You already declared that, yes. No need to repeat your bigoted statements based on made up nonsense, everyone's heard it a hundred times.

I think I maybe was behind this guy last week

I guess at least you're clear it's 100% culture war bullshit. 

Gay and trans people aren't weirdos, they're just easy targets with no increased risk of being sexual predators, by the way. That was a lie in the 1970s, and it's a lie now.

I was very dismayed to realize we're running a bunch of the same social trends as the 1920s, including rhyming historical events.

There are people who are very sincere about it, and in some cases their reasons make sense. 

But also, it always depends on feeling good for not voting for a candidate you didn't love while a guy who will try to be dictator for life is the other option to win.

Oooh, good one. The fuckin' Cauldron born are so upsetting

Red Rising is a good call for easing into space opera

There are a lot of supernatural elements in the games, and some of them are possibly  radiation related, possibly including the verifiable radiation immunity and forebearance from ghouls the Children of Atom seem to have. It doesn't prove anything, but it lines up with their beliefs weirdly without being quite confirmed that they're right. 

There are also psychics, the Dunwich Company stuff, the Cabots and their associated lore and weird shit, and even ghosts, if you're inclined to think the Children are the result of something more mundane.

Are you in the US? If so, your state or territory has a disability rights protection and advocacy group, and you may want to reach out. 

Regardless, start retaining documentation that's not in violation of your terms of employment as far as confidential information.

Nope. Nope nope nope. 

It sounds like your parents are not planning on addressing this (they should), so this is a situation where you may want to consider going to another trusted adult. 

Keep setting the boundaries. You're not wrong to do that. Hold firm, and it's okay to be loud about it. If things escalate at all, you should absolutely go to one of your other trusted adults, and quickly.

So, it would be okay to talk to an adult you trust about things. Your mom sounds like a great option, there, by the way, and good on you for taking this to her. My SO was very close with kids of some friends of hers who would occasionally ask her for advice as a trusted adult. That can be a thing.

But. 

SERIOUSLY, no adult should be saying things like "You're so mature for your age" and explaining to you how it's okay for them to be into you romantically. You were absolutely correct that that's a massive red flag and a likely effort to get you into something you should not be involved in and exploit you. 

Don't feel dumb for being a normal, trusting kid. It sucks you had to deal with this. Keep the lines of communication open with your mom.

If you're interested in a training weapon as well, a .22 is an excellent practice weapon. It's not a great defensive choice, but it goes bang and slings bits of metal, so it's not nothing.  So, the specifically legal options for you? I don't know. There are three main long gun types - rifles, shotguns, and pistol caliber carbines.  

Personally, I think the pistol caliber carbines bring too many of the weaknesses of handguns and long guns, but that's just one opinion. The rounds aren't as effective as rifle or shotgun rounds, but will go through walls with more energy than .223 or shotgun pellets. They are usually low recoil, quieter, and inexpensive to shoot.  

Rifles for "home defense" where you're not shooting longer distances should probably be lower power rounds. .223/5.56 isv uniquely good for this, because while they hit plenty hard, they also stop quickly due to the weirdness of a very light, unstable bullet going super fast. ARs are the most famous ones, but there are other choices.

Shotguns are usually cheap. The ammunition is bulky, they have high recoil, they're loud, they have more limited range and are less precise (you're throwing a handful of bullets out of a cup), and they don't hold many shots. They have the advantage that they're not as bad to go through walls and they stop quickly for the same reason as .233 - they don't have much mass individually. They do have the advantage that they hit real, real hard (in their range and assuming you're not trying to shoot through something). They're not like on video games where they throw a wall of damage out to 20 feet and then they're useless - most chokes stay fairly tight for at least 10 or 15 yards, and the "limited range" is more like "the pellets don't land reliably where you want them" at longer distances.

The downside is there's no "perfect" choice. The upside is there's not an objectively wrong choice!

It varies widely by culture and specific religion, actually.

"They" is an appropriate pronoun for a group of people in the same place, shouting slogans, and engaging in a coordinated attack.  Why would that not be appropriate here? Why would we think these people just accidentally broke into a secured building after the prior events of the day? Were they accidentally in Proud Boys Baby Bjorns and fell out?

Again, this would possibly seem plausible if there wasn't a very clear lead up and video of people yelling their goals loudly.

I'm not deflecting, it's just the kind of question a moron would ask

Edit: a person so right he missed the thesis of every major science fiction franchise of the last 60 years has decided I don't need to see his response. 

Wait. 

Stop. 

Don't go. /s

Gun saber, followed by the cross guard. The two piece one from The Acolyte is also pretty badass.

Most of the rest strike me as dangerous and gimmicky, or (like the pike) don't seem to have a clear advantage over a conventional design.

They yelled the goals on camera. If you've missed this, I'm not clear how to help with that beyondc referring you to the video. 

Yelling about stopping the steal and then visibly obeying a call to action clarifies that there was little confusion about the goal - those people had, by and large, just left a rally where that was discussed at length. Interviews on the way there, their own social media posting, and their chanting also clarify it.

I'm glad you are clear that they did resort to force to accomplish their goals, though. So we've confirmed the riot, and just need you to go find out what they yelled, wrote, and posted before, during, and after the rally and subsequent attack.

I think the important distinction is that 'nice' and 'good' and 'kind' aren't synonyms. 

Talk to people because you want to know what they have to say, and talk about what you're both passionate about

Breaking into the Capitol as part of that group, in support of the stated goals of that group, was an act of insurrection. The failure to accomplish the stated goals and lack of real planning beyond that intent doesn't get us past that action. 

The initial rally was not a crime. The violence that followed after people left that really was.

I mean, this is also correct. You'd have to be stupid to think "all they want" is the power itself, but not to immediately exercise it to settle their perceived problems and grudges.

That's totally what it is. It's everyone else except you who doesn't understandv these properties, from Roddenberry and Lucas on down. Truly, it's great that we have you to explain how the originators of these properties are wrong about what they meant.

"All you have to do is give us what we want and we won't hurt you" is certainly a thing to say.

Nah, Bobby is still a good dude. He's still cooking, but even Cotton can't beat that out of him.

Honestly, I think the plotline around the secret master suggests this is not the case. They laid groundwork for it which works looking back (especially with deeper knowledge of the world) but isn't slapping you in the face obvious. 

Similarly, the ambiguity to this point in what happened to the twins' family is pretty darn well done. I have pretty strong suspicions, but the details are intriguing. 

I don't think it's the strongest Star Wars show, but the notion that it's Beavis and Butthead Do Star Wars I keep seeing in fan spaces is silly

He's a middle schooler. They're all sweaty and weird, because you're supposed to be sweaty and weird at that age