#so anyway that's my two cents as a disabled woman who was completely let down by an institution that promised equity

[watermelinoe]

i had to disclose my medical information every semester to every instructor because i had instructors who wouldn't give me accommodations unless they judged for themselves whether i deserved them and student disability services would not advocate for me, so with that in mind i think it's a terrible shame when institutions can't be trusted to collect private medical information and make fair and responsible decisions, resulting in the public demanding that information for themselves

[mollygetssherlockcoffee]

Cutie

Pairing: Spencer x Reader

Summary: While out with the Team, Spencer is made to feel unworthy because of his cane so Y/N tries to reassure him

Warning: Self-hate/doubt, discrimination, bit of fluff

Words: 1,518

A/N: I saw a post about S5 Spencer with his cane and I just had to write something!

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The music was loud, the beat travelling through the seat and vibrating through your bones. The lights flashed overhead, the spotlight swinging across the dance floor as a mass of people jump to the music.

You lean back in your seat, holding your drink to your chest as you take a sip. You laugh as you watch Derek and Penelope dance, Derek spinning her round before pulling her in close with a huge smile on his face. Your eyes trail over to the bar, checking on Emily but she seems to be fine, smiling and chatting with a pretty blonde. JJ and Will, who had got a babysitter to look after little Henry, sat huddled together with Will whispering in JJ’s ear as she bit her straw. You quickly looked away; you loved those two but honestly… you didn’t not want to know.

 Your eyes are drawn to Spencer, the sound of him sliding his glass of coke onto the table catching your attention. He looked thoroughly uncomfortable in the seat next to you, his eyes trailing over the club, his right hand playing with cane.

 Spencer hardly went out with the team, and this was the first time he had been out since he was shot. When out on ‘team nights’ you often stayed with Spencer. While you enjoyed going out for casual drinks, you did not enjoy the clubbing scene. While your friends danced and chatted up someone who fit their tastes, you and Spencer would sit in a booth, watch their drinks and talk about whatever nonsense came to mind.

 Tonight was different. Spencer seemed to be more uncomfortable than usual. On an ordinary night, he would be tense for the first hours before relaxing into conversation with you, his eyes flitting over to your friends to ensure they were okay. On this occasion, after being in the club for nearly two and a half hours, Spencer was not settled.

 “What’s wrong?” you ask him, leaning towards him so that he could hear you.

“I…I’m just going to go” he sighed, looking around awkwardly. “People are looking at me.”

You looked at his face for a moment and he flashed his eyes over to a small group. You followed his clue, eyes landing on a group of women who were looking at him. You looked back at Spencer, playful tracing your finger along his jaw, “Of course they’re looking at you, Spence, you’re a cutie.”

“It’s not actually me they’re looking at, Y/N, it’s the leg, the cane, that’s got their attention” he gives a small nod back to the group.

 You look back over at them and actually take notice this time. They were only a few tables down from you, so you could see their eyes, even in the low lighting. Your smile dropped. Two of the girls were still looking over at your table and you could see their eyes were focused on Spencer, their gaze taking in his walking cane. One of the other girls in the group is talking to the group, but her face is at an angle where you can just make out her lips.

 “As if he’s actually come here with a cane, what the fuck? What’s he getting at?”

 If you could make out the words, Spencer definitely could. He was a much better lip reader than you.

 You drop your glass onto the table and push your chair backwards. “Hey, JJ, Spence and I are gonna go. It’s getting late and he promised to take me for breakfast tomorrow.”

JJ paused mid giggle, turning away from Will. “Okay, Y/N, we’ll see you Monday?”

“Yeah,” you smile before turning to Spencer. “Come on, cutie, home time.”

 To leave the club, you have to pass the group of women. You stay close by Spencer’s side in a show of support, your hand gently resting on his back as you make your way outside. On your way past, your eyes meet those of the woman that spoke. You give her your best glare and it clearly works as she quickly looks away.

 Once outside, you led Spencer to your car. You only ever drank lemonade on nights out, ensuring that you sober enough to drive home. Normally, you drove most of the team home but Will was here tonight and he hadn’t been drinking, he could ferry people back.

 “You can stay at mine tonight, cutie, I can’t not be bothered to drive the extra ten minutes” you told him, reaching your car.

“Can you stop calling me that” Spencer sighed.

“What, cutie? Why?” you asked, turning to face him. “I thought you liked it when I used nicknames?”

“I do but not…not that one” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m not cute. I’m awkward and now, I’ve got a messed-up leg. I might not be able to walk without a cane ever again and what would that mean for my job? The FBI won’t want an agent who can’t even support their own weight. Did you know, disabled individuals have to apply for sixty per cent more jobs than non-disabled people before they get a job? Not to mention the fact, people obvious don’t like that I’m using a cane. I wasn’t the most attractive anyway but now? With this cane? I get comments like the one from that girl. And worse.”

 You stood there in silence for a moment, just staring at the man before you. Was that really what he thought? Oh god, please no. Your eyes focused on him, the way he looked back at you with such sadness, fear and pain, his chest heaving at his outburst. You took a step closer to him, your hand going to hold his arm gently.

“Spence, no, you can’t think that about yourself” you shook your head. “Yeah, you can be awkward but hey, so can everyone at times. Its actually really endearing. You got injured in the line of duty, when saving a mans life… that’s incredible. I mean, I’m not happy you got hurt, but you know…” you gave an awkward shrug. He gave a soft snort at your words, shaking his head but you could see the tiny smile. “And your job is being a profiler. You don’t have to go round literally chasing unsubs to be a profiler, I mean, the FBI already made an exception to let you in the field anyway. You’re almost as bad as me when it comes to foot chases and that’s saying something. Remember when I tripped over that rock while chasing Markowitz?”

 You both laughed for a moment, remember that day in Ohio. You’d been chasing the unsub when you’d tripped and fell straight over. Spencer had stopped to help you, checking out your grazes while Derek and JJ had continued in the pursuit of Markowitz.

 “Anyway,” you shook you head, smiling fondly at the memory. “You can still do your job without being in the field, and you’re proved that already. Plus, you’re the best profiler the FBI has ever seen. They’d be crazy to get rid of you, and you know what? I wouldn’t let them. We need you, the team needs you, the whole country does. And that statistic? That’s a statistic for discrimination. Their asses should be beat, and you know it. Also, I’m not going to stop calling you ‘cutie’. You’re cute, Spence, you’d have to be blind not to see it. Cane or no cane, long hair or short, glasses or no glasses, sharp suit or your little cardigans… you’re a complete cutie. Honestly, I don’t understand why you think you’re so unattractive because honey, I don’t see it. Honestly, you should look at yourself because da-”

 Your words are cut off as an arm wraps around your waist and your pulled into his chest. Your eyes widen as Spencer presses his lips against yours. Your frozen in shock, unable to move, to respond, as he kisses you.

 Had you dreamed of this before? Sure, but you never thought it would happen. Spencer Reid was a very attractive man. He was tall with curly brown hair and a one-hundred-watt smile. He was kind and generous, thoughtful and sweet. In all honesty, he was the pack deal.

 You’d harboured a crush on him for a while now. His laugh made your stomach flutter, his smile warmed your insides. You found yourself paying even more attention to his spirals of information, though you had always paid attention anyway. Your eyes were drawn to his hands – oh those mouth-watering hands!

 While you had a thing for him, you had no idea that he felt anything more than friendship towards you.

 Spencer pulled back, his hands dropping from your waist as his eyes widened. He seemed shocked by his own behaviour while simultaneously fearful of your reaction. “Oh my god, Y/N, I’m so sorry!”

“Shut up” you order, grasping him by the shirt and pulling his lips down to meet yours again.

 Yes, Spencer Reid with a cane was just as good as Spencer Reid without a cane. What were those women thinking?

[takillas]

A Viceo On the Internet, Scene 14: Number One, Men

“Number one, Men. This entry might surprise most of our viewers, but there are several reasons it made the top of our list. Each item on this list affects men far more negatively than women.”

  “Let’s start off of child care. In 2033 there was a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which said that parents had a duty of care to their children, instead of a right to be a parent. The status quo at the time implied that children were property of the parents, and no human being could be a property of another. This began a shift from parental agreement care, when parents split up, to prioritizing the well-being of children. Most times, the income of each parent decided the custody.”

“This brings us to work, or more accurately the lost their of, for men. Most statistics site men making roughly eighty cents on the dollar compared to women. However, there are several factors that skew these numbers. First, if you don’t include at the top five percent of all earners, men make only fifteen cents on the dollar comparatively. This number is calculated by taking the total income annually of the working man and dividing it by the eligible working man. The same is done for women. Some people don’t like this method, though. So here’s another telling statistic. If you look at human men, who are married to human women, they make roughly ninety-seven cents on the dollar. The only way for a human man to do well is to marry a human woman and have her get him a suitable job.”

“This brings us to the dating world. The often repeated statistic of a ninety-five percent drop in matches after being in a relationship with and aminoid is true. The thing is, it affects men and women differently. The average woman on a dating app will match with 4000 men a week, so after a relationship with an aminoid it would be around 200. Further, only about fifty of these men will talk with her. For men, though, it’s a lot more bleak. At most, they can expect to be matched with about sixty women a week. A man may never get a match if it turns out he was in a relationship with an aminoid.”

  “What's worse is everything surrounding these numbers. When women get with an aminoid, they stop dating humans for good. Men have to date aminoids no matter how they feel. Further, how these relationships are exposed is different too. While women will just flat out say it, men are usually outed on social media. And many times it's wrong. A lot of times they'll get outed for a night out with his older sister for a birthday.”

  “And it gets worse. If you're over 21, don't have any college education, and haven't been with a human girl you won't be, ever. This highlights the massive education gap in the western world. The US, only forty percent of men complete high school, and among men there is a thirty percent illiteracy rate. And who could blame them for not caring? It's not like they will put the education to good use, anyway.”

“This leads us to arguably the most uncomfortable discussion, the disabled. Now I’m sure many, many people benefit from needing an aminoid while having legitimate disabilities. These are not the people I’m talking about. However, an increasing number of men are being diagnosed with PTSD symptoms. It’s not a mystery though, we know why it’s happening. Men are far more likely to be involved in an abusive relationship in their lifetime than women are. And this isn't from other men or aminoids because men don't raise their own kids anymore, and the only thing aminoids are guilty of is loving their siblings too much. This leaves moms, sisters, and domestic partners. A 2048 study backs this up.”

“Did you know that the relationship between organized crime and aminoids was also more complicated than we originally let on? There is mounting evidence to suggest that the Chinese and Japanese breeding authority have been smuggling nekos and inus using these criminal syndicate. We now believe that this was the primary reason nekos rose against the cartels.”

  “Speaking of the breeding authorities, they have fired every doctor that has been caught having sex with a female aminoid. The breeding authorities have cracked down hard in the last six months too. Over two million parents have been euthanized since the crackdown started. However, that doesn’t speak to how the men are treated. For my aminoid viewers, I’m sorry that this problem isn’t more well known. Every single male raised in the breeding authority is raped by the nurses. It’s not just a few times either, the average is over 150. And they encourage this behavior, as it teaches them to be under total control of their partners. And their lives truly are on the line; if they don’t comply with the nurse’s demand, they will die.”

“This problem isn't limited to aminoids either. An often repeated statistic is that a staggering twenty-five percent of women will be raped in their lifetime. What this doesn’t say however is how much this has dropped over the last thirty years. In 2020, sixty-six percent of women were sexually assaulted before the age of eighteen. Today, sixty-one percent of men are raped before the age of twenty-one. Again, it's hard to blame nekos and inus for this either, as they'll be put to death if they get turned in. Many of you may decry this statistic and say many of these men were drunk, at some party, or it was a misunderstanding with a girl that liked them, but keep in mind thirty years ago women were told the similar things when they brought up rape charges against men.”

  “The question I have now is, why did all this happen? I think the answer is very simple; I think it’s economics. Without the ability to use their own resources men feel like they don't have agency which leads to the aforementioned problems. And truth be told it's far easier now for a man to get a girlfriend or wife now than it's ever been, and these aminoids meet all of their needs in the process. I'll admit we have a lot of work to do, our aminoid sisters have been cleaning up our society's mess for over twenty years now. They deserve better than what we've given them. So I hope you enjoyed that video…”

Myra shuts it off. Eliza huffs. “And here I thought she would take responsibility. What was I thinking,” she asks sarcastically. Julia clicks her tongue. “I mean, they abuse men, toss them aside, and are totally devalued as objects, but hey, we gave ‘em sexy girls with great racks. So it makes up for it.”

William looks at Myra, “I didn't like that video.”

Elijah laughs. “Nobody liked it.”

Myra texts Vanessa, “Cringe worthy, more like vomit inducing.” She gets a, “LOL,” a moment later. Myra smiles.

  William lies on her shoulder again. “Can you guys teach me that name thing?”

Eliza shrugs. “You mean the honorifics?” He nods and then Eliza smiles. “Sure we'll teach everyone.”