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de-facto-slut · 2 years

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° Our Little Secret °

( Dark! Steve Rogers X Female Reader )

A/N: I was suddenly hit with this idea like a ton of bricks. It’s a little rough and hasn’t been proofread but enjoy.

Summary: Captain America tags along on a work trip.

Warning ⚠️: Minors DNI. 18+ . Nonconsensual, Dubious Consent, very public sex, humiliation, degradation, Chikan, Oral male receiving, somnophilia, NSFW, this is not an exhaustive list.

Did you read the warnings? Proceed. . .

It was a long and exhausting week at Avengers HQ. Honestly, every week was a hard one. Most of the time some of the stuff you dealt with seemed beyond the scope of your degree. This was not a job for the faint of heart, from alien invasions to near-apocalyptic events. You found yourself working long days and even longer nights cleaning up after these heroes. Luckily, Tony was kind enough to reward all the staff in the administrative and business departments with a trip to a ski resort on Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York. At first, you didn’t even want to go, you would have been fine with a weekend at home. A chance to catch up on cleaning, chores, and errands you had neglected for work.

Yet, there you were standing outside Avengers HQ with your packed bags among your excited co-workers. Your friends had convinced you to go after you shared the details of the trip with them. Their logic was sound. You could not skip an all-inclusive trip on Mr. Stark's bill.

There was a long row of charter buses lined up on the street before you. You eventually made your way over to a line as you watched your colleagues hand over their bags before loading the bus and you eventually followed suit. You thanked the driver before getting on the bus to find a seat. Fortunately for you, you managed to get on the bus early so you had a chance to pick the optimal seat, and for you, that was the back. You made your way to the second to last row and chose the seat by the left side window.

As the bus began to load, you turned on your earbuds and placed them in your ear hoping to catch up on some sleep on the four-hour drive upstate. Once your music began to play, you sank into your seat and closed your eyes waiting for sleep to take you. It hadn’t been more than two minutes before you felt a tap on your shoulder. You opened one of your eyes and both of them widened in surprise before you immediately removed your headphones.

“Cap-Captain? What are you doing here?” You were embarrassed at how you choked on your words, but he didn’t seem to take notice. You have seen him enough times to know what he looked like, even in a plain sweater and a baseball cap.

“Please, it’s just Steve. I thought it would be good if I tagged along. Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No! Go ahead!” You replied as you moved your things from the seat beside you and placed them between your legs. He promptly took a seat and looked around the bus. Everyone else seemed to be just as surprised as you were. This wasn’t your first time meeting Steve Rogers. You had run into him often in the elevator, you normally would carry on short polite conversations. But nothing noteworthy he’d remember. You hardly ran into any of the other Avengers despite working in the same building. You just handled the paperwork they often neglected or didn’t care to think about.

But, of all the things you would never expect, you would have never expected to see the Captain tagging along on a work trip. Ever since you started this job there was a clear division, the little guys and the big guys. And the Big guys had a Quinjet to get to and from, Steve didn’t need to ride a charter bus. Not to mention none of the actual Avengers members went on work trips or participated in most work events.

You shifted in your seat, you never realized just how big he was until now. His body looked massive in the bus seats. They weren’t built for men like him.

“ Am I taking up your space?” he asked a look of concern on his face.

You shook your head, “ No, you’re fine.” you lied.

“Good to hear. Sorry, I decided to join the trip last minute and didn’t think they would have any seats left,” he admitted.

You looked slightly confused, and your lips moved faster than you could stop them, “ Why did you?” you suddenly kicking yourself with how the question came out. “ Sorry I-”

He cut you off with a chuckle, “ I miss the simple things like bus rides and getting to know people. I get to travel the world but never get to see it or enjoy it, you know?”

You nodded, “ Yeah, I think I get it.”

“Besides, you guys keep us running, so why not spend quality time together with the ‘whole team’,’” he added, leaning back into the chair in an attempt to get comfortable.

“I figured you guys would be too busy to consider the whole team,”

“Yeah, now the team has expanded; I can afford a few days to myself.” He explained.

“And you want to spend them on a work trip with ‘team’ members you’ve never met?”

“Well, you’re a friendly face, Y/N, was it?” he asked.

You’re eyes widened slightly as you flashed him a shy smile. “ Oh, so you remember me?”

You had told him your name once in passing.

“ The Elevator. Floor 15.”

“ Wow, that’s an impressive memory,” you said, genuinely surprised.

“I never forget a friendly face,” he stated.

You replied with a smile. It did make you feel warm inside to be noticed by The Steve Rogers. So many people would sell their souls just to be seen by an Avenger, and there you were, boring office worker, and he remembered you.

“Oh! by the way, how did that date go?” he suddenly asked.

“Date?” You asked.

You were confused for a moment before you suddenly remembered.

It had been a day when you knew you’d leave the office late, and you had scheduled a date for that day—poor planning on your part. A guy, Nathaniel, who you had been chatting with for months and finally had the courage to meet. You had to rush and get changed in the ladies’ room that night. When you had gotten to the elevator, you were surprised to be greeted by Steve. You had never seen him leaving the office so late. He was a true gentleman that night. You made small talk. He complimented your appearance and wished you luck. Steve even insisted on walking you to your car, since it was late and claimed that parking garages were no place for a lady at night.

“Oh, that date. It didn’t go so well. He...uh...never showed.” you explained, slightly embarrassed.

Steve’s face was unreadable for a moment, and you could swear that you saw something flash behind his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it was there.

“ I’m sorry to hear that. The guy doesn’t know what he missed out on. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.” he mentioned sympathetically.

You shrugged your shoulders before giving a soft nod, “ You’re right. Thank you,” You smiled, “It’s just that dating is hard these days. Not everyone is Captain America-” you quickly stopped yourself. “ I mean, not everyone shares your values,” you corrected.

He smiled, “ Ah yes, I’m America’s golden boy. Can’t top that.” he joked. “ Honestly, I don’t know how you guys do it these days with all those dating apps.”

You made an exaggerated disgusted face, and he laughed.

“ Yeah, it isn’t ideal, but I’m sure you don’t have to worry about the perils of dating in the 21st century.”

He raised a curious eyebrow, “ What do you mean?”

“I’m sure women throw themselves at you.” He was handsome; there was no denying that, and there was no way he wasn’t aware of that fact.

He chuckled before shaking his head, “ Surprisingly, that makes things even more difficult. I can’t tell who is generally interested in Steve, not Captain America.”

You tilted your head slightly and poked your tongue into your cheek “ Yeah, I guess I didn’t consider that angle,”

He shrugged and leaned back into his chair, “ Most people don’t.” He glanced down at the headphones in your hand. “ Oh, but don’t let me keep you from enjoying the ride.”

You followed his eyes to your hands and quickly tucked the earbuds away in your pocket, “ No! That’s okay! I just wasn’t expecting a seat buddy for the ride, let alone one I could talk to.”

Steve smiled at your comment and softly nodded his head in response. When would they be another opportunity to talk to an Avenger? Let alone the ‘Captain America’.

“ Well, feel free to let me know when you’ve had enough of me...”

“Oh no, I don’t think that’ll happen.”

⚠️

You made it through the first half of the ride talking about all sorts of things with Steve. He told you about his adventures and missions over the years and you listened intently. You preferred when he talked because your life sounded dull in comparison. He didn’t talk about his feats like someone who just wanted to brag, he was actually quite humble and down to earth.

Before you knew it, the buses had stopped at a rest area to allow passengers the chance to stretch and use the bathroom. The sun was setting now, as you stood outside in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, New York with your arms wrapped around yourself to protect from the cold. Honestly, any place outside the city seemed like the middle of nowhere to you. The moment you and Steve got off the bus, he was bombarded by the other employees asking him questions. They kept him busy by asking for pictures to autographs or trying to get stories out of him. You left him to his fans as you made yourself busy. You checked your phone as you stretched your legs while walking around the rest area.

Eventually, you made your way back to your bus. You were about to climb back on when you heard your name being called, “ Y/N!”

You turned to see Steve approaching you with two steaming cups in his hands.

“ I thought you could use a pick-me-up to make it through the remainder of the ride,” he lifted the cup offering it to you.

“ Oh, thank you, that’s very thoughtful. sadly, I can’t drink coffee,”

“It’s tea,” he replied.

Your eyes widened in surprise, “ In that case thank you, I love a good tea.”

Steve simply nodded and smiled in response. “You’re welcome. Ready for the rest of the journey? Hope I haven’t been boring you.”

“ No, not at all! Your stories are the stuff of movies,” you joked as you climbed back onto the bus. You both took your seats as you opened the lid of the tea and blew on the hot liquid before taking a sip.

“ Mmm...that’s good,” you complimented as you settled back into your seat.

“ Glad you think so, I was hoping I didn’t overdo it with the honey,”

“No, I’m actually guilty of using a lot of honey in my tea.”

“I’m glad I nailed the taste,”

You were appreciative of him and his presence on the bus. It was so easy to talk to him about anything, something you didn’t expect. Not only that, but he was attentive to whatever you said. The conversation flowed easily between you two. He kept you entertained with his endless stories and jokes. That’s why you were surprised when the first yawn came.

“Oh, I’m sorry I think my lack of sleep is catching up to me,”

“It’s okay, I know everyone has been working overtime...” he said gently placing a hand on your knee. “ Feel free to sleep the rest of the trip, I won’t bore you with my stories,”

“You weren’t, I wanted to hear more,” you replied, you hadn’t immediately noticed his hand still on your knee. His thumb was drawing circles on your skin. Normally you would have moved your knee away or politely bring attention to the invasion of space. But, for some reason, you could not formulate the words. It was as if the act itself was paralyzing you. You finally moved your hand atop of his to gently move it away, but instead, it stayed there.

“Steve...”

“Hm?” He hummed unconcerned.

“I don’t feel too well...” your mumbling was hardly coherent.

“ Shh, it’s okay....here,” he whispered. His hands moved from your knees to your thighs, but you could barely register what was happening.

“ Just relax...” was the last thing you heard before feeling like you were being submerged in water.

⚠️

When you eventually came to your head felt full of buzzing bees. You weren’t sure when or for how long you were asleep. However, you could feel the slight jostle of the bus as it was still in motion. You blinked a few times your vision still blurry as your head swayed. You attempted to bring your hand up to cradle your head, but your arms were way too heavy. You tried to call for Steve, but when you swallowed your mouth was too dry to manage more than a pitiful groan.

“There she is...” you heard Steve whisper in a low tone. “ I was worried for a second, maybe the tea was too much.”

“ T-tea?” you finally managed to get out the words feeling like sandpaper against your tongue. What was he talking about? You blinked a few times, your vision cleared, and you noticed Steve leaning over you.

“It was just a little something to get you to relax,”

Your eyes followed his arm as he reached between your legs. Your eyes widened at the fact that your leggings were pooled at your ankles exposing your cotton panties. How had you not noticed? You tried to close your thighs together and reached for his arm in an attempt to stop him, but your grip was weak and he simply shrugged you off, forcing your legs wider.

“S-steve Stop!” You tried to scoot further from him and against the window.

He grabbed your thighs and pulled you back toward him and quickly covered your mouth, “Shhh...” he whispered a smirk slowly appearing on his face as he pointed to the rest of the bus. Confident in his threat he removed his hand from your mouth.

“ You always were so quiet. Standing in the back of the elevator hoping not to be noticed. Oh, but I noticed you, those tight little skirts you wear, the way you bite your lips when you were thinking too hard.” he replied in a low voice careful that any of the other passengers wouldn’t hear him. “ I was going to wait until we got to the resort but...you just made it hard,” His hand made his way back in between your thighs where his thumb began to circle the swell of your clit through your panties. You could feel the wetness that had already formed while you were passed out.

Steve dipped his head into the crook of your neck and peppered kisses on your skin. His tongue glided against your skin as you tried to push him off of you, but he felt as if he weighed a ton. You were weakened by whatever he gave you plus he was Captain America, a god among men. You can hear him as he fumbled with the zipper of his jeans and you wanted to scream, you wanted to yell for help. But you also didn’t want the attention, just as he threatened.

"Steve Please-" you begin but he quickly covered your mouth. " Sweetheart, there will be plenty of time for begging," he cooed as he managed to free himself from his jeans.

Before you could think he grabbed a fistful of your hair as he sat back into his seat pulling you down towards his lap where his cock poked through the zipper of his jeans.

"In your mouth." He slapped the side of your cheek lightly, but you did not move immediately. Instead, your eyes were focused on the seat across the aisle with your sleeping colleague in it. You had a hard time coming to terms with what was happening. "Sweetheart, I don't like repeating myself."

Tears sprang to your eyes but you knew it would be better to just comply. Maybe if you did what he wanted it would be over quicker. You wet your plump lips before taking him in. The taste of him evaded your mouth, his precum coating your tongue. Head thrown back, he released a low grunt, "Atta girl."

The grip on your hair was tighter, as he moved your up and down his cock. You took him down your throat best you could as he held you there. Your spit pooled at the base of his length as you tapped him to let you up for air. "Ah, fuck you're good at this," he complimented before forcing you down again. “ You could quit your job and become my personal cock sucking slut.” Closing your eyes you did your best to tune everything out and just focus on the task at hand. Maybe the quicker he finished the quicker this would be over.

Before you could totally focus on blocking everything out he suddenly yanked you off of him causing you to yelp. “ Uh uh, not yet,” he pulled you onto his lap and made quick work of your leggings. He placed his hands on inside your thighs spreading them. He slowly began to grind himself against the flimsy wet cotton that kept him from your entrance. “ I can’t tell you how long I have waited for this. All the different places I thought about taking you...yet surprisingly a bus was not one of them,”

He lifted you slightly pulling your panties to the side and reaching under you to take his cock into his hand. He pumped it once before sliding it against your wet lips. He moved his hands to your hips as he moved against you. His fingers dug into your hips, his grip capable of leaving bruises. It was as if he wanted to snap you in half, but instead of crushing you, which he could have easily done, he aligned himself with your entrance and thrusted upwards impaling you. He released a deep groan.

His entry burned and stretched your walls as you weren't completely ready to receive him. You released a pained groan and Steve immediately moved to cover your mouth. "You don't want everyone to hear what a dirty little slut you are... do you?"

You immediately felt panicked as you looked around the bus, everyone either sleeping or consumed by whatever media they entertained themselves with. Steve's hand left your mouth traveling to your neck where he tightened his hold on you. He pushed you back into him so that your back was flush with his chest. You could hear him breathe as his lips were against your ear. His hips were still as if he were giving you a moment to adjust to his size.

"Please- please let me go...I won't tell anyone..." you begged. "Oh, I know you won't." He replied. "Who is going to believe you? I'm America's Golden Boy." He gave a sharp thrust of his hip and you released a silent sob. He began to move slowly, not out of comfort for you, but not to draw attention to the both of you.

He released a hiss, " Fuck Sweetheart, I knew your pussy would be the perfect fit." He slowly thrust into you, moving his hands under your thighs to lift your legs. If anyone were to turn around your pussy was completely exposed to them. You buried your face in your hands, as they grew wet from your tears. "Aw, you're crying. Don't cry." He shushed you with gentle kisses on your cheek and neck. His kisses were a stark contrast to the brutal way he was handling your body.

"Don't act like you don't like it, you want this," he cooed into your ear.

"No, Please it hurts." He gripped your chin tightly in his large hand, turning your head to face him. " Oh yeah? Then why the fuck are you drenching my cock?" He moved his fingers up his shaft gathering the wetness onto his fingers. He brought them up to your eyes to see. " See that? See how you’re reacting to me? I can feel you squeezing my cock " He brought his fingers to your lips and you immediately turned your head away from him.

"Clean them up." He ordered. But you still refused to look in his direction. You heard his tongue click and he released your hips before pressing his fingers to your lips while his other hand held your jaw aggressively. The pressure caused you to loosen your jaw for relief and he stuck his fingers right in. You feared he would actually snap your jaw, as you knew him to be capable of. You hesitated but moved your tongue to lap your essence from his fingers. " That's my good girl." He groaned into your ear. And he resumed his slow pace of thrusting into you.

" I won't have to hurt if you just comply. I can make you feel better than Nathaniel could ever."

Nathaniel. That was the man you were supposed to meet on the date that one night you stood up. How did he know his name? You never mentioned his name before. “ H-how?” you managed to ask despite his fingers in your mouth.

“ Like I said sweetheart, I wanted this for a long time. I wasn’t going to let some nobody take what is mine.” Steve slowed taking slow deliberate strokes inside of you. His cock repeatedly hitting that spot deep inside of you over and over. One of his hands lifted your sweater exposing your breasts as he took a nipple between his fingers. As much as you hated the thought, his fingers were skilled at torturing you. You involuntarily released a moan.

“ That’s it, sweetheart. No need to fight it,”

Your mind was reeling and it was hard to think about anything other than how he was making you feel. Against your wishes, your body reacted in favor of Steve’s ministrations. He squeezed your hips again and his thrusts become harder, “ Fuck! The way your pussy is gripping my cock...” Breath hitching you grip the seat in front of you, and you can feel yourself unraveling. A spring within you threatening to pop. Steve’s hands leave your nipple and grab a fistful of hair turning your head to face him and you try not to meet his eyes. “ Look at me when you drench my cock in your cum.” And reluctantly your eyes meet his.

He slams himself into you again lifting your leg to rest on the seat’s armrest. You can’t help but shake, sinking your nails into his thigh as your head pounds. Your pussy clenches down on his cock tightly and you try to muffle your moan into his shoulder. “ That’s a good girl...” Your vision goes white yet you still feel him burying himself deep inside of you. His thrusts are slow as he comes inside of you. He makes sure to bury himself inside of you as he continues to fill you.

He lets out a relieved sigh as you you try to fight the urge to cry. He pushes you off of him and you could feel his cum dripping onto your seat. You quickly pull your sweater down and reach for your leggings feeling utterly humiliated. He chuckles catching your attention as he looks past you and out of the window.

“Would you look at that? We are already here and that means I have a whole weekend to break you in.”

#dark!fanfiction #dark fanfic #Dark Fic #dark!steve x reader #dark!steve rogers #drabble #steve rogers #captian america #mcu #dark!marvel #marvel

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cellarspider · 6 months

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25/30 Eschatology for Dummies

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⛬

Once again, we dive into that font of madness, Prometheus. I lied last time, we’re not talking about language today, I want to bash my head against the problem of “what in blazes is the intent of this movie”.

As the expedition enters the alien structure, suddenly Shaw remembers that germs can float.

“Wait. We still don’t know how Holloway got infected. If it’s in the air–”

This is one of those maddening little moments where the script tells me that no, the earlier removal of helmets was not just the oversight of someone who didn’t know better. The script chose violence.

“Smells fine to me.”

So does VX nerve gas. Truly, this is the mental acumen required to become rich.

The movie attempts to raise tension through a ZOOM AND ENHANCE, and cluing in those in the audience who may have been thinking “Ha! Foolish Engineers! How would they ever destroy life on Earth if they don’t have any spaceships?”

Well, turns out, there are these great big buildings called “hangars”, and you can put spaceships in them, sometimes even under the ground. I almost feel like if they hadn’t buried the ship, Holloway would’ve tried to see if he could do a burnout in it.

David, meanwhile, is having a great time. He’s giving a guided tour of the ship (that he explored more thoroughly than anyone else), pointing out their technology (that he learned how to use), explaining what they were doing (which he figured out before anyone else did), and assuring Weyland that yes, he can talk to the Engineer (which no one else can do), blithely skating by the reasons why he knows Holloway didn’t die from an airborne illness and how the Engineers were going to press the reset buttons on Earth. Simultaneously excelling at what he was supposed to do and also anticipating Weyland’s inevitable doom, possibly even that of humanity as a whole. It feels appropriately childish for a character that’s extremely young, extremely smart, and has had the worst socialization this side of Immortan Joe’s war boys.

Weyland doesn’t care about any of that, because he’s a horrible homunculus of an old Englishman formed out of a forty-five year old Aussie. This continues to vex me, even now. I keep trying to figure out why they did this. Did they originally intend for him to be depicted as young and change their mind? Was the mobility aid exoskeleton thing they put him in heavy and cumbersome? It’s hard to see in these screenshots, but he is wearing one.

Honestly, just have Lance Henriksen play another Weyland again. Lance can definitely play scumbags, and it would honestly be funny to have every single Weyland in every single time period played by him. Have him play Vickers too, for good measure. It would’ve taken me out of the film less than this.

At this point, I personally did not care about any characters besides David and the Engineer. Which is a very strange position to find oneself in, caring most about two characters who seem just fine with humanity going pft!

And I’d like to examine that. Because fiction can put you in all sorts of strange headspaces that can be thoroughly contradictory to personal morals and self-interest. What was the movie trying to do here, and where has it ended up?

I want to start with some assumptions that mass media tends to make. Fiction, in general culture, is often presented as a moral lesson. Your protagonists are virtuous, and anything that stands in their way is villainous evil. The protagonists are also expected to be likable, and the audience is expected to root for them. A moral tale of who is worthy and who is not.

This is only a small piece of what fiction is. No one of these things is required. Villains are not required, sometimes problems aren’t caused maliciously. Protagonists do not have to be moral. Moral characters don’t have to be likable. You don’t have to root for the protagonists. And none of these divisions are binary.

I am uncertain whether we are supposed to root for the protagonists in this movie. Ridley Scott isn’t a stranger to this idea–look at Blade Runner (1982). Is it good that Deckard hunts down fugitive replicants? No. Absolutely not. Is it a compelling story? Yes! It’s beautifully told and tragic! If you make me watch Roy Batty’s monologue I will cry.

So. It is entirely possible that we are supposed to find the human characters unsympathetic. The Engineers created humanity, and then decided to destroy it. This could have been planned from the start–many religions describe cyclical, world-ending death and rebirth, after all. But this movie is heavily influenced by christianity. Those sects that believe in a destructive apocalypse call it the Last Judgment of humanity, something that occurs when the world has fallen into a state of corruption.

Which then brings us to the question: Does humanity deserve that most fatal judgment?

I mean, in real life, I’d say no, absolutely fucking not. The problem of a suffering world is not sanely responded to with “I’ve got a solution: murder everything”.

This is fiction, though. We are being presented with a vision of humanity. This has the potential to be a counterpoint to the Engineers’ thinking, or their evidence, or a mix of both.

What is it, then? Most of the cast are morons, selfish, or featureless ciphers. They are a very pessimistic view of humanity. And remember, this is fiction. People don’t need to act like real people. When you think about redeeming qualities in yourself, in your friends, in your favorite so-and-so, this fictional realm does not necessarily contain them. In its barest form, it only contains the characters we see.

We’ve got Janek, who’s been charming and indicated he’s willing to stop the Engineers here, but that’s all we know about him. He’s also behaved in negligent ways that contributed to the deaths of Millburn, Fifield, and the nameless guys mutant Fifield wailed on. Christian morality is big on redemption as a path to unconditional absolution, so is he redeeming himself through a last-minute sobering up? Maybe. I’d note he’s missing the “confession” and “recanting past sins” parts that are usually bundled up with that.

We’ve also got Shaw. Shaw has all the makings of a Final Girl, somebody who is destined to survive the plot. They usually have some redeeming quality that makes you want to root for them. What does Shaw have?

Well, she’s got a never super-defined strain of christian faith. And she’s had a really shit time lately, so it would be cruel to watch her get kicked around more.

So, that’s two. Two could be enough in Abrahamic religions–Lot flees from Sodom to Zoar, and it’s spared from destruction because of his presence. Sure, he does some Weird Shit, but he qualified as righteous by whatever standards were at play there. But Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for want of ten righteous people.

And all that gets more complicated in New Testament stuff, after God’s pinky promised not to destroy everyone again, except for the aforementioned Last Judgment thing. Is this movie, as christian allegory, advocating for a god of forgiveness, or depicting a just god who punishes the wicked?

No idea. It doesn’t have to be clear, obviously, fiction doesn’t have to be clear, any more than it has to be moral. I didn’t personally want the Engineer to sail off and destroy Earth, but frankly, I could see it from that perspective, given what this poor bugger’s met with upon waking up.

Next time: our Engineer wakes up from a two thousand year trauma nap to find some little monkeys yelling at them. Surely, this will go well.

⛬

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Alt-text rambles:

https://extra-images.akamaized.net/image/8a/5by6/2021/04/17/8a6f54c4f0ca4bd397cc22aceb4cb30e_md.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torc

#Prometheus 2012 #Prometheus (2012)#This movie keeps trying to be biblical and I keep trying to meet it half-way on the analysis #only to be left hanging like the movie wandered off in the middle of offering up a high-five

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unforth · 8 months

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I'm glad your KS problem got solved. Can you please use some time to post about Palestine? People are being killed in your name. Use your platform please. Thank you

Hey anon! So...no, I won't be doing that. What the fuck do you even mean "people are being killed in my name"? Absolutely no one is killing in my name, and I owe talking about it more to no one.

First, I trigger pretty severely to harm to children, which automatically means that a great deal of the coverage of Palestine is very triggering for me.

Second, I think there are plenty of people already blogging about this, that not every single blog needs to become wall-to-wall discussion of Palestine, and that mass-blogging about the conflict is entirely performative.

Third, in general I rarely blog about political events, and when I do it's virtually always US election (FOR FUCK'S SAKE YOU HAVE TO VOTE) and/or things about censorship, because those are the areas that interest me and that I personally feel strongly about.

Fourth, I think the demand that a stranger blog about that one specific event, ignoring all the other ongoing tragedies in the world (the war in Ukraine and the genocide in the Congo, to name two that spring immediately to mind) is honestly heckin' weird.

Fifth, I own and run a business, and it's entirely within my rights to decide to keep that business apart from incredibly divisive current events. The business account (which is entirely separate from my personal account - it's not a side blog, it's a separate log in) - when it interacts with political topics at all - primarily blogs about recent happenings in publishing and related fields (so, legislation about free speech, ongoing strikes, etc.) and about recent happenings related to queer things (positive legislation and negative legislation being proposed or passed). I intentionally do not blog about other political topics, because they have nothing to do with the business. The most political the Press has gotten about the conflict in the Middle East is that we've quietly removed a couple books from rec lists that were written by authors or released by publishers who have managed, by publicizing their OWN views, to become especially controversial (especially on Tiktok) and even that I did extremely reluctantly, I just don't want to get Tiktok cancelled because we spent 5 seconds saying we liked a book by someone they currently hate, because Tiktok is Like That.

As to my own personal views on the conflict, which you are in absolutely no way entitled to know but which I have previously shared publicly so don't mind sharing again, I am a Jew and I was raised to believe that when all the rest of the world turned on us, Israel would always be the one place where we'd be safe, and I clung to that belief over 40 years of watching Israel become increasingly right wing and jingoistic, continuing to believe that the surest path to safety and security for everyone involved was a two-state solution.

As I previously wrote here, in the face of Israel's current actions against Palestine, I no longer believe that. If this is how Israel behaves, I no longer think Israel has a right to exist. I do still think that the best outcome right now is a two-state solution, but one that involves the complete abolition of the current Israeli government and army, to be replaced with a system that isn't, ya know, disgustingly fascist - and that if that can't be done, we need a one-state solution, and that one state shouldn't be Israel. This is my personal opinion.

However, I also acknowledge that for many Jews, this is an incredibly loaded, difficult topic, and I would never align my business to an official position like this because I have no desire to alienate people who I know feel as conflicted and complicated about this as I do myself. I take it as a matter of simple real fact that I respect my friends and colleagues enough to accept that they may reach different conclusions than I have about this, and I don't want them to feel unwelcome in a space that I've created because I on an individual level have reached a different conclusions about what I believe to be the best ending for this conflict than they have. We also do not allow political conversations of this stripe in our server for the same reason.

No matter how much people on both sides keep trying to paint this conflict as black and white, right and wrong, with one-and-done magic single-switch solutions, it's not that simple, never has been, and never will be, and the reality on the ground of ways to resolve this are also not that simple. Now, to be clear, I think it IS simple and accurate to say: the killing needs to stop i.m.m.e.d.i.a.t.e.l.y. That's a given and I think I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone in the circles I travel in who'd disagree. But what should happen AFTER that? That's where I think reasonable people can still disagree about what should happen next to that land and the people living on it.

Anyway.

I should probably stop talking before, in my effort to be nuanced and balanced, I say something that leads someone to think I should be canceled. I am against the genocide 100% and this conflict has turned me from reluctantly vaguely okay with zionism to anti-zionist, but I also am tired of seeing people act like big problems have easy solutions, and I'm tired of the suggestion that anyone who isn't performatively outraged about this specific situation 24/7 is a bad person with wrong opinions.

Like, I think you need to take a look in the mirror and ask yourself why you thought this was an appropriate ask to send a stranger. I'm genuinely disgusted that you'd try to turn a conflict that has nothing to do with me into something I'm personally responsible for because it's being done "in my name." Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with you? Antisemitic much? I'm a Jew, but that doesn't and never will mean that the Israeli government speaks for me or in my name. Fuck you.

#unforth replies #politics #antisemitism #i'm not tagging the other major things in this post because I don't want it to be that visible #but if anyone needs something specific tagged please let me know

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the-last-dillpickle · 2 years

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DS9 trivia from IMDB - Part 3

- Dax was originally envisioned as an alien from a low-gravity world forced to get around in a wheelchair and who flew around her quarters. The concept was scrapped because the "flight" cables were too difficult to rig. However, the idea was revisited in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Melora (1993) featuring a guest character.

- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996), a time travel story, was written to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Star Trek franchise. The DS9 crew travels back to 2268 at the time of Star Trek (1966) episode 2.15, Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles (1967), to prevent Arne Darvin from assassinating Captain Kirk and changing the timeline. Due to the ages of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and the other original cast members, it was decided to have this show's cast interact with the original footage of the Star Trek (1966) episode. Bluescreen and computer technology were used that had recently been employed for Forrest Gump (1994), another Paramount property.

- The primary design of Deep Space Nine was based on a gyroscope, but with the top and bottom parts removed. Some of the earlier designs by Herman F. Zimmerman had complete hoops, also like a gyroscope, and the idea was that rotating the station would create artificial gravity, until someone pointed out that there was no need for this, as Star Trek ships use gravity generators. However, the idea of a halo-shaped space station stuck, and it was used in the final design. Artificial gravity by rotating sections would also complicate matters as fans had already noted many similarities with Babylon 5 (1993), in which the titular station rotates to generate artificial gravity. Fans accused Paramount of plagiarizing many aspects of the show after J. Michael Straczynski pitched the show to Paramount Studios in the late 80's.

- The name of the alien race "Ferengi" is derived from the Persian word for "foreigner", which is Farangi.

- Worf never refers to nor addresses Quark by name. From joining the crew in season four to the finale, Worf always referred to him as "the Ferengi bartender".

- With the show debuting shortly after the 1992 Presidential election, some television viewers who were largely unfamiliar with the Star Trek franchise mistakenly believed that Quark was a lampoon of Independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot (short height, large ears, financially minded or obsessed). That was obviously not the case, as the Ferengi appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Last Outpost (1987), five years before Perot announced his candidacy.

- The tankards used for Klingon bloodwine are actually measuring cups used in baking.

- The appearance of the Trill symbiont is different from when it initially appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) season four, episode twenty-three, "The Host". In that episode, the symbiont's appearance was made to resemble a caterpillar with the head of an octopus. According to Make-Up Supervisor Michael Westmore, the symbiont was re-made for this series to be more "stream-lined" to make it easier to handle. Also, the appearance of the Trill hosts had changed as well. In "The Host", the Trill people had semi-ridged foreheads and no body spots, but in this series, they have normal foreheads, and body spots. In "The Host", the Trill was also terrified of being transported, insinuating that it would damage the symbiont, but none of the Trills ever mentioned concerns with being transported.

- The Dominion War storyline proved to be very divisive among veterans of the "Star Trek" universe. George Takei, in particular, voiced his belief that the storyline was directly antithetical to Gene Roddenberry's original concept of a peaceful, Utopian future.

- From the fourth season on, the writers felt that they enjoyed an unprecedented amount of freedom in coming up with ideas for their Dominon War story arc. The first seasons of this show had run simultaneously with the last seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), so they had to maintain continuity with the latter show's story developments. After Next Generation wrapped in 1994 and Star Trek: Generations (1994) was released, there were no immediate plans for more theatrical movies, and Star Trek: Voyager (1995) wouldn't be directly affected, as it took place in the Delta Quadrant. The writers thus felt that they could take the main storyline in any direction, and decided to stir up the peaceful status quo of the Alpha Quadrant, by pitting several of its groups against each other.

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vitospaghetta · 11 days

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re: about Leon's emotions and feelings towards Ada and vice versa. This is my little attempt to break it down and offer a perspective that evidently not many in this fandom have and here's how: it's been romanticised to hell and back, I wouldn't be surprised if one day the division at Capcom reveals a big "well actually it was never about love between them, but rather a plethora of events that attached them to each other"

Because it can't be about love, it's just too ludicrous. It's not love. It's trauma bond, and like you said it's a sense of comfort and familiarity. But people in our society are too simple minded and once again viewing things through such short sighted romanticised lens to ever be objective about the reality of it. Nothing that Leon and Ada have is written in stone to set some "relationship" to flourish because it's not that, it's a situationship and nothing more.

This is why they resort to trying to use what the devs say and conveniently put words in their mouths to try and justify their biased perspectives. Just because they won't change their dynamic of the usual Ada being one step ahead of Leon and always leaving him in the dark and being a weakness of his, does not mean that it's love. Because it isn't, that's not what they're doing and it's emotionally inept to think so. Because everything they've done has shown the exact opposite. Leon's character was never about Ada and Capcom removing the "romance" from their dynamic isn't what's gonna alter the entire plot, it's the nature of their typical two steps ahead alienation that would wreck it and that's why they'll keep the core of it. But it was never romance.

Hope all this makes sense lol, if you got anything to add, please do :)

"Leon's character was never about Ada"

Everything you said here is 100% correct but I think that specifically stands out a lot, because I think a big issue with hardcore Aeon shippers is that they see Ada as an extension of Leon and vice versa. Like you can't have Leon without Ada, and Leon can never have feelings for anyone else because Ada is such an integral part of his story or whatever. Ada is no more significant to Leon's narrative than Claire or Sherry; the only difference is that he developed feelings for Ada, but having feelings for someone does not equate to love.

I've said this before, but I understand shipping from the perspective of 'these two characters look good together/have a dynamic I like to explore through fanon.' When it extends to taking developer comments out of context to prove canonization of a relationship dynamic that obviously doesn't exist, foregoing common sense and any understanding of nuance? That's touchgrass behavior.

Yes, the only canon longstanding love interest Leon has ever had in the franchise is Ada. This is a fact. However, love is something that is developed over time, and Leon and Ada barely know each other. A loving romantic relationship is not what has been established between them. It's very clear that they both have feelings for one another in the original continuity, but any chance of a normal romantic relationship is ruined by the complexity of their personal situations and moral standing. That's the interesting part about their dynamic, which is literally why they're written that way. That dynamic doesn't even entirely change in the remakes; it's tweaked and built upon, like everything else. Whether or not Leon has feelings for Ada, his story doesn't change, and neither does the foundation of their relationship.

#anon #reply #asks: leon

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housano · 10 months

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Housano's Live-A-Half Assed Summaries Presents: Welcome to the Black Masquerade Final Part- The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions

For Part 7, click here

CW: Live a Hero spoilers, Suicide mention

So continuing our battle from last episode, Astosis refuses to give up, but eventually falls. Right before Giasal is about to slit his throat, our MC intervenes because someone here has to believe in due process. Giasal comments how he's fascinated with us and our unique strength and he looks forward to fighting with us again before disappearing into the night. Maculata said we've caught the eye of a dangerous villain which we retort that we'll deal with bridge when we get there.

Astosis asked why we stopped him. He tried to frame us to ensure that aliens were banished from Cloges, he and his agents wouldn't be able to fight back and we could kill him if we want. That's no necessary as: 1) the broadcast channel during this whole altercation was opened up, so not only is the outside aware of the shady shit that Chassard was doing, but also the townsfolk, and 2) if he did intend to frame us, there were severel illogical things that he did. First, it did not make sense for him to let Maculata guard Pauderna when he could have easily and slipped through the secret entrance. Second, he let Yohack and Nessen go, knowing full well that Yohack could break into his vault and also providing a hinnt. Finally, it was him who removed the broadcast restrictions under the Chassard's nose.

After assuring him the broadcast has been cut (we'll get into that later), he tells us that he indeed used us all in his quest for vengeance justice. He talks about how he loved and admired his dad. His dad worked with both citizens of Cloges and aliens, building relationships and genuinely cared about his clients and had a strong sense of justice. Because of this, Astosis followed in his father's footsteps and began his apprenticeship under his father. It was also around this time he met Yohack and his family, who consulted his father about laws since they were working with outside sources. He mentions taking care of Yohack during his study breaks as well. However, one day when Astosis came to his father's office, his father was not there. He searched everywhere and eventually found his body in the forest, having committed suicide. Finding a diary and case file in his father's office, his father ended up convicting an innocent man and realized that the Chassard had falsified evidence. The guilt was too much and he took his own life, as he was not the righteous ideal his son admired him to be. Astosis was left alone, feeling that he was responsible for his father's death and not trying to see the truth.

After he inherited his father's office and eventually worked his way to his first trial: Yohack's parents. It was like his father's trial all over again and because of his inexperience, he could not prove the evidence was fraudulent and could only keep saying that they were innocent. It was then that he swore that he would bring justice to Chassard and seek retribution in failing both his father and Yohack's parents. He slowly built up his trust with the Chassard and eventually got involved in the alien exclusionist division and their plans to turn public opinion against outsiders. Step by step, he set weaved his trap with the final piece: the year Pauderna would be on display and they would plan on framing aliens for the robbery. However, they were also wary of Astosis and made him head of security so they could get rid of him from Cloge.

Originally, he was to have the heroes arrested and expose the Chassard during the trial. However, that changed when Yohack got involved as he knew he would be able to break into his safe and get the evidence. Additionally since he also allowed the broadcast to happen and announce Chassard's plans to both Cloges and the universe at large, so he did succeed in exposing them for what they were. He then emphasizes that we all were ust a means to an end and that him thanking us at the ball meant nothing. Yohack is quick to say that's a lie and wants Astosis to tell him his real feelings. Astosis relents and said that he wanted to die by Yohack's hand as the sin of him using us should be judged along with Chassard. He wants to atone for using us, Chassard framing Yohack's parents and failing them as their lawyer and family. Yohack immediately states that he doesn't want that. Despite being banishes, Yohack's parents were able to start another shop and are still highly successful. Even though he missed everyone, he was able to become an extremely successful locksmith. Additionally, even though they were sad to leave, the fact that Astosis and their friends believed their innocence to the very end is what mattered the most. Nessen and Maculata said it's not for outsiders to decide his fate, but the people of Cloges. Astosis is taken aback and decides after he atones for his crimes, he will live his life as a hero and lawyer and Nessen offers him work with his agency as they could always use lawyers.

Jump forward a few days later, Chassard has been dissolved and the conspirators were arrested. Heroes from other planets have been called in on guard duty until things settle down. Additionally, cases with fraudulent evidence used are being reviewed and overturned such as Yohack's parents. As our group heads to the spaceship terminal, Maculata was satisfied and is filled with ideas for her fashions, Yohack got to spend time with everyone he missed and plans to bring his parents back to see everyone. Nessen finally got an idea for a theme and even received Cloges curtains from the workshop we visited earlier. We are then greeted by Astosis, who was also arrested, but thanks to the townsfolk going to bat for him, he's able to have short outings around town while awaiting his trial. Working with a friend of his father who is defending him, he provided all the evidence of Chassard's misdeeds. Depending on the outcome, the organization will have their authority greatly reduced and focused on security and fighting kaibutsu, which was what it was originally created for with the help of outside hero organizations. After his trial and sentence are carried out, he intends to leave Cloges and travel as a hero and lawyer and help those who have been framed and be their strength. He also promises us that he will be our strength and make it up to us. With that our group leaves Cloges and Luna an we end with it becoming just a spec among the sea of stars.

Welcome the Black Masquerade Final Part- Justice is a tiger who gives great hugs- END

Final thoughts: That was an interesting twist. I expected Chassard to be responsible but I wasn't expecting Astosis to be in on it (albeit to expose them). I won't put Astosis in my shit list, but he is definitely demoted to Acquaintance tier and will have to work t get back to the top. Maculata is definitely moving up to Besties. I'll give this event a 7/10. Entertaining twists, but tended to lag in certain points.

#liveahero #live a hero #ラブヒロ #live a hero spoilers #lahspoilers

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 4 months

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A gay Republican politician in Colorado was apparently shocked by a recent email sent out by state party head Dave Williams, which called LGBTQ+ people “evil” and “woke creeps,” Westword reports. Now the gay conservative is rejecting any endorsements from the state GOP following this incident.

Valdamar Archuleta, president of LGBTQ+ conservative group Log Cabin Republicans of Colorado and current candidate for the state’s First Congressional District, said, “It’s alienating a large group of people within the party. Not just LGBT people, but our friends, our allies, our families. This was a massive mistake. We need to work on unifying the party and growing the party, not isolating people with divisive messages like this.”

Archuleta said on X how he rejects the Colorado GOP endorsement following this email and posted a three-minute long video where he called the state GOP email “troubling” and said he has asked to be removed from their list of endorsees.

Archuleta himself, though, has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. He previously blamed LGBTQ+ individuals for the Club Q shooting and said that queer people are “groomers” – or child sex abusers – a negative stereotype that has been used to justify hatred and discrimination.

“If you’re really upset about being called a #groomer maybe you should step back and reevaluate your activity around children,” Archuleta wrote on Facebook just a week after the mass shooting. “At the very least for appearances sake.”

“The biggest threat to increasing violence towards the LGBT community are LBGT Activists and Organizations who make LGBT people look insane, unreasonable, and menacing,” he wrote several weeks later. “We will face more hate in the future directly due to these activists and organizations.”

Now, though, he’s saying that the state GOP went too far.

“That email was blatantly hateful,” he says now. “There’s really no condoning it in any way. We need new leadership, and we need to start looking for new leadership now.”

While Archuleta is shocked by the email – which had the subject “God Hates Pride” – this isn’t even the first time that the state party used this kind of rhetoric. Williams sent out a similar email last year that characterized the community as demons and degenerates, a word associated with the Third Reich. In 2020, he tried to push for a bill that would ban marriage equality in the state.

“We make no apologies for saying God hates Pride or Pride flags, as it’s an agenda that harms children and undermines parental authority,” Williams said.

“Messages of hate, bigotry, and government control over people’s lives are not Republican or Christian,” Republican Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon said.

“Colorado Republicans who care about public safety, property taxes, reducing homelessness, and supporting the constitution have kids, grandkids, friends, neighbors, or they themselves are part of the LGBTQ+ community. How do messages of hate serve them and our communities?”

Laydon concludes, “If you want to support kids, quit telling them that they’re worthless for how God created them and encouraging them to kill themselves. Thanks, Dave Williams, for the reminder to actually study God’s incredible love for all people and for Coloradans, especially Republicans, to get huge Pride flags.”

The email continues by parroting the infamous “groomer” line, alleging that queer people want to hurt children. This has been widely debunked.

It concludes by sharing a video with a thumbnail saying “God Hates Flags” – a name riffing on the infamous Westboro Baptist Church slogan “God Hates Fags.” The video consists of Pastor Mark Driscoll saying that the pride flag represents “the demonic realm” and “human indecency.”

It is unknown what demonic realm he is referring to.

The party doubled down on social media, making a post on X where they call for all Pride flags to be burned.

They have also retweeted several other posts that call the LGBTQ+ community abominations and demonic.

The state GOP made headlines last month after telling constituents to take their kids out of public schools lest they be turned transgender.

The X account shared several posts from hate influencer Chaya Raichik, who goes by “Libs of TikTok” online. Her posts have resulted in death threats sent to LGBTQ+ individuals and bomb threats sent to schools across the country.

#us politics #news #republicans #conservatives #lgbtq nation #2024 #Valdamar Archuleta #Colorado #Log Cabin Republicans of Colorado #Colorado GOP #Abe Laydon #homophobia #Dave Williams #2024 elections

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raspberry-gloaming · 10 months

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Looms!

Looms - love 'em, hate 'em, neutral on the subject, everyone seems to have an opinion on looms. So I thought I'd write down my own thoughts and headcanons on the subject:

For me, looms are totally a thing - I find it makes Time Lord society more interesting and more alien, more removed from humans. I also think if those very conservative gasp how scandalous they showed a kneecap guys could, they would totally eliminate the requirement for physical reproduction. I don't think they have lost the ability to reproduce, just that its seen as very strange, and odd, and lesser. Why would you do that? Also could lead to more looking down on species that do reproduce without technology as lesser, which is very on brand for those guys. It would also cause a stronger divide between the elite Time Lords and the higher class and the lower classes on Gallifrey, who don't have access to such tech. Hence, time lords tooting their own horn about yet another thing.I feel that it really works with some plot points.

For example, with Pandora, I think it really works with her genetically manipulating Romana's bloodline. Especially if you see looming as something that includes genetic modification, or a process linked to the matrix, which of course with her and her access... Also with the idea of the Timeless Child, I think that looming would really work as a way to avoid having to explain where this new child has come from. If natural reproduction with birth was a thing, having to explain the existence of a new child after no pregnancy or whatever could be a bit complicated. Not great for such a secretive secret. But with looms - all neat and tidy, no explanation to why you've shown up to the house one day with a new kid. Depending on whether you believe the Doctor's parents knew about this, they might not even have to know. Put in your loom application, put in the DNA and genetic modifications necessary, come back to pick up your new kid! With an organisation with as much influence and control as Division, would it be so hard to pretend this baby is the parents' new loomling?

Additionally, if reproduction like humans was the case - how would regeneration and pregnancy work? If the carrier, the biological mother regenerated, would the baby die? Survive? Or would they regenerate too, if you're someone that believes Time Lords are born able to regenerate, and don't gain it at a later date, such as at the Schism or graduation. And what if the parent changed to male?

And now on to my headcanons:

Children on Gallifrey come out as babies, I'm not a fan of the arrive as adults thing personally

A child can have the genetic input of more than two individuals, but two core individuals would commonly act as the main base. Those two would be treated as the "parents" and other, possibly unrelated individuals would be seen kinda like aunts and uncles? to the child. but its hard to equate stuff to human familial relationships

All of these individuals, however, would be seen as grandparents (again, just a human-relative term that doesn't fully equate) to any (of course, loomed) children of the child. This means that the Doctor may have been seen as a parent, or primary caretaker for Susan's parent, but may not have done. This also is why the Thirteenth Doctor has I think she mentioned having seven grandmothers? In It Takes You Away.

#doctor who #dw #gallifrey #big finish #the doctor #the timeless child #lore #headcanons #LOOMS!#amber rambles

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pub-lius · 1 year

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burr pt.2 electric boogaloo (this joke is only funny to me)

its politics time, because Burr had a really fucking long political career and i get tired just reading about it. (also here's pt. 1)

Washington and Adams Administrations

Burr said he found politics "a great deal of fun" so he entered the 1792 gubernatorial race in NY, but withdrew bc Daddy Clinton told him to. He was supported by Northern republicans, but was distrusted by Southerners (wonder why). According to James Monroe, my detested, it was better to select "a person of more advanced life and longer standing in publick trust, particularly one who in consequence of such service had given unequivocal proofs of what his principles really were." Now, you may be thinking that he must be talking about Jefferson, but this is Monroe, and he was probably just kissing his own ass, as per usual.

Burr sided with anti-administration forces who opposed Hamilton's financial plan and Washington's foreign policy. Burr also defended Albert Gallatin who was unseated in 1794 after Federalists determined he did not meet the 9 year citizenship requirement.

Burr voted against Washington's nomination of John Jay as envoy to Britain in 1794, and was one of the most outspoken opponents of the Jay treaty.

Burr set his sights on the presidency with an energetic campaign in the 1796 election, and Republicans endorsed him as their second choice (ie vice-president canidate), but it was still a little divisive. Most, if not all, Democratic-Republicans voted for Thomas Jefferson, and only half of his voters also voted for Burr. Burr finished fourth with 30 electoral votes.

Burr retired from the Senate in 1797, and returned to the New York Assembly in 1798, making several enemies during his brief term. As relations with France got heated over the XYZ affair, Burr advocated for defensive measures to protect New York harbor. This was reasonable since New York was very strategically important, but it's location made it vulnerable to a naval attack. This prompted accusations that Burr had switched parties to the Federalist side, and that he abused public trust for personal benefit, a common theme in rumors about him. Allegedly, he participated in private land speculation ventures in NY and sought to enact legislation removing restrictions on land ownership by non-citizens, which would increase the value of western lands. Basically, they thought he was trying to influence legislation so he could make money.

Hammy boy is back and this time he is working together with Burr. Burr and Hamilton secured a charter and raised subscriptions for a private company to improve the water supply of Manhattan. These were two incredibly intelligent and creative men, and that is greatly reflected in their choice for the company's name, The Manhattan Water Company (/sarcasm). Turns out, the extra money from this was used to establish the Bank of Manhattan, which was controlled by Republicans. Pretend to be shocked even though both of them lived on Wall Street.

Some weird shit went down with the Republican voters in New York in the 1799 election, and Burr was turned out of office. People were really suspicious of him, but he remained a vital asset.

Burr opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which won him Demo-Republican support, especially in New York which had a large immigrant population. This ensured that NYC elected a Republican delegation to the state legislature in 1800.

Election of 1800

Republicans wanted a New Yorker for their 2nd presidential choice (im saying this instead of vice presidential candidate and you'll see why). Clinton refused, so Burr was the next option. He was nominated on May 11, 1800. Jefferson claimed he harbored reservations of Burr, but he was acting all nice to him to ensure Republican victory. Jefferson was also very busy with his behind-the-scenes campaign, writing letters and encouraging press support that was critical of the Adams Administration. This is when he called him a hermaphrodite btw.

Burr had a far more active campaign technique. He visited Rhode Island and Connecticut in late August to secure Republican support. Burr's political prowess during 1800 raised suspicion among enemies and supporters. He didn't fit the stoic, unattached statesman who just let his supporters run the campaign for him. Burr campaigned more like a modern politician.

It was generally expected that each elector would cast one vote for Jefferson, one for Burr. Each elector had two votes, and they didn't distinguish who they wanted for president, and who they wanted for vice president. Whoever came in second would be VP, so the party would generally determine who they would advocate the most, and who they would advocate the second most. Basically they were like "this guy is great! this guy is also pretty good. also we HATE those guys (other party's nominees)" So, they really just hoped that Jefferson would get the most, and Burr would get second.

...but, uh, by mid-December, Republicans still didn't have a president in office. They definitely defeated the Federalists, because Adams and Jay had like. no votes. But Jefferson and Burr both had 73 votes, and were at a stalemate, which meant that the vote would be taken to the House of Representatives.

Federalists JUMPED on this opportunity, specifically Hamilton, who had already doomed Adams to lose the election. Some Federalists believed that Burr was more flexible and less partisan, and would be more likely to approve Federalist legislation. Other Federalists who supported Burr hoped that if the two parties were deadlocked for too long, Federalist-leaning Congress would resolve the impasse with legislation authorizing the Senate to elect a Federalist president. This is stupid and idk why people thought this was possible.

Hamilton launched into his smear campaign of Burr. He advised other Federalists not to trust Burr in very simple words, but in the background he was spreading awful rumors about Burr, which was pretty usual. The only difference from how he attacked Burr vs how he attacked Adams is that he didn't publish anything about Burr, but he would have.

The House of Representatives announced Jefferson was the winner on February 17, 1801. Burr made only a few comments and they were guarded, evasive, and contradictory. He seemed particularly angry that there were rumors that he was soliciting Federalist support in an attempt to steal the presidency, which he didn't do, but he happily accepted any Federalist votes.

"...take no step whatsoever, by which the choice of the House of Representatives can be impeded or embarrassed, [instead] keep the game perfectly in Your own hand." -advice from Federalist Robert Goodloe Harber against withdrawing from the election that Burr followed

Jefferson Administration

Burr was inaugurated as VP on March 4, 1804 by James Hillhouse in the Senate Chamber of the new capitol. He gave a brief address of "about 3 sentences" which was overshadowed by Jefferson's speech.

He immediately received a shit ton of letters from associates seeking appointments and demanding removal of Federalists. He handed these off to Jefferson, who removed the "midnight appointments" from the Adams Administration.

In fall of 1801, Burr campaigned for a naval position for Matthew L. Davis, and it was around this time that Jefferson began to distance himself from Burr. Davis' appointment was reliant on Clinton and De Witt for a NY appointment. De Witt talked mad shit about Burr, and Burr was so upset that he talked in the third person about it (he did this a lot).

"The handbills were numerous, of various descriptions, uniform however in Virulent and indecent abuse. [T]o Vilify A.B. was deemed of so much consequence that packages of them were sent to various parts of the country." -Burr

Burr lost like. all political relevance except for being VP. I mean, people still respected him because he wasn't bad at his job, but they were incredibly suspicious of his Federalist friendships, alienation from Republicans, and his now infamous opportunism.

On January 27, 1802. Burr cast a tie-breaking vote that undercut Republican effort to repeal the Judiciary Act of 1801, which provided reforms to the Supreme Court which allowed for a potentially Federalist controlled judiciary (shout out John Marshall). Burr voted for Republican repeal, and secretly informed Federalists he would add amendments to make it acceptable to moderate Republicans. He resolved the tie in favor of Federalists.

"I am for the affirmative, because I can never resist the reference of a measure where the Senate is so nicely balanced, when the object is to effect amendment, that may accommodate it to the opinions of a larger majority; & particularly when I can believe that gentlemen are sincere in wishing a reference for this purpose. Should it, however, at any time appear that delay only is intended, my conduct will be different." -Burr (apparently in 2020 I didn't think it was important to have dates for my quotes.)

After Burr announced a select committee consisting of 2 Republicans, 2 Federalists, and 1 moderate, The New York Evening Post wrote, "The Vice President was very deliberate. He took ballots of the respective Senators, examined them attentively, state the number of them, & holding them up in his hand, mentioned that gentlemen, if they chose, might come and examine them. Mr. G[ouverneur] Morris hoped never to see, in the Senate, a proceeding implying so much distrust." And i'd love to tell you what political party the Evening Post was associated with, but I didn't know how to take notes in 2020, and I'm losing my mind just a little.

Burr continued to be estranged from his own party, possibly to form his own, but no one really liked him so, tough luck. Burr contacted Jefferson, saying that he thought it was best for him to retire for the sake of the party, and wanted Jefferson to publicly give him his confidence. Jefferson said he had no influence in the last election, but he would in the next, which is weird and foreboding but aight. Jefferson didn't trust Burr because he was pissy that Burr warned Madison not to trust people (ie Jefferson) too much.

Burr retired without Jefferson's "mark of favor", and was replaced as VP by Clinton. After leaving the vice-presidency, he entered the NY gubernatorial race to have some kind of a job, since he was majorly in debt.

*wipes sweat dramatically* okay so i think i'll have 1-2 more Burr posts, and then we're onto Lafayette, which is going to be significantly more extensive because I've read two full books about him, and taken notes on him. and THEN i have to do Hamilton which will be. even more extensive. but we got this. okay bye see you in the next one

#aaron burr #history #amrev #alexander hamilton #american history #amrev history #thomas jefferson #founding fathers #election of 1800 #do it for richie 💪

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