#That an American civilian can really do

[applesaucesupremacy]

"pro palestine" protest is happening outside my house right now (8:45 pm). i put pro palestine in quotes because the chants they are making are more calls for further violence than calls for anything peaceful. they do not want a free palestine, that is their excuse for "radical action"

in my heart i really really do want a free palestine. i try to support groups that work on the ground that work towards that future. but this past year has made it very clear that the free palestine movement as it stands in the us is not truly working towards a free palestine, or if they are they are failing miserably. it is increasingly clear that there is no real pro palestinian movement in the us, only an anti israel one. their goal is violence against israelis and jews until israel ceases to exist somehow, which will then free palestine by default? i guess?

this is no lasting peaceful solution. my g-d i wish they would understand that the only real solution is peace and mutual respect between both palestinians and israelis. there is no future without all of them, together.

maybe if the american wing of the movement actually worked towards that future, and not one of further violence, maybe something can be done. i would be happy to march alongside them then. for now, when violence, and specifically violence against my people and my family, is the direction they choose to go in, i refuse to allow such a movement my support

[wonderjanga]

Yo, Wanna Hang Out?

Billy asking people if they want to hang out at the strangest places. They hang out with him anyways regardless of the places are strange.

Marvel: *in the kitchens packing up a fishing kit looking like someone’s dad getting ready to fish*

Aquaman: *nearby, making a sandwich* “You know, I’ve never seen you wear a bucket hat let alone civilian clothes before.”

Marvel: “What do you mean? It’s a fisherman’s hat. And I’m wearing it because I’m gonna go fishing.”

Aquaman: “Still a bucket hat…”

Martian Manhunter(MM): *also nearby, rummaging through the freezer looking for ice cream* “Fishing? Where?”

Aquaman: “Are you gonna go to a big lake or something?”

Marvel: “Yeah! I’m going to the frozen over one on Mars.”

MM: *looks over, now distracted from his quest of finding ice cream* “What-”

Marvel: “The fish there are so cool looking! I was gonna catch a few and then throw them back into the water, you know?”

MM: “No… No I don’t know.” *shakes head slowly*

Aquaman: “Wait, Mars has lakes?”

Marvel: “Yeah! In the south pole. It’s under some ice. Do you wanna come?”

Aquaman: “Well, I mean sure? I’m down to fish with you, but I don’t wanna do that if I have to wear a space suit.”

Marvel: “I don’t think you have to. I remember seeing Supes wearing this thing over his mouth and nose, and it allowed him to breathe in space.”

Aquaman: “Oh cool!”

Marvel: “Yeah, but apparently it’s super cold down there.”

MM: “It is. In human degrees it’s negative 153 degrees Celsius.”

Aquaman: “What’s that in American-”

Marvel: “So yeah! You might have to bundle up or maybe I could cast the heating spell on you? Just know it’ll be really really cold. By the way, J’onn, are you coming too?”

MM: *shrugs* “If you’ll have me.”

They ended up actually getting attacked by this giant, Martian, vaguely octopus-resembling creature. It was an epic battle of which they brought some of it back to the Watchtower and ate a bunch of octopus dishes together.

or

Marvel: *packing some stuff in a little bag and whistling a little tune while dressed like a gardener*

Hawkgirl: “Captain? Are you going somewhere?”

Marvel: “Oh, I’m going to Thanagar cause I wanna pick up this species of plant that only grows there. Wanna come?”

Hawkgirl: “I sort of can’t, considering the fact the entire planet thinks I’m a war criminal for betraying them.”

Marvel: “Wear a disguise. Want me to conjure a fake mustache on you?”

Hawkgirl: *snorts* “No.”

Marvel: “You sure? It doesn’t have to be a fake mustache. We can just change some things about you, like your hair color.”

Hawkgirl: “Hmm…” *rubs her chin, thinking* “Can Carter come along?”

Marvel: “Of course!”

They got caught and ended up going on this wacky adventure of evading the authorities. They even got arrested. Multiple times. They also broke out. Multiple times. It was fun for everyone involved besides the Thanagarian Law Enforcement.

or

Marvel: *humming a tune as he stands inside of a heavily restricted building that only allows people of the highest military clearance access to*

Captain Atom: *is also here because one of his superiors told him to report here and sees Marvel* “Captain Marvel Sir? What are you-” *looks around* “What are you doing here?”

Marvel: “Hey, Atom!” *little wave* “What do you mean?”

Captain Atom: “This is a military building with restricted access. I know you have Captain in your name, but I didn’t actually think you were in any of the branches. Let alone high enough in whatever branch to have access to this place.”

Marvel: “Oh no, I’m not military. I’m just here to renew my contract. I just finished.”

Captain Atom: “Contract?”

Marvel: “See a long time ago, a.k.a. the 1950s, heroes would do contractual jobs for the United States Government. Me and the Squadron of Justice used to do a lot of them.”

Captain Atom: “So that means I’ll be seeing you around here more often?”

Marvel: “Yep! Me and the other Fawcett heroes.”

Super Duper High Level Person In the Government(SDHLPITG): *walks over while holding a clipboard* “Oh, it seems you both are already acquainted.”

Captain Atom: “Ah, yes. We’re both on the Justice League ma’am.”

SDHLPITG: “So that means you’ll be good teammates. Wonderful.” *hands a clipboard to Captain Atom* “The head honcho wants you guys to investigate a portal in Antartica.” *looks to Marvel* “Your first job back with us.” *nods to him before leaving*

Captain Atom: *starts looking through it*

Marvel: *looks over his shoulder to see it* “Isn’t that the portal that leads to the Winter Fairy realm?”

Captain Atom: “What?”

Marvel: “Oh my gosh it is! That place is super cool! Their ice cream is amazing. You should try some.” *nudges him with his elbow*

Captain Atom: “Oh- uh- Okay?” *confused if that means they’ll be interacting with the mentioned fairies*

That’s how Atom and Marvel ended up eating fairy ice cream while surrounded by a bunch of fairies who were all super happy to see the Champion of Magic. They were both made into honorary fairies.

Captain Atom: *staring at the bowl of fairy liquid the Winter Fairies gave them* “Marvel… I don’t know if it’s a good idea to drink a foreign substance that looks like an oil spill.”

Marvel: “Oh trust me, it’s not dangerous or anything. It’ll just give you wings!”

Captain Atom: “What-”

Marvel: *downs his bowl*

After that, all the Winter fairies shied away from them as their wings were too hot for them. After all, Marvel’s was comprised of lightning which is hot, and Atom’s was comprised of the same matter as his energy blasts which were also extremely hot.

Marvel: *leans over to whisper* “Don’t worry. I can magic them away when we leave this place.”

Captain Atom: *lets out a little sigh of relief as he resumes eating his remaining ice cream*

[viv-hollande]

Oh boy howdy, this is a long one.

Ok, so this has been brewing for a while, and I think it's more or less crystalized into a proper, if rambling, argument so here goes.

This example was the incitement of this argument, but the problem is really much bigger than just this. So . . .

The United States did not commit the Cambodian Genocide. The United States is not responsible for the Cambodian Genocide.

Pol Pot, and the Khmer Rouge he commanded, were responsible for the conception, planning, and execution of the Cambodian Genocide. Nobody was twisting their arm. No one was ordering them around. They, independently, made the incomprehensibly evil choice to commit genocide, and the ultimate responsibility for that genocide lies on their shoulders alone.

The United States was responsible for an illegal (both internationally and domestically) and grossly immoral bombing campaign that killed an unconscionable number of Cambodian civilians, and directly contributed to destabilizing Cambodia and driving recruitment for the Khmer Rouge. The United States is partially responsible for fueling the Khmer Rouge's conquest of Cambodia.

But the United States is not responsible for the Cambodian Genocide, and anyone saying otherwise is engaging in genocide denialism and absolving by omission the true perpetrators of one of the most brutal and comprehensive genocides in human history.

The men who ordered the bombing of Cambodia were criminals. Their actions are, to me, incomprehensibly immoral. And yet the decision to commit genocide, especially to commit it in the most brutal and actively tortuous ways, ways that make mass rape and gas chambers seem tame (I am not fucking kidding DO NOT LOOK UP THE DETAILS OF THE CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE unless you are prepared to have a really bad day), is a decision that would be as alien to those men as their decisions are to me. For a human being to do such a thing . . . responsibility for that kind of act cannot be transferred lightly.

And to those who hold out and maintain that creating the conditions that allowed the Khmer Rouge to commit genocide gives the United States primary responsibility for the genocide, I'll note that none of you have ever blamed Osama bin Laden for the Iraq War.

And while we're at it . . .

If we do want to talk about international responsibility for the rise of the Khmer Rouge and/or the Cambodian Genocide, we should probably start with, you know, the nations that funded, supplied, armed, and militarily assisted the Khmer Rouge's insurgency.

Pol Pot didn't conquer Cambodia with American weapons. He conquered Cambodia with Soviet, Chinese, and North Vietnamese weapons. Between 40,000 and 60,000 Viet Cong fighters directly engaged in military action against the Sihanouk and Lon Nol governments (not to imply that either were anything other than thug rule of different shades) in alliance with the Khmer Rouge. If we're going to point fingers at the international community, I'm afraid the US doesn't even podium at this competition.

To reiterate, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were solely responsible for the Cambodian Genocide. Not the United States, not the Soviet Union, not China, not Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge, and the Khmer Rouge alone. You can litigate responsibility for who helped the Khmer Rouge rise to power, and YOU CAN AND SHOULD acknowledge American responsibility for our bombing campaigns in Cambodia (which has left the country littered with unexploded bombs that regularly kill random unfortunate civilians btw). But for years and years I have seen American bombing seated center stage while never once has the responsibility of Pol Pot's actual military allies been mentioned or even alluded to.

And this extends far beyond Cambodia. The 'America bad' crowd consistently overstate the degree of American involvement in our sordid interventionist history.

The United States provided limited support for the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, and deliberately and directly tried to destabilize the Allende regime in years prior, but it was Augusto Pinochet and his fellow Chilean Army officers who independently planned the coup because they wanted to, and because it furthered their own political aims, and they would have attempted such a coup without any American intervention, if or when the proper circumstances presented themselves.

The United States almost certainly facilitated the supplying of Saddam Hussein with dual-use chemical precursors to chemical weapons under the guise of agricultural aid, which helped prop up Ba'athist Iraq's existing chemical weapons program. The United States was attempting to maintain Iraq's ability to engage in chemical warfare against Iran in the ongoing Iran-Iraq War.

Subsequently, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons to carry out the genocidal Halabja Massacre, as well as in the wider genocidal Anfal Campaign. It is basically unconfirmable, but likely, that some of the chemical weapons used in these attacks were created from US-supplied chemical precursors. The United States did knowingly lie and blame Iran for these massacres to protect Iraq and hobble Iran on the international stage. But it was Saddam Hussein, and Saddam Hussein alone, that committed these genocides.

Small diversion, but Saddam Hussein also carried out a genocide of the Marsh Arabs (despite the name, Marsh Arabs are ethnographically and ethnically distinct from Arabs) by draining the Mesopotamian Marshes (thus making this an ecocide as well as a genocide), forcing the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs from their indigenous homeland. For those in the 'America bad' camp who still lionize Saddam Hussein and violent, genocidal dictators like him just because of their opposition to the United States, fuck you.

Real responsibility . . .

None of this is intended to minimize the United States' involvement in these and other horrible events, because it's not minimization to correctly characterize the nature of US involvement in them. It's being historically accurate. We can do that and acknowledge the things America is directly responsible for.

The United States was directly responsible for the 1915 invasion and subsequent occupation of Haiti until 1934 by US military forces under direct orders from Woodrow Fucking Wilson, which resulted in thousands of Haitian deaths and likely strongly contributed to the ascension of Papa Doc to power two decades later.

The United States was directly responsible for atrocities committed by United States forces in Vietnam, including massacres and bombing of civilians and the ecological devastation of enormous parts of the country with extremely carcinogenic pesticides that continue to cause cancer and birth defects in Vietnam today at a nearly incomprehensible rate.

And finally, the United States is and was directly responsible for our support for brutal regimes across the world, regardless of whether we were directly responsible for the crimes perpetrated in the affected nation.

That the United States is or is not directly involved in a particular incident has no bearing on how seriously our actions should be taken. To knowingly support and defend brutal dictatorial regimes is just as immoral as directly perpetrating the crimes of those regimes.

But I rarely have I seen a mention of Pinochet or Cambodia that doesn't center the United States' involvement, which flattens the crimes that took place and reduces them to rhetorical ammunition to use against America.

If your accounting of these events talks more about America's role than the actions of the perpetrators, then you aren't telling the story of these events properly. If one is telling these stories properly and centering the victims and their experiences, the perpetrators are impossible to miss because they are in the fucking room. America's role in these events must be included in a full retelling. It should have its own dedicated chapter or two or the story isn't complete. But it shouldn't be the whole damn book.

The Sorry State of Leftism

There is an infuriating kind of infantilization inherent to this kind of thinking. It is partially a result of the moralization of oppressor-oppressed dynamics where evil is solely the product of the imagined cohesive, organized oppressive 'system', and that implies or outright states that without the interference of the 'American empire' oppression, state violence, racial strife, indigeneity conflicts, and economic exploitation will greatly diminish or outright cease to exist. It denies entire races and ethnicities their fundamental humanity, which includes their extremely human ability to commit atrocities without direction from an outside force.

The United States is not an incorporeal devil planting foul thoughts into the minds of dictators and plotters. Far more often than not, the United States encourages and supports what is already there. American involvement in regime change and national destabilization in Latin America should be a topic of great discussion, but far too often these discussions omit the actual perpetrators of the crimes attributed to the United States, nor acknowledge that many of these coups and massacres and genocides around the world probably would have happened whether the United States was involved or not.

There is in addition a profound double-standard to which the United States (and Israel) is held; not one where the United States is extraordinarily and unfairly maligned, but one where the opponents of the United States are absolved, either by trivialization, omission, denialism, or apologism, of their actions, systemic inequalities, and unjust histories.

Frequently is the real, oppressive, colonial history of the United States with regard to native American Indians spoken of. Yet rarely do I see the same standard applied elsewhere.

Have you ever wondered why there are so many ethnic minorities in Russia, or in China? Did you know that, on the whole, minority communities in Russia and China are poorer and less developed than those of the majority ethic group? Have you ever noticed that many of the neighbors of both nations are both historically and currently extremely wary of them?

Have you ever wondered how the world's four largest countries, Russia, Canada, the United States, and China, all got that big? Could there, perhaps, be something they have in common?

Isn't it odd that Arab culture and ethnicity, originating from one little peninsula in the Middle East, achieved hegemony over more than a dozen states as distant as Morocco and Indonesia? I guess it's only cultural genocide when white people do it.

American military support for Israel become a global cause célèbre, yet I have not seen mention Saudi Arabia's ongoing war in Yemen outside of token lists of "Eyes on . . . so and so" in years.

As I am writing, Greta Thunberg's little PR stunt with her dumb empty aid yacht is front and center on every corner of this accursed website, and yet not once in the year-and-a-half since October 7 have I seen mention of the years-long ongoing Saudi blockade of Yemen. Not. Fucking. Once.

So many here cheer on Russia and call Ukrainians Nazis. They ignore or, worse, deny the Uyghur genocide because it is inconvenient for their anti-American agenda. They hyper-focus on the violence Israel is committing in Gaza, and ignore every other brutal or genocidal conflict on the planet except to virtue-signal their moral correctitude by reblogging meaningless lists of who to 'keep your eyes on' compiled by people who obviously know fuck-all about the actual conflicts they list except that they are useful for their own projection of personal righteousness.

The historical imperialism of the Soviet Union is ignored because it is inconvenient to the historical narrative of 'America bad'. The current imperialism of China and Russia are ignored because it is inconvenient to the current narrative of 'America bad'.

Long lists of books on the history of Israel and Palestine are presented everywhere as essential reading, but memory of the crimes of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, the twin perpetrators of the two largest sets of atrocities and genocides in human fucking history which continue to have lasting repercussions on the contemporary world are not considered important. The crimes of the Soviet Union, a strong contender for a not-so-distant silver medal in that competition, are not merely ignored, but often denied.

Hamas, a brutal regime that executes queer people, murders political opponents and journalists, commits war crimes and terror attacks on civilians, deprives the people it rules over of liberty, steals aid from the mouths of Palestinian children, and commits all manner of other horrors universal among authoritarian regimes against the people of Palestine is hailed as a revolutionary liberator. Fuck. Off.

I am not saying and will never say that we shouldn't talk about America's very real crimes. Concerning our initial example, I think the story of the US bombing campaign in Cambodia, and Indochina more broadly, deserves far more attention than it currently gets. I think especially that comparatively much is said but not much is done. If I were president, one of the many things I would do would be to send over the US army or UN peacekeepers or whoever the fuck I can get and have them doing nothing but bomb disposal for the next half-century.

The point of this post is not to downplay American crimes, nor is it an attempt at whataboutism. It is to hopefully push back a bit of the blindness brought on by this 'America bad' obsession and get more people to acknowledge the reality of our history, and perhaps open some people's perspectives a little bit to get them to subject America's opponents to a great deal more scrutiny. Us-vs-them can be hard to fully overcome. I sure as hell haven't, but I like to think I'm making progress.

The potential to create and maintain oppressive systems, commit genocide, conduct imperialism, obliterate or assimilate foreign cultures, exploit the labor of others, excuse systemic and literal violence for the sake of personal profit, is universal. We are all capable of it; many nations and peoples, around the world and throughout all of human history, have done so.

Stop infantilizing and sanitizing the oppressed peoples of the world. As humans they are just as capable of committing all of the evils of the world as today's oppressors. By that same token, they are also capable of joining hands with those of us who are fighting for a better world for all people, without exception.

[ciricegh0st]

one thing that fucking pisses me off is how the western governments believes citizens to be ridicule levels of stupid, they see us truly as brainless and obedient good cattle.

the south african lawyers discussing Israel's genocidal measures at the ICJ didn't just talk, they brought in video and image evidence. They showed mass graves, IDF soldiers mocking dead civilians, israeli politicians calling palestinian children "animals".

all this evidence and the US wants to pull some "no all that is not true israel is good".

Bro

How stupid must you think your own people to be to think that by simply saying that you can erase the *visual* evidence. Do you really think that they will fall at your rich feet and bless you at every word? How am I supposed to believe in someone who doesn't even believe I possess enough acumen to deserve an excuse that took at least a little effort?

Please let this radicalize you americans. You own politicians think you low class scum, rich people will never value and love you the way you do with them. You hold all the power to take the power away from them.

[fairuzfan]

"Israel also secretly hires Jewish Americans as spies to work out of its Washington embassy and its consulates around the United States to covertly surveil and monitor fellow Americans, including students. Thoroughly vetted to ensure loyalty to Israel, many of those hired have spent years heavily involved in pro-Israeli activities from the time they were in college and before. Among them was Julia Reifkind, who led a pro-Israel group at the University of California at Davis before moving on to become an activist with AIPAC. After she graduated in 2016, she was hired by Israel and assigned to its embassy in Washington.

Reifkind had good preparation for her assignment. Thinking that Kleinfeld was a fellow pro-Israel activist, over dinner at Washington’s Mari Vanna restaurant she revealed that while at AIPAC she spent much of her time deceiving college students about her covert connection to the organization. “Obviously, I’m an AIPAC-trained campus activist,” she said. “When you’re lobbying on behalf of AIPAC, you don’t say AIPAC, you say, ‘I’m a pro-Israel student from UC Davis.’ And when you’re meeting with students on campus I would never say, ‘I am the AIPAC campus rep.’ I’d say, ‘My name is Julia and I’m a pro-Israel student.’”

At the embassy, Reifkind focused on developing intelligence on fellow Americans, including students on college campuses. “So nobody really knows what we’re doing,” she said. “But mainly it’s been a lot of research like monitoring BDS.”

In a different conversation, Reifkind explained: “It’s mainly gathering intel, reporting back to Israel. That’s a lot of what I do. To report back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, and make sure they have the right information.” Among the ways she spies on pro-Palestinian activists and Palestinian human rights supporters is with phony Facebook accounts. “I have my fake Facebook that I follow all the SJP [Students for Justice in Palestine] accounts. I have some fake names. My name is Jay Bernard or something.”

Once Reifkind collected the intelligence on her targets, she passed it on to her boss at the embassy. Then it was sent to the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and other offices over a secure encrypted system called Cables. It’s “really secure,” she said. “I don’t have access to [it] because I’m an American.… I’ve seen it, it looks really bizarre…. And then they’ll send something back and he’ll translate it and tell me what I need to do.”

Since the brutal Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians on October 7 and the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the ICC and its US-based spy networks are no doubt working overtime. But there is little likelihood of interference by the FBI—well trained to look the other way when it comes to Israel. It was a situation that even frustrated a former head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division. When I asked him why no one would talk to me about Israel’s massive espionage in the United States, he simply shook his head.

“You don’t think Israel’s a sensitive topic?” he asked, requesting that his name not be used. “So, Israel has been looked at and is being looked at and that’s all I can tell you,” he said. “But nobody’s doing anything.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“You can imagine,” is all he would say, implying high-level political involvement. I then said that I was planning to write about the topic. “I hope you do. I hope you do,” he said. Sighing, he added, “I’ve been there done that. I know it. I’ve brought cases to the Department of Justice on Israel.” Cases that were never opened."

— Israel’s War on American Student Activists by James Bamford on The Nation

[theflashjaygarrick]

So you've heard about the DC Absolute Universe and you're wondering what it is all about.

While details about Absolute DC is still coming out, I decided it might be useful to make a breakdown of what we know so far (mostly from SDCC).

DC Absolute Universe Breakdown:

The Absolute universe is a new alternate universe influenced by Darkseid energy. It is a 'darker' universe where all the heroes have lost something key to their Earth 0 selves which leaves them as underdogs. While separate to the main universe it will link in through the events of the All In initiative. There doesn't seem to be many superhero teams yet, but a lot of iconic heroes have had their own solo series' announced:

Absolute Batman (By Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta):

The series brave enough to ask...what if Batman was an absolute unit. This is a Batman with no money and no status as the Prince of Gotham. Instead he is a construction worker and city engineer who has turned himself and his costume into an absolute weapon. He has an adorable French Bulldog and is also apparently blonde.

This Bruce Wayne never had a butler but there still is an Alfred in the Absolute Universe: Alfred "Penny", the grizzled and tired MI-6 spy. They seemingly meet for the first time when Bruce has already began his caped crusade against crime (and the series' confirmed big bad Black Mask)

Bonus: The Jim Lee variant cover gives us a better look at his costume's armoured texture and one of his weapons. He's seemingly more of a heavy hitter than the Batman we know.

Absolute Wonder Woman (By Kelley Thompson and Hayden Sherman):

This Wonder Woman was raised not in Paradise Island but rather in The Underworld. She has no sisters and no quest for peace. Instead she is the last of the Amazons who becomes a warrior and a witch, and eventually the Absolute Universe's first superhero. She is more heavily armed, carries a massive sword, and flies around on a skeletal pegasus made of iron.

Unlike her Earth counterpart who is notable for not wearing a mask, this Wonder Woman seemingly has two, including a rather demonic looking helmet. Also, her colour scheme is based less on the American flag and more on the idea of lava under rocks.

She also has a Jim Lee variant cover which suggests she also will have a lasso.

Absolute Superman (By Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval):

Superman is the member of the trinity we know the least about. He is supposed to be more alien (suggested by his glowing red arms and the fact the cape seems to be made of pure energy) and according to the solicitation is "Without the fortress... without the family... without a home" but honestly we don't know much more.

We do have some cool art though (including another Jim Lee Variant):

Absolute Green Lantern (By Al Ewing and Jahnoy Linsday)

Absolute Green Lantern is a "first contact" story and "reimagining" of the Green Lantern mythos featuring Jo Mullein, Hal Jordan, and John Stewart. We have some cool concept art of it including a redesign of Jo that suggests the lanterns might be in civilian clothing illuminated green.

Absolute Flash (By Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles)

This is the book we know the least about. All we really can infer apart from the creative team is that the Flash is presumably Wally West and that he appears to be more tortured character than in most other iterations.

(Shout out to Bleeding Cool for posting photos of the SDCC slides for people who weren't there)

[sirxaibs]

Hizashi Yamada X Reader Drabble/Crack

🖇️✩ +̊🎧 MOMMY?!?? 🖇️✩ +̊🎧

masterlist

a student calls you mom

·+̊🖇️✩ +̊🎧⊹♡ Setting up for Hizashi’s English class was something you did often as his TA, but today, you felt particularly playful. The classroom was empty, the morning sunlight casting golden rays through the windows as you arranged papers on his desk. Hizashi stood near the whiteboard, adjusting the projector settings, his glasses slipping slightly down his nose.

“You know, Y/N,” Hizashi mused, tapping at the keyboard, “I think these kids would riot if they knew how excited I was for today’s lesson.”

You chuckled, glancing over the syllabus. “They always riot when it comes to English.”

You smirked, stepping closer until you were right behind him. Your fingers ghosted over the fabric of his vest as you leaned in, breath warm against his ear.

“Oh, they always riot when it comes to english,” you murmured, voice dripping with mischief. “But lucky for you, I’m here. and the faster this lesson goes means we can finally have some… fun.”

Hizashi stiffened for half a second before he turned to you, eyes slightly wide behind his glasses. His ears, hidden beneath his wild blond hair, were definitely burning red. “Oh? Is that so?” His voice cracked just a little, and you bit your lip to hold back a laugh.

Before he could recover, the bell rang, signaling the start of class. The door swung open as students began filtering in, chatting amongst themselves. You took a casual step back, arms crossed, watching as Hizashi cleared his throat, adjusting his collar as if it would help hide his flustered expression.

“ALRIGHT, CLASS! LET’S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!” he boomed, though you could hear the slight edge in his voice.

A collective groan cut him off.

“Not English…” one student muttered, resting their forehead against the desk.

Another let out a dramatic sigh. “Why do we even need to learn this? Can’t we just use our quirks in other countries and let a translator handle it?”

You smirked, stepping forward. “Actually, no. A lot of hero agencies overseas require their heroes to have at least basic conversational skills in English. And trust me, you don’t want to be that one hero who has no idea what’s going on in a mission briefing.”

A few students exchanged glances, though the enthusiasm was still lacking.

Hizashi nodded. “Yeah! Plus, how are you gonna do interviews with foreign news outlets if ya don’t know what they’re askin’?”

“That’s what subtitles are for,” a student shot back, earning a few chuckles.

You sighed, shaking your head. “Look, I get it. English can be frustrating. But it’s not impossible. And since I actually spent time in America, I know the best ways to help you guys get comfortable with it.”

One student perked up. “You were in America?”

You nodded. “Yeah. A few months, actually. Lived there, worked there, and had to use English every single day. Trust me, I made all the mistakes you could possibly make, so I know exactly what you’re struggling with.”

“Wait… So you were, like, an American hero?”

“Not exactly,” you admitted. “More like I was there for a temporary collaboration. But I did patrols, worked with some American heroes, and had to communicate with civilians. So if you want to hear some embarrassing stories about me messing up English in public, now’s your chance.”

That seemed to spark some interest.

“Did you ever say something really bad by accident?”

“Oh, definitely.” You smirked, crossing your arms. “I once tried to compliment someone’s shirt and accidentally told them they looked like a banana.”

A few students laughed. Even Hizashi chuckled beside you.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” he said, gesturing dramatically. “Language isn’t just about books and testsit’s about communication! And sometimes, communication is messy, but that’s how ya learn!”

The class groaned again, but at least this time, it was with less resistance.

You smirked. “Alright, let’s start simple. Let’s go around and have everyone introduce themselves in English. Just a basic ‘Hi, my name is ____, and my quirk is ____.’”

The students groaned again, but one by one, they hesitantly began their introductions, stumbling over words and laughing at their own mistakes. You and Hizashi guided them through the pronunciations, offering encouragement where needed.

Midway through the lesson, as you walked between desks helping students with their pronunciation, a sleepy voice mumbled, “Mom, how do you say ‘speed boost’ in English?”

Silence.

You blinked, turning slowly toward the student who had spoken. The entire class went dead quiet as the realization hit them. The student, wide eyed with horror, turned an impossible shade of red.

“I I mean uh” They clamped their hands over their mouth, mortified.

The room erupted into laughter. Even Hizashi doubled over, his laughter echoing through the classroom. You couldn’t help but smirk, arms crossed as you arched an eyebrow.

“Well,” you said, grinning, “at least you said it in English.”

·+̊🖇️✩ +̊🎧⊹♡

The final bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students packed up their things, still chuckling over the earlier slip up. The poor student who had accidentally called you “mom” had bolted out of the room the second they could, face burning red. You were still amused by it, though.

“Alright, see ya next class!” Hizashi called after the last few students, waving as they shuffled out the door.

Once the room was empty, you sighed, stretching your arms over your head. “Whew. That went better than expected.”

“Oh yeah?” Hizashi drawled, turning toward you with a mischievous glint in his eye. “You sure about that, Mommy?”

You froze. Then you turned to him slowly, narrowing your eyes. “…What did you just say?”

He grinned, far too pleased with himself. “What? I’m just embracing my student’s interpretation of our dynamic! I mean, you are helpin’ me teach, you keep ‘em in check feels pretty parental to me!” He stroked his chin dramatically. “Maybe I should start callin’ ya that more often”

You smacked his arm firm, but playful.

“OW!” He laughed, rubbing the spot where you hit him. “What?! It’s a term of endearment!”

You shook your head, grinning. “Oh, you think you’re funny, huh?”

“I know I’m funny.”

You crossed your arms, smirking. “Well… I could be a mommy.”

Silence.

Hizashi just stood there.

His expression froze completely like his brain had just cut out. He wasn’t even blinking, just staring at you with his mouth slightly open.

You bit back a laugh at the way his mind was clearly racing at a million miles per hour.

And then, just to mess with him even more, you leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away and sauntering toward the door. “See you later, Daddy.”

You barely made it out of the room before he exploded.

“WH WAIT! HEY! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

You laughed as he stumbled after you, his voice rising in sheer panic and excitement.

“Babe, hold on WAIT A MINUTE” He caught up, following you into the hallway. “Are you just messin’ with me, or ? ‘Cause, like, if you’re serious”

You threw him a teasing look over your shoulder. “What? You want to make me a mom right now?”

His face went completely red, but his determination didn’t waver. “I MEAN IF YOU’RE DOWN I’M JUST SAYIN’”

You only laughed harder, enjoying how flustered he was. you had no doubt this is going to be a topic of discussion when you get home today.

[writeriguess]

So happy to have you back my heart feels complete again. Would you write alpha ghost x omega reader? Lt.Ghost is on base in a meeting with tf141 and they get a call about a break out happening an apocalypse is about to happen and ghost jumps up tells his team how he has a bunker at home but he needs to get home now and they ask follow him home and are surprised to find a shy short curvy American omega

author's note: Glad to be back <3

Beneath the Mask

The tension in the briefing room was thick. Task Force 141 sat around the table, going over the latest intel, the rhythmic tapping of fingers against the wood the only sign of impatience. Ghost sat with his arms crossed, silent as he listened to Price, but his focus was split. Something in his gut itched, an unease clawing at the edges of his mind. He had felt this before—this deep, bone-deep instinct that something was about to go terribly wrong. But this time, it wasn’t just a mission. It was you.

Then the call came.

A prison break. But not just any escape—mass chaos was unfolding. Civilians were fleeing in droves, and every government alert channel blared the same message: An outbreak is happening. The world as they knew it was falling apart.

Ghost shot to his feet so fast his chair nearly toppled.

"I need to go. Now."

"The hell do you mean, mate?" Soap’s brows furrowed. "We need a plan—"

"I have a bunker. At home. Prepped for this kind of thing." His voice was sharp, commanding. "I need to get there."

"Home?" Gaz echoed, exchanging glances with the others. "You actually have a home?"

Ghost ignored the jab and turned to Price. "You lot can come with me or figure your own shit out. But I’m not waiting around for this to get worse."

That was all the convincing they needed. Within minutes, they were in the air, heading straight for Ghost’s home—a place none of them had ever seen or even heard about.

The drive up to the property was tense. The roads were already beginning to empty, the eerie silence only broken by the occasional panicked voice on a radio transmission. The city had been bad, but the countryside was eerily quiet. Too quiet.

Ghost barely spoke, gripping the wheel tightly, his entire body locked with urgency. Soap, Gaz, and Price, on the other hand, exchanged silent looks in the back of the vehicle.

They knew Ghost was secretive, but this? A hidden bunker, a home he’d never spoken of? It wasn’t just paranoia—it was preparation. But for what exactly?

And then, they arrived.

Tucked deep into the countryside, the house was unassuming—modest, quiet, surrounded by thick trees that concealed it from view. It looked almost too normal for someone like Ghost, but the moment he stepped out of the car, his posture changed.

The hardened soldier was gone, replaced by something more primal. More urgent.

He strode to the front door and unlocked it, stepping inside as the others followed. The house was warm, cozy even—nothing like what they expected. A fireplace flickered in the corner, the faint scent of home-cooked meals still lingering in the air. The walls were lined with books, photographs, pieces of a life that none of them had imagined Ghost having.

And then, they saw you.

You stood in the middle of the living room, wide-eyed and clutching a thick blanket around your shoulders, your scent blooming in the air—sweet, familiar, uniquely his.

Short. Curvy. Omega.

Ghost exhaled sharply, his instincts settling the moment he saw you safe.

"Simon?" Your voice was soft, tentative, and laced with relief.

He closed the distance between you in two long strides, cupping your face gently, scanning you for any sign of harm. "You okay, love?"

You nodded, eyes flickering behind him to the stunned group of men still standing in the doorway, jaws slack.

"What the fuck…?" Soap muttered under his breath.

Gaz blinked. "You—you have a mate?"

Price let out a breath, rubbing his temple. "Christ, Ghost. You really don’t tell us a damn thing, do you?"

Ghost ignored them, focused solely on you. He ran his thumb along your jaw, his voice softer now. "Pack a bag. We’re going underground. Now."

You didn’t hesitate, nodding as you turned to grab what you needed. The team, however, still looked like they were struggling to process what they were seeing.

Soap let out a low whistle. "An Omega. Your Omega. Bloody hell."

Ghost shot him a warning glare. "Not a word."

Soap held up his hands, smirking. "Didn’t say a thing, mate. But I’ve got questions."

"Not now."

Price sighed, adjusting his vest. "Let’s move before things get worse."

Ghost didn’t let you out of his sight, keeping you tucked close as he led you towards the entrance to the underground bunker. He could already smell your anxiety, the way your body hummed with unease. His arm slipped around your waist, grounding you as he pressed a reassuring kiss to your temple.

"I’ve got you, love."

The entrance to the bunker was hidden beneath a reinforced hatch in the back of the house. Ghost opened it with practiced ease, revealing a well-lit, fully stocked underground shelter—walls lined with supplies, weapons, everything needed to survive for months, even years if necessary.

Soap let out an impressed whistle as he stepped inside. "Damn. You weren’t kidding about being prepared."

"Never am."

You settled onto the bed tucked in the corner, fingers gripping the fabric of Ghost’s sleeve as if to make sure he was really there. He sat beside you, his large frame practically dwarfing you as he pulled you into his arms. He needed to feel you close, to know you were safe.

Above them, the world was descending into chaos. But down here, with you curled against him, Ghost knew one thing for certain—

He would protect you. No matter what it took.

[noisymoonwizars]

This is a turning point for America

Trump is weak.

He is actively loosing support. I know it might not seem like it but it is true. Attempting to illegally cut funding to useful and popular programs, firing federal employees (many of whom voted for him) for no reason, forcing immigration quotas which will cause innocent immigrants and Americans to be arrested and deported, choosing the worst option for a solution for Palestine, and side-stepping both congressional power and scotus power has caused him to loose support from the public (he is at the lowest approval rating of any president during the start of their campaign), and to loose support from congress and scotus. This is a flood, the executive orders are meant to distract us and make us think he is more powerful than he really is.

Quite literally, we have to act. Call every representative you can, local, state, and federal. Even if you live in a red state, make our leaders know that their continued power is reliant on their opposition to the scumbag who wants to be king. Vote in every election coming up, join petitions, and join protests if you are able. Make sure as many people as possible are educated on the topic, it sucks but no one else will do it for us. We cannot afford to spit venom at other civilians, save it for the politicians.

Inaction is an action of passive support. We cannot afford to withhold votes as protest, we cannot afford to bash anyone down or be selective of our allies. Every bit of support matters.

[smallcloisville]

I AM GONNA PUT THIS CLOIS RELATED INTERVIEW EXCERPT HERE CUZ I LOVE ALL THE DETAILS SO FAR.

It's a meaty scene, about 10-12 pages worth of script, in which Lois arrives at her apartment to find her boyfriend, Clark Kent, attempting (rather poorly) to cook an anniversary meal. Their playful banter highlights their romantic chemistry, but also how they challenge each other.

"We're meeting them at a point where they've been together for about three months," Brosnahan notes, "which is the point in a relationship where you're like, Was this a really great fling or is this more serious, possibly forever?"

Lois gives Clark grief for the ethical breaches of his recent Daily Planet pieces — exclusive interviews he "conducted" with Superman, though they both know full well that Clark is Superman. So he offers her an alternative: She can interview him as the Man of Steel instead. What he thinks might be a fun bonding moment backfires spectacularly as Lois, who comes alive when presented with a juicy story, jumps at the chance to ask Superman hard-hitting questions on the record. 

Brosnahan felt this exchange was "foundational" to these characters.

"It's a combination of them both clicking into, in some ways, their super alter egos," she explains, "but that's also juxtaposed with their great love for each other... I don't know if she would call it that quite yet, but they care about each other. When you start doing an interview, this is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lois Lane, and he's Superman, who's also the subject of this interview. They both feel very strongly about the stance that they're taking in that scene. It's one of the things that I love about their love story. While they have totally opposite worldviews, they complete each other, and they kind of need each other."

It's also a world that often has a problem with someone like Superman. He's virtually all-powerful, so it's a challenge to physically stop him. The combination of his upbringing in rural town Smallville and the dying wish of his Kryptonian parents to safeguard humanity forms Clark's firm ideals about bettering civilization. No corporation or government can taint them, which leads us to why Lois is eager to grill Superman. In the film, he decides to save civilians caught in a conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur (fictional nations from DC comics), which causes an international incident and earns him the ire of a White House that sees Superman as an American asset gone rogue.

"She's ambitious and hungry," Brosnahan comments. "And I think, in that moment, she sees an opportunity for a front-page story."

In many ways, this apartment scene, where Clark/Kal-El defends those ideals to Lois, defines this generation's incarnations of these characters. While the titan from Krypton can often seem stoic and deified, Corenswet's Kal-El can be quite passionate about his views and express them loudly. 

"I had the same ideas about Superman, that he's quite reserved and has ultimate control over his emotions and his reactions to things," Corenswet says. "I was very excited when James said all of that is true about Superman, but we get to meet him in this moment where those things are least true. That's where he's a little bit of Superman, he's a little bit of Clark — because the only other person in the room knows who he is and holds all the cards."

Brosnahan describes Lois as "someone who questions everything and everyone by nature," while Clark/Superman "sees the beauty in people first and trusts implicitly…. That sometimes puts them at odds with each other about the way they should approach the world."

It's only in his scenes with his costars, particularly Brosnahan, that Corenswet truly finds the specifics of his character. There are the main Superman and Clark Kent personas that he shows the public. But, Corenswet explains, "We also had this third character, of who Clark is when he's in a room with somebody who knows both sides of him. He's not really playing the character of Superman, but he's also not really playing the role of Clark, either. It's a personality that only comes out with his parents [Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell play Jonathan and Martha Kent] and with Lois, once she really gets to know everything about him."

[bwlkins]

I feel like the fandom is overlooking this Aziraphale's line. He perfectly knows that Heaven is no better than Hell.

And I know TV Aziraphale is slightly different from Book Aziraphale, but he is not totally different character. Do you remember this amazing bit from the GO book? I think we'll get something like that in S3.

It's while he's discorporated and he goes through a couple of different spiritualists in different countries before he gets back to London and Tracy; he stops off in an American TV evangelist and points out everything wrong with the guy's sermon…

"He (the preacher) stopped, suddenly. “Well, nice try,” he said, in a completely different voice, “only it won’t be like that at all. Not really. “I mean, you’re right about the fire and war, all that. But that Rapture stuff—well, if you could see them all in Heaven—serried ranks of them as far as the mind can follow and beyond, league after league of us, flaming swords, all that, well, what I’m trying to say is who has time to go round picking people out and popping them up in the air to sneer at the people dying of radiation sickness on the parched and burning earth below them? If that’s your idea of a morally acceptable time, I might add.

“And as for that stuff about Heaven inevitably winning . . . Well, to be honest, if it were that cut and dried, there wouldn’t be a Celestial War in the first place, would there? It’s propaganda. Pure and simple. We’ve got no more than a fifty percent chance of coming out on top. You might just as well send money to a Satanist hotline to cover your bets, although to be frank when the fire falls and the seas of blood rise you lot are all going to be civilian casualties either way. Between our war and your war, they’re going to kill everyone and let God sort it out—right?

“Anyway, sorry to stand here wittering, I’ve just a quick question—where am I?”

[thekingwhereitallends]

It bothers me that people really use strange ways to express disdain towards John Walker, and have the audacity to label him "racist" when there is not a single instance where he shows to be discriminatory against any race. All we see of John is how his best friend is Lemar Hoskins, and how John sought guidance of Sam whom he respect as one of closest companions to Steve Rogers and a great superhero.

If they really use that homicide scene to push this narrative, John was pissed off, but that flagsmasher was nothing close to an innocent man. He had helped blow up buildings with civilians inside, and also was assisting the teenage false messiah of terrorists to kill not only John, but also Lemar, Bucky and Sam. John gave zero damn about their race, neither did Steve who fought and eradicated germans in WWII.

Why do i put certain tags in post? If people actually take time to devour the context, they will not ask for removal of those hashtags. Like Captain America which is not only a mantle that John Walker wore but also a symbol he idolized, and Sam Wilson was also referred because he was integral to John's story.

Lastly, i am neither an american nor a white man. I am just a persian man who expresses his opinions, and could be ruthlessly critical of many topics. I can hate on everything and everyone equally, as i usually do, but i also must be fair and point out hypocrisy when i witness it.

[yourlocalfunnyguy]

Disclaimer, me and my girlfriend (99% my girlfriend) wrote this, my girlfriend is from the US and knows her stuff so dont bash me for being british and talking about US involved politics! Same goes for Middle Eastern politics HUGE RANT ON ISRAEL V PALESTINE (PT 2)

This war garnered traction on TikTok of all places, which is never a good place to learn or research (it's a music app, no duh), and people decided to go with it without even asking what was really up with it all. This has caused so much misinformation to fly around willy nilly, and has placed hatred and bigotry into the hearts of many "pro Palestinians". I have seen the comments of Jewish people's videos which had NOTHING to do with the war, and you know what most of the comments said? "It was more like 160k but ok" in reference to WW2, "we can tell w/ ur beaked nose self" over someone showing off an ethnicity test, "bring back the funny austrian painter mustache man" because someone asked for the Israeli music station on an app that shows you what music is currently playing in whatever country you pick, and SO much more. Hell, when this first started, i joined a debate discord server only to find it had been overrun by antisemitic pro pali's who would scream the n word at Jewish people and call them . When i tried to tell them the history, my messages were deleted and a LITERAL 15 year old started sending me gore of the war asking if that was what i wanted.

This is NOT siding with the civilians like they claim they are, these people are clumping together any Jewish person with corrupt government leaders like Netanyahu and being extremely Antisemitic. If you live in America, you know that your 'leaders' do not define you. On siding with the civilians, pro Palestinians have shown time and time again they're absolutely absent minded. While it's true a majority of civilians are innocents, they're completely ignorant to the ones who purposefully antagonize occupying soldiers in an attempts to get them to shoot them to start even more of a discussion. They throw rocks, bricks, they shove their own children at soldiers screaming for them to kill them, they break windows, etc. And on top of this, most pro Palestinians are pro Hamas and don't even realize how awful of a thing that is to be. Hamas is not the civilians saviour, they purposefully hide under civilian structures, making it harder to stop them when they attack Israel without accidentally nabbing a civilian and getting called evil. They steal supplies and hoard it, they wear civilian clothing, they keep their own people hostage and as human shields, and they keep Israeli people hostage and kill them painfully.

You could argue Israeli soldiers "Do the same", but the IDF has shown multiple times that they aren't out to go to war for the sake of causing casualties, unlike Hamas. There were countless leaflets dropped for days warning civilians of Gaza to evacuate, the IDF has constantly administered medical treatment on wounded civilians whether Israeli or Palestinian, and tried to limit their strikes to as little collateral damage as possible. In war, bad things happen, people get hurt and civilians die, and in no way does that justify the small minority of the IDF that has shot at civilians, but just like every military there will always be extremists. Just like America, just like Europe, there are bad people everywhere, and they hide among each other waiting for a chance to strike. You really have no idea what happens in the American military if you think this is the worst of the worst. Women get raped by other male members, people go crazy from the atrocities and will lash out and kill their own platoon members, they rape civilians where they're occupied, they're loud, and they're ugly inside and out. And its hard admittedly to keep track of every single person ever in a military especially if they have a clean record and nobody speaks up about the corrupt people who commit such evils. Do you really think any one would keep those people around if they knew what they were up to? Do you think they even have a choice when they're under attack? During ww2 when men were getting drafted across each country, they didn't have time to think about the personality of who they were picking, they didn't have time to check when their people were being murdered. They picked based on physical fitness, because people, more arms, were scarce. Those disgusting people are a liability, they make the movement look awful the same way some protestors here will break into local businesses and steal from them instead of stealing from actual greedy businesses like Walmart or Target. You get the point. And to those talking about Greta and how she was "kidnapped" and how "awful" it was of them to show her footage of what happened, they showed her that footage because she didn't come there to understand, she didn't come there to think critically or help, she got her information from social media platforms where misinformation spreads like wildfire, and people who believe AI videos and scams begging for money, obviously aren't going to care what the other party has to say since they've already decided they're right. They wanted to show her why she was wrong, challenge her views. Of course, she turned it into "They are forcefully keeping me here i will die and they are showing us gore" despite literally being able to leave just fine afterwards and use TWITTER. During it all. A broken clock is right at least once a day. You can acknowledge she's great for speaking out against climate change, but you don't have to agree with everything just for that. I feel like leftism has diluted itself to "believe what every other person says" out of fear of wanting to be morally right and good people.

[fairuzfan]

I don't want to add it to the post (bc I don't want to get into it with assholes) but! I'm literally Japanese-American, and I would say that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are similar to Gaza and Rafah not just in the amount of firepower directed at them but in that they're both CIVILIAN POPULATIONS. it's not about the nuclear weapons (reading comprehension website.jpeg) it's about the inhumanity of the collective punishment in service of US interests. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not individual or unique events -- look at Laos, look at Cambodia, look at Vietnam and Korea and what the States did there!! it doesn't "lessen" the horror or tragedy at all to compare them to Palestine now, especially if that comparison will help to stop it. I need white ppl to shut the fuck up about Japan permanently I stg anyways sorry people are being weird and fuckshit about this.

I think people are stuck on the differences and not willing to look at similarities when it comes to Gaza. Like when we compare its not in an effort to dismiss the differences and "triviliaze" (hate when they say that) but to show "Hey remember when something really bad happened back then? And everyone today is like I can't believe that happened? You can stop something like that from happening today by helping here" which people are allergic to doing for Palestine because they're so caught up in the minutae that they can't see the big picture. I've seen descendants of survivors of Vietnam say this is exactly what happened to them. I've seen Bosnian Genocide survivors say the gaslighting is similar to what they experienced. Holocaust survivors and their descendents! Even Hiroshima in the modern day is drawing parallels! We need to make comparisons to examine similarities and contextualize events in history. Why else learn world history if not to understand the patterns of operation in the modern day? You have beliefs surrounding certain atrocities, things like "I won't let that happen again" or "I would fight that" and that's why people are drawing parallels. To make people take action.

And this isn't limited to just Gaza, people do the same with Sudan and DRCongo. And people who do it for sudan even claim to support Palestine! Even though Gazans are asking people to pay attention to Sudan because they see themselves in their struggle! No one is paying attention to the main idea "stop this before it gets worse"!!!! It's already so bad for all these places and that damage is irreversible in that people live with it for the rest of their lives but yes! We can stop it before a complete erasure happens! It's possible! These comparisons are necessary and important!

[callmecoke]

Hi again! I looked through your blog very briefly (gonna take a deeper dive once I am free from uni stuff, sigh), but honestly you feel like someone I would click quite well, so if you are still looking for requests, I would really love to see something fluffy and comforting about Graves from you. I really will devour with great pleasure anything you cook, but if you do something for Graves x Russian reader, I'd be even more happy. No pressure tho, genuinely

Most importantly I really hope you write things you enjoy and have people you like around you, here and offline obv. Sorry if I sound annoying lol, I just think you're cool. Much love!!

HEY!!!!!! You’re not annoying at all and I really appreciate the request! So, minor warning before hand, I am incredibly Australian, and know, admittedly, fuck all about Russia or Russian people. So if anything here is wrong or incorrect, just put me down 😞 (JK, lemme know and I can correct anything, or maybe add a few tidbits if a learn some new things) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! I decided to do a headcanon list and not a full story lol I hope that’s okay.

Russian Reader x Graves Headcanons (Fluff)

Graves has picked up a few words during his time working with many, many different types of folks from all four corners of the world. They’re not full sentences though, more random tidbits. Sometimes their phrases that he doesn’t fully know the meaning of, but finds fun to say (The Russian version of “I’m going to fucking kill you” was repeated to him so much he started saying it out loud around the house. Didn’t know what it meant until you had to sit him down and explain why your relatives were looking at him a bit offended)

Despite how well he can repeat phrases he finds on the field, he absolutely fumbles when attempting to actually teach him the language. Suddenly, his fat American tongue can’t wrap around the words and it sounds like the syllables are choking him. Looks at you all proud each time because in his mind, he’s absolutely nailing this (he isn’t)

But there are some phrases you’ve taught him that he caught on to quite well. Things like “Я люблю тебя” (I love you) and “Любовь всей жизни” (Love of my life) he learned pretty quickly because his association was with you. He also looooves to pull these out when he wants something from you or is trying to soften you up. He a cheeky bastard like that.

Now, Phillip is all about the grill. He is the man who has full control of the barbecue at any and all social functions. He has self assigned that role and he takes it very seriously. However, that doesn’t mean that he is a single minded cook. In fact, with a clear recipe he can just about make anything to near perfection.

Pirog? The juiciest meat stuffing available. Kasha? Every morning with side of strawberries. Literally any dish you want, he can make. He cooks to impress. (And it’s a bonding moment if you have some recipes you wanna teach him. If you stand behind him and guide his hands you’ll get him blushing a little and give him a good laugh because you knooooow he’s normally the one with his chest against your back)

I do believe this man is a chronic google-er so he spends a lot of time on his phone searching up phrases like “New Russian Partner” “How to impress Russian family” “Russian culture” “Russian language learning easy”

If you’re new to America and are struggling to find your footing, he is more than happy to come to your rescue. And doesn’t necessarily mean he understands what you’re going through, because he honestly doesn’t know what it feels like to be homesick or isolated to such a degree. But that won’t stop him from trying to help.

I think you’ll find a lot of that in your relationship with him. There’s no real way around the fact how different the two of you are culture and upbringing wise. That’s not even talking about the distance between a civilian and a pmc. But that doesn’t stop him. He doesn’t give up for nothing, even for a partner three times out of his league.

He knows he’ll never fully understand the cultural shock, or your upbringing, or even half the words you speak. But he keeps doing his darnedest every single day, in the hopes that one day he will understand. One day he will speak Russian fluently, and understand Russian culture, and learn the history and learn everything and anything about all the things that make you, you. One day, starting now.

[my-darling-boy]

Hello Alastair! I hope everything is going well! First of all, Iay I really, really love your name! It is one of the best names I have ever heard. Second, I was would like to s wondering if you might have any book or resource recommendations for someone who would like to know what it was like to be a gay soldier in WWI and WWII. Sorry for this weird ask. Wish you all the best! L

Thanks! And don’t worry, not a weird question at all. While I have broad knowledge, I can really only answer particulars for the British forces as that’s my forte. It’s also difficult to find comprehensive WWI sources on this because being gay in the forces and during the Edwardian era is so poorly documented compared to the 1920s onwards. I thought of these off the top of my head for a broader look:

(WW1 + WW2) Fighting Proud— Stephen Bourne

(WW2) Men at War— Luke Turner

(WW2) Queen and Country—Emma Vickers

(WW2) Coming Out Under Fire— Allan Bérubé (American, there is also a documentary under the same name)

(WW2) My Buddy: World War II laid bare—Dian Hanson (this one also has a LOT of pictures and is apparently kind of expensive or hard to find but it’s a fantastic book if you can get your hands on it)

(WW1) The Sexual History of the War—Magnus Hirschfeld (this one was written over 80 years ago and is both quite clinical and quite a challenging read I think if you’re pretty new to the subject because imo it requires some wider period-relevant knowledge to fully grasp the info but the full text is online if you’re interested)

I think when uni is finally over I’ll do a masterlist type post for way more sources! Because personal exploration and social reception of sexuality is such a complex subject, to have better framework to understand it with the backdrop of the wars (if you haven’t already) I would also recommend looking into:

Civilian life outside of being gay to learn more about the existing social and political landscape, especially class structures (The Age Of Decadence—Simon Heffer, Lost Voices of the Edwardians—Max Arthur)

Being gay in Edwardian life (I weirdly enough cannot think of a comprehensive non-fiction book on this? What exists is usually centred on upper class men whose class afforded them more freedom to be out, comprehensive works on middle and working class perspectives are kind of ignored, which is why there is more documentation of gay officers and not other ranks. I’d probably recommend going down the diaries, memoirs, family historian route here, so probably on E.M. Forster or Siegfried Sassoon and other gay people who lived during the era)

Looking into insular military life and the social and class structures within it, it wasn’t only smelly trenches (Old Soldiers Never Die— Frank Richards, We Called it Passchendaele—Lyn MacDonald, pretty much any collection of diaries or personal memoirs)

“Rough trade” (A Class Apart—Stephen Gardner, probably also The Sins of the City of the Plain—Jack Saul <it’s slightly older that one and is a bit graphic ngl)

Effeminacy/sexuality related cowardice and anti-patriotism accusations (the Eulenburg Affair, court martial cases, homophobic army propaganda)

Social impacts of the Wilde trials on men at the turn of the century (also can’t really think of a good book on this)