#right now I'm not planning to advocate for them

[askshivanulegacy]

People have ideas but no plan, which means they have ... nothing.

And nothing will ever happen about it, no matter how much people insist it will.

The other reason I'm generally annoyed with the "Abolish X" crowd who actually DO mean "abolish X" and not a watered-down version is that ime they very rarely have fully thought out the implications of what they're demanding and then get angry when other people ask about it.

"Family abolition means completely removing legal ties for family units and allowing all children the choice of where they live" okay. So if I see a three-year-old throwing a fit because she doesn't want to leave the park, and I go over and tell her if she comes home with me she can stay as long as she likes and then we'll get McDonald's on the way home, that three-year-old should have the ability to make that decision? The parent or guardian has no legal recourse to stop me from taking her? Cause if the answer's no, that's not abolition, that's reform baby!

"I'm done talking about what we'll do with rapists and murderers after we abolish prisons, it's all anybody ever wants to talk about!" Well yeah man! 98% of people just interpreted your words as "we're going to let murderers roam around killing people at will"! You need to explain very clearly what plans you have that will stop them that aren't incarceration or you're not going to make any headway! And if your answer involves any form of "well of course SOME people can't be allowed total freedom" - that's not abolition, that's reform baby!

I'm not even gonna touch the number of people who think we should abolish the police and replace them with what are essentially roaming squads of vigilantes dispensing "community justice", whatever the fuck that means.

Like these aren't "gotcha" questions, they're legitimate problems you're going to have to contend with. And if you wave away all these questions with "you're just making up ridiculous scenarios" and "we'll think of something to fix that once we destroy the current system", then yeah actually, I DO think you care more about sounding radical than about making any kind of change.

[ceilidhtransing]

The discussions around whether or not to vote for Kamala keep being dominated by very loud voices shouting that anyone who advocates for her “just doesn't care about Palestine!” and “is willing to overlook genocide!” and “has no moral backbone at all!” And while some of these voices will be bots, trolls, psyops - we know that this happens; we know that trying to persuade progressives to split the vote or not vote at all is a strategy employed by hostile actors - of course many of them won't be. But what this rhetoric does is continually force the “you should vote for her” crowd onto the back foot of having to go to great lengths writing entire essays justifying their choice, while the “don't vote/vote third party” crowd is basically never asked to justify their choice. It frames voting for Kamala as a deeply morally compromised position that requires extensive justification while framing not voting or voting third party as the neutral and morally clean stance.

So here's another way of looking at it. How much are you willing to accept in order to feel like you're not compromising your morals on one issue?

Are you willing to accept the 24% rise in maternal deaths - and 39% increase for Black women - that is expected under a federal abortion ban, according to the Centre for American Progress? Those percentages represent real people who are alive now who would die if the folks behind Project 2025 get their way with reproductive healthcare.

Are you willing to accept the massive acceleration of climate change that would result from the scrapping of all climate legislation? We don't have time to fuck around with the environment. A gutting of climate policy and a prioritisation of fossil fuel profits, which is explicitly promised by Trump, would set the entire world back years - years that we don't have.

Are you willing to accept the classification of transgender visibility as inherently “pornographic” and thus the removal of trans people from public life? Are you willing to accept the total elimination of legal routes for gender-affirming care? The people behind the Trump campaign want to drive queer and trans people back underground, back into the closet, back into “criminality”. This will kill people. And it's maddening that caring about this gets called “prioritising white gays over brown people abroad” as if it's not BIPOC queer and trans Americans who will suffer the most from legislative queer- and transphobia, as they always do.

Are you willing to accept the domestic deployment of the military to crack down on protests and enforce racist immigration policy? I'm sure it's going to be very easy to convince huge numbers of normal people to turn up to protests and get involved in political organising when doing so may well involve facing down an army deployed by a hardcore authoritarian operating under the precedent that nothing he does as president can ever be illegal.

Are you willing to accept a president who openly talks about wanting to be a dictator, plans on massively expanding presidential powers, dehumanises his political enemies and wants the DOJ to “go after them”, and assures his supporters they won't have to vote again? If you can't see the danger of this staring you right in the face, I don't know what to tell you. Allowing a wannabe dictator to take control of the most powerful country on earth would be absolutely disastrous for the entire world.

Are you willing to accept an enormous uptick in fascism and far-right authoritarianism worldwide? The far right in America has huge influence over an entire international network of “anti-globalists”, hardcore anti-immigrant xenophobes, transphobic extremists, and straight-up fascists. Success in America aids and emboldens these people everywhere.

Are you willing to accept an enormous number of preventable deaths if America faces a crisis in the next four years: a public health emergency, a natural disaster, an ecological catastrophe? We all saw how Trump handled Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. We all saw how Trump handled Covid-19. He fanned the flames of disaster with a constant flow of medical misinformation and an unspeakably dangerous undermining of public health experts. It's estimated that 40% of US pandemic deaths could have been avoided if the death rates had corresponded to those in other high-income countries. That amounts to nearly half a million people. One study from January 2021 estimated between around 4,200 and 12,200 preventable deaths attributable purely to Trump's statements about masks. We're highly unlikely to face another global pandemic in the next few years but who knows what crises are coming down the pipeline?

Are you willing to accept the attempted deportation of millions - millions - of undocumented people? This is “rounding people up and throwing them into camps where no one ever hears from them again” territory. That's a blueprint for genocide right there and it's a core tenet of both Trump's personal policy and Project 2025. And of course they wouldn't be going after white people. They most likely wouldn't even restrict their tyranny to people who are actually undocumented. Anyone racially othered as an “immigrant” would be at risk from this.

Are you willing to accept not just the continuation of the current situation in Palestine, but the absolute annihilation of Gaza and the obliteration of any hope for imminent peace? There is no way that Trump and the people behind him would not be catastrophically worse for Gaza than Kamala or even Biden. Only recently he was telling donors behind closed doors that he wanted to “set the [Palestinian] movement back 25 or 30 years” and that “any student that protests, I throw them out of the country”. This is not a man who can be pushed in a direction more conducive to peace and justice. This is a man who listens to his wealthy donors, his Christian nationalist Republican allies, and himself.

Are you willing to accept a much heightened risk of nuclear war? Obviously this is hardly a Trump policy promise. But I can't think of a single president since the Cold War who is more likely to deploy nuclear weapons, given how casually he talks about wanting to use them and how erratic and unstable he can be in his dealings with foreign leaders. To quote Foreign Policy only this year, “Trump told a crowd in January that one of the reasons he needed immunity was so that he couldn’t be indicted for using nuclear weapons on a city.” That's reassuring. I'm not even in the US and I remember four years of constant background low-level terror that Trump would take offence at something some foreign leader said or think that he needs to personally intervene in some military situation to “sort it out” and decide to launch the entire world into nuclear war. No one sane on earth wants the most powerful person on the planet to be as trigger-happy and careless with human life as he is, especially if he's running the White House like a dictator with no one ever telling him no. But depending on what Americans do in November, he may well be inflicted again on all of us, and I guess we'll all just have to hope that he doesn't do the worst thing imaginable.

“But I don't want those things! Stop accusing me of supporting things I don't support!” Yes, of course you don't want those things. None of us does. No one's saying that you actively support them. No one's accusing you of wanting Black women to die from ectopic pregnancies or of wanting to throw Hispanic people in immigrant detention centres or of wanting trans people to be outlawed (unlike, I must point out, the extremely emotive and personal accusations that get thrown around about “wanting Palestinian children to die” if you encourage people to vote for Kamala).

But if you're advocating against voting for Kamala, you are clearly willing to accept them as possible consequences of your actions. That is the deal you're making. If a terrible thing happening is the clear and easily foreseeable outcome of your action (or in the case of not voting, inaction), in a way that could have been prevented by taking a different and just as easy action, you are partly responsible for that consequence. (And no, it's not “a fear campaign” to warn people about things he's said, things he wants to do, and plans drawn up by his close allies. This is not “oooh the Democrats are trying to bully you into voting for them by making him out to be really bad so you'll feel scared and vote for Kamala!” He is really bad, in obvious and documented and irrefutable ways.)

And if you believe that “both parties are the same on Gaza” (which, you know, they really aren't, but let's just pretend that they are) then presumably you accept that the horrors being committed there will continue, in the immediate term anyway, regardless of who wins the presidency. Because there really isn't some third option that will appear and do everything we want. It's going to be one of those two. And we can talk all day about wanting a better system or how unfair it is that every presidential election only ever has two viable candidates and how small the Overton window is and all that but hell, we are less than eighty days out from the election; none of that is going to get fixed between now and November. Electoral reform is a long-term (but important!) goal, not something that can be effected in the span of a couple of months by telling people online to vote third party. There is no “instant ceasefire and peace negotiation” button that we're callously overlooking by encouraging people to vote for Kamala. (My god, if there was, we would all be pressing it.)

If we're suggesting people vote for her, it's not that we “are willing to overlook genocide” or “don't care about sacrificing brown people abroad” or whatever. Nothing is being “overlooked” here. It's that we're simply not willing to accept everything else in this post and more on top of continued atrocities in Gaza. We're not willing to take Trump and his godawful far-right authoritarian agenda as an acceptable consequence of feeling like we have the moral high ground on Palestine. I cannot stress enough that if Kamala doesn't win, we - we all, in the whole world - get Trump. Are you willing to accept that?

And one more point to address: I've seen too many people act frighteningly flippant and naïve about terrible things Trump or his campaign want to do, with the idea that people will simply be able to prevent all these bad things by “organising” and “protesting” and “collective action”. “I'm not willing to accept these things; that's why I'll fight them tooth and nail every day of their administration” - OK but if you're not even willing to cast a vote then I have doubts about your ability to form “the Resistance”, which by the way would have to involve cooperation with people of lots of progressive political stripes in order to have the manpower to be effective, and if you're so committed to political purity that you view temporarily lending your support to Kamala at the ballot box as an untenable betrayal of everything you stand for then forgive me for also doubting your ability to productively cooperate with allies on the ground with whom you don't 100% agree. Plus, if the Trump campaign gets its way, American progressives would be kept so busy trying to put out about twenty different fires at once that you'd be able to accomplish very little. Maybe you get them to soften their stance on trans healthcare but oh shit, the climate policies are still in place. But more importantly, how many people do you think will protest for abortion rights if doing so means staring down a gun? Or organise to protect their neighbours from deportation if doing so means being thrown in prison yourself? And OK, maybe you're sure that you will, but history has shown us time and time again that most people won't. Most people aren't willing to face that kind of personal risk. And a tiny number of lefties willing to risk incarceration or death to protect undocumented people or trans people or whatever other groups are targeted is sadly not enough to prevent the horrors from happening. That is small fry compared to the full might of a determined state. Of course if the worst happens and Trump wins then you should do what you can to mitigate the harm; I'm not saying you shouldn't. But really the time to act is now. You have an opportunity right here to mitigate the harm and it's called “not letting him get elected”. Act now to prevent that kind of horrific authoritarian situation from developing in the first place; don't sit this one out under the naïve belief that “we'll be able to stop it if it happens”. You won't.

[batboyblog]

2024 Senate Elections: You'd Better VOTE!

Yes it's election year yet again in America! but not just for President, almost as important will be the US Senate!

I'm not gonna lie this is a rough map for Democrats, we're playing a lot of defense in some pretty red states with even our best hopes for a pick up being pretty long shots. But even with narrow control of the Senate we've managed the biggest climate bill in American History a huge infrastructure bill thats bring high speed rail to America capped the price of insulin changed the law to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices bring savings to everyone, and put over 160 federal judges on the bench, 2/3rds of whom are women and/or people of color the first time white men haven't been the majority of nominees by a President. So let's keep progress going by voting for, supporting, donating, and volunteering for the following candidates in the races that will decide the US Senate this year.

Arizona

Ruben Gallego (Hold)

After frustrating Democrats by repeatedly voting against major Democratic priorities, supporting the filibuster and putting donors over voters, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema left the Democratic Party to become an independent in 2022. Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego was running to primary Sinema before she left the party and is now the likely Democratic nominee to unseat her and give Arizona the Democratic Senator it deserves. Gallego is a former Marine, combat veteran, Harvard grad, a former state representative, and since 2014 a member of Congress. Gallego is a member of the Progressive Caucus and is known for his blunt and combative style standing up to Republicans. In Congress Gallego has been a strong supporter of native rights advocating for tribes on health care and child welfare issues. Gallego is also the sponsor of a bill to bring about nation wide, free, all-day kindergarten which isn't available in many states. If elected Gallego would be Arizona's first hispanic Senator. Republicans hope that the Democratic vote will split between Sinema and Gallego allowing them to win this important seat. The Republican front runner is conspiracy theorist and Trump super fan, Kari Lake. Lake rose to national fame in 2021 for pushing conspiracy theories about Trump having won the 2020 election, as well as anti-mask and anti-vaccine Covid conspiracies. Lake was the Republican nominee for Arizona governor in 2022. During that campaign she ran on an aggressive anti-LGBT platform, saying she'd ban drag, and was against trans rights. Lake also is against Abortion in all cases. After losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs, Lake refused to concede, and still pushes the conspiracy theory that she's the rightful governor of Arizona. If you live in Arizona please make sure you vote, but more if you have any time between now and November, volunteer to help Gallego! and if you don't live there you can still Donate or buy a pro-choice shirt from his campaign!

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Florida

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Flip)

Florida's current Republican Senator Rick Scott is a right wing extremist pushing dangerous ideas even by the standards of the Modern GOP. During his first term as Senator Scott has pushed to defund the IRS, and the Department of Education. He's sponsored bills to punish schools that allow students to use preferred pronouns, to ban affirmative action, bans teaching critical race theory, and ban trans people from women's sports. Scott is against abortion in all cases. Most alarming Rick Scott proposed a radical plan that would "sun-set" ANY and all federal laws after 5 years, including Social Security and Medicare, Scott would place all federal programs and agencies on the chopping block every 5 years for a radical Republican minority to block their renewal and leave us without Social Security, or the EPA, to name just two examples. The likely Democratic nominee is former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Born in Ecuador, Mucarsel-Powell immigrated to the US when she was 14 and had work to help support her family. When she was elected to Congress in 2018 she became the first South American born immigrant and first person of Ecuadorian heritage to be elected to Congress. In Congress Mucarsel-Powell was a member of the Progressive caucus, she fought to expand medicare, and secured $200 million for Everglades restoration. After a narrow defeat in 2020 Mucarsel-Powell joined the gun control advocacy group Giffords to fight for gun control a personal issue for her after her father was murdered when she was 24. If you're in Florida please make sure you vote, and Volunteer to help remove on of the most extreme Senators, If you're not in Florida you can help Debbie win by donating.

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Michigan

Elissa Slotkin (hold)

Long time Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow is retiring this election, so there will be a tough fight for control of this important swing state Senate seat. The likely Democratic nominee is Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. Slotkin is a former CIA analyst, after retiring from the CIA she worked in the State and Defense departments during the Obama administration. Slotkin was first elected to Congress in 2018 winning and being re-elected in a tough swing district. In Congress she's fought for common sense gun control, supported the cap on insulin prices and Medicare drug price negotiation, she helped pass a law on drug price transparency, she championed the CHIP act to bring high tech manufacturing jobs back to America, and was a big supporter of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Slotkin is centering a pro-choice message in her campaign as well as gun control and bring down medical costs. Who the Republicans will pick isn't totally clear, it seems like it's between Former Congressman Mike Rogers and former Detroit Police chief James Craig. Craig ran for Michigan governor in 2022 before he was disqualified for fraudulent signatures on his nominating petition. Craig has listed cutting off US support to Ukraine as one of his top priorities, and endorsed Trump's 3rd run for President early in the primaries. Mike Rogers is also trying to win over Trump voters and has attacked the rights of LGBT students in schools calling it "social engineering". If you live in Michigan make sure to get out and vote, and also volunteer! And for everyone outside the state you can donate or buy some merch.

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Montana

Jon Tester (re-elect)

In most contexts Montana is a deep red state going for Trump in 2020 57% to 40%. This makes the reelection of Montana's only Democratic member of Congress and only statewide elected Democrat, Jon Tester maybe the toughest election for Democrats this year. A Senator since he was first elected in 2006 Tester has won a series of upset wins in Montana over the years. A 3rd generation farmer Tester has been as strong for small farmers and ranchers in Washington. Tester has always been a champion of accountably and transparency in government pushing ethnics and campaign finance reforms. Tester is rated one of the most effective senators and managed to pass more bills last year than any one else in Congress. He's never been afraid to stand up for the Democratic side even if it'd be an unpopular vote in Red Montana. Tester voted to impeach Trump twice, and he voted against all 3 of Trump's nominees to the Supreme Court. He supported President Obama on The Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank, and has supported President Biden on the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Republicans seem likely to nominate right wing influencer and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy. Sheehy promises to get drag queens out of schools and the Lord's Prayer in to the classroom. He also hopes to repeal Obamacare calling for a "total privatization" of health care and made statements against the very idea of health insurance, insisting people should pay full price at point of use. If you're a Montanan make sure to vote to re-elect a champion of the little guy, and also volunteer! if you're not please think of donating what you can, if you can only give to one campaign this cycle this one, or Ohio are the most important!

VOTE VOLUNTEER DONATE SHOP

Nevada

Jacky Rosen (re-elect)

First elected to Congress in 2016 Jacky Rosen moved up to the Senate in 2018. In her first term as a Senator Rosen has championed green energy for Nevada. Together with fellow Democratic Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Rosen has gotten millions for solar manufacturing in Nevada as well as millions to replace the state's school buses with electric, and programs to study new groundbreaking green technology. Senator Rosen has been a supporter of gun control, is in favor of banning assault weapons. She sponsored a bill, the Background Check Expansion Act, that would require background checks for all gun sales closing loopholes for on-line sales and gun shows. Rosen is pro-choice and has sponsored a bill to protect doctors from being prosecuted across state lines for providing reproductive care, and is a co-sponsor of a bill to codify Roe V. Wade into federal law. Rosen will likely face Republican celebrity and army veteran Sam Brown. Brown ran and lost a race for the Texas State House in 2014 and ran and lost for Nevada's other Senate seat in 2022. Brown stated he was in favor of getting rid of the Departments of Education, Transportation, and Energy. Brown is against Red Flag gun laws that allow police to temporarily remove fire arms from the home of someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. Brown also has refused to say if he supports a national abortion ban, but does say he's pro-life and wouldn't support any judges that weren't. If you live in Nevada make sure to get out to vote and volunteer to protect the state's green future and the right to reproductive care. If you're not in Nevada consider donating or buying some merch.

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Ohio

Sherrod Brown (re-elect)

Ohio together with Montana represents the toughest re-elect for Democrats this year. The state went for Trump twice, elected a right wing radical, JD Vaince, to the Senate in 2022 and has had a Republican governor since 2010. To complicate thing more Democrat Sherrod Brown is one of the most progressive members of the Senate, regularly scoring along side Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for the most left wing in the Senate. From the time he was first elected to Congress in 1992 Brown refused to take the Congressional Health Insurance until all Americans could be covered. Brown first supported a Medicare for all bill in 2006 and has supported different efforts to expand Medicare and health coverage. He was a key supporter of the Children Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Brown is a strong supporter of unions and has struggled his whole career to protect unionized manufacturing jobs in Ohio. He was one of the first Senators out on the picket line during the UAW strike of 2023. Brown's hard work has help make Ohio the center of a new booming lithium battery manufacturing in America, a green manufacturing future for the state. Republicans look likely to nominate former used car dealer and father-in-law of Republican Congressman Max Miller, Bernie Moreno. Moreno's main qualification seems to be having been endorsed by Donald Trump. He lists among his priorities "End Socialism in America" and "End Wokeness and Cancel Culture". If you're in Ohio make sure to vote to re-elect a progressive giant and volunteer too! If you live out of Ohio donate, if you're looking for the race where your dollar will matter the most, this one or Montana guys.

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Pennsylvania

Bob Casey Jr. (re-elect)

First elected in 2006 Bob Casey famously beat incumbent Republican homophobe Rick Santorum by 17 points. Since first entering the Senate Casey has moved leftward on a number of issues. First elected as a pro-Gun Democrat since 2012 Casey has sponsored a number of bills to expand background checks, ban assault weapons, ban extended magazines, and well as supporting mental health funds for victims of gun violence. For a number of years Casey was called the last pro-life Democrat in the Senate, however in 2022 he came out in support of Roe V Wade and voted twice on bills that would have codified the right to an abortion into federal law. Casey voted against all 3 of Trump's Supreme Court picks and has long supported Planned Parenthood's contraception efforts with federal funds, seeing easily available birth control as key to reducing the number of abortions. In 2021 Casey published a plan he called "The Five Freedoms for America's Children" modeled after FDR's famous speech. He proposed automatically enrolling all kids in Medicaid, an expanded child tax cut, a federally supported college fund for all kids who's parents make under $100,000, expanded free school meals, more funds for head start and abuse prevention programs. Republicans are rallying behind Mitch McConnell's hand picked candidate, hedge fund CEO David McCormick. McCormick worked for the Bush administration during Bush's second term. McCormick's wife Dina Powell also worked for the George W. Bush administration and was a senior aid to Trump as well. If you're in Pennsylvania make sure to get out and vote for a solid Democrat out to solve child poverty in America and keep the Hedge Fund guy from Connecticut out, and Volunteer if you can. Remember you can donate where ever you are.

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Texas

Colin Allred (flip)

Texas is currently represented by likely the most hated man in Washington, Ted Cruz. Republicans hate him, Democrats hate him more, he has a very punchable face, he might be the zodiac killer (thats a joke and meme). From shutting down the government in 2013 to try to overturn Obamacare, to leading the charge in Congress to overturn the 2020 election on January 6th Ted Cruz is a greatest hits of the worst parts of the Republican Party of the last 10 years. When Texas lost power in the middle of a historic ice storm in 2021 Ted Cruz and family ditched the state to go on vacation in Mexico, classy. Cruz in the Biden years has cast himself as a culture warrior fighting against "woke" publishing a book "Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America" in 2023 to kick off his re-election campaign. Texas is a traditionally red state but things are starting to shift and in 2018 Cruz narrowly won re-election over Beto O'Rourke. Democrats hope with the right candidate they can turn Texas blue and beat the most hated Senator in America. Democrats think Congressman Colin Allred is the man for the job. Allred is a former NFL Linebacker for the Titans. After the NFL he went on to get his law degree from UC Berkeley, and work in the Obama administration. Allred was first elected to Congress in 2018, unseating a Republican who'd been in office since 1997 and becoming the first Democrat to represent the area in Congress since 1968. In Congress Allred has supported bills to expand voting right and protect abortion rights, as well as gun control. In the Senate he promises to address Texas' shaky power grid and make sure Texas is never left in the dark again with its leaders missing. Lets do this Texas, make blue Texas a reality if you live in Texas remember to vote and volunteer, if you're an American who hates Ted Cruz you can donate to make in unemployed.

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Wisconsin

Tammy Baldwin (re-elect)

When Tammy Baldwin first ran for Congress in 1998 she was the first openly gay person elected to the US House and the first open Lesbian to serve in Congress. In 2012 she became the first openly gay person elected to the US Senate and the first Lesbian to be a Senator, she is still the only openly gay Senator. Through out her time in office Baldwin has been a tireless voice for LGBT rights, in 2022 she helped spear head the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act to help protect gay marriage, she's also a sponsor of the Equality Act to protect all LGBT people from discrimination. Baldwin is a progressive who was a member of the House Progressive caucus, opposed the Iraq War and supported impeaching Dick Cheney. In the House she introduced bills for a single payer healthcare system in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005. In the Senate Baldwin is regularly listed as one of the most progressive members, voting against tax cuts for the rich, supporting a bill to require companies to have workers on their boards, she sponsored a bill to create a public option in Health Care, and has supported gun control efforts. The Republican field to challenge Senator Baldwin is uncertain, but former Milwaukee sheriff David Clarke dominates the polls if he decides to run. Clarke's sheriff's department is accused a number of human rights violations from his time as sheriff, including allowing a prisoner to die of dehydration after 6 days without water in the Milwaukee County Jail. Clarke is a Trump super fan who has pushed conspiracy theories about mass shootings being fake, attacked Black Lives Matter, called Planned Parenthood "Planned Genocide", and called for the mass detention without trial of Americans because he believed there were a million ISIS supporters in America. If you're in Wisconsin make sure to get out and vote for a trailblazing icon and also volunteer if you can, all Americans can donate and support Baldwin wherever they are.

VOTE VOLUNTEER DONATE SHOP

If you're an American citizen and will be 18 years old (or older) by November 5th 2024, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! make sure you're registered to VOTE please check Vote.Org to find out what you need to do, what deadlines there are and act NOW

If you're an American living outside the US, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE. Please checkout Vote From Aboard they have literally all the information you need to get registered and get your ballot wherever in the world you are, and Check out Democrats Abroad to take part in the global primary

Where ever you live in the US, there is an important life changing election happening! Get off your phone or computer and get involved, There are Events happening all around you right now Volunteer

Finally if you're a US citizen of any age any where on earth you can donate, donate to elect Biden/Harris donate to elect Democrats to the Senate, To the House, to Governorships, to local office

and the smallest thing you can do is reblog this very long post, thank you!

[comatosebunny09]

first class | sylus

summary: sylus likes to play dangerous games. today, you happen to be his rook piece. warning(s): female anatomy described, explicit language, dirty talk, bodily fluids, exhibitionism, reader's attire is described, profanity, blue balls of the female persuasion, praise kink now playing: devil's advocate - the neighbourhood notes: something i threw in @muvaginger's inbox. i'm sorry for my mind. thank you for reading, lovebugs.

Sylus, but calling you when you’ve just gotten off work.

“Are you home?” he asks, all husky on the other end. He knows you aren’t if the telltale shadow cast by a crow circling overhead is anything to go by.

“Not yet.”

“Well, get there.” Amusement resides in his voice. You have half a mind to tell him off for bossing you around like that. Like you don’t secretly enjoy it.

“Yeah, yeah. On my way.”

You hang up and shove your phone into your pocket. Put your helmet on, throwing your leg over your bike’s seat and settling on the cushion. Start it, the engine purring to life beneath you. After waving goodbye to Tara, you peel off, zipping through the energetic streets of Linkon towards your home.

Inside the lobby, your phone buzzes again. You roll your eyes, shoving your earpiece into your ear as you trudge through the lobby.

“What!” you grate out.

“Moving a little too slow there, kitten.”

If only you could punch him through the phone. You tamp down your anger, switching tactics. “What’s this about, anyway?”

He chuckles low and throaty, the sound of it prickling your brain. “Patience is a virtue.”

You scoff. “You’re one to talk.” Asshole, you add inwardly.

You catch the elevator to the floor where your apartment resides. Slide your key in, easing through the door into your entryway. Barely have time to set your keys down before a sharp rapping snaps your attention to the door.

“Open it,” Sylus orders.

Hesitant, you pivot towards it. Fingers twitch near your hip where your gun’s holstered. Slowly, you reach for the handle, mindful of your steps.

A soft laugh rings in your ear.

“Easy, sweetheart. It’s not an ambush. If I wanted to off you, I would’ve done so by now.”

“I never know with you,” you clip back, turning the doorknob.

After mentally counting to three, you throw the door open and peek outside. Silence and an empty hallway greet you. You glance left and right. Up and down the hall until a large, crimson box catches in your peripheral, seated on your doormat. You fetch it, admiring the black ribbon intricately wrapped around it.

“What’s this?” you query, kicking your door shut once you’re back inside.

“A gift.”

“Another one?”

His tone swims with nonchalance. “What can I say? I enjoy spoiling you rotten.”

You test the weight of the box. Shake it, hearing tissue paper and something heavy stir inside.

“Open it.”

You oblige. Tear the ribbon and top off, eyes curiously raking over the box’s contents. Inside is a long, black trench coat. Beneath that rests a long-sleeved, silk blouse. Deeper still lies a simple miniskirt, and you test its material between your fingers. It all looks and feels incredibly expensive despite its simplicity.

“Put it on,” Sylus instructs through the stillness.  

“What? Why?”

“Because you have a train to catch in—” A brief pause. “One hour.”

“What the fuck? A train? An hour? Sylus—”

“Time is ticking, sweetie.”

The phone clicks with his exit.

You throw the clothes onto your couch, scrutinizing them over folded arms, chewing your lip. It’s 50 degrees out. Where the hell does he think you’re going dressed like this? Does he plan to use you as bait or something?

Your phone buzzes again on your coffee table. You fetch it to see a QR code for a train ticket sitting in your inbox.

“Shit,” you hiss, scrambling for your bathroom to shower. He’s serious. There really is no time to spare.

He’d better have a good reason for being so cryptic.

—

“The second to last car,” he husks in your ear. “Meet me there in five.”

Your lips contort into a scowl. You rip your earpiece out, wending through the train’s other passengers to pursue your goal.

In the corners of your vision, the scenery outside the windows eases by. Greenery nestled beneath the snow, somewhere remote. It’s beautiful. You take time to admire the sights before finding your way to the second to last car.

The door slides shut behind you. It’s quiet, save for the occasional rumble of the train upon the tracks. The passengers here are sparse. It’s a luxury cabin, decked with armchairs, faux plants, and an expensive carpet.

You survey the area, spotting an unmistakable thatch of white nestled in the rear seat. Try to mask your giddiness as you make your way towards the back. It’s been a few days since you’ve last seen him.

Wordlessly, he motions to the seat across from him when you venture to his side, wearing that customary smirk. You plop down, folding your arms. Bite back a smile of your own, favoring a frown.

“What’s this all about?”

Sylus leans back in an easy slouch, and the way he manspreads makes your mouth water. He peers down at you from his nose, draping a long arm over the headrest of his seat. His turtleneck and coat do little to disguise the power of his body. The tendons in his neck dance. Jaw flexes. He motions to your lap with a flick of his gaze.

“Touch yourself,” he rasps.

Your eyes grow comically wide. “Excuse me?!” you hiss, mindful of your volume. Look around to ensure no one’s the wiser to your conversation. No hello. No I’ve missed you. No preamble whatsoever.

His smug look doesn’t waver. “Don’t make me repeat myself, sweetheart.” There’s an underlying edge to his voice. One that doesn’t leave room for argument. Still, you contest him.

“Sylus, there are people here!”

That enraged whisper thing you do—it’s endearing.

Sylus’ eyes darken with something sinister. He hasn’t stopped watching you since the moment you sat down. Hasn’t stopped raking his eyes over your honeysuckle thighs, your hips.

“They can watch,” he drawls with an innocent shrug.

“Sylus!”

“Sweetie, I’m not asking.” Though he bears an expression of amusement, you can tell he means business. Consequences typically follow when you don’t heed him. Delicious consequences.

You swallow thickly. Sylus’ silhouette blurs as you survey the car over his shoulder. There are at least three other passengers here, all seated near the door you came through. More than enough distance between you. Your lover bleeds back into focus, his brow raised in challenge.

With a weighted sigh, you shift to make yourself more comfortable. Loosen the tie of your coat, drawing it open whilst easing your hips forward. Hesitantly spread your legs, feeling Sylus’ optics tuned to your every move. Something hot and sticky has already begun to gather in your panties, and your nipples tighten beneath the frail silk of your blouse.  

He cutely cocks his head to the side when you hesitate. Eyes narrow. “What’s wrong, sweetie,” he croons all low. You feel it coiling in your stomach. “Scared?”

You cut your eyes to him, mouth drawn into a tight line. Of course you are. You’ve never done anything like this. He’s introduced you to all kinds of things. Uncovered fantasies lurking deep in your mind. Discovered all the erogenous zones on your body you never knew you housed, but—

Exhibitionism is new. Dangerous. And somehow, the thought of it makes you wetter.

“Go on,” he soothes. Encourages, irises dipping into a mysterious shade of garnet.

Your body moves of its own volition, spellbound. Thighs part a little more, hands smoothing over plump flesh. You sigh out, leaning back as you drag your nails over the inner curve of your thighs, bunching your skirt up towards your hips. A little more enthusiastic now, teasing your swollen outer labia with the knuckles of your thumbs.

Sylus’ mouth parts slightly. His gaze flickers downward, entranced by the show and the soft hitch of your breath. He looks back into your eyes, clicking his tongue in discovery. Reaches out a sizable hand, leaning towards you with his elbows digging into the pockets of his knees.

“Panties. Take them off.”

Your tummy sparkles with heat. He quirks a brow. He’s serious. It’s not enough to touch yourself like this in public. He wants you bare and exposed, staining the armchair with your heat.

Without a word, you shimmy out of your underwear. Thin and frill as they slide down your calves, over your ankles to pool at your feet. You compliantly deposit them into his hand. A bitten-off growl brews in his chest. He falls back against his seat, stuffing your panties into his coat’s inner pocket for safekeeping. Signals for you to keep going, fully invested in this game.

You repeat the process from before. And it’s a new sensation now, the crisp air of the train car kissing your sticky pussy. You try to think of other things. Try to distract yourself from the smolder of his gaze and how it makes your body hum and your mind fill with smoke.

You think about his fingers instead of yours, stroking down the slit of your pussy. His fingers rubbing at the hood of your clitoris, drawing it back to stroke your pretty, swollen clit. His thumbs sliding over your nipples, causing your back to arch, his tongue laving at the space behind your ear…

Your hips stutter. You stifle a moan. Sylus slides in and out of focus, your vision fogging around the corners. He chuckles amorously, shifting in his seat. “Don’t stop,” he nurtures, eyes burning like a feverish flame. His dick sits heavy in his slacks, slowly hardening and twitching.

You salivate. Knowing that he’s enjoying this as much as you gradually are—fuck. You bite your lip, propping your leg on the chair’s arm. Spread nice and wide for him, your pussy on full display.

You rut against your fingers, your face screwed up in rapture. Legs quiver each time the pads of your fingers bump your messy clit. You construct a rhythm that’s maddeningly slow and torturous. Feel that sparkling rush lazily pooling between your thighs, but it’s not enough. Wanna be filled and stuffed to the brim with cum.

His cum.

A glimpse at Sylus reveals something that makes you throb. He’s touching himself. Humping into the palm of his hand, hot and weighted through the thick layers of his clothes. Fuck. You pulse.

“Syl,” you sob quietly, wetly, wantonly. “Syl, please—”

“Use your fingers,” he breathes all ragged. “Inside.” Angles his head back until it thumps against the headrest. Doesn’t look away, still rucking his hips up into the heel of his palm like the slow undulation of a wave.

You indulge, circling the pucker of your pussy with your fingers. Steadily work one inside, and you sigh, tossing your head back. Caress your tits with your free hand, plucking your nipples to their peaks as you drive your finger in and out. The lewd, squelching sounds you make as you torture yourself causes your walls to clench down.

Sylus’ voice crackles, pouring through the fizzy haze that’s settled over you.

“One more. You can take one more, can’t you, sweetie?”

You moan at how his voice oozes like warm milk and honey. You’re obedient, gradually adding another, pumping in and out. A thick ring of cream collects around your knuckles. It’s still not enough. Never enough.

“That’s my girl,” he lauds, relief in his timbre. “So good for me. So, so good.”

“Sylus,” you sob, fucking yourself a little faster. Wish it were him instead, filling you up and pumping you with the briny edge of his cum. There’s a warm fluid trickling down your leg. Heat spooling in your tummy.

He greedily ingests the sight of you fucking yourself, groaning hoarsely. You’re so close to spilling over the edge, so close to losing yourself to an orgasm. And you would—

If not for the sound of footfalls nearing your position.

“Shit!” you hiss, snapping your legs shut. Work your skirt into some semblance of neatness, throwing your coat over your legs. Your cheeks and neck are aflame, pulse pounding in your throat, pussy throbbing.

You don’t make eye contact as the gentleman passes, too busy looking at your fingers in your lap. He’s none the wiser to the goings on in your section—or, at least, he acts like he isn’t—as he bows with a small smile, slipping through the door behind. Sylus tracks his every move, and if looks could kill…

Your heart thrums heavily in your ears. You caution a glance at your boyfriend, taking in his flushed cheeks, his heaving chest. He’d thrown his coat over his lap to disguise the monster pressing against the seam of his trousers.

You lock eyes. His lips pull into a scowl as he sits up, pitching himself forward. Cants his head to one side, voice abrasive and low.

“Did I tell you to close your fucking legs?”

A thrill racks through you. It’s rare that he curses, only sullying his tongue when he’s upset or too far gone. It turns your stomach to a primordial ooze. Without warning, Sylus gathers himself up, snatching your wrist along with him.

You stumble like a baby fawn to your feet, gazing into those eyes that dwindle like liquid spilled over burning coals.

“We aren’t done here, sweetheart,” he promises with a tense jaw. Tugs you from your seat and down the aisle, all the while fishing for something in his pocket. A quick glance reveals a barcode, and a number printed in bold letters on a bit of plastic. A keycard. The sneaky little…

He peers at you over his shoulder as you both maneuver through the throng of passengers in the remaining cars, back towards the front. Your features warm with a smile. Legs tingle.

You weren’t aware that this train had sleeper cars, but you’re grateful to know it does. Your body buzzes with the prospect of what’s to come. He’s not done with you, indeed.  

hair down | masterlist | nuisance

[libraford]

Here's what's going on in Ohio right now. Heavy stuff ahead.

First, I want to apologize for the misinformation in my original post. I am still learning about legislative processes. To correct: the changes to ODH and OMHAS in regards to gender therapy are not a bill, they are changes in regulations.

This is important because citizens CAN affect rule changes. There is an open commentary period where your submissions get counted and can affect how they write new regulations.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, legal advocate, or medical professional. I'm just a dude who had to have it all explained to me.

The first one is Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services. The rules proposed would make the already prohibitive process of gender transition even harder. In order to diagnose and treat gender dysphoria, a hospital needs to have a board certified psychologist per patient, a board certified endocrinologist familiar with the age group being diagnosed per patient, and a medical ethicist overseeing the hospital's plan for transition. 'Board certified' does not guarantee that the specialist is trans-friendly. It must include a detransition plan. Hospitals would have to report compliance annually. The professionals must have a contractual relationship with the patient, but do not need to offer in-person care. (In this instance, I'll get to that in the next rule change.)

This rule also deems it impermissible to prescribe gender transition care (this includes hormones, puberty blockers, or drugs) for anyone under the age of 21 without the approval of the professionals mentioned and 6 months of therapy.

There is an exception for intersex people, who may have their sex assigned to them without their consent.

The open comment period for this ends January 19 at 5pm.

Send an email to MH-SOT-rules@mha.ohio.gov with the subject title: "Comments on Gender Transition Care Rules."

The second one is Ohio Department of Health and it repeats a lot of the same as the first one. However, the focus is more on the regulation of doctors and paperwork. Anyone seeking transition will be put into a registry with their name redacted, but demographics like age, agab, specific diagnosis (difficult to achieve with the new regulations mentioned above), and any medications (not just related to gender transition, but any medications at all). Any cessation of care must be reported within 30 days.

This is a lot of paperwork and can overburden hospitals.

That 30 days cessation is important because if a person transfers doctors or if a clinic closes and the paperwork isn't filed, it may count as a 'detransition' when tallying demographics, even if that is not the case.

But what's curious is that the ODH regulations DO require in-person care. The rules are contradictory and vague.

The comment period for this ends Feb 5th.

Send a comment through the ODH website

Here are some important things that were mentioned at the meeting:

This is a good time to be personal with your statements. If this would disrupt your life in any way, please say so. "I fear that" "I believe this" "I worry that"- these are great ways to start your comment. An example one person gave is "I worry that this change in regulations would force me and my daughter to move out of state.'

With that being said, anything that you send to these sites will be public record, so be cautious about what you reveal about yourself in your comment.

If you are in need of help, please reach out to one of these resources:

Trans Ohio Emergency Fund Resource Page

Kaleidoscope Youth Center

If you are in need of legal advice on how to navigate all this, please call

888-LGBT-LAW

This is not everything. There is unfortunately more because Ohio decided to break a record this month with anti-trans motions. But today I'm focusing on things that we can take action on.

[nicotine-boi]

So much senseless pain..

YALL I FUCK SO HEAVY WITH THIS DRAWING IT ALSO TOOK ME A LITERAL MONTH TO COMPLETE BECAUSE UNI BUT I ALSO SNEEKED (?) A LOT OF symbolism ig IN HERE AND IM LIKE. SLSJSKKSKSN

Explanation + other versions below (excuse any typo I'm writing this up on my phone at 11pm)

A.) all the different hands are from characters that he (mostly) directly impacted.

Silco [top hand] because, intentional or not, their paths were always slightly intertwined. (jinx stealing hex-plans, jayce proposing peace, even back to vik's apprenticeship eith singed and him creating shimmer for silco). He's placed at the head because he was the catalyst of basically all the events in the show.

Vi [1st left] and Jinx [1st right] because not only did he lead them to were they went in act3, but their paths beforehand were also slightly intertwined throughout the series. THEY'RE ALSO A MIRROR IMAGE OF EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY ACCIDENTALLY MIRROR EACH OTHER (2nd season Vi mirrors 1st season jinx and vice-versa)

Isha [2nd right] because he UNINTENTIONALLY led to her death by allowing her to bond more with Vander and to see him interact 'normally' with Vi and Jinx which led to her sacrifice. She is placed under Jinx because she was her shadow, mentor, kid, etc. and her sole purpose was to emotionally wound Jinx cus the writers suck lol.

Steb [2nd left] because he was tasked with destroying his cocoon thingy in the final battle. He is placed under Vi because he befriended her at least a little while they terrorized Zaun and also as he was the one charged with awaiting for Zaunites at the bridge when it came to recruiting for the final battle.

Mel [3rd left] is here because of her involvement with everything that is Hextech. From allowing them to break into the lab to the subtle manipulation it took to create the weapons, she was there through it all. She's positioned like that in the shoulder because it feels, to me at least, slightly condescending. I'm p sure she never directly addresses him for anything and that's how the hand placement feels to me, a dismissal.

Sevika [3rd right] on the other hand (ha ha) is there because she has always advocated for Zaun. She wants what's best for them and he represents that. They might've not met, but he an important member of society that, even for a single second, coexisted within Piltover as their equal. Her grip on his shoulder is more forceful, she wants to hold on to that idea for the entirety of Zaun.

Caitlyn [4th right] is between most Zaunites because of how she barged into Zaun throughout the season. She almost willingly stepped into the role Ambessa gave her in order to weed Jinx out. The grip she has on his arm is one typically used when helping someone walk (at least as far as I've used it with my grandma) this is to show how she turned the thing that caused his illness and hurt many others into a torture device, essentially.

JAYCE [4th left] UUUUGH. HES HOLDING HIS HEART BECAUSE IT WAS AFFECTION THAT HELD THEM TOGETHER. HE ALSO BLEW HIS FUCKING CHEST OUT. HE ALSO REMOVED ANY SELF-CONFIDENCE, FAKE AS IT MIGHTVE BEEN, THAT VIKTOR HAD IN THE COUNCIL SCENE WHICH LED TO HIM AGREEING TO BECOME THE THING JUST TO GIVE IT BACK WHEN THEY WERE IN THE ASTRAL PLAIN!! HE CRADDLES HIS HEART AT ALL TIMES EVEN IF ITS UNKNOWINGLY AND VIKTORS HAND ON TOP OF HIS IS BECAUSE, EVEN THOUGH HE WILLINGLY LETS JAYCE HOLD IT, HE'S HAD HURT IT BEFORE AND VIK IS JUST CAREFUL ABT IT NOW.

Ekko [5th left] is holding him back via the leg because he never really met him but he did want to stop him, he wanted him to wait so thats what the position represents and Vandor [5th right] is almost cradling his hip because Viktor was rebuilding the family he had left by bringing his soul back, he's almost holding him like he's precious because to Vander, he was.

B.) He is partly metal tin toy, partly astral projection because of the fact that that's how the characters saw him mostly. they met the monster once during the final battle but they knew him more as he was before.

C.) Gay rune circle because I say so.

D.) Hex patterns in the other bg because. because ^^

And now more versions because pretty

[trblsvt]

for the books | jeon wonwoo

summary | wonwoo's students seemed intent on matching him up with a fellow teacher. he didn't really want to stop them, it was too funny for him to break up their fun. plus, he didn't mind the certain someone he was being "set up" with. genre | fluff, teacher!au warnings | none, i think let me know! word count | 2.2k words pairing | jeon wonwoo x fem!reader min | lowercase intended i literally put off my other works to write this! delulu era to the max! i advocate for women in stem!!! also! this is like an american high school-level setting. lily is so out of pocket LOL (believe it or not there is a girl just like her at my school). this was 100% self-indulgent

"mr. jeon!" his student lily called. "so you're telling me that after all that, she still hasn't kissed him?" he looked up from his desk and looked over to his obviously distraught student. "lily! i didn't even finish it yet!" her friend mina yelled at her.

"i'm sorry! it's just so crazy how they didn't even kiss! even after they made up and he said all of that to her!" lily huffed.

"what did he say to her? i haven't gotten there yet either," daniel piped in.

"just read it! i'm sorry i brought it up in the first place," lily sighed and pulled out the worksheets she was supposed to complete after reading the book. he shook his head and went back to inputting grades into his computer. it was silly to think lily was just going to do her work. "mr. jeon, do you have a girlfriend?" she asked putting her pencil down. he paused momentarily, fingers hovering over the keyboard. "dude, that's so not cool for you to ask mr. jeon," daniel complained.

"what? we're reading this romantic novel, is it not fair to ask our english teacher if he's in a relationship?" lily replied, crossing her arms. "i mean we have to be reading this book for some reason."

"maybe it's just a part of the curriculum," mina rolled her eyes.

"do you seriously think mr. jeon is sending us subminimal signals about his love life through the books we're reading?" daniel asked.

"i don't know! maybe!" lily said. the three of them continued to argue back and forth at their table. wonwoo should probably stop this before the other students get irritated with the trio. "guys, i can assure you, i am not sending any messages about my love life. please get back to your work," wonwoo cleared his throat. he heard a disappointed noise, but pencils went back to scratching and pages started flipping again. soon it was the end of the class period and everyone was packing up. it was just lily. "next time, please refrain from asking personal questions in class," he asked.

"yes, of course. i'm sorry mr. jeon," lily bowed her head.

"it's alright. it can just be a bit distracting for your classmates. let's try to be more considerate."

"will do," she said, turning on her heel.

"oh and lily, just between me and you," wonwoo paused. "i don't have a girlfriend."

"he said he wasn't in a relationship!" lily cheered. daniel stared at her baffled, "didn't he say not to tell anyone?"

"yeah, but i mean, he must know that i'm going to tell you guys. you guys don't seem as nearly as excited about this as i do."

"why would we be? he's single, it's not like you have a chance with him or something," mina commented.

"no! ew! i would never try to go after a teacher, are you crazy? i'm saying that this is a perfect opportunity for us to get mr. jeon a date!" lily practically squealed.

"a date? with who?"

"with miss ___, of course! who else? haven't you guys ever noticed that they spend almost every lunch period with each other? they're so cute together!"

"maybe they're just planning classes or something," daniel shrugged.

"um, hello? mr. jeon teachers english literature and miss ___ teaches physics b. what would they planning together?"

"touché."

"i think it's time to enact a master plan."

"so everyone understands this equation, right?" you said, turning back to face the class. "tell me now, so i can help. this equation is the very foundation to magnetism, if you don't get it now i can't promise you'll do well in this unit."

no one put their hand up. you smiled, "oh well, i guess we just have a bunch of physic masters in this class. but seriously, let me know if you need help. you can start working on your homework packet now, this way if you have questions you can ask them now. i don't need your frantic emails at midnight."

you returned to your desk and flipped through some lesson plans. you didn't get to finish eating lunch today, so you took out your lunch bag. a small slip of paper fell out of it and onto the ground. you smiled to yourself and reached down to pick it up. "miss ___!" your student lily said, she was standing at the foot of your desk.

"yes, lily?" you answered.

"i have a question about something."

"have at it."

"it isn't physics related though." you looked up, slipping the slip into your pocket. "then, what's it about? do you need to go to the nurse?" you frowned.

"no it's nothing like that, but i was told by another teacher not to ask questions like this in front of the whole class. he said it was inconsiderate," she shrugged.

"oh, um, well i guess you can go ahead."

"are you friends with mr. jeon?"

you froze. mr. jeon? as in english literature teacher mr. jeon? mr. jeon you eat lunch with him every day mr. jeon? maybe they started picking up on something. "well, yeah, i guess you could say that," you coughed. "why are you asking this all a sudden?"

"well, i came by mr. jeon's class before lunch to ask him about an assignment and i saw you there. i didn't want to interrupt, but i didn't know you guys were friends," she shrugged, averting her eyes.

"oh well, yes. mr. jeon started at his position around the same time i did a few years ago. so we got close because of that."

"that's so- i mean, i'm sorry to pry. i was just curious. i mean usually i don't see english teachers and physics teachers talk that much. thanks!"

the whole exchange left you a little baffled.

lily seemed determined to get you and wonwoo together. she began to pry more often and she was getting bolder one question at a time. she even asked if you were in a relationship and if you got you cute gifts for birthdays and holidays from your boyfriend. sometimes she got very bold and mentioned mr. jeon by name. "miss ___, don't you think mr. jeon is cute? you two would be so cute together." you had replied, "i don't think this is time or the place to talk about this, lily. please do your practice problems." you rolled your eyes, "i don't feel like i'm at liberty to answer that."

you couldn't bring yourself to actually discipline her or her friends (who had seemingly joined in on the deep dive about your love life). they were curious teenagers looking for gossip. hell, you were like that too. you felt it would be unfair to punish them for that, as long as it didn't get too inappropriate, you didn't mind. it was a bit endearing too.

you just had to push the thought out of your mind. it was time to go to lunch anyway. it was the perfect time to clear your head.

"has lily been asking you some personal questions lately?" wonwoo asked, leaning back in his chair. god, he looked so handsome today. his glasses, pressed shirt, and ironed pants. "yes, has she been causing a raucous here too?" you asked, taking a seat at one of the desks.

"well, she asked me if i think you're beautiful," he chuckled.

you paused. you would be lying if you said you didn't feel anything for the man sitting in front of you. he was smart and kind.

"of course, i told her you are a lovely human being inside and out, and to get back to doing her project."

"funny, she was telling me that she and her friends thought we'd make a cute couple." he laughed at that, and it made your chest flutter. you loved his laugh. "cute couple, that's so cute," he gasped.

"yeah i know right. who knew our students would start trying to set us up," you joked. he nodded in agreement getting up after his microwave went off from the other side of the room. "it would be so funny if they actually succeeded, but it does seem a bit pointless at this point, right?" he noted.

"yeah, totally pointless," you agreed.

you and wonwoo, being set up, by your students of all people. it sure would be for the books if it happened like that.

what an absurd idea.

the rest of the week went as usual, uneventful, but you did get to see wonwoo on the way out of the building and into the parking lot. he held his leather bag in his right hand. "on the way out today?" he asked. "don't you usually do tutoring sessions after school on fridays?"

"we just started a unit, and no one showed up after the fifteen-minute window. i'm out of here," you laughed. he smiled. you loved it when he smiled. "want to walk out together then?" he offered and pushed the door open for you. something about him was so calming and comforting. you smiled and averted your gaze to the floor. even after all these years, he made you a little nervous. you did miss the way he grinned when he caught your shy smile. he loved the way you smiled too. he couldn't wait to see it again, he needed to see it again as soon as possible. he was too lost in thought about the way you smile and the way your voice sounds, that he fell far behind you. "___, wait up," he called as you made your way through the faculty parking lot. he jogged to catch up to you and reached out to grab your hand.

"i swear i saw him kiss her out in the parking lot," daniel insisted. "they were holding hands too!" at this point, lily was totally unmotivated to get her two favorite teachers together. not after miss ___ shut her down on numerous occasions and mr. jeon was just as friendly but unbothered as ever giving his most PG answers. "whatever, daniel," lily huffed. "they would be so perfect together."

"he's literally telling you that they're together, he saw them kissing!" mina exclaimed. lily rolled her eyes. they were all hallucinating just to make themselves feel better that it was wishful thinking. "true love isn't real!" she cried.

"it's time to wake up, sweetheart," he mumbled. "you said you had lots of work to do today."

"yeah, well it's my day off too. i'll get to work later," his fiancé groaned.

"oh come on, i know you're desperate to do all that paperwork," he teased. he tugged on the warm body text to him to pull it closer to him. he loved waking up with his wonderful, beautiful, smart fiancé next to him.

he loved waking up next to you.

he knew the kids were asking about him and his love life. kids would be kids of course. "lily won't stop asking about my love life. it's funny since we both teach her," he said.

"i guess, she's never noticed the necklace with the ring hanging around my neck," you chuckled, nuzzling your face into wonwoo's neck. his arms easily wrapped around your body. he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead. "you know, lily asked me if i had a girlfriend the other week," wonwoo murmured.

"she asked me if i had a boyfriend too," you hummed. "i just told her that it wasn't appropriate to ask that in class."

"i said something similar, but i did tell her i didn't have a girlfriend."

you paused. why would he say that? he was very obviously in a relationship, well obvious to the two of you. he even gave you a ring and a nice dinner to cement your relationship. "i obviously couldn't tell that i didn't have a girlfriend because i have a wonderful, smart fiancé," he laughed. you breathed an internal sigh of relief, but you still hit him in the chest. "that's so stupid," you groaned. "you're catching everyone on a technicality." he thought he was so clever and funny, ever the wordsmith.

"it's so hard not telling the students," wonwoo whispered, and you nodded your head in agreement. he didn't know why the two of you didn't tell the students yet, but the relationship started a bit secretively, almost right after the both of you were onboarded. he guessed the two of you never got out of the whole secret relationship. it was a bit exhilarating keeping the secret between you and him, and the admin. he felt like a teenager again. "maybe we should ease them into it, but let's not let them think it was all them," you said.

"maybe it's time for you to start wearing the ring on your finger then," he commented pulling away to get a better look at you. "i can't wait for you to become mrs. jeon," he smiled.

"yuck, so corny," you rolled your eyes with a smile. "you need to stop with these cheesy sayings early in the morning." nevertheless, you leaned forward and kissed him. he kissed back easily, "come on, i know you like the little notes i leave in your lunch."

"i do, now be quiet and just kiss me."

"gladly."

he did have the whole weekend until he had to go back to school. at least you made the day a little better.

min | im just in a silly goofy mood LOL. my poor attempt at humor and portraying what high schoolers are like. wonwoo being an english teacher just makes sense!!! reblogs and comments are always appreciated! not proofread at the moment (it's 1 in the morning)

tagging: @a-wandering-stay

[crosbyism]

"but then again this is the guy who’s publically known for loving to eat ass so"

I'm sorry, I thought Nate eating ass was fanon. Are you telling me this is an actual canon fact??

god i love when people don’t realise how much “fanon” around sid and nate is actually canon. it’s like heroin to me. also bc it’s like. 90% of the stuff in fics (which is probably why people assume it’s fanon but. oh boy it’s not. there’s shockingly little fanon around these two, mostly because canon is so abundant).

yes, nathan mackinnon is a known ass-eater. let me direct you to this post, anon. you’re welcome.

other nate (and sid) facts you might not have realised are canon:

nate is a known advocate for therapy. he’s been seeing a sports therapist since 2017

they wear matching clothing all the fucking time, sid has said publicly that he started wearing white sneakers and updated his wardrobe due to nate’s influence (iirc nate might’ve even bought him his first pair of white sneakers? either that or it was a “he told me i need to so i did” situation). they share a tailor. unfortunately i now have to bring your attention to the fact that since they have an alarming amount of matching clothes that they’ve bought for each other, that means that they in fact have to know each other’s clothing sizes off by heart. they also low-key share clothing btw

their families celebrate canada day together and their dads are best friends. in-law behaviour goes crazy

nate did in fact stalk his way into sid’s heart (got the same personal trainer and agent at age 13; built his house next door in 2017; they’ve been spending every day in the summers together since at least 2015. sid cooks for them daily, or at least did pre-pandemic. sid refuses to use nate’s gym tho so they always use sid’s).

nate used to have a fan twitter account more or less where he rooted for the pens. it was active until 2017.

sid and nate regularly go to summer weddings together as each other’s dates. they have done this since, once again, at least 2015

nate has confirmed that he used to have a poster of sid on his wall as a teenager (he didn’t confirm he used to jerk off to it but frankly. i think that’d be saying the quiet part out loud)

when sid won the cup in 2009 and held the parade in cole harbour, nate stood by the side of the road watching it. he was about to turn 14, he was already working with sid’s trainer and agent, and he was about to start attending shattuck (sid’s junior high). due to old pics we also know that this was RIGHT before nate had his first growth spurt and hit puberty. i’m not saying seeing sid with the cup kickstarted nate’s puberty and gave him his first boner but i’m not NOT saying it

nate dated vanessa morgan of riverdale fame in his rookie year. she’s now good friends with elias petersson from the vancouver canucks (this means nothing but i do think it’s a very funny coincidence).

nate schmidt, formerly of the VGK, once failed a drug test (it turned out to be a testing-fuck-up); when nhl players were asked about it natemack iconically said “i don’t think he was sticking a needle up his ass” (i just like this one)

when he was a kid, the one other thing sid wanted to be was a hairdresser. nate, on the other hand, “didn’t have a plan B”

nate is canonically possessive of sid (see: the asg 2024) and sid is canonically delighted by this and into it

they go on so many lunch dates in the summer my dude. they go grocery shopping together. like there’s so many pics of them in grocery stores or out having coffee or weird green shakes

oh i almost forgot, they went on a roadtrip through ireland last year. they’ve been on holiday together multiple times over the years though. done some eurotripping together and stuff. in 2015 they spent three months together, three weeks of which were spent living in sid’s santa monica condo together just the two of them

sid has put up a picture of every stanley cup winning captain in his basement since 2008, when the pens lost in the scf to DET. apparently this serves as motivation for him to win the cup. he notoriously does not watch the playoffs after the pens are out

however, he partied so hard at nate’s cup party he actually closed down the party with his dad. nate is the only non-teammate sid’s ever been seen supporting for a cup run (he’s also never been to his teammates’ cup parties afaik so. there’s that)

also they talked on the phone daily and between periods during nate’s cup run. they also canonically have almost weekly phone dates that can run multiple hours. quote nate “i can’t talk to anyone else the way i can talk to him”

they each have pictures of the two of them together framed in each other’s houses

there’s rumours they’re building adjoining houses on neighbouring properties in cape breton next to a golf course bc apparently being neighbours in halifax isn’t enough or something. this one is as yet unconfirmed by reputable sources though

[finnglas]

So I can't remember if I voted in the 2016 election.

I voted in the primaries, I remember that. For Bernie actually. I didn't like Hillary; I fell for the decades of smear campaigns. The right wing has been shining a spotlight on any real, perceived, or straight up fabricated less than savory detail about her since she was a political advocate in college in Arkansas who insisted on wearing pants when pants were not "professional" for women. And I, old enough to know better, fell for it.

2015 and 2016 were two of the hardest personal years of my life. I had lost my job, my cats had been super sick, we'd spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to pinpoint a mysterious health problem my partner was having, my mom had to have surgery on a crushed vertebrae -- there was a lot. I was exhausted, I wasn't excited by the Democratic candidate, and the polls all said Hillary had it in the bag. I meant to vote. I thought about it. But to this day, I don't know if I actually did. I have a sneaking suspicion that I didn't, that I ran out of time because I kept putting it off. My memory has trauma shaped holes in it, though, and I don't know for sure.

I do remember the gut punch of the election results though. I remember the breath stealing feeling of panic. I remember writing electors and asking them not to certify. I remember donating to Jill fucking Stein who said she was going to sue over the scandal with the voting machines.

(She did not; she kept that money for herself like the grifter she is.)

Most of all I remember crying for the entire month of January, because I knew what a Trump presidency meant. I watched as multiple queer and trans friends contemplated - and in some cases, carried through - plans for suicide because they were so terrified for what would happen to them under that government. (Note: I understand the impulse, but please do not do their job for them if you can help it. They don't deserve that and neither do you.) The trauma of several online contacts not existing anymore because they took what they saw as an emergency exit.

And I don't remember if I voted. I am haunted by the suspicion that I and others like me simply were not excited about the candidate we had, and had other concerns that took precedence. We relied on everyone else showing up in our place. Friends, there is no one else to show up in your place. You are the only person who can cast your vote.

If I could go back to 2016 now, I would drag my ass off the couch and go stand in line for however long it took, because not voting means I was complicit. It means I did not stand in the way of the damage I saw coming. I did not take what action was available to me to prevent or reduce harm.

I will never do that again. And honestly? You shouldn't either. There is no scenario in which handing over our basic safety without even the bare minimum of resistance is the moral high ground. It is just regret waiting to happen.

I know what I'm talking about on this one, ok?

Thanks for listening.

[nebty]

Neil Gaiman is still following the PR playbook

I'm so sick of how Neil Gaiman is continuing to manipulate the conversation while displaying ZERO accountability or remorse.

Do you think him leaking that he's apparently offering to step back from Good Omens Season 3 is a sign that he realizes he fucked up and is trying to make it right? Absolutely not.

What he's doing is making the first moves to launder his reputation so that he can keep making money off of his IP and, eventually, return to the spotlight. All of the overjoyed reactions here and elsewhere are part of that plan.

One part of that Deadline article really stuck out to me.

[Highlighted Text: Deadline understands Gaiman’s offer is not an admission of wrongdoing...

Gaiman’s position is that he denies the allegations and is said to be disturbed by them.]

This is what makes me think that it is actively irresponsible to publicly celebrate or advocate for the continuation of any media project that involves or enriches Gaiman. The fact that Amazon has even announced that Good Omens is on hold shows the credibility of the accusations. And yet Gaiman leaking this information suddenly puts them on the backfoot. "Just take the deal!" cries the fandom. Neil is no longer the bad guy, it's Amazon who are now denying you your comfort show. It's blatant manipulation and it sickens me that it might actually work.

Boosting Good Omens or Sandman or Coraline at this time is not a victimless crime. True, no one person is going to be the difference between Gaiman facing consequences or not. But it's public opinion that will truly determine whether his legacy will be impacted. That's why he's spent a considerable amount of money on the same PR firm as Russell Brand, Prince Andrew, Danny Masterson, and Marilyn Manson. Their specialty is helping rapists get their lives back.

So please think of the long-term implications of breathing a sigh of relief and going back to posting about Good Omens, or signing a petition that gives Gaiman a way out of finally facing the consequences of his own actions.

Yes, none of these shows were 100% made by Gaiman. It sucks that this is going to affect people other than him. But maybe he shouldn't have chosen to sexually abuse at least 5 women and very likely more. In a just world, you fuck around and find out.

[miss-musings]

"You Weren't Loyal To Me": How Crosshair's Brothers Absolutely Failed Him in "The Bad Batch" Season 1

I know I'm not the first person to make these arguments, but after recently rewatching "The Bad Batch" Season 1, I feel compelled to play Devil's Advocate and assert that Crosshair's brothers absolutely failed him in Season 1.

Now, don't mistake me. I don't believe Crosshair was 100% in the right. Once he regained his free will -- whether he actually removed his inhibitor chip, or whether his injury on Bracca deactivated it or lessened its impacts -- he definitely should've left the Empire the first chance he had.

I imagine he was trying to make the best of a bad situation, but I don't see why he would stay with an organization hijacked his mind and ordered him to kill his family, civilians and other people who were trying to do the right thing.

But, I don't think his brothers -- I'm excluding Omega because she's a child and was following everyone else's lead -- are 100% in the right either.

I believe Crosshair's brothers basically abandoned him.

CROSSHAIR'S GREAT INSECURITY?

Now, I understand that they didn't initially plan to abandon Crosshair. But, once they knew he was being mind-controlled and especially once they knew how to undo its effects, they never even considered going back for him.

We never see them debate trying to save Crosshair. They don't discuss whether it's feasible, whether it's worth the risk, how they would even attempt it, etc.

I think this was a much-needed moment that we never get to see. In fact, as others have pointed out, we don't really get much discussion about Crosshair at all.

He's their brother. He's been by their side from infancy through their time as cadets through dozens of missions. Why aren't they more upset about him turning against them? Or being mind-controlled by the Empire?

They seem so blasé about it. Like it's more of an inconvenience than a tragedy, especially by 1.12 "Rescue on Ryloth." Like "Ope, Crosshair's here. I bet he's gonna try to kill us again."

As I'll discuss more later, Hunter gets captured on Daro, and Omega loses her frickin' mind. Even Echo, Wrecker and Tech seemed distressed too, even if the show didn't focus on their reactions as much.

But, Crosshair's mind and body get hijacked by the Empire, and nobody seems to give a shit.

No wonder why Crosshair felt so betrayed and said everything he does in 1.15 and 1.16. It probably confirmed something he always felt, or always feared:

That he was the odd man out in his squad -- the last to be included and the first to be excluded.

That they never cared about him as much as he cared about them.

Based on experiences in my own life, with friends and coworkers, I do wonder if Crosshair was always insecure about his standing within the group. This makes sense given that he's likely the youngest of the four original brothers, and that as a sniper, he isn't always in the middle of the action like they are. His personality doesn't really help either, but his brothers seem to be able to navigate it just fine in their "The Clone Wars" Season 7 arc.

Maybe this is partly why he seemed OK with Echo joining the squad at the end of TCW arc: because he felt like Echo would become the new 'odd man' considering that he didn't grow up with the Bad Batch and wouldn't know Crosshair's brothers like he does.

It's been a while since I watched TCW Season 7, so maybe I'm wrong.

But, I definitely think this is partly why he resents Omega so much in Season 1:

The Bad Batch -- mainly Hunter -- decided to risk their lives and their freedom to go back to Kamino for Omega. She might've been their "little sister," but they'd known her all of one day and Hunter still decided it was worth going back for her.

Yet they never went back for him.

Hell, as far as we the audience know, they never even considered it.

I'm not saying it would have been easy or risk-free. They also now have Omega in their care, and trying to extract Crosshair from Imperial custody while all parties involved would be trying to kill or capture them isn't an easy undertaking.

But, as I'll talk about more later, these guys do rescue and extraction missions all the time. They put their lives on the line for complete strangers several times in Season 1 to save them from Imperial custody, slavery, etc.

And I'm not saying they were wrong to do those things. It was objectively good that the Bad Batch saved the people they did.

But, I can absolutely understand why Crosshair would be infuriated that his brothers take on all these missions to help complete strangers but never bother to help him...

ANALYZING THE BATCH'S DECISIONS BASED ON THE SEASON 1 TIMELINE

I understand that, before he confronts them in the hangar in 1.01 "Aftermath," that they were planning to go back for him. And that they were forced to leave him behind because he was literally gunning for them. And -- as far as his brothers knew -- he was doing it of his own free will.

However, in 1.02 "Cut and Run," Omega tells them about the inhibitor chips, implying that that's how Crosshair is being controlled.

Then in 1.03 "The Replacements," we see that Tech is building a device to locate their inhibitor chips, and Omega tries to tell the Batch and specifically emphasizes to Hunter that Crosshair has no control over his actions. Hunter admits that he's angry at himself for leaving Crosshair behind, and Omega reassures him that they'll get him back someday.

So, it seems like -- at least in Omega's eyes -- the Batch was planning to save Crosshair at some point. And, Hunter at minimum feels guilty for leaving Crosshair on Kamino, even though they didn't really have much of a choice at the time.

However, the Batch gets sidetracked in 1.04 and 1.05. First, they need supplies; then bounty hunters are after Omega; then they need intel on who's after her and why.

Then, by the events of 1.07 "Battle Scars," we see that they've fallen into a routine of doing jobs for Cid. It's safe to assume they've done -- or at least attempted -- a dozen jobs for her at this point, based on Wrecker and Omega's 20 orders of Mantell Mix.

And then Rex shows up and tells them point-blank that the clones can't fight the inhibitor chip's effects, re-emphasizing Omega's earlier point that Crosshair had no control over his actions.

The Batch then experiences this firsthand with Wrecker, whose chip activates before they can extract it. We see that, even with Wrecker fighting the chip's effects with all his might, he endangers his brothers and was *this* close to killing Omega, before Rex stunned him.

Now, we have confirmation based on both Rex and Wrecker's experiences that removing an active chip restores a clone's free will.

Thus, by the end of 1.07 "Battle Scars," the Batch definitively knows:

Crosshair is being controlled by an inhibitor chip and is being forced to do the Empire's bidding;

How to remove an inhibitor chip; and

That removing a clone's active inhibitor chip will restore his free will

And yet, despite all this knowledge, the only effort they make to save Crosshair is to tell him about the inhibitor chip.

They don't attempt or even discuss possibly stunning him on the artillery deck and taking him with them.

But, admittedly, this isn't the best time to attempt a rescue, as they're outnumbered and essentially trapped aboard the Jedi Cruiser. And then Omega gets captured by Cad Bane and Hunter gets shot, and the others are desperately trying to get off Bracca before Crosshair & co. shoot them down. Fine. Getting off Bracca safely and then trying to find Omega should be their priority.

But, once they recover Omega on Bora Vio, and their lives aren't in immediate danger anymore... this would've been the perfect time to at least debate going back for Crosshair.

Again, they have all the information needed at this point.

As for how they find him, well, I'm sure they could get the information somehow. Or they could just cause a stir somewhere so he'd show up to arrest them again, like he did on Bracca.

But, no, they just continue doing jobs for Cid in 1.10-1.13. They don't bring him up at all until they see him on Ryloth in 1.12 "Rescue on Ryloth," and again, the tone is like, "Well, Crosshair is here. That's annoying."

If not being able to locate him was the only reason they didn't try to save him after 1.08/1.09, that argument doesn't apply to 1.12 "Rescue on Ryloth." He's there. They know he's there. They're already there doing an extraction job anyway... why don't they just grab him too???

Yes, there would be additional risks, but YOUR BROTHER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY THE EMPIRE AND FORCED TO DO ITS BIDDING, AND YOU DON'T SEEM TO GIVE A SHIT!!!

Which brings us nicely to:

THE DOUBLE STANDARD

Throughout Season 1, but especially in the latter half, we see The Batch putting themselves in harm's way for complete strangers, or at most, friends-of-friends.

They rescue Muchi the Rancor and other people from enslavers; they extract the former Separatist Senator from Raxus; they extract the Syndullas from Ryloth; they break Gregor out of the Imperial base on Daro.

In the latter three cases, the Batch went to Imperial-occupied planets and an Imperial base, despite all the risks involved. And, especially when they saved Gregor, they had very little information going in and basically just winged the entire thing.

It just feels like, when you look at all these cases, any argument the Batch could make for not saving Crosshair just falls apart.

"We didn't know where he was." He was on Ryloth -- grab him then.

"We didn't have enough information." You didn't on Daro, and you still snuck into a heavily fortified Imperial base to rescue Gregor.

"Everyone there would've been trying to kill us." You literally extract/rescue people from Imperial forces for a living...

"It would've endangered Omega." Well, buddy, have I got a story for you...

You see, when Hunter falls on Daro and gets captured, the Batch still comes to his rescue despite knowing it's a trap AND THEY BRING OMEGA WITH THEM!!!

Every excuse they could've made for not saving Crosshair sooner is gone. The Batch will literally run into a trap for Hunter, and they constantly throw themselves into danger to save Omega, but they never do the same for Crosshair.

It really feels like such a double standard.

They seem to care about everyone BUT him.

Plus, sadly, there's one more parallel I can draw. One more instance where the Bad Batch put themselves in harm's way to save a fellow clone who was being mind-controlled by their enemies in an attempt to kill them...

Echo.

Yes, remember all the way back in TCW Season 7, when we find out that Echo is the one behind the algorithm that's giving the Separatists an advantage in all these battles?

Even though Rex thought Echo was dead, the minute he suspects Echo's still alive, he goes after him. He even punches Crosshair over it, after Crosshair bullies Rex for leaving Echo for dead at the Citadel.

One of the "regs" went back for his brother despite knowing he was being mind-controlled by the enemy and forced to attack them.

Rex, Anakin and the Bad Batch save Echo from a terrible fate. They extract him from the Separatists, restore his free will and essentially give him his life back.

Yet, when the exact same thing happens to one of their own, the Batch don't even consider going back for Crosshair the way Rex went back for Echo -- hell, the way they went in for Echo too, even though they didn't know him!!

SOME CONSIDERATIONS

I will give the Batch this: once Crosshair confronts them on Kamino and Hunter stuns him, Hunter decides not to leave Crosshair behind this time. And that was even after Crosshair refused to say when he had his chip removed. So, for all they know, he might've been acting of his own free will when he tried to kill them on Bracca.

While taking Crosshair with them at the end of 1.15 was a step in the right direction, I don't think it was enough to make up for everything they failed to do.

And, while he doesn't specify exactly what, Hunter later admits to Crosshair in 3.05 "The Return" that he has regrets too. And considering the context and the timeframe they're talking about, it's possible Hunter regrets not going back for Crosshair sooner/at all, among other mistakes he's made. (Story for another time.)

I'll also give some consideration to Wrecker, who was the only one of the brothers who said he actively missed Crosshair in 1.03 "The Replacements." Tech mentions Crosshair very flippantly a few times, and Echo doesn't really mention him at all.

(EDIT: Looking back now, Echo *not* talking about Crosshair is such a weird choice. Shouldn’t he of all people know what it’s like to be mind-controlled? To be weaponized by your enemy and forced to kill your loved ones?)

(ANOTHER EDIT: I was rewatching 1.14 “War-Mantle” today and this line stood out to me:

Echo: If there’s a chance that trooper is being held against his will, we have to try to get him out.

I realize that being imprisoned is different than being mind-controlled and actively hunting down you down, but it’s still weird that Echo of all people doesn’t seem to give a flying eff about Crosshair’s situation while practically begging Hunter to rescue a clone they’ve never met.🧐)

Obviously, we'll never know for certain, but I do wonder how Crosshair would've reacted if his brothers had rescued him and removed his chip at some point. Would he have stayed with them? Would he have wanted to rejoin the Empire voluntarily?

Considering he (supposedly) had his chip removed and still stayed with the Empire willingly in-universe, it's possible he might've wanted to do the same thing in an AU where his brothers rescued him.

He definitely despised that they were fugitives and "scavenging like rats," while he had authority, respect and purpose as a soldier of the Empire.

But, I think a large component -- although not the only one -- of why he stays with the Empire is that he felt like his brothers abandoned him. He brings this up several times in 1.15 and 1.16, and the way he does indicates this is a major sore spot for him.

We see in 1.01 "Aftermath" that the chip enhancement procedure is painful. He scrunches his face, flexes his hand and squirms around in the chamber. Plus, the machine itself looks similar to the Mind Flayer from other "Star Wars" properties.

Crosshair was literally being tortured by the Empire. Maybe he doesn't recall that once the procedure's done, but we see him getting his chip enhanced in both 1.01 and 1.03, and it's possible it was enhanced even more times off-screen.

I cannot stress this enough: the Empire basically took Crosshair prisoner, tortured him and hijacked his free will.

And his brothers essentially did nothing to save him.

It would be one thing if his brothers were civilians like you and me, and didn't know the first thing about how to infiltrate an Imperial compound or how to navigate a firefight despite being outnumbered.

But, that doesn't apply to The Bad Batch. That's literally their bread-and-butter.

And Crosshair -- especially once he seems to regain his free will between the Bracca and Ryloth arcs -- watched his brothers risk their lives to save complete strangers while doing nothing for him.

I would've been livid too.

Not to sound like Tech, but while I don't agree with Crosshair's decision, I can understand why he decided to stay on Kamino rather than go with them at the end of 1.16. His brothers offered him no real comfort and no real apology, and I think he desperately wanted to hear that, especially from Hunter.

I know after everything that's happened -- especially Crosshair refusing to say when he had his chip removed -- that it would've been hard to admit their mistakes. But, Crosshair wanted to hear something beyond: "You can come with us if you want. And if you don't, we don't have to be enemies."

The closest thing to comfort any of them offer is Omega affirming that, despite everything, she still cared about him. This seems to be the only thing that really effects him, that causes him to doubt his decision, that causes him to show any kind of emotion beyond anger.

I legitimately believe that if someone had talked to Crosshair one-on-one for like five minutes, and really showed how much they still cared about him and always did, that he would've rejoined them.

Granted, it's really hard to tell.

Crosshair has, as Tech said, always been severe and unyielding. Plus, he really suffers from this "in for a penny, in for a pound" kind of mindset, which is partly why he stays with the Empire for so long even after regaining his free will.

But the fact that all his brothers leave him on Kamino again so effortlessly, so easily is just tragic. No final goodbye. No hug. No nothing.

For all any of them know, this could be the last time they ever see each other. (And, for Tech and Crosshair, it was.)

I know it wouldn't have been easy after everything that's happened, but for crying out loud, I just wanted them to try.

And I imagine Crosshair did too.

IN CONCLUSION

Honestly, I think the TBB writers and producers purposely never gave us a scene of The Batch debating whether to go after Crosshair, or a scene of them outlining to us the audience why it wasn't possible even though they wanted to.

I think the creative team wanted us to sympathize with Crosshair when he says "You weren't loyal to me," while also arguably giving our protagonists a weakness to overcome later.

This really seems like the case if we look at Season 2.

Once the Batch finds out Crosshair's being detained by the Empire's Advanced Science Division in 2.14 "Tipping Point," they immediately start discussing whether and why they should try to save him, even after everything that happened between them in S1.

On top of that, this time they actually decide to do whatever it takes to get him back, despite limited intel and the imminent danger behind such an undertaking.

I think the Batch genuinely learned from their mistakes in Season 1 and, as Hunter maybe alludes to in 3.05 "The Return," regretted not going back for Crosshair sooner/at all after the Empire started controlling him.

I'll admit: I think when I first watched Season 1, I was basically in the Batch's corner. Crosshair was gunning for them at every opportunity, and Omega's well-being quickly became their priority (understandably so).

But, after rewatching Season 1 -- especially now that the show is over and we see how everyone's arcs play out -- it really hits me just how much Crosshair's brothers failed him in Season 1.

Again, I'm not saying Crosshair didn't make mistakes too. He definitely did.

But Crosshair's brothers failed him first.

AN ADDENDUM

(EDIT/UPDATE:) Since writing the above, I've stumbled across a few other posts of people making the counterargument, saying they believe Hunter was in the right and don't appreciate the hate he gets for not going back for Crosshair.

People are more than welcome to make that argument. I think that kind of debate just shows how nuanced this show and its characters are, because you can make valid arguments for both sides.

And to clarify, I don't hate Hunter (and the others) for not going back for Crosshair in S1. As Hunter says later in 3.05: "Nobody really understood what was happening back then." It was a chaotic time -- for the galaxy and their family.

In the span of one episode, the Jedi are exterminated; the war ends; the Republic is reorganized into the Empire; the clones' future role in the galaxy is questioned; and when CF99 refuse to kill civilians, they're declared traitors and arrested.

And to top it all off, Crosshair is acting strange AND they find out they have a little sister who's in danger.

So, when Crosshair seemingly betrays them, and they barely escape with their lives, it's understandable that the Batch's first move is just to get their bearings and figure out their next steps.

And, of course, all the dominoes fall from there.

So, while I definitely don't hate him and I understand why they don't go back for Crosshair initially, I am disappointed in Hunter.

If the writers wanted me to be on his side and understand that it was basically impossible to go back for Crosshair, then I needed a scene showing/telling me why they can't. Or I at least needed a scene proving that they care about him, because based on what we actually got in Season 1, I tend to fall on Crosshair's side when he argues his brothers didn't care about him the way they clearly care about Hunter when he's captured.

You can certainly make arguments that, because Crosshair's their brother and he knows all their strategies, strengths, weaknesses, etc., that he's even more dangerous than all the other Imperials they might face. Yes, definitely. I argue that's all the more reason to try to save him.

Yes, there would be risks. But, if you succeed, not only do you lose a very dangerous enemy -- one who knows you inside and out -- but you would (hopefully) regain a teammate.

Imagine you're in Hunter's shoes and your sibling -- or if you don't have one, a really good friend who feels like a sibling -- gets taken captive and mind-controlled by an evil organization. Wouldn't you try your damnedest to get them out? Or at the very least, wouldn't you be sad about their situation?

Rewatching 1.03 "The Replacements," there's an interesting scene that's probably the closest we get to a real discussion about Crosshair -- how they feel about him, whether they miss him, whether he really betrayed them or was being influenced by the chip.

@laughhardrunfastbekindsblog did a great analysis of each character's reaction, which I recommend you read at some point.

I want to take a quick look at it too, starting with the brothers looking at Omega with Crosshair's weapon kit like she just knocked over Grandma's urn or something.

It feels like, for the first time, they're starting to let themselves process what really happened. This is their first real chance to mourn losing their brother.

Tech wonders whether Crosshair's actions were influenced by his inhibitor chip, and Omega basically confirms that theory. Wrecker is excited by the possibility that Crosshair didn't willingly betray them, but Hunter very quickly shuts the conversation down, saying they have other problems to tackle first.

While he's not technically wrong, Hunter pulls out the "raincheck card” too frequently in Season 1. And subsequently, a lot of the topics that come up in conversations keep simmering in the background while the Batch does other things until they're FORCED to confront them.

This scene is the perfect example of that. The Batch didn't mention Crosshair except in passing in 1.02, and it's only when Omega finds his weapon kit that they are FORCED to talk about him. (EDIT: Check out the 3:45 mark of this video on 2.09 “The Crossing” for more examples.)

I get the sense that Hunter's reaction in this scene, plus all the distractions that come up later, is why the others never really bring up Crosshair again, except in passing. It's a sore subject for Hunter, and they all tend to take their cues from him, especially this early in the show. Plus, they're probably still processing their own feelings, so they might not be ready to bring up the topic.

One last thing from 1.03 I want to note is that, later in the episode, Hunter is telling Omega about his and his brothers' enhanced abilities, and he automatically excludes Crosshair from the list.

It really feels like Hunter -- and the rest of the squad by extension -- labeled Crosshair as a lost cause very early on. That it was a given that he was their enemy now and there was no real chance of getting him back (unless he came to his senses on his own like Howzer and other clones later do).

This might be why they're so shocked when he reveals he removed his chip, because they were hoping that once he "woke up" that he would come back to them. Wrecker even says as much to Crosshair in 1.16: "We still would've taken ya."

Ultimately, I think the characters had differing perspectives on who had the responsibility in the situation.

It seems Hunter and the others took a very passive approach. They told Crosshair about the chip when they had the chance, hoped he would "wake up" on his own, and would've accepted him back if he had.

But, Crosshair feels they should've taken a more active approach. He's hurt that they never came back for him, whether to save him or to join him.

(EDIT #2: I realize that by 1.15, at least, Crosshair seems to be arguing that they should’ve come back to join him in the Empire. He might be making that argument, but I’m saying his brothers had a responsibility to try to save him, and in that regard, I believe they failed.)

This is essentially the exchange Hunter and Crosshair have in 1.15:

Crosshair: They don't leave their own behind, most of the time. Hunter: You tried to kill us. We didn't have a choice. Crosshair: Hmm. And I did?

And, as I said before, based on everything we saw in Season 1, I tend to side with Crosshair.

Hunter made mistakes -- never talking about Crosshair and shutting down the others when they did was a big one. He never addressed the elephant in the room until he HAD to, and by then it was basically too late. And, of course, it seems the others took their cues from him.

As the leader, it was his job to -- at some point when they weren't in immediate danger -- introduce the topic and ask the others for their thoughts about Crosshair, especially once they knew how powerful the chip's influence was and once they knew how to remove it.

But, he didn't.

If the writers wanted me to side with Hunter when he says "We didn't have a choice" -- especially given the double standard I discussed earlier -- I don't think they gave me good enough reason to.

However, I think that's ultimately why the writers did what they did.

Both Hunter and Crosshair made enough mistakes in Season 1 that you can argue all day about which one of them failed the other more, which makes the show and characters all the stronger for it. Because neither one is 100% in the right or 100% in the wrong.

I just wanted to play Devil's Advocate, and try to explain why Crosshair felt like he did, and why I believe he was (at least partly) justified.

So, feel free to continue debating it, but I at least believe that Crosshair's brothers failed him first.

[angelpuns]

50Au Part 28

Donnie could practically feel how much Leo didn't want to do this. The apprehension was rolling off of him in waves, his eyes squeezed shut as Draxum started the spell. 

Donnie didn't want to do this either. He was never very good at empathy or whatever, but he wouldn't want to have anyone else rooting through his head either. The thought made him shudder, even as Draxum handed him the potion. 

“ Alright, you all know what to do. Do not waste any of the salve. It will be another week's worth of ingredients if I have to make another,” Draxum murmured, sighing deeply, “I have modified the spell so you are able to stay longer to ensure everything is properly cleansed, but that doesn't mean that you'll be safe in there. I'm sure Leonardo's inner self will be fighting to get you all out.”

Donnie nodded and shut his eyes. He didn't want to look at Leo right now, not when he was so vulnerable and didn't trust them. If it were possible, he would have advocated for another way. But this was it. And he had to get his brother back, even if it felt like such a breach of personal space. Even if they were supposed to share everything, there was lots of things his twin wouldn't show him. And he promised, back when Leo had said he wouldn’t tell him, that he would never ask again. Not if Leo didn’t want him to. 

“ Alright, everyone get into a meditative state and I'll start the spell. Leonardo, just relax. This won't hurt a bit,” Draxum murmured. 

Donnie wasn’t sure how helpful that was for his brother to hear, but Leo didn't get up. 

Donnie took a slow, deep breath in, focusing less on the real world and more on his own inner world. As much as he disliked the idea of it, meditating wasn't so bad. It helped him feel a little more connected to his ninpo, especially after the invasion. And even though he’d struggled with it at first, he’d conjured up some of his best plans after a good mediation session. 

Even though this particular session was for a stressful reason, Donnie felt a wave of calmness wash over him. It was nice to just..sort of leave his body for a while. Not literally of course, but the feeling as if he was really helped. 

He was floating in a void, but soon was able to see the glowing manifestations of his family around him. Leo was in the center, exactly as he was in the physical world. 

Eyes shut, sitting cross legged, with his head bowed. He looked…surprisingly peaceful. 

“ Good luck,” Draxum’s voice echoed from beyond the void, and suddenly Donnie was no longer floating in a dark comforting void, but falling. 

Down, 

       down,

                down. 

The fall was from a building on the surface, a very familiar, very tall building. 

Wind rushed past his ears, Donnie spotting Leo a few feet away, arms stretched upwards, face frozen in terror as he fell fast towards the sidewalk. 

Donnie remembered, this was when Draxum dropped Leo off the side of the building. But Raph caught him. 

Except, in this version, there was no Raph. 

Donnie watched as Leo just kept going, until- 

He almost didn't want to look, but he had to. He knew that it wasn't what had really happened. And even if it did end poorly, Leo was still here, wasn't he? 

False memory or not, it wasn't as if he would die In them, right? 

At the last moment, Leo was caught by the fabric cover of a bright red awning. He bounded off and landed on his feet, blinking in surprise at the fact that he'd survived at all. 

“ Donnie!”

He'd been so caught up watching Leo that he hadn't even thought about his own imminent fall. They could absolutely be injured here, so he probably should catch himself before-”

Thankfully, a giant red hand caught him just before he hit the sidewalk, the impact knocking the air out of him. 

He checked the potion, safely tucked to his chest. 

“ Raph- thanks,” He sighed, getting to his feet as Raph’s clone dissipated underneath him, “ okay, let's get to scrubbing. Draxum said we really only need to cleanse the major events that we were all involved in, I'm guessing that means this one. I would also assume the Shredder and the invasion as two others,” 

“ Yeah, Barry said he'd root around and find the essential ones for us and take us there himself,” Mikey assured, giving him a thumbs up, “ now let's get to curse-cleansing!” 

In an instant, Mikey went from his usual gear to one of Donnie's patented hazmat suits, in his signature color of course. 

“ oh-ho! Cleaning gear swag, baby!” He pumped his fists with a grin, “ C'mon Dee, Raph, get suited up!”

“How do I-?” 

Donnie was cut off by a whoop from Raph, who had conjured up a matching hazmat suit in red. 

“ Just think about wearin’ one and you'll change!” He offered, “ I guessDraxum tweaked more than just the timing on this spell,” 

“ We also didn't try that last time, considering we were being pursued by a shadow version of our father,” Donnie huffed, shutting his eyes for a moment and imagining he was nice and safe in a hazmat suit. They obviously didn't need them, since they were in Leo's head and all, but he hated to feel left out of a matching costume moment. 

It worked, because the laws of science don’t actually matter here, and Donnie found himself in his own patented Hazmat suit. In what other color but his signature, perfect purple. 

“ Okay, let's get to work. I think we just have to find the object that's working as the mask here,” Donnie muttered, reciting all the dum-dum mystic magic stuff Draxum had walked them through earlier, “ He said it'd be something that Leo would have remembered but-”

Donnie stopped himself, staring up at the top of the building. The only thing it really could be was the jar of oozesquitos. Which were all the way at the top. 

Memory Leo shakily turned towards the building to angrily curse at Draxum, even flipping him off with a grimace. It felt weird, knowing this wasn't how it had happened. And that instead of the fuming, angry turtle in front of then, Leo had been making jokes even after his near-death experience. 

It made Donnie wonder if Leo had - as he did tend to do - just been coping with humor at the time. In fact, Donnie hadn’t really thought much of this memory at all. Sure, almost falling to your death was scary, but they had all experienced scarier. 

Leo had experienced scarier. He hadn't even been injured, so to think that maybe Leo’s grudge against Draxum was based in fear, rather than stubborn contempt…

It made a lot more sense and Donnie felt like the biggest idiot. 

He remembered talking to Leo about it later. And Leo said he hadn't been scared. really. Donnie had taken it at face value, but….

He shook away the rumbling thoughts, they had a job to do here. He couldn't get caught up trying to figure out the horrible complexity of his twin's feelings right now. 

“Raph, I need to get up there,” He pointed to the top of the building, Draxum holding the oozesquito jar up and watching Leo from above. 

Raph followed his gaze and nodded, immediately grabbing Donnie around the waist and launching him towards the sky. 

“I JUST MEANT A LITTLE BOOST-” 

He flew through the air before landing safely just on the edge of the room, the entire moment only a few seconds of airtime. 

“ Galileo this is high,” He muttered, glancing down at where his brothers stood. It was a dizzying height, he didn't remember it being this high. Then again, he and Mikey had been a little closer to the ground on the bug zapper. 

Donnie whipped his head back towards Draxum and the jar, the sight almost comical. 

Memory was a funny thing. Back when they went through Splinter's memory, most of them had been clear and detailed, with only a few fuzzy images or strange happenings. 

Leo’s memory was a lot…stranger. 

Draxum was taller, sharper. He laughed more maniacally and had a deeper, growling voice. Leo's perception of Leo was just…more evil. 

And this particular image of Draxum was fuzzy and blurred, likely because of how far Leo was from him at the time of the memory. 

The oozequitos in his hand glowed a fajint green, buzzing against the inside of the had impatiently. Donnie stared, Draxum said there would be some sort of evidence of- 

He saw it, just for a split second. A strange, wavy filter over the jar. It warbled and tilted at the edges, like he was looking at it through clear water. 

Donnie opened the potion and pulled a rag from his pocket. He poured a small amount onto the rag and leapt for the jar. Draxum didn’t fight him, couldn't fight him. It was just a memory, after all. 

He ripped the jar from.his hands and set to work scrubbing, the strange wavy edges washing away as if they'd never been there. 

As he wiped at the strange, near-invicible mask he heard a change. 

Raph’s voice below asking if Leo was okay. The hum of his bug zapper. Mikey thanking Donnie and his own voice answering. 

He finished wiping and set the jar back down, Draxum fading from the memory as Leo stopped paying attention to him. 

Donnie turned and glanced over the edge of the roof. The memory played out like normal, and the real Raph - Raph in his suit - gave him a thumbs up from the ground. 

“ Okay, Draxun, we're-”

Something pushed him. Something pushed him off the roof. And he was falling again. 

Back down, back towards the sidewalk. 

He turned mid-air to see what or who it was, and was confronted with the Inner Leo. 

An angry, shadowed version of his twin. It leapt after him a moment later, arms outstretched as if to grab him before he fell just so it could hurt him further. 

It wasn't like Splinter's inner self, which was a more clear reflection of him as Lou Jitsu. 

It was Leo, but angrier. So angry, that his silhouette seemed to shift and blur and sharpen at random moments. Like he was out of focus. Or…confused. 

Shadow Leo was falling faster, stretching towards him with sharp, clawed fingers. And then Donnie noticed it. 

He was significantly younger. He looked like a much younger Leo. Still angry and sharp and confusing to look at, but his twin looked years younger. 

Donnie didn't have time to question why. He blinked and things were moving. Draxum was shifting them to the next memory. They were in familiar territory. The sky above New York. 

Shades of pink and blue and a tinge of ozone surrounded them, the smell almost stifling. The air was so thin up here, Donnie had almost forgotten what that had felt like. They had landed on something hard - no on something firm and fleshy and writhing beneath them. 

Donnie knew instantly where they were. He rolled onto his knees and stood up, swallowing back the panic that was starting to come up. He was wearing his battle shell this time, but the hazmat suit had disappeared the moment they moved to a new memory. The sick, squishy feeling of the technodrome had been unavoidable, Donnie’s insides squirming as he remembered what it had felt like. He couldn’t think about that right now, he could not think about that right now. 

But he could still feel it. He could feel the slimy, squirming tentacles of the technodrome controls as they latched onto his softshell. The euphoria of being an alien spaceship never seemed to measure up to how utterly disgusting he felt afterwards. Everything had been perfect for about 10 seconds, until the fleshy, disgusting feeling overwhelmed him and suddenly the world of information at his fingertips was all too much. Like he was burning from the inside out with information. He’d never wanted to rip the shell off his abc more than the minutes after he was ripped from the controls.

Donnie was getting better like everyone else. He was able to hug his family and eat the foods he used to like and even felt safe without his battle shell in the lair again. He was better. 

So why did touching the technodrome in a memory feel like the fucking world was ending?

He whined in the back of his throat, zeroing in on the sensation of the fleshy spaceship beneath his feet. He needed solid ground, he needed the cold metal of his lab, he needed the rough cotton of his hoodie. 

The hoodie manifested onto him in an instant, the sensation - even if he knew it wasn’t real - instantly letting him breathe again. 

“Donnie? Hey, you okay?” Mikey was crouched next to him - Donnie didn’t remember curling up like that. He blearily looked up and nodded, even though it was a lie. He was doin a lot of that lately, or so it felt. 

He glanced around. Right. Ozone. Technodrome. They were in Leo’s memories. How lon had he been crouching here?

The question was answer for him with a bang, Donnie whipping around to see Krang Prime tossing his twin into the surface of the technodrome. The sight made his chest seize. 

They knew what had been happening while Leo was up here. They could hear the way Krang Prime tossed him around like a plaything, the way Leo let out gasps of pain, the painful sound of something breaking. 

But they hadn’t been able to see it. 

Mikey whimpered a little next to him. 

“We can’t- can we..?”

“We can’t help him,”Donnie murmured, the words feeling like sludge in his throat, “It’s just a memory..we…we have to find the item..”

Raph was silent. Donnie didn’t have to turn to him to know what kind of expression he was wearing. Leo was trapped beneath the Krang, struggling against his weight like he had been beneath Raph only a couple of days earlier. He looked scared.

Even though he had sounded so brave over the comms, like he wasn’t scared of dying at all. 

Donnie had always wondered if Leo had been scared, and now he knew the answer. 

Donnie shook away the thoughts, glancing around for the item. There wasn’t much up here, just Leo, the Krang and the disgusting surface of the technodrome. 

And Leo’s swords. 

Donnie squinted to see, but thee it was, that hazy, blurring outline. The sword in Leo’s hand was their item, and he was currently stabbing it into the Krang’s foot. 

He said something - Donnie knew exactly what he’d said, he remembers that day so vividly he wished he’d been hit with a memory curse. 

Lightning danced around the sword, Donnie was going to miss his opportunity at this rate. They could follow Leo into the prison dimension, but even he knew that was too far. That he could never take back what they saw in there. 

It wasn’t as if Donnie didn’t want to know. He’d pestered Leo about what went down in the Prison Dimension far too often. He needed to know what happened. 

But Leo refused to tell him. To tell any of them. 

And Donnie, after a time,. Was forced to accept that Leo wasn;’t going to tell him, that he didn’t want him to know. And Donnie promised to stop asking. 

So this felt like a complete breach of that promise. As much as it would hurt to know, it would really hurt to know that he had gone against his twin’s wishes, even if it was to help him. And Leo might never forgive him for that. 

The thought got Donnie up and running, focusing on the bright blue lightning spot that suddenly felt too far away. Leo was weak, though, and portalling himself between the swords took a moment later than an actual portal. 

Donnie jumped and grabbed onto Leo’s arm, the static feeling of portaling buzzing through him instantaneously. In the last second before the bright blue lightning consumed them, Leo turned and looked right at him.

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut and held on, gritting his teeth through the electrified feeling of one of Leo’s portals. He’d never gotten used to it, though this one felt different than the warm, electric hum Leo’s usually made him feel. Something bitter, and angry, and scared instead seemed to spark and bite at him, like a feral creature trying to fight him off. 

He opened his eys on the other side, even if his gut told him not to. That he couldn’t. That he was betraying Leo. 

“NO! Enough of your little tricks!” Krang hissed, slapping the swords from Leo’s hands and reaching out a clawed hand to grab at him. 

Leo was still staring at him. Donnie turned to watch the swords fall towards the technodrome. He wrenched himself away from Leo, but Leo grabbedathis arm and pulled him back. The krang was gone in an instant. The swords fell into the void and Donnie wasforced to turn and look at Leo. 

Leo, who shouldn’t have been able to grab him. Leo, who was just a memory. 

“What are you doing here?” He hissed, his grip on Donnie’s arm growing tighter, “How did you get in here?”

But how could he-? This wasn’t shadow Leo. This was just a memory, so how was he-?

“Answer me! What are you doing in my head!?”

Donnie opened his mouth to speak but something slammed into Leo’s chest and sent him flying. He slammed through the rubble of some giant thing, shell cracking when he hit the dusty surface below. The memory glitched in and out, fuzzy at the edges, the sound of the kranbg’s footsteps and his taunbting words echoing around them. Donnie was suddenly grabbed by a shaodwed hand, his breath knocked out of him as Shadow Leo threw him into the ground. He barely had a second to manifest his battle shell, the metal outer shell thankfully taking the brunt of the damage. 

Leo was lying next to him, splayed out and broken on the ground, the Krang towering over him. A fist raised as if to permanently beat him into the surface of whatever broken piece of planet this was. 

Donnie stared as a tear rolled down his twin’s fast and he forced himself to smile. Becuase he had won. He had saved the world, and he had won. 

Donnie squeezed his eyes shut tight. He didn’t want to watch, he couldn’t-

“You wanted to see it, didn’t you!?”Shadow Leo hissed, his voice thin and raspy and angry, “OPEN YOUR EYES, YOU WANTED THIS, SO OPEN YOUR EYES!”

Shadow Leo grabbed him and forced his face in Leo’s direction, the moment quiet. Like someone had put the memory on pause just for him. Just so he could watch it. 

“I want you to see it, Donnie. I want you to watch while I sacrifice everything!” Shadow Leo squeezed his cheeks until, Donnie forcing himself to open his eyes, “You don’t know me! YOU AREN’T MY FAMILY, BECAUSE MY FAMILY WOULDN’T HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN!”

Donnie couldn’t speak. He couldn’t move and he couldn’t think. He should have been faster, he should have flown up to the technodrome and thrown himself in next to Leo when he realized Leo’s plan. He shouldn’t have let this happen - none of them should have. 

He felt something wet on his cheeks. Warm tears slipped down his face, his mask becoming wet and sticking to the skin there. 

“I…I’m so-”

All at once it was gone. 

All of it. Shadow Leo’s clawed hands on his face, the dusty surface of the planet, the feeling of being trapped in a bubble of cold, silent ozone. 

All of sudden there was warmth like a heater, voices shouting and when Leo opened his eyes, Leo was in front of him, eyes still glowing white and arm reeled back as if to punc him. Splinter as holding him back, Leo struggling faintly against his hold. 

“Donnie! What happened, where did you-?”

“I saw,” Donnie murmured, chest aching, “I saw all of it.”

Raph was standing next to him, a hand hovering above his shoulder, “What happened? Did you cleanse the memory? Draxum had to pull us out cause Leo was fightin’ it so bad..”

“I…I didn’t…” Donnie numbly looked down at his hands, the bottle still there, still closed and nearly full. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to open it, “I- he…I was there”

Leo’s eyes cleared all of a sudden, staring at Donnie with an unreadable expression. He stoped fighting against Splinter and let his arm drop, letting out a shaking breath. 

“You weren’t supposed to be there,” He hissed, “the item wasn’t there, you weren’t supposed to see that!”

“I know-I-I’m sorry, I ddin’t mean-I had to get the item and-”

“You weren’t supposed to be there!” Leo pushed Splinter away from him and scrambled to his feet, running for the door.  He nearly knocked Donnie over in his rush, half-running half-limping out of the room. 

Donnie didn’t move. He couldn’t. Something felt..hollow inside him. The kind of feeling you get when you see behind the scenes of a big action scene or when the magic ofsomething you loved as a child loses all it’s shine. 

He’d peeked behind the curtain, even if he didn’t want to. 

Donnie didn’t move, even as Mikey, Raph and Splinter ran after his twin. 

Leo couldn’t get out anyway, he’d made sure of that.

He’d trapped Leo here just like they’d trapped him in the prison dimension. 

-------

Okay this was a big one! I rewrote the last bit cause I wanted it to be way more impactful and yeehaw this feels a lot better :) As usual Donnie is also going through it cause I love writing disaster twins ok

Lemme know if this needs any warnings, my head hjurts

Part 1 | Part 27 | Part 29

[esperderek]

New RPG.net owner liked tweets from RFK Jr, Tucker Carlson, and more...

Just left RPG.net, that venerable old tabletop rpg forum, a forum that I've been a part of for 20+ years.

Recently (in March), it was bought by RPGMatch, a startup aiming to do matchmaking for TTRPGs. In the past couple of days, despite their many reassurances, I got it into my head to look up the new owner Joaquin Lippincott, and lucky for me he has a Twitter! (Or X, now, I guess.)

Yeah...the first warning bell is that his description calls him a 'Machine learning advocate', and his feed is full of generative AI shit. Oh, sure, he'll throw the fig leaf of 'AI shouldn't take creative jobs.' here and there, but all-in-all he is a full-throated supporter of genAI. Which means that RPGnet's multiple assurances that they will never scrape for AI...suspect at best.

Especially, when you check out his main company, https://www.metaltoad.com/, and find that his company, amongst other services, is all about advising corporations on how to make the best use of generative AI, LLMs, and machine learning. They're not the ones making them, but they sure are are helping corps decide what jobs to cut in favor of genAI. Sorry, they "Solve Business Problems."

This, alone, while leaving a massive bad taste in my mouth, wouldn't be enough, and apart from his clear love of genAI his feed is mostly business stuff and his love of RPGs. Barely talks politics or anything similar.

But then, I decided to check his Likes, the true bane of many a people who have tried to portray themselves as progressive, or at least neutral.

And wow. In lieu of links that can be taken down, I have made screenshots. If you want to check it yourself, just find his Twitter feed, this isn't hidden information. (Yet.)

Here's him liking a conspiracy theory that the War on Ukraine is actually NATO's fault, and it's all a plan by the US to grift and disable Russia!

Here's him liking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praising Tucker Carlson interviewing Vladimir Putin!

Here's him liking a right wing influencer's tweet advancing a conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden!

Former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy talking about how he wants to tear down the Department of Education and the FDA (plus some COVID vaccine conspiracy theory thrown in)

Sure did like this Tucker Carlson video on Robert Kennedy Jr... (Gee, I wonder who this guy is voting for in October.)

Agreeing about a right-wing grifter's conspiracy theories... (that guy's Twitter account is full of awful, awful transphobia, always fun.)

Him liking a tweet about someone using their own fathers death to advance an anti-vaxx agenda! What the fuck! (This guy was pushing anti-vax before his father's death, I checked, if you're wondering.)

So, yes, to sum it up, RPG.net, that prides itself as an inclusive place, protective it's users who are part of vulnerable groups, and extremely supportive of creators, sold out to a techbro (probably)libertarian whose day job is helping companies make use of generative AI and likes tweets that advance conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war, Hunter Biden, vaccines, and others. Big fan of RFKjr, Carlson, and Putin, on the other hand.

And, like, shame on RPG.net, Christopher Allen for selling to this guy, and the various admins and mods who spent ages reassuring everything will be okay (including downplaying Lippincott's involvement in genAI). Like, was no research into this guy done at all? Or did y'all not care?

So I'm gone, and I'm betting while maybe not today or tomorrow, things are going to change for that website, and not for the best for anyone.

[sharpth1ng]

Ive already posted this in my server, so you may see it twice, but In case you don't see it there im posting it here too.

Im assuming most of you have seen the news about the us election. Honestly im feeling nothing less than devastated, and i would assume Americans are feeling ten times worse. Im so fucking sorry to you all, and I know that doesn't help at all. I feel angry, hopeless, and sad as fuck, and i dont know how to comfort anyone or advocate for the hope i think we deserve.

What I can do is remind you all who you come from.

Women, queer people, disabled people, indigenous people, black people, new immigrants- anyone who experiences marginalization- we have been through this before. Many times. So many lives have been unjustly lost and our rights have been trampled on over and over, and we shouldnt have to be dealing with any of that still in 2024. It feels insane that im even having to write this post right now.

But even with that crushing history, repeating itself over and over, we haven't been silenced. If anything we've gotten louder. We've been having mainstream conversations about oppression and liberation in the past few years that were completely undiscussed when I was a kid. The vocal support for trans people alone, even with the rise of transphobia, is unprecedented.

None of this is meant to tell you that it's alright, or that it's not that bad, because it is that bad. But what I'm telling you is that its been this bad before, only this time we're louder than we ever have been before and we'll be louder still next time. There are more of us than there ever have been before, and if they couldn't take us all out when there were fewer of us they wont manage it this time.

There were drag shows happening in gay bars when it was still illegal to be gay at all. There were Natives preserving language and knowledge out of residential schools, and black people inventing whole new types of art and resistance while they were still being actively enslaved, and those are just a few examples. The point is that we dont stop, we never have. We will keep making art, finding love, and joy, being fucking loud and fighting for each other.

It's ok to hurt, to be angry and scared. Let yourself feel all of those things because its the only rational response to this.

But don't let it shut you down. Your history is one of resilience, survival, and compassion. We're so much more than the oppression we face and we always have been.

Reach out to the people you love and tell them you fucking love them. Make plans to see them. Gather with your community and organize to support each other, find ways to protect each other, and above all else don't stop looking for joy. Don't stop making art. Don't stop showing compassion.

Solidarity is the most important thing we have right now, so don't give up on it.

I don't know how to close this message really, but i want to repeat I'm not telling you to have hope, I'm not telling you it's not so bad. What I am telling you is that you're stronger than you think. You come from strength, you come from people who faced odd that seemed insurmountable so that you could be here today.

If they couldn't take us out before they wont succeed now. We're only going to get louder, angrier and stronger. And when the tide swings back in the other direction, like it always has in the past, they better be fucking grateful that most of us will be fighting for equality instead of revenge.

[hwaslayer]

project: make you love me (jyh) | seventeen.

♣︎ spotify playlist | series masterlist

—summary: yunho can’t stand how you’re so wrapped up in the notorious campus fuckboy, park seonghwa. he would gladly love you the way you deserve, despite being shy, awkward and the complete opposite of seonghwa. thus, when he finds himself spending more time with you over literature reviews and random study sessions, he decides to take on the challenge to win you over.

—pairing: jeong yunho x f. reader

—genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers/friends to lovers, college au | fluff, angst, smut

—word count: 3.4k

—chapter content/warnings: cussing/mature language, flashback scene btwn yuyu & oc, anxiety & overthinking, some crying, [very soft and lazy] unprotected makeup sex <33

Yunho sighs as he pours some hot water into his cup, dipping the tea bag into the scorching hot water a few times before letting it settle. He stands near the balcony door of the apartment, blinds raised so he can watch the rain and wind from inside.

"Jeez, it's fucking crazy outside." Yunho turns over his shoulder to Yeosang, who is getting ready to make some ramen. "And it's freezing."

"Yeah, it is. Such a random storm." Yunho sips on his tea.

"Why are you acting like such an old man right now?" Yunho lets out a chuckle at the remark. "Have you talked to Y/N?"

"No, not yet." He sighs, making his way to the kitchen island to talk to Yeosang more closely.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I was gonna ask her to come over but it's raining like crazy. I'll probably wait till it dies down."

"Your hand doing okay?" Yeosang nods at his hand, making Yunho flash it his way. "Hm. Bruising has gone down. He deserved that shit."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, not to play devil's advocate at the wrong time, but I truly don't think Y/N meant to hurt you."

"I know. I just—" He sighs again and shakes his head. "He pissed me off. I didn't wanna take it out on her. Truthfully, I wasn't really over it until.. probably this morning." Yunho shrugs.

"Yeah, I get that."

"It's not her. It's him. Fucking can't stand him. I hope he gets the picture now because I'm not going anywhere."

"And you shouldn't. He'd be stupid to keep testing you. I'm sure that was more than enough for him to realize."

"Yeah, I don't know. Whatever. Just keep him the fuck away from me." Yunho subtly rolls his eyes. "I miss her, though. I know she wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

"She's a good person. It's very clear she feels the same exact way for you as you do for her." Yunho traces the rim of his cup, missing your kisses and your company terribly, even though it's really only been a full day since you two last talked.

"I really love that girl." He lets out a small chuckle. "Like.. really love her."

"Cute." Yeosang smiles as he pours the hot water into his ramen cup. "You finally gonna say it to her once you two talk?"

"Probably, yeah." He looks at Yeosang. "It's crazy to me. I wasn't expecting anything out of this when I started helping her with her lit assignments. Now, I can't even picture my days without her."

"You should text her."

"I will, once the weather calms down a bit."

"What do your plans with her look like after graduation?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, obviously, I'll always be here to support her and I'll try to stay close as much as possible. But, eventually, I do wanna settle in a job and make enough for us to move in together."

"Wow, really?" Yunho nods. "You see your life with her?"

"Does it sound weird to say that?"

"No, not at all."

"I just wanna be able to come home to her and spend time with her." Yunho sips his tea, the sound of the harsh wind and tree branches hitting the window slightly startling the both of them.

"Damn. Yeah, probably good to just wait until the weather settles down." Yeosang flips the lid to his ramen and starts stirring the noodles around. "Wanna hop on a game?"

"Yeah, sure." Yunho chuckles, standing to make his way to his room and play for a bit.

Meanwhile, you've tossed and turned on your bed, unsure of what to do with yourself for the day. Chaery sat at her desk, studying with her headphones on; prepping for a big test coming up in the following week. It was probably the third [or fourth] time you've scrolled through your phone in the past 5 minutes, finding ways to distract yourself even though you were only waiting to see if Yunho would text.

He didn't though.

The last text he sent was his response to you yesterday morning after the whole squabble with Seonghwa, a quick little—

you: goodmorning yunho, have a good day today 💕

yunho: you too, y/n.

The dry, sad response is enough to trigger that awful feeling in your stomach— enough for you to toss your phone and lay on your side, hoping everything could just wash over and pass.

♣︎ FLASHBACK

"Have you seen Yunho today?" You shake your head.

"No. I feel like he's just avoiding me right now." You say with your head hung low.

"Babe, he's not avoiding you. You're his girlfriend."

"Then, why does it feel that way? Usually he'd try to come see me and send me off before class or something. He hasn't even texted me after I said 'good morning' and 'have a good day.'"

"Maybe he really just needs time to get over it, Y/N." Chaery adds as you two continue to walk towards the library. "I mean.. think about it. He stumbled upon you two and suddenly found himself in a fight with your crazy ex-fling. Plus, this was also his way of finding out about the bouquet. It's probably so overwhelming and frustrating, mainly because of Seonghwa. I get him. I wouldn't wanna talk to my girlfriend while I'm still upset because I know I'd probably say things I'd regret."

"Mmyeah.." Is all you say. The moment you take the last few steps up to the library, Yunho is exiting and comes through the door. You stop in your tracks as your eyes land on him, a sad, sympathetic look captured on your face.

You are so, so beautiful. Yunho feels like you'll be the death of him one day.

He almost makes it visibly known how much you've caught him off guard. He swallows the lump in his throat and walks over— one hand in his pant pocket, the other hanging onto the backpack strap.

"Hey." Is all he says before giving you a one-armed [tight] hug.

"Hey babe." 

"Yuyu, my favorite person in the entire planet!" Chaery gives him a playful little punch on the arm, making him chuckle. "Y/N, I'll wait for you inside, okay?" She gives you a reassuring smile before leaving you and Yunho.

"Off to class?" You stupidly ask already knowing his schedule, but he nods anyway.

"Yeah. Did you sleep okay?" He brushes the hair away from your face.

"I don't know."

"Yeah, same." He sighs.

"Should we talk then?"

"Not now." He doesn't mean to sound mean or dismissive, but he truly doesn't think he has it in him to talk properly about this yet. "Just not ready to yet. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand." You feel the tears well up in your eyes, causing you to shift your attention elsewhere to prevent them from falling.

"Hey." Yunho pulls you in for a hug. "We'll talk about it soon. Promise." He kisses the top of your head before letting you go. "Have a good rest of your day, okay?"

"You too." You give him a small, tight-lipped smile before watching him walk past you to his next class— your heart dropping, cracks slowly breaking at the surface.

You missed him, and you were only hoping it'd get better from here. You were ready to move past this.

All of this.

♣︎ END

Your bottom lip trembles as you stand and throw on Yunho's hoodie, slipping the hood over your head before wiping away at the residual tears streaming down your cheeks. You understood Yunho needed time, but you couldn't wait another day of not talking to him.

Not hugging him.

Cuddling him.

Kissing him.

You missed Yunho, and you were afraid he was realizing he didn't feel the same— that maybe, this was the way it would all slowly fizzle out. That maybe, this didn't turn out to be what he expected or wanted. Every minute you continued to overthink made you more and more anxious. You couldn't sit this one out anymore. Not any longer. 

"Babe, where are you going?" You pop into the room after a quick bathroom break, fixing your pajamas onto the edge of your bed while Chaery continues to sit at her desk. "It's literally storming outside."

"I need to talk to Yunho." She looks at you worriedly, turning her chair towards you completely. 

"Love. I know. I know you wanna talk to him, but don't you think you should wait until the storm passes?"

"It's just across the lot."

"Still. It's kinda crazy out there."

"Chaery, I need to talk to him. I can't let another day pass. I won't." You murmur as you grab a pair of sneakers. "I'll be back, okay?" She sighs.

"Just be careful, please. I really don't want you to get sick or anything."

"I know. I'll be careful." You give her a tiny smile before heading towards the door.

"Um, please tell me you aren't actually going out there right now?" Seungmin asks with a brow cocked up as he stands in the kitchen. You slip into your shoes and slightly tilt your head, meeting his gaze.

"I really need to talk to Yunho."

"Do you want me to walk you over there? It's super windy and raining like crazy."

"It's okay."

"Sure? Take an umbrella."

"I'll run over."

"Please don't get sick. I seriously can walk you over just to be your umbrella dude."

"I promise I'll be okay, Seungmo. Thank you. I'll be fast as lightning speed." 

"Alright. Be safe. I hope it goes well. I'm sure he misses you, too." You give him a small smile before heading out. As soon as you head out of the front door, the gusty wind hits you, along with the rain slapping you along the side of your face. You pull Yunho's hood a little more over your head, clinching it at the neck to keep it tight. No matter what you do, or how fast you run to his building, you're still being rained on like crazy.

Yunho's hoodie and your sweats are soaked, and you hate the feeling of damp clothes against your skin. But, you needed to do this.

You needed to see him.

You shakily bring your phone up to your ear after dialing his number, sweater paws wiping away at your nose and cheeks. 

"Y/N?"

"Yunho."

"You okay?"

"I'm outside your door."

"You're what? Why did you come here when it's storming like shit outside?" You can hear him shuffling towards the door, hands quick to unlock it. He sees you and his heart instantly shatters into pieces. You're in his hoodie, wet from the rain; random strands of hair sticking to your face. Your grey sweats have traces of the rain scattered on all sides, and god, Yunho wants to embrace you and hold you so badly. "Y/N." He says, almost disappointingly as he grabs at your hand to bring you inside. "Why would you do that?"

"I had to see you and talk to you." You look at him, bottom lip trembling again as you hold back your tears. He clicks his teeth before leading you into the room. He quickly grabs a change of clothes for you before handing it over and nodding towards the bathroom.

"You should get comfy first." You silently nod, taking the clothes in your hands before waddling to the bathroom. You strip out of his clothes and hop into the shower for a quick wash-up, his freshly laundered clothes feeling good against your skin afterwards.

When you get into Yunho's room, he's slouched on his computer chair while pressing away on the controller resting against his lap. He turns towards you when he hears you drop the clothes into his hamper, pausing his current game and setting the controller aside.

"Hope you don't mind me throwing those into your hamper."

"Course not." He sits on the edge on his bed, watching as you sit next to him. "What's going on?"

"Yunho, I'm really sorry. I know you needed time and everything, but I couldn't stand us not talking to each other and being awkward after everything. It's my fault. I should've just told you about them in the first place, I don't know why I hesitated." You're crying now, and Yunho melts. He knows you're sincerely sorry, and he knows you would never intentionally hurt him. Truly, he meant to take this time just to let his anger for Seonghwa pass. He didn't wanna let that bleed onto you, nor did you deserve that, so he wanted to make sure he was completely over it before anything. He was gonna text you today and ask you to come over, but he waited because of the rain. He should've known you wouldn't have cared, though. "It was so, so stupid. But, I didn't mean any of it. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, I—" You continue to go on through your crying, but Yunho gently shushes you and pulls you onto his lap.

"Hey, come here. Don't cry. It's okay."

"No, it's not." You pout.

"Baby." He gives off a tiny chuckle before wiping your tears and kissing your forehead. "I know you're sorry, okay? I really just needed the time to make sure I was over it. I didn't want to accidentally take out my anger on you or do anything stupid when you don't deserve it. That's all. I was gonna ask you to come by today, but it started raining." He lets out a breath. "Should've known you wouldn't have cared though, hm?" You shake your head. "No more crying."

"I just want us to be okay. I didn't mean to hurt you, Yuyu."

"I know you didn't. We're okay. I'm not upset with you."

"Are you sure?" He pauses just as he looks at you, thumb coming to caress the surface of your cheek before coming down to your bottom lip. 

"Well, why don't you just be mine, hm? Just like I am for you. How does that sound?"

"Wouldn't want it any other way." Yunho chuckles and kisses you on the tip of your nose. You instantly wrap your arms around his neck and hug him tightly while still on his lap, taking in all of him while he gently rubs at your back. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Your hands are resting at the nape of his neck, fingers gently threading through the ends of his hair. Yunho's hands are slowly rubbing at your sides, the warmth of his hands transferring onto the surface of your bare skin.

"Can I see your hand?" He chuckles a bit and raises his hand in front of you, knuckles still slightly reddish-purple in hue from the punch.

"It's fine." You give him a look before planting soft kisses at his knuckles, turning his palm upward to place some kisses there. 

"Yunho?"

"Mhm?"

"I love you." His eyes widen a bit as his mind registers what you just said. His lips turn upward into a smile, planting a chaste kiss to yours before responding with a—

"I love you too, baby." He kisses you again, smiling against your lips. "Can you promise me one other thing?"

"Hm?"

"Please don't trek over here when it's raining like this outside. I don't want you to get sick."

"It's just across the lot."

"Promise me." He furrows his brows ever so slightly to get his point across.

"Fine." You pout.

"Say it."

"I promise." You say in a somewhat whiny tone, making Yunho let out a small laugh. 

"You're such a brat."

"Mm, but you just said you love this brat."

"Yeah." He bites onto his bottom lip. "I do. I really do." You giggle, kissing him once more. Though Yunho has always been affectionate and vocal about his feelings for you, his next action is unexpected and catches you a bit off guard. He simply rests his head against your chest and holds you tightly, breathing regularly as his fingers gently rub circles on your sides. He doesn't say anything, causing you to look down at him and wonder if he's truly okay.

"What's wrong?" You ask while wrapping your arms around him, fingers massaging at his scalp.

"I just want you to be honest with me. I don't want you to feel scared about coming to me about these things because I'm with you, not against you." He responds softly, cheek still pressed against your chest. "That goes to say that I would never do anything to jeopardize this. I don't wanna lose you." He looks up at you with those puppy dog eyes and you can't help but release a shaky sigh. Your lips fold into a small frown as you cup his cheek, shaking your head at the statement.

"You could never do anything to jeopardize this, Yunho. I'm not going anywhere. This was my fault, and I'm sorry for not coming to you sooner about this. I promise I'll be better. I know you're here for me, and I know you would never do anything to hurt me either."

"Can you tell me? Honestly. Do you miss anything about Seonghwa?"

"No, I could never. It was so stupid and I didn't mean to mislead or confuse you. I could never go back to that. I don't want to. All I want is you."

"Okay." Is all he responds with. "I feel the same way. You mean a lot to me, Y/N. I mean that more than anything."

"I know, Yunho. I feel the same way." He gives you a tiny, toothless smile before releasing his arms from around you.

"Wanna lay down and take a nap with me?"

"That sounds really nice right now." You smile as you hop off his lap and settle into the sheets. Yunho shuts off his computer, the only sounds echoing in the room is the strong wind hitting the window, rain splattering against the glass. He slips under the covers, pulling you close to him to keep you warm. His fingers start threading through your hair as you quietly look up at him; no words being exchanged in this very moment.

"Sleepy?" Yunho breaks the silence with a soft question.

"No. I just like it when you play with my hair." You shut your eyes in satisfaction.

"Of course." Yunho kisses your forehead before moving down to the tip of your nose.

Lips.

Chin.

"I thought you wanted to nap?" You subtly bite onto your bottom lip when Yunho leaves sweet kisses on the edge of your jaw and neck.

"I do." He says in between kisses, tongue soothing the surface of your neck after little nibbles.

"This doesn't look like a nap to me."

"No, but we'll definitely take one after." He smirks against your skin, hands roaming up your shirt. He squeezes your side before his hand moves up to your breast— playing with your nipple before giving your boob a good grope.

"Yunho." You whine, hands tugging at the ends of his hair. Sooner or later, you find yourself straddling Yunho— lazily working your hips while he lays back and watches you. Everything about this moment is slow, sweet, sensual; every kiss, every move, filled with love and affection. He bites onto his bottom lip as his hands rest on your hip, fingers slightly digging into the surface as he helps guide you. You've still got his shirt on, and he's still got his, too— sweats pulled down enough to ride him. It's so lazy, but so intimate, especially with the storm in the background.

It feels perfect and enough.

You let out soft moans and whimpers, Yunho whispering sweet praises about how good you feel and how perfect you are. He never fails to remind you how beautiful you are and how much you mean to him, even in the most compromising positions. But his words drip with gold, low groans and hisses dipped in honey.

Everything about Yunho is so, so sweet.

"Fuck." You whimper, brows pulled together as your mouth is slacked open— orgasm quick to build, close to toppling over on the edge.

"That's it, baby." Yunho replies as he tries his hardest to hold on. "Wanna cum for me?" You nod, pace increasing just enough to make you come undone in the next few rolls of the hips. You let out a few curses in between moans, while Yunho continues to pound upward into you to find his own release. 

"That was definitely not a nap, Yunho." You continue to sit on top of him to regulate your breathing and come back down from your high.

"Ah, no. But, that nap does sound nice now, doesn't it?" You giggle when he taps your hips, the both of you letting out small whines when you finally pull your bodies apart from each other. He grabs some wipes and helps you clean up before following suit on himself, slipping back into the covers for said nap.

"Yunho."

"That's me." He says, eyes already shut as he holds you close.

"I love you. And I'm sorry. I wanna keep doing better for you."

"I love you, too. Don't be sorry. We're learning together, princess." He lets out a breath before kissing you on the forehead. "Come on, let's take a nap. It's not like we can go anywhere anyways." You chuckle against his chest, feeling happy and content that all is well; that you're finally in his Yunho's arms again.

♣︎ taglist: @s-nsanshine @soupbinlily @tyongff-ff @jiminiscricket @g1g1l @staytinyinmybpack @woomyteez @gfksz @bitchwhytho @savluvsmingi @thisisntmyrightera @hyukssunflower @miriamxsworld @tmtxtf @kuromibabe04 @lmnhead @carrietwrites @tournesol155 @persphonesorchid @txt-yaomi @mxnsxngie @h-nji @mundayoonimnida @jalapeno-princess @nakiiko @asjkdk @kunikku @idkwgoh @kyeos4ng @agust-d2 @araknoid @bintificreads @primoppang @betray-the-light @aurorasjoongie @wineyoungie @yunhotteokkk @yungigiggles @jaerisdiction @ignoretheskies @luminouskalopsia @naeviscall @vixensss @choisansplushie @arya9111 @my-lightspirit @dazednconfusion @astro-doll-the-star @faesmingi @idfkeddieishot @startinystay @emily505 @mgdixon @mcsalterego @cheynalexilaiho @svintsandghosts @mismatchfluffysocks @meeitany

[asidian]

Go Vote

I don't often talk politics on this blog, but I'm going to for a minute.

This is, bar none, the most important election of our lifetimes.

Our options are between a career prosecutor and a career criminal. A person who held rapists accountable and a rapist. An intelligent, articulate woman in the prime of health and an elderly man whose mental facilities barely allow him to string together a coherent sentence. A person who has a genuine plan to make life better for millions of Americans and a grifter who is only in it to line his own pockets. A racist who espouses Hitler's talking points and a competent, experienced woman who will work for all Americans.

Whoever the next president is will likely get to decide two Supreme Court justices. This will determine the fate of the court for a literal generation.

The rights of trans people are on the line. The rights of anyone with a uterus to have a say in what happens to their own body is on the line. My right to remain married to my wife is on the line.

Palestinians are begging people to vote for Harris because Trump's policies will be so much worse for them.

I understand that some people are inclined to vote third party. This is not the election to do that. In 2016, people thought there was a big enough lead for Clinton to enable them to abstain from voting or to vote third party in protest. That's how we got Trump in the first place. Those extra votes would have made all the difference.

Much as we may wish our system was more open, much as we may wish we had more options, now is the worst possible time to advocate for that.

We have exactly two choices today. One of them is going to make life measurably worse for millions of people. One of them may not be perfect but will try her best and may make inroads toward a better life for countless Americans.

Please get out there and vote blue all down your ballot. For President, and Congress, and every single local position.

We need to slap the Republicans on their proverbial knuckles so hard that their free-press-revoking, fascist, rights-stealing heads spin. So hard they realize that our country will not stand aside and let them take it where they want to take it.

I am begging all of my US followers of voting age:

Please go vote.