#it’s the ‘we’re the government of course we care about you and your well being. unless you’re a mutant’ (trans)

[spoofyleaf]

As an adult rewatching all the x-men movies, I think I’ve figured out why the movies made me uncomfortable to a personal level as a kid

[maxdibert]

Having a shitty past is no excuse for being a horrible person, and Snape was a horrible person. Snape fans always try to turn him into a tragic hero, but there was nothing heroic about him when he was just an obsessive bigot who followed a group of genocidal maniacs

Well, I think I’ve said this a million times already and explained in exhausting detail why growing up in a particular environment—lacking social, emotional, economic, or essential support—and being subjected to violence during the most crucial years of cognitive development creates the perfect breeding ground for antisocial behavior. It also makes vulnerable or socially excluded youth prime targets for sectarian groups (whether religious, political, or otherwise) that prey on their situation, offering them promises of protection, safe spaces, surrogate parental figures, or social progress. These groups actively seek out kids with emotional voids caused by dysfunctional family dynamics, minimal to no financial resources, and a profound sense that the system has failed them at every turn. They offer these kids an alternative system—one that gives them a roof over their heads, a hot meal, a place to belong, and people who won’t marginalize them like the rest of society has—at the simple price of blindly following the group’s ideology. And they do it. Of course, they do. Because what other choice do they have? This group gave them life, a place in society, and restored their status as human beings.

But since I’ve spoken about this at length before and about how Severus’s life shaped his decisions, I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record. So, since I’m also reading a legal ruling I need to memorize by Friday, I’m going to indulge myself and dissertate as freely as I please—because hey, if you’re going to throw hate, I’m going to grant myself the privilege of replying however I want.

Here’s a question: why does it even matter? Seriously, what does it matter if he was a shitty person? Do you know that people go to space today thanks to the work of physicists and engineers who were literal SS members? That after WWII, all the top scientists, physicists, chemists, and engineers were granted amnesty and fast-tracked into citizenships so they could work on government projects? That people working within a stone’s throw of concentration camps are the pioneers behind some of the greatest technological advances of the 20th century? And you don’t care that the products you consume are derived from the work of collaborators with mass genocide, but you’re upset that people find a fictional character interesting? I don’t want to sound cynical, but honestly, it’s ridiculous to get so morally high and mighty about a character who doesn’t exist and who followed an extremist cult for, what? 3 or 4 years tops? and then canonically worked actively to take it down. If we put Severus in a real-world, wartime context, the guy would be a literal war hero with medals to his name. No exaggeration. If he survived, he’d be recruited with a fat paycheck to work in internal affairs for some major world power’s secret projects. That’s just how the world works.

And yeah, he was obsessive. But in an era where everyone suffers at least one anxiety episode a month, where the best-case scenario is that your panic attacks don’t spiral into chronic mental health issues—can we really judge him for that? Like, most of the people I see being ultra “snater” are folks who openly declare themselves neurodivergent, and one of the common denominators of all neurodivergence is obsessiveness. All of them. Whether it’s chronic anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder or autism. Every single one has an obsessive component. So it’s kind of ironic—and even hypocritical—for people who are themselves pretty obsessive (because let’s face it, we’re all compulsively doomscrolling here to soothe our anxious compulsions with little dopamine hits) to judge this character’s obsessiveness as a negative trait. Maybe let’s take a good look in the mirror, too.

And let me just say, no court would convict Severus of collaborating with a terrorist group. Not a single one. Impossible. Especially since he literally collaborated against said group, so any judge would happily clear him—not after the war, but the moment he struck his deal with Dumbledore. Severus is what’s known as an informant. He worked from the inside, exposed himself to greater dangers than regular agents. Legally speaking, there have been cases where people guilty of heinous crimes—including crimes against humanity—were let off because they provided critical information. So imagine someone like Severus, who, as far as we know, didn’t even kill anyone during his time in the group, willingly spilling the beans and agreeing to work as a spy. He’d be celebrated as a hero of war. Hell, they’d probably buy him a mansion in Florida if he wanted one. That’s just how our system works, and honestly, this kind of moralist posturing is pretty cringy because you’re talking about a guy who literally saved half of magical society’s asses and without whom the kid destined to save the world would’ve died in his first year at school.

You can dislike him or think he’s a jerk, but he was damn good at his job. And compared to the people he’s often unfairly measured against (Sirius, James, Remus...), he actually did something. They didn’t. Absolutely nothing. Contribution: negative one.

[merlincmgirl]

Dirty Talk - Echo x FReader - NSFW

Summary: Being forced to the sidelines with your riddur for company could be worse, but you were bored! Just the sound of Echo's voice was enough to get your mind wondering. He offers to help make your thoughts a reality.

Characters: Echo

Pairing: Echo x F!Reader

Word Count: 5,213

Warnings: PinV sex, fingering, oral sex (male and female receiving), dirty talk, teasing, use of derogatory language (once), bratty behaviour. If I've missed anything, please let me know.

Authour's Note: Echo deserves better, especially from the writers! My precious boy!

“We should be out there with the rest of the team, you shouldn’t have to be stuck inside babysitting me!” you grumbled, monitoring the communications between the rest of the Bad Batch.

Echo rolled his eyes, he had heard the same complaint for the 56th time already. The only reason he hadn’t said anything was because it was you, his love, ner cyare. But it was wearing a bit thin. “I’m not babysitting, and besides you could be spotted out there. It’s not safe for you to go wondering around markets when the governor has placed a bounty on your head” Echo reminded, glancing at you from the corner of his eye.

“All I did was accidently address his mistress as his wife” you pouted, crossing your arms and resting your feet on the corner of his chair.

“In front of his wife and a news reporter” Echo added, shaking his head at you. That had been a very eventful evening, resulting in your quick get away and as many apologies that Hunter and the GAR could come up with. It still hadn’t saved the governor’s marriage though.

“How was I meant to know he was having an affair? Or that woman was the planet’s primary news reporter” you huffed, glaring at the screen in front of you. Honestly, it wasn’t like you intended to cause trouble, maybe the governor shouldn’t have been cheating on his wife.

Echo pursed his lips and took a deep breath – all precursors to a lecture or rant from him. You settled even more comfortably into the flight chair, knowing you would need to do so to enjoy whatever he was gearing himself up to say.

“Well if you had read the briefing that Tech put together, mesh’la, you would have known what his wife looked like. Or realised that the woman who was standing next to him was not his mistress. She was standing behind them, why would his wife not stand beside him?” Echo lectured, eyes burning into yours as he went on. His low, grumpy voice was always something you enjoyed listening to. And when you two were alone in his bunk, it was more than enough to get you breathless. So when he started gesturing with his hand and scomp to make his point, you began to feel a bit heated.

“This is why it’s important to get all the details. It was wrong of the governor, but that doesn’t mean that we had to be the ones to expose his affair. I’ll give you that you didn’t know about the reporter, you couldn’t have known that, but next time mesh’la, perhaps listening to Tech when he tells us about a planet or government that we’re working for. I know he can go on, but it’s in your best interests, cyare” Echo ranted on, hand coming down occasionally to rub at the bare patch of skin at your ankle.

It was always so beautiful to see him so passionate about something, in this case, your inability to listen to Tech’s debriefs and noticing the little details. You didn’t mind, Echo only wanted to keep you safe and protected, he didn’t mean his words in a harsh way. You knew he would do anything to protect you. It was why you loved him so much, he took care of you in a way nobody else had before. “Are you listening to me, mesh’la?” he sighed, bringing you out of your head and back to the present.

“Of course I am! I know I should have listened more, sweetheart. I’m just glad to be here with you. Even if we are stuck on the Marauder” you smiled, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek. Echo returned the smile, his hand cupping your cheek briefly as he pressed a similar kiss to your own cheek before returning back to work.

Looking out the cockpit window, you could see a variety of different buildings from where you were docked. The planet’s architecture was beautiful, buildings in soft sandy colours with rich blues and greens mixed into the stone. It reminded you of the sea almost, the colours shimmering in the sunlight, just like the water reflecting the sun’s rays.

It was beautiful, and it just made you want to explore even more. Turning to your riddur, you forced a pout onto your lips. You knew he saw you, because his shoulders tensed up as he was listening to the comm chatter that was going on between the rest of the team members of the Bad Batch.

“Couldn’t we go out just a little? We wouldn’t even have to go far from the Marauder” you suggested hopefully, reaching out to rest an imploring hand on Echo’s scomp.

“Mesh’la” he huffed warningly, tone already showcasing how much he was not enjoying your behaviour at the moment. “We’re staying on the ship. We have to be prepared in case the others need a pick up” he said firmly, raising an eyebrow at you as if daring you to keep it up.

Which really, Echo should know better, because of course you would. He had set you a challenge, and who would you be to refuse it. Especially when you were bored.

“Fine!” you grumbled, looking back out of the window and ignoring his look. Echo narrowed his eyes at your simple agreement but went back to what he was supposed to be doing.

When you were sure that Echo was busy and engrossed in his work, you began to move the foot that rested in his lap slowly back and forth, underneath the kama that he wore. Occasionally your toes would dip into the small gap between his thigh plate and codpiece. Watching him from the corner of your eye, you could see Echo’s jaw clench but he continued on with his work.

Disappointed to not get a bigger reaction, you shifted around and sighed loudly, hoping to disturb him enough to make him pay attention to you. Again nothing.

Frowning, you began to think of something else to capture his attention away from the system displayed in front of him. Finally you spotted the answer to your problem. On the side next to you was your datapad. Grabbing it, you quickly began typing loudly on the screen, drumming your nails against the casing every so often. Clicking your nails against the datapad wasn’t working and only got you a small huff of air through his nose in annoyance. Still Echo didn’t react how you wanted him to. He wasn’t even touching your feet that you had left in his lap. He never missed the chance to touch you in one way or another.

Well, if he was just going to ignore you while you sat bored in the cockpit, so be it. You would at least try and fill the quiet that had settled in between you. Selecting a video that Omega had sent you, you leaned back in your chair and turned the volume up. It was of a little akk puppy chasing after a holoball, tumbling around and falling over it’s own legs. You couldn’t help but coo at the sight.

“Love, I’m trying to work” Echo bit out through gritted teeth. His shoulders had straightened and there was an obvious twitch along his jaw that made your heart beat a little faster.

“Work then, I’m not stopping you” you shrugged, keeping your eyes focused on the screen in front of you.

Sighing heavily, you felt Echo shift beneath you, hips adjusting in the chair before he seemed to settle. Glancing up through your eyelashes at him, you noticed that his pale cheeks were getting flushed. Either in annoyance or frustration you weren’t sure, but it did make him look even cuter.

Relaxing further into your chair, you waited a few more minutes before edging the volume up every minute or so, waiting for a reaction from him. Unable to help it, you laughed loudly at another video of a tooka cat, unable to muffle the noise as you became lost in the videos.

However a hand landed on your ankle, clasping the fragile bones tightly and tugging it closer to him. You looked up, blinking at him innocently. He looked annoyed now, jaw fluttering in anger as he scowled at you.

“You’re doing this on purpose” he accused you, thumb rubbing against your ankle, the pressure was enough to make you want to close your eyes and press into his hand but you refrained.

“Doing what? It’s not my fault I’m bored and you’re not talking to me” you huffed, crossing your arms to look back at him. He raised an eyebrow and let out a little scoff.

“Oh you want my attention, is that it?” he drawled, turning around to face you with an arch of his expressive eyebrow. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel in front of him before he levelled you with a hard look. “Why are you trying to distract me?” he asked, the rough tones of annoyance filtered through his voice making your stomach churn in desire for him. You loved when his voice got all deep and rough when he was rebuking someone or feeling annoyed.

Sighing heavily, you poked your bare feet into the seam of his hip, teasing him some more. “You’re not even talking to me… I like listening to your voice” you explained, shrugging slightly to help ease the nerves that you felt after admitting this to him.

“Oh” Echo breathed, back straightening at your answer and blinking a couple of times in surprise. He obviously wasn’t expecting that answer off his cyare.

“It makes me feel warm inside, like I’m safe and protected. But also… I don’t know, you make me want to drop to my knees in front of you so that I can be your good girl. Makes me want you to read one of my racy holobooks just to hear what the love interest could sound like in those moments” you admitted, biting your lip and looking away from him. Heat raced across your face, feeling like it was blistering your cheeks at how embarrassed you felt from your words. He would probably just politely say that he was flattered but it wasn’t something he was also interested in doing with you.

“Is that right, cyare? Maybe you’ll have to pick me one of your favourites, I’m sure I could get into them” he murmured, running his thumb against the arch of your foot, pressing slightly to ease the pressure there.

“Don’t tease me!” you pouted, covering your face with your hands at his words.

“I’m not cyare, I just didn’t realise that you liked my voice so much” he soothed, hoping to ease some of your embarrassment and worry. Carefully, he placed your foot on the floor, leaving the cool metal to spread a shiver up your body at the sudden temperature. “But maybe I should have guessed, you’re always get this glazed look in your eyes when I’m talking to you. Reminds me when we’re alone in my bunk, and you’re trying to keep quiet while we have some fun” he stated, leaning closer towards you, elbow on his knees.

“Echo!” you hissed, glancing to the comms in front of him in case the others were hearing your conversation. Thankfully, it was all turned off from your end. You didn’t think your skin could run any hotter until you heard his words, your cheeks colouring even more.

“On your knees, mesh’la. If you’re feeling bored, might as well give you something to entertain yourself with” he ordered, and you felt your panties dampen even further. Getting up from the co-pilot seat, you slid in between the control panel and his chair, settling in between his splayed thighs before you knelt before him. Your mouth watered, eager to listen to more of his demands.

Echo’s breath faltered for a moment, just staring down at you between his legs. You were gorgeous! He had never thought he’d ever get to experience the love and devotion you showed him, especially not after Skako Minor. He didn’t feel deserving of you, not looking like he did, not with half of him being more machine than man. But you didn’t think that. You loved him, every part of him, both metal and flesh. And you always would gently chide and rebuke him whenever he talked badly about himself, instead praising him and kissing him until he forgot all about the fear and hate he carried with him.

“Echo?” you frowned, recognising that his mind had gone elsewhere, and not a good place. Resting your hand on his, fingers twisted together you guided him back to the present moment. “Everything okay?” you asked worriedly.

The ARC trooper smiled softly, squeezing your fingers in his hand and nodded. “Just thinking about how perfect you are, cyare” he assured, scomp brushing a few strands of hair away from your face.

You turned and pressed a chaste kiss to his scomp before smiling up at him. His thighs tensed around you and his eyes fluttered shut for a moment. “I think you promised to entertain me, Corporal” you reminded him, dragging your hands down his thighs under his kama.

“That’s right, I did” he chuckled warmly, hands coming up to deftly unclip the codpiece and dropping it to the side with a small clang. Groaning at the relief of pressure, he deftly unfastened the compression suit underneath and freed his cock. It was already half hard, your words from earlier enough to chub him up. He reached down and gave himself a few pumps as you looked up at him, mouth watering at the thought of having him in your mouth. Of tasting him on your tongue.

“God, look at how eager you are. Bet if I felt you down there, you’d be soaked through” he rumbled, voice deep and rough as arousal thickened his words. Your thighs clench together, proving just how right he was. “Open up, mesh’la” he ordered, running his thumb across your bottom lip before dragging it open even more.

You helped guide him in, hands wrapping around the bottom of his shaft to keep him steady. However instead of pushing in all the way just like you expected him to. He keeps your mouth open, drool beginning to collect in the corners and leak down your chin. His cock was a warm, heavy weight against your tongue, and you couldn’t help but rub it briefly around his crown.

Echo let out a loud groan of your name, eyes sliding shut at the warm, wet feeling of your mouth surrounding him. It was enough to have him force his scomp arm to rest on the arm of the chair, not wanting to hurt you by trying to pull you closer or use too much force on your neck.

“Kriff cyare, you look gorgeous like this. Just keeping my cock in your mouth, those beautiful eyes focused on me. Such a good girl” he moaned, hand coming up to rest on the back of your head. When you tapped the metal plates of his thigh – your signal for him to carry on – he groaned and began sliding his length further into your open mouth, careful to not go too fast. Not yet anyway.

When the tip of his cock reached the back of your throat, you took a deep steadying breath in through your nose, feeling him weighing heavily in your mouth. Running your tongue along the underside of his cock, you tried to take him even further, wanting to gag on him. However, the hand on the back of your neck suddenly reached to tangle into your hair and pulled you away slightly. You whined around his length, looking up into his lust filled eyes with your own.

“Force, your mouth, cyare. So eager to be filled with my cock, is that it? Couldn’t focus on our mission because you were so desperate to get filled by my cock” he groaned, unable to look away as your eyes watered from holding him in your mouth.

You could feel heat pool and slick leak out of your cunt, drenching your panties in your juices at his words and actions. Just the feel of his length against your tongue and his pre-cum dropping onto you had your hips rocking forward, wishing you could reach down and offer yourself some relief. But you knew that if Echo caught you, he wouldn’t be happy. No, he wanted you to remember that you shouldn’t be trying to distract him while you were both supposed to be working.

“Sucking my cock really gets you off, huh? Go on love, I can see how much you need it.”

Blinking in surprise, you felt Echo’s leg move in between your spread thighs, offering his boot up to you. Was he serious? Did he want you to hump his leg while you sucked his cock? The thought did send heat shooting down your spine at the thought, but it would highlight just how much you were needy for him, and for some friction against your tingly clit. Seeing his encouraging nod, you settled yourself against his boot before finally rolling your hip, searching for pleasure.

After the first roll of your hips against the hard, shiny plastoid of his boots, you couldn’t restrain the moan that escaped your mouth, muffled by Echo’s cock. It had you reaching out to his calves, holding them as sparks of your arousal flittered to your core, tightening the knot of arousal even further. Echo, just moaned your name, feeling the vibration echo around his length as he pulled back before sliding back in swiftly.

“I remember my vods being desperate for you to look at them. If they could see you now, drooling on my cock, begging for relief as you hump my boot. They’d be so excited to see what a slut you are, but only for me. Right cyare? Only I can make you feel like this” he murmured, hips rolling against your face. You tried to get out a ‘yes Echo’ but it all came out in a garbled mess around his cock. “Oh, that’s it! My perfect girl” Echo moaned, feeling the vibration around his length.

The sounds he was letting out was almost too much and you ground heavily against his boot, eager for something to relieve the pressure that was building in your cunt. If he continued fucking your face, and you the rolling of your hips against the slight arch of his boot, then it wouldn’t be long before you both cummed from this alone.

The gurgles and spluttering noises as he pushed into your throat had you clenching around nothing, and you reached a hand up to hold his scomp, wanting to be touching him more, even with his cock forcing itself down your throat.

“Fuck! Stop, stop mesh’la!” he cursed, pulling out and holding your head away from him. Your ARC trooper panted heavily, breath coming out in short sharp jabs as he held you away from his sensitive length. You grumbled, wanting to taste more of his salty, unique taste. “I don’t want to cum down your throat” he murmured, shaking his head.

After a few seconds of you both calming yourselves down and taking in a few deep breaths; Echo reached under your arms and pulled you up to your feet. You let out a little squeal in surprise before he was up on his feet too, turning you both around until he was guiding you to sit in the chair he had just been occupying.

“There we go cyare. Need to open you up before I take you” he said, a smirk playing on his lips as you nodded your consent. God you wanted him to curl his long fingers inside of you and prepare you for him.

Echo gripped your hips, tugging you down until your ass was near the edge of the seat. Hooking his fingers into your leggings and panties, he dragged them over your ass and down your thighs, throwing them somewhere behind him. He helped pull your legs up as well, landing a kiss on each knee and grazing his teeth along them before looking at you, love, awe and lust all rolled into his beautiful whiskey coloured eyes.

“Spread your legs, mesh’la. That’s it… wider… wider mesh’la” he breathed, biting his lip as you hooked your legs up on the arm rests. He sunk to his knees on the floor in between then, his warm breath caressing your sensitive mound.

However, he didn’t touch you, much to your building frustration, preferring to look at you and take in your musky, heated scent and the clenching of your entrance as you were spread out for him. Like a beautiful feast he couldn’t wait to enjoy.

“Fuck, Echo please!” you whined, voice coming out more breathlessly than you hoped. Closing your eyes, you clenched your hands around your thighs. Both as to keep them spread for him, and because you needed at least a brief touch to remind yourself that you weren’t going crazy, waiting for him to touch you, to just do something.

“You’re gorgeous. Such a needy, little thing for me, aren’t you? I haven’t touched you yet and you’re already begging for me” Echo groaned, not taking his eyes away from your dripping slit. He wanted to run his fingers through your soaking wet folds, spread your lips and drink your juices straight from the source. The sounds you were letting out was making his hard as durasteel cock even harder, as you tried to encourage him to move.

Noticing the rolling of your hips upwards towards his face, he chuckled, gathered your slick on two of his fingers before pushing them into your quivering entrance.

The sound you let out at finally being filled and not teased was music to Echo’s ears. Your hot, tight walls pulsed around him, eager to pull his fingers even deeper into your core. He could feel just how wet you were, already leaking into the palm of his hand as he withdrew them before thrusting them back in, curling slightly to search for that sweet spot.

When he had it, you reached down to grip onto his pauldron, fingers curled tight around the smooth plastoid as you let out a cry of his name. Although you loved his voice, he was just as good with his hand and he could pull orgasm after orgasm from you with little more than his fingers.

“That’s it, mesh’la, you feel fucking fantastic surrounding my fingers, it feels like you never want to let them go. I’d be a happy man if I could stay here between your legs for the rest of my life” he growled, before nipping and sucking at the inside of your thigh to leave a mark.

Wasting no time, he pressed his scomp against your clit, activating a gentle vibration that had you clenching even tighter around him, hands coming up to the back of his head to push him closer to the apex of your thighs.

“FUCK! ECHO!” you cried out, body tightening as he used his scomp to push you over the edge, still keeping up his delicious thrust of his fingers inside of you.

“That’s it mesh’la, doing so good” he moaned, pressing his lips to your slit and catching your release on his tongue, swirling against your entrance to catch as much as possible. “Taste so good, mesh’la, can’t get enough of you” he grunted, his words pressed right into your folds, the gentle vibration combining with his scomp to keep you riding your high longer than you normally would.

When he pulled away, you practically sagged into the seat, completely boneless after Echo had knocked every thought out of your head apart from his name. He rubbed soothing circles on your thigh, pressing gentle kisses along your smooth and soft skin as he waited for you to catch your breath.

“You okay?” he checked in, noticing the small smile on your face that was aimed at him.

“Yeah… yeah ‘m feeling good” you murmured, trailing your fingers along his handsome face and down his neck. He closed his eyes, shivering slightly at the tender caress.

“Think you can go for more?” he asked, biting his lip.

“Kriff yes! Want to hear how you’re going to fuck me, trooper” you grinned, sending him a wink.

Echo smirked, eyes blazing with heat and want as he pinched your hip, enjoying the little squeal of surprise and happiness that you let out. “It’s Corporal to you! And why tell you when I can show you instead?” he grinned, pulling you up with a firm grip and spinning you around so that your back was pressed against his chest.

You shivered as the coolness of his armour was held to you, the temperature always a bit cooler than normal on the Marauder since your escape from the Empire. After all, you had to save fuel as much as possible, meaning the heating was the first thing to be sacrificed. He rubbed his hand up and down your arm before pressing a number of kisses to the back of your neck, sucking marks along the way as he dragged your shirt up with his scomp.

“Going to bend you over this chair and fuck you, mesh’la. Right where my brothers and I sit. Every time I’ll sit here I’ll remember this. How eager you were for me to fill your needy hole up. Every time I’ll send a comm or answer one, I’ll think about how much you love my voice. How wet it makes you” he murmured, fingers coming to brush against your folds.

You whimpered, his words sinking in as you realised just how open you were in the cockpit. Anybody could look up and see you through the visor at the front of the ship. Hell, Hunter would know exactly what you’ve been doing in here just as soon as he stepped on the ship, maybe before. The thought that this chair, this room would forever be remembered because you couldn’t help but feel turned on by Echo’s voice and the way he lectured you. It had you sinking over the chair, hands on the arm rest as your head hung between your shoulders.

“Oh, do you like that thought, mesh’la? That I won’t ever be able to forget what we’re doing whenever I’m in here. Going to get me hard just as soon as I walk in here” he chuckled, sliding his hand and scomp to your waist to pull your ass closer into his hips. He moaned at the feel of your ass cheeks brushing against his straining erection. “Ready?” he asked, thumb rubbing circles on your hip.

“Please Echo!” you groaned, gritting your teeth and pushing back into him even more.

“Alright, alright” he chuckled, notching the head of his cock at your entrance. With a final nod of consent from you, he slid home into your tight cunt. Your combined visceral moans echoed along the walls of the cockpit as Echo didn’t stop until he was fully inside of you.

You gritted your teeth, the feel of his length inside you was almost too much. It felt like his cock was carving a way into you, moulding your inner walls around him until he fit perfectly into you. Your hands gripped onto the arm rests, eyes fluttering as you became used to the sensation of feeling so filled by him.

“Fuck Echo, you feel so good. Feel amazing baby” you praised, reaching a hand behind you to catch one of his hips, squeezing tightly as you felt his hips quiver at your words and touch.

“How are you this tight? We were together last night” he breathed, shaking his head as he felt you clench and pulse around him. Inside of his head he was reciting the regulation manual of the command structure if there was no Jedi Commander. It wasn’t thrilling but it ensured that he wouldn’t end this sooner than he wanted.

“Come on, please Corporal” you breathed, throwing your hips back.

It had Echo flittering his jaw as he snapped his hips into yours, burying his length into your warmth over and over again until the sounds of both of your soft grunts and moans, and the wet squelching of your cunt was all that could be heard in the cockpit of the Marauder.

He wrapped his metal arm around your waist, pulling you even tighter to him and fucking himself as deep as he could go into you, angling his hips to find that spot that had you seeing stars. When he found it, you growled out, fists clenching and digging into the soft leather of the chair.

“Kriff, you’re so good! Fucking perfect cunt, can feel how much you want me. How much you need this pretty pussy to be filled by me” he growled into your shoulder, eyes closed tight as he focused on fucking you hard and deep into the pilot’s seat.

“Yes, yes, I need you! Please Echo” you cried, throwing your head back and reaching up a hand to cup the back of his neck. The shift in position had his cock pounding into the spongy part of your walls that had ecstasy burning through you. You groaned, tightening around him as much as you could as you felt your release approaching.

“My good girl, my good fucking girl” he grunted, hand sliding from your waist to under your shirt, pinching at your nipple and twisting it. The sharp shooting of pain and pleasure mixed together and you felt yourself gush around him as you was thrown over the edge. Echo gasped out your name, hips stuttering a few more times before he shot his load inside of you, pace faltering as he all but collapsed over you.

“Hmm, Echo, heavy” you complained, feeling the weight of him bearing down on you from your bent position over the chair.

“Sorry, cyare” he breathed, turning you gently both around until he could collapse in his seat, pulling you with him into his lap.

You spent the next few minutes catching your breath and soaking in each other’s affection and tender touches. Both of you didn’t want to move, happy to just be in this moment with your riddur. You ghosted your fingers up and down his arm, smile plastered on your face at how boneless and loved you felt. Echo smiled into your neck from where he was whispering sweet nothings into your ear. Such a contrast to the dirty words he was using with you before.

Echo hummed against your neck, pressing a light kiss to the spot under your ear before pulling away. He caught your chin, guiding your face to meet his own. His eyes danced in amusement and exhaustion as they met yours.

“Well cyare, entertained enough?” he grinned playfully at you.

You snorted in reply, sinking back into him and closing your eyes. “For now” you teased him, feeling a rumble in his chest at your answer.

[robertreich]

Socialism Fear-mongering is Bananas 

Don't get scared. I'm going to talk about something that’s caused a lot of fear mongering.

You see, advanced countries, like the United States, pool resources for the common good. How? Well, governments enact taxes and then spend that money on things that benefit everyone. Think of national defense, schools, highways, healthcare, unemployment insurance — basically government spending that protects the well-being of the people.

But since some folk, like your conservative Uncle Bob, think ANY pooling of resources for the common good is…socialism.

And since socialism is apparently so terrifying…

I'm going to use a different word to describe this taxing of individuals for the common good.  Let’s use.. I don't know.. How about…Banana! That's not scary, right? 

Great. So, there are essentially three purposes for which governments banana.

First, social insurance against the possibilities of misfortune and neediness, such as unemployment, poor health, disability, and so on.

Second, public goods that we all benefit from, such as parks, highways, public health, and national defense.

Third, public investment in our future, such as basic research, education, and efforts to address pollution and the climate crisis.

Whether we’re talking about Sweden, Spain, or Slovenia or the United States — all countries in capitalist economies banana to benefit the common good.

And bananing is how societies grow their economies, become more prosperous, and ensure a better life for their people.

It’s also how countries aid people in hard times — or when emergencies arise, like a global pandemic.

To simply call any government banana’ing “socialism...”  Oops, sorry I used the word.…Well it distorts our ability to think through how we banana and what we banana on.

And, it ignores the fact that the United States bananas LESS than most developed nations.

We’re among the worst when it comes to bananaing to reduce poverty, especially child poverty.

And pandemic aside, we banana less on unemployment insurance than nearly every other country.

Of course these countries generally have higher taxes than the United States to support all their bananing.

But they get more in return — better jobless benefits, better health care outcomes, debt-free education, more support for child care and elder care, and more generous retirement benefits.

And we could banana a lot more without having to raise taxes on middle or low-income Americans if the rich paid their fair share. Unfortunately, the tax code in the U.S. has been rigged so that the rich and powerful often skirt what they owe and get away with lower tax rates than regular people.

And the rich have done such a good job convincing people that any increase in banana’ing would be… you know, that S word ... that we just accept things as they are.

The only banana’ing they don’t seem to mind is on the military, where we banana more than the countries with the next 10 biggest militaries combined. That’s bananas!

All of this is a major reason why America has such staggering levels of inequality and poverty.

Whether bananing is “socialism” or not is a useless argument. Every country bananas. Capitalism requires banana’ing to ensure a degree of fairness and stability.  

So the next time your Uncle Bob decries any pooling of private resources for the common good — or bananaing — as “socialism”... share this video with him.  

And give him a banana.

[theolivebranchreview]

My Love Letter to 2000s Network Television

by @arianna_mitchell

As I sit in my cramped apartment, surrounded by the unbridled chaos of unpaid bills, constantly checking my phone to see if “Julia,” the latest messy situation I’ve gotten myself into, has answered any of my embarrassingly numerous consecutive texts, I find myself yearning for an escape. But rather than confront these absolutely terrifying facts of life head-on, I’ve discovered a foolproof method of avoidance: rewatching my favorite early 2000s TV shows.

In times of stress and uncertainty (how badly would you beat me up if I still called these times “unprecedented”?), there’s something incredibly therapeutic about immersing yourself in the familiar comfort of old TV shows. It’s like slipping into your favorite worn-out sweatshirt that you stole from your ex whose last name you’re not actually sure you remember and feeling instantly at ease. These shows, with their dated fashion trends, now-vintage pop culture references, and occasional sprinkles of racism and misogyny that makes your skill crawl, provide a much-needed escape from the pressures of modern life.

But it’s not just about escapism. Rewatching these early 2000s gems is a form of self-care, a way to reconnect with a simpler time and a more carefree version of ourselves. And dude, if you do it right, it’s so much cheaper than therapy. I mean still go to therapy. But if you play your cards right, you can watch damn near 10,000 hours of television for nearly nothing. I’m still using my roommate’s Disney+ account and I haven’t lived with them for almost two years. But it’s okay because they’re on my Hulu (well actually my parents’ Hulu but you get the idea). As we follow the trials and tribulations of our favorite characters, we find solace in their struggles and triumphs. We’re reminded that, no matter how overwhelming life may seem, we’ve overcome challenges before and will continue to do so.

In a world that often feels chaotic and unpredictable, these shows offer a sense of stability and familiarity. We know every plot twist, every punchline, and every heartfelt moment. I am so tried of surprises, you have no idea. Well of course you do. You’re a human being living in this god awful year 202_. There’s a certain comfort in that predictability, in knowing that, no matter what happens in our own lives, these characters will always be there, frozen in time, ready to welcome us back with open arms. Sure, sometimes they might be poorly written, poorly filmed, and poorly acted, but I’ll be damned if they aren’t the one constant in my life. And let’s be real, sometimes it’s just nice to watch gorgeous people whose lives are even more of a shit show than your own. Sure, I may be drowning in student loan debt that I haven’t paid in seven months (seriously…is the government going to say anything about that or am I like…good?) and questioning every life choice I’ve ever made, but at least I’m not Marissa Cooper, who seems to attract drama like shit attracts paperclips, or whatever the expression is.

So, as I navigate the stresses of being an actual independent human being out in the world– the impending sense of doom that comes with each new political headline that I try to ignore, the constant pressure from every single direction to have it all figured out, and the nagging feeling that everyone else is more successful than me (seriously, do you guys have like 40 hours in the day, what the hell is going on?) – I find solace in the healing power of nostalgia television. And with that, I press play on another episode of Gilmore Girls, ready to lose myself in the fast-talking, coffee-fueled world of Stars Hollow. Because sometimes, the best therapy is the kind that comes with a side of pop culture references and a heaping dose of early 2000s fashion. And did I mention it’s free? (If you steal it)

So here are some recommendations if you’re unsure of what to (re)watch.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Slaying My Real-Life Demons

When the weight of the navigating the post(?)-pandemic dating scene gets to be too much (and let’s be real, it was pretty terrible long before the world broke), I turn to the ultimate demon-slaying hero, Buffy Summers. As I watch her navigate the perils of high school cliques, teenage romance, and the occasional apocalypse, my own problems seem to fade into the background. Sure, I may be casually drowning in capitalist sludge but at least I’m not tasked with saving the world from literal demons and vampires. And can you believe she did it while wearing low-rise jeans? I swear to God if those actually make a comeback, you will be hearing from the lawyer that I definitely have.

There’s something oddly comforting about watching Buffy and her friends face the end of the world on a weekly basis. It puts things into perspective, you know? Like, sure, I may have paid my rent late four months in a row. It’s not because I didn’t have the money, I literally just forgot. Sorry, Jeff, I just don’t think about you that way. But hey, at least I’m not having to sacrifice my love life for the greater good of humanity. And yeah, I went on three tinder dates this month just because I didn’t feel like cooking and wanted a free meal (but I didn’t sleep with them so it’s not sex work and even if it was, there’s not a damn thing wrong with that, you fascist), but at least I’m not having to balance homework with slaying vampires and preventing the apocalypse.

Buffy’s world may be filled with darkness and danger, but there’s a certain comfort in knowing that no matter how bleak things seem, she and her friends will always find a way to save the day. And if Buffy can do it while rocking some seriously questionable ’90s fashion choices (my lawyer is on standby, kids), then surely I can find a way to navigate the challenges of adulthood without completely losing my mind (though I make no promises when it comes to the questionable fashion choices).

Gilmore Girls: A Caffeinated Escape

Picture this: it’s 2 AM, and I’m elbow-deep in a pint of over-priced, freezer burnt Ben & Jerry’s that I bought from the bodega, scrutinizing how I managed to screw up yet another potential relationship. Enter Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, the fast-talking, coffee-chugging duo who make even the most stressful situations seem manageable with their quick wit and obscure references. They are not perfect, they are not always helpful, they are definitely not real, but they are always there to talk me through a difficult situation. As I watch them navigate the ups and downs of life in Stars Hollow, I can’t help but feel a sense of comfort wash over me. Sure, my problems may not involve a love triangle with a diner owner and a coffee shop entrepreneur, but the Gilmores remind me that no matter how much life (or love) throws at you, there’s always room for a good laugh and a cup (or seven) of coffee.

Screw it. Speaking of love, let’s talk about my latest romantic endeavor, shall we? Enter “Julia,” the girl who I’ve been texting on and off for the past three weeks, analyzing every emoji and exclamation point like it’s the goddamn Da Vinci Code. I know, I know, I’m bordering on being about as clingy as Kirk when he’s trying to win over Lulu, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for a girl with big brown eyes who laughs at my jokes and shares my love of obscure ’90s bands (even if she thinks Hootie and the Blowfish is obscure, bless her heart).

But here’s the thing: watching Lorelai and Rory navigate their own romantic ups and downs reminds me that I’m not alone in my struggles. Lorelai may have a thing for emotionally unavailable men (looking at you, Christopher), and Rory may have a habit of falling for guys who are all wrong for her (ahem, Logan), but they never let their relationship drama define them (looking at you, girl avoiding eye contact in the mirror). They pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and move on to the next adventure, whether it’s opening a new inn or running for student body president.

So, when I find myself obsessing over whether or not to double-triple-quadruple-text Julia (because apparently, I’ve regressed to my teenage self), I channel my inner Lorelai and remind myself that there’s more to life than waiting for a text back. I’ve got dreams to chase, coffee to drink, and a whole world of pop culture references to explore. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll find my own Luke Danes, a partner who appreciates my quirks and keeps me grounded (and caffeinated). But until then, I’ve got the Gilmore girls to keep me company, and honestly, I couldn’t ask for better role models.

Where’s My Central Perk?

When the daily grind of life starts to wear me down, and I find myself longing for the simpler times of coffee shop hangouts and rent-controlled apartments, I turn to my old friends from Central Perk. Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe have been there for me through thick and thin, offering a much-needed escape from the harsh realities of the modern world.

But as I sit here, alone in my apartment with only my cats as the only real constant in my life, I can’t help but feel a sense of bitterness toward the corporate greed and capitalistic systems that have fostered a generation of lonely, disconnected individuals. The world of Friends, with its tight-knit community and affordable living situations, feels more and more like a distant fantasy with each passing year.

In a society that prioritizes profit over people, the concept of “third spaces” – those beloved hangouts like Central Perk – is becoming increasingly rare. We paved paradise and put up a Santander. Coffee shops and cafes are being replaced by banks, soulless chains, or empty storefronts always promising development, while local bars and restaurants are being priced out by skyrocketing rents. The places where we once gathered to forge connections and build communities are disappearing, leaving us with fewer opportunities to connect with others.

And let’s not forget the ever-increasing cost of living, which has created a generation of transient twenty-somethings, constantly on the move in search of affordable housing and stable job opportunities. How are we supposed to build lasting friendships when we’re always saying goodbye? Frankly, I’ve just stopped trying.

It’s no wonder that so many of us turn to TV shows like Friends for comfort and escapism. In a world where genuine human connection feels increasingly out of reach, we seek solace in the familiar faces and laugh tracks of our favorite sitcoms. We long for the kind of deep, meaningful friendships that the show depicts, even as we recognize how unrealistic they may be.

But here’s the thing: we can’t let the pursuit of profit continue to erode the very things that make us human. We need to fight back against the systems that prioritize money over people, and work to create a world where genuine connection and community are valued above all else.

Maybe that means supporting local businesses and fighting for affordable housing. Maybe it means creating our own “third spaces,” even if they look different from the ones we see on TV. Or maybe it just means reaching out to the people in our lives, and reminding them that they matter to us, no matter how far apart we may be.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what Friends is really about: the power of human connection, and the way it can help us weather even the toughest of times. And in a world that seems hellbent on keeping us apart, that message feels more important than ever.

So here I am, a single woman sitting alone in her apartment, watching TV with her cats. But I know that I’m not really alone, because I have the love and support of the people who matter most to me. I have my friends from college, I have my friends online, I have this little column that I contribute to whenever I feel like so I can at least feel like an old man yelling at a cloud. And that’s something that no amount of corporate greed or capitalistic bullshit can ever take away.

Conclusion

As I sit here, surrounded by the comforting glow of my laptop screen, I can’t help but feel a sense of gratitude for the early 2000s TV shows that have been my constant companions through the ups and downs of adulthood. In a world that often feels cold, unforgiving, and increasingly isolated, these nostalgic gems have provided me with a much-needed escape and a reminder of the power of human connection.

From the demon-slaying heroics of Buffy to the quick-witted banter of the Gilmore Girls, these shows have taught me valuable lessons about perseverance, friendship, and the importance of chasing your dreams. They’ve been there for me through breakups, job losses, and countless other challenges, offering a comforting sense of familiarity and a reminder that I’m not alone in my struggles.

But more than that, these shows have served as a catalyst for self-reflection and growth. They’ve inspired me to be braver, kinder, and more authentic in my own life, even when the world around me seems to be crumbling. They’ve reminded me that it’s okay to make mistakes, to be vulnerable, and to lean on the people who matter most.

So, to all the early 2000s TV shows that have been my rock through the turbulent waters of adulthood, I say thank you. Thank you for the laughter, the tears, and the countless hours of comfort and companionship. Thank you for reminding me that, no matter how bleak things may seem, there’s always hope to be found in the power of storytelling and human connection.

And to all my fellow twenty-somethings out there, navigating the challenges of adulthood in an increasingly uncertain world, I say this: keep holding on to the things that bring you joy, the things that remind you of who you are and what you stand for. Whether it’s a beloved TV show, a cherished friendship, or a secret dream that keeps you going, hold onto it with all your might. Because in the end, it’s those things – the things that make us feel seen, heard, and understood – that will carry us through even the darkest of times.

So go ahead, press play on that next episode of Buffy or Gilmore Girls. Let yourself get lost in the familiar comfort of Stars Hollow or Sunnydale. And remember, no matter how lost or alone you may feel, you’ve got a whole gang of early 2000s TV friends waiting to welcome you back with open arms (and maybe even a few outdated pop culture references). Trust me, it’s the best therapy money can’t buy.

[notwiselybuttoowell]

The Natural History Museum in London has announced a major programme of transformation it says will mark “a step-change from being a catalogue of natural history to a catalyst for change” in response to the climate emergency.

The scheme to renovate the museum’s celebrated Victorian building and develop a new research and storage facility will build on its aim to turn visitors into “advocates for the planet"

Four existing galleries will be overhauled, including its enormously popular dinosaur gallery, while the museum plans to reopen two long-closed exhibition spaces, one of which, the Old General Herbarium, has not been accessible to the public since 1948.

One of them will house a new permanent exhibition that the museum’s director, Doug Gurr, said would include the most explicit climate messaging it had ever offered. The exhibition, Fixing Our Broken Planet, will have the express aim of “nudging” visitors to change their behaviour, he said.

The new exhibition spaces will be freed up by the creation of a purpose-built storage, research and digitisation centre at Thames Valley Science Park near Reading, to which more than a third of the museum’s enormous natural history collection will be moved from its “unsuitable, unsustainable” current home.

The museum said this was “so we can take better care of it and more easily share its data with scientists all over the world who are finding solutions to problems like climate change, biodiversity loss and food security.”

Until recently, Gurr told the Guardian, the museum had seen itself as a “passive observer … our job was to collect, to conserve, to research, to display”.

“[Then] we stepped back a bit and said: ‘Well, hang on, if your subject matter is planet Earth and it’s under that much threat, you’ve got to do something about it. If you want the sporting analogy: how do you get off the sidelines and get on the pitch?”

In 2020 the museum declared a planetary emergency, and Gurr said the redevelopment was part of its continuing response. “The best contribution we can make is to create what we call ‘advocates for the planet’. And what that really means is: how do you inspire people at scale to care about nature and to care enough to want to do something about it?

“Of course, we still want people to have a brilliant, fun family day out. But if you can come out of that being a little bit more interested in nature and a little bit more aware of some of the challenges, you’re a bit more likely to want to do something about it.”

The overhaul of the South Kensington site is due to be completed in time for the museum’s 150th anniversary in 2031. The bulk of the funding will come from the government, which has already committed more than £200m to the new collections and research centre, while a further £155m will fund a museum-led programme to digitise natural science collections in the UK. In addition, the museum announced plans to raise £150m from philanthropic and commercial sponsors.

Gurr said the museum was happy to “talk to everybody” about potential sources of sponsorship but would not accept donations from firms it saw as unacceptable partners based on their climate record. “We are very, very clear that when we talk to [a potential sponsor], we’re going to look at the actual behaviour versus the statements,” he said.

Gurr said the museum had turned down “significant” sums in the past “where we just felt it wouldn’t be appropriate to accept at this point, because we’re acutely aware that you can’t go around asking people to change behaviour and save the planet if you’re then hypocritical in some of the gifts you accept”.

He would not be drawn on the position taken by other institutions such as the Science Museum and the British Museum, both of which have highly controversial funding relationships with energy firms, but he said: “It is factual that we have not accepted any funding from fossil fuel companies.”

The museum recently redeveloped its outdoor space into two new gardens focusing on evolution and biodiversity, and Gurr said it hoped to expand its education programme, encouraging schools to exploit their own outdoor space and enhance their climate and nature teaching.

[breakerwhiskey]

151 - ONE HUNDRED FIFTY ONE

Please visit breakerwhiskey.com for more information or to send a message to Whiskey's radio. Breaker Whiskey is an Atypical Artists production created by Lauren Shippen. If you'd like to support the show, please visit patreon.com/breakerwhiskey.

Transcript under the cut. For more episodes, click here.

[click, static] [a cacophony of beeps] [click]

Okay, okay, I get it, just stop. 

[click, static, beeps]

(sighing) This isn’t—this isn’t helpful. Maybe you can’t hear what I’m hearing, but two messages are coming in at once and as a result, I can’t hear a goddamn thing. A fox yapping and a bird chirping at the same time and I’m the fool trying to make sense of both of them. 

If you truly care for me to understand what you’re trying to tell me, then you can figure something else out, something that’s not…this. Meanwhile, I’m going to be doing my own goddamn investigating. 

I’m going to figure out how Leann lived. Surviving on your own, especially all the way up here, out here, and especially at her age…its no easy feat. Maybe she really was just proficient in survival because of her job, maybe that was enough, or maybe she wasn’t totally alone the whole time. Maybe the husband in the photos…maybe he was with her and died years ago. Maybe her daughters are still out there and have been gone from home for one reason or another. Maybe she had people to help her, people to rely on, people to…goddamn pass the time with. 

If she did, I’m going to find them. Even they are—even if they did eventually…

It matters that she’s dead. Of course it matters. I really, really wish that she wasn’t. But, dead or alive, she’s here. And that’s what matters. She’s existed in this strange after-world, right alongside Harry and I, without any of us realizing it. And as far as I can tell, the three of us have nothing in common beyond being women who are decently self-sufficient. Leann was born here, in North Dakota, and doesn’t seem to have traveled more than a few hundred miles from this general area her entire life. I don’t have an exhaustive list of every place that Harry has ever visited, but I’m pretty sure she’s never been out this way. So none of us crossed paths. 

Harry and I were criminals, and Leann worked for the government…but for the Bureau of Land Management. That’s hardly—I mean, it’s not the FBI, it isn’t like our paths would’ve crossed once Harry and I got arrested. And maybe it’s not important that we would’ve crossed paths or not, maybe it’s…maybe it’s some kind of weird gene we all share or something, something intrinsic in each of us that’s caused us to survive when everyone else…

What, evaporated? Leann’s body is the first that I’ve seen. If we were all immune to something, we’d see everybody who wasn’t. 

I have…I have no theories. After the thing with the tornado siren, I started to think again that maybe…maybe it’s not that everyone else is gone, maybe it’s that we’re somewhere else. That maybe that dark feeling I have sometimes about this being purgatory or hell is right. It’s what I deserve, and for years I didn’t understand what Harry would’ve done to earn the same punishment but then she—

[click, static]

I don’t know what Leann could have possibly done to land herself here.  And if it is some sort of cosmic punishment, well…where the fuck is everyone else? There are things that I’ve done that I’m not proud of, that I carry a hell of a lot of guilt and shame about actually, but I know there are worse people than me. Is this a perfectly calibrated hell for people who have done something bad but not that bad? Maybe Leann was a shitty mom, or was stealing money from her job, or…who knows. But if she had done something like that, then her and Harry being in the same place…sure, I can see that. 

But I don’t belong with them. What I did was so much worse, objectively.  I know that. I don’t pretend like it was right or noble or anything like that. Necessary, maybe,  or at least I thought so at the time—

[click, static]

I just don’t get it. I don’t understand how we’re connected. And maybe I’m looking for a connection where I’ll never find one, maybe it’s just weird fucking coincidence but that doesn’t feel…right. If only three of us made it past 1968, there must be a reason. 

[click, static]

[viktorclawthorne]

Why I think the Garp, Koby, and Helmeppo side plot in opla is great - a silly little essay

This includes One Piece Live Action spoilers as well as a bit of Marineford

B4 we start: this is all just my opinion and thoughts I had while watching the live action.

I might've gotten some stuff wrong, or you may disagree with me. Also, English isn't my first language

I'm not expecting anyone to actually see this, I just need to write it down

Firstly, I find the choice of including Koby and Garp more early on very interesting, they did a great job showcasing the corruption within the Marines and also how toxic and even abusive Garp is (Helmeppo literally says so).

Koby is the first character we see be friends with Luffy, making us like and empathize with him. They go separate ways and after that, they parallel each other in many ways; Koby has a very strong sense of justice, just like Luffy, He wants to protect people, which Luffy is shown to do a lot. Other than Koby however, Luffy prioritizes his freedom, while Koby joins the Marines because he believes he can protect people that way.

They tell each other to “Be a good Pirate” and “Be a good Marine”, With their similarities Koby serves as a great tool to show throughout the season how corrupt the marines are, especially compared to the freedom of pirates like Luffy.

We meet Mihawk in the context of him getting a call from Garp, immediately showing the connection between Marines and Pirates. When this gets explained to Koby - and therefore also the viewer - he first realizes how corrupt the system of the Marines is. Helmeppo explains: “Warlords exist, so the marines don't have to do the dirty work”.

In Shells Town we’re led to believe that Helmeppo is “stupid and bad” and Koby is “smart and good” but later on we learn that Helmeppo was aware of how the marines work from the start and therefore wasn't enthusiastic about joining, his rank, or his duties like Koby was. When Koby finally learns the truth, he considers quitting, showing how far from his ideal of protecting citizens the navy is.

Garp literally says himself that as a marine, you operate in a cruel and unfair system and have to compromise your morals and ideals (which is why all marines are inherently immoral). He also states he could have been fleet admiral (aka highest-ranking marine) but turned it down bc he would “have to do it their way” and it would “take away his freedom” which shows his similarities to Luffy and Dragon. It is also bullshit bc he HAS to mostly do it their way, all Marines serve the world government / celestial dragons and not the people, which therefore means you cannot be free within the Marines.

In the Liveaction we see Garp let Luffy go, which is his idea of “doing things his way”, he seems to think by declining to be fleet admiral he keeps at least some degree of his autonomy; however, I personally think he is being ignorant, wanting to ignore how functioning in a corrupt system can never be moral, and you inherently lose your freedom.

Garp still believes the marines are necessary “to protect order” so he can't completely disagree with the system, clearly setting him apart from pirates like Luffy or Roger and the revolutionary army (who of course exist in contrast to the marines, showing and, well, rebelling against their cruelty).

Zeff points out the similarities between Luffy and Roger to Garp, who then mentions how Roger died, implying he’s just trying to protect Luffy. Garp seems to have a twisted view on protection; since he believes it is wrong as well as dangerous to be a pirate he physically abused Luffy from a young age, trying to stomp out his dream and make him follow in Garp's footsteps (same goes for Ace and somewhat Sabo of course).

This is also shown by how he acts in Marineford where he first tries to stop Luffy but then lets him through, isn't able to kill Ace, and has to be held back in order to not attack Akainu. Deep down, he seems to really care for those whom he considers Family, which clashes with his belief that Pirates are inherently immoral / bad.

I do believe his pursuit of Luffy throughout OPLA wasn't just him testing Luffy, as he states at the end. Garp gets really mad when he finds out Luffy has become a pirate, and still really wants to make him into a marine. The scene with Zeff would've also not been necessary, I think Garp really intends to protect Luffy (like Ace).

When he sees Luffy’s determination, however, he accepts that he can’t change him, showing that Luffy's strong will is more important to Garp than protecting him. This is also supported by the events in Marineford when Garp lets Luffy pass after seeing his resolve.

The moment Koby decides to stay in the Marines, he accepts that he’ll have to compromise his dream and agree to give up his original morals to some degree.

However, he’s still very similar to Luffy, and at this point also mirrors the “good” sides of Garp. He questions if they should really go after Luffy and stands up for his own beliefs when he gets the order to arrest the strawhats.

This way Koby (as well as Helmeppo, who does the same) showcases the corruption and unfairness of the marines because not like him the other marines present follow the irrational orders of their superior blindly.

Garp states at the end of OPLA that following orders doesn't make you a good marine, following your code does. He congratulates Koby and Helmeppo for standing up for what they believe is right, even when their orders said the contrary.

Concluding it’s safe to say that Garp, Koby, and even Helmeppo all show similarities to Luffy, they have strong beliefs, disagree with the way the marines are run and even go against their orders because of this. Showing these three as the side plot in OPLA drives the point Home how corrupt, immoral, and unfair the Marines are, and with the context of the world government and Celestial dragons, this gets even more weight.

[chronicallybloodless]

Heavy to Hold - Chapter 11

Pressure

Pairing: Astarion x enby!tav Status: in progress Rating: Explicit (18+ only) Genre: angst/comfort | slow burn Alternating second-person POV Contains spoilers for the whole game basically TW: it's an astarion fic: descriptions of trauma, abuse, sexual violence, etc. | smut | full tag list on AO3 Read from the beginning: AO3 | Tumblr Listen to the Playlist

Shadowheart was naturally suspicious, and you worried that if she pressed too much you would inadvertently reveal Astarion’s secret. You had already taken to humming tunes to yourself anytime you were around your companions, just in case their tadpoles got a little too curious. A Sharran inquisition would be more than enough to break you.

Read on AO3

Read on Tumblr ↓

Tav's POV

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

You froze in your tracks. You thought the others had all bedded down for the night, providing you an opportunity to sneak out for your nightly engagement with Astarion. But apparently Shadowheart wasn’t as asleep as she had looked.

“Oh uh….just going to stretch my legs a bit before bed, nothing major.” You turned to face her. She was staring at you with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. She knew you were up to something.

“Really? And the fact that Astarion headed out on his walk a few minutes ago is purely coincidence?”

Shit.

“Yep, totally.”

She sighed as she rose from her bed, gesturing for you to keep walking. The two of you perched on some boxes overlooking the river. The sound of the quiet waves was in stark contrast to your rapid pulse. Shadowheart was naturally suspicious, and you worried that if she pressed too much you would inadvertently reveal Astarion’s secret. You had already taken to humming tunes to yourself anytime you were around your companions, just in case their tadpoles got a little too curious. A Sharran inquisition would be more than enough to break you.

“So….is it good?”

“Is what good?”

“Tav, you’ve been sneaking out with him every night for over a week. Clearly you must be doing something that you’re enjoying.”

“Honestly, we’re mostly just talking.”

“Mostly?”

“Well….” You took a deep breath in. There was no way she was ever going to buy that there wasn’t something else going on. “It’s just…..the nights are long out here, and the rest of you need so much more sleep than we do, so….”

“So you decided to screw the least trustworthy member of the group?” She frowned.

“And here I thought Lae’zel was your least favorite.”

“Lae’zel is consistent.” The look on her face was serious—she was genuinely worried about you. “Astarion…..I don’t know. There’s something he isn’t telling us. Think about it, shouldn’t we have heard something about his work as a magistrate if he is who he says he is?”

You of course knew that when he said that he was a magistrate in Baldur’s Gate, he really did mean that in the past tense. He hadn’t been involved in the city’s governance in two centuries, not since he was turned.

“I don’t know about you, but the goings-on of the city council weren’t top of mind for me.” You waved a hand dismissively.

“Still, there’s more to him, I can feel it.”

“Says the lady of secrets.”

“Which is how I know.”

“What do you expect me to say?”

“I don’t know.” She looked down and began tracing circles in the dirt. “That you’re being careful. That he isn’t using you.”

You trusted Shadowheart a great deal—and she had begun to trust you in turn, revealing details about her worship and her secretive life in the city. Apparently that trust also came with a protectiveness that you hadn’t anticipated. It would be heartwarming if it didn't have the potential to get Astarion killed.

“Shadowheart, I appreciate you trying to look after me, I really do.” She started to say something, but you kept going. “I…I think I’m just enjoying the attention, that’s all.”

You were enjoying it, more than you wanted to admit. The way he hungered for you, in the literal sense, made you feel needed. You told yourself that this was just to keep him safe, just to protect his secret, but the way you felt with him was unlike anything you had ever experienced.

Plenty of people had told you that they needed you in your line of work, but they didn’t look at you like he did. When they looked at you, they saw their fantasies. They saw a Drow, a Lolthite, a brutal Matriarch. They saw a body that could fit the shape from their dreams, turning it into a reality for a few hours at a time.

They weren’t interested in you.

But Astarion was.

At least, that’s what you told yourself. Shadowheart was right, he wasn’t always trustworthy. He lied as naturally as breathing and didn’t care who he hurt in the process. He laid on flirtatious compliments and pet names without batting an eye. From the outside, anyone would think that he was manipulating you. It was a classic tale—a worldly noble takes advantage of an innocent, starry-eyed bard.

But they didn’t hear the sounds he made every night. They didn’t feel his grip tighten as he drank you in, desperate for more. They didn’t know what their names sounded like whispered against their own skin like a prayer.

“Fine.” She stood and started walking back towards camp. “But the second he does something wrong, I’ll castrate him myself.”

“Tav…” He whispered, breaking the silence that had fallen around you. You had been sitting wrapped in his arms for a while following tonight’s feeding.

“Mmm?”

“Is….is everything alright?” He sounded concerned. You weren’t hiding your feelings as well as you had hoped. The doubts that Shadowheart has expressed were weighing on you.

“In general? Absolutely not.” You looked towards your intertwined fingers and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “But it’s okay enough for right now.”

One thought kept echoing through your head.

Can I trust that this is real?

[authorred]

Avengers React 2

Preface: The Sokovia accords are presented to the avengers by Secretary Ross. You, an unknown, enhanced individual, can tip the scale in either favor. Whilst being discussed amongst the Avengers--despite being relatively new to the group--you know better than anyone what 'dangerous' is. So, how will they react when you agree with Tony?

Warning(s): Cursing, mentions of death

Tension was never your strong suit. You've operated alone for the most part, usually in the shadows of cities. You kept your head down to avoid the spotlight--or rather, eyes. Now, you've gotten sucked into the world of the Avengers. At first, you thought it was pretty fun. And then, you turned your head and saw the damage trailing after you. Within that damage are people who are after you. The governments of the world want you to be controlled. To leave a group like you loose is asking for collateral. And so far, the damage is irreparable.

Throughout the switching back and forth between people and opinions, you, much like Tony, stayed to yourself. To the side. You listened to them, of course, but you didn't chime in. When Tony eventually did talk at the prodding of Natasha and Steve, you paid more attention to what he was saying than anyone else. When he turns you to and asks for "the kid's opinion", you gave it candidly.

"Boundaries need to be set. What's the difference between you guys crossing international borders and fucking things up, and other militaries doing the same thing?"

"Militaries aren't equipped to handle the threats that we have. They'd be decimated," Sam says.

"And who were the ones who brought those threats here?" You raise your brows at him. "I don't like the idea of being controlled either, but I don't know if my powers know bounds. I don't think I want to know. A superficial collar is better than becoming an out-of-control maniac who kills more than they save. And right now, y'all are teetering on the edge of it, given your collateral kill count."

“We don’t even know if your powers can be controlled, Y/n,” Steve says gently. “That ‘superficial collar’ won’t apply to you.”

“Perhaps not, but I’m a person of my word. I also have morals and ethics.”

“See, I knew I liked you for a reason, Kid,” Tony said, pointing at you briefly. “She’s right. The kid’s right. Why is this something we’re even debating? We’re boundaryless, we’re limitless: we are no better than the guys we swore to eliminate.”

“So, what? We’re just going to roll over and submit to the government that doesn’t really care about us to begin with? Powers or no powers?” Sam shrugs.

“While I agree we are a danger in their eyes, they’re not wrong with their intentions.” You look at him. “Like Vision said before, there is a causality. I’m not saying everyone in the government, or in government branches, are these benevolent, innocent humans. Ross doesn’t have that a great track record to begin with, but we have to think about the big picture here. Our freedom, or the entire worlds’.”

“So, you’re going the utilitarianism route,” Sam replies. “Sacrifice us for the greater good.”

“Isn’t that what being a ‘hero’ is about? Isn’t that what you all are? ‘Heroes’? Aren’t y’all the by-the-book definition? Well, maybe except Wanda.”

Said woman glances at you but doesn’t say anything.

You shrug. “Either way, no one’s going to be happy. It won’t end well, or prettily. Someone’s getting hurt.” 

“And how exactly do you want us to settle this since you’re apparently all-knowing?” Sam asks. 

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “I wasn’t the one who terrorized an entire country and wiped it off the map essentially.”

“And we take full responsibility for it,” Steve says.

“If that was what you’re truly doing, you’d sign the Accords,” you reply. “At least, to save public image. Because what’s it matter then if everyone distrusts you? If everyone’s worried that they’re going to get crushed by a building or have a car smashed into them, then getting painlessly killed by an alien invasion doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Okay, and regardless of what we do--whether we sign the Accords or not, what’re you going to do?” Sam asks. “What’s your plan? ‘Cause it seems you’re interested in inputting your opinion into a matter that has no effect on you.”

You smirk. “Touche.” You stand from the chair and straighten your shirt out. “If we’re speaking fundamentally, I’m not bound by human laws or borders or orders and issues. Quite frankly, I could kill all of you and not suffer any consequences.”

All of them peer at you, a newfound tension growing between you.

“But like I said before: I have morals and ethics. I was invited here for a reason. I may not be an ‘Avenger’, but I’m not going to allow my opinion to be dismissed.” You smile softly. “My opinion is to sign the Accords, and act in accordance with whatever comes next. Resisting may prove to be more dangerous than submitting.”

James claps. “Boom! There you go.”

The others just sigh.

[wonderingnerd]

Okay, so… let tell you this so all Americans can see the difference: in Brazil we don’t pay for insulin. That Netflix movie on a 20-something yo marrying a militar bc she needed his healthy insurance? Wouldn’t happen in Brazil.

Also, cancer treatments are free. And we have a law that says that once the cancer is detected, the person have to start treatment in 48h max. Breaking Bad? Wouldn’t happen in Brazil.

Other stuff that are free: meds, vaccines, condoms, blood and organ donation, healthy care (yeah, we have universal healthy care, and this includes psychological care too) and universities. But you can ask me, what does universities being free have to do with health? Let me give you an example.

A professor in my university just showed us a project another professor she knows developed and have just hit the news. A glucose test done with a tear. Yeah, that’s right. A way to measure the sugar in your blood by a tear in your eye. [1 unfortunately a paywall article, 2, 3 both in Portuguese if you want to translate]. It took them 7 years to develop this [4] and they think it be available in 2-3 years to people with the cost of R$0.10 for each test (US$1 is currently R$5, so you can see how little it’ll be) [3]. Why were they able to do it? Because the university is free and the government pays for professors and researches because they are too valuable for society on the long term.

I can give you plenty of more and tbh I was going to give one more (a type of second skin made of gosh skin used in public hospitals to treat badly burn skin), but it took me so long just to make this bc I had the terrible idea of sleeping only 4 hours this night. Still, you can see the difference.

We’re not perfect. Things take a lot of time to happen and specialized tests are usually only available on capital cities. And we still have so much that we need to make more available (like glasses and contact lens and different types of condoms and dentists and so on), but we don’t die bc we can’t afford shit. We don’t take less insulin bc we need to pay the rent. We don’t have to fucking pay more to hold our baby when we give birth (this one is so fucking mind boggling to me that what the actual fuck??!!).

And yet the US, that is all about “freedom”, don’t want you to have the freedom to live. Because, in the end, that’s it. You can’t live. Unless you’re rich, sure. Or unless you lose everything you have.

So, it’s not just ableism (it is, of course it is, bc they want the different people to go first), but it’s also the “freedom” for only the rich to live. If you’re poor… well, you’re poor. You’re as good as dead.

fyi things like insulin, hearing aids, wheelchairs, glasses costing money at all is a form of structural ableism

[megarywrites]

the writeblr garden’s spooky season prompts

day 2: haunting

The question for this prompt was “is there anything that haunts your characters” and yeah, there is in Seafoam. Again, would like to keep this as spoiler free as possible, so i won’t divulge everything lol

In the first chapter, Thala finds out that her father has died. He was a sailor and had been her whole life, and the captain of the ship he worked on and a long-time family friend broke the news to her and her mother that Arteras had been thrown overboard in a storm and was lost in the waves. This is the inciting incident for the entire plot, but his death especially haunts the narrative of the first book, because, well…

In Grea, which is the nation this story is set in, the government is a theocracy that has decreed that once an unmarried woman comes of age (turns 20), she must go to work in the latridom (a house of worship akin to a cathedral) as a Stoli (a nun, but silent). When the story opens, Thala is months away from being 20, and can barely stand to be in the presence of most of the boys her age, and the one she can stand, she thinks of him as a brother.

So, no marriage has not seriously crossed her mind, not even after Arteras’ passing. No, her first thought, as a way to support her mother now that they no longer had a sufficient income, was to become a Stoli because she had heard that the families of the girls who went were paid a stipend for their services to the state. She’s determined to do this, until Sosta comes into the picture and her mother takes her place as his wife.

In theory, her mother should have been taken care of, but if you read yesterday’s post, then you’ll know why Thala begins to doubt her decision. So, she’s definitely haunted by her choice here of whether she should take her friend up on his offer of marriage, even if everything within her rebels at the thought. And that doesn’t go away even as we get into the second book.

Below is a little snippet of her being anxious about this before she becomes a Stoli (and everything truly goes to shit):

Try as I might, I couldn’t rip my gaze away from the Pontus, nor my mind from thoughts of Zeno. Why was I so… Every part of me should want to form a union with him. It made total sense for me to marry him. It was the natural progression of our…our friendship. Right? And yet…and yet I was reluctant. Scared, even. Just at the thought. But why? What was wrong with me to be so adamantly against, to…to be so repulsed by the solution that would fix all of our problems? Maybe it was just anxiety at the thought of what a marriage would bring. I’d heard the other women in the village talk about their own reluctance to be married, about the discomfort that usually accompanied the marriage bed. I rubbed my forehead again, shuddering as I tried to picture what that would feel like. I knew a little bit about what would be expected from me, just from what Osyne said about her husbands—both the current and the former—and…it was less than appealing. Revolting, actually. Not to them, of course, but to me. But wasn’t this the outcome that everyone expected—me and Zeno? Married? Maybe, as time passed and I grew accustomed to married life, it wouldn’t be too bad. But… I still didn’t want to. And I couldn’t rationalize that nauseated hesitation away. Could I really not sacrifice my own happiness, like Ma had? Was I truly that selfish? If I loved her at all, I’d run straight down to the docks and beg Zeno to make me his wife. Tears sprang to my eyes, blurring my vision as I stared miserably after the ship. As the sails billowed in the breeze and the oars poked out of the hull, their paddles descending into the sea to push it into the current. Or the wind. There was still time to catch it, to speak to him, if only I could move. But I just sat there, weighed down by my heavy heart as the Pontus pushed away from the shore.

In the second book, we’re introduced to another character who is haunted by her choices. Her name is Tofana Aurado, and she’s Solera’s mother. This post is already long enough, however, but just know that she is currently haunting the first book, except she’s specifically haunting Geros for what he did (more on that later ofc lol)

[bllsbailey]

Kamala Harris Tyrannical 2019 Video Resurfaces: 'I Will Snatch Their Patent So That We Will Take Over'

A 2019 video of a Kamala Harris campaign event made the rounds on the internet Friday night after the Democrat presidential hopeful unveiled some of her economic proposals, including her apparent desire for Soviet-style price controls on groceries.

During her ill-fated run for president, the now vice president said she could lower prices on drugs simply by having the government seize patents from pharmaceutical companies and “take over.” That’s not how a free-market economy is supposed to work, but the giddy Harris didn’t care:

“My plan, as a candidate for president, on these drug prices is as follows: We are going to set drug prices based on fair market,” Harris said during a campaign stop in Iowa on Friday. “So, essentially what we’re going to do – and you can visit the website if you will, and if not, get you some documents – but essentially what we’re going to do is set drug prices so that American consumers are charged a price for drugs that’s the average price that’s being charged around the globe.”

But she didn’t think she needed Congress or legislation to tackle the problem, she’d just march in herself and use the enormous power of the federal government (emphasis mine).

“And there’s a huge difference, insulin being an example,” Harris continued. “The other thing is this, if people don’t want to cooperate with that, I’m also going to do the next thing, which is this: A lot of drugs, prescription medication, was born out of the federal funding for the research and development of that drug. Your taxpayer dollars.” “So, for any drug where they fail to play by our rules, and if that drug came about from federal funding for what’s called ‘R&D,’ research and development, I will snatch their patent so that we will take over,” Harris continued.

Watch:

The party frightened about the 'threat to our democracy' is nominating a wannabe tyrant.

Texas GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw responded at the time:

She was asked the salient question, can you really do that? Hell yeah, said Kamala [emphasis added]:

According to the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel, somebody in attendance asked the obvious question: Can you do that? “Yes, we can do that,” Harris replied. “We just need the will to do that.”

Related: Even CNN Notices How Terrible Kamala's Economic Proposals Are; Hosts Rip Her in Two Separate Segments

The Choice in November Is Clear: Do We Want to Grow the Size of the Economy or the Size of the State?

Parent law is notoriously complex, and there are certainly some drug companies that take advantage of them. I have no love for the Pfizers of the world who raked in billions with their flawed COVID vaccines. But her view of the government’s role is chilling, and she seems drunk on power (that she didn’t even have at the time). We have seen the Biden administration weaponizing the powers of the executive branch throughout his term, but Kamala—between her past statements and her newly announced Bolshevik economic policies—sounds like she literally wants to change our hugely successful capitalist economy into something else entirely. Of course, her ideas have been tried in places like Venezuela, the former U.S.S.R., Argentina, and elsewhere, and although they sound oh-so-nice, they never end well.

The American people quickly rejected her vision back in 2020, when she failed to garner a single delegate in the Democrat primary, but now that Biden has handed her the keys to the car, there is a real possibility that she could end up in the Oval Office. What is becoming more and more clear, however, is that she’d really love to become is a socialist tyrant.

[nicklloydnow]

“The Cato Institute has an unusual political cause — which is no political cause whatsoever. We are here tonight to dedicate ourselves to that cause, to dedicate ourselves, in other words, to … nothing.

We have no ideology, no agenda, no catechism, no dialectic, no plan for humanity. We have no “vision thing,” as our ex‐​president would say, or, as our current president would say, we have no Hillary.

All we have is the belief that people should do what people want to do, unless it causes harm to other people. And that had better be clear and provable harm. No nonsense about second‐​hand smoke or hurtful, insensitive language, please.

I don’t know what’s good for you. You don’t know what’s good for me. We don’t know what’s good for mankind. And it sometimes seems as though we’re the only people who don’t. It may well be that, gathered right here in this room tonight,are all the people in the world who don’t want to tell all the people in the world what to do.

This is because we believe in freedom. Freedom — what this country was established upon, what the Constitution was written to defend, what the Civil War was fought to perfect.

Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. It’s not entitlement. An entitlement is what people on welfare get, and how free are they? It’s not an endlessly expanding list of rights — the “right” to education, the “right” to health care, the “right” to food and housing. That’s not freedom, that’s dependency. Those aren’t rights, those are the rations of slavery — hay and a barn for human cattle.

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

So we are here tonight in a kind of anti‐​matter protest — an unpolitical undemonstration by deeply uncommitted inactivists. We are part of a huge invisible picket line that circles the White House twenty‐​four hours a day. We are participants in an enormous non‐​march on Washington — millions and millions of Americans not descending upon the nation’s capital in order to demand nothing from the United States government. To demand nothing, that is, except the one thing which no government in history has been able to do — leave us alone.

There are just two rules of governance in a free society:

Mind your own business.

Keep your hands to yourself.

Bill, keep your hands to yourself. Hillary, mind your own business.

We have a group of incredibly silly people in the White House right now, people who think government works. Or that government would work, if you got some real bright young kids from Yale to run it.

We’re being governed by dorm room bull session. The Clinton administration is over there right now pulling an all‐​nighter in the West Wing. They think that, if they can just stay up late enough, they can create a healthy economy and bring peace to former Yugoslavia.

The Clinton administration is going to decrease government spending by increasing the amount of money we give to the government to spend.

Health care is too expensive, so the Clinton administration is putting a high‐​powered corporate lawyer in charge of making it cheaper. (This is what I always do when I want to spend less money — hire a lawyer from Yale.) If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.

The Clinton administration is putting together a program so that college graduates can work to pay off their school tuition. As if this were some genius idea. It’s called getting a job. Most folks do that when they get out of college, unless, of course, they happen to become governor of Arkansas.

And the Clinton administration launched an attack on people in Texas because those people were religious nuts with guns. Hell, this country was founded by religious nuts with guns. Who does Bill Clinton think stepped ashore on Plymouth Rock? Peace Corps volunteers? Or maybe the people in Texas were attacked because of child abuse. But, if child abuse was the issue, why didn’t Janet Reno tear‐​gas Woody Allen?

You know, if government were a product, selling it would be illegal.

Government is a health hazard. Governments have killed many more people than cigarettes or unbuckled seat belts ever have.

Government contains impure ingredients — as anybody who’s looked at Congress can tell you.

On the basis of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign promises, I think we can say government practices deceptive advertising.

And the merest glance at the federal budget is enough to convict the government of perjury, extortion, and fraud.

There, ladies and gentlemen, you have the Cato Institute’s program in a nutshell: government should be against the law.

Term limits aren’t enough. We need jail.” - P.J. O’Rourke, ‘The Liberty Manifesto’ (6 May 1993)

[truck-fump]

Socialism Fear-mongering is Bananas Don’t get scared....

New Post has been published on https://robertreich.org/post/728810956269993985

Socialism Fear-mongering is Bananas Don’t get scared....

Socialism Fear-mongering is Bananas 

Don’t get scared. I’m going to talk about something that’s caused a lot of fear mongering.

You see, advanced countries, like the United States, pool resources for the common good. How? Well, governments enact taxes and then spend that money on things that benefit everyone. Think of national defense, schools, highways, healthcare, unemployment insurance — basically government spending that protects the well-being of the people.

But since some folk, like your conservative Uncle Bob, think ANY pooling of resources for the common good is…socialism.

And since socialism is apparently so terrifying…

I’m going to use a different word to describe this taxing of individuals for the common good.  Let’s use.. I don’t know.. How about…Banana! That’s not scary, right? 

Great. So, there are essentially three purposes for which governments banana.

First, social insurance against the possibilities of misfortune and neediness, such as unemployment, poor health, disability, and so on.

Second, public goods that we all benefit from, such as parks, highways, public health, and national defense.

Third, public investment in our future, such as basic research, education, and efforts to address pollution and the climate crisis.

Whether we’re talking about Sweden, Spain, or Slovenia or the United States — all countries in capitalist economies banana to benefit the common good.

And bananing is how societies grow their economies, become more prosperous, and ensure a better life for their people.

It’s also how countries aid people in hard times — or when emergencies arise, like a global pandemic.

To simply call any government banana’ing “socialism…” 

Oops, sorry I used the word.…Well it distorts our ability to think through how we banana and what we banana on.

And, it ignores the fact that the United States bananas LESS than most developed nations.

We’re among the worst when it comes to bananaing to reduce poverty, especially child poverty.

And pandemic aside, we banana less on unemployment insurance than nearly every other country.

Of course these countries generally have higher taxes than the United States to support all their bananing.

But they get more in return — better jobless benefits, better health care outcomes, debt-free education, more support for child care and elder care, and more generous retirement benefits.

And we could banana a lot more without having to raise taxes on middle or low-income Americans if the rich paid their fair share. Unfortunately, the tax code in the U.S. has been rigged so that the rich and powerful often skirt what they owe and get away with lower tax rates than regular people.

And the rich have done such a good job convincing people that any increase in banana’ing would be… you know, that S word … that we just accept things as they are.

The only banana’ing they don’t seem to mind is on the military, where we banana more than the countries with the next 10 biggest militaries combined. That’s bananas!

All of this is a major reason why America has such staggering levels of inequality and poverty.

Whether bananing is “socialism” or not is a useless argument. Every country bananas. Capitalism requires banana’ing to ensure a degree of fairness and stability.  

So the next time your Uncle Bob decries any pooling of private resources for the common good — or bananaing — as “socialism”… share this video with him.  

And give him a banana.

[lilacmoon83]

Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 82: Deadhead, Pt 2

Emma and Ruby sped down the highway, as Killian directed them on the information he had received.

"We got a hit on the RV plates. They were spotted southbound on the highway…" Killian said.

"I love it when things line up like that. We are going northbound," Emma said.

"Thanks, Killian," she said.

"Actually, that's Lieutenant Killian," he joked.

"Yes, sir. Over and out," Emma said, as Ruby gave her a look and she shook her head.

"No. Uh-uh. Do not look at me like that," she said.

"I'm just enjoying things being back to normal. I didn't say anything. I was just appreciating some casual banter between two people who used to be engaged to be married," Ruby teased. Emma rolled her eyes and spotted an RV about to pass them.

"There. That might be them," Emma said, as she saw Jace in the window.

"Gotcha!" she said, as she had to swerve when the RV tried to shove them off the road. The brakes screeched, as she managed to turn them around.

"Look out!" Ruby called, as she swerved to avoid more oncoming traffic.

"You okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" Ruby asked. She nodded.

~*~

"Come on, Jace. This is insane," Kory reasoned.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is insane. We fell through the ice and made it out alive. It was winter when we went in the lake and spring when we came out. We should be dead now. I think we were dead. And we came back to life or something," Jace said.

"Like that plane," Pete replied.

"Like that damn cop and the kid," Jace said.

"Look, why don't we just stop running?" Pete suggested.

"And give up? What happened to you?" Jace snapped.

"The same thing that happened to you. I mean, this is a miracle and you know it. And I don't think that we should be beating people up and firebombing the cops," Pete said.

"I don't give a rat's ass about any of those people," Jace growled.

"You used to be the guy that took care of everyone. You remember when you spent all the money from your after-school job to pay for the high-tops for me and Kory? We had

the best kicks on the block," Pete recalled. Jace smirked.

"I hadn't thought about that job in years," he mentioned.

"Hey, maybe that's why we came back. To do things differently," Pete said.

"Maybe you're right," Jace said.

"Hey, Kory, pull over, man. I'm gonna drive," he said, with an evil glint in his eyes.

~*~

David approached Vance's partner at the Travel Agency front and he looked surprised to see him.

"What the hell? We're supposed to have no contact for three weeks," the man said.

"Yeah, well, and Vance was supposed to come home with us," David said.

"Now, look, I've put together everything I can remember. If we fly back into here, I think…" David continued, but the other man cut him off.

"Cuba? You're not serious," he said.

"About saving Vance's life? Dead serious," David replied.

"Nolan…you're a math professor. I spent my life in military intelligence, and I can assure you, we ain't getting him out on our own no matter how many maps you draw," he said sternly.

"Well, I'm not gonna just give up on him," David argued.

"Yeah, you are. 'Cause we don't have the resources, and Vance doesn't want to involve the government. It's a direct order," he said.

"Yeah, they're already sniffing around. I had a house call this morning. And, no, of course I didn't say anything. There's got to be another way," David replied.

"If there is, he'll figure it out. You need to stand down," he said.

"So, how does this work? How do I take this ring to Vance's wife and tell her that he's not coming home and that I'm standing down?" David asked.

"I don't know. I'm just glad he asked you to do it, not me," he replied.

~*~

Olive parked at the school and they began to trek onto the campus. Angelina felt the memories

"There. That's it. Those wings...those are peacock feathers," Angelina said, as she pointed at the stained glass window on the building.

"We're definitely supposed to be here," Olive agreed.

"This is...what's been following me. Last time, it was holding up its hand, the one that's holding the scales," Angelina said.

"Do scales mean anything to you?" Olive asked. But she shook her head.

"Not really. I mean, Archangel Michael uses them to weigh your soul on Judgment Day to see if you're worthy," Angelina mentioned.

"Okay, so the figure in your calling, right, it doesn't have a face?" Olive questioned.

"Neither does the archangel," she mentioned, as she motioned to the faceless angel, which was actually due to a broken piece in the window itself.

"I was here when that happened. My class made time capsules, and when we were choosing where we each wanted to bury them, some kids were messing around and a rock

sailed right into the window," she added.

"You buried a time capsule right around here?" Olive asked. She nodded.

"I know exactly where mine would be, but there's not much in that box," Angelina replied.

"Okay, the callings, they led us here, right? And the figure was faceless. So it means they wanted you to remember that day. I think the calling is leading us to the box," Olive

said. Angelina walked a few paces ahead and then pointed to the ground.

"Right here," she said.

~*~

When Leopold answered the door to his new home, the last person he expected to see was his daughter and two of his grandchildren.

"Margaret…you're here…" he uttered.

"David and the girls will be following…it's a long story, but I can explain everything. We just need a place to lay low for a while. Henry could be in danger," she said. He

nodded.

"Of course…does this have anything to do with the plane?" Leopold asked.

"In a way…but it's more than that and everything I'm about to tell you is going to make you question my sanity," Margaret replied.

"No…the whole world saw that plane come back. I believe we are beyond any of that now," Leopold said, as she sat down with the baby and started to explain everything.

~*~

"That held up pretty well, considering. Let's see what's inside, though," Olive said, as Angelina opened her box once they had dug it up. She held a keychain and smiled.

"This is from our first trip to Costa Rica," she recalled.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed, as she picked up a photo.

"King Kone. They used to take me there on special occasions," she said, referring to the ice cream shop in the background.

"Your parents?" Olive asked. She nodded.

"They were almost normal then. I had no idea what they'd do to me one day. How they'd…" she said, as she trailed off. Olive put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a

sympathetic gaze.

"You know, I keep trying to find the right thing to say...to tell you how sorry I am for...all that you've been through. But the only thing I can think of is, "That sucks." Olive

said. Angelina smiled and laughed a little.

"It does. It does suck. It's hard to believe I was ever happy, but this picture is proof. I was," she replied. Olive smiled.

"Maybe the calling wanted you to have that photo...to remind you what it was like to be happy," Olive suggested.

"It's going to take more than a picture of a slushie," Angelina said.

"What about tasting one?" Olive suggested. She smiled.

"I just want to get rid of these visions. If a slushie will help, I'll have 12 of them," Angelina joked, as they headed for Olive's car.

~*~

David had arrived at Vance's house and received a welcome from his wife, Estelle and they proceeded to talk.

"Do the boys know that he's been in hiding this whole time?" David asked, referring to Vance's sons.

"Yeah. Only thing that's kept me sane is knowing that one day I'll be able to tell them that he's finally coming home. I suspect that day is not today," Estelle replied.

"Estelle, we were ambushed by the Cuban military. He's not coming home any time soon. I am so sorry," David said.

"No. No, he told me that, after this, he'd be done," she replied, with a sharp tone.

"Estelle, I hate that you and your family are going through this, especially since I was the one that dragged him to Cuba," David apologized.

"You're the one who dragged him into all of this. It's your fault that the world has to think that he's dead. And, yes, this is your fault. So if you're looking for absolution... get

him back. Do you hear me? Fix this. I don't care what it takes!" she said angrily.

"Uh, he... asked me to give you this," David said, as he gave her the ring.

"I swore that I'd never marry a man whose life was shrouded in secrets. Look what he put inside," she said, as David read the inscription.

"You shall know the truth," she said.

"And the truth shall set you free," David finished, realizing that he had heard it somewhere else.

"The truth shall set you free. Would...anyone else know that he used that quote?" he asked.

"Only the people who loved him enough to visit his grave. It's right on his tombstone," she answered.

~*~

"You really think the calling wanted us to get slushies?" Angelina asked, as she sipped at hers.

"Mmm. I have no idea, but, uh, I'm so glad that we did," Olive replied, as she enjoyed hers.

"You know, this might be the most fun I've ever had following a calling. So, thank you," Olive added.

"No, thank you. I needed this," Angelina said.

"Oh, and here comes a brain freeze," Olive replied, as they giggled and continued to enjoy their treat.

~*~

"What are we doing here?" Pete asked, as they arrived at the King Kone ice cream shop.

"You jogged my memory earlier when you mentioned how I used to be, back when I worked here. I'll bet Ron and Julie never bothered to change the combo to the safe in the back," Jace said.

"Hey, Jace. Let's just go, all right? Wouldn't it be better if everyone thought that we were still at the bottom of that lake?" Kory reasoned.

"You saw the looks on those cops' faces. They know we're back," Jace argued.

"Well, then, let's just disappear. I don't know. Go to Canada or whatever," Kory argued back.

"For sure, but first, we got scores to settle. Now, let's go," he ordered.

"We're gonna do a smash-and-grab and peel out in an RV?" Pete asked.

"We might have to improvise," Jace said, as he got out of the RV.

~*~

Emma pressed the call button on the steering wheel, as they raced down the highway.

"State troopers got a tip about three guys getting out of an RV. One had a knife.

They're at a fast food joint called King Kone," Killian said.

"We're driving on a damaged radiator, but we're going as fast as we can" Ruby said, as Emma smashed her foot into the accelerator harder.

"Scratch that, now we're going as fast as we can, slightly faster than we can," Ruby corrected.

~*~

"Think I'm crazy yet?" Margaret asked, as she finished explaining everything. He smirked.

"I'll admit that it's a lot…but I know it's the truth. It's all been very strange since that plane came back," Leopold mentioned.

"It has…but it gave back everything I had lost. I'm sure this is the trade off for that," Margaret said.

"But if you're right about this Death date, these men will be gone again in a few months?" Leopold asked.

"Yes…we're still trying to figure out how the passengers can defeat their death date, but four months is still a long time when there are possible maniacs looking for your son," Margaret replied.

"Well…you are safe here. All of you. I only hope David and the girls will be along soon," he said.

"Me too…" she replied.

~*~

"Go to her. Go to her. Go to her," the voice said in their heads.

"What the hell was that?" Kory asked, as he stumbled a bit.

"You heard that, too?" Pete asked. Jace snarled.

"Go to her," it repeated.

"It's the damn kid that died in the lake," he growled.

"What the hell's "go to her" supposed to mean?" Kory asked.

"It's the cop. She's close," Jace replied.

"Go to her," it repeated.

"That kid's trying to mind control us to turn ourselves in," Jace growled.

"We got to go. Pete, Pete, we gotta go, man," Kory called, as Pete knelt down to pick something up off the ground. It was a photo.

"What are you doing? We gotta go! Get in the RV!" Jace screamed at him.

"This girl...I think I'm supposed to go to her," Pete said.

"What you talking about, man? We gotta go, the cops are coming! Come on, we gotta go!" Kory pleaded, as they heard the sirens closing in.

"The cops are coming!" Jace called, as he saw the car and then sped off, leaving Pete behind.

"Pete! Put your hands up!" Emma demanded, as she brandished her firearm and got out of the car.

"Put your hands up!" Emma said, as he obeyed.

"Hey! Hands on your back," she ordered, as he cooperated.

"Where are the others? Where are they?" Ruby demanded to know, but Pete was silent.

~*~

"The truth shall set you free." Arthur said, as David arrived at Vance's grave.

"About time you figured it out. Been following you all day," he said.

"Estelle said only people who love her husband would come here and remember his epitaph," David said.

"I'm here a lot. It was sorrow at first, losing my friend, my mentor. Then guilt that I wasn't

there to protect him. Then it became something else," Arthur said.

"What?" David asked.

"A nagging feeling that Robert Vance isn't buried in this grave," Arthur replied.

"You're right. He's alive," David revealed.

"Oh, my God. Tell him I want to talk…" Arthur said, but David cut him off.

"I can't. He's being held by the Cuban military," he said.

"What? How did he get himself…" Arthur started to say.

"I'm more concerned with how he's gonna get out. I've gone around and around, I can't figure it out. What if the government could do some kind of...I don't know. Some kind

of prisoner exchange," David said. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"The prisoner in question faked his own death, operated off the grid for a year-and-a-half, apparently in an embargoed country. Our government will classify him as a spy.

They're not gonna be interested in a prisoner exchange," Arthur replied.

"What if you go back and tell your people that Vance isn't the biggest news in Cuba, that there's something bigger? Much bigger. About 828?" David questioned.

"It would take something like that for me to move the mountains I need to move," Arthur said.

"Okay. But I need you to keep it under wraps. Vance's life is in the balance...and, in a way, so is every passenger's," David said.

"I promise, I'll do everything in my power to keep it a secret. But everyone on the planet is fascinated with 828, so it may not be in my power," Arthur warned.

"So, what is it? A piece of intel?" he asked.

"A piece of 828," David replied.

~*~

"As I said, you have the right to remain silent, but do you want to tell us what you were doing here?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, or where your lunatic brother went?" Ruby asked, but he was silent.

"Nothing? All right, in you go," she said, as she started to put him in the car when the photo fell from his hand.

"Wait, that's my photo," Pete said.

"Actually, it's NYPD's," Ruby replied, as she put it in an evidence bag.

"I'm gonna leave my card with the owner and tell him we're taking off," Emma said.

"Okay," Ruby replied.

"Aunt Emma?" Olive asked and the blonde turned in surprise to see her niece and Angelina there.

"What are you guys doing here? Didn't your dad tell you they're back?" Emma asked in alarm.

"Yeah, but Angelina had a calling," Olive replied.

"What was it?" Emma asked.

"The Archangel Michael holding scales. We dug up this box that she buried, like, a really long time ago," Olive answered. Emma sighed.

"Okay, but what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh. We lost something from the box. We're just trying to retrace our steps," Angelina replied.

"What was it?" Emma asked, as Angelina saw the bag in Ruby's hand.

"This," she said.

"No, wait, wait, please. That photo belongs to me," Pete said.

"No, it's mine. I dropped it," Angelina argued.

"How could you have a picture of me?" Pete asked. But she looked confused.

"This is a picture of me. Right there. I was ten years old," Angelina replied.

"In the background. That's my brother Jace working the counter, and that boy staring at the girl with the slushie, staring at you...that's me," Pete said, surprising them all.

"So, this is weird. What's the move?" Ruby asked. Emma sighed. Graham was counting on her going by the book this time.

"We're gonna go by the book. Olive, you need to go home. There are still two of these guys at large. Okay?" she insisted.

"No, I'm sorry. Uh, you can't take that. This is all I have," Angelina insisted.

"I know, but it's evidence. I'm sorry," Ruby replied.

"Aunt Emma, this is a part of a calling. Okay? You just saw what happened. All right? We have to keep it. Dad is gonna wanna see this, and there might be more clues," Olive insisted.

"I can't. I'm sorry. It has to go in the report. I'm sorry. Get home safe," Emma replied.

~*~

Hours Later

"That was a very thorough report you submitted. Nice work, Emma," Graham said, once they arrived back at the station.

"Trying to do the right thing," Emma replied.

"Well, it paid off. Pete Baylor is back in custody, and I'm getting the help of every law enforcement agency in the country to hunt down the other two. In the meantime, you think you can get this back to its original owner? Forensics is done with it, andRuby mentioned it had sentimental value," he said, as he handed her the photo.

"Thank you, Captain," Emma replied.

"Anything else you want to share? I saw that video. Where do you think they were for three months? In that lake?" Graham asked curiously.

"The truth is, Captain, I...I don't know. I have my theories, but I know that you...prefer facts," Emma replied.

"Yeah…let's keep a lid on that video. Good work, Detective," he said.

~*~

"Yeah…we should be able to head up there soon. I think Agent King is going to get him out," David said, as he talked to his wife on the phone.

"That's wonderful…I'll feel better when we're all together again," Margaret said, as he saw breaking news on the television and the words 828. He unmuted the TV.

"David?" she asked.

"Turn on the news," he replied, as she did so and they listened to the report together, both stunned at this turn of events.

"Good evening, folks. Our top story to tell you about now, leaked photos from a driver who was working inside Guantanamo shows what appears to be airplane debris bearing the Montego Air logo. This could be the biggest bombshell yet in the Montego 828 investigation," the reporter on TV said.

"Ready?" Olive said, as she and Angelina were all packed.

"Shh," he chided, as they came to watch the TV with him.

"Discovery is leading to new speculation about the plane and passengers who landed in New York a year-and-a-half ago. If the plane is in pieces in the Caribbean, are there

two planes? And what does that mean about the people on the plane? Who, or some would say what, are the passengers who landed?" the reporter purported.

"The press has the story…" he said, as he heard brakes screeching and commotion outside.

"News vans…we can't go. They'll follow us all the way to your father's house," he said, into the phone.

"Then we'll come home," Margaret said.

"No…we can't risk it. Jace is still out there and I have a feeling he is going to know that Henry is alive," David replied. She knew he was right.

"You need to stay," he insisted.

"But what about you? He could come after you and Emma," she said.

"I know, my love…but I'll keep us safe until we can find a way to get up there without them following us," he said.

"I love you," she said, as he heard her sniff.

"I love you too…I'll call you later," he promised, as they heard someone shout to them through a bullhorn.

"David Nolan! Vicky Smith, local news. Two minutes of your time, please," she called, but he would refuse to answer her call and he hugged Olive gently. They were facing a

whole new slew of uncertainty and danger…