#You are my first ask since Nuking my ask box!

[medtech-mara]

8, 11, 22 for Mara/Jack and Mara/J I H Z Z Y

Ref post

8.Who is the big spoon? Little spoon?

Jihara- which is the couple name for J I H Z Z Y and Mara. I think we can all guess who is the big spoon.

It's Mara. J I H Z Z Y is the little spoon.

For Jack & Mara, who don't have a couple name because we've not came up with one yet.

Jack is the big spoon. Before he got the extra inches (his height, don't be in the gutter lmao) from his Sigframe, he was a like a Jetpack on Mara. Kinda cute. He wasn't that much shorter than Mara, only a couple.

9.Who is clingy?

For Jihara- Mara is the more clingy one. Something about this rockerboy leaves Mara desperate for his attention. Maybe it's because his fame makes her feel insecure? Especially knowing that Missy (Our pop queen) has had his audience a few times. Of course it was only for discussing Collab and Missy asking J I H Z Z Y to get Gordie to look her way again, but it still made Mars hella jealoussssss!!!!

For Jack & Mara- Jack is the clingy one. He has always hung on every word Mara has ever said since he fell in love with her when they were 9. She'd come over one morning, with her frizzy of unmanageable mane, her glasses, and braces, something in the way she smiled, something in the way she was so excited to talk about this new show she watched, when she crawled into the blanket fort dubbed Fort. Adams with his twin brother, just made him realize she was the one for him. While they have always been inseparable, after getting together in Water on Mars, the two are rarely seen without each other, and Mara will never admit to anyone but him, there's no place else she'd rather be.

22. What is something - either character - doesn't like about the other?

Jihara- For J i h z z y, I can't speak for him on this, but IF I were to guess, it would be that Mara's content with going any minute, she's okay living the rest of her days as a merc. He wants more for her.

For Mara, She doesn't like that J I H Z Z Y has never taken being a merc serious, despite this being the whole reason he's here for his next album. He's not improved and too many times she's had to hold herself back to tend to him to to be near him in the invent that something horrible does happen, she has to get him hooked to a Cryo-bag stat.

Jack & Mara- For Jack, He hates Mara being a merc. Well, at first. He was SOOOO AGAINST IT!!! That was, until one day she was coming home from a gig that she blew him off for, she was pushed onto N-CART track and left for dead.. But she wasn't. Maelstrom scavs near by took advantage of a fresh corps to pick apart, but the only Cyberware she had at the moment of value was her KIROSHI 075362K Limited Gold Edition w/ the following upgrades: 

-Low-Light/Infrared/UV 

-Color Shift

-Anti-Dazzle

But they were fried when she fell on the track, and left blind. THE ONLY saving grace was that Mara had a Frequent Flyer card addressed to a Titus Atredies (Space prince) and they saw their chance for a good cash cow that they wanted to milk dry. However, He never showed. I have no clue what the Boosters planned on, but Mara was almost never seen again. If it hadn't been for her brother putting a tracker in her bag, a spy toy from when they were kids, which he'd recently given to Jayce before he was arrested. (Look theres a lot, that was going on at that time. I would need a soild hour to explain.). Mara had pinged Jago several times to get her, and he hadn't showed either. Blind, she knew that she wouldn't fair well, but she was gonna die trying. She didn't want to know what they planned for her. Just as she got ready to make a break for it, Jack showed up and killed the two guys in the front seat. That's when he decided he had to be proactive, he had to protect her or else she was going to end up like her friend Jennifer Costa.

& also he hates mara's ex jago a lot and hates that she even has anything to do with him still

Mara HATES that Jack can never say what he feels. Its always gotta be to the point of no return for him to finally make his move. Mara wasn't blind to how Jack felt, but when she made her move, he didn't respond? So she was kinda left confused, and maybe thought it was for the best. She stood the most to lose if it didnt work. It wasn't until He heard about Mara and Titus had broken up, thats when he went to make his move. LIKE DUDE WHY? UUUUGGGGHHHHHH

[redvexillum]

I know you're doing Kinktober, and GOD you're amazing at it, but I have a request. (You could count it for Kinktober? Idk.) What about Alastor x Dom!Past Overlord!Reader(animal can be your pick) smut? Imagine you, an overlord who peacefully stepped down, are dating Alastor, and you are a very mean-honest and direct person with a lovable but not to be messed with personality. So one day while Alastor's taking you on a shopping spree, Vox runs across you or pops out from a nearby television (your pick). He starts insulting Alastor/asking if he's finally ready to do something useful and join the Vees, so of course you get pissed. Your anger keeps boiling up as he keeps talking, and eventually Alastor starts worrying less about Vox and more about which man you were gonna punch since it was obvious one of them was going to be the object of your anger(yes he's scared of you, you're a badass). Vox is unaware, since he thinks you're weak, you having stepped down before Vox had died. Eventually, one crude insult to Alastor sets you off, and with wide eyes you sucker punch him in the face, which ends up turning Alastor on. In the initial shock, Vox says something sexist about how you're just a weak girl, which pisses you off more and you start to transform into your demon form. You were about to jump at him and beat him up when Vox teleported away, not about to risk fighting you. Alastor would just be standing there shocked with slightly red cheeks, aroused. When you get back to the hotel, you drag Alastor to your shared bedroom, and tell him to undress cause you're pissed and pretty. I'm Sorry it was so long! Had the idea and knew I had to share it! If you decide not to do it, I look forward to reading your next stories. If you do do it, would it be considered Kinktober for Alastor having a dominant partner kink ( idk what to call it :/ )? I have no idea- Have a wonderful day! Can't wait for your next stories!

Hello Yui! Thank you so much for your kind words! I remember you from when I first started my blog (and then nuked it and then opened a new one lol!)

I really do struggle with saying no, so I did strongly contemplated doing your ask. I'm also honored that you'd consider trusting me with your request, but at the time of you sending me the ask, my request box was actually closed for a while per my pinned message. I actually have a long list of requests (close to 60!) and I also have my own projects and series I'm working on while juggling a full-time career.

In other words, I'm unfortunately at max capacity.

I'm hoping if any of my mutuals or followers would read this and pick up this awesome idea? We always love to see more femdom, amirite folks? 🥵

Thank you again for reading all my works 💖! And I hope you stay tune for more of my Kinktober/Flufftober stories! Who knows, maybe I might write some femdom!reader x Alastor one day? 🥰

XOXO,

RedVexi 💋

[localplaguenurse]

hii its amorette—can i just say i freaked out when i saw capillaries updated?? i loved the latest chapter so so much!!

i love how you characterize dottore and wanted to ask if you have any tips on how you write him / things you keep in mind while writing him, since your fic really inspired me to try writing my own! i hope you have a nice day :DD

Hi Amorette!!! Glad you liked it!

I saw this right as my first break at work ended and suffice to say, it’s been on my mind all day. You’ve opened a Pandora’s box, you’re getting a whole character analysis, because Dottore is actually a royal pain to write about so I have to REALLY study this bastard. The first half is going to be just purely on his canon traits, and the rest are my interpretations and headcanons.

So canonically, Dottore is very prideful and driven by the pursuit of knowledge. No subject is off limits to him, and he doesn’t care about how ethical or moral his research is. Whatever he needs to do, he’ll do it, the ends justify the means. He’s been obsessed with surpassing the gods since he was young, which is why he was ostracized by society. Sohreh’s notes describe him as initially “frigid,” but then she goes on to say she had a good time working with him and is looking forward to spending more time with him (Rip Sohreh). He created segments of himself from different ages as a way to surpass the limits of human cognition, and because they could offer their own individual contributions to his research. Omega is described as more selfish since he was the one to nuke the other segments for the gnosis, and Webttore/Beta is more manic and prone to mood swings. Also, none of the segments like each other.

That’s all the canon stuff. With that alone, you already have a pretty solid start for how to write him. He’s a man who views himself above the people who rejected him and wants to surpass the gods that ignored him. He doesn’t really care about keeping company and he barely gets along with himself. He’ll do anything in the pursuit of knowledge and doesn’t care if someone has to die for him to get it done. If Sohreh’s notes are anything to go by, he may have been antisocial but not completely opposed to finding connection, but that’s up to how you personally interpret her notes and subsequent death. He’s very calculating, and though he does resent the gods, he’s at least mature enough to hold it together for a conversation.

Now, onto my personal take on Dottore, which I’ve sprinkled through the fic already but it won’t hurt to share here :3

So the one key thing I have latched onto personally is his name. Zandik. By this point we all know it means “heretic” but really think about that for a second. That is the name of a man who was born in a world where gods are not only real, but they actually interact with the populace. Maybe it was because my bestie got me into Ethel Cain, but I started thinking about the implications/potential of religious trauma. What sort of homelife would a kid have when his own parents named him heretic when god is actually real? Certainly not a very pleasant life. Of course at some point he’d develop a hatred of gods when he’s been seen as a blasphemous monster since he was born. Of course he’d despise society as a whole, they’ve despised him from the start. This isn’t something he asked for, but it’s all he has. He did no wrong and yet all the world hated him for being born, what did they expect him to turn into?

As a result, my personal interpretation of Dottore is that he is still that prideful, cold and calculating scientist that hates the gods and isn’t afraid to do awful things to prove it, but he is also, deep down, motivated by validation. At the very least, that’s how this all started. At this point he’s become more callous, but there’s a part of him that wants to be appreciated, genuinely, by someone or something. This would have been especially prevalent in his younger self/segments, because he’s not as “mature” as he is now. If you cut through the 400 years of his callous cruel ways, you might find a little boy full of pain and anger asking what he did to deserve all of this. 

… TLDR: He’s very smart, very callous, thinks very highly of himself, and I write him as one of those “they treated me like the villain so I became the villain they feared most” characters with a splash or religious trauma for flavour.

If you want to, you're more than welcome to use some of my characterization if you ever write about him! Honestly, for as big a pain in the ass he is to write, he's really interesting to explore as a character! It's actually why my favourite chapters/moments so far are the backstory ones, or whenever he's reflecting on his relationship with widow. He's a bastard and I love him.

[echowithpain]

So Season 7 Episode 6, (the episode that'll be after the two week break) is apparently titled,

"There Goes The Groom"

...

Dumbass glasses going on in 3,

2,

1,

Alright! Let's see what we're working with here. *nods at title* Mhm, I understand:

✨Chimney is gonna get kidnapped and the entire episode is gonna revolve around finding him and getting him back in time for the wedding✨

.

.

.

Okay let me explain a bit. "There Goes the Groom" is basically the opposite of "Here Comes the Bride" and obviously we don't even want to consider Chim running out of the wedding so scratch that off your lists.

Another way that can be taken is like the other play on words "There Goes the Neighborhood" where something/one moves in and it's so bad that it's making everything worse just by being there, so I guess that could be interpreted by either Chim's dad being there and stressing him out so much he wants to leave for some space, or it could be the Buckley parents being horrible people and Chim wants to leave for some air (also when I say leave I mean like step outside or go for a quick walk, not leaving Maddie). While on the walk he notices someone is hurt in a car accident and goes to help only for them to come to and drive off all crazy like that one scene in season I can't remember where Buck had to chase them down on a bike-

HOLY SHIT SCRATCH EVERYTHING I JUST SAID OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! THE UNIVERSE JUST SLAPPED THE DUMBASS GLASSES RIGHT OFF MY FACE!!!

I literally JUST remembered there was a movie in the 90's called There Goes The Neighborhood and I think that's actually what it's referring to!!!

In the movie there's a shit ton of money buried in the basement of this house that was stolen from a mafia casino or something like that (it's been a bit since I've watched it lol) and a bunch of people are trying to get to it! You know what made me think of this???

THIS PICTURE!!!

Why is this picture important??? CAUSE IT REMINDED ME OF THIS PICTURE!!!!

AND WHAT WERE THEY DOING IN THIS PICTURE?!?!? LOOKING FOR THE MONEY AN AUTHOR HID AWAY FOR A WORLDWIDE TREASURE HUNT!!!!

YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT ELSE I NOTICED????

THE JET CRASHING INTO SOMEONES HOUSE! IT COULD BREAK UP THE CONCRETE AND REVEAL EITHER A HIDDEN BASEMENT OR THE FIRST SIGNS THATS SOMETHINGS BURIED UNDERNEATH THE PLACE THAT'LL HAVE THE BOX THAT THEYRE OPENING IN THE FIRST PIC YOU GUYS!!!!

And then because it's in police custody, there could be a race to break into the police station to see who can unlock the box and see what's inside first without getting caught! I don't know about y'all but those lights and that ceiling in the first pic make me think of the evidence room in a police station lmao. This could be a super fun episode guys omg!!!!

Oh my fucking god it's actually starting to make sense (or maybe the dumbass glasses are still halfway on) because in this pic (moreso the second one but they came together so you get both):

It looks like they were moving stuff out of the destroyed house, hence why the chair is out on the front lawn, and as they get to the basement, destroyed from the jet, that's when they find the random locked box that goes into police custody because the officers don't know what's in it. Drugs? Weapons? A bomb? Nuke launch codes?? ... Money? 👀✨

>:3

And because there's paperwork that needs to be done and phone calls that need to be made before they can even look inside the box, that's when people start to guess about what's inside

This pic could be Ravi pitching the idea to Buck and Eddie for the three of them to go see what's in the box for themselves which could lead to Buddie leading him away and definitely asking him in private, "Are you saying you want to break into the police station and snoop around in their evidence just to see what's in a random box we found?"

And Ravi goes, "Yeah, don't you?"

And Buck goes, "You do realize how dangerous that is right? Breaking into a police station with officers everywhere?"

And Eddie goes, "Not to mention the box should still be locked. What's your plan then?"

And it goes back and forth and Ravi slowly convinces them to join him and help him out. Insert shenanigans and a lot of distractions and close calls before they finally get to the now unlocked box that's!!!...

Completely empty.

(inserting pic again for reference, if that's not a WTF?! face on Ravi then idk what is. They're even wearing gloves so they don't get caught 😂)

But how could it be empty? They heard stuff rustling around in it when they found it and moved it out of the basement. That's when the show can do the fun thing they do where they go back and tell the story!!!

But where does the groom part come in? Idk maybe it was Chim's bachelor party but because of the jet crashing it was an all hands on deck where firefighters who didn't have a shift had to come in to help? Or maybe they were planning the bachelor party but plans keep getting interrupted with calls. Who knows? We certainly won't until May 2nd lol

Maybe the whole breaking into the police station was Chim just joking around about how it could be money and they could use it to help pay for the wedding, and then Ravi took the idea and actually did it with Buck and Eddie. I have no idea! But I do know, this has the potential to be a really fun episode. The first on the new network!

And by fun episodes I mean like Oceans 9-1-1, Jinx, Treasure Hunt, Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1, Cursed. Episodes you're watching and can feel yourself getting invested or just having a good time (I wanna say the full moon episode and Karma's a bitch from season 1 but I didn't like the cheating Hen storyline or Abby's character. Why start off the show with one of your married lesbians cheating on the other? Also I just didn't like Abby's character lmao)

The cruise ship disaster is gonna take 3 episodes and while I'm sure there's gonna be fun moments, it's mostly gonna be drama focused with trying to make sure Bobby and Athena are safe. Then we got episode 100 the Buck musical extravaganza 🤡 but because it's the 100th episode I won't count it cause people expect it to be fun (or full of pain, who knows with this show) and then there's "You Don't Know Me"... I doubt we're gonna be having fun.

Anyway those are my thoughts! Dumbass glasses are being safely stored away until next time✨ (along with my clown makeup 🤡) And again, if Episode 6 isn't exactly like how I said, word for word, then literally unwatchable 😤

0/10

[turbotastictubular]

WOW! THANK YOU!

I have nearly 60 followers and thats really insane to me, but I appreciate it a lot! I've mentioned it before, but uploading my art online has always been kind of anxiety inducing for me. Truth be told, I once had another art account on Twitter for another fandom, but the amount of people so quickly kind of overwhelmed me to the point I closed it really, really fast. I've always struggled with social anxiety, and I just wasn't in a place to handle more than like..1 person seeing my creations lol. This fandom though has been SO nice, and I really have been enjoying Tumblrs interface actually posting art. I've always been afraid to leave comments, but I have really wanted to make connections and express myself since I've been in a good mental state. I guess Turbo was the final push for that haha. Anyways, besides me being sappy, I want to let you guys vote on which animatic (or maybe even a polished animation lol) you'd like to see from me! Also send drawing/doodle requests in my ask box too! (Will range from sketch to rendered illustration)

*NOTE For some reason the "J" in Joke got nuked for a couple of the poll options lol

[nbkuhn]

N.B. Kuhn, queer monster romance galore

Hello, friends! My nom de plume is N.B. Kuhn, and I write monster romance stories set in Lugosi Falls, the queerest little town in the Upper Midwest. My stories are serialized on AO3 Mondays and Fridays and chapters get posted early on Ream. I will also be posting most of the story here on Tumblr, except for the spicy bits because I have had my main blog since 2014 and I don't want it nuked. I will also use this blog to post side stories and nonfiction posts about writing, plus any fun things that relate to my books, other authors I like, and so on. If you would like just the story updates instead, please check out the Lugosi Falls Tumblr.

My current WIP is The Siren's Lover, updating Mondays and Fridays. You can learn more about the book and find all the chapters here.

If you want to know more about me, IRL I am an editor. I am one of those people who used Tumblr to woo my spouse back in the glory days of SuperWhoLock. We sent each other Fall Out Boy lyrics in the ask box and everything. And I remember the great LiveJournal purges, as well as the FFN purges before that. In other words, I am an old.

On most platforms, I am trying to keep my pen name relatively anonymous because I do not want my family asking me weird questions about monster wangs, but here... well, my friends, here you are at the devil's sacrament with me. ;) Pluck first the plank from thine own eye and all that.

[gggoldfinch]

bestie goldfinch 37, 29, 30, 59 and then 60: when was the last time you went to the library (i went today and when i had to talk to the help desk they were super nice and honestly it helped my anxiety so fucking much oml) for the ask meme 🦁💖

get to know me asks!

29. favourite film(s)

omggg this is SUCH A TOUGH QUESTION!!!! I actually have a list of my favorite movies (and one for tv shows as well) and there's currently 82 on there!!!!!! But for the sake of answering, Dune (2021) is def one of my favorites. I love literally everything about it (as I'm sure you know, Lion 😉)

30. favourite tv show(s)

again, super hard question to answer; my list for shows has 37 on there atm. But as of right now, Midnight Mass is my current fav

37. favourite actor/actress

you're gonna think I'm insane but I HAVE A LIST FOR THIS TOO (35 listed, but I haven't updated it in a while). Michael Sheen is always gonna be one of my top three tho

59. why i joined tumblr

Shit well, I can't quite remember by I joined the very first time back in like 2014, but I've had several blogs since then. I had one in high school that I never used and have since forgotten about (or maybe I'm hallucinating this???) Then I re-joined back in 2020 because I was so obsessed with this little sub-fandom of The Umbrella Academy, THEN in 2021 I nuked that blog (largely because I didn't like that I boxed myself into strictly being a fanblog), then started this one shortly afterwards and structured it to be multifandom and don't plan on going anywhere lollll

60. ask me anything you want: when was the last time you went to the library

oh shit uhhh funny thing actually, I was in my campus library today in the stacks (very dark, very spooky, very silent) sitting in on an online class lmaooo

[cyberbenb]

The Nuke Issue: Inside Kyiv’s Radiation Monitoring Stations

This is our nuclear crisis issue: how it feels in Ukraine to be living under a potential nuclear emergency on a daily basis. Below, in section three, we discuss how we’re personally preparing and the gear we’re using. THANK YOU for being a paid subscriber and helping us pay for it — and if you’re not, what are you waiting for?

Subscribe now

Volodymyr Anfimov says he isn’t that worried about a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), about 275 miles southeast of Kyiv. 

Anfimov, 47, has to keep a cool head if he is to serve his city in the event of radiation exposure. He inherited his understanding of nuclear risks from his dad, who was based in the most famous nuclear plant of them all.

“My father worked in the Chernobyl Plant Station,” said Anfimov, a spokesperson for Kyiv’s Department of Environmental Protection and Adaptation to Climate Change. “He is a scientist. And I ask him, ‘Tell me, please. Should we be worried about it?’ He's a specialist in nuclear disasters and said, ‘Don't worry. For Kyiv, it should be okay.’ But of course, it would be a national disaster, and it’s on the back of our minds.”

Ukraine’s recent history is inseparable from the specter of nuclear disaster. The Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986, which rendered about 1,000 square miles uninhabitable, still looms large in the nation’s collective memory. Reports that the Russian army may have mined some portions of the ZNPP have renewed fears of a similar catastrophe.

One of Kyiv’s seven weather and radiation monitoring stations (Christopher Allbritton)

Despite these worries, Anfimov insists Kyiv is prepared. His department manages seven weather monitoring stations across the city that continuously record dust and pollutants. “It analyzes 15 different pollution substances in the air,” he said.

In addition, radiation detectors were installed in the seven monitoring stations in 2022, shortly after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Data from these detectors is sent to a central database and made accessible to Kyiv's residents through an app called Kyiv Digital. If any abnormality is detected, the Department of Civil Safety springs into action.

For Anfimov, this is more than just a job—it’s personal. He has many friends in Zaporizhzhia with small children and worries about their safety.

Despite the constant stress, Anfimov encourages optimism: “Every time you hear an air raid siren, it means a rocket or drone is approaching your city. And you could be the next target. Yet, you hope everything will be fine... You have to be an optimist, and you have to think the future will be better just to function.”

The image shows Kyiv’s radiation levels. On Friday night, for example, the city showed that levels were normal and safe across the city. If the green boxes were yellow or red, however, that’s a problem. 

Since the war, the department has been on constant watch. Their radiation monitors were installed because of concerns about Chernobyl and then Zaporizhzhia during the ongoing invasion. In the first weeks of the war, the Russians captured Chernobyl, which is still a power plant, though in the process of being decommissioned.

“The installation of these radiation monitoring stations was in response to interest from Kyivans,” said Anfimov’s colleague, Volodymyr Dundar, deputy director of the department. “Because… the initial stage [of the invasion included] the occupation of the Chernobyl power plant. And here in Kyiv, we have a lot of rumors and speculation about what's going on. 

“We put these radiation monitoring stations in and gave access to Kyivians so they can check in one click to see that everything is okay.”

Anfimov (left) and Dundar review data in the monitoring station. (Christopher Allbritton)

The two men are obviously proud of the technology and spend several minutes showing me the cramped interior and pointing out the various data points the stations collect, in addition to the radiation monitors. 

Dust, pollution, wind speed, temperature. It’s a weather geek’s dream. Anfimov bragged that the department would soon be able to make predictions of air quality. But some things are impossible to forecast.

“It’s pretty strange that we are discussing the explosion of the nuclear plant as an option in the war,” he said. “It’s really weird that in the 21st century, someone can even think about it. But as we can see, Russians don’t follow any rules of war. They just ignore them. That’s why we should be ready for it. “

And, he added: “Kyiv is ready.”

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber!

Good morning to readers, Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

Tim is back in-country today, taking back over from the talented Chris Allbritton. Thank you Chris!

It is the 501st day of what was supposed to be a  three-day Russian operation to subjugate Ukraine, and the counteroffensive continues to repel the Russian military along multiple fronts. The heaviest fighting in the last few days has been around Bakhmut.

The latest ISW map showing territory being contested in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy returned from Turkey yesterday, along with five Ukrainian commanders from the Azovstal steelworks siege. The commanders were taken to Turkey as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia, and were originally not allowed back in Ukraine until the war was over. 

Zelenskyy and the commanders stood in front of a crowd in Lviv last night and pledged that they would have a say in future battles. 

Zelenskyy speaks during the return of commanders of Ukrainian forces who held Mariupol's resistance in the city's Azovstal steel plant. (Photo by YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images)

The return of these soldiers apparently blindsided the Russians: A Kremlin spokesperson accused both Turkey and Ukraine of breaking the deal that had been negotiated, and said that Moscow had not been informed.

Despite this apparent outrage, the Kremlin appears to have some good news on the political stability front… for the time being: 

The majority that support Putin skew 55 and older, get their information from TV (remember our story on this?), and are supposedly "wealthy." 

But as we saw with the Prigozhin revolt, internal dissent is rising due to the continuation of the war. And it’s about to get more challenging for Russians in the trenches. 

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discusses the U.S. decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine during a White House press briefing. 

The United States has just agreed to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package. These shells are useful because they can be used to clear larger areas of defensive fortifications.

But they’re also controversial because the bomblets inside are dispersed over a large area, and some of them don’t explode as intended on impact. The unexploded bomblets then pose a risk to civilians who may accidentally set them off in the future.

Ukraine has also been concerned for months that it was spending more of its shells in ongoing fighting than it could sustain. And the U.S. has been sending its own 155mm stockpiles – the non-cluster munitions version – to help with the shortage, but were beginning to run out due to the incredible rate of fire.

The solution? Sending U.S. 155mm cluster shells, which the Biden administration had hesitated to provide until now. 

155mm shells being produced at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Pennsylvania earlier this year. Forty shells at a time are packed into trays that are fed into a long oven for a four-hour heat-treating process. About every 45 minutes, the oven door opens and a tray of glowing red shells emerges. (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

While Ukraine and the U.S. are not part of the over 100 countries that have banned cluster munitions, America has been concerned about being out of step with its allies. The dud rate – the percentage of bomblets that don’t explode as intended – has been a major cause for concern in the White House. A recent congressional report states that the reported 2-5% dud rate for cluster munition bomblets is actually closer to 10-30%. 

Oleksii Reznikov, the Minister of Defense for Ukraine, said that to assuage concerns, Ukraine would commit to:

Not using cluster munitions on Russian territory, only to liberate Ukrainian land

Not to use them in urban areas

Keep a record of where they were used

Prioritizing these areas for demining after liberation

Transparent reporting to allies

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Greetings folks, William here. 

It has been a tense few weeks as the threat of nuclear meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been the talk of the town(s), Telegram, and everything in between. The Ukrainians accused the Russians of mining a key building at the power plant, setting off serious concerns about an emergency. 

But Ukrainian spymaster Major General Kyrylo Budanov said recently that the immediate danger at the plant was receding.

"Sorry, I can't tell you what happened recently but the fact is that the threat is decreasing… This means that at least we have all together, with joint efforts, somehow postponed a technogenic catastrophe," he said. 

This photograph taken from Ukrainian city of Nikopol on July 7, 2023, shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control since the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

While the imminent danger of radiation contamination at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant seems to have subsided – for now — the ongoing threat still remains. 

On Thursday we talked to Cheryl Rofer, a retired nuclear scientist who spent 30 years as a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She was a wealth of information on this topic and had much to say about what she calls the "misunderstood boogeyman," which is radiation. 

As someone who has spent her life working around radiation, she is frustrated by the media's misunderstanding of it. "The six reactors at ZNPP are not at all like the Chernobyl reactor and cannot, CANNOT, have the same kind of accident," Rofer says. 

According to her, Chernobyl did not have heavily reinforced concrete surrounding its reactors like the ZNPP does, nor did Chernobyl have stainless steel vessels to further contain them.

Rofer told me that we have a roughly 40% chance to get cancer in our lifetime, exposure to radiation in the event of a meltdown at ZNPP would barely change that value for the people of Ukraine. Once, after taking a radioactive medicine needed for a treatment of hers, she decided to calculate the exact percentage that the radioactive medicine would increase her cancer chances by. It went up only 1%, she exclaimed, laughing. 

Even though Rofer said a cataclysmic event is unlikely, she believes the reason for the Ukrainian media emphasis on the ZNPP has been to rally the world's attention and discourage Russia from staging any provocation.

Here at The Counteroffensive we have worked out a series of operating procedures to follow in case a radiation contamination event happens. Our subscribers have graciously provided us with the necessary equipment needed to have a shot at surviving nuclear fallout (THANK YOU DOES NOT DO OUR GRATITUDE JUSTICE). 

We have sets of hazmat suits, gas masks, and a Geiger counter — among other gear.

Ross modeling our hazmat equipment. 

The standard CDC guidelines for radiation contamination and exposure are, in short, get inside, stay inside, and stay tuned. 

Get inside. If a radiological event happens our team plans to decontaminate and then stay inside our apartment in Kyiv with the seams on our windows duct taped and jammed tight with spare clothes and sheets. 

Stay inside. The CDC recommends staying inside for 24 hours to give time for the majority of radiation particles to settle. We have stocked water, emergency rations (MREs and Tim's ramen), and iodide tablets in the event we have to shelter in place. 

Stay tuned. There's some uncertainty here. Will the internet and phone networks stay up? Will the power go out? To deal with the variables out of our control, we have a charged battery for our devices, as well as solar panels. For communications, we have a satellite phone.

So in the event of a nuclear meltdown at ZNPP we WILL be doing our best to be reporting; bar a total electrical blackout and failure of our equipment. 

And it’s thanks to you, our readers, that we have the gear we need to be prepared. 

Today's Cat O' Conflict belongs to our colleague Ross. Her name is Bulka and greatly dislikes strangers. 

Stay safe out there.

Best, The Counteroffensive Team

This story is sponsored by Daily Kos. You can catch more Ukraine War coverage from Daily Kos staff writers and community members here. 

[thatpunnyperson]

This one's gonna be kind of long so im putting it all under a cut, but the tl:dr is "I was a gifted kid and we had it so good without realizing it."

I was one of the gifted kids in primary school and was able to scrape by in the honors and advanced placement classes until well into high school, and I 100% DID have exactly that chip on my shoulder. I thought advanced kids were treated badly when they failed expectations and needed help, because there were enough kids with the work ethic to allow them fabulous success. The comparison between me and them showed I wasn't even in their league when it came to academics, but I felt like they were somehow getting more resources from the teachers than I was, or were getting graded differently or less harshly than I was (at no point did I think they were getting graded "easier," which tells you how big that chip on my shoulder was about "gifted kids" versus "normal kids").

Until I had to take the normal-level government class to round out my graduation requirements. (And the messed up thing is that the "normal" level was still called "college prep" and there was even a "standard prep" level below that. I was so up on my high horse from taking years and years of advanced placement classes that I hadn't even KNOWN there was a standard level.)

Anyway, this government class was supposed to teach us about how to be an informed citizen and how to participate in civic things on all levels, from local school district and city hall stuff to the state and federal levels. It was taught by one of the 40 football coaches at our school (student body was ~2000 kids) and he was a frothing-at-the-mouth conservative republican, and that seriously tainted how he taught us things.

Highlights of his behavior include:

Making us debate current political issues, but not by simply dividing the class in half. No, we had to form our own sides based on our own political beliefs, which led to several of us realizing some of our classmates didn't think we deserved certain rights

Interrupting the more liberal students when they were giving answers to subjective questions, and then soap-boxing about whatever we were talking about

Interrupting the female students a lot while they were giving answers to BOTH subjecting and objective questions. Anything from "what is the first amendment" to "where is city hall located" to "who should be allowed to own nukes"

NOT interrupting the male students AT ALL EVER, which was wild but not surprising since all the guys seemed to be conservative and republican-leaning.

The two things that made me realize the true difference between the gifted kids classes and the normal kids classes were the amount of attention the teacher gave the students and the first time the drug dog came in.

Teacher Attention

In all of my advanced classes, if I started struggling with something or if I got a few bad grades in a row, my teacher would ask to see me after class or over lunch to chat about why I was struggling and with what specifically I needed help. These chats would include anything from why i didn't like reading certain assigned books to why a math concept didn't make sense to me, and even included recommendations of tutors to see.

In my government class, when I started getting bad grades (because it's kind of hard to engage with a subject when the person teaching it doesn't respect you at all), my teacher didn't come to me and ask to talk to me about why I'm struggling. He simply reported it to the administration folks and they called my parents. Who then yelled at my about how I was failing, because "who fails government" and "who fails a non-advanced class" because my parents had never had to deal with a kid failing classes yet. They didn't know how to help because I had never needed to ask for help, both because I hadn't NEEDED it at first and then because my teachers volunteered their help without me asking.

The Drug Dog

I was literally in my final year of primary education, literally less than a few months from finishing everything and graduating, when my government class was interrupted one day and we were all told to stand outside the building while some cops and a dog went through our stuff. "Leave your backpacks unzipped and open, leave your jackets and sweatshirts at your desks, go stand outside," they told us. I turned to my friend, Val, and was like, "what is happening???" and she gave me a confused look and said, "its just the drug dog??" and I was like, "the WHAT????"

Val had been in several non-advanced classes at this point and realized that I had NEVER had this happen before. I had NEVER had class stopped so the cops could come in with a sniffer dog and search everyone's things. I had never even been searched for drugs ever at all in school. But this was commonplace for non-advanced classes, so everyone opened their backpacks and took off their sweatshirts and left their stuff behind as they went to stand outside.

I was wearing a pullover sweatshirt with no hood, but as a shirt so I was only wearing a bra underneath, so obviously I couldn't take it off. My teacher and the cops and the administrator didn't like that. They were like, "you HAVE TO take the sweatshirt off" and "you can't leave the classroom unless you leave the sweatshirt" and I pleaded with them that I was wearing it as a SHIRT and that I didn't have anything on underneath. It took the female administrator taking me into another room, closing the door, and having me literallt take my sweatshirt off to PROVE I was wearing it as a shirt, for me to be allowed to leave the building and stand with the other kids.

And when I got out there, several of my classmates were like, "what happened" and "what did they do to you" and "are you okay" and "you should have just taken the sweatshirt off" and stuff like that, with genuine concern and sympathy and understanding. When we were all let back into the classroom, there was dog saliva all over everyone's stuff, bags had clearly been rifled through, and everyone's sweatshirts had been turned inside out.

And then we went back to the lesson! As though nothing had happened! 15 minutes of our 50 minute class period had just been wasted for what felt like an illegal search of our stuff and so the cops and admin could intimidate students! I had to take my shirt off! I couldn't focus the entire rest of the day because I was legit shaken by the entire experience, but all of my classmates were so beaten down by this regular violation of their rights that they just kind of accepted the treatment and went on with their day.

To Conclude

Everything is relative and when you are deprived of context, you start festering in this microcosm of your own experiences, trying to define some kind of continuum of good vs bad, respect vs disrespect, support vs lack thereof. For gifted kids, all we knew was that we took "harder" classes and were graded "harshly" because we were expected to perform like college kids. And without the knowledge of what classes were like outside of the gifted kid world, we started defining bad grades as the result of a lack of support from our teachers or as the teacher playing favorites. We were never really held to account for our behavior because we were legit treated so well and gently without us even realizing it. We became so entitled to a high level of support and respect and legit babying at some points, that we started to consider the non-advanced classes and the students in them as dumber than us. To us, they were simply not smart enough to handle the rigor and difficulty of advanced classes; the reality was the opposite.

It's been more than a decade since I took that class and I've since gone to college and somehow managed to get an entire bachelors degree (which is mindboggling for other reasons), but I remember each day of that class as though it happened yesterday because the way my classmates and I were treated is burned into my mind. The day we had the drug dog show up was the day was stsrted telling everyone I knew about how shittily the student in non-advanced classes are treated, about how there is a completely different framework at play for gifted kids that assumes trust based on intelligence. In every advanced class I took, I started telling all of my friends about the bad treatement, I told all of my teachers, I told random classmates I'd never spoken to until then. I was like, "guys, we have it so good, we are so lucky, and it's so messed up."

Gifted kids have some of the biggest chips on their shoulders because when life is good, you try to find the catch and you start picking at the seams holding things together. And sometimes you make up things to be mad at just so you can be mad about something. From one gifted kid to all the gifted kids out there: school was hard not because the teachers were playing favorites or actually grading us harsher, but because we all had imposter syndrome and invented social hierarchies to make us feel like we fit in and weren't imposters. This is a classic demonstration of privilege: we weren't smarter than the normal kids, we just had the privilege of more support from out teachers and the privilege of not getting interrupted mid-lesson so the cops could search through our bags and let their dog slobber on our stuff. We had the double trouble of both the absence of a punishment and the presence of a reward, and it fucked up literally everyone in the school.

Like theres this idea among so many "former gifted kids" that they were Above Tha Rest and treated with a much harsher hand for it and well that simply isnt true

[crystalcow]

𝑆𝑎𝑝𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑//𝑆𝑎𝑝𝑛𝑎𝑝 𝑝𝑡 3

Masterlist // part one // part two

Sapnap x reader !p !child reader

Pronouns used: none specified!

Warnings: swearing, death, betrayal

•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰

╔.▪️.═════════╗

Being sapnaps child will include..

╚═════════.▪️.╝

𝐏𝗼𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥

Apparently the castle got attacked

George was killed by the one and only technoblade

You haven’t personally met the man but you respected him

After all he is a legend

But he killed George

So you were dragged with sapnap when he got pinged on his coms

Dream and George were arguing on the prime path

The sight somewhat terrified you

They were supposed to be best friends?

Dream is the strongest person on the server

George was supposed to be the most unproblematic and protected person

For some reason Quackity was also there

Hiding in the corner of Tommy’s house

“You don’t give a shit about us”

Those words brought some hurt to you as they left sapnaps mouth

“Of course I care about you! I just want to keep him safe.”

The three most important men in your life

The dream team, and ultimate trio the friendship that could never crack! The ones who raised you to be who you are

They were falling apart

“George is no longer king!”

Quackity was just eating all of the drama

Damn duck

“I’ve done so much for you, I hope you don’t forget.”

“Like what?” “I helped you raise a child Sap, a damn child.”

That pissed the both of you off

As if you didn’t just recently spend a whole day with him

None the less your whole life

Being drawn into wars, multiple actually

Practically being drawn to death

“Don’t you bring them into this Dream.”

“Eret is now king again, he can actually rule this place.”

“I was the best king this server ever had!”

So there it happened

The crown was snatched off of George’s head and you were dragged along with it

“Don’t worry, we can start our own place!”

“El rapids it is”

𝐄𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐬

You were 100% skeptical about all of this

You didn’t trust that this would be good

I mean how could you

Everything that someone starts on the server

Dies, explodes, nukes, or straight up fails

So instead you went down to Lmanburg for the day!

You went to Nikkis bakery to get something to eat

She was glad to give you a couple snacks for the road

So while you were walking around the new area you spotted dream

“Where you heading off to?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

You both eyed each other weirdly

“Aren’t you supposed to hate me?”

You just laughed

Ofcourse you were upset

But you were also bored

“And?” “Come on let’s go see tommy”

So you agreed and carelessly followed the green man

You missed Tommy, after not having seen him for a bit

Fucking hell you needed friends

But when you got there

“Why the fuck is everything gone!”

You ran around the now blown up area

The tents were destroyed and signs were thrown around

Then you noticed the large pillar

You instantly ran to dream, begging him to give you a pearl

He was upset himself he lost his leech

So you threw the pearl up thankfully landing on the pillar

Looking around to see if there was any way he could’ve survived

But you accidentally tripped

And lost your first life

𝐘/𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝗼𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝗼𝗼 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 ♡︎♥︎♥︎

𝐏𝐫𝗼𝐩𝗼𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐬

You woke up screaming in your bed

The three lines on your wrist now faded into two

Sapnap came rushing in holding you lose to him

You tried not to but you cried a little

This was your first time loosing a life..

And you didn’t even mean too!

“Your never fucking leaving me again.”

Karl came in with Quackity following after

Karl just like snatched you away from sapnap and just held you

That man was ready to go back in time and reverse that from ever happening

Trust me he will if you ever loose another life

So after that everyone kept a close eye on you

That was until one day you were with your dad

You both were at your old house just chilling around

Before he handed you two velvet boxes

You were in awe of the two rings that sat in them

Who the fuck paid for these??

“I’m going to purpose.”

You almost dropped the boxes

“What?”

Sapnap just kept smiling

“You really like em huh” “Yeah flame, I love them.”

So you just hugged him

Internally freaking the fuck out

What would this mean???

Three dads? What if they wanted another child! Oh hell no

So you all stood in el rapids

Candles were spread around the top of the grassy hill

There were flowers blooming from every direction and lanterns set afloat

It looked mystical

You watched as sapnap got down on one knee

Karl was in shock, tears streaming down his eyes

Quackity looked love struck, looking into sapnaps eyes with total adoration

So when they said yes your dad called you and the other two just hugged you

“I’m guessing they said yes” you laughed

“Yeah they did!”

You couldn’t help but be happy

Your dad finally found some happiness

Even tho life was going to shit

If you won’t be there

He’ll have them

𝐋𝗺𝐚𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝗺

Oh wait shit did someone spot tommy?

There was supposed to be a festival today

So you went to go check it out

Maybe throw a ball at the furry

“Go fetch!” You shouted at fundy

Yeah he was not happy and just threw you the finger

“Hey N/n is Dream coming?”

You were excited that Tubbo was actually talking to you again

“Huh? Oh yeah I think” “Great thanks”

And back to the disappointment

So you walked over to get a pretzel or some shit

And then heard everyone making a commotion

There he was, Dream walking in (angry) with full netherite armor

Damn dude respect some tradition

“Tommy blew up the fucking community house”

Did someone say tommy?

Oh you were ready to kill that bastard

Hell if Dream didn’t you most definitely will

So you followed everyone to the community house

Yeah you were ready to fucking cry

One of your homes, the place you’d always confide in since you were little

Where dream and George both helped raise you

Now blown to shreds

“What the fuck”

They were talking about Tubbo giving up the discs

Oh we are not going through that shit all over again

And this time the odds are most definitely not in your favor

Then tommy appeared half invisible

“YOU FUCKING DICKHEAD I THOUGHT YOU DIED YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT”

You litterly stabbed him, having to be held back by Quackity

“Alright hot shot, lets let them have their argument”

Tommy sent you an apologetic look already on the verge of tears

“Tubbo your not seriously considering this”

Then it hit everyone

“The discs were worth more then you ever were!”

Oh yeah we’re you already pissed off at tommy?

Yeah

And he just made it worse

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO TUBBO YOU SHIT HEAD”

Yeah you didn’t take pretending to be dead very lightly

Oh shit why was techno there

never mind, Lmanburg will be gone by tomorrow

No point killing tommy yet

Whos side were you on?

Neither. You litterly went into that battle feild and killed some shit

That was until multiple pieces of tnt landed ontop of your head

And that’s where you lost your second life

Shit

𝐘/𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 ♡︎♡︎♥︎ ⚠︎︎ᴏɴᴇ ʟɪғᴇ ʀᴇᴍᴀɪɴɪɴɢ

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝗼𝐧

This time when you won’t up it didn’t feel as bad

But you still screamed

A rush of a heartburn and scars employed on your body

The second line now faded into one

Shit

You were only 16-17 and on one life??

Die young the better

You waited out in your bed until the end of the fight

Death alerts and messages drowning out your communicator

But you had no energy what so ever

Until it all went quiet

You tried your damn best to get out of bed and walked to the damaged Lmanburg

There were people crying

Others were severely hurt

Then there were those who were perfectly fine

The whole place was a crater

Lmanburg.. the place of agony and depths of your pain

Now it’s finally gone

What the hell are you gonna do now?

Quackity spotted you calling out for Sapnap

You felt like you were gonna be crushed under their hold

“I’m gonna fucking kill dream.” You heard Quackity mutter

Sapnap felt like a bad father

Who lets their kids die twice?

(Cough cough Wilbur and dream)

Then suddenly things switched around

You were walking around with a bloodied nose and black eyed Tommy

Yeah you did a number on him

But it’s okay since he was your best friend

And there was a sign inside his house

“Wednesday you and Tubbo. Bring no one or anything, lets settle this once and for all”

The final disc war

“Tommy you can’t go” “I’m going N/n, he has my discs.”

So you like cried a little bit lined up on the prime path

Giving the two probably the last hugs they’ll ever get

Prime you really didn’t want to loose them

So you ran straight to church prime

Litterly begging Master Oolong that they won’t die

“Please please please spare them. Pogchamp.”

(Please this is all jokes and old references don’t cancel me)

You got a blast message from punz on your comms with cords

“Come here. bring your best armor”

So you did so running to the nearest ender chest

If walking means saving tommy and Tubbo, it’s somewhat worth it

Sapnap made sure you didn’t leave his side as you traveled around the nether

even tho you could literally swim in the lava

So just to piss him off

You jumped in

The sigh of relief this man

Yeah he’s gotten a little more paranoid for you

But it’s okay since it’s in love

You looked around the weird black stone room

There were two giant photos of the discs

And everything was made out of the same material

No design what so ever

Tommy and Tubbo ran to you like you were gonna protect them

“Dream why” you asked as he was incased in the blocks

Down on his last life

Just like you

‘I’m sorry’ he mouthed to you

Why was he apologizing to you?

Hasn’t he hurt everyone here

You looked around the different items

Tracing the outline of the item frames

Gasping in shock as you a cage with your name on it next to badboyhalo

“Tell em what you told me! How you blew up the community house!”

Your neck spun around faster then an owl doing that 360 thing

You picked up your ace seriously read to slash his head off

“Wait wait! Lets put him in the prison.”

So they took him off

And it pained you to see it

You trusted that man for a very long time

Nothing stays the same on the Dream Smp

•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰•⊱✿•✿⊰

TUMBLR WOULDNT LET ME WRITE MORE KMS. So yes I’m sorry but there will have to be a part FOUR. I just wanted to finish this-

As always! Ask or request anything and ask if you want to be on a tag list :))

[yournextflame]

You've said before that you think Ranni and Marika would be interpreted in a less flattering light if they weren't pretty women. Why do you think then that Malenia gets so much hate? She's pretty, and her faction is the one that's ACTUALLY trying to ward off outer gods and grant relief to oppressed minorities, not Ranni's, yet people constantly make shit up to both demonize her and downplay her strength. Because she's a hard boss? Because she beat up meme horse guy? Because her lore is obscure?

I don't see a lot of hate towards Malenia nowadays, there is some residual grudge from Radahn's fanboys, but it nowhere as strong. I think there are a few factors played towards her initial not so positive reception - she is a hard boss, she nuked Caelid, she doesn't fit the waifu box (her pretty looks aside) and she was a victim of a jar guy meme.

When I said Marika and Ranni getting away with a lot of because they are pretty, I mainly compared them to the central figures in the previous From titles like Gwyn or Laurence. But I think it's more complicated than this. I recently had a convo with another Japanese knower, who is also lurking in JP side of fandom, and also noticed that reception of Marika's character is quite different from Western worship, where she is a perfect Queen Mary Sue. However, a wish-fulfillment fantasy of being a consort of a righteous benevolent martyr-goddess also played its part. Well, people like to feel that they are doing something meaningful, more meaningful than being murderhobos manipulated by a basic tropey prophecy about Chosen One. I have a lot of to say about fantasy tropes and difference in audiences mentality, but it would be a really long post.

I don't think Malenia's lore is obscure, she is just quite simple characater. She is a little more developed Prince Lorian and Lorian worked just fine as a mute plot device. She is Blade of Miquella and that's it. On the contrary, Marika's and Ranni's lore is rather convoluted and... well, sometimes not so appealing. So, people had to do something about it and cramming any possible noble goal they can think about into their plots. In case of Ranni there is "mistranslated ending" meme, which is used as a loophole by westerners. Speaking of Marika, her fanon characterization is 30% stereotypical gender tropes (ie she is a goddess=she is a symbol of feminity and fertility, a good mother, etc, while in canon she is nothing like this; she views her children as disposable and her children never mention her anywhere), 30% borrowed Radagon's lore, 30% youtubers crap, who are portraying her like a poor victim and maybe 10% recognition of her canon traits, glossed over by "Elden Beast forced her to do it".

Maybe it's actually her "Blade of Miquella" thing that annoys gamer bros. She isn't there to ascend Tarnished to a god's right hand position, she has her own goal and is loyal to her brother first and foremost.

P.S. I assume that you are the same anon, who asked about Malenia's rune? I don't remember last time I said that her rune is a part of ER. Since then I changed my opinion on her rune or more like... I don't understand how runes are working because game has contradictory information - some descriptions are implying that demigods were born with them, other that they were fighting for them.

[thegracelessfaceless]

One of my asks got sent back from @killemwithkawaii's nuked inbox, which is fine, senpai, my mind was blown at everything that you just couldn't get to. So since MY ask box is empty, I'm answering my own ask, since I'm more confident now.

Sal and Larry with An S/O with Horrific Allergies

Sal

When Sal talked to you on the phone, he could tell you were a little under the weather

Once you told him it was your allergies, he decided to swing by Todd's to see if he could dig up any tips or tricks or home remedies to help you.

He picks up a few things from the store and heads over

He's completely shocked when you open the door, bed head, red nose, watery eyes that are...

"Y/N, what happened? Both of your eyes are black!"

You explain the concept of allergic shiners, allergies and congestion so bad that you get black eyes.

He hurries you back to bed and starts pulling stuff out of a grocery sack. Kleenex with lotion in it, benadryl, nyquil, a lavender bath bomb... Oatmeal?

"You didn't say what kind of allergies. Todd and I did some research and oatmeal soothes itchy and irritated skin, which can be caused by allergies. Todd said his parents used to give him oatmeal baths when he was a kid."

He also brought your favorite snacks and drinks

After he gets you in your bath, he goes to make you food, ignoring your protests

Eventually you just cave and let him take care of you.

He loads you up with benadryl, NyQuil, and you two eat while watching TV in your bed

You're not sure when but you definitely fell asleep and woke up snuggled up to a snoozing Sal

You cover him up, snuggle back down and join him, knowing you'll feel better tomorrow

Larry

Larry dropped by on his way back from the record shop to see if you wanted to check out the new System of a Down single he picked up.

The first thing he notices are your allergic shiners

"Okay, Y/N, who's dying today?" (Scary Larry, my heart 😍 uwu)

You pull Larry inside, explaining everything.

"Oh, mom's definitely got something that'll fix this, hold on I'll be right back." He drops a kiss on your forehead and leaves.

Maybe thirty minutes later he returns with a Tupperware bowl.

"Mom says to take a hot shower, then put this on your chest and leave it until it completely dries, then wash it off with this", he pulls a smallish bottle out of his back pocket. (Lisa's last name was Garcia, we got Hispanic mom! Lisa!! My friends mom, Lupe, did this to me, once)

He's slightly out of breath

"Larry did you run the whole way?"

Que sheepish grin, "Lets get you in the shower."

Normally Larry would be all over you in the shower. The man has a sex drive like a 16 year old kid, and is insatiable, but he's in caretaker mode right now.

He makes the water as hot as you can stand it and closes the whole bathroom up, even putting a towel against the crack at the bottom of the door

"Believe me babe, I know about stuffy noses" he says, touching his own with his index finger. You kiss his massive but endearing nose and proceed to undress and get under the hot stream of water.

If you made any effort at carrying out normal shower routines, your efforts were futile.

Larry takes the soap and your preferred body scrubber from you and cleans your entire body, leaving gentle little kisses here and there.

He's concentrating so hard on behaving himself that he's doing that thing when he paints where he sucks his tongue out between his front teeth. It's adorable.

After you're able to breathe through your nose a little, Larry wraps you up in towels and puts you in bed and opens the Tupperware bowl

The smell almost knocked both of you over and your eyes are watering again because of it. And its supposed to be on your chest? Until it dries?!!!?

You scramble for the vapor rub you dug out of the medicine cabinet earlier and put some under your nose, hearing coroners do that to block bad smells. You do the same for Larry.

The stuff feels like mud and you want to and are afraid to ask Lisa what's in it when you see her next.

After the foul concoction finally dries, you find that the small bottle just has witch hazel in it and take another quick shower to get the stench off of you and out of your nose.

Your nose!! It never clogged back up! You wipe the steam away from the mirror and your shiners are fading!

Elated, you run back to your room

"Larry! I'm cured!!"

He's already naked, artfully sprawled against the pillows, wearing a shit eating grin

"I know, now get over here, that shower almost killed me."

(´∀｀)♡ ahh feeling much better now. Those boys really know how to take care of their sweetheart 💜

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

By My Side (Part 3)

Summary: The reader and Jensen take a quiet moment to get to know one another. While the reader feels like she and Jensen are finally starting to get along for the better, Jensen pulls back and she’s informed her family is coming by to visit...

Masterlist

Pairing: Bodyguard!Jensen x reader

Word Count: 3,700ish

Warnings: language, near drowning, angst

A/N: Enjoy!

_________

One Week Later

“Good morning,” you said as Jensen yawned, walking into your new and bright kitchen. You sipped on your coffee, Jensen running a hand through his hair.

“Morning. I haven’t slept in on the weekend in forever,” he said. “Speaking of which, what are you doing up? You’re never out of bed this early.”

“Coffee date,” you said, nodding towards the mug at the counter. You smiled as you saw Jensen put it together just as Owen walked in. 

“Oh. Sorry. I’ll get out of your hair,” said Jensen.

“S’no problem. You’re the bodyguard, right?” asked Owen.

“Yeah,” he said, looking Owen up and down. “Well, you look like you can handle yourself.”

“I do alright,” he said.

“Eh, strong and good looking. I approve,” said Jensen. He turned to head back upstairs, a big laugh escaping you as Owen raised an eyebrow. “Sorry. The privacy thing. I forgot.”

“He’s kinda weird,” said Owen under his breath, Jensen’s shoulders tensing as he walked away. 

“He’s just protective. It’s kinda his job,” you said.

“Well he’s still weird,” he said.

“Well he’s part of my life,” you said. “He’s not going away anytime soon.”

“Maybe we should do this another time,” he said. 

“Excellent idea,” you said. You showed him the way out, your eyes mid roll as you went back upstairs. You headed for your room to change into something more comfortable when you heard Jensen grunt from farther down the hall. You turned your head, Jensen looking uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry I messed up your date. I should have kept my mouth shut. I’ll refrain from speaking when you have guests over,” he said.

“I told him about you before he came over. He was rude and I only did the date to appease a friend. Trust me, I like you a Hell of a lot more than that guy.”

“Wow. Must be a dick then considering you hate me,” he said.

“Who said I hated you?” you smiled. “You’re growing on me, Ackles.”

“Don’t go soft on me now, Y/L/N,” he said, running his hand through his messy hair, messing it up even more. “Hey. I do have one question since this is something not really in our contract.”

“What is it?”

“Am I allowed to use the pool out back?” he asked.

“Of course,” you said. “I know you normally prepare your own meals but I wanted to make a bigger dinner tonight and there’s no use in wasting the leftovers if you want to join me.”

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll uh, see you around then.”

“I’lll see you, Ackles.”

After lunch you were sat on your back patio, trying to read a book but your eyes kept wandering over to where Jensen was swimming. He was timing himself obviously, a watch on his wrist as he swam back and forth, over and over again. You tried to not stare but it was hard not to watch the muscles rippling in his back or his shoulders flex each time he moved. After a while he stopped in the shallow end, floating on his back as he shut his eyes and caught his breath. His chest heaved and you swallowed as he straightened up and stepped out of the water.

His swim trunks stuck to his thighs as he walked over and grabbed the towel on the chair beside you. You kept your head in your book but he sat beside you, checking his watch for a minute.

“Nice swim?” you asked, Jensen wiping himself off as he sat. 

“More of a workout,” he said. “You have a good sized pool for it.”

“I have a home gym. Or will have one shortly. If you want anything for it, just let me know and I can order it,” you said, turning the page. 

“You got a bench press?” he asked.

“No,” you said. “Just email me a link to whatever you want and I’ll get it.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yeah. It’s a business expense. I think keeping you strong is part of your job,” you said. You glanced over the page and he nodded.

“You one of those yoga girls?” he asked.

“You got something against yoga?” you asked.

“No. It requires more strength than people realize, especially in the legs,” he said. “Simply asking.”

“I pretty much do what the show tells me to. Bike, HIIT, do some weight training, yoga for flexibility. Nothing major,” you said.

“How do they enforce something like that?” he asked as he ran the towel over his head.

“It’s more of an honor system kind of thing,” you said. “They gave Gen and me personal trainers before the show started but that was it.”

“You ever do boxing, kick boxing, that sort of thing?” he asked.

“Kick boxing. I broke my hand when I did boxing. Was in a brace half of season two because of it.”

He stared at you before he grabbed both your wrists in one hand, your book falling into your lap. You scowled but he threw his hand over your mouth before you could speak. He tugged your hands downward and you took a deep inhale, Jensen nodding.

“Good. You didn’t panic. It’s hard to teach that one,” he said. “You don’t need to learn strength. You have it already. We just need to fine tune how to use it if I’m not around.”

You mumbled and he moved his hand away.

“I thought I was going to be taking a class.”

“You’re better suited to learn one on one. Jared offered to help with some more examples if needed,” he said. He tugged on your hands again, pulling them closer to him and making you scoot over to the edge of your chair. “Without harming me, how do you get out?”

“I’m not gonna care about not harming someone if this was real,” you said.

“True. But I’d like to see how your brain works under duress when it’s challenged. I’m not gonna hurt you but I will make this uncomfortable. If you want me to stop, just give me the finger, okay?” 

“What are you gonna do?” you asked, swallowing thickly.

“Not gonna hurt you. Just gonna send your brain into hyperdrive. Trust me?” he asked. You nodded and he smiled. “Good. Like I said, try to get your hands free without hurting me.”

Next thing you knew he yanked you up to your feet and practically dragged you over to the grass. He pushed you down and threw a hand over your mouth and nose, your eyes wide.

“Relax. You’re smart. Think.”

You tried squirming out but it was no use and he had your hands pinned to your chest. You tried looking around but his hand stayed on you and you squeezed your eyes shut. Think. He wanted you to think.

He had decided to do this out of the blue, after you told him what you did for your training for the show. Something in what you’d said obviously gave him an idea that you knew how to get out.

You opened your eyes and stared up at him, Jensen staring down. You planted your feet flat on the ground and thrust up, moving him off of you enough for his hand to fall away from your face. You took a deep breath as you used your leg to block his arm before you rolled on top of him, sitting on his chest with your legs on either side of his neck.

“Let go or I make you,” you said with a pant. He released your hands like that, giving you a nod of approval. “That wasn’t so-”

He rolled and grabbed for you again but you rolled out of the way, doing it once more and feeling your skin scrap on concrete before you fell right into the water.

You were still getting your breath back and had tried sucking in as you fell, immediately coughing as the water shifted and an arm wrapped around your waist. You coughed up a bit of water when you broke the surface, Jensen swimming into the shallow end with you.

“You’re okay,” he said as you coughed some more water up, a hand running up and down your back. You let out a large hack and felt better after that, Jensen picking you up and carrying you back over to the patio. He sat you down on the chair and gently shoved your head between your knees, the back door opening for a moment before he returned.

He put a towel over you and you sat up, his hand running over your head.

“Didn’t mean to nearly drown you,” he said. You nodded, letting out a small cough and putting your hand on your throat. “Take a quick shower and I’ll clean up that arm. I got the trick for that throat too.”

You nodded and stood up, heading inside and rinsing off the chlorine. You changed into fresh clothes and came downstairs, Jensen coming back from his room with a red duffel bag.

“What’s that?” you asked, your hand shooting to your neck again.

“First aid. I could perform surgery on you with what’s in this bag if I had to,” he said. “Try not to talk.”

He set the bag on the kitchen counter, digging around and pulling out a few things. He took your arm and wiped it off with something that burned over the skin, carefully wrapping some gauze over the raw flesh. He set the bag on the ground and went into the cupboard, taking out a glass. He filled it with water and took out the bottle of honey from the pantry, squeezing a good amount inside before he mixed it up and stuck a tea bag in it before nuking it. He stirred it again when it was done and handed it to you. You took a cautious sip but it made your throat feel better and you smiled.

“Nearly drowned on a mission once. The medic said his mom would do that whenever he had a really bad sore throat and it did the trick.”

“You almost drowned? I thought you were superman,” you said. Jensen smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. “You were holding your breath when you were swimming earlier, weren’t you, testing yourself.”

“Don’t want to be in that position again,” he said. “We will keep our distance from the water if we practice outdoors again. You did good. I see why you got away the first time.”

“Well, I feel like a dumbass,” you said, shaking your head.

“I’m the dumbass, not you. It was dangerous to do that so close to the water. It was dangerous to do in the first place without telling you.”

“Yeah but I understood your point. If shit goes wrong, I can’t panic, no matter how much I want to,” you said.

“I’m still sorry. I’m going to clean up and go out for awhile. I might not come home tonight,” he said.

“I thought you living here was so I’m not alone,” you said.

“One night won’t kill you. There’s no real threats against you at the moment anyways. Besides, I think I said I would keep my private life away from the house,” he said, giving you a look.

“Oh. You’re looking for a hookup tonight,” you said. “You don’t seem like a hookup guy.”

“I don’t think that’s your concern. Just...don’t worry if you don’t see me the rest of the day,” he said before he headed to his room. 

“Alrighty then,” you said. “You do you, Jensen.”

It was just after midnight when you were in the mood for a snack. You skipped down the stairs, whistling as you hopped into the kitchen.

“What are-”

You screamed and jumped back into the kitchen, a weary looking Jensen sitting up on the couch.

“Wow, you are loud,” he said, blinking slowly. You narrowed your eyes and he groaned.

“Are you drunk?” you asked, walking over as he laid back down.

“Very. I didn’t quite make it to my room,” he said. 

“You land anybody?” you asked.

“No. Just wanted a drink really, got carried away,” he said. He threw his arm over his face and sighed. You went back over to the kitchen, finding some leftovers from dinner as Jensen sat up. “Shit, I was supposed to have dinner with you tonight.”

“I offered. It wasn’t a thing. I’m gonna eat the leftovers anyways,” you said as you stuck the container in the microwave. You got out a fork and felt him watching you while you found a pasta bowl to put the food in. “Can you stop staring?”

“Be slow. Is it just me or do you see that small red light outside the back door?” he asked. You risked a small glance out the kitchen window but you didn’t see anything. “It’s on the treeline.”

“No,” you said, popping the food out of the microwave and sticking it in the bowl. You walked over to where he was and looked outside again, still seeing nothing. “There’s nothing there. You’re still drunk.”

“True but I recognize small lights in dark places,” he said, forcing himself to stand. “Take your food into my room.”

“Why?” you asked.

“Cause I’m about to find out who the fuck is in the backyard,” he said, taking his gun out of his back tholster. “Go. Now. Call the police if I’m not back in two minutes.”

“Be careful,” you said. He nodded but he was already pushing on your back and walking you upstairs into his room. He pulled the door shut behind you and you stood there for a moment, taking a bite of your pasta. You sat down on his bed, watching the door.

Almost two minutes later it opened and he took a deep breath.

“You had a paparazzi spying on your property from your neighbor Doug’s yard. I like Doug.”

“What’d he do?”

“Punched the paparazzi guy in the face. He has teenage daughters and you know how dads are when they think grown men are trying to take pictures of their daughters in their bedrooms. Cops are coming but you’re fine,” he said.

“I should go apologize,” you said.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Doug said we ever need something or if you’re in trouble, head over there. He’s ex air force.”

“How the Hell is he living in this neighborhood then?”

“His wife is some famous singer or something. I didn’t catch the whole thing. Point is, there’s no threat. I did get this pap’s name and credentials though so he and his office will be hearing from me in the morning.”

“You did all that in two minutes?”

“I’m efficient.”

“I see,” you said. “Well...thanks. Have a snack before bed. It’ll help.”

“You’re not scared?” he asked.

“No. Why would I be?” you asked. He stared at you and you left his room, Jensen clearing his throat when you were in the hall. “What?”

“I don’t get you. You should be scared, at least a little scared.”

“Well I’m not. It was a paparazzi. I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” you said. “Goodnight, Jensen.”

“You jump at me but not the fact someone was spying on you. You don’t freak out over me nearly drowning you but you get scared of someone taking you. You’re not afraid of the night or being alone but you gave in easier than I expected when I said I’d stay here all the time.”

“Maybe it’s because I trust you. I don’t know. I’m fine. Goodnight,” you said. 

“I didn’t say it was a problem,” he said. You shook your head and returned your bowl down to the kitchen. A minute later you were up in your bedroom and crawling under the covers, taking a deep breath. The bed was cool again and you pulled your covers up around you, a quiet knock at the door making you open your eyes. 

“What?” you called.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Because I remembered your day job is to pretend and you probably are very good at pretending in most any situation, even scary ones,” he said.

“What’s your point?” you said as you sat up.

“I think you’re a little shook up and I think I agreed to be nicer. I know a thing or two about feeling that way,” he said.

“Jensen. Go to bed. That’s an order,” you said.

“Yes mam.”

It was quiet and you sat back down in bed, the door suddenly opening. He walked in with a blanket and put it over you, ignoring your pout.

“I said-”

“My job is to protect you. Even from your own head sometimes. Goodnight,” he said as he pulled the door shut after himself.

“You’re still ridiculous, Ackles.”

Two Weeks Later

“How’s the manager search going?” asked Jared when he and Gen were over for dinner one night. 

“Fine,” you said, catching Jensen walk past the dining room in his suit. 

“So what’s it like having a bodyguard?” asked Gen as you caught Jensen’s eyes. He quickly turned his head away and left. 

“Fine,” you said.

“Jay says you guys don’t talk much,” said Jared.

“Not so much. We were starting to...he stopped talking to me for the most part a few weeks ago. He said he needs to focus so whatever,” you said. Gen made a face but you shoved another forkful of food in your mouth. Jared asked about the show some and you knew he was doing it on purpose which you were grateful for.

You didn’t quite understand why Jensen’s demeanor had suddenly changed. It was sweet how he had given you a blanket, not just any but one that was his personally. The morning after the paparazzi incident you were planning to tell him just that but he was already awake, in his suit and very grumpy. At first you thought he was hungover but it was just him. You’d caught him in his workout clothes once but besides that, he was all business now and didn’t talk to you unless you were going out.

“He’s cute,” said Gen, your head lifting up to realize Jared had left the room. “Jensen. Not my type but he’s hot and he’s a good guy.”

“I know he’s Jared’s friend but do you know him?” you asked.

“Yeah. I’ve known him a long time. He’s different when he’s working a job. I’ve never really seen him when he’s under a contract. Outside of work, he’s the sweetest thing there ever was, kinda like Jare in that way, you know? I’m a little surprised at his behavior to be honest. He’s a really close friend and he’s just not himself right now.”

“I’ve seen him be sweet but it’s rare. I thought we were getting along better compared to the jumping down each other’s throats we were doing but he doesn’t talk to me anymore. I don’t get it.”

“...Y/N, it’s kind of obvious what’s going on.”

“What is?”

“He likes you,” she said. “The way he looks at you-”

“He gets paid to look at me.”

“You pay him to look at you like that?” she asked. “No. That’s all him. The guy works and works and the reason he is single is cause he’s afraid he can’t do his job if he’s worried about dying and leaving the poor girl at home alone. Well you...he likes you. What do you think his genius move would be to fix that?”

“Push me away,” you said as she sat back and nodded. “He doesn’t like me. He thinks I’m a bitch.”

“Ms. Y/L/N,” said Jensen, suddenly appearing at the doorway and you knew there was no way he hadn’t just heard at least part of that conversation. With a swallow you stood, Gen finishing off her glass of wine. You followed Jensen around the corner, his body stiff.

“Listen, we were just-”

“I don’t really care. I wanted to inform you that your mother just phoned. She and the rest of your family will be coming to visit tomorrow.”

“What do you mean rest of my family?”

“Your father and brothers,” said Jensen, your face already snarling. “They said-”

“Mom was supposed to come. Just mom. Not the step family from hell,” you said. “My step brother has a record. Did you know that?”

“Yes, I was aware. Nothing abhorrent,” he said.

“Nick and Michael, the fucking wonder twins, they left me alone with a group of random weirdos to go get high on pot,” you said. “I was twelve years old!”

“I believe they will be coming as well,” said Jensen. “I will make myself scarce for the-”

“Oh no you will not,” you said. “Tomorrow is Monday and you work on Monday’s last I checked.”

“I did not say I would not work. I said I would be scarce,” he said. “Simply wanted to inform you before surprise guests appear.”

“Lovely,” you mumbled. “Tomorrow’s going to be awesome.”

__________

A/N: Read Part 4 here!

[popculturebuffet]

Watchmen Issue By Issue Retrospective: “The Judge of All The Earth”

Hello all you happy people and once again time’s up, times here for the Watchmen, courtesy as always of @weirdkev27​ whose monthly patreon sponsored reviews have made this retrospective possible If you have something you want me to look at every month or just some fun one offs yourself consider joining my patreon here. 5 bucks a month gets you a review, a vote when I do my monthly polls, and other fun stuff.

Previously on Watchmen:

As it turns out the Comedian somehow slighted everyone related to both to the Minutemen and the almost team the Crimebusters. Neither were named the Watchmen because shut up, filling in the world while aslo filling us in on just how much no one would miss the attempted rapist and pregnant mother of his own child murderer, while also setting up important things for this issue: Dr. Manhattan’s slowly growing detatchment from humanity and one of his old foes having cancer. We also found out whatever’s going on is big and horrifying that again the guy who shot an unborn child for kicks was terrified by it. So join me under the cut as we pick up from there as things only get worse for our heroes and for the judge of all the earth.  Content Warning: Violence and Sexual Assault will be discussed due to the material being reviewed. 

We open with a black teenager reading a pirate comic next to a surly newstand owner ranting about how comics changed, how real life capes killed the superhero genre, about how we should nuke the reds. Standard “okay grandpa” stuff. I do find it a neat shift though that here superhero comics never got the second wind they did in real life after WWII, but died out. 

The comic, Tales of the Black Freighter, was, like the various fictional book excerpts, added to pad out the comic while still enriching it, a story that parallels our main villians and his fears as a captain and the sole survivior of a ship wreck deals with isolation and corpses. Originally I just skimmed these bits.. and that was dumb as their still thoughly enjoyable and in my teenage idiocy, I was so focused on getting through the plot I didn’t stop to consider this extra stuff was vital to flavoring said plot. 

Anyways the creepy redhead man who we later learn is rorschach scares the crap out of the guy as we cut to laurie in bed with Jon, who decide she has time enough before his confrence for a quickie... and to make this a three way as he decides to use TWO of himself which freaks her out. What I like is how Moore treats this: she’s RIGHT to be freaked out as he didn’t ask her first and her consent is king. While it’d be a fun treat if he showed he was cloning himself across two bodies, without her knowing it’s instead a terrifying invasion and he rightfully stops the moment she starts acting in terror. Given HOW LONG it took media to get consent right, I give moore credit here. 

Laurie is willing to forgive though since it was a well meaning if still creepy mistake.. until she finds out Jon WASN’T EVEN IN THE ROOM, using two of his clones to stimulate her while he worked and got ready for his interview. It’s hugely unsettling too: the idea of making love to your partner only to find out he wasn’t even in the room, that he cared so little for your consent that taking care of your needs and pleasing you was just a box to check off while he did “more important things” it’s immensely creepy and Laurie’s walking out is understandable... while Jon is so detached he barely registers it.

And as she leaves we see contrasting shots of Jeanny Slater, Jon’s ex... and from her dialouge it’s easy to wager she ALSO has cancer, as she’s taken up smoking again simply because it no longer matters. And she’s talking to some paper called nova express, whose gathering a story on Jon... I see this ending ENTIRELY well for him and the world in general. 

So Laurie naturally runs to quite literally the only friend she has.. Dan. Dan’s getting a new lock because he’s the only friend Rorshach has EVER had and he’d like this cycle to stop at some point. Also nice little mythological nod, the locksmith being from “Gordanian Knot” lock co..and one that if spotted you can probably guess how well this works out. Then again Dan Dreiberg, mechanical whiz who built himself a fucking flying ship and gadgets.. can’t be bothered to create an alarm system so this is more on him. Or on doors. They are the greatest foe of Vox Machina for a reason after all. 

Either way Laurie needs a shoulder to turn to and very transparently having a crush on Laurie, and even if he didn’t being a generally decent man, with Laurie admitting she just thinks Jon sees her as a collection of Atoms. 

So thus our big climax for the issue is two parallel stories and in a way so brilliant yet subtle I only noticed while doing this review: the dan and laurie half is in heavy red and yellow contrasts, while the Manhattan half is in mostly full colors but with a lot of purple and of course Manhattan’s  blue (which is darker in this scene due to him darkening it for television). This allows a clear division between both stories besides content, contrasting colors without hurting the eyes or drawing too much attention to itself. The most clever trick though is that one panel is always bigger than the other and every page in this one has the same structure: jon’s side has one small panel, one double panel and one small panel, and lauries has double, small double. It also shows gibbons is ALWAYS working in the comics trademark 9 panel framework, something I never considered, simply expanding panels when needed but still keepign the same layout. While I always appricated Moore’s work on the book and always thought Gibbons was talented this readthrough has given me such an apprication for just how heavily thought out Gibbons work here is. How EVERY panel is placed perfectly, every gesture has a reason. I feel it’s gibbons why we’ve had artists like mike allred, jamie mckelvie and david aja since who truly use the panel as the canvas it waas always meant to be. 

Dan and Laurie’s story is the easiest to cover so we’ll tackle that first. The two take a walk to Hollis.. but get accosted by muggers. Even with Dan out of shape and both likely long out of practice.. they still EASILY kick their asses and it’s glorious to watch.  They also pant heavily afterwords.. and two thigns are clear: one that felt amazing and two..

So they awkwardly part glances then ways since Laurie’s tired enough for one night.. and clearly trying to ignore how she feels about dan as she’s still sorting the rubble of her previous relatoinship. 

As for Jon his night goes even worse as has been building: the guy from Nova ambushes him at what’s supposed to be a palid, crowd pleasing press interview to say ther’es nothing going on in afganhistan for him to intervene on, usual goverment dribble... but is noticably affected as the pieces come together: his former assitant/jimmy olson, jeany, moloch.. they all have cancer.. and he’s the common thread. And despite his detachment... this CLEARLY rattles the guy, not wanting to answer questions not for the usual reasons but because this is a genine shock. and the crowd MOBBING the guy instead of letting him leave and process this.. goes about as well as you’d expect. (Rearranged the panels for this just as a heads up.. and for convience)

He simply teleported them.. but the sheer weight of everything is a lot. But it says a lot to Hollis’s character, as he tells dan the bad news, that despite Jon being so powerful.. he’s not afraid for himself or anyone in the audience.. but Jon. 

We then get an absolutley GORGEOUS sequences as Jon announces to his minders, who were planning to quarnitine him, that since he dosne’t seem fit for humanity anymore, he’s going to the last place untouched by captalism. 

And he’s going now after a brief stop in arizona to pick up an old photo of Jeanie.. and himself before he transformed, bidding one last look to the sky... as he goes away in a massive flash of light, a truly haunting sequence.

And the next day the news has hit.. and the implications are clear. The cold war was as hot as it was in the real world... but here they had manhattan as a living nuclear deterrent. Now he’s gone, things are bad and the once mouthy newsman.. is now shaken to his core and gives the kid at his stand the comic... figuring there’s not much time left. 

Laurie faces bad news as she finds her room being scrubbed by men in hazmat suits, and the agent basically blaming her for it, asking if she put him under stress.. and while he’s right america’s nuclear deterrient being gone is VERY bad..... she’s not at fault, and it shoudln’t be her , or anyones fucking job to be someone sole emotoinal support. Especially a walking bomb. if you were geninely concerned about this, you should’ve gotten him a friend AND laid. But you only gave him one person so when he finally emotonally collapsed he had no one to help him. 

Dan also gets the bad news his lock was broken by who.. but unlike last time where he was a condescnding ass about dan quitting.. this time Shack Attack seems geinely concerned.. as much as a human facebook post from my uncle chuck can be anyway. His theory their after heroes is no longer that... and Dan isn’t safe. 

And the ending is as this issue has been potetic and striking... Jon arriving at the beauty and wonder of mars and for the first time in three issues.. smiling.. before frowning at his old photo. All this contrasted with President Nixon and his men in the war room seeing that an attack would at BEST take out the east coast, and that a “quirk of the wind” could doom them all and giving it only a week to think.. and the country possibly only one week to live. This ending hit harder for obvious reasons: with the ongoing invasion by russia and putin trying to use the nuke as a bludgeon to prevent other countries from doing more than sanctions and slowly draining his people’s economy and freedoms while trying to destroy an innocent country. I.. I wish.. I honestly wish things had gotten better and this story was no longer relevant. But until people get better and until madmen like putin stop existing.. that simply will never happen and it always will be. Thank you for reading. 

A current ongoing games bundle to help the ukraine. 

[imaginecorporation]

As a proper first request while I wait for other bees anons to return, let's get into the spooky spirit and have the sephrot deal with agents celebrating Halloween.

(Forgot label, it was I, beenon who has sent the Halloween prompt. Just for tagging sake) -beenon

BEENON. MY BELOVED. ANYTHING FOR YOU. CONSIDER THIS A WARMUP BIT BECAUSE I HAVEN’T WRITTEN SINCE THE TIME I ACCIDENTALLY DELETED MY BLOG AND THUS NUKED THE HORROR AU BLOG I HAD ALONG WITH IT :(  - MOD FINN

Halloween! The one day where everyone in the corporation can go about their lives pretending things are completely normal and that your coworkers dying left and right is just part of the fun!

With some twists, since some of the older hires finally talked their sefirot into dressing up, and letting employees do the same!

Chesed shows up dressed as Gebura. “Nothing is scarier than an ex, right?”

Someone help this man, he’s going to spend the day being chased around by Gebura. Who, somehow, managed to make a VERY REALISTIC NOTHING THERE COSTUME, THANK YOU GEBURA VERY COOL (AND TERRIFYING)

We don’t talk about Binah’s costume. We don’t talk about her agents and clerks’ costumes, either. We don’t talk about the Extraction Team during Halloween.

Tiphereth A and B share a costume (at B’s insistence); they’re just two small children-robots in a trench coat. Tiphereth B thinks it’s hilarious. Tiphereth A keeps saying she only agreed because Biph asked for it, but everyone agrees she’s enjoying sitting on top of him and being tall a bit too much. The power of being taller is getting to her head.

Netzach... does he show up? Yes, he does. With a blue wig and yellow contacts. Hilarious with the cognition filter, but even funnier with everyone who sees him as a box. Just.. keep him away from Angela. Nobody needs the fallout from “We were told to dress as the scariest thing we can imagine.”

Hod, bless her soul.. she’s a sheep. “We already see so many bad things, so I decided to dress up as something nice!”

Malkuth, on the other hand? Herself, but with angry eyebrows.

Whether because the entire Control Team decided she’s scary when mad, or because she wants to be recognizable in case of emergency, we’ll never know.

Hokma just added a visible clock to himself. Nothing is scarier than the passage of time. He is correct.

Yesod did not choose his costume, the costume chose him.

Or so everyone says.

The truth is he planned on not dressing up at all.

Until his agents tossed a homemade snake costume at him, and, well, he couldn’t NOT wear it, now, could he?

Some of the Abnormalities get word of what happens, and some attempt to join in on the fun for the day!

You’d think it’d be impossible to go through a day full of Alephs without a breach, and you’d be right; luckily, many of the sentient abnormalities are in the spirit of Halloween, and Red and Freischütz are on top of suppression!

The next person who goes in Nothing There’s containment finds it with a pumpkin hat. Yes, it is very cute.

 Dakota, the brave bastard. Don’t ask them why they put a pumpkin on Nothing There of all abnormalities, but it seems very cute and docile for the time being!

The children abnormalities get reverse trick-or-treated; that is, everyone sneaks candy into their containment. The Dreaming Current knows nothing but joy for the entire day. It’s the best day ever for all of them.

[contemplativepancakes]

may your days be meowy and bright

a @geraskierholidayexchange fic for @cosmokitt !! I hope you like it :D

Geralt glares at Jaskier from across the counter. He’s sitting at one of the tables, his head leaned in towards Eskel as they look at something on his phone. Geralt’s sure it can’t be anything good.

He clears his throat obnoxiously, and Jaskier jerks back and smiles at Geralt. Geralt’s not certain of the intent, but it comes off as guilty more than anything else.

Geralt finishes plating the jelly donuts to put in his pastry display, setting them down beside the Christmas cookies, before he wipes his hands off on his apron and ambles over to them. Jaskier slams his phone face down on the table and looks up, folding his hands.

Eskel shoots him a bright grin.

Geralt scowls. “What trouble are you two causing now?”

“Trouble? Us? I can’t even begin to tell you how offended I am,” Jaskier says, a hand dramatically clapped to his chest.

Eskel suppresses a snort. “Did you bring us donuts?”

“You’re going to eat me right out of business,” he says, but he plunks a plate down, anyway.

-

“Right, right. And you’re okay with that? Amazing, I’ll keep you updated. Thank you!” Jaskier trills into his phone as Geralt closes the door to their apartment behind him, catching the tail end of the conversation.

“Who was that?”

Jaskier stirs a pot on the stove and beams at Geralt. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

“You know I hate it when you say that.”

Jaskier ignores the comment. “Tell me what this needs,” he says instead, holding out a spoon.

Geralt comes closer, inhaling the scent of garlic bread from the stove. He takes the spoon and tastes the sauce, humming thoughtfully. “I think it’s fine.”

Jaskier rolls his eyes. “I don’t know why I even bother. You’d eat anything I slopped onto your plate.”

“Yes, and you’re welcome.”

Jaskier winds his arms around Geralt and catches his lips in a kiss. Geralt’s still not sure how he managed to get this lucky, but he’s not complaining. They’ve been living together for about a year now, ever since Jaskier had essentially announced he was moving in. 

Well, he didn’t put it like that, exactly. He’d said, “My lease is up in a month, and I really don’t want to look for another place. If only there was a solution,” before draping himself over Geralt’s lap on the couch dramatically.

Who was Geralt to tell him no? He’s had a poor track record, historically.

Maybe that’s why, later, with his head on Jaskier’s chest as he absentmindedly curls his fingers around Jaskier’s chest hair, he only looks a little disgruntled when Jaskier asks him if they can get a cat.

“Come on, darling, it’s the holiday season.” Jaskier bats his eyes at Geralt.

Geralt grunts and shuts his eyes, wrapping an arm around Jaskier and pulling him closer.

Well, Jaskier thinks, it’s as good as a yes.

Jaskier gets off the elevator and looks around furtively before he waves Eskel off. There’s an indignant mewl as the carrier pitches to one side, and Jaskier hisses at Eskel to be more careful. Jaskier hefts his tote bag up higher on his shoulder and looks at his watch.

“Geralt is going to be home in an hour, so we don’t have much time,” he says, swinging open the door.

He was honestly only a little taken aback to see Geralt sitting in their recliner, because nothing can ever go right.

“What are you doing home?”

“Jaskier,” Geralt growls, and Jaskier gives a nervous laugh.

“This is Duchess,” he says with a flourish. “Just look at her, and I promise you won’t be able to stay mad.”

Geralt turns a betrayed look to Eskel. “You knew?”

“Geralt, it was on the shelter’s Facebook page that she needed a quiet and calm home. You’re the quietest and calmest person I know!”

“Serendipity? It sure seems like it,” Jaskier chimes in.

Geralt rolls his eyes and slowly stands up, walking towards them and peering into the cat carrier. “She seems a little standoffish, so I think you’ll really just be two peas in a pod,” Eskel says, and Geralt glares at him.

Eskel goes to open the carrier, but Jaskier stops him. “Wait! I read that we should introduce her to new spaces slowly so she doesn’t get overwhelmed!”

Geralt and Eskel stare at him for a beat. “God, you’re such a nerd,” Eskel says.

Jaskier opens his mouth to protest, but he did devote about four hours to research last night, so he’s not sure he has much of a leg to stand on.

“You’re going to love her,” he says to Geralt, instead.

Geralt huffs. Jaskier’s sure he’ll come around.

-

In the end, it turns out that it takes longer for Duchess to warm up to Geralt than the other way around, not that Geralt would ever admit it. When Jaskier comes home three days later, it’s to see Geralt’s legs sticking out from under their bed, trying to coax Duchess into coming out.

“Geralt?”

Geralt jerks up, hitting his head and cursing, sending Duchess in a black streak across the floor. Jaskier holds back a snicker. “Did you have a good day?”

“It was fine.”

“Uh huh. Not spoiled by a certain kitten who won’t let you pet her?”

Geralt slowly slides out from under the bed before sitting up and crossing his arms. Jaskier tries to contain his smirk at Geralt’s pout. 

“No.”

“Right. How was work?”

Geralt brightens at the prospect of talking about the cafe. “I made a new blend today."

"Oh?"

"Even Lambert admitted it was good."

"You know it was amazing then," Jaskier says in a sing song voice. "Did you bring me any?"

Geralt quirks a smile at him. "You want old coffee?"

Jaskier shrugs.

Geralt sighs. "It's in the fridge, you animal."

"Thank you, love." Jaskier grins and bounces off to retrieve it. He finds it in the door of their refrigerator, with a heart on it. Jaskier’s sure Eskel teased Geralt about it relentlessly. 

He dumps it into a pot on the stovetop to heat it up, because Geralt will have a coronary if he just nukes it. When it's just the right side of warm, he dumps it back into the cup.

He makes sure to drink it with the heart facing out and pretends he doesn't notice Geralt's tiny smile.

"How did the donut making go today?"

"Good. Sure as fuck beats making cut outs."

Jaskier tosses him a hopeful glance.

"They're in the microwave."

Jaskier dashes back out to the kitchen, Duchess darting out from under the bed to trail him. Geralt frowns at them both.

-

By the end of week two, it's as if Duchess has always been with them. Geralt went through the first week terrified he was somehow going to fuck her up, but it has mostly worn off. He's resigned to the fact that she's never going to leave him alone now, as evidenced by the insistent kneading on Geralt’s chest that wakes him up. He groans and turns over, dislodging Duchess from his torso. She gives him an indignant mrp, and he pulls a pillow over his head. “Jaskier, go feed your damn cat.”

Duchess moves on from Geralt to walk over Jaskier’s face, and Jaskier makes a disgruntled noise before he clambors out of bed.

Geralt tries to go back to sleep to no avail. He grumbles to himself. He wakes up early enough as it is to get food in the ovens and the coffee brewing before his shop opens; he certainly doesn’t need to be getting up any earlier than that.

There’s the clinking of cat food pouring into a bowl and then Jaskier is stumbling back into bed. He tugs Geralt close, leaning in to give him a kiss, but Geralt puts a hand on his chest. “You just had cat feet all over your face. I know exactly where those paws have been.”

As if on cue, Duchess scratches around in her litter box, and Jaskier sighs.

Jaskier burrows back into the blankets, putting his cold feet on Geralt. Geralt’s alarm goes off a few minutes later, and Geralt heaves himself about of bed, much to Jaskier’s mumbled protest. Geralt is sure he’s just upset because his feet are still cold. Geralt tugs the pillow out from under Jaskier on his way out, giving him a soft whack. “Love you,” Geralt grunts.

Jaskier takes the pillow and hugs it to his chest, giving Geralt a sour look. “I love you, too, you menace.”

Geralt gives Jaskier a private grin and goes about his morning routine, practically feeling Jaskier’s eyes burning into his back.

“See something you like?”

“You know I do.”

“Hmm.”

“Come on, Geralt. You don't even work today."

And that... is compelling. Geralt had completely forgotten Eskel was going to run things today, giving him the day off for once for the last day of Hannakuh. Jaskier tugs him back onto the bed and pulls him into a sound kiss.

They're interrupted by an indignant yowling, and Geralt pulls away to stare at Duchess with dismay. "Is she going to do this every time?"

Jaskier shudders. "God, I hope not. This is why we don't have kids, Geralt! I'm not prepared to give up my sex life!"

Geralt blinks; it's way too early for Jaskier to be discussing having children with him.

"Hmm. Is that the only reason?"

Jaskier pauses, his hands tangling in the tassels on their blanket. "I don't know, is it?"

Geralt shrugs. "I'm—amiable."

"Amiable? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Do you want kids?"

Geralt feels like he's stripping himself bare, but it's not as uncomfortable as he would have imagined when Jaskier is the one he's doing it for.

"I can...imagine it."

"Yeah?" Jaskier asks softly, tilting his head up to look at Geralt.

"Yeah."

Duchess chooses that moment to jump up on the bed between them, making Jaskier laugh and stroke his hand through her fur, a fond look on his face that makes Geralt melt just a little.

Duchess moves on from Jaskier to climb into Geralt's lap, and after she gives him a little headbutt and hops off of his lap as well, Jaskier pulls him up.

"Come on, let's play dreidel. I'm going to beat you this time."

Geralt rolls his eyes. "Not a chance."

Geralt lets Jaskier pull him into their living room, and Geralt drapes a blanket around his shoulders as Jaskier putters around making them coffee. Geralt is sure it will be way too weak; but he'll drink it anyway. He's content to just have someone besides him make it for once.

Jaskier comes back with two mugs and hands one to Geralt.

"Thank you," Geralt says, taking a sip.

"Okay?" Jaskier asks, like he does every time.

"Perfect," Geralt replies, like he does every time.

Jaskier beams and retrieves the top from their side table. "I'm serious, I'm going to win."

Geralt hums, unimpressed. He gets up to go find their chocolate coins they use for the betting pool. Geralt finds them in the cupboard, rolling his eyes fondly as he notices there are definitely less of them remaining than there were the last time they played.

Geralt returns, and they start playing, the game going on for a while before Jaskier gets frustrated.

The dreidel finally stops spinning, falling on its side with a gentle clunk, and Geralt slowly looks up from it to grin at Jaskier.

Jaskier crosses his arms across his chest and pouts. “This is entirely unfair that you’re so good at this. This is a game of luck!”

Geralt hums as he finishes pulling in all of the gelt on the table closer to him. “It’s not. Heart of the dreidel.”

“I never should have made you watch Yugi-Oh with me,” Jaskier huffs. “Well, in that case, it’s even worse. You’re going to share with me, right?” He scoots his chair closer to Geralt until he’s practically in his lap.

Geralt picks up one of the chocolates and tilts it in his fingers, admiring the way the wrapper catches the light. “Hmm. I’m not sure about that.”

He peels the gold foil off, popping the gelt into his mouth. Jaskier makes an injured sound, and Geralt tugs him completely into his lap. “I might be persuaded,” he murmurs and presses his lips to Jaskier’s.