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ruzek-halstead · 4 years

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respectfully

pairing: jay halstead x hailey upton

hailey somehow gets roped into attending her ex-fiancé & ex-best friend's wedding, and there's no way in hell she's going solo. hailey requests jay's help as her pretend boyfriend and he discovers he is incredibly attracted to badass hailey.

“anyway, congratulations on your wedding day but respectfully, fuck off.”

masterlist || ao3

warnings: swearing, fluffery, hailey upton’s badassery

jay can tell something is bothering his partner. he notices it during the first twenty seconds after he picks her up that sunny chicago morning. he doesn’t pry though; that’s just not how they work. he knows she’ll talk about it when she’s ready.

today is actually supposed to be their day off; however, both detectives are interested in some overtime, after sergeant platt asked them to help out oh so nicely.

they are in their blues (which is a very rare occurrence), acting as extra security during a chicago street festival. jay honestly has no idea what the festival was for and platt wasn’t in the mood to explain it to him.

jay and hailey stick together as they patrol the street; the conversation is kept fairly light, but hailey seems distant and uninterested and jay is starting to worry slightly.

“hey, is everything okay?” he asks her, as they turn a corner. she turns to him with her eyebrows raised and he instantly jumps in to defend himself. “i know, personal question. but you’ve been off all morning. just want to make sure you’re alright.”

hailey chuckles, losing their eye contact to watch the festival in front of them. it was busy but not overly crowded that they couldn’t hear what the other was saying. “no, i’m fine. just have a few things on my mind.”

it was jay’s turn to raise his single eyebrow, attempting to catch her gaze again. “anything you want to talk about?”

hailey looks like she wants to laugh and that just leaves jay even more clueless; she really was aloof about her personal life. “no, it’s nothing serious.”

“still,” he shrugs, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. “i’ll listen.”

hailey smiles, patting his shoulder that slumps in defeat. “i know, jay. but i’m fine.”

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jay doesn’t pry anymore after she shuts him down. they finish their volunteer shift, agree to go home and shower and meet up at a bar nearby. they still go to molly’s to hang out with the other first responders, but they’ve started going to this other bar, as to not have other prying eyes around. sometimes they just want to talk, something they just want to drink, but this way, it’s just the two of them.

he’s watching hailey at the bar, buying them another round of beers. she’s still been slightly off, but he’s confident she’s about ready to crack.

jay’s halfway into his second beer when she finally explodes.

“okay, i've decided i'm going to tell you what’s up, but you’re not allowed to laugh.”

she looks so serious and jay is so confused. why would he laugh if something was wrong?

“okay?” he replies, more as a question.

she looks as if she’s mentally preparing herself and he’s clueless, but that seems to be the norm around hailey.

“one of my ex-boyfriends is getting married.”

jay raises his eyebrows, expecting everything but that.

“to my ex-best friend.”

realization is slowly dawning on him.

“he cheated on me with her, so we broke up, naturally.”

he’s kept quiet because she doesn’t look finished venting yet.

“but they’re getting married in like a week, and i wasn’t going to go because fuck them, you know?” hailey was going off now and jay listened diligently, a hint of a smile on his lips. “yes, you heard correctly; i received an invite. anyway, i never sent in my rsvp either just to keep them guessing and mess up their wedding plans. but then,” she adds dramatically, rolling her eyes; jay is trying really hard not to laugh now. “i saw them! i saw both of them last night on my way home. of all the places i could run into them, i ran into them at the convenience store when i was picking up milk,” she looks so annoyed, “milk, jay.”

at this point, jay can’t contain his laughter anymore. hailey looks affronted.

“hailey, i’m sorry, okay?” he can’t seem to stop or look the least bit apologetic. “i’m not laughing at your story, i promise. it's just the way you’re telling it. i've never seen you so invested in something and so annoyed.”

hailey is pissed, but not at jay; it’s just the whole situation in general has been bugging her all day and she just needed to tell someone. “oh, there’s more.”

jay's eyes widen. “oh no, what happened?”

“so, there i am, carrying the milk and they’re being all friendly and shit like nothing happened,” her eyes are squinted, “like what the fuck?”

jay nods, smirking. “how dare they?”

hailey pauses, glaring at him. “i know you’re being a smartass, but i'm going to ignore that because, listen to this,” he leans in, completely invested. “they asked if i was going to the wedding, but like what the hell am i supposed to say to their faces?”

“oh no,” jay mumbles, “hailey, you didn’t.”

“yes, jay, i absolutely did,” she laughs, “when they mentioned they never got my rsvp, i told them it must have been lost in the mail because i definitely sent it.”

jay is full on laughing again and hailey can’t even be mad because she’s laughing too.

“jay, it gets worse,” she groans, dropping her head into her hands. jay is basically already losing it; he’s not sure how much worse it can get. “they asked me for the details so they could add it into their plans, and they asked me if it was two spots; one for me and one for my boyfriend.”

jay's eyes widen. “oh shit.”

“i know they were messing with me; i could see it on their faces,” she adds angrily. her blue eyes are slightly wild, and her messy hair is sticking to her face as she spoke ferociously. “but there was no way in hell i was telling them i’m going to their wedding solo! so, now i need a last-minute date, and the wedding is in like a week.”

jay takes a swig from his beer, amusement still present on his facial features. “wow hailey, that was a rollercoaster. no wonder you’ve been off all day.”

“yeah, yeah, laugh it up, halstead,” hailey sasses while rolling her eyes. “but don’t you worry, your time of reckoning will come.” jay’s eyebrows furrow and he doesn’t like where this conversation is going. “you got a nice suit?”

jay shakes his head rapidly. “no. not this again.”

“what?” hailey interrupts, looking confused. “you’re coming to this wedding with me, you have no choice.”

jay sighs. “are you sure this is a good idea?”

“i'm not showing up solo, jay,” her expression is serious. “and if i have to pretend to be in a fake relationship for one night, i would rather it be you.”

jay ignores the way her words make him feel inside. “okay, fine. looks like i don’t have much of a say anyway.”

hailey smiles toothily and any doubts he previously had disappear. “no, you definitely don’t. also, i'm pretty sure voight is out of town, so you’re really my only other option.”

he chuckles, finishing the last of his beer. “okay, if we’re going to do this, tell me everything i need to know.”

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hailey should probably be nervous, but she surprisingly isn’t.

she's about to spend a night pretending to be madly in love with her partner (which honestly wasn’t that hard to do), and she hasn’t started panicking. it's basically like working undercover; she has just never done this level role-playing with jay before.

but he seemed good. he didn’t seem nervous at all, as she gazed at him from the passenger seat of his truck. he picked her up about twenty minutes ago, looking absolutely dazzling in a pressed simple black suit. she was momentarily speechless, but she awkwardly smiled and gave him a random compliment when he cleared his throat.

contrary to what hailey thought, jay was a little nervous. this was uncharted territory and they hadn’t discussed much of how they would act around each other. it was like an undercover operation and they would just go with the flow. but he had to be honest; with hailey wearing a dress like that, it was going to be extremely hard to focus. her dress actually was quite similar to erin's from their undercover op in the sex club and honestly, the parallels between them lately were uncanny.

“what?” he asks as he catches her staring for the fifth time since they left for the ceremony.

she giggles, “sorry, nothing. i'm just picturing nate’s face when he sees you.”

nate is the ex-boyfriend; kathy is the ex-best friend. hailey had caught him up over the last week on everything he needed to know. she may have omitted a few details, but what he didn’t know, he didn’t know, right?

jay raises an eyebrow, turning right onto the street of their destination. “why?”

hailey rolls her eyes; he can be so adorably clueless. “shut up; you know you’re attractive, okay?”

he smirks and internally debates whether he should use this moment to blatantly flirt with her, but figures he’ll have lots of time for that throughout the evening. he pulls into the venue and secure a parking spot, catching hailey’s fidgety hands from the corner of his eye.

they had decided to keep their fake relationship as close to reality as possible, as to make everything easier. they had been partners for a bit over three years and started showing romantic interests in each other two years in. they decided to give it a try a few months later, and have been together ever since.

“you ready?” he asks in a soft voice.

hailey nods. “yeah, yeah, i'm okay,” she wipes her hands on her red dress (honestly, red? was she trying to kill him?). “just realizing i'm going to see a lot of people from my past in there tonight.”

jay reaches over the console and taps her knee, careful not to linger. “what did you say the other day? fuck ‘em?”

she looks over at him and smiles. “fuck ‘em.”

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the wedding is taking place at an extravagant hotel wedding plaza; the ceremony is happening in the outside garden at sunset, while the reception is immediately following within the hotel. as they make their way to the back garden, hailey is stunned by the beauty of it all. there are fairy lights decorating the whole perimeter, clearly illuminating the make-shift altar where the vows would be held. over the altar, there is a gorgeous arc with lights intertwined and a pathway made up entirely of flowers. the color scheme is off-white and light pink and it blends together beautifully.

“i have to hand it to them; this place looks amazing,” hailey murmurs low enough for only jay to hear.

jay smiles, grabbing two flutes of champagne from the waiter passing through. “you ever think of how your wedding would look?” he asks as he hands her a flute.

hailey chokes into her first sip. “god no,” she licks her lips and jay stares. “after everything we deal with and see on a daily basis, thinking of something like my own wedding just seems so miniscule and pointless.”

“so, you’re a vegas wedding type of girl?” he smirks.

hailey returns his devious look. “if it saves me time and money, i'll cheers to that,” she clinks her glass with jay's before turning to scan the crowd. it was part of her nature to surveillance everyone around her, even if she didn’t realize it. “oh hey, that’s nate, by the way.”

she points to a tall man, dressed in a pressed black tux, laughing with what jay assumed were his groomsmen. jay surveys him for a second, well aware of hailey’s eyes on him, and shrugs, “you can do better,” he says as he takes another sip of champagne.

hailey beams and he fucking loves it.

but he sees her smile fade away as the man in question starts making his way over to them.

“oh my god,” she panics, “here we go.”

“relax,” he murmurs into her ear, sliding closer, “we’ve got this.”

nate reaches them and jay takes a moment to study him up close. he looks polite enough, but jay knows better. nate’s eyeing hailey like she’s a piece of meat and he’s definitely not into that. he decides he doesn’t like the guy.

“hailey! i’m so glad you could make it!”

jay glances at hailey and sees the strain in her features. he can almost read her mind; is this guy serious?

“thanks nate, and congratulations,” she turns to jay with adoration in her eyes (wow, she’s good). “i want you to meet my boyfriend, this is jay.”

jay sets nate with a cool but polite look. “hey, it’s nice to meet you. and congratulations on your wedding, this place looks beautiful.”

nate reaches for jay’s outstretched hand and doesn’t falter under his tight grip. “thanks, man. how did you meet hailey?”

“we’re partners,” he replies easily.

nate raises his eyebrows. “robbery-homicide?”

“no, i joined the intelligence unit at the 21st district a few years ago,” hailey jumps in.

nate looks oddly surprised. “oh, you left? i didn’t know you moved to the other side of town.”

hailey smirks, “yeah, guess i just had to leave some stuff behind.”

nate nods, teetering awkwardly. “sorry, i just always thought you’d be a lifer down there,” he says with such a nonchalant attitude that jay is raising his eyebrows at his audacity. “you always said you weren’t cut out for more.”

hailey opens her mouth to respond but she looks temporarily stunned; jay decides to step in with some truth bombs. “hey man, hailey’s an amazing detective. it it wasn’t for her, i probably wouldn’t even be here today.”

“wait a minute, what the fuck?” hailey snaps and jay bites his lip. her voice is low because she knows better than to embarrass the guy too horribly on his wedding day, but he deserves this. “i never said that, you said that! because you didn’t want a fiancée more successful than you!”

jay casts a quick look at her when he hears her say fiancée, but she’s too heated to notice.

nate also looks affronted that she mentioned that, or that she responded at all. clearly we’re both remembering different situations.”

“yeah, clearly,” hailey snorts. “anyway, congratulations on your wedding day but respectfully, fuck off.”

jay is absolutely stunned as she grabs his wrist and yanks him in the direction of the outdoor bar. she quickly asks the bartender for four tequila shots and downs the first one, all within the minute.

jay has literally never been more attracted to her.

“can you believe the nerve of that guy?” hailey hisses angrily. she takes another shot. “i swear he just invited me to piss me off.”

jay pushes the other two shots in her direction. it's one in the afternoon; he can’t fathom having two tequila shots at that hour, but hailey has already had a day and she clearly needs them. with jay’s silence, hailey stills after her third tequila shot. her brows furrow and worry lines appear on her face.

“shit, was that too much?” she says, panicking. “did i overreact and make a big scene on his wedding day for no reason?”

jay smiles, instantly putting her worries at ease. “oh no, not at all. he was an ass and deserved it, trust me,” she nods and takes the last shot. “that was pretty badass.”

hailey snorts, rolling her eyes. “he's lucky i didn’t punch him in the face. i have a pretty great right-cross.”

“let's not give the groom a black eye before he’s even gotten to the altar,” he says as he leads her to the seating area with a hand on her lower back. other guests are starting to find their seats, while the groom and his party make their way to the altar. “we’re still not halfway through this thing.”

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the ceremony is standard; nothing special.

jay and hailey politely stand for the bride to make her grand entrance. her dress is big and poofy and hailey hates everything about it, but she stands quietly and watches. her anxiety is out the roof given the situation she’s currently in but having jay next to her really does calm her. he's not doing anything special; they’re only touching the bare minimum, sitting right next to each other, but that’s all she needs to relax her.

the reception that follows is also very bland. they are seated with three other couples, who are surprisingly very friendly. hailey doesn’t recognize them, so they must have come into the picture after her departure.

“hey,” jay murmurs, a few minutes after they dim the lights for dancing. “i don’t want to pry, but i’m curious.”

truthfully, hailey has been waiting for this question since her outburst earlier with nate. she’s surprised he didn’t ask sooner, considering his lack of patience when it comes to curiosity. “what do you want to know?” she levels him with a slightly smirk.

“come on, hailey,” jay gives into a half smile. “why didn’t you tell me you were engaged to him?”

hailey pauses for a moment, actually thinking about her response. “the truth?” he nods solemnly. “i didn’t really want you to know about my failed relationships.”

jay’s eyebrows raise to his hairline. “your failed relationships?” he’s almost laughing. “hailey, have you even seen all of mine?”

she laughs, “i know, but i don’t know,” she’s twisting her fingers together to keep her busy. “i just – i really loved him. and then that happened, and i felt like it was my fault, you know? like i did something to warrant that. i didn’t want people knowing. especially you; i didn’t want you to think any less of me.”

jay’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head. “hailey, i can’t even begin to tell you how wrong everything you just said is.”

hailey looks at him shyly; she’s not a shy person.

“i would never think any less of you; you’re one of the best people i’ve ever known,” he says seriously, his eyes star deep into her soul; she can’t escape. “also, none of that was your fault. if he was stupid enough to lose you, he’s an idiot and nothing you did caused that.”

hailey smirks at him. “i know that now. he’s trash and i deserve better.”

the smile jay sends her is blinding. “good. you do deserve better.”

he continues to look at her and she doesn’t tear her gaze away; she can’t.

their tender moment is interrupted by the screeching of chairs, as the bride and groom decide to make their rounds to every table. and because hailey has been extremely lucky lately, all the other couples are either on the dance floor or at the bar when they decide to come to jay and hailey's table.

hailey can see them approaching, and she wants to run, yet tragically, she cannot.

“you got me?” she mumbles to jay quietly, grasping his hand automatically.

he looks at her with a fond smile and tightens his grip. “always.”

both detectives brace themselves for the next few minutes. they've faced flying bullets and bombs, but somehow, this feels worse.

“hailey!” kathy squeals, dipping in for a hug. hailey goes rigid and her facial expression changes to one of pure discomfort. “so glad you could make it! and who’s this?” she sets her eyes on jay, and now it’s his turn to be uncomfortable. nate has looked uncomfortable during this whole interaction so far; probably has something to do with hailey telling him to fuck off. respectfully.

“i'm jay,” he introduces himself, thrusting out his hand before she has the idea to hug him too. kathy pauses, but shakes his hand anyway; clearly, she wanted a hug.

kathy raises an eyebrow. “you’re the new partner, right?”

“sure,” jay shrugs. “it's been a while, but yeah, you could say that.”

she raises her eyebrows suggestively in hailey's direction. “i can definitely see why you wanted more than just partnership with this hunk.”

hailey stares at her. “do you hit on everyone’s boyfriends, or just all of mine?”

jay's eyes widen, but he keeps his composure for hailey’s sake. kathy’s face blanches and she straightens as if hailey has just slapped her across the face; well, she may as well have.

“hailey, please don’t forget you’re here at my wedding, as per my request,” kathy deadpans in response and if jay thinks they were in trouble before, they’re really in for it now. “do not disrespect me like that.”

hailey’s eyes squint and the words she’s hearing are causing her physical pain. “are you kidding me?” she hisses. “you slept with my fiancé and had the audacity to invite me to the wedding, so who the hell do you think you are sassing right now?”

kathy purses her lips. “i thought you’d be happy for me. we were such great friends.”

hailey is about to lose her shit. “jay, i’m going to hit her,” she says quickly and jay decides to take charge and jump in.

“alright, you know what? it's your wedding day, we don’t need to make a scene,” he says calmly; hailey is still breathing deeply. “but you both should acknowledge you did hailey dirty and she deserves an apology, at least.”

the bride looks affronted that he would even get involved. “apology? she should be apologizing to me! she’s causing me stress! you don’t upset the bride on her wedding day!”

“i’m about to do more than just upset you,” hailey growls, quickly standing up and planting her feet firmly to the ground. jay has no doubt in his mind that hailey will not hesitate to give the bride a black eye, but he really can’t let her do that.

with his rapid instincts, he’s able to wrap an arm around her waist and yank her into his side and farther away from kathy, who pales and flinches a few steps back. to anyone watching, it merely looks like he’s unable to keep his hands off his girlfriend and pulled her closer for a quick cuddle. it seems this is enough to snap hailey out of whatever revenge-infused fantasy she’s living in her head. “i'm going to leave,” she says calmly, “and i would like to say i wish you both nothing but happiness but really, i want to tell you both to go fuck yourselves. respectfully.”

with those last few words, hailey grabs her clutch, jay’s hand and pulls him in the direction of the exit doors.

and once again, he has never been so attracted to her.

“oh my god, i can’t believe that just happened,” she groans as soon as she exits the building. she instantly leans against the brick wall and allows the coldness to distract her. at his silence, she peaks an eye open to see him gaping at her. his cheeks are flushed, and he looks flustered, which is highly unusual for jay.

“what's wrong?” she questions. “why are you looking at me like that?”

he seems to snap out of it but he is blushing like no tomorrow. hailey is shocked; this literally never happens. “it's nothing, sorry,” he mumbles. “you just look really good.”

hailey has to strain her ears because she almost can’t hear him, but she does. “what?”

jay huffs but decides he can’t get out of this now. “apparently i have a thing for angry hailey,” he says honestly, and she’s floored. “i’m probably crossing a line here or something, but i'm very attracted to you right now.”

jay is being bold and meeting her blue eyes, but hailey is slightly speechless.

“and if i'm being honest, i really want to kiss you. i've wanted to all night.”

hailey decides to feed off his confidence and play along. “what's stopping you?”

he forces his eyes not to widen at her forward manner and instead takes a step closer to her position against the brick wall. “so many things…” he groans, his hands finding her waist.

“but?”

“but i don’t care.”

his lips meet hers tantalizingly slow.

his kiss is soft, much like his entire character when it comes to hailey. one of his hands reaches up to cradle her cheek and hailey surges forward because it’s not enough. jay pulls back.

“finally,” hailey mumbles, cuddling her face into his neck. he holds on tight, the overwhelming scent of her enough to keep him smiling. “i've been wanting to kiss you since the first time you got shot.”

honestly, he can’t remember when he started wanting to kiss her but he’s damn well glad he finally did. “thanks for coming with me today,” she says quietly, “it’s hard for me to open up about my past, but i really hope i can get there with you.”

he's still holding on tight, and he’s smiling as she sneaks a glance at him. “we have all the time in the world.”

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anubislover · 4 years

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One Hell of A Ride

( It takes a lot more than a pretty face to lure Ikkaku away from her duties. However, when that pretty face comes attached to a hot, shirtless Portgas D. Ace along with a sweet ride, well, who could blame her for being a bit reckless?)

Growing up, Ikkaku’s grandfather had regaled her with wild stories about the Grand Line. Storms that came out of nowhere, monstrous sea beasts, mysterious islands, and, of course, pirates. He’d particularly relished telling the tales of Whitebeard—how he could shatter mountains with a blink, would start wars if you so much as looked at his sons, regularly kidnapped unsupervised children to add to his crew, and was tall enough to peer through the second-story windows of seaside cottages to ensure that curly-haired little girls were sound asleep in their beds and not reading mechanic manuals under the covers.

Looking up at the towering form of Edward Newgate himself, she decided that Gramps hadn’t been exaggerating that last part. And given the size of his crew, she was seriously starting to consider the kidnapping claims might have some truth to them, too.

If it were up to her, she wouldn’t even be on the deck of the Moby Dick, however the Heart Pirates had found themselves crossing paths with the Whitebeard Pirates a month after entering the Grand Line. Marco the Phoenix, recognizing Law as both a fellow doctor and the user of the Ope Ope no Mi, had requested that he give the Yonko a check-up since he was demanding a second opinion. For her part, Ikkaku was only brought along in case any of his medical equipment malfunctioned.

So, while Law Scanned Whitebeard and discussed the man’s extensive medical history, the mechanic busied herself with watching the waves and fighting off boredom. A cheerful man named Thatch had made polite small talk, but the rest of the crew, while not hostile, seemed more interested in keeping an eye on her captain in case he decided to cause trouble. The Surgeon of Death had earned himself quite the reputation in the North Blue, and there were plenty of cocky upstarts like him who would try to make a name for themselves by attempting to assassinate Whitebeard. With Law’s powers, he could quite possibly do it, too. So she couldn’t blame them for being cautious.

Just as she started an internal debate with herself over whether she found the uniforms the nurses on board wore sexy or sexist, movement on the horizon caught her eye.

It started as a small dot with a thin white streak behind it, but it gradually grew larger the closer it got until Ikkaku could see that it was a small, extremely fast boat. Honestly, it was more like a surfboard with a sail than a raft, being long and nearly flat. Ordinarily, Ikkaku’s eyes would be glued to the attractive, shirtless man standing on it, but instead drawn to the flames at his feet and what appeared to be an engine of some kind behind him.

Gramps’ stories had definitely never described a boat like that.

“Looks like Ace is back,” Thatch said from beside her, noticing what had captured the young woman’s attention. He gave a knowing snigger. “I’d be happy to introduce you, if you’d like.”

Her eyes widened a bit at the name. She’d heard of Fire Fist Ace—a rookie that made a name for himself so quickly that he’d earned a bounty of 550,000,000 belli and turned down the offer of becoming a Shichibukai within the first few years of his pirate career. Ikkaku was no pirate groupie, but she’d certainly noticed his wanted poster whenever they stopped at taverns and the like. Mainly because it was usually surrounded by ladies sighing wistfully. Not that she could blame them—he was a handsome man, and she’d yet to find a picture of him where he wasn’t shirtless.

Before she could properly answer, the man had pulled up beside the ship, all but vanishing behind the curvature of the Moby Dick’s broad hull. Ikkaku practically hung over the railing, trying to catch another glimpse of the boat and its sailor. Luckily Thatch was there to grab her by the back of her boiler suit, pulling her away just as Ace launched himself upwards in a bust of flame, vaulting over the rail and landing neatly on the spot she’d just vacated.

Seeing him up close, it was clear that the wanted posters didn’t do him justice. For starters, he looked like some kind of rugged model rather than a pirate. Wavy black hair framed his pale face, perfectly matching his obsidian eyes. The freckles that dotted his cheeks should have made him look childish, but instead they simply added a boyish charm to his grinning face. His shoulders were broad and muscular, supporting toned arms, one of which sported a rather interesting tattoo. Cargo shorts hung criminally low on his narrow hips, and if Ikkaku didn’t know better, she’d say he was sporting an eight-pack. He held himself with a natural confidence that bordered on cockiness, but given his bounty and reputation, it was probably justified.

Letting the awestruck mechanic go, Thatch strolled over to the man and gave him a hearty slap on the back. “Welcome home, Ace. You’re just in time to see Pops argue with trained medical professionals over his health again.”

“I’d hate to miss that,” he replied with a carefree grin, flicking up the brim of his orange cowboy hat. “It’s good to be home. And I see we’ve got some newbies,” he added, eyes landing on Ikkaku. He gave a polite bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to the family. What’s your name?”

Ikkaku’s jaw dropped, taken aback by his unexpected politeness and his assumption. “Huh? Oh, we’re not—”

“They’re just visitors,” Thatch said, winking at her. “For now. Wouldn’t be surprised if Pops decides to adopt them, though.”

“Yeah, once he’s made up his mind, you’re family,” Ace agreed with a cheerful laugh.

“Whether you like it or not,” Thatch added, elbowing him in the side, which only made him laugh harder. “You two have fun—I’ve got to go get dinner ready, especially since we’ve got so many visitors.”

The moment they were left alone, Ikkaku found herself once more looking over the side of the ship, wondering where the boat had gone. Was there a mooring station Ace had tied it to? A secret door in the hull?

“So, can I get that name?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow pointedly as he leaned his hip against the railing.

A little embarrassed at her inadvertent rudeness, she quit her search and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “Oh, yeah, sorry. It’s Ikkaku of the Heart Pirates,” she replied, holding out her hand to shake. Briefly, she considered bowing like he had, but it felt far too formal for her. Besides, Gramps had always told her that a handshake was the best way to get the measure of a man—test his grip strength, feel the callouses on his palm, see if he thinks he’s too good to touch common working folk.

Without hesitation, the pirate grasped her hand, shaking firmly as he looked directly into her eyes. “Pleasure to meet you, Ikkaku. I’m Portgas D. Ace.” His hand was warm and rough, the skin dry due to his flame powers. She could feel hard callouses on his palm and fingers, indicating that he put in his share of work and didn’t just laze about. And his grip was firm, but not crushing, matching hers equally. It was a good sign in her books—men had both tried to squeeze too hard as an intimidation tactic and held it too delicately because they underestimated her.

When he let go, he crossed his arms over his hard pectorals and leaned casually against the railing, though his eyes were keen and curious as they studied her. “So, what brings Ikkaku of the Heart Pirates into the company of the Whitebeard Pirates?”

She nodded her head towards Law, Marco, and Whitebeard, who appeared to be in deep discussion. “Marco asked my boss to give your captain a check-up.”

“Well, that explains what he’s doing here, but what about you? You the Surgeon of Death’s bodyguard?” he teased.

The corner of her mouth curled upwards. It didn’t feel like he was mocking her strength or potential combat prowess. After all, while there wasn’t an overabundance of female pirates, those that made it to the Grand Line had to be tough as nails. His amusement was clearly at the very idea that a man like Law would need a bodyguard. “Scarier. His mechanic.”

From the way his eyes widened a bit, it was obvious that her answer caught him off-guard, but his grin never faltered. “Yeah? Don’t meet a lot of pirates that employ full-time mechanics.”

“That’s because you don’t meet a lot of pirates whose ship is a submarine.”

A hearty, self-deprecating laugh burst out of his chest at her bluntness. “Got me there! You’re definitely a first for me, and I’ve seen a lot on the Grand Line.”

“It’s certainly a crazy place, but I like what I’ve seen today,” she replied with a chuckle. For a fairly infamous pirate, Ace was surprisingly easy to talk to. He was casual but polite, friendly, and that grin of his could melt butter. It would be no hardship to stand around and flirt with him all day. Ikkaku bit her lip, though that didn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling up into a coy little smile. Should I ask? Or would that be too forward, she wondered, trying to figure out how best to get what she wanted. Should she just come out and say it, or should she butter him up first?

Seeing her expression, his grin morphed into a smirk, a flirtatious gleam in his eyes as they flickered down to the way her teeth worried her lip. “You look like you’ve got a question for me. No need to be shy—I don’t bite. Well, maybe if you ask me nicely.”

Ordinarily she’d counter that comment with one of her own, but she had far more pressing matters to address. “You got me. I’ve been dying to know; what was that?” she asked, pointing over the side of the ship to where she’d last seen the odd vehicle. “That boat you rode in on?”

“Oh, that’s Striker. It’s my personal raft,” Ace said, surprised at the unexpected change in topic. Not that he minded—it wasn’t often that a girl took interest in his boat. It filled him with an odd sense of pride that it was cool enough to catch the mechanic’s attention.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s beautiful,” she said sincerely.

That made his face light up a bit more. “You wanna take a closer look?”

Ace jumped back a few inches when Ikkaku eagerly leapt forward, hands clasped together and sparkles in her eyes at his offer. “Hell yes!”

XXX

He took her down into the belly of the ship where things like extra dinghies, weapons, carpentry supplies, and tools were kept. In the corner was a little workshop full of tools, nuts and bolts, assorted parts, and paint was kept. Next to it was Striker, the bottom still wet from the trip, but the yellow paint gleaming merrily in the overhead lights.

At Ace’s encouraging nod, Ikkaku dashed over, inspecting the boat from the sails to the bow before finally getting to the part she was really interested in. “Whoa. What kind of engine is this?” she asked, brushing her hands across the dark metal surface reverently.

“Uh, I don’t know the specifics or anything,” he admitted, looking a little embarrassed at his lack of knowledge regarding his own vehicle. “You’d have to ask Deuce—he’s the one who built it.”

The vibrant mechanic wasn’t dissuaded, though, simply peering at the propellers jutting out the sides. “I just might. How does it shoot flames like that? It must take a hell of a lot of fuel—not very practical for long trips, I imagine.” Her brow furrowed as she spoke, though; despite looking carefully, she couldn’t actually find anything resembling a fuel tank. Did it run on electricity, then, or some other power source?

“Actually, I’m the fuel,” he replied, raising his hand innocently but proud that he could answer at least one of her technical questions. “My Mera Mera no Mi powers are what propels the ship—the engine just focuses them.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice. Here she thought she was going to learn some amazing secret about fuel efficiency or a new power source that she could implement into the Tang’s engine. Yet as she further inspected the engine, the wheels in her head started turning, and she quickly got an idea. “You know, I could probably make a few modifications to the engine so it won’t drain you so much. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of stamina, but on long trips or in a fight, efficiency could be the difference between life and death.”

“Wait, seriously?” he asked, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. “You know how to do that?”

“Well, I’d have to take it apart, see how it ticks, maybe look over the blueprints if you’ve got them handy, but from the look of things, yeah!”

His face stretched in a massive, eager grin as he fetched said blueprints from the workshop desk. “Then go for it!”

For the next two hours, Ikkaku worked on Striker, examining the pieces, reworking the design, and rebuilding the entire engine from scratch. Dark, curly locks were pulled back in a messy ponytail to keep them out of her face, and some grease had splattered on her cheek, but she hardly cared. She was having too much fun, especially since she was basically given carte blanche to do whatever she needed to the engine.

Sitting on a barrel off to the side, watching the mechanic with open admiration, Ace said, “You sure know your stuff.”

“My job involves knowing the ins and outs of any engine I come across. I specialize in submarines, but I made sure to learn everything I could about mechanics as a whole. I can fix generators, medical equipment, and most other machines I come across,” she explained, replacing the propellers with newer models. Thankfully, the adjustments hadn’t been extensive—Ace’s own mechanic could probably figure out what she’d done, though she made extensive notes on the back of the blueprints just in case. She’d tried to explain to Ace what she was doing as she went, but he’d ended up staring at her blankly, and at one point he’d even fallen asleep. After she’d woken him up with a well-aimed screw, she’d let him dominate the conversation, filling the silence with the tale of how Masked Deuce had built it.

“Impressive.”

A faint tinge of pink rose to her cheeks at the compliment, though she doubted it was noticeable in the workshop’s light. “Honestly, I’m more impressed that your buddy was able to build even a prototype on a desert island. Most people couldn’t manage that.”

“Could you?”

She was torn between being modest and being honest. While she had total faith in her engineering skills, she knew that saying so could easily come across as arrogant. And, well, he’d seemed really proud of his friend while telling his story. She didn’t want him to think she considered such a thing child’s play. “I mean, probably, but that doesn’t make it any less of an accomplishment.” It was one hell of a feat, and she was loath to take that away from anyone.

He smiled at her answer, resting his cheek in his hand while he watched her work. “I’ll remember that if we ever get stranded on a desert island together.”

She raised an eyebrow, though a flirtatious lilt crept into her voice when she replied, “Expecting that to happen anytime soon?”

“Well, the Grand Line’s a crazy place—you never know what could happen. Better to be prepared, right?”

“Heh. Sure. Though, maybe I should be insulted; would you be that eager to escape? I can name a few guys who’d love to play castaway with a pretty lady like me,” she teased, winking over her shoulder.

She’d expected him to blush or try to backtrack. Instead, his smirk turned devious. “I never said we’d be escaping right away.”

This time her blush was obvious, and she turned back to her work, forcing herself to focus on properly screwing the protective metal plates back on instead of the inviting glint in his dark eyes. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to men hitting on her—that happened often enough in bars and taverns, especially when she was wearing a short skirt and heels. But rarely did a guy take notice of her when she was on the job. Sure, she looked good in her boiler suit, but it still tended to ward away men. Mainly because of the grinning jolly roger stamped across the back, but the lack of skin helped.

It was…nice, to be honest. That someone like Ace was chatting her up while she was probably at her least sexy, and also being respectful to boot. No blatant comments about her ass and bust. No questioning her skills because she had a pretty face and lacked a Y-chromosome. Just playful banter and grins that bordered on naughty.

“So, how’d a girl with such a respectable skill set end up choosing a life of piracy?” Ace asked casually, linking his fingers behind his head as he leaned back.

“Didn’t have a lot of other options,” she admitted. “When you’re a woman trying to do what’s considered a man’s job, you’re either laughed at or seen as a threat. Law’s the first person who took me seriously and showed genuine respect for my skills. When he offered me a job, I didn’t even care that I was becoming a pirate—if you get an opportunity like that, you take it.”

“Heh. Makes sense. And your captain treats you well?”

“He’s a hardass and a grumpy bastard, but he cares about me and the crew,” she answered with a warm, adoring smile. Law wasn’t always the easiest guy to get along with, and to the untrained eye he was nothing but a rude asshole, but behind closed doors no one could say he didn’t care for each member of his nakama. “I couldn’t imagine following anyone else.”

“Not even Whitebeard?”

Surprised at the question, she stared at him over her shoulder, brow furrowed as she struggled to determine if he was joking or if she was about to get a recruitment speech.

He held up his hands placatingly, a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry. That came out a little strong, huh?”

“I’ve had drunken thugs at the docks proposition me more subtly,” she deadpanned, eyes narrowed in a glare. Briefly, she wondered if this had been Ace’s plan all along; act as a honey trap, get her alone with promises of getting to rebuild his engine, then seduce her away from her captain.

But he looked so thoroughly chastised that she instantly regretted even thinking he’d had ulterior motives. “Harsh, but fair. I really didn’t mean to imply anything. But I’m sure your captain will probably get an offer by dinnertime. Once Pops takes a liking to someone, nothing will stop him from adding them to his family. So, if that happens, would you join Whitebeard?”

Until now, such a thought had never crossed her mind. She respected Whitebeard as much as she feared him. He was powerful and there were some pretty terrifying stories about him, but there were also just as many tales singing his praises. Gramps had told both in equal measure, enjoying scaring her shitless as much as soothing her with the knowledge that the seas were home to a man like him. Even Law seemed to respect him, having found little reason to doubt his claims that he did, in fact, care for his “sons.” But respecting someone and serving under them were completely different beasts.

Finally, she said, “I go where Law goes, but he’s a stubborn control freak—hates taking orders from anyone. So, he might consider an alliance, but he’d never agree to be anyone’s subordinate, even if it’s prettied up with talk of family.” Especially if it was prettied up like that; Ikkaku might not have known all the details of Law’s past, but she did know he’d been part of the Doflamingo Family. And given the pure hatred in his voice when he’d alluded to it, she had the feeling they’d soured his opinion on the word forever.

Undeterred, Ace replied, “Pops is pretty persuasive. I never thought I’d join him. Hell, I spent months trying to kill him!” The sunny smile returned to his face, cheeks practically straining as he continued, “But he won me over, and I’m confident he could do the same with your captain.”

Ikkaku highly doubted that. After all, Law had plans. Big ones that were slowly but surely falling into place. Not that having an ally like Whitebeard wouldn’t be extremely beneficial to them, but in the long run, Law preferred to be his own man.

Still, the pure faith Ace had in his voice made her wonder. Could Whitebeard convince Law to become his son? How, exactly, had he changed Ace’s mind considering how he’d apparently hated him enough for attempted murder?

Well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. In the meantime, the final screw was securely in place, and Striker was ready to go.

“There. All set!” she declared, stepping back and presenting the modified raft to her audience.

Black eyes widened as Ace leapt off the barrel, and his grin was excited and eager, like a child who’d been given a shiny new toy. “This is…this is incredible!” he exclaimed, inspecting her handywork. The engine was sleeker and less bulky than before, and while he was no mechanic, he could tell just by looking that she’d made it lighter, too, which would allow him to go faster.

“How about you take it for a test drive? Make sure it’s to your liking?” she said with a pleased grin as she wiped the sweat and grease off her forehead. Whether it was from her crew or a random stranger, Ikkaku did always love when her work was noticed and appreciated.

The bright smile practically split his freckled face at the suggestion, and he ran over to a lever on the wall. Upon being pulled, a small section of a side of the ship flipped open, becoming a ramp that allowed access to the outside world. Dragging the boat over, he eagerly hopped aboard. “Sounds great!” Yet, instead of immediately taking off, he held his hand out to her. “Come on! You fixed it up, so you should give it a whirl, too!”

Oh, that was tempting. Striker did appear to be big enough for two people, but was it safe? Ace had plenty of experience zooming around the ocean, but she doubted she could maintain her balance as easily. That, and it was better to test it without unnecessary excess weight. Then again, test drives were naturally risky; if she’d screwed something up and there was a malfunction, Ace could potentially find himself dead in the water, and with that Devil Fruit of his, it was better to have a copilot who could swim.

The real question was where she was supposed to stand. If she stood behind him, she’d be between the flames coming off him and the engine. That would only result in flame-broiled mechanic. There was definitely no room on either side of him, and even if there were, the uneven weight distribution could throw off the balance.

That left only the bow of the narrow boat.

At her hesitation, his grin became more teasing and he wiggled his fingers invitingly. “Come on; we might find a nice desert island to get stranded on!”

A laugh bubbled up in her chest. If he wasn’t bothered by the lack of space on his boat, why should she? “Well, who could say no to an offer like that?” she quipped, taking his hand. Like with his handshake, his grip was sure, and Ikkaku had no doubt he’d hold onto her tightly and wouldn’t let her fall.

Ace tugged her aboard, letting her plant her feet securely before wrapping an arm around her waist, muscular forearm settling securely right beneath her bust. “I’d say hold on tight, but I think that’s my job, huh?” he chuckled in her ear.

The heat of his skin penetrated through the thick canvas of her boiler suit, most likely due to his powers. No wonder he walked around bare-chested. She’d initially chalked it up to vanity or a public service act. Though, she highly doubted he’d be wearing more clothes even if he couldn’t turn into flames.

“Ready?” he asked as her fingers gripped his wrist for support. It wouldn’t do for her to get weak in the knees, even if she could feel the rumble in his chest as he spoke and the heat of his breath against the shell of her ear.

If Portgas D. Ace was a honey trap, he was a damn effective one.

At her affirmative nod they took off like a shot, bursting out the entryway and onto the surface of the water. Behind her, Ikkaku could hear the engine growl, flames crackle, and even steam hiss. For a moment, she worried about the wind blowing the flames at her feet against her ankles and her boiler suit catching fire, but it appeared Ace had total control over them, or at the very least enough to keep his companion from getting burned.

Striker was fast. She’d already known that from earlier, but her modifications seemed to have done the trick of speeding it up even more. She could feel the boat respond to every minor shift in its pilot’s weight, and she did her best to stay still so as to not throw off his steering. Not that she could really move around much anyway—the pressure from the wind, combined with the muscular arm around her waist, kept her pinned to his chest. Any other time she’d be wholly focused on the sensation of his chiseled torso and washboard abs against her back, but at the moment, she was more captivated by how exhilarating the feeling of the wind whipping against her face was and seeing the ocean around them speed by.

The hot, shirtless guy pressed up behind her was still noted and appreciated, though.

Despite the water spraying around them, not a drop of it touched their skin or clothing, most likely due to the intense heat produced by Ace’s flames. By the same token, any sweat that tried to coat her skin almost instantly evaporated. Law’s stern voice popped into her head informing her she should drink plenty of water when they got back to the ship lest she get dehydrated.

“Having fun?” Ace asked, interrupting her train of thought.

Turning her head to face him was too risky since she didn’t want to throw off the balance, so she simply exclaimed, “Hell yeah!”

“Good! Now brace yourself; I’m going to put this baby through its paces!”

Instead of wasting time asking what he meant, she did as he said, squaring her feet and bending her knees slightly in preparation for whatever he planned to do. She was not disappointed—with an extra burst of flame and a shift to his stance, Striker shot into the air, forming a neat arch before landing back into the water. Next, he performed series of sharp turns, practically turning the boat on its side as he did so, but his grip on Ikkaku never faltered.

As they turned back to the Moby Dick, Ace called out, “Do you trust me?”

“Yeah?”

“Good!”

Before she could ask him to elaborate or even brace herself again, he shifted his weight so the nose of the raft was suddenly pointed down, sending it beneath the choppy waves.

What the fuck is he doing?! Ikkaku mentally screamed, but all she could manage to do was let out a yelp as Ace hooked his free hand under her knees and leapt into the air, the flames at his feet shooting them high above the water in a wide arch. She heard him laugh as he performed a mid-air summersault, but she barely noticed; she was instead preparing herself for inevitably having to save his Devil Fruit ass and wondering if she’d be able to haul him to the Moby Dick before they both drowned.

Her concerns were for naught, however, as Striker popped up out of the water, and with practiced ease Ace stuck the landing.

After another minute of showing off daring tricks, Ace brought them back to the ship’s hold, Striker skidding across the floor a few feet before coming to a complete stop.

Ace gave the woman in his arms a devil-may-care grin before gently lowering her to her feet. “Looks like your modifications worked,” he teased, taking in Ikkaku’s flushed cheeks and elated smile as she spun around excitedly to face him. Locks of her hair had escaped her ponytail, giving her a charmingly disheveled appearance.

“Th-that was amazing!” she cheered, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “I mean, I should kill you for taking such a stupid risk, but that was seriously just incredible!”

“Glad you had fun!” he laughed, adjusting his hat. “And I wouldn’t have dropped you—Pops would be pissed if I’d recklessly put a pretty lady in any real danger.”

Lightly, she smacked his arm. “I was more worried about you, dummy! If you’d missed, you’re the one who would have sunk like a stone,” she scolded, but his smile was so lighthearted it was hard to stay mad at him. “I’d feel guilty as hell, and I don’t need your captain going after me because I let one of his sons drown.”

His grin faded slightly, and he lowered his head so the brim of his hat cast his eyes in shadow. “I’m sure there’s more than a few people who’d be happy to hear about my demise.”

The shift in his mood was a surprise, but after a moment of processing exactly what he’d said, she declared, “Yeah? Well those people are morons. The world sucks but having guys like around makes it suck a bit less.”

Dark eyes widened and his head shot up at her words. “You seriously think that?”

She tilted her head a bit, pretending to think it over. “I mean, I’ve only known you a couple hours, sure, but you sure as hell wouldn’t make my list of ‘assholes that deserve to die’. Though, admittedly, it’s mostly Marines.”

His smile returned, a little more lopsided, while the corners of his eyes crinkled warmly. “Heh. Brains, beauty, and a heart. You’re one hell of a woman, Ikkaku.”

Pleased to see his happier demeanor return, she playfully poked him in the chest. “And don’t you forget it, Fire Fist.”

He caught her wrist, leaning forward to look in her eyes as he chuckled, “Doubt I could, Miss Mechanic. A girl like you really revs a guy’s engine.”

Before she could even scoff at such a lame line, they were interrupted by the sound of booted feet clomping noisily down the stairs.

“Ikkaku!” Bepo called, bursting into the cargo hold like the Devil himself was after him.

The two humans broke apart, Ace clearing his throat awkwardly as Ikkaku rushed over to calm down her furry crewmate. “Whoa there, Bepo. What’s wrong?”

Leaning on his knees and panting hard, the Mink stared at her with panic in his black button eyes. “Captain’s been looking everywhere for you! He Scanned the ship, but you were nowhere to be found!”

Her stomach dropped. Right, she hadn’t told Law that she’d be with Fire Fist Ace, and they certainly hadn’t notified anybody that they were leaving the ship. Her captain must have been freaking out when he couldn’t locate her. “Shit. How mad is he?”

“He said if you weren’t found in the next ten minutes, he was going to start dissecting people. That was seven minutes ago.”

Brown eyes widened before she bolted for the stairs, knowing that was not an idle threat from the Surgeon of Death. More than that, Gramps’ stories had imparted a particularly vital piece of wisdom before she’d left home—do not get into a war with Whitebeard.

Nearly tripping as she ran out the door onto the deck, she desperately tried to catch her breath as she took in the sight before her; Law, with Kikoku halfway out of its sheath, was glaring at Vista and Izo while Thatch tried to calm everyone down.

“Look, the last I saw her, she was right here talking to Ace.”

“That was two hours ago! And considering how I couldn’t find him anywhere either, that doesn’t ease my concerns!” Law snarled at him. From where she was standing, Ikkaku could see the veins in his neck starting to pop, and behind him Penguin, Shachi, and Uni had drawn their weapons. She could only assume the rest of the crew was searching both the Tang and the Moby Dick for her, hoping that their captain’s incredible powers had somehow simply missed their mechanic. Bepo had simply found her first thanks to his incredible nose.

“We understand your concern for your crewmate,” Marco said calmly from his place at Whitebeard’s side, “but you need to calm down-yoi.”

That simply provoked more of Law’s anger, and his blade flashed in the early evening sunlight. “I’ll calm down when I see for myself that you haven’t kidnapped my mechanic!”

“I’m here!” she wheezed when she could finally pull enough air into her lungs to speak, heart pounding not just from the exertion, but from fear—Whitebeard had braced his hands on the arms of his chair as if he were preparing to get up and settle things himself.

All at once, the men’s heads snapped towards her, a brief flash of relief crossing Law’s face before it once more became an angry scowl. “Where the hell have you been?” he snapped, putting the nodachi away as he stalked towards her. “I Scanned the whole damn ship looking for you!” His face darkened as gold eyes swept across her disdainfully. “Really? I take my eyes off you and you run off for some new plaything? On an enemy ship of all places?” he asked spitefully.

She flinched. His tone was harsh, but she couldn’t blame him for yelling. Or the unspoken accusation. Her windswept hair, flushed cheeks, and mussed clothing surely gave the appearance that she’d been engaged in a roll in the hay instead of taking a joyride. Though, neither was really a good enough excuse for her to have left her post, especially without notifying him. And even if Whitebeard wasn’t the enemy, per say, they weren’t friends, and she’d taken a colossal risk blindly trusting Ace as she had. “Law, I swear—”

“It’s my fault,” Ace cut in from behind her, giving the surgeon a deep, apologetic bow. “When I found out she was a mechanic, I asked her to modify the engine to my raft. When she was done, I requested that she take a ride with me to test it out. I hadn’t realized I was stealing her away from her duties, nor that we’d be gone long enough for anyone to worry. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.”

Law’s face twisted, looking like he wanted to rip Ace’s head off for said trouble, but at the same time holding himself back because, with his fear regarding his subordinate’s safety fading, logic was returning to his mind, reminding him that he was on a Yonko’s ship, surrounded by his crew, and that Fire Fist Ace would be a powerful opponent in his own right.

He glanced at Bepo for confirmation, who nodded, apparently confirming the story—the Mink’s nose could surely smell the salt and smoke that clung to their clothes, along with the absence of more damning scents.

“…fine. Apology accepted. Ikkaku, you’ve got cleaning duty for the next month for running off without notifying anyone. Like an idiot,” he hissed, clearly still mad at her irresponsible behavior.

She nodded mutely, accepting the punishment without argument. It was honestly a far lighter punishment than she probably deserved considering how she had done a seriously stupid thing. But at least Law wasn’t about to do an even stupider thing by attacking Whitebeard and his sons.

Her throat closed up a little at that thought. Her recklessness could have gotten Law and her crew killed. Normally, her captain was a clinical, cold man who didn’t rush into situations without a plan, but when it came to the people he cared about—like his nakama—he could turn into a hot-blooded fool. What had she been thinking, selfishly running off like she had?

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a warm hand against the middle of her back. Ikkaku turned to find Ace frowning at her in concern, his eyes flickering between her and her captain’s retreating form. She gave him a tight, reassuring smile, but from the look on his face, he was far from mollified.

The tension that filled the air was broken as Whitebeard pointedly cleared his throat. “Well, now that the girl’s present and accounted for, we should have dinner,” the Yonko said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I could sure as hell use a drink after all this excitement.”

“Didn’t I just tell you to go easy on the alcohol?” Law groused, turning to the massive captain in exasperation. “I literally showed you how messed up your liver is!”

A few of the men turned green, and Ikkaku was certain he didn’t mean an x-ray.

Whitebeard, however, just scoffed. “Look, you gave your diagnosis, but I’ll decide if it’s a good enough reason to stop drinking. You’re a hundred years too young to tell me what to do.”

Beside him, Marco sighed and gave Law a commiserating look that clearly said “this is what I deal with on a daily basis”.

“Man, I think I can actually hear Law’s blood pressure rising,” Penguin muttered, to which Shachi nodded emphatically.

Pinching his brow in the faint hope of stemming the headache that was clearly forming, Law growled, “Fine. Don’t listen to the man who can literally take out your organs and juggle them. It’s not like you’ve wasted two hours of my life.”

“Maybe I’d listen to you if you agreed to become my son,” Whitebeard chuckled, a devious grin on his face as he looked down at the young doctor.

All the Heart Pirates froze. After Law’s fairly violent threats against the Yonko, the last thing any of them had expected was for an offer to join the crew.

Law recovered the quickest, scoffing. “Hard pass. Maybe I’d consider an alliance, but I’ve got no interest in joining your ‘family’ old man. Besides, at the rate you’re going, you’ll be dead soon enough, so what’s the point?”

Damn, Law, I know you’re pissed, but couldn’t you have sugar-coated that just a little? Ikkaku thought, wincing.

Whitebeard, however, merely smirked harder at the blunt refusal and instead turned towards the woman who’d caused such a commotion on his ship. “What about you then, girly? Maybe you’d like to join up? Becoming my daughter would get you out of cleaning duty,” he said with a chuckle.

Ikkaku’s jaw dropped, as did Law’s, Shachi’s, Penguin’s, Bepo’s, and the smattering of other Heart Pirates that had started to return from their search.

“I—you—wha—” she replied rather inelegantly, not quite sure if she should be taking it as a joke or running for the safety of her precious submarine.

Ace, however, seemed thrilled, slinging his arm around her shoulders. “Fantastic idea, Pops! Seriously, she’s an amazing mechanic; completely rebuilt Striker’s engine and made it better than ever!” he said enthusiastically. Turning to the woman in question, he gave her a brilliant grin. “How about it, Ikkaku? Leave your hardass, grumpy bastard of a captain and come join the Whitebeard Pirates!”

“You’re not taking her,” Law growled, hand once more going to Kikoku’s hilt.

The younger man flashed him a challenging smirk, the tips of his fingers turning into flame. “I’d like to see you try and stop me.”

Another growl sounded out, this time from behind them. The pair turned to find Bepo with his teeth bared, fists clenched and ready to fight. “Captain’s right; you’re not taking her.”

Ikkaku was torn between cheering the Mink on for standing up to someone and screaming at both him and Law for taking such a stupid risk. Clearly, their captain wasn’t the only hot-headed idiot when it came to protecting his crew. In fact, she was positive Penguin, Shachi, and the rest of the Hearts were already drawing their weapons. The whole crew is full of idiots! she thought, desperately trying to come up with a way to stop a massacre from breaking out. Apparently, it was up to her to be the smart, responsible one for once.

Finally, she grabbed Ace’s wrist and lifted it off her shoulder. “Here’s an idea; how about everyone stops acting like macho idiots so I can actually give an answer?”

Ace blinked in surprise before giving her a warm smile. “Heh. Sorry about that. Guess we got a little carried away, huh?” he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

“Bit of an understatement,” she replied dryly, though it was hard not to return his smile. He was just so charming without even trying; if Whitebeard really wanted daughters, Ace could probably recruit a whole army of them with just a wink and a grin.

Encouraged by her expression, he said, “So, can we get that answer? I promise you won’t regret joining us; Pops is going to become the King of the Pirates, after all,” he stated proudly.

At that, Ikkaku glanced at Law and saw his jaw had tightened to the point where she could see the veins underneath pulse in irritation. Man, Ace had only known Law for about fifteen minutes and he’d already managed to push nearly half a dozen of his buttons.

Turning back to the fiery pirate, Ikkaku gave him a warm, sincere smile. “Don’t get me wrong; you’re sweet. And you’re cute. And you took me on one hell of a ride,” she added with a wink, pleased when she saw Ace flush and heard Law’s teeth grind behind her. Before either of them could get the wrong idea, though, she cocked her hip and jerked her thumb towards her captain, pure confidence in her voice. “But I’ve already got a boss, and he’s the guy who’s going to be the next King of the Pirates.”

There was a moment of silence, and Ikkaku’s heart stopped briefly as she waited for the inevitable fallout. Ok, maybe her plan sounded less idiotic in her head. Had she really just sassed one of Whitebeard’s sons? Had she really just said, in front of Whitebeard, that some young upstart was going to become the Pirate King instead of him?

Gramps was going to be so ticked when he found out she’d died because she’d ignored his advice.

“Gurararara!” Whitebeard laughed, breaking the tension. His head was thrown back, and his chest shook so hard it was a wonder he didn’t knock his chair over. “Damn, boy! Your mechanic has guts!” There was a pause as he had a brief coughing fit from the exertion, though it failed to erase the grin from his mustached face. “Loyal, too.”

“Yeah. She is at that. My whole crew seems to consist of loyal, reckless idiots,” Law stated, relaxing a bit. He slung his sword over his shoulder and gave the gaping Ace a smug smirk. “Especially her. She might get briefly distracted by a new plaything,” he said, emphasizing the word scathingly as he gently grabbed Ikkaku’s arm and pulled her to his side, “but she always comes back to where she belongs.”

Ace glared at Law, but Whitebeard just continued to laugh. “My sons are much the same,” he said fondly, grinning at his men who seemed torn between defending their Pops’ honor and laughing along with him at the sheer audacity of these rookies. “Makes me think you’d fit right in. So, I’ll ask you, and the rest of your crew, again; become my sons and daughters.”

“Sorry,” Law said, his natural cockiness returning. “Still gonna have to refuse. I don’t take orders from others. More importantly, joining you would mean I couldn’t be Pirate King, and that would mean letting my gutsy mechanic down.” To emphasize his point, Law gave her head a little pat.

At last Whitebeard stood up from his seat, though instead of starting a fight, he grinned down at Law and the Hearts. “Heh. Guess I can respect that. Plus, I don’t need you and Marco squawking at me about my drinking. But the offer’s on the table if you change your mind. In fact, if we meet again, don’t think you’ll get off so easily. Now, can we hurry up and have dinner already? Might as well send you upstarts off with a full stomach as thanks for the entertainment. And I need sake.”

Rolling his eyes at his continued disregard for diagnosis but nodding in agreement, Law motioned for Whitebeard to lead the way. Cocky as he was, he knew he’d already been ridiculously lucky enough to avoid at least three fights with the Whitebeard Pirates and was not willing to chance a fourth.

As the majority of the Whitebeard and Heart Pirates, hungry after all the excitement, cleared the deck, Law hung back with Ikkaku.

“Your cleaning punishment’s cut down to two weeks,” he mumbled, trying very hard to hide a fond smile, “though I should really give you more for nearly starting a war with Whitebeard.”

“Then you’d be cleaning the deck with me, Captain,” she said sweetly, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “I mean, clearly I was only following your example.”

“Smartass,” he replied with a chuckle, giving her head another pat before walking off, motioning for Bepo to follow him. “Get lured away again and I’m leaving you behind. You’ll be Whitebeard’s problem.”

“Whatever you say, Boss,” she laughed, knowing it was an empty threat. She paused as she felt a familiar heat against her back and looked up over her shoulder at Ace.

“Your boss is a real asshole, isn’t he?” he said, eyebrow raised critically, a look of disdain on his handsome face.

Her responding smile was full of fond exasperation. “Yeah, but he’s my asshole boss. And you may be able to rev my engine,” she teased, pleased to see him blush a little, “but I’m not so easily swayed by a pretty face, even if it does come with a sweet ride.”

He laughed easily at that, just as she’d hoped. “Just so you know, my offer stands, too,” Ace said warmly, friendly grin returning. “I’d love to have a mechanic like you around, and Pops is the greatest pirate in the world. You’d be treated well here.” Despite his words, his eyes held nothing but acceptance, already anticipating her answer.

“I don’t doubt that,” she said, nudging him lightly as they headed towards the dining hall, “but I’m as loyal to Law as you are to Whitebeard.”

“So, no chance I could change your mind, huh?” he said, smile becoming a bit melancholy.

Raising an eyebrow and looping her arm through his, she gave him a saucy grin. “Tell you what; if we ever get stranded on that desert island together, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to convince me.”

That brought the heat back into his smirk, and the red of the setting sun nearly hid the rosiness across his freckled cheeks. “It’s a date.”

#fic: one hell of a ride #op fanfiction #op fanfic #one piece ikkaku #ikkaku one piece #ikkaku #Portgas D. Ace #portgas d ace #Whitebeard pirates #one piece whitebeard #Whitebeard #heart pirates #trafalgar law #trafalgar D. Water Law #fire fist ace #One Piece Fanfiction #one piece fanfic #crackfic #crack fic

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kenkamishiro · 5 years

Text

zakki:re Q&A replies megathread

A translation megathread of the zakki:re Q&A contest letters Ishida sent back to winning contestants!

As far as I know there were 100 winners, though I only have around 40 in this post. There were more on Twitter, but some opted not to release them publicly on Twitter for personal reasons (such as if they asked personal questions). Some didn’t reveal their question, or all of Ishida’s replies, but I’ve tried my best to guess at their meaning if possible.

The ones I’ll post here are from Twitter, specifically if they came with pictures of Ishida’s art or handwritten replies. I’ll also mention some context if I felt that the conversation/topic between the OPs and Ishida was interesting.

If you see one that I missed, please let me know and I’ll update this post.

Enjoy!

-----

From songbirdfaraway (X):

No question or answer revealed. OP mentioned that since they drew Touka and Kaneki on the postcard they sent Ishida, that Ishida must have figured OP liked them and drew them in his reply.

From mochi_XIII13 (X):

A huge Juuzou fan. OP stated they asked something they’ve always wanted to know from the bottom of their heart for ages, and that they couldn’t stop crying when they got the answer from Ishida. (No question or answer revealed.)

From __rsks__ (X):

OP must have asked how Naki proposed to Miza, because:

Naki: (Oh yeah!) Dunno what kinda pose a “pro-pose-al” is, but I said we gotta be together ‘til we die!!

Miza: You didn’t need to mention that!

From choco__morinaga (X):

The answer was hidden because OP wasn’t sure whether Ishida minded if it was shared publicly since the info he gave in the answer wasn’t mentioned before. Ishida said it was okay to share, but I can’t seem to find OP tweeting anything about what the question and answer was.

Uta: It’s a secret. Just kidding.

From SatoshigeKiya (X):

OP mentioned they sent in a question that didn’t have anything to do with TG, and Ishida’s response:

Soba.

From 00ibushigin00 (X):

No question shown.

Ishida: Correct.

From tsukihoryst (X):

OP asked for Chie’s biography (one of two, actually!).

Hori Chie Birthday: September 30th 136 cm / 33 kg / 21.5 cm Currently on break from university. (Voluntarily on leave.) Hobbies: photography, travelling, going for walks, enjoying drama

Tsukiyama: Little mouse, what are you doing? Chie: I got asked a question.

From Hosaka_0405 (X):

Seems like it was a personal question, so I won’t translate.

From take2129 (X):

OP asked if Aunt Satou, Takizawa’s neighbour who was mentioned in his will, was killed by Ayato? But Ishida stated that it wasn’t Ayato who killed her, just some random ghoul.

From reirei_reina_ (X):

OP was so happy they got a nosebleed LOL. Not exactly sure what they asked.

Ishida: It’s great that I can know about the people who have been reading the series for a long time in this manner.

Touka: Thanks!

From cmnme17 (X):

OP’s question: Please give us more details about Hairu’s hairstyle!

Side: (fluffy bangs) Hairu: Hm...more details…?

Front: Long straight across.

Back: Looks like this from behind.

From go_t35 (X):

Seems like OP asked about the name of a fan club for Ishida based on another tweet of theirs (X)?

Ishida’s attempts: Ishida Club, The 9th Laboratory, Us [Oretachi], We [Wareware], umm? Muscle Lover’S [Kinniku Daisuki’S]. Please tell me of a good one you came up with.

(This is Tsukiyama-level naming lol)

OP later replies to Ishida, saying they were thinking of Sui Sui Club (“club” in kanji).

From 4njo_Usa (X):

OP’s question unknown.

Ishida: No matter how hard things get, don’t forget your goals.

From mishumi_jugem (X):

This OP also asked for Chie’s biography. Similar to the first one, except that she has blood type O.

Chie: Me? I guess I also like seeing drama.

From ChirolMaronLevi (X):

The question wasn’t sent by OP, but by his father. Both father and son are fans of TG (OP grew up reading Jump comics since the father reads them a lot), which amused Ishida greatly. OP is jealous, and his father is smug/happy about it lol (there’s a photo of him holding the zakki:re letter with a glove, with the letter itself wrapped in plastic, with a giant smile on his face).

Also a bit sadder to mention, but OP’s maternal uncle passed away from esophageal cancer. Hearing that his son (so OP’s cousin) has all the TG volumes, OP borrowed the letter from his dad to show to his cousin, which made the cousin happy.

Ishida: Isn't something like that decided at the very end? You're admirable. Please do your best to stay till the end.

From inou_uoni (X):

OP’s question: This is related to Tokyo Ghoul:re. Ihei Hairu has pink hair, but why did you make her hair colour stand out from everyone else’s?

Hairu: Cause I’m cute, of course?

From 3110_mai (X):

OP asked some question about Urie, and the reply:

Urie: Why indeed.

OP is really amused Urie doesn’t know the answer, and it might even be possible that even Ishida himself doesn’t know.

From GW3Q1od9vzXccOM (X):

Funny enough, the preview of the postcards Ishida tweeted shows more of this illustration. (I’m planning on also translating those postcards that weren’t posted by their owners at the end). But it seems OP was concerned about Ui’s smoking habits, because:

Ui: It’s fine, I’ve got strong lungs.

From paralysis_2626 (X):

Seems like OP asked where Furuta’s pseudonym “PG” when he was masquerading as Souta came from. This is what I could salvage based on OP’s multiple photos:

Furuta: Eh, what “PG” stands for? Huuh, is that what you’re asking…? What to do...hmm, alright, this is just between us, but the truth is...PG is [redacted by OP]. What!! Just kidding~ Actually, [mostly redacted, I can make out the parts where OP didn’t blur the text in another image, something about eating bulgogi]. Ahaha!

This is just my personal guess, so take it with a grain of salt. But:

Bulgogi = プルコギ = purukogi = PurukoGi = PG…

OP did mention they were going to get bulgogi after this, so chances of this being right are pretty high lol.

From ute9pmr1 (X):

I think OP asked about what animal Ishida would want to become to relax (for example, OP wants to become a sea creature became they’re drawn to the ocean).

Ishida: If I’m given time to relax someday...I’d keep working as a human. I don’t really want to become an animal…

Ishida later adds in a tweet it’s more fun being a human.

From hare__1127 (X):

OP got back a Houji from Ishida when they asked about hojicha (roasted green tea).

Above Houji’s head: It smells nice. Next to Houji: This is Houji-san.

From re_cord01 (X):

OP was debating whether they should keep it to themselves, but decided it’d be better for them to share so everyone can see (thank you OP, this is personally my favourite reply I’ve seen).

OP’s question: What is Kaneki-kun's life like now? (something small like a simple diary entry...)

Month X Day X

I wake up to the sounds of Touka-chan and Ichika's voices. For some reason, they're excited over some news on TV. I read through the documents related to Countermeasures [most likely something to do with the United Front] , and summarize my opinion on it until noon. Time for lunch. Since Touka-chan went out to the shop, I make lunch for Ichika using the rice I bought. "It tastes better than Mama's," she said, so I replied, "Keep that a secret from Mama." In the afternoon, I think I'll take a short walk with Ichika, and try visiting Anteiku with her.

From Nia__86 (X):

Question or answer unknown.

From OKASHI_monster (X):

Question unknown.

I wasn't prepared at all... If I think about this and that it makes me think, "Ah, I don't wanna do this," so there's times where it's easier not to think about it. It may have been better if I had a "there's all kinds of things huh..." kind of resolve.

From utahira_flour (X):

Question and the full answer unknown. (The postcard on the left is just OP’s message to Ishida about Uta and Hirako).

Uta: Try it out?

From gongon0514 (X):

OP’s question: What is the name of Hirako Take’s Shiba Inu?

Ishida: Kotarou.

From S8OkMMRsYsB7H8i (X):

OP’s fiancee got the reply from Ishida!

OP’s fiancee’s question: Why does Takizawa, when he became a ghoul, begin to hold his fingers in his mouth?

Ishida: Like infants, the reasons can include stress, and suppressing his appetite.

I actually can’t find the OP for some reason, so if anyone finds it, please let me know!

Based on Ishida’s preview of the postcards, it seems like OP asked how Hirako felt when he first got his dog.

Ishida: Something like this. Hirako: …(it’s a dog)

From tacto_0 (X):

Seems the question was personal, and I can only make out something about how once you’re satisfied it will end there.

The reason the mask is in the picture is because OP asked Ishida advice about making Kaneki’s mask a few years back.

From secret_fairys (X):

The first reply that Ishida worked on.

Ishida: I like guys that can win with a hard blow. The weapon is a two-handed sword. Dialogue bubble: I will cut you down.

From kuranosukezemi (X):

I can’t say what Ishida replied to OP since the revealed text doesn’t really say anything substantial, but seems like OP asked something related to the final chapter based on their tweet.

From @S_R_Snow (X):

OP must have asked what Touka named her keychain lol.

Touka: No...since I’m not the kind to name things… Yoriko: She called it Usakichi!

From @rio_080910 (X):

I have no clue what OP asked so the reply doesn’t really make sense. Basically if Ishida has tried doing something.

I never thought about it during serialization. But since it ended, I’m thinking it’d be good to try that kind of thing.

From @Utinni_jawamori (X):

OP seems to have asked a Star Wars-related question since Ishida drew Darth Maul.

Why of course...here. But I also like Count Dooku. Exar Kun symbol.

From @ume__oni (X):

Ishida’s reply was covered up by OP, but OP mentioned in their tweet how they named the onigiri Ishida drew “SSR onigiri”, and that they were thankful for receiving a reply despite their silly question.

Ishida replied to their tweet, and it seems like the question OP asked was about his favourite kind of rice or onigiri since Ishida mentioned something about koshihikari, a type of rice.

From bobriorio (X):

OP’s question: Is there a specific character’s expression that makes you go, “Drawing this face is fun, I love it!”?

Ishida: Something like this broken-looking face, for a lot of reasons…

From nato_noir (X):

OP didn’t mention what question they asked, but probably had something to do with the species of butterfly that appears throughout TG. They also mentioned they started reading TG in 1st grade of junior high, since Ishida addresses that in his reply.

From 1st grade of junior high! I'm happy to hear that. It may look like a "butterfly", but specifically it's a moth called a mock swallowtail butterfly moth. I drew it to symbolize the difference between humans and ghouls even though they look similar.

From Fyt120 (X):

Question is unknown.

Ishida/Matsuri: Even if it cannot be reached, it will be in your thoughts for eternity.

(Why do I get the feeling he’s talking about Urie lol)

From pencil_15 (X):

OP asked about Tatara’s biography.

Now published...!

Tatara (Zhū Lú) [朱鑪, 朱 means 'red' and 鑪 is fireplace, the kanji for Tatara] 186 cm / 96 kg Blood type A Hobbies: Go (taught by his older brother), reading (Takatsuki Sen)

From hachiyone_arai (X):

If you can't stop thinking about the person even though you know it will never happen, that is love. ...according to Matsuri. (I love Urie too.) Urie: No.

From nanasiFAST (X):

Miza: Hm...me? I don’t really rank the things I love.

From Ishida’s preview (X):

Top right - Saiko: Kah!

Bottom right - Maid.

Top left - Nakarai: Recently, Japanese waxwings, I think. (has a rock look to it)

Bottom left - Ichika comic: (you can read here)

I’ll just summarize what I can figure out here since so much of it is concealed.

Higemaru - I think OP asked about how Higemaru ended up working for the CCG because it talks about his history at the Academy and the Qs. Also that Hige really looks up to Urie and wants to keep working with him.

Akira - I think OP asked for advice on dealing with the difficulties with their transfer family, because Ishida suggests using phrases such as, “I see...” or “That’s why~!”. (The alternative is Akira giving Inoue-san (from the transfer family) a Mado Punch lol)

Uta - A personal question, in which Ishida mentioned something about how if OP realized they messed up, and doing what OP needs to do.

Letter below Ui’s - Hide in :re volume 14, huh~ Kaneki also lost his way in OG volume 7 and :re volume 16. [Something about other guys like Naki, and something about how deciding the most important thing is difficult]

-----

The end! If there’s any other replies from Ishida that you didn’t see here, please let me know!

#Tokyo Ghoul #Ishida Sui #zakki:re #Ishida Q&A #Translations #my translations #if you manage to get to the end #congrats :'D

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woman-loving · 4 years

Text

Black British Lesbian History

Selection from “Herstoric Moments,” by Valerie Mason-John, in Talking Black: Lesbians of African and Asian Descent Speak Out, ed. Valerie Mason-John, 1995.

The movement

A separately organized Black lesbian movement is perhaps the response to our exclusion from the Black heterosexual world, the women’s liberation movement and the white lesbian and gay community. The herstory of lesbians which has been uncovered, recorded and celebrated is predominantly about white middle-class women. In fact, it is dead white lesbians who dominate the bookshelves: Radclyffe Hall, Djuna Barnes, Vita Sackville-West, Eleanor Roosevelt and Romaine Brooks are just a few of the names which we repeatedly come across when searching for lesbian herstory. The documented rise of the women’s movement during the 1970s mainly records the contribution of white women, including some white lesbians, through photography and writing. Although the 1980s have witnessed the beginning of the documentation of Black lesbian literature, it has been normally by women of African descent from the USA. Therefore, it has been important for Black lesbians living in Britain to begin documenting their own contribution to the movement before it is lost.

The herstory of the Black lesbian movement is typified by the struggle to have our gender, race and sexuality placed on the agenda. The Black political movements of the past--Garveyism, Pan-Africanism, the Black Power and civil rights movements--were all dogged by debates, splits and silence around gender and sexuality. Gender was most definitely not a priority issue, and the consideration of sexuality was completely ignored. Due to such conflict it was felt among some Black people that Black women could not afford to be separatist over certain issues and debates, because of the need to work together with Black men to overcome racism. In fact, it can be said that organizations such as Manchester Black Women’s Co-op and Southall Black Sisters, who spearheaded the ‘Stop the SUS’ (Suspect Under Suspicion) campaign; Zanus Women’s League; East London Black Women’s Organization; the Organization of Women of African and Asian Descent; and other Black lesbian groups were all a response to the years of struggling to be recognized as women in the Black political movement, as lesbians in the Black feminist movement and as Black in the women’s liberation movement and the lesbian and gay community.

Black lesbians were isolated, they had lost their allegiances among white women and with the Black heterosexual community. A whole feminist herstory had been written excluding the contribution of Black women. White women, whether lesbians, feminists or lesbian feminists were not interested in American chemical companies polluting first-nation countries, or in the illegal mining in Namibia; in fact, they were only concerned with their immediate needs.

Although there has been a separate movement, Black lesbians have always been part of the wider Black, feminist and lesbian struggles. Many were always active in the Black liberation movement and others took part in Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW), the women’s liberation movement, the Gay Liberation Front, antinuclear campaigning (Greenham Common) and Reclaim the Night marches, between the late 1960s and 1980s. Our herstory has been shaped by our oppressions. However, Black lesbians have risen above their oppressors, and achieved monumental feats, despite the odds stacked against us.

African and Asian unity

Although the Black political movement had initially brought men and women together, Black women, unhappy with their declared position in the movement, found the need to organize autonomously, and used the opportunity to forge links with other Black women they had met in the global Black struggle. As a result, the Organization of Women of Africa and African Descent (OWAAD) was founded in 1978. However, during its first year, it was argued that if OWAAD was to address issues concerning all Black women effectively, women of African and Asian descent should stop organizing separately around the issues of racist attacks, deportations, Depo-Provera and the question of forced sterilization of Black women in Britain. This shift towards forging links together was sealed in 1979 when OWAAD changed its named to the Organization of Women of African and Asian Descent. As the first documented and cohesive national network of African and Asian women, it united Black women from all over Britain, and had a profound influence on Black British women’s politics. To ensure links were maintained, a newsletter (FOWAAD) was printed. [/] However, rifts soon began to appear in the organization, and one of the major splits occurred over the issue of sexuality. Black lesbians, although they were most definitely at the forefront of the organization, found themselves to be invisible. Some remained in the closet while others were continually silenced, and those who were publicly outed caused a furore. From its outset there was a noticeable absence of debate around this issue; sexuality was perceived as being too sensitive to speak about publicly. The prevailing opinion was: ‘How could members wast time discussing lesbianism, heterosexism and bisexuality when there were so many more pressing issues?’ One of the first out and visible Black lesbians in public and the media, Femi Otitoju, remembers the conference which caused the damage, ‘A woman announced, there is no space for Black lesbians, so let’s have a workshop over here.’ She remembers some Black women being abusive and hostile, and hurling insults. She recalls: ‘Some women stood up and said we’re lesbians and we’re offended and upset. I remember thinking, shush, you damn fools.’ An ignorance of the background to the struggle and/or a hostility towards feminism from the newer members, together with the failure of the organization to take on board the differences, meant that OWAAD had a short life, and it folded in 1982. Although members of OWAAD failed to unite with each other over some issues, it was an important chapter in Black women’s herstory. It campaigned against immigration authorities and virginity tests at ports of entry, it demonstrated against state harassment, battled against expulsions in education and fought many unjust laws. OWAAD for all its faults had much of the vibrancy and energy a Black movement needed.

Positive results came out of the rise and fall of OWAAD. Black lesbians belonging to the organization came together in 1982 and formed their first group, called the Black Lesbian Group, based in London. it is claimed that Black women travelled from Scotland, Wales and all over England to attend the fortnightly meetings. A fares pool was provided by members for women who needed expenses for their travel. However, the group struggled for survival. It initially asked to meet at Brixton Black Women’s Centre, but was denied access because some of the workers were concerned that a lesbian group on the premises would add to the hostility it was already experiencing as a Black women’s centre. Black lesbians of mainly African descent and some of Asian descent eventually found space at the now-defunct centre, A Woman’s Place, based in central London.

OWAAD’s driving force

Members of Brixton Black Women’s Group (BBWG) were part of the motivating force (along with other politically active Black women around Brtiain) which founded the national organization, OWAAD. BBWG was set up in 1973, in response to redefining what the Black and feminist movements meant to them. Its members were an amalgamation of Black women from the women’s and the Black liberation movements. In its early days the group’s politics was influenced by socialism. Some women preferred not to call themselves feminists because it would link them to the women’s movement which had many racist attitudes. Others identified as feminists, but emphasized that feminism stretched beyond the narrow concepts of white middle-class women. During the early 1980s the group had a strong core of members who identified as Black socialist feminists. Although the question of lesbianism featured quite low on the agenda, many of the BBWG founding members were lesbians.

The group met at the Brixton Black Women’s Centre, which was established by the Mary Seacole Group. This group aimed to provide a meeting space, gave support and advice on housing, social security and to mothers. Skills such as sewing, dress-making and crafts were shared. Although the crafts group collapsed over an argument about their political posture, the BBWG survived, and opened up the centre’s doors to the public in 1979. This group was involved in various campaigns which affected every aspect of being a Black woman.

Black lesbians worked at the centre along with Black heterosexual women, and continued to serve all Black women until 1986, when the workers learnt they had been working in a condemned building, and suffered a cut in funding. This marked the end of an era; all that is left is a derelict building with an unfinished mural of Black women working together. ‘Groups like Brixton BWG were just one of the strands which, when woven together, helped bind the political practice of the Black community as a whole. They were in many ways simply a continuation of the Black groups which had existed ever since our arrival after the war.’[1] There were thirty or more groups like the BBWG (with a strong input from Black lesbians) scattered throughout Britain during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Renaissance Black lesbians

In 1984 a group of white lesbians set up Britain’s first lesbian archive, to preserve the contribution lesbians had made to British culture. During the 1970s Black lesbians had taken part in many campaigns which affected women and Black people, but this was not being recorded. Similarly, in setting up this archive, the contribution made by Black lesbians was overlooked. The archive reinforced the white-only image of lesbians through the books and information it collected, by the workers and volunteers it employed, and through its membership. Five years after it opened, a Black employee, Linda King, was taken on to try and redress this imbalance. She explored the relevance of the Lesbian Archive and Information Centre to the Black lesbian community, and how it could be improved. During her four-week contract, she collected interviews, transcripts and photographs of Black lesbians (some of which are only available to Black lesbians), and compiled a report. One of the points raised in the interviews was the fact that Black lesbians had contributed to the intellectual and cultural interests of all lesbians in Britain.

Making our mark in the 1980s

The 1980s was a decade in which Black lesbian activity flourished throughout Britain. After the first Black lesbian group was set up in 1982, Black lesbians took the initiative to organize groups, meetings and conferences on a grand scale. During 1983 a Chinese lesbian group was launched after three lesbians of Chinese descent met for the first time at a conference on lesbian sex and sexual practice. In 1984 the ‘We Are Here’ conference marked the first time that Black women had come out publicly as Black feminists. An organizer, Dorothea Smartt, recalled: ‘It was unashamedly a Black feminist conference where Black lesbians were welcome.’ The conference planning group was open to all Black women including Black lesbians.

From discussions at the conference several initiatives were launched: an incest survivors’ group; a Black women writers’ network; a mixed racial heritage group; ‘We Are Here’ newsletter and the Black Lesbian Support Network (BLSN). The BLSN offered advice, information and support to Black women questioning their heterosexuality. it also collated articles by and about Black lesbian lifestyles from all over the world. It was forced to close in 1986, as the exhausted volunteers moved on to do different things in the Black lesbian community. However, the collated articles are available from the Lesbian Archives in central London. The ‘We Are Here’ newsletter covered many issues, including health, incest, definitions of Black feminism, Black lesbian mothers and reports about such ongoing national and global campaigns as anti-deportation fightbacks and nuclear testings in Africa. This also folded in 1986, a year which saw the closure of many women’s, gay and lesbian, Black and left-wing groups in London. The abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 initiated a period of severe cutbacks in funding for many community-based groups.

However, despite the effects of a Thatcherite government, some groups did spring up and survive. During the mid-1980s a Black lesbian group was established at Waltham Forest Women’s Centre, but folded after two years; and in the London borough of Camden, a Black lesbian group which was set up next to the Camden lesbian project in 1985, still exists today. In this same year several black lesbians were involved in the establishment of the Lesbians and Policing Project (LESPOP); this project was forced to close in 1990 due to a complete cut in its funding. Black lesbians of Asian descent also launched a group, but this folded before the new decade. Funding was secured for a research project on Lesbians from Historically Immigrant Communities, which included testimonies from lesbians of African and Asian descent. Although the work was never published it can be found in the Lesbian Archives. Most of the groups which were set up for Black lesbians during the first half of the decade existed in London, but there were groups in other parts of Britain.

The impact and effect of these groups (with a donation of £11,000 from a white working-class lesbian weekend) culminated in Zami 1, the first national Black lesbian conference to be held in Britain. In October 1985 over two hundred lesbians of African and Asian descent flocked to London to attend this herstorical event. It was a natural high in itself to be in one space with so many other Black lesbians, and it was a proud moment for those Black lesbians who had been part of the struggle for visibility and recognition during the preceding decade. Delegates discussed issues of coming out in the Black community, disability, prejudices between lesbians of African and Asian descent and various other topics. As with all conferences there were differences of opinion, in this case over the question of who was and was not Black. However, such debate was not surprising when so many Black lesbians from all over Britain had come together for the first time, the political thinking of OWAAD, and of London, had not necessarily filtered its way all over the country.

Zami 1 was and still is one of the greatest achievements of Black lesbians. It paved the way for further conferences, gave confidence to those Black lesbians who were frightened of coming out, and most of all it told the general public that Black lesbians do exist, and in numbers. In the same year Black lesbians were instrumental in setting up Britain’s first lesbian centre in Camden, London, and during the latter part of the 1980s, Black lesbian groups were established in Birmingham, Manchester and Bradford, together with a group for Black lesbians over forty and a group for younger Black lesbians in London.

At the turn of the decade (April 1989), Black lesbians organized the second national conference, Zami II, in Birmingham. Unlike the first conference, Zami II was open to other Black lesbians with one or both parents from the Middle East, Latin America, the Pacific nations, to indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, Australasia and the islands of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, along with those of us who are descended from Africa, Asia and its subcontinent. Over two hundred women came together and debated the issues of sex and sexuality, sexual relationships between Black and white lesbians, motherhood and many other issues. From this conference a group of women imitated a group for lesbians and gays of mixed racial heritage (MOSAIC), which still exists today, and which held its first conference in 1993 in London. In 1991 two Black lesbian groups were set up in Nottingham and Bristol, and in 1992 a day-long event was held where Black lesbians could discuss the issue of safer sex and HIV and AIDS.

During the early 1990s the rise of Black lesbian activity reached a plateau, and is now beginning to dwindle and stagnate. Although 1992 saw another Black lesbian conference in the North, only a few groups have been founded. There have also been Zami (events of Black lesbians) days in Birmingham in 1993 and 1994.

Organizing with Black gay men

To a lesser extent Black lesbians have also organized with Black gay men. 1981 is a landmark for Black lesbians and gay men organizing together, as it was the year when the Gay Asian Group became the Black Gay Group. Although the group was initially dominated by men, women soon became a more visible presence when it renamed itself the Lesbian and Gay Black Group in 1985. This group went on to secure funding for a Black Lesbian and Gay Centre based in London. The project survived seven years of looking for sufficient funds and suitable premises, but in 1992 the centre was finally launched, and two years later it still exists as the only centre in Britain serving Black lesbians and gay men exclusively.

In 1988 Shakti, a network for South Asian lesbians, gays and bisexuals was set up in London. Since then, other Shaktis have sprung up in major cities, providing a fundamental resource for the Asian community. In 1990 Black lesbians and gay men came together to organize the sixth International Lesbian and Gay People of Colour conference in London, when over three hundred people came together from all over the world to discuss issues which concerned them. During this same year Black lesbians and gay men came together and formed Black Lesbians and Gays Against Media Homophobia (BLAGAMH), which led to one of the most successful campaigns against the Black media in Britain this century. This had centred on the ferocious attack made against lesbians and gay men by Britain’s most successful Black newspaper, The Voice. During the last three months of 1990, it carried malicious and homophobic stories, including a report on the Black British footballer Justin Fashanu, and printed Whitney Houston’s remark that she was not a ‘Lesbo’. The paper’s columnist, Tony Sewell, wrote: ‘Homosexuals are the greatest queerbashers around. No other group are so preoccupied with making their own sexuality look dirty.’ BLAGAMH, along with the support of the National Association of Local Government Officers (NALGO), initiated a successful boycott of The Voice, instructing local authorities not to advertise in the newspaper. After almost a year’s battle, BLAGAMH won a full-page right-to-reply. The Voice also promised to adopt an equal opportunities policy and ensure positive coverage of lesbian and gay issues, a commitment which the newspaper has so far upheld. BLAGAMH continues to monitor the Black community, and has challenged ragga artists like Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks over their use of misogynistic and homophobic lyrics.

That same year (1990) saw the establishment of Orientations, a group for lesbians and gay men of Chinese and South Asian descent. Groups have also been formed by Black lesbians and gays in Manchester, and, in 1991, by Black lesbians, gays and bisexuals in Bristol. All three groups exist today. The short life of Black lesbian and gay groups is typical of the whole lesbian and gay community: as soon as one group disappears, another emerges.

#lgbtq history #black history #black lgbtq history #asian history #asian lgbtq history #valerie mason john #lesbian history #britain #women of color

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queen-scribbles · 5 years

Text

Watcher, Scholar, Savior

@pillarspromptsweekly 100: Legacy. Running with my orlan daughter’s canon, tempting as it is to write more with Saoirse & Elihu for Emiri’s future.

---

There was nothing like the satisfying thunk of setting a large pile of books down on your desk. It spoke of new knowledge gained or old knowledge refreshed, and either way made Ginella tingle with anticipation. She rubbed her hands together and scanned the spines, trying to decide where she should begin.

He decision was interrupted by a low whistle. “Got enough books there, Nelly?”

“To start, yes,” she laughed as she turned around and crossed her arms. “But you can never have enough books.”

Noli rolled her eyes. “My sister, the scholar. So, are those for school or for fun?”

“Actually, this time it’s both,” Ginella said gleefully. “My world history professor wants us to pick someone we would consider one of the most influential kith of the last five hundred years and explain the reasoning behind our choice.”

“Auroch’s shadow, I know who you picked,” Noli snorted. “You;re doing that archmage you love so much, aren’t you?”

“And why not?” Ginella challenged, gesturing toward her stack of books. “Anyone you can write that much about clearly had a big impact on the world, didn’t she? And she wasn’t just an archmage, Nol, she also spearheaded the group that developed an alternative to the Wheel. She’s a scholar and historian and quite literally changed the course of history, both with her work on the Turning and discoveries she made in the Deadfire, never mind scribing seven or eight spells. She’s easily one of the most influential kith in history. So I think I can make a pretty compelling case for the last five hundred years.”

“Especially since you’re so passionate about it. Have fun.” Noli chuckled and lightly punched her shoulder.

“Oh, I plan to,” Ginella laughed, patting the stack of books. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my day.”

Noli laughed again and gave a finger-wiggle wave as she walked away. Ginella sat down, worked free the dark blue tome that was her chosen starting point, and began reading the familiar accounts of archmage and scholar Adela Tecali.

---

She read until the light faded and her neck ached, taking notes on the important points, even though she knew most of them by heart. It was the easiest way to organize her thoughts for the assignment. The spells were notable--largely because most were still favorites of nearly every wizard Ginella had ever met. Inerrant Recall and Lingering Bolt especially held a place of permanence in many a grimoire.

Then, of course, there’s were Adela’s explorations; she’d visited nearly every Engwithan site in the whole of Eora. Published several works on her discoveries that enhanced understanding of the Engwithans and their work, and advanced the study of souls by leaps and bounds. She actually understood Engwithan, a language thought dead for centuries even in her time.

And then there was her crowning achievement, the strongest argument for her impact on history: the Turning. As the leader and widely-accepted foremost scholar among the many who devised a solution to the Wheel’s destruction at the hands of a rogue god, she had indisputably altered the course of the world.

Ginella’s pen flew over the page, scrawling messy lists of the points she wanted to make. By the time she stopped--both due to her aching neck and Noli calling out dinner was ready--she had a rough six page outline of what she planned to write. (Assuming she could later read her own handwriting. It was atrocious when she got excited, which she certainly was now.)

“I think it’s time for a good long break,” Noli commented when she caught Ginella rolling her shoulders on the way down the hall. “Before you hurt yourself. You’ve been at it for hours. Rest your eyes, stop stressing your back. When’s this assignment due?”

Ginella coughed sheepishly. “Two weeks.”

“See, you have plenty of time.” Noli gestured toward the table. “Sit, eat. Take your time. How’s it going?”

“I made it through most of the books,” Ginella said as she followed her sister’s wishes. “Got a lot of material I can use to argue my point. I’m just debating how much attention to give her personal life. There is a biographical component to this project, but it’s not supposed to take up too much of our focus.” She took a good serving of the food. “Smells delicious, by the way, Nol.”

“Thanks. Simon passed along a new recipe for the potatoes I wanted to try.”

“Oh, these are Simon potatoes,” Ginella teased. “I’ll do my best to enjoy them, then.”

Noli rolled her eyes but didn’t take the bait. “You were saying?”

“Right. Pretty much every source agrees on Adela’s achievements as a wizard, historian, or scholar, the one area of dissent is her personal life. It makes me wonder how much to cover it, and which sources to trust.”

“What kind of dissent are we talking about?” Noli probed, “Shining example of a scholar vs proves true every stereotype about orlans, or where she came from, or what?”

“Relationships, actually,” Ginella said wryly. “Her friendships are well-documented, for the most part, but there’s no consensus on whether or not she had a, uh, paramour. It’s not an important detail in the scheme of things, but everyone’s always nosy about that sort of thing, so if I’m touching on her personal life, they’ll expect at least a mention.”

“Historians don’t agree about her love life?” Noli said incredulously. “How is there any confusion there?!”

Ginella shrugged. “Beats me. But still, some say she never had a romantic partner, others that it was a fellow survivor of the bîaŵac that sparked her adventures, still others some stranger from a foreign land she met after becoming Watcher.”

“Wow. Maybe just brush over her personal life briefly,” Noli muttered. “I’m sure there’s plenty to talk about without giving that more than half a page.”

“Very true. I could make my entire case just off the Turning. When you add in the explorations and her being an archmage, I don’t need to dwell on much else for ling.”

Eager as she was to get back to it, Ginella heeded Noli’s advice and took her time over dinner, then rested on the couch for the rest of the evening. There was no hurry, no matter how much part of her wanted to write the entire thing in a nonstop whirlwind of passionately extolling the achievements of Watcher Adela Tecali. She could take her time, do a good job, and present a case not many would argue.

---

Two weeks of thorough, meticulous, completely enjoyable work later, she was proven right. Her professor gave her almost perfect marks(a couple points off for being “overly enthusiastic” a time or two), and her peer-reviewers all agreed she’d made a convincing argument. At the risk of sounding arrogant, none of that really surprised Ginella.

What did surprise her was no one else picked Adela as their influential individual. In a class of twenty five history aficionados, Ginella was the only one to write about her. The others all picked generals, kings, queens. Leaders and warriors. Pirates, in a couple cases. She was the only one to argue for the Watcher of Caed Nua. And even if it was surprising, that was just fine by her.

It wasn’t every day, after all, she got school credit for reading and writing about one of her favorite historical figures; a woman who had saved and changed the world in multiple ways.

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

Having literally been in Ginella’s position, this was really fun to write. :D (I had an english class in college that used LotR as the base for all the papers/discussion etc. I got college credit to read/watch/talk about literally my favorite topic in the world on a weekly basis for three solid months. It’s such a great feeling)

I did briefly wonder if I was making Adi too OP, But her base intellect is, like, 18, and then she picked up a bunch of bonuses along the way....She’s a smart cookie who absolutely could do all that. And would.

#queens fic #pillars prompts weekly #adela tecali

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lesbianau · 6 years

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I'm a trans mtf gal majoring in LGBT/queer studies so I'd just like to add something! English isn't my first language rip so I apologize for my grammar. But there was so much misinformation being promoted yesterday and from what I could tell the op's of these posts were mostly cisgender? Which is so so uncomfortable. The idea of these messages from cis people on gender being cemented in this fandom as the acceptable way to talk about gender is a bit distressing. And from what I can(...)

tell from following you is that you’ve been very respectful about this topic from the posts you reblogged so overall I feel comfortable sharing this message with you. Since it seems like others who tried to do the same thing were met with hostility and anger. So to get to the point, I’d just like to say that from where I stand, with both academic and personal experience with this, er, discourse, is a few things. A lot of people have already said this and for whatever reason(…)

it’s been rejected. Which is bad! Let me make this clear: gender exists as a mental, emotional, and physical spectrum. It’s incredibly complex. A queer person’s experience with gender is their own to put into words. No one else can. This goes for gender identity and gender expression. The reason why it’s such a sensitive topic is because the idea of gender we know know comes from a misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic society. When you assign gender- that is, categorize(…)

(I’m putting the rest under the cut, but this is a very interesting read i highly recommend)

anything at all as either feminine or masculine- you are by default perpetuating those standards. Pink is not feminine, blue is not masculine, sewing is not feminine, woodwork is not masculine, certain manners of speech or dress or walk or physical features- none of these things that are gendered. Society assigned them genders and decided to shape us around it. It is through this idea that queer people experience oppression, shame and violence. It is because of it. And as(…)

long as we continue to live in this society it’s an influence that we cannot escape. It shapes us, our perception and our beliefs on a subconscious level whether we like it or not. To change it would mean undoing centuries of social conditioning on a global scale. It just can’t be done. What we can only do is decide for ourselves our own feelings with gender, sexuality, etc. We weren’t born with the perks of falling into every societal standard demanded of us. As a result(…)

we are forced to examine our identities and try to make sense of what makes us feel a disconnect with the identity we’re told we must have. For some it’s a journey away from those societal standards entirely. For others it’s about finding a more comfortable spot within those norms. There is no invalid way of experiencing this. For gender specifically the experience is even more nuanced, confusing and delicate. This is because the further away one strays from gender norms(…)

specifically the greater the danger. There can be fatal consequences to simply existing as a trans individual. Both from violence and suicide. Because this is what our society perpetuates. So the second any of us project something born from discrimination and hatred onto anyone or anything other than ourselves, we are are honoring what it was meant to do. As a trans woman my experiences with masculinity have been very unpleasant and as such I’m very sensitive about conversations(…)

involving femininity and masculinity. For me womanhood is something I associate with femininity and I can’t break free from my feelings about it. However not all women feel this way. There are masculine women who are joyous in their womanhood and they are valid in their experience. It does not and would never affect my experience nor would mine affect theirs. Unless I came up to her and told her women can only be feminine or she came up to me and congratulated me on(…)

being a feminine man because we would both cause each other a lot of pain. Even if she meant to be nice to me I would be experiencing depression for weeks even though she meant no harm and even if she apologized to me right after. Another example is if someone told me they loved how feminine my demeanor despite having no hips I would probably burst into tears right there! I can’t help but have a very traditional view of gender in regards to my own identity. I’m a feminine woman(…)

who thinks everything I am and do is feminine. But because I can’t afford to transition I feel that I have to be more loyal to societal norms of gender in hopes I can be more passing. I see a feminine woman when I look in the mirror without makeup or my wig. But the world doesn’t see that. I go to sleep a masculine cis man according to society. Hell, I’m a cis man crossdressing in a wig to my neighborhood Kroger when I groceries. Someone might say that to me as a complement(…)

but hearing things like that nearly drove me to suicide in my teens. I can’t think of a more clear example of the harm in societal gender norms. It is a one-sided word. I walk towards the handle and I am given security. I love being a girly girl and wearing pink and wearing padded bras and a wig because I feel feminine and when I feel feminine I feel like a woman. If I were to take all that sitting at the tip of my sword and walked right towards a trans man what do you(…)

think would happen? It’s a terrible thing! If I waved around my sword out in the open- gave my view of gender and interpreted the identity of gender according to my experiences- what do you think would happen? It’s dangerous! And what I see every day with Harry is a lot of sword waving. Yesterday it was an outright sword fighting! When people were saying what made Harry masculine and feminine the only thing they were doing was promoting every homophobic, mysogynistic and transphobic(…)

and traditional societal standard of gender. Harry’s feminine because of this, followed by a statement that is meant to contrast the previous one regarding why he is masculine because of something else. The excuse is that they’re appreciating how multidimensional he is. But what they do is very blatantly categorize these traits as paradoxical. That there is something about the things being mentioned that are different, complex and unharmonious. And(..)

in a way that is the most harmful they make the implication that this is something he means to be. Harry has made a connection with gender and himself and it’s very simple. Masculinity, femininity, womanhood and manhood. The context has always been lighthearded and it has always been consistent. There is ironically no complexity at all. By simply wearing a leopard print suit he became Shania Twain according to his friends. He thoughtlessly talks about being pregnant without(…)

commenting on his gender or biology. So I find it strange that others try to make him out to be so deeply complex when he talks about himself so bluntly! The only way to speak on gender identity and gender expression is to take cues from the other person and stay true to respecting their identity. This is never seems something that’s given to Harry in the way people talk about him. It is the only way you can refer to someone’s gender identity ever. When he is taken apart(…)

and categorized into what is and is not comparable it directly opposes how he talks about himself. This isn’t something that doesn’t do his character justice or undermines what a complex and multifaceted human being he is. I’m a complex and multifaceted person and I only connect with one gender! I don’t like how this always used as an excuse or even something that comes into question. The only way to talk about gender and everything that falls into it is by mirroring(…)

the comments of the individual and those closest to them who are already doing the same. By not doing that you’re stepping into the minefield that is societal gender norms. It’s no wonder the people at the forefront of yesterday’s discourse were met with an entire onslought of outrage. This is how it will always be and honestly should be. People need to learn compassion and understanding and distance if they are trans or not. The great irony is the fight to establish(…)

Harry’s masculinity and the guilt that is demanded from those who don’t mention it the way they do. Not being masculine is one of the rare things Harry’s been very vocal about. Yesterday’s discussion should’ve never escalated the way it did. This is much bigger than fandom. Because what is shared is what you are being told is oksay by the person. If they compare themselves to women and use female pronouns then take cue. If they says they are not masculine then take cure. If(…)

the person shares with you a comment involving themselves within the gender spectrum then this is the only thing it’s okay to repeat. To speak generally is to place your view of gender onto a queer person who will always be listening and who will always disagree. Reading through some of the things from yesterday broke my heart in two. I don’t ever want to see such reckless comments on gender in a fandom full of so many queer people ever again. Wasn’t the outrage and pain obvious enough? I(…)

just can’t believe it could happen when the person they were arguing about has, to me, been more than clear about how they are comfortable being spoken about in their relationship with gender. If my opinion is of any value to people then I hope they listen and make an effort to at least think about something I said in the giant essay I didn’t meant to send you initially rip I apologize for that Kaleigh! I didn’t mean to send as many messages as I must have after all these hours(…)

I couldn’t help but get this off my chest. At least a trans person has had a say in this in a way outside of yesterday’s debate and maybe people will be more understanding of what really went so wrong yesterday. Anyway thank you so much for giving me this space Kaleigh! I hope I worded myself well enough and didn’t accidentally miss the anon button 😭 Have a lovely day ❤💙💚💛💜

hello darling! thank you for sending this to me because while i know a lot of what was being discussed was making me uncomfortable, i also didn’t feel comfortable speaking on it because i didn’t feel educated enough to do so. i’m sorry people made you uncomfortable and you’re so strong for reaching out to educate people who happen to read this. gender/identity is so personal, and people trying to “disprove” certain aspects of someone’s expression just to fit their personal narrative is so horrible and in no way okay in an lgbtq+ space. i love you a lot and i really really appreciate these messages ❤️

#you're incredible and so valid honey!!#thank you for spending so much time on this!!#asks #anon

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deitiesofduat · 6 years

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I was wondering if u can do a bunch of random facts/headcannons for the main cast?

Oh man, I mean, I’m happy to try, but I’m not sure where to start for the entire cast of 10… well, now 11 gods. I know have some that are scattered around the blog’s tags, and also in places other than tumblr, but It’ll take me a bit to find them or think of new ones without revealing spoilers, hmm…

So here’s what I’ll try that’s similar to the 1 Like 1 Fact meme I did on twitter a while ago: for every note this post receives, I’ll add a DEITIES-related headcanon or fact about the main cast. The main cast includes Set, Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Bastet, Sekhmet, Thoth, Ra, and nowwwww Sobek – and maybe the Set Spawn and the big bad serpent too, if relevant. You can add a note by +liking this post, and if you’re interested in learning about a particular deity, you can mention their name in a comment (and it’s not necessary to reblog this, unless you want to!).

This should help give me a bit more focus and time to think of some decent non-spoiler headcanons/facts to share. I’ll come back to this post in a few hours and add any many as I can, depending on the amount of notes it receives, and I’ll bump and place them under the cut for easy access. So yeah, go for it /o/!!

[1] Been playing with a headcanon where Horus’s Eye can see an object’s or person’s weak spots – though only for like, a moment once it’s activated, cuz I’ve wanted to avoid him being OP (but then again… he’s a literal god… so >>)

Also a related-headcanon where he can see a person’s past injuries thru his Eye too, including the hidden ones that have long-ago healed and left no visible scar. I’d like to draw the ones he “sees” on others one day if I keep it…

[2] Set is the only one of his siblings that doesn’t have an avian sacred animal, and for a while I wanted to keep it that way and literally keep him “grounded” compared to his family (sans Anubis). But I found that he’s sometimes also associated with crows (and falcons??? interestingly enough), and even though I haven’t found solid evidence of this yet, I also like the idea of him being associated with bats even before I read about it in Kane Chronicles I swear– So those 2-3 animals are probably some alternate animal form that he has but just rarely takes.

[3] Actually while I’m at it– aside from the Sha Animal, here’s a list of 30-ish animals that I keep as Set’s canon forms in DEITIES verse (based on a combination of historical speculation, recorded myths, and personal headcanons), and would love to eventually draw him as one day:

Aardvark, African Wild Ass (and Donkey), Giant Anteater, Baboon, Bat, Boar/Pig, Bull, Camel, Crocodile, Crow/Raven, Dog (some sort of sighthound?), Fennec Fox, Fish (Eel?), Gazelle/Antelope, Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hare/Rabbit, Hippopotamus, [Spotted] Hyena, Jackal, Jerboa, Okapi, Oryx, Panther, Rat, Scorpion, Shark, Snake (Viper), and Zebra/Quagga.

[4] RELATEDLY… I REALLY REALLY like the idea of Set somehow acquiring a Thylacine form even tho it’s in no realistic way in the current timeline because thylacines weren’t native to Africa let alone Egypt. BUT… I JUST… THEY REMIND ME OF SHA ANIMALS SO MUCH o)——–

[5] When I was considering the color schemes for the main cast, I once briefly envisioned a purple/violet scheme for Nephthys, but decided to scrap it because (1) I wanted her colors to contrast with her sister’s and match a bit more with her husband’s and son’s and (2) I found that purple was nigh impossible to find in AE wall art and admittedly worried “maybe it won’t look authentic if I use those colors;;;”

Even though I’m happy with her orange/black/red scheme now, I’ve recently found that purple is a common association / kemetic UPG (or doxa?) with her?? SO THAT WAS INTERESTING… I don’t think I’ll change her color scheme for DEITIES, but maybe I’ll draw her in an alternate purple outfit one day to see how it looks on her >>

[6] One of the reasons why I like Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as their own casual friend group in DEITIES verse is that, because they’re all relatively young gods, they all share the experience/pressure of being measured up against their older royal relatives – Horus being seen as both his father and mother’s legacy and feeling the pressure to restore his family’s throne; Anubis being know for his infamous father, and even having his paternity questioned (via rumors and “myths”); and Bastet being the youngest of Ra’s daughter, sometimes being compared to her sister’s roles and achievements.

They’re all really good at masking any pressure they feel, but they also probably confide in each other about it more than with others, cuz they’ve all “been there.”

[7] Relatedly, one of the earliest version of DEITIES Project, before it was known as “Deities Project,” had Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as the main trio. That’s been changed “for reasons” since then, and their characters were quite different back then, but it might be fun to explore a story that focused on the 3 of them someday.

[8] Okay ya’ll know the part during The Contendings where Horus and Set are racing in stone boats and Horus “wins” by painting his wooden boat to look like stone? I have ideas for how that entire race happens in DEITIES verse that would be fun to explore as a side story, but in order for me to give Horus a “legit” way to win without outright cheating, he covers his boat with stone casing/accents, and after he wins and is confronted about it… well…

HORUS: “The rules we agreed on were to sail a boat made with stone. They said nothing about it needing to be made entirely out of stone.”SET: “…”HORUS: “ :)c ”SET: “…” *Internally raging*

[9] I’ve headcanon’d that Nephthys has her own set of ~7 Shabti who act as her personal assistants while she’s conducting her nightly duties, or working around her home, but I haven’t decided much more past that (still debating on how she acquired them, and if she more-than-likely named them…).

The concept and number were loosely based on how many of the other goddesses had their own sets of 7 as extensions of their power and/or control (7 Ribbons of Hathor, 7 Arrows of Sekhmet, Isis’s 7 Scorpions), and I thought it’d be neat if the Goddess of Service had her own Shabti that exemplified that part of her domain.

[10] Thoth is an avid lover of puzzles, trivia, and strategy games, and he’s also exceptionally skilled at games of chance. He doesn’t gamble or make bets often because he understands the risks, but when he does he tries to be calculative about it… and also has a natural knack for luck going his way (EX: That one game of senet that he won to help assist Nut with having her children… which is another story for another day)

[11] Ummmmm Isis is the only one of the main cast who I haven’t drawn a ref of her sacred animal form yet… or at least, not digitally. Her animal is the kite, but I’ve been debating on a while for what species to base her design on. I like the idea of her kite form looking like the Black-winged Kite, although those species aren’t native to Egypt… but some are native to Africa… and they’re so fricken pretty and they fit her colors so well so I might cave on this ffffffffffff–

[12] While we’re on the subject of sacred animals (and to help me get somewhat closer to the note count lmao I’m trying guys–), Horus’s falcon form is based on both the Peregrine falcon and the Lanner falcon, with more simplified markings for my own sanity when I draw him in dozens of panels.

At one point, I considered making his falcon form leucistic to contrast more with Anubis and Set, buuuuuut I also liked the brown colors on the falcons’ normal coloration, so I kept it. (That and more leucistic birds of prey are hawks, so… maybe for Khonsu tho if I don’t change him to an owl, hmmmm…)

[13] Okay continuing thoughts on animal forms, Bastet is able to shift her cat form into nearly any coloration or breed she desires (aside from her eyes, which remain green), but for the purposes of DEITIES I draw her as a brown cat with light gradation markings. I knew of the Egyptian Mau but also realized the spots would take a lot of effort to redraw in the panels where she appears as a cat (much like the spots on falcons for Horus). I also personally really like solid-colored coats on cats, and in particular I liked the coloration of the Havana Brown, so it may be a little less authentic but it did factor into her colors as well.

[14] I'm still debating on Sekhmet's main hairstyle and want to play with it a bit more -- not the arrangement per se but whether to keep it as locks or to make them more obvious twists -- or perhaps a combination -- since I can see her with both style at certain points in time. Either way, at full length Sekhmet's hair is very long: if she were to loosen her tie and let it fall, her longest locks would reach past her hips.

[15] I initially gave Set yellow eyes because even though he's often depicted with red eyes, I didn't want to over saturate his design with just... well, red -- especially in his animal form where his entire body is covered in red fur (red eyes + red sclera would have been, a lot). I like how his yellow eyes provide some contrast, and I've since found some story-related reasons where his eyes might play some role in the plot… but anything further might be spoilery 8')c

[16] It took me a while to settle on Osiris's "resurrected" skin tone because there were a lot of sources that describe his skin as being green, or blue, or black in coloration. I even tried them out in an earlier color test that I shared on patreon, but I eventually went with black since the color has had various meanings in Ancient Egypt that include both life and death. (It also gave me some opportunity to give green skin to Ptah and blue skin to Hapi to help vary the designs for each of those gods).

[17] Relatedly, Osiris's mortal form is a naturally dark skin tone, but following this death he can no longer appear in that form. He is also unable to travel to the overworld / realm of the living, though I'm still debating on how restrictive this is (if it's limited to his physical body or if he can split his soul under special circumstances, or with assistance). Regardless, most of his correspondence with other deities have to be arranged within Duat for this reason.

[18] I haven't made any plans to designate a spouse or romantic partner for Ra. I understand that there were a number of goddesses that were associated with him in the myths and often said to be his wife, but for that reason it was hard to settle on choosing one -- or multiple, and I realized that for the purpose of the main story it might not be necessary. I also kinda like exploring the idea of this high king and powerful creator deity who's also a happily single father, and where it's not for tragic reasons like the separation from or death of his spouse (not to knock that trope at all tho sdjfdsf). I'm not opposed to him being shipped with anyone though, I just don't think I've been inclined to do it myself lmAO;;

[19] RELATEDLY, while Ra's daughters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, Bastet) don't have a biological mother, I like to think that they were raised in an environment with a lot of parental figures and mentors to go around, aside from just their father. I haven't quite settled on how it was organized though, but I know that the daughters regard Thoth as something of an uncle/secondary dad (tho their dynamic with Thoth is can vary a lot from the one the have with Ra), as well as their teacher and mentor. I can also see where other gods like Khnum, Khepri, and Bes, and goddesses like Neith, Seshat, Taweret, Ma'at, and Mut, might also have played some direct mentor role in the daughters' upbringing and sense of self.

[20] (squick + implied nsfw) I uh… have this minor gag headcanon where Horus, Isis, and Osiris just don't eat fish. They just… don't. And it's entirely based on that one part of the myths after Osiris's death, where a certain part of Osiris's desecrated body ended up in the river and was swallowed by a fish 8')c (should be noted that I'm not saying that event did happened in DEITIES canon, but I'm also not disputing it either >>).

Apparently that was considered a bad omen, and I still find conflicting information on whether consumption of fish was taboo for some or all in Ancient Egypt (I think "for some" makes better sense, cuz why would an entire society that resides near the Nile river pass up on a perfectly available food source?? But I digress, I might need to review this again so take my thoughts with a grain of salt--). I also admit that I've seen it mentioned that fish are not ideal food offerings for Isis and Osiris?? and I can imagine that maybe Horus adopts the distaste for them as well. Either way, I go with the DEITIES canon that while most people and deities happily consume fish, Horus and his parents will not, and they don't enjoy it as offerings either.

I’MMMMMM gonna end it here for now cuz my headcanons have run dry for the time being, thank you guys!!

#// I'M SRSLY JUST blanking on new facts right now o)-----< but I wanna give this a try later after I make dinner in a bit #// I will… also see if I can make a tag for the headcanon-type replies since it seems that people are interested in them!#DEITIES asks #general asks #meme #Horus #Set #Anubis #Bastet #Nephthys #Ra #Thoth #Isis #Osiris #Sekhmet #headcanons

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momtaku · 7 years

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not the same anon but i also have a culture question. In regards to the poll discourse (lol), I'm not saying people can't post salt or that people reading said salt can't respond to it. my question is, is it really that serious? like really. it genuinely baffles me. it's the same thing with ship hate or sending mean anon messages. does this plague people so severely they have to pick fights with others on the internet over it? why does fandom have this effect on people? psychologically speaking.

I’ve learned a lot about fandom culture this week from the poll discourse. The most important being that yes, it is serious. After having many conversations, some comforting some damning, I think I want to address this.

First things first, if you read this post, read it closely. Think about it. Do not have a knee jerk reaction to it. And for the love of all things good in this world, DO NOT SEND HATE TO THE OP.

It’s going to be a long post, so consider these conditions seriously. If you agree, by all means, read on…

I was baffled by the poll post as well. I’ve been doing a monthly poll since chapter 87. That’s a year and a half and more time and energy than I care to admit. In my mind it was something like the Reddit SnK Status Chart, something cheeky, fun, off color at times, but a monthly highlight and tradition that many fans enjoy.

Fact 1: I was successful in this. The vast majority have loved the poll and appreciate the time and effort that has gone into it. It’s a monthly highlight for many people. Fact 2: The bulk of poll respondents are from reddit and discord servers where I am a nobody.Fact 3: It has alienated and angered some people. The OP being one of those people but she is not alone.

I’m going to link to the OP post via a reblog that best expresses how I feel about it. It will save me from addressing each and every point of it.

Let me add that while the original post blasts the poll, I know that the poll is not the real issue in it. The OPs feelings are rooted in a character debate that has nothing to do with me or my poll.

Was the OP wrong to write this post and tag it as Eruri? A friend of mine likened it to wrapping herself in raw meat and throwing herself into a pack of wolves.

Did she have the right to do it? Sure.

Right or wrong, does it speak to a larger issue of fandom culture? Yes. And that’s what I want to talk about.

Let me get this over with as well. I was hurt. I was angry. Hell, I created a room in my discord server called “pet me feed me love me” because I selfishly and humanly needed some unconditional love and support from long time friends who were not a part of the eruri fandom.

Fact 1: I have gotten a huge amount of love and support over this from all corners of the fandom. I am blessed to have the friends I do.Fact 2: If you send me support I will read it and appreciate it but if it is anon I will probably not reply to it because I don’t want to feed this debate further.Fact 3: If you send anon hate or any hate at all to the OP you are making her life worse, my life worse, and further cementing the fandom culture thing that this post exposed me to. It is this:

“Cool blogs” can influence a fandom and alienate people who do not find such bloggers cool.

This is the fandom culture phenomenon that I was made aware of through the poll discourse. @valisi-clark‘s reblog addresses the nuts and bolts of that concept and provides many good thoughts about it.

While not true of me, the fact remains that fandom gatekeepers, overlords and BNFs do exist and some use their power in a harmful way. That is a conversation for another day.

Fact 1: I am considered a big name fan in the snk fandom.Fact 2: This didn’t happen through coercion or voodoo. People like and respect me because I am friendly and reasonable and put a lot of time into the community. Fact 3: While I have not seen it, I have been told that the OP is getting hate because of my BNF status.

A friend of mine told me this recently:

“there’s a lot of emotional content in what you write–since you write in a friendly and casual way–and so there’s a sense of you being, well, fandom’s mom. or a figure a little bit like that.

This was part of a conversation about “parasocial relationships” which is not exactly related to this, but maybe speaks to the need of people who feel the need to defend me.

Defending me is humanly understandable. When my friends are unfairly targeted, I too see red. My first instinct is to eviscerate the person who has hurt someone I love. But whether op was right or wrong, whether such a reaction is human or not, sending hate over something like this is not ok. It only serves to further emphasize the perception that BNFs do exist, that challenging them is “brave”, and that having an opinion contrary to them can be isolating and make you the target of fandom bullies and minions of the BNF.

What I am personally struggling with at this moment of my fandom existence is how do I express my thoughts but not influence the conversation in such a way that it hurts people.

Fact 1: I can’t. Perception is as powerful as reality.Fact 2: I have tried so very hard for this exact scenario not to happen.Fact 3: It has happened.

I’ve been aware of my status and influence in the fandom since my summer hiatus. While not perfect, I’ve tried to use it for good. As one dear friend put it:

Yeah, you’re popular. You’re a BNF. But you’re a fucking person first, and the responsibilities of the former have made you neglect the latter….in my respectful opinion. and now I have pizza to eat so typing is hard

(side note: this need of mine to make people happy, while a nice quality in general, and how it relates to the time I spend of tumblr is something I should probably explore at a later date 👀 I’m gonna drop this post on Obsession and Fandom into the “things to think about” category as well.)

I love this fandom and wanted to do my part to make it a happier place. I feel like was largely successful in that but let me quote the vast wisdom of Armin Alert, because this is an snk blog after all.

Meta writers can be mistaken as authorities. The reality is that some people take my posts as gospel truth. There exist people who believe, “well momtaku said this and she is respected so she must be correct. If I feel differently I must be wrong.” There also exist people who see things differently than me and feel isolated by it.

Fact 1: THIS IS TERRIFYING.Fact 2: I can’t stop it from happening.

So the decision is now how to live with it. Can I accept that my posts and my fandom contributions can serve (have served?) to hurt and alienate some people? I don’t know. It’s weighing heavy on my mind.

I’m stopping here. I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired of writing or if I’ve said what I want to say. I will address the existence of the poll at some point. I have two weeks to decide about that.

Thank you for reading this!

#Anonymous #chatting with friends #snk polls #snk poll #fandom culture #welp here goes nothing #you'd think I'd understand that you cant please everyone at this point in my life #why this is news to me now is funny #but not pleasing people is different than actively hurting them #whether its 1 or 100 people I am hurting people #despite my intent not to #and thus is the nature of fandom

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sspader · 8 years

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They CHOSE Floriana. That's the fact.

I am so sick and tired of this..

Assumptions are made without facts, and clearly we do not know the group of actresses they auditioned for the role of Maggie Sawyer.

I work in the film business as a background performer, or what most would know as an extra.

What most people don’t realise is that casting is 100% based on look (ability to act is another thing) I’m a 30- something Canadian Chinese female that works in the film business. I’ve been cast in a wide variety of parts, from the stereotypical cringey Asian to high corporate lawyer. Now, there are parts that I’d definitely would love to try out but I know I’ll never get it because it almost always 100 goes to Caucasian or African American men.. sometimes some women get it but rarely. Though it is getting better with shows trying to be as progressive as Supergirl is. Am I going to get a part on a show like timeless? Probably not, since they seem to always going to the wild west. Do I go to my colleagues and complain and say to them –“why do you steal the roles that should reflect real life and include some women of colour? No, I don’t because I’ve been on the casting side and I’ve been in front of the camera. I understand why I’ll never have a 100% shot at playing around in black ops gear on a show or film.

Am I going around trying to change my look to trying to get the G woman roles? No!

Now, I know some of you will say.. well.. you’re not a lead in a series or film.. it’s different. I can say based on experience, and even based on my conversations with casting directors that it is based off what the network wants.. and what the producers want. This also extends to the background performers, based off the episodic needs and what the director wants.

Yes, I do recall that one line that Maggie said in episode 3. Where in the press releases did they say that Maggie was Latina? Casting requests of series regular nature are usually hard to come by, and usually privy only to agents with special login on casting sites. Yes, Berlanti addresses the ethnicity changes for several characters on his other DC projects, but where did it say she was whom people project her to be? *Lets have an open discussion on this, if need be*

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/supergirl-season-2-maggie-sawyer-910498

They obviously went with Floriana, because she definitely had qualities that they imagine Maggie with. Not just that, Chyler had input on the process as well let us not forget that. We don’t know the range of actresses that they’ve tested for the role of Maggie in Supergirl. There most likely was a wide range of ethnicities that the network and producers went for, but most likely didn’t test with Chyler and the producers very well. Those books are on record and will not be seen by regular Joe/Jane Schmoe’s like you and me.

Yes there is the debate on whether or not Italians are considered Caucasian. That’s another can of worms, but I’m not going to open it. I could go on and on about not casting Asians in coming films.. but I’ve made my peace with it because I understand the process of casting.

I’m speaking on the casting side of things from my experience in the film industry. Furthermore, the blame game must stop.

I think they found somebody great in Floriana, and I think that she’s doing a wonderful job with playing Maggie Sawyer. She’s doing it with such grace and honesty.

Thank you for time.

Edited to add : Yes 100% based on look, and talent has largely to do with that as well. We all know Chyler is able to have chemistry with a wet paper bag, but you either have it or you don't.

#sanvers #supergirl #SUPERGIRLCW #Floriana Lima #Chyler Leigh #maggie sawyer #alex x maggie #alex danvers

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ruffsficstuffplace · 8 years

Text

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 16)

Queensguard HQ, somewhere deep underground in the Nexus.

General Ironwood sat in one of the many briefing rooms, two field agents sitting on either side of him, Kajiki and Gwendolyn. The three of them listened to du Pont talking about her examination with Winter, sitting silently with the frowns on their faces steadily growing, asking questions from time to time.

The mood was grimmer than usual, the consensus among all four of them that this was bad.

Very bad.

“… Jacques did agree to my terms, but after I stormed out like that, I doubt he will honour them…” du Pont was saying. “Please, forgive me for only informing you when the situation had already deteriorated so much, the first sleepless night she spent with her sister should have been--”

“Don't feel guilty, Dr. du Pont,” Ironwood said. “We can't catch every red flag the moment they go up, either.”

Du Pont sighed. “A most unfortunate truth… can you promise me that Winter will be properly taken care of?”

“On my word as General, Specialist Schnee will get the care she needs.”

Du Pont hummed. “Thank you, General.”

“No, doctor, thank you—this situation likely would have gotten much worse, if you hadn't called when you did. Is there anymore you'd like to add?”

“Just to be wary of Jacques; the man is even more hard-headed and determined than they make him out to be.”

“We'll manage, Dr. du Pont.”

They said their farewells, along with the canned speech about how the citizens' tips were vital to the Queensguard—and for this particular time, Ironwood meant it. The holographic screen faded away, and all was quiet in the room as they let the new knowledge sink in.

“Agent Kajiki,” Ironwood said, nodding towards them.

The cyborg sighed. “Winter has lost it/ Reason slips through her fingers/ What do we do, sir?”

Ironwood sighed. “Let's review the situation, shall we?”

“We have one of our most dangerous and skilled covert ops specialists suddenly going insane, after she abandoned her post, stole a jet to return home to her family, and had been terrorized by a group who are still almost literally and repeatedly walking right through some of the best security to be found anywhere, let alone a private home.

“From what we know—that is to say, almost nothing—said group is based in the Viridian Valley, a location that Jacques Schnee is currently organizing a large number of armed expeditions into, in retaliation for the first one where they were so kind as to let his second daughter and her escorts come home alive.

“What do you think we do?”

Gwen frowned. “The Knight does not like where this is going...”

“Since when have we ever, Gwendolyn?” Ironwood replied as he got up. “Get ready to move out to Manor Schnee immediately; I want the both of you in Shepherd Suits, locked, loaded, and lethal.”

Gwen's eyes opened, alarmed, before she sighed. “The Knight sincerely hopes neither she nor her companion will have to use them.”

“As do I,” Ironwood grunted. “I expect all of you to do your damndest to take her in peacefully, but if it begins to look like it's going to be ugly...”

“Better one body/ Than two, three, or so much more/ Choose 'Bad' over 'Worse,'” Kajiki recited.

“Precisely,” Ironwood said as he got up. “Don't deploy without me, I'm handling this situation personally.”

Back at Manor Schnee, Weiss busied herself cleaning and drying Winter's Eluna plushie in one of the many bathrooms.

With the specially formulated spray sold by the Plushie Palace, she got it back to feeling soft, warm, and fluffy, but the faint smell of tears, snot, and despair was here to stay until she could find something better.

Winter herself was back in the infirmary, her private room completely closed off but to the constant watch of Doc-Drones and the few human or cyborg security guards who were brave enough—or desperate enough for their salaries—to stay in the manor. By her request, she was cut-off from all forms of telecommunication, and especially the Info-Grid.

Her explanation was that she needed “a LOT of time to wrap my head around the new, horrific implications that elevate the Keeper of the Grove coming for us to a whole new plain of terrible I had never thought possible until now.”

So here Weiss was, idly flipping through incredibly detailed, thorough, and sometimes heated discussions on how to properly celan your limited edition Eluna plushie, if you were so lucky to have one. She was in the middle of reading a particularly lively debate about whether or not you should just throw your Eluna plushie in the washing machine on “Gentle,” as one father had with her daughter's toy, when a comm-request from the garage popped up on her screen.

The ill feeling in her stomach returned as she pressed the “Accept” button.

“Ms. Schnee, your sister has a visitor: General Ironwood,” said one of the few remaining coordinators.

Weiss frowned. “Tell him she's not feeling well,” she said.

“He knows—it is why he is here. He is already on his way to the infirmary. I thought you might like to know.”

The ill feeling grew. “Thank you.”

She left Eluna somewhere safe, then rushed down the halls. She made it just in time to see Ironwood and his escort presenting their warrants and clearance to the guards. The two agents were using the seven-foot tall Sheperd Suit MK III power armour, and equipped with assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and even a grenade launcher on one of them.

Yet somehow, Ironwood wearing his usual formal suit in the Queensguard's colours, with a holster around his waist holding a stun gun worried her more.

“Weiss,” he said, nodding politely.

“General Ironwood,” Weiss replied automatically. “Why are you here...?”

“To see your sister about official Queensguard business,” Ironwood replied. “Nothing to concern yourself about.”

Weiss frowned. “What are you going to do to her?”

Before Ironwood could reply, the door opened, revealing Winter still in her paper gown. Her eyes glimmered, her grin was just a little too wide, and her hair was out of its usual prim and proper bun, left to fly out in every direction behind her head and around her shoulders.

“General Ironwood!” she trilled. “Great timing! I assume you've come here after hearing about the Keeper situation?”

“Yes, actually,” Ironwood replied.

“Well, I'm afraid to say sir that it's going to be impossible to stop her even with the firepower all of you are packing, but I've got some very important revelations to share with you—ones that change everything!”

“You can tell us back at base, Schnee,” Ironwood replied.

Winter nodded. “Okay, let's go.” She looked around shiftily. “Don't know if she could be right here listening on this conversation this very moment...” she said as she walked out of the room.

Ironwood held out his hand to stop her, and pulled out his stun gun with the other. “Schnee, I'm sorry to say, but I'm under strict orders to take you in incapacitated.”

Winter blinked, then laughed. “I never pinned you as one for jokes, sir!”

Ironwood got into a shooting position, as did his escort.

Winter stopped laughing. “Seriously? I'm cooperating! I'll go with you! You're not really going to shock me and haul me away in front of my own sister, are you?”

“Winter Schnee Shocked And Hauled Away In Front Of Her Own Sister!” read the Avalon New Network's headline after the incident made its way to the public knowledge; below it was “Jacques Schnee Wages War On The Viridian Valley!”, and below that, “Military Presence Rises In Candela, Nearby Territories Amid Security Concerns.”

All Weiss needed to know was:

Winter was hauled off back to Queensguard HQ to be treated, under concerns for her and others' safety given her combat skill and her mental state;

The Avalonian Military was setting up shop in Manor Schnee both as a base of operations and as the most frequent target of the “New, Unidentified Threat” getting the rest of the realm in a tizzy, and as a result, she and her father were to be confined there for their own safety;

Her father still refused to call off the new expeditions into the Valley, and for a variety of reasons, some of them in the Queensguard's operations manual, and some of them unofficial but no less binding and sacrosanct, no one could supercede his authority and stop them from going off, presumably to their deaths; and,

She couldn't sleep in Winter's room, as it was still too clogged with all those crates, and thus “an unnecessary security risk and potential safety hazard.”

So she lay on her side in her own bed, hugging the Eluna plushie to her chest, eyes closed, trying to pretend that it was actually Winter, and not just a soft, warm, and fluffy ball of fabric that smelled of her tears, snot, and despair.

Winter had always claimed it worked for her, back when their mother was still alive.

And like after she died, the trick never quite worked.

She probably should have cried, gotten angry at her father all over again, maybe even relieved some stress on holo-dummies in the training room, put all those fencing lessons to good use. She just couldn't work up the effort to do much of anything, though, especially in the wake of Tov and his new, unwanted partner from the military briefing her on the new protocols and changes coming to the manor—mostly about the soldiers and androids now patrolling the halls in an attempt to stop any intruders.

“Emotional exhaustion,” one of her therapists had called it.

“Running out of fucks to give,” Winter had explained to her later in private, and which Weiss found a much more appropriate term.

Both her balcony doors were open. The military had kindly suggested she put the lockdown on full-time—Shepherd knew that Candela could use the extra load on their power reserves, avoid the dreaded “overflow discharge” flaw of the technology her grandfather had pioneered—but since she knew it would just delay the Keeper, possibly force her to be less polite and peaceful with her visits, she didn't.

“Hey!” she heard a familiar voice whisper. “Weiss, you awake?”

Weiss turned on her side, looked at the floating Keeper of the Grove plushie right at the edg of her bed. It only sent a little chill in her bones this time, as she had gotten somewhat used to the sight of it and its owner—or alternatively, she was far too dead inside for even her most primal of instincts to kick in.

“What do you want?” Weiss asked flatly.

“Well, you know, we expected to see a lot of civilian and paramilitary carriers flying in, but now there's all these actual military--”

“They're for here, not the Valley. Unlike my father or the poor saps he's hiring, they understand it's better to leave you alone. This is more for PR than anything else, say they're doing something about your visits, at least.”

“Oh. Well. That's good!”

“For you, maybe,” Weiss muttered.

The Keeper plushie floated lower in the air. “Yeah... speaking of which: I heard what happened to your sister, Winter...”

Weiss looked the plushie in the eyes, the red rubies glinting evilly as they always did.

“I'm sorry. I didn't realize this would happen, and as little as it means, I never wanted things to end up this bad.”

Weiss felt a rage flare up inside of her, before it died just as quickly.

“Is there anything I can do?” the Keeper asked.

“Can you convince the Queensguard to release her?”

“Ah, yeah… no. I don't even know where they took her, and neither does anyone else. 'Not our business,' they said.”

“Then go away,” Weiss replied, before she turned back to the other side.

“Okay,” the Keeper said, before she left.

Weiss fell asleep to the sounds of radio chatter, soldiers yelling questions at each other, drones and automated security complaining about unknown errors.

#rwby #white rose #fanfic #the keeper of the grove

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gibsongirlselections · 4 years

Text

So It Turns Out You’re a Racist

Am I a racist? Are you? People tell me I sort of have to be a racist, it’s not really my choice. Today, if you’re old, white, from the Midwest, a bit conservative, then you’re racist. Maybe you don’t say racist things specifically, and maybe you never did anything to disadvantage a black person yourself, but by original sin, you’re part of “systematic racism.“

Now maybe your immigrant parents arrived in the U.S. 75 years after slavery, or you as a white racist have trouble finding a privileged job that pays a living wage. No matter, you’re still privileged thanks to a system going back 400 years whether you like it or not. You can’t change what you are and people hate you for it. That’s the systemic part, defined as “not something that a few people choose to practice. Instead it has been a feature of the social, economic, and political systems in which we all exist.”

I’d like to say that was from the news, but in recent days I heard most of that from a close relative, and the rest from a friend of many years, neither of whom want to interact with me anymore. I’ve been sending one checks since her birthdays were in the single digits. I grew up alongside the other. They have both taken themselves out of my life because the internet told them I am a racist.

Crowd-sourced (what old timers call a mob) leftist fundamentalism has given us a country where everyone can be called a Nazi, er, racist, and dismissed. Once the red line was only actual Nazis. So no “Thank you, Elie Wiesel for that moving account. Now in rebuttal, Hitler’s deputy, Martin Bormann…” You had to be an actual Nazi to hold an opinion outside the boundaries of legitimacy.

Not any more. Racism scholar Ibram Kendi says one is now either racist or anti-racist, that there is no room for such thing as a “non-racist.” The New York Times said white allies should “Text your relatives and loved ones telling them you will not be visiting them or answering phone calls until they take significant action in supporting black lives.” Another article described my own situation, claiming “BLM protesters are breaking up with their racist, Facebook-addled relatives.” A Twitter thread about one such family dissolution had over 800,000 likes. HuffPo ran an article by a biracial woman eviscerating her white mother for being too white.

High school debate clubs used to propose a topic in advance but not assign a “side” until just before the match. The idea was you would vigorously support or attack a position you may not personally agree with. You were supposed to learn something intellectual from all this along with the ability to see things from another point of view. It is a vision of the world a long way from calling someone a witch, er, racist, and dismissing them whole.

We don’t understand debate, or its cousin compromise, anymore. There is no longer any tolerance for others’ views because the current fascism of the left does not see opinions as such; they are not acquired thoughts so much as they are innate to who we are, the inside and the outside fixed by color and class. You can’t change, only apologize, before being ignored at family gatherings, unfriended, and canceled. From the New York Times firing an editor for running an op-ed by a senator, to me wondering about the practicality of defunding the police and losing a friend over it, there is no legitimate other side. So I can’t speak, I can only whitesplain (used to be mansplain). People arbitrate my intent before I open my slack jaw. It’s even a job title—a writer at a black news site calls himself a “wypipologist.”

I am unsure where all these woke white people came from. The world around me, since George Floyd’s death, is flooded with overzealous sympathy, the media a waste can for guilt, and people who had never heard of the idea a week ago pronouncing themselves deeply committed to defunding the police.

Companies are stumbling over each other like they just found Jesus at an AA meeting to add Black Lives Matter to their websites, just above the ad banners. The Washington Post reports that African Americans have said they’ve been overwhelmed by the number of white friends checking in, with some sending cash because guilt is an expensive hobby. White celebs are swarming to confess their past ignorance on race. In what may be the ultimate expression of shallowness, someone who calls herself an influencer and life coach posted an Instagram guide on “how to check in on your black friends.” Which corner was everyone standing in solidarity on last week?

The Slack for a hospitality company I worked for pre-COVID exploded last week when a benign HR data request went out on #BlackOutTuesday. The almost all-white staff went insane with accusations of racism. Of course, the blindsided (and now racist) HR drone didn’t think about Tuesday being some private racial Ramadan when we all fasted from reality; she doesn’t follow the right people on Twitter. The mob, sounding like they’d drunk a human growth hormone and Adderall smoothie, barked until the company issued a sort-of apology. Then they celebrated as if they’d brought George Floyd back to life.

It shouldn’t have caught HR so off guard. The unemployees live in a world where “journalism is a profession of agitation.” They were taught nothing matters more than starting a sentence with “as a… (woman, harassment survivor, deep sea diver)” because no argument, and certainly no assembled historical fact, could be more important than a single lived experience. They were brought up on TV shows that juxtaposed white and black characters like someone was stringing together magic diversity beads. They made the boss apologize even though nothing was really different except that made-up racial “holidays” are now on the list of things where there is only one allowable opinion. Soon enough we’ll all be asked over the PA to take a knee for the national anthem at sporting events.

The harsh self-righteousness oozed. It sounded very much like people wanted to imagine they were on the cutting edge of a revolution, the long-awaited (well, for four years) Reichstag fire. So what makes this moment into a turning point?

Not much. Less than taking a stand, it feels more like radical chic from people who have been cooped up for months, cut off from bars and the gym. They don’t seem to know we’ve had this week before, after the deaths of Rodney King, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown. The protests feel like the last round of BLM, Occupy, Pink Hats, March for Our Lives, even Live Aid in 1986 when Queen sang for everyone’s racist parents to end hunger forever. Remember in 1970 when Leonard Bernstein threw a cocktail party for the Black Panthers Defense Fund and Tom Wolfe wrote about it? That changed everything; I mean, people used to say “Negro” back then. But I’m pretty sure a year from now there will still be funded police departments.

It took some rough nights to work out the rules and root out the looters, but even as the protests have faded, the whole thing has become a set piece: the demonstrators arrive with water bottles and healthy snacks. The route is established with the police a long way from “by any means necessary” boulevard. As long as everyone enjoys their revolutionary cosplay inside the white lines, the cops don’t have to spank anyone with pepper spray. The AP describes the once violent protests outside the White House now as having a “street fair vibe.” See, it got complicated explaining how looting beer from a convenience run by Yemeni refugees was connected to racial justice.

It all reveals itself as hollow because this fight isn’t between racism and anti-racism. It’s Black Rage versus White Guilt. The cops quickly quiet down the former and the media slowly wears out the latter. That means little of the action will have much to do with the real issues but everyone will feel self-righteously better. Until next time.

Along the way, however, the collateral damage of wokeness is producing the totalitarianism it purports to challenge by denying any view that challenges it. Ideas are redefined by one side as the bad -isms of racism, sexism, fascism, and pulled out of the marketplace along with the people who want to talk about them. No invite to the barbecue, no seat at the Thanksgiving table. In a political system built on compromise, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to get things done.

For me, I am not a racist. I’ll get over my problem with lost friends. America, I’m not so sure.

Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People,Hooper’s War: A Novel of WWII Japan, and Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99 Percent.

The post So It Turns Out You’re a Racist appeared first on The American Conservative.

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Henderson Nevada Cheap car insurance quotes zip 89014

"Henderson Nevada Cheap car insurance quotes zip 89014

Henderson Nevada Cheap car insurance quotes zip 89014

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Is there a way to figure out how much a cars insurance will cost?

What I mean is I know that insurance charges differently on car types and age group of who is driving, how can I find out the monthly insurance payment. Example: I buy a Scion TC and I'm now 20yrs old how can I figure out my insurance payment other than calling a insurance agent?""

What if i stop paying my insurance when i have a car loan?

i am leasing a new car, been paying for 3 years and this month i couldn't afford insurance so i stopped driving and started bike riding. well the insurance was cancelled for like 2 ...show more""

Who regulates auto insurance in CA?

commercials

Are we still to be free enough to decide we don't want health insurance?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4235304 Scary, no? And it was, believe it or not, worse to watch the absolute calmness in which she declared willingness to decide this type of thing for us. If I don't want health insurance, or if I have enough $$$ to pay cash up front for all my bills, I don't want someone telling me I have to spend my money on their program. It's bad enough they spend my tax money stupidly, now this? What say you all?""

""Any way I try, I can't seem to get Car insurance for less than 4000!?""

I passed my test last week on Thursday, found myself a VW polo yesterday, and cannot seem to get insured for less than 4000. I'm 17 years old, just passed, no previous problems or anything, full UK passport etc. The car is a 3 door, 1 litre hatchback. I've attempted to get quotes on other cars as well. I've also tried applying as a second driver, with my father as first. He has 9 years no claims discount and a perfect motoring record. The result is the same. Nothing for less than 4000. I don't understand why it is so much cheaper for others around me to get such cheap insurance! A girl i know got insured a few months ago on her old Citroen A3. She's also 17. The company she found quoted me 4103, whilst she is paying 1300! Where am I going wrong?""

Need health insurance?

looking for private health insurance, what are some companies that are affordable? lists of companies and info about them please. Thanks to all who answer =]""

COBRA insurance help?

I recently got fired is it cheap to get cobra insurance? Have you ever paid for COBRA insurance usually how much it cost for family? are my only option buying my own insurance or cobra or no insurance. Is Medicare only for older people???/?

Can I cancel my insurance policy?

Am I able to cancel my insurance policy at any time? I am currently paying alot of money for insurance due to getting a ticket while I was still a new driver, and have found a company who will insure me much cheaper than my current. Will I need to pay any sort of fees? Give notice? Just curious, thanks! This is in Canada by the way.""

""How much is car insurance for a 25 yr,female primary driver-Owning and being insured for the first time-Canada""

This will be the first time, I own and insure a car. It will be a new model, either 2006 or 2007 sedan or SUV. I am 25 years old. I am a female. I have had my DL for 3-4 years now. I've only been insured under my mother's insurance (for short times, while visiting her in the States!) Upon, buying my own new vechile, in Canada, I was wondering, what the range would be for: A.) Myself being primary driver B.) Additional, second driver, boyfriend 24, new first time driver! C.) A + B If someone could help me out, I would be greatful on any information or links pertaining to Canadian information. Cheers, Jennifer""

""For each car you own, you need car insurance for each one, right? How much do they usually charge?""

I don't own a car, so I don't know.""

""Looking for a good first car, one with low insurance rates preferably?""

I just turned 16 and am currently in the market to buy a car. I am looking for something in the price range of around $2,000, possibly a small four cylinder pick up, or a japanese sedan. Does anyone have any sugestions for a good first car, and if any one has expeiriance with insurance can you tell me a price range of what I would be looking at for isurance, I have good grades and looking for a minnimum policy in Florida. Thanks if anyone can help me although I know I probably wont get much help with the insurance part.""

Cheap car insurance for 7 star driver?

POLL: What kind of car insurance do you have?

I've just become curious due to all of the car insurance commercials; Progressive, Allstate, 21st Century, Geico etc. which do you have?""

Is it compulsory to buy home insurance?

I'm going to move to my first house soon. There is one thing I want to ask you here. Is it compulsory to buy home insurance? If it is a must, then do you have to get an insurance before you move in?""

Moving in 1.5 months and getting a car - Should i buy before or after for car insurance?

I'm planning to buy a car but I'm moving to a new place in 1.5-2 months. Question is, should I buy the car while i'm still at my current address, or wait til I move to the ...show more""

Would a 1.4 honda civic be an ideal car for a new driver?

17 year old. Male. Would it be wise getting a 1.4 civic say 1999 plate for a first car?

Henderson Nevada Cheap car insurance quotes zip 89014

Car insurance question for young drivers?

Im gonna be 17, insurance for me is gonna be 6,500, my mum doesn't drive so i cant go on hers. Would this work; could i get my mum a provisional licence, get her insured for my car, then could i drive it, its like 5000 cheaper for her to do it, would that be legal, if you know what i mean.""

Nissan 370z Affordable For A New a Driver?

Is a Nissan 370z or even 350z good and affordable for a new driver? Im only 2 years away from getting my G2 and even though it's really early I would like to start thinking about a good affordable car, yeah yeah why am I getting a 350z/370z when Im looking for cheap and affordable? It's because I would like to try and take it to track days at some local tracks and race when I get my G license. Please don't tell me to stop worry about it you're too young blah blah blah stupidity, in some cases it may be true I just don't care, sorry for my rudeness I get the talk way to much and it's really starting to get annoying. If you have a better choice than the 350z or 370z, I'm looking for any RWD car that is easy to pitch into a drift and race it, also available at a dealer or online at a trusted auto sales site, thanks in advance!""

What will happen with my car insurance?

ok so i was driving my brothers car and i have my g1 i went to money mart and back home about an hour later police came knocking on my door asking if my brother was in a car accident so we went down to the station and the officer asked if i was driving his car i said yes , he then said that the other man that was sitting in the station got my plates and said i hit his car and cracked his bumper (very minor crack) so i said no and then officer assumed i was lying and made me write up an accident report. after when i was leaving the station the other guy asked if we could solving this without going through insurance so we exchanged numbers (their was no damage at all to my brothers car & no paint or anything on their car to prove i hit it) the next day they called and said the want a whole new bumper they dont want it patched up and they would get me a price quote they then got me a quote for $1475 for a while new bumper from ford i told them im not paying that much the only way im replacing the bumper is if my mechanic does it he said ok so i went to my mechanic told him the whole situation and he said i shouldnt be replacing the whole bumper for somthing that small but he still ordered the bumper for me i had to put a $400 down payment for the bumper and $300 after its put on. the bumper came in 2 days later and they brought their car for it to be put on when we got there they got pissed off and said this isnt a bumper straight from ford and they dont want it and left ( the bumper was brand new for the same model car and had the exact paint coat match just that it wasnt from ford) they then call me threating to take it through insurance if we dont get it from ford so i lost the $400 down payment for the bumper because they cant return it after its painted so i told my mechanic to order it from ford. but when he called for they said the dont have bumpers for that model anymore, i then call the people back and told them to take it through insurance because my mechanic cant get that bumper. So what will happen to my brothers insurance hes under 25 with his g2, and i had my g1 but it was on private property where they said the incident occurred the officer even said he cant charged me because its private property PLEASE HELP!""

Next step after finding out your being kicked from auto insurance?

My boyfriend was on his parents policy with Met life and has been in 2 MINOR accidents in the last year and they told his dad either my boyfriend goes or everyone under that policy goes and they didn't tell us until a few days ago. Here's the kicker, he will be off the policy the end of the week. Will this make it harder for us to get him insured? How can a car incarnate company do this? He can't work without driving there and he can't drive there without car insurance. I don't know what to do. I currently have State Farm with my parents, would they let us open our own thing together even though we are not even technically engaged yet?""

Motorcycle insurance in canada?

The insurance companies in Canada are punishing seasoned riders with annual increased rates for motorcycles. Some won't even insure you if you change the pipes and the breather on your bike! Is there an association that can aid seasoned riders with fair insurance rates? If not, can we start one? If you've been riding for more than 20 years, I would like to hear how you are managing with these rip offs by the insurance companies.""

How much do you spend on your car payment/insurance per a month?

and is it a used or new car?

How to get my car insurance in my name?

i am going to break up with my boyfriend, but my car insurance is in his name.i want to be independent , so how to get it over in my name. he refuse to help me out. did i mention how much i dislike him.""

Does Bupa insurance cover child birth in USA?

Does Bupa insurance cover child birth in USA? and what is the steps for that?

Is there a cheap car insurance place in New Jersey for a 17 year old girl to get insurance?

Im 17 and I turn 18 in July and I bought my own car, its a 1992 toyota and I want my own insurance, I know it's going to be pricey a lot but I don't want to be under my parents insurance. I don't mind only getting liability but I need some help finding a cheaper insurance place in New Jersey on the upper east coast. Thanks!!""

Why's my insurance so high at 19?

I've had my licence since October last year and i had my car before i passed my test so i could get insured on it straight away. When I looked at quotes last year i was getting prices of around 3400 and couldn't get it below the 3000 mark, but now I'm getting prices of about 2700 on a 1.0 litre vaxhaull corsa which is the cheapest car for me to insure as it has the smallest engine i can find as is only group 1 insurance but still way to expensive. can anybody tell me why mine is so high please?""

What kind of cars cost the least amount of money to insure?

I am a teenage driver and I am looking to get my first car. What kind of cars have lower insurance rates, and are still reliable? I plan on getting a used car from around 2006-2008.""

How much does a Yamaha YZF R125 cost? And how much is insurance/tax per year?

Cheers :)

Where ti find classic car insurance in CA?

i recently bought a 1966 plymouth valiant....it is definitely not fixed up or anything like that it is just your basic old car that is in need of some help...but it runs and drives and will be my daily driver...so i need to find insurance for it......but most insurance companies only go as old as 81 .....anyone know any classic car insurance companies for currently un-restored cars?

""How much is average insurance for a motorcycle, preferably in Texas.?

I am female and over 25 yrs. of age.

Will my AT&T wireless insurance cover eBay phones?

I can't stand my Tilt2, and I want to get a different phone without paying the outrageous prices on the AT&T site. I was just wondering, will their insurance plan cover a phone I buy off ebay? any help is greatly appreciated. (p.s. the phone I want is also sold by AT&T, and their insurance covers it if you buy it from them.)""

Any advice to offer on car insurance?

Do you have any advice to offer on buying insurance on my very first car for a first-time driver? Any advice at all? Any recommendations, anything to avoid, etc.?""

Average cost of insurance and registration in Utah?

My husband and I are looking into getting two different vehicles and I am just trying to get an estimate on how much its going to cost to register them and how much I may need up front for insurance. I am 24 years old, my husband is 23 and a former truck driver. The two cars are a 1996 grand caravan (red if needed) and a 1980 Chevette (black if needed). I do not know mileage yet for either one.""

Will a guys health insurance cover his girlfriends pregnancy?

not married, she dosen't have insurance. Will his insurance cover it since its his baby?""

Should i keep my health insurance?

I make 30,000 a year for a family of 4. I have an 80/20 High deductible health plan with a deductible of 10k, that costs about $4,000 a year. My yearly health expenses are about $1,200. Should I keep my current insurance or apply for medicaid where only my children would be covered? I don't have any extra money to put in a health savings account.""

Motorcycle Insurance?

If i accidentally knock over my bike, will insurance cover that? if so, which coverage covers it?""

I got a ticket for expired insurance in california?

but i did have insurance i just didnt have the card with me. the police officer said all i have to do is get the new card to the police station and have it signed off. am i going to still have to pay a fine?

""A $26,000 car got stolen with no insurance, what can I do?""

I financed a car through nissan around Nov. 1st, at payments of 436.29 I financed 26,000. I'm 19 years old, my mother co signed for me. to start building my credit. I had a full time job etc and could easily make payments well shortly after- i loss my job. (a month after) I posted online looking for a third party to do a credit application and take over the payments. I found someone, we went through the paper work etc, and i was stupid/naive enough to let him hold onto the car before seeing if he was approved, to see if he likes it etc, long story short, he never came back with my car, changed his phone and gave me a phony address. My car was stolen. I drove off the lot at nissan without any insurance on it yet, because they let me. (again im new at this and so naive) i was waiting on good quotes on insurance , then my car got stolen before i could get insurance on it. I owe 800 dollars now, and my account is going into collections in 3 days. whats going to happen? I called the police departement, they said they cant file the car stolen because i was in the process of making a civil agreement with him before he just drove off with it. i would have to go to court and file a judgement againist for the car, or 26,000 etc. but i called the courts they said i need a lawyer, i dont have ANY money at all, no job, nothing for a lawyer etc. i dont know what to do. what im mostly scared of is, collections going after my mom for the 26,000 and she owns a mobile home that she bought for 49,000 and pays lot rent on it, and owns a little ford truck , will they put a lien on her house and take it away? what are my options? i dont want to pay this car off for this guy, who took it, the title and everything is under my name, but how can i find it without cops helping? im just scared and crying, i dont know whats going to happen, im scared for my mom. could she file bankruptcy if they come after her? will that save her home? please, just anyone help . i know nissan is going to come after me for repossession but i dont have the car, i dont know where it is. im so scared. 26,000 is a lot owed. any advice is appreciated thanks.""

What is the cheapest insurance for a Full-Coverage 2009 Hyundai Sonata?

i just need a cheap insurance for a 2009 Hyundai Sonata.. moving out to my boyfriends house and looking for something thats going to save me some money please anything will help :) Thanks

How much should I pay for a1967 Chevy Impala?

Basically, I want this car. How much (ball park figure, estimates, exact prices, whatever) wwould it set me back? Just the car itself, mind. I'll handle the tax and insurance, etc myself. And no, its not because of Supernatural.""

Life insurance at 25 years of age.?

I am twenty five and would like to put my mom in life insurance. Is this possible and what would I have to do to put her in life insurance?

Henderson Nevada Cheap car insurance quotes zip 89014

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aig-insurance-quotes-online-jacob-evans/"

0 notes

ixvyupdates · 6 years

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Educators Take Center Stage at Betsy DeVos’ Summit on School Discipline

Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, hosted a summit yesterday on school safety and climate so that she could hear from people—including educators—who have been vocal about the issue of school discipline.

Each side—essentially those who want DeVos to preserve what is commonly known in edu-world as the Obama-era guidance and those who want her to rescind it—had 90 minutes to meet with the secretary and make their case.

DeVos has recently come under renewed pressure to rescind the guidance by lawmakers and conservative education folks, some of whom believe that it is—or could be—partly to blame for Nikolas Cruz seemingly falling through the cracks prior to his deadly attack on his former high school in Parkland, Florida.

In the wake of the Parkland shooting, already existing debates over school discipline and the role of law enforcement in schools have gotten louder. And uglier.

While edu-world has been knee deep in this conversation since the Obama administration took a stand on the issue in 2014, the tragedy at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School has been like catnip for TV commentators and even elected leaders looking to shift the narrative away from guns. The problem is that their level of expertise on the issue of school discipline policy is basically zero.

The good news is that there are folks in the education space who actually know a great deal about the issue of school discipline policy and while their opinions may differ, they are well versed in the main issue at hand at the summit: the Obama-era guidance.

This guidance was borne out of concern over the disproportionate suspension rates of Black and Latino students as well as special education students and it included a “Dear Colleague” letter that put school districts on notice that evidence of excessive and disparate discipline could subject them to an investigation by the Office of Civil Rights.

Predictably, as with any action taken by a presidential administration, there are passionate supporters and detractors and the Obama-era guidance—especially the “Dear Colleague” letter—are no exception. Mike Petrilli of the Fordham institute encapsulated it well when he wrote, “For progressives, it taps into deeply held beliefs about fairness and justice. And for conservatives, it taps into deeply held beliefs about order and safety.”

But the voices that are far too often missing from the heated Twitter battles and op-ed pages are those for whom school discipline policies are an everyday reality: teachers.

What Teachers Are Saying

According to one teacher who attended the summit yesterday, DeVos seemed particularly interested in what educators had to say. Unsurprisingly, especially at such a polarized time in America as this, these professionals on the front lines of dealing with student behavior are far from being of one mind when it comes to how schools should address the very complex issue of student discipline. While some are fervent supporters of the Obama-era guidance, others have seen their schools collapse into chaos and believe that the decline is directly related to that 2014 guidance out of Washington. Both views were front and center during the roundtable discussion with DeVos on Wednesday.

Olinka Crusoe is an elementary school teacher in New York City who supports the Obama-era guidance. She readily admits that early in her teaching career she relied on what she knew and and that was removing disruptive students from her classroom. They’d come back. She’d respond by removing them again.

Nothing improved and it was impossible to build relationships with the students because no trust had been established. But after working hard to get to know the students—their strengths and their needs—and receiving training on how to be proactive in supporting their ability to navigate challenging situations, she now believes that removing a student from the classroom has to be a last resort.

“I want my students in school,” Crusoe said. “I want them to learn the skills they need to manage their emotions and behavior during challenging situations. They need to be in schools to learn that.”

Annette Albright, a former behavior modification technician at Harding High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, does not support the Obama-era guidance.

She was physically assaulted by three students and while the video of the violent attack is hard to watch, her school administration accused her of “provoking” the attack. And then they fired her.

She and others believe that the students were not held to account because the district was already under investigation by the Office For Civil Rights and was at risk of losing federal dollars. Albright, who is Black, does not support lowering behavioral expectations for children of color but she believes that is precisely what has happened in the district where she used to work.

Nicole Stewart of San Diego agrees with Albright.

She resigned as vice principal at Lincoln High School in San Diego, California, precisely because of what she saw as the fallout of the Obama-era guidance. She believes that it had reached the point where teachers at the school were being kept in the dark when it came to discipline. The way she sees it, they were left with no other option but to ignore classroom behaviors and incidents.

Tynisha Jointer, a behavioral health specialist for Chicago Public Schools, welcomes the guidance and wants it to remain in place.

She is convinced that, at least in Chicago, schools that are experiencing chaos have a building-leader problem and that to lay the blame at the feet of a “Dear Colleague” letter from the Obama administration is misguided. She does believe that all educators need to take a look at themselves and reflect on the biases that they may be bringing into their buildings.

But she did say, “If we’re going to scrap it, let’s replace it with something that puts relationships at the forefront of how we respond to undesirable behavior. Whether it’s the teacher, the school resource officer or the principal, the relationships make all the difference and are vital to building trust and improving student behavior.”

And Nina Leuzzi, a pre-K teacher in Boston, says that the Obama-era guidance has helped her take into account the whole child in front of her—their experience, their trauma and their needs—and react more appropriately. As far as she is concerned, “suspensions are not tools for teachers because they do not educate. Training is a tool for teachers.”

There’s a Reason The Guidance Was Written

The Obama administration’s concern over disparate discipline rates was well-founded and based on the the information gleaned from the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC).

In a strange twist of timing, their concerns were confirmed in a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that was released yesterday—literally during the roundtable with DeVos—that could ultimately overshadow that event.

In its analysis of the 2013-14 school year, the most recent year for which there is data, the GAO found that Black students, boys and students with disabilities are disciplined at higher rates than their White peers without disabilities. The disparities were greatest for Black students and persisted regardless of socioeconomic class.

The Department of Education began the CRDC in 1968 and as of February of 2014, every public school and district in America is required to provide data. The data included goes far beyond discipline rates and has cast an important light on glaring inequities in our schools to include access to AP courses and IB programs, access to school counselors, and the availability of high-level math and science courses. Teacher and student absenteeism data is also collected.

But a central tenet of the Obama-era guidance, in addition to disparities around race, was that special education students have the right to equal treatment in school. And a story, also out of Lincoln High School in San Diego, may be evidence that the road to hell really is paved with good intentions.

When a non-verbal child with cerebral palsy is raped in the bathroom at school by another student and the confession of the perpetrator as well as eyewitness testimony are kept secret from the mother of the victim, something has gone very wrong.

Add to that a change to how an offense is officially documented in the books to avoid expulsion, and one has to wonder what is driving the actions of the district. According to a story by Mario Koran in Voice of San Diego, “sexual misconduct—defined by the district as ‘attempting to commit or committing a sexual assault or battery’—is one of five offenses for which school principals must recommend students be expelled. Nearly a month later, however, the school’s vice principal documented the incident differently. She labeled the offense an ‘obscene act.’ The school does not expel students for that.”

But it seems like a stretch to directly blame the guidance for the egregious mishandling of serious offenses—and crimes—by administrators and district officials in cases of violence.

While it’s true they may feel pressure to keep their suspension and expulsion numbers down as a result of the “Dear Colleague” letter, the guidance does include specific language about the need to “train personnel to distinguish between disciplinary infractions appropriately handled by school officials versus major threats to school safety or serious school-based criminal conduct…and how to contact law enforcement when warranted.”

The truth is, all of the educators who testified at the school safety and climate summit yesterday likely agree far more than they disagree but their conclusions about the Obama-era guidance are informed by their very different experiences.

Not Speaking the Same Language

While some are focused on disproportionate suspensions for defiance, profanity and dress code violations, others have witnessed and/or experienced assault, rape and students showing up at school with weapons. This wide range of behavioral infractions and in some cases, crimes, is indicative of the likely fact that teachers—and others who feel strongly about the Obama-era guidance—may not even be speaking the same language.

A message from Washington can become pretty garbled as it makes its way down to the school district level and administrators have certainly been known to change course and even cook the books when they feel pressure—real or perceived—to keep those numbers down. On the other hand, the relationships that adults build with students can be the best defense against undesirable student behavior and can be the perfect antidote to the toxic power struggles that ensue far too often between teachers and students and often result in outsized punitive responses.

Regardless of where Betsy DeVos lands on the Obama-era guidance, it’s clear that she’d be wise to keep her communication going with those on the front lines—teachers—if she wants to make smart decisions that will actually have a positive impact and make America’s schools more equitable and just places for all students.

Photo by Gage Skidmore, CC-licensed.

Educators Take Center Stage at Betsy DeVos’ Summit on School Discipline syndicated from https://sapsnkraguide.wordpress.com

0 notes

rebeccahpedersen · 8 years

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Should “The Government” Regulate Rent Increases?

TorontoRealtyBlog

I couldn’t resist putting “the government” in quotations, since most people who have a problem in 2017 suggest that “the government” should do something about it.

That’s society’s answer to everything these days.

The government. The solution to all of our problems, right?

There’s been a lot of talk about spikes in rent in the past two weeks, and I want to highlight two stories that got the most press, then discuss what, if anything, “the government” should do about it…

It never fails to amaze me when journalists find somebody to pose for the camera, giving an otherwise mundane story that much needed “artwork” to make the article pop.

I get calls all the time from reporters who want a buyer, seller, tenant, or any of the above to go on camera, pose for a photo, or even talk to them, on the record.

Nobody wants to do it.

Ever.

So I stopped asking a long time ago.

Not since 2009, and I remember the exact client, have I had somebody agree to put their name out there.

It makes sense. As one client put it when I asked him, “It’s all well and good now, since I’m 25, and I don’t really care. But the Internet is forever. I don’t want to be on the outside looking in for the big CEO job when I’m 42-years-old, but some random newspaper article from 2010 shows ‘little John Smith’ posing in his living room for some story about downtown living.”

Totally fair.

And since then, having asked maybe a couple more times, getting a “no thanks” each time, I’ve stopped asking.

When reporters do call me, and I tell them I stopped asking, I tell them, “I’m always amazed when you find these people to pose for the camera, with that little rain-cloud perched above their head, looking all sad, for whatever piece you’re currently running.”

One reporter replied back to me, “So am I, but I’m sure as hell not going to tell them that.”

Toronto Life ran an awesome piece about now-bankrupt developer Urbancorp, who I’ve been complaining about for a decade, and in the piece they interviewed a host of buyers who had been screwed by the developer, and got these people to pose for the camera.

This is their feature photo for the online story:

I feel bad for that couple, as I do for everybody who bought into Urbancorp’s projects.

But I’m just amazed when people go on the record, and then pose for photos.

How about this other couple featured in the piece, who were extra sad when the flashbulb went off:

It’s incredible!

Kudos to Toronto Life for the incredible expose, but also for finding people to add “artwork” to the piece.

Personally, I would never agree to that.

Would you?

No offence to these folks, and I don’t want to sound insensitive here because I know they got royally screwed, but as my client told me years ago, “This is now on the Internet forever.”

But maybe none of this matters in 2017?

Maybe we’re so forthcoming with our social media, and life stories blasted on multiple platforms for all the world to see, that this is simply to be expected?

Log on to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – you can find out what everybody you know had for breakfast, and what sized bowel-movement each of their children had this morning.

So maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t be surprised when every real estate story these days has “a face” to accompany it.

And with that long lead-in, let me explain why all this matters.

Last week, a CBC reporter named Shannon Martin gave us a great piece called, “No Fixed Address: How I Became A 32-Year-Old Couch Surfer”

This piece blew up, big time.

It was, as the younger kids in my office tell me, “trending.”

The piece appeared in print, and online, and it also came with videos, which racked up thousands of views.

The online article has a whopping 607 comments right now.

If you haven’t read the article, and didn’t click above, let me summarize.

Shannon Martin was renting a 454 square-foot condo in downtown Toronto for $1,650 per month, and her landlord recently gave her notice that the rent would be increasing to $2,600/month.

There’s an audio conversation in the video piece with somebody from the Ontario Landlord & Tenant Board, who simply tells her, “You’re screwed.”

This piece went viral for a few reasons.

For starters, there’s a face and a name to the article. It’s not random, and it’s not anonymous. As we know from the Toronto Life article above, stories get far more attention when there’s real people involved, and when you’ve got artwork!

Secondly, this isn’t just Jane Smith, some random person that Toronto Life, or The Globe & Mail found to tell their story, and then snapped a photo of. This is a public figure – a reporter who is on camera, online, and you can read about her at your leisure through a simple Google search.

Thirdly, and tell me if I’m wrong here, but I think the fact that she’s a single, 32-year-old woman helps. If this was a middle-aged man sitting on the couch in his basement rental apartment, with his pot-belly bulging through his Def Leppard t-shirt, I don’t think it wouldn’t get as much attention.

And last but not least, this is a story that a lot of people can relate to. Real estate is, and has been for some time, the biggest story in Toronto. Whether you’re a renter, an owner, or a would-be of the two, you’re feeling the heat of this red-hot market.

All told, this story has been shared, re-Tweeted, and talked about at the proverbial water cooler (do offices still have those?)

And the take-away, as usual, is whether or not “the government” should do something about it.

I’ll save you my political rant, but as is often the case when anything goes wrong in society today, many of the onlookers, commenters, and those on the unhappy side of the real estate equation are calling on “the government” to step in and “do something.”

Do what?

What is this…….something, that people want done?

In this case, it seems, some people want the government to step in and create rental increase guidelines for condominiums – something that currently does not exist.

The rental increase guidelines only apply to units built before November of 1991.

And with about 98% of downtown Toronto condos having been built after that date (we could probably the 20-25 buildings older than 1991 if we wanted to), it means we essentially have no rent control in the downtown core.

But should we?

Should we have rent control for downtown Toronto condos?

That is the question people are asking after reading Shannon Martin’s story, and as rents continue to skyrocket.

That is also the question I want to pose to you all today. Have your say in the comments section below, and I’m guessing this will be one of the fiercest debates in a while.

People seem pretty evenly distributed on the matter, but I feel as though it is 100% dependent on their own individual status.

Can you detach yourself from your financial and living situation to give an unbiased opinion?

Let me try first.

I believe in capitalism, I believe in the free market, and I believe in hard work.

I’m a social liberal, but a fiscal conservative.

And I believe that increasingly in society today, there’s a jealousy toward people who have more, so much so that we’re forgetting that being successful isn’t a crime.

If a person works long and hard enough to be able to purchase a condo as an investment, and can rent it out for $1,650 one year, and $1,850 the next, then good on them.

I think what happened to Shannon Martin is terrible, but it’s also exceptionally rare. I polled the agents in my office and asked, “Is there anywhere downtown where you see a 454 square foot condo renting for $2,600/month?” The answer was a slew of “No’s.”

I’m not doubting Ms. Martin’s claim, but rather I think this was a case of the landlord wanting her out, not the landlord being able to get $2,600/month for the unit. In my professional opinion, that rent is absolutely, impossible to obtain on a standard one-year lease.

So excluding these outliers and exceptions to the rule, do you think that a landlord should be able to charge market rent, or should a landlord’s actions be limited by some wing of government?

If it’s the latter, then by how much?

Because if the real estate market is going up 20% in a year, then how can you possibly set rental increase guidelines?

Or how about this – if property taxes went up 10%, then is it really fair for the government, who increases the taxes/expenses on the condo, to follow up with a limit on the increase in rent by, say, 2%?

As I said, the feedback seems evenly distributed on this.

And Ms. Martin’s first article spawned a second.

Check this one out:

“Why Toronto’s Condo Market Is Described As ‘Ridiculous’”

Yet another “real, live person” who put her name to the story, and posed for a photo.

Her rent was increased too.

There’s that saying in the media, “Don’t read the comments.” It’s what journalists tell each other, since so much of the commenting these days focuses on the writer or author, rather than the content.

But I like to troll the comments to see what the anonymous public thinks.

On that story above, the first two comments were the following, and do not skim these:

Could they be any different?

This is what I find so interesting! People are so evenly split!

And once again, I have to put in my two cents, for what it’s worth.

I completely agree with the first person, and I think his point hits the mark.

I completely disagree with the second person, who I deem to be uninformed, naive, and possibly of simple-mind.

The point about “living in the big city” being a “choice” is exactly what I’ve always said.

And along with that, comes the idea that being successful isn’t a crime, and dare I say that on the opposite side of the coin – being unsuccessful, doesn’t mean you should always be bailed out.

A good friend of mine finds himself unable to afford housing in Toronto, and he laments his situation.

I was honest with him a while back. I told him that in 1998, the day before we went off to university, he made a personal choice not to go, but rather to stay behind and chase his dream of being a rockstar.

It didn’t work out. The millions didn’t flow in. And as a result, he’s not building a house next to Drake on The Bridle Path.

There will always be haves and have-nots in society. It’s impossible not to see it this way.

And as “Howard Roark” points out, those who make a choice to live in Toronto, need to pay the going rate for Toronto housing. Otherwise, there are options outside the city. Living in Toronto is not a fundamental right, and “the government” shouldn’t subsidize everybody and anybody who can’t afford to live here.

As for “Meghan Johnston” and her comments, I don’t think she really knows much on this, but rather wanted to hear the sound of her own voice.

“…the pre sales are sold in Shanghai before they’re even listed in Canada.”

This is what 2017 has come to. People just say things, with no idea what they’re talking about, and zero burden of proof because they’re anonymous.

“The govt needs to act and fine.”

“It really is extortion.”

“File human rights complaints. It’s real.”

Where do people get this stuff?

Is this representative of public opinion? Does this person’s ideas, and her ability to self-express, represent a good section of society out there today?

Does somebody really think you can file a human rights complaint because your landlord raised your rent?

I have to agree with “Howard Roark.” Many people out there today feel entitled to “a lifestyle they can’t afford.”

The second article has a sub-heading, in bold, that reads, “Everybody wants to live here.”

So maybe that is the real problem?

Needs versus wants?

Supply versus demand?

If “everybody” wants to live downtown, then that skews the balance between supply and demand, right?

Is it any wonder that prices are going to increase?

And before somebody says, “Well why does every landlord have to charge more money just because they can,” I’ll tell you that I’m not prepared to get into a debate about human nature today.

So what do you say, folks?

The post Should “The Government” Regulate Rent Increases? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.

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