#there's really no point asking colonizers to feel the suffering of the colonized

[gatorbites-imagines]

Okay okay but like, how do you feel about Mark x William x Reader? How do you think that’d be, Gator? 👀🙏

Mark Grayson x William Clockwell x Viltrumite male reader 

Headcanons 

Reader is a fellow viltrumite, cuz I had a request asking for William x viltrumite reader but it's just... gone, I can't find it in my inbox, but I know it was there. So, enjoy. 

Make reader the son of Thragg, just for angst and power purposes. Maybe he's a bit rebellious, by viltrumite standards. But its entertaining, so Thragg lets him live and grow up. Also, cuz reader is clearly the strongest offspring he's sired. 

Reader is older than Ursaal and Onaan, but not old enough to stay getting wrinkles and all that. 

Maybe this rebellious nature makes him go to earth, because “stop trying to control my life dad” that people go through.  

Earth is supposed to have been colonized or whatever, so Thragg just lets him. Plus, readers one of the strongest viltrumites and the strong can do whatever they want, ya know? 

I feel this would take place sometime after season one, but before everything started truly going insane. Or more insane than Nolan killing the guardians and all that. 

So, William and Mark are in college together, they are roommates. Mark wouldn't be with Amber anymore, or their relationship isn't really going anywhere. And William wouldn't be with Rick. 

I like to think the reader is smart enough to hide his viltrumite affiliation when he gets to earth. Plus, he's rebellious and it's not like his dad is here, so he shaves his moustache and he steals some clothes somewhere out in the galaxy. 

How the reader gets to earth and meets them for the first time is up in the air. It could be many ways, but at this point the GDA aren't as extreme as they become later on, and Mark is still on good terms with them. 

It probably becomes a deal that Mark has to keep an eye on you, since you are some great unknown and you are clearly strong. They have no idea how strong, but you aren't breaking a sweat when you help out doing hero work. 

You may be your father's favorite child, but you also know what it's like to suffer under his fist. To mold you into the kind of warrior he wants you to be, his eyes shining with pride when you always survive and come back stronger. 

The memory makes you sick, always has. Like something inside you always knew it was wrong and disgusting, what the viltrumites were doing. But when it's all you have ever known, then you just go along with it. 

Earth is a breath of fresh air, and though Mark is very wary of you, he still introduces you to how things work around here. 

And yeah, Mark may be a half-breed, but he is still attractive, in his own weird way. Hes not strong, at least he is nothing impressive, but he never backs down. Its admirable somehow. 

He makes you feel warm inside in a way you aren't used too. You care for your younger siblings in some kind of way, like, you don't want them to die, but you also wouldn't die for them. 

What you start feeling for Mark is stranger, warmer and passionate. It makes you angry and annoyed because it feels like a weakness. 

During this time, Mark would also have broken up with Amber if they hadn't already. Insert him having a whole gay/bi awakening because holy shit... he's feeling stuff for you of all people. 

When he has a conversation with William about his panic, it also clicks that what he feels for you, Mark also feels for William. He gets really awkward for a while, and William knows him enough to know something is up. 

Honestly, I think William and Mark would get together first. Like Mark would be pacing the room, flushed in the face, rambling about you, but then end up talking about William. 

William, who I believe has always had a bit of a torch for Mark would be stunned, but also knows he needs to act now before Mark loses all confidence. So, the two kiss, and end up fumbling through confessions and feelings and all that. 

Insert them falling back on one of their beds and just making out, touching and groping. They don't go further than that, Mark isn't ready, but afterwards William would joke about needing to meet you too. 

Meeting you would be an accident, throwing all their plans into the trash. Some villain shows up, and you end up saving William's life before Mark even gets to change and arrive as invincible. 

Insert William looking reader up and down and going “I see what you mean” to Mark. 

Imagine that you can smell that William and Marks are connected so you compliment mark on his “worthy choice of a mate”. It feels like a compliment even when worded like that, so they both feel a little flushed about it. 

In some way, you end up spending a lot more time with Mark and William, even outside of costume. I don't see you applying for college or anything, since you don't have a legal identity, but you spend time with them on the regular. 

When William starts making you feel all kinds of feelings in your chest, you want to go punch something or someone again. It feels like a massive weakness and you don't like it. 

Yalls confessions for each other would start because you accuse them of doing something to you, like poisoning you.  

You are about ready to kill them for this perceived threat, but also because you don't like feeling something so new and strange, it's scary. 

Then William would try to rationalize it and have you explain what they've done, and so starts you spilling all these strange weird feelings they make you feel. How they make your heart race, your hands clammy, how you feel unsteady even why you fly. It has to be a personal attack, right? 

Even as you get more worked up about it, Mark and William just start smiling and flushing, because it's so endearing to see you pace and try to understand all this. It also means a lot that you feel the same that they do. 

Just insert Mark going “hey, dude” and stopping your angry pacing with a hand on your shoulder. When you turn to glare at Mark, William would jump up and kiss your cheek and be all like “what you're feeling isn't poison, stupid. Its feelings. You know, the ones in there?” and poke your chest. 

You end up needing them to explain this whole dating culture on earth, what you are feeling, why it's okay, and that yes, they feel the same. Then you also get the conversation about descrimination, because they both know what will happen when they are open about the relationship. 

This results in them having to stop you from flying out and threatening the entire world with destruction if they don't accept lgbt+ and other minorities. William would say something like “we appreciate it big guy, but let's not destroy the planet, okay?” and kiss the readers chin. 

A relationship with those two can be a bit wild sometimes. There might also be some insecurity in the reader of not fitting their dynamic, since they've been friends for so long. 

Your sweet boyfriends, as earth don't call it mates, are just... so soft and kind. It makes your teeth ache sometimes. 

Like when Mark arrives with flowers for both you and William, or when he somehow shapes a cloud into a heart when you guys go patrolling. 

William is so affectionate in a way you aren't used too. You were left speechless when he shoves you down on the bed and straddles you, a smirk on his face as he gets comfortable. 

All the kissing has also left you reeling. They do it all the time, they run their tongues together for fun, and not for battle. They have to teach you how to kiss, because “as much as I love being devoured, this is too much babe” 

When the time comes when your father sends Anissa, you chase her off by force. When its Conquest, you are able to keep up with him and stake claim on this planet. 

And when the time comes to battle your father, because that time will come, you are ready to die for your beloveds.  

[quixoticanarchy]

Finished reading Cobalt Red by Siddharth Kara and he does a good job showing how the cobalt supply chain is inextricable from incredible human suffering, near-slavery, rampant exploitation, environmental devastation, and child labor. And it’s very clear that no promise a tech or battery manufacturer makes that their supply chain is clean means literally anything bc industrially and artisanally mined cobalt are mixed into the same supply untraceably. And the book also covers the fact that cobalt supplies are finite and when the DRC’s cobalt is exhausted the industry will move elsewhere, rinse and repeat, and the people in the Congo will be left with the ongoing and unremediated -maybe irremediable - damage. All of this so that we can have smartphones, electric vehicles, iPads, electric scooters, almost anything with a rechargeable battery.

It’s also clear that the tech and battery industries are interested in good PR and making empty statements about human rights when they should be taking responsibility for the working conditions of small-scale miners (and minors) dying at the bottom of their supply chains. What Kara doesn’t really address is the demand side of this equation, not just the demand by companies whose products use cobalt-containing batteries but also the consumers sustaining that demand, who buy every new smartphone and eagerly pin their hopes on electric vehicles to let us keep our car-dependent world without the fossil fuel guilt. The book takes it for granted that cobalt will be required in high quantities for consumer electronics and for “green” tech, and to some extent this is true - as in, none of those demands or uses will cease overnight and in the meantime we should worry about how to address industrial and business practices and government corruption in order to treat Congolese miners as human beings.

But it feels incomplete without also asking questions like: should that demand continue? Can it? Do we need this many devices? What costs are acceptable? Can we really have our cake (smartphones, EVs, etc) and eat it too (slavery-free, non-exploitative supply chains that don’t kill the people at the bottom and lay waste to the environment)? What if - as the book would seem to suggest - we really cannot? If one goal of the book is for people to realize what conditions underlie the extraction of cobalt, what action is then incumbent upon us? Personal consumer choice will not undo all this harm, but it is a necessary step in rethinking or attempting other ways to live. Is it a right to have a smartphone, a new one every year or two, if it comes at the price of other people’s human rights? At what point do we say that it is not an acceptable cost that the extractive industries are perpetuating neocolonialism and near-slavery in order that we should have comfortable lives?

We know we have to stop relying on fossil fuels or we’ll burn down the planet (to a greater degree than is already locked in) but the “green energy transition” is not clean at all. Capitalism seeks the lowest price for labor and the highest profits; obviously these extractive relationships owe a lot of their horror to being conducted in a capitalist milieu. But even thinking about, say, a socialist world instead, if it aspires to still provide smartphones and electric vehicles en masse and maintain the comforts and conveniences of the “Western” lifestyle then we would still be relying on massive amounts of resource extraction with no guarantee of less suffering. The devices are themselves part of the problem. The demand for them and the extent to which “modern” life in “developed” countries relies upon them is part of the problem. It is unsustainable. It is built on blood and it makes a mockery of purported values of dignity, equality, and human rights. The lives of Congolese cobalt miners are tied to how we in the “developed” or colonizer countries live and consume. I do not think their lives will change substantially unless ours do.

[twst-hottest-takes]

I think what a lot of people don't seem to realize with the Malleus situation is that everyone–both fans and the characters–is being so MEAN about it. As a Malleus fan myself, I don't think what he's doing is right. I don't think most fans that are opposed to the treatment he's getting are saying he's right or that he shouldn't face consequences. What we're saying is that other fans and even the characters are treating Malleus different than the other overblots and it's rather upsetting to witness.

None of the other overblots have been threatened with being physically disabled, nor do they really face that big of consequences for their actions in the end. None of the others have been called evil or monsters and they always had other characters who were sympathetic to them even while trying to stop them. And keep in mind, the other overblots have actively tried to KILL people. Malleus hasn't. Ortho doesn't count, because Malleus equates him to a ghost, which Ortho AGREES with. It's not the same. "But he put a lot of people to sleep!!!!" Okay? And? Idia tried to wipe out the entire world. Like actively dead. And there's been not a peep about how he should face consequences for his actions. But suddenly when Malleus does something bad, everyone is up in arms, it's bizarre af.

Speaking of Idia, you'd think he of all people would understand how much grief can ruin you. When he was trapped with Riddle (who really understands deep loneliness) I expected them to realize the kind of situation that's happening, but instead they just don't really do anything?? And Idia treats a real person and their emotions like a video game. He was literally able to sympathize with ROLLO, so it kinda feels ooc that suddenly he's so oblivious to the same suffering he's experienced in another.

Not to mention the fact that people seem to be really downplaying the issue with Silver in the KoD armor and the "enemy of mankind" phrase. I don't know how to explain to you all that the fae were quite literally colonized, their princess murdered, and their land, homes, and resources stolen from them and yet you don't see why these things might be kinda gross?? Silver's dad was a colonizer. It doesn't matter if he didn't agree with it, he didn't speak up at all. He didn't try to stop anyone. He was complicit in the acts of his fellows and thus his image doesn't deserve to be used as the savior of a people he helped destroy. It's disgusting.

I am writing an essay responding to each part of this take as I believe it deserves a thought out answer.

But Book 7 is over now, so I have some burning questions to ask that are entirely relevant to said essay.

I usually try to avoid spoilers to the best of my abilities, but I'll just ask about the finale in favor of coming to more informed point on how differently Malleus is being treated:

Does Malleus lose his horns?

Is this a permanent change?

Is he unable to use any magic now?

Will he ever be able to use magic in the same capacity again?

Who physically harms or berates Malleus for his actions after his overblot is over?

Who continues to call him a monster once he is finally snapped out of it?

Does anyone try to intervene when that happens?

Does Malleus get hauled off to STYX or the Briar Valley to never been seen again as punishment for his misdeeds?

Does Malleus so much as get suspended from school or have his title as Housewarden revoked?

Who hugs Malleus when the crisis is over?

And of course, does Lilia actually leave and go into retirement?

After all of the details about how Malleus is treated after the world-threatening magical crisis he caused is resolved, we'll talk about how differently he's treated. Fair?

Thank you for your take.

(Also, way to give Silver the "sins of the father" treatment.)

P.S. If anyone wants to answer these questions, please do so in a comment so that I can see it, or otherwise PM me. I don't want to see responses to this in my askbox. ~Please and thank you.

[txttletale]

hiii! (hope you're having a great day)

I'm genuinely confused right now about the call out post and the answers you're giving about it

I'm seeing in the call out that the person is talking about a theory of internal colonies and you're not really addressing it in your responses

The posts you're making about the whole situation are coherent and I do agree with them so I am asking genuinly if you could "debunk"? (not sure how to ask that better) the whole internal colony thing because it seems to be the point of disagreement and i'm not seeing clearly here :,,(

i mean 'the call out post' in question is just a comprehensive list of anyone who has ever interacted with tumblr user mozilla-firefucks so i'm not really interested in engaging with it or acknowleding it because i think it is quite silly.

as for the central question / discourse itself -- i am indeed familiar with the theory of the internal colony! i think it is a useful theoretical tool capable of providing useful analysis. but the argument that the internal colony model of usamerican antiblackness precludes Black usamericans from being beneficiaries of usamerican imperialism in any way isn't true. 'colonialism' and 'imperialism' are sets of economic relations, not intrinsic attributes. you do not have a spiritual aura or code flag setting you as 'imperialist' or 'imperialised'. and imperialism is not one monolithic relation either, right, it is comprised of multiple sets of overlapping and interconnected relations, such that you can have multiple different relations to imperialism in different contexts.

as such, it's not denying the brutality of usamerican (or indeed global) antiblackness to point out that Black usamerican citizens continue to be usamerican citizens. this does not protect them from antiblackness, nor is it a moral failing on their part (benefiting from imperialism is simply a result of interfacing with the consumer market that broadly benefits from imperialism -- it's not an accusatory finger saying 'you did an imperialism'), nor is 'beneficiary of' in anyway synonymous with 'perpetrator of' or 'perpetuator of' of.

but i've already discussed how, for example, the simple fact of being able to buy a cheap banana is the direct result of usamerican imperialism. the same is true for coffee, chocolate, or gas, commodities which are kept monstrously cheap for the usamerican market via brutal exploitation and military intervention in the global south. or, for example, any cheap good with 'made in china' or 'made in vietnam' on it, because manufacturing capital has been exported to those countries because of unequal exchange. and people who buy these cheap products are benefiting in that moment from usamerican imperialism -- which again is neither a moral judgement nor a negation or denial of any of the ways that the USA might oppress those people.

so i don't know -- i feel like the core disagreements are either a misunderstanding of what it means to benefit from imperialism, or a or a dualist interpretation of imperialism / colonialism, where one can only be 'colonizer' or 'colonized' in totality across all systems conceived of as one totalizing whole machine of omnidirectional imperialism with a strict hard line between beneficiaries and sufferers. and at the end of the day it just doesn't work like that

[weebsinstash]

I just got home from work a while ago and while Allister is peeing, STILL no poop. If Allister doesn't poop by tomorrow morning they want him back in at the vet to address the issue

I'm gonna try the surgery before we talk about putting him down

I keep thinking about it and. I'm pretty sure I can afford it. I just got some of my first utilities in and they're way lower than I thought they would be. I was trying to save money for bills because I just moved September and some of my utilities I actually haven't been charged for yet, but the ones that are starting to trickle in are significantly lower than I was expecting (I have no frame of reference, you know?)

I just.... if I can afford it and still pay my bills, still have housing, then I'm getting my baby his surgery, and if he needs to be put to sleep after that, then I know I did literally everything I could have. If he backs up again after surgery to empty out his entire colon, it would have to be because his body is giving out from age or the repeated medical conditions or, something that is literally impossible to fix, or, something we don't have enough time to find the answer for. The only other option is if I can somehow give him enemas at home every couple of days, but that's definitely something I have to ask the vet about and probably isn't possible

He um, does seem a little different today though. Maybe he's just groggy because he's super constipated at this point. He looks like he's lost a little weight. He's already got a bad leg but I feel like he's stumbling a little more, although that could also just be the constipation, but it could also be nerves in his pelvis and digestive tract affecting his ability to walk. He doesn't resist as much when I pick him up and just seems, a little sleepy

...But he also started acting really sedated when I had to take him in last week too, you know? So maybe it's just the constipation? Like literally before his second vet visit and he released from the first round of enemas, he immediately went back to loudly, strongly purring, even though a day or so before I was using the weakness of his purring as a sign that "he was surely dying"

I'm going to watch him tonight, and take him in tomorrow morning (because uh, pretty positive he's not gonna poop on his own). Unless the vets OUTRIGHT SAY it isn't a good idea or they don't feel comfortable doing it, I'm getting him de-obstipated, and from there... I have to take everything in stride. Before he gets surgery though I think he gets some tests done to check his vitals, and maybe they might tell us something

Either way... I know I've been buying him time. If I hadn't done anything last week, he'd be suffering right now, maybe already deceased. He's still comfortable. He's still happy. I gave him more time being Him, so, even if he winds up passing on, I know I didn't give up and gave him the maximum amount of time I possibly could have. If surgery buys him another week and I can still safely pay my bills, then I paid to have my cat another week before saying goodbye

I love this little boy so much. I don't want to say good bye until it's his time and even now, he's clinging to me, following me from room to room, nibbling on my fingers, everything he always does. He isn't ready to go yet. I just have to see what my options are.

[espejoobsidiana]

Hetaberia Week | Day 2: Siblings, Regrets

Characters: Spain & Cuba, many Latinos do a cameo

Summary: Cuba was left behind, the last loyal colony and despite his will, he gets to know another side of Spain. Sad and musical feelings because of course with these two.

TW: Mentions of slavery, drug use, depression

The other Latin Americans mock Cuba when Antonio waves at him and he answers with a brief nod across an hotel meeting room.

- Daddy is calling for you.- Venezuela sing-songs. While pouring him whisky, as a peace offering. Her siblings laugh; Ecuador discretely, Colombia with a pitched, open laugh that makes Cuba chuckle too.- ¿Are you going to join him?

***

Vicente is called the favourite, but it’s not the entire truth, it might be true however that he tolerate Spain in ways he wished he didn’t.

It all went really fast. Napoleon conquered Europe, the Latin American colonies fought war and won eventually, and Spain was left with a handful of islands. The richest one was Cuba. Spain has owned a mountain of silver never seen before and then, his most priced possession was a sugar island. Not even the largest one.

- We are either bastards or slaves in the continent. This is the truth. - Says Haiti often with hate coloring his voice everytime he speaks of his former colonizer.- But I know Spain and England like to play house with you guys. At least the French never pretended I was something else. Good luck Cuba.

-I think the worst is that he believes it a bit.- Vicente confess. Haiti frowns.

-Somehow that might be worse. - Realizes Haiti. He nods.

From that point on the others did not see Antonio. They stole glances of his former metropolis at cold Brazilian and French and English meeting, registering if he was tired, suffering if he was as powerless as he looked. Vicente noticed and every time they got caught staring, he was given a sad smile. As if they were asking for forgiveness for leaving them behind. Otherwise he was far from their minds, him and Puerto Rico and Philippines and others. He didn’t fault them, it was not easy to build a country he supposes, he ached to know.

They did not know the steam boats, Seville was 15 days from Havana. Then he stopped arriving to Seville and started arrived to Bilbao and Barcelona. From a dream trip to the “Madre Patria” going to Spain became almost routine, when too independent, of too abolitionist, he was exiled to Spain.

They did not know the bouts of compassion, he felt seeing Antonio smashing Visigoth glasses in the ugly paper wall in anger, when Colombia was once again lost. When Peru feel he cried a crazy yell and feel to the ground. It was Vicente who put him on “rocaille” divan. He wondered in at some level they could inflict some physical pain for living, if they had on their way owned a part of Spain. He looked at him at the gournd and as he was still his colony, and a Christian man he helped. Though he dreamed to be Colombia, and Argentina and Perú. He heard that they had liberated all the slaves.

Antonio felt warm, soft, like the goats Vicente sometimes help the farmers carry to the boats in Santiago.

“I can carry him” Vicente realized. “He is quite light.”

He was still like a mortal when they die Vicente stared at the bags leaving a pale half-moon under his eyes.

“I thought he was a God. I was so stupid.”

Antonio wake up hours later. His eyes a little unfocused, his hair ruffled. When he looks at Vicente, is like he sees him for the first time. His eyes settle on the lamp as he lies.

- I think this is how Boabdil, the Last Kind of Grenada, must have feel. I too shall cry like a women for what I couldn’t defend like a man. - He smiles and it’s tense. Their eyes meet, deep green like the sea, untamed and ugly after an hurricane. - ¿Do you know “The Romance of the Moor who lost Alhama”, Vicente?

- No. - It’s a lie, he does, he loves old romances and chivalry books. He likes this tale of Spain of a time where he still hadn’t arrived to America. Where he could admire his valor because he was not the enermy of the conquered land.

- I will show you. Pass me the guitar.

It might have been the fragile state of Spain, but Cuba never shied from rebelion either. He is feisty and willful. Antonio thinks it’s a good thing. He didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound, in quite defiance.

Antonio sat down, meet his eyes, there was a second, two. With Antonio they never knew, his fury could be terrible but know Vicente feels that the tmes or fury have gone. Then he laughed a clear, mocking laugh.

- Then don’t, boy. Do as you please, I’m still singing. You have always been willful, loyal, but willful.

Antonio voice is a light tenor and a deep alto when he wants. Today he is tired, it doesn’t carry. It is a short romance, he sings with plangent intonations, like the songs the exiled Jews sang in Cuba all those centuries ago.

Much can be says againt Antonio, but his singing is splendid. Cuba has nowhere else to go, so he stays.

**

Argentina thinks he should go to therapy. Maybe it is a disease, it came slowly and unwanted. The humanization of Antonio. They are not humans, of course they are monstruous things playing pretend.

Spain he would learn in Europe, is not more than anyone, older maybe, not wiser. For him he used to be a God to them but now Vicente notices the light mocking tone Francis uses when addresing him. He notices how England says :

“¿A civil war? ¿Again? I guess you are a restless lot, Spaniards”. Antonio clenches his jaw, and do nothing. Empires fall, he learns, it’s a useful lesson. He has many other useful lessons, suddenly, Antonio talks to him about politics, about war.

Because still Antonio considers them absurdly, whisfully like his family. Them more than Guinea and The Philippines who pity them on the time they have to spend in Europe to avoid being “contamitaned” by they neighbours. They pity them on how similar they are to Spain, how deep their destiny run together. They are mnostly sorry when the get to leave at the start of Autumn and the Caribbeans are expect to stay in Madrid for the winter.

- You are the favorite, Chente. Helps us convince him to go to Sevilla. ¿I’m freezing, are you not? - Jokes Puerto Rico, she became his sister during that times he thinks. She wans to go to Seville to meet the abolicionist groups she supports. Vicente thinks abolition will be good, but it will not come. He had heard from Antonio. There is only a way to follow their destiny.

- I’m still grounded, from last rebellion. He will take me to La Mancha, but I will convince him to let you go to Sevilla. ¿Will you be able to go back?

She nods.

- Thank you for your sacrifice, Pearl of the crowns.- He grunts.

He got to know the house near Toledo, all medieval stone and so cold in winter that water would freeze on top of the swamps in the early morning. Antonio liked the calm, specially with the war.

There he spoke very little of politics and a lot of medieval stories. He recites poems that the Catholics Monarch heard even Vicente did it sometimes. He put the few medicine classes Vicente took at the University to good use by asking him to inject him morphine. The new miracle medicine all the elite where using from Barcelona to Madrid and San Sebastian. Vicente hated it, he did as profesionally as possible, the dose he came to find was thrice whar was recommended for mortals.

Antonio falls into a deep, dreamless slumber in from of Cuba without fear, not that he particularly trusted him but he thinks his Caribbean possesion incapable of hurting his metropolis. Cuba is mostly afraid that he might kill him, now the President of Parliamente know him by name and Antonio households knows he left with him. He understand why Antonio wants to forget the world in the extensive valleys of La Mancha. The civil war is raging. Carlists are closing on the north and last week, in Barcelona anarchist blown up a theatre. The papers all talk about Cuba, and he aches to go back.

Sometimes they talk before he speaks. Once, feeling intensely alone further from the sea that any island should ever be be knelt near the bed.

- ¿What are you doing?- Antonio voice is slurred but he is amused. Lazily he extends his hand to pat his hair like the dogs the keeps in Sevilla.

- Antonio, please, let me go back home. - He whispered.

Spain breath evens, he closes his eyes. His hand falling to the side. Vicente sights.

- Do not beg, Chente…. It’s unbecoming of a gentelman of your station. - Spain says before falling to unconciousness.

That’s what kills him that in a twisted way, Antonio likes him. Somehow, he does like him too.

**

When Cuba and his ally America win the war, he heards Spain had welled and destroyed but he arrives serene in front of him.

Politicians call him traitor and other offenses he is all to used to. Antonio only looks at him with bloodshoot eyes.

- I hope independence is all you hope for Cuba. - He says calmy, playing the stoic Spanish night from El Greco portraits.

He clenches his jaw.

- I’ve heard the journals and the soldats. I will not become America’s colony. I’m not being influenced by anyone, I will never regret this.

Spain seems distant and also like a regular human, he is almost his same height. Some centimeters shorter. His deep green eyes shine, a bit amused.

- Oh, one never regrets being free. Don’t worry. Take my advise, just one last time. You are a gentleman of the highest station, my own brother. Take the words of Castillan knights: “Ni miento, ni me arrepiento” – Antonio says and his voice is paused like every word is a chore.

- You could have some regrets. And you lie all the time. - He responds, unkindly.

A smile finds Antonio lips.

- Good luck Cuba, you will need it.

**

- Daddy is calling for you ¿Are you going to join him?

- A bit later, when you guys tire me with your bourgeois imperialist propaganda. - He says and at this point is a bit of a joke. Even if he more often than not, he does leave after some political disagreement.

Sometimes Cuba he end the nights sharing a beer and a conversation with Spain even a cigar at times when he is feeling particulary generous. Spain likes his cigars much more than most of the others, he doesn’t find the smell too strong or the flavor too deep. The conversation goes until the night is deep and the moon is high, shining with a silver light reflecting on Antonio green eyes. Those nights feel like in a poem from a Spanish poet most of his sibling love and only Cuba got to know. Sometimes Spain even hums a melody. Nothing Spanish, no on those night. To please him he does a bolero, Mexican or Cuban about the moonlight and lost love.

It does please him.

Note:

Spain and Cuba have an ongoing deep political and cultural relation. Cuba was the first territory in the America conquered by Spain and one of the last colonies of the Spanish Empire along with Puerto Rico, The Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Guam. Spain is one of the only countries that never cuts relation with the Island even when they adopted communism and even if they have they high and lows the relation is deeper that with other Latin American countries.

And Spain was indeed the last European country to abolish slavery as they were very interested in agricole exploitation in Cuba. The USA indeed helped Cuba achieve independence and where hoping to gain control in the island like they did to Puerto Rico but never quite achieve so because Cuba has protected them against that and annexion was widely unpopular.

Haiti is of course one of the first countries in the Americans to achieve freedom

"Ni miento ni me arrepiento" I don't lie or regret is the motto of Catillan poet Jorge Manrique and something of the paragon of the late medieval stoic castillan knight.

The title "The Emprisoned Brother" is a play on "La Hermana Cautiva" or "The Emprisoned Sister" a popular medieval Romance, of a knight recovering his long lost sister taken as a kid by Moors thinking he is kidnapping or saving a young bride.

[kitkatopinions]

So since you're rewatching A:TLA, do you have any problems with how Jet and Hama, victims of colonialism & genocide, were depicted?

Every time there's a 'revolutionary revolts too close to the sun' plot, I have a 'this again' exasperated reaction and on the general whole, I think that less people ought to make them. More often than not, these plotlines fail and are bad and what they're saying winds up feeling like propaganda. However, on the whole, I think that ATLA does it about as well as I've ever seen.

Please keep in mind that I haven't seen the later seasons of ATLA in a few years, so there might be things I'm not remembering specifically with the Hama episodes. I've never really analyzed this show to the extent that I've analyzed other things, as well, so... Yeah.

But, when looking at these sorts of revolutionary revolts too much plots, there are a couple of questions that I feel are worthwhile to ask:

Are the victims actually treated as victims and is their suffering given weight and understanding? Have the mains also suffered at the hands of this oppression?

Is the show itself and the main characters interested in opposing and dismantling the system of oppression?

How does the show portray violence against oppressors in general?

What is the revolutionary doing that makes them an enemy? How is that conflict articulated?

Are the antagonistic victims treated worse or better than the actual oppressors?

How much time is devoted to fighting revolutionaries who revolt too much compared to the actual oppressors?

I remember the conflict with Hama less than the conflict with Jet since I just watched the first season, so I'll be using Jet as an example, whereas I can't really speak much on Hama.

Jet's suffering at the hands of the Fire Nation is acknowledged and sympathized with, both with Katara and iirc also gone into in the episode where Jet meets Zuko. In fact, Katara compares her situation with Jet's because they've both lost parents to the Fire Nation, and Aang lost his entire people to them. This isn't a case where the main characters are less affected or not at all affected by the oppression that the revolutionary who revolts too much faced. The entire show is built around saving the world from the oppressors and colonizers and restoring peace. The very premise of the show is that Aang and his friends must help dismantle the system of oppression in place. If this was a case of these revolutionaries reacting to their oppression, but the mains and the story not really caring about ending the oppression (or even worse, fighting to maintain the system,) then it would be an instant no from me. But the story is actually about ending the oppression. The show in general doesn't portray violence against oppressors as bad. The gaang uses force when necessary even to the point of injuring people iirc, and the soldiers fighting the Fire Nation are also portrayed as heroes point blank period despite the fact that they're most likely willing to kill even though we don't actively see it (in a kid's show, this is more than fair.) Even though Aang himself wants to follow the strict 'no killing' policy of his people, the others want to kill the Fire Lord and they're never portrayed as bad or even really in the wrong for wanting it and working towards it if I remember correctly. And even then, Aang was more or less coached by other Avatars of the past to kill regardless with them talking about how they should have or did kill for the greater good, and Aang was fully set to tragically disregard his own moral code to do what had to be done until he realized there was a way for him to defeat Ozai without comprising what he believed in (also not bad in a kid's show if you ask me.) What made Jet different from the violence of the mains was that Jet wasn't only hurting the soldiers and leaders of the Fire Nation in order to free people from oppression, he was actively taking the stance that civilians and children (and I think also innocent Earth Kingdom civilians but I could be misremembering,) were a necessary causality to defeating the Fire Nation. Jet - and I believe Hama - were both portrayed as people who had been deeply hurt but who fell into the trap of dehumanizing their oppressors that resulted in them no longer caring who deserved what punishment, or what would cause the least amount of harm. Instead of being villainized for hurting the people who hurt them, they were acknowledged as having gone too far and hurting even children who had no part in the horrors that had happened to them. Jet is treated with much more sympathy and given much better treatment than Ozai. Despite the fact that Jet dies, he's given not only ample sympathy before he does, but a full 'redemption arc' for lack of a better word. He regrets the fact that he hurt innocent people, he's forgiven, and ultimately recognized as a hero. The fact that his early portrayal included him learning not to dehumanize the enemy to the point of killing children didn't mean that he wasn't still a freedom fighter who wound up doing good, it didn't mean he was unforgivable, it didn't mean the heroes wanted him to die, and in the end his actual death was a tragedy. The only reason Ozai didn't die - in contrast - was because of Aang's desire to not compromise his principles and to carry on the traditions of his people. Even Ozai's own son wanted him to die. When he was defeated, Ozai was actively made fun of. He spent the rest of his life in prison. He was treated as an evil vile man. Fighting Jet and Hama and talking about their crimes is devoted to literally two episodes out of sixty two, whereas the whole premise of the show is defeating Ozai. Not much time is expanded to talking about revolutionaries who go too far.

Again, it's been a long time since I've seen the Hama episode, so I can't speak much to that (and if Hama was more mishandled, it makes the Jet storyline feel different.) The problem with ATLA I feel is... Why did they have to have episodes focused on revolutionaries revolting too much in the first place? Why did two white men who have been criticized for their carelessness in portraying Asian cultures feel the need to write it? I don't know. A part of me is of the opinion that it's not wrong to talk about how dehumanization of the enemy isn't going to help anything and can lead to just more active harm. For another example, I don't feel like I have a problem with President Coin in the Hunger Games being a bad guy and even less of a problem with Katniss's struggles with her and Gale's different moral codes when it comes to Capitol Citizens. I do think that maybe they went a little hard on it, like they had to make Jet really bad to try and ensure that the people who get angry at anything that isn't revenge based excessive punishment wouldn't get angry at them. But those people are always going to have a problem with it no matter how it's portrayed, and it made Jet feel a little unrealistic. I can acknowledge that they should've made it something that maybe was less pre-meditated, or that it could involve citizens but not so decimating an entire town... I don't know.

But I personally do not believe in cold-blooded revenge based violent punishment - especially collective punishment - if it's at all avoidable. However, another part of me is just sick of seeing it in general and is confused about why it has to be said all the time. Writers invent these characters so they can talk about the evils of revolting too much, and it's like... Why? What value did it really have to Avatar? It didn't do much to set up the future conflict of Aang not wanting to kill the Fire Lord, and it didn't do much to establish Sokka's morals imo. So what was it doing there? Just to establish that Fire Nation citizens don't all deserve to die? They do well enough portraying that throughout the whole show. So why would they need the Jet conflict? I go back and forth. There's a conversation to be had about whether or not Jet's storyline or Hama's storyline needed to happen, and I think the end conclusion is that it didn't need to be made. But in regards to Jet in particular, I think it was done about as well as a person can do that kind of storyline. As I said, I haven't seen the Hama episode in a hot minute though, so that one could be a lot worse than the Jet one and I'm just not remembering.

[hindulivesmatter]

Honestly it feels like some people are so afraid of criticizing anything that has to do with Islam/Muslims. I actually do understand, Muslims and Islam as a religion have been unjustly accused and have faced a lot of discrimination for things that weren't their fault, and Islamophobia is a really big issue, but swinging the other way and stopping people from criticizing Islamic imperialism at all isn't the answer either. We aren't criticizing Islam/Muslims in general, and of course they have a place in India, but that also doesn't change the reality of the genocides Hindus in Kashmir have faced and continue to face at the hands of self-proclaimed Islamic terrorist groups.

And I am actually someone who believes Modi isn't blameless, and I actually do agree with the things said about him by the left. I do think the Indian army is committing atrocities in Kashmir, and I don't approve of his actions. But acting like he's the only problem and that we don't have any threat from Islamic terrorists is also wrong. We've heard their chants, the 7 genocides they committed, all the people who were killed/forced to flee/converted. And yet, even as we reclaim our stolen land and our stolen culture, as we are finally getting back our temple in Ayodhya, people are quick to dismiss it as Islamophobia or anti-Muslim sentiment, instead of seeing it as the reclamation of our history and our culture from colonization.

They want to deny our suffering by saying that the colonizers improved India, that Hindus and Muslims always coexisted peacefully. And I am all for peaceful co-existence, but denying the people who were killed, the women who were raped and killed by Islamic invaders who declared openly that it was their holy mission to kill Hindus is so grossly invalidating and just makes me think that some people care more about appeasing the crowd than actually caring about what really happened. Islamophobia is real, of course, but denying history and the real threat of terrorists isn't the answer.

Sorry to leave this in your inbox. I don't always agree with you, but I appreciate your posts.

I feel like you just needed a good vent, lol. It's alright. We don't always need to see eye to eye on things. It's one of the main reasons I don't go on blocking sprees, like the people who hate me. If you agree with me, awesome. If you don't, it's fine. It really doesn't matter to me. You had a lot of good talking points in your asks, I appreciate you dropping them here. :)

[janaknandini-singh999]

neutrality is a much greater threat than taking a side. you can't create balance by putting your two feet in separate boats which ultimately are sailing in opposite directions. your heart is in the right place but instead of using your empathy outwardly to help your fellow people, you are using it to appease yourself and absolve yourself of responsibility. your empathy should not remain a feeling but should transform into action. otherwise your empathy holds no value if it can't be felt by the people you have empathy for. which they can only feel if you do something with your empathy. for them.

if you have the ability to recognize the hateful intentions and actions of hindutva extremists, why then are you saying that the only solution is "karma"? that they will get karma'd? i get that you're religious and all. but ultimately isn't leaving fate to god also inaction, avoidance, irresponsibility. god did not save the jews, and if conscious hindus make excuses like "karma", guess what, god will not be able to save our muslims either.

all this to say, abeyyaaar is right. and you are being wrongly defensive.

"all lives matter" as a slogan would have made sense had there been someone who was denying that notion. but who's denying this stance? no one. all lives matter is a given. hell it is a right. but wonder why activists say "black lives matter", "muslim lives matter", "indigenous lives matter" and why that is important? because the status quo is not in compliance with these beliefs. that is why. muslim people, black people, their inherent right to live, right to be is threatened under the current society. which is why these slogans are raised. because they are not mere beliefs, but demands for something that doesn't exist, something that isn't just a given, yet. get it now?

leftists are not angry. we leftists are afraid. history is about recognizing patterns. and when our powerful politicians demonize maginalized communities, when our foreign minister praises majoritarianism in a country where hate crimes are surging, history would tell us that such happenings form the foundation for some really dark events. dark events like the ones that, well, you know. all of which were avoidable had these "neutral" bystanders hadn't been so neutral about literal hate crimes and discrimination.

you cannot look at the ram temple by ignoring the context in which it has been constructed. you cannot separate muslim suffering from the ram temple just so you as a hindu can enjoy your religion in a bubble. when you separate the two, you are undermining the former. temples should always have way less value than actual human life. if something i like has come at the cost of a whole community i'd be very appalled and disgusted. and ashamed of the people who weaponize my religion for political gains.

okay this was long um. but i hope this msg wasn't in vain.

to remind you the infamous quote by south african activist Desmond Tutu, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

First of all I'm neutral when it comes to lives, not when it comes to sides. Ik the quote very well "nobody is a bystander in a war of Dharma"

If I were born some time ago in history, I'd be against invaders and colonizers but today I'm against violent fascists (be it Hindu/Muslim like in Ram mandir's case it's some Hindus)

I never said karma is the "only solution" but isn't it your karma only when you fight for rights?

When I say neutrality I use it as a perspective for other Hindus to cast aside extremist religious sentiments for a moment and see for what's actually happening and thereby translating it into support

It is not question of religion/taking sides after a point but the question of humanity which can only be raised when people start asking like Arjun asked Krishna in the dilemma of war

I see Palestine and am horrified, no matter what the complicated history of a land is, nobody has the right to commit a genocide

I stand with the oppressed

[rapha-reads]

@stelly38 asked me:

ooooh, that's going to be fun, thank you!!! Here we go. [Edit: this is going to be long]

Top 10 worst moments in American History

Alright, I'm French and Moroccan. American bashing is like, encoded in my DNA, lmao. Also I've studied History but I'm a Literature specialist, so.

10. the Kardashians. Why are you making us suffer these guys? Please stop. 9. Reagan's administration, how AIDs was handled. 8. the assassination of John Lennon. What the hell, USA? What did Lennon eve do to you? 7. the assassination of MLK. That one is unforgivable. And obviously, George Floyd, Emmett Till... Remember their names. 6. the imperialism in Middle East. That one is not just on you guys, but dammit, you are digging your own grave. And taking the rest of the arabo-muslim world with you. 5. creating Ben Ladden, the war in Irak. Do you guys realize that if Bush hadn't gone to Afghanistan and tried to imperialize it, we wouldn't have the so-called "war on terror" now? 4. the entire Vietnam war. Napalm and senseless violence and the constant glorification of war ever since. 3. bombing Japan. What the hell was that about, Truman? (aka you watched Oppenheimer this summer) 2. Trump. That was like. Globally traumatizing. The whole thing. The heck were you guys thinking? Macron is horrible but Trump was like, majorly nightmarish. 1. the colonization and genocide of the Natives. I know Colombus is not your fault, but everything that happened and keeps happening now. As another indigenous people (North Africa's original people, the Amazighs), I feel a great kinship with the Native Americans. Though to be fair my people has not been as exterminated and pushed back to the recesses of history like you. But yeah, I really think the most important conversation the US should be having today is about the Natives, their lands, their rights, their history, their culture, their justice... I think your country can only progress if it faces its own history and this history starts and ends with its native people.

Oof, let's get into something a bit more light-hearted!

Top 5 favorite songs ever

List changes all the time. Let's see the ones that stay always, the classic ones that almost never make the list because they've been with me for so long.

5. Renaud, Société tu m'auras pas. A classic from my childhood. Anarchist French angry song, anti-society, anti-capitalism... Used to jump and shout the chorus with my brother when I was under 6, visiting my paternal grandfather in the house my father grew up. 4. U2, Magnificent. There was a period in my early teenage years where my mother, my middle sister and I would often drive from the city to the village and back every other week-end, a sort of mini road-trip (60kms only), and we'd listen with my mother this U2 album. 3. Dire Straits, Romeo and Juliet. At this point, everyone who knows me a little knows of my huge obsession for R&J, that started when I was barely 10. This song is everything to me. Also Dire Straits is a shared taste with a part of my maternal family. 2. Manu Chao, Clandestino. My mother is a Spanish teacher, Spain is on the way between France and Morocco. Spanish's always been one of the languages spoken in my house, despite none of us being actually, you know, Spanish. Been hearing this song for as long as I can remember. 1. Anne Sylvestre, Les grands migrateurs. Anne Sylvestre is a French singer (she died this year) who did feminist songs in the 60s-80s, and also various tapes of nursery rhyme (kinda) for kids. This one is about migratory birds. I used to listen to these K7 all the time as a child.

Top 5 favorite desserts

I have a huge sweet tooth!

5. Lemon pie. 4. Red fruit cheesecake. 3. Apple pie. 2. Chocolat mousse. 1. Chocolate cake (marble cake, brownie, classic gâteau... If it's chocolate, it goes in).

[duskkit]

A few weeks ago I saw someone in Youtube comments make an argument that really stood out to me as wrong and horrible. I didn't respond at the time since it felt like a don't feed the trolls situation more than anything, but that comment and my potential response have been stuck in my mind. This feels like a better place to let it out.

So, the comment essentially said (and "essentially" is just because I'm paraphrasing from memory despite using quotation marks, I'm not exaggerating what was said at all) that Israel is needed for the safety of Jews and the attacks on Palestenians are justified "because we'd be colonizers anywhere else in the world, too."

That's not the strong argument I'm pretty sure the person thought it was.

There is a difference between immigrating and colonizing. That difference is important.

Immigrating involves going to the people already living in a country and asking how you could fit in. It involves finding jobs and paying for places to live that are being intentionally left available. Often there are prejudices against immigrants that make those jobs and homes harder to get than they would be for preexisting citizens, and it can be scary to open yourself to the dangers of a country that's only partially willing to welcome you. But immigration is a word for going somewhere where at least some of the people are happy to have you there, and it's an attempt to be peaceful.

Colonizing involves going to a place whether there's any semblance of an invitation to or not. It involves getting rid of people who are already there to force there to be jobs and homes available. It's forcefully putting yourself in a position of power, and inherently violent.

Much as we often want to pretend otherwise, there's been a lot of colonization even in recent human history and many things called immigration were still building on previous colonization. But the world in general being ultimately built off of conquest does not mean it is better to continue with colonizing, keeping the world violent, adding to the suffering; rather than trying to make a more peaceful future.

Yes, there has historically been a lot of antisemitism. My own Jewish great-grandparents left Belarus because of rising tensions. Nazi Germany and the concentration camps are a big thing to point to, to argue why it's unsafe to be a Jew in a place that isn't specifically a Jewish nation. But this bombing of refugees living in tents is the same thing; why do the Palestinians here and now matter less than the potential of some future atrocity against Jews? And surely successfully convincing the world to ignore this would not make future generations of Jews safer. The more heinous of crimes the world is used to ignoring, the more likely it is that future antisemites get away with renewed Nazism.

So, again, why are we funding the bombing of civilians? Why is Zionist Israel being helped in this?

sometimes i browse zionist blogs just to see what the current talking points are and it always feels like an incredible game of dancing around the point. "jewish people have lived there for centuries" yes true. why are we funding the bombing of civilians. "living under hamas sucks and people in gaza hate them too." yeah i imagine many people in gaza have varying thoughts on the situation. why are we funding the bombing of civllians. "i saw some random twitter account say something antisemetic." im sorry that you were exposed to that. why are we funding the bombing of civilians.

[bustour]

I've been having feelings that I don't want to share on my regular socials cause I don't want to offend or discourage folks I know who have just started speaking out about the latest injustices and/or have been selective in which topics they speak out about, I started writing this in a caption for a photo I'm gonna post on ig/fb tomorrow but know it's probably ultimately unproductive big picturewise for someone like me to essentially shame people, even though I know a lot of other people probably also feel this way, but them feeling seen isn't as important as not being an ass about all this, however it's still making me grumpy so I'm bringing my feelings here to process into the void. 

I get frustrated when I see photos of how many folks are now showing up to these no kings protests in Humboldt (and all over really), when most hadn't attended a single one of the Humboldt for Palestine protests, or really any kind of action during the Biden era. Same goes for the amount of media coverage. I just wanna be like, ok yeah I'm genuinely glad you're here now, yes things are very bad and constantly getting worse, but also for real where have you been? It's BEEN bad, it's been literal genocide, and I didn't see most of y'all at any Palestine protests? Like yes all this domestic and western world stuff is horrible, and I know it's not a contest, but it seems pretty clear that ultimately the suffering in Gaza cannot be matched. You're showing up to these protests bc you're horrified by cuts to healthcare, families being separated, people being displaced from their homes, continued colonization of indigenous lands, queer rights, poc lives, the military industrial complex war machine, wealth disparity, threats to the environment and climate change, ect ect ect, but like truly all those things are at their worst in Palestine, even before 2023. I just don't understand how that wasn't enough. This is why Palestine is considered a litmus test, it shows how deeply you truly care about these issues. Do you care about the freedom of everyone, or just within your country, your community, your friends, your family? Do you just care when the freedom is somehow connected to people you know, to you personally? Do you not understand the point of "First They Came"? How did you not get it when people having been telling you over and over it's all connected, if it can happen there it will happen here?

Anyway, I still get that it's never too late, and I gotta remember the point of the more people who speak out makes it easier for more people to speak out, is that we want the people who haven't spoken out before to start, so asking why they didn't do it sooner is like, dumb of me, I know, I'm just feeling my feels on my personal internet blog so don't at me or whatever.

[tender-hearteddd]

i can’t take any interpretation of bertholdt’s ability of being the perfect doormat being a good thing seriously lol i just hate it and it feels disrespectful to his character and the very mini character growth he did have. idk i also hate this interpretation of him being a dumb dumb shit for brains baby who can’t do anything for himself?? i just hate it. pple act as if he was constantly crying to reiner every time he ran into the slightest inconvenience like he wasn’t the piece of thread that was still connecting reiner to his true reality, so it was more like reiner needed him more than bertholdt needed reiner and if bertholdt were to live, i hope he realized this and had a more concrete character development where he grew out of being a doormat.

reiner had this obsession with being the perfect soldier/warrior to the point where he lost who he was, people would argue annie was the true epitome of what reiner was trying to be but she still couldn’t help but demonstrate her true feelings so in turn, i would argue that bertholdt was really the true epitome of a soldier.

and i don’t mean that in a good way.

bertholdt always kept what they are and what their mission was in mind even if he did enjoy his time in the cadet corps. and i don’t even think most of the cadets truly seen him as a friend, only an extended part of reiner which just makes his character even more sad 👎🏾 he believed that retrieving the coordinate would truly save the world from the genocide eren ended up committing (and it would’ve lol), he kept watch on reiner’s mental illness so he wouldn’t lose his best friend, and during the RtS battle, he carried out his duty as a warrior as he understood war after living through it all his life, both as a victim and a perpetrator that no one was truly in the wrong - so he did what he was supposed to do.

bertholdt wanted to do what was asked of him to put an end to all the pain and suffering of the future generations who now have to rebuild the world due to a global genocide. if the warriors have succeeded, the rumbling would’ve never happened however, marley would’ve used the FT power to further its global domination all over the world. they definitely would’ve used it to eradicate paradis. there were no winners in this at all. the colonized people in the aot world (like ramzi) still would suffer from the colonial empires of marley and eldia. eldians would still be exploited to continue marley’s wrath. but there still would’ve been a world to save instead of one to eradicate.

he understood first hand the failed complexities of aot as a story, being that war only has countless victims, bertholdt being one of them.

[cannibalisticvoyeurism]

hello there.

first of all: i'd like to apologize for the affects my reply had on you. in no way did i mean to rub salt in your wound. i cannot imagine the pains of conflict like this. i am lucky enough to not know this hardship, and there is nothing but sympathy from me for people affected ON BOTH SIDES. most citizens are innocent. whether their country is the one in the wrong or not, they do not deserve to be punished for it. what happened oct 7th was a tragedy, and nobody can take that away from the victims. from the people who have seen and experienced things irreversibly damaging. they are not their country, they are not responsible for gazan blood just for being born in israel. my heart goes out to you and your suffering

that being said, i believe you misunderstood me. my reply was a genuine answer to the questions you asked: "what if i, an israeli, don't feel like educating people about the conflict?" paired with "i don't want to talk about the people of gaza."

i believe you should educate people on what happens, you should care. the louder we speak about it, the more we can do to prevent the awful things happening to citizens. we should talk about the causalties of war on both sides. not just palestine, but not just israel. anybody innocent who is caught in the fire should be spoken of. we should remember, it is citizens who pay the most. despite having nothing to do with the horrors. normal people shouldn't pay for government affairs, and when they do it should be spoken about - whether they be israeli or palestinian. my reply was a genuine answer to why you should care/speak about gazans just like you care about your own citizens. innocent people shouldn't face the punishment. ever

secondly: your point about "israeli pain and trauma made to be about gazans" does happen, but i don't believe my post was a case of this. you brought up gaza in your initial post. your post was about your own pain, and how it makes you not want to talk about the pain of gazans because of that. it was about, why should you? i answered it. i said: this is why i think you should be interested in educating

thirdly: i never once stated i believe israeli's are doing nothing to stop the conflict, and this is NOT something i believe. the demonization of citizens will and never has been something i have supported. my friend is israeli. i have to remind him not to feel guilty about that. he feels tremendous guilt about what his country does, and he shouldn't. it is horrendous, it is awful, and it is ALSO NOT HIS FAULT. it is the GOVERNMENT. i will never support demonizing citizens

lastly: you tag "antizionism is antisemitism." and for that, i think you are a hypocrite. you do not care about both sides. you SUPPORT the ethnic cleansing and colonization of one side, palestine. zionism is a nationalist movement

nationalist definition: "a person who strongly identifies with their own nation and vigorously supports its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations"

asking for sympathy when you haven't any to spare of your own. i am empathetic to the things people have seen and went through on both sides. but not this. if i am wrong, educate me. tell me how... unless of course, you don't care to do that. perhaps you are too tired to explain, or perhaps you are hiding your bigotry behind tragedy like a coward. i cannot read your mind, but i ask you as a human to reflect. i want you to think about the father's who carry their headless babies home, and wonder if this is the price you are willing to pay to have your own independent state. and if your answer is "yes, it is the price i am willing to pay." then i want you to ask yourself - are you really in any position to judge the father's who signed up to hamas, willing to do the horror that was oct 7th, in hopes they could prevent their baby from being next?

i absolutely agree with you on supporting the struggles of israeli citizens too. my reply was a genuine answer to why i think you should talk about the conflict. education is important, and spreading awareness could prevent tragedies

there is absolutely two sides, there is absolutely suffering on both sides - regardless of whether the suffering on one side outways the other. nobody deserves to go unlistened to, nobody innocent. israeli or palestinian

i hope there are brighter days for you, and wish you well on your journey to heal from tragedy. i hope you, your friends, your family, your community have good days ahead. i hear you. if you have any more resources on how to help then please do share them! (especially how maybe people with low funds and lack of freedoms can help. i'm 15 years old and i'd love to help but i'm not sure what i can do, as a minor with no money of my own)

goodbye.

what if I, an israeli, don't feel like educating people about the conflict? what if i don't want to have to explain to you the last year and a half of grief my family, my friends, my community, went through, still going through, can't heal from until all of us are home? i don't have to justify my anger, my fear, or my resentment to you, jewish or goy. i don't need to provide a explanation before saying that people of my country are dying and my family is under missiles and my friends are enlisting to the army and I'm devastated because there was a fucking massacre. I don't want to talk about the people of gaza. I want to have the space to grieve the trgady we experienced oct. 7, to heal our people with all of our hostages home.

But we didn't get that. People were celebrating while the blood was still warm. so I am not interested in explaining myself or this conflict to you.

[suntears1037]

Initial Thoughts on Avatar: The Way of Water Spoilers

I know I barely post on here, but I really need to get some thoughts I have had about this film off my head since I haven’t seen anyone else mention these things who have seen it. 

Is no one else bothered by the fact that Jake Sully makes his children, specifically his male children refer to him as Sir? 

Ya know, something that is not only a human characteristic, but an American militarized human characteristic?

It bothers me to no end that throughout the whole movie the only time his son  doesn’t refer to him as Sir is after his Oldest Son loses his life to a war that his father started! 

The fact that Neytiri doesn’t ever call out the use of Jakes incessant need for his children to call him Sir is actively infuriating throughout the film and forces her to suffer along with her children as if she is seen solely as the Nuclear Wife in Jake’s eyes, and when she tries to confront him before he forcefully relocates his family to the Metkayina clan all she is met with is Jake saying that “A father needs to protect his family and his people”.  Which evades her point of Jake being too hard on his sons and making them “have respect”. 

When mind you the only reason Jake is seen as the Clan Leader is WOW is because of Neytiri’s father dying in the first film and Jake claiming Toruk (the big sky banshee) to show he is capable of leading the people. Even though they wouldn’t have needed to be lead by him if it weren’t for Jake infiltrating the Omatikaya in the first place and actively playing a role in the destruction and colonization of Home Tree, in the first film. 

Many people seem to forget the moment in the first film where Jake is talking to Quaritch and Parker Selfridge about how to invade Home Tree to get the unobtainium from underneath the roots by blowing up the base root system. Well after he began to have feelings and relations with Netytiri and being accepted by the Omatikayan peoples customs due to thinking Jake was trying to help them save Home Tree/Ewya. 

It makes absolutely no sense to me that you have this character who changed not only species and supposedly customs but then chooses to hold onto the parts of his humanity that actively harmed and is still harming the Native Na’vi people in both films, and have his children all who are born of Pandora, have to abide by military customs. 

This brings me to the second thought I had while watching this film is the character Spider. Who is Quaritch’s son before the RECOM. Is the visceral hatred shown from Jake and Netytiri over him being around their children is baffling to me since Jake was only a human a decade ago! The push and pull of Jake’s human and Na’vi identities clashing is nauseating to say the least and is one of the most boring parts of both films. However, amplified in WOW, due to his interactions with Spider and being unfairly cold to a child who did not ask to be a child of war. Who quite frankly seems to have more of a connection to Na’vi culture than Jake has!

This plays into the blatant racism and erasure of Indigenous voices that is at play here and I want to make a longer and more articulate post with sources from Indigenous peoples on why this movie is flawed both on a writing level, but a political level as well. 

Simply put this is just another White Savior film made by James Cameron to inflate his own ego for being a celebrity “activist”. 

[geminigirl0298]

All The Kings' Men

Relationship: Dark!Bucky x Reader, King!Loki x Reader

Summary: The Odinson Kings take over Midgard, appointing commanders to help them colonize the entire planet. Commander Barnes finds you during a raid of untouched lands and claims you as his own. You endure months of torture and abuse at the metal hand of the cruel man, and are set to suffer even more when he sends you to King Loki to break you further. Upon meeting the feared man, you find that looks can be deceiving, and rumors are not always what they seem.

A/N: Thank you to my editor @green-mischief-managed for helping me with this fic! Let me know if you want to be tagged!

Warnings: Minors DNI, 18+, very NSFW. Fingering, oral sex (f and m receiving), handjobs, blood and gore, torture, rape, knives, death, mutilation, choking, burning, breeding kink, forced pregnancy, vaginal sex, mentions of suicide. This fic deals with dark themes such as rape, abuse and torture. If these themes make you uncomfortable, please do not read!

Previous Chapter Masterlist

CHAPTER 8

The room you were assigned to was much grander than the one you were initially given. You were afraid that the king was going to stick you back in the same one he had allotted to you and James when you first arrived. Part of you wanted to raise the issue, but when a guard met you on your way in and led you to the new room, you realised you did not have to. Somehow, the king knew. He even had your belongings brought in and set up, so all you really had to do was come in and lie down. Not that you did that.

As beautiful as the room was—there was a fireplace and a golden-edged floor-length mirror, for God’s sake—you decided you had enough of being inside. You awoke the next morning intending to spend the entire day outside. Kari, the round-faced, strawberry-haired maid assigned to you, had come in to find you struggling with the corset of your dress. After a shared laugh and some unsuccessful tugging, you forewent the corset altogether. Kari helped you pick out a flowery, loose dress and asked how you would like your hair.

“Um…” You stared at your reflection. James liked your hair in a ponytail. He said it was neat, becoming of a woman meant to be his wife. He also liked to drag you around by it when he was angry at you. “I don’t know.” You turned to look at her. “What do you suggest?”

“You have wonderful hair, Lady Dee.” Kari ran her hands through your locks. “How about we leave it out? I can put some small clips in throughout. It’ll look lovely with the cut of your dress.”

You smiled to yourself in the mirror. “I think I’d like that very much.” Kari gave a little clap. She reached for the lid of the silver box on the vanity and removed it, revealing dozens of jewelled clips in various sizes. “Whose are these?”

“Whose are what?” You pointed to the box of clips.

“These. They aren’t mine.” Come to think of it, there were a lot of items in the room that did not belong to you. “The dresses in the closet and the shoes to go with them. All of this,” you gestured to the numerous beauty items and accessories littering the vanity table. “None of those things belong to me.”

“King Loki sent them,” she explained. “He figured you would not have any Asgardian wear.” Your brows lifted into your hairline. “Don’t you find them pretty? The dresses? I’ve always admired the clothes the royals wear. Nothing less than the finest.”

You looked down at the lilac dress you had chosen for the day. It was the first one in your closet of a long line of them, and you were too concerned with getting outside to truly look at it before. Now, in the light of the day and Kari’s words, you could see it clearly. “Royals?” You ran your hands over the bodice, feeling the softness and dexterity of the fabric. The gossamer alone was more expensive than anything you had ever owned. “Why would the king—”

“Hello?” The call was followed by two knocks. You rose to your feet, already recognising the voice. Kari trailed behind you with the box of clips as you hastened to the door and flung it open.

“Sven!”

“Miss Dee.” He smiled at you. “Pleasant morning. The king told me you requested me as your guard.”

“I did,” you replied, then quickly sobered. “I hope that’s okay. I mean, he offered someone else, but I don’t know the other guard and your name popped in my head. If it’s too much trouble, I can—”

“Miss Dee.” Sven touched your shoulder, ensuring his fingers stayed within the confines of the strap. “King Loki did not force me to do this, if that’s what you’re concerned about. He simply asked, and I accepted.” Your brow furrowed.

“The king didn’t force you?” Sven shook his head. “He asked?” Sven nodded. “Properly? Without threatening you?” You had a hard time believing that. Your mind kept conjuring images of the king standing over Sven with those ugly golden horns and impossibly coloured eyes while the younger boy agreed to do his bidding out of fear for his life.

“King Loki did not threaten me.” Sven gave you a funny look. “Whatever would make you think that?”

“I…Nothing. It’s nothing.” Your attention turned to Kari next. “Are you finished with my hair?”

“Yup.” She fixed one final clip and surveyed her work. “You’re ready. Have you any plans for the day?”

“I want to go outside.” You turned to Sven. “Let’s go outside.”

“Where?” He offered you his arm, which you politely declined in lieu of walking next to him. You were not yet ready for that kind of prolonged contact. “I can take you to see the gardens or even the training grounds. We can go into town as well, but I’ll have to let the king know we’re leaving the palace grounds.” Your eyes widened. “It’s for safety reasons,” Sven hurried to assure you. “The king is serious about the safety of his guests, and he’s taken a particular interest in yours.”

You weren’t sure how to feel about that. James used to say the same thing as an excuse for his abuse. I just want to keep you safe. He used it to justify his behaviour so many times that the words had lost all meaning. Now it was just an empty space in your mind. Four letters of the alphabet strung together that made your brain go blank and your skin prickle with trepidation.

But you did not tell Sven this. You kept walking beside him, close enough that you could reach out and touch him if needed but with enough distance to prevent it from happening by accident.

You were nearing the gardens now. A gentle breeze blew downwind from the flora and your nose was filled with the coalesced scents of the flowers ahead. Your head tilted back to take in the smells. They were so different from the few plants you’d been exposed to on Earth, yet similar all the same. The fresh scent of freesia, the sweetness of a rose, calming lavender and heady peonies.

“Miss Dee?” Your gaze went to Sven. He was staring at you with a concerned expression. “Are you well? I heard you were in the infirmary for quite some time.”

“Do you know why?” Suspicion dripped off your every word.

“No,” he said, and you could tell he was not lying. “I don’t know why.” He stepped closer to you, voice pitching low. “You can tell me if you want, but if you choose not to I understand all the same. It’s all up to you.”

His tone sent your heart racing. Did he… Did Sven know? “Sven?”

His brown eyes were alight with sympathy. “Yes?”

“Lady Dee.” You turned at the new voice. A brown-skinned boy walked towards you, all shaggy black curls and an adorable smile. You recognised him as one of Eir’s students from the infirmary. He must have been about Sven’s age, if you had to guess. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m well,” you said. Your behaviour from your time in the infirmary flashed in your mind, causing you to wince. “Was it you I took the tray from? The one I threw at the king?”

Erik let out a boyish chuckle. “No, that was Astrid. She’s a little miffed, but then again, when is she not? I was thoroughly impressed by your throwing arm. Not many people have hurtled an item at the king’s head and lived to tell the tale. He must have a soft spot for you.” His eyes travelled to the boy beside you, and you saw his ears tinge with pink. “Sven.”

“Erik. H-how are you?” Sven’s voice trembled like he was standing on shaky ground. You turned to him in distress, only to find his face as red as the poppies you could see in the distance.

“I am well. Did you know there is a show in the town square tonight? Some of the other students and I are attending.” Erik’s chin dipped, hazel eyes staring up at Sven from beneath long lashes. “Are you going to be there?”

“I…” Sven took a breath so deep you saw his chest form a concave shape before flattening once again. “I did not know about that. I hope you have fun, though.”

Erik’s face dropped. Even you, with your lack of luck in stable relationships and nine hundred years of lost memory, looked at Sven with disappointment. You would have smacked your forehead if the act wouldn’t increase the awkwardness of the situation at hand.

“Oh.” You could hear the dismay in Erik’s voice. “I-I guess I’ll see you around, then. Goodbye Sven, Lady Dee.”

“Goodbye, Erik.” He turned on his heel and left, allowing you to turn to Sven and admonish him to your heart’s content. “Sven, what was that?”

“Nothing,” he replied, though the colour was still present on his cheeks. “It was nothing.”

“It looked like something,” you pressed. Sven’s face fell. He began trodding along the dirt path between two rose bushes. “Sven, wait!” You lifted your skirts—feeling a lot like the protagonist in one of Darcy’s Charlotte Brontë books—and scurried to block his path. “Sven, what was that? Was that your boyfriend?”

Chocolate eyes widened in alarm. “N-no! Erik is not my boyfriend. He would never—I could never…”

“Sven,” you said tenderly, noting the unshed tears in his eyes. “Do you like Erik?” He nodded once.

“It would never work,” he told you. “Erik is older than me and much more experienced. He is friends with my older sister, Kari, and probably only sees me as a sibling.”

“How old are you?” you asked.

“One hundred,” Sven answered. “Erik is one hundred and fifty. His birthday was last month.” You had no idea how to interpret the age difference compared to human years, but you did know one thing for sure.

“Sven, I think you’re mistaken. Erik was trying to ask you out just now.”

Sven lifted his head. “What?” Disbelief was abound in his expression. “Miss Dee, you flatter me. That cannot be true. Erik was just being polite.”

“Erik was trying to ask you out on a date,” you insisted, “and you turned him down. Didn’t you see how disappointed he was?” Sven seemed at a loss for words.

“H-he was going with a group,” he defended. “He said that himself; you heard him.”

You waved a hand dismissively. “He was saying that to make you more comfortable and remove the pressure. If you had said yes, I’m pretty sure he was going to come back later and tell you the rest of the group pulled out.” Sven’s head whipped to Erik’s retreating back, still visible a little way from where you stood. “Do you want to go with him?”

“Yes!” Sven nodded with enthusiasm. “I very much do.”

“Go,” you said. “Run after him and tell him you changed your mind. I’ll wait right here.” Sven gave a firm shake of his head.

“I cannot leave you. King Loki gave me explicit orders to look after you and I will not let him down.” His loyalty to his monarch would be impressive if you thought the king deserving of it.

“Sven,” you began, “go after Erik. I promise I’ll stay rooted to this spot until you return.” The boy did not look convinced. “Sven, go. The flowers can’t hurt me. I’ll be fine.”

Your reassurance seemed to do the trick. Sven promised to be back in a jiffy then took off, running with impressive speed towards Erik. You watched with a soft smile as he caught up to him. He called out to Erik, who spun around faster than a bullet could leave a gun. Sven began to say something to Erik, hands moving animatedly, and you stifled a laugh at his antics.

“Isn’t that sweet.” You stiffened. “I’m surprised the king allows such dalliances. Not sure what two boys can do together when it comes to procreating.” A shadow cast over you, swallowing up your smaller one with a six-foot-two frame packed with muscle and topped with a thick neck. His meaty paw descended on your shoulder and wrenched you around to face cold baby blues.

“Steve.”

ooOOoo

“You did what?” Loki rose to his feet in a panic. Thor sat across from him on the opposite side of the desk. The earlier pride on his face morphed into discomfort, and the blond god looked down at his twiddling thumbs. “Why in the Hel would you invite Steve Rogers to Asgard?”

“I thought he could help!” Thor insisted. “Jane said you needed to know how far the treachery went, and I thought we could lure him here and get information. You have your ways.” Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Thor, I had already devised a way to gain information.” He lifted a parchment of paper with paragraphs that were still being written. “I gave an enchanted pen to Bruce Banner and he has been feeding me insight since he left. You would have known this if you had cared to attend the meeting I had yesterday.”

Thor frowned. “I was busy.”

“Yes, yes.” Loki waved a hand. “I know all about your sulking and moping. Is that over with now? Because we have other pressing matters at hand.”

“Just let me talk to Steve,” Thor insisted. “He was my friend once. I’m sure I can get through to him.”

“You know as well as I do there is no getting through to men like that.” The statement shut Thor right up. His mouth closed with a snap, hands fisting on his breeches. “You should not have done this, brother. No good can come from him being here, from him being around Lady Dee.”

Loki’s mind went frantic in an attempt to figure out how to solve the situation. Steve Rogers could not find you. He could not come across you. There was too much at stake—namely your safety and the plan at hand—for him to allow that to happen. “Where is the captain?”

“I don’t know,” Thor shrugged. “He should be here by now.” Loki snapped the pencil he was holding in half.

“Guards!” he shouted at the door. “Guards, come here! Find Lady Dee and bring her to me, now!”

The doors opened, but instead of Dag and Harald, Erik the young healer came barging in. He was breathing hard, curls stuck to his forehead with sweat. His wild eyes darted around the room until they landed on Loki himself. “My king!”

“What is it, child?” A chill took hold of him, sliding down his spine in a way that made him shiver. “Spit it out.”

“It’s Lady Dee! You must come at once!”

ooOOoo

“Steve.” You stared up at the ex-golden boy of the previously known United States of America. He was the very last person you expected to run into on Asgard of all places. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Surprised to see me?” He gave you a piercing smile. “Thor invited me. Said it’s been a while since he’s seen me and wanted to catch up.” Steve took a step closer to you. “How are you?”

“Fine.” You said what was expected of you. “I’m fine. How’s Sharon?” Steve’s pink lips curled up in a little smile. You were trying to decipher if it was cruel or not when he said one simple word.

“Pregnant.”

Your blood ran cold. Disbelief contorted your features, pulling down the sides of your mouth and knitting your brows over the bridge of your nose. Even your hands fisted in the fairy-like material of your dress. “W-what?”

“Yup,” Steve popped the ‘p’ like he was talking about the weather and not the abuse of his once loved girlfriend. “Found out yesterday. You’re going to be an aunt.”

“Congratulations. I’m so happy for you,” you lied.

Steve lifted a blond brow. “Are you?” He took a step closer, forcing you back into the rose bush. Thorns pricked with warning against the bare flesh of your arm. “I found out she was taking birth control. She told me they were fertility pills, but after your little stunt stealing Bruce’s, I decided to get them tested by Dr. Cho. Turns out they weren’t fertility pills at all. She was purposely trying to keep us from getting pregnant.”

“I-I,” you bit your tongue, forcing yourself to relax so you could give him an answer that would not incriminate you or Bruce. “That’s terrible.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” His blue eyes were ice in his chiselled face. “You knew she was taking them—you and Nat. Why the fuck did you think it was okay to get involved in our affairs?”

“Steve,” you used his first name so rarely that the sound was foreign in your mouth and on your tongue. “Steve, I didn’t know. I swear it. I wasn’t even aware you were trying until James told me.”

“Funny you should mention Bucky. I expected him back a week ago, but instead, I got a letter from him saying his mission was extended.” Steve’s other foot joined the one in front, effectively placing himself less than a foot from your body. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“No.” You realised too late that your reply had come too quickly. Steve took his hands out of his pockets and let them hang loosely at his sides. It would have gone unnoticed by anyone else, but Sharon had described well Steve’s tells before he hit her.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I didn’t say anything,” you insisted. “Steve—”

“It’s Captain or Commander Rogers,” he snapped. “Or did you forget who the fuck you were talking to?”

You blinked away the tears forming in your eyes. “Captain,” you began, “I don’t know why James’ mission was extended. I’ve hardly spoken to anyone since I’ve been here.”

“Bullshit,” Steve hissed. “I know you said something. Tell me what it is before I beat it out of you.” He lifted a hand to stroke your face and you flinched. “Buck won’t mind if I discipline you while he’s away.”

“Ask the king.” You weren’t sure why you said it. King Loki was not your friend by any means, and your feelings towards the man bordered primarily on hatred, yet you could not help recalling his words on the bridge. He had promised you security in return for information. That aside, Sven and even Erik had alluded to him making your safety a priority. If nothing else, you were certain he would protect you from Steve. “King Loki will tell you why he sent James away.”

“Have you spoken to him?” Panic bled into Steve’s voice. “King Loki. What did you say to him?”

“Nothing. He hasn’t spoken to me outside of meeting me and telling me James won’t be back ye—Ah!” While you were speaking, Steve trailed his hand up into your hair and gave a mighty yank. Two of the clips fell out of your hair and clattered to the ground.

“You’re lying,” he snarled. He pressed you into the rose bush until the thorns ripped your skin. You let out a gasp of pain as the hot blood stained the leaves behind. “I know you’re lying. Buck has never had a mission extended so long. What did you say?”

“I told you I didn’t say anything. Let me go!” You struggled in his grasp. Steve held you fast, rendering you unable to twist out of his arms. “You’re hurting me! Let me go!”

“Let her go!” Steve’s eyes went wide. He jerked forward like he had been hit and dropped your arm. “Now step away from her. Step back!” Tears of relief fell down your face at the sight before you.

Sven stood behind Steve with his sword drawn, the tip of which was pressed between the captain’s shoulder blades. He pulled it back and made a wide circle until he was in front of you and Steve was a sword’s length away. “Miss,” Sven gazed over his shoulder at you. “Are you okay?”

“She’s fine—”

“I wasn’t speaking to you!” Sven thrust the tip towards Steve’s chest. The man’s hands went up in surrender. “I was speaking to Miss Dee.” You saw Steve lift a brow at the moniker. “Miss Dee,” Sven asked, directing his words at you. “Are you okay?”

“No,” you admitted. Malice overtook you as you recalled Steve’s words. “He was going to hit me.”

It was like flipping a switch. One minute Sven was blocking you from Steve, and the next he had him on the ground. His sword pressed into Steve’s chest, blood blooming against the grey of his shirt. “You were going to hit her? You like to hit women? Do you?”

“Buddy,” Steve began in a cavalier voice, seemingly uncaring about the sword at his chest. “She’s lying. We had this problem back home with her. She was always—”

“I saw you!” Sven pressed the sword deeper, drawing more blood from the wound. “I saw you roughing her up. Was my sight lying to me as well?”

“Sven!” Your hands snaked up his back to grip the neck of his tunic. Red from your arms polka-dotted the fabric. “Sven, you can’t kill him.”

“Why not?” His voice was coloured with anger. “Men like him deserve nothing good. To put your hands on a lady…You’re supposed to protect them!”

You regretted telling Sven Steve tried to hit you. This could not happen. Sharon would be killed if anything happened to Steve—baby or not. He was too high up in the chain of command for it to go unnoticed.

“Sven,” you tried again. “Sven, you can’t—”

“SVEN!” The king’s voice stole a sigh of relief from your lungs. He was stalking up the dirt path, blazing eyes set on the three of you. “Sven, release him!”

“My king?” Though there was uncertainty in his voice, his sword did not waver once. “You don’t understand; he was hurting her!”

The king did not even look at Steve. Instead, his eyes travelled to you, roaming over your form until they paused at the blood on your arm. “You are bleeding.” Now he looked at Steve. “Did you do that?”

The stricken look on Steve’s face would have been comical under different circumstances. Maybe you would have even laughed. “N-no,” Fear of the king stuttered his voice. “It was the thorns from the rose bushes.”

“Oh?” The king raised a brow. “And I suppose they just up and scratched her themselves?”

Steve’s face went white. You saw in his eyes the fright that had once been in you, fuelled by stories told about the darker king. It was satisfying to see some of their own terror reflected back at them. “I didn’t—”

There was a sickening crunch as Sven lifted his leg and brought his foot down on Steve’s face. The man’s head lolled to the side. Both you and the king shared a look—his one of amusement, yours one of shock—and then turned to Sven. “Sven!”

“Apologies, Miss Dee, your majesty.” He shook his booted foot to rid it of Steve’s blood. “He was—”

“No, I understand,” King Loki assured. “There is no need to apologise.” He motioned to the guards flanking him. “Take Captain Rogers to the dungeons. Ensure he stays quiet and does not escape.” The guards dragged Steve’s unconscious body off without another word. “Lady Dee.” Your eyes flickered to his. “Are you okay?”

You could not answer. You tried to, but your words caught on a sob as fresh tears fell down your face in rivulets. Both the king and Sven stared at you at first. Your head bowed with the weight of the encounter, hands coming up to swipe at the tears. Some of them rolled down your arms and stung the cuts with their saltiness.

“Sven, take Lady Dee to get cleaned up. Get her wounds bandaged and carry her to my study. Stay with her until I get there.”

“Come on,” you heard Sven say. He took a gentle hold of your uncut arm. “This way, Miss Dee.”

“I’m so sorry,” you sobbed. “This is all my fault!”

“It’s not your fault, Miss Dee. That man had no right to put his hands on you.”

Despite Sven’s reassurance, you could not get the tears to stop. You thought of Sharon, pregnant against her will. Of Nat, alone in a world with men that disrespected her. Your fingers clutched Sven’s tunic as you cried harder and harder. “It is my fault. I should have never—I just wanted to—”

“It’s alright, Miss Dee.” He turned you away from the king, leading you down the path you had come up. “Everything is going to be alright.”

“I just wanted to go outside...”

Any other words you tried to mutter were swallowed up by sobs.

ooOOoo

The minute Erik had burst in and told Loki you were being accosted, he barked at Thor to stay put and took off towards the gardens with the guards. Halfway to the flora, he remembered he did not have to run. One portal later found him on the palace greens in front of you, Sven, and a very surprised-looking Steve Rogers.

Loki had never met the man before, just heard tales from his brother. He could see why people used to look up to this man. The captain was the epitome of Hitler’s dream—a little too clean-cut for Loki’s tastes himself but attractive nonetheless. There was also the fact that Rogers was a massive, abusive cunt.

“My king.” Loki turned to his guard. “The prisoner is in the dungeons. Should we begin interrogating him?”

Your face flashed before his mind—the sallow, lifeless little thing that had wobbled into his study two weeks ago. He remembered the fear in your eyes and how quiet you stood next to your abuser. Then the picture shifted to you later that night, hurling items at him with that haunted look. You in the infirmary, challenging him and taunting him with a fire in you he did not expect.

“Where is my brother?”

“The king is in his room. He awaits your word,” Dag replied.

“Good.” Your voice rang in his mind: Sobs and cries and that one little sentence that clued him into yet another heartbreaking detail of your life. I just wanted to go outside. “Tell my brother nothing until I say so. I want to see the prisoner.” Loki materialised a pair of leather gloves. “I will bleed the information out of him myself.”

Chapter 9

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