#it's the golf wars all over again

[mariacallous]

lol philadelphia inquirer bodying nyt

https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/first-presidential-debate-joe-biden-donald-trump-withdraw-20240629.html

President Joe Biden’s debate performance was a disaster. His disjointed responses and dazed look sparked calls for him to drop out of the presidential race.

But lost in the hand wringing was Donald Trump’s usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering. His performance demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office.

In fact, the debate about the debate is misplaced. The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump.

Trump, 78, has been on the political stage for eight years marked by chaos, corruption, and incivility. Why go back to that?

To build himself up, Trump constantly tears the country down. There is no shining city on the hill. It’s just mourning in America.

Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly said we are a “failing” country. He called the United States a “third world nation.” He said, “we’re living in hell” and “very close to World War III.”

“People are dying all over the place,” Trump said, later adding “we’re literally an uncivilized country now.”

Trump told more than 30 lies during the debate to go with the more than 30,000 mistruths told during his four years as president. He dodged the CNN moderators’ questions, took no responsibility for his actions, and blamed others, mainly Biden, for everything that is wrong in the world.

Trump’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection he fueled was farcical. He said a “relatively small number of people” went to the Capitol and many were “ushered in by the police.”

After scheming to overturn the 2020 election, Trump refused to say if he would accept the results of the 2024 election. Unless, of course, he wins.

The debate served as a reminder of what another four years of Trump would look like. More lies, grievance, narcissism, and hate. Supporters say they like Trump because he says whatever he thinks. But he mainly spews raw sewage.

Trump attacks the military. He denigrates the Justice Department and judges. He belittles the FBI and the CIA. He picks fights with allies and cozies up to dictators.

Trump is an unserious carnival barker running for the most serious job in the world. During his last term, Trump served himself and not the American people.

Trump spent chunks of time watching TV, tweeting, and hanging out at his country clubs. Over his four-year term, Trump played roughly 261 rounds of golf.

As president, Trump didn’t read the daily intelligence briefs. He continued to use his personal cell phone, allowing Chinese spies to listen to his calls. During one Oval Office meeting, Trump shared highly classified intelligence with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador.

Trump’s term did plenty of damage and had few accomplishments. The much-hyped wall didn’t get built. Infrastructure week was a recurring joke. Giant tax cuts made the rich richer, while fueling massive deficits for others to pay for years. His support for coal, oil drilling and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement worsened the growing impact of climate change.

Trump stacked the judiciary with extreme judges consisting mainly of white males, including a number who the American Bar Association rated as not qualified. A record number of cabinet officials were fired or left the office. The West Wing was in constant chaos and infighting.

Many Trump appointees exited under a cloud of corruption, grifting and ethical scandals. Trump’s children made millions off the White House. His dilettante son-in-law got $2 billion from the Saudi government for his fledgling investment firm even though he never managed money before.

Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic resulted in tens of thousands of needless deaths. He boasts about stacking the Supreme Court with extreme right-wingers who are stripping away individual rights, upending legal precedents, and making the country less safe. If elected, Trump may add to the court’s conservative majority.

Of course, there were the unprecedented two impeachments. Now, Trump is a convicted felon who is staring at three more criminal indictments. He is running for president to stay out of prison.

If anything, Trump doesn’t deserve to be on the presidential debate stage. Why even give him a platform?

Trump allegedly stole classified information and tried to overturn an election. His plans for a second term are worse than the last one. We cannot be serious about letting such a crooked clown back in the White House.

Yes, Biden had a horrible night. He’s 81 and not as sharp as he used to be. But Biden on his worst day remains lightyears better than Trump on his best.

Biden must show that he is up to the job. This much is clear: He has a substantive record of real accomplishments, fighting the pandemic, combating climate change, investing in infrastructure, and supporting working families and the most vulnerable.

Biden has surrounded himself with experienced people who take public service seriously. He has passed major bipartisan legislation despite a dysfunctional Republican House majority.

Biden believes in the best of America. He has rebuilt relationships with allies around the world and stood up to foes like Russia and China.

There was only one person at the debate who does not deserve to be running for president. The sooner Trump exits the stage, the better off the country will be.

[vivwritesfics]

No Need To Ask

Chapter Twenty-Four - Taken

The Norris' were a notorious crime family in the UK. One of many. With Norris, the head of the family, running operations with his son, Lando, they work to keep Y/N Norris, Norris' daughter protected. Life in a crime family wasn't something they wanted for her.

But with tension with one of the Spanish crime families rise, Norris and his now deceased wife come up with only one plan, offer their daughter to the Sainz's or risk an all out war.

1.7K words

Series Masterlist

Lando Norris did exactly what he said he was going to do. Now that there were no threats held over them, he flew to the Netherlands. Only two of his men were with him as he used his private jet to pick up his sister.

His knee bounced as the jet landed in the Verstappen hangar. Lando had called ahead, told Verstappen what was going on. Verstappen was more than happy to oblige. (Verstappen was a very cold and calculating man. He didn't much care that Y/N was in his house and left Max to deal with her. She was more a bother than anything else to him and he was more than happy to get rid of her).

Max wasn't happy with Y/N leaving the Verstappen stronghold. In her he'd developed a friendship, and she had been something of a perfect (platonic) companion. Happy to spend time with him while he did his thing and she did her own thing.

They watched movies together, just happy to spend time around each other. It made the time that Carlos was away pass quickly and distracted her from missing him terribly.

But she did still miss him terribly.

Max stood beside Y/N, several of his fathers men surrounding them as Lando's jet touched down in front of them. "I'm gonna try and get into contact with Carlos, tell him where you've gone," He called over the sound of Lando's jet.

"Just don't make him worried!" Y/N called, Lando walking off of the jet. "I don't want him panicking while he's busy!"

Max nodded his head as Lando strode over, round sunglasses covering his eyes. "Let's go," he said the moment he reached his sister, grasping a hold of her arm. Behind his sunglasses his eyes glanced down, looking towards the bump that wasn't there yet.

But she didn't let him pull her away. Y/N stepped away from her brother and launched herself at Max, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered and kissed his cheek.

Lando gave Max a nod and grabbed a hold of his sister once again. He gently pulled her away, pulling her back towards the jet. This time she went with him, walking up the steps and climbing into the jet.

Before she knew it, they were in the air, leaving the Netherlands and getting further away from the country she now called home.

***

For twelve weeks Carlos was stuck in Spain, missing his pretty little wife. He had no pictures of her, nothing to remind him of her. In those twelve weeks, Carlos had never felt so lonely.

Was this how she felt during the start of their marriage? Regret filled him when he thought about it.

He wanted her home. Now.

But he couldn't. Carlos couldn't have her home until he knew the house was completely safe.

The first thing finished was the door, the one that needed a retina scan to get in. It was incredibly expensive, but Carlos would spend all of the money in the world to keep Y/N safe.

New cameras, new gates and new alarm systems had been installed. Carlos got rid of his at home golf course, filling in the holes and flattening out the banks.

Instead of the golf course, he had a play area installed. A little slide, a sand box, swings, and more. Carlos was also having a small slide installed in the pool. He was going to give their little one everything.

As the walls were built around the house, Carlos emptied out his room opposite his own. Well, it wasn't his room anymore. It was theirs, his and Y/N's. Anyway, he emptied out the room opposite, which was once a guest bedroom, and painted the walls.

Pink or blue were the colours he spent way too long debating over. But he didn't go with either colour, instead painting the walls a nice, olive green.

It was just the base. What Carlos wanted more than anything for their baby's bedroom was a mural of animals. A collection of jungle animals in trees, painted on the walls, or badgers and foxes prancing around in sweaters (but Carlos was leaning more towards the jungle animals).

His laptop was full of open tabs of baby things. A crib, a mobile to hang above the bed, a wardrobe (one pink and princess themed, one cream, ready for the couple to decorate it). He'd picked out giraffe rug to go with the potential jungle mural, and a collection of books, some in English and some in Spanish.

Carlos hated that he was doing it without Y/N, but it made him miss her just a little bit less, getting the room ready for baby Valentina or baby Oscar.

He ordered the crib, but everything else he'd do with Y/N. As Carlos sat on the floor of the baby's room, he smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to have the two of them home.

***

Oscar stepped out of the car, looking at the familiar house. It was fortified now, with high walls and two gates before you got to the main house. But it wasn't quite finished yet, the Spanish mansion looking like a construction site.

On Carlos's command, Oscar had been allowed through. Carlos opened the door, allowing him in, and Oscar ran up to the office.

But Carlos wasn't in the office. He was opposite and over one, in the room that was for the baby.

Oscar gently knocked on the door before allowing himself in. The door had been painted cream, a different colour to the rest of the doors in the house, with a space left for a name.

"Hey," said Oscar as he looked down at Carlos, constructing the crib. "Where did you send her?"

Carlos placed the piece of crib he was constructing to one side and let out a sigh. "I sent her to the Verstappens," he said and leaned back on his palms. "I sent her somewhere she would be safe, and Norris decided he wanted to bring her back to England."

Oscar glared at the floor. "Well, at least she's with family now," he said, trying to justify it as he leaned against the wall.

"Just one more week and I will bring her home," Carlos said and looked up at Oscar.

Oscar pulled off his suit jacket and got to work. He helped Carlos set up the crib and hung the mobile above it. The two of them worked together to put together the book case. "I was going to wait for Y/N to do all of this," said Carlos as they screwed the bookshelf into the wall, preventing it from ever toppling over.

"Sorry," Oscar said somewhat sheepishly as he pulled his suit jacket back over his shoulders. "But this was fun. Have you guys thought of names?"

Carlos only smirked.

***

The Norris house wasn't well fortified. It wasn't fortified at all. But Lando didn't have anybody he loved and wanted to protect, so he didn't do anything to make the house more secure.

There were a few extra cameras and a few alarms on the doors. But that was it.

And then Lando brought Y/N home. He brought his sister back to her house, a place she hadn't been to since their fathers funeral. So much had changed since then. She was carrying a child now, actually in love with the man she had been forced to marry.

Even though the Norris house wasn't well fortified, Y/N couldn't stop herself from feeling safe. This was her childhood home, where she had grown up.

Once again, just as they had at the start of this story, Y/N and Lando sat in the library, playing a game of chess. She was winning, as she always did.

Normality was nice. But, as nice as it was, Y/N missed her husband.

"Your chess game has gone down hill," said Lando as she took his queen. Yes she was winning, but it had taken a lot longer than Lando expected.

Y/N looked at her brother through her lashes. She hadn't played chess for the entire time that they had been in the safehouse. She knew she'd lost her touch, but she was still winning. Her time in this house was going to be spent playing chess.

Lando tried to spend as much time with her as he could. Who knew when Carlos was going to come and get her, to take his sister away from him again?

Y/N had been in the Norris house for four weeks before she started showing. Just a small bump, she didn't need to start wearing stretchy clothing just yet.

"Have you thought of names?" Asked Lando as they ate breakfast together after four weeks of living together again.

Y/N swallowed her breakfast. "Briefly, yeah. We talked about it just before he flew back to Spain," she said, leaning her head against her hand.

"If it's a boy would you name it after dad?"

Y/N looked at her brother. She hadn't even considered naming the child after her father. Guilt settled in her stomach as she realised she considered Oscar as the namesake before she thought about her father. But no, she wanted to name the baby after Oscar and that she was going to do (if it was a boy).

Time worked in a funny way. She had spent ten weeks back in her childhood home, twelve weeks in total away from her husband. Y/N didn't know it, but this was the day he was coming back to her, returning her to the home he had now made safe for them.

But she'd never find that out.

Like I said, the Norris house wasn't well fortified. Lando had only been targeted once and that was it, he didn't think he needed to fortify it more. Maybe it was his age, or his lack of experience as a head of family.

They broke into the house in the early hours of the morning. Those that had been on watch were tired after hours protecting the house.

It was easy for them to climb in through Y/N's bedroom window, knock her out before she knew what had happened, and take her away.

Taglist (CLOSED): @multi-universe21 @formulas-bitch @gills-lounge @weasleyswizarding-wheezes @carlossainzwho @f1lov3r @samaib11 @charli123456789 @queenofmanydreams @ironmaiden1313 @vellicora @glitterf1 @80sloverry @lightdragonrayne @moonayu @bellsalabanccini @topguncultleader @handsupforamiracle @cmleitora @jenniferrvsesi @barcelonaloverf1life @sbella13 @nicolettecallednikki @darleneslane @thehufflepuffavenger1 @champagneproblems17 @aespie @yukheizcigarettes @rewmuslupin @hollie911 @ashy-kit @ririgy @stqrgir1 @zaynzierulez @minkyungseokie @rafaaoli @carolinesainz @ashies-ln4op81aa22 @measimp @mizelophsun11 @eviethetheatrefreak @andydrysdalerogers @formulaal @graciewrote @biancathecool @evans-dejong @sparklyperfectionstranger @venusesworld @goldenharrysworld @cassie0sstuff @gracielukey @watermelonworries @celesteblack08 @shobaes @chonkybonky

[madebyrolo]

Holding me and holding back

⚘.

Pt.2 Rafe Cameron x pouge reader

Read Pt.1 here

she/her

Summary: summer fling with Rafe. Your typical kook vs pouge war but what if instead of gold it was love?

Obx masterlist

─── ʚɞ ⋅ ᯓᡣ𐭩 ⋅ ୨୧ ───

You pulled into the Tanny Hill driveway, you parked leaving your sleeping bag and stuff in the car because you didn’t know where this night was gonna lead.

You planned on confronting Rafe, the whole tire thing was absolutely insane.

You starting walking up to the door as Rafe was already waiting for you. He opened the door and greeted you with a bear hug and kiss on your lips.

The mint taste feeling like home.

“Where’s your stuff?” He asks “aren’t you spending the night?” Rafe sounded concerned.

“Maybe, my bags in the car just in case.” You say rubing your thumb across his knuckles.

“Okay come on, I set up a movie in the screening room. Sarah’s gone she’s off with Topper, wheezy at a sleepover and my dad trusts us enough to leave us alone” he smiles leading you to the room.

You and Rafe lay on the gigantic bean bag. One had wrapped around you and the other using the remote.

“Okay we can watch scream, mean girls, don’t worry darling-”

“Don’t worry darling.” You say without even considering the other options

“Alright should’ve know, Harry styles is in the movie….” He sighs giving you a tight squeeze.

You guys are into the movie, Rafes eye are glued on the screen and you’re deep into your thoughts.

You and Rafe have being a “thing” since April.

Never in your life you would be in a situationship with the kook king, Rafe Cameron.

ੈ𑁍༘⋆

—flashback—

You're a pouge yourself, working as a bev cart girl at the golf course. The job is easy and the tips are ever better. Tipsy old men with a girl in the skirt is like the money-mouth emoji.

That were you met Rafe of course.

You were covering for your other employee, she was over 21 and she could actually handle the alcohol legally but some how the mangers didn't care that one day. You were doing your loops and happened to meet your best tippers, who usually have $20+ they were easy in a way, but not that day.

"Look it's our favorite doll!" The oldest one said.

"Good to see you too Mr.Adams!" you say with a fake smile plaster on your face.

"Honey, what did I say call me Paul!" Mr Adams said playfully.

"Okay Paul, what would you and these gentlemen like today?" You said getting out the cart and pulling open the coolers.

"Arnold Palmer, needs some of his luck if I wanna win this bet with Andrew" Mr Adams winked

"throw in a splash vodka too"

As you began pouring the vodka Mr Adams kept saying "a little more..."

"Might as well made it a longgg Island" you joked earning fits of chuckles from the tipsy men.

"I'll take a beer" Andrew aka Mr.Gage asked

"And I'll get your number sweet heart" the bald one said checking your ass out.

You pulled it down praying there was gonna be no breeze to help fill out his fansistes. You gave them their drinks about to turn around to enter your cart as the bald one grabbed your wrist.

“I didn’t get what I ask for.” He said leaning in with the smell of wiskey heavy on his breath.

“Sir let me go.” You said with your head down trying to fight your wrist back.

The other men were laughing, sipping their drinks watching their friend miserably hit on you.

“Darling I’m not gonna ask you again.” He said squeezing tighter.

You were about to risk them seeing your paintes to kick this bald bitch in the dick but right before you could lift your leg the man fell right in front of you with a grunt.

As you watch him go down you saw an another dude behind him, and that being Rafe Cameron.

He had a golf club, which you connected that he hit him with. You can see the mark of dirt and grass on the back of his shirt.

“You want another one?” Rafe said looking down at the man as he turned to face him.

But all he could hear with groans, the man bareley being able to get a word out.

“I’m not gonna ask you again.” He ordered.

And with that Rafe slammed the golf club right between his dick. Barely hitting it but enough to scare him.

He yelled as he rolled down the hill as his friend run away.

“I’ll make sure you never set foot in this club, or any club on this island again.” Rafe yelled at them.

You shook your head trying process what just happened, or what could’ve happened. Your legs shaking from the thoughts and your arm being red from the “man's” grip.

“Are you okay?” Rafe asked.

You heard stories of the boy, him being played as this big scary guy from Jayj and the fights you heard involving your friends and others.

“Um yeah I guess, thank you Rafe.” You said avoiding eye contact. You didn’t want him to see the tears building up in your eyes.

“Hey kid.” He said lifting up your chin to see the tears spilling down your cheek. “Here let me help you in, I’ll drive you back to the house, we’ll get your stuff and I’ll take you home.” Rafe offered as he guiding you to the passenger seat of the cart.

As he got in he started the cart slowly driving. Whiping the melted mascara, trying to get yourself together before you have to face your manager.

“You know their names right?” Rafe asked as he looked over at you.

“Uh yeah all of them except the one that grabbed me.” You said trying not to cry again.

“It’s alright I bet you $100 I’ll get it within the next 30 minutes.” He said with a small laugh trying to ease the tension.

“Thank you Rafe, if you didnt get there in time I would’ve had to kick him, giving them the view they wanted” you said with a breathy laugh wiping the rest of your tears.

“Would’ve been one hell of a kick girl!” He said placing his hand on top of yours.

In a way it felt comforting, scary cause you barely knew the kid but he wasn’t a complete stranger.

Soon you were in the passenger seat of his truck, and with a $100 bill in your pocket from the bet he made.

“Can’t believe you got them banned practically everywhere.” You said with a small laugh.

“Oh and they donated 100k to the club all together too. And here’s your tip” He smiled to himself handing over $520 in bills.

“Snagged them from their wallets” he said giving you a wink.

“I’m not even gonna ask,” you scoff in amazement counting the cash.

He’s driving along the beach to the side of the island he swore to never ever to be on. The sun was setting creating a warm ambiance with “3005” by childish Gambino playing from his playlist.

“Great music taste” you complement trying to change the topic.

“Mmm thanks, I take pride in it.” He hummed “you listen to childish gambino?”

“Um the one and only Troy Barnes ? Yes I do girl” you giggle.

“I love the community, it’s so good. I haven’t done my annual rewatch yet.” He said taking a quick glance at you before focusing on the road again.

“Omg me too. Although I can never get myself to finish season 6 because it’s just boring without Donald glover and the problematic old man.” You say looking out the window watching the sun set.

“You have to come over and watch it soon. We can have a little watch party” Rafe offers as he pulls into your neighborhood.

“Yeah I’ll like that.” You say locking eyes with eachother.

Soon he parks into your driveway. You began unbuckling before he speaks up.

“So you’re down to come over one day? Netflix and chill or what not.” He laughs with blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Yeah it’s a date” you say with blush now matching you both.

“Hey I wanna thank you again. I genuinely don’t know what I would’ve done without my knight in shiny golf club” you joked

“Don’t sweat it, besides I’m glad you’re okay y/n .” He said nudging your shoulder as you let go of the seat belt.

“So are you gonna give me your number or…” you joked.

“Oh yeah yeah my bad. Here type yours in” he said handing you his phone.

As you enter it you hand it back.

“What emoji you want by your name ?” he ask trying hard not to have you go.

“A princess would be nice ‘cause you were my prince today.” You give a dopey smile to him.

“Perfect.” He said entering it in before turning his phone off.

The car is filled with silence with his music barely being able to fill your ears.

He looks at your eyes before going down to your lips, you also doing the same.

Next thing you know they’re a warm touch on your lips. And your hands are tangled in Rafes hair.

You break the almost minute long kiss, you have to enter your house at some point.

“Thank you Rafe.” You said before your open the door.

“No thank you y/n. I’ll text you when I get home” he said as you shut the door.

He watched you enter your home before driving off home.

You run into your parents on the couch.

“What are you doing home, I thought you didn’t get off till 7?” Your mom ask

“They let me off early ” you say as your enter your room.

You lay in bed thinking about the eventful night.

Screw the bald man, you just made out with Rafe fucking Cameron.

— end of flashback—

Ever since that day you have been so grateful for Rafe. Even though you guys aren’t exclusive you both knew better not to touch another breathing thing.

He was a sweetheart, to you at least. He always payed for the food, little (big) gifts here and there, sleep overs ever weekend, driving you to world, picking you up from work, hanging out after work.

You two were inseparable.

It was fun behind doors, but the second you were with the rest of the pouges you were nothing more.

Him and his on going “war” with John b and jayj for no reason other then social class. He would call the others out with names and insults laced with venom but never said a thing to you. He couldn't even find the words.

One time he called jayj white trash and made fun of John b for having a dead dad, them literally millimeters away from a fight before you called him out for being obsessed with them, throwing in a gay joke.

He looked at you with soft eyes before throwing a small insult to throw the rest off.

“Okay princess, go make tips with your boobs.” he said leaving everyone confused for the “insult” he threw at you.

And with that he left without a fight.

“Okay so I get called a slut and you get called out for boobs?” kie said offended watching the boy walk away.

“I mean she does have nice boobs…” jayj whispered before Pope smacking the back of his head.

You giggled at the old memory,

But the feeling of guilt washes over you.

Rafe and his buddies always messing with the pouges, you’re bestfriend. The name calling with bruises and vandalism to prove it.

Where does your loyalty lie?

Rafe perks up with the sound of your giggles

“Okay are your giggling at her being crush by glass walls right now?” he asks

“No no it's something else.” you say looking off to the side.

“Actually pause the movie, I wanna talk about something” you say as he grabs the remote.

“Uh okay, so what's up.” he ask with thoughtful eyes.

“So I know we've been sneaking around for a while now-”

“Well I wouldn't call it sneaking around, you've met my parents and vise versa” he said with a nervous laugh

“Yeah i guess but our friends Rafe. If mine find out about us I don't know what they would do”

“Why do you care what they think?” he ask

“Cause you just ruined Kies car…”

“Well she deserved it”

“What did she even do?? We were just having pizza for crying out loud.”

“Oh didnt know jj was pizza…” Rafe mumbled under his breath.

“Oh so this is about jj.”

“I’m just saying if he wasn’t all up on your the night wouldn’t have ended like this!”

“First of all, nothing happend, second of all if it was jjs fault why did you destroy Kiara’s car!”

“Like she couldn’t get it fix, she a kook too you know!”

“You slashed her ties Rafe! Money or not that’s still a despicable thing to do?? She’s completely innocent and she’s never did a thing to you yet your terrorize her? How would she ever react if I tell her? ‘Oh you're fucking y/n? Okay that's fine u forgive you for the slut shaming and destroying my car yay!!’ is that what you think she'll do?” you argue.

“Well if they're the real friend you claim they are they wouldn't care! They'll be happy ur happy!!” he said back

“And Jj? The bruises he has on his back won't disappear the moment you come out hand in hand with me.” you say

“Why who you care what jj would think huh? I see you guys all up on eachother especially after today. What do you think that makes me feel? Seeing you all touchy touchy right in front of my eyes knowing I can’t do a thing about it!” He

“He wiped fucking sauce of my face Rafe.” You say

“I see the way he looks at you! He’s totally into you he’s like a 12 year old, practically drooling over you! Every time I come around you guys he steps in front of you, guarding you from me always with some time of body part on you. Every time I look back after I leave he’s giving you hugs or some bull shit.”

“Is this really about jj Rafe? He’s my bestfriend, brother even! We grew up together and hes seen and been physical with you of course he’s gonna get protective!” you say ruffling your hair

“Rafe are you jealous of him?”

“What? No, no he’s a pouge, he has nothing against me. I-I can practically buy him if I wanted too.” He said

“Screw them you're happy with me alright?” he said trying to change the subject.

“Rafe we aren't even-” you didn't even know what to say. Together? He sure acts like you can't sit by a guy especially at a party.

“What y/n? Official? Dating? Cause these past 3 months have been nothing but perfect for me!” Rafe said trying to make you feel bad.

“Thats the thing Rafe! I wake up in your bed then end the night talking shit with the pouges! Thats not normal, healthy! It's far from perfect can't you see that?” tears began to well up in both of your eyes. “You can't even call me your girlfriend.”

“We can never have a sweet date that doesn’t involve me ducking under a table or you hiding in the bathroom Rafe. We always have to have a small dinner or another movie marathon at Tammy hill, I just want at least a peaceful day at the park or the board walk.” you cry.

“Belive me y/n i want too, do you know how many girls never make it to tannyhill? Only the back seat or a trashy motel room.” he said

“Oh thanks for that image-” you say as your getting up from the bean bag

“Y/n stops that's not what I'm trying to say.” He huffs trying to collect his tears, grabbing your hands into his.

“The moment I first saw you, you were surfing with jj. It pissed me off that you were with him out of all people. but then my eyes landed back on you and all that anger went away. I wish I could explain it, how I feel. You're the only person I find tolerable in this world. When we first officially met on the golf course, the circumstances obviously could've been better” he said with a small laugh

“But you and me sitting in my truck, driving you home felt so, normal. Like it was meant to be. It felt like I've done it a million times even though I was so nervous. If you get what I'm trying to say y/n is that I like you. I want you in my life, as a friend, girlfriend or even the Bev cart girl. But I really hope you take the girlfriend title”

“Rafe….”

“Y/n these 3 months have meant everything to me and I hope for many more. Y/n will you be my girlfriend?

“But the pouges-”

“Screw them, this is about you and me princess” he said looking for something in your eyes.

And it was lust.

You smash your lips onto his, hands tangled into each other hair.

Rafe pulls you onto his lap letting his hands roam all over your body, slowly trying to get your shirt off.

As you began shifting on his lap to tease the poor kook, he starts sliding his hands underneath your shit cupping your breast.

“Let’s take this upstairs yeah?” Rafe offers in between kisses.

“Aren’t your parents up there.” You mumble with your lips still on his.

“Guess we just have to be quiet huh princess?” He says cupping your face, soon getting up.

As you guys walk out the screening room he picks you up bridal style causing fit of giggles.

Finally in his room he puts you on his bed towering over you once again starting a make out sesh.

—flashback—

Rafe and you were on the beach, walking along the sunset after you first date.

You guys went to an arcade in on the mainland so none one can spot you guys.

The date was fun, you never knew this side of Rafe or Rafe in general. The Rafe who let you win in air hockey, who helped you make baskets in basketball, the Rafe would spent all of his tickets on a stuff animal for you.

Everything the pouges describing him to be was far from this Rafe.

Did they have the right to say all those nasty things about him? Yes 100% but you never had it happen to you. The worst thing he’s ever done to you before this whole relationship happened was dirty looks, he never once said or did anything bad to you.

In a way you felt terrible, you were betraying your bestfriends. Yes you felt guilty, but boy were you in love. You hate to admit it, being in love let alone being in love with Rafe Cameron.

One kiss and you instantly metled.

The first being shared in the beach, where you and Rafe went after the ferry ride back.

It was a beautiful May sunset, the weather was finally warm enough for shorts on the beach. Obx winters felt way longer than anywhere els.

You were walking hand in hand with the stuffy you got. Rafe was sharing small stories of from his childhood.

“And so when Rose came out the bathroom she had hot pink hair and very orange skin! She looked like one of those troll dolls from the 90s.” He said laughing.

You guys then sat in a rock, in the between the long grass and daisys sprouted around.

“I remember this one time I manage to actually pull of a prank on jj” you laughs to yourself recalling the memories, Rafe tensing at the boys name but you never noticed.

“I blew up a shit ton of ballon’s and cut open a mattress and replace the insides with ballon’s and I also did it too his pillow. So I know jj jumps onto the bed everytime so the night when he went to sleep I was in the living room and we all heard the big pops and a uncanny high pitched scream from jj.” You say completely losing it.

“Oh so you’re one tough cookie huh?” He said playfuly while you trying to collecting yourself.

“Honestly I didn’t think it would work” you say looking at him.

You guys sat on the rock, waves crashing and the sunset creating the perfect warm atmosphere.

Rafe look down to your lips, you looking at his. His eyes looked into yours asking for permission without saying a word, you nodded and he started to move in closer.

You connected your lips with his.

The kiss sent electric waves downs your spine. Nothing els really matter, everything that once clouded your mind just melted away as you melted into him.

The taste of mint and lemonade.

The kiss was semi short, you both didn’t wanna part but the look in yours eyes made it seem worth it. Rafe swore he could’ve seen stars in yours eyes.

That was the first kiss of many.

Who knew mint could be such a sweet flavor.

— end of flashback—

You’re clothes are fully off, Rafes on top sliding two fingers in and out of you

“Taking my fingers so good Baby” he teased.

His favorite thing has to be fingering because he can’t get over how pathetic it is that you are clenching over practically nothing.

“More Rafe” you can barely get out. now with 4 fingers in.

Rafes pumping back and forth, lips on your breast sending chills down your spine.

As you get tighter and tighter Rafe takes note that you’re about to finish so he picks up his face and tugging on your nips to get you there quicker.

You let out whimpers trying to hold in your moans.

“Such a good girl.”

As you finally reach the first orgasam for the night you quickly grab Rafes free hand covering your mouth muffling the moan.

“Fuck Rafe” you say as he flips you guys over with you now on top.

You send trails of kissing down his body, grabbing his hard dick sliding your fingers over the tip.

“I’ll never get over how pretty you look like this” you say as you staring going up and down his dick looking him in the eye.

“You should see my angle babe” he soft chuckles, buckling his hips.

“Needy” you say putting the lip in your mouth.

You’re head going up and down, trying to take his length in one hole. Reaching the tip you swirling your tounge on it looking up up Rafe that has a smirk on it watching you.

Your hands cupping his balls as Rafe throws his head back.

“Mhmmm fuck y/n” Rafe placing a hand on top of your head slowing pushing down.

“I wanna hear you.” He said as your start gagging.

Deep and deeper you get him both turning you on even more.

You press your legs together as his breathing starts getting more intense.

Before Rafe can finish he pulls you off, yanking you on him before putting it in.

“Remember not too lound princess.” He starts lowering you into his cock. The tip so red its pulsing.

You start to slide down his dick, your body feeling like it’s the first time again.

The way he stretches you out making your brain go numb.

“Oh fuck-” you say as your barely on it.

“Come on princess you can take it, you’ve done it before” he said as he guides your hips.

You moan as you completely take him in. Your hips connect to his, you take a minute to let your body adjust.

Soon your start moving up and down

The feeling of your tight pussy making Rafes mind go haywire.

The slow pace wasn’t enough so Rafe starts bucking his hips into you trying to make you go faster and taking note you did.

Rafe watched as your tits bounced, his hand reaching for your nipples as he begins to twist them.

Your moans being made into whimpers

The feeling of Rafe pelvis hitting your clit makes you go faster, the way his tips perfectly hitting your g spot.

But his length makes is tiring.

“Rafe help.” You pled.

Rafe lifs you up by your waist as he begins pounding you himself.

“Love it when I fuck you huh baby?” He says as he pounds you.

You’re knees began to weak as the familiar sensation that overtakes your body.

The way Rafe easily slides in and out, him being inside you feeling so normal. Like his dick was meant for you. Always surprised how it’s able to fit.

As you grab one of his pillows to drown out the moan messing he’s leaving you in, the tighter you get the more fast he is.

“Rafe..” you gulp as your legs shake.

“I know baby, cum with him.” He grunts.

You free a hand and begging rubbing your clit in fast circular motions, throwing the pillow to the side.

You bit on your lips to hold in the moans so hard that you wouldn’t be surprised if they were gonna be bruised later.

Soon enough you reach your climax, legs shaking and giving up on as aquejen on Rafe as he shoots his load in you.

Both in sweaty and hot you fall into him.

Nothing if your body’s conlasping on the king size matress bento you.

You roll off of him trying to catch your breath, with him doing the same with grunts in the middle.

You look at him admiring the high he gave you before he also turns to look at you.

You let out a little giggle before he pulls you in laying together.

“Are you still jealous of jj now?.”

“Oh shut it.”

-time skip-

You wake up in the king size bed if Rafe, the sheets smelling like him.

As you turn to reach for the boy you're met with nothing.

You began to grab your phone, as you reach for it there's a note

Ran out for breakfast princess, your clothes are in the dresser.

You turn to look around a spot a brand new dresser you've never seen before. How the hell did you miss that.

Hope you like it, it has a built in jewelry storage :)

Damn you Rafe. Time like these you wished your friends saw.

You get up and throw a shirt on that you found on the floor.

You open up the drawers you see he organizated it himself. On the top is your undergarments, then tops, bottoms and PJs (the clothes you took from him)

You grab a pair of clothes which included a new Victoria secret set and head to take a shower.

As you stand under the waterfall showerhead, you can't help but what your friends are doing right now.

You grab the Redken shampoo Rafe bought and lather your hair. The only way you could afford it is if you bought it at tj maxx.

Soon you're out, you change and as you began brushing your teeth you get a text.

Rafe 🕶️: Hey just ran into Jj

Rafe 🕶️ : I think we should wait a little longer to break the news

You sigh.

You: Rafe what did you do.

Rafe 🕶️: lets just say he needs to think before he makes a comment on my girl.

─── ʚɞ ⋅ ᯓᡣ𐭩 ⋅ ୨୧ ──

I literally hate writing smut 👎

Sorry for the long awaited pt2

Please ignore any typos 💁

[mynameismckenziemae]

A Little Bit Stronger

Part 8

(previous part here, next part here)

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x OFC

Summary: A not so innocent internet search sends you down a rabbit hole…Bradley is happy to help you out.

Just like everything else I write/post: this story is for 18+ only. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. It will contain smut, adult themes, situations and language. Please also note this story may be triggering due to the topic of domestic abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) violence-feel free to message me with any questions before reading.

Warnings: smut, unprotected p in v, squirting, toy use, etc.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Now that the idea of blindfolding Bradley is in your head, it’s hard to think of anything else, even with Drew chattering away the entire ride back.

Bradley notices you’re distracted when you stop to play a round of mini golf.

“Roo, I think you should help Shae,” Drew giggles when you miss another easy putt, “I’m gonna go to the bathroom quick.”

“Alright,” Bradley laughs, coming over to help as Drew runs off. A shiver dances down your spine as he presses into you from behind.

“What’s going on?” He murmurs in your ear, sliding his hands down your arms before covering yours on the putter, “We both know you have a better golf game than me.”

It’s true. One of the few good things that came out of your marriage to Chad was he taught you how to play golf…and then never let you again after you beat him once.

Asshole.

Bradley on the other hand, got a kick out of it and tells anyone that listens.

“Just thinking,” you sigh, pressing your ass back into his groin where his cock is already stirring in interest.

“About?” He breathes against your ear the way he knows you like as he helps you take a few practice swings.

“The…uh,” your brain can’t seem to form a coherent thought as nips at the sensitive skin below your ear, “the blindfold.”

“Oh yeah?” He asks, soothing the bite with a kiss.

“Yeah,” you reply, “and what I’m going to do when you have it on.”

He sucks in a shuddery breath. “Great,” his forehead drops to your shoulder as his cock fully hardens against you, “now that’s all I’m gonna be thinking about too.”

“You asked,” you smile and press a kiss to the hair curling over his temple.

Feeling better now that he’s distracted too, you take a deep breath and focus on the ball.

“There ya go!” Drew startles you both as the ball sinks in the hole, “You’re such a good teacher, Roo!”

“Such a good teacher,” you agree softly, giving him a wink as you follow Drew to the next hole.

Bradley looks to the sky for help before adjusting himself and tagging along too.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Drew wins and Bradley treats you both to ice cream before heading back home.

Hank is excited as ever to see Drew and after a long game of tug-a-war, they cuddle up on the couch while you and Bradley take the other to watch a movie. A movie that seems to drag with the excited energy buzzing under your skin.

“I’m gonna head up to bed,” you say when the movie ends, dragging your hand up Bradley’s thigh as you bring it out from under the blanket to stretch, trying not to smile as he tenses under your touch, “give you guys some alone time since I crashed your boys night.”

“You can’t crash it if I invited you,” Drew argues.

“I suppose,” you smile as you ruffle his hair, “thank you for inviting me, but I’m tired anyway,” you lie, “G’night bud.”

“Night Shae,” he giggles as Hank puts his big head in his lap, telling you that he’s staying put.

“Guess I’m chopped liver,” you narrow your eyes at him teasingly before kissing the top of Hank’s furry head.

You stop to give Bradley a kiss on the forehead, “night Roo.”

“Night,” he murmurs, eyes darkening as he watches you walk up the stairs to the room you haven’t slept in since you and Bradley got together.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Your fingers shake an hour later as you pull up your messages to text Bradley after falling down a rabbit hole.

It started innocently enough when you searched for a ‘sex blindfold’.

Things took a turn when you added one to your cart and the ‘you may also like’ suggestions popped up; Silk handcuffs, cock rings, vibrating cock rings, flavored lube, and so much more.

Curiosity got the best of you and you opened an incognito tab. To learn how to use those toys, of course. Soon you stumbled across some videos and suddenly you were reaching into your bedside drawer for your forgotten vibrator.

2 intense orgasms in quick succession later make it hard to form words, much less type a message to your sweet, unsuspecting man downstairs.

Shae: Drew sleep yet?

Bradley: I think so, shouldn’t be long if he isn’t. It’s been quiet for a few minutes. Why, what’s up?

Shae: I need you.

Bradley: What’s wrong? Are you okay?

His concern makes you smile and it widens as you snap a picture of your hand pushed down the front of your sleep shorts before you send it.

You can’t help but laugh at the flurry of messages that follow.

Bradley: Holy

Bradley: duck

Bradley: I mean fuck

Bradley: Holy fuck

Bradley: Don’t move

Bradley: Please?

Bradley: Let me take Hank out and I’ll be right up.

Shae: ��

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“Motherfucker!” Bradley’s hushed curse as he trips up the stairs makes you giggle.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Bradley says with ruddy cheeks as he strips off his clothes before sliding next to you on the bed, “at all, like even a little…but what brought this on?”

“I ordered a blindfold,” you say with no shame, too far gone to care, “and some other things. And then I looked up videos on how to use those things and-“

“And then you got all worked up?” He finishes for you with a sexy little grin before capturing your lips in a heated kiss.

“Yeah,” you break away with a whine as he dips his hand down the front of your shorts, “I want-no I need you, please? My fingers don’t fill me up the way you do.”

He groans at your words, “Of course, sweetheart. Anything you want. Feels like you’re all ready for me.”

“Uh huh,” you pant as he pulls his hand out of your shorts to help you push them down and finds the vibrator you discarded while you slip off your shirt.

“Were you using this too?” He asks, holding up the still-slick toy.

You bite your lip as you nod, refusing to be embarrassed.

“Fuck,” he lays back with a pained sound, dropping the toy as his eyes squeeze shut, “that’s so hot.”

Suddenly, you want to show him. You want to bring him pleasure like the girls in those videos did. You want to blow his mind like hell does yours.

So you turn to your side to kiss him, making his chest rumble with a pleased hum when you slide your tongue into his mouth. He typically leads but it seems like he’s more than happy to let you take the reins.

“You’re going on top?” Bradley’s eyes fly open when you straddle his hips for the first time.

You nod, rubbing your arousal up and down his cock. “If it’s okay with you?”

“More than,” he agrees eagerly, sucking in a breath when you catch the head of his cock on your entrance and begin to sink down. Slowly, because it’s still a stretch even with two orgasms under your belt.

“Look at you,” he pants, watching where you’re joined, “there ya go. Just a little more, honey.”

His hands fly to your hips at your little whimper at his praise and he slowly gyrates your hips for you, letting you get used to the size of him in this position.

“So big,” you whisper, leaning forward for a kiss but keen instead at the new angle, “fuck!”

His cock surges inside you at your curse.

“Can’t believe this pretty mouth says such dirty words,” he murmurs, tilting your chin to kiss your smiling lips like you were looking for.

“Mmm,” he hums into it when you slowly start to move up and down, “That’s it, that’s my girl.”

You shiver at his words before your hand starts to sweep the comforter for the silicone vibe, flicking it on when you find it.

Your teeth clamp down on his lower lip when you bring it to your clit to keep from crying out at the unexpected intensity it brings with him being inside you.

“Ha-ah!” Bradley lurches beneath you, hand flying to circle the base of his cock, “slow-ah! Don’t move.”

“Are you okay?” You pull the vibe away and sit up in alarm to look at him, but his eyes are still tightly closed, “Oh God, did I hurt-“

“No! Not at all,” He wheezes, shaking his head vigorously, “not even close. You just squeezed me so tight when you-I-I almost came.”

“Oh,” you reply, relieved.

He chuckles breathlessly as he releases his cock to put his hands back on your hips while he opens his eyes when he’s no longer on the knife's edge. “Do it again.”

You give him a small smile and resume your movements, turning the vibrator back on and pressing it to your clit with a choked cry.

“How’s it feel?” He murmurs as he brings his knees up to plant his feet.

“So good,” you breathe, mindlessly rocking your hips as the pleasure builds, “you’re so big.”

He chuckles cockily as he starts to fuck up into you with deep, sharp thrusts and moves you up and down like you weigh nothing at all.

“Bradley-“ Your eyes open in alarm as you feel the pleasure building, but it feels different; deeper, stronger. “I-“

“It’s okay,” he pants, nodding as if he knows, “it’s okay, just let it happen.”

Your free hand lands on his chest as an anchor and your nails dig into his pec. His lust-blown pupils are the last thing you see before your eyes close as the pleasure crests; the release so intense it takes your breath away. Yet you must be making some noise because Bradley’s hand flies up to gently cover your mouth.

“Oh fuck!” Bradley sounds far away as he cums too, filling you up and adding his release to the wet mess between your thighs. “Fuckkkkkk.”

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

When you come to, your cheek is pressed against his still-heaving chest, his rapid heartbeat keeping pace with yours.

“That-“ he clears his throat, voice gravelly, “that was so fucking hot, Shae.”

“That’s never happened to me,” you admit breathlessly, too worn out to be embarrassed.

“Can’t wait to make you do it again,” he smiles, rubbing your back, “and again. Preferably when we don’t have to be quiet.”

“Was I loud?” You ask, mindlessly tracing his nipple and smiling at the way his softening cock inside you jerks.

“A little,” he replies with a breathy laugh, “Sorry I covered your mouth, I hope that wasn’t…triggering.”

“It wasn’t,” you answer truthfully as you lift your head to look at him. Your slowing heart rate picks back up at the love and affection so evident in his gaze, “I trust you, Bradley. I know you would never hurt me.”

“I won’t,” he promises, brushing your hair back before lifting his head for a kiss, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you reply and kiss him again.

After another round of sweet, unhurried lovemaking, he changes the bedding while you shower. He joins you after, washing you with such reverence it brings tears to your eyes.

You want nothing more than to have him climb in bed with you when you finish, but you send him downstairs instead, not wanting Drew to wake up alone and get scared.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Reese can’t stop smiling at work Monday and you couldn’t be happier for her.

“It’s not going to be conventional, but I’m going to ask Bradley to be my man of honor,” she smiles, “and I was wondering if you’ll be my other bridesmaid?”

Hot, emotional tears fill your eyes and spill over before you can blink them back and her eyes widen in alarm.

“You don’t have to!” She rushes out, confused by your tears, “You just get me, and I’m so thankful you came into my life and-“

“I’d love to,” you interrupt her, embarrassed as you wipe them away, “I’m sorry, I just-I was cut off from my friends for so long but…” you shake your head, refusing to sour another moment with your past. “I’m honored, Reese. I would love nothing more to be at your side on your big day.”

Her eyes shine too as she pulls you in for a hug.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

A/N: I was fully planning on this chapter being the blindfold scene but this came out instead. But it’s on way! I have a feeling it may happen after Reese’s bachelorette party when Shae is feeling goooood 😏

Please hate me but…this one is going to be wrapping up in a few chapters 🫣 I’m happy to take requests/asks/thots about them though!

As always, any interaction is appreciated but I LOVE hearing what you think in the comments/reblogs! Seriously, feedback helps me more than anything.

Tagging:

@lexixstewart

@dizzybee03

@its-the-pilot

@hookslove1592

@hisredheadedgoddess28

@atarmychick007

@littlezee80

@k-k0129

@phoenix-rising-starbird-one

@jessicab1991

@djs8891

@lonelysoul50

@mrsevans90

@landpiranha-blog

@bellaireland1981

@shanimallina87

@writtingrose

@fandomology101

@amiets2

@psuedochakra

@lyn-js

@averagereader35

@emma8895eb

@midnightmagpiemama

@blindedbythelightt

@whitewolfsbitch

@that-daughter-of-hephaestus

@sbdunksblog

@glowingtree

@thelightnddarkness

@seitmai

@skathanstewart

@els-marvelvsp

[chronicowboy]

buck and eddie are ❌NOT❌ golfers, they're the least golfy men i have ever laid eyes upon - this is an issue i am incredibly passionate about and have been since 6x17 love is in the air, do not try to change my mind, it won't work. however, there is a way they could fix both of these issues in one fell swoop. so. buck goes golfing with gerard as part of the 118's meticulously hatched plan to get him not only out of their station but the lafd for good. buck is the obvious candidate, he's a cis white man who, in gerard's head, is half straight and that's all they've really got to work with. the problem? buck is truly and terrifically terrible at golf. clearly he'll need some tutoring in order for their plan to work. and buck's like "hey, eddie, you golf right?" so cut to the driving range, a cheesy sports film montage of eddie demonstrating how to swing and buck failing miserably, he looks a little flushed and maybe a bit distracted - wonder what that's about. anyway, sun begins to fade, we're going real campy humour, we break out of the montage and eddie goes to get another basketful of balls for buck to hit. he watches buck practice his swing and shakes his head. "alright, cowboy, this clearly isn't working". no shit. "maybe you should just go instead, show up with your half swedish side". eddie's not giving up though. he gets a little flushed and awkward and shuffles up to buck, scratching at the back of his neck. "it, uh, might be, um, easier? if i could... could i, you know, put my arms around you?" buck's mouth drops open in a little o, he doesn't say anything as he turns pink as the sunset behind them. "sorry, i made it weird, didn't i? forget-" "NO!" buck winces a little at his outburst. "i mean, uh, no, y-you didn't make it weird, that might actually work" so with the face of a man about to be sent off to war, eddie positions himself behind buck and wraps his arms around him, adjusts his grip on the club and leads buck through the motions of a good swing. everything's suddenly very tense and taut. they hit the ball, it's worse than any of buck's previous hits. it lands in the netting and only just rolls over the edge. there's an "ow - what the hell" from below. they freeze, buck begins to shake with silent laughter, eddie cracks slowly, then they're both giggling, trying and failing to muffle it, eddie buries his face in buck's shoulder and laughs, buck suddenly goes quiet, but he's still smiling. "if i knew all i had to do to make you laugh was be piss poor at golf, i'd have tried this the day after chris-" "hey, at least you haven't broken my ankle yet" "it was just a sprain" buck mumbles, eddie grins. "let's try again" they swing together once more, the ball goes soaring. buck whoops and does a dorky little victory dance and eddie looks at him, bathed in the light of the sunset, and oh, he's the most beautiful thing eddie's ever seen. buck runs back over "eddie, we've gotta go again, c'mon, c'mon" eddie breaks out of his trance "yeah, gotta learn to do it by yourself. i don't think gerard would appreciate you showing up with me on your back like a koala" and scene.

[lokimobius]

Lokius + 🤕 for the hug asks! :D

Happy Wednesday! Here's a little bit of hurt/comfort.

small content warning for symptoms of anxiety and trauma. it's not too detailed but just letting you all know.

🤕 Panic hug / "I'm glad you're okay”

The sound of glass shattering and Loki shouting had Mobius out of his seat in seconds. He grabbed his golf club from the hallway and gripped it tightly as he made his way towards the sound.

They had defeated He Who Remains and his variants over a year ago, but that didn’t stop him from worrying that someone was out to get them every time there was a loud sound.

The battle had been intense and left everyone with varying degrees of trauma. Mobius had suffered from nightmares of everyone and everything he loved getting destroyed. He dreamt of Loki sacrificing himself yet again, and this time he was never going to come back. The scenarios his brain conjured up haunted him, and he was losing sleep over them.

He couldn’t stay at the TVA any longer. As much as he would miss his friends, the pressure of his role, combined with the lack of sleep, made him sick. He had to go.

Not long after his decision to leave, Loki and Mobius had moved to the timeline to start a quiet life together, far away from the danger of being pivotal players in a multiversal war.

He stepped into their kitchen cautiously, raising the golf club up in readiness to swing.

Loki was nowhere to be found. Panic washed over his body. Had they taken him? The windows were in tact, so it didn’t seem like someone had broken in. But someone could’ve used magic. Damn it, why had he not thought about that until now? He’d have to get Loki to cast a protective spell around their house.

“Loki?!” He called loudly, panic now rising in his chest. His ears started to ring, and he gripped on to the golf club tighter.

Loki’s head popped up from behind the counter. “Down here!” He eyed the golf club in Mobius’ hand, and the smile on his face dropped. “Mobius?”

Mobius dropped the makeshift weapon to the floor and stumbled around the other side of the counter.

“Hey, hey, watch out!” Loki warned, standing up quickly to hold his hands out towards Mobius. “There’s glass all over the floor!”

Mobius didn’t care. He grabbed Loki's outreached hands and pulled him in for a tight hug. 

“I thought they’d taken you.”

Loki ran his hand up and down Mobius' back in an attempt to soothe him. “Who's they?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mobius said, burrowing his head into Loki’s neck. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” 

They stood there for a while, wrapped up in the safety of each other's arms. Loki swayed them side to side and continued running a calming hand up and down Mobius’ back.

“I might be okay, but the glasses that B-15 gave us aren't." He laughed, placing his chin on top of Mobius’ head. “I don’t think she’ll be pleased.”

“Don’t worry,” Mobius mumbled into his chest. “I’ll protect you.”

Loki smiled and squeezed Mobius tighter. “You always do.”

[mrs-barnes-rogers-writes]

Pretty As A Picture - Chapter 8

Marvel

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Theme: Soulmates - Feeling the connection as soon as you see each other.

Summary: When Bucky fell from the train, their soulmate was told he was gone. When Steve Rogers disappeared into the ice, their soulmate was again told one of her soulmates were gone. But she didn't believe it. Couldn't believe it. Committed to a mental health institute, she dies of a broken heart. That's at least what the hidden S.H.I.E.LD files say, but if that's the case than why is there a photo of her. A photo that shows her side by side two redhaired Avengers.

Warnings will be per chapter.

For this fic reader will be British, but let your imagination replace if needed.

Chapter Summary: The reader arrives and she has a plus one.

Chapter Warning: Mentions of blood, torture, medical procedures.

What happens next can only be described as organised chaos. Tony shouts orders at F.R.I.D.A.Y, telling the AI to open the gate and have the Med Team ready. Then he's locking down the compound, all appointments and meetings cancelled for the next 72 hours.

Bruce dashes to the medical wing as the others make for the nearest door. Tony, Rhodes, Vision and Wanda are in the air, and heading towards the gate you're currently stumbling through, the moment the door opens. Steve and Bucky are sprinting like they've never sprinted before. Natasha jumps into one of the many golf carts that are scattered around the compound, as Sam jumps in alongside her as she speeds off. Pepper and Maria wait anxiously at the door.

Tony and Rhodes get to you first, Wanda and Vision close behind. When they reach you, you've made it through the hidden gate and have somehow started to make your way up the grass bank. Pietro is now in your arms bridal style and Tony and Rhodes quickly realise you must be enhanced in someway, even if you are stumbling.

You drop to your knees a mix of exhaustion and relief as they reach you. Wanda whispers Pietro's name and runs her fingers through his mattered hair. You're clinging to him still as Wanda speaks to him in Sokovian. Steve and Bucky arrive next but you don't see or acknowledge them.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y scan them both, send all the results to the Med Team and tell them we're going to need two cradles."

Before anyone else has chance to speak your voice, horse and weary breaks through.

"He's had two lots of adrenaline, four shots of morphine, he's malnourished, he has multiple broken bones and lacerations, and his captors broke Geneva."

They all knew what that meant. When Geneva was mentioned by agents, it was to reference the Geneva Convention and how prisoners of war should be treated. You stating it had been broken meant Pietro had been tortured.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, pass all that on to the Med Team."

You're still hanging on to him as Nat arrives, kneeling at your side.

"Sweetie, you need to hand him over. Let Tony take him."

"But I promised" You reply, "I promised I'd get him back. I promised."

"You made it sweetie. You're at the compound. Let Tony take him to the Med Team."

You nod and Tony takes him from your arms, Wanda kisses Pietro's head and Tony takes to the air. Wanda follows immediately. Vision follows but not before giving you a brief thank you. You watch them go as tears begin to pour down your face.

"She needs a medic." Rhodey says first, Sam and Nat agreeing. Steve and Bucky who haven't uttered a word since seeing you, remain silent and staring.

"I'm fine." You reply "I just need a minute."

Nat goes to speak again but you cut her off.

"Go to her."

"What? I'm not leaving you, and I'm definitely not leaving you here on the damn floor."

"Nat, she's your soul sister too. She's just found out her dead brother is alive. Go."

Nat looks unsure.

"We've got her." Sam assures, knowing that you're right. Wanda would need her.

"Please Nat, go."

"Fine, but don't let her leave." Nat instructs the others as she heads towards the golf cart.

"We won't." Steve confirms, finally broken from his trance.

"Let's get her up to the medics, it'll be quicker if I take her." Rhodes says.

"Her is here, and can hear you." You snark, "and I'm fine."

You try to stand but stumble. Bucky reacts quickly and shoots forward grabbing you, first with an arm around your waist and then lifting you into his arms, bridal style. You hiss as he lifts you and he reacts without thinking straight, placing a kiss on your forehead before muttering.

"Sorry doll."

You relax in his arms and look up and him. His eyes connect with yours and there's a whirling in your stomach, a tightness in your chest and an instant feeling of admiration, affection and love. Your body relaxing more as a realisation washed over you. You didn't know where you were, how you'd got there, hell you couldn't be sure of your own name right now and you definitely weren't sure of who this beautiful man holding you was, but you did know it was your soulmate. You let out a weak smile.

"Hey you." you said fondly, before going floppy in Bucky's arms.

You were unconscious and your heart rate was slowing.

Enjoy this fic? Fancy a cuppa? My Ko-Fi.

TAGLIST

@calwitch @slowlyshycomputer @paasrin @cjand10

[yuna542]

[5.]

~The Greg Noll~

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Reader/Oc

Genre: Fluff, Enemies to Lovers, Smut, Angst, Drama, Action

Warnings: Wounds, Banter, None

Taglist: Open

Word count: 2.5K

Summary: The Kook princess is back after a year and reignites the war between Pogues and Kooks on Kildare. But she quickly realizes that after this year, nothing is the same as before. Deception, secrets from the past, and dangerous conspiracies sweep across Kildare, leaving her no choice but to work with the Pogues and her personal nemesis to find the truth and maybe even $8 million. A dangerous treasure hunt begins that turns her world upside down.

Note: Hope you liked it till here. I would be very happy if you‘d write a comment or repost and let me know what you think. Have fun with the new chapter 🫶🏻

Soundtrack:

⏯️Play: Crash My Car by COIN

Walk in like a wrecking ball

The way she moves makes you miserable

All eyes on the golden girl

She's gonna tell ya, gonna tell ya

Fortunately, no one had been in the shed behind the hedge for years.

Not even the gardeners ventured into the unstable old shack. That was exactly why she had always liked to use that place as a hiding place.

Mom knew for a fact that Rick wouldn't bother to set foot in the dusty old ramshackle. The door creaked ominously and rays of sunlight shone through holes in the walls. It looked almost magical.

The smell of dust, wet wood, and earth rose to my nose.

The shed was empty except for a shelf on the wall.

Carefully, I stretched and groped on the top shelf.

I reached into cobwebs and contorted my face in disgust, but I didn't pull my hand back. Not that magical.

That's when I felt the fabric and got a hold of it. With a tug, I was able to grab it completely and pull it off the shelf. Dust swirled up in the bright rays of light, worsening my vision. Coughing I tried to drive the dusty air away from me.

However, all I could do was stare at the large bag in my hand. It was indeed still here.

I walked back out and placed the item upright in front of me. It was by now just a little taller than I was. Tensely, I searched for the zipper and opened it with bated breath. I looked at the surfboard in awe, stroking my fingers over the cool surface.

It looked exactly the same. The Greg Noll had been Mom's treasure. She had learned to surf with this board herself as a young girl and subsequently taught it to me.

The wooden color was crisscrossed by two bright red stripes that stretched across the entire board.

Immediately memories came up in me and my whole body longed for the sea and the high waves.

I only now realized how much I missed the surf trips with Mom. Even though we could only ever practice in secret, because I didn't want anyone to know about it.

It would be my personal downfall if the other Kooks found out that I was practicing a pogue sport and even liked it. Until I found out Topper surfed too and suddenly it was cool to do that...

But at the moment, I didn't care about those Kooks. I just wanted to feel as carefree again as I had only been on the waves.

So I unzipped all the way and jammed the board under my arm.

I looked around the street carefully and then stealthily turned into a sneaky path. A path that led from Figure Eigth directly to the Cut. It was a winding path through the woods, but it was fun to be so spontaneous and free again.

Rick would have torn me apart, but I didn't care at the moment. To him the reputation and the opinion of the others, especially the Island Club had always been more important than my interests and feelings. So I didn't have to consider his either. He wanted me to have good grates, go shopping, tan all day on the yacht or go golfing.

As I heard the surf already from afar, a ton of heavy weight fell from my shoulders.

The white bikini felt pleasantly warm on my skin and when I finally felt the sand under my feet, I automatically quickened my pace until I was running towards the water.

Once in the water, I swung myself onto the board and paddled out. The water cooled my heated skin and I welcomed the taste of salt on my lips like a lost friend.

The first attempts to catch a good breaker were really miserable and it took me forever to regain my balance, but that didn't make it any less fun. The waves weren't very practical today, barely any good barrels, but it was a liberating feeling to finally be back on the board.

As my legs were already shaking with exertion, I laid flat on the board and paddled along the coast. The sun was high in the cloudless sky and warmed my back.

I never wanted to get off the board again and would have loved to paddle around the whole island. At some point I reached the swamp at the Cut, where the paths on the water stretched out like a maze over endless expanses.

Here I had been only very rarely. It was too dangerous for a Pogue to see me there.

Nevertheless, I let myself drift a little and lay on my back. The familiar feel of the surfboard on my skin made me sigh.

The sun's rays shone in my face, making me close my eyes. I let my leg dangle off the board and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing over the water here.

I didn't know if I had been dozing like this for hours or if it had only been minutes, but my body was so relaxed that I could barely open my eyes.

Out here there was no Rafe yelling at me, no Kooks thinking I was the infallible princess, and no Rick condemning everything I did and taking his anger out on me.

Out here it was just me and the swamp. I could just be myself and breathe freely for the first time in days without that oppressive feeling on my chest.

That's when I felt a touch on my leg. Before I could react, a searing pain shot through my body and made me wince violently.

A scream escaped me and the burning evolved into a piercing sting.

I straightened up too quickly and lost my balance.

Panicking, I tried to hold on to the board, but that only made it worse. I toppled over and landed in the water. Gasping, I tried to pull myself back up, and that pain shot through me again, only this time below my shoulder blade, at my ribs.

I gritted my teeth and pulled myself back onto the board with the last of my strength. Panting heavily, I stared at my leg, which was already reddened.

Swollen wounds that looked like burns sat there and I didn't want to know what my back looked like.

Immediately I became angry at myself and wondered how I could be so stupid. I didn't know this area out here and hadn't even read up on jellyfish at this time of the year.

The pain pulsed under my skin and ate its way to my bones.

Seagulls flew overhead screeching loudly as if to mock me.

Now every movement cost an incredible amount of energy, as I had to fight against the drilling pain every time, so that I was exhausted after only a few minutes. Panting, I looked around, but the beach was too far away. Most definitely I wouldn't be able to make it.

I looked around on the water and thought feverishly.

Gradually, I could no longer stand the pain, so I headed for the nearest cove.

Between the dense deciduous trees on the shore was a small pebbly beach that seemed to lead to a sparsely populated area.

I must be somewhere in the middle of the Cut. Reaching the shore, I stumbled through the knee-deep water and dragged my board to the beach. There I laid it on the gravel and struggled up to the meadow behind the beach.

I needed to see where I was and then somehow get home without anyone seeing me.

This was going to be difficult as I could barely stand upright and my leg hurt with every step. The poison started to turn my stomach and I got sick. I looked around and spotted a small path that led to a run-down fishing shack.

In front of it were old ship engines and other junk everywhere that I couldn't name.

Next to the large hut was a smaller shed that must have been a workshop.

Where the hell had I ended up here?

I ran my hands through my hair, panting, trying to keep a clear head.

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be anyone at home who could catch me on their property. To be honest it didn’t look like someone should live in that torn down place anyway.

Now I looked at my leg more closely for the first time and cursed softly. Afraid someone might hear me.

The redness ran down my entire calf.

I would have a hard time hiding that. Immediately I wanted to keep walking, but the pain suddenly triggered dizziness, so I immediately sat down to avoid falling. I could feel the grass under my body and the throbbing on my shoulder had only gotten worse from the salt water.

Then suddenly I heard the rumbling of an engine behind the house. Then silence again. I just sat there and took a deep breath after another and tried with all my might to not throw up.

I couldn't lose control now.

"What has the tide washed up for me?" a taunting voice sounded behind me. I closed my eyes and wanted to sink into the ground as soon as I recognized him. I turned my head and spotted JJ holding a motorcycle helmet in his hands.

He was standing on the terrace of the house, placing the helmet on a plastic table. He must have come through the house to the terrace. So that meant he lived here.

With all the houses all over Kildare, I had to end up at Maybank, of all places.

„Fuck…“, I whispered before I looked at the sky to push the tears back. I kept silent, hoping that maybe he would just disappear, but it was in vain.

He was already coming down the creaking stairs and toward me. So I stood up and bit the inside of my cheek as pain shot through my limbs.

As he came closer, he seemed to recognize me, but not to believe his eyes. A toothpick was stuck in the corner of his mouth, which he casually removed for a moment.

"Diaz?" it escaped him incredulously as he took off his cap, ran his hand through his hair, and put it back on with the shield facing backwards.

"Believe me, if I had known this was your property, I wouldn't have...", I was already starting to justify myself, but at his smug grin, I fell silent.

"What the hell are you doing here, Kook?"

I was already thinking of countless possible lies that could explain my appearance, but his eyes fell already on the board behind me.

He walked past me and looked at it with shining eyes.

"Is that a Greg Noll?" he muttered incredulously, stroking the red stripes. As he did so, he shoved the toothpick back between his teeth.

"Unbelievable... It's in excellent condition. How did you get your hands on such a…“

Astonished, his gaze now wandered back to me and his expression became inquiring. I felt like a kid who had been caught stealing.

"You surf?" he asked with such an incredulous tone that it was starting to offend me.

"Every now and then," I muttered, since there was no point in lying now.

"I don't believe that... The Kooks' princess surfs like a pogue," JJ exclaimed, circling me.

I had a hard time following him, but I couldn't let him see my back. After all I didn't want any help from a pogue and besides, I was ashamed of my stupidity.

"If you tell anyone, you're dead."

Threateningly, I glowered at him, but he didn't make a face.

"No one would believe me anyway," he countered, taking a step toward me. I wanted to back away, but my leg hurt too much.

A soft gasp escaped me, whereupon the grin disappeared from his face. His gaze wandered searchingly over my features and he seemed to notice that I was studiously avoiding turning my back to him.

"What's wrong? You look like a ghost."

Sweat stood on my forehead and I was sure there was sand in the wound on my shoulder.

"Nothing," I pressed out, but the golden-haired didn't believe me.

He grabbed me by the arm and jerked me around. I almost cried out in pain, but bit my tongue at the last moment.

"Shit, did a jellyfish get you? Is that why you docked here? That looks terrible! It must hurt like crazy."

I turned back to him, wanting to scratch his eyes out.

"Yeah, obviously. Now leave me alone so I can finally get out of here."

He took a few steps back again.

"Do you even know how to treat a sting like that?"

He took the toothpick out of his mouth and flicked it away.

"I'll think of something," I hissed venomously.

He just raised his hands defensively and let me pass.

"I won't stop you."

Limping, I walked over to my board and tried to pick it up, but as soon as I bent down, the sting shot from my rib, over my shoulder, and into my chest, causing me to slump.

Before I hit the ground, however, he caught me and pulled me back to my feet by my waist.

"Are you sure you can do this by yourself? You can't even stand on your own. Those wounds should be treated before they get infected."

He looked at me and I expected him to laugh and scoff, but instead he really looked like he was worried. About me? Never.

Only for a tiny moment before he eyed me up and down and put on another smarmy grin.

Only now did I notice that he was still holding me in his arms. His hand was firmly on my hip and I was propped up against his chest.

Since he was only wearing an unbuttoned shirt that was way too big, I could feel his warm skin and his heartbeat right under my fingertips.

Angrily, I slapped his hand away and fixed him.

"And you want to help me or what?"

JJ just shrugged and buried his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"I could help you if you asked me nicely."

Provocatively, he looked me straight in the eye.

I was getting more and more irritated, and if I hadn't been hurt, I would have slapped him in the face long ago.

"Are you serious?", I snapped at him.

"You want me to get down on my knees and beg you?"

JJ grinned suggestively and raised his eyebrows. Immediately, I regretted my choice of words.

"Well, I definitely wouldn't mind you on your knees, of course."

He came closer again and clasped his hands behind his head.

"But for starters, a simple please will do."

Annoyed, I snorted, but I was beginning to realize that I did indeed need his help.

Even if I somehow got home, I wouldn't be able to fix myself up.

I couldn't let Sarah and Rafe know either, since Rick was home and that's where my cell phone was.

And I could never get to Figure Eigth alone in this condition.

Waiting, the Pogue looked at me and smirked in amusement.

"All right. Please help me," I pressed out, spitting out each word like poison.

He put his hands down and was now grinning broadly.

"There you go. Was that really so hard?," he replied, and without asking, slid his arm around my waist.

Perplexed, I clung to him as he simply lifted me bridal style and carried me up to the house.

As if I weighed nothing, he ran up the stairs and my face flushed with embarrassment. His defined abs were pressed tightly against my torso and I had to take my eyes off those sky blue eyes, before I would loose my mind.

© Yuna542 — 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

LATROBE, Pa. — When fascism finally went mainstream in America, it came hawking a $60 made-in-China Bible and shadowed by a 50-foot American flag braced by construction cranes — and it opened with a story about Arnold Palmer’s private parts. I’d driven nearly five hours into and under the Allegheny ridges of Western Pennsylvania — up and down slopes that got steeper each mile with the volume of Donald Trump flags and yard signs that proclaimed “I’m Voting for the Convict 2024″ — out of a sense that the decline and fall of American civilization has reached a depth that I needed to personally bear witness. It was a fever dream — maybe I could find words that have eluded everyone else. Just six days earlier, Trump came to the Philly suburbs and turned a supposed town hall into a 39-minute dance party as his deeply confused crowd watched a once and wannabe future U.S. president sway awkwardly to Sinead O’Connor and Luciano Pavarotti or look utterly frozen in the bubble of his 78-year-old head. And yet when the alarm goes off the next morning, it’s still Groundhog Day in America, an election with a 50% chance of the music-trance guy winning. Something both incredibly momentous and weird is happening at the same time. Now, the sun was nearly setting over the runway at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. With the most consequential U.S. presidential election since 1860 just 17 days away, about 3,000 to 4,000 of the most die-hard MAGA Trump fans who weren’t exhausted by the campaign and the GOP candidate’s frequent visits to Steelers’ country had been waiting for hours on a sunbaked tarmac. They’d let out the obligatory whoop for the obligatory flyover of Trump Force One, and then finally the man tasked with bringing their country back was on the podium, filtered by bulletproof glass. Donald Trump’s red meat of mass-deportation camps and R-rated attacks on his opponents would have to wait. Monday’s DJ was now Saturday night’s comedian, with his cult as captive audience. What started out as an obligatory shout-out to Latrobe’s famous native son — Palmer, the late great golfer who brought the sport to your TV screens in the 1960s — went on for five minutes, then 10, then 12. What started as a nice but meandering tale about Palmer’s working-class roots grew into a stone silence during long detours into stuff like types of golf club shafts as the tale grew increasingly instead about Trump — about how his own power and wealth allowed him to claim friendship with this great man. You are standing in the twilight wondering if this could get any stranger when of course it did. The man who bragged in his first campaign that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and people would still vote for him now wants America to know he can tell a penis joke with the cameras rolling and still get elected as the 47th president. [...] So I came to Latrobe to try and write the 72-point headline that the Times editors can’t — “PHALLUS-JOKE MAN AND DANCING FOOL COULD LEAD THE FREE WORLD AGAIN” — and to scream at the top of my lungs from the bluffs overlooking this tiny airport that this would-be emperor telling the shower story is actually wearing no clothes. Who will shout that Trump’s “closing argument” is the melding of his increasingly public breakdown with how that might lead to an all-too-real domestic war of midnight raids and armored personnel carriers against the fiction of an “Occupied America”? Ironically, Trump’s endless Arnold Palmer bit seemed part of an effort Saturday night to prove that the rambling candidate is not “exhausted,” something that his own aides reportedly said after several recent interviews were canceled. But the Republican nominee — kind of like Madonna’s “Sex” phase and shock photos when her 1980s were ending — also appeared to sense that he needs to get more and more outrageous to get attention, after numbing America to his Hitlerian language that immigrants “will cut your throat.”

Will Bunch at The Philadelphia Inquirer on Donald Trump's Latrobe rally (10.20.2024)

Will Bunch wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer about Donald Trump’s fascist insultfest in Latrobe, PA in which he infamously obsessed about Arnold Palmer.

[inamindfarfaraway]

The Morality of Mabel and Dipper Pines

Warning: Dipper Levels of Overanalysis Ahead

I’d like to make it clear at the start that I love both of these characters equally and they’re both good people, just in different ways. But I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Mabel’s flaws and less of Dipper’s, so I’d like to contribute to the discussion of their respective characters by exploring a divide between them I haven’t seen talked about much.

Mabel really wants to be a moral person. She places a lot of intrinsic worth in the concepts of ethics, like kindness and fairness and the wellbeing of others. Being a bad person could be considered her worst fear. It’s definitely up there with her other greatest fears of losing her relationship with Dipper and the inevitability of change, and those fears developed later largely in response to Ford and the baggage he brought with him.

Dipper just doesn’t care about that as much. That isn’t to say he’s a bad person! He's compassionate, selfless, brave and unquestionably heroic by the end of the show. They both are. But it sticks out to me how differently they think about ethics. For example, Dipper literally kills Wax Sherlock Holmes, while Mabel is so averse to hurting someone’s feelings that she can’t bear to break out of a false, one-sided relationship with Gideon until Dipper's life is at stake. You see what I’m getting at here? But I have more evidence! Buckle up, this is gonna get long.

Compare how they treat their rivals, Pacifica and Robbie. These are ordinary humans with no real authority over them who, age and class gaps aside, they're basically on even footing with in confrontations, so this is a good metric for how aggressive they are when upset and how much they hold grudges in mundane situations.

In “Irrational Treasure”, Mabel is deeply hurt by Pacifica’s mockery to the point of giving up her silly identity, and sets out to prove her wrong that she can be competent. But at the end, when presented with the opportunity to destroy the Northwest family’s fake prestigious legacy that they use to justify putting others down, she declares, “I’ve got nothing to prove” and lets it go. She’s secure in herself. Her motivation is satisfied. Why bother putting more pain and strife into the world? It’s Dipper, who has been only been hurt by proximity to Mabel, who insists on exposing the truth specifically to spite Pacifica and takes away that “Man, revenge is underrated. That felt awesome!” Revenge is arguably a form of justice, especially in this sense of revealing an unfair lie, but still, he takes great pleasure in bringing an enemy down for the sake of it, not to fix the damage they did.

In “Fight Fighters”, Dipper’s vindictive streak returns. He manipulates the ridiculously powerful Rumble McSkirmish into brutally beating up Robbie on the fraudulent charge of murder, threatening Robbie’s life. He didn’t realize Rumble would try to kill Robbie, but he was fine with him severely injuring him. Rumble is a fighting game character, a superpowered master martial artist. Robbie is a normal fifteen-year-old. This is not a sportsmanlike matchup. By the end Dipper learns his lesson and takes responsibility, but so does Mabel about hurting people to try to have a perfect life and people still complain about that!

In “The Golf War”, Mabel is again the twin with a bone to pick with Pacifica, but Dipper takes her rivalry more seriously than her and is more willing to be mean about it. He encourages her to cheat when she doesn’t want to, justifying it because Pacifica is “cheating at life”. Understandable, but still underhanded. While Mabel bonds and buries the hatchet with her rival by the end, outright declaring their rivalry to be stupid, Dipper holds onto it, refusing to forgive Pacifica at all. He disapproves of Mabel's offer to give her a ride home afterward, despite the pouring rain and her absent parents. He still wholeheartedly considers her “the worst” and tells her so to her face at the beginning of “Northwest Mansion Mystery”, even though he saw her and Mabel help each other in their fight against the Lilliputtians and Pacifica thank Mabel and accept her apology.

In “The Love God”, Mabel’s compassion is on full display. She makes it apparent that she wants everyone she knows to be happy, to the point of making a chart to show her friends’ feelings with stickers, and goes out of her way to help Robbie just because she doesn’t think any human being should be so lonely and sad. Dipper initially has no sympathy for Robbie’s misery and sees the twins and his old friends leaving him to rot as a good thing.

Dipper is more emotionally invested in hating people and willing to play dirty. Mabel prefers to see the best in people, forgive, deescalate conflict and turn enemies into friends whenever possible, and has more respect for honour and sportsmanship.

Compare the insecurities they highlight in "Society of the Blind Eye". These could have been their last words spoken with their memories of the summer, so they are fully candid and vulnerable.

Mabel confesses, “I only love some of my stuffed animals and the guilt is killing me!” She reprimands herself for not having sincere affection for all the people in her life… who are inanimate objects, hence this being a joke about how immature and overly sentimental she is. But she’s telling the truth! Not being honest about your feelings toward someone who loves you (as toys are assumed to love their kids) is wrong. It’s something a bad, or at least flawed, person would do. We also know that it’s something Mabel can do with real consequences - she loves Dipper unconditionally, but her frequent teasing of him instead of letting this on damages his self-esteem more than she intends and often realizes - and when she does realize as in “Little Dipper”, she’s ashamed of herself. Her guilt is that she’s failing morally, that she hurts the people around her despite her good intentions.

Dipper admits, “Sometimes I use big words and don’t actually know what they mean. I mean, I’m supposed to be the smart guy! If I’m not the smart guy, then who am I?” He primarily thinks of his worth in terms of competence. Dipper is generally not that confident, at this point in time. He has an intense drive to prove his worth. He is acutely aware of his physical and social shortcomings. But the one thing he knows that he does well is analytical, deductive and strategic thinking, and so to always have value he’s built his entire identity around being particularly intelligent. He’s the planner, the mastermind, the guy with the specialized knowledge and important big words who people have no choice but to respect and listen to, because a lifetime of loneliness besides Mabel has taught him that given a choice, they probably won’t. Except just like Mabel’s all-loving attitude, there’s an element of performance. He doesn’t know everything; he’s inherently irrational to a degree like everyone else. So he tries to seem smarter than he is. His guilt is that he’s failing intellectually and practically, that he isn’t contributing enough to be worth something.

This is where Dipper diverges. He wants to be ethically good less than he wants to be good AT things, and respected for it. But they both beat themselves up when they don’t live up to their self-assigned archetypes of All-Loving Hero and The Smart Guy, when they aren’t good enough by their own unreasonably high standards.

"The Last Mabelcorn" deconstructs Mabel’s fixation on her moral perfection. Celestabellabethabelle, who I will henceforth call C-Beth for short, manipulates it to keep her out of the unicorns’ way. She makes manifest Mabel’s fear that she isn’t good enough no matter what she does. We see Mabel push herself further and further to try to prove herself, much like Dipper in episodes like “Dipper vs Manliness”, and emotionally unravel until she’s miserable, self-loathing and openly listing her vices in a way never seen before. But this isn’t productive! Wallowing in shame doesn’t motivate her to be better! She needs to learn that although she isn’t perfect, the virtues she has are good enough to work with to both get out and kick C-Beth out of her head. She decides to stop worrying about meeting an impossible ideal of goodness and just focus on doing good, by using efficient (if violent, and therefore immoral under certain paradigms) methods to protect her family. Her plot in this episode has its detractors and I understand the criticisms that the message wasn’t handled as well as it could have been. But I think it does okay. Mabel definitely reevaluates her need to feel like a good person here. She switches from prioritizing what’s important to her, the validation of being "pure of heart", to what’s important to others and in the bigger picture, simply getting the unicorn hair to keep Bill out of the Mystery Shack.

Finally, compare the twins’ disastrous errors in judgement in “Scary-Oke” and “Dipper and Mabel vs the Future”, when they both accidentally unleash terrible forces of evil upon the town and set in motion a local apocalypse.

Dipper recites an incantation from Journal 3 that causes the dead to rise as bloodthirsty zombies, desperate to prove to the government agents before they leave that the supernatural is real and warrants their help investigating, driven by both his desire for knowledge (his tool to feel secure in himself) and more immediately his fear of being dismissed as unworthy. He is emotionally vulnerable, but still creates the dangerous situation on his own initiative. Since he doesn’t need a blacklight to read the spell and the beginning of the episode established that he’s already familiar with all Journal 3’s visible entries, he knows what the spell would do. He doesn’t realize how many zombies will appear or how dangerous they’ll be. But he is aware that there are risks. Plus, the Shack is hosting a party full of innocent civilians and Mabel has explicitly asked him not to interfere with weirdness. The one thing she told him not to do that night was raise the dead! And what does he do? Raise the dead.

Mabel is actively deceived and manipulated into giving who she believes to be Blendin Blandin, an expert in time-altering technology, what she believes to be an item of such technology, with the intention of warping time to extend the summer for the town. This is a selfish choice. But on top of how emotionally compromised she is, sobbing in despair after “the worst day of [her] life”, consider her internal logic: the end of summer is going to mean the trials and tribulations of growing up for both her and Dipper, and they won’t even have each other if he gets his way; Wendy is already going through that and has told her how awful high school is; she overheard at least some of the Stans’ conversation at the end of “A Tale of Two Stans”, meaning she might know that Stan will have to give up his home and business once the summer is over; and she and Dipper both have true friends here who they will miss and be missed by, as opposed to Piedmont where we only see them supporting and comforting each other and never hear of any friends. And it isn’t like she’s the only one having fun! Stan is happier than ever, Ford is back home, Dipper’s come into his own more than she could ever have anticipated. He’ll still get to delve into the mysteries of this town that he loves so much. But she’ll be there too. If you want more Gravity Falls, you can see where she’s coming from. She genuinely thinks that “just a little more summer” would be a positive experience for everyone, with plenty of good reason. Yes, she’s recklessly messing with powerful forces that she doesn’t understand. Yes, she isn’t nearly as suspicious of this sudden miracle solution as she should be. But she has no evidence that this would harm anyone.

Their responses after making their mistake are also noteworthy. They’re both horrified and remorseful. But Dipper expresses no concern for the agents for the rest of the episode when it looks like they’ve been killed due to his actions. He even nonchalantly remarks that he thought they were dead when he sees them again. Mabel, however, reaches to stop Bill and begs him to “wait” before he knocks her unconscious. Then she’s imprisoned in Mabelland, which is designed to make her never want to leave and based on how it only occurs to her after she renounces it that the neon colours and repetitive background music are too much even for her, may additionally have a direct, though subtle, influence on her mind. So she’s a little distracted from her guilt. But by risking her life to fix the repercussions of her actions and save the town, she shows much more responsibility for the townspeople’s lives than Dipper showed for the agents he’d tried so hard to impress. He just happily went about his business for weeks believing he had two people’s deaths on his conscience. Never even looked into whether they survived.

These differences in their personal moral philosophies add another layer to the parallels between the two generations of Pines twins. Typically, Dipper parallels Ford and Mabel parallels Stan. But less so here! Like Mabel, Ford very staunchly believes in abstract moral theory, namely that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. He holds a grudge for weeks against Stan saving him from being lost in the dimensions through the portal, because it endangered the rest of the world by creating the Rift. It was a good deed with good intentions… but it didn’t only make life better for everyone. To Ford, that means it isn’t good enough. Hmm, which younger twin has a problem with judging anything short of ‘pure good’ to not be worthwhile? Also like Mabel, Ford’s self-righteousness is often hypocritical, considering his pride, selfishness and willingness to disregard the possible negative consequences of his actions, e.g. trusting Bill and building the portal in the first place.

Like Dipper, Stan is willing and ready to use underhanded methods to win against his enemies, to lie, cheat, steal and leverage assets he doesn’t really have the right to. He’s more inclined to be aggressive, spiteful and smug. As for holding grudges, even to an unreasonable extent, he personally despised a nine-year-old child even before he knew that the child was a bad person. He would absolutely summon Rumble McSkirmish to attack a rival for him. He prides himself on his cunning, another form of intelligence, and prioritises being good at what he does best over holding the moral high ground. He is shown to have lifelong insecurities about Ford being better than him in other fields (and thus explicitly valued more by their father); so his pragmatism is his way of trying to always be useful to the people he loves, and indeed a key way he shows them his love.

[artbyblastweave]

So one thing that irks me about discussions of the NCR is the idea that "they're flawed because they're trying to be America again. And Being Too Much America is what caused the War" without differentiating between the vast buildup of Nuclear Weapons and Geopolitical tensions, versus, like, being a republic and having a large-scale central state.

What's your thoughts?

I think the NCR circa New Vegas is textually intended to be repeating the USA's downward spiral. They're in the process of recreating the core dynamics of pre-war America- overconsumption of resources driving imperialist expansion, capture of the government by moneyed interests, and a prolonged conflict with a peer power that's suffering under similar expand-or-die pressures- but they're constrained from a one-to-one recreation mainly by the fact that they're working with a post-apocalyptic resource base, with the scraps left over from the last people who went down this path. Peanuts compared to the Sino-American war, but likely as close to that situation as the post-war-world is logistically capable of producing.

You see bits of this from the NCR perspective all throughout the game. There Stands the Grass is propelled by projections of incipient famine in the NCR due to rapid population growth, and you see the beginnings of this in Flags of Our Foul-Ups- O'Hanaran was sent to the Army by his family to lessen their food burden. Chief Hanlon's very first line is about how the NCR is overtaxing most sources of freshwater within the core territory, and he recounts how tiny groups of settlers backed by NCR logistics were able to take and hold a well in Baja against scores of locals; IIRC there's a cut event at Camp Golf itself where you'd see NCR rangers doing the same thing to Mojave locals encroaching on their water supply. The White Wash demonstrates that the NCR's sharecropping setup in outer Vegas operates at the expense of the locals, who can only get the water they need to support their own crops via subterfuge. If you assume that Heck Gunderson's underhanded Brahmin-farming empire in Beyond the Beef is supposed to parallel the real-world problems with the sustainability of beef farming, you start to get a sense of where all of that water is going and what structural problems (Heck Gunderson) might be in the way of allocating those resources more sustainably. There are likely more examples of this storm on the horizon that I'm forgetting.

As a result of all this, there's a level on which I think introducing the Tunnelers in Lonesome Road as a dangling White-Walker style Looming Apocalyptic Reset Option hanging over the west coast was gratuitous, not because it's Avallone grinding his axe with the idea of society rebuilding, but because it's simply redundant with the political situation already depicted in the base game- If you want the NCR to have collapsed by a future installment, just establish that they weren't able to put the brakes on in time and devolved into a completely dysfunctional oligarchy that collapsed under its own weight!

(Now, as a final note, one thing preventing me from fully committing to this take is that we honestly don't have a fantastic sense of what day-to-day life looks like for the average citizen in the NCR heartland, which I feel is kind of important. Because if the textual situation is supposed to be that the resource crisis is due to misallocation due to interests capturing the government, I like that a lot better than if the situation is genuinely intended to be that there are Just Too Many Goddarn People, because that's like. Lazy and Malthusian and leads to the usual ugly conclusions pretty quickly. More and more it's looking like the upcoming Fallout TV show is leaning into the recent decline of the NCR as a plot point, so, uh, fingers crossed they stick the landing when it comes to fleshing that out?)

[yuly]

I desperately need a part 2 to the “that’s Hotchner to you, agent” plz plz plz 🙃

→ hi lovely anon! ask and you shall receive! cw: only fluff I promise!

Aaron Hotchner x genderal neutral reader 

Always Aaron to You

Aaron is not a person who gives his trust easily. Once his trust has been broken, he clams up like a shell and prying that open might cost you a couple fingers. It's been a month now and you are willing to do whatever it takes for him to even look in your direction again. You miss your Aaron, your cuddle buddy, your confidant, your man. Because your words caused him this much pain and undid all the work the two of you have done to get him to express his feelings and be open, you have to think of a way to get him to see and hear just how sorry you are. With Valentine's Day coming up, you decide to use that to your advantage. If he throws it back in your face, you would take it in stride and leave him alone for good, this was your last shot. 

Aaron is not a shopping fanatic and he's not the easiest to buy gifts for, you know that he does everything in life for the people he loves, so you decide to take a page out of his book and pray it goes well.

He comes home absolutely exhausted, the case was long, the jet lag severe, and the whole precinct annoyed him to no end. Worst of all, he had to spend yet another day pretending to be angry with you when all he wanted was for things to go back to normal. But his pride was hurt so he kept the act up. As he made his way to the doorstep, Aaron thought of all the non-work related things he needed to get done this weekend and he let out an exasperated sigh. Being a single father with his work schedule was exhausting, to say the least. Aaron hated asking for help, but he so desperately needed to get some rest this weekend. As he entered his apartment, he toyed with the idea of swallowing his pride and maybe asking Jessica for a favour. 

Aaron was surprised to find Jack running about the apartment, stuffing a suitcase with clothes, toys and other odd bits.

“Dad! Guess what! I’m going to the Star Wars all-weekend exhibit with Jessica and cousins!!!!” Jack rambled excitedly, nearly foaming at the mouth. Apparently, Jessica was lucky enough to get her hands on some of the last tickets at the very last minute.

“I hope you don’t mind me whisking him away so last minute, I’m sorry if you had plans together or-”

“No, no, not at all actually. Thank you, Jess. It's been a long week I actually could use a weekend in, I owe you.” She smiled and swatted him away. Aaron wondered how his silent prayers of a quiet weekend were answered so quickly.

The next day, Aaron got an email reminding him of a golfing event he apparently booked in advance in the city. Aaron was confused, having no relocation of signing up, bet there was the receipt, from a month ago, under his name and credit card. He had actually been looking forward to going for a while now and must’ve forgotten about signing up. He spent the day catching up and flexing his skills in front of old friends. As he looked over the green hills and admired the view, Aaron got a text from Jessica, a photo of Jack and his cousins having an absolute ball at “stars wars land” as he called it, much to Jack’s dismay. He quickly saved the photo and sent her a thank you text back. At that moment, as the sun smiled down on him from its midday spot in the sky, Aaron felt content and happy, he felt lucky and again, he silently questioned how and why this weekend seemed to only get better. It was almost perfect, save for the small part of him that yearned for you.

When Aaron returned home that evening to find a bouquet of pink and white flowers, he was immediately on high alert. He cleared the area, and scanned the object carefully, only entering his home once he was certain everything was ok. He disarmed the alarm system and quietly closed the door behind him. He went through every square inch of the home, only relaxing when he successfully cleared the premises. He turned his attention to the bouquet of flowers, shades of pink and white staring back at him. He set them down on the kitchen counter, shifting his focus to the small card in the center.

“Agent Hotchner, please accept these as a token of my apology. 

The pink hydrangeas symbolize my regret over my words and actions toward you. I hope the optimism of the lily of the valley can bring a rebirth in our friendship, and that the pink peonies bring you good luck, maybe they can be the angel that silently answers your prayers.

- Agent L/N.”

Aaron is taken aback, he honestly cannot remember a time in his life when he received flowers in such a loving gesture. It flusters him as he’s unsure how to place this emotion that was nagging at his chest. The last line makes the cogs in his brain spin and his heart race. Could it be possible that this weekend was your doing? Or was the sweet gesture getting to his head.

“Aaron, is everything ok?” He could hear the kids laughing in the background.

“I need to know where did you get the tickets from”

After a bit of resistance, Jessica confesses that you had gifted them the tickets. She insisted that it was simply a kind gesture and pleaded with Aaron not to say anything.

Within 15 minutes, Aaron is at your doorstep with the flowers in hand.

“Aar-Agent Hotchner?”

“You bought those tickets for Jack didn’t you?”

Your gaze shifts to your feet, unsure how to read his flat tone and fearing the worst.

“Yes.”

“And the golfing, you signed me up for it didn’t you?”

You look up to meet his eyes now, honey-coloured orbs that make your knees weak. His expression is difficult to read but his tone is soft. 

“Thought I’d make it up to you, show you how sorry I am.”

His heart aches at how docile and unsure you sound. He lifts your chin up to meet your eyes once again and spares you a smile, “you are my light at the end of the tunnel, I hope you know that.”

A shy breaks across your face, the warmth of his words wrapping around you snugly. 

“Hotch-”

“Aaron, always Aaron to you, Y/N. I love you”

You nuzzle into his chest, relieved that this long and drawn-out fight between you is finally over. Something clicks and the final piece of the puzzle has found its place as harmony is restored between you and Aaron.

“I love you, Aaron.”

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ

Tagging:

@michasia24 @hizzielover @shamelessfangirl-3 @lilozg-123 @daily-evanstan  @justarandommom @hausofwhores

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Characterization and OS2 x The Eclipse

I have been having many conversations with the clowns and it seems that we are all generally of the same mind re: complaints about characterization in Our Skyy 2 x The Eclipse. We’ve had very brilliant words and reflections from @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup. My words will not be brilliant but they will be. 

So I am going to start by saying, bluntly, that P’Golf is beating us over the head with the messages they want us to take from these episodes. In fact I would have maybe critiqued the in-your-face, unsubtle nature of their messaging if I hadn’t seen such terrible takes on at least Episode 1 if not some about “green flag Ayan” for Episode 2. Clearly the message needs to be this straightforward in order for some of you to get it.

So at this point: 

If you are choosing to complain about the characterizations of Akk and Ayan especially, but any of the characters, you are doing so in bad faith. 

Why am I claiming it’s in bad faith? Because Akk and Ayan are completely in character the entire time and Golf hands us the central conflicts on a silver platter. 

So what are the central conflicts of these Our Skyy 2 Episodes? 

“What’s wrong with you, Golden Eagle?”

“There’s no need for me to answer your question, Red Eagle,” 

Central Conflict One: Communication 

Akk is not open about what is bothering him. This is extremely in character for Akk. Akk is a master of repression, and he will and has consistently, emphatically, and blatantly lied about his feelings at every given opportunity. Akk is excited about spending his birthday with his boyfriend, and he is upset that Aye seems to not remember his birthday. Does he say anything about it at all? No. He goes and retreats and sulks, but he refuses to bring up the thing that is bothering him. 

Having Aye in this fantasy ask what is wrong is extremely in character and gives us a direct, explicit sentence of what Aye has been constantly trying to do, which is to have Akk communicate his needs. Aye is incredibly direct and explicit in checking in with people all the time. (As examples: “Can you tell me the truth, Akk?” from the beach scene in Episode 6, “How would you feel if Akk and I were more than friends?” to Akk’s parents in Episode 12, checking in with Kan and Thua, etc. etc.). 

Having Akk in the fantasy respond that there is no need is extremely in character and gives us a direct, explicit sentence of what Akk’s potential conflict point will be, which is Akks refusal to communicate his needs. (As examples: *gestures wildly to the entirety of The Eclipse*) 

__

And we are shown explicitly, time and time again throughout all of The Eclipse and throughout both Our Skyy 2 Episodes what happens when Akk does communicate. 

We get a healthy and balanced relationship where our favorite war criminal and his rat bastard boyfriend get to be happy, dopey, in love, and frolic.

Frolic, I tell you!!

And we get declarations of love

And does it take Ayan a second to get there? Does he delay and tease, and annoy Akk by not saying it at first? Yes. Does he make Akk turn away and say “I don’t want to annoy you?” Yes. But Akk does get Aye’s love confession, and Akk similarly plays with Ayan, pretending like he isn’t going to say he loves him back…calling them friends in the first part of Episode 2. But ultimately he relents as well.

__

But what does Akk not do? Tell Aye that he is upset that Ayan seems to have forgotten his birthday. I’m not going to victim blame here and say that all of Akk’s upset, annoyance, despair, heartbreak, etc. is his fault. Ayan is very intentionally toying with Akk’s emotions, feigning ignorance, and hurting Akk here. Ayan’s idea of pretending not to remember his birthday is the spark that lights up this conflict between them. But it is not solely Ayan’s fault either. If Akk was open and honest and communicative about the ways in which he felt hurt by this. If he did what Ayan has been trying to get him to do throughout their entire relationship (and by relationship here I mean connection to one another from their first meeting until now and not exclusively their romantic relationship) which is to be honest about his feelings. 

Ayan is not perfect, and honestly if I do have one actual criticism of this episode it is that I wish there had been less of a positive response from Akk after Aye’s surprise, just so that there was more of an opportunity for Akk to actually talk about how upset he had felt. But honestly, thinking about characterization, I am not sure if that would have been in character for these two either because their entire dynamic is built on the foundation and enjoyment of getting a rise out of each other. 

To say that Akk and Ayan are not in character here is in bad faith. Their entire relationship in The Eclipse starts with them being antagonistic forces to one another. That competition, that light teasing and soft bullying that Aye does to Akk throughout The Eclipse is what usually gets Akk to break out of that repression and to admit his actual feelings. But Ayan constantly has to work to get there. Ayan knows why Akk is upset, and he isn’t pushing Akk on it too hard because he doesn’t need Akk to be honest with him. But Akk, similarly to what he did when he told Aye that he wasn’t thinking naughty thoughts when he wanted to make Aye sleep on the floor, or when he kept covering for Chadok and placing the blame solely on himself, has still not gotten comfortable expressing his needs. 

And whoever said it earlier said it best, that when Akk tells Ayan that he’s changed, they are fairly certain Akk means that Aye has changed only over the last couple days/weeks while he has been planning this surprise party for Akk. Accurate. 

So why is this communication conflict coming into play at all? 

Because of who Akk and Ayan are as people. 

Central Conflict Two: Perspectives

Akk believes that Ayan should care about other people more, and Ayan believes that Akk should care about other people less. These are two fundamentally different approaches and views of the world and what is important. Their conflict around communication comes from this same perspective, Aye is too busy thinking about how much fun he is having with these fights with Akk and how much he thinks Akk will eventually love the surprise to understand that he is currently really and sincerely hurting Akk’s feelings. Akk is too busy worrying about whether or not bringing up his own feelings about Aye not remembering his birthday will further strain their relationship or make Aye feel bad, that he never says anything about it. Akk doesn’t want his friends to feel bad for him or responsible for his emotional state so he lies to them about Ayan having wished him a happy birthday. He wants to make sure that Ayan isn’t stressed out so he encourages Ayan to go deal with the errands for his mother, regardless of the hurt it is causing Akk to let him go. 

Because these perspectives are literally why and how Akk and Ayan work as a couple. 

Akk was killing himself for Suppalo and for Chadok. Akk is so blinded by his concern for others that he is unable to understand the harm he has done to others, and the harm others have done to him until Ayan, who is fueled by his own personal vendetta, is able to remind Akk that he is a person who has been manipulated. Ayan’s narrow view of the situation at Suppalo, and his hatred of Chadok allows him to help Akk understand how deeply and badly he is being used. Ayan was able to get Akk to shed some of his responsibilities and focus on himself and the people he loves, one of the bigger examples being Akk going with Ayan on a coffee date instead of going to the protest to record names. 

Ayan was killing himself for Dika. He was so blinded by his grief, that he was unable to see the ways in which he was neglecting Dika’s memory and harming the people Dika loved. Ayan wasn’t taking care of himself, and Ayan wasn’t even aware of the fear he was causing his mother that he might leave her too, and he was acting as an antagonistic force to Chadok who was also grieving the man he loved. And then Akk came along, and Ayan had another person to care about, and had someone that cared about him. Akk threw Ayan a life line when he was drowning in his own pain and sorrow, Ayan was constantly surprised by the fact that despite Akk’s antagonism towards him, Akk was also willing to step in to protect Ayan (interrupting Aye’s fight about uniforms with Teacher Waree to say he agreed with her). Eventually, Akk was able to care enough for Ayan, that Ayan was able to look around and see and care for other people over his own feelings. The biggest examples being telling his mother she wouldn’t lose him too, and offering Akk Dika’s necklace after he breaks the news to Akk about Dika’s suicide. 

Ayan shouldered Akk’s pain and Akk shouldered Ayan’s, and Akk was allowed to be selfish and self-centered around Ayan and Ayan was allowed to care about Dika and care about Akk when he was around Akk. 

Akk’s care for others harmed many people, The World Remembers especially and Ayan’s care for himself and the people he loves also harmed many people, The World Remembers especially. And all the hot takes I was seeing about why Thua is a bad person? Wrong. Sure Thua outed Akk and Ayan, but Ayan outed Thua first. But besides that Thua is the one to call out the fact that Ayan is being hypocritical, knowing that harm is being caused by Akk and allowing Akk to continue to hide away from taking responsibility because he cares about Akk’s feelings. This ultimately ends up hurting Akk further because of where and how the information is revealed. 

— 

Anyway, going back to Our Skyy 2, these perspectives are not something that Akk and Ayan are really able to change. Nor do we want them to. It is why they work as a couple and it is why the hug scene is so important. 

Akk fundamentally is a person who will continue to value others above himself

Ayan is a person who will continue to value himself above others. 

Individually these mentalities can cause harm to one another. As I previously mentioned, Akk not voicing his feelings about having his birthday forgotten and Ayan being too excited by the prospect of the surprise to really think critically about how bad Akk may actually be feeling. This strains their relationship. 

But when they come together? 

That’s where the magic happens. You need both a selfless and selfish perspective in life to find the proper balance. This extends politically as well, you have to consider both the needs of the collective and the needs of the individual. 

Anyway, I know that @shortpplfedup has 5000 words coming about the hug so I will stop there. All this post really was was a way to say that Akk and Ayan are perfectly in character throughout the entirety of the show and their personal struggles are reflected in the very obvious messaging Golf gives us. Hopefully this was helpful in illuminating both the themes and how they related to consistent characterization of Suppalo’s Most Wanted, Akk and Ayan. 

I loved the episodes and I will be watching them more than is a.) strictly necessary and b.) entirely healthy. 

(tagging rest of clown server: @waitmyturtles, @lurkingshan, @ginnymoonbeam)

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Eli Lake

Just over a year ago, the entire world woke up to news of a massacre.

We all know the horrid tale. Waves of gunmen—some on paragliders, others on motorcycles—attacked families at kibbutzim and young people attending a music festival. The marauders filmed their murders on GoPro cameras. They burned families alive in their safe rooms, raped and mutilated their victims, and took hostages back to Gaza on golf carts. 

Why did they do it? 

This is how Al Jazeera journalist Marc Lamont Hill ascribed the motivation: “Before October 7, the people of Gaza didn’t have one minute of self-determination.” Never mind that Israel pulled out of the territory in 2005. Hill calls this fact “a right-wing lie that we’ve got to dissect with the truth, which is that for a hundred years there’s been a settler colonial project.”

For progressives, October 7 was a jailbreak from an open-air prison. 

But for the belligerents, it was Operation Al-Aqsa Flood: an act of jihad, or holy war. 

That’s what Hamas said shortly afterward, anyway. On October 10, they released a communiqué, which explained that the purpose of this massacre was “to bolster the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of the open aggression of the occupation, thwart its schemes and dreams of Judaizing Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, and achieve victory for the just cause of our Palestinian people and our struggle for the liberation of our land, prisoners, and sanctities.” 

It’s worth lingering on that phrase, “Judaizing Jerusalem and al-Aqsa.”

Because it reveals something very important about the Israel-Palestine conflict: that much of this is not about a country; it is about an ancient city. The world knows it as Jerusalem. The Palestinians call it Al-Quds. In the middle of this city is a large hill known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or noble sanctuary. Here, there are two great mosques: Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa. This, Muslims believe, is where the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven in a dream.

And if you listen to Hamas, they’ll tell you that there is a plot by the Jews to destroy Al-Aqsa and build a third Jewish Temple where it now stands. 

That is a lie.

It’s been 57 years since Israel won the territory in the Six-Day War—plenty of time to Judaize Temple Mount. And though there are a few on the fringe of Israeli politics who speak fanatically about the desire to build a third temple, every government since Jerusalem was reunified has entrusted the mosques on top of the mountain to the guardianship of a Jordanian religious agency known as the Waqf.

Muslims, not Jews, remain the custodians of Al-Aqsa. 

But it’s worth understanding where this lie came from.

Palestinian nationalism has taken many forms over the past century, from Maoism to Islamism, but this one theme persists: Jews have no place in their ancestral homeland, and they threaten the third holiest site in Islam. You hear it over and over again in the history of Palestinian revolts. And it stems directly from one man.

Born in 1895 to one of Jerusalem’s great families, he could trace his lineage back to the prophet Muhammad himself. He was a seminary school dropout, an antisemite, and a Nazi collaborator—and the first leader of Palestine. His name was Haj Amin al-Husseini. And while Palestinians today are embarrassed by his legacy, it’s a legacy that explains many of the pathologies that still afflict their leaders—from the celebration of spectacular violence to the rejection of compromise.

The story begins in 1920, just three years after the British adopted the Balfour Declaration, by which the empire promised to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

The British became the protectorate of Palestine in 1920, but they did not conquer or covet the land; it had been entrusted to the empire through the League of Nations. Before the British Mandate, Palestine had belonged to the Ottoman Empire, which collapsed after World War I. There had never been a Palestinian state as such.

But there had been Arab nationalism—both as a backlash against the Ottoman empire, and as a movement based on shared language, culture, and geography, according to Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

And the first birth pangs of a Palestinian national movement began as a rejection of the Balfour Declaration—and specifically, the Zionist Jews returning to Palestine to create a Jewish state. It’s at this volatile moment that a young Haj Amin al-Husseini came onto the scene.

On April 4, 1920—which, in the Christian calendar, was Easter Sunday—Jerusalem’s Muslims were celebrating the festival of Nabi Musa, which involves marching to the tomb of Moses near Jericho.

A crowd chanted: “Palestine is our land and the Jews are our dogs.” 

Al-Husseini, who was only 23 years old at the time, stood on a balcony in the Old City, held up a photograph of King Faisal of Syria, and shouted: “This is your king.”

King Faisal was one of the first independent Arab leaders to emerge after World War I, and at the time, many Palestinians considered the territory to be southern Syria.

The crowd then descended on the Jewish quarter of the old city, bearing knives and clubs. In the ensuing pogrom, five Jews and four Arabs were killed. All told, 211 Jews and 33 Arabs were wounded in the riots. 

[thatsexcpisces]

Random things I associate with each rising sign 💌

Aries rising:

Confidence, sharp eyebrows, being outspoken, lots of tattoos, prominent forehead, going to the gym, frat parties, short temper, courage, impulsive decisions, taking control of a room, finishing in first place, blasting loud music, trusting yourself, traveling

Taurus rising:

Sophisticated taste in restaurants, natural beauty, good food lovers, jewelry, small but full lips, taking good care of plants, healthy hair, clear skin, comfy blankets, offering things to others, bakeries, peace, round faces, soft voices, singing, sleeping in all day

Gemini risings:

Working on a podcast, expressive eyes, funny facial expressions, talking a-mile-a-minute, being the most charming person in the room, thin yet long eyebrows, glasses, being able to talk to anyone, finding the positives in a negative situation, youthful appearance, gossip, Saturday brunch, fairies, pats on the back

Cancer risings:

Pastel-colored clothing, being the support system of the family, gentle hugs, sensitivity, big round faces, glossy eyes, calm voices, hot cocoa, bringing sweet energy to every gathering, empathy, loving animals, silver jewelry, mothers, bright smiles, spring, nice boobs, being kind to outcasts, the ocean, comfort

Leo risings

Self-love, theatre & acting, creativity, baby lions, siren eyes, good taste in fashion, vibrant personalities, gorgeous hair, taking you out for drinks, open to being with anyone, orange & white, cherry-flavored drinks, the beach, karaoke, fancy mirrors, feathered boas, sharp nails that are always done

Virgo risings:

Routines, to-do lists, cleaning the house every Sunday, massages, spa days, ‘clean’ makeup look, soft eyes, face masks, stomach problems, good cooking skills, maturity, color-coded clothes, sunset shades of orange, plants, lavender smells, fresh laundry, delicate jewelry, animal lovers, smooth hair

Libra risings:

Solving conflicts, flirting with everyone, the color pink, smelling good, tulips, easygoing characters, cinnamon rolls, flashy clothes, designer bags, hidden anger issues, carrying snacks everywhere, luscious hair, Regina George, chic flicks, angelic eyes, pearls, long legs, white cats

Scorpio risings:

Living a secret double life, intense stares, red-bottom heels, black eyeliner, purple flowers, heightened intuition, seeing messages in dreams, cigarettes after sex, long hugs, watching movies before going to sleep, headphones on all day, strong perfumes, powerful voices, Halloween, quick comebacks, dirty minded jokes, lace clothes

Sagittarius risings:

Being the funniest person in the room, bright smiles, loud laughs, liked by everyone, elephants, pop-out colors, wisdom, studying at night, traveling the world, defined teeth, strong bodies, dark sense of humor, stylish accessories, not caring what others think, bold lipstick, skiing, reading books to children

Capricorn risings:

Classy & elegant style, hardworking, black sweaters, the newest computer, coffee, nice teeth, tied hair, gold rings, playing golf, money in an envelope, marble tables, hard life, strict parents, gardening, setting rules in every environment, writing down goals, post-it notes, the color green and brown, beautiful houses, poodles

Aquarius risings:

Technology, good social skills, Star Wars, electric blue, individuality, protesting all day, new gadgets, defined jaws, being bored of everyone, writing a blog, music festivals, holographic-themed outfits, reading books, ranting about your favorite show, know-it-alls, hiding how you really feel, Twitter, healthy diets, car dates

Pisces risings:

Painting, sad yet sweet eyes, rewatching the same movie over and over again, sleeping for a long time, reading minds, trauma, taking a walk in the woods, doodling in your notebook, taboo topics, picnics, astral projection, baking on a rainy day, kissing your loved ones, skirts, pretty hair clips, piled up journals, wind, comfy living rooms

[mlmvoreconfessionals]

Do you think Monty would ambush the other glamrocks after they’ve had their fill of prey? Get them all filled up before snacking on his costars? 👀

I've been getting too many really fun M.onty ideas lately. This sounds great, absolutely I think he would.

M.onty growls to himself, his claws scratching up the table he’s sitting at as he watches the others. Today sucks. Each of them had been booked today with huge parties, and now that the day is over, they’re all stuffed full. And M.onty? No one booked him at all! He hasn’t had a bite! Not even some chumps in his golf course to eat! He’s practically withering away, while the other three are showing off their heavy, full guts.

F.reddy belches deeply, giving the side of his gut a few rough pats. “I think we should really start regulating how much we can eat during the day. This seems slightly excessive to me…”

“Nah, it’s fine,” B.onnie reassure with a chuckle. He hefts up his stomach and lets it drop so it bounces and sloshes. “They were practically begging for it! Plus, those private parties all come with plenty of legal jargon. We’re not responsible for any digestion that happens!”

“Arr, they be tempt in’ us like a siren,” F.oxy agrees, lazily picking his teeth with his hook while his guts groan wetly in his lap. “They ought to be eaten, show them that we mean business.”

M.onty grumbles again and his gut does the same. He’s certain they’re doing this to mock him now. He knows he’d have gotten more food if they hadn’t hogged it all in those stupid parties. And why didn’t he get booked for one? F.oxy got booked over him! This isn’t just unfair…it’s wrong. They need to make it up to him…they owe him a meal.

A grin begins to curl onto M.onty’s muzzle and he slurps over his teeth. He sees a really good three-course meal right in front of him. Freshly fattened, too. He’s drooling now as he gets to his feet, trying not to draw their attention too much. They’re still chatting together, showing off their fattened guts. They’re asking for this.

M.onty lunges without a second thought, jaws open wide. None of them saw it coming, and B.onnie’s voice gets cut off mid-sentence. The two of them crash to the ground, B.onnie chest deep in M.onty’s maw. It doesn’t stay that way for long as the gator begins to gulp and shove, forcing the rabbit deeper. His jaws are gnawing and chewing on that soft rabbit gut by the time B.onnie’s legs start kicking and his muffled yells can be heard.

“M.onty!” F.reddy cries out and rushes over, grabbing onto B.onnie’s kicking legs. “What do you think you’re doing?! Spit B.onnie up immediately!”

M.onty snarls and gets back to his feet, his jaws clamping down tight as he starts to play tug-of-war with F.reddy. B.onnie’s muffled cries betray his clear discomfort with this. After a bit of pulling, M.onty gives a hard yank and opens wide. F.reddy loses his balance and falls forward, inadvertently shoving B.onnie deeper. It also gets his arms firmly planted in M.onty’s maw, which clamps down again. F.reddy is elbow deep, with B.onnie’s feet kicking around weakly outside of the gator’s lips.

F.reddy’s eyes widen as he realizes the situation he’s in. M.onty’s eyes glare at him from behind his sunglasses, but he’s grinning. Another hard gulp and a lunge forward, and F.reddy’s head and shoulders are fully engulfed. M.onty grabs the bear by the waist and begins to hoist him off the ground, throwing his head back and snapping his jaws as he starts forcing the bear down the hatch. He makes sure to chew on that fat gut a bit, just like B.onnie’s, before shoveling the whole thing down the hatch. Then he just has to slurp up F.reddy’s kicking legs.

M.onty’s stomach bloats out heavily with the last gulp. It bounces and sloshes, sagging down past his knees as two of his bandmates drop inside. It’s stretched tightly over them, showing off detailed bulges of the rabbit and bear as they wiggle and squirm inside. A deep, thick belch rumbles out of M.onty and he gives his stomach a few hard smacks. “Ha, that’s what you two get! Showin’ off those guts of yours while I was starvin’, you shoulda known you were just lookin’ like a couple of stuffed chickens!”

Some muffled sounds echo out of M.onty’s gut, making him laugh and give it a good shake. It sloshes the two inside around, stirring them up more and leaving them wiggling uselessly. M.onty is completely distracted by his tank but perks up when he hears the sound of someone moving. He locks eyes with F.oxy, the pirate freezing up in fear. M.onty slurps over his teeth slowly and gestures with a finger. “Do I look full to you? C’mere, fuzzball.”

“Arr...” F.oxy frowns and starts walking over. His eyes flicker down to M.onty’s engorged stomach, seeing F.reddy’s face stretching it out. “Don’t ye think yer takin’ this a wee bit too far?”

M.onty grabs F.oxy by the front of his coat and yanks him in close, their stomachs pressing tightly together. M.onty opens wide, blasting a thick belch right into the pirate’s face. It makes F.oxy wince and try to turn his head away, but a slobbering gator tongue makes that difficult as it drags over his face. “Nah. I said I ain’t full. So down you go.” M.onty opens wide again and, this time, shovels F.oxy face first into his gullet.

F.oxy’s legs kick, but he goes down even easier than the other two did. M.onty just throws his head back over and over, taking wet gulps to suck the pirate down. He doesn’t even use his hands, letting them rest on his already engorged stomach so he can feel his dessert stretch it out even further.

Once the last bits of F.oxy are pulled inside the gator’s maw, M.onty’s jaws snap shut and the last harsh gulp sends him on his way. M.onty’s stomach groans and stretches further, nearly touching the ground now with how stuffed it is. He gives the top of it a few rough pats, slowly slurping over his lips. He has to admit...the others are way better meals when they’re stuffed. He wouldn’t have felt this full even if he did get to snack on a bunch of customers today!

With a final harsh belch, M.onty begins to waddle off back to his room. His guts bounce and slosh with every slow step, getting lots of muffled complaints in the process. It just makes him chuckle, patting his gut some more with one hand while he picks his teeth with the other. “That oughta teach y’all...mm...then again, I gotta say, stuffed bandmates are pretty filling! I might still be churning over some of y’all come opening tomorrow...” M.onty grins when he hears even more muffled complaints. Today wasn’t so bad after all.