#just look at the facts and data and be fr.

[chaoticlandworlder]

It's on sight @ those who say Max only won because of the safety car (yet didn't say shit about Miami).

[bipidin]

My dad just tried to argue that Sex Ed in schools is pornographic

[seirooo0]

I fucking lost it

Type: Drabble (??????????)

Synopsis: You, a robot. Rui, your creator

Content warnings: GN!Reader as usual : 3, probably angst if I can write angst good enough; Uhhhhhhh you got abandoned yaur hahhahahahaha

C. Note: I've lost it, have this content before I disappear for the next few months again <3 love you guys fr fr — Thing under cut!!

For as long as you remember, you were created for the purpose of accompanying someone..

That someone was your creator.

You were created to be with him, to cater his needs—particularly the need for a friend. Despite the fact you don't quite show the enthusiasm when he rambles about his little inventions or when he has a new show idea, you still show that you're listening to him regardless of your inability to feel emotions or express yourself. "So this one brings you anything you need or want, just say its name and the thing you want it to bring to you!" Exclaimed Rui, showing off a robot in his hands. You nodded, your face painting a rather blank look as you clapped with your metallic hands "That sounds amazing." Spoken with a monotone voice. Rui's expression slowly falters as he smiles rather sadly. The concept of emotions was an alien to you, that you, subconsciously, tilted your head in mere confusion. Confused, as to why he looked sad, confused as to how you made him sad. Question after question popped in your head but before you could even ask, the purple haired man shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Sorry, I just remembered something." He immediately answered, even though you haven't asked the question yet.

Of course, he knew what you were thinking—or at least assumed and got the correct answer—he made you after all. Programmed the way you think, behave, move, speak, everything. That's why it's not a wonder how he knows almost everything you're about to say even though you haven't opened your mouth yet.

Truly, truly, you knew you cannot replace a real human, someone to accompany Rui; your creator. You cannot replace the warm feeling of talking to a human being. You cannot replicate the emotions and the enthusiasm one would have when talking with someone. You cannot emphasize, you cannot replace whatever every human has. You are made of metal after all—pure metal—and some computer programming shenanigans. Even though you are unaware of some things, this one you are fully aware of. And because of that awareness, rather than feeling a tiny bit of relief that you are able to at least alleviate the pain of loneliness, you felt pity. Not only towards him, but also towards yourself. The you whose only sole purpose was to accompany Rui and make his days less dreadful and yet you brought nothing more but a sole reminder of the boy's loneliness.

You wished for the best for him, you encouraged him to talk to others thanks to your advancing AI knowledge. After all, he programmed you to be an AI who learns based on experience. So from all the research and data gathering you did—even though you barely understood emotional needs, you couldn't really make your heads or tails on the topic—you brought out the best in you to help your creator. That overtime, to Rui, you felt like a real human; a real friend to him. He considered and saw you as an actual human being, not a robot he created to cope with his loneliness. Rui considered you one of his closests friends aside from Nene and Mizuki.

Time flew by rather quickly for you, or perhaps it's because you don't really have a sense of time. But now you watch as the once young middle schooler slowly grows in his second year of highschool. You couldn't always be there for him, since they never allowed a (almost) human-like robot to be a student nor a visitor there (they banned Rui from bringing you to school for a reasonable purpose). So seeing him make more friends and even reconnected with his childhood friend and a friend from middle school made your heart—albeit non-existent—feel warm. Oftentimes, he'd tell you about his troupe; how he blew this friend of his, Tsukasa, out of a canon again and up in the skies; how Emu gave him another amazing show idea— or the way Nene would profusely groan everytime Tsukasa would proclaim yet another 'poetic' speech from how Rui described it— it was rather heartwarming. Really. You couldn't be any more happier for him if you could even feel.

One day, he introduced you to his troupe, the one he always mentions day by day after school. And the first comment one of them made—Tsukasa was the name, was it?— It was quite amusing to say the least.

"You're friends with a robot, Rui?! Did you make this?"

And you watch as Rui answers with enthusiasm, answering questions while you watch Tsukasa who has a dumbfounded expression on his face. You very rarely speak, so hearing a voice out of your metallic body further shooked the duo (excluding Nene, Rui had introduced her to you first before the other two anyway). Tsukasa kept making comments about how it was possible that Rui made this, you being a robot. Something a 5-year-old child would fawn over. Similar situation with Emu, however she complimented you more than anything, and that made you smile—or at least, you think you smiled. You couldn't really tell.

"Is it right to call it a 'friend' rather than your creation, though? I mean, aren't robots incapable of feeling anything?"

Tsukasa absentmindedly commented, which brought you back to painful reality.

You were never human. Right.

Watching as Rui talked more with his friends, even saying along the lines of "How cruel Tsukasa-kun! My friend here may be a robot but they accompanied me throughout my earlier years!" although maybe more dramatically. Tsukasa apologized to you, but you don't really understand why there was a need for it. Nevertheless, you never dared to ask.

Throughout the conversation, you felt rather… for a lack of better words; alienated. Sure, you're aware that you're not human. But having it pointed out made it… how would you call it.. awkward on your side, perhaps.

But of course, like any other time. You didn't mind. You're not programmed to think about complicated things after all.

However, watching him slowly drift away from you was something you expected from the beginning. But nevertheless, you were happy for him.

At least, you think you do.

But now that you've thought about it, you constantly refer to this weird thing as 'feel', 'feeling', any other synonym it has. From all the research you've done after your dilemma over this issue, you came to a conclusion that indeed; you are feeling emotions. And perhaps, one of the biggest flaws as a continuously learning AI robot is slowly learning what they are. You felt happy for Rui, but you knew that his slow yet painful detachment to you was overpowering your happiness. However as a creation whom Rui believed to be flawless, you refuse to speak about this out loud. You knew that as much as Rui made you this advanced, he never intended to give you any emotions. He never intended, because he doesn't know how to. And also maybe to avoid making you feel sadness. After all, happiness will never be without sadness, the same as dark cannot exist if there's no light.

So here you are, finding that you are more and more in a 'shutdown' state. Usually, it was automatic as a way of resting and recharging your battery. However, Rui reprogrammed you to be powered off manually now, and you never dared to ask why.

Now, you're here. Finding yourself sitting down on the floor absentmindedly as Rui looked at you with a rather melancholic look before approaching you leisurely. Muttering a silent gratitude, you watch as he reaches for your power button. You couldn't quite see his face clearly, but you assumed he wore a sad smile; the same smile you remembered he always wore back in middle school. Watching with a blurry vision, Rui puts you inside the closet, keeping you locked away until the next time he uses you. You wished that you could be used again— to see his face again and tell you about his new invention, or his new show idea. But now, it feels like a faraway dream as you slowly slip out of consciousness.

The last image you had seen was his face, slowly disappearing as he closed the closet door.

It was enough to make you cry, but you couldn't.

Silently, you wished you could.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Footnote: We eating good tonight

[transgenderpolls]

yo can u tell your followers to avoid @/womenanonpolls bcs they're transphobic asf fr

i looked through the blog and man it's so bizarre. i'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt about the op being a child, especially since it looks like she doesn't even know what afab MEANS, and that she had to go "look up [phalloplasty] to see if it was real" after someone told her an afab person can get it - but also, who knows, maybe it's purposeful trolling. but if it IS trolling it's also pretty weak.

odder that the polls themselves aren't transphobic at all, just the blog's mandate of excluding trans women from them despite the fact that most of them have nothing to do with specifically being a cis woman, and that ALL of them have a 'not applicable/see results' option anyway.

anyway tbh the premise of the blog is so obviously weird i don't think anyone would really need to be warned away. and like if one of their polls pops up on your dash, i mean... if the intention of the blog is transphobia that the owner is just trying to hide, then answering the polls as a trans woman would only be "ruining" the data that they want to get or whatever.

[1h3liiaus]

MATZ THING I WROTE A LONG TIME AGO? (Posting this old junk so people know I'm not dead. Also found out tumblr's parent company is selling data? This is in the "I" perspective and not "You" perspective.)

Work makes me wanna die. 

... -

I was working 9 to 5 in a dead end job at a CD place or wtv. I was so sleepy fr I was so close to falling asleep until these two random guys busted into the store and started throwing stuff around. “Bro you're gonna have to pay for this..”

I said quietly enough for them to hear I guess and they quickly turned to me in the middle of their uhhhh breaking things riot I guess. One of them jumped onto the counter i was standing behind causing me to fall back and he just crouched and looked at me then smiled

“Hi” He (Hongjoong) said before jumping onto the ground in front of me aka where i fell “I’m gonna set this place on fire. You can come with us if you want hehe” I couldn’t speak, all I could do was in fact blink and my body moved before my mind and I nodded my head. In return the guy helped me off the ground and continued to break things with one hand while still holding onto me with his other

“Your kidnapping them basically” The other guy (Seonghwa) said while kicking things over and I couldn’t help but stare at him cus how can someone be so pretty he looked like god best creation I could stare at him for the rest of my life and die content erm anyways I just followed the guy holding my arm around “Not kidnapping if they agreed!” He said while looking at me “break something” the look in his eyes kinda changed so I grabbed something and threw it breaking a bunch of things like a chain reaction and in result the guy holding my arm looked very pleased and he was smiling big “Good good” He said before breaking more stuff with the other guy while i just watch.

They destroyed everything and took the money from the register but just as they finished sirens were heard “Time to go” taller one of the two said before running out the shop. They turned the corner and jumped into a van with a bunch of other people in it (logic ig it fits 9 people shut up) I looked at everyone there and they looked at me “New friend :3” the guy who dragged me in the van said and everyone nodded along. On the drive I learned all their names and what they do and basically they’re bandits and the guy who dragged me here aka Hongjoong is the leader aka the captain. ... -

Yeah that's it. It's super short but again this is rlly old. I'm trying to work on my next official one which is San but guys I'm actually gonna kms it's so hard with writers block....

(Song I listened to while writing this)

[stem-sister-scuffle]

STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: ROUND 1 MASHUP 3

Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Bones (TV Series)) vs Honey Lemon (Big Hero 6)

Dr. Temperance Brennan is a Forensic Anthropologist!

Honey Lemon is a Chemist!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

Dr. Temperance Brennan:

"Neurodivergent coded +++"

"she's so autistic about her job and has THREE phds !!"

"Coded autism to the max"

"She is a forensic anthropologist who uses her skills/degrees/knowledge to identify and study ancient and more modern remains alike to uncover their histories as well as (the main point of the show) analyze murder victims in such a state that their bones are usually the best chance at identifying them in order to solve the crimes. She is the best in her field and knows it and never apologizes or makes excuses. She is herself and you really should be aware. She has the Science, the Technology, enough Engineering, and the Math to get everything done right. She believes in Science. Logic and Facts are her saints. She is only interested in finding the Truth as the data presents and refuses to state her hypothesis until it is proven (if not she moves on to another possible explanation until satisfied)."

"Solves crimes w STEM. autistic"

"She has gained the nickname 'Bones' for the connection she seems to have to bones. She's the very best in her field and has helped solve numerous murder mysteries just by her ability to analyse the victims' bones. She's also a published author in her field and widely respected in academia."

"Had a mad crush on her in middle school. Also autistic swag fr fr."

"autism swag. solves murders"

"She’s fiercely dedicated to her work—figuring out who someone was and what happened to them from examining their bones. She has a great deal of integrity and tells the truth whether it’s convenient for her or not. She’s also heavily autistic coded, and I personally found her such a source of hope when I was younger that someone like me—someone intelligent and compassionate but who has trouble with “people skills” and doesn’t always know how to show that compassion—could find a place in the world."

"She is the best in her field (not the best *woman*, the best PERSON) and she knows it. She has no interest in being modest because her work speaks for itself. Slow burn romance! Autistic coded character (and not the only one)! Impractical but beautiful bulky necklaces just because!"

Honey Lemon:

"She applies her science into being a kickass superhero"

"She's so nice and enthusiastic about science. She's funny :)"

"She loves chemistry and wants to make the world a better place through it! She’s always optimistic and upbeat no matter what!!! Cute girlies in STEM!!!!!"

"her excitement for science is so palpable it’s my favorite part of the movie. she’s ECSTATIC about the elements and making chemical reactions just to see what happens!! not to mention she’s smart as FUCK! she created chemical formulas on the fly as she fights bad guys. CHEMISTRY is her superpower. she’s cute hehe"

"Her name is Honey Lemon. That's the cutest name I've ever heard. She's also described as having an innate talent in Chemistry, as well as a groundbreaking chemist. In her hero gear she has a Chem-Purse, which has a typepad of the periodic table which she can press on to make into a dense ball of any element she wishes, and during active battle she can calculate and input chemical formulas at incredible speeds without even having to look at it. Girlboss behaviour!! She also made a 400 pound ball of tungsten carbide turn into DUST before she became a hero when she was only a university student. She's not even a girlboss anymore she's a girlCEO. I had the BIGGEST crush on her when I was young. My Bi awakening. I love her so much you don't even know 💛"

[airlocksandaviaries]

EVERY DATA OUTFIT EVER, RATED (pt 1)

BECAUSE YOU ASKED FOR IT

^^ THAT’S MORE THAN THREE NOTES RIGHT THERE. LET’S FREAKING GO.

#1 - The Classic Yellow Uniform (S1 version)

5/10

Simple but effective. The TNG uniform designs serve as usual. I would actually wear this. He looks good in it. It’s very basic, and the later uniform designs are better, of course, but I’m bumping up the rating in it because his tits look gorgeous.

#2 - Sherlock Data pt 1

6/10

It’s just a pipe, but it adds SO MUCH. You can tell he’s really throwing himself into the role. Boy reads a book series for the first time and automatically decides he IS the main character. Just like me fr. Not rating it higher bc I know we can do better with this style.

#3 - Dixon Hill Data pt 1

8.5/10

OUGH. That is an OUTFIT. The tie. The Hat. The HANDKERCHIEF. They sure didn’t half-ass the costumes on this one, they really gave him the full aesthetic and I am HERE FOR IT.

#4 - Lore Outfit Switcheroo

4/10

Basic, TNG, “we found somebody on a planet and we dressed them in the nearest garment we could find, which happens to look like the world’s blandest sweater.” I would have rated it lower if it weren’t for the fact that they layered a v neck and a turtleneck and made him look particularly whoreish. 

#5 - Sherlock Data pt 2

7.5/10

Look how happy he is cosplaying his favorite character! This is an odd choice for a costume, though, a robe over a collared shirt, looks kinda like pjs, or maybe I’m just illiterate in 1890s fashion. Still looks good tho. Now we’re getting somewhere.

#6 - Sherlock Data pt 3

11/10

LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT MY BOY. Benedict Cumberbatch? Robert Downey Jr?? Henry Cavill??? Never heard of em. This is the real Sherlock, a fruity lil android cosplaying his favorite character from his favorite book, bonus points for the gay roleplay with his bf Geordi (playing Watson). This is a Superior Data Look.

#7 - Stand-Up Comedy Data

7/10

Gotta be honest this was one of my least favorite Data B-Stories (aside from the one about comphet) but at least this outfit served absolute android cunt. Knocking off points for how awkward he looks in it tho. Boy pls stop torturing urself for validation from others. It’s physically killing me.

#8 - Poker Visor

3/10

Data why are you wearing that. You can literally see in the dark Data you don’t even need it. Do you think it looks stylish Data. Do you think it looks cool and that’s why you decided to wear it to every single crew poker night. At least you’re trying and that’s what counts.

#9 - One Arm Data

1/10

He arm off. Put it back

#10 - Cowboy Hat Data

🤠/10

yeehaw

#11 - Dixon Hill Data pt 2

8/10

This one is slightly more formal than his previous Dixon Hill attire, and less dramatic, but fashionable nonetheless. Fruity in a way I can’t seem to describe. Period outfits (almost) always fit this man and Idk what it its.

#12 - Strategima Gloves

-10/10

I DO NOT LIKE THOSE FINGER THINGS. THEY ARE GIVING ME ANXIETY. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO WEAR THOSE TO PLAY A STRATEGY GAME. THEY LOOK LIKE COW MILKING MACHINES. WHY ARE THERE TUBES. DATA TAKE THOSE OFF PLEASE I AM HAVING A SENSORY NIGHTMARE JUST LOOKING AT THEM

This concludes Data’s Outfits Rated, Part 1. I’ve made it through Seasons 1 and 2 by combing through footage trying to find wearing anything out of the ordinary. If I’ve missed any please feel free to send ‘em in. Part 2 will be out soon.

[leqclerc]

I started watching this year and your tumblr was one of the first places I started looking for content, so basically I got all the sebchal lore and I remember seeing that you disliked charlos and I thought you were too harsh in some asks, because they seem friendly and carlos nice.

Now during the actual season I slowly changed my mind seeing Carlos radios trying to make people think he is faster and wanting to swap, the way he acted on some qualis, his obsession always asking charles time and saying he's doing better (monaco), his interviews and NOW finally with the way his family acted with Charles.

And the fact all of this seems to work with people ? Because it seems people believe everything he says, so now we have people claiming charles points, podiums or whatever are all because ferrari gave him preferential treatment. And claiming that if carlos wasn't "treated as second driver" he would be winning a lot more than charles.

Honestly now I can't even believe a charles fan could still like their "relationship" because their behavior is contributing a lot to the hate charles is getting this season.

I have a belief that is not just coincidental and that they are trying to get in charles head, to make him doubt himself, lose confidence etc

Hello there 👋🏻

Honestly, I tried my best to go into this new "era" at Ferrari with an open mind and just observe this new lineup and their dynamics and then form an opinion based on my feelings and reactions. At one point I even said to one of my friends in this fandom, like, "what if I like Charles/Carlos so much that they eclipse my feelings for Seb/Charles?" I watched the first C2 challenges when they started dropping, and while they seemed quite innocuous, it was already blatantly obvious to me that this was going to be a completely different dynamic to Seb and Charles (understandably, but still.)

I think the first major turning point regarding my perception of Carlos and of their relationship as a whole was Monaco 2021. Carlos never really hid the fact that he blamed Charles's crash for hindering what he thought was a shot at pole (data accessible online proved that if anything, Valtteri was closer to pole than Carlos was on that occasion, but we still kept hearing about how "I could've been on pole" for like 6 months afterwards.) Obviously then on Sunday Charles couldn't start because of the car issue, which was a huge blow for him given that it was his home race, back after a year-long absence due to the pandemic.

Carlos finished on the podium and instead of taking it for what it is he just kept going on about how it's the "least enjoyable podium of his career" (still clinging to the perception that he lost out on pole), and then in 2022 giving an interview in which he stated that drivers will crash deliberately if they feel it gives them an edge, but was coy about what he meant. Still, given his feelings regarding Monaco 2021, it's not that hard to guess what he might've been referring to...

There were a few other points of contention in 2021 but because Ferrari were in the midfield at the time and the world's attention was on the Max vs Lewis title fight, those incidents kind of flew under the radar and most people still had this perception that there's this chill harmonious atmosphere at the team, and most of the cracks only started to publicly show in 2022. Even in the aftermath of Monaco 2022 (why is Monaco always so full of drama fr) I got anons about how I'm exaggerating, hating for no reason, etc. I think the public perception scales took a little while longer to fully tip, but from Silverstone onwards I think things started to shift a bit.

At some point I also stopped bothering with the C2 content because I was just not vibing with what I was seeing tbh. It's like the on-track stuff carried over to the PR content and to me Carlos came across as quite patronizing and envious. 🤷🏻‍♀️ When Charles drove him around Monaco for a video his biggest gripe was that people on the street are rooting for Charles and supporting him publicly. Like what did you expect, it's his home race, in a country that has a population of like 39,000 😭

I think one of the biggest problems is that Carlos's entire family is involved, and very closely at that, in his career and by extension in Ferrari's internal affairs. It's basically an open secret that they like to engage in a political tug-of-war and plant stories in the media to drive a certain kind of narrative that makes Carlos's optics look more favourable.

I agree that Carlos seems... a little too invested in the optics and statistics vs Charles. Yeah, your teammate is the first person you want to beat, but when you're content to finish 5th or something as long as you're ahead of your teammate then it becomes a bit of an issue. I saw a clip of a recent podcast sit-down thing Carlos did, where one of the questions was like, how do you cope with a mistake and recover from that; he brought up Charles unprompted, comparing Charles's "I am stupid" team radio after a qualy crash (from like 4 years ago) to his own approach and how he doesn't think or say that kind of thing about himself. It's like was this necessary, lol.

[spongebob-connoisseur]

Check this out! (It’s on TV Tropes)

Aww! I love the line "You saterize me, don't you?". It's referencing Lorre's quote from Casablanca "You despise me, don't you?". I love this! Thank you for sharing this with meeee! Also I totally didn't wait to answer this on Peter Lorre's birthday. What are you talking about?

Anyways, this reminds me of when saw Slappy before on tv tropes but he was under The Renfield (here's his little mention)

But I didn't know they had a whole category dedicated to Peter Lorre parodies! I mean it's tv tropes and I'm kinda dumb but nvm that. Look! There's Lorre-tweety! I still haven't watched Carrotblanca but I do dream of vandalizing a Tweety Bird plush and making it into Lorre Tweety because he's SO CUTE. I'd let him end my entire bloodline <3

Tbh this is a pretty comprehensive guide to peter parodies if you're not ready to dish out $30 for The Animated Peter Lorre book (I mean you SHOULD but this gives a good summary). It explains who Peter Lorre is and what his parodies consist of and various other things. I like how it mentions that at this point the caricatures have very little do with Lorre himself at this point.

There's also mentions of parodies I didn't know existed. There seems to be more Looney Tunes peter parodies than I thought.

It also points out the Renfield/Igor trope being used in peter caricatures (despite lorre never playing either roles) which is IMPORTANT TO MENTION. I'm a certified h8r of the Lorre/Igor parody. Slappy gets a pass though.

It also has facts I didn't know like the ambiguously gay trait that some parodies have is from the Sydney Greenstreet/Peter Lorre movies.

Tbh fair because they kept marketing Peter as the twink.

How many TIMES I have seen this specific frame of Peter Lorre from The Maltese Falcon whenever watching a youtube essay about gay cinema. It's like 3 times so fat which isn't a lot but still. I feel like I'm the only one who didn't catch Joel Cairo was supposed to be gay. I thought he was just stylish. Zero brain cell activities.

Imo the fruitiest of the Greenstreet/Lorre movies is The Mask of Dimitrios because I thought they were going to kiss fr. I thought I was crazy so I showed it to my friend (without mentioning why because I don't want my data to be biased) and she also said she thought they were going to kiss (to put her own words lightly)

Also there is a mention of Slippy Lotte from Spongebob! (Slappy's feminine counterpart)

I like how they had to specify out all of the peter parodies known to exist (and according to The Animated Peter Lorre book 700+) Slippy is the only female one. Let's go gurl boss. Slippy is more gurl fail in my heart tho <3

[novelcain]

OKAY! So when I was about 10/13 years old my mom took me to get a check up.. perfectly normal right? What could possibly go wrong.. oh yeah I was also there to get my shots.. I hate getting shots, always have always will.. it’s the syringe needles!! the fact that I know they have to be hollow enough for stuff to go in and out of the inside of those things is just wrong to me.. 😟 Anyway me and my Mom get there and everything SEEMS to be alright.. until the doctor comes back and says I have to get EVERY! SINGLE! SHOT! SINCE BIRTH!! OVER AGAIN!!!

Ya wanna know why??? BECAUSE THEY LOST ALL MY MEDICAL RECORDS!! ALL OF THEM!! 😡

Like okay yeah, shit happens I guess..

But.. my colorful, sugary sour Overlord.. They didn’t lose literally ALL my medical records once.. NOT twice!! NO no no no… BUT THREE FUCKING TIMES!!! In.. a.. row.. 😑 And all in the same Year.. I shit you not. 😤

Sssoooo yeah, I’m a bit traumatized and HATE going to the Doctor.. 😰

SO! 2020!! Covid shows up and I have to get a vaccine shot.. my Mom bless her heart comes with me, and I have to fill out the form… I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to write down my date of birth..

I was shaking so bad and ended up handing the paper & pen over to my Mom… Because I couldn’t remember which way the number 3 faced.. I was having a freaking mini panic attack.. at 21 🥲

I also had a panic attack & nearly fainted when I had to get my molars removed and the nurse showed up with the iv bag.. and I finally realized I was getting the syringe not the gas.. hadn’t panicked the whole time till that poor lady strolled in.. I think I scared her a lil when I started hyperventilating and asking my mom, wh-what what? What??? But it turned out okay!! That incident happened when I was about 18 I think..

🎃~

BRUH i know what you mean with the hating needles thing! I have had nothing but bad experiences with them. Like when I was younger I'd have to get allergy shots every week so I already HATED shots bc of that but then one day this super old bitch gave me my shot and literally stuck me so hard that the needle scraped my fucking bone! My bicep hurt for a whole month I couldn't do anything!

And then this one time I was in middle school and I had to get my blood drawn for testing, and some info about me I have always had very thick skin, and the nurse tried to use a butterfly needle but when she tried putting it in the damn thing broke against my skin! Anyways, everyone panicked for a hot sec and now it's in my file somewhere that they have to use big needles on me now! LIKE THE FUCK!?!?🤬🤬🤬

Ugh! If I sat here and told you all my needle stories we'd be here all day.

But my gods, how they gonna lose your damn records THREE FUCKIN TIMES!!!??? It's called a fuckin computer system you numb skulls! If it's really that hard to input the data yourselves then ffs just scan a pic of the records and save that!

Me: On behalf of my fruity heh subject, Skittle's gonna sue! *sprinkes dark matter on them bitches*

But fr tho same with the covid thing. In order to get my second vaccine I had to be drugged before going, and I STILL had a panic attack the whole time, not cause of my fear of needles tho. I mean it was a little bit because of the needles but mainly because of the agoraphobia. I think that was really the first instance of me being unable to function alone in public. I had to have Ritz and her mom there to talk for me and fill out the paper work cause I couldn't. I was shaking, I couldn't communicate outside of nodding to Ritz, and I couldn't even look at anyone other than Ritz. There were a few times I almost passed out inside of the clinic waiting room. I'm pretty sure now that I think about it that that was the last time I was out in public at all and that was almost 2 years ago. Definitely was NOT a good motivator to make me do it again lol. Sorry this is low key embarrassing for me to talk about and I honestly spent 30 minutes just deleting this and rewriting it over and over again before deciding to keep it

[the-talking-void-shitposts]

"I’m not defending anyone. I’m simply stating that it’s none of your business what GROWN women do."

- True! People, women in particular, can do whatever they want. Nobody is negating that. You're forgetting about the inherent contemptuous relationship between women and the people (men) who ultimately make up the rules of society (MEN. ITS MEN. OLDER MEN SPECIFICALLY.), which results in women's decisions being made under sociopolitical coercion, even in their personal lives.

"By law, anyone over 18 is an adult and a 26yr old is a grown ass woman who can most definitely date another adult."

- By law, child marriages are legal in a fair few US states. Your appeal to tradition/authority is a logical fallacy.

"Idc if this is against your morals or ethics but those are subjective (only for you) not objective (which is what the law is)."

- Morals are a personal set of beliefs one lives their life by; ethics are a broadly accepted list of values that apply across a population (see: ethical code). Also, laws are inherently NOT objective; they're written by people with agendas who are coerced with money or power from donors/bribes. Be so fr right now.

"Dude many 30-40+ year old men marry 18+ year old girls around the world."

1. That doesn't make it an ethical practice.

2. Why? What are these much older men getting out of these relationships with brand new adults with little to no life experience compared to them? How does this serve these older men in these relationships?

"Also news flash, not every girl wants a guy their age, some want a guy much older than them."

- Again, why. Why does this occur? Why are you declaring this as a fact of life and not an effect of social conditioning in the greater scheme?

"If it’s not your thing then that’s cool but don’t pretend like like a 40yr old and a 26yr old is weird."

- Equating a personal preference to something that reflects a much larger societal issue is... well, stupid. Because it really is fucking weird, considering that women who date/marry men either younger OR OLDER than her by 7+ years, her life expectancy decreases by 20%.

"It’s not, you’re just living a sheltered life or you’re simply uncultured (some of these are cultural things, something you wouldn’t understand because you’re narrow minded)."

- This may come as a shock to you, but some cultural practices and traditions are inherently harmful to the women in those cultures, and they're aware of the danger because THEY'RE THE ONES EXPRESSING THESE CONCERNS. Seeing a young woman and empathizing with her life stage as she's going into a marriage with a man nearly twice her age is not "narrow minded", it's intuition based on reality.

FBI crime statistics reflect how men are the overwhelming perpetrators of violence against women. Demographic data suggests that women face a higher likelihood of interpersonal violence if their male partner is much older than them. Feminist scholars have been talking about the socioeconomic power imbalances between men and women for decades, and how those systemic issues affect women down to a personal level.

This is not just about this one couple. It's about the ones before them, and the ones you see in your everyday life, and the ones that end up as crime statistics. Be realistic and look at the world around you without the rose colored glasses for once.

.

[landonor]

that's not even controversial it's just facts

you look at the MCL34 and compare it to the MCL60 as it has been since realistically Austria and there is comparison that is in any way fair when it comes to their rookie seasons

Oscar is having a Lewis-esque rookie season in that he's incredibly talented and is also in a good car, but he's also had the massive benefit of having Lando as a teammate, who cares so much about the team's performance as well as his own, who from pre-season testing has shared every scrap of data with Oscar (confirmed by Lando, Oscar, Webber, Andrea, etc etc.)

fr Oscar has been in a way, very lucky to come in at the right time with a good car

[snakebites-and-ink]

There's been some noise on the topic, so I did some research into Google's AI training/data policies, and it is not pretty.

The whole unpleasant adventure started when I read someone claim that Google scrapes the content of Google docs to train AI. This understandably worried me, because I use Google Docs for many purposes, including academic and creative endeavors that I put lots of time and effort into. So i did some digging to find out whether this was true.

Google says it doesn't use data from user content (such as Gmail and Docs) except to provide the relevant services like the Docs grammar checker or the Gmail spam detector, unless it has explicit user permission to use the data for other purposes. Google says it only uses publicly available data to train AI. A lot of people read that, feel reassured, and stop there. I wanted more elaboration, so I kept going.

In their privacy policy, Google states, "we use publicly available information to help train Google’s AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and Cloud AI capabilities." Now I think it's a red flag that they mentioned that in their privacy policy. The purpose of a privacy policy is to detail how a company deals with the data/information of its users. If they're using public information that the users aren't involved with, why would they put that in their privacy policy instead of somewhere else? This seems like they're trying to assert an irrelevant claim that users have to agree to when they click "I agree" or check "I have read the privacy policy" before using the service.

On the upside, their privacy policy does look like it protects private user data, and only uses it in ways you agree to or to provide the services you are using. And even if it's a little weird that they're bringing it up in their privacy policy, using publicly available data sounds like an okay thing to do.

But here's where it gets really icky: By "publicly available data," they don't just mean "data that's available for public use," they mean "data that's available for public viewing."

According to Google's interpretation, "publicly available data" doesn't just mean data that's open for public use, it means any data that's accessible to the public. Therefore, as Google is using the term:

Your tumblr post is publicly available data

Your ao3 fic (if not set to only be viewable to people with an account) is publicly available data

Designs posted on redbubble or etsy so people can see what they're buying from you is publicly available data

Any Google doc set to "anyone with the link can view" is publicly available data

Articles posted for you to read online are publicly available data

Photos, including of your face and likeness, posted where the general public can view are publicly available data

The list goes on.

Google's chief legal officer said, "We’ve been clear for years that we use data from public sources—like information published to the open web and public datasets—to train the AI models behind services". I looked it up and the "open web" means websites that are public and viewable by everyone without requiring a subscription fee. So this is a whole lot more than the parts of the web that are open for copyright-free use. It in fact encompasses the majority of the things most people use the internet for. Google is literally saying that anything and everything that's not protected by either a password or a paywall is fair game for them to use for their own purposes.

So I mentioned this earlier in my rant about "publicly available data," but: Google docs. Google docs set to private are considered private user data by Google. However, if you set a Google doc to "anyone can view" or even "anyone with the link can view," Google no longer considers it private. If just anyone can look at it, Google can scrape it, according to their claims, because now it's "publicly available." In a Google support thread, when a user expressed concerns about Google scraping data from documents set to "anyone with link," the Product Expert who responded simply demanded evidence and quoted an article which didn't actually successfully refute these worries. He didn't provide real evidence to the contrary, he didn't cite any policies about Google safely handling users' data, he didn't even try to claim the accusation was wrong. He just deflected by saying they didn't have evidence. And that was where the thread ended.

Google claims to "give opportunity for notice and consent" in their AI principles. At best they are failing. I think it's more likely they are actively ignoring this principle for their own gain. Not everyone who posts to the open web does so through Google, and therefore not everyone who posts to the open web looks at Google's privacy policy, much less agrees to it, before posting. Thus, few to none of these people were given notice that Google would use the data they posted to the web, and few to none of them provided consent for any of that data to be used by Google. And yet Google claims that it can use anything posted to the open web. (And that's even discounting that many people who do use Google but don't actually read through the privacy policy.)

It's bad enough that AI scrapes the web to use data that doesn't belong to them. Done by Google, it feels especially slimy. As a major search engine, Google has a ridiculous amount of access to what's on the web, and it's basically impossible to post things in a way that allows you to reach the people you want to without being accessible to Google. Google does not own the internet, yet they are acting like simply having access to it gives them all the rights to it. They use harmless-sounding, pretty language like "publicly available information" but what they're doing is far less innocent than they want you to believe.

Now, I despise the posts that are all about doom and gloom without informing readers that they can do something about it. The purposes of this post are to educate and inspire action, not to make you feel helpless or hopeless. So here are some things you can do about this:

Contact Google with feedback and complaints. Let them know that they cannot get away with this and still have a userbase of happy campers.

Check your privacy settings, including those on individual Google docs. Don't let Google use your data for more than you want them to.

Push for legislature that protects intellectual property against AI scraping. Try to provide better grounds to stand on for the people who are fighting against data-stealing AI.

Support legal actions, such as lawsuits, against Google on this and closely related topics. The more support the people working against this have, the more likely they are to succeed.

Look into alternatives to the Google services. They don't seem to be so fast and loose with private user data that you need to transfer right away as long as you're staying informed, but it's definitely not good to be dependent on them. At the very least you should be ready to move away from Google quickly in case things get even worse.

Sources:

https://www.popsci.com/technology/google-ai-lawsuit/#:~:text=In%20a%20statement%20to%20PopSci,line%20with%20our%20AI%20Principles.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/tech/google-ai-lawsuit/index.html

https://gizmodo.com/google-says-itll-scrape-everything-you-post-online-for-1850601486

https://support.google.com/docs/thread/224378625/i-m-seeking-to-clarify-if-google-is-scraping-google-doc-data-to-train-its-ai?hl=en

https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/5/23784257/google-ai-bard-privacy-policy-train-web-scraping

https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US#products

https://ai.google/responsibility/principles/

Disclaimer: I'm not a legal expert of any sort, so if someone with more expertise has information to add or correct, please do so.

[rogalion]

I absolutely love your weather rants from a fellow trans guy who's now got a special interest in meteorology. Apparently. Ahhh!!!

(THE FACT THAT IF YOU CAN SEE THE TOP OF AN ANVIL CLOUD FLATTENING MEANS YOU CAN SEE THE FUCKING TROPOPAUSE MAKES IS SO FUCKING COOL AND JUST ALFJDIDJSIDJD).

(also the lack of standardizations on soundings is kIlling me too as a self taught meteorology nerd. I would like to know For Sure if I'm looking at the saturated or dry adiabat!!!!! Ahhh!!!

Also. Plotting hodographs. *what the fuck. Why is the compass the way it is. It's UPSIDE FUCKING DOWN???* I assume there is a reason for the meteorology compass and the hodograph compass to be different but *why????*

I love the nws I do truly I would love to work for them/the NOAA and they provide basically how to read their soundings too but there's like. 2 things I'm Not 100% sure on and it's driving me mad.)

Also I'd love to see how you get from raw to tabular data to the sounding if you want, I'm honestly curious.

Also. Do you also want to launch or find a radiosonde or is that just me. I really want to launch one.

IM

this has made my fucking week istg omg omg

So another fun fact about anvil clouds and that they flatten out when they hit the tropopause because that's the no weather allowed zone is that there's something called an overshooting top where basically you get a bubble of a cloud that goes above the anvil and into the tropopause and you get that when the updraft is strong enough that it forces the clouds over the tropopause! You can see this on a skew-T because the dew point line will stay close to the temperature line through the tropopause.

I don't know a lot about hodographs just yet it's not something I've been taught much about just yet (for example I didn't know the directions are upside down from a conventional compass) but I'm sure I'll post a rant about it when I learn more LMAO.

So working for the NWS requires a few things and that's a career path I'm looking into but I've also just finished my first year in my meteorology program so we'll see what happens.

As for launching radiosondes-- I've launched several, actually!

I'm the guy with the shades (they're my normal glasses it's just sunny and I have transition lenses) and here I'm holding the balloon before we launch it.

I go to a school with a strong meteorology program in New Hampshire called Plymouth State University, and we get a LOT of chances to talk to people from the NWS and the private sector as well as learn and use very practical skills such as launching radiosondes, graphing skew-Ts by hand, and so on.

I think I've launched at least five radiosondes at this point and I'll quickly lose count in the future. But if Meteorology is a career you're interested in going for, it will in all likelihood involve seeking out a bachelor's degree at minimum which all this boils down to, hey, join us :) there are at least three trans people in my program!

for soundings also, the raw data is collected through graw's program and graphed automatically on the computer. We just have to set up the radiosonde and antenna beforehand-- it's a whole process and I'd love to explain it more in another post I think but it's pretty bland tbh haha

also for saturated vs dry adiabats: the saturated ones are weird and curvy and the dry ones are nearly straight so they're actually pretty easy to tell apart once you know, but knowing is the hard part with skew-ts for sure.

Thank you so much for this ask I'm SO HAPPY to hear you enjoy them fr fr

[wholelotofweird]

Okay, gamers, the first quarter of the year is over and I want to share with you the books I've consumed thus far.

I've recently been using StoryGraph and damn, it's really fun if you like data and also logging the stuff you read. Would recommend. I say that, because a number of these books were consumed thanks to one of the challenges they've set for the year, to read a number of books in different categories. Let me say, this is the most diverse spread I've read in YEARS. So. Anyway.

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, by Kristen O'Neal

I would 100% recommend reading this book, if you are able, in print format instead of audio. There are a number of sections where the main characters are talking over text chat and I'm not sure how well that would translate over audio.

This book had me saying, "They're just like me fr" non ironically multiple times. It's such a lovely look at friendship and building our own communities and struggling with chronic illness. There is at no point any gatekeeping of what a chronic illness should look like or what a person with a chronic illness needs to look like.

The one thing that I didn't love was the fact that a white author picked first person POV of a POC. It isn't the best choice. I feel better about it after looking through O'Neal's website where she has readily admitted that it was a choice she would not make again. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of not making the "monstrous" character a POC.

Overall! I really enjoyed this book. It's a pretty fast read, but it is heartwarming and hopeful and full of genuine joy.

A Magic Steeped In Poison, by Judy I. Lin

This book was SO fun! Magic, romance, court politics, betrayal. What more could you want? Other than the magic system being tea based. That's right babies, TEA BASED! Monch monch monch, what a beautiful system I am in love.

This is another fast read. I've always been a sucker for magical tournaments and historical fantasy. If any of that is your vibe I would absolutely recommend picking this up. I know there is a second book, but I haven't had the opportunity to read that one yet.

Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddox

Now... Like I said... I was picking books for a reading challenge I'm doing. This one was from "read a middle grade book you never read", so I am FULLY aware that I am not the audience for this book.

That being said, oh my god, this was a rough one. I think my biggest gripe is that the cast are all 13-15 year olds but you would never know it. They're out here acting like 20 year olds. Maybe when I was 13 I would have been able to buy it, but at 30-whatever I am not. This is the first of multiple books and I can't say I regret not reading more.

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers, by Deborah Heiligman

So, I'll be honest, the reason I was drawn to this was because I got to see this amazing Van Gogh art instillation last year. Part of that instillation was a display of excerpts of the letters between Vincent and Theo, and let me tell you, that is what made me cry.

This book is certainly nothing ground-breaking. It's a biography of these two men. It tells their stories at the same time, side by side. I also cried reading this.

Am I emotional? Is it because I have younger siblings I'm very close to? Is it because I, too, am mentally ill and an artist?

Who knows, gamers.

Quackery - A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything, By Nate Pedersen & Lydia Kang, MD

Again, nothing groundbreaking. This book is a funny and informative look at medical process through history. I'm a sucker for medical history. I did listen to the audiobook for this and I think it really helped the humor shine. If you're also a fan of bizarre medical history (or the podcast Sawbones), this is the book for you.

The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson

I enjoyed this book! For a person who is bad at remembering names, though, it was difficult to follow at times. There were so many players in the conception and realization of the Chicago World's Fair that I would lose track of just who I was hearing about.

That said, it was a very cool look into the trials and tribulations that went into making the spectacle a reality. This book managed to touch on SO much, not even to it's detriment. Despite getting confused by names the main through-line was easy to follow. I was invested start to finish.

In the Vanishers' Palace, by Aliette de Bodard

Do you like beauty and the beast retellings, but instead the beast is a very cool dragon, and also it's hella gay??? Then do I have the book for you! It does one of my favorite sci-fi things where there is a world, there are facts of that world, but you aren't supposed to learn them. Those aren't what matter, they are simply table setting. It's a beautiful story. I do wish there was a bit more depth into the romance, but that's just me.

Beautiful, atmospheric, and emotional. Lovely book.

A Marvelous Light, by Freya Marske

Damn, the pining in this book??? Truly a wonder.

This book is such a lovely blend of interesting plot, intriguing magic system, and just lovely gay romance. I've been trying to consciously read more queer books this year and so far I am having a wonderful time. I'm going to be 32 this year and for the first time since I was a pre-teen I'm seeing myself really reflected in books. It's such a fuckin' cool experience. I'm an emotionally compromised teenaged girl.

[annwayne]

The Red Logs: Return to the Temple Ch. 11

Chapter 11: Strength

Last Chapter <- -> Next Chapter

Fem!OC X Crosshair

Word Count: 3669

Fic Summary:

There are benefits to owning a clone bar. Underworld lords don’t threaten you to pay for protection. Clones are great company. And the drinks taste great. However, there are also risks to owning a clone bar. Like, for example, becoming the fuck buddy of a special clone task force member so your life gets threatened when a Separatist puts out a bounty for your capture in order to use you as blackmail. Also your sleep schedule get’s wrecked. But Anya Tougt is a little more capable than an average bar owner.

Ao3 Link Here

Warnings apply to whole fic:

Canon typical violence, descriptions of panic attacks, alcohol, swearing, 18+ themes (eventual smut), trauma, religious trauma parallels, mild gore

Authors Note:

I just realized, my word count is likely off because I’ve started including my html coding for when I post to ao3. Opps.

28 BBY. That kid started following me around. Anakin Skywalker. He’s not as bad, once you actually get to know him. Actually, I think we’ll continue to get along fairly well. He was getting a little restless inside the temple today, so I took him out to my favorite dinner. Obi-Wan’s reaction once we returned was better than I expected.

Dry air scraped my throat with each inhale as we ran across the red landscape. With nightfall came a pleasant chill that almost made me shiver. Our footfalls, heavy breathing, and the billowing wind at our backs were the only sounds to disturb the mesa formation. All the sand dancing in the air made me all the more grateful for the helmet that kept my identity a secret.

Hunter and Tech led us, with Wrecker following beside me and Crosshair behind. Despite his many declarations of feeling fine, I noticed Wrecker clench his fists while we ran. If I noticed his discomfort, then the others would have as well. Hunter had said nothing against Wrecker when he suited up for this mission, but somehow that silence said enough. 

After several minutes, Tech lifted his hand to indicate we were nearing the coordinates. We gradually slowed our pace until we came to a stop behind a large rock formation. I peaked around the rocks to get a look of the building. Instead I found another mesa with several turret droids perched along its cliff face.

“My scans indicate there are two entrances. One there,” Tech pointed towards the base of the cliff. From my angle I could barely make out massive black doors, hangar doors. “And one up there.” His hand lifted to the flat top where a single lift door jutted out of the ground.

“How many droids?” Hunter kept his eyes on the lights that dotted the cliff.

Tech fiddled with his datapad before answering. “Outside the caves there appears to be ten droids, eight of which are the turrets along the cliff. Inside, however, I cannot yet get a clear scan.” Through yellow tinted lenses, hazel eyes narrowed. “Something is blocking my signal.”

“Only ten droids?” Wrecker let out a boisterous laugh. “The Seps are holding out on us!”

“Yes, well I don’t believe we will be running into many droids, even inside.” Only a nudge from Crosshair snapped Tech’s head up from his data pad. Upon seeing multiple buckets aimed his way, the clone elaborated. “After the destruction of the moon base Dukoo greatly diminished the number of droids assigned under Vekek’s command, I found the order in the files.” He said all matter-of-fact as if the information was well known.

Wrecker let out a low groan. “Aww, this is going to be so boring then.”

“We’re blowing up the whole base!?”

“What about life signs?” Hunter returned the clone’s attention to the mission at hand.

Tech shook his head. “Also unsure, I believe these winds are disrupting my equipment.”

Hunter’s helmet dipped down. Beside me Crosshair looked through his scope. “I could easily take them all out.”

“And alert Vekek to release the Doashim?” I turned my head to look his way. 

“Said I could, Commander.” He didn’t even bother looking up from his scope. “But if you have any ideas, please share.” Each word dripped with snark.

Unfortunately, I did. But there was no guarantee that plan would work, so I kept my mouth shut. With my silence as an answer, Hunter began editing the plan he shared with us on the Marauder. Crosshair and I would scale the cliffside while Tech used an EMP blast to temporarily disable the droids outside. Then the others would take the front entrance. With both exits cut off the chances of Vekek escaping would be much slimmer. Once she was in our custody and we were all clear, Wrecker would detonate the bombs he and Hunter would have set while Tech uploaded a virus into the terminals. But that plan had no contingency if Vekek released a modified Doashim. Hell, any Doashim.

There was that itch again, the same itch I felt back in my bar when bounty hunters attacked. This status as a Jedi- no, not the status. My power meant that I could help these clones. Just like I helped on the moon. And that nearly ended in disaster. Then a soft voice I hadn’t heard in years brushed my ears. 

Reach out.

Immediately I whipped my head around looking for the source. Crosshair’s helmet turned towards me.

Anya, feel through the force for them.

She spoke again. None of the other clones reacted in any way that indicated they heard the voice. Great. I was hallucinating. Hallucinating my dead Master’s voice, no less. Then the flashes of her guiding hand, those light footfalls that were so easily ignored by those less trained, and that look of determination that swelled in her inky eyes while teaching me came to mind. But, unlike the normal sporadic flashes, these all came from one memory. It wasn’t a hallucination, it was a memory. Instantly the strewn pieces snapped together like a magnetized puzzle.

I knew what I needed to do. Before Tech could finish analyzing the weather- admittedly I had no idea how that related to our plan- I closed my eyes and focused. Almost immediately I was overwhelmed by cosmic power, but a gruff huff and clenched fists steadied me. Reaching out in the force was a messy affair. With so many emotions flowing in I had to narrow my field of view. Master Tali had taught me to shrink my reach, like looking down a scope. So I lifted my hand towards the secret base and envisioned a barrier around it. 

“What’s she doing?” Wrecker’s voice created a pocket in my sight.

“Jedi shit.” Crosshair answered.

“And it requires focus, so please.” I hissed through the weight bearing down on my mind. There was movement beside me, but I paid it no mind. 

Finally I managed to connect with the life forms inside the caves. “Six.” I gasped as the connection dropped with my arm. “There should be six living things inside that cave. At least, six things big enough that they wouldn’t be a pest.”

From under his goggles I could see Tech furrowed his brows. But Hunter spoke first. “You’re sure?” My breath was still heavy as I lifted a hand into a so-so motion. Hunter’s helmet stayed on us for a moment before turning towards the base.

Goggles bounced as Tech took the pause from his sergeant as a chance to share his thoughts. “My instruments can barely pick up a handful of droids from within the caves,” Oh, I must have missed that development. “Due to all the interference from the wind!” As if to prove his point, a strong gust slapped against our armor. “And you’re saying from a feeling you know how many Doashim are in there?” 

My head shook as I attempted to explain. Like they were weighed down, my hands hovered at chest height switching gestures with each answer that came to mind. Out of all the choices, only one was true if I was being honest with myself. “I don’t.” Tech’s shoulders stiffened. “In fact, there’s plenty of reasons my number could be wrong. But an estimate is more than nothing.”

While my words didn’t seem to satisfy the exceptional clone, beeping from his datapad tore his attention away. “Hunter, a large enough squall is coming. They need to move now.” His helmet jerked towards Crosshair and I. Hunter nodded at us. It was time.

Together we sprinted across red earth towards the spotlights of the turret droids. Crosshair kept his pace steady despite the lights fixed a few meters before us. Even with the burn in my lungs and the sense of danger ahead, I matched his stride. 

Four meters. 

The lights remained steady.

Three. 

I clenched my jaw and forced my legs forward. Everything screamed to turn around.

Then, darkness.

That wash of blue light snapped out of existence as a massive blast of wind practically lifted my feet from the ground. Crosshair veered left while I remained on my path towards the right column of droids. We scaled the walls with rushed precision. Blaster fire would be too loud, so instead Tech had given us little chips to place on the droids. Something about making sure our exit would be a quiet one. Once I was close enough, I threw two of the chips onto the backs of the lower set of temporarily deactivated droids. Then, with the aid of the force, I jumped up to the next viable handhold and repeated with the higher pair.

“We’re inside.” Tech’s voice came over the comms. “Just as I saw on the scan, no droids behind the hangar doors.”

That seemed. Odd. Before I could give it more thought, the droids below me began sputtering back to life. A rush of panic spurred my body forward as my gloved hand landed on the clifftop. Burning in my abs slowed my rise until I gained enough height to roll unceremoniously over the clifftop. I threw my arms against the red rock and attempted to catch my breath.

“Impressive display of strength, Commander.”

Crosshair’s voice snapped my body up. With my lungs still burning for air, I opted to throw up a lazy bird his way while rearranging myself to stand. As I dusted the red gravel from my exposed skin, that thought I couldn’t give more attention to before came to mind. 

“Hunter, we’ve finished up here.” Static answered my buzz. “Tech, Wrecker, what’s your status?” Again, no response. Crosshair’s confident posture stiffened as he held his rifle at attention. We ran towards the lift. Before we got there I used the force to push the call button. “Did Tech mention our comms would be affected by the winds?” Crosshair answered by shaking his head. Lift doors opened in front of us.

“What are you thinking?” Beside me Crosshair remained still, if a bit stiff. I, however, was a jitterning mess.

“Why would a hangar have no droids guarding it? Even if Dukoo reduced the amount of droids, there should be at least one in that hangar.” Beside me Crosshair raised his rifle as the lift came to a slow stop. I followed suit, pulling out my lightsaber and holding it across my body. Then, gray doors opened.

Metal scaffolding clung on cave walls across from thick horizontal bars that sparked a sickly green. Those bars separated us from five normal Doashim stalking three modified clones. Immediately I closed my saber and lifted both hands towards the predators below. That familiar weight caught my breath as the Doashim slowed their-

“Shit!” A blaster shot threw my shoulder back and dropped my focus. 

 “No time for Jedi magic,” Crosshair dropped three tan droids. “We’ve got our own problems.”

“Clearly.” I hissed through the dull pain. Any attempt to calm the beasts below needed to wait until the droids were dealt with. Before another bolt could meet its target, I used my saber to deflect the red blast. Reverberating metal announced more droids climbing the steps that led to our position.

My blade sparked as I plunged the plasma through the dark plating of a super battle droid. Next I sliced another gray droid in half and deflected a shot from a lower step. Behind me, Crosshair threw a small reflective disk that landed on a droid in the middle of the next group approaching. One shot later that droid fell to its knees. Another shot reflected off that silver disk and bounced through three more droids, deactivating them all. From our perch by the lift we confirmed the last droids had been dealt with, but Vekek was nowhere to be found.

Below us Hunter was hanging on the back of one Doashim, struggling to bring his vibroblade to the eye of the creature. One of the beasts laid still against the other cave wall, but its shallow breathing twisted my gut. Wrecker managed to grab one by the tail and threw it into another readying to pounce on the strong clone. The stumble caused the pair to fight each other and ignore the clones around them. With the last Doashim, Tech was slowly backing up into a wall while looking up. Right as the creature pounced Tech rolled between its legs and pressed a detonator. A small explosion detached low hanging rocks that landed with a sickly crunch.

These Doashim were about a meter taller than the clones, a massive difference from the monster we fought on the moon. “Damn, that growth serum really did something huh?” I mumbled. Those energy beams would block any blaster fire, so we needed a way to shut down the power. “Crosshair, the control panel.” I gestured towards a silver box attached to an amplifier pylon. 

“Wait!” Tech yelled from below. “That’ll open the doors!” Behind him the rubble stirred.

“Tech!” I yelped. 

Wrecker dived into his brother, landing them out of the way of a visibly injured Doashim. One arm was completely limp and the side of its head was smashed in, yet it still raced through the cage looking for a fight. 

“They are modified, they can’t leave!” Together Tech and Wrecker fired shots at the injured beast. One of Wrecker’s Doashim lifted its head in victory, purple blood covering its jaws. A pair of red eyes landed on the two clones.

A long yell caught my ear as I watched Hunter rocket through the sky, purple liquid covering his gloves. His Doashim was covered in cuts leaking that deep color, but didn’t seem bothered at all. With a terrible thud, Hunter landed against the wall Wrecker and Tech were backing into.

“Their pistols aren’t doing enough.” Metal steps rang out as Crosshair paced the platform. At some point I must have holstered my lightsaber since I felt my empty hands shaking. Those dull thuds stopped and then there was movement beside me. A few objects flung through the air and landed with clinks. “You can control them, right?”

My eyes stayed glued to the approaching Doashim. A few of them snapped warnings at each other, but the one with the purple stained jaw roared for their cooperation. Hunter hadn’t moved since he landed. Wrecker and Tech stood directly in front of him. As if aware of our struggling situation, the previously incapacitated Doashim rose with a shake of its head.

“Annie!” Gray armor stepped into my view. A firm hand gripped my good shoulder and shook me. “Get the Doashim to stop moving, I’ll do the rest.”

I snapped up to his visor. “Four? No I can’t-”

“You did before!” There wasn’t anger in his voice, only urgency. 

“Instinct, not-“ My eyes darted back to the group of Doashim, now poised in a terribly familiar position. “Be ready.” I threw both arms up once again. A shot of pain ran through my right arm. But that didn’t matter.

Black covered my vision as I slammed my eyes shut. A rush of anger, pain, and fear threw my head back. Through the mess of emotions I found the four Doashim, more afraid than the clones at their mercy. Calm. My teeth gnash down as I lowered my chin. The only sound was the faint whispering of wind outside. Still. As my thoughts enveloped the Doashim, they turned to look my way.  Beside me I felt Crosshair move and then- 

Four dull thuds followed a single blaster shot.

Immediately, I dropped to my knees and folded over. My chest heaved as bile threatened to escape my stomach. Another shot brought the sound of fizzing power. I focused on the fading sizzle until nothing remained. Carefully, I brought my knee up to stand. When I lifted my head I was met with a gloved hand. 

Crosshair stood silently looking over his shoulder towards his brothers with an extended hand my way. The shake in my limbs encouraged my dominant hand to meet his. With a single pull, he brought me to my feet. 

“Good?” Our boots clanked in unison as we walked down steps littered with damaged droid parts.

“Yeah. Just, it was…” My chest tightened. “Intense.” Even though I managed to recover myself, my heart still pounded at a pace that was certainly not normal.

As we landed on red ground, Hunter stepped out from behind a massive terminal and waved us over. There were tables, abandoned equipment, and a mess of neon liquids contained in various glass containers lined up against the cave walls. Two deactivated insect droids laid in a pile together. One sputtered with electricity as Tech messed with its back panel. Hunter stood behind him with crossed arms. Wrecker watched on while leaning against the cave beside the protocol droids.

“Vekek was never here, only her projection.” Hunter shifted his weight as we approached. “After giving us a speech about how we’d die horrible deaths, she deactivated these droids and ended the call. And that’s not all.” We stood around the deactivated droids as Hunter talked. I crooked my head at his words. “She’s Ardennian. Looked like two of her arms were working on something unrelated while typing in commands for the droids.”

“Ardennian?” I mused. Short six limbed sentients that were known in the galaxy for their agility. Not someone you wanted to be caught in a fight against.

“Everything is gone.” Tech’s voice snapped my focus back. “I can’t lift anything from this.” He huffed as he stood to full height and stretched out his back.

“So coming here was useless?” Crosshair turned his head at my words. Normally that was his line.

“Not exactly.” Tech held out a hopeful hand. “Because of the length of her speech I was able to hack the broadcast and trace her location to a ship in orbit above Ryltoh.”

Even still, my helmet dipped. Tech continued, talking about the possibilities of Vekek’s potential actions. Hunter asked a question and Crosshair made a comment, but my attention turned to the clone who had yet to say anything. Wrecker’s relaxed posture was given away by the hand holding his stomach. I circled behind the droids and leaned against my own patch of wall beside him. He towered over me, nearly half a meter taller. 

“Did your stitches open?” I spoke in a near whisper, as much as a droid can whisper at least.

“Tech already gave me a shot of bacta, no need to worry about me.” Despite his positive tone, I furrowed my brows and crossed my arms. “What about you?” Two red nines turned to face me. The drippy paint was smudged and darkened from time.

“Just my shoulder, but nothing too bad.”

Beside me the clone shook those nines and turned to face me wholly. His head tilted. “But you collapsed after Crosshair killed those beasties.” Wrecker’s confusion increased his volume. “We all saw.” He gestured towards the others, who were now watching our conversation.

“What we saw was likely Annie experiencing an anxiety attack.” For a second, I worried Tech could see through my helmet, because he stepped forward when my face froze. “Likely related to her success in subduing the Doashim through the force.” He continued as if he was talking battle statistics. 

Finally I caught up. “But now I’m fine.” My hands itched to mess with my hair. “So there’s nothing to worry about.” 

Tech nodded once. Wrecker shifted, clearly unsatisfied with the end of this topic. Now it was Hunter’s turn to step in. “Wrecker, Cross.” He lifted a guiding hand at his brothers. “Get to planting explosives. There’s still plenty of functional equipment we can prevent the Separatists from collecting when they return here.” 

Even the prospect of explosives didn’t fully distract the large clone, but still he stood and clasped his hands together. Crosshair followed behind with long strides 

“I’ll bring the Marauder to the top of the mesa, Hunter.” Low thuds followed Tech’s words. My eyes watched as he navigated the messy steps to the lift door. A soft whoosh later he disappeared behind those doors. But my gaze lingered.

Something about Tech felt different. Not that I could even pinpoint it. We didn’t have many interactions since that conversation on the marauder. But the way he stepped in felt-

“I came to while you were, er,” Hunter’s voice snapped my eyes back to him. He waved a hand towards me. “Well, doing whatever you did.”

That earned a buzzing laugh from me. “So you caught the end of the show.”

Hunter’s low laugh joined mine. “Hell of a show. Cody’s job is about to be a lot less stressful with you around.” He crossed his arms and shifted his weight while speaking.

My laugh fell. “Not really.” I lifted a hand to rub the back of my helmet. “Obi-Wan’s not likely to bring me on many missions. This was a,” Through the helmet my drawl sounded like a low buzz. “Unique situation.” Across the cave I watched Crosshair throw bombs that latched onto the celiing with expert precision. At the other side Wrecker threw his explosives into a sporadic pattern. 

Hunter’s visor met mine before he lifted his helmet off and held it at his hip. He turned to look at the other’s when he spoke again. “That’s a shame. If anyone will bring an early end to this war, it’ll be the Jedi.”

I couldn’t hold back my scoff. “Don’t tell me you actually believe that bantha crap.”

“Not really,” He turned to face me. “But strength can make the difference between a win and a loss.” A low rumbling turned our attention above us. Hunter whistled to Crosshair and Wrecker, who lightly jogged to the steps that led to the lift doors. He turned, ready to join them, but stopped. “And Jedi have strength.” Then he followed his brothers.

Dividers by Djarrex