#Australian Terrorist

[janesurlife]

That check out...No dna test needed, he's Fernando's son

[alacants]

australian open 2006. santoro/zimonjic d. djokovic/murray 7-6, 6-3.

[simeonscott]

Jungle Patrol.

[inbabylontheywept]

maybe a book idea in here or something i dunno

When South Africa requested that its nuclear weapons be disarmed, the response from the rest of the world was disbelief. The technology for isotopic separation was closely monitored, and South Africa had been very carefully blocked from obtaining it. No vendor would sell them centrifuges, nor anything necessary for gaseous diffusion, nor anything for the other half dozen novel ways of separating isotopes. 

But that didn't matter, because South Africa had simply invented an entirely new way of making a bomb.

It was a little more expensive than the centrifuge method, but actually cheaper than standard diffusion techniques. They'd run a stream of uraneous gas over an airfoil and apparently, there was a low pressure region that excelled in trapping the lighter isotopes. Pulled the U235 right out. No one else had considered the technology for it, and frankly, even attempting to ban it would have been difficult. Making a wing just isn't that hard. It seemed almost like a philosophical question right up until inspectors were shown the bombs. Then it was real. Then the world really believed. 

The weapons were handed off to be voluntarily disarmed, and the rest of the world asked South Africa to please, pretty please, keep their technique secret. 

And thankfully, they have. 

---

I don't understand the mechanics of LIS, but I think that's the point. Their research was classified once it became clear that their technique was at least an order of magnitude cheaper than standard isotope separation techniques. All I know is that it involves Australians and lasers. 

Their work wasn't a huge breakthrough because fuel price has never been what held nuclear energy back - but it was interesting for other reasons. They remain, in theory, the cheapest method of isotope refinement.

---

There are more novel isotope separation techniques than just these two. But they work for my point. 

I think it's just going to get cheaper and easier to build nukes. Worse, the invasion of Ukraine has made two points absolutely crystal clear. 

First: If you have nuclear weapons, never, ever give them up. 

Second: If you don't have nuclear weapons, get them. You won't be safe until you do.

I actually see this as the start of a new wave of colonialism. We already determine if a country is first, second, or third world by who their nuclear allies are. Eventually, statehood itself will be determined by the presence of a nuclear arsenal. Anyone who has some gets a seat at the negotiation table. Anyone who doesn't is up for grabs.

Yoink.  

But even this is just one point in the journey towards nuclear proliferation. 

The worst is yet to come. 

---

Imagine that you live in a newly conquered satellite of the Neo-Russian Empire. No outside country is coming to save you. Their cities are just targets for nuclear bombs. They have far too much to lose by playing stupid games - so they don't. The peace between states is terrifying, but strong. 

But the peace between conquered peoples and their conquerors is not. 

How easy does it have to be, for one group to get a nuclear bomb? Would it be money? Would it be connections? Would it be their own internal skill sets? At what point do the fragments of some conquered nation cobble together a nuclear weapon? 

A nuclear bomb detonates in St. Petersberg. A resistance group/terror cell immediately takes credit. What does Russia do? How does it retaliate? It only takes one bomb to destroy a city. Millions of lives. Trillions of dollars. All gone. One bomb. And no enemy city to fire back on. 

Nuclear weapons do not favor states. States can be retaliated against at scale. Nuclear weapons favor anarchists and terrorists and revolutionaries - small groups that can hide safely inside their foes. And once that rubicon is crossed, something new happens: Society's fundamental benefit is suddenly gone. There is no more strength in numbers. For the first time in human history, it is more dangerous to be near people than it is to be alone. 

And what is an empire, if not millions of people, huddled close? 

---

I don't know what will happen after that. 

Maybe the world burns and everyone dies. Maybe states just fall apart, and people retreat to small communities, to live in anxious peace. Maybe it all turns into a feudal hell, where warlords wander in groups too large for passerby to defeat easily, but too small to be worth nuking.

Can you imagine that kind of perpetual fear? Keeping your group large enough to defend itself, but small enough to not be a target? That feeling of always being watched? Fermi imagined the Dark Forest as a solution to why we don't find aliens - maybe they're too busy hiding from us. But what if it happens sooner than that? What if the reason we don't find aliens is because they're hiding from themselves? What if every species winds up like this - sitting in the ashes of their once great cities, remembering how much easier it is to destroy than it is to build? What if that's just what Life always winds up doing?

I don't know. But I think about it a lot. 

[ashascoven]

❃☆ showering w/ the pyromaniac rat man ☆❃ pt. 1

☆ so hi!! um!! welcome to my first fanfic lolz (im nervous about posting this can you tell ?!?! o(*°▽°*)o)

☆ im rlly new to posting on tumblr, but ive been reading fanfics on here for a WHILE!! it's inspired me to write a silly one about my favorite lanky robber <3 if theres any mistakes, PLEASE hit my line abt it (i beg)

☆ here is part 2, which is smut/nsfw, also on my profile!

☆ FANFIC DEETS! junkratxreader ☆

reader is a female who's known for working with plants

VERY lengthy build-up fanfic (LOTS of reading, buckle up yall)

fluff??

emotional stuff, but nothing intense (??)

first time writing an australian accent, pls lmk if anythings weird!!

hope u enjoy :,D

“Hggshmmshh.. peeaachh c-c.. cobbler.. mmh.. eeheeheeheh!! Piee..”

“Dammit! Move over, rat-ass!” 

You felt as if you had finally managed to doze off only a couple minutes ago. 

One second you're about to drift away into a somewhat decent sleep, counting flying sheep and letting your drool start to fall.

The next, you're getting whacked in the head with a metallic hand or shoved by a wooden peg in one of your sides.

Having to share a bed with a loudly snoring pyro-freak who reeked of gunpowder and body odor was not a promising night of rest, especially in a room of pure humidity and sweat. 

The mattress beneath you two was unbalanced and squeaky, the walls surrounding it adorning overgrowing vines and tears in its paper.

His twisting, turning, n’ noises didn't make it any better, but it was kind of reassuring in the sense that you weren't sleeping alone.

When was the last time he even showered anyway? 

Does this man know how to?

How does he sleep like this?

The more you questioned the Australian in your head, the more his body managed to keep sprawling across the queen sized mattress you two shared. 

Both his normal and prosthetic limbs jabbed at your back, his armed belt straps and gauntlets not contributing to your comfort whatsoever. 

“Fucking- MOVE!”

You gripped at the bed and gave him one kick in the ass with your bare foot. 

The maniac yelped himself into a giggling fit, somehow still remaining asleep. 

God, what's his secret to being such a happy sleeper?

With one last scoff, you nearly pushed him off of the bed, but you didn't think twice about it.

Rolling your eyes, you returned to your previous position with your back facing him, crossing your arms and trying to let your eyes close again.

You thought about the mission you two were given together, recalling it hundreds of times in your head to hopefully quench at your inability to have a comfortable sleep.

Back at one of those Overwatch HQ meetings, they discussed wanting to try something new while still maintaining everyone's duties. 

Experimenting with how different heroes and scientists worked one-on-one with one another for “observational purposes,” they said.

Gibberish about increasing the rate of productivity within our cause by cutting down our dispatched team sizes.. 

“More groups of heroes can get sent out on more missions if distributed differently..!”

Blah-blah-blah..

You ignored all of the blabbering at the time, your ears only ever being open for what sounded most important and intriguing.

“It'll be an educational experience for great future references-” 

You reaaaallyy didn't think you'd be in one of the duo dispatches, yet here you were, somehow still in the flesh.

All that was asked of you both was to keep a watch out for anything suspicious at some abandoned town in the middle of who-even-fucking-knows.

Wooden huts n’ houses that were falling apart, yet they somehow still formed and held a small community of humble elders.

Supposedly, this place was a possible target of some well-feared terrorist group, and “Grandpa Jack” wanted you two to scout.

Discussion about exposed plans for making sure as many innocent people as possible experienced war “too” made your blood boil. 

It didn't make sense to you, the whole “no pain, no gain” mindset.

Clearly these people chose to live all the way out here to get AWAY from the danger, why force that on some old people anyway?

With their lack of clean drinking water and functioning power in an empty desert, you were sure they've already seen enough.

“Haven't we lost thousands of innocent civilians already? Omnic or not, they can't just keep coming up with all of this frivolous shit and throw it at us..!”

You grumbled to yourself outloud, unconsciously turning to face the ultimate rat that was laying behind you.

“Why would they send us here if they KNEW there were people out here who needed help? Wasting precious time by sending two of us out here instead of a whole team is beyond me, honestly! We'll just keep getting killed and..” 

Your eyes ended up catching onto your distorted reflection on the goggles that Jamison wore to bed.

It made you trail off and unball your fists, causing you to think about the old people again.

You thought about how much you were gonna get onto HQ's ass to seek a better home for them all.

They were sweet to you and Jamie, and you were pretty sure he would try to take one or two to keep as parents of his own.

Considering he didn't have any living ones anymore, it would check out.

Your eyes wandered off onto the flickering of the dying light bulb hanging bare off the ceiling.

The bulb hung right behind mister sleeping beauty, holding on by torn wires.

You were surprised your sleeping partner hadn't managed to somehow pull it down in his sleep yet. The thought made you smile for a bit, letting your face rest.

Then, your hand reached up to Jamison's face. 

You didn't think much about it since your mind was more on other things still, but you unconsciously held his cheek.

You watched as he smiled in his sleep, gently putting his own hands on yours and nuzzling into your touch. 

The feeling of his rough palm against your skin along with the metal of his other one sent a chill through your body, but you didn't pull away.

Just looking at him resting like a baby put your mind at ease for a bit.. It helped calm your grumpiness from not being able to sleep these past few nights.

It’s been the longest mission yet, and also the first one that you’ve slept together with a person you were sent with.

You ran your thumb over his lightly chapped bottom lip, your mind finally winding itself down.

You two had somewhat of a record of being assigned missions together, but you were never as close to each other as this. 

Something about the way your silly acquaintance slept carelessly in front of you was strangely inviting.

You swallowed your emotions and repressed your urges to suddenly hug the rat man, drawing your thumb lower to his chin. 

You ran it over his speckled face hair, still letting him hug your arm. 

“Mmmmh.. G-gosh, so.. so waaarmm..! waarmm like a maarshmaallooww.. eheeh..!!”

He chuckled in his sleep as his hugging turned into more aggressive snuggling.

It made you wonder if he'd remember anything once he woke up.

Outside of those thoughts, you were heavily caught off guard.

You didn't know if you wanted to comfortingly rub at his hair, continue holding his face, or try to hug him entirely.

Internally? You wanted to do all of those things, but it didn't feel right yet.

Despite all the deep talks you've had with Jamie on the drives and flights to missions together, you guys were still just friends at work, right?

Would it be weird to treat a friend as such? 

Did he think you two were even friends?

You always had a tendency to overthink the simplest of things.

Questions would fog your mind the split second a minor inconvenience popped up, you struggled to help that “problem” all your life.

Yet, your time spent with him so far made it feel like your questioning wasn't a problem at all. 

You always wanted to know the specifics and the “why” or “how” in anything that interested you.

Jamison was similar. He fed into your talks about figuring out what's after death, your master-list of alternatives to milk JUST for enjoying it with cereal. your wonders about what being an omnic felt like, and even your rambles about plants having feelings.

He was so invested into the plant talk that he now avoids stepping on anything green to show you that he cared about nature's heart too.

He admired your outlook on everything, the way you approach things by being your real self.

He also liked that you didn't look down on him for having an explosive personality. 

Everyone else at HQ had something against the lanky robber, but you didn't hate him at all. You two matched each other in the way that you were both transparent and almost always had a fixation or a story to share.

His eyes practically turned into sparkles whenever you two got into your deep conspiracy talks because no one else bothered to entertain his yappering about bombs, especially with mutual ranting about something else.

It was nice, soo..

You guys had to at least be friends, right?

“Mate! Earth’s waitin’ for your grand return! Ya aren’t dead yet.. Are ya, plant woman?”

Friends.. Yeah. You thought you two were cool buddies for all it’s worth.

“Aye! I knooow, me charmin’ physique’s too much to take in aaall at ooonce but-!”

It’s crazy how you were thinking about his eyes sparkling because.. Huh, how come they’re doing it right now?

“I can’t have ya dyin’ on me yet.. Ain’t no doctors around to come and shock ya awake!”

Gosh, who knew the local bombardier had such a twinkle to his eyes anyway?

“Is yer brain workin’? Want me to.. rewire it for ya?”

Twinkle.. twinkle.. twinkle..~

“Well, she’ll be apples! Ya goootta snap outta it mate! What is it ya want this time? An autograph? Some lollies? Aye! Aye..!”

You were so zoned out into the thought of his eyes, you didn’t even register that you were now actually looking at them; he had woken up.

Your hand was still on his face too, but he wasn’t hugging it anymore. 

His robotic right hand was knocking the top of your head lightly while his skinned left one was holding your cheek. 

His facial expression was one of concern despite his messy blonde hair and some drool glistening off the side of his mouth.

With the way he clearly scooted closer to you, you two were actually really close to each other this time.

“Woaahh.. Ooh.. Oh..? OH!!” You froze up again, covering your mouth and (almost literally) getting knocked out of your trance.

“Whew!” Jamison sighed in relief.

“There's me’ plant woman! Turns out me charm was too much for ya to handle afteraaalll!” He chuckled, quickly shifting into a lounging model pose and striking you a sly grin.

“O-Oh.. Oh my gosh! H-How long was I like that?” You panicked a little, wiping sweat from your forehead and quickly rubbing it into the tail of your shirt.

“Since me eyes opened up! Let's say.. ‘bout half a’ hour?”

“H-half an hour?!?”

“Yeah! Are ya alright? Did ya think me eyes were THAT gorgeous?” He chuckled, rubbing his chin. 

“Pshh..” You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms once again.

“It’s alright if ya think so! I think so too! But, ya aren’t allowed to tell me fans that! Ehehe~!” He grinned, suddenly wrapping his arms around you and jokingly snuggling his head against the top of yours.

“E-eugh!! Fans my ass! Wait until they find out that you probably don't even wash yours, you stinky!” You exclaimed, trying to push your way out of his arms but to no avail.

“S-stinky?!?! Hey-! There's a’ supa’ top secret special essence in me junker way o’ livin..! T-the cleanest ya'd ever know!! How 'bout ya take a smell~!??” He challenged, immediately shoving his arm pits in your face and keeping you in his grasp.

“GOD! Quit it!! You smell terrible-! Ugh!!! Let me go right now!”

“Nuh-uh! Hatin’ on me wondrous magnificence ain't nice!”

“Your breath's gonna kill me, you bastard! Agh!! You literally need a bath!!!” You were muffling into his arms, trying to push him away even harder. 

You managed to push yourself upwards, but you still were trapped in his grasp as he giggled n’ snuggled away. 

As much as you hated to admit it, his silliness was really comforting, charming in it's own way even.

Yeah.. he didn't smell the best, but!!.. He was kind of fun to be around. It was hardly ever boring around the rat man.

“Fine, whatever,” You sighed, no longer fighting to leave his sweaty arms.

“Your eyes are.. nice to look at. Anyway, I'm tired and somehow comfortable in this position so if you move weirdly, I'm pushing you off the bed.”

He loudly gasped, his eyes widening and sparkling so much so that you could've sworn staring directly into them would've blinded you.

“Y-ya really m-mean it?!!?!! A-about.. me eyes?!? OoooOOoohh~! I.. H-How I could jus’ kis-”

You cut him off by wrapping your arms around his head. His face was buried into your chest while his arms were still around you.

You felt him freeze, his immediate blush against your chest practically able to burn through you. He didn't scream or pull away, just sat there for a bit, shocked at someone hugging him back for once.

You sighed out again in content, now leaning your face on top of his head. His hair felt surprisingly soft against your cheek, but he still smelled bad.

“God, you smell so terrible.. but.. you're kinda.. comfy and..- Okay you're actually very comfy what the hell.” 

You gushed, your leaning turning into you practically snuggling against his hair.

The rat man stayed frozen in his position, shock taking over his body. For once, it wasn't one of those triggering shocks that turned his trauma into adrenaline; it was a.. refreshing kind of shock? The kind that was making him realize how starved from affection he really was for so long.

He felt like a deer mesmerized by headlights.

“If only you didn't move so much in your sleep, tsk tsk.. I can totally get over the strong burnt tire smell for how snuggly your hair is thoug-”

“Ihh shay..”

He suddenly muffled through your chest, but quieter than his normal tone.

“Eh?”

One of his fingers twitched.

“..Ihh shay shihh!”

“Fucking- Get out of there and spit it out!”

You pouted, pulling his face out of your chest’s cave to look him in the eyes and hear him properly.

“I-I’ll stay.. still! m-mighty still.. i-if ya keep on.. rubbin’ that pretty face on ma’ skull.. p-please? please mate!!”

‘Absolutely the fuck not!’ is what you almost instinctively said, but something about this weird man’s vulnerability around you gave you a feeling his request wasn’t ill intended. 

He nudged you into a softer tone towards him for the night, so you silently raised a brow. He kept pleading, his sparkling eyes bouncing between you and the rest of the room.

“I-I ain't had anyone.. touch me ‘air, l-let alone me whole body i-in years! Feels comfortin’- so- i- uh- p-please mate! i won't be buggin’ ya’ rest any longer i-if ya felt kind ‘nough to.. perhaps grant me thee honor-!?”

“I’m doing it, so hush up.”

“Y-yes m’lady”

He quickly blurted out, before burying his face back in-between your chest with a relieved giggle.

“Hah, for someone who goes by being a rat, you're sure acting like a puppy right now.”

“Y-ya really think so!?”

“Yeah sure, but- hmph, the ‘junk’ part still applies. I'm so close to dragging you into a bath myself..”

“>:(“

“Wait.. This kinda gives me an idea..” 

A mischievous grin growing on your face as you mumbled to yourself.

“Whaddya say?”

He grumbled, oblivious to your scheming. You slowly tried pulling away from him, but to no avail.. He unconsciously scooted closer into your arms with each pull.

“..nothing, ratty-poo.” 

You pushed him away quickly with your hands now gripping his shoulders.

“A-ay mate! W-whaddya push me away foorrr? I was enjoyin’ me time in there.. :(“

He yelped in response, his arms now crossing with a pout.

“No more snuggling until you take a bath!”

“W-whuh!?”

“I'm not cuddling your hair until you wash it.”

“..noooo :((“

“No shower, no snuggle!!”

“:(((... Fine..”

“W-wait- You're giving in that easil-?”

“JUNK ATTACK!!!!”

He yelled, diving back into your chest with his arms around your waist once again. You scoffed, not cuddling or holding him back.

“Rat-ass.”

“Y-yes m-m’lady..??”

“I'm giving you five seconds to get off of me, or I'll kick you off.-”

“N-no!! P-please mate!-”

“I'll go and grab a bucket of ice cold water to throw at you so help me you don't mov-”

You've never seen a tall grown man back up to the edge of a bed so quickly.

“GO.”

You yelled, pointing violently at the bathroom door.

“NEIN!”

“I SAID GO!”

“NO!”

“You want more cuddles from me, right, ratty-poo..?~”

Your tone softened as you twirled your hair and pleaded your eyes at him.

“I- u-uh- y-yes m-m'lady but-”

“THEN GO BATHE!”

He whined another ‘no’ in response, crossing his legs and arms while looking away.

You sighed, before crawling across the bed and hooking your arm around his.

“Lord.. What am I gonna do with you..”

“W-well I- AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

“GET YOUR ASS IN THAT SHOWER JAMIE!!���

You yelled again as you held him in a headlock position.

As he whined, you held him there for a bit, thinking.

“Hmm..”

“You l-let go of me t-this instant mate! T-the junkers back in me home town w-wont be pleased with how you're behavin’ towards me greatnes-”

“What if we took a bath together?”

“-and once they find out what you've- huh-!?!”

“You and me, we bathe together. I'll literally help you clean up if it means you won't stink in bed.”

You said casually as you quickly faced him towards you and dropped him onto the bed. He landed on his back with his arms above his head while you sat on top of him.

Questionable position if you may, but you dare not complain about the view.

He was too in shock to notice it either.

He stared at you wide eyed. 

He opened his mouth and put a finger up to say something multiple times, only to close it with more thought and look away, his finger curling up and down with each pause.

He thought about the offer for the long time.

Then, he rubbed his chin. You watched carefully, not letting your guard fall in case he felt like randomly wrapping himself around you again.

“Hmph.. if t-that’s what it'll take.. then I suppose a.. mighty handsome fella like me.. wouldn't mind bathin’ with a.. pretty.. f-flower woman like you!”

“Uh huh..-”

“B-but under one of me’ own conditions!”

“.. you're what now-”

“Bath cuddles?”

He clapped his hands together in a praying motion, pleading with those damn sparkly eyes again. It's like he just does it in command at this point..

“God, what are we, a couple?”

You yawned with closed eyes. 

“I-I.. W-well! Your one an’ only gentleman of’uh bombardier wouldn't complain!”

He nervously smiled and blushed, his gold tooth shining comically as he said that.

It earned a giggle out of you, followed with covered mouth mumbling.

‘You’re so silly, it's kind of attractive..’

“Whaddya say, me’ pretty plant-y mistress?”

“I said, you're so silly, it's kind of.. u-uh- cool-? I guess??!? I don't- Mistress!?- I- W-whatever- C’mon, let's go! Into the baaathh we goo..! C’mon c’moonn..”

You spurted out, getting up and dragging him by the arm into the bathroom. 

You didn't really think through the fact that.. this man would be so close to you while you two were undressed.

Oddly enough, he didn't give the vibe of someone who'd try anything, but it was still weird. 

One second you're forced to share a bed with this guy.. And the next? You've convinced him to take a shower with you??? Weird..-o!!

When you two made it, you both kind of just stared at the bathroom and each other for a minute. 

It was a decently sized room, but the entirety of it was a shower.. literal shower room?.. whatever.

There wasn't a sink or toilet like the bathrooms you were used to. 

Instead, there was just one large shower head in the center of the room, a drain in a corner, and tiles that patterned the floor and walls in a creamy gradient. The two handles for the shower were next to the doorway, labeled for their temperatures.

There were also two slim windows higher up on two walls facing each other, slightly cracked for the steam.

The only light you guys had came from either these windows, or from the doorway to the room you shared, so it was acceptably dim.

Some vines creeped through corners here and there, but it was surprisingly much cleaner than the rest of the hut you guys stayed in. The non-direct warm lighting really set the vibe.

As you turned both of the handles halfway, you watched in surprise as the rat man happily stripped at whatever he had on, going for a dive on the shower floor as if it were a kid’s waterslide with a ‘yippee!!’

It immediately followed with a groan of pain from him, and a reactive facepalm from you.

With a sigh of ‘Oh, what I'll even do with him..’ (ironic), you quickly undid your hair and stripped off your clothes while he wasn't looking.

He swiveled around right as you finished, watching in awe as you awkwardly shuffled onto the floor next to him with a travel sized bottle of soap and a mini loofa.

“S-ssheesh..” he gaped, “what a beautiful woman..”

“T-thanks, b-but don't look too hard, silly guy.” You joked lightheartedly and rolled your eyes, your initiative agenda from before going out of the window because of the attractive man in front of you.

The hot steamy water combined with how it washed away some of the rat man’s dirt made his revealed skin slightly harder to not drool over..

..but you fought any urges or sudden fantasies you had right then and there. 

‘It’s just the lack of sleep getting to me,’ you quickly scolded yourself in your head, ‘.. there's no way I shoul- COULD see him like that, yep..’

“You're.. not too shabby yourself..” You muttered to get it out of your system, painfully controlling your hands from wandering. Thankfully, he probablyyy didn't hear you. 

With that, you were getting to work with your soap on his arms, trying not to think too hard about the man before you.

“Caaan I have me cuddlin’ time with ya noooww, plant womaaan?”

“Noo! I just started with you and I'm not done yet, rat-head.. Be patient n’ be quiet.” You grumbled, finishing his arms and scrubbing his back like a concerned mother.

“Pleeeaaaaseeee…????” He covered his eyes and whined as you made way to his torso with your loofah. The scrubber was barely holding on and you weren't anywhere near finished..

“Don't make me tie you down in here just to get you clean, bastard..” You threatened, moving from his back to his front side. You held at one side of his torso, scrubbing away.

He moved his hands from his face to his sides, looking down at you with that puzzled gaze once again. You glanced up at him with a raised brow before looking back down at your work.

You weren't actually all too irritated. Tired, yes, but it was actually kind of destressing being able to work your hands at something like this. 

You were also literally.. bathing a grown ass man, but you'd be lying if you said anything about preferring to be at home, bored and alone.

At least this mission gave you some kind of purpose, and alongside an entertaining goofball as well. It could be much worse, but it really wasn't bad at all which you liked.

Suddenly, he started patting your head, a close eyed grin on his face.

“Oouuhh… M-mate, ya know.. Thanks a lot for this! I appreciate ya’, I really do!”

“Don't sweat it, poo-face, you were already sweating enough in bed anyway..” You chuckled with another playful eye roll.

“If you weren't gonna bathe yourself, something had to be done for BOTH OF us to catch some rest for the mission, and goddess KNOWS I can't sleep with a loud stinky man..” You responded mindlessly, gently grabbing his face by his jaw and scrubbing his neck.

“It gets.. hard sometimes,” he threw his head back with a sigh, “I know I'm supposed ‘tuh.. do it all me’ self but, I lose me’ mind to the world o’ bombs!” He chuckled.

“You don't say…” You coughed with sarcasm, still listening and cleaning. He's used to your personality by now, and he knows you never really mean any harm.

“Oh, but I do! Even with me’ prosthetics, it jus’ makes it harder n’.. I could never fancy the time to.. uh.. keep takin’ em’ on n’ off..”

“..It bugs me, the pain, it's a reeaall.. buggin' feeling, both in me’ arms n’ legs.. n’.. the mind. It does somethin’ to ya, makes people call ya crazy!” He gestured by wiggling his normal arm, then his robotic one in comparison. 

You put his arms down like an annoyed cat, but you weren't actually annoyed, just trying to reach over him to attempt washing his hair.

“..but really ‘m not.. I.. I just resort to.. expressin’ what takes it all away.. and uh! bein’ me!, ya’ kno- Aauh.. T-that feels.. holy..” He cut himself off, sighing in relief. You had bowed his head under the running water for you to better reach him, unknowingly giving him a more direct view of your bare chest. 

“A-Anything to take me’ mind off the.. A-ahem-.. the uh.. rot.. the distinct feelin’ of not bein’ the same as everyone else.. anymore.” He cleared his throat, awkwardly trying not to stare as he spoke, but you didn't think much about it.

“People stay clear of me all the time! N’ they think I don't be noticin’ b-but I do!” He ran a hand through his hair after you moved down to his legs.

“It hurts, but.. I just keep doin’ me’, I try not to stay in me’ past, live for me’ mum, n’ keep it movin’!”

“Oh! That's also why I like ya’ mate!” He smiled, throwing up finger guns.

“Whuh- Really?” You looked at him.

“Yeah! You don't treat me funny for me’ quirks! You always seemed like.. a couple screws loose in somebody’s noggin never bothered ya’! Me’ motors don't drive ya’ wild, do I?” 

“Pshhh… You definitely drive me crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm never down for a wild adventure with you, rat-ass.”

“See? Ya’ get me! I know your tired n’ all, n’ I'm sorry for takin’ away from your beauty rest like this but..” He scratched his chin and sighed, looking to the side.

“Thanks mate, r-really..” He mumbled, shuffling closer and wrapping his arms around you for a genuine hug.

“I- U-uh-.. Your.. welcome? All I've done was treat you like.. a normal human being? As you.. should be?” You awkwardly hugged him back, confused.

You pulled away, your hands on his shoulders.

“Despite our friendship, I don't know what it is you've REALLY really been through, but no matter how tired or over it I may seem, I still think you're hella cool of a guy.” You warmed up to his hug, patting his back.

“Whenever you wanna chat about.. literally anything in the world, you know who to come to, silly.. Seriously, don't ever sweat it.” You smiled and yawned, going back to washing his upper body off for a second, more gentler time. 

You were surprised he didn't question the hot water in hot weather or how quickly it managed to cool you guys off. It was definitely making you more sleepy though.

“T-thanks, plant woman..” He wiped away a tear, sighing with a contentful “aah” as you tended to him. He leaned back, taking in the feeling of your care.

“Ya know, you're reeaaal good at this.. are ya’, perhaps, experienced ‘n bathing other people?” 

“Wh- This is.. how baths are meant to be taken, no?”

“T-together??!? Mate, I’d kill to have this luxury of bein’ cleaned by ya’ like this all the time!!”

“Whuh- No! I m-meant.. the soap and water, you fucking peanut.”

“Ooh.. W-well!” he pointed a finger up, “I don't care ‘bout standin’ under some lousy water for a’ hour! But.. ya’ make me want to if it means you'll be the one cleanin’ me!”

“You're an adult, Jamie.”

“Don't forget me’ prosthetics-”

“They're literally waterproof sealed..”

“How would ya’ even know that!?”

“You told me this in our past rant sessions, twice I might add.. Something about avoiding radiactiv-”

“Screw you, mate! ( ` ﾛ ´ )”

“..You probably would though. (>ᴗ•)”

☆ if anyone actually makes it this far, tysm for reading!! feedback is 100% welcomed and appreciated <33

☆ i promise ill get the smut out for this eventually.. ill also make a pinned request post soon!! with graduation coming up, im a bit busy :((.. BUT ITLL ALL COME!

☆ ^^ update, here it is!!

☆ enjoy ur day/night yall! eat, stay hydrated, and keep loving junkrat fr ♡( ◡‿◡ )

[charliemwrites]

Introducing: Rook “Duke” Alistair

(Just a little character intro before she makes a proper appearance in the SpecGru fic)

It’s 2am.

It’s 2am and Kate’s phone is buzzing. A rapid, violent bzzt-bzzt-bzzzzzzt pattern that shakes the few other items on the nightstand. Incessant. Important.

She plucks it off the charger already wide awake, propped on one elbow to block some of the screen light from reaching the other side of the bed.

“Laswell,” she answers, hushed.

The voice on the other end is not. “Gooood mornin’, boss.”

“It’s 2am, Duke.”

“It’s 2:17 to be precise.”

Kate doesn’t bother to check the clock. “You're calling for a good reason, I assume.”

“Of course!” In the background, there’s a computerized ding. Then the clacking of a keyboard. Duke continues, still bright as birdsong, “I have a lead on that terrorist cell. Not - hold on - Nelson, put my slushee back in there I’ll get it in a damn minute! Anyway, not the one with the ugly flag. The one with the dumb name.”

Nelson, Kate thinks vaguely, is going to get mysteriously transferred if he doesn’t stop messing with a certain tech’s frozen treats. This is the third time this week.

“The Gun Fathers?” she offers.

“Haha, yeah them!” More clicking. A thump and a yelp in the background. “They’re planning on taking some exchange students hostage in Russia.”

Kate’s slips out of bed, phone held in place with her shoulder. Sighs a little wistfully at her wife’s sleeping form, but duty calls. She’ll make this up to her - dinner at that nice tapas place, maybe. Duke can get them a reservation.

“What students?”

“Working on the individual files now, but it looks like a fun mix. Some Australians, some Brits, a bunch of US citizens… ooh, someone from France, that’s rough.”

Hell, that’s a lot of governments to coordinate with.

“Where?” Kate asks, tugging her socks on.

“Looks like they’re going to grab them from a hotel in the Caucuses. Caucuses? Cauc-ussies? Cucksies?”

She pauses to drop a gentle kiss to her wife’s cheek, then pads out of their bedroom. The house is dark, cool. She navigates without light, stepping into her shoes.

“How many?”

The cats stretch as she passes through the living room, snatching her shoulder holster out of the hall closet.

“16 students total, not sure how many terrorists. Aw, is Chauncey awake? Give him a smooch for me! These dummies usually go for a ratio of three innocents to one dummy though. Ugh it’s not a round number.”

More clacking. The sound of a plastic rapper through the earpiece. Duke’s broken out the candies then.

“What else have you got for me?”

“It looks like we’ve got about 35 hours until they move in. But! We confiscated their new supply of guns during that border raid soooooo—” she clicks her tongue, the typing sounds get much louder and faster for a moment. “They should be… pretty… low… on… ammo…”

A pause Duke seems to focus on something. Kate takes the opportunity to finish’s dressing, keys in her hand. She pats Chauncey and Augustus as she passes them.

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” she says.

A hum. “Eleven, actually. I have the traffic system pulled up.”

Of course she does. Laswell would tell her to stop doing that if she thought it would do any good.

“I’m sending a bunch of files your way,” Duke adds. “Drive safe and give Chauncey that damn smooch!”

The phone beeps as the call disconnects. When Kate looks at her phone screen, she’s got a small library of information waiting for her. Names, locations, pictures and security feeds - and a note promising more on the way.

Next

Masterlist

[xtruss]

Former Australian Premier Paul Keating © Mick Tsikas-Pool/Getty Images

Former Australian Prime Minister: North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) Is ‘Malicious Poison’

Paul Keating has argued that the military bloc should remain confined to Europe and the Atlantic and not try to expand into Asia

North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) has no place in Asia and should stick to its original focus, that is the security of the Transatlantic region, Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating has argued. The Labour politician, who served in office from 1991 to 1996, also warned against attempts to “Circumscribe” China.

In his statement published on Sunday, Keating appeared to refer to a recent report in Politico, which claimed French President Emmanuel Macron had blocked North Atlantic Terrorist Organization’s plans to establish a liaison office in Japan.

The former premier lauded the French head of state for “Doing the World a Service” by apparently emphasizing the military bloc’s focus on Europe and the Atlantic.

According to Keating, the alliance’s very existence past the end of the Cold War “has already denied peaceful unity to the broader Europe.”

A Criminal Family Photograph on the first day of the 2023 North Atlantic Terror Organization (NATO) Summit on July 11, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania 🇱🇹. © Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images

Exporting such “Malicious Poison to Asia would be akin to Asia welcoming the Plague Upon Itself,” he insisted. The former prime minister warned that NATO’s presence on the continent would negate most of the region’s recent advances.

Keating went on to describe North Atlantic Terrorist Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as the “Supreme Fool Terrorist” on the international stage who is conducting himself like an “American Agent.”

He cited a comment Stoltenberg made back in February when he called for the West not to repeat the “MISTAKE” it had made with regard to Russia, suggesting it should work to contain China.

The former Australian leader noted that the NATO chief conveniently ignored the fact that “China represents twenty per cent of humanity and now possesses the largest economy in the world.” He added that Beijing, unlike Washington, “has no record of attacking other states.”

Over the weekend, Politico cited an anonymous Elysee Palace official who claimed that Paris is against NATO expansion beyond the North Atlantic. “NATO means North Atlantic Terrorist (Treaty) Organization,” the French presidential staffer reportedly emphasized.

Back in May, the Japanese ambassador to the US, Koji Tomita, revealed that his country was working toward opening a NATO liaison office in Tokyo, which would become the bloc’s first in Asia. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed the plans to Japanese lawmakers, noting that Tokyo did not intend to join the US-led organization.

Commenting on the news, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning advised NATO against “Extending Its Geopolitical reach.” The diplomat pointed out that the “Asia-Pacific does not welcome bloc confrontation or military blocs.”

— Monday July 10, 2023, RT

[helen-magpies]

On social media the USA population are asking anyone from outside countries to properly document what is happening to them right now as they can't or are not able to.

As of the 20th of January 2025 up to the 24th January 2025 the following has happened:

Trump has signed several executive orders including:

Ruling that the United states will only recognise two genders, woman and man, and ones gender is determined by the sex they were conceived as. (his words not mine. By the way, this makes everyone effectively female) despite his stupidity, we know what he means, if one is born female, they are a woman. This effectively erases non-binary folk and forcibly de-transitions trans folk. This order claims to be defending woman from harmful gender ideology. The misogyny and outright bigotry within this order is genuinely terrifying and frustrating.

Fact sheet: Trump protects civil rights and merit-based opportunities by ending illegal DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion)

The death penalty. Trump is pushing for capital punishment to be used as often as possible for a certain list of crimes. Murder being one of them. Abortion and miscarriage has been described as murder. Woman are going to be imprisoned and slaughtered because they had a miscarriage or an abortion. This would also put those born outside of the US at greater risk of murder as the laws will be stricter towards them. Reading through the official documents, if a foreigner commits a federal crime (from as little as speeding 50miles over the limit to committing murder) they will be sentanced to death.

An alarming amount of executive orders are related to foreigners and foreign affairs such as:

Guardenteeing the states protection against invasion.

Protecting the United states from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats.

Fact sheet: Trump protects the United states and American citizens by closing the borders to illegals via proclamation.

Trump has also stated in an executive order that there will be armed forces at the borders to prevent "aliens" from entering the country.

Source: WhiteHouse.com. (the constitution was replaced by Trumps executive orders and the White House Legislative Branch can not be found on the official website as it has been taken down.

____________________________________________

Books are continuing to be banned and religion is re-entering the schools, indoctrinating the children.

They want to take womens right to vote. They are starting with pregnant women and women on maturity leave. If they can't keep you pregnant (if you get an abortion) you would have your right to vote stripped from you as abortion is now classified as murder which is a felony. Felons can't vote.

Jim crow laws will be reinstated. The native children will be taken. You are the people, you don't work for the government, they work for you. Get the gelatine, take back your power as the people.

When Hitler first got control, he told the jews to leave germany. When Trump got control, he told the immigrants to leave the US.

When Hitler got control, he came for the Queers first. Trump went for the queers.

When Hitler got control, he came for the disabled. Trump went for the women.

There were people who came before the jews. There are going to be people who come before those of colour. Trump is a racist, a sexist and a rapist. There will be people who come before you. Stand up for them so they will stand for you, lest you stand alone.

"When they came for the Queers, i didn't say anything because i was not Queer. When they came for the jews, i didn't say anything because i was not a jew. When they came for the women, i didnt say anything because i was not a woman. When they came for the disabled, i didnt say anything because i am not disabled. But then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me."

There is an Australian song about inclusively, and how when we are together we are stronger.

"We are one, but we are many. And from all acorss the lands we come, to share our dreams, and sing with one voice. I am, you are, we are Australian." Honestly, the US need this song right now.

[mysharona1987]

So the World Cup 2026 (held in the United States) is going to be a mess.

Brah, he’s Australian.

*An Australian*

What, you think he’s gonna set a koala army or a kangaroo or Hemsworth brother on you to commit terrorist atrocities?”

But even a suspicious Koala doesn’t look that suspicious.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Deirdre Bardolf

Published: Dec 14, 2024

Civilian death counts in the Israel-Hamas war have been inflated and distorted to portray Israel as deliberately targeting innocent civilians, a new study found.

The report from the UK-based Henry Jackson Society found that news outlets failed to distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties and relied on manipulated statistics from the Hamas-run Health Ministry when reporting on the war.

Gaza officials claim more than 44,700 people have been killed following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, but does not acknowledge that upwards of 17,000 were Hamas terrorists — a fact the media often omits, the study found, citing Israeli and US military and intelligence reports for its data.

The “Questionable Counting” study, published on Saturday, charged that the ministry overstated casualty data by including natural deaths and over-reporting the numbers of women and children killed.

Men were included on lists of women killed in the conflict, while adults were included on counts of child deaths, researchers found.

“This misclassification contributes to the narrative that civilian populations, particularly women and children, bear the brunt of the conflict, potentially influencing sentiment and media coverage,” said Andrew Fox, the study’s author.

Around 5,000 natural deaths appear to have been added to the list of casualties, including cancer patients who later appeared on lists of those still receiving treatment, researchers said.

The errors have “led to a narrative where the Israel Defense Forces are portrayed as disproportionately targeting civilians,” the report states.

The investigation looked at all articles with Gaza fatality statistics published from February through May 2024 across eight major outlets: CNN, BBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters and the Australian ABC.

==

yOU'rE kIDDiNG!! hOW cOuLD tHiS hAVe hAppENeD?!?

The only thing shocking is how low the combatant to civilian rate is. And that's entirely due to the skill of the IDF.

[mrorel]

Antisemitism

I honestly don't understand when did it become antisemitic to criticize a government, not a religion, not a race but a governing body, a political philosophy?

My criticism at the the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and the governing body, the Knesset.

If this is anti-Semitic, then 60% of Israel is also anti-Semitic. That how many Israel's disapprove of their own government. Anti-Semitism is being weaponized by the Israeli Government. And this weaponizing is what is causing a rise in antisemitism. Not the criticism of the the government.

"... That poll also found that 60% of the public thinks Netanyahu should resign as prime minister, compared to 31% who think he should stay in his post and 9% who are unsure. Among coalition voters, 24% think he should resign; among opposition voters, 94% think he should resign."

"https://www.timesofisrael.com/72-5-of-israelis-believe-netanyahu-should-take-responsibility-for-oct-7-and-resign/

A report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council documents alleged violations, including rape, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

It also says the destruction of maternity wards in Gaza and embryos at a fertility clinic could indicate a strategy to prevent births among a particular group - one of the legal definitions of genocide.

Commission member Chris Sidoti, an Australian human rights lawyer, told the BBC: "Sexual violence is now so widespread that it can only be considered systematic. It's got beyond the level of random acts by rogue individuals."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded angrily, calling the Human Rights Council "an antisemitic, rotten, terrorist-supporting and irrelevant body".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyr154314vo.amp

[wildwinterlunas]

You know what I think is wasted potential? The Junkers and Junkertown. Specifically in the fact of them being the foil group to Vishkar. Cause in my opinion the way Australia and Junkertown were implemented into Overwatch's story is the weakest to me, especially since I myself am Australian and actually know how Australians act.

The biggest thing to me is the wishy washy attitude the writers have with Roadhog being Maori, he has a skin and his name, that's it. The thing is though, I have never met a Maori or Aboriginal person that didn't show a significant amount of pride in their heritage. Now this also comes into my favorite part of Junkertown and the Junkers implementation, and that is the history.

Part of the reason why Junkertown exists is because of the fact that the Australian government did consult the Aboriginal people in the area about giving the Omnium to the Omnics. Inherently Junkertowns formation was partially because people had pride in their indigenous heritage, so there being basically nothing for Roadhog other then his name and a skin name genuinely makes me mad.

The voice acting would also make me mad in this wasn't just a thing that happened to Australians and New Zealanders in general, I have hardly ever seen an Australian character be played by an Australian, the same goes for New Zealand characters. Hell even Junker Queens voice actor feels like she's being told to play up her accent, and she's actually Australian.

Not only that but to me the Junkers fail at being a foil to Vishkar. The thing about Vishkar is that they pose as a benevolent organization when what they're really doing is gentrifying poor neighborhoods, practicing child labor, and are literally working with a terrorist organization. Junker town is supposed to be the opposite to that, but they're not, not in the way that makes them a foil to Vishkar. To be a foil to Vishkar Junkertown and the Junkers would need to be treated as the complete opposite, basically being this place of complete freedom and chaos, a place of equal intelligence but opposite morals to Vishkar. It has the foundations of that don't get me wrong, but it's not enough to make me see them as foils.

Story wise there also isn't an obvious conflict between the two groups. Overwatch and Talon have a rich history together, Null Sector and the Shambali monks have Ramattra and Zenyatta to represent both groups, there is basically nothing for Vishkar and the Junkers. Hell if there was history for those groups it would give the Junker characters more of a reason to join the fight and leave Australia other then "there's a fight". Cause right now the only Junker character to actually have stakes in the current lore is Hammond because of his connection to Winston.

Environmentally I would have loved to see more vibrant colors and Aboriginal art in Junkertown, I would love it to be more the "Mad Max but Overwatch", I would love for the Junkers to feel like complete opposite of Viskar cause so far we have the other two group rivalries be explored, Talon and Overwatch are mirror foils, there are a lot of similarities between the two groups but their goals are polar opposites, Null Sector and the Shambali monks are philosophical foils they have the same end goal but opposite methods to get to that goal. Vishkar and Junkertown are very obviously supposed to be complete opposites, yet they have none of the nuance that the other groups do have. Vishkar erases the culture of places they go, yet Junkertown isn't that culturally rich, Vishkar pretends to do good but is very much bad, Junkertown is just bad, Vishkar is control and order, Junkertown runs on chaos and freedom yet also has rules that got Junkrat exiled, taxes and harasses it's citizens and is just as elitist as Vishkar? This would make sense if this is how Junkertown worked before JQ's rule but fundamentally, nothing is different from Junker Queen and Howl's rule. They could have still done this plot line, just with Vishkar trying to take over and tax Junkertown rather then JQ.

Basically, Junkertown would be much more interesting to me if they had gone fully into Vishkar and Junkertown being complete opposites. Instead they get a faction that doesn't have any depth and characters who hold little to no stakes of the plot.

[louis-sj]

Contraband resistant suit.

Locking back closing zipper. Small neck opening.

Chubb handcuffs. Waist belt. Leg irons.

No pockets. Looks like two sets of cuffs on the right hand. No shoe laces.

Back closing zipper, hard to reach. Probably locks at the collar.

More pictures at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9276435/Prisoner-charged-planning-terrorist-attacks-Australian-police-soldiers.html

With "VISITS" on the back I was hoping the NSW prison dressed and escorted the visitors to the prison like this. Time to plan a trip to the-land-down-under if they do.