#oh no overthrowing government actually has consequences

[cannibalvegetarian]

okay, here’s a thing. my friend and i, we have some ocs and as if it wasn’t bad enough, we also happen to have an inexhaustible urge to make them suffer. the scene takes place somewhere in the midst of 70–78 AD, after whatever-the-hell-nero-did-to-rome, but before vesuvius had erupted.

art: @its0berenice (right twix bar of the tandem)

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“it’s over,” antony says, lips curving into a smile, light, and thin, and colourless. “we lost.”

vincentius feels sick.

“so- what, that’s it?” he laughs bitterly. “you’re just going to give up. now, after everything. unbelievable.”

antony shrugs. the blade glitters ever so slightly as he tosses it and casually catches the handle halfway to the floor. he smiles again.

“i suppose so.”

the torn throat of the sun sheds its blood, turning everything bright red. it’s over, right. it’s all over.

his grand demise.

“why are you here, then?” he tries weakly.

“you know why, phil—“

“don’t.”

antony frowns, seemingly perplexed with a sudden change of mood, but decides against whatever he was thinking of and just shrugs again, “alright.”

nausea rises in his guts. it’s over. he tries to swallow the lump that is slowly thickening in his throat, but all in vain. instead, he bursts into laughter, loud and frantic, hardly sane at all.

“yeah,” he hides the trembling in his voice behind laughing spasms. “yeah, i suppose i do know.”

antony does not respond. he doesn’t have to.

there is a moment of silence, thick and tense, albeit most welcome, and vincentius seizes it to calm his nerves, strained to the point when it could snap in the worst possible time. he heads back and fishes out a carafe of wine, cramped on the shelf, assortment of which was mainly preserved for brighter occasions, but it doesn’t matter anymore. it’s all the same in the greater scheme of things. all the same.

antony chuckles knowingly, an obscure emotion flickers across his face as vincentius pours two goblets and offers him one. he doesn’t reach for it, and it takes only a few seconds to formulate a guess as to why.

“oh, for the love of— i would not,” he snaps, rolling his eyes with such an obvious annoyance that it must be leaking through the mask of feigned benevolence.

antony laughs gleefully, “i know. you wouldn’t try to poison me.” with a couple of light cat-like steps, he gets closer, until only a few unciae separate them. “you wouldn’t do that to a jug of fine wine,” he laughs, and this laughter, this ominous, dreadful laughter makes vincentius squirm.

it isn’t about the wine, he means to say, but the words stick in his parched throat.

“and even if you would,” antony resumes with a soft smile, “i don’t mind. i’d take it willingly.”

and he’s there, and vincentius makes the mistake of letting him be there, of allowing him close enough to have an opportunity to fulfill his vow, his eerie prophecy. although there is every likelihood that it wouldn’t make much difference anyway. he simply doesn’t stand a chance, not against someone with professional competence of an experienced massacrer. so he’s there, and it is all so damn over.

“i love you.” the worst part is that it’s not even a lie.

the skin tears, letting the cold steel in. he gulps for air, suddenly finding himself unable to breathe, and barely bites down a scream, when antony pulls the blade out of the wound. his moist eyes glisten in the reddish rays of sunset. almost tender. almost fond.

he tries to focus his vision but fails—and it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much—everything blurs, shrouded in a veil of agony, roundelay of smudgy colours, swimming before eyes.

he doesn’t want to go. please. he—

“there, there,” antony nuzzles his forehead, pressing dry lips to vincentius’ cold perspiring skin. “shh, ‘s alright. you’re good, you’re good,” hands slippers soothingly over his crouched back. “i’ve got you.”

exactly, thinks vincentius, gathering the very shreds of his inflamed mind, that’s exactly the problem.

his bleared gaze slides down, and here he is, once more, about to throw up. his hands are slick, and wet, and all covered in red—gods, so much red, so much—he clutches desperately at the fabric of antony’s tunic, but it’s just no help. he sobs brokenly, choking on a breath, and he cries, and weeps, and it’s all so utterly disgraceful that he’s nearly willing to die instantly, just to skip all this degrading misery.

antony grabs his chin, preventing from looking any longer, “sh, sh, sh… i know, i know. it’ll pass soon.” the grip tightens, his torn guts pierced by the blooming flower of excruciating pain. “i promise,” he says through the mouth of a liar, and vincentius wants to believe him so badly it’s almost laughable.

there comes a sound of dripping, slow and rhythmic, and with a sudden strike of clarity vincentius reckons that it might actually be his blood. that he won’t make it this time. his legs weaken, bending down. antony murmurs softly, almost intelligibly, with his head buried into dump sweat-soaked hair, all tangled and messy, slowly guiding them to the floor.

and the dying sun leaves bloody smears of light on the carpet pile. he should’ve changed it. many, many moons ago. yeah, he thinks absentmindedly, i’ll give the order to burn this hideous thing.

the sun is dying, and so is he.

“farewell, philtatos,” antony whispers, but the sound is stolen by the shuddering thump behind his back. something breaks, shards of whatever it was flash before eyes, and a shouting crowd fills the room.

antony stands up, leaving him on the floor, with palms above head in a sign of mock surrender. the feeling of his calloused hands and firm, steady grip, in which antony had cradled him, is no longer here, and vincentius hates the way it makes him feel.

his fingers, numb and soaked in blood, clamp over the wounded stomach. it’s all over.

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[fast-moon]

DS9 Season 2 Thoughts

I've made it through the second season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine after missing out on it during its original run due to being too young to understand it at the time. Let's see how it holds up now!

1. The Homecoming: Kira goes to rescue a Bajoran prisoner who she hopes can unify the planet, but it turns out all the legends about him are just that, and he's just some guy who's not up to the task. But Sisko knows how religious people work, and insists he play the part anyway, since they won't be bothered about whether any claims about him are real or not.

2. The Circle: The plot continues to be too real as a government official conspires with the leader of a small but vocal conservative religious sect to use terrorism to overthrow the government and install themselves. Even the more liberal religious leader still has naughty fantasies.

3. The Siege: The three-parter misses the landing by naively believing that religious extremists attempting to overthrow the government would actually reconsider if shown proof that they're secretly being funded by an enemy power who wants to use them to destabilize the country.

4. Invasive Procedures: Okay, seriously, is Dax just utterly emotionally dissociated from her current body? She shrugs off constant sexual harassment and objectification, she was indifferent about being executed for a crime she didn't commit, she didn't treat Bashir's sexualized replica of her as any kind of violation, and now she's like, "Welp, this guy wants my liver squid. Oh well, bye, guys." Also, I get that Quark's an entertaining POS, but there are certain things he's done that he really should be facing consequences for.

5. Cardassians: Our fabulous Cardassian tailor returns! I'm not sure how I feel about sending the kid back with his bio dad, but if it had ended with him staying with his adoptive family, I'm not sure how I would have felt about that, either. It was a crap situation for that poor kid either way.

6. Melora: The station crew trip over themselves trying to improve the accessibility of the station for a new special needs crew member. Gosh, if only they were that worried about its accessibility for their permanent crew member who still has to contort himself into unnatural shapes on a daily basis in order to utilize its systems. #JusticeForOdo

7. Rules of Acquisition: Quark's new business partner starts hitting on him. His partner then turns out to be a woman, which actually ends up making it even more scandalous.

8. Necessary Evil: Oh, cool, a film noir episode that shows what the station was like under Cardassian rule. Quark finally gets some comeuppance but is saved by plot armor. Odo explores his inner Columbo. He was also apparently a lab subject and then a sideshow attraction before Gul Dukat hired him as security, so good lord, someone give this poor slime a break.

9. Second Sight: A woman in an unhappy marriage literally dreams up a self-insert OC to pair with Sisko.

10. Sanctuary: An entire nation of refugees comes through the wormhole and demands to settle on Bajor because it's their holy promised land. They get denied, then get pissy because one deeply religious group annexing territory from another deeply religious group and then having to live side-by-side has historically worked out so well in the past.

11. Rivals: Prince Humperdinck brings aboard a gatcha game that breaks the universe's RNG.

12. The Alternate: It's finally Odo's turn to get infected with the crazypox that he usually has to save everyone else from. Although, even without the crazypox as an excuse, I think he's earned the right to throw a violent temper tantrum after all the bullshit he's had to put up with. Also, "Wasn't that pillar over here before?" "It was in my way; I had it moved." is living rent-free in my brain due to how deliberate the inclusion of this exchange was yet how utterly pointless it ended up being. A red herring is one thing, but the entire pillar subplot simply vanished entirely following this scene and it left me so confused.

13. Armageddon Game: Aliens gift Sisko a deepfake video of how they would have killed O'Brien and Bashir if they were actually halfway competent about it.

14. Whispers: O'Brien becomes paranoid that everyone is conspiring against him, and it turns out he's right. Nice subtle touch to having him repeatedly order coffee throughout the episode, since his coffee habits in the previous episode were what initially clued them in that he was a fake.

15. Paradise: Sisko: "Excuse me, are y'all with the cult?" Alixus: "We're not a cult, we're an isolated commune that rejects technology and--" Sisko: "Yeah, this is it."

16. Shadowplay: Odo and Dax figure out everyone in the village is a hologram because the episode title gave it away. Also, I really hope that Odo remains aro-ace and the rest of the crew come to respect that, instead of constantly teasing him about his lack of a sex life and ultimately forcing him into thinking he needs a relationship to be happy. He already has to contort himself into uncomfortable shapes to conform. Don't force him to contort into conformity any further. #JusticeForOdo

17. Playing God: Huh. So there are rats on space stations. Also, Dax discovers a potentially universe-destroying proto-universe and decides to dump it in the Gamma Quadrant for them to deal with.

18. Profit and Loss: Quark teaches us that when a woman says "no", she really means "yes" if you hound and threaten her long enough.

19. Blood Oath: Curzon Dax continues to posthumously make me question Sisko's choice in friends, as Jadzia Dax now feels obligated to attend a Klingon murder party that Curzon RSVP'd to.

20-21. The Maquis: Humans set up colonies next to a known bear cave, whine that the Federation won't protect them from the bears, start an anti-bear movement.

22. The Wire: Bashir goes into a panic after his boyfriend ODs. Honestly, Bashir really needs to stop chasing women and recognize he has way more chemistry with Garak. He's always been annoyingly shallow and self-serving to the point that I wouldn't trust him as a doctor no matter how skilled he was. But this episode actually let him give a damn about someone without objectifying them, which is good progress. Hopefully it sticks. Also, Sisko's proclamation to keep Quark locked up "forever" in the previous episode didn't seem to last very long. But at least now I know where the "Especially the lies" meme comes from!

23. Crossover: Bashir learned nothing from the previous episode and goes right back to womanizing and talking incessantly about himself. Damn. Kira's meets her mirror universe counterpart who instantly falls in love with her, which... same.

24. The Collaborator: The liberals lose the election because they're more concerned with their candidate being 100% unproblematic than preventing the entire planet from falling under the rule of a goddamn religious tyrant. (throws table in a fit of "this is too real")

25. Tribunal: O'Brien goes on vacation to Planet Kangaroo Court, which is actually a bit more relaxing than what he usually has to put up with.

26. The Jem'Hadar: are truly truly truly outrageous. And really want to meet a Klingon, and I know we're getting Worf eventually because he's on the series splash screen. But until then, bring on the Dominion!

I found Season 2 generally a bit better than Season 1. I was really uncomfortable with Bashir in Season 1, and he was a bit more tolerable in Season 2. Downright redeemed in "The Wire", then he regressed immediately in the next episode, so I still have a fairly low opinion of him. Dax is another character I'm having trouble caring about since even after two seasons I still have no clear idea of "What would Dax do?" in any hypothetical situation.

Like, if a bunch of monkeys got loose on the station, I can imagine that Sisko would order a containment field and then go monkey-hunting with Kira, who would spend the whole time exasperated like, "Really?! Monkeys?!" O'Brien would technobabble together a monkey trap while grumbling about how this sort of thing always happens to him, Bashir would tell a long-winded story about how there was a similar incident with Emus back at the academy and how much of an adventure it was and he ended up saving the day and then a bunch of women were swooning all over him, Quark would stash a couple of monkeys away to sell later, and Odo would have grumpily already rounded them all up because he's the only competent crew member (and relieving Quark of his monkey stash). And Dax would just... kind of stand there I guess. Maybe quip about how one of her previous incarnations had a monkey. But she just doesn't have enough of a notable personality for me to go, "Yep, that's a Dax thing to do, all right." So far she still feels uncomfortably like a fetish character with little actual substance.

Also, the depiction of the Universal Translator analyzing a new language in "Sanctuary" made me even more perplexed as to how it even works. So, they started out speaking an unknown language, and over the course of the episode, the UT learned it and started translating it. Okay, cool. Except that implies that the aliens -- and probably everyone on the station -- are all actually still speaking their native languages and the UT is just real-time translating them all. But how does this work in a conversation? If Sisko speaks to Kira and Quark, how do they both hear something they can understand? Where even is the UT? They'll beam down to a planet and lose all their equipment but can still communicate with everyone fine. And how does the UT know to stop translating, like when someone will yell in Klingon for one sentence and then switch back to English?

I wonder if there's ever an episode where the Universal Translator malfunctions and everyone has to figure out how to communicate with each other. Heck, might be an opportunity for Dax to actually do something since she's the one most likely to be a polyglot.

Anyway, on to Season 3!

[squadron-goals]

End of 1918: Ceasefire and revolution

Rudolf Berthold is in the Berlin University Hospital until late autumn 1918, where his sister looks after him. Due to the slow healing of his wounds, further use of Berthold in the troops was no longer an option, nor was he initially granted use at home. He spent the last weeks of the war in his Franconian home.

October 1918

Overthrow! Constitutional change! In a few days, what strong men have built up over centuries will be destroyed. "Peace at any price!" So the seduced people whine. People everywhere have lost their heads. One doubts the army. We are still far in enemy territory and we are supposed to surrender? Madness! Oh Germany, where is your national feeling? How great France is in this respect! Despite all the devastation at home, despite the many defeats, it remains strong. We have been victorious for 4 years, we have smashed armies and states almost in all parts of the compass rose, and yet the homeland has not been behind the front for a long time! Not only because of the privations to which we too were subjected; the internal incitement, the worthless party discord has crushed the spirit of unification of 1914, has crushed all that was good! You dishonourable wretches who have carried the spirit of treason to the people under the guise of the alleged idea of peace, do you believe that the enemy will know justice and mercy? Ceasefire offer ... our honour is over! I still push for the front. The consequences of my last crash are outwardly overcome. Unfortunately, my right arm remains lame. But I shot with it in spring and summer after all. The will and the ability just have to be there! I want my Geschwader 2 back. Precisely because I had the greatest difficulties with it for months until it was flying at its best, until it grew close to my heart. I am attached to each and every one of them.

The belief in the imminent peace of nations is a fantasy of our pacifists: the world will never completely eliminate ill-will and enmity, love even among nations can never be forced, especially when hatred lies in the blood, and a bridge can never be built in the long run between people that differ from each other like fire and water. Only power and the will to defend oneself secure life for the individual as well as the nation.

Wilson replied. We continue on the sloping track and I still have to sit here. I want to go out to the front! I'm supposed to put together a new fighter wing after all. If only I had at least my healthy bones ..., but I'll make it anyway! The will does everything. As long as the battle rages outside, everyone who has experience belongs out there! One can help so much, especially from an educational point of view! How pathetic is this begging in front of Wilson! The front is fixed again and yet we want to surrender, we the actual bearers of the victories! How ridiculous, mean and miserable is fate sometimes! These days I am in my closer home near Bamberg. It is a beautiful piece of German soil. This magnificent German forest, the serious spruce, they seem to me even more gloomy than usual, even sad! They mourn with me over our nation's growing disgrace!... This people without self-confidence should be ripe to govern itself! Disgusting is the poison and spite that is spread against the person of our Emperor! Thus the foreign countries must only despise us all the more.... Join together, all of you who have kept your decent minds in these days of meanness! Cast off all petty party interests, let honour, loyalty and love for the homeland not be empty phrases!

November 1918

There has been such an eerie silence before the storm over Berlin since the end of October, all that is missing is the spark and the discharge is there! Berlin, the center of all intellectual life, the nurturing center of art and science, the center of the greatest industrial activity, on the one hand, the giver of everything good and beautiful. On the other side, again, the breeding ground for the worst impulses and impulses, the abode of all the worst criminals, the rejects of humanity, the revolutionary rabble who can only destroy, not build up, who cannot lose anything, but only in bloody upheaval with murder, robbery and looting has to win! There is also the branch of Russian Bolshevism and these wicked elements, supported by the Soviet embassy, are already beginning to stir. As unbelievable as it sounds, they are hugely popular and the weak Democratic government is letting them do what they want instead of interfering with fire and sword. Instead of coming together and forming a solid fighting bloc, the good citizen is left at a loss. Speeches are made and incendiary articles are written in the newspapers, but there is a lack of initiative. If the storm breaks out, everything will definitely go into chaos, everyone will try to save themselves and go under one by one. Our previous regime can be blamed for not educating the people sufficiently in national consciousness; the press system in particular should have been better supervised and controlled by the state! Because what educates the common man more than his newspaper? With the most ruthless severity, timely intervention had to be made where one was at work undermining the love for the people and homeland, the only source of our strength! They tried to win over these elements through false indulgence and clemency, the result was a strengthening of the un-German direction and the true friend of the fatherland saw his ideals, for which thousands gladly gave their blood, for which they sacrificed their everything, sullied by a brutal hand. As long as a good core, even if it is currently so small, lives in our people and does not die out, we have the indestructible hope that one day loyal German reception and feeling will awaken in the fatherland and will relentlessly demand accountability from those who, for criminal reasons incite the people with mean egoism, tear them apart with incendiary speeches and ignite the revolutionary fire!

The Commission left to accept the ceasefire conditions - unconditional! -. Is there anything else we can do now that Bolshevism, once promoted by the Social Democrats, is becoming increasingly widespread? Kiel, Lübeck, Braunschweig... Workers-Soldiers' Council dominate the field and, to add insult to injury, the cowardly and oath-breaking home troops are defecting to the revolutionaries in droves. The king's coat, which I have worn with honor and pride for so long, is desecrated! How difficult it is, how terribly difficult, to continue living!

Berlin and Munich are ablaze, judging by the broken connections! This precisely at the moment when we need to be strong in order to gain as much as possible from the enemy in the negotiations! It has happened: the revolution has broken out! Fate, go your way now! The wildest rumors are circulating in the countryside, which is cut off from all connections. Emperors and princes have been driven out, the Bavarian king has been driven out of Munich! Unbelievable! But now you can trust the mob to do anything! And I have to sit here doing nothing, especially these days! Oh, if only I had a company of my peacekeepers and we would soon have peace restored! I would hunt down the ringleaders; day and night they would have no peace until they had reaped their well-deserved reward: the hanging!

In the last few days I couldn't write: everything was too terrible! One piece of terrible news follows another, leaving no room for calm reflection. What people were afraid to suspect is now reality: the mob has become master overnight! Workers' and Soldiers' Councils everywhere, these canails have chosen the moment well for their work! These new ministers are agitators and shouters, party bigwigs and professional politicians of the worst kind! And nothing is harder to learn than to command well and govern well! What I saw weeks ago: in this chaos, the majority of our people were simply taken by surprise and then lost their heads. Poor Germany, where are you going?

I didn't have my diary in hand for over 4 weeks. I wanted to forget, not think, and yet it was impossible to calm down. Today, on Christmas Day, I'm looking through the pages again and asking you, dear diary, about memories. Like every year, like outside in front of the enemy, like as a child and as a man in peace, this time I decorated a tree just for myself: the Christ child above, with a small airplane underneath, looks at us and smiles. They know that you are my best advisor, my friend in good days and bad. There is snow outside, which I rarely saw in the field, and which I always wished for at Christmas because it brings the real Christmas atmosphere. Snow on German fir trees... and yet no Christmas spirit! This time the snow is like a big shroud that covers so much beauty, so much longing, so much ideal. Why do I always feel this cold shiver when I look out of the window over the fields, meadows and forest in their white dress, even though the cozy warmth surrounds me in my little room?

It's Christmas and yet completely different than usual! Did the time of revolution also bury our old German Christmas, the joyful hope, our childhood faith? Then, German people, if you have forgotten how to be a child, you are no more worth than being thrown into a pit and covered with earth! If earning money and rawness of heart and emotions mean strength for you, then you don't deserve to have thousands of people believe in you like they believe in themselves and bleed, gladly bleed and bleed to death! Free, free, finally free! This is how the masses roar, this is how they rage. One infects the other, everything forms a huge army of drunks, exiles, madmen! The happiness of the new freedom is shouted to each other. You call each other comrade and brother, fall into each other's arms, kiss... and suddenly the stupid citizen, the beer table hero, notices that his wallet is missing! Freedom, equality! How greedily the eyes sparkle! I ask the one who shouts the loudest, he looks at me with stupid eyes, thinks and stutters: "Me, I don't need to work anymore!" He is a worker who I asked about the nature of the new freedom... I ask a farmer who I previously saw walking arm in arm with the worker. First the same stupid face, then a blissful smile: "I don't have to deliver anymore, I can now sell my grain and my potatoes secretly and use the money..." I ask an elementary school teacher. A proud look from above. "Now we are the masters. We will finally get the salary that we have always fought for. Now we demand: now we must be given the social position that we deserve based on our intellectual superiority, our salary!" So this is what the happiness of the new freedom looks like! The worker no longer wants to work, but wages, high wages, money, money. The farmer believes, with the cleverness that is innate in him, that he can drain his fellow human beings, the city dwellers, the workers; He sees human duty as an annoying constraint, he only wants money, money... The elementary school teacher sees demands as his ideal.

Why do you look at me so sadly, my little tree? Only a few families have a Christmas tree and the children run around depressed. Devotional! Brutes mockingly disrupt the church service. That is now the “great thing”, that the freedom of the republic has brought us is a big field of rubble, slavery! And how I longed for this Germany after being outside from the beginning! High and low lay shoulder to shoulder in the same dirt, the officer next to his soldiers, all animated by one thought: to protect the fatherland! That was real democracy, that trench community, it and only it can be the foundation stone for a new building of our German nation! My dear little tree, have no fear: I remain firm and strong inside despite the external collapse and with me many, many Germans. The inner values remain and true inner greatness cannot be lost. German fir, grown in the German forest, a symbol of hope and loyalty, you should not remind us in vain that we too are children of the same earth. German Christmas in German lands! How rich we are for having such a feast! As long as we celebrate Christmas, German loyalty will not die out in German hearts!

[originalleftist]

Since this is in response to my post, and I assume is intended as a rebuke of it, let me try to clarify a few things:

No shit the Constitution prohibits him from becoming dictator for life. He doesn't give a shit. Neither do the people around him. He is doing a myriad of unconstitutional things every day. I'm not at all convinced that SCOTUS cares either. The Constitution also prohibited someone who broke their oath of office by committing insurrection from holding office. Until, according to SCOTUS, it didn't.

I am not advocating "defeatism". Did you see me advocating giving up? No, my post closed with advocating a general strike, and noncompliance by state governments (with a coup being the last resort).

There is a difference between not giving up, and being complacent, no, deluded, about what we are facing. It's like it's still 2016, and people still feel the need to condescendingly chide us for being "alarmist," as though the last 8 fucking years never happened, and at this point it's hard to call it anything other than gaslighting. All such complacency should have ended, at the VERY latest, on January 6th 2021.

I know the obvious response: "Well, the January 6th insurrection failed, so it's unlikely he'll succeed in becoming a dictator next time." To which I say 1) It could have been so much worse, they came about 30 seconds IIRC from capturing the Vice President and the nuclear football. Just because you survived Russian roulette once doesn't mean it's safe to play again. And 2) That was before the Republican Party fully endorsed what happened that day. That was before SCOTUS gave him Presidential immunity. That was before the cases against him were dropped and everyone convicted of those crimes got let off scot free, practically a giant blazing neon sign reading: "If you help Dear Leader overthrow the next election there will be no consequences."

Yeah, he's old. So what? They've already got JD Vance lined up to replace him- all the fascism, with another 40 years in him! Which you just hand waved aside with the assurance that Republicans will fall apart without 45 to lead them, which, maybe- but the billionaire and foreign dictator backers will still need a front man, and their dominance of media and undermining of the electoral system is only getting stronger right now.

The constant downplaying of the threat they pose is not helpful. The most dangerous thing now is paralysis, inaction. Defeatism can cause that, sure- which is why, as I said, I do not advocate it. But you know what else can? What has been causing paralysis since he first rolled down that golden escalator and started calling Mexican immigrants r*pists and murderers? Complacency. Denial. Overconfidence. Assurance that it can't be that bad, those things could never actually happen here. Oh, he's just a joke, he'll never actually win the nomination. Okay he got the nomination but that's actually good for us, 'cause there's no way he'll actually win! Look how great the polls are, Hillary's definitely got this in the bag, hey maybe I don't need to bother voting for her. Oh shit, he won- well, better give him a chance, maybe being President will sober him, and if it doesn't, there will be "adults in the room" to check him. Huh, looks like he's still doing a lot of damage, well its okay, we can just vote him out. Let's not listen to his former fixer testifying to Congress that there won't be a peaceful transfer of power. Holy fuck, he tried a coup? Well it failed, thank goodness, and this'll definitely finish him, no way Republicans will still support him after this! Oh, they refused to convict him in his impeachment trial? And the RNC just called the insurrection "legitimate political discourse"? Well, shit. At least there's no way the people would ever reelect him, especially now that he's indicted and a convicted felon and an adjudicated fraud and r*pist. And hey, even if he does somehow win, it can't possibly be that bad, we made it through once, people are just being alarmist, I'm sure its alright if I stay home on election day or "protest vote" again...

Jesus Christ.

(Also, the idea that Republicans would be the check on him becoming dictator for life is one of the funniest things I've ever heard, in a really sad way. Maybe Lisa Muskowski would cast a futile protest vote, and Susan Collins would say she's concerned. We really have learned absolutely nothing from the last decade if we are expecting anything to be the time that Republicans finally break from him.)

1,450 Days Until Convicted Felon Donald Trump Leaves Office

[qqueenofhades]

Lmao have you seen the people screaming “defund the FBI”? I am not over the irony

Oh yes, I have seen them. Allow me to translate from Republicanese to English:

"ANYONE WANTING TO DEFUND THE POLICE IS A COMMIE SOCIALIST LAWLESS BASTARD ... UNLESS THE POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING REPUBLICANS!!! IN WHICH CASE DEFUND THE UNAMERICAN GAZPACHO POLICE!!!"

"DEMOCRATS NEVER GET INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI! FORGET THE PART WHERE COMEY REOPENING THE CASE ON CLINTON WITH 11 DAYS UNTIL THE 2016 ELECTION ALMOST SURELY COST HER SAID ELECTION! NOBODY IN HISTORY HAS EVER BEEN MORE PERSECUTED THAN US 😭😭😭😭😭"

"LOCK UP ANY FEDERAL OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF MISHANDLING SENSITIVE INFORMATION! LIKE WHEN TRUMP HIMSELF SIGNED A LAW TO IMPOSE STIFFER PENALTIES FOR THIS CRIME!!! EXCEPT NOT TRUMP HIMSELF BECAUSE WAH WAH THAT’S MEAN"

"NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER HAD THEIR HOME RAIDED BY THE FBI BEFORE! THIS IS POLITICAL PERSECUTION! PLEASE FORGET THE PART WHERE NO FORMER PRESIDENT HAS BEEN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR TREASON CHARGES!"

"THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SHOULDN’T BE POLITICAL! TRUMP NEVER POLITICIZED THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT! EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE HE SUPER TOTALLY TRIED TO USE IT TO LAUNCH AN HONEST TO GOD COUP AND INVESTIGATING PEOPLE WHO BROKE THE LAW AND TRIED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT A POLITICAL (IE BAD) ACT!"

"WE ARE JUST POOR LITTLE BABIES WHO ARE BEING PERSECUTED FOR LOVING FAITH FREEDOM FAMILY AND AMERICA!!! WITCH HUNT BLARGLE LIBERAL SNOWFLAKES SO DELICATE PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT US MELTING DOWN OVER LITERALLY ANY HINT OF ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR TERRIBLE ACTIONS! FORTUNATELY WE HAVE THE MEDIA TO HELP SPIN ALL THIS AS ACTUALLY A PROBLEM FOR DEMOCRATS! BLORGLE!!!!!!"

[bookwyrminspiration]

I love how so many ya books are just against the government in some way shape or form. Like, if the government is present in ya book there’s a 90% chance it’s because they’re antagonists. I love it. I think it‘s a good way to encourage young people to think critically about their government-and authority in general- even if that wasn’t the intention. Thoughts?

authors: what's up with the kids these days? Oh, right, anarchy and overthrowing the government with knives

But on a serious note, it is interesting to see how so many series reflect the current times and how that represents itself as inadequate governments. Stories are ways to talk about the real world and real issues through the filter of fiction and separate characters while enforcing actual applicable lessons. For a lot of books that come from the U.S. at least (I can't speak for other countries), the big irl problem all comes down to the government--the government has had the same system of government for centuries. It is wildly overdue for an update. Most other countries have gone through multiple other methods of government in the meantime, while the U.S. is stuck centuries in the past. So for authors living here, that is something they can't escape or separate themselves from, something that affects every aspect of daily life whether conscious of it or not, so it gets transferred into writing. And authors in/from other countries can't escape the government either.

Can you imagine a government without faults? One that is doing everything justly and morally and for the people? Odds are, that seems unrealistic, even laughable. Right now, government is absolutely integral to a societies functioning, but a lot of writers haven't experienced one that is working for the best interests of the population. The word government is synonymous with negative things like inadequate and corrupt and selfish, at least for most people. So when writing a government, of course there's going to be negative rulings. Our understanding of governments is related to what we personally know about them, and we have only been exposed to bad ones! And our real life experiences affect literature and what we write.

Having bad governments in writing it's both like a warning and an encouragement to think critically about our world, because it is crucial that we exercise our ability to do so in order to form our own opinions and morals and make decisions. Children are young and impressionable, so this serves almost as a...practice round? In the context of keeper, Shannon presents us with a world where over the course of a few books the government is shown more and more to be bad at what they're doing. They're not doing it right and as such the main character--whom a lot of the child readers want to be like--acts against it in order to do the right thing. This introduces the idea that governments can be wrong, that sometimes doing something because you personally find it right and have weighed the consequences of doing so and chose to act is better.

If these books we idealize all had perfect governments, it would be harder to criticize the real world because we'd be basing our understanding of it partially off what we read. And if we'd never been introduced to the possibility that the government could be bad, then it inhibits our judgments of the real world.

Right now, the word "government" is synonymous with negativity, so it's written the same when in stories. Both as an expression of the author's experiences and understandings and as the young readers' first introduction to government being more realistic. I don't know about you, but I was understanding and criticizing kotlc's council before I even knew what my country's government is based on. It was like an intervention, making sure I knew rulers could be wrong before anyone could convince me otherwise, and it was a lot easier to be critical of the government growing up when i was being cautious approaching it then having to unlearn a bunch of things later.

of course kids are also impacted by the real people around them, but that doesn't mean books don't leave their impressions. Realistically, a lot of governments are our antagonists, and these stories are our first exposures

[theravenclawrevolutionary]

i'm not a frev expert. and you seem to be approchable enough and to have read enough. i had a question, or kind of a question. i just. i think that if robespierre wasn't against all the deaths by guillotine, he wouldn't have written that quote about virtue and terror. maybe i'm getting you wrong, or i'm not understanding the sense of that quote. could you explain?

Oh dang. I'm kinda surprised that people think I have any real authority on the subject of the Frev since I'm not an actual historian or anything and I'm surprised people find me approachable but of course I'll try my best for you Anon! And if anyone else has a better interpretation or anything else to add please, go ahead. I'll also try my best to keep it in as simple language as I can. But I digress.

⚠ This post is quite long so be prepared for that ⚠

First of all, Robespierre has more than one quote talking about terror and virtue. I'm assuming that you're thinking of the one that goes, "Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country." since that is the most common one. However, if you're talking about the one that goes "Terror is only justice: prompt, severe and inflexible; it is then an emanation of virtue; it is less a distinct principle than a natural consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing wants of the country." Let me know and I'll write about that one. The former is definitely a quote that, in my experience studying the Frev, gets misinterpreted from what it was originally meant to say fairly often.

To start with, it's very important to know what connotation and definition the words 'virtue' and 'terror' had in revolution-era France. Modern-day definitions may not be the same ones that were used in the past. According to my research, which of course isn't infallible, virtue was used to refer to someone's disposition and the way it would lead them to choose good over evil whereas where terror was seen simply as great fear. At the time there was no connotation of our modern-day terrorism to associate with the word. Nowadays we associate terror with terrorism which brings to mind murder, mindless destruction, oppression, and unchecked authority in which someone's ideals are forced upon large groups of people. Because of this many people assume that this is what Robespierre had in mind when he referenced terror when really he meant to describe the use of intimidation tactics to seize power from those who oppressed the lower class people and the general fear that was felt by the commoners.

Essentially the Reign of Terror meant 'a time period where everyone felt a sh*t load of Fear over all the bad stuff happening at once while the regular people try to overthrow the oppressive ruling class with intimidation tactics.' It does not mean 'a time period where loads of people were purposely committing widespread acts of terrorism to push their agendas'. And really, it was the only way to give everyone the chance to get rid of the old government, the monarchy, and allow a fair democracy that would be beneficial to the future of France to be built.

Next, it's important to know the context in which this quote was originally said. The speech where Robespierre said it took place on Feb 5th (?) of 1794. By this point, the revolution has been well underway for several long years and, as I said, a lot of sucky things are happening at the same time. The republic was in a war with a massive part of Europe and they're kinda getting curb-stomped. The country is in a state of civil war between the people that still supported the monarchy and all the different groups that had different views of how the country should be run. France's economy was complete sh*t too, so all this really radicalized the people and made the whole revolution situation so much worse than it already was.

At the time there were two factions, so to say, in the National Convention that were hella pissed at each other and really at odds. the Hébertists (who, to make things easy, wanted to escalate the Terror, go on the offensive with the military, and the overthrow and replace some of the existing government structures at the time) and the Dantonists (who wanted to sorta get rid of the revolutionary government, negotiate for peace in the war, and chill out on the whole Terror thing). And remember that these groups of people were very loose and like people in today's politic didn't agree with every stance their 'faction' took.

By the time Max made this speech, which was addressing these two groups, the situation between them was escalated big time. The Hébertists, with their views of 'more terror all over! That'll help us win everything,' or 'terror without virtue,' were pushing for a system that would quickly prove fatal. By contrast, the Dantonists with their, 'we just need to kinda chill and things will work out,' way of thinking or 'virtue without terror', would only lead to them (and the rest of the country) getting walked over by everyone else.

Throughout the entire speech, a speech I haven't recently read all the way through, Max comes back to the idea of terror and virtue, stressing that both are necessary. What I think he meant to do was talk about how the revolution couldn't survive without both terror (fear and the aggression that causes it) and virtue (the choice of good over evil) being applied. He's trying to explain to both groups that a little bit of both ideals is the most beneficial way to go about things. In reality, it has nothing to do with whether he personally believed in or advocated the death penalty/ the use of the guillotine. Instead, Robespierre is emphasizing that at that particular moment in time doing what is right and good (virtue) will most likely end up causing some bad things that will make people afraid for a while (terror).

What Robespierre is not saying is that terror, and by extension the violence that is causing the terror is virtuous. There are several easy-to-find sources that prove his personal disapproval of the death penalty from a moral standpoint. As a young lawyer in his hometown in Arras, he became physically ill at the idea of having one of his clients sentenced to death, even though he was found guilty of the crime he was on trial for. He made a speech agreeing with the abolition of the death penalty on May 30th of 1791 (?) arguing that there is no place for the death penalty in a civilized society because the law needs to be a model of what is good. He attempted to save the lives of Georges Danton and Camille Desmoulins, two friends/coworkers that he is commonly charged with sending to their deaths when the opposite is actually true. Additionally, he did the same with other more controversial people including the king's sister of all people, Madame Elisabeth. Even when voting for the death of the king he reiterates his own opinion on the death penalty saying, "For myself, I abhor the penalty of death that your law so liberally imposes, and I have neither love nor hatred for the King; it is only the crimes that I hate…. It is with regret that I utter this baneful truth…Louis must die in order that our country may live." Though it conflicts with his personal views, Robespierre makes the decision based on the needs of France as a country, something that many politicians need to relearn how to do today.

Long story short, he was not supporting the use of the guillotine with that quote, but rather trying to get two opposing factions to realize that both intimidation/fear and making sound, beneficial decisions would keep France on the right track to building a successful democracy for the people. Hopefully this helped and I explained it in a way that was easy for you to understand. If you ever have any more Frev related questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer or I'll send you in the direction of someone else more knowledgeable if I don't know.

Also, can someone tell me if I did a good job of explaining this? I can never tell if things I write about the Frev make sense to me because I actually know exactly what I mean to say so everyone else kinda goes along with it or if I actually say helpful things of substance. Thanks guys! And if anyone else knows more about the subject or if I've made a mistake please help me out.

~Dara

[saltpepperbeard]

This unpopular opinion is literally the opposite of that other one lmao. Mockingjay the book is phenomenal. I respect Suzanne Collins so much for sticking to her themes and paying them off especially in a children’s book. The whole point of The Hunger Games book is that children are made pawns by the government for political power and that EXACT SAME thing is portrayed throughout Mockingjay. The thing that these rip off teen dystopias miss is the fact that teens can’t actually overthrow the government. Katniss never has any true power to kill Snow and end his regime but the adults in her life trick her into thinking she does so they can win the war and gain more power aka they make Katniss, a child solider, a piece in their games. THAT’S the point of the book, that the hunger games are not just in the arena, all of Panem is a hunger games where the people in power exploit children for their own gain. As much as Katniss is the heroine of this story, she and Peeta are also cautionary tales of child soldiers who were exploited and taken advantage of by multiple governments who both pretended that they wanted to make life better for children in Panem. I think the series ends as happily as it possibly can, with Katniss and Peeta choosing to live, despite their PTSD, and find happiness for themselves regardless of how scary it may me.

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

AGAIN, forgive me- my grasp on Mockingjay is definitely looser than the other two, so consequently I feel as though my opinions/knowledge will be a bit more questionable. But what I can say is yes, I do agree that it was good for her to stick to her principles and speak further on the darker/grittier/horrifyingly REALISTIC elements of her universe. It did indeed serve well as a cautionary tale towards

HOWEVER, and I just brought this point up in my tags, but it quickly began to intersect with many other Dystopian stories. It began showcasing the same themes. Once you take out the trademark element of a Dystopian Story, it all begins bleeding together. And perhaps that takes away from the draw a bit, as it feels painfully familiar.

I also feel a bit...salty for a lack of better terms lol, with how rushed the ending is quite honestly. My beef for the end of MJ2 also extends into the book; THE SODIUM RUNS DEEP DOWN INTO THE BONES. Even beyond the “growing back together” issues that I have, the execution and everything surrounding it feels rushed. And then all events seem to ROCKET forward from that point. It may very well just boil down to personal preference here, but it just felt almost jarring. Like from one page to the next, it’s like oh she’s locked in and traumatized oh she’s talking about kissing OH OKAY SHE HAS KIDS NOW. Like the end of the book just feels so incredibly condensed. Intentional to give the grittier details their space/attention? Perhaps. But girl sjdlkjsls please.

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Episodes 55-58

In which Reinhard rises to the occasion, we return to the cradle of humankind, and I struggle to care about any romance in this show.

Golden Boy

There’s a saying by someone in American politics I find myself thinking of a lot lately: “Power doesn’t corrupt. Power reveals.” When someone has enough power to do what they’ve always wanted with minimal consequence, they tend to reveal what it is that they’ve always wanted to do, deep down. Now that Reinhard’s essentially conquered the galaxy, that’s the position he’s in. He’s the most powerful person in the universe, with the freedom and opportunity to do whatever he pleases. What he does with this power will reveal who he truly is, and whether or not he truly believes in all those lofty ideals he preaches deep down. And... yeah, so far, Reinhard is fully living up to his dream. He doesn’t throw lavish parties that just waste the people’s money on gaudy expenses. He pays visits to everyone in his political sphere, not just the ones who explicitly curried favor with him. He even shows mercy to an attempted assassin and refuses to drag his name through the mud, focusing instead on the greater power structures behind his attack (Though he does get a sick one-liner or two off in the process: “ Kill me and my name will go down in history as the putz who only lasted 14 days as Kaiser.”) The universe gives him every opportunity to let power corrupt him and turn him into the very thing he swore to destroy, but he’s just not taking the bait. He’s genuinely committed to ending the sins of the Goldenbaum dynasty and setting a better example for the empire to follow. Even a bitter, cynical man like Reuenthal can’t help but fall in line behind his righteous spirit.

The question is, though: will it last? Reinhard’s always walked a very dangerous path between glorious purpose and selfish ambition, and achieving complete dominance isn’t gonna make that struggle any easier. There’s a dark moment where he considers that he’s now stronger than any of the nobles he railed against for abusing their power, a David who’s grown into the greatest Goliath of all, and wonders if he should crush himself just to be safe. It was one thing to fight against impossible odds to win the universe; it’s quite another thing to maintain that power with stability and good statesmanship. As the saying goes, winning is easy, governing is harder. And grand ideals that guided you into the light may not survive the endless, practical drudgery of day-to-day governance. Reinhard hasn’t cracked yet, but there’s plenty of time left for his good intentions to lead him down a much darker path. Or maybe he’ll actually stave off his darker impulses and remain a mostly just leader for his entire reign. Either way, I’m not gonna stop biting my nails until he’s truly out of the danger zone.

Forgotten Earth

On the other side of the galaxy, with the Alliance dissolved and Yang retired under blissful surveillance, it falls to Julian to keep the spacefaring adventures going strong. And the next one up is a doozy: Earth. Once the cradle of humanity, now an abandoned shell home only to the Church of Terra’s religious restorationists trying to return it to its former glory. As we learn in another episode-long  exposition dump (Side note, it’s a testament to LOGH’s quality that when I realized we were in for another fictional history lesson, my reaction was “Oh yeah, baby!”), Earth got a little too big for its britches trying to command the entire galaxy as more and more planets were colonized. There was war, atrocities, genocide, assassinations, the explicitly called-out evils of capitalist exploitation, rebels who overthrow a tyrannical government only to become corrupt themselves when they step into power, all that good History Is a Flat Circle(tm) stuff that proves this show knows how to write a convincing fake timeline. And in the end, the planet that gave birth to humanity and once stood as the center of galactic civilization was reduced to a bombed-out, dilapidated wilderness, left behind as the galaxy’s colonization continued to grow. What secrets Julian will uncover here, I don’t know. But with that asshole from Fezzan serving as the Church’s archbishop and a military force from the Empire on its way, things are sure to get messy in all the best ways.

Wedding Pains

So, here’s the thing: Legend of the Galactic Heroes kind of sucks at human drama. The interpersonal relationships between its cast work about as well as they need to in order to make them believable as characters, and that’s it. Whenever it tries to mine those connections for emotional pathos, as opposed to the broader, sweeping pathos of their place in the grand narrative of history, it usually falls flat. I can appreciate Yang and Julian’s complex relationship, how the younger learns from the older and tries his best to live up to/surpass his mentor. But the moment it tries to make Julian jealous of Yang because he was also in love with Frederica, it just comes off as cheap melodrama. And the moment it throws another obvious love interest right into his path, I could feel my eyes rolling into the back of my skull. I haven’t really brought this up before because until now, it’s mostly been unobtrusive background details that don’t matter much to the bigger whole. But between the stuff with Julian and Hilda now implied to be in love with Reinhard, which ties into the question over the Lohengramm legacy that’s increasingly plot essential, I’m less than thrilled about this show’s mediocre relationship drama encroaching on its excellent political drama.

And listen, I’m the first person to jump at a good romantic subplot. I don’t even mind Yang and Frederica’s marriage; as forced as their relationship is, they’re both still interesting characters who are interesting to watch play off each other, and that helps soften the blow (even if Yang with his hair combed just looks wrong on so many levels). But they only get away with it because their romance hasn’t been played for any kind of serious drama, so it can exist in a comfortably neutral state. The romances in this show only work in those uncomplicated moments that just let couples exist naturally as couples (See, for example: Mittenmeyer’s brief reunion with his wife: ”If I’d known that, I would’ve looked cooler when I proposed to you.”) The moment it asks me to seriously care about them, I feel my eyes glazing over. These romances just are not nuanced enough, compelling enough, entertaining enough, or even smart enough to work as emotional investment. And that’s without taking into account all the weird age gap stuff going on with Julian’s various entanglements. It’s not outright fetishized like some modern anime I could name, but the way this show casually accepts girls dating and being married to much older boys and men leaves a sour taste in my mouth all the same. The less LOTGH relies on this stuff to drive its drama, the better.

Odds and Ends

-HOLY SHIT YANG’S IN THE NEW OP

-”There are plenty of specialists in those fields already. I just need enough knowledge to know which specialists are trustworthy, yes?” I like how Hilda approaches things.

-”Admiral, I’m amazed you manage to lead these backstabbers to victory.” pfft

-”You wouldn’t happen to have any young ladies on this ship, would you?” Alright, that’s a nice bit of humanization for this random Empire inspector.

-Ooh, moving the capital to Fezzan? That’s gonna be interesting.

-Yeah, the hardest part of planning a rebellion is the waiting for the right moment. Bide your time.

-oh my god of course the corrupt army guy named his ship Dixieland

-”But a neutron bomb fired at his car permanently removed him from that position of power.” kdjfhskdjfh WOW SAVAGE

-Oh right, forgot Trunich ended up an expat in the empire. What a loser.

-ew ew ew not the brains

-”If the Oberstein line ceases to exist, the public will not mourn.” kdjhskdfh way to roast yourself buddy

-Jesus, Reuenthal, maybe leave the rape jokes for another day.

-”Polish that a little more and it would look nice on a gravestone.” ahahaha what a line

Era three, begin. See you next time!

[genvieve-of-the-wood]

Welcome to Authoritarian Paradise, Bring the Kids, Visit Our Tourist Destinations ( Mouse)and Remember- Don’t Complain About The Wrong Things In Groups Larger Than 3 or You Could Get Hit By a Car

https://apple.news/AzEUFF1MOSyqVcCfvPVkd3g

Not that we were a hotbed of protest activity to begin with, but hey- Ronnie needs to nip any dissenting voices in the bud. He has a possible presidential run, plenty of tax evading supporters and donors, “good old boy “political backing, and now- if anyone hides behind this law- they can run over protesters with their car and be granted immunity. If a group gathers lawfully, but the police or the local or state government don’t like the message, they can whip up charges to imprison and no release until a hearing. By the way, for the people who think this is just a response to Black Lives Matter- ummm, no. Black Lives Matter is a cause they can now conveniently jump on with the other states claiming it a reason to call “ 3 or more people protesting a RIOT.” Do I think it is especially aimed at BLM? Yes I do. But Republicans here have been wanting to find a way to quiet the over development protesters, beach driving protesters, environmentalists in general, shitty government program protests( see our unemployment and Medicaid programs for a start), and anyone who didn’t want Orange Mussolini running anything in this state. So the guy screaming into a bullhorn you can hear for several miles in my neighborhood, gathered with about 20 or so people in a strip mall parking lot close to my home waving Orange Dump flags and yelling at people about Jesus and hell and conspiracy theories as they walk by- will the cops shut them down? Is this an equal opportunity fascist law? This is a sad, fucked up day for Floridians. We already are made fun of for Florida Man, election drama, irresponsible and greedy wild animal collectors, our “thoughts and prayers” mentality about gun ownership, etc, etc. Now, we will be a model to all the other boot licking types who wanted to overthrow the government by using the military(how does that not hit you in the gut how close we were to an actual coup and how close we could be to a future one?) for fake narratives about the presidential election. I wonder if this law will be applied equally- like when the gun boner types protest a business for their mask wearing policies by walking around with guns in an intimidating manner ( because of some toxic masculine compensation thing in their heads about power and dick size) or a nasty little church group comes to hold up signs and yell at a funeral because the person who died was LGBTQ, etc? Why do I have the sad feeling that this law will be used only on voices they do not agree with? And are our elections going to follow the way of Georgia? But gosh, the statues of dead traitors who fought to protect slavery will be protected, so we have that going for us🙄? Just don’t gather in big groups anymore outside or you can be run over down here with no hope of prosecuting your assailant. Other than that, ride the rides, enjoy the beaches, build your second residence here and release your deadly invasive species into our wilds. https://apple.news/AZhVmlSA3ShGFZfjMFECtgw

The article below actually states what is in the law the clearest and the opinion I share, that too many in Republican politics have gone backwards to this “oh no, look what you made us good people become- we had to resort to fascism/ authoritarianism in order to get what we think is right” mentality. What these guys don’t realize is- when you create a law like this, you’ll be scrutinized even more closely on how “ evenly” it is enforced. In other words, how much hypocrisy can be measured from such a law? We will be watching to see if this was done to quiet all protests, or just the voices of races and causes the far right find offensive. We will be watching not just FL but other states laws changing and the consequences to follow.

https://apple.news/AE91khAhSQvWvWUFJMHZn9g

[cadence-talle]

Rain Against A Window (Chapter Three)

Pairing: Eventual Fitz Vacker/Dex Dizznee, Eventual Biana Vacker/Sophie Foster

Wordcount: 1,547

Summary: In which Alvar (previously Vacker) has to grow up far too fast, and Ruy makes an unexpected decision. 

Other notes: And after far, far too long, here’s chapter three. Enjoy! 

Taglist: @everyonehasthoughts, @clearlykeefitz, @loverofallthingssmart, @a-lonely-tatertot, @enbies-and-felonies, @molly-sencen, @lemontarto, @appalyneinstitute1, @ruewen-and-rising, @silver-snow, @linhamon-roll, @hyperlollypop, @never-ever-too-many-fandoms, @keeper-of-the-lost-queers, @impostertamsong, @vibing-in-the-void

Read it on ao3 or under the cut!

St Petersburg, Russia. October 12, 1917. 

Alvar’s not entirely sure when he discovered he would never rule. 

It might have been when he was nine, and had snuck into one of his father’s strategy meetings only to be thrown out of the room and given a talking-to later. 

It might have been when he was eleven, and hadn’t been allowed to take part in the royal parade. He had stared out the window of his bedroom, watching the people below move back and forth. 

It might have been when he was fourteen, and Alden had commissioned a family portrait while he was away in the country. His father had claimed it was just a way to welcome Fitzroy and Bianca to the family, but Alvar knew better. 

That painting, the four of them smiling cheerfully out at the world with no sign anyone was missing, that painting was just another way to say he didn’t belong. One more rope tying him back from the rest of his family. 

Really, that painting was the catalyst for everything that happened afterwards. 

He meets Ruy when he’s sixteen. The boy has been posing as a kitchen server for the past few months, and it doesn’t take much for Alvar to figure out he’s up to something. So he corners him one day after dinner, pulling them into a room off the side of the main hall. 

“I know what you’re doing,” he says quietly. There’s a flash of something in Ruy’s eyes- whether it’s fear or recognition, Alvar doesn’t know. “And I want to help.”

Ruy tilts his head and smiles, a slow, sharp thing. “All right, then.”

From that day forward, he isn’t Alvar Vacker, son of the tzar and shunned heir to the throne. He’s just Alvar, angry and determined to change things. Alvar, who masterminds a plan to overthrow the royal family. Alvar, who sneaks ten people into the palace one night, who helps explode the west wing, who points a gun at his mother and tries not to show how much he’s shaking. 

At the end, the fire of his anger has burned out. The embers remain, glowing brightly, but there’s no smoke to cloud his mind. He’s just… tired of playing this part. 

He’s never going to rule. He’s never going to be as important as his siblings. He’s never going to be seen, by anyone. 

And he promises himself, as he pulls the trigger, that he’s never going to regret this. 

-/-

St Petersburg, Russia. February 26, 1927.

The city is quiet. 

Not in the literal sense, of course. Alvar is pretty sure the city has never been literally quiet. Even in the darkest hours of the night, there’s noise; laughter, singing, shouting. No, this quiet is subtler, almost unnoticeable if you don’t know what you’re looking for. The streams of gossip have slowed to a whisper. 

Alvar has ears in every district, but even his best aren’t hearing much. Something is changing, a new wind blowing into the city, and it brings with it the smell of hope. 

Hope, especially among the lower class, is never a good thing. 

There’s a knock at the office door and Ruy pokes his head in, face impassive but eyes twitching this way and that. 

“The new report came in,” he says, seating himself on a chair in front of Alvar’s desk. “I thought you would want to see it.” 

Nodding, Alvar takes the offered stack of paper and begins to flip through it. It’s normal stuff, mostly- records of Vacker-owned contraband being sold on the black market, a baker over by the Neva who’s been harboring nobles in his basement. Alvar makes a few notes and turns to the last page, which seems to be an itemized list of rumors all on the same subject. He growls and sets the report back on his desk. Ruy bites his lip. 

“Yeah. You- you don’t think there’s any truth to them, right? It’s impossible.”

“It is impossible,” Alvar says in a tone he hopes sends the message that this conversation is over. “Fitzroy and Bianca are dead.” He would know; he killed them himself. Still, Ruy seems apprehensive. 

“I know. But even rumors have some truth to them. And that night was so long ago-” Ruy hesitates, reaching across the desk to touch Alvar’s hand. “Do- are you sure you killed them?”

There are flashes of light behind Alvar’s eyes, screams echoing through hallways. The cold metal of a gun in his hand, his own face reflected back at him. He doesn’t relive that night, doesn’t think about it unless he has to. He doesn't regret it, not yet, but he’s afraid that he will if he thinks too hard. 

“Yes.” He pulls his hand away from Ruy’s, glaring at the other man. “I’m positive. They’re dead.”

“Okay.” Something crosses Ruy’s face, an emotion that’s gone as soon as it appears. He taps the paper again, on a list of names. “The Ruewens are offering a pretty big reward, though. Schemes are popping up all over the city.”

“So we bring them in.” Alvar marks a few names. “Not all of them, just enough to get our message across.”

“And our message is… what, exactly?”

Alvar meets Ruy’s eyes. “That anyone found consorting with the prince and princess will face the consequences.”

-/-

“Look,” Ruy says as calmly as he can, looking at the sobbing man across from him. “You’re not in trouble. I just need you to confirm you don’t know the Vackers.”

“I- I don’t know the Vackers!”

“And I’m sure you’re aware what the penalty for lying to an officer is.”

The man’s eyes go wide and he nods vigorously. “I promise, I’m not lying! I’ve never heard of any Vackers!”

That’s obviously a lie, but Ruy suspects it’s more out of panic than actual malice. Sighing, he waves towards the door. 

“Right. Well, goodbye.”

The door swings shut and Ruy sinks further into his chair, rubbing his temples. He hates this. It’s unnecessary and, to be honest, probably useless; he understands the need to find whoever’s trying to impersonate the prince and princess, but dragging in half the city isn’t going to help. If Fitzroy and Bianca really are alive, they’d have to be much too smart to just… be arrested. 

A knock on the door signifies the next person is about to be sent in. Ruy glances up, looks back down at his desk, and then does a double take. Because seventeen-year-old Alvar is standing in the doorway- or, not Alvar, not quite, but close enough. Same hair, same jawline, same slouching posture that still has hints of military upbringing. The only difference is the eyes- while Alvar’s are cold, dark blue, this boy has teal eyes. 

Teal eyes. Just like the Vackers. 

Ruy feels his blood run cold. 

“Sit down,” he croaks out, gesturing towards the hard wooden chair. The boy nods and lowers himself into it, looking around in slight confusion. 

“May I ask why I’m here?” he says. “Someone just grabbed me off the street-”

“What do you know about the Vackers?” Ruy asks. A look of recognition and fear passes over the boy’s face before it’s gone, schooled into something calmer. He shrugs. 

“They were the old royal family, taken down by the rebels. They’re almost all dead now.”

“Almost?”

The boy blinks. “Well, yeah. There’s Alvar, isn’t there?”

Oh. Right. It’s funny, really, how often Ruy manages to forget that Alvar is a Vacker; he’s just Alvar, to Ruy. Weird and annoyed and constantly angry, but not a prince. Not a member of the tsar’s close family. 

But a prince he was, and a government leader he is, and Ruy would do well to remember that before he does something stupid like fall in love with the man. 

… Fall even more in love, that is. 

“Of course,” he says hastily, realizing he’s been silent for far too long. “I thought you meant something else. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there have been a surprising amount of rumors surrounding Prince Fitzroy lately.”

There it is- that flinch, that fearful look that flashes in his eyes. If Ruy wasn’t sure before, he is now; this boy knows something about the Vackers. Perhaps even is one. 

“All right,” he says. “I’m going to need you to go to the second floor, where-” Ruy trails off, meeting the boy’s eyes. They’re scared, sure, but there’s some semblance of hope in them. Some glint of happiness. 

Ruy was like that, once. When he was seventeen and eighteen, fresh off their victory against the tsar. When the city was cold and crumbling and days were long but none of that mattered because they had won. When Alvar was always by his side, and the two would run through the streets and laugh together. When the world was narrowed down to one place, one moment, and everything was aglow in the light of Alvar’s smile. 

Alvar doesn’t smile like that anymore. He’s sadder, angrier, even around Ruy. Happiness stolen away long ago. 

Ruy finds himself wanting to preserve this kid’s happiness for as long as possible.  

“Actually.” He says. “I’m going to need you to leave the building right now. Have a good day.”

[pythagoreanwhump]

Pick any 4 of the whumpee asks for any whumpee!

This got kinda long! Gonna put the questions up here and then the answers I’ll put under a cut.

🐶What’s the meaning of their name? How/why did you pick it? 🐼If you met them and they didn’t know you were the author, would you two get along? 🐗If they could say anything to whumper without getting punished, what would it be? 🐵If whumper could read their mind, how damned would whumpee be?

🐶What’s the meaning of their name? How/why did you pick it?

I wanted to answer this for Kai! The name Kai doesn't actually mean anything lmao, the meta reason is that I just randomly picked it and the in universe reason is that they just randomly picked it ksdjhfjskdf. But their kinda-deadname which they're perfectly fine with people knowing, and in fact they kept it as their middle name when they got a legal name change, is Miranda. They are okay with some people calling them that, but if you call them that without their permission they would absolutely throw hands, perhaps literally skdfj. Their Chinese name is 莫让, pronounced mò ràng, which is supposed to sound like Miranda but I can't remember whether I gave them the name Miranda or 莫让 first ksjdfhskjdf. I think it might've been Miranda, but in the story their family named them Miranda after their Chinese name. Miranda doesn't really have a meaning or anything honestly, but their Chinese name roughly translates to do-not-yield, because their family wanted them to be strong and assertive ig, but they do be very very stubborn skjfhskdf

🐼If you met them and they didn’t know you were the author, would you two get along?

Oh absolutely lmao. I mean they’re literally a self-insert character not just in a this-character-has-some-of-my-traits way but in a I-made-this-character-to-be-a-stand-in-for-myself-in-this-situation way. I think we would fight a LOT but in the end we’d get along well. ig a part of the ‘didn’t know you were the author’ part is to mean like, they don’t know I’m the architect of their suffering ksjfhsdkj but like tbh even if they did that would not be a dealbreaker for them ksj

🐗If they could say anything to whumper without getting punished, what would it be?

Hm, tbh Anastasia lets Kai say whatever to her lmao, and the VMD promotes a culture of honesty between subordinates and their commanding officers!! You shouldn’t punish them for speaking up! And even if they get punished for it Kai would say what they want to say anyway. Really the one thing they would want to say without consequences is to like,, call her out for being a Messed Up Possessive Fuck™ and like actually talk to her about her unrealistic and honestly kinda harmful belief/expectation for them to be exactly like her, and how she basically sees them as like an extension of her own dreams and ambitions and wants. The problem isn’t exactly punishments, they just don’t know how to approach the topic without being like hey so I’m actually a spy and since my early teens I have actively been trying to overthrow the government that you swore to protect and actually genuinely care about and support we’re not the same and yeah that’s not gonna go well skdjfh

🐵If whumper could read their mind, how damned would whumpee be?

oooooof yeah uh. See previous comment about uh being a spy kinda. Tbf I think Kai could make it work if they tried, but it would certainly be a terrible time for them. It had always been pretty effortless for them to lie to Anastasia but to have to hide their thoughts too? That would be Difficult lmao. And they would just Fucking Hate It, even the thought of someone being able to read their mind makes them uncomfortable.

[kokkuri3]

📃 Pandora Hearts and 💢 No. 6 (sorry if the latter isn't one of your hyperfixations)

📃 What’s the plot (PH) Oh God uh Eldest child of most powerful noble family Oz Vessalius is attacked by a group called the Baskervilles who had not appeared in the last century, in the process nearly killing his best friend while he is sent to the alternate dimension of Abyss which, according to legend, cannot be escaped. He meets a spirit called a Chain, who takes the appearance of a girl named Alice, who tells him that if he forms a contract with her the two of them will be able to escape Abyss. He agrees, the two escape and are found by several officials from the government organization of Pandora, who had apparently been trying to rescue him. Pandora, a research group run by the Four Great Dukedoms (of which Oz’s family is a part), seeks to control the god known as the Intention of Abyss, who they (and, they believe, the Baskervilles) believe Oz is the key to obtaining. Oz is then told that his contract with Alice is illegal, and thus he is forced to work for Pandora or face arrest for the duration of his contract with her. Alice reveals the reason for her entering a contract was so she could obtain her memories, which she had lost a hundred years prior, and says she will not end her contract with Oz until she obtains them.

That’s the setup. The vast majority of the plot has like. Almost nothing to do with all of that it’s mostly just kind of “oh yeah and this is why these characters are here” but the actual plot is so... far reaching and complex that I cannot describe it succinctly. Pandora Hearts is about love and the things people do for love and why love makes us people which sounds pretentious as fuck I’m sorry but there literally. Y’know Vincent ? Who I won’t stop talking about ? He and Oz’s arcs have basically nothing to do with one another and I think they say a total of five sentences to each other

💢 What sucks (No.6) What was Atsuko Asano trying to say having that subplot about the communist trying to overthrow their violent fascist dictatorship but he was bad because he was using violence. Like. Nezumi trying to ward Shion off of violence I totally understand because Shion’s entire thing is that he lacks empathy and has an extreme fetish for violence and Nezumi was afraid of the consequences of Shion realizing he could hurt people and Not Feel Anything but that’s an individual character thing why was there a subplot about why uwuwuwuw noooo we can’t use violent revolution especially when Nezumi is a character whose entire deal is revolution by any means necessary. Ma’am what was that. They were running over minorities with tanks and flamethrowers I think it’s OK to use violence at that point.

[firebunnylover]

I thought I would take the time to discuss my VERY complicated feelings on the big ship of TFP: MegaOp.

Why?

Because it’s so far the only ship for me that is simultaneously an OTP and what I can only describe as NOTP… and even that word doesn’t feel right.

I apologize if this post causes massive discourse. This isn’t me telling other why or why they shouldn’t ship said thing. Just me getting my feelings out.

Note that this is for TFP the show by itself. From what I’ve seen, IDW comic’s Megatron is likeable and does poetry. And I read that there is some continuity with some games to TFP, but honestly it’s all still confusing to me as I’m still pretty new.

This ship is fully an OTP for me if it’s set in the days before the war - back when they were Orion Pax the Archivist and Megatronus the Gladiator. They had very different backgrounds, but still had a common interest for the greater good. They wanted to end the caste system. And they worked together. And that is my goddamn jam.

I love the idea of poetic Gladiator Megatronus cuddling his smol Librarian BF Orion as they make plans to change the system. 

And then… when the Council actually heard them out… that’s when things get out of hand, as Megatron’s worst character traits, him being power hungry, came out of the shadows, stayed and got worse.

As much as I’m down on a first hearing of Megatron’s plan to overthrow the system as a whole, along with the people he was currently talking to, I have to backpedal and re-evaluate the details of said plan when I recall that Revolutions without a clear plan on future governing systems or laws tend to lead to a power vacuum, which can lead to a system equally as bad or even worse than the current system in the long run.

For an example, a quickie on the French Revolution, in what is an attempt to keep it simple while outlining what went down and why it went sideways. It overthrew a very bad system. But there was no clear plan of government following which lead to a power vacuum, which ended up with Robspierre, one of the revolution’s most influential figures, using extreme means to control the political activity, bringing about the Reign of Terror, in which terror was used to maintain the current system, enforced by secret police. And unfortunately, innocent people, usually because small offences, DID get f*cked over by that. And after Rospierre was executed, the next form of government, the Directory, was corrupt. WHOOPS.

And then France had Napoleon put in charge, someone who fought for the revolution himself then ended up as Emperor of France, passed policies that would limit women’s rights, and reinstituted slavery in French colonies, NEITHER OF WHICH ARE GOOD THING. And let’s not forget how he f*cks Egypt over when it comes to Ancient artifacts in the long run.

I would go on to describe the Russian Revolution as another example, but I’m less familiar with that revolution than the French one. Probably because there are no over-the-top drama manga/anime set during that setting.

off topic real quick, if you like anime, history, and enjoy over the top drama and can tolerate shoujo sparkles gone unchecked, check out Rose of Versailles. Especially if you’re interested in a bisexual lead girl, and one of the best portrayals of Marie Antoinette. Who is GAY for the lead girl.

Honestly if it wasn’t the fact that unwitting consequences could equal the deaths or screwing over of thousands of innocent people I WOULD BE DOWN TO WRECK SHOP.

Orion’s proposal was favored by the council, and that didn’t sit well with Megatron’s ego, and the war is kicked off.

And regardless of what your feelings are on Orion getting accepted by the Council while Megatron was rejected (i feel this varies on what you think on the council and if they were truly convinced to make changes for the better), let’s make one thing clear.

YOU SHOULD NEVER RESORT TO DESTROYING A WHOLE PLANET.

To sum up the old days, they were the best young lovers.

Now with the main-timeline Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Well, they still have chemistry, which I love. And they both need therapy.

Optimus Prime knows that the relationship is no longer capable of truly going back to how they were long ago. He knows he has to move on. But… he can’t fully move on yet. He still has that small shred of hope that maybe Megatron will change and make amends, as unrealistic as it is, and he may never be able to fully throw that away. He still has those lingering feelings.

And then Megatron… HO BOY.

He absolutely is SET on being the one to destroy Optimus Prime - if him beating around Starscream for him trying to do so is any indicator. He has taken the “if I can’t have you no one can” route following a break up. He doesn’t want to move on with OP still alive. But he doesn’t want to do it in a flash and just get it over with. He wants fanfare for it. Because Optimus is worthy of his attention.

Oh and now he’s a crack-addict.

SPEAKING OF STARSCREAM! I see him as the rebound Megatron has picked following his break-up with OP. One who he abuses, physically and mentally. He picked Starscream to be the outlet of his aggression. Starscream is very much the polar opposite of what Orion was. Constantly sneaking behind Megatron’s back, self-serving, aims to take Megatron’s place (Orion accidentally stole the spotlight from him), and quick to run. It would make sense that he would pick someone so different from Orion because no one CAN replace Orion, so why try?

And then after years of fighting… Orion comes back.

No memories of the war, of the council, of the Decepticon Autobot split, nothing. The Orion who was with Megatronus and looked up to him.

What does Megatron do when presented with this old persona of OP, the one he loved and was unconditionally loved by?

Take advantage of him to get the Iacon Database decrypted.

At this point, despite his current relationship with Optimus, he loves his IDEA of Orion. This Orion, who existed years ago but has changed because he wanted to be better. This Orion, who Megatron had plenty of time to over-idealize - to remember slightly differently from what he was actually like. He wants Orion to stay like this - naive with no idea of what’s really happening, never questioning him.

There is the withholding of information that immediately causes consent issues. And he wanted to keep it like that - hence threatening to kill anyone who destroys this little fantasy… and when he realized that the fantasy would have to end because Orion might ask the wrong questions, he decides that he would have to kill Orion when that happens. Because Orion would no longer be his fantasized version.

He doesn’t want to change, so why should Orion?

And who should start off the end of this fantasy other than the one Megatron chose as his rebound from OP?

Pretty poetic when you think about it.

I personally don’t like Optimus Prime or Megatron getting back together as they stand in the current time. I love what they were before, but they can’t just go back and act like nothing happened. But with that said, I absolutely LOVE their current dynamics as Ex-Lovers, and it hurts me to know they can’t be together happily as they once were before.

IS THERE A TERM TO DESCRIBE A RELATIONSHIP YOU DON’T WANT TOGETHER AT THE END BUT RATHER ADMIRE THEM AS EXES AND WHAT THEIR HISTORY TOGETHER MEANS FOR THEM AND HOW IT STILL AFFECTS THEM?! I DIDN’T SURVIVE THIS GODDAMN HELLSITE ONLY TO BE LEFT TERMLESS!!

If the show writers were to have actually consider having them together as end game, it would take a LOT of character development on Megatron’s part, because he's the type of person who’s willing to destroy a whole planet. Twice. And changing himself isn’t really something that interests him, as we saw with the Orion Pax arc.

Predacon’s Rising doesn’t count for me.

Metaphorically, their relationship is a well lit oil lamp. It was beautiful to look at when it was new and well managed. But it is in disrepair, started to leak out the oil, and the fire needs to be put out.

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 59

 DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

 SYNOPSIS:  James Fraser meets with Superintendent Zheng to tell him about Claire Beauchamp’s transfer to the OCTB.  Although he is not pleased to do so, he reluctantly releases her knowing that this was a possibility.  Claire’s neighbour drops in to her apartment.

 THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading or who have just discovered this story.  My heartfelt thanks to you all. Much appreciated.  Also, a special shout out to all who reblog my story onto their blogs.  This is most appreciated for the exposure of Covert Operations and I am grateful to you all. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

 Previous chapters can be found -  https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

CHAPTER 59

Superintendent Zheng had requested some files from police archives and Claire was just about to go and collect the records that he had wanted when the phone on her desk began ringing. Picking it up she didn’t even have time to answer when a familiar Scottish brogue said her Section One code name.

“Jo-se-phine.”

 It was all he said but it was enough for Claire to get those funny feelings in her stomach whenever Jamie contacted her at the start of an impending mission. It had been several weeks since she had heard his voice and the dulcet tones of his command washed over her and made her long to see him once more.  At last Jamie had contacted her to inform her that the new mission profile was imminent.

“Yep! Thanks.”   

Her reply too was brief but it was all she could manage to say. Replacing the handset, she set off to the archives in the basement to collect the documents knowing that Jamie would contact her soon with the updated profile. Claire smiled to herself and replayed the sound of his voice in her head once more.  She couldn’t wait to see him in person and hoped that he would be back in Hong Kong sooner rather than later. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, Mr Fraser.  We meet again.”

“Aye.” “I thought you had returned to Scotland?” “I did ... but now I’m here.” Superintendent Zheng remembered that James Fraser was a man of few words and his replies were succinct as before.  He did wonder however, why he had been in Scotland but guessed it was probably on some official business given the résumé of the man seated before him.  Fraser was certainly clandestine in his answers and in embellishing any details that really didn’t concern him.  Nevertheless, the man intrigued him.

“Yes ... you are. What brings you back to Hong Kong after all this time?” 

“New orders from your Chief Commissioner.” He sat back in his chair. Fraser’s statement was news to him.  “Really?”

“Aye ... I’m sure you did your homework Superintendent Zheng before I was assigned to Miss Beauchamp some months ago.” 

A wry look passed between the two men at Jamie’s words for Zheng had done exactly that. “You have a most impressive body of work Mr. Fraser. But what has that got to do with the Chief Commissioner?”

“What I am to tell ye is strictly confidential you understand and will go no further than this room.” “Of course.” “Private investigating work is but a mere cover. I actually work covertly for the Canadian Government and other world bodies specializing with triad groups in Canada and elsewhere. We liaise with similar agencies where triads are active.” “Hmm ... I see.”  Zheng remembered that it had stated on his resume that Fraser had been seconded to work as a special agent for the FBI in his area of expertise … Organized Crime. So, what he had said made sense and perhaps that is why he was also in Scotland.

“But I don’t quite understand why you are here then and not at the OCTB Mr Fraser? They deal with organised crime and triads here in Hong Kong.”

“That’s precisely why I am here Superintendent. Certain people Miss Beauchamp and I came across in our undercover assignment have been seen in Canada recently to open a chain of new business ventures.” 

“Who?”

“I’m not at liberty to disclose any names but some are of doubtful character. The Canadian government is worried about a triad influx into their borders to set up legitimate business but with underlying motives.” “So are these people members of the Rising Dragons?” “Read into it what ye will.” “I find this all a little overwhelming I must say Mr Fraser.” “That’s why I need yer help ... or more specifically ... Miss Beauchamp’s help.” “But why will you need her assistance again?” “As you are aware her undercover assignment was very successful.” “Yes.” “Your Chief Commissioner was most impressed and at the request of my government, Miss Beauchamp is to be transferred to Hong Kong's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau undercover unit for the remainder of her stay here in Hong Kong. You can verify this with the Commissioner if needs be.” Superintendent Zheng’s own premonition had come to fruition as he had pondered on this very scenario when Claire had arrived back at the Water Police, for he knew she would be best suited to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau. Obviously orders had come through while he’d been sitting on his hands reluctant to release Claire to the OCTB as he’d known she would be eventually. Instead he dug his heels in and wanted to know the reasoning behind the decision. “For what reason?” “That’s classified I’m afraid.” “And if I refuse to transfer her to the OCTB?” “I wouldn’t if I were you. The deaths of Mr. Wu and Annalise de Marillac on the junk have proved that the Rising Dragons will not tolerate interference in their business. I think they have made that perfectly clear in the past. Wouldn’t you?” “But Mr Fraser … I need her here. I did have plans … Our tighter anti-crime laws have been responsible for a recent drop-off in the overall crime rate in Hong Kong.” “Ye are delusional Superintendent … they have merely been dormant for a while.  I would suspect that the current slow rate of crime is an indication that there is movement in the hierarchy of the triad for an overthrow and more so with the death of Tony Wong. He will need to be replaced. I would think that their leader Sun Yee Lok better watch his back.” “That may be so, but why Miss Beauchamp? Surely the OCTB has personnel that can deal with such a scenario?” “What valid reasons could ye come up with Superintendent? The junk murders have been solved as far as the Water Police are concerned and consequently your department has no further need of Miss Beauchamp’s services anyway.” “W-ell ...” “You’re grasping at straws Superintendent Zheng. Her transfer ... is not ... negotiable.” “But ...” Xiao Zheng tried to find a legitimate excuse that would sound rational rather than petulant and goading for this formidable man. He had noticed James Fraser’s steely disposition the first time he had met him and today only further confirmed that he was not a man to be underestimated. He was used to being in control. Zheng could feel the aura of power surrounding him. “Will you disobey your High Commissioner and cause a diplomatic incident by refusing orders Superintendent?” “No ... but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. She could be in danger.” “All covert work is dangerous. Miss Beauchamp can protect herself.” “I know.” “Good … then you’ll release her.” Superintendent Zheng looked at Jamie and finally nodded his compliance of the directive he’d been given. “Very well … I’ll have her come to my office when she returns.” “Thank ye ... Oh and Superintendent...” Jamie stated as he rose to leave. “Yes?” “I need to remain covert for obvious reasons.” “Of course.” “And ... this conversation never happened. Understand?” “Perfectly, Mr Fraser.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ After James Fraser had left his office, Superintendent Zheng sat musing over their conversation. Yes ... he understood perfectly well. Covert work was always clandestine. Zheng knew John So at OCTB and one or two others because of their past connections to the Water Police, but no one really knew who was undercover and who wasn’t. There were a few Bureau members who he didn’t care much for, Chief Inspector Jiang Ng, the head of the Bureau being on top of his list. He was young and brash and much too cocky for his likening. He never gave any Intel away either, unless he was after some. As for the others, Zheng kept an open mind. The thing that worried him most was that in some circumstances, life undercover often replicated itself into their real lives until the boundaries became blurred. He had to let go of his feelings of foreboding ... Claire had survived Tony Wong ... and the Rising Dragons’ triad ... but they never forgot or forgave those who betrayed them. Nevertheless, he was worried that Claire Beauchamp would become involved in something undercover that would affect her profoundly or get her into serious trouble. He knew that whatever had transpired and whoever they had met while they were undercover had prompted her recall. Obviously he was not privy to classified information and he knew that he would never know the extent of her knowledge of the Rising Dragons. Whoever they had in their sights was obviously dangerous and needed the expertise of people trained in covert work. Reaching for his telephone Superintendent Zheng reluctantly called Claire to his office. The telephone rang repeatedly at her desk but as yet there was no reply as she was clearly still trying to find the files he had asked for. He certainly didn’t want to lose her to the OCTB, but obviously his hands were tied. Orders were orders no matter what your personal feelings were. Transferring her to the OCTB could be fraught with danger, however, if Claire were in danger, he would rather she be protected by this man James Fraser. He had clearly seen to her safety on their undercover assignment and he would do so again on their next ... and besides he had been most adamant and persuasive. It was apparent to Superintendent Zheng that Claire Beauchamp knew too much about the Rising Dragons and would be invaluable to the OCTB. But why would the Canadian government make a formal request for her help? Perhaps they had requested Claire because of Intel the two of them had discovered that he was not privy to and this was their way of keeping her close? Or did their undercover assignment open up many leads that could only be perused through other avenues? Too many questions rose in his head ... too many scenarios presented themselves ... and there was too much secrecy. Clearly, he was not fully briefed about the Intel they’d uncovered for these questions would surely have been answered if he had been. Once again Zheng would be saying goodbye to a person whom he had come to admire and respect. He only hoped that Claire Beauchamp would come through this safely and unscathed. He tried to call her again and this time she answered. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Sir you wanted to see me?” Claire announced as she stood in the doorway to his office. “Yes ... come in Miss Beauchamp. Sit down.” “Have you enjoyed working here?" “Very much sir.” “Your time spent with us at police headquarters has been most valuable and I feel fortunate that you were assigned to the Water Police for your sabbatical leave.” “My sabbatical has certainly been interesting, hasn’t it Superintendent Zheng?” He smiled.  “You made a difference to our case Claire and this has not gone unnoticed by those in authority.” “Thank you sir.” “However ...” He paused and looked at her, “... there is no other way to say this but you are to be transferred to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau.” Xiao Zheng announced sadly. “I see ... Why am I being transferred?” “The Police Commissioner feels that some experience at the OCTB would be beneficial especially given your past undercover assignment. Working at the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau will be enlightening police work I’m sure.” “I’ve enjoyed working with you Superintendent Zheng and I’ll miss you all.” “Everyone here at the Water Police is sorry to see you go too. But you need to move on and test new waters as they say.” “When will my transfer take place?” “Immediately ... You can clear out your desk ... but you’ll start there tomorrow.” “Oh.” Xiao Zheng rose from his desk and approached Claire. Shaking her hand he hesitated and then gave her a quick hug. “Good luck and good bye Claire. It was a pleasure to meet and work with you.” “And you too sir,” Claire replied as she turned and left his office for the last time. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Claire lay on the floor of her apartment exercising and trying to take her mind off her meeting with Superintendent Zheng today by giving herself a thorough workout. She’d cranked up the music before starting her exercise regime and had already worked up a sweat. With her body on her white floor rug and her lower legs resting on the couch she was up to her thirtieth sit-up. When she had finished her fiftieth one, she sat up. Feeling her pulse rate, Claire wiped the sweat from her brow with a towel then closed her eyes for a moment before getting up and walking into the kitchen. 

Having been told to stay in her police cover prior to returning to the Hong Kong Water Police until Section One would need her again, Claire realised that the next stage was this new appointment to the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau which would begin tomorrow morning. Clearly this transfer was part of the plan that Operations and Madeline had in mind, but she was a little worried though as Jamie hadn’t made any face to face contact with her yet to debrief her on her transfer to the OCTB. Perhaps he would have some Intel about Jonathon Randall as well, and if so, her profile would need to be changed. Claire wondered why he hadn’t arrived. Her mind was at loggerheads also thinking about whether they would be able to see each like they had on the Madame Cheung mission before the scenario was in play or would he be evasive about the mission. Getting a drink from her refrigerator she took a long swallow before returning to the floor for some push ups, but before she could begin a knock sounded at the door. Claire wondered who it could be at this time of night. She hoped that it was Jamie and that he’d finally arrived to debrief her about her new profile. She suddenly felt a little nervous. Her heart was immediately in her mouth and her pulse rate quickened in anticipation of her visitor. Remembering when he had arrived at her apartment before only exacerbated her nervous tension. She hoped that it wasn’t Angus and Mei as she’d already said her sad goodbyes to them when she had left Police Headquarters saying that they could not contact her again under any circumstances. The last thing she wanted was another spur-of-the-moment visit from her two friends trying to cheer her up after she’d told them of her transfer to the OCTB. They would be risking disciplinary action if they had broken with police protocol and tried to contact her after hours now that she was not associated with the Water Police. She had told them that she would also be leaving her apartment as soon as possible in order for them to not come calling in the future. Giving them both a huge hug she’d wished them well ... but it was a final good bye. They knew the risks involved when there was a transfer to the OCTB and they wouldn’t want to put her in jeopardy. Claire didn’t think that they would do that so perhaps it was her neighbour and jogging buddy Karen Yee. She would have to say goodbye to her too at some stage. Claire would miss her and their budding friendship that had developed over the past few weeks, but she didn’t live an ordinary life and friendships on the outside could not be encouraged. Standing, Claire turned the music down and hurried to open the door. Checking the peephole first, however, it was not who she expected. James Fraser was not the one standing on her threshold.  Nonetheless Claire took a breath to compose herself before answering and despite her disappointment she opened her apartment door with a cheery greeting.

 “Hi ... Come in.”

Leaving the door open, her neighbour Karen Yee walked into her apartment while Claire went to turn the music back up and resume her push ups. “Hey, what’s going on in here?” Karen asked closing the door behind her and casting her eyes around the apartment. “Sorry about that; I was just working out. The music wasn’t too loud was it?” “No, no ... I’ve got something to tell you,” she stated excitedly. “Uh huh.” “I met someone.” “Hey! Good for you!” “Remember that new nightclub I told you about a couple of weeks ago?” “What ... The Triangle?” “Yeah ... Well I met him there. Claire, I think this is the one. He’s different.” Karen walked into the kitchen and got some bottled water out of the refrigerator as she made herself at home in Claire’s apartment. “Want some water?” She called out. “No Thanks,” Claire called back. “I’ve got some.” “Mmmm! Something smells good. What ya cooking girlfriend?” “Spaghetti Bolognaise ... You wanna stay for dinner?” “Sure,” Karen replied coming back into the loungeroom where Claire was exercising doing a series of pushups. Taking a sip from her bottle, Karen sat on the floor in front of Claire and watched her work out. Arching her back like a cat in a stretch Claire feigned interest and solicited more information about her mystery man. “So tell me about him,” but as soon as Karen began talking she switched off and continued concentrating on her exercises. “I know musicians are trouble, but he’s such a wonderful guy. That can’t be that bad, right?” Noticing her apparent lack of interest, Karen handed Claire her half filled bottle of water from the floor then asked, “You okay Claire? ... You seem a bit distracted.” “Yep, I’m fine. It’s nothing really,” she replied as she stood up. Taking the bottled water with her, she moved to look out the balcony windows across Victoria Harbour. Karen could see that Claire was upset. “Yeah, well, it’s something. What’s wrong?” She asked trying to get to the bottom of her friend’s melancholy. “Something happened today.” “What?” “I left my job.” Claire stated not even looking at Karen. “Why? What happened?” “I had a huge falling out with my boss ... I just can’t work there anymore.” “That’s too bad.  Hey ... I know a way to cheer you up. How about coming to the nightclub to hear my guy play,” Karen said enthusiastically. “Nah! ... I don’t think so.” “Come on Claire it will be fun ... You might ... meet ... a guy.” Claire smiled at her persistence. “Okay ... Why not?” “That’s the girl. Now, why don’t you go freshen up? I’ll organise everything in here for dinner.” “Thanks Karen ... I am a bit sweaty. I won’t be long ... be back in a bit.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When Claire returned, she helped Karen set her small glass table for dinner and as they did so they chatted. “I'm glad you came over Karen ... it's not very often I get to hang out with friends.” “What about Angus and Mei? Don't you guys hang out anymore?” “No.” Claire replied, putting the salad bowl down on the table. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” She replied sincerely then trying to cheer her up inquired sneakily, “So have you got a boyfriend?” “Well, I wouldn't really call him a boyfriend but he's okay.” Karen poured some red wine into two glasses. They smiled at each other and clicked glasses. Noting Claire’s apparent changed mood Karen asked, “But there's closeness, yeah?” “Yeah ... but we haven’t seen each other for a while.” Claire’s thoughts were suddenly somewhere else ... on someone else ... someone who should be here but wasn’t. “Hey Claire!” Karen’s voice however, brought Claire back to reality with a thud once again. For just a moment she’d forgotten that she was entertaining her friend. “I don't know about you but I'm starved. Let’s eat!” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When Karen finally left her apartment, a worried Claire immediately contacted Section One as she thought that by now Jamie would have contacted her in some capacity one way or the other.

“Fergus! What’s happening? Where’s Jamie?”

“A situation has arisen that has taken priority. I don’t think he liked it, but Jamie has been recalled back to Section for a new mission in Senegal.” “Why? What’s happened?” “There’s been a coup d'état ... all hell has broken out.” “For how long?” “Don’t know ... Could be a couple of days or longer. It’s hard to tell until he reports in about the situation.” “Oh!” She replied, hoping that the disappointment didn’t register in her voice. “It seems Operations’ changed the agenda. He said he needed his top Level 5 operative in Senegal to ascertain and contain the situation.” “That would be right,” she responded softly but Fergus failed to hear her. “Claire? ... Claire? ...You still there?” “Yeah Fergus ... I’m still here ...” She answered as her voice trailed off. “So where does that leave the mission then? Will I be getting an update or do I wait for Jamie?” “Intel’s been transferred to your PDA. You should have the details within the hour.” “Why have I been transferred to the OCTB?” “Section thinks there is a mole at the Bureau. You’re to do some investigation to see if you can find out who it is.” “Does Jamie know about this?” “Yes.” “Is someone feeding information to the Rising Dragons from the OCTB?” “It appears so.” “Do we know who it might be?” “No. See what you can find out, then report back.” “Okay. Any new Intel on Jonathon Randall?” “Some, but Jamie will debrief you on what we know when he sees you.” “Okay.” “Good ...He will be there as soon as he can.” “Thanks Fergus.”

 Claire bit her bottom lip in disappointment ... when would she see Jamie?  Hopefully the Senegal mission would be brief and he would be back very soon.  She just wanted to see the man she missed in the flesh so desperately, but Claire knew she would have to be patient although she didn’t like it one iota. Tomorrow was another day and she was to start at the OCTB so Claire tiredly made her way to her bed. Nonetheless she didn’t think she would be able to sleep especially if her thoughts were about the man, she missed and longed to see.

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

[serenagaywaterford]

was I the only one who thought tuello was going to mention the 2x10 rape and not the nick thing when he arrested serena??? like, obviously I understand the thing with nick was rape regardless, but she did ask them both and june would've ended up in the colonies had she not gotten pregnant while the 2x10 rape doesn't really have any sustainable justification behind it. I don't see "I was in a mood and wanted the baby to come faster" working in court (1/2)

and I guess you can argue there's no way to prove that that rape happened, but serena got arrested before any paternal test was done so it seems as if fred's word is enough?? I guess they can get the test done later and confirm it, but I don't know, I feel like there's a way out of this for serena whilst I don't think there would've been a way out if they had proof of what happened in 2x10. I just find this flimsy. (2/2)

---

No, you weren’t! I honestly... I thought it was going to be about her actual war crimes, like her blatant terrorism against the US, conspiracy to blow up state capitols, and overthrowing a democratic government via war. But hey, that’s too easy lol. Like, why on earth Fred wouldn’t turn her in for THAT, which are HUGE crimes that the ICC/Americans/etc would actually be interested in is beyond me. Oh wait, no it’s not, cos this is The Handmaid’s Tale and they don’t know shit about law or politics, or at this point common fucking sense. It’s a soap opera now.

I’m just so irritated by that whole “Let’s arrest Serena for rape!” concept because it’s entirely based on a) an individual and singular crime against a single person on foreign (sovereign) soil; not a war crime (so why the ICC would have ANYTHING to do with it is beyond me) and b) FRED WATERFORD’S WORD. Because suddenly they believe everything an admitted war criminal is saying against the woman who literally turned him in???? No, nothing suspect about that at all.

(The American government may have an interest because they do get involved in individual crimes against Americans on foreign soil. But then it gets into whether June is still an American, legally. And whether Serena is. Which is super confusing and murky. I’d say June is, and Serena likely isn’t since she probably renounced her US citizenship, but I’m also not a legal scholar or lawyer. And whether the international community even considers Gilead its own country, or just some type of military occupation on American soil. SO COMPLICATED. This is why the show should have just stayed away from all of this trash.)

I mean, we know Fred’s not lying about what happened to June then but the fact Tuello & Co. just take his word at face value with NO corroboration is absolutely fucking mental. 

Not to mention, how the FUCK does Fred even know about that? All he knows is that June got pregnant with Nick’s baby. Was he secretly listening the entire time to everything Serena has said? Cos, let’s take a step back for a second and think rationally about how the hell Fred would have access to that information lol. Serena, from what we saw, was incredibly discreet about setting it up. Was Fred actually lurking in her bushes when she talked to June about it? Was he around when Serena supposedly spoke to Nick about it? (We don’t know where that was but probably either in Nick’s apartment or in the car.) So, does Fred actually have the whole house bugged? LOLOLOLOL. Even if he saw Serena bringing June out to Nick’s apartment, he has no idea what anybody’s thoughts or feelings were about that. Serena and June could have easily been in on it together, and there was no rape involved at all! He doesn’t know that. Did he sneak up to Nick’s second floor window and watch how fucking WEIRD that whole thing was? LMAO.

To me, the fact Fred knows all that is a fucking big plot hole. He didn’t before. But suddenly he knows Serena set up Offred’s rape by Nick? Did she tell him that? Cos that would be insane of Serena to do and completely OOC. All Serena’s said is that “HA HA! The baby isn’t yours, you manky chode!”

Anyway...

To be frank, I have a post--quite a long one--sitting in my drafts about how incredibly asinine and unrealistic that charge against Serena is as a “war crime”, not to mention how weak it is just from a legal standpoint, even if we would take it as a regular rape charge. (She would literally never be found guilty, lbr. There is no solid legal basis for it (there is a flimsy one) and when you consider her defense--which is way more solid than the charge--the chances of anybody ever prosecuting her for that, let alone convicting her, are so incredibly thin, even if it was just as a regular rape crime, not a war crime.) She’d be more likely charged with something like sex trafficking or procuring (prostitution) or coercion or accessory to rape and/or conspiracy to rape. (And she’s clearly guilty of those things). Not the rape itself. It’s so! fucking! stupid! Sex trafficking would be SO much more solid of a charge cos essentially that is what she did...

She didn’t rape June in that instance much more than she murdered those kids Fred shot in the woods. She’s a shitty fucking person for putting that idea in his head, and basically saying, “Go do this for me, you pathetic little man” but she didn’t actually say the words, nor did she commit the actual crime herself. (Heyyyyaaa Lady Macbeth!) Both Fred and Nick were acting of their own free will. 

(Honestly, I will go on forever about how Nick is NOT some innocent, helpless creature. He’s a MAN (aka automatic superiority over any woman), and an EYE (AN EYE, YOU GUYS!!!! The most elite of the Gilead intelligence forces!!!), and to refuse Serena’s request would be EXPLICITLY FOLLOWING THE LAWS OF GILEAD and there is NO WAY he would ever, ever be punished by Gilead for that lmao--for following the law. If he reported Serena to Fred or even Pryce, Serena would be fucking punished--probably with death or Colonies (which is just prolonged death). And he’d have June’s supporting testimony too! What part of this misogynistic fascist state are you people missing? A lowly woman trying to make a man break the law and defile another man’s property?! HAHAHAHA. As if they’d take Serena’s side. Nick is a fucking Eye. There are instances where they do take a woman’s side, like with Janine’s random accusation--but significantly: Warren was BREAKING the law, not upholding it as Nick refusing to rape Offred and turning Serena in would have been following the law. To me, it never ever made sense that the men would just turn on their own like that over a literally mentally-ill Handmaid’s suicidal admission. I think, when it comes down to it, Naomi’s contribution made it “two witnesses” to the crime. Like, if you look at most religious texts or cult texts, they generally require more than just the victim. Some require at least 2, some 3 individuals. So for Gilead to require nothing but victim outcry is bonkers and not consistent with the type of society they claim they’ve built in the series. BUT ANYWAY, that’s a big digression...

Like miss me with that complete utter rape-apologist bullshit. He literally took advantage of the situation to put his dick inside a woman who did not essentially consent to it in that particular situation. Or, if you’re going to argue she did cos she wuvs Nick and wanted to anyway, then your case against Serena falls apart too.)

The only thing I don’t see as being up for debate is that June was raped. That’s it. That is clear and certain. It’s fact. June was raped in that apartment. (She’s raped a lot, obviously, but this was also rape. Nothing else.)

And the creepy part is by doing that she actually did save June’s life. Which is all shades of massively fucked up, and probably not her intention, but here we are. And it seems to be a big part of why June went along with the plan. If Serena hadn’t set up a rapey fuck session for Nick (which he LITERALLY COULD HAVE SAID NO TO AT ANY TIME WITH ZERO CONSEQUENCES and they could have fucked completely consentually another time), June never would have started sleeping with Nick (they had almost 2 years and never made a move on each other lbr), never would have become pregnant, and in a few months would have been sent off to the Colonies to rot. Serena is just going around saving June’s life and not even trying to lmao. Stupid gross idiot. Yes, June agreed under threat of death otherwise. So, that is NOT consent in any universe. If you must do it for survival, it’s rape. If you’re gonna die or agree to sex, that’s rape. Would she have agreed to get raped by Nick if the threat of the Colonies was not hanging over her head? No. Probably not. And Serena used that for her own ends. There is no way Serena is not a shitty criminal person for what she set up. But it’s also not a fucking crime against humanity, by definition.

So, anyway, without going into all the complexities and bullshit about Nick’s role any further, Serena’s role, etc in all this, it’s just absolutely motherfucking insane that any international law enforcement agency would charge Serena with THAT based on the word of a scorned husband who is also a massive rapist, liar, abuser, and war criminal himself. Like, give me a fucking break already.

And... I’m not gonna lie... if this was even remotely based on history/reality, they would turn a blind eye to anything Serena has done, especially if it was on such a small scale as one instance of sex trafficking. Sounds terrible to put it that way, but that is how these things roll. She’s a small little fish, comparatively. In the grand scheme of things, she’s FAR more valuable as a witness/asset against the Big Fish (Fred) and as a tool for their anti-Gileadean use. Unless they had significant evidence about ALL her crimes. She’s so much more useful as someone who has direct experience and witness to the entire rise of Gilead, including all the massive fucking terrorist crimes against an entire government and mass murders, that Fred et al. committed. To go after Serena so soon is just kneecapping their own damn case against Fred/Gilead lmao.

[This is where the rumours about Rita come in, but here’s the thing, Serena was already granted immunity for what she did under the guise of being a “Wife”. And seriously, what does Rita really know anyway? Serena’s smacked some people around. She’s locked June in her room. She makes June cry and drink gross smoothies. She helps with the Ceremony. She--with the entire system--forced surrogacy and basically kidnapped a baby. Those things, from what I can tell, are perfectly legal in Gilead for a Wife to do, just like it’s perfectly legal for Fred to whip the shit out of Serena--and Serena has been granted immunity for that shit (which is sorta funny in a way cos she basically used the Nuremberg defense, but it’s layered because she was actually a victim of Gilead too. Tricky shit). 

Now, that 2x10 rape is pretty fucking awful (and likely NOT Gilead-legal) and I’m almost certain Rita would have known about that in some way--but she also wasn’t a direct witness. But maybe she doesn’t? It would be fucking stupid of the Waterfords to be like, “Hurr durr let’s illegally pregnancy rape the Handmaid with a Martha an/or Guardian around even tho it comes with a punishment of DEATH!” But I suppose they are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed either... 

Maybe she knows about the Rapey Sex Date Serena set up for Nick, maybe not, also not a witness to it. We can make assumptions about what Rita knows and doesn’t know, but also... like, none of that matters? (Yet.) Those are just regular fucking crimes on foreign soil and the American and Canadian governments have no jurisdiction to prosecuting them. War crimes require different criteria and Serena smacking Rita in the face isn’t a war crime. It’s shitty assault, but not something any international body would EVER go after.]

Anyway, the show is stupid af for suggesting they’d go after Serena for that singular instance of rape as a war crime. Crimes against humanity--of which YES sexual slavery (sex trafficking in this way) is--require widespread and/or systematic implementation. Serena was NOT going around making all Guardians rape Handmaids for her to get a baby. (Gilead however, and FRED WATERFORD specifically, were directly responsible for the SYSTEM of massive sexual slavery that they created AND maintained. Serena didn’t even come up with the Handmaid idea--THAT WAS THE MEN IN THAT DAMN CAR (Hi Nick, you were there too!).) 

Like... ugh. Stick with what you know, THT. Cos clearly it isn’t anything remotely in the legal realm.

But hey, they had to make up some way to either put Serena on trial for an entire season (YAWNNNNN), or send her back to Gilead. If it’s for the latter reason, and it means we’ll revisit the June/Serena dynamic as the core component of the show, then I’ll let it slide but if it’s to set up the Miller Wet Dream Trial Season and keep Fred/Serena forced together, then I’m livid.

Not that I should care at all considering how many times I’ve said I’m not even watching it anymore, heh.