#Pro City Consulting

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

Daenerys is 14

And she does stay in Slavers Bay and try to rebuild the economy. Source: A Dance With Dragons.

She spends much of the book trying to negotiate new trade deals with the Lhazarene and the Qartheen, trying to plant new olive groves and bean fields, trying to reform the guilds membership so former slaves can earn proper wages as skilled craftsmen. She tries to assimilate with Meereenese culture to ease a peaceful transition of power, she consults with their priestess, she adopts their religious rites and their uncomfortable traditional dress, she agrees under pressure to marry a Meereenese noble (she doesn't force anyone into marriage at dragonpoint like in the show). And she goes out personally to feed and care for the sick and starving refugees at her door, she tries to set up quarantine zones to slow the spread of infection.

And yeah she falls short. But the odds are stacked against her. She's 14, for starters. And before she arrived the slavers burnt all the olive groves and salted the soil so she couldn't use them, and as she calculates it will take 30 years before the land will be truly productive again. She also has the Meereenese slaving class working very hard to sabotage her by funding domestic terrorism within the city. And she has to deal with a refugee crisis, a famine, a plague, and an alliance of pro-Slavery states forming a blockade around Meereen and threatening to siege the city.

True the refugee crisis is arguably due to her leaving Astapor. She set up a new government, but she should have stayed longer to consolidate it. But she is only 14, and her main adviser/parental figure is too busy being a pro-slavery pedophile.

And the fall of Astapor isn't completely on her shoulders. She left adults in charge, people with qualifications and who knew the land and people better than she did. They had political agency and responsibility. As did Cleon. He could have chosen not to overthrow the Council and name himself King. He could have chosen to heed Daenerys when she told him "don't start a war with the Yunkai". And the Yunkai could have chosen not to slaughter Astapor and chase the refugees to Meereen. They could have simply removed Cleon and then recognised Daenerys had no part in his actions. The Yunkai could have chosen not to then declare war on Meereen.

The institution of slavery is complicated to overthrow and complicated to replace and even complicated in the ways it reasserts itself. Daenerys isn't the only actor here who determines the fate of Slavers Bay (though if she unleashes her dragons she can certainly become the most decisive actor again). The entire point of ADWD is that it's much more complicated than that - its GRRM's answer to "what was Aragorn's tax policy?". She is a 14 year old child who does her best against impossible odds, and who explicitly puts any dreams of Westeros on hold indefinitely. Time and time again she is offered the chance and means to sail for Westeros, and she turns it down each time because she knows she can't leave the people of Meereen behind to die.

And hopefully the lesson she learns by the end of ADWD is that she has to stop being conciliatory towards the slaving class. She spares the lives of hostages, she opens the fighting pits for them, she gives up her body in marriage, and still they try to poison her to install Hizdhar as King. Mercy isn't a weakness, but the people who have a vested interest in slavery aren't going to stop just because you ask them nicely (like that garbage show GOT seems to think). She's got to use her dragons.

No, critiquing her failures isn't the same as defending slavery. But claiming that she never tried, and ignoring the odds stacked against her, is false. As for blaming her for Slavers Bay falling into chaos and suffering... First off, again, she isn't the only responsible actor with agency - I maintain that the fall of Astapor was pretty much out of her hands. And second, it ignores the massive scale of human suffering that already gripped slavers bay. The daily violence inflicted on slaves - the families torn apart, the lives destroyed, the children mutilated, the thousands of dead babies killed to initiate the Unsullied, the tortures and crucifixions and whippings and executions and rapes.

Ignoring that isn't that far off from defending slavery. Claiming that the violence that overthrew slavery is worse than the violence that is slavery isn't that far off from defending slavery. Should no one ever dare strike off a slaves chains just because they can't account for the violence that could come after? Is the crucifixion of child-murdering Slavers worse than the crucifixion of innocent children?

Or to bring up another literary scenario with more moral equivalency and ambiguity - was the Tenth plague upon the firstborns of Egypt worse than the mass culling of infant slaves? Who do you blame for the Ten Plagues of Egypt? Should Moses have left well enough alone?

#fandom nonsense #daenerys targaryen #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #breaker of chains #daenerys defense squad #meereen #daenerys meta #dany meta #dany #dany defence squad #pro daenerys #pro daenerys targaryen #anti got

[possibilistfanfiction]

Prompt: “please stay”

it's rained more lately in los angeles than you ever imagined it would; you've been to the desert and lived through a summer here, the haze in the air and mirage on the pavement and a few days where it just never cooled off. but it's dreary and damp lately, parts of the city flooding, puddles everywhere. cold winds have blown in overnight, swathes of loose palm bark in your yard when you had looked outside.

it's still cold and stormy; the sea, you're sure, is angry outside — grey and infinite in its depth. most days, the wonder of the world sits in your wrists, in the junctures there, in the small bones beatrice knows all the names of. most days, the wonder is in everything: the orange poppies blooming along the hillside, and the perfect amount of lime in good guacamole, and the way beatrice tastes like cinnamon when you kiss her in the afternoon, lazily, like you've always had time.

but some days it sits heavy along your spine: you spent an eternity — eight months, earthside, but you don't know how to measure that, not really — in darkness, in nothingness, in white space so bright your eyes burned.

you didn't sleep, or eat, not like here. the halo in your back burnt and burnt and burnt, and the divinium through your organs, taken out by unknown hands, had left gaping, excruciating wounds, which eventually, because you stayed so, so still, turned into painful, barely-healed scars, half shrapnel, half burn. there was nothing, and you were nothing, and you missed your mom and your sisters and your friends and beatrice, with her steady shoulders and her reluctant laugh and her gold eyes.

it's still dark, still early, the dawn inky blue outside, stretching as a bruise against the pale skin of the sand. you roll over in your big bed — safe, piled with a soft white linen duvet; a mattress that beatrice had ordered specifically for your spine after consulting jillian and then making a spreadsheet of pros and cons between different brands and models — and take a deep breath. it's here, and it's now, you remind yourself, touch your fingers to the worst of the divinium scars, puckered along your right ribs. you place the palm of your hand against the worst of it, the opposite of stigmata, maybe, and breathe into it, let your chest expand all the way into your belly, all the way down your spine, filling your heartspace.

and then you look at beatrice, the duvet down around the middle of her bare back. the tan of her skin from the sun, the black tattoo down her spine, her hair — short and dark and messy — and the peaceful planes of her face, delicate despite it all. calm, and unworried, the bow of her lips and the freckles across her cheeks. she had told you, excitedly last night, how incredible the swells were supposed to be this morning, because of the storm, but you look at her and you think of riptides and not being able to swim and how this world, this life, bold and bright, wouldn't be much different for you than nothingness if anything happened to her. if she wasn't here with you, to eat really good ramen and grumble her way through terrible movies and steadfastly do the laundry.

you scoot closer to her, drape an arm across her waist and kiss between her shoulder blades. you've learned that bea is easy to awaken but almost impossible to really wake up when she feels relaxed and safe — but sometimes you think you know each other differently than anyone, a familiarity that has saved the world a few times over. in one of the classes you audited — philosophy, which had mostly been awful and full of gross white dudes — you had learned that recognize meant, really, to know again. to know again, and again, and again, like the veins mapped across the backs of your hands or the hue of a lover's eyes.

she stirs and blinks awake, slowly, and there they are: brown, so smart, with flecks of gold that light up in the sun, that you know even in the dark dawn.

'ava, are you okay?'

her voice is rough with sleep and slow and beautiful. you're so, so greedy, wanting this life and the next with her. you wouldn't renounce it for anything. kingdoms and realms could fall at your feet before you said anything of the sort.

'please don't go surfing this morning.' your voice is a little wobbly and she shifts onto her side, fully, to face you, concern etching a line between her brows. she looks around blearily, her features and posture sharpening in a split second.

'did something happen?'

'no,' you say, and leave the but something could alone; something always could. instead, 'i just — it's stormy, and i want to sleep in with you here.' let me love you like this, you think, and press your lips to the scar on her shoulder before you rest your forehead against hers, run a gentle hand through her hair. let me keep you safe. let me keep you warm, in this room in this bed in this house in this city of angels where nothing can hurt you, where i won't let anything touch you, not ever again. let me wake up to you again and again and again.

she doesn't fully believe you, that it's nothing, but she relents easily enough, trusting that you'll tell her if you need.

'please stay.'

she sighs, kisses you, touches the same scar against your ribs. 'okay,' she says, just like that, and you breathe into the palm of her hand.

#this is exclusively bc there's been more rain this winter in LA than i have ever seen it's wild & DELIGHTFUL but yknow. vibes #avatrice #avatrice fic #wn #warrior nun fic #prompts #butch bea 🥺🫡 #i guess it's in that universe lol no real content here in that regard but it's cool #ava's gotta be fucked up a LITTLE u know #anyway sky full of song ‘in a city without seasons / it keeps raining in LA’ #me rn

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[m34gs]

Rollo Flamme in the TWST Saw AU: Victim or rival apprentice? (can imagine him in a trap after the events of GloMas)

Alrighty, time to answer this ask! Thank you for your patience, anon, I just finished the Glorious Masquerade on Sunday! I talked with @kimium (co-creator of the Saw AU; see her fics here) and we had a good discussion about Rollo!

So, what we know about Rollo is that his actions were fuelled by his despair, anger, grief, and survivor's guilt surrounding the death of his younger brother. But, part of him doesn't want to believe what he is doing is wrong. He has twisted his own morals to justify trying to rid the world of magic for the good of others. You could even say, because of the way he is so desperate to convince himself that he's doing the right thing, that he is doing this *because* he values life. He's a complex and interesting side-character and it's fun to discuss him. I think, if he was in the main story, he also would have been one of the overblots...which makes this an interesting case.

That brings me to what Kim and I came to as a conclusion. Rollo is not an apprentice, neither is he a trap victim. Not because he is somehow right; no. Not because the Housewardens don't care; Malleus in particular wants to chuck him in a trap. It's a mix of things keeping Rollo "safe":

Division of the Housewardens. While they are all independent apprentices, Kim and I have established with each other that there are times where they work together, make agreements, and set guidelines/rules together for themselves to follow. When playing through the event, the Housewardens at Fleur City had mixed feelings about what Rollo did. While they all did work together to stop him, Idia in particular felt a connection to him. I mean, how often is it that someone else's diary gets Idia Shroud to *willingly* climb stairs? I'm certain it hit really close to home for him, and I think it would make him hesitate to put Rollo in a trap; because it would be very personal. Azul probably would weigh pros and cons of putting Rollo in the trap, so that will depend on his use to Azul. Riddle might want to put him in a trap, but he would probably consult Jigsaw first at the very least. What about the Housewardens not present at the scene? Well, we've already established Kalim doesn't like putting people in traps to begin with (and he'd probably fight with Jamil over trapping Rollo if it came down to it). Leona would find Rollo annoying, but if the problem's been dealt with he isn't about to waste his time and energy going after him. Vil is one of the most compassionate Housewardens in my mind; he is another we've established does not enjoy putting people in traps if he doesn't feel he has to. What about Malleus? He has fae powers, right? And we've established that he more or less follows John's rules out of courtesy and not because he is afraid of breaking them. That kind of brings us to the next points.

No Actual Harm Befell Yuu. We've established that the Housewardens, especially Malleus, will consider throwing anyone in a trap if they've harmed Yuu (though there are some times where they don't think traps are appropriate or are too easy a punishment, they still consider it). Aside from dropping the floor out from under Yuu (where they were saved by Professor Trein), Rollo didn't actually try to do anything to Yuu directly. The firelotuses don't affect Yuu since they have no magic. If anything happened to Yuu, it would have been collateral damage, but I would argue that he might have been trying hard not to harm Yuu (or anyone without magic); based on the discussions he had with them where he was pretty much trying to feel out whether they thought magic was evil as he did. There was potential for harm, and some would argue that's enough, but you wouldn't find all of them convinced.

Yuu Knows Rollo. This isn't some asshole in the street who they'll probably forget in a month or two. They know Rollo personally. They've talked to him at length. They may not be a fan of what he did, but they have been through something similar with each of the Housewardens and showed a remarkable ability to understand and make peace with people. It is reasonable to assume they could do the same with Rollo. If he ended up dying in a gruesome manner from a trap they would probably be sad. None of the Housewardens want to make Yuu sad. (Note: I have hinted before that Jigsaw would have put the Housewardens, and potentially their dorm mates, through traps too; this is different. The assumption is John did not know Yuu at the time. He knew of them but had not met them. He did not know what a sin it was To Make Yuu Sad. He also did not ever have a Housewarden trap another Housewarden; he did those ones himself. John eventually tries to make up for risking Yuu's sadness when he trapped the Housewardens by finding ways to make Yuu happy and allowing the Housewardens a looser leash when it comes to people who harm/disturb Yuu).

Potentially the strongest argument we have: The Gargoyle's Promise. In the event, when the gargoyle is losing its ability to move and speak, it tells Malleus, Idia, and Azul, to take care of Rollo. Look me in the eye and tell me Malleus will break that promise ever. Look me in the eyes. and Tell Me. He would never break his oath to a talking gargoyle. Even though he desperately wants to. He really wants to. He thinks about it every time he sees Rollo get too close to Yuu or give them presents (my little headcanon; I like to think Rollo tries to befriend Yuu and maybe even win them over). But the Gargoyle's promise is a powerful thing. It would take even more extreme acts to get him to consider breaking it. For now, Malleus just grumbles like a disgruntled housecat who has seen another cat sit on the sidewalk across the street, from his favourite vantage point in the window.

So, Rollo is safe for a few complex reasons! (That doesn't mean Malleus isn't watching him like a hawk though. He is. He definitely is.)

Of course, this is just what we've decided for our Saw AU; if you want to test Rollo through a trap or think he would make a good apprentice, I highly encourage you to build that AU as you see fit and have fun with it!

Thank you again for sending this ask, it was fun to discuss and answer! I liked it :D feel free to send more if you ever feel inclined; and feel free to send asks about this au to @kimium as well! Also, Kim, if you have anything further to add from what we've discussed, please do!

#twisted wonderland #saw franchise au #rollo flamme #glorious masquerade #anon ask #I hope you like the answer anon! #we thought very hard about this and had a good discussion before answering!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Chapter 6. Revolution

To put an end to all coercive hierarchies and open space for organizing a horizontal, liberated society, people must overcome the repressive powers of the state, abolish all institutions of capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy, and create communities that organize themselves without new authorities.

How could people organized horizontally possibly overcome the state?

If anarchists believe in voluntary action and decentralized organization, how could they ever be strong enough to topple a government with a professional army? In fact, strong anarchist and anti-authoritarian movements have defeated armies and governments in a number of revolutions. Often this occurs in periods of economic crisis, when the state lacks vital resources, or political crisis, when the state has lost the illusion of legitimacy.

The Soviet revolution of 1917 did not begin as the authoritarian terror it became after Lenin and Trotsky hijacked it. It was a multiform rebellion against the Tsar and against capitalism. It included such diverse actors as Socialist Revolutionaries, republicans, syndicalists, anarchists, and Bolsheviks. The soviets themselves were spontaneous non-party worker councils that organized along anti-authoritarian lines. The Bolsheviks gained control and ultimately suppressed the revolution by playing an effective political game that included co-opting or sabotaging the soviets, taking over the military, manipulating and betraying allies, and negotiating with imperialist powers. The Bolsheviks adeptly established themselves as the new government, and their allies made the mistake of believing their revolutionary rhetoric.

One of the first actions of the Bolshevik government was to sign a backstabbing peace treaty with the German and Austrian Empires. To pull out of World War I and free up the army for domestic action, the Leninists ceded the imperialists a treasure trove of money and strategic resources, and bequeathed them the country of Ukraine — without consulting the Ukrainians. Peasants in southern Ukraine rose up in revolt, and it was there that anarchism was strongest during the Soviet revolution. The rebels called themselves the Revolutionary Insurgent Army. They were commonly described as Makhnovists, after Nestor Makhno, their most influential military strategist and a skilled anarchist organizer. Makhno had been released from prison after the revolution in February 1917, and he returned to his hometown to organize an anarchist militia to fight the occupying German and Austrian forces.

As the insurrectionary anarchist army grew, it developed a more formal structure to allow for strategic coordination along several fronts, but it remained a volunteer militia, based on peasant support. Guiding questions of policy and strategy were decided in general meetings of peasants and workers. Aided rather than hindered by their flexible, participatory structure and strong support from the peasants, they liberated an area roughly 300 by 500 miles across, containing 7 million inhabitants, centered around the town of Gulyai-Polye. At times, the cities surrounding this anarchist zone — Alexandrovsk and Ekaterinoslav (now named Zaporizhye and Dnipropetrovsk, respectively) as well as Melitopol, Mariupol and Berdyansk, were freed from the control of the state, though they changed hands several times throughout the war. Self-organization along anarchist lines was deployed more consistently in the rural areas in these tumultuous years. In Gulyai-Polye, the anarchists set up three secondary schools and gave money expropriated from banks to orphanages. Throughout the area, literacy increased among the peasants.

In addition to taking on the Germans and Austrians, the anarchists also fought off the forces of nationalists who tried to subjugate the newly independent country under a homegrown Ukrainian government. They went on to hold the southern front against the armies of the White Russians — the aristocratic, pro-capitalist army funded and armed largely by the French and Americans — while their supposed allies, the Bolsheviks, withheld guns and ammunition and began purging anarchists to stop the spread of anarchism emanating from the Makhnovist territory. The White Russians eventually broke through the starved southern front, and reconquered Gulyai-Polye. Makhno retreated to the West, drawing off a large portion of the White armies, the remainder of which beat back the Red Army and advanced steadily towards Moscow. At the battle of Peregenovka, in western Ukraine, the anarchists obliterated the White army pursuing them. Although they were outnumbered and outgunned, they carried the day by effectively executing a series of brilliant maneuvers developed by Makhno, who had no military education or expertise. The volunteer anarchist army raced back to Gulyai-Polye, liberating the countryside and several major cities from the Whites. This sudden reversal cut off the supply lines of the armies that had almost reached Moscow, forcing them to retreat and saving the Russian Revolution.

For another year, an anarchist society again flourished in and around Gulyai-Polye, despite the efforts of Lenin and Trotsky to repress the anarchists there the way they had repressed them throughout Russia and the rest of Ukraine. When another White incursion under General Wrangel threatened the revolution, the Makhnovists again agreed to join the Communists against the imperialists, despite the earlier betrayal. The anarchist contingent accepted a suicide mission to take out enemy gun positions on the Perekop isthmus of Crimea; they succeeded in this and went on to capture the strategic city of Simferopol, again playing a crucial role in defeating the Whites. After the victory, the Bolsheviks surrounded and massacred most of the anarchist contingent, and occupied Gulyai-Polye and executed many influential anarchist organizers and fighters. Makhno and a few others escaped and confounded the massive Red Army with an effective campaign of guerrilla warfare for many months, even causing several major defections; in the end, however, the survivors decided to escape to the West. Some peasants in Ukraine retained their anarchist values, and raised the anarchist banner as part of the partisan resistance against Nazis and Stalinists during the Second World War. Even today, the red and black flag is a symbol of Ukrainian independence, though few people know its origins.

The Makhnovists of southern Ukraine maintained their anarchist character under extremely difficult conditions: constant warfare, betrayal and repression by supposed allies, lethal pressures that required them to defend themselves with organized violence. In these circumstances they continued to fight for liberty, even when it was not in their military interests. They repeatedly interceded to prevent pogroms against Jewish communities while the Ukrainian nationalists and Bolsheviks fanned the flames of anti-Semitism to provide a scapegoat for the problems they themselves were exacerbating. Makhno personally killed a neighboring warlord and potential ally upon learning he had ordered pogroms, even at a time when he desperately needed allies.[86]

During October and November [1919], Makhno occupied Ekaterinoslav and Aleksandrovsk for several weeks, and thus obtained his first chance to apply the concepts of anarchism to city life. Makhno’s first act on entering a large town (after throwing open the prisons) was to dispel any impression that he had come to introduce a new form of political rule. Announcements were posted informing the townspeople that henceforth they were free to organize their lives as they saw fit, that the Insurgent Army would not “dictate to them or order them to do anything.” Free speech, press, and assembly were proclaimed, and in Ekaterinoslav half a dozen newspapers, representing a wide range of political opinion, sprang up overnight. While encouraging freedom of expression, however, Makhno would not countenance any political organization which sought to impose their authority on the people. He therefore dissolved the Bolshevik “revolutionary committees” (revkomy) in Ekaterinoslav and Aleksandrovsk, instructing their members to “take up some honest trade.”[87]

The Makhnovists stuck to defending the region, leaving socio-economic organization to the individual towns and cities; this hands-off approach to others was matched by an internal emphasis on direct democracy. Officers were elected from within every sub-group of fighters, and they could be recalled by that same group; they were not saluted, they did not receive material privileges, and they could not lead from behind to avoid the risks of combat.

In contrast, officers in the Red Army were appointed from above and received privileges and higher pay on the scale of the Tsarist Army. In fact the Bolsheviks had essentially taken over the structure and personnel of the Tsarist Army after the October Revolution. They retained most of the officers but reformed it into a “people’s army” by adding political officers responsible for identifying “counter-revolutionaries” to be purged. They also adopted the imperialist practice of stationing soldiers far across the continent from their homes, in areas where they did not speak the language, so they would be more likely to obey orders to repress locals and less likely to desert.

To be sure, the Revolutionary Insurgent Army enforced a strict discipline, shooting suspected spies and those who abused the peasants for personal gain such as embezzlers and rapists. The insurgents must have held many of the same powers over the civilian population as does any army. Among their many opportunities to abuse that power, some of them probably did. However, their relationship with the peasants was unique among the military powers. The Makhnovists could not survive without popular support, and during their lengthy guerrilla war against the Red Army many peasants provided them with horses, food, lodging, medical help, and intelligence gathering. In fact the peasants themselves provided the majority of the anarchist fighters.

It is also debated how democratic the Makhnovist organizations were. Some historians say Makhno exerted substantial control over the “free soviets” — the non-party assemblies where workers and peasants made decisions and organized their affairs. Even sympathetic historians relate anecdotes of Makhno bullying delegates he saw as counter-revolutionary in meetings. But one must weigh these against the many occasions Makhno refused positions of power, or the fact that he left the Military Revolutionary Soviet, the assembly that decided military policy for the peasant militias, in an attempt to save the movement from the Bolshevik repression[88].

One criticism the Bolsheviks had of the Makhnovists was that their Military Revolutionary Soviet, the closest thing they could have had to a dictatorial organization, wielded no real power — it was really just an advisory group — while individual workers’ groups and peasant communities retained their autonomy. More charitable is the description by Soviet historian Kubanin: “the supreme body of the insurgent army was its Military Revolutionary Soviet, elected at a general assembly of all insurgents. Neither the overall command of the army nor Makhno himself truly ran the movement; they merely reflected the aspirations of the mass, acting as its ideological and technical agents.” Another Soviet historian, Yefimov, says “No decision was ever taken by just one individual. All military matters were debated in common.”[89]

Grossly outnumbered and outgunned volunteer anarchist militias successfully defeated the armies of the Germans, the Austrians, the Ukrainian nationalists, and the White Russians. It took a professional army supplied by the world’s greatest industrial powers and simultaneous betrayal by their allies to stop them. If they had known then what we know now — that authoritarian revolutionaries can be as tyrannical as capitalist governments — and Russian anarchists in Moscow and St. Petersburg had succeeded in preventing the Bolsheviks from hijacking the Russian Revolution, things might have turned out differently.

Even more impressive than the example provided by the Makhnovists is the victory won by several indigenous nations in 1868. In a two year war, thousands of warriors from the Lakota and Cheyenne nations defeated the US military and destroyed several army forts during what became known as Red Cloud’s War. In 1866, the Lakota met with the US government at Fort Laramie because the latter wanted permission to build a military trail through the Powder River country to facilitate the influx of white settlers who were seeking gold. The US military had already defeated the Arapaho in its attempt to open the area for white settlers, but they had been unable to defeat the Lakota. During the negotiations it became apparent that the US government had already started the process of building military forts along this trail, without even having secured permission for the trail itself. The Oglala Lakota war chief Red Cloud promised to resist any white attempts to occupy the area. Nonetheless in the summer of 1866 the US military began sending more troops to the region and constructing new forts. Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors following the direction of Red Cloud began a campaign of guerrilla resistance, effectively closing down the Bozeman trail and harassing the troops stationed in the forts. The military sent down the order for an aggressive winter campaign, and on December 21, when their wood train was attacked yet again, an army of about one hundred US soldiers decided to pursue. They met a decoy party including the Oglala warrior Crazy Horse and took the bait. The entire force was defeated and killed by a force of 1,000–3,000 warriors that waited in ambush. The commanding officer of the white soldiers was knifed to death in hand to hand combat. The Lakota left a young bugle boy who fought with just his bugle covered in a buffalo robe as a sign of honor — with such acts the indigenous warriors demonstrated the possibility of a much more respectful form of warfare, in contrast with the white soldiers and settlers who often cut out fetuses from pregnant women and used the amputated genitals of unarmed victims as tobacco pouches.

In the summer of 1867 US troops with new repeating rifles fought the Lakota to a standstill in two battles, but they failed to carry out any successful offensives. In the end, they asked for peace talks, which Red Cloud said he would only grant if the new military forts were abandoned. The US government agreed, and in the peace talks they recognized the rights of the Lakota to the Black Hills and Powder River country, a huge area currently occupied by the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana.

During the war, the Lakota and Cheyenne organized without coercion or military discipline. But contrary to the typical dichotomies, their relative lack of hierarchy did not hamper their ability for organization. On the contrary, they held together during a brutal war on the basis of a collective, self-motivated discipline and varying forms of organization. In a Western army, the most important unit is the military police or the officer who walks behind the troops, pistol loaded and ready to shoot anyone who turns and runs. The Lakota and Cheyenne had no need for discipline imposed from above. They were fighting to defend their land and way of life, in groups bound by kinship and affinity.

Some fighting groups were structured with a chain of command, while others operated in a more collective fashion, but all of them voluntarily rallied around individuals with the best organizational abilities, spiritual power, and combat experience. These war chiefs did not control those who followed them so much as inspire them. When morale was low or a fight looked hopeless, groups of warriors often went home, and they were always free to do so. If a chief declared war, he had to go, but no one else did, so a leader who could not convince anyone to follow him to war was engaging in an embarrassing and even suicidal venture. In contrast, politicians and generals in Western society frequently start unpopular wars, and they are never the ones to suffer the consequences.

The warrior societies played an important role in the indigenous organization of warfare, but women’s societies were vital as well. They played a role similar to that of the Quartermaster in Western armies, provisioning food and materials, except that where the Quartermaster is a simple cog obeying orders, the Lakota and Cheyenne women would refuse to cooperate if they disagreed with the reasons for a war. Considering that one of Napoleon’s most important contributions to European warfare was the insight that “an army marches on its stomach,” it becomes apparent that Lakota and Cheyenne women exercised more power in the affairs of their nations than the histories written by men and white people would lead us to believe. Additionally, women who chose to could fight alongside the men.

Despite being impossibly outnumbered by the US military and white settler paramilitaries, the Native Americans won. After Red Cloud’s War, the Lakota and Cheyenne enjoyed nearly a decade of autonomy and peace. Contrary to pacifist allegations about militant resistance, the victors did not begin oppressing one another or creating uncontrollable cycles of violence just because they had violently fought off the white invaders. They won themselves several years of freedom and peace.

In 1876, the US military again invaded the Lakota territory to attempt to force them to live on the reservations, which were being transformed into concentration camps as part of the campaign of genocide against the indigenous populations. Several thousand troops were involved, and they met with several early defeats, the most notable of which was the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Around 1,000 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, defending themselves from an attack, decimated the cavalry unit commanded by George A. Custer and killed several hundred soldiers. Custer himself had previously invaded Lakota lands to spread reports of gold and provoke another wave of white settlers, who were a major driving force for the genocide. The settlers, aside from being an armed paramilitary force responsible for a large share of the encroachments and murders, provided a sufficient pretext for bringing in the military. The logic was that those poor humble homesteaders, in the act of invading another country, had to be defended from “marauding Indians.” The US government ultimately won the war against the Lakota, by attacking their villages, invading their hunting grounds, and instituting strong repression against the people living on the reservations. One of the last to surrender was the Oglala warrior Crazy Horse, who had been one of the most effective leaders in the fight against the US military. After his group agreed to come into the reservation, Crazy Horse was arrested and assassinated.

Their ultimate defeat does not indicate a weakness in the horizontal organization of the Lakota and Cheyenne so much as the fact that the white American population trying to exterminate them outnumbered these indigenous groups by a thousand to one, and had the ability to spread disease and drug addiction on their home turf while destroying their food source.

Lakota resistance never ended, and they may win their war in the end. In December 2007, a group of Lakota again asserted their independence, informing the US State Department that they were withdrawing from all treaties, which had already been broken by the settler government, and seceding, as a necessary measure in the face of “colonial apartheid conditions.”[90]

Some of the most uncompromising struggles against the state are indigenist. Current indigenist struggles have created some of the only zones in North America that enjoy physical and cultural autonomy and have successfully defended themselves in periodic confrontations with the state. These struggles typically do not identify themselves as anarchist, and perhaps for this reason anarchists have even more to learn from them. But if learning is not to be another commodity relation, an act of acquisition, it must be accompanied by horizontal relationships of reciprocity, which is to say, solidarity.

The Mohawk nation have long fought against colonization and in 1990 they won a major victory against the forces of the settler state. In Kanehsatake territory, near Montreal, white people in the town of Oka wanted to expand a golf course at the expense of a forested area in which a Mohawk graveyard was located, sparking native protests. In the spring of 1990, Mohawks set up a camp there and blocked the road. On July 11, 1990, Quebec police attacked the encampment with tear gas and automatic weapons, but the Mohawk defenders were armed and dug in. One cop was shot and killed and the rest ran away. The police cars, which they had left behind in panic, were used to build new barricades. Meanwhile, Mohawk warriors at Kahnawake blocked Mercier Bridge, halting commuter traffic to Montreal. Police began a seige of the Mohawk communities, but more warriors came, smuggling in supplies. The resisters organized food, medical care, and communications services, and the blockades persisted. White mobs formed in neighborhing towns and rioted, demanding police violence to open the bridge and restore traffic. Later in August, these mobs attacked a group of Mohawks while police stood by.

On August 20, the blockades were still going strong, and the Canadian military took over the siege from the police. In total 4,500 troops were deployed, backed by tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, fighter jets, artillery, and naval ships. On September 18, Canadian soldiers raided Tekakwitha Island, shooting tear gas and bullets. The Mohawks fought back and the soldiers had to be evacuated by helicopter. Across Canada, native people protested in solidarity with the Mohawk, occupying buildings, blocking railroads and highways, and carrying out acts of sabotage. Unknown people burned down railway bridges in British Colombia and Alberta, and cut down five hydro-electric towers in Ontario. On September 26, the remaining besieged Mohawk declared victory and walked out, having burned their weapons. The golf course was never expanded, and most of those arrested were acquitted of weapons and riot charges. “Oka served to revitalize the warrior spirit of indigenous peoples and our will to resist.”[91]

At the end of the ‘90s, the World Bank threatened not to renew a major loan on which the Bolivian government depended if they did not agree to privatize all water services in the city of Cochabamba. The government conceded and signed a contract with a consortium headed up by corporations from England, Italy, Spain, the US, and Bolivia. The water consortium, lacking knowledge of local conditions, immediately raised the rates, to the point where many families had to pay a fifth of their monthly earnings just for water. On top of this they enforced a policy of shutting off the water of any household that did not pay. In January 2000, major protests erupted against the water privatization. Primarily indigenous peasants converged on the city, joined by retired workers, sweatshop employees, street vendors, homeless youth, students, and anarchists. Protestors seized the central plaza and barricaded major roads. They organized a general strike which paralyzed the city for four days. On February 4 a major protest march was attacked by police and soldiers. Two hundred demonstrators were arrested, while seventy people and fifty-one cops were injured.

In April people again seized the central plaza of Cochabamba, and when the government began arresting organizers, protests spread to the cities of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí, as well as many rural villages. Most major highways throughout the country were blockaded. On April 8, the Bolivian president declared a 90 day state of siege, banning meetings of more than 4 people, restricting political activity, allowing arbitrary arrests, establishing curfews, and putting the radio stations under military control. Police occasionally joined the demonstrators to demand higher pay, even participating in some riots. Once the government raised their salaries, they returned to work and continued beating and arresting their erstwhile comrades. Across the country people fought against the police and military with stones and molotov cocktails, suffering many injuries and multiple deaths. On April 9, soldiers trying to remove a roadblock encountered resistance and shot two protestors to death, injuring several others. Neighbors attacked the soldiers, seized their weapons, and opened fire. Later they stormed a hospital and seized an army captain they had wounded, and lynched him.

As violent protests only showed signs of growing despite, and often because of, repeated killings and violent repression by the police and military, the state cancelled its contract with the water consortium and on April 11 annulled the law that had authorized the privatization of water in Cochabamba. Management of the water infrastructure was turned over to a community coordinating group that had arisen from the protest movement. Some participants in the struggle subsequently travelled to Washington, D.C. to join antiglobalization protestors in the demonstration intended to shut down the annual World Bank meeting.[92]

The complaints of the protestors moved far beyond water privatization in one city. The resistance had generalized to a social rebellion that included socialist rejections of neoliberalism, anarchist rejections of capitalism, farmers’ rejections of their debts, poor people’s demands for lower fuel prices and the end of multinational ownership of Bolivia’s gas, and indigenous demands for sovereignty. Similarly fierce resistance in subsequent years defeated Bolivia’s political elite on a number of occasions. Farmers and anarchists armed with dynamite took over banks to win the forgiveness of their debts. Under intense popular pressure, the government nationalized the extraction of gas, and a powerful union of indigenous farmers defeated the US-backed program of coca eradication. The coca farmers even got their leader, Evo Morales, elected president, giving Bolivia its first indigenous head of state. Because of this, Bolivia is currently facing a political crisis the government may be incapable of resolving, as the traditional elite, located in the white, eastern areas of the country, refuse to submit to the progressive policies of the Morales government. In the rural areas, indigenous communities used more direct means to preserve their autonomy. They continued blockading highways, and sabotaged attempts of government control of their villages through daily acts of resistance. On no fewer than a dozen occasions when a particular mayor or other government official proved especially intrusive or abusive, he would be lynched by the villagers.

Decentralized resistance can defeat the government in an armed standoff — it can also overthrow governments. In 1997, government corruption and an economic collapse sparked a massive insurrection in Albania. In a matter of months, people armed themselves and forced the government and secret police to flee the country. They did not set up a new government or unite under a political party. Rather, they pushed out the state to create autonomous areas where they could organize their own lives. The rebellion spread spontaneously; without central leadership or even coordination. People across the country identified the state as their oppressor and attacked. Prisons were opened and police stations and government buildings burned to the ground. People sought to meet their needs at the local level within pre-existing social networks. Unfortunately, they lacked a consciously anarchist or anti-authoritarian movement. Rejecting political solutions intuitively but not explicitly, they lacked an analysis that could identify all political parties as enemies by their nature. Consequently the opposition Socialist party was able to install itself in power, though it took an occupation by thousands of European Union troops to pacify Albania completely.

Even in the wealthiest countries of the world, anarchists and other rebels can defeat the state within a limited area, creating an autonomous zone in which new social relations can flourish. In 1980–81, the German conservative party lost power in Berlin after trying to forcefully crush the squatters’ movement. The squatters occupied abandoned buildings as a struggle against gentrification and urban decay, or simply to provide themselves with free housing. Many squatters, known as autonomen, identified with an anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian movement that saw these squats as bubbles of freedom in which to create the beginnings of a new society. In Berlin, the struggle was fiercest in the Kreuzberg neighborhood. In some areas, the majority of the residents were autonomen, dropouts, and immigrants — it was in many aspects an autonomous zone. Using the full might of the police, the city attempted to evict the squats and crush the movement, but the autonomen fought back. They defended their neighborhood with barricades, rocks, and molotov cocktails and outmaneuvered the police in street fighting. They counterattacked by wreaking havoc in the financial and commercial districts of the city. The ruling party gave up in disgrace and the Socialists took power; the latter employed a legalization strategy in an attempt to undermine the movement’s autonomy, since they were unable to forcibly evict them. Meanwhile, the autonomen in Kreuzberg took measures to protect the neighborhood from drug pushers, with a “fists against needles” campaign. They also fought against gentrification, smashing up bourgeois restaurants and bars.

In Hamburg, in 1986 and 1987, the police were stopped by the barricades of the autonomen when they attempted to evict the squats of Hafenstrasse. After losing several major street battles and suffering counterattacks, such as a coordinated arson attack against thirteen department stores causing $10 million in damage, the mayor legalized the squats, which still stand and continue to be centers of cultural and political resistance as of this writing.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, the autonomous youth movement went on the attack in 1986. At a time of militant squatting actions and sabotage attacks on Shell Oil stations and other targets of anti-imperialist struggle, several hundred people rerouted their protest march by surprise and occupied Ryesgade, a street in the neighborhood of Osterbro. They built barricades, and won neighborhood support and brought groceries to elderly neighbors blocked in by the barricades. For nine days, the autonomen held the streets, defeating the police in several major battles. Free radio stations throughout Denmark helped mobilize support, including food and supplies. Finally, the government announced it would bring in the military to clear the barricades. The youth at the barricades announced a press conference, but when the appointed morning came, they had all disappeared. Two city negotiators wondered:

Where did the BZers [Occupation Brigaders] go when they left? What did the town hall learn? It seems the act can start all over again, anywhere, at any time. Even bigger. With the same participants.[93]

In 2002, Barcelona police attempted to evict Can Masdeu, a large squatted social center on a mountainside just outside the city. Can Masdeu was connected to the squatters’ movement, the environmental movement, and the local tradition of resistance. The surrounding hillside was covered in gardens, many of them used by older neighbors who remembered the dictatorship and the struggle against it, and understood that this struggle still continued in the present day despite the veneer of democracy. Accordingly, the center received support from many corners of society. When the police came, the residents barricaded and locked down, and for days eleven people hung in harnesses on the outside of the building, dangling over the hillside, high above the ground. Supporters streamed in and challenged the police; others took action throughout the city, blocking traffic and attacking banks, real estate offices, a McDonalds, and other stores. Police tried to starve out the ones hanging from the building and used psychological torture tactics against them, but ultimately failed. The resistance defeated the eviction attempt and the autonomous zone survives to this day, with active community gardens and a social center.

On December 6, 2008, Greek police shot to death the fifteen-year-old anarchist Alexis Grigoropoulos in the middle of Exarchia, the anarchist and autonomous stronghold in downtown Athens. Within minutes, anarchist affinity groups communicating by internet and cell phone sprang into action across the country. These affinity groups, in their hundreds, had developed relationships of trust and security and the capacity for taking offensive action over the previous years as they organized and carried out numerous small-scale attacks on state and capital. These attacks included simple graffiti actions, popular expropriations from supermarkets, molotov attacks on police, police cars, and commissaries, and bomb attacks against the vehicles and offices of political parties, institutions, and corporations that had led the reaction against social movements, immigrants, workers, prisoners, and others. The continuity of actions created a background of fierce resistance that could come to the fore when Greek society was ready.

Their rage over the murder of Alexis provided a rallying point for the anarchists, and they began attacking police all over the country, before the police in many cities even knew what was happening. The force of the attack broke the illusion of social peace, and in subsequent days hundreds of thousands of other people came out into the streets to vent the rage they too harbored against the system. Immigrants, students, high school kids, workers, revolutionaries from the previous generation, old folks — all of Greek society came out and participated in a diversity of actions. They fought against the police and won, winning the power to transform their cities. Luxury shops and government buildings were smashed and burned to the ground. Schools, radio stations, theaters, and other buildings were occupied. Their mourning turned into celebration as people set fires and commemorated the burning away of the old world with parties in the streets. The police responded in force, injuring and arresting hundreds of people and filling the air with tear gas. The people defended themselves with more fires, burning down everything they hated and producing thick clouds of black smoke that neutralized the tear gas.

On the days when people started to go home, perhaps to return to normality, the anarchists kept the riots going, so that there could be no doubt that the streets belonged to the people and a new world was within their reach. Amidst all the graffiti that appeared on the walls was the promise: “We are an image from the future.” The riots went on for two weeks straight. The police had long lost all semblance of control, and had run out of tear gas. In the end people went home out of sheer physical exhaustion, but they did not stop. Attacks continued, and huge parts of Greek society began participating in creative actions as well. Greek society had been transformed. All the symbols of capitalism and government were proven to provoke the scorn of the masses. The state had lost its legitimacy and the media was reduced to repeating the transparent lie, these rioters simply don’t know what they want. The anarchist movement won respect throughout the country, and inspired the new generation. The riots subsided, but the actions continued. As of this writing, people throughout Greece continue occupying buildings, starting social centers, protesting, attacking, evaluating their strategies, and holding massive assemblies to determine the direction of their struggle.

Democratic states still entertain the option of calling in the military when their police forces cannot maintain order, and occasionally do so in even the most progressive countries. But this choice opens dangerous possibilities, as well. The dissidents may also take up arms; if the struggle continues to gain popularity, more and more people will see the government as an occupying force; in an extreme case, the military may mutiny and the struggle spread. In Greece, soldiers were circulating letters promising that if they were called in to crush the revolt, they would give their arms to the people and open fire on the cops. Military intervention is an unavoidable stage of any struggle to overthrow the state; but if social movements can demonstrate the courage and organizational capacity to defeat the police, they may be able to defeat the military or win them over. Thanks to the rhetoric of democratic governments, soldiers today are much less prepared psychologically to repress local uprisings as brutally as they would in a foreign country.

Because of the globally integrated nature of the system, states and other institutions of power are mutually reinforcing, and thus stronger up to a certain point. But beyond that point, they are all weaker, and vulnerable to collapse on a global scale like never before in history. Political crisis in China could destroy the US economy, and send other dominoes falling as well. We have not yet reached the point at which we can overthrow the global power structure, but it is significant that in specific contests the state is often unable to crush us, and bubbles of autonomy exist alongside the system that purports to be universal and without alternatives. Governments are overthrown every year. The system has still not been abolished because the victors of such struggles have always been co-opted and reincorporated into global capitalism. But if explicitly anti-authoritarian movements can take the initiative in popular resistance, this is a hopeful sign for the future.

#organization #revolution #anarchism #daily posts #communism #anti capitalist #anti capitalism #late stage capitalism #anarchy #anarchists #libraries #leftism #social issues #economy #economics #climate change #anarchy works #environmentalism #environment #solarpunk #anti colonialism #acab

[manasseh]

토픽 틀림 / TOPIK mistakes

제83회 기출문제 읽기

※ [21~22] 다음을 읽고 물음에 답하십시오. (각 2점) 「소방관은 재난 현장에서 끔찍한 상황을 자주 접하기 때문에 정신 건강에 위험이 따른다. 최근 이러한 문제가 심각해지자 인주시가 해결을 위해 ( ). 인주시는 빠른 시일 내에 정신 건강에 대해 조사를 실시하고 문제를 겪는 소방관이 있으면 전문 상담사를 보내 상담을 진행 하기로 했다. 이와 더불어 심리 안정 프그램 개발과 진료비 지원을 위한 예산을 확보했다고 발표했다.」

21. ( )에 들어갈 말로 가장 알맞은 것을 고르십시오. 1 등 떠밀었다 2 눈을 맞췄다 3 발 벗고 나섰다 4 손에 땀을 쥐었다

translation and vocab list / explanations / hanja under the cut

번역: disclaimer english is not my first language lol

"Because firefighters often encounter terrible situations at sites of disaster, there is a risk to their mental health. As these issues have been getting more serious as of late, the city of Inju () to solve it. Inju City has decided to carry out an investigation into mental health as soon as possible and send a professional counselor for a consultation to any firefighter whose run into problems. Along with this, they have announced that they have secured a budget for developing mental stability programs and aid medical expenses."

1 has been pushing 2 made eye contact 3 proactively set out 4 was clenching their fists

어휘 소방관 | 끔찍하다 | 접하다 | 더불어 | Along with, together, in addition to 예산 | Funding

상담사 | 상담 = advice, consult. So I thought 'advisor' which isn't entirely wrong but it's counselor

The 사 part is 士, 선비 사. 선비 = scholar. It's used in words like 강사 (instructor) , 장사 (businessman), 의사 (doctor), etc - so a person performing a job.

빠른 시일 내에 | ASAP, within a short time span 등 떠밀다 | Push someone to do x, pressure/convince someone to do x (lit.: Push (someone's) back) 발 벗고 나서다 | set out (pro-)actively, take a very active part in (lit.: take off shoes and come forward. Work your socks off?) 손에 땀을 쥐다 | be in a state of apprehension (lit.: hands are sweating. Cliff hanger, exciting, nerve wrecking, edge of your seat type vibe.)

#korean #topik #nas is a tryhard #토픽 #langblr #studyblr #korean vocab #vocab list

[nordic-noire]

On Amnesty International...

The release of Amnesty's report on the Ukrainian military deploying in urban areas is baffling. The report criticizes Ukraine for essentially defending urban and civilian areas in the only way they feasibly can- by entrenching in them so Russia can't just walk in to do as they will with the civilians.

'Amnesty's report is the height of irresponsible messaging, playing right into Russian propaganda'

The report offers strange alternatives like the Ukrainians deploying to heavily wooded areas around the civilian areas, or structures away from cities. Russia would love nothing more than the Ukrainians deploying so they can't disperse themselves, allowing Russian fires to destroy them.

The report essentially blames the victim for Russian war crimes. Since the Russian military failed to take the country, the fighting has devolved into trench warfare, with Russia slowly trying to take Ukrainian cities in the Donbass. Russia has never cared about protecting civilians or international law, so they've applied the same tactic as they did in Grozny; leveling cities with artillery, intentionally causing massive civilian casualties.

Russia is quite literally waging a genocidal war against the Ukrainian people, denying their statehood, murdering civilians and deporting Ukrainians to Russia. The Ukrainian military is heroically sacrificing itself by fortifying in cities with Russia bearing down on them. Ukraine has asked it's civilians to evacuate from combat zones repeatedly, but some have simply refused.

Amnesty's report is the height of irresponsible messaging, playing right into Russian propaganda. Amnesty Ukraine wasn't even consulted prior to release, and the report's vague language is already being used by Russia to justify terror strikes that kill civilians. Amnesty's completely tone-deaf take is made even stranger when Amnesty Finland tried to cite pro-russian disinformation sites as sources for alleged Ukrainian crimes. The release of the report was shameless, and Amnesty will bear partial responsibility for any Russian attacks they've emboldened in the future.

'The lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.'

#Ukraine #war #war crimes #fuck russia #Putin #Amnesty #current events #realpolitik #genocide #military #amnesty international #slava ukraini #geopolitics #disinformation

[bookishfeylin]

I saw a post of a pro Rhysand and Feyre, it said that “people say that Feyre only gets respect because she is Rhysand’s mate and it’s not true.” I am like that is literally the truth. None cared to tell her of her being Rhysand’s mate nor her pregnancy risk. They don’t care for her. Their respect for her only goes so far. Mor having the power of truth is laughable because she didn’t tell Feyre the truth.

:/

*sigh*

At this point in the series, it is correct to say that Feyre is respected solely because she's Rhysand's mate. That DOES NOT MEAN she doesn't have amazing accomplishments (breaking the curse and saving Prythian, fixing the Cauldron, etc.) but she is not respected for those. You can tell because her most popular title is High Lady (an empty title Rhysand gave her) rather than Cursebreaker or, idk, Cauldron-fixer or something (titles earned from her own actions). By the end of the trilogy, Feyre is viewed as merely an extension of Rhysand--merely as his "High Lady" and not as her own person.

This in part is due to Velaris being the main setting of ACOMAF and beyond--remember prior to coming to Velaris Feyre was tired of people worshipping her as Cursebreaker, and she loved that no one in Velaris treated her differently?--as Velaris was a secret city and no one was dragged UTM to suffer, so in the beginning they had no reason to worship and respect her like the people of the Spring Court and the rest of Prythian did, and had all the reason to respect Rhysand for ruling over them for centuries and protecting them from Amarantha.

But even after the trilogy, after gaining the title Defender of the Rainbow from her actions in Velaris, after saving the world... ACOSF still happened. Her own doctor consulted her husband about her health and allowed her husband to dictate health decisions about her body. So any "respect" she got from breaking the curse or defending Velaris or fixing the Cauldron only went so far, apparently. The people of the Night Court ultimately defaulted to respecting Rhysand more than her. Because RHYSAND is the High Lord. Rhysand is the one chosen by magic, Rhysand is the one with a deep psychic connection to the lands of the court itself and to every single member of his citizens, because RHYSAND ultimately is the highest authority in the Night Court. Not Rhysand and Feyre as equals. Just Rhysand.

And this is worse with the Inner Circle, though arguably more understandable. They've been friends for 500 years! No wonder they prioritize him. But even then... it's clear they aren't the perfectly happy little found family Sarah tries to sell them as, because Feyre's pregnancy aside, even in ACOMAF they all go along with keeping Rhysand's secret that Feyre's his mate (despite that being something Feyre SHOULD KNOW. She can't trust any of her experiences and feelings towards Rhysand, such as ultimately deciding to trust him, because they're all influenced by MAGIC. Everyone knowing magic is going to make you like someone regardless of their actual character but refusing to tell you that is a HUGE betrayal of trust, and I hate that its literally NEVER discussed) and in one ACOSF bonus chapter, Rhysand forbids Azriel from going after Elain. They heed his authority for everything, no matter how small... and no matter how large. Like dying in childbirth. If they truly respected Feyre, no secrets would've been kept from her, in ACOSF or ACOMAF. But they didn't because Rhysand asked them not to.

Feyre is only respected as an extension of Rhysand, as his mate, and the minute the "respect" being Rhysand's mate affords Feyre conflicts with Rhysand's interests, that "respect" miraculously disappears. It did so in ACOMAF with the mating bond, and it did so again in ACOSF with the pregnancy.

#i think about how feyre was treated again and i get angry. she deserved betterrrrrrrrrrrrr #ughhhhh #screw rhysand and the inner circle. i hope they all die #ask #anon #anti acomaf #anti inner circle #again: someone help me save feyre from the night court please #acotar analysis #feyre archeron

[starryevermore]

“Hey you can marc spector x reader pregnant ? smut?” I am this request so i want marc comes back from Egypt and sees the reader in a short tank top that shows their baby bump and marc turns on the image

beautiful bump ✧ marc spector

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: “Hey you can marc spector x reader pregnant ? smut?” I am this request so i want marc  comes back from Egypt and sees the reader in a short tank top that shows their baby bump and marc turns on the image - anon

pairing: marc spector x pregnant!fem!reader

word count: 701

warnings?: 18+ MINORS DNI, smut, oral (f receiving), pet name (baby), not proofread

The worst part of Steven living in London, Marc decided, was the damn heat in the summer. The majority of the buildings in the city—in the country—were not equipped for air conditioning, and Marc was about ready to melt into a goddamn puddle. He’d almost prefer remaining in the desert than coming back to London’s heat wave. But, he supposed, there were some pros to it. 

When Marc walked into Steven’s flat, his breath was taken away. His breath was usually taken away when he saw you, an absolute goddess living amongst men, but this was different. It was so, so different. When you first told him you were pregnant, he thought he was ready for it. Well, not exactly ready, but he knew this was something he wanted. He sat with you every time you had a bad bout of morning sickness. He was there at your doctor’s appointments. He read every book under the sun so he knew how he could be there for you. But god, nothing could have prepared him for how fucking beautiful you looked carrying his kid. 

Especially now, with your tight little tank top and little short shorts on. You had half a dozen fans blowing on you, your tank top riding up your stomach, revealing that beautiful baby bump. Fuck. Marc just wanted to drop to his knees and worship you. 

Your head lifted as you heard him shut the door. A smile stretched across your face. You reached out, making grabby hands at him. “Marc! C’mere, I missed you.”

Marc surged forward, kneeling in front of you. He pressed a kiss to your bump, resting his cheek on it. “Hi, baby. Everything go okay while I was gone?”

You carded your fingers through Marc’s hair. “Mhm. Haven’t really left this spot too much beyond going to the bathroom and getting food.”

Marc hummed. “Poor baby. Must’ve been real hard, not having anyone to take care of you.”

“So hard,” you pouted. “Missed you so much. Was ready to start crying when you came in.”

“Oh no, we can’t have that. Can’t have my pretty girl crying at all, can I?” Marc sank a little lower on his knees, hooking fingers around the waistband of your shorts. “I think I gotta lot of making up to do, huh? Better get started right now, don’t you think?”

“Fuck, Marc, please,” you whined, throwing your head back. 

“Yeah? You want me to fuck you? How do you want me, baby? My fingers? My cock?” he asked, sliding your shorts and panties down your legs. 

You shook your head. 

“Oh, you want me to eat you out, hm? Want to cum on my tongue?” He pressed a kiss to your inner thigh. He lifted one hand, starting to slowly rub your clit. “Mm, getting wet just at the thought of it, aren’t you? I’ve really neglected you, haven’t I, pretty girl?”

“More, baby, gimme more—”

And, god, you didn’t have to ask him twice. He buried his face between your legs, taking his clit between his lips. He pressed one finger into your cunt, then a second one, scissoring his fingers in you as he lapped at your juices. Fuck. Was it not enough for you to be so gorgeous? Was it really fair for you to taste so sweet, too? He couldn’t believe he was so lucky to have you. 

You let out a moan, tugging on Marc’s hair, trying to pull him even closer to the paradise between your legs. And of course Marc was more than happy to oblige. Marc pressed a third finger, relishing into how you spasmed around him. God. Marc could die happy doing this, making you feel as good as you make him feel. 

“Marc, I’m gonna—”

“Go ahead, baby, I got you,” Marc said. 

You came with a shout, your legs closing around his head as you rode out your high. Marc slowly pulled away, sucking your juices off his fingers as he rose up your body. 

“You’re fucking perfect,” Marc said, kissing you gently. “And you can expect a lot more of that, yeah? Gotta lotta making up to do.”

“Mm, better get busy then.”

#marc spector imagine #marc spector x you #marc spector x female reader #marc spector x fem!reader #marc spector x y/n #marc spector x #marc spector fan fiction #marc spector fanfiction #marc spector fanfic #marc spector fan fic #marc spector fic #starrywrites #starryevermore

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[heartsbreaking]

SOFIA BY TOMAS LENNOX

in this article for gq, staff writer tomas lennox interviews his twin sister sofia lennox, former midfielder for bayern münchen and now afc richmond's new women's team.

"this is probably the most comfortable either of us have ever been for an interview," sofia laughs as she sits down across from me on her orange couch. sofia lennox was born on december 21st, 1996. coincidentally, that was seventeen minutes after i was.

we were born in norway and lived there until we moved to scotland at 14. we both played sports, but sofia was the one who was good at it. obviously, she was the one who went on to play professionally while i only write about it.

when i ask her why she still plays after all this time, sofia tells me like i should already know "i still love the game. i love the level of competition and i love my teammates." sofia has always strived to play stronger and play better. she even switched positions from defense to midfield her first year at bayern.

sofia tells me she didn't always intend to go pro, she just wanted to keep playing. she could have played in uni, i point out. she tells me that was never her plan. "by the time it was time for me to think about going to uni i was already playing at pre-professional level. i just don't think uni would have been in the cards for me. i don't even know what i would have studied." her interests were never in school, she explains. she wasn't drawn to writing "like you were" and she didn't see herself as good at maths or science. "if i hadn't gotten to play for glasgow city i likely would have gone back to norway or tried to work at a charity shop somewhere. i've always loved vintage fashion."

i compliment her outfit of choice. today she's wearing an orange floral print dress and brown boots. my sister knows what look she's going for, and it's admirable. she's dressed this way for a long time. i don't even remember how long it's been. so i ask, "why'd you start dressing vintage?" i know from the look in her eye, she's about to start a tangent. "i love how people like sharon tate and jane birkin dressed back then. oh, and twiggy! i've lived in areas with such good vintage shops, and vintage inspired shops. charity shops and i are best friends." the only truly modern clothing she claims to own are her "training clothes and her favorite pair of jeans." sofia makes sure to emphasize that she has loved fashions of the past, for a long time, but is so glad for the progress we've made. she knows not buying mass produced clothing is a privilege. "i see a lot of people on social media making videos of buying fast fashion that they wear once and throw out. i don't want to be that person or promote the idea that that is sustainable. if you've got to buy fast fashion because it's all you can afford, you're not the problem. the problem is those who can afford to pay for sustainably produced clothing buying cheaply made clothing and throwing it out and the companies who profit from churning out trends." i know i'm making a face because she tells me immediately, "you can put all that in." sofia's not interested in making her opinions more palatable for brands. speaking of more palatable to brands, a quick glance over at her new pr agent tells us to turn the conversation back to sport.

she's just moved to richmond to play for afc richmond's newly founded women's team. i couldn't be prouder of her. "it's incredibly exciting. i'm so grateful to have been brought on board to play for richmond. i've got to thank ms. welton and keeley jones for thinking of me and allowing me to be apart of this team." sofia gestures for keeley jones, the pr consultant who suggested her for the team, to come over to the couch. she gives keeley a hug and thanks her personally. "leaving bayern was bitter sweet, but i didn't lose any friends. we're all still on lovely terms. they wished me well. changing teams is part of the job. i'm still friends with the a lot of men's team as well. i've already made a lot of new friends here, i hope to make richmond proud." i ask sofia how she feels about being on the first women's team, whether there's anything she's worried about. she takes a moment to consider the question. "i know there are a lot of expectations and richmond fans are passionate. i don't want to let them down. i know people have a lot of ideas about what a women's team should be." "what do you want to tell fans that might not think women's football can bring the same excitement as the men's team?" "just watch us play! we don't disappoint!" as her brother, i'm certainly biased, but i don't disagree.

sofia will be playing with afc richmond in the coming season.

#*[ LENNOX S : EXTENDED WRITINGS ] #*[ LENNOX S : NPC x tomas lennox ] #character : sofia lennox #*[ EDITS AND GRAPHICS ] . . . do not steal

[moriartyluver]

DYING WISH CHAPTER II

NOW IN THIS WARPED WORLD, A PLOT IS HATCHING.

"Says here the hero got killed in an accident.." a man said, reading aloud from his newspaper. "there were rumours he was doing bad stuff and treating his employees poorly..."

"Those wicked heroes..they'll never do anything right.."

(Name)'s grip on her phone tightened. She was walking towards their new home in the Shizuoka prefecture of Japan, on the outskirts of Musutafu. A city famous for it's hero academy, UA high school.

Shortly after the fire in the Moriarty manor, Albert, as the new head of the family and owner of the Moriarty support company, had decided on moving to Japan and staying with a partner and major shareholder of the company till they had gotten used to living on their own.

The yaoyorozu family had taken care of them all until (name) was 13 years old, which caused them to later to move to Tokyo where (name) went to university. During that time, Albert had finished his hero training, Louis was homeschooling himself and (name) had managed to get a phd in mathematics.

After the fire, they all had chosen to move on with their lives and progress their plan to reform the hero society they lived in. Albert had consulted his sister on what they must do for the plan and they both reached the conclusion that (name), taking on the identity of Celeste James Moriarty, would enroll in UA high school after 'discovering' her quirk. Scarlet eyes.

Along with (name) joining UA for the sake of their plan, Albert was also working his way up the ranks of hero society. He had already been training for a hero license since he was in his British hero academy and he finally had established his own agency a year before they had moved out of the Yaoyorozus.

During their stay with the family, (name) had became friends with their only daughter, momo. She was possibly the first friend she had if you didn't count Albert, who she had a brotherly relationship with.

"The details are unclear.." she muttered, trying to match up her surroundings with the map on her phone. She questioned whether she should call her brother to ask for help but paused when she saw a woman covered in a blanket on a road with a car attempting to avoid running her over.

"It's dangerous, you idiot!!" Yelled it's chauffeur "There's a retired pro hero in this car, you know!? Hurry up and move outta the way!!"

The car swerved on the quiet road and continued driving on.

"Excuse me? Are you alright?" (Name) asked as she approached the woman. Her eyes widened when she saw the knife in her hands. She gripped on tighter and glared at the carriage leaving further down.

After that encounter, (name) continued looking for their new house that Albert had bought, where there was a local university that (name) would give lectures at and a short train journey could take (name) to UA, which she had enrolled in and was currently training for the exam.

Quirkless people usually only ever made it to the business, support or general studies courses in hero schools. It was unheard of to have a quirkless person get into a hero course. But with her palace of knowledge, (name) was confident she would pass both the written and practical exam thanks to the training she had received from a butler of the Yaoyorozu family.

"I'm home!"(name) called out to her brothers. "Sorry for being late, the map on my phone was too unclear and I got lost on my way.."

She hung her coat up and took off her shoes.

"Is the cleaning already done?"

"Welcome back, Onee-san."

"Welcome back, Celeste." Albert seemed to be using his quirk to carry boxes to his room. The best thing about his quirk in many peoples eyes is that he had such a wide range of abilities, not to mention, the whole concept of defiance surrounded his ability to do all that seemed impossible. "We've mostly cleaned up everything, Louis also worked hard."

"To begin with, it wasn't all that dirty.." Louis said bashfully

"Good work Louis!" (Name) smiled "Albert is pretty methodical in his cleaning"

"We sure bought a nice place..close to UA and the university.."

(Name) gazed out of the door and saw a middle school boy with spiky blonde hair walking by. He seemed angry and possibly about to explode. Maybe even literally. He turned to see who was looking at him and glared at the young girl. She seemed to be the same age as him. She gave him a nod and a polite smile which made him even more irritated. He rolled his eyes and walked off.

Fortunately for (name), she had a pro-hero brother with a high status around the world, especially in Japan. This meant that she could easily gain a recommendation to UA through her older brother's friends and colleagues who were also heroes. There had been countless occasions in which the 15 year old had made positive impressions on other people so it was only expected that with her helpful nature, she would be recommended into UA hero academy.

She had gotten a 100% score on her written exam and in the practical exam (which the author is too lazy to give details for) she had managed to get through with her charm and intellect despite not having a quirk to utilise.

During the exam, she had met yaoyorozu there and said their 'hello's briefly before returning to the exam. One instance which stood out to her in particular, however, was bumping into the son of Pro-Hero "Endeavour". Many had allegations against his rude behaviour and disrespect to his employees. Some tabloids were bold enough to suggest he had been abusing his wife, which was brushed off by the public within days but (name) knew that there was something odd going on with the Todoroki family.

"My apologies. I wasn't looking where I was going. It won't happen again." She said while bowing to the boy. 'Celeste' looked up to see an unchanged expression on his asymmetrical face. He had red and white hair, a blue and brown eye and a scar left by a painful looking burn on the left side of his face but didn't go past the imaginary midway line she saw on his face.

'He isn't much of a talker, is he?' (Name) thought to herself.

The boy she knew of as Todoroki Shoto only grunted and nodded before walking off to leave out of the building.

Only a few months later would she become an official student of UA and start working more frequently with her brothers as the lords and lady of crime.

A/N: just a short chapter explaining what happened before (name)/Celeste joined UA. More actually interesting chapters out soon

#moriarty the patriot #william james moriarty #william moriarty #mtp william #moriarty the patriot x reader #yuukoku no moriarty x reader #yuukoku no moriarty #sherlock mtp #bnha #mha #my hero academia #mha x reader #bnha x reader #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero acedamia #—dying wish 🕰

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[mademoiselle-red]

1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 26!

1 Favourite quote.

“But I should have come, anyway. I should have had to come back.” THE TRUEST LINE EVER SPOKEN IN THIS ENTIRE BOOK. 

2 Scene that lives in your head rent free.

The final scene!!! I just love how Laurie finally finds the strength to admit how much he loves and needs Ralph! 

5 Where did Ralph really go that one time he went to make a phone call?

I think he went for a little jog to clear his head and process his emotions, which is why he came back a little out of breath and looking dazzling (windswept and buzzing with endorphins from the exercise!)  

7 What does Laurie and Ralph's future look like?

I see a very cozy and domestic future for them. They’ll get through the war with a little luck (I firmly believe that they bring each other luck!) and emotional support from each other. In the beginning, Ralph is still a bit emotionally distant and closed off, especially immediately after their fight at the end of the book, and Laurie still struggles to find ways to take care of Ralph. But he quickly learns to read Ralph’s emotions and becomes quite good at drawing out his secrets and confidences. With patience and determination, Laurie finds new ways to love and care for Ralph and Ralph learns to accept Laurie’s affections and let himself be loved. 

After the war they’ll both move into fulfilling careers. I like to imagine Laurie becoming a translator since he seems quite proud of his French skills, and Ralph spending a few more years in the navy before enrolling in a university course and becoming an ocean cartographer who consults and advises academic and commercial maritime projects and ventures. They maintain a flat in London for over two decades because it's convenient for international travel (they both travel a lot for their jobs) and the anonymity of a big city helps them stay under the radar. But soon after homosexuality is decriminalized in the late 60s, Laurie stops renting out his childhood cottage and turns it into their holiday home. They slowly renovate it themselves over the next few years, and once they are both pleased with the place, they move back into the cottage. They turn the London flat into a rental for university students. It’s a good life. Laurie does most of the cooking and Ralph does most of the cleaning. Ralph gets into gardening and Laurie nerds out over DIY home renovations. They have a cat and a dog that they both dote on. Starting in the 70s, they take a roadtrip on the continent once a year, driving through France in a blue Renault and speeding down the autobahn in Germany in a silver Mercedes. 

10 Laurie/Andrew and Laurie/Ralph: discuss.

Hmmm, I feel like I’ve said / ranted / screamed / shouted most of the things I wanted to say about the love triangle both here and on discord. So I’ll discuss how the way I engage with the love triangle has changed over the course of my involvement in the fandom. When I started reading TC fan content, I got the impression that a lot of the old livejournal discussions and some popular ao3 fics that were pro-Ralph/Laurie also put a lot of emphasis on Laurie’s feelings for and relationship with Andrew. And some of those fan interpretations raised doubts on whether Laurie and Ralph would have a happy future, and whether Laurie was “forced” to choose Ralph. So for the longest time, I felt that I had to defend Ralph/Laurie, defend that Laurie’s choice of Ralph is what he wanted all along, and pay homage to Laurie’s feelings for Andrew in order to be a “serious” Ralph/Laurie fan and not one of those “Ralph fangirls.” However, I emerged from every successive reread of TC with a deeper dislike for Andrew, and it became harder and harder for me to be “fair” to him or see Andrew/Laurie as something I need to “respect” when I’m happily shipping Ralph/Laurie. 

More recently, I’ve finally admitted to myself that I hate Andrew, I hate Laurie/Andrew and I don’t give a damn about Andrew’s happiness, and in the future I imagine for Laurie, neither does he. I have finally given myself permission to imagine a future where Ralph gets to live out his days in peace with all of Laurie’s love and attention without that Andrew-nightmare hanging over him. And I extended that permission to myself: I removed my bookmarks on the old Ralph/Laurie fics I previously liked but now find painful to read because they give too much emotional weight to Andrew/Laurie. I also blocked the Andrew Raynes tag on tumblr so I won’t have to see any Ralph/Laurie fanart that also has Andrew in it. I feel more at peace now that I’ve purged most Andrew-related content from my dashboard and I only engage with it when I want to. Something I’m still working on is writing analyses and fics that discuss Ralph and Laurie’s conflicts and relationship development without mentioning Andrew. I want to relegate Laurie/Andrew to irrelevance (where it belongs, imo) in my discussion and depiction of Laurie and Ralph’s relationship challenges and their journey towards mutual understanding and acceptance. 

15 At which point did you know TC was going to be One Of Those Books for you?

I don’t know why, but when I finished the book for the first time, I felt a desperate need for assurance that Laurie would never waver in his love and commitment to Ralph again. My faith in Ralph and Laurie’s love became entwined in my own hopes and dreams for finding love on my own terms.  (And I'm glad I never stopped believing <3)

26 '53 edition gem you love.

The moment in chapter 8 when Laurie puts his hand on Ralph’s knee! Such an intimate and loving gesture! It really speaks volumes about Laurie’s love for Ralph. I’m so sad it got cut from the 1959 edition. 

Another gem is the part in chapter 16 where Laurie remembers the line from Andrew’s letter, “the thing you want to kill is in yourself”, as he realizes that he’d wronged Ralph. This line is cut in the 1959 version, which just says “another bit of the letter had come back to him” without specifying that it was this particular line. This line is important because it implies that Laurie realized that he had projected his self-loathing on Ralph. The one he wanted to kill wasn’t Ralph but the version of himself who loves Ralph. This is such an important moment of character development and emotional growth! In my opinion, this is when the “annihilating weight of remorse” finally falls and displaces Laurie’s concern over the “grotesque, obscene image of Andrew and Bunny together." Laurie finally stops worrying about Andrew and focuses his entire attention on Ralph. He never thinks about Andrew again from this point on in the novel, not even when Ralph mentions his “boy” in his suicide letter. I believe this is the moment when Laurie realizes that he cannot bear to lose Ralph, and makes up his mind to ask Alec for a telephone so he can call Ralph.

#the charioteer #avoid reading if you like Andrew #I go into my dislike of him quite a bit

[pan-de-queer]

was thinking of this post (i also have a screenshot of the post at the end) and now i can't stop thinking of a uni!supercorp au set in the fucking philippines like

au is set in 2016. this is very vital to the story

lena's an international student to dlsu manila for a term (i was thinking business rich kid [so dlsu] and not lawyer/politician rich kid [admu]) bc when lillian suggested she join an international exchange program lena decided to choose the country the farthest away from lillian's influence (luthor corp has no hold in most of SEA [minus singapore obvs] and lena chose the philippines mostly because of the slightly less difficult language barrier) and majors in both science and business courses

kara got into up diliman through blood, sweat, and tears. her parents were researchers during the marcos era who were killed during martial law. kara was adopted by the danvers as jeremiah was the zor-els' co-worker and eliza was a traveling doctor. the danvers took kara and alex back to the states (usa) but kara wanted to figure out how and why her parents died and the ph is a great place to get a journalism degree so she studied up on not only the language but ph culture, history, and news as well before transferring to the ph the summer before her third year of high school. alex got a job as a medical consultant in the ph soon after and the two live together in qc (quezon city)

kara and lena meet when lena accidentally finds herself in the middle of a protest march passing through taft (kara started in up manila, not diliman hahaha)

she has no fucking idea what it's about

kara assumes lena's part of the protest and asks if she'd like to borrow one of her signs but then lena's like "what the fuck is happening"

"we're protesting marcos's burial in, uh, the national cemetery for heroes," kara explains and lena still looks so lost and kara feels both bad for the woman and awestruck that someone so beautiful exists. "marcos, like, ferdinand marcos? the country's ex-president that declared martial law, plundered the country in horrible debt, and then was banned from returning?"

lena knows some of those words, she thinks. she'd studied up on philippine history a little bit before she arrived but the textbook she'd read felt incredibly racist if not colonialist, but she's sure she read about a president declaring martial law before, so she nods as if she gets it

the protest keeps marching forward and lena finds that she can't really escape the crowd unless she wants to get crushed, so she sticks closest to kara who's both a friendly (gorgeous) face and also has the closest accent to hers

kara shares with lena more details about why they're marching and helps translate some of the more unfamiliar words of their chants

almost twenty minutes after lena accidentally joined the march, practically drenched in sweat but too moon eyed towards the blonde to care, lena finally asks where they're marching to

"to the cemetery in taguig."

taguig. taguig city. more than two hours away on foot

"oh."

when kara sees lena's face fall, she gently takes lena's wrist and manages to maneuver them to the side of the protest, away from the wave of people. kara asks what's wrong and lena admits that she's already super fucking tired and would never be able to finish the march

kara understands and decides to accompany lena while they wait for a grab ride to arrive. as lena orders her ride, kara texts her activist and journalism friends to let them know that she won't be at the final rally anymore

while they wait, they learn more about each other and find themselves even more smitten than when they first met (sometime during this part, kara also gives lena one of her extra shirts [because she's a seasoned commuting pro and knows to never leave home without an extra shirt and small towel] so lena's just looking super comfy and cute in kara's shirt)

when lena's ride arrives, kara double checks the grab because she's That Kind of person before helping her in

"thanks for waiting with me. it was nice meeting you," lena says and kara smiles, wide and toothy.

"it was nice meeting you, too. ingat!" and kara closes the card door before she remembers to even ask for lena’s number

still, the lack of contact details doesn't deter her. she knows enough about lena that hopefully dropping by dlsu more often would mean being able to see her again

and she does

anyways if this was a short fic I'd def end it around here with kara and lena getting that date but if it were a long fic then i'd 100% make kara investigate and study the ejks (extra judicial killings) during duterte's time and lena learning and falling in love with the ph the way kara has which includes lena learning how to commute (which someday, when she leads l-corp, means that she helps build and fund a better fucking public transport system)

this was suuuuppppeeer fun to even just think about and I can't promise I'll write it but just this idea has me pumped! hope the 3 pinoys who see this enjoy 💕

*edit: here's parts 1.5, 2, 3, and 4

#cw supergirl #supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #lmao i know there are more than 3 filipinos who ship supercorp but idk who yall are so #also PLS do not come at me with the uni stereotypes i am trying to balance the characters' personalities with #irl experience and culture AND those stereotypes lmao #also i did go to one of these uni's and there do be Some kinda People there #anyways i think I'll call this the #supercorp ph uni au