#15th Amendment

[petervintonjr]

"I was working for Mr. T. L. Kearny on the morning of the day of the election, and did not think of voting until he came out to the stable where I was attending to the horses and advised me to go to the polls and exercise a citizen's privilege."

Good god, people. I sure misjudged a hell of a lot of you; it is obvious more studying is called for. Way more. As in, "lessons-that-may-soon-be-illegal" way more.

Since we're already fresh on the subject of elections, let's get right into it with a look at the life of Thomas Mundy Peterson. Born enslaved in 1826 New Jersey, Peterson and his family were later manumitted upon their owner's passing, and moved to Perth Amboy. Peterson married and worked as a custodian and general handyman at Perth Amboy's very first public school. Active in local politics, at the age of 46 Peterson had been a participant in a local ballot initiative to revise the town's existing charter; in this instance, whether or not to abandon their 1798 charter entirely and reincorporate as a township. (Spoiler alert: they did neither and became a city in 1844.)

On March 30, 1871, less than two months after the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, Peterson voted in favor of retaining the town's existing charter --thereby making him the very first Black American to cast a ballot in any kind of post-Civil War election.

But for one unsurprising anecdote about a white voter at the polling place crumpling up their own ballot in disgust at the sight, Peterson's civic action went largely unremarked-upon (in fact Peterson even went on to be elected to the local city council). It was as true then, as it is now, that local elections are where the most immediate consequences happen. But gradually over time, the symbolism and the larger historical impact of Peterson's quiet moment took on much greater national significance. In 1884 the community raised the equivalent of $1800.00 to present Peterson with a medal featuring Abraham Lincoln's profile in recognition of his milestone --this medal is now part of the collection of Xavier University. In 1989 the public school at which Peterson once worked (P.S. No. 1), was renamed after him.

====

And further to the above subject: Fascism is a hell of a drug, people. One really doesn't see it for what it is when it finally arrives --no concept of just what it is that you've invited into your lives, just because eggs are inconveniently pricey or because you'd rather your kids not be exposed to history lessons like this one. Fascism never merely visits; it takes up permanent residence. Our Black brothers and sisters (especially the sisters) understood that deep in their bones prior to the Civil War, during Reconstruction, during Jim Crow, and during the Civil Rights movement. The rest of us need to internalize that, too. The past 400 years aren't "just" Black history, as if it all only belonged to a specific segment of the population. It is our history. All of us; inextricably connected to it. If we don't study it and learn about it; if we pivot to the deliberate ignorance that fascism so gleefully celebrates, then we all lose.

Racism (and all its cousins: anti-Semitism, xenophobia, homophobia, etc.) has been emboldened, running unchecked --to say nothing of truly terrifying old-school misogyny. (And yeah, go look up the word misogynoir if you haven't already). Of more immediate concern we've got... what, 70 days or so? 70 days to recalibrate, retool, get at least some guardrails up. In that time interval, please reach out to one another --check on your communities and keep a close eye on local issues, not unlike Thomas Mundy Peterson. Offer what help you can spare. Lotta desperation and panic floating about; folks are afraid of losing a lot of things in 2025 and beyond --you know, minor trifles like health care, insurance, income, savings, civil rights, autonomy. They're going to be looking for a connection. If studying these Black biographies these past 4+ years has taught me one thing, it is that authoritarianism flourishes when people isolate --whether forced upon them or on one's own. The moment folks break that pattern and start connecting with one another, the bullies proveably take a cautious step back. (Notice I didn't naïvely use the word retreat.) So look out for one another and keep each other afloat; the bullies hate that.

In the meantime for my part I'm going to keep doing the two things I know I am legitimately good at: teaching and drawing. Therefore I'll keep providing this resource until I am forcibly stopped from doing so.

If you're new to this series, start here.

[whenweallvote]

#OTD in 1870: The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granting Black men the right to vote — five years after the 13th amendment formally abolished slavery across the country.

The 15th Amendment states that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Although ratified in 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment was not fully realized until almost 100 years later. Voter suppression was rampant for Black Americans through tactics like voter intimidation, poll taxes, and literacy tests. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the majority of Black people in the South were finally able to exercise their right to vote for the first time. It’s been over 150 years since the 15th Amendment was ratified, and Black Americans around the country are STILL fighting for equitable access to the ballot box. The fight for our vote continues.

[firealder2005]

so this was for a school assignment, where I explain some of the Amendments through memes

tell me which one is your fav :3

then a couple general memes related to this :3

this was not part of the assignment but remember to check your voter registration.

also daily clicks. because free palestine.

[plazos]

Step Inside This House -- The Stevens and Smith Center for History and Democracy

A few months ago, I enjoyed a sneak peek tour of the new Stevens & Smith Center for History and Democracy, located on the southwest corner of the Marriott hotel at the corner of Prince and Vine Streets. The museum is comprised of what used to be two houses belonging to Congressman Thaddeus Stevens — his home and law office, and the adjacent Kleiss Brewery. The bones of the museum are now…

[heavymetalyogi-blog]

TW: violence

2025 Black History Month Day 18: Octavius Catto (1839-1871)

Octavius was born free in Charleston, SC. His mother was a member of a prominent mixed race family of the city which were long standing members of the Brown Fellowship Society (a benevolent organization to help free blacks succeed). His father was a former slave who became a Presbyterian minister.  When Octavius was young his family moved to Philadelphia, because Pennsylvania was a free state. In his teen years he attended the Institute for Colored Youth.  He excelled at his studies, and published papers. Eventually he moved to Washington D.C. to tutor in Greek and Latin. When he arrived back in Philadelphia he was elected as the Recoding Secretary of the Banneker Institute and worked as an English teacher at ICY. During the Civil War, Octavius advocated for abolition and equal rights. He joined Frederick Douglas in 1863 to recruit free blacks to fight for the Union army, but unfortunately the volunteers he organized were rejected by the state in the face of the Confederate army breaching the borders of Pennsylvania. During the 1864 commencement address of ICY, he spoke on the need for representation of black taxpayers. He raised 11 regiments of black troops who were now accepted into the Union army.  Octavius led them as a Major.  Also in 1864 he was elected Corresponding Secretary of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights League. In 1865 he was the Vice President of Pennsylvania's State Convention of Colored People. After the war he fought for the desegregation of Philadelphia's trolley car system, an early adopter of civil disobedience.  His efforts eventually led to the integration of the trolleys. He then campaigned for the ratification of the 15th Amendment, granting the right to vote to black men. The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870. Octavius first time to vote was election day, October 10, 1871. Blacks throughout Philadelphia were threatened with violence when in the streets on election day in an effort to intimidate.  On his way to vote, Octavius was shot to death by a white man. May we remember his forethought and find goals beyond the needs of the present!

[thestarlightforge]

And now, Agnes Van Rhijn, let’s publicly humiliate Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton for not including black women in their suffrage fight—

[fangsforfags]

WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME THT I HAVE TO DO TAXES FOR ALL PREVIOUS + CURRENT EMPLPYERS AND THT THRY HAVE TO BE FILED AT THE SAME TIME? WHAT THE FUCK

[fandomsandfeminism]

"Well, it's a good thing that the Department of Education is getting axed. ____% of kids in public schools are reading below grade level. (Which is worse than back before the DoE was created)"

Setting aside the fact the people saying stuff like this don't actually care about childhood literacy rates, they are just saying it because it sounds like a good justification for King T.

I'm sure that if we compare the amount of land the average American voter owned between today and 1776, we would also see a startling drop. The amount of wealth by the American voter has plummeted since 1776. That doesn't mean we should repeal the 15th and 19th amendments. (The 15th, by the way, also codified that land ownership or tax-paying couldn't be used to disqualify poor whites any more. Many states had done away with those requirements, but not all. It also eliminated religious qualifications- which had been leveraged against Jewish men in many states before this.)

Before 1980, when the DoE was founded, even before 1975 for EHA and then 1990 with the IDEA act, lots of kids just...didn't get to go to public school. Kids with learning disabilities, dyslexia, hearing or eyesight impairments, all manner of things. In the 1970s, it's estimated that maybe 4 in 5 children with disabilities didn't attend public school. In many places, they were legally barred from public schools, even. Kids who speak limited English get roped into this as well. Kids with ADHD and Autism, mostly undiagnosed, had no accommodations and had disproportionately high levels of expulsions and drop out rates.

So, it honestly doesn't matter to me what % you show me about how many kids today vs kids back then are reading below grade level. The pool of kids isn't the same, and its ignorant to act like these apples or oranges statistics mean anything. And while of course we should be doing all we can in terms of research and funding to help as many kids as possible have high levels of literacy, gutting the DoE won't help that.

Again, the people who supporting abolishing the DoE don't actually care. But I know that if I look at MY students who score below grade level in reading, at least half, if not as many as 75% of them qualify for special education, have a 504 plan, or are "Emergent Bilinguals". And without the funding, oversight, and research guidance of the DoE, they will do worse.

We are losing money for supplemental tutoring, for the Newcomer English program, for special education aides. We are losing grants for At Risk facilitators, and literacy lab initiatives, for the dyslexia resource class.

And I'm so mad, because the people saying this don't care. It's all empty.

But I hope that yall will push back when you hear or see anyone saying this in the future.

[winterscaptain]

taste.

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader a joyful future fic

a/n: if you take issues with haley's stance on bjs just let me know bc i am open to criticism if you get a different vibe. lmao anyways have a good time with this one.

beta'd by @ssaic-jareau who basically should be credited as a co-writer at this point.

words: 950 content advisories: language, discussion of sex acts (nothing super explicit), mild emotional vulnerability

summary: "the more obscure our tastes, the greater the proof of our genius.” — jennifer donnelly, revolution. november 15th, 2011

masterlist | ajf masterlist under construction | ajf faq | taglist | what do you want to see next?

The bathroom’s still warm with steam. You’re in one of his undershirts, patting moisturizer into your cheekbones, watching him in the mirror as he buttons his navy blue shirt—a favorite of yours. Hair still damp. Collar open. He looks good—annoyingly good—and he’s doing that thing where he pretends not to notice you staring.

“You were weird last night,” you say casually.

Every man's favorite thing to hear the morning after insanely good sex…

Aaron glances at you, halfway through the third button. “Weird how?”

“You hesitated.”

He frowns, then blinks. “Hesitated?”

He can’t recall hesitating at all last night. 

You raise your eyebrows. “Yeah. Like you didn’t want me to suck your dick.”

He actually snorts—chokes on it, really—and shakes his head with a laugh, pressing his hand to his forehead. “Jesus.”

You shrug, unaffected. “You did. You got all weird. Just for a second. I noticed.”

He takes a slow breath, then leans back against the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just been… a long time.”

You tilt your head, waiting.

“Like, more than fifteen years,” he adds. “Since—anything more than a couple birthday passes.”

You blink. “Seriously?”

He shrugs. “Haley didn’t like it. She tried it once, it grossed her out and she always said she didn’t like the taste.”

“Well,” you say, stepping closer, “not to speak ill of the dead—”

Aaron exhales like he already knows what’s coming.

“—but Haley was an idiot,” you finish, standing in front of him now. Your fingers reach for his collar, popping it. “She missed out. Big time.”

You start at the third button, abandoned, and work your way up, deliberate and practiced.

“Do you even know how nice your dick is?”

His eyes widen. His breath catches. He laughs again, stunned and delighted. “What?”

“I’m serious,” you say, straight-faced. “You’ve got great symmetry. Great weight. Very accommodating curve. Just—top tier.” You pause, thoughtful. “I’ve had worse from men who bragged. You have the nerve to imply nothing. I mean, I’ve always known, but that’s just an energy thing.” You wink at him, looking up for the barest of seconds. “Call it profiling.”

He’s grinning now, flushed and a little dazed. “You’re insane.”

“You love it.” You grab his tie off the counter—also navy, with grey paisley—and loop it over his head, sliding it under his collar.

His hands fall to your hips, completely still.

You don’t notice—too focused, too matter-of-fact—but he watches you. Watches your fingers as they work the fabric with practiced ease.

Months ago, you’d stood in his office, nervous and uncertain, palms warm in his, laughing softly as you tried to remember the order. “I’ll forget by tomorrow,” you’d said, and he hadn’t dared look at you when he answered, “Then I’ll show you again.”

And he had. Once. Briefly. In silence, just before starting a consult. He thought you were just humoring him.

But here, now—there’s no hesitation.

You fold and flip and tighten, your fingers deft against the fabric, and Aaron just breathes through it, chest rising once, then again.

And then, casual as anything, he says, “It wasn’t just Haley.”

Your hands pause. Just for a second. You blink. “What?”

“I mean,” he amends, “Haley didn’t like it, no. But she wasn’t the only one.”

You squint up at him. “Excuse me?”

He clears his throat. “We were on a break. It was brief.”

“You dated someone during a break? What are you, an animal?”

He shifts under your hands. “It was undergrad. Haley and I were long-distance. Things were… tense.”

Your eyes narrow, your expression suspicious. “How brief?”

“Three months.”

“Three months?”

“I was 21! And stupid, clearly!”

You raise an eyebrow and gesture vaguely. He tips his head, conceding. “I’m still stupid.” A beat. “She dumped me when I said I still loved Haley.”

You stare at him like he’s sprouted a second head. “Aaron. What the fuck.”

“You asked.” He tries very hard not to smile.

“Yeah, I didn’t ask for plot twists.”

You shake your head and finish the knot, tightening it just enough to make him grunt. “So let me get this straight,” you say. “You got exactly two real blowjobs in twenty years, and neither of them made a good impression?”

“That’s correct.” As he often does, he redirects. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“Which?” You just want to hear him say it.

“The, uh…” He clears his throat. “Deepthroat—thing.”

There it is.

You glance at him, lips twitching. “Had a roommate in college who was kind of known for it.”

Aaron blinks. “Known for it?”

“She had a bit of a reputation that yielded useful knowledge,” you say sweetly, returning to your task. “Taught me a few things. Used her comically large dildo like a CPR dummy for demos.” You adjust the length, tightening it against his throat and checking that it lands correctly. “Whole workshop. Stuck it to the wall and everything.”

He actually leans back against the sink, looking mildly traumatized. “That is the most horrifyingly hot thing I’ve ever heard.”

You smile, soft and wicked, smoothing his collar one last time. “You’re welcome for that image. And the work.”

You press a quick, chaste kiss to his still-stunned mouth and leave to finish getting dressed, your hand falling off his chest as you go.

He checks.

His tie is perfect.

And somewhere deep in his chest, he’s already thinking about the first time. The fumble. The laugh. The way you’d told him you’d forget by tomorrow.

You hadn’t.

And he’s never been more in love.

+++

tagging: @sochalant @chronicallybubbly @derekluvbot @jhiddles03 @soupyamanda @percysley @viennasolace @youngcowisland @lostinthefandoms11 @beyscape @reidfile @duchesschameleon @littlemisskavities @lily43blog @kiwriteswords @acidicbloody

[sacramentohistorymuseum]

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of the Civil War and that the enslaved people in the town were free. This was the last area in the South to receive the orders that slavery was abolished, and this announcement came over 2.5 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. What has become known as Juneteenth is now a federal holiday since 2021 and it is a symbolic date representing the African American struggle for freedom and equality in the United States and is also a celebration of family and community.

You might ask, what is important about Juneteenth to California history? Slavery was a major topic discussed at the California Constitutional Convention in September 1849. While California did enter the Union on September 9, 1850 as a “free state” as part of Congress’ Compromise of 1850, slavery did exist in California and there were certainly protections under the law that were not awarded to all people. Many enslaved people were brought to California during the Gold Rush.

Early Black civil rights leaders in Sacramento in the 1850s, such as Daniel Blue, Jeremiah B. Sanderson, William Yates, Charles Hackett, and Joseph Smallwood confronted political challenges and sought further representation in California in a time when a Person of Color could not testify against a white person in court. Early California newspapers were full of accounts of enslaved people paying for their freedom, testimonies by anti-slavery and civil rights activists, and stories covering plaintiffs suing for freedom. Elements of slavery continued in California through the Civil War.

The Emancipation Proclamation, General Granger’s announcement, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War did not solve issues of freedom and equality. The struggle of civil rights continued through the 20th Century and the extension of those rights to all people continues to this day.

For today, Jared letterpress printed “JUNETEENTH” in 30 line pica wood type. The typeface is French Clarendon and the type was made by the Hamilton Wood Type Company in the late 1880s. This was printed with yellow, red, and green ink using our Washington hand press, which was made in 1852.

[muddyorbsblr]

gestures & rain checks

See my full list of works here!

pre-story author's note: Yes I am very aware that it's been a solid month since Valentine's Day. Yes I am still posting this 🫡

Summary: It feels like your friends are getting plucked away from you one by one as their respective (or in Nat's case prospective) partners make grand gestures to ask them to be their Valentine.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warning/s: language (nope still not sorry, Rogers); mentions of alcohol; tooth-rotting fluff; gun use [let me know if I missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: Morgan being a precious beb; himbo!Thor hours; lowkey sad Reader hours; chaotic group chat vibes in the end

You always had a distaste for this day. Valentine's Day. To you, it was the one day a year that you would do everything in your power not to step outside because it reeked of flowers and chocolate marked up to the heavens for merchants to take advantage of last minute gift shoppers hoping to make a gesture big enough that their crush would let them score at the end of the night. Or guys buying extravagant and ridiculously large arrangements to make amends for wronging their partner as if a 10-foot tall teddy bear was gonna magically press some Undo button of him going on Hinge or Tinder and talking up a dozen other girls on the side.

There was one year that you let slip around Nat and Wanda that this day "smelled like a cemetery" with all the bouquets that bombarded you the second you exited the perimeter of the Compound. Hell, the second you left the main section that housed you and the rest of the Avengers. And you stood by that opinion stubbornly, mostly because you'd only ever witnessed flowers being given when someone was desperately trying to glue back together the pieces of a severely damaged relationship.

And also because no one had ever given you flowers in your entire life. Or chocolates. Or a teddy bear. All your past relationships were with men who were still mentally and emotionally boys that believed emojis and gifs sufficed and were as good as the real thing. Nary a single soul had ever actually spent a lick of time or effort to give you something that told you they deserved your time and effort in turn.

And after so many years of being barely an afterthought, the day just felt like this entity that you resented to an irrational degree, where all you wanted was to lay in bed and wait it out until the clock struck 12 and it was February 15th. Then you could go on a hunt for all the overpriced chocolate that suddenly got their prices slashed by 50% or more.

That was the plan again for this year, had it not been for both Nat and Wanda barging in to your apartment and practically dressing you up like you were their own life-sized definitely seen some better days Barbie doll. "Come on, we can go and have a Galentine's Day 2. Maybe hit up a club and get some free drinks…" the assassin trailed off, zipping up your dress and playfully swatting your ass to nudge you forward. "March on, soldier."

The common area was nearly bare and eerily quiet when you all got there, which made perfect sense considering that most of your teammates who were happily committed to someone were off spending their day together, probably executing their own personal twists on those cliched gestures of adoration. Knowing Tony, that would probably consist of a two-storey tall stuffed bunny or a lavish new vacation house as a nice private little getaway spot for him and Pepper when they wanted to have a date night.

Only Morgan and Shaun were at the big dining table by the kitchen, the little girl working on bracelets with the martial artist nursing a cup of coffee while he handed her beads to add to her work. "Whaddup, Ten Rings…Baby Stark," you greeted them, ruffling his hair and pressing a kiss to the top of your goddaughter's head. "What're you two up to this fine completely ordinary day?"

"Oof, I take it you're gonna be spending the day watching a bunch of couples be all extra lovey dovey just like me?" You threw him a look, squinting your eyes at him that had him throwing his hands in the air in surrender. "No need to mentally squish my head, Y/N, we're on the same side, I swear," he chuckled, scooting over to the other seat so you could sit next to Morgan. "How about this, karaoke later tonight? Just us and anyone else that doesn't have a date with dinner and co--" You swatted his arm to get him to stop talking, not so subtly signaling in the little girl's direction. "I mean…adult balloons?"

"Wait how come you have special balloons?" Morgan asked, looking up from her activity book and earning barely stifled chortles from both Nat and Wanda. "Why can't I play with them? I like balloons."

You leaned back in your seat, making a motion with your hands as if you were wiping them clean of the whole conversation. "I'm not helping you out of this one, buddy."

He scratched the back of his head, obviously backed into the corner with his own words. "Eeeeeh…put a pin in that and ask me again when you can order a beer, Baby Stark."

The child pouted at both of you, slumping down in her place at the table and slipping back on her princess pink headphones before focusing all her attention on her activity book again, grumbling something about how grownups shouldn't have conversations around her if they didn't want her to ask questions. Valid enough point, but you still weren't going to be the one to give her her first lesson in Sex Ed class a good decade ahead of time.

"Anyways…" Shaun poked at your side, calling your attention back to him. "Karaoke, ladies? We can pick up Katy and Wong before we head over and sing some Disney duets and gorging ourselves on shots and nachos--"

"Hold up, Wong?" You all turned your attention to Stephen, who'd just walked in to the common area. "This I gotta see. You guys have room for one more?"

"Sure thing, as long as you use your sling ring to help us get into Tony's private stash," you quipped, taking a sip of your coffee. "There's no way I'm getting through this day stone-cold sober."

"Or we could go for the really hard stuff and break into Thor's stash of mead from Asgard before he depletes his supply." He showcased the ring in question with a wiggle of his fingers. "Just a portal away."

"I like the way you think, Strange."

"You can all cease your scheming to pilfer my liquor, my friends," Thor's voice boomed into the area, a bounce in his step as he made his way to the coffee pot. "I would happily supply you all with two barrels if that would be enough for your gathering?"

"That's perfect, Thunder. Thanks." You started to tuck into the breakfast plate served by the Compound kitchen staff, mumbling your next question to the blond god. "What've you got planned with Jane for today?"

"Ah." A wide grin stretched across his face at the mention of his girlfriend, the sight both warming your heart and pinching it at the same time. A bittersweet reminder that in the midst of romantic plans with sentimental or grand gestures, your plans involved getting shit-faced with your fellow single friends. Plus Wanda and probably Vision. "Well, I have employed the aid of Wilson to order an ornate bouquet of Jane's favorite flowers which should arrive this morning. Then for lunch I shall prepare her a meal."

"Lunch?" Wanda questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Forgive me if I overstep, my friend, but aren't the romantic plans usually made for dinner?"

"Well, yes…but Jane has graciously agreed to adjusting our schedule for this day so that I may spend the time after lunch aiding my brother in a gesture of his own." A lump formed in your throat at the words. "It seems he wishes to get into the spirit of the holiday, and I am simply ecstatic that he came to me asking for a helping hand."

"I asked nothing of you, you over-muscled oaf," you heard the raven-haired god call out from the main entrance, two large packages hovering a few inches above the ground blanketed with a glow of green from his magic. "You volunteered when you imposed yourself in my space and hovered over my phone."

"Pfft, semantics," Thor waved off, already making his way over to Loki so that he could do some more apparently unnecessary volunteer work. "Are the flowers in one of your parcels?"

"I like flowers!" Morgan chirped from her seat, bouncing in place with bright excited eyes. "Prince Loki, can I help? Please?"

He let out an exaggerated sigh, a trace of a fond, amused smile betraying his facade. "Very well, little Stark. Come along."

Your goddaughter squealed, skipping over to Thor and placing her tiny hand in his. "Uncle Barbie, tell me who his princess is?" He leaned down to whisper the answer in her ear, making her sprint in place with even more excitement. "I promise I won't say a word."

"Barbie? Like your doll, little Lady Stark?" You could practically see the wheels turning in Loki's head from learning about the nickname.

Morgan nodded her head vigorously. "Auntie Y/N came up with it. She calls him Macho Barbie." She proceeded to talk about how you came to give the blond Asgardian the nickname that bizarrely stuck to him more than "Point Break" ever did, said god looking like he already dreaded the coming days -- maybe even years -- now that his brother knew that little tidbit of information.

Once they'd all made their way up the stairs and you could no longer hear the little girl's chipper tone, realization sat heavy in your heart from her reaction to whatever Thor whispered to her just a few seconds ago. Whoever it was that Loki was going to make this grand gesture for, it was someone that Morgan knew enough to the point that she couldn't contain her excitement finding out who the woman was.

It was someone in SHIELD. Maybe even someone in the Compound.

"You good, Babes?" Nat's tone was cautious, approaching you like you were a wounded animal, teeth bared and ready to pounce if she so much as breathed wrong.

You answered with a terse nod of your head. "There is absolutely no fucking way I'm getting through today sober."

"Y/N, dude, I'm sor--"

Bang

"What the fuck?" All eyes grew wide at the sound, your body stiffening as another shot rang out, reverberating throughout the common area. "FRIDAY? Threat assessment," you called out, already readying yourself for combat once whoever was outside made their way to you in the compound.

"No threats have been detected," the AI answered simply. "There seems to be no living target for the gunman."

You could only manage to repeat your words. "What the fuck?" Shot after shot rang out, an interval of three to five seconds between them. Each deafening bang making you flinch, your head spinning with possible explanations on why FRIDAY didn't deem the supposed attacker as a threat. "Where's the target then?"

"Shots are being fired at the training area, by the track field, Agent Y/L/N." You all started to make your way to the area, everyone still on high alert despite FRIDAY's findings.

"Y/N?!" You shared a look with everyone else in the room at the sound of Loki's voice calling out for you, the god looking frantic as he appeared at the top of the main staircase, a sigh of relief escaping him once he saw you standing at the bottom. "You're alright," he exhaled, hurriedly making his way down. The quickening pace of the gunshots had him squaring his shoulders, stepping in front of you and marching toward the sound.

"We've handled way worse than gunfire, Laufeyson, you don't have to lead the defense," you told him with a touch more bite to your tone than you intended, irrational jealousy coursing through you knowing what he was preparing for before he started charging down the stairs. You sidestepped him and started walking toward the training area, brows furrowing together when you saw that from where you stood, the marks from the bullets digging into the ground where forming some sort of shape.

"It's a message…" Wanda mused, angling her head to and fro to see if she could get the whole picture from the ground. "I'm going up, I wanna see what's worth risking Pepper's wrath with all the lawn work she has to commission now." She held her hand out to you, wordlessly offering to take you up with her, an offer that you gladly took, clapping your hand over hers, both of you giggling as your feet lifted off the ground.

Once you two had risen high enough, it was clear what the message was. The shots had been positioned so that the markings would take on the shape of a heart, and the ongoing shots were creating initials. "N…" you read along, barely able to contain your excitement when you saw that the next letter was an R. "Natasha Romanoff!" you yelled out, the assassin's eyes lighting up with a mix of giddiness and curiosity as she tried to look at where the gunshots could've been coming from.

You did your best to turn your head, trying to see who was behind the gesture, kicking your feet in the air once you saw the gunman. "What? Who is it, Y/N?"

"It's Barnes," you squeaked, giving Rogers a reckless wave when you caught sight of him jogging toward all of you with a megaphone in hand.

"Natasha Romanoff," Bucky's voice boomed through the speaker system, making the usually cool and collected former Russian spy put a hand over her mouth to hide the way she was steadily turning pink from how flustered she was. "I know I have a long way to go to make up for how we first met, but I think you're swell and I'd like to try starting it off with maybe dinner tonight?" Both you and Wanda squealed and held each other tight mid-air watching her nod her answer, running over to her once your feet touched the ground again.

"You two won't be pissed if I take a rain check for tonight, will you?" she cautioned, still a wistful tone in her voice from processing what was happening.

"Absolutely not, you go enjoy your date. More drinks to go around and all that," you told her with the biggest smile. "But tomorrow night we're all staying at my place and you're giving us a full report."

"And remember to wear the red lacy underwear," Wanda teased with a comical wiggle of her eyebrows, earning her a poke to the ribs from both of you.

Nat pulled away from the two of you, walking back toward the indoor gym with Steve walking alongside her, starting to talk about how his best friend had been trying to work up the nerve to ask her out since he got sworn in to the team nearly a year ago. From the sound of the conversation, it seemed that Rogers was divulging some information that Barnes probably swore him to secrecy not so long ago.

"And then there were seven," Shaun spoke up, walking toward  you and the sorceress and clapping a hand on each of your shoulders. "Thor came through and left the barrels in the kitchen for us."

You were about to start talking about the food arrangements when the sight of Wanda's husband flying toward you all with a bouquet of camellias and hydrangeas in his hand. "Wanda, my love, I owe you my deepest apologies."

"Whatever for, Vis?" She broke away from you and Shaun to greet the synthezoid, placing her hands on his upper arms as he pulled her in for a chaste kiss.

"It did not occur to me that you might have wanted to make plans for today until Mr Stark had gone into detail of his own itinerary today for his wife," he explained, handing her the bouquet. "Unfortunately I cannot procure a reservation for us tonight, but I still wish to do something for you. Would you allow me the honor of making you a meal and perhaps watching a movie in the private theater?"

You and Shaun gripped each other's hands like you were high schoolers watching their best friend get asked out on their first big date, shaking and pushing each other over the sweetness of the gesture. "I don't need fancy restaurants or pretty flowers, Vis. Getting to spend time with you, especially after everything that's happened to us, is more than enough. I just need you."

The Sokovian turned back to face you and Shaun, a touch of guilt in her expression. "Rain check? I'll bring extra snacks tomorrow night to make up for it?"

"Don't worry about it, Babes," you reassured her, both you and the martial artist waving off her worries. "Enjoy your evening."

The couple have you a curt nod and a smile before happily flying away hand in hand back to their apartment.

"And then there were five," you and Shaun said in unison, walking back to the common area to load up those barrels that Thor left for tonight's 'festivities'. When you got to the kitchen area, Morgan was adorably sitting atop one of the barrels in question, feet happily swinging in the air with a big smile on her face.

"Off the goods, little Stark, we're not risking you getting drunk your dad's gonna kill us," Shaun said in a panic, already lifting the little girl up and off the barrel and making her squeal and giggle as she giddily exclaimed "I'm flying!".

"If you really think that she can get drunk from osmosis, we have a lot to talk about, sweet little summer child," you joked, walking up to one barrel and starting to push it toward the garage. "Think you can use that ancient mystical ring magic for makeshift wheels so we don't bust out our lungs lugging this all the way to your truck?"

"I can assist you, darling." Your skin bristled at the sound of Loki's voice, taking every ounce of strength you had to not stiffen or recoil at his use of the word. He was only saying it out of habit. Probably a remnant of his upbringing as a prince on Asgard.

He didn't mean it the way you wanted -- more than anything -- for him to mean it.

"No need, Laufeyson, I've got it from here," Strange butted in, conjuring an energy shield with his magic that he slid under the barrels, starting to wheel them toward the garage. "Carry on. Oh and friendly advice, man to god? Your future girlfriend, you know, the one you're making this big gesture for? She might not appreciate you calling other women 'darling', so I highly recommend kicking the habit while it's still early. Avoiding future battles and all."

The god sucked his teeth, the action causing his jaw to clench and sending your thoughts someplace they had no business being. You had no business thinking about another woman's man that way, no matter how hot he was.

"I will remember that. Thank you, Strange," he said softly, making his way back up the stairs.

"Thanks for the save," you muttered, opening the door to the garage for the sorcerer to guide the barrels through. "Don't think I could've gotten away with being on Bitch Mode with him a second time today. Not like I can help it, though. Some lucky Midgardian bitch is gonna be his by the end of the night."

"Pretty sure you're the only woman I know that considers being Laufeyson's girlfriend a good thing."

"Yeah, Y/N, like I know he's on our side and everything but most days he still has me on edge. Like passing him on a bad day's gonna get me a stab in the ribs, not a death glare like normal people," Shaun concurred, nudging your shoulder to hopefully stop your lamenting before you got in too deep. Again.

"I'm really down bad, huh," you sighed, letting out a little yip when a portal to the dark dimension appeared just a few feet in front of you. "The fuck--"

"Hey Strange," a reverberating ethereal voice called out from the portal, and then a tall woman with platinum hair with beauty that you could only describe as 'dark celestial' stepped out. Her eyes trained on the sorcerer next to you. "Heard that today's something of a holiday in this dimension. Figured it might be a good idea to stop by and maybe you could show me around your uh…" She turned to you and Shaun, both your jaws slack on the ground. "What's this place called again?"

"Avengers Compound?" Shaun said at the same time that you blurted out, "New York?"

"Compound York?" She raised an eyebrow at the two of you, amusement coloring her face as she gave you both a once over.

"Eherm…no," you answered her, chuckling nervously and shifting your weight between your feet. "This structure here is Avengers Compound, which is in Upstate New York. New York is a city, but also a region…and a state…?" you drifted off, already feeling a pinch in your head from trying to explain the best you could. You looked over to Shaun. "The more I try finding the words to explain, the more I realize how complicated it actually is. Save me."

Stephen stepped forward. "How about I just take you on a tour around New York, then?" His face stretched out into a wide grin, clearly unable to hide his giddiness over the knowledge that she crossed dimensions to be with him today.

"Is that…New York the city, the region, or the state?"

"The city. New York, New York. There's a whole song about it and everything I can play it for you in the car." He proceeded to drape his arm around the dark sorceress, leading her to his car further down the expansive garage.

"Your little human friend is right, things here are complicated. Downright confusing." She looked back at you and Shaun again as they walked away, hand in hand. "It was nice meeting you both! Stephen speaks highly of you all," she called out, her majestic voice echoing throughout the area.

"You're really pretty!" you blurted out in response, causing her voice to melt into a chuckle, telling her partner how she found you 'adorable'. You threw your head back and groaned toward the ceiling. "I'm a fucking dork."

"At least you're an adorable dork," Shaun shot back, nudging your shoulder and lightly touching the back of your head to get you facing forward again. His phone chimed with a text notification. "Katy. Her shift's over, she said she'll get us a room for eight. I'm texting her now to get a smaller one." He held up his hand, palm facing you. "And then there were four?"

You sighed, clapping your hand against his, your friend giving you a reassuring squeeze once you did. "And then there were four." You jerked your head toward the apartments. "I'll just go change into something that involves 'eating pants' and I'll meet you down here in ten."

The walk back up to your apartment wasn't that long, but it still felt like it with how quickly you slipped back into your lamenting over how your friends had such an eventful day today. Nat had her very public grand gesture. Wanda had her husband trying to cook human food in the name of spending time with her. Strange had his girlfriend literally rip a hole between dimensions to get here.

"And all I have waiting for me are two barrels of mead and karaoke microphones," you muttered, walking through your front door and begrudgingly unzipping your dress from the back. You were just about to half-stomp your way to your closet when something on your bed caught your eye.

Three shiny roses lined with gold, tied together with a gold ribbon at the foot of the bed. A large heart-shaped box of chocolates at the center. And a little teddy bear dressed as a bee with red antennas that had hearts at the end, at its fluffy little feet was an embroidered message. "Bee mine".

"What theeeee fu--"

"Y/N," an all too familiar voice called out from behind you. The air left your lungs at the sight of Loki in a form-fitting forest green button-down tucked into onyx black slacks, tucking his hair behind his ears before smoothing his hands over his shirt. "You're early--"

"What're you doing--Was this you?" you babbled, gesturing at the gifts on your bed. For a second, your heart beat erratically, the thought that maybe this was for you, before reality and logic sunk in. "Okay I think I know what's happening…"

"You do?"

"Yeah, you got the wrong apartment. Gimme a minute to change and I can help you move all this over to--"

The rest of your words died in a little squeak at the back of your throat, the god closing the distance between you two with a few long strides, framing your face in his hands and placing a tender fleeting kiss to your lips.

"Those tokens of my affection are exactly where they belong, little mortal," he murmured against you, tracing up the bridge of your nose with his lips until he pressed a kiss to your forehead. "As am I."

You let out a shaky breath, fighting against the urge to melt in the god's embrace as he snaked his hands around your waist. "The gesture your brother mentioned this morning…this?" He proceeded to press kisses down the side of your face, his warm exhale as he whispered 'yes' into your skin making you light-headed. "This is for me?" you gasped out, whatever was remaining of your logical brain smacking the rest of you with how stupid a question that was.

"Who else would it be for, darling?" He pressed a kiss to your jaw, tightening his arms around you and pressing your body against his. "There is no other in this or any other Realm that could have captured my heart so completely." He kissed the corner of your jaw, making his way down the side of your neck, holding you tighter to keep you up when your knees finally buckled from the sensation. "I did this for you, because I wish to ask something of you. That you become mine as much as I am yours."

"M-Mine?" you stammered. "Y-You're mine?" Since when? How come you didn't get this particular memo? Could've saved you a lot of turmoil and nights spent alone staring up at the ceiling trying and failing to hypnotize yourself out of being into him.

He kissed the tip of your nose, resting his forehead against yours. "I have always been yours, darling."

Your hands traveled up the length of his arms, like you were grounding yourself and trying to tell yourself that this was real. He was really here and he was telling you the words you wanted more than anything to hear for who even knew how long at this point.

He's here, you thought to yourself. And he's mine.

There was only one word that you could muster up in that moment. "Yes." I've always been yours, too.

Karaoke Dreamin' on Such a Winter's Day group chat

myfirstnameisagent: Don't kill me but…rain check?

busboy10: Are you kidding me, Y/N?? You said you'd be down in 5 minutes tops and we're gonna meet up with Katy.

nromanoff: Sweet, now you're gonna have a story to tell tomorrow night, too.

myfirstnameisagent: Actually about that…rain check on tomorrow night, too? I'm kinda not there right now…

busboy10: There?? What do you mean "There"?? How'd you get out the Compound without me seeing you? Or whoever the hot date you're ditching me for is?

imjustwong: Where is everybody? We ordered nachos.

myfirstnameisagent: Yeah…I'm not in the Compound…or in New York…any of the "New York"s. Might not be for the next week. Maybe more. The three of you better not drink all the mead in one go.

busboy10: ??????

thevision: Agent Y/L/N, my wife is showing many signs of distress over her inability to contact you. Your phone seems to be going straight to voicemail.

thewanda: Y/N WHERE ARE YOU I HEARD A BANG FROM YOUR APARTMENT ARE YOU OKAY??

myfirstnameisagent: Babes, I'm fine. That was just the Bifrost.

thewanda: EXCUSE ME??

nromanoff: BABES WHAT--

pointbreakbarbie: My friends, I heard the Bifrost be summoned near Lady Y/N's abode. Is there an emergency? Must I make my way to Asgard to assist?

myfirstnameisagent: Thor your brother said if he finds you here I have permission to stab you, don't even fucking think about it.

thewanda: I REPEAT. EXCUSE ME???

busboy10: Y/N are you in Asgard?? With Loki??

myfirstnameisagent: Yes. And yes. See you in two weeks.

thewanda: He better use that healing magic on your legs so you don't walk funny.

A/N: It took me a whole month to write this because real life was trying TKO me in the work department and also I got sucked in to the worlds of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Delicious World and I've been too weak to even attempt time management 🤣

I'm working on stuff tho I swear it 🫡 Horny bitches cuts are in progress, stories are in progress…lots of progress 😅😅

Also for reference, this was the lil stuffed bear that Loki gave Reader:

and the roses looked like this:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @lovingchoices14 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @lunarnights95 @superficialdomina @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog @peaky-marvel @lokiified @tom-hlover @dryyoursaltyoceantears

[thebreakfastgenie]

So we're all agreed that joining the police to ~internally reform~ them into being less racist and evil is a fool's errand, right? Is the idea of running for political office to make the government less racist and evil really much different?

Yes. These are vastly different institutions. There is a large consensus that joining the police to internally reform them is a fool's errand because attempts to do so have consistently failed! Attempts to improve the government by running for political office, on the other hand, have succeeded. They have also failed, but something doesn't have to have a 100% success rate to not be a fool's errand. The government is different from the police in a lot of ways that I really don't have time to get into right now, but one of them is that most of the government can be replaced at the same time at regular intervals. The police as an institution are very efficient at either corrupting you or forcing you out, and you can't really have a mass takeover of hopeful internal reformers because there have to be enough openings. Someone trying to reform the police from within will be a perpetual minority in an institution with deeply entrenched corruption.

In contrast, the government by design has enough available openings to change to reorient the entire institution, or large parts of it. These are called elections. One person running for office can still make a difference, but they will face limitations if they're working alone. A bunch of people running for office and getting elected with a shared platform can and has made a huge difference. That's how we got the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the ADA, and more.

Some additional food for thought: What's the alternative? Replace the government with a less racist and evil government? How? How do you make your new government less racist and evil? And if that's not happening right away, how do you justify doing nothing in the meantime?

I can understand why one might arrive at the conclusion that participation is a futile effort by contemplating politics from a theoretical perspective. This is why I have such a hater's instinct for political theory. In the real world, something is going to happen no matter what. Incrementalism may feel futile, but in absolute terms, a lot of lives are saved and improved by incremental reforms. Even if they're a small fraction of the people suffering, making their lives better is not a fool's errand. It's literally life and death. "People live their lives" seems like a basic statement but I think a lot of theory doesn't really account for that, and even when it does people often miss that part.

And it must be said for the record most belief in futility doesn't come from theory but from an emotional place and it's very easy to examine politics theoretically without falling into the futility trap. I just think the overthinking and overtheorizing in an ivory tower to political despair pipeline is real and I wanted to examine it.

[fall-for-tolkien]

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[tanadrin]

This article is interesting because (in criticizing a badly-argued claim that the 14th amendment to the US constitution might not confer birthright citizenship) the author points out something else I find quite interesting--that before the 14th amendment's passage, there was a pretty strong argument that birthright citizenship already was the legal default in the United States:

If this be a true principle—and I do not doubt it—it follows that every person born in the country is, at the moment of birth, prima facie a citizen; and he who would deny it must take upon himself the burden of proving some great disfranchisement strong enough to override the “natural-born” right as recognized by the Constitution in terms the most simple and comprehensive, and without any reference to race or color, or any other accidental circumstance.

Obviously this was in tension with the existence of slavery (as is so much else in the constitution), and would be until the passage of the 13th amendment. But AIUI the Radical Republicans in Congress thought that the 13th Amendment, just by virtue of abolishing slavery, already implied everything in the 14th and 15th amendments; they later enacted those as well, to clarify and support their goals, but these were seen as clarifying existing principles, and not creating new ones. Regardless, though, the ratification debates around the 14th amendment make its intent clear: even if birthright citizenship did not exist in the constitution before, the 14th amendment certainly created it.

[meltedbrains]

Ok, so someone else had to point this out to me, and this may be the only way it makes sense.

Belinda was always Poppy's mother, the Rani used one of her wishes in Bavaria to rewrite Belinda's life so that she went from a single mother* to a single woman in a flat share. When the Doctor rewrote time so that she was Poppy's mother again, he was correcting what the Rani had done. Anything else is way too sinister to be a happy ending.

However, if this is the case (and RTD's track record of poc characters works against him here) it should have been more explicit. Belinda should have played a bigger part in the finale. She should have been the one to remember Poppy, not Ruby. She should not have been literally sidelined in favour of the previous white companion.

The finale was full of bad writing and Belinda got it in the neck. Apparently Millie Gibson left suddenly and they had to quickly replace her with Varada Sethu.

This can be backed up by Ruby fitting the Belinda story line pretty well; her character was already focused around motherhood; she had already met Poppy in space babies; Conrad's heel turn into right-wing populist conspiracy theorist would have brought back, and mirrored, the bad memories of her previous boyfriend, Alan, from the robot revolution; she was already neighbours with Mrs Flood and the Rani's comment about stalking blonde human women would have made more sense.

Ruby and the Doctor could have put Poppy in the zero box with Susan and run off to save the world, Ruby could have remembered her own daughter from an alternate reality, as she'd remembered alternate realities before. Ruby could have raised Poppy and Desidirium could have been returned to their parents before they got wished out of existence, instead of being dumped on Carla, who seems to be eternally relegated to supermum (except in alternate timelines, where they hate being a mum...).

Belinda was just, sort of there. She contributed nothing to the finale and very little to the previous episode. RTD casually throws poc characters under the bus and apparently has no awareness of doing so.

Mickey is whiny and pathetic until he moves to a parallel earth and is no longer a threat to the Doctor and Rose as a couple. He is frequently made the butt of the joke including being compared to a horse that the Doctor stole on a whim.

Martha is hopelessly lovesick and constantly overshadowed by Rose (who doesn't even know her, but does know Donna?). Her well-founded fears of historical racism are dismissed in one episode then used to hit her over the head in another without even an apology.

These characters are then revealed to have somehow met, fallen in love and got engaged off screen (Martha is also apparently no longer a doctor?) This could not be a clearer example of slapping minorities together for the sake of a 'wife and kids' happy ending. Do they have anything in common except for being black and overlooked by the Doctor?

And then we get to the 15th Doctor, the first Doctor played by an unambiguously black man. And just like Martha before him, he gets overshadowed by the white person that came before him. Ncuti Gatwa was quickly sidelined for fan favourite David Tennant. He got a 16.5 episodes to be the Doctor and then committed suicide before seemingly handing it over to another fan favourite, Billie Piper.

It could have been so good, Gatwa brought a distinct personality and charisma that separated him from the others (they're not bad, just different). There was potential for a character arc about the Doctor thinking themselves emotionally healed but realising that they still have a lot to process.

Instead, we get the Doctor: crying with frustration over racists; getting betrayed by someone he considered community; having to make amends to someone a forgotten past life wronged (or he has yet to wrong?); and torturing someone that has failed at killing anyone, let alone 3 trillion people.

Instead of being held together by a character arc, or plot lines it all hinges on Gatwa's performance. Now, don't get me wrong, he sells the hell out of it; but none of it leads anywhere, and now it can't. Apparently the only way to rewrite time is to kill himself, apparently the only way to write out this under-served actor is for them to kill themselves.

So here's to more poc characters in Doctor Who that have been screwed over by RTD and whatever the hell is happening in the writing/production room.

*if you're going to suddenly reveal that Belinda was a mother all along, why not reveal that she was also married? Why not introduce a black man as a committed father and husband, in a loving interracial relationship? Belinda has to get back by 7:30 because she works nights and he works mornings, breakfast is the only time they get as a family. (This is a really nothingy complaint though, it doesn't impact the rest of the story at all)

[radioactive-earthshine]

What are the healthiest moments between Wally and Bart?

There's lots of moments in the comics that show they DO get along and love each other despite their mutual frustrations with each other.

Again as always this is not exhaustive this is just what I can remember easily.

The Flash (1987) #140

Bart comforts Wally at Linda's funeral - they are also comforting each other because Bart also really loved Linda and she was one of his allies and mediators between him and Wally.

The Flash (1987) #140

Later in the same issue Wally takes Bart out for lunch and they do have a moment together. They're both still grieving and Bart brings up a very sad point about his life up until now...

The Flash (1987) #141

When Max declares that Wally committed suicide due to losing Linda (he didn't he just ripped her out of time) Bart overhears it and is naturally upset by it. Bart was right, Wally came back on the next page.

The Flash (1987) #141

Lmfao. "I wasn't THAT worried about you, good job man! Knew you had it under control 👍"

Impulse (1995) #22

Bart's 15th birthday party that Wally helps organize is a sweet issue and ends with both of them playing video games with all of Bart's civilian friends.

Impulse (1995) #24

When Bart's mother Meloni comes back in time to bring him to live with her in their time in the 30th century, Wally attempts to make amends with Bart by giving him his Flash Ring. Bart never takes this off for the rest of his series.

The rest that come to mind I am not sure if I would really call them healthy as they are just fighting people (Superboy Prime) or Wally going ballistic over Bart dying when he turns Thad into a statue (not really healthy there.)

Again, this is not exhaustive this is just what I remembered easily. If anyone else has some nice moments go ahead and add them and I'll reblog!