#sometimes you need to drop out of the race to be senator and move to a nowhere town and get really fucking ripped

[cryptcoop]

Ripley

[gaeasun]

Blurr

New OC just dropped!

gonna be honest i dont know if or how i would incorporate him into my writing so for now he mostly lives in my head, on my sketchbook, and discord where all the mutuals turned tf blogs enabled me.

Not all of the pictures here match up with each other but the first two are the most updated (though his hair is much fluffier on the top). 

The most basic info is, Blurr is a pilot in the 501st with a need for speed. In his leave time he’s managed to incorporate himself into the (illegal) speeder races that happen in the lower levels and he’s pretty good at them. He talks so fast sometimes its hard to keep up. After the war Blurr tries to calm down by buying 79′s. He still races on occasion when he gets the itch though.

More pictures + his lore under the cut!

Lore time!

Ever since he was a cadet, Blurr loved to move. He got his name from zooming around as a kid a lot. His fast reflexes gave him a chance to try out one of the higher end flight simulators, and he ended up being an absolute natural and one of the top pilots coming out of Kamino.

The simulators were great, but nothing compared to the actual feeling of moving at Mach 1 for real.

So naturally he ended up being picked for the 501st, and is one of the few beings alive capable of keeping up with Skywalker in the air.

His batchmates are all alive and well but elsewhere.

But on Coruscant he quickly grew bored, since there wasn’t much he was allowed to fly. The transport ships couldn’t cut it.

In all the chatter on Coruscant, he heard something about speeder races, and had to look into that.

After a couple of close calls, he found someone willing to lend him a speeder to race for large cut of any winnings.

Blurr won the first race he entered. And the next, and the next.

Too keep himself from getting court-martialled, he took his phase 1 helmet and modified it to death. Bigger ventilators, more paint, a higher fin. And he added a mask to cover his face.

The added element of mystery gained Blurr a large following of his races, to the point where he’s somewhat of an underground celebrity. 

All the clones know its him though. He’s not exactly subtle. But no one complains since he often uses some of his winnings to buy a few rounds at 79′s.

(In “canon” he somehow stumbles onto the info that there’s a Sith Lord in the Senate. He goes directly to the Chancellor to report. He is then thrown into a trash compactor. :c)

But we don’t need that so what actually happens in my au is when the war ends he uses his money and buys 79′s and becomes a bartender there.

He still races but it’s not nearly as often. 

Personality and character traits!

He talks so fast. Incredibly fast. Literally this

As a result from all the races gone wrong (crashes happen occasionally) Blurr has some TBI’s that make his memory a little leaky sometimes. Especially his short term memory. Near the end of the war when it was getting worse someone helped him rig up a system for his helmet to display more info then usual.

Smiles a lot, but is also a big fan of the -_- face.

Pretty straighforward. will call you out on your bs. while making the -_- face.

Big heart!

Adaptable and takes things pretty easy. Does not get outraged easily but when he does he will do something about it.

freckles

first pic linework by @maiseey​

[whirlybirbs]

                                                  (   gif by @barissoffee​     )

      ---   STARJOCKEY & CO.   ;   1 of ?

summary: the bad batch gets a pilot.  pairing: twi’lek!reader x hunter word count: 2.1 a/n: i love the bitter enemies to friends trope, i love twi’leks, i love racer characters, and i love smashing them all together. hunter is a babe and i love the boys. will contain spoilers for s7 of tcw. set loosely before s7.

Cody wonders, as himself and the four soldiers behind him amble towards the GAR’s main hangar bay on Coruscant, if this is a fool’s errand.

But -- Clone Force 99 isn’t like all the other squadron’s in the Grand Army of the Republic. They were special ops. Independent, reporting to no one but themselves. Arguably the best of the best, and...

They needed a pilot.

Cody had raked through the file and rank trying to find someone suitable to run details with the Bad Batch, but... he kept coming back to you. 

That’s saying something, really, because good civvie pilots rarely stuck around -- more often than not, they came in the form of racers caught on the upper levels of Coruscant who were offered two choices: serve out your sentence, or fly a few transport missions under the GAR for compensation and waived time in general population. 

A win-win for some.

The truth was pilots were few and far between with the height of the Outer Rim Sieges in swing -- the GAR’s AirCorp was busy running dogfights rather than transport details. The piloting courses were the longest inscription time of all, aside from Commando-bas training. So, somewhere along the line this business model was cooked up.

Serve the cause and drop the charge.

You were no different from all the others... at first. 

You’d been bagged by Fox sometime last year while being crowned the winning racer in a tourney on the 34th level. Fox’s boys clocked you coming over the line well over the legal speed limit -- and then, you proceeded to lead them on a chase through the entire Financial District that ended with a wreck that left your ride in a ball of fire and Lt. Dive in the medbay for two days. 

When you were bagged you took the latter of the deals offered. One week later, you’d flown Cody himself and five other 212th boys through the thick of Felucia’s frontline on a medical supply run. When the Sep’s spotted the LAAT/i and began laying down cover fire, you’d somehow managed to get the ship outta the drop zone without a single scathe. 

And then it happened again. And again, and again. You were good. You’d managed to land an LAAT/i with only one working engine on Ithor, flown steady through a sandstorm on Jakku, and deployed an entire battalion’s worth of reinforcements to Umbara in the short time you’d flown for the GAR. Under your wings, not a single casualty.

You flew Cody on six runs total, to various Outer Rim siege points, before your charges were waived. 

But, you stuck around. 

Lucky for Cody. 

In all honesty, it was better work than what you were used to -- racing was just a hobby. In reality, it was smuggling paid that bills. And it did enough, sure, but it was dangerous work. Especially if the supplier doesn’t disclose you’re hauling a Class-45B controlled toxin and a canister ruptures mid-flight. Or, if the Nexu kittens decide to orchestrate a coordinated prison break from their crates half-way to the trade markets on Zygerria. 

You still had scars from that one. 

The GAR paid civilians well enough. You could afford a decent apartment on the 56th level of the Senate District; a quick zip to the Garrison. You’d even gotten a wiped record on the third month of running supplies. 

You hadn’t seen Commander Fox’s face when he’d handed over the datapad explaining the details, but you could tell the head of Capital Security was not pleased. Not surprising. But, you’d waltzed outta that office with your head held high. 

This gig was a new start.

You liked Clone Marshall Commander Cody. 

He was -- by far -- your favorite of the upper-ranks to work with. He was kind, but beneath the exterior of leader there was a bit of an attitude. It all made sense when you’d met the General Jedi he served under. Two sides of the same coin. Cody laughed when you’d explained that you got it now. 

It was reassuring to know Cody liked you, too. Trusted you, even.

You suppose if that wasn’t the case, then you wouldn’t be here now. 

... Getting a squadron assignment.

"Cody, this ship is a nightmare.”

The first time the Bad Batch ever lays eyes on you, you’re swaggering off of the jet-black ship’s landing ramp with gloved hands on your hips. The look on your face is one of playful anger, directed directly at the Grand Marshall Commander who barks a laugh at the jest. 

“Is it now?”

“I hate this!”

From around the back of the ship, it’s the voice of a FA-4 pilot droid that cries out the indignant exclamation -- you grin, watching as the droid in question wheels out from the underbelly and waves it’s skinny little arms. It’s got a bundle of chewed through wiring in it’s hands.

“I could kill you, Commander,” the droid whines, female-coded voice emerging from it’s vocalizer. The matte black body of the droid is littered in neon graffiti -- on it’s faceplate, a lopsided smiley face is painted in hot pink. It’s wheels kick up with a wwwwiiiirrrrrr as it skirts around the trooper in question, “We’ll be lucky is this ship flies.”

“Calm down, Deemi,” you wave off the droid, D-M1, as she rounds the nose of the ship to discard the useless wiring from the landing gear, “It’ll fly.”

“Says you!”

You roll your eyes, scoffing at the flustered droid as you approach Cody. 

“Is it really that bad?” he asks lowly, suddenly concerned.

“It’s certainly not great,” you mumble, looking back over your shoulder. You swipe at your forehead. Your red-tinted goggles sit around your throat, “... How’d you get this ship again?”

“Repo,” Cody says curtly, “Smugglers. Maybe you knew ‘em.”

"Ha, ha.”

Hunter is skeptical. 

He’s heard enough about you from Cody, but -- the Twi’lek before him looks less like a street racing criminal hotshot and more like a holo-star. Your skin, peachy and dappled, paints you softer than he imagined. He’d expected someone... taller. Scarred. Rough.

A man, maybe.

Not a pretty little Twi’lek.

“This the pilot you’ve been talkin’ about, then, Commander? Or is it the droid?”

Both you and Cody turn around, then, and you notice that four visored eyes are glued on you. The one in the front, tall and broad with half a skull painted on his helmet, is the one that spoke. Low and rough. Different from all the voices you’d come to know in the hangar. 

Bitter. Condescending. Cold.

And just like that, you settle on the fact you don’t like him.

You watch his visor move down your figure, then; your lekku curl, swatting despite the fact they’re pinned back by the black headpiece strapped tightly across your crest. 

Tech, from behind Crosshair, can read the gesture of obscenity with ease. He has to hide a laugh into his fist.

Your cross your arms across your chest and lean, cocking a hip. You mimic the gesture, dragging your eyes up his long legs and battered, jet-black armor. He’s built different from Cody. More compact. A bit taller.

“Eyes are up here, boc’ara,” the Ryl sounds foreign, more like a hiss than anything, and when Cody sees the flash of your incisors, he knows to step up. 

“Er, boys, meet your new pilot,” Cody says your name, eyes bounding between you and the Leader of the Bad Batch, “Zip, this is --”

“Zip?” the soldier scoff, arms crossed over his chest plate.

Cody pinches his brow. Is he gonna have to explain the nickname?

“It’s --”

“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Zip,” suddenly offers a small trooper, squeezing around the leader of the squad. His eyes are big and brown behind goggles -- but kind, nonetheless, “My name is Tech.”

Suddenly, a hand is in your personal space. You can’t help but quirk a smile. You shake his hand easily, watching as the smaller trooper lights up at the friendly exchange.

“I’d enjoy speaking Ryl with you, sometime.”

“Yeah?” you ask, realizing that he must have caught the insult earlier.

“Ka,” the trooper chirps in Ryl, eyes squinting happily, “I am not very good -- and I enjoy the language. Sounds pretty.”

“Arni,” you grin, thanking him as you nod, “I’d like that, Tech.”

With a amicable smile, the trooper weaves around you and moves towards the ship.

“Th’ big one is Wrecker,” Cody says, then, gesturing to the biggest one in the back who offers a wave -- he moves forward, clapping the leader on the back as he does. You hear a light oof emerge from his vocalizer. 

“Ignore Mister Moody,” the man bellows, “Welcome to the Bad Batch, girly!”

You watch as the towering man moves to follow Tech, most likely to inspect the ship. You turn to Cody, raise a brow, and cock your head. “... Bad Batch?” 

“We ain’t like the others,” comes a fourth voice, raspy and coarse. This trooper is similar in size to the leader, with a charcoal colored helmet. The sniper rifle on his shoulder gives away his position in the squad, “An’ you ain’t a reg.”

You’re not entirely sure what that means, and you can’t tell if this one is trying to size you up or not. 

So, you offer a hand, unwavering from your spot. He shakes it after a moment of consideration. 

“Crosshair.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Is it?”

“Maybe,” you measure, “Haven’t decided yet.”

That earns a laugh from the sniper -- and Crosshair swats at Cody’s arm. 

“I like her.”

“Yeah, well, what did I say?”

“You said she was good,” comes the last voice -- the leader, who has yet to move from his spot. He’s rooted there, with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed beneath his helmet, “Real good.”

“Zip, this is Hunter,” Cody says slowly, “Sergeant of Clone Force 99.”

“Sergeant? With an attitude like that?”

Cody chokes on his words. 

Hunter rolls his eyes, pushing off his pose and moving towards the ship. He changes the subject quickly. “The droid says it won’t fly.”

“The droid,” comes an aggravated voice, “has a name!”

D-M1 proceeds to bonk straight into Hunter’s leg, then, spurring a laugh out yourself and the other members of the Bad Batch. You cover your mouth, shaking your head slightly. 

“My designation is D-M1,” she barks, “Don’t be ungrateful.”

Cody smirks. 

You push past the Sergeant, shrugging. “You heard the droid.”

Hunter’s eye twitches. 

Cody offers an apologetic look to the Sergeant as he enters the Havoc Marauder, following your lead. With a sigh, Hunter follows. The inside of the ship is in decent enough shape, and Tech pokes around the navicomputer as you throw yourself into the pilot’s seat. That droid whirs by Hunter again, bonking his leg on the way by, and moves to your side. 

“The biggest issue is the transmission,” you say, “And the fact the navi-coordinates are, like, half a klik off. That will be a problem come the jump to hyperspace.”

“How long ‘til it’s fixed?”

“Give me a day.”

Hunter leans in the cockpit doorway. “We don’t have a day.”

“Then find another ship and find another pilot,” you spit past Cody, swiveling to toss the insult his way, “Not my problem.”

“We can push the op back a day,” Cody cuts in, settling his between you both, “Do what you can, Zip. Tomorrow -- 0600 -- I want you up on deck. We’re gonna cover op in the debrief.”

“Oh, yeah, forget the droid --”

You snicker. 

Cody rolls his eyes. “Deemi, you can come, too.”

“Thank you.”

“You boys are dismissed,” Cody calls out, “You heard the time?”

“0600,” Crosshair nods, waving off the Commander, “Got it.”

“Try not to screw our ride in the mean time, yea?” Hunter shoots your way, “Baca’ra.”

The insult he tries to land in Ryl misses by a long shot. You snort at the mispronunciation. 

Behind him, Tech corrects the leader. 

“It’s boc’ara.”

“Whatever.”

When the entirety of the Bad Batch exits the ship, you give Cody a look. You swivel in the pilot’s chair, arms across your chest. You cross your leg, ignoring the grease smears along the neon green flight suit. You drum your fingers on your arm. 

Finally, when you hear their voices receed, you make a face. “Th’ hell was that?” 

“I should have warned you,” Cody groans, “They’re... different.”

“What’s with the...?” you gesture to your face, referencing Tech’s glasses.

Cody pinches his nose again. “The Bad Batch are... genetically different. Clones, but... with desirable mutations. They’re a shadow ops team and -- and you’re the only civilian pilot I know that can handle them and their assignments.”

“There’s nothing desirable about Hunter --”

“He’s a little rough around the edges. He’ll warm up,” Cody promises, “He will. He always does.”

You plan on holding Cody to it. 

Cody wonders, as he wanders back to the barracks through GAR’s main hangar bay alone, if this really is a fool’s errand.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Drop: Chris (BTHB: Wrapped in Blankets)

Prompt fill for @badthingshappenbingo : Bundled Up in Blankets, requested by @scorpiowhump for Chris. 

CW: Trauma recovery, referenced pet whump and institutionalized/legal slavery. Referenced negative/self-injury stimming including head banging.

Direct sequel to This Isn’t Hypothetical for Chris.

“I, I’ll just drop the class. That’s, that’s, that-that’s what I’ll do, just drop the, um, the the class, Jake, is all-”

“Bullshit. Making you drop a class because you were right is fucking bullshit.” Laken sits back, frowning, and Chris’s eyes skip to the side, away from the sparking, crackling fury there. Their fingertips brush over the bandage they’ve applied to the side of Chris’s forehead, and he winces at the sting. “Sorry. You were hitting your head again, weren’t you?”

Chris lets his eyes roll up towards the ceiling, chin tipping with the motion, and he doesn’t answer the question. He only pulls the pale blue weighted blanket that Laken gave him for his birthday around himself tightly. With its heavy soft warmth, he feels less like he’ll float away, or crack apart into a thousand puzzle pieces. 

“Chris,” Laken says, soft but insistent, taking his hands in theirs, holding his long, cold fingers in their warmer, smaller hands. “You can’t keep doing that. You’ve been banging your head all week since it happened. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Chris’s fingers twitch in their grip, but he doesn’t answer them. He can’t, can’t think of how to explain the noise inside his head, the jangling off-key sound of his thoughts, the way every bit of light overwhelms him, all the sounds of people shouting and laughing and talking and not being like him makes it build and build until there’s nowhere else for it to go.

There are dark places, quiet places, but he can’t be in them all the time, and the cold light inside of Chris needs somewhere to go. 

“Al, already did,” He finally says, with a slight smile. “That’s why the, the the-the bandage, right?” They don’t return the expression, only shake their head, a bit of thick wavy black hair falling over one of their eyes, and rub at his shoulders and arms through the blanket. 

He reaches up, lets his fingers run over the short undercut they wear along the side of their head, the way it feels soft like fur under his fingertips, rougher when he runs back the wrong way. He hums, and Laken only watches him, worry in their eyes. It’s familiar, reminds him of someone, but he can’t think of who.

Baby, you’ll get a concussion that way, we have to redirect, okay?

Who told him that? Who taught him to redirect? Do they know he keeps forgetting and has to learn it all over again? Would they be disappointed in them, if they knew?

Something tells him it doesn’t work that way, not with the shadowy memory-voice he hears sometimes, whoever it was had the brush of hair over his cheek, whoever held him when he couldn’t stop screaming. 

“You’re past the drop date for this class,” Jake says heavily. He’s sitting on the couch, leaning over the paperwork Chris brought back from his meeting with the grad student and the professor officially overseeing the class. The grad student’s written summary doesn’t match what Chris said, but even more than that, it doesn’t match Chris. Chris doesn’t have violent outbursts, and he certainly doesn’t have violent outbursts without provocation. Chris isn’t someone who starts yelling over nothing, he’s just… not the person they’re saying he is, at all. It’s a piece of creative writing masquerading as an incident report. “If you drop now, you fail, full stop. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, your GPA will take a hit-”

“I don’t, don’t, don’t-don’t-don’t care.” Chris shakes his head, just to feel his hair move against his skin. “I… I have to, to drop, anyway. He… he said, he, um-”

“What?” Laken leans forward, until their forehead just touches Chris’s, careful to avoid the injured spot, the sensitive bruised skin under the adhesive pull of the bandage. “What did he say, Chris?”

“I said us,” Chris whispers. “When I talked about, about… pets. Instead of them. He knows.”

There’s a silence that draws out, in the living room. The sound of Jake shuffling papers around, and of Laken’s calm, steady breathing. “There’s nothing in here about that,” Jake says in a low voice. “I didn’t see-... I’ve read this stupid fucking essay that asshole wrote like three times-”

“He didn’t write it, it down.” Chris tightens his grip around Laken’s fingers, but his own aren’t warming up to match theirs. “He told me after the, the professor left that he heard it. Which means-”

“He could report you.” Jake sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. Chris feels suddenly very, very small. “Per-fucking-fect. Did he say what he intends to do with this information?”

Chris swallows. “Nothing.” 

Laken and Jake exchange a look that Chris can’t read, he’s not good at reading the looks where people have whole conversations without actually saying anything. He looks up between them, one to the other, wondering what they are saying about him without speaking.

“So… if he’s not going to do anything-”

“He won’t say anything to, to, to anyone,” Chris says, softly, “as long as… as I drop the class.”

There’s a beat of quiet again, and another conversation held in silence that Chris can’t follow, only feel its weight, and then Jake clears his throat. “Chris, did he really-”

“Yeah. He really.” Chris shakes his head, pulling away from Laken’s grip, sitting back in the armchair. His right hand traces over the sleeve of his compression shirt on his left, and he taps against the back of his hand. He has no tears left. “He doesn’t want to… to get charged with, with corrupting influence if, if, if-if I get picked up. He said he, he doesn’t… doesn’t want to, to, to-to teach… pets.”

“This is bullshit,” Laken says again. “You’re not a fucking pet anymore. They can’t-”

“Take the fail,” Jake interrupts, and Laken spins in their chair to look at him, but Jake is staring down at the papers. “It’s fine. You can take an extra class later to fix a little of what it’s going to do to your grades. Just take the fail.”

“Jake, you’re not fucking serious-”

“Yeah, Laken, I am.” Jake’s anger is usually worn openly, but now it’s tightly coiled inside of him. Chris can feel it underneath the air in the room. Once upon a time, every hint of safety he could hope for was based on how well he could read the anger in the handlers or his Sir before it came down on his head. Most of it is gone, but… but in these moments, his skin prickles, the hair on the back of his neck wants to stand up.

Danger. Run. Danger. Hide. Danger. Be still. Danger. Be good.

“This asshole can’t force Chris to-”

“That asshole can call Chris in, report him, report us. They charge people like me, and they charge people who know and don’t report, like him. I get it. I get it, but I fucking hate it.” Jake sits very still, and then he’s up and off the couch and Chris flinches instinctively back as Jake balls up the paper with the grad student’s report on it and throws it violently at the wall. “Fuck!”

The little ball of paper bounces harmlessly off and hits the floor.

“That is singularly un-fucking-satisfying,” Jake says, staring at it. Laken and Chris only stare at him, Laken with the same anger in their eyes that Jake feels, and Chris with an old, barely-concealed fear. 

There’s a beat of silence before Jake speaks again. His voice is back to calm, but there’s an edge to it that gives him away, no matter how even-keeled he is trying to keep himself. 

“If those are his terms, we take it. We can’t risk safety to prove a point, to be right. Understand? It… it sucks, and I’d give my right fucking arm for ten minutes alone with that dick with no consequences, but… but this is still an out. He’s still giving us a way he won’t report. If he’s giving me a way to keep Chris and my rescues safe, I have to take it.”

“But… that’s-”

“Bullshit?” Jake twists a wry smile. “You bet your ass it is. But that’s-... that’s lib life, isn’t it? Just wading through waist-deep bullshit trying to give people the life they deserved after their real lives were fucking stolen, and the whole time I’m building up the fucking fort, these assholes - from dickbrain grad students right up to the goddamn Senate - are taking bricks out from the bottom hoping it’ll collapse and I can’t-... I can’t risk it, just to fight this, Laken. I have to think about everyone, not just Chris, but also… I have to think about Chris. Winning this battle could cost him. I want to - I want to fight this - but if we do…”

“That dumbass gets Chris in trouble,” Laken says, and groans. “Which means cops, and jail, and worse. Christ, Jake, do you think he just doesn’t want Chris in his class and this is a way to make it happen so nobody will fight it?”

Jake takes in a breath, lets it out. “Maybe. His worry could be legitimate, though.”

“Or he could just not want to face how fucked up this is,” Laken points out. “But he’s got us fucked both ways from Sunday for sure. We’re boxed in, no matter what we do.”

“Don’t say, say box,” Chris whispers, a shudder racing through him.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Jake paces, walking from one end of the living room to the other and back again. On TV, a cartoon about a spy is playing, but none of them is paying any attention to it. It’s just background noise to the conversation none of them wants to be having. “He could report Chris anyway, honestly. He doesn’t have to keep this promise. And if he does-”

“WRU will, will, will take me back,” Chris says, pulling his blanket as close as he can as though he could hide within it, and the tremble in his voice catches Laken and Jake’s attention again. The two turn to look at him, and Laken leans back forward, hands on either side of his face. Their hands, pale palms with warm brown skin, nails painted thick matte black, are warm and dry, and Chris lifts his own to cover them, closing his eyes. 

“They won’t,” Laken says, with fierce and total conviction. “They won’t. Never, ever. Now that I know, I’d-... Chris, I’d never let them. I have… my family knows people, we could get you somewhere else.” They lean forward, and he feels the warmth of them just before their lips touch his, and he answers the kiss. The throb of fear and anger inside him fades, a little, under the strength of their need to be here for him, even when he is difficult, even when he can’t stop hurting himself, even when he says us instead of them.

“I can’t believe he would rather turn Chris in than teach him,” Laken says, after a second’s pause. “I thought-... you know, the grad students aren’t that much older than we are, and people don’t think about it the way they used to. I just… I just thought-”

“I know. I used to think that, too. But.” Jake sighs, and moves to pick up the little crumpled ball of paper. “Maybe lighting this on fire would make me feel better?”

“Doubt it.” Laken pulls Chris’s head against their shoulder, the denim of their black jean jacket scratchy but still soft with wear and age, and he hums, rocking into them lightly, as their arms slide up and around behind his neck to hold him. “You’re okay, Chris. One failed class is nothing. We’ll figure it out. We’ll figure this out.”

“Maybe I should, should, should drop out. Give up on, um, on college.”

“Absolutely not,” Laken says, at the same time Jake says, “No fucking way.” 

“You’ve worked too hard for this,” Jake says after a pause. “You spent years working to relearn how to read so you could start studying for your GED and get a good score, you were so excited for this. This is just one bump in the road, this isn’t a dead end, I swear. We’re not giving up, Chris.”

“But-”

“We’ll tell him you’ll drop the class. He’ll keep it quiet, and you can go right back to normal. Nobody has to know but us.” Laken’s voice is low, and Chris wants to trust them, wants to believe. 

“We’ll figure it out. One failed class won’t wreck you, Chris.” 

Jake sits on the arm of the chair Chris is in, and slides an arm around his shoulders behind him, over the blanket. Laken is warm in front of him and Jake is warm beside him, and Chris hums again, but lower-pitched this time. The two of them are the soft, soothing darkness that holds back the white light.

“I just-” Chris lets the words die in his throat, and taps on his own stomach while Laken and Jake hold him, tears hot behind his eyelids that he refuses to let escape. He’s so tired of crying, he’s so tired of it being hard, he’s so tired of something unsettling his world every time he thinks there won’t be any more earthquakes.

Brick by brick, Chris is building a life - and the time he spent on his knees and on his back comes back to haunt him, whenever he lets himself relax. Whenever he feels safe. Whenever he thinks it won’t haunt him any longer.

“We’re not giving up on you,” Laken murmurs. “Don’t you give up now, either.”

--

Tagging: @burtlederp​, @finder-of-rings, @endless-whump​, @whumpfigure​, @slaintetowhump​, @astrobly​, @newandfiguringitout​, @doveotions​, @pretty-face-breaker​, @boxboysandotherwhump​, @oops-its-whump​ @moose-teeth, @cubeswhump​

[antoine-roquentin]

Before the election, when we were asked, we cautioned about claims of a one-sided Democratic advantage. We did not doubt the stories drawing on partial, pre-election fundraising reports, testified to strong Democratic fundraising efforts. Nor, though we wondered about the margins, did we doubt that the Democrats were probably then ahead in the polls.

But we have tracked money and politics through many election cycles. We knew the flows of money streaming into campaigns in the final weeks of elections are often gigantic. The epic, come from behind struggle in 2016 to salvage Republican control of the Senate was also fresh in our minds, since we had just published a study which analyzed it in detail.

That effort’s defining feature was a rip tide of late money that turned around what looked like a hopeless situation when most observers believed their party’s presidential standard bearer was doomed. In 2020, signs that similar efforts might be afoot were obvious. In Maine, for example, in mid-October, a single private equity magnate dropped his third contribution of $500,000 dollars in the election cycle into a single candidate super-PAC supporting Republican Senator Collins.

We were confident that our “linear model” of House and Senate races – so-called because the relation between the two-party split of the money and the outcome of the vote looks like a straight line when you plot it – would prove out, as it had in every previous election for which the data exists to compute it. And we doubted that trailing in the polls would put off many big Republican contributors, any more than in 2016. The whole point of our work is that most money rarely follows polls.

Figures 1 and 2 confirm we were right. At a moment, when everything appears to be up for grabs in American politics, some things have not changed: the system is still money-driven.

Do not be put off by the figures. They are simple scatter diagrams and easy to read. Along the bottom from left to right runs the Democratic percentage of the total amount spent on any given race – not the cost of votes per ballot or other measures that vary with district size and other characteristics. The vertical axis going up the left side benchmarks the percentage of the two-party vote that the Democrats garner. That axis is scaled as the difference between the Democratic and Republican shares of the vote, meaning that as the difference goes positive for the Democrats (roughly in the middle of the figure), they start winning seats. At the bottom left corner, in other words, the Democrats get no or hardly any money and win no or hardly any seats. At the upper right, they slurp in all the money and get all the votes.

The spread of the dots around the line – outcomes of actual races – shows how far reality diverged from the pure linear model. The discordance in 2020, as in so many elections before, was not much. Some races did deviate – they always do, and last year Democrats lost some close ones they might normally have won. But the big story is the continued dominance of the linear model. The best ways to summarize the model’s strength are highly technical, because in the House, almost always, and sometimes in Senate races, you need to take account of various races’ spatial relationships to each other. We tuck the details in our Appendix here, along with a brief explanation of how to show up the perennial last hope of orthodox political science and economics, that seeing cannot be believing, because the money must be following polls.)

Noam Chomsky has recently remarked that there are few real regularities discovered in the social sciences, but that the linear model is one.[1] After forty years of evidence, it’s time to agree and move on. The next time you wake up to find that election results in hundreds of Congressional elections differ wildly from what you would expect from the reported division of political money, check more carefully whether the voice of the people is not really the sound of money talking. And if you are trying to understand why both major parties instantly acquiesce to whatever it takes to rescue financial markets and the 1%, but fight over relief for the rest of us, you have the major part of the answer. The basic root of K-shaped recoveries is the hold political money has on both major political parties.

[ayo-cowbelly]

The Things We Do For Love ~ Part One

Part two is up! Find it here.

I LIVE FOR MUTUAL PINING (and excessive use of italics in my writing). Sorry not sorry loves 

Based off of this post, by @treetart. They had a wonderful AU where ‘what if the chips were disabled once the Jedi were presumed dead?’ and I immediately wanted to write that. Codywan, Blyla, and some background Anidala. This AU will have four parts, so stay tuned if you like it!

P.S. for some reason i’m very scared to post this, so comments are always welcome!

P.P.S. if anyone wants to be added to the taglist for this series, let me know :)

masterlist

***

Cody looked up at his General’s face with a smirk. “Oh, by the way, I think you’ll be needing this.”

Grabbing his lightsaber, Obi-Wan smiled back. It wasn’t the first time the Jedi had lost his lightsaber during battle, leaving it for Cody to find and give back to him. Cody was sure it wouldn’t be the last. 

But then again, there were rumors that the war would be over soon, so who knew? Maybe there wouldn’t be any more battles for Obi-Wan to drop his weapon in the middle of. Maybe he’d go back to Coruscant and be just a Jedi Master again, and Cody would go… where would he go? It wasn’t like there were any planets vying for the clones to move in. 

So, where would he end up, when this was all over? 

Cody would go where his brothers went. That much he knew. 

But if he were being honest… he’d follow Obi-Wan anywhere, no matter where his crazy jetii decided to go. Whether it be Coruscant, or Jakku, or the known edges of the galaxy. 

Cody had realized that somewhere, sometime, his feelings for his General had evolved into something more. Something beyond general and commander, surpassing simply platonic.

Of course, Cody didn’t tell Obi-Wan. 

Maybe he would, someday. After the war. 

If he ever saw Obi-Wan again after the war. But he didn’t want to think about that, so instead he focused on not blushing when the General flashed him that damned smile of his as he rushed off. 

As Cody slipped his helmet on, his holoprojector beeped. A figure popped up, one he could tell looked slightly disfigured, looked wrong even through the hologram. 

Kriff, was that the Chancellor? What happened? 

“Commander Cody,” The figure, the Chancellor, said. “The time has come. Execute Order Sixty-six.” 

Something took over Cody. A feeling of cold and remoteness and good soldiers follow orders washed over him. 

Just like that, he was no longer in control.

CC-2224 replied, “It will be done, My Lord.” 

CC-2224 didn’t waste a second. Pointing at the traitor, he called, “Blast him!” 

The cannon fired, and the traitor fell from the wall of the sinkhole. CC-2224 watched him turn as he fell, but couldn’t make out his expression. He wondered if the traitor was surprised. Well, he shouldn’t have been. 

He betrayed the Republic. 

Good soldiers follow orders

.

That was when Cody took back control, and CC-2224 was no more. 

***

As Obi-Wan slammed into the water, his mind raced. The clones, his men, they turned on him, shot at him. Out of nowhere. 

Cody had turned on him. His brilliant, intelligent commander, had most likely given the order. He wondered why they did it? When did they decide to do this? Did someone else tell them to? And they just… accepted it? 

And why was the Force in so much pain? 

Obi-Wan had no answers to his questions, not yet. For now he had to get out of there, off Utapau. If the clones had turned, they’d most likely confirm their target was dealt with. 

He needed to find another Jedi, figure out what was going on. Figure out why the Force was screaming, shrieking in pain. And why his bond with Anakin, especially, was suddenly… ripped. Broken. Not torn through all the way, but just enough that the slightest strain would split it completely.

As he climbed out of the water, Obi-Wan made his way over to his men, staying in the shadows, hoping to figure out what was happening.

As he hid behind a wall, he heard two troops talking. He could sense it was Boil and Cody on the other side, mere feet away. Dear Cody, why did you do it? 

“Find him! I don’t care how long it takes, we need to- to find him-” 

“Cody, vod, nobody could’ve survived that fall. I don’t think even Kenobi has that kind of luck,” Boil said gently. Obi-Wan noticed he was speaking slowly, carefully, as if breaking bad news. 

They did it on purpose, right? 

Why did they both sound so shaken? 

He winced at the sheer heartbreak in Cody’s voice. “But- he- he has to be alive, right? He has to be. He has to be. He has to-”

“Cody. Cody, take off your helmet. Breathe,” Boil instructed. “Look at me, vod. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. But I don’t think he made it.” 

“Boil, I gave the order. I- I ordered him to be,” Obi-Wan leaned over slightly, watching as Cody swallowed and looked down. The Jedi could just barely make out a tear sliding down his beloved Commander’s face. “Killed. He’s dead… because of me.” 

“Cody, it wasn’t us. Whatever that thing was, it sure as hell wasn’t us. It was something else, something beyond our control.” 

Obi-Wan wondered what in the name of the Force could just take over his troopers like that. And the raw pain in Cody’s voice… he knew, now, that Cody didn’t make the choice to kill him. His brilliant, sensational commander… what happened, Cody? 

“He can’t be dead, Boil, he can’t. I can’t go through that again,” Cody whispered. Obi-Wan had to strain to hear him as Cody’s voice got quieter. His heart wrenched at the Commander’s words. 

He tried every day to forget about Rako Hardeen (or rather, the aftermath) but it still haunted him. 

Cody continued. “Not again. And this time… whatever came over us, it did it through me. Me. Control or no, it still made me do it.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t let Cody live with thinking he killed him.

He didn’t give it another thought. Tentatively, Obi-Wan revealed himself and stepped into the light. After a moment, Cody snapped his head over to look at him, and Obi-Wan was hit with the wave of surprise-joy-guilt-love (Obi-Wan wasn’t sure about that last one. Force knew a small part of him hoped it was that…) that Cody projected into the Force. 

“Cody?” 

Cody’s shoulders dropped. Boil gave one last look at them both and walked away, quickly saluting to the General, realizing there was something more going on between them. 

“Ob- General Kenobi? You’re alive?” Cody breathed. 

“I think you’ve more than earned the right to call me Obi-Wan, Dear.” In a flash, Obi-Wan was pulled toward Cody and into his arms.

After a moment, Cody took a step back. There was a fresh tear on the commander’s face, piercing Obi-Wan’s heart. 

“Cody, what happened?” 

“I’m not exactly sure, S- Obi-Wan,” He corrected. “I remember the Chancellor comming me, and giving a command… and suddenly, it was like someone else had just taken over. I couldn’t control what I was doing... and all I had in my head was that I had to kill you, you were a traitor, and good soldiers follow orders…” 

“A traitor? Who did I betray, exactly?” 

“I think… the Republic? It’s a bit murky, if I’m being honest.” 

Obi-Wan paused and thought for a moment. “You said the Chancellor gave you these orders?” 

“Yes,” Cody replied, his brow wrinkling. “And he looked different. He was in a dark robe, with his hood over his head, but I could tell something was wrong with his face. Kinda… deformed.” 

Obi-Wan had one last question. “Cody, did this order just go to you? Or… the other battalions as well?” Was that why the Force had been in so much agony? 

The Jedi… they couldn’t be...

Cody’s voice came out softer, this time. “Obi-Wan, it would’ve gone to the entire GAR.” 

Obi-Wan swayed. Was that why his bond with Anakin had been broken? His former apprentice had been... the other troopers had gotten to him? 

Was that why his other bonds were suddenly severed? 

“Cody… you don’t think… the other Jedi...” Obi-Wan trailed off, hoping against hope that it wasn’t true. But at the look in Cody’s face, he knew the answer. 

As he fell to his knees, he felt strong arms wrap around him. “I’m sorry, Obi-Wan, I’m sorry, it’ll be okay, I promise-”

***

About a week later, onboard the Negotiator (which the 212th had boarded, setting course for the Outer Rim without a trace) Obi-Wan was trying to meditate in an empty training room. It had been a rough few days, to say the least. 

The execution of the Jedi, their temple burning, then learning from Yoda (Yoda, thank the Force he was alive, who had made contact hours after Order 66 went out) that right now, there weren’t any other known survivors. 

The disappearance of Senators Organa, Mothma, Chuchi, and Amidala. 

Seeing someone on the holonet who looked sickeningly like Anakin under a dark cloak trailing behind the Chancellor- Emperor. Even if his face wasn’t visible, Obi-Wan would recognize his former Padawan anywhere. He was said to be Palpatine’s apprentice, named Vader… 

Obi-Wan had never before come so close to the Dark. It coiled around him, smothered him, sinking into his heart. Palpatine’s success is your failure, it whispered. You trained Anakin, and now he’s a monster. You never talked to him, never reached out, always made excuses. You were ignorant and blind, and this is the consequence. It’s your fault, all your fault.

Every time the Dark came, slithering into his mind and staying there, Obi-Wan tried to release it into the Force; however, there were always some traces left. 

There were times it was almost too much, but he reminded himself that all was not lost. There was still some good in this wretched galaxy, and it was Obi-Wan’s duty to defend it. And if there were moments when it was too much, somehow Cody was always there to pick him back up. 

One day, Obi-Wan was attempting to meditate in a small, frequently unused training room. He had come to expect the Dark thoughts when he opened himself to the Force, though he still tried to meditate anyways. 

Again, his expectations were met. 

You failed. You were never good enough. You never will be. 

Qui-Gon didn’t want you. Anakin didn’t want you. Satine didn’t want you. 

Cody definitely doesn’t want you. 

“General!” 

A stern but worried voice pulled Obi-Wan back to reality. He looked up at Cody’s face, which was filled with concern. Obi-Wan didn’t deserve his concern. 

You’re wasting his time, a tendril of Darkness muttered. Cody already has enough problems, don’t add to it. 

And you really thought he could ever love you back? 

You do not have a hold on me. You never will, Obi-Wan said to it, pushing the Dark away. 

As he regained his bearings, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “Apologies, Cody. I didn’t mean to distract you from other duties.”

Cody huffed. “You’ve been distracting me for years, Sir, no need to apologize. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

Obi-Wan’s stomach fluttered, though he pressed that feeling down. “How did you find me?” 

“I went looking for you. I know this last week has been especially hard on you, and I remembered you sometimes like to meditate in here.” 

A part of Obi-Wan liked to hold onto comments like that, that implied Cody cared enough to check in on him, to remember where he liked to meditate, to go looking for him when he knew Obi-Wan was stressed. 

That part of Obi-Wan was a dreamer. 

The bigger part of him was realistic, and knew that Cody never thought that way about him. In a way that was beyond just friends. He knew, of course, that Cody only checked in because Obi-Wan was his CO, and he had to make sure the CO was fit for duty. 

So he did his best to disregard his Commander’s words, as always. “Well, I hope you haven’t gotten tired of me yet, my darling. I feel we’ll be in this fight for a bit longer. Side by side, as always, I’m afraid.” 

Obi-Wan didn’t know that Cody could never get tired of his General. He didn’t know that Cody would choose a million times over to go with him anywhere, no matter what they were doing. As long as they were together, in any sense of the word, Cody would be content. 

Obi-Wan didn’t know that every time he called Cody dear, or darling, or anything equally fond, Marshal Commander Cody was blushing under his helmet. 

Every. Time.

***

The 212th had tried to retain a sense of normalcy on the Negotiator, as if they weren’t on the run and hiding from the Emperor, who had placed a considerably large bounty on all their heads. But they still tried. 

That’s why Obi-Wan and Cody were in Obi-Wan’s quarters, drinking the Jedi’s tea and going over reports. 

Well, they were really playing Sabacc, but details. 

Obi-Wan grinned, wide and carefree. “Pure Sabacc! I win again!” 

That grin was increasingly rare nowadays, but nevertheless, it always made Cody’s stomach flutter just a bit (maybe more, if he wasn’t lying to himself about his feelings that day). He was glad to see his General even a bit happy, and even more glad he was the reason. 

Well, really, a game was the reason, but Cody could hope. 

He rolled his eyes at his jetii. “I swear, you’re cheating. I can’t prove it, but I know you are.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, my dear Commander. I am a man of honesty.” 

“Sure you are,” Cody laughed at the appalled look Obi-Wan pulled. “I’d like to think I at least know you somewhat, General-”

“Obi-Wan,” The Jedi cut in. 

“Obi-Wan, as I was saying, I’d like to think I know you after all this time, so I know when you’re lying-”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell, Cody.” 

Cody cocked his head, studying the other man. “You get that look in your eye.”

“What look?” Obi-Wan asked amusedly, a wry smile forming on his face. 

“You get this sort of twinkle in your eye, like you know more than the other people in the room. And you smirk a little bit, too,” Cody mused. He stood up and went over next to Obi-Wan. Looking down at him, Cody added, “it’s hard to describe, but I can recognize when you’re doing it.” 

Obi-Wan stood up also. They were close to each other now. Smiling, he said,“You know me that well, do you?”

“Like I said, I’d like to think so.”

“For the record, I’d say you do,” Obi-Wan replied, a soft look on his face. Cody shivered slightly, watching his General. The way Obi-Wan was looking at him, like he could see into his soul, like he was memorizing the intricacies of his face… it made Cody’s heart beat faster. “You know me so well, Dear, and I’m very thankful for it.” 

“You keep calling me that,” Cody murmured, not wanting to talk louder, fearing he’d break this moment. Whatever this was, it seemed fragile. “Dear.” 

“Well,” The Jedi Master began in a hushed tone, turning away slightly. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re very dear to me, Cody. You have been for a long time.” He looked up again, and their eyes locked. Crystal blue staring into deep brown.

These last few months, it was like they were trapped in a dance. Neither of them wanted to go too far, in case the other didn’t feel the same way. Tiptoeing around words, almost confessing how they really felt, but soon stopping. 

As time went on, however, the possibility of revealing it all edged nearer. There was a line, somewhere, and they were dangerously close to crossing it.

“You mean a lot to me, Cody, more than you know.” 

“Then tell me, Obi-Wan.” 

They stood there, waiting, not letting their eyes stray. Both searching for an answer in the other, unsaid words almost reaching the surface. 

“Cody, I-” Before he could finish, Obi-Wan’s comlink started beeping. 

Neither moved for a moment, until Cody finally tore himself away. Swallowing, he said, louder than before, “You should answer that.” 

Obi-Wan blinked, trying to reorient himself. “Yes. Yes, I should. I should answer that.”

He looked around the room, not fully focused, until he finally spotted his comlink on the table. Get it together, he berated himself. Not looking in the direction of the Commander, Obi-Wan answered the call. 

Master Yoda’s voice filled the room. “Master Kenobi, a conversation about the missing Senators I would like to have, if available you are.” 

Running a hand through his hair before quickly sliding on his helmet, Cody walked out of his General’s (General, nothing more, he had to remember that) quarters with a quick nod back at the other man.

There were more important things to deal with. Things that were more important than the feelings that burned in them both, but weren’t meant to be revealed. 

For now. 

But Cody didn’t know that yet.  

*** 

Next up is Blyla and that is gonna be alllll the angst. Hope you enjoyed! 

[greatfay]

since ur answering asks and shit can u explain what u meant by generational differences in communication

Damn it’s like 2015 tumblr when my inbox used to be WET. So if you’re talking about the controversial opinions post, YES, like I totally understand where people are coming from when they say that generational divides aren’t real (because they aren’t, they’re arbitrary) and distract us from real problems and yes they paint past generations as collectively bigoted when Civil Rights protestors in the 60s (who are in their 70s and 80s now) are mirrors to BLM protestors today, who could be of any age, but the most vocal and famous (at least online, especially irt to the founders, like Patrisse Cullors who is 37.

But how we communicate is sooooo different. I really point to the Internet and Social Media as a major influence in how younger millennials (more Tom Hollands and less Seth Rogans—see even there, I feel like there are two different types of Millennials) and Gen Zrs/Zoomers and even Generation Alpha behave and communicate. We live in a world where we grew up either knowing right out the gate or discovering the hard way that what we say and do has permanence, the kind of permanence that prior generations have never experienced until today. The dumb things kids have been saying since forever can now follow them... forever. We have an inherent understanding of how online spaces work. Compare that to, idk, let’s say you posted on your Facebook (for the first time in 18 months) “All these big and bad grown ass Senators going after actual child Greta Gerwig lol ok, you’re so brave for attacking a CHILD over climate change” and then your aunt, who’s turning “forty-fifteen” in May replies to your post with “So happy to see my passionate niece! Much love from us, hope you’re doing well. Paul is doing great, waiting on his screening results. Tell your mom I said we miss her, we need to get together, we forgive her for last Christmas.”

Like... ok there’s a lot going on there, but your hypothetical aunt is oversharing on a publicly accessible post. And even with the most strict of privacy settings, she’s oversharing where your other Facebook friends (which may include classmates, coworkers, etc.) can see. But she’s saying things that would only be appropriate in a 1-on-1 conversation. This Aunt doesn’t have an understanding of such boundaries, she’s not as technologically literate and hasn’t grown up in a world of Virtual Space, she still gets most of her news from TV, she trusts what a reporter on Channel 4 will read off a script more than what actual video footage of an incident might reveal on Twitter, and she has no clue that she’s been sharing her location data with every post she makes.

There’s such a huge difference. I think it even affects how we experience and express stress and frustration. I think growing up partially in online spaces has made me more accustomed to conflict and consequence-free arguing than someone who never had to worry about that. I’ve been exposed so much to harassment and bullying, triangulating and echo chambers in forums and threads, and vastly opposing point of views at such an early age that it’s had an effect on how I see the world. Compare this to a customer I helped two weeks ago who was looking for a specific type of supplement for children. I found it for her, I handed her exactly what she was looking for, even though her description of the product actually matched several different products; to make sure I’d done my job thoroughly and that she leaves happy and satisfied and doesn’t bother me again, I then show her more products that match her description so that she knows she has options. And she proceeds to freak out, saying “NO, NO, I’M LOOKING FOR [X] AND IT HAS TO BE [XYZ]” and when I say freak out, she looked stressed and PANICKED. And being a retail employee wears you down bit by bit, and add COVID on top of it and little shit like this makes you snap, sometimes. So I have to cut her off like “Why are you screaming and freaking out, jfc you’re holding what you said you wanted. It’s in your hands. I gave you what you wanted, I’m just showing you more things.”

That customer is not an exception, she’s not a unique case. She’s representative of a frightening percentage of her generation, the kids who watched Grease and The Breakfast Club and Ghost in theaters when they were originally released. This is how they communicate and process information. She could not, for some reason, register that her need had been fulfilled, and defaulted to an extreme emotional response when given new and different information.

I’ve yet to deal with someone younger than 35 act the same way, the exceptions being the kids of very wealthy people at my new job who reek of privilege I gag when they walk in—but even they are like *shrugs* “ok whatever” and understanding when there’s something I can’t do for them.

Me: “sorry, we are totally out of that one in your size, but I can order it for you, it’s 2-3 day shipping at no cost to you and we ship it straight to your house”

A rich, white, attractive 22-year-old who’s had access to organic food, a rigorous dermatologist, and financial security since she was born: “mmm... sure, I’ll order it”

A 47-year-old of any socioeconomic background, of any race, in the same situation: “AHHHHHHHHHHH”

I just think it’s crazy how three generations of kids and young adults raised in a world where everything moves so much faster, where knowledge and entertainment and communication can be gathered so much faster, are often so much more polite and patient and understanding. Yesterday I told an older man (mid-50s) whose native tongue is the same as mine, as clearly and succinct as possible, that what he’s looking for is “in aisle 4.” He proceeded to repeat back, “Aisle 7?” four time before I dropped everything to show him what he needed in aisle 4, despite his insistence that he didn’t need me to walk him there. 4 and 7 sound nothing alike in English. There’s just something going on up there 🧠 that’s different.

Oh, other generational divides!!! We have different approaches to labor and working. Totally different! I’m a “young” millennial where I’m almost Gen Z, and I’ve noticed an awful trend among my demographic where people actually brag about working 90 hour work weeks. Or brag about how they skip breaks and live on-call to get the job done for “the hustle” like this “hustle, become a millionaire by 30″ culture that’s dominated these kids, idk where tf that came from. Like why are you proud of being a wage slave, getting taken advantage of by your millionaire/billionaire overlords. Compare this to my mother’s generation (she’s a borderline Genius X’er, she and her best friend were a year too young to watch Grease when it came out and had a random older woman buy tickets for her; she went to Prince concerts, took photos of him, then sold the photos on buttons at school, that’s her culture and teenage experience), where she’s insistent on her rights and entitlements as an employee, and these things she instilled me: “whatchu mean they didn’t schedule a break for you and you’re working 12 hrs today? oh no, you’re off, don’t answer your phone cuz you are NOT available!” There are Gen X’ers who entered the workforce at a time that America was drifting toward this corporate world, with more strictly defined regulations, roles, and understandings of labor rights (and also, let’s talk about how the 80s there was so much more attention on workplace harassment, misogyny and gender divides in wage gaps, etc. etc... not that much has changed, but at least it was talked about!). There are young people today who are taken advantage of because they aren’t as informed or don’t feel as secure and valuable enough to claim what belongs to them.

At the same time, those generations (Gen X and older) have a different viewpoint of hierarchies in the workplace and respect irt our direct supervisors. That’s how you get this blurring of boundaries between Work Life and one’s Personal Life that leads to common tropes in media written by their generations, where oh no! I’m having my boss over for dinner and the roast beef is still defrosting :O is such a “relatable thing” for them... meanwhile us younger generations are like I don’t even like that you know where I live, and if I see your 2017 Honda Civic pass my place one day, we’re going to have a problem. I think older generations have a different relationship with the word “Respect” than we do. Like, my grandma, who’s turning 87 (?) this year, and the other seniors in my area, they have a different concept of honor and an expectation of professional boundaries that I, and my mom and her generation, just don’t see (so then there’s something in common with Gen X’ers and the rest of us.) My dad grew up in a world where talking and acting like George Bailey and knocking on someone’s door with a big smile could get you a job, a job that could pay for college and rent no problem. My mom grew up in a world that demanded more prestige, where cover letters and references could get you into some cushy jobs if you’re persistent and ballsy enough. And I grew up in a world where potential employers literally don’t see your face when you apply unless they lurk on any social media profiles you have publicly available and they hold all the cards, and you need all those CVs and reference letters just to make minimum wage... so I feel like I am powerless in the face of such employers.

[route22ny]

When it was announced earlier this month that President Donald Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19, there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, he would finally start taking this pandemic seriously.

  Fat chance.

  Shortly after leaving Walter Reed Medical Center (where the president, a critic of "socialized medicine," got the finest medical treatment that government can provide), Trump was back on his bullshit — holding massive rallies across the country, where thousands of his supporters gathered, many not wearing masks, as if the whole thing never happened. As this week's issue went to press, Trump was expected to bring another one of his superspreader events to Michigan, with a rally scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27 in Lansing — a week before the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election — because apparently Trump doesn't care if Michiganders die.

  On Friday, the U.S. reported its highly daily number of coronavirus cases, with at least 81,400 new cases reported. More than 222,000 Americans have died from the virus so far. In Michigan, more than 7,522 people have died from COVID-19.

  If you're sick of Trump's plague, there's something you can do about it. Vote for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the presidential ticket, and Gary Peters for Senate, on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

  That's not all that's on the ballot. We also have an opportunity to move the Michigan Supreme Court to the left (by voting for Bridget Mary McCormack and Elizabeth Welch). There are also two state ballot proposals: Proposal 1 (a constitutional amendment that would allow money from oil and gas mining on state-owned lands to continue to be collected in state funds for land protection and creation and maintenance of parks) and Proposal 2 (which would require a search warrant in order to access a person's electronic data or electronic communications). In Detroit, voters can weigh in on Proposal N (which would allow the City of Detroit to sell $250 million in Neighborhood Improvement Bonds to preserve and renovate 8,000 homes and remove another 8,000 blighted homes). —Lee DeVito

  What you need to vote  

  Simply show up in person to your local polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Bring a photo ID, such as a driver's license, identification card, or U.S. passport. If you don't have an ID, don't worry. You can fill out a brief affidavit stating that you're not in possession of a photo ID. Your vote will still be counted.

  Don't forget your face mask, although it's not required at polling stations. It wouldn't hurt to bring some hand sanitizer or gloves, too. And don't forget social distancing. You'll likely be standing in a long line and encountering election workers. You may also want to bring a personal cheat sheet to remind yourself how you're voting. Even the most astute voters may not be familiar with all of the races, especially the judicial ones.  

  To find your polling place and preview your ballot, visit the Michigan Voter information Center at michigan.gov/vote. Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 3. If you're in line to vote at 8 p.m., you have the right to cast your vote. If you're still in line at 8 p.m. and someone tries to send you home and deny you your right to vote, don't take no for an answer. Ask for a supervisor and an on-site voting advocate.

  Anyone who is registered to vote may cast an absentee ballot in Michigan. Michigan expects a record number of absentee voters in November because of the coronavirus. More than 2 million voters have already requested an absentee ballot. —Steve Neavling

  Voting deadlines  

  We've been trying our best to keep our readers up to date with the various deadlines for the election, considering all the chaos of 2020 — you know, a pandemic, civil unrest, Trump's suspiciously timed cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, yadda, yadda, yadda — but it turns out things are a bit more complicated than we thought they were.

  See, in 2018 Michigan voters approved Proposal 3, which was supposed to make it easier to vote by allowing for no-reason absentee voting and other changes. And it does — but there are quite a few different scenarios to consider, and they all have various deadlines.

  Reader Jordan Smellie would know. Smellie's an elections specialist for the City of Ferndale.

  "Proposal 2018-3's changes to the constitution made things much better for voters by adding a lot of flexibility, but the downside of that is that it created a staggered series of nuanced deadlines that have proven very difficult for anyone to keep straight, and even more difficult to summarize gracefully," Smellie tells us via email.

  Graciously, Smellie has provided us with a more detailed timeline, which we have edited lightly for style. We hope this helps you as much as it helped us.

  Your deadlines for the upcoming general election are:

  Friday, Oct. 30 (5 p.m.): If you're getting an absentee voter ballot for this election, your local Clerk can't mail it to you after this time. But you can still get an absentee ballot in person at your local city or township hall.

  Saturday, Oct. 31 (2 p.m.): If you made a mistake on your ballot or changed your mind, your local Clerk can't mail you a replacement ballot after this time. You can still get a replacement ballot in person at your local city or township hall.

  Sunday, Nov. 1: The last day you can pick up an absentee voter ballot and take it home with you.

  Monday, Nov. 2: You can still get an absentee voter ballot in person, but you have to vote in your local city or township hall. Just like on Election Day, you can't take your ballot out of the room.

  Monday, Nov. 2 (10 a.m.): If you've already turned in your ballot, you can't change your votes after this time. (If you're voting in your local Clerk's office today and you make a mistake, you can still receive a replacement ballot.)

  Monday, Nov. 2 (4 p.m.): Your local Clerk can't issue absentee ballots to anyone for any reason after this time. (If you're already in the room at 4 p.m., you will be served by staff.)

  Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All absentee voter ballots must be signed and in the Clerk's possession by 8 p.m. in order to be counted.

  To make sure your ballot arrives in time, you should not send it by mail. Instead, you should drop it off at your local Clerk or at a designated ballot drop-box. You can find the addresses for both, as well as the answers to any other questions you might have, at michigan.gov/vote. —Lee DeVito

  Officials warn of potential violence  

  Michigan is among five states with the highest risk of right-wing militia violence during and after the election, according to an alarming new report from a nonprofit that tracks political violence.

  The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) examined the activities of more than 80 militias across the country and concluded that Michigan is at a heightened risk, based on active militia training, anti-coronavirus lockdown rallies, and the presence of the Proud Boys, the far-right brawlers whom President Trump told to "stand back and stand by."

  Michigan is home to several active militias, including Michigan Liberty Militia and the Michigan Home Guard.

  "In light of this activity, tensions run high" in Michigan, the report states.

  Battleground states such as Michigan also run a higher risk for violence. Trump won by just 0.2% in 2016, or some 10,000 votes.

  The report highlights the arrests of 14 men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and attack the state Capitol and law enforcement, with the goal of instigating a civil war.

  Among the warning signs for militant activity are protests against states' coronavirus lockdowns. In April, hundreds of armed protesters stormed the state Capitol in Lansing, and the rallies were among the first in the nation. An analysis of Black Lives Matter rallies found that counter-protesters, including the Proud Boys, were often involved, sometimes clashing with demonstrators. On Aug. 15, for example, the Proud Boys clashed with supporters of the anti-fascist Michigan People's Defense League and Black Lives Matter movement.

  In May, armed militia members pledged to block police from forcing the closure of an Owosso barber shop that opened in defiance of Michigan's stay-at-home order.

  Michigan officials are taking precautions. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently banned guns near polling locations, and Attorney General Dana Nessel said state troopers will be sent to polling places in counties where officials fear local sheriffs may not enforce voter intimidation laws.

  The report concludes that the "trends raise significant concerns for the security of the election period."

  "It is yet unclear how many of these groups will react, no matter the vote's outcome," the report states. "Does a Trump loss lead to anger at the system and a backlash against what is deemed a stolen election? Does a Trump victory further empower groups that see him as a supporter, including through verbal encouragement ahead of the election? The answers to these questions are as numerous as they are uncomfortable."

  Three gun-rights groups have filed a lawsuit against Benson to nullify her ban on openly carrying firearms at or near polling locations on Election Day.

  Michigan Open Carry, Michigan Gun Owners, and Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners argue that Benson's directive violates state law and harms residents who want "to exercise both their 2nd Amendment right to self-protection and their fundamental right to vote."

  "Nowhere within Michigan's Constitution is the office of the Secretary of State empowered to issue directives regarding the time, place or manner of elections," the suit said. "Indeed, those powers are specifically limited to the Legislature."

  The groups are asking a judge to issue an injunction to suspend Benson's order before Election Day.

  The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police also criticized the order, arguing that it does not give police "the authority to enforce the Secretary of State edict."     On Tuesday, after this week's issue went to press, a Michigan judge struck down Benson's gun ban at polling places. —Steve Neavling

  When will we know the results?  

  Don't bother staying up late on Election Day, because officials in Michigan say it's going to likely take longer than usual to count all the ballots. Be patient!

  That's because of the unprecedented volume of mail-in ballots local clerks are reporting in Michigan, as is the case in other states, due in part to the pandemic. In 2018, Michigan voters approved no-reason absentee ballot voting.

  Several local officials held a Zoom meeting on Thursday to explain the situation. In Hamtramck, City Clerk August Gitschlag said the tiny two-square-mile city has already seen seven times the typical number of absentee ballots. Due to state law, however, they can't start counting the ballots until Election Day.

  "We've been working round-the-clock to process absentee applications and send out ballots," Gitschlag said. "But we don't have the infrastructure to keep up with the overwhelming demand. We will count every vote, but being right is more important than being fast. I want to urge everyone to please be patient."

  Assistant Secretary of State Heaster Wheeler said municipalities across the state are seeing similar spikes.

  "We see every sign that this will be a high-turnout election all across Michigan," Wheeler said. "Secretary of State [Jocelyn] Benson and our team are working incredibly hard to make sure that every vote is counted fairly, efficiently, and accurately. We're going to get this right." —Lee DeVito  

[i-write-sometimes-blog]

Forbidden (Padmé Amidala x Reader)

Request: How are u? i was thinking maybe you can do one request with Padmé? i just love her character and I’m sure you can make it fit perfectly, this was my idea... reader is a Jedi so their relationship is a secret, they hideaway on Naboo and have a discussion because of that but they kiss and say I love you to each other, sorry if is so long): Btw, i really really love everything you write!!

Words: 1,282

A/N: THE PREQUELS BUT GAY!! Sorry that's basically what came to my mind. This is my first time writing Padme so be kind with me, also let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more Padme around.

She was already waiting for you, leaning on the stone railing glancing at the magnific landscape, the crystal blue water mixed with the light and dark green from the trees, Naboo was such a beautiful place, but not as beauty as the girl that used to be queen.

You stayed a bit away from her, just enjoying the view of her relax face, Padmé was certainly a beautiful lady, the most beautiful you had ever met if you were honest, her soft brown hair was moving softly with the air letting you observe her delicate face. She noticed your presence and turned her head to met you, a smile across her lips.

“My lady” you said with a small nod in form of salute, Padmé only laughed a bit as she walked towards you.

“You don’t need to call me that, Y/N” she told you as she greeted you in her arms.

“I know, but I just like how that words sound” you said with a grin on your face before hugging her skinny figure. “I missed you, Padmé” you murmured close to her silk skin.

“So did I, but you’re here now” she said. “We should go inside” She took your hand on hers, her touch was delicate compared with your rough hands, marks of the hard Jedi training. You let her guide you inside the palace-like house you used to met, your hiding spot in the galaxy, where the rules could be broken and you two could be together.

You sat down in an elegant couch with golden designs, everything was so fancy there, the furniture, the food, the extravagant dresses Padmé wore and you were still trying to get use to that, compared with your life this was a lot, starting with the simple clothing you had.

Padmé stared at you for a few seconds, you knew that face, she was searching for the right words to start a difficult sentence. Emotions was something she couldn’t hide, not to you at least, you knew this woman.

“What is it?” you said, trying your best to help her. She sighed.

“I wish this were easy to say” she softly said, making your body tensed as slowly filled with worry. “I’m concern about this, about us” she told you, her words not with the usual confidence. This was a talk you were mean to have a long time ago, when your relationship started but you were hoping not to have.

“It’s not the ideal scenario, I know” you told her “But we’ve done it work and we still can”

“It’s forbidden, Y/N” she said with pain on her words. “You’re a Jedi, this is not allowed”

“I know”

“No, you don’t have an idea” she said “How hard it is to see you in public and knowing that I can’t hold your hand or kiss you. I can’t tell anyone about you”

“I feel the same way, you know it, Padmé” It was true, this secret was too painful, it gave you so much joy to your life and at the same time a big pain in the heart every time you weren’t with her, even worse when she was in the same room as you and you just couldn’t tell her how much she meant to you.

“But i just can be like this with you anymore, Y/N” she said as her voice started to crack, a wave of pain filled your body. But there was something else than suffer on her voice, her words didn’t felt real, she was hiding something you could tell by the sound of her voice.

“This is not correct” she said getting up of the couch shaking her head. “A senator and a Jedi, this is just wrong. And if someone finds out” she looked down at you “Oh, Y/N, what could they do to you”

“Who?” you said as the pieces of the puzzle settled and let you see the whole picture, she was scared of someone, you needed to know who so you could protect her.

Padme just stayed in silence in the room, looking at the ground. She clear her throat before raising her voice again.

“I’m afraid Anakin could have noticed” she said.

“Skywalker?” you asked surprised, the young apprentice. You had seen him sometimes, he had a strong power but he had a long way to go before he could become a master.

“He had been inside my head, I fear he’ll tell somebody” she said. Well that explained a lot of things. Why he looked at you so much and asked about the consequences of breaking the Jedi code.

And the way he behaved everytime Padme and you were close, even when you both tried your best to hide the feelings for each other.

He knew.

Slowly you raised up and walked to her, holding her body in your arms as she rested her head on your shoulder starting to sob a little bit, you ran your hand through her back comforting her.

“Hey, we’ll be fine, love” you murmured, this relationship with this lady was the best thing that had happened to you, she was a kind soul but still she wasn’t afraid of fight, no she was more than willing to take a blaster and defend what she believed in, that was the woman sobbing in your arms.

“I don’t want to lose you, Y/N” she whispered “But I don’t want you to left the Jedi order neither, I could never do that”

“That won’t happen, Padme. Breath” you told her.

The Jedis said love was a weakness, something that confused your mind, always fearing to lose that special someone, but you never really believed that, maybe because you hadn’t really loved someone as much as you loved Padme, love was like a boost, love was what gave a meaning to your life, a reason to fight and a reason to have mercy.

“I’ll protect you” You told her as she finally looked at you in the eyes, some tears dropped out of her eyes but you cleaned them off carefully “I love you” you whispered afraid that someone else could heard you, but no, you didn’t want to be afraid. “I love you, Padme.” you told her with a more confident tone in your voice, the words tasted so sweet on your lips.

Padme’s face lighted up as a beautiful smile spread across her face as her amber eyes flicked like the night sky full of stars. She placed her hand on the back of your neck and pulled you into a soft kiss, a really meanful kiss where you could felt the affection for you and though this wasn’t the first time you kissed, it felt like the very first time.

"I love you too, Y/N" were her first words as the kiss ended, words that made your heart raced its beat.

"We are going to figure this out" you told her "I don't care if it's forbidden, you're a rule that I'm willing to break" you said meaning every word.

"Even if it is risky?" Asked Padme

"You're worth the risk, sweetheart" you told her planting a kiss on her lips.

No matter what happened in the future you had her and she had you to protect each other and to love each other even if that mean went against some rules, you would fight for her if necessary and you knew she would do the same for you.

But for now you just stayed there holding the girl you love close to you, feeling your hearts beating as one, hoping you could stay like that forever.

[captainamericasbeard]

The Most Important Battlefield- Ch 4

Pairing: 40s!Steve x OFC (Betty Carver)

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: angst

Summary: All Steve Rogers has ever wanted to do is serve his country. Senator Brandt gives him the chance to serve on the most important battlefield of the war, as he calls it. The USO tour across America raising funds for the war. Days before the tour is set to start he meets his new assistant, Betty Carver. Steve is hers the second he sees her but Betty might take more convincing. Her heart has become Steve’s Most Important Battlefield.

A/N: Well this took me ages to get out. Sorry about that, just a bit of writer’s block. Please leave feedback, it means the world to me. 

Buffalo, Milwaukee, Philadelphia. The tour rolled on and things slowly thawed between Steve and Betty. The films turned out to be a huge success, raising thousands for the war effort. Steve already had a hard time staying mad at Betty, it didn’t help that she had been right. But still, something had shifted in their relationship and Steve didn’t know how to get it back.

The tour moved into St. Louis where the entire company came down with the flu. Steve walked into the venue expecting to find a whirlwind of pre-show activity like usual but instead he found Michaels reading a paper.

“Show’s canceled, Rogers. Didn’t Betty tell ya?” Michaels asked.

“No, I haven’t seen her today,” Steve said. He slumped into the seat next to Michales and dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his face.

“You told her you’re in love with her yet?” Michales asked casually while continuing to peruse his newspaper.

"No! God, no!” Steve exclaimed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Mmm.” Michales murmured, his focus remained fixed on his paper.

“What am I gonna do Michaels? I was such an ass to her. I don’t know how to show her how sorry I am.”  Michaels finally lowered his paper and turned to Steve.

“Apologize. Take her out dancing. Kiss her good.” Michaels said. Steve hung his head. Michaels had suggested three things he wasn’t very good at. The door at the end of the hall swung open and Steve looked up to see Betty walking towards him. The corners of her lips were slightly downturned and she looked tired, as she had since she and Steve had fought. He had no way of knowing but the change in their relationship was effecting her too. Michaels folded up his newspaper and excused himself. Steve stood up as Betty walked closer.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach you before you came all the way down here, Mr. Rogers. Obviously you know now the show is canceled.” Her words sounded robotic and she looked truly unwell. Somehow Steve knew it wasn’t the flu.

“Betty,” Steve started, feeling nervous. He reached out to take her hands in his, her touch grounded him. She let him envelop her hands in his large warm ones but she couldn’t meet his eyes. “Betty, I’m sorry. I was wrong, I was so wrong to get angry at you like I did. I guess I just wanna know that you’re in my corner, Betty. I can’t do this without you.” Betty’s head dropped and a few tears dropped onto her and Steve’s hands. Steve saw her crying and pulled her in close to his chest, wrapping her in his warmth. She allowed herself to linger there, listening to his heart, for a moment before she pulled back and dabbed at the corner of her eyes with her fingertips. Steve offered her a handkerchief which she accepted.

“Thank you Mr. Rogers. Of course I forgive you. And I’m sorry too. But at the end of the day, I have a job to do.” Betty said.

“I know, and I know I don’t make it easy sometimes.”

“No!” said Betty with a watery chuckle, “No you don’t. But I'm in your corner, Mr. Rogers. I always will be.” She said finally meeting his eyes.

“Thank you, Betty. I… um, I wanted to ask you something,” Steve said suddenly insecure. He shifted on his feet and rubbed the back of his neck while a blush crept across his cheeks.

“Mr. Rogers, would you accompany me to dinner tonight?” Betty asked, a smile playing across her lips.

“Yeah!? Yeah! Yes, yes please.” Steve rambled. Betty actually burst out laughing while her heart swelled with affection for the man in front of her.

“I’m actually from here and I wanted to show you a few of my favorite places.” Betty explained. “Shall we meet in the hotel lobby at 7?”

The day seemed to drag on forever but finally it was almost 7 o'clock. Steve checked his tie and hair in the bathroom mirror. He still didn’t quite recognize the reflection that stared back at him. He knew he was more classically handsome now but there was a part of him that wanted to still be the skinny kid from Brooklyn again. Less expectation, less responsibility, just running around with Bucky getting into trouble. Except Bucky was fighting in a war and Steve was Captain America. There was no going back.

At five minutes to seven Steve was walking into the hotel lobby where he found Betty already waiting for him. She wore a navy blue dress whose color almost exactly matched Steves Captain America costume. Her lips were swiped in the loveliest shade of red and her hair fell in perfect, bouncy curls. Steves breath went out of his chest at the sight of her. His mouth clammed up and his hands felt sweaty.

“Good evening Mr. Rogers. Are you ready?” she asked. A delicate smile played on the corner of her lips at seeing Steve so undone.

“Betty,” he finally managed to get out, “you look… well you look just. Perfect. I’m ready. Shall we?” He asked and he bravely extended his arm her direction. She gracefully took it, wrapping her arm around his elbow and they walked out of the hotel and into the fresh night air.

The evening was perfect. Steve and Betty ate at her favorite greasy spoon where she opened up to him a bit. She regaled him with tales of growing up with 8 older brothers and working in her immigrant parents laundromat before and after school. Steve confessed his penchant for getting punched in the face and told her all about running all over Brooklyn with Bucky. He made sure to leave out that Bucky was devilishly handsome and far more adept with women than he was.

They wandered the streets, Betty showing him her old haunts and famous sites. They ended the evening on a bench in the park with fresh made ice creams from Betty’s favorite shop. That sat in silence for some time, enjoying each other’s company before Steve worked up the courage to speak.

“Betty,” he said. He turned to look at her and she looked back at him with a quizzical look in her eyes. He shifted in his seat, sweat breaking out on his brow. “Betty there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you. I-“

“Don’t!” Betty said, her expression full of understanding. She quickly placed her fingers against Steve plush, pink lips to stop his words from tumbling out. “Don’t. Please.” She pleaded. Steve pursed his lips.

“Ok. I’m sorry.” Steve muttered, his attention back on his ice cream.

“It’s ok, really. I just, I have to keep things professional. This is the way it has to be. You understand?”

He looked into her sparkling eyes and felt as though the great dam inside of him was going to burst. Instead he said, “Of course I understand. Keep it professional.”

Steve stood and tossed his empty ice cream cup into a nearby trash can. He took Betty’s and did the same and then reached out for her hand to help her up. She slid her hand into his and for a moment she wanted nothing more than to interlock her fingers with his and hold on forever. Instead she let her hand drop to her side as they began walking back to their hotel.

Steve walked Betty up to her room and waited patiently while she found her room key in her purse. She pulled it out and was about to put it in the lock when she turned to Steve.

“I had a really lovely time with you tonight, Mr. Rogers. Thank you,” she said.

“Of course. I had a great time too,” Steve said pulling his lips into a tight smile. After a moment of staring into one another’s eyes Steve couldn’t stand it anymore. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, close to the corner of her mouth then he quickly turned and walked away. Betty gently touched her finger tips to the place where Steve had kissed her. A million thoughts swirled through her head so she let herself into her room and closed the door.

Down the hall Steve was pacing the floor in his room. His thoughts were racing. He kissed her! What was he thinking!? He needed to get a grip. But with Betty it was hard. She breaks down his inhibitions. She makes him scared and brave and crazy all at the same time. The truth was, Steve realized, halting his pacing, he was in love with her. He was irrevocably in love with Betty Carver.

TAGLIST @finleyjayne @alyxkbrl @suz-123​ @nacho-bucky​ @fairislesheets 

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited.

sarah (Sarah Frostenson, politics editor): On Sunday, The Washington Post published leaked audio of an hour-long conversation President Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, where he urged the Republican to “find” enough votes to overturn the result in Georgia and declare him the winner.

This story has captured headlines, as it is by far Trump’s most brazen attempt to overturn November’s results, although it is hardly his first time trying to do so. Trump has repeatedly tried to cast doubt on the election results since Biden was declared the winner on Nov. 7, citing false claims of voter fraud and launching countless futile lawsuits to try and overturn the election. And now as Congress prepares to vote on Jan. 6 to certify the election results in what should be a largely ceremonial, low-key affair, a faction of GOP senators plans to mount a protest vote, even though it is destined to fail.

There is no question that this is bad for democracy — polls have found a record number of Americans distrust the election results — but let’s talk through some of the biggest consequences of this push to delegitimize the results, in addition to whether this jeopardizes Trump’s role as the de facto party leader once he’s left the presidency.

To start, what do you view as the biggest consequence of all this?

perry (Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer): I think the biggest potential danger is that in any election where the Republicans earn fewer votes, they will make unfounded and exaggerated claims of voting irregularities and fraud and try to toss out or overturn the results. No election is conducted perfectly, but using minor problems as a pretext for invalidating the outcome is a huge problem. You can’t have a democracy if one of the main parties can’t admit defeat.

I am really worried about this in the context of these Georgia Senate runoff races. If Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both win their races, that would give Democrats total control of Congress. So will Republicans be able to accept losing these races if they do? Or will there be an endless stream of lawsuits trying to prevent Ossoff and Warnock from being seated?

julia_azari (Julia Azari, political science professor at Marquette University and FiveThirtyEight contributor): Biggest consequence: This splits the GOP and deepens the dilemma for Republicans (and possibly Democrats) about how to deal with the other party. Namely, can they continue to thread the needle in arguing that the other party’s constitutional and political views are illegitimate, but the processes are legitimate and thus they sometimes win? Or will the other party’s victories, as Perry suggests, not be tolerated?

I don’t want to “both sides” this — obviously, the Democrats are not the ones creating the current situation, but I think this creates potential dilemmas for them, too, regarding the way they treat the idea of legitimate opposition.

sarah: What are some of the dilemmas you think Democrats face as a result of this, Julia?

julia_azari: Well, take the debate happening over how Democrats should react to this news. There’s a question of whether the House should consider impeachment, which I’m guessing they probably won’t do. On the one hand, I’m not sure impeachment would have much public support, and there’s plenty of other issues that Congress needs to work on. But on the other hand, it does sort of leave the impression that these kinds of norm violations are sort of begrudgingly tolerated.

This will linger after Trump leaves office, too, I think. You’ll have Democrats who want to move on and not ratchet up the stakes of partisan disagreement. And you’ll have others who want to seek accountability for some of the laws that they think were broken by the last administration.

sarah: That’s a really good point, Julia. One thing we saw after the 2016 election was a big drop in the share of Democrats who thought the election was fair and accurate, but it’s nowhere near as big as the drop we’ve seen among Republicans here in 2020. That’s why what you and Perry are hitting on — how the parties handle loss and what that means for voters’ trust in democracy — is the biggest consequence of all this to me.

But maybe you all disagree? Should Democrats be digging into Trump’s behavior more for the reason Julia cited — that this behavior otherwise seems begrudgingly tolerated?

julia_azari: Well, the fact that COVID-19 continues to pose a very real challenge for the country, creates a bit of a problem for Democrats, because if they look like they’re focusing too much time on investigating the Trump administration, they look like they’re ignoring the pandemic and its consequences. But if Democrats try to take this on in a less high-profile way — subpoenaing lower-level officials, etc. — then maybe they’re accused of not being transparent enough.

The impact of this norm-breaking administration isn’t just that it violates these unwritten rules, but that it behaves in ways that make the whole system of usual practices not work. That makes things extra challenging for Democrats.

perry: Questions about what the Biden Department of Justice, congressional Democrats and state attorneys generals do about Trump’s conduct are all still very much up in the air. If there was some criminal activity, he should not be above the law. Perhaps there are some congressional hearings — and maybe even charges filed by the DOJ and/or attorneys generals — involving some Trump associates and maybe Trump himself. I don’t expect Biden to talk about Trump that much, but other actors might weigh in.

sarah: What is the end game here for Trump and Republicans? Trump admitted on the call to Raffensperger that, “I know this phone call is going nowhere.” I know we can’t speak to the president’s state of mind, but what can we point to for why refusing to concede the election has become Trump’s defining stance?

julia_azari: Well, it fits in well into this idea that “grievance politics” have turned into a somewhat successful brand — especially in a place like Georgia, where a history of racist voter suppression informs the context, and where Democratic victories are especially tied to the mobilization of Black voters.

However, I don’t see how having this kind of split within congressional Republicans is helpful to the GOP in the long term.

perry: Trump has lied and cheated in a lot of different venues in his life. That is just the truth. So him insisting that he won an election that he lost is nothing new. He likes to push and push people and see if they will uphold their ethics or bend to his will. For the Republican Party, part of this is just the trajectory they were on anyway, even without Trump at the helm. When you are writing voter laws targeting Black people with “surgical precision” (North Carolina Republicans), making it harder for felons who served their time to vote (Florida Republicans) and gerrymandering in a way that almost makes a mockery of majority rule (Wisconsin Republicans), then unfounded voter fraud charges that aim to disqualify the votes of Black people in particular are just a more aggressive step in an anti-democratic direction.

But part of this is directly tied to Trump. Elected and aspiring Republican officials know he is very connected to the party base, so aligning with Trump is aligning with the party base. So that is why you see Georgia Sen. David Perdue, in light of this phone call, attacking the secretary of state for leaking it, and not Trump for what he said.

2/ “To have a state-wide elected official, regardless of party, tape unknowing – to tape without disclosing a conversation – private conversation of the President of the United States and then leaking it to the press is disgusting,” Perdue told Fox.

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 4, 2021

julia_azari: I think the intersection of what Perry and I have said is this: “The future of the Republican Party is the division between those who say the quiet part out loud and those who don’t.”

One key difference is that Republicans used to win national majorities with the quiet part. That’s no longer the case. Per Rep. Thomas Massie, who along with six Republican colleagues authored a letter that pointed out the necessity of preserving ‘s comments on the Electoral College, the bullhorn can occasionally at least win a plurality. Matt Glassman, who studies Congress as a senior fellow at Georgetown University, on it:

The Senate vote on the objections will be lopsided—at a minimum 70-75 votes against, probably more like 80-85—and also starkly split the GOP caucus.

It may feel like the end, but this is really the beginning of the party fight over the meaning and future of Trumpism. https://t.co/8E9AW9GJul

— Matt Glassman (@MattGlassman312) January 4, 2021

sarah: If Glassman’s whip count is right, though, we’re still talking about a smallish wing of the GOP, right? In other words, it’s possible that the battle over Trumpism splinters the party, but that maybe the movement loses power?

Calling the integrity of the election results into question has clearly become a litmus test or demonstration of fealty for those in the GOP, but some senators like Ben Sasse and Mitt Romney are speaking out against it. Do you think it’s possible that Trump is ruining his ability to be the party’s leader post-presidency?

julia_azari: Well, our readers should stay tuned for my upcoming piece where I address that question!

But to give you a sneak peak: I think political scientists would frame this question as, “Can populism, on the right, be compatible with participation in a pluralistic, multi-ethnic democracy in which you sometimes lose even when you claim to truly represent the Constitution and the people?” The issue is that a wing of the Republican Party has skirted answering that question for decades now.

perry: Having covered the GOP in the era of Trump for the last six years, I will always bet on the more extreme wing of the party carrying the day. The fact that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not acknowledge Biden’s win until mid-December was extraordinary. If I had told anyone that in 2015, they would have thought I was crazy.

The moderate voices in the Republican Party are not well organized, not connected to the party base and have no real compelling leaders, whereas the more extreme voices in the party have Fox News, Newsmax, One America News Network, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson and Trump. I see very little chance that the Republican Party changes its general direction, even if Trump himself recedes.

Would you bet on Sasse winning a battle over the soul of the Republican Party against anyone whose last name is Trump?

julia_azari: I would probably bet a small amount that it is possible, Perry, especially since Sasse seems like a fairly skilled politician and the Trump kids do not.

That said, I generally do not disagree, but I wonder about the sustainability of it all. I think I have some questions on what counts as “moderate” — specifically, considering the GOP, as political scientist and Bloomberg View columnist Jonathan Bernstein has been saying for quite some time, is post-policy.

perry: When I say moderate, I mean people like Romney or Sasse, who are quite conservative on policy but generally avoid white identity politics-style moves (attacking Black Lives Matter or immigration reform) and are full-throated in favor of democratic norms and values. Republicans who are moderate on policy, like Susan Collins and Larry Hogan, are basically nonexistent among top Republicans now.

sarah: That’s largely what FiveThirtyEight contributor Lee Drutman outlined in his piece on why there are so few moderate Republicans left, Perry.

Given how favorable the down-ballot results were for Republicans, however, one of my takeaways from the 2020 election was that a lot of voters rejected Trump but not necessarily the Republican Party, making it a little harder for me to understand the extent to which the GOP has lost moderate voters.

At the same time, it’s hard for me to see a Romney, Hogan or Sasse winning the 2024 Republican nomination, given the current dynamics we’re seeing play out in the GOP — a largely ceremonial, non-headline grabbing vote on certifying the results of the Electoral College, for instance, has now become this big-stakes issue. That said, I’m not sure we can know at this point the success of Trumpism moving forward. I think, for instance, Democrats will face some real tests in the next four years on whether they can keep their big umbrella coalition of both moderates and very liberal voters happy, and that might create opportunities for more middle of the road or moderate Republicans.

perry: I am not confident who will win the 2024 nomination. I have no idea. I do think in the short term, though, that Trump will remain highly influential in the GOP, as will his style of politics.

I just don’t see an easy path for the Republicans to get off that ramp.

julia_azari: This is a bit of a cop-out but I’d need to think more about the costs and benefits for various Republicans. I’m gonna hold off on 2024 predictions until I get a feel for what politics in the Biden administration looks like. And per my earlier comment about how Trumpism has changed the unwritten rules for everyone, I feel a lot more uncertain about what this will look like now once Trump is gone than I have in previous administrations.

sarah: A lot probably hinges on how the Senate runoffs shake out tomorrow, and like you’ve both said, I really don’t have a sense of how “Trumpism” plays out now. It’s unclear to me, for instance, whether Trump is doing a lot of harm … or if he’s the future of conservatism in the U.S.

But at the very least, can we agree that the lasting consequence of this might be an escalation in how the parties oppose each other when an outcome is in dispute?

I’d argue we’ve seen a ramping up of this in the last decade, but it’s largely been over more procedural things, like the Senate changing rules around judicial appointments, and making it a more partisan affair. But now we have this extreme example — contesting a free and fair election. That ups the ante, no? And it seems as if partisan infighting could get much worse.

perry: I’m not sure I’d say we’ll see an escalation in how the parties oppose each other, at least not yet. I think it’s a change on the Republican side. I don’t expect Biden, for instance, to be fighting his defeat for two months if he clearly lost by a wide electoral margin (not one state by 500 votes) in 2024.

julia_azari: I agree with that, Perry. But I think it’s possible that Democrats will start to feel pressure to both uphold norms and be “reasonable” while also responding to norm violations more forcefully.

perry: I am wary of suggesting we are seeing escalation on both sides, though, as I think we are really only seeing big escalations on the GOP side. And I worry things could get worse. If Republicans controlled the House right now, I would be really worried about this election certification issue, for example.

julia_azari: For me, it comes down to a question of sustainability, and of possible splits among Democrats on this issue. But to be clear, I don’t see any of them supporting the scenario you described, Perry. But I could start to see them play a bit more “constitutional hardball.”

sarah: Yeah, I think Julia is getting at what I meant. I definitely don’t want to “both sides” this. But I do think what Julia touched on earlier, about the mechanisms for expressing legitimate opposition being brushed aside, leaves Democrats in an awkward position, as Trump’s brand of politics has challenged how the whole system works.

julia_azari: My main point here is that the parties are not self-contained, and I don’t think the Democrats have really figured out answers to some of the questions posed by Republicans’ norm-violating behavior (which again, is a situation Democrats did not create).

perry: Julia is getting at an important and complicated question here, and one we kind of saw play out around whether Democrats should add justices to the Supreme Court given Republicans’ rush to nominate Amy Coney Barrett before the election.

Biden was clearly uncomfortable with it, but the party activists really pushed him on the issue. So what does Biden/the Democrats do about what we have seen over the last two months?

Biden, in this pre-inauguration period, is basically ignoring Trump and suggesting Republicans will work with him. And I can’t tell if he is 1) pretending, 2) clueless, or 3) Republicans will actually work with him. But Biden’s theory of the case and how other Democrats approach this issue, not to mention how the two parties interact on this, will be interesting. I truly do not know the answer to this question.

sarah: Exactly. It will be interesting to see how Biden and the Democrats work to address this — or whether Trump’s brand of politics has upended everything.

[dickshardblog]

We Should Grieve and Move On

I think people should shut the fuck up about guns right now. I’m for sensible gun reform, sure, of course. It’s something we, as a country need to do. But it’s not going to happen with Donald Trump in the White House and a Senate full of Republicans

It’s not going to happen unless there is a Democrat in the White House and they have the majority in both the Senate and the House. And, quite frankly, talking about gun reform leading up the the election is not going to help make that happen. It is a wedge issue and it is not an issue that is going to turn out favorably for the Democrats in the general election. 

These mass shootings are horrific. The motivations are horrific. The senseless loss of life is heartbreaking and the ease with which we can all obtain weapons capable of killing dozens of people in mere seconds is pretty scary. 

But the people you’re trying to convince already agree with you, and the ones who don’t aren’t going to. The Democrats shouldn’t run on this issue, and despite the horrible recent tragedies, it’s not what people should be talking about right now. The way to honor the deceased and to prevent future tragedies is to get new people elected by any means necessary. And that means not making guns an issue during the election.

Democrats should get themselves elected on other issues, and then do the gun stuff once they are in. It won’t be easy for them even then, because there will be a whole lot of debate within their own party about how far they really want to go. But that will be the time for all this gun debate. When we have a government who will actually try to do something about it. 

Ah, that would be nice. Lol. If we lived in that kind of reasonable world, where people really understood how to politic. But, nope. Not here, not now. This is Earth, 2019, Kiddies, and we are so very fucked. So, you might as well just sit back, enjoy the ride, and hope we don’t all blow up before this shitstorm is over. 

I just keep watching Trump and his army of alt-right trolls set political traps for the left and  then I just watch the left, pretty much collectively, wander right into the traps, and not seem to even know they’re getting caught. Trump wants this election to be about race and guns. And he’s getting his wish. And the Left, pretty much collectively, is going to lose so fucking hard. 

So I’m not getting emotionally invested. I’m going to do my part and I’m going to vote in the Primary and I’m going to vote in the General, and both votes are going to be calculated and cast in a way in which I believe will be the most likely to get Trump out of office. And that’s all I can do. That’s all anyone can do. 

Getting mad at people on the Internet and yelling at them, telling them they’re stupid, telling them they’re racist, homophobic, xenophobic (okay, but, really, who isn’t xenophobic? I mean Xenomorphs are fucking TERRIFYING. Oh, what? That’s not what ... oh, I see, nevermind), misogynistic, or whatever else we’re accusing people of at the drop of a hat these days.

I mean, yeah, sure, some people are all these things. The world is full of haters. Homophobes, misogynists, and racists, oh my! They’re everywhere, and they suck. But sometimes ... a lot of times ... someone just asks an innocent question, or happens to have a different take on race relations than someone else, and they’re shouted down as a bigot. Call me crazy, but I don’t really think that’s a very smart way to try to get someone to vote for your guy (or girl). But, hey, what do I know?

But I’ve digressed, wandered off on a tangent, as I’m prone to do. Bringing it back around, another thing that’s not going to get them to vote for your guy is telling them you want to take their guns away. It doesn’t matter how sensibly you try to frame it, all they hear is that you want to take their guns away. Do you want to take their guns away? Because that’s not how you take their guns away. 

Instead, don’t talk about guns. Talk about the other issues that matter, issues that affect their every day lives. The way to beat Trump would be to make it so that nobody was talking about guns, or race, or misogyny, or homophobia on election day. 

But that’s fucking crazy. Because this is America. So, sit back, watch the shit show, and don’t let it get your blood pressure up. That’s my advice. Because this is going to be a bumpy ride and the landing is probably going to suck.  

[darisu-chan]

The Force of My Love

Hey! It’s Day 2 for IR Month, and today I bring you a Bleach-Star Wars crossover, inspired in part in Anakin and Padme’s relationship. Hoe you guys like it!

You can also read it here.

Prompt: a crossover

Summary: Jedi Ichigo and Rukia end up breaking many rules just to be together.

Ichigo couldn’t concentrate. He knew it was important ─ this was their mission briefing after all ─ but his mind was elsewhere. All his attention was focused on the feeling of a hand making its way all throughout his leg until it reached his crotch. He shivered at the touch. It was awakening in him an instinctual feeling of possession. He needed more. He needed her. However, Ichigo tried to block such thoughts. He reminded himself he couldn’t possibly be thinking about that in front of Urahara, his master back when he was young, and his superior officer as well.

“Is something wrong, young Kurosaki?” The blond man asked him, a playful smile on his face.

The young Jedi Knight coughed. “No… No… everything’s fine.” Next to him, a woman snickered.

“Well, as I was saying…”                                                            

Ichigo blocked Urahara’s voice and turned to glare at her. The woman in question was Rukia Kuchiki. His partner in missions for the last five years. His mentor when the two were just padawans. His best friend. And, most importantly, his secret lover, the one whose hand was doing things to his body that should be illegal. Did he mention he was crazy about her? Such was his life, but he couldn’t complain. The two had known each other for the past ten years. Ten years of craziness, adventure and love. No one knew him like Rukia did. He wouldn’t change her for the world.

“Were you listening to me Kurosaki?” Urahara said with an unusual strict tone of voice he reserved when he wanted to appear intimidating.

“Yes, of course. We need to go to Hueco Mundo and investigate a few attacks to the Queen’s guards.” He said matter-of-factly. Even if he had been distracted, he had actually listened to what Urahara said. Well, most of it.

The Jedi Master harrumphed. “As your superior, I have to say you need to take this seriously. Supreme Chancellor Yamamoto personally appointed you two for this mission.” He said and the two Jedi nodded. “But as your friend, I’m just gonna say, have fun!” He exclaimed, taking out his fan.

Ichigo and Rukia stared at him amused. It was funny how sometimes Urahara’s mood would change drastically. Although Ichigo had to agree most often than not, his previous master was a pain in the ass.

“Well, that’s all for now. You better get going.” He told them. “You are dismissed.” He said, waving them off.

“Yes, Master Urahara.” Both Jedi said and then left.

The two walked out of his chambers and headed towards their own. On their way, they met other Jedi, who greeted them accordingly. Once or twice they saw a couple of Padawans and their masters. Ichigo was still not used to being referred to as “Master” by the kids. He wasn’t a master. Yet. So he acted awkward in every interaction. Rukia didn’t though. She actually kneeled to greet the children properly, and would smile at them, even telling them to study hard to become Knights one day. She was good with kids. The sight warmed his heart. Once that was done, they finally reached his quarters. Rukia waltzed in as if she owned the place, and she practically did for she spent most of her time with him anyway. He took his cloak off and tossed it to the ground. When he was about to take his tunic off, Rukia slammed her elbow against his ribs.

Shouting in pain, he rubbed his side. Then, he turned to glare at her. “What was that for?!”

His partner rolled her eyes. “For being distracted during our meeting with Urahara. What would have happened if we were discovered, eh, young Kurosaki?” She said in that sing-songy voice of hers he detested.

“Funny you scolded me when you started it.” He grumbled, still rubbing his abused ribs.

“Speaking of which…” She muttered, before sauntering to where he was standing. His eyes glued to the way her hips moved from side to side as she walked. Once she was in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Standing on her toes, she reached his ear and whispered. “Why don’t we finish what we started?”

Minx. Ichigo thought with a smirk before capturing her lips with his. She kissed him back happily, arms already trying to get rid of his tunics. He helped her, before carrying her in his arms and throwing her on the bed. He climbed on top of her and kept kissing her, hands already wandering to his favorite places. Her moans were reward enough. He kept going, and eventually both were naked, sweaty, and oh so deeply satisfied.

“We really gotta stop doing that before missions.” He grunted, voice coming out hoarse and husky.

“It’s for good luck.” Rukia said beside him, hand making circles on his chest. “And, besides, it wouldn’t do to be horny while we fight. We need to focus on our mission.”

Ichigo didn’t say anything else. He just grunted in affirmation, and then brought her closer to his body. He kissed the top of her head. “It just makes me hornier.”

She laughed and playfully slapped his chest. “You’ll get more of that when we come back.”

“You know…” He started saying instead, hands rubbing her back. “We could have some in the ship. No one would bother us then.”

Rukia frowned. “You forget we have to bring Kon with us. And he’s not exactly the most discreet android out there.”

Ichigo groaned. “Do we really have to bring him with us?”

She giggled. “You know we do.” Then she stood up and cracked her back. “Come on, big boy, we have to pack.”

The young man let himself admire her naked body for a moment. Rukia had the body of a goddess. Soft skin that seemed to go on forever. Small and enchanting curves. A fit and smooth stomach. Strong thighs. A round ass he loved to grab. And those perky breasts. She was just stunning.

Rukia noticed his wandering eyes because she immediately leaned down and kissed him. “Come on, the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll get back and you’ll get more of that.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He said grinning.

He stood up and both got changed back in their clothes. Rukia waved him goodbye and went to her own room. Ichigo shook his head. He really didn’t want to leave for the mission, but he knew they had to. Well, there wasn’t much he could do but get ready. He grabbed a bag from his closet and started packing his essentials. Spare clothes. Hygiene products. Whatever he deemed was necessary. Once that was done, he left his bag near the front and took a trip to the shower. After their activities he sure needed to wash himself. He was just shampooing his hair, when he felt a pair of slim arms wrapped around him.

“Back so soon?” He asked, knowing full well who was behind him.

“Hmmm.” Rukia muttered. “I always have a bag ready for missions. I just needed to pack a few things. Thought I could use a shower before leaving.” She said. Ichigo couldn’t see her face but he was sure she had winked at him.

“You had the same idea as I did.” He said, his hands rubbing her arms.

“You know what they say, great minds think alike.”

He chuckled and then he untangled himself from her embrace to face her. He brought her under the shower head. Her short black hair got wet immediately and it began sticking against her head. Water trickled down her bare neck and made a path down her exposed breasts and the rest of her body. God, she was beautiful. He pulled her in for a deep kiss, which she returned happily. Excited, Ichigo pushed her against the wall and kissed her neck.

“Ichigo.” She giggled, playing with his hair. When he sucked harder, Rukia gasped and moaned. “Ichigo.” She said, with more urgency this time. He kept going. “Ichigo!” She said more sternly and he finally pulled away.

“What?” He asked. He took a moment to admire his handiwork. Rukia’s cheeks were flushed, and her chest moved up and down fast in agitation. There, staining her pale skin, was his mark. He smirked smugly.

“If you keep that up we’ll never leave.” She admonished him.

“Fine.” Ichigo said and he let her drop down.

They showered as quickly as they could, stealing kisses every once in a while. They slipped out of the shower and got dressed in clean clothes. Ichigo noticed Rukia had brought her bag with her, and when they were ready, she grabbed it and headed to the door. He followed her, grabbing his discarded bag on the way. On the way out of the temple, they kept greeting people. Ichigo was never the most cheerful person, and such things annoyed him. It was no use though. In here everyone was kind.

“Ichigo! Rukia!” A female voice said.

“Kurosaki. Kuchiki.” Another added.

“Inoue. Ishida.” Ichigo greeted them, and Rukia nodded as well.

The man and woman in front of them were their friends. Orihime Inoue was a member of the senate they had befriended during one of their missions. She was a sweet young woman, who was always smiling. Her companion was Uryu Ishida, son of a senator, and a Jedi like them. He had been appointed Orihime’s personal guard, however both Ichigo and Rukia suspected there was more going on between them than just a simple friendship.

“I heard you’re going on a mission.” Ishida said after their greetings.

“Yes. We’re leaving for Hueco Mundo soon.” Rukia answered, adjusting the strap of her bag. Wordlessly, Ichigo took it from her.

“Hueco Mundo?” Orihime asked, with wide eyes.

“Yeah. That’s right.” Ichigo said.

Hueco Mundo was a planet far away from Coruscant. It was almost all a desert. A rough place to live. Somehow, the inhabitants of the planet had managed to survive despite the terrible weather and environment. The days were long but the nights were longer. The Arrancar, the alien race who lived there, were a rowdy bunch. It had taken some time until Hueco Mundo was part of the Republic. As such, security in it wasn’t the best around. They were known for illegal fighting rings, slavery, kidnapping and drug dealing. What was truly worrisome for the Senate was the belief that several Sith Lords hid in there. Orihime, once, had been a victim of a particularly nasty Sith. She had been taken from her home and taken to Hueco Mundo, where she waited until Ichigo, Rukia and Ishida had been appointed to rescue her. The girl still had nightmares from the whole ordeal.

“What’s happening there now?” Ishida asked, clearly annoyed.

“The queen’s been having problems.” Ichigo said. Ishida nodded in understanding.

“Sorry to cut this conversation short, but we have to leave now. It’s going to take us a while to reach Hueco Mundo.” Rukia interrupted, seeing the hour in her watch.

“Right. Don’t let us make you late.” Ishida said.

“Good luck in your mission!” Orihime told them.

The two Jedi waved goodbye and left.

“We still have some time.” Ichigo complained. “We could’ve stayed and talked to them some more.”

“Orihime seemed uneasy.” Rukia replied. “She got pale the moment we mentioned Hueco Mundo. I thought it’d be better for her if we stopped talking about it.”

He chuckled. “You really do care about your friends.”

Rukia blushed, embarrassed. “Shut up.”

“By the way,” Ichigo started saying. “Did you tell your brother about the mission?”

The young woman shrugged. “I figured Urahara or someone else would fill him in.”

That was a lie, though. Ichigo knew Byakuya Kuchiki, her brother and member of the Senate, would have thrown a fit had he heard his sister was going on a solo mission with Ichigo again. Byakuya wasn’t Ichigo’s best fan, although their relationship had improved greatly. The older man probably felt that Rukia’s partner would try to do unspeakable things to her. And he was right. Byakuya always warned her not to get too close to Ichigo, just in case. The irony was that Rukia was the one to always go in his room at night, and the one to initiate half of their encounters. Today was just an example of that. The other reason to hide for Rukia to not tell her brother anything was that she would have to, undoubtedly, see her brother’s guard, Renji. He and Rukia used to be childhood friends, who became estranged as time went by and life separated them. Back when they were training, Ichigo and Renji used to be rivals due to their natural competitive personalities. Although Ichigo back then didn’t realize right away that their rivalry was founded on the fact Ichigo was now closer to Rukia. And when the two were named partners, that didn’t sit well with Renji either. He had stopped talking to them, feeling betrayed. It wasn’t difficult to see he was in love with Rukia, and not being the number one person in her life hurt him. He had distanced himself from them and now all interactions were awkward. It was no wonder Rukia didn’t go see her brother often.

“I guess that’s true.” Ichigo added. “But maybe next time give him a heads-up. Byakuya might believe I kidnapped you or something.”

“Are you scared of my brother, Ichigo?” She asked him, grinning at him in a way he knew spelled bad news.

“Of course not!” He replied, embarrassed.

“Sure.”

As they approached the hangar, conversation dwelled between them. Whenever there was silence between them, it was never awkward. The best part about his relationship with Rukia was that they could read each other without having to speak. They knew each other like the back of their hand. As such, every moment between them was comfortable. After ten years of knowing each other, Ichigo couldn’t expect any differently. Rukia could very well be the only person in the entire universe who knew him inside out. He prided himself he could do the same. He smiled as he looked at her. He hoped he would feel this peace whenever they were together, so he decided to cherish this moment. Which lasted about two seconds when a voice resounded from the hangar.

“RUUUUKIAAAAA!” Someone shouted. In the blink of an eye a small android made his way towards Rukia, leaping to hug her. “How I missed you!” He yelled as he tried to bury his robotic head in her chest.

“Don’t even think about it!” Both Ichigo and Rukia said, as the latter got out of the way, and Ichigo kicked him to the other side.

“Ichigo! You’re so mean! I only wanted to greet Rukia properly!” The android said, even sniffing a bit.

He rolled his eyes. “That’s no way to greet her and you know it.”

The android in question was the unit K-0N, otherwise known as Kon by the two Jedi. When they started going on missions, they had requested an android to aid them in their quests. Urahara had told them he had the perfect robot for them. Then he had given them Kon as a gift. Ichigo should have known there was something suspicious about him, but when they found out, it had been too late. Kon wasn’t the most intelligent or capable android out there, and he was perverted to boot. He was an annoyance more than anything. His only attribute was that he was good at shooting and creating diversions. Ichigo honestly would have thrown him in the garbage if he and Rukia hadn’t become fond of the little guy. After so many adventures together, it would have been unthinkable to go anywhere without him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t a pain in the ass.

It was Rukia’s turn to roll her eyes at their bickering. “If you have finished staring into each other’s eyes, we should get going.”

“Who’s staring into his eyes?!” Both robot and man exclaimed at the same time, making equally disgusted faces.

The woman merely laughed. “Come on, let’s go.”

She started walking away when she stumbled on her feet. Ichigo quickly grabbed her. “Rukia! Are you okay?” He asked her, clearly worried. Next to them, Kon had approached them, looking equally worried.

She simply shook her head. “I’m fine. Let go.” She said. When Ichigo didn’t move, she sighed. “I’m fine, really. I just didn’t look where I was going and tripped. You can let go now.”

Ichigo did as he was told and followed Rukia until they boarded the ship. He had noticed she had been acting weird for a whole week. But since they had had other jobs to do around, he hadn’t gotten the chance to ask her. He had planned to do it that day, but surprise, surprise, they had been tasked with a new mission in another planet. He figured he would be able to talk to her after their returned. Unless something went out wrong, or there was an emergency, they were usually given two days to rest from their work. Ichigo observed her once more. She looked slightly pale, but it was difficult to tell since her skin was so white to begin with. Maybe she was getting sick. Whatever it was, it would have to wait.

After boarding the ship, they left their bags on their rooms and then went to the cockpit. Ichigo sat in his seat, Rukia next to him, and Kon on the other side. He turned on the ship, and then flew up and away from Coruscant. Once in space, he said, “Set the curse to Hueco Mundo.” Immediately the ship went in that direction. It didn’t look as if there was much traffic or other problems in there. “Alright. We should arrive tomorrow at this pace.” He said, making quick calculations.

Rukia nodded. “Let’s tell Urahara.”

She called him from the ship and the Jedi Master answered. “Young Kurosaki, Young Kuchiki, I see you’re on your way!” He exclaimed upon seeing them.

“Yes. We will arrive tomorrow to Hueco Mundo.” Rukia told him.

Urahara nodded. “Excellent! According to the information I just received, you should have no problems getting there. Once you arrive, report immediately.”

“Yes.” Both said.

“Oh, and before you, remember don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Urahara said before he hung up.

“That guy’s so weird.” Kon muttered.

“You can say that again.” Ichigo said. He then reclined back on his seat. “Well, from here on it’s just gonna be a smooth ride.” He said. The hard part had been breaking out of the atmosphere. Now they could relax.

“Good. I’m starving!” Rukia said and she stood up, presumably to the kitchen to eat.

Ichigo simply put the ship on autopilot and turned to Kon. “Keep an eye in here while we eat.” And he stood up to leave before the android could complain.

He walked to where he knew Rukia would be, and sure enough, he found her rummaging in the cabinets. “What are you doing?” He asked her.

“Looking for something edible.” She answered, not even bothering to look in his direction.

“You know mission food is always the same.” Anything that could be frozen, dehydrated ad packed served as their food during their travels. They would have to eat at a restaurant once they landed to get actual food.

“A girl can only dream.” She said, this time looking at him. He chuckled a bit.

Ichigo took out the first bag he saw in there, and started eating it. It was not bad, but it wasn’t great either. It tasted like nothing. To be honest, that was one of the most annoying parts of traveling, right behind hanging out with Kon. As he ate, sitting on the table, he observed Rukia. She kept looking around the cabinets, until she settled for some fried fruit native of Coruscant. She joined him and started eating too.

“You’d think with all this technology we’d invent better space food.” She mumbled between bites.

“Guess we’re focusing the most in weapons.” He added.

“By the way, did you bring guns beside your lightsaber?”

“Course I did. I brought three different kinds. Just in case.”

Rukia nodded. “Me too.  Would prefer it if we didn’t engage in direct combat.”

“What? Scared of a little action?” He asked her a bit sarcastically.

“I just don’t want to stay there more than necessary. I just want us to get there, see what the problem is, investigate as much as we can, and come back without any other delay.” She said, still munching on her food. “But with you around, it’ll be almost impossible.” She added as an after-thought.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Ichigo asked, offended.

“Let’s face it, trouble always follows you.”

“What?! That’s not true!”

“Name one time we didn’t end up getting into fights with one group or another.” Rukia said.

Ichigo stopped. He started thinking, remembering each and every single one of his missions. On his first mission ever with Urahara, he accidentally fell down a hole in a shady part of Galactic City. That led him to a drug dealing gang. Of course, the situation ended up in his fifteen year old self fighting with his new lightsaber a bunch of gang members. Urahara had to come back to rescue him. On his first mission with Rukia, they had ended up discovering a Sith Lord by accident, which basically ended up with them having to fight several androids, the Sith’s student, and the Sith himself, before they could get back on their ship. Just last month, somehow they ended up in a bar fight after finishing their mission.

When he didn’t answer, his partner smirked. “Told ya.”

He grumbled. “Whatever. You know you like the action.”

“That I can’t deny.” Then, she looked at her watch. “Better head to bed now. We have a long day tomorrow.” She said, stretching and standing up.

Ichigo smirked, having an idea. He got to his feet, and encircled his arms around Rukia, pushing her against the counter. “Since I’m free for a while, why do you say we enjoy our time in bed?”

“Oh?” She said, clearly amused. “What were you thinking of?”

“You know, the usual. You. Me. No space between us. There’s a specific move I’ve been meaning to try.” He said, trying to play it cool, although he was getting pretty excited.

Rukia laughed. “Though that sounds delightful, I’m afraid I’ve already had my fair share of action today.” She said, her smile widening when Ichigo pouted.

“You weren’t saying that earlier today.” He mumbled.

Pulling away from his embrace, she sauntered away. “We can go back to it when we come back.” Then she left him alone to his thoughts.

“Goddamnit.”

Ichigo really did love her, but the woman drove him insane. He knew she was right. If they did anything in the ship, they risked Kon finding out, and he wasn’t necessarily the most discreet android in the world. He would totally let it slip and if he did… Ichigo shivered. He didn’t want to know what the council would do to them. Technically speaking, Jedi couldn’t have romantic relationships of any kind, much less get married and start a family. Jedi couldn’t have any attachments. There had been cases where they had renounced and moved to other places to be with their loved ones. Others had been punished severely, their reputations and their lives completely ruined. He didn’t want that to happen to either of them. Both had their own ambitions. They wanted to become masters. He knew for a fact Rukia wanted to have a seat on the council. They wanted to save the world. But, he thought that night in bed, he loved her even more than being a Jedi and playing hero. Given the choice, he knew he would choose her. But would Rukia choose him if that ever came to be?

He was afraid to realize he didn’t know the answer.

Next morning, Ichigo went early back to his seat. He was glad to see nothing seemed out of the ordinary and that Kon had actually behaved. He had breakfast with Rukia and both took their seats again. Time passed peacefully as they planned their mission. They would immediately present themselves to Queen Harribel, and then they would be briefed with more detail about the situation. Next they would scope the perimeter, looking for anything out of the ordinary. According to the information they would receive, they would act accordingly. If everything went fine, they would return tomorrow home and report to the council. It things were more complicated in reality… Well, they would just have to make due.

“So what do we know about Harribel?” Ichigo asked.

“She became queen after the previous king, Barragan, passed away. She was elected queen by the members of Hueco Mundo’s council. She’s young, a bit older than us, and will remain in office until her death.” Rukia explained.

“So basically Hueco Mundo still has a monarchy.”

“It’s one of the few planets left with a full monarchy, yes.”

Ichigo nodded. “Surprising the Supreme Chancellor hasn’t made them become a democracy.”

“Guess he doesn’t want any more problems. Hueco Mundo’s allegiance to the Republic is shaky as it is.”

Hueco Mundo was one of the worst places to live in the whole universe. There was crime in every corner. It was probably infested with Sith too. Urahara had once tried to ask the Council to organize an operation to actually investigate the place, and take down any suspicious activity. However, it was rejected. No one wanted to spend resources in a planet that was deeply infested with criminals. What Ichigo and Rukia both feared was that certain planets got better treatment than others. The rest were left to do whatever they pleased, which meant more crime in the long run.

“And her reign is also shaky.” Ichigo wondered.

“It seems Harribel’s not like the previous king. She’s imposing stricter laws.”

“Which means giving criminals a hard time. Gotcha.”

“She believes the people targeting her might be working for a Sith Lord.”

“Then we’ll totally have fun today.” Ichigo said and she laughed.

“No calm mission for us.”

“When has that ever been the case?”

Upon arriving, they were well-received by Harribel’s people. They walked out and into her palace, Kon coming along.

“Listen, Kon.” Rukia said dangerously before disembarking. “Queen Harribel has certain attributes you’ll like. But you have to act accordingly.”

“If you ruin this for us, I swear I’ll tie you up in front of the ship, got it?” Ichigo said equally as menacingly.

“G-got it…” Kon had promised and, as he had told them, didn’t really react when they finally were in front of the queen of Hueco Mundo.

“Greetings, Jedi Knights. I welcome you to my planet.” Queen Harribel said, sitting on her throne.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Both said as they bowed down. Kon, albeit a bit later, bowed down too.

“Let’s go to a more private place, shall we?” The queen said, raising from her seat and already walking down the hall.

Ichigo and Rukia eyed each other and then nodded. They followed Harribel until they reached a room, where tea and snaks waited for them.

“Please, have a sit.” She said, gesturing to the table.

Both Jedi sat down and accepted the beverages they were given by the servants. Harribel waved them away, and only her personal guards, all female, remained.

“I assume Master Urahara has already informed you of the situation.” She spoke.

“Briefly. We don’t know all the details. He thought it’d be better if you told us yourself, Your Majesty.” Rukia answered.

Harribel shook her head. “Don’t be so formal with me. Even if I’m queen now, I come from humble origins. I know what it’s like to live on the streets, trying to survive. I know what’s like running away from thieves and bandits.” She said with a faraway look on her face as she gazed at the window. “Which is why I made my way to the council, and here we are.”

The two didn’t say anything, they just listened to her. They had a feeling there was more to her story than they had previously thought.

“On my way to the top, I, of course, made some enemies. Some more insignificant than the others. But with my recent policies, I’m afraid I have offended someone of outmost importance.” She said.

“Don’t tell me it’s a Sith Lord.” Ichigo said, before he could stop himself.

Harribel chuckled. “Of course it is. This place is one of their many hideouts. They go around doing whatever they please, but now that I’ve made plans for more and better security, one of them wasn’t pleased.” She said.

“What is his name?” Rukia asked. “Perhaps we’ve heard from him.”

“He calls himself Darth Insaniam. And he is as crazy as his name implies.” The queen said as she took a sip from her cup. “My guards have already informed he’s making his move, which is why I asked for your help.”

“Tell us your orders.” Rukia said.

“I’ll be receiving the council today at their quarters. Insaniam will make an appearance and will attempt to assassinate me. I want you to apprehend him.”

“It will be done.”

“Marvelous. Then I’ll let my guard help you secure the perimeter of the room.”

With that, the queen dismissed them and, three hours later, both Jedi sat down, exhausted. They had already scoped the Council Headquarters as well as its surroundings. The security was adequate for what it was, but they made some improvements. More guards were appointed everywhere, and Harribel accepted to be personally escorted by the two of them until they reached the room. She did not want them inside the room when the meeting took place, so they were to wait outside until it was over. True to their words, Ichigo and Rukia escorted her from the palace to the council quarters, and remained with her until it was time for the meeting. Then, they exited the room and stood outside, guarding the door.

“Do you think he’ll come?” Ichigo asked next to Rukia, keeping an eye on the corridor to his left.

“I’m sure he will. If we’re lucky enough, we’ll apprehend him without much trouble.” She said.

“He’s a Sith. He’ll give us trouble.”

“That’s why I said if we’re lucky.”

They didn’t say anything else, returning to guarding over the door. So far so good. There was no one around except for the guards. Feeling satisfied, Ichigo took his time to observe Rukia. She had been looking queasy all morning. She had barely had breakfast, even if their food was tasteless. And, after having tea with the queen, her stomach had been upset. He had tried asking her about it, but his partner had waved him off. Stubborn brat. She still look pale like in the day before, and although it was their job and he would need back up, if they had to fight, Ichigo didn’t want her anywhere near the action. If she was feeling sick, she had no business fighting.

“Ten more minutes and the meeting will be over.” Rukia said, making him focus on the mission and not on his thoughts.

Ichigo almost sighed in relief. “More than an hour has gone by, and there has been no sign of him.”

“It’s possible it was a false alarm.” She added.

“Probably.”

And just as they had uttered those last few words, there was an explosion on the corridor next to where they were. A few people swore as they dove for cover. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia and pushed them to the floor. Kon moved in front of them and covered them up. Looking at his partner, he could tell that they both had the same thing in mind: Darth Insaniam had arrived.

“You stay here and guard the queen!” Ichigo said, sprinting into action.

“But Ichigo─”

“Kon!” He cut her off.

“Yeah?”

“Protect Rukia!” He said, before running towards where he could hear someone stomping.

“Ichigo!”

He ignored her call. It was imperative someone would stay to keep the queen safe, but it was also important the Sith was stopped before he could reach the queen. He run to the corridor, taking out one of his guns. Some guards were already shooting. Apparently they were being invaded by androids. Just great. He shoot several of them, as he ducked and ran at the same time. Finally, he was face to face with a dark figure surrounded by androids.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Kurosaki.” The voice spat. Ichigo recognized that voice.

“Grimmjow?” He said out loud, shocked.

The figure took off his hood, revealing the face of a man. He had blue, spiky hair and was grinning manically at him. It was none other than Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, a rogue Jedi who had been involved with Orihime’s kidnaping. Last time Ichigo had seen him was on the way to prison. Of course someone had freed him. Ichigo had no idea that had happened, much less that he was now a Sith, but it made sense. Grimmjow was from Hueco Mundo, and he had been involved in countless crimes all over the universe.

“Surprised to see me?” The man asked.

“Not as much as I should be.” Ichigo answered, putting his gun away and taking out his saber.

“What are you doing here?” Grimmjow said, clearly relaxed.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

He grinned. “I came here for the queen.”

“What a coincidence. I’m here to stop the one who wants her.” Ichigo said.

His grin grew even larger. “Then, there’s only one thing left to do.”

Grimmjow didn’t even wait to finish the sentence before grabbing his saber and leaping towards Ichigo. The Jedi quickly blocked the attack and pushed him away. Both smiled cockily and pulled back.

“As fast as ever I see.” The Sith commented.

“You too.”

“You know, I’ve been dying to fight you again.” Grimmjow said.

“Che. That’s my line.” Ichigo answered and attacked first.

They went around the whole place, lightsabers crashing with each thrust. They were evenly matched. Before, Grimmjow had almost managed to get the upper hand, but now, years later and after much training, Ichigo was in better form. But so was his foe. Grimmjow had grown even stronger and faster. It was taking all of his focus to block and duck each attack. Ideally, he would have needed his partner around to defeat him quickly. But there was no way he was letting Rukia anywhere near him now that he knew the Sith was Grimmjow. Not after last time.

“Where’s your little partner?” Grimmjow asked as if reading his thoughts. “Don’t tell me she didn’t make it.”

“Of course she did. She’s keeping the queen safe while I kick your ass.”

“Pity, I wanted to finish what I started last time.”

“Don’t even think about it!”

That had been one of the scariest moments in Ichigo’s life. During that mission, Grimmjow had hurt Rukia real bad. He had made a whole in her stomach, and she had lost a lot of blood. Thankfully, Ishida had acted quickly and he had taken her to the ship, where he could attend her. Ichigo had been left by himself, enraged. He had fought Grimmjow until neither of them could move anymore, but the man had been saved by one of his accomplices. Ichigo had had to go on his mission, locating Orihime. He had left him go. But not this time. He would make him pay for almost killing Rukia that time.

Around them, there were no more androids. Behind him, he could hear the queen’s guard dealing with them. He was sure Rukia and Kon were fighting too. That was good. It meant his sole focus would be on his opponent. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but they had suddenly moved to a room, away from the queen. They had destroyed everything on their wake and now they stood side by side.

“You’ve given me a great fight today, Kurosaki.” Grimmjow said, the red light from his saber making his grin looked even more sadistic. “But this is the end. I’m falling behind schedule, you see.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” He said.

The Sith smirked and then pulled out a second lightsaber. “Now it’s on.”

Ichigo leapt away, flipped in the air and came back to slash. Grimmjow blocked his attack and they moved around the room, repeating the same actions as before. They were getting tired already. Ichigo knew he needed to finish the fight soon. He applied more force to his next attack and managed to slam Grimmjow against a wall. The action made him lose one of his lightsabers. That deeply enraged him. Using the force, he made Ichigo lose balance and slam against the other wall, breaking it and landing into the next room. Groaning, he tried to sit only to watch as Grimmjow approached him, lightsaber in hand. Ichigo looked for his own finding it on the other side of the room. That wasn’t good.

“This is where our little fight ends. Thanks for everything, Kurosaki, but this is the end.” He said, raising his weapon to finish him off.

“Your end, you mean.” Someone said, moving in front of Ichigo and blocking Grimmjow’s attack.

“Rukia!” Ichigo exclaimed once he recognized his partner in front of him.

“Look who has come out to play.” Grimmjow muttered.

“The queen’s been secured. Now all we need is to catch this criminal.” Rukia said, not even once taking her eyes from the Sith. “I’ll take him now.”

“Let’s see if that can happen!” Grimmjow said and attacked.

Ichigo was worried. Rukia wasn’t in the best of shapes. He could see she was tired by the way she was panting, and she also looked paler than before. This wasn’t good at all. He stood up and winced. He definitely had a broken rib, but that could be taken care of later. He ran to his lightsaber, getting out of the way of the fight. When he reached it, it had been too late. Grimmjow had managed to take the lightsaber away from Rukia’s hands, and had her in a vice grip.

“I’ve been waiting years for this moment.” He said maniacally. “The day I’d finally kill you, Jedi scum.”

Rukia didn’t say anything. She just raised her hand and using all her energy, she managed to push Grimmjow away from her using the force, just in time for Ichigo to use his lightsaber and stabbed him in the chest. The Sith looked first at the Jedi Knight and then at his chest. Then, he laughed. It was a pitiful laugh.

“But of course. Only you, Kurosaki, only you.” He muttered before collapsing. Whatever he had meant by that was lost to both Jedi.

“Rukia!” Ichigo said, running towards her.

“I’m fine.” She said, though she was out of breath.

“No, you’re not fine! I need you to take you to the infirmary!” He yelled, inspecting her for any visible wound.

“I’m fine. Really. Just tired. You’re the injured man.” She said, pointing at his forehead, where blood trailed down.

“Oh.”

“Let’s go.”

There wasn’t a lot to be done after that. The guards seized Grimmjow and then, upon inspecting him, declared him dead. The queen was already safe and sound in her palace. The Jedi went and had an audience with her, reporting what had happened during the attack. The queen had only thanked them, and had sent them to see her doctors, after she noticed they were in bad shape. Ichigo had been quickly cured, only after making sure Rukia wasn’t actually hurt. Now that everything had passed, he didn’t feel scared for her any longer. Instead, he was pissed. He had told her to stay behind, but had come to his rescue. She should have sent Kon, but no, she had to go and save him, almost getting killed in the process. The idiot. In his anger, he ignored her, only speaking when necessary. They boarded the ship after they weren’t needed anymore. Ichigo set the course towards their home, while Rukia reported to Urahara. He put the ship on autopilot and left to his room, not even bothering to eat something. Even Kon didn’t speak to him, and kept his mouth shut. Upon arriving, they reported everything to the council and returned to the temple, bags in hand. Rukia followed him wordlessly, knowing better than to try and talk to him. When Ichigo was mad, there was nothing you could say to make him feel better. He needed to calm down first. He went into his room, and Rukia went in behind him. She softly closed the door and sat down on his bed, waiting for him to talk.

“What was that?” He practically hissed.

“What was what?” Rukia countered instead of answering.

“Don’t play dumb!” Ichigo yelled. “I’m asking what the fuck was that?!”

Although she flinched, she didn’t back down. “I was doing my duty. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“That was not your duty! I had him!” He retorted.

“Really? Then why were you laying on the floor?” She asked sarcastically.

“That’s beside the point! You were supposed to keep the queen safe!”

“Which I did!” She yelled, offended at what Ichigo was implying. “She was already out of the building by the time I reached you!”

“You should’ve gone with her!”

“And leave you alone to die?! I don’t think so!”

“Damnit all, Rukia!” Ichigo exclaimed. “You almost died today for trying to help me!”

“But I didn’t! I’m fine, and you’re fine, and we accomplished our mission! You should be happy!”

“But I’m not! You’re sick! And you’ve been hiding something from me!” He finally addressed the elephant in the room. “How can I trust you’ll be alright if you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on? I thought we were partners.” And he meant that in more ways than one.

Rukia didn’t say anything. She looked to the ground, her hands grasping hard the sheets of the bed. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Ichigo.”

“The truth.” He answered simply, much calmer after yelling.

She sighed and buried her head in her hands. “If I tell you, it’d be the end.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He exclaimed, clearly baffled by her words.

She looked up, eyes scared. “I’m pregnant.” She whispered softly.

Ichigo’s eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. “You’re… you’re what now?” He said.

“Pregnant.” Rukia answered once more, fear lacing her voice.

“Holy shit.” He said, pacing around the room.

“Ichigo, I’m pregnant.” She said again, alarmed.

“You mean to tell me you went on a mission while pregnant? Fuck! You fought while pregnant!” He said, waking from side to side.

“Ichigo.” She called him.

That did it for him. He instantly went by her side and sat on the bed. “Oh, Rukia.” He said. He pulled her towards him, letting her bury her head on his chest.

“What do we do now?” She whispered, clutching him for dear life.

A million thoughts raced in his mind.

Jedi couldn’t have any attachments. They couldn’t own properties. They couldn’t have romantic relationships. They couldn’t get married. They couldn’t have children. They were sworn to a life of celibacy and attachment. To do the opposite was breaking the rules. But the two of them had willingly broken them to be together. They had thought that, if no one ever found out, they would be fine. But this changed everything. Even if Rukia got rid of it, someone would know. It wasn’t a procedure that could be easily covered up. If someone found out, they would surely lose it all. They would be pariahs. Who knew what they would do to her. And Ichigo was sure she’d do anything to say he wasn’t involved. She’d do anything to protect her.

He would do the same for her.

“You know, my dad went through something like this.” He muttered.

Rukia sat straight and faced him. “What do you mean? Isn’t your father just a doctor?”

He shook his head. “I thought so too. But two years ago he revealed everything to me.” He paused, looking for the right words. “He was a Jedi like us.” She gasped.

A couple of years ago, Ichigo had gotten a few days off. Naturally, he had gone back to his home planet to visit his family. Rukia, who almost always tagged along, had remained as she wanted to spend some time with her brother. Isshin, his father, had asked him about his relationship with his partner. Even if Ichigo had denied any relationship between them, his father knew better. He had warned him about the Jedi lifestyle before he began training. He hadn’t listened to him. But, this time, Isshin wanted to be heard. So, he told Ichigo everything he had to know.

“He changed his name. Apparently, his real last name is Shiba.” He said, and Rukia recognized the name instantly, for her own mentor had been the late Kaien Shiba. “He was about to become master, when he met my mother.”

Masaki Kurosaki, a common girl from a common planet, had stolen Isshin’s heart from the moment he had met her. They had spent time together during his brief stay in her planet, and even talked regularly after he had left. He had made a point to visit her regularly and, eventually, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. He had fallen in love with her. He thought he could wiggle his two lives together, and keep hidden the fact he was in a relationship. That didn’t last long.

“After four years, Urahara discovered him. He gave him two choices, either he stopped seeing my mother and, if he refused, he would tell on him with the council. Or…”

“Or?” Rukia asked.

“Or he could leave and never come back.”

Isshin had eloped without a second thought. He had left his weapons, his clothes, his everything. He rode a ship to Masaki’s planet and they got married soon after. He took her last name and together they lived peacefully with their three children. He worked as a medic and they made enough money. No one recognized him as a former Jedi. Urahara had made sure to say he had died in action. Even after Masaki passed away, Isshin never spoke of his previous life and did not want to return to it. He didn’t say anything either when Ichigo had been recruited as a child to become a Jedi or taken to Galactic City. He had kept quiet for decades. He had only decided to tell his son the truth when he saw history repeating itself in front of his own eyes.

“He left.” Rukia said.

“Yeah, he did. And he told me he doesn’t regret him. He said that if he could go back in time, he’d still make this choice.” Ichigo explained.

“You’re saying we elope?” She asked.

“I don’t see what other choice we have.” Ichigo said. If they were found out, Rukia’s life could be in danger. He didn’t want her to pay the price for their mistakes.

“But you can’t leave!” She exclaimed. “You want to become a Jedi Master!”

“So do you.” He said. “But I don’t see what else we can do without endangering you.”

“I could leave by myself.” Rukia said. “Leave and take a new identity. And I can raise the baby by myself.” She said, gently touching her belly.

“You want to keep it?” Ichigo asked, filled with emotion.

She smiled sweetly at him. “I can’t get rid of our baby.”

He choked back tears. “Shit.” He cursed. “I don’t want you to go through this by yourself.” He said.

“I don’t want you to leave your life behind.” She said. “I don’t want you to regret this.”

Ichigo hugged her tenderly. “Oh, Rukia, I could never regret being with you.” He said, kissing her head lovingly. “I choose you. Now and forever.”

“Then what do we do?” She asked.

“We leave, together. I have a few planets in mind where we could take on new identities. I’m sure my dad will help us out. And then, we’ll be saved, and so will our baby.”

Rukia smiled. “Alright. I trust you.”

“We leave tonight.”

They packed the bare essentials and sneaked out of the temple. They left their lightsabers behind as well as all of their guns. They took the first ship they could to Ichigo’s home planet without being spotted. There, a not at all surprised Isshin received them with open arms. They got married a week later. Next opportunity they got, they left for the most peaceful planet they could find and settled there. Rukia became a teacher and Ichigo decided to take after his father as a local medic. Their son was born a few months later, healthy and strong. Later on, he would ask them why they choice this life instead of continuing being Jedi. Both spouses would chuckle and smile.

“It wasn’t a tough decision at all.” They said. “We’ll always choose each other and we’ll always choose you.”

For that was the force of their love.

[patriotsnet]

Are There Any Republicans Running For President Besides Trump

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/are-there-any-republicans-running-for-president-besides-trump/

Are There Any Republicans Running For President Besides Trump

Justices Prepare For Major Lgbt Rights Case As Trump Threatens To Bring Election To Supreme Court

Trump Rallies Republicans For Ex-Rival ‘Beautiful Ted’ Cruz In Texas

Justice Amy Coney Barrett is due to confront her first major arguments at the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, even as President Donald Trump is threatening to bring a case over the previous nights election to the panel.

Trump said in an early morning address to supporters that well be going to the U.S. Supreme Court, we want all voting to stop. The president did not provide more details, and the nature of such a possible case was unclear. The top court generally hears appeals of lower court decisions.

Trump had for weeks suggested he would contest any outcome that was not a victory and pressed to get Barrett, his third Supreme Court nominee, confirmed before Election Day. NBC News has not called the race, and votes continue to be tabulated.

Despite the prospect of a contested election, the court has a normal if important day of business scheduled. At 10 a.m. ET, the justices will hear arguments in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a major LGBT rights case.

The dispute concerns a Roman Catholic adoption agency that is arguing that Philadelphias decision to exclude it from the citys foster care system because it will not work with same-sex households is unconstitutional. Philadelphia has said it is simply enforcing its laws against discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Tucker Higgins

Sen Ted Cruz Of Texas

Cruz, 50, could start out a 2024 election campaign in a much stronger position than his first run in 2016, when he came in second. Its not uncommon for Republicans to select the recent runner up to later be their nominee which is what happened to Mitt Romney, John McCain, Bob Dole and Ronald Reagan.

A lot has happened to Cruz since 2016. For one, he became an ardent Trump supporter and grew a beard. But Cruz has also learned lessons from his first presidential run. Should he run again in the 2024 election, hed be a much more experienced campaigner with a more finely tuned message, higher name ID, and a carefully maintained donor base, one Republican strategist said.

Cruz has also faced backlash for objecting to President Joe Bidens Electoral College win. Following the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, seven Democrats asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Cruz and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., for amplifying claims of election fraud that led to violence. In Texas, the Republican Accountability Project paid for 100 billboards calling on Cruz to resign. Cruz also angered some close to him, like a longtime friend and former campaign chair who denounced him, and his chief spokesperson, who resigned, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Why Are Republicans So Afraid Of Voters

There is no both sides do it when it comes to intentionally keeping Americans away from the polls.

By The Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstandingvalues. It is separate from the newsroom.

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 93 million Americans had cast a ballot in the November elections. Thats about two-thirds of the total number of people who voted in 2016, and there are still two days until Election Day.

This is excellent news. In the middle of a global pandemic that has taken the lives of nearly a quarter of a million Americans, upended the national economy and thrown state election procedures into turmoil, there were reasonable concerns that many people would not vote at all. The numbers to date suggest that 2020 could see record turnout.

While celebrating this renewed citizen involvement in Americas political process, dont lose sight of the bigger, and darker, picture. For decades, Americans have voted at depressingly low rates for a modern democracy. Even in a good year, more than one-third of all eligible voters dont cast a ballot. In a bad year, that number can approach two-thirds.

Why are so many Americans consistently missing in action on Election Day?

For many, its a choice. They are disillusioned with government, or they feel their vote doesnt matter because politicians dont listen to them anyway.

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Tight Election Adds To Retailers Uncertainty During Already Uncertain Holidays

Retailers have faced nothing short of whiplash this year. And now, one day after Election Day, they face another threat during the all-important holiday season: Americans who may be distracted or anxious as they await results. That could deal a blow to consumer confidence, when retailers would rather shoppers to be centered around gift-giving and decking their homes with holiday decor.

Greg Portell, lead partner in the global consumer practice of Kearney, a strategy and management consulting firm, said the delayed results will absolutely pause consumer spending.

Consumers have been on a great run of spending coming out of the lockdowns, he said. We were looking at a great holiday season. All of that is on pause until we see some clarity on who is going to win.

If history is a guide, at least a temporary drop in spending is likely, according to a recent survey from Adobe Analytics. Adobe found online sales dropped 14% the day after the 2016 election, when Donald Trump;was elected to office. They dropped 6% the day after the 2018 midterms, the firms research showed.

Lauren Thomas and Melissa Repko

Will Texas Republicans Ever Fight For Limited Government

Sometimes when I look around at what Republicans are doing, I dont really know what to do with myself.

Just think about how Republicans were in charge of the U.S. Senate and House and the White House for two years of the first two years of President Trumps term. What did they accomplish? Not much.

Then, what about the last, what is it now, 17 years of Republicans being in charge of all Texas government; the Texas Senate, the Texas House, the Texas Supreme Court, the governors office, all the state agencies? I mean, it is all Republicans running the state yet the accomplishments that have taken place are just not where they ought to be. And you have to ask yourself why.

I think we can find a partial answer to this in an article I ran across the other day about the threatened veto by President Trump on the defense bill. He has said hes going to veto the defense appropriations bill unless Congress puts a provision in it taking away the liability shield from all these high tech companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, that have been seeking to undermine our elections, laws, and democracy.

They lobbied for this provision in law because they said they were going to be neutral providers of content. They were just going to be platforms that people could use and put out whatever information they wanted to.

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In Georgia Runoffs Dems Are Running Hard On Health Care Republicans Not So Much

Why are these elections so important?

In determining control of the Senate, the results will put one party or the other in charge of the legislative agenda. A Democratic sweep would result in a 50-50 Senate with soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris being the tiebreaking vote in the chamber.

While there still is a 60-vote threshold to get legislation through, it would be much easier to confirm Bidens Cabinet picks and judicial appointments than if Democrats were in the minority.

Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who would be presumed to be Senate majority leader if Democrats took control of the chamber, would be in charge of what goes to the floor, including, if it came to it, items like doing away with the filibuster entirely or adding justices to the Supreme Court.

If Republicans won, though, GOP leader Mitch McConnell would be able to largely thwart much of Bidens agenda.

Former Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo

If the 2024 election turns into a foreign policy debate, the 57-year-old Pompeo is in a strong position with his background as former secretary of state and CIA director.

During Pompeos recent speech at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa, he gave a preview of some of the lines that might end up in his presidential stump speech. He said hes spent more time with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un than any other American, including basketball star Dennis Rodman, and talked about the threat he sees from China. His mention of the U.S. moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem during his tenure was met with applause.

Before serving in Trumps Cabinet, Pompeo blasted then-candidate Trump as an authoritarian. Pompeo made the remarks the day of the Kansas caucus in 2016, quoting Trump saying that if he told a soldier to commit a war crime, they would go and do it. Pompeo said the U.S. had spent 7½ years with an authoritarian president who ignored the Constitution, referencing former President Barack Obama, and we dont need four more years of that.

Pompeo served three full terms representing Kansas in the U.S. House before joining the Trump administration. He and his wife, Susan, have one child. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and Harvard Law and served in the U.S. Army.

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Trump Campaign Seeks To Get Involved In Supreme Court Fight Over Pennsylvania Ballots

President Donald Trumps reelection campaign asked the Supreme Court to let it join the fight at the court over Pennsylvanias absentee ballot deadlines.

Jay Sekulow, an attorney for the president, wrote in a filing submitted to the justices that Trump has a direct, concrete stake in the outcome of the case that was distinct from the interests of the state lawmakers and Republican Party of Pennsylvania that initiated the suit.

In the case, Republicans are suing over the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts extension of the deadline for elections officials to receive absentee ballots in order for them to be counted. The state court extended the deadline to Nov. 6 from the previous deadline of Tuesday.

The Supreme Court rejected the Republican challenge in a 4-4 split on Oct. 19. On Oct. 28, the justices refused to decide a second GOP challenge before Election Day but left open the possibility of a ruling favoring Republicans after Nov. 3.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed onto the bench too late to weigh in on either decision but her presence on the court is thought to favor the Republican challenge moving forward.

The case at the Supreme Court is just one of the many legal battles that the Trump campaign is pursuing in the wake of Tuesdays election.

Trump has claimed for weeks that he might not accept defeat and would challenge a loss in court regardless of the circumstances.

Tucker Higgins

Consider Candidates Track Record And Party Service In Allocating Debate Slots

2020 Election – 5 Republicans Who Might Run For President (Why Donald Trump will be the GOP Nominee)

For a variety of legal and political reasons, the parties authority over their own debates is constrained.44 Yet debates are very important for introducing voters to the partys candidates. They are an essential aspect of the winnowing process. Selecting invitees is particularly challenging when the candidate field is large, as became evident in the Republican nominating cycle four years ago, when the candidates were so numerous that those who fell below a national poll threshold of 3.5% had to attend an undercard debate instead of the main attraction. One consequence was to favor a reality-television celebrity over veterans like Sen. Lindsey Graham, an expert on foreign affairs who had served South Carolina in the Congress since 1993. That seemed shortsighted and unreasonable at the time, and it seems all the more so in hindsight.

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Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns And Elections

The Campaign and Election of 1860:

Going into the presidential election of 1860, the issue of slavery had heated the nation to the boiling point. How were the political parties going to maintain unity in the midst of such intense sectional conflict?

Winning Republican Support

After Abraham Lincoln’s defeat in the race for the U.S. Senate, he spent the next sixteen months speaking and traveling all over the North making campaign speeches for numerous Republican candidates. His style avoided the wordy moral rhetoric of the abolitionists in favor of clear and simple logic. Lincoln was successful in laying the groundwork for his candidacy, since by the spring of 1860, many politicians were indebted to Lincoln for his support. Furthermore, because he was out of office and new to national prominence, he had offended no one in particular within the party. Most importantly, Lincoln had established a solid group of campaign managers and supporters who came to the Republican convention prepared to deal, maneuver, and line up votes for Lincoln. His chief opponent, and the man who was sure that he had the nomination in his pocket, was William H. Seward of New York. However, his front-runner status proved to be his greatest obstacle in that it opened him to political criticism even before the convention delegates had met.

Democratic Disunity

Constitutional Union Party

White-Hot Campaign Trail

Impact of 1860 Election

The Campaign and Election of 1864

Vicious Campaign

Political Realities

Confidence Interval: Republicans Will Win Back Congress In 2022

natesilver: Good pick.

nrakich: Yeah, Pence has led almost every 2024 poll so far that hasnt included Trump. It goes back to what I said earlier about name recognition a lot of the time, the early front-runner wins and you dont have to overthink it.;;

geoffrey.skelley: Pence was my No. 2 pick for these reasons. Plus, vice presidents who run for the presidency have a pretty good history of winning nominations! Think of Joe Biden, Al Gore, George H.W. Bush, Walter Mondale. As Nathaniel wrote back in 2019, its often been a successful stepping stone to the presidency.

alex: Not bad, Sarah! But to play devils advocate: If Trump doesnt run, but the GOP is still the party of Trump in 2022 or 2024, would someone who didnt overturn the election go far?

sarah: Excellent point, Alex, which brings me to my second pick. Pence isnt the most charismatic, and as has been pointed out, the idea that the GOP moves in a more moderate direction might not be the direction the party is interested in heading in. And while I know some like Geoffrey are convinced that Trump is gonna pull a Cleveland and run again as I said up top, I dont buy it I think Republicans are going to be OK with someone else at the top of the ticket as long as they stick to Trumps agenda. And if Im right, who better than Trumps eldest son, the heir apparent?

Its grievance politics 2.0 that maybe has the potential to win back Republicans in the suburbs.

geoffrey.skelley: Oh man. DJTJ?

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Dire Rhetoric Used To Describe Democratic Political Opponents Whats At Stake In Country

During the second impeachment trial, the core of the House impeachment managersâ case was this: Trumpâs extreme rhetoric about the presidential election being âriggedâ incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol.

Every Democratic senator and seven Republican senators bought the argument, voting to convict Trump. In both the House and Senate, even Republicans who did not vote to impeach or convict Trump, respectively, criticized his rhetoric and actions surrounding the election.

But at CPAC, while there were few mentions of Jan. 6, several speakersâ rhetoric was similarly inflammatory as they described political opponents in extreme terms and painted a dire picture of a nation led by Democrats.

During his speech, freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., delivered a line eerily similar to one Trump gave on Jan. 6, when the former president said, âIf you donât fight like hell, youâre not going to have a country anymore.â

âIf we sit on the sidelines, we will not have a country to inherit. If we do not get involved and say that it is our duty to make sure that our country is responsible, that our country doesnât take away our liberties, then my friends, we will lose this nation,â Cawthorn said. âThe Democrats, my opponents and adversaries on the other side are brutal and vicious and they are trying to take away all of our rights.â

Democrats Weigh Next Options As Senate Republicans Filibuster Voting Rights Bill

They dont even want to debate it because theyre afraid. They want to deny the right to vote, make it harder to vote for so many Americans, and they dont want to talk about it, Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday. There is a rot a rot at the center of the modern Republican party. Donald Trumps big lie has spread like a cancer and threatens to envelop one of Americas major political parties.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been tasked by the White House to work on voting rights, presided over the Tuesday debate in the Senate.

The legislation is cosponsored by 49 Democratic members of the Senate. The one holdout, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Tuesday hed vote to begin debate after receiving assurances that the Senate would consider a compromise version that he has said he can support.

Today I will vote YES to move to debate this updated voting legislation as a substitute amendment to ensure every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and participate in our great democracy, Manchin said in a statement, while adding that he doesnt support the bill as written.

Well keep talking, he said after the vote. You cant give up. You really cant.

Schumer said the vote was the starting gun, not the finish line in the battle over ballot access and vowed that Democrats will not let it die.

He told reporters on Tuesday that the state-led system held up well in the 2020 election.

It has been rejected by top Republicans as a nonstarter.

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[orbemnews]

Arizona Republican lawmakers join GOP efforts to target voting, with nearly two dozen restrictive voting measures A handful of the bills — including two that would impose new restrictions on Arizona’s popular vote-by-mail system and one that would limit its narrow voting window — have gained momentum and could pass. They are part of a push by Republican-controlled legislatures in several states to advocate for strict new voting laws in response to Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. There are more than 250 bills in circulation nationwide, according to the most recent tally by the Brennan Center, an unprecedented nationwide effort to roll back voter access. The list of states includes Georgia and Texas, two other states with increasingly diverse electorates where Democrats have made recent gains, and Iowa, where Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new law that makes it harder to vote early. Nearly two dozen bills that would restrict voting were introduced in Arizona this year, and several have advanced in recent weeks. The latest came Wednesday, when a state House committee approved a bill that would turn the state’s permanent early voting list into one that drops those who skip consecutive election cycles. The list, created with bipartisan support in 2007, now features 3.2 million people who use it to receive their ballots by mail for each election and has helped spur a shift that resulted in about 80% of the state’s votes being cast by mail. And on Monday, the state Senate approved a bill that would require voters to submit identification paperwork with their mailed-in ballots. Instead of the state’s current system of matching signatures on ballot envelopes with voters’ signatures on file, those voting by mail would need to provide affidavits with their date of birth and driver’s license, state ID or tribal ID card number — or would need to include their voter registration number and a copy of a utility bill. The same forms of identification are already required for in-person votes in Arizona. That bill hasn’t yet been scheduled for a House committee vote. The Senate could also vote soon on a bill that would narrow Arizona’s early voting window, starting it five days later and ending it early by requiring ballots to be postmarked by the Thursday before Election Day. Under current law, ballots just have to arrive at the post office on Election Day. Those measures are part of a raft of new voting restrictions introduced at the start of this year’s legislative session in Phoenix. Other proposals, including one that would allow the legislature to overturn election results, have not advanced — but in statehouses, bills can sometimes be revived before legislatures adjourn for the year. In Arizona, the session will end by April 24. Taken together, Democrats and pro-voting rights groups say, the bills that Arizona Republicans are advancing have the effect of restricting the franchise, particularly for marginalized communities. “They are trying to make it harder for everyone to vote based on the hope and desire that the people who it harms more and who it disenfranchises more are the people less likely to vote Republican,” said state Rep. Athena Salman, a Tempe Democrat and member of the Arizona House Government and Elections Committee. Pointing to Republicans’ losses in Arizona’s last two Senate races, the 2020 presidential election and the GOP’s narrow state legislative majorities, Salman said: “The only way that they can hold onto control is if they make it harder for people to vote so that they can get an unfair and potentially unconstitutional competitive advantage.” The bill that would remove some voters from the state’s list of those who are automatically sent mail-in ballots each election was the subject of a contentious committee hearing Wednesday. SB 1485, which has already passed the state Senate and now heads to the full House, would have the state send notices to people who are on the permanent early voting list but have not participated in the last four elections — so, the 2018 primaries and midterm election and the 2020 primaries and election — asking if they want to continue to receive ballots. Those who do not respond would be removed. Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, the Scottsdale Republican who sponsored the measure, said it is a “clean-up bill” to ensure ballots are not being created for and mailed to those who have moved, died or don’t want them. “On its face, it would make sense that you would want to reduce opportunities for fraud, undo influence, manipulation. That should be something that we all agree on, right?” she said. “Allowing voters to sign up in perpetuity does increase the opportunity for things to go wrong.” Rep. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican who chairs the Government and Elections Committee that advanced Ugenti-Rita’s measure on a party-line vote Wednesday, said GOP lawmakers are concerned about what happens to ballots automatically sent to people who have moved or have died. He acknowledged that the concerns about those ballots being cast fraudulently are “anecdotal, because obviously if nobody’s there and they throw it away, you wouldn’t know. And if nobody’s there and they vote it and do a good duplicate of the signature, you wouldn’t know.” “There’s a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans,” Kavanagh said. “Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they’re willing to risk fraud. Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don’t mind putting security measures in that won’t let everybody vote — but everybody shouldn’t be voting.” He pointed to Democrats’ emphasis on registering voters and pursuing those who have not returned ballots — tactics that Republicans have successfully implemented in other swing states — and said doing so means that “you can greatly influence the outcome of the election if one side pays people to actively and aggressively go out and retrieve those ballots.” “Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they’re totally uninformed on the issues,” Kavanagh said. “Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.” The Arizona bills are only a fraction of the more than 250 pieces of legislation that would restrict voting that were introduced in state legislatures this year, according to a tally from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. Arizona is second only to Georgia in the number of bills to implement new voting restrictions introduced this year, said Eliza Sweren-Becker, voting rights and elections counsel at the Brennan Center. “It is at the top of the heap of states that are trying to restrict voting access,” she said. “The magnitude of restrictive voting bills that we’re seeing in both of those states is a reflection of the anxiety around the browning of America.” Alex Gulotta, the Arizona state director of All Voting is Local, said hearings like Wednesday’s reveal the “privilege of the suburban legislators” who assume everyone has easy access to the documents proposals advancing this year would make necessary, and fail to take into account the limited internet access rural areas and some of the state’s Native American communities face. Pointing to the bill that would require voters to submit ID with their mail-in ballots, he said some people will have their votes invalidated if they forget or are unable to send a printed form with their driver’s license. Those who don’t have licenses would need to know how to find their voter identification number, and then overcome anxiety about sending a copy of a utility bill or bank statement with their ballots. “To expect that people will be able to get these documents, print them out or make a copy of them and then include and feel comfortable including them in with their ballot envelope and still expect that their ballot is secret — that’s a real challenge,” Gulotta said. “And it really undermines vote by mail in a really meaningful way.” Source link Orbem News #Arizona #Arizonaatcenterofvoting-rightsfightasRepublicanlawmakersadvancerestrictivenewmeasures-CNNPolitics #dozen #efforts #GOP #join #lawmakers #measures #Politics #Republican #restrictive #Target #Voting

[dipulb3]

Arizona Republican lawmakers join GOP efforts to target voting, with nearly two dozen restrictive voting measures

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/arizona-republican-lawmakers-join-gop-efforts-to-target-voting-with-nearly-two-dozen-restrictive-voting-measures/

Arizona Republican lawmakers join GOP efforts to target voting, with nearly two dozen restrictive voting measures

A handful of the bills — including two that would impose new restrictions on Arizona’s popular vote-by-mail system and one that would limit its narrow voting window — have gained momentum and could pass.

They are part of a push by Republican-controlled legislatures in several states to advocate for strict new voting laws in response to Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. There are more than 250 bills in circulation nationwide, according to the most recent tally by the Brennan Center, an unprecedented nationwide effort to roll back voter access. The list of states includes Georgia and Texas, two other states with increasingly diverse electorates where Democrats have made recent gains, and Iowa, where Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a new law that makes it harder to vote early.

Nearly two dozen bills that would restrict voting were introduced in Arizona this year, and several have advanced in recent weeks.

The latest came Wednesday, when a state House committee approved a bill that would turn the state’s permanent early voting list into one that drops those who skip consecutive election cycles. The list, created with bipartisan support in 2007, now features 3.2 million people who use it to receive their ballots by mail for each election and has helped spur a shift that resulted in about 80% of the state’s votes being cast by mail.

And on Monday, the state Senate approved a bill that would require voters to submit identification paperwork with their mailed-in ballots. Instead of the state’s current system of matching signatures on ballot envelopes with voters’ signatures on file, those voting by mail would need to provide affidavits with their date of birth and driver’s license, state ID or tribal ID card number — or would need to include their voter registration number and a copy of a utility bill. The same forms of identification are already required for in-person votes in Arizona. That bill hasn’t yet been scheduled for a House committee vote.

The Senate could also vote soon on a bill that would narrow Arizona’s early voting window, starting it five days later and ending it early by requiring ballots to be postmarked by the Thursday before Election Day. Under current law, ballots just have to arrive at the post office on Election Day.

Those measures are part of a raft of new voting restrictions introduced at the start of this year’s legislative session in Phoenix. Other proposals, including one that would allow the legislature to overturn election results, have not advanced — but in statehouses, bills can sometimes be revived before legislatures adjourn for the year. In Arizona, the session will end by April 24.

Taken together, Democrats and pro-voting rights groups say, the bills that Arizona Republicans are advancing have the effect of restricting the franchise, particularly for marginalized communities.

“They are trying to make it harder for everyone to vote based on the hope and desire that the people who it harms more and who it disenfranchises more are the people less likely to vote Republican,” said state Rep. Athena Salman, a Tempe Democrat and member of the Arizona House Government and Elections Committee.

Pointing to Republicans’ losses in Arizona’s last two Senate races, the 2020 presidential election and the GOP’s narrow state legislative majorities, Salman said: “The only way that they can hold onto control is if they make it harder for people to vote so that they can get an unfair and potentially unconstitutional competitive advantage.”

The bill that would remove some voters from the state’s list of those who are automatically sent mail-in ballots each election was the subject of a contentious committee hearing Wednesday.

SB 1485, which has already passed the state Senate and now heads to the full House, would have the state send notices to people who are on the permanent early voting list but have not participated in the last four elections — so, the 2018 primaries and midterm election and the 2020 primaries and election — asking if they want to continue to receive ballots. Those who do not respond would be removed.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, the Scottsdale Republican who sponsored the measure, said it is a “clean-up bill” to ensure ballots are not being created for and mailed to those who have moved, died or don’t want them.

“On its face, it would make sense that you would want to reduce opportunities for fraud, undo influence, manipulation. That should be something that we all agree on, right?” she said. “Allowing voters to sign up in perpetuity does increase the opportunity for things to go wrong.”

Rep. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican who chairs the Government and Elections Committee that advanced Ugenti-Rita’s measure on a party-line vote Wednesday, said GOP lawmakers are concerned about what happens to ballots automatically sent to people who have moved or have died.

He acknowledged that the concerns about those ballots being cast fraudulently are “anecdotal, because obviously if nobody’s there and they throw it away, you wouldn’t know. And if nobody’s there and they vote it and do a good duplicate of the signature, you wouldn’t know.”

“There’s a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans,” Kavanagh said. “Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they’re willing to risk fraud. Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don’t mind putting security measures in that won’t let everybody vote — but everybody shouldn’t be voting.”

He pointed to Democrats’ emphasis on registering voters and pursuing those who have not returned ballots — tactics that Republicans have successfully implemented in other swing states — and said doing so means that “you can greatly influence the outcome of the election if one side pays people to actively and aggressively go out and retrieve those ballots.”

“Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they’re totally uninformed on the issues,” Kavanagh said. “Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.”

The Arizona bills are only a fraction of the more than 250 pieces of legislation that would restrict voting that were introduced in state legislatures this year, according to a tally from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Arizona is second only to Georgia in the number of bills to implement new voting restrictions introduced this year, said Eliza Sweren-Becker, voting rights and elections counsel at the Brennan Center.

“It is at the top of the heap of states that are trying to restrict voting access,” she said. “The magnitude of restrictive voting bills that we’re seeing in both of those states is a reflection of the anxiety around the browning of America.”

Alex Gulotta, the Arizona state director of All Voting is Local, said hearings like Wednesday’s reveal the “privilege of the suburban legislators” who assume everyone has easy access to the documents proposals advancing this year would make necessary, and fail to take into account the limited internet access rural areas and some of the state’s Native American communities face.

Pointing to the bill that would require voters to submit ID with their mail-in ballots, he said some people will have their votes invalidated if they forget or are unable to send a printed form with their driver’s license. Those who don’t have licenses would need to know how to find their voter identification number, and then overcome anxiety about sending a copy of a utility bill or bank statement with their ballots.

“To expect that people will be able to get these documents, print them out or make a copy of them and then include and feel comfortable including them in with their ballot envelope and still expect that their ballot is secret — that’s a real challenge,” Gulotta said. “And it really undermines vote by mail in a really meaningful way.”