#(he loves escalating and couldn't have a peaceful conversation to save his life)

[sailor-crusader]

My brother once said that a piece of furry art I showed him was not really furry because "furry is a certain style." The art in question was an anthropomorphic purple cat which was quite literally tagged "furry." But apparently, it doesn't count because??? He couldn't elaborate obviously since he had no actual logic behind it yet had the gall to be all pretentious about it. BITCH YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!

non furries are so annoying about the semantics of calling something a furry. "erm wouldnt that be like.. a feathery???" its an avian and its still a furry. ok yes you can call the slug a slimy thats funny. but these are all fursonas. unless theyre not. i hope this hurts you

[sandilol123]

This is a love story i made on my own

Here it goes!🔥

**Title: echoes of tommorow**

**Year: 2156**

In the tumultuous year of 2156, the world was gripped by conflict, and amidst the chaos, two souls, Asher and Aria, found themselves entangled in the merciless throes of war. As adversaries on opposite sides of the battlefield, their lives intertwined in unexpected ways, shaping their destinies and testing the boundaries of loyalty and love.

**Asher (A)**: "Why did you save me?"

**Aria (Ar)**: "Because even in this world, where everything seems lost, there's still hope..."

**Ar**: "But I'm an enemy. Why did you save me?"

**A**: "In a situation like this, compassion knows no allegiance. We are all victims of circumstance."

**Ar**: "I grew up in a small village. It was terrible. When I just turned eight years old, I was a slave..."

**A**: "I'm sorry to hear that, Aria. No one should have to endure such suffering."

**Ar**: "But isn't your boss a man?"

**A**: "Appearances can be deceiving. Trust me; I've learned that the hard way."

Their conversation unfolded against the backdrop of a desolate island, where the cold winds of war whipped through the barren landscape. Despite their differences, Asher and Aria found solace in each other's company, forging an unlikely bond amidst the chaos of battle.

**A**: "Trust is earned, Aria. And it starts with honesty."

**Ar**: "Do you know how to... you know... get out of this island?"

**A**: "I'm not sure, but we'll figure it out together."

**Ar**: "It's... really cold..."

**A**: "Come closer to the fire. I won't let anything harm you."

**Ar**: "Really?"

**A**: "Of course. We're in this together."

**Ar**: "I trust you. Promise me you wouldn't abuse me?"

**A**: "I swear on my life, Aria. You're safe with me."

As their bond deepened, fate intervened, tearing them apart only to bring them back together in the final confrontation against the forces of tyranny and oppression.

**Ar**: "I have to go, Asher. My army found me... Thank you for everything."

**A**: "Wait! Don't go, Aria!"

**Aria's departure left Asher shattered, yet determined to forge his own path towards redemption. Alone on the deserted island, he found the strength to confront his demons and confront the darkness that threatened to consume him.**

With each passing day, Asher's resolve hardened, fueled by a newfound determination to end the cycle of violence and bring about lasting peace. He honed his skills, mastering the art of stealth and sabotage, laying the groundwork for a daring rescue mission that would change the course of history.

**Ar**: "I couldn't stay away, Asher. Not when there's still hope for peace."

Together, they embarked on a journey fraught with danger and uncertainty, facing insurmountable odds with unwavering resolve. As they infiltrated enemy territory, sabotaging their plans and disrupting their operations, they drew ever closer to the heart of darkness that threatened to engulf the world.

**Dexter (D)**: "Well, well, well, Asher. Looks like you're a traitor, huh?"

**A**: "I'm fighting for what's right, Dad. Can't you see that?"

**D**: "You're a fool, Asher. This war is bigger than you or me."

Their confrontation escalated into a clash of ideologies, with Asher and Dexter locked in a battle of wills that threatened to tear them apart. But amidst the chaos, a glimmer of hope emerged, as Dexter was forced to confront the reality of their situation.

**D**: "Son... Explain to me why the enemy's boss assistant is here with you."

With Asher's revelation and Aria's unwavering resolve, Dexter was faced with a choice – cling to the past or embrace the promise of a better future.

**D**: "I'll stop the war... But only if either one of you gets sacrificed."

**Ar**: "We won't let you do this, Dexter. There has to be another way."

**A**: "I'll do it, Aria. I'll be the sacrifice."

**D**: "So be it. It's time to end this madness."

As Asher vanished through the portal, leaving Aria behind, the world seemed to stand still, teetering on the brink of peace and chaos. In the aftermath of their sacrifice, Aria found herself adrift, grappling with the void left by Asher's absence.

**Aria**: "It's... over, Asher..."

**Aria's resolve hardened as she embarked on a mission to rescue Asher, defying the odds and confronting her deepest fears in a bid to save the man she loved.**

Driven by love and determination, Aria stormed the hero's headquarters, facing insurmountable odds with unwavering resolve. In a final showdown against Dexter, Asher and Aria fought side by side, their bond unbreakable in the face of adversity.

**A**: "It's over, Aria..."

**Ar**: "It's finally over..."

**In a moment of clarity and reconciliation, Aria and Asher's love prevailed, transcending the chaos of war and ushering in a new era of peace.**

**Aria**: "I love you, Asher..."

**A**: "I love you too, Aria..."

**Their journey, marked by sacrifice and redemption, served as a testament to the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit. In a world torn apart by conflict, Asher and Aria's bond remained unbreakable, a beacon of hope in the darkness of war.**

**The End.**

I Hope you liked it!

Let me know🫶❤️

[itsany62]

SteveTony - Getting Together

Here are some Getting Together fics that I adore. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Lovesick, by royal_chandler, 3 k >, fluff.

The depth of the flu aisle in the pharmacy is substantial, overwhelmingly so, and Steve is half-convinced he needs to return to the front and trade his basket for a full-on cart.

There's a Party Going on Right Here, by Annie D (scaramouche), Post-Endgame.

After the Battle of Earth, Tony hosts a party.

Open Tab , by machi_kun , 5k> words, Post-Avengers 2012.

Tony has a lot of money. Really. More money he could possibly ever spend by himself. So what if he spends some of it buying gifts for his friends? People like gifts! And Steve is his friend. His best friend, actually, inside the Avengers, and he’s glad it turned out this way - so it’s also a way of saying 'thanks for putting up with me', he thinks. He just wants Steve to be happy. If Tony can make him happy, then why wouldn’t he? Tony buying Steve gifts is no big deal. Shut up, Rhodey.

(Pretty) Odd, by machi_kun, 5 k> words, Developing Relationship, Fluff.

In his file, Tony Stark had been described as eccentric. He had also been described as a narcissist, as a self-destructive liability, as not-recommended, and all sort of fancy words that are used to disguise the fact that they were calling him an all-around asshole; And that’s a very long list of bad adjectives, for a guy Steve saw carry a nuke behind his back to save the city, gave them a place to stay, and is slowly showing himself to be one of the most curious people Steve has ever met. Maybe Tony Stark is eccentric – and maybe he is a bit of an asshole. But maybe he’s also more than that.

Six Times DUM-E Made It Worse (and One Time He Fixed It) by FestiveFerret, 4 k > words, Outsider POV.

DUM-E has a lot of Very Important jobs to do, and he does his best to do them right. Sometimes, though, things don't work out very well.

All he wants is for his humans to be happy.

Sweet Child O' Mine by starspangledsprocket, 9 k > words, Age Regression/De-Aging, Fluff.

After just their second outing as the Avengers, everyone except for Steve and Tony are turned into toddlers. Madness ensues.

'Cause Everytime We Touch by Perlmutt, 5 k > words, Touch-Starved.

Steve noticed it the first time they were officially introduced at Fury’s office after the battle of New York.

He extended his hand for a handshake, a silent peace offer after their horrible first meeting at the helicarrier almost a week ago. Stark looked at it like it would bite him any second. Steve could see how his hands twitched where he’d buried them in his pockets. But instead of taking his hand, he stared into his eyes for a moment and nodded before turning back to Fury.

Only later would Steve learn that it wasn’t hatred or aversion.

how the thought of you does things to me by Finduilas, 6 k > words, Mutual Pining, Domestic Avengers.

Steve has a thing for Tony's butt. Tony has a thing for Steve's beard. They're both very obvious about it (just ask any of their friends!), but somehow they manage to also be completely oblivious.

Right here waiting by gottalovev, 19 k > words, Cat Dads.

Steve has been missing Tony like crazy since he left the compound. One day, Steve drops in unannounced at the tower, and when on a walk for coffee they rescue newborn kittens.

Or: A yearning Steve, an oblivious Tony, and co-parenting kittens. (= fuff!)

picture perfect (picture us) by starklystar, 18 k > words, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Photo Shoots.

Tony has a habit of being handsy during photoshoots.

Steve has a habit of being flustered whenever Tony touches him.

Misunderstandings happen.

Or, five times Steve and Tony went to a photoshoot

+ the one time they had better things to do.

++ the one time they take their photoshoot online.

take me out (to the ball game) by muItifandomjess, 1 k > words, Fluff.

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd,” Steve sings, his shoulder bumping into Tony’s as he sways back and forth. “Come on, Tony, sing!”

“I am a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist,” Tony protests around a mouthful of hot dog. “I do not sing.”

Or, Steve and Tony go to a ball game. It all kind of snowballs from there.

Drifting Further Everyday by GotTheSilver, 8 k > words, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Steve’s quiet a lot of the time, it’s almost like living with a ghost, and Tony kind of hates it; he lives with more than enough actual ghosts every day. The longer time goes on, the more Tony recognises what’s going on, sees the jumpiness, the haunted look on his face, and he gets it. Realises they’re both trying to bury things they don’t want to talk about. More often than not, Tony turns around in the workshop to see Steve sitting there, patiently working on something in his sketchbook or reading an actual book, usually something he missed during the years he was frozen.

Somehow Steve is filling all the gaps in his life Tony didn’t realise he needed filling.

Goop, Or Five Times Steve Rogers Was Covered In... Something, And One Time Tony Was by Bill_Longbow, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining.

There were a lot of things Steve had expected about the future; sleek buildings, sleeker electronics, and all the food you can eat. Being covered in alien goop wasn't one of them.

or

How Steve being covered in... stuff, brings Tony and Steve closer.

The art of longing by itsallAvengers, 63 k > words, Oblivious Tony, Not Actually Unrequited Love.

Steve's used to missing his shot. To being too late, too scared, and losing everything. But he really did think that this time, with Tony, something could work.

Then Tony meets Mark. He's cool and charming, he's a scientist and he's perfect for a man like Tony Stark.

And suddenly Steve...

Well. Steve just doesn't have a place anymore

earth laughs in flowers by starksnack, 3 k > words, Love Confessions, Secret Admirer.

A secret admirer has been sending Tony flowers and confessions of love.

Crash Into You by FestiveFerret, 15 K > words, Post-Avengers (2012), Stranded.

Tony was pretty used to crashing.

It seemed like these days more often than not his return to earth in the Iron Man suit was at least somewhat out of control. He couldn't count the number of times he'd used a helpfully situated building, a local landmark, or, hey, even a teammate to slow a wild descent. And he'd be damned if he'd admit it to Pepper, but on more than one occasion he hadn't even been conscious when he'd hit the ground.

So crashing wasn't really a new experience. He would get banged up a bit, maybe put a scratch in the suit somewhere, but bruised ribs healed and there was no better way to work off the post-battle high than smoothing dents out of his most prized possession.

He had a feeling crashing in the Quinjet, without his armour, was going to be a bit different..

I like me better (when I'm with you) by I_write_things_sometimes, 79 k > words, Domestic Avengers, Friends to Lovers.

If you ask either of them how they got together, they'd go back to an unremarkable night filled with expensive food, rich donors, and lots of schmoozing. And, of course, the anxiety attack that started it all.

"Not recognizing someone was strange enough, but the longer the two men spoke with — or, more accurately at — Tony, the more convinced Steve was that the conversation was unwanted, at least on Tony’s part.

The first clue was that Tony was actively leaning away from the men he was talking to. Steve had learned firsthand that Tony was an incredibly tactile person. When he wanted to talk to you, Tony engaged completely; he’d sling his arm around your shoulders, squeeze your arm, or drag you around as he talked, walked and usually did at least two other things. Even when he argued, Tony was often immediate and in his opponent's space; Steve knew that from experience.

Right now? Tony was scanning the outskirts of the room rather than making eye contact with the men near him. If Steve had to guess, Tony was looking for the nearest exit."

Or, the way Steve Rogers and Tony Stark became friends and then more.

Mission SteveTony by itsallAvengers, 7 k > words, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Steve Rogers.

If the entire team of Avengers could please stop trying to get it on with Tony when Steve is right there, he would really appreciate that, thank you

you'll wait a long time by nanasekei, 16 k > words, Pining, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie).

Steve and Tony share a moment during a wedding. Things escalate from there.

-

Alternatively: Four weddings, a funeral, and one very emotionally stunted idiot.

The Game by FestiveFerret, 5 k > words, Gay Chicken.

The game starts when Tony walks into the garage to find Steve sitting astride the R1200RS, staring down at his phone, and he maybe, just a little bit, walks into a car.

Talking Bodies by itsallAvengers, 13 k > words, Misunderstandings, Insecure Steve Rogers.

Coincidentally, the physical effects of romantic and sexual desire match up very closely with the physical effects of fear. But it's not a problem-- it's not like anyone is going to be able to hear the way your heart speeds up, or see the minute dilation of your pupils, are they? They'd have to be some sort of Superhuman to do that.

And what's worse than a Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and concluding that you're in love with them?

A Superhuman hearing that quick pulse and seeing those dilated eyes and thinking you're terrified of them.

more than just a dream. by frostfall, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Parent Tony Stark.

Tony: Fine.

Tony: I think I might.

Tony: Just might.

Tony: Have a teensy-weensy crush.

Peter: ;)

Peter: Is it who I think it is?

Tony: Unfortunately, yes.

Tony: You happy now?

(Peter thinks he's found the perfect partner for his dad. Tony thinks his son has officially lost his mind. Steve's just oblivious to the fact that he's out of Tony's league.)

don’t want you to get it on (with nobody else but me). by frostfall, 4 k > words, Jealous Steve Rogers, The Pocky Game.

There are a lot of things that Steve doesn’t get about the future. But it’s fine. He will, eventually. He has time.

But one thing he knows is that he’ll never, ever be able to wrap his head around is the fanfare surrounding Pocky.

(Or Steve’s jealous of biscuit sticks.)

check yes (if the feeling isn't new) by cvptains, 12 k > words, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Meddling.

After the battle with Thanos, both Tony and Steve struggle with reconnecting in certain aspects of their lives. Sam Wilson and Peter Parker are totally over it.

Where both Steve and Tony's respective friends make accounts for them on the renowned dating app, FlickLove, and the results come out a bit... surprising. Cue unadvisable meddling that really — honestly — comes from good intentions.

take my heart clean apart by mistymountainking, 13 k > words, Tony Stark Has Self-Esteem Issues.

He’s tired, so tired of waiting, tired of touches with no meaning, tired of holding his breath when Steve’s in the room, tired of keeping this love to himself.

“I can’t—I can’t, if you don’t mean it.”

***

Tony comes home exhausted after an SI event. Steve acts as welcoming committee. It's an old, careworn routine they've perfected over the years, but tonight ends up going in a very different direction.

[notmuchtoconceal]

When I met this fucker, I was working full-time as a dishwasher for a catering company, and then there was a global pandemic. I was running a Tumblr smut blog that dealt in jock hypno porn because I was morbidly obese and the constant tension of disgust for my body, health problems and physical exhaustion from all the extra weight was a contributing factor to my life feeling stagnant and unlivable.

What makes this post fascinating to me is how -- as far as abuse tactics go -- it's shockingly sophisticated and well-studied. The merger of form and content is exquisite and the subversions so subtle it can take years to catch. This post is a work of art, and the man who wrote it is truly a highly advanced abuser who learned from the best.

The opening paragraph is a confession.

Some part of him wants you to know he's abusing you. He's not going to admit it. He's going to claim the side of the righteous as a cover story, cause he's seen how it goes. He's right. The way liberals virtue signal, minimize, excuse and ultimately do-nothing while playing optics games to reinforce their global hegemony while putting pink ribbons, rainbow flags and save the earth stickers on everything -- it's a form of spellcasting. These self-affixed in-group labels are a kind of sigil work, aligning you with a certain energy through ideological reinforcement.

Conservatives do it in their own way. Take the "fuck your feelings" shit with regards to Trump's appeal. They play it off like they wanna act tough and be confrontational truth-tellers, but they have shallow reference pools and are just as much complacent do-nothings as the liberals in love with their dead, closed system which only lives to take, take, take.

He claims to be "opinionated in strange ways" because "it causes abusers to lash out" because again, he knows the optics games. He knows how to read people, subtly prod, imply, test for weaknesses. In retrospect, the reason I stayed with him for so long was because I knew how to talk to demons. I knew how to sense his fear, identify the implication, then replace it with my own values. In other words, I stuck by what I believed and refused to let myself be tempted. What he does is lash out at you when you don't play his game. If you assume he's a good faith human being, and try to make peace with him by letting him know you disagree, but can still see his perspective, it's like he reads it as "winning" and it makes him feel "safe". Ultimately narcissism is the result of a fragile ego. What he needs is you to reinforce his worldview to him and totally agree otherwise he'll feel himself fading from the ether like he was erased from time.

Now, this is otherwise a good tactic the truly just can use when trapped in a situation with an abuser. You can kill with kindness, you can grey rock, you can hint in return. You can keep the dialogue and the self-defense below conscious awareness, cause if you let someone know you're onto em, they may escalate, but if you can get them to slip up and reveal, you rob them of the self-enforced social glamor they need to superficially charm.

What he did was project, blow up, and make excuses.

The problems came when I stopped interacting with him as a demon and started interacting with him as a friend.

As this was but one part of a months-long subtle pattern of targeted behavior, I can't give you the full-context. Suffice to say, I suspect the useful idiot part of him likely grew increasingly trembling and afraid as I processed my feelings about him in my written posts. I suspect he could read my work, see how I was processing (and subtly refuting) his claims, and think I was "sticking it to him between the lines".

He seemed not to realize he was engaging in a form of hypnotic overload, where he would make so many claims at once, you couldn't possibly refute them all consciously to his face in the course of conversation, so they went into your subconscious. Being that I was engaged with him, and needed time to processes a new perspective while already having a life of my own -- you know, not being a pre-programmed machine -- only somebody selfish or delusional could think this constitutes a pattern of abuse. What he was angry about was that he couldn't control me.

Next up, notice how he usurps my identity as a working class gay man. Sure, that sequence of words is just as true when applied to him, and any sensible person would think "Uh-huh. That statement is true of you, and this has nothing to do with me, why would it?" Well. He's treating you like shit and acting like you deserve it. He's putting you between a rock and a hard place. I was using self-hypnosis, marijuana and spirit possession to correct maladaptive patterns of subconscious behavior stemming from child-abuse, and part of this involved ritualized self-empowerment.

By admitting abusers only fuck with the weak, he compels you to either admit that you're weak or accept that you deserve his abuse.

He sees the reversal you performed for healing, then demands you either un-reverse it so you can remain at his level, or if you ignore the claim he takes it as tacit admission that you're somehow a careerist psychopath for wanting to overcome decades-long self-sabotaging behavior about sex and business stemming from an incorrect and limited view of masculinity. I remember once he said something like "I appreciate your anti-money perspective." Uh-uh. Sweetie, I don't have an anti-money perspective. I have an anti-greed perspective. Money and greed are not the same thing. Thinking all money is bad is like saying all power is bad. Sure, brutal authoritarian systems misuse power, but also -- the power of speech or the electricity that power your home would seem indispensable. He seemed to reveal that he had no concept as to how he could use money productively, benignly, justly, to advance his own position to help the people he loves, because he doesn't love people.

Sex and business are mutually forms of exchange. He doesn't want you to know how to transact with others because he wants you weak and helpless so you can pay attention to him forever and be the only man in his life. This is what all narcissistic abusers want. They want the daddy they never had, but they also wanna be their own abusive daddy. They want someone with what they've never been given so they can take it from them, then act like they've already always has it.

This is also a succinct encapsulation of the logic of American empire.

(He's also right in that he's learned a lot being a cum-sponge for abusers. In some ways, he's a hero, perhaps moreso than most marines, who are cum-sponges for abusers who don't talk back to their masters.)

When he says he's not "neuro-typical or mentally-ill" this is a triple means to hide his brainworms, establish false integrity, then make you seem like either a weakling or a liar for admitting you struggle with things which can occasionally make you behave less than perfectly. Yeah, there are definitely people who use diagnoses as excuses, and fixating on a mental illness can reinforce it, but also -- flagrantly ignoring what you know to be in your subconscious and the ways it affects your behavior is counterproductive. I suspect when two people have misunderstandings and tensions are misread through projection, pointing out to someone "Naw, bro. I'm not tryin to fuck with you. It's like my brain just tunes out sometimes." Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Cause it does.

People who've suffered narcissistic abuse retain elements of their abusers. Part of why I remained so stiff and stilted for so long was because I was constantly clamping down on my own negative emotions. I trained myself to think logically, not center my pain, emphasize other people's perspectives, and it induced massive changes in how I saw the world and my kindness combined with my size and natural masculinity (my obesity just made most see me as a teddy bear) gave me such an easy popularity among people that I didn't know how to deal with it because I didn't know how to be loved, because in my heart I still viewed myself as a monster and unworthy of love, so I let this dipshit torture me cause it was the only thing that seemed real.

I knew it was possible. I knew it was possible that there were times where I could black out for a second and say things that felt like they were coming from someone else. I knew my kindness was a deliberate conscious choice and under periods of stress I could reveal what I didn't want others to see. I knew it would be triggering. I knew one bad experience with a person in pain could change our relationship forever. I felt like I was constantly walking on thin ice, hanging around so many anxious people, being a man in an unashamed male body. I'd felt my own memories of childhood abuse so intensely for so long, and was so plugged-in to the culture of abuse-finding, with its feminist overtones of man-hating which built off my pre-existing internalized negative attitudes about manhood, nothing else seemed possible. The problem wasn't me. The problem was hanging out with the wrong people who made me feel sick and trapped. I still didn't yet know how to move on.

I got sick of this pussy shit.

When my father beat me, I knew he was a dumbass. When my father couldn't use simple words to express simple sentiments to communicate with his own child-son, I developed immediate justifiable contempt for him cause I didn't want to baby an adult man. It wasn't my father beating me or being a dumbass that really fucked with me, it was my mother making excuses for him and lying about how he loved me when he was a repressed homosexual who raped her unconscious body and anyway, immediately cheated on her when she had post-partum depression with my middle-brother, and to this day will still get drunk and tell me I'm not his, despite the fact I'm the only one of his sons who resembles him in anyway. Hey. Mind creates matter, and he mind-raped me, right?

This dipshit is also his own mother, and pulled that shame shit on me. For years, I was also a dysfunctional marriage in a man's body (only partially transgender) but I got smart, maybe cause I'm a millennial with access to psychological resources. This fucker seemed to earnestly think identifying with my generational cohort to facilitate social transaction with the masses made me complicit in their programming. I had the basic self-awareness to realize I had a massive team sports hard-on cause I needed to learn how to belong to a group without being engulfed by it, but when you don't wanna make the effort to overcome your problems, it's just easier to assume it's everyone else who's the fucking robot.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

One paragraph in, I am already fucking exhausted!

How the fuck did I put up with this shit for months at a time?

I must really have the fucking patience of a saint. You know, I never liked to toot my own horn, but sometimes I just fucking deserve it.

Yeah, baby. It's me. I'm the abuser. I admit. I love all my correspondents and my followers. I like the people who talk to me. I think they're fun. I'm complimenting you now, publicly, entirely to let you know what phony pretensions I'm using to manipulate you, oOoOoOo.

Remember, kids. There's no such fuckin thing as healthy egoism. Anybody who tells you you're entitled to your own perspective and to think for yourself is literally the fucking Devil and you need to get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness cause you know you're fuckin shit.

I'm a goddamn miracle for the resilience and grace I can depart, and some stupid fucking bitches wish they had what I had.

Might go over the rest later, might not.

You're sharing the same space with me and can ask for things you want. If you find this material helpful and want me to write more, you can let me know. If there are posts of mine you like, you can talk to me and let me know and maybe I'll be motivated to write more.

Ultimately, I'm always going to prioritize my own values and agenda and do what I'm gonna do anyway, but if you're in my life and we're friendly, I'll take your perspective into consideration and treat ya at times, cause that's just what it means to be a human being. Non-controversial, I know.

( .|. ) realhankmccoy

The way abuse works in America is that it's rarely admitted. It occurs behind the scenes as the careerist awards pile up. One of the reasons I'm opinionated in strange ways is because it causes abusers to lash out at me -- after all, I'm just a working class gay man who doesn't hold the keys of power they're looking for -- and in any authoritarian system, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. If I were to proclaim myself non-neurotypical or mentally ill, they might lay off due to 'compassion' but I have no interest in being a dishonest man.

By sussing out and being someone of a sponge-cum-porcupine about abuser, I'm able to identify them for the abusers they are sooner rather than later, as well as absorb their hatred that would otherwise go towards weaker people than myself. They only fuck with the weak. You notice you're dealing with an abuser when everybody in your life, dozens of people, are all fine with what you're doing but the authoritarian abuser shows up in your personal space, claiming that you are horrible. What is key to identify an abuser is who they choose it to lay it on. They're not about to go for a CEO, for example, or run off to Preston Hollow looking for people to reprimand. They're not about to do in in a job interview. They can control themselves when they want things. Abuse in America usually takes the form of a reprimand of some sort, having its roots in physical reprimands.

Abusing others is often even framed to the abuser's social circle as "I'm the victim, I'm depressed and mentally ill" or "these leftists don't know their place and need to get in line". They're not about to admit (because they'll lose power if they do so) that they were abusive. They frame themselves as 'setting the record straight' or as courageous warriors etc... as victims... but you will not find the American framing itself as an abuser. There is no real repentance, most of the time.

Thing is, abusers in America usually lick the hand that feeds when they're not shaking the tree for more. Most abuse is caused by people seeking power and not worrying at all about those they harm they cause to those along the way. Thus, you'll often find an abuser saying on social media -- "my clients are the best, my students are the best, my employees are the best, everything I touch is the best, my my my my and I treat them so well..." and sometimes they do -- that's part of their moneypower gravy train on a daily basis so they keep up a good show for it -- but behind the scenes, where their own desire for moneypower isn't on the line -- in other words, during their 'time off' or, say, Weinstein's nocturnal time-- the abuser is actually a raging madman who slashes and spits at everyone they're in the mood to fuck with. Weinstein was very beloved and seen as very sweet by the daytime crowd.

Abusers in America are almost always capable of controlling themselves when money and power are the objective -- and those things are their main objectives, just as they are for most Americans.

When somebody has no use to them, look out -- that's when the 'use you' or 'abuse you' stuff pours out of them. Most abusers only abuse because they know they can get away with it. When you take away their ability to get away with it, the abuse stops. They do know what they do.