#we must be willing and ready to pushback

[ursie]

To note as far as I know none of the main cast of Critical Role have issued a statement calling for a ceasefire or a free Palestine-I think it’s imperative that everyone who applauds Brennan and other members of dropout for doing so to increase the pressure on them. They must issue a statement and we as a fandom must push back on said statement if need be. Spam the chat, their hashtags, @ them, they must make their stance clear now. There is no excuse otherwise

[mswyrr]

This time around, they have initiated vast planning operations that have produced detailed policy plans, expertise, and an armada of ideological loyalists ready to go to work. Project 2025 is the best known among them, and in many ways the most important one, as it managed to unite much of the rightwing machinery in an effort to guarantee a more efficient, more ruthless regime. The result is a multi-level plan to execute what amounts to a comprehensive authoritarian takeover of American government. Broadly speaking, Project 2025 envisions a vast expansion of presidential power over the executive branch. It seeks to dismantle certain parts of government while simultaneously mobilizing and weaponizing others. And finally, Project 2025 is a promise to purge from government anyone who is not all in on the Trumpist project and replace them with loyalists and ideological conformists. Thereby, the Right seeks to transform American government into a machine that serves only two purposes: first, exacting revenge on what they call the “woke”, leftist, globalist enemy – and secondly, imposing a minoritarian reactionary vision of white Christian patriarchal order on society. No serious observer believes they will be able to implement everything they have planned exactly as they have planned it. But there is no question that the Trumpist Right is far better prepared than it was in 2017. Last time, the Trumpists didn’t even know how to write a presidential executive order; this time, they have already drafted dozens, probably hundreds. Where last time they had so much catching-up to do and were constantly shooting themselves in the foot, they will have a proper base from which to start come January. If you have been paying attention to who Trump is nominating to be part of his team, you might find it difficult to accept the idea of a more effective regime. Fox News extremist Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense; Matt Gaetz, one of the most buffoonish MAGA trolls in Congress, as Attorney General… doesn’t this sound more like “malevolence tempered by incompetence” on steroids? Surely, such personnel decisions must derail the Trumpist project?

I struggle to see much reason for optimism. While these people are manifestly unqualified, they are also extremely loyal to Trump. The most willing executioners of MAGA extremism. Don’t expect any kind of pushback from them. The competence won’t come from Hegseth or Gaetz, fair enough; but they may only have to serve as figureheads, as a cadre of more capable extremists around them and around Trump goes to work. With such personalities in the mix, there will undoubtedly be unforced errors. There will be chaos. But chaos is not the same as moderation. Chaos can also accelerate the harm. And in authoritarian movements, frustration and chaos are much more likely to lead to further radicalization. If the recent trajectory of the Right is any indication, that’s what we should be expecting. Every potential off-ramp, the Right has ignored; at every crossroads, they opted for ideological purity. The Trumpist worldview constantly privileges the more radical over the more “moderate” forces. Every crisis situation only heightens the sense of being under siege that’s animating so much of what is happening on the Right, legitimizing and amplifying calls to hit harder, more aggressively. There’s always permission to escalate, hardly ever to pull back.

The circumstances favor the Trumpists Crucially, a new Trump regime would also operate under conditions that are vastly more favorable to its political cause. Almost all the factors that inhibited the extreme Right during the first Trump presidency are no longer present; all the guardrails that kept Trump and the more extreme rightwing factions in check after 2017 have been vastly weakened or destroyed entirely. First of all, during Trump I, the courts played a key role in opposing the radical Right. But several federal courts are now in the hands of Trumpist judges. Jay Willis and Madiba Dennie over at Balls and Strikes expect that by the end of his term, Trump will have picked about half of the federal judges across the country. A judiciary remade in his image. And most importantly, Trump can now count on a hard-right 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. Let’s remember this was not the case until Amy Coney Barrett’s ascension in late October 2020, towards the very end of the Trump presidency. The 6-3 Court is a game changer. Not that we needed more evidence, but the Court’s almost unprecedentedly extreme ruling to declare Trump functionally immune from criminal prosecution should have erased any lingering hope that the Roberts Court “would not go THAT far.” And we have never even seen this Court operate with Trump in the White House, with a Republican trifecta.

tl;dr

[aquadraco20]

To be clear I am a progressive who voted for Harris. This post is my attempt to understand why people voted for Trump, who I despise and think is a threat to many people.

Obviously the results are a shock for a lot of reasons, namely that so many people are willing to ignore all the negative aspects of Trump to the point of wanting him to have the single most powerful position in America, and to literally put the lives of their friends, family, and neighbors at risk.

I've been thinking about this a lot and talking to people a lot and reading what I can to make sense of it all- why did Kamala lose and how can we prevent this from happening again?

I heard two big reasons,

1. Kamala did talk enough about how she was going to achieve her goals and the scope of her goals was too narrow and

2. America wasn't ready for a woman to be president.

But another thing I've been thinking about is social media and algorithms. We unknowingly created echo chambers for ourselves.

This means we developed the false belief that more people were going to vote for Kamala, and we didn't even get the chance to entertain the priorities of people who thought voting for Trump was a good idea.

So when the polls came in and said it was 50/50, we didnt believe them. When the results came in, people were claiming that Trump cheated (very plausible), ballots weren't being counted and people couldnt vote because of bomb threats. And to be clear, all of these things did happen. But they still dont make up for margin that trump won by. If our perspective was correct, Kamala wouldve won by a landslide and all these things wouldnt have made that much of a difference.

People are upset because everything is so expensive, and trump took advantage of that and made a scapegoat. Things are expensive because immigrants are taking people's jobs, or that we're spending too much on regulation and climate action, or that we're too reliant on importing things from China. And his plan was to deport immigrants, cut regulations, and impose tariffs.

This is a plan. It's a very flawed plan, but his followers dont realize that its corporate greed and monopolies that are keeping prices high, and its easier to listen to a guy who is a charismatic talker and believe what he says, because hey, this guy is rich and he's been in business for years, and it's easy to hate people who you dont feel connected to and blame them for your problems than to research every claim he makes and realize that things are super complicated and difficult to solve, especially when congress keeps getting in the way.

There's a lot of lies but also some half truths, but people are overworked, underpaid, tired and angry. They dont have the time and energy to research all the things he talks about. They just hear that he's going to make things better for you (white, cis, hetero) people and he's going to get rid if the people who make you feel uncomfortable, and he's saying all the hateful things that the uneducated, frustrated, and fearful side of you thinks but cant say outloud without pushback and he gets away with it. He survived a gunshot. People say he committed crimes and sexually assaulted people but he still walks free so he must be innocent because cops are good and the criminal justice system is functional and only bad guys like drug dealers and thieves go to jail.

And purity culture!! The dems are all about pronouns and womens rights and if you don't do something correctly than someone's going to dig up something you did and cancel you and now you cant watch Rosanne on tv anymore. So if you feel like you cant do anything right and the beliefs that you had for years are suddenly wrong and now theirs all these people giving themselves titles that you dont understand, you aren't going to feel a connection or even care about these people. You might even think they're crazy, or being manipulated, or that taking away their rights is actually good for them.

All the moreso when Trump and his cronies and his media paint these people, who you dont understand, don't care about, and never interact with are painted that way, and then backed up with more half truths and lies.

Trump supporters have been brainwashed, and nonvoters and moderate white men were pulled to trump by he least offensive policy ideas.

So how do we fix this? Well, if its safe to do so, we need to start talking to people about reproductive health care, and what being a trans kid actually involves. And we need to learn more about the topics that trump supporters think are important, like the economy and immigration, and we need to talk to our family, friends, and neighbors about them.

I'm not saying that democrats need to sacrifice their beliefs and move to the right. But we do need to leave our echo chambers and talk to people or this will only get worse.

[kerikaaria]

Second Chance: Part 2

(Yoongi x reader) Short series, Hybrid!au, Hybrid!reader

Genre (whole fic): (PG15) Angst and fluff In this part: Fluff and angst

Warnings (whole fic): Mentions of euthanasia on hybrids, mentions of mistreatment and abuse (including PAST sexual)

WC: 13.1k

Description: As a rare predator hybrid, you are considered dangerous and your days left in this life are numbered—unless a human decides to take mercy on you and is willing to take you into their home. But after three years of having people walk past your window without paying you any attention, your hope of that happening has all but run dry. You just hope your brother can get out of here in time, even if you can’t.

A/N - Thank you to @suhdays​, @birbdae​, and @jeonsbun​ for beta-reading for me ^^

A/N - Just like in Part 1, there are a few times “N/n” is used to mean “nickname.”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“Come eat, Y/n. Hoseok said dinner is ready,” Seokjin gently said, trying to coax you into the kitchen where Hoseok was currently setting the table.

“We shouldn’t eat at the table with him,” you whispered. “And why do you keep calling him by his name?”

“Because he asked me to,” Jin said. “I know this must be hard for you to get used to, but we don’t need to follow those rules that our last Masters had.”

“Hybrids aren’t supposed to be equal to humans, Jinnie," you insisted. "You know that.”

Seokjin sighed. He had expected that you would have some pushback on this new lifestyle that the two of you could have with Hoseok; you were the one who suffered the most from your previous owners, afterall. But it had been four days since Hoseok adopted you and you still weren’t able to feel comfortable quite yet.

He had hoped that things being easy between you and Yoongi would have helped you not be so distant and had healed a lot of the damaging mindset you both had been taught and raised with. However, when he asked you about it in hushed words at night when the two of you lay in bed, he gathered from your responses that in your mind, Yoongi was a one-in-a-million exception that fit right alongside Jimin.

“It’s okay, hyung,” Hoseok said. “No need to push her. I’m sure she’ll come around when she's ready to.”

Hoseok handed Seokjin your plate, knowing that you would feel nervous if he got too close. That was a mistake he had made not too long after you woke up your first day here. He believed that you'd get used to him as easily as your brother did, and had very quickly been proven wrong. But he was more than willing to give you the time and space you needed to become more comfortable with him and in his home.

Seokjin walked into the living room with you, placing your plate on the coffee table in front of where you had come to designate as your spot on the couch. Once you sat down, you waited for Jin to sit next to you only to realize he didn't bring his own plate with him.

"Where's your plate, Jinnie?" you asked.

"I'm going to eat in the kitchen with Hoseok today," he carefully said.

You felt panic rise in your chest. "You're not eating with me?" you asked.

"You could eat with us if you'd like," Seokjin said, threading a hand through your hair to try to help calm you down. "I just want to eat with Hoseok today, okay?"

"But," your eyes nervously flitted between Jin's face and the table in the kitchen, visible from the couch through the open archway, where you could see your owner setting two plates down. It wasn't like you wanted to have a monopoly on Jin. You could easily see that he already had a connection with Hoseok despite your own hesitance to trust that he was completely different from the previous two owners you'd had just yet. But you just needed time to become comfortable, and Jin was your anchor and made you feel safe. No matter what, he was always there for you. He had always protected you to the best of his ability, would even take hits for you.

It was easy to sense your anxiousness, heightened senses letting Seokjin easily tell that your heart was speeding up. He felt really bad about doing this, knew it was going to be a bit of a difficult step to take, but he had to do it. The best way for you to understand that Hoseok was a good person would be to let you see for yourself that things were different.

"I'll be right there," Jin said in a soft voice, pointing at the table. "You can come with me if you want, but if not you will still be able to see me. I promise it'll be okay."

You still looked nervous, but he could see the gears in your head working as the physical signs of your anxiousness began to subside.

"I'm going to go in the kitchen now, okay?" he asked, sensing that it was probably safe to leave you but wanting to let you feel more in control of the situation by asking you instead of telling.

It took you a moment, but you softly nodded. Jin smoothed down your hair and placed a kiss on your forehead before retreating slowly, feeling your eyes on him as he walked away.

He was right. It wasn't like anything was going to happen to you while you sat here by yourself eating dinner. And you trusted him more than anything, so you knew that he wouldn't tell you that things were okay if they weren't. But out of all the people who you had encountered in your life, incredibly few were actually trustworthy.

How you had even attached to Yoongi so easily was a mystery to you, but you figured it had something to do with the fact that it was a rare instance that you got to be with your brother at the shelter, and for two years no one else had been even a little kind to you. Then in came Yoongi with that soft smile and sweet words, things you craved so much that you soaked it up like a sponge.

That wasn't to say that you felt Yoongi didn't deserve your trust. While you may not have believed he could do anything at the time, it was now impossible to ignore how much effort Yoongi put in to ensure that your last days weren't in that shelter. And in that same vein, a lot could have been said for Hoseok's case, since he was the one who hurried to the shelter last minute to adopt you barely in time. Seokjin had told you about why it took so long, and how everything had lined up just perfectly. If it had taken one more day for the license to go through, or if they had taken you to the vet just one day earlier, there would have been nothing Hoseok could have done for you. So it absolutely wasn't lost on you that Hoseok was obviously more caring than your past owners. Neither of them would have made any effort to save you how he had done. Well, maybe your second Master, but that would have only been because you were a popular favorite and made him money.

You stayed in the living room to eat, but watched your brother in the kitchen. Hoseok had sat right next to him and was easily engaging him in conversation as they ate, smiling and laughing. Seokjin looked so happy and comfortable with him.

You weren't sure how long it'd take you to let your protective walls come down, but if there was one thing you knew as you observed the two in the kitchen, it was that you wanted to feel as happy as Jin looked.

One thing you had surprisingly little trouble with since being adopted was sleeping. Sure, you woke up at least once a night in a sweat, memories of the other day and drugs running through your system haunting you. But your brother was always right there, already holding you tight and assuring you that you were safe. So when the nightmare left you alone, you were able to sleep the best that you had in years.

By the time you would stir awake, Hoseok was either just about to or had already left for work, leaving you and Jin in the house by yourselves. This was the time when you felt the most relaxed and comfortable ever since coming here. Getting to be with your brother, no wall keeping you separated, and not worrying about learning to be comfortable around Hoseok.

Although today, you couldn't help but feel a little restless as the two of you cuddled on the couch and watched a show on TV that Jin proclaimed as his favorite.

Ever since dinner last night, you couldn't help but feel unsettled. Torn between your instincts yelling at you not to relax around your owner—a human who is supposed to be above you—and your desire to trust and get close to him. You of course knew Jin would never lead you astray, but after the years spent in that place, the time living day by day on the street, and then how poorly the shelter treated you, your instincts were rather hard to ignore at this point.

But seeing your brother so carefree and relaxed last night made you crave to be the same, not remembering the last time you could truly be worry-free.

When the door to the house opened, your owner having arrived home from work, you felt yourself subconsciously stiffen. You tried to not let it show too much, actively trying to work against your pesky instincts in an effort to make sure Hoseok didn't feel as concerned about making you uncomfortable.

Seokjin's grip around you loosened as he prepared to greet Hoseok when he would inevitably come into the living room. He probably expected you to move away from him as you had every day prior, distancing yourself so that Hoseok could approach your brother. However, you stayed right where you were, fists clenched to try to hold in some of the tension you felt from the need to keep away and protect yourself.

As the human's footsteps approached the room, you silently reprimanded the thoughts that insisted that you needed to keep your distance, that Hoseok wasn't safe. You had no reason to think he wasn't. No, you knew he wasn't a danger to you. You had more than enough observations with how he treated Seokjin to back that up and you were going to fight through this.

You kept your eyes locked on your hands, gripping tightly to the fabric of your pants as Hoseok entered the room. Despite not looking up, you could hear that he stopped for just a moment before finishing his path to the couch, slower than he had been walking before.

"Welcome home," Jin said in a light voice that must have been punctuated by his smile.

"Thank you, hyung," Hoseok responded, now standing next to the couch you were both sitting on. The light chuff from Jin let you know that his ears were receiving attention in greeting. “Did you guys have a nice day?”

“We did,” Seokjin responded, sounding a little sleepy. Both of you were huge suckers for physical affection.

When Jin leaned back toward you as he relaxed into the comfort of Hoseok's attention, you lifted your head up enough to see the smile that sat on your owner's face while he stared at Jin. Just a moment later his gaze flitted to you, and while his eyes widened from having not expected to meet your own, his smile didn't falter at all. In fact, it seemed to become even softer.

"Hi, noona," he greeted.

Your instincts were still screaming at you in your head, but you urged them as far back as you could to respond. "H-Hello," you said in a very quiet voice.

Hoseok's smile widened once more, thrilled that you were talking directly to him for what was probably the very first time.

"What did you do today?" he asked, still looking at you.

You glanced at your brother when he lifted away from you, Hoseok no longer petting him. Jin gave you a slight nod, encouraging you to answer.

"We- we mostly just watched TV," you replied.

“Oh?” Hoseok responded. “Is it that crime show that Jin says is his favorite?”

You nodded in confirmation. “It’s interesting.”

“Yeah, it is,” Hoseok agreed. “What show is your favorite, Y/n?”

“U-um,” you felt flustered, not really having an answer. “I don’t r-really have a favorite ye-yet.” Starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, you partially hid behind Jin.

“We’ve pretty much just watched the shows I recommend,” Seokjin replied.

“Well, you should let her browse through the shows, too,” Hoseok said. “Let her find stuff she likes too.”

Jin nodded before turning to you. “Okay. You can find a show you want to watch tomorrow, N/n.”

“Okay,” you mumbled in response.

Hoseok gave another smile before backing away a bit. “I’m going to go get comfortable and then make dinner, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Jin said, smiling back at him.

When Hoseok was out of the room, you relaxed. You were still feeling really nervous, but you could swear that you felt just slightly less anxious about Hoseok now.

Jin turned slightly to engulf you in his arms, tucking his head into your neck. “That was really good, N/n. I’m proud of you for doing such a good job.”

“It was hard,” you mumbled into his hair.

“I know,” he said. “But you still tried your best and you did so, so good. I’m so happy you’re trying.”

You chuffed, feeling proud that you made your brother happy. The two of you sat on the couch snuggling for a moment before Hoseok came out of his room, on the phone.

“I’d love to say yes,” you heard him say to the person on the other line, “but I don’t know if it’s a good idea, especially to bring Jungkook.”

You turned to look at him, cocking your head to the side in curiosity of what he was talking about. Jin followed your actions as well.

“You know how I adopted two hybrids recently?” Hoseok asked, quieter. Probably trying to keep you guys from hearing, or at least paying attention. But he’d have to be in another room behind a closed door for you not to hear with your strong senses. “One of them is still anxious at home, not used to me yet. I don’t think another human and his hybrid being in the house would be a good idea for her.”

You couldn’t help but feel a little warm at the idea that Hoseok was concerned about your comfort. Yet again confirming what your instincts were still having trouble accepting.

“I’m sorry, Jimin.” Both you and Jin perked up when you heard the name. “Maybe I could come over there? They’re brother and sister and are fine being alone together in the house, so it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Jimin?” you asked, bringing Hoseok’s attention your way. That name was most definitely familiar to you.

“Oh. Yeah, Jimin is my friend,” he said to you.

“What’s Jimin’s last name?” Jin asked.

“Park,” Hoseok answered easily. “Why?”

You felt excited, and sensed that Jin was too.

“Have you told him our names?” your brother asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Hoseok looked a bit confused, but mostly curious now. “Why all the questions?”

“Tell him our names,” you said. “Please?”

He was most definitely primarily confused now, but still did as you asked. “Um, they’re asking me to tell you their names. I’m not sure why. But uh, the hybrids I adopted are called Seokjin and Y/n.”

He was silent for a moment while he listened to the Jimin on the other line, his brows furrowing at the response. “Yeah. I don’t think I mentioned their species to you before. How did you know that?” He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment, cringing. Jimin on the other end was loud enough that you could hear him, but not quite what he was saying. “He wants me to put him on speaker,” Hoseok said, now talking to the two of you. “Is that okay?”

You quickly nodded, excited that maybe your suspicion was right, while Jin vocalized the affirmation.

Hoseok followed directions once more, holding the phone in front of him. “Okay, you’re on speaker now.”

“Jin-hyung? Y/n-noona?” Jimin’s voice came through the phone. It was definitely more mature than the last time you had heard it and distorted through the device, but there was no mistaking that that was your Jimin.

“Minnie?” you responded.

“Oh my gosh, is it really you guys?” Jimin asked.

“Yes,” Jin responded for you. “Yes, it’s us. And we know it’s you, we’d recognize your voice anywhere.”

“I can’t believe this,” Jimin breathed out, a light laugh sitting on his voice. “What are the chances?”

“Okay, anyone want to fill me in here?” Hoseok asked, eyebrows raised.

“Hyung, you remember the hybrids I told you about when we were kids?” Jimin asked Hoseok. “The brother and sister tiger hybrids that I grew up with? Their names were Seokjin and Y/n.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “The ones that your parents sold when we were teens?”

“Yes,” Jimin confirmed. “I can’t believe this. I know the chances of this being a different sibling pair of tiger hybrids with the same names are basically impossible, but Hobi hyung can you turn on video? If they’re okay with it. I just- I need to see it with my own eyes.”

Hoseok looked to the two of you for permission, which you both easily gave. “Would you use your video too?” Jin asked.

“Of course,” Jimin responded.

Hoseok obeyed once more, adding video to the call and turning the phone around so you could see the screen. A moment later, an older version of a familiar face appeared, smiling brightly.

“It really is you guys,” Jimin said. “I can’t- Oh my gosh. I have to come over now. Can I?”

“Yes!” you immediately responded.

You heard a voice in the background of Jimin’s end of the call. “Hyung?” he said. “You seem really happy.”

“I am, Kookie,” Jimin answered, turning to the source of the voice off camera. “The hybrids Hobi hyung adopted are the ones that I grew up with. That my parents sold before they got you.”

“Seriously?” the voice asked, sounding a little bit closer.

“Yeah,” Jimin said before turning back to the phone. “Guys, if I come over, is it okay if I bring Kookie? He’s my hybrid. He’s a German Shepherd, but I promise he’s friendly. He won’t cause fights or anything. He knows that place is your territory and won’t try challenging you or anything. I’d really like for you guys to meet him if you are okay with that.”

You looked to Jin to see what he thought, and when he met your gaze and smiled, you knew that both of you were okay with that. “Yeah, that’s fine,” you said. “We’d love to meet him. I’m so excited to see you again, Minnie.”

“I’m really excited too!” he exclaimed.

“Well, looks like we’re having a reunion at my house,” Hoseok chuckled. “Alright guys, sorry but I really should get to making dinner now. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, Jimin.”

“See you guys tomorrow!” Jimin said cheerfully, waving at the screen before the call ended.

You couldn’t wait.

Hoseok informed you later that he and Jimin worked together, and that after a quick stop home to pick up Jungkook, he’d be here not too long after Hoseok got home himself. You didn’t have enough courage to sit at the table with Hoseok and Jin for dinner, but you did feel just a tad more comfortable than the previous day. Especially when your mind was on tomorrow.

You and Jin could hardly contain your excitement over being reunited with Jimin after so many years. The two of you spent the day using that energy to clean up around the house, making sure it was perfect for your special guest. Hoseok was a very organized person, so it wasn’t like the house was by any means a mess. But between the two of you, you made sure that there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere and everything was perfectly in its place.

When Hoseok got home, he was surprised to see the two of you running around the house, ensuring last minute that you hadn’t missed anything. He chuckled to himself, giving Jin his usual greeting pet as he passed him in the hallway, and throwing a smile your way which you easily returned. You were way too excited to be anxious about being around Hoseok today.

It felt like an eternity, but was really only about fifteen minutes later that there was a knock at the door. Jin held your hand, keeping either of you from rushing to the door and overwhelming the hybrid that you could already smell on the other side. Hoseok calmly approached the door to let them in himself.

Your tail twitched behind you, unable to contain your nerves at seeing your first friend, the first human you ever trusted, after you had thought you’d never see him again when his parents sold you years ago.

As soon as the door opened, you could see Jimin searching around to find you, a smile brightening his face once he did. You were just about to rush to envelop him in a hug, wanting to scent him in an expression of how much you missed him, how happy you were to be able to see him again, when the scent hit you.

The scent that let you know that Jimin was mated, that another hybrid had lay their claim on him. Being able to smell without the interference of a wall between you, it was quickly obvious that it was the hybrid Jimin brought with him who had mated him. Jin hesitated beside you as well, both of you unsure if you were allowed to express any kind of affection toward him with his hybrid mate there.

But the worry was quickly dissolved when Jimin made his way right over to you and pulled both of you into a tight hug, saying “I missed you guys so much.”

You eyed the dog hybrid who slowly approached the three of you, making sure he didn’t show any signs of aggression before making any moves. But when he shyly smiled back, you knew that at least this level of affection was considered fine and relaxed into Jimin’s hold, still being careful not to scent.

“We thought we’d never see you again,” Jin said.

“I know, me too,” Jimin replied, his grip tightening just a bit before releasing. When he pulled back, you could see tears starting to pool in his eyes. “I was so worried when my parents said they sold you guys. I had no idea who bought you or what happened to you. But I guess I didn’t really need to worry.”

You smiled tightly, not wanting to make him upset, but not being able to recall your second owner without a shiver running down your spine.

Behind Jimin, the hybrid cleared his throat.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Kookie,” Jimin said, moving away from you and Seokjin. “This is my hybrid, Jungkook. Jungkook, this is Seokjin-hyung and Y/n-noona.”

Jimin linked his arm through Jungkook’s as the hybrid bowed slightly. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Jimin-hyung.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jungkook,” you said, smiling as you took a good look at him. He was tall, almost as tall as Jin, and looked really strong. You could tell that Jimin felt safe with him, and were curious to learn more about the two of them. You remembered from the call yesterday Jimin said something about his parents buying Jungkook, but he was clearly now Jimin’s hybrid and mate and there were a lot of questions left in the middle for you. Particularly about his parents.

Your little group followed Hoseok into the living room when he suggested that you all sit in there to chat. Jimin sat down first, and you were kind of shocked to see Jungkook go to sit at the loveseat instead of on the couch right next to his mate. You looked at the empty spot on the couch, tail twitching as you contemplated if you should sit there.

“You guys should sit with Jimin-hyung,” Jungkook said when both you and Seokjin hesitated. “I can tell how much you guys miss him.”

“But, you’re-” Jin started, but stopped when Jungkook shook his head.

“It’s fine,” the dog hybrid said. “I know I can trust you guys with him.”

You looked back to Jimin, who reached out for your hand, gently guiding you to sit next to him. “It’s okay,” he said. “He’s not very territorial.” He reached out to Jin as well. “Protective, sure. But he knows that you guys were like family to me, and trusts me to have good judgement, too.”

Hoseok sat on the loveseat with Jungkook, the hybrid snuggling into his arm. You felt all of the tension from being worried about overstepping dissipate due to both Jimin’s words and seeing how easygoing Jungkook seemed. You relaxed into Jimin’s side, letting out a happy chuff at smelling his familiar scent.

“What’s the story with you and Jungkook?” Seokjin asked first. His posture on the other side of Jimin resembled yours.

“My parents adopted him not too long after they sold you guys,” Jimin said, reaching his hands up to run through your hair and scratching at the base of your ears. “I was so mad at them when I found out about you. I hoped you knew that I had no clue. If I did, I would have fought them tooth and nail not to do it. And if I failed, I at least would have made sure to say goodbye to you. But I didn’t even get to do that, and I was so angry. It had been about six months or so of me being a moody teenager and hanging that over their heads before they decided that getting a new hybrid would settle me down.”

“They also thought that getting a ‘guard dog’”—Jungkook used a hand to make air quotes around the phrase—“would help keep him in line. But I’m not really aggressive at all, never have been. I knew other German Shepherds that were, but I’ve just always channeled that part of me into protecting people I care about.”

“They still treated him pretty much the same way they did you guys,” Jimin continued. “Like he was some kind of servant, but then a glorified pet whenever it suited them. Showed him off to their friends and ordered him around all the time. They asked him to do things he was uncomfortable with, too. Treated him like a showpiece sometimes. By that point, you know I was a teen, so I had understood more of what was going on and was able to keep them from being too harsh, but I knew that as soon as I left for college I couldn’t help him anymore.”

You curled further into Jimin’s side, remembering your own time at the Park’s. They had adopted you and Seokjin when you were around 9 years old and Jimin was 6. Jimin was fascinated by the two of you at first, but he never treated you poorly. He always wanted to play with you and acted like you were his real siblings.

But his parents had different ideas. They gave you a small room to share, hardly bigger than a closet. You didn’t even get offered a larger room as you got older, despite the fact that there were plenty of rooms in their big house that weren’t being used. They would let it go for the first few years when they’d catch you playing with Jimin here and there, but as you all got older you’d get scolded more and more for it.

When they had events to go to or friends came to visit them, they’d show you off and you were expected to stay silent and listen to everything they asked of you the whole time. If you acted out or disobeyed even a little, the punishments would be worse than any others. And when you were at home, you were expected to spend the day cleaning. They had some hired help, primarily a cook and gardener. But as for anything in regard to cleaning, that was something you two were expected to do as soon as you were adopted.

Jin had always been a little taller than you, but at that age it was rather dumb to expect your little legs and arms to be able to reach the high-up shelves or cabinets that needed cleaning. You’d climb on each other’s shoulders to reach those spots once you learned that even that was expected of you.

So they didn’t exactly treat you the best. As Jimin said they expected of Jungkook as well, you were like servants at home and glorified pets to show off outside of the house or with their friends. But it took Jimin quite a few years to realize how his parents had treated you, having been quite young even compared to you when you were adopted. Once he did realize, he felt terrible and he really did try to help you out, but he could really only do so much.

Then, when they felt like you were being too much of a bad influence on their son and no longer had any use for you, they got rid of you. Didn’t care who took you off their hands as long as they were paid well. The two of you were just barely 17 when that happened, Jimin only 14 years old.

Despite not liking how his parents treated you, Jimin was always wonderful. He’d always been sweet, enjoyed spending time with you both, and treated you just like he would have any other friends or family. It may not have been perfect, but that was still the best place you had lived in your lives, at least before Hoseok adopted you.

“Jungkook and I…” Jimin started, seeming to think hard about his words. “He was when I realized I liked boys. I didn’t really notice before then, or care to, I guess. And it wasn’t like it happened right away, but after a while I realized that I cared about him differently than how I cared about you guys. I knew my parents would be mad, so I kept it a secret. Jungkook was shy about it at first, but he said he was able to tell because of my scent that I had… less than platonic feelings for him. But he felt the same so we would sneak kisses and hold hands when we were alone.” Jimin smiled at the memories.

“I tried convincing my parents to let Jungkook come with me when I went to college, but they refused,” Jimin continued. “I was able to stall going for a year, and then before I went the following year, Jungkook and I decided that I should be his mate. It was a little drastic at the time, and ideally I probably would have wanted to wait a little longer before dedicating myself to one person like that, but I was desperate. I had heard my parents planning to sell him, and we just couldn’t handle the thought of being separated. So, he marked me as his mate, and then they had no choice but to let him come with me.”

That was one of the other hybrid laws that had been passed – that a hybrid and their mate couldn’t be forced to separate if it was consensual on both ends. It was really a great law overall, but there were times when people attempted to abuse it and the cases had to be investigated. Sometimes, a human would force a hybrid to mate with them to not allow them to leave. But those usually end up happening when the human was already at risk of losing the hybrid so the cases were easily taken care of and tended to work in the hybrid’s favor more often than not.

Being separated from a mate for a long time could be difficult for a hybrid, causing their instincts to scream to be with them and making them distressed. But, if a hybrid ended up being mated to someone they didn’t care about or that they felt unsafe with, survival instincts would override their mating ones and they wouldn’t have an issue staying away. So in the cases when humans attempted to abuse the law, the hybrid wouldn’t have any problem staying away from them, and eventually the mate bond would dissolve and they could start a new one if they ever wished to.

“It didn’t really go over that well,” Jungkook chimed in. “They were so mad. Well, not so much mad as disgusted with us. They called Jimin all these names, and I- well, I’m just glad I have a lot of self-control because I really felt like clawing their faces off when I heard them insulting him and our relationship. And then they told him that he wasn’t their son anymore.”

Jimin nodded solemnly, grip in your hair tightening a little. “And they really weren’t lying. They refused to give me any money or help and told me ‘Good luck succeeding on your own.’ Luckily for me, my first year of college was already paid for, including an apartment near the campus for me. They couldn’t take it back, so I still got to start and I just made sure to get a job and started saving up so I could keep going. And I really did have good luck. Still got a great education and started up my own business with Hobi hyung that’s doing really well. Plus, I have Jungkook with me.”

During the pause that followed, Jin quietly asked, “Do you regret it?”

Jimin turned to him, brows furrowed. “Regret what? Mating with Jungkook?”

Jin flattened his ears as he glanced at the dog hybrid before gently nodding.

“Not at all,” Jimin answered without hesitation. “It may have been a bit early to do it at the time, but I love Jungkook with all my heart and if we hadn’t done it then, we still would have years ago. We just didn’t really have much of a choice, if we wanted to stay together.”

“But then your parents still tried tearing us apart,” Jungkook said, burrowing into Hoseok’s shoulder for comfort as his scent soured in distress over whatever memories were coming to mind.

“Come here, baby,” Jimin said to Jungkook, reaching an arm out toward him. Jungkook uncurled from Hoseok’s side, approaching the couch. You moved to the side a bit to give room for Jungkook before Jimin pulled him into his lap. “The important thing is that they couldn’t.”

“What happened?” you tentatively asked.

“They submitted a report saying that I forced him to mate me,” Jimin said. Jungkook looked small as he tucked himself further into Jimin’s embrace. “In all honesty, I had wanted to try to look for the two of you, see what happened to you and maybe adopt you if I could. But once a report like that enters the system, it takes a long time to no longer affect your record. They investigated and of course came to the conclusion that it was consensual and we were happy together, but even to this day, that mark against my record still prohibits me from looking into adopting any other hybrids.”

“The good thing that came out of it is that your parents ended up getting blacklisted themselves,” Jungkook said, a smile stretching on his face. “We submitted counterclaims about how they treated me, and Jimin’s accounts of how you two had been treated before. What really caught their eye from that was the fact that when they sold you, it wasn’t a legal transaction. The name they transferred you to on your files was an alias and there was no way to track it. They should have done it through the official system to ensure that didn’t happen. So that on top of our accounts of how they treated me and you two, they’re not allowed to do anything related to hybrids ever again.”

You felt relieved at that knowledge. While you knew from personal experience that there were far worse people out there, they still weren’t people who should have hybrids.

“Which is one of the reasons why I’ve been worried about what happened to you guys after they sold you,” Jimin said, frowning. “They said that it was mostly people involved in black markets and who don’t treat hybrids well that hid themselves in those kinds of transactions and with aliases. And especially with your breed, they didn’t like the look of it. But after my case was done they couldn’t keep me informed and I could never look into it myself.”

You inched a bit closer to Jimin, nervous of touching too much with Jungkook right there, but couldn’t help wanting the comfort. When Jungkook gave no sign of wanting you to stay away, you snuggled into Jimin’s arm, releasing just a bit of your scent but not too much to let it linger on him.

Jungkook straightened up a bit, and you flinched, concerned that you did cross a line. But instead of being defensive, he looked at you concerned. “You smell distressed,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

Jimin looked at you, then turned to Jin who must have had a similar expression to you. “Hyung? Noona?” Jimin asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“It was a black market,” your brother mumbled into Jimin’s shirt. “He wasn’t a good person.”

You instantly felt both Jimin and Jungkook tense up, while Hoseok’s scent turned bitter as well. Everyone remained silent for a moment, the others in the room processing the new information.

“What-” Hoseok was the one to finally speak the question they were all curious about. “What did they do?”

“Was a Hybrid House,” you said in a small voice. Jimin let go of Jungkook and wrapped an arm each around you and Seokjin, holding you as tightly as he could. “We were there for a while. Not sure how long, though. Days blended together a lot. I guess it was about three or four years before we managed to escape.”

“House?” Jungkook asked, getting off Jimin’s lap so he could look at you all more clearly. “What’s a Hybrid House?”

“It’s not a good place,” Hoseok answered. “I have never been to one, and never will be. But I’ve heard about them. It’s-” you could feel his gaze on you and Jin before he breathed deeply and continued. “It’s a place where people will pay to receive… certain services from hybrids.”

“Certain servi-” Jungkook started, before his face lit up in realization. “Oh.” He turned back to the three of you, now snuggled even closer together on the couch, sadness tainting his scent. “Oh my gosh.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jimin said, voice thick with emotion. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Seokjin assured him, tucking in closer to him. “At the very least, we still had each other. We were put in the same room together and we took care of each other.”

A heavy silence hung in the room for a few long moments before Jimin asked, “How did you get out?”

“They forgot to lock the door one night,” you said. “Jinnie was the one who noticed. So when we knew they were all asleep, we snuck out.”

“We almost got caught, too,” Jin added. “But even though we weren’t in the best of shape, there was no way they could catch up to two tiger hybrids.”

“We were living on the street for a little while before Hybrid Patrol picked us up and sent us to that shelter,” you added. “Probably about half a year?” You glanced over to Jin, asking for confirmation.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he confirmed. “No way to know for sure since we didn’t exactly have a way of keeping track of time.”

“And then you were in the shelter for three years,” Hoseok supplied.

Jin nodded. “And now we’re here. And Hoseok is really amazing, and now we even get to see you again, Jimin. This is the happiest I’ve ever been.” Both you and Jin chuffed happily at his words.

You could feel Jimin smile as the tension in the room started dissipating. “Hobi hyung said something about one of you still being uncomfortable?”

“Oh.” Jin sat a little straighter. “It’s Y/n. But don’t blame her, she’s been through so much.”

“The both of you have,” Jimin supplied.

“I mean yeah, but she had it even worse,” Jin insisted. “There was nothing I could do to help her when-”

“Don’t worry about it,” you interjected quickly, throwing Jin a look that told him you didn’t want him to continue. It already haunted you enough every day and in your nightmares, but there was nothing anyone could do so you didn’t want them to feel any worse for you about it.

But that definitely didn’t stop the rest from being curious.

“What happened, noona?” Jimin gently asked you.

You just hid your face in his shoulder, shaking your head. “It’s personal,” you said.

Jimin sighed, but said, “Okay,” as he brought his other arm around to fully engulf you in a hug.

Being fully embraced, you instinctively started to scent Jimin, but quickly stopped in your tracks, the scent of him being mated reminding you it was a bad idea.

But then, “If it makes you more comfortable, it’s okay to scent him, noona,” Jungkook offered. “I don’t mind, really. I know you’re not trying to claim him, and to be honest your and hyung’s scents are really nice.”

You didn’t question his permission, taking that as more than enough reason to relax and scent Jimin like you wanted to ever since he stood at the doorway.

“I’m trying, though,” you mumbled.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Jimin asked.

“I’m trying to do better with Hoseok,” you said, slightly turning to glance at him. “It’s just that, I kind of learned that hybrids are below their owners and I am naturally afraid of people after everything. But I know he’s not a bad person. Jinnie wouldn’t be so comfortable with him, and he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to save me if he wasn’t. So I’m trying to do better.”

“She opened up a little more yesterday,” Hoseok said, smiling. “We had our first proper conversation. It was short, but it made me really happy.”

“That’s good to hear,” Jimin said.

You nodded. “And now I know that you’re friends,” you said. “I don’t feel nervous at all right now with you around.”

Jimin giggled a little at that. “I’m glad to know. Maybe I can come around more often, then? If it’ll help you open up with Hobi hyung more.”

“Maybe,” Hoseok said. “I’m sure they’d really like to see you more, with your history. I still find it amazing that the hybrids I adopted ended up being the same ones you would tell me about when we were kids, though,” he laughed.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty crazy coincidence, huh?” Jimin said.

Jin had been looking to be in thought for a little bit, and suddenly he spoke up. “If people she’s comfortable with help, then maybe we could see if Yoongi could come over too?”

You perked up at that, sitting up straighter.

“I think she likes that idea,” Jungkook chuckled.

“I could give him a call,” Hoseok offered. “See if he could come by one day. I’m sure he’d like to see how you guys are doing after everything he did for you.”

“Who’s Yoongi?” Jimin asked.

“He’s a worker from the shelter,” Hoseok responded. “From what Jin-hyung has told me, he was always really nice to them. And he also did a lot to make sure noona was safe, and that I got there to adopt her in time.”

“In time?” Jimin asked. “What happened?”

So you talked about some of your time at the shelter. About the employees who were rude and harsh with you. Yoongi who was a blessing in such a dark place. When Hoseok came to adopt Seokjin. When your date was moved up and Yoongi quickly worked to make sure they didn’t harm you.

Jimin and Jungkook were obviously sad to hear about how difficult of a time it was for you, but whenever you or Jin talked about Yoongi they smiled. Jimin commented about how kind he seemed and how glad he was that you had him there to help you through at least some of it. And more than anything, he was glad that you two were now safe, had a good home and a kind owner who he knew would take good care of you.

Jungkook was really sweet, as well. After you finished talking about the past, he started chatting a bit more. He was a little goofy and had an interesting sense of humor, and was really nice. It was a little surprising that he was so comfortable around two predator hybrids in what was technically their territory, but you had a feeling it had something to do with how at ease Jimin was with the two of you.

Jimin and Jungkook were obviously so happy with each other. When you and Seokjin had scented Jimin enough to make you feel better about missing him for so long and finally separated from his side later that evening, Jungkook remained glued to him. He seemed to be a bit careful to not completely cover up your scents, knowing that it was more of a family or pack thing for the two of you than anything else, but he most definitely became much more touchy with him.

Jungkook was really such a considerate mate. Especially with certain hybrid breeds, you would expect them to be very territorial and not like other hybrids’ scents on their mate no matter what. But probably from years of stories about how close Jimin was with you and Seokjin, he must have understood that there was no threat with you and accepted that you were essentially family, regardless if you had officially met prior to today.

With the comfort and ease of being reunited with Jimin, on top of Jungkook’s hospitality, you really did find it much easier to be more open with Hoseok. You all ate dinner at the table together, and at one point you had even sat next to Hoseok on the couch. You were all snuggled out then, so you didn’t look for any affection. And while he wasn’t tense or uncomfortable, he didn’t attempt to give you any either, probably wanting to make sure to not breach your boundaries.

Hoseok also contacted Yoongi in the evening, asking if he’d like to stop by sometime soon to see you and Seokjin. He had taken a while to respond back, but when he did you were thrilled for Hoseok to let you know that he said he’d love to stop by soon.

Despite digging into the parts of your past that you try not to think too hard about, today was easily the best day you’d had in so, so long. You had your brother, Jimin who you considered family and his mate, and your new kind owner all with you. Almost everyone who was family was there. It would have been perfect if only Yoongi was there, too.

Well, almost perfect. But you had accepted a while ago that the last three family you wished could be there were probably lost to you forever, no matter how much you craved to hold them in your arms.

After that day, you did find yourself opening up with Hoseok even more quickly. It was only two days later that you let him pet you for the first time. The following day when you unintentionally chuffed happily when he did it again. And by now, all three of you ate at the table together with no fuss or issues.

You found yourself feeling so much more relaxed at home, and it made you a lot happier. But, you still couldn’t ignore that you missed Yoongi a lot. Something about being apart from him for what was two weeks now was really getting to you, almost like a piece of yourself was missing.

You were also starting to feel really achy. You had mentioned it to Seokjin, and he said he’d been feeling the same. He figured at first that it was just him getting used to the new, actually comfortable bed, but it got a little worse every day. You thought maybe you should let Hoseok know, maybe something was wrong. But you didn’t want to impose on him, making him spend money on a hybrid vet for you.

Today the aches were really bad so you decided to take a nap, hoping you would feel better after some rest. You rarely took naps, usually just slept at night with your brother. But he wasn’t tired, so you napped by yourself while he was no doubt watching some show on TV as usual. When his comforting presence was next to you while sleeping, you didn’t have nightmares as frequently so you tried not to sleep without him very much now that you had the chance to. But today, you just felt like you couldn’t avoid it.

Unsurprisingly, the nightmares came. The most haunting memory from your time spent at the Hybrid House was what your mind chose to torment you with this time.

While unexpected, you were given a gift that you wanted to keep oh so badly. But you knew that they wouldn’t let you. You knew that once the time was up and the gift had arrived, it’d be ripped away from you just as quickly. You hoped to at least hold them, get your scent on them even a little. But no, they didn’t even allow you that.

As soon as the three little miracles arrived, they were ripped away from you. Despite your exhaustion, your insides screamed, your mind recognizing they were in danger and that you needed to protect them. You yelled for the people to give them back, to please not take them away. You promised to take good care of them, they wouldn’t get in the way.

But alas, there was only one reason you were allowed to even go through with this. And it most certainly wasn’t so that you could keep them.

Just as you had when it happened, you screamed and thrashed around in your nightmare. Yelling for them to bring them back, that you needed them. That they needed you.

You were abruptly woken up from the nightmare, but still so high on your emotions and disoriented, you didn’t comprehend that you were no longer in that place.

“My cubs! Bring my cubs back!” you wailed, thrashing for another moment before your eyes registered your surroundings.

Your heart began to slow down, realizing that there were no threats around, that you had been merely dreaming. You looked around you, expecting the hand on your shoulder that shook you awake to belong to Seokjin as it usually was. But when you turned to look, it wasn’t him that had woken you from your agitated dream state.

It was Yoongi.

Your eyes widened, realizing that he had heard you cry about cubs, and fear welled in you over the questions that were bound to come.

“It’s okay, Y/n,” he said, voice calm as he pulled you closer to him in a gentle but protective embrace. “You’re safe, no one is hurting you.”

“Wha-what are you doing here?” you asked.

“I had let Hoseok know earlier that I was able to come by today and he said that was fine,” Yoongi responded. “I’m sorry for shocking you. I guess he didn’t get to tell you.”

You breathed in his warm earthy scent that you had missed so much, letting it wash over you and calm you down. You let your senses fill with nothing but Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi, nearly forgetting about the memory you had just relived.

After a few minutes when Yoongi could tell you had calmed down enough, Yoongi loosened his grip enough to look you in the face. “What was your nightmare about?” he asked, his low timbre soft and relaxing. “You said something about cubs?”

You tensed back up a little, knowing you didn’t really have a way out of this. You nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He ran one of his hands through your hair, scratching at the spot behind your ears that he knew would soothe and keep you relaxed.

You turned your head to hide your face in his chest again, unsure of how you wanted to answer.

Just a moment later, you heard someone else walk into the room, Seokjin’s citrus scent reaching your nose. “Is she okay?” he asked.

“I think so,” Yoongi responded. “She was definitely having a nightmare, but”- he hesitated for a brief moment –“she said something about… cubs? Do you know anything about that, hyung?”

You tilted your head up to look at your brother, his eyes meeting yours in a silent question. You hesitated still, so he remained silent as well.

Yoongi hummed. “Okay. I understand, it’s something that must be a sensitive topic, and based on the subject I don’t doubt it is. I won’t force you to talk about anything.” He let out a breath as he thought. “But I want you to know that if there’s something wrong, I might be able to help you. I understand if you don’t want to talk, but if you do then maybe it’s something I can help with.”

“Help?” Seokjin asked in a soft voice. “What do you mean help?”

“I came here because yes, I did want to see you guys and how you were doing,” Yoongi said, “but I also had something I wanted to tell you. I couldn’t risk saying anything while you were at the shelter, and had to make sure I could trust Hoseok first as well, but I’m positive that I can so now I wanted to explain something to you. Let me do that first, okay?” He turned back to you. “Then, if you decide after that that you want to tell me about your nightmare, then you can. But only if you want. Sounds good?”

You thought for a moment, eyes still on your brother who tightly smiled at you, before nodding.

“Okay,” Yoongi said. “How about we go out to the living room? I want to say this to Hoseok as well.”

You moved to stand up, Yoongi holding onto your hand to support you along the way, and Jin joining your other side with a hand on your back as you began walking out of the room.

“Is everything okay?” Hoseok asked, a concerned look on his face and standing up as you entered the living room.

“She had a nightmare,” Yoongi said, thankfully vaguely. “She’ll be fine.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Hoseok asked.

“Most nights,” Jin answered. “It’s not as bad now as before, when I’m there with her. But sometimes they are still bad.”

The three of you sat down together on the couch, your brother on one side of you and Yoongi on the other.

“But we’ll talk about that in a little bit, right noona?” Yoongi asked, hand returning to its place by your ears. You nodded in response. “I have something I actually wanted to talk to you about today,” Yoongi said.

“Oh, okay,” Hoseok said. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you guys about my real job,” Yoongi said.

“Real job?” you asked. “What do you mean real job?”

He took in a breath before replying, “I don’t actually work for the shelter. I mean, I’m technically employed there, they think I work for them. But I don’t.”

Seokjin furrowed his eyebrows, expressing everyone’s confusion. “What do you mean you don’t work for them?”

“I’m there undercover,” Yoongi said. “My mission is to gather as much evidence as I can so that my real boss can submit a court case against the shelter and get it shut down.”

You were still pretty confused, but Hoseok seemed like he understood better than you, expression lighting up. “You mean, you work for one of those places that help hybrids? Like, rescue them from bad owners, shut down black markets and bad shelters, stuff like that?”

“Yes, exactly,” Yoongi confirmed. “Being in that place is absolute hell,” he said, rubbing his face. “I hate watching how they treat the hybrids there, and the people there are disgusting. Well, at least most of them. I think that the vet is being made to work there somehow based on what he said to me when I took Y/n there that day. And not everyone knows everything that goes on there. But I’m going to be so glad when I get enough evidence and don’t need to deal with those people anymore.”

“Oh, so you are there because you want to get them shut down?” you asked. “Because they’re bad?”

“Yes,” Yoongi said, turning to you. “That’s why I always seemed different than the others to you. Not every shelter is that bad, even the other ones that should be shut down as well. Most shelters have more people who are sympathetic and don’t treat hybrids like animals without even letting them be animals. But that one, it’s one of the worst in the region, and we’ve tried to get them shut down before but apparently didn’t have enough evidence to. So they sent me in to work from the inside and I’ve slowly been gathering evidence. You’d be surprised how hard it is to shut down these kinds of places. They need mountains of proof of abuse to even consider it.”

“So that’s why it’s taking so long then?” Seokjin supplied. “Because you’ve been there for at least a year.”

“Precisely. We think we almost have enough evidence. Once my boss tells me that I can get out of there, I’m booking it.”

“That explains why you worked so hard to make sure noona got out of there, too,” Hoseok added.

“No matter who it was, I would have tried my best to keep that from happening to them,” Yoongi answered. “But I won’t lie and say I didn’t develop a soft spot for Y/n.” He turned to you and smiled. “I call her my Daylily.”

You felt yourself blush at the admission. “I still don’t know what that means,” you mumbled.

“But I told you you’d have time to figure it out, didn’t I?”

You smiled, remembering how confident he was that you wouldn’t spend your last day in that shelter when you had given up all hope. “You did.”

“So, what I’m saying is that I work for a company that helps hybrids,” Yoongi summarized. He looked at you, conviction in his gaze. “If there’s hybrids in need then we want to help however we can. And if you know someone who needs help, I will do everything I can to see what we can do.”

You felt a lump in your throat. You knew what he was talking about. Your cubs. The cubs that you didn’t outright admit to having, but he must have been pretty sure exist after hearing you wake from your nightmare. Looking to your brother, you saw his eyes wide with hope, but he stayed silent, wanting you to take that first step to ask.

“My cubs,” you whispered, sure that it was quiet enough that Hoseok couldn’t hear. “You could find them?”

“Maybe,” Yoongi replied, rubbing comforting circles on your back with his hand. “I can’t say for sure, but I could let my team know that there are hybrid children in need. But if we’re going to look for them, I need you to give me as much information as possible.”

Your ears flattened to your head, unsure if you could talk about what happened. Looking to Jin for support, he offered you a soft smile and reached his hand out to grasp yours.

“Do you want me to tell him? And are you okay with Hoseok hearing?” Jin asked.

You bit your lip, anxious about anyone knowing at all, but knowing that it was best to tell them for the sake of your babies. You ultimately nodded, turning into your brother for comfort. This was something that you couldn’t get through without him.

He didn’t hesitate to pull you fully into his lap, you making yourself small as you tucked your legs in and hid your face in his neck, scenting him.

“We told Hoseok about this recently,” Jin started. “About our second owner. Where we were before we escaped and lived on the street for a bit. It was a Hybrid House.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened in shock before his mouth downturned, sadness dulling his scent. “I always wondered,” he mumbled. “I never wanted to ask.”

“We had to have been there a few years before it happened,” Jin said. “We told them that Y/n couldn’t take any male patrons, that she was too close to her breeding cycle. But the guy requesting her was a regular and she was his favorite. He always requested her, and wouldn't take anyone else. And they didn’t want to turn him away, so they took her to the room. There were always things for protection provided in the rooms, but customers rarely used them. Y/n told me she even asked him to, told him she was too close, but he didn’t care. He…. He hit her for even suggesting it.”

You could feel both Yoongi and Hoseok gradually tensing up as your brother talked, the former scooting a little closer to you to place a hand on your knee comfortingly.

There were many unpleasant memories from your time there, but most of them blurred together. A bunch of people who didn’t care if they hurt you, people who liked odd things that you were uncomfortable with but had to do anyway. People who intentionally hurt you. But that day will always remain separate in your mind. That was the day that you were bred.

“A week later, I could smell that she was pregnant,” Seokjin said. “We were so scared. We knew from the small interactions with others at the House that if that ever happened, they didn’t let it finish. There was no way of hiding it, but trying to tell a hybrid that they weren’t allowed to keep their babies rarely ever went over well. We decided that it was better if we told them sooner rather than later, make sure that Y/n at least wouldn’t be at risk of getting as hurt.

“But,” Seokjin continued, sighing shakily, “when we told them, they decided they weren’t going to do that. That they’d let her have the babies because we’re a highly sought after breed. They wanted her to have the babies so that they could take them away from her as soon as they were born and sell them.” You couldn’t help the tear that fell when your brother said it like that.

“And what’s even more sick is-“ he paused, glancing at you before he said what he wanted to. You knew what he was thinking about, his rising anger obvious to you. You nodded, letting him know it was okay to say. “They advertised her for the fact that she was pregnant. It was a thing some of the patrons liked and wanted her for. Even when she was close to finishing her term, they didn’t care. They still had her working.”

The anger in the room wasn’t only coming from your brother anymore, but also the two humans. It didn’t necessarily scare you since your natural instincts were to fight back in the case of an aggressive threat, but it did make you feel insecure and you curled up further.

“And just as they promised, once she delivered the babies, they were taken from her,” Jin pushed out through clenched teeth. “They didn’t let her scent them, or even hold them before they took them from her. Just took them to sell them off as soon as possible.” Seokjin took in a shaky breath. “We don’t know what happened to them.”

“How many?” Yoongi gently asked.

“Three,” you replied. “Two boys and a girl.”

Yoongi nodded before looking into your eyes. “I’m so sorry they did that to you. Places like that shouldn’t even exist, and no one ever has any right to forcibly take someone’s child away from them.” He breathed deeply, seeming to gather his emotions before he spoke again. “If we’re going to have any chance of finding them, I’ll need to know a rough time frame of when this happened. Your files say when you were transferred to this second owner, and when you were picked up off the street. But anything in between isn’t going to be there. How long before you guys escaped did you have the cubs?”

You thought for a moment. “I want to say it was probably about two months?”

Jin nodded. “That sounds about right. And then we were on the street for probably six months or so.”

“Okay so about eight months before you would have been taken to the shelter,” Yoongi summarized. “I can work with that. I’m assuming that the person who bought you from your first family used a false name to stay hidden since he was involved in a black market. But with that information and with my team, we may be able to trace it back to who it was and where this House may have been.” He paused, squeezing your leg a little tighter where his hand rested. “Thank you for telling me all this,” he said. “I promise that we’ll try to find them.”

“You will?” you asked, feeling emotional. Was it possible that you could really see your cubs again?

“I promise we’ll do our best,” Yoongi said.

You leapt out of Jin’s lap and into Yoongi’s, wrapping your arms around him tightly and scenting him out of gratitude. “Thank you, Yoongi. Thank you, thank you,” you mumbled, a few tears rolling down your cheeks as he held onto you to keep you from falling out of his lap.

You couldn’t believe that Yoongi, the angel that he was, could possibly give you the chance to find out what happened to your cubs, and maybe even the chance to see them once more. It was the best thing you could ever ask for.

“Anything for you, Daylily,” he whispered back, quietly enough that Hoseok wouldn’t have been able to hear.

Speaking of Hoseok, he hadn’t spoken for a while. You turned to look at him, seeing a really blank expression on his face with his fists clenched, bunching up the material of his pants.

Jin followed your gaze. “Hobi?” he asked.

“You didn’t deserve any of that,” Hoseok said quietly. “Neither of you deserve anything that you’ve been through. Being sold to that House, being forced onto the street because of it, the shelter… It all makes me so angry that humans thinking they’re so much better than hybrids causes so much unnecessary suffering with people who don’t deserve any of it.”

“That’s why I chose my job,” Yoongi said. “I couldn’t stand it so much that I wanted to do something to help. And unfortunately, we can’t save or help everyone, but we do our best. With the number of hybrids we’ve been able to help, seeing them go on to live happier, more fulfilling lives, it makes me feel like I have a purpose in the world. After hearing all of that, I’m infinitely happier that Hoseok adopted you two. You seem happy here.”

“We are,” Jin said. “It took Y/n a little bit to warm up to Hoseok, after everything that she’s been through and having trust issues with people that she needed to work past. But she’s much better now.”

“Trust issues with people?” Yoongi asked incredulously, pulling away from you a bit to look you in the face. “What trust issues? I mean yeah, she obviously had an issue with the shelter workers who mistreated her, but she never had any issues with me.”

Seokjin shrugged. “Who knows.”

“Maybe you’re ‘true mates,’” Hoseok mused.

You turned to him curiously. “True mates?”

“You don’t know what a true mate is?” Hoseok asked. “That’s what Jimin and Jungkook are. I had to look it up when they mentioned it, but basically from what I gathered, Jungkook could just feel that Jimin was his. He knew they were meant to be together. Said that it would feel like something important was missing when they were apart, even before they officially became mates.”

Your face scrunched as you thought. How could you tell if someone was your true mate? Yeah, you almost immediately warmed up to and trusted Yoongi and your feelings toward him very rapidly developed into something much less platonic. But you always just figured that you got used to him so easily because you so desperately needed the care and affection he offered. But then again, feeling like something was missing when you’re apart? Yeah, you most definitely felt that. You’d have to figure that out sometime, and hopefully soon. Maybe it was possible.

Done worrying about it for the moment, your mind returned to the present and you saw Yoongi looking at you curiously, as if he was trying to figure you out. Realizing you were still sitting in his lap, you tried to nonchalantly slide back onto the couch. Yoongi’s hold on you didn’t let go so easily, but he still made no move to stop you, letting you settle next to your brother once more.

“Oh yeah, maybe Yoongi could answer that question we had about the aches?” Seokjin asked, seeming to change the topic due to you being uncomfortable with continuing that last vein of thought.

“Aches?” Hoseok and Yoongi both asked at the same time.

“Yeah,” Jin continued. “Y/n and I have been feeling achy, kind of sore all over after coming here. We’re not sure why, but we can’t seem to get rid of it. Sometimes it’s really bad.”

Next to you, Yoongi seemed to be deep in thought.

“Maybe I should take you guys to the hybrid vet,” Hoseok said.

“No!” you countered. “I don’t want to trouble you with that.”

“It’s not a problem, Y/n,” Hoseok insisted. “You’re my responsibility and I wouldn’t want you to be sick or anything. If something’s wrong, I’d rather you get checked out.”

“Really, I’m sure it’s no big deal,” you said.

“Have you guys shifted recently?” Yoongi asked.

“Shifted?” Jin asked. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Yoongi asked, looking confused. “Have you guys shifted at all lately?”

“We don’t know what you mean by shifted,” you responded.

Yoongi opened and closed his mouth before turning to Hoseok.

“Can they shift?” Hoseok asked.

“Yes,” Yoongi said. “Didn’t the shelter tell you they’re natural hybrids?”

“No, they never said anything,” Hoseok responded.

“Natur- what?” You and Seokjin were utterly confused at this point.

Yoongi raised his eyebrows at you. “You guys don’t know?” When you continued to look at him like he grew an extra head, he sighed. “I can’t believe you’re fully adult hybrids and have never been told, or even seen it, especially since you lived on the street for a bit. Didn’t you feel achy when you lived on your own, too?”

“I mean, yeah,” Seokjin shrugged. “But we were sleeping on the hard ground so we figured that was to be expected.”

“Okay, history and biology lesson time then,” Yoongi said, turning fully to face the both of you. “There are two kinds of hybrids. The first, naturally occurring hybrids that have been around for a long time and eventually started to integrate in human society, which obviously hadn’t gone that great for them, but that’s a story for another time. And two, the kind that crazy scientists created from experimenting, attempting to replicate the already existing natural hybrids.

“Natural hybrids,” Yoongi continued, “can shift between the form you’re currently in and one that fully resembles their animal counterpart. And hybrids who were created from a lab, or descended from those created in a lab, are incapable of shifting since humans couldn’t replicate the shifting process in their experiments. You guys”—he gestured between you and Seokjin—“are in the first category. Your lineage is descended from natural hybrids.”

Your eyes widened. “What? We can become full-on tigers?!”

“Well, you can shift into one, yes,” Yoongi said. “Technically you’re still a hybrid no matter which form you take. When you shift, you’d appear exactly as a tiger but maintain your more abstract human traits, like your conscience and emotional intelligence. And when you’re in this current form, you can’t get rid of your tails or ears, but otherwise appear almost entirely human except for those animal traits, as well as retaining your natural instincts based on your breed and heightened senses.”

Both you and Jin remained silent for a few moments as you digested the information. Eventually, your brother was the one to break it. “How come we never knew? And how do you know we are natural hybrids?”

Yoongi pulled out his phone and started searching for something while he talked. “Well the first one, I’m not quite sure. But I’d assume it has something to do with the fact that you’ve been living in places that supplied you with medication that suppressed your need and ability to shift. There was a pill you were given at the shelter, which I assume you’ve been given since your first owners… Ah, this one.” He turned the phone around, the image of a particular pill you were very familiar with on the screen.

You nodded. “Yeah, we’ve always been given those. Before we were adopted, and at the Hybrid House, too.”

Yoongi visibly cringed when you mentioned the House. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. But these pills, their job is to suppress your natural need and urge to shift. Now that you’re off of them, I’m guessing your bodies are aching because they feel the need to let out your tiger half. Which wouldn’t surprise me, if you’ve spent I’m assuming your whole lives in this form.”

“Okay, that would make sense,” Jin said. “But how did you know we’re natural hybrids?”

“For two reasons. One, because I know you had been given this pill at the shelter. And two, it’s on your files, which I have seen. And that Hoseok should have seen.” Yoongi turned to look at the mentioned human, you and Jin following his lead.

“What?” the human practically squeaked. “No, they didn’t give me their files when I adopted them. I asked for them and they said they’d get them to me, but I still haven’t gotten them.”

Yoongi sighed. “This shelter, I swear… Took, what? Three weeks to get Seokjin’s file updated with his new owner information, didn’t let the person who was adopting two natural tiger hybrids know that they even were natural, and now they didn’t even give you their files? I can’t wait for this place to get shut down.”

“So, I guess they should probably shift now and then, huh?” Hoseok said.

“Yeah, that would be best,” Yoongi said. “Unless you want to put them on the medica-”

“No, definitely not,” Hoseok interrupted. “I don’t believe in that stuff. If they can shift, they should shift.”

“Okay, well that’s a relief to hear, I won’t lie,” Yoongi said.

“But how?” you asked. “How are we supposed to shift?”

“It’s tricky for me to explain since I’m not a hybrid,” Yoongi said before taking a moment to think. “Hoseok, did you mention a bit ago about another hybrid you know? Is he a natural hybrid?”

“Who? Jungkook?” Hoseok asked. “Yeah, he’s my friend Jimin’s mate. He’s a natural hybrid. Jimin also happens to be the son from Y/n and Jin’s first family.”

“Oh,” Yoongi said, blinking a few times. “Are you… on good terms?”

“Yes,” Seokjin answered. “He’s like family to us.”

“Oh okay, good,” Yoongi said. “Well, maybe he could help explain it to you guys. I would suck at explaining it, seeing as I’m human and have no idea what it feels like to shift.”

“Okay, we’ll ask him,” you said.

“Well, I’m glad that I was able to get that cleared up,” Yoongi said. “It was a really good thing I came by. I’m glad you guys are doing well, that you’re happy with Hoseok.” Yoongi’s eyes met yours, his expression hard to read and making you wonder what he was thinking. “Make sure to talk to this Jungkook soon about shifting, okay? And I’m going to be talking to my team first thing tomorrow about your cubs, Y/n. I can’t guarantee we’ll find anything, but I promise that we’ll do our absolute best. I would love to stay, but I do have a lot of stuff to do for the case against the shelter, so I have to go.”

“Would you be able to come by again?” you asked, not sure how you’d feel if he said no.

“Of course,” he responded easily, giving you a soft smile. “I’d love to see you again soon. I don’t know when I can, but I’ll keep in touch with Hoseok.”

“Sounds good,” your owner chimed in.

Yoongi gave you and Jin each one last scratch at the ears as he said goodbye. Maybe you imagined it, but you felt like he lingered on yours a little bit longer.

Just as he was opening the door, you suddenly remembered something. “Oh! Yoongi!” you called out. He turned around, looking at you curiously. “How’s Taehyung?”

“He’s good,” Yoongi answered. “I let him know as soon as you were adopted. He cried another river in relief that you were okay. He says he feels a bit more lonely now, but I’m making sure to keep close to him.”

“What will happen to him when the shelter is shut down?” Jin asked.

Yoongi pursed his lips. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping to have a potential owner lined up for him by then. If not, then he’ll probably end up in another shelter like most of the other hybrids there will be. A good shelter, one that won’t see them as disposable.”

You weren’t sure what kind of answer you were looking for, but just knowing he was okay made relief wash over you. “Tell him we say hi?” you asked.

Smiling Yoongi said, “Definitely.” And then, he was out the door.

You already missed him.

You definitely had questions other than the shifting to ask Jungkook about.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Tags: @aroseforyoongi​ @shadowsremedy​

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[isagrimorie]

[initial reactions] Doctor Who - Revolution of the Daleks

TLDR: I liked it! But I do have some nitpicks. But bottom line, I liked it! Especially the exit! 

Apologies going in, if it’s rambling and incoherent.

First off, I’m going to get my criticisms out of the way:

- They really need to hire these two people:

a) Sensitivity readers

b) They need to have people of color in charge of casting. Andy Pryor has done a great job casting people but. Since they opened up casting more actors of color to be more diverse... most people in guest roles die. So it ends up being Not A Great Look.

It’s the kind of breezy: We’re hiring more actors of color without really considering the optics of it. Colorblind casting in this way shouldn’t be colorblind. More diversity behind the scenes is needed, especially in casting.

Colorblind casting isn’t representation. Execs have to consider how it looks that a black man is helping create ‘Security Drones’ for the government.

c) I get why Jack Robertson lived, and I’m actually okay with it because I know Chibbs is going somewhere and he’s interconnecting Specials to be their own kind of continuity, so next Special or series we will have Robertson appearing. But I can’t believe the Doctor believed Robertson. Unless she’s really learned from not interfering with politics, but man I wish there’s more vindication to that. I do have a sense of where this is going though, more on that later.  

d) I wish they’d gone harder with the Dalek = Police thing.

e) I really kind of wish the Doctor escaped on her own.

And now for my thoughts and the happy!

RYAN! I LOVE RYAN. I LOVE RYAN BEING EMOTIONALLY MATURE AND PUSHING BACK ON THE DOCTOR. It felt... earned that they do and, Ryan’s always been the more hesitant of the three and the more grounded. I love that it’s Ryan that the Doctor confided in, I’ve always felt like Ryan was the one Thirteen connected to the most after Grace died. And I love his development, ever since Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos Ryan is the first to quote the Doctor back to herself from the guns rule and now here to ‘New can be scary’, reminding the Doctor of her own words.

But also, I love that Ryan felt more connected to Earth, with his friends. Yaz was always the one who looks to the horizon. I like that Ryan pushed back on the smokescreen the Doctor tried to put up. Ryan was tired of the smokescreen. He had 10 months to work on his feelings about it and realized... he liked being home.

I wish we saw more what they were doing at home, like what Chibnall wrote for the Ponds in Power of Three. I did see this was his arc he was building to.

I liked that Graham was torn but eventually his loyalties are with Ryan.

I honestly think the fam thought the Doctor was just gone for a week, her time.

Also: FINALLY A COMPANION EXIT WHERE THEY’RE THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY. And because it’s time.

NO MORE TRAPPED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE OR DYING OR BEING CONVERTED PLEASE. Anyway, that is why I was vindicated because I was getting pretty antsy at all the twitter posts almost gleeful at the thought of companion death.

Nope. No more please. No more world ending, universe ending, heartbreaking ends. I want a Jo Grant walk away, and that is what happened. (Er, I hope we don’t get a Tegan leaving from Yaz, though. Sad and disillusioned walk away).

Yaz. Oh, dear, Yaz, who seems to have tossed her career away running after the Doctor’s shining star. I loved her conversation with Jack, he was a nice contrast and sounding board. Also, Jack was much kinder to the Doctor because they didn’t miss each other, the Doctor (according to RTD’s retcon) deliberately left Jack on Satellite Five.

Yaz is willing to run and jump without looking because of the Doctor and I love that we got her feelings about this.

And, of course, the Doctor. The moment Ryan said she missed 10 months, I felt she knew the clock was ticking on her ‘fam’. She’s trying to be good to them and do right by them.

(The Doctor knows Ryan’s ready to leave, she knew it. She’s trying to be in denial about it. But she knows).

It’s a small detail but when she processed the ‘ten months’ bit, she quickly looked to Ryan. Because if it’s one of the subtext things around is that she wanted to be a better father to Ryan than his real dad. But she still skipped out on him unknowingly.

The way he just brushed it off, because the worst part is. Ryan is used to it.

It’s sad that the Doctor opening up to the fam was brought on after a decades’ long solitary, and probably a promise to be better. But, she calculated wrong, or the TARDIS deliberately chose to go to that time. Whatever the case, just when she’s opening up to them is when Ryan decided his time with the Doctor was at an end.

God, the moment when Thirteen said: “Mostly... angry.”

I felt this. hard.

I think it was @ssaalexblake​ who mentioned that Thirteen acknowledging she’s angry might help with all of Thirteen’s repressed anger issues. And I think these are baby steps towards that.

She’s actually been so angry for so long, but she kept pushing it down. Like I said, Thirteen, in a way, reminds me of Raylan Givens of Justified. People think he’s mild mannered, but as his ex-wife amicably opined, Raylan was the angriest man she knew.

And I feel this for this Doctor but at least, now she’s addressing it. The first step in fixing a problem, is identifying the problem.

This was made in 2019. Thirteen being in a repeating lockdown felt very 2020 to me. The things that made me go: Oof, was the Harry Potter thing, the Doctor’s always loved HP. Unfortunately it’s post-2020 hindsight where we go: whoof.

I love Thirteen still mouthing off and being obnoxious towards other Doctor Who baddies. The Weeping Angel thing is cool and so are the Silents. BUT ALSO THE DOCTOR CALLED THE P’TING TINY! AND SHE TRIED TO EAT THE PRISON BARS. 

And then, of course, being more obnoxious with the Daleks. It’s pretty clear the difference in rawness of the Doctor’s feelings for the Daleks and the Cybermen. The Daleks’s an old ember. Her feelings for them are ice cold. A purity of feeling. The Daleks are evil and she has no compunction on killing them, the Cybermen? More personal and a raw nerve.

She’s willing to be cold towards the Daleks. 

I really like that Yaz has more skin in the game, and she knows what she can lose now. And after her talking with Jack, after seeing his perspective on it, and from his words knows that sometimes the Doctor just disappears from people’s lives.

And I love the pushback:

Skewered.

But true because she is trying to stay still and be with the fam and not leave them. But the unfortunate truth is, the Doctor does run away, and the Doctor does leave people behind and a lot of the times, the Doctor doesn’t come back because they’re an emotional coward.

The thing about Thirteen is she’s probably the longest of the Doctors to not disappoint her companions. She’s always managed to stop bad guys and always been there for them.  It’s an impressive track record for the Doctor. She’s built herself up in their eyes as someone they can rely on, and then she failed them by not getting back to them in time.

It’s not her fault, and none of them know how long it’s been for the Doctor, by the way she’s asked them I feel like they think she’s only been gone for a week.

Honestly, I’m impressed how the Doctor didn’t make it about her -- being in prison for longer than they thought. She’s looking at it from their point of view, because she already knows what big leaps in time would affect her friends.

TBH Revolution of the Daleks felt like shades of Last Christmas in that the Doctor regretted missing out time with her companion/s. In Last Christmas, the Doctor got his time back with Clara, in RotD, time passed.

Back to the Doctor and the Daleks tho.

This reminded of Twelve’s: “You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine. The Man that stops the Monsters.”

(Look, Chibnall’s Moffat references aren’t as sledgehammer, but he does reference a lot of Moffat’s things.).

Except with Thirteen, I’m actually more terrified. Jodie does this thing where her eyes goes black and she kind of disappears into herself, this is what happened here. This promise isn’t actually good IMO.

This is not a comforting face. This is a ‘I’m gonna kill a whole boatload of Daleks face and I’m not sorry, in fact I might enjoy doing that’ face.

(And, a brief aside to Robertson, I feel like the Specials have their own kind of special ‘movie’ continuity and more of his story will play out in the Specials, where hopefully he will get his comeuppance because, to me, I feel that’s where it’s going. This is more groundwork laying.

I don’t like it when the Doctor interferes with Human affairs, especially government -- because look what happened with Harriet Jones and how the Doctor broke the Golden Age. Also, I don’t want real world leaders to exist in the Whoverse because I want them to have a completely different track from us. So. Yeah, New Year’s Specials have their ongoing storyline. I’m actually not mad about it, and I enjoy Mr. Big’s performance. He’s a sleezeball. A sleezeball that knows more now. (He isn’t T rump but he isn’t better either). At least I find him enjoyable and not outright offensive. I’m okay seeing him again for the next Specials. I hope next time he does get his comeuppance.)

Now, the goodbyes:

 The HUG.

We’ve been waiting for the Doctor to be more physically affectionate with the fam, and it took the Doctor being locked down for decades (maybe?), and Ryan and Graham leaving for her to hug them. And we’re all right, Thirteen gives great hugs.

The feeling Thirteen’s been running away from is here, sadness. It’s good that Yaz decided to stay other wise... she’s just going to run headlong into forgetting her problems, Doctor Style.

And again, learning and re-learning things: ‘It’s okay to be sad.’

Oh, Thirteen.

(Before Twelve, I don’t think I was this sympathetic to the Doctor -- no wait, I was with Nine. Ten and Eleven tested my patience but it’s with Twelve and Thirteen where I’m 100% invested in the Doctor.

I also love that they’re kind of soft touching the Timeless Child thing, and as someone on twitter mentioned, this feels like an examination of an adoption story. The Doctor is going to search for their identity, their home).

I honestly wish Jack stayed in the TARDIS with Thirteen and Yaz. Jack’s a great balance, especially pushing back at the Doctor and her tactics. Her NUCLEAR tactics. I am glad that the Doctor’s still a dick to Jack, not much of an asshole as they were when the Doctor was Ten but still a dick.

Also, one thing I really love about Barrowman is that when he’s in Doctor Who, he knows it’s not his show and he doesn’t showboat, and the man can showboat. 

I’d rather Jack than random guy that I didn’t even know was gonna happen until very late.

Anyway, TLDR to all this: I enjoyed this very much! Still a lot to be parsed through in things that needs to be parsed through as I mentioned, but on the whole? I loved it.

[dgcatanisiri]

On the one hand, I do understand that there’s this approach in some spheres that looks at something like Love Simon as being just “an assimilation narrative.” That it’s portraying this fantasy of a world where, despite any fear, the world is ultimately accepting of a queer person coming out, or, if there is any pushback, it’s called out within the universe. That is, sadly, a reality that we still don’t live in, and likely will never reach, at least in my lifetime. And that does make it ring unture to several in the queer audience.

On the other... It bothers me how much people seem to keep coming back to “narratives of queerness must still feature pain stemming from their queerness.” It just feels like defining queerness as being pain. And just... Why do we have to keep coming back to this?

Like... What I’m seeing is that, as a result of years and decades of queerness having to be hidden or vilified, on the order of straight censors and editors, who, even if they didn’t agree with those dictates, still had to abide by, there is an element of queerness that kinda thinks that pain MUST be the defining attribute of queerness, that the pain of being queer in a cis-straight world becomes all there is.

Remember, most mainstream stories that are going to feature at most one queer pairing... Probably are going to be written by straight people, who DON’T. KNOW. OUR. LIVES. So they only DO tell the painful stories, and they keep defining us by our pain, and... Why do we need to be doing the same?

Sure, we do need to be telling our own stories, and our stories do involve pain. I am in no way arguing otherwise. And I’m not saying that we need to stop seeing these stories all together.

But right now, the straights are defining us by our pain (and doing it to varying degrees of offense on top of it). While we do deserve to tell our truths and speak of our pain, the things that hurt us because of our queerness... Well, shouldn’t there also be room for the joy? For stories that let us be queer and don’t make that the source of our pain and angst?

For that matter, if fiction is about envisioning a better world, what is WRONG with telling stories where queerness is actively NOT a source of pain? Like, my general opinion when it comes to changing the hearts and minds of society at large is that it’s not going to come from trying to tell people “oh, but we’re people too, look at the pain we go through.”

To compare, one of the things said about how, when BioWare cut the same-sex romance for Jacob Taylor and made him only a romance for Female Shepard, was that the developer who’d been for it said that they believed that people “just weren’t ready for it,” weren’t ready for a same-sex romance like that, despite the romance scene being previsualized specifically with Brokeback Mountain as an inspiration. Well... Yeah, sure, they’re not ready.

But that’s the thing. The world will NEVER be ready for queerness to be front and center and be the open and unashamed version of itself. So why are we willing to accept “the world isn’t ready”? Why SHOULDN’T we be building the worlds that we WANT to see, rather than just see us surviving the world that we have? Why do we need to be living in the hurt and pain when we can celebrate our queerness and envision the world that we should have?

Again, I’m not saying that there’s no room for the painful story. But why is it that there are so many who are saying those are the only stories we SHOULD have, and that stories that aren’t that get dismissed?

[a1unscripted]

For the Record

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

For the record, I am not looking for fame and fortune. Which is good news because those things were never in the cards, to begin with. I am, like most of us, trying to find my way. And, for the record, there’s a segment of us that will have to figure out how to navigate an increasingly challenging society just because we refuse to accept the mainstream narrative. How dare we! How dare we want to ask questions when the stakes are high? How dare we want to have a choice. Real choice! The nerve. We’re just ruining everything now, aren’t we? We’re ruining everything because we want to have control over what is put into our bodies without being punished for it. Turn on the news and that’s the impression you’ll get is that we’re the worst of the worst, and we deserve to be punished. The chorus of those advocating marginalizing and punishing us is growing louder, especially with the trucker movements resisting the mandates.

These movements against the mandates are just the first of many. Many applaud their courage. I am one of those individuals. Others denounce the movements because they argue these are essential workers and therefore have no right to strike. In the words of Steve Deace, host of the Steve Deace Show, we are going to have to get “comfortable being uncomfortable.” And he is correct. We must be willing to take one of the team and in the case of the truckers this means going possibly doing without food, medicine, and other goods. I don’t know much, all I do know is that like it or not, I am as ready as I can be, and I support their efforts and encourage this across all segments of society. Why would I support more strikes and pushback?

I support this because this vaccine mandate and the passport, which has nothing to do with health, constitute phase 1. The establishment was prepared for this. Are we so naïve to think that they did not anticipate this? Search “Operation Lockstep,” and the first results you’ll see will be fact-checking sites and mainstream publications discussing how the 2010 document has nothing to do with where we are. That’s not entirely true. If any of these so-called journalists had read the document cover to cover, they would be able to concede that the scenarios put forth, and the governments’ reaction to their populations, give one good reason to pause and think about what is going on. I believe they’re trying to make all the pieces fit and if they’re met with no mass, peaceful protests they will continue unabated until everyone becomes subject to a mandate, they find objectionable.

For the record, the following are theories on my end, albeit, as Catherine Austin Fitts once said “High octane theories.” I believe they are beta testing different approaches in different countries around the world for each scenario. They may try different approaches locally in certain countries. I think we’re about to experience all kinds of mayhem if we don’t educate ourselves on what these social engineers have in mind for us.

This is the table of contents for the document which can be found at this link:

 Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development

I am certain there are those who understand what this means for our future, and they support it. Instead of seeing past the flowery language and the feel good goals and recognizing the edifice of power set to control over aspect of their lives, they understandably miss the forest for the tree because they want a better world. A world where everyone’s needs are met. A world where we can all live with convenience and live in peace. The problem is the elite see two worlds: one where we’re subdued, sedated, and live in smart cities where so long as we behave all our basic needs get met, and the other world is one without social credit scores, without restrictions on owning land, and without being confined to the smart cities.

For the record these people think we’re cattle. They are cultivating a world where there are fewer of us to deal with, and we do their bidding while they live free.

I saw no dice. Let the truckers stop everything. Boycott the mainstream media. Let’s put 30 million of us in Washington, D.C. and stop everything and be ready to sacrifice. Because if we don’t, what comes next will make the last two years look like nothing.

[victorromeofox-blog]

VRF Website and Community

VRF Website and Community - Soft Opening Coming Soon!

I've been a little less active here in the last little bit, but have been working behind the scenes to build up the VRF website and planning around community-building.  I'm just about ready to start opening the site to semi-public access and start inviting trusted people to the Discord within the next week!  There is some information below introducing some of the content and features of the site and Discord server.  Please contact me (Ask or email preferred) if you would like access - I recommend reading the rest of this post before you do, but it is not required.

If you’re looking to better understand BDSM and kink, participate in a community of rational, respectful, and conscientious kink practitioners, and contribute to protecting, uplifting, and helping others - while still enjoying some fantasies - you are exactly the type of person who would be a great fit for this space.

If you’re “just here for the porn”, this website and community are not going to be what you’re looking for.  They are specifically a pushback against that very mentality, and the rampant toxicity and problematic discourse in the online BDSM/kink space, especially CNC kink, and your needs will be better met elsewhere.  Same goes for those who are just out to get nudes, roleplay online, organize hookups, or find a submissive - there are other spaces geared toward that.

In the meantime, I'd like to explain what this all means to me, where VRF is headed next, and what factors I'm taking into consideration as I continue.  This is going to be a fairly reflective post - almost like a letter of intent - but I'm putting it out there primarily for transparency and also for those of you who want some insight into my thoughts and process.

VRF - A Quick Recap

When I started VRF in 2015, I didn't really have a goal.  I was just looking to curate the kinds of porn I enjoyed the most on Tumblr and occasionally added some captions that came to mind as I did - and accidentally cultivated a sizeable following.  As the blog grew and began to have more interactions with others on the network, I realized that I couldn't stay in-persona all the time - not without sending a potentially dangerous message - so I started answering asks and giving advice out of character, as myself.  These "real" interactions, as well as the reality checks that kept rolling in, set the tone for what VRF would become - and made me feel much more comfortable with running a blog featuring questionable content.

I stepped away from the blog and went on hiatus in 2016; I saw a sharp rise in hateful, bigoted, and violent voices online and no longer felt comfortable that my posts would remain firmly in the realm of fantasy for the majority of readers.  Although the original @violent-rape-fantasies was terminated in 2019, I made a fairly complete backup of the entire blog before it went down.  I returned in late 2020 to start again from scratch, try to rebuild my following, and reconnect with the community - that effort was terminated by Tumblr in 2021, leading me to the two blogs I currently have (@VictorRomeoFox-blog / @violent-rape-fantasies-2​) and to create a self-hosted website containing the original VRF archives with major quality-of-life improvements to the Tumblr experience.

This process made me consider what my goals are for VRF, how I want to achieve them, and what promises I make to the community as part of that journey.  

VRF - Mission and Values

VRF's mission is to be a safe, inclusive, and collaborative space that promotes affirmative consent, healthy relationships, and conscientious kink, where consenting adults can explore their kinks, enjoy fictional fantasies, and uplift one another without overbearing guilt or shame.

Let me quickly break some of this down:

safe: I want people to feel comfortable consuming and interacting with me and my content - not only the kinks and acts depicted in the fantasies, but in the entirety of the space that VRF projects, including knowing that their personhood, privacy, anonymity, and emotional safety are important to me.

inclusive: although I focus primarily on male-on-female scenarios, people from all walks of life are welcome so long as they are good citizens of the community and conscientious kink practitioners.  This also means rejecting hate, bigotry, and willful ignorance.

collaborative: VRF is discursive, both in-persona and out-of-character; the content and direction I take is often influenced by the conversations I have with followers, the asks and submissions I receive, and the state of the community as I see it.  I want to always be in conversation with the community to understand its needs and goals so that I can better meet them.

affirmative consent: as discussed in a previous post, I highlight affirmative consent because it centers around positive action as opposed to consent, which can be a passive state.  I believe this is critical for conscientious kink.

healthy relationships: the relationships we hold shape who we are, who we become, and how we interact with the world around us.  I believe that healthy relationships build healthier, happier lives - this concerns all relationships, from friendships to families to romantic or sexual partnerships.  I have seen less emphasis in this community on relationships, and interpersonal interactions in general, and think that this is a major oversight.

conscientious kink: kink can be dangerous or harmful when not practiced with care and consideration - not just for physical health, but for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.  It requires reflection, introspection, and communication in order to form intentionality - the understanding behind what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.

reducing guilt: this is one of the concerns I get most often from followers - how to reconcile their guilt for enjoying consensual non-consent, and whether it is morally wrong or an indication that something is wrong with them.  I believe that CNC, like most kinks, can be practiced in a conscientious way to reduce and mitigate the potential dangers, but that it requires consistent effort, education, and research.

Aside from these, I identified values which are important for me to maintain in order to meet the mission.  Some of them are:

transparency: I try to be as transparent as I can, while maintaining my privacy and anonymity, so that people know that I have nothing to hide.  I cannot build a safe space without building trust, and I can’t build trust without being honest and transparent.

leadership by example: if I am positioning myself as a resource and giving advice to others, I must embody the values I put forward and lead by example, not by words; otherwise, what I say is worthless and lacks substance.

data- and research-driven: I want to provide people with a deeper understanding of themselves and their kinks; while anecdotal information can at times be helpful, I want the things I posit to have weight and justification behind them.  This means an intersection of data, research, and analysis around all of the factors involved, including moral philosophy, psychology, sociology, and biology.

care and patience: these kinks are difficult and hurtful to some people, and confusing or conflicting to others.  I need to be caring, considerate, and patient in order for people to feel comfortable engaging with my content and interacting with me.

contextualized: these kinks and fantasies don’t exist in a vacuum and must be contextualized in order to remain conscientious of the relationship it maintains to the real world.  This means that I don’t want fantasies misrepresented as reality or reality misconstrued as fantasy, and the onus is on me to ensure that followers are seeing both sides of the equation.

quality over quantity: I have a limited amount of time that I can dedicate to VRF work, and want to make the best possible use of that time.  I want to focus on high-quality content, both in-persona fantasies and out-of-character advice, research, and resources, without worrying about how much or how frequently I’m posting.  It also means that I care far less about the number of followers and viewers I have, and much more about whether I am cultivating the kind of followers that match my vision for VRF and its community.

There are other factors and values as well, but these are the biggest ones for me.  They drive how I present myself, how I interact with the community, and what kinds of content I put forth.

VRF Website - Content and Features

What does the website allow me to do that I couldn’t on Tumblr?

No censorship, frustrating filters, or threat of termination - I can focus on my content without running into blockers at every turn, or worrying that I’m going to lose all my work without warning.

Better content controls, organization, and layout - I can group posts logically and have different ways for users to access and view them instead of being one monolithic stream of posts.

Tagging and search - I’ve tagged my archive with kinks, features, toys, actions, positions, locations, and more to make it easier to both find content that you want to see and avoid content that you don’t.  The VRF site features granular search controls, including tag combinations, so you can engage with the site how you choose.

Random Post/Random Caption - sometimes, you’re in the mood to mix things up.  Instead of seeing a temporally-sorted feed of posts, you can go to a random post or caption from the menu bar.

Clear disclaimers and view control - instead of my content being blended into a sea of posts, which creates difficulty in carving out that safe cognitive space for engaging with these kinks or necessitates rapid context-switching, all of my posts will be in one central repository with clear disclaimers where I have control over how things are viewed.

The VRF Archive - the content from the original @violent-rape-fantasies blog have been restored to the VRF website.

There are some downsides, of course - like the lack of network discovery, limited server space and resources, cost, maintenance, and effort.  But the benefits greatly outweigh the additional overhead.

VRF Community

What’s the VRF Discord community all about?

This is a new idea I’m playing with - I’m not new to Discord or community management, but combining that with VRF is a new endeavor for me.  Since I’m going to be shifting my focus from Tumblr to the VRF website, some of those network and community interactions from Tumblr will move to Discord instead, such as interacting with followers, taking requests, feedback, and suggestions, and delving deeper into kink philosophy, fantasy, and practice.

I’ve set up the Discord in a way that different sections can be partitioned - like general discussion, BDSM/kink discussion, CNC fantasies, member content (submissions), and so on.  The different sections are accessible to different levels of membership and verification to maintain that safe, inclusive, and collaborative space.  For example, agreeing to the rules and guidelines gives you access to the general discussion section; verifying your age gives you access to BDSM- and kink-related sections; and being an active and trusted member who contributes to the server over time gets you access to the private sections.

This will also be a much easier way to get in contact with me, and keep the majority of my interactions with the community in one place, instead of hunting across Tumblr messenger for both my accounts, Asks, Twitter, Discord DMs, Telegram, Kik, and email.

VRF - Next Steps and Future Work

In the next few weeks, the VRF website and Discord community will soft-open and move toward general opening.  This is a new direction for me, but after assessing my priorities and goals, it is the solution best suited for what I want to achieve.  I will continue to use Tumblr, but will likely be focusing the majority of my time on the website and Discord.

The mission and values I’ve identified leave quite a bit of room to explore various ways to express these kinks and share knowledge.  I’m not hard-set on VRF being a blog with porn and captions, and could see changes or pivots in the future.  I would love for this work to be able to generate some modest revenue in the future in order to cover basic operating costs, support survivors of abuse as well as kink education and safety, and commission custom content.  As an aside, if you read all of this, please start your request for access with the word “potato” in all caps to let me know you got this far.

I also want to move toward a more ethical and sustainable model of captions and fantasies.  My first step toward this is in creating gifs myself and fully crediting the source, which I started doing when I returned from hiatus.  Concurrently, I am working with my partner, who is an artist, to develop illustrations and animations to accompany captions instead of commercial pornography - we’re still in the R&D phase for this, but hope to share some early content soon (including a fantasy and sketch that we’re working on to accompany a follower submission).  Ideally, we would be able to collaborate with submitters and sex workers to create fully original, credited, and compensated content - but that’s a huge stretch goal for the future.

We are also considering other formats for fantasy and knowledge delivery, including a visual novel format or interactive media (i.e., games) if the art development turns out well and proves sustainable.  We’re both fairly busy people in our personal and professional lives, and in situations where we have to maintain a fairly strict separation between kink involvement and our everyday lives, so carving out time for VRF work is challenging at times!

I look forward to seeing folks on the VRF website and Discord community soon!

[langernameohnebedeutung]

I’m probably parrotting to the wrong choir here, but at least part of the truth about liking villains vs. condemning villains is...I don’t consume villain content in order to find healthy coping strategies and genuine life advice. I don’t look for healthy coping strategies in sci-fi films and fantasy books or on ao3 in the first place, because 99% of all that input is not produced by people that a) intent or b) are qualified to give meaningful life advice.

 Sometimes things we read or watch can be detrimental to our mental health or can make us happier or mean a lot to us. And that is also why it is important to tag, warn, and summarise content: So that people can avoid things that are bad for them and find things that comfort them. But what popular fiction never is, is a clear, intentional, professional, and universal guide.

 We already talked about how even the most horrible people will read novels where they resemble the bad guys and identify with the good guys instead rather than reflecting their own behaviour. That is, because narratives need stakes. The hero needs to be David, not Goliath. And we too see ourselves as Goliath, in our lives. Because there are always things that are bigger than us. And because we know that David will win.

 But sometimes...sometimes it is quite nice to feel like the giant. Especially when we’re used to feeling small.

 Sure “I like this villain because villains get to do things we want to but can’t” might seem like a tiny brained answer, but if you expand a little, there is truth to it: Sometimes I want to see someone go bloody ape-shit in response to trauma, injustice, being underestimated or forgotten. Sometimes I want to see someone just care about themselves and burn the whole place down and look fabulous doing it, because I know, that in real-life, very often it is sympathy and empathy holding me back for even insisting on minor and very rational things, simply because I don’t want to be a burden on others and because I prioritise other people very highly. There is catharsis in that; in seeing someone getting it out of their system in the most violent way possible just like there is catharsis in going for a run or punching the hell out of a punching bag when you’re frustrated even though you would never chase down and beat up a person.

Because even when see characters standing up for themselves - think of the infamous internet rage over Captain Marvel stealing that bike from the dude that harassed her – their actions are usually centred around punishing the culprit, not the emotions of the party that was wronged. But people got angry. Not because she stole a car, or because she stole it from a men even – but because her acting in response to sexual harassment connected the scene with deep roots of social context and political opinions and expectations.

And, despite hundreds, maybe thousands of films in existence where a white male protagonist steals a car or bike or anything else to save the day, she is read as a villain here simply for doing the rational thing. Much less could she have killed him and burnt down his house, because she is a hero and it doesn’t serve the plot and that would not be the thing a hero does.

A villain burning the whole joint down because someone looked at them funny is acting selfishly, self-centred. But what are you going to do, call them a villain? Duh. Complain about how what they’re doing is wrong? Well, yes.

 The lane of their actions is not narrowed by the actions of the culprit on the one side (heroes have to react appropriately and proportionally) and the expectations of the good-guy on the other (they have to act in accordance with forwarding the plot). Which means putting up with an asshole sidekick or apologising if they undergo character development that makes them a ‘better’ person and requires them to forgive someone). You might have your odd Logan who will throw a punch when he’s pissed – but here we already venture into the territory of an anti-hero.

And personally, our anger, our disappointment, all that will always be much more contained than any fictional space - by our financial situation, the people we depend on, our job, our studies, or family, our social circle. We live in a web of social expectations that we depend on every moment of our life.

Fiction itself also exists in a web of social context: What influence does it have on the audience? Will it sell? What implications does it have? How does it present its characters? Who is the author and what do they stand for? - but the fictional space, aka the world constructed in a novel, is wholly separate:

If I write a novel where I state that every Canadian person likes the colour blue and wears funny hats, then this is true in the universe of that novel, no matter what any Canadian reader might feel about it. This means two things:

1.       As writers, producers, and even as producers of fan-content, we have to be critical about what we put into the world, because by creating a fictional space, we create characters who cannot stand up against the things we say about them or make them do. Just like the superheroine in the skimpy outfit who gets her powers through the sun shining down on her nipples cannot have an authentic discussion about her body. And when young girls read our comic and see that all the male heroes are clothed and the heroine isn’t, then we are the one that came up with the sunshine-nipples.

2.       Our very own, personal interpretation of the novel – even our own - and the way we relate to it is our own. The feelings we project on the characters are individual, personal, and shaped by us.

And yes, villains usually see their comeuppance. And the thing is, many people argue here: “Well, it’s okay if the villain does x, as long as they’re punished for it.” But...that’s a difficult subject. A piece of fiction can condemn the actions of the villain without seeing them lose – the challenge to the writer is to still form a satisfying narrative, because the villain winning is the ‘likely’-seeming thing that every narrative subverts when the hero levels up and returns with her new friends to kick the villain’s ass. But even if you sympathise with the villain, seeing them win would still be an unsatisfying narrative, most of the time.

Because the whole point of an actual evil villain - and sympathising with an actual villain - is that what they’re doing is unjust. Malicious. Selfish. And projecting your desire to strike back or stand up on a villain and seeking catharsis through seeing them go wild and tear down the city needs the pushback. For them burning down the house to be satisfying, you need to see the house burn. For them to blow up the house of parliament to be satisfying – you must see the explosion.

And watching them lose provides the ultimate, necessary gravitas. Watching Team Rocket fly off with Pikachu and live happily ever after on Team Rocket money would not be satisfying. Watching our super-villain burn the world to a crisp with their death-laser would not be satisfying if they just end up getting their rocket and flying off while drinking space-mojitos.

Whether they end up being redeemed or not: The initial moment that someone fights back and defeats them at the height of their immorality and prevents the suffering of innocents is the moment that their willingness and readiness to commit violence is put to the test.

 We know the hero goes through a journey of their own - one that requires sacrifice and steels their commitment until they are ready to take on the villain. And knowing that someone is willing to make sacrifices to be able to take the villain down is the ultimate acknowledgement of the transgressive act the villain committed. Without it, it would be empty. Like watching someone punch the air.

But the truth is also that when you recreate the fictional space in another, secondary space – fanfiction, fan content, fanart – you decide what to focus on. Like, we all enjoy hurt/comfort stories, but they have a different intention than something focussed on action or the growth of the hero – because that requires for us to see the villain go down. The focus is no longer the transgressive acts of the villain – but to lay bare the pain that caused them. It is no longer about beating them down for the sake of justice.

Like, when I make a post about Frankenstein’s monster living happily ever after and people tell me that hey, the monster killed a lot of people - then we have a different premise. Because me not adding a line about the evil things the monster did to my post was based on the premise that you knew that random tumblr user langernameohnebedeutung does not condone the crime of murder because she posts about a 200-year-old book. And the #fact that my point doesn’t construct an ending where the monster stands in front of a judge and is sentenced to a certain time in jail or punished by a more heroic person is because I have daddy issues and seeing a giant creature go on a rampage through Europe to get back at its asshole Dad in a way I never could makes me quite happy the novel focussing on its acts of violence already did this and my post clearly had a different intention.

[gffa]

JEDI PADAWANS IN CANON:  Surprisingly, we actually have very little about how the Jedi culture works in canon, though, we have the broad strokes of it, enough that I think you can get an idea of the general arc of things!  This post will be based on canon, of course, as Canon and Legends are basically separate continuities, so stuff like “the Jedi age out at 13 if no one picks them as a Master” has never been evidenced in canon. I also have TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE JEDI IN CANON, a meta work on AO3 that’s been about collecting together and organizing everything I can find on the Jedi of canon, but let’s talk specifically about the path to becoming a Jedi Padawan! THE PATH OF A YOUNGLING TO A JEDI: YOUNGLING/INITIATE: - The Jedi younglings are adopted generally in the age range of about three years old, give or take.  It’s evidenced by Wee Dunn (the little Rodian boy that Cad Bane kidnapped) that there’s an adjustment period with the biological family (if the family wishes it), given that his bio-mom says, “Master Ropal said the day would come for him to go to the Temple, but not for some time.” - The terms “Youngling” and “Initiate” seem relatively interchangeable? - In Dooku: Jedi Lost, Dooku says:  “Like most of the Order, I was brought to the Temple by a Seeker, a Jedi who was tasked to scour the galaxy for Force-sensitive infants.” -  “On arrival at the Temple, Initiates are sorted into clans, an arbitrary grouping in many ways, but one that is supposed to foster an atmosphere of trust and kinship.“  This seems to work pretty well, indicated by how even the very serious Dooku is like, “[....] by us and every other Initiate that likes to gossip by the light of a glow lantern late at night.” to show the lighter hearted aspects of the pile of younglings gossping at night. (Dooku: Jedi Lost) - Not a ton is known about their time in the creche (which is indeed called the creche, according to M&A -- “[Qui-Gon]’d spent his last night in the younglings’ crèche laughing with his friends, imagining all the adventures he would have, and practicing with his lightsaber in the sparring room until Master Yaddle ordered him to bed.“) or what that means to their Jedi Path, other than that, at some point, they go on The Gathering to get their kyber crystal from Ilum, if they can pass the test of looking inward, facing their fears, and hearing the song of the crystal meant specifically for them. This sacred ritual doesn’t seem to be tied to doing it with their Master, as The Clone Wars and the Age of the Republic comic show that they go in groups and are supervised by another Jedi (Ahsoka in the case of “The Gathering”, with Yoda there on Ilum, Huyang watching over the groups in both TCW and the comic), as well as the group of younglings (Katooni, Petro, Byph, Ganodi, and Gungi) are seen practicing with their lightsabers in Master Sinube’s class while Anakin and Barriss have their fight across the Temple roof. - We see Yoda instructing the younglings in Attack of the Clones, but it’s unclear if they’re using their own lightsabers or training sabers (which the Temple has, according to  Star Wars: Lightsabers - A Guide To Weapons of The Force.  (I’m presuming that they’re training sabers, they look too young to be ready for The Gathering, but canon hasn’t specified either way.) - We do get some broad strokes of the kind of schooling they have while they’re younglings:        - Jedi younglings (at least the diurnal ones) wake at dawn to meditate on the three pillars–the Force, Knowledge, and Self-Discipline.  Then they go to the refectory for lunch, where Dooku always likes to sit next to Sifo-Dyas.        - Qui-Gon says, “Qui-Gon whispered, 'The dark side?' He knew it was a thing all beings carried within them, a part of himself he would learn to guard against—the crèche masters had taught him all that.” (Master & Apprentice) showing that the creche masters also taught them while they were there.        - They have group classes together, where we see teachers giving lessons on how to meditate or other philosophy lessons or how to connect to the Force (this is backed up by a lot of Kanan’s early teachings to Ezra, what he starts with as the foundations/basics), which presumably Padawans can still be part of, given that Qui-Gon still goes to classes after becoming Dooku’s Padawan.  [x]        - They have regular classes and some of what we know are:  Levitation classes, Force-Sculpting classes, Galactic History classes, Jedi History classes, Animal Kinship/Beast Control, and Unarmed Combat.                (”The duties of a Padawan varied greatly. Certain kinds of instruction were universal—meditation, lightsaber training—and were studied both in groups at the Temple and privately with one’s Master. But those Masters ranged widely in talents and temperament, which meant that the assignments they gave were diverse, too.” --Master & Apprentice)       - They have class field trips of some sort--Obi-Wan has a class of younglings (that Caleb is part of) on a field trip to teach them about the Jedi Beacon.  While this seems to be within the Temple itself, we saw in Dooku: Jedi Lost that several younglings went with the Jedi to a Celebration Festival as part of a group who would do demonstrations for people, too.       - They’re given homework (Qui-Gon works on his while lounging in Dooku’s quarters) and have class projects (”Obi-Wan could scan nearly the entire lower level of the Jedi Archives. Jocasta Nu sat at her desk, patiently reviewing some file or other; a handful of younglings struggled through a dense historical holo, probably for a class project”) -- Master & Apprentice. - Whatever Katooni and the others are doing in the beginning of “The Gathering” with the dance-style moves is unclear, whether it’s a class that Master Sinube is teaching or if it’s a ceremony of some kind that relates to the upcoming Gathering, who knows!  But it’s clearly important and overlaid with the announcer saying, “The trials are hard. Tests must be passed. But none is as important as The Gathering. It is then that a Jedi’s path will truly begin….”  (Though, this could be in reference to the trials they’re about to face on Ilum which are hard, rather than that the dance class is a trial, it’s never stated either way.)  [x] PADAWANS: - There doesn’t seem to be anything on how Padawans are chosen as a usual path!  In Dooku: Jedi Lost, there’s a ceremonial lightsaber tournament, but the wording never quite directly says that it’s specifically for Master to choose their Apprentices, as well as in Kanan: The Last Padawan, Depa directly asks young Caleb herself.  In The Clone Wars movie, Anakin is assigned Ahsoka, which doesn’t seem to surprise either Obi-Wan (who may have planned this) or Anakin in the sense of “wait, they don’t just assign Padawans!”, only that she was being assigned to him. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s partnership seems to be a bit of both:  “Don’t you see, Obi-Wan? They knew you’d rebel against any Master you worked with. So they made sure you wound up with a Jedi who almost never followed the rules.”  (Master & Apprentice) This seems to indicate that it happened in a myriad of ways, whether a Master took notice of a youngling at the tournament or bonded with them in another way or the Council decided to assign a pairing. - When a youngling becomes a Padawan, there seems to be some conversations between the crechemasters and the new Master:  “Obi-Wan said, 'You know, I never had problems with that as a youngling. Being independent, I mean. I broke rules right and left. They even called me rebellious. Probably the Masters were surprised anyone was willing to take me on as an apprentice.’  In fact, Qui-Gon had been warned about this very thing. He’d long since assumed that the crèche masters’ concern was overcautious.” (Master and Apprentice) - There’s no set age when a Youngling becomes a Padawan.       - Dooku was 16 years old when Yoda chose him to be a Padawan, Sifo-Dyas was 16 when Lene Kostana chose him.  For a brief while, Dooku didn’t think he would be chosen this year and would have to wait awhile longer, as well as another 16 year old Initiate wasn’t ready and did wind up having to wait another year.  (Dooku: Jedi Lost)       - Obi-Wan was chosen at 13 and Qui-Gon at 12, but both were considered young for it.  (Master & Apprentice)       - Caleb Dume was chosen at 13, but was also considered to be surprisingly young for it.  (Kanan: The Last Padawan)       - Ahsoka was assigned at 14, but Anakin expressed surprise that she was even “old enough to be a Padawan!?” (The Clone Wars movie) - Teaching seems to be a communal thing with the Jedi.  While their Master is the final authority (in as much as anyone is an authority over someone else--Ahsoka argues and doesn’t really get that much pushback on how Master Skywalker isn’t the one who should decide when she risks her life, that’s her choice), we see Ahsoka is taught by Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Plo Koon, Aayla Secura, Luminara Unduli, Tera Sinube, and Jocasta Nu. In The Citadel arc in TCW, Ahsoka says that Master Plo assigned her to the team, which Anakin doesn’t object to as being impossible because she’s his Padawan.  Further, we also see communal teaching elements in Dooku: Jedi Lost when Lene is a frequent teacher to Dooku after he becomes Yoda’s Padawan. JEDI KNIGHTS: - While we never see any official Knighting ceremonies in the time of the Jedi Order, there are two examples post-Jedi Purge that use similar enough rituals that it’s a reasonably safe bet they were used by the Order as well:       - In Rebels “Shroud of Darkness”, when Kanan and Ezra and Ahsoka enter the Lothal Jedi Temple, he has to face a vision of the Grand Inquisitor revealing that he was once a Temple Guard.  In facing him, Kanan passes the test, which was Yoda directing the vision (via behind the scenes commentary by Henry Gilroy) to give Kanan a trial, which he then uses the vision to gently sweep the lightsaber over Kanan and has the vision say, “By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, Kanan Jarrus, you may rise. [....]  It means you are what I once was. A Knight of the Jedi Order.” [x]       - In Jedi: Fallen Order, Cere Junda (once a Jedi Knight herself) tells Cal to kneel and makes the same gesture, sweeping the lightsaber over him, and says:  "By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, Cal Kestis.  Rise, Jedi Knight." [x] THAT’S IT, THAT’S PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE JEDI PADAWAN PATH.  There’s really no one set way of doing things--“Every master trains their Padawan in their own way.“ (Jedi: Fallen Order)--but you can see the shape of how things are approached within the Jedi Culture!

[songtoyou]

Mr. Evans and the Congresswoman - Part 2

Paring: Chris Evans x Politician Reader

Rating: PG

Word Count: 1,858

Warnings: Political topics such as Biden, Harris, our current White House occupant and the current administration. 

Description:  It is the week of the DNC and Chris is once again interviewing you for A Starting Point. 

A/N: The DNC inspired me to write a second part for this story.  This is pure fiction as I do not know what Chris believes when it comes to politics and policy issues. This is a complete work of fiction.

I do not permit my work to be to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Note: Updated for grammar and punctuation edits.

"Hi, Congresswoman Y/L/N?" Chris Evans asked with a smile.

He was once again interviewing you for ASP. This time it was during the week of the Democratic National Convention. Chris and Mark had already talked to other politicians such as Senator Cory Booker and Representatives Ro Khanna and Alma Adams. You were the last elected official he was slated to interview to wrap up the DNC week.

Truthfully, Chris was happy to get the chance to talk with you again. Your previous interview for ASP was such a hit that it garnered a lot of attention from fans and the media. However, it was not because you helped bring more legitimacy and attention for ASP, but instead, Chris found himself genuinely admiring you.

"Hi," you said to Chris, giving a small wave through the Zoom screen. "I told you to call me by my first name."

"I know, but I still want to show respect," Chris responded with a teasing smile. Was he mildly flirting with the congresswoman? Yes, but he had no shame in doing so. "How are you? You are looking well."

"I am doing well. Thank you. How about you?"

"Same. Just trying to stay sane through everything. I'm actually currently in London. Working on a project." Chris admitted.

"Uh oh. You better be staying safe and following the right procedures and protocols," you lightly reprimanded him.

"My fans ratted me out. They found where I was just by the hotel door. Can you believe that? That is some FBI-level investigating, right there. I'd be impressed if I weren't also terrified of the lengths some of these fans will go to scout my location," Chris ranted. He did not understand why he was sharing this with you, but a part of him felt comfortable doing so.

"That…is quite impressive, I must say. Creepy. Scary. But impressive. You need to learn how to put in a Zoom background. It would solve all of your problems," you suggested to him.

"I would, but I'm technology deficient. Maybe I should look up some Zoom tutorials on how to do it. Give it a try."

"There is no try…only do," you advised cheekily.

"Now you're quoting Yoda. A woman after my own heart," Chris replied. He knew he needed to refocus. "So, as you can tell, Mark won't be joining us for this interview. I'm going to hit record if that is okay?"

"Okay. I'm ready when you are," you said.

When the record notification appeared on screen, Chris introduced you and immediately went into the first question.

"How do you think the DNC is going so far, particularly how this year is more of a virtual setting rather than in-person due to COVID-19?"

"Despite not having the big in-person celebration/gathering, I think the virtual setting is working very well. Better than I expected, actually. It gives off a more inclusive and intimate vibe to the DNC that we haven't felt before. I like the whole documentary approach and feel to it," you replied honestly.

"Were you excited that Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate?" asked Chris.

"Oh my God! I was so happy that Vice President Biden chose Senator Harris as his running mate. Like, my staff and I were beyond ecstatic. There is no one better to be Biden's running mate than Harris. She is amazing. Such an inspiration. I'm not going to lie, but I'm really excited for the debate between her and Pence."

That made Chris laugh. "Yeah, me too. Senator Harris really knows how to pull all the punches. Her nomination as VP has been met with overall positive response. The Trump Administration and Republican pundits appear to have a hard time painting a negative image of Harris. Why do you think Trump and Fox News are struggling to provide a negative image for her?"

"That is an excellent question. The public's overwhelming response to Harris' nomination is because 1.) she is the first black and south Asian woman to be on a major presidential ticket, and 2.) she is likable and charming. She has this exuberant energy that attracts people to her. You know, black and brown women and girls finally have someone that looks like them running for the second-highest office in the land. That is huge!

"I also have to wonder if people have smartened up in the last four years and won't tolerate the…hypocrisy, sexism, and misogyny…in this case misogynoir that is thrown towards Senator Harris from the media, political pundits, social media bots, etc. So, what we are seeing with Trump and Fox News struggling to attack her is because…well…they just aren't smart. All we have seen from Trump in his attacks against her is that she was mean to Kavanaugh when questioning him during his nomination process. But none of what Trump says holds up because we all know that smart, confident women intimidate him," you finished off your point.

"There is also the left…or more of the progressive left who are unhappy with Biden choosing Harris," Chris spoke up and continued, "They say she is a cop and put people away for weed. That she took kids away from parents when the kid didn't show up for school. That Harris is too conservative. What do you say to that?"

"All of that is…you know…. Senator Harris one of the most policy progressive senators we have. Her voting record is more progressive than Bernie Sanders. All people have to do is research her time as a district attorney and Attorney General for California to find out what she actually did concerning policy. But as we both know, people nowadays don't know how to critically think, which scares me. Progressives need to look at the overall big picture. This election in November is crucial. We are in the fight for our democracy, for our country, and for our lives…literally."

"I talk with my brother, Scott, all the time about certain political issues," mentioned Chris. "He is a tad more progressive than I am. I can admit that I tend to be more centrist. The district you represent is a mix of blue and red areas; how do you balance opposing views from your constituents?" 

You took in a deep breath before you answered. That was a loaded question. Representing a district that was not solely red, or blue could be difficult from time to time. You wanted to be respectful of the different viewpoints from constituents, but maintaining a neutral balance was hard and frustrating at times. 

"The majority of Americans are centrist/moderates. You need a balance of both liberal and conservative policies. Bipartisanship is crucially important when developing and passing laws. We are currently seeing an overt of one-sidedness while sabotaging the other side, which is detrimental to our country's growth. It is important to reach across the aisle to talk with those who may have opposing views than you. At the end of the day, people just want to feel that their concerns are heard and valued. We all want to feel that way. So, as an elected official, I make sure to take the time to talk with those in rural areas, along with urban areas, about their issues and concerns," you shared.

"Do you ever get any pushback from Trump supporters in the red areas?" Chris inquired.

"Well, it is important to note that not all residents in rural areas are Trump supporters. They just tend to keep that to themselves. I have actually talked to Trump supporters in blue areas. We can never and should never assume that one area has this type of person and vice versa. I learned that the hard way when I was campaigning for city council early in my career," you revealed to Chris with a small chuckle. "But overall, my constituents will talk with me and have been respectful. Some of the concerns that have been shared with me do fall under the QAnon conspiracy theories, which do disturb me, I'll be honest. Um…when being confronted with someone who has that extreme of ideals, it is important to remain calm and not to come off combative. Meaning that I have to remind myself that I am not quite dealing with a rational person. The only thing that I can do is calmly talk to the person and respond back with facts. Either they listen or brush me off and call me a radical lefty."

"The majority of people are good, like you said," Chris reminded you.

"That's right. It's a good mantra to live by. I think the American people are tired and have been tired for the past four years with this Administration. We need a sense of normalcy and decency. Compassion and empathy, which were two of the big themes during the DNC. This week was a nice reminder that we, as a country, can have that again."

"I agree. Very well said. You always end on a positive. I appreciate that. Thank you, Congresswoman Y/L/N, for taking the time to talk with me. You always provide great insight into the world of politics and your experience as an elected official," said Chris and ended the recording. "That was really great, Y/N. I know Mark, and I really appreciate you taken the time to do these interviews for ASP," Chris added.

"Oh, it is no problem. Like I said before, I like what you both are doing with the site. Are you happy with how everything turned out?" you asked him.

"Yeah… it's…it took a while to just get the website up and running. I know there is still work that needs to be done. Some areas need to be fixed, but with a project like this, we can adjust. There is more room for improvement and growth," Chris communicated to you.

You nodded in agreement. "Politics is a whole different ballgame. Not many people are willing to venture into the field. It can cause a lot of annoyances and headaches. So, hats off to you, my friend," you said, giving Chris a salute.

"Thank you. Well, I better let you go. I know you must have a million things on your plate."

"Ah yes, I have to go and save the United States Postal Service from corruption. Talk to you later, Chris. Take care," you waved goodbye and signed off.

Chris had to admit, he was in awe of you. There was something about you that fascinated him. None of the elected officials he and Mark talked to for ASP had the liveliness you had. You were not jaded or defeated by the system, at least not yet, since you were still considered a junior member of congress. Chris hoped that the energy and enthusiasm you had for politics and helping people would not diminish. When his Uncle Mike was still a congressman, he shared with Chris that D.C. can cause a lot of strain on a person's values and beliefs. "I have seen too many of my colleagues succumb to the pressures of dirty politics," Uncle Mike once said.

Chris just hoped that you would not succumb to those pressures.

[taxtotal]

The 7 most common fears of starting a business

A lot of people would like to commence a business of their own. However, we all have our own lives and responsibilities, which we have to fulfill. If I leave the job, how will I meet my expenses? What if I am wrong? Will I let people down? Will I get a good job if I fail to succeed in my venture? Every individual goes through all these kinds of thoughts before starting their own business, which pulls back the majority. Fear is not an uncommon thing limited to a few. Everyone has one or the other fear and, people have various fears while commencing their own business. Let us discuss some of the roadblocks and how you must overcome these fears of starting a business.

The fear of failure

The most common reason and why the majority hold themselves back at the thought process. Will I be able to implement the plan and be successful or, will I be a failure. If you fear your success, it affects your mind and brain, restricting you from performing to the best of your abilities. Guaranteed success is not an option that everyone can choose. If it was then, the world would be filled with millionaires and billionaires. Success comes for individuals who believe in the idea and work. Our mind-set is the key to how we perform.

Billionaire and business tycoon Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group said that failure is one of the most valuable learning tools. It is what you learn from your mistakes and, the ability to bounce back ultimately leads to success.

Considering other people’s opinions.

One of the major fears of starting a business is listening to other’s opinions. If you are someone who wants to start a business and, you say this to your peers. Even if there might be motivations, but people tend to overthink what, if I fail? This is not helped by some of the pushbacks which you receive.

People will always have different viewpoints, and objections are bound to arise. If we start doubting yourselves and consider others’ opinions, then we are holding ourselves back. You have to believe in yourselves and prepare for an onslaught from your peers.

The importance of the right state of mind has been widely mentioned by Napoleon Hill in his best-selling book Think and Grow Rich. “Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by opinions when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking.” — Napoleon Hill.

The only person with any loss is you, so you should forget about all the negatives and concentrate on what you want to achieve. Set proper targets and milestones for yourself to ensure you are on track. You will feel better when you complete these milestones.

The fear of starting a business due to lack of knowledge

If knowledge was the deciding factor for success, many of the leading minds would not have made it. By no means this means you can wake up and start a business. Yes, you need knowledge in your industry, but more importantly, you require knowledge to commence the business and operate accordingly.

The business has a dynamic environment where you learn new things every day. If you want to start after you become perfect. Then you might have to wait for a long time. You start and, then you learn along the way. It takes time to be an expert in any sector or industry. You might be close to being an expert in some field and, then there will be another innovation that comes along. That’s just the way how things work today. Start and then strive to be the best.

The risk involved is a major fear of starting a business

The risk factor for any business is high. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the risks and that change from industry to industry. Success comes for individuals who are willing to take the risk. An economic theory proposed by professor and economist F.B. Hawley states profit is a reward for the risk taken in business.

Lack of Funds

Cash is the lifeblood of business, and most of the budding entrepreneurs lack the capital to commence their venture. Even if it’s bootstrapped numerous, organizations run out of money. According to an analysis conducted by CB insights, lack of funds is the second highest reason why startups fail.

Therefore effective management and utilization of cash are vital for your success. There are more opportunities today to raise capital from angel investors and different events. But if you are unlucky, just take one step at a time. Sell your product and reinvest the money into the business. The road will be long and hard, but perseverance and good business acumen will pay off.

Customer Response

It is essential to find out that there is a real need for the product in the market. In the CB insights analysis, the biggest reason causing the failure of a start-up is the lack of demand for the product. Our ideas are always going to be close to our hearts. Be true to yourself and consult with as many potential customers as possible. Gather the data and find if there is a need for the product or service in the market. This needs to be done before a ton of money is invested in the business. Once need is established, you can set up your go-to-market strategy for your product or service.

Competition

The possibility that your product or service has a competitor in the market is very likely. If you do not have a competitor, it does not guarantee that it’s good news. It could be due to the lack of need for the product. It could also be a new category that needs a massive amount of money to propel the business.

How to overcome the fears of starting a business?

Don’t most of us hope that we know how to overcome our fears of starting a business? Maybe not everyone but most of us have this wish somewhere in us. The truth is there is no secret formula on how to do this. If we look at all the leading organizations and entrepreneurs in the world. At one point, they have faced challenges and, even they would have faced similar fears.

But they have overcome those fears and found a way to succeed. What is ubiquitous in the successful entrepreneurs of this generation and past generations? Their perseverance, belief in the idea, and execution brilliance. Is there a way to overcome your fear? You need to ask yourself the question if you are ready to make the leap of faith. In the end, we all have our own lives and responsibilities. We have commitments for which we are responsible. So you need to decide if the time is right for you to start chasing your dreams.

“I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.”

— Jeff Bezos

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Submission:

First, glad youre back! Sorry for the long post, its the effect of the insights you bring. “She’ll be a tabloid staple forever, thanks to the brf connection and the baby(ies)”/ “One reason why Meghan had so much trouble establishing herself as a royal girlfriend is that no one could believe it because it was such a contrast to Harry’s image.” In your absence, each new Harkle stunt, it came to my mind when you said something like ‘why the BRF didnt let DM finish her off in 2016?’ She would be one more forgotten in the wannabe category, all this could be avoided. I kind of gave up to have expectations from the divorce bc the most its gonna happen is Harry finding someone else (I dont care), W&K be spared to be next her and we to see her face in the BRF images. The smear campaing since 2016 shows she wont let the Windsors breathe and now she can bragg to have inside info, even if its to tell lies. I learnt about PR thanks to you and in this period could see it cleary, while many still look for 'organic’ reasons in her actions (BTW, some sugars/K haters are now copying your PR explanations to sound reasonable). I also used to think she would fade quickly, but with Elton Jonh & Co 'leave M alone’ movement, I realised how far she can go to keep her new fame status (BTW2, to think Pink bullied W for hunting…). IDK if it was you who said the 2016 statement was also to show she really was H gf bc ppl were not buying. IMO it was also due to them not appearing together and doing the same stuff others gfs did, it seemed she was all by herself, maybe she was back then, and the unimaginable possibility of the BRF accepting her - at least, it was that for me. The fact is no one was taking her existence seriously anyway. She did shut up the press and now is mad for receiving a scrutiny similar to the others gfs, but another thing that must have left her fuming was that even after the statement, she didnt generate the interest the others did, then came the alleged “fan” blogs, 'Harry is discretion master’ BS to justify the lack of PDA and press/pics and VF. How desperate she was to demeaning herself in 'wild about Harry’ LOL. And I think she still needed to rush the engagement. So, to conclude, I changed my mind from 'she’ll fade quickly’ to 'we’ll never get rid of her’ bc she “worked” so hard to force herself in, she wont let it go, the divorce will be just another step. She doesnt accept her fate and take the 'follow your dreams’ motto to a dark extreme, plus US seems pretty open to any trash celeb. If Sarah is still on the scene and undoubtly M is willing to go deeper than her - she was pursuing to become a WAG, for G sake -, she’ll always find a way.

_______________________________________________________________________

Thanks for sending this in! I don’t think she’s going away. Now I understand why I get so much pushback from people because she is such a mediocre celebrity without the royal connection. However, I think the skeptics underestimate how much the royal connection is worth in the US, even after a divorce. Fergie legitimately had a career in the States as an ex-duchess and it only went downhill after the sheik sting scandal hits. Her lawsuit against the reporter who executed the sting claims it cost her 40 million pounds in lost contracts. That’s probably an exaggeration, but she was still making millions in the US with public appearances, a WW contract, a porcelain line, etc..

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5292869/Duchess-Yorks-cash-access-sting-claim-hits-40m.html

And Meghan would have a much bigger profile that Fergie after her divorce with tons of press about how she was victimized by the British press, abandoned by the brf, betrayed by her family, etc.. She would also have the first American royal baby (maybe even two), a “best selling” cookbook, a “best selling” fashion collection, and a “best selling” children’s book and tons of celebrity “friends” ready to get some press in exchange for their “support” and a pile of brands that owe her because she wore them during her royal sojourn. Here “Brave American Duchess Finding Her Own Voice” brand will be worth millions. Certainly more than the me Royal Sussex branding she has right now.

That’s why I think she’ll leave soon. She’s now famous enough that she can have her celebrity life without all the royal restrictions, and she has a perfect “victimized by the press” narrative. She just needs a couple of months to unwind her love story  and then she can flee.

[coinprojects]

New Post has been published on https://coinprojects.net/concerns-around-data-privacy-are-rising-and-blockchain-is-the-solution/

Concerns around data privacy are rising, and blockchain is the solution

Today’s consumers are willing to trade their data for personalization but have fast-growing concerns about data privacy. In a survey from a digital security and credential issuance company Entrust, only 21% of the respondents trust established global brands to keep their personal information secure.

As data privacy pressure on Big Tech increases, these companies are starting to make significant investments in security solutions.

Regulations around the world are evolving rapidly

Last year, as more and more people spent time at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns, internet usage went up. And as usage has gone up, so too has consumer awareness of how data could be used or misused. For example, a recent survey from Startpage, a privacy-focused search engine company, found that 62% of Americans have become more aware of how their data is used online, including ad targeting based on their browsing history and location.

Related: The data economy is a dystopian nightmare

With growing concern over how companies collect data, new laws are evolving rapidly in the United States and abroad to address these concerns. In 2016, the European Union passed the General Data Protection Regulation. Two years later, California signed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act, the most robust state-level privacy legislation in history. Since then, Virginia is the only other U.S. state that has successfully passed a comprehensive bill, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act.

With more states looking to add consumer privacy protection laws, it’s clear that user opinions and policies are shifting. That said, data privacy and how it’s protected is incredibly complex, and these toothless bills could have the opposite effect — giving consumers the confidence that their data is protected when, in fact, it often is not.

Related: DPN vs. VPN: The dawn of decentralized web privacy

Companies will invest in privacy and security technology

When 2020 began, millions of people moved their lives online — went to school remotely and attended virtual happy hours — exposing more personal data to a barely regulated internet. Not only did people integrate more data collection into their daily lives, but they were also led to believe that location tracking could have public health benefits.

Thanks to COVID-19, the depth of our data-sharing deficiencies have been exposed. As we move forward, everyone must raise awareness and promote the best practices in privacy and data protection.

Related: We don’t need immunity passports, we need verifiable credentials

Is a solution possible?

As consumer expectations continue to drive privacy scrutiny, there is an opportunity to lead the pack in this evolving area, but with new entrants primed to enter the market, that opportunity will not last very long. According to Crunchbase, investors pumped $7.8 billion into cybersecurity firms last year, a 22% increase from 2019 to 2020, and this year the number is even higher after just six months, surpassing the $9 billion mark.

With data ownership top-of-mind, let’s take a look at the startups paving the way for a post-pandemic world. From personal data scrubbing to business-focused software meant to help companies comply with the law, these five startups are helping users to take back control and ownership.

OpenMined is an open-source community, and the company sees its goal in making the world more privacy-preserving by lowering the barrier to entry to private AI technologies. Its mission is to create an accessible ecosystem of privacy tools and education, which it does by extending popular libraries like PyTorch with advanced techniques in cryptography and differential privacy. The company claims that through its services, people and organizations can host private data sets, allowing data scientists to train or query data they “cannot see.” The data owners retain complete control — data is never copied, moved or shared.

Anjuna provides hardware-grade protection for data, applications and workloads, virtually eliminating data insecurity. According to the team, it ensures that applications operate independently of their infrastructure, simplifying operations while locking down data security. The software enables IT to “lift and shift” applications and data into the hardware-encrypted confines of a secure enclave, protecting them from malicious software, insiders and bad actors.

Fortanix secures sensitive data across public, hybrid, multi-cloud and private cloud environments, enabling customers to operate even the most sensitive applications in any environment. Fortanix states that organizations gain the freedom to accelerate their digital transformation, combine and analyze private data, and deliver secure applications that protect the privacy of the people they serve.

Duality Technologies addresses the rapidly growing need of enterprises across regulated industries to collaborate on sensitive data. According to the company, the platform enables secure analysis of encrypted data, deriving insights from sensitive data without exposing the data itself. Its technology protects valuable analytics models from exposure to external collaboration parties during computations. The Duality SecurePlus states that the platform makes it possible for enterprises to leverage advanced cryptographic methods for real-world data collaborations while complying with data privacy regulations and protecting their IP.

Leap Year builds technology to address these issues in a scalable, rigorous, future-proof way. As per the company’s statements, some of the largest enterprises in the world can break down data silos, form data partnerships and accelerate the adoption of machine learning, all with mathematically proven privacy protection.

Related: No more pushes and pushbacks: Digital ID solves the privacy dilemma

The need for Web 3.0

Looking back, the societal changes we’ve experienced in the last year are important flashpoints that highlight huge flaws in the way the internet exists today, how data privacy laws are created and the hidden ways Big Tech exploits our data.

During the pandemic, companies like Google, Facebook, Zoom and Amazon have profited big time. At the loss of consumer privacy and choice, Big Tech makes its money through monetizing user data. While yes, we do use these things every day, these platforms on Web 2.0 are a breeding ground for exploitation, hacks and breeches.

Related: Striking a chord: DeFi’s domino effect on NFTs and Web 3.0 adoption

As we adapt to a new world, blockchain will inevitably play a role in a decentralized future. Are you ready for the Web 3.0 revolution?

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Anne Fauvre-Willis is the chief operating officer of Oasis Labs and was an earlier contributor to the Oasis Network, a privacy-enabled blockchain platform for open finance and a responsible data economy. Before Oasis Labs, Anne had roles as a product manager/product marketing manager for the iPhone at Apple. She also worked for former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Albright Stonebridge Group. Anne has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Georgetown University.

Source link By Cointelegraph By Anne Fauvre-Willis

#Altcoin #Bitcoin #BlockChain #BlockchainNews #Crypto

[orbemnews]

China boycotts are a warning to Western brands Dozens of Chinese celebrities have terminated contracts or said they’ll cut ties with the brands, while H&M, the world’s second largest clothing retailer, has been pulled from major e-commerce sites. Investor insight: Nike shares tumbled more than 3% Thursday on Wall Street, while Adidas sank more than 6% in Frankfurt. In London, Burberry lost more than 4%. H&M’s stock also slid nearly 2% in Sweden. The outrage was triggered by a social media post from a group linked to the ruling Communist Party, which resurfaced a statement H&M made in September about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. State media has since targeted other major brands that have previously spoken out. Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Beijing of detaining Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in “re-education” camps where they’re forced to make products that find their way into global tech and retail supply chains. Recent sanctions from the United States and other Western countries over Xinjiang have sparked renewed pushback from the Chinese government, which calls the camps “vocational training centers” designed to combat poverty and religious extremism. Blowback in China against companies that have spoken out on Xinjiang may pass, according to Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman. Shares of H&M rose 1% in early trading Friday, while Nike’s stock is up roughly 1.5% in premarket trading. But the episode is a reminder of the challenges Western brands face as they court the immense spending power of Chinese consumers. “It’s a tough position to manage, because they can’t really back down on their [stances], but at the same time they want to make sure they don’t abandon the Chinese customer,” Sherman told me. China accounted for roughly 5% of H&M’s sales in 2019. Sherman estimates that figure grew to about 10% in 2020, as China’s economy recovered faster from coronavirus than its home market of Europe. “In a year like this, even taking a 5% haircut off the top line is a big hit when H&M is trying to recover,” Sherman said. Luxury brands like Burberry are even more exposed, she added. Burberry listed “any significant change to Chinese consumer spending habits” as a key risk to sales in its most recent annual report. Big picture: The US-China tensions that gained prominence during the Trump era haven’t gone away, with the Biden administration and allies taking a hard line with Beijing. That creates challenges for Western companies that operate in the Chinese market. “It does affect these brands,” Sherman said. Plus, weeks like this only strengthen the hand of local competitors, which are more tapped in to regional tastes and can avoid politically-generated controversy, she noted. This powerful oil lobby has changed its tune on a carbon tax The oil industry’s most powerful lobby announced Thursday that it will support setting a price on carbon for the first time, a significant shift that underlines intensifying pressure on Washington and business to tackle the climate crisis. But the devil will be in the details, my CNN Business colleague Matt Egan reports. The American Petroleum Institute laid out a series of principles that must be met before the century-old group endorses a price on carbon. Advocates of carbon pricing say it’s crucial to fighting the climate crisis, since it would accelerate efforts to curb planet-warming emissions and force investors, companies and individuals to bear the cost of pollution. But API opposed the last serious effort to impose a price on carbon in 2010. Since then, ExxonMobil, Chevron and other industry leaders have publicly backed carbon pricing — clearing the way for others to follow. “This is a pretty big deal for the industry. There is broad recognition that obviously the country has to do something on climate change,” API CEO Mike Sommers told CNN Business. “We want to be a willing partner with the Biden administration and others in Congress who are serious about taking on this challenge.” Still, there’s skepticism among climate groups that API’s change of heart will translate to its backing of meaningful legislation. “A statement of theoretical support for a market-based carbon price is a long way from agreeing to what will likely need to be strong, binding rules to limit fossil fuel usage [and] methane emission,” Dylan Tanner, executive director of InfluenceMap, a think tank focused on energy and climate change, said in a statement. WeWork is finally going public by merging with a SPAC It’s been 18 months since WeWork scrapped its plans to go public after a disastrous IPO attempt. Now the coworking space provider appears ready to try again. The latest: The Wall Street Journal was first to report that WeWork has agreed to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The merger with BowX Acquisition Corp. would value WeWork at $9 billion. That’s a fraction of the $47 billion private market valuation the company fetched previously. Remember: WeWork was plunged into crisis in 2019 as investors combed through the company’s IPO paperwork, which revealed former CEO Adam Neumann’s unchecked power and numerous potential conflicts of interest, as well as the startup’s staggering losses. The company was forced to postpone its IPO, accept a bailout from SoftBank and reconfigure its business. Now, it could raise money by tapping into the SPAC boom. In recent months, investors have raced to set up so-called “blank check” companies, which exist purely to find private companies to merge with, effectively taking them public. Details, details: BowX Acquisition Corp., which raised $420 million from investors last year, is led by Vivek Ranadivé, who founded Tibco Software and now owns the Sacramento Kings. Ranadivé will join WeWork’s board. Up next Personal income and spending data for February posts at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with a key measure of inflation. Coming next week: The US jobs report for March is a crucial economic indicator as the recovery gathers steam. Source link Orbem News #boycotts #brands #China #investing #Premarketstocks:ChinaboycottsareawarningtoWesternbrands-CNN #warning #Western

[dipulb3]

China boycotts are a warning to Western brands

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/china-boycotts-are-a-warning-to-western-brands/

China boycotts are a warning to Western brands

Dozens of Chinese celebrities have terminated contracts or said they’ll cut ties with the brands, while H&M, the world’s second largest clothing retailer, has been pulled from major e-commerce sites.

Investor insight: Nike shares tumbled more than 3% Thursday on Wall Street, while Adidas sank more than 6% in Frankfurt. In London, Burberry lost more than 4%. H&M’s stock also slid nearly 2% in Sweden.

The outrage was triggered by a social media post from a group linked to the ruling Communist Party, which resurfaced a statement H&M made in September about reports of forced labor in Xinjiang. State media has since targeted other major brands that have previously spoken out.

Human rights groups have repeatedly accused Beijing of detaining Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in “re-education” camps where they’re forced to make products that find their way into global tech and retail supply chains.

Recent sanctions from the United States and other Western countries over Xinjiang have sparked renewed pushback from the Chinese government, which calls the camps “vocational training centers” designed to combat poverty and religious extremism.

Blowback in China against companies that have spoken out on Xinjiang may pass, according to Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman. Shares of H&M rose 1% in early trading Friday, while Nike’s stock is up roughly 1.5% in premarket trading.

But the episode is a reminder of the challenges Western brands face as they court the immense spending power of Chinese consumers.

“It’s a tough position to manage, because they can’t really back down on their [stances], but at the same time they want to make sure they don’t abandon the Chinese customer,” Sherman told me.

China accounted for roughly 5% of H&M’s sales in 2019. Sherman estimates that figure grew to about 10% in 2020, as China’s economy recovered faster from coronavirus than its home market of Europe.

“In a year like this, even taking a 5% haircut off the top line is a big hit when H&M is trying to recover,” Sherman said.

Luxury brands like Burberry are even more exposed, she added. Burberry listed “any significant change to Chinese consumer spending habits” as a key risk to sales in its most recent annual report.

Big picture: The US-China tensions that gained prominence during the Trump era haven’t gone away, with the Biden administration and allies taking a hard line with Beijing. That creates challenges for Western companies that operate in the Chinese market.

“It does affect these brands,” Sherman said. Plus, weeks like this only strengthen the hand of local competitors, which are more tapped in to regional tastes and can avoid politically-generated controversy, she noted.

This powerful oil lobby has changed its tune on a carbon tax

The oil industry’s most powerful lobby announced Thursday that it will support setting a price on carbon for the first time, a significant shift that underlines intensifying pressure on Washington and business to tackle the climate crisis.

But the devil will be in the details, my Appradab Business colleague Matt Egan reports. The American Petroleum Institute laid out a series of principles that must be met before the century-old group endorses a price on carbon.

Advocates of carbon pricing say it’s crucial to fighting the climate crisis, since it would accelerate efforts to curb planet-warming emissions and force investors, companies and individuals to bear the cost of pollution.

But API opposed the last serious effort to impose a price on carbon in 2010. Since then, ExxonMobil, Chevron and other industry leaders have publicly backed carbon pricing — clearing the way for others to follow.

“This is a pretty big deal for the industry. There is broad recognition that obviously the country has to do something on climate change,” API CEO Mike Sommers told Appradab Business. “We want to be a willing partner with the Biden administration and others in Congress who are serious about taking on this challenge.”

Still, there’s skepticism among climate groups that API’s change of heart will translate to its backing of meaningful legislation.

“A statement of theoretical support for a market-based carbon price is a long way from agreeing to what will likely need to be strong, binding rules to limit fossil fuel usage [and] methane emission,” Dylan Tanner, executive director of InfluenceMap, a think tank focused on energy and climate change, said in a statement.

WeWork is finally going public by merging with a SPAC

It’s been 18 months since WeWork scrapped its plans to go public after a disastrous IPO attempt. Now the coworking space provider appears ready to try again.

The latest: The Wall Street Journal was first to report that WeWork has agreed to merge with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.

The merger with BowX Acquisition Corp. would value WeWork at $9 billion. That’s a fraction of the $47 billion private market valuation the company fetched previously.

Remember: WeWork was plunged into crisis in 2019 as investors combed through the company’s IPO paperwork, which revealed former CEO Adam Neumann’s unchecked power and numerous potential conflicts of interest, as well as the startup’s staggering losses.

The company was forced to postpone its IPO, accept a bailout from SoftBank and reconfigure its business.

Now, it could raise money by tapping into the SPAC boom. In recent months, investors have raced to set up so-called “blank check” companies, which exist purely to find private companies to merge with, effectively taking them public.

Details, details: BowX Acquisition Corp., which raised $420 million from investors last year, is led by Vivek Ranadivé, who founded Tibco Software and now owns the Sacramento Kings. Ranadivé will join WeWork’s board.

Up next

Personal income and spending data for February posts at 8:30 a.m. ET, along with a key measure of inflation.

Coming next week: The US jobs report for March is a crucial economic indicator as the recovery gathers steam.