#I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO REPLY TO THIS R IP

[cockroachmotherfucker10]

PRIDEFALL UPDATE: real or fake?

What is Pridefall?

Operation Pridefall, also known as Project Pridefall or simply Pridefall, refers to an attack planned by /pol/ (a political discussion board on the anonymous website 4chan) for all of June, AKA Pride month. The original 4chan thread, which has since been deleted, was primarily focused on “redpilling,” i.e. spreading queerphobic propaganda to make people question the LGBTQ+ community. However, now that it has spread outside 4chan, there are threats of harassing, doxxing, and outing queer people (especially minors) on social media, spamming gore and rape videos in private messages and Pride tags, and even kidnapping, assaulting, or killing queer people in real life.

Specific targets include Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and dating apps. The goal is to go after smaller accounts so the queerphobia isn’t lost in the comments.

Is Pridefall real?

Yes and no.

I searched “pridefall” on 4chan last night. Apparently any new threads on it are being deleted, and anytime someone mentions it, everyone calls them slurs and says no one is doing it.

However, Pridefall is gaining some traction on Instagram--I have seen it for myself. I don’t have TikTok or any dating apps, but I’ve heard that some people are spamming homophobia on TikTok. As for Twitter, I only looked briefly, but I saw some Pridefall accounts there, as well as a lot of warnings and blocklists from people who are worried about it.

I’ve also heard that there have been a few Reddit and Discord raids, and that there is an Operation Pridefall Discord server (someone who spied on them says they have been banned on Discord as well as a platform called Riot before, so very few people are left on the Discord server now).

What do you think, Lia?

This is not coming from 4chan. No one on 4chan is interested anymore.

Most likely, people outside of 4chan heard about it and decided to take matters into their own hands.

The original 4chan thread wanted to make Pridefall “normie-palatable” by avoiding Nazi imagery or other overt unpleasantness, but I have seen a LOT of both on Instagram. This reinforces my belief that 4chan isn’t doing this.

A lot of the people behind this are young, or at least unsophisticated. Most of the Pridefall accounts on Instagram engage in very childish trolling, and one of them said they were a minor. Some of the threats I’ve seen are so outlandish that I can only imagine they came from a fairly young person.

My guess? Most of these people are around 13-19.

There are also very few of them and some of them probably have multiple accounts. Anti-Pridefall accounts outnumber them by far.

However, on Instagram I’ve seen Pridefall accounts following each other and commenting on each other’s posts, so there may be a few groups working together.

A lot of this shit is going to get deleted. I know Instagram is working through reports very slowly right now because they have fewer people available due to COVID-19, but most of the worst accounts I saw last night were deleted by this morning. I saw some more accounts deleted today.

Most, if not all, of these Pridefallers are just trying to scare us. Because they’re probably quite young, there’s very few of them, their accounts keep getting deleted, and law enforcement can track online activity, there is no way they have the balls or resources needed to coordinate major attacks.

There is a very, very slight chance this could spill over into real life, but as long as you practice basic online safety, you will be fine.

That being said, if you are threatened or doxxed by a Pridefall account, PLEASE contact the police. Better safe than sorry.

I do think that the threat of being doxxed or outed is more real than the threat of being attacked. I have already seen one Pridefall account who posted a trans boy’s address on Instagram (he is okay, he posted recently) and another who posted someone else’s address.

There is little chance this will last throughout Pride month. Apparently the goal is for Pridefall to worsen until the end of June, but given that this is most likely just some vastly outnumbered teenage trolls who are bored in quarantine, I seriously doubt they’ll be able to stay interested for a whole month.

This might not be as big on Tumblr. Tumblr is a lot more anonymous than, say, Instagram, which will hopefully deter would-be doxxers. It’s also known to be a highly liberal and queer-friendly site, so any Pridefaller with half a brain cell should know that A) their content is sure to be outnumbered and reported (only us Tumblr users know how bad staff is at deleting questionable stuff), and B) anyone with the original goal of “redpilling” is sure to fail here. Plus, I only remember seeing few, if any, mentions of Tumblr on Pridefall planning threads.

Still, expect to see some Pridefall activity here. Unsurprisingly, not all of these Pridefallers have half a brain cell. Some of them will definitely be unable to resist the lure of a community as openly queer as Tumblr, and we’ve all seen or heard about doxxing, harassment, gore, Nazis, and queerphobes on here. Also, 4chan has historically had some beef with Tumblr, so young teenage boys who idolize 4chan may target us for that reason.

How can I stay safe?

If you have any social media accounts where you A) have posted identifying personal information, and B) are openly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community (especially if you’re queer yourself), put them on private for June. Any other accounts are probably fine to stay public.

If you need a private Tumblr, you can make a password-protected secondary account and only share the password with mutuals you trust.

It is probably okay to be openly queer on a private account (e.g. have pronouns/rainbow emojis in your Instagram bio), since a private account is not likely to be doxxed. But if you want to be extra careful, remove queer identifiers from anything that is publicly visible.

Use Pridefall blocklists. They’re all over Instagram and Twitter. I may repost some here.

Report any Pridefall accounts you see. This is VERY important because this is how we can actually get rid of Pridefall content.

DON’T RESPOND TO ANY PRIDEFALLERS WHO PERSONALLY INTERACT WITH YOU. I know it’s tempting to give a snarky reply, but if they message you, comment on your post, etc, just block them. Seriously, don’t feed the trolls. It's exactly what they want.

Make sure your password game is strong. Use a different password for every site (I know, I know, it sucks), and use passwordmeter.com to test their strength. Write them all down on a piece of paper.

Make sure your username game is strong. Don’t use the same username for multiple sites, and avoid putting personal information in your username, such as your name or birthday.

Do NOT open random links!! Pridefallers could message you links that will give you viruses or track your IP address.

Don’t accept DMs or follows from people you don’t know. Pridefall accounts don’t always look like Pridefall accounts. Some of them are undercover.

Use a VPN. This is probably a little overkill unless you’re particularly at risk of being doxxed, but it will hide your IP address.

Be careful who you interact with. A lot of queer people on Instagram are DMing Pridefall accounts or commenting on their posts, but this could make you a target. As helpful as anti-Pridefall accounts are, you might even be targeted for following those.

Be wary of Pride tags. Unfortunately, a lot of Pridefall accounts plan to infiltrate tags commonly used by queer creators during Pride month. Use discretion when looking for queer content.

Be safe IRL. Lock your doors, lock your windows, be aware of your surroundings, don’t walk alone in poorly lit places, know basic self-defense, etc. Again, I absolutely do not think people will be attacked in real life, but you should be doing this shit all the time, not just in June. Thanks to COVID-19, you’re safer inside anyway!!

Make yourself hard to dox. Even though I have a very unusual first name (it's not really Lia), I am extremely hard to find online. I just went into an incognito browser window and searched my first and last name in quotation marks, but I didn’t find myself until page 4 of Google (and that result wasn’t even posted by me). I’m only half as careful as I could be, but here’s some of the things I do:

-I never use a picture of myself as my profile pic, except for Facebook and Instagram, which are both on the highest privacy settings possible.

-If I post identifying information on a public account (my college, my age, etc), I use a pseudonym or my first name only.

-On Instagram, I only use my first name, and I used special characters to type it, so you won’t find me if you search my name.

-On Facebook, I only accept friend requests from people I know. Most, if not all, of my Instagram followers are IRL friends, friends of IRL friends, and trusted Internet friends.

-If I’m really being paranoid, I’ll make a brand-new email account to sign up for a site. That way, my accounts aren’t all linked through one email address.

-Before I post a picture online, I delete the EXIF data with verexif.com, since EXIF data can hold GPS coordinates.

🌈 Stay safe, everyone.

You will not be harmed. You will be okay. Like cockroaches, we are survivors, and we will get through this!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

-Mod Lia

[thethousandyearwitch]

“Tumblr Cultings” another Shitpost fic.

Hisoka is a ~~Tumblr Influencer~~ and decides to start drama. 1334 Words. 

fanfiction.net link

Click. Clack. Click. Hisokas nails tapped quickly against his phone screen. "Tonight it's going down. I have had e-nough of a certain person here, and all of you deserve to know who and why! ~ ♠️ " Post. He didn't have to wait long before the familiar pings and blops of instant messages and questions asked to his blog started.

Anonymous: Who is it?? (≧▽≦) So excited to see you tear someone a new one!! IM from cutiepanther: where do u even get your info from lol?. IM from chaineddown: I Thought You Were Done Creating Drama For Attention. 

Hisoka snickers to himself, lazily grabbing another whiteclaw from the fridge, before retreating to his bedroom desk. He takes a first sip of his drink while opening his laptop, and quickly going on tumblr.com once it has finished setting up. @Bubblegumbitch, 20.879 followers. 7.344 posts. 27 new asks, 7 new IMs. With a satisfied sigh, the popular blogger sets down his can, and cracks his knuckles.

YouTube Influencers make a lot of money through ad-revenue. Instagram influencers hold themselves over water with sponsorships. And though Hisoka did hold a platform on both of these as well, he preferred the more traditional customs of the blogging site. You don't get paid for having a lot of followers, or making popular posts, and sponsorships are almost entirely unheard of.  But he wasn't in it for the money anyway. The drama was far more alluring. Hisoka had made his starts as a "Tumblr influencer" through creating blog layouts, masterposts of custom themes, and the occasional "funny" post, which was usually just him vagueing about someone that pissed him off that day. His first call-out post he wrote at 7k followers, calling out a far bigger blogger than he is for stealing codes for their theme and for kinning a character from a TV show that has generally been frowned upon on Tumblr for being "atrocious and a bad influence". No one likes to admit it, but everyone loves a little drama, don't they? To see someone else's dirty laundry aired out, the relief that it isn't their own, the community effort of shutting someone out of their reigns for one simple post. A satisfied Huff escapes Hisoka as he dwells in this lovely memory. Time to make a new one.

"CALLOUT POST for @spidershead13 I can't believe I would ever have to do this for someone like him, but Chrollo has definitely pushed it too far~. Definitely don't harrass him, just unfollow and block his sorry ass!~ ♣️ ."

Excitiment starts to bubble under Hisokas skin. In truth, of course, Chrollo did nothing horribly wrong, nothing at least that Hisoka could proof. But everyone likes good drama between popular blogs that follow different themes. If this post could rile him up enough to write a callout post for Hisoka in return- Blop. IM from porcelaincat: Hisoka. Oh no, the fun police. Bubblegumbitch: Yeeeees?~ ♥️ Porcelaincat: Are you not too old to start petty fights online? Bubblegumbitch: OUCH. ♠️ Bubblegumbitch: I stay young at heart, dear.~ Porcelaincat: 1) Gross. 2). Who are you bullying this time? Bubblegumbitch: Chrollo @spiderhead13 :o) Porcelaincat: I am surprised, I honestly did not take you for that stupid. My fault.

Ouch. Illumi never cared if he was hurting feelings. Maybe he should write the call-out post about Hisoka. Though Hisoka doesn't have any viable dirt on him, not yet at least, not until he finds that porn blog that hes SURE Illumi has hidden away somewhere. Whatever, fuck that guy and his voice of reason. Hisoka takes another gulp of his whiteclaw, and goes back to typing.

"It has come to my attention, that multiple people have had the same unpleasant experience with Chrollo, something you cannot let slide so easily~." 

(Multiple people meaning one fake blog that he himself created to write himself IM messages "receipts".)

"In the following screenshots, one person tells me about how Chrollo tried to convince them to come visit him in Newyork and joins his 'church'! That's right, the guys a cult leader, trying to lure in more people from here!~ (Blogname in the Screenshots is blacked out for anonymitys sake ofc)."

Was he going too far, trying to convince everyone that Chrollo was a Cult leader probably out to harvest their organs? Or was he not going far enough

"Not sure what everyone was expecting of a goth blog like his, posting all that ~deep~ and ~brooding~ stuff, but pleeaaaseee stay clear of him now, don't let yourselves get pulled into some scary cult bs~ ♦️ .

#callout #calloutpost #internetbloodsports #cult. "

And post. Hisoka spins excitedly in his chair, self satisfied with his own hubris.  Immediately more blops and pings storm in. Anonymous: I knew chrollo was a weirdo, mayor bad vibes ಠωಠ Anonymous: thank you for talking about this, honestly scary!!!!! Spiderslegtostandon: What is your damage? Hisoka chuckles. Now only to wait for- IM from spidershead13: Hello. Chrollos timing was as usual, perfect. Bubblegumbitch: Why hello~~~~ ♠️ Spidershead13: I believe we need to talk about whatever that post was. Hisoka glances at the notes, a steady stream of likes and reblogs flowing in. Damage control is gonna be hard for the opposing side.

Bubblegumbitch: Sorry, I believe I'm just warning the people about you~. Didn't take you for such a dangerous guy :o( Spidershead13: Can you give me the @ of the person sending you those messages? Obviously they must have gotten something wrong. I'd never Invite just anyone to come over here, and I'd also never force my beliefs on anyone. Bubblegumbitch: Sorry, no can do. Who says you're not going to doxx em~. ♠️ I don't want to be responsible for putting someone in danger more than they already are~.

The influencer was now just leaning back in his chair, taking in a cool nights-breeze flowing in from the window. Was Chrollo mad? He's sure he'd want to punch him right now. What will he start Hisokas call-out with? Who would people believe more? It was all so exciting.

Spidershead13: Hisoka, this is nothing to joke about. I don't want to loose the trust of my community. I want to clear my name. Bubblegumbitch: if you can proof that I, or my informant has lied, I won't stop you from trying.~ ♣️ Spidershead13: Is this another childish game to you? Bubblegumbitch: A game? I take public safety extremely serious!~ :o(

No reply for 10 minutes. Hisoka bites his bottomlip, basking in the excitement of the unknown next moves of Chrollo. He was unpredictable, and thats what made him fun to toy with. If he was simply out to ruin someone's blogging experience, he could have cherry picked any one popular blog, dig long enough for dirt, and run them off the site in less than 2 hours. But that's predictable, that's normal, where's the fun in that?

Ping. Anonymous: Where's the Call-out?? Did you bitch out? Huh? Anonymous: did you delete the post? Was about to forward it to some friends who r mutuals with chrollo Pardon? Hisoka check his blog, and behold- The post is gone. Wooshed away, as the site itself would annoyingly proclaim. Did the site glitch out and delete it? Is it simply not displaying the post? 

Spidershead13: So you did fake those screenshots, I assume. The URL in your IMs leads to an empty blog with the same IP address as you Spidershead13: I did not take you for someone who'd stoop that low. Bubblegumbitch: Hahaha what did you DO?~ ♠️  ♠️ ♠️ ♠️ ♠️ Spidershead13: Had a friend of mine 'check' your blog. He was also nice enough to delete the post for you already.

Hisoka blinks. Once. Then twice. He's been hacked. This was going even better than he had anticipated. Quickly he screenshots the conversation, before hitting "New Textpost". " !!!I'VE BEEN HACKED BY @SPIDERSHEAD13!!!! [Screenshot] #callout #callout post #internbloodsports #hacker"

Post.

Ping. Blop. Blop. Blop. Ping. This was going to be a long, delicious night.

[amorphousalien]

So, not that literally anyone cares, but here's the deal with that person that was harassing me all week. Waay back in the good ol days of mid 2015 (sarcasm, fuck 2015)- I was experiencing a lot of really intense, frequent Rick shifts that were making me near catatonically depressed and dissociated. After seeing the season 2 finale, they just got worse. So I opted to unfollow all the r/n/m blogs I was following, stay out of the tags, stop looking canonmates, etc pretty much everything but actually taking Rick off my kinlist because I wasn't coping with it well and I needed to take a break. I even put on several pages of my blog that I did not want /anyone/ kin from ric/kandmorty contacting me because at the time it was basically a trigger. Then I start getting messages fromsomeome kin with M/orty, asking to talk to me, compare memories, etc. I told them I didn't want to talk to anyone, that it was triggering, etc. I accidentally posted one of their asks publically instead of privately, because mobile sux, and wound up getting a slew of TERRIFYING messages from them saying shit like "How could you do this to me?? I trusted you!! You exposed us!! How could you do this why would you do this to us?? I'm going to have to delete my tumblr because of you, how could you do this, we trusted you!" I panicked, deleted the ask, apologized profusely, and was generally successfully guilt tripped into allowing this person to continue messaging me and probing me for information about my Rick kintype. For maybe 6 months, they continued talking to me. I would ignore them for as long as I could, but eventually caved and replied to them out of boredom or fear, or they'd send me a slew of guilt trippy messages apologizing for bothering me, saying they were such an awful person, they always did this, everyone hates them etc etc etc. After 6 months, I was accepted to Job Corps and told them I was leaving for school and would have no internet access until I graduated. About four months into school l, my parents bought me a phone and were paying for my service. I logged back into tumblr to find about twenty "Hey"s and "Hi"s and "Oh my god I'm so sorry I know you hate me I just don't know what to do I'm so awful I'm sorry for bothering you"s in my messages from them. I told them I was in school and wouldn't have time to message them very often. I wanted them to just leave me alone, but I didn't want to be outright mean and they weren't taking the hint that I didn't want to talk to them. Or maybe they were and that's why they'd send me that guilt trippy bullshit every few weeks. And unfortunately I was an anxious wreck having just escaped multiple physically, memtally, emotionally, and sexually abusive relationships at this point. So I was easily manipulated and desperate for friendship. Which they knew. I'd mentioned it briefly and had vented about it multiple times on my kin blog. Anywho. I came back from school after about 6 months. Tumblr had dome some weird update and I couldn't log into my account anymore (except from my ipad where I was still logged in). I remade my account and directed everyone to my new kin blog (this one). I'd kinda forgotten about them at this point, but when I remade my blog they started messaging me again. I was pretty worn down and still pretty desperate for friends. I was recovering from the depressive Rick shifts and started talking to them more and more about our canons, and eventually decided we were canonmates. By the time we'd 'known' each other for about a year, they'd mentioned to me multiple times that they were living in an abusive situation and needed to get out. Three things about that last sentence. 1. *Known: Our entire relationship was one of us (mostly them) messaging the other every few days, or even every couple of weeks, to say "Hey"-"Hi"-"How are you"-"Fine, you?"-"I'm ok" and then maybe they'd complain (extremely vaguely) about something going on at home. 2. Everything they said about their abuse was extremely vague. The most detail I could ever get was that the house they were living in was not being maintained and there was never any food. Which they blamed on their parents despite being a 20 year old adult. 3. I'd spent hours trying to give them help getting out. I looked up resource centers in their area, homeless shelters, disability, food stamps, offered to write their resume for them, etc etc etc. I was practically offering to do everything for them to get them on their feet, and they shot down my advice every single time. Around 11 months into our friendship, they told me they couldn't take being there anymore and they were going to run away. They didn't know where they were going, didn't care, kept talking about being homeless and living on the streets to get away from where they were now. So I told them to come to Colorado (where I live) so I could at least offer help in person. November of 2016, they bought a bus ticket and came to Colorado. I picked them up and took them to my apartment (a three bedroom townhouse I shared with three roommates. They were all upstairs, I lived in a sectioned off half-room behind the living room). At the time, I was working 40 hours a week at a thrift store making about 9$/h. This job was not only tearing my already chronically ill body apart, but was also causing weekly psychotic episodes and mental breakdowns. I was 3000$ in debt with my roommates. My rent was 400$/month and I was making maybe 700$/month. Even so. I was using all of my spare money feeding them, buying them a tracphone and service, toiletries, clothes, etc etc Despite how much I was spending on them, they were still asking for more food, expensive food, cigarettes, alcohol, and weed. And if I didn't say yes, they'd spiral into depressive episodes, hiding either in my room, the living room, or the bathroom, and cry. And then ask again twenty minutes later. Over. And over again. Until I said yes. They talked 24/7. Literally. 24/7. From the SECOND I came home from work til I went to bed. And frequently came into my room multiple times throughout the night to ask for cigarettes and weed. Despite the fact that I had to wake up at 6am for work. It got to the point where, despite being in constant physical pain and despite the mental break downs, I was volunteering for overtime at work every single day to afford to keep them fed and to just fucking avoid their non stop talking and guilt tripping. And this was not non stop conversing. It was non stop THEM talking. I didn't exist. I could not get a word in. They didn't expect me to reply except for an occasional "Isn't that funny/weird?" or "Do you ever do that that??". I basically clocked out mentally any time I was home. I wasn't a person to them. I was just expected to listen quietly to their thousand and one stories. I already made posts back when this started about what happened while they lived with me, so I'm not gonna go into any more detail. I don't remember most of it anyways. It was such an incredibly stressful point in my life, I developed a new alter in my system. I was rarely fronting. It was so bad, the alter that /never/ fronts, had to take over to deal with what was happening. This person has been stalking me from the second they found my blog, and five months after I kicked them out and blocked them, they're still stalking me. I had to install an ip tracker on my blog. They were checking my blog damn near 20 times a day and sending me 10 or more messages every day. I barely posted half of what I got. I was even so desperate as to text their mom to beg for help. I wanted this to end before it started. I never wanted to know them. I want nothing to do with them. I don't want to be dealing with this. I am an asocial agoraphobic shut-in. I don't want any part of this. I don't care what happens to them. I don't care what happens to Rain or Darcy or the 'KuroNekoClan'. All I was is for this to be over. I want to be left alone. I want to finish repressing everything about them. I want them to completely disappear from my memory. I have never hated nor been so terrified of someone as I am in regards to this person. I'm gonna go back to radio silence on this blog for a few more days just to be sure they're not still checking it. Everyone can still PM and I'll still reply to asks, but I'm not gonna be posting on here til I feel safe.

[singledarkshade]

Settling In

Part Seven – Worst Fear 2 The small body lay on the ground before him, bloody and broken. Rip screamed in horror seeing his son dead before him once more. Dropping to his knees Rip gathered his son to him desperate for this not to be true, devastated beyond all reason that his little boy had been torn from him again.

“Captain,” a familiar voice called to him but he ignored her lost in his grief, “Captain, you need to listen to me.”

Rip pulled Jonas closer to him sobbing at the emptiness filling him.

“Captain,” the voice came once more, “Captain.”

Rip weakly pushed away the woman standing above him, “Leave me alone, Gideon.”

“Look at me,” she told him sharply, “Look where you are, Captain.”

Pulling his son’s body closer Rip shook his head feeling a hand gently touch his cheek.

“Captain Hunter, look at me.”

Sighing he looked up, “Gideon, please just leave...” he stalled in his thought at the realisation that the woman was standing before him, “Gideon?”

“Look where you are, Captain,” Gideon told him.

Finding his arms suddenly empty Rip stood and looked around his study on the Waverider.

Confused he turned back to the woman who was watching him, “What’s happening, Gideon? Where’s Jonas?”

“Jonas is in school,” Gideon soothed.

Tears filled Rip’s eyes, “But I saw...”

Gideon rested her hand on his cheek, “Trust me. Jonas is safe.”

Relief filled him and Rip fell into her embrace holding on to his best friend.

 Rip dropped onto the couch letting out a long sigh, he studied the human form of his dearest friend while she stood waiting for him to be ready to talk.

“How can you be here?” he finally asked, “What am I doing here?”

Gideon smiled at him, “Are you ready to listen?”

“Yes,” he growled, “What’s happening, Gideon?”

Taking a seat at his side she reached out sliding her hand into his, “What do you remember?”

Rip shook his head snapping at her, “Stop answering my questions with questions.”

“Please just answer me, Captain,” Gideon frowned at him.

He grimaced thinking back, “I was with Joe. There have been several attacks by a meta-human and I was helping him track possible suspects,” he paused, “We found him and then...then...”

“It’s alright,” Gideon soothed when he reached the moment he saw his son dead, “You were attacked and you saw the thing you fear the most.”

Rip frowned, “But all victims of the attacks ended up in comas,” he winced in realisation, “Oh.”

Gideon nodded.

“So I’m dying.”

“I have managed to slow the build-up of chemicals within your brain,” Gideon told him, “It will allow Dr Snow time to find a cure.”

“And you brought me here,” he breathed.

Gideon smiled resting her hand on his cheek once more, “Your safe place.”

  Rip wandered around the bridge of his ship, it looked exactly the way it did when he had left.

“You miss being here,” Gideon noted from her seat in the Captain’s chair.

Rip nodded, “This was my home for a long time. I have a lot of wonderful memories here.”

“Like the time you nearly set the bridge on fire trying to have a candlelit picnic with Miranda during the last few days of her pregnancy,” Gideon teased.

He rolled his eyes at her, “You would bring that up. I said I was sorry.”

“And I accepted your apology once you finally repaired all the damage,” Gideon replied with an amused smile.

He folded his arms across his chest, “So, what now?”

“We have to trust in Dr Snow to find the cure,” Gideon told him.

Dropping into the seat beside her he sighed, “There was a time the only one I could trust was you.”

“This is better for you, Captain,” Gideon reminded him, “I like that you smile more, that you have people you class as your friends.”

He sighed looking at her before confessing, “I like it too.”

Standing again he began to wander, returning to the parlour opening the drawer in the desk retrieving a photograph of Miranda and Jonas. He felt Gideon rest her head against his arm.

“She would be so proud of you,” Gideon told him, “The way you have opened yourself up to this new family. I know Miranda would have loved them all.”

Rip automatically wrapped his arm around her as they stood together looking at the photograph. He placed it down on the desk and shook his head.

“I wish I’d hugged Jonas when I dropped him off this morning,” Rip whispered sadly, “But he was in such a rush to see his friends all I got was a quick goodbye. At the time I thought it was good that he no longer felt the need to cling to me. I should have hugged him.”

Gideon rubbed his back comfortingly, “You shall see him again.”

“I hope so.”

Rip was surprised when she pulled away suddenly and disappeared onto the bridge.

“Gideon?”

“Join me, Captain,” she called back, “There is something you should see.”

Confused he found her standing in front of the main screen manipulating controls. Glancing back to see if he was with her Gideon smiled at him.

“Here,” she pressed the button.

The screen lit up showing the small playroom in Star Labs, Rip moved to her side smiling unbidden when he saw Jonas run in and jump into his beanbag.

“I never knew I could love anyone so much,” Rip whispered, “But from the moment I held him in my arms...”

Gideon squeezed his hand, “I remember.”

They stood in silence together watching the little boy on the screen before them.

                                  *********************************************

  Rip lay back on the couch in the parlour, “If this is all in my mind,” he sighed, “Why am I so tired?”

Gideon lifted his head and rested it in her lap, “Because the toxins are beginning to build.”

“So soon?” he breathed, moaning softly when she began to slide her fingers through his hair.

“Time is moving differently in the real world,” she explained, “It has been many hours since you were attacked.”

Rip mused on this, “So it’s the middle of the night?”

“Yes, Captain,” she breathed

“Where’s Jonas?” he asked softly, shifting into her gentle ministrations.

Gideon continued to stroke his hair, “He is sleeping. Mr Ramon has watched over him all night.”

“Good,” Rip sighed, looking up at her tiredly, “Cisco will take care of him.”

They sat in silence for a while, Gideon continuing to caress his hair comfortingly.

  “Gideon?”

“Yes, Captain.”

He sighed softly, “Please use my name. You did the last time when Sara and Jax were in here.”

“Of course, Rip,” Gideon breathed.

A smile touched his lips, “If I’m going to die at least I’m with you. You have always been there when I needed you. Thank you for staying with me when I had to leave the Waverider. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

“It is my purpose,” Gideon reminded him, “But it is also my pleasure. I lost you for so many months that I could not lose you again.”

Rip sat up suddenly staring at her for several moments before he began to pace rubbing a hand over his face.

“I should have left a long time ago,” he said, “I should have chosen my family over the Time Masters.”

Gideon stood in his path, “And they would have taken them away from you much sooner. You would not have had all the time you did with Miranda.”

Rip leaned against the desk, “We talked about it once not long before Jonas was born and I told her...I said...”

“You believed in the Time Masters and their goals,” Gideon finished for him, knowing the response well.

“It was the only lie I ever told her,” Rip whispered guilt filling his voice, shaking his head he stared at the floor looking up when Gideon rested her hand on his arm, “It was because I couldn’t leave you. I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it and if I left the Time Masters I would lose you. I couldn’t do that,” he pushed his hand through his hair, “I should have told her the truth.”

Gideon wrapped her arms around him hugging him tightly, “Oh Rip, Miranda always knew.”

He jerked back and stared at her, “What?”

“She was an extremely intelligent woman,” Gideon reminded him, “Who understood the connection a Time Master makes with their AI. From the moment she came onboard the Waverider she was aware of the bond between us.”

He stepped back leaning against the desk again still looking guilty.

“You know, as well as I do,” Gideon continued, “That if Miranda decided that she would not share you with me then she would have made it very clear.”

Rip shook his head, “I loved her, Gideon but I don’t know what I would have done if she made me choose.”

“I know,” Gideon wrapped her arms around his waist resting against his chest feeling his arms wrap around her, “And that is why it is a relief she loved us both.”

                                  *********************************************

  “Rip,” Gideon called, “You need to hold on a little longer.”

He was once again laying on the couch his head resting in Gideon’s lap as he clung to consciousness.

“Tired,” he breathed.

 “I know,” she soothed, her fingers threading through his hair once more; “But Dr Snow is close to a cure. She has been working non-stop so you must hold on until she is finished.”

Rip sighed softly, “I’m trying, Gideon.”

“Think of Jonas,” she whispered, “Think of seeing your son again. Of watching him grow up into the wonderful man he will be.”

Taking a deep breath Rip smiled at the thought of his son, “Miranda would be proud of how I’m raising him, wouldn’t she?”

“Very proud,” she assured, “As am I.

He caught her hand, “I’m glad you’re with me, Gideon. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You’re never alone,” Gideon reminded him.

“You know I...”

“I do.”

  Rip sighed at Gideon’s ministrations wanting to sink into the darkness, wanting to give in but knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t leave Jonas and he couldn’t leave Gideon.

Suddenly a strange sensation filled his body like pins and needles through every limb.

“Rip?” Gideon called to him as he pulled away from her.

“Did Caitlin find the cure?” he asked.

Gideon smiled, “She administered it a few moments ago. I can see that you are already feeling the effects.”

Rip nodded, “I no longer feel like I need to sleep for a week.”

“It shall take a little longer but soon you shall be able to waken once more,” Gideon told him.

He looked at her sadly, “As much as I want that it means I won’t be able to see you like this.”

Gideon shook her head, “But I am always with you.”

“And I am eternally grateful,” he breathed reaching out to touch her cheek.

Moving closer Rip brushed his lips to hers. Pulling her close as Gideon’s arms wrapped around him Rip deepened the kiss holding onto her.

                                  *********************************************

  “Rip?” Caitlin’s voice came.

Forcing his eyes open Rip saw her standing above him concern etched on her face he breathed, “Jonas?”

Caitlin smiled, “He’s at school.”

“How long was I unconscious?” he asked managing to sit up.

“Three days,” she told him, “I want to check you then I’ll get you something to eat.”

Rip nodded, “How long until Jonas needs to be picked up?”

“Three hours,” Caitlin told him, “If you do everything I say then I will allow Cisco to drive you so you can be there for him getting out.”

Catching her hand he smiled up at her, “Thank you.”

“He’s been worried about you,” Caitlin told him, “I think he’ll feel much better if you pick him up this afternoon.”

“Thanks you, Dr Snow.”

  Jonas walked slowly out the school door looking up expecting Cisco to be standing there, his eyes widened in surprise and he ran throwing himself into the arms of his father.

“Daddy!!” he cried as Rip caught him.

The sudden weight of the boy unbalanced Rip slightly but Lisa and Cisco each caught an arm steadying him. He’d only just been given a clean bill of health with orders to rest tonight about ten minutes before they had to leave to collect Jonas.

“Are you okay now?” Jonas asked pulling back to look his father in the eye.

Rip nodded, “Caitlin has said I am. So we can stay at home tonight.”

Jonas hugged him again before sliding down and taking Rip’s hand. They walked back to the car and Rip slid into the backseat happily allowing Cisco to drive. Jonas gripped his hand throughout the entire journey talking about everything he’d done while Rip was unconscious. Reaching the house Rip dropped onto the couch, smiling as Jonas curled up beside him, allowing Lisa and Cisco to phone in food for them.

  Rip kissed his son goodnight before leaving him to sleep, smiling as he could hear Lisa and Cisco downstairs trying to decide what movie to watch. Rip listened to them for a few moments before he headed into his bedroom keeping his promise to Caitlin to get plenty of rest over the next few days. He knew it wouldn’t be hard to keep that promise, he felt a bit like a washed out rag.

Going through his evening routine Rip slid into bed and rested against the pillows.

“Gideon?”

“I’m here, Captain,” she replied.

Sighing happily he closed his eyes to sleep, “You always are.”