#hes trying to see if we can get her in a government sanctioned one but its. damn near impossible because why wouldnt it be

[fadeintoyou1993]

so 2025 started with a KICK lol basically my grandma's care home is raising their monthly costs and my dad whos my late stage alzheimers grandma's only caretaker was already struggling to make their "lower" price as it was, and its been. just terrible lately. and hes worried he wont be able to make it. and if he doesnt make it my grandma will have to leave. and quite literally she needs 24/7 care and my dad cannot work and take care of her. i want to help him so im making this post to say my commissions are open (see more here) and this is my ko-fi and this is my paypal. ik everyone is struggling as it is & truly i appreciate any and all help, even just a reblog. tysm. ♡

$137/600

kf / pp.me

please dont tag this as s1gnal b00st

[ew-selfish-art]

DP x DC AU: Danny desperately wants to find the explosion guy. Tim is really good at covering his tracks... he didn't account for ghosts.

The explosions make it onto TV as purported terror activity and most people haven't heard of that part of the world much less ever given a second thought to care about it. The only real reason it gets reported on has something to do with the Justice League and... Danny knows too much.

He's been in training for Clockwork's court (which he's suspicious of- feels like kingly duty bullshit- but Danny is playing along out of curiosity for now) and he's learned a lot about how the living and non-living worlds collide. That means learning about CW's usual suspects- one of which just happened to have a ton of bases around the area Danny was seeing on the news.

It didn't take long for Danny to try to piece together that whoever blew up Nanda Parbat was trying to fuck with the League of Shadows, and was doing it successfully. Less green portals in the world the better, same goes for assassins. But it gets Danny thinking... Maybe he can employ similar tactics on the GIW Bases that keep spawning on the edges of Amity Park. It would at least set them back while he and his friends navigated the help line desk to request Justice League intervention. None of them can leave Amity Park, so outreach is going to have to be creative.

So Danny figures he'll just find the guy. Call up some ghosts who were there, or er, came from there and get a profile and track him down. But the ghosts keep saying it was The Detective. Annoying!

Danny goes full conspiracy theory, gets Tucker and Sam involved, and begrudgingly asks Wes Weston his thoughts.

He hadn't expected Wes to garble out a thirty minute presentation (that had 100 more slides left to go before he cut it off) about how Batman totally trained with a cult and so did his kids. Danny kind of rolled his eyes but... hey, new avenue of searching in the Infinite Realms at least.

The ghosts confirm that Bombs is for sure not Batman's MO- But maybe his second kid would know? The second kid was already brought back to life though, so no way to easily reach him... Danny starts to realize that this might be the work of a Robin now. Wasn't the red one known for solving cold cases? (Sam provides this information- its a social faux pas to not know hero gossip at Gotham Galas- everything she's learned is against her will).

It all comes to a head when Danny goes about the hard task of opening a portal for the guy to come through at just the right time, explain the infinite realms so he doesn't panic and then describe what the fuck was going on with the GIW. It takes months, just over a full year, of random (educated guesses) portal generating- Finally, Red Robin drops into the land of the dead.

"So, you're the guy I've got to talk to about explosions right?" Danny enthusiastically asks.

Tim thinks he's died and landed in the after life following 56 hours of being awake and plummeting off the side of a building into a Lazarus pool. Nothing makes sense about the kid in front of him.

"Yeah, I got a guy for munitions." Tim answers cooly.

"How do you feel about secretly sanctioned government operations that violate protected rights?"

"Gotta get rid of 'em some how. Need me to point you in the right direction?" This might as well be happening.

[mochie85]

To Have and To Hold - Chapter 6

THaTH Masterlist Complete Masterlist

Summary: Loki finds Violet. Will they be reunited? A/N: I wanna thank @lokisgoodgirl for being my BETA and @michelleleewise for all the wonderful ideas. You two are the absolute best! 🥰 Pairing: Loki x OFC/Reader Word Count: Over 2K Tags/Warnings: Lots of angst. Dividers by: @firefly-graphics

There was a frenzied knock on your door that put you on high alert. You grabbed the small dagger you kept by your nightstand as you slowly made your way to the front. “Violet, I know you’re in there. It’s me. Open up!”

You raced to the lock, trying to open the door as quickly as you could. “Rhodey, what’s wrong? What are you doing here?” you asked puzzled. You hadn’t seen Rhodey in two months. Not since that video call where you asked him where your brother was stationed and if he could connect the two of you together.

“Just got a call from Cap. The Cap. Says one of the jets went missing. And the flight chart says they’re heading straight here. Now, one Avenger wanting to see her dear brother, I can believe. But three more coming this way after your supposed ‘holiday?’ What’s going on Vee?”

Three? “I-I can’t. Rhodey, please don’t tell him I’m here!” you said holding onto your stomach.

“Him? Him who?” Rhodey looked down at your figure. You could see the wheel of questions turning in his head before he let out a breath a decided it would be better if he didn’t know. “You need to hide then. Now.”

“O-ok,” you nodded.

“Lock all the doors and don’t come out till either Callum or I get you. You got that?” He instructed. You nodded your head. Your eyes followed his retreating figure onto the Humvee and he sped off. You latched every lock and turned every deadbolt you could.

You leaned on the door, sliding down to the floor as tears welled up in your eyes. He was finally coming for you. Would he be mad? Happy? You had wanted to call him every day. You wanted to talk to him, but every time you picked up the phone, you just remembered his angry cold eyes and the betrayal in his voice. You didn’t think you could live seeing or hearing that again.

You took out his note, the one that you always kept with you and prayed that he wouldn’t find you here. Because if he did, if he found out you had lied about your child, that hatred in his eyes would be cemented in them forever. Every time you would look into his deep eyes and see the pain and loathing in them, you would die a little each time. And you knew there was no way you could live like that.

The jet’s engine hummed for the past five hours. Loki sat there as patiently as he could, feeling the vibration of the aircraft, letting it soothe his anxious mind. What would he say to you? How could he convince you to come back home? To him?

“It would be past midnight when we land in a half hour. Have you gotten any rest?” Bruce asked through the headphones in the cockpit.

“I can’t sleep, Bruce. Not till I know she’s all right.” Bruce simply nodded.

“We would need clearance. Just because we’re the Avengers doesn’t mean we can barge into an American military base without cause.”

“We do have cause!” Loki argued.

“Not one that’s important in the eyes of the government. Or sanctioned for that matter.” Loki huffed his annoyance. He is getting inside that base, and no one is going to stop him. “Let me speak with the Lt. Colonel in charge before you barge in, OK?” Bruce pleaded.

Not long after, the jet was given special permission to land inside the base. Bruce, Thor, and Loki stepped out to a small battalion of armed soldiers. Heavy artillery aimed at the three men as they walked down the gangplank. Their hands raised in surrender.

“Rhodey? What is all this?” Bruce asked as he made his way to Lt. Colonel Rhodes.

“I’m wondering the same thing, Bruce. I was in Germany when I was told to get my butt over here because you three would be landing here in a few short hours. In a stolen jet, no less!”

“Borrowed!” Thor corrected.

“I was also told that HE does not have the authorization to leave American soil, let alone New York,” Rhodes pointed to Loki.

“We’re looking for Agent Moreau,” Loki yelled out.

“And what makes you think she’s here? Last I heard, she went AWOL after…” a stolen beat. Silence had entered Rhodes’ mind as he tried to decide what to say.

“After what, Colonel?” Loki demanded. From the corner of his eye, Loki noticed someone familiar. The same large eyes and facial structure as Violet. Callum. Loki watched as he exited the vehicle he was sitting in to get a closer look. When he noticed who had arrived on base, he took a big sigh and slowly started to make his way back to the civilian row, where you were.

“Why do you need her? If she’s even here that is.”

“That is none of your concern Colonel,” Loki yelled.

“Rhodey we just want to speak to her and then be on our way,” Bruce added.

“She’s not here,” Rhodey said. “I suggest you get back on that jet and go back to New York, gentlemen.”

“Lies!” Loki yelled. “You know where she is. And so does he!” Loki pointed to Callum who stopped and froze in his escape.

“Colonel Rhodes, we mean no harm. All we want is to set some things straight with Agent Moreau. Then we’ll be on our way.” Thor tried. “Would you deny us council with one of our trusted teammates?”

“Uh-huh, sure. Bruce, what is this really about? Why did you bring the smash brothers here on my base?” Rhodey asked.

“What else would this be about Rhodey? Loki came here to talk to Violet. He risked his ‘parole’ so he could see her!”

“To talk? That’s why you, The Hulk, are here? And why Lord of Thunder is here too?” Rhodey said disbelievingly.

“Would you rather I not be here to look after my brother?” Thor said impatiently.

Loki had kept an eye on Callum. Watching him retreat backward ever so slightly. Go on rabbit, lead me to where she is, he thought. Loki watched from the corner of his eye, as Callum took off to warn Violet of his arrival.

“I will do what I came here to do, and none of you can stop me.”

“Loki,” Thor warned.

“And what exactly did you come here to do?” Colonel Rhodes yelled. Loki disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared not too far away. Whenever he materialized he ran in between soldiers and avoided hits and gunshots before he would disappear again making it hard to catch him.

He followed Callum as fast as he could as he lead Loki down a small street with bungalows on either side. It was a small neighborhood of civilian housing for active-duty personnel and the families that stay with them. She’s here. In one of these houses. I just know it. “Violet!”

Soldiers gathered behind him. Bruce, Rhodes, and Thor leading the way.

“Violet! Violet, Where are you?” Loki yelled out. His time was short. He needed to find her quickly. By now he’s sure that the Colonel has alerted the Captain. In turn, he would’ve alerted Asgard.

“Darling, please,” his voice resonated throughout your body. Like the deep toll of a church steeple beckoning you home. You hadn’t heard his voice in months. You hadn’t felt that richness, the depth of pain and history. You heard the sorrow and longing in his timbre, and you ached to go to him and comfort him.

You shut your eyes, hoping that this nightmare isn’t happening. That it’ll go away if you squint just hard enough and not listen.

“Loki! I’m warning you to stop this instant or I will be forced to use drastic measures!” You heard Rhodey say.

“Violet!” Loki yelled as he passed your window. You looked through the slit of the curtains onto the street. Loki stopped and turned. As if he knew where you were. As if a rope was tied between you two and he felt it recoil, pulling him back to you.

“Loki Laufeyson. You are hereby under arrest for unlawful trespassing, violation of your parole in New York, and disobeying orders from your superiors.”

“I am a prince of Asgard and the rightful king of Jotunheim. I AM THE SUPERIOR!” Loki growled. You heard shouting and a scuffle ensue. If they weren’t careful, they could all get hurt. You know how strong a rampage Loki could get in if he wasn’t careful. All these people would be injured if you didn’t do anything soon.

“STOP!” you cried out banging the door open. “Stop! Please.” You saw a whole crowd of soldiers gathered around Loki, standing in the center. Their guns pointed in his direction. Loki’s outstretched arms ready for battle as his seidr smoked out of his hands.

“Violet…” he whispered. His eyes were tired and sunken. His cheeks had gotten sharper and more defined. He hadn’t been taking good care of himself and it showed. But even with all the grief and agony written on his face, he was still the most beautiful thing you had ever seen.

His eyes held onto yours as he watched you make your way through the crowd. A huff of relief escaped him, and he almost cried with joy at having seen your face again.

He noted how you had looked more radiant. More voluptuous as you made your way past the guards. There was a brightness in your eyes and a glow on your skin that he craved to touch.

Two things happened simultaneously. The first was your brother, Callum, holding his arm out to stop you from getting closer. As you reached the front, Loki took in your whole figure. Including the prominent bump that was now exposed for him to see.

The second was Colonel Rhodes using Loki’s momentary distraction to place magic-dampening cuffs on his wrist.

“Vi…Violet?” You could see Loki’s eyes, cold and confused. Thoughts flickered past his mind as he tried to assess what was happening. You were still pregnant?! But how?! “How?” His eyes squinted and his breath lashed as he watched you hold on to the precious life that was growing in your belly.

“Loki, you know the rules. You can’t just march in here like you own the place.” You could barely hear Rhodey and the monologue he was saying. He was reiterating what would happen if Loki were to ever step out of line.

You kept your eyes on Loki as his eyes darted up and down your body. “I’m sorry,” you mouthed to him as you started crying. You didn’t want him to find out like this. “I’m so sorry.”

The last thing that happened that night was something Loki didn’t anticipate happening so soon. He thought that he would at least have a day with you to reconcile. But The Fates work in more mysterious ways than he can foresee because the last thing Loki saw was you screaming for them to let him go.

“No! You can’t do that!” you screamed as your brother held on to you. “Let him go, please!” You began to sob.

More tears. More heartache. Loki had had enough. He didn’t want to see you like that again. He wanted to run to you. Comfort you. Tell you that everything was going to be ok.

But instead, a spectral light shone down on him, keeping him in place. Loki looked up confused. Everything was happening so much more quickly than he wanted.

Looking back down, he spotted you again in the crowd, “Wait for me. I’ll come back for you.”

“No, Loki. Please, stay. I’m sorry,” you cried. “This is all my fault. My fault,” you held on to Callum, trying to convince Colonel Rhodes. “Please don’t do this. Don’t let them take him.” Your breath hitched and hiccupped. The pain in your chest was all-encompassing and tearing at your heart.

“I love you,” Loki mimed before he was taken by the Bifrost, back to Asgard.

⬅️ Chapter 5 | Chapter 7 ➡️

🏷️ @emarich7 @coldnique @vickie5446 @psychospore @mukagentropy @silverfire475 @fictive-sl0th @springdandelixn @wheredafandomat @goldencherriess @peaches1958 @salempoe @thomase1 @kkdvkyya @a-witch-with-words @mischief2sarawr @sarawr-reads @vbecker10 @peachymallows @irishhappiness @cakesandtom @simplyholl @here4thefanfics @tallseaweed @holdmytesseract @immersed-in-mischief @joyful-enchantress @lovelysizzlingbluebird @lokisninerealms @kikster606 @glitterylokislut @loz-3 @slytherclaw1227 @chantsdemarins @the-lady-amphitrite @eleniblue @km-ffluv @lokidokieokie

[nathantheauthor]

So how do the Jane’s feel about each other? Do they ever think it’s werid they’ve been trying to hunt down the same guy lol?

Well, I wouldn't say it's the same guy, because I do all actively have their own Jeff that's tied to them.

However a lot of their Dynamics are pretty interesting, cuz I mean, none of them are related, very few of them have met, so wouldn't you feel a certain way about people who share the same title?

The original Jane The Killer, Jane Richardson, due to being active in the '90s, she personally feels like her and Hodek's back and forth, and how it never actually ended, makes her responsible for the existence of the other Janes. Which is true, but only to an extent, as you can't blame yourself for a cult spawning that worships your former enemy.

Her personal feelings towards Arkensaw, the second Jane are quite mixed. On one hand she feels responsible and incredibly sympathetic towards the girl's plight, but on the other hand she cannot condone Arkensaw's actions. Because if we are using that version of jane, it is important to note that she's killing Jeff's victims before he can. There will be a confrontation.

She and Everlasting don't see eye to eye, as they have very different ideas of what "Jane The Killer" should be. Richardson thinks the title should fade away because it's dumb and stupid... Everlasting is going to go for a record, trying to outshine Jeff out of pure spite. She's getting a confrontation as well.

Richardson feels a sort of connection with Phoenix, they're both superpowered vigilantes, with the only difference what being she was government sanctioned / made and Phoenix wasn't. She feels incredibly bad about the things Jeffrey Forester did to her, and acts as sort of an older sibling towards Phoenix. They have especially gotten along after her return from death.

She IS Keaton's legal guardian, after the events of this world's version of JEFFREY'S DEAD: THE FINAL SLEEP, Jane stepped in and adopted Jane Keaton. She actively wanted to prevent the cycle from continuing, to prevent another Jane The Killer. But of course the now undead Jeffrey Keaton wouldn't let that slide and she feels responsible, and an even greater connection now that Jane Keaton has injected herself with the prototype of what made Richardson herself.

Now we'll flip it over to from Arkensaw's perspective, as I am doing it in order of activity. This one's going to be fun.

Arkansas thinks that Richardson doesn't go far enough, and actively hates her for letting her Jeff live, doodly hates her for Hodek still being around for Woods to draw inspiration from. She blames Richardson for her existence.

She and Everlasting get along a little too well, having only met a few times, but with the two being the most warped they immediately hit it off, and that is a bad sign for everyone.

She feels bad for phoenix, having heard how she was burned, but she also does detest how much she reminds her of Richardson. It's a thin line, but she definitely feels... A lot more sympathetic after the return, how could you not feel bad for somebody who's died at least 32 times?

Arkansas actively hates Keaton, for her blood relation to her Jeff, for her adopted family situation with Richardson, and for the vigilante path. Maybe it's her warped perception, but to her it comes off as Keaton saying she's better than her. That Keaton could put her life together again and that she can't.

Like, Arkensaw has ISSUES.

Everlasting very much clashes with Richardson every meeting, one of the vigilante and the other wants to be a BETTER Jeff for her vengeance. Needless to say they fight often, with Richardson trying to pull her off the path. She hates Richardson, can't help but view her as self-righteous and can't even see her own faults.

Her and Arkansas get along like two peas in a pot, as both of their methods of vengeance towards Woods and Dove make some just as bad as the Church of Smiles, actively working like the Jeffs. They need to be permanently separated, preferably impacted cells and therapy.

Her in Phoenix don't get along, in fact she's scared of the girl after their last encounter, where Phoenix nearly burned her alive, carrying on Richardson's vigilante justice. Although she can't help but feel bad, she remembers the headlines... The statements made when she came back to life. Her feelings towards Phoenix are complicated.

She and Keaton are frenemies, if they're not trying to kill each other, they're sharing music and childhood stories. She can't fully hate the girl, and a lot of that stems from knowing Keaton's history. Her blood relations make being friends easy, sympathy is a powerful tool.

Phoenix's turn, and boy is this one going to be fun!

She and Richardson are pretty much family at this point, getting along like actual siblings. In fact it is her research and knowledge of the original Jane that kept Phoenix from going down the darker path. Richardson is her hero, somebody she looks up to.

She feels no sympathy for Arkensaw, only a bit of pity. The reason for this being she very much views Arkansas as somebody who's made their choice, somebody who's made their bed and now needs to lay in it. Sure, she does recognize the tragedy, but it's what she did afterwards that matters to Phoenix.

She absolutely despises Everlasting, viewing her as no better than Jeffrey Forester, another monster that needs put in her place. So yeah, she has tormented everlasting, come close to burning her to death.

She and Keaton get along VERY well, she pretty much acts as the fun aunt, Austin helping Keaton get into trouble and hide it from Richardson, or even helping pull pranks on Richardson and Mary. A lot of this is to help Keaton maintain a sense of normalcy, a tiny sliver of a normal life. She knows the story, all that Keaton has been through... And she knows when somebody just needs a friend.

And it's finally time for Keaton.

I stated, her and Richardson are family, and for a while she had a very mixed feeling about this. But nowadays, she has no hesitation in calling the original Jane "mom", same case goes for Mary, they have become her family after everything, and they mean so much more to her than her blood family. Sometimes such bonds aren't decided by blood.

She actively dislikes Arkensaw, both for her actions and methods, and also for how much she's deemed the woman self entitled. She recognizes that she's had it better than the other James for the most part, however, that doesn't didn't give Arkensaw the right to act the way she does. She thinks Arkensaw could have had it better if she actually did something worthwhile about her life.

Her frenemy relationship with Everlasting is one that very much spawned from the latter catching her listening to Pierce The Veil, and legend they have the same taste in music. So instead of fighting that night, they ended up talking about music and other interests. They refuse to actually kill each other, but they do fight and try to take the other one off the board in some way. There might be hope for Everlasting after all.

She and Phoenix are pretty much the best of friends, she gets along very well with her aunt, and recognizes the grief involved in Phoenix's story. Ultimately, maybe it's both of them that needed this friend, that needed this connection. She shares her music, hobbies and gets into trouble with phoenix, she'd say it's a good life. .

That should be an insight to some of the stuff with the Janes, I did drop some huge things in this.

[braveclementine]

Berlin

Warnings: 18+readersonly, somewhat sexual flirting

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC Elizabeth Lightwood. I do not condone any copying of this.

Elizabeth had made a show of breaking her handcuffs and had pretty much fought all of them until they had allowed her to ride in the car with Bucky. They had put him in some sort of container that pissed her off, but you didn't see it as you were put into a different car with Steve, Sam, and T'Challa- who was the cat man.

"So you like cats?" Sam asked next to you, T'Challa and Steve being in the middle.

"Sam." Steve sighed.

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat, you don't wanna know more?" Sam hissed.

"Your suit. . . it's vibranium?" Steve asked.

He looked at Steve and for a moment you thought he wasn't even going to answer but then he said, "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of a King."

"He didn't." You said softly. "I have been looking. . . we have been looking for Bucky for years. My friend, she comes from a planet called Asgard who has a man there by the name of Heimdall who can see the future. She brought me to Bucharest and we found him. We have been with him for a week. I do not know who blew up the UN or why Bucky was blamed, but he hasn't left the apartment."

No one else spoke, but you hoped they had listened.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

As you got out of the car, you saw the box they had put Bucky in. It was a huge container and your heart immediately went out to him. Elizabeth looked furious, standing by the box, a hand on the glass. They were trying to get her to move away from him, move to where you, Steve, Sam, and T'Challa were, but she wasn't budging.

Afraid that she was going to pull a Loki and stab someone, you called for her. She softened and looked at Bucky. She pressed her hand completely to the glass, said something to him, and then joined you.

"What's going to happen to him?" Steve and Elizabeth asked at the same time.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition."

"This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander."

"What about a lawyer?" Steve asked.

"Lawyer. That's funny."

"As a citizen of the United States and under the fifth amendment, he has every right to a lawyer." Elizabeth said, crossing her arms over her chest. "You might think he's guilty but because of the process, he's innocent until proven guilty. You're in the Government, you should know that."

"Funny, coming from someone whose soulmate is also a murderer." Ross said, sneering. "See their weapons are placed in lockup."

"You might not want to touch my weapons." Elizabeth smirked, "Some magic might. . . well let's not spoil the fun, shall we?"

"We'll write you a receipt."

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam threatened.

"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell." Everett continued as they walked through the Berlin campus. "Now, do me a favour, stay in it?"

"I don't intend on going anywhere." T'Challa said.

"For the record," Natasha who apparently came out of nowhere said, joining Steve on his other side, "This is what making things worse looks like."

"He's alive." Steve said.

"He's innocent." Elizabeth said.

"No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned." You heard Tony's voice up ahead and wondered if things could get worse. Or possibly better. "Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup."

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." Nat said over her shoulder.

"Consequences? You bet there will be consequences." Tony said into the phone, staring straight at you as he stood up and started to make his way towards the rest of you. "Obviously you can quote me on that, because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir." He hung up.

"Consequences?" Steve asked.

"Secretary Ross wants the four of you prosecuted." Tony said. "Had to give him something."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked.

"Technically, it's the Government's property." Nat said. "Wings too."

"That's cold." Sam muttered.

"Technically, it never was." Elizabeth muttered and then paused, "On the shield anyway. Howard was never Government and the Government never gave Steve the shield but ya know, make up the rules as you go along so no one else can play. Fuck everyone here."

"Okay." Steve said, turning on you, "What the hell happened to 'I would never go look for your soulmate without you Steve'?"

"You were in London for Peggy. Someone had to go." You muttered.

"I wanted to make sure he was mentally sound before you went." Elizabeth sighed. "Give him someone that wasn't biased. You're biased Steve and I needed open minds."

"Tony seems colder than usual." Sam sighed.

"Er- I may have. . ." You looked over at Elizabeth and she rolled her eyes. "Damn, you really told him over the phone?"

"Look, in my defense I didn't want to wait." You protested.

"What?" Sam and Steve asked together.

You sighed, "Bucky. . . no, the Winter Soldier killed Tony's parents."

T'Challa snorted.

Elizabeth turned on the black panther and fired up immediately. "First off, I'll have you know that Bucky wasn't even there to kill your father, which I'm sorry for your loss. And for a second thing, I would love to see you try and fight mind manipulation when someone is forcing you to do something. Oh, that's right, you can't. Even Gods can be taken over so don't act all high and mighty like you could do better if they stuck you in a mind wiping machine and turned you into a monster."

She stormed up onto the platform.

"So. . ." Sam said awkwardly. "I'm guessing her and Barnes got along wonderfully?"

"Yeah." You said. "They. . ." You laughed a little. "they connected so easily, it was amazing. She's been helping bring his memories back slowly. He's been remembering his mom, his sister, teachers, you Steve, Peggy, some of the other members on his battalion. . . stuff like that. Doing memory games with him, introducing him to people he doesn't know and quizzing him on them. He's improved so much. . ."

"Hey, you wanna see something cool." Tony said. "I pulled something from dad's archives." Tony said, holding something up between his fingers. "Felt timely." Steve sat down in a chair. Since Tony seemed to be only talking to Steve, you and Sam stayed silent. "FDR signed the Lend-Lease bill with these in 1941. Provided support the allies when they need it the most."

Great Tony, fantastic. You thought. Show him something nearly as old as him, telling him that FDR used them to help Steve's side win the war. Perfect.

"Some would say it brought our country closer to war." Steve said.

"See? If not for these, you wouldn't be here. I'm trying to. . . what do you call it? That's an olive branch. Is that what you call it?"

"I'd call it blackmail or bribery, one of the two." Elizabeth called over her shoulder, staring at the TV screen that had Bucky on it.

The two of them muttered a bit and Tony stood up, "You know Dad was a pain in the ass, but he and mom made it work."

"You know, I'm glad Howard got married. I only knew him when he was young and single." Steve said.

"Oh, really. You two knew each other?" Tony asked sarcastically. "He never mentioned that. Maybe only a thousand times. God, I hated you."

"I don't mean to make things difficult." Steve sighed.

"I know, because you're a very polite person unlike cheetah cub over there," Tony jerked his finger at Elizabeth. T'Challa looked at her and she bared her teeth like fangs at Tony and hissed. You and Sam tried not to laugh.

"If I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could."

"No you don't." Tony muttered.

Steve smiled. "No, I don't."

"Which is a good thing." Elizabeth said, "Means someone on the team has a moral compass."

"Hey, you know I took you in." Tony shouted back at her.

"Sometimes. . ."

"Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth." Tony sighed. "But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Cap. So far, nothing's happened that can't be undone, if you sign. We can make the last twenty-four hours legit. Barnes gets transferred to an American psych-Centre instead of a Wakandan prison."

You watched, shocked as Steve picked up one of the fountain pens. He stood up, twirling it in his hands. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but there would have to be safeguards."

"Sure. Once we put out the PR fire, those documents can be amended. I'd file a motion to have you and Wanda reinstated"

"Wanda? What about Wanda?" Steve asked. Sam and T'Challa had wandered off, perhaps bored of the conversation. Elizabeth had turned from the cameras though, staring at Steve like she didn't know who he was.

"She's fine. She's confined to the compound, currently. Vision is keeping her company."

"Oh, God, Tony. Every time I think you see things the right way- "

"It's one hundred acres with a lap pool!" Tony raised his voice to interrupt. "It's got a screening room. There's worse ways to protect people."

"Protection?" Steve asked. "Is that how you see this? This is protection? It's internment, Tony."

"She's not a U.S. Citizen!"

"Oh, come on, Tony."

Actually, Tony had a point. She wasn't a U.S. citizen, there were worst things that could've happened to her on that front.

"And they don't grant visas to weapons of mass destruction!"

"She's a kid!"

"Give me a break!" Tony shouted. "I'm doing what has to be done. To stave off something worse."

Steve nodded, "You keep telling yourself that." Steve held up the pen and placed it back with the other, "Hate to break up the set." And he walked out.

You sighed, walking up and sitting down next to Tony. "I'm sorry. This isn't. . . it's not your fault."

Tony reached out and you took his hand. He looked at you. "Barnes really is innocent?"

"Elizabeth never left his side." You whispered. "Especially after she found out he sleeps better when someone he trusts is next to him. He never left."

Tony nodded, "Elizabeth will have to stay on Earth a little longer as a key witness."

You nodded and then asked, "Where's Everleigh?"

"Fury and Hill are watching her. She's safe, you don't have to worry." Tony sighed.

It was silent and then you said, "Elizabeth's pregnant again. Triplets this time."

"Damn Loki has some good sp-"

"Stop." You slapped his shoulder playfully. "I don't need to hear about Loki like that."

Tony smiled a little and you sighed. "Tony. . .if I could have told you that terrible news face to face, I would have. But I didn't. . . I didn't want to bring Bucky back and-"

"I know." Tony said and he sighed. "I. . . I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it, trying to understand. He killed my parents. . . but he didn't. It's just. . . I can't hurt anyone."

"Sometimes, we can't." You whispered. "Sometimes, we just have to know that we did what we could."

Tony leaned forward and kissed your forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." You smiled.

"Who is that?" Elizabeth asked suddenly.

You and Tony broke apart and looked to see she was jabbing her thumb at a man who had joined the room Bucky was in.

"That's Barnes therapist." Tony explained.

"Hello Mr. Branes. I've been sent by the United Nations to evaluate you. Do you mind if I sit?"

Bucky didn't answer and the man pulled out the chair and sat down at the table. Elizabeth started to pace restlessly while you stood with Nat and Tony.

"Your first name is James?"

He didn't answer.

"I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James?"

He didn't answer.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."

"He hates being called James!" Elizabeth snapped at the screen. Steve looked at her in surprise.

"My name is Bucky." Bucky said and you smiled, biting your lower lip with your teeth. Good old Elizabeth.

"Why would the task force release this photo to begin with?" You heard Steve ask behind you and you saw Elizabeth tilt her head and knew she was listening too.

It was strange. Why had they released the photo? That didn't seem like something they should want to do at all, because then it would make said person hide even more.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" Sharon offered.

"Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding, especially if he didn't do the crime." Steve muttered. "Set off a bomb, get your picture taken, Get seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier."

"You're saying someone framed him to find him?" Sharon asked.

"Steve, we looked for the guy for two years. Sam said. "and found nothing."

"We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads."

"Yeah, but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him. It guarantees that we would."

Your blood ran cold.

"Yeah." Steve muttered.

Elizabeth didn't even hesitate, slipping through the shadows, and running from the room. You continued to watch the screen now.

"Tell me Bucky, you've seen a great deal, haven't you?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"You fear that if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop. Don't worry. We only have to talk about one."

Suddenly, the power went out.

"Sub level five. East wing." Sharon rattled off quickly. You, Sam, and Steve raced out of there.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

Elizabeth couldn't get the door open and she was panicking. She had tried unjamming it with anything she could find near the door, but it was locked. She breathed in deeply, trying not to cry. She could hear Bucky begging on the other side of the door for the man to stop while he used Bucky's trigger words.

"BUCKY!" She screamed. Maybe if she could be loud enough, maybe if she could cover up the words, maybe he wouldn't hear them. Maybe he wouldn't be triggered. "BUCKY!"

Bucky suddenly screamed on the other side of the door.

Magic.

She slammed the door open with turquoise whisps and looked around. The man was standing on the other side of the box. She ran for him as he spoke another word and went to tackle him.

She knocked him to the ground as Bucky slammed the entire door open and then punched him across the face. He froze, looking only for Bucky, and Elizabeth got to her feet quickly.

"Soldat?" He whispered.

Bucky said a single line in Russian and Elizabeth's heart fell out of her chest.

"Mission Report. December 16, 1991." Then Zemo looked over at Elizabeth, "Mission report and then snap her neck."

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

Steve came storming into the room, grabbing the man off the floor, slamming him against the wall. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"To see an empire fall."

Sam entered the room too and Steve heard grunting. You turned to see Bucky there, fighting Sam. Elizabeth was unconscious, slung over Bucky's shoulder as Bucky grabbed Sam's chin and flung him at the cage they'd kept him in. Steve ducked as Bucky threw his fist at him.

It was surprising, the agility and skill that Bucky could still fight with Elizabeth on his shoulder. But Steve didn't really have time to be impressed as Bucky's fist whirred up and then shoved him down an elevator shaft.

Steve quickly used the elevator line to start getting himself out of the elevator shaft, tossing his jacket off and leaving it there.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

You ran through the building, looking over the balcony to see Bucky fighting everyone, an unconscious Elizabeth on his shoulder.

You didn't have time to wonder over the perplexity of it all. You had no idea what you could do. He was in soldier mode, which meant that he didn't know you.

But he knew Elizabeth well enough to. . . what was he even doing with her? Had he been the one to knock her unconscious? But if so, why was he carrying her? Was he trying to escape with her? But Elizabeth would have been more than willing to fight by his side. So. . .

You watched as Tony hit him with a sound wave, then a light wave. The two of them fought until Bucky tried shooting him, Tony's own metal hand blocking the bullet. Tony pulled the gun casing off and then Bucky kicked him into a chair. Said chair skidded through the other tables and such with Tony in it.

"Bucky!" You shouted down at him.

Sharon and Natasha started to fight him and he dropped Elizabeth. You hopped over the balcony as Bucky slammed Nat into a table. T'Challa kicked him in the shoulder.

You tapped Elizabeth's cheek but she was out cold.

Bucky managed to kick T'Challa away, then shoved you into T'Challa so that the two of you got tangled with each other. When T'Challa got off of of you, you saw Bucky with Elizabeth in his arms, already up the staircase.

"What the hell does he want with her?" You groaned, staggering to your feet and cracking your back.

T'Challa pulled some really crazy cat moves and then they tumbled down some stairs. And then, Bucky and Elizabeth were gone.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

You had met up with Sam and the two of you had met up with Steve who had dragged Bucky and Elizabeth out of a crashed helicopter that happened to end up in the water. You all went to a warehouse.

You texted Tony so he knew you were okay and said it would take some time for you to get to him. Then you tossed your phone.

It took some time to bring Elizabeth around. She explained that Zemo had ordered him to snap her neck, but he resisted somehow and only knocked her out.

"Hey Cap!" Sam yelled. You and Steve joined Sam and Elizabeth in the room Bucky was in. They had winched his metal arm in a machine, much to Elizabeth's displeasure.

"Steve." Bucky croaked. "Elizabeth."

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asked while Elizabeth hesitantly knelt by his side.

"Your mom's name was Sarah." He chuckled, "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes."

"Can't read that in a museum." Steve said, a faint smile on his lips.

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" Sam asked.

"What did I do?" Bucky asked.

"Enough." Steve said.

"Oh, God, I knew this would happen." Bucky groaned. "Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there. All he had to do was say the goddamn words."

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of rainbow light and you all looked over in surprise.

"Loki!" Elizabeth jumped to her feet, going over and embracing the black haired man. You all just stared in shock.

"Hello pet." Loki purred, kissing the top of her head.

"Loki." Steve greeted him with confusion.

"I'm not staying." Loki wrinkled his nose. "I just came to give you these."

He handed Elizabeth a small container. She kissed him on the lips and he smiled. "Just stay safe pet, okay? You've got three little kittens inside of you that you need to take care of."

Steve and Bucky raised an eyebrow before exchanging a meaningful look, and Sam gaged, "I'm going to be sick."

You couldn't wait to tell Tony.

Loki glared at Steve. "You better protect her Rogers or I'll cut off your head and do it like the Romans. Or whatever the saying is."

Elizabeth giggled again, kissing Loki passionately again.

"Heimdall get me off this accursed planet." Loki shouted at the sky and then he was gone again.

"That was interesting." Sam muttered.

Steve looked back at Bucky. "Who was he? The man that used the words."

"I don't know."

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you." Steve said.

"He asked for a missions report." Elizabeth said, paying attention to the box Loki had given her, the green-blue whisps going into it. "For December. . . was it 16 of 1991?"

"He wanted to know about Siberia." Bucky sighed. "Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where."

"Why would he need to know that?" Steve demanded.

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

"Dun dun dun!" Elizabeth muttered.

Steve glared at her but Bucky smiled a little.

"Who were they?" Steve asked.

"You're no fun." Elizabeth muttered.

"Their most elite death squad. More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum."

"They all turn out like you?" Sam asked.

"Worse."

"The doctor, could he control them?"

"Enough."

"Said he wanted to see an empire fall." Steve sighed.

"With these guys, he could do it." Bucky said. "They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, you'd never see them coming."

"This would have been a lot better a week ago." Sam muttered.

"If we call Tony-"

"He won't believe us."

"Even if he did-"

"Who knows if the Accords would let us help." Sam finished.

"We're on our own." Steve sighed.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe not. I know a guy."

[mariacallous]

STUTTGART, Germany—At a rally organized around Germany’s newest political party on May 25, those in the crowd seemed most eager to talk about what was wrong with the country’s other parties. They were disappointed with the current coalition government, led by the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) alongside the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats. They were nervous about the crises Germany faced under its watch: the struggling economy, Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Others were passing through Stuttgart’s Schlossplatz and simply wanted to hear what this new party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), had to say. Once a prominent politician in Germany’s Left Party, or Die Linke, Wagenknecht is a media fixture who has built a public following and a reputation for bucking the political mainstream. She officially broke with the Left Party in January and founded her own.

Now, Wagenknecht is betting that voters who feel abandoned or disillusioned by Germany’s establishment will see a political project created in her image as one that’s created in theirs, too. The European Parliament elections, which run from June 6 to June 9, will be an early test case for the BSW’s influence and its ability to disrupt—and further fragment—Germany’s politics.

Wagenknecht’s party doesn’t fit neatly on Germany’s political spectrum. It embraces an unconventional combination of leftist economics and cultural conservatism, such as more restrictive immigration policies and a distrust of identity politics. “It’s a ‘best of’ of protest—almost populist—narratives that they have taken up,” said Mechthild Roos, a lecturer in comparative politics at the University of Augsburg.

The BSW’s foreign-policy platform breaks with Western consensus, especially when it comes to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Wagenknecht herself has called for an end to military aid to Kyiv and criticized Western sanctions against Moscow, including on energy exports. She has also scrutinized some pro-climate policies and argued that the progressive left is enamored with so-called woke cultural issues.

It makes people angry, Wagenknecht said at the Stuttgart rally, “when they have the feeling that the politicians in Berlin don’t even know how they are doing. … They don’t even know what’s going on in the country.”

Some BSW members don’t want to locate themselves on the spectrum, either. “We don’t label ourselves as a left-wing or right-wing force,” said Fabio de Masi, a former Left Party politician who is the BSW’s leading candidate for the European Parliament, in an interview with Foreign Policy. He identifies with the left-wing economic tradition, but he said that “you could say Main Street doesn’t associate with the left anymore,” referring to cultural debates.

This ideological flexibility is partly strategic. Wagenknecht “must get as much support as she can reach, but she is trying to get it out of every corner of the electorate,” said Gero Neugebauer, a political scientist at the Free University of Berlin. “She’s not only listening to the public mood, what the public is talking about—she talks about it, too.” He joked that the BSW was “tutti frutti,” all the political flavors rolled into one.

However, that may seem at odds with the party’s other identity: that of a one-woman show. Although her face features on many of the BSW’s election posters, Wagenknecht is not running for the European Parliament, instead recruiting seasoned former Left Party members (such as de Masi), other defectors—including former center-left Dusseldorf Mayor Thomas Geisel, and some political outsiders. Still, it’s impossible to separate Wagenknecht’s brand from the support that the party has seen so far.

All of this lends some fuzziness to the picture of how BSW members might actually govern, allowing the party to sidestep some questions on its more radical policies. So far, it has used the campaign largely to address voters’ grievances about the current system.

“What we’re seeing, especially in Germany, is a lot of voters unhappy with the current progressive government and coalition,” said Sarah Wagner, an assistant professor at Queen’s University Belfast who studies the European left. “That is something that is being mobilized a lot by the radical right. But it’s not everybody’s darling anymore—people don’t want to be associated with voting for the radical right. … There’s this really open gap there to mobilize.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who leads the three-member “traffic light” coalition, has grown deeply unpopular. Meanwhile, support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has surged. The AfD has used anti-immigrant populism to channel support from those also disillusioned with the political establishment, particularly in former East Germany. Although it has dipped from its polling peak of around 22 percent amid scandals, the far-right party is still hovering near second place in polls at about 17 percent, behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union.

However, the BSW is now polling at around 6 percent, putting it above the threshold to secure a share of Germany’s European parliamentary seats. Last month, the party won its first electoral victory, a mayoral election in Thuringia, a state where the AfD has strong support.

“Everybody’s happy if the AfD gets weaker, but we’re the only ones doing the job effectively,” de Masi said. He added that a slight weakening of the AfD coincided with the BSW’s rise, and that they are mobilizing nonvoters who might have once drifted to the far-right party.

The BSW argues that this shift is about broad disaffection with Germany’s political leadership, not about any convergence between Wagenknecht’s party and the AfD’s policies. But even if the BSW peels away support from the AfD, it will take votes from other parties, too—including from the Left Party, Wagenknecht’s former home. The new presence thus adds some unpredictability to Germany’s party system.

“It makes it more fragile than before and makes the competition more interesting,” said Neugebauer, the Free University political scientist.

One attendee at the Stuttgart rally, a retiree from the Black Forest region who asked not to be identified out of privacy concerns, said that he used to support the SPD but abandoned the party years ago. Attracting such votes is part of the BSW’s aim: to provide people with an alternative. “BSW grab votes—but it turns out they grab votes from the middle, from the center,” said Roos, of the University of Augsburg. “The center gets emptied out, and the fringes get more powerful.”

The European Parliament elections will provide some hint at just how much chaos Wagenknecht’s party will bring to German politics. European campaigns are often vessels for national frustrations, but average turnout tends to be lower than in national elections, and voters generally care less about who they send to the European Parliament. However, that means that people might cast a protest vote they would not risk in a national contest.

The BSW is betting on that breakthrough—and the prospect that it could shake up Europe’s politics, too. Power in the European Parliament comes from coalitions, and the new party’s unconventional ideology makes it a bit of an outcast among the current groupings. But the BSW says it has partners willing to work with it and has even suggested that it could form its own group. If that is true, the BSW’s so-called left-conservative model could be a more potent political force in Germany and beyond.

That might have a “massive effect on the party landscape that we see all over the European Union,” said Wagner, the Queens’ University professor. “If there is a parliamentary group established for left-conservative parties, that might be something that is seen as a more relevant ideology within other European party systems.”

First, the BSW must face its first major vote. “It is not just an election and a decision on a different Europe,” Wagenknecht said to the spectators who stayed at the Stuttgart rally after a thunderstorm interrupted her speech. “It really is also a vote for a different Germany.”

Manuel Kinzl, 28-year-old from Aalen who was at the rally, said he was still undecided. He is worried about the war in Ukraine; Kinzl doesn’t oppose aid, but he thinks that the government needs to make a decision on what it wants to achieve in Ukraine. He is also frustrated about migration, saying that Germany needs to do more to support the skilled workers it says it needs.

However, Kinzl doesn’t know if Wagenknecht and the BSW can solve these issues. “I think she’s a very experienced politician. She knows how to talk and knows how to impress people with her speech,” he said as the Schlossplatz crowd cleared. “But I’m not exactly sure she has the solutions that we need.”

[robotlearnstolove]

2024-04-02

The First Meeting

Terash stood up and the people sitting in a circle around him and Teele stopped talking amongst each other. She sat quietly next to him waiting for him to start the meeting. Between the six of them — Terash, Teele, the two farmers, Nadin and the guard — their small living room was seeming quite cramped. It was a good thing that they hadn’t asked anyone else to attend.

“I’ve asked you all here today,” said Terash, “because we think that you can provide something to this endeavour.”

His tone was soft but still full of authority. Teele stared at her husband. She’d rarely heard him talk this way. Shy and quiet as he normally was at home, she often forgot that he was also remarkably talented at holding people’s attention when he spoke.

“You all know what we’re trying to do here but I think we should be upfront about the risks,” he continued. “The shelter we are trying to create is not sanctioned by the Hallian government. As an enforcer, I can tell you, if any of my fellows were to get wind of what we’re doing, they would likely take immediate steps to try and stop us. I would even go so far as to say there is a risk of hostility and violence.”

“Same goes for the Hallian Guard,” said the guard whose name Teele couldn’t remember. “I’m Chanta, she, by the way,” she added after a short pause. “I serve on the street patrol in the North and West Quarters.”

“I’m sorry,” said Terash. Teele could see a little redness in his cheeks. “We should have started out with formal introductions. I know all of you but I forgot that you all don’t necessarily know each other.”

“My name is Teele, she,” said Teele, immediately taking the initiative. “I work in the Hallian Archive. Terash is my husband.”

Nadin, who sat on Teele’s left, went next. “Nadin, she,” she said curtly. “Also working at the Archive.”

All eyes turned toward the two farmers. Teele had never met them before.

“Khop and this is my husband Brimas,” said the one who sat on Nadin’s left. “Both he. It’s nice to meet you all. I do have one question.”

Everyone just kept staring at him and so he went ahead.

“Where is the individual who started this whole thing? Shouldn’t they also be here?”

Terash laughed, “I’m not sure if you’ve met Prag before.”

Khop shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I had an encounter with him once. Years ago now.”

“Well, I’ll be blunt. We were never going to get him to attend our meeting. It’s hard enough to get Prag to sit down and talk for five minutes without him running off on some mission of his.”

For the first time since the meeting started, Brimas piped up, “It just seems like he should be here, right? Doesn’t he care about this shelter?”

[richardsphere]

Leverage Redemption Job: The Huricane Job

Weird name, not because huricanes are weird, or huricane relief being exploited/scammed somehow feels weird. But because i think i remember a reference to Katrina in like, the second episode of this sequel? Wasnt that why the tailor-woman moved to that neighbourhood she was almost gonna be evicted from?

--- Hotel on the coast, The Lin Manuel Miranda we ordered from Wish is running for (presumably) his life. Two cops begin torturing him for a phone he posesses (Diversity win! The instrument of government sanctioned violence and torture is black!)

Huh, I thought Abel was supposed to be the one getting his skull caved in. --- Back in the teaser again. Still disapointed by the lack of casino's ominous smoke or timebombs.

Oh i see. This isnt about huricane relief its just happening during an actual huricane. (did anyone say bottle episode?)

Ok so the US Marshal is still dating Elliot, (you know for all the tumblr-fanbase insistence that this is a cannon ot3? Im not seeing much evidence, things could change but we're at the end of the sequel series first season so... Like they're definitly like banded together for life as a team and sort-of-family but i dont see any evidence in the actual show for Elliot being with Parker and Hardison relationship-wise)

Parker does not like their return-trip from an actual crime to be with a US Marshal (she's got a point, but desperate times=strange bedfellows)

No i dont think you got "Happy" wrong, i think that Elliot is afraid of happiness.

Not-Abel tries to prevent Elliot and Parker from entering the inn but Not-a-hawaiian-shirt-but-similar-vibes (can someone tell me what those are called) tells them they cant just let people die in the storm.

Cane owns the hotel, Roxie is general manager. Does not like the idea of people staying at the hotel. (yeah this is definitly a front for something. Also Elliot registered them as cops based on their vibe so we know they're legitimately cops rather then crooks pretending to be.)

Cal and Liz, probably a reference im not getting. Old guy doesnt even own a tv (gets his news from newspaper, less depressing news that way. Lead story is a lottery win, so we know what the secret motive of the episode is gonna be, Lin Manuel won the lottery and the cops are trying to murder him to get the ticket, but we're gonna spend half the episode thinking its a whistleblower thing. Unfortunately for the writers i remember the episode of Monk where someone was murdered on his doorstep to prevent him getting his newspaper delivered cause his upstairs neighbour won the lottery so im not falling for it.) "smells like cleaning suplies", bleach to remove bloodstains.

Maria is here, and its time for her to get even more evidence that something is not right with her boyfriend. --- We're locked up... theoretically... alledgedly... Look Parker is in the room lets skip the pretense. They give Ship Parkers Ear-thingy so she and Elliot can go get the radio from the boat (weird, would make more sense

Elliot tries to explain to Ship that parker is bad at reading peoples emotions but kind of slips on his ass. Want to note that this is two episodes in a row without Breanna (actress must've been busy)

Elliot tries to apologise for getting Ship involved but she's just happy that people in need are getting the help they need.

Harry is off to talk to Win Manuel (i know he's got a name but his actual name doesnt allow me to make "lottery winner" puns so Win Manuel it its.) Sophie stays as middleman on the coms.

well that was a stupid rube-goldberg. (Oar hits Baddies back, sends harpoon past elliot into a rope that swings a boat that hits Elliot who breaks the radio) Like i know we need the radio broken, but you could've just speared the radio.

So yeah, every non-abel cop thinks they're looking for the phone cause evidence. Abel lied to them, its the ticket. --- Ok the radio can be fixed if we get a fuse (Parkertime!)

Ship tells Elliot not to be a martyr. --- Parker has the fuse, and looks at an illegible page. She's doing the smelly-face. (this is where the chlorine smell came from)

Harry recognises his colleague from a jingle (they're a lottery lawyer, *smug grin intensifies*)

Oh its accelerant he smells like. Breaker flips, and i want to note that i love the candles used to light the scene. (obviously its realistic, in case of a blackout candles are a reliable light-source and huricane prone areas people tend to have those in stock) but they've been here all along throughout the episode and suddenly become a lot more subtly ominous after Parker tells us our baddie smells of chemical accelerants. --- Not much a lawyer can work with, time for his second ever self-organised social con!

Quick switch with the chest-compression teaching dummy and Solina is out.

--- Abels buddies do not like to hear about the fiery fates that are about to await them.

Parker has found the ticket, (and accidentally lit herself a bat-signal)

Oh Abel, couldnt even hold onto your lie for one single sentence? Come on my dude you gotta be better at being worse!

Yeah this guy is about to get murdered by his old partner. slow down on the rope-cutting i want to see him get his face blasted in!

oh for fucks sake has the american police getting military surplus gotten to the point where this rent-a-cop has a fingerprint-id-locked gun? Five years ago i heard about that stuff in a spy movie as being special and now a regular crooked cop has it?

Parker hates giving up the ticket. Elliot and Ship walking through the aftermath of the storm. She says that knowing he's a good person is enough for her (which means by the season finale, they'll have broken up)

[startrek-readerslog]

The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm by Michael A Martin

Okay I think part of the issue with the last one was that it was too long!! This one was only 300 pages, and much easier to get through. Spoiler alert I liked it a lot better than the first one!

The Summary

This one jumps off basically where the last one ends. The Enterprise is on patrol duty around Earth and nobody's super happy about it (they want to be out there pew pewing at Romulans). But they get to just do nice things for passing vessels in distress which feels very Star Trek! They do rescue and repair missions. It is a really smart part of diplomacy, people are more likely to help you if they like you, and well everybody kind of hates Captain Archer because he left the Kobayashi Maru to die. They go on a few formal diplomacy missions and get denied official help.

We bop around a bit and see what Trip is up to (being a bad fake Vulcan) and the search for the killer of Surak's katra, what's going on with Gannet (being mad that she isn't covering the war), some politicking, and some Romulan POV. The Romulans deploy a bioterrorism weapon and try to bomb Mars with some meteors (don't worry they don't succeed). Trip is behind Romulan lines once again, and he let's T'Pol know where the next big offensive is going to be. Also Travis rejoins at some point here. T'Pol and Archer convince Starfleet to let them go to where the Romulans are staging and they do some fighting! They get back up from unofficial Andorian and Klingon vessels, as well as really sanctioned Vulcans. They win (Trip is once again presumed dead). The story ends at the beginning of the federation. The afterward is Trip and T'Pol's cute little family 25 years later.

My Thoughts

This one was genuinely good! It felt so much more Star Trek than the previous war novel. It was mainly the Enterprise doing good things and helping others while the bigger plot progressed around it. We got to see multiple POVs that allow us to glimpse what is happening in the Romulan government, in the United Earth parliament, and on Vulcan, but none of them take up enough story to really feel oppressive. Our main concern lies with the Enterprise and her crew, which is in my opinion as it should be. This novel's pacing felt better in that regard. I think it helped that the book itself was much shorter than the last one, probably about half the length accounting for formating. I literally sped through this one in a way that I could not for "Beneath the Raptor's Wing".

Because we know that Starfleet wins the Romulan War because of TOS, I think it is an interesting dilemma to make this story feel like something compelling. I do think that this book succeeded in that. I really enjoyed this book's exploration of the Vulcan's pacifism. T'Pau made for an interesting POV to read from. In general I still think Trip makes literally the worst spy, the man is nothing but a Southern Gentleman and is really bad at covering it up. I loved the epilogue, getting to glimpse him and T'Pol and their happy little family.

I give this one a 8/10! Really loved it actually. Next up is Starfleet Year One which apparently is only new character, so I am interested to see if it can capture my attention.

[odinsblog]

Ilhan omar openly supports a "boycott" movement started by terrorists with crocodile tears and on more then one occasion retweeted or liked shit spouting the racist "from the river to the sea" genocidal slogan. She sucks.

[re: this post]

I’m guessing that you’re talking about the Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel? Yeah, I support that too. Criticizing Israel isn’t in and of itself, antisemitic.

Many Jewish people also support the BDS movement. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Look, here’s something you gotta learn, anon: Simply supporting Palestine isn’t antisemitic, and conversely, you can be—and absolutely should be—firmly against all forms of antisemitism, and still be able to support both the Palestinian people and Jewish people, okay? This is not hard.

As I said in the earlier post: I don’t have to agree 100% with politicians on their every stance. Domestically speaking, as long as they’re solidly against racism, support living wages, aren’t trying to kill Medicaid & Social Security, and are pro-choice, and pro-free education, well then I can get along with them as long as we agree on more than 70% of the other issues. And their past history matters too. I’ll never trust anyone who was basically a Republican for 40yrs, and then suddenly became a “progressive” overnight. Obviously, things get significantly trickier when we’re talking international politics…

That all said, my sole international political position does not begin or end with blindly supporting Israel. The Israeli government is getting progressively right-wing, and they are murdering innocent Palestinian protesters who are armed with next to nothing, and murdered an innocent unarmed Palestinian news reporter. And while we’re here, Benjamin Netanyahu is a straight up, GOP-loving thug. I won’t be sad when he dies.

I don’t give a single solitary shit about Jimmy Dore. Obviously it’s a sensitive spot for you, though. Look, I don’t know anything about Omar tweeting “from the river to the sea,” but if she pulls a Kanye West and becomes a raging antisemite, then I’ll cancel her too. This is where we differ—I have no problem with doing that. I am NOT married to her or any politician, get it? This cult like devotion people have to political figures and certain rightwing “movements” is fucking scary. And the warped fanaticism I see with Republicans + “Christianity” is the same kind of fanaticism I see with Hillbots + capitalism, and with tankies + “communism”: the specific cult/addiction of choice may differ, but the fanaticism itself is the exactly same. It’s blind adherence; it’s cultish.

So in conclusion, anon: Are you really really sure it isn’t YOU and Jimmy Dore who suck?

[luminnara]

I wonder what Dick would be like trying to flirt on the lead up if the mission, trying to be smooth and cool before screaming next to Weasel. The back track of trying to be cool again after than freak out would be glorious and I would probably fall for it, lol

Dick Hertz x fem!reader

This ended up way longer than intended and I am not mad about that lol

Sfw but raunchy!

Requests for oneshots and HCs are open!

You were no stranger to the concept of the suicide squad.

Thanks to your own colorful past, and powers that you couldn’t always quite control at first, you were stuck serving out a long ass sentence at Belle Reve, the shittiest shit hole of them all. Your only escape from the mundane, high-security monotony was the occasional mission from Waller.

The Suicide Squad—more officially known as Task Force X—was the latest installment in Amanda Waller’s series of highly classified, top secret, black ops teams. She chose Belle Reve’s most infamous criminals, many of whom had extraordinary powers and even more extraordinary reputations, and tossed them together on incredibly dangerous missions. You knew she didn’t care whether you lived or died, but successfully completing such impossible tasks always cut time off your sentence, and with nothing else to do with your time, you always thought it was worth the risk.

And besides...you hadn’t died yet.

So when Waller approached you during your daily yard time, you already knew what to expect.

“Yeah, yeah.” You grumbled as you followed her into the exam room and plopped down in the same old chair. “I know the drill. I go off mission, you blow my brains out.”

“—with the explosive device implanted in the base of your skull. Correct.” Waller said, unimpressed.

“And what, you have to give me a fresh one?” You raised an eyebrow as the doctor made you lean forward. “Lose the button for the last one or something? Or are you afraid that just one won’t do the job?”

Waller looked even less impressed. “I suggest you put a lid on that attitude today.”

“Why?” You winced at the feeling of a thick needle pushing into the back of your neck. “Jesus, fuck! Seriously, how many little bombs do I need in my head?”

“Good luck, puppy.” The doctor sneered as you stood up to follow Waller back out into the corridor.

“This is a black ops mission.” She continued with her usual spiel. “Your commanding officer is Colonel Rick Flag.”

You gasped. “The Colonel Rick Flag?”

She turned to glance at you.

“I have no idea who that is.”

You could hear her sigh in exasperation. “Suit up and go outside to the transport. You’ll meet the rest of the team and fly out to Corto Maltese.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Yeah, the Suicide Squad was a nice distraction from your shitty everyday life...but putting your ass on the line for someone who didn’t give a shit whether you lived or died, and who was always hovering above the button that would splatter your brains all over the wall, wasn’t exactly the greatest feeling in the world.

Waller waited as you ducked into a room to change. There was a black box waiting for you, and upon opening it, you couldn’t help but grin at the sight of your old gear. The dark gray leather suit fit like a glove, and your gun had been cleaned and polished after your last mission, the painfully bright fluorescent lights reflecting off of the barrel with a gleam. You grabbed your gloves and strapped your ammo belts on before buckling a gray carbon fiber mask on.

Wearing your own stuff always lifted your spirits. It was the suit you’d been arrested in a few years ago back in Metropolis, and after seizing it, the feds had been nice enough to give it some upgrades with newer tech. Anything to make you a better government-sanctioned killing machine, you guessed, and it’s not like you were gonna turn it down. After all, killing was how you ended up in Belle Reve in the first place, and it was one of the only things you were good at...it just made sense for Waller to want to put your near-inhuman skills to good use.

You walked out to join her again, lugging a canvas bag of equipment and supplies along behind you.

“Pick that up and carry it correctly.” She snapped as the doors at the end of the hall opened.

“Why don’t you eat my—“

You interrupted yourself by groaning at the bright sunlight as it hit your eyes, raising a hand to shield your face as you managed to spot an armored truck waiting for you.

“You’ll have a lot of new teammates.” Waller called after you. “Be on your best behavior. I’m not responsible for anything they do to you.”

“Probably just a bunch of old farts like always!” You yelled back as you jumped up into the back of the vehicle.

Two guards sat down on either side of you as you got yourself settled in. There was another woman already waiting, her skin orange, her hair in a high ponytail that seemed to be pulled through the top of her helmet. She was regarding you with very little interest, and that was absolutely fine with you. You had a few friends within the Belle Reve prison complex, and you weren’t necessarily looking for more.

The ride was short and uneventful. You passed through a few gates that took forever to open, waited for a few security checks, the usual shit. When the truck came to a halt and you hopped out again, you were at a small airbase hosting a few hangars for planes and helicopters, one of the latter already sitting outside. Guards from Belle Reve were lining the circle of armored vehicles, and as yours joined them and the back doors were opened once more, you grimaced at the bright sunlight.

“Afraid of a little sun?” The orange woman laughed, baring her teeth at you.

“Hurts my eyes,” you mumbled, jumping down after her.

You landed on pavement, looking down at your feet in an attempt to avoid the oncoming headache you knew was imminent. When your shoulder rammed into someone, though, you had to look up anyway.

What you saw wasn’t exactly what you were expecting.

A good looking blond guy was looking down at you, a cocky grin on his face. “Whoa, didn’t realize we were getting a babe this time!”

You glared at him, grateful for the mask covering the lower half of your face.

He couldn’t see you blush that way.

“Little girl’s got some ammo, huh?” He reached for one of the belts strapped across your chest,

Your hand flew up to grab his wrist and you held him in a Vice-like grip, your glare more pointed now. “Touch me, and you can see some of it from behind your eyeballs.”

Blondie whistled lowly, relaxing his arm. “You’re tough, huh? I like that in a girl.”

You dropped his wrist and rolled your eyes. “Still gonna like it when I’m ripping your balls off?”

You could swear he was swooning on his feet. “Baby, you are a goddamn tease...”

“Oy, Dickhead!” An Australian voice rang out, “back off!”

His grin faltered for a moment, obvious disappointment flashing over his face. “Oh. Got a man already. Damn.”

“Who, Boomer?” You grinned, unclipping your mask as you turned to wave at one of your only friends. “Nah, I’d never fuck that wanker.”

“I heard that!” The gold-toothed Aussie yelled.

You let out a loud laugh as you looked back to blondie.

You were caught off guard by the actual, genuine look on his face. He was admiring your smile now that your mask was off, his eyes lingering on your lips for a fraction of a second longer than they should have. He was trying to be smooth, you could tell, and most people wouldn’t have noticed something so slight...but you were an assassin working your way through a couple life sentences, and you weren’t most people.

It all only lasted a moment before the cocky grin was back. “So, after this, you wanna come back to my cell, maybe we could, you know...” he waggled his eyebrows at you, making a hip thrusting motion you almost couldn’t believe a grown criminal was making.

“Maybe focus on not dying first, slim.” You patted his chest before turning towards Boomer, leaving blondie to stare after you—or more precisely, your ass—with a dramatic, longing look.

Your friend was regarding you with an amused expression. “Flirtin’ on the job? Didn’t think you had it in ya.”

“Shut up.” You punched his arm a little too hard and he winced. “Who is that guy, anyway?”

“Dick,” Boomer said, rubbing his arm.

“Don’t call me a dick—“

“No, dumbass, that’s his name. Richard Hertz.”

“...very funny, Boomer, but there’s no fucking way his parents named their kid Dick Hertz.”

Boomer shrugged. “Believe me or don’t, I don’t care. Either way, it’s the truth.”

You scoffed and stole a glance over at your new admirer. He was tall and pretty well built, platinum blond hair short, lips pulled back in a grin that showed off straight white teeth. He was dressed in all black, two guns holstered to his chest, and as he messed with a Belle Reve guard by pretending to reach for one, he looked like an overgrown child who should not have been allowed to hold onto firearms.

“Please tell me he’s got a cooler name,” you groaned.

“Why? So you can scream it at night?” Boomer cackled. “He goes by Blackguard. He’s pretty strong from what I hear. Prolly pretty fun in bed, too.”

You wrinkled your nose and rounded on Boomer. “Shut up.”

“You like him.” Your friend grinned. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Just remember to name your kid after good ol’ Uncle Boomer.”

You gave him a rough shove and he stumbled back a few steps, laughing like a madman the entire time.

“Hey!” One of the guards barked at you.

Rather than pushing your luck with your armed babysitters, you huffed and crossed your arms over your chest. More cars were pulling up, dropping off the rest of your comrades, and while Boomer was distracted with them, you stole another glance at Dick.

He was still messing with the same guard, and was receiving some harsh warning glares in the process. Was he a complete idiot, or was he so cocky because he could actually handle it? He had to have ended up in Belle Reve for a reason. It wasn’t the type of place you went to for innocent misdemeanors. And if he was chosen for a Suicide Squad mission, that meant that his sentence was long enough to warrant risking his life to lessen it...and it also meant that he was useful.

When he winked at you, you realized with a start that he had totally noticed the way you were checking him out.

Fuck.

“Time to load up!” A voice yelled, saving you from any further embarrassment.

A few minutes later, you were strapping yourself into your seat on the chopper, pretending not to notice as Dick struggled with his seatbelt across from you. The guy sitting next to him had to help, and when you finally couldn’t help yourself, you let out a quiet laugh from behind your mask.

Dick’s head shot up to look at you, that cocky grin plastered to his face again.

“Wish you were over here helpin’ me,” he said bravely. “Rather have your hands down by my—“

“Dick.” Colonel Flag warned as he stood above you all with his gun in his hands.

Boomer let out a loud laugh at the unintentionally dirty euphemism and you snorted.

“What? Just makin’ some conversation,” Blackguard said, leaning towards you with a wolfish glint in his eyes. “You don’t mind, do ya, Princess?”

Your cheeks were heating up behind your mask, and he could see the way your eyes crinkled slightly with your smile.

God, he wished he could see your smile again.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late!” A familiar voice said. “Had to go number two.”

“...Good to know.” Flag sighed as none other than Harley Quinn herself hopped in.

“Harley!” You called, reaching for her with grabby hands as she looked for her seat.

“Hey there, baby!” The pale blonde woman greeted, slamming her equipment bag into Savant’s head. “Hey, Boomer!”

“What’re you doin’ back in prison, Harls?” Boomer asked, hanging onto the nylon mesh cage behind him as he stretched his arms out.

“Got road rage. In a bank.” She finally found a spot between you and Javelin, and as Flag checked everyone over, the chopper took off into the air.

The lighting was dim and red, the thrumming of the helicopter blades blending in with the white noise of the pressurized cabin. Save for that, it was quiet for a while, everybody either sizing each other up, or, in Dick’s case, imagining how you looked under your suit.

“So, uh...how much longer you in for?” He asked you.

You raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I don’t exactly think I should be talkin’ about sneakin’ into your cell while Flag is here to rat me out about it,” Dick grinned.

You caught the colonel rolling his eyes.

“Hey, that never stopped anybody,” Harley said brightly.

“Boutta be in a whole big ass jungle,” Boomer elbowed you in the side. “Plentya room in there to be alone.”

You groaned as Dick gave you a sly grin.

“Y’know, this mission’ll be over in no time.” He said, stretching his arms out behind his head. “I’ve got some wicked ass powers. I got this.”

“Oh yeah?” You asked, recognizing the way he was trying to peacock and impress you. “Not worried about anything?”

“Baby, I’ll carry this whole team. Just you watch.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Dick.” You bit his name out as more of an insult, but he didn’t seem to care, giving you another wink.

He obviously thought that his flirting and posturing was working...but you were pretty sure he was just annoying. Cute, but annoying. Maybe good for a hook up here or there...but that was about it.

“We’re in a butcher’s freezer, Harls!” Boomer called from the other end of the bench. “Surrounded by dead hogs hangin’ on hooks. Only they don’t know it yet.”

“Leave ‘em alone, Boomer!” She called back with a laugh.

You chuckled at your friends, leaning your head back as you settled in for the flight. Harley was complimenting Javelin’s accent, you still didn’t know what TDK stood for, and Boomer was just starting to mess with him about the fact that all names were made of letters when the freaky weasel-thing next to Dick stole everyone’s attention.

It was one of the strangest creatures you had ever seen. Human height, covered in mangy brown fur, with big bulging eyes and a mouth full of sharp little teeth all made it both fascinating and concerning to look at, and as it made a few disgustingly wet retching sounds, Dick nodded towards it.

“Yo, is this a dog?” He asked.

“...What?” You asked in disbelief. He had to be fucking with you, right? There was no way he meant it.

“Is this thing a dog?” He repeated.

“A...a dog?”

“Yes.”

“What...what kinda dog do you think it is, mate?” Boomer asked.

“I dunno, I’m not familiar with all the breeds.” Dick gave him an incredulous look.

“I’m gonna go with Afghan hound.” TDK said.

“Since when does an afghan hound have bloody thumbs?”

“Oh my god, is it a werewolf?” Harley asked excitedly. “I’ve wanted to meet a werewolf for ever!”

Dick was already up and struggling against his restraints. “Yo, they sat me next to a werewolf?!”

“That’s not right,” TDK agreed as his neighbor slammed into him in his desperate attempt at an escape.

Boomer was laughing loudly, and you couldn’t help but join in. “You’re seriously scared of werewolves?”

Dick glanced up at you as he tried to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Yes, I fuckin’ am! So fuckin’—get me out! I do not fuck with werewolves, there is no fuckin’ way—“

“Maybe you should hop onto your new girlfriend’s lap!” Boomer cackled, jabbing a finger towards you.

“Poor baby,” you cooed, and as you saw the look in Blackguard’s eyes, you were pretty convinced that he was about to try to tear his way out so that he actually could.

“Hey, hey, he’s not a werewolf!” Flag yelled over the commotion. “He’s a weasel, he’s harmless! I mean, he’s not harmless, he’s killed 27 children, but I—I think we got him to—I think he’s agreed to this, so relax.”

“Thought you were super tough?” You asked as Dick calmed down and caught his breath. “Gonna carry the whole team?”

Rather than the snarky flirtation you expected, he actually looked a bit defeated. When you raised an eyebrow, though, he took the prompt, and the most desperate backtracking you had ever seen began.

“Yeah, well...” he scoffed, trying to give you a cool look. “Caught me off guard, that’s all. No big deal.”

“Off guard? Isn’t guard, like, in your name?” You teased, your smile genuine behind your mask. Alright...he was winning you over now. He was an idiot, but...maybe he was a lovable one.

He faltered for a second. “I-I mean, yeah, well...”

Flag was shaking his head. “Get into position to drop!”

Everyone unbuckled themselves and collected their things, lining up to jump into the ocean off the coast of Corto Maltese. When you saw that Dick was back to struggling with it, again, you smiled to yourself and leaned down in front of him.

“For what it’s worth...” you said as you pulled up on the metal tab, your hand dangerously close to his crotch, “I wouldn’t mind shacking up somewhere in the jungle with you.”

He stated at you with wide eyes, disbelief written all over his face. He really was cuter when he wasn’t putting on such a dumb, cocky facade, and he jumped up as quickly as he could to follow you.

You just laughed as you straightened up and walked away, Blackguard right on your heels. As the door opened and the big, dark ocean came into view below you, you felt a hand brushing against your hip and a firm chest press up against your back. You realized you could have stayed right there forever, patiently waiting to see how far he was brave enough to go...but you were both members of the Suicide Squad, and you had a job to do.

“I’ll see you down there, Dick,” you said, turning your head slightly to glance at him.

“See you on the other side, baby,” he grinned.

[scarlettatg]

The Handmaid’s Tale

Season 3 Episode 10 Bear Witness

We'll sit here quietly for 20 minutes. And then, we'll go... go down.

We just can’t sit here.

We can play Canasta. Got some cards up here.

The doctor is going to check me... afterwards... for the proof that there was a Ceremony.

We don’t have to do anything.

Sir... Yes, we do. You helped to create... this world. How long did you think it would be before it came for you?

Every government makes room for exceptions.

This one ends with both of you on the wall.

Maybe we deserve it. I mean... at least, it would all be over. You'll be fine. It's... It's our sin.

Handmaids are required to report deviancy.

Mmm-hmm. And Marthas. We would all be punished.

Come over here. Sit right there. It doesn't mean anything. No matter what happens. It's okay, my love. You are the love of my life. You are my love.

You just treat it like a job. Try to detach yourself. See it from the outside. You're not you. I'm not me. This is a transaction. And then it's over.

Are you sure?

Mmm-hmm. It's easier if you close your eyes.

What a tough episode. Two things really impressed me when watching. June’s ability to manage this cruel and despicable situation brought upon Fred’s obsession with breaking June, with controlling her and his need to feel powerful. Her ability to detach and to process quickly what had to happen especially when she thought the last time, when she happened to be brutally raped at 9 months pregnant would be her “last ceremony”. The empathy she showed Eleonor who is still a wife in Gilead and Lawrence who is a commander was mind blowing to me. These people are and have been in a position of power and in this moment they’re victims of Gilead just like she has been. June didn’t choose this, Lawrence helped create it. This is another sanctioned rape by Gilead. Another violation of her body and soul but this one is another level of worse. The simplicity in which she explains to Lawrence how to handle raping her is so sad. It’s a transaction. We are not us and then it’s over. But it’s never truly over, for neither of them.

The reality faced by Lawrence in this moment was a conflict of emotions for me. I honestly felt bad even though I’m fully aware he helped create this world and hid behind his privilege. You can see how he tried to protect his wife as much as he could and how much he truly loved her. His biggest guilt and punishment is how the love of his life resented who he had to or chose to become. They had never done a ceremony but they turned a blind eye to all the others that had to partake in them. I wonder if that’s why he did the things he did and tried to save people as much as he could without risking his neck; even though every act against Gilead is a risk on its own. You can see how horrified he is and even asks June if she’s sure, in some small way he’s also respecting her agency even though this needed to happen for survival. I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone through with it if June said no. It killed me. It really did. It makes you think about the people that ended stuck in a system they didn’t think would get that far. I’m sure Lawrence wasn’t planning on raping women to get children. He wanted a prosperous economy and a better climate. An utopia. Still he decided to run along with the atrocities to either maybe try to better something or in the end as a means to survive. He could’ve felt bad years ago, tried to do more but it wasn’t until him and the person he loved the most were brutalized by Gilead that he really faced the issue. The human problem not the numbers on a spread sheet problem and as much as he likes to present himself as detached you can see the difference between his emotions and Fred’s for example.

[abysscronica]

Thank you for so many drake headcannons and stuff!! ❤️ Reading them made me realize I may have some sort of attraction towards drake 😂

Maybe if you have the time, some headcannons of drake and Birdie with kids?

FINALLY, getting to this! I understand, Drake is babyboi. ♥️

Soooo, onto the kids! First of all, Drake and birdie would adopt.

I've said this before: in my stories, the women in the Marines sign up for monthly injections that works as contraceptives and keep their period short, scarce, and painless, courtesy of Dr. Vegapunk. This means that, in order to have kids, Drake and birdie would have to talk, decide about it, then birdie would have to actively withdraw from the birth-control program before they start trying to conceive.

Honestly, birdie isn't the motherly type, nor I can see her very much into the idea of having children. Drake maybe, supposing they're now living in peaceful times (so the war for the One Piece is over, everything is fine, they got married, etc). Under these circumstances, he may be able to talk birdie into it, slowing letting the idea of a family grow on her.

[just so you know, I think I got carried away with the headcanons below]

So let's say they're both on board with having kids now. Adoption seems like the most alluring option for them. Look at their job and upbringing: going from island to island combating pirates, seeing the mess brutal men leave behind, including World Government-sanctioned misery. How many orphans would they lay eyes on? How many desperate, innocent people? And it's not something they can't relate too. Birdie is an orphan herself, she knows all too well what it means to grow up alone and unwanted. Drake, on the other hand, was stuck with an emotionally and physically abusive father that both neglected him and used him as a slave-warrior. It only feels natural that, after discussing about starting a family, they dock on an impoverished island once again for their next mission, they see abandoned children on the streets, left to fend for themselves, they look at each other and... they just know what they are going to do.

Not to mention that, secondarily, this would also save birdie the trouble to go through pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding when she's an active marine and is not looking forward to any of that. Although I do know that some of you were looking forward to such headcanons, but I promise I can still give you that, we can make up a scenario where she gets pregnant by accident against all odds (we've touched upon it in another ask already), you just have to ask. For this one, I'll carry on with the adopted kids.

the first is from a mission on a very poor island overrun by gangs, with lots of kids on the streets

after the mission, birdie is wandering by herself and sees a young child in rags (5-6?) finding out that bullies tore apart his illustrated book, his only treasure, and bawling his eyes out

maybe he reminds her of herself, maybe it's just mercy, but she decides she's not gonna leave him there

as she approaches him, she thinks back to the first time she met Aokiji and his "Do you want to join the Marines?"

despite that being her rescue, she's not gonna say anything like that, so she just asks the child if he wants to go away with her

he is very intimidated at first, but he caves when she tells him he can get more adventure books

as they walk back to the warship, he takes her hand for comfort, which startles her a little at first, but she doesn't let go

when Drake sees them approaching, he raises his eyebrow to birdie

she shrugs, "you said you wanted kids" then passes by him carelessly

he pauses for a minute before going "W-Wait, WHAT"

they take the sea, the kid is a bit scared at first, especially with the marines, but he soon becomes engrossed with watching the infinity of the sea

he has lice and shit, so the first thing birdie does is drawing a bath and wash him thoroughly. then she cuts up some uniform and makes him new clothes

he's not at ease with big men, so he gets quite attached to birdie soon

he likes to talk about the hero of his book, the One Piece, and the small animals he used to search and observe on the island

he loves that she lets him talk, even if she doesn't say much, because nobody ever listened to him before

there's not much for a kid to do on a warship, so she's grateful he likes to talk. Although at some point she has to start telling stories herself to keep him distracted

he loves it. this woman seems to know so much about the world, she must've been everywhere! and she fought pirates, bandits, monsters! and she's kind! even if she pretends she's not

initially, Drakes intimidates him quite a bit: he's huge, stern, and everyone treats him with respect & does as he says (he's the commanding officer after all)

well, except birdie, she doesn't seem to care much - she's already a badass in the kid's eyes

the child spends most of his indoor time in the cabin with her, but Drake comes in at night too, so he becomes quiet and shies in a corner

Drake is relegated to sleep on the little couch because the bed is now for birdie and the kid

every night he tries to spark a conversation with the child by asking him what he did today and whether he enjoyed, but the kid just cowers away

Drake is actually a little heartbroken, although he doesn't show it

birdie teases him about it, she says it's because of his scary stern look

when she realizes he's actually lowkey sad, she starts including him in her goodnight stories for the kid, encouraging them to interact

Drake sucks at this

he tries his best, but whatever detail he adds to birdie's stories is either too scary or dull as hell, and the kid just stares at him with wide eyes

he's very depressed

until, one night, he inserts a dragon in the tale

that works

the kid is interested, and Drake gets so enthusiastic that he starts adding a lot of useless details about the dragon's hunting habits, its biology, the shape of its scales, the mechanisms that allow it to breathe fire, etc

birdie is actually annoyed that she can't continue her story because this nerd keeps ranting

but the kids loves it. he asks more questions, he rails Drake up

soon they're a couple of reptile-nerds discussing dragons on the bed

birdie smiles and quietly leaves to take over the night shift

when they arrive in Marineford, they go directly to register him as their son

everyone is shocked, but they act like it's the most natural thing in the world. they also take two weeks off to help the child adjust

the kid is a little overwhelmed by seeing Marineford, with all the buildings, the soldiers, and the citizens, and no dirt, rags, or beggars

so they start slow, by taking him to their place and telling him that this is his new home

he cries, they panic

it's gonna be a long journey, learning how to parent

Drake immediately clears a room for him (probably his office) and turns it into a children room

he also cooks a big dinner, with chicken, spinaches, mashed potatoes, etc. the kid cries again and they panic again

after dinner, they bath him and put him in his new bed

he asks if he can sleep with birdie, and Drake says no, gently but firmly

later, as Drake and birdie bath together, he says that it's important to set this boundary, or else he'll want to sleep with them all the time

they also talk about how their life suddenly changed, and even if they both try to put on a cool facade, they can barely contain their excitement and happiness

they go to bed, and the kid appears after half an hour asking again if he can sleep with them

Drake caves immediately

birdie subtly glares at him as the kid dives into their bed, but Drake looks away

the day after, birdie takes the child to choose some new books and toys

the kid is still overwhelmed by Marineford, but he asks a lot of questions and birdie explains about the Marines and the HQ, the town, etc.

by the time they're home, Drake has prepared another great meal for lunch, with sweets for dessert

birdie tells him that he's spoiling the kid too much and he scoffs

after lunch, the child suddenly gets all dejected and asks when will he have to go back

the two are shocked and tell him this is his life now

the child has a hard time believing them, it's clear

later, birdie and Drake discuss that they should be followed by a psychologist, because this is a very brusque change for an orphan from the streets

they get the best on the island

thanks to all their efforts, the child slowly adjusts to his new life

Koby comes over often to see him, the kid likes him immediately

other people are enthusiast: Hibari, Tashigi, Helmeppo... even Smoker comes and brings a present for the kid

the kid is actually scared of Smoker. he brushes it away, but he's also secretly heartbroken

after two weeks, Drake goes for a mission. the kid cries when they tell him Drake is going away for some time, and Drake almost calls his mission off - then birdie kicks him out

in the next few weeks, the child is a little sad and continuously asks when Drake is gonna be back

birdie does her best to keep him distracted

Drake manages to call a couple of times and the kid monopolizes the conversation on the Den Den Mushi. birdie thinks back to when they used to call each other during missions, how relieved they were of talking through the receiver and knowing they were fine, how they missed each other and it was only about them... she realizes their life has now changed forever, they have a new treasure, something to protect at all costs - this is the first time it downs on her that she's a mother now

the kid is ecstatic when Drake is back, he monopolizes him again to the point he and birdie can hardly exchange a quick kiss before the child drags him to his room to show him his new book on reptiles

that night, Drake confesses to her that he had the father epiphany too while he was on the mission, specifically when he heard the child's voice through the Den Den Mushi

the first time birdie goes on a mission is worse

the kid throws a tantrum when she leaves and cries a lot while she's gone

Drake has a hard time handling him alone, but he tries his best to keep him happy

at the beginning, he attempts to reassure him, then distract him. when it doesn't work, exasperated, he admits he misses birdie too

surprisingly, this calms the kid down, like he feels he has to keep it together to make Drake feel better too

to keep his mind occupied, Drake shows him his hybrid form

that pretty much wins the cake until birdie comes back

eventually, the kid starts going to school and makes friends of his own

when birdie goes pick him up, he asks if he can call her "mom" since all the other kids have moms, but his real one left him on the street and never came back for him

birdie is a little choked up, but she shrugs it off and gruffly says that of course she is his real mom

next the kid asks if he can call Drake "dad", birdie says yes, obviously

at home, the kid calls Drake "daddy"

birdie enjoys watching the man freeze and try to hide his humid eyes

with time, the child gets used to his new life in Marineford, though he never likes when one of his parents is away on missions

but seeing all his classmates in the same situation, he learns how to deal with it too

birdie and Drake make a point to take a vacation twice a year and go to some new island, to show him the world

There would be more to say about it. Birdie and Drake will adopt other kids, their family will grow. I can make another post if people are interested in it, but this has become quite extensive already, so I'll leave it as such for now. Hope you enjoyed it. ❣️

[mariacallous]

When Anastasiya Burakova fled Russia a year ago, she sought refuge in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Burakova, a Russian lawyer, had been running an organization that gave legal assistance to people facing political prosecution in Russia. After the authorities in Moscow blocked her group’s website, Burakova realized that she herself could become a target of government persecution and moved to Kyiv. Three months later, she was on the run again when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Like many Russian activists, she found a new home in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

In the early days of the invasion, Burakova was flooded with requests for emigration advice from political activists and journalists in Russia who feared the Kremlin might close the borders and round up critics of the war. The number of flights out of Russia was shrinking as a result of Western sanctions, fueling a sense of panic among opposition-minded Russians. Within weeks of the attack, Burakova founded an organization called Kovcheg, Russian for “ark,” to help those who managed to escape Putin’s Russia. Kovcheg has since grown into an online clearinghouse offering everything from housing and legal advice to psychological counseling, language courses, and job placement.

“We try to help people integrate into the societies where they live because it’s a dead end to live outside of it,” Burakova said. “We try to get them to do what they can from abroad to stop the war and speed up the collapse of the Putin regime. We hope they’ll go back and become the backbone of a democratic Russia.”

The exodus out of Russia came in two waves: The first, in the immediate aftermath of the February invasion, was more politicized and included many opposition supporters; the second, following the Kremlin’s announcement of a partial mobilization in September, was less political, consisting primarily of young men unwilling to fight in Putin’s war. Hundreds of thousands of Russians have emigrated this year, scattering for the most part across Europe, Turkey, and Central Asia. Places such as Armenia and Kazakhstan, former Soviet republics that most Russians used to view as backwaters, suddenly became safe havens.

The new Russian emigration pales in scale to the refugee crisis that the invasion set off in Ukraine, where the United Nations estimates that more than 14 million people, or one-third of the country’s population, have been forced from their homes. But the wave of Russian exiles is significant because it includes some of Russia’s best minds and most politically active regime opponents.

The influence that political émigrés will have on the course of events in Russia remains to be seen. Putin prefers to have his opponents outside the country, where they are likely to lose contact with life back home and see their political credibility decrease as the Kremlin brands them as foreign stooges. In a March tirade, Putin disparaged those who left as “scum and traitors” Russia will spit out like flies in an act of “self-cleansing.”

A number of prominent Russian opposition politicians have refused to go into exile and now all find themselves behind bars: Alexey Navalny, who flew back to Moscow in 2021 after recovering abroad from an assassination attempt with a rare nerve agent; Vladimir Kara-Murza, who returned to Russia from the United States following the start of the invasion; and Ilya Yashin, a fixture in Russian opposition politics who vowed to remain in Moscow.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s most well-known exile, has said that he spends 10 hours a day keeping track of what is happening inside the country from his home in London. An oligarch who ran afoul of the Kremlin during Putin’s first term in office, Khodorkovsky served 10 years in prison before being pardoned and released in 2013 into exile. In recent years, Khodorkovsky supported various media and civil society projects inside Russia before the government shut them down and prosecuted their leaders. After the invasion of Ukraine, Khodorkovsky co-founded the Russian Anti-War Committee, a group of exiled opposition leaders, and helped fund Burakova’s Kovcheg aid organization.

In a new book that has been published online in English, Khodorkovsky lays out his vision for the future, arguing that to avoid a repetition of Putin’s one-man rule and break Russia’s cycle of authoritarianism, the country will need to adopt a parliamentary model and devolve power to its regions. To get there, Khodorkovsky writes, Russians driven into emigration should form a “second front” to help bring down the regime.

“The new political emigrants are giving voice to the opposition because people inside Russia, if they risk speaking up, face serious repressions,” Khodorkovsky told Foreign Policy. He pointed out that independent Russian media, as well as popular YouTube channels run by Putin critics like himself, all work from abroad now. “A significant portion of these people will return. What their influence will be is another question,” he said.

Recent Russian history is full of examples of political emigrants, many dying in exile, a few returning home triumphantly. Vladimir Lenin was undoubtedly the most successful, sneaking back into Russia after the last tsar abdicated and leading the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The ensuing civil war created the first big wave of political emigration from Russia, with as many as 3 million people fleeing the new Soviet authorities.

Still, the current exodus is unprecedented in recent times, said Mikhail Denisenko, director of the Vishnevsky Institute of Demography in Moscow. “We’ve never had such a big annual outflow, not even in the 1990s,” he said, when 2 million people left Russia in the chaos following the fall of communism. Because much of the data on emigration is incomplete or unreliable, and it is difficult to distinguish visitors from emigrants in border statistics, Denisenko’s “cautious estimate” is that 500,000 Russians have left the country this year and not come back.

The case of political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann is illustrative of that ambiguity. When she left Russia after the invasion to take a one-year fellowship at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, Schulmann said she did not consider herself to be a political emigrant. But the Russian authorities have since designated her a “foreign agent,” a status that makes it practically impossible for her to continue her academic work in Russia. From her perch in Berlin, Schulmann has continued giving lively, erudite commentary on Russian politics and now has more than 1 million YouTube subscribers, most of them inside Russia.

Historically, Russian emigrants have been reluctant to form exile communities and have tried to assimilate, Schulmann told Foreign Policy. Large nations typically do not form diasporas, she said, and Russians abroad have been a disparate group lacking common symbols or traditions to rally around. What distinguishes the new Russian émigrés is that they are more homogeneous.

“Many people left in a short period of time. Socially they are very alike, and they left for very similar reasons. We see social structures emerging, but not political ones. Nobody has the political legitimacy,” Schulmann said. “A unifying force could have been Alexey Navalny, were he not in jail.”

Sergey Lagodinsky, a member of the European Parliament for the German Greens party, has known Navalny for more than a decade. “He just couldn’t imagine his work—his active political life—outside of Russia. That’s why he went back,” Lagodinsky said. What Navalny did not expect was that the Kremlin would wipe out his political organization in Russia, Lagodinsky said, effectively making any dissent a criminal offense.

Lagodinsky’s own family left Russia in 1993, when Germany was taking in Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. He is now leading an effort to help Russian political emigrants obtain humanitarian visas throughout the European Union.

Russia’s democratic opposition has rarely spoken in one voice, with Navalny, Khodorkovsky, and others representing rival centers of gravity. Because of this diversity of opinion, Lagodinsky said, Russian émigrés do not need a political organization as much as a network that would help them speak to Western leaders. One idea, still unrealized, is for the Kremlin’s opponents abroad to establish an office in Brussels or Berlin.

Whatever splits exist in the opposition, Lagodinsky said their main problem is that the Kremlin has completely isolated Russia’s public space, making it impossible for Russian civil society to effect change inside the country. Therefore, the focus of Russian emigrants in Europe should be to prepare for the time after Putin, he said.

“It will be important—and challenging—to present a viable democratic alternative to a much worse alternative when things will be changing. We do need to take seriously an antidemocratic, worse-than-Putin alternative,” Lagodinsky said. “You need faces—strong leaders and politicians who offer themselves as alternatives.”

One such face may be Lyubov Sobol, a Navalny ally who became a protest leader three years ago after being barred from running for Moscow’s city council. She fled Russia last year when it no longer became possible for her to continue her opposition activism amid increasing pressure from the authorities. “After Navalny’s arrest and until my departure, not a single day went by that Russian law enforcement didn’t contact me, search my home, interrogate, or detain me,” Sobol said. She is aware of five criminal cases against her in Russia.

Long before he was imprisoned, Navalny mastered the use of social media to bypass state-run television and speak directly to supporters, and even now his exiled team keeps his Twitter and Instagram accounts active. Sobol said her job was to turn Navalny Live, a YouTube channel with 3 million subscribers, into the main opposition platform. “Our two goals are to reduce Putin’s legitimacy and increase trust in our democratic movement,” she said.

The political situation in Russia is currently marked by instability, said Schulmann, who foresees a free-for-all once there is a change in regime. “There will be a lot of political turmoil after Putin. Anyone will be able to take part,” she said. “But having the resources of a well-known name, media outlets, and followers is useful.”

Khodorkovsky, who was first jailed in 2003 and is now 59, said his potential role in a future government is diminishing the longer Putin hangs on to power. Khodorkovsky is resigned to the possibility that the Putin regime will endure for at least another three years. He cast doubt on whether he would be physically capable of taking on a leadership role because governing Russia, whose institutions Putin has completely gutted, will be a 24/7 undertaking.

Reforming Russia may very well be the task of a new generation. “We aren’t waiting for the fall of the regime,” said Sobol, who is 35. “We’re actively working toward it and want to get there as fast as possible.”

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Mega Leech

Like every cartoon ever made, today's episode is the environmental episode. We all know how high-quality those tend to be, right?

Let's get into the twelfth (chronologically the tenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Mega Leech.

We start off with the shyest girl in Marinette's class, Mylene, mentally preparing herself for a protest with her boyfriend, tough guy with a soft side, Ivan.

Wow, real subtle foreshadowing there, writers.

The thing Mylene and Ivan are protesting is something called the “Oxygen Project” by Mayor Andre Bourgeois, which will supposedly create fresh air for Paris. To be fair, this isn't just a random character trait they slapped onto Mylene like what we've seen with other episodes this season to justify their new Akuma forms. Back in the Season 2 episode “Reverser”, a major plotpoint for the final act was that Andre was about to approve a project that would send trash into space, which Mylene and Ivan were protesting at, before the titular Akuma threatened to send the trash back to the Earth. This show can get weird at times.

Even though they're the only two protesters, Andre still has Officer Roger Raincomprix take them into custody. To his credit, Roger does try to resolve things diplomatically, and is very hesitant to take them to his car (even though they aren't handcuffed and there's no divider), he only does so when his job is threatened by Andre. And let's get the obvious joke out of the way now because there's going to be a lot of moments like this.

Marinette sees the event from her house, and after running late to school resulting in a brief moment of Unfunny Marinette Slapstick, tells the class what's going on. Surprisingly, instead of ignoring the whole situation like every other episode she's been in, Ms. Bustier decides to actually be a teacher for once and calls Roger. She says that she'll supervise their protest while the rest of the class comes with her.

Back at the park, Andre is about to chop a tree down with a chainsaw, but is soon called out by Ms Bustier. Mylene calls out Andre for the obviously not eco-friendly project, but he soon plays an ad for the Oxygen Project.

Huh. So this is how Druidia's canned air business took off.

To be fair, this is actually a funny scene, as it does feel like an over the top commercial you'd see, especially the kind that gets promoted by a politician. Of course, this funny joke is soon followed yet another reminder that Marinette likes Adrien, because the writers assume the audience will forget if they aren't bashed over the head with this knowledge every episode.

And as usual, Adrien ignores Marinette's odd behavior around him, but that's more because he's distracted by the ad, because he was told it was for perfume (did the oxygen line not give away the purpose of the commercial?). Quick question: Why is Gabriel taking part in this? Why is a fashion designer being commissioned to create a bottle for a government-sanctioned project? Does he just invest in random projects and hopes they'll go under so he can akumatize someone? As for Mylene, her classmates are naturally confused as to why she is opposed to this project if it's good for the environment. Her response is something that can ironically be used to criticize this very show when talking about the Oxygen Project.

We then get a moment where, of course, Chloe is the one to say she doesn't care about trees despite having no real prominence in this episode. Seriously, this is the only line she gets and it's to remind the audience how much of an irredeemable monster she is.

Oh my God, Astruc, why don't you just say she's a climate change denier while you're at it, seeing how you already view them as criminals? You clearly want to throw every negative character trait and label at her, don't you? If you're so crazy about hating her, why not make Chloe Captain Planet villain levels of evil?

Marintte points out the obvious flaw in Andre's plan to stop pollution by selling air in plastic bottles that can easily pollute the ocean, which gives the Mayor a lot of bad press, and even though she's the one to say this, Mylene still shames her for ignoring her attempts to get people to protest because she was busy. Yes, the show is seriously trying to blame Marinette for not doing enough to help the environment on top of her various other responsibilities like PROTECTING THE CITY OF PARIS ON A DAILY BASIS.

The families of the kids come to support the protest, and Andre tries to call Gabriel for help, but he basically tells him to figure it out himself, supporting my earlier theory in the process. He transforms into Shadowmoth and sends an Akuma and an Amok to Andre. This transforms him into Malediktator again and and gives him a Sentimonster ally, the titular Mega Leech.

Mega Leech is another example of a Sentimonster with a simple design but a really interesting set of powers. As soon as its summoned, Malediktator jumps into his mouth and summons an army of minature clones of himself (making me wonder why they didn't call the Sentimonster “Micromanager”) to jump into the ears of civilians and control them directly like Plankton in that one episode of SpongeBob. It's a pretty terrifying concept and a really clever extension of Malediktator's mind control powers.

Adrien transforms into Cat Noir and tries fighting off the Malediktator clones, but obviously gets overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Marinette soon pretends to be possessed by a Malediktator clone to get Mylene to run away while she transforms, once again summoning her Lucky Charm as soon as she meets up with Cat Noir because the animators really want to show off the new suit. She uses the Lucky Charm, a single ice skate, to break the mayoral sash around one of the Malediktator clones and frees the Akuma and Amok, but Mega Leech is still around, along with the brainwashed civilians. She and Cat Noir realize that the Akumas and Amoks must have multiplied when Malediktator cloned himself. Ladybug tells Cat Noir to distract the Malediktator clones (the latter actually acknowledging how he always has to do that)

Ladybug meets up with Mylene in the sewer where she had escaped to earlier, only to find the girl crying. Ladybug offers Mylene the Mouse Miraculous, but she turns her down because of how scared she is. Unlike when they tried to do the same thing by having Zoe doubt herself in “Queen Banana”, this scene makes sense because Mylene has consistently been shown to be a very timid person. It feels much more believable to see this from her. Granted, it's undermined by Ladybug saying that Mylene is already like a superhero because of her protesting for a good cause. I get she's trying to reassure her, but the whole environmental lesson is kind of muddled by saying Marinette doesn't care about the environment because of how busy she was FIGHTING CRIME. Thankfully, the lesson is more about bravery being able to move onward in spite of fear.

Nevertheless, this still motivates Mylene to take the Mouse Miraculous and transforms into Polymouse.

And boy, is it bad. I'm not trying to body shame Mylene here, I'm glad they didn't try and slim her down either, but I'm really not a fan of the color scheme for the suit. With the use of pink and white, it looks way too similar to Pigella.

I get that they were trying to make Mylene look like a mouse, but I'm just really not a fan of the white gloves and boots. They stick out compared to Pigella, where they actually blended in with the color scheme. Then there's the actual suit itself. Why give the suit a hood if you're going to make it yet another skintight jumpsuit? At least with Carapace, they had more armor to help him resemble a turtle, but there's no excuse here. And finally, the hair. How can you take a girl with a very vibrant hairstyle, make it pink when transforming, cover it up, and then call it a day? There are just so many questionable design choices here. I don't think it's as laughably bad as Shadowmoth's suit, but it's really one of the weakest hero suits to be introduced recently.

I'd give my thoughts on how to improve it, but thankfully one of my anons gave their own ideas for a redesign.

Thank you to whoever sent this in. You certainly get character design better than some of the animators on this show, and that's saying a lot given they're supposedly better than the ones at Pixar.

Ladybug gives Polymouse the ice skate to use as a makeshift flail with her weapon, a jump rope, while she fights the Maledikator clones. Polymouse uses her power, Multitude, which turns her into a swarm of miniature clones to take on the horde of Malediktator clones and free the brainwashed civilians. Ladybug meets up with Cat Noir, but big surprise, Cat Noir gets brainwashed by a Malediktator clone. Sure, Polymouse frees him from the control, but I'm surprised Ladybug isn't more used to this happening by now.

Ladybug then gathers several temp heroes to help them out. She gives Kagami the Dragon Miraculous to become Ryuko, Nino the Turtle to become Carapace, Max the Horse to become Pegasus, and she gives back the Bee Miraculous to the super amazing Zoe so she can once again become the world's greatest superhero, Vesperia. There’s a brief joke where Cat Noir rushes to join the team pose, which could be seen as foreshadowing for future events, and if it is, good job, writers.

Pegasus uses his Voyage to teleport Vesperia above Mega Leech, where she uses her Venom on the Sentimonster, while Ryuko uses her Wind Dragon to gather all the scattered Akumas and Amoks freed by Polymouse for Carapace to trap in his Shelter. Ladybug purifies all the Akumas and Amoks, gives Andre a Magical Charm, tells him to rethink the Oxygen Project, and the heroes leave where Ladybug takes back all their Miraculous.

Back at the park, Andre decides to plant more trees in what's obviously not a desperate attempt to save his reputation. He may say he's doing the right thing, but I doubt investors will be happy that the project's being aborted just like that. We get one more hilarious moment where Marinette stutters around Adrien, who soon goes home and gets sent to his room by his father (because we just needed an Angstdrien Depreste scene this episode for some reason), who fidgets with his ring and stares ominously as the episode ends. And in case you live under a rock, this reignited a certain fan theory I'll be talking about in another post.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty decent episode. The environmentalism subplot was pretty standard for episodes like this, with how the antagonist is a rich asshole who doesn't see how he's harming the environment, and gets his mind changed by a hopeful youth. I'm glad Andre isn't Captain Planet villain levels of evil here, though I am glad the episode acknowledges that there's no single solution to stopping pollution, and that there needs to be more unity if we need to help the planet's situation.

While it had a bumpy first act, things really started to get interesting as soon as the action started. Questionable design aside, I thought Polymouse (who didn't even name herself in the episode) had a good first outing with the use of her powers coupled with the use of the Lucky Charm. The first act with Mylene really showcased her character and her courage in the face of adversity well. Part of me kind of wishes we could have seen her interact with Ivan while she was transformed, but then again, he was still brainwashed I think.

The other heroes honestly felt shoehorned in during the climax. I get that they helped gather all the Akumas and Amoks, but there was really no buildup to them appearing like in other episodes with multiple heroes.

The one major problem I have is how the episode tries to blame Marinette for not being as kind as Mylene because she didn't know about the protest, even though, as I have stated multiple times, SHE ROUTINELY SAVES PARIS EVERY EPISODE. I think that counts as saving the planet.

This episode had some flaws, but it was still pretty enjoyable, and it was one of the better episodes this season so far.

[accio-victuuri]

The GG & Li-Ning & Xianjiang Cotton Situation

I was asked to give my opinion. This is also for other bxgs who may have the same sentiment. You don’t have to agree with me but i hope you respect whatever it is I choose to share here. This is my blog and my space. I maintain this out of my pure enjoyment of the fandom and all the good it has given me. So let me address some of the points.

Li-Ning boasts their use of XinJiang Cotton

My simple answer here is, of course they will. This is not something new. Li-Ning is a celebrated olympic medal winning gymnast. A billionaire. You don’t get to that place in CHN w/out supporting the government’s agenda. In this case, that there is no injustice and persecution going on in Xinjiang. This brand, boasting about China made cotton, in their terms, shows patriotism and support for their country. This brand’s literal goal at first was to provide a local brand for Chinese athletes to wear in the Olympics. This is also not the first time that Li-Ning had been called out along w/ other international brands due to questionable ethical practices.

I find it very hard to believe that the timing of GG’s massive Li-Ning ad campaign, coinciding as it has with these Western brand boycotts, was a coincidence.

Let’s get this out of the way. Whether the boycott happened or not, Li-Ning is guaranteed an insane amount of sales because they hired Xiao Zhan. This is the same man who always sells out products in seconds. Who took KXZ to 200% growth and so on. I can talk about stats all day but this massive campaign for him is a no brainer. GG is expensive and a guaranteed success. Any brand who hires him will be stupid to not launch an all out campaign across all cities. Li-Ning knows what they are doing by hiring him. For years, they have been trying to appeal to Gen Z. Especially now that youth in CHN are more and more into the “guochao” (国潮) - National trend. Integrating traditional chinese culture and fashion w/ domestic brands. This ties in with the whole movement of erasing the connotation that made in china is of inferior quality. GG was a good choice. He appeals to the younger generation (19-25) and the working class ( 26 and up ) who buys goods. I would imagine even GG’s team did their research and knows this trend is going on too. This will not be the last you will see of this type of endorsement from him or Web. The rumors on this collaboration was going around as early as, March 15 I think? I was literally asking another bxg if GG’s ad will be pushed back a day or two because of what was happening. or what will this all implies. He was always gonna come out and endorse this brand boycott or not.

I am not removing the possibility that these local brands have a hand in the boycott. It’s a very valid concern. or that, it was a convenient perfect storm for them. A perfect storm of EU, US & CAN sanctioning CHN. The sudden attack on brands’ statements against Xinjiang cotton from a year ago. The whole agenda of controlling the people’s view on what is happening. All of these are connected. sure. There are many things behind the scenes that we will not know but we can make an educated guess of. Li-Ning is not the only domestic brand that had a positive push because of this.

On 3/25 Li-Ning’s stock closed with a high of 10.74% , plus an added 9% on the 26th when GG was announced as ambassador. The same thing happened with Anta and others.

I find it very hard to stomach seeing Li-Ning ads on my dash, regardless of GG’s presence in them. Without condemning him for taking this endorsement deal, and without judging what he is or is not personally aware

I will just be addressing GG’s alleged part in all this. I say that cause we don’t live in his brain and won’t know what he’s thinking. You can all try and project your values on him but he is a whole person of his own. I have hopefully given some view on why GG accepted to endorse this brand in the previous point. GG has spent most if not all, of his life in China. He has repeatedly said that he was brought up traditionally. Tho his father was very encouraging in him participating in the arts and widening his knowledge. He had Foreign professors at CBTU. He is part of the generation that knows what’s going on outside by using the internet. He’s smart. I would guess that he is aware of the country he is living in vs what it’s like outside of it. But at the end of the day, his loyalty will always be with his country. I hate to break it to you all but he will continue to live and thrive as an Actor even without international support. Tho it is great that he is a source of National Pride with how people outside of China love him.

Now, about his support for Xianjiang Cotton. I wanna start by showing this:

It’s a post from People’s Daily wb which boasts all the c-ent top stars that voiced their support of XJ cotton. The sense is, hey people look at your idols supporting the cause. Look at their Patriotism. What do you think will happen if GG was not on this list? Knowing that he is a top star in CHN. Knowing he was just in hot waters post 22*? Knowing that he is actively being endorsed in CCTV which is a National Channel. Are we still surprised that he posted that support? I was just honestly waiting for him to post if anything. I talked before about how C-ent celebrities are expected ( and actually it’s in their law ) to be more morally upright than the lay people. This is prime example of that.

Another one is this from CCTV Wb. I’m including this for you all to have an understanding of how this whole thing is being played out in CHN. This is the type of online narrative that is going around and I would think GG is seeing. The sentiment is,

“No matter what hardships, ups and downs and blows go through in our country, her people will always come from all directions and stand up to speak justice and do just things.”

It’s also showing all the hot searches that is related in support of XJ cotton and defending CHN’s innocence.

Also this video that was heavily circulated showing mechanized picking of cotton vs the allegations of manual.

This is the kind of narrative that is going around, as expected. I don’t really fault GG or condemn him for doing what is best for him. What is the best for an individual does not always mean it’s the best for all. In talks like this, I always try and put myself in their position. I mean, who the hell are these people trying to attack my country? the country that has provided for me. I wanna say I understand where they are coming from but understanding does not mean agreeing. I see these A LOT. ALOT ON WEIBO. The China vs. Everyone story. It’s the notion of, they are attacking us and we must protect the country. Also keep in mind that news is heavily regulated.

You know what type of news the CCP would love for them to get a hold of? The rising attacks on Asians in the US. Oh boy they would fuckin love that! Making America the big/bad asian-hating boogeyman in the eyes of their people yet again.

Okay, now we’re down to the final part of this. Why do I share the promo pics for Li-Ning. Where do i draw the line.

To me it’s simple. It had GG in it. I was waiting for this to come out, and tbh, would you all even know about this brand’s practices if the boycott didn’t happen? No. This is a bjyx blog where i share things about them. That includes ad, dramas, pictures and videos. I understand if people don’t feel comfortable w/ Li-Ning ads and others, so just don’t like those posts. Did I buy anything from the collection? No. Did I buy multiple copies Web’s single Youth in Times ( like i do with his other singles )? No. That’s where I draw the line in this. I know we’re all gonna be put on a tight spot again once Faith Makes Great comes out. Once I saw that leaked pic, Ooohhh! I just know. Also if BAH adds some propaganda about CHN’s war on drugs. I am just waiting. I am ready. I know what my values are. I will not allow other people to dictate who I am. I know what type of content I’m only gonna be sharing.

I see this very forceful air of asking bxgs to take a stand on this ( always bxg, never the other side. always us of course even if we are the minority) and it really puts me off. I read someone say that they will not say anything because they don’t owe strangers on the internet an explanation. Which is true. I have separate spaces that I share my views on world/local issues. Accounts that show my actual name and around people I know in real life. That’s what I choose to do for myself. I started this blog for myself and i still find it very bizarre that people follow this account. I am not some sort of KOL, let’s get that straight. This is just a blog where I talk about things if i want to and SCREAM about GG and Web too much. I will probably not answer any follow up questions on this cause i feel like I have addressed a good chunk of it.

Just know that whatever I post on here in support of GG and his projects does not equate to my entire political/moral stand regarding this event or any. It’s really good that we have conversations like this cause it’s an important one.

Whew! That was a long post! 😅