#Reiterates Commitment

[iwieldthesword]

I need to talk about this because it's making me feel insane.

Last week, my white leftist goyisch friends sat me, a wholeass antizionist Jew, down for a "talk" because they "needed to check in about Palestine" and make sure "our values aligned before we hung out again". They apparently needed to "suss out" where I stood on Palestinian rights, despite having had several conversations about Palestine and them being some of my closest friends. They needed to check, to search for and uncover my true values, because I had said some "disturbing things" that had made them "suspicious".

Disturbing things included:

Supporting IfNotNow which is a "liberal zionist organization" because it normalizes Jewish heritage in the Levant

Not bringing Palestine up enough, despite them also not bringing it up (this was apparently a test)

Mentioning that the Houthi's flag talks about cursing all Jews

Saying Stalin was antisemitic because of the "all the paw-grihms"

...and apparently other things they wouldn't specify, but had been tracking for months.

To clarify, I am an antizionist Jew from three generations of antizionist Jews. I have been vocal in my support of Palestinian liberation and in my condemnation both of Israel's actions and its violent founding as a state, and of zionism in many of its forms. I am a regular donor to Palestinian and Jewish NGOs and advocate for Jewish antizionism in person, at temple, and online. I have been talking about Palestinian liberation before they could point to Gaza on a map. But they needed to make sure, they needed to "suss out", they needed to check. And it's notable that the majority of moments that made them suspicious of me were times where I talked about antisemitism: not about Palestinian liberation, not about Israeli decolonization, not about anything actually relevant to Palestine. It was talking about antisemitism that made them check to see if I was a cryptozionist.

One of the most pervasive and insidious forms of antisemitism is the idea that Jews are inherently untrustworthy and suspicious. You have to constantly be on guard, track what they say and do, "suss out" the real truth. You have to keep them in line and and watch them carefully because they're liars and sneaks, and if you're not looking closely they'll return to their real values (and drag you down with them). This is where the idea of "cryptozionist" comes from and what it's directly building off of: the inherent untrustworthiness of Jews and the need to check. Because no matter how close you become you can't actually trust them, and any upstanding gentile should make sure to avoid associating with Jews before "sussing out" their real allegiances and intentions. You have to make them turn out their pockets, just in case.

I'm the first and only Jew they actually were friends with; I know because they've told me (strangely proud of it in the way white Americans are proud of that kind of thing). They've asked me questions about Judaism and fawned over how beautiful and unique it was for me to be connected to my community and culture. Pre-October 7th, one of them had even mentioned being interested in coming to services at my temple. She still has my copy of our siddur. But now she needed to "check" before she could be seen with me in public. Which is what it was: it wasn't a "you're my friend and I need to give you some feedback because you're fucking up" kind of intervention (which is normal and important to have), it was a trial. It was a last chance for me to prove to them that I'm clean-enough that they could afford to risk being seen with me in public, just in case someone noticed them fraternizing with a hypothetical Enemy and their leftism was compromised. It was a test to make sure that I behave properly when required to, that I'd play along and do what I'm told and turn out my pockets if asked (because any refusal would validate the notion of having something to hide). And above all it was an opportunity for them to reaffirm their own cleanliness by putting my imagined immorality in its place.

I did what I needed to do: I smiled. I apologized. I "didn't know that". I "appreciated the feedback". I turned out my pockets because what else could I do? They'd decided who I was and what I believed, regardless of what I said or did, so there was no point in explaining that they were wrong about me. If I had told them they were being antisemitic, it would just have been proof that they were right. Caring about antisemitism is a dogwhistle in the spaces they've chosen: it's not a real form of oppression, it's a tactic for sneaky, lying Jews to weasel out of admitting their true alliances. There was nothing I could say.

Nothing's really changed for me. I'm going to continue my activism for Palestinian liberation rooted in my culture and my faith. Antizionism is still not antisemitism. But I got a reminder that many white goyisch leftists fundamentally just don't trust Jews, and that the activist spaces they're in not only exacerbate their antisemitism in an increasingly insular echo chamber, but also allow them to finally vent their internalized bigotry in a socially-acceptable way. In my former friends' eyes, what they did was activism—disavowing a Jew (and making me feel humiliated, scared, and unclean in the process) as a cathartic stand-in for doing fucking anything for actual Palestinian liberation—but for me it was a grief that I'll be feeling for a long time: not only over losing friends I loved and trusted, but also over my sense of belonging and security in leftist spaces.

[whenthewallfell]

Doing another wooly round up because I can and I'm super happy with how they all turned out!

The patterns are: Easy V by Caitlin Hunter, Rift by Jaq Cieslak, Retro Autumn Sweater by Off The Hook (crochet), Halibut by Caitlin Hunter, and Dreaming Cat by StuffTheBody (crochet)

[m4rs-ex3]

ok as an ✨ artiste ✨ i'm here to tell non-drawers that drawing a person you know is a crazy intimate thing. like it seems so simple but depicting someone's appearance forces you to think about everything--every part of their physical attributes to their mannerisms and presence--in a way that makes you feel almost intrusive even if it's just a simple cartoon and even if you're not that close with the person. all this to say that callum drawing rayla is insane. like you don't just do that casually, specifically when you're already in love

[triptychofvoids]

Hey, sorry if this was asked before, I was unable to find clarification by just browsing the posts you tagged with Heavy, or looking the word up (great search system, Tumblr, thank you). Could you elaborate on your opinions about Heavy? And, by extension, HeavyMedic, since it's clearly only really a platonic thing in your work.

Which isn't a complaint, to be clear, your work is honestly rather refreshing, considering how often Those Two are just "the couple" in so many fanworks.

i like heavy, we are good friends and im rather fond of him! in addition to being a a valued asset on the battlefield and a good test subject, hes a quite an agreeable and interesting person as well!

i just dont feel anything more than platonic towards him, and i fail to see why this is such a problem! i understand heavymedic is rather popular and it seems some people care about shipping characters more than anything else when it comes to fan interactions. originally when i first saw it i had no problem with it, and even found some of it amusing or endearing in some cases. but over time, well. it stops being endearing very quickly, especially when you can never get a break from it. its a shame too, because heavy is quite fun to draw and id love to draw more interactions between us, but at this point i tend to avoid drawing him or even talking about him altogether because some people sadly do not know how to behave

[unopenablebox]

attempt to idly discuss concept of custom wedding vows with 🌸 ground to a halt after the realization that neither of us actually, like, wants to try to figure out what the fuck we'd be promising

can you do custom vows, but instead of vows to do stuff, it's just a list of the superbly good qualities of the other person in order to make it clear why any rational actor would agree that you should obviously plan to keep hanging out with them as long as possible

[kitkatyes]

One of my go-to brushes on procreate is this stupid (/aff) brush I made for ONE purpose,,, it’s literally the EOD logo—I made it so I wouldn’t have to draw it a million times on the silly guys. BUT LIKE, ITS SO GOOD FOR RANDOM TEXTURES AND SKETCHING?? It’s so very silly but I love it sm

[emmi-kat]

Whose bright idea was it to combine fatigue and insomnia? I'm gonna strangle God.

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

alright friends. i am drunk. do with this as you will. either ask questions or point and laugh or filter accordingly, meaning you see none of this. I hope all of you are well this monday evening

[dustin-but-gayer]

I am 27 years old :)

[daffodil-duchess]

i'm just re-watching the runaway and was reminded that toph invented insurance fraud before insurance existed

the only thing stopping my girl from making counterfeit coins is the fact that they were made from actual bronze, silver and gold and when you have those there is no point in making the money counterfeit

NOW, the real question is would toph go for mixing in cheaper metals in order to stretch the metal for more coins

Because to me it's too boring for toph

It’s a bit unrealistic how Toph never made any counterfeit coins once she learned to metalbend

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

main take aways from Halloween (1978) rewatch:

michael myers is canonically 21??? this bitch should be at the club

*sees tiddies* ***MURDEROUS RAMPAGE NOISES***

that's it that's the movie

outside of the fact that everyone who has sex is murdered by the narrative, this is a surprisingly chill portrayal of female sexuality? these teen girls are horny and actively enjoying Getting It On with their boytoys. no pushy boyfriends sneaking in through their bedroom windows--these ladies are taking the initiative to sneak out and GET SOME. one of them gets laid and then immediately orders her boyfriend to get her a beer. (yes she gets Slashered soon afterward, but so does the boyfriend so honestly, gender equality.) yes the Final Girl is the only one not having sex, but she's not bullied for that, nor are her friends slut shamed except possibly by being murdered by the narrative

actually the only character who is shown being morally condemned on-screen is michael myers. specifically FOR his violent overreaction to other people's sex lives. (people he is spying on). metaphorically, the villain is American Puritanism sticking its judgy nose into other people's business.

aka Michael Myers Is A Republican

but actually the real villain is the doctor. guy's a judgemental, shaming, pathologizing asshole. and he's been in charge of michael's care since he was SIX YEARS OLD? kid never had a chance. i'd go on a killing spree too

also the parents. where are the parents? it's halloween night and all the teenage girls are home babysitting their younger siblings? come to think of it, michael's first victim was his own older sister, whom he killed while she was babysitting him. teen girls are really shouldering a labour burden here. maybe parentification is the true villain

side note: mike commits his first murder wearing a clown costume...which is never referenced again? his 'iconic' costume is a generic mask and wig and jumpsuit, when we coulda had a Killer Clown Michael Myers??? travesty

i like how the Final Girl and her friend casually smoke weed in her car. yeah she's an honor student and her friend is the sheriff's daughter. yeah they smoke weed. so what it's 1978

(to reiterate, mike is 21 and should be at the club. im not saying he shouldn't be rampaging, im saying it's sad that he broke out, tasted freedom for the first time in his life, and immediately snuck back into his childhood home to go rampaging. let's have a remake where he goes to a nightclub and has a few beers. maybe some slutty dancing. then rampage)

oh no he's hot

[historyandmemes]

(Note: See updated post) The new DRAFT U.N. Resolution, set to be voted on today, calls for:

• ... “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in the fighting throughout Gaza and the opening of corridors inside the enclave “for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.” • U.N. Secretary General António Guterres to appoint a senior coordinator “with responsibility for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring, and verifying in Gaza, as appropriate, the humanitarian nature” of all assistance, and demands that “the parties to the conflict cooperate with the coordinator to fulfill their mandate without delay or obstruction.” • ... “immediate and unconditional” release of the hostages. It also demands that “all parties to the conflict comply with their obligations under international law ... including with regard to the conduct of hostilities and the protection of civilians and civilian objects.” • It reiterates the council’s “unwavering commitment” to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” (12/22/23 | Source: WaPo)

Although the resolution's language was toned down, this is a sign of progress. While such measures are long overdue and should have been honored from the start, we must do everything possible to meet the urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza and relieve unfathomable suffering.

DON'T STOP POSTING. KEEP UP THE PUBLIC PRESSURE. DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS.

Stay tuned for today's vote.

[liberalsarecool]

I owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology. I’ve been critical of the Trump presidency and am still exhausted from the experience.

But to be fair, President Trump wasn’t that bad, other than:

• when he incited an insurrection against the government,

• mismanaged a pandemic that killed over a million Americans

• separated children from their families

• lost those children in the bureaucracy

• tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church

• tried to block all Muslims from entering the country

• got impeached

• got impeached again

• had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history

• pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden

• fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia

• bragged about firing the FBI director on TV

• took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community

• diverted military funding to build his wall

• caused the longest government shutdown in US history

• called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate”

• lied nearly 40,000 times

• banned transgender people from serving in the military

• ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions

• vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers

• refused to release his tax returns

• increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion

• had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history

• called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers

• coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist

• refused to concede the 2020 election

• hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House

• walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl

• called neo-Nazis “very fine people”

• suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID

• abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey

• pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans

• incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic

• withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords

• withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal

• withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances

• insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter

• pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op

• failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies

• called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries

• called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation”

• claimed that he single-handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere

• forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader

• believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

• berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe

• suggested the US should buy Greenland

• colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges

• repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people”

• claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases

• violated the emoluments clause

• thought that Nambia was a country

• told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public

• called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution

• nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet

• nominated a corrupt head of the EPA

• nominated a corrupt head of HHS

• nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department

• nominated a corrupt head of the USDA

• praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies

• refused to allow the presidential transition to begin

• insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death

• spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president

• falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote

• called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser”

• falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year

• considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions

• mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID

• locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones

• used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus”

• hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser

• pardoned several of his shady associates

• gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories

• got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!)

• had a Secretary of State who called him a moron

• forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history

• botched the COVID vaccine rollout

• tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him

• charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties

• constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate

• claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear

• called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas”

• used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise

• opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling

• got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers

• claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US

• ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings

• blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining

• redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle

• got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters”

• threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution

• botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

• threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them

• pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes

• thought that the Virgin islands had a President

• drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane

• allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing

• rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos

• pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID

• rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers

• held blatant campaign rallies at the White House

• tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man

• refused to attend his successors’ inauguration

• nominated the worst Education Secretary in history

• threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted

• attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci

• promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t)

• allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues

• struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble

• called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ”

• threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders

• went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic

• claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,”

• seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution

• demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director

• praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles

• completely gutted the Voice of America

• placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service

• claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower

• suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country

• suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public

• overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported

• reduced the number of refugees the US accepts

• insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames

• gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address

• named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties

• eliminated the White House office of pandemic response

• used soldiers as campaign props

• fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him

• demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade

• hired a shit ton of white nationalists

• politicized the civil service

• did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government

• falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts

• claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won

• insulted reporters of color

• insulted women reporters

• insulted women reporters of color

• suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs

• attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him

• summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election

• spent countless hours every day watching Fox News

• refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas

• hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer

• tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him

• acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney

• attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault

• held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present

• didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media

• stopped holding press briefings for months at a time

• “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power

• led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform

• claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers

• tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course

• suggested that the government nuke hurricanes

• suggested that wind turbines cause cancer

• said that he had a special aptitude for science

• fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure

• blurted out classified information to Russian officials

• tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida

• fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban

• hired Stephen Miller

• openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them

• interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel

• abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war

• tried to get Russia back into the G7

• held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden

• seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive

• lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated

• falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t

• shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies

• still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan

• still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks"

• forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID

• told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”

• fucked up the Census

• withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic

• did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,” allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act

• seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican

• stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win

• constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump

• claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened

• said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake

• claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him

• claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President

• created a commission to whitewash American history

• retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain

• claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there

• hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims

• had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others

• bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties

• apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House

• stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians

• falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police

• said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about

• tried to rescind protection from DREAMers

• gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic

• tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax

• said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states

• deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented

• claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln

• touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all

• retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile

• forced through security clearances for his family

• suggested that police officers should rough up suspects

• suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs

• tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender

• suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher

• nominated a climate change skeptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy

• retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event

• hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags

• accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address

• claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia

• mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault

• obsessed over low-flow toilets

• ordered the re-release of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release

• called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek)

• hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech

• took advice from the MyPillow guy

• claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists

• said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure

• never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign

• falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent

• announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest

• insulted the leader of Canada

• insulted the leader of France

• insulted the leader of Britain

• insulted the leader of Germany

• insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!)

• falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues

• blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually

• continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,

• said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked

• left a NATO summit early in a huff

• stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of five knows not to do that

• called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary

• refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise

And a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember .

[tulip-lesbian]

Its a personal thing but it literally makes me so uncomfortable when anyone under 25 gets engaged or married. This isnt a judgement on them, it just makes me personally incredibly uncomfortable

[truetellsnigeria1]

NASENI EVC Reiterates Commitment To Delivering On Presidential Priorities, Inaugurates Staff Welfare Committee

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Halilu, has charged the management staff of the Agency to put forward ideas on how NASENI can effectively support the priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu such as large-scale switching of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles to alternative fuels to…

[kamiversee]

── SEX FOR BUSINESS ──

CHAPTER TWO: For Temptation

{ Synopsis } — A tale in which you refuse to align sex with anything more than an act committed for the benefit of status gain. You’re a whore by choice and it works… until it doesn’t?

{ Chapter Content } — language, teasing, mild tension, taunting, etc.

{ Pairings } — jjk (office) men x f!reader, gojo x f!reader, nanami x f!reader, higuruma x f!reader, shiu x f!reader, kusakabe x f!reader, & ino x f!reader.

{ Word Count } — 5k

[ m!list ]

——VIXEN; THE ONLY WORD RACING through Nanami Kento’s mind as he stands alone in the elevator with you. You’re a woman of temptation, sex appeal personified so effortlessly that it’s intoxicating to be in any confined space with you. And the worst part about it? You seem to have not the slightest clue of how it affects those around you.

Bright amber-set lights illuminate the elevator space, the vibrance falling and reflecting so so beautifully against any teasing slip of skin you had showing. For example, the shirt you were wearing. Nanami’s eyes only needed half a second to flick down your attire before he snapped them shut and sucked in a crisp intake of air through his nose. 

He’s surrounded by temptation daily. Many women work at his company and so clearly dress in hopes of gaining his attention—leaving taunting numbers of buttons undone on their tops, wearing the tightest of skirts, etcetera. One could say that by now Nanami’s grown rather numb to the teasing and taunting of a woman in the workplace.

But you? Of course there’s something about you—and being on this short elevator ride with you is proof. Nanami just refuses to turn his head to you again. He got more than enough of a good look at you when he came knocking on your office door mere moments ago, any more than what his eyes drank in previously would just be greedy.

Though, simply keeping his eyes off of you isn’t enough. It’s like the elevator was moving especially slowly today. Normally there’s a person or two occupying it but today, luck seems to be against the man as he stands a few inches away from you alone. Soon slithering into his nose is this fragrance that makes him puff out the most gentle sigh he physically can. 

Carefully shutting his eyes, Nanami tries to refocus himself on the reason why you two are headed up to his office now. But god if every second near you wasn’t telling him all he needed to know about you. He wanted to speak with you about a job you had in the past, something that caught his eye while he was speaking with his HR team. 

You didn’t know this though. Hell, you were rather oblivious to a great deal of things by this point. Like, for example, the annoying hard-on you left your poor assistant with in your office.

Now, Kusakabe is a pretty dignified man from what you gathered within the tour he gave you. He’s well-spoken and likes to get straight to the point of things. You and he held quite the chemistry with one another throughout the morning. From the moment you met and exchanged a very firm handshake to the moment you both disappeared into that office of yours for only a few minutes.

To reiterate from earlier, it was said that you’re oblivious to a great deal of things. But, that’s not entirely true. 

In fact, you know exactly what you’re doing. And you actually have quite the idea of the state in which you left your assistant. Within those few minutes you and he were alone in your office, you’d pulled some of the most basic stunts—bending over in front of him, crouching in front of him, lingering your touches, and overall getting a nice feel of how well he’s able to maintain his composure.

Y’know, acting like a complete ditz on purpose. It works how you want it to almost every time without fail!

And Kusakabe was a shamelessly honest man. You liked that about him. Even when he didn’t literally say anything, his body, especially his eyes, had a way of voicing everything you needed to know and more. 

Not even halfway through your first day here and you already had him wrapped around your finger. Perfect.

Currently though, your object of lustful desires has shifted onto the big bossman; Nanami. Standing a respectable distance from you in the elevator with his hands tucked so neatly into the pockets of his slacks, shirt desperately begging to pop right off of him at any given moment, straining against the muscles of his arms, and unknowingly mesmerizing you into a drooling stare—he was quite the tease himself.

However, the difference between you and him was as clear as day. Nanami was truthfully oblivious.

His face was as stoic and straight-kept as they come. You could probably tell someone the number of times that man blinked during the elevator ride given how stiff he was. His breathing was slow and steady, as if every inhale was treading on something dangerous and each exhale was something of relief.

With a long-awaited ding!, the elevator finally stops at the designated floor and the doors rumble open. Nanami gestures a hand out for you to go first and you step forward with a slight nod of your head. He quickly regrets his decision as his eyes peel open and meet your back profile. The natural sway of your hips as you walked in front of him, the look in your eye when you oh-so-casually glance back at him, and the—

Something drops out of your hand and you let out a small gasp. “Oops,” You murmur all innocently before your torso begins to lower. 

Yeah, Nanami’s no idiot. You knew what you were doing. He doesn’t even know what you dropped, nor does he care to find out, because he’s too busy clearing his throat and stepping past you entirely with his head held all high.

Okay, so he clearly had more composure than that assistant of yours. The realization makes you smile a bit as you begin to stand straight up—this makes Nanami a challenge. You like that.

As you pick whatever item it is you dropped up off the floor and raise your eyes along with it, you take in the view of the entire floor Nanami has all to himself. His office is separated from the elevator space, to give him some sense of privacy you assume. As you walk into said office, you notice the large open windows decorating the exterior, exposing the most gorgeous view of the city outside, and… you could almost say you were jealous he had all this to himself. 

Shaking your head out of your slight stupor, you quickly pick up your feet to carry on with the following behind Nanami. He walks you over to his desk and it’s there that you’re met with someone sitting in a chair right in front of it. 

Nanami gestures his hand toward the guy, just barely, as he passes him and his voice is neutral with you, “My assistant; Ino—”

You let out a surprised cough as the man turns around to look at you and then both of your eyes go wide at the same time. “Takuma?” You breathe out, earning a friendly smile from the brown-haired male who quickly stands to his feet and approaches you.

“What’re you doing here?” Ino scoffs out lightheartedly, clearly surprised. “This isn’t the new job you were raving about this morning, is it?”

The two of you meet in a friendly embrace before you pull back a bit and flash a smile, “I could ask you the same thing, I didn’t know you worked here!” You exclaim.

Ino reciprocates your smile with one of his own, allowing his eyes to dance down along your attire before his brows lift, “And you look amazing, wow,” He gasps a little, clearing his throat and turning back to Nanami for a second, “She’s our new marketing director?”

Nanami replies with a stark nod of his head as he takes a seat at his desk.

“Huh.” Ino hums, turning back to you and now extending a hand out for you to shake. You watch the way his demeanor shifts into something formal as your hand meets his own and the two of you share a very firm shake, “Well, in case no one else has said it yet, welcome!” 

Your smile brightens as you continue to hold his hand, “Thank you, I-,” You cut yourself off a bit, trying to mentally wrap your head around the fact that this is the same man you saw grabbing his mail in a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt earlier that morning.  “I really wasn’t expecting to see you here, this is a nice surprise.”

The two of you quickly engage in a bit of small talk—consisting of Ino asking you things like how you like the company so far and if you’re learning your way around the building smoothly or not. Throughout the entire conversation, you swear your mind is everywhere but the questions leaving his lips. 

You’ve been Ino’s next-door neighbor for almost a year now and you still can’t believe this is where he’s been working all this time. Not only that, he looks entirely different dressed all formally. Hell, even the way he’s talking to you right now is anything but the casual way in which he converses with you any time you pass by one another in your apartment complex. 

With his white button-up top revealing his smooth toned collarbone, sleeves rolled up just enough to reveal his forearms—which, now that you’re getting a good look at his currently crossed arms, he looks far more toned than you remember. You find yourself tilting your head as your eyes travel all along his arms, a beam of light catching in the reflection of his watch being the only thing to break you away from your ogling.

Something you’ve been doing all morning, by the way. Every person you’ve spoken to so far just looks so damn good all cleaned up and ready for work. Especially that assistant of yours. Shit, he might even be a distraction for you with the way he had his black tie so lazily loosened around his white-collared shirt and a lollipop rolling around his tongue in between the lengthy monologues he gave you.

Then there was the beautiful violet-haired woman you met just a floor below your own-, you think her name was Utahime—HR’s department director, and undoubtedly the sweetest woman you’ve ever spoken to. You specifically remember how the pencil skirt she wore hugged her hips and how stunning she looked gazing up at you from her desk as she spoke to you. It had to be a crime to walk around with such pretty brown eyes.

You’ll definitely be going out of your way to visit HR again on your own time just to talk to her.

There’s also Gojo, even though you and he don’t seem to get along too well so far, he is stupidly handsome. Actually, that might even be an understatement. He looks like an angel. Sure, his eyes carried some sort of malice toward you when you first saw them but who cares—they’re the prettiest shade of blue you’ve ever seen in your life. And that was from across the room. His snowy white hair, tall looming frame, and crisp navy blue suit were enough to leave you both annoyed and attracted at the same time.

Last but certainly not least, you don’t even know where to begin where Nanami’s concerned. Looking past Ino for a moment, you steal yet another glance at the man and find your eyes immediately running elsewhere as you notice he’s already looking at you. His hair was well kept parted to the side, safe for the two strands he let decorate his forehead. Then there’s that flawlessly clear skin of his that makes up his perfectly sculpted face. 

Nanami had very sharp features, so sharp that you swear that man isn’t even real. Clad in a blue button-up with this questioningly fashionable black and yellow tie—you wonder how the hell he’s able to pull off such an ensemble of clothing. And then let’s not even talk about the khaki-colored slacks he’s got on. That piece of fabric hugged him in all the right places and more.

You even got an unprompted glance at his ass earlier and the only word you had for that was damn. Then there were his thighs and the way his pants just hugged his every muscle-

“Hey,” Ino says suddenly, to which you blink out of your thoughts and realize you’d been staring hard at his arms this entire time. “You okay? You zoned out on me for a second there.”

You shake your head a little and then nod, “Yeah, sorry I just-,” You make a gesture in the air with your hand, “I’m still shocked you work here.”

With a heartwarming grin, Ino gives you a kind nod of his head, “That’s okay, I get it.” Then he leans a little closer to you and whispers, “I’m still surprised I work here too sometimes, trust me.”

You laugh at his way of reassuring you and then he steps to your side and places a gentle hand on your shoulder, “But, as I said before, welcome to the company. If you need anything, you can usually find me up here or somewhere trailing behind Nanami.”

You respond with an understanding nod of your head and he lifts his hand, waves you bye, and walks off to exit Nanami’s office. 

After watching him leave, you place yourself back into reality. You’re standing in the CEO’s office on your first day. Now that everyone else is gone, you think it’s safe to admit that deep down inside you’re nervous as hell. Wondering to yourself why he brought you up here, you’re slow to turn your attention back to Nanami—who’s been quietly waiting for you and Ino to finish your small talk.

You can’t even read his facial expression. He looks neither happy nor upset. His face is just… neutral.

Clearing your throat, you straighten up your posture and step forward to take the seat beside the chair Ino was previously sitting in. “Sorry about that, sir. I shouldn’t have let that conversation go on for as long as it did. You wanted to speak with me about something?”

Nanami averts his eyes down to a document placed on his desk in front of him, “You’re fine, and yes,” God, his voice was just as distracting as everything else about him. Deep, soothing, and very faintly domineering if you listened hard enough. What’s up with the people in this place being so attractive? “I’m sure you’re familiar with the company policy by now?”

You nod, “I read over it, yes.”

“Good,” Nanami lets out a relieved little sigh and sets his eyes on yours again, “Then I won’t be taking up too much of your time. I called you in here just to clarify something that’s explicitly stated in that verbose policy of ours.”

“Okay…” You lean forward a bit and now you’re even more nervous than you were before. You might not be on the verge of losing your job but something’s telling you that he’s about to bring up—

“The last person in your position was removed from this company because of a policy violation that’s quite similar to an incident that came up during a background check on you,” Nanami continues, clasping his hands together over his desk. “We won’t have a deep discussion about it as it’s clear this took place years ago but, I hope you understand that all sexual acts are strictly prohibited on company grounds.”

Awkwardly, you manage a smile. “Of course, I’m very well aware of that, sir.”

Pausing ever so slightly, Nanami takes a second before clearing his throat and moving forward with the conversation, “Wonderful. Now, with that being said, we do not have an anti-fraternization policy here so please do not be alarmed by any couples you may run into.”

“Oh? You allow coworkers to date one another?” You inquire with an intrigued tilt of your head. 

Nanami nods slightly, “There’s even a couple on the fourth floor who got married a few months ago, yes.”

Continuing, you lift a brow, “And this doesn’t disrupt work at all?”

“No, everyone here is well aware of the consequences that should follow them if they allow their personal, romantic issues to mix or interfere with their work,” He replies simply.

“I see. And, just so that I understand this whole thing fully, these consequences consist of losing their job here, yes?”

“Yes, both parties would be removed.”

Where was that rule back when you and Yaga were a thing… Resisting the urge to roll your eyes at the thought of that wonderful job you lost all those years ago, you force a grin onto your face, “Ohh, okay. Understood.” Then you shift in your seat, readying yourself to stand and leave, “Was that all, sir?”

And you might have imagined it but you swear the very corner of his lips twitch before he says, “You don’t have to call me that but, yes.”

Pausing your movements, you settle back into your seat, “Pardon? You don’t want me to call you ‘sir’? Would you prefer Mr. Nanami–”

He cuts you off with a sigh, “No, no… Just Nanami is fine.”

“O-Oh, uhm.. Okay.” You hum bashfully. Have you done something wrong already? Shaking out of it, “That’s all you brought me up here for?” You ask.

Nanami’s eyes slip over to his computer screen and his answer is thrown out nonchalantly, “Yes.”

“Excuse all my questions but,” Your voice carrying on with everything aside from ‘okay, bye’ causes the man to drag his gaze back onto you—brown eyes boring into your own. Ignoring the look he was giving you entirely, “You came all the way down to the seventh floor to personally escort me up here just to tell me that?”

Another sigh exits his lips but he manages to hinder his irritation as best as he can, “Yes. I personally had to deal with the woman I mentioned before, the one who had your position previously, so I thought it best that I have a one-on-one conversation with you so that you understand the gravity behind our policy.”

For a moment, you pause. You were still confused why he himself had to come speak to you when he’s got a perfectly reliable assistant who seems like he’d throw himself off the edge of a building if Nanami requested it so. 

Hence the slight reluctance your tone carries as you continue, “I don’t mean to give you a hard time about this but–”

“You’re about to anyway,” Nanami cuts off dryly, still staring into what felt like your soul.

“I am,” You say sarcastically, meeting that stare of his with a bold one of your own, “You could have sent your assistant down to tell me everything you just told me.”

Something in his face shifts. He seems interested in how long you’re going to drag this conversation out now, “True but I don’t think an assistant’s word sticks as strongly as a CEO’s, now does it?”

Shrugging, “I see no difference when he’s your assistant—the ‘CEO’s’ assistant.” You mock.

Nanami goes quiet for a second, simply holding that intense eye contact with you. After which, his expression relaxes and this sense of satisfaction faintly washes over him, “...You’re right.” He admits, “I could have very well sent Ino down and the effect would have been the exact same. But,” He suddenly stands to his feet, “I wanted to see what kind of woman you were for myself.”

“Why?” You ask without thinking. At some point, you should really consider who exactly you’re speaking to right now. 

The blonde doesn’t even try to hide his confusion as your question hits his ears. His brows twinge a bit and his eyes narrow even further at you, as if to silently ask you why the hell you’re so curious. “I like to lay eyes on my employees.” He utters flatly.

Your brows shoot up, “Oh so you do this with everyone you hire–”

“—Sometimes,” He adds to his previous statement, huffing afterward whilst he glares down at you, “Are you done?”

You blink, “Excuse me?”

“With your questions,” Nanami clarifies. He’s a bit caught off guard by your lack of timidness around him. The way you keep asking him questions and even the way you respond to his own is concerning for someone on their first day. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

Standing to your feet now, you give an innocent little shrug, “Not at this moment, no.”

“Great. Ino will see you out,” With a nod of his head toward his office exit, Nanami’s clearly ready for you to exit his presence as quickly as possible. “Enjoy the rest of your first day.”

“You have a pleasant day too,” You say all sweetly as you step past your chair and smile, “Sir.”

Moments later and you’re out of his sight.

Nanami is seemingly stuck standing and staring into the space you’d recently occupied. As stated before, only one word runs throughout his mind; vixen. It’s obvious you like testing his patience, even though you just got here. A trait in which he can’t even begin to wrap his head around.

The confidence it takes to sit here and question his every action as if he doesn’t run this place is truly astounding. And to add to it, you knew you were irritating him. He could see it all over your face; the way you so smugly asked him why he wanted to see the kinda woman you were, the way you carried your voice out to him—he couldn’t help but note the way you only stuttered once.

Most women don’t last that long without tripping over themself around him. 

And above all else, it has to be noted how keeping his eyes off of you is damn near impossible when you’re sitting right in front of him. Rolling his eyes, Nanami sits back down in his chair annoyed by how painfully gorgeous you are. And it wasn’t just your looks alone, it was your demeanor too—you knew very well just how stunning you were and that was the most dangerous part about you.

In a way he couldn’t quite wrap his head around, it almost irritated him. Not you but more-so your person as a whole. Every little detail of yours is sticking to the forefront of his mind as he tries to shift his focus back onto his work and it bothers him. He might have to find a reason to fire you from now. This isn’t going to be good for his health in the long run—you aren’t going to be good for his health.

Shaking his head, no, he can’t fire you. Your credentials are far too perfect for him to let you go so soon. 

Nanami ends up scoffing at himself. He’s gonna drive himself crazy at this rate. You’re five floors below him so it’s not like he’ll see or talk to you too often. He’d be much worse off if you were in Ino’s position. God, he can’t even begin to imagine how much of a headache (amongst other things) you’d give him if he had you by his side all day.

“Sir?” The sound of his assistant’s voice suddenly enters the office and Nanami looks up from the document he’d been idle at. “Are you alright?” Ino asks.

Nanami flashes a confused look, “Yes, why?”

Ino moves a hand to his forehead and makes a little gesture as he approaches his boss, “You’re sweating.” He then hands him some napkins that he just-so-happens to have in his pocket.

Still confused, Nanami takes the napkins and begins to dab at his forehead. “That’s odd. Is it hot in here?”

“Not at all, sir,” Ino says with a shrug, nodding his head over to one of the slightly opened windows, “We’ve got some fresh air comin’ in here and everything.”

At that, Nanami nods his head before finishing up with the napkins, disposing of them, and then returning to his work.

Without a doubt, that perspiration built up against his skin was 100% your doing. How? Nanami has no idea but he knows it was you. 

Even going as far as muttering to himself as he settles back into his chair, “Vixen.”

“Huh?” Ino, having completely missed what just left his boss’s lips, questions.

“Nothing.”

·  ·  ──────── ·𖥸· ────────  ·  ·

Meanwhile…

You had entered the elevator alone, finally letting out a breath of air you weren’t aware you’d been holding in. 

As you reach out and press the button for the seventh floor and the elevator begins its slow descent, you allow yourself a moment to collect your thoughts.

It’s day one but you’ve accomplished more than you expected to. You’ve got a worked-up assistant awaiting your taunting return in your office, a hot rival(?) coworker who seems to hate you to pieces despite literally never talking to him, a familiarly attractive face in the building, and a boss whose skin you don’t mind getting under (in all/every sense).

The elevator places a couple of floors before stopping at the tenth, the doors creaking open and pulling you away from your thoughts. So much for getting a moment to yourself.

Revealed to you once the doors part nice ‘n wide is a tall dark-haired man with a thin mustache that your eyes immediately gravitate toward. He’s wearing an all-black suit and doesn’t hesitate to eye you up and down as he steps into the elevator. 

At first, he doesn’t say anything and neither do you. Hell, he doesn’t even press any of the buttons to show what floor he’s going to—which tells you that he’ll be visiting the same as you, great. Slowly, his cologne starts wafting into your nose and in the instant that it does, you end up sneaking another glance at him.

He’s standing at your side so it was kinda hard to pretend you weren’t stealing any glances at him. Though, it’s not like you’re ashamed of your not-so-sneaky way of checking him out because it quickly works in your favor.

The mystery man turns to you slightly and cocks his head to the side, eyeing you down. “You new?” His husk voice practically smacks against your ears with the way it leaves you startled.

“Pardon?” You chirp out as your eyes gravitate upward to meet his own.

Clearing his throat, “Sorry, I jus’ haven’t seen you around before. Are you new?”

You blink once-, twice as you process his question. Something about his voice was almost making you dizzy… in a good way. “I am,” You eventually get out. Then your brows meet together and you wonder how the hell he figured that when tons of people work in this building and surely there’s some he hadn’t seen before. “Today’s my first day, how’d you know?”

The man tuts with a casual shrug of his shoulders before turning to face forward again, “You look new.”

You bite back a scoff, “What do you mean by that?”

“I’d remember you if I’d seen you around before now,” He clarifies carefully.

Your eyes remain on him as he looks straight ahead, “What if I worked on a floor you’ve never been to?”

The corner of his lips lifts into a smirk, “There is no floor I haven’t been to yet, sweetheart.”

“Oh,” You hum, a light wave of embarrassment wafting over you. You feel like you should know who he is for some reason.

“Yeah, oh.” The man mocks, his smirk only widening, “Plus you’ve got that first-day glimmer in your eyes.”

Your eyes widen, “Do I really?”

“Mhm,” He hums, glancing at you once more and looking you up and down, “Lemme guess, new marketing director?”

Okay, at this point you’re starting to wonder if you have your new role written on your forehead or something because it seems like everyone seems to know exactly who you are. “How’d you know??” You gasp.

His smirk flickers into something a bit more smug and his eyes are gentle as they lay on yours again, “...I took a wild guess.”

“You’re lying,” You point out lightly.

“I am,” He snorts, “Our last one was a doll, jus’ like you.”

Rolling your eyes at his cheap attempt at flirting, you respond with sarcasm this time around, “And that’s how you figured it out?”

“Yup,” The man says with a sassy pop of the p at the end.

A bit more playful this time, you scoff, “You’re lying again.”

His expression falters a little, “I am. Damn, you don’t miss a beat, do you?”

“I do sometimes,” Is it just you or is this elevator moving even slower than it was earlier, “You’re just not good at lying.”

The male beside you lets out a chuckle and throws his hands up in defeat, “Alright, alright. I know because you just came from the twelfth floor.” He explains with a nod of his chin toward the elevator buttons.

Not that his explanations fair your confusion any better, “How do you know I didn’t come from the eleventh?”

“See now that’s how I know you’re new,” He states, meeting eyes with you once again, “You have no papers in your hands and there’s nothing on the eleventh floor aside from printers ‘n junk.”

Shyly, you let out a simple utterance of, “Oh.”

“Yeahh,” The man says slyly, his voice carrying all throughout the space you both occupied.

The elevator finally reached the seventh floor and with another loud ding!, it began to open. The man waits for you to step out first before following after you. 

“I never caught your name,” You end up saying as you turn back, catching the way his eyes casually lift from somewhere below.

He clicks his tongue and quirks this almost flirtatious lil’ smirk, “Shiu Kong,” He introduces before holding his hand out for you to shake, “But you can jus’ call me Shiu.”

You take his hand and shake it formally, feeling his thumb go running across your knuckles within the brief contact, “It’s nice to meet you, Shiu.”

“Please,” He smiles a handsome smile at you, “The pleasure is all mine, doll.”

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