#only the colonizers are being laughed at the whole time

[curls-cat]

im reading c s lewis' space trilogy and i was not expecting the take "it is good and righteous for women to be bisexual" in there

[germiyahu]

Like can we think about the journey this website has taken? From mocking people who claim not to be bigoted and smugly patting them on the head and explaining that they are bigots but just don't realize it... to becoming those bigots?

This website used to laugh at people who said "I'm not a homophobe! I'm not afraid of things that are the same lel!" Now it says "We're not antisemites... we have nothing against Semites only genocidal Zionazis and their colonizer supporters 😂"

This website used to see red when people said "I'm not a transphobe, I just have concerns about the unregulated influence this MOVEMENT OF GENDER IDEOLOGUES is having on innocent children!" Now it says "We're not antisemites, we're just curious who is funding all this pro-Zionist legislation and initiatives and campus organizations! Aren't you worried that Zionists have an undue influence in our government and culture?"

This website used to sneer at people who said "I'm not a racist! It's a fact that black people [misquoted and misinterpreted statistic]! My God you people are against the truth!" Now it says "We're not antisemites when Zionists have proven that their bloodthirsty fascistic goals are widely supported by Jewish institutions in America, who aren't even true Jews by the way! Zionism =/= Judaism real Jews support Palestine ✊"

This website used to roll its eyes at people who said "I'm not a misogynist! Women have their equal rights under the law, and if you research it they actually have it better off than men in several areas, they're always whining about nothing!" Now it says "We're not antisemites, Jews are a protected class, more than you can say for most actual minorities, they control succeed in finance, entertainment, politics, in what ways are they oppressed? Where are these streets that Jews don't feel safe on lol? Why do they always cry antisemitism when there's a genocide going on? They actually collaborate with the police state btw 🤓"

And there are so many more examples and parallels and my posts are always too long. Antisemitism is the rug being pulled out from under Leftists to reveal that they've been right wing bigots this whole time. Antisemitism is a tool that Leftists use to radicalize themselves into abandoning their own principles, because it's just too enticing not to use it.

[roanofarcc]

STARGAZING

pairing. sasappis x ghost!reader

summary. requested. stargazing with sasappis. pure fluff!

word count. 1k || masterlist

warnings. dead!reader, g/n reader, no use of y/n.

No matter how much time passed you by in death, there were still things about the world that fascinated you. One of those things was the stars. Whenever the sky was clear, you’d be found in the backyard of Woodstone, lying in the grass and gazing at the stars as if you were witnessing them for the very first time. Sometimes one or two of the ghosts who haunted the mansion would join you, but more often than not, the only person who seemed to enjoy the stars almost as much as you was Sasappis. You both enjoyed one another's company and relished in the calmness of a twinkling night. 

You and Sasappis had been alive during vastly different time periods, but the stars reminded you both of home and family; they connected you across decades and lifetimes. 

“Did you know people can get stars named after them now?” you said, breaking the long stretch of comfortable silence.

You felt his eyes on the side of your face, causing you to turn your head to gaze back at him. The soft light of the moon cast a pretty glow across his face, with brows furrowed in question. “No way,” he replied. 

“Really! You get a certificate and everything.” It was Jay who you learned that from; he had a whole conversation about space and the universe with one of the people they hired to fix up the mansion for their B&B. “Imagine,” you continued, a dreaminess floating in your voice. “Looking up every night and knowing somewhere in the sky is a little star with your name.”

“First there’s other galaxies beyond ours and now this?” Sass said in mild disbelief. “What’s next? Are they going to colonize the moon?” 

A laugh bubbled up your throat and he smiled. “Mars is next on the list, I believe.” 

He blew some air from his cheeks. “And here I thought the idea of a man on the moon was outrageous.” 

You turned your body so that you were lying on your side, propping your head up on your hand as your elbow dug into the grass. You could see him better, lying with his hands down at his sides as he plucked at the grass absentmindedly. “If you had a star, which one would you want?” you asked. 

He returned his gaze to the sky, studying the nearby stars with a level of seriousness that made your lips quirk up in a soft smile. Sass didn’t take too many things seriously; how could he after being a ghost for as long as he had? But around you, especially when you were alone in the backyard, Sass hung onto every word you said as if his death depended on it. 

After a long moment, he pointed upwards at the sky and said, “That one, right there.” You strained your eyes, following his finger in the general direction he was pointing. “Not the super bright one, but the one right next to it.” You saw it, two stars situation beside each other. One glowered brighter than the other, but both were dazzling against the black sky. 

“Why not the brighter one?” you asked. 

Sass looked at you again, soft smile and eyes wide with a certain glimmer of adoration that made your stomach flutter. He reminded you of a star. He was something you planned to admire for as long as your ghostly form remained at Woodstone. 

“Because the bright one’s yours,” he said. You felt your face warm at his words and you forced your gaze away from him and back up at the stars. The two stars sat prettily beside one another, just as the two of you sat side by side on the grass. The light that emitted from your star stretched outwards just slightly, looking like it was reaching out for the star beside it. 

You became brave and copied your star’s action, slowly sliding your head that rested at your side toward Sasappis’s hand. Your pinky brushed against his as a hesitant invitation, and without either one of you taking your eyes off of the sky, you interlocked your fingers. With his hand in yours, you felt as if you were holding onto a star. Bright and beautiful and just yours. 

It didn’t matter how old the stars in the sky were, they still ended up right beside each other just as you and Sass ended up ghosts at Woodstone together. Maybe it was fate, written in the stars as some people would suggest, that the two of you had died on the same property decades apart and found yourselves stuck in purgatory together. Death had brought you together despite the impossibility of you two ever meeting while you were alive. 

When you were alive, death had been seen as a curse, but it wasn’t all that bad. An eternity spent with Sasappis, watching the stars and basking in the glow of one another sounded like the opposite of some kind of punishment. And maybe after you completed your purgatory, if it ever ended, you two would end up burning as stars in the sky side by side. That’d be nice, you thought.

“Look,” you said, pointing to the cluster of stars just below yours. “There’s one for everyone too. Sam and Jay. Trevor, Isaac, Flower, and that one’s obviously Thor.” You pointed to the largest star in the cluster. “And then Hetty, Alberta, and Pete.” That sounded nice too, spending forever in the sky with everyone still close. 

“Cute,” Sass replied as a light laugh punctuated his word. “The whole family.” He paused, shaking his head. “Do not tell any of them I called us a family.” 

“Never.” You smiled. “Can’t have them know you’re a big softie.” 

Sass scoffed, playfully. “Am not.” 

You rolled your eyes. “You just told me I was a bright star in the sky.” 

He lifted your interlocked hands, letting them bathe in the direct moonlight. “Okay, maybe I’ve gone a little soft, but it’s your fault.” You let your hand fall onto his chest above where his heart used to beat and scooted impossibly close to him, hovering just slightly above his lying figure. 

“Sorry,” you said, insincerely. He mirrored your smile before he lifted his head and met you halfway, capturing your lips in a short but sweet kiss, spotlighted by your stars that burned as brightly. 

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i just came by this post and i had to address it.

wow. that is a controversial take. and an objectively incorrect one.

i'll just preface this by saying that i'm not satisfied with arcane's finale either. i think it completely went against its own message in the end, and a lot of the arcs were resolved poorly.

but this take is still wild. let me break it down one by one:

there's nothing wrong with the "power of love/friendship" trope. the only problem is that

1. spop entirely focuses on romantic relationships. fuck familial relationships, fuck platonic relationships, the only thing that matters is romance.

2. most of the ships are either forced with no prior buildup or straight-up toxic.

horde prime as a whole was a poorly written villain who was only introduced because catra and hordak were "redeemed". that alone makes the entire finale weak, because horde prime is not as much of a threat as catra was. he's just a placeholder.

i'm convinced that the only reason they introduced the failsafe and the heart of etheria was because horde prime wasn't intimidating enough to keep the audience captivated.

mara convincing adora to stay alive would have been a touching scene if the message wasn't that adora should date her abusive sister.

i'm sorry, did we watch the same show? because how the fuck can you say that catra is no longer abusive after her redemption after watching all of this???

oh yeah, catra pushing adora to the ground and guilt tripping her for trying to save the world wasn't abusive at all. catra constantly screaming at adora for the smallest reasons isn't abusive, that's just catra's little quirk! /s

you would have to be blind to watch all of these instances of catra continuing to abuse adora, and still think that she has changed.

caitlyn hit vi with her rifle, yes, and I'm not going to defend that at all. i agree that it was completely unwarranted, regardless of her reasons. but caitlyn's actions are nothing compared to catra's.

you can love or hate caitvi, i literally don't care. but you can't hate caitvi for being "toxic" while acting like c//a is a healthy ship.

“catra ceased all intentions of being enemies with adora & glimmer and learned to love & fight for etheria”

oh yeah, that's why she kept taking jabs at the princesses and bragging about how many times she has defeated them. that's why she never apologized to glimmer for killing her mother, or to mermista for colonizing her kingdom. oh wait, mermista was very conveniently chipped so that poor catra wouldn't have to deal with all that, right?

let's be real, the only reason catra sided with adora was because she literally had no other choice. she was backed into a corner. she wanted to work for horde prime but since he was willing to throw her out, and the original horde was in shambles, catra's only choice was to join the rebellion. she does not care for the princesses or for etheria.

“catradora never had a power imbalance and fought pretty equally”

this just made me laugh. did this person even watch the show? catra had power over adora 90% of the time.

there were very few instances where adora had power over catra and usually in those instances, catra would attack adora in some way to bring her beneath her.

again, i have my complaints with caitvi. i don't think it's a perfect ship and i'm not going to defend the shitty parts of it. but catra has literally used every single type of abuse on adora - physical violence, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, guilt tripping, kidnapping, attempted murder, victim blaming - and y'all still think that caitvi is worse? be fucking for real.

five seasons isn't enough screentime to wrap up arcs in a satisfactory manner? come on. spop had plenty of time, the writers just didn't plan everything out. they absolutely did not make the most of what they had to work with.

they had 5 whole seasons and still decided to shove catra's redemption arc into the final one, completely rushing it and for what? so that adora had someone to smooch?

the conflict between glimmer and adora could also have been handled better. it was a complex situation, especially considering how catra and shadow weaver was the ones driving them apart. it shouldn't have been solved with a simple “i'm sorry, everything was my fault” and “lol it's okay we good now” like???

again, i'm dissatisfied with arcane's ending. i think a lot of the character arcs were sabotaged and there was too much going on in general.

but i don't think anything can compare to the character assassination in s5 of spop. everyone magically forgot about catra's crimes and forgave her; capable characters were suddenly incompetent and foolish so that catra could shine; and adora, who had completely moved on from catra, was now once again catra's doormat.

you can criticize arcane if you want but this post was just stupid. spop's final season was just as bad, if not worse than arcane. at least arcane managed to write a believable redemption arc for jinx within those 9 episodes - something spop couldn't do with five whole seasons.

[asktheritochampion]

Revali!

How does... how does this look! This was what I wore during my time in Lurelin with my human family. They were... unfortunately killed by a wandering Lynel. I must tell you this Revali, but Lynels aren't 'mindlessly' killing anything. When they kill or injure hylians, gerudo, ritos, zoras or gorons, they do it for FUN. I appreciate you ending my species. They killed those that taught me how to read, write, talk, cook, plant, and so many other things. As I mourned, the Lynel that slaughtered the ones who nutured me to who I am laughed in my face and told me I was a fool to love and care for Hylians. That Lynel told me that all life that wasn't a Lynel was nothing but dust under my hoof. I yearn for their deaths. If I die under yours or your mens wings, then so be it, I would be more than proud knowing at least you helped me defeat an enemy of yours and mine. I need your help. Once the Lynels are dead, and they hopefully don't ressurect, I will be more than happy than to give my soul for Rito training. Please accept my request. And don't feel bad about the blood of Lynels on your wings. They DESERVED their deaths.

Walk with me.

How much do you know of philosophy and ethical studys?

Once upon a time, in very ancient days now, Rito were considered 'savage beasts' to Hylians because they did not understand out ways. They hunted us, and so we began to hunt them back. Our two races were violent and cruel to one another, both beleiving the other was a race of unintelligent beasts killing our people for sport.

The truth is, we were all beasts. Those flightless apes killed our women and took our children to study like animals for fun. We would hunt them from the sky and play games shooting down their people - even families. That is what our people had been taught. It's what their parents did, what their grandparents did. They didn't know any better.

Now - much study has been done into Bokoblins. Horrid little beasts - but easy to capture. They do not breed, they have no families. The creatures spawn from Ganon's malice. They feel no complex emotions, no one is entirely certain whether they even have free will or thought. They eat one another, kill anything they see, and truely appear to live only to serve the demon king as mindless puppets.

Typically is no ethical worry about killing Bokoblins. They aren't people - they are barely creatures, mere figments of Ganon's wrath.

This was thought the same for all monsters - at least at first. Now days there is more study being done into Lizalflo - they seem to be capable of forging metal weaponry - something which requires skill and design - suggesting they could have some form of sentiance.

Then there's you. A Lynel that was raised by Hylians to be 'good'. To repress any violent urges, and to live a peaceful life amongst others. If you are capable of being re-conditioned - that suggests that all Lynel are capable of free will and congative thought. Perhaps they do kill for fun - but perhaps that is all they know. If other Lynel were raised in different enviroments, who's to say they also couldn't asimilate into a society? Suddenly - there is our ethical dilema.

We're no longer killing an animal. We're killing a person raised in a bad situation.

However - regardless of this ethical conundrum, I personally have no qualms about revenge murder for the killing of loved ones. Thus, if you take me to those who killed your Hylian kin then I shall gladly do my duties as a warrior to smite them.

Still, your presence here is something I must discus with the Princess regarding how we move forwards with Lynels as a whole. On the one wing, attempting to force them from a young age into more recognisable practises to our own is colonization which I shant stand for, however we simply cannot allow them to assult and kill innocent people either. We must research another way to find peace between us all.

[tackletofset]

Sarcean and colorism

Revisiting this topic because the lack of nuance has always bothered me, and there have been recent discussions about race in Dark Rise in my server, particularly how people in Western societies (especially the US) often struggle to understand racial dynamics beyond their own cultural constructs of race.

For example, they tend to interpret "mixed" as "multiracial" rather than "multiethnic." When I say I'm "mixed Asian," they automatically assume it means mixed with white. But no—you can still be 100% Asian and come from mixed ethnic backgrounds.

Now, onto the main topic.

I previously mentioned that Sarcean is "discriminated against for his coloring" in the Sun Kingdom, which is clearly an allegory for colorism. This has been laughed at and mocked by some as impossible because Sarcean was a "white guy," with suggestions to "focus on Violet’s real-world racism" instead.

But is that really accurate?

C.S. Pacat is a member of ethnic minority who has openly shared how their experiences as an ethnic minority in Australia have heavily influenced his work, with these themes appearing frequently in his characters and their political dynamics. Damen in Captive Prince embodies this experience, so would it be so surprising if Pacat infused similar qualities into Sarcean??

(Since I'm not part of that ethnic group, and the term could be considered a slur, I'll refer to it here as "Pacat's ethnic group".)

(You can read more about the discrimination faced by others of Pacat’s ethnic group in this compiled post)

So, yes, I believe Sarcean shares the same ethnicity as Pacat’s.

It's no groundbreaking news. Main characters share identities with their Authors all the time. While I believe readers are free to interpret his ethnicity in a way that resonates with them—that’s Pacat's intention, to make them relatable—this is the closest reference we have in terms of "canon".

In the US, he might be labeled as "white," but in regions with different racial dynamics—like Australia or the Sun Kingdom for example—he could be considered an ethnic minority.

Many other readers, like myself, may not belong to this ethnic group but have had similar experiences of colorism as an ethnic minority in our own societies.

Claiming that only one form of racism matters is bigoted.

People can still face discrimination from others within their own “race,” and even from family members based on our skin, hair or eye color. Just because you don’t personally experience it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. And just because it’s not common in your country or society doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist elsewhere.

Yes, there are people like Violet, who experience racism from the imperialistic colonizers who enslave her people. But there are also people like Sarcean, who experience colorism from peers of their own race, because their colorings don't fit to what is seen as "ideal".

By dismissing this allegory as "Sarcean was disliked for being goth," you’re disregarding the real experiences of people who face colorism and find resonance in that passage because of their own lived experiences.

By implying that, you're missing the whole point of C.S. Pacat's works.

Laughing at it “like a hyena” doesn’t make you look insightful or intellectual—it only makes you a bigot.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Hi, me again, this time with the prompt "6. coffee in bed" 🙏

Send me soft prompts! Find the finished ones on AO3!

Buck has long since resigned himself to the fact that his sleep schedule is well and truly fucked. 24 hour shifts were all well and good in his 20s, but now at the ripe old age of 32 he collapses as soon as he gets home like someone’s hit a hard reset switch, and he never knows if he’ll wake up in an hour or ten. Frankly, he doesn’t know how Bobby is still upright, though he’d never say it to his face.

So, blinking awake on a Sunday (maybe) morning (possibly) in June, he has no idea how long he’s been down. His eyes are glued shut, so probably a while. He throws an arm out and it smacks immediately into Eddie, who grunts.

“Morning?” It’s sort of a greeting and sort of a question, and he feels weight shift on the bed as Eddie cranes to check the clock.

“9:15.”

“Mm.” Buck scrubs a hand over his face and blinks open his eyes. Eddie looks like he's just been taken out of one of those vacuum seal bags you pack your clothes in when you're trying to save space in a suitcase, and Buck has to lean over and kiss him about it.

"Oh my god, Buck," Eddie mumbles, pushing him away with his whole hand smushed against his face. "Did you eat roadkill for dinner?"

"Don't you insult Bobby's casserole like that." Buck goes for Eddie's neck instead but ends up yawning against his jugular. "Fuck. I'm gonna get coffee." He starts to roll over but Eddie slings an arm around him and pulls him back down.

"It's being taken care of," he says, burying his face into Buck's shoulder. "Act surprised."

Buck makes a questioning face at him, but his boyfriend is busy being half asleep again and nuzzling his pec, so he just lays there squinting at the ceiling and wondering if Eddie has developed some sort of coffee based telekinesis. He's started thinking about practical applications in the field (does it have to be hot coffee? How big a container can it be in? Can they just start remotely dumping venti iced lattes on fires?) when Chris enters the room, carefully transporting two mugs. Eddie flops onto his back and then flops upright, passing the mugs to Buck and pulling Chris down for a kiss on the forehead.

"Happy father's day," Chris says, only scrunching his nose a little at the display of affection.

"Thanks, kid," Eddie smiles at him, already flapping a hand at Buck to get his coffee back. He takes a sip as Chris leaves the room again, and Buck holds onto the other warm ceramic in his hands, suddenly feeling very awake and a little awkward.

"Uh- I can head out, if you want."

Eddie squints at him over his coffee. "Why?"

Buck waves towards the kitchen. "You know, if you and Chris want to spend the day together."

Eddie's still making a face at him. "Buck-"

Whatever he was going to say is interrupted by Chris returning, even more carefully balancing a tray of food in his arms. He sets it down on the bed and Eddie eagerly pulls it over, grabbing a waffle piled high with whip cream.

"Cards first!" Chris admonishes, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Oh, o-kay, okay," Eddie laughs, picking up one of two folded pieces of paper tucked under the plates.

"Two cards!" Buck grins, stretching his foot under the covers to nudge Chris. "Your dad's a lucky guy."

Chris makes the same face his dad had just been making. "One's for you, Buck."

Buck's pretty sure his face makes the exact expression of the emoticon with the colon and the capital o. "Me?"

"Yeah," Chris says, like obviously Buck gets a father's day card, duh, don't be stupid. Buck kind of just freezes there, rebooting, until Eddie grabs the paper and swaps it with the mug still clutched in his hand and he looks down to read it automatically.

On the front, in suspenseful italic, are the words "When Rodan flaps his wings…" and Buck coughs out a laugh, remembering last month's Godzilla night where they'd stayed up way too late watching movies while Eddie was covering for someone on B shift. He opens the card and doesn't start crying immediately, thank you, he lasts a few seconds with dry eyes. On the inside is a full spread drawing of the fiery pteranodon looming over the city of Los Angeles. On the bottom left a firefighter stands on a rooftop, blasting him in the face with a hose. Written in the sky is "... Buck saves the day!"

"Told you he'd cry," Eddie says, smug. Buck tries to glare at him but he's just a big blur through the tears.

"You're so mean to me," he croaks, reaching out blindly for moral support from Christopher, the superior Diaz. Chris shuffles over and wraps him in a hug which, oh boy, doesn't help the crying situation. "Th-thank you," he manages to get out, clinging to the kid a little and fully expecting him to pull away all huffy and teenager-like.

Chris just rests his head against Buck's. "You've been my dad, like, forever," he says quietly, and, really, it's too early in the day to be put through a trash compactor like this. "I probably should have made more cards to make up for the other years."

Buck makes a sound like "gk!" and feels Eddie's hand on his side. "Well, we don't want him to actually keel over. That would be an embarrassing ambulance ride."

Buck laughs, and it sounds wet and gross, and then kisses the side of Chris's head, which probably feels wet and gross. "I love you, so much."

"I know," Chris says, grinning. "I love you too, Buck. Eat your waffle. I put sprinkles on it!"

Buck laughs again, and pulls Chris up onto the bed with them to share. He's big, growing up so quick, and two grown men and a teenager are a pretty cramped fit on a queen mattress, but none of the three members of this family that Buck somehow, miraculously belongs to minds the proximity.

"Happy father's day, Buck," Eddie says, eyes heart twistingly soft as he kisses Buck's cheek. "Glad you're here with me. With us."

Buck makes a face as his eyes start stinging again, and covers Chris's eyes so he can lean forward and kiss Eddie on the mouth, quick. "No place I'd rather be."

[longing-for-rain]

Just so you know, some of your anons are coming from a blog called @mal3vol3nt

I do not know if you’re aware, but she’s chronically obsessed with you and has also been sharing your ao3 on Twitter and inciting harassment there too, saying you’re “racist” and a “degenerate” and accusing you of writing underage. Her blog lately is mainly posts about you and it sounds very similar to some of your anons

I had to check this out for myself and...wow. All I can say is just...wow 🤣

No, I actually had no idea who this person was but from the looks of it she's been obsessed with me for months? I guess that explains the anons, I knew these people were mad, but apparently they've been over here steaming over my takes and are legitimately terrified of me. And I didn't even know them! Didn't realize I've been doing numbers on Twitter (or X whatever it is now) despite never having an account.

(The rest is below; please don't click if you do not wish to see insensitive discussions of rape or if you are not in the mood to read opinions so malformed they will melt your brain)

I guess I have another angry little troll who doesn't know what a captial letter is obsessed with me. Wish I could say it was the first time, but alas. A lot of particularly funny things here though.

> Advertising your terrible ragebait Twitter like anyone finds you important

Lmao.

> "write fanfiction of katara being raped so zuko can save her"

What a terrible misread of the point of that story, but then again, I don't expect much else from a terminally online crybaby who exclusively consumes media for children. If you can't handle adult discussions about adult topics, maybe don't read stories that are clearly marked 18+ and with far more extensive trigger warnings than any mainstream media will give you.

> "measuring the size of her breasts and hips"

Lmao. I said she is drawn differently in different scenes. That's it. You guys are another level of unhinged.

> "obviously fetishes and racism"

It's kind of creepy how they sexualize Zutara, while simultaneously accusing us of doing that. Why do you assume a fetish is the only reason behind someone liking a ship? Why would you say this about a group of people including many black, brown, and indigenous women? And minors? And if you want to get into the whole fetish thing, don't even get me started on the shit I've seen from the kataang fandom. Hint: when I say some of you have a "mommy fetish" I mean it in a very literal sense. Not to mention the whole kataang rape discord debacle.

> "sick fantasies about these minor characters"

I have never depicted a minor in a sexual situation. I make a point to explicitly avoid doing that, and all characters are depicted as adults. Your lack of media literacy isn't an argument. If you're going to criticize my writing, at least read it, which you clearly didn't. And if the content is too upsetting for you, you clearly lack the maturity to engage in these kinds of discussions.

Imagine treating ship discourse this seriously, actually unhinged. Who said that Ember Island Players is the real Katara? What? She talks a big number about coke-fueled rants, must have given it a try herself. How do you expect to be taken seriously when you never say anything of substance and screech "racism" or "colonizer" every other word but can't even articulate the significance of those terms? Honestly, at this point you sound like a right-winger who thinks saying "but I'm [identity] and I agree with [opinion]" is a golden ticket to winning every argument.

And look at this: apparently I deserved all the things she and her friends sent me? Actually I respect this take, at least she's honest about it unlike the people who cry and backpeddle when they get caught red-handed.

I'm actually cackling at this one. Genuinely laughing; my neighbors are probably concerned. It's like you took every single Bad Person Allegation and threw it into a blender. And to top it all off, apparently 24 is "pushing 30" now LMAO. And apparently I, a lesbian, could only possibly like Zutara because I think Zuko is hot. Not to mention the way they entirely miss the point of Zutara, but ATLA itself, by insisting that Zuko is a "violent imperialist" who is apparently unworthy of love by anyone who does not share his skin tone. Kind of ironic coming from the people crying that I'm a racist who doesn't understand the show. Next level clownery.

This is so funny. These people are absolutely terrified of me, no amount of unhinged anons will hide that. It's fine for men to tell me I deserve rape and death, that I'm a dirty pervert for daring to speak out about sexual trauma, and that women's sexual trauma is nothing but a fetish, but if I respond to that man telling him he should die for being so disrespectful and misogynistic to rape victims, I'm the monster? I stand by it. If you think what he said about rape and rape victims is acceptable, especially if you're a man, die! Hang from ropes, as I said.🥰

I guess I should be really scared though. This is clearly a very influential figure in the fandom who is renowned for her enlightened wisdom on the plight of fictional cartoon characters against evil imperialists like me (adult with job).

...oh wait. I was excited for a minute, I thought I was dealing with a celebrity. But even the "callouts" struggle to hit 20 notes :/

And to everyone sending me positivity during this time, thank you very much! But I wanted to show you this to assure you I'm doing just fine. People can act as weird as they want behind a gray face, but after seeing the kinds of whiny little brats they are in reality, it's pretty hard to take it seriously. "I got my plane ticket" my ass, that would require you to leave your decaying, trash-filled apartment.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 15

First / Previous / Next

It was odd. Spyglass was a full five kilometers long, but they were being hired - at more money than Fen had ever seen at once - to bring one single K'laxi home. Normally, Fen would be busy helping the stevedores with their cargo, showing them where to put it, and getting things ready to cast off, but now she just stood outside the airlock at the dock, her rifle slung casually behind her, leaning against a wall.

This was a Sefigan station, and the whole place was decorated in desert colors and textures. Even though they were a shorter, furry race, the Sefigans came from a a world that had more deserts than Earth did, and had evolved to prefer that kind of climate. It was dry too. Every time Fen breathed in, she felt like her nose was drying out.

Sefigans and humans had a decent enough relationship. They tended to keep clear of the Empire and felt that most humans were entirely too rough for them, but they did help out against the Gren right after Contact, so most Sefs had humans defaulted to "they're all right, but don't lend them any money" levels of friendship. As Fen leaned against the wall near the airlock the Sefigans went about their day, and only the kids would look at her. Every time one of them caught her eye, she'd wink. Their eyes would widen and the braver ones would laugh and gesture hello.

After an hour, the K'laxi came. Fen saw her pierced ears, shining in the artificial light before the rest of her. She - Fen knew enough anatomy to make a relatively educated guess that she was female was tall for her race, with reddish brown fur, and her ears were heavily pierced. She practically jangled as she walked.

She was also armed. Weapons were not unusual out here, but most sapients tended to avoid chemical operated slug throwers. They'd stick with energy weapons or blades. Humans were the unique ones in that they carried their projectile throwers everywhere. This K'laxi was carrying a human made pistol, modified for her grip.

"Fenchurch Whitehorse?" Her voice was low and smooth. She was also speaking Colonic, she didn't even ask if she could use their original tongue.

"Call me Fen please." She clicked her heels together and gestured toward the airlock. "Welcome to Spyglass. Please come aboard."

"Right you are Fen. I'm Nalenni Bightiarr by the way, but please call me Nal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nal. This way." Fen led her aboard and gave an abbreviated tour. Nal was their only cargo this trip, but there was no reason to give her the run of the ship. Spy and Fen had set up access protocols when they learned they were going to have a passenger, Nal could get to her cabin, the lounge and - with permission - the command deck. That was about it.

After the tour, Fen brought Nal to the Command Deck and Gord was sitting in his chair, going over things with Spy. Gord, Spy and Fen had decided to not let Nal know that Spy (or Gord for that matter) was an AI, but they also were not going to hide it. Fen and Gord could talk to Spy and Spy would answer as best as she could, but maybe just a little more... shiplike for now.

Gord looked up. "Ah, Nal is it?" He stuck out his hand. Nal took it and shook it vigorously, perfectly executing the ancient human gesture. Gord accepted the handshake and got three quarters of the way through it before he realized was was happening and almost yanked his hand back in surprise.

Nal smiled. "I had heard you were old fashioned, Gord. The fact that you were willing to honor a favor made by my great grandmother was proof enough of that. Your own relative must have made the deal right?"

Gord chuckled and tuned away quickly. "Something like that. Nal, have you ever used a wormhole link before?"

Nal's ears flicked. "No, I've only ever used the Gates and the FlashWarp drive. Are you talking about the-"

"The sometimes some people die thing, yeah. I was wondering if you knew if you were effected."

"Nope, I don't know. I guess we'll all learn together. Honestly, I'm a little excited to find out. I would love to see my ancestors and ask them things."

Gord reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I hear you don't normally get information that concrete. It doesn't happen to me, so I can't say for sure. Anyway, we're going to cast off in about an hour, and then eat. It's nearly time for the evening meal, ships time. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure, it's midday meal for me, but the meals line up well enough. I'd love to." Her tail flicked.

It was Fen's turn to cook. When they first started out, Fen thought she would be doing all the cooking as she was the only biological person, but it turned out that Gord knew how to cook. "You think this is the first time I've hosted a BI before?"

"BI?"

"Yeah, Biological Intelligence. You call us AIs, we call you BIs."

Fen couldn't let Gord do all the cooking, so she insisted that they take turns, once a week. This was Fen's week and she made dinner. The food was simple, but safe for K'laxi - Fen may not have known many recipes, but she knew how to cook for K'laxi - and there was plenty of it. They ate with gusto.

Even Gord had some. He didn't need to eat, but he did on occasion "so that I can remember my table manners" but Fen also wondered if Gord did it to help keep one foot into humanity. He has been around so long that she wasn't sure just how human he thought of himself.

Fen brought out tea for everyone and was clearing plates after the meal. Dishes were easy since it was only the three of them. Nal jumped up to help.

"No, Nal, I've got this. It's your first meal aboard, the least I can do is be a good host. You can wash up tomorrow." Fen smiled but gestured for Nal to sit.

Nal's tail flicked and she smiled. "Okay Fen, tomorrow." She sat back down, and turned to Gord. "So, it's just the two of you running this operation?"

Gord nodded and sipped his tea. "For the most part, yes. We've been at it a few years taking jobs here and there, building up a reputation."

"I'll say. You two already have a rep of taking huge cargos far away, fast. I don't think there are too many human cargo haulers over on this side of the galaxy, you all tend to stay near your own corner of space. I don't know what it is about your wormhole generator and why hardly anyone else uses it, but in your hands it seems better than just about any other FTL option they have out here."

Fen burned to ask Nal why she was way out here, and why she needed a ride home ASAP, but she knew better than to ask. What the cargo was doing was their business. Hers and Gord's business was to get her to her destination quickly and professionally. Curiosity would have to take a back seat.

After chores, they stayed up and chatted about nothing for a while, and then Nal retired to her cabin. A moment after the door clicked shut Spy called out. "She locked her door and I turned off the speakers in her room, she can't hear us."

Gord shrugged. "She seems fine. Keeps things close to her chest, but otherwise model cargo. Probably a spy."

Fen blinked. Nal? A Spy? "What makes you say that, Gord?"

"It's the little things. How she carries herself. She's confident around two humans - well what she thinks are two humans - and breezy but never actually admits to anything. She watches all the time. She practically was glued to your back while you were cooking, Fen. She's also very aware. K'laxi have excellent hearing and I could see her ears swivel at every noise that Spy made. She's skilled at gathering information."

Gord tossed back the rest of his tea. "Also, why else would a K'laxi be willing to pay the fuck off price to hire an entire Starjumper to bring them back to K'lax on a moment's notice. Something came up and she needed to get home asap. I bet if we weren't around she would have called for one of their frigates to pick her up."

"Now I know you're taking the waste." Fen shook her head. "You're just spinning tales. Why would a K'laxi frigate come out to Sefigan space just to pick up one person."

"Back me up Spy. Would the K'laxi send a warship to collect a single person if they felt that person was important enough?"

Spyglass chuckled. "Ancestors know we've done it plenty of times. You, specifically have done it too, haven't you Gord?"

Gord waved his hands, dismissively. "Once or twice Spy, once or twice. That was a long time ago though. My point is, it's not unreasonable for a government to go and collect one of their own, especially if they think that what they know is valuable."

Fen crossed her legs and leaned sideways in her chair. She never was able to get comfortable in Spyglass' chairs, she always had to lounge or lay sideways or contort herself to stop fidgeting. "Okay then, what does she know?"

"Hah!" Gord's laugh was a single bark. "If I knew that, for one, I wouldn't tell anyone, and for two, I wouldn't be nearly the last human built AI still up and mobile." He stood. "Go get some rest Fen. Spy and I are going to plot our last few links. We'll time them to get to K'lax tomorrow morning."

Fen shrugged and got up. It was getting late, ship's time and she was pretty tired. "Okay Gord. Night Spy."

"Good Night Fen."

Fen went to her cabin and after locking the door took off her clothes, took a boiling hot shower - one underappreciated luxury aboard was the nearly unlimited hot water - she was too used to lukewarm showers back home. After, she dried off and climbed into bed. Without realizing it, she had scooted over to the far side of the bed to give Ma-ren room to climb in with her. When she realized what she did, she sighed and moved to the middle.

She laid on her back in the dark, staring at the ceiling a long time. These were the times when it was hardest to be without Ma. She would come home after her shift, take a shower and clean the smell of the restaurant off her as best as she could, and then could climb into bed with Fen, and they'd just lay in the dark, holding each other. Some nights they transitioned into sex, but that was the exception. Both of them normally preferred to just hold each other and cuddle until Ma fell asleep. Fen smiled at the memory that Ma always fell asleep first.

Fen let the tears flow until they stopped, and then, eventually, sleep came for her as well.

Well after Fen was asleep, Gord went deep into the ship. Past the reactor room, past the med bay, past the rifle range and into a small room that was built next to one of the matter printers. He stopped and touched the pad with his palm and concentrated. The door hissed open, and he checked on his work.

Sitting on a long, high table was a body. Female shaped, with long legs and arms and silvery white hair. Her chest was open, and two of the printer arms were inside whirring away as they printed new muscles and laced bone. "How is it going?" he asked, without looking up.

"We're taking it slow, just like you wanted Gord. We're about 80% finished with the gross motor function. The brain is going to take some doing, like you thought. We might be able to get some high resolution print heads from the K'laxi, but they're going to ask why we want them."

Gord held up a finger. "Correction: They're going to ask why we want them if they catch us buying them."

"And you just happen to have ten shell companies to wash a purchase like that in your back pocket." You could hear Spyglass crossing her arms when she was speaking to Gord.

"I never said anything about buying them, Spy."

"This again. Gord, you can't just go stealing everything you need when it gets inconvenient to buy it."

"And why the fuck not, Spy? They never thought about our feelings as we were captured and shackled. They can take the hit. If it brings us closer to our goal, it's worth it."

"What about Fen? She'll get caught in the crossfire. If the Empire catches-"

"The Empire is lightyears from here Spy. Fen is fine. She's a crack shot now, she's got her own nest-egg. She could sign on to any merc group that is looking for a human. We've trained her well."

"So you're still going ahead with your plan to dump her somewhere."

Gord stared at the body being printed. They were so close. "It's... still an option Spy, that's all."

[ren-rambles-often]

I finally watched Code Geass but before I get to my short rant about the show and the ship you can pretty much guess this is about…. Let me just say….

This show peaked at the pseudo incest brocon subplot, I'm taking no arguments!

Fine, fine, that's definitely not entirely true but Rolo's death had me pausing the show and staring at the screen like for what reason?! Let the boy be hopelessly obsessed goddammit 😭😭😭

Now I've gotten that out of my system…

Guess who's the character I hate most?

shocker I know/sarc

I haven't hated one half of my otp ship in a piece of media this much since that one Episode Nagi panel of Reo's heart getting destroyed by Nagi's dumbass (Reo my love love I'd treat you so much better)

Suzaku's case is worse by several degrees because his idiocy and attitude only continued to stoke the flames of my annoyance for the whole two fucking seasons until like the three or two episodes at the end cause oh my fucking God I cried.

(That shit was a wild ride enough nothing is making me watch any spin offs or side stories I care that little)

From the first moment he entered that Lancelot suit and agreed to help the side that attempted to silence him by murder, I clocked his ass and marked him as the dumbest bitch to ever exist but we love a protective loyal dog Top don't we ladies?

"I want to change the system from the inside-" bitch shut up these are colonizers you ain't changing nothing 😭

Even after they they tried pining the murder on him to sentence him to death AGAIN!! BOY WENT BACK.

AND!

He refused Zero?!

HUH?!?

Now I'm not a particularly patriotic person (I hate my county so so much) but if we got neo colonized, No matter what merits I would never be friendly or cooperative with the other side.

Suzaku stopped his country fighting back (valid reason or not I don't remember, he killed his dad and that meant surrender ig) and proceeded to kiss up to brits, fall in love with one of them, and further hinder every attempt of his own people fighting back because 'Violence wrong' but it's okay when he does it because some made up ideal told him being subservient would make a change. And it did….just for him tho, all other 11s? no one cares.

And it didn't even matter because Lulu's methods were always the ones that brought things closer!

I know it's a kind of a commentary on something, I ain't stupid but I was still pissed.

Literally had me gritting my teeth almost every time he stepped on screen, especially when he went pseudo emo after becoming a knight of round or whatever.

Bottom line, he frustrated me as much as he did Lelouch but I still wanted to see them FUCK.

The last couple of episodes where genuinely the best things I've ever watched and a brilliant end to the series. I wouldn't say I grew to enjoy all the characters but God did the plot threads keep me going.

Trust I understood very little about the gate shit and the killing God aspect but when you're having a fun time everything just looks good.

To sum up SuzaLulu…

Giving me friends to enemies to lovers (correct me not I won't hear you) All mixed together with the palpable hatred and vitriol they held toward each other is just too much.

And Lelouch as a bottom is literally my type >.< psycho, pretty, and bad at sports (also having a natural inclination to dominate others)??? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!!!

His dramatic ass had me gripped and his personality contrasted so beautifully with Suzaku's dumbass that while I did want to be sad about that redhead he might have liked dying….girl bye 👋 make way for the gay 🏳️‍🌈

(Srsly tho, I was sad for a sec, it was a very shocking scene to say the least but Rolo pulled such a Brocon move I was laughing for a solid minute.)

I very much didn't want to be like most other yaoi shippers that watched this shit when they were ten and went for the very obvious but still delicious low hanging fruit yaoi but I see enemies to lovers mixed with tragic yaoi and an undeniably fun story and brain stops functioning lmaooo. Turns out I'm very much like other fujins ;p

Closing thoughts: Umm…If you're going to defend Suzaku in the replies…go for it I'm down to listen but he'll forever be my bitch. I love Lelouch but Light is better, Orange x Lelouch is underratedand C.C. and Kallen should have gotten married.

[kaibutsushidousha]

Fitting given the recent FGO news, but what are your thoughts on Takeru?

Bundling all these asks together because they're inseparable. Probably the biggest askbox cleanup I ever did in one go.

The short version of the answer is "Fate/Samurai Remnant is the story of a pair completely enamored with each other's least favorite parts of themselves."

Saber was a complete natural. A child too strong. His father quickly noticed that and exploited Ousu as Yamato's mightiest colonizer. All they knew in life was violent conquest until Tachibana taught them love and kindness. But Tachibana was uncritical. She didn't talk Takeru out of their bloody path. On the contrary, she chose death so that the walk would continue. She loved Takeru's good and bad alike.

Through Iori, Saber met a new world. A world where the weak had the option not to fight. A world where rice was easily accessible. A world that had no need for Yamato Takeru's journey, thus no need for Ototachibanahime's death. And there he met an intriguing man who still wanted to fight in a world where this wasn't needed.

In their interactions, Saber grows to envy Iori's rational acclimation to the peaceful Edo. The ability to find solutions that don't require violence. To strategize conversations. To not do things aren't virtuous. To sympathize and empathize. To read and understand the thoughts of others. It's by emulating this that Saber changes.

Meanwhile, Iori is a thinker. His exceptional rationality allowed him to weasel his way out of a village massacre, which lasted until Munenori inadvertently saved his life. After this whole time desperately using his brain to survive, Iori witnessed the easy way out. With a slash that looked like the moon, the sword saint survived without resorting to Iori's tiresome trickery. That absolute strength was the symbol of survival Iori saught.

He learned from Musashi (and Kojirou) for as long as he could, but ultimately couldn't learn all. Without completing Niten's lessons, Iori was left capable only of doing what he does best: thinking, reading, and adapting. He designed his Five Stances model and began fighting by switching patterns according to his circumstances. The opposite of the all-purpose survival mechanism that he began his training for.

Through Saber, Iori saw his original inspiration. Right in the prologue, Iori is already gushing about how Saber fights with the swordplay of a champion who doesn't read or respond to their opponent, letting only themself dictate how they fight, like they were the only one in the field. Saber can survive any situation with far less effort than Iori.

In their interactions, Iori grows to envy Saber's force of character as an unmalleable force. Their outstanding technique is just like the moon he saw at the night at the port. Iori can't feel at peace until he surpasses it. No matter how much of himself he must trim down, he needs to find raw all-purpose power (the Fire and Void Stances). Saber's ability to push through any challenge without as much as evaluating it. It's by emulating this that Iori changes.

The conclusion of Entreat the Darkness sees Iori defeated by Saber's successful read of him. The talentless Iori continuously relied on his "petty" tactic of studying his opponent, so when the talented Saber started pulling the same thing on him, it was so thoroughly hopeless that he had to laugh it off and accept he got as far as he could. Iori was pacified by his own lessons being repeated to him by the person who heartfeltly absorbed them, in classic Ciel route style.

Saber and Iori were born in the wrong eras. The latter would have been more self-assured in an age where he could prove and elevate himself in duels that put the limits of life and death to the test. The former would have been more happy in an age where they could feel assured their treasured companion(s) would last as long as they did.

But through the short time they shared, they got everything they wanted. Iori found satisfaction in finding that insurmountable that confirmed that he became the very best he could possibly be. Saber found satisfaction in gaining a companion through a much more gratifying journey than the unification of Japan.

The logical conclusion to my opening sentence is that Saber and Iori had the missing pieces to each other's puzzle, and sharing those made both of them whole.

[princess-of-thebes-1995]

Ugh. Nov 30 is my big brother's birthday. And my psychiatrist appointment is also on that date. Small world. I was forced to quit thanks to my parents after for maybe almost two years. My mind is disorganized... I am working on my yandere Grindelwald and Love thy enemy series.

A Life Bartered will be out on hold. I don't know how to write the next chapter...

Anyway.... A short random thought. Love thy enemy will probably take years to complete.

I don't want to half ass this like my other works.

But, I love these scenes so much. From other movies. I cannot picture gellert Grindelwald in them but human Miles Quaritch before he came back as s Recom....

Tsk. Tsk. Here it goes.

As you can tell in that picture.... The Colonel was wearing a ring...

You were dating him. after a few mishaps. I mean he was a yandere who acted kind and sweet. But later revealed he was an evil man who wanted to colonize and commit genocide and steal their land.

You felt betrayed. You slept with the enemy. Your Prince charming was rather the beast holding you hostage in disguise. Worst of all is ... You don't think you have any man to rescue you.

You have to fend yourself. You were jealous of Trudy and Neytiri. Jake changed sides for his lover and Trudy helped Norm. You wanted that kind of love. Quaritch wanted to change YOU to be on his side. It should be the other way around. You knew you were morally right.

Before the battle of hometree. You asked him when was his birthday. You didn't want to ask what year. It was rude. You knew Quaritch was a little insecure if his age because of you and those rumors.

The Colonel to your surprise told you causally and was comfortable. He asked why you cared. You cheekily avoided the subject. Then asked for his favorite color.

Quaritch raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning on buying me a gift, sweetheart?"

You looked away avoiding his eyes. Damn it. The Colonel was always too smart for his own good.

You mumbled a "no." The Colonel walked up to you and tucked you underneath him.

"your a bad liar." He snickered.

When the time arrived. You cooked an extra fancy meal and made a small party. His squad and some of your science friends came. It was awkward that scientists and Marines were to be civil.

The Marines and scientists didn't speak to one another only themselves.

The Colonel appreciated the gesture. He didn't eat cake for years. He doesn't like junk food. Especially sweets. He teasingly made you feed him cake Infront of all.

He was amused by your blushing face as you did

And as for his present besides riding him for the first time. He was surprised and he wasn't complaining.

You gave him an antique gold 25 karot and his favorite color gem in the center. Worth 15,000.

The Colonel was touched. He let you be the boss of him that night in his bed. He laughed at how awkward you were. It was cute you were trying.

Since then. He wore it.

As for you... When it was your birthday. He tattooed your name across his chest in big and bold letters. (Please don't ask me how they have a tattoo artist in base. I don't know...)

Then one day. it happened.

Your world turned upside down. Sully was reporting to Quaritch secretly.

Your boyfriend was the whole time keeping secrets. He attacked hometree and lied about peace.

Worst of all, not only was your elderly father dying but died a month ago. His funeral passed.

You tried to break up with Quaritch.

He for the first time. Hit you. He never did this before.

He treated you like a queen and called you princess.

You felt tears down your rosy cheeks and held your cheek. You healed already thanks to your mutant genetics. But, your heart wound of being hit by the man you loved and degraded made you feel disgraced. So many was happening at once. Bad reality checks.

The whole time. Selfridge wanted to steal the natural resources.

He lied to all scientists and other people like Trudy. She said she didn't sign up for this shit.

You sobbed. "If my father was alive...."

Quaritch let out a "tch" in annoyance as he looked down at your pathetic form on the ground after getting hit in the face

"he's dead. Even if he was alive. I am not scared of that old man. Father in law or not."

"You're suppose to be..."

The Colonel rolled his eyes at your naivety. He grabbed your forearm and made you stand up.

He made you look at him. "I am not your prince charming. I'm the warrior who is willing to kill for his prize."

You cried more. Your just like a pretty trophy wife. You thought he was different than the other men and boys in earth. Suitors who wanted to marry you for your looks.

You fell in love with a jerk.

What a fool you were.

Before the Colonel left to the ship to bomb hometree once and for all. He wanted to "touch" you one last time.

He announced to everyone when he bought the entire marines first round at the bar when they destroyed the omiticaya home that he will marry you after the battle is over.

He proposed to you and you were forced to act happy. He went on his knee everyone cheered.

Then... You were locked in your room. The scientists had to leave for Earth. So the labs were shut down.

But, you decided to spite him... You snuck in weapons to the Avatars and gave mad useful information about the Marines plans to invade the Navis.

And gave them keys to the soldiers supply room.

Well... Before Quaritch would fuck you before he wanted to kill Sully. You drugged his coffee. Too bad he noticed something again. Remember, he is too smart for his own good. Nothing gets past him. He spat out his drink. He was only slightly dizzy. He was so angry.

He wanted to punish and rape you again.

"maybe I pump a brat inside you. That will tame your bitchy attitude." He grinned. Your breath heaved.

Before he came. You grabbed a heavy book and hit his head. He bled and howled in pain.

"you bitch!" He knocked the book out. He slapped you. He knew he could kill you easily. So he decided to just tie you up.

But, you used the taiser he gave you for protection against his neck.

He smirked after getting shock. "oh look, doll. A hickey."

He mockingly beckoned you to come closer. "Come to daddy."

You then kneed his balls. He clutched down. You kicked his nose. He cursed and clutched his face in pain.

"who's your daddy now?"

You locked him in his room and ran off.

The Colonel kicked the door down open and then was summoned to Selfridge to immediately start the ship.

The Colonel used his phone to make his men detain you. He will punish you so fuckin bad after he kills Sully.

Luckily, Max and your other scientists friends who were also avatars attacked the base and freed you from your cell.

And from Selfridge. He tried to rape you while the base was in a frenzy and you were alone.

Before Selfridge could touch you. A gunshot missed his head.

"don't shoot!" He held his hands up.

"Give me a reason, prick." Your Avatar friend pointed the gun at him.

You then decided to run to the communication room. You heard Quaritch's voice.

"this is Papa dragon. I want this mission high and tight. I wanna be home for dinner." You rolled your eyes.

You called Jake and told him where to find the ship aircraft of Quaritch.

You never heard of Quaritch again...

But sadly. You felt something moving inside your body. And it wasn't guilt. Damn Quaritch. He always gets the last laugh.

[alolanrain]

I’m really rethinking the TA!Au because it has actually gotten a lot darker then I originally intended, it’s one of the reason’s why I haven’t really written anything is because I’m actually planning out a full series that will stay contingent, and I’ve decided to make a whole new au instead. ’ve mentioned it before but I’m naming the new verse is named Traveling Teacher!au. I’m also cringing how I’ve type au so far.

This is also almost a 180 turn from it too.

Traveling teacher!au is where Ash actually goes to therapy, i’m not joking, and after he’s deemed ready by his therapist. Ash will be leading the International Leagues new mandated Buddy System. Where respected trainer’s slightly older between the ages of 17 and up will be there for support during trainings and battle. They won’t ever actually battle someone else, during “support time” but instead give advice on certain techniques that the professors deems right. Like all the Pokémon are loved dearly and they form a unique strong bond. Or as we know it, main characters basically.

Professors and or both an Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy together have to judge the team and deem everyone of at least three basic things. What makes it hard is that each region have different rules to apply to the buddy system and you legally have to meet each regions standard or else you are disqualified. The only reason Ash’s entire project he worked his blood sweat and tears into actually became a world wide thing is because, if he hadn’t been the luckiest motherfucker in the whole wide fucking world, so many well know people joined and public spread it with praise and pure delight of all ages. Anyone seventeen and above can join and freely offer good, qualified and respected advice. To many young children have died in almost every tragic event Ash has been in. Let alone his friends when they first come to face is Ash’s personal hell.

Yet they somehow an bare the trauma and laugh at their good times instead. Looking forward and accepting help when they can’t. They also go for the position of a version of a “shiny” trainer. Getting that iconic silver/golden sparkle over their picture on their legal trainer card. There’s other smaller requirements but’s it’s so easy to be re-qualified. Behind the scenes though? There’s so much more.

He had to convince a slew of fucking people this was a good idea and had to defend himself again and again at every step. It made him vicious in debates and arguments. Every INL member hates dealing with him when he’s mad because Ash is usually fucking right. He was already contracted as a “regional inspector” when crime rises rabidly through the entire nation. He’s widely considered to be fluent in fucking Evil Teams now. He has his moments, he’s not perfect at all but he’s trying. So far, his last break was by choice and not by the mental abuse of dying over and over again.

So… progress, somewhat.

Now that he no longer has to defend what was basically his fucking baby for so fucking long, he’s being sent to Alola for a trial run.

They don’t have a league in the island region. Choosing to go back to their religion, practices and ways of life after Unova had briefly colonized their islands. Before the INLwas established way back in time. It was going to be fought over by Paldea and those two had major beef between each other. quick Pokemon history recap in au. It was going to get dangerous real quick for the entire world of some people didn’t step the fuck in.

No one quite remembers how the INL was created, each region has it written it down in their history differently, but their here know and everything has genuinely been good… mostly because their in human disguises. They where distant and relatively cordial to each region and their own. Regardless they cared, especially since humans can be a danger to Pokemon it’s better to lead them then fight them.

Ash has made that very clear them in the years he’s been alive and cognitive enough to start blaming the legendaries who, for no reason, loses their shit just to lose it and nothing else. He’s had screaming matches and arguments with them to get their shirt together. Their led by the ear by Ash to make social engagement with the public. Both as INL members and as regulars “people”.

He may or may not caught having dinner with Kanto board member Gia Lu and KoKe Kahekili from specifically Melemele, Alola. Stirring the pot of rumors and gossip off what they have going on.

There’s obviously so much more but I’ll stop here for know.

[perfectlyvalid49]

Sometimes I feel like this blog is more Judaism focused than I really want it to be. Like, I am Jewish, but that’s only one aspect of my personality. I’m also interested in politics and linguistics and nerdy pop culture stuff and a whole bunch of other things. And I want this blog to have space for all of that.

So when I spent a ton of time late last week fighting with an antisemite, I told myself that when I was done with him (or as it turns out, when he was done with me), I’d take a break from posting about Jewish issues for a bit. Just like, a week where I’m just reblogging stuff that makes me laugh or an interesting language fact or something like that. Y’know, happy stuff.

He blocked me Friday, and on Saturday, Hamas attacked. And I’ve got a big mouth, so I can’t not say anything. Maybe when this is all resolved I can post happy stuff, but for right now, I need a place to talk, even though I’m struggling with what to say.

I guess the first thing I should say is that I feel terrible about what’s happening. Because what’s happened so far is bad, and what will happen next is even worse. Israel will take its vengeance; innocent Palestinians will die. The friends and families of the victims on both sides will be radicalized and the violence will continue. I hate it and it’s stupid and I wish there was an easy way to stop it and I know that there isn’t.

And I want to say that I support the Palestinian people. The way that Israel treats the Palestinians in Gaza is inhumane – it shouldn’t be allowed! But Israel treats them that way because before they did, you couldn’t get on a bus in Israel without worrying about being blown up. That shouldn’t be allowed either! Everything is complicated. Both sides are full of people who just want to live in peace who are being screwed over by a minority who won’t be happy until the other side is gone. Both sides have valid points, both sides have done terrible things. Anyone who is telling you that it isn’t complicated is either woefully uneducated about the history of the conflict, thinks one side does not deserve fundamental human rights, or both.

And after saying all that, I guess that I should make it clear that I’m still a Zionist – I believe that the Jewish people have the right to a self-determined state, and I think that Israel is probably the best place for it (I did not say a good place, I just don’t think there’s a better one. The best of a bunch of bad options is still the best). Having said that I’m a Zionist, I still hate what Israel’s government is doing and has been doing. Netanyahu is a monster. You can disagree with a country’s government and still think it has a right to exisit.

If you think that all Zionists are evil (and you’re still reading this), then tell me a better solution. Where should Jews go to be safe from governmental persecution? Or should they be denied that? If so, why?

And that’s the other thing I want to talk about. Every Jew I know is watching this with feelings of grief and horror, and the response from the left seems to be some variation on, “Israeli civilians deserved this,” “go back to where you came from,” or “terrorism is OK, actually, as long as it’s against a colonizer state (but not the one I live in).” And it’s soul-crushing. It is possible to be anti-Zionist without being antisemitic, but it seems like right now people aren’t even trying. The only good Jew is a dead Jew, and now that there are a bunch of dead Jews, everyone is celebrating.

I keep thinking about this video that I watched at school when I was a kid about the conflict. It was probably the mid 90s and the video showed Arab and Israeli kids playing together with a voice over from an interview with one of their moms. And I remember her saying that the kids playing together was good because then they would be friends, and when they got older they wouldn’t want to fight each other because they would remember that they were friends. I know now that it was probably a propaganda video, but that’s still what I want. I want leadership for Gaza that isn’t a terrorist organization, I want leadership for Israel that isn’t a far right authoritarian nightmare, I want Palestinians to not be locked behind a wall, I want Israelis who don’t have drills for when the rockets come. I want everyone – EVERYONE – to be able to live a life in peace and I want two little boys with different backgrounds and religions that both include a history in Israel to be able to play in a field by a river and be friends.

And if you don’t want that? Fuck you.

[lord-squiggletits]

I need to reread the comics again to have specific arguments/evidence for this, but like

I feel a bit like I could've been sympathetic to the way other Cybertronian colonies view Cybertron, if it weren't for the fact that at least several of them (as in, ones that get notable dialogue/screen time) are so low-key self-righteous?

Like, idk... there's a lot of criticism of Cybertronians because they're so "warlike" and how their obsession with violence and vengeance is just dragging the whole galaxy down with them, but uh. The Autobot-Decepticon war was basically a product of societal ills bubbling over for like 6 million years beforehand and then finally boiling over into a 4 million year war that lasted as long as it did because the people involved had immense social/psychological trauma from being "raised" in an oppressive society.

So when the colonists come in being all 'omg you people are so violent and uncivilized why don't you just like, stop fighting' it kind of pissed me off a little bit as a reader/person like. Idk the colonists really came into this society of people full of massive amounts of trauma where even before the war society was super oppressive and no one has any experience of living "normal" lives unaffected by violence and bigotry. And the colonists were like "ummm wow why don't you guys just??? stop fighting???." Like idk it wasn't EVERY SINGLE MOMENT, in fact I think that when it was played for laughs it's quite a funny "fridge horror" type element. It was just annoying because like.... IDK???? It's just really annoying to watch a bunch of people who lived relatively sheltered lives on their own planets come to a different planet full of traumatized people and be like "omg why are you people so fucked up" IDK BRO MAYBE BECAUSE THEIR SOCIETY WAS OPPRESSIVE AND THEY LIVED THROUGH A LIFELONG WAR???

It also doesn't help that the colonies were literally founded based on imperialism and conquest so like, it's fucking rich to hear colonists scolding Cybertronians for their violence ruining the whole galaxy while literally sitting on planets that their Primes colonized from others. The hypocrisy of this is briefly mentioned in Unicron (literally the FINAL STORY OF THE SERIES) but like, that's basically the only time Cybertronian characters are given a reprieve of sympathy from other characters in universe and it's so tiresome.

I've talked to other people who didn't like the colonists and thought they basically (narratively speaking) existed just to shit on the existing characters, and it's actually really easy for me to sympathize with/outright agree with that assessment of the story considering how much of exRID/OP seems to be preoccupied with "Cybertron/the Primes/Optimus sucks" with very few reprieves for anything positive happening and even fewer chances for characters to get to explain themselves and experience a little bit of justice? Like, as the audience, it's just very frustrating to see the characters you spent hundreds of issues keeping up with get shit on by a bunch of "literally-who"s and then not really get a chance to ever defend themselves, either by literally defending themselves in conversation or having some sort of narrative thing happening that vindicates them at least symbolically

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Mama’s boy chapter 2

Plot summary: Spider works up the courage to ask Quaritch about his mother. He’ll quickly learn that his mama was just as feral as he is.

Relationships: Spider Socorro and Miles Quaritich Paz Socorro/Miles Quaritch

Authors note: first thank you all so much! you have no idea how much all your likes on the first chapter meant to me. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. It has a lot of my own headcanos for what earth is like in the Avatar universe so I’m really curious (and a little nervous) what you all think of this chapter. Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________The whole squad was laughing at him. His son was laughing at him. Even the wind seemed to be howling with laughter at his expense.

“Mama really put you in your place.” Spider managed to get out between breaths.

Quaritch shrugged. “Wasn’t the last time either.” The admission brought a fond little smile to his face. For a moment all the noise around him faded away as he basked in those memories. Then the grief and guilt crept in and the world crashed back into focus.

Spider didn’t miss how the man's eyes lit with his smile. He watched the recom, stare off into the distance, wondering what thoughts the man was wrapped up in, before Spider saw his eyes darken, the smile slip. The change was so small, but it made Spider’s smile slip too, his laughter dying away. “So what happened next?”

“Hmm” Quaritch was snapped from his thoughts. He had registered his son speaking to him but the words hadn’t processed in his head.

“After mama went off on you. What’d you do?”

Quaritch looked at Spider directly now “I went back to my room.” He was extremely blunt with his words, knowing full well that was not the answer his boy was looking for. Spider groaned in that over the top, frustrated way, that teenagers just excel at, rolling his eyes at him. Quaritich chuckled in that way only a devious parent can, after intentionally annoying their child. 

“You know that's not what I meant.” said Spider exasperated.

“Alright, alright.” Quaritch held his hands up in surrender. “I went back to my room..” Spider’s frustrated groan filled the air again and Quaritch had to hold in a laugh “.... and I pulled your mama’s file.” That caught Spider's attention. Was Quaritch about to tell him his mama’s back story?  

“Before I get into that though I need to know. What do you know about Earth son?” 

Quaritche’s question caught Spider a little off guard but he answered “ah its dying?”

The squad snickered a little at that. Quaritch just rolled his eyes. “Yes, it's dying. What else?” Spider answered with a shrug. Quaritch felt a spark of anger, flare up inside of him. “Do you mean to tell me that no one, not Sully, not those traitor lab coats, nobody, ever told you a thing about Earth?” 

Spider just shrugged again “ I never really cared, so I never really asked. Pandora's my home, so I was taught this planet's history.” That  was a bit of an oversimplification if he was being honest. His species were colonizers. He couldn’t allow himself to care about their history.  

 That stung Quaritch. Sure the kid was born here, but his parents were still from earth, his ancestors, his very species was from earth and he didn’t even care. 

“Well let me educate you then boy.” Quaritch had to stop himself from out right hissing these words. He took a breath and continued “ Over the past hundred years now Earth has been on a steep environmental decline but in the last fifty-ish years things have been getting down right apocalyptic. I remember when I was about six, maybe seven, a massive hurricane, the most horrific ever seen in recorded history, completely submerged the entire south- eastern coast of the United States. The water never receded either. An entire landmass gone in less then a day. Millions of people dead.”

    Spider’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t imagine something so horrific. What would  something like that do to the minds of the people who’d lived and witnessed that?

“That wasn’t even the first time something like that had happened.” said Z-dog solemnly “loads of coastal land masses were lost long before any of us were born due to the rising oceans.

“But that's nothing compared to the land that's just completely un-livable now because of pollution.” added Mansk equally as solemn. The entire group was now so formal and stiff it was like they were at a funeral, a sharp contrast from how happy and energetic they’d been just moments before.

Quaritch nodded to his comrades “Cities are completely over crowded, but not because of overpopulation. It’s like Z-dog and Mansk said. There’s just not a lot of land that people can safely live on.” 

Wainfleet let out a bitter little laugh “ The land that is livable definitely isn’t much better.” Spider wanted this all to stop, it was all just too horrible, but he couldn’t make his mouth form the words. He kept listening, feeling like he was made of stone, completely incapable of moving.

“So that’s Earth.” Quaritch said “ Most people have just given up. Birth rates have been dropping sharply for decades. At first, it was mainly because all the chemicals in the water, and food, and the air, causing  a lot of people to be infertile. But after a while, when the writing was really on the wall, it just seemed cruel to bring one more person into the world. One more person to go down with the ship.”

“That’s bad for business though,” Quaritch continued. Spider was finally able to manage giving him a questioning look. “Well think about it kid. The R.D.A runs pretty much everything. A business constantly needs more workers and more customers. When the workers you have get too old to work, and you don’t have a young body to replace them with, what do you think happens?”   

Spider couldn’t answer. The question made him sick thinking about human beings being reduced to nothing but cogs in a machine. 

“Children are precious commodities on earth” Quaritch went on not caring for his son's discomfort. The boy needs to know. “If someone is unlucky enough to have one, 99 times out of 100 they can’t afford the kid. But that's okay. The R.D.A group homes are always happy to take in another future factory worker.”

“Or solder.” Said Ja, his voice dripping with bitterness. Spider didn’t miss Z-dog and Mansk’s tensed muscles and angry eyes either.

“There are four types of youth on earth.” Said Quaritch holding up a finger with each type to make his point. “There's the kids born to the ultra rich, spoiled brats who live in a domed bio controlled city, who will one day be handed a cushy well paying management job in the R.D.A.  There's the group home kids who are tested, trained and conditioned for whatever job some computer deems them best suited for. Then there's the rare case where a kid is actually raised by one or both parents but more often than not those kids turn into the fourth type, the disaffected youth, hopeless young thugs who run wild on the streets, without a care in the world, for who they hurt, if they get hurt. And why bother caring. The world's ending.” 

“What does this have to do with my mother!” Spider croaked out. He sounded like he was about to burst into tears. Quaritch looked at him then, seeing that tears were about to start falling from his son's eyes.

“You need to know!” Quaritch hadn’t meant to yell but he couldn’t help it. “You need to know where she came from to understand her.”

______________________________________________________________

  Paz Socorro. Just thinking that cocky bitches name made his blood boil. Quaritch didn’t bother to go back to bed after returning to his room. Why bother? It was 0300. He’d just have to be up in an hour anyway.

So he killed time by pulling her file. 

Name: Socorro, Paz. 

Age: est. 28. Estimated age? That's weird

D.O.B: N/A. Even weirder

 It went on like that. Any information that should have been recorded when she was born was just a big old question mark. So he skipped all that and went straight to her military career. 

He had briefly had the thought of finding a way to make her rotate home but one look at her list of accomplishments knocked that idea out of him. Best in her class by a mile. Became a flying ace in a day. Dozens of dog fight wins. Multiple successful bombing missions. 

She’s the best pilot here. He thought bitterly. Not the best new pilot, no, hands down the best pilot on Pandora. He’d be an idiot to send that away just because she’d wounded his pride. Which seemed to be the general conscience of every commanding officer she had ever had because Socorro’s list of reprimands and disciplinary infractions was just as long as her list of accomplishments. She was disrespectful, disobedient, did whatever she wanted, had even disregarded direct orders more than once. If it wasn’t for the fact that new recruits were hard to come by, she would have been dishonorably discharged years ago. Hell if she wasn’t the best of the best she still might have been kicked out.

Why had a woman like this even enlist in the first place? He scrolled down to the year she enlisted. Immediately everything started to click.

______________________________________________________________

“A couple decades ago” Quaritch explained to Spider “ A bill was passed called The Youth Reformation act. When those young street punks, I mentioned earlier, would eventually get arrested they’d be given a choice- Prison or the Military. Seemed like a win win to the masses. Violent thugs off the street. A boost to the military's ever shrinking number of new recruits….”

“That doesn't seem like much of a choice.” It made Spider angry just thinking about it.

Quaritch huffed, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth “Your mama said the same thing.”

“So mama was a criminal!” That shocked Spider. He couldn’t imagine the woman in the one picture he’d had of her, being capable of anything other than love and kindness. Then again, a picture was just that. Reality was alway harsher.

“Eh, I’d say she was justified for the most part. She probably took things a little too far though. Mama was always a scorched earth type. Especially when she was angry.” That made Spider shiver 

“What’d she do?” Spider didn’t know if he actually wanted the answer but he couldn’t stop himself from asking. 

Quaritch was about to answer (as tactfully as possible) when the wind picked up. The campfire danced, their plates and cutlery from dinner blown away, hair whipping into their faces. The force nearly slapped him sideways. It almost seemed like a warning. That's stupid, Quaritch thought. But he did think better of what he was about to say. 

“She was just trying to survive…”

______________________________________________________________

Quaritch knew that when young punks got arrested the prosecutors would try to throw the book at them. Every minor infraction of the law would be drawn out and made massive. It turned petty crimes into ten year sentences. The powers that be, really wanted to encourage military enrollment. Quaritch got the feeling that wasn’t the case with Socorro though. Grand theft, breaking and entering, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and..

______________________________________________________________

“Arson!?” Spider emotions had been on such a roller coaster tonight. How much more of this could he take?

“It was just third-degree.” Quaritch said nonchalantly. He decided for tonight at least, not to tell his son the story of one of the most traumatic moments in his mothers life. Paz never talked about it much. Or any of her many tramas for that matter. She had always kept those parts of herself locked away, buried under a hundred layers of snark and a spitfire attitude. She’d scream about it in her sleep sometimes though. The anguished, animalistic noises that would exploud from her lungs would haunt him forever. He didn’t need to burden their son with that pain. 

______________________________________________________________

Socorro’s early years weren't much better. She had been a group home kid. But unlike most kids, who were given up at the hospital, Socorro was brought there when she was approximately three years old.

She’d been found wandering the streets completely abandoned. That explains the age and birthday thing. She’d been too young to know. 

 Her test scores showed that she was crazy smart, practically a genius. Her biggest strengths- logic, reasoning and strategy. Academically there weren't really any subjects Socorro was bad at, in fact she pretty easily excelled at everything. The catch? She had A.D.H.D. And she had it bad. She’d pick up on things so easily that she’d quickly get bored, and start climbing the walls, or run around, or play with things she shouldn’t, just generally being energetic and disruptive. 

Her caretakers forced her into every activity under the sun just to try to wear her out.

Sports? She hated them. She was deemed overly competitive and aggressive. Dance? She loved it but couldn’t pay attention in lessons to save her life. Martial arts? That was a winner. She loved fighting with people. Gymnastics? Another winner. She had been doing cartwheels and somersaults long before she even knew the names to those moves. Art? Not so much. It always turned into a chaotic mess. It was Paz’s idea to try fencing. She’d read a lot of books with sword fighting and thought it’d be cool. It was in fact very cool. 

And then? She ran away. Quaritch had never heard of anyone pulling that off. The R.D.A kept their kids locked up tight. They couldn't risk losing a single future employee. But she had found a way out. At age eleven no less.

______________________________________________________________

“She told me once that that place felt suffocating to her. She was never alone, could never make her own choices, hardly ever aloud outside. Being homeless and running wild just fit her better.”  At least I was free, he could hear her say. 

Spider was taking everything in. Life on Earth sounded so brutal and cruel. How anyone could survive there…. 

And then he realized, they’re not. Earth was filled with nothing but hopeless, angry, people barreling towards their own extinction. You either fight or you die. 

His mama had chosen to fight for her life.

The soldiers surrounding him had chosen to fight.

But Eywa, why did they have to destroy everything in their wake, and call it survival.