it's funny how all the movies from the '70s and '80s (and even some from the '90s!) just assumed that smog would get worse and worse until the earth (or at least LA) was perpetually shrouded in smoke, then the government banned smog and it went away; incredible really.
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back by popular demand: middle-aged man gone fishing zoey, now ft. commercial fisherman rumi (she got a few wires crossed) and maliciously compliant mira
@insensitivegaypanda and @earterms123 i know you've been languishing in my inbox for months, but i found your responses to gone fishing zoey so endearing i wanted to honour them properly. i hope this one makes a good brain tattoo/emotional support wallet printout o7
rumi watch out there's a sloppy makeout behind you. oh my god she's watching youtube fishing tutorials she can't hear us oh god oh fuck
ALWAYS gotta share the hottest fisherman (and fish) in the seas.
Rumi gets into learning about boats and HOW TO CORRECTLY TIE A FISHING LINE, MIRA. IT NEEDS TO BE DONE PROPERLY
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people will describe their incredibly nebulous sexuality to you that they’ve never been able to define and the whole time you’re thinking that sounds like bisexuality brother
So @princington has been dropping so many hints recently that I started spiraling about their Polytrix Finders Keepers AU, and I had to put something down so people can appreciate prince’s genius and how they’ve been setting all of this up. Credit to @dreampaladin, a significant portion of these thoughts and theories either came from her directly or as a result of the two of us screaming at each other in DMs over the latest updates.
Here. We. Go.
Context
For those who don’t know this brilliant AU or need a reminder, this is a fic, told through prince’s drawings, about famous designer Mira (he/she/them) falling for model Zoey, who is married to painter Rumi (who is a trans woman), after Rumi and Zoey’s son Myung-soo runs up to them during an interview and Mira returns him. Mira and Zoey pursue each other (with Rumi’s permission), then Mira pursues Rumi, and ultimately they end up together. In parallel, Rumi is fighting with her mom Miyeong after discovering that Miyeong got pregnant by and married a man whom Rumi has never met, even though she was in love with Celine (Rumi’s other mom). Zoey and Mira are going away for Zoey to model dresses Mira designed for her, and Rumi is staying behind to meet her sperm donor for the first time. Everything seems fine, everyone’s together, we’re probably close to a happy ending, right?
WRONG. Here’s why.
Rumi Doesn’t Like When Zoey Dates Other People, Including Mira
From this post, it appears that Zoey and Rumi are polyamorous, at least in that Zoey sleeps with and/or dates other people with Rumi’s knowledge and apparent consent:
get loved gayboy : penny for your thoughts
But let’s look closer. Every single time Mira and Zoey are together, or show affection to each other, Rumi gets upset.
When Zoey then goes to a photoshoot with Mira after their first date, the next post shows that Rumi says something to Celine about being upset about something that “wasn’t that serious,” except then Mi-yeong shows up instead. Rumi DOES think Mi-yeong’s offense is serious, so it’s not that. She’s upset about Zoey being with Mira.
get loved gayboy : thank you, rumi
Zoey has lunch with Mira after the photo shoot, here’s Rumi’s reaction. Zoey immediately can tell something’s wrong. “Baby? Are you OK?” Rumi’s response, looking sad: “Yeah, of course.”
👋🏻 ii
Mira accidentally ends up going grocery shopping with Zoey and Myung-soo, basically taking Rumi’s family in a handoff when Rumi has to go do something else:
get loved gayboy : 🧋
Zoey and Mira are photographed together in what looks like a kiss at the end of the shopping trip, which Rumi didn’t even know was happening, and Rumi sees, and Rumi is so upset and distracted that she doesn’t hear Jinu talking to her, but plays it off as being about finding out her mom Mi-yeong slept with someone else before she was born (and that’s how Rumi was conceived). More on this later.
get loved gayboy : I promise
When Mira shows up at Rumi’s exhibit after kissing Zoey (unbeknownst to Rumi), Rumi immediately folds her arms and adopts a defensive posture.
get loved gayboy : chances
When Mira apologizes about the photo, Rumi stutters when she claims that she’s not upset about that (because she’s lying), and apologizes that the exhibit (that Rumi) wasn’t good enough for Mira to stay.
get loved gayboy : "...Okay."
Even after they are “together” as a throuple, Rumi still gets upset when Zoey and Mira show affection to each other.
Mira is staring at them while they cuddle with Myung-soo which prompts a “baby, you OK?” Rumi is simultaneously contacted by her sperm donor, so she has an excuse for this. But did you notice that Rumi always uses that excuse? Even when sperm donor isn’t texting her? If you go back, you’ll see that Rumi repeatedly blames her bad mood on sperm donor when Zoey or someone else asks what’s bothering her after seeing Zoey and Mira together.
get loved gayboy : returns
After Rumi wakes up after their first night together, she slips away to the kitchen. Mira asks if she’s OK, Rumi replies she’s “just … in my head.” Again, sperm donor has just texted, giving her a plausible alternative explanation. Hey, did you notice that Rumi is covering up her tattoos completely, the tattoos of every flower Zoey ever gave her? Which could mean nothing.
get loved gayboy : [present] that would be enough
After Zoey wakes up that morning, right after kissing Mira goodbye she can tell Rumi is upset and confronts her. Rumi is “covering up” (her tattoos), she’s “being quiet,” and Rumi could very easily say it’s sperm donor (Suho is his real name), but she doesn’t, not until Zoey pushes and says “don’t lie to me.” And Zoey buys it. And offers to stay. And Rumi refuses. How could she take Zoey away from someone who makes her so happy?
get loved gayboy : talk
get loved gayboy : "I promise."
Here’s how Rumi looks after seeing Mira and Zoey kiss goodbye, after the first night together, when she goes to visit her mothers. Celine is so worried.
get loved gayboy : making up for what we're missing
I wonder what Celine thinks of Mira? After seeing how upset Rumi has been?
get loved gayboy : meeting the in laws
Rumi Is The Third Wheel In This Version Of Polytrix
Yes, even though she’s married to Zoey, Rumi is very much the “third” in this relationship. First of all, Zoey says that Mira is the first person who’s made her feel like Rumi has, but Rumi doesn’t say it back. This is not a relationship where Rumi and Mira have a relationship equivalent to Rumi and Zoey (or Zoey and Mira, stay tuned for that).
get loved gayboy : [between firsts and aftermath] "We'll figure this…
When Mira visits for the first time, Zoey gets the first kiss.
get loved gayboy : first visit
When they soft-launch the relationship, Zoey’s caption is “all ours.” Rumi’s is basically “my son prefers Mira to me.”
get loved gayboy : 🤳🏼
While Zoey and Mira figure out their travel schedule, they cuddle up with each other and Myung-soo, while Rumi sits alone across from them.
get loved gayboy : returns
After they sleep together for the first time, Zoey and Mira are cuddled up nice and tight to the point that Rumi was able to slip out and get dressed without anyone noticing until she tucked Mira and Zoey in tighter. If those two are hugging each other so tightly, who’s hugging Rumi?
get loved gayboy : [present] mornings
Rumi has a new wallpaper already, after seeing Zoey and Mira and Myung-soo together: a beautiful family photo of the three of them. A beautiful, happy, complete family. What’s that you say? Someone’s missing from this photo? Could have fooled me.
get loved gayboy : rumi's new wallpaper
When it’s time to wake Zoey, Rumi and Mira go to get Myung-soo to wake Zoey up...but who actually does the waking? Not Rumi.
get loved gayboy : breakfast in bed for mama
In the meantime, it’s implied that Zoey and Mira are together a ton for work; how often are either of them alone with Rumi (not counting times when Zoey and Rumi are together with Myung-soo)? For example:
get loved gayboy : "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
Rumi appreciates what time they do have together (even though it’s suddenly only with Mira, never Rumi with either of the others), to the point that when Zoey offers to stay, Rumi refuses because Zoey and Mira “deserve” time alone together with Zoey “all dolled up in Mira’s pretty clothes.” They deserve to be happy together; wonder what Rumi thinks she deserves for herself?
get loved gayboy : tender mornings
In bed, who gets marked up in the throes of passion, I wonder? Who is worthy of desire? Do you even need to click through for the evidence? To see who’s wearing a patch, who’s wearing a turtleneck, and whose neck is bare and unmarked? (Prince you were so filthy for this one)
get loved gayboy : busy afternoon
get loved gayboy : yours, still
On Mira’s private jet, he and Zoey have sex, and Zoey joins the mile high club without Rumi. I wonder if Mira and Rumi have ever had sex alone? Doesn’t seem like it. I wonder when was the last time Rumi and Zoey had sex? (Last confirmed time is back after they first met Mira). According to prince, they've been together about a month, and Zoey and Mira have spent a ton of time together and are about to spend more time together on the other side of the world from Rumi. How much of their relationship exists without Rumi already?
get loved gayboy : mile high club
Zoey hates flying (with Rumi), but Rumi can see Zoey feels safe with Mira (safer with Mira).
get loved gayboy : safe
When Zoey announces her (their) relationship with Mira, Rumi’s an ocean away with Myung-soo, missing them terribly, texting Zoey. Has Zoey texted her yet? Mira’s sent a couple at least. Both about Zoey. Neither of them have asked Rumi how she is. Neither has offered her support, even though she’s about to meet her transphobic sperm donor for the first time. But hey, Zoey looks great in Mira’s clothes, and better with them off, and Rumi's probably fine. She's always saying so, right? "I'm fine?"
get loved gayboy : articles and updates
When Jinu expresses regret that Rumi is about to receive an award alone, he doesn’t mention Mira. And Rumi already feels like it’s imposing on Mira and Zoey’s time together to even tell them that she’s about to win an award. Shame Mira never offered to make something for Rumi to wear to the event, or for any purpose, but why would she? It’s not like Rumi’s as worthy of Mira’s inspiration as Zoey is, right?
get loved gayboy : decisions made
At some point in the future (maybe when Rumi meets them in Europe?) Zoey and mira are holding hands, Zoey is smiling at Rumi, and the only person touching or looking at Rumi is Myung-soo. Who is being carried by Mira. His new favorite.
get loved gayboy : [future] pool day
Mira Keeps Making The Third Wheel Problem Worse By Mistake
There are a few good examples of Mira’s good intentions here that I’m not going to link to much, but they genuinely appears to be concerned with Rumi’s emotional well-being (more even than Zoey is), and makes a good effort. But he doesn’t see the dynamic yet, and so he keeps making things worse.
From the very first meeting, Mira makes it clear (to Rumi) that she’s interested in Zoey, not Rumi. “Nice to meet you both,” but Mira’s “looking forward to working with you again, Jung Zoey.” Rumi doesn't have a name yet.
get loved gayboy : crush
At the beginning and end of their first (and only) solo coffee, Mira again reinforces that her primary interest is in Zoey, and Rumi is just Zoey’s accessory: “Mrs. Zoey’s wife, Rumi.” Progress?
get loved gayboy : deal?
By the end of the coffee “date,” in which it appears the conversation is mostly about Zoey and Myung-soo, Rumi has lost her name. “See ya, Mrs. Zoey’s wife.” Oh well. Nice being a person while it lasted.
get loved gayboy : coffee date
This isn’t intentional; if anything, Mira’s probably trying to avoid being too obvious about her attraction. She literally buys a magazine to stare at pictures of Rumi, and bemoans that she (presumably Rumi) is married. But Rumi doesn’t know that. All she knows is Mira wants Zoey, and Zoey wants Mira, and Rumi is Zoey’s wife whom Mira wants to be on good terms with while Mira and Zoey get together.
get loved gayboy : helpless
The next time Mira is supposed to see Rumi, he bails, because they think they don’t deserve the family Zoey and Rumi have made, but Rumi doesn’t know that. She just thinks this is a clear message that Mira wants Zoey, and doesn’t give a shit about Rumi.
get loved gayboy : "...my wife and my son are the most important...
Mira kisses Rumi and says she’s wanted to kiss her since the moment he saw her, but let’s be real: Mira is with Zoey all the time for work and pleasure, this is the second time Mira and Rumi have really interacted. Rumi might be flattered, even overwhelmed, that someone like Mira is willing to even say they want her like this. But does she believe it? How could she, when she can see how much time Mira has made for Zoey, and how little Mira has made for her? But Rumi, as always, will survive on scraps (because she doesn't deserve anything else); the throuple begins.
get loved gayboy : firsts
“I’m stealing Zoey away for two weeks” is terrible phrasing, Mira. All Rumi can ask for is help making breakfast. That’s all she thinks she deserves to ask for, after Mira and Zoey slept so beautifully and contentedly in each other’s arms, and Rumi was in the bed too for a while.
get loved gayboy : [present] that would be enough
Looping back to the trip, when Zoey and Mira are in New York, Mira is trying, but they’re texts all come off as “look how safe and happy Zoey is with me.” Mira’s trying, but she doesn’t know what she’s doing, because she never got to know Rumi before pursuing this. She never laid the foundation she laid with Zoey. One coffee date and a kiss does not establish an equal relationship as compared to someone you see all the time for work, have gone out with multiple times outside of work, and whom you’re about to take on your private jet solo for two weeks (or until Rumi and Myung-soo join them, if that happens).
Zoey Isn’t Attentive Enough To Rumi’s Needs
Let’s frame this first: Zoey knew Rumi before Rumi came out as trans. Before they got together, the things Zoey complimented Rumi on were that she was pretty (the prettiest girl Zoey knew), and that she was nice.
truths
pre-established zumi
get loved gayboy : [past] "I wish everyone could be nice like you..."
What Zoey says is that her “wife and son are the most important thing” to her. But is that true?
"...my wife and my son are the most important thing to me."
Zoey says that because Mira hurt Rumi badly by promising to come to her gallery showing and ditching (because Mira was worried they didn’t deserve to intrude upon Zoey and Rumi’s family and ran). But even though Zoey is mad about Mira hurting Rumi, KNOWS that Mira hurt Rumi, her wife, what does she do? She takes Mira out on a date and makes heart eyes at them and gives Mira her number.
🍵🍰
She kisses Mira, and is on the verge of having sex with Mira, and has gotten to that point despite Mira not apologizing, and expressly only stops because she wants Mira to apologize before they sleep together. That’s the red line for Zoey. Not “you need to woo Rumi too,” even though Mira does. Not “I won’t do this if she’s not part of it,” because Zoey would fuck Mira even if Rumi never saw Mira again. Apologize for hurting my wife and we can have sex, because you hurting her was not a red line for me in this relationship.
get loved gayboy : [between 'go for it, zoey!' and 'chances'] choices
I referenced this scene earlier in the post, but Zoey then confesses to Rumi that she has never felt about anyone the way she feels about Mira. She corrects herself, saying “not since you,” but do you think Rumi believed that part? Or do you think she listened to the correction and heard a lie? Something to take the sting away? Has Rumi ever been enough for Zoey? Now that Zoey has found someone more attractive and at least as nice as Rumi, someone whom Zoey has feelings for like no one else, someone who makes Zoey smile like Rumi doesn’t anymore, who can satisfy Zoey in bed like Rumi never could (or else why has Zoey always wanted to sleep with other people?), where does that leave Rumi?
This one is just a set up, but Rumi, who wants nothing more than to be Zoey’s, who took Zoey’s name, who makes art of Zoey, who irrevocably marked her body with every flower Zoey ever bought her, is promising to call and text. Will Zoey answer, though? Zoey, who wears Mira’s clothes, and Mira’s bite marks, and nothing indelible of Rumi?
get loved gayboy : promises
They haven’t really talked about a hard launch, but Zoey does it anyway, alone, without Rumi there, without consulting Rumi. Rumi couldn’t make it. Rumi had something else that she never told Zoey about because she felt so excluded from her marriage that Rumi didn’t think Zoey would want to celebrate Rumi. Rumi thought Zoey would be happier with Mira. Think she was right?
get loved gayboy : a quick interview
Stack this on top of ALL THE TIMES above that Rumi has been visibly upset immediately after Zoey showed affection towards Mira, that Zoey has never clocked. I wonder who suggested polyamory first? Was it Zoey, because she wanted to sleep with other people? Or was it Rumi, who saw how Zoey looked at someone else and decided she would never be enough, and she would rather keep Zoey by letting Zoey find what Rumi couldn’t give her with others?
I'll add a small caveat: it's not that Zoey doesn't care about Rumi at all. Zoey REPEATEDLY notices that Rumi is upset and asks her about it and pushes for an answer, but never gets a true, or complete at least, answer as to why. Zoey doesn't put together how every time Rumi is upset immediately follows Zoey and Mira together. And how could she? Because if Rumi is hurt by Zoey being with other people, that would mean Zoey's been hurting Rumi, and Rumi's been lying to Zoey, for however long they've been polyamorous.
Rumi’s Anger at Mi-yeong Is Actually Her Anger At Zoey
OK, this is a big one: I don’t think Rumi’s anger at Mi-yeong is primarily about Mi-yeong sleeping with someone else and hurting Celine. This was years ago, before Rumi was born, and Celine and Mi-yeong have moved past it, so why is Rumi so bothered by the fact that Mi-yeong slept with someone else while she and Celine still had feelings for each other even though it wasn’t actually cheating?
Huh. Does that sound like a situation Rumi is familiar with?
For her whole marriage (I’m guessing, I don’t think we have a timeframe on the polyamory), I think Zoey has been sleeping with other people. Zoey’s pursuit of Mira as a “no big deal” moment doesn’t make sense unless this is a pattern. It doesn’t appear Zoey was romantically involved with any of her past partners, and says outright she never felt about any of them the way she feels about Rumi, but that means that, while they were in love, Zoey has slept with other people, while she and Rumi were in love, and Rumi said yes so it’s not cheating, even if Rumi doesn’t like it. If this is something Rumi has been hurt by the entire time they’ve been together, is it any wonder she reacts so harshly when she finds out her mom did this to Celine? That she doesn’t care that it meant nothing to Mi-yeong, because that’s what Zoey says about the people she sleeps with I’m sure, but it still means something to Rumi. Suho was a “mistake;” is Rumi Zoey’s mistake? Rumi can't get mad at Zoey, Zoey might leave her, but Rumi can get mad at her mom without consequence. Note how Rumi closes herself off with her folded arms when she’s upset (just like she does so often with Mira and Zoey in the present).
get loved gayboy : [past] storm part 2
Rumi doesn’t want to know about the other guy (does she want to know about the people Zoey sleeps with?):
get loved gayboy : forgiveness
Rumi doesn’t forgive Mi-yeong until Mi-yeong expresses regret for hurting Celine and says she spends every day making sure she’ll never see that look on her face again. I wonder how much Rumi wishes Zoey would do that? Would realize how much she’s hurt Rumi, and commit to never doing it again?
get loved gayboy : "We'll be there."
Bringing this back from Jinu: “Aunt Celine is a better woman than me! We were ‘on a break,’ please—” This comment, about being unwilling to forgive a sexual relationship with someone else that is not technically cheating but nonetheless feels like a betrayal of an active emotional bond, is juxtaposed with Rumi finding out that Zoey and Mira were maybe kissing in public and spending time together that Rumi didn’t know about.
get loved gayboy : I promise
On top of that, we’ve already seen how often, almost universally, Rumi claims that her being upset at Mira and Zoey’s closeness is actually about her mom and Suho. How much of that deflection is conscious? How much is Rumi subconsciously taking Celine’s place in her mind, with Zoey taking the role of the Mi-yeong who didn’t appreciate Celine enough or show her enough love, who slept with someone else who meant nothing to her?
Only now Zoey is sleeping with someone who does mean something to her. Whom she feels at least as strongly for, in just a few months, as she has ever felt about Rumi. Does Rumi even have a place with them anymore?
The Future
Where to we go from here? I can only give my speculation, but I think this throuple is deeply broken, and we are far from the end of this story. Rumi can’t even say out loud how she feels. The public is probably about to make a big deal about how Zoey and Mira chose to travel together instead of attending Rumi’s award show (which is “tomorrow” at the status of the FKAU at the time of this post). I expect Zoey and Mira to be upset by this, and at least Zoey to be upset Rumi didn’t tell her about it. But will either of them realize why yet? Will either of them see how little Rumi thinks she matters to them?
Regardless of how that plays out, I see one of two things happening short term. Either there’s a big fight and someone leaves (I’m guessing Zoey leaves Mira based upon prince’s use of the song “Maroon”’s lyrics as captions for recent posts), or they stay together and Rumi and Myung-soo make the trip to Europe. If the latter, I think things just are going to continue to get worse; look for more instances of Rumi isolating intentionally, or unintentionally being isolated or ignored by Mira and especially Zoey. I don’t think Zoey will text or call almost at all while she and Mira are away. I think, if they're together, Zoey will be all over Mira, and Mira and Zoey will sometimes check in with Rumi, and Rumi will say she's fine.
I do expect an explosion at some point, though. Eventually, Rumi is going to conclude that the background on her phone is the best version of this family unit, and will either break down or leave. Once that happens, and Zoey realizes that she’s about to lose Rumi, I would expect either Mira to step back, or Zoey to leave Mira to try to fix things with Rumi. Especially if it’s the latter, I think that will probably lead to Rumi having to reach out to bring Mira back. So far, everything about this relationship has been Zoey and Mira pursuing things and Rumi going along with it in spite of how much it hurts her. For this to work, Rumi has to want it too, and for Mira to be willing to come back, Rumi has to show she wants Mira too. But first, more angst, then hopefully healing.
for the bio siblings au: celine meeting mutt and immediately noticing how much she looks like rumi's dad?
Ohhhh that would be. Not good! Seeing as this is an au where Rumi was conceived during rape.
Might be a little like this:
The mutt kicks her feet under the table, eyeing the exits from the living room. She knows each and every way out, of course, whether that be to skitter into the shadows of the penthouse and wait there, where no one can see her, until she feels safer or to leave.
But right now she is scared, so she looks them over again.
She knows that Rumi and Mira and Zoey won’t be mad if she decides she isn’t ready to meet Celine, but they also want her to, and she doesn’t want to disappoint them.
“Hey,” Mira says softly, and even though the mutt knew she was there, it makes her jump. “You wanna keep your hands busy until Celine gets here?”
And the mutt nods, and gets up and follows Mira into the kitchen, and she and Mira peel oranges together, Mira showing her how she can make the peel come off in one long piece and the mutt trying to mimic her.
(Yesterday, Rumi and Mira and Zoey went “emergency shopping,” because apparently they didn’t have enough “real food” around for when Celine would visit, and then Mira and the mutt started lunch this morning, so they can only makes a snack.
But it is a good snack.)
Eventually, the elevator doors open, and the mutt hears Rumi’s voice. “—planning to maybe do some stunt work myself, but apparently the insurance guys wouldn’t let me.”
“They do tend to get nervous about that kind of thing,” says a voice the mutt doesn’t know, a little careful, affectionate at the same time.
Celine.
“Do you want to go get Zoey?” Mira asks.
The mutt nods, arranging the orange segments on the plate with nervous fingers.
Mira does not make her hurry, just waits, lets her worry as much as she needs, before the mutt steels herself and hurries out of the kitchen to go get Zoey from her room.
She wishes Mira had made her hurry, though.
Because when she does, Celine and Rumi are only a few feet away.
And Celine gasps, dropping her bag to the ground, reaching into the Honmoon as the blood drains from her face.
Rumi knocks the glowing things out of Celine's hands before they can fully take shape. “Stop it!” she snaps at Celine, who is Rumi’s guardian, who is a Hunter, who looks so angry, the angriest the mutt has ever seen.
Celine is turning to her, oh no, turning the full brunt of her fury on Rumi—
And the anger dissolves into something else, something horrible, like terror, like abject pain.
Zoey’s hands squeeze the mutt’s shoulders; she hadn’t noticed them touching her at all.
Mira huffs. She’s planted herself directly in front of the mutt. “Let's try that again, huh? Kid, this is Celine, who is usually cooler than this. Celine, say ‘hi, kid who can barely squeeze a lemon without feeling bad about it’.”
Celine abruptly schools her expression into perfect neutrality. She’s looking directly at the mutt from behind Mira’s shoulder. Something in her intent focus is almost reminiscent of Rumi. Truly, this is the gaze of a hunter.
Rumi’s stance has softened. She doesn’t touch Celine, but she leans into her space, almost as if she’d like to. “I told you, remember?” she says, voice low. “She’s like me.”
“Yes, I hadn’t expected…” Celine does not finish the sentence. Instead, she shakes her head slightly and inclines it to the mutt in an almost-bow. “Hello, it’s good to meet you.”
The mutt swallows, the urge to run fighting with the urge to placate the Hunter fighting with the urge to duck herself closer behind Mira and all resulting in her doing nothing but shaking like the miserable, useless creature she is.
Zoey’s hands squeeze her shoulders again, comfortingly, pulling her back to her body.
Celine bends down to pick up her bag, finally looking away.
“Do you want to go back into the kitchen?” Zoey asks quietly. “You can stay in there as long as you want.”
The mutt shakes her head. If she went, she would never come back.
“You’re sure? I can go with you if that helps,” she adds.
But the mutt—the mutt looks over at Rumi, and Celine, and their intense gazes. She’s like me. Her voice shakes, but she still manages to force herself to speak. “I want to be brave.”
“You’re doing great,” Zoey says, and she lets go of the mutt’s shoulders—the mutt resists the urge to lean after the loss—and slips around to walk beside her.
The silence on the way to the couch is deeply awkward. And when they sit down.
“I am sorry,” the mutt says, remembering.
Everyone looks at her.
“About your tupperware,” she clarifies for Celine. “I should not have stolen it.”
And despite how Rumi and Mira and Zoey had talked about how upset Celine would get over the good tupperware being gone—though only ever when they thought the mutt could not hear, which meant the consequences very much would impact the mutt—Celine does not get angry.
“It’s alright,” she says. She does not sound like she means much it, everything flat and hollow, but she says it. “The girls can get new ones.”
The mutt wishes that she would just be upset. It is easier than kindness, even real-kindness and not false-kindness, though she knows it would make Mira, Zoey, and Rumi sad if she said that. Even so, it can feel like waiting to be hit.
At least if Celine just hit her, she wouldn’t have to wait.
Unfortunately, Celine seems to have a preference for waiting.
Her voice had been so warm and alive, behind the door, when she was speaking to Rumi. And then she had seen the mutt, and became quiet and careful.
The mutt understands. When you’re dealing with an unknown threat, it is smart to wait and observe. But she is in no way a threat to Celine, and she knows how dangerous it is for her to be perceived that way. What she doesn’t know is how to fix it.
Mira catches her eye and wiggles her eyebrows. The mutt does her best to wiggle back.
“Orange slices, anyone?” Mira says in a perfect monotone.
“Yes, please!” Rumi and Zoey say almost in tandem, and then smile warmly at each other.
The mutt collects all these looks for morale and looks at Celine. “You—you have raised Rumi well,” she stumbles. “She’s—great.”
Rumi smothers a laugh with an orange slice. But Celine frowns.
“Thank you,” she says slowly. “She is.”
Rumi chokes the orange down and fans herself. “Oh, go on.”
Celine eyes her sidelong. “With an ego to match, I’m sure.”
“I do nothing by half measures,” Rumi agrees.
“Mm,” says Celine, and is silent again.
Mira turns to Celine. “How about you ask her a question?” she says bluntly.
Celine obligingly turns to look at the mutt, and the mutt does her very best to meet her eyes. She manages only a glance. There’s something unfocused in Celine’s gaze. “How are you finding your room?”
“Good,” the mutt forces herself to say. “It’s—it’s very good.”
“Hm,” says Celine.
The mutt wants to wipe her sweaty palms on her nice new linen pants, but she resists.
“She’s been into linear algebra lately,” Mira says pointedly. “She thinks eigen decomposition is elegant.”
“I see,” says Celine.
The mutt has something stuck in her throat, she’s pretty sure, although she hasn’t touched the orange slices.
Rumi slaps her thighs. “Okay! Celine, I have a sponsorship proposal I wanted to run by you. Could you join me in the office for a moment?”
It takes everything Rumi has in her not to immediately snap at Celine and ask her what the hell she’s thinking once the door is shut behind them.
She takes a deep breath through her nose, grabbing her temper tight. “I don’t know what your issue is, but you better work it out before we get back in there.”
Celine doesn’t say anything.
Rumi doesn’t know what she expected, but it wasn’t that.
She turns around.
Celine is still standing at the door.
Rumi presses a hand against her temple, tired. “Look, I—I know I’ve done a lot of things that weren’t necessarily what you’ve wanted, but—“
“What?”
“She’s just a kid,” she finishes, nonetheless. “Whatever it is, don’t take it out on her.”
Celine looks—stricken, for some reason, at this remark. “Rumi-ya, I—I didn’t mean—I’m sorry, I never meant—I promised—“
“To protect all that was left of my mother, I know.” Rumi’s only heard it a million times. “Is that all you care about?”
“No, I—“ Celine closes her eyes and leans back against the door. “Before that. Miyeong made me promise her that I would never hold the demon against you.”
And Rumi’s breath stops. Her anger falters.
The demon means her father, however rarely Celine has spoken of him. Rarely enough that Rumi’s never heard this before.
“And I know she isn’t guilty of…” Celine pushes the heels of her hands into her eyes. “She looks so much like him.“
“Guilty?” Rumi echoes, the lump in her throat a violent and living thing.
(She doesn’t remember when she first came to the quiet, sickening conclusion that her father had raped her mother. She does remember the moment—the exact moment, watching Jinu look at that little girl with her hand drawn card—when she’d let herself consider anything else.)
Celine opens her eyes. “I never once looked at you and saw anything other than someone your mother loved. I know she isn’t your father. I’ll get over it, I promise. I just need a minute.”
“I’m messing this up,” says the mutt, worrying at her cuticle with a thumb. “What should I do?”
“No, you’re not,” Mira grumbles, visibly annoyed. “Celine is.”
“You were cute as a button!” Zoey agrees, and takes her hand so that now the cuticle-worrying is a much greater logistical challenge.
“Are buttons very good at making a good first impression?”
Zoey giggles. “Well… Celine is notoriously hard to impress.”
“It’s not your fault,” Mira says firmly.
The mutt frowns. None of that sounds right. “You don’t need to lie,” she says.
Mira looks offended. “I don’t lie.”
“She’s a Hunter,” says the mutt. “I’m a demon.”
“Can I make it any more obvious?” says Zoey. “No, Mira’s right, though. Even if that was her problem, no way that’s your fault. She knows better by now.”
“I think she’s… scared of me,” says the mutt.
They both laugh.
The mutt slips her hand away and tucks it in her lap.
“Nooo, sweetie, I’m sorry,” Zoey scrambles. “It’s just, we know Celine. She doesn’t get scared like that.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s a block of granite brought to life,” says Mira.
The mutt stares at her lap. She trusts their judgement, so much more than her own. But she knows what fear looks like.
On the streets, in a situation like this, the best strategy was to run. But, maybe here there could be a better option. She had rarely had the opportunity to clarify her intentions. Well, except—except for the woman who had taken the containers. And now she’s gotten to apologize for that too.
For all the good that did. In order to explain herself, she needs to be able to explain stuff.
The mutt considers her plan. Her thumb starts to drift towards her cuticle again.
“We should do your nails sometime,” Mira says, passing her an orange segment, not casually at all.
Unfortunately, they took the peels off earlier, so all the fiddling that she could do with the orange would be messy. She takes it anyway.
“Ooh, yes!” Zoey agrees. She holds her hands out in front of her, examining her nails. “Since we’re on hiatus right now, glam won’t even yell at us for at-home mani-pedis; we could have a chill hangout here or we could make a whole thing of it.”
The mutt knows this is an attempt to distract her from thinking about Celine. She hides her smile behind the orange segment. Lucky that she came up with an idea already.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Mira adds. She gestures between herself and Zoey. “We might be beholden to makeup culture and shit, but you shouldn’t be.”
The mutt considers this, for a moment. Zoey had helped her clean and trim her nails once, on the same day she had taught her how to wash her hands properly (all while rambling about how being several centuries old did not mean that a demon couldn’t keep up with advances in hygiene).
It was nice, having someone hold her hands so gently.
“Maybe,” she says. She would need to know more about what ‘a whole thing of it’ means first.
Before she can explain that, she hears footsteps down the hall, and goes still. Now it is time for her to put her plan into action.
Rumi comes in first, and she looks at the mutt, and she is… devastated. It is such an expression that the mutt looks down at herself, half-expecting to see blood spreading across her warm new shirt.
But there is nothing. And now her timing is off.
It is only after Celine comes in to the room, and not before she enters, that the mutt manages to sink to the floor, kneeling properly.
“What the fuck,” Rumi breathes out, looking wild eyed. “Zoey?”
The mutt ignores them. She’s already been distracted enough. She needs to do this correctly.
She looks only at Celine. “You can hit me, if you want,” she tells her, quiet and clear. “Or cut me with your—those big knives. I’m not gonna bite you, or, or anything.”
“No, no no no no—” Rumi chokes out, and starts to step in front of the mutt, and the mutt wants to wave her away, wants to tell her that if Celine could only cut her a little and feel reassured it would be so worth it—
But—rather than summon her knives, or look reassured, Celine drops to her knees in the mutt’s mirror image, and lets out a long, broken keen that reverberates jarringly through the Honmoon so far off-tune it hurts. She puts her face in her hands. The Honmoon pounds through the mutt’s head to the rhythm of her sobs.
She’d braced for pain. But this is worse.
Rumi stutters between them in two aborted movements. Then she bends down to press a hard kiss to the top of the mutt’s head and whirls around to wrap herself around Celine.
Celine doesn’t hug her back; the tips of her fingers are white where they clutch at her head. She’s quieter now, but her body is still shaking with her sobs, and the Honmoon is still knocking through the mutt like a nauseating drum.
She thought she’d understood. Celine had clearly wanted to hurt her when she’d first seen her. Had been clearly afraid and unsettled after that. She’d thought—if she made the offer in good faith, to show she is harmless, that she means no harm—
But Celine is hurting. Celine is hurt, maybe, in a way the mutt doesn’t in fact understand.
“Kid,” Mira is saying. “Kid, no—no one gets to—no.”
And the mutt does not know when she came close, but she does know that she cannot move, not when Rumi is holding Celine and Celine is crying and the Honmoon is shaking and—
Rumi buries her face in Celine’s hair, her voice low and hurried. “I’m okay, we’re okay, nothing’s going to happen, it’s not you, we re okay, it’s not you, nothing’s going to happen, I swear.”
“Rumi?” Zoey says, her voice high and thin as she breaks the stream of Rumi’s words. “Rumi, what do you mean?”
Rumi doesn’t move, just keeps holding Celine, and they are both shaking now, the mutt thinks.
“I can’t,” Celine whispers. The Honmoon screams an echo.
The mutt winces as it hits her, rattling her ribs, and Celine judders towards her, her tear-streaked face such a ragged mess that the mutt almost wants to flinch back at the sight of it.
But she does not, and Celine grabs her face with ungentle hands and rapidly pats her way down the mutt’s shoulders in search of injury before collapsing again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—I tried to keep my promises, I did, I swear.”
The mutt sits, stiff and confused, as this woman of stone crumbles into her. She does not know what to do, and it is terrifying.
But Rumi follows, her voice breaking, the Honmoon stinging like tears on the mutt’s cheeks. “You did.”
Mira’s hands are on the mutt’s shoulders—still, again, she doesn’t know, but they are rigid and stiff and the mutt feels like she is disappearing between them, an unthing.
And Rumi looks at Mira and Mira looks at Rumi and Celine holds tight and the mutt says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—I only wanted, I wanted to say that I am not going to bite.”
But no one hears. Mira says, “Rumi, what did you do?”
My husband’s job primarily employs adult men but there is one (1) teenage girl and my husband said originally he worried she might be a bit of an outcast but instead every man on the crew was like “huh guess I am a dad/older brother now.”
She was in a car crash on the way to work one morning and called my husband to let him know she’d be late and he was like wtf guess I’m gonna be late too because I’m coming to pick you up and then he told his team and they were like I think you mean WE are coming.
Imagine you are a teenage girl probably rushing to get to work and you crash your probably new car and feel absolutely miserable and now you’ll be late to work but then suddenly in the distance a car full of all the adult men you work with just pulls up and is like “we came all the way here to pick you up” the mental image right now is fr.
Apparently she tried to call her dad but it was 3am and he was obviously sleeping so she called my husband and he not only came to find her but fished her glasses out of the hood of the car (she’d dropped them while looking inside), drove her to the hospital, and told her to take the day off. She insisted on coming back to work so he used his lunch break to watch TV with her to make sure she didn’t doze off (concussion risk).
You’ve heard of the Mom friend but my husband is very much the Dad friend. He said when he answered the phone she said “hey please don’t be mad” and he’s never felt such powerful Fatherhood energy in his life.
I know there's some number of nonbinary people who aren't comfortable identifying as trans in a good faith way (not as a crypto-twerf thing). earlier in my life, I felt like I wasn't "trans enough" to claim it, for example. I know some newly out nonbinary people irl who are sort of grappling with those feelings.
but, if this is you, please hear me: this feeling is internalized transphobia. it's understandable, but you need to work through it. you are trans.
there are not "levels" to being trans.
there are material circumstances that can impact how transphobia impacts you. the more things you choose to do with your life that are prohibited according to assignment, the more you will experience transphobia, because transphobia is assignment enforcement. so yes, trans people who encounter these structural modes of enforcement are experiencing transphobia that those who are not encountering these structures are not.
(for example, I have not changed my name or gender marker legally. this means I have not experienced the specific mechanism of assignment enforcement that exists to restrict legal sexgender re-categorization. I have changed my sexed traits medically (hormones and surgery) so I have experienced the specific mechanism of assignment enforcement that exists to restrict bodily autonomy over sexed characteristics. these are structures, right?)
but we are all trans. avoiding these structures to avoid dealing with the transphobia inherent to navigating them is also experiencing the impact of this enforcement. whether you decide to go up against any specific enforcement structures or not, you are still trans. you are still experiencing living in a world that enforces assignment and punishes people for disobedience to it. you are still being impacted by this restriction on your autonomy, whether you openly fight any particular aspect of this restriction or not.
at a time when people are constantly promoting the idea that
nonbinary people "don't transition,"
nonbinary can mean being "detrans" or cisgender,
nonbinary people are "neither trans or cis" or "less trans" than other trans people,
nonbinary people are always assigned female at birth and transfems can't be nonbinary
we need to all understand this is an effort to insist that:
nonbinary people are somehow inherently, categorically different from other trans people,
that we do not have shared material interests or life experiences navigating the same structures of assignment enforcement, and
that TME nonbinary people should not work together with transfeminized people--nonbinary or not--for shared liberation.
this is some divide-and-conquer shit. we cannot allow this idea to flourish. it is dangerous.
nonbinary people are trans. materially. categorically. we are trans and our liberation is trans liberation.
I understand and empathize with your concern, sincerely.
here is what I think: no trans person is an arbiter. every trans person can only speak to their own life experience and accumulated knowledge.
some trans people spend a lot of time and effort collecting information about many trans people’s experiences (through talking to a lot of people, doing surveys and studies, etc). some trans people spend a lot of time and effort applying and modifying theoretical frameworks about oppression to form coherent analysis around trends in experience. these people can speak to the knowledge and understandings that they have about transness broadly, and can cite their sources and explain their influences that led them to these conclusions.
any legitimacy someone holds when talking about transness is not an innate quality derived from their identity; it is an earned, living, relational trust.
you can speak on your own experiences and whatever knowledge and understanding you have gained from engagement with these things. same as any trans person.
you might not know a lot yet, so you might not have much knowledge to offer in these situations besides anecdotes from your own life right now. that’s fine and is the case for many trans people.
in my opinion, as long as you are humble and honest about the limits of your own knowledge about transness when you speak on it, then you are responsibly wielding that label and not detracting from anyone else's experiences.
also there are trans people who are irresponsible with this all the time & claim anecdotes from their own life is in-and-of-itself proof of some universal truth about what it means to be trans. they're still trans. trans people grift and let themselves be tokenized sometimes. transness does not imply knowledge, authority, or investment in trans liberation in and of itself.
trans people are just people. there is no test. saying you're trans is just an honest report that you are not living your life within relational/medical/legal bounds of the sexgender assigned to you.
I think it's wonderful that you feel responsibility to treat discussion about being trans with gravity. it is genuinely a very good thing to move with respect for how these discussions impact other people's lives.
you do not need to deny yourself language to maintain this respect. in fact, your ability to advocate for trans people more broadly may strengthen when you claim your stake in the struggle directly.
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I know there's some number of nonbinary people who aren't comfortable identifying as trans in a good faith way (not as a crypto-twerf thing). earlier in my life, I felt like I wasn't "trans enough" to claim it, for example. I know some newly out nonbinary people irl who are sort of grappling with those feelings.
but, if this is you, please hear me: this feeling is internalized transphobia. it's understandable, but you need to work through it. you are trans.
there are not "levels" to being trans.
there are material circumstances that can impact how transphobia impacts you. the more things you choose to do with your life that are prohibited according to assignment, the more you will experience transphobia, because transphobia is assignment enforcement. so yes, trans people who encounter these structural modes of enforcement are experiencing transphobia that those who are not encountering these structures are not.
(for example, I have not changed my name or gender marker legally. this means I have not experienced the specific mechanism of assignment enforcement that exists to restrict legal sexgender re-categorization. I have changed my sexed traits medically (hormones and surgery) so I have experienced the specific mechanism of assignment enforcement that exists to restrict bodily autonomy over sexed characteristics. these are structures, right?)
but we are all trans. avoiding these structures to avoid dealing with the transphobia inherent to navigating them is also experiencing the impact of this enforcement. whether you decide to go up against any specific enforcement structures or not, you are still trans. you are still experiencing living in a world that enforces assignment and punishes people for disobedience to it. you are still being impacted by this restriction on your autonomy, whether you openly fight any particular aspect of this restriction or not.
at a time when people are constantly promoting the idea that
nonbinary people "don't transition,"
nonbinary can mean being "detrans" or cisgender,
nonbinary people are "neither trans or cis" or "less trans" than other trans people,
nonbinary people are always assigned female at birth and transfems can't be nonbinary
we need to all understand this is an effort to insist that:
nonbinary people are somehow inherently, categorically different from other trans people,
that we do not have shared material interests or life experiences navigating the same structures of assignment enforcement, and
that TME nonbinary people should not work together with transfeminized people--nonbinary or not--for shared liberation.
this is some divide-and-conquer shit. we cannot allow this idea to flourish. it is dangerous.
nonbinary people are trans. materially. categorically. we are trans and our liberation is trans liberation.
I understand and empathize with your concern, sincerely.
here is what I think: no trans person is an arbiter. every trans person can only speak to their own life experience and accumulated knowledge.
some trans people spend a lot of time and effort collecting information about many trans people’s experiences (through talking to a lot of people, doing surveys and studies, etc). some trans people spend a lot of time and effort applying and modifying theoretical frameworks about oppression to form coherent analysis around trends in experience. these people can speak to the knowledge and understandings that they have about transness broadly, and can cite their sources and explain their influences that led them to these conclusions.
any legitimacy someone holds when talking about transness is not an innate quality derived from their identity; it is an earned, living, relational trust.
you can speak on your own experiences and whatever knowledge and understanding you have gained from engagement with these things. same as any trans person.
you might not know a lot yet, so you might not have much knowledge to offer in these situations besides anecdotes from your own life right now. that’s fine and is the case for many trans people.
in my opinion, as long as you are humble and honest about the limits of your own knowledge about transness when you speak on it, then you are responsibly wielding that label and not detracting from anyone else's experiences.
also there are trans people who are irresponsible with this all the time & claim anecdotes from their own life is in-and-of-itself proof of some universal truth about what it means to be trans. they're still trans. trans people grift and let themselves be tokenized sometimes. transness does not imply knowledge, authority, or investment in trans liberation in and of itself.
trans people are just people. there is no test. saying you're trans is just an honest report that you are not living your life within relational/medical/legal bounds of the sexgender assigned to you.
I think it's wonderful that you feel responsibility to treat discussion about being trans with gravity. it is genuinely a very good thing to move with respect for how these discussions impact other people's lives.
you do not need to deny yourself language to maintain this respect. in fact, your ability to advocate for trans people more broadly may strengthen when you claim your stake in the struggle directly.
This post is how I've learned that the sexual meaning of "spit roast" has now become more well known than the literal meaning of roasting something on a spit, and the slangy way of using it to describe an ass kicking or a humiliating defeat is completely forgotten
The KIDS act (which contains KOSA) passed the US house, so I would recommend calling your senators and telling them to vote in opposition. I don't think I need to stress the importance of being able to use the internet freely and without privacy barriers being breached.
There are many scripts online you can follow, many ways to tweak your message to fit your senator (ESPECIALLY if they are up for reelection this year). Whether it's a recording you reach or a real person, be straightforward, don't argue, just let your rep know that you are a constituent and you oppose the KIDS act, etc.
Here is where you can search for your senator... call, email, fax, bring them physical letters, show up in person to their offices if you are able.
Thinking of Celine who grows older by the years, grey hairs are more prominent and gets slower. Rumi who had known Celine to be strong and quick. Not to mention being the solo hunter after Miyeong and thirdlight are gone, the most feared hunter to the demons.
Celine's body who had to take so many injuries to fight demons. Making sure the company is strong for Rumi and her girls to be comfortable being an idol. Pushing herself to the limit ever since Rumi was a wailing baby.
Post movie and it took her entire strength to be brave and call Rumi. Her calls and voicemails get ignored, but doesnt mean she'll give up. However, time passes quickly (months to nearly a year) and in a blink of an eye, Celine has started to use a cane bcs her personal assistant was insistent when she saw how Celine looks close to falling during a meeting. Still to this day, her calls get ignored. She wants to make amends for failing her daughter ward before it's too late.
Mira was the one who reached out first. Though it took time to think things through, Mira knows where Celine is coming from. When Mira visits Celine in the company office, she sees how.. old... Celine is. Celine was surprised seeing her but she's not going to complain. They talked awkwardly at first before they both become comfortable. When Celine gets up, Mira is shocked to see her using a cane. When prompted, Celine sighs tiredly and mentioning she's getting old. Her body isnt what it used to be. Quietly, she mentions she doesnt know how long she has left.
Mira promises Celine she'll try to get Rumi to talk to her. She'll drag Zoey in it too. Bcs both Celine and Rumi shouldnt leave anything unresolved. Mira knows Rumi will blame herself for ignoring Celine's attempt.
Mmmmm tasty,, Rumi who is so stubborn, refusing to listen to Mira who is telling a cold, hard truth. Slipping on the mask she wore back when she was still hiding her patterns. Mira has a lot of work to do and this time, she's not going to let Rumi off so easily this time. At least she got Zoey.
The next day, Celine had just finished her meeting. She is massaging her knee when she hears a knock on the door. Zoey comes in with barely contained tears. Celine looks at her worriedly, "Zoey?"
The moment Zoey sees Celine who looks older than she should and a cane learning against the side of the table, she burst into tears. Celine hurriedly gets up, ignoring her aching knee and comforts Zoey. Which makes her even more inconsolable.
"What's wrong?" Celine asked as she comforts Zoey how she used to when she was recruited pre-Huntrix, especially after she couldn't visit her dad for the holiday because of a snowstorm. It took Zoey a moment to finally gather herself and told Celine of last night event. How Mira told Rumi she's using a cane and what it entails. Celine was quiet because of course. Mira had bluntly told her she's going to get Rumi to talk to her with a firm promise.
Before Celine gets to reply, Mira walks in. Not looking surprised at all seeing Zoey in the office. They talked for a moment before Celine had to get up and finish her work. It was jarring for Mira and Zoey to see her struggling to stand up and moving slow. Celine waves them off when they offered to help her, saying she can still manage it. She's not that weak.
As Celine is working on her computer, Mira and Zoey talk to each other. Planning how to get Rumi to talk to Celine. Zoey in her way has 365 plans that they can do, or maybe 367 plans if all else fail. Mira rolls her eyes affectionately. As much as Celine wanted to know Rumi's reaction of Mira telling Rumi about her condition, she's terrified. So, she pushes that thought aside and lets the duo conversation fill the office.
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I can't believe this is how I'm finding out that I got a scam forklift cert.
I took the cargo ops class at school but my teacher explained that it doesn't give a certification and I'd only be okay for ship's crane and the school forklifts. she said I could take an online exam and get my cert. I paid 60 bucks.
I'm googling and I'm seeing a lot of resources saying that the online programs cover the classroom part of the exam but not the in person practical aspect.
the back of the card even had fancy numbers on it. I couldn't have known that this isn't the one. this website sounded more official than certifyme.net, and there wasn't one with a .gov address.
so, I emailed OSHA, and they said that so long as I live and work in California, there's no such thing as forklift certification. I have to be told how to do it every time I get the job.
Update: I took a certification class in shipboard Material Handling Equipment at my federal job. *now* I'm forklift certified, but only on ships and piers and only for this company, but also rated to forklift explosives and hazardous materials. Also I'm a woman now.