#History of Medicine Division

[monkeyssalad-blog]

New York Medical College for Women by National Library of Medicine Via Flickr: Collection: Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) Publication: April 16, 1870 Format: Still image Abstract: Woman student dissecting the leg of a cadaver. Extent: 1 print Technique: wood engraving NLM Unique ID: 101436227 NLM Image ID: A013010 Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101436227

[wunderkammerett]

Photographs Illustrative of the Cololian Method of Treating Stiff Joints: Elbow Exercises by National Library of Medicine Via Flickr: Collection: Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) Format: Still image Extent: 1 photoprint. NLM Unique ID: 101406474 NLM Image ID: A023090 Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101406474

[gothicseverance]

Mental sciences like neurology, psychology, mental physiology and the burgeoning discipline of psychoanalysis worked to develop a model of consciousness and identity predicated upon inner division and conflicting states of being so that Gothic and science seem to go hand-in-hand.

—Disintegrated Subjects

[minetteskvareninova]

I am not on Bluesky and you cannot make me join, but if there was anything that could make me do it, it would be seeing this contrarian bullshit while procrastinating from studying on my Early Modern History exams. Because someone needs to give these historically illiterate morons a reality check.

Listen. I don't *like* Middle Ages. I don't vibe with their art, philosophy, politics, anything. But they existed. They brought something of value to the world. Over the course of the Middle Ages, Europe experienced important societal developments. Without these developments, renaissance literally wouldn't happen. Renaissance was in many ways (art, philosophy, science) a continuation of the Middle Ages, in that there really isn't hard cut between Late Medieval period and the renaissance. In other ways, it was exactly like the Middle Ages AND WORSE. The panic over witchcraft reached its zenith in the 16th and the first half of the 17th century. Lots of unscientific bullshit about medicine, alchemy etc. was still going strong well into the 17th century. In fact, 17th century really was the worst, I'd just despise it with all my heart if it wasn't for a few bright spots like baroque architecture, beginnings of the scientific revolution and the like. And are you seriously calling out medieval Europeans for their silly religious beliefs and tendency for violence when renaissance was THE era of bullshit religious conflicts?! Like, my man! Thirty Years wasn't a medieval thing! Even the thing about "going to war with your cousin" - THAT'S LITERALLY WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT

I am not even going to talk about the 16th and 17th century on other continents, because in the Americas it was the era of LITERAL APOCALYPSE. Like how can you talk about any progress when that part of the world saw a brutality that would make the crusaders blush.

It sucks that Early Modern Era still effectively doesn't exist in the popular imagination. Its best parts are subsumed into "renaissance" and "enlightenment". Its worst parts are grouped in with the Middle Ages - not the least because they didn't actually improve that much, and in fact got worse a lot of the time. But you cannot celebrate the art of Da Vinci and just ignore the atmosphere of constant warfare between petty duchies it was born in. That's not how historical eras work. In fact, historical eras aren't really discreet categories with a clear cutoff point, but more like approximate divisions of a continuum. There is very little that separates the art of 1599 from 1600, but by 1650, you do kinda start seeing the difference.

Also! I know I keep repeating this, but Middle Ages didn't suck equally throughout their entirety. "Dark Ages" were the Early Medieval Era, which itself was a several centuries long period by most estimates. High Middle Ages were mostly as good as the Middle Ages got, you get gothic architecture, invention of universities, scholastic philosophy, the works. 14th century is when the things really start to suck again, Black Plague comes, you get wars and peasant rebellions, yada yada. But you also get the earliest "renaissance" art, so if you like that style, you can't disavow the Middle Ages entirely. And the 15th century is also mostly bad, except that one is when the renaissance and humanism period begins in earnest, so.

[bethanythebogwitch]

I listened to reading of some askreddit threads (don't judge me, it's a guilty pleasure) about doctors and healthcare and I notices some major division on topics when the answers were from the doctor's POV and patients' POV. I'm of course not qualified to draw conclusions from this, nor is Reddit a good place to get data, but here are some recurring points I found where the doctor and patient position appeared to be different.

Doctor POV: we can always tell when people are faking pain for opioids. It's extremely obvious.

Patient POV: multiple doctors accused me of drug seeking when I was actually in agony from stones, appendicitis, endometriosis, a tumor, etc.

Doctor POV: people who try to diagnose themselves are really annoying and counter productive.

Patient POV: I only figured out what was wrong with me by searching the internet after multiple doctors dismissed or failed to diagnose me. Alternatively: I went in with a good idea of what was wrong based on past experiences/family history/ etc and the doctors didn't take me seriously. Some would even refuse to do tests to check if the self-diagnosis was correct.

Doctor POV: the phrase "I know my body" is usually used by people who don't know what they're talking about. We are the ones who know medicine so we can tell if you're sick or not.

Patient POV: I knew something was wrong with me because I know my body and know when something isn't normal. The doctors wouldn't take me seriously and told me nothing was wrong after only doing basic tests.

Again, Reddit is not a good place to get data as the nature of the website encourages people posting more sensational stories and exaggerating or fabricating stories to get upvotes. In addition, most of these stories are likely far from the average doctor and patient experience. However, it appears that there may (emphasis, may) be a disconnect between doctors and patients that involves doctors not taking patients seriously and thinking they know better than patients about their own bodies. It seems like defaulting to thinking patients exaggerate pain to seek drugs and that patients don't have any way of understanding their own health is really detrimental.

Do not take this post as me saying you shouldn't go to the doctor. If you need medical help, go to the doctor. The medical system isn't perfect, but it's the best we have. And go to an actual doctor, not a naturopath, homeopath, or other quack.

[delirious-donna]

story summary: Omegas had never been allowed within the ranks of the Scout Regiment, that was until Erwin took over as Commander. Now, it’s commonplace for Alphas and Omegas to work side by side and harmony has prevailed.

That is until one Omega slips up and triggers their first ever heat, that Omega is you…

“Shh, little one. Let me take care of you like you asked. Your skin is divine to touch… soft and smooth. It makes me want to bite it all over,” he admitted. “If you were mine, I would—” Erwin let the sentence falter, not knowing if it was wise to admit exactly what he would do if you were his. Nor did he want to admit just how badly he wanted you to be his.

pairing: Alpha Erwin Smith x Omega female reader

word count: 10.1k (brings snacks and get comfy)

warnings: omegaverse AU, no mention of titans, abundant mentions of heats/ruts, boss/subordinate dynamic, knotting, breeding kink, biting kink, aggression surrounding reader (they remain safe throughout), scenting, protector Erwin, internal conflict, mini appearances of Hange and Levi, spit, mounting, look… it’s a lot of smut and smutty thoughts all the way through 😆

thanks to @thesoftugly for volunteering to beta read this behemoth

Before Commander Smith had taken over The Scout Regiment, Omegas had not been allowed to serve within the division. The school of thought was generally that it would not be safe for any Omega to be around a military division largely occupied by Alphas, and not just any Alphas, but some of the strongest and most ferocious. 

Erwin disagreed with that idea. 

“If any of my soldiers cannot control their nature and act accordingly around an Omega then they do not belong in my ranks. We must protect those that cannot protect themselves and do so without appearing superior. No Scout worth their salt would dare defy me.” 

He recalled the stunned silence he was met with when he laid out his reasoning for the draft of new recruits he was bringing into the Scouts. Even his closest ally, Pyxis, had glanced at him with doubtful eyes and a twitching moustache. 

It was a brave decision, and he knew that. However, history would not tell the tales of the meek and whilst Commander Smith was not looking for fame or glory, he was certain that this generation of Scouts would become infamous. He would ensure it was for good reason and not from disgrace. 

From that moment, Omegas were welcomed into the ranks and two years of peace and harmony ensued. 

~ 

“What seems to be the problem?” Hange asked, lifting their gaze from the clipboard in their hand to peer at you over the rim of their glasses. 

“You’re not a doctor. Where’s Doctor Hamilton?” 

Hange clicked their teeth and rolled their eyes in exasperation. “She’s out sick. I might not have a doctorate in medicine, but I am the best we have as a stand in until she returns. I have several other patients to see so I suggest you ‘chop chop’ and tell me what you need.” They made a chopping motion with their hands, and you wanted to die right then and there. 

This was exactly what you didn’t need.  

Hange couldn’t know. They mustn’t know why you were here. You couldn’t afford to be turfed back into the monotonous boredom of clerking for the Military Police. There were only so many transcripts of interrogations of clearly wrongfully imprisoned patsies you could write up. 

You had your limits and to go back to ‘The Pen’ as it was not-so-affectionately called, would be enough for you to consider calling your career in the military quits altogether. Then what would your mother say?  

The thought of her smug expression and the ‘I told you so’ that would be written plainly across her face was enough to sour the contents of your stomach. She couldn’t understand your desire to venture even a toe out of the safety of the MP and their dedicated Omega squad. It was like being herded sheep. Every second you had hated, once again being judged on only your position on the ladder of power. 

When the opportunity for non-alphas to join the ranks of the Scout Regiment arose two years ago, you had worked diligently to secure a transfer. It had not been easy, but was anything worth fighting for ever easy?  

It had been nearly a full year since your new post begun and, in your time here, you had never felt more fulfilled in your whole life. You had a job that you didn’t hate, you felt like you were actually making a difference, and most importantly, you had friends. Real, true friends that were not simply others considered of the same social standing.   

More so, your most recent post had put you directly into the path of a man you had admired quietly from afar for many many years… Commander Smith was everything you could ever want in a man.  

Passionate. Courageous. Eloquent. Assertive. Handsome. 

That last thought surprised you, although you had long admitted it to yourself. It was not your place to lust after a man of such high stature, especially not the man in charge of the entire division and your direct superior. What surprised you was that you had allowed it to escape into the frantic hive of your mind. 

It was something you had been suppressing since taking the promoted post as Commander Smith’s new personal assistant. You had made a vow to yourself that you would keep your wicked—carnal—thoughts about the blond hulk of an Alpha to yourself. Work was work and the filthy fantasies that played out when you were laying in bed in deepest nighttime were between you and your poor overused vibrator. 

“It... doesn’t matter,” you said, standing abruptly. 

“Uh, no no. Sit your butt back down and tell me why you asked for this appointment. I was told you indicated it was an emergency,” Hange countered with a frown. 

They moved to block your view of the door, eyes narrowing at how you were obviously considering a dash for the exit. This was not helping. A flush ran the course of your spine and spread over your head. Another minute or two and sweat would be leaking from your pores as if you had just emerged from a sauna. 

“Fever?” Hange asked curiously. 

“Yes! I mean, yes, a fever... that’s it. I think I’m coming down with something.” You clutched at the lifeline they had unwittingly thrown. 

Hange reached for a thermometer and the stethoscope laying on the orderly doctor’s desk. They approached slowly, the reassuring smile doing nothing to calm the racing pulse which would be discovered all too soon. They took the necessary measurements and drew back with their nose scrunched. 

“It’s none of my business, but a word of advice — you might want to consider using less perfume. The smell is a little overpowering and what with us having a keen sense of smell, it’s probably not wise.” 

Oh. 

“R-right, sorry,” you stammered shyly. 

If Hange only knew the truth of it.  

This perfume was the only thing masking the first bloom of your scent. It was faint right now, but soon it would be so potent that Alphas from miles away would catch a whiff on the wind if it was in blowing in the right direction. 

There had never been an expectation for Omegas to mask in the Scouts. Suppressants were not a mandated requirement to work here, and as far as you were aware, there had never been any incidents of Alphas overstepping. Of course, things like that could have been kept hush hush from the lowly subordinates, but there was something inherently honest in everyone you had dealings with here in Trost. 

You did choose to suppress; a decision you were no longer entirely at ease with. Growing up it had been expected; the monthly injections and daily medication started the very second you entered adolescence. It was tedious. 

Perhaps that was why you found yourself in this current predicament—out of suppressants and your monthly injection days away from expiration. Were you subconsciously rebelling? 

The more you considered it, the more it made sense. You were in your late twenties now and the thought of experiencing what was meant to be a large part of your societal culture and physiological needs… it didn’t disgust you as it once had when you were younger. 

It was just a shame that the only Alpha you wanted was well and truly out of reach. 

“Alrighty then. Your core temperature is slightly elevated but not enough for me to be overly concerned. There is no noise on your chest and apart from your pulse being a little quick...” They paused, cutting a curious glance in your direction and making you jump from your wayward thoughts. “I think the best course of action would be a day of bedrest and plenty of hydration. If it gets worse come back and we’ll see about referring the symptoms to Doctor Hamilton for antibiotics to be prescribed.” 

Nodding fervently, you stood quickly and surreptitiously steadied your balance with a palm on the wall beside you. The need to be out of this too small room was clawing nails down your skin, a wave of dizziness draining the blood from your face which thankfully went unnoticed as Hange became far more interested in a manilla folder in their hands. 

“Thanks. I appreciate you seeing me on short notice, please send my regards to Doctor Hamilton.” 

You had never dashed so swiftly to your quarters, only breathing a long sigh of relief once the door was closed behind your back and the lock clicked into place. Slowly, you slid to the floor and curled your arms around your knees. 

What am I going to do? 

Something stirred inside the depths of your brain, an entity shrouded in sleepy shackles that were ready to snap at any moment. A pulse of heat erupted in your stomach then vanished as fast as it had arrived. You sensed a smile stretching wide in anticipation.  

Sleep found you surprisingly easily that night, all your anxieties melting away into insignificance as your body prepared for what was coming. Your silly concerns mattered not to your beastly side, they needed you fresh faced and in peak physical condition. 

Your first heat was coming, there would be nothing to stop it this time. 

~ 

Erwin drummed his fingers on the polished cherry wood desk. He was already bored to tears by the man droning on and on about... something or other. Truth be told, he had tuned out soon after the speech started. For this was absolutely a speech and not the informal conversation that had been sold to him initially. 

His cool blue eyes glanced to the corner to watch you scribbling furiously on a secretary’s pad, your tongue between your teeth in concentration. He did not envy you this task, especially when he was certain you were under the weather. 

“I’m fine, Commander. Please don’t relieve me from duty, I need something to focus on and we both know you don’t want to have to listen to Commander Dok. I’ll scribe just fine, I swear it!” 

Erwin was fond of you, more so than he wished to admit.  

Only recently had you taken over as his personal secretary when the previous one had retired from active service after finding their mate, a feat he was more than happy to witness since it was far from guaranteed in the world they lived in.  

He enjoyed your sharp wit and dedication to the Scouts. Your smile had a way of lighting up the room, although he was certain that was not something he should have taken note of. You were young and enthusiastic, bright eyed and bushy tailed as some might say. 

Shakily, you pushed strands of hair that had fallen into your eyes back behind your ear and he felt a deep crease form between his eyebrows. Now that he was looking at you closely, he could see a thin sheen of sweat decorating your skin.  

He had to do something, and now. 

“Nile, I must apologise for interrupting,” he interjected, lifting a placating hand, “but I have another engagement that I must attend to. I had no idea you wished to take up so much of my time or I would have scheduled a longer appointment. However, given that nothing you have mentioned is especially pressing, I will endeavour to meet with you again next week. How does that sound?” 

Nile bristled at being dismissed so readily. “You’ll never not be a pain in my arse, Erwin Smith.” 

“Ahem, no need to include that in the transcript,” Erwin said jovially, casting a twinkling smile in your direction which was not returned, much to his disappointment. 

Another twenty minutes was spent negotiating with Nile, off record, before the man finally departed. When the office door finally closed, Erwin watched as your posture relaxed and your arm fell limp to your side with the pen still dangling between your fingertips. 

“You’re sick,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

The Commander rose from his chair and stalked closer, eyeing you carefully to assess your condition. He stopped a few feet from you, sniffing subtly before shaking his head. He was being ridiculous. He had to be. 

Your eyes cracked opened slowly to roam around the room before landing on his midsection and rose up up up until you met his piercing blue gaze. If he didn’t know better, he would say you were under the influence of alcohol or something far more illicit. A glaze coated your eyes and turned them… sultry. 

Erwin stiffened; his spine lengthened, and his stance fell back to one of familiarity from years in the military. He couldn’t help but watch your chest rise and fall, the rhythm unnaturally fast and it only drew his attention to the top three buttons of your blouse, ones that were normally fastened but were not today.  

He should stop. 

“I know you said you needed something to focus on, but I cannot have you falling over at your desk. Consider yourself on bedrest for the rest of the week—” 

“But Sir! I’m fine,” you interrupted loudly. The shock of his words jolted you upright in your seat and nearly had you toppling out of it altogether just as he had warned. 

“Since when do you answer back to your superior like that? This is highly uncharacteristic from you, and I refuse to allow it to continue. You are relieved of all duties until Monday morning, do you hear me?” 

He hated being strict when you were so obviously out of sorts. This was not behaviour he had come to expect from you, along with his growing affection, he silently cursed himself when your eyes turned red and misty. 

Standing, your head bowed in submission. “Yes, Commander. I apologise for my outburst.” 

Erwin clicked his tongue against his teeth and despite thinking better of it, he raised his hand so that two fingers slid beneath your chin. “There is no need for that. All I ask is for you to get better, okay?” 

It was a mistake, but one he only realised once it was too late. 

A soft purr seemed to emanate from your chest, an enticing sound the likes of which he had not had the pleasure of hearing for the longest time. Erwin pulled his hand back like he had been scorched. The heat of your skin increased tenfold, and for a moment he had the desire to look at his fingertips to see if they did in fact sizzle like how they felt. 

He watched you leave; dumbstruck and frozen to the spot as if he had taken root on the antique rug beneath him. It had been so long since he had first-hand experience of an Omega approaching a heat that he almost dismissed the signs as figments of his imagination.  

However, the animal inside would not be so gullible. 

~ 

That evening and the following day were a total blur.  

You had no real clue how much time had passed since you were dismissed by Commander Erwin, neither did you know what time of day it was currently. 

All you knew was that you were too hot and that even the thinnest bedsheet was too much for your overheating body. You writhed atop your mattress, naked and unbearably uncomfortable. The cotton from the fitted sheet was clammy from your sweat, droplets rushing from places you never dreamed of.  

For the millionth time, your hands passed over your body and you hissed like a wounded animal when you grazed the stiff peaks of your nipples. You tweaked at them in turn, the painful pleasure echoing between your legs… 

Speaking of which, your cunt was completely soaked. 

After ruining four consecutive pairs of underwear with the rivers of slick flowing easily from your aching hole, you had endeavoured to remain entirely naked. Nature was preparing you for the only thing that would calm your mind, lift the fog that had descended and satiate your body. The abundance of lubrication present to help your Alpha ease into your body, to feed you their cock and eventually their knot with minimal discomfort. 

Except, you didn’t have an Alpha.  

It was funny how you knew the symptoms and process of a heat, but the theory was nothing compared to experiencing them first hand. You had no idea how those who chose not to suppress dealt with this routinely. It felt like hot knives were carving through your insides, shredding you apart until you didn’t recognise yourself. The reflection in the mirror would be someone—something else. 

Distantly, you heard knocks coming from the door to your quarters, but you paid it little attention. It wasn’t like you could walk the short distance to it anyway, nor were you in any state to answer. Voices followed the knocks which grew in determination.  

Hange, maybe? You couldn’t be sure. Although, you wouldn’t put it past Commander Smith to send someone to check in on you, especially if he discovered you had visited the temporary doctor recently as well as your outburst in his office. 

All you could do was roll over onto your side and press your palm between your thighs, stimulating the bundle of nerves with the heel of your hand in an effort to ease the continuous throbbing sensation. You screwed your eyes shut, the black of your eyelids turning into a kaleidoscope of colours until they formed a figure—a figure you were well acquainted with—and had no right to be thinking about in this context.  

Commander Erwin Smith’s silhouette shook like a desert mirage until it thickened and materialised in your mind’s eye. If you strained enough, you could smell the scent of his understated cologne and beneath that, his unique musk that was all him.  

Those natural pheromones that dominated all others and highlighted his status as Alpha. Not just any Alpha, but one of the most powerful Alphas in Trost. The Alpha you admired the most if you let the little voice in your head speak freely. 

Your nose twitched again, and your eyes shot wide as you realised it was stronger when you moved your head closer to the edge of the bed. 

On the floor lay your blouse and skirt, the ones you had worn during his meeting with Commander Dok. Without hesitation, you grabbed up the blouse and held it beneath your nose to inhale deeply.  

There it was. 

A spicy scent unlike any other. It was warming and comforting, for the first time in, you didn’t know how long, you could breathe a little easier and the heavy feeling in your heart and gut lightened. You nuzzled the blouse. Holding it against each cheek in turn before returning it to your nose. 

Why couldn’t you scent it directly from his skin? It wasn’t fair. You could bury your nose in the hollow of his throat. Lick lazily at the prominent bob of his Adam’s apple. Grind your feverish body against his until he was hard and ready to take you.  

You should stop pretending. 

Gods… what were you doing? 

There was no denying the primal desires swirling like a building vortex in your brain. You wanted to be full, stretched to the breaking point. You needed to be bred like the good little Omega you were. You wanted a knot so badly you could cry.  

None of these were thoughts you had experienced before and had you been in your right mind, they would have shocked you right down to the core.  

Delicate shaky fingers sought out your aching hole, two slipping easily past the ring of muscles until your knuckles were lodged against the gumminess of your walls, but it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.  

Without an Alpha here to pin you down and split you wide, you would suffer. Without Erwin here to smother you with his impressive weight, you would continue to feel bereft. Wronged by a universe that danced to its own tune without thought for those affected. 

Yes, it would pass eventually, but you doubted your sanity would be intact when that time finally arrived. A hurt-sounding howl escaped your throat, a lament aimed at a world that was proving to be unfair and unjust. 

With a final wail, you curled in on yourself and fell into a pain-filled sleep. All the while, the commotion on the other side of your quarters door continued unabated. 

~ 

Erwin had not needed to be notified of the ruckus kicking off in the living quarters assigned to secretarial and support personnel. He could hear it from all the way in his office. At first, he assumed it would be dealt with as all other little scuffles were, but after ten minutes, his concern heightened. 

He was met with a very red-faced soldier whom he could not recall the name of. “Commander! We have a situation. Captain Levi sent me to find you… there is, well—” 

“Spit it out, we don’t have all day.” Erwin demanded, barely halting in his purposeful strides in the direction of the noise. He could hear arguing, but almost above the rabble, a soft howl of distress caught his attention. It sounded familiar, and his pace quickened. 

“An Omega… they are going into a heat. It seems to have riled those living in close proximity.” 

Erwin stalled. “What?” 

Fury bleed from his pores. Had they all lost their damn minds? This wasn’t the first heat to happen since Erwin’s command, and there had never been this level of disorder. He rounded the final corner and was confronted by six men in various states of dress, some with visible injuries on their faces and hands and at the door which he assumed led to the Omega in question, Levi stood on an overturned chair looking equal parts haughty and furious. 

“Enough!” Erwin bellowed over the heated voices. “Pull yourselves together or I will be forced to take further action.” 

An awkward silence descended almost immediately. The power of his voice along with the blast of authority he projected towards the troublemakers was more than enough to have their metaphorical tails lying limp between their legs. 

“About damn time,” Levi snarled. 

He leapt to the floor and shouldered past two engineers with matching bruises blooming purple beneath their eyes. They dared to bare their teeth, but remained silent, nonetheless. Levi seemed oblivious, or more likely he considered them so far removed from a threat that he took no note. 

Levi’s eyes cut up to Erwin, an eyebrow arching at the high blush that was slowly coating the Commander’s cheeks. He knew what had caused the pandemonium and what shamed him the most was his inability to remain unaffected.  

A first heat. 

They were special for most Omegas and could be extremely traumatising if not handled delicately and in the right way. From experience, Erwin knew that it was commonplace for Omegas who were unattached to seek out help from other Omegas in their family or close friends. They could ride out the worst of the heat whilst knowing they were safe and being cared for, but this… he couldn’t imagine what they were going through whilst trapped in a den of literal wolves. 

“You can smell it, right?” Levi whispered out of earshot of the others. “It’s a first heat and I must be honest; I am barely hanging on myself. Hange sought me out when they couldn’t raise an answer at the door, and by the time we returned… well, this was the scene. Some of the men were tearing at each other to get to the door and they had started to break it in places. Apparently, she presented at the clinic three days ago under the guise of a fever, Hange now suspects that they were suppressing and had run out of the drugs. She seemed unwilling to admit it to Hange, perhaps because they are an Alpha and Doctor Hamilton is not.” 

A fever? Oh no. With alarming clarity, the puzzle pieces fell into place. Erwin knew why the howl he had heard seemed familiar, why the scent of arousal mingled with pheromones tickled his nose in such a way that he was struggling to stop himself from huffing the air like the men now forcibly being returned to their rooms. 

It was his sweet little personal assistant. You weren’t sick, you were in need, and he could help you.  

No! He mustn’t. He would control himself, but he could at least ensure you were safe. 

“You there,” he gestured to the bloodied men who were starting to disperse. “Find cots in the dormitory for tonight, I cannot trust that you won’t try this again and I will personally cut down anyone who tries to enter these quarters without express permission. Captain Levi will escort you.” 

Erwin turned to Levi and ignored the scowl emblazoned across his face. “See that the dormitories are guarded by those you trust the most and have everyone in this part of the wing relocated for the next night or two.” 

“Don’t go in there, Erwin.” Levi’s warning was barely above a whisper. 

The Commander clapped a hand on the smaller man’s shoulder and moved past him towards the barely intact door. “And Levi? Ask Miche to replace this door within the hour,” he asked calmly without acknowledging the words of warning, stepping directly into the breach. 

For once he wasn’t going toe to toe with powerful enemies, he was facing a different beast altogether and somehow, he was more nervous about this situation than any battle he had participated in… 

Your small apartment space was orderly with minimal decorations, but he noted a family photograph nailed to the wall and an arrangement of plush cushions resembling animals piled up on the cramped little couch. 

His gaze swivelled absently around the room, in truth, he was doing everything in his power not to make a direct line for the bedroom. Your scent hung like thick molasses now that he was inside, hands fisting by his sides to remain where he stood. Erwin was the master of his body, not his instincts but the fight was not a fair one on this occasion. 

He had never smelled anything quite as inviting, and that was entirely the problem. Whilst, he had had partners in the past, even gone through a heat or two, none of them tempted him in the way he felt tempted right this second. It was as if the scent was visible on the air, seductive tendrils writhing around him and beckoned him to move closer to the source. 

It was as if all his favourite sweet treats from his childhood had melted into one tantalising scent crafted especially for him. Saliva gathered behind his clenched teeth. German chocolate cake. Fire roasted marshmallow. Raspberry jam straight from the jar. He wanted to drink it down like a man discovering a bountiful oasis after days without water. It made him feel younger, though he was hardly past his prime, but the scent invigorated his heart until he was certain he could best the top cadet in a foot race. 

If someone told him that the vapour was tickling him beneath the chin, he would believe it. 

After several moments of calming breaths which did little to actually calm his nerves, Erwin dared to venture deeper. He told himself that he needed to assess your condition, which was true, but if his instincts could speak, they would announce loudly their desire to catch a whiff of your scent directly from the honeypot. 

The bedroom was dark, though it mattered little given his ability to see well in low lighting, and what he saw on the bed, stopped his heart for what felt like a full minute. A huddled mass lay in the very centre, your body in the foetal position with a hand buried between your legs and the other arm covering your naked breasts. 

He should look away.  

He should stop staring at your skin glistening with dewdrops of sweat and sticky slick pooling beneath you.  

He should cover your vulnerability and walk away, leave this to someone else, but there was no one he trusted to handle this situation in his stead.  

Your breathing was even and deep, a blessing given your predicament. As voices approached in the hallway outside, Erwin snapped out of his drunken stupor and did the first thing that came to mind. He pulled off his jacket and laid it over your body. It barely reached mid-thigh, but it would do. 

With your modesty protected, somewhat, he retreated to oversee the work on your door being replaced. What he didn’t see was the smile of contentment on your face and the visible relief of being draped in his scent loosening the tight ache of your muscles.  

In sleep you burrowed into the jacket warmed by his blood. 

~ 

It was the sound of pages being turned in a book that roused you. It shouldn’t have, given how carefully the reader was being to not make noise, but the ache in your gut had returned and the fatigue was no longer severe enough to allow you to sleep on. 

For a long moment you kept your eyes carefully closed, wondering what it was that weighed so nicely over your body and kept the worst of your current dilemma at bay. It felt like being held by a loved one, as if you were young once more and your mother was wrapping you in her protective and caring embrace. 

“You’re awake.” 

Commander Smith’s rich baritone rumbled from somewhere behind you. It froze the very blood in your veins until another wave of desire pulsed through you, causing you to writhe and buck, to your shame. Not him. Anyone but him. 

Lies! You want him most of all… don’t deny it. 

You couldn’t look at him—not now. Instead, you steeled your voice and spoke to the wall. “Commander Smith… why are you in my bedroom?” 

“I apologise if you have the wrong impression, however, my presence was rather necessary given your… predicament,” Erwin supplied, sounding more uneasy than you had ever heard him. “I must be honest with you because that is only fair.” 

He sighed and the sound caused a moan to bubble inside your throat, barely caught before it slipped out. Biting down on the inside of your cheek, you waited for him to continue not only because you needed to know, but the sound of his voice soothed you in ways you didn’t wish to examine closer.  

“Your heat triggered some displays of aggression amongst your neighbours. There may have been attempts made at getting to you, but do not worry,” Erwin stressed when he saw how you tensed on the bed. “Your door has been replaced, and I will personally ensure your safety until it has passed.” 

“Aggression? You’re telling me that—oh fuck.” All rational thought and ability to speak coherently died on a single spasm between your thighs. You should be absolutely appalled that anyone had tried to get inside your quarters without permission, but that animalistic instinct reared its head and grinned wickedly into the dark space of your mind. 

It was what you needed. To be taken, filled, consumed… bred.  

“Don’t speak right now, it’ll pass so just breathe for me,” Erwin coaxed softly whilst the sound of a chair creaked as it was dragged across a wooden floor. “A first heat can be very difficult. I assume you have suppressed since adolescence—you don’t need to answer. I-I don’t have any personal experience to draw upon, but I will do whatever it takes to help you through this.” 

Fuck me… you thought, enraged that you wanted it so badly that you were chewing your lips bloody from speaking it aloud. Your spine bowed at the ripples of heat spreading outward from your centre to the ends of your fingers and toes, to the top of your head. 

“Can you walk? I’ve run a lukewarm bath which might help cool you down.” 

“No. Commander—you shouldn’t…” You broke off on a sob, wracked with another wave of scorching fire attacking the insides of your thighs at the steady drip of slick covering your skin. 

“Please, it’s Erwin. Given the situation, I don’t think formalities are necessary right now. I’m going to lift you into my arms, okay? I’ll be gentle and you may hold on as tightly as you need to. Once I’ve got you in the bath, I will step outside to give you some privacy.”  

The bath water was just cool enough that you sighed happily as the water sloshed over you. It was no comparison to the relief you felt whilst held in Erwin’s careful arms, but simply thinking of how easily your arms had wound around his neck gave you shivers of a completely different kind. 

You did your best to refute all those lustful thoughts from months of working closely with the Commander. Of course, you hadn’t noticed how broad his shoulders were or how the short undercut at the nape of his neck tickled your fingertips when you held on. Nope. Nada.  

Your nose was growing at an alarming rate with all this lying. 

Through drooped lids you watched whilst he glanced around your meagre bathroom looking for goodness knows what. He was too large, too imposing for such a cramped space but despite it all, you liked him in here—wanted him to stay. 

Where others may have taken full advantage of having a naked Omega within reach, not to mention an Omega in heat, Erwin had shown you nothing but diligent care. It made you wonder if your state bothered him at all, and somehow the thought that it might not… well, that bothered you.   

He was an Alpha; shouldn’t he want you?  

“Stay… please?” You purred when he made to exit and give you the privacy he had promised. 

Erwin paused in the doorway. His piercing artic eyes roamed your face and dipped towards the fluttering pulse in your neck but ventured no further. You could see the tic in his cheek work at the same time his jaw tightened, and his nostrils flared. He was fighting himself. 

One soapy hand reached for his clenched fist, bubbles dripping across his knuckles until the fingers finally—finally—loosened and gently entwined with yours. 

“I shouldn’t,” he breathed more to himself. 

You hummed in a half agreement, bolstered by the need thrumming through your body. “But you will, won’t you? Sit here.” 

Erwin awkwardly perched on the corner of the tub before reaching for the towel he had laid out for you to wipe his wet hand. There were wrinkles in his normally crisp shirt, the top buttons unfastened and the bolo tie that rested around his throat suspiciously absent. This was by far the most casual you had been afforded to see him. You guessed not many had received such a luxury. 

“Does it hurt?” he asked whilst he began to roll his sleeves towards the bend at his elbows. It was hard to follow the movements given he was sat near your shoulder, but you twisted enough to keep some of him in view, sloshing water in the process. 

You took a second to assess, listening to the competing demands being screamed in your mind and body. This was certainly the most lucid you had felt since the heat had started, and you had an inkling that Erwin’s presence had a lot to do with it.  

Would you ever be able to express your gratitude? 

In short, yes it did hurt. However, there was a will to prove that you were not so easily overcome or beaten down. A sly voice echoed around your mind, purring and shunting you to ask for more of your Commander—far more than you had any right to. 

“Not badly, I guess. But you could make it better… if you were inclined to. I think I would like it very much,” you urged gently, once more finding his hand and leading it towards the rippling surface of the bath. 

Erwin didn’t stop you.  

He didn’t seem to breathe or blink. Blindly, he allowed for his fingers to skim the water before breaking the surface and slipping over the wet flesh covering your shoulder. His cock strained against his underwear and trousers; the rigid length trapped along his thigh whilst thick pearls of precum oozed out to stain the heavy fabric. 

He had been aroused since he first identified your scent, more so when he felt your heat descend over his like a vaporous fog. Finding you naked in bed had not fed his desire, if anything, it infuriated him and roused his protective nature.  

Now that you were awake and calm enough to speak without letting out whines of distress or angry expletives… now he was truly struggling to maintain his composure. 

“Do you have any idea what you are asking of me?” he murmured, wet fingertips tracing swirling patterns over your collarbone and across your clavicle. One pad dipped into the hollow of your throat, eliciting a soft moan that nearly broke him. 

If you responded, he didn’t hear it.  

You were sweltering to the touch; the lightly perfumed oil he had added to the water slicked your skin so the journey down your chest was made all the easier. His fingers skirted over the mounds of your breasts, avoiding your nipples although you did your best to thrust upward and force his hand so to speak. 

Erwin’s tongue clicked against his teeth in a commanding tsk. “Behave.” 

He continued to explore you, slowly and methodically. It was bliss. It was torture. Your head rested against the tiled backsplash; eyes closed as you concentrated solely on the sensation of his hand on you. Erwin traced the sides of your breasts down to your soft stomach; he circled your navel then ventured back up to give attention to your neglected nipples. 

His breathing was more of pant when he tweaked your tender little nub between a rough finger and thumb. Your eyebrows creased when he pulled it taut and tugged firmly, the echo of the sensation causing your clit to throb in unison. It was difficult not to wriggle but you wanted to be good for him, to behave as he had asked. 

“Com—Erwin… please? It hurts so bad.” 

“Shh, little one. Let me take care of you like you asked. Your skin is divine to touch… soft and smooth. It makes me want to bite it all over,” he admitted. “If you were mine, I would—” Erwin let the sentence falter, not knowing if it was wise to admit exactly what he would do if you were his. Nor did he want to admit just how badly he wanted you to be his. 

“You would… what?” You tried to cajole, moving just enough so that his fingertips brushed the opposite nipple, and you let out a long exhale of relief. 

He couldn’t deny you, not in this matter or any other, not right now. It was funny how there was a systemic flaw in society’s hierarchy. Alphas were meant to be the ones on top, but it wasn’t always true and especially not for those who found their mates. Omegas held the power and never was it more evident than this moment here. 

Erwin Smith was your superior in the literal sense. He was the Commander of the Scout Regiment, and he held responsibility for every soldier and support worker under his command. Yet here he was in the tiny bathroom of his assistant—his direct subordinate—with his hand submerged to the elbow and his cock so hard he wanted to tear the damn thing off.  

You held all the cards, and you didn’t even know it, because if you did then there was no way you wouldn’t have already pounced given the instincts running through you. 

“I shouldn’t be saying this, but,” he enthused when you started to whine pitifully. “I would not have allowed for you to become as delirious as you did. It must have been agony, and you were alone—I don’t like that. Any heat can be torture to endure if you deny yourself the only plausible relief, not to mention this is your first. If you were my… mate.”  

Erwin paused again; aware his hand had moved without his prior notice. He was cupping your cunt in his palms, stretching and flexing his thick fingers along the seam of your labia. With ease he sought and located your jittery bundle of nerves, circling the pad of his thumb with slow, deliberate strokes. 

“Tell me, Commander— ‘wanna know how you’d treat your mate.” 

“Mm. I’d have taken a leave of absence the second the signs of your cycle came to light. I’d bite that lovely creamy skin at your neck where the scent gland resides, hold you in my jaws whilst I fed my cock into your drenched cunt. I’d have loved you exactly as you deserve—worshipped every inch of your scorched skin with my mouth and hands. Whispered words of devotion into your ear until I was ready to give you my knot, and more importantly, when you were ready to take it. I’d have you come time and again until you were properly sated,” he admitted with a heated growl. 

You mewled at the images he fed you, his words dripping with hungry conviction and accompanied by the ministrations of his skilful hand playing between your thighs like a damn savant. 

Your imagination ran at full speed imagining the knot he would give you, of the painful pleasure from his sharpened teeth piercing the scent gland at your neck and how you wished it was the mating mark he was leaving you.  

As two thick digits worked inside your aching, needy hole you thought of the fullness that would come with having his cockhead buried against the neck of your womb. Gods, you wanted to be split in half until his name was carved into your gummy walls. The searing heat of being stuffed to capacity that would be far more pleasurable, unlike the current stinging sensation you were experiencing. 

You grasped at Erwin’s forearm and revelled at how the muscles flexed as he continued to pump two fingers into you, his thumb aggressively rubbing at your swollen pearl. It was just enough to bring you to the peak, the waters barely disrupted, Erwin working furiously but only from the wrist down. 

“You’ve no idea how badly I want to climb into this damned tub and make you take me. I won’t. I swear it. I’ll protect you and keep you safe… from me. It’s okay. That’s it—there we go. Feel it consume you.” 

He was babbling—switching rapidly between commanding and anxious. His large frame threw a shadow over you; bending more he buried his nose into your hair and inhaled deeply. You thought he might have whimpered but you were too far gone to be certain. Your nails dug bloody marks into his arm, encouraging him on until you gave one final shuddering spasm and broke apart like a star finally imploding. 

Tears burned in your eyes. Your stomach contracted over and over whilst you rode out a high that didn’t last nearly as long as you had hoped it would. The desire in your gut rekindled like a dying fire fed oxygen. 

 What had been enough no longer was. 

“Erwin… please. I’ll be so good for you, don’t hold back. I want—I need it all. Everything you described! The fullness. The bite. I want to feel your weight pressing me down, dominating me. Can you...? I just want to know what it’s like,” you wailed in utter misery, absolutely convinced that he would deny you. 

“I’m a nobody,” you continued, releasing your grip on his arm to wipe at your tears. “I appreciate you even going this far. I’ll never be able to look you in the eye again, but I’ll always be grateful for this. You’re a good man, Commander Smith, I’ve admired you for years.” 

His laughter warmed your heart just a little. It was robust and genuine, and whilst you wanted to turn and see for yourself what expression he wore, you didn’t want to witness pity—not from him. “You can go. Just leave me a towel and I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll sleep it off or—” 

Erwin’s hand twitched and you almost yelped, biting into your tongue until you tasted coppery blood. His fingers slid along the wet pulsing length of your gummy walls and slowly rose from the water. You closed your eyes, turning away when you felt him rise to his feet.  

You didn’t expect him to say anything.  

You certainly didn’t expect two muscled arms to plunge into the waters and lift you up and out in one smooth action. Dripping wet from shoulders to toes, you soaked his pristine uniform shirt. Only then did you dare to peek up, and the look Erwin levelled at you… it stole your breath. 

Those clever blue eyes were alight with cool fire—the flames licking around his swollen, lust-blown pupils. The thick set of his eyebrows were draw close together and he looked positively furious, but in a way that only made you squeeze your thighs together all the more. 

“Don’t you ever—ever—call yourself a nobody. I may be the Commander here but behind every great figure are those in the shadows who make that figure shine brightly. My ma—I mean, my assistant is brave and beautiful,” he declared with absolute conviction. 

Words alluded you.  

Every single thought, other than the animal voice begging you to cling to this Alpha with every available ounce of strength and never let go, had fled. Not that you needed to speak, not when he strode from your bathroom with determined steps. 

Erwin lowered you to the stained sheets of your bed and stood back with an apologetic look. “I’d offer to change them but there would be no point. We’d merely end up ruining a second set.” 

The heat of your body had dried most of the water from your skin, all except the thick, tacky arousal coating your tender pussy and streaking the insides of your thighs. His head canted left when you spread your legs, bending at the knees so that he could see the most intimate part of you on full display. 

“Little minx,” he teased with a wry smile. His fingers fumbled at the buckle of his belt and your gaze raked him in hungrily. “Warm yourself up for me, won’t you?” 

There was no modicum of inhibition left in you. You were working on pure instinct and when you were told to warm yourself, you did just that. The heel of your palm rotated against your clit whilst you spread the lips of your pussy apart and let the fingertips fuck an inch into your cunt. 

Your eyes remained glued to the man at the end of your bed. He was a powerhouse of strength and virility, thick chested and decorated with battle scars. You longed to run your fingers and tongue across each faded silvery scar—to show him just how much you appreciated his every sacrifice. Erwin shucked out of his trousers and underwear in record time, but it was not before you noted the large stains on both thighs. It made your smile turn saccharine, sultry and feminine. 

The length of his cock sprung upward to smack wetly against his abdomen, but the weight was too much to stand, which left the impressive sight to hang heavily between his thighs. The golden hair on his torso seemed to glisten despite the lack of a light source in the room, and perhaps it was a trick of your eyes. He rolled his neck from side to side, never once breaking his concentration on how you were toying with yourself at his command. 

He fisted his swollen cock, rolling the foreskin back until the beating red tip shone from the arousal dripping out the slit. Thick veins pulsed beneath his calloused fingers as he gave a few cursory pumps, moving his grip to his heavy pendulous balls to tug them loose from where they had nestled tightly near the base. 

Muscles that only came with age, experience and dedication rolled beneath his skin, smattered by those lovely coarse hairs that you wanted to feel against your cheeks. Erwin was a handsome man, that you had always known, but naked he was even more glorious—a chiselled God.  

Saliva pooled in your mouth, and you swore it seemed like your teeth elongated at the simple thought of biting into the solid wall that was his chest. His biceps. The cords in his neck. His strong jawline. Everything. 

Your appreciation did not go unnoticed. If anything, it made his chest puff with pride that you would find him so attractive. For the first time in years, he had no desire to put aside his wants in favour of someone else’s.  

Erwin wanted you entirely, and whilst he was certain you didn’t understand the full implication of that, he would take his time. Courting you would be a slow waltz, not some frenzied race to the finish line. 

He appreciated how contrary that was given he was about to fuck you into a drooling coma, but the situation called for a drastic intervention to alleviate the both of you. It had been many years since his instincts ruled him. Your intoxicatingly sweet musk had bewitched him thoroughly.  

Erwin felt like a young man again—in his prime. Back when his mind did not rule his body with an iron fist. 

“If you want this,” he tugged on his shaft for emphasis, “you’ll get on your knees and present like a good Omega.” 

Stepping close enough that his shins met the edge of the mattress, he observed you scrambling into position, his tongue wetting the plush of his bottom lip. He hadn’t tasted your mouth yet, something he would remedy at the earliest opportunity. Right now, you would nip and bite and snap at him, something he liked, but your first kiss should be more restrained than that. 

“That’s it. Good girl… look at you dripping for me. Fuck—sway your hips like that again and we won’t leave this room until you’re round and full of my pups.” 

You dropped to your elbows when you felt the bed dip behind you. Your molten cheek came to rest on the sticky sheets, the angle just enough to cut your eyes up and see him approach.  

Commander Smith. 

Erwin. 

Alpha. 

He filled his broad palms with the fat of your rump, stretching you wide until your cunt flexed in want, pushing out slick in anticipation. Erwin thumbed at your entrance before raising a hand to his mouth and licking the flat of his palm right to the tips of his fingers. The saliva felt that much hotter when it connected with your needy flesh. 

You’d be mortified by the obscene squelch of your juices and his spit mingling together if you were in your right mind. It was filthy—pure and simple.  

What you couldn’t see was Erwin coating himself in your abundant arousal, viscous strands succumbing to gravity to drip over his balls. He was breathing heavily now, the muscles taut in his neck and shoulders with the restraint of not being inside you. A wide mitt of a hand rested at your hip, massaging whilst he shuffled closer and let the weight of his tip notch at your cunt. 

“Erwin—please! Need it now. I might di—oh my fuccccckk!” 

The stretch was immediate despite how well primed you were. You knew he was thick, heavy, long… but the girth was the real killer. His cock bullied into you, inch by slow inch. 

“Ha-! Don’t… squirm. You wanted this, right?” 

Erwin clenched his fist to prevent the warning smack he nearly inflicted on your peachy butt. He was a lot to take, he knew that, and you were not accustomed to him—not yet. 

You would learn in time. He would ruin you for anyone else. 

Sweat dripped along your spine at the sweltering heat of his body engulfing yours. Erwin draped himself over you like a personal blanket, his lips and tongue and teeth exploring your skin and marking you in places you would have to contort to be able to see in the mirror come tomorrow. 

“Taste divine. Smell like nirvana. Gods, your cunt is moulded to me, sweetheart. Can you feel me here?” he asked with a thrust that made your knees wobble and stars spark in your eyes. He was lodged right at your cervix, just as you had imagined when all this began, although not from the man in question. 

“Uh-huh!” 

It was all you could manage, drool slipping past the seam of your lips as Erwin set a pace that suited him. It wasn’t the frantic fuck you expected, neither was it slow nor deliberate like his fingers had been in the bath. What he managed to achieve was a combination of pace and force that knocked the air from your lungs each time he impaled you fully. It left you whining for him when he retreated, and soon the sensation of his balls swinging directly against your swollen little nub became so overwhelming that you were certain you wouldn’t last long. 

As if he sensed your dilemma, he grunted mid-stroke and reassured you as he said, “Follow your instinct. Let your body do what it wants, what it needs. I want to feel you try to milk me.”  

Erwin grunted; jaw clenched tightly. His knot was inflating, and he didn’t feel anywhere near ready for this to be over. Rationally, he knew that once would not be enough for you. There would more time to kiss and fuck and touch and learn, but he still clung to this first time like it really was his very first time. 

In a way it was. It was his first time with you. It would not be his last. 

The intensity of your orgasm nearly had him lose his bearing, if his wrist hadn’t caught the brunt of his weight then you would have been flattened into the mattress beneath him.  

Your cunt was a greedy little thing—sucking and pulsing around his cock with little room for him to retreat. All he could do was ride out the pleasure through gritted teeth and determination not to blow his load like some young pup. 

“Bi—Bite. Bite me!” 

Christ… you were temptation and sin, and love and beauty all wrapped in one body.  

Erwin scented along your back, mounting you like any animal would and dragging the prominent ridge of his nose over the fluttering pulse in your neck. It was beating wildly, a rhythm unique to you and he hummed his appreciation when you turned to give him more access. “Here?” he asked unnecessarily. 

You chewed your lip, near delirious from the warmth and continued fullness of his cock sawing in and out of your core. He was licking the scent gland that attracted all Alphas to Omegas and Omegas to Alphas, but it was not the one on the other side that only those considered mates would bite and mark. 

“Y-yes.” 

A lie. He could smell it. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I-I… of course!” 

Erwin smiled into your skin and sighed, knowing he was reaching his limit. “You are not being honest with me, but that’s okay. I won’t press you right now, we will have time.” 

“Oh god. This won’t be enough?” You whimpered in realisation, shame coating your features and you were glad he couldn’t see how flushed your face was. 

“Can you feel my knot growing?”  

You nodded once, meekly, and he continued. “Once I plug you as nature intended, you will be fine for a good few hours, certainly until we can part safely. It’ll be enough for you to sleep and actually rest, but no… it will not be enough. I’m not going anywhere, darling.” 

“But you have duties! You’re the fucking Commander… why are you laughing?” you asked with an evident pout. 

“I think you’ll find you’re fucking the Commander.” 

“Really? We’re really going to do dad level jokes whilst you’re balls deep and I’m desperate for you to bite my damn neck and knot me? Hey—mmm.”  

Your wits scattered once again as Erwin spread his weight further, mounting you more fully than you thought possible. He braced one palm at the small of your spine and his jaw snapped wide. 

His teeth grazed your earlobe, the sharp points travelling past the carotid artery until his hot breath huffed out in a wave of heat that tickled down your spine. He was losing his pace, hips beginning to snap harsher against your perfectly plump rear in a faltering tempo. You held your breath as you sensed the moment near. 

 He was so deep—so damn deep in your guts. Erwin lunged for you, his jaw stretched, and his perfectly pointed canines pierced into your flesh like a hot knife through butter. It made you tense all over, your walls clamping down around his ready to burst cock and it tripped his orgasm with a blinding flash. Heat unlike anything you had ever experienced speared your insides, and for a second it felt like your innards might be cooked alive. 

Wave after wave of cum painted the neck of your womb. Your neck throbbed from where he held you in his beastly maw. His tongue lapped at the skin trapped between his teeth, soothing the hurt in any way he could whilst he grunted and growled spilling inside you endlessly. 

You could feel the knot ballooning. It travelled further into your body, and you’d be damned if you could accurately describe the sensation. In simple terms it felt like you were being filled and stretched to the very limit of your body’s elasticity. 

Finally, it came to rest right where it was needed most. A stopper for any seed escaping and you knew that it could be some time before you could untangle from each other. The orgasm from having Erwin’s potent essence flood your cunt was unlike any other.  

It felt like it soothed the animal inside and sent it into a tranquil slumber. With a final cry of bliss, your knees slid out from under you and sent you both falling the final few inches to the mattress below. 

Erwin licked over the wound he had inflicted, wincing at the harsh purple bite mark and dribbles of blood oozing sluggishly from the shallow wound. Hooking an arm around your front, he shifted you both, so his weight was no longer suffocating you, shushing your little whimpers when the repositioning slightly moved how you were joined. 

“Sleep, my pretty little Omega. Let me watch over you.” Let me trace my fingertips over the curve of your shoulder, memorise the position of every freckle and divot in your skin. 

He left those parts out, afraid of overwhelming you. Fearful that you might agree to things simply because of his power and position. There was no doubt in his mind that you were his mate, but could you say the same about him? 

Erwin listened to your breathing even out, the heat dissipating from your skin until you were comfortable enough to nuzzle your face into the crook of his elbow beneath you. Strands of your hair fell across your eyes, and he was careful to move them aside to watch your eyelashes flutter in sleep. 

What a lie it was… that an Alpha had all the power. 

You could make or break him completely. You were the Goddess in his world and the fear of not being enough for you tore at his heart. He dropped his head to your shoulder and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come and soothe him like it was for you. 

“I can’t wait to kiss you under the moonlight. When you accept me as your man, your mate, your Alpha. 

I will change this world for the better… for you.”  

[shehungers]

FATHOMLESS

eldritch detective x reader |18+| 2.1k

you'd never noticed detective arsenè in the precinct before, even after a number of years working in the office. when you start to ask around about him, they confirm that he's always been there, but you're more worried that they're not mentioning that he has no face...

story warnings; dark content, dubcon leaning sort of noncon (blackouts and spotty memory), sexual content, grotesque + horrific details, this leans more mystery and uncanny valley than anything else, mentions of mc being a drinker, smoking, roughly proofread.

reposted from my deleted blog: theoxenfree.

please share your thoughts with me + reblog!

this is possibly a concept piece to a much larger supernatural, psychological piece. if you'd like to see that, let me know!!

Everyone at the precinct called him Detective Arsené, but they never said anything about his face.

It was simply that there wasn't one there, not that you were able to discern in any instance you'd seen him wandering the floor. You had blamed the long hours, glowing blue screens, useless eye prescriptions, corporate greed, and mixing alcohol with allergy medicine before you finally accepted what you were seeing was real, yet no one else noticed it apart from you.

“What's wrong with his face?” you'd ask anyone with the time to spare to listen.

“Who? Arsené?” they'd laugh, whether in disbelief that you were speaking about Watt City’s genius detective in such a fashion, or that they thought you were the funniest person in the office. “What are you talking about? He's always looked like that! Lay off the booze, yeah?”

Those responses had never been satisfactory enough, going as far to set you ill at ease for the remainder of your shift, sufficiently distracting you from furthering your workload because your mind always came back to the detective and his non-existent face.

“He looks pretty normal to me,” said a senior member in your division. An older man you'd come to know as forthright and virtuous with a history showing that integrity. He had taken eyes off his computer screen, bifocals aside, and pinched the high-point between his brows. “What's this about, really? I've worked with Arsené for years. You know that. He's been here since before I started. Good guy. Hard worker. Drinks too much, though. Just like someone else I know.”

But, this was the first time you had heard he'd worked with Arsené, let alone acknowledged his existence at all. There was no reason for him to lie; he had spoken without inflection, warily, almost accusatory towards the end when he mentioned the alcohol.

“Detective Arsené? Well, I think he's really handsome. He just has that look about him, y'know?” The next person you questioned was a junior at the precinct. A pretty woman who was all silky black hair and long, blunt nails that never touched a surface where they'd be put in peril.

She always used her knuckles type on the clunky keyboard, and did so as she went on, “I've heard he has a really specific type, though. I've also never seen him take anyone out, or take a partner on cases, now that I think about it. Isn't he just a stand-up guy? I'd say he's the sort to bring home to mom and dad, but I hear he's got a drinking problem. Why do all the hot ones have vices like that?”

She particularly enjoyed her gossip, especially if it involved the detectives at the precinct. You were positive she'd never mentioned Arsené before now. As smart as she was, she didn't look below the surface very often when it came to men, so for her to say nothing at all of the detective’s smooth face was mystifying.

After that, you started paying attention to Arsené in a way you convinced yourself was discreet, which meant slowly peeking your eyes above your computer screen to observe his movements across the floor. Always in motion, he stalked around the place with undaunted familiarity, maneuvering the razored corners of desks and blockades from doors and walls, and languidly sidestepped the oncoming traffic of bodies in such a way that seemed premeditated.

Practiced.

Rinse and repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

This staunch dedication of yours lasted well over a week before anything came of it until one morning you found him waiting in your seat, teetering a bloated manila folder on a thigh while bouncing it impatiently. A very real sensation of unease took hold of the back of your neck, like a cold hand stroking lightly at the downy hairs there until they stood straight.

You thought about pretending you hadn't seen him, swiveling around, and leaving in a burst of urgency. It'd be easy to call in to say you had a personal emergency or became suddenly, very viscously ill and wouldn't be able to handle staring at a screen for twelve hours. No one would ask questions because you were exemplary, always on time, and seldom took time off as you couldn't afford to do so.

Arsené’s head slanting sideways and the waxy, flat face pointing directly towards you prevented you from acting on that impulse, however. He gestured you over with a lethargic wave, though the jitteriness in his leg seemed to worsen from impatience into sheer excitability.

“Clocked in early, aren't you? You have quite the habit of doing that, I've noticed.” He greeted, voice simultaneously undefinable and velvety. It wasn't so deep that you felt like it was gravelly or reverberated in the same way a baritone would, but there was a heftiness to it that weighted in your mind, as if it were possible for someone to reach through all your blood, tissue, and bone and press down directly on your brain. “I've seen you come in a few times, hours before anyone else. And you know what I think? I think, ‘That’s the kind of person who keeps a place like this running. That's the kind of person we want here in this precinct. That's the type of person who believes in the work that we do and who I’d want as my partner’.”

As much as you wanted to get away from the horrid sight before you, the no-face and potent voice wriggling around the wrinkles in your brain, you couldn't bring yourself to do so just yet. Not while you had questions you couldn't find answers to, not while you needed to sedate yourself at night because they ruthlessly endangered your dreams and were thieves of peaceful slumber.

“I've never met you before,” you said, giving a cordial handshake when he had offered it to you. The skin of his palm was warm and humanlike, though his grip was all wrong and entirely too firm. You didn't convey this dissonance to him, though. “I've seen you around, though. Were you transferred from a different department or precinct? Everyone says you've been around for a long time, but I find it hard to believe I've noticed.”

“Oh? Well, they'd be right.” Arsené said, finally releasing your hand to take up the thick folder. “I've always been here, and I'm always here. Now, that aside, I've cleared it with the Chief and I'd like you to help me on a case that I'm stuck on. If I've read right, you're the most recent person who's looked through everything to update the records, correct?”

“Probably.” You didn't move when he rolled up another chair from a desk nearby. “I'm a Recorder. It's my job to go through files and periodically update them. I'm not qualified to help detectives on their cases, though. You'd need to speak to the Chief about getting an Assistant for that.”

“Ah, didn't you hear me? That's all been handled. Sit down. Sit down.” He waved you close, then took you by the arm to sit you in the chair next to him. “We have a lot to cover. I think we should start from the beginning and work our way through the evidence list, and then the interrogation tapes. After that, it'd be a good idea to revisit the site of the crime. Don't worry about clearances, I've got everything we need.”

It wasn't often that you saw the inside of the precinct after that day as Arsené particularly enjoyed his busywork and bringing you along for it.

Most days you simply operated as a Field Recorder by transcribing statements into the handheld device provided by the precinct to maintain a digital trail. The work wasn't especially difficult, but it did take a level of skill and technological literacy to be able to do effectively, more so to be the sort allowed to tail after a detective on his cases and still maintain an overall ninety-eight percent accuracy.

Despite your job dictating it as such, Arsené never allowed you to fade into the background or stand around as a fancy accessory to go with his title. Oftentimes, he utilized you as his sole confidant as he worked through evidence and suspects, waiting in revered silence for you to offer your insight (however weak it actually was), and afterwards only let you bask in a glow of confidence through streams of unending praise.

“Egads! Eureka! Genius! How is it that it never occurred to me that way? Truly, you're spectacular! You're divine! Who knows how long I’d be running around in circles if I didn't have you as my partner.” They were all slightly variating compliments, though essentially all the same at the core and all very untrue.

You'd never forgotten about the things your colleagues had said about him, of his unrivaled prowess and veneration as the best detective Watt City had ever come to witness. He didn't need you. He had never needed you to solve a case, so you had learned to take his praise in the same vein as you did the silky-haired woman’s comments on men: uninspired and shallow.

When your disinterest became palpable, he seemed to only rely on you more as though he couldn't stand to be burdened with the idea of a rift. He had started calling you late at night about cases, going as far to come knocking at your door and walking inside reeking of stale smoke and a haze of booze, neither of which you could comprehend as possible considering he had no face.

“I just don't get it. I just don't get it! Where am I going wrong?!” He said so wretchedly, sides of his head cradled in his hands that were tucked between his legs. “This case, it’s getting to me. It's getting under my skin. I can't figure it out. Have I finally met my match? Have I finally been defeated? You! You’ve got to help me. It can't end like this.”

For all his dramatics, there was something obscenely cruel behind his words. Perhaps he thought you wouldn't have caught onto it because you simply a Field Recorder, just a person at the end of the day.

“Why haven't you mentioned anything about the victim? You're acting like they don't exist, Arsené. Is this about solving the crime so they get justice and the family gets closure, or is this for your reputation?” you asked.

He immediately stopped complaining and jolted upright, taken by surprise like he had realized this oversight and wasn't sure how to navigate around it. On that glossy slate of a face, one you knew was piercing deep into you despite a lack of hollow sockets and rolling gelatinous orbs within, you could tell he was now thinking of an answer.

“Neither,” was what he gave you. “It's neither of those. Come here. Sit down and talk to me for a while. I can't go home like this.”

The pitying part of you usually won in those moments where Arsené presented himself as his weakest. There was a part of you that believed he was taking advantage of your feeble heart, your kindness, your blind generosity because at his worst, he'd find a way to strip you down and fuck you.

At least, that's what you assumed happened. You never really could remember as the memory was pitch black, his body was unfathomable above yours, but you were sure you felt his cock penetrating you, his hands desperately fondling your flesh and fat like there was too much to touch yet too little time to feel it all. He said things to you inside your head, words that you couldn’t seem to piece together yet ignited the tension between your legs, lit your skin on fire, and delivered lewd, high-pitched sounds to his ears that he reveled in.

He never left you a mess and he never spoke about those times after they happened. Since you were never sure of them yourself, they suffered the same indifference as his praise and the days simply moved onward in a similar way.

“Another case solved!” Arsené cheered, lifting a stout mug in the air for you to reciprocate with the long stem of your wine glass. It was a fragile tinkling sound, a gentle vibration up your fingers and into your wrist as you toasted his success. “I couldn't have done it without you, my beloved partner! If it's you and I, I could do this forever.”

You swirled the liquid inside; a light and dry, raspberry and vaguely earthy smell wafted up your nostrils before you tasted it and let your cheeks pucker. As you drank, you watched as Arsené lifted the stout towards the expanse of taut, clear skin that should've been his face, and saw liquid inside empty into nowhere.

[archeo-starwars]

You wouldn't happen to have an extensive layout dissection of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant? Or even a list of all notable and obscure sections of the Jedi Temple? OR or even labelled areas that are public and reserved for only temple residents. Both from canon and legends, please and thank you!!!

The best I managed to find comes from Star Wars Complete Locations - you may check out the whole archived version here. The “zoom in” option is pretty good for reading details. Below the pages (I suppose the best is to open them in new tab for better reading):

As for the list of locations, I recommend wookiepedia's list. Plenty of data, both for Legends and New Canon.

Additional sources worth to check out:

Jedi Temple Locations & Jedi Temple History - both published as official material on star wars.com in regard to prequels and New Canon sources. Pictures and references to various places inside Temple.

Star Wars.com's The Clone Wars episode guide + videoclips from the series, like

A) Jedi Archives Tour (the entrance to one of the most restricted areas of the temple: The Holocron Vault).

B) Layout of Jedi Temple Library (source)

C) Jedi Temple funeral room + environment illustration by Tara Rueping (source)

Old Data Bank for Jedi Temple

HoloNews mentioning "a mob of 20 university students attempted to infiltrate the Jedi Temple" and "managing to get as far as the Second Atrium Lobby"

Star Wars Battlefront (2) game wiki provides some map and location description

and if you have time (and patience) you can watch gameplay from 501st Legion's mission in Jedi Temple for reference, like this one

The wookiepedia's articles should give enough good idea of the rooms, their location and functions, but I'm adding a few source pages:

STAR WARS: FACT FILES #36 provides a lot informations what and where was inside the Temple and some general data about visitors, security, Grand Balcony, Grand Corridor & Towers. Not all is super specific, but worth checking out for sure.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia mentions this:

and for Jedi Temple entry:

As for the named locations that are public or reserved for only temple residents, there is definitely a division like that, however I'm not sure if this issue was very well explained. The source gives us some ideas, like for example, Jedi Archives have data accessible only for Jedi with rank of Master or higher (thus most likely separated areas to study). At the same time, Fact Files #25 says that Jedi Archives offers an "excellent resources to researchers, including star-map hologram consoles", but also an access to entire scientific and historical knowledge of the Republic

so non-Jedi were allowed to use Jedi Library/Archives for their own research and work-related needs. We also must remember that the Jedi Order had various scientific branches, including archaeology, exploring unknown regions, and medicine, so logically thinking Jedi worked with other, non-Jedi specialists of many fields.

We also know from various sources, that politicians and important guests were invited for various occasions. We could see in Republic comics series that Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and senator Ask Aak were allowed to listen to Jedi reporting before High Council about his last battle

or attending Jedi Funeral like Duchess Satine and Padme Amidala did for the (fake) Obi-Wan's one or just visiting as a friend/comrade-in-arm

I would need to make more research about this issue as there is plenty tie-in material to Jedi Temple on Coruscant that would take a lot time to study, but at this moment, I think the best is assume how far a non-Jedi may walk into Temple will depend greatly who is that person and what is nature of their business with Jedi.

At the same time, Purge: Seconds to Die has this line "Clone Troopers? This deep in the Temple? Not permitted."

The Jedi was in Archives herself, so it is worth to take into account that clones could have more limited access to Temple than the average guest before war did. At the same time, clone troopers could make a report before Yoda and Mace Windu/High Council, as was presented by Star Wars Tales (Honor Bound):

so it is not like they were outright forbidden to enter the temple either.

Hope it will help!

[fearfulfertility]

CONFIDENTIAL MEETING TRANSCRIPT

DRC, Medical Ethics & Compliance Division

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Above Average Fetal Quotas in Low Compliance Areas

Location: Paternity Compound [REDACTED], Unsecure Conference Room

Attendees:

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager, Insemination Operations

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator, Compound Oversight

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Bioethicist

I… I need to voice my concerns again, Doctor. I understand the need for productivity, but these insemination rates already exceed what we know is a risky quota. We're well beyond the original operational guidelines that were put in place by HQ.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Doctor, we've had this conversation... twice this week already. The DRC's objectives are clear, and compliance rates should be raised. And [REDACTED] City has the lowest surrogacy conscription rates for all of Zone 6, which has the lowest rates for the entire country. With so few surrogates, increasing embryos is the only way to meet our quotas this quarter. I'd love to hear if you've found a way to double conscription rates by just waving your hands.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

But... but... the physicality of it, Doctor. These surrogates... men, are not just numbers on a ledger. They're carrying life in multiples beyond the body's capacity, well beyond what our medicine says is natural. We are knowingly creating a dangerous scenario… and for what? Marginal increases in birth quotas?

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

While I appreciate your… concern for the surrogates' livelihood, we must remain objective. This isn't a hypothetical situation where we have the luxury of prioritizing ideals over results. We have mandates, strict deadlines, and expectations from the highest levels. The DRC is operating under intense pressure to show progress. We've all seen the latest reports on our population projections. Desperate times, as they say, call for desperate measures.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

My concern is ethical, not emotional, Doctor. If I seem… invested, I can't help but think that pushing them to such extremes… to see them filled so… utterly... borders on sadistic indulgence at best. We cannot simply keep filling them up like a fish tank. The latest reports put our average pregnancy quota at 16 births per surrogate, and I know that the quota is higher now. This is too much for them, and their bodies can only hold so much.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

"Borders on indulgence," you say? Interesting choice of words. But you know as well as I do that every additional fetus we bring to term brings us just barely into alignment with the national average. As uncomfortable as you are with their situation, your… fixation on the morality of the situation is, frankly, irrelevant.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

It's hardly a fixation, Doctor. It's a… concern for their wellbeing. They're under endless strain, stretching and expanding, filled to their limits with life… and yet, we expect each new batch to endure more. Are we prepared to reduce these surrogates to mere vessels? Some of these men are barely adults, scoped up the moment they've hit the age of majority. And we're pushing them to physical extremes with little regard for the aftermath.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

The aftermath is a healthy generation that will keep this country from falling into the dustbin of history.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

Let me put this in concrete terms, Doctor. Consider the case of Surrogate S116-5221-O, who was conscripted at 18 and carrying 15 fetuses not three weeks after his birthday. The strain was so extreme that he required round-the-clock oxygen, feeding, and hydration to maintain his basic stability. His organs were compressed to such an extent that by Day 22, he couldn't breathe without assistance. Is this truly the level of strain we consider acceptable?

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Yes, I recall S116-5221-O. However, as I mentioned, we specifically selected him due to his exceptional physique and vital health metrics. Despite the discomfort, he still brought each of those fetuses to term at a healthy birth weight and helped us meet our targets that quarter—an overall success in our otherwise abysmal quarter.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

Success story? Surrogate S116-5221-O was so big we needed a forklift to move him to the birthing wing. And he's not the only one. Surrogate S116-4418-Q was assigned 17 embryos, a record for our unit. By his second week, he was bedridden and needed to be suspended from the ceiling lest his womb crush him. He spent his final days hanging from the rafters, delirious from the strain. Are we to pretend that these outcomes are acceptable, let alone humane?

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Every surrogate conscripted will suffer some potential risks. No one denies the burden they bear, but each successful delivery justifies the process. Their lives, tragically short as they may be, are meaningful in the contributions they make.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

Their lives are defined only by our demands, Doctor. We are bending them, breaking them, for output at a volume beyond any semblance of human decency. I can't look at cases like Surrogate S116-4418-Q and rationalize that level of suffering simply because it fits our agenda. This will not end well—morally or operationally.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Your concerns have been noted, Doctor, but let's keep sight of our objective here. We both know that the alternative. I'm sure they'd appreciate the DRC not enacting martial law or forcing raids on their families. We're weighing one outcome against another, and while it's not ideal, we're dealing with the greater good here. Besides, we're not enforcing this on every surrogate. Only the most robust candidates are selected for high multiples based on their physiological indicators. We're not arbitrarily assigning high embryo counts.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

We must consider the limits of the human body, Doctor. And seeing these men in their… altered states, each with bodies so... distended, reminds us of our ethical boundaries. If we push them further, we risk turning this program into a grotesque display rather than a scientifically sound operation.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Such high ideals for the precarious situation we're in, Doctor. It's time we refocused on the logistics rather than the aesthetics of the problem. I'll take your concerns under advisement. However, we will proceed with the current embryo protocols unless I receive a directive to change course. Besides their surrogates... we have a legal right to do as we see fit to preserve our way of life, even at the expense of theirs.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

Legal obligation does not absolve us of ethical responsibility. They are conscripts, but that doesn't mean they are disposable. We must maintain some semblance of humanity in our processes. This notion that quotas justify any means will backfire. It's only a matter of time until public scrutiny catches up, and then we'll be accountable for every life lost under our care.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

Public scrutiny is not my concern. Meeting our birth quotas is. And, respectfully, the stakes are high enough that certain compromises must be made. These surrogates, as tragic as their fates may be, are providing an irreplaceable service to society. Their contribution is paramount.

If we cut back, we will lose ground, and soon, we will be too far behind to make any difference.

Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager

Let me be equally clear, then. I will formally request a review of these practices. There is a line, Doctor, and we are perilously close to crossing it. I will be escalating this to the Director's office.

Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator

You're welcome to try. But we'll continue with these measures until instructed otherwise.

[Transcript ends.]

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

Memorandum

Following a formal complaint submitted by Dr. [REDACTED], Senior Manager of Insemination Operations, to DRC Headquarters regarding operational protocols and perceived ethical concerns, HQ conducted a preliminary review and determined that no formal investigation was warranted. Dr. [REDACTED] was subsequently placed on probation for insubordination due to his ongoing objections to established protocols. After observation and review by HR, Dr. [REDACTED] has been reassigned to the Anchorage Office, where he will continue supporting DRC’s initiatives under adjusted responsibilities.

In parallel, Dr. [REDACTED], Administrator, Paternity Compound [REDACTED], [REDACTED] City, has been recognized with a personal achievement award. This award acknowledges Dr. [REDACTED]’s dedication to maintaining and exceeding local birth quotas amidst low surrogacy compliance rates. His contributions have been instrumental in stabilizing output levels despite challenges.

End of Memorandum

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

Click Here to return to DRC Report Archives

[dykeulous]

about me.

i am apollo, a 21 year old homosexual transguy butch, and i come from a small, underdeveloped slavic country. i made this blog in hopes to come to a finalized understanding of my own personal beliefs, as feminism & overall politics have been a very close & important interest of mine for quite a long time�� but it has lately been growing into something bigger. i find it is my role and duty to shed light on specific, more grey areas, that many people from my political sphere tend to overlook & even outright dismiss; and this is something that i strive to achieve during my time being on radblr. i conversate with people whose political beliefs vary & don’t align with my own on a wide scale, and i hope to promote a nuanced approach to many topics. i believe locking ourselves up in an echo-chamber will only result in infighting, fearmongering, culty behavior and needless division– when time could have better been spent exchanging ideas, researching ways to fight the common enemy, and actively organizing.

i am a working-class lesbian and still in college (majoring in history & sociology), and my political views stem from my own life experiences. i am a bolshevik-leninist, much of my feminism is connected to this in many ways (i advocate for revolutionary feminism, and would describe myself as a dual system feminist); i believe that working-class women share very little similarities with bourgeois women, and thus should not share solidarity with them. i’m very interested in rehabilitative justice. when you become aware of the institutional sexism & mistreatment of women in every corner of our society, you will begin to see that this extends to several institutions that you might have viewed as helpful and safe– i consider myself psychiatry-critical (not anti), and i hate the way that so many women & feminists fail to see the misogyny in the field of psychology & more overall medicine. the male body is seen as default in every case scenario, and it is on us feminists to lividly oppose & fight against that. i am gender critical, but not transphobic– trans people deserve the right protection and safety, but this should not come at the expense of other marginalized groups. the trans community does a very bad job at addressing misogyny in their spaces, and often adopts an ideology of metaphysical beliefs, which directly oppose dialectical materialism, and rather push for an idealistic view of the world. radical feminist spaces, on the other hand, may ignore the need for nuance in some cases, and brush off the very important fight of dismantling transphobia (and viewing transphobia as inherently patriarchal). i believe both spaces ought to improve, and instead of cannibalizing each other, we must come to an understanding of each other (despite certain disagreements), and work together on our shared end goal. both communities can learn plenty from the other, and both can offer useful strategies to the other. the key lays in recognizing both sex-based oppression and transphobia as legitimate axes of oppression, and uniting to fight the lethality of the patriarchy.

i hold addicts & recovering addicts dearly to my heart, and i believe that criminalization does nothing good, and instead marginalizes the addicts, especially female addicts. i am not vegan myself, but i appreciate the work of my ecofeminist sisters, and their amazing analyses of the oppression of animals & patriarchal-capitalist exploitation of our environment. i am autistic, and my most prominent special interest has to be gender abolition; the reason i made this blog in the first place is exactly because i wanted to develop my own theory of gender abolition. this is how i define gender. the pathway to gender abolition that i personally align with the most is gender acceleration. another special interest are marxist politics. anti-racist, anti-imperialist, anti-zionist. 🇵🇸 FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE!!!

my current hyperfixations are harry potter, my little pony, typology, and more generally vampires. i kin twilight sparkle from mlp, and severus snape & barty crouch jr. from harry potter (weird mix i know). i primarily listen to feminist punk (riot grrrl), but i also sometimes enjoy a good goth masterpiece. i am interested in soviet history (the night witches are so fascinating), cuban cuisine, and north korean culture. i would define myself as a slavic patriot, and will not hesitate to punch a westerner in the face if they choose to close their eyes before our beautiful history. tito, lenin, che guevara, rosa luxemburg apologist. my favorite feminist authors include angela davis, clara zetkin, alexandra kollontai, monique wittig, christine delphy, audre lorde and cordelia fine (cordelia fine in particular i would recommend to a lot of people on radblr to dismantle their own bio-essentialism & neurosexism).

not exactly a nicefem, even though i do try to be kind & informative– i tend to get angry fairly quickly, and this is something i’m working on. do not assume bad faith. extremely bad at reading tone, and i myself can sometimes come off as rude & condescending unintentionally; feel free to ask me about tone. i see misogyny in everything and will not hold myself back from calling it out, no matter the setting or the situation. everyone can interact, and i do not block easily, but if you engage in outright harassment & repeat petty insults, i will block.

i would not explicitly call myself a tirf either, even though in practice i would be considered one. this is because i often find that “tirfism” leans into trying to erase the existence of sex-based oppression, and shifts the radical feminist movement into a direction that completely neglects material reality & instead focuses on the same old liberal tactics. the word “tirf” in the first place stems as a counter-attack against the word “terf”, making it reactionary. i’ve also personally been in several spaces filled with tirf-identified folk, who ended up heavily speaking over trans men & prioritized trans women over any other demographic, focusing on proving that they are “one of the good ones”, destroying the purpose of radical feminism. i believe the word “terf” has completely lost its’ meaning & is excessively being used as a way to shut up exclusively same-sex attracted women & women who dare talk about sex-based oppression. when i see a radical feminist being shitty & using transphobic rhetoric, i call her a transphobe; not a terf. nevertheless, i believe there is a time & place for trans women to offer their voice in feminist discussions, and their voice is very important & deserving of being heard & uplifted, so long as they stay respectful of female people & our unique experiences. i consider transmisogyny a legitimate axis of oppression [and transandromisogyny, better known as “transandrophobia” although i take issue with the roots of that word], and i think it should be discussed & analyzed more in feminist spaces. that being said, if a feminist wants to exclusively focus on female liberation & chooses her feminism to be female driven, she should have every right to do so.

#ftminism is a tag i use to talk & ramble about transmasc-specific [or transmasc-adjacent] struggles that i feel can be connected to feminism in one way or another. i also sometimes tag transmasc positivity with this. it is a word that i coined to describe transmasc-activism, since i feel trans feminism does a horrible job at including trans men. feel free to consider it a subsect of trans feminism, but i personally do not, and i think it should be its’ own feminist branch. i am transmasc myself, and thus mostly center my feminism around this [i also center butches, detrans women, studs and overall gender nonconforming female people in my feminism]. we deserve our own space to vent our anger at the patriarchy.

check out @pokegyns– it is a collaborative nuancefem blog, modded by discord server members, and created by @tirfpikachu.

*Thread: Transness and Radical Feminism Can Coexist*

[gaiasgrimoire]

Herb Spotlight: Thyme

History & Origins

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a perennial herb that has been cherished for its culinary, medicinal, and spiritual properties for thousands of years. Originating from the Mediterranean region, thyme was used by the ancient Egyptians for embalming, while the Greeks and Romans valued it for its antiseptic properties and burned it as incense in temples to purify spaces.

The name "thyme" is believed to come from the Greek word "thymos," meaning courage or strength. Roman soldiers would bathe in thyme-infused water to gain bravery before battles. In the Middle Ages, it was also tucked under pillows to ward off nightmares and given to knights and warriors as a symbol of courage.

Where & How to Grow Thyme

Thyme is a resilient, sun-loving herb that thrives in well-drained soil and can be grown both indoors and outdoors.

Climate: Thyme prefers warm, sunny climates with at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. It's drought-tolerant and does well in zones 5-9.

Soil: Grows best in well-drained, sandy soil with a slightly alkaline pH. Avoid overwatering, as thyme doesn't tolerate soggy soil.

Growing from seeds: Start thyme seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost, or plant cuttings directly in the garden in spring or early summer. Thyme can also be propagated easily by root division.

Spacing: Plant thyme about 12 inches apart in a sunny location. It can also be grown in pots or as a ground cover, as it only grows to about 6-12 inches tall.

Harvesting: Harvest thyme when the plants are dry, preferably in the morning, by cutting sprigs just before the flowers bloom. The leaves can be used fresh or dried for later use.

Health Benefits

Thyme offers numerous medicinal benefits when used orally or topically.

Oral Uses:

Respiratory support: Thyme is a natural expectorant, helping to clear mucus and ease symptoms of coughs, colds, bronchitis, and sore throats. Drinking thyme tea or using thyme honey is particularly effective.

Antimicrobial properties: Thyme contains thymol, an essential oil with antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. It helps fight infections and boost the immune system.

Digestive aid: Thyme is excellent for relieving indigestion, bloating, and gas. It can also help regulate gut bacteria and support digestive health.

Antioxidant support: Rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, thyme helps reduce oxidative stress, supporting overall wellness and aging.

Topical Uses:

Skin health: Thyme can be used as a natural antiseptic for treating wounds, cuts, and infections. It also helps soothe skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and fungal infections due to its antimicrobial properties.

Anti-inflammatory: When applied topically, thyme can reduce inflammation and swelling, making it useful for treating skin irritations or minor burns.

Hair growth: Thyme oil is often used in natural hair care products for stimulating hair growth and treating dandruff due to its antimicrobial properties.

Magical Properties

Thyme has long been associated with purification, protection, and courage in magical practices.

Purification: Thyme is used in cleansing rituals, either burned as incense or added to baths to cleanse one's aura or energy field. It is believed to purify spaces, removing negative energies or spirits.

Protection: Thyme is often carried or placed in doorways for protection from harm or ill intentions. It can also be worn as a charm to ward off negative energies and bad dreams.

Courage & Strength: Thyme is associated with bravery. In magical workings, it’s used to summon strength and courage, especially when facing difficult situations or challenges. It can be carried as a talisman or burned before spell work to empower the caster.

Healing: Thyme is often used in spells related to healing, vitality, and renewal. It's added to healing potions, incense, and sachets to promote physical and emotional recovery.

Love & Attraction: In love magic, thyme is believed to attract love and affection. It’s often included in love sachets, charms, or baths to draw positive relationships and strengthen existing ones.

Using Thyme in Your Practice

Thyme tea: Brewed as tea, thyme can be sipped to promote healing, clear the mind, and fortify the spirit before rituals.

Burning thyme: Burn dried thyme as an offering to deities, or use the smoke to cleanse and purify spaces, objects, or yourself.

Thyme oil: Dilute thyme essential oil in a carrier oil and use it in healing rituals or anointing candles to promote health and protection.

Thyme is a versatile herb with deep roots in history, known for its medicinal, culinary, and magical uses. Whether you're growing it in your garden or using it in your magical practice, thyme offers powerful healing, protective, and purifying qualities that make it a must-have in any herbalist's or witch’s collection.

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Alchymya by National Library of Medicine Via Flickr: Author(s): Gesner, Konrad, 1516-1565, Author Publication: London: Peter Short, 1599 Format: Still image Subject(s): Alchemy, Equipment and Supplies Genre(s): Book Illustrations Abstract: A woman is standing among various chemical apparatus, she is holding a pair of tongs and a glass container; a furnace is to the left. Related Title(s): Is part of: Practise of old and new phisicke, title page vignette.; See related catalog record: 2246053R Extent: 1 print Technique: woodcut NLM Unique ID:101435994 NLM Image ID: A016359 Permanent Link: resource.nlm.nih.gov/101435994

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Can you summarize Romana’s presidency and its impacts on Gallifreyan society? Are those impacts lasting?

What was Romana's presidency like?

📜 Key Achievements

🌍 Ending Isolationism: Romana opened Gallifrey to the universe, establishing embassies (like the Tharil Embassy) and pursuing alliances.

⏲️ Tackling Anti-Time: She led experiments to understand anti-time, which resulted in significant discoveries but also controversies, like banishing the poor Doctor to the Divergent Universe.

🛑 Preventing Wars: Romana personally mediated crises, often risking her life to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

🎓 Reforming Education: She welcomed off-world students to the Academy, modernising Gallifrey's outdated elitism.

👑 Imperiatrix Era: Temporarily declaring herself Imperiatrix—a title historically used in crises—Romana sought to protect Gallifrey from civil war and the growing influence of an entity known as Pandora.

🔥 The Drama

Romana faced constant challenges. She was abducted by the Daleks for decades but escaped to resume her presidency. Factions like Inquisitor Darkel opposed her, exploiting weaknesses to sow division. Pandora, a manifestation of Gallifrey’s genetic experimentation, nearly consumed her, escalating civil war and pushing Romana to paranoia, which cost her key friendships.

🌟 Lasting Impacts

🚪 A More Open Gallifrey: Her efforts marked the beginning of Gallifrey's shift away from isolation, though later leaders reverted to traditionalism.

👥 Civil War Lessons: The Gallifreyan Civil War reshaped how the Time Lords viewed unity and governance.

⚡ Power Redefined: Her tenure redefined the presidency, showing Gallifreyan leaders could be more than passive bureaucrats.

🤔 Were Her Impacts Lasting?

While her presidency left a distinct mark on Gallifreyan history, the endurance of her achievements is less distinct. Romana's reforms brought some progressive changes, but later regimes and events, like Rassilon's authoritarian rule and the Time War, dismantled much of her work and reinstated isolationism.

Related:

📺|📜👽How do politics work on Gallifrey?: Detailing all the mechanics and roles of Gallifreyan politics.

💬|📜👽Does Gallifrey have anyone they've had friendly interactions with?: History of historical alliances Gallifrey have made.

💬|📜🏺What could be some biological/political shifts during the Morbius era?: Looking at the changes Gallifrey had under Morbius.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[accord-vn]

Subject: Archon Program Candidates

From: ██████

To: Flora Pearson <fpearson@mail.asc>

Timestamp: 2088.09.24.6138

Dir. Pearson:

It took some time to process the data we've received from the Dept/Statistics request, and your patience in that matter is deeply appreciated. Our diligence has paid off, and we have narrowed to 54 potential candidates across the Republic. I've attached the full portfolio--note that among the 54, 7 in particular stand out. I've flagged these subjects accordingly. While a thorough examination of *all* prospective candidates is paramount for expedience and risk mitigation, the attached dossiers will surely speak for themselves with regards to their fit for the program.

Saklas

Raithe Desmont

b.2057.12.30 / 193cm / 66kg / B+

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 83.25%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 57.29%

Minor irreversible microgravitational osteoporosis from offworld childhood

History of childhood asthma, no noted persistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders in adulthood

Existing psychiatric profile suggests an intense need for approval, acknowledgement

Medical records became publicly available when he was processed following the dismantling of Synesia

Immediate family:

- Estranged father, younger sister

- deceased mother

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records indicate a history of activism that ended following an arrest with no conviction

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently works an administrative role within the Automation Division of the Dept/Research

Evaluation:

Desmont's department shows fantastic efficiency and produces incredible results at the expense of high turnover rates. Exit interviews indicate that his aggressive and controlling management style is to blame, however the growth in his department was undeniable to his superiors. Were he not a hylikos, he would surely be head of the division by now.

Desmont's ego is thoroughly immodest, and his focus solely on the Material. He refuses to accept that he cannot rise above his position without aid from the Church.

His methodical yet aggressive nature and relatively high d-SYN/TRA compatibility score suggest that he would be an ideal candidate for the archon of kings.

Iao

Zoe Katab

b.2070.07.19 / 170cm / 70kg / A-

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 95.66%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 71.90%

Several childhood hospitalizations for frequent upper and lower extremity fractures

History of self harm attributed to survivor's guilt/PTSD

Existing psychiatric profile indicates a need for control that stems from severe anxiety

Medical records became publicly available following her adoption as a ward of the state

Immediate family:

- deceased mother, father, sister

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records indicate that she was arrested for the murder of her parents, but ultimately found innocent

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently unemployed

Evaluation:

Katab's past indicates that she is capable of bloodshed yet more interested in the stability of total control. Behavioral reports from her childhood describe a deeply protective personality with recurring accusations of attempting to manipulate others.

Katab's exceptional d-SYN/TRA compatibility alongside her complex psychiatric profile indicate that she is an ideal archon candidate, with the most synergy with the archon of lordship.

Sabaoth

Sera ████

b.2060.10.30 / 180cm / 102kg / AB+

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 98.92%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 89.01%

Significant medical records were removed from public record following her involvement in the destruction of the Caesarea

Existing psychiatric profile indicates a deeply emotionally disturbed individual

Immediate family:

- estranged mother, father

- aunt, living apart

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records indicate that she is currently convicted for criminal negligence, manslaughter, and practicing medicine without a license

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently imprisoned

Evaluation:

████ 's involvement has been previously confirmed, as she was sponsored by █████.

Nonetheless, ████ 's unprecedentedly high SYN/TRA compatibility, unique physiology, and damaged psyche suggest that she is an ideal archon candidate, such that she may be a possible match with the archon of deity.

Adonaios

Ash Ward

b.2074.08.16 / 175cm / 58kg / B-

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 84.11%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 74.39%

Childhood history of malnourishment

Reports of several scars from infections secondary to insufficient wound care

Existing psychiatric profile indicate difficulty controlling anger

Medical records became publicly available upon becoming a ward of the state

Immediate family:

- deceased mother, father, uncle

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records indicate a predisposition to violence

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently a ward of the state

Evaluation:

Ward's behavioral reports indicate a tendency to lash out against authorities and classmates alike. He is quick to violence and has little patience for others.

His exceptional SYN/TRA compatibilities and temperament suggest a strong compatibility for the tyrant archon.

Elaios

Adrien Hein

b.2059.03.03 / 187cm / 40kg / O+

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 74.29%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 52.63%

Bilateral below-knee amputation secondary to explosion during an attempted live-munitions terrorist attack

Existing psychiatric profile indicates severe anxiety bordering on paranoia

Medical records became public record upon arrest

Immediate family:

- deceased husband, son

- mother, father live apart

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records indicate that he has been convicted for terrorism, conspiracy, possession of illegal explosives, destruction of property

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently imprisoned

Evaluation:

Hein lost his husband and son in a riot started by immigrants protesting the stride of Stauros. He was radicalized by the experience and subsequently became involved with a group of nationalists. During an attempt to bomb a train station the explosives were improperly timed, resulting in the loss of both of Hein's legs.

His willingness to shed blood, loyalty to Stauros, and obsessive mental state make him an ideal candidate for the archon of jealousy.

Oraios

Surya Marit

b.2068.09.25 / 175cm / 68kg / B+

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 88.04%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 73.43%

Minor broken bones in youth, negative growth plate abnormalities noted

Possible TBI secondary to concussion received during routine training though MRI/CT inconclusive

Existing psychiatric profile indicates an antisocial personality disorder diagnosis as well as a need for connection

Medical records became publicly available upon joining the ExoCorps

Immediate family:

- estranged brother, mother

- deceased mother

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records return no charges

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently unemployed

Evaluation:

Marit is an unusual individual. She was initially chosen to be a Cataphract though her surgery regimen was cut short by a traumatic head injury during a routine training exercise. This purportedly spawned a change in her behavior, at which point she was ejected from the ExoCorps.

Marit's fantastic SYN/TRA compatibility, her experience as a pilot, and her alienation from others make her a strong candidate for the archon of wealth.

Astaphaios

Elena Casaubon

b.2069.09.09 / 158cm / 53kg / O-

int-SYN/TRA compatibility: 63.14%

d-SYN/TRA compatibility: 47.69%

Irreversible microgravitational osteoporosis from offworld childhood

Existing psychiatric profile indicates obsessive tendencies and a thirst for the forbidden

Medical records not publicly available

Immediate family:

- absentee mother

- deceased father

Census records indicate no other family or partner

Criminal records return no charges

Church records confirm status as hylikos

Currently employed by the Dept/Research as a part of the Archon program

Evaluation:

Casaubon's participation was, of course, previously confirmed due to her connection to the Rite.

Casaubon's SYN/TRA compatibilities barely meet program minimums, and though her psychiatric profile does not indicate any particular affinity, the archon of wisdom will likely be the most fitting for her potential as a pilot.

Thank you for your patience,

██████

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

NIH-funded study focused on original virus strain, unvaccinated participants during pandemic.

Infection from COVID-19 appeared to significantly increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death for up to three years among unvaccinated people early in the pandemic when the original SARS-CoV-2 virus strain emerged, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported study. The findings, among people with or without heart disease, confirm previous research showing an associated higher risk of cardiovascular events after a COVID-19 infection but are the first to suggest the heightened risk might last up to three years following initial infection, at least among people infected in the first wave of the pandemic.

Compared to people with no COVID-19 history, the study found those who developed COVID-19 early in the pandemic had double the risk for cardiovascular events, while those with severe cases had nearly four times the risk. The findings were published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

“This study sheds new light on the potential long-term cardiovascular effects of COVID-19, a still-looming public health threat,” said David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., director for the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which largely funded the study. “These results, especially if confirmed by longer term follow-up, support efforts to identify effective heart disease prevention strategies for patients who’ve had severe COVID-19. But more studies are needed to demonstrate effectiveness.”

The study is also the first to show that increased risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with severe COVID-19 may have a genetic component involving blood type. Researchers found that hospitalization for COVID-19 more than doubled the risk of heart attack or stroke among patients with A, B, or AB blood types, but not in patients with O types, which seemed to be associated with a lower risk of severe COVID-19.

Scientists studied data from 10,000 people enrolled in the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database of European patients. Patients were ages 40 to 69 at the time of enrollment and included 8,000 who had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and 2,000 who were hospitalized with severe COVID-19 between Feb. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020. None of the patients had been vaccinated, as vaccines were not available during that period.

The researchers compared the two COVID-19 subgroups to a group of nearly 218,000 people who did not have the condition. They then tracked the patients from the time of their COVID-19 diagnosis until the development of either heart attack, stroke, or death, up to nearly three years.

Accounting for patients who had pre-existing heart disease – about 11% in both groups – the researchers found that the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death was twice as high among all the COVID-19 patients and four times as high among those who had severe cases that required hospitalization, compared to those who had never been infected. The data further show that, within each of the three follow-up years, the risk of having a major cardiovascular event was still significantly elevated compared to the controls – in some cases, the researchers said, almost as high or even higher than having a known cardiovascular risk factor, such as Type 2 diabetes.

“Given that more than 1 billion people worldwide have already experienced COVID-19 infection, the implications for global heart health are significant,” said study leader Hooman Allayee, Ph.D., a professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. “The question now is whether or not severe COVID-19 should be considered another risk factor for cardiovascular disease, much like type 2 diabetes or peripheral artery disease, where treatment focused on cardiovascular disease prevention may be valuable.”

Allayee notes that the findings apply mainly to people who were infected early in the pandemic. It is unclear whether the risk of cardiovascular disease is persistent or may be persistent for people who have had severe COVID-19 more recently (from 2021 to the present).

Scientists state that the study was limited due to inclusion of patients from only the UK Biobank, a group that is mostly white. Whether the results will differ in a population with more racial and ethnic diversity is unclear and awaits further study. As the study participants were unvaccinated, future studies will be needed to determine whether vaccines influence cardiovascular risk. Studies on the connection between blood type and COVID-19 infection are also needed as the mechanism for the gene-virus interaction remains unclear.

This study was supported by NIH grants R01HL148110, R01HL168493, U54HL170326, R01DK132735, P01HL147823, R01HL147883, and P30ES007048.

About the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

Study Allayee, H, et al. COVID-19 Is a Coronary Artery Disease Risk Equivalent and Exhibits a Genetic Interaction With ABO Blood Type(link is external). [2024] Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.321001

[misfitwashere]

September 9, 2024 

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

SEP 10

Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign launched a new section of its website detailing her policy positions. Titling her plans “A New Way Forward,” Harris vows to build the American middle class through an “opportunity economy.” Her vision for the future, she says, “protects our fundamental freedoms, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead.” 

Harris’s economic plan builds on that of the Biden-Harris administration. This makes sense, since their focus on investing in the middle class has created the strongest economy in the world. Harris is emphasizing the need to bring down household costs of food, medicine, housing, healthcare, and childcare, all issues important to Americans.  

The website provides concrete economic actions she plans to take with a willing Congress. They include expanding the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit, investing in more housing, and supporting the PRO Act, which protects the rights of workers to unionize, while continuing the crackdown on business consolidation that kills competition and rolling back the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

The biggest economic shift from the current administration is pegging a new capital gains tax for those earning more than a million dollars a year at 28%, significantly lower than the 39.6% President Joe Biden proposed in his 2025 budget. The plans also call for the first-ever national ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries (37 states already have such laws). 

Aside from strictly economic plans, the policy pages say Harris backs passing the bipartisan immigration bill that Republicans killed on Trump’s orders, protecting reproductive healthcare and restoring Roe v. Wade, and protecting the right to vote and ending partisan gerrymandering through the John Lewis Voting Rights and the Freedom to Vote Acts.

Republicans have charged that Harris has not offered specifics for her policies, but much of what is now clearly laid out is already in the public record. By the standards of American history, it is a strikingly moderate agenda that reflects the belief that the best way for the government to protect opportunity and nurture the economy is to make sure that the system is fair and that ordinary people have access to opportunity.

The “New Way Forward” in Harris’s plan seems to be less a new set of policies than a rejection of the politics of the past several decades. She and her running mate Minnesota governor Tim Walz appear to be attempting to reshape the political landscape to bring Americans of all parties together to stand against Trump’s MAGA Republicans. The campaign has actively reached out to Republicans, several of whom spoke at the Democratic National Convention. On Saturday, Harris said she was “honored” to have the endorsement of former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and former vice president Dick Cheney, both staunch Republicans. “People are exhausted about the division and the attempt to divide us as Americans,” she said. “We love our country and we have more in common than what separates us.” 

Trump’s website offers slogans rather than policies, so Harris’s website compares her policies to the comparable sections of Project 2025, the playbook for a second Trump term laid out by a number of right-wing institutions led by the Heritage Foundation. Trump and his campaign have tried to distance themselves from Project 2025, but at his rallies, he has offered the policies in it—like firing nonpartisan civil servants and replacing them with loyalists, and abolishing the Department of Education—as his top priorities. 

While Harris focused on policy, as critics have demanded, MAGA Republicans today spread slurs about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, claiming they are eating other people’s pets and local wildlife. Right-wing media figure Benny Johnson, who was one of the six commenters whose paychecks at now-disbanded Tenet Media were paid by Russia, was one of those pushing the false stories. So was X owner Elon Musk. 

The story was debunked almost immediately by the Springfield police, but Republican politicians ran with it. The X account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee ran it; so did Texas senator Ted Cruz, who shared an image with two kittens saying: “PLEASE VOTE FOR TRUMP SO IMMIGRANTS DON’T EAT US.” And the Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio senator J.D. Vance, posted: “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country.” (The Haitians in Springfield are in the U.S. legally.)

Perhaps most significantly, Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, who is challenging Democratic Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, pushed the story. That Senate seat is crucial to the Republican attempt to take control of the Senate, and Moreno has just launched a $25 million ad campaign against Brown, accusing him of giving undocumented immigrants taxpayer-funded benefits. Today’s disinformation was well timed for that ad campaign. 

The Justice Department today announced  charges against two leaders of the white supremacist Terrorgram Collective, an international terrorist group that operates on the platform Telegram. Dallas Humber of California and Matthew Allison of Idaho have been charged with “soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.” They “solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said. They had a hit list of federal, state, and local officials, as well as corporate leaders, and they encouraged attacks on government infrastructure, including energy facilities. Their plan was to create a race war. 

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.

Congress is back in session today and must fund the government before October 1 or face a government shutdown. Although Congress negotiated spending levels for 2024 and 2025 back in June 2023, the House has been unable to pass appropriations bills because MAGA extremists either refuse to accept those levels or insist on inserting culture war poison pills into the bills. 

Now, Trump has demanded that a continuing resolution to fund the government must include a measure requiring proof of citizenship to vote. Since it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections for president or members of Congress and there is no evidence it is anything but vanishingly rare, the measure actually seems designed to suppress voting. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) went along and put the measure in the bill. He also designed for the measure to last until next March, making the budget so late a new president could write it, but also blowing through a January 1 deadline set in the June 2023 bill to require automatic cuts to spending.

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote to his colleagues: “House Democrats have made it clear that we will find bipartisan common ground on any issue with our Republican colleagues wherever possible, while pushing back against MAGA extremism.” Jeffries called the Republican bill “unserious and unacceptable.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told House and Senate leaders that the cuts required by law if Congress pushes the budget into March would drastically affect the military. “The repercussions of Congress failing to pass regular appropriations legislation for the first half of [fiscal] 2025 would be devastating to our readiness and ability to execute the National Defense Strategy,” Austin wrote.

Meanwhile, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is back to his old trick of blocking a military promotion, this time of Lieutenant General Ronald Clark, one of Austin’s top aides. Tuberville says he placed the hold because he has concerns that Clark did not alert Biden when Austin had surgery. Biden has nominated Clark to become the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific, a position currently held by General Charles A. Flynn, younger brother of Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, Trump’s first National Security Advisor who resigned after news broke that he had hidden conversations with Russian operatives. 

Today, ten retired senior military officials endorsed Harris, saying she “is the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief…. Frankly stated, Donald Trump is a danger to our national security and our democracy. His own former National Security Advisors, Defense Secretaries, and Chiefs of Staff have said so.”

—