#even though he is not affiliated with the state or any government

[chrommain]

“But China's social credit score” in the US, if you get caught shoplifting you are automatically barred from certain work industries.

“But China's social credit score” in the US, if you serve time in prison you must report this on every job application you submit.

“But China's social credit score” in the US, if you are found to be untrustworthy with paying back credit you cannot mortgage a home.

“But China's social credit score” in the US, if you are found guilty of a crime you lose your ability to vote while you serve your sentence.

“But China's social credit score” this is the USA. we have some of the harshest penalties for all civil infractions/crimes/deviant behavior.

Be serious for a second. We have a quarter of the world's prison population. We let our cops kill people we think are being morally “suspicious”. Like yeah, we treat people who do things we frown upon soooooo nicely over here. China's social credit score sounds so scary... :( Don't worry about me badgering this guy with a cop's club for loitering, by the way.

I will forever find it funny the way Americans are so scared of "Chinese surviellance" like bro you live in THE surviellance state

[whatremained]

is it wrong to say i don't think calling wiggly the villain of black friday is totally 100% correct (it is correct to a certain extent but viewing it by it’s theme it’s not as correct)

since black friday displays an anti-capitalist message, and wiggly's main goal is to fuck over the world, or at least the usa (capitalist country) and does so using capitalism to his advantage, but obviously not in a way that the audience would take it as pro-capitalist, because that's exactly what it's not.

wiggly shows an anti-capitalist message that only the audience understand. not the characters, as they are under manipulation.

and depending on whether your a capitalist or anti-capitalist, the role of wiggly changes. it also changes whether you view it from your own perspective or a character perspective.

for capitalists (and honestly government officials, but they're the exact same thing let's be honest), this is the exact thing that they don't want capitalism to be portrayed as. capitalists tend to be wealthy as well, and a line from wilbur, who has been manipulated to spread a message as such from wiggly, says "the poorer get poorer, and the rich, well, they just get richer." and statements like this pisses capitalists off, because they KNOW it's true.

point here being, capitalists themself have a reason, in their minds, to not side with wiggly.

for anti-capitalists, shouldn't we side with this message? wiggly isn't really the villain, more so just unethical and a bit manipulative with the his messaging and how he feels. yeah, he's fucking over millions of people doing it, but he's also spreading a message that needs to be spread to an audience.

now, looking through the character perspective, holy shit he's terrible, but then again, indulging in capitalism, which to be fair is inevitable in the united states.

but it's also the fact that instead of spending time with their children or people they care for, they're more focused on getting a toy their kid didn't want, not even thinking if their kid asked for it. the only person we see realize this is tom... anyways. kids, especially younger kids without affiliation to any kind of gift (so... not hannah), like tim, aren't effected by wiggly's manipulation because they just want their family and the people around them, they don't need products to fill in gaps in their life. and they don't need an abundance of money or products to feel happy.

also the shoppers actively have the mindset that buying this toy will make their kids, or themselves, feel happier in the long run which just isn’t true.

so it depends on who you’re viewing it from. i guess i might be a bit biased as someone who’s 15, but who knows.

viewing it from an audience perspective, yeah i don’t see wiggly really isn’t THE villain, he’s spreading an anti-capitalist message which is woo! so cool. maybe don’t kill people in the process next time but. you’re trying, wiggly. that’s all we can ask

also thinking, the lib don't fucking care about money, they're eldritch gods. inheritly they don't give a shit about capitalism, they don't need the money. now, it doesn't make them inherently anti-capitalist, but again, with the anti-capitalist of black friday, i am inclined to believe that's more of how at least wiggly feels about capitalism. use it to end the world, it was a ridiculous concept anyways, kind of statement.

i think i went on a bit of a ramble i am so sorry

my point is just. to me wiggly is not the villain of black friday.

to me it’s the government & president goodman

anyways yeah i’m anticapitalist because i’m a diabetic and why is my insulin like 500 fucking dollars without health insurance even though the people who discovered insulin WANTED it to be free (i could go on a whole other rant about how capitalism is screwing over healthcare, and not just companies but like caring for your health, as capitalists within production companies actively decide to increase prices of life saving medical equipment because they’re aware the disabled people NEED them to survive will pay ANYTHING to have them… but then this would be longer than it is so. i could say how stupid health insurance is too but that’s for another day)

am i a little out of it? probably but that's okay, don't take anything i just said too seriously. or do i don't care 💚

[dailyanarchistposts]

F.6.3 But surely market forces will stop abuses by the rich?

Unlikely. The rise of corporations within America indicates exactly how a “general libertarian law code” would reflect the interests of the rich and powerful. The laws recognising corporations as “legal persons” were not primarily a product of “the state” but of private lawyers hired by the rich. As Howard Zinn notes:

“the American Bar Association, organised by lawyers accustomed to serving the wealthy, began a national campaign of education to reverse the [Supreme] Court decision [that companies could not be considered as a person]… . By 1886, they succeeded … the Supreme Court had accepted the argument that corporations were ‘persons’ and their money was property protected by the process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment … The justices of the Supreme Court were not simply interpreters of the Constitution. They were men of certain backgrounds, of certain [class] interests.” [A People’s History of the United States, p. 255]

Of course it will be argued that the Supreme Court is chosen by the government and is a state enforced monopoly and so our analysis is flawed. Yet this is not the case. As Rothbard made clear, the “general libertarian law code” would be created by lawyers and jurists and everyone would be expected to obey it. Why expect these lawyers and jurists to be any less class conscious then those in the 19th century? If the Supreme Court “was doing its bit for the ruling elite” then why would those creating the law system be any different? “How could it be neutral between rich and poor,” argues Zinn, “when its members were often former wealthy lawyers, and almost always came from the upper class?” [Op. Cit., p. 254] Moreover, the corporate laws came about because there was a demand for them. That demand would still have existed in “anarcho”-capitalism. Now, while there may nor be a Supreme Court, Rothbard does maintain that “the basic Law Code … would have to be agreed upon by all the judicial agencies” but he maintains that this “would imply no unified legal system”! Even though ”[a]ny agencies that transgressed the basic libertarian law code would be open outlaws” and soon crushed this is not, apparently, a monopoly. [The Ethics of Liberty, p. 234] So, you either agree to the law code or you go out of business. And that is not a monopoly! Therefore, we think, our comments on the Supreme Court are valid (see also section F.7.2).

If all the available defence firms enforce the same laws, then it can hardly be called “competitive”! And if this is the case (and it is) “when private wealth is uncontrolled, then a police-judicial complex enjoying a clientele of wealthy corporations whose motto is self-interest is hardly an innocuous social force controllable by the possibility of forming or affiliating with competing ‘companies.’” [Wieck, Op. Cit., p. 225] This is particularly true if these companies are themselves Big Business and so have a large impact on the laws they are enforcing. If the law code recognises and protects capitalist power, property and wealth as fundamental any attempt to change this is “initiation of force” and so the power of the rich is written into the system from the start!

(And, we must add, if there is a general libertarian law code to which all must subscribe, where does that put customer demand? If people demand a non-libertarian law code, will defence firms refuse to supply it? If so, will not new firms, looking for profit, spring up that will supply what is being demanded? And will that not put them in direct conflict with the existing, pro-general law code ones? And will a market in law codes not just reflect economic power and wealth? David Friedman, who is for a market in law codes, argues that ”[i]f almost everyone believes strongly that heroin addiction is so horrible that it should not be permitted anywhere under any circumstances anarcho-capitalist institutions will produce laws against heroin. Laws are being produced on the market, and that is what the market wants.” And he adds that “market demands are in dollars, not votes. The legality of heroin will be determined, not by how many are for or against but how high a cost each side is willing to bear in order to get its way.” [The Machinery of Freedom, p. 127] And, as the market is less than equal in terms of income and wealth, such a position will mean that the capitalist class will have a higher effective demand than the working class and more resources to pay for any conflicts that arise. Thus any law codes that develop will tend to reflect the interests of the wealthy.)

Which brings us nicely on to the next problem regarding market forces.

As well as the obvious influence of economic interests and differences in wealth, another problem faces the “free market” justice of “anarcho”-capitalism. This is the “general libertarian law code” itself. Even if we assume that the system actually works like it should in theory, the simple fact remains that these “defence companies” are enforcing laws which explicitly defend capitalist property (and so social relations). Capitalists own the means of production upon which they hire wage-labourers to work and this is an inequality established prior to any specific transaction in the labour market. This inequality reflects itself in terms of differences in power within (and outside) the company and in the “law code” of “anarcho”-capitalism which protects that power against the dispossessed.

In other words, the law code within which the defence companies work assumes that capitalist property is legitimate and that force can legitimately be used to defend it. This means that, in effect, “anarcho”-capitalism is based on a monopoly of law, a monopoly which explicitly exists to defend the power and capital of the wealthy. The major difference is that the agencies used to protect that wealth will be in a weaker position to act independently of their pay-masters. Unlike the state, the “defence” firm is not remotely accountable to the general population and cannot be used to equalise even slightly the power relationships between worker and capitalist (as the state has, on occasion done, due to public pressure and to preserve the system as a whole). And, needless to say, it is very likely that the private police forces will give preferential treatment to their wealthier customers (which business does not?) and that the law code will reflect the interests of the wealthier sectors of society (particularly if prosperous judges administer that code) in reality, even if not in theory. Since, in capitalist practice, “the customer is always right,” the best-paying customers will get their way in “anarcho”-capitalist society.

For example, in chapter 29 of The Machinery of Freedom, David Friedman presents an example of how a clash of different law codes could be resolved by a bargaining process (the law in question is the death penalty). This process would involve one defence firm giving a sum of money to the other for them accepting the appropriate (anti/pro capital punishment) court. Friedman claims that ”[a]s in any good trade, everyone gains” but this is obviously not true. Assuming the anti-capital punishment defence firm pays the pro one to accept an anti-capital punishment court, then, yes, both defence firms have made money and so are happy, so are the anti-capital punishment consumers but the pro-death penalty customers have only (perhaps) received a cut in their bills. Their desire to see criminals hanged (for whatever reason) has been ignored (if they were not in favour of the death penalty, they would not have subscribed to that company). Friedman claims that the deal, by allowing the anti-death penalty firm to cut its costs, will ensure that it “keep its customers and even get more” but this is just an assumption. It is just as likely to loose customers to a defence firm that refuses to compromise (and has the resources to back it up). Friedman’s assumption that lower costs will automatically win over people’s passions is unfounded as is the assumption that both firms have equal resources and bargaining power. If the pro-capital punishment firm demands more than the anti can provide and has larger weaponry and troops, then the anti defence firm may have to agree to let the pro one have its way. So, all in all, it is not clear that “everyone gains” — there may be a sizeable percentage of those involved who do not “gain” as their desire for capital punishment is traded away by those who claimed they would enforce it. This may, in turn, produce a demand for defence firms which do not compromise with obvious implications for public peace.

In other words, a system of competing law codes and privatised rights does not ensure that all individual interests are meet. Given unequal resources within society, it is clear that the “effective demand” of the parties involved to see their law codes enforced is drastically different. The wealthy head of a transnational corporation will have far more resources available to him to pay for his laws to be enforced than one of his employees on the assembly line. Moreover, as we noted in section F.3.1, the labour market is usually skewed in favour of capitalists. This means that workers have to compromise to get work and such compromises may involve agreeing to join a specific “defence” firm or not join one at all (just as workers are often forced to sign non-union contracts today in order to get work). In other words, a privatised law system is very likely to skew the enforcement of laws in line with the skewing of income and wealth in society. At the very least, unlike every other market, the customer is not guaranteed to get exactly what they demand simply because the product they “consume” is dependent on others within the same market to ensure its supply. The unique workings of the law/defence market are such as to deny customer choice (we will discuss other aspects of this unique market shortly). Wieck summed by pointing out the obvious:

“any judicial system is going to exist in the context of economic institutions. If there are gross inequalities of power in the economic and social domains, one has to imagine society as strangely compartmentalised in order to believe that those inequalities will fail to reflect themselves in the judicial and legal domain, and that the economically powerful will be unable to manipulate the legal and judicial system to their advantage. To abstract from such influences of context, and then consider the merits of an abstract judicial system.. . is to follow a method that is not likely to take us far. This, by the way, is a criticism that applies…to any theory that relies on a rule of law to override the tendencies inherent in a given social and economic system” [Op. Cit., p. 225]

There is another reason why “market forces” will not stop abuse by the rich, or indeed stop the system from turning from private to public statism. This is due to the nature of the “defence” market (for a similar analysis of the “defence” market see right-“libertarian” economist Tyler Cowen’s “Law as a Public Good: The Economics of Anarchy” [Economics and Philosophy, no. 8 (1992), pp. 249–267] and “Rejoinder to David Friedman on the Economics of Anarchy” [Economics and Philosophy, no. 10 (1994), pp. 329–332]). In “anarcho”-capitalist theory it is assumed that the competing “defence companies” have a vested interest in peacefully settling differences between themselves by means of arbitration. In order to be competitive on the market, companies will have to co-operate via contractual relations otherwise the higher price associated with conflict will make the company uncompetitive and it will go under. Those companies that ignore decisions made in arbitration would be outlawed by others, ostracised and their rulings ignored. By this process, it is argued, a system of competing “defence” companies will be stable and not turn into a civil war between agencies with each enforcing the interests of their clients against others by force.

However, there is a catch. Unlike every other market, the businesses in competition in the “defence” industry must co-operate with its fellows in order to provide its services for its customers. They need to be able to agree to courts and judges, agree to abide by decisions and law codes and so forth. In economics there are other, more accurate, terms to describe co-operative activity between companies: collusion and cartels. These are when companies in a specific market agree to work together (co-operate) to restrict competition and reap the benefits of monopoly power by working to achieve the same ends in partnership with each other. By stressing the co-operative nature of the “defence” market, “anarcho”-capitalists are implicitly acknowledging that collusion is built into the system. The necessary contractual relations between agencies in the “protection” market require that firms co-operate and, by so doing, to behave (effectively) as one large firm (and so resemble a normal state even more than they already do). Quoting Adam Smith seems appropriate here: “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” [The Wealth of Nations, p. 117] Having a market based on people of the same trade co-operating seems, therefore, an unwise move.

For example, when buying food it does not matter whether the supermarkets visited have good relations with each other. The goods bought are independent of the relationships that exist between competing companies. However, in the case of private states this is not the case. If a specific “defence” company has bad relationships with other companies in the market then it is against a customer’s self-interest to subscribe to it. Why subscribe to a private state if its judgements are ignored by the others and it has to resort to violence to be heard? This, as well as being potentially dangerous, will also push up the prices that have to be paid. Arbitration is one of the most important services a defence firm can offer its customers and its market share is based upon being able to settle interagency disputes without risk of war or uncertainty that the final outcome will not be accepted by all parties. Lose that and a company will lose market share.

Therefore, the market set-up within the “anarcho”-capitalist “defence” market is such that private states have to co-operate with the others (or go out of business fast) and this means collusion can take place. In other words, a system of private states will have to agree to work together in order to provide the service of “law enforcement” to their customers and the result of such co-operation is to create a cartel. However, unlike cartels in other industries, the “defence” cartel will be a stable body simply because its members have to work with their competitors in order to survive.

Let us look at what would happen after such a cartel is formed in a specific area and a new “defence company” desired to enter the market. This new company will have to work with the members of the cartel in order to provide its services to its customers (note that “anarcho”-capitalists already assume that they “will have to” subscribe to the same law code). If the new defence firm tries to under-cut the cartel’s monopoly prices, the other companies would refuse to work with it. Having to face constant conflict or the possibility of conflict, seeing its decisions being ignored by other agencies and being uncertain what the results of a dispute would be, few would patronise the new “defence company.” The new company’s prices would go up and it would soon face either folding or joining the cartel. Unlike every other market, if a “defence company” does not have friendly, co-operative relations with other firms in the same industry then it will go out of business.

This means that the firms that are co-operating have simply to agree not to deal with new firms which are attempting to undermine the cartel in order for them to fail. A “cartel busting” firm goes out of business in the same way an outlaw one does — the higher costs associated with having to solve all its conflicts by force, not arbitration, increases its production costs much higher than the competitors and the firm faces insurmountable difficulties selling its products at a profit (ignoring any drop of demand due to fears of conflict by actual and potential customers). Even if we assume that many people will happily join the new firm in spite of the dangers to protect themselves against the cartel and its taxation (i.e. monopoly profits), enough will remain members of the cartel so that co-operation will still be needed and conflict unprofitable and dangerous (and as the cartel will have more resources than the new firm, it could usually hold out longer than the new firm could). In effect, breaking the cartel may take the form of an armed revolution — as it would with any state.

The forces that break up cartels and monopolies in other industries (such as free entry — although, of course the “defence” market will be subject to oligopolistic tendencies as any other and this will create barriers to entry) do not work here and so new firms have to co-operate or loose market share and/or profits. This means that “defence companies” will reap monopoly profits and, more importantly, have a monopoly of force over a given area.

It is also likely that a multitude of cartels would develop, with a given cartel operating in a given locality. This is because law enforcement would be localised in given areas as most crime occurs where the criminal lives (few criminals would live in Glasgow and commit crimes in Paris). However, as defence companies have to co-operate to provide their services, so would the cartels. Few people live all their lives in one area and so firms from different cartels would come into contact, so forming a cartel of cartels. This cartel of cartels may (perhaps) be less powerful than a local cartel, but it would still be required and for exactly the same reasons a local one is. Therefore “anarcho”-capitalism would, like “actually existing capitalism,” be marked by a series of public states covering given areas, co-ordinated by larger states at higher levels. Such a set up would parallel the United States in many ways except it would be run directly by wealthy shareholders without the sham of “democratic” elections. Moreover, as in the USA and other states there will still be a monopoly of rules and laws (the “general libertarian law code”).

Hence a monopoly of private states will develop in addition to the existing monopoly of law and this is a de facto monopoly of force over a given area (i.e. some kind of public state run by share holders). New companies attempting to enter the “defence” industry will have to work with the existing cartel in order to provide the services it offers to its customers. The cartel is in a dominant position and new entries into the market either become part of it or fail. This is exactly the position with the state, with “private agencies” free to operate as long as they work to the state’s guidelines. As with the monopolist “general libertarian law code”, if you do not toe the line, you go out of business fast.

“Anarcho”-capitalists claim that this will not occur, but that the co-operation needed to provide the service of law enforcement will somehow not turn into collusion between companies. However, they are quick to argue that renegade “agencies” (for example, the so-called “Mafia problem” or those who reject judgements) will go out of business because of the higher costs associated with conflict and not arbitration. Yet these higher costs are ensured because the firms in question do not co-operate with others. If other agencies boycott a firm but co-operate with all the others, then the boycotted firm will be at the same disadvantage — regardless of whether it is a cartel buster or a renegade. So the “anarcho”-capitalist is trying to have it both ways. If the punishment of non-conforming firms cannot occur, then “anarcho”-capitalism will turn into a war of all against all or, at the very least, the service of social peace and law enforcement cannot be provided. If firms cannot deter others from disrupting the social peace (one service the firm provides) then “anarcho”-capitalism is not stable and will not remain orderly as agencies develop which favour the interests of their own customers and enforce their own law codes at the expense of others. If collusion cannot occur (or is too costly) then neither can the punishment of non-conforming firms and “anarcho”-capitalism will prove to be unstable.

So, to sum up, the “defence” market of private states has powerful forces within it to turn it into a monopoly of force over a given area. From a privately chosen monopoly of force over a specific (privately owned) area, the market of private states will turn into a monopoly of force over a general area. This is due to the need for peaceful relations between companies, relations which are required for a firm to secure market share. The unique market forces that exist within this market ensure collusion and the system of private states will become a cartel and so a public state — unaccountable to all but its shareholders, a state of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the wealthy.

[sanjisboyfie]

❔[NAME] WIKI - ALABASTA ARC ENDS

realized i left it out of my a/n last update but, after every major arc in one piece, there will be a "[name] wiki" that will just highlight information that might have been missed/not so obviously stated about [name] as well as bonus infomration on relationships, fun facts, etc!!! anyway, enjoy this little filler update before skypiea <333

link to original fanfic where thsi wiki is based from :D

full name: [REDACTED] D. [NAME]

age: 20, departed from foosha village at 17 — it’s been three years since then

affiliations:

— [REDACTED] Pirates ERROR LOADING

— [REDACTED] ERROR LOADING

— connection with Shanks/Red Hair Pirates in some way

— [REDACTED] Pirates, temporary member, mutual gain

— Straw Hat Pirates

epithet: [REDACTED]

The Cursed Orphan

birthday: [xx/xx] ← this is your own birthday LOL

height: 6’5

there is a reason he is so tall, please trust me he is not insanely tall for no reason. like there are plot reasons as to why he built like a beanstock.

- related: i forgot that his height was lowkey a plot point (a teensy teensy tiny bit) so i forgot to mention his height until very very very very very recently in the chaptesr LMFAOOA

bounty:

— 200,000,000

— 250,000,000

japanese va: junichi suwabe … or … yuki kaji … or more like kenjiro tsuda (i cant decide unfortunately lmk in comments bc i like all of these vas a lot) 

appearance:

— has a giant tattoo expanding over his shoulders/back. they look like wings (minus the figure in the middle). they don’t look like the typical tattooed angel wings going downwards, they more-so stretch across his back and the tips end at his deltoids.

— keeps a black cloth wrapped around one of his wrists, at all times. this cloth was torn from shanks’ cloak and [name] keeps it as a safe keeping

— always is wearing a silver necklace. it’s a simple, thin chain that is almost unnoticeable, but he is never seen without it.

— has scars all over his body. they’re not battle scars. they start from his face and go all the way down to his feet. if you were to see his entire body, you would see that most of the scars are single lines that do NOT disconnect from their starting point. they run almost continuously. for example, the scarred line that starts at his face goes all the way down to his feet, without being “interrupted.” origins are unknown.

weapon: a sword that was passed down from shanks and given to him as a gift. he doesn’t know the proper name of it, but it looks like a regular katana. he has never drawn his sword in the series yet, seeing as he only reveals the blade when he is out to very seriously maim, torture, or kill his enemies. the katana radiates an intimidating aura and anyone around [name] can feel it.

standard outfit: just jeans and a t-shirt, nothing crazy goes on here LMFAO or whatever you wanna envision him to be wearing.

abilities: have not been completely revealed, but it does have something to do with water. this explains his ability to control people’s bodies, seeing as their blood and overall body mass has a high percentage of water.

— he has some control over sea water, but only for short bursts of time.

— he is not completely immune to the effects of sea water, though. if he is submerged in it for a long enough period of time <a couple of minutes>, then he will begin drowning and sinking just like a devil fruit eater would.

— did not eat a devil fruit. the origins of his powers are unknown at this time.

— skilled swordsman, source: trust me bro. but seriously, he doesn’t just swing around the sword, even though we’ve never seen him use it, he’s generally very good with weapons of all kinds — but has a specialty in blades.

— has been seen using geppo, soru, and shigan. 

favorite food: COFFEE BEANS + SEAFOOD :) cheese

fun facts:

likes: all the strawhats, animals, bitter flavors

dislikes: the world gov + navy, anyone that isn't a strawhat, anything sweet flavored

— the name the government gave him was due to how they could not find any family lineage tied to him

— considers dadan and makino as his mother figures!

— the song he is always humming is for fruits basket <333

— its not that he only drinks coffee and not anything else — like booze, its just he doesnt like the taste of booze. he can drink it, but he wont like it.

— if he were to live in the real world, he would have a job in child protective services. he cares a lot for children. plus he feels the natural instinct to be protective of those around him.

— he can tell if there is anybody nearby due to how he is able to see water concentration to a certain extent. that is why whenever he squints in the distance or at the water, he is looking for something to pop out and is expecting to see someone/something.

— is really offstandish when it comes to strangers. it takes a lot to get trust out of him, but if it’s someone that luffy or the others trust, then he’s quick to lower his guard.

— finds it really amusing whenever chopper, nami, or usopp run to hide behind him when they see any enemies. he doesn’t mind it, but still thinks its really funny whenever it happens.

— he enjoys pissing off zoro, but never brings up their past fight. to him, it was a silly thing that happened in the past so he doesn’t hold it over zoro’s head, plus he saw how much it affected the swordsman.

— hates manspreaders → has a chronic, worst case of manspreading anyone has ever seen

— has the highest debt to nami in the entire crew (somewhere in the 300-400,000)

— the tattoo over ace’s heart are words that he and ace shared with each other (”together in chaos”) when they were children (LOOOREEEE)

— wants to start working out with zoro, but due to their recent adventures hasn’t had the chance to :(

— unlike luffy, he has no qualms in killing his enemies. he wishes he were like luffy in this sense, but he is paranoid that these people will come back for him, or worse — the crew, so he eliminates them when he can.

— [name] really, really wanted vivi to come along. but he didn't verbalize it so as to not pressure her or manipulate the decision of what she herself wanted.

— whenever he wakes up from sleep, he’s in one of three odd positions: 1. luffy and him somehow end up cuddling, 2. he’s on the floor, or 3. he’s (not maliciously aka they're not actually dying.) choking either zoro or sanji with his arm.

— feels particularly protective of nami — not because she is a woman, but because he saw how sick she had gotten and was scared she would die. addtionally, he trusts her and her ability to fight, but if she requests for his help in a battle, he wouldn’t hesitate to go and help her.

— if him and sanji can't sleep at night, they go out on the deck and smoke together until one of them gets tired and they go back to bed.

— rather prideful in being strong. at the same time, he doesn’t really enjoy the nature of his abilities

— [name] had a bad history with the people on whiskey peak, which explains his hostility to them in the beginning chapters (they fooled him by giving him a lot of food, then they tried attacking him while he was sleeping, and he had to fight them.) doesn't like being lied to.

— vivi wishes she could have knighted [name] into holding a formal title as a guardian in the kingdom of alabasta, but igaram rejected the idea. her father and pell were close to agreeing, but ultimately decided that they couldn't and shouldn't seeing as [name] was too infamous for being a lethal pirate. vivi sulked about this for a while.

love language : acts of service and physical touch

— the more comfortable he is with someone, the more likely he is to crack jokes around them. it means hes relaxed and can feel comfortable being himself rather than being on edge and guarded.

— vivi often times hums the song that [name] always hummed, smiling whenever she remembers the amount of memories she had made with the crew. that song has now become her favorite despite her not knowing where it was from or if there were even words that went along with it.

— animal representation: crow

— who would he be if the strawhats were a family? the one younger cousin that keeps running around shouting about how he wants to fight/do something that requires a lot of energy from everyone else (or, cool uncle)

— he actually naturally has a very sweet scent, but since he is always brewing coffee/eating coffee beans, he masks that scent with coffee since he hates it :)

personality type : ENFP

→ characters that are ENFP: jinx (arcane/league of legends), hu tao (genshin impact), harley quinn (dc universe), and ellie (the last of us)

how would [name] describe his relationships:

with luffy: captain, dearest person in his life, partner in crime in annoying the rest of the crew, personal backpack since luffy is always climbing him

with zoro: most reliable crewmate, best first mate to luffy, good friendly competitor 1/2 strongest swordsman in the world

with nami: smartest crewmate!! admires her navigation abilities, enjoys her company when she isn't yelling bloody murder at him </3 1/3 of his priority people to protect

with usopp: fun to tease and joke around with, enjoys the way usopp lies even though he hates liars, 2/3 of his priority people to protect

with sanji: the best chef in the world, genuinely a very kind man, sees eye to eye with him more often than not, thinks his rude persona is just a front LOL good friendly competitor 2/2

with chopper: cutest mascot, thinks he is genuinely very strong, admires his mental strength and his story, 3/3 of his priority people to protect

with vivi: worrisome princess, braver than she gives herself credit for, very close friend he hopes to reunite with in the future! a crewmate in his mind even if she is not sailing with them

with ace: idiot, but also a very cute idiot <3 freckles, sees a lot of their childhood in ace’s eyes which makes him slightly emotional, reckless, misses him a lot right now

EXTRA BONUS:

playlist !

his theme songs are: chemtrails over the country club by lana del rey, i know ? by travis scott, here comes your man by the pixies ← will add more songs in each wiki !!!

— cotcc : “it’s beautiful, how this deep normality settles down over me. i’m not bored or unhappy, i’m still so strange and wild. you’re in the wind, i’m in the water. nobody’s son, nobody’s daughte,”

— i know ?: “tell me, is you still up. it’s 5 a.m. and i’m drunk right now. tell me, can we still fuck. // i know, mami, i know, it’s 2 a.m., don’t stress. at 3, that bullshit kick in, in thirty, you’ll feel your best”

— here comes your man, “take me away to nowhere plains. there is a wait so long (so long, so long). you'll never wait so long. here comes your man, here comes your man, here comes your man, here comes your man”

luffy & [name]: video games, “it’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you. everything i do — i tell you all the time. heaven is a place on earth with you. // it’s better than i ever even knew. they say that the world was built for two. only worth living if somebody is loving you.”

zoro & [name]: married with children, “i hate the way that you are so sarcastic and you’re not very bright. you think that everything you’ve done’s fantastic. your music’s shit, it keeps me up all night, up all night // and it will be nice to be alone, for a week or two. but i knew then i will be right, right back here with you, with you, with you, with you, with you, with you”

sanji & [name]: right side of my neck, “the right side of my neck still smells like you. the right side of my neck still smells like you”

nami & [name]: LOYALTY, “tell me when your loyalty is comin’ from the heart. tell me who you loyal to. do it start with your women or your man? do it end with your family and friends? or you’re loyal to yourself in advance?”

usopp & [name]: my way, “for what is a man, what has he got? if not himself, then he has naught. to say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels. the record shows i took the blows. and did it my way”

vivi & [name]: happiness is a butterfly, “if he’s a serial killer, then what’s the worst thing that could happen to a girl who’s already hurt? i’m already hurt. if he’s as bad as they say, then i guess i’m cursed. looking into his eyes, i think he’s already hurt. he’s already hurt.”

chopper & [name]: live and let die, “when you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let live. but if this ever changing world in which we’re living, makes you give in and cry — say live and let die”

ace & [name]: my love mine all mine, “nothing in the world belongs to me, but my love, mine, all mine, all mine. // nothing in the world is mine for free, but my love mine, all mine, all mine”

taglist (lmk if u want to be tagged ! <3 :

@skullr0se , @strawberrii-tea, @triangulartriangles, @anotherlovefool, @haratatsu, @sinmp, @3v37773, @taru-nami, @disc0dild0s, @boredwithlifeatthispoint, @kaulitzer, @notplutos, @cheetosins

[ .ᐟ ] PSA ! DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT READ THIS  (older version of this) STORY ON WATTPAD I REPEATTTTT DO NOTTT BECAUSE ! MY OLD VERSION OF THIS STORY IS STILL PUBLISHED bc i dont rlly want to take it down tbh bc a lot of ppl still read it AND IT IS SPOILLLERRRSS FOR WHAT I PLAN ON DOING WITH THIS STORY !!! because this is re-written and a much much much much much improved version of that oldddd story + it is still following that original plot line i had all those years ago just like 10000x better bc idk what drugs i was on when i was writing that ff all those years ago bc that shit is crazy LMFOAOAOA i beg, i BEG, of you to not read it i want this experience to be so fun with all the plotwists and motives of characters like pleaseeee do not read it (also ??? its jus so cringe worthy jus dont read it LFMAO) 

[toastthewolfie]

Notion - CoD OC

Info from a slightly altered version of the template by @olibird (sorry for the tag D:)

Full Name: [REDACTED] Alias: Notion Nationality: American       Ethnicity: Hungarian/Icelandic Birthplace: Vác, Hungary Age: 27              DoB: 9/27/1997 Pronouns: Any/All, primarily uses he/him         Gender: N/A Sex: M Height: 5’10 Languages: Hungarian (Native), English (Secondary), Knows the very basics of Icelandic and French. Education: Associates degree in Psychology Personality: Often described as aggressive, rude, cold, and unsympathetic. All of which are very accurate. He’s also an extremely salty person, he holds grudges, but if you’re on the same team/side as him, he’s not rude enough to leave you to die if you get hurt. Which CoD Universe: MW2019 (Mentioned in Advanced Warfare, though) Branches of Service: United States Marine Corps Affiliation: Unassociated Bounty Hunter, works with USMC, and the FBI/ATF occasionally (not often due to conflict of interest, mostly done to keep the government off his back) and works with Shadow Company closely. Former Rank: Lieutenant. Current Rank: N/A Specialties: Breaching, Water Operations, Reconnaissance

Backstory:  Notion was born in Hungary and immigrated to America (Wichita, Kansas specifically) at the age of 12, after completing high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps to gain access to the G.I. bill.

There, Notion shined and managed to rise through the ranks relatively quickly. However, he was injured in the line of duty at 23 and was honorably discharged from the military due to reduced mobility.

Notion was, in the words of his formed TO, broken by this. He had left so much for this and had even neglected being by his father’s deathbed, or by his mother’s side when she rapidly deteriorated and eventually died from a brain aneurysm, just to have his career taken.

After all that, Notion broke away from the military and became a bounty hunter. He called in a few favors and managed to get his name wiped from all public databases (and some private ones, including the U.S. Marine Corps database) and went off the grid before being rediscovered during an operation gone wrong when he was 25 (leaning on 26 (aka he was closer to 26 than 25 but he was still 25)).

This was the moment he sustained his face/shoulder scar, and he was brought back by the USMC after discovery where he was offered a deal that essentially boiled down to ‘work with us when we need you, which won’t be often, and we’ll keep the government off your back’, and he just agreed and split town the second he could walk again.

At 26, he was contacted by Graves. It was supposed to be a one-off thing, mostly intel exchange but one thing led to another and he’s since become a semi-regular person on operations. He sometimes stops by the base, though.

Issues: oh boy where do I begin? I’ll just list the main ones. - Holds grudges, like, extremely long, doesn’t help he has insanely good memory. - He’s very aggressive, even if unprovoked. - Trust issues, he has little faith in anyone. 3rd base with him is him trusting you to not fuck up something small. - Probably has a fuckton of mental and physical issues be hasn’t gotten diagnosed. - More on the physical aspect, he is very prone to collapsing and extremely bad pain. Not like he’d show it though.

Habits: He’s a breacher by heart, and checks each doorway as such. He reacts by muscle memory to rank.

Scars/Permanent Injuries Face/Shoulder: Knife scars that lead to the scar on his shoulder.

 ��Torso: Lower rib cage, mostly on the hip on the right - Nerve damage and shrapnel injury scarring from the incident that got him discharged. - Red scarring, mostly. Stab Wound on the left side of his abdomen.

  Legs: Right leg is a mess. Nerve damage, burn scar, and shrapnel scars from the injury that got him discharged. - His leg can’t move all that well and he’s made a makeshift leg brace that he wears 24/7 and he refuses to accept any replacements. Left leg has a few shrapnel scars (from the same injury that fucked his right) but is otherwise fully operational.

Preferred method of showing care/affection/love language: Gift Giving, it’s something he can just give and go. Preferred way of receiving care/affection: Any, except gift giving. He’s not big on gifts.

Eye Color: Blue (#6768ba) Skin Color: Light tan (#f0cec3) Scars (Main Color/Base Color): Red (#b2817d) Hair description: Messy, long, platinum blonde (#fcf3ec) Clothing description: Green hued tactical gear with a dark green scarf that covers the lower part of his face. A lot of his gear is secondhand or something he patched up, so it’s not very high quality. Body description: Average height, skinny, lean, and heavily scarred Blood Type: O-

Favorite Activities: - Going to cafes, he finds them relaxing - Taking photos of birds Favorite color: Green Favorite animal: Ravens, he thinks they’re funky lil dudes. Favorite food/Dessert: Eggs. Quick to cook and easy to nab a few of.

Other Fun Facts: - He’s terrified of dogs. He will actively avoid any and all MWD/K9 Handlers and anyone with a dog in general. - While he’s been all over the globe at this point, London is his favorite place by far.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

The Crimson Lion Kings Mafia AU

Fuegoleon Vermillion: The Lion. Comes from a well-known mafia family, and inherited the leadership role of it since his older sister was far more interested in pursuing her own goals rather than governing an entire mafia, even though she comes around every once in a while. Fuegoleon has been in the business for his entire life, and is in rivalry with another old mafia of Clover, The Silver Eagles. However, it wasn’t the Silver Eagles that resulted into his “accident”, but rather he had come into possession of a jewel that held very little monetary value, but proved to be of significant symbolic importance to a person that was affiliated with William Vangeance, the Leader, for some time. This “accident” ended up costing him his arm, and putting him into a coma for 6 months, after which he was given a state of the art prosthetic arm, which functions, or at least they say, better than his ‘normal’ arm. It is rumoured that as a result of this incident, he became even more dangerous.

Solara Equinox: The Lioness. Is the first-born daughter of a CEO of a large foreign company that deals in international business. She was in Clover for a business trip, getting familiar with the local business scenery when she ran into Mereoleona at a gym, and they ended up becoming friends first outside of The Work. Later she fell in love with Fuegoleon, and decided to stay to aid the mafia empire, while still staying in contact with her family and the company, thus providing some aid to the Crimson Lion Kings when possible from a third party source. 

Mereoleona Vermillion: The Uncrowned. The older sister of Fuegoleon, who is more interested in solo missions than running a mafia. This, however, doesn’t make her any less dangerous. In fact, most agree that she is far more so. More reckless. More unpredictable. And she functions solely according to her own morals, whatever those might be. She has been rumoured to hold the greatest amount of devotion to her family though, but none has been brave enough to test that theory, not ever since The Incident. 

Leopold Vermillion: The Oath Taker. The youngest of the Vermillion family. He has vowed to become the next leader of the Vermillion Mafia and make his family proud of him. He is creative and quick-witted, managing to combine the combat styles of both of his siblings. He can be loud and explosive, but there is a calculated method in his madness. Because of his boisterous exterior, his opponents often underestimate him. Which is, more often than not, a lethal mistake in this business. 

Randal Luftair: The Wind. The right hand man of the Lion, who is extremely skilled in all types of long distance combat from fire-arms to throwing knives and crossbows. Has also been reported to be highly skilled in handling four wheeled motor vehicles. His personality is polite, calm and collected, but don’t let it fool you, because in combat he is swift as the wind.

[welcometomypov]

What is your viewpoint on the January 6th insurrection? Personally, regardless of political affiliation I feel as though it should be condemned, taking 1 Peter 2:17 into account— however, I’ve seen reports that President Trump plans to pardon those who took part. How would you feel about that, as well as the threats to repeat that event on a larger scale if Harris had won the election? I’m politically independent, and this sort of thing is one of the biggest problems I’ve had with the Republican Party and especially the MAGA side of it which seems to have grown more and more dominant.

I think that if Trump had any proof that the Democrats cheated in the election and they chose to respond with an insurrection when proof is ignored, that they would be entirely in the right.

As the Democrats keep saying, "It's the right of the people to abolish the government." (What they forget, is the implications that most of America needs to be ticked off in order for it to work or even work out, and not just the minority. As Trump has proven, he's not on the minority side rn.)

But the proof of such isn't becoming clear until very recently, with (as rumor has it) so many voters 'suddenly' appearing in the 2020 election to elect Biden and then 'suddenly' going missing in 2024?

It's definitely suspicious. But I won't say I have any definite idea of what's going on with that. Trump or Biden trickery? We don't know.

However, I am keeping an eye out to find out what is uncovered.

The insurrection should never have happened because he had no proof. It was not a smart thing for him or for any of his followers to do. It should have been a peaceful protest. It should never have gotten violent and Trump should never have encouraged it.

I haven't seen anything about him promising it worse. So I won't comment on something that I haven't looked into myself.

But he's always been a pretty radical man. That's why we like him.

(Not for this specific radical view. But for others.)

I'm not surprised that more than 2,000+ Republicans showed up because there are 2,000+ Democrats right now who would do the exact same thing if Kamala called them to do it.

Look at the anger and the threats. Look at the post about it running around Tumblr right now that I've seen reblogged to at least three different Republican accounts who are like 'you know this is what Trump did right?'. Insurrection is apparently on people's minds.

Don't tell me radical Democrats wouldn't do it if given the chance.

That's a lie that anyone on any side would spot a mile away.

The thing is...

I don't think the insurrection was as devastating and horrible as the media preaches that it was considering everything that I've heard from Democrat and Republican sources.

The news overkills the severity.

But that doesn't make it okay. And, once again, I'm forced to set my head in my hands and wonder why Trump is the way he is.

I don't have any 'right' opinion on him pardoning those guys.

I don't know. I really don't know the right call.

The idea of justice recently is... Well...

Kamala brought illegal immigrants in and many have spent their freedoms raping and killing people, and I wasn't supposed to want them in prison or kicked out... Democrats have been rioting and breaking into stores, homes, and harming/threatening people, but those are forgiven because they were upset about their social status... But then I'm supposed to believe it when the Democrats say that January 6th is the worst thing that's taken place in America in recent years? People weren't allowed to be upset when they believed the most important election for the American people was cheated and stolen? That everyone there deserves to be in prison but we'll allow the two previous stated examples to go unchecked?

Do you see why the justice ideals in America tires me?

It doesn't matter what I say. They're all in the wrong in God's eyes. But America chooses right and wrong based on whatever works best for the narrative that's most popular or supported.

In fact, if I try to look up any of the Democrat riots, I'm blasted with tons of articles about January 6th. Almost like the internet is trying to prevent me from seeing past a certain narrative.

I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a police officer. I don't know what's best for those guys or if they deserve to stay in prison.

I'll leave that up to someone with more knowledge than me.

Thank you for the ask. I appreciate your time and curiosity :)

[maxwell-grant]

So I saw that Street Fighter tier list, and I noticed that C. Viper was near dead last. I'm not too familiar with her, but I was under the impression she was pretty well-liked by SFIV standards--any reason why you dislike her so much?

I don't actually dislike her much as a character, I put her at the bottom because of how much I hate Viper's playstyle. That wasn't really a tier list for the series in general, more so about the prospecting of those characters returning (ex: I don't hate Necalli, I wrote the biggest semi-defense the dude is ever gonna get, and I still know he needs to fuck off). In Viper's case, I find her uniquely grating to watch because she spends so much time spamming feint Seismic Hammer to condition control over the opponent's jumps or canceling Burning Kick in the air to mix up her landings, and it makes it she's always doing that ringing sound all the goddamn time, at least El Fuerte's squeaky shoes and running animation are funny. Yes, it kind of is sublimely perfect that the CIA agent's playstyle consists of overtly psychologically conditioning and electrically torturing your opponent into opening up, but that lands her into a firm "fuck off forever" for me because I never want to sit through a Viper match in SFIV and MvC3 alike, or ever again. So unless they did something about that, I don't consider it a loss if she's never playable again. She probably will though, if not in 6 then in 7, but that's a headache for later.

I mean, SFIV standards were abysmally low so you could say Viper was comparatively well-received next to the other new characters, but she was never really that popular. In fact even at the game's launch Ono was surprised that players weren't latching onto Viper, despite Viper being custom-made for Western audiences

“With all due to respect to him (Abel), he’s a great character, but honestly we thought Crimson Viper would be a big hit here,” said Ono. “We got a lot of marketing data and a lot of advice from our US branch in creating that character. She was kind of custom tailored for the States and we thought people would like her.”

People did start playing her a lot more overtime because she turned out to be a competitive scene monster, but I mostly remember people being baffled and cynical when she got picked for MvC3. C.Viper was a popular moveset, but not so much a popular character, and it wasn't at all difficult for Juri to completely eclipse her, despite how hard they were trying to push Viper at first. I think you can very easily point to what Ono said as a reason why she didn't catch on that much. She is blatantly designed to appeal to American audiences and that made her more of a gimmick than a character. She is Angelina Jolie as a secret agent spy in an extremely tight-fitting pantsuit who also has superhero powers that nobody else has and that she achieves with technology. I already don't give much of a damn about most of the military/government affiliated characters in the series, but they tend to have other things going on that Viper really doesn't.

The KOF ladies she's ripping off have distinct fighting styles (and those games get to play much more loose with character design) they get to provide an interesting take on by doing it while dressing fashionably, but Viper is defined by her reliance on gadgets and gimmicks. She is a very generic videogame protagonist lady who plays like one of those hodpedodge World Tour characters, and she's not even a bad design on her own, she's just not really pulling her weight as a Street Fighter character. She represents nothing, and I don't think she has anything going on really justifies her inclusion over another character.

All that said, I actually do think Viper is a useful character to have around. I'm against her ever being playable again but, like I said, she probably will, and fine, she has a allright enough niche as a character. I am exceedingly generous to a lot of SF characters I'm otherwise not a fan of and she's a character I can talk myself into appreciating more, as I'm doing now. She's a decent POV character to drive stories around in her IV and V appearences, given her job forces her to play detective around the characters, but she actively doesn't want to fight, so she's always going to run when the going gets rough and leave the fighting to the actual main characters. Her priority is to do her job so she can go home and be with her daughter and that's all she cares about, she has neither time nor patience to care about this and she finds it frankly ridiculous that people call her gadgets unfair, when she's just trying to get the fight done as quickly as possible.

They get some good mileage out of the fact that she stands for nothing and that she is intruding somewhere she doesn't belong, that she's just punching the clock on a job she was given, that she really doesn't have any kind of beef with these people and just needs them to get out of her way and really has no stake other than survival for her family's sake, and that all the fighters detest her, whether it's because she is blatantly cheating, or because she's a pain in the ass, or because of how viciously she brutalized Cammy (not sure if that whole movie is canon still), that kind of thing.

It could be very possible that Juri ls lying, and the illustration is definitely exaggerated, but I enjoyed the reveal in SF6 that she and Viper have basically become partners in crime, that Juri considers them "cut from the same cloth", and that she has the same goal as a greedy career criminal who kidnaps people for evil organizations (which was the same thing C.Viper was doing undercover). I enjoy them mostly dispensing with the pretense that Viper is supposed to be a good person and I enjoy the series letting one of it's government/military agent characters be a bastard/ honest about the job they have.

She can love her daughter as much as she wants and even have decent enough interactions with other characters, it's not going to make her not a CIA spook who beats up and tortures people with electric gauntlets on the clock. It isn't even that unbelievable that she would wind up on good terms with Juri, not just because they're both cheating with technological assets, or because they were both working for the same guy and biding their time to backstab him, but because they both exist to break the rules everyone else is mostly abiding by, neither strong enough to attrack too much attention as villains nor weak enough that they can't match the heroes when push to comes to shove. They both had personal revenge stakes to get through (Juri with her parents, Viper with her fallen partners), and with both of their targets gone, they get to just be themselves: cockroaches trying to make off with the prize / turn a profit in a space they view as largely dominated by suckers.

Much like Mel Masters in the 6 comic, I think it's good for Street Fighter to have characters that have an agnostic/adverse relationship to the concept of street fighting, and to her credit, there is something really funny about her position. She is a James Bond in a world full of evil organizations and villains to fight, but the only way to get to them is through fighting tournaments, and all the actual heroes of the world fighting said people hate her guts for cheating and refusing to put in the work they did in martial arts that are, apparently, the most important thing in the world I guess??? She is a hypercompetent superspy who wishes she could be out there doing regular espionage stuff, and instead has to deal with superpowered fighting bozos flushing years of careful investigative work down the toilet. Born to blow up islands full of henchmen and arm South American coups, forced to step into the ring with Ryu from the Streets who doesn't even pay taxes.

[jbfly46]

My younger brother claims to do OSINT for the Navy and have the highest military clearance possible. When I suspected he was lying to me about my father’s estate lawsuit, I decided to first test his capabilities. I mentioned a bunch of classified information I knew about that has been getting released recently, and his reaction was that of one in a state of shock or disbelief. He went completely mute on that subject. Next I tested his OSINT capabilities. As I know that the Navy has him using software for OSINT, I performed a full OSINT investigation on my old shady landlord, finding his family that lives in Switzerland and Europe, finding his ties to a land trust that has changed hands 3 times between different people with his last name, and different people with what looked like a name an Ashkenazi Jew would make up. Then I tied him as having a personal relationship with a lawyer who changed his name after getting out of prison in Washington State for a violent rape conviction. A lawyer that Multnomah County Court uses to perform court duties, even though he is a private lawyer with his own private office. I accomplished all of this in less than 2 hours without any OSINT software. My brother responding with a state of childish anger, and proceeded to encourage my mother to report me to DHS for posting a threat to mail anthrax to Oak Ridge National Laboratory or something of that nature. Only there was no such post on Reddit, and the DHS she reported this to was actually the Tennessee Department of Safety pretending to be DHS by leaving out the part where they were only affiliated with the state of Tennessee when introducing themselves. All this resulted in was two really dumb sloppy looking behavioral health PPB officers knocking on my door and listening to me give them a 30 minute lecture on psychology that they clearly could not follow even after claiming to have an education in psychology. My brother makes enough money from the military to have already have bought his own house, all while clearly not being able to perform his actual job, while I live in a 400 sq. ft. apartment with my partner; barely able to afford food and bills. Safe to say, that despite already owning his own home, he was also lying about my father’s estate lawsuit, I can only assume in an attempt to somehow gain hold of my portion of our father’s estate, I guess because he thinks me posting something about anthrax on Reddit (a post that didn’t exist), would be relevant to a county level estate case, and sufficient for me to be deemed not eligible to receive my allotted half of the estate. I feel like the entirety of these actions reaches beyond stupidity, and into the territory of malevolent insanity. Obviously, the government does not want competent and sane people working for them, for whatever reason. It has now been almost 3 years since the estate case was opened up and I have yet to hear anything more about it.

[selamat-linting]

related to last rb but a few years ago i was reading a book about an indonesian anarchist's analysis on indigenous cultures here and there is this bit of a thread that interests me.

its about how ethnic groupings and cultural traditions slowly become incorporated with the capitalist state the moment people and the communities pursue friendly relations or try to live with the government to the point that their identity is eventually homogenized and reduced to be synonymous with the state with a bunch of sanitized and hollow cultural signifiers of their ancestors' ethnic group.

to tell you the truth, i actually have a little issue with this. a lot of ethnic identities are tied to the monarchies that stood before colonization. theyre already friendly with the state. not every ethnic groups are like dayak where you can argue they're principally anarchist (plus it kind of has the unfortunate implications that there is no way to preserve your culture in a way that matters if you intermix and mingle with people outside of your ethnicity). but also, as a disparate bunch of islands and regions, it was dutch colonialism that forcibly tied everything together to give it a national identity.

but i don't think the concerns were stupid. its true that the indonesian state as it is now, uses indigenous cultural symbols and do token lip service about diversity between ethnic and religious groups while oppressing and stealing lands to be used as projects like food estate or mining sites or palm oil plantations. and its not just a matter of corruption, food estate farms usually plant rice in places where the climates are bad for it and where the people living around it doesn't even consume rice as their primary staple foods. and when the projects fail, the farmers sometimes default on palm oil because there is a national and international market for it, then indigenous communities suffer because their source of livelihood and food are gone. and in the case of mining sites, most of the goods and profits aren't even landing to the pockets to the national bourgeoise lol. yes theyre still rich beyond imagining and oppress people but its the people (and i mean people as a whole, including the poor ones) of the imperial core that gets cheap phones and electronics and building materials.

there's also certain regions where the relationship to the indonesian state are downright colonial. like west papua, horribly militarized and exploited for resources with barely any government spending given for the people and "transmigration" programs sending non-papuans to live in the "unused lands" there (fyi transmigration programs isnt a new thing).

interestingly, i also read in another book about the history of communist movements here that notes that we were actually developing a shared national identity organically during 1945-1955, as we were fresh off independence and were spearheading non-block movements and there was widespread literacy programs and multiple party-affiliated recreation clubs. there was an anecdote that a lot of people were given "revolutionary" sounding names, and when people do small talk, they asked of your party affiliation instead of whats your ethnic group. it wasnt until suharto rose to power that he began the campaign of rewriting a revisionist history where the anti colonial movement was mostly a win from military defense with barely any political or ideological battles occuring, and somewhat reviving the concept of ethnic groups being important to the national identity of indonesians (see the troubled development of taman mini indonesia), even though said concept is horrifically outdated since it was mostly politically relevant before dutch colonialism. and of course we have to mention that suharto's time as president is noted even in civics class textbooks as "java-centric", which probably explains why some javanese people are Weird™ about other ethnic groups, if you know what i mean?

but eh, whatever, im just yapping. im tired man i have to like, write this article to my org about the election and it has to be done soon and i had to explain for the 90th time to people who is not even a good prospect for the org about how uu perampasan aset is just a stupid distraction to make ppl believe prabowo is handling corruption but those damn pesky legislative government bodies are just too damn corrupt (implying that the president should have more power here with no checks and balances)

[mariacallous]

In November 2004, Ukraine’s pro-Russian prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych, tried to steal the country’s presidential election, triggering the Orange Revolution protests and reactions from the West. Then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell memorably went to the press briefing room and declared that the United States could not accept the results as legitimate. Current U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken should do the same for Georgia now.

Georgia’s parliamentary elections on Saturday were marred by widespread attempts of “intimidation, coercion and pressure on voters,” according to international and domestic monitoring groups. Despite official results claiming that the incumbent government, led by the Georgian Dream party, retained a majority of seats, the election was not in line with international standards, according to independent observers.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is not affiliated with the Georgian Dream government, went even further. “I want to say, as the [representative of the] only independent institution, that I don’t recognize these elections,” the president said in her post-election remarks. The country’s major opposition parties have similarly refused to recognize the official election results and plan to protest them.

The United States should follow the Georgian president’s lead and not recognize the results. Instead, the legitimate concerns raised by the flawed election must be addressed first. One way to incentivize proper resolution is for U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to explicitly threaten sanctions against those responsible for the crisis—starting with Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch and leader of the Georgian Dream party; Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia’s prime minister; and those on Georgia’s central election commission.

Blinken’s statement about the elections, issued on Sunday, falls well short of this. Citing international observers, Blinken’s statement said that the election was not “free and fair,” but he avoided commenting on the legitimacy of the results themselves. Though Blinken encouraged Georgia’s political leaders to “respect the rule of law” and address any electoral deficiencies, he did not name Georgian Dream, which, as the country’s ruling party, created this mess in the first place.

No one should be surprised that Georgian Dream would make efforts to steal the election. This spring, Ivanishvili suggested that, in the event the party didn’t win, the opposition would drag the country into a devastating war with Russia. He made the absurd claim that the opposition was in thrall to its Western “patrons,” who had ordered them to ensure Georgia opened a “second front” against Russia. In August, Ivanishvili promised to make these opposition parties “pay for all the crimes against the Georgian people” by outlawing them.

Even without formally banning the opposition, Georgia has already taken on many of the hallmarks of a one-party state. Ivanishvili’s party has been in power since 2012, and it has been steadily gaining influence since then. Having established control over the parliament and the judiciary, Georgian Dream has also taken aim at the two remaining checks on its power in the last year: It has twice sought to impeach Zourabichvili and has cracked down on watchdog groups and nongovernmental organizations.

To undermine the NGOs holding it accountable, the government proposed a Russian-style foreign agents law that requires organizations receiving foreign money to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Fearing that Tbilisi—like Moscow—would use the law to marginalize and eventually shutter civil society groups and independent media, hundreds of thousands of Georgians turned out on the streets to protest. The government responded with a brutal crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations and eventually passed the law, overriding Zourabichvili’s veto of it.

The adoption of the foreign agents law and the large demonstrations against it did prompt Western capitals to finally act against Georgia’s authoritarian slide. The European Union suspended Georgia’s accession process and froze funds earmarked for government-directed programs. Citing democratic backsliding, the United States froze more than $95 million in intergovernmental assistance to Georgia and imposed a number of sanctions against some of those who were responsible for repressive measures, including the use of violence against demonstrators.

Though welcome, these actions were insufficient and ineffectual. They failed to include Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze, his hand-picked prime minister.

In a situation fraught with potential for unrest, both sides have dug in. Georgian Dream has claimed victory in the election, while the opposition has refused to recognize the results. Meanwhile, Zourabichvili called for protests in central Tbilisi starting on Oct. 28.

Georgian Dream has shown no indication that it would take criticism seriously or try to accommodate the concerns of the opposition. Kobakhidze has said that the opposition’s refusal to recognize the results amounted to a “gross violation” of the constitutional order and that Georgian Dream would form a new government without their participation.

The reports of election intimidation are serious and widespread enough to call the legitimacy of this weekend’s election results into question. Washington and its allies should not recognize this election before, as the German Federal Foreign Office suggested, all irregularities are addressed and remedied. As Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski declared, “Europe must now stand with the Georgian people.” So should the United States.

The Georgian people, who remain very pro-West and are eager to join NATO and the EU, deserve no less—just like those struggling for freedom and human rights around the world. Georgia has become the latest battleground, and it’s time for the United States to rise to the challenge.

[unnounblr]

IDK if you're the right person to ask about this, but a big concern I have about Project 2025 (aside from all the others, obviously) is, based on what the GOP has been doing on the state and local level, that they don't actually need to put a Republican in the White House for it to go ahead. Is this a realistic concern or just doomerism?

I am absolutely not in any way the person to ask.

I think broadly though. Like, I'm pretty sure state governments and city governments can't force the federal government and federal agencies to enact policies? So, like, a state government can't force the military to not hire trans people, or the EPA, or department of energy, or FDA, whatever.

Congress. Might be able to enact parts of Project 2025 or things like it at the federal level, regardless of who the president is. They can pass bills, and with a supermajority in both houses could override a veto. Which is why, if there are any downballot races (which, there are, every seat in the House of Representatives is up for reelection, every two years, the problem is in a lot of places they run unopposed) those matter and need to be voted for.

The president is commander in chief and head of the executive branch, so, the parts of 2025 about different departments and government offices needing to have absolute loyalty to the President. Like, I think the Republicans would only push for that if it was. Their guy. And I at least hope a Democratic administration wouldn't be stupid enough to fire career bureacrats that have done their jobs well enough solely based on party affiliation.

Like, while I'm not a fan of the way the Harris campaign has cozied up to lifelong Republicans like fucking Cheney (I mean, Liz Cheney I could understand, given her many feuds with Trump, and she's more politically relevant because of it than Dick is right now, but) that would also make it. Odd. To suddenly about face and say "people employed by government for subject matter expertise or ability to perform bureaucratic and administrative tasks also have to always agree with the President and be part of the President's party, even if they are in positions which aren't elected or appointed".

Which. That part of 2025 always seems to me like it's because Trump and the GoP felt personally slighted by Fauci and other scientists, in any field, like when he didn't like their meteorological data and he drew his own weather maps.

Part of the idea of Project 2025 there is, potentially, to get rid of all the data and research on climate change, or get people in that are loyal but don't care about scientific accuracy, to claim that it isn't happening. And also to spread lies about disease and health and whatever else might be inconvenient at the time.

And. Even if a democratic administration comes in afterwards (and. Parts of 2025 are also about ending and controlling voting, and. I think that's. Probably where Local and State level governments. Might already be able to enact parts of it, partially) then I think the scientific legitimacy of the CDC and EPA would be basically gone, once the official standard is ever "who is most loyal to the president and the party, and willing to say whatever they want to hear" rather than "who actually knows what they're talking about and what they're doing".

[mortul]

introducing the general information about one christoph dowell-- this will be a post detailing what the public knowledge on him is, and it'll also talk semi-public/private aaand private details, as well! please consider this post in a state of perpetual development.

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ON "JOHN ROE": (this is knowledge anyone can access, learn, andor know.)

do not call him by his actual, government name while he's on the job-- anonymity is of the utmost importance in his line of work. for this reason, christoph'll most likely introduce himself to others as john roe. personally, i don't really care too much what the narration refers to him as (this is mostly to avoid confusion.) but, in terms of what the actual muse knows, they'll know him as john roe only.

you can employ him on the deep web, while using the ever-popular tor browser. there is an entire network of assassins that christoph is affiliated with, and he's usually one of the first faces you'll see.

if you are in need of his services, be prepared to pay a hefty amount. he is not cheap, doesn't accept any kind of bartering, and always takes cash before the hit. the process itself is pretty simple; all you do is fill out the provided form and wait for a response. christoph usually establishes contact in a day or two, after the information is processed by and communicated through his info broker. by then, payment is required before the job, done through an external service his broker graciously "offers".

the network he is apart of is known only as the assassin's bureau, and it does have a base of operation. somewhere. it's underground, at least.

he is exceptionally hard to kill. and even more-so, he is obnoxiously and deeply resourceful. anything that is within reach, he can and will turn into a weapon-- this is one of many reasons he's a popular choice.

loves smoking luxury cigars as a civilian but smokes cheap, gas station cigarettes while on the job.

as a civilian, he's comfortably rich and acts accordingly. while not outright flaunting his luxury and privilege, christoph is the proud owner of more than just a few gucci-brand accessories-- these primarily revolve around lighters, cigar cases, shoes, and a random spread of clothing. with that in mind, yes, his favorite luxury brand is gucci. his second favorite is versace. honorable mentions include dior, hermès, and fendi.

resides in dallas, texas. feel free to say hi if you see him!

SEMI-PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ON "JOHN ROE": (this is information those within the bureau, be it as an employee or employer, would know.)

his first name is christoph, but assassin etiquette dictates that nobody refers to their fellow assassin as their actual name. their code name/alias suffices, unless they happen to cross paths within the underground circuit.

his first hit was an absolute fucking disaster, and it's a miracle he managed to kill the guy in the first place. many consider it a fluke, but christoph's more than managed to prove that he is, in fact, the guy.

there is no real "ranking" system within the bureau, but christoph is considered a top contender within the circuit regardless. the website automatically filters based off of perceived popularity, with "john roe" being spotted in the first-to-second rows on the first page consistently. however... if you were to filter based off of affordability, he's going to be in the waaaay back. his fellow assassins love giving him (sometimes playful, sometimes legitimate.) shit about this, and he always has a snappy comeback such as, "i make it worth it, though! my client always get th'results they want."

SEMI-PRIVATE KNOWLEDGE ON CHRISTOPH DOWELL: (this is generalized information, disregarding the assassin world, that certain individuals would know about christoph, within reason.)

those supernaturally inclined are capable of gathering that christoph simply isn't human. to what extent, however, depends on their own perception skills and what amount of "tells" christoph himself chooses to give. most of the time, the default assumption seems to be zombie or reanimated.

anyone who is aware of what a ghoul is will most likely be aware of how one is made: somebody fucked up a satanic ritual somewhere, somehow. ghouls are a byproduct of a ritual gone awry, always being killed after the intended sacrifice was already brought forth and killed first.

hey, why the hell can he still walk around with his head cut clean off of his neck? and oh my god, why is he asking me for some duct tape and to "come help him for a sec"?

john roe obviously isn't his real name, but he'll take a while to actually reveal his name. and when he does, he refuses to be called "chris"-- it's a long story, weigh down by some heavy baggage and that's as much as he'll disclose.

he likes men. this will seem redundant, but he loves reminding people. in addition to this, he's also married and wears the wedding ring proudly, flashing it occasionally should the opportunity arise.

he prefers smoking luxury-brand cigars, sitting out in his private suite's pool, and losing five of the ten rounds of a video game he's supposed to be really good at. he does, in fact, have a high-end gaming computer, and he maintains regular upkeep on it. tallying up its current worth, it's somewhere in the 4000-to-5000 american dollar range. he loves that machine.

speaking of said suite, it's actually an apartment on the topmost floor of the complex. it's one of those places that as soon as you set foot inside, you just know the owner is made entirely out of nothing but money.

actually has a semi-decent landlord, but it's mostly because said landlord is a bit of an eccentric guy and christoph matches his energy quite well.

he occasionally dabbles in drag as an art form, every so often performing at nearby nightclubs under the pseudonym scab. his style mostly resembled that of genderfuck and embraced said nature. his performances are normally well-received, being noted as high-energy and crowd-focused. in spite of this, he rarely stayed after the show and would only linger behind-the-scenes for as long as he was required before leaving. this is something both the regulars and club has simply accepted about him.

PRIVATE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTOPH DOWELL: (this is information those christoph trusts fully would know, including his family, husband, and similar. if this wasn't discussed between us privately or revealed to your muse personally, there will be ZERO access to this information.)

he struggled with commitment, with his marriage to one leontios dowell (he took his surname, isn't that just the sweetest thing?) being christoph's first, real committed relationship in, well, years. christoph, prior to, would partake in the occasional one-night stand and ensured it stayed as casual as possible.

his first concert was an avril lavigne concert. second was for christina aguilera. he actually loved both experiences and would go again if ever given the chance.

fought for his absolute goddamn life against his husband's sister, aelita, over one of the weirdest misunderstandings ever (long story.) and involved her smashing a tv over his head. he still hasn't forgiven her for that.

with regards to his trauma, only his family (and this does include his husband.) are aware of the details. but even then... christoph is still stingy on the full story, only recently revealing it in full to leontios and only leontios.

[attheexactlyrighttimeandplace]

I am so angry and tired of people on Twitter claiming that the dismantling of the zionist war cabinet means victory for Hamas, allegedly because the resistance outlasted the war cabinet that was formed after October 7 to end the armed group.

The eradication of Hamas remains one of the main war objectives of the zionists whether the ceasefire plan fails or not. The war cabinet was dissolved because some of its members, including some ministers, resigned at the request of the US. One of Netanyahu's main opponents, Benny Gantz, supported by the families of the hostages and soldiers and fully controlled by the State Department, issued an ultimatum to the government that ended on June 8. He was supposed to represent the “moderates” branch of the regime. After his departure, the “warmongering” zionist leaders took total control of the occupation government, and the only way out of the conflict is military now.

How can this be a victory when Palestinian civilians will pay the price? This means that Rafah will suffer what the rest of Gaza suffered: total extermination. What we have seen so far is nothing compared to what is to come.

Netanyahu is tiptoeing around this situation because he fears what will happen to him once he ends the genocide in Gaza. Will the United States replace him with a military, capable leader with the tactical expertise and strategic vision needed to fight a regional war?

Considering that the extension of the conflict is confirmed by all, and that its scale will concern all the armed groups included in the Axis of Resistance (Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi Resistance, AnsarAllah + Syria and possibly Iran) and oppose them to almost all Gulf Arab countries + the Kurdish people + ISIS and its affiliated groups who are now mercenaries controlled by the United States; he has reason to fear that his time is over even though there is very little chance that he will end up in the cells of the International Criminal Court.

It is true that the United States acts in a very unpredictable and harsher manner. Biden told a jewish reporter at a White House party in april that he had made it clear to Netanyahu what he wanted, and that if Netanyahu doesn't do what he's been told, something will happen.

Obviously, the only reason why the president of the first military power in the world, who leads a military alliance of 32 countries (NATO), not counting their partners, and who has enough nuclear weapons to wipe out the entire planet, made such a vague statement, is because the threat he made was very serious, politically deadly for Netanyahu but perhaps also for the zionist entity, not the kind you can publicly disclose if you intend to violate any agreements you have signed.

There is no doubt that Biden pressured the zionist politicians to commit and take full responsibility for the genocide they wanted to do anyway, motivated them to stay focused and energetic when they were overwhelmed by the number of victims among their soldiers, the opposition of the families of the hostages and soldiers, and the fact that they have become a pariah state within the international community, with a growing minority of international opinion wishing to dismantle Israel to make a way for a Palestinian state, despite the zionist propaganda that wants to make Hamas a terrorist group.

Even the pathetic failure of their communication to cover up their crimes, I mean the unconvincing denial of the American authorities of all the violations committed by the zionist army as reported by their own Human Rights departments, international NGOs, UN institutions, journalists, ICJ lawyers, judicial institutions, which illustrates in a spectacular way that they have really lost control of the narrative as Blinken said, does not change the military reality: Hamas cannot stop the famine, and even the extension of the conflict will not be able to protect Palestinian civilians from a continuation and amplification of the genocide.

I also had illusions about Biden's ceasefire plan as to his willingness to favor a negotiated political solution, but it is obvious, at this point where US officials have responded coldly to Hamas' counter-offers, that the United States feels in such a dominant position that it does not feel the need to make any effort and believes it has shown enough patience. They really didn't mean it when they said that, in their plans, negotiations would be an important tool to find a solution.

If they fail to achieve the full surrender they want, they will kill every human being in Gaza and order the zionists to annex the entire West Bank.

[foreverlogical]

Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet with Donald Trump at the former U.S. president's luxury Florida resort on March 8 after the Hungarian leader endorsed the bid of his "good friend" in the November presidential election.

Orban, arguably Trump's biggest booster in Europe, has openly spoken of wanting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee back in the White House, saying it's "the only sane approach for Hungary," a position that comes in stark contrast to many of Europe's leaders, who fear a Trump return will damage relations and diminish security across the continent.

"For Hungary, the preference for Trump is not about personal likings or political affiliations but about which U.S. leader's foreign policy would bolster Hungarian security," government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on March 4.

Orban stops at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort after attending a panel at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington a day earlier, where he spoke about Hungary's conservative family and economic policies, the war in Ukraine, relations between the United States and Hungary, Trump, and his personal political beliefs.

The Hungarian prime minister's schedule has not been published, and it is not known if he will meet with any other U.S. officials during his visit to the country.

Washington has been critical of Orban because of his government's erosion of democratic principles and its continued close ties to Russia since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Orban, who has been shunned by many Western leaders, has refused to send weapons to Ukraine while pushing for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks. He says Trump and his good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin make him the better candidate to quickly end the war.

"The only chance of the world for a relatively fast peace deal is political change in the United States, and this is linked to who is the president," Orban said earlier this week.

"It is not gambling at all, but the only sane approach for Hungary is to bank on the return of President Donald Trump," he added.

Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has called Biden's White House an adversary, according to the pro-government Magyar Nemzet daily newspaper.

Trump has reciprocated with his admiration of Orban, whom he has called a "strong leader," even though in October he referred to Orban as "the leader of Turkey."

[legaciestold]

february 3rd 1999 dc suburbs powdery snow covering the ground but mostly clear skies @everythingheard (chris)

the gentle hum of a television on low echoes through the home, a vhs tape in the player with a further stack of three scooby-doo movies to accompany the one playing on the screen. there's still a few boxes that claire had gotten out of storage in new york from their old house (things from the home they'd lived in with their parents) littering the living room that was finally being put to use. it helped that the house had come furnished, the sellers having apparently chosen not to take everything. she figured that made the whole awkwardness of the situation she'd underwent the last few weeks a little more bearable. it wasn't as if she was a college graduate with a high paying job that could afford to set up a house anymore than she was thrilled that this was how she'd come to own one.

they'd said there wasn't any strings attached other than the fact that they needed to conduct some tests on sherry. they'd pushed her to accept it, that it was the rational thing to do. they needed to make sure the child was healthy and not a carrier of infection. at least they weren't keeping her in a lab. she had to be willing to meet them half-way if she wanted things to go smoothly. if she wanted them to maintain their agreement to let her keep her with her.

claire didn't like the idea of having any government oversight to her life or sherry's yet she was keenly aware that there was no getting out of it.

not if she had wanted to be able to return to the states at all and not if she didn't want to keep a child on the run in some foreign country when they both had enemies out there that'd like to hurt or experiment on the both of them. this way was the safest choice for her but more importantly, sherry. it was logical and it wasn't like the government was doing some huge thing, providing them with this place to live. they had programs for people that needed new lives, to set them up in homes and place them under protection. it was already something in place. and she and sherry didn't require all the things those people did. there was no changing identities. it was just living agreements and some extra security. they didn't have to do it at all, she's keenly aware of that too. they could have taken sherry from her. and even if claire had no fucking idea what she was doing half the time when it came to the reality of her current situation, the day to day of living with a kid, she knew that had to be better than what could have happened.)

still, claire wasn't going to see it as being indebted to the government. she wasn't affiliated with them, didn't want to be. she'd take what they gave her because it made life better for sherry. it only got complicated when she thought about simmons. she didn't overly like the man, even though he'd been fairly kind to her outwardly. it was hard to get a read on him (maybe that was what made her wary, or part of it at least). but he'd been the one to push this whole thing through hadn't he? and that had to stand for something? (how could she know the whole thing was really part of another deal when she hadn't been told that by the person who should have told her?) further it seemed, or at least he implied that he was part of the driving force for the anti-umbrella task force that'd finally cleared the names of the stars fugitives a few weeks ago. they didn't have to run anymore, didn't have to be beholden to trent for information when there was an actual agency investigating and working against the corporation.

somehow, claire didn't think trent would be happy about how things were playing out, the lack of control in it, but she did think, as long as umbrella did go down, he'd ultimately be happy. she knew next to nothing about him but she did know, from the way he spoke and the look on his face in that plane that he was invested in that. umbrella's destruction.

regardless, the claire of a few months ago should be sitting in class right now, maybe doing an analysis of the apology in that philosophy-literature fusion course she'd been taking not juggling a hot pan of almost burnt cookies that needed to cool, placing the pan on top of a box instead of a counter because she didn't have pot holders yet and mentally glaring over the back of the couch and mentally trying to deduce which box might contain the ones her mom knit. as if the boxes could talk and tell her. none of them had been labeled; half of them would end up in another storage unit once gone through. even so, it's still a functional living space and it's certainly better than the crappy motels and random safe houses that had been claire, leon, and the other's lives since the end of october. it was also nice that there hadn't been any car chases with gun fire or kidnappings to secret zombie infected islands lately either. this is all knew territory. god, she was still basically a teenager herself even if she was of legal age.

what the fuck was she doing?

but she'd made her choice. chris had taught her that there was always a choice and claire had agreed to this. to raising a kid. to protecting the kid who she'd gotten so close to in the months since raccoon. sherry trusted her, trusted leon too but leon wasn't there with them. not any more. (she wasn't going to do there, not right now. he'd made choices too. ones she didn't quite understand. but ones she had to accept. he wasn't with them but he wasn't out of their lives either.) and claire could admit she was willing to do whatever she had to do to protect the girl. she cared about her. that had to be enough. it certainly seemed to be for sherry who'd already accidently called her mom a few days ago. now if they were on the subject of weird, that about nailed it. but claire also figured, maybe that's what sherry needed to be able to begin to deal with everything she'd endured and everything she was trying to sort in her young mind.

the birkin's had rarely spent real time with their daughter. sherry's father had turned into a monster before her eyes. her mother had seemed more concerned at times with tracking william in those tunnels than making sure her daughter was safe and cured of the virus. sure, annette had provided the cure in the end, thus saving sherry, but that didn't change the weight of how things had appeared to sherry. then claire (and leon) had come along and spent almost every day with her except for that week they'd had to smuggle her to europe and utah had gone down. they'd hugged her and held her hand after nightmares and come up with little stories to put her to bed with. they'd functioned as parents to her for months. in a real way. in a committed kind of way. it hadn't been anything of what claire had thought her nineteen going on twenty year-old life would be but it was what the universe had decided to deal her. it was the choice she made.

there could only be forward momentum now.

speaking of, the pan of cookies nearly spills forward off the box, claire focusing on preventing disaster as the door bell rings and sherry goes sprinting from the couch toward the front door, the anxiety that rises in claire upon seeing it leaving the cookies teetering on the edge of the box she'd attempted to bump to set right on her way after the girl. yes, they were expecting chris. that, however, did not mean it was chris at the door and every fiber of claire's being was still on hyper-alert, unable to shake the last few months from her cells yet. watch for people following you. always check corners. always be around of your surroundings. don't open the door unless you know exactly who's out there. simmons had assured her they'd be safe. that this community had security-- people couldn't just come up to the houses, it was a gated community--, that they had a state of the art alarm system. it's doesn't stop sherry's name from leaving her lips with a slight edge, her unable to get to the door before sherry's opened it wide.

it takes a moment for everything to register. there's no threat even though as blue-gray eyes meet those of her brother's she knows he can see all the emotions playing across her face. the worry, the fear and then the relief as she lets out a deep breath. "sherry, you know what we talked about. we don't open the door unless we know who's outside. and you don't open the door for anyone. i do." claire's words emit gently as she kneels down on one knee to get level with sherry. it comes out more calm than she feels too and careful not to be scolding, just informative. then she turns her attention to the man standing in the doorway. it was nice to see him out in the open, not traveling in shadows to keep hidden with the rest of their little resistance.

"hey bro." claire states with a smile, her heart finally finding a steady rhythm again. that's when the pan of cookies clatters to the floor behind them and claire lets her head drop down for a moment with a heavy sigh. "and there goes all that hard work."

stance is brought back to normal as claire reaches her full height, sherry letting out a small giggle as if this isn't the first time this has happened in the last few days. "she's good at making the cookies. not so good at keeping them edible."

really sherry? really? claire shakes her head at sherry's comment.

"i still have one i saved from the last batch though. it didn't touch the ground, i promise! i'll get it for you uncle chris! you can have it as a present since i haven't seen you in.. a month?" sherry's not entirely sure how long has passed but she doesn't give anyone time to answer her before she's darting away from them. apparently she's saved the cookie somewhere not immediately seen and claire considers unless the kid got a hold of a baggie, the cookie isn't going to actually be safely edible at this point. then claire pauses, realizing what sherry had said.

uncle chris. that was.. new.

that's not what she called him back in paris when they'd met, though, like sherry's slip with her, she thinks it makes sense with the new dynamics between them.

"i guess. that's kind of what you are now. to her at least. or how she sees it. it's still weird but not weird weird right?" she's not entirely sure she's making sense. she doesn't dwell on it. "get in here and give me a hug. we're letting all the cold air in and the government isn't going to pay the bills forever. i've been job searching even if it still feels.. like such a mundane thing after.. well, everything." the implication is clear though it shouldn't really be a surprise after everything's that happened in the last few months. claire wasn't planning to go back to college and part of her felt sad about that but she was okay with the choices she'd made and she was confident she could be successful without it.

she was a redfield after all.