space where nerves are made scars and watching you turn, watching your eyes grow desperate and realize he saw and he touched and he loved you anyway and you say nothing at first, not until he asks again, Does it hurt you, sweetling?

Sometimes.

But today?

No.

Will you tell me?

Someday.

And he asks nothing further, only whether you are warm and comfortable here in this home he had made out of your bed and when you nod he is calmed and when you nod he is taking another hungry kiss from your plush mouth and when you nod he is patient.

He is always patient, and careful, and skilled, and waiting.

One day it does hurt, and for once, you do not hurt alone.

One day it does hurt and you tell him.

He holds you while you cry, just as he is, kissing your fingers and promising divinity in your adoration and you tell him of the girl you once were and you speak of the knives and the crimes and he listens.

He listens and in his heart, he simmers with the pain and rage you have absorbed for all your years, the iceberg shelves of his heart cracking under the weight of your hurt and your confession and he asks no questions but sweetling, you tell him every word, pressed against his chest and tears in your eyes, Let yourself cry, darling, and Helmut Zemo might be a murderer and an extremist and a villain but in this moment he is yours and there are no greater villains than the ones who drove you to this, who charged a child with crimes she did not know the names of, demanding reparation from her in her blood and flesh.

So you tell him. You tell him of the dusty hospital and the sneering faces. You tell him how your mother could not bring herself to come with you and so you stood, too young to remember your native tongue with no interpreter to make your grandmothers understand that you were afraid.

You tell him of a bird with her wings clipped before she even knew she could have flown, you tell him how you thought you would never, you tell him how it used to hurt and sweetness… you tell him how you thought he would leave you if he saw.

It’s not their fault, you tell him too, and he does not believe you but it is not his place to tell you what to feel and so instead he runs fingers through your hair and holds you to his chest and kisses your temple.

It’s not their fault, you insist, They trusted the wrong people, they were misled, they—

They are not yours to defend, sweetling, he tells you in his softest voice, breaking you from your guilt, They are not yours to justify.

And so you do not give it.

You give nothing, only your tears to a man who demands nothing, only bids you seek refuge in what safety he can give but sweetness he knows the meaning of revenge and the power of loathing and you have carried your burden for so long and justice has failed you so often — Let me carry this pain with you, my darling — and oh sweetness, you will.

You will, and he will carry you through the days you try to give a name to your anguish.

You will, and he will find the means to demand the justice you were denied because you deserve your justice, because you cannot be allowed to hurt while they go home and pretend they are correct to do this to you and your sisters in faith.

You will.

The first time he touches you, it is a shock.

No, not like that.

Not when he shows you how wrong they were.

[fromthefishbowl]

Can you elaborate on how they don’t see Marwan as a person please ?

Okay, so... here's the thing: most, if not all, the people who claim to be constantly working against racism in fandom are, themselves, so fucking racist it's incredible. Racist and xenophobic and antisemitic and overcompensating like hell because they know they're shitty people but actually working through their problems is too hard so they have to pretend it's the others, who are racist and xenophobic and antisemitic.

They pretend to like Marwan because they can use him as a prop for their internet wokeness and virtue signalling, and they pretend to care about racism in fandom spaces because it's one of the easiest ways to gain attention and followers. But we all have seen what they do when one of them is outed as being actually racist to the point of using racial slurs against MENA people: they fall into silence and make excuses and then get mad when people won't let them move on as if nothing happened because they think they didn't do anything wrong ever. Sending death threats, rape threats, insults, harassment, writing slurs against the people they pretend to be campaigning for... all this shit is normal, to them.

Their attitude towards people like Marwan pops out when they interact with actual MENA and Muslim people: they belittle them, insult them, send them links to articles written by white Americans about how to discuss Islam.

Just look at how they write Nicky: they perceive him as "white" - lmao - so they use him as the token racist character that can embody their dumb thoughts about Joe/Marwan - which... again, it's incredible how xenophobic these people are too. Like, it's clear that they are in this fandom because "brown man give us brown points uwu" and they couldn't give a shit about any of the characters, not even Joe, because if they actually cared they wouldn't have propped up an artist who draws him a thousand shades darker than how he actually is -. So Nicky, the character who is canonically always shown as being head over heels for Joe, turns into a racist, ignorant gremlin uncaring of his husband's culture and who doesn't respect him.

Like... even the whole debacle of "if Nicky rapes Joe it's fine because colonialism" is so fucking stupid. These people just like to imagine Joe/Marwan being abused. It's a fetish they turned into morality. Like... it's fine if you want to be fucked by Luca, you don't have to make up a discourse around it. You're fine with the thought of being dicked down by Chris Evans, you should be fine with the thought of being dicked down by Luca Marinelli too. Literally the only difference is that you're xenophobic and it really shows.

But to go back to Marwan... I was talking about it with a fandom friend, and they said that they like to "defang" him and his characters: they are scared of him, so they need to neuter him, take away from him any characteristics that make him """big""" and """scary""". It really says something, the fact that Len the Defender of the Weak Moroccan People and Undiscussed Maghrebi Princess, in that long ass post about how much of a victim she is, talked about MENA men being dangerous thugs and used Majid as inspiration: she couldn't make him defenseless and small and uwu, because Majid is aggressive, hot headed, a criminal - which... what a fucking shallow read of his character, my god - so he scared her and was the first thought when she came up with the idea of "lemme write a woe is me post and include how dangerous and unruly the MENA men I know are".

So when they write Joe they make sure to eliminate every possible thing that scares them. Canonically, Joe is protective, active, aggressive when people hurt his family; he is open and charismatic and loves deeply, but he also doesn't forgive easily; he hunts down Keane with the specific purpose of murdering him for having shot his husband and insists that Booker needs to be exiled for a hundred years for what he did; he is not religious in any possible way, and when he swears, he says the names of Catholic saints. But he can't be these things, because Marwan is a brown man - fuck, how much I hate relegating people to their race. So fucking American, I swear - and if a brown man does these things then he scares them, so they turn him into this... weak, demure creature who cannot get mad because otherwise it's racist, who cannot stand up for himself and his family because otherwise it's racist, who cannot do this or that because otherwise it's racist. They make him religious to the point of being almost a fundamentalist, but orientalize Islam by taking away any restrictive aspects and make it all flowers and rainbows. They write Joe as the stereotype of the Noble Savage: he can only be positive things because somehow he hasn't been corrupted by the evil white civilization to the point that he even lets his husband insult him. Ooooh, how big is their Joe's heart!

And the same thing is applied to how they want people to perceive Marwan: he's just a widdle boi. When people were joking about him being a Dutch fuckboi - which... he is, he really is -, they were going mad and saying it was racist. Why would it be racist? How? Because Len told you about that stereotype about MENA men she got completely wrong? Marwan is a charismatic, handsome guy who clearly knows how he looks and who works in an industry where he is constantly around people who are as beautiful and charismatic as him. He is aware of how good looking he is. He talked in interviews about how he likes to "chat up girls". He makes fun of it himself, and yet we can't talk about it because "Brown man with a sexual life they can't control" scares them, it makes him an actual person and not just a picture or a video they can reblog with dumb tags about his looks immediately followed by racial slurs.

They defang him. They neuter him. They take away his humanity because, if Marwan were human, he'd have "bad" characteristics too, and they just can't have that because then he'd become scary again.

And like... let's always remember that when Len saw him with a look she didn't like and that made him look like probably 50% of MENA men who are over a certain age, her first instinct was to insult him with a racial slur and think it was something cute to do.

[writingwithcolor]

OwnStories: Two Indian friends joke about converting each other to their respective religions (Islam, Christianity)

Anon said:

i'm a Tamil Roman Catholic writing two Indian best friends. one is Bengali + Muslim, and the other is Malayali + St. Thomas Christian. both are actively religious, and have a running joke where they kid about converting each other. they are both content with their own religions and love each other, but still joke about converting the other. i have similar jokes with my own friends, but i am unsure of whether this would be offensive in writing?

Should be ok, but with caveats

Just a disclaimer: I’m including some points for anyone thinking of doing this.

As a member of a minority religion that’s undergone forcible conversion attempts throughout most of our history and currently faces religious based systemic oppression in all the South Asian countries we live in, I would not be comfortable with these jokes, especially if there was a systemic power imbalance between the people making the jokes.

I don’t think all jokes about religion are bad - before writing jokes about conversion, look into historical and current systems of oppression. Or are there currently missionaries using predatory tactics in their areas to convert others? While you’ve already specified that the characters are best friends, the relationship between the characters should also be taken into consideration.

I personally only make jokes like this with my other Sikh friends about converting each other to other sects and I would not stay friends with someone who joked about converting me to their religion, especially if there was ever force implied. In India, there’s no systematic power imbalance between Muslims & Christians - you’re probably fine, but hearing a diverse set of opinions won’t hurt.

- SK

The Importance of Boundaries

The important thing is your protagonists need to have boundaries. They don't have to establish them in-story, but you have to know what they are when writing that dialogue.

Story time: when I was a freshman in college, a fellow Indian girl in choir befriended me. We ate lunch and talked about life, as well as classes. Then she tried to convert me to Christianity, while recommending A Voice in the Wind. I think I was polite and explained my cynicism, namely my dad dying despite all the prayers my Hindu family gave. Her response was to use a parable from the Bible, which again, I didn't believe in, to try and prove her point. In hindsight, that was super uncomfortable.

This is why boundaries are important. Real friends can establish what is okay and what's not when making these jokes.

- Jaya

Probably OK

From my perspective, I don’t see much wrong with this, if only because my desi Muslim friends and I do this a lot in the US. This obviously wouldn’t work back home. Islamic conversion of Hindus historically has a lot of baggage and certainly, the current tactics of Hindutva against Sikhs, Christians and Muslims would add another nasty layer. Not to mention little things like how the relationship between India and Pakistan is often used as fodder for religious conflict. However, I think the relationship between Islam and Christianity in India is akin to the relationship Islam and Hinduism have in the US (That is to say, in both contexts, the religions involved are minority religions with members that experience oppression from the members of the majority religion). 

Like you, I honestly like that my friends and I can joke about our religions. It beats fighting over them like people do back home and takes a lot of the sting out of history. It’s also a great coping strategy for us as a way to deal with the persistent, aggressive and sometimes violent confrontations we experience with members of various forms of Christianity in the US. That said, you might want to give some consideration as to where you set this story or the context within which your characters make these jokes. As you no doubt are already aware, a Muslim and a Christian joking about conversion in India will feel very different to members of other religions who overhear their banter. If you have any Sikh or Hindu friends, it might be worth your time to hear their opinions.

 I wish you luck with this story. Any work of fiction that can get desis to calm the heck down when it comes to religion is probably good for us.

- Marika.

[adventuresoutsidethegenderbinary]

As a queer Muslim, I 100% want to believe that it's permissible in Islam to...you know, be queer.

The thing is, majority of people say its not. Even Islamic scholars who I follow and respect, like Mufti Menk, and other Islamic pages run by straight people, say its wrong to act upon it. It upsets me, because why would Allah SWT love us, but not want us to love? Why would he want us to suffer alone? Why would he want us to feel restricted? Islam is not about restriction at all. Islam is the religion of peace, is it not?

Idk if IS the truth, or just my internalised homophobia talking, but I feel like queer Muslim pages say it's okay to be queer...because they're queer themselves. And they're trying to find ways bargain with themselves to say that its okay. And lots of (straight religious) people don't agree with them (like a scholar for example) I feel like there's just too much evidence on the opposing side for me to believe that it's not a sin.Idk what to do. I even tried to pray so that I could find out the truth or find out answers. Then the next morning I saw yet another person who said acting upon queerness is a sin. I know that it was just one opinion, but I feel like it just happened too soon for it to be a mere coincidence. I ask for signs to find out the truth, but then I don't like the signs.

What makes me even more angry is that all this questioning is happening to me during Ramadan - the time where you're supposed to become closer to Allah.

In the end, I'm just glad I like all genders and can marry a man, if being queer really is a ,,sin" 😔

Hello friend!

I have struggled with these same feelings myself. I often wonder if I am just interpreting the Quran in a certain way to make myself feel better. I don’t think these feelings will ever go away.

However, there is substantial evidence that homosexuality didn’t use to be such a haram concept in Islam, or at least, not homosexuality the way we think of it. For instance, there were many notable Muslim figures who practiced homosexuality or were thought to practice it, particularly from the 8th - 10th centuries. Such figures included Caliphs, and in later centuries, Ottoman sultans. However, this “homosexuality” often referred to men sleeping with young boys (typically too young to have a beard). 

I can’t seem to find it right now, but I saw a post somewhere talking about an Old Testament verse (I believe it was Leviticus) which said, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman, for it is an abomination”, but people later determined that this was a mistranslation and that it originally said “you shall not lie with young boys as with women”. This would make sense given how widespread such pedophilia was at the time, especially in the Greco-Roman world. 

Thus, I think there’s substantial evidence that the Quran was actually banning pedophilia, especially since the word “homosexuality” was never in the book and people had to come up with one when translating it. When we also consider our Allah, most kind and most merciful, we know that he does things with a purpose. Saying that pedophilia, lust, and rape is a sin makes sense because these are all bad things that hurt others. I struggle to understand why Allah would ban relationships between people of the same gender when they pose no threat to others and can actually be quite beneficial in that same-gender couples often adopt or take care of children. 

Currently, many Islamic leaders are quite conservative, and that has more to do with geopolitical forces than religious ones, so I think that also contributes to the fact that most of the people re-examining homosexuality in Islam are queer. Additionally, many Muslim-majority countries are very conservative and the leaders are very oppressive, and hence any major scholars who challenge the “traditional” interpretation of the text may be silenced.

Sorry for the long response - I’m still trying to figure all this out too. All I know is that I have a hard time imagining Allah casting someone down into Hell if they spent their whole life helping others but unapologetically loved someone of the same gender. 

Peace be upon you,

River

[tazwren]

My two cents on the devolution of fandom spaces...

As a former mod of a fandom space and a woman of colour, I do not feel safe.

Seeing what has been done to so many in this fandom, by a particular group of white American women, in the name of moral policing is both abhorrent and demoralising. As it also is to repeatedly see the same narrative being shoved at everyone as the gospel truth.

A narrative that very conveniently either becomes about fic or has nothing to do with fic, depending on how people want to swing things. A narrative that will accuse a person of Jewish heritage of anti-Semitism, a person of colour of racism, a practising Muslim of being an Islamaphobe. A narrative that will define for you and me and all of us comprising this myriad of multitudes in the world what generational or personal trauma includes and what induces the same.

Those of you who know me, know what I’ve been dealing with the past few days & why I haven’t spoken up before now. Before I logged out a couple days ago, I saw what looked like more of the usual nonsense by the same group of people I’ve kept my distance from once their true colours were revealed. What I didn’t expect is that they would think themselves so above the norms of human decency and accountability that they would go after not one but two women of colour this time around in their rabidity. And many others who spoke up, as it turns out.

It hurts to see what these women, that I know of, have had to endure and to see the passivity of the community, save for a few voices, in sitting back and letting the circus rampage through town. It hurt when I was at the receiving end of it and it hurts now.

Why? Because it shows me a microcosm of the world that I don’t really relate to, that makes no sense to me with the values I was brought up with, and which reduces basic human decency to a commodity to be trampled upon and for you to be seen as weak for having. Because people who willingly laud you for your art / writing / wit, meet you with effusive claims of love and affection and friendship, who have no qualms in taking your help when it suits them, will throw you under the bus and let the wolves ravage you when it doesn't.

Before I get into that, let me talk a little bit about what has transpired over the past few days to a week, and what has been systemically taking place over perhaps the past year in this fandom.

One thing is that everyone who makes a statement about anything suddenly has people in their mentions demanding they show what gives them the right to hold that particular opinion. A critical thing people forget about fandom is that it is a place where people hide their identity for a variety of reasons, all valid, and this approach to fiction and conversations where everyone has to reveal every part of their past and identity as a means of establishing their "credentials" in order to present their views comes in direct contradiction with how fandoms operate. It violates people's rights to privacy.

The other is that there has been an increase in the voices that purportedly stand up to “speak for” the marginalised, the abused, those discriminated against and those who belong to minorities who “need to be protected / kept safe”. An admirable sentiment, to be sure. If it weren’t for the fact that none of these groups of people needed saving, speaking for or the protection of this particular group of voices.

Voices who only want to define and use these people as "model victims" to hurt other white women and establish their supremacy over both them and other POC. Voices that will present their "truth" as they see fit and sans context or present you with screenshots of snippets of conversations held in supposedly secure spaces that they have no qualms in violating in the interest of the "greater good" and claim offense / silencing if the misdemeanour is pointed out or action is taken against them, Voices that will conveniently categorize you as a "token POC" or "white adjacent" when you do not support or align with their narrative. Voices that belong to a predominantly white American group of women, whose real agenda, as is evidenced by their modus operandi, has nothing to do with real altruism or a drive for justice or indeed to right wrongs.

No, their agenda is purely power.

To hold sway over groups of followers, to shepherd them as though they are sheep who cannot think for themselves, and to set themselves up as white saviours who call out those who step out of line, or are deemed to be problematic and toxic and unsafe. To be the owners of the only "safe spaces" in fandom and to drive other groups and spaces to be boycotted or worse.

Now, I've long wondered, who indeed are these women to decide that for anyone? In a world comprising multiple cultures, religions, groups, subgroups, genders and which contains multitudes, who are these women and what gives them the right to foist their puritanical standards on everyone, very conveniently disguised as concern for the moral well being of everyone and the consumption, of all things, of fiction?

Certainly, there are many things in this world that people regard with justifiably equal dislike / horror / sadness. At the same time, there is much that is not shared, that is particular to a culture and to a person’s background. There is a multitude of perspectives that make the whole. And the white women of the United States of America have not cornered the market on what those are, or indeed even own any curatorship or censorship of the same. They cannot, because each person’s culture and background and joy and trauma is their own, as are their ways of dealing with it all.

That being said, let’s talk about their pack behaviour and the devolution I’ve witnessed on social media as basic human decency is bartered for clout.

I’m all for standing up for someone who doesn’t have a voice or a platform, or maybe afraid of repercussions to voice dissent. I’m all for being there for our fellow human beings as they face struggles of often unconscionable and unfathomable proportions. I’m all for holding people accountable for their negative behaviours as they impact the larger community.

What I am unequivocally NOT for is treating such situations as an opportunity to preach, to virtue-signal, to shame and to put on blast the alleged wrong-doers. I say alleged because that’s what most accusations are on these platforms—allegations to do with things that disturb our sense of balance or make us wrinkle our noses or that we deem bad, and therefore make the accused deserving of the full force of the community’s misbehaviour and censure.

I ask you if you were found guilty of a crime in real life—you know, the one away from your phones and keyboards—would you not have an opportunity to retain a lawyer, to plead your case in a court of law, to acquit yourself? Or, if found guilty, would you not have the opportunity for correction and rehabilitation? Yes, you say? (If you say no, then that explains the spate of state-perpetuated injustices across the USA, but that is a different matter).

Why then are people treated so abhorrently in this court of public opinion? What gives you, me, any one of us the right to judge people so vilely and with a metaphorical gun to their heads? What gives anyone the right to say you better agree with everything I say, retract everything you said and grovel for it or we will eviscerate you in public, shame you, force you to change or delete the content that offends us and still ostracise you and in some cases even threaten you with bodily harm or death, or doxx you?

Why is there no grace in how people are approached or dealt with? Whatever happened to allowing people to learn from their mistakes, where applicable, or hearing them out and giving them a chance to explain their side of something we may not fully understand?

Why is there no accountability for such behaviour on the part of the accusers?

What makes the rest of you sit back and allow this to happen? What makes you think this is in any shape or form okay to watch? Today, it is a virtual stranger at the receiving end, one you can distance yourself from quite conveniently saying Oh, she just mods a group I am in, or I only read their fics a couple times or I only followed them for their art or jokes or whatever flavour of excuse you choose. Tomorrow, it will be one of your own - or it may very well be you. And you'd better hope there's someone left to speak up for you.

The irony is you will have allowed it to happen by letting the wolf in the fold. By letting these white women manipulate you, and the community you claim to be a part of, so unapologetically, so maliciously and so unashamedly that before you can do anything about it the cancer has taken hold.

If this was happening in the world outside of social media, they would have to follow due process, to present real evidence based on facts (not based on emotions, rumours or perceptions) and would have to allow the person they are accusing to present a counter-argument, to defend themselves or be defended. Failure to do so is a miscarriage of justice and, depending on whether this is a professional or legal proceeding, they would either seriously risk their jobs or have the case thrown out of court. If not face action themselves for attempting to derail the process of justice.

Why then are they permitted to range so freely through the landscape of fandom, snarling and biting at who they please, or who displeases them?

I have no shame in saying I was at the receiving end of their behaviour for defending a friend they put on blast and I will tell you right here and now, I am a woman of colour who feels unsafe and attacked by these so-called self-appointed white saviours of your social media experience, these so-called upholders of the common morality—whatever that means—who will fight for you the evils of problematic and toxic writers who dare to have an opinion not aligned with theirs and who do not bow to their clout. Not that they care, so long as they can ignore this fact since it doesn’t fit their narrative. So long as they can ignore what has just been done to so many people in the name of cleansing the fandom.

If any one of these women were truly interested in alleviating the troubles and pains of the discriminated, the marginalized, the trauma-affected, I invite them to please come roll their sleeves up and help in the multitudes of troubles that wrack this world, not just in the backyards of their minds. My country is amidst a struggle for the basics of human life in this horrific pandemic and, prior to that, for basic constitutional rights for religious minorities. Do not patronize me and lecture me on trauma and racism and discrimination. Do not marginalise me in your attempt to pontificate and set your pearl-clutching puritanical selves above the rest, or assuage your white guilt.

A largely American audience or fanbase in this fandom is purely a function of access and interest—other cultures have vast followings for things you couldn't begin to fathom—and it doesn't mean you are entitled in any shape or form to be spokespeople for the rest of the world. We have no interest in being colonized again by white oppressors.

If you disagree with what I have said, I congratulate you on being a part of their coterie and wish you much joy in being the sheep in their fold. Kindly unfollow or block me on the way off of this post.

[anotheronechicagobog]

Rangers, Lead the Way

Written by: @anotheronechicagobog

Warnings: Swearing, canon compliant violence, I had to use a lot of material from the actual episode, mention of domestic abuse

tagging: @detectiveinchicago​

A/N: So, this is a new series. Basically, OA Zidan (FBI), Jay Halstead (Chicago PD), and Kenny Crosby (FBI: Most Wanted) all went to Ranger training together and kept in touch, something that was useful when they couldn’t be the one to keep their ‘partner’ safe and need to call one of the others for assistance when their ‘paartners’ are temporarily working with another member of the trio.

OA wasn't a name that he'd heard in a long time. They weren't in the same unit but they were in Rangers training together. Jay was one of the only two people there who didn't have it out for him solely because of his religion, while he was shocked to find a Muslim among the ranks at first, he quickly got over it. Not only did he trust that his superiors wouldn't let a terrorist into the army at all, let alone Ranger training, but OA was a U.S. citizen, and had a very personal hatred for everyone who sullied the name of Islam and used it for violence and their own personal gain. So he and Kenny Crosby befriended OA despite the shock and ignorance from their brothers and sisters in arms. They studied together, trained together, ate together, and bunked together. When they'd all been given different assignments they made sure to stay in touch. And they continued to call, email, and text each other after they'd all been discharged.

When Hailey got temporarily assigned to New York Jay was... Well, it's hard to describe how he felt. It was such a nightmarish combination of devastated, terrified, and heartbroken. It was like an icy hand had enclosed around his throat and was slowly squeezing, painfully closing his throat, all while his heart was being dissected out of his chest by another. Not only was he reliving one of the most traumatic moments of his life all over again, but Hailey was going to be in the field without him. She was going to be in danger without him there to watch her back.

And since Hailey was amazing, she could tell just by looking at him that his mind was dropping down into a dark place faster than Alice tumbled into Wonderland. "It's just temporary. And I'll be okay, Jay."

"Hailey..."

"I'm going to put in my time and come back as quickly as possible. It's okay. It's all going to be okay." Hailey's words didn't reassure him in the slightest. How could they, when they didn't even reassure Hailey?

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"Special Agent Zidan."

"Hey OA, it's Jay."

"Hey man, how are you?"

"Honestly, not great."

"What's wrong?"

"My- uh my partner..."

"Hailey Upton."

"Yeah. She's getting detailed out to the FBI for a bit. I found out that she's getting assigned to your unit."

"That makes sense, my partner's doing a UC detail right now, we'll probably be partnered together."

"OA... Watch out for her. Please. She is strong and more than capable of defending herself, and you quite frankly, but- she's my- I..."

"Don't worry, Jay. I'll have her back. She'll make it back to you."

"Thank you. Seriously, you have no idea how much this means to me."

OA looked at the now-empty desk that had been causing his heart to ache at the sight of it. His shoulder sagged at the pain that was pulling in his chest, the dark fog that filled his mind whenever he started to think, started to wonder, caused his head to throb. "Actually, I know exactly how you feel."

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"You will be partnered with Agent Zidan."

"Hi, I'm OA."

"Hi. Hailey."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Listen up, everyone. This is Detective Hailey Upton from Chicago PD. She will be with us for the next few weeks as part of our interagency training program."

"All right, so let's, uh, direct our attention to the screens here. Found the body of a young John Doe in St. Nicholas Park. A hundred yards from Alexander Hamilton's house. Federal land, federal case- and no, it is not where Aaron Burr shot him. The famed duel took place in-- anyone, anyone? Weehawken, New Jersey. Kristen knew. Unfortunately, there's far less clarity in the present homicide case. Evidence of torture and abuse, the victim was brown-skinned, but there was no other evidence of a hate crime. So let's dig in, get to work, start filling in the blanks. Yeah? Go."

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

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"So, Chicago PD? Should I be nervous?"

"Nervous?"

"You guys have been in the news a lot and not for good reasons."

"Uh, yeah, we've had some issues, but they're being addressed. It's a great place. I'm proud to be a part of it. The next time you want to insult me, just come out and say it, you don't need to disguise it as a compliment. This car right here?"

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just my way of saying we do things differently here."

"Mhmm."

"Just trying to keep it real." And keep you from getting hurt so that Halstead doesn't develop a full head of grey hair. "So, you spend much time in New York?"

"Nah, first time here."

"Any early observations?"

"Pizza's too thin. It's like a cracker with sauce on it. Just trying to keep it real."... Okay, so maybe it would've been nice if Jay had warned him that she had an axe to grind, but he could make do.

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"If I hear you're harassing any more immigrants, I'm gonna come back here, and I'm gonna break your arm. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"I forwarded Kristen the pictures of Aman. She'll get us a street block number based on the license plates in the background."

"Just like that, huh?"

"The FBI, Upton. Our tech resources are pretty sick. Look, it's not a big deal, but now that you're working with us, just try and be a little bit more careful. If that guy Prichard calls the Bureau complaining that you threatened to use force..."

"Look, man, I don't need a lesson on how to talk to people, all right?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't get me wrong. I have no problem with someone breaking that idiot's arm, it's just... It's just that the Bureau is hardcore, and they take that stuff really seriously."

"You're right. I'm sorry. If he files a beef, I'll eat it and make sure you're clear. All right?"

"Appreciate that. But what the hell's a beef?"

"It's an expression."

"I'm kidding. Kristen said Aman's house is around this area."

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So, Hailey is a badass. That was pretty damn cool to witness. Sidenote; Jay is going to murder him.

Hailey was fine, more than fine, she actually saved his ass. But that didn't matter, Jay had trusted him to protect Hailey and hadn't failed, but he hadn't done the best job either.

They'd been searching a house, and after coming down the stairs he completely missed an assailant in the kitchen. But Hailey hadn't. No, she saw him and got him out of the line of fire. He provided cover fire while she jumped back over to the wall at the end of the stairs. OA tensed, more than usual when he was in a firefight unless Maggie was- nope, not going there, the point is, he didn't miss the way a bullet penetrated the wall a few centimetres from Hailey's head.

"Halstead."

"Don't be mad-"

"Oh god-"

"Hailey's fine. One-hundred percent fine, not even a scratch. We just, uh, we got into a shootout with an assailant. He got a shot off close to her head. She's fine- more than fine! I swear! She actually saved my ass in that altercation! And I was covering her the whole time!"

"... That's it? That's a pretty normal day for us, OA. She's okay, you're okay... So, everything, is... Okay. And seriously, thanks again, man. I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me. I know that she can take care of herself and the others around her, but it's hard when I'm not the one there to have her six. So I really appreciate that I know and trust the person who is."

"Well, I'm glad that you're not gonna come at me like you did when I stole one of the cookies your mom made from your care package."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want a repeat of that."

"Plus, I know how it feels to... Not know. My partner is under right now and..."

"You're going out of your mind?"

"More than you can believe. I can't eat or sleep, and every time my phone buzzes I think it's a death notification instead of an emergency call from work."

"Sounds like you've got your own Hailey. You'll have to introduce me to Maggie one day."

"Yeah, I will. And Ken's definitely gonna have to introduce Hana. We have heard far too much about her to not even be able to put a face to the name."

"Tell me about it. Sometimes I regret our 'no search' rule, but then I remember how much we embarrass each other."

"By the way, thank you."

"Huh? For what?"

"For saving my ass back there. In the house."

"Oh. Okay. Cool. You're welcome."

"Halstead, how much do get shot at, exactly?"

"Why are you asking?"

"She pushed me out of the path of a bullet and when I thanked her afterwards she treated it like it was nothing."

"... I mean, there's not exactly a whole lot I can do about people trying to kill us..."

"Jay. Dude."

"I can try to stop being 'idiotically reckless' as Hailey calls it, but I'm not trying to be a hero or a dumbass or anything, it's just that... If it's not me getting hurt..."

"...It's her."

"Yeah."

"We're both whipped, aren't we?"

"Oh, ridiculously whipped. The desk Sergeant at my precinct is constantly making fun of me for it."

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"Just got ballistics back on the slugs fired at OA and Upton. They match the bullets that killed Aman, but get this; they also match the bullets pulled from a drive-by murder victim two months ago."

"Could they ID a suspect yet?"

"Yeah, arrested him too. Name is Santiago Gonzalez, known associate of the Latin Players. He's being held at MDC pending trial."

"Latin Players. That's a Chicago gang."

"Hmm, looks like they're expanding."

"So the Latin Players killed someone, they get arrested, go to jail, and the gun

stays on the street."

"And the new owner uses said gun to kill Aman, a studious Indian engineering student?"

"Right. What are we missing? How are these two murders connected?"

"Have OA and Upton pay a visit to Inmate Gonzalez. Maybe he can help us answer that question."

"Right."

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"So this guy, Gonzalez, is originally from Chicago. Runs with the Latin Players, so maybe you should take the lead on this one. But go hard on him." Hailey and Gonzales were from the same city, same blood, this was her turf, and OA wanted to make sure that he abided by that.

"You want a reaction?" Hailey seemed to get exactly what he meant, what he wanted, but she also seemed hesitant, like she needed more than clarification. It was like she needed permission.

"A big one. Big enough to force him to call his people."

"I think I can do that." And just like that, she had a smirk in her voice and was walking ahead of him. OA could see the wheels turning in her head and a coolness to her features let him know that she'd come up with a game plan. He didn't know if he should be afraid or not.

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"Where's the gun you used in the drive-by?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." They were less than a minute into the interrogation and he was already annoyed. Why did these guys always have to be so smug? He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and just let Hailey do her thing, only popping in to keep the flow going. "One of your friends used it to kill a civilian last night."

"Used it again this afternoon on us. Fired off ten rounds."

"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about." OA had to hold in a sigh.

"You're staring 20 to life on the case you're riding. Give us the name of the person you gave the gun to, and maybe I'll be able to get you a reduced sentence."

"Get my ass, blondie." OA quickly debated the pros and cons of stepping in. Honestly, this guy would probably just make him angrier with his smug attitude and sexist remarks, plus Hailey wasn't even phased. She was still in control, and she actually seemed a little... Bored.

"I'm not a fed like him. I'm Chicago police."

"So what?"

"Means I play by different rules. Also means I know the names of all the shot callers in the Latin Players. Tomorrow morning, we're gonna do a warrant sweep. Means a lot of people you know are gonna get arrested."

"That's not my problem."

"But it is. Because I'm gonna make sure that they know you are the snitch who gave them up."

"Now, you know nobody's gonna believe that."

"Really? Because in my experience, pissed-off bangers don't do their homework, and if they think you're a snitch, you're a snitch. In the street, rumours become facts like that."

"I'm done talking."

"Alright."

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"So you think he believed us?"

"I don't know. What?"

"Nothing, you just reminded me of my partner, Maggie, in there."

"Oh."

"In a good way."

"Then thank you."

"Can you cue up the audio feed?" The prison guard nodded back at OA and did as he asked.

"So where is your partner?"

"Uh, she is on an undercover assignment. That I know absolutely nothing about besides the fact that she is gone and unreachable."

"That's gotta be pretty tough."

"Yeah, but she's really good, so she'll be fine."

"We're up." The guard unmuted the computer and moved out of the way so that he and Hailey could see it clearly.

"Yo, just say the word, man. Chicago about to throw that heat."

"What are you talking about?"

Gonzalez sighed. "Police and FBI here sweating me, man."

"About what?"

"That piece that I left behind. I'm guess it's all connected to what happened on the night at Highbridge Park."

"All right, thanks for looking out."

"No doubt."

"Can you trace the number that he called?" OA was ansty, ready to get moving fast before their lead disappeared and from the honed in look in Hailey's eyes he could see she felt the same.

"Payphone up in Washington Heights." The prison guard was curt and efficient, exactly what they needed and OA was silently grateful.

"Okay. Thank you."

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"I'm guessing that's his girlfriend."

"Hold on. I talked to her at the park, right before we found Ernesto's body." From the way her body tensed OA could tell Hailey wasn't happy she'd let this girl slip through her fingers. He could tell her that it wasn't her fault, no one was even remotely aware of this connection, but he knew that was pointless. Any passionate law enforcement officer would beat themselves over something like this, himself included.

"Ah, and we have a hit off of social rec. Her name is Harper Quinlan, 23 years old, last known address is 84 Groton Street, Queens, New York."

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"Why were you at the park?" OA sat across from the young woman, dead set on getting all the information she knew. Arman's murder was quickly dissolving into a larger more horrifying crime and he was worried that the poor man who this had all started with would be forgotten and he didn't want to think about why that enraged him so much.

"I told you before. I was walking."

"Or was it to recover the glove that Lucas dropped after he killed his drug supplier?"

"I don't know anything about that."

"We have video of you in the driver's seat of Lucas' Range Rover at Highbridge Park the night that Lucas killed Ernesto Garcia, so you are now an official suspect in a murder investigation. That means no more lying, no more protecting your boyfriend. You either cooperate with us here and now, or you go to prison."

"I'm not gonna help you ruin Lucas' life. I just won't. He's a good person."

"Harper, good people don't sell drugs or kill people."

"Yeah, you don't know him like I do. He's so nice, and... he's sweet... He really loves me."

"Lucas isn't who you think he is, Harper. Protecting him will only get you and more innocent people hurt. Tell me why you think he was in the park that night."

"I'm not gonna help you."

"Are you listening to what I'm saying to you? You're a suspect in a murder investigation here. Lying to protect him makes this worse. You're putting more lives at risk. Be smart. Tell me why you were there that night. Harper, you don't need to go to prison for him." OA knew he wasn't getting anywhere and was trying to think of some other- any other method- to try and get Harper to talk, when Hailey burst into the room. She looked calculated, like she had a plan or idea that needed to be executed exactly or else the worst might befall those she was trying to protect. Which, if he read her character right, was everyone.

"Unlock it."

"What's going on?" Harper was just as confused as he was, but he knew better than to show it.

"Do it. Pull up your texts."

"Oh, my God."

"What does it say?" Hailey already knew, that much was obvious, but whatever was going on needed to be as brutally real as possible to Harper, and voicing it out loud would drive whatever was going on home for Harper.

"'Return the product, or he's dead. You have four hours. Tell your man to meet us at the place we did our first deal.' Oh, my- oh, my God." Harper's sobs quickly took up the space of the interrogation room, it didn't matter that she hadn't seen her father in so long, losing him would devastate her, and the Latin Players knew that well.

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"Let me take a run at her. I might have an angle to play." OA watched Hailey carefully, trying to make out was she was thinking, what angle she could possibly have, but he hadn't known her nearly long enough for any of that. There was this... Knowing glint in her eyes, and a sort of dark confidence had taken over her aura. She was confident in whatever plan she had, obviously, he just had no way of predicting what it was. In that moment, OA could really see what made Jay all twisted over her. She didn't look excited to break the accomplice of a drug dealer, or eager to impress the FBI. She looked like she was ready to get elbow deep in someone else's mess just for the sake of protecting as many people as possible with her quick wit and razor-sharp intelligence. So he just inclined his head and got ready to watch her work from the other side of the glass.

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"You're in a tough place right now, Harper. We have video of you at the scene of a murder, which makes you an accessory. You're looking at 15 to 20 years in prison. But if you cooperate, we can help you. We'll talk to the prosecutor, explain why you were there, help him understand the nature of your relationship with Lucas."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know what's going on. He hurts you, doesn't he?"

"No. That's not true. He's a good guy-"

"No, he's not. What are those bruises on your neck? You tried to cover them up, but I can see them. When you first met, I bet he was great. You guys hit it off, you had fun. He was everything you wanted. But then he started chipping away at your friends and your family. So you pop a pill to numb the pain and tell yourself everything's okay, just hoping that the abuse is gonna stop. Harper. It won't. I talked to your dad. He loves you very much. And he needs you right now. He's in a lot of danger. If these guys don't get their drugs back, they will kill him. The only thing that matters now is you helping us to find Lucas, so we can recover the drugs and find your dad." Watching Hailey in the interrogation room really was something else. From the slight waver of her tone, the palpable understanding in her voice that seemed to wrap a crying Harper in the first hug she's had in a long time, he could tell that she was exposing a pain-filled part of herself to this- this girl, this accomplice in drug dealing and murder. And still, she was able to remain professional and in control, and OA could honestly say that her incredible ability to do her job both made his heart ache for her and impressed him far more than he thought she would.

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They were in the surveillance van, waiting for Harper and the SWAT team to get in to place. What OA was itching to ask her was highly personal. He did not expect her to feel comfortable talking to him about it, but she'd given Harper some of her strength and after revealing something so heart-wrenching, the protective Egyptian older brother in him needed to make sure that she'd left enough for herself. "So, how do you know so much about abuse? I am sorry, I did not mean anything by that."

"No, it's fine. It's all good. Everyone becomes a cop for a reason. I guess that's mine."

"Uh, yeah."

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"Don't forget, Harper. He wants the cash to get out of town, but we need the location where he first met his dealer. That's where your dad is." OA nodded along to Hailey's instruction, keeping a critical eye on the emotionally distraught Harper.

"Babe. They took my father."

"What are you talking about?"

"That guy that you deal with, they grabbed my father and texted me that they're gonna kill him unless we return the drugs that you took."

"Oh, no, no. I can't- I can't do that."

"They took my father!"

"Look, I feel bad, but they will kill me. Oh, Jesus, don't-"

"Lucas."

"Don't give me the sad eyes look."

"Lucas."

"I'm screwed. Look, I gotta look out for me- for us, you understand?"

"Look, I need to know where you and Ernesto did your first deal 'cause that's where they wanna meet."

"I just told you, I'm not going-"

"I will go! I'll call my uncle. He has a lot of money. Maybe I can negotiate a deal or something."

"I gotta get moving, all right, so give me the money."

"Where did you meet him?"

"Stay strong." Hailey could see her waver, could see her lose her ground and need someone to keep her steady. "Location first, then give him the money."

"Lucas. Lucas. Lucas!"

"I'll call you later on, all right?" Lucas, being the selfish douchebag that he is, grabs the bag of money and moves to book it, leaving his girlfriend who needs him behind.

"Damn it. Move in now!" OA sounded the call and immediately all agents left their posts and honed in on Lucas.

"Lucas!"

"You lying sack of..." Lucas, in an effort to prove that he really is a stellar guy, pulls out a gun and starts shooting at the agents, causing panic and fear in the civilians around them. Really, Harper? This guy?

"Get down! Get down!" Hailey pulled Harper out of the line of fire and pushed her to the ground before covering her with her own body, amazing OA with her selflessness yet again. You really picked a good one, Jay.

"Move, move!"

"Drop it!" Scola had joined them when Lucas went for the kill, forcing OA to do the same. Only OA was a good shot, though.

"Lucas! Lucas! Lucas! Lucas..." Harper couldn't stop calling for him, and OA was certain that the only reason she hadn't crawled over to his body was that Hailey was holding her in place. "It's okay." Hailey seemed to be stuck on repeat, comforting Harper. OA personally couldn't see how someone who had been abused would mourn their abuser... But then again, he thankfully had never had to suffer through that. Unlike Hailey.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Sounded like he was ready to hit the road, so I'm guessing his dope is close by. Nothing back here." OA went to the Range Rover with Scola to look for anything- finding the drugs would've been preferable, but as long as it was a tangible clue, they could call it a win.

"Yeah. There's nothing here either."

"Any luck?" Hailey approached them, her I-know-something-that-you-don't-but-don't-worry-I'll-tell-you plastered on her face.

"Nope. Nothing."

"You have the keys on you?"

"Yeah."

"Here, let me try something. Hop in. Shut the trunk." Hailey closed the driver's door, started the engine, pushed a button on the stereo and on the car door. A drawer illuminated by blue light opens, containing the missing drugs.

"I already pushed it. Nothing happened." Scola sounded mildly insulted, but OA just chuckled internally.

"Okay, Chicago." He was impressed, and he wasn't going to hide that. He was also going to give Jay a call later to tell him to ask her out already. There's no way a woman this amazing stays single for long.

"I have a CI who installs these things. Engine has to be on and doors closed in order for it to open."

"Okay, we got the dope. Now we just gotta figure out where to deliver it to."- OA

"Yep."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We have Lucas' texts from the phone he was carrying since Harper said he started doing business with the Latin Players about a month ago-" Kristen was leading their group of field agents and Jubal towards the front desks, explaining what she found, and while normally they would have totally enjoyed her explaining just how smart she is, things were a little time-sensitive.

"Yeah."

"We need to scrub that time period."

"There, on the 28th. There's a text that says, 'Meetings at 2. Let's do 9 instead of 8.'" One of the analysts pulled the info onto the computer screen in front of them, showing them the text records.

"'Let's do 9 instead of 8'? But the meeting's at 2:00. Is that some sort of code?" Jubal's mind was whirring away with Kristen's, figuring out exactly what it meant.

"Well, here's Lucas' GPS data from that day around that time." Kristen worked her magic so that Jubal could work his.

"All right, so from 1:37 to 3:12, he was in Brooklyn down by the river. Kris, can you zoom in? Get a more specific look at this. Yeah, over here. Can you drill down right there?"

"Okay."

"They met at 2:00 at a dock. Pier nine instead of pier eight. That's the meeting place." Scola voiced it out loud, like he was still in thought and hadn't had time to put all of the pieces in place internally first.

"There it is." Jubal's prideful voice made OA smirk.

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"We've got 67 minutes to get the drugs down to pier nine. Unfortunately, the guy we need to deliver the drugs is at the city morgue." Isobel voiced the dreadful obvious from her office, forcing them all to sigh and start their plan to catch Arman's killer from scratch.

"I'll go under as Lucas' friend. I'll give him the coke in exchange for Harper's dad." Hailey volunteered herself, but not with the same gusto she'd been working the entire case. Something was off and OA's 'spidey senses' were giving him no peace.

"No. These guys have done their homework. They're not gonna buy that." OA knew he made a good point, but he hoped that no one saw the way his shoulders went rigid.

"I get it, but I think I can pull it off."

"No, I agree with OA. It's too risky." Isobel agreed with him and OA felt like he could breathe again, he promised Jay that he'd watch her back, something he couldn't really do if he was watching her not with her. And if he were honest with himself, he'd become a little attached to her in the time they'd been partnered together, hoping that they would become friends.

"So we need a plan C."

"Let me do it. He's my father. I'm the one who got him into this awful situation. So let me do it. Let me do something meaningful. Something that will make me feel good about myself... Please. Gotta let me do it." Harper looked at Hailey, not even acknowledging the rest of the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're gonna do great. Just follow the plan we laid out."

"He doesn't get the second bag until you see your father."

"Right. Got it."

"And if your dad's not at the meeting place, you tell the man to bring him there. He'll say no. You stand your ground." Hailey seemed to be offering more comforting advice.

"You have more leverage than you think. This dope is worth a lot of money, and that's all they really care about." While he seemed to be offering more calculated advice.

"It's okay to be nervous. They'd be suspicious if you weren't. You good?"

"I'm good."

"Okay."

"Okay. Here we go."

"Alpha team in position."

"Where's Lucas?" The gang leader, covered in tattoos was menacing as he approached.

"He sent me instead."

"And my product? There's only one kilo here."

"The other four are close by."

"Close by doesn't do me no good."

"Show me where my father is, and I'll get you the other four."

"Don't get cute with me, mama. I'll cut your throat. Go get my dope."

"Let's get ready to move in."

"No, no. Give her a chance."- Hailey was confident, but OA couldn't help but side-eye her. Wondering just what made her so sure.

"You trying to get your dad killed? 'Cause, that's what's happen if you keep playing."

"I need to see him."

"He's alive. I promise."

"I need proof."

"[whistles] Right over there, chica."

"Okay, we got eyes on the dad. We're good to go."

"Wait, wait, wait. Let's see if we can get him talking about Aman's murder. As soon as we see a weapon, we roll."

"Okay." OA knew that Hailey was smart, and she had been making great calls throughout this case, but he was still hesitant. An innocent man's life was in the balance, but he wanted justice for Arman too.

"Be a good girl, go get my dope. Do that, Big Papa walks. I'll go with you."

"So... So... How do I know you're not gonna kill me and my father once I give you the dope?"

"I don't kill civilians. Bad for business."

"You kill that Indian guy? He was a civilian."

"I try my best, but I'm not perfect, mama." Harper meekly retrieved the second bag from behind construction equipment.

"You did good, Harper." But 'good' wasn't enough for him. Suddenly a large silver gun was pointing at the middle of her forehead.

"FBI! Don't move!" OA lead the charge, coming out of hiding and announcing himself the second that they got confirmation that he murdered Arman they'd burst out of the van and beat SWAT to Harper, the Latin Players, and Harper's father.

"Drop your weapon now! Let me see your hands now! Put the gun on the ground! Step away! Put it down now!"

"Get on the ground! Get on the ground, now!"

"Dad!"

"Let me go! Dad! Dad! Dad!" Honestly, he didn't give the tearful father-daughter reunion much attention or thought, but he noticed that Hailey did, if only for a couple of seconds longer than necessary. He didn't know what to make of that, though.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I just filed my 302. Do you need help with yours?"

"Nah, I just finished."

"So, I have to admit, I wasn't so sure about you."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't sure about you either. But you're all right. For a fed."

"You wanna grab a beer?"

"I'm okay. You don't have to look after the new kid."

"I am pretty sure you don't need looking after. Come on, you saved my life. The least you can do is let me buy you a drink."

"For the tenth time, I didn't save your life. All right, let's grab a beer, but only if you tell me why you became a fed. I told you my reason. It's only fair you tell me yours."

"Deal."

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They didn't quite 'go out for a beer'. When OA heard Hailey's stomach throw a temper tantrum in the elevator he suggested going out for food that was accompanied by a beer. She'd agreed as long as they didn't go out for "crackers with sauce on them". OA had laughed, not even remotely or phased by Hailey's obsession with Chicago pizza. It's just another thing she shares with Jay. Besides, he wanted to take her somewhere else.

When they sat down Hailey looked around, taking it all in. Omar has been coming to this restaurant all his life. It had been open longer than he'd been alive, he'd even had his tenth birthday here. He hadn't brought Maggie here yet, not because he didn't think they were close enough, he just didn't know how she'd react to realizing that they are that close. "I hope you like Egyptian food."

"I've never had it, but I'm Greek and I know that there are a few shared foods and ingredients."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed Greek from 'Upton'."

"My parents changed it when they moved here, their name was too difficult for Americans to pronounce, and there was some... Other stuff."

"I'm familiar with 'other stuff'. Do you want any recommendations or need me to explain anything on the menu?"

"You know what? You can choose what I eat tonight. If I like what you pick, I won't tease you for it the rest of the time I'm here."

"Well, for the record-"

"What record?" Hailey laughed.

"For the record, I am completely confident in my knowledge of food so I know I'll find something you'll like. After all, it can't really be bad so long as it's not non-Chicago pizza. Right?"

OA ended up choosing a dish called 'kushari', it wasn't like the Chicago or Mediterranean food Hailey was used to but she'd loved it. OA was smiling at her, proud of his victory, Hailey rolled her eyes, smirking at his impishness. "Tell me about your partner." The question caught him off guard and for a moment he'd felt a significant crack in his walls, leaving him exposed. Suddenly all the feelings he'd been pushing back since Maggie went UC enveloped and starting drowning him. Fear gripped his heart, haunting curiousity stabbed his mind, and loneliness hooked onto his soul. "OA? We don't have to talk about her, I'm sorry I asked, I didn't mean to upset you."

"She's one of the most amazing people I know. She's smart, strong, generous, empathetic, courageous... She's honestly one of the most amazing people in my life and I love having her as my partner." Hailey looked at him the same way his sisters and mother did whenever he spoke about one of the most important people in his life. Like they were able to listen between his words and decipher another meaning to what he'd said. But like his mother, his sisters always gave him hell for it, she said nothing. I couldn't even dispute it if she did say anything.

"She sounds badass."

"She is. What about your partner? Tell me about them?" He'd narrowly averted saying 'him', unsure how she'd react if she knew just how close she and Jay really were, and just how much Jay had told him about her. She got this smitten grin on her face, and OA knew that the roles were reversed from a few moments ago when he had that same smirk and far off look in his eyes. "His name is Jay Halstead, and he's an amazing person, except for when he's getting himself shot, the reckless idiot. He would rather get shot at than get a needle which rattles me to no end, especially because he's so much more kind and intelligent than he gives himself credit for and we need him you know, alive, but still, I admire him so much. He makes me laugh and he just knows how to get to me, you know? I would... I would follow him anywhere. Wow... What is in this food? Truth serum? I'm not usually that open..." It was like he could literally see a forcefield shaping around her. Shrinking in on herself, her face hardening, hastily putting a forkful of food in her mouth. She looked at the wall behind him, pretending to be interested in the decorations, trying to pass off the slight panic in her eyes.

"Maybe it's just my charming demeanour, or that I got personal first, really personal. Or maybe it's because you needed to tell that to someone you don't see every day."

"Yeah. Maybe." She still wouldn't look at him and a tense silence enveloped them until she took a deep breath and shook herself. Light seemingly went off in her head before she gave him an absolutely devilish smirk. "I believe I was promised your origin story."

"Is that what we're calling it? An 'origin story'?"

"It is now."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Halstead."

"Get your head out of your dumb ass and ask Hailey out."

"I- OA-"

"You won't regret it, Jay. I actually think that you will regret it if you don't."

"I just don't know if I'm ready to admit anything to myself, forget Hailey."

"When does life ever wait until you're ready, man? Neither of you work in a stable occupation, and even then the universe isn't exactly known for working on anyone else's timeline. I can literally feel you aching for her from here."

"But what if I'm not good enough."

"Oh, I've only known her for a few days and I already know that no one's good enough for her-"

"Damn have you adopted her as another honourary sibling? How many do you have now? And Hailey actually knows you've adopted her, right?"

"Not important, and don't try and change the subject."

"But if no one's good enough for her, then..."

"You're too hard on yourself Jay. No one's good enough for you either. Why shouldn't two people who are far too good for the world be together? You deserve happiness, Jay. You both do, and I think telling her that you're far gone with her would be a great start."

"Thanks, man. Really."

"No problem."

"... So you think that I'm 'far too good for the world'?"

"And now I'm regretting every word we've spoken." No I don't, but your head really doesn't to get bigger.

"Nope, no take-backs. You think that I'm badass and amazing."

"I never said 'badass' or 'amazing'."

"Jay Halstead- described as 'far too good for the world' by the humble and decorated OA Zidan-"

"I also called you a 'dumbass' but whatever, goodnight Jay. And seriously, ask Hailey out."

[creamwh0re]

Hey there! Saw that your request are open 👀

So why don't you give this Indonesian muslim girl a pre borderland Niragi X muslim reader hmm 👀💕

Also have this as a gift!:

Dori/Niragi and his dog fanta!

—A LITTLE HELP?!

Warning: Mega fluff, Slight blood, bullying

Word count: 1K

a/n: I did a lot of research before writing this and also having it proofread by someone that's Muslim. But if there are any mistakes please let me know I'll fix them.

As the boys grab another bottle cocking his bat back before striking Niragi he's sure his nose is broken by how much it's bleeding kneeling slowly the boy's laughter is the only thing filling his ears as he tries his best to cover himself up.

He didn't do anything wrong he didn't deserve this at all he was just trying to live his life being a game Engineer, he would make sure when he this over he'll have his revenge. A loud shout is echoed through the wrecker train tracks making the boys turn to see who it is standing there there hair not visible to the public eye covered by a hijab there wearing a plain black turtleneck and jeans.

The boys snicker at her pointing at her head calling them all kinds of insulting names but they don't seem to affect her in any kind of way, ignoring them and walking over to the bleeding boy he flinches but he calms down hearing the sweet voice of y/n and he immediately looks up at them.

“Surgu! Are you okay?” lowering on one knee clasping his face and looking at his bruised nose, grabbing his hands and helping him up “You jerks! get lost!” they shrug their shoulders and dropped the equipment walking off without any other unnecessary comeback. All attention back on him “Do you can walk we're heading to my house so I patch you up.” he nods, you two begin walking to their house looking at the clock on his wrist as they walk she doesn't want to the 5th prayer of the day Maghrib.

Making it through the crowds of people walking through the pathways of many restaurants of stores they manage to arrive that the house, grabbing their keys out of their pocket and putting the keys inside unlocking the door and pushing it open walking inside, Surgu enters closing the door “You can sit on the couch I'll go get the first aid kit” “Okay” he stutters on his words as his whole face hurts taking a sit on the sofa.

Walking through the hall inside her room taking their shoes off and putting them in the closet as they navigate their way into the bathroom grabbing the first aid out of the cabinet closing it and making their way back to Surgu on the couch a former friend of theirs. Sitting next to him “Sit up straight for me please, tilt your head up upwards also” he straightens up his posture leaning his head upwards, They begin pinching the soft parts of his nose closed for at least 10 minutes he hisses in pain but it has to be done.

They get up to make their way to the kitchen opening their drawer and grabbing a plastic bag and their way to the fridge filling the bag up with ice, wrapping a paper towel around it. Making their way back to him handing him it “hold this after I clean it you should keep this on it”. Going straight back to the kitchen to wet and a rag and ring it out of any excess water “Okay I need you to stay perfectly still for me while I do this” sitting right back down he doesn't respond but sits up more.

Taking the rag and gently rubbing his noses of any fresh blood not scrubbing too hard looking for any dried blood seeing no one in sight. “Alright done” setting the rag down, he applies the ice to his nose and mumbling a “thank you” sending him a smile he admits to your appearance he is not able to see much but you are still beautiful either way.

“I have a question” you turn your head to him with a small hm noise “why do you wear that on your head?” you hesitate before answering his question “I haven't told you since your my school friend but I'm Islam t's part of my religion” he lets out an “oh” noise “can you tell me more about it” you nod before continuing on “I don't always have to keep the hijab on but when it comes to men I have to keep it on 24/7 unless I'm married to them only women are allowed to see it, even if your trans female you're still biologically male meaning I still can't show you”.

It's a lot of information for him but he's understanding it well as they continue to talk “Is there anything else?” “Nope that’s about it” sending you a gentle smile. “Do you wanna watch a movie with me before you head home?” He nods. Getting up and heading to your room you take off your hijab and your clothes sliding into sweatpants and tshirt, you grab your hijab sliding it back on your head heading out the room.

Making your way down the hall Surgu is sitting criss-cross applesauce on the couch waiting on you, plopping right next to him and grabbing the remote, and turning the tv on and scrolling through the movies until you both see one that strikes each other attention clicking on it serving it costs money you groan “hold up”. Getting up and going to the front door and looking through your purse grabbing the card out and heading back sitting down and paying for the movie.

Using the other remote you dim the lights in the room you make sure you both have space but it's not cozy enough pausing the movie and getting up once again you grab covers out of your closet and put them on the couch snuggling into them unpausing the movie, the movie is amazing but Surgu can't keep his eyes off you but he thinks it's rude to stare remembering your words.

He wraps his arm around you, you wanna move it as having contact with people Islam is prohibited but you just let it happen it feels too comfy to let go snuggling into him as you watch the movie he's shocked but he gets comfortable cuddling you as you two snuggle on the couch smiling at one another.

He really wants to see your hair but it'd be pushing it as you are already breaking rules letting him touch you he'll just to wait when you get married he hopes it happens.

-------------------( ˘ ³˘)♥︎(●’◡’●)ﾉ(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞---------

A/N: I don't know if this is good towards the end I feel like I did a no no doing the cuddling thing but I'm not sure