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jamr0ck83 · 4 years

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If Nobody is Racist, Then Who Exactly is Keeping Systemic Racism Going?

Everybody seems quick to insist that they’re not the ones who are racist. So, then who is? If it’s only the people you say, then why are we like this as a country?

Recently, someone with which I somewhat briefly attended grad school for education (And no, I don’t want to talk about what happened with that whole endeavor) posted the following image to their Facebook profile.

On its face, it seems like a completely reasonable and acceptable statement, and as such, it was generating some likes. At the time I first saw it, I think there were 6. But before I, too, submitted my approval of this image, I thought a little more about it, and its implications. And I realized that I didn’t really agree with it. I knew the person who posted it had no ill intentions, and I think they even found the image on the profile of another POC. But the more I reread the sign featured, the more I was sure that it was not a true statement. I knew that my stance was not going to garner nearly as many likes or other accolades as if I had posted a phrase like “Black Lives Matter”, which at this point, it seems like all reasonable people are able to agree that they do (or at least it’s the obvious appropriate thing to say in this moment). I knew I might receive some pushback or criticism, and while that did admittedly make me nervous, I knew that I needed to speak up in this way and in this moment. And I was willing to deal with whatever consequences came my way. I decided it was that important for me to make a case for a diverging opinion. So, I typed out the reply below and posted it.

I want to agree with this, but I'm not sure if I do. Please hear me out. It is entirely possible to be a Trump supporter and not be a person who has ever uttered a racial epithet or been otherwise explicitly or overtly racist. However, I do believe that there are degrees of racism, and if you're someone who has responded that "all lives matter" or "blue lives matter" when another person asserts that black lives matter, I would argue that you are on the spectrum of holding onto or entertaining some form of racist ideology. If you watched the video of George Floyd having his life choked out of him and then watched the footage of riots from that first night in Minneapolis and thought "It's a shame that guy died, but what they're doing now is uncalled for", this might indicate that you prioritize law and order (no matter how unjustly they are being enforced) over the life of a man whose only transgression was that he was black, and that, too, places you on that spectrum of racism. Racism isn't always waving a confederate flag and yelling at POCs to go back to where they came from. Sometimes, it's knowing that the politician you support will turn a blind eye to or even praise people who march around with tiki torches yelling, "Jews will not replace us" and wanting to vote for him anyway. Sometimes, it's hearing black people beg to have full access to the citizenship rights that are due them but deciding it's more important for you to vote for the guy who advocates for you to keep your semiautomatic rifle. If you are deciding that your wants (not needs) have priority over the humanity of POCs, then I would argue that you are on the spectrum of racism. And that demands some self-reflection. Complicity is part of what makes racism so destructive. What's the point of knowing better if you refuse to hold others accountable for doing better?

And then I waited. I waited for blowback. I waited for pushback. I waited for agreement. I waited for literally anything anybody might feel compelled to say. But the only feedback I received was a single “like” whereas the post itself had garnered six additional since the posting of my comment. So, people obviously disagreed with my stance but couldn’t bring themselves to make that known in any kind of direct fashion. And frankly, that concerns me. A great deal, in fact. And there are a couple of reasons why.

Firstly, and this is something of which I was starting to become more aware even months before the death of George Floyd and these subsequent protests, white people are very quick to assert that they, themselves, are not racist. They are also quick to assert that most people who look like them are not racist. According to them, hardly anybody is really, truly racist. But if that’s actually true, then why is this country such an absolute mess, and why have we been that way for centuries? It’s as if the term “racist” is being reserved for truly egregious and over-the-top cases. And everything else is just the way people are. White people seem to have a very specific and narrow idea of what racism looks and sounds like, and that allows them to never truly have to consider whether they, themselves, might be racist. Or if their family members are racist. Or if the politicians they actively support are racist. Under their definition of that word, it barely applies to anyone. And as a black woman who considers herself knowledgeable of both history and current affairs, I will confidently say that this is wrong.

I have had people who cloak themselves under the banner of liberalism say some things to me that would make me raise an eyebrow if I knew at all how to move that particular facial muscle. And no, it’s not the times when the racial epithets and slurs are used that I feel compelled to do this. It’s actually the times when I’ve made some sort of assertion about the impact of oppression on the lives of black people today, and I am met with sentiments such as “It’s not fair that we keep getting blamed for everything” or “You weren’t a slave, so the legacy of that institution doesn’t create any modern-day problems for you” or “Slavery ended over a hundred years ago, so why do you keep wanting to bring it up? Why can’t we all just move on? Life is hard enough”. (That last phrase is a direct quote from a white woman who replied to something I said on Instagram regarding the role that white women have historically played in the role of oppressing black bodies. She objected to my assertion that this is an issue that is rarely discussed, because dwelling on it would cause white women to feel discomfort, and that is in direct opposition to this silent societal code we all seem to follow that says that we must do whatever we can to prevent white women from feeling uncomfortable. Ironically, she was shutting my argument down, because it made her uncomfortable.) Also, I’ve been told that the ways in which I have experienced oppression throughout my life just aren’t true, that I must be mistaken and that I am making something be all about race when it’s not about race at all. And finally, I’ve been told the oldie but goodie “I don’t see color; I just see people”.

To the people that are brave enough to read this right now, I will submit to you that these statements and sentiments all reek of racism. Every single one of them. And every single person who uttered these phrases would have gone to the grave denying that they could be considered racist. And sorry, people who made these statements, but this assertion by you would be wholly incorrect. By so narrowly defining what racism is, we have given many people permission to absolve themselves from any responsibility for how it continues to thrive in American society. Nobody needs to look inward; nobody has to come to terms with any mindsets they might harbor that are truly problematic. And if nobody is willing to deal with anything or even acknowledge it, how are we going to change anything? If we can’t even recognize and talk about what racism is, how are we going to put an end to it? And the short answer is, we’re not.

My second concern is that, while it seemed like almost no one who saw my comment agreed with it, no one felt compelled to say anything, give any sort of reason for WHY they disagreed with it. Maybe it’s because I’m black that they felt like they should just let me get on my soapbox and say what I needed to say, and that would be their form of allyship (even though at the end of the day, them doing this was just a dismissal of everything I said so they could go on with their lives, which kind of flies in the face of being an ally). When these protests first started, I think many black people were reasonably skeptical about the degree to which we could rely on non-black allyship for the duration of however long we needed it. We wondered if the outrage and fervor exhibited was sustainable. And we wondered if white allies, specifically, were truly willing to endure discomfort if it would eventually lead to the advancement of our movement. And I hate to say it, but I feel like the instance of this post about racism and who it applies to gave me substantial reason to believe that they are not. The fact that there are people aligning themselves publicly to the BLM movement who are already seemingly unwilling to settle in their discomfort in order to be a more effective agent of change greatly concerns me. It indicates to me that for some people (not all, but some) a lot of what’s going on right now is an exercise for them in anti-racism theater. To put it simply and bluntly, they are not “in it to win it”, because “winning it” requires that they sacrifice more comfort than they are ready to do. And while that’s certainly not everybody who calls themselves an ally, I worry that it represents a substantial number of people who we are currently relying on as allies who really aren’t. And when they start drifting away from the protests and the posting of hashtags because this movement is no longer the fun, new thing we’re all doing, the people who remain are going to have to pick up the slack and work even harder to account for their absence.

To be clear, I’m not trying to knock anyone who wants to be an ally or make it seem like I want to nitpick at everyone and that there isn’t anything that any non-black ally can do that would truly please me. If that’s what you are thinking now as you read this, I would implore you to reconsider. Because that perspective is one that stems directly from the notion that we are trying to hurt people’s feelings. It stems from this idea that it is our responsibility to make our white allies feel good about what they are doing right now so that they will continue to feel encouraged, or else they will walk away. But this movement is not about pacifying white people’ feelings, whether they consider themselves to be allies or not. We are not here to make you comfortable. We are here to seek the justice that we are due. We are here to seek the rights of citizenship that we have been routinely denied. We are here to put an end to systemic racism. Catering to allies’ feelings is nowhere on that list. It’s not even a close fourth. We need people to put their own individual feelings aside (discomfort, guilt, or whatever else) and help do what needs to be done.

And I realize this might be a harsh reality check, I do, because I know that many black Americans have spent a significant portion of their lives doing whatever they could to make white people comfortable. During slavery, we performed their backbreaking hard labor so they wouldn’t have to but could still reap the financial benefits. In modern times, many of us deliberately hold back a lot of ourselves in white people’s presence, because it’s always been an expectation that successful black people who have properly assimilated in the larger American society need to make sure that nothing we do resembles anything that might make them remember that we are not the same color. For many black women, this means stifling their voices and hiding their frustrations, because nobody wants to deal with an angry black woman. For many black men, this might mean being keenly and constantly aware of their physical stature and proximity to other people, because they don’t want anyone to find them intimidating in any way. I think white people take these acts for granted because we’ve always done them, but they are not “just the way we are” or “just the way we like to be”. They are a series of survival skills that we have been forced to adhere to, because to refrain from doing so would allow others to perceive as people they’d rather not deal with, if possible. That means, we wouldn’t be the ones who get into the good school or get the good job or even get to keep our lives.

I have been deemed a quiet person my entire life, and while some of that is due to my genuine introverted nature, the majority is supplemented by the fact that, in most situations, if I am given the choice between being the quiet and unassuming black girl who nobody really has a problem with or the more vocal and passionate black woman that asserts herself but then has to deal with the consequences of nobody really wanting to be around her, I choose the former. And I started choosing it at a very young age; I was definitely still in elementary school. It starts that early. Because we know that early. We know that this country was not designed with us in mind unless it was to depend on our labor or our ability to entertain. We know that the system is literally rigged against us in such ways that, if we were to inform white people of all those facets of oppression, they would accuse us of being paranoid. Actually, that is precisely what happens when we try to tell people about our experiences of being black in America. There are a lot of people out there who are masterful at gaslighting and being utterly dismissive of our struggles. And that is a response that is literally for the sole purpose of driving the other person to the point of insanity. So, for the most part, we stopped telling you things, because you weren’t really listening, anyway. And we realized that, if we were going to make it in this country, then we really did have to work twice as hard, be twice as amiable in demeanor, and twice as resilient. Was that fair, for that to be put on us? Of course not. But we shouldered that burden. Because what was the alternative? So, we did it, and we’ve done it fairly quietly for a very long time.

But we’re tired. And we’re angry. Because no matter what we do, people keep killing us for little to no reason and then justify it to say that we must have done something to deserve it. “Well, you should’ve known that wearing a hoodie makes you look threatening.” “A toy gun could look a lot like a real gun, so that’s an honest mistake on the officer’s part.” “Oh, wait. You were minding your own business sitting in your apartment when somebody shot you? Well, were you really living beyond reproach and therefore entitled to keep your life? You sure you’ve never done anything wrong? Don’t you smoke weed sometimes?” These are the ways people have justified our deaths. And I would argue that all those statements and sentiments are couched in racism. All of them. None of it is okay, and it all needs to end. And we need everyone we can get to commit to joining us in this fight. But if you’re really going to sit there and maintain the party line that racists are really few in number and that you, the non-black ally, don’t need to consider the ways in which you might harbor some racist ideology, then you’re not ready to be an ally. And you can’t help us. And you won’t help us. Because as soon as things get a little less trendy or a little more uncomfortable, you will prioritize that over our humanity. ��And that, in itself, is pretty damn racist.

#blacklivesmatter #angryblackgirl #therandomthoughtsofmybrain #racism #allyship #ThisIsHowYouAlly #America #womanist #womanism #whitefragility #NoTimeToPlacateYourFeelings

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ts-unpopular-opinions · 4 years

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if you don’t mind me asking why don’t you respect thomas as a person anymore? i’m not trying to be rude or jump to anyone’s defense, i’m just genuinely curious.

I have been getting a lot of asks like these since I mentioned that I’m still upset with Thomas and although I’ve covered it multiple times on this blog, I will go ahead an explain it again because I’m tired of people telling me how to feel.

Here I will complie a list of all of the reasons why Thomas just does not rub me the right way sometimes. That being said, i recognize that Thomas is a very good actor and is a very talented man. He may have things going on in his life that I don’t know about, but the opinion I’ve formed of him is simply based on what I’ve observed and I am willing to change that if he shows reasons for the things that he does. I’m in no way trying to “demonize” Thomas here or make him out to be some crazy, rutheless being. I simply just dont vibe with some of the choices he makes and things he does. So here we go...

1) Thomas appears to have a pretty big ego. He constantly posts pictures of himself on his social media instead of using the platforms as most youtubers would: to communicate with fans about his content. He is okay with fans contantly worshipping him like a god and living off his every word. Even during his birthday he would retweet videos of people literally cellebratig his birthday with cake and candles, and that is just so odd to me... Theres nothing wrong with having a lot of confidence in yourself, but its simply something that rubs me the wrong way.

2) Thomas is a really awful business man. As I have mentioned time and time again, Thomas is running a business here, just like most youtubers with his level of fame. He has merch, a huge following, and a membership program. Despite this, Thomas continues to act as if his youtube channel is just a fun past time for him. His schedule for video releases is atrocious and I’d be surpised to find out that the team even schedules dates for things at this point. To an outside fan it just seems like they release a video whenever they want to or whenever they finish it, with no prior end goal in mind. Thomas treats his job as if it is an opinional past time, and as someone who is in college, works in a fast food job, and has an internship I cannot respect that. The man has no work-life/personal-life separation and it shows... He’s hired all of his friends to work for him and gets work done at a snails pace because of it. He always says that the team is working hard and getting things done, but never has anything to show for it...

3) Thomas is very bad at communicating with his fans. For having such an outstanding and die-hard fanbase, Thomas takes them for granted. Instead of giving fans insight on video release dates and production, he opts to say nothing simply because he doesnt “want people to get mad at him for being wrong”. I don’t know about anyone else, but that is just so messed up to me... You keep all of your adoring fans in the dark simply because you dont want to face the concequences of you not getting your work done is a timely manner? This bothers me a lot... especially when a lot of fanders are paying to get “extra information” when in fact the livestreams are simple Joan and Thomas hanging out and joking around with a very rare, almost completely absent mention of future videos.

4) The babying issue. Thomas has to recognize that his fans baby him and treat him like a breakable doll all the time. This not only makes him incapable of taking and responding to criticism, but it makes him shrug off responsibility all together. If his fans never give him concequences for his actions and simply praise him to no end, then he just keeps going what he’s doing and ignores any ouce of negativity because of it. The fanbase has babied thomas into thinking that he can do no wrong and will never be criticized, and it shows. Never once has he formally sat down and just talked about the concerns people like me and the anons that come to my blog have.

5) This is a newer one I realized with the most recent episode. The whole Trump joke threw me off guard because, while I don’t support Trump, I KNOW there must be fanders who do. And Thomas must have known this when allowing the joke into the show. It’s very inconsiderate to subtly manipulate your fans like that when this show has frankly nothing to do with politics. Had a fan been watching that who has their reasons to support trump, they may have felt alienated and hated by Thomas and that just insnt cool. This isnt the only instance of Thomas being manipulative with his fanbase. He constantly thanks and praises those of his fans who baby him and worship him while ignoring and never talking about those who have criticisms. This make fans who have concerns feel as though their worries make them terrible people and they shouldnt say them. Is this blog is anything to show for it, fanders are scared to speak about how they feel. Thi has created an extremely toxic environment for open discussion, but thomas continues to let it go on.

6) Money. Everyone, believe it or not, but Thomas makes a LOT of money. He is not an independent creator that films and edits videos all by himself simply for the fun of it and not for the money. This is his career. He is a business man and the owner of this company. His goal is to not only produce content, but to make money. And boy does he make a lot of it... Here is some math i did on my own to figure out just how much (granted it is not perfect, but it should give everyone a realization that Thomas is nowhere near the independent artists and authors that they constantly compare him to...):

-The average youtuber with 1m subscribers makes $57,200 a year from ad revenue. Thomas has 3.36 million subscribers so 3.36*57,200 is $192,192.

-The last member livestream has 1.5k views and each member is giving thomas $5.29 per month. So per month thomas is making 5.29*1,500 from members, or $7,935. Per year, Thomas the recieves 7,935*12 from members, or $95220 (obviously this number could be a little smaller because I’m sure youtube takes some of that money)

-Apart from this, Thomas also sponsors nearly every video on his channel that is a decent length. (I’ll admit that the math for this part is up to a lot of interpretation because I have no idea how Thomas sponsorships are handled, but I will do my best). Alright so, youtubers charge brands anywhere from $10 to $50 per 1,000 views, to be forgiving I’ll do the math using the lowest price. On Thomas’ most recent blooper video, he had 736k views. If we divide that by 1000 thats 736. So 736*10 is 7,360. And that is just one sponsorship at the lowest price. I’m not really sure how many sponsorships thomas has done, but in the last year it seems like about 5 (the blooper, asides episode, gay disney prince, intrisive thoughts, and SvS). So that is 5 sponsorships per year, 7,350*5 or $36,800.

-So total income before considering merch sales and by assuming the lowest numbers for some areas is $36,800 + $95,220 + $192,192 = $324,212

Now with all of this in mind... Thomas makes so much money. Money that I could never even dream of coming by. And he does this with minimal uploads and scamming his members into continuing to pay him even through month long periods of no content. Thomas doesn’t even need to make videos at this point, the money that he drags out of his fans is already plenty. And then, not only does he have all of this money, but he uses it for fun trips and adventures those of which he brags about on his social media. He went to new york and saw three broadway shows, he went to vidcon and took a weeklong vaction there. He bought from what I saw, at least three playstations and games for different friend and family members. He is in no way struggling for money... and instead takes money from his adoring fans when he has no content to show for it.

#thomas sanders #ts unpopular opinions #ts unpopular answers #ts discourse

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davidcxrenswet · 3 years

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“ i just want to hear your voice until i fall asleep … ”

He wasn’t present for most of the removal, and for good reason. If Mariana so much as shrieked or cried out once, he’d fight tooth and nail to stop the whole thing. Sure they had Bryce, a rugged brute, and Kaz the golden boy jock around, but Harvey was taller and quicker, and none of them would be able to hold him down. He’d stop the whole thing and drag Mariana away from there if she cried out for him to do so. So it was imperative he stayed away. He just didn’t get very far with that plan. Harvey had been pacing outside the house where they conducted the exorcism or whatever it was they were doing. He didn’t really know, and frankly he didn’t really care to know. The more details he had, the harder it would have been for him to be away. At the time he had only really understood a couple scattered facts: there was some shard inside Mariana which changed her genetic make up to the point that she needed to literally eat men in order to survive, the longer it was there the more feral she’d get, and that only the Murder Club could get it out of her. He didn’t like that last bit. No matter what, Harvey just didn’t trust that group of delinquents. And at that time he had to trust them with the most important person in his life.

It had nearly driven him mad, to the point where he just couldn’t stay away and finally gave into the urge to run to her. When he barreled down the stairs into the cellar where things were happening, he could only remember a handful of things. Mariana was chained down in the center of the room, her jaw unhinged in an inhuman way revealing rows of deadly sharp fangs. She didn’t look anything like the girl he cuddled up to almost nightly. It was hard to believe the flesh curling above those teeth were the lips he kissed so often. There was nothing recognizable in her frenzied eyes or shrieking voice. It was an image out of his worst nightmares, created from the girl of his dreams. He remembered the way his stomach flopped uncomfortably, the whirl of nausea that gripped him while his heart shattered at the sight. It was horrid and it was frightening and it gutted him to hear her scream like she did. Surely they were failing, there’s no way they could hold back that demonic thing. That’s what he thought, and it was probably true, but then there was a voice calling over the screaming and shouting — a voice Harvey thought may have been Violet Matthews but it had seemed unlikely. After all, none of them really cared if the former junior deputy didn’t survive this B-movie horror show they’d been dragged into — so whoever called out that staying this way could lead to his untimely demise was likely seeking the only trump card they could have against her in the situation.

The next events blurred together to the point where Harvey wasn’t sure exactly when they happened or how long it all took place, but eventually Mariana stopped fighting, and the whole weird ritual thing went on and a shard of glass was ripped out of her abdomen by some invisible force. It all happened so fast that whenever he tried to imagine it, he no longer felt scared of the memory. He was practically numb to it. What he recalled more clearly was Mariana passing out afterwards and everyone huddling close to her, until he’d shouldered past them, making his presence known, and carried her out of there. If any of them tried to protest, he didn’t care. He wasn’t leaving her with them after all that — somehow he knew deep down she didn’t want to wake up surrounded by their concerned expressions and probing questions. So he took her away, back to the loft apartment he’d kept above the old church. She was out cold the entire time, and he’d worried momentarily when he’d deposited her on the bed that maybe he shouldn’t have moved her. It was too late, though.

She was there, tucked gently under the covers of his bed after he’d put her in clean clothes, snoozing silently against the pillow. He hadn't fully registered what was going on until Sassy had placed his head on the edge of the bed and whimpered at the girl. “Ssh, quiet buddy,” he hummed to the dog, scratching behind his ears. “She needs some rest.” And boy did she rest. Harvey thought she’d be asleep for maybe five to eight hours, at least the length of a regular sleep. Surely once the sunlight flooded through the skylight she’d be roused awake. He didn’t feel bothered when Sasquatch jumped onto the empty space beside Mariana and curled up to sleep, occasionally poking his head up to observe her in hopes she’d wake. When Harvey pulled a chair next to the bed, popping in one AirPod and pulling up an audiobook to keep himself occupied while he waited, he’d expected to only be sitting there for a few hours.

So when nearly sixteen hours had passed and Mariana was still asleep and he’d had the worst ache in his joints from leaning forward on his elbows and watching her with deeply worried eyes… Harvey just wasn’t sure what was going on. He was beginning to fear the worst: that somehow the exorcism or ritual those stupid kids did put his girlfriend in a coma. He wondered if he should rush her to the hospital but then what would he tell them? “My girlfriend was a man eating demon because someone literally shoved a piece of glass into her stomach but it’s okay some hooligans from school read some Latin out loud and got it out of her but then she passed out and hasn’t woken up in like more than half a day, so I’m not sure what’s wrong but I think she’s at least human again.” Her mother, the hospital nurse, would surely love to hear that ridiculous story about her daughter from a coworker. Before Mariana even woke up, they’d send Harvey to the loony bin and toss out the key.

He was beginning to fear the worst but then it had finally happened — she woke. He imagined that moment a lot when he’d been sitting there, alternating in between listening to Stephen Fry narrating Harry Potter or Weezer crooning alt rock. He imagined the sharp inhale when she woke, the way her eyes would slowly and hazily open, looking around the room and trying to piece together where she was until her gaze landed on her dutiful boyfriend brooding in the chair next to her bed. And he wouldn’t notice her until she’d speak up, her voice soft and tired. And then he would jolt awake and jump to the bed where he’d shower her in soft kisses and practically weep over how happy he was she was okay… the thought went hazy there but he assumed he’d go make her breakfast and she’d walk around feeling totally normal and okay, like a healthy and happy teenage girl just waking up on a lazy Saturday morning. Maybe they’d go for a drive, or head to Marie’s because certainly she’d be ravenous. Normal. He’d suspected she’d wake up normal. What he got was a little different. She definitely seemed tired, and a little disoriented, and when Sassy leaned his massive head over and gently licked her hand and curled into her side, well he suspected she must have been happy to see her two boys first thing waking up after that horrific night. He hoped she was happy. But there was this edge in the air, something that told him that something was off.

This only became apparent in the way Mariana had acted since waking up. She was fatigued, understandably, but she was also quiet and distant. While she seemed mostly physically okay, there was definitely something going on with her, mentally or emotionally, that didn’t seem okay. Harvey tried to figure out how to change whatever was amiss, but as usual Mariana didn’t open up right away to him. She kept herself a bit closed off, kept her feelings mostly concealed. So he’d focused on taking care of her in other more obvious ways. He cooked nutritious meals for her, foods to help her get her strength back, and monitored her hydration, urging her to drink often. He’d hovered by her whenever she got up to move, making sure she didn’t stumble. He’d made sure she was always comfortable, put on her favorite programs to give her something to occupy herself with. He’d even made sure a whole load of his t-shirts was washed and folded, ready for her to swap out since he knew she liked wearing his clothes while lounging about. He’d offered to take her on drives to get some fresh air, let Sassy occupy Harvey’s usual spot on the bed in case she wanted puppy cuddles — just about anything he could think of that would make her happy. But she barely responded to his actions. The only times he thought she really reached out to him were when she wanted to curl up against him. He’d caught her doing that when they slept side by side, Sasquatch banished to his own doggy bed so Harvey didn’t spend another extended period sleeping upright in a chair. They usually spooned when she’d slept over before but when they’d slept next to each other during her recovery Harvey had made it a point to give her space in case she was in any physical pain. But he’d wake up in the middle of the night to her curled up against his side and he’d shift over to wrap his arm around her. He knew when he was being asked to hold her, and he knew it was best to comply.

After a couple days, Harvey began to feel a little useless. Eventually she was tending to her own needs, taking care of feeding herself etc. He still felt that she was distant, and he’d yet to try and broach the topic of what happened. He wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk, and given that she didn’t bring up what happened herself he figured it was going to be some time before she gave any indication she wanted to speak about it. So he bit back the questions, the lingering concern of the after effects. They weren’t back to a normal routine yet, which made him think she wasn’t exactly back to normal herself. And given she didn’t give him any ideas as far as what she needed from him, he was beginning to worry. He recalled that moment she gave in to the shard removal, the suggestion that had been made by one of the Murder Club kids. You’ll hurt Harvey. If that was the thought that clicked with her, that led her to give up her demonic powers… He was beginning to think that maybe the reason she wasn’t opening up to him about what had happened was because deep down she blamed him for it. What if she didn’t want to give it up? She did give them a fight at the end there… What if she regretted giving it up? And if he was the reason she did do that… Did she resent him for it? He hated admitting he was an insecure man, but late at night when he was alone to his thoughts and she felt like she was pulling even further away from him… It was all he could think about. What if she hates me now? Deep down he knew it was a stupid thought, but she wasn’t giving him a reason to think otherwise.

When they laid down the next evening, Harvey carefully moving in closer to her while still maintaining space between them, he’d found he had enough tip toeing around her and to point blank ask her what she wanted from him. So as Mariana settled into her pillow, he turned to look straight at her and abruptly asked, “Do you want me to spoon you?” He watched her brows knit in response to his random outburst and so he continued speaking. “I mean… Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and you’re sleeping against me and I realize when we go to bed I don’t, like, try to hold you or anything. I guess I’m asking if you want me to cuddle with you when we go to bed?” It felt so weird asking for clarification on something that was typically second nature for them. Dragging a hand through his curls, he slid his palm over his face and sighed deeply.

“I just… I don’t know what you need from me right now. Things have been kinda weird and I feel pretty nervous around you and I just… I’m worried I’m not giving you what you need right now. So I need you to tell me what it is that you need me to do, or want me to do to help you through whatever is going on in your head lately. I won’t push or ask you to open up to me if you’re not ready to do so. Even if you’re never ready… it’s fine, I’ll understand but I need you to tell me what I can do for you now to help make things okay again. I feel kinda useless which is fine most of the time but in the case of the girl I love, I - I just want to be able to do something for her. So please just… help me out a little. Give me something.” When she finally said something, Harvey was a bit surprised at what she said. He blinked a couple times before his gaze softened. He’d been an idiot. All this time he’d been working himself up feeling useless and he forgot one very simple fact about their relationship. Companionship. In its simplest form Mariana really just enjoyed his companionship. It took him a bit of time to realize that, pushing himself to the brink of insanity creating overly romantic moments filled with grand gestures when really all he needed to do was just be there and she seemed content.

Cheeks a bit pink with a slight blush, Harvey moved closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his chest, tangling his legs with hers under the covers as he weaved his fingers through her blonde hair. “You want to listen to me?” He asked quietly, awaiting her confirmation. “What should I do? Just say whatever? Tell a story or…?” His nerves were getting the better of him but he swallowed them back and cuddled her closer. She wasn’t asking for much, there was no sense complicating things. She probably just wanted to be held by her boyfriend and listen to his soft voice while she dozed off. How hard could that be? He pressed his lips to her forehead, and smiled when he swore she moved in closer. He could do this for her. He was pretty sure he’d do just about anything for her.

“Okay, I can talk. If that’s what you want, then I’ll just keep talking until you’re fast asleep. I, uh… I was looking at the calendar while cleaning the dishes earlier and I realized something. Prom is coming up. Yeah I started thinking about it, trying to remember where I packed my tux. You know, from things like debut. ‘A gentleman should always have a tuxedo in case the situation calls for it.’ That’s what Margaret used to say. Anyway, I started mentally tallying up the cost of everything. Limo, corsage… Thought that instead of taking you to the motel afterwards like a total cheapskate that we could ditch town and drive to the city and stay at a fancier place for a long weekend. Make a whole trip out of it. Didn’t you tell me that after prom it wasn’t a requirement to go to classes? I think you said that once. Like a year ago… Whoa, we’ve been dating for almost a year now. That’s pretty wild. I think after everything we’ve been through this year, we deserve to run off and ignore everyone for a few days.” He chuckled, “Not that I’m suggesting I should be your date to your Senior Prom. I mean I figured some of the football players and other guys in town will attempt to ask you, and I should at least give them the chance to try. We both know I can do a kickass promposal, but I’m kinda curious what the other kids in town may come up with. Who knows — Maybe one of them will woo you better than me. Then I can spend another prom night in my boxers watching Lord of the Rings. Just know it’d be your loss because I’m a great awkward slow dance partner. And I look good in a tux.”

Smiling, he pulled Mariana practically on top of him, curling both his arms around her and pressing kisses into her hair and onto her face. He wanted to give her some sense of normalcy, something that was a bit more like their usual routine. And cuddles and chaste kisses while he joked about prom and her many suitors seemed like a good start. A reminder that there was still so much to look forward to and that, shard or no shard, she was a gorgeous girl that boys tripped themselves over. She was still that girl that took his, and likely everyone’s, breath away.

“Whatever happens, just promise me this — no truth or dare with random kids you don’t recognize, okay?”

@karolinadeanwrites

#ship: harviana #answered #karolinadeanwrites #I’m sorry this is a mess #some normalverse post shard removal stuff since we talked about it before

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spinachlawyer34062 · 3 years

Text

Please Give This a Read

Hello friends. If you are a part of the Touhou RPC, then I highly recommend you stop your current activities and read this post.

I have some pressing and concerning information about a certain individual who for the longest time had been a well known member of the community. This would be Noka, the mun of magnificentmuses.

Well more specifically, this is about her 18+ sideblogs. Yes, multiple. I kindly ask you to not dismiss this post before reading it. I am making this post because I want people to be more aware as well as mindful of who they may be talking to online. I understand the discomfort in doing so, as a lot of this content is very graphic, offensive, and not for the faint of heart. With that said, viewer discretion is highly advised.

Noka is known for her high activity on her lewd blogs. She has multiple, but I will not be talking about all of them. Here are the links to the blogs in question.

magnificentafterdark | (archive) magnificentvore | (archive) magnificentcelebs | (archive) extremecelebs | (archive)

There are few talking points that I will be going over here. Prepare yourself, because it is a lot, yet only the tip of the iceberg.

Lewding Real People

Noka is not shy to lewd real people such as celebrities, internet personalities, and has even showed interest in the idea of lewding muns. One of which, who had called her out on her own previously.

(Archive)

This quite frankly is unacceptable behavior and is highly disrespectful to these individuals and their privacy. I am well aware that some muns do enjoy lewding themselves as self inserts, but the difference here is the lack of consent between Noka and these people.

Paedophilia

If you are a veteran of the Touhou RPC, then you may be familiar with this term being used against Noka previously by more eccentric posters. However, their claims were not without fault. Noka has exhibited interest in lolicon up to this day, and seems to be mildly open about it.

“Lolicon (ロリコン, rorikon), also romanized as lolikon or rorikon, is Japanese discourse or media focusing on the attraction to young or prepubescent girls.”

Quoted from Wikipedia

Some people in the RPC may not see this as an inherit problem, seeing as “lolicon” focuses on fictional media with fictional characters. Many people believe that fiction has no effect of reality and they are in their right to hold such beliefs. But Noka being interested in underage fictional girls is not what truly concerns me here.

What concerns me is that there seems to have been a shift in her attraction. As in her blogs, magnificentcelebs and extremecelebs, she has toyed with the idea of writing real underage people in a lewd manner. And I have proof.

(Archive)

It seems that as of the writing of this doc, she has deleted all three of these posts. Here she is seen considering an anon’s suggestion to lewd Greta Thunberg, a seventeen year old girl with former president of the United States, Donald Trump.

No matter how you look at it, even with the ‘aging up’ of these indivuduals, these sort of actions should be considered unacceptable by any rational person. Lewding fictional underage girls is already questionable to most, but content like this borders the line of child pornography which is highly illegal.

Beastiality

Noka has also exhibited interest in media that contains beastiality which also includes visual imagery. There are many examples of this on her side blogs, but I will only provide a few examples.

Source | (Archive)

For those unaware, SSoyoung is a South Korean youtuber who abuses animals by eating them live on camera for entertainment.

LGBTPhobia

Noka has shown to be both lesbophobic and transphobic in recent months. Such as this comment about Elliot Page, formerly, Ellen Page.

Source | (Archive)

(Archive)

As well as well known TV personality, Ellen Degeneres, a known lesbian as well as her wife, Portia, both being fucked by horses as a way to “make them convert to cock.” She uses the derogatory slur, “dyke” numerous times throughout this post.

Source | (Archive)

Misogyny

Noka, despite being (presumably) female, has shown to be very misogynistic in her works. Often times, calling women sluts and whores, and treating them rather violently. Belittling them down to sex objects which is unfortunately rather common in pornography.

Source | (Archive)

For my own sanity, this is all that I am able to put together for the time being.

Review

I do hope that you, the reader have not dismissed me. As I have researched this all thoroughly which has been very draining. To simplify things, Noka has been shown to be...very gross. Which might be quite an understantment seeing the information I have provided.

For now, I would like to speak to you, the reader who has read this far. Do you know Noka? Are you aware of these these actions? Have you known about them for some time but refused to acknowledge them? If so, then why?

Why have you allowed yourself to turn a blind eye to someone who has written borderline illegal content? Is it perhaps because she is your friend? Or someone who you used to hold in high regard? Is it easier for you to see her as the person she appears to be on the surface, instead of who she has become?

I cannot put enough emphasis on this. But this is not a personal attack on Noka. I do not condone anyone who goes to attack her, send her death threats, etc.

I am simply asking for one thing. Speak up. Speak up against this kind of behavior in a civilzed manner. Whether the person in question is your friend or not. Because at the end of the day, this is highly unacceptable and disgusting behavior to be coming from a human being.

If your friend or a trusted member of the community is exhibiting behavior like this, then I plead, take action. This sort of behavior is not okay and is well over crossing the line of what is fiction and what is not. Should you lose someone because you have decided to speak up, then they aren’t worth your time. Sometimes, burning bridges is necesarry, not just for everyone’s sake, but for yours as well.

Thank you for your time.

#touhou rpc #rpc #roleplay community #magnificentmuses #magnificentcelebs #extremecelebs #magnificentvore #magnificentafterdark #psa #callout post #important #announcements

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nerdygaymormon · 5 years

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A response to Ed Smart is gay

Elizabeth Smart became well known because she was kidnapped from her home, raped & forced to live as if married to her kidnapper, and rescued. She helped educate the church against dangerous ways against teaching the Law of Chastity, like being a piece of chewed gum, because those very lessons made her feel she was worthless because she’d been raped and no one would want her.

Ed Smart is her father. While I understand that he’s been out to his family and to others for several years, he wrote a Facebook post to extended family & friends to come out to them. Because of who his daughter is, his coming out has been reported in the Utah newspapers.

Nathan Kitchen is the president of Affirmation. He wrote a response that I’m sharing below.

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I have remained silent about the Ed Smart article first published in the Deseret News, because frankly, a person’s sexuality is not newsworthy. It is modern-day voyeurism at its worst to gawk at the gay guy making a hard pivot in life. Just because we all got to know the Smarts during their intense publicity surrounding the kidnapping of their daughter, that doesn’t bestow upon us the right of familiarity with the Smart family.

The Smarts deserve their privacy as they make difficult decisions together. There are no sides here. Only a family trying to make sense of decisions made on the best information they had decades ago. Make no mistake about it, I want to be perfectly clear: both Ed AND Lois Smart are victims of homophobia. It is a deep homophobia etched into the very genetics of society and our institutions.

What we need to do, instead of focusing on a sensational story, is instead laser focus on the prejudices and misconceptions about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Eliminating those prejudices and misconceptions is in everyone’s interest. Eliminating homophobia and transphobia is not only essential for the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, it is essential for the health and well-being of institutions, society, and culture at large.

However, I do think this entire situation brings up a very valid point that is game to talk about.

Ed expressed that in this coming out “the church is not a place where I find solace any longer.” I affirm Ed’s personal feelings on the matter. This reflects his experience and I will never qualify, question, or deny the experiences of any of my LGBTQ+ siblings. This statement does us all a favor by starting a conversation. It invites deep reflection and a hard look at ourselves as members and former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ individuals: Is the church a safe place for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families?

For decades this kind of question was addressed from a very straight-centric perspective, stemming from the overarching premise “What does the Church think about LGBTQ+ people?” Hence over time we received lots of clues about what the Church thought about LGBTQ+ people. From the book “The Miracle of Forgiveness” to today’s Mormon and gay website, the standards of the church concerning LGBTQ+ individuals have been delivered to the members in a constant parade of books, talks, websites, and policies. The problem with this overarching premise is that straight people change their views of LGBTQ+ individuals when they get to know them. So this constant parade of church missives and policies change year, after year, after year as stereotypes are erased and the general population becomes educated concerning LGBTQ+ issues.

As the new civil rights movement continues forward, this continual changing perspective of “What the Church thinks” has become a moving target and tiresome to chase. It has given way to a new LGBTQ+ centric perspective: “What do LGBTQ+ people think about the Church?” This is the healthiest of all premises for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. It is from this vantage point that we should all approach the question “Is the Church a safe place for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families?”

From an LGBTQ+ centric position concerning safety in the church, we must first acknowledge that there is a “rainbow stained-glass ceiling” in the church. This boundary specifically is marriage equality and the self-determination of gender identity by transitioning. It is the bright line set in doctrine and policy. You bump up against this ceiling when you marry someone of your same sex or transition.

If someone were to honestly ask what could make the church safer and welcoming for LGBTQ+ people, the honest answer would be to affirm marriage equality and self-determination of gender identity. However, ultimately this is an organizational revelation issue in the church. This falls squarely to the Brethren to be responsible for deliberation, inquiring, and delivering a doctrinal change. If there is one thing church history can teach us, it is that it will drive one mad to lobby the Brethren about anything.

So as the Brethren take up the question about what to do with LGBTQ+ members, we all can continue to work together to eliminate homophobia and transphobia in our sphere of influence. And we can do this in very LGBTQ+ centric ways.

Everyone understands that the “rainbow stained-glass ceiling” is there. So when we approach the question “Is the church is safe for LGBTQ+ people?” we need to honor LGBTQ+ people in their personal perspectives of what they themselves think about the church.

We cannot make a blanket statement that the church is not safe for LGBTQ+ people. This denies the self-determination of our LGBTQ+ siblings and erases their perspective. Conversely, we cannot make a blanket statement that the church is safe for LGBTQ+ people because that too erases lived experiences.

When you look at the entire spectrum of LGBTQ+ people in the church or those identifying that they are in the church, you will find LGBTQ+ people who find solace, safety, community, and peace. They have answered for themselves the question “What do I think about the church?” They are not self-loathing, they are not delusional, and they are choosing to live in ways that are empowering to them as an LGBTQ+ individual. It costs us nothing to affirm them in their answer in how they choose to access spirituality and community.

There are also LGBTQ+ people who experience conflict, trauma, suicidal ideation, and rejection at their intersection with the Faith. When they answer the question for themselves about what they think about the church, they do not see it as a safe place to be. They are not weak, lacking in faith, offended, or sinners to step away or leave the church. They are choosing to live in ways that are empowering and healthy for them. I would say that it costs us nothing to affirm their choices to step away or leave, but in reality it does cost. It costs the Church their best and most talented humans in a devastating resource drain from the church.

The thing that people get wrong about LGBTQ+ self-determination is that choices made by self-determination are eternal and unchanging. On the contrary, LGBTQ+ people have the right to change their answer to “What do I think about the Church?” at any time. There is fluidity to the answer, depending on so many individual factors. For example an LGBTQ+ person may find safety in the church until they bump up against the rainbow stained-glass ceiling when they marry someone of the same sex or transition. Others go the opposite direction, and after many years away from the church, they return.

People often get so caught up in a Mormon/Ex-Mormon argument loop about other’s choices concerning the church that it obscures the self-determination of the LGBTQ+ individual. There is not one “correct” way to LGBTQ+. The choice of the LGBTQ+ individual trumps all other judgements of other people.

The new frame of reference for us all is to be LGBTQ+ centric and affirm the very personal answer that an LGBTQ+ person has for themselves about what they think about the church. Anything else is just generic religious proselytizing for or against the church.

So from an LGBTQ+ centric position, knowing the rainbow stained-glass ceiling is firmly in place until the Brethren remove it, what can be done right now to make the church safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ+ individuals who answer for themselves that they want to be there? I have four ideas that can be implemented right now with no doctrinal or revelatory changes. I hope you share even more in the comments section.

1. Have uniform treatment of the LGBTQ+ community church-wide. It is no secret that transgender individuals are treated with the most extreme inequality from ward to ward and stake to stake in issues such as excommunication upon transitioning, attendance of second hour classes, speaking in church, and holding a calling. There is also geographical disparity concerning the management of same sex couples who legally marry. Bishops and Stake Presidents vary widely on youth LGB Issues such as handholding, dating, and even kissing.

It would take almost no effort to find the areas in the church where outreach and the welcoming of LGBTQ+ individuals and their families is occurring and universally train leaders across the church using models already utilized in some of the stakes in Zion. End local leadership roulette for the LGBTQ. We live in the age of the internet. LGBTQ+ individuals are highly aware of this inconsistency and it is troubling.

2. Increase transgender care and education. Much ignorance and transphobia abounds concerning the transgender community in the church. It feels that not much has changed in the understanding of transgender individuals since Dalin H. Oaks made a 2015 statement during a press conference that “while we have been acquainted with lesbians and homosexuals for some time, being acquainted with the unique problems of a transgender situation is something we have not had so much experience with, and we have some unfinished business in teaching on that.”

Simple things such as learning basic trans terminology, using someone’s correct name and pronouns, and changing someone’s name on church records when they have legally changed their name in the courts starts to make a dent in the care of transgender individuals and their families. (Also see #1 above.) We all can and need to be allies for our transgender siblings.

3. Stop the excommunications and church discipline for those who marry someone of the same sex or transition. Just call a moratorium on this spiritual act of violence while everyone is working out the unfinished business. Getting rid of LGBTQ+ people through church discipline reminds me of the harmful words of BYU President Ernest Wilkinson who in 1965 told the BYU student body that BYU did not intend to admit any homosexuals, but if there happened to be a homosexual among the student body, “I suggest that you leave the university immediately after this assembly; and if you are honest enough to let us know the reason, we will voluntarily refund your tuition. We do want others on this campus to be contaminated by your presence.”

LGBTQ+ individuals do not contaminate wards or stakes, they bless wards and stakes. They do not contaminate the children or the youth. The threat of excommunication and discipline creates an environment of fear and anxiety. It makes it unsafe for LGBTQ+ members to come and worship. Take this off the table to immediately make the church safer for LGBTQ+ people. Oh, and take off the asterisk on LGBTQ+ member records that were placed solely to identify that person as being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. That is immoral and wrong.

4. Take the time to talk to and really listen to LGBTQ+ individuals…both members and those who are not members of the church. Do not just seek out those who make you feel comfortable because they are Mormonormative and are like you. See those in the LGBTQ+ community who are not mormonandgay dot org approved gays and lesbians. And for heaven’s sake, stop seeking out the celebrity LGBTQ+ Mormons.

Look for and find the depth and breadth of the diverse and vibrant LGBTQ+ community. Build a relationship and maybe you will be trusted to hear some of the most powerful human stories. Find out what is important to these friends. Find out what hurts them. Listen and do not lecture or give advice. As a guest to their story you will learn of humanity in ways that sacredly expand your view of God and what it means to love one another. Then when they tell you their answer to the question, “What do I think about the church?” you will understand what you can do better to support the LGBTQ+ individual in their self-determination in this very mortal experience to find and have joy.

If you are really interested in making the church safer and more welcoming for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families, root each of your actions in the premise that your efforts in eliminating prejudices and misconceptions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression will have a profound positive impact for good for everyone. Everyone. You do not need anyone’s permission to start. You do not need anyone’s permission to love.

#nathan kitchen #queerstake

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eternityunicorn · 4 years

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When Death Meets Life - Part Six +18

Author: eternityunicorn

Genre: Romance/Drama/AU

Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x OC

Warnings: Smut (*Smut chapters marked +18)

Summary: AU - Set in TO Season 3 and Season 5 - Elijah Mikaelson was a creature of death, an Original vampire designed to take life. One night, while searching for a missing Hayley, who was cursed to remain a wolf by Niklaus, he encounters a most wondrous creature, one opposite to himself. This being is a creature of life - a unicorn! He witnesses her breathing life back into a group of dead werewolves. He finds himself amazed by her, but then she vanishes like a dream. Who is she? Will he ever find out?

NOTE: OC and original elements are from my up and coming novel series!

AUTHOR’S COMMENTARY: Well, in honor of the one year anniversary of ‘Elijah’s Eternity’, I decided to post the final chapter of ‘When Death Meets Life’. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading!

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New Orleans - Three Days Later

Elijah stood in front of a roaring fire. He was dressed in his well-tailored suit once more, which signified that he had his memories back. The ethereal beauty he had made his wife during his time as an amnesiac had undone Vincent’s magic and Marcellus’ compulsion with ease, and the second that she had, he recalled everything. It was like the fog had been lifted. What had been vaguely familiar was now crystal clear.

Quite frankly, it was good to be back, despite all the turmoil and hardships. Though, he had to admit, part of him knew he would miss the quiet life, where chaos and bloodshed didn’t reign his existence. Still, this was where he belonged - with his family. This life was the right one.

He had only been back for the past three days, but life had already gotten back to normal, with one exception. Though they had spent seven years together in domestic bliss, Eternity was a new player in this existence, his original existence. He now knew exactly how she had known about him, about Niklaus, about everything to do with the Mikaelsons.

The Original recalled their meeting in the woods a decade ago. He remembered the creature of life he had met, the strange white beast of legend that had healed and resurrected those werewolves that had been targeted by poachers. She had been foreign to him then, but now he knew her...intimately.

Furthermore, he also understood that they were somehow bound together, as if their souls had been intertwined the moment their bodies had. He recollected their initial encounter, when Eternity had mentions something about soulmates. Remembering that conversation, Elijah put together that she had meant that they were soulmates and it had been that fact that had freed her from being a prisoner of those woods, as well as released her from the form of a unicorn.

Despite that and the happy life they had shared together, the elegant vampire wasn’t sure as to what to do about his wife. He couldn’t say he didn’t love her now, because the truth was, he loved her as much as he had during his time as an amnesiac, if not more so. It wasn’t how he felt about her that made him uncertain going forward. He was actually hung up on the fact that he was a creature of death and she was one of life.

Just what kind of future could they, two opposites, have together? Surely, there could be nothing but pain and misery for them.

Elijah didn’t feel worthy to be Eternity’s husband, knowing all the destruction and violence his life had been consumed with for a thousand years. Honestly though, it wasn’t himself he was concerned over. He knew how to control his own beast, how to have some semblance of humanity.

It was Niklaus and his chaotic, impulsive nature that concerned him. So many lovers and friends had suffered because of the hybrid’s violence. What would stop his brother from doing the same to Eternity, should either of them cross Niklaus? What if he tore her from him in some way?

He didn’t know if he could bear it, especially knowing if he parted from her forever, he would die. It wasn’t an exaggeration. That was what would happen, if things went sideways. Elijah simply doubted this one thing that had made him so happy, happier than he had ever known.

“Elijah?”

He stiffened upon hearing her sweet, melodious voice, but didn’t turn around to look at Eternity, who had come quietly into the common room. If he had been paying attention, he would have smelled her floral scent of roses and lilacs, heard her steady heartbeat.

“You have been avoiding me,” she said casually, as she drew a little closer and then stopped still some distance from him. “You haven’t looked at me or spoken to me, let alone embrace or kiss me. We haven’t even slept in the same room. I understand that you needed time to readjust and I gave you space, but it is not readjustment that has you avoiding me. You are troubled. Talk to me. What is going on?”

At first, he didn’t say anything nor did he look at her at any point, and a tense silence fell between them. Finally, he sighed and confessed, “I’ve been having doubts...about us.”

Eternity was ever patient as she asked him, “What doubts are those, my love?”

“You are a creature of life, one meant to bring light and goodness to the world,” Elijah told her, as he stared into the fire. “I am creature of death and my dark world will corrupt and ruin you - ruin our life together.”

“You’ve been through a lot, Elijah,” she replied gently. “Experienced a lot of tragedy, particularly when it came to those who you were dared to get close to. You’ve all been through a lot, actually. Yet, when I look at your family, I do not see this world of darkness you speak of.”

He interjected, “The darkness of this family hides itself well. I’m not worthy of you, not as I am. Not now that my memories are back and that I have been reunited with my family. You’re better off without me. If you stay with me, you'll only know pain and misery.”

“Nonsense. You and I belong together,” she smirked slightly. “I’m not some sort of symbol of purity and innocence nor am I naive. In fact, you and I are not so different. I have just as much blood on my hands as you do, if not more, and I am perfectly aware of your family’s history, bu things are changing, cycles are being broken for your siblings. They are not the same as they once were and the curse that had plagued you all is lifting. I can sense it.”

Elijah remained stubbornly unconvinced. For one thing, he knew his family. Sure things were good now, but happiness and peace were fleeting things for he and his siblings. It was only a matter of time before something happened, before the darkness returned. Then there was His fear of losing her to that darkness. It was so great that he’d rather push her away now instead of letting her stay and lose her more tragically later.

He stared into the fire a moment longer, before he finally turned to look at her with a remorseful expression. He just didn’t believe that happiness was for him. His obligations to his family, to Niklaus, would always trump over his own joy. It would just bring them pain and division, if they stayed together.

Yet, the elegant vampire couldn’t bring himself to tell her that. He was too much of a coward. So, instead, he gazed at her hopeful face briefly, before proceeding to walk past her with the intention of leaving the room.

“Whatever doubts you have, my love, we are bound to each other as one,” called Eternity quickly. “One cannot live without the other. We will always be drawn back together, if we separate. We belong together. I love you, Elijah, always and forever.”

Her words tugged at the Original’s very soul and they gave him pause, bringing him to a stop in the doorway. This was a mistake, he thought. He should just keep walking. He should spare her the grief that was sure to come from loving him, from being loved by him.

However, he realized that no matter what reservations he might have, he couldn’t leave her. His resolve was easily broken, he turned back, striding over to her in a few steps with a determined expression.

He didn’t speak in return.

Elijah simply grabbed Eternity by the back of her neck gently and let his mouth descend upon hers in a rough, demanding kiss. His tongue pried her mouth apart, so that he could thrust it into the wet cavern and taste her throughly. This was his unspoken response to her words. He didn’t want to live without her either, against every ounce of better judgement.

The shimmering woman wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into him. She reciprocated his attention with vigor, sighing and moaning lightly into their kiss that he controlled. No doubt, she was glad that he had changed his mind, that he wasn’t going to walk away from her.

He was glad too. No matter what doubts he had, he couldn’t deny himself her. She had been everything for seven years and she continued to be so.

In their mutual joy, things quickly spiraled into a mess of heated passion.

Eternity tore her mouth from his and stared at him with lusty eyes. Her already dark, sapphire eyes only grew darker as a result. Her chest heaved and her lips were swollen from his kiss. She looked absolutely wild.

“Take me to bed, Elijah,” she demanded of him breathlessly.

The Original didn’t have to be told twice. He lifted her up into his arms, so that her legs were wrapped securely around his waist and then sped them into his bedroom - their bedroom, he corrected.

Once they were shut up inside, the elegant vampire slammed his wife into the door, pressing her into it with his body, while his mouth latched onto hers again with an unquenchable hunger and his hands wandered over her body teasingly. The entire time, she clung to him, gasping and moaning needfully as she writhed against him deliciously.

Elijah’s mouth descended lower, laying open mouthed kisses to the column of her throat, but only for a moment. His need for her was too great to resist for long. In urgency, the Original lifted Eternity’s dress, bunching them around her hips, and then reached between them to undo his pants. He needed to be inside her - immediately!

However, just as he was reaching between them, his wife pushed him away with great, but gentle strength until he staggered back further into the room. He stared at her in surprise, watching her seductively smirk at him as she sauntered over to him. Simultaneously, she reached behind her to the ribbon that held her dress together and tugged it undone until the material was loose enough to simply fall from her body in a heap.

Eternity’s body was bare beneath it and Elijah couldn’t help but to lick his lips in anticipation of having her naked flesh within his grasp. By the time the flowing garment was gone she was within reach and reach for her he did. He pulled her flush against him with one hand cradling the side of her neck while the other ran down her back beneath her long white hair until it cupped her backside to press her closer still.

He gazed at her hotly, before his mouth resumed claiming her own. While he distracted her with his kiss, the Original maneuvered his wife over to the large bed, where he pushed her down into it with her legs dangling off the side as he stood between them.

The Original quickly shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it aside, as he admired her pale, slightly glowing flesh. Then he reached to remove his tie and undo the first few buttons of his shirt, before he proceeded to lean over the ethereal beauty, of whom had squirmed needfully under his gaze. He kissed her again. This time, it was slow and sensual, unhurried, while his hand caressed it’s way down her soft form until it came around to touch her intimately between her legs.

Eternity gasped in surprise, tearing her mouth from his to moan loudly into the room, as his fingers caressed the warm, wetness of her center teasingly. Simultaneously, his own mouth moved along her face, across her jaw, and down her throat.

Apparently impatient, the shimmering lady took control. Her impatience was so profound that Elijah found himself not only on his back beneath her, but also as bare of clothing as she was with magic. She straddled him as she held his hands down upon the bed with her own, while they stared at each other desperately.

Then without waiting another second, his wife released one of his hands to reach beneath her, grabbing hold of his hardened length and stroking him tantalizingly. From there, she lined him up with her entrance and sank down upon him slowly until he was fully seated inside her.

Both of them gasped and groaned at the feeling of being joined. Elijah had experienced it many times with Eternity, but every time, it felt absolutely exquisite, as if it was the first time he’d ever experienced the feel of her walls enveloping him so completely. However, the pleasure only grew better as the beauty above him began to move, taking him nearly out of her body, only to sink back down on him over and over again with slow precision that drove him mad.

Wanting to be able to kiss her lips and taste her skin, the impassioned vampire shifted his position, so that he was sitting up on the edge of the bed with her still in his lap. Both his hands were freed with this change and he splayed one of them upon her back, caressing the skin, while the other gripped the back of her neck, so that he could kiss her - and kiss her he did.

His tongue danced in her mouth, moving in time with her hips as she rode him steadily. She moaned into his kiss and gripped him tighter to her, her movements increasing in speed as the pleasure between them climbed higher and higher, causing him to gasp and growl in return.

Elijah released her mouth long enough to smile and breathed against her lips, “I love you, Sweetheart.”

In response, Eternity simply smiled in return and reached to reconnect their mouths, holding him close as their intense lovemaking reached it’s peak and they fell over the edge together. Her walls clamped down on his hardened length, while her movements grew erratic, drawing him to his own end. She cried out, her mouth tearing away from his, and instinct force his vampire visage forward, his fangs latching to the pale expanse of her throat and drinking his fill of her sweet tasting blood. The power within it coursed through his body, warming him, giving him greater strength.

The ethereal beauty’s cries intensified with his feeding on her. Her entire body gripping him tightly, while she quaked until the spasms of her orgasm forced her to fall limp in his arms. When he released her neck, her face fell forward into the crook of his, as she trembled for a few more minutes and then stilled.

They sat there in silence, holding each other as they came down from the euphoria of their lovemaking.

It felt right to be there as they were. Elijah knew nothing but simple peace and joy with his lady in his arms, realizing that had he walked out the door and left her, it would have been a mistake. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself. They truly did belong together.

Before long, the Original was laying Eternity back against the pillows, while remaining buried inside her. He lay over the lady, gazing at her with adoration as he brushed away the white hair that framed her face and laid gentle kisses to her flushed skin.

“I‘m glad that you’ve seen reason, my love,” Eternity murmured to him with a small playful grin, as she ran her fingers through his hair lazily.

The vampire grinned at her and chuckled, “Me too.”

Then he kissed her lips, gently at first, but it grew more vigorous. Soon, they were moving together again, once more lost to their passion.

As they did, Elijah knew that it was with Eternity, this creature of light, to whom he, a creature of death, belonged - always and forever.

The End

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Tag List: @elejah-wonderland @xanderling @dendrite-lover @missnmikealson @freshsuitcasewinnereagle @inmylifeilovedthemall @lolelijahishot @esclisa @elizamonet

#elijah mikaelson #daniel gillies #original characters #elijah x eternity #elinity #romance #drama #alternate universe #the originals #the originals fanfiction #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries fanfiction

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staticsamuraiart · 5 years

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Hoo boy, this one's a long one

There's a TLDR way at the end.

I had one of my longer running games come to a messy head last night where a couple of the players enacted a party betrayal. Here is your cast primarily involved so I don't have to keep using full titles to keep everything straight. We're level 17.

The Tiefling Barbarian who's been having a mental breakdown for the last 3 or 4 games as his entire life up until a certain point has been revealed to him to be a lie, thus causing a downward spiral of paranoia and a refusal to trust literally anyone, party members included. Shortened to "The Barbarian" from now on.

The way-too-hard-to-explain Ranger turned Devil Vampire Queen (there's a lot going on here). The character was once a Tabaxi with a hunger for treasure hunting. Now she wishes to ascend to godhood and become what is essentially a god of piracy and treasure hoarding. Shortened to "The Ranger" from now on.

The Undead Warlock/Life Cleric who has thus far been an amazing healer and generally has a fix for everything and is unaffected by most things who gets the most screwed over in this scenario. Shortened to "The Cleric-Lock" from now on.

And the more minor involvements, a Lycan bloodhunter, our demi-god Bard, and myself as the circle of the moon druid. We were affected but not nearly as directly.

The situation! We were in the Feywild and crawling through a dungeon. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting this dungeon because I was under the impression we were gathering allies in the Feywild because our plane is at war with the Devils but that's another story. We split the party (first mistake) because the dungeon has two paths to go through and one team was forcibly separated after a cave in. The Bard, Bloodhunter, and Barbarian go one way. The Cleric-lock, Ranger, and Druid go the other. Party A and B respectively.

Party A proceeds forward. There's pretty much mostly harmless or not at all dangerous traps laid out through this place so they kind of murderhobo on through. They uh.... let's just say an innocent child gets straight up murdered by the Barbarian who betrays them and tries to book it for the item at the end of the dungeon. Shenanigans ensue and the Bard traps the Barbarian in a Forcecage, while he and the Bloodhunter bamf out to continue through the dungeon.

Party B has a significantly easier time, because overall we are the less* murderhobo side (*one of the traitors is in this group, guess whooo). We power through a much more significant portion of the dungeon and make it to the boss room. "The Boss Room" being the room where the treasure is guarded by goblins...

Now to condense the story, the Vampire and the Barbarian for different reasons were trying to obtain AN INSANELY RARE AND POWERFUL LEGENDARY SWORD THAT GRANTS WISHES. Like high tier shit. The Ranger's plan was to trap or kill everyone in this dungeon because she is the reason it even exists. She has been meticulously planning with the DM for months on her ultimate betrayal and finally reached her point. She plays her trump card (although it ends up not being as awesome as expected because she misunderstood a mechanic, nbd) but proceeds to continue. Here's where things get complicated so let me explain piece by piece:

The ranger supposedly had a wish saved from a previous session when she encountered multiple wish granting items all at once (Frankly she's had insane luck in obtaining wishes all through this campaign). Many of us at the table were pretty sure she did NOT have the wish saved, but the DM ruled she definitely did even though the math didn't line up. The Ranger used this wish spell to force the Cleric-Lock to have amnesia.

Clarification; the DM specifically stated there is no save, no counter, no anything to stop this wish. It happened and there was nothing the player could do about it. Now you might be thinking "but you're the druid, couldn't you have still stopped her?" or even "that's not very fair, shouldn't there still be some kind of DC if the wish copied a spell that exists?"

Well to answer the first thought as simply as possible, I am a homebrewed version of an Eidolyn. You know? Those things Summoners essentially make a bond with and can summon out to fight and shit for them? Yeah, it's neat. The second answer is like, wow hey same bro, I agree. That doesn't make much sense to me. DM ruled "It happens because it's not the 'spell' wish, it's like the 11th level bomb ass crazy powerful WISH wish." and personally I didn't agree but DM rules so I wasn't gonna fight it out. Powerful magic is powerful. Other players at the table were incredibly upset over it and the tensions rose.

Back to explanations, I was originally bonded to the Bard, because at the start of the game we were playing a dnd skin of El Dorado but our "Tulio" left left the game early on. Anyway, here's the problem; I wasn't bonded to the Bard. I was bonded to the Ranger.

"But Static, how can that be? you don't just un-bond to your chosen person!"

Yeeeah well, there was a situation where I got petrified and that sucked. I failed my saves twice. The Ranger had a very powerful ally who had unpetrified me, but he also apparently marked me and bonded me to the Ranger. The DM's argument was that because I "died," I was no longer bonded to the Bard, and was open to have a new bond made. Now I'm not mad or anything at the situation, I'm a very flow with the punches player, but my problem is that that seems like something I should have known, right? I didn't though, I had no idea my bond was shifted; no idea I was even remotely connected to the Ranger in such a way. It was well hidden, because we WERE connected BEFORE that situation came about. Devils' rules, souls being traded and shit, partially due to my Eidolyn heritage; it's complicated.

Why is that important? Well technically speaking, because I was HER Eidolyn, I was HER minion. She ordered me to go ahead and grab her legendary wish sword while the Cleric-Lock was essentially reverted to a mindless Spectre- complicated- and proceeded to possess the Ranger because he still had the general notion that the situation was a hostile one. Ranger failed her save, became a vegetable. I was still following my order. Those Goblins? Used the wishes to wish for Fire toads, and then wished to be okay with fire. AKA they're slowly burning to death on their new Fire Toad mounts as I grab the now innert sword. Okay well it's still a wicked sword, but the wishes were spent.

ALLLLLL things come to a head. The druid goes wild berserk for a while as her "summoner" has essentially been incapacitated, a powerful ally the Ranger summoned whisks the Ranger's body away as the Cleric-lock still maintains control of her body, the Barbarian is trapped in a Forcecage, and the Bard and Bloodhunter bamf the fuck out of there (don't worry we had a sort of anchor that kept the time dilation at bay and they successfully saved on the memory loss thing). Eventually the druid returns to herself, and also bamfs out back to the anchor point with successful memory saves; leaving half of the party essentially wiped and the players for the Barbarian, Cleric-lock, and Ranger will be rolling new characters.

Now this was a lot to go over, because it is a very complicated set of characters with crazy backstories and hordes of batshit insane items and powers because we're so high level and it wouldn't be easy to understand from an outside view if I hadn't provided as much context as I did. The situation with the wish being un-salvagable for the player, combined with the seemingly random entering of a dungeon when our goal was nowhere near such a thing, and the overall out of character tensions that kept rising with disruptive players ended up causing a lot of arguments and a lot of strife; DM and players alike.

What I'm trying to get at is that it's okay to disagree with how your DM runs things. It's okay to think a situation in game was handled unfairly. It's okay to clash opinions. Sometimes DMs are set in their ruling, and sometimes a DM enacts Rule 0: DM says, therefore it is. That is valid. That being said, if you communicate your concerns with [insert clashing opinion here] and you feel you are just butting heads with the DM with no resolution, compromise, or even validation then it is OKAY TO LEAVE THE GAME.

The Bard's player was the most upset with how the game turned out; what with disagreeing with the wish rulings, finding the lack of any possible inklings to our evil players plotting schemes (by that I mean there was only secret conversations with the DM and no in game nuances noted with no rolls involved), and overall finding the betrayal to be from left field and otherwise just an unfair game with multiple examples of the DM railroading certain party members into being or acting some kind of way when they didn't have the chance to save themselves, notice the issues, or generally be involved in the decision that was forced upon their characters (Cleric-Lock and Druid as the main examples). it resulted in the Bard's player deciding to leave the game prematurely. The DM and him got into a heated argument in person and over facebook, and they just couldn't agree and it ended up getting to that point of "well if you want to run the next game go ahead" attitude.

The situation is fresh, so it's still heated between the two people. Maybe they'll make up, or maybe they'll see that they clash and don't even want to be friends anymore. Idk, but I for one see the game as a learning experience. I myself have had reservations about the game and the DM for a long time, and in general just haven't really felt a deep connection with my character or the story. There were moments, but they were pretty few and far between. I don't hate the players, and I don't even blame the ones who took evil routes and betrayed us. I just wish there was a better synergy between us with Players, Party, and DM. Things probably would've been better.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I just wanted a place to unload the story and organize my thoughts on the situation. I want to clarify too that the DM isn't a bad DM or a bad person, in fact he even pre-game warned us that things might get heated and cooked for us while he tried to be as fair as he possibly could be. This isn't a blasting on social media, nor is it a callout post. I just don't like putting these things on facebook because do you see this novel I wrote? Fuck that noise I just wanted to journal it somewhere and voice out that not every DnD game is perfectly balanced or perceived to be handled fairly. He did his best, he made his calls, and he urged us all to make sure we knew we were all still friends after the game was over.

TLDR; Our DM kind of railroaded a couple players and made some questionable decisions on how he handled some PvP scenarios which angered a chunk of the players and overall it was just a bad time. We're still friends but sometimes friends get passionate over the things they have strong views on and arguments happen. It's okay though, humans aren't perfect. We cool.

Thanks for reading. <3

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helshades · 5 years

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nikolai-mikhailovich:

I can't . . . I can't even read these any more XD . . . can the anons just unfollow or download New X-Kit to block 'Assange' or whatever terms they need to stay sane? Why is this discussion still running? XD

@nikolai-mikhailovich, I... am not entirely sure, to be frank. Mostly, I suppose the minds of intellectually-lazy people are made early and it makes them very obstinate. Somehow I suspect they already know they’re in the wrong, so they will try to guilt-trip you, or misconstrue your ideas and arguments; ultimately, though, they don’t have much to say.

Where they are more of a nuisance is that you do waste a lot of time replying to people like those, and I believe you have to reply to those people because you will always need proof at some point that you can counter-argument on such topics. At the risk of feeding the proverbial troll, bad arguments on serious subjects must be analysed, discussed and counteracted. Someone I admire once said about fascist ideas that they always seem evident at first, to those at least who won’t try to see further, which frankly is many people; the problem is, countering those simplistic ideas takes a lot of time and a lot of educating as you need to paint a whole cultural context for why, say, the numbers of immigration don’t automatically explain the numbers of unemployment. Short-sightedness usually wins because it’s short. Intelligence, literally, implies that you take the long run to link ideas together.

yourellamental:

Thank you for posting that Julian Assange is the most important whistle-blower of all time. That is TRUTH !!

@yourellamental, thank you for the kind words!

I will add that no matter his personal faults, Mr. Assange should be given political asylum to protect him from extradition for political reasons that have nothing to do with whether we find him nice or not. Even if he were to be proven guilty of sexual misconduct (perhaps we ought to remember here that he was never accused of rape in the first place, as both women accusing him recognised that the sex was consensual; international media have reprised the term ‘rape’ but it is incorrect, perhaps gravely so, considering it does smear the name of a man who never even charged with the offences or crimes he is accused of committing, and is therefore innocent in front of the law) the facts remain that his capture by the United States would be an international tragedy impacting the very core of what the West holds true and dear concerning freedom of the press and freedom of information. Let him be heard, even tried for those alleged sexual assault charges, but let it never be a pretext to use him as an example for all journalists henceforth tempted to cross the path of superpowers that would do wrong without consequence.

nikolai-mikhailovich:

I have to say, I can fully understand - and support - victims having anonymity, but why not also people accused? I don't know enough about the case to voice an opinion, but we've had celebrities in the UK found innocent, but - during the course of the investigation - traumatised by press coverage, intrusive paparazzi, and their reputations ruined (not to mention vigilante justice). Since when was "innocent until proven guilty" something only 'bad' people believe in?

You know, in early phases of our dispute the darling Nonny made a spiteful comment about ‘leftists blindly supporting rapists’ and I didn’t take the time to answer at that point, but I’m going to come back to it.

‘Just saying. I don't care about the US. He needs to be extradiated to Sweden to face his rape charges. That's what a lot of UK MPs and officials want anyways.’

Followed by a disparaging remark about the very real menace Assange faces of being tortured and either getting a life sentence or being executed, threats that I am supposed to have made up, of course. I did provide context for this and the fact that several U.S. officials have been on record advocating for Julian Assange’s execution, or life-long imprisonment, and even for him to get abducted from within the embassy.

‘I don’t care about the U.S., he needs to be extradited to Sweden’. It is almost absurd to be this dense. Like The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald noted back in 2012 when the U.K. Supreme Court rejected Assange’s last appeal: Sweden ‘has a disturbing history of lawlessly handing over suspects to the U.S.’ which has actually sent innocent asylum seekers to be tortured once extradited to America.

As for ‘what a lot of UK MPs and officials want’... Indeed. Speaking of leftists speaking up for human rights and, you know, democracy:

‘The UK government, headed by Theresa May, is gloating over Assange’s arrest, issuing statements that are clearly prejudicial to any legal proceedings. When May, speaking to parliament, declared the “whole house will welcome the news this morning that the Metropolitan police have arrested Julian Assange,” Tory MPs and many Labourites cheered in approval.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn issued a pro-forma statement declaring that the extradition of Assange “should be opposed by the British government,” but he kept his mouth shut when May issued her denunciation before parliament and has maintained a silence on Assange during his forced asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy.

As for the United States, while the Trump administration is now leading the campaign against Assange, the Democratic Party is solidly behind his persecution, blaming Assange for contributing to the exposure of the crimes for which Hillary Clinton was justly and massively hated. One of the central aims of the Democrats’ anti-Russia campaign has been to justify the attack on WikiLeaks as part of a broader campaign for internet censorship.

Added to the list of those responsible is the pseudo-left, the organizations of the upper-middle class in the US and internationally, which seized on the initial fraudulent and trumped-up rape allegations against Assange to justify his persecution and their own cowardly abandonment of Assange to American imperialism.

For its part, the establishment media, which functions as an arm of the state, has jumped in to support the attack on Assange.’

Many people will have a disturbing tendency to support ‘human rights’ only when it applies to things they like or comprehend, and generally things that don’t shake their sense of self. They’re not interested in legal proceedings and fair justice, they want to know that if they were the ones being accused of anything, they would be protected. Meanwhile, since being accused only ever happens to other people, they know they can safely join the howling cohorts from the comfort of their home and rejoice at the idea that someone bad, who isn’t them, is being punished for something that they have not committed, or that they have, but whose consequences they have escaped scot-free.

[...] “Mr. Assange is not a free-press hero,” declares the Post. “Unlike real journalists, WikiLeaks dumped material into the public domain.” By the Post’s definition, the only “real journalists” are those who self-censor at the behest of the Pentagon.

These newspapers, which once published the Pentagon Papers, are nothing but apologists for US imperialism. One can only imagine the howls of outrage that would issue from the media if it was the Russian government that had carried out the forcible seizure and arrest of a journalist and critic of its foreign policy!

In the seven years of Assange’s confinement in the Ecuadorean embassy, much has changed. Most significant is the eruption of class struggle internationally. It is the fear of the emergence of the class struggle, combined with growing opposition to capitalism, that is compelling the ruling elites to destroy all democratic rights, including the freedom of expression, of which Assange's persecution is the most grotesque example.

In the working class there is overwhelming sympathy for Assange. A dividing line has opened up in social, economic and political life. The ruling elites are shedding their democratic pretenses. Their media and the pseudo-socialist opposition—the representatives of the politics of the affluent upper-middle class—function as defenders of the state and the dictatorship of the financial oligarchy.’

You’ll forgive the overwhelming leftist but, yes. Quite.

#answers #yourellamental #nikolai-mikhailovich #free julian assange #julian assange #asile politique pour julian assange #political asylum for julian assange

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erikahenningsen · 6 years

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im so glad you’re not afraid to voice your opinions if something is wrong or concerning, this is how things get done !

If I ever stop voicing my opinions on here I’ve probably been taken out by the DearHamilChillHeathers fandom in the dead of night.

I do want to speak a bit on consuming content critically. Someone said to me on here recently that I’m not allowed to be critical of the things I enjoy, which is frankly one of the most concerning things anyone has ever told me, online or off. Uncritical consumption is dangerous (read up on the Trump/Russia investigation if you’re skeptical about how harmful it can be). I don’t have a degree in media studies or anything but I did take a couple classes that taught me how to critically consume media (one focused specifically on media and race in American society and the other on LGBT politics in film). But you don’t need to go to a university to learn how to develop a critical eye. I think everyone should, at a minimum, do some reading on racial, homophobic, misogynistic, antisemitic, etc. stereotypes and caricatures and how to spot them. You can find plenty of resources online. Know what your blind spots are (I’m white and cis, so I make sure I’m extra cautious when consuming media depicting POC or trans people—actually, I read an interesting article on racially responsible memeing the other day that I think is important). Here’s an incredibly broad and brief overview of some basic critical thinking skills for media. I try to be extra critical of things I enjoy the most, because it’s so easy to ignore a medium’s flaws because you love it a lot. People on here think being critical = hating something and that’s an unhealthy mindset to perpetuate and it discourages people from being critical and engaging in intelligent discourse.

A lot of people think I know a lot about a lot of things, but I’m a person with opinions just like you. I worry that some people take what I say as law sometimes. Just because I think a certain way about something doesn’t mean it’s the Only or Right way. I’m glad that people want to know and seem to value my thoughts on things but honestly my academic areas of knowledge have nothing to do with musicals or media of any kind. It’s so important to educate yourself so you can form your own opinions and speak intelligently about them. It’s fine to like problematic things (I myself have many problematic faves) as long as you know how and why it’s problematic.

#anonymous #ask

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hope-for-olicity · 6 years

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After a while, the true-life horror stories women tell about their struggles to get reproductive health care start to bleed together. They almost always feature some variation on the same character: the doctor who waves a hand and says, “You’ll be fine,” or “That’s just in your head,” or “Take a Tylenol.” They follow an ominous three-act structure, in which a woman expresses concern about a sexual or reproductive issue to a doctor; the doctor demurs; later, after either an obstacle course of doctor visits or a nightmare scenario coming to life, a physician at last acknowledges her pain was real and present the whole time. Sometimes there’s a quietly gloomy boyfriend or husband in a secondary-character role, frustrated by the strain his partner’s health issue is putting on their intimacy.

That many women have stories of medical practitioners dismissing, misdiagnosing, or cluelessly shrugging at their pain is, unfortunately, nothing new. Research cited in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics in 2001, for example, indicated that women get prescribed less pain medication than men after identical procedures (controlling for body size), are less likely to be admitted to hospitals and receive stress tests when they complain of chest pain, and are significantly more likely than men to be “undertreated” for pain by doctors. And there’s a multi-million dollar industry of questionable alternative health remedies that was arguably built at least in part on a history of doctors being dismissive toward women’s bodily health.

But in 2018, these stories of neglect and unhelpfulness within women’s health care, especially women’s sexual and reproductive health care, are bubbling up to the surface—being documented, circulated, and acknowledged by public discourse—in curious abundance.

It started early in the year. In January, a widely cited Vogue cover story on the tennis great Serena Williams, who gave birth to a daughter in September of 2017, told the harrowing tale of how Williams had to urgently insist to the hospital staff in her recovery room that what she was experiencing after her C-section was a pulmonary embolism in order to get the treatment she needed to stay alive. “The nurse thought her pain medicine might be making her confused,” the story reads. A month later, Vogue published an essay by the Girlscreator Lena Dunham on her choice to have a hysterectomy at age 31 to end her struggle with what she understood to be endometriosis. “I had to work so hard to have my pain acknowledged,” she writes. “And while I’ve been battling endometriosis for a decade and this will be my ninth surgical procedure, no doctor has ever confirmed this for me.” After her uterus is removed and she wakes up in a recovery room, she writes, the doctors are eager to tell her she was right: her uterus is “worse than anyone could have imagined.”

Then, in April, The New York Times published Linda Villarosa’s revealing reporton the dangerous endeavor of being black and pregnant in America, a phenomenon partly attributed to medical practitioners’ “dismissal of legitimate concerns and symptoms.” The story’s primary character, 23-year-old New Orleans mother of two, Simone Landrum, recalls being told by a doctor to calm down and take Tylenol when she complained of headaches during a particularly exhausting pregnancy; those headaches were later found to be caused by pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy complication that causes high blood pressure and can result in the placenta separating from the uterus before the baby is born. This happened to Landrum, and her pregnancy ended in a stillbirth.

The stories kept coming. Netflix’s The Bleeding Edge, a documentary released last month, is primarily about the poor testing of many medical devices on the market, but it nonetheless also functions as an indictment of carelessness toward women’s health at the regulatory-body level. Three of the four primary narratives are about medical devices hastily approved by the FDA and marketed to women as safe, easy solutions for fertility- and childbirth-related issues. One prominently featured woman whose medical device—the birth-control implant Essure—lands her in the hospital so many times she loses her job, her home, and her kids over the course of the documentary, recalls being told by a doctor that her abnormally heavy, persistent vaginal bleeding after its insertion is “because she’s Latina” and that her problems are all in her head.

The new KCRW podcast Bodies, a series about medical mysteries in women’s health that launched in July, kicked off its run with the story of a woman in her twenties who experiences deep, burning pain during sex and is initially told by a doctor that nothing’s wrong, lots of women have pain during sex, and that she should just wait and it’ll probably go away. After getting a referral for a specialist from a friend who visited 20 doctors over the course of seven years before getting a diagnosis, she’s diagnosed with and successfully treated for a type of vulvodynia—which the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecologydescribes as “common” (though “rarely diagnosed”).

Sasha Ottey calls this phenomenon “health-care gaslighting.” Ottey founded the Atlanta-based nonprofit PCOS Challenge: The National Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Association in 2009 to raise awareness of PCOS, a hormonal disorder affecting the ovaries that’s often linked to infertility, diabetes, and pelvic pain. Despite the fact that PCOS was first identified and researched in 1935 and the CDC has estimated it affects some 6 to 12 percent of adult women in the United States, many doctors still don’t recognize the symptoms. Women with PCOS and similar conditions like endometriosis and uterine fibroids, Ottey says, “have been told to suffer in silence.” Additionally, because PCOS often causes obesity or weight problems, many women with PCOS experience not just sexism but what Ottey calls “weight bias” in the health-care system. “Many women and young girls are told, ‘Oh, it's all in your head. Just eat less and exercise more,’” says Ottey, who herself recalls being initially instructed by an endocrinologist to lose weight and come back in six months. “People who are following an eating plan and present their diaries to their physicians or nutritionists will be told, ‘You left something off. You're lying. You're not doing enough.’”

Ottey, who spearheaded the PCOS Challenge’s first-ever day of advocacy on Capitol Hill in May, has noted the recent shift in how—and where—women talk about their struggles getting the sexual and reproductive health care they need. “We're at a critical juncture in women's health, where women are now feeling more empowered to speak up. Because frankly, we're frustrated,” she says. “We're frustrated with the type of care that we've gotten. We're frustrated that it sometimes takes someone decades to get a diagnosis. It's been a year, or a few years, of being empowered and emboldened."

Katherine Sherif, an internist at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and the director of the hospital’s women’s primary care unit, says she hears “day in and day out” from patients “about how they are not listened to [by other doctors], how they’re blown off, how a clue was missed.” Sherif believes most of the minimization of women’s health concerns is “unconscious” on the part of both male and female doctors, but blames general societal sexism for the gaps in women’s sexual and reproductive health care. Men with sexual and reproductive dysfunction have to fight for the care they need sometimes too, she points out, but “to a lesser extent” from what she’s seen.

In her 23 years practicing medicine, Sherif has received a lot of thank-you notes from women she’s treated—and “they don’t say ‘Thank you for saving my life’ or ‘Thank you for that great diagnosis,’” she says. “They say, ‘Thank you for listening to me.’ Or ‘I know we couldn’t get to the bottom of it, but thank you for being there.’” So Sherif sees a common theme in the recent flurry of high-profile expressions of disappointment in women’s reproductive health care, feminist protests against President Donald Trump, and the #MeToo movement: All three, she says, result from women feeling that their complaints, concerns, and objections aren’t being listened to.

“Perhaps it parallels what’s changing in our society,” Sherif says. “When we shine a light in those dirty, dark corners, I think it may give us courage to shed light on other things.”

Ottey, meanwhile, believes women’s increasing candor about their health- and health care-related frustrations can be traced back to the advent of social media. Ottey describes her own struggle to finally get a diagnosis and a treatment plan for PCOS in 2008 as one that made her feel “absolutely alone,” but in the years since, she says, she’s seen women with similar conditions and complaints find and support each other on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. “Women see other women, and other girls, speaking up,” she says.

Ottey’s social-media strength-in-numbers theory is borne out in The Bleeding Edge, too: Women whose health deteriorated after getting the Essure birth-control device implanted eventually created an advocacy campaign after finding each other through a Facebook group launched in 2011. Thirty-five thousand women had joined by the time The Bleeding Edge was filmed.

Angie Firmalino, the Facebook group’s founder, remembers being surprised at how many women quickly joined the group, despite it being a project she’d started just so she could warn her female friends about the device. “We became a support group for each other,” Firmalino says, as a montage of selfie videos women have posted to the group page play onscreen. “The day I was implanted, I left the hospital and I was in pain,” says one woman. “They told me to take some ibuprofen and it’ll get better,” says another.

When Firmalino researched the process by which Essure was approved for sale and implantation, she found the FDA hearings had been videotaped, but the video company that owned the tapes would only release them to her for several hundred dollars. So she posted on the Facebook group asking for donations to buy the video—clips of which are repurposed in the documentary and account for its most chilling moments. They raised $900 in 15 minutes.

#women's health #SO SO SO IMPORTANT #PCOS #endometriosis #maternity care #contraceptives #pain #being ignored

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texanredrose · 6 years

Text

Omega’s Strength (Pt 5)

As I mentioned at the beginning, I don’t wanna play the guessing game with canon, so here’s where I hash out what liberties I’ve taken to make this non-canon compliant as well as what the plan is going forward.

The official mess was a big, spacious room down the hall on the second deck, with long tables and fixed seats. It never sat well with the majority of their ragtag group, feeling too sterile for comfort and too reminiscent of Beacon for ease, so they instead took their meals in the kitchen area, where the food actually got cooked by whoever pulled the short straw for the day. Most of their rations were the bulk, ready-to-heat style typical for Atlesian military vessels, like the spaghetti and meatballs currently being pushed around her plate by her fork. Ruby had already gone over some things to work on as teams and individuals, with all but the leader of Team SNOW taking well to the criticism. Stryker at least played the role of an interested party, though her gaze seemed to convey a level of concerted disinterest not too dissimilar from Weiss when the Beta was announced as their team leader.

Well, they had experience working with stubborn Alphas. A few good knocks and she'd figure out that the time for fun and games ended a while ago.

"Oh! And, we were able to make contact with Team SSSN!" Ruby announced with a smile that became faked the longer she spoke. "They'll be meeting up with us as soon as possible. Might not be able to reach us before we try infiltrating the base but soon after that! They're, uh, looking forward to seeing us again."

Weiss and Blake exchanged a look, the Alpha's slight frown met with an equally unimpressed raise of her mate's brow. Ultimately, she put her hands up. "We... certainly could use the assistance."

"And they're reliable friends we can trust," the Omega said, pointedly shifting in her seat and likely doing something hidden by the island they were gathered around to set the other woman at ease. "I'm sure a brief word early on is all they'll need to focus on the mission."

"We can certainly hope." Weiss didn't seem convinced and, frankly, Yang didn't blame her; Sun and Neptune hadn't been subtle with their advances and Blake's extended period traveling with the monkey Faunus likely meant the newly bonded mates would have to talk about that at some point in the near future, if they hadn't already. However, as far as Alphas went, Sun landed on the more laid back end of the spectrum, and Neptune could be an admittedly aggressive Beta but proved rather easy to discourage, seeing as he'd never really pursued any of his shameless attempts at flirting. "Do we have any other allies?"

"We're still trying to contact Team CFVY." Her sister frowned. "Professor Goodwitch mentioned that a lot of students stayed back to secure the evacuation for Vale, but communication across the sea is still pretty spotty at best."

Then, Stryker decided to chime in with her first genuine comment since they'd regrouped. "You still call her Professor? This isn't exactly a classroom, you know."

"Showing proper respect to a more experienced Huntress trumps technicalities." Weiss shot back, narrowing her eyes slightly. "We would show you the same courtesy... if it applied."

A flicker of annoyance passed over the woman's face. "Oh, great. You two have the whole 'apple and tree' thing going on."

"And your entire team has the whole 'getting destroyed by people two years your junior' thing going on. It's a very charming theme."

"Weiss," Blake said, her voice neutral. It could be a warning, a reprimand, or an agreement and the majority of them would be none the wiser; only Yang could really get a read enough on the Faunus to tell the single word held more of the former and latter than the middle.

"Look, I get that we're all getting used to each other still, but there's way bigger things going on right now than personal differences," Ruby said, effectively bringing the conversation back on topic. "Normally, I'd be all for duking it out until we can agree to disagree, but we really don't have that option." Her expression hardened, the corners of her lips pulling into a slight frown. "We need to work together, starting now. Any objections?" When Team SNOW shifted, a subtle inhalation proceeding a verbal response, silver eyes shot to the four, irises glistening just a little with untold power. She still hadn’t mastered the enigmatic abilities but they seemed to respond when she thought about certain things, so she could at least try to use them, and it had the desired effect as all movement ceased. "Let me make this really clear. We can use all the help we can get but anyone not willing to put differences aside is just going to get someone else killed in the long run." She leaned back from the kitchen island, crossing her arms over her chest. "This... it's all or nothing. No in between. We've already lost too many friends; I'm not losing any more because of dumb, petty squabbles."

With a small sigh, Stryker nodded, making eye contact with Weiss as she spoke. "Fine. We'll play nice."

Almost immediately, the Alpha opened her mouth to snipe something back but a hand at her elbow stopped her, Blake's fingers soothing the annoyance from her brow easily. Yang watched silently, abandoning any hope of finishing her spaghetti in favor of taking a few steps back and leaning against one of the refrigerators. She couldn't imagine how soothing that must feel, having a mate's touch to calm the storm of one’s anger; getting Weiss to drop a subject once she'd gotten started remained one of the hardest things for her teammates to accomplish, though it seemed now only the sisters were left behind in that department. She'd have to remember that the next time an argument started up about how should be doing the dishes or something.

"What was Sun and them even doing, anyway?" The Omega figured changing the subject now that everyone had agreed to cooperate would be best. Plus, she honestly didn't know; while she was avoiding Blake and trying to figure out what she wanted to say to her partner, the monkey Faunus left on his own mission. "Visiting family?"

"Oh! Right. We should probably go over that." Ruby turned, grabbing something from a bag she'd brought with her and unfolding it. A map of Remnant was laid down on the island after the plates were quickly cleared away. "So, according the the myths and legends that... I guess are actually true, there's four Maidens and four Relics in Remnant, and each can harness the power of either the Light Brother or the Dark Brother." She pointed towards Vale. "We know that Cinder stole the Fall Maiden powers in Vale and that Ozpin has one of the relics hidden somewhere on Beacon grounds. It's why we're trying to make contact with Team CFVY; they can retrieve it for us, since he’d removed it from the vault before Beacon fell." Her finger trailed along the paper to Mistral. "Sun, meanwhile, took his team to try retrieving the relic from Vacuo. If we can collect all four, we can combine them and harness the Light Brother's power to banish Grimm."

"Wait, I thought we were fighting some sort of secret society thing?" Oswald's expression screwed up as he looked at the map. "Why do we need to worry about the Grimm?"

Blake answered him, her expression smooth despite the hint of fear in her eyes. "We are and most of our primary enemies are flesh and blood people. Their leader, however, is some sort of combination- possibly a symbiotic Grimm that combined with a Human to create the creature we are trying to defeat. Salem doesn't appear to have a particular power to command the Grimm, but she can summon them and her base of operations is in the center of a Grimm breeding ground." Absently, her hand reached out, briefly touching the handle of Blush and Wilt attached to her back. Yang couldn't help but wince, remembering all too vividly the trials they went through to gain that bit of intel. Even if she'd yet to actually draw the blade in combat, she carried it more often than not as a reminder and it never failed to pull a concerned twitch from Weiss' brows. "If we can destroy Salem and weaken the Grimm, her pawns will fold soon after."

"But what about these Maidens?" Nigel nodded towards Ruby. "We should try recruiting them to our side, eh? Maybe get one or two out of the remaining three to join us?"

Yang had to physically bite her tongue to keep from speaking her mind on that front.

"Finding them is the hard part," Weiss said. "Aside from the fact they're moving targets, the Maidens' powers are limited to mortal fallibility the same as our semblances. Add to that we're fairly confident that Salem is the Winter Maiden and we've got one person out of millions to find, and only the hope that she'll be a Huntresses. The way the powers transfer, she could just as easily be a teenager rather than an adult warrior."

Everyone unfamiliar with the Maidens' story cringed at that while Yang looked away.

Wisteria tugged on Oswald’s sleeve and he nodded slowly. “That’s only accounting for three out of four- Winter, Fall, and one other. What about the fourth?”

“The Spring Maiden won’t help us.” On top of everything else, she didn't need to think of her mother as well, a harsh edge to her voice as she glared at him. “She doesn’t trust Ozpin and that matters more than anything else, even our lives.”

Thankfully, Ruby decided to press on quickly, a small smile directed at Oswald.

"Basically, it's a gamble we really can't take... and we also have to be prepared if the Maidens try to stop us." The Beta sighed, brushing a hand through her red tipped hair. "After the debacle in Mistral, we're probably going to be labelled threats soon; Salem has agents in every kingdom hierarchy, and they're working against us. Revealing ourselves to people and hoping they'll listen- it's just going to be a bigger and bigger risk the further we pursue it. Which is why we're going to try to find Salem's Atlesian agent; if we're lucky, we can draw attention towards a direct method of engagement while others find the relics. Once we have all four, we can hit Salem hard and end this, once and for all."

Everyone nodded as a sort of firm determination settled over them, with Jaune being the one to move the proceedings along. "So, what are we going to do here in northern Atlas?"

Ruby breathed in deeply, letting out in a long sigh. "Well. That's the fun part."

She bent over the map again, pointing to a spot near the most northern part of inhabited territory in all of Mantle, drawing everyone's attention to it while she explained the plan.

Yang laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She'd thought about the whole mission plan from start to finish a dozen times already, hammering her part in the whole thing home. Using the spare uniforms and equipment left aboard the ship, they would infiltrate the Atlesian base and try to find Salem's agent. Winter and Weiss would remain back with the ship, the former Professors plus Qrow on the edge to create diversions if things got too hot, and Team SNOW would be there to walk them into the perimeter; it would be on Teams RBY and ORNJ to find the rat. They didn't have much to go on except that this gear in the machine seemed to about as important as Cinder- an elevated pawn, but a pawn nonetheless. Winter had already given them her thoughts on who it could be and tips for what things they should seek out, but they were essentially flying blind.

The Omega didn't like it. Too much sneaking around, too much subterfuge- she didn't believe for a second she could fool anyone into believing she was a member of the Atlesian military and banking on a charming smile seemed like dooming them to failure. Team SNOW had agreed to help teach them basics- greetings and simple acronyms- but it seemed like they were leaving too much up to chance.

However, an open fight against a fully staffed outpost didn't bode well, either. Qrow had managed to secure them enough dust rounds to be a good stockpile for when they launched the last stage of Ruby's plan against Salem's headquarters, but they didn't have the resources to go into a full blown firefight every other day.

Something would go wrong. She could tell already; Ruby's plans usually worked out pretty well, but her best ones were always formulated in the middle of the problem, the heat of battle, when seconds meant life or death. The rush helped her think and, while this probably constituted the best plan they'd be able to manage given the situation, it wouldn't be until something went terribly wrong that the real plan came out.

She just had to make sure everyone made it that far.

Loud banging on her door jolted her into awareness, glaring at the entrance to her quarters and sighing. Aside from the dull drone of the engines as they pushed further north, everything had fallen silent on the ship and most everyone should be asleep, preparing for the busy day tomorrow. They had about thirty six hours to become believable soldiers; it didn't leave much room for slacking.

With a muttered curse, she got up and went to the door, opening it and finding a scowl coming to her features.

"Hey," Stryker said, one arm against the wall as she nonchalantly stood in front of the blonde. "Still awake, I see."

"Very observant." She crossed her arms over her chest, already guessing how things were about to go. "Wanna get it off your chest now or are you going to waste time trying to woo me?"

"You're really taking the fun out of this, Blondie." The Alpha sighed, running a hand through her hair and missing the twitch of Yang's eye. "Look, I just figure we could help each other out here. Blow off some steam." The blonde growled, showing her teeth a little. Not the least bit intimidated by her display, Stryker chuckled. "Oh come on! Is a little bit of mutual enjoyment too much to ask?"

"Use your hand," Yang replied. "I'm not interested."

"You can't lie for shit, you know that? You're definitely interested in a little action." Pushing off the wall, the other woman took one step closer, nearly invading the Omega's space. "Just... from a different Alpha." Anger flashed across Yang's expression quicker than she could think to stop it, her right hand shooting forward to grab Stryker's lapel and bring her close, left hand drawing back for a punch aimed in the middle of that smug smile. She stopped before putting her fist forward, though, a twitch in her brow speaking to the effort of not immediately following through with the blow. "Touched a nerve, did I? Or is this your version of foreplay?"

"You're really asking for a beating, you know that?" Putting the Alpha through a wall, while cathartic, most likely wouldn't help her in the slightest. Besides that, a question burned on the tip of her tongue and she was using the majority of her energy to keep it locked behind her teeth. In the end, she couldn't, her eyes darting away as her shoulders dropped slightly. "Am I really that obvious?"

"Not really." Stryker shrugged, not bothering to remove the fist still holding her jacket while ticking off her fingers with every bit of 'evidence' she'd gathered during her brief time aboard the ship. "You're not bonded, you just came off heat from what I can tell, there's only one Alpha you get super tense around, she seems to be avoiding you like a pack of Ursa, your entire team seems super worried about you, and you really don't like me arguing with her." Her eyes darted down to the prosthetic before coming back to meet lilac, raising a brow in the process. "I took a stab in the dark that you're hung up on the Specialist and can't get her attention. Her loss, really; Omega like you needs a more attentive Alpha. Plus, she seems like a hardass-"

"There's nothing wrong with Winter." With a shove, she released the woman, scowling at her with her eyes flashing red. "What's going on between us isn't any of your business, and I'm not interested in you."

Catching her balance, Stryker smoothed out her jacket and cracked a smile. "Alright. But if that itch gets too bad, just come find me. I'll scratch it for you, no strings attached."

Not bothering to dignify that with a response, Yang hit the button to close her door and another to engage the lock, stalking back to her bed while quietly fuming. By the time she reached it, though, she had to sit on the edge, head in her hands as she sighed. Obviously, her efforts to appear unaffected hadn't worked, and if she couldn't fool a perfect stranger than the rest of her team had to know as well. They were likely just giving her time and space, remaining supportive without pushing her too far. She could appreciate that but she'd wished someone had told her how pathetic she was acting.

Winter didn't want her. Pining for the woman... there were better uses of her energy.

She leaned back to flop on her bed, staring unseeing at the ceiling once more. Anger spiked and mellowed in waves over different parts of the brief interaction- the slights against Winter, the teasing that she'd normally allow from friends but not strangers, but what stuck out most was her own foolish choice of words. Like an idiot, she'd gone with 'what's going on between us', an entire fabrication if ever there was one and wishful thinking getting the better of her. The Omega's propensity to go all in had created something within her mind, a give-and-take that never actually existed, and she kept buying into it just so she wouldn't feel alone. She felt so pathetic being this broken up over the whole ordeal still. What, would she just keep wallowing in self-imposed misery until her next heat, when she'd hopefully latch onto some other shallow attraction to a comrade? How long until she started baring her throat to that- that cocky brat?

"I gotta get over her," she said to the air, a frown tugging at her lips as she decided to turn in for the night. Yang didn't have much confidence in the words; two weeks later and she felt pain in her chest even glancing at the woman or catching her faint scent while walking through the hallway, especially now that the familiar scent had changed.

She'd noticed it after dinner, that strange addition that said the same thing but smelled different for everyone- the clear indication that the person in question wasn't available. For someone with a mating mark, it would be supplemented with the scent of their mate, a clear warning to any who might get too close without good reason that they wouldn't be welcomed. However, sometimes people just... developed the marker without a scent to accompany it, either through choice or by losing the bond that accompanied their mating mark. The Omega had expected it shortly after her heat ended; her unrequited mark probably upset Winter's body chemistry and, until it healed, the warning to others that she'd been marked would remain. Now that it had presumably disappeared, though, the fact the marker lingered worried Yang.

Just how badly had her recklessness hurt the Alpha? Or was this just the natural progression of the woman ensuring it wouldn't happen again, consciously swearing off even the chance to appear as a mate so they wouldn't run into another issue in the future? Considering their ragtag group consisted of mostly Omegas, Betas, and mated or otherwise unavailable Alphas, it would greatly reduce their chances of triggering another heat. It would be the pragmatic decision... which was probably why Winter made it.

Yang went through her nightly routine by rote, hardly noticing the flash of sensation as she detached her arm and set it on the dresser next to her bunk before settling down for the night. Faintly, it annoyed her that Stryker didn't seem like the sort to remove herself from the equation for the good of the group, but she pushed the thoughts from her mind. If she focused hard enough- if she truly began to believe her own words- then her scent would change, too.

Maybe then, she could move on and leave those shattered hopes behind.

They stood in the cargo bay, wearing the uniforms fished out from the bowels of the ship while Team SNOW demonstrated simple gestures- saluting, marching, standing. It all seemed ridiculous to Yang but she paid attention as best she could, occasionally glancing towards Weiss. The Alpha had accompanied her team but the anxiety showed plainly in her features; she did not like this plan, both because it separated her from her mate and forced her to stay as far away from the action as possible. She might have a comparably weaker constitution than the rest of her teammates, but Weiss would be just as eager to throw herself into harms way to protect them.

For her part, Blake seemed nervous as well. Part of it came from having her ears exposed- not entirely abnormal for Atlesian military forces but not... exactly optimal, either- and a larger part came from sensing her mate's emotions, her attention split between going to comfort the woman and paying attention to the demonstrations. Ruby, at least, seemed entirely invested, though the uniform made her look her age for once. That might prove a problem, though, considering the average age for new military personnel, but Stryker assured them it would be overlooked if they called her ‘baby face’ enough times.

Again, Yang couldn't help but feel like they were leaving far too much up to chance and hoping for the best. It chaffed at her, her nose scrunching up in distaste as the Atlesians demonstrated an about face for the umpteenth time.

"Right, then, now it's your turn." Nigel stepped away from the others, nodding towards their students. "Let's see what you've got."

One by one, they demonstrated the facing movement, until it was the Omega's turn. She did her best but the rigidity of the motion didn't sit well with her, and shifting her weight to one foot while turning around felt awkward with her right side being heavier.

"Try again, Yang." Stryker called out, a crooked smile on her lips. "Unless you want another demonstration?"

"Pass." She grumbled, trying a second time and proving no more successful for it. "Damnit."

"You're trying too hard," the Alpha said, starting to walk towards her. "Do it again. But, slower."

Blake and Ruby exchanged a look while Weiss pushed off from her spot observing, the rest of her team silently debating on whether or not to intervene. She hadn't divulged any information about their late night conversation the night before but they could sense the tension that radiated from the blonde growing the closer Stryker came. A snarl tugged at her lips, brows furrowing as she quite nearly started chewing the woman out, but a crisp order halted her in her tracks.

"Stop." Everyone turned to see Winter striding into the room, a duffel bag under one arm and a severe look on her features. "You're not going to get anywhere if everyone acts like new recruits."

Stryker opened her mouth to respond but obviously thought better of it, crossing her arms over her chest and ceasing her advance. Instead, Oswald piped up, motioning towards the bag. "So, what's the new plan, Specialist?"

"Give some of you a bit of clout." She dropped the bag on the ground and motioned for Blake and Ren to come closer. "Your cover story is that you're being assigned to the base but your transport came under fire, correct? No one's going to believe that a handful of fresh recruits managed to survive this far north on limited supplies without a superior aiding them." Kneeling down, she pulled out coats of a slightly different style, handing them off to the two she'd called over. "These will make both of you look like Sergeants. You're young but capable. Remember that you're elevated above the others; act like it, and no one will question you. If anyone asks how you survived, go with your gut, seeing as both of you have experience traversing Grimm infested wilds."

"That... does seem more feasible." Oswald admitted quietly, looking away when Stryker glared at him. "What? Walking in with two superiors is going to bail us out a little."

"You'll have a better cover than that." Winter looked over at Ruby and Jaune, grabbing something else from the bag. "You two, here: they're Engineer tabs. Put them on your shoulders. You'll be separated from the rest but most will assume you're a bit eccentric and leave you well enough alone. Just steer clear of anyone else wearing tabs like these and no one else will know the difference."

As the two started affixing the tabs to their shoulders, the Alpha pulled one last coat from the bag that looked much closer to her own. She started at it for a moment before standing. "Yang, this is for you."

"What am I going to be?" The blonde walked over, accepting the jacket and giving it a once over. It looked like it would be a bit tight around her shoulders but, hopefully, she wouldn't be doing much fighting in it.

"A Specialist." The woman clasped her hands behind her back. "Specialists exist outside the normal hierarchy and we're given a wide berth because of that. Between you, Blake, and Ren, no one will think twice about the group surviving and making it to the outpost. Your new cover story is that you're on a mission to drop off recruits and pursue Mantle purists in the area. All questions will most likely be directed at you, since you'll be the ranking member of the group."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Stryker rolled her eyes. "Put the Valen civilian in charge of actual Atlesian soldiers. Nothing can go wrong."

The Omega bit her lip. As much as she wanted to glare at the woman... she did have a valid point.

"Plenty can go wrong," Winter said, taking the criticism in stride. "And when it does, you'll have two Sergeants who don't care about their future careers and a Specialist who can benchpress a two ton truck." She turned her head, favoring her fellow soldiers with a sharp look. "I realize you four have yet to spend a day in the real military, but those aspects alone can get you out of a surprising amount of situations. A few more alterations and you'll have people jumping out of your way." She turned her attention to Oscar, who looked decidedly less mature than the rest of them, especially in the uniform. "I trust you've got your own plan."

"Uh, yeah..." He looked slightly concerned, one hand going to the collapsed cane at his hip. "It sounds risky but... if you can get us in, we'll manage. I'll manage. Whatever."

The young man didn't seem entirely convinced of that but the woman nodded regardless, looking to Nora next. "You'll be the communications officer. It's a fairly simple change; just tuck your lapels in and don't stop talking once someone asks you a question."

"Oh, I can do that!" The redhead smiled, though she tilted her head to the side. "But I can get kinda... carried away, until Ren stops me."

"That's precisely what I'm hoping for." The Alpha nodded. "It will help establish Ren as your superior and I'm sure your imagination can conjure up a suitably dire situation that you lot narrowly escaped. Just make sure that no one corrects her; everything she says will be taken as truth as long as no one objects."

"You really think they're going to buy this?" Yang couldn't help but ask, still holding the Specialist jacket in her hands. Especially given the confusion during Team SNOW's introductions, she didn't think an Omega could pass for a ranking officer in the Atlesian military.

"That comes down to you, really, and I'm confident you can pull it off." Winter favored her with a small smile. "I'll teach you what you need to do. In two hours, you'll be able to fool the majority of the Atlesian military into thinking you are exactly who you say you are."

The blonde struggled with a verbal response, at once wanting to agree, to bank on the Alpha's confidence in her, while also wanting to vehemently disagree, not looking forward to two hours spent with the woman. It would be torture but, at the end of the day, they needed to do this, and she needed every advantage she could get. With a stilted nod, she grunted out something vaguely affirmative and followed Winter out of the cargo bay.

Once they were out in the hallway, she found her voice, though it wasn't nearly her strongest. "We couldn't do this back there with the others?"

"They need to be surprised by your behavior. A Specialist being attached to the transport last minute makes far more sense than one travelling with the group for a long period of time," the woman said, leading them into one of the combat simulators. "If they appear unused to your demeanor, it will help sell the ruse."

"Fine." She sighed, rolling her neck. "So, where do we start?"

"The jacket, put it on." Winter turned around to face her, adopting a rigid posture with her feet shoulder width apart, hands clasped behind her back, and chin tilted up. "You need to associate this uniform with absolute power. We exist outside the chain of command and the moments we're subject to it are few and far between. Your mission supersedes that of others and the Atlesian military at large, no matter what it is. But you must carry yourself as if you're constantly aware of this. You're focused on your mission, you're mindful of your importance, and no one save for General Ironwood himself can dissuade your from your chosen path."

"I thought Specialists were just Hunters that decided to join the military." The fabric felt just as heavy as the other jacket but seemed to move a little better for some reason, but it still fit her tight across the shoulders. Styled more like Winter's, the first button sat below her diaphragm, effectively framing her chest much like her old jacket did, so she at least had that little bit of familiarity going for her. The long sleeves were a bit annoying though, and she could feel the cuffs pulling tight over Ember Celica. If she had to activate her weapons for any reason, the jacket would be a near total loss, especially her right arm. Once it sat on her shoulders well enough, she straightened up and cleared her throat. "How's it look?"

"Rather well. It won't draw anyone's attention as not being made for you, at any rate." The woman looked somewhat uncomfortable for a moment before her expression smoothed out. "And... that's not true, about Specialists. It's more accurate to say every soldier is trained to be a Hunter and given the option to fight only Grimm than the other way around, but we're... highly encouraged to stay within the military system."

Yang frowned, her brows drawing together. "That... doesn't sound very ethical. I thought Hunters were supposed to be neutral forces, belonging to no kingdom and standing strong for Humans and Faunus alike?"

"Admittedly, it's not. Ethical, I mean." The Alpha sighed, shaking her head. "I realize it may sound strange, but Atlas has always been concerned with consolidating its strength as much as possible. The Academy is geared to appear like any other to the casual observer but it... decidedly favors the military, and the majority of our tactics training comes from military doctrine. The Atlesian military is the most flexible fighting force in all of Remnant, precisely because we're training to combat both Grimm and... human adversaries."

"And no one knows?" As much as it struck her as strange she had to admit that it made more sense; how Ironwood could spare so many ships and soldiers for the Vytal Festival without raising a ruckus back in Atlas. It probably only constituted a drop in the bucket as far as the Atlesian military was concerned and most didn't even notice the absence. "That Atlas essentially is raising an army under the guise of protecting Remnant."

"I suspect others do know; they just can't prove it definitively." She held Yang's gaze for a long moment. "The first thing we're taught is loyalty. It's framed as loyalty to our team and the conditions under which we learn it are... harsh, but no more unorthodox than catapulting fresh students into a Grimm infested forest with only their weapons and wits to aid them. The lesson is burned deep and, after that, all it takes is one or two to express an interest in remaining within the military or offered placement in the Specialist program before the others follow suit. Our Hunters are usually those who couldn't make it as Specialists but don't work well with others either; they graduate thinking they've made the decision to pursue their own paths, never realizing that they only had the one open to them anyway." Winter pressed her lips into a thin line. "Those of us who can recognize the signs of subtle manipulation remain silent out of loyalty to the system or because we truly believe it does the most good. Sometimes, it's our only path to freedom, even if it is trading one set of chains for another."

Suddenly, it clicked. "That's why Weiss went to Beacon."

"Yes," she replied with a single nod. "She would never have reached her full potential at Atlas Academy. I embraced the system because it provided me with an escape but I never wanted my sister to follow me there." For a moment, genuine affection shone brightly in her eyes as her lips curled into a small smile. "She's so much stronger than I was at her age. A strong will, a strong heart..." Her expression slid back into that cold mask from before. "She would've seen through the guise and washed out, given subpar training and ultimately denied her dream. Or, she would've killed herself slowly by keeping silent and burdened with yet another set of standards she had no desire to meet."

Yang rolled the information around in her head before she spoke. "That's what you mean by Specialists being a big deal. They're the best of the best, good enough for three other people to follow them into the military, so everyone's going to see in me the reason they're out here to begin with, an ideal they're entirely committed to without question?"

"Precisely."

"Alright. I guess I can get that." She shifted slightly. "I don't agree with it, though." Smoothing out the jacket and trying not to wince at how weird having a sleeve around her left wrist but not her right felt, she continued. "So, should I stand like you?"

"No. Stand like you." The Alpha moved, striding around her while speaking. "Specialists are highly trained and individualistic to a fault. We wouldn't fit into the mold of a regular soldier but we're strong enough to survive on our own. If you buy into the lines, rather than wasting our potential, we're utilized in this capacity; given free reign to adhere to what regulations we choose and disregard those that don't appeal to us. It's an enormous responsibility tempered only by our devotion to our mission." Yang remained acutely aware of the woman's motions as she circled the Omega, following her as best she could from the corner of her eyes. "You're extremely driven, dedicated to your ideals, and stubborn; by all rights, you could've become a Specialist yourself had you grown up in Atlas."

"Comforting," she said, rolling her shoulders and settling for crossing her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her left foot. If needed, she could quickly react, but she felt more relaxed now than standing flatfooted with her arms at her sides. "Basically, act like myself and if anyone looks at me funny, don't care."

"That's one way of putting it." Winter walked in front of her again. "We'll also need to pull your hair up into a bun."

Yang frowned. "Is that absolutely necessary?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The Alpha looked her over. "You still look like Yang Xiao Long, the woman who broke a man's leg on a Remnant wide broadcast. If we don't do something to change your appearance, you'll be recognized just as easily as Weiss or myself."

She immediately broke eye contact, looking down at the space between him. "He attacked first."

"I believe you." Slowly, she looked up, finding no hint of deception in the woman's expression. "It's clear the events surrounding the Vytal Festival were manipulated by Salem. That's in the past and we can't change it; neither can we expect everyone to accept your version of the events immediately. Avoiding someone recognizing you is the best option and, trust me, once you're sufficiently in the Specialist mindset, no one will even think to imagine what you'd look like out of uniform." Her lips quirked up into a slightly smug grin. "The majority of Atlesian forces are rather scared of us Specialists. Once you capitalize on that, you'll be fine."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "So, basically, walk around like I'm the biggest badass in the room, glare at anyone who tries to stop me, and answer every question with 'classified', and I'll be good, right?"

"It's a little more nuanced than that," the woman replied dryly.

"Oh, right. I suppose I should mention my mission once or twice, too, so that almost every answer is 'classified'."

Winter looked at her for a moment. "Wait, are you teasing me?"

The Omega cracked a small smile and shrugged. "Classified."

For a moment, she just blinked, and then a chuckle escaped her lips that made Yang's smile widen just a little. It felt good to see the woman in higher spirits, more relaxed and smiling. It felt like a small lifetime since she'd seen Winter smile and, despite the pain in her chest knowing this would be as close as they ever could be, it still felt good to be the cause of it.

"Well, if you're done making light of the situation, I'm afraid we've gotten to the part where things are a bit more... complicated." What little amusement had crept into her expression vanished by degrees until she had that serious look in her eyes, lips drawing into a small frown. "Specialists are generally alone for long periods of time and don't have the same bond that other military personnel experience in units. For Alphas, this isn't troublesome; we're inclined to acting on our own in defense of those we hold dear. Betas are decently suited to the task as well." She paused, as if searching for the correct phrasing. "As an Omega, this lifestyle would grate on your nerves. You wouldn't have the team structure you're used to, but you would still be protecting people. Omega Specialists are..." Winter sighed, reaching up to pass a hand over her face while sighing. "They can be some of the most terrifying people you'll ever meet. I've met two and if I never cross their paths again, I'll be all too grateful for it."

Yang's brows furrowed as she tried to search her memory. The list of people who intimidated her actually ran pretty short and, excluding Blake's former partner- the spectre of whom still lurked in the back of her mind- very few actually scared her. She certainly couldn't remember an Omega who'd done such; aggressive Alphas and Betas, sure, the ones who came on too strong sending an immediate spike of warning running down her spine, but she always dealt with them swiftly. In those moments, she could see where the people on the receiving end of her rage might be a bit intimidated, seeing as that was kinda the point, but imagining the circumstances that would lead her to feeling like that all the time or push her to a higher level in the first place...

And then it struck her. Those Omegas likely had to spend the majority of their service on suppressants but that wouldn't negate the innate need for companionship. Even Blake, quiet and reserved as she was, wouldn't be able to remain entirely solitary for long. They might enjoy their company different ways- the blonde preferred the loud and boisterous kind while her partner opted for quiet contemplation- but they both needed to be around others. Bereft of anyone, however, would be awful, and the only time she'd consciously avoided others entirely directly resulted from her disastrous heat.

They couldn't fit into the soldier mold because they either couldn't or wouldn't trust others around them, so they retreated from the world. They'd be angry, resentful, caustic to any who dared interact with them.

"I'll need to be mad the whole time," she said, looking up to see the twinge of regret in the woman's face. "No one wants to deal with a ticked off Omega, right?"

Maybe it counted as a low blow because she couldn't keep the accusation out of her tone. Even if it was for the best and what she wanted... the only reason she felt a little bit of resentment towards Winter for not returning to check on her and sending Weiss in her stead came from a misbegotten idea that the Alpha should've seen the thing through. A ridiculous notion, really, but having to hunt her down after the turmoil passed... it hurt knowing that she wasn't worth dealing with that fallout, even if all it would likely amount to would likely be summed up entirely by the words 'bad idea'. It just came back around to the fact that they weren't mates, weren't anything, and it would've been easier on both of them if Yang had just suffered in solitude. Then there wouldn't be this awkward barrier between them caused by the events of those few days.

"Yang." Blue eyes searched hers for a moment and she caved almost immediately, preempting the apology she could sense coming.

"I shouldn't have said it like that. I'm sorry." The Omega waved a hand before running it through her hair. "It's like you said- it's in the past. We both... I made a mistake and you were doing your best. No going back to change it." A shrug. "The best we can do now is move forward. Right?"

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Blake chided her, saying that this didn't constitute 'talking it out' but she ignored it.

Winter watched her, something flashing across her expression- some sort of regret, that much she could tell- before she nodded. "You're right. Mistakes happen; it's best to forget." Her posture straitened, her voice taking on a crisp edge once more. "But if you happen to be holding onto any anger, I'd suggest keeping it a little longer. It'll help you infiltrate the base." The Alpha hesitated, apparently debating something before she spoke. "It will behoove you to practice in full uniform a bit. That includes your hair." She cleared her throat, coughing into one hand. "May I?"

She hesitated. No one had touched her hair aside from her in years. Not even Ruby- her sister understood that she didn't like it, so she never asked. The only exception happened to be their father, and only because Yang didn’t have her other arm. However, the stakes were a bit too high to balk over being a little uncomfortable. "Yeah. Alright."

"Excellent. Go ahead and sit down."

Considering the lack of chairs in the simulator, Yang had no choice but to lower herself to the floor, crossing her legs as best she could in the tight uniform pants. "How do you stand wearing these?"

"It comes with practice," the woman replied, coming up behind her and kneeling down. "I'll do my best to be gentle. Feel free to correct me if I'm not."

The Omega offered a grunt in response, trying to hide how she'd resorted to breathing through her mouth. Honestly, she couldn't tell whether it was a better or worse alternative, reminded for a moment how the woman tasted when she'd marked her. An itch to bite down tickled at the back of her mind, but she'd just be gnashing her teeth, so instead she focused on the long, lithe fingers carefully combing their way through her locks.

She realized her mistake too late, her eyes almost falling closed. True to her word, Winter carefully tamed the blonde's wild mane with nothing but her fingers, muttering something about using a comb to make it more presentable next time. Every time she winced at the tiniest tug, the woman had already stopped and smoothed the affected area out, offering a quiet apology. Yang didn't really get the whole 'mutual grooming' thing, allowing her mate or even a close friend to mess with her hair just seemed like a recipe for disaster.

But this was... nice.

"Your hair is beautiful. How long have you been growing it out?" Winter kept her voice soft, as if doing her absolute best to preserve the tentative peace between them. They hadn't been this close since their spar and not since their coupling before that; perhaps the woman felt as if walking on eggshells around each other was the only option left to them.

Maybe, while en route to their next battlefield, they could work out something different. For now, it seemed like the best option, so she replied in kind. "Since I was a kid. I get it trimmed up every few months or so, usually, but it's been a while, and Ruby's not the best barber."

"You've let her cut your hair before?"

"Once. When we were really young." Her lips curled into a smile. "As a matter of fact, that was right around the time I realized I don't like other people touching my hair."

"Weiss mentioned you're rather particular about it. I thought it odd but now... entirely understandable." The snap of elastic procured from somewhere preceded tension at the back of her head, and she winced at the reminder of those few months when she couldn't put her own hair into a ponytail and had to ask her dad for help. He never complained and said it was 'good father, daughter bonding' but all she could focus on was the sense of helplessness. By the time the strands were being wound up into a bun, the melancholy had passed. "It doesn't get in your way while fighting?"

"Sometimes, but once my semblance kicks in, it just... behaves, I guess." She shifted slightly, contemplating if she should dare continuing the conversation before taking the plunge. They'd have to start acting like normal people around each other eventually; as long as she kept herself firmly reminded of the strictly platonic nature of their interactions, she should be fine. "What about you? Does it... feel weird having your hair down now?"

"Weird is a good word for it. I've worn my hair up for so long, having it any other way felt very strange at first," the Alpha replied, a slight wistfulness in her tone. "But I suppose a prisoner might feel the same with their shackles removed. Having it down... I feel freer, less restricted."

"Well, I think your hair is beautiful, too, up or down," she said, and immediately wanted to slap a hand to her face.

Good job. Exactly the sort of flirting you should be doing around the Alpha who rejected you. Way to not come across as pathetic.

Predictably, the woman took her compliment in stride. "Thank you."

Yang felt a slight tug, wincing and using it as a cover to let out a sigh as relief suffused her being. Somehow, that had slid past without further comment and she felt grateful, because trying to explain herself would've been a nightmare and a half.

The snap of more elastic followed by a small hum brought her out of her head. "I think that's the best I can do without a brush. Tomorrow, I will ensure it's perfect." Winter stood up and walked around to in front of her, straightening out her jacket. "Now, stand up, and when you do, do it as a Specialist. I have absolute faith in you."

That makes one of us.

The blonde took a deep breath, trying to bring out her anger consciously. Pushing it down, that came easily, but turning it on... not so much. She usually reacted to something, but the times before when she'd gotten angry didn't seem strong enough to last- the bar, the tournament, those were too brief, and the idea of Blake being in danger brought back memories of Adam, which sparked anger and fear in equal measure.

Instead, she thought back to a few weeks prior, the self loathing rolling through her in waves. She remembered the moment when she fully prepared to lash out at Winter- the woman who'd supported her as best she could in the circumstances and didn't seem to hold her foolishness against her- and every damn mistake since. As she got to her feet, she remembered Stryker's attitude the night before, her insults against the other Alpha, and how much it hurt that she felt compelled to defend someone she'd insulted herself, turning against her when she'd only offered to help.

When she opened her eyes, they were blazing red and fell on Winter with all the weight of a fully loaded airship. Her right arm snapped into a salute as she spoke. "Specialist Betrugs, delivering new recruits." She paused, lowering her hand and furrowing her brows slightly, enough to convey annoyance. "How's that? Do I look the part?"

The Alpha appeared entirely caught off guard, posture straightening the moment Yang's eyes were on her and chin tilting up a fraction. Something flashed in her eyes, darkening them for a brief moment, before it seemed to be chased away. Finally, she seemed to register the questions directed at her.

"Perfect." Winter blinked, shaking her head slightly and clearing her throat. "You- yes, you look the part. Do that tomorrow and no one will think twice about your story. That was an excellent example."

Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, the Omega rolled her neck and allowed her anger to dissipate. "I'm not sure if I can keep that up for hours on end."

"You really only need to bring it out in full force when others are around," she said, coughing into her hand and smoothing out her jacket once more. "I'm confident you'll be able to manage. Once you're within the perimeter, most will steer clear of you anyway."

"You have a lot of faith in me," she said, rubbing along the back of her neck. Having nothing but the cool air hitting it felt so strange and it would likely get worse once she was out in the elements tomorrow.

"I do," Winter replied, a small smile on her lips when the Omega looked up. "Xiao could I not?"

Yang blinked. "Did you just make a pun?"

"Well, turnabout is fair play, is it not?" The Alpha's smile widened as the blonde shook her head.

"For the record, you Schnees are really bad at them." She couldn't help the little chuckle that accompanied the words. "So, what's next?"

As the impromptu lesson on Specialist etiquette continued, Winter's smile didn't fade, and she found herself wondering if perhaps getting back to normal between them wasn't as out of reach as she'd previously thought. Besides, if she couldn't have the woman as a mate, she at least had her confidence as a comrade-in-arms and that could be just as good. Not what she wanted, but something all the same.

When the lesson ended and they exited the training room, Yang tried to walk away without saying anything more, but her gut betrayed her, twisting into knots until she spoke. "Hey, Winter?"

"Yes?"

She turned to look at the woman, glad that the tightness at the back of her head had disappeared the moment she'd taken the bun down. Even though she could feel nothing but relief on a physical level, it still made her a little sad to have already lost any sign of the woman's work wrangling her unruly hair into something neat and orderly. "Thanks." The Alpha raised a brow. "All that talk about loyalty... abandoning your post to join us must've been a harder decision for you than we initially thought. I'm just..." She offered a small shrug. "Glad you came with us."

Winter paused for a moment before smiling, her shoulders dropping slightly from their severe line. She'd fallen back into a few old habits during their little session but they seemed to slide away as that twinkle in her eyes from before came back. "Surprisingly, it was the easiest decision I've ever made. As much as I'd come to believe in the Atlesian military, I believe in other people more." She turned, heading towards the cockpit. "No matter what, it's a decision I won't regret."

Yang watched her go with a pang in her heart. One day, the woman would make the ideal mate.

Just... not hers.

#TRR writes #Elderburn #Omega's Strength #Elderburn Omegaverse AU

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lightoftruth · 3 years

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where'd you hear that?you know, those camps were built in lots of places, good lord, God will not let it get all walking dead and stuff... why cause rumor? THAT's my question to you... This is how bad...

It no longer matters what the hot-button issue might be (vaccine mandates, immigration, gun rights, abortion, same-sex marriage, healthcare, criticizing the government, protesting election results, etc.) or which party is wielding its power like a hammer.

The groundwork has already been laid.

Under the indefinite detention provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the president and the military can detain and imprison American citizens with no access to friends, family or the courts if the government believes them to be a terrorist.

So it should come as no surprise that merely criticizing the government or objecting to a COVID-19 vaccine could get you labeled as a terrorist.

After all, it doesn’t take much to be considered a terrorist anymore, especially given that the government likes to use the words “anti-government,” “extremist” and “terrorist” interchangeably.

For instance, the Department of Homeland Security broadly defines extremists as individuals, military veterans and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely.”

Military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan may also be characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats by the government because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.”

Indeed, if you believe in and exercise your rights under the Constitution (namely, your right to speak freely, worship freely, associate with like-minded individuals who share your political views, criticize the government, own a weapon, demand a warrant before being questioned or searched, or any other activity viewed as potentially anti-government, racist, bigoted, anarchic or sovereign), you could be at the top of the government’s terrorism watch list.

Moreover, as a New York Times editorial warns, you may be an anti-government extremist (a.k.a. domestic terrorist) in the eyes of the police if you are afraid that the government is plotting to confiscate your firearms, if you believe the economy is about to collapse and the government will soon declare martial law, or if you display an unusual number of political and/or ideological bumper stickers on your car.

According to the FBI, you might also be classified as a domestic terrorism threat if you espouse conspiracy theories or dare to subscribe to any views that are contrary to the government’s.

The government also has a growing list – shared with fusion centers and law enforcement agencies – of ideologies, behaviors, affiliations and other characteristics that could flag someone as suspicious and result in their being labeled potential enemies of the state.

This is what happens when you not only put the power to determine who is a potential danger in the hands of government agencies, the courts and the police but also give those agencies liberal authority to lock individuals up for perceived wrongs.

It’s a system just begging to be abused by power-hungry bureaucrats desperate to retain their power at all costs.

It’s happened before.

As history shows, the U.S. government is not averse to locking up its own citizens for its own purposes.

One need only go back to the 1940s, when the federal government proclaimed that Japanese-Americans, labeled potential dissidents, could be put in concentration (a.k.a. internment) camps based only upon their ethnic origin, to see the lengths the federal government will go to in order to maintain “order” in the homeland.

The U.S. Supreme Court validated the detention program in Korematsu v. US (1944), concluding that the government’s need to ensure the safety of the country trumped personal liberties.

Although that Korematsu decision was never formally overturned, Chief Justice Roberts opined in Trump v. Hawaii (2018) that “the forcible relocation of U. S. citizens to concentration camps, solely and explicitly on the basis of race, is objectively unlawful and outside the scope of Presidential authority.”

Roberts’ statements provide little assurance of safety in light of the government’s tendency to sidestep the rule of law when it suits its purposes. Pointing out that such blatantly illegal detentions could happen again – with the blessing of the courts – Justice Scalia once warned, “In times of war, the laws fall silent.”

In fact, the creation of detention camps domestically has long been part of the government’s budget and operations, falling under the jurisdiction of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA’s murky history dates back to the 1970s, when President Carter created it by way of an executive order merging many of the government’s disaster relief agencies into one large agency.

During the 1980s, however, reports began to surface of secret military-type training exercises carried out by FEMA and the Department of Defense. Code named Rex-84, 34 federal agencies, including the CIA and the Secret Service, were trained on how to deal with domestic civil unrest.

FEMA’s role in creating top-secret American internment camps is well-documented.

But be careful who you share this information with: it turns out that voicing concerns about the existence of FEMA detention camps is among the growing list of opinions and activities which may make a federal agent or government official think you’re an extremist (a.k.a. terrorist), or sympathetic to terrorist activities, and thus qualify you for indefinite detention under the NDAA.

Also included in that list of “dangerous” viewpoints are advocating states’ rights, believing the state to be unnecessary or undesirable, “conspiracy theorizing,” concern about alleged FEMA camps, opposition to war, organizing for “economic justice,” frustration with “mainstream ideologies,” opposition to abortion, opposition to globalization, and ammunition stockpiling.

Now if you’re going to have internment camps on American soil, someone has to build them.

Thus, in 2006, it was announced that Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, had been awarded a $385 million contract to build American detention facilities. Although the government and Halliburton were not forthcoming about where or when these domestic detention centers would be built, they rationalized the need for them in case of “an emergency influx of immigrants, or to support the rapid development of new programs” in the event of other emergencies such as “natural disasters.”

Of course, these detention camps will have to be used for anyone viewed as a threat to the government, and that includes political dissidents.

So it’s no coincidence that the U.S. government has, since the 1980s, acquired and maintained, without warrant or court order, a database of names and information on Americans considered to be threats to the nation.

As Salon reports, this database, reportedly dubbed “Main Core,” is to be used by the Army and FEMA in times of national emergency or under martial law to locate and round up Americans seen as threats to national security. There are at least 8 million Americans in the Main Core database.

Fast forward to 2009, when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released two reports, one on “Rightwing Extremism,” which broadly defines rightwing extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” and one on “Leftwing Extremism,” which labeled environmental and animal rights activist groups as extremists.

Incredibly, both reports use the words terrorist and extremist interchangeably.

That same year, the DHS launched Operation Vigilant Eagle, which calls for surveillance of military veterans returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other far-flung places, characterizing them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.”

These reports indicate that for the government, so-called extremism is not a partisan matter. Anyone seen as opposing the government – whether they’re Left, Right or somewhere in between – is a target, which brings us back, full circle, to the question of whether the government will exercise the power it claims to possess to detain anyone perceived as a threat, i.e., anyone critical of the government.

The short answer is: yes.

The longer answer is more complicated.

Despite what some may think, the Constitution is no magical incantation against government wrongdoing. Indeed, it’s only as effective as those who abide by it.

However, without courts willing to uphold the Constitution’s provisions when government officials disregard it and a citizenry knowledgeable enough to be outraged when those provisions are undermined, it provides little to no protection against SWAT team raids, domestic surveillance, police shootings of unarmed citizens, indefinite detentions and the like.

Frankly, the courts and the police have meshed in their thinking to such an extent that anything goes when it’s done in the name of national security, crime fighting and terrorism.

Consequently, America no longer operates under a system of justice characterized by due process, an assumption of innocence, probable cause and clear prohibitions on government overreach and police abuse. Instead, our courts of justice have been transformed into courts of order, advocating for the government’s interests, rather than championing the rights of the citizenry, as enshrined in the Constitution.

We seem to be coming full circle on many fronts.

Consider that two decades ago we were debating whether non-citizens—for example, so-called enemy combatants being held at Guantanamo Bay and Muslim-Americans rounded up in the wake of 9/11—were entitled to protections under the Constitution, specifically as they relate to indefinite detention. Americans weren’t overly concerned about the rights of non-citizens then, and now we’re the ones in the unenviable position of being targeted for indefinite detention by our own government.

Similarly, most Americans weren’t unduly concerned when the U.S. Supreme Court gave Arizona police officers the green light to stop, search and question anyone – ostensibly those fitting a particular racial profile – they suspected might be an illegal immigrant. A decade later, the cops largely have carte blanche authority to stop any individual, citizen and non-citizen alike, they suspect might be doing something illegal (mind you, in this age of overcriminalization, that could be anything from feeding the birds to growing exotic orchids).

Likewise, you still have a sizeable portion of the population today unconcerned about the government’s practice of spying on Americans, having been brainwashed into believing that if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

It will only be a matter of time before they learn the hard way that in a police state, it doesn’t matter who you are or how righteous you claim to be, because eventually, you will be lumped in with everyone else and everything you do will be “wrong” and suspect.

Indeed, it’s happening already, with police relying on surveillance software such as ShadowDragon to watch people’s social media and other website activity, whether or not they suspected of a crime, and potentially use it against them when the need arises.

It turns out that we are Soylent Green, being cannibalized by a government greedily looking to squeeze every last drop out of us.

The 1973 film Soylent Green, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, is set in 2022 in an overpopulated, polluted, starving New York City whose inhabitants depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation for survival.

Heston plays a policeman investigating a murder who discovers the grisly truth about the primary ingredient in the wafer, Soylent Green, which is the principal source of nourishment for a starved population. “It’s people. Soylent Green is made out of people,” declares Heston’s character. “They’re making our food out of people. Next thing they’ll be breeding us like cattle for food.”

Oh, how right he was.

Soylent Green is indeed people or, in our case, Soylent Green is our own personal data, repossessed, repackaged and used by corporations and the government to entrap us in prisons of our own making.

Without constitutional protections in place to guard against encroachments on our rights when power, technology and militaristic governance converge, it won’t be long before we find ourselves, much like Edward G. Robinson’s character in Soylent Green, looking back on the past with longing, back to an age where we could speak to whom we wanted, buy what we wanted, think what we wanted, and go where we wanted without those thoughts, words and movements being tracked, processed and stored by corporate giants such as Google, sold to government agencies such as the NSA and CIA, and used against us by militarized police with their army of futuristic technologies.

We’re not quite there yet, but as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, that moment of reckoning is getting closer by the minute.

SOURCE: Rutherford.org

Constitutional attorney and author John Whitehead is founder and president The Rutherford Institute.

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