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sunflower-lilac42 · 5 months

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✧𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝 | sturniolo triplets ♔

summary: y/n's fantasies to create scenarios started with a library card (and a shitty life but that's besides the point). books shaped how y/n sturniolo thought about life and herself, for worse and for better. or y/n's journey with books and two scenarios she wanted to happen.

warnings: sad, being lonely, crying, the usual from this series.

notes: part of the 'behind the lens' series. the scenarios are all fake! they never actually happened they are just things that y/n wished to have happened. i also lowkey hate this so I'm sorry if you do too :/ also add yourself to the tag list! ➺ taglist form

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At the age of seven, y/n Sturniolo asked her parents for a library card well more or less begged. She had always loved reading, escaping to a reality that seemed to be made just for her. She read books such as Curious George and Froggy with her mom when she was younger. Then she read those to her brothers.

When she grew older she read the Magic Tree House series and 13 Story Tree House, which led her to ask her parents for a tree house. That idea was quickly shut down seeing the books their daughter was reading and their knowledge of her imagination.

Gaining the library card and the release of all new books, she read Harry Potter and Dork Diaries, and all other classic series middle schoolers read about. She was a sucker for new books and new series because that led to new realities, new topics, and a larger imagination.

Escaping to these realities was the only thing that kept the girl sane. Everyone’s attention was set on the triplets since they were born and these books were her lifeline. They protected her from being lonely, from talking to people - which was hard for her, and even protecting her from recess.

These books assisted in her desire to become an author. The need to create realities that could help others, the need to create a reality where she was the main character, the need to create a reality for people to relate to, and the need to create a reality where she belonged.

She always created these scenarios in her head like most people her age did. She wanted people to be able to read these scenarios and for them to feel wanted.

✧༺✎༻∞

Scenario 1: A Brother’s Comfort

Y/n had been sitting in her room at her house, it was a Saturday night in the middle of June. She was sixteen.

She had received a text and when she saw who it was from, her boyfriend of 7 months, she squealed a little. Yet when she saw what the message contained, she cried.

He had broken up with her, over text. Her first boyfriend, her first hope of well, hope. She was numb at first until the message really sunk in, and then the tears slowly trailed down her face.

The triplets were 12 when this happened. They kind of knew that their sister was in a relationship but didn’t know all of the details. They never met the boy, but they knew he made her happy and that’s what mattered to them.

They had been messing around in the living room and were sent to their rooms after breaking one of the lamps. They were trekking through the hallways when they heard the small sobs of their older sister.

They were too scared to go in but were too worried that it overshadowed that fear. Nick took the lead, not wanting his younger brothers to take the wrath if she got mad. He placed his hand on the doorknob and twisted it. Opening the door, the brothers saw their sister on her bed, a blanket drawn all the way up and over her head, with her phone sitting across the room all cracked.

They exchanged looks and walked closer to her bed. Nick tapped on her and she muttered a ‘go away’ in hopes that whoever it was would take her advice and actually go away.

Her brothers were as stubborn as her and they shook their heads and asked what was wrong. She didn’t answer and just kept crying. Matt had gone over to her phone and turned it on to see the message from her boyfriend. He grew angry and showed his triplets. The three had obviously figured out that y/n did not want to talk about it and just all silently and collectively decided to lay on her bed with her and stay with her until she felt better.

Nick sat at the edge while he let the younger two curl up around the girl. Matt placed her head on his chest while Chris held her hand and took the covers off of her so she could breathe. Nick rubbed his hand up and down her calf in a way of comfort.

Their mom had noticed the odd silence in her house and went to check on everyone, she saw her daughter’s door ajarred and peered in. When she saw her eldest son sitting there, she was prepared to yell at them for not listening to her but when she saw the look on y/n’s face, her hair disheveled, and the boys comforting her, she smiled and turned away, closing the door all the way.

✧༺✎༻∞

Even though books were great to y/n and what got her through most of her younger years, she couldn’t help but relent them just a little. By the time she hit high school, a small part of her wondered why she wasn’t allowed to get a happy ending like those in her books. She kept reading, although the books were geared towards the adult age range and her taste had differed from when she was a little girl.

The books had lost their magic somewhere between the ages of 16 and 21. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint the moment but she knew in those four to five years she started to dread picking up a new book that had a focus in romance, even if it was a very small sub-plot.

She compared these books to her life, trying to find out how these characters always had a way to move on, chapter to chapter while her’s was stuck on a chapter of feeling lonely and forgotten. She accepted but never really understood why she was the one chosen to bear all of these emotions and feelings. She didn’t wish this on anyone, not at all.

✧༺✎༻∞

Through the years she read more romance books that were angsty, with little to no happy ending, yet every so often she’d be reading a cozy, cliche little romance book that she could always dream of but never have. She had always set her expectations too high for men, nonetheless people in general.

High school was when her eyes opened up and saw that no boy would ever want her. She didn’t know why, she considered herself to be smart, somewhat pretty, funny, and a nice person, so why did they always choose the popular ones who had fake personalities and always used people?

Finding this out, she hid more than she ever had before. When she was in middle school, she never really cared what anyone thought about her. Half of these people she would never see again in high school or ever really.

She quickly learned that she was no protagonist in any story unless it was one about a sad little girl who never belonged. Why couldn’t she be the one who people wanted to write about in stories, the one who got the boy, the one who didn’t care what people thought, the one who shined and thrived in any situation?

At 21, her life had begun, she thought. She had friends at college, if anybody talked bad about her she didn’t know it. It was a large campus with a shit ton of people that once again, she probably wouldn’t see that much or at all, and some she probably hadn’t even met.

She was still stuck on that previous chapter of how her emotions got the best of her, how she was the one who would always have to carry these emotions, and how she could never escape. She was slowly beginning to ignore this however, she was slowly beginning to believe in another fantasy where she could be who she wanted to be, where she could be free.

She had no happily ever after.

✧༺✎༻∞

Scenario 2: The Love of Her Life

One sunny afternoon, as golden rays streamed through the bookstore's window, y/n found herself reeling in the fact that a coffee shop had opened just across the street. She loved the smell of coffee more than she loved the taste of coffee. It was a comfort scent for her, and that mixed with books and art, it was like her own heaven.

As she stepped into the coffee shop, the soothing hum of conversations and the gentle clinking of cups created an all too familiar sound. Y/n ordered her favorite drink and found a cozy corner to settle into, her sketchbook in hand. Lost in her own little bubble, she began to draw, the pencil strokes effortlessly capturing the scene and comfort of the cafe and the people within it.

Unbeknownst to her, a boy around her age sat at a nearby table, sipping his own cup of coffee. Intrigued by y/n’s hobby he couldn't help but watch her bring the café to life on paper. Not being able to help himself, Ollie gathered his courage and approached her, striking up a conversation about her art.

Something that didn’t happen often with y/n was an easy conversation yet with Ollie it was effortless. Talking about their hobbies and interests, finding random things to bond with. She felt a sense of hope rush through her. Maybe Ollie was the one for her.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and the bond between her and Ollie deepened. They became inseparable, sharing sunsets and stargazing nights, exploring hidden gems in their little town, and supporting each other's dreams.

✧༺✎༻∞

Like some of her friends, she started to believe that happy endings were overrated. The guy gets the girl, they live in this tiny little house or in a big and grand castle with all of their family surrounding them. Or the protagonist in some way, shape, or form got rewarded with love, family, money, etc. and the villain/antagonist was cast away even if their only purpose was the make fun of the main character, even if their only purpose was to exist to continue the story and the character development.

She was used to getting hurt and so were her friends. Her family noticed a shift in her friend group especially in the later years of high school and the beginning years of college. They were more negative, a bad influence to say the least. Her parents were worried, they didn’t want her to turn out like them, they wanted her to succeed and break these habits of picking the wrong friends.

Her dreams of wanting the perfect reality faded too soon. She wanted that reality, dreamed of that reality but could never figure out how to get there. It would never work.

She broke away from these friends when she expressed her feelings for her own little fantasy. They made fun of her, and gave her a “reality check”. She knew they were right but deep down she wanted them to be wrong. She wished they were wrong. She apologized for wanting to stay in her own little universe.

She wanted to be alone, she wanted to be the girl with hopes and dreams that came true. She wanted to be seen, she wanted to be careless and free.

✧༺✎༻∞

Y/n’s college years brought a mix of emotions and even started to get back into reading, finding solace in the familiar corners of the campus library. In high school and even middle school, the library was a sanctuary of endless possibilities that seemed to echo the sentiment of her life - an endless search for something more.

She found a book, hidden on one of the back shelves, in between other old, dusty, forgotten books. This book soon became her favorite, somehow this author wrote about her life in a beautiful way. She thought no one could understand the pain that she had been through, the years of staying silent and to herself.

She finally realized that the pages she read as a child weren’t a realistic destiny, maybe this was the reality check she was looking for. The library was once a portal to different realities to aid her in her childhood, but now it was where she sought inspiration for her own life.

Now, she couldn’t really remember what those books were about, she just knew that she was thankful for helping her in those tough times.

#sunny lune writes #sturniolo triplets #nick sturniolo #chris sturniolo #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo x you #chris sturniolo x reader #sister!reader #matt sturniolo x you #matt sturniolo x reader #nick sturniolo x reader #nick sturniolo x you #behindthelens #sunnylunebehindthelens #Spotify

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bi-bard · 1 year

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I Don't Need to Break Down, You Still Found Me - Nikolai Lantsov Imagine [Shadow & Bone]

Title: I Don't Need to Break Down, You Still Found Me

Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov X Reader

Word Count: 1,572 words

Warning(s): mention of unhealthy relationship (manipulation, burnout) and unhealthy family

Summary: [Inspired by "Slow Burn" by J. Maya] A new person joins Sturmhond's crew but refuses to talk about their history. One late night reveals secrets about the new member and the captain... and leads to a realization about whatever is between the two of them.

Author's Note: Y'all. This song is so beautiful.

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I could still remember the nervousness that crawled around my stomach as I stood on the ship for the first time.

The entire crew had been standing there, staring at me as we waited for the captain to come out. It felt like a test. As if they were trying to see if I would crack and run for it. Sadly for them, my need to run from this place was far stronger than my fear.

The captain came out. He was introduced as Sturmhond. I had to bite back the urge to make a comment about how fake that name sounded.

I was asked why I wanted to be there.

I lied and said that I was curious about the world and this ship was my only chance to truly see it.

That seemed to impress him. I could see it in the smirk he offered me as he tilted his head for just a second.

He asked what I could offer.

I didn't lie about that. I didn't have any money to offer him. I had nights upon nights memorizing the layout of any map I could find. I could show them places that may have never considered before.

He raised an eyebrow at me. I felt his eyes tracing over me. Testing me much like the rest of his crew had.

"Come with me," he said simply. I readjusted my small bag on my shoulder and followed him. He ended up leading me to a bunk in the far corner. "This is where you'll stay. We'll assign you to a proper role soon enough."

"Alright," I nodded. He was walking away by the time I spoke up again. "Th-Thank you! Sturmhond, thank you."

"Just don't make me regret it."

I grinned at him, promising that I wouldn't.

I spent weeks trying to prove myself on that ship. Not that I truly needed to. The crew had warmed up to me far faster than I ever expected them to. Even their captain seemed to already be convinced that he wouldn't regret allowing me to join them.

Sturmhond.

He was an interesting man. Throughout my time on his ship, we grew close. It felt like we grew far closer than we should have in such a short period of time. But spending time with him was accompanied by this feeling of calmness that I couldn't make sense of yet felt like I couldn't without.

It wasn't fair that he could have such an effect on me so easily. But I still held onto it. It may have been the best part of being on that ship.

Truly, the only problem I encountered was at night.

Night watch had become the best thing for me. At least then, no one could question why I seemed to get almost no sleep.

But on the nights when I wasn't on watch, I had no excuse. I just had to hide in my little corner and hope that no one realized that I wasn't sleeping nearly as much as I needed to.

No one confronted me about it.

Not until one night.

I was standing near the railing. It was the first night that the corner that I had been hiding in finally felt too small. I needed the moment alone with the air. The night watch was too focused on whatever card game they were playing. To be completely honest, I don't think any of them even knew that I was there. I didn't think that anyone did.

"Trouble sleeping?"

I jumped at the sound of a voice. I looked over to see Sturmhond standing at the base of the steps next to me. He held up his hands up.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's alright," I grinned. "Night watch is over there playing cards."

"Well, I wasn't looking for them," he shrugged. "I saw that your bunk was empty, so I wanted to check on you."

"That's very kind of you," I replied. "Was this your normal nightly act of kindness or were you also struggling to sleep?"

He chuckled. "I would like to say both. Rarely sleep well."

I nodded, quietly agreeing with the sentiment. I had rarely slept well since I made it to the ship.

I moved to sit on the top of the steps.

"I'd be glad to keep you company," he offered. "Sit, talk, anything you wish."

"Okay," I nodded.

There was a long pause between us. I expected him to speak first and choose the course of the discussion. But he didn't.

"I don't know what you want me to say," I forced a chuckle.

"You could always start with the truth," he suggested.

I had to actively fight my smile from dropping at the statement. I knew what he was asking. I just didn't want to show him that in the hopes that I could still get out of talking about it. I tilted my head at him.

"I could go first," he added. "If it makes you feel better."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

He took a few steps up so our faces were level. He leaned over so he could whisper to me, "My name isn't Sturmhond."

"I knew it," I said. He shushed me quietly, laughing to himself. "What's your name?"

He took a deep breath as if he were embarrassed. "Nikolai."

I tried to hold my laugh back, but it didn't work very well. I ended up trying to stifle my laugh.

"Shush-"

"Nikolai," I muttered to him. "You were ashamed of the name Nikolai, so you landed on Sturmhond?

"I wasn't ashamed of my name."

"Then why change it?"

"Why did you lie about why you wanted on this ship?" he countered.

I froze. My smile dropped and I stared at him. I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't even want to think about it anymore. But here I was, left with no choice. I either told him the truth or tried to fight him. I would never win a fight against his crew.

"(Y/n)-"

"Why do you want to know about it," I asked. "Why does it matter?"

"I need to know about any risk to my crew."

I closed my eyes.

"I need to know what risk you're facing, so I can ensure that I- we can do the most to protect you."

I looked at him again and saw nothing but concern gracing his features. Eyebrows drawn up in the middle, a frown forming on his lips, his eyes dancing around my face for the answers that I wasn't saying out loud.

"It's... There was a guy," I managed to mutter out. "We were meant to be together forever. My parents were convinced of the fact. But he didn't want me. He wanted to be wanted. Needed. I didn't always make him feel that way. And I hated how I felt when I did."

"Did he hurt you-"

"Saints, no," I shook my head. "He just enjoyed thinking that I was fighting for him. When I didn't seem to be, he deemed that I didn't love him. That I was just selfish. I was just being... drained. Running was the only way for me to get out without him trying to guilt me into staying."

"Do you think he'll look for you?"

"No," I replied. "I think he'll find someone new. I just couldn't face my family. They'd just tell me to go back."

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I thought that you would turn me away," I shrugged. "That my situation wouldn't be serious enough for you."

I felt a hand reach out and touch mine.

"You deserve more," he said quietly. "So much more."

"I know... that's why I had to leave."

There was this moment.

This moment where the two of us locked eyes. Silence on both sides. I was suddenly hit with every moment where I had looked at him and felt that odd peace. That peace that hadn't quite made sense at the time. But now, nothing made more sense to me.

"(Y/n)-"

I cut Nikolai off by leaning over to press my lips to his. His hands landed on each side of me as he slowly kissed me back.

I felt the flames crawling along my skin. Slow enough for me to know it was there. Careful enough to warm my skin without scorching me. It merely crawled through my blood and laid in my veins like a comfortable blanket on a freezing day. I could feel how warm I had gotten during the kiss. And I didn't mind the feeling at all.

It was everything that I had ever craved. I had lost faith in ever finding this. All I needed now was for Nikolai to feel the same way that I did.

I pulled away first, grinning at him. "Was that okay?"

I watched the smile slowly stretch across his face before he spoke, "Yeah. It was... far more than okay."

I slowly nodded.

He slowly stepped back, reaching out a hand to help me up and lead me down the steps. "I think it's time for both of us to get some much-needed rest, don't you?"

"I couldn't agree more," I replied.

He leaned in and kissed me again. It was shorter this time, but that didn't stop him from offering me another smile.

This was a feeling that I could easily get used to.

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#nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov x reader #imagine #fanfiction #x reader #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 8 months

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Books by BIPOC Authors August 2023

🦇 I grew up surrounded by a melting pot of cultures, diverse communities, and unique experiences. Despite the different sources of those multicultural voices, their stories still covered universal topics of colonialism, migration, identity, and race. Each story was another flavor, another sweet spice adding to that melting pot. Today, we have books by BIPOC authors that put those unique voices to the page. If you're interested in traveling to different worlds, whether familiar or foreign, here are a few books by BIPOC authors to add to your TBR! 🦇

✨ Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang ✨ The Dark Place by Britney S. Lewis ✨ Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okuson ✨ Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson ✨ A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power ✨ Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey ✨ The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America by Kathryn J. Edin, H. Luke Shaefer, Timothy J. Nelson ✨ Hangman by Maya Binyam ✨ The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Historical Fiction) ✨ Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam ✨ Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas ✨ An American Immigrant by Johanna Rojas Vann

🧭 Forgive Me Not by Jennifer Baker 🧭 Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen 🧭 A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars by Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz 🧭 Writing in Color: Fourteen Writers on the Lessons We've Learned (edited by) Nafiza Azad and Melody Simpson 🧭 Ghost Book by Remy Lai 🧭 The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang 🧭 Plantains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte 🧭 Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed 🧭 The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper 🧭 Take the Long Way Home by Rochelle Alers 🧭 Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham 🧭 Actually Super by Adi Alsaid

✨ Never a Hero by Vanessa Len ✨ I Fed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea ✨ The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu ✨ Night of the Living Queers, edited by Shelly Page ✨ Sign of the Slayer by Sharina Harris ✨ Her Radiant Curse by Elizabeth Lim ✨ My Father the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang ✨ Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera ✨Happiness Falls by Angie Kim ✨ A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban ✨ Neverwraith by Shakir Rashaan ✨ House of Marionne by J. Elle

#books #book list #book recommendation #bipoc #bipoc stories #support bipoc #batty about books #battyaboutbooks

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aking-takbuhan · 2 years

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Naughty P.JS (M) (F)

Pairings: Reader x Jisung Genre: Smut,fFluff, bf!Jisung Plot: Jisung was finishing his plates since he is an archi student, not until Reader was being clingy. “Naughty girl hmm?” Total words: 682 Author’s words: hallur po I just made this on the spot kaya patawad if may pagka cringe HAHAHAH, I will fix it siguro nalang and let me know your thoughts!

Ikaw ngayon ay nasa condo ni Jisung at nakahiga sa kama niya. Inaantay mo siyang matapos sa plates na ginagawa niya kanina pang umaga. Kanina ka pa inaantok pero nagkaroon kayo ng deal ni Jisung na sabay kayo matutulog dahil gusto mo makipag cuddle sakanya. Oo clingy ka kasi kay Jisung. Naka ilang beses ka na nagtanong kay Jisung kung kelan siya matatapos, pero paulit-ulit niyang sinasabi na ‘malapit na’ pero halata namang hindi parin ito malapit matapos. “Jii, when will you finish ba? kanina ka pa jan” Sabi mo at nag hmm lang sayo ang nobyo mo which made you pouty. Nilapitan mo naman siya dahil gusto mong makita kung matatapos na ba ito, at kahit antok ka na. Kita mo naman na medyo matatapos na ito kaya nagsalita ka ulit. “Ji, matatapos na naman eh, bukas mo na gawin, wala ka naman pasok tom eh..” Sabi mong may lungkot sa boses dahil gusto mo na talaga maki cuddle kay Jisung dahil miss mo siyang icuddle. “Baby, wait nga lang matatapos na to oh. If you want you can sleep na sunod na lang ako” At don ka tuluyang na nagtampo, siyempre nagkaroon nga kayo ng kasunduan tapos hindi niya ito itunutupad. “Akala ko ba may kasunduan tayo? Bat mo ko pinapauna matulog?” Banggit mo ng may halong galit sa boses. “Eh baby tinatapos ko nga plates ko eh, matatapos na to wag kanang mangulit” Humiga ka nalang uli sa kama ni Jisung, at nagphone. Kahit nagtatampo ka na, gusto mo parin makipag cuddle. [1:00AM] Oo 1 am na, pero bc paren si Jisung sa plates niya. “Jisung anubayan, pwede naman kasi bukas na gawin yan.” Sabi mong nababadtrip na. “Sana di nalang muna ako bumisita sayo kung jaan ka lang din tututok, ayaw mo ba magmake time sakin? Jaan ka nalang ba tututok? Mas mahal mo pa ata plates mo kesa saki-” Naputol ang sinasabi mo ng bigla kang nakaramdam ng labi saiyong labi. Jisung was kissing you, oo napikon si Jisung sa sinabi mo dahil ayaw niyang nakakafeel ka na parang ayaw niya na sayo. He kissed you deeply and later on pushed you on the bed. His hands started to wonder around your body, and removed your shorts. “Hmm? What were you saying kanina? Baby you’re always so impatient.” He moved your panties sa gilid, and starting to finger you pero super slow which made you impatient. Jisung noticed it you were whining dahil ang bagal niya talagang ginagalaw ang kanyang daliri. “Oh ano baby? You’re still impatient? Dapat nga thankful ka cause I’m giving you my attention na” You moaned later on dahil pinasok niya na ang dalawa niyang daliri, at mabilis na ginagalaw ito. Jisung chuckled, “Baby, bat di ka na nagsasalita? Weren’t you complaining kanina? Ngayon umuungol ka na” You clenched, and felt na malapit ka na. Syempre Jisung was a tease, and removed his fingers. “I want you to cum on my cock, baby” Pinasok niya na ito, then you both moaned. “J-jisung fas-faster!” The moment you said it Jisung acted up, and sped up to the point you were seeing stars. Then you both felt your high “Ji, lalabasan na ko”. Maya maya ay binigyan ka na ng permission to cum, sumunod na din siya at nilabas niya sa loob mo. Parehas niyong hinahabol ang inyong mga hininga, at maya maya bumagsak na din si Jisung sayo, at inalis ang ari niya sa iyong looban. “Now baby let’s cuddle” said Jisung, habang nagcocomplain ka pala kanina, is tapos na ni Jisung sa plates niya at naglagay lang siya ng finishing touches. “Finally, I missed you baby” Sabi mo kay Jisung habang sinisiksik ang ulo mo sa leeg niya. “Hmm, I told you matatapos na rin ako I was just too focused on making it perfect kaso you were being impatient, kaya binilisan ko tuloy” You chuckled, “Well, dapat lang dahil I want cuddles” You grinned. May saglit na katahimikan ng bumalot sainyo, but then “Naughty girl hmm?” He said and you giggled at pati narin si Jisung. At kayo ay tuluyan nang natulog....

#nct smut #nct #nct jisung #park jisung #nct fluff #nct dream #nct filo #jisung

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redshift-13 · 2 months

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versobooks.com/products/3009-towers-of-ivory-and-steel

How Israeli universities collaborate in Israeli state violence against Palestinians Israeli universities have long enjoyed a reputation as liberal bastions of freedom and democracy. Drawing on extensive research and making Hebrew sources accessible to the international community, Maya Wind shatters this myth and documents how Israeli universities are directly complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights. As this book shows, Israeli universities serve as pillars of Israel's system of oppression against Palestinians. Academic disciplines, degree programs, campus infrastructure, and research laboratories all service Israeli occupation and apartheid, while universities violate the rights of Palestinians to education, stifle critical scholarship, and violently repress student dissent. Towers of Ivory and Steel is a powerful expose of Israeli academia’s ongoing and active complicity in Israel’s settler-colonial project.

Endorsements

This book lands like a grenade, detonating comfortable and long held myths about the liberalism and independence of Israel’s university system. In their place, Wind’s rigorous and jaw-dropping research reveals countless ways that the nation’s most celebrated and storied education institutions are utterly entangled in the violent machinery of Palestinian dispossession, occupation, incarceration, surveillance, siege and military bombardment. From the development of deadly weapons to the crafting of state propaganda to the training of officers, there is no escaping the conclusion that these universities are part and parcel of the official infrastructure that has enabled Israel to systematically avoid the political solutions that are the only hope of enduring peace in the region. An explosive contribution from a brilliant young scholar.

-Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and Doppelganger

There are no ivory towers! Maya Wind brings this truth to the light with a forensic accounting of Israeli universities and their complete implication in Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime. Towers of Ivory and Steel lays bare Israeli campuses as Jewish settlements of replacement in occupied lands, the knowledge arm for security forces and the local military industry, and as sites of Palestinian intellectual suppression, all co-signed by the “liberal silence” of Israeli academics. Fearless, emphatic, and unflinching. No other work better demonstrates why higher education remains a vital site of struggle over the future of democracy, in Israel, in Palestine, and across the world.

-Davarian L. Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities

This book is a must read — meticulously researched, lucidly written, and convincingly argued. Wind deftly illuminates the myriad ways in which the university is a site of meaningful struggle, debunking the deep-seated myths that heretofore have served to normalize Israel’s academic complex as it is part and parcel of the state’s settler colonial projects of both occupation and apartheid that violently dominate and dispossess the Palestinian people. Towers of Ivory and Steel provides a roadmap for Israeli academics to end the institutional complicity and join the movement to remake higher education for liberation.

-J. Kehaulani Kauanui, author of Paradoxes of Hawaiian Sovereignty: Land, Sex, and the Colonial Politics of State Nationalism

A devastating analysis of the extensive, insidious ways that the Israeli academy is central to the architecture of occupation, settler colonial violence, and repression of Palestinians. Through meticulous ethnographic and archival research, Wind not only gives lie to the claim that the Israeli academy is a bastion of academic freedom and vigorous debate. She provides a model for the decolonial work we must all do until there is freedom and liberation for all.

-Jessica Winegar, co-author with Lara Deeb of Anthropology's Politics: Disciplining the Middle East

-Drawing on Hebrew sources, Maya Wind shatters the myth of liberal expression in Israeli universities, revealing instead how they prop up apartheid.

-Rebecca Ruth Gould, New Arab

Towers of Ivory and Steel is a paradigm-shifting book, with incredible insider reporting that provides riveting detail of how Israeli universities serve primarily as centers of military research, propaganda, and command. A must read.

-Sarah Schulman, Bookforum

#israel #palestine #university #educating for oppression #new books #maya wind #verso books

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the-garbanzo-annex-jr · 8 months

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by Maya Siegmann

As a student starting my first year at Wayne State University, please allow me to share with you what is happening on campus.

First, a bit about myself. For the past two years, I have been active with Hillel of Metro Detroit while attending Oakland Community College. I was an Applebaum Family Intern and the president of the Jewish Student Organization at OCC, and I participated in Hillel’s J-Talk and Israel Fellowship programs. I am currently the president of the WSU Jewish Student Organization.

I was looking forward to being in Detroit and starting my WSU student experience. Then, the WSU Student Senate posted a statement that made me feel that, as an active supporter of Israel, I am not a welcome member of the Wayne State student community.

The Student Senate wrote a “letter of support standing with our Palestinian Student Population.”

In this letter they state: “This month, Palestinians sifted through the wreckage of their destroyed homes and their damaged psyches. More than 1,000 Israeli soldiers stormed the overcrowded camp last week as rockets and drone missiles struck private homes and public infrastructure. Nobody could guess where the next barrage would come from. Jenin raid is over, but Palestinians are left to cope with the trauma. The camp in Jenin was established in 1953 for refugees from more than 50 villages and cities in the northern parts of Palestine. Since then, it has been the target of continuous Israeli military raids. As a student body, we strongly condemn the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli apartheid government.”

There is no mention that Israel’s operation targeted terrorist cells because the Palestinian Authority had abdicated its policing of Jenin. No mention of the numerous Israeli victims of Palestinian terror. Characterizing this mission as genocide and the Israeli government as apartheid makes clear where my student government stands.

Ironically, earlier in the statement they claim that “Student Senate is focused on the student experience first, ensuring inclusivity and equity for our peers.”

I certainly do not feel included, nor do other Jewish students.

A couple of years ago, my brother was among a group of Jewish students who met with then President Wilson and Provost Kornbluh after a similar incident with Student Senate. While President Wilson was understanding, the students felt that Provost Kornbluh was not.

Now that there is a new Wayne State University president, I hope the administration will press the Student Senate to focus their efforts on campus issues rather than complex international matters that warrant much more nuance.

It is sad that this is what Jewish students have to deal with at Wayne State. Fortunately, we have Hillel of Metro Detroit to help us, along with the greater Detroit Jewish community.

#wsu #wayne state university #hillel

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ivanseledkin · 9 months

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Yuri Knorozov was a Soviet linguist who deciphered the Mayan script in 1953. He had a habit of listing his Siamese cat Asya as a co-author to many of his works; however, his editors would always remove her. Knorozov would also use this photo with Asya as his official author photo and would get upset whenever his editors would crop her out. Deciphering the Mayan script was extremely challenging because there was no Rosetta Stone to provide translations into other languages. The only clues that remained were from Mayan stelae (stone monuments) that were scattered throughout several different ruins. Knorozov worked in isolation in the Soviet Union and was able to make major advancements without ever stepping foot in Central America. His breakthrough was rejecting the notion that the Maya glyphs were based on an alphabet but rather a syllabary (a set of written characters representing syllables). When Knorozov published his work, he was attacked and dismissed by several prominent academics, most notably, J. Eric S. Thompson, a British scholar who believed that the Mayan script was anti-phonetic and based on ideographic principles. It also did not help that Knorozov published his research during the height of the Cold War when Western scholars were quick to dismiss the works of Soviet scholars as being tainted by Marxist ideology. It took decades for Knorozov to finally receive the recognition he deserved. One of Knorozov's earliest supporters was an American Anthropology professor at Yale by the name of Michael D. Coe who would later go on to write, "Yuri Knorozov, a man who was far removed from the Western scientific establishment and who, prior to the late 1980s, never saw a Mayan ruin nor touched a real Mayan inscription, had nevertheless, against all odds, made possible the modern decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing."

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richincolor · 11 months

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New Releases for the Week of May 22, 2023

We have a nice collection of books to look forward to this week with a few contemporary realistic fiction novels, one fantasy anthology, and a story with a bit of a mystery.

If You Still Recognize Me by Cynthia So Harperteen

Elsie has a crush on Ada, the only person in the world who truly understands her. Unfortunately, they’ve never met in real life and Ada lives an ocean away. But Elsie has decided it’s now or never to tell Ada how she feels. That is, until her long-lost best friend Joan walks back into her life.

In a summer of repairing broken connections and building surprising new ones, Elsie realises that she isn’t nearly as alone as she thought. But now she has a choice to make… — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Magic Has No Borders edited by Sona Charaipotra and Samira Ahmed HarperTeen

A pair of star-crossed lovers search for a way back to one another against all odds…

A girl fights for her life against a malignant, generations-old evil…

A peri seeks to reclaim her lost powers…

A warrior rebels against her foretold destiny…

From chudails and peris to jinn and goddesses, this lush collection of South Asian folklore, legends, and epics reimagines stories of old for a modern audience. This fantasy and science fiction teen anthology edited by Samira Ahmed and Sona Charaipotra contains a wide range of stories from fourteen bestselling, award-winning, and emerging writers from the South Asian diaspora that will surprise, delight, and move you. So read on, for after all, magic has no borders.

With stories by: ▪Sabaa Tahir, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series, and winner of the National Book Award and Printz Award for All My Rage ▪Sayantani DasGupta, New York Times bestselling author of the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series ▪Preeti Chhibber, author of Spider-Man’s Social Dilemma ▪Sona Charaipotra, author of Symptoms of a Heartbreak and How Maya Got Fierce, and coauthor of The Rumor Game and Tiny Pretty Things, now a Netflix original series. ▪Tanaz Bhathena, award-winning author of Hunted by the Sky and Of Light and Shadow ▪Sangu Mandanna, bestselling author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the Celestial Trilogy ▪Olivia Chadha, author of Rise of the Red Hand ▪Nafiza Azad, author of William C. Morris Award nominee, The Candle and the Flame ▪Tracey Baptiste, New York Times bestselling author of The Jumbies series and Minecraft: The Crash ▪Naz Kutub, author of The Loophole ▪Nikita Gill, bestselling author of Wild Embers and Fierce Fairytales ▪Swati Teerdhala, author of the Tiger at Midnight trilogy ▪Shreya Ila Anasuya, New Voices selection ▪Tahir Abrar, New Voices selection — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes Balzer & Bray/Harperteen

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers, despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)

I’m safe here.

That’s how Sadie feels, on a perfect summer day, wrapped in her girlfriend’s arms. School is out, and even though she’s been struggling to manage her chronic anxiety, Sadie is hopeful better times are ahead. Or at least, she thought she was safe. When her girlfriend reveals some unexpected news and the two witness a violent incident of police brutality unfold before them, Sadie’s whole world is upended in an instant.

I’m not safe anywhere.

That’s how Sadie feels every day after–vulnerable, uprooted. She retreats inside as the weeks slip by and relies on her phone to stay connected to the outside world. When Sadie’s therapist gives her a diagnosis for her debilitating panic–agoraphobia–she starts on a path of acceptance and healing. Meanwhile, Sadie’s best friend, Evan, updates her on the protests taking place in their city. Sadie wants to be a part of it, to use her voice and affect change. But how do you show up for your community when you can’t even leave your house?

I can build a safe place inside myself.

That’s what Sadie learns over the course of one life-changing summer, with some help from her family, her best friend, an online platform for activists, and a magnetic crush she develops for the new boy next door. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

#new releases #young adult lit #YA Lit

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coochiequeens · 11 months

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Male self-identified ‘women’ ignore the purpose of having a women-only space,” Orita said. “The desire not to have physical men in women-only spaces is not prejudice or a discriminatory attitude, but comes from evidence-based reality.”

Japan’s longest-running rape crisis center has been declared ineligible to receive public funding following statements made by the facility’s director which were deemed by government officials to be discriminatory against males who identify as transgender.

Tokyo’s Rape Crisis Center was founded in 1983 by six women, half of whom were survivors of sexual assault. Michiko Orita, one of the founders, first confirmed the punitive measure during a meeting held last year in Mayorganized by women’s rights campaign group Save Women’s Spaces, which was primarily concerned with the potential ramifications should gender identity policies be adopted in the nation.

“There have been various attacks and obstructions against our association [Tokyo Rape Crisis Center] throughout the last year. In one specific example, the director of the Minato City Center for Gender Equality carried out a speech suppression and power harassment attack against us for more than an hour, based on criticism that not referring to ‘transgender women’ as ‘women’ is detrimental to the promotion of gender equality and diversity in the Minato Ward,” Orita said during her 2022 presentation.

Under Japanese law, “power harassment” is considered a serious charge. The legal code was updated in 2019 to address “remarks and behavior of people taking advantage of their superior positions in the workplace that exceed what is necessary and appropriate for the conduct of business, thereby harming the working environment of employees.”

It was after this altercation, Orita said, that the Rape Crisis Center (RCC) was removed from a list of projects subsidized by the government. Since that time, the RCC has received threats sent to their email address.

“There is an increase in trans-discriminatory and trans-hate labeling and suppression of speech in a situation where most citizens have no knowledge of gender identity. Currently, victims of sexual violence are the target of criticism as trans-discriminatory, and the harmful effects of this are to silence and attack women victims who are suffering from sexual harm,” Orita said last May.

The issue was again brought to light during an emergency press conference held in Tokyo on May 1 to address concerns about a proposed LGBT bill that would codify “gender identity” into law while banning “unfair discrimination” on that basis, without clearly defining either term.

“Male self-identified ‘women’ ignore the purpose of having a women-only space,” Orita said. “The desire not to have physical men in women-only spaces is not prejudice or a discriminatory attitude, but comes from evidence-based reality.”

Orita revealed that she had heard complaints from survivors of abuse, and explained that men in women’s spaces can be re-traumatizing for victims. “Two years ago, when our organization was selected by the Tokyo Metropolitan government’s Minato Ward to organize a lecture on ‘Considering Equality from the Perspective of Sexual Violence,’ a participant said, ‘A woman I know was victimized by a man dressed as a woman in the women’s bathroom. I don’t want transvestite men and trans women to go into women’s toilets.”

Orita described how the attacks against her, and her establishment more broadly, began in response to views she published in a newsletter put out by the Rape Crisis Center in 2021. In the newsletter, Orita questioned the slander directed at renowned author J.K. Rowling after she publicly threw her support behind Maya Forstater, a woman who had her employment contract terminated for questioning gender identity ideology.

“J. K. Rowling was once a victim of domestic and sexual violence, so she came to believe that people should be distinguished by their biological sex, rather than their gender identity. She said that spaces segregated on the basis of biological sex, such as women-only restrooms, public baths, domestic violence shelters, and sometimes women-only train carriages, are a necessity. It is the right of women, discriminated against from birth on the basis of the physical sex, to have a space free from male violence,” the RCC newsletter read.

Orita said that she was told her newsletter amounted to discrimination because she had referred to trans-identified males as “trans women” instead of women.

“To write ‘trans women’ is apparently ‘discrimination’ and goes to the very heart of the Minato Ward’s selection process for grant aid projects. Since then, we have continued to be excluded from the other women’s projects that have been selected [for funding] all these years.”

Orita continued: “In addition, a seven-page letter was sent by an associate professor at Hiroshima University, and a self-described ‘trans ally’ regarding the article, saying that we should apologize to all transgender people or he would launch a protest action.”

Another topic of concern addressed by the newsletter was a lawsuit being heard in the Supreme Court which has the potential to set a legal precedent allowing sex self-identification. The suit was brought forward by a man who has self-declared his sex as female and is seeking unrestricted access to women’s restrooms.

The man, whose name has not been released to the public, has not undergone any surgery and retains male genitalia. He has been diagnosed with gender identity disorder and has been taking female hormones, and began publicly presenting himself as a woman since 2010. In 2013, he filed a petition with the National Personnel Authority to remove restrictions on his use of women’s restrooms at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s (METI) office, but it was rejected.

However, in 2015, unnamed fellow employees filed a lawsuit demanding that the decision be overturned. in December 2019, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the response was illegal, citing that “it constitutes a restriction on the important legal interest of leading a social life that conforms to one’s self-identified gender.” The ruling acknowledged responsibility for compensation and ordered the payment of 1.32 million yen ($9,600 USD). The case is ongoing, and a hearing in the Supreme Court is scheduled for June 16.

“Attacks and threats were made because we wrote an article about the trial of trans woman A, who works for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who wants to use the women’s restroom alongside his colleagues, and we have since been targeted from all sides,” Orita said in her presentation.

In the newsletter, Orita questioned how a man can feel like a woman on the inside, and stated that she objected to reducing women to external appearances, which she emphasized reinforced stereotypes, and challenged the belief that the plaintiff in the suit had a right to women’s spaces.

“The attitude of Mr. A, who concludes that there is no problem because there were complaints, is the same as when, in a male-dominated society where, if the woman does not say ‘no,’ she is thought to accept it. Mr. A does not recognize the anxieties of women, which even men can imagine, and uses the power of the court to pressure women. What does it men to be a ‘woman at heart?'”

A Twitter account belonging to the anonymous man involved in the lawsuit was discovered to have been making sexually suggestive posts. Women who oppose men entering female-only facilities drew attention to several instances where he had joked about his penis in a sexualized context.

Orita more recently discussed the issue of the RCC being denied funding during an emergency press conference held at the beginning of the month. Four organizations gathered to expressed their opposition to a proposed LGBT Discrimination Bill which includes a stipulation designating a self-declared “gender identity” as a protected characteristic.

Representatives from the Association for Gender Non-Conforming People, a group made up of those who have been diagnosed with gender identity disorder, and the Association to Protect Women’s Spaces, spoke alongside LGB activists to share their concerns about the legislation.

The meeting was assembled in response to mounting pressure from foreign powers to adopt measures enshrining the subjective term “gender identity” into law before the upcoming G-7 Summit, scheduled to begin on May 19. Concerns presented at the press conference included the expanding of women-only spaces to men, which speakers said placed women at risk of assault or harassment, and the treatment of the lesbian community by men who claim to be women.

In recent months, several representatives from both the United States and Australia have met with Japanese officials to discuss the topic of “gender equality,” particularly in how it relates to gender identity under the umbrella of the LGBT movement. The foreign influence in domestic affairs has drawn widespread criticism from Japanese citizens.

Last month, Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, Stephanie Copus Campbell, spoke with members of the national Diet to “discuss how Australia and Japan can work together to promote gender equality.” In February, Copus Campbell announced her appointment to the new role as “Australia’s lead international advocate” for “persons of diverse gender identites” in a video that was met with sharp criticism on social media.

On May 12, the U. S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, shared a video featuring fifteen foreign representatives pressuring the government of Japan to pass the LGBT bill. “When my closest friends give me the same advice, I pay attention,” he said.

Ambassadors from Argentina, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Finland, Norway, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, among others, reiterated the message that Japan ought to pass the bill ahead of the G7 summit. The majority of the speakers focused on the same-sex marriage aspect of the bill rather than the more controversial “gender identity” portion.

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) sponsored the LGBT bill and is aiming to pass the legislation before the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima begins on May 19. The term “gender identity” was not included in the LDP’s initial outline of the bill, but was added due to pressure from lobbyists during revision talks in 2021.

Several lawmakers have expressed opposition to the “gender identity” aspect of the bill by pointing out how this infringes on women’s rights and privacy. However, Former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who supports the bill, told the press that “the issue of men violating women’s rights by falsely claiming to be women is a problem that has nothing to do with the legislation.”

As previously reported by Reduxx, a Japanese trans-identified male YouTuber prompted backlash last December after boasting of using the women’s sauna at a hotel and describing seeing women naked in highly sexual terms. Nao Wasada, who also uses the name Suzanne Misaki, uploaded a video to his YouTube channelon December 5 titled “What Happened After a Former Man Took Off His Clothes and Entered the Women’s Bath.” He called the experience “paradise,” saying he was in “boob heaven,” and stated that it was not his first time entering a women’s public bath.

International rankings, including those from the World Economic Forum, consistently place Japan as one of the most unequal countries in the developed world in terms of political representation and economic opportunities for women. Sexual harassment involving groping, up-skirting, and the illicit recording of women, known as voyeur pornography, are rampant in the nation. Authorities have designated certain train carriages as women-only and placed public service announcements in response.

Reduxx attempted to contact Orita to provide comment for this article, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

By Genevieve Gluck

Genevieve is the Co-Founder of Reduxx, and the outlet's Chief Investigative Journalist with a focused interest in pornography, sexual predators, and fetish subcultures. She is the creator of the podcast Women's Voices, which features news commentary and interviews regarding women's rights.

If any ladies in Japan have more insight in this please comment.

#Japan #Tokyo’ Rape Crisis Center #Save Women’s Spaces #Power harassment #Trans identified men don’t want their working penis to be used as an excuse to keep them out of women’s spaces #Then make sexualized references to their penises on social media #Japan is listening to countries where the TQ+ have run amok and dragged women and the LGB with them

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ebookporn · 1 year

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Building a New Canon of Black Literature

Which older novels, plays and poems by African American writers are being — or should be — rediscovered?

by Adam Bradley Artwork by Dominic Chambers and Tajh Rust

I FIRST HEARD the name J. California Cooper last November. Cooper, who died in 2014 at 82, was the author of five novels, seven short-story collections and 17 plays. Her books are folksy, funny and wise. They center on Black characters, most of them women. As Alice Walker, 79, who published Cooper’s debut collection of fiction, “A Piece of Mine” (1984), wrote, Cooper “reminds us of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston.”

Why had I never heard her name? I’ve been an English professor for nearly two decades, teaching surveys of Black American literature, even seminars focused on Black women writers. Before that, I was a graduate student at Harvard during the era of the Black studies “Dream Team,” learning from scholars like Cornel West and Henry Louis Gates Jr., and writing a dissertation that includes chapters on Walker, Toni Morrison and Gayl Jones. Before that, while growing up in Salt Lake City in the 1980s and ’90s, I looked to Black literature as a lifeline; I read every book I could find, including works by Ishmael Reed and Paule Marshall, Ernest J. Gaines and Maya Angelou — all Cooper’s contemporaries. Since childhood, I’ve been amassing a collection of Black fiction, drama and poetry that exceeds a thousand volumes. So how is it that Cooper escaped my willing attention?

#canon #black authors #black literature #black writers #book publishing #book tumblr

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msclaritea · 2 months

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JK Rowling is right: a trans woman is not a woman, and it’s not wrong to say so

It is absolutely extraordinary that transgender activist India Willoughby reported J K Rowling to the police for a hate crime. The Harry Potter author this week referred to the newsreader and Loose Women host as a man in an argument on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Northumbria Police has now confirmed that it is dropping the investigation. Why did it take so long? It should never have been given the time of day.

Quick law refresher: “misgendering” is not a crime.

The researcher Maya Forstater successfully brought a case to the employment appeal tribunal in 2021 to establish that gender-critical views are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.

So while hostility to someone based on gender identity can be an aggravating factor if a separate crime is committed, misgendering is not in itself an offence. Moreover, Rowling and those who agree with her are completely within their rights to refuse to believe the fiction that you can change biological sex.

As Rowling herself put it: “No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman.” Quite.

Now, I’ve got no objection to using people’s preferred pronouns so I’m happy to refer to Willoughby as “she”. But “a woman”? No. It is a simple fact that she is biologically male, regardless of any gender reassignment surgery. She’s a trans woman but she’s not a woman and never will be.

Trans activists have tried their hardest to turn a feeling into fact when they insist: “A trans woman is a woman.” But the truth of the matter is that a trans woman is a man who identifies as a woman.

Willoughby and her supporters might dislike her being described as a man. They might find it at best impolite and at worst deeply offensive. But it is not “hateful” to believe that men are men and women are women. You cannot change biological sex and under the Forstater ruling, it isn’t “illegal” to say so.

This is what happens when a vocal minority creates such an environment of fear that the police think they can’t immediately call out an attention-seeking time-waster when they see one.

J K Rowling is not a “transphobe”, either – as inconvenient as that might be to those seeking to label any woman who thinks biological sex is immutable as a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” (Terf).

It’s far from “radical” to believe in just the two sexes. Nor is it “exclusionary”, since Rowling has never denied the existence of trans people nor their rightful place in society – alongside men and women.

She’s simply a gender-critical feminist, who is justifiably concerned for the corresponding rights of women, which she believes are being eroded. I and many other women (and men … and even some trans people) agree with her.

This is what the gender fanatics continually refuse to acknowledge: that there are competing rights here. It’s not all about them, whatever the likes of Willoughby seem to think.

Rowling has been a heroine in all this, because she’s not only refused to be cancelled, but has emboldened many others who feel the same way as her to bravely speak out.

But let’s look at what is really “hateful” about this debate. There is no doubt that Rowling and others like her continue to be the victims of terrible misogyny. Just look at the appalling comments made about her on social media by people who purport to be defined by kindness and progressive values.

Indeed, it is really quite striking that, on International Women’s Day yesterday, when we should have been celebrating female advancement, there was little public celebration of gender-critical feminists like Rowling. The Left hypocritically talks up the importance of “diversity” and “inclusion” while at the same time actively seeking to shame those who have an opposing point of view.

The definition of bigotry is being “obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudiced against or antagonistic towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group”. So radical trans activists are guilty of exactly what they accuse gender-critical feminists of. Yet still they arrogantly assume they can occupy the moral high ground, while carrying out these modern-day witch trials.

If stories of gender-critical women being hounded out of their jobs, their universities, and in the recent case of Newcastle United fan Linzi Smith, their football club, aren’t already disturbing enough, we now hear word of a Canadian proposal to impose house arrest on someone who is believed likely to commit a hate crime in the future – even if they have not done so already.

The proposed clause in the country’s new Online Safety Bill would see suspected “hate criminals” forced to wear an electronic tag and banned from going outside. In Willoughby’s world, that would include anyone who thinks she’s a bloke.

But this former Big Brother contestant has got her own form when it comes to sharp remarks on social media.

I had to block her myself when she responded to one of my posts highlighting a pretty innocuous story I’d written about Prince Harry with the words: “Garbage. Harry has your metaphorical number – while the grubby British Media had his ACTUAL number, and hacked it.”

Referencing my role as royal editor of an ITV daytime show, she added: “Someone else you keep platforming @ThisMorning. Have a clear out.” Nice.

If this is supposed to be what the “sisterhood” is supposed to look like in Willoughby’s eyes, then I’d genuinely rather be a “Terf”. %n

#JK Rowling is right: a trans woman is not a woman #and it’s not wrong to say so #The Only Dishonest Thing About All Of This Is Treating The Fight For Women's Rights As Coming From The Right #It Was The Right That Fomented The Transgender Movement

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bi-bard · 11 months

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There's So Much I Wanna Tell You, But I Don't Know If It'll Fit - Joel Miller Imagine [The Last of Us]

Title: There's So Much I Wanna Tell You, But I Don't Know If It'll Fit

Pairing: Pre-Outbreak!Joel Miller X Reader

Word Count: 1,177 words

Warning(s): none that I know of

Summary: [Inspired by "Sunday Crossword" by J. Maya] Joel and (Y/n) attempt to maintain a boundary between them. However, their feelings grow regardless of what they want and they're left questioning if that boundary was set out of respect or out of fear.

Author's Note: I'm working on the next part of this OC, but I wanted to write something simple and cute.

--------------------

There was a period of time when I was convinced that I was happier before I met Joel.

It felt like there was a lot less stress then.

It wasn't that Joel didn't treat me well. He did. Very well. But that on its own was a problem.

Joel and I had been going on casual dates for a while. Coffee or lunch together, we'd meet for a movie or a drink, we'd go for walks together. It was all very... safe.

Joel never stayed the night at my house. I had never even been to his. We never used any kind of label for what we were. We were seeing each other, we were exclusive, but calling ourselves seemed careless. In all honesty, it felt like I was in high school all over again.

I always understood Joel's hesitance. He had a daughter. I had never heard a dad talk so much about how proud they were of their kid. He saw her as nothing less than the sun. I could just see it. Bringing anyone new into his life had to be done with caution because they would become a part of her life too. I respected that.

But that didn't change my growing feelings for him. I couldn't count the number of times that I had to physically bite my tongue to keep myself from saying that I loved him.

It was awful.

The dynamic that I had with Joel was something that I had imagined having. Sweet and loving and funny. It was almost perfect.

And yet, I couldn't say the one thing that I wanted to say most.

I didn't think that I ever would get that chance.

Until we went to the movies one night.

I had mentioned to Joel that there was a horror movie coming out that I had wanted to go see. He offered to go with me one weekend while Sarah was over at a friend's house.

"'28 Days Later,'" Joel read off the ticket as we waited at concessions. "Never heard of it."

"It's set in London after some kind of illness has set in and turned the people into monsters driven by pure rage," I explained.

"I see... social commentary?"

"Shut up," I replied, chuckling at him. "You'll like it. I think. If you don't... I'll pay for dinner next time."

"You've got yourself a deal," he grinned at me. I nodded.

There was a moment before I spoke up again, "Thank you for this, by the way."

"You've got nothing to thank me for," he muttered before leaning over to kiss the side of my head. I felt myself bite my tongue as he leaned back. It was an instinct now.

Despite all of the hesitation, moments like these were the best.

Or they usually were.

When Joel leaned back, I saw him look past me and his face dropped. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned around, looking for someone who was looking at us.

"Joel," I said once I didn't see anyone. "What's going on?"

"My daughter's here," he replied.

"Really," I asked.

He nodded.

"You said that she was at a friend's house."

"Because I thought she was," he explained. "I didn't know they had plans to come see a movie."

I chuckled.

"What?"

"You're acting like a teenager getting caught by their parents," I shrugged. "I'm not sneaking into your room so we can make out. We're two adults on a date."

"I just... I wanted to plan this better."

"I know," I nodded. "But the universe doesn't really give a shit what you plan."

"Yeah... you're right."

A new voice joined the conversation, "Dad?"

"Here we go," he muttered before looking at his daughter. "Hey... what are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same question," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm here to see a movie," he said. "With a friend."

I waved. "I'm (Y/n)."

Sarah looked back and forth between us for a few moments. "Are you guys on a date?"

I tried to hide the shocked laugh that wanted to escape me. I looked over at Joel, who didn't look away from her.

"Yeah... we are," Joel admitted. "We have been for a little while now."

"I knew it!" she pointed at him. "I knew you didn't have that many friends to be meeting that often."

"Hey!" he replied.

"Anyway," she turned to me. "It's nice to meet you. I have to get back to my friends."

I nodded. "Have fun. It was nice meeting you too."

I turned back to Joel, who was very clearly tense. Again, he looked like a teenager getting caught by his parents.

"Hey," I touched his arm. "That went about as well as could be expected."

"Yeah, yeah... you're right."

"I often am."

"Alright," he mumbled. "Come on. Line's moving."

I just chuckled to myself before continuing to walk forward.

We stayed pretty much silent until we got into the theater. We were early, mostly because of my insistence. We found our spots, waiting for the rest to fill up and for the film to start.

I felt my mind starting to wander. The thing that Joel was most worried about was his daughter. But now, I've met her. We seemed to be fine with each other, even though it had only been a few moments. So... that should be at least somewhat resolved. Right?

I didn't need to hesitate anymore, right?

"You alright?"

I looked over at Joel when he spoke up.

"You're not already scared enough to leave, are you?"

"Shut up," I nudged him. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I just... I need to say something and I don't know how you're gonna respond to it," I said. "It's... It's nothing bad. I don't think so, at least."

"Then I probably won't think so either," he replied. "Come on... tell me."

I took a deep breath before speaking up. "Joel... I love you."

There was a long pause. One where we were just looking at each other and not a single word was spoken. I felt a sense of dread in my stomach. I wanted to go hide in a hole somewhere. I had overstepped. I had been so careful and I still fucked it up. And now I was gonna lose the best thing that I had ever had.

I was ready to push myself out of my seat and leave him there. "I'm sorry-"

"Hey," Joel grabbed my hand. "I... I love you."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I just... I didn't want to rush you into something."

"Oh," I muttered. "That's why I didn't say anything."

"A pair of geniuses here, aren't we," he chuckled, relaxing a bit more into his seat.

"Yeah, guess so.

I leaned over and hesitantly rested my head on his shoulder. I only truly relaxed when I heard a quiet hum come from Joel as he did so.

I grinned to myself.

And just like that, the best thing I had ever had became even better.

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Author's Note: For just a dash of additional heartbreak, the U.S release of 28 Days Later was in June of 2003, so this all happened and then Joel and (Y/n) got like three months together before the world went to shit.

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