#put pressure on your reps even if you think they're already going to vote how you want

[writing-with-olive]

How to call your representatives in 10 minutes or less

1: Pick a bill you want to call about. If you don't have one off the top of your head, go to your state's legislature website or congress.gov and type in a keyword about a topic you're interested in, and pick one that looks of note to you.

2: Check if the bill is in the house or senate (HB means house bill unless it's already passed and is now in the senate, vice versa for SB)

3: Figure out who's your representative(s) in that chamber. State sites will have a "who's my representative" field somewhere, and you can find your federal reps here. Put their contacts into your phone so you don't have to do this step again

4a: If you want to, you can stop here and go ahead and call your representative. You can come up with an elaborate script if you want, but my conversations often go like this if I have not checked whether or not my rep is on the subcommittee where the bill's probably sitting at. It rarely goes over 2.5 minutes

Staffer: Hello, this is the office of [lawmaker]. Me: Hi, I'm calling as a constituent of [lawmaker] about [house/senate bill, bill number, bill name]. I wanted to express my [support/lack of support] for it, and was hoping you could pass along the message to [lawmaker] that as [his/her] constituent I would like [her/him] to vote [in favor/against] [bill name]. Staffer: Thank you so much for calling and voicing your opinion. I will let you know that the bill is currently [insert information about what subcommittee it's stuck in], but when it comes down for a floor vote, I'll be sure your voice is heard in the discussion. Can I get your name, and a phone number or email address? Me: My name is [name], my phone number is [number I called them from] Them: Alright, well thank you again for calling in today, and I'll be sure to pass this along Me: Thank you so much. Have a good day Staffer: You too, bu-bye *hangs up*

note: they are legally obligated to tally a yea/nae count of constituents calling/writing in and have to share it with reps

4b: If you want to call about bills that your representative currently has some direct sway over, check what subcommittees they're a part of. If you type their name in to this site and scroll down, you can find a list.

5: On the bill, there will be a line (or tab) that says activity, and says where it was most recently referred to, and see if one of your rep's subcommittee assignments is on there

6a: If they're on that subcommittee, great! go ahead and call using the same script as above

6b: If they're not on that subcommittee, click the "get alerts" button to get automatic updates if movement happens, or set a reminder to check back later and see if it's moved

[gentil-minou]

Anon I blocked who's trying to shame me in my inbox because I'm "spreading ant-biden propoganda to fellow dems" and saying "Palestinian blood shed by trump will be on my hands":

How many lives are expendable to you? That you are willing to ignore for an entire year? How many people are you asking me to sacrifice because you have such little faith in the democratic process that you would rather try and intimidate me instead of trying to make a rigged system just?

Frankly, I lived through four years under Trump. It sucked, but I survived. I don't want him to win, but the fact that he's even able to scare you so much says this system was rigged from the start.

In the last 44 days, 15,000 people did not survive living under Biden's administration. Millions are in danger under Biden's administration. And he could have stopped that from day 1, but he chose not to. And he continues to choose not to.

I'm not going to reward him for it by voting for him and telling others to do it too. I'm going to encourage putting the pressure on him to do something.

I'm going to support the reps I have that actually listen to me and vote for the democracy I want, because I refuse to be part of a system that's been rigged against me from the start. However many years I have to suffer in order to get there is fine because I want future generations to have the government they deserve, not the one they're stuck with because those before them were too cowardly to fight.

I am not going to just sit back and let Biden take more lives, even though you seem to think the 15000 so far dont matter. Each one is a life Biden could habe saved. Each one is a life my tax dollars helped kill. And each one after that is own you say is expendable because "Trump is worse" when the worst is already fucking happening.

My life or your life is not worth more than a Palestinian life.

[spencers-dria]

Lost in a Daydream

Someone to Stay Ch. 14

Content/Trigger Warnings: darker topics on death and mentions of alcohol

You step into your patients room, closing the door gently behind you. The palliative care nurse is already in the room, breaking the news to the husband.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Gray. I know you love Cristina very much. This is a difficult time, and we are here to help you through it in any way we can."

"Help?! You're not helping!" He yells as he stands up, pushing the nurses hand off his shoulder.

"If you were really helping you'd be saving her not letting her die!" Tears start to stream down his face as he clenches his fists, his face red with anger.

"I know it's hard to understand. There's nothing else that can be done. It's been 30 days on the ventilator. Do you remember the paperwork she filled out? She didn't want to live like this."

"Don't you dare tell me what my wife wanted! And I don't care about any damn paperwork! I'm her husband, and I should get final say!"

His body language has definitely become more aggressive. You step in to help diffuse the tension, and act as backup if needed. You quickly page the charge nurse, before things escalate. You'd rather have too much help than not enough.

"I know you're hurting Mr. Gray. We truly are sorry. But your wife made legally binding choices, and we have to honor her wishes. We will help you through every step and make her as comfortable as possible."

"I've heard enough! I'm not gonna stick around here to watch you people kill my wife!"

He storms out pushing past both of you, nearly knocking over the charge nurse on her way into the room.

The three of you share a look, knowing how hard this can be on families. You get ready to continue the process, making sure you stick by Cristina Gray's side so she's not alone.

A couple hours later, it's the end of shift and you're completely beat, emotionally and physically. Luckily you made plans for a girls night, and if anyone can cheer you up, it's Penelope Garcia.

You arrive at Penelope's apartment to find that Aunt JJ and Emily have already arrived. They're all sitting around chatting with full wine glasses. 10 things I Hate About You is on in the background, a classic. You plop down on the couch, reaching over to the coffee table to pour yourself a glass of wine.

"Long day, huh?" Emily asks, looking genuinely concerned.

"Yeah we had to let a patient go. The family didn't take it too well."

"I'm so sorry, Y/N." JJ says while wrapping an arm around you to give you a comforting squeeze.

Penelope gets up from her seat to embrace you in a hug. You needed that.

You take in a deep breath before responding. "Thank you, all of you. But I'll be ok, I'm pretty used to it. Tonight I just want to relax, and have fun!"

"Well in that case, how are things going with Spencer?" Emily raises her eyebrows, giving you a smirk.

"Emily!" JJ chastises her, giving her a look of exasperation.

You laugh it off. "No it's okay. We're good friends. We are uh... well we are planning a trip. He's never been to The Wizarding World in Orlando. So..."

You feel your face start to burn as the three of them give you knowing looks, JJ included.

"But you like him right?" Penelope pipes up.

Your eyes go wide and you know you've turned completely red. "I don't uhhm...well I don't..."

You bury your face in your hands, gripping at your hair. You finally breath the words out. "I don't know." It's the closest you've come to acknowledging that there might be something between the two of you.

"Well, I will say this, he's a wonderful guy. And the two of you seem to really enjoy your time together. Now if you don't feel that way, that's fine too. There's no pressure."

How is it that Aunt JJ can always put you completely at ease. You look up at her with a nervous smile.

The other two chime in "Yeah no pressure!" "We're just being nosy!"

Penelope whispers a little to loudly to Emily "They'd be really cute together though..."

"I know right!" Emily grins.

You can't help but giggle, a smile breaking through on your face. It wasn't the worst idea.

"I wanted to kiss him the other day, I think."

That got their attention. They've now gathered around you, prodding for more information.

Penelope insisting you tell the whole story of what happened. You recount how he showed up at your door, calling you pretty when you felt you looked your worst. You explained how the two of you had laid closer for the movie, how having your head on his shoulder made your heart race.

"So, when are you going to tell him?" JJ asks.

"Oh! Oh no...I couldn't. I can't! There's no way he would ever..."

Emily cuts you off. "Yes there is way he would ever." She laughs, rolling her eyes. "You're gorgeous and kind and funny. Based on the way he looks at you, it's a pretty sure bet he knows all of that to be true."

"The way he l-looks at me?" You falter at the thought. You'd never noticed anything.

"Oh my gosh yes!" Penelope squeals. "He looks at you like you're the best thing he's ever seen, like he'd do anything for you. It's straight out of a romance novel."

You feel your face turning red again, as you swallow the growing lump in your throat. The thought of talking to Spencer about any of this really does a number on your anxiety.

"We'll see. I'll just...well maybe he'll say something."

"Have you met Spencer?" Emily jests giving you a look that says that's a stretch.

You just laugh it off. Now that you think about it, you've been growing feelings for him for weeks now. You'd even admit to feeling something at Rossi's dinner party. But you were just now coming to terms with this. You've barely processed it yourself. You're definitely not ready to dump it all on Spencer.

Attention slowly turns back to the movie as the other three continue sipping on their wine, chatting about what a great match Kat and Patrick make. But your thoughts are anywhere but the movie. You find yourself imaging what it would be like to date Spencer. He's already such a wonderful friend,

you can't help but wonder how he would act in the role of boyfriend. You wonder what it would be like to kiss him. He's probably so shy and timid, knowing Spencer. He's such a sweetheart. The thought has you smiling to yourself.

The other three ladies notice your attention is elsewhere as the see the look on your face. They all exchange knowing looks and smiles.

————————————————————

Spencer POV:

Since the girls were having a night together, Morgan insisted we do something as well. Somehow we landed on the gym, which I certainly did not vote for. Hotch and Rossi both had plans so it's just me and Morgan. After dragging me to several different machines, he finally lets us take a water break.

"You're getting better at keeping up pretty boy. I remember when you first started and you couldn't make it through more than 5 minutes," he laughs.

I roll my eyes but decide to take it as a compliment.

"You gotta keep in shape for the ladies am I right? Or should I say lady?" He wiggles his eyebrows at me a huge grin on his face.

"I don't know what you're taking about." I look at the wall in front of me as I sit to do some stretches, avoiding his gaze at all cost.

"Oh c'mon don't play dumb with me man. I've seen the way you look at Y/N. And don't you two spend all your free time together?"

"Morgan, no! We're just friends!"

"Oh okay. You're telling me, you've honestly never thought about dating her?"

I open my mouth to respond but nothing comes out. He's not wrong. I sit there for a minute, thinking about all the times the thought had crossed my mind. I remember the butterflies I felt when we were sitting in the coffee shop together. I think about all the movie nights where I had to stop myself from grabbing her hand. Then there was the night at the bar, when it was all I could do not to lean in and kiss her as she danced with me. I must look completely lost in a day dream because Morgan sees the look on my face before responding.

"Yeah that's what I thought pretty boy."

I jump back up and make my way over to the weights, which I usually do my best to avoid. Weights are more of Morgan's arena. I put all my frustrations about not understanding my own feelings into every rep. Morgan walks over to spot me, hell bent on continuing the conversation.

"So how are you going to ask her out?"

I set the weights down, wiping the sweat off my head with a towel and running my fingers through my hair.

"You think I should ask her out?" My voices raises a few pitches, out of nervousness.

"Heck yeah! She'd be crazy to say no to a great guy like you!"

I roll my eyes, giving him a quick shove as I can't help but laugh. Derek may pick on me a lot, but he always has my back. His confidence in me boosts my own confidence a bit.

"I don't want to mess things up. She's my best friend..."

He sits down beside me, taking a serious tone.

"You two have gotten pretty close. If the two of you are as tight knit as you seem, I wouldn't worry about that. Either she'll say no and you'll both let it go, continuing a great friendship..."

"Or?" I question, worry covering my face.

"Or she'll say yes and the two of you will have a wonderful wedding."

And Morgan is back at it again. I roll my eyes at him as I stand to head to the locker room. But as I walk away, I can't stop smiling.

I decide to bounce some ideas off of him, about what I could do for a first date. I don't want to just do dinner and a movie. I want it to be special and unique just like her. After we throw out a couple ideas Morgan finally asks "Well why don't you use something the two of you have done or talked about? Or maybe something she told you about herself? When did you first start having feelings for her? That could be a good place to start."

I think back to when she joined me for phantasmagoria and we spent the evening in the coffee shop/music store. She told me how wrapped up her feelings were in music. An idea starts to blossom and I quickly tell Morgan, hoping to work through all the details. It has to be perfect. If it works out like I plan, I can ask her out and have our first date all at once. I want to show her how much I care, and I can't think of a better way to do it.