today, my coworkers’ refusal to see me as a man put one of our patients in a position where they felt unsafe for the third time. i’ve been at this job for less than two months total. i don’t even care about getting misgendered anymore, i just want the people we’re supposed to be taking care of to feel comfortable around me.
i work at a hospital where we have to supervise our patients in a lot of vulnerable situations. there are safeguarding rules in place for certain things that male employees aren’t allowed to be present for when it comes to female patients. and yet, the people training me and telling me what to do have repeatedly put me in situations where i’ve been forced to do things that the female patients aren’t comfortable with me doing. and because they have repeatedly failed to teach me the rules for doing my job as a man, i have no way of knowing when i’m crossing one of those lines unless one of the patients tells me.
i’ve had to watch a victim of SA stare at me in abject terror as my coworkers asked her to strip naked with me still in the room. it took several minutes for her to even be able to speak enough to ask if i could leave the room. i found out after that she broke down crying the moment i walked out. my biggest regret is that i didn’t realize what was happening fast enough to leave before she ever had to say something, because she shouldn’t have had to say it. i never should’ve been allowed in the room in the first place, because that’s not something male employees are supposed to be present for. but i didn’t know that yet, because i was training and i thought surely, they wouldn’t train me to do something that directly violated their own safeguarding rules. that moment was the first time, and it’s haunted me ever since, but it wasn’t the last time. not only did it happen for the third time today — it almost happened for the fourth, and would have if someone hadn’t spoken up to say they should pick someone else. i care for these people so deeply, it’s why i took this job, and i’m so tired of hearing the fear in their voices when they have to ask me not to do something i never should’ve been told to do.
i’m very used to the personal discomfort of being misgendered. i willingly deal with it a lot at work as well as in other situations, not because i’m in the closet (at this point in my medical transition that would be impossible), but because it’s such a frequent occurrence with my coworkers that we would never get anything done if i took the time to correct them every time. but to see it get to the point of causing such visceral discomfort in other people? people i’m supposed to be taking care of and keeping safe? that’s something else entirely, and i’m fucking exhausted.
and after all of that, some of them still look at me like i have two heads when they tell me what to do and i say “i can’t do that, only female employees can” because i’m learning now. clearly i’m already seen as a man by our patients, but my coworkers would still rather put them in an unsafe situation than just train me as a man.
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i think we as a fandom need to talk about the fact that the targtower children’s resentment and disdain for rhaenyra is not just the work of viserys lack of parenting but due to everyone else too.
it’s from otto doing everything in his power to stop rhaenyra from getting the throne so his blood can get it, not because he thinks aegon is or would be a good king, not because he thinks his grandson deserves it, but because his blood would take the throne, not rhaenyra’s, not daemon’s. HIS.
it’s from alicent’s every conversation on screen with aegon revolving around rhaenyra. how, in ep.6, his mother stops his session to tell him he needs to be better to his brother in public so we can be a united family against her, how if rhaenyra takes the throne, she’ll have no choice but to kill them to keep her throne, how in ep.8, alicent is mad at his continuous behaviors but only this mad because rhaenyra is about to be in town.
the talk before his coronation is explicitly about how much his father wanted rhaenyra on the throne, how he had twenty years to change it and never did. it’s about alicent telling him not to not be swayed by judgements to kill rhaenyra, how above all the terrible she’s done, she still his sister. yet no one has ever acted like she is.
it’s from aemond’s eye being taken out and it ending with his mother yelling at rhaenyra about duty and sacrifices, how she can do all and never get in trouble, how she does as she pleases and is happy, yet she, the queen, is dutiful and isn’t. aemond’s eye is used to get back at rhaenyra, his mother is mad that his eye is gone but it’s more because RHAENYRA’S sons took it then it being taken at all. how he has to soothe his mother even if he’s the one bleeding.
it’s from criston cole bullying and tormenting rhaenyra’s sons because they are rhaenyra’s sons. It’s about them being lesser because they came from her indecency, them being worse because they came from her. her sons being lower than them because of them being a direct connection to rhaenyra and him feeling mad about not being the one she choose.
the targtower children entire world revolved around rhaenyra. it wasn’t just viserys who preferred her, everyone did! rhaenyra’s stepmother would rather fight her than love them! their mother’s sworn sword would rather mess with her children as an act of vengeance than genuinely be interested in them, their grandfather’s every political move was to stop her husband from being near power. love or hate, those children never had a chance to see rhaenyra on their own before or after Driftmark.
their father, her father, loved her more. their mother, her stepmother, hated her more than she cared for them. their grandfather, who has no connection to her, would rather deal with politics through them against her than for them. their mother’s sworn sword, who was rhaenyra’s sworn sword first, hates her more than he likes them.
these kids, again, never stood a damn chance!!
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[Kara and Nia arguing in the tower when Lena walks in, setting her purse and portable equipment down before approaching the two heroes]
Lena: Ladies, WHAT is going on here?
Kara: Nia saw this supposed fact online and I was trying to convince her that she’s wrong!
Nia: I’m not wrong! It’s impossible to touch your belly button with both your elbows! It’s just a fact!
Kara: It is not-
Lena: Kara…honey, have you tried testing this theory?
Kara: (pouting) I did.
Lena: …And?
Kara: And my muscles are too big and they couldn’t reach. But just because I can’t do it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Nia: (quips) Not every day you hear Supergirl say that.
Lena: (chiming in before Kara can retort) Well, Nia, did you try it?
Nia: No, but that’s because a rogue Dominator we were just fighting tore a whole in my Dreamer outfit and I was afraid it’ll tear more if I try.
Lena: Oh my god, Nia, are you hurt?
Nia: I’m fine. Not as injured as Kara’s ego when she she has to admit she’s wrong.
Kara: I will heat vision your face off.
Nia: (sticks her tongue out at Kara tauntingly)
Lena: (standing between the two women with her arms stretched out to separate them) Okay STOP! Would it help settle this if I tried to do it?
Kara: Lena, you don’t have to.
Lena: (raises an eyebrow at Kara and stares at her, as if to convey “I adore you and I don’t mind but I also want to resolve this so we can get back to work,” before turning her head to give Nia a similar look.)
Nia: Sure.
Kara: Yeah, that’d be great.
Lena: And you’ll both abide by the results, without gloating if you win or lashing out with your powers if you lose? [Not that anyone in the room believes Kara would actually melt Nia’s face but saying the last part helps to deescalate the tension]
Kara: I mean…I can’t promise no gloating…
Nia: That seems fair.
Lena: Good enough. (She takes off her jacket and walks over to set it with her other items, revealing a button down blouse with a significant number of the top buttons undone underneath. She walks back over to the two heroes.)
Lena: So…like this? (Lena looks down at her stomach struggling to touch her belly button with both her elbows. She’s unable to do so but unbeknownst to her, the action has caused Lena to push her breasts together, briefly mesmerizing Kara.)
Nia: (to Kara, gently smacking the back of her hand on Kara’s arms) See, I told you we’d be able to get her to do it.
Lena: (confused) Do what? I haven’t done- (looks down again and sees her chest prominently on display for everyone in the room; she chuckles and then stands up straight.) Seriously you two?
Kara: (pointing her finger at Nia without looking at her) It was her idea!
Lena: (Raises an eyebrow at Kara) You expect me to believe that when you’re still not making eye contact with me? (Kara blushes as her eyes snap back up to meet Lena’s)
Nia: (To Lena) No, it’s true. It was my idea…and I’m ten bucks richer because of it! (To Kara) I accept payment in the form of PayPal, Venmo and Noonan’s sticky buns.
Kara: (Looks down at her supersuit, which doesn’t have pockets and thus doesn’t have her phone.) Can I get you tomorrow?
Nia: Works for me. I like my sticky buns warmed up, please and thank you. (Turns to exit the room) I’m going home, I’ve got a date with Brainy in an hour. See you both tomorrow!
Kara: Bye Nia!
Lena: Have a good night!
(Kara and Lena turn their gazes back on each other.)
Lena: So you bet on me not falling for what I’m assuming was a social media trend?
Kara: (Sheepishly) A little bit.
Lena: Well…I’m sorry to disappoint but serves you right that you lost.
Kara: I wouldn’t say that. I mean…yeah I owe Nia breakfast but I refuse to consider getting to stare at your chest as anything other than a win. (Smiles widely at Lena as she approaches her, her hands holding Lena’s lower back while her girlfriend wraps her arms around Kara’s neck, smiling back at her as she touches their noses together.)
Lena: (playfully) You’re ridiculous. (She presses a quick kiss to Kara’s lips.)
Kara: You love me and you know it. (Kara’s freezes at the realization that’s the first time either of them has brought up the “L” word. Before Kara can fully panic, Lena takes a half step closer into Kara’s embrace, bringing their upper bodies into full contact and one of her hands starts to run through Kara’s hair. It helps to both calm the Kryptonian and keep her staring into the enchanting eyes of the gorgeous woman in her arms.)
Lena: It’s true. I really do love you. (The playfulness in her voice a moment ago is gone, Lena has never been more serious in her life.)
Kara: Y-you do? (Kara smiles again. Any nervousness in her voice isn’t about a doubt in Lena’s sincerity; she has none. It’s that hearing Lena Luthor say she that loves her not only reaffirms the strong feelings she’d had of her own that she’d wanted to tell her girlfriend for a while now, but that it also brings such a sheer amount of happiness to Kara that she feels like she could explode and has her briefly questioning reality that this is really happening.)
Lena: (finding it amusing that although her girlfriend is the one with super hearing, Lena’s sure she can hear Kara’s heart beating out of her chest. Tears of joy start to pool in the corner of her eyes. Seeing this causes Kara to do the same.) Yes. Always (it’s a small but loaded word, one they both recognize is an expression of how long and how strongly Lena loves Kara; past, present and future.)
Kara: Oh Lena, I love you too. I love you so much. I-
(Lena leans back against a support beam and cuts Kara off with a passionate kiss. Lena is in love with Kara. Kara is in love with Lena. Kissing the woman who so irrevocably and completely owns your heart, who has giving you theirs in kind, it can set your soul ablaze in a way that words can’t quench. So instead, Lena and Kara kiss, slowly, intimately, conveying their love for one another in a way words would fail to express. Lena is ultimately the one who pulls away first, amused when Kara’s lips try to chase her own. She smiles and teases Kara into unsuccessfully trying to kiss her once, then twice, before acquiescing to Kara’s lips once again. Lena then pulls back and looks into the eyes of her beautiful lover.)
Lena: (pure lust in her voice) Show me.
(Events from there unfold not unlike that old anecdote Lena remembers about a woman falling in love with her soulmate the way one falls asleep: slowly and then all at once. Kara deeply kisses Lena again, pulling Lena flush against her body. They remain kissing this way at a leisurely pace until things escalated. Suddenly, Kara’s tongue was teasing Lena’s lips seeking invitation, which Lena was quick to oblige. The sensation of Kara’s tongue in her mouth caused Lena to emit a low moan, before sucking on Kara’s tongue to spur the same reaction from the taller blonde. Lena’s actions caused Kara’s hands to migrate down from Lena’s back until they were firmly holding her ass and then squeezed, much to the delight of the young Luthor.
It hadn’t taken long for Kara and Lena to sleep together when they first became a couple. They actually had sex on their first date, which was only a day after Kara confessed her feelings and asked Lena out, both laughing off the idea that it was “too soon” when “five years of foreplay had to be a world record.” Since then, Lena and Kara have maintained a very healthy and active sex life. While Kara’s hands held their grip on Lena’s ass, her lips had moved to placing open mouth kisses on Lena’s neck. It was in this moment Lena vividly remembered one particular night from their first week together where Kara couldn’t help but enthusiastically leave love marks across Lena’s body. They’d arrived at Lena’s apartment following a Lena Luthor Foundation Gala and Lena barely had time to lock her door before Kara’s hands were all over her. After several passionate minutes on the couch, somehow not a single article of clothing had been shed between them, Kara whispered in her ear that she could smell Lena’s excitement, which of course made Lena’s arousal that much greater. Taking a page from her girlfriend’s book, Lena cast a quick spell to enhance her own senses, allowing her to smell Kara’s arousal beneath her super suit. Lena groaned at the scent, eager to once again taste her lover.
Lena: (Kara continuing to kiss her neck) You know, I realized recently I could use my magic and smell how excited you are too. (Lena leans to whisper in Kara’s ear) And you’re soaking wet for me right now, aren’t you baby? (Lena takes Kara’s earlobe between her teeth and bites, causing Kara to whimper, before taking her turn to kiss Kara’s neck.)
Kara: So wet for you baby. (Lena traces her tongue up from Kara’s collarbone to her jawline, before Kara pulls her into another loving kiss.) Let me fly you home and make love to you, please.
Lena: Nia left the tower right?
Kara: (confused) Yeah, why?
Lena: (separates from Kara, who whines at the loss of contact, walks towards the largest couch in the rest area, turns back to face Kara and starts unbuttoning the rest of her shirt while staring at her girlfriend) So…we’re all alone in the tower?
Kara: (catching on, deactivating the nanotechnology in her suit for it to come off) For the rest of the night.
(Kara’s own top is on the ground by the time she gets to Lena, kissing her fiercely as she picks up the shorter woman, who wrapped both her legs around Kara’s waist as Kara laid her down on the couch and got comfortable on top of her. Heels were kicked away and skirts were stripped out of in short order after that. Sitting up to discard their bras, Kara straddled Lena, grabbed the Luthor’s face to pull her in for another kiss. Lena licked her way down all of Kara’s now exposed flesh until she got to Kara’s nipple and enveloped it with her lips. Kara moaned in pleasure.)
Lena: (teasingly) You know, it’s always a win when I get to stare at your chest too.
Kara: (laughs) I love you so damn much Lena Luthor.
Lena: (smiles and laughs) I love you so damn much Kara Danvers.
And they continued to express that love throughout the night.
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