#What is Lean Data Governance

[avinashkumar1202]

The Imperative of Lean Data Governance in 2024: A Technical Perspective

In the ever-evolving landscape of data management, the significance of lean data governance has reached paramount importance in 2024. As organizations navigate through unprecedented volumes of data, the need for a streamlined and efficient governance framework has become indispensable. In this blog post, we delve into the intricacies of lean data governance, exploring its technical nuances and highlighting its criticality in contemporary data-centric environments.

At its core, lean data governance embodies the principles of agility, scalability, and efficacy in managing data assets. Unlike traditional governance models characterized by bureaucratic hurdles and rigidity, lean data governance prioritizes flexibility and responsiveness. This approach is particularly pertinent in 2024, where data landscapes are characterized by exponential growth, diverse data sources, and stringent regulatory requirements.

One of the key tenets of lean data governance is its emphasis on leveraging automation and advanced analytics technologies. By harnessing machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence, organizations can automate data classification, lineage tracking, and access control mechanisms. This not only accelerates decision-making processes but also enhances data quality and integrity, thereby mitigating risks associated with erroneous or obsolete data.

Moreover, lean data governance promotes a culture of collaboration and cross-functional alignment within organizations. By breaking down silos between IT, data management, and business units, organizations can foster synergistic relationships conducive to data-driven decision-making. This collaborative ethos is instrumental in ensuring that data governance initiatives are aligned with organizational objectives and regulatory compliance mandates.

Furthermore, lean data governance advocates for a modular and adaptive governance framework that can evolve in tandem with changing business requirements and technological advancements. By adopting an iterative approach to governance implementation, organizations can incrementally enhance their governance capabilities while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations. This iterative methodology also enables organizations to swiftly adapt to emerging data privacy regulations and security threats, thereby future-proofing their data governance practices.

In conclusion, the imperative of lean data governance in 2024 cannot be overstated. In an era defined by data ubiquity and complexity, organizations must embrace lean governance principles to effectively harness the power of their data assets. By prioritizing agility, automation, collaboration, and adaptability, organizations can establish robust data governance frameworks capable of driving innovation, ensuring regulatory compliance, and mitigating risks. As we continue to traverse the data-driven landscape, lean data governance will undoubtedly remain a cornerstone of organizational success in the digital age.

[saad1505]

Master Data Governance Solutions | Mining Industry 

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[incognit0slut]

MASTER OF PERSUASION

Part 4 of kinktober | main masterlist

meandom!Spencer/Hotch x fem!reader; Threesome, creampie, dumbification, degradation, brat taming, abuse of power, edging, dubcon

Your involvement in a heinous crime was questioned by the two FBI agents who were eager to do anything to get you to talk.

Words: 6802

a/n: This one is dedicated to my nasty, touch-starved btches who secretly wants to be manhandled by two older men. Enjoy this pure filth🫶

YOU WERE FAR FROM BEING A GOOD PERSON. From the surface, you seemed like a normal, typical woman, just one of the countless faces within the crowd. But when the doors shut behind you, you find yourself involved in endeavors you should never have pursued in the first place.

You knew too much. You were acutely aware of how many crimes happening in your vicinity. The number of deaths resulting from these heinous acts should be enough to terrify you, but it didn't, because unbeknownst to your peers, you were one of the reasons why they happened.

Although you never played the role of the perpetrator, you were the person these criminals came to for information. You were good with technology, you could hack into any secure system in the blink of an eye. It was almost as if you were a deity of the dark web, a mastermind whose mere presence served as a godsend to those carrying out these crimes.

It was easy money; you gave what they wanted, received what they paid you, and most importantly, you made sure to never look back. You always wiped everything out after each job was done, but somehow, after working on so many deals, your luck finally struck out.

Somebody hacked into your system—no, somebody good hacked into your system. This person knew what they were doing. They managed to hack through your firewall and retrieve a few of your data while also discovering your identity.

You honestly wanted to praise whoever was on the other side because you had never encountered someone who could match, if not surpass, your own skill. But it wasn't until you heard the loud banging on your front door, followed by people in uniformed vests rushing in and pointing their guns at you, that you finally realized who had breached your system.

It was the FBI.

So that was how you found yourself sitting inside an interrogation room hours later with two agents across from you. A very tall, intimidating man stood at the corner, his arms crossed as he watched you silently. Dr. Spencer Reid was how he introduced himself, and the way he emphasized the title in front of his name, you were certain he was the type of person who took extreme pride in his intelligence.

He seemed a little too cocky.

Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, on the other hand, was hard to decipher. The older man appeared somewhat guarded as if his job had forced him to put on a facade devoid of genuine emotions. Maybe it did. He was, after all, a federal agent. Both of them were. These men were probably taught to master the art of maintaining an inscrutable poker face.

Nevertheless, they were both intimidating, and you wondered to yourself, was good cop bad cop not a thing anymore? Because as far as this was going, none of them seemed inclined to make things easy for you.

The man in front of you cleared his throat, his voice was a well-practiced blend of authority and curiosity. "You've been quite elusive, haven't you, Miss Y/L/N?"

You leaned back, studying him through half-lidded eyes, your fingers tracing the edges of the table with a cool, almost casual detachment. "Elusiveness is a matter of perspective, Agent Hotchner. I prefer to think of it as adaptability."

"Adaptability?" He leaned in closer, his sharp gaze never wavering. "You've made quite a name for yourself. You've infiltrated government agencies, stolen classified data, and even orchestrated financial heists... Impressive, I must say."

A faint smile danced upon your lips, revealing just a glimmer of amusement. "I simply explore the hidden avenues of the World Wide Web. It's not about the thrill; it's about the knowledge."

His eyes narrowed. "But your actions have consequences. You've caused quite a chaos, don't you think?"

"Consequences are a part of every action, whether in the digital realm or the physical world. As for chaos..." You met his gaze with unwavering confidence. "Well, sometimes chaos is necessary for evolution."

He leaned back, his expression unyielding. "Evolution or anarchy?"

"As I said, everything is a matter of perspective, even anarchy," you replied, your voice smooth as silk. "In the grand scheme of things, I'm just a catalyst. Society's flaws were there long before I came along."

The man in the corner took a step forward. His eyes bore into you with resolve as if he had grown weary of the ongoing debate. "You've had your say," he interjected with a steely tone. "You know why you're here. Our victim's files were found on your computer, we need to know who requested them."

You met his gaze with a mixture of defiance and amusement, unfazed by his direct approach. "Doctor Reid," you said, your voice laced with a hint of mock surprise. "Always chasing ghosts in the machine, aren't you?"

His expression remained composed, his intellect undeniably sharp. "We're not here to discuss my pursuits. We're here to talk about the life you've disrupted."

"Disrupted? I'd say I've merely revealed the cracks in the system. Your victim, as you call them, was a casualty of a much larger game."

"Games have rules, Miss Y/L/N. You seem to operate outside of them."

"Rules are made to be broken, Spencer," you retorted, your tone cutting like a blade through the air. "I can call you that, right? I hate having to speak with such formalities."

"It's Doctor Reid," he corrected. "Tell us who you're working for."

His unwavering determination was met with a subtle, knowing smile from you. You leaned forward, your eyes locking onto his with a hint of intrigue.

"I don't know, Spencer," you began, your tone slightly softer, as if you were letting him in on a secret, "The digital world is a labyrinth of information. Files come and go, they disappear and reappear... It's like trying to catch a shadow in the dark. It's useless."

He addressed you with a cold stare. "You're playing a dangerous game here."

You raised an eyebrow, your voice honeyed with allure. "Oh, I'm well aware of the game we're playing. But don't mistake my refusal to cooperate for arrogance. It's just that some secrets are meant to stay hidden."

The room seemed to contract, the air thick with unresolved tension. Aaron cleared his throat and your eyes fell back on him. "Miss Y/L/N, give us a name and we can make things easier for you. But if you don't cooperate..." His eyes traveled down along your body, the goosebumps rose on your skin in response to the heat of his gaze. "I'm afraid we have to resort to extreme measures."

A brief pause hung in the room. There was something in the way he was staring at you. He was looking at you with a profound determination that seemed very different from the way he assessed you before. Under the weight of his scrutiny, you felt your body growing hot. Your breath hitched, and a flush of warmth crept up your neck and tingled in your cheeks.

You regarded him for a moment before you finally spoke, your voice calm but tinged with a hint of defiance.

"If you think you can break me, Aaron, you're gravely mistaken. But if you're interested in the name..." you leaned back, crossing your arms. "I guess you'll have to earn it."

The tension in the room escalated as your words hung in the air. His jaw clenched, and when you thought you had won the upper hand over this battle of wits, he surprised you by waving his hand in the air, and Spencer came forward.

It was as if they had planned this. The way Aaron instructed his partner to move seemed rehearsed and calculated. Spencer walked over to you and before you could register what was happening, he grabbed onto your arm and wrenched you out of your chair with a force you didn't know he possessed.

Your voice carried a mix of anger and frustration as you protested, "What the hell are you doing?"

You suddenly felt him run his hands along your arms. "Checking for weapons."

The scoff you gave him was loud. "Oh, now you're treating me like a criminal?"

"It's a mere precaution."

And then you felt it, the way his touch lingered on your body. It was far from any normal search. His hands felt warm on your skin, even over the material of your shirt, as he continued to pat down your arms. There was a certain roughness in his movements as he slid his arms around your backside and you couldn't mistake the way he gripped your ass more than he should probably have.

"This is ridiculous," you muttered under your breath. "You won't find anything."

"I'll be the judge of that." He slightly shoved your shoulders. "Put your hands on the table."

You reluctantly did as you were told, silently gritting your teeth. His hands moved with purpose, and as much as you wanted to stop this questionable act, your body was reacting in a way that had you questioning yourself instead.

Why was your heart beating so fast as he stood behind you? Why was it getting so hard to breathe when his hands slipped around your waist? And why did it seem you were anticipating more when his palms slightly hovered over your breasts?

"Is this really necessary?" You asked quietly, trying to act as if his rough hands on you weren't affecting you. "This feels more like an attempt for intimidation."

You could practically hear the smugness in his voice as he asked, "Are you intimidated, Miss Y/L/N?"

You liked to think that you weren't, but honestly, you didn't know anymore. You had tried your best to put on a mask to avoid appearing weak, but as he started to squeeze your breasts in the palm of his hands, it finally dawned on you what was happening—You were finally caught, there was a high chance of you ending up in jail, and now a federal agent was touching you inappropriately, groping you in a crude form of patting you down.

And to your dismay, you actually liked it.

But you had too much of a pride, that was why you found yourself lying through your teeth. "No."

Spencer hummed a reply as if he didn't believe you. He squeezed your breasts through your shirt again, palming at them as he slightly felt your nipples stiffen through the material, and he couldn't resist rolling them as his touch continued lower. Your breath hitched as he mapped out your curves, one of his hands delving between your thighs before he stopped right at the center of your heat.

You let out a gasp.

"I-Is this even legal?"

Your mind went blurry as you felt his fingers touching you through the thin fabric of your pants. "Are you questioning how the law enforcement works?"

You couldn't answer him. Not because you didn't want to, but because you weren't able to form any coherent words as he continued to palm your sex, his fingers continuing to rub you. You were suddenly so focused on the way he was touching you, your head hanging low as you felt the sensation throughout your body, that you didn't even hear Aaron calling out your name.

It wasn't until Spencer retrieved his hand from between your thighs, and yanked your hair from behind, that you were forced to meet Aaron's gaze. "He called you," Spencer mocked, tightening his grip.

Aaron leaned forward, assessing the way you were arching your back with both of your hands planted on the table. "You have two options. One, we can play nicely, you give us a name and we'll go easy on you." His voice dropped lower as he continued, "Or two, you keep with this attitude and we might have to coax the answer out of you."

You locked eyes with him, a silent challenge burning in your gaze. Despite being in this vulnerable position, there was an undeniable strength in your stare, a refusal to surrender to their intimidation. Aaron met your gaze with a profound understanding.

"The hard way it is then." You saw him lean back in his chair as he crossed his arms, the subtle movement actuating his broad chest. "You know what to do, Reid."

There was nothing remotely gentle about the way Spencer handled you after those words. He shoved you, knocking the air out of your lungs as you gasped, your body pressed against the cool surface of the table. Somehow between your struggles, he managed to slide his hands around your waist, unbuttoning your pants before pushing them down your legs.

The air hit your bare skin, and even when you felt the cool breeze, your body was seething with fire, burning through your veins. The warmth spread along your cheeks as you realized you were wearing your skimpiest underwear, a flimsy material of dark lace that barely covered your sex. He gripped your ass with the palm of his hands, fingertips digging into the plush skin as he spread you apart.

"Well, aren't you a pretty thing?" You felt him shift behind you and you imagined him kneeling right in front of your heat. The moment his knuckles brushed along your wet patch, your hips bucked involuntarily. "She's wet, Hotch, I think she's getting a little too excited."

"I'm not surprised," the older man said. "She does seem like a slut."

Your head snapped at him. "I am not a slut."

"Oh, you are a slut." He leaned forward and reached out his hand, holding your chin in a vice grip, forcing you to look at him. "And we'll prove you how much of a whore you actually are."

Right on queue, a surprised gasp left your lips when Spencer's large palm burned your skin, giving your ass a harsh slap. The sound echoed in the room and he repeated the motion, watching in satisfaction the way your ass rippled for him. You fell into a false sense of security as he began to soothe his hand against your burning skin before pulling back to give another loud smack, and your mouth fell apart in pleasure.

"Not a fucking slut?" Aaron taunted, his thumb brushing on your lower lip. "That's the most farfetched lie you told us ever since you walked through that door."

You glared at him, but your defiance slowly shattered when you felt Spencer pulling down your panties over the curve of your ass, slipping them down your legs. The evidence of your arousal stuck onto the fabric and you felt your cheeks going warm in embarrassment. Spencer sucked in a gasp as he took in the sight of your lower half completely naked for him.

"Barely even touched you and you're soaking wet," he murmured, letting his thumb brush over your pussy, gauging your reaction. Your nose scrunched as you tried to bite back a moan that threatened to slip out. He started with gentle strokes, keeping his fingers only on the outer side, yet you could still feel his touch everywhere.

Each downstroke he made gave a light pull against your clit without giving any direct contact, and each time his fingers came back up, he slowly spread your folds open for him, briefly allowing your slickness to come in contact with the cold breeze of air.

Your mind became hazy, and just when you thought your body couldn't react more to his touch, he slipped a finger between your folds, feeling your slick against the dainty flesh. The motion caused your hips to buck erratically and your hands immediately reached up to grip onto the edge of the table.

He slipped deep inside you as your arousal coated him, circling your tight entrance as he felt the way your walls fluttered around the tip of his finger. He let out a low grunt as he felt how tight you were around him, curling at the knuckle while he began to drag his calloused pad against the soft spot inside you, making your body shake just from the mere contact.

The subtle reaction didn't go unnoticed by Aaron and he watched as your eyes glazed over. He couldn't stop himself from smirking, his features revealing a hint of amusement.

"You're enjoying this too much. I'm starting to think you're keeping your silence for the sake of this." You moved your head away from his grasp, only for him to grip your jaw harder. "Don't fucking move. Keep your eyes on me while he fucks your tight little pussy."

You never thought you'd be hearing such crude words from him, not with his stoic demeanor and polished facade, nor did you expect your body to react the way it did when those words filled your ears. You couldn't help it, your body betrayed your mind as your cunt continued to throb between your thighs. You could feel the desire building inside you, threatening to burst as you felt your body shake, and Spencer was well aware of this as he felt your walls clenching around his finger.

The laugh coming through his lips rang in your ears, sending shivers down your spine. "She liked that."

Aaron raised his eyebrows at you. "You like it when I talk like this?" He taunted. "You like it when I tell you how much of a slut you are taking his fingers so deep inside you?"

Your eyelids dropped lower at his words, and right at that moment, a lewd squelch filled the room as Spencer slowly slipped another finger into your dripping cunt, stretching you out as he began to thrust them inside you at a steady pace. Your body quivered as your breath quickened, and you found yourself grinding against his touch, desperately trying to get him to press the same spot inside you.

"Look at you fucking yourself on my fingers," Spencer cooed, his free hand smacking your bare ass again, and you found yourself arching your back. "You really are filthy."

Aaron laughed. "Acting like you didn't want it a second ago." He gripped your jaw tighter, forcing a gasp out of you at the subtle pain. He took advantage of your opened mouth by slipping his thumb inside. "Suck on my finger, Sweetheart."

You didn't know which one surprised you the most, his sudden term of endearment, or the order he gave you. You hesitated, because the moment you willingly sucked on his finger, you knew you would lose. The moment you followed through to his demand, he would have the upper hand and you would simply be the pawn in this game.

Aaron, as you realized, wasn't a patient man. His other hand reached for your hair and then, with a sharp and sudden yank, he tore at your hair. "Don't make me use more force than I already am."

Your roots tingled, your scalp throbbing, and a few tears welled up in your eyes. You blinked them away, not wanting to show any sign of weakness, and leveled your gaze at him.

He pulled your hair again. "Suck."

The pain was so much for you that you found yourself wavering. You swirled your tongue around his thumb before closing your lips and sucking with an approving hum. A husky moan was pulled from deep within him, overwhelmed by the feeling of your mouth on him, and, especially, the sight of you. "That's it," he praised you. "Suck on it as if you're sucking my cock."

Your walls clenched again. A sound of pleasure erupted from Spencer as he felt your cunt sucking in his fingers, and without warning, he pumped them into you with so much force you couldn't stop yourself from moaning this time. He laughed, as did Aaron, and your body shook as you felt that familiar sensation tightening along your body.

The room around you seemed to blur and melt away at the pleasure coursing in your veins. It started in the pit of your stomach, a warm, liquid sensation that spread like a slow-burning fire, radiating outwards in waves. Your hushed moan was muffled by Aaron's thumb in your mouth, but the sound of your pathetic whining didn't go unnoticed by both men.

You were so fucking close you could feel every nerve in your body on high alert. Your breaths came in ragged gasps, and your body quivered with the intensity of the sensation. Your eyes fell shut as the lewd sound of your arousal filled the room, and just when you were about to let go, Spencer suddenly pulled his fingers out of you, wrenching away that peak of pleasure you were desperately chasing.

Your eyes shot open, dilated pupils now wide with shock and confusion. Aaron met your gaze with amusement, a sadistic smile dancing on his lips as he pulled his thumb out of your mouth with a pop. "Stupid girl, thinking we'd actually let you cum."

The abrupt contrast between the heights of your pleasure and the stark void that followed was jarring. But before you could comprehend your disappointment, you heard a shuffle behind you followed by footsteps circling you. Spencer finally came back into your line of vision and with no one standing behind you, you tried to push yourself from the table, only to be shoved back down by Aaron.

"Fucking stay where you are," he commanded, his sharp voice piercing right through you. Your eyes were fixed on him, gaze unwavering as he slowly rose from his seat. And then suddenly he was the one behind you, and now Spencer stood right in front of you, looking down at you with amusement.

"You know," he started, his fingers trailing the side of your face. You moved your head away from his touch, but unlike Aaron, he didn't force you to look at him. He merely chuckled as he continued, "You wouldn't be in this position if you had given us the name."

Hearing this, you finally glanced up at him. The self-confidence he carried was starting to annoy you and you couldn't stop yourself from spitting venom, especially when he had ripped away the pleasure thrumming in your body. "I told you to fucking earn it."

The remaining air was knocked from your lungs when the palm of his hand collided with your cheek, your head jolting to the right from the force of the impact. Bright white stars danced behind your closed eyelids, and for a second you thought that you were dizzy from the shock. But then you felt it, the pressure that had been building in your core giving way, a wave of pleasure washing over you.

"Dirty girl," he taunted. "Here I was trying to shut you up and you actually liked that? You like being slapped around?"

You remained quiet, looking away from him.

"And don't worry, you will tell us by the end of this." You faintly hear the sound of metal ringing in your ears. Your eyes fell back on him and your heart sank when his hands moved down to his belt, unbuckling it as he let it hang around his hips.

His fingers moved to unbutton his pants before tugging down the fly. The sight of his hard cock tenting beneath his briefs had your cunt clenching in anticipation, as much as you hated to admit it. Then his thumbs dipped into the hem of his boxers, tugging the fabric down, and you looked up at him with wide eyes. He was bigger than you'd expected. He was thick and solid, veins danced along his length and the droplet of wetness on his tip was too mesmerizing you couldn't look away.

He wrapped a fist around his length, hissing in relief as he made his way towards you. "Now let's put that filthy mouth of yours to good use." He pressed the head of his cock against your lips, half-lidded eyes gazing down at you as he leaned forward. "Open."

The musky scent of him overwhelmed you as you breathed in and you involuntarily opened your mouth wide to accommodate his girth. The flat of your tongue pressed against the underside of his cock as he gave soft, shallow thrusts inside your warm mouth. His fingers held onto your face as he watched his length disappear inside you.

"God, look at you—" Spencer rasped, his voice sounding strained. "Good fucking girl."

Each roll of his hips has more of his thick cock slipping inside your mouth. His palm moved to the back of your head, holding you steady as he forced his length further down your throat, watching as your cheeks darkened and your eyes watered. Your hands moved up to push at his thighs as you struggled against his grip, the desire to breathe overwhelming as you tried to push him away.

You suddenly felt lightheaded from the lack of oxygen and you began to cough and splutter around him, your throat constricting as the sensation flowed directly through his cock. The sensation made him groan out in pleasure as he finally eased his grip on your head and leaned back, allowing you to breathe as you continued to splutter, drool dripping down your chin as you gulped for much-needed air.

Your head felt delirious. You were too focused on catching your breath when you unexpectedly felt something thick pushing into your cunt in one swift motion, knocking you over as you let out a scream.

"Hotch," Spencer laughed, tightening his grip on your hair while he positioned his cock back onto your lips again. "You shocked her."

Aaron merely grunted a reply as he held onto your hips and started to thrust his cock into you. His thickness sent a ripple of pain between your legs. He was definitely bigger than anyone you'd been with before, your breath coming out in soft, shallow pants as he drove more of himself inside your tightness. Your teeth bit down on your lower lip as a dull ache filled your body, trying to ignore the pain as he continued to stretch your tight heat.

There were no words after that, the room was hazy with desire as the heat built within the small space. The two men focused their attention on your body as you took them at the same time. It was filthy, depraved, and something you'd never done before. You never thought you would be in this position, nor did you think you'd actually enjoy being used like this.

Because you did, you really fucking did. Your entire body felt hot, a scorching fire flowing through your veins as you embraced the sensation, an indescribable pleasure taking over as Aaron's cock curved towards that delicious spot inside you with precision.

Your body was pressed against the table, sweaty and exhausted. It was torture, the way he was slamming his cock inside of you at the pace that left you breathless, it hurt and burned with pleasure at the same time. Each thrust had you hanging on the edge of release, unable to think straight as your mouth continued to mindlessly babble around Spencer's cock.

Every so often he'd hold the back of your head securely so you couldn't move away as he continued to bury himself in your throat. A pleased sound escaped his lips as you started to choke around his girth. It felt like you were starting to drown yourself as he shoved into you ruthlessly. Your lungs cried out for air as you began to feel woozy from the lack of oxygen, desperately trying to breathe through your nose.

"Fuck," he hissed, finally easing his hips back to give you relief. You spluttered as you gasped for air, a mixture of his arousal and your spit dribbled down your chin. "So fucking messy."

You tried to calm your breathing, but it didn't take long for your brain to turn into mush again because Aaron snapped his hips, pulling a moan from your lips as he started a harsh pace. Fingertips dug into your hips as he buried more of himself inside your tightness, your inner walls pulsing around him.

His thrusts were hard and you were certain you'd have marks on your skin from the way he was rutting against you, a dull ache panging inside your lower half. Your mouth fell open in a constant moan as you tried to hold your body up against the table. A throb coursed through you as you tried to hold onto the edge, your breath coming out in harsh pants. You were so desperate for your release, your body so close to coming undone.

"Fuck, Sweetheart, are you going to cum?"

You mumbled out a garbled reply as he continued thrusting into you relentlessly, your fingertips digging into the table as you felt his cock dragging against your inner walls. Aaron grunted at the sensation of you clenching around him. His eyes drifted down to where your bodies were connected and watched the way his cock slid in and out of your tight cunt.

He was on the edge of his release, you could tell by the way he thrust into you desperately. You prepared yourself for your own pleasure, your hips moving involuntarily, meeting his erratic movement, as you seek more friction from him. You whimpered, feeling his fingertips dig into your skin almost painfully and you felt the familiar sensation traveling along your body. Fuck. Fuck yes. You were finally going to—

A drawn-out whine left your lips when he pulled his cock out from your tight heat. The sudden emptiness had your body shaking violently. It wasn't until you felt a streak of wetness spluttering on your back that you realized he had reached his own high without letting you reach your own.

"Shit," he gasped, slapping your ass as he watched his own liquid seeping down the curve of your back. "That was incredible."

You groaned. Fucking selfish man.

"What was that?"

It then dawned on you that you actually mumbled those words out loud. You shook your head and he groaned at your lack of words. "That didn't sound like nothing."

And suddenly, as if you weighed nothing, he grabbed onto your body and turned you over, pushing you onto your back. You were too weak to even fight him as he shoved your pants off your feet before spreading your legs apart. You watched as he leaned down and a long string of clear liquid fell from his lips toward your cunt, letting it trickle down between your folds.

"Knew you were a slut," he hissed, before straightening himself and tucking his cock back in his pants. Your eyes drifted toward him. He was big, just as big as you felt him inside you. But it wasn't his sheer size that surprised you, it was Spencer standing by your feet that had your heart peaking up its pace. Aaron smirked as he stepped back and Spencer quickly took his place between your legs.

"Look at you still holding back," Aaron taunted, genuine curiosity lacing in his voice as he paced around the room. "You're worn out. You're filthy. Aren't you tired of playing this game?"

You looked over at him tiredly. Amidst the pulsing waves of pleasure coursing through your veins, you fought to maintain your focus. "Y- You haven't done anything m-much to earn—"

His laughter sent a chill through the room. "Oh, Sweetheart, you think you're winning, but you're not." He then locked his gaze on you. "Trust me, we already have you in the palm of our hands."

You tried retorting back but the once-sharp edges of your concentration began to blur when you felt Spencer's throbbing cock right between your pussy. Each pulse of pleasure sent tremors through your resolve as he eased his hips back to drag the thick, swollen head through your outer lips. His eyes focused on the way you spread for him as though inviting him inside.

"You're already fucked out," Spencer murmured, dragging the tip of his cock through your wetness, feeling it catch against your tight entrance. "Yet look at you swallowing me."

He let the underside of his cock split your folds open, resting it between them snugly as he let out a low groan at the heat radiating from your core. The sinful noise that left your lips had his cock throbbing painfully, the thick veins protruding from his length. He angled your body against him, pushing more of his thick girth inside your trembling body, feeling the way you squeezed around him as he stretched you out.

Spencer pressed his fingers into the curve of your hips as his gaze flickered between your face and his cock splitting you apart. You gasped, your breaths growing more erratic as he managed to push all of his length inside you. He ran his hand over your abdomen as he tried to feel his cock inside you, pressing against your pelvis as he pulsed at the sensation.

"Fuck, baby," he growled, "Taking me so well."

And then he slowly dragged his cock away from you, keeping just the tip in your entrance before plunging back inside in a harsh, jarring movement, jolting you in surprise. You arched your back and tipped your head back in pleasure, just to find Aaron towering above you, looking down at you with an eerie smile.

His fingers trailed down your shoulder blades before they hovered at the buttons on your shirt, slowly unbuttoning them. "I think it's time that you give us a name."

Your body writhed in response to the waves of sensation as you tried to ground yourself. But it was hard to keep thinking straight when he grabbed onto the underlayer of your bra and lifted it over your chest. The way your perky breasts spilled out from beneath the fabric made both men hum in satisfaction.

Calloused palms grabbed onto your breasts and your eyes rolled at the back of your head at the sensation. His thumb brushed against your soft nipple, watching as it began to rise to a stiff peak as he mimicked the action on your other breast, all the while as Spencer began thrusting into your cunt at a painfully slow pace.

"Come on, Sweetheart, don't you want to cum on his cock?"

"Fuck," Spencer grunted, feeling you clench around him. "Keep talking to her."

Aaron chuckled as he continued playing with your breasts. "It's torture, isn't it?" He closed his index finger and thumb around your nipples, pinching ever so gently. You let out a soft sigh and closed your eyes as arousal flushed through you. "Give us a name and we'll give you what you want."

And then you felt Spencer rocking his hips at a steady rhythm, burying himself deeper and deeper before he slowly began increasing his speed. Your body jerked wildly each time he pushed deep into you. Noticing this, his thumb moved to your clit as he pressed messy circles against the sensitive nub, twisting it beneath his calloused pad. It felt too good, so good that you could no longer hold back from moaning out loud.

Your cries of pleasure snapped him into action and his hands moved down to your ass, holding you up to him as he started pounding harder into you. Your head fell back, chest heaving up and down, and that was when you felt Aaron closing his lips around one of your nipples. You writhed, your body thrashing underneath both men. Your senses reeling, the warmth of multiple hands on your skin sent jolts of electricity down your spine, igniting a wildfire of pleasure within you.

Aaron pulled away from you and your eyes flickered open at the loss, only to be met with Spencer hovering above you. Your eyes swept over him, and you looked down where you were joined, watching how his hips moved in constant thrusts. He was enjoying this, you could tell by the way his fingers burned your skin and the occasional grunt escaping his lips.

At the sound of his voice, you looked up at his face, glistening with a sheen of sweat while his messy hair tousling over it. The moment your gazes met each other, something inside you snapped. The muscles in your core began to coil, tightening and constricting around him right as your climax slowly pushed through the fog inside your head. Spencer felt it too, and he suddenly slowed his pace, throwing you a cunning smile.

You felt your resistance starting to crumble. The intensity of your pleasure grew almost unbearable, and you could no longer deny it. Your eyes welled with tears at the overwhelming sensation, and the thought of having your orgasm ripped again from you seemed like another torture you didn't want to endure.

You were going to regret this. You definitely would. But you couldn't dwell on the consequences of your actions when desperation coursed through you like a fever, an all-consuming hunger that you couldn't deny. Your body ached for release and craved it with an intensity that was maddening. 

Your breath came in ragged gasps, and then your eyes, wide and filled with desperation, pleaded with him silently as you found yourself finally giving in, muttering a name you had tried to keep to yourself. A name involved in the crime these men had been pestering you for. A name that had Aaron smirking devilishly as he leaned over to you, brushing his knuckles on your cheek in a caress that was so foreign.

"Good girl," he mumbled, his voice lacing with satisfaction at the way you finally crumbled. He was right, you were already in the palms of their hands, it was simply a matter of time until you caved in. "Good fucking girl."

Once you surrendered, you couldn't stop the whine falling through your lips. Your desperate moan rang deeply in the room, snapping something primal inside Spencer, and he trusted his hips into you roughly. A gasp escaped your lips, legs falling open wider as he split you wider than you already were.

Your mind went absolutely numb with pleasure as he kept rutting up inside you, your body becoming nothing more than a mess, overtaken by a wave of sweat and erotic bliss. You felt yourself trembling, your breathing becoming more ragged as his thrusts became sloppier.

“Fucking hell,” he grunted, noticing the way your mouth fell open as pleasure engulfed you. "That's it, baby, let me fuck you dumb."

You cried out, babbling incoherent sentences as he thrust harder, grabbing your hips and tilting into you slightly, making him go even deeper as he moved with you.

"Go on, cum on my cock," he growled breathlessly through his rapid pounding. "Let me feel you."

“Fuck—” You cried out for him, your overstimulated body shaking beneath him. Wave after wave of pleasure came rushing through your body, erupting in the most intense way. He watched the way you convulsed beneath him in your release, watching the way a white, sticky liquid circled his cock every time his skin brushed your inner walls. His thumb was unrelenting against your clit and you tried to angle your body away from his touch, the pleasure too intense as your lower half throbbed around him.

You continued to clench around him between your bliss, your legs trembling from the position as he arched his back, focusing the power of his thrusts straight into your tightness. A shiver burst through you at the sensation. And with one final thrust, his whole body tensed. He pushed forward, burying his cock in your soft, warm cunt, spreading his warmth in much slower and shallow rolls of his hips.

You were breathing hard, trying to regain your composure, and a moan left your lips when he finally pulled out. Cringing at the fluid slowly leaking out of you, you tried to close your legs only to be stopped as he gripped the back of your thighs, spreading your legs apart to expose your body. You were so wonderfully disheveled, your cunt clenching around nothing, gleaming with your arousal and his own release.

“Look at the mess you made." Piercing eyes watched you as white liquid trickled down your ass. A feeble mewl left your lips as his thick fingers moved down to catch it, deliberately pressing against your folds as you wriggled in his grasp. A laugh left his lips as he dragged the string of wetness along your sex, pushing it back inside you.

"I think I ruined her."

Aaron's laughter filled the room, and just as you were about to push yourself off the table, you felt him grasping both of your hands, pushing them above your head. Your eyes widened in shock. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Then you felt it, the cool metal wrapped around your wrist, sinking into the flesh of your skin as you tried to move from his grip. An unexpected panic surged within you. "Sweetheart, we know you're involved in more than one crime." The soft click of the metal lock was loud in your ears. "You need to give us more names."

Your body, still tingling with the aftershocks of pleasure, now felt more exposed than ever. You looked up to find both men staring down at you, and at very moment, you realized, as you felt the handcuffs digging into your wrist, that you were going to be here for a very long time.

[mariacallous]

Next year will be Big Tech’s finale. Critique of Big Tech is now common sense, voiced by a motley spectrum that unites opposing political parties, mainstream pundits, and even tech titans such as the VC powerhouse Y Combinator, which is singing in harmony with giants like a16z in proclaiming fealty to “little tech” against the centralized power of incumbents.

Why the fall from grace? One reason is that the collateral consequences of the current Big Tech business model are too obvious to ignore. The list is old hat by now: centralization, surveillance, information control. It goes on, and it’s not hypothetical. Concentrating such vast power in a few hands does not lead to good things. No, it leads to things like the CrowdStrike outage of mid-2024, when corner-cutting by Microsoft led to critical infrastructure—from hospitals to banks to traffic systems—failing globally for an extended period.

Another reason Big Tech is set to falter in 2025 is that the frothy AI market, on which Big Tech bet big, is beginning to lose its fizz. Major money, like Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital, is worried. They went public recently with their concerns about the disconnect between the billions required to create and use large-scale AI, and the weak market fit and tepid returns where the rubber meets the AI business-model road.

It doesn’t help that the public and regulators are waking up to AI’s reliance on, and generation of, sensitive data at a time when the appetite for privacy has never been higher—as evidenced, for one, by Signal’s persistent user growth. AI, on the other hand, generally erodes privacy. We saw this in June when Microsoft announced Recall, a product that would, I kid you not, screenshot everything you do on your device so an AI system could give you “perfect memory” of what you were doing on your computer (Doomscrolling? Porn-watching?). The system required the capture of those sensitive images—which would not exist otherwise—in order to work.

Happily, these factors aren’t just liquefying the ground below Big Tech’s dominance. They’re also powering bold visions for alternatives that stop tinkering at the edges of the monopoly tech paradigm, and work to design and build actually democratic, independent, open, and transparent tech. Imagine!

For example, initiatives in Europe are exploring independent core tech infrastructure, with convenings of open source developers, scholars of governance, and experts on the political economy of the tech industry.

And just as the money people are joining in critique, they’re also exploring investments in new paradigms. A crop of tech investors are developing models of funding for mission alignment, focusing on tech that rejects surveillance, social control, and all the bullshit. One exciting model I’ve been discussing with some of these investors would combine traditional VC incentives (fund that one unicorn > scale > acquisition > get rich) with a commitment to resource tech’s open, nonprofit critical infrastructure with a percent of their fund. Not as investment, but as a contribution to maintaining the bedrock on which a healthy tech ecosystem can exist (and maybe get them and their limited partners a tax break).

Such support could—and I believe should—be supplemented by state capital. The amount of money needed is simply too vast if we’re going to do this properly. To give an example closer to home, developing and maintaining Signal costs around $50 million a year, which is very lean for tech. Projects such as the Sovereign Tech Fund in Germany point a path forward—they are a vehicle to distribute state funds to core open source infrastructures, but they are governed wholly independently, and create a buffer between the efforts they fund and the state.

Just as composting makes nutrients from necrosis, in 2025, Big Tech’s end will be the beginning of a new and vibrant ecosystem. The smart, actually cool, genuinely interested people will once again have their moment, getting the resources and clearance to design and (re)build a tech ecosystem that is actually innovative and built for benefit, not just profit and control. MAY IT BE EVER THUS!

[aprocessionofthoughts]

The Best Laid Plans

ectoberhaunt24 day 7- EH past, bury fandom- dp x dc TW- implied major character death summary- they can't let them win

masterlist ao3

This hadn’t been the plan, not really. The portal needed to be blown up before the GIW could send a nuke through, but they had wanted to evacuate the town before hitting the button to blow up the portal.

They hadn’t expected the GIW blockade, including the ghost shield around the town. There were GIW forces surrounding the entire town, there was nowhere to sneak through, and the ghost shield went underground. Danny had checked. 

They were blocked in. No one could get out. 

Now Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Danny sat in Sam’s room, staring at each other.

“What are we supposed to do?” Danny whispered. “There’s too many agents, and there are too many protections against ghosts and people.”

“We can’t let them nuke the Zone, that would destroy everything. On both sides.” Sam said.

“But if we destroy the portal…” Jazz trailed off.

“It would blow up the whole town.” Tucker finished. “That much backlash energy… who knows how far the destruction would reach.”

“So, what do we do?” Danny asked. How could they decide? If they failed to stop the GIW, it would mean the end of everything. But if they went through with their plan, then… the whole town would die. His friends would die. His sister and parents would die. And what would happen to him? Would he become a full ghost? Would he be Ended?

“We need to do it.” Jazz said. “It’s–it’s the only real option. We’ll die either way.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

Danny kept hoping Clockwork would intervene, would make the GIW disappear, or let Danny go back in time to stop everything sooner.

“I agree.” Sam whispered, drawing her knees to her chest. Danny and Tucker scooted closer to her, leaning against her sides. Jazz sat next to Danny and draped her arm over his shoulders.

“Tomorrow.” Tucker said. “They aren’t planning on nuking the Zone till tomorrow evening. So, we’ll act tomorrow morning. We deserve one more night before…”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” Danny said. 

They spent the rest of the day together, curled into each other, talking quietly, or watching movies, playing Doomed. But mostly they just sat silently together. Danny only left once to check on the GIW to make sure plans hadn’t changed.

They fell asleep all curled up together.

The next morning, there were tears and hugging before they sat gathered in a circle around the remote detonator. 

“There’s just… one more thing.” Jazz said, sharing a glance with Tucker and Sam before getting up and grabbing something from Sam’s dresser behind Danny.

His friends shared a look before turning to him.

“Danny…” Sam started. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and Danny’s eyes started to well up again. “Just remember we all love you. And you deserve a second chance.”

“What are you–” Danny started, but then there was a click behind him, and he was enveloped in blue light.

—--

Way up, in a secret satellite orbiting the planet, sensors began to scream as screens flashed. Heroes rushed to see what had happened. The data indicated a huge burst of energy had originated from somewhere in Illinois, an area that, according to mapping data, was supposed to be uninhabited. 

But when Batman looked into it to see what the possible source could have been, he came across government censors. His fingers froze above the keyboard for a second before he began issuing commands for a reconnaissance mission.

Whatever had happened, Batman was almost positive, it was not without casualties. 

And he was right.

The center of the destruction stretched on for miles of barren land originating from a large crater. And the towns nearby were showing signs of destruction as well as the effects that were associated with nuclear radiation. Most of the League had gone to those areas to help, but Batman, Superman, and Martian Manhunter had remained to investigate the starting location.

So far, they had found nothing. But then Martian Manhunter had paused.

“What is it?” Batman asked.

“I sense a presence. They are barely aware, and their thoughts are muffled, but there is someone here.”

Batman and Superman followed Manhunter toward a seemingly empty patch of land. “Under here.” he said.

Superman scanned the ground before he began digging through the dirt. It wasn’t long before he pulled up a small cylindrical object that resembled a– thermos?

“The presence is coming from in there.” Manhunter said.

Batman frowned. “We’ll take it with us. We can investigate further in the Watchtower once we’ve made sure it wasn’t the source of the explosion.”

They headed back to the ship. Batman looked once more over the destruction. He couldn’t help but think that this could have been prevented if he’d noticed something sooner. There was something that he had missed. And it wasn’t just that this area looked uninhabited on maps. Someone had gone to great effort to hide something here. He’d need to look into it. Find out what had been hidden.

He looked at the thermos that Superan carried. Hopefully, whoever, or whatever, was in that thermos could help. And hopefully, the League would be able to make up for not preventing this in the first place.

[voiceofdragons]

Danny With the Street

150,000 people die every day on average. On average, 385,000 people are born on that same day. Thats  535,000 souls made and unmade every day. Some peacefully at the end of a life lived, either fulfilled or not, and some tragically and early. Some even die the same day they are born. 535,000 people. 385,000 births, 150,000 deaths. These, however, are simply the averages. No one living can get the exact numbers, and they’d change daily regardless, so that data would be of no real use.

That’s only humans though. Those numbers are dwarfed in comparison to the averages for animal life, and the less said about plant life the better for our collective migraine. Still, that is no small amount of people. For the number of deaths, you’d get a population somewhere between the size of Kiribati and Guam. For the births it would be between Iceland and Guadalupe. The combined number puts you at Malta.

You have probably never even seen that many people in person before. And that is not even a percentage of a percentage of the worlds population. 535,000 is not barely a drop in the bucket. This number is important to Danny, for the simple fact that you can figure out a lot of interesting things regarding ghosts with it. He’d pestered a few of the Observants, when they weren’t trying to literally get him out of their picture, with a bunch of questions a curious 14 year old would want answers to. 

Some were not answered, in typical Observant fashion, but they’d given him an interesting answer to the question “how many people even become ghosts”. 

“The rate changes day to day, but we’ve figured out that its normally 1 ghost out of however many are born and day in a day added together.” This particular Observant then proceed to ramble on about how smart they were for figuring it out, how much better off the universe was for having them watching over things, blah blah blah.

Even if the rate changes, it doesn’t change drastically enough to ruin the precise and exacting science of guestimating things. If its one in 535,000, but only 150,000 die a day, then that means its somewhere between 3 and 4 days to get a new ghost. Their reasons for lingering were there own, and were often normal. And then there were the fruitloops that he dealt with so often that it was kind of starting to get old. The ghosts were getting easier to handle most days though, especially after he helped lock up Pariah Dark again. Who knew making their dimension safer would make them hate him a bit less?

And these days his biggest headache was that government agency that had temporarily bought Fentonworks to try and nuke the ghost zone. They’d failed, but still tried their hardest to make his life miserable.

Case in point; they were in the living room with his parents. Talking about Phantom. Specifically about some ‘concerning’ footage of him they’d been able to record of the ‘ectolasmic scum’. He was hiding invisible on the stairs, his mom and dad on the couch with two familiar white suited dingbats standing across from them. They had placed a tablet on the coffee table, a video taking its sweet time loading.

“As interesting as i’m sure this video is, would either of you gentlemen like to see some of our latest projects?” his mom said, clearly growing bored as the video took yet another minute to load. Thank goodness ghosts effected technology the way they did, clearly whatever film they’d taken was hard on their systems. Mom picked back up with “we’ve been experimenting with some new ‘ecto-electrolysis metal plating’ its a lengthy process, but the results are-” suddenly the video started to play, cutting her off. Danny leaned forward to get a better look, and froze. It wasn’t Phantom.

It was normal, human looking Danny Fenton. Walking down the street. The same one that Johnny and Kitty had gone racing down last thursday. Suddenly a familiar looking mist pooled out of his lips, and the screen started to glitch and lag a bit, but he remembered what happened next. He’d look around the empty street, not see anyone, and then-.

“Going Ghost!” his familiar catchphrase came from the tablet, and the glitching stopped. And Danny Fenton was no longer on the screen. All the glitching had coalesced on a single point on the screen, exactly where he’d been standing, making it clear there was a ghost in the footage. Then another blob of corrupted screen appeared streaking down the street, and the first one sped off after it.

The video stopped, and his parents were frozen. His dad reached for the tablet, and restarted the video. The catchphrase, the mist, the glitching, and his disappearance. His parents replayed the video about five more times before his mom shakily flipped the tablet face down. His dad hugged gripped her shoulders as she brought her still shaking hands up to her face.

“We understand that this must be difficult for you both, but it is imperative for state security and research that you assist us with the capture and containment of the entity.” the agent on the left spoke softly, clearly trying to be gentle, but it brought no comfort to anyone in the room, least of all Danny.

“This is not simply difficult!” his dad said forcefully. “This is our son, and you’ve just told us-” his dad stood up and started pacing, clearly distraught. After a minute of pacing he slumped back onto the couch. Mom sniffed and rubbed her face down before bringing her hands to her lap. Her next words were enough to make Danny freeze in shock and terror.

“He’s upstairs in his room.” dad turned to look at her, shocked was an understated descriptor for his face. Danny stood up still invisible and made his way up to his room. He had to leave before anyone came for him. He just barely heard her continue. “I’m going to lock down the house so he can’t get out, but just to be safe you should go outside in case he somehow gets out.” he didn’t hear the agents respond, or his dad.

Once in his room he grabbed one of his notebooks and wrote a quick message to leave for Jazz. ‘GIW told mom and dad i’m phantom, had to leave the house, i’ll be with a friend, i’ll call.’ he then slipped it under her door and then phased through the ceiling just in time to see the familiar ghost shields surround the building. The agents were by their van, arms crossed, and Danny flew off in the direction of tuckers house, tears building up in the corner of his eyes.

Landing at the corner of Tucker’s street he rubbed his eyes to clear them before walking toward his best friends house. The wave of relief he felt when the house came in view was quickly squashed by the sight of a familiar white van, and two white suits talking to Tucker's parents on the porch. Staying invisible he flew off again for Sam’s house. When he didn’t see a white van outside he was relieved.

He was less relieved to see none of the lights were on and their car was gone, meaning the whole family was out at the moment. Still floating he decided to fly to the Nasty Burger, deciding to wait there until one of his friends or for Jazz to go there looking for him.It was when he was flying past Caspar High when he saw something that gave him reason to pause.

There was a new street there that hadn’t been there yesterday. The buildings were brightly colored, and there were people mulling about wearing clothes he’d never seen anyone in Amity Park wearing. Getting closer, he expected the usual white mist that meant a ghost was nearby, knowing that in a town like Amity, anything weird was probably ghost related. There was nothing. He landed, still invisible and walked quietly down the street, deciding to see where things went.

The multi-colored buildings turned out to be a hardware store, a military surplus hut, and a bunch of other places you wouldn’t expect to be in pastel pinks and purples. Reaching the middle of the street was a building dubbed ‘Peeping Tom’s Perpetual Cabaret’ all done up in bright flashing lights, music leaking out onto the street from inside.

In short, this place seemed awesome, and as soon as he was able to reach Sam or Tucker he was bringing them here. He passed more fun looking stores, and some more adult stores that he knew he was too young for on his way to the end of the street closest to the Nasty Burger, and he stopped when he saw the street sign.

 ‘Danny St’.

“Well that’s weird” he said, still invisible.

A cloud of steam popped up from a nearby sewer grate with a sound almost like a gasp, and strangely enough it turned into a series of exclamation points and question marks.

“Also weird,” a fluttering sound behind him made him turn to see a pile of leaves spell out ‘says the invisible boy’. Danny took a step away from the pile, waiting for the mist that meant a ghost was nearby. It didn’t come. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a ghost.

Deciding that questions would be an alright distraction from the nightmare his day became he asked, “Who are you?” and another noise from behind him, this time a metallic squeaking. When he looked it was the street sign rotating around. He laughed, and turned back to the pile of leaves, only it was the sign on the window that responded this time, changing its arrangement to ask ‘what’s so funny feele?’.

“My name is also Danny.” deciding to trust the talking street, he stopped being invisible. The steam from before came again, just exclamation points this time though. A rustling sound had him turning right where a banner unfurled to declare ‘Neat Trick Twinsie!’ making Danny laugh. Deciding to ask a few more questions, he walked over to a conveniently placed bench across from a pawn shop.

“You’re not a ghost are you?” he asked, and the pawn shop window grew a question mark. “Oh, right, you’re new in town, considering I didn't see you here yesterday.” waving his hand around Danny continued. “Welcome to Amity Park, the most haunted city in America. My first thought when weird things happen here is it’s a ghost doing something, and I've seen a lot of weird.” The window proclaimed ‘ooooooh’ before another sound had him turning his head left. This time a cafe menu board said ‘Not a ghost, but are you?’

Danny clapped his hands as he said, “Half points Danny, thank you for playing!” the question mark came back so he elaborated. “I’m only half ghost, all the abilities of ghostliness, still alive and kicking.” he then smirked as some word play popped into his head. “Kicking all the other ghosts butts for messing with the town.” he then remembered his current problem, and slumped backwards, his view of his new… friend? Acquaintance? Friend, suddenly flipped.

“Or I did at least.” he sighed. “No idea what i’m supposed to do now, got some fruitloop government ghostbusters after me, and they just told my parents! Who are also ghost hunters!” from his upside down view he saw more letters rearrange across the street, but he didn’t want to parse out what Danny had said. “I was going to go wait for some friends before I spotted you, try to figure things out.” he sat up and turned around, not wanting to ignore a message. ‘Thats rough buddy.’ his face split into a grin. “Its just my luck that the same day all these bad things happen, I also meet a new friend with impeccable taste in memes!” he stood up and stretched, feeling a bit less panicked. “I’m going to go meet with them, but can i bring them back to see you? They’d love your… everything!” the banner from before flipped over ‘that would be dolly Danny! Bona to Vada!’ this was starting to remind him of when he first met Wulf, and learned of the wonders of Esperanto. A fun new dialect was just the distraction he needed.

Waving at the street, a few of the people walking around waved back, even though he hadn’t spoken to any of them. A flag flapped aggressively in a nonexistent wind, and his smile stayed on his face as he turned invisible again and flying off to the Nasty Burger.

It had only been thirty minutes since his parents found out, but his anxiety made it all feel like seconds ago as he sat there waiting. Five o'clock approached and a familiar face walked in, though not one of the ones he’d been waiting for. Valerie was starting her closing shift in ten minutes, and Danny was sitting at a booth waiting for Tucker, Sam, or Jazz. she put her bag behind the counter and slit to the opposite side of his booth.

“Why so antsy ghost face?” Valerie asked with her arms crossed. Their situationship had been weird for a while since she’d found out he was half ghost, but things had been improving lately since her dad got a new job. Guess most of her aggression had been stress induced.

“So… My parents found out i’m a ghost. The Guys in White told them, I had to leave the house, and when I went to Tucker’s house they were there too, Sam wasn’t home, and now I’m waiting for either one of them, or Jazz to come find me so i can figure out the shipwreck my life has become!” the floodgates had opened and he’d word vomited everything to his frenemy, and then promptly face planted into the table.

She visibly blue screened for about ten seconds before she reached over and patted his head. “That’s rough buddy.” he glared up at her for all of two second before snorting a despondent laugh. She joined in and after a few seconds of laughing together he leaned back, smiling a bit more easily since the anxiety had claimed him five seconds into waiting.

“You are not the first person who’s said those exact words to me tonight! I should start collecting nickels, I probably won’t get more than two but it's weird that it’s happened twice!” she didn’t laugh at that, tilting her head in an unspoken question. “You are not going to believe this, but on my way here I found a new street by Caspar High. Just there, new buildings, decorations, the whole shebang!” he flared his fingers out to emphasize the point. “I was invisible, but when I saw the street was called ‘Danny St’ I had to say something. And it started talking back, kinda.” 

“That’s a load of bull-” she started before he waved his hands to cut her off.

“Val, after half the stuff we’ve dealt with since my parents opened the portal, is this really too much for you to believe?” she raised a finger and took a breath before closing her mouth and lowering her hand. They’d dealt with a lot of wacky nonsense.

“Valid, but I won’t believe it until I see it. What kind of ghost looks like a whole street?” she asked, but he shook his head.

“That’s the thing! They weren’t a ghost, I would know! When I asked, they didn’t know what I meant. Had to explain kinda about Amity Park being the most haunted town in America.” This time he crossed his arms, leaning back to look out the window, hoping for a familiar red hat, or someone dressed in all black and purple.

Valerie stood up suddenly, and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry this happened to you Danny. My shift is starting, so I’ll make you some fries while you wait. If you’re here till closing, mind showing me this magic street you found?" It was nice having her be this friendly with him again, and he grinned and gave a thumbs up.

“Sure thing!” he said, before the doors burst open and four men in white suits rushed in, guns aimed at him. He shoved Valerie out of the way and went intangible through the wall to the outside. He then went invisible and rushed as fast as he could over the buildings.

He was passing the new, and brightly colored Danny St when he felt a sharp pain in his side, and smelled burning flesh and ectoplasm. Losing control of his abilities amidst the pain, he crashed into the side of a building before flopping onto the street. Looking up he heard loud music and saw the word ‘Tom’s’ visible on the part of the sign he could see. A crowd started to form, but he was too dazed to understand what most of them were saying. A pretty face popped out of the crowd and bent down to check on him. She was tall, dark skinned, in a glittery outfit with big hair.

“Kid, are you ok? How did you fall?” she was checking him over for any open wounds, but he was to dazed to do much. He heard tires squealing in the distance, and knew that the people chasing him were going to be here soon. He didn’t want anyone hurting his new friend, the talking street, or the people that were just now worrying for his wellbeing.

“I need to go, the Guys in White are after me!” he tried to stand but the woman placed her forearm across his chest to keep him from doing more than sitting up. She turned her head, listening to the squealing as well, before she focused back on him.

“Who are the ‘Guys in White’?” she asked, very seriously.

Danny tried to phase through her arm to stand but the pain in his side made it hard to focus, so he gritted his teeth and kept trying as he responded. “Government sponsored ghostbusting fruitloops, now please let me go they don’t care about collateral damage!”

The woman sighed and closed her eyes for half a second before she turned to look at a few people in the crowd. “You heard the kid, we got government on our tale! Danny, we need to leave.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do lady!” Danny said, while at the same time one of the store signs changed from advertising fatigue leotards, to saying ‘Time to scarper!’

“Was talking to Danny, kid.” she said distractedly.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” he retorted, his head starting to hurt and the burn on his side starting to throb dully.

She laughed, a short, loud burst of amusement before she told him pointedly, “Oh you’ll fit right in kiddo!” and that’s the last he heard before a wave of vertigo took over his senses, the buildings and sky around him twisting and folding impossibly, and he leaned over to dry heave and then pass out.

“Jack, we need to hurry before those agents find him!” Madeline Fenton said from the passenger seat as they approached Caspar High. As soon as they realized that Danny had left the house they’d begun their search, especially vigorous due to the agents also on the prowl. They’d seen some agents leaving Nasty Burger and firing wildly into the air, and they’d seen one of the shots land on something invisible.

And then they’d seen their son materialize and plummet thirty feet to land a few streets over near his high school. Jack was driving them there, and that alone was enough to get the agents to pause on their way to their vans. Small blessings. When they neared the high school though they saw something odd. 

“Honey, am I crazy or was that street not there last week?” Jack said as they approached.

“I don’t think that matters right now dear.” she rescinded, though it was bugging her as well. She knew they tended to get a bit focused on their work, but that work often took them out on the town. She would have seen something of a new street before now, especially with such charming looking stores.

“Theres people milling about, maybe one of them saw him!” Jack pointed out, her wonderful optimist.

“Lets hope! We need to get him back to the lab to check him for injuries, after that we need to game plan keeping him safe.” she looked down at her lap, her jumpsuit a comforting familiarity. “He’s Phantom. He’s been Phantom this whole time! Oh he must have been so frightened.” Jack parked the GAV and reached over to squeeze her shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Our kid is a tough one, and just as brave as his mother. Lets get him safe and we’ll figure it all out.” he unbuckled himself, then reached over to undo hers for her. They both stepped outside and as they turned to look down this new street they saw something that made them take a breath of equal parts relief and terror. They saw Danny lying prone with a crowd of people clearly trying to help him. He would be fine.

And then, just before they could step foot on the pavement of the street, everything sort of shifted and folded, the other streets stretching to fill in the space being left behind as the street they were now desperately reaching for vanished. The last thing they saw was their sun jerk to the side, several people trying to help him, and then both he, and the mysterious new street vanished.

[afreakingdork]

Soft Spot - Chapter 3

RotTMNT Donatello x Reader

Spencer is here with something to say in this week's chapter art by @garbagemilkshake

Rated: Explicit

Warnings/Tags: Romance, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Married Life, Aged-Up Mutant Ninja Turtles, Villain Donatello (TMNT), Love, POV Second Person, Babies, Pregnancy, AFAB reader, Vaginal Sex, Rough Sex, Penis In Vagina Sex, Creampie, Breeding Kink, Multiple Orgasms, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Fertility Issues, Pregnant Sex, Pregnancy Kink, Reader-Insert, Cunnilingus, Fellatio, Cum Eating, Turtle Noises (TMNT), I have a Biology Degree and I’m Using it

Synopsis: First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the next step about as smooth as the others arrived. The baby-oriented sequel to Weak Spot.

Also available on Ao3

First 💜 Previous

“Donatello… Y/N…” Spencer, the Senior Demonstrations Advisor at Donnie’s lab, folded his hands in front of his mouth in pseudo prayer. “There is no good way to say this, but… there is no circumstance in which the two of you will be able to adopt.”

From where you were sitting in one chair and Donnie in another, you both stared at the man.

He wilted without pressure. “You know I’ve done everything for you for all these years and you’ve treated me…”

He snuck a look at Donnie who was steel faced.

“I’ll just say it: Cruelly on your best days and like trash on your worst, but you have made my career and that’s why I stayed. You pay me incredibly well. The government pays me their own stipend in watching you. I have contacts like you wouldn’t believe! With the stakes in this company alone I’m set for-!”

Donnie only tapped his finger on his chair's limb.

It barely made a noise.

Spencer clammed right up. “Right and you know I brokered it all. I’ve gone to the board for you. I’ve gone to the government for you. When have I ever gotten you a response you didn’t want? They know it. They know I’m a pathetic middle man and you’ll do what you want regardless of them, so they often cave within reason and…”

This time Spencer cut himself off and sighed.

He then leaned back in his chair and looked his age. “The point is, the moment you started publically researching this topic two months ago, your activity was logged. The decision was made then. When you got your first state level rejection and came to me, I went up the chain with the usual ideology. The one that’s worked for years.”

You checked on Donnie, but even you couldn’t read anything from him.

“It was… different. I can't even tell you! It was like they removed anyone from the decision making process who could be swayed. My contacts were all gone. People who have dedicated their lives to America. It was… unlike anything I had ever seen.”

Spencer raised a hand to mess his hair, but thought better of it.

He stared at the appendage. “They levied all you’ve been given against you.”

You heard Donnie inhale.

It wasn’t sharp.

It wasn’t distinct.

He only appeared to take a single breath where he had not.

You looked away.

“You’ve never been convicted of a crime, but you are considered one of, if not the most, dangerous assets. Any time there’s a change in leadership, they almost always evaluate if you are still worth it to keep alive. When I got you approval to travel internationally, your data was shared with the world. They wanted to make sure you came back. They may not know everything you’ve done. Hell, I don’t know and I don’t want to know, but they know enough.”

You felt Donnie look at you.

“You’re brilliant. You’re the smartest guy I’ve ever met and ever will meet. You are insane. You’re something totally new. You do things… I can’t…” Spencer had to blow out a long breath to steady himself. “I have no doubt that even if you retired, that even if a mutant eradicating lunatic took office, you would be safe to live out your natural life.”

You couldn’t return the gaze.

“But there’s no way they’ll let you have a kid. In that way, you’ll always be a monster to them. The thought of you of all people raising a young mind?” Spencer kicked back from his chair and his admonishment was palpable. “They’re idiots! Idiots, all of them! I don’t even like you, but this!?”

Donnie finally returned his attention to Spencer.

“You know from when the EPF tried to cage and the others that they studied at least part of mutated DNA. They’ve guessed a lot from a little. They don’t think you’ll have a child naturally. They won’t let you use a lab to do it artificially. You're not going to foster. Hell, there's no way they'll let you even babysit a kid that isn’t yours for more than a few minutes.”

“Spencer.” Donnie spoke as if he hadn’t listened to a borderline lecture.

“Yes?”

“We’re trying.”

Spencer rubbed his face and again tried to save his hairline. “I know. I’m trying too.”

Donnie clicked his tongue.

“To help you!” Spencer’s volume rose and he dipped horrified. “Not me trying have a kid! I have enough of those! I meant I know you are trying to have one! Both of you! You two! I’m saying I know what you meant.���

Donnie’s lids lowered.

“I’m assuming you crunched the numbers.” Spencer pivoted as you assumed most business men would.

Donnie’s leg bounced the slightest amount as he weighed his options before he relented. “We have a 1.73% chance of conception.”

Spencer nodded and each bob of his chin grew more weary. “Woof.”

“It’s not zero.” You added.

“It’s not zero.” Spencer held a hand up as if that had been a bone for him.

“So… are you saying that even if we conceived… They’ll take the baby-?” You had to stop because your voice shook.

Spencer struggled for a long moment before he finally raked his hand through his hair. “They are betting on it not happening.”

“But you said-?” You pressed.

“I know!” Spencer’s voice grew heated and he cut himself off with a fearful snap of his lips. “I’m sorry. It’s not you at all. You have every right to ask questions. I shouldn’t be the one answering them. They’ve dismissed this so much it’s a damn insult! They’re spitting in your faces!”

“You don’t know?” You asked.

“I asked the same thing!” Spencer pleaded with you.

You quieted at the man’s sorrowful face.

“When I pressed about the million and one chance that it happened, I got conflicting answers. There was more than one representative at the meeting.”

You finally looked at Donnie.

Spencer shook his head. “The answers all ranged the same! One man said it wasn’t an option so why bother. Another  acknowledged that mutants have been granted citizenship, but they’re all considered sterile with the implication they’ll be wiped out eventually.”

His jaw was set and he couldn’t return it.

“Point is, they don’t even want to consider it. That would mean drawing up new laws. They aren’t going to do extra work if they don’t have to. It’s a moot point.”

“Hacks.” Donnie sneered.

“This is going to be an ‘if it comes’ thing, if it comes at all! The certains are: you are banned from adoption. You’re not going to be able to sneak an abandoned drug den kid away with these rules, Donatello! This is as serious as serious gets.” Spencer set his hands on the table.

An unmistakable cowlick had broken free of his coif.

“They value my work, if I stop-” Donnie bore his gaze into Spencer.

“You are really, really useful to them alive. Genius Built is highly coveted and isn’t a company without you. It’s the place every graduate wants to work and every big brain hopes to walk through.”

Donnie waited for the other shoe to drop.

“They’ve finally drawn a line.” Spencer said with a pained expression. “Nothing you do is going to move the adoption thing. The baby situation…? That… If that existed, that might be something else, but that’s only a might.”

“What freedom-!?” Donnie seethed.

“Do you have!?” Spencer shot forward with his hands to his desk. “You have it all! You can walk about without police! You’re basically carte blanche! You get to live! You got to marry! You got to leave the country!! What do you have?! Is a kid that make it or break it!?”

Donnie rose in one fluid motion.

Spencer scrambled backwards so fast his chair squeaked. “I have kids! They’re nasty! They’re gross! The grossest! They’re draining little parasites! They’ll grow up to hate you! They despise me! Don’t get mad at me because you don’t know!!!”

You tore through your wedding band to demand Donnie sit.

Your mate tossed fury your way and seemed to ask why you weren’t this mad.

You let your sour show slow and leaked poison through your bond that you were.

An indignant wave hit him before he turned to Spencer. “They take away Y/N’s freedom.”

Spencer was still on high guard. “Y/N is on the same international list as you now.”

Donnie traded ire for horror.

“I’m what?” You blinked.

“Maybe not as a threat like Donatello, but you’re a person of interest. All your travel will be monitored.” Spencer explained warily.

“That’s…” Your head rolled and you stared at the ceiling.

“I thought you knew…” Spencer’s voice whined.

“How would we know?!” Donatello growled. “You said travel was clear!!”

“Y/N married you!” Spencer matched him without standing. “There was explicit danger there!”

“And now Y/N isn’t allowed to have a child!? They will be taken away!?” Donnie stormed forward.

Spencer tried to hold himself as the desk was between them.

You brought your chin down and into your hands while sending out a stop command to your mate.

He heeded it, but would not budge.

“You can’t adopt. You can’t use fertility options. They don't want you inventing ways around anything but au naturel. They're neutering you like that.” Spencer listed off.

Donnie loomed and you could almost see the miasma pour off his aura.

You thought over the conversation and then Spencer as a whole.

He was the man who sold Genius Built.

He was a man who has worked with Donnie for years.

He was a man who was as stereotypical white collar as they came.

“There’s no rule about me getting pregnant because they don't think I will.” You spoke.

Donnie didn’t turn.

Spencer tipped his body to see you. “Exactly.”

“What have you got for that?” You asked.

Spencer watched you for a beat before he smiled. “See this! Your spouse always gets it! They make you more palatable, but not great, you know?”

Donnie’s anger flared.

Spencer inched away from his desk and was clearly moving towards you. “I can’t guarantee your child will be safe.” 

You nodded.

Donnie’s head tipped back, but not enough for you to see.

“I can’t say they won’t be either. Donatello has always been a ‘ask for forgiveness instead of permission’ kind of guy. He was going to leave the country regardless of what I did. He was going to invent regardless of the label. He was going to fight the US government by himself regardless of whatever that was!”

You wondered how much Spencer really knew.

“What’s the gestation like if you get knocked up?”

You looked to Donnie.

“We aren’t sure, but hypothesize similar to human.”

“Nine months and that’s if you already got lucky…” Spencer ruminated.

Donnie didn’t correct him.

You guessed that made sense.

Donnie had only very recently entered the phase where he could test to see if his birth control was out of his system. He was meant to pick up some supplies from the lab today. There was no point prior to now. All that had been done is he’d started closely examining your body with your permission. It included daily wellness checks that supposedly charted your ovulation schedule. Your husband had made them tender periods instead of clinical ones so you hadn't considered them much.

“Are you two going to keep trying?” Spencer asked only you.

“Yes.” You answered.

“Are you going to break the adoption or fertility rules that have been set down?”

You met his eye harshly. “The first would endanger the child so I'm going to unilaterally say no. The second, what even counts? If I take a vitamin, is that wrong?”

Spencer lit up and went for his computer.

He tacked several things in before he apparently got a window he wanted.

Then, he mouthed out what you had asked as he wrote.

“If you conceived, how staunch are you on keeping the baby’s records secret?” Spencer finally asked something else.

Donnie took a threatening step.

“Sealed, heard.” Spencer nodded along with his notes. “What about you, Y/N? The pregnancy data will be something...”

Donnie meant to take another step, but you finally got to your feet and cut him off with a hand to his arm. “It depends. Are you looking for loopholes?”

“I work in sales.” Spencer stopped writing to look at you. “I sell Donatello. I do what I need to.”

There was a hefty confidence there that you felt was warranted.

Donnie had kept Spencer around after all.

“Don’t you guys have a crazy legal team?” You put yourself between Donnie and Spencer.

Spencer’s plastic smile shone bright. “We have the best damn legal team of sharks that ever roved US waters.”

“Can… we win?”

“We can try.” Spencer typed out one last thing before spinning to address you. “Here’s the pitch: you guys make a baby.”

Donnie shook his head at the absurdity.

Spencer ignored him. “While you break that hurdle, I will do everything in my power to protect the prodigal son. I’m gonna get the US decision saying what you can't do in formal writing and give it to the shark tank. We’ll shred the loopholes into doorways. We’ll walk all over them. They might want something though. We’ve got stuff in the in GB here that’s tasty and reserved to sweeten whatever pots we need. The EPF is gone and the loons were silenced, but the government can't pretend like they've really moved on from the mutant thing. Some people still see the advantages. There’s been real world change, especially environmental, that has stemmed directly from mutant cooperation! If it's got breakthrough written on it, they'll want it, especially pharmaceuticals. You have no idea how far this can go. If it can make money, that talks. Way louder than bureaucrats in Washington!”

You stared on.

Spencer’s lids lowered. “I'm saying we give up on trying to convince the US shit show. We get ourselves better backers, green ones, as in money green, Donatello green, and that's what's actually going to get you what you want. Like everything else.”

You nodded slowly.

“I’m gonna refine that speech, by the way.” Spencer told Donnie.

Donnie ignored him.

“Why… do all this…?”

“Pardon?” Spencer perked up.

“Why help us…? The travel thing was at least a wedding gift… This… this isn’t in your job description. None of it has been.”

Spencer stared at you dully for a moment before he leaned in like he had a secret. “So?”

You twitched at his apparent audacity.

He smiled a smarmy veneer. “You think it's in an assistant’s job description to get coffee?”

Your lips parted, but you weren’t sure with what.

Spencer answered for you. “No, but it’s implied you do it. Everyone does it. That and pick up dry cleaning. You maintain the boss's schedule, you push meetings when he’s hung over, and you work through the politics. It’s what you do! Have you ever heard me call Donnie an evil man? No and I never will. You know who gets called evil on a daily basis? Me, darling. I’ve been cussed out by more people than you can count. I’m hated by multi-international corporations because I’m good at what I do and what I do is sell him!”

Donnie looked down Spencer’s pointed finger with disinterest.

“I’m set for life because of it! I’m not going anywhere! I didn’t give you the travel voucher as a wedding gift! I would have been fine getting you a toaster that would break in six months. I got the travel ban lifted because I wanted my meal ticket to come back. If he wants a kid then I’m gonna move mountains because I know what he’s like when he doesn’t get what he wants and it’s bad.”

Spencer finally left the safety of his desk and openly approached Donnie.

“Do the screen thing. Projections I sent you in the email three days ago at 3:24pm.”

Donnie glowered, but brought his wrist up.

You saw a graph appear in one of Donnie’s screens that apparently showed Genius Built’s growth.

It had been on nothing but a rise in all the recent quarters.

“This-” Spencer pointed to a spot that marked right before the rapid incline. “-is when he disclosed his relationship with you, which I have only been able to guess is when you guys became official official.”

You looked between the data and him.

“You entered Donatello’s life and his creativity spiked. Not just any inventions, but one’s with mass-market appeal! All useful hit after hit. You rejuvenated our stocks. You’re the direct correlation. We’ve never tapped children’s markets! Do you have any idea how much potential there is!? How what you’ll make isn’t just some brat, but a kid’s revolution in general?! People won’t be able to think about popping out little shits without Genius Built!”

The man was manic enough that you inched away from him.

Donnie closed the screen and this time he used his body as a barrier.

Spencer cleared his throat and pushed out his hands in some sort of inspired breathing exercise.

“Point is, I’m not doing it to be a good person.”

You felt Donnie’s appreciation.

Your head pivoted toward your mate and you saw how his cold expression honed on Spencer.

Your brow wrinkled in confusion.

“I’d bet on what I'm doing over benevolence any day. I'm doing something that someone’s going to fight tooth and nail over.” Spencer added before he leaned back against his desk.

It was the honesty.

Donnie liked that Spencer was truthful.

Neither man bullshitted the other.

They were in the ultimate symbiotic relationship.

Something of only convenience.

The moment either party didn’t benefit, they would move on.

The fact they’d been at this for years said something too.

You heaved a sigh and guessed Spencer wasn’t wrong, though it didn’t feel great.

“I’ll think about the pregnancy stuff.” You relented.

“I’ll take it.” Spencer bobbed his body and looked at Donnie. “What do you think? Nothing moves without you, sir.”

Donnie let the moment simmer before he gave the barest nod. “Find me choices and security or find other employment.”

It didn’t sound like the threat Donnie hoped.

You tempered your grin.

Spencer took it the same way, but pretended to be alarmed by waffling away. “Understood! I’ll send my formal proposal in an hour.”

Donnie turned and, in passing, you shared a glance that said this meeting was over.

You said goodbye to Spencer where your mate didn’t and the man waved you off.

He started a phone call before his door shut closed.

Donnie continued to move, but you hung back by the office.

It was soundproofed and you heard nothing more after the door shut.

Donnie noticed your hindrance and turned back.

“Adoption… was our plan…” You spoke with burbling sadness. “Not a fallback, that’s what we-”

Donnie was at your side in an instant. “I know, but not here…”

“Not here…” You slipped away from your mate and held yourself as you walked.

He followed close behind.

There would be no adoption.

You were at the mercy of less than two percent chances.

You would have to give birth.

By all accounts, a child was now only a dream.

Donnie had told you.

Donnie would never be allowed to live freely.

He said he would live his entire life under some form of threat.

That would never end. 

It now extended to you. 

If you had a child with Donnie there was a chance they could be taken away. 

You squeezed your torso so tight that it felt like your ribs compressed.

Donnie touched your arm and you twitched in realizing that you were still in the labs proper.

Scientists busied themselves around you.

Not here.

Donnie needed supplies, you reminded yourself.

Not here.

You nodded for him to go ahead and slipped off toward where a pillar afforded you a place out of the way.

Not here.

It was unfair.

The injustice made you ill.

Your mate was loving.

Your mate was caring.

Your mate fostered a smile in spite of everything he had gone through.

Your mate was a murderer.

You blew out an air that allowed you to get just a little more of your body.

That was it and more.

Political enemy.

War criminal.

Weapons manufacturer.

Drug dealer.

There was no end to his crimes.

How had Spencer put it?

Something about Donnie shaping young minds.

Wasn’t that what he did now?

Donnie was the last step in the process granting all these scientists their projects.

He was allowed to do that because this benefited the world.

Would a child of his offer nothing?

Donnie was a weapon.

Donnie was a husband.

The swirl threatened to consume you.

Donnie was there, by your side once more.

You didn’t look at him as you moved for the elevator.

Your torso ached.

He got the button.

The elevator ride was a loaded one.

Every grievance filled the metal box until you thought you would suffocate.

Then the doors opened to the lobby and you darted out at freedom.

You stumbled as you crossed the clean floors.

You were outside and to where the car was parked.

It opened its doors, invitingly, and you accepted the offer.

Donnie moved to the trunk.

Its slam shook your body when it closed.

Donnie entered the vehicle.

The door closed.

The engine turned.

The moment you were in motion, your mate pulled you to him.

Your tiny body curled up in his.

It fell out of you.

“Why aren’t you allowed to add some good to this world?!”

“Don’t they see how you’ve changed?!”

“Haven’t they seen what you’ve done!?”

“How can we do this!?”

“How can we have a kid in good faith!?”

“How is trying to have a child under these circumstances not abuse!?”

“They did this! They put us in this position! How is that fair!?”

“I already thought it was so damn selfish! How can I add to that?!”

“We could do everything! We could do everything right and they could be taken from us!”

“We can’t even help another child like you!!”

“Another kid who was lost! We can’t save them!!”

“It’s ridiculous!!!”

“It’s not fair!!!”

“I HATE THIS!!!”

Donnie responded.

You knew he did.

To each and every sentence, he had something to say.

You heard none of it.

You were irrational.

You could feel how much.

Who was that person who had been in the room with Spencer?

How had they taken the news so coldly?

Donnie had been furious.

Donnie had thought you would be.

You thought you were.

You were now.

It was too late.

For what?

What good would it have done?

Spencer was nothing more than a messenger.

That was why the government talked through him and not to Donnie.

How many times had they tried to buy out Spencer?

There was no way they hadn’t tried to place a plant as close to Donnie as possible.

Spencer had good in him.

You didn’t care what he said.

There was good.

He wasn't evil.

Nothing was so black and white.

Just like this.

When you emerged from your stupor, you were bundled up on the couch.

Swaddled in your favorite blanket, you rubbed your cheek against the softness and looked further.

On the table were at least three drinks and two snacks.

All things you loved.

Running at a near silent volume was one of your favorite shows.

Donnie had done what he could and presumably realized you were unreachable.

He’d then set you up with creature comforts before giving you space.

Instead of looking for him through your wedding band, you withheld yourself to search.

It seemed comical to you that he would be anywhere other than at his desk.

He was standing and looking over a microscope.

He was examining the mobility of his sperm to see if they had recovered.

After all you had said was he still planning to move forward?

He must have felt the question because your mate looked up, attentively listening to those emotions that you could both hear before he turned to you.

You felt helplessness in your eyes, but tried to parboil them for him.

He held a faint scold for your cover-up as he approached.

“Nuzzle, please.” You told him.

He diverted course to meet you with the back of the couch as your safety net. He caught it and leaned over to scrub his beak against your cheek. You let the affection roll over you before you felt you could return it in earnest.

He solemnly accepted.

As soon as you stopped, he retreated and tucked his chin against a couch cushion to watch you.

“I… didn’t hear anything you said. I’m sorry.”

Donnie’s lip pursed nonchalantly. “Nothing of importance.”

“I doubt that.” You held a hand up to his.

He lifted his fingers.

You thread the digits. “Tell me. I bet you had some great points or plans.”

He stared at your entwined hands for a long moment. “No.”

Your lips parted, but you didn’t make a sound.

He looked sad. “Everything you said. You are right.”

Your heart had barely surfaced and was once again treading water.

“This was always a dream. The mechanisms were always stacked against us, in my name. We went to Spencer because the state of New York was never going to let us adopt. Regardless of my record, there is discrimination in the system at its purest form, let alone against a mutant. I am only sorry I could not have protected you more.”

“All you did was warn me! All you’ve ever done…”

“Then you’ll remember quite clearly that each time you dismissed me I insisted upon the matter.” 

He was right and you lowered your gaze.

“I do see one thing differently.”

You punished yourself for a few more seconds before meeting his eyes.

“You said we were denied a chance to make a child happy. Be it our own, foster, or more.”

Your head rose a little higher. “You can’t-”

He squeezed your hand lightly to stop you.

You felt a little protest bubble through your bond.

He kissed one of your knuckles. “I have lived my life in complete rejection of authority figures.”

You stalled.

“I watched time and time again as parental-aged adults passed me over. Those who did not ignore my existence used me for gain or saw to destroy me. I had no childhood, but there was little time to yearn. I had to survive.”

You leaned into him.

He gave you no leeway. “My dearest, I don’t think I’ll be a good parent. I don’t believe they exist. I know that as a fact. All children are disturbed by their parents in some shape or form.”

You moved to fight, but he caught a finger to your lips.

“You can argue otherwise, but there are already signs. You know my disposition. You've fought it. I’m obsessive which would translate to helicopter parenting. I have days where I can’t handle noise or bodily fluid, both of which are the general make-up of young children. I am stubborn. I am cold.”

You frowned deeply against his digit.

He pressed once there as a point before releasing you.

You started with the usual complaints, but you saw his gaze.

It was clear, open, and didn’t hold pain.

It was a fact that he accepted.

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

The only thing you could fight him with was scientific data which came in the form of his pathetic sample size.

You bet he already knew that.

He also hadn’t thought himself capable of love in general though.

Yet here you were.

The gentle current through his ring held an understanding of that as well.

“Why do this then?” You chose as your response.

“Why do anything?” His lips crinkled with bare amusement.

Its unguarded nature caused your chest to restrict.

He tipped closer. “I’m selfish. All signs told me not to entertain you, but I did. Even when my apocalyptic heralding came to be, I could not leave you because despite all the suffering I caused you, it was outweighed by my desire for you. I have the same desire for children. I know I will mess up. I believe you will as well, no matter how high a regard I have for you. That is what I know, but you are my stunning anomaly. You are my heart and why would I not want to concoct the ultimate combination of our forms? I adore creation and what is this if not its elevated form?”

“Donnie…”

“I am under no delusion as to how that sounds. It’s selfish. My only awareness lies in their personhood which I learned firsthand. I tried for too long to control S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. I have barely amended such. Our offspring may have our visage, hopefully more so yours…” He gave a calculated churr.

You tapped him with your nose.

He languished in the touch. “But they are not us and won’t be.”

You gave into a small sigh and thought for a moment. “Is there a line for too selfish?”

“You nearly lost your life. Yes, there is and I am ignorant of it.”

“Even if there’s a threat of taking our child away?”

“Nothing…” Donnie rose a little taller to show his might. “That I have even the most minute control over will take anything away from us, especially you. I have contingencies. I will resort to the lowest blows. We may go into hiding, but I will burn the entire population of the Earth down before a sentient being thinks it can separate me from my family.”

You stroked his shoulder in a downward motion to coax him off the ledge.

He dipped down to meet you with a butting of his head.

You kissed him.

“That is of course only if you want to continue. You bear the bodily burden. I can renew my birth control at a moment’s notice. However, I believe the risk outweighs the reward and that comes from the purple personification of peril.”

You were quiet for a moment.

Was that really okay?

You supposed you had long been your own form of selfish.

You often and willfully had ignored Donnie’s warnings.

You to this day downplayed his past transgressions.

All because you loved him and wanted to be with him.

A sudden reel of all your own emboldened activities spun through your mind’s eye.

You had really aggravated an armed assailant once.

You couldn’t help but smile a little.

What was the US government?

People gave it the middle finger on a daily basis.

They weren’t some be all and end all.

They weren’t going to take your child.

With Donnie, you were invincible.

Even though in practice that was patently not true, you were inclined to still believe it.

When you looked at Donnie, you found him waiting without judgment either way.

You reached into his being through your bond to explore how deep that went.

He allowed you full access to his emotion and he only seemed to further soften in your mystic grip.

He was all yours.

You pecked the tip of his beak and only felt a little bad for your display because it seemed like wasted energy.

You supposed you were allowed a meltdown.

It was a lot.

It would continue to be a lot.

You were going from peace to the fire.

You wanted it no other way.

You slipped from your wedding band and stared Donnie down.

His eyes glinted under the interest.

“You’ll need to… renew… the birth control?” You asked softly.

His lids lowered sultry. “While it is not completely out of my system, there has been marked bounce back in sperm motility.”

“No lasting side effects?”

“We have a few more days to see, but signs say no. I posit I will return to full virility.”

You tapped the couch once before chewing your lip.

He waited with bated breath.

“You don’t believe in fate.”

“I don’t.”

“With our odds, isn’t it kinda like that?”

“No.”

“No?”

“It will happen if it does. There is only probability.”

“Not very romantic.”

“What were you hoping I’d say?”

“Something about how you’d make it happen…”

“For you? I would. I would move mountains. I would level forests. I would topple whatever stood between us because I could. As frustrating as it is, my precious science bars me here and I cannot bend her rules.”

“Ah, your mistress.” You shook your head.

Donnie growled a little and feigned leaping over the couch at you.

You giggled and pulled him the rest of the way over.

He churred as he laid on top of you.

With it, you imagined the weight of a child. 

How it would fill out your body. 

All that entailed. 

The pain. 

The horror stories. 

Was your only option a one you should chance?

Donnie had said something about it.

About child birth and how time only cured so many of its dangers. 

Dangers you and Donnie faced regularly. 

Dangers that might not manifest. 

All more playing of odds with no way to know. 

“My health…” You worried aloud. 

“You will have care like no other should you so choose. You are not to be left to chance. You will be my choice in an instant. My priority.” 

You nodded before a rueful smile played on your lips. “Unbiased science husband… Do you think… I’ll be okay?” 

“Impossible terms to ask under, but I wouldn’t consider this otherwise.” 

“And the rest…?” 

“There is no fate. We dream.” Donnie responded.

You pulled him close and felt your worries melt away as you pictured three of you cuddled just like this. “Then let’s dream.”

(Check out behind the scenes for this fic and more on my Patreon. You can follow me there, here, or the tag #softspotfic for updates)

Thank you as always to my darling betas @tmntxthings and @thepinkpanther83

[enigmatist17]

Continuation of this idea

---

Ratchet always knew when someone was in his medbay; it was like a sixth sense their human allies had told him about a while back. Be it the twins wanting to prank him, wayward officers trying to discreetly snag some emergency repair parts, or a particularly slippery Prime who knew where Ratchet kept his good rust sticks, no bot was safe. So when he returns to his domain after diffusing yet another argument between Grimlock and his kin, Ratchet isn't surprised to find the newly arrived human digging through some of his supplies, jumping when the medic lets out a sharp vent.

"May I help you?" The smaller being scrambled upright in surprise, squinting up at Ratchet before shaking his head.

"I'll never understand how tons of metal can move so silently." Cade looked almost awed as he looked Ratchet over before continuing his previous task, grumbling under his breath. "....Ratchet right?"

"That's right." The medic watched him pull out a few bundles of wiring with an approving look, setting it beside a mini-welder and an energon patch he'd already grabbed. "Do you know me?"

"Ah no...no I never did get to meet you." His voice catches, and Ratchet watches as the human's eyes take on a faint glow, his expression changing to one of sadness. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" The medic frowned as he leaned closer, pulling out a scanner.

"For failing you, old friend." The Cybertronian stared as Cade spoke in both his voice and Optimus' in unison, stance changing subtly to give the medic his full attention. "It warms our sparkheart to see you alive and well here."

"Optimus?" What in the name of Primus

"Yes and no." Cade shrugged, watching the blue light that enveloped him from Ratchet's scanner with mild curiosity, said bot's optics widened at the readings he received. "This is new."

"This...these readings are impossible." Cade moved to resume grabbing what he wanted from Ratchet's supplies, the glow fading from his eyes as Ratchet looked through the data.

"Don't ask me, I still don't understand...whatever this is, exactly." Cade shrugged, grinning at some tubing he found. "I was patching Optimus' chest up after fighting Quintessa when boom, it was like I was electrocuted? Next thing I know, I know everything about Cybertron and can understand Cybertronian, and Optimus can quote freaking Shakespeare and understands Earth lingo better than I do. Still weird, but really cool at the same time."

"What about you both speaking as one?" Ratchet grabbed a seat and pulled it over, grabbing a replacement strut from a higher shelf before taking a seat. "I saw that limp of his, you'll need it."

"Thanks man! I'm not the best doc for you bots, but I think I do pretty well." Cade shrugged, pushing the piece over to his stash. "Bonus for not having to dig through a scrapyard, parts for his model are kinda hard to find in a normal yard. As for the speaking thing, Optimus might be able to explain it better than I could."

"Do you not have a base?"

"Uh...not really? It's uh, the world governments are still trying to pull their head out of their collective asses in undoing the ban on bots, and we're still just moving around to stay safe."

"...what?" Ratchet can't help but remember the Decepticon plot that had nearly wiped out their entire Earthbound faction, and his spark twists in pity.

"It's a really long story that I'll leave to the big guy. I've only been around the last few years, but it...it got bad. A lot of you guys are either dead, still off-planet, or one of the few in hiding in Cuba for some reason." Cade shook his head with a sigh, stretching as he looked down at his haul. "So..."

"Come on." Ratchet let out a long, drawn-out vent as he carefully placed the medical supplies into one of his various subspaces before offering his servo. "While you might be a decent medic, I am vastly superior."

"Ego much?" Cade snorted as he hopped onto the offered limb, yawning as he was placed onto Ratchet's shoulder before the white and red mech headed out of the medbay.

"I wasn't given the title of Chief Medical Officer for having pretty optics." The medic grumbled, this time getting a full-on laugh from Cade as he traveled the halls of the Ark, heading toward the room that had been turned into a home away from home for their human companions and liaisons. The alternate Optimus was sitting in his alt mode, Ratchet's years of practice as a veteran medic shrugging off the suspicious EMF field that washed over him, only to fade just as quickly. "Optimus."

"Ratchet, it is good to see you." Optimus slowly transformed as Cade was set down on the ground, Ratchet pulling out the supplies and trying to gawk at the bot, who was far taller than he needed to be in his opinion. "I see Cade escaped your wrath unscathed."

"This time, don't think you'll be allowed to rummage through my medbay again unsupervised." The human rolled his eyes as Ratchet chuckled, scanning Optimus before the other could protest. "What in the Pit happened to you?"

"That...is a long story." The weariness in his voice kept Ratchet's snarky answer at bay, merely holding out a servo toward Cade.

"I'll need some of that tubing you grabbed and the green welder on your left." The inventor nodded and grabbed the required items, Ratchet tapping above some of the worst injuries on one of Optimus' legs. "Open up."

"As you wish." Battered plating pulled back to allow the medic access to his inner workings, the silence between the three heavier than any of them wanted it to be. It broke when Cade decided to stretch his legs, patting Optimus' armor with a murmur Ratchet couldn't quite catch before he wandered out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"Cade has done a good job with your repairs, reminds me of Raoul." Ratchet hummed as he replaced the fractured strut he'd eyed earlier.

"Who is Raoul?" The taller bot let out a relieved purr when the new piece was inserted, and the dull ache he'd been dealing with for days was finally gone.

"A human ally I've been training to provide medical aid in the field, he became interested after helping us a few times. He's quite the natural at it as well, and don't ever mention it to Tracks, he'll never shut up about it."

"Tracks...I don't know if he's still alive." Optimus shook his helm with a frown, searching his processor for anything he may have heard.

"He might be, you never know." Ratchet gently squeezed his shoulder, the Prime almost immediately leaning into his touch like his own did. "Optimus...what happened to you? You know you can confide in me, no matter where we both come from."

"It is a friendship I cherish deeply." The battle mask that Optimus had kept on when he transformed receded, and Ratchet felt his spark warm at the trust. "A large portion of humanity turned against our entire kind after we were betrayed by a close ally, which resulted in the destruction of a massive portion of Chicago. A majority of us went into hiding when Lockdown arrived to Earth, and he..." Optimus' vocalizer fizzled out, covering his face with one servo as he let out a slow vent. Optimus couldn't tell him how he'd seen Ratchet's execution, and how, later on, his body had been melted down for the disgusting notion of human greed. The anger was still there within his spark, a big reason that he kept moving around with Cade, unwilling to give humanity another chance at taking what little was left to him and his race.

"I know you did everything you could, Orion." Ratchet's spark felt overwhelmed with sorrow as he moved to embrace the Prime, his EMF field surrounding the other with as much comfort as the medic could pull from himself.

"I was in stasis, I should have been there, not hiding in some building like some sort of coward." The anger threatened to spill into his own field like a tidal wave, and Optimus cycled his optics off with a soft growl. "I am a Prime, I have taken worse injuries."

"I don't know how he is in your world, but Lockdown fights dirty and has taken experienced mechs down without batting an optic. You are not infallible; no matter what that Matrix feeds you, you fall like the rest of us. I know I would have said the same thing to you, so I'll say it to you now." Ratchet pulled back with a fond look, waiting for Optimus to look up at him. "I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

"I am too, you deserved to see the end of the War."

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Monster I’ve Become

( Don’t forget to come see my on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord )

Alfonso awoke to the sound of the doors to the interrogation cell slowly opening followed by two figures entering. Neither said anything to him as they entered and closed the door behind them. He eyed each carefully as they positioned themselves in the room but likewise said nothing. Both were Mendrari though by their clothing he could tell they were of different status.

The first wore a decorative robe of bright green with tiny red triangle patterns sewn into the fabric. This covered the majority of their body save for their hands and feet, both of which adorned with the finest off world shoes and gloves he had ever seen since coming to the planet. They sat down across from Alfonso at the table and set down the data pad they had been reading when they entered the room.

Unlike the first figure the second, who was lurking just outside of the cone of light provided by the lone light source of the room, was a far contrast in wardrobe. They wore a tight military uniform with Drenti metal fragments woven into the fabric essentially turning it into a sudo suit of armor.

Though he couldn’t make out much detail while they stood in the shadows, Alfonso saw a glint of crystal on the military figure’s shoulder indicating rank and wagered that they were at least a general in the Mendrari military; or whatever equaled to a general in the Terran Republic.

“Alfonso Muñoz,” the first figure at the table began, “do you know why you are here?”

Their native language was being translated by a linguistic unit attached to their throat. Even so, Alfonso found the experience unpleasant as it was like listening to two voices speaking at the same time.

“I will not answer questions until I am provided a Terran counsel.” Alfonso replied.

“This is not a human world,” the first figure replied dismissively, “you will not be provided a counsel for these proceedings.”

“I am a sovereign citizen of the Terran Republic and demand a-“

Alfonso never finished his sentence as the second military figure paced around the table and back handed him across the face. The blow wasn’t enough to break his jaw, yet a glob of blood fell from his mouth all the same. Mendrari skin having the same texture as sandpaper didn’t help the matter. Alfonso recovered from the blow feeling like his right check had been scraped clean off.

If the sudden violence was upsetting to the first figure they gave no sign of it. They merely waited for their military compatriot to finish before continuing.

“Given the severity of your crimes and the threat to our own security you present your government has not been informed of your detention.”

The words slowly sank into Alfonso as he straightened up and spat a thick glob of blood at the military figure’s feet.

“And here I thought your kind were above such crude tactics as kidnapping.” Alfonso chuckled. “And what sort of threat could I be if you already have me locked up in a cell?”

“A question I wish to have answered.” The first figure replied.

Entering several keys on their data pad a holographic panel appeared in the center of the table. Several images and transcripts began scrolling through the display while the first figure watched for any reaction from Alfonso.

“You have been identified as a leader of the terrorist organization D.A.A.I.F, or “Defense Against Alien Influence Front”.”

Alfonso shrugged. “It’s not a name I personally would have gone with, but you know about changing horses mid race and all.”

“We also know that the group has been planning a large attack scheduled to take place in the coming rotations; you will tell us the target and the method in which your compatriots will use.”

Alfonso leaned back in his chair and looked at the alien opposite him. “And why would I turn in my comrades, Mr… ?”

“Chu’ll,” The first figure replied before pointing to the second alien, “and this is Merg’ell.”

“And we both know they were not true comrades.” Chu’ll finished.

Alfonso said nothing as the holographic feeds changed and brought up only data regarding him. “We know that you only joined D.A.A.I.F five months ago and have never fully embraced their co leaders or values as an organization.”

“They hate your species, that’s enough for me.” Alfonso replied coldly, but Chu’ll shook his head.

“We know that their hate and your hate are not the same.” Chu’ll countered. “You were not at home with a group whose most dangerous attack to date has been a series robberies against banking institutions. You wanted more.”

“What are you expecting me to say?” Alfonso asked. “Do you think I’ll suddenly spill my guts and detail all my plans? Give out all the sources the group had? Beg for your forgiveness and plead for my life?”

“We are wasting our time with these games.” Merg’ell spoke for the first time.  Their hand shot out and latched around Alfonso’s throat and tightened. “Tell us what we want and you may spend your remaining days without constant pain.”

Alfonso felt the grip tighten more and more around his throat; the sandpaper like texture of Merg’ell’s skin adding even more discomfort and pain as he started gasping for breath.

Just as he was started to see shadows creeping from the corners of his eyesight his would be killer relented and released him.

Gasping for breath he could barely hear Chu’ll speaking to him once more.

“We know you were part of the first contact incident with our people. We understand that your feelings towards are kind must be-“

“You….understand…nothing.” Alfonso spoke between gasps. He would be damned if this alien piss sack would preach to him that they understood his feelings.

“You took my wife and child from me, burned my home to the ground, slaughtered my friends and family and left my world to burn.” Alfonso replied. His anger swelled within him like a raging fire as he remembered the day the Mendrari invaded. He could still see the lifeless eyes of his pregnant wife looking up at him as he sifted through the rubble of his home. He could smell the scent of her burning hair, and feel the warmth drain from her skin.

“If your wife was here with you now, would she still love the man you have become?”

As if ripped from his memories by Chu’ll’s words Alfonso looked up at the alien and watched as they recoiled slightly in their chair. His gaze was that of death itself as he teetered on the idea of lunging forward and ripping the throat out of the alien.

It took a moment but Alfonso finally calmed himself down and decided on another tact.

“Do you know how your sphere drives work?”

Whatever Chu’ll or Merg’ell had been expecting the human to reply this was not it.

“Excuse me?” Chu’ll asked for clarification.

“Your sphere drives.” Alfonso repeated. “Do you know how they work?”

Merg’ell slammed his fist into the table. “I said en-“

Chu’ll held up a hand and the military lackey ceased his outrage. He huffed and retreated back into the surrounding shadows while Chu’ll answered.

“Engineering was never my strong suit.” The alien admitted.

“Whereas it was mine during my previous life.” Alfonso answered with a grin. “I loved technology and observing all of the tiny intricacies of how a device works.”

Now invested in the discussion he leaned forward against the table. “You see unlike jump drives my people use which only sends the ship it is attached to, your sphere drives essentially make a bubble around the entire ship easily a few kilometers in size and launch it as a whole. This makes it safer for travel.”

“I fail to see what this has to do with the topic at hand.” Chu’ll spoke, but this only made Alfonso nod as if he had just been asked the correct question from a favorite student.

“It all ties in but since you’ve been patient I can explain.”

“You are right that D.A.A.I.F was incompetent, but what they did have was a well-established network of sympathizers and suppliers able to get whatever you needed if you could provide enough funds.”

Wheels began turning for Chu’ll and Alfonso saw a glint in the alien’s eye as he started putting the pieces together.

“The bank robberies…” he began as Alfonso nodded.

“A means to get enough funds to purchase several dozen of your sphere drives.”

“To supply an attack fleet?” Merg’ell spoke up, but Alfonso shook his head.

“You’d have seen that many ships coming several systems away; no, I had a much better idea for them.” He looked at Chu’ll and smiled as the threat of the unknown began to plague the alien’s mind.

“What did you do?”

“Have you ever wondered what would happen if a sphere drive was activated in atmosphere?” Alfonso asked.

“They would….” Chu’ll began as the final piece fit into place. “Oh my gods.”

“Exactly.” Alfonso finished. “They’d rip apart everything that was within their sphere and launch it hurtling into space leaving a gaping void in its wake!”

Merg’ell pulled out a communicator of his own. “This is Merg’ell to command; begin immediate orbital scans of major population centers for sphere drive energies.”

“Still so small.”

Merg’ell cut off the link to look down at the human who was now looking up at him.

“What did you say?” Merg’ell demanded as he hoisted the human up again; only this time Alfonso was far less afraid.

“You think I would settle my revenge with just a few cities?” the human mocked. “No; just as you took my world from me I shall take yours.”

“You speak of madness!” Merg’ell shouted as he shook the tiny human. “You could not destroy a planet with sphere drives.”

“That depends on your definition of destruction.” Alfonso remarked with a grin.

Merg’ell was going to demand the human to elaborate but they did so without provocation.

“When you punch enough holes in a ship it will eventually sink; so what do you think will happen when those sphere drives detonate in the atmosphere across this entire world at the same time?”

The horrific picture finally came into focus for both aliens as they were no longer dealing with a terrorist threat, but a global extinction level event.

“How do we stop it!”

Both aliens demanded, but Alfonso just grinned and closed his eyes as he heard a low rumbling far down the corridor of the complex he was held in.

“I activated their countdown sequence the moment you capture me. It’s already too late.”

[akajustmerry]

I'm not saying that anti-semitism and anti-Jewish sentiment hasn't been on the rise. It very much has, even prior to the current rise of right leaning governments throughout Europe, America and the West in the past 5 Years. However, people need to be careful what kind of data they use when they cite data about anti-Jewish discrimination. I recently learned that some major organisations who record this data in the UK and the US, allow even flying the Palestinian flag to be reported as anti-semitism. In the fight against anti-Jewish discrimination, it's vital to use statistics that aren't pro-Zionist. you cannot fight one form of discrimination and supremacy with another. I hope it's okay for me say this as someone who is not Jewish. I am happy to any Jewish person to add to this post.

[spotaus]

Did some redesign mock-ups for Ec-4o.verse Cross, Fresh, and Error!

These guys didn't really *need* redesigns but I was having a ball with Trech (Ec-4o!Fresh) and gave him Arcade Carpet designs and decided I needed to redesign some others too! (Check below the cut for Old Designs, Lore, and a Stupid Screenshot from my pal @/Neonsix67)

So OLD DESIGNS:

(We're gonna act like I drew Trech more than twice-)

So, old art, yucky, whatever. We know the drill lmao- but because Ec-4o.verse is such an ongoing project these guys have been through a bunch of redesigns. Regrettably, me from 2 years ago was unaware of Layering and Shape Language, so they look kinda gross.

Cross' design has consistently been my favorite I think, just because he was a later addition and so had a bunch of my newer ideas integrated. They all have their flaws tho (Cross was too lean and got thrown between Baby and Grown Guy too often in my art. Error uhhh... yeesh. When I say I couldn't draw him, I meant it. I never knew what to do with his wires and I kept putting him in armor? Fresh just wasn't fleshed out enough. He was that SparkleDog of my verse.)

Also: I wanted Fresh to be top-heavy, like, big baggy round clothes on his upper half then lil guy legs. Cross I wanted to be more flat and strict, hense his clothes being all Tube-shaped. Then Error needed Triangle vibes. His old design was too Rectangle for me. The exposed limbs are mostly just for me because I love a-symmetry and also I don't keep a consistent clothing style, so I like to keep a visually interesting element (like a limb) exposed for clarity's sake when I draw them in new poses later.

LORE:

Cross: A robot (Ecto) who was initially a Guard-Model ecto. He was one of the last to be turned over when the government was rallying citizens to donate their bots to fight in the war. He was remodeled and supplied with a special task by his Programmer: Protect THE FILES at all costs. He's rather small for a guard-bot, but makes up for it with his agility and sheer stubbornness. Blue finds him heavily damaged and on low battery in an old lab, guarding a room that was sealed tight. His Old design utilized Shields (scarf detached to become them) but his new design is much more focused on quick bursts of offense. If he gets you first, then you're no longer a threat.

Error: an Ecto who was one of the first bots handed over. He was a former data storage bot that worked at a small library. As one of the first data-bots to come in, he was immediately modified and put to work alongside other Ectos to compile all of the nation's history into their data banks. Error was particularly receptive to overloads of data, so he continued to be modified and made into the prime data-bank. When the war started, he was eventually hidden away and sealed in an air-tight room. Eventually Cross was sent to guard the door. They were eachother's only company for... years? Error isn't fond of touch or tampering with hid systems, as everything he knows is barely abd haphazardly stored on unsafe files. Each Crash he endures takes more and more of his own personal data away, and he refuses to lose any more.

Fresh (Trech): A Parasite that was created by Sci to repair living beings in the same way that an Ecto can auto-repair itself. Fresh is actually a liquid that, when placed in contact with a wounded/dying person, it can invade their systems and stop all forms of bleeding/dusting. Fresh wasn't supposed to be sentient, and was meant to be scrapped, but he ended up being vital in stopping the war. In turn, Sci granted him freedom. Fresh can inhabit humans, monsters, and Ectos, but prefers skeleton monsters. He often defies the logic of his world, but what Fresh doesn't? Blue meets him far into the story after he's unraveled a lot of mysteries. Fresh just drops by after hearing rumors of Blue's repair work, and is met by less-than-warm reception from Error and Geno.

Other:

I was trying to save the image and my phone was bugging out, so I sent it to Neon. Safe to say she has peak comedic timing 😌💖 (For the record, we are both adults, and also my parents are aware I draw utmv stuff, so she had to make the threat actually a threat lmao---) I also love Chilchuck talking with the Operator. We are the dynamic duo frfr.

[avinashkumar1202]

From tech to creative, we'll delve into effective strategies for attracting top talent and building a versatile, high-performing team. Discover the CEO's perspective on navigating the challenges of cross-domain recruitment and unlocking the full potential of your workforce. Let's redefine the hiring landscape together!

[elegantauthor]

Saving Grace Chapter 7

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Aurora Stark

Summary: Aurora and Bucky discuss the future of their relationship.

Warnings: intimacy

Series Masterlist

Seven years ago

“Will you be able to help him?” Aurora stared at Bucky through the cryostasis chamber. She felt lonely without him, but it was necessary in order to remove the code words that activated the Winter Soldier.

“Yes, but it will take time,” Shuri answered, who, as she spoke, was analyzing data on multiple monitors. Another pang rippled through Aurora, more intensely, as she thought about her father. How alike Tony and Shuri were.

She’d agreed to stay with Bucky in Wakanda, and though she didn’t feel any sense of regret in her decision, she was beginning to understand the weight of the consequences. She was on her own in a foreign country. At least she had something Steve and the others didn’t.

“I’ll be back,” Aurora informed Shuri. “I’m going for a walk.”

Shuri nodded. “Sergeant Barnes is in good hands.”

Shuri’s regard put Aurora further at ease. Stepping out of the lab, she followed the trodden dirt path through the canopy. The tropical heat bore down upon her, beading sweat across her brow. Gingerly, she brushed her fingers through the tall stalks of grass—a stark contrast to the concrete world of Manhattan.

She walked until she found a secluded spot near a small body of water. Sitting cross-legged on the grass, she closed her eyes. She listened to the birds and insects chirping, as children played in the distance, until her mind stopped, and silence permeated.

“Mom?”

“My darling, what ails you?”

Cocooned in Aphrodite’s presence, Aurora relaxed her shoulders and breathed easier than she had in weeks.

“I did something…” Her mother listened as she divulged everything: the Sokovia Accords, and Tony aligning himself with an entity that would force her to sign over her powers to the government, and then ultimately choosing Bucky over Tony, after Baron Zemo declassified the Winter Soldier’s involvement in the murder of Tony’s parents. “It wasn’t him. He was brainwashed by HYDRA. He wasn’t given a choice.”

“My darling, you understand men’s hearts better than anyone. You see Bucky for the man he truly is. For all his smarts, your father does not. Do you intend to see this through?”

“Yes, I won’t abandon Bucky. He’s…”

“A traumatized man, yes, but I have faith.” Aphrodite paused. “You doubt your own inner strength?”

“I—” Aurora stammered.

“You are a demigoddess who is still learning. Give it time. As the mortals say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

~ * ~

Aurora stretched her limbs languidly, humming as she rolled onto her side. The vibranium arm draped over her waist twitched when she moved, but otherwise lay motionless. Bucky looked so tranquil in the early morning haze—it was mostly sunny, save for a thin veil of clouds.

“I can feel you staring at me.” He tightened his arm around her and shifted her on top of him. Opening his eyes, his gaze softened seeing her face. “Morning,” he mumbled.

“Good morning.” Aurora smiled, feeling him raise up as she leaned forward to press her lips to his. They met halfway, his fingers stroking her skin in lazy circles.

Bucky furrowed his brow. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been fucked by a Super Soldier,” she teased with a grin.

“Aurora…”

“I feel good,” she assured him, forgoing to mention the soreness between her legs. There was no sense in worrying him needlessly, when it was exactly what she wanted. She hated that six months apart had wrecked everything they’d endeavored to heal in Wakanda, but trauma like grief wasn’t linear. She imagined Sam would tell Bucky the same thing.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” he asked.

“Which part?”

“All of it,” he whispered.

Memory loss was something he fraught with, and Aurora tried to be patient even when that meant telling him the same thing repeatedly. “Everything I told you was true. I haven’t been with anyone else since the Snap. I want you, Bucky, and… I missed you,” she admitted, “I missed us. You were right to call me out for not contacting you—”

“I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s okay. I was afraid. The thought of losing you again…” She sighed, feeling Bucky squeeze her leg. He wanted to tell her she wouldn’t, but knew it was a promise he couldn’t make. “I’m willing to risk it. In the end, sharing one lifetime with you will be worth it. And I get two.”

Bucky smiled. “Once we get back to the States, I’m going to take you out on a proper date. Flowers, movie, dancing… you deserve it, doll. I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to do those things in Wakanda.”

“How very old-fashioned of you, Sergeant.” Growling, he pulled her in for another kiss. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to dance and mingle in her mouth. He trailed his fingers along her thigh, stopping at the knock on the door and Sam’s voice filling the room.

“Hey, lovebirds, it’s time to go.”

Bucky’s head fell back onto the pillow with a groan. “I hate him.”

[nshtn]

is this supposed to be Riddler's computer or a GCPD computer?

From Batman Instagram.

We can see in the first line:

lgw01-amd64-039

this is 231~626~ubuntu20.04.1 and that is from 2020. Very outdated!

We can see in this line:

[ 0.000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-42-generic root=UUID=xxxx ro quiet splash

that they are using kernel revision 5.4.0 which is very out of date. Read Only, Quiet (not to expose more data?) Splash (splash screen instead of text) There are several massive vulnerabilities you can employ on 5.4.0 to get remote access from afar. Latest update of the kernel revision is 6.10.1.

But that makes no sense with the next line:

[ 0.429466] pci 0000:00:07.3: quirk: [io 0x1000-0x103f] claimed by PIIX4 ACPI

because that's the PCI quirk for the Intel 430TX and Intel440BX, it's the PIIX4 or PCI to IDA X, which is PIIX North and Southbridge, a vintage chip addon usually used in desktop Triton motherboards discontinued around 1998. but the PC identifies itself as 64x, and Triton computers aren't 64x.

Weird.

Anyways, that leads me to what happens next outside of the scope of the screenshot:

sshd.service - OpenSSH Daemon Loaded: Loaded

which means that OpenSSH is running as a host. This is important information because normally OpenSSH runs as a client, not a host, because to host services is different than just connecting to them. So this kind of leans towards these being like they hacked a desktop machine that is Gotham City Government related rather than a laptop.

This is also relevant because OpenSSH has had some major and very easy to perform remote access vulnerabilities in the last 4 years from 2020, making it easy pickings, the perfect target.

Anyway, it wraps up with no splash image (hmm) and four people getting super user / administrator access and updating the OpenSSH config, meaning it's extremely likely that's how they got in to begin with. They sealed the way they came in.

The four people were present in Riddler's streams in the other movie, suggesting all four are revolutionary hacktivists, though their beliefs are likely to be extreme and whether or not they're blackhats or greyhats is debatable. However, there's a lot of other ways I could get in, you, anyone, that updating a config doesn't fix...

...

Off hand, but the UUID of the machine was also released, which is information you really don't want on an Instagram post meant to reach hundreds of thousands of people. Let's hope that it isn't a real computer.

[mariacallous]

Tom O’Donnell had never really been that interested in how elections worked until former president Donald Trump lost in 2020. Then, everything changed.

Like hundreds of thousands of people across the US, O’Donnell joined so-called election integrity groups that posted baseless conspiracies about the 2020 election. His group was called Idaho First Audit, and members flooded election offices across the state with requests for voting data. They weren’t alone: Other organizations like right-wing activist group True the Vote inundated election offices across the country as part of a broader effort they believed would uncover systemic fraud within the election process.

Election workers in Ada County, Idaho, home to the state capital of Boise, were pretty amenable to questions about the election process from O’Donnell’s group. O’Donnell even organized a tour of the Ada County election offices “to learn more about the process of voting,” and struck up a relationship with Trent Tripple, then the deputy county clerk.

But Tripple, who became county clerk last year, was one of the officials struggling to cope with the barrage of records requests and threats that the majority of election offices were receiving at the time. After the records requests overwhelmed the election office’s employees, Tripple and Ada County’s director of election, Saul Seyler, decided they needed to change things up.

So after years of work, they’ve now given election deniers exactly what they’ve been asking for: Last week, Tripple and Seyler launched Ballot Verifier, a first-of-its-kind tool that gives anyone with an internet connection direct access to every single ballot that has been cast in all Ada County elections since 2022, meaning that those in the election denial movement can no longer say that they don’t have access to the information they want.

“We just decided there’s got to be a way that we can push back against this a little bit but also achieve that perfect marriage between technology and government records so that citizens, candidates, parties, everybody has access to all the information that we have,” says Tripple.

The tool provides sleek graphics of all election races, and allows users to filter by type of ballot and even drill right down to precinct level to see an image of every single one of the ballots counted. Crucially, the ballot images are presented alongside what is known as the cast vote record, which is the record of how the ballot tallying machine counted the vote on election day. By showing these side-by-side, anyone can instantly see whether there are any discrepancies.

“I can’t even dream up how we can be more transparent than this,” says Tripple. “There isn’t anything else that we have that the public cannot see.”

Ballot images and cast vote records, both details about elections barely ever mentioned prior to 2020, have become a focus for election conspiracists trying to prove widespread voter fraud conspiracies.

In some cases, election conspiracists have even built programs to look at ballot images. Well-funded groups like True the Vote have built online tools based on voter rolls, previously reported on by WIRED, which they are urging their tens of thousands of supporters to use and then erroneously claim voters should be struck off the voter rolls.

“It's very different if [an online tool] is coming from an independent group, like True the Vote, that obviously has certain political leanings, and information that they're providing is through a lens,” says Seyler, as opposed to “something like [Ballot Verifier], which is available to everybody and truly transparent.” The data, the team says, is also private. “There is nothing that is printed on this ballot other than the individual markings, [nothing] that would tie it to a particular voter,” says Tripple. “The ballot is completely private.”

Still, some election experts have voiced concerns about the potential for systems like Ballot Verifier to pose privacy risks for voters, particularly in small precincts or in cases where voters leave notes on the ballots that could identify them.

“Despite the clear benefits to transparency of releasing cast vote records and ballot images, making these records public comes with trade-offs,” researchers from the Bipartisan Policy Center wrote in August. “Voters’ privacy might be compromised, and vote buying becomes feasible when ballot secrecy is violated—an extreme, if less likely, potential ramification of making ballot images public.”

There have also been some prior efforts to give voters access to ballot images, such as in Pueblo County in Colorado in 2021, but these efforts were not as comprehensive or technically proficient as Ballot Verifier.

At the same time that Tripple and Seyler were trying to think about a better solution, Idaho had been using a tool called ElectionStats to give voters access to statistics around election results. That tool was created by Civera Software, a civic technology company that ended up working alongside Ada County election officials to build out the new Ballot Verifier tool.

And even before the system went live, Tripple invited O’Donnell and other skeptics to be among the first to test it out.

“I think it's really good. It's more than I thought would have happened, because when we request our images now, we just get a data dump of files,” O’Donnell tells WIRED, adding that the Telegram group has responded positively to the launch of Ballot Verifier.

WIRED also tested the Ballot Verifier tool, looking at specific precincts and races, filtering votes by type (mail-in ballot, absentee ballot, etc.) and found that the system worked smoothly and instantly displayed images of every ballot cast.

US elections have never been safer, and the 2020 election was declared the “most secure” by Trump’s own officials. But a lot of people still believe unfounded conspiracies about elections, and the roll out of this tool in one county in one state is not necessarily going to change that overnight. Indeed, a review of O’Donnell’s 400-person Telegram channel by WIRED this week shows that many within the election integrity group are still regularly sharing widely debunked conspiracies about voting.

Adam Friedman, Civera’s founder, believes part of the reason for this is a lack of transparency, something which Ballot Verifier can address.

“A lot of the conspiracy theories and divisiveness and toxic rhetoric and mistrust around elections in America goes hand-in-hand with people not being able to see enough and people perceiving voting as being a black box experience,” says Friedman. “Ballot Verifier is really a way to turn a black box into a glass box.”

Friedman says that Civera had already signed a contract with several counties in Texas to provide the tool to them, and was in discussions with counties in multiple other states. The tool is also of interest to academics, and Friedman says the company is in preliminary conversations with two prominent universities and a number of political scientists who study cast vote records.

But Ballot Verifier is not cheap. Friedman and Civera provided a “large discount” on the research and development costs for this tool, but it still cost Ada County $40,000. While there are no current plans to roll the tool out nationally, Seyler says that while every county could benefit from using a system like it, election budgets have been historically underfunded. While all the backend work to upload new election data is handled by the company’s employees, the company is also currently building tools to allow local election officials to do this themselves, and go even faster.

The next big test for the Ballot Verifier tool comes later this month with the statewide primaries in Idaho on May 21. This will be the first time the officials will be working with recent election data rather than historical data, and they know there will be pressure to get that information online as soon as possible. Seyler says the current projection for getting the data uploaded is four to six weeks, though it could be quicker if Civera can finish some additional tools they are working on to improve efficiencies.

Looking further ahead, Tripple even foresees a point when data is available in Ballot Verifier so quickly after a vote that it could be used by candidates or parties to decide whether a recount is necessary, potentially avoiding the expensive and drawn-out recount process.

“That's not going to be possible now because of the speed at which we're uploading this data, but I think that's something that could be happening in the future,” says Tripple.

[wordsofwilderness]

In light of recent events I thought it would be a good idea to make a post with a list of specific things you can do to make a difference, some for your own personal peace of mind and safety, some to fight on. Even if you are not from the US, please read on, many of these are applicable for everyone, the rise of the far right is not a unique problem to the US, and may of these precautions can end up helping in a lot of other situations too.

I've choose to ordered these roughly with the easiest first:

Personal archive

Download your favourite political literature, fics, books ect. You can get a thumb drive for pretty cheap at any tech store and most bigger supermarkets too if you don't already have one. For the tech savvy you can also download the entirely of Wikipedia (guide here).

Emergency money in cash

If you don't already have any emergency savings it's time to get some. Keep some of it in cash in a safe but accessible place. This can also be extremely useful in case of blackouts or natural disasters were the electricity network is likely to breakdown and cards therefor won't work.

Stop using period tracking apps

Switch it out with pan and paper, or a list of dates in your notes app, literally anything else. Even if the owners swear to protect your data and you are essentially blindly trusting your safety in not only their morals but also their security being better than anyone's hacking abilities (including the US government). Even if you for whatever reason isn't personally in a situation where a pregnancy has any chance of happening or would be any kind of problem, know that your data will be used to compare against those not as fortunate.

Keep a few days of food and other essentials on hand

This one might sound a lot more daunting than it is. Keep an extra bag of pasta or rice and a few cans of bean. I can also recommend a big bag of nuts if your not allergic, or an extra bag of flour and a few packs of dry yeast if you bake. Get into the habit of buying new stable items when you open something instead of when you run out. The important thing here is that these are all stable foods that you still occasionally use in day to day life so you can slowly cycle through and replace them so it never goes bad.

Get a passport

If you are from the US, please consider prioritising this one. Currently you can chose which gender marker you want yourself and it doesn't need to match any other ID you have (source), and who knows if you'll be able to under the next administration.

Join a union

Voting is to democracy what washing your hands is to personal hygiene. If you only wash your hands, all your teeth will fall out.

But jokes aside, lately I've encountered a lot of talk about the inherent conflict of interest between the democratic parties' donors and the working class needs. People seem to generally draw the conclusion that this mean there will never be a true left wing party in the US since money is needed to put forth any significant campaign. I live in Northern Europe and here it pretty common for any left leaning parties to get a decent part of their donations from unions.

If you need any proof for the potential for this can be, then look no further than the amount of small donation during the start of Kamala Harris' campaign, or even any of the two campaigns Bernie Sanders ran in 2016 and 2020.

There are of course also many other benefits of joining a union that very much makes it worth it on it's own such as: higher pay, job security, more vacation time and so much more.

Please feel free to reblog and add more, expand on anything, or add any resource!!