#i gave the trainings and i'm the main point of contact whenever he has any questions (very often which is expected as he sets in the role)

[catboyolli]

⭐

[unknownwriting]

I love your blog, so if you don't mind can I request a one shot with monkey d luffy x female reader where the reader has a habit of giving luffy butterfly kisses. I'm dying for lots of fluff. Thank you!

Butterfly kisses

Summary- ^^ requested

Character(s)- Monkey D. Luffy

Warnings- none :)

Word count- 1.9k

Notes- butterfly kisses are literally the cutest thing in the whole world 🥺💕 I got a big carried away, this was honestly so cute to write, I hope you enjoy. Also happy Valentine’s Day

━━☆⌒*.

Butterfly kissed- soft kisses made from fluttering one's lashes against their lover's skin. An innocent act yet one filled with so much passion. The perfect kissed for (Y/n) and her captain, Luffy, to share. A soft and airy kiss making their relationship all the better. Ever since their relationship had started a while ago, (Y/n) continued to pamper Luffy with those kisses to this day. At first, the kisses were occasional, only happening when they split up to explore an island or after Luffy got into a fight. However, throughout their relationship, the kisses began to grow more frequent. Every night before they go to bed when they wake up, and whenever the 2 leave each other sides.

Although Luffy doesn’t think too much of the gentle kisses, they mean so much to (Y/n). Those simple kisses represent so much between the 2. The kisses show that the 2 of them have a very unique way of showing their love. And even though those kisses mean so much to her, and probably mean the same to Luffy, she couldn’t help that little voice that echoed in the back of her head.

What if Luffy’s getting tired of the kisses?

It was a pointless thing to worry about. It really was but that didn’t stop (Y/n). She continued to think about it, letting it consume her thoughts.

Letting out a small groan, (Y/n) learned over the railing and watched the dolphins swimming in the wake of Sunny. She didn’t mean to get the attention of the others seeing how her worrying is pointless, however, her groan seemed to grab the attention of the crew's archeologist. At least she was lucky to catch her attention and not someone else's, Robin seems like she would know a bit about the topic.

"Are you alright, (Y/n)? You seem a bit upset." Robin questioned taking a spot next to her side. Even if it was going to be easy to tell Robin, (Y/n) thought about it for a moment. With (Y/n) already knowing the answer, she decided to tell Robin anyways, just so she can have someone tell her that she was just overthinking things.

"I...I'm not sure Luffy likes my kisses anymore. I'm probably overthinking things, but it seems like he's bored of them." (Y/n) signed, leaning up from the rail and looking over at her older friend.

"What makes you say that?" Robin wondered.

"Because that's the only kiss I give him, and he never kisses back. So you can't blame me for thinking that." (Y/n) explained, unknowingly grabbing the attention of the crew's moss head too, "But I thought he always preferred those kisses."

"Jeez, you are overthinking it." Zoro blurted out joining (Y/n) at her other side. Jumping a bit, and earning a small giggle from Robin, (Y/n) looked over at him.

"Zoro?"

"Luffy's the easiest guy to even date. Always speaking his mind, doing what he wants when he wants it." Zoro pointed out, and (Y/n) knew every single one of those to be true. Luffy always tells (Y/n) what he likes and what he doesn't without a 2nd thought.

"Zoro is right. Overthinking things with Luffy is pointless. If he doesn't like them he would've told you. Luffy's simple-minded like that." Robin agreed. (Y/n) knew she was also right, she knows she could go right up to Luffy and ask whether or not he likes the kisses but she doesn't want to do that. She doesn't want it to be that simple.

"Ugh, I know but I don't want it to be that simple. Sometimes I want something to happen." (Y/n) exclaimed throwing her hands into the air, "Everything is so easy with him, which I don't mind but sometimes because things are so easy with him I can't help but overthink things. Like I'm doing something wrong or something."

Now Zoro and Robin could understand that too. Because Luffy is so easy he's just as complex. A curse disguised as a blessing.

"The 2 of you are on night watch tonight, right?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then ask him then. It'll just be the 2 of you so you can have his full attention." Zoro has suggested before watching off again, probably to find someplace to sleep. As he walked away, his suggestion began to sink in. It was a pretty good idea, It just might help later tonight.

ミ☆

Later that night, while everyone else was sleeping or getting ready for bed, (Y/n) and Luffy both stood guard on the deck of Sunny watching out for any threats. Seeing how nothing ever happens, the 2 of them ended up goofing off, like any other night. They both told each other stories, jokes, and played games. It what the 2 of them would also do when it was their night to stand guard.

"No way. Rayleigh really made you fight those types of monsters?" (Y/n) laughed, listening to Luffy's crazy stories about training over the past 2 years. To (Y/n) the stories sounded so extreme but she knows well enough that it was true. Luffy is inhuman like that.

"Shishishi, yup. At one point I couldn't even eat until I dodged their attacks. It was hard." Luffy whined remembering that time. It was hard but it needed to be done. He needed to get strong for his crew's sake. For (Y/n)‘s sake. It would be a lie to say that Luffy didn't think or worry about (Y/n) during his training. That was one of the things that he missed the most, her warmth and her smile. And not the mention the amazing kisses she gave. He definitely missed those the most. Feeling (Y/n)'s soft lashes brush against his skin in a repeating fashion. When the 2 of them had reunited it was something that (Y/n) didn't hold back either, kissing him every chance they got to make up for all the time apart. However, recently (Y/n) hasn't been giving out the kisses anymore. The thing about Luffy is that he's dense, not clueless so he knows something was wrong with (Y/n) for a while now. As if he also overheard was Zoro said earlier, Luffy decided to bring it up.

"Sheesh. Only you could go through such intense training." (Y/n) giggled as she looked into Luffy's dark brown eyes. Now was going to be the perfect time to bring up the kisses. And she was, wanting to clear up the confusion as quickly as possible. But just as she gathered her thoughts and opened her mouth to say something there was a crash at the back of the ship. The crash echoed for a moment before it when silent again. Both (Y/n) and Luffy turned around to face the sound, waiting to see if anything else was going to happen. When it stayed silent and nothing else happened, (Y/n) was the first one the get up.

"Guess I'll go check out that sound," (Y/n) stated as she began to walk off. Luffy watched with a close eye as she walked. It didn't take Luffy long to realize something was missing. (Y/n) doesn't just walk off like that. She always kisses him before leaving. Before she could get far, Luffy stretched out his arms and wrapped them around her waist, yanking her back and into his lap. A soft yelp let her lips as she soon came into contact with Luffy's chest.

"Huh? Luffy what's wrong-" (Y/n) gasped as she felt his grip about her tighten. With his strong arms pushing her back, (Y/n) was almost able to feel every inch of Luffy's chest against her back. Something like this rarely happened. Luffy was never big on physical contact hence why they stuck to butterfly kisses.

"I'm not letting you go." Luffy cut (Y/n) off, resting his chin on her shoulder. With a blush covering her cheeks, she glanced over at him to try and reasons with him but when she looked she only got Luffy's intense stare back. Now (Y/n) knows he's being serious.

"W-what?" (Y/n) stared down at the grass on the main deck to embarrassed to meet his gaze. She began to play with her fingers as she waited for Luffy to say something. And the waiting was not helping at all, it only made her impatient. Luffy normally doesn't wait like his, he would just speak his mind. While she waited, (Y/n) could still feel his gaze on her at they sat in silence. Finally, with a squeeze from Luffy's arm, she spoke up.

"Because you haven't given me a kiss." Luffy blurted out.

"Huh?" His comment clearly caught (Y/n) off guard. She was not expecting those words to come from his lips. Luffy hummed into her shoulder and nodded.

"You haven't given me a kiss all day..." Luffy trailed off as his face sunk deeper into (Y/n) shoulder. In all honesty, (Y/n) didn't how to react. Luffy rarely acted like this, it came as a total shock. This side of him is completely new but it was cute. Clingy but cute. Glancing back down, this time she noticed that blush that covered the top of his ears. Seems like this side is new for Luffy too.

Staring down at Luffy a bit longer, a small smile crept onto (Y/n)'s lips as a burst of laughter erupted from her throat, "I didn't know you liked them so much."

"Of course I do!! Your kisses are super soft!!" Luffy exclaimed looking up from (Y/n) shoulder. Laughing once more, (Y/n) shimmed her way out of his grasp and turned aground, and faced her blushing captain. Locking eyes with him, (Y/n) placed a hand on her cheek and began to caress them with her thumb.

"Well that's good to know. I was afraid you didn't like them anymore." (Y/n) confessed.

"Why wouldn't I?" Luffy sounded offended at (Y/n)'s comment. Looks like he loved the kisses as much as (Y/n) loves giving them, "(Y/n) kisses are the best. As good as meat."

"...Luffy don't compare me to meat." (Y/n) let out a small scoff at his comparison. As weird as it sounded, it meant a lot to her. In Luffy's eyes, nothing beats meat.

"What? Meats amazing."

"I know, but that's not really the best thing to say to a girl." (Y/n) scoffed leaning into his flustered cheek, and began to flutter her eyelashes. He probably didn't mean to, but a small hummed left his lips in response. With that reps once in mind, (Y/n) went to his other cheek and give him another kiss, then his nose, then his forehead.

"Shishi, You're kissing me a lot."

"Of course. It only fair because I didn't kiss you at all today." (Y/n) smiled, placing one more kissing on his cheek. With all the kisses done, she leaned back and stared into Luffy's smile. It was relieving to know that Luffy enjoyed the kisses too. Now (y/n) won't have to overthink the kisses again. With his hands still around her waist, he hugged her again and sunk his face into the neck, as if to say thank you. And of course, (Y/n) hugged back. Luffy also knows that her hugs are just amazing as she kissed, so warm and full of love. It would be easy for them to of them to get stay like this forever but (Y/n) still has to go check out that sound.

Shifting around a bit in his grasp, (Y/n) spoke up, "hey, Luffy I still need to go check out that sou-"

"No, I want you to stay here." Luffy lurked out again, squeezing (Y/n) tightly again. She stared down at him again. His childish and clingy behavior is kicking in, there's no leaving him now.

With a quiet giggle, (Y/n) nodded and hugged him again. She'll just have to check out the sound later. Right now there doesn't seem to be any reasons or way to leave the comfort of Luffy's hug.

[cryoculus]

i'm back fool may i request headcanon or scenarios for the hq captains (or honestly whoever u wanna add) finding out their fem crush does hardcore parkour as a hobby. At school she wears the cute uniform but after ???? It's bad bitch time. Adidas sweats, the tank top for guys (under armour idk what's it called).

HHHHHere it is 

Ushijima

He doesn’t believe it at first when Tendou tells him about it. You were practically Shiratorizawa’s resident goody-two-shoes and because you were his classmate, he knew you to a certain extent. There was simply no way you’d be a closet parkour artist.

Tendou always insisted that Ushijima would come along with him sometime after school so he could show him, but he was simply in denial™ and thought Tendou was being obtuse. 

He eventually caved though.

Ushijima didn’t really know where to look when Tendou said, “Here we are,” after bringing him smack in the middle of a busy Sendai intersection. But then he saw it. 

A couple of teenagers were jumping buildings like it was nobody’s business – and to his utter disbelief, you were there. There was no trace of the adorable classmate whose charm was unparalleled. 

Tendou had to drag him by the arm so they wouldn’t lose track of your group, which was difficult because this six foot bag of meat was probably twice his weight. 

Your session ended at a nearby park, doing backflips from memorial statues. Ushijima thought that was a little disrespectful, but he couldn’t put a thought into it because he was gaping at you. 

“Tendou-kun, you said you wouldn’t tell!” you whined, hitting the middle blocker in the chest. 

“What can I say, Wakatoshi-kun has to know about his crush’s secret identity right?”

“Tendou,” Ushijima cautioned. How could he just rat him out right there?

 But you were blushing at Tendou’s proclamation. Your outfit may suggest otherwise, but you were definitely the girl who had put him under your charms.

“Ushijima-kun, you won’t tell, right?”

He nodded. He wouldn’t want anyone else getting to know you this way, anyway. 

Oikawa

Outside volleyball, Oikawa was known to be Seijoh’s local playboy. Though he only had one girlfriend, he did have many notable conquests because of his flirtatious nature.

But he seemed to be having trouble trying to woo a certain first year student.

“I heard she was an exhibitionist,” supplied Hanamaki when he asked his friends what they knew about you. 

“What kind of exhibitionist though?” Iwaizumi asked. 

Matsukawa snickered. “Maybe she’s a gravure model.”

Oikawa punched Mattsun on the shoulder. “Don’t besmirch (Name)-chan in that kind of light! She’s practically a saint.”

You were at the top of your class, the year-level representative, and volunteered for charity. And you were only a first year. 

“I dunno, Oikawa,” Makki sighed. “She seems a little too good, don’tcha think? I bet she’s got some weird secret she doesn’t want everyone to know.”

That actually made sense. So, he tried offering to walk you home that day to try and smooth talk some answers out of you, but you politely declined, to his chagrin. 

“Sorry, Oikawa-senpai, I’m meeting some friends at the park today,” you explained.

Any normal person would just suck it up and accept it right? 

Oikawa was not a normal person.

So, he went to the park that afternoon after school to see what was so important that you denied a walk home from the Oikawa Tooru. But the sight that beheld him nearly made his jaw drop.

You and a couple of older looking boys were climbing up the walls of an abandoned building with the swiftness of felines. Once you reached the top, you all hopped off the roof and landed gracefully on the cobblestone path. 

You saw Oikawa hiding behind a lamp post though. He gaped when you approached him with a cheery smile.

“Still like me, senpai?”

He threw his arms around you.

“Duh.”

Sawamura

I personally headcanon Daichi as someone who has some experience with parkour ‘cause of those  t h i g h s.

Anyway, he has a huge crush on Kiyoko’s cousin, who’s also a third year in Karasuno. Where Kiyoko was the graceful character, you were a bit more of a girl who was the actual definition of “kawaii-desu~ xD”

And not in a cringey way.

You were so ridiculously adorable, a lot of boys from Karasuno swooned over the sight of you.

But one day, Asahi managed to get him into parkour again. 

“Asahi, you know how my stunts were a bunch of failures back then, right?”

Asahi laughed. “We were first years. Surely with all this training, our bodies have better coordination.”

So they contacted the guys they used to do parkour with back then and to their surprise, they began recruiting girls as well.

When the two of them arrived at the meeting place on top of a corporate building in the main district, Daichi nearly choked when he saw you in the small crowd, talking to one of the members. 

But before he could tell Asahi about it, the guy overseeing the whole thing pulled them to the side and gave a quick briefing.

“Oh, and for saftey purposes, you’ll be getting a guide,” he smiled before calling out to someone, “(Name), come here would you?”

Asahi shot Daichi a knowing look and, the next thing they knew, you were their temporary coach. But you didn’t really provide them with any useful information besides:

“Don’t weigh me down.”

When the practice exhibition went underway, Asahi was performing fine but Daichi had to put his back into catching up with the rest of the group. His eyes were glued on you, who jumped each and every obstacle with unparalleled grace. Was that really Karasuno’s sweetheart?

 Right before the beam exercises, he decided to chat you up and asked how long you’ve been doing parkour.

“None of your business,” you deadpanned.

As you walked away, Asahi nudged him. 

“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

Kuroo

Kuroo had pretty high standards, if he did say so himself.

He wasn’t easily enamored by a pretty face unlike a certain brunet setter from Miyagi. But of course, he was still human and could still fall prey to that inevitable force called feelings.

It started when this shy girl transferred into Nekoma at the beginning of his third year. You were his seatmate and he’s convinced that, if you were assigned a different place to sit, he would’ve never interacted with you unless needed.

But since you were given the pleasure to be seated close to his glory, Kuroo decided to befriend you. 

You were ridiculously timid and Kuroo was perfectly fine with that, since his own best friend shared the same personality trait. He knew how to handle you without making you feel like he’s overstepping his boundaries.

Whenever he didn’t have practice, he offered to walk you home ‘platonically’ since you lived in the same neighborhood as him and Kenma. But strangely, whenever they dropped you off at home, he’d see you sneaking out of your house to go out. 

He thought that maybe you just had somewhere else to be and was too shy to decline his offer to walk you home.

“She’s hiding something,” Kenma flatly concluded.

Amused, Kuroo questioned, “What makes you say so?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who kept telling me she’s basically me. I’m sure I’ll notice when I’m hiding something.”

“Touché.”

So, when Kuroo walked you home the next time without Kenma, since he didn’t want to involve himself in Operation: Find Out What (Name) Does in Her Free Time, he tailed you at an inconspicuous distance. 

But then, you had travelled all the way to an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of the city. Were you involved in some criminal activity? Concerned, he decided to step inside.

Someone nearly kicked him in the head from propelling yourself on top of an unused cargo carrier. 

“Sorry!” you apologized profusely, helping him back onto his feet. Your entire face was flushed crimson at Kuroo’s presence.

“What are you doing here?” he inquired.

“I-I-I uh do p-parkour as a hobby,” you stammered, fidgeting with the hem of your tank top. “Keeps m-my blood circulating.”

“Keeps your blood circulating?” he echoed with a smile. It reminded him of the words he’d tell the team before a volleyball match.

He grinned. “Can you teach me some of your moves?” 

Bokuto

He always prattled endlessly about his newfound crush to Akaashi when he met you in the cafeteria one day. 

“She accidentally poured piping hot coffee on my uniform, but she was so cute, Akaashi!”

“Bokuto-san, could you please focus on the game? The opponent is at a match point.” 

Since he had the attention span of a goldfish, Bokuto would always find his thoughts drifting back to you, someone he barely even saw in the halls of Fukurodani.

Eventually, he got “deprived” of your beauty and decided to hunt you down, asking various friends of his if they knew who you were. 

“Ah, (Surname) from Class 1? She rarely comes to school.”

“I heard she was a delinquent.”

“No, her dad’s part of the yakuza!”

“Someone told me she was a spy deployed at our school.”

“I think I saw her on a porn movie once.”

In short, no one really knew your true identity and you didn’t make a lot of friends. The information more or less put Bokuto in a dejected mode like no other, which irked Akaashi very much when his performance dwindled during their practice matches.

So, for the sake of the revival of his captain’s volleyball prowess, Akaashi took it upon himself to do his own investigation regarding a certain (Surname) (Name). When he finally got intel on where you were usually seen, he gave Bokuto the address. 

“Really Akaashi? You’re really going to let me see her?” Crocodile tears ran down his cheeks. 

“Please, before I change my mind.”

Bokuto did as instructed and headed out to Akihabara Park. He looked around, eyes carefully scanning the area for a familiar face, but then his attention got snagged by a couple of people doing parkour stunts near the multi-level parking lot.

You were scaling the building without any protective gear whatsoever. Your feet disengaged fluidly with each jump you made to reach the bottom. The finishing move was a flawless backflip that Bokuto thought would go awry, but you landed on your feet without fail. One of your companions pat your shoulder for a job well done and you grinned. 

But then you locked eyes with Bokuto. 

“What’re you doing here?” you asked when you jogged up to him.

“I think I’m in love with you,” he admitted in a trance.

You blinked, attempting to let his spur-of-the-moment confession sink in. “What?”

“I’m. In. Love. With. You.”

An unattractive snort escaped you. “I’m sorry. Bokuto, was it? I only date guys who can keep up with me.”

With that, you went back to your little parkrour group for your next set of stunts, but that’s until Bokuto ran to catch up to you.

“I won’t disappoint you!” 

[bethevenyc]

Transgender soldier speaks out on military service, despite Trump's on-again-off-again ban: 'I'm breaking ground'

Zane Alvarez, who is serving in the U.S. Army. (Photo: Instagram/17Spark)

Transgender people serving in the U.S. military — a population estimated to be between 1,320 and 6,620 individuals  — have been on an emotional roller coaster since at least 2016. That’s when the Obama administration announced, “Effective immediately, transgender Americans may serve openly,” lifting what had always been a ban on such service.  

Rejoicing didn’t last long, however. In July 2017, President Trump bluntly tweeted, seemingly out of nowhere, that the military will no longer “accept or allow” transgender people to serve, creating chaos and questions. In October, a judge blocked enforcement of the ban, and then, as of January, transgender service members were welcomed once again, as the Justice Department on Friday put the proposed ban on hold and said it would not appeal federal court rulings ordering the military to begin the enlistments.

And now, in an attempt to stop any further whiplash on the subject, Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN have begun a new legal challenge, hoping to permanently stop Trump from banning transgender troops in the military.

Meanwhile, throughout all the ups and downs and mixed messaging, transgender troops have been quietly serving their country — including Zane Alvarez, 23, currently serving in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany, as a behavioral health technician, assessing active-duty members for supportive mental-health services. “But I went through basic training and advanced individual training, and I learned how to fire a weapon like everybody else,” Alvarez told Yahoo Lifestyle back in July, after Trump first tweeted about the ban. Because of his uncertain standing, he could not attach his name to his story then. But Yahoo Lifestyle has stayed in contact with Alvarez, who can now speak openly about his past and current experiences in the military. This, in his own words, is his story.

I came into the army in July 2012 at the age of 17. I enlisted because it’s a family business. My father is still active duty in the U.S. Army, and my grandfather served as well. I was just about to start my senior year of high school and I felt completely unprepared for what the world had in store for me; college honestly terrified me. But I had a pretty good understanding of what the military is about: I grew up around it; I knew my dad wasn’t the best kid growing up and that after being in the army it changed him, and I hoped it could do the same for me.

[When I enlisted] I wasn’t thinking about transitioning at all. All I was thinking about was getting in the Army and following in my father’s footsteps. I had had a lot of friends that were very homophobic and transphobic, and in turn I actually became extremely homophobic and transphobic for the longest time. So I denied it for years. It took a while to get to this point.

Day 573 entering Week 81 of HRT. [LL] Well just realizing that I wrote the wrong number of days last week, this is the correct amount! Currently back in Grafenwöhr learning all about weapons on this 2 week TDY. First day and wow I learned a ton. Can’t wait for it all to be over, tired of this bunk bed already. Hopefully I will have some real news for y’all when I back. Feel free to leave a message! Themakingofzane.Sarahah.com #ftm #trans #transgender #thisiswhattranslookslike #transman #transmen #transguy #transandproud #transmilitary #opentransservice #imgettingmystripes #transallies #tattoos #tattooedandemployed #hrt #shotday #monday #nofilter #myhopewillneverdie #themakingofzane

A post shared by Zaneford (@17spark) on Aug 7, 2017 at 9:42am PDT

  What I’d been known for in high school is when it came time to dress up, I really dressed up. There was a point when I had long hair and would wear makeup whenever it was prom or homecoming. Outside of that I was kind of tomboyish — I had long hair but would rarely wear a skirt if I didn’t have to. But I could dress girly.

It was well after high school that I started identifying as a lesbian, then bisexual, and I started dressing more masculine and got more comfortable with myself. I remember when I finally had to go clothes shopping, and I went to some big major store and women’s section and trying to figure out what in the world to pick out and I was like, “Wait a minute, this is my own money; I can pick out whatever I want!” I did not know how to dress myself, so all I did is buy jeans and T-shirts. But I finally got comfortable with dressing how I wanted to dress. I finally stopped caring about what people thought.

On transitioning while on active duty…

I started socially transitioning in 2015 to close friends and my aunt and my younger sister. Then I started medically transitioning in January 2016, with hormone replacement treatment, or HRT [testosterone], which is something that is paid for by the military. There wasn’t an established plan as to how they wanted soldiers to start transitioning, so all I needed was a letter from a behavioral health provider stating that I have gender dysphoria and that it would benefit me to start hormone replacement therapy.

Basically it’s all a matter of paperwork [and getting an] ETP, or exception to policy, outlining my care … it’s on its way up to D.C. and then it comes back to me and just takes a while to push through.

At this moment in time on all of my legal documents, and according to the Army, I am still a female on paper. So at work if I use the bathroom or if I’m in the field or I deploy, I have to be roomed with females or I have to use the women’s restroom or locker room, and when I’m in my dress uniform I have to wear the women’s dress uniform — the main difference being that the female uniform is made to hug the body, to show the female figure, even down to the shoes, which look like a pair of flats.

Rocking out on a convoy! I say hooah!

A post shared by Zaneford (@17spark) on Feb 4, 2018 at 12:31pm PST

  But I’m the furthest ahead in my transition compared with all the other transgender soldiers here in Europe. I’m the one who’s been breaking ground. There are about 20 of us for now, spread out. I know this through different groups, through other people reaching out to me, my Instagram and Facebook posts, [which I do] so people can reach out to me. Like, “Hey, you are a fellow transgender service member.”

Of the other trans service members I follow, I probably most look up to drill sergeant Ken Ochoa, who is female-to-male like myself; he went through the drill sergeant academy as female and already had started his transition, had top surgery, but still had to go through as female and did an amazing job. Another person is Aydian Dowling, a major person in the trans community, and Laverne Cox … and Logan Ireland and Laila Villanueva, who are doing a lot for the trans military community, looking out for the other transgender people who are struggling, who don’t have the money … or family support, and are helping those who need it.

When I go on a mission, I sleep in a female bay — basically a large room with nothing but bunk beds. (Otherwise I have my own room.) There are male bays and female bays. It gets pretty frustrating at times. Not everybody in my unit knows … so essentially, I’m having to come out over and over again. There are times when people have told me, “I’m completely uncomfortable with you being here,” and I can’t do anything about it. I have no choice but to say, “I’m sorry; I’m not happy about it either.”

There are not a lot of facilities that still have open room showers; it’s more like stalls with curtains, so you see people coming in and out. Before I do anything I let all the females know about my situation in advance and if at all possible I plan around it. I try to shower earlier and later than everybody else.

Thankfully in my unit, there’s no [hostility], but sometimes when I go on a temporary duty assignment … there is. One time, my situation was basically made out to be a joke, and there was a lot of behind-the-door conversation about me, and it was terrible. It just honestly felt terrible.

Time is flying!!! On this same day in 2013 I was on CQ. Crazy to see all the changes; from face, rank, uniform, location, and state of mind. To really see all the progress, I cannot believe how happy I am. More progress will be made but I have definitely come a long way from that soldier from before. To That, I say hooah!

A post shared by Zaneford (@17spark) on Oct 4, 2017 at 2:04pm PDT

  A big thing in military culture is having a tough skin. I had such a big problem with that before I started testosterone. I was very emotional at one point and time in my life. It’s way behind me now, but testosterone has given me a lot of confidence, and I don’t cower nearly as much.

I remember when I got my first shot of testosterone — actually for the first few months, every time I gave myself a shot — it was such a sense of euphoria. I noticed all these little changes, like my voice is a little deeper, or more muscle development, or that crappy mustache I can grow now — all these little itty-bitty victories, things that some people can take for granted. Every time someone I don’t know refers to me as a male, calls me “gentleman” or “young man” or “sir,” I always smile. That is the number one thing that makes my day, when someone recognizes me as a guy.

When you transition from female to male [in the military], the difference for the [physical] tests is outrageous. So let’s say I were to max my pushups: For females in my age group, it’s 19 pushups in two minutes, it’s plenty of time. For a male, in order to just pass, it’s 40 pushups. For running, it’s a two-mile run and I’ve always hated running, I’m a terrible runner. If I want to get the max amount of points for the female PT test it’s 19:38, and to pass it for males it’s 16:36, so I’d have to run that much faster. But I don’t make excuses. Even though I’m still recognized as female, if you told me today I had to take the male PT test, I would do it and I would pass.

On family…

[Coming out to] family was extremely hard at first, because of the way my parents grew up. I’m Hispanic, and Hispanics can be very traditional sometimes. When my dad joined the Army he started off infantry, and that’s an entirely different culture that’s very intense. So it was a little rough at first. But now? I surprised my family last Father’s Day and no one messed up my name, no one messed up my pronoun. My dad was extremely happy to see me. When we go out to dinner and I’m wearing a suit — not a dress and makeup — they see me as their son. When my mom refers to me, I am their son.

Day 721 entering Week 103 of HRT. [LL] Happy New Year, and already behind! If you don’t know, every year I wear a new outfit for the new year, silly I know but it’s my tradition that I’ve held for several years now. I spent it with friends and family and surprising did not get super drunk. I learned how to play Magic and got my butt kicked by a 12 year old. She’s totally evil. I’ve already had a rough start but there’s nothing I can’t handle. Bring it on 2018.

A post shared by Zaneford (@17spark) on Jan 4, 2018 at 1:09pm PST

  When I heard about Trump’s tweet…

It was my day off … and I get a call from one of my bosses, a sergeant. I asked what was going on and she told me. … It really caught me off guard, because [Trump] was someone who prior to the election said, “I’m for the LGBT community.” He was literally holding the pride flag, and I don’t think he realizes how close-knit our community is and what that flag means to us.

So I was disappointed to hear there would be a ban. I come from a military family. I could potentially lose a career that is very important to me.

When I learned, back in June 2016, that the original transgender military ban had been lifted…

I was here in Germany. I remember following this for weeks … at the edge of my seat. On the day when [Obama] finally said yes for open trans service, I hung my trans flag up on my barrack windows for everybody to see, and it’s still up, next to my rainbow flag, so people see it all the time and ask me about it. I was so happy. I talked to all sorts of friends and family. I didn’t have to hide anymore. I didn’t have to pretend. It was an amazing day. I don’t know what will come of [the latest legal challenge], but I’m ready for whatever happens.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

White House Threatens to Shut Down Briefing Over Questions on Transgender Policy Shift

How Trump’s tweets ‘dehumanize’ transgender service members

Chelsea Manning Beauty exclusive: ‘This is an expression of my humanity’

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