#when that is your first response after hearing your favorite author is a rapist

[magnetic-dogz]

Just for the record, now is not the time to be saying "You shouldn't give him money, but Neil Gaiman's works are good!!!! You should pirate them instead!!!!"

Y'all are gonna hate hearing this, but pirating someone's works so you can enjoy them without any guilt is still bad and still equates to supporting them and giving them a platform. I thought we all went over this before with JKR and Harry Potter.

If you're so spineless and incapable of handling any inconviences that you can't bear to give up your precious little medias after the author is revealed as a CP supporter, racist, zionist, and a RAPIST, then... I'm sorry, but there's actually something deeply wrong with you.

[anthracenes]

Rivers | Chapter 4

Tags/Trigger Warnings: Non-Con/Rape, Self-Harm, Abuse of Authority, Anxiety, Childhood Trauma, Abduction, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Victim Blaming, Dissociation, Forced Orgasm, Creampie, Kidnapping, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Blow Jobs, Humiliation, Crying, Angst, Dark, Psychological Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Grooming, Fucked Up, Slut Shaming

[read on AO3 here]

 The room he’s confined to is one Richard doesn’t recognize inside the house. It’s small, drab, and windowless—with a single old incandescent bulb left constantly on, casting an eerie yellow glow to the otherwise grey walls. He thinks he's been moved underground, probably the basement, judging by the set of stairs and how much colder this room feels to the rest of the building. There is no clock in sight from where he is chained to on the bed; no device he can use to somehow indicate the passing of time. There’s not much of anything else in the room, either—save for a dresser out of his reach across the room and a small bucket by the foot of the bed. 

He tugs hard at his chains again, to no avail.  

Has it been hours? Days? Richard has nothing to go by, but it all feels nothing short of an endless fever dream. He knows every now and again he’ll lose chunks of time to sleep, but he has no idea how long they last for, or when one nightmare ends and reality begins. Nothing much feels real anymore, anyways. 

“I'm back, Dick.”

That is, of course, with the exception of Rivers’ visits.

He hears the all-too-familiar sound of the man’s voice before he's able to see his figure descending down the stairs. This time, Rivers is carrying with him a lunch tray, with what looks to be a sandwich, an apple, and a small carton of milk on top of it. Richard stiffens at the obvious resemblance to a school lunch presented to him. He silently glares at the tray in his hands, then up at the older man himself.

Rivers only chuckles at him. 

“Oh? Don’t give me such a sour look.” He sets down the tray by his side, smiling as he sits on the edge of the bed. “It ruins your pretty face.”

“I’ve already told you I’d be gone for a few errands. Why, did you miss your teacher already?”

Richard curls in on himself, as far away on the bed as he could from Rivers and the food. He may be hungry, but there’s no trusting a man like Rivers that this isn’t a part of some elaborate trap. He wouldn’t be surprised if any of it turned out to be drugged, anyways. He holds himself tightly, ignoring the pangs he feels in his stomach as the scent of fresh, warm grilled cheese inevitably makes his mouth water. 

“... I’m not hungry. Leave me alone.” 

“What? After all that I went through, to get my star student his favorite lunch?” Rivers scoffs. “I’m real disappointed in you, Dick. What’s happened to you these past ten years? You used to be such a good kid back when I looked after you.” 

“Looked after?” Richard turns around. He knows deep down that Rivers is baiting a reaction out of him, but his blood boils hot in his veins after everything he’s been through. “Looked after? You raped me!”

“A pretty small price to pay for takin’ care of someone else’s brat, I’d say.” The man’s eyes darken as he crawls closer towards him on the bed, backing Richard slowly into a corner like the cowardly prey he is.  

“You’re nothing but a monster,” Richard spits out. “A small price? You.. you took so much of my life away. Years… My innocence, my whole childhood! Gone, because of you!”

“Your whole childhood was already shit. Isn’t that why you came runnin’ to ol’ Mr. Rivers? To feel cared for, for the first time? Loved? It’s only fair I ask for somethin’ in return. Mommy and daddy certainly weren’t even doin’ that, were they?”  

Richard shrinks back at that. The anger in him all but evaporates as his chest seizes painfully at the sudden, callous mention of his parents. 

The years of neglect he’s suffered, the constant arguments between his parents. The eventual split that tore his family apart. He hasn’t thought about them at all since he’s left it all behind him for college.

Having it all resurface like this while his rapist casually reminds him of his fuckups—it only forces Richard to rush for the bucket.

Rivers continues anyways, over the sound of his dry heaving. 

“Rape ? What’s all this nonsense about rape from you out of nowhere? Of all people. I mean, I’ve known you to be a filthy little liar even back then, but don’t you do that to yourself, Dick. Don’t you lie to yourself like that.” He sneers as he leans forward, whispering in his ear. 

“Call it whatever you’d like. At the end of the day, we all know who came to who to beg for the attention he’s not gettin’ at home. Who came to who to get his sweet little cunt all stirred up while mommy and daddy fought.”

“Stop it,” Richard sobs as he shakes his head. He covers both of his ears with trembling hands. “Stop it!”

“You’ve forgotten after all these years, haven’t you.” Rivers wraps his arms around his naked waist from behind. “Shame. I thought I’d given you a good enough refresher when I’d shown you how honest your body could really be last night.” His fingers stray downward, making their way towards his exposed crotch, as he brushes his lips against his ears.

“Should we try again now, then?”

Richard screams, jerking in his arms. “Stop! Don’t touch me!” 

He grabs at the older man’s hands, trying desperately to pry them away from him. After some struggle between the two, however, Rivers eventually overpowers him, seizing him by the wrists. He is pinned faceup onto the bed as the older man begins to straddle his body. 

“I think I’ve finally figured out who’s gotten you to become so naughty after all these years,” he croons. Rivers smacks his lips together before licking a long, wet stripe down the side of his neck. “You’ve managed to snatch up a little beauty for yourself over the years, haven’t you? Lied and lied to the poor girl all this time, until eventually you've started believin’ in these lies yourself. Abby, was it? Or did you prefer the little blonde one, Katie?”

That has Richard frozen in a heartbeat. Rivers had never made any indication that he’s familiar with Katie, but, as far as he knew, Abby was someone Katie had met out in college. Richard stares up at him, a wide-eyed deer in the headlights, as he tries the stammer out a response.

“Oh?” Rivers sneers. “It’s the blonde then, isn’t it? I thought I recognized her. Who knew?”

“H-how… how did you…”

“They’re outside right now lookin’ for you. Heard them runnin’ around, callin’ your name out on the streets on my way doin’ errands,” the older man states, matter-of-factly. His expression morphs into something sinister as he sits and lets this information stew.

“How about... I let them both in here?”

“No…”

“Show them how you really are when you’re bein’ honest with yourself—”

“No!”

“—Or better yet, why don’t I let them join in on the fun?” Rivers lets go of one of his wrists to tilt his head up with his thumb, gently tracing the edge of his jawline. “I’m sure you’d all have the time of your life here together. One big happy family. Now, wouldn’t you like that? Wouldn’t that be nice, Dick?”

Richard shudders, shaking his head. There’s nothing else Rivers needs to say here. He understands perfectly well the threat bared underneath those words. 

He lowers his head, averting his gaze in submission.

“Please… don’t. I-I’ll be good from now on, I promise. Just… please, don’t get them involved. Please ...”

“Now there’s the good little star student I remember.” The older man lets go of his wrists. There’s no need to be rough anymore, knowing how utterly defeated he now has him. He ruffles his hair lightly, kissing his forehead. 

“You want to be good for me from now on?” 

Richard nods. 

���Prove it, then. Show Mr. Rivers how good and honest you can be, Dick.”

[mslynnwrites]

11/11/11

@stand-inthe-rain​ tagged me in this little game, so I’ll bite. I’m only procrastinating, after all lol. Basically, I answer 11 questions that were given to me on the post I was tagged in, then make 11 questions for other people and tag 11 people. We’ll see how well this goes. ^-^

1. When do you do your writing?

Usually in the middle of the day or late at night. Kinda have to work around my jobs’ schedules.

2. Are you a planner or pantser, and why?

Bit of both, really, but more of a pantser. I try to make a plan, but I pretty much immediately disregard the entire thing. Most of my outlines end up being short 1-2 sentence descriptions of the most important things for each chapter and I just fill out the rest while I write. There’s not really a “why,” though. It’s just what works for me. I can’t hold to elaborate outlines, and that’s mostly because I discover my characters and worlds while I write, no matter how long I world/character-built.

3. What made you want to start writing?

Not really sure. I just really enjoyed reading as a kid, but it’s so hard to find the kinds of stories that I want to read. I started writing fanfic back in grade school so I could make those stories, and now I’m writing original stuff for the same reason.

4. Which OC do you most enjoy writing?

Caveron. Definitely Caveron. He’s the one character that comes very easily to me (apart from Kaetren, but he’s been my OC since middle school, so I know him very well). He just clicks for me, and he’s really a fun character.

5. What book or author has had the most impact on your own writing experience?

I’m not really sure I can name one in particular. I pick up things here and there from multiple sources, then combine them into something I can use. If I have to name one, I’d probably say either Jenna Moreci or Rick Riordan. Jenna, because she’s the one with the youtube vids that really got me to start writing my stories and actually planning them out to some extent, and Rick because his books inspired me a lot as a kid. 

6. Where do you get inspiration for your characters?

Many sources. Dreams, random shower thoughts. games, roleplays, people I know, music. It just depends. 

7. Which OC is most like you?

I want to say Kaetren, but that’s really not the case. I’m really a bit more like John: the mom friend keeping all my dumb friends from doing stupid things, but also internalizing things a bit more than others probably do.

8. Which OC is least like you?

Kava. He’s everything I hate in a person. He makes me want to stab everyone within a 6 mile radius. Although there is that inkling fear that maybe I hate him so much because it’s things I hate about myself in some cases. Then I remember that I’m not a self-important rapist who kills people once they’re no longer of use to me, so I think we’re probably good here.

9. Do you think of themes for your WIPs before you write, or do you discover what they are as you go along?

I don’t really think of themes at all. They just present themselves while I write, so I expand on them in later drafts. Occasionally, there’ll be one or two things that I definitely want to show within the story, but for the most part, themes appear while I work.

10. What was your favorite book when you were younger and has it changed?

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I first read it in summer school after 3rd grade, and I still adore it. It’s short, sweet, and fun. I do still enjoy plenty of other books, and I’m sure another book will come to mind whenever someone asks me that question, but this has always been my most consistent answer, so I’ll stick with it.

11. Which would you choose to live without if you had to give up either your sight or your hearing?

Oh sight without a doubt. Sure, I love to read and see pretty sunsets, laugh at cat pictures, and all that. Hell, I practically live off of memes. But I’m a very auditory person. I love music. It’s what gives me inspiration. I love to sing and hear myself sing. I love to hear the same Vines over and over just because I think they’re funny. And as fun as these things are to watch as well, I could live without sight. In fact, it’d probably help my writing in some ways. I have a highly vivid imagination, so sight wouldn’t be as much of a problem for quite some time. Other senses tend to be slightly enhanced (or at least more noticed) when one is lacking, so my sense of touch and smell (which I’m very bad about using in writing) would actually be noticed enough for me to give them focus.

Now for 11 questions to other people!

1. If you could choose one fictional world to live in, where would you go?

2. What are the strangest traits you find in your characters?

3. If you were a mage, what kind would you be/what would your magic focus on?

4. Would you want to be the Chosen One in a story? Why (not)?

5. Apart from writing, what do you want to do with your life?

6. Dogs or cats?

7. Favorite music genre?

8. What genres do you prefer to write, and are those usually the same as what you read?

9. Are you currently procrastinating something mildly important?

10. What do you tend to focus more on while planning your story out? The plot, the subplots, the characters, the world, etc?

11. What’s the longest story you’ve ever written, and how long was it?

Technically I’m supposed to tag 11 people now, but I’m just gonna tag a few. Anyone else who feels like doing it, though, feel free! Just let me know so I can read your responses!

@arwallace @duskdragon39 @madammuffins @writing-and-nutmeg @the-clockwork-anything

(If I tagged you, and you don’t want to be tagged in stuff, sorry. Just shout at me and I’ll make sure not to do that again.)

[bigskydreaming]

Seriously, for fuck’s sake, I know that post was AT LEAST as far back as December, if not more, and it literally had less than ten notes just two hours ago.

But remember! I’m on a fucking CRUSADE! I just want to take away peoples’ rape fics and harmless kiddie porn fantasies and I just can’t respect the fact that as long as people just TAG their ‘herein lies my advertisement of the fact that hahaha, omg I think what happened to you is actually kinda hot and sexy giggle giggle aren’t I so TABOO????’ smut like lol okay, well that doesn’t affect me at all, I’m not remotely bothered by having to spend every single day wading through reminders of how much more fascinating people find rape than actual survivors of said things. 

I’m the one who has no idea how to live in a society with other people and suck it up and deal with the fact that sometimes, people do and say things that make us uncomfortable and we wish we could avoid, but just shut the fuck up and keep that to yourself, right? Don’t like....TELL people they’ve made you uncomfortable and are doing things that you wish they’d think about more critically, gosh, all that’s gonna do is make THEM uncomfortable then, why couldn’t you just kept it to yourself, how dare you think TALKING about problems is the solution?????

Yup yup, I’m clearly the one who has no boundaries and no regard for other people and can’t let people just have their harmless fun, their different opinions that don’t actually affect me, I’m the one who just can’t seem to stop from hunting down posts I don’t agree with and hopping on other blogs and resurrecting weeks or months old posts just to make sure EVERYONE KNOWS THIS POST WAS WROOOOOOONG. Lmao.

Well I’m very sorry for all that, now that mine eyes have been opened! Rape fics are harmless and this is all just fictional, nobody is actually affected in a negative way by anything being talked about here yaaaaaaay!

Anyway, I’m off to spend the rest of the night trying to calm down lolol because fun fact for people who love to talk about being triggered but have no real clue what they’re actually talking about and how that word was never meant to describe being like...upset or angry but rather the stimuli or situations that put survivors and people with PTSD and other mental disorders into actual goddamn panic spirals and attacks. And thus like, triggers are not as fucking obvious as some of you seem to think they are.

Like lol guess what, I actually can read a scene wherein someone’s raping someone in a scene that looks or sounds EXACTLY LIKE MY RAPE and it can be heart-wrenching and it can be graphic and it can be emotional and I can still not be triggered by that! Know why? Because shockingly, I AM aware that this is just fictional! That these are just fictional characters! That no fictional character and no real person has been harmed in the writing of this scene, because FICTIONAL CHARACTERS CAN’T BE HARMED! Know what else fictional characters can’t be? RAPED. Because rape is not a VISUAL, rape is not an ACTION, rape is not a SPECIFIC SEQUENCE OF EVENTS. Rape is a THEFT, it is one person STEALING another person’s ability to control what happens with their body, taking what they have no right to take, just because they WANT to, just because they CAN. And thus NO rape scene, no matter HOW well written or realistically depicted, is ever going to BE a rape scene, just like no ‘rape fantasy’ roleplay is ever going to BE rape because without an actual DYNAMIC of one person taking something the other person has no power to stop, when its two equally consenting partners or two flat fictional characters on a page, it is still nothing more than a SIMULATION of rape, and NEVER ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT.

And guess what? I can handle THAT just fine. THAT doesn’t trigger me no matter how much it reminds me of my own trauma, because I KNOW DAMN WELL THAT ISN’T REAL.

But you know what IS real? You know what DOES trigger me? The CONTEXT of the scene. The REASON it was written, the intended REACTION of the reader.

The part that makes me lose my fucking shit is when I’m forced to face the reality that this scene exists, was written, because somebody found it HOT and SEXY and wanted to share it with people who’d see it the same way. The reason I lose my goddamn MIND and my adrenaline ramps up and my whole body starts shaking as my fight or flight instincts kick in with no actual outlet because there’s no actual threat, just the phantom reminder of a threat I couldn’t escape from....THAT fun little adventure comes from looking or hearing about things that remind me of my rape, take me back to that fucking room and make me a terrified out of my goddamn mind dumbass nineteen year old all over again.....and knowing that this is HOT to the writer and readers, that this is  intended as sexually gratifying, that this scene, this depiction, this simulation of one person STEALING from another powerless person SOMETHING THEY WILL NEVER EVER FUCKING BE ABLE TO GET BACK AS LONG AS THEY LIVE, THE SENSE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY THAT COMES FROM BEING THE ONLY PERSON WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHO HAS ACCESS TO YOUR BODY....knowing that this little smutty fic exists so people can read this and be TURNED ON by this, so they can GET OFF to this, this thing they’re looking at in their mind, reading about, picturing as they stare down at their screen getting all hot and bothered....

JUST LIKE MY FUCKING RAPIST LOOKED WHEN GETTING OFF FROM TAKING THOSE THINGS FROM ME.

THAT is what fucking triggers me, THAT is what makes me feel unsafe and panicky, THAT is what traps me all over again in that fucking goddamn room and leaves me STUCK there no matter how many years its been and HOW far I’ve come in getting past it...

THE CONSTANT NEVER ENDING REMINDER THAT PEOPLE THINK ITS TOTALLY NO BIG DEAL TO FUCKING AGREE WITH MY RAPIST ABOUT HOW FUCKING HOT AND SATISFYING THE VIEW IS FROM UP THERE.

And all the fucking trigger warnings in the world don’t protect me from THAT, they just emphasize how little people actually give a shit, they just want the magic answer to how they can have their fun ‘harmless’ little rape KINK without having someone make them feel bad for the fact that the rank goes FUN RAPE FANTASIES YAY first and survivors who have a problem with that way the fuck last.

Anyway, so that’s what I’ll be doing all night! Links to my paypal and my ko-fi are on my main blog page if anyone’s ever felt informed or learned anything from any of my many, many, MANY posts about this stuff or any form of gratitude for the effort I DO or at least once DID put into sorting through my thoughts and making my points in some kind of way that actually addresses the usual conversations around all this.

Because guess what? It IS goddamn fucking emotional labor. It DOES take work! Its EXHAUSTING. It HURTS. I would give anything in the world to NOT pick at that giant fucking scab as often as I do, but I DONT HAVE THAT OPTION. Because not talking about it DOESNT MAKE IT GO AWAY. It doesn’t make LESS for me to have to navigate through every goddamn day of my life and you know what the suggested response to problems that you can’t fix on your own are? Problems with SOCIETY?

HAVING GODDAMN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT.

So excuse me for SAYING that as often as I do especially cuz every time I DO I get maybe ten notes of acknowledgment that anyone’s even fucking LISTENING but meanwhile here’s another fucking five hundred on a Batfam or X-Men shit post, now THAT’S the content people want from me!

Guess what! I WANT THAT TO BE MY CONTENT TO!

I would LOVE nothing more than to just be able to happily and comfortably shitpost about my favorite superheroes and write stuff I enjoy and that doesn’t have the flaws I rant about seeing in so many shows and books. I could talk for HOURS about fun thoughts and ideas I have in my head, I could banter back and forth with my friends about nothing of substance at all for DAYS, I don’t NEED to fucking retraumatize myself every goddamn day screaming into the void about this shit so I can feel IMPORTANT or have something INTERESTING to blog about or whatever the fuck people think is my reason for ranting about this shit. ALL. THE. GODDAMN. TIME.

But I can’t do that, because there is not a fucking day that goes by, not a DAY where SOMETHING doesn’t cross my dash, or SOMETHING isn’t on an Ao3 page I’m searching through for fic about a fave character, that doesn’t set me off and make my body start shaking with how deeply, fundamentally UPSETTING it is to constantly be bombarded with reminders of just how easy people find it to reframe my trauma as something hot and sexy and WAY MORE WORTH DEFENDING than the very thought of me going ONE FUCKING DAY without having to stumble across bullshit like that. Because I CAN’T ‘dont like/dont read’ as much is out there. I don’t need to click on a fic to see this is smut fic by an author who thinks rape is hot and judging from the number of kudos and comments and hits is definitely on to something! GUESS I DID MY RAPE WRONG THEN, cuz it wasnt fucking hot for me!

I would love to just ‘avoid’ it so I can actually ENJOY my fucking time on the internet. But I CANT. Because its EVERYWHERE. And god forbid I try and start fucking CONVERSATIONS about that so that maybe, someday, after we’ve done the work as a society to examine WHY PEOPLE ARE SO FUCKING INVESTED IN THIS STUFF, I or at the very least people like me, can someday enjoy one day on the internet where they DONT have to constantly wade through an endless swamp of that shit.

Honestly. Seriously. I have said it so often I can not count. I do not want to censor anyone. I do not want power over what people can read or write. I just. want. to TELL people that when they write this stuff, it has CONSEQUENCES, that there are people it DOES hurt, and have them LISTEN, so that at least, at LEAST the ones who are bothered enough by that realization to NOT be comfortable writing it when faced with the awareness of the fact that their writing HAS THIS EFFECT WHETHER WE SAY IT TO THEIR FACES OR NOT, that THEY at least can decide....hey. What if I just...wrote something else instead?

But what the FUCK am I supposed to do with the constant, incessant reminder that people would rather dig in their heels in defense of their RAPE FANTASIES than roll up their sleeves and do a little fucking examination of WHY they and society at large are so fucking invested in this shit that the very IDEA of ‘giving up’ content like this for the sake of people who have actually LIVED through it, is just....INCOMPREHENSIBLE to them? That they feel ATTACKED by the very idea?

(And don’t fucking come at me with that ‘some survivors use it to cope’ stuff. Yeah, well I used to get in bar fights as my coping mechanism. Didn’t fucking mean it was healthy, and it wasn’t fucking harmless to anyone I punched in the goddamn face, now was it? Also, if you’re not a survivor and you hide behind that line, FEEL FUCKING ASHAMED for thinking of it as a kneejerk response to another survivor telling you your “kink” fucking hurts).

I’m out. See you all later.

[shg11]

I've been around the block on this website a few times, and I've noticed that if there are two things you bitches love, it's horoscopes and. I count myself firmly in this camp, BTW. I'm not going to act like I'm above either of those things. So I thought to myself, "Why not combine the two things betches hold most dear, into one completely nonsensical accurate horoscope?" And that's exactly what I did. Through some very careful plotting of the movement of the stars and calling upon my own photographic memory of every episode of , I bring you: What SVU detective are you based on your horoscope? If you've ever tried to convince your friends that you're an Olivia, I'm going to need you to take every single seat. Everyone thinks they're an Olivia, okay? In reality, only one sign can be Benson. And Benson isn't even the best SVU detective (now sergeant). So which of these dedicated detectives who make up this elite squad are you? Read 'em and weep.

Aries - Amanda Rollins

Yeah, I bet you all thought I’d start this list off with Benson because Aries are natural born leaders, didn’t you? Surprise, bitch. Y’all get Rollins. Rollins came into the SVU squad hot by catching that identical twin serial rapist who followed his innocent twin brother across state lines to commit assault after assault, so we all thought she was a good one. Just like you, Aries, Rollins has some promising qualities. But you know what Aries’ worst quality is? They’re impulsive, impatient, and moody. Rollins has a fucking gambling addiction (impulsive), won't be put on desk duty even though she's pregnant (impatient), and won’t stop enabling her piece of shit sister who TRIED TO SEND HER TO PRISON (too fucking sentimental aka moody)—so yeah, I think that all describes Rollins impeccably. Sorry not sorry, you secretly suck.

^See? MOODY!

Taurus - Mike Dodds

Taurus (Taurans? Tauri?) are reliable and responsible, but they can also be stubborn and uncompromising. Likewise, Dodds was a professional through and through, unlike the rest of these bozos that make up this so-called “elite squad”. Dodds did his work. He even helmed the SVU for a while. But he also refused to leave SVU for a cushy job at the joint terrorism task force that his dad had set up for him. It was a stubborn move that ultimately led to his death—and if there's one thing Taurus is known for, it's bullheadedness. Not even a pun, just actual factual. Taurus, your ability to stick to your guns is admirable, just make sure it doesn’t get you shot in the line of duty. (Ok, pun was unintentional at first, but then I decided to just go with it.)

Gemini - Ed Tucker

That’s fucking right, Gemini, you’re not even a real SVU detective because your ass can’t be trusted. Geminis are literally known for being two-faced, and there’s nobody the SVU distrusts more than Tucker over at IAB. He supposedly works for the NYPD, and yet that guy seems to have a personal vendetta against the Special Victims Unit. Why? (*Thinks back to every illegal maneuver Stabler, Amaro, etc. have ever gotten away with* Oh. Ok.) One minute, you’re convinced he’s shutting down the SVU for good, the next, he’s like, "Gotcha!! You all THOUGHT I would make you face the consequences for your actions... psych!" I just cannot figure this guy out, just like I cannot figure out what my dad will get angry about and what he'll be cool with, and my dad is also a Gemini. Coincidence? IDK, I'll bring it up in my next therapy session. That said, it’s not completely fair to paint Geminis as unpredictable freaks—you can be very thoughtful and affectionate, which is I assume how Tucker managed to win over Benson. And, I’ll admit, Ed wasn’t a bad guy and was probably the most stable and caring male figure in Benson’s life thus far. Retirement suited him well. Not saying the same goes for you, Gemini, but you might want to take that 401K seriously just in case. (Not horoscope-related advice, just general life advice.)

Cancer - Dani Beck

Cancers are the pussies of the zodiac in the sense that they are highly emotional. Hey, don’t cry at me; I’m just the messenger. This bleeding heart Dani tries to take in a child because she feels bad for her, only she doesn’t bother to do it the proper way, like, through the authorities or New York State foster care system (whatever that is). She’s just all, “Oh you’re so cute and emotionally disturbed, come sleep on my couch.” That plan went up in flames—literally. Hope she had renter's insurance. Later on, once again too emotional to make a decision on whether to stay in the SVU or leave, Dani tries to put the decision onto Elliot, who’s like “nah fam, I'm not doing this." Cancer, it’s great that you care about people, but try thinking with your brain sometime. It might get you into less trouble and life-threatening situations. There is a limit to empathy. You know what they say: Don’t set yourself on fire to keep other people warm. Okay, enough fire metaphors.

^Honestly, Munch, a valid question.

Leo - Nick Amaro

Everyone thinks Aries are the leader of the zodiac, but anyone who actually bothers to read horoscopes other than their own knows Leos are always shadily killing it. Y’all are warm, action-oriented, and driven by the desire to be loved. That last bit reminded me a lot of Michael Scott, but we can save e horoscopes for another day. Anyway, you Leos are Amaro, you lucky bitches. You’re a sun sign so you’re hot (I know it’s a huge stretch but please, let me have my thirst), but you’re also loyal and trustworthy. Tbh, Nick was loyal to Olivia almost to a fault (kind of like another certain partner of hers…what perfume does she wear?). However, Leos are also stubborn af and inflexible, kinda like how Nick refused to see that his marriage was crumbling right before his very eyes. Andddd kinda like how Nick was told not to hunt down pedophile David Rosen on his own accord like some state-funded vigilante, but he beat him to a bloody pulp anyway and almost lost his job and actually compromised his entire career for it. Fam. I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you!

Virgo - John Munch

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and it also makes up one of Virgo’s major flaws, according to the random horoscope website off of which I based most of this list. As a Virgo, you’re hardworking, practical, and loyal, but you can also be a worrywart who’s overly critical. Sound familiar? It should, because while Munch is the ultimate ride-or-die for the SVU squad, the dude is also kind of a nutcase. Like, he probably doesn’t have a smartphone because he thinks the government has bugged it (and he’s probably not wrong tbh given that every WiFi device was just hacked and nobody in the media is reporting about this). Munch is always ranting and raving about Big Brother, and he probably should chill a bit, seeing as he literally works for the government. But Munch, and Virgos, will probably be right, only they won't say "I told you so" because they hate attention. Although a bit of a wallflower, Virgos are extremely perceptive. Similarly, if you listen closely to anything Munch says, you will notice that he is always getting to the heart of people's issues with this one-liner jabs, and no one ever gives him the proper acknowledgment for his biting sarcasm and critiques. Ah, well. That's life, as a sarcastic Jiminy Cricket, I suppose.

^That's the pot calling the kettle paranoid, eh, John?

Libra - Odafin Tutuola

Balanced and fair and not one to rock the boat, Libras are Ice-T to a T. Am I biased because I’m a Libra and Ice-T is my favorite SVU detective? Probably, but what are you gonna do? Arrest me? Look, Ice-T… fine, FIN, is the cool, calm, and collected detective who doesn’t get rattled, even when people call him racist slurs in the interrogation room. He’s also prone to playing “good cop” and pretending to empathize with the perps so he can get a good confession. (Seriously, watch like, any episode and I bet you’ll hear Fin say something like, “I get it. You spent all that money on dinner and she wouldn’t give it up? Who does that bitch think she is?”). Libras are all about keeping the peace and care about others, which can sometimes blow up in their faces, like when you try to not get involved with Rollins’ obvious gambling addiction but then it starts affecting her work and you end up loaning her thousands of dollars to go undercover in an underground casino. C’mon, Fin. You don’t give money to an addict. That’s like, rule number one of enabling. You’re never gonna get that bread back. Be kind, be fair, but don’t be a fucking patsy.

Scorpio - Elliot Stabler

The word “Scorpio” is basically synonymous with “psycho,” so here we fucking are, Scorpio/Stabler. Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be, because you know you’re one clever perp or issue with your kids away from taking a dive off the deep end. (You really should get those children in therapy. And also, stop calling your son "Dicky". I bet that's the root of like, 75% of his issues.) Sure, Scorpios are assertive and natural born leaders—that’s what got you here and why you succeeded for so many seasons. But, to put it bluntly, you’re also a fucking sadists who enjoy watching people suffer. Which would explain the multiple department-ordered anger management classes and the string of pedophiles who’ve almost walked away scot-free because you couldn’t control your fists in the interrogation room, ELLIOT.

Sagittarius - Dominick Carisi Jr.

Yeah, I didn't know there was a Dominick Carisi Sr., either, until I looked it up just now. Mind blown. Curious and energetic, Sagittarius keep an open mind, much like how Carisi went from being a low-key misogynist (it wasn’t really malicious; he was just ignorant) to #WokeBae in the span of only a few seasons. We also have to respect Carisi’s thirst for knowledge, as he’s the only one on this squad who’s ever made significant moves to better himself by going to law school—and no, attending department mandated therapy sessions does not count as “bettering” oneself (you know who you are). Despite meaning well, Sagittarius can sometimes put their foot in their mouth and say whatever comes to mind, no matter how undiplomatic their ideas may be. And I’d say that describes, oh, 90% of Carisi’s opinions in his first season. It’s okay, Carisi. You’re learning. Sagittarius are travel lovers, but I swear to God if Carisi leaves the show and they keep Olivia, there will be hell to pay. Do you hear me, Dick?! HELL!

Capricorn - Olivia Benson

Capricorns are responsible and disciplined, and while I personally am not living for Olivia’s character arc as of late, I’ve gotta say the woman is responsible when it comes to like, her kid and also like, not completely waving her middle finger in the face of the law and NYPD procedure (*cough* Amaro *cough* STABLER *COUGHS UP A LUNG*). Sorry. Anyway, Capricorns are good managers, and Olivia is doing a pretty decent job managing this squad of goons. (Mostly directed at Rollins.) Independent in their personal and professional lives, a Capricorn’s personal motto is “Can’t Tell Me Nothin’”. And if that’s not Olivia, IDK what is. You really can’t tell this woman nothin’. You can’t tell her not to date every man in her immediate professional circle; you can’t tell her to fucking TELL SOMEONE if she’s going to go off and secretly meet known rapist and sadistic kidnapper, William Louis, in an abandoned building; you can’t tell her that no, a woman who gets tricked into bed by a man who lied about his name and job title was not raped. Seriously, that’s not how it works, Olivia. That’s not how any of this works.

^Never forget

Aquarius - Monique Jeffries

Aquarians are usually shy and quiet, but they can have a bit of a crazy and unpredictable side. Who else better fits that bill than Jeffries, the woman who never did anything interesting until boom, one explosion and she’s gone off the deep end, going on dates with former rape suspects. Just think about that. Sorry your horoscope is kind of lame, but like, there's not a whole lot to say about you or this woman. Become more interesting and then report back to me with your results.

Pisces - Brian Cassidy

Pisces, y’all are some paranoid and hysterical motherfuckers. You get way too sentimental and it can hinder your life progress—kinda like how Cassidy gets made fun of in season one because he can’t control his emotions about the cases. And like, I get it, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to be cavalier in the face of sex crimes, but that’s why I didn’t sign myself up to work in the sex crimes division of the NYPD. Know yourself. Work on that, and then maybe you can have another brief stint in SVU a full decade later. One of Pisces' major weaknesses is their desire to escape reality, which can get them into trouble—for instance, when they sign up for a multi-year undercover operation, get into a relationship with a prostitute, get shot and almost die when their undercover status is exposed, and later on get accused of rape by a prostitute they met undercover years prior which causes them to get demoted. You know, just a totally random example. Find a healthy and less literal way to escape reality, Pisces/Cassidy.

  Read more: http://www.betches.com/what-law-and-order-svu-detective-you-are-based-on-your-horoscope

[joannalannister]

aurembiaix submitted:

Hi! I promise I’m not a Jaime’s redemption apologist but still wonder: what’s his degree of implication or intellectual authorship in the Lannister regime? He obviously profits from it, he killed Aerys, pushed Bran, attacked Ned’s men, fought Robb… but the two main Lannister war-crimes, raiding the Riverlands and the Red Wedding, were rather Tywin’s responsibility. To me, Jaime seemed an action man, ready to carry any of Tywin’s (or ocasionally Cersei’s) ideas without a second thought, but not exactly a plotter. He seemed content with his life as Robert’s guard, could he have urged Cersei to kill him? What do you think?

I believe Jaime is content to be the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard for life, but I don’t think he was involved in Cersei’s plan to get Robert killed. (Maybe I’ve forgotten something in the text, though?) That being said, I think Jaime would have happily killed Robert without a second thought if he felt he had cause. Even Robert believed Jaime would have killed him, given cause, which is why he never hit Cersei on the face. 

Ned touched her cheek gently. “Has he done this before?”

“Once or twice.” She shied away from his hand. “Never on the face before. Jaime would have killed him, even if it meant his own life.“ 

What’s Jaime’s degree of implication or intellectual authorship in the Lannister regime?

What degree of implication do you assign to Erwin Rommel in the Nazi regime? 

… um … this post is gonna get wild. Assume this post contains mentions of everything you might expect as soon as I bring up Nazis (possibly extremely triggering), as well as some things you aren’t expecting. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Rommel was one of Hitler’s favorite generals, as well as a close personal friend. He “worshiped” Hitler. 

(Rommel once said, “I have loved the Führer, and I still do.” According to historian Maurice Remy, Hitler and Rommel had “a dream marriage” and they talked enthusiastically on the phone for at least an hour everyday for a while discussing the latest technological advancements, so if anyone was looking for an idea for some WWII RPF slash, maybe in the manner of The Producers, well, there you go. 

Rommel: “Marry me, Hitler. Stand up before the Reich and say it’s me you want.”  Hitler: "I would, if I dared. But the Fatherland—” Rommel: “You’re Germany’s Führer, and yet you won’t be mine.” Hitler: “I want you at my side, I want you in my bed, I want you inside me. Nothing has changed between us. Let me prove it to you.”  Don’t forget the pineapples.) 

ANYWAYS, Rommel was an extremely popular general who “did everything in his power to make his country strong again” (Thomas Vogel). Rommel had a reputation for being “a chivalrous, humane, and professional officer” who romanticized and “desired to simulate the knights of the past, who also led from the front” [x]. He profited quite a lot from being so close to Hitler, though allegedly Rommel had no political ambitions and instead preferred the life of a soldier. (Is this reminding you of anyone we know? Because I’m getting there.) Many people argue that Rommel didn’t have “strong racial views”. He supposedly didn’t employ excessive uses of force. Rommel didn’t commit any war crimes that I know of.* Many people praise him as “one of the great captains of history.”

But no matter how ~clever~ and ~chivalrous~ and ~respected~ Rommel was, he was still a fuckin’ Nazi** who wanted to conquer North Africa and the Middle East for Hitler. If Hitler had gained control over the Middle East, especially Palestine but other countries too, a lot more Jewish people and other people Hitler considered “undesirable” would have been murdered. 

(Gimme a time machine and a gun and a guarantee I won’t distroy the space-time continuum, and I’ll go punch Rommel and Hitler in the face before I shoot both of them.)

Rommel was still a fuckin’ Nazi, and Jaime is still a fuckin’ Lannister.

If you’re actively supporting a morally bankrupt regime, I don’t think it matters that you, personally, are not committing the war crimes. 

If you’re working on behalf of horrible people, even if you yourself are not doing The Evil Thing, you’re enabling those regime leaders to do The Evil Thing. 

Maybe Rommel didn’t personally believe in murdering Jewish people (debatable), but he still fought for Hitler. Rommel held off the Allies for a long time, which allowed Hitler to murder more people. So does it matter that Rommel didn’t author the Final Solution? Does it matter that Rommel wasn’t a rapist? Does any of that matter when the people you’re working for are committing evil acts, and you’re happy to work for them? 

Like, this is really important to me, it’s something I’m addressing in my Lannister fascism essay, that you don’t have to be the idea man or the top brass to be responsible for the Evil that is happening. In WWII, SS officers shot people, and then they would go home to their wives, who would have dinner cooked and who would smile and comfort them and sympathize with what a ~difficult~ day the SS officer had ~~���cleansing”~~ the world of “undesirables” and maybe they would set out a clean uniform for hubby because the one he’s wearing got blood splattered on it. It’s sick. 

Evil has a support system, and Evil has invisible labor (often done by women) that no one even thinks about. (Which is why, after WWII, a lot of people painted the women of Nazi Germany as innocent victims, instead of people who were actively contributing to Hitler’s Germany. There was only one Hitler, but there were millions of people who supported Hitler and worked very hard to keep him in power and carry out his ideas.) 

So sure, Jaime wasn’t the first man into the Riverlands, but he was happy to pick up the fight. Maybe Jaime doesn’t believe in Cersei’s dwarf genocide, but he’s happy to keep Tommen on the Throne and Cersei in power, which allows Cersei to commit her dwarf genocide. And sure, Tywin orchestrated the Red Wedding so he gets the blame for it, but … look at what Jaime’s doing in AFFC/ADWD … he’s still acting as Tywin’s enforcer to make sure that the outcome of the Red Wedding is put into place, that the Freys get Riverrun and the Riverlands come under Lannister rule and any opposition is eliminated. 

Sure, Jaime makes sure Riverrun falls bloodlessly. And some readers praise Jaime for this!! You know what else fell bloodlessly?? Austria, in 1938. 

The Lannister Regime commits Evil acts. 

It doesn’t particularly matter to me if The Evil Thing wasn’t Jaime’s idea, because Jaime actively chooses to do things that keep an Evil regime in power. 

(And like … if we’re setting the bar at “Don’t commit war crimes,” that bar is so low, it’s not even on the floor, it’s under the floor.) 

Although idk if I would argue that Jaime commits no war crimes. As you mention, Jaime murdered Ned’s men. Like, they’d effectively negotiated a peace between the two groups of combatants, and then Jaime ordered everyone but the enemy commander slaughtered. so idk, maybe not a war crime. Even if it’s not a war crime, it’s definitely a deplorable act committed on behalf of the Lannister regime to ~punish~ the Starks for arresting Tyrion. It reminds me of Joffrey punishing Sansa for Robb’s victories. Like father, like son.

And Jaime definitely played a major part in the Riverlands invasion:

“Your brother has been covering himself with glory,” his father said. “He smashed the Lords Vance and Piper at the Golden Tooth, and met the massed power of the Tullys under the walls of Riverrun. The lords of the Trident have been put to rout. Ser Edmure Tully was taken captive, with many of his knights and bannermen. Lord Blackwood led a few survivors back to Riverrun, where Jaime has them under siege. The rest fled to their own strongholds.”

Jaime didn’t have to participate in this unlawful invasion, but he chose to lead very significant battles. 

So, to answer your question, I consider Jaime’s degree of culpability to be very high. No, he did not orchestrate the Red Wedding, but he remains, even in ADWD, Tywin’s top field commander, working to keep the Lannisters in power on a Throne which they have no right to hold. Even if Jaime is "just following orders,” that doesn’t excuse him from the horrors House Lannister has committed. 

I wanna make sure everybody hears this from me: the things the Lannisters do are Evil. Tywin unquestionably commits war crimes like murdering babies. Cersei literally gives people to Dr. Mengele. Jaime subjugates whole kingdoms and puts them under Lannister rule. I scream at everyone that I love these characters, and I do, because these fictional constructs George has made are fascinating, but I want my thoughts on this on the record - the Lannisters commit evil acts. They’re bad people. I love them but they’re bad people. 

That doesn’t mean that I’ve written the Lannisters off. Tyrion is actively against the Lannister regime now. Maybe Jaime will turn against the Lannister regime in what I call “Operation Valkyrie”.*** idk.

But right now, Jaime is very much a fuckin’ Lannister who will do everything in his power to keep Tommen on the Throne and to keep the Lannister regime strong. 

.

*While I’ve always been very interested in WWII, I’m not a military historian and I hope someone will correct me if any of my WWII facts above are incorrect.

**Some people like to split hairs over this but I’m not gonna do that; if they fought for Hitler, they were a fuckin’ Nazi. 

***Rommel was one of the people suspected in the 20 July Plot attempting to assassinate Hitler, and Hitler forced Rommel to commit suicide afterwards. But no, I don’t believe in the “Rommel myth” that Rommel was a great guy who was just a victim of the Third Reich. He was a fuckin’ Nazi!!!!! Like, what else needs to said, when someone’s a Nazi! They’re a Nazi!

.

EDIT: I want to make it clear that I’m not making a 1:1 parallel between Lannisters and Nazis -- I’m trying to discuss degrees of culpability, which was central to the question being asked. Culpability isn’t something that’s easily quantifiable, so instead I chose to examine this issue relatively. 

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 90: "LIKE A COCKROACH."

[theconservativebrief]

The new movie BlacKkKlansman is one of my favorites of the year. It’s careful to let you know very early on that its story is a true one, with a few embellishments for film. And it likely does so because said story — a black man goes undercover and becomes a trusted confidant of some members of the Ku Klux Klan, including David Duke himself — would be written off as preposterous if it occurred in a fictional context.

But no, that man really existed. His name was Ron Stallworth, and as an officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department, he really did talk on the phone with local Klansmen and with Duke. With the help of his white partner, he was able to infiltrate the organization and work to bring down some of its local members.

It’s a great story that is made all the better by virtue of being true, and in both Stallworth’s book about the experience and in Spike Lee’s film, the story becomes a way to look at both the ridiculousness and the poisonousness of American racism.

I was thrilled to have Stallworth join me for the latest episode of my podcast, I Think You’re Interesting, so we could talk about the process of turning his incredible life story into a movie.

But I was also interested in how the film depicts the double consciousness of being a black police officer pretending to be a white supremacist, and the fraught identity of being a black police officer, period. I asked Stallworth about that, and his response, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows.

Todd VanDerWerff

One of the things the film depicts really well is the inherent conflict of being a black man in a police department. The first 20 to 25 minutes of the movie are just about that, before you get into the meat of the plot. What were your thoughts on that when you were a young officer?

John David Washington (left) and Ron Stallworth at the premiere of BlacKkKlansman. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Ron Stallworth

We as black cops live in a void, in that we’re too black for the white community and we’re too blue — as in the uniform, badge, and gun that we wear — for the black community. Neither one likes us. They don’t want to accept us. And yet we are in that profession for a noble, honorable purpose. Most of us get in there for that reason. We’re trying to do good for the public’s safety.

But you’re not accepted by either group. In terms of the white side, they look upon you as an n-word, resent the fact that you have the authority you have over them and put it to effect from time to time.

I’ll give you an example. I investigated a case where a white woman was raped. I’m the responding officer. One of the things we have to do in a case like that is we have to take any article of clothing they may have on because it’s evidence. I asked for everything. About a day or so later, I get a call up to the internal affairs office, the only time in my 32-year career I ever had to undergo an internal affairs inquiry. Her son-in-law was offended by the fact that I, a black man, had done this to his mother-in-law doing my job.

The reason why he filed that complaint was her rapist was a black man. So he felt like she was being taken advantage of by me. We quickly dispelled that, and the thing blew away, but the issue of my race came in for doing my job to the best of my ability in a proper procedural manner. That’s just one example.

To the black community, they don’t want to accept you because they view you as a traitor. You’ve chosen to join the system, to work against a system that they feel oppresses them. They forget that you are, in fact, one of them. Because at the end of the day, at the end of my career, when the badge and gun come off, I was and still am just a black man in America. They tend to forget all of that. I can’t tell you how many times I was called “pig.” Yet we can’t respond to it. We have to more or less grin and bear it and do our jobs, when in fact we want to respond accordingly.

That no man’s land that we live in, it’s a lonely existence, but it’s one that we’ve chosen, and if you can’t handle the pressures of that as a black man, you should not become a police officer.

Todd VanDerWerff

Do you have thoughts on if there’s a way to find rapprochement between police departments and black communities? When you were in the police department, did you see ways that the police can find to ease those tensions?

Ron Stallworth

The police department can ease a lot of tensions by being more thorough in vetting who they allow into their ranks. You get good people in there, and the good will pay off in the end. You bring somebody who has bad in them, that’s going to come to the forefront in time.

And in some cases, you know going into an interview, this guy’s not the right fit. But you put him on anyway. You take a chance with him when you shouldn’t. The interview process you see John David [Washington, who plays Stallworth in the film] go through to join the police department, that was a very true depiction of what actually happened to me. The only difference was I was 19, and in the movie, he’s around 25.

Those questions that they asked him were actually asked of me. In the book, I explain a lot of the questions. That was an accurate portrayal. I was 19 years old. I was still a kid, and I’m asked about womanizing and, “Do you drink? Can you handle being called the n-word? Be the Jackie Robinson, accept it with grace and dignity without fighting back, even though you want to?” That was a very true depiction of what I went through at 19.

Police departments can be more thorough in their vetting process. When they uncover a bad apple, they also need to be more aggressive to take the necessary steps to get rid of them and stop erecting the blue wall of silence, which is real. It is not a myth. There is a blue wall of silence that occurs.

Law enforcement needs to recognize that when you catch somebody that’s bad in the department, go after them aggressively. Give them the boot. Prosecute them if necessary. And stop looking upon that person — who’s basically degraded you and the entire profession by their illegal actions — as a brother officer. He or she is not. They’re just dirty, bad, corrupt cops that need to be booted out of the profession to clean it up all around.

For more with Stallworth — including why he tried to convince the filmmakers to give his onscreen alter ego a dog instead of a love interest — listen to the full episode, which also includes a conversation with writer-director Desiree Akhavan about her new film The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a coming-of-age story set at a gay conversion therapy retreat operated by fundamentalist Christians.

To hear interviews with more fascinating people from the world of arts and culture — from powerful showrunners to web series creators to documentary filmmakers — check out the I Think You’re Interesting archives.

Original Source -> The man whose story inspired BlacKkKlansman, on the complicated reality of black cops

via The Conservative Brief