#fuck this city fuck our government fuck our mayor

[altruistic-meme]

shoutout to walmart for doing more for my community than the government officials are

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Maya Yang at The Guardian:

Rashida Tlaib, the Palestinian American congresswoman, has accused a political cartoonist of racism after he depicted her next to a pager exploding days after such devices blew up across Lebanon in what the Arab country has said was an attack by Israel. A statement from the Democratic US House representative also expressed concern that the cartoon by Henry Payne would “incite more hate and violence against Arab and Muslim communities”. “And it makes everyone less safe,” Tlaib said of the cartoon – published by the Republican-friendly National Review – which also showed her thinking how “odd” it was for the nearby pager to explode. Pagers had been a preferred method of Hezbollah members in conflict with Israel, before such devices exploded across Lebanon recently. “It’s disgraceful that the media continues to normalize this racism against our communities,” she said.

The congresswoman’s statement about the publication of the cartoon “Tlaib Pager Hamas” came after many users on the social media platform X had condemned it as anti-Arab as well as Islamophobic. Among them was the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, who wrote on X: “Absolutely disgusting. Anti-Arab bigotry & Islamophobia have become normalized in our media.” The mayor added: “At what point will people call this out?” Other users condemned Payne’s cartoon directly on his own X profile. One wrote: “You should be ashamed,” and another user said: “What the fuck does she have to do with the war crimes of Israel terrorizing the [Lebanese] people? It’s because she’s Arab you thought it was okay to draw this shit?”

Payne is a political cartoonist for the Detroit News, one of two major daily newspapers in the city, which is Tlaib’s hometown. The Guardian sent him a request for comment on Friday. The slew of pager and walkie-talkie explosions to which the cartoon alludes have killed dozens of people while wounding thousands more, including children. The Lebanese government and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the attacks. Israel has stopped short of claiming responsibility for the deadly attacks. However, in their wake, its defense minister complimented the Mossad – the Israeli intelligence agency – for its “great achievements”.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) fearlessly calls out Detroit News cartoonist Henry Payne’s racist and Islamophobic cartoon depicting her with an exploding pager.

[glassartpeasants]

Run Rabbit Run .10

Yandere!Eustass Kid x F!Reader

Warnings: Death, blood mentions, physical abuse, violence, implied non-con, slight non-con, not edited for shit cause it took too long to type in general

A/N: This part is all in the eyes of Kidd so enjoy. I'm so happy for this shit to be finally published cause it took me too fucking long to do. Also working on new writing styles cause i need to be a perfectionist

music playlist

pt.1 pt.2 pt.3 pt.4 pt.5 pt.6 pt.7 pt.8 pt.9 pt.10 pt.11

~~~

“Look at them run! This is gonna be a fun island to ransack.”

“We should find the mayor and ask him where he keeps the town's treasury.”

“Good thinking, Killer.”

Even with the conversation so short, it spoke volumes as the Victoria Punk docks on the island. The beautiful blue skies shone down on the new and upcoming worst-generation supernova. With only a few months under his belt, his name was still feared throughout the south blue. His bounty getting higher and higher with every new poster.

He has yet to lose to any marine or pirate ship. Every battle he wins only makes him all the more feared, and his crew is just as terrifying as himself. Being known for his bloodthirsty ways, people would usually give him their prized possessions just to make sure they stayed clear of his wraith. But even then, sometimes, it wasn’t enough.

“This island is smaller than I thought, but it’s still mostly populated. More people, more treasure.”

“I haven’t seen any marines since we’ve docked, no boats or anything. Do you think this island isn’t under the eye of the world government?”

“Don’t matter to me. If marines try to stop me, I’ll just crush them.” The sinister chuckle that left the man’s lips made even the strongest marine tremble. Now, with a rushing set of footsteps coming towards him, Kidd continues to smirk.

A man about his own age was running full speed at him. A look of rage crossed his features as he clutched a knife tightly in his hands. Compared to himself, the man was nothing more than a twig. No muscle or anything to back him up with the fight he was looking for.

“Oh, this outta be fun.”

“Damn pirates! Leave our island alone!” The man lifts his arm to strike the notorious captain, only to be stopped by a suffocating grip. Without a second thought, Kidd’s hand gripped the scrawny man’s neck as he lifted him up. The man drops the knife to try and pry off the hand, squeezing his throat.

“How pathetic! A string bean like you thinks he can tell me what to do?” Kidd squeezes the man's throat harder and lifts him so they're eye to eye.

“News flash, I don’t like when people tell me what to do. I’ll show you what happens to people who do.” Clawing at Kidd’s hand, the man begins to see black in his vision as he starts to gasp.

“Please let my son go! He’s the only family I have!” An old man shows up hobbling fast towards Kidd and his crew. A cane in his left hand as he struggles to stay up. 

“I don’t feel like it. Little fucker thinks he can try to attack me. Yet he didn’t even land a hit like the pathetic little thing he is.” Kidd laughs at the old man’s worried expression.

“I’ll do anything! Just please let my son go!” The old man gets on his hands and knees, begging the ruthless pirate for mercy. 

“Bring me your mayor, and I’ll think about it.”

“I am the mayor! I promise, Captain Kidd, as I have the key to City Hall and everything!” The old man pulls out a key from his pants and lifts it towards Kidd.

“Well, would you look at that? How convenient. I didn’t even have to waste time searching.” Using his devil fruit powers, Kidd gravitates the key to his open hand. Looking at the key in his hand, he looks to his friend.

“What ya think, Killer? Should I let the small fry go?”

“Might as well. We have the mayor right here.”

“Looks like it’s your lucky day. Now scram before I change my mind.” The man is dropped with a thud. Holding his throat, he coughs harshly, with tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. Air finally returns to his lungs.

“Run home, son. Everything will be fine! Just go home.”

“But father-”

“Go home!” Despite his pleas, the scrawny man follows his father's orders. His throat bruised as he struggles to walk. His head spinning as the lack of oxygen has taken its toll. A crippling fear plagues the son as he walks home with unstable legs. The safety of his father was all he could think about.

“Now that that little nuisance is out of the way, we can finally get what we came here for.” Turning his attention to the old man, Kidd looks down at him.

“You either give us all the treasure this town has in its treasury, or I go back and break your son's scrawny little neck.” The mayor looks in horror at the man before him.

“I can’t! We’ve been saving it to build a marine base on the island! It’s taken us years to save up that money!” Kidd only laughs in the old man’s face.

“Too bad, old man! Now, you either give us all the treasure this shit town has to offer, or you’ll see its ashes fall from the sky!”

“But! The people need that for-” Not letting the old man finish, Kidd kicked him backwards. His fragile body hits the ground and is knocked out cold.

“Wrong answer, old fool! Burn it down and take everything! Leave no stone unturned!” Kidd watched his crew scatter before starting to break into businesses, houses, and other structures. Glass shattering, and the newfound screams sounded like music to his ears.

“Heat!” Calling out to his crew, he watches the bluenette approach him.

“Yeah Captain?”

“I want you to go kill that brat while burning down buildings.”

“Sounds good.”

Turning around laughing, Kidd’s amber eyes catch the glance of a woman hiding behind a building. Her face full of fear as she shook in her place.  From where she stood, Kidd could see the way the light shone down on her. It gave her an almost angelic glow. For some reason, it ignited something inside him. Something that told him to ruin her. To rip off that halo and wings while he fucked her down to the second circle of hell. The image made him laugh as he began to move in her direction. Himmoving in the woman’s direction caused her to finally flee.

“Cat and mouse, aye?” Kidd snickers as he beckons the woman back; any metal she was wearing would drag her right back to him. He watches her stop in her tracks before being pulled back to him at full speed. Her shrieks of terror cause him to lick his lips.

The woman’s back collided with Kidd’s chest as he grabbed her wirst in an iron grip.

“Where do you think you're going?” The woman looked up at him, and he smiled at her. He watched her tremble in place.

“Y-Your Eustass Kidd…”

“Damn right. What? You afraid?” The way she uttered his name made the fire inside him only burn brighter. A delicate little thing like her screaming out his name as he left bruises on her skin had his mind running with wild thoughts.

“Please! Just let me go! I’ll give you all the money I have. Just please let me go!” He watched in amusement as the woman tried to twist and turn out of his grip. The hope dying in her eyes felt like an addictive drug. While taking in the woman's fear, he noticed a ring adorning her finger and a metal circle on your left wrist.

“Now, why would I let something I caught fair and square go?” Finally pulling her left arm closer to his view, he finds that the circle of metal adorning her wrist was, in fact, supposed to be a bracelet. A very shitty stainless steel bracelet that he could have easily made with his eyes closed. 

“Your shitty stainless steel bracelet betrayed you, princess.” The nickname fell off his tongue so smoothly that it was almost like honey. He could feel his heart quicken at the little nickname that he decided there and then.

“My fiance worked hard to make it for me!”

“Don’t make me laugh! This is the shittest piece of jewelry I’ve ever seen!” How horribly it was made felt like an insult to him. He swore a baby could make one better. Using his power, Kidd manages to contort the ugly bracelet off the woman's wrist. He brought it closer to his face just to look at it once more, and that’s when he saw the flaw in the metal. He sees the woman reach for it but simply lifts it up out of her reach to inspect it more.

“Give it back!”

“It’s ain’t even pure stainless steel. Pathetic. Not even detailed, just a circle of metal." Using his devil fruit, he crushes the bracelet into the form of a ball. Small enough to be a bullet.

“Repel.” A laugh escapes him as he watches the small ball shoot into a store window. It shatters the entire thing and breaks something inside. Now, turning back to the woman, he smirks.

“Now, c’mon. You’re coming with me.” The woman's nails dig into Kidd’s hand. Her desperate attempt at freedom only made his lust for her grow.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, princess. I’m not a very patient person.” The woman's mouth opens to say something, but a loud voice pulls his attention away.

“(Y/N)! Get your hands off of her, you filithy pirate!” So that was your name? It felt fitting for a little thing like yourself. A lovely little princess like you with such an angelic name.

Looking at the person in front of him, he sees a ring adorning their left hand. It added up to the fact that this must be your fiance. AN annoyed look plastered on Kidd’s face as he realized that what should have been a quick thing was now actually gonna be a pain in his ass. Looking the fiance up and down, Kidd knew that they stood no chance against him. A single punch could take them down, no doubt.

“Is this your pathetic fiance? Ugh, I don’t have time to deal with you. I’ve got to take this treasure I found back to the ship.”

“(Y/N)’s not going anywhere with you! Let her go pirate!” Rage filled Kidd as another small fry thinks they can tell him what to do.

“Run (....)! He’s going to kill you!” Kidd let go of your wrist for a second, only to wrap his arm around your torso. He pulled you close to his chest as he trapped your arms to your sides with his strong grip. While he’d love to turn your pathetic fiance into a bloody puddle, he just couldn’t wait to bring you back to the Victoria Punk for safekeeping.

“Killer!” Not even seconds pass before his best friend shows up next to him.

“Yeah, Kidd?”

“I need you to kill them. Little shit thinks they can tell me what I can and can’t do.” He watches his buddy look down at the horrified woman in his arms.

“Who’s she?”

“My new plaything, cutie, ain’t she?” Kidd laughs as he holds onto you tighter. Your smell was intoxicating with how close you were to him.

“No! Leave them alone!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Kidd turns around just in time so you don’t see Killer murdering your fiance. But the screams could still be heard. He looks down and sees tears slipping down your cheeks as you weep in his grasp. The pathetic fiance felt like a worthless thing to cry about, in his personal opinion. But seeing your tears had his pants growing tighter.

“What a pretty sight, don’t you think?” The look of horror on your face as you watched your town burn to the ground made Kidd feel like we were on cloud nine. He just knew that the little angel he plucked from gods hand would surely be a fuck to experience. 

~~~

“Oi Kidd.”

“What is it Killer?” Watching his friend approach him, Kidd simply took a hard drink of the alcohol in his hand. His eyes scanned the bar as he watched multiple women look at him with less-than-holy intentions.

“Do you want me to go unlock that chick on the ship now? She’s been on the ship since we took her from that island a week ago? Plus, you're at the bar getting plastered and beckoning other women over.” 

“Nah. Keep her there a little longer. Plus, where would she go? It’s not like she has a home to go back to. I could honestly keep her as long as I want!” Laughing, Kidd took another swing of his drink. Having a personal fleshlight aboard the ship at all times was an opportunity only a fool would pass up.

“If you say so.”

“Come get a drink, Killer! Unwind and enjoy the lack of Marines!” Chugging down the alcohol, Kidd slammed down the empty glass on the table. His eye scanned the room, and despite the multiple women that occupied the bar, none gave him that rush that you did when he first saw you. While there were women who looked at him with lust, the fear that was in your eyes made more of an impact on his sexual desires.

Sure, he’s taken women to the Victoria Punk, but they're always gone before sunrise. No woman he’s brought to bed has ever spent a full day on the ship. Until you came along. You’ve spent a full week under the deck of the Victoria with only him and Killer knowing. And it’ll stay that way if he could help it. Having a secret little place to relieve his stress and get his fill sounded perfect for when he was stuck on the seas without a bar to be seen.

A little wingless angel stuck in the dark.

~~~

Stumbling along the hallways, Kidd can’t help but chuckle as he makes his way to your room. He’s been drinking till the early before a sudden lust flooded his body. The image of you laying beneath him was too stong to ignore. He wanted to hear your cries and moans. Wanted to feel your nails dig into his skin and cause him too bleed. 

When he opened the door that kept you locked away, he saw you sleeping peacefully. Your face content as you lay on the tattered blankets that used to hold prisioners. The light giving him just enough to walk towards a crate to light up a lantern. Once he closed and locked the door again, the lantern was now the only sorce of light. 

He stumbled over to where your head lay before sitting down. The vibrations caused you to stir, yet you refused to awaken fully. It caused a scowl to appear on Kidd’s painted lips before he tugged on a strand of your hair. The shock of your hair being tugged made your hand go to soothe the throb that followed suit.

Rubbing your eyes, you look up.”Kidd? W-Why are you here? It’s late.” Your confusion was clear in your voice, but Kidd paid no mind.

“Mmm…gonna fuck ya. Wanna hear my princess cry out my name.” Slurring his speech, Kidd laughs as he grabs your wrist and drags you up to him. The chain attached to your ankle rattled as he had you face to face.

The fear that still swirled in your eyes got him drunker than any alcohol could ever do. Your soft skin against his rough, calloused hands felt as if he were touching something sacred.

Grabbing your chin, he pulls you in for a kiss. He could feel you try to pull away, but you were no match for his strength, and he loved that. How weak you were compared to him had his already hard cock throbbing. You were the defenseless little princess who relied on him for everything.

The kiss only got deeper as he spurred himself on in his head. He pushed his tongue past your lips and groaned when he felt your own. Your taste was sweet as he explored your mouth. No matter how many times he’s kissed you, it always felt just as electric as it did the day he first kissed you. Your lips are so soft as they smudged his lipstick with how harshly he was kissing you.

Wrapping his hands around your wrists, he slammed you down on the ground before climbing on top of your body. His lips were still locked with yours as your scent overwhelmed him. It sent a fire hot sensation in his abdomen as he started to press closer to you.

Bringing both wrists above his head, he holds them both with one hand. With his other hand now free, he runs his fingertips underneath your shirt. He feels you shiver against his touch, and it causes one to go down his own spine.

Pulling his lips away from yours, a thick strand of saliva connected his mouth to yours. Hearing you gasp and pant for breath makes him slightly grip your wrists harder as he stares down at you. Your lips were swollen from his harsh kiss and sporting the lipstick that once adorned his own lips.

“K-Kidd, you're drunk. Perhaps you should just sleep. You don’t want a hangover, do you?” The nervousness and pleas that slipped past your lips went unheard by him. All he could see was his princess lying under him. Even though you tried to squirm and wiggle away, all Kidd felt was you rubbing against him. 

“Fuck.” Kidd whispers under his breath as he begins to rub his clothed cock against you. His face is right above yours as he feels your breath fanning against his face. Through his lidded eyes, Kidd can see your eyes are closed, and you're biting your bottom lip.

Moving both your wrists to one hand, Kidd uses his free one to grab your chin. “Fucking look at me. I want you to look at me while I fuck you.” Kidd can feel his heart double in speed when he’s met with your eyes staring at him intensely yet glassy.

Kidd groans out before licking his lips. Letting go of your chin, Kidd reaches down to unbuckle his pants. His eyes still strained on you and he can’t help but notice all the bites and bruises he’s adorned on your body since you’ve been here. It only makes Kidd’s need for you higher.

“What if we do this tomorrow?” Your words break through Kidd’s lust-clouded mind. ”You won’t even remember this since you're drunk, right? We can do it tomorrow!” Beads of sweat dropped from your forehead as you talked to Kidd. Obviously hoping that he might fall for the bait.

Kidd’s eyes stare at you before letting out a yawn. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds before getting up and moving away from your body. Only to grab it seconds later and drag you to lay on the tattered blankets. He fell on top of you, making you let out an ‘oof’.

The warmth your body excluded made made Kidd’s eyes grow heavy as he let out another yawn. Placing his head onto of your breasts, he allowed his drunken self just an hour or two to sleep before going back into his own quarters. No harm in a measly two hours. 

~~~

The sky filled with smoke as Kidd angrily desetroyed anything he deemed mocked him. Living or not, his anger was his own fault as ahe had no one to blame but himself. Ever since that drunken night he slept by your side, he’s never been able to sleep normally again.

Before he used to sleep all throughout the night but now. He’d wake up every two hours reaching out for someoen that wasn’t there. He’s never slept with someone all night. Or at all. But now that he’s gotten a taste of what it felt like to sleep next to someone, it wans’t something his body could sleep without. And it pissed him off.

Sure, he loved fucking you whenever he wanted, but now, it’s like he can’t go even an hour without thinking about you. Working in his workshop became a pain in the ass as he could be working on his crew’s weapons only to see your eyes staring at him in his imagination. How blown over they are when he fucks you or how you looked at him when he even enters a room.

He couldn’t even sleep with other women anymore cause his mind kept going to you! All there was was you. It pissed him off to the point he didn’t bother seeking you out of your company for a week and counting. A small part of him begged to go below deck to see the angel he stole from god. Yet the other him spoke curses on how you’ve affected him. It felt as if his head was splitting from the battle going on inside him.

“You're scowling more than usual. What’s wrong?” His friend's voice broke through his thoughts as he stood next to him. 

Running a hand through his hair, Kidd hisses. “It’s not something you can help with, so buzz off.”

“Is it about that girl below deck?”

“(Y/N).”

“Yeah her?”

“No.”

“Liar.” Snapping his head towards the masked man, Kidd glared at him. 

“Something obviously happened, so stop trying to act like nothing did.” Killer crossed his arms as he looked at his stubborn friend.

“She’s invading my mind like a damn disease! Can’t even go an hour without her popping up in my mind! Not to mention, I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a month!”

“Can’t even fuck another whore without imagining it’s her! It’s pissing me off! Is this some sort of devil fruit?!” A snort comes from behind Killer’s mask, making Kidd madder.

“Jesus christ, your so stupid.”

“I’m not fucking stupid! If you know what's wrong with me, then spit it out!”

“It’s called falling in love, you idiot.”

Kidd’s eyes widened as he felt his heart stop. “No shot! That’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard! I’m not falling in love.”

“Oh really? Well then, let her go, it’s been six months-”

“-No.”

“You're not in love with her, but you refuse to let her go?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, Kidd. Whatever you say.”

~~~

Bursting open the door, Kidd stomps through his room. His rage fills the small space as his heart beats harshly. Once again, a marine ship ruined his supply trip to an island. While normally he wouldn’t care and go on and fight, Killer advised against it. Kidd had a good amount of sake a few hours earlier and wouldn’t be on his A game if they took charge.

While Killer was right, Kidd was still upset that he wouldn’t be able to get supplies for his crew for another day till they reached the next island.  His crew had to go hungry for a day simply because of some annoying marines.

“God fucking damnit! Those fucking marines keep getting in my way!” Kidd’s eyes scan the room as he tries to find something to throw. When his eyes landed on a metal butterfly he made for you, he grabbed it off the dresser in a quick movement.

“Fuck!” Throwing it as hard as he could, he aimed for the bedroom door, which was already covered in marks from the other times he'd thrown knives at the door. The sound of a sucked-in breath makes him snap his head in your direction.

“What the fuck are you staring at?!” He watches you scoot away from him, and it only fuels his drunken rage. Who did you think you were to run away from him? To look at him with that face? Do you think it's funny when shit doesn't go his way?

His anger only heightened even more as he wrapped his hand around your foot. Digging his nails into your skin as he pulled you from him.

As soon as you were close enough to him, he grabbed your neck and lifted you into the air. “I said, what the fuck are you staring at?!” He watched you try to pry off his fingers off your neck. The small sting your nails brought only served to piss him off more.

“You're happy, aren’t you?! Do you think the Marines are going to catch me, and you’ll be free?! Is that it?!”

“I-I can’t breathe…Kidd please…” He watched as tears streamed down your face and onto his hand. The tear felt like a needle poking into his heart.

“Stupid bitch!” Stumbling over his own feet, Kidd chucks you against the wall. He watched you hit the wall and onto the floor with a loud ‘thud’ before what sounded like a crack whispered in his ears. He examines your body, not moving, and it causes a hard scowl on his face.

“Get up, damnit! I barely threw you!” Growling, Kidd wobbles over to your body before falling to his knees. His sight is blurry as his head seems to pound. When he slid his fingers through your hair, his brain failed to register the wet substance that coated his hand. He pulls on your hair so he can look you in the eyes.

“Fucking pathetic! Why do I even keep you around when you're so fucking useless?!” Your silence had Kidd’s drunken self slightly coherent.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! Don’t ignore me!” He grabs your face and, through his drunken haze, starts to see a red liquid drip down your face. A red handprint of blood was left on your cheek when he slightly moved his hand.

Your eyes fluttering shut made him sober up as the blood running down your face finally set in.

“Oi! Keep your eyes open!” Moving his hand in front of your face back and forth, his heart rate peaks when he finally watches your eyes fully close. Pulling your body close to his own, he grabs your shoulders and shakes you harder. Worry sets in as you don’t respond.

Picking you up to carry you, he hastly stumbles out of his room and makes a dash to the infirmary. The sound of his footsteps echoed through out the halls. His mouth goes dry as your lack of movement sobers him up to accurately find the room.

To his luck, Killer was already in the infirmary, counting on what they needed to restock.

“Killer, I fucked up.”

~~~

His eyes stared at the carved door as he laid his head on your chest. Your heartbeat pounding in his ears as he tried to ignore the small blood splatter on the floor that he forgot to clean up after the incident.

Your fingers running through his hair did little to calm the thoughts in his head. Even though he laid against you, he felt it wasn’t close enough. Close seemed to not be close enough.

Lifting his body up, he laid down next to you before he pulled you to his chest, you hair slightly tickling his skin. He wrapped his arms around you all the way to the point you wouldn’t be able to leave. Moving his legs, he tangled his limbs with yours. Only then did he feel you were close enough. Your scent a silent lullaby as he raced with thoughts. What if’s ran rampant.

‘What if I just took a nap instead?’

‘What if you got hurt even worse then i thought?’

‘What if you didn’t wake up?’

The thought of you no longer sharing his bed caused a panic to settle in Kidd’s stomach. Your warmth had become the only thing that allowed him to sleep peacefully. Hearing you breathe managed to be the only stress reliever that worked.

It was obvious to him now, that no matter what he might say, he couldn’t live without you.

~~~

The sound of the waves crashing against the beach felt like laughter as Kidd watched you sailing away on a ship he’d never seen before. His scream out to you echoed across the water only to come back to him, mocking him for being too late. Now, he got to watch the only thing that made him calm leave him.

The sand below him showed muddy footprints before being washed away by the ocean. Thunder and harsh rain poured down on Kidd, his hair sticking to his face as the rain pelted down his hair. Whether it was rain or tears that slid down his cheeks was anyone's guess. It felt as if time stopped while he tried to piece together what now?

His goal to find the one piece and become King of the Pirates still ran strong through his veins, but now it felt different. Not even days before this, he began to dream of when he’d finally be called King of the Pirates, when you’d be clinging to his arm and congratulating him, kissing him, and telling him you loved him. But now, that’s what it’d only be—a dream.

~~~

It’s been months since Kidd watched you sail away. Each night was plagued with that image of you sailing farther and farther away from him, every time only seconds late. Not a night went by where he didn’t wake up in a cold sweat. He’d reach out for you and be hit with the painful reminder that it was real—that you were gone.

Yet no matter where he went, it always felt like he saw you out of the corner of his eye. Or how sometimes he’d hear your voice in his ear. But when he turned to check it out, there was nothing. It felt as if he was going insane without you. And while there was intense longing, there was rage.

How dare you leave him? Don’t you know how much you meant to him? Hasn’t he shown he’s learned his lesson? He’s told you he loved you and you still left him. You have no one other then him, he made sure of it. Yet you still left.

Killer tried to tell him to get over you, that there were plenty of other fish in the sea, but he knew what he meant. He shouldn’t be shocked. You weren't even supposed to be with him for as long as you were. It was only a matter of time before the ‘relationship’ Kidd built with you would burn before his eyes. Even if he refused Killer’s words, any sane person would have agreed.

But now here he was, missing you with fury boiling inside him as he stared out over the crowd in the auction house. Privileged entitled assholes as far as the eye can see. All waiting for the show to begin.

~~~

Emotions pumped through his veins as he stared at himself in the mirror. A small splatter of blood on his cheek as all he could think about was you. How happy he was that you were back where you belonged. That after months of sleeplessness not knowing where you were, you were finally back in his arms. Whether you liked it or not wasn't something he cared to hear. He had you first. Those damn Straw Hats took you away, but now, you were back.

But you came back with a price.

Whatever happened in those months you were away changed you. All you did was fight and yell, scream and punch. Instead of the quiet angel he stole, a venomous fallen angel stood before him. But despite missing his fearful princess, the fight you put up managed to also have his blood pumping hotter. Watching you try to fight him only to lose gave him a high that only your fear could compare to.

Seeing your eyes widen in fear when he threatened to cut off your legs made a shiver of pleasure shoot up his spine. Even after you spit venom, he could not help but want you even more. Having you so close to him again made his body go haywire. Hearing you scream out in pain reminded him of when you screamed out his name in such a different, lustful tone. Watching tears stream down your face when he threw punch after punch had him resisting the urge to fuck you bloody and bruised. 

While the image was tempting, he had things to do, and he couldn’t let you think you got away with it. So he’d just send Killer down to patch you up after you’d been drenched in your own blood for a while. Maybe it’ll give you some time to contemplate. But if not, that’s okay.

He kinda liked that taste of your blood.

~~~

His heart couldn’t help but leap when he felt your lips running smoothly against his own, your warm skin glowing underneath his fingertips as you cupped his face. A calm washed over him at the small gesture. He pulled you closer and kissed you deeper, never wanting to let you go. But when he pulled away for a breath, he saw the stains of his lipstick on your face, the sight making him smile.

Kidd couldn’t help but feel the shiver that ran down his spine when he felt your breath against his neck. The rigid, cold metal of the collar on your neck had him silently sick in a breath.

“If you're gonna make me a new collar, can it be one I can sleep in?” When you mumbled those words into his skin, flashbacks from that fateful day rushed back to him. How you got out of your collar, so he obviously had to make a bigger and better one. And now you're trying to get a different one?

“Do you know why you're in that collar?” He looked down and was met with your pleading eyes.

“I ran away.” Kidd grits his teeth and digs his fingers into his hips harshly. Anger starts to surface at the memories.

“Yeah, you did. How can I trust you not to do it again, hmm? This collar makes my devil fruit powers work even better than the last one. So why should I give rewards to bad girls?”

“Can I do something to make it up to you?” The idea Killer shut down a week ago comes back to his mind. He’s done a few good studies to understand how it works, and it sounds pretty easy—easy and a perfect way to show everyone who you belong to.

“Take off your shirt.”

“W-What?”

“You heard me. Take it off.” Kidd watches you with heat pooling in his abdomen as he takes longing glimpses at your bare chest.

“Back to me.” He watches you listen and can’t help but run his fingers along your skin. Tracing your spine causes a shiver to run down his.

Getting up, he placed you down on the chair before tying you to it with a piece of metal. The sight makes him bite the inside of his cheek.

“H-Hey! What the hell!” Kidd only laughed before turning away from you. 

“You know, Killer originally talked me out of this, but since you wanted to be rewarded for bad behavior, I think it’ll go nicely with your new collar.” A rush of power surges through Kidd’s bones as he collects everything he needs.

“It’ll also show anybody who tries to take you away from me that you belong to me.” With his hands finally full, Kidd turns back to you. Your face goes rigid as he walks in your direction, which in turn makes you try to scoot away. Grabbing the side of the chair, he brings you back to him.

“Don’t worry, princess, I did my research.” A major rush of power flowed through Kidd's veins as he watched you struggle to escape.

“This is completely unreasonable! You can’t be serious!”

“You wanted to make it up to me? Well, here's your chance.” Kidd could see the panic in your eyes as he started to heat up the metal pole in his hands.

“There has to be something else, please, Kidd!” In a swift and rash motion, Kidd threw his hand towards you and felt your cheek collide with his knuckles.

“Be fucking grateful that I’m even giving you this chance! Those damn Straw Hats taught you that you can be a brat! I’m going to kill each one of those fuckers! I’ll do it in front of you so you can see what happens when you leave me!”

“You’ll never beat them! They’re gonna come for me and kick your ass!” Red clouded Kidd’s vision hearing your words. Grabbing your hair, he tugs it back so you face him. The tears in your eyes go ignored as Kidd’s grip on the metal pole tightens. He didn’t give you a second to speak before pushing the burning hot pole on your chest.

The scream you let out when the metal was fully pushed onto your skin swiped him out of his rage. The red that once blinded him was now gone as he quickly pulled away from you. He’d never heard something so ear-piercing and painful in his life. It echoed all throughout his workshop, and he felt a panic set in when he noticed he skipped a step in his rage and how you’ve now passed out.

“Shit! Shit! Oi, princess!” Grabbing your chin, his eyes studied your face to see any sign of consciousness, yet he was met with none. His heart rate spiked as he ripped away the metal he tied you with before carrying you bridal style. He rushed to the infirmary and cursed himself internally for not following all the steps as he tried to ignore the graphic third-degree burn on your chest.

~~~

All he could feel was numb, yet a pain that was indescribable when you moved his head to look at his arm. What once used to be a full limb was now nothing more than a stump. He could see his body covered in bandages as the memory of what happened came back to him. Words couldn’t seem to form as he felt his dreams crash down around him. 

“You should lay down and make sure everything heals properly.” Using the arm he had left, Kidd pulled you onto his lap. Burying his head into your scarred chest, it's then that he feels the tears on his own cheeks.

He doesn’t know how long it’s been since he’s cried like this, or if he’s ever cried like this. Crying so hard that he struggled to breathe and began to shake. It felt like the walls were closing in on him as he cried into your chest. All he could think of was how would he become King of the Pirates with one arm? It set him back so  much that he felt hopeless.

But when you wrapped your arms around him and slid your fingers through his hair, he pulled you closer despite his bandaged torso. The slight pain he felt was nothing compared to the pain he felt inside. 

“Just breathe, okay? In and out.” Following your command, Kidd tries to copy your breathing despite continuing to cry. Your now-soaked shirt rubbed against his face, and it only worsened the pain in his heart.

The small and gentle tune you began to hum made his hold tighter. He never wanted to let you go as you comforted him when he needed you the most.

~~~

Kidd sat on a chair next to you in the hospital bed as worry and fear took over him. His anger once again took charge and caused him to hurt you horrifically. Seeing you laying there with bandages covering your head caused a guilt he’s never felt before. He remembered the amount of blood you lost when he ran you to the hospital. It dripped from your head all the way to the hospital.

He managed to nab a doctor right away and have him work on you. Every second you were in the surgery room felt like hell. And what the doctor told him what the diagnosis was made Kidd’s heart clench.

“Since she fell off your ship, there's no doubt she has a sort of head/brain trauma. Long-lasting effects could stem from this injury. Here’s a list of some effects that you can read while I go grab another IV bag.”

Which is where Kidd sat now. Watching you breathe. Watching you breathe with the crumbled up list in hand. Your eyes closed as you sleep, unaware of the wreck he is. Grabbing your hand, Kidd brought it close to his lips and kissed your knuckles before holding it against his forehead.

Caressing your face, Kidd looks at you, sleeping peacefully. The moonlight shining off you gave you that same angelic glow he saw you with all those years ago. Despite the scars that covered your body, you were still so beautiful. Rubbing your cheek, Kidd looked down at you lovingly.

“I’m sorry, princess. You can pull through this. You have to.”

~~~

“This is how it should be, sleeping next to me.” With your legs tangled in his, Kidd scoots his body closer to yours before kissing your forehead. A wicked smile slithers along Kidd’s face.

“All those memories gone. No more talking about home. No more flinching, no more Straw Hats.”

“Those bastards, trying to play hero and stole you from me. Thinking your up for grabs when you obviously belong to me. Meant for me. You were meant to be mine and stay by my side. Why else would I have gotten a second chance?”

“Now, I’ll always have you. You look up at me with loving eyes instead of hatred. Instead of hitting me, you run up to hug me. You kiss me passionately like I’ll disappear any moment. I love it when you run up to me and jump so I can catch you. I love it when you sit next to me while I work in my workshop, giving me praise. If I had known you hit your head harder, I would have you in my arms willingly…”

“Then I would’ve thrown you against the wall harder.”

~~~

‘That selfish prick! After everything I’ve done to keep her in the dark, he comes around and fucks it up! Everything was going great! She loved me yet-’

“Fuck!” Slamming his metal hand against the bench in his workshop, Kidd begins to tear it apart. Weapons were thrown to unknown corners of the room, pieces of metal scattered across the floor, and a dent in the bench.

Kidd gritted his teeth as his whole body uncontrollably shook. The dried blood staining his hand only continued to serve his rage. Because even if Heat was already dead, the damage had been done.  The day of you holding him tight and kissing him was over. He’ll never be able to feel you close to him again. At least, not without a fight.

Hot tears began to stream down his face as he gripped the dented bench with an iron grip. His tears felt like an acid against his skin as his vision blurred. The smirk the bastard wore while he bled out behind you burned into Kidd’s memory.

Giving you a devil fruit, a logia type at that was infuriating. How the hell did he manage to get it on the boat and have you eat it? You were always by his side, so how could Heat have given it to you? The day of the fight? Or when he caught you and Heat talking to each other alone? How could he not see the signs earlier? Why did it take the busting open of your old cell door twice for him to finally understand what he needed to do?

Yet it was too late.

“God damnit.” Kidd swallowed the lump in his throat before letting out a sniffle. “This is bad. How am I gonna fix this? There’s gotta be a way-”

“Kidd.” The workshop door opens, and Killer stands in the doorway. Quickly wiping his tears, Kidd tries to regain steady breathing, hoping Killer doesn’t see his moment of weakness.

“What Killer?”

“You better have a good plan. Explain where Heat went and where (Y/N) went.” Kidd stays silent, which is all Killer needs.

“Did you-”

“I saw everything from the shadows. This could be a sign, you know?”

“What kind of fucking sign?”

“You know what kind of sign I’m talking about.” Silence covers the workshop.

“Maybe it’s time to let her-”

“No!” Kidd slams his metal hand on the bench with enough force to cause another dent.

“Well, what do you think you should do then?” Once again, the workshop goes silent.

“Giving you a week to decide for (Y/N). As for Heat, better pull something good out of your ass.” Just as soon as Killer entered, he left. Leaving Kidd to wallow in his predicament.

~~~

“Do you really think she’s on this island, Kidd? It’s been a week since the paper came out.”

“She will be on this island. If she isn’t, I’ll kill anyone I need to to figure out where she went. I don’t want a single civilian to go unquestioned. If they refuse to tell you, don’t be afraid to use violence.”

The bustling port of Haylard Island has Kidd’s eyes scanning every inch of movement. If you were on that dock, he wanted to make sure he saw you. There was no room for him to be making mistakes. He’s already made enough.

“Burn down buildings, steal supplies, and anything you think is worth something. Do not stop until the ashes block out the sun.”

“Yes, captain!” Hearing his own crew leave, Kidd finally let out a shaky inhale while looking down. The sea stared back at him, once again mocking him for losing you.

“Laugh all you want, but take my word. I’ll burn and kill my way back to her. And nothing will stop me until she’s in my arms.”

~~~

Despite the night once being full of cheers, the marine group of G-5 now found themselves fighting for their lives. What should have been a celebration was now a fight to the death as they were ambushed in the dark of the night. The once-empty sky was now covered in flaming arrows heading directly toward them.

“Everyone, man, your stations! We’re under attack, so get ready for a fight!” The captain's commands echo throughout the ship, and no one wastes a second. Running up and down the ship, Captain Tashigi checks to see if everything is in order to ensure supreme safety.

“Captain!” the sound of a terrified marine rings through her ears as she runs to the voice. Coming up from below the deck, she’s met with fire and smoke. It felt as if her heart was going to explode as all she could hear was marines yelling and the flickering of flames.

The flames only got higher as she tried to figure out what to do. Before she went below deck, they were able to contain the fires, but now, it’s almost consumed the entire deck. With how fast the flames were spreading, there was no doubt that the ship would be at the bottom of the sea before sunrise. 

Grabbing a transponder snail she kept in her pocket, she began to call the nearest marine base to help with the attack. She realized this wasn’t a battle they could fight on their own. 

“Hello! This is Captain Tashigi of G-5. We need backup right away! We’re under attack, and the ship is engrossed in flames!”

“G-5, this is (....)! We will send you back up right away! What are your locations, and can you see the attackers?”

“Our coordinates are (-------)! I don’t know, as the flames are so tall and the smoke is-” The whole ship shook as something hit the deck, causing Tashigi to drop the transponder snail and fall backward.

“-Oof!”

“Captain are you okay?”

“Something just hit the boat! I’m unaware of what it is!” Quickly getting back on her feet, Tashigi grabs her sword along with the transponder snail.

“I’m going to go check it out.”

“Keep us on the line.”

“Will do.” Putting the snail away for safekeeping, Tashigi grips her sword with both hands as she starts to walk carefully through the flames.

As soon as she stepped in, the sound of a marine screaming echoed across the deck. Panic set in the captain's stomach as her hands began to shake. The screams of pain and terror only caused more panic to set in. But she’s the captain. She has to be strong. She can’t back down.

“G-5, what’s going on?!” The screams of pain and agony continue before a loud audible SNAP rings in Tashigi’s ears. Assuming the worst, she feels all the color drain from her face.

And just like that, it was quiet.

“G-5?” With her voice trembling, Tashigi couldn’t help but be frozen in place.

“Tashigi.” Before she could scream, a rough, calloused hand covered her mouth. Looking in her peripheral vision, she saw Vice Admiral Smoker motioning her to shush. Nodding her head, Smoker lowered his hand.

“What’s going on, Vice Admiral?”

“Almost the entire deck has been engulfed in flames. We need to go to the other side of the ship.”

“But what about-”

“It’s silent over those flames, Tashigi.” With tears prickling in her eyes, she understands what he’s saying despite wishing it not to be true. Grabbing her hand, Smoker runs to the end of the ship, where there are fewer flames. Their footsteps echo, giving away their position to the attackers.

As she was running, Tashigi’s sword started vibrating before being completely pulled from her hands. She watched it fly backward and into the flames. A metal thunk rang across the deck, making her eyes widen. When she looked into the flames, she felt her heart stop.

Walking through the flames was no other than the man who had the whole new world in the palm of his hand.

“V-Vice Admiral…it’s-”

“Go hide, Tashigi. I’ll handle this.” Putting himself in front of her, Smoker points towards the darkness.

“But-”

“I’ll be fine. Go hide. Don’t come out until I come to get you.”

With a tremble in her voice, she responds. “Okay.”

Running into the darkness, Tashigi searches around with a racing heart, desperate to find a hiding spot. The sound of unintelligible yelling and metal clanking only makes her search more frantic. She should be fighting, but if Smoker says to hide…

“Killer! Go after the girl. She ran straight ahead.”

“You’ll have to get past me first. Both of you.”

“Vice Admiral.” Whispering to herself, Tashigi runs around some more before spotting an empty barrel. With no more time to spend, she jumps in.

As she gets as comfortable as she can, she puts the barrel lid over her head, leaving her in complete darkness. Her knees pressed against her chest as she struggles to take deep breaths. She tries to prevent herself from shivering.

‘This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.’ She thinks to herself as tears slip down her cheeks. She knew the stakes there were to bring you to Sabaody, but they were so careful about not giving away. It was then taking care of you. How did Kidd figure out it was them?

A loud thud can be heard throughout the deck before silence. No words were spoken, and the fear was only intensified. Tashigi felt her throat grow dry as she started to hear boots shuffling along the deck.

Sounds of things being searched causes her heart to beat out of her chest. Her body begins to shake as she hears the boots walking towards her hiding spot. 

The moonlight soon shines down on her as the barrel's lid pops open. She looks up and sees no one. The moonlight shone down on her as she feared who had opened the lid, but she soon gets her answer.

“Found you.”

~~~

Haven't been able to draw for shit so no picture

@rebeccawinters @iggy5055 @dairygrrl @childconnoisseur @menifire1092 @nerdgeekandeverysweet-blog @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @lovemesomefanfic846 @ryuv1i @carpinchootaku @misoxramen @pinkfoxmusic @mizzhellsingsstuff

[mchiti]

It's past 1 am and I can't sleep so I want to share on here something that is really bugging me lately and it's happening in Italy. There's this really fascist mayor of a city in northern Italy who has basically shut down all Mosques in the city because she says they are unauthorized.

The "Mosques" we're talking about are Islamic centers organised as best as Muslims can, under the worst situations given we never manage to have proper Mosques (I live in Milan, which is a big city, and we don't even have a proper Mosque either. There was a project to build one but was shut down by the government so...)

The 23rd of December, the Muslim community of this city decided to take the streets and protest, and the mayor went crying on television on how this was a provocation because it was done right before Christmas. And one thing that really makes me cry, like real tears down my face I'm not even joking, is seeing the images of people protesting weaving little italian flags as to say "we're here, we're also italians, we just want a place to pray" how is that enough to ask...really...how. Italians don't even deserve those flags wallahi.

If you see the Mosque I attend with my family...that's nothing for it to be called a Mosque. It's a converted little villa our Islamic center bought with everyone's efforts around 20 years ago. And that's the nicest you can get, otherwise it's garages, basements...I'm soooo tired. Like we're here and we pay your taxes, the least you can give us is the dignity to have a place to come together. All this bitch of a mayor can say is "this is a victory for legality...no to places were hate is preached" soooo that's your islamophobia showing lmao. That's your problem. You can give your muslim citizens "legal" places to pray if you really wanted, but you don't want to because it feeds your propaganda. I'm so fucking sick of this country you have no idea

[seat-safety-switch]

I was halfway through my second Tetra-Pak® of oven-warmed (they say not to use the microwave) reduced-sodium chicken broth when I finally flipped to the editorial page of my neighbour’s newspaper. Those bastards in the government were sticking it to us again, with a planned “safety blitz” on the highway. You don’t need me to tell you, dear reader, what other fascist invented the concept of “the blitz.”

Now, you need to understand something about our local highway. It’s not like a real city’s. It has a bunch of jacked-up curves right in the middle, where they joined it together over successive projects as the city grew. Sometimes it’s six lanes. Sometimes it’s two. Exit lanes aren’t marked. Sometimes exit lanes are also merge lanes from a different highway. One section used to be part of the amusement park before all the fires. It’s a lot of fun, and the most fun part about it was that the traffic cops were afraid to be on the highway. Their union called it “really fucking unsafe.” With an endorsement like that, any safety operation, blitzkrieg or otherwise, would be bound to fail.

There’s another problem with the highway. During the week, it’s all commuters. Hardened drivers who know the rules of the road, and understand what to expect. They’ve been on it every day, in every weather condition. They can probably tell you every curve and bump, even if they don’t think of themselves as real drivers. Then you throw in some random asshole who doesn’t normally drive on the highway but just this once has to go across town at 9 A.M. to pick up Mister Floppykins’ anal wart medicine from the less racist of our two 24-hour vets. That random asshole – that normal person – immediately causes a twenty-five car pileup, forcing an intervention from law enforcement.

Of course, that’s a matter for the debate team. After the fact, those eggheads could argue that any enforcement operation barely scratched the surface of the law-breaking on-it-everyday speed demons who treated the highway like some kind of no-holds-barred carnage zone, a place where civility went to die and staying in your lane was practically unheard of. In reality, everyone knew the cops were catching some heat after letting the Mayor Himself’s Daughter Herself get away with a minor cocaine infraction when her gently-crashed Tesla saturation-bombed a popular downtown eatery with half-charged 18650 lithium-ion battery cells, and they needed to make some exhaust tickets in order to renew public confidence in their so-called institution.

They didn’t do it to me, of course, even though I was myself blitzed by the federales. That morning, I “had to” give my shark of an attorney, Max, a ride down south, so he could pick up a set of monogrammed cufflinks from the rotary (wrong kind, I asked) club. He’s too afraid to drive on the highway normally, you see, but he was all too willing to kick in for gas. I still will never know how he managed to turn “unjust widened-exhaust ticket” into the weeping officer handing his own badge and gun to Max.

[cervinelich]

U.S. Americans: Vote Locally. Do it.

There seems to be a common misconception that the presidential election is the most important one not just for the USA, but for the world - WRONG!

Let me be clear: You should vote in the Presidential election.

Historically, young people don't vote. Even though young voter turnout has increased drastically since Trump, local voting is still largely being determined by conservative older generations.

Importantly, you should be voting locally in part because this is the largest influence over who gets nominated in the Primary and how your opinion is vocalized on a national scale. Also:

voter restriction/suppression

climate change efforts/issues (such as pipelines getting built)

policing, law enforcement and mass incarceration

availability of affordable housing, public transport, disability relief

education - as in, whether or not PragerU gets taught in schools

If you are worried about "being selfish" for focusing smaller local issues instead of global ones (such as the current genocide), I understand. However, this is a more effective way to pressure the current President - local legislators have more voice than we do. This is also setting up a less racist, genocidal future for global politics because Presidential nominees are almost always picked from State level positions.

The Presidential election helps people to feel good/bad about an "immediate" measurable result from a single action. But the truth is that the Bidens of the US will keep being the only rival to "I want to be a dictator" Trumps if we don't start investing our votes from the ground up.

Here is a guide (mostly from this website https://tminstituteldf.org/local-elections/ ):

CITY GOVERNMENT

School Boards:

Have the power to set policy and budgets for local schools, such as whether or not you can protest without losing your job or getting expelled.

Sherrifs:

Generally speaking, Sherrifs are fucked up. It's too much for me to go into here. They have way too much unilateral power with no oversight at all.

Prosecutors:

The largest contributor to mass incarceration

They set the terms on whether someone is charged with a misdemeanor or felony and being convicted of a felony will strip your right to vote in many states - some permanently.

City Council:

City Council approve things like city budgets and implement criminal and civil laws and regulations

Also the voice of their City at a State and Federal level. Generally, these are some of the people you should be shouting at to bring your voice higher up the food chain.

This includes the Mayor who often decides where budgets go (like schools or cops), and they also determine the level of enforcement of local laws.

County Board of Supervisors (County Commissioners):

Represent county issues in front of state and federal legislative bodies. Counties are also responsible for registering voters and administrating elections. i.e., another group of people who have a stronger voice against the elected Democrat when it comes to larger issues.

Planning and Zoning Commission:

Determines how and where affordable housing is zoned in your area. Has a huge effect on housing segregation.

Comptroller:

The City's accountant and budget manager - this is the person who audits the City Council and makes sure they aren't basically stealing money. They also approve city contracts such as those for affordable public transportation and shelters.

STATE GOVERNMENT

Judges:

This one is crucial. Your state judges act as the Supreme Court of your given state. The cases that they weigh on when it comes to state laws (such as abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.) these are binding and final.

Superintendent of Education:

This is the person who decides if PragerU gets to teach classes on why Zionism and Evangelical teachings are "ok and good, actually".

Secretary of State:

The person who certifies elections in your state - for the Presidency, but also for all of these other positions mentioned. It is so, so important that this person cannot be bought or pressured.

Attorney General:

Has influence over law enforcement agencies and represents the state in legal disputes - such as those where someone is disputing their rights are being infringed by the state. (abortion, medical autonomy, immigration, right to protest/free speech, etc.)

Governor:

Is basically the president of your state. They sign in laws, have veto power and oversee all of the other departments. They also can appoint Justices and State Senate seats if they are empty.

Not only does this person have a lot of state power, they also have a ton of influence over the broader federal climate and are one of the positions that fast-tracks to Presidency (see: Ron Desantis).

State Comptroller (or Controller):

Same as City Comptroller except extremely importantly they manage disaster relief/preparation funding - which is especially important amidst climate change.

Also oversee fraud investigations.

Public Service Commissioner:

Determines rates for things like energy, water, internet in your state.

Also deals with the gas and oil industry in your state, often being in charge of approval/rejection of the building of oil pipelines.

They can be appointed by the Governor.

State Senators:

Has just about the most authority in a state, with the ability to impeach Governors and deny someone the Governor tries to appoint

Another position that fast-tracks to Presidency

Draft and introduce/pass state laws and amend the state constitution

State House of Reps:

Can call for the removal of another legislator

Draft and introduce/pass state laws

All Right. I'm running out of steam on this post. Please, please, please, PLEASE register to vote *right now* and look over the website when you do to see if it can set up email alerts when an election is coming up.

Buy a calendar and mark voting days and stick it to your wall TODAY. Set aside an hour of your time, TODAY, to make a plan for voting.

Go to this website, enter your state. It will tell you exactly what to do. Register.

Lastly, if you don't like Biden and it makes you feel like shit to vote for him (understandably), then YOU NEED TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY.

[one-n-only-cedar]

Chapter 2: Beginnings

“This is Director Brooke Augustine, reiterating once again the importance of the Department of Unified Protection. The streets of your city are crawling with Bio-Terrorists and you have no power to defend yourselves or your loved ones, let us be that power.” July, 2017

I stood before a sea of people, a situation I was unfortunate enough to be familiar with. I was nothing more than a prop to my mother, I'd like to specify at these events but that would be a lie. I felt like a prop my whole life: beauty pageants from age 3, gymnastics at ages 6-14, Cheerleading(though that didn't work out), and now that I'm graduated I could go with her on any of these stupid events she wanted. My mother stood beside me looking every part the powerful mayor that she was and making some half hearted speech about new beginnings. I scanned the crowd, mostly reporters here for the Grand opening of Machiavelli's, a new restaurant in town. It was a fancy upper end sit down restaurant located right in the heart of Downtown. Across the street from a Clucky's Chicken. I noted kind of offhandedly how there was a distinct lack of customer's at the fast food place. It was noon you'd think they'd have some kind of rush.

My mother finished her speech managing to work my graduation into the end and force me up to the podium.

“Hello Citizens of Nova City.” I started and a reporter raised his hand

“As a Youth, How do you feel about the D.U.P.’s sudden involvement in this city?” the way he said youth felt condescending, like I was just some kid tagging along with mommy to the grocery store.

I tossed a look over my shoulder at my mom and she shrugged uselessly turning back to the crowd I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt like spiders were trying to crawl up it.

“I have no thoughts on the matter, the government is simply trying to do its job.”

“They could declare martial law,” Warren said interrupting my internal monolog

I looked over at him pulling my eyes away from the restaurant opening across the street. Another fancy place I'd never see the inside of. His eyes were hard, glaring at me as I tossed him a sheepish grin.

“Did you hear any of that?”

I shook my head, “no sorry I'm in my own little world here.”

He huffed, taking off the ridiculous chicken hat we were forced to wear and smoothing back his blue and green dyed hair. “I was telling you about The DUPs” he said

“Oh right, right they were brought into the city weren't they?”

“Yeah apparently some crazy ‘Bio-Terrorists’ are running around.” He said sarcastically, spitting the term as if it hurt to say

“Oh no how scary,” I said feigning fear “Bio-Terrorists, what a shit phrase.”

“Scary!? I'll tell you what's scary, these government fucks are gonna come in here and take our rights away.”

I laughed, Warren was a great person to work with and he made the time pass by.

By the time our shift had ended we both made our separate ways, Mom was at work at the hospital so I got the thrill of walking home.

The city was serene at night, hard to believe that the government thought there were terrorists here. I was walking slowly simply enjoying the midsummer cool of the night when I heard a scream. It was a shrill sound filled with fear. Immediately my heart started to pound, coursing adrenaline through my body. I moved without thinking - acting before my brain even caught up to the situation. By the time I realized I was running head first into danger with 0 preparation I had already found the danger. A large man stood over a prone woman, in an alleyway.

“Stop right there!” I shouted in my best attempt at a voice of authority. “Leave that woman alone, you-” I cut off what do you even say in a situation like this “you ruffian.” Yeah that didn't sound nerdy at all

The man turned away from the girl and his eyes struck fear into my very core; they were glowing orange. He had a sneer on his face as he flexed his fingers and fire erupted from the palm of his hands. All fear in me evaporated as the woman screamed. Regardless of my own wellbeing or inability to stand against this man I had to keep her safe. I ran, feet pounding concrete as I threw myself into danger.

The guy side stepped my charge striking my face with a flaming backhand, a raging heat scorched my cheek the powerful slap sending shockwaves of pain down my spine and bringing me to my knees

“Did you honestly think you'd come in here and be some kind of hero?”

His laugh was harsh, like he was forcing it through layers of gravel stuck in his thick neck. He snapped his hand out wrapping it around my neck, fire coating his palm and searing my flesh. Then he lifted me up, I felt my feet leave the ground as he dangled me in front of him. Then his massive palm grabbed my face fire searing my eyes, every breath was hot and ragged as I gulped fire down to my lungs in a desperate attempt to breathe. His laugh persisted ringing in my ears until I felt my body going numb, a sudden and brilliant flash of gold filled my vision, a feeling of warmth exploding out from my chest. A heat much like the one lingering on my face, only this one was comforting.

There was a sea of darkness all around me only briefly illuminated by a golden glow coming from somewhere behind me. It seemed for a moment that whatever was behind me was turning with me as I looked for the source of the soft warm glow until I looked down seeing a Radiant supernova wriggling in my chest.

My wonder lasted only a moment as I looked at the golden flower blooming within what I could only assume was my soul. It was quickly replaced by fear as I heard movement in the darkness, things scurrying around me. Things sniffing me out, a soft growl played in my ear accompanied by a dry harsh laugh.

“You're not so powerful.” Came a crazy voice like ice breaking off down a melting stream. Much like the ice the voice sent chills throughout my entire being nearly suffocating the warmth of the golden glow in my chest. “You're just a baby, you have no concept of the power within you.” Came the voice

Laughter exploded around me, the voice seemed to be toying with me. Then the cold halted and warmth replaced it gold pouring off of me in such brilliant beams that it combatted the darkness.

A scream cut off my fear and the light died down.

“Ezra?” Mom's voice came.

“Mom?” I asked voice rough

Then I was Yanked into a tight hug, her arms pulling me to her in a warm embrace. We stayed there for a moment and I scanned the room, a hospital room. I sat on a bed in hospital gowns, the smell of burnt cloth filling my nostrils until I realized there had been bandages around my head that now smoldered. Mom started to shake and I realized she was sobbing.

“Mom, what's going on?” I said

After a moment of her crying she pulled away, scanning me for injuries. “I thought you were dead.”

“Dead?” Then it all raced back to me.

“The woman, is she okay?”

“She ran while you took that beating,” mom said bitterly, “some bystanders caught it in action. They're calling you a hero.”

“Me? A hero?”

Mom turned on the little TV in the room and switched to a news channel, and there it was. Shaky cellphone footage of me; feet dangling off the ground and the Bio-Terrorist with his flaming fists one around my neck the other around my head. I looked over at mom and she refused to acknowledge the footage. I reached for the remote to turn it off but then a golden flash caught my attention. I watched as golden light burst from my hands, crawling up my arms and eventually coating my whole body. It shielded me as the flaming beast jumped back. I stood on my feet all.of one minute before the light burst off me, a wave of golden light rolled off me in all directions even going so far as to knock the cameraman over. I looked at mom and she held my gaze,

“I-I'm,” I gulped around the dry lump in my throat. “I'm one of them?”

“Oh Pooh, no. You're a hero.”

“That was the least heroic footage I have seen.”

“The woman you saved, her name was Isabel Walsh. She came forward and told the story from her perspective. The guy tried to mug her, and you stopped him.”

I nodded, “I heard her scream, it sounded like she needed help.”

“No terrorist I know would run unarmed into danger because someone needed help.” She said, swelling with pride.

Man I bet the people from school are regretting not even knowing I existed.

I stared at my reflection, my brown eyes blinking back at me, slowly I examined myself, with a cold detached analysis. Ensuring everything was perfect: my makeup, my hair, these god awful preppy clothes. I had to be the perfect sidepiece to my mother's show or I would be shunned without dinner. in my room the TV played the news,

“And in local news an unnamed teenager saved a woman from a Bio-Terrorist attack we have been unable to reach him or his guardian for further questions but the woman he saved has come forward.”

I leaned back to look at the TV just in time to see shitty cell phone footage of a golden light knocking the one filming over. The footage switched to a tired looking redhead and a reporter with big doe eyes,

“Isabel, was it?”

The redhead nodded

“Tell us what happened.”

“Well,” the girl said in a shaky tone “I was out on a walk when this big scary man cornered me in an alley. When I tried to go around him he knocked me down. I screamed and next thing I knew this brave young man rushes in and confronts the man. I didn't see anything after that because I ran.”

That kid looked like he had promise, maybe I could recruit him. Help him get a handle on those powers, he clearly has a desire to do good.

The cool air of the night clung to the black outfit that hung just loosely enough to give me room to move, and moving is exactly what I was doing. I leapt over a pipe on the roof and slid under another. Not even attempting to stop as I reached the edge of the roof I flung myself into the air soaring over the gap and landing in a roll to keep my momentum as I hit the next roof.

I liked the run. It helped clear my head. The movement was easy. Years of gymnastics and little fear of falling helped me move. I always went on runs after my mom forced me to play her prop. It always left a bad taste in my mouth and a fog in my brain. The run cleared both, here on the rooftops in the night was where I felt at home. I ran past a folding lawn chair sat in front of a TV narrowly dodging the cooler that sat next to it. Briefly in the back of my head I thought about how strange it was that a set up like this one would be here but the observation was lost as I threw myself into a much larger gap.

The space was larger than any human should be able to clear but luckily I wasn't just any human, I was a conduit. My body dissolved into a cloud of black smoke-like shadow as I pushed myself forward just enough to land on the roof of the old abandoned apartment complex. The Burrows were full of these, housing complexes that had been left to rot as the scummy landlords refused to take care of them and the people who lived there left for some place better or were removed for failure to rent. Even before the DUPs this city was a Shit hole.

“Didn't think you were gonna make it.” Came a familiar voice

“I always do” I replied turning to face Greyson, he was built like a brick wall, towering over me with shoulders so broad they made him look square. His face lit up as he smiled at me,

“So tell me, Umbress what brings us out here to the slums?”

“Two things, I needed fresh air and I got a lead. My source says there is a conduit holed up in this building.”

[thekuraning]

oh boy oh jeez oh man i hope you guys are ready for kura's tiger and bunny thought of the evening bc i ran across two-year-old comments on the Blue Rose page of the T&B fan wiki and i have OPINIONS

its actually a really benign old comment chain about USD versus Stern Dollars, but everyone pretty much says "yeah but it's still in the USA" and BUDDY BOY NO IT AIN'T. NO. IT. AIN'T.

I'VE GOT SOMETHIN' TO SAY ABOUT STERN BILD AND I'LL FIGHT ANYONE (but like in a silly way)

"But Kura, the creators literally said it's in New York and—" yes they did, this part is very much true and the aerial shot we see of Stern Bild is always around Tribeca/Manhatten area with a really nice shot of the Hudson, but that's not the point (though it does make it much easier to chart the various districts, more on that coming soon)

Something we know about Tiger & Bunny is that it is set in an alternate universe New York, and never once is the United States mentioned by name. In fact, there isn't much about world nations mentioned in general in T&B—the one time I can think of off the top of my head where "country" is even mentioned is in Dragon Kid's flashback of her parents sending her off to Stern Bild, where they tearfully say she is going to become "the pride of [their] country," so I guess we at least know the concept of countries exists. But is Stern Bild in a country? Is Stern Bild a country?

Actually, all evidence points toward Stern Bild being a city-state. It meets all three qualifications of being such: it's an independent, sovereign city that is "the center of political, economic, and cultural life" over its surrounding territories. We see these qualifications met across all three seasons, first and foremost starting with something you've heard characters talk about pretty dang often but probably never thought too much about: the Stern Dollar.

The Stern Dollar (SBD from here on out) has to get its name from somewhere, and the most likely candidate is Stern Bild itself, which means that Stern Bild mints its own currency. Often shortened to "dollars" by the characters, it's used even in neighboring towns like Kotetsu's hometown (i.e., Muramasa charging him "two dollars" for a whiskey in season 1.)

We also know Stern Bild has a very localized culture based on the events of The Rising and a few character scenes in S2. In The Rising, the backdrop to the story is the time leading up to and the day of the Stern Bild holiday of Justice Day, which celebrates the time our lord and savior Jesus Christ appearedunto man in crab form and was unfortunately eaten, resulting in the Goddess bringing her wrath down on the ancient people of Stern Bild. (hello mutuals who haven't seen Tiger & Bunny and are reading this anyways, THIS IS CANON I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP THIS FUCKING HAPPENED, CRAB JESUS) This is a holiday that is, again, celebrated outside of Stern Bild, as Kotetsu's family celebrates Justice Day despite hailing from his hometown. By extension, it's likely the same goddess is worshipped in the territories surrounding Stern Bild.

We also know based on S2 that other cities have their own hero programs, all of them ran wildly differently. However, again, we look to Kotetsu's home town—no mention of other heroes. Just Hero TV heroes. Both the religious and secular mainsteam culture are exported from Stern Bild to its outlying territories.

And finally, political life: the politics of Stern Bild are interesting af because we know basically that we have the mayor and the mayor's cabinet, which includes prominent industry figures and judges from the Justice Bureau. We typically only see them making decisions about the governance of Stern Bild, and it's true that politics exist at all levels in a nation, but the reason why it seems to me that Stern Bild is a center of political life is (SEASON 2 SPOILERS LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY NOOOWWWW)

Well, mostly it's because of the concentration camps, which seem to exist decidedly outside of Stern Bild's city limits. Stern Bild proper is always shown to be a bustling megalopolis. It's very dense and doesn't have a lot of extra wide-open spaces laying around. However, the mayor of Stern Bild was able to have these NEXT concentration camps set up on short notice in seemingly the middle of nowhere.... Which would very likely be an outlying territory, again, like Kotetsu's very rural hometown. This one's a little bit tricky because we can't be absolutely certain, but for all intents and purposes it seems to me that Stern Bild has some political relevance to its surrounding territories.

So, is it TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE that Stern Bild is in the United States? Yeah, sure, it could be I guess. But it's much more likely that it's an independent city-state, especially since it mints its own currency.

anyways that's my tiger & bunny thought of the night, dont mind me, i just wanted an excuse to rant about this bc the stern dollar's been on my mind for a few days

[stephenjaymorrisblog]

Jewish College Students Are Just Fine

Thanks for asking

Stephen Jay Morris

5/1/24

©Scientific Morality

So, your country’s treasury has supplied cash and military hardware to a foreign country for it to ethnically cleanse inhabitants of an open-air prison. Your country is an accessory to genocide. So, what does it do? It has a campaign of propaganda. Plus, it hires agent provocateurs to attend opposition demonstrations and misrepresent the true intent of the protests. The provocateur starts a chant that says, “Death to America.” The mainstream media reports that “Free Palestine” protestors are chanting, “Death to America.” If that’s not enough, you have Right wing cable T.V. reporting that Hamas is behind the student strikes at Columbia University.

When I was among those who protested the war in Vietnam, we were accused of being funded and supported by the former Soviet Union. My generation was labeled “communists.” Welcome to the false accusation club. Zoomers are being accused of Anti-Semitism. Since when is opposing genocide Anti-Semitic? Ever since Benjamin Netanyahu and his merry band of Likud putzes have circulated lame talking points to moderates, liberals, and American conservatives.

By 1971, anti-war students were deluged with allegations, by conservatives and the federal government, of committing libel and slander against the USA. In early May, the State upped the ante by sending National Guard troops to Kent State, where they shot and killed four students. I see all the signs of that being repeated here and now, in 2024. It is happening again; however, it is happening at an accelerated rate.

Benjamin yahoo is a fan of Donald Trump. He even named an Israeli neighborhood after him. He really wants Trump to win the presidency this November. What better way to discredit Biden than by having him send money and bombs to America’s BFF in the Middle East, as it is slaughtering innocent women, children, men, and elderly Palestinians. “October 7th” is the mantra of those imitating the American Neo-Con strategy that was perpetuated after September 11, 2001. “Nine-eleven” was the chant the US used to justify its attack on Iraq. As far as the horrific attacks that took place on October 6, 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu had been warned, a year prior, not only by Egyptian intelligence, but also by Israeli intelligence, known as Mossad, that Hamas was going to attack Israel.

The whole world is outraged by the bombardment and leveling of Gaza. War? It isn’t a war when the enemy is not fighting back! As my generation was enraged by the deaths of innocents in Vietnam, the only way we could express our shock and anger was by utilizing our First Amendment right to protest. When we did, an agent provocateur would yell out in a crowd, “Lets burn down the Administration building!” This has been documented by journalists, repeatedly. Now, today’s youth is expressing their outrage, under the Bill of Rights, by holding student strikes on college campuses.

Columbia university was recently invaded by the New York City Police Department to throw out the protestors. Afterward, the Mayor of New York City gave a news conference, where he used a term I hadn’t heard since 1968, “Outside agitators.” He went on to say how he knows about these people and who they are. BUT…he never revealed who they are! I wonder if the City Attorney instructed him not to mention them by name. Outside agitators? Really? Was it Antifa? The FBI? The Monkees? You know what I think and feel? They don’t know shit! It was all a fake-out.

So, will there be student fatalities? I hope not. There were no police shootings of Black Lives Matter protesters, though some police provocateurs fired shots and undercover cops started fires. Google “Umbrella Man.”

But this is no police brutality case, this is about American Imperialism. When you fuck with the state, the bullets will fly!

Happy May Day!

[beardedmrbean]

Sorry a third one, so I skimmed through the good times wiki. Oh it take place in the Chicago projects…while they never said the exact one in the tv show. But the opening and closing references it supposed to be in the same projects where the first candy man take place

Which raised further questions as did the Evans in the cartoon moved to the west side of Chicago since you know we blow up the projects

Also shit you not, the baby in the cartoon is drug dealer AND a crack baby as well.

Also like the trailer stated that the government put weapons into our communities…YOURE FUCKING CHICAGO. I LIVE IN THE FUCKING SUBURBS OF IT

Sorry modern black people, dude you intentionally overlooked how crime infested this city been LONG before the 80’s? We had an infamous serial killer here who was working during the time of our city famous world fair. The father of Walt Disney moved his family out of Chicago due to how crime infested it was

Also Al Capone? Who main base of operations was in this goddamn city? Hence why the 20’s Tommy gun have the nickname of the “Chicago typewriter”

Also we’re blue as fuck, so 99% of our government issues came from our shitty politicians like that dalton mayor, light foot, and the new dumbass mayor

I’m so pissed that I just bought the complete series on good times.

And this is animation, so everyone knows how long that takes

We could have

1.Black animation series inspired of a black boy who wanted to become a Marshall like Bass Reeves

2.A sci-fi cartoon where we pay homage to black nasa scientists and astronauts

3. Oh and we could have done a respectful collaboration with a Yoruba tribe where we used their history and folklore as inspiration for a cartoon!

Nope we got racist af stereo types of black people that hijacked a very important black sitcom in tv history name.

Stuff before this too Also shit you not, the baby in the cartoon is drug dealer AND a crack baby as well.

zero consideration about how many people they're insulting, there's more acting gigs than ever these days and while I get that they don't pay as much as they used to you'd still think people wouldn't lower themselves like this.

How I define dignity is different than them though.

Also like the trailer stated that the government put weapons into our communities…YOURE FUCKING CHICAGO. I LIVE IN THE FUCKING SUBURBS OF IT

can't be the residents fault, if it was then they might have to take some responsibility for the issue.

Sorry modern black people, dude you intentionally overlooked how crime infested this city been LONG before the 80’s? We had an infamous serial killer here who was working during the time of our city famous world fair. The father of Walt Disney moved his family out of Chicago due to how crime infested it was Also Al Capone? Who main base of operations was in this goddamn city? Hence why the 20’s Tommy gun have the nickname of the “Chicago typewriter”

As "big" cities in the US go, Chicago is pretty bad and has earned that reputation, city leadership has always gone on the progressive side of things too, been Dem forever so it's fun to watch them try to blame right wingers for their ills.

Also we’re blue as fuck, so 99% of our government issues came from our shitty politicians like that dalton mayor, light foot, and the new dumbass mayor

Like I said, lol

And this is animation, so everyone knows how long that takes We could have

1.Black animation series inspired of a black boy who wanted to become a Marshall like Bass Reeves 2.A sci-fi cartoon where we pay homage to black nasa scientists and astronauts 3. Oh and we could have done a respectful collaboration with a Yoruba tribe where we used their history and folklore as inspiration for a cartoon!

Nope we got racist af stereo types of black people that hijacked a very important black sitcom in tv history name.

Why create something original when you can just try to appropriate a classic and then make it so people are less likely to give the good one a shot.

As for #2 there, NASA is real good about covering all their bases on stuff like that.

Not a cartoon, but if you look through the NASA channel, I think it's on nearly every streaming service for free, Pluto and Freevee have a bunch too.

That and it's also on YT.

[onyxisnotuniqueenough]

Dear citizens and illegal immigrants of OnyxVille,

I, Mayor President King Queen Slay Onyx, can no longer continue to govern this magnificent city without acknowledging a growing problem in our humble community.

As I write this, our quaint but friendly town counts 33 residents registered in the database. I am not aware of the number of illegal immigrants that may inhabit the town without making their presence known with likes, replies, or asks.

This possible unregistered presence is actually linked to the very subject of this letter, as I have noticed that only a handful of the 33 citizens, as in like 4 or 5, choose to interact and participate in town events and council elections.

As you may know, the town's laws concerning residency, immigration and citizenship application are flexible and we do our best to avoid mirroring dehumanizing administration procedures present in other towns or cities. We are glad to have you around and want to make sure that the paperwork and application for temporary or permanent stays are as straight-forward and painless as possible.

We would also like to remind you that the small population makes it easy for the Council, and for me, Ultimate Slug King, to take care of you, interact with you, and most importantly take your input into account to better our town. Your opinion matters and your demands will be answered. (Not necessarily granted but you'll definitely get some kind of answer. The content of said answer has no legal obligation to be polite or agreeable, and besides, fuck you's are healthy to hear from time to time.)

We guarantee that any and all forms of contact will be dealt with immediately, directly by CouncilMembers or My Own Person. We are very involved. (phone tumblr all day tumblr tumblr)

All in all, the objective of this message is to encourage all registered residents and citizens to be more active and involved with this town's community, and to inspire all potential citizens, or illegal immigrants, to make their presence known and get their residency visa stuff sorted as soon as possible.

- your awesome cool leader, Onyx

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Wizard Of Oz Disney AU plotpoints

Unexpected Free Time strikes, and so I decided to do this early.

So before we get started, this isn’t going to be a case of someone flying in from a new world, this is all staying in Oz, so no “it was all a dream” stuff. And there are gunna be skips and gap points because I haven’t gotten this fully fleshed out yet, and not heavily detailed so… ah well. Here we go.

Minnie Mouse is a Munchkin, and Munchkinland kinda sucks

Every day, everyone hands their job to someone else – being Special and Unique and Very Good at something is frowned upon, seen as very rude, why would you WANT to be different???

Minnie wants to learn magic – more specifically, she wants to be a Grand Witch, the ones who govern all of Oz and are the strongest magic-users. She wants to use this power to help people, and to see more of the world than her oppressive and boring Munchkinland

In order to do so, she has to enroll in a special academy all the way in Emerald City, but also needs the Mayor’s permission to do so – which isn’t easy when the Mayor changes every goddamn day

TBF the Mayor, Munchkinland and all of Oz is kinda going through it – The Grand Witch Of The West, Magica De Spell has begun an uprising/invasion/rebellion, attacking other lands, and trying to usurp the Grand Warlock Of The North, Scrooge McDuck. So even people who like Minnie are like “why would you wanna get involved in that?!”

But luckily in a few days they’re expecting a visit from the Grand Witch Of The South, Daisy Duck. Minnie hopes she can leave a good impression on her and maybe get a one-way ticket to Emerald City!

Also she has a dog, Pluto, our Toto

On the day of Daisy’s visit, Minnie keeps trying to meet her but Circumstances prevent it, though she does notice Daisy is Very Tired and kinda moody

That night Minnie sneaks out of her house to try and see Daisy one more time BUT DRAMA

A three-way-witch fight! The Grand Witch Of The East, Magica’s own mother, Evelina, and Daisy are fighting off Magica, lots of hateful accusations being thrown, lots of property damage

Minnie wants to help, and maybe this can prove she’s ready for Emerald City? So she tries some of the magic she’s been practicing in secret, Wind Magic!

It starts small at first but when the other three take notice, suddenly it winds up into a tornado

It picks up an empty house and down goes Evelina

Minnie, of course, is horrified as fuck and begins hysterically sobbing and apologizing, running to the house to see if she can maybe save the squished witch – who is wearing silver slippers

Daisy and Magica seem awfully OK with Evelina being dead

But once she’s close enough, MAGIC HAPPENS and now all of a sudden she’s wearing the slippers, and can’t get them off

Now Magica LOSES HER SHIT and demands the shoes, saying they are meant to be hers, threatening screaming almost crying, but those things ain’t coming off, and Magica finally leaves but not after making some vague warnings

Daisy does her best to comfort Minnie who has been through Some Shit in the last ten minutes, but she can’t get them off either. She suggests the one who can is Scrooge, since his magic is the strongest, and even offers to escort her there

But the shoes ain’t having it, they have a mind of their own, and insist on walking their own path – a golden yellow brick road which forms as Minnie walks

Minnie and Pluto head off, and Minnie swears she can hear a voice in her head thanks to the shoes, but can’t tell who it is

Meanwhile, Magica’s at her Castle, and her Three Familiars offer to snatch Minnie and the slippers, she gives some vague responses

Eventually they come across a scarecrow, but wait, that’s not a scarecrow! It’s a boy tied up to a wooden post with a cloth bad filled with straw stuffed over his head

His name is Mickey and he comes from a local village, he too wants to be a Knight, someone who guards witches and warlocks, but he’s failed the test so many times his schoolyard bullies tied him up like this

He has a short-term memory issue and sucks at testing, and laments he will probably never be able to take the test again since he’s failed it so many times (Brain)

Minnie suggests he come with her, surely if they talk to Scrooge he can give Mickey an exception and he can take the test again

During this entire conversation he’s been stuck with the bag on his head btw, and Minnie’s about to untie him when one of the Three Familiars attacks! The Crow Lady, who commands a small army of crows

Minnie doesn’t want Mickey to get hurt so she intends to shield him with her body, and that’s when the shoes “activate” – whole magical girl transformation sequence – brand new silver look, and she manages to use her wind magic in a more precise way with the “voice” guiding her

As they fight, Mickey frees himself, and he and Minnie get a good first look at each other

Instant dokidokis

But they combine their efforts and send Crow Lady flying, ha ha

They’re off to see the wizard

They arrive at a very technologically advanced city, Mortimer’s there and he hits on Minnie, boo

They meet Ludwig who is fascinated by the silver slippers and invites the two to stay at his place for the night

He shows them his latest project, an android that’s supposed to be as close to a person as possible… but it can also fly and shoot lasers because why not, Ludwig’s a nutter

Then the Next Familiar attacks, Wasp Lady, whose wasp army attacks the city demanding Minnie come out and fight

She does, but during one hit she lands on the button that activates the android, it’s Donald!

Donald and Minnie team up to defeat Wasp Lady, but Donald reveals Minnie “woke him up” before all of his assets could be downloaded. He doesn’t have/understand emotions (Heart), and Ludwig’s out of funding to repair all the stuff that was destroyed during the fight

Minnie suggests maybe Scrooge will give Ludwig funding if they talk to him?

Ludwig is reluctant – once upon a time, Scrooge was Very Cheap and hated to spend even pennies. But he admits ever since Magica’s rebellion he’s been acting super strange and splurging money like there’s no tomorrow

Donald joins the group, we’re off to see the wizard

Check in with Daisy who has been telling Scrooge everything, he’s very cold to her and berates her and even hurts her a little, and Daisy physically cannot make any of this stop for Some Reason

Now they have to pass through a forest/jungle where they get captured by Forest Folk who accuse them of trespassing, but will leave the final judgement for their King

King Goofy isn’t really a king, really, since this isn’t a kingdom, and all the titles are made up, it’s a very silly and lawless land, but since his dad was leader Goofy is expected to be the leader now and make all the big decisions

Everyone’s gunna nutters there too, like Wonderland but with knives

Goofy is too cowardly to make any big decisions, and Minnie suggests maybe if they get Scrooge’s “permission”, he doesn’t have to be King anymore

Attack number three from Flying Monkey Lady, but during this attack it’s revealed Magica used to be adored and revered by the forest folk after she once stopped a deadly forest fire, and they don’t know why everyone hates her now, Flying Monkey calls them all traitors

With Goofy in tow, off to see the wizard

Yay Emerald City! They stop by the Academy, maybe Minnie can enroll after she gets the shoes off? She learns from an instructor that Scrooge and Magica were in the same classes and everything, some people thought of them as friends. Evelina was always interfering in Magica’s school life and was kind of a bitch

Daisy is there to escort them to Scrooge, Donald suddenly grabs her face and goes “Hey did you know you are symmetrically perfect?” because he Does Not Know Social Cues and everyone has to tackle him down to make him stop

Daisy thinks he was hitting on her and she is Very Okay With That

Off they go to see the Wizard. And it turns out he’s kind of a dick? Very condescending and rude and expecting everyone to follow his orders without question.

Can’t get the shoes off, and explains that Minnie has been cursed – it was likely Magica that made Minnie’s wind pick up the Killer House and then cursed the slippers to never come off.

Minnie like “… but she wanted them???” “Yes well Magica’s always been kind of stupid.”

Minnie realizes the voice she’s been hearing in her head/shoes is Scrooge’s! So Something Is Not Adding up

Scrooge says the only way to undo the curse is to kill Magica, so do that and I’ll grant all your wishes

Minnie and the gang DON’T WANT TO COMMIT ACTUAL MURDER WHAT THE FUCK MAN

Well too bad now it’s an imperial order, do it or else

Minnie tries to remain positive, maybe they can just capture Magica or something??? The shoes are leading her on as always

Daisy wants to go with them with Scrooge won’t let her

Off the gang go, and Daisy decides she’ll try to help anyway from the shadows

They encounter the poppy fields, and everyone but Donald falls asleep since, yeah, he’s an android, but he’s frantically trying to wake everyone up

The Three Familiars arrive and scoop up Minnie (and mickey too by accident)

The poppy fields come really alive and try to kill the remaining gang, but Daisy arrives to help them out

She explains she literally can’t tell them everything, but seems very Sure that Minnie and Mickey aren’t in danger

They’ll still go after them anyway obvi

Meanwhile, the mice wake up in Magica’s castle, in a cage, the Three Familiars all gloating and partying woo yeah we did it!!!

Magica arrives and is super pissed off, the fuck did you idiots do, I never said to capture the girl

She sounds all menacing and dangerous, determined to punish the frightened familiars, summoning a huge ton of magic to…

Lock up the fridge “NO DESSERT FOR A WEEK”

The three familiars begin throwing tantrums like small children as Magica goes on AND I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVEN’T BEEN BRUSHING YOUR TEETH, YOUR TOOTHBRUSHES ARE BONE DRY

Minnie and Mickey are...Very confused

Magica explains that while the Three Familiars have the bodies of adults they have the minds of children, cause magic, they very clearly see her as a mother figure

Magica doesn’t let them out now because figures they’ll just go tell Scrooge and he’ll twist it as something evil, and she’s Exhausted

That night the mice sneak out but Minnie’s shoes lead her to a locked-up room that contains an old diary

The shoes Activate again and suddenly she’s walking through memories of Magica’s life!

Evelina was a real bitch indeed, always trying to control Magica’s life like she was some kind of puppet, not letting her have friends or anyone to rely on. She forced Magica to enroll as a Grand Witch just like mom

It wasn’t until the academy days that she met Scrooge and hey Real Friend! Scrooge encouraged her to stand up for herself, and yes Magica did stop that deadly fire and even used her magic to save three badly burnt babes (the familiars)

Years pass and Daisy enrolls, and becomes biffles with Magica, and senses the UST between her and Scrooge even though they definitely deny it

Evelina wants Magica to steal Scrooge’s staff (Every Grand Witch/Warlock has a Grand Conduit for which their greatest magic is stored) but Magica finally has the stones to say no fuck you

Scrooge is the one who made the silver slippers, to be Magica’s Grand Conduit, to encourage Magica to “walk her own path” and there was definitely some crying and cuddling. But they’re not done yet, after they all become Grand he’ll give them to her, promise

But not too long after they become Grand, Evelina has a meeting with Scrooge and suddenly he’s an asshole, giving the slippers to Evelina, and calling Magica all kinds of terrible things

Magica decides fuck this noise and just leaves, but Scrooge and the others framed her for terrible crimes

The memories end and Minnie is just. Sobbing so hard for Magica, she can feel Scrooge’s genuine love for Magica through the shoes

She finds Magica and begs her to come with them to Emerald City, surely they talk they can all sort this out!

Ugh fine, but Magica and the Familiars have to pretend to be prisoners, off they go

They meet up with Donald/Goofy/Pluto/Daisy and explain things but Daisy goes NO FUCK YOU CAN’T COME BACK TO EMERALD CITY!! DO NOT!! And even fights them, but they win and Daisy flees

They go back to Emerald City anyway, and Scrooge wants to know why is Magica alive, Magica wants to know why he’s being an ass, Minnie approaches and just says “look can we just talk”

All the doors shut, Daisy’s there, and that’s when All The Big Reveals Happen

Evelina’s own special magic is Puppet Magic, all she has to do is slip a string into someone and she has total control over them… and she’s been controlling Scrooge and Daisy all this time

She faked her death (she used Minnie’s wind magic as a cover) because she thought Magica was close to figuring something out

But now she can’t let any of them live, not when world domination is so close at hand! So she sends her strings out to try and control all of them, all out brawl, and only Magica and Minnie are left to fight

Magica gets hit with a string, now it’s everyone versus Minnie, and she’s surrounded by strings

Minnie fights them all off as best she can, and realizes her True Magic wasn’t wind at all, but Gravity

She can make things float and crash back down, and make things heavy or light

Kicks ass, takes names

Frees everyone from the strings and ties Evelina up, making the strings so impossibly heavy she can’t get free

With Scrooge back to normal, the slippers can come off easily, emotional reunion, and Magica gets a fancy new silver outfit when she puts on the slippers

Mickey realizes he doesn’t need some test to be a knight, he can protect people all on his own and vows to never let anything like this happen again

Donald realizes he actually does understand emotions, and will spread the word making sure the truth of what happened is known by all

Goofy realizes it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s better to work as a community than by one person making choices, and wants to have the forest folk work with other lands

Minnie gets to enlist in the academy, and one day take up the mantle that Evelina used to hold

Until then, Scrooge Magica and Daisy will work in unity for that missing piece, and all have great expectations for Minnie

Listen everyone loves Minnie, absolutely everyone, just as it should be

The end

[nsomniacsdream]

Here's how American politics is structured, for foreigners wondering why our politics is "like that" and for Americans who haven't quite caught on yet.

On the bottom is regular citizens: these people produce everything in this country, and for the privilege, they're charged rent to exist, and work, and purchase items they need to continue to live. These rents are paid to the federal government. Their state government, and local governments.

City councils/mayor/there's a lot of variety here: usually a local wealthy person who uses their position to enforce new forms of rent on people! Also pretty much the best chance you have to enact some sort of change (the change will be entirely local)

State government: this depends on whether you're a swing state or reliable, if you're a swing state, millions of dollars will probably pour in to get one governor or another. If you're a reliably red or blue state, there might be some fuckery but you can generally elect your own governor.

Ok so right here is a pretty hard dividing line. Anyone below this line has no effect on anything above this line, but the people above this line can fuck with anyone below this line that they want.

Here's where we hit the national congress. These are where the wealthy place their representatives, who are chosen by their commitment to the wealthy (yes, no matter what they say) and then just ungodly amounts of money are poured into their races. No matter what anyone says, there is very little chance of beating someone with an unlimited campaign chest, unless outside circumstances intervene. Once in congress, these people mysteriously become rich! (It's a mystery!) And here is where bribery happens, we call it lobbying tho. I think the last I saw was there is over 20 lobbyists per congressman?

Above here is the president. The president is absolutely chosen by the wealthy, they control the primaries. So here is where the two actual political differences matter. Do we burn everything to the ground now and milk what we can and then get out? Or do we aim for a long term squeeze, where we don't tear everything down, and its more about long term profits instead of a fast payout. To become president takes an unimaginable amount of money. You will sacrifice anything and everything to get to this point, which is kind of the point. No one is allowed this much power in the US unless you're compromised to your very soul.

Here's a fun fact! Even if literally not a single person votes, a president will still be chosen! It doesn't actually matter which one, because the people in control only put up choices they're fine with. No president is going to get to the point where they can even run if they're hostile to wealthy interests.

The federal government is not, at all, beholden to the common American. It's all just play acting. Fuck, look at Palestine. Polls are consistently over 60 percent who want us to intervene and stop it, but instead we give them the weapons they're using to fuel the genocide. Elections above the state level aren't decided by who you vote for, it's decided by who you're allowed to vote for.

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

Ok so 1953 was 70 years ago... 2053 is only 29 years away. This is my point the conservatives and Republicans in this country want to drag us all back 70 years ago if they had their way. I chose 1953 out of thin air, but pretty much any year of 50s. Because white men controlled everything back then. It's the 21st century for fuck sake, we're closer to 2053 now, are we all going to sit idly by allow them to this? Y'all realize we could easily vote all those old white bastards out of congress if enough got up off our butts and actually went out and voted, no matter what it takes. The only reason they stay in Congress and everywhere else is because more old conservatives and Republicans get out and vote. And I get those fuckers make impossible in alot of places to vote if we aren't one of them. But we gotta be fuck you, we're stronger, smarter, better, younger, more determined to have a better future. So we're not going to let their bullshit trickery and straight up cheating stop us from voting we'll get it done. Even just to piss those motherfuckers off. Vote for people of color, lgbtqia+ candidates, trans candidates, vote for not Republicans or Democratic candidates (if they get enough votes they'll win), vote for candidates that are younger then 50!! Just fucking vote, because even if think it does nothing, if dislike/hate conservatives/republican/fascist politicians voting against them will piss them the fuck off, prove them wrong about all of us, make them look stupid (which is always fun) and hopefully save our democracy. Because those motherfuckers are chipping away at it, it now huge fucking pieces their taking off not little pebbles. Just look at all laws they've passed at the state level to restrict our civil liberties, control free speech by banning books, passing laws to control women's reproductive rights, first the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade now having state after state passing insane laws banning abortions. In every case is a clear indication how much conservatives man don't care about women or our lives. Then the onslaught of laws targeting the trans community, limiting their access to health care they need and unleashing a wave of transphobic all over ourcountry. Also laws targeting the lgbtqia+ community, banning drag shows, that in theit history never hurt anyone. There a celebration.

We the people, remember there are way more of us then any political party, any amount of politicians, no matter how much powerful they think they are. We our number them! We are louder, we are angry, we are feed up, we are tried of the lies, we are tried of all the bullshit, we done being told what America should be like. Because that definition doesn't work anymore, we're gonna give America a new definition for right now! For the 21st century, for 2023 because we're not going the fuck backwards no fucking more. The only direction is forward, into the future, we want to know what America can be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now. That is not some conservative, Republican, fascist, authoritarian old white man wet dream!!! Nope, not happening not on our watch assholes!

We will not go gentle into that good night! We will rage, rage against the dying of the light!! In other words will not allow our democracy to be killed by traitors to our country that even now spit fascist ideals in Congress, in Governor offices, state legislators, mayors officials, city councils, school districts. Just look at horrors that been unleashed on Florida because of Ron DeSantis who is without doubt a fascist and an authoritarian!

That why the next elections are so important. Why it's so important to register to vote at

And go out vote or to make it easier if your state allows voting by mail, that what I do. I'm in Arizona, they send me a ballot in mail, I fill it out. I can either mail it or drop it off. It's great!! To see if your state has voting by mail go to.

Some other voting resources:

https://rockthevote.org

https://vote411.org

(Helps if your homeless and want to vote)

(Helps people with disabilities to vote)

[kineticpenguin]

Hokay, let's take stock of this ridiculous series so far.

Our protagonist, Jared, is some vague IT techie working for Not Google for Legal Reasons who is weirdly judgy about people using their employee benefits like free bicycles. A solar flare knocks out all power on the western hemisphere, so the USA EMPs the rest of the world because fuck you, then all the major powers assassinate each other's heads of state.

Realizing that his car is dead and the power's not coming on, Jared treks home. Along the way he is saved from the notice of Mexican gangsters by a kindly homeless vet who dispenses a ton of free survival advice. Along the way home he meets a mayor and two cops trying to explain to a crowd that the government has ceased to exist. Jared gets a free bike from a cop.

Upon his return home, Jared uses his walls as a white board to plan out his survival and gets beaten up in a Safeway by drug addicts because reasons, and they steal his bike. Jared then decides to raid an REI for things the homeless vet told him would be useful to begin his trek out of the city. He gets a bike, a trailer, and all the equipment that seems to make sense, and then strikes out on his own. Along the way he sees Mexican gangsters murder a kid because reasons. Despite the fact that his existence is dependent on looting, Jared judges random people for breaking into cars.

Jared lucks into finding Bart, an old Vietnam veteran who owns a gun store and tries to work out a trade deal for a gun. Bart agrees to arm him and train him in exchange for Jared making supply runs for him. Bart has tuberculosis or some other generic illness that makes him cough up blood. Eventually on one of his supply runs, Jared takes it upon himself to avenge the parents of a little girl he encounters with some convoluted "pop up from the crawlspace" plan to kill Mexican gangsters. Kills them all, including the leader who killed the kid for no good reason earlier. He gets grazed in the neck and leg, which he bandages with menstrual pads.

Rescuing the girl, he returns to Bart. Some guys try to break into the gun store in the middle of the night and get killed for their trouble. (Technically one was allowed to go, but on his own with a bullet wound in his arm, he's screwed). Bart decides to strike out with Jared and the little girl to increase their odds of survival.

Eventually they run into an armed checkpoint out of town. A man and a woman are worried about Mexican gangsters coming to take their shit. They team up just in time to kill some Mexican gangsters trying to take their shit, and get their working VW bug for their trouble. The new survivors are an old rancher named Calvin and a schoolteacher named Shannon, who basically takes over caring for the little girl, causing Jared to monologue internally about how correct traditional gender roles are.

They hole up in a well-stocked abandoned house. Meanwhile a Delta operation to retrieve a nerd goes bad and their helicopter crashes from a bird strike. The team leader and sole survivor, John, observes their group for a bit before joining them because he has decided what's left of the government is Bad, actually. Now that a new experienced fighty guy is here, Bart dutifully succumbs to his illness.

In the next book, the guy John was trying to extract joins the group and they come up with a plan to find people who can help them. Jared, John, and Barry (the new nerd) make their way back into the town, seeking some old rich guy named Dwight. Along the way they encounter Devon, a teenager who eats rats. They kill some bikers who were holding two women captive, Claire and Stephani, and send them to hide with Devon while they go find Dwight.

Dwight is living in a McMansion fortress. His wife killed herself when the lights went out and he's been harried by people who want his shit every night. He agrees to join the group only if they kill the guys who have been trying to break into the house he is about to abandon. John and Jared agree to this as long as he leaves the doors open so the marauders' families can get his shit anyway when they're gone. John and Jared massacre the men in the middle of the night. Encountering some women the next morning on their way out, John and Jared give them a sanctimonious speech about right and wrong before heading on their way.

Meanwhile, a Mexican immigrant wielding a machete meets the the rest of the group at the house. Carlos is the first Mexican in this series who is not pointlessly hostile and is looking for work to help feed his son, Salvador. The group takes them in.

They encounter another armed group and wind up in a firefight that kills Dwight. This is okay though because he already basically dispensed his useful ideas. They make it back to Devon and the girls, get some supplies, and head home. Just as they're getting settled in with running water and solar power, the government comes back to remind John that he still has a service obligation and collects him. This infuriates Jared beyond words.

The next book starts with the group abandoning the house because the government knows where it is. Claire, who at this point has had no personality, suddenly enters a depression doom spiral. The very next night on the road, they encounter some ranchers who take them in. Claire takes the opportunity to hang herself in the barn.

Jared talks about the group's need to be a community with mutual cooperation. Stephani sneers about that sounding like socialism. Jared assures her that no, this isn't socialism, they are more like a Native American tribe. Whatever!

Meanwhile, the military rescues some Navy SEALs but unlike the Colonel and his right-hand man Josh, the leader of the SEAL team is concerned about how they are handling the situation. Despite having thrown John in jail, the colonel decides the best course of action is to have Josh kill the leader of the SEAL team and make it look like an accident.

Now that the group is safe and with even more inexplicably working equipment, Jared sets out to rescue John from the military. He meets some more ranchers who are angry because the military has been "taxing" them by stealing animals. Jared decides to help them get revenge and weaken the military by taking out one of the military's helicopters with some kind of Return of the Jedi Ewok bullshit.

It is never really explained how this makes any kind of strategic sense. It doesn't even make tactical sense, because the military has been coming to the ranches with Humvees, not helicopters. But what the hell, let's see how they rationalize this bullshit.

[weirdstrangeandawful]

Okay fuck it, I've been pretty quiet about my hometown is because it's a small city and... internet, and whatever, but I don't live there anymore and I really, really need to say this.

This is going to get long so all I'm going to summarise at the top: Every 2SLGBTQ+ person deserves to feel the full support of the medical community regardless of their political expression or affiliation.

Fierté dans la Capital(e) Pride released a statement on Palestine recently. I encourage you to read it. Considering Ottawa is the capital of Canada and therefore has very strong ties to the military, the RCMP, the federal government obviously, and is also a hub of the tech industry in Canada, they had to be careful. And they did a really good job in my opinion. They provided all the important facts, made it clear that they're against genocide and that their position is based on evidence. Even so, many Jewish community organisations pulled out of the parade. I'm not going to comment too far on that, since I've not read into their reasonings and I'm not directly involved in that community. What does upset me is the chain reaction that seems to have started as a result. The mayor of Ottawa pulled out of the parade, which is a pretty big disappointment because we, as the Ottawa queer community, felt pretty proud when our last and beloved mayor felt comfortable enough to come out as gay in 2019.

Then the hospitals, including the children's hospital, pulled out of the parade. In my personal view, they do not understand what that means. The history of the pathologisation of sexuality and then the AIDS crisis are just some well-known examples of how the medical system failed the queer community. With current blocking of access to healthcare for the trans community in the US and parts of Canada, and the fact that the Canadian government does absolutely nothing to combat the near-yearly shortages of life-saving testosterone therapy, and the recent mpox epidemic, and the 8+ year wait times for gender affirming care in Ottawa itself, and the lack of access to healthcare outside of Toronto (5 hours drive or train ride from Ottawa) which disproportionately affects queer people, and the ongoing homophobia and discrimination we face in the medical system-- When it comes to pride, we need the support of the medical establishment!

Especially in a city where we have one singular community health centre for the whole region that

As a gay man who is vocally pro-palestine, do I feel comfortable going back to my hometown knowing there is a good chance I will have to seek medical care? No!

Do I feel comfortable that my 2SLGBTQ+ friends still living in Ottawa can seek the medical care they need? No!

Do I have confidence that the children at the children's hospital that has the one paediatric gender affirming care clinic in all of, not just Ottawa, but Eastern Ontario, can get the care they need? No!

Every 2SLGBTQ+ person deserves to feel the full support of the medical community regardless of their political expression or affiliation.