#targeted because they were suddenly in a position where it was obvious that they were on their own

[bibiana112]

Haven't really posted about this but long-time headcanon of mine that what happened to the Kurashikis for them to end up at the hospital was that Akane got sick but pushed through it still going to school and not telling anyone about it because she would see Aoi pushing himself during flu season to keep going to work and learned to do the same through observation, not wanting to bother him or anyone else with something so minor until one too many days without getting treated later she collapses at school and gives everyone a big scare that the teacher needs to send her to the hospital for and realistically in my mind at least there's no way Aoi would be able to get her in or out of there without someone flagging cps unless someone saw this kid come pick up his little sister at odd hours with a story that wasn't matching up and realized that's a prime target for unethical science shit

[hwanchaesong]

━⁠☞🍽️ Fourth Course: Partners in everything until you realize that you're nothing but his mere puppet in his very own acidic heist. 🥢

🎧: Olivia Rodrigo - Favorite Crime

wc: 826

genre & warnings: angst, college setting, bets and heartbreaks, cursing, hints of sex, break-up, etc etc

a/n: this is a part of The Sour Restaurant series. if y'all want, you can read the other album inspired fics of other groups here.

"Where are you going?" Yeosang asked, confusion written on his features when you suddenly got out of the bed, picking your discarded clothes on the floor.

He's alarmed to say the least, as he was expecting a cuddle session after your first night of intimacy with him.

So, why are you getting ready to leave?

When you don't answer him and continue dressing up, he repeats his question, only to be ignored again.

"Baby? What's up?" his frown deepens, now leaving the comforts of his sheets and picking up some clothes to wear as well.

"Isn't it obvious?" you huffed, putting on a shirt and looking for your bag so you could exit his apartment, "I'm leaving."

Yeosang tugs on your arm, pulling you close to him and stopping you from moving around.

"Why are you leaving? You can stay the night with me." he mumbles, his chest rumbling on your back and you hate how weak you are for him.

But you had enough. You have given him what he wants, you have given in to your desires, so now it's time for you to fix yourself. Maybe hear some reprimanding from your friend once they hear the story tomorrow.

Their voices echo in your head, pushing the knife deeper into your wounded heart.

"Don't get involved with that guy, Y/N. He's a player!"

"Save yourself from the heartbreak."

You would have listened to them, but where's the fun in that right?

Choosing to shield Yeosang from their bullets wasn't a wise thing to do, but you were in love with the man, leaving you no choice but to succumb to his charms.

"You wanted me to stay?" you scoffed, glaring at him and tugging your arm back, moving away from his body before you do something that you will further regret in the long run.

"Of course I do." he mumbles, sincerity lacing his tone and for a second you almost believed that he's been genuine with you.

He appears to be hurt at your attitude, but he doesn't deserve to act like a puppy who got kicked. The audacity to be in pain when it's supposed to be you, the one who should be grieving over murdered love that you are burying six feet under.

You hum, glaring at him with a meaningful smile that he couldn't quite comprehend, "Why? I mean— you already got what you want. Your mission is done."

He stands still and somehow, his breathing becomes shallower, his heartbeat spiking up as Yeosang slowly begins to understand your questionable actions.

You heard them. You fucking know everything.

Yeosang sits quietly in the corner of the classroom, listening to his friends talk about their endeavors and mundane problems in life.

"Oh Yeosang-hyung." Wooyoung called him, catching his attention and raising a brow at the younger in a silent question of what he needed.

"Is your mission going well?"

Yeosang's muscles have gone rigid for a second, remembering the purpose of why he courted you for so long.

But then again, he was ready to throw the stupid bet away.

Why?

Because he genuinely fell in love with you.

All the fake affections he shows, the 'I love you's', the countless nights of cuddling each other, random gossip and eating chicken in the middle of the night.

Everything is suddenly real, but then, what about his ego?

"Yeah." he answers absentmindedly, "I think I'll be able to do it tomorrow."

"Damn, looks like we have to throw in our money the day after tomorrow." Hongjoong laughs, fixing his position from the chair, "Didn't know that Y/N was such an easy target."

Yeosang's fists clenched, not liking the way you are referred to by Hongjoong. Still, he held himself back and forced a smile.

"I second that." Seonghwa butts in, giving Yeosang a pat on the back, "Advanced congratulations to you, my bro, for winning a bet successfully."

"Y/N, I can explain."

You held a hand up to stop him, shaking your head in disappointment. Mainly for yourself.

"Save it Yeosang. Besides, I let myself drown tonight despite knowing that this is nothing but a bet." you close your eyes, willing yourself not to cry.

At least, not in front of him.

"Y/N, baby, please." it was barely a whisper, a weak voice and meek begging but you're not about to give in.

You avoid Yeosang's hand that was attempting to grab you again, trudging towards the door of his apartment, ready to walk out of his life.

"Well, at least you have a new nerd in the notch of your belt. Congratulations, Yeosang."

Then you slammed the door shut, leaving Yeosang and his regrets, the pain of letting you go swallows him alive.

You did your best to love him with all you can, and even after all that, his hands remained soiled by your broken pieces. A crime that won't be forgotten and never be forgiven.

taglist:

@acciocriativity @iarayara @stolasisyourparent @shakalakaboomboo @nsixns @heartssol

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 5 Pt. 2

I want to talk about Knives for a sec. Up to where I've read in the manga so far, we really don't have much of an understanding of him yet. I think I may have a slight advantage in having watched one of the shows before starting (I've watched Tristamp) because otherwise I don't know if I would quite get what to make of him so far.

I won't say anything about Tristamp here since I'm not going to assume everyone in book club has seen it, but I did draw a conclusion from it that, after reading volume 5, I am almost positive applies to the manga version of Knives too.

Knives treats Vash as if he were an extension of himself.

[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum volume 5. Knives stands casually, holding a cup and smiling as he greets his brother in Vash and Hoppered's shared flashback to July. Hoppered thinks "It's him..." as Knives says "Hey Vash." End ID.]

Ok so first off I need to establish something because it's important. Listen. I have no doubt that Knives loves his brother. I do not doubt that. But his behaviour towards Vash is actively and deeply cruel. Knives is friendly up until Vash disagrees with him, and then his mood suddenly changes for the worse - he has gone so far as to specifically target people Vash loves just to break the ideology he disagrees with, shifted culpability from himself to solely on Vash several times, violated his autonomy, and has on a few occasions physically restrained him. <- That's. Really bad. I would argue that these behaviours are in keeping with uh... pretty textbook manipulative/abusive behaviours.

However, here’s the thing: these kinds of behaviours are typically perpetrated because the person wants power over the victim. I think it's easy to read that into it, but I honestly don't think that's Knives' intention at all. He wants Vash with him. If anything his little "Watch it!" when Vash shoves him away just after the colony ships fall reads as genuine confusion. He's incredulous every time Vash points his gun at him. After all, as Knives puts it: they're brothers. They only have each other.

If Knives wants power over anything, I'd argue it's power over Rem, not Vash. He sees Vash's suffering and believes it was her who "made him like this", disregarding his own accountability in both Vash's continued pain... and her death. I do have to wonder if his attempts to break Vash's pacifism is also an attempt to make Rem's ghost leave them both for good, because there is no way Millions "I thought I'd spare her but now I see she was just as flawed" Knives felt no sadness or remorse over her death.

[ID: A screenshot from Trigun Volume 2. Knives sits in the escape ship with most of his face shadowed. He is hunched slightly, with a difficult to read, rather blank expression. End ID.]

^He is totally not bothered by this, definitely a-ok with her death. /j

But here's the thing: I really do think Knives believes that without Rem's influence, his brother will think and act exactly like him; that she has "corrupted" him somehow. This plays out in the way he's almost eager to show Vash their Plant abilities, apparently completely ignoring that Vash is confused and terrified - there's a serious dissonance to their interactions, where Knives seems less uncaring then oblivious to Vash's obvious distress. A good first indicator is directly before Fifth Moon, where Knives realizes that Vash has blocked out the memory of July, and is more intrigued than alarmed by this. Idk man if that was my brother I would be. Concerned.

See, if you read Knives as wanting power over Vash, then it's kind of reminiscent of the older sibling who thinks they know what's best for the younger. Indeed, that is the role Knives seems to take on at times.

But Knives is not actually older. They're twins.

Zazie also has an intriguing line after seeing the lengths Vash will go to in order to protect those he cares for: "It definitely isn't in Knives' nature to fight for anyone." <- This is an odd conclusion to come to for someone who is supposedly doing everything for a new world that's safe for all Plants, including Vash. I'm choosing to take Zazie at their word since I don't think they would have any real reason to lie or really see the point in lying.

So, what this implies is exactly what I stated earlier - Knives makes little, if any distinction between him and Vash. The world is divided into "same" and "different", "family" and "threat". It unfortunately allows Knives to continuously undermine Vash's autonomy - it's fine to forcibly activate Vash's angel arm because it's "our" power. It's fine for the doctor to poke and prod at Vash's arm to get readings because Knives is supervising it. Vash will stick with him because they're brothers, right? Of course he will. And if he doesn't... well that can't possibly be Vash. It's Rem's corrupting influence. And that makes him violently angry as he attempts to destroy any last trace of her that persists in his brother. Because surely, without her, Vash would be just like him, right?

One last note I'd like to make is the way Knives keeps obscuring Vash's face when he forcibly activates Vash's angel arm.

[ID: Two screenshots from Trigun and Trigun Maximum. The first image shows Knives grabbing Vash's face as he forces him to activate his angel arm during the Fifth Moon incident. The second image is of the same during the July flashback. End ID.]

The thing is, you can't argue this is necessary to activate the ability. In the July flashback, Knives actually has his hand placed rather gently on the side of Vash's head... up until Vash tries to resist. That's when Knives slams his hand down over his face instead and shoves him onto the floor.

In the context of Knives seeing Vash as an extension of himself, it could take on a few different meanings. If he muffles Vash's screaming and crying, perhaps he doesn't have to see the clear distress on his brother's face. Maybe it's representative of stripping Vash of his personal choice in these scenes. Maybe because this is the truth of the matter - Knives does not want to see the person Vash is if that person is so wildly different from himself, to ruin the illusion of twin as extension instead of a separate person.

Meanwhile, Vash is trying so hard to be everything Knives isn't. Knives' face is shadowed in flashbacks to create distance between them until July reveals the destruction they both caused and Vash can no longer deny the harm he too is capable of causing. The twins cause me emotional damage man.

[gffa]

Hey Lumi! I’m watching The Bad Batch for the first time. Just finished the episode where Rampart is trying to get his bill passed and then Palpatine at the end manages to manipulate the situation so that even though the truth was told, the clones still lost. Rex at the end of the episode says something like “Palpatine was always one step ahead of us during the war and he’s several steps ahead of us now” I’m curious as to how much Rex knows about Palpatine and what actually happened. Because I don’t think he would know Palpatine is a Sith Lord but I think it’s obvious to many (or most) people in the galaxy that Palpatine was using the war as a way to gain total control over the galaxy. What are your thoughts on this?

This is an interesting question that I've been trying to figure out, because I don't recall anything that says for sure Rex knew that Palpatine was Sidious, but what they do know is: - Obi-Wan told Bo-Katan, Ahsoka, and Rex that the Council suspected, "Darth Sidious is the Sith Lord who orchestrated the Clone Wars and played both sides of it from the beginning." while they were on Mandalore. - Rex looked into what Fives was trying to uncover, he knew it went "all the way to the top" and at least suspected that Palpatine had to be involved given Fives trying to target him. - When Order 66 happened, they saw a holo-figure of Darth Sidious giving them the command, which triggered them calling him "My Lord". For the most part, Palpatine used a hologram version of himself for announcements and such, but he did make at least that one speech to the Senate in his true form during ROTS. - They knew that the Jedi had battled Palpatine, because he made the speech after the lightning scarred him, so why would the Jedi have gone after a politician? How could an ordinary politician stand up against a Jedi Master of Mace Windu's calibre? - Obi-Wan and Yoda know that Palpatine is Sidious because they saw the footage of Anakin swearing loyalty to him. While they wouldn't have been able to tell her directly, they almost assuredly told Bail, who may have passed on that information to Ahsoka. (Whether at Padme's funeral or another time?) Ahsoka could have told Rex after that, they were still in contact for many years afterwards.

Most likely, I think they both put the puzzle pieces together from the above--neither of them knew about Anakin being Darth Vader--and Rex's words in TBB episode could be (if I'm remembering right, I only saw it the once and haven't seen it since, so my memories may be fuzzy) theoretically be just as a politician, I think they all knew he was playing dirty even just as Palpatine to get himself into position as Emperor, but I think it's more that they just looked at all the puzzle pieces, saw him suddenly look like that hologram the clones got, and quietly put two and two together. If I've missed anything (entirely possible! it's a hazy question of who knows what at what point), feel free to jump in, but afair I'm not sure it's directly stated anywhere and I think either Rex just figured it out once all the pieces fell into place or the biochip in their heads had that information and, once triggered, all the clones knew it.

[unhonestlymirror]

It's KAB time.

I will tell you about one more thing that we encounter here every day. These are KABs (guided aerial bomb), or FABs. Aviation bombs of great power. This is one of the most terrible things that I encountered in the war. Very destructive and the occupiers use these bombs en masse.

You can suddenly come under fire and not even have time to get scared. Hitting a bullet or bursting a mine is a moment but you hear the bomb before it explodes. You hear it approaching with a characteristic sound. And you understand that if it flies at you, there are few chances.

Roughly speaking, there are two types of gliding bombs. Those that were created as controlled (UPAB-500B and 1500B) from the very beginning and modified FABs (high-explosive aviation bombs of general purpose), to which correction and flight control modules are attached These are FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1500.

They are not done very well, but the russians have a lot of them, and they can quickly equip the required number of bombs. Enemy planes fly up 40-50 km to the battle line, launch these bombs. They fly to their target and hit it. If they hit, of course.

Something about the quality and design of processing. We often find remnants of control modules as in the photo.

It is obvious that the design provides for quick manufacturing, and the charter is minus the quality. Sometimes bombs fall, but do not explode.

This "specimen" actually lay under our feet for some time. Over time, it was taken away from here and, I think, blown up somewhere away from where it could do harm. They aimed at the road, or at something that was travelling by it.

I can assume that the russians, as often happens, saw ideas about such "recycling" of old bombs in the West. They liked JDAM's technical solution. Their propaganda likes to mention it in the context of the aerial bombardment campaign of Yugoslavia.

One of the russian weapons experts referred to this system (which includes a GPS-based guidance system and wings). He called it the "bra bomb." The russians have always had problems with naming.

The very range of dropping guided air bombs depends on the flight parameters of the carrier - speed and altitude. Accordingly, the higher and faster the aircraft drops, the farther such bombs will fly. KABs are considered a difficult target to shoot down since the bomb carrier does not enter the area of ​​​​air defence.

In addition, we can not afford to keep stationary air defence systems near the front because there are not enough of them to cover objects in the rear. Moreover, as soon as the air defence systems are brought closer to the front, the resistance to their destruction also increases. In a word, it is impossible to reliably protect yourself from KABs here at the front. There is no suitable resource. And even if there was, it would not always be possible anyway.

The russians use these bombs every day and in large numbers. The targets are different. The positions of our units are in the immediate vicinity of the contact line. Logistics routes. Places of possible location of equipment, headquarters, warehouses, etc. They do not hesitate to shoot on the roads and in their own trenches, which were occupied by the Armed Forces. There is a defined list of roads and logistics routes. From time to time, bombs fall either next to these roads or even on them. However, in this case, the effect is questionable.

Daily is that the russians conduct thorough aerial reconnaissance of various depths. Near the contact line, in our rear. These are the same commercial drones as ours, as well as their regular "wings" - Orlans, Zaly, Superkams. Based on the results of the intelligence, they are trying to launch airstrikes at the corresponding points. I don't know what the accuracy statistics of these strikes are, but from what I could assess with my own eyes, I would say that it is not high.

There are objects that the russians have been shooting at for several months in a row and can not hit. Fields, towns, and villages are strewn with debris from these bombs. The worst thing is that they often purposefully launch anti-aircraft missiles at residential buildings, trying to reach infrastructure facilities. Many settlements were destroyed or hopelessly damaged by these bombs. They simply turn walnuts and neighbouring villages into crushed stone and clay.

They use them both during the day and at night. The graphs look variable. In a certain period, concentrated and massive airstrikes took place at night. For example, during the day, they reconnoitred something, and with the onset of darkness, begin shelling the specified coordinates. During the day, the strikes were carried out as a result of more operational reconnaissance or a reaction to some events. For example, the occupiers could receive information that equipment had passed in a certain place. Then they raise the plane and launch a bomb there. Even if belatedly.

Another example. When another KA-52 government helicopter was shot down, they launched 4 bombs on the square, where they thought the MANPADS missile might have come from. With the corresponding accuracy that I have already spoken about. We have repeatedly seen bomb explosions during operation. This solves the problem of high losses of battleboards. Aircraft become unreachable for MANPADS. On the other hand, the bomb's flight time increases, and we have more time to hide if there is such an opportunity.

This story is primarily about how we move forward in a situation where the enemy has air superiority. Under constant airstrikes. When the targets are located in the steppe, like in the palm of your hand, the surrounding fields are mined, and the narrow corridors for movement are restricted and shot at. I can't imagine anyone considering launching a ground offensive without the necessary air assets. But the Armed Forces do it and have success.

[sunshine-overload]

[BSTS] Taiga Crane Game 4* Card Story

ran pov

chapter 1 -game centre-

saki: (Unei-san told me that a cast member had left a message that they’d like me to meet them here…)

taiga: Looks like they’ve installed a new action controller over there… Hweheh, it was worth coming to the first day of play testing. Next I’ll try a different combination of attacks~….

-saki walks over to him-

saki: Taiga-san, sorry for making you wait.

taiga: Saki-san…? Wasn’t expecting to see you here, what a coincidence.

saki: Coincidence…? You mean you weren’t the one that left that message asking for me to come here?

taiga: Message? Nope, that wasn’t—

-ran appears-

ran: It was me, me! I’m the one who left it! I was the one who called ya out here, Nee-chan. Actually, why are ya even here Taiga? Are ya bein’ all clingy actin’ like you’re her boyfriend or somethin’?

taiga: Scary, he just picked a fight with me as easily as he breathed. I’m here because an arcade version of a mobile game I play just came out, that’s all.

saki: So you play arcade games as well as phone games, Taiga-san?

taiga: Yeah, I guess. I play a bit of everything really. Despite being the same game there’s different skills in the arcade version compared to the mobile version… Like the cabinet that’s being play tested here for example has a rare special skill that’s only available in the arcade version. But well, if there’s anything about game’s you want to know more about just let me know.

saki: You sure know a lot, Taiga-san. It’s reassuring having you here.

ran: When ya played that fightin’ game way back I remember that ya lost hopelessly though~!*

taiga: That’s because my opponent was an anomaly.

ran: Oh really~? Makin’ excuses is lame ya know.

taiga: I mean, if you had been my opponent I definitely wouldn’t have lost.

ran: What was that just now? I don’t think I heard ya correctly?

taiga: I said that if it were a match between you and me, my victory would be guaranteed. My experience level is simply that much higher than yours.

ran: Damn you’re really talkin’ yourself up, aren’t ya? A match that uneven wouldn’t be fun at all! If ya wanna go then let’s have a crane game showdown!

taiga: Huh? I mean that’s fine too, but why the crane games?

ran: I have some tricks up my sleeve too.

taiga: Well whatever it is there’s no way in hell I’m losing. 

saki: (It suddenly became a competition…)

ran: I’m definitely gonna take out the win, so make sure ya watch me, Nee-chan!

taiga: Is it not obvious that I’m gonna win? Saki-san can be our witness then.

saki: Umm… Then, Ran-san, Taiga-san, do your best!

(*note: I think they’re referring to the trick or truth event story where taiga lost to gui in a fighting game)

-

chapter 2 -game centre-

taiga: When it comes to games there’s no way I’m gonna lose. I’ll show Ran that I can win this contest.

saki: Good luck!

taiga: My first target will be those boxes of sweets. It’s the most suitable for working out the specifics of how the crane’s arm and claw works. It’s an important factor you need to check.

saki: Those look like they’d be really hard to pick up… The box is smooth so it would slip easily.

taiga: That’s exactly why I’m going for them. Ah well, you’ll understand in a minute. Watch closely now.

-taiga starts playing the crane game-

taiga: Let’s see, for the horizontal placement… about there should be good. And then then… about that far back. Perfect. Go, Crane-chan!

-cg

taiga: Heck yeah!

saki: Yay, it picked the box up! Ah, but it looks like it might fall!

taiga: Don’t worry, this is all according to plan.

saki: It slipped out…? Amazing, you really did get it!

taiga: The centre of gravity on these kinds of boxes is right in the middle. However, if you position the claw in a way that’s slightly off centre, then they’ll slip and fall right into the prize collection shoot as you saw. Well, this is just scratching the surface of kinds of the techniques you can use. Here, you can take the prize.

saki: Thank you. I’m happy to receive a gift from you.

taiga: …….

taiga: I think I’ll try this machine again.

saki: Hm? Are you sure?

taiga: Yeah, it’s easy mode. It’s always convenient having some snacks around. I can munch on them whilst messing around on my computer… By the way, is there a specific kind that you want in there?

-time pass-

saki: Woah, you’ve won so many! You really are great at this. I wonder how your competition with Ran-san will pan out?

taiga: Competition…? Oh right, that was a thing. He started it didn’t he? At first I just didn’t want to lose to Ran, but then I started thinking that as long as you’re enjoying yourself then I’m a winner either way.

—end

[scrapironflotilla]

This is probably a question with an obvious answer but when divisions were relieved and swapped out - I'm reading Passchendaele by Nick Lloyd, and it's German divisions specifically that triggered this thought - how did that work, logistically? Because surely that's a lot of men to ask to just get up and go all at once? All I can think is that happened bit by bit over a day, but I'm genuinely unclear.

It's not really an obvious thing so much as a generally uninteresting or routine thing. We just lump it in with a bunch of other administrative stuff that is vital to keep a war or battle going, but that happens largely on paper and (hopefully) without any fuss. The finding and allocating of billets in French villages (still full of civilians) or the transport of daily supplies of food and ammunition are similarly treated, but equally important.

But it's actually one of the more dangerous times, as you can occasionally see during the war. As you rightly point out, that's a lot of people to be moving about around and through the front lines, as such it's a very tempting target for artillery.

But fundamentally it's about how many men you can move quickly and safely in and out of the front line during darkness. Reliefs commonly happened at night for the reason that the enemy can't observe you. This meant that tons of work went on at night including reliefs. The time of year and amount of hours of darkness varied as well, further complicating matters during summer.

There were a few ways of conducting a relief, but they generally followed a pattern where the commanding officers and staffs of incoming units would visit their new positions a few days before relief to start the hand over process, getting detailed information about the quirks of the line and on various important points. Sometimes some incoming officers would be attached to the HQ units of the outgoing units to familiarise themselves with any special conditions there. Then a detailed timetable would be drawn up at corps and divisional level which settled the times for each brigade and battalion to start marching on the actual swap over.

The swap itself varied in how it was specifically done, like which units were taken out where and when, in what order along the line. This is where details like the amount of routes to/from the front line become important and have to be weighed against the ability to hold the line if attacked suddenly. But generally the battalions and brigades in the front line would be relieved first, and those in the support and rear positions later on. If the ground was difficult and nights were short it often meant that relief had to be done piecemeal and over two nights. This was always a nervous time as if the enemy found out it would likely mean some attempt at disruption through either artillery or a raid.

If I get a chance later this week I'll have a look through my research and see if I can find anything to illustrate this with.

[theroundbartable]

Kaz doesn't talk about himself. But sometimes he says things that give the crows glimpses into his life.

They don't realise it often, like when Kaz suddenly knew farm language with Colm Fahej. But sometimes, it's obvious.

They are on a job, a smaller, trivial one. They are still gathering information, Inej, Jesper, Wylan and Kaz, when they overhear their target talking. The man has a rasp in his voice, not unlike Kaz's own and Jesper can't help make a joke of it.

"Hey, Inej. You think Kaz and him are related?"

Inej smiles from the corner where she vanished, at least, Jesper assumes she does. At the very least he knows that she knows what he's referring to.

"Shh, quiet.", Kaz silences him.

"Aw, come on, Kaz. He looks JUST like you."

"If I were ugly, perhaps." Kaz mutters and gestures him quiet again.

"Seriously though. What's with his voice?", Jesper finally says, because it's something he can't ask about Kaz. But he sure as hell can ask about a stranger's ticks and problems, which Kaz would know how to exploit.

Kaz rolls his eyes. "It's from the Queen lady's plague. Must have reached the late stage, when the firepox get's stuck in the lungs. It's nasty business all that scar tissue. Blocks the vocal chords. Now move, we gotta go!"

Jesper pauses. Wylan pauses. Only Inej and Kaz move on from their positions. Jesper and Wylan exchange a glance. Then they follow suit.

[mariacallous]

Nikki Haley spent the dying days of her presidential campaign reminding anyone who’d listen that Donald Trump is unhinged and unfit. But when she ended her candidacy last week after Super Tuesday, she suggested it was possible Trump could still win her endorsement.

“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him,” she said. “And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”

Of course, it’s impossible that Trump, who regularly called Haley “birdbrain,” will make anything resembling a positive moral choice. He does not build willing coalitions. He only attempts to dominate through violence and intimidation. We know this about him because our birth certificates are not dated “Yesterday.”

But if Haley is overly optimistic about Trump, perhaps it’s because she uncritically consumes mainstream media, which seemingly can’t help but default to covering Trump as if he’s a normal candidate — even after his attempted coup and multiple criminal indictments.

Yes, major news outlets, including the New York Times, are now more likely to acknowledge that Trump outright lies than simply makes “false” statements, but the press still resists definitively calling him out for the terrible and dangerous person he is. Because their baseline assumption is that Trump is erratic and malevolent, it’s not generally regarded as big news when Trump does awful things, such as mocking Biden’s speech impediment during a speech over the weekend. (Watch the footage below, though it should be mentioned that the NYT published an article noting that Trump mocked Biden’s stutter.)

Implicit in the media’s ongoing coverage of Trump is the idea that he might suddenly stop behaving like Donald Trump. Case in point was an absurd article Axios ran last week from national politics reporter Sophia Cai with the headline, “Top Trump advisers try to steer him off personal drama.” The top of the article is bad enough, as it presents Trump’s unhinged vendettas like a “Sex and the City” brunch scene, but the low point is Cai’s suggestion that Trump is “toning down” his rhetoric as he attempts to woo college-educated voters.

On what was once Twitter, the caption above Axios’s article read, “Looking to November, Trump tempers his claims about the 2020 election — a little.” (An earlier version of the tweet that didn’t hedge as much and was widely criticized was deleted — see it at top of the post.) Cai wrote, “In some recent speeches, Trump has used different terms in describing his typical complaint that the 2020 election he lost was ‘stolen’ — saying, ‘We were interrupted,’ or ‘something very bad happened.’”

These are obvious euphemisms for Trump’s ongoing election lies, but Cai’s assertion isn’t even true. He told supporters at a North Carolina rally just days before the Axios article that “what happened at that last election is a disgrace, and we’re not going to let it happen again. Did you ever notice they go after the people that want to find out where the cheating was — and, by the way, 82 percent of the country understands that it was a rigged election, OK? You can’t have a country with that.” (Surprise! Trump’s “82 percent” claim is a lie.)

In fact, the very day after Axios’s piece dropped, Trump went on Truth Social and proclaimed, “the Election was RIGGED.”

Trump’s remarks at a Rome, Georgia, rally on Saturday were just as disturbing. He insisted that he’d won Georgia in 2020 and that the election was “rigged.” Those same lies painted targets on the backs of Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who won a defamation suit against Trump ally Rudy Giuliani. It’s clear that Trump won’t accept an election loss, and we can expect that he’ll incite more violence and harassment. It’s the height of irresponsibility for a major media outlet to suggest otherwise.

And it’s not just Axios. After Trump won the South Carolina Republican primary, NBC News ran an article headlined, “Fewer grievances, more policy: Trump aides and allies push for a post-South Carolina ‘pivot’.” If you’ve paid any attention to the words that come out of Trump’s mouth, you’d understand that Trump’s policy is personal grievance. He’s openly vowed to spend his second term persecuting his political enemies and anyone who dared tried to hold him accountable for his crimes.

[kemetic-dreams]

In the stock market, a short squeeze is a rapid increase in the price of a stock owing primarily to an excess of short selling of a stock rather than underlying fundamentals. A short squeeze occurs when demand has increased relative to supply because short sellers have to buy stock to cover their short positions.

What's a Short Squeeze and Why Does It Happen?

Key Points

A stock that rallies hyperbolically when there are no obvious current events driving the response, could be experiencing a short squeeze.

A short squeeze can potentially be worth trading, but only if you exercise great care.

The aim of short selling is to generate profit from a stock that declines in value. (Short selling involves borrowing a security whose price you think is going to fall from your brokerage and selling it on the open market. Your plan is to then buy the same stock back later—hopefully for a lower price than you initially sold it for—and pocket the difference after repaying the initial loan.) While there are potential benefits to going short, there are also plenty of risks. One big risk is when a bullish catalyst (earnings, news, technical event, etc.) pushes the stock price higher, prompting short sellers to "head for the exits" all at once. As the shorts scramble to buy back and cover their losses, upward momentum can build on itself, causing the stock to move sharply higher. This is known as a short squeeze.

Understanding the short squeeze

What makes a short squeeze so dangerous? Think of it this way: When you buy a stock, the worst thing it can do is drop to zero. But the upside is unlimited. If a stock has a growth narrative and there are enough believers, the share price can go well beyond what looks reasonable by traditional fundamental metrics.

Classic signs of a short squeeze can include:

A security has a significant amount of short sellers (short interest) who believe the stock price is going to fall, and then instead the stock price sharply rises, forcing many of these leveraged short sellers to quickly exit their positions, buying back the stock in the face of potentially increasing losses.

A dynamic narrative that tries to justify the detachment of share prices from a company's intrinsic value

A case for massive growth as well as for financial stress

Traders with deep pockets aligned on both sides of the trade, often using options and other leveraged instruments

With GameStop (GME) in 2021 and Tesla (TSLA) in 2020, there were many classic signs of a short squeeze. Traders with short positions were covering because they had to, either because they had sustained large losses or shares were no longer available to be borrowed. In 2022, short sellers targeted troubled companies such as Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Carvana (CVNA). In early 2023, the most heavily shorted companies included Coinbase Global (COIN), a cryptocurrency firm, and Occidental Petroleum (OXY).

When a stock suddenly experiences a dramatic climb, with or without good news, it's important to ask yourself, "Who would buy shares up here?" The answer? Someone who doesn't have enough money to hold on any longer, or someone whose pain threshold has finally been crossed.

Proceed with caution

If you're a long-term investor who happens to own a stock that's getting squeezed, it's probably not a good time to trade. Instead of acting on emotions, remember what got you to where you are in your investing journey—and where you'd like to be. If buying a stock that's in squeeze territory doesn't fall within your long-term objectives, you might want to step aside and not trade. If you do decide to venture in, make sure you have no illusions and no misconceptions of the dangers. Understand that when you’re dealing with a stock that’s being squeezed, you're taking a big risk. 

Identifying a short squeeze can be relatively simple—after the fact. The trick is to identify the conditions that could lead to a squeeze ahead of time, and then determine how you might want to play it (or not). 

Shorting a stock is a complicated business. Because you can't sell something you don't own, shorting requires the seller to "borrow" the stock (and pay interest to the stock lender), then sell it. Locating the shares can sometimes be difficult for your clearing firm because of high demand or a small number of outstanding shares.

Measuring a short squeeze can involve a metric called the short interest ratio, a.k.a. "days to cover." It indicates, in days, how long it would take to cover or buy back all the shorted shares. Basically, you divide the number of shares sold short by the average daily trading volume. The more days to cover, the more pronounced the effect can be.

Another measure is "short interest as a percentage of float," which reflects the number of short-sold shares in proportion to the total number of shares available for trading in the public markets. Most stocks have a small amount of short interest, usually in the single digits. The higher that percentage, the greater the bearish sentiment may be around that stock. If the short % of the float reaches 10% or higher, that could be a warning sign.

Consider the fundamentals

If you're buying a stock that seems to be in the throes of a short squeeze, especially at high levels, it helps to understand other potential reasons why the stock might be moving. 

Consider checking the fundamentals. Is there anything that would make you want to own the stock? Are you tempted to buy it because everyone else is? It's important to always do your homework, and remember it's never wise to go all in. A stock that's in a short squeeze may still have a long way to climb, and if you don't think the fundamentals support higher prices, then perhaps you should look elsewhere.

In the case of TSLA in 2020, there were some positive fundamentals underlying the short squeeze, including the company's more consistent profitability and hopes of it being included in the S&P 500 Index (SPX). The stock saw its share price run up to new highs, then decline nearly 60%. 

But then TSLA rallied again and split its shares, and its addition to the SPX became a reality, illustrating that a short squeeze doesn't always have to end badly. Other stocks that were caught up in short squeezes haven't always fared so well, in part because they didn't have the fundamental support. 

Playing the squeeze on the long side? 

If you want to trade a stock during what might be a short squeeze—that is, buying a stock with a higher short interest in order to potentially play the upside of a squeeze—here are some things to consider:

Trading such a stock may be okay as long as you understand the risk and how to control it. Whether you make small or large trades, you have to control and limit the risk. Decide how much money you would be comfortable losing in any trade ahead of time.

Don't underestimate how high the stock can go and how long it can take. When a stock gets caught up in a short squeeze, analysts generally expect it to correct eventually, but no one knows to what price and when; if it happens at all. 

If the stock still has very weak fundamentals, yet is moving significantly higher without any real, structural changes in the corporation, then be extremely careful buying on this type of upward momentum. The markets may run out of new buyers willing to pay higher and higher prices and the stock may in the end fall quickly. 

The bottom line

A short squeeze is a high-risk situation and it may cause havoc in the market, but most don't last forever. Most eventually subside.

[blackjackkent]

OK, more Rakha adventures. I'm kind of torn on what to do next here.

I'd honestly really like to take her down to the teahouse to deal with Ethel because I'm intrigued by the weirdly positive conversation they had in the refugee camp, but Ethel is still several levels above us. Same with the other thing Rakha is most interested in at present, which is going to kill the fake paladins chasing Karlach.

So I think our best bet is to clear out the blighted village and head straight for the goblins in the temple right now, and then circle back to everything else.

And the first thing we run into in wandering the village iiiiiiis...

Poor old Barcus.

Not a scene Rakha is easily able to parse at a glance. Several goblins, calling up mockingly at another creature - equal size, with grey-blue skin - tied to the enormous windmill in front of them and screaming as it spins.

One of the goblins looks over with a nasty smile as Rakha approaches.

"Look what we got here! Another little birdie wantin' to fly!"

"Stop this thiiiiiiiiiing!" screams the creature on the windmill with abject panic.

The goblin laughs gleefully. "Yehehehehe - flap those wings some more an' I'll feed you a worm!" he crows. His eyes narrow at Rakha. "An' you - hope you got a stomach for heights!"

She doesn't overly care about the tied up creature - but the goblin's mocking tone is unmistakable, as is his air of menace. Goblins, she has learned, are already an acceptable and satisfying target, and this one is making an effort right from the jump to rouse her anger.

It mocks us. Kill. Bleed. Destroy. The beast stirs excitedly.

Were she a calmer person, unburdened by the blood-hungry voice behind her eyes, she might spare a moment to wonder how this little pipsqueak intends to make good on his threat. But she is not, and suddenly all she can focus on is the clean and obvious line of his neck where the right pressure would snap--

Attack the goblins.

(A/N: I forgot that I left off yesterday having just done the other fight with the Blighted Village goblins, so Rakha had no spell slots left and charged in blindly with only cantrips. Luckily, all my most ill-advised combat choices are still perfectly in-character for her. XD Also luckily, getting Fezzerk down to low health ends the combat early.)

The battle is short and brutal; Wyll follows up with an eldritch blast on the group's leader to supplement Rakha's opening electric shock, and he folds like tissue paper.

"Stop! I give up!" the goblin yelps, scrabbling backwards out of reach of Rakha's still-glowing hands. "M-mercy! Please!"

He squirms nervously, peering up at Rakha with a desperate, pleading gaze, all the bravado gone. "I know things," he says eagerly. "If you let me live, I'll make it worth your while. I p-promise!"

Rakha hesitates. The beast is not yet sated, and won't be by anything less than this creature's blood spattered out through the dirt. But he promises knowledge. Answers. Is it possible he knows something she needs?

"Talk and you might live," she says sharply; her voice strains with the effort of holding the beast in check. "If it's worth my while."

The goblin brightens, sensing hope. "M-my lot are camped nearby!" he stammers out. "I can get you inside. No hassle! You can loot it, do whatever! There's a hidden path, p-past the bridge into the camp. Over to the side before you reach the first guards. Easy!"

Rakha's eyes narrow. Useless. This is not the information she wants - about herself, about the tadpoles, even about the Absolute these goblins apparently follow. All he offers is a way to avoid a fight.

Of all things, Rakha does not want to avoid a fight.

No mercy. Kill the goblin.

The goblin's eyes widen with a moment of pure, exhilarating terror.

"No, wait--" he starts to scream, but the words are cut off into a bubbling gurgle as Rakha's dagger, in her hand in an instant, sinks through his throat. Warm blood spills over her hand and for a moment she is conscious only of the smell of flesh and iron as everything else fades from her.

She comes back to herself kneeling at the goblin's side, staring at his corpse. The others have scattered in terror, and the only remaining sound is the windmill's implacable creaking.

Good... the beast purrs, satisfied.

-----

She does, in the end, let the gnome down, more for curiosity's sake than anything else.

"Urrrgh. Magga cammara... those pustulent thugs!" He squints up at her warily. "Well. Get on with it! Whatever you are."

"Get on with what?" Rakha asks, puzzled.

"You saved me," the gnome says with exaggerated patience. "Now you'll extort me. That's how this works, yes?"

Perhaps to her credit, this hadn't even occurred to Rakha. As always, the low-level simmering desire to kill still sits at the back of her mind, but taking his money wasn't even on her radar. "You owe me nothing," she says, as if confused how he came to this conclusion.

"Nothing?" the gnome says, startled.

Rakha blinks once, then again. "I... *could* extort you, if that's what you want?" she says uncertainly.

He straightens up and scowls in evident irritation. "You're teasing me now," he says. "I'm certain of it. Take my pack, if you can find it. The only reason those goblins caught me was its weight. I'll travel lightly from now on."

Teasing? Rakha had meant the comment entirely seriously. But she just shrugs and doesn't argue the matter, but turns and walks away without another word, leaving the gnome dusting himself off and muttering irritated nonsense behind her.

[bruisedandbloodysunflowers]

This is just a silly little exercise with one of my favourite art pieces done by @mr-oldman-appreciator - because honestly, who hasn't thought about patting the devil butt. Featuring Dummy, the tiefling warlock - a lovable ditsy clown who sadly did not learn the importance of looky, but don't touchy.

~*~

"You know, darling. Has anyone ever told you that it's remarkable that you're still alive?" Astarion drawled as he'd stepped close to watch the tiefling woman wriggling on the ground on all fours, looking for all the world like a cat getting ready to pounce. "What in the hells do you think you're going to do?"

"Sshh! You're gonna give away my position!" Dummy hissed over her shoulder, shooting him an irritated look. Arching a single eyebrow, the vampire had held up his hands in defeat. In all honesty, he couldn't wait to see how this was going to turn out - and if any bodily maiming would be involved. Far be it from him to stand in the way of the girl's own stupidity.

The target in question was none other than Raphael, currently discussing some sort of contract business with Tav, the leader of their merry little group of misfits. He had his back turned to them, focusing completely on the performance of convincing Tav to aid his cause - whatever that was supposed to be about. Truly, he must have been committed to the act if he couldn't see the quite obvious clown woman creeping along the ground on her belly, her tail waving to and fro, wide eyes on the prize.

Once she'd deemed that she was in striking range, she sprung - pulling herself up to smack the devilish trickster right on the butt, spinning around to declare loudly to Astarion, "Didja see that?! Fifty points!"

"Uh, love? You might want to.."

A hand promptly curled around both of her twin white braids, yanking her head backwards and causing a strangled yelp. Dummy might have had some colourful words for the wise guy, if she hadn't found herself suddenly looking up at an extremely pissed off devil.

"I do realize that you were brought up with barely an education nor a brain-cell to rub together - but I would have thought that at the bare minimum, you would have learnt not to touch what you have no claim over." Raphael's voice rumbled, a dark growl through clenched teeth as his eyes lifted to make contact with Tav. "Do pardon whilst I borrow this companion of yours. Consider it a compensation for letting your pets run around without the proper leash."

In a bright burst of flames, both Raphael and the tiefling woman he was strangling disappeared from sight.

"..Do you think we should be concerned about that?" Tav asked Astarion worriedly, looking at the slightly singed patch of ground where they'd been standing.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be just fine! Who knows?" Astarion grinned, resisting the urge to break down into a hysterical fit of cackling. "If anything, she might even be returned all the better for the experience, ha--!"

[wrathfulmercy]

4)  for sender to bite receiver’s throat.  (reverse!) Rick and Sam. (and obviously I'm thinking about that scene in TWD - though don't do that, I need Sam alive hahah!)

Sensual biting and licking prompts from here @mettleborn

A jealous little prick. That’s how he felt like, the booze bedazzling his senses that made him all uncontrollable and so very angry. They had said it before: no strings attached. No relationships. No feelings. And still they found each other in a dark corner of a club like this fighting for what seemed like hours every now and then when they ran into each other. Investigation. That’s what this should have been. A serious task they would both focus on no matter what even in a high state pumped full of drugs to impress a target they wanted informations of. The truth of it was just: no matter how many drinks, how many substances would run through Ricks blood or how strong his will of a perfect performance was, he couldn’t shake that awful jealousy of not having him when he was right there. As long as they wouldn’t see each other it was easier. Still hurt, but was manageable. But in here? Where he could see him live a life he couldn’t be a part of? It burnt like motherfucking salt in a fresh wound and Rick couldn’t snap out of it.

It started on the dance floor. The back and forth. The guilt tripping. The feelings Rick despised to have and had missed at the same time these years before. Like oil to a flame their words hit each other right at the same spots and sooner than later they were pushing each other like damn animals that just fell into a blood rush that led them now here into this dark corner with Rick’s back against the wall while Sam simply couldn’t stop fucking talking. Or slurring, whatever that was. Rick wouldn’t even listen anymore. What counted was the moment of having him. Of having him standing right there focusing on Rick no matter if he did it with insults, fists or just a fucking kiss. It didn’t matter.

The sounds of the room drifted away just like Sam’s voice and it was obvious that Rick wanted nothing more than to escape his dissociation that nearly took him off his feet and made him mumble “shut up” as if he couldn’t take it anymore. “Shut up.” he repeated in a more steady voice that at least brought Sam’s attention to him and his eyes without another useless word as if he was waiting for an answer. But he wouldn’t get one and that wasn’t only because Rick didn’t even listen. No, his fingers tips twitched under the hyper arousal and rage he was under and without even realizing it he suddenly pulled on Sam’s wrist to change positions with him only to make sure that the other wouldn’t lose his stand as Rick’s teeth sank into his throat for a bite that was made out of distress and longing but also with the intention of owning and shutting him up.

It took a moment until the warning of this bite turnt into something sensual, something that brought his tongue out to drag along Sam’s flesh after he had left his mark there. Licking someone’s wound after causing it, oh how very romantic wasn’t it? In exhaustion he released himself from his skin, not noticing at first that he had pulled on Sam’s hair to tilt his head to give him the needed space but slowly his fingers let go and shifted into a caressing gesture of stroking down his face while he hid his head in the crook of Sam’s neck. “At least you stopped fucking talking now.” he murmured against the man’s skin under hard breaths, not mentioning that it would also give the man a mark he would wear for others to see that would hopefully keep them away from him. “I wanna leave now.” Was it embarrassment that made him say that or was he waiting for Sam to join him? Rick himself wasn’t sure of it as he pulled away and let go of him, a last look at the man’s neck bringing a proud smirk to his lips. “I’m sorry.” He was not. In fact he slipped his hand lovingly along the mark to adore it for a moment before he would face the truth of Sam’s reaction. “Do you wanna stay here?”

[sparrowkin]

While I recognize I’m too damn old for tumblr...

I accept the risk that I am shouting this out into the void. Having said so...Here are some thoughts I have had on bullying in the present and the past.

There is something people who refuse to engage in or use our time bullying that bullies--and abusive personalities--of nearly every stripe will simply never have. I wish with all my faded ginger hair-covered Druid brains that this thing was enough to protect the targets of abusers and bullies. I can’t pretend, even for an instant that it’s enough on its own; that would be dangerous and irresponsible. What I hope is that by sharing something even so simple that it’s probably a gold medalist in the “staggeringly obvious” category, if you’ve missed it or forgotten it, that you may get some recharge or some reinforcement or affirmation out of it. Thank you for bearing with me, whoever you are.

In Roald Dahl’s Matilda there’s a scene where Mr. Wormwood rips the book out of his daughter hands in rage that she is enjoying something that he cannot see the point of, that he cannot share or experience for himself, without (I think) reflecting on why this may be so. He rips every page from her library copy of The Red Pony,  this self-righteous rage at what he sees as exclusion (spoiler: it’s not exclusion Mr. awful fictional father of the year) just accelerating at every tear and crumple. 

What he can’t see is that he has not been excluded, unfairly or otherwise; he has exiled himself. An enormous percentage of bullies and abusers (I think) have at some point in their life exiled themselves without necessarily realizing that it was the kind of exile most likely to become forever. They do this for uncountable reasons, for all the motivations the kinder (than me, I am neither nice nor forgiving) guidance counselors and teachers and checked-out but well meaning parents assign; instability or violence they themselves are suffering from, insecurity, fear, unmanaged rage, undiagnosed mental health needs, the desperate need to fill a void by fitting in with some people even those people are predatory f&ckwafflers...Or even more benign reasons. More understandable and relatable reasons. All of their friends have declared themselves too old for She-Ra and just want to watch Grease. Jim Henson dies and suddenly nobody thinks Muppets are cool. Art projects are never going to be as good as That One Girl who Can Draw...

(Sometimes I think it’s happened because historically, things have been really, deeply bad and people have been pulled away from “childish stuff” to grow up faster, provide for their family in need sooner. Given how things went down in the Depression for my grandfather and basic empathy I am not here to cr&p on anybody in that position.)

What I’m getting at is that for a wide variety of possible reasons, good bad and ugly...people give up their appreciation of wonder. Sometimes it’s bit by bit so someone doesn’t even notice, sometimes it’s accelerated. Once gone though, it’s not impossible to get back but it is difficult, and our general society in the US doesn’t make that easier. 

Now the historian in me is making faces and grunting and preparing to sit up and hurl things--probably unintelligible personal papers from the 18th century or Civil War privy contents or toenail clippings of the Venerable Bede so let me just clarify; this is a theory based on the experiences and interpretations of literary and non fiction works by one person. One. I’m an undergrad lit major, I have a grad degree in history and some training in Mainline Liberal Ministry. I am spectacularly good at being wrong; I could be wrong here.

A sense of wonder and joy does not have to come from the Big Experiences in your life--that trip you were lucky to take to the Grand Canyon, the fan vaulting in Westminster Abbey, the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean, or a whale watch. I mean it can...of course it can but it can be very small as well...Skyscapes at 2pm from on foot wherever you live or for a hot minute in the car or through a window. The cat doing something ridonculous... A color in an ad on a Bus, a sparrow. TREES.--okay now I’m getting into what could be mistaken as Inspirational BS here so moving on...it can be a book, a story that grips each side of your head, pulls you down to the page and will not let you go until it’s over and you’re transported, transformed, legally High off Your Arse...wishing there was more. Sometimes it doesn’t matter worth a damn how you encounter that story--book, TV, movie, song...

It is my theory based on empirical observations and data from a very limited sample pool, I genuinely suspect, I even believe it is possible that bullies and abusers have exiled themselves so profoundly from Wordsworth’s (I can’t stand the guy but he got this idea right) “Inner Eye” and from the capacity to take in the larger world that they have lost the ability to do so in any way. There’s no inspiration or laughter or strength or hope or determination to draw from anything but domination of every nasty kind possible over anyone they can get into a position to dominate. (However unfounded my concern may be to clarify I do not mean a healthy responsible Dom/Sub dynamic here). In actuality, dominate may be the word they use to themselves, consciously but it’s really more about needing to tyrannize (not in the Greek city state definition) and then destroy any and all opposition. That imperative grows until a child reading a book becomes how dare they!?! because the bully/abuser recognizes that here is at least some portion of another human being’s experience that they can no more control than they can shape the weather. That chink in the armor, that gap in the advancing charge, that inaccessible bit is an unholy and raging terror to a lot of bullies and abusers. 

if you’ve been bullied it may well have been more than I was. It may still be going on. You may be in the slow and horrendously dangerous process of extracting yourself and everyone you love from the reach of one or more of the worst kind of bullies: abusers. I wish I could help you more than by simply saying all this. I’m more sorry than you will likely ever know that it’s not enough. But it’s out there.  (PS, I have ADHD. There will be typos.)

[duskiers]

heyy.

I was wondering if you could do a percy x fem daughter of apollo reader fluff . Where percy is aware he sucks at archery and he is also aware of his crush on the reader who is the best archer in camp. Literally everyone in camp knows he likes her but her because hes obvious and shes oblivious. He goes to her for help and she says yes. She teases him a bit because of his lack of skill. When shes helping with the positions she does that romantic thing in movies where she goes behind him and holds his hands in the postion on the bow.

Thank you. I love your writing. The aesthetics are so cool!

Arrows of Affection

> percy jackson / daughter of apollo !

> This is adorable! I really gave it my all, hoping you'd like it. <3

‿︵‿︵⊹‿︵‿︵⊹‿︵⊹‿︵🍸︵‿⊹︵‿⊹︵‿︵‿⊹︵‿︵

Percy Jackson, known for his bravery, his control over water, and his unerring loyalty, was currently feeling none of those heroic traits. Instead, he was filled with a mixture of determination and nervous anticipation as he made his way towards the archery fields.

Percy was well aware of his shortcomings when it came to archery. In fact, his skills were a running joke among the campers. But today, he had a plan. It wasn't about mastering the bow or impressing Chiron with newfound talent; it was about spending time with her. The daughter of Apollo, whose name caused his heart to race just thinking about it. [Your Name].

[Your Name] was the embodiment of Apollo's prowess in archery. Her arrows always found their mark, her form was perfect, and her focus unwavering. To Percy, she was as awe-inspiring as she was beautiful, with a smile that could light up the darkest depths of Tartarus. And, as luck or perhaps fate would have it, Percy had been smitten with her for quite some time.

The entire camp seemed to be in on Percy's not-so-secret crush, except, of course, for [Your Name]. She remained blissfully unaware of his affections, her attention solely focused on her practice and helping others improve their skills.

Taking a deep breath, Percy approached her, his heart pounding in his chest. "Hey, [Your Name]" he started, trying to sound casual. "I was wondering if... you could help me with archery? I'm pretty awful, and I know you're the best."

[Your Name] looked up, her eyes sparkling with amusement and surprise. "Sure, Percy. I'd be happy to help" she replied, a teasing tone in her voice. "Though, I must admit, I never thought I'd see the day."

As they began, [Your Name] couldn't help but tease Percy about his lack of skill. "You know, for a son of Poseidon, you'd think aiming and shooting would come more naturally. Maybe we should try this in the water next time?"

Percy could only laugh, the ease of their banter calming his nerves. It was moments like these he cherished, where he could simply be Percy, rather than the hero everyone expected him to be.

When it came time to correct his posture,[Your Name] stepped behind him, gently guiding his hands into the correct position on the bow. Her closeness sent a shiver down his spine, her warmth seeping into his back as she leaned in to align his shot. "Like this.." she murmured, her voice soft in his ear. "Focus on your target, and let the arrow do the rest."

In that moment, Percy was acutely aware of her, of the way her hands felt on his, of her breath on his cheek. It was as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of them, standing in a bubble of sunlight, surrounded by the distant sounds of camp.

He released the arrow, and to his genuine surprise, it hit the target. Not the bullseye, but close enough to elicit a cheer from [Your Name]. "See? All you needed was a little help," she said, her eyes shining with pride.

Percy turned to face her, their proximity suddenly more evident than before. "Yeah," he breathed, "a little help from the right person."

The moment stretched between them, filled with unspoken words and budding emotions. It was a beginning, Percy hoped, of something more than just archery lessons.

[cursedvida]

Several points:

1) I don't care if you like Snape or not. This isn’t about whether you like Snape. It’s about how you categorically state that Snape was little less than the devil for being an asshole as an adult when I don’t think anyone with common sense denies that. He was an asshole who projected his frustrations onto those closest to him. But you can agree with that and still critique without dismissing all the character's background.

2) I don't generalize about a group of people because they dislike a character. I state with reasons based on academic knowledge and professional experience that deliberately ignoring how cycles of violence work in people from highly vulnerable circles is simplistic, ignorant, and fallacious. If you want to rant about how bad Snape was, find another argument because the "your traumas don't excuse you" one is easily refuted.

3) Interesting that you bring up Sirius, who almost killed one of his peers without caring at all about ending a life or that one of his best friends could have ended up in Azkaban and traumatized for life for committing a crime. The same Sirius Black who loves to preach about rejecting racism but treats his house-elf like trash. But since that's the easy part, let's focus on the important: Harry and Sirius come from troubled backgrounds, but in their adolescence, they found support groups and positive role models. Harry was practically adopted by the Weasleys, just as Sirius was taken in by the Potters. That means they did have healthy emotional role models and safe environments where they felt supported. They also had a solid circle of friends and, by the way, a stable financial situation. So, you are comparing the trauma processing of a character who experienced violence at home and school and belonged to a lower social class with two rich characters who, outside their dysfunctional family environments, had a safe space at school. That comparison doesn’t hold up. It’s absurd.

4) Genocide is wrong, but you skip over the part where (as if it’s not obvious) Rowling already made it clear that besides his love for the Dark Arts, Snape’s main motivation for joining the Death Eaters was surrounding himself with powerful people to feel safe. That’s common for people with low self-esteem who are constant victims of abuse and humiliation. Also, they were probably the only people who didn’t treat him like garbage at school, and the only way to fit in at Slytherin. It’s the same thing as far-right groups targeting vulnerable kids, feeding them nonsense to empower them, and suddenly they’re running podcasts saying terrible things. Yes, it’s wrong, but I went to a Catholic school in an upper-middle-class area and saw many people follow awful trends and later grow up and realize they didn’t know what they were getting into. I don’t think you can condemn a 17-year-old for joining a cult that promises to give him the power he’s never had, especially considering this kid has suffered continuous abuse at home and been an outcast at school. I also don’t think it’s absurd to believe that someone accustomed to hostile and violent environments has a distorted perception of right and wrong or warped moral standards. If we’re going to talk about Snape being a Death Eater, the reality in the canon is that he was only a Death Eater for about 3-4 years, yet he spent almost 20 years risking his life for the “right side.” So, that argument also falls apart on its own.

5) I’m not talking about “people who don’t like Snape,” but rather people who discuss Snape’s character as if he’s beyond redemption and one-dimensional, ignoring his complex backstory. Was Snape a bad teacher? Terrible. Was he mean to kids? Awful. Were all the other adults responsible for the children’s well-being and mental health fully aware of how he behaved in class and did absolutely nothing? Also true. And that includes Dumbledore, who put him there in the first place. So both he and the rest of the adult staff are indirectly responsible for allowing Snape to do as he pleased. And I say this because I had terrible teachers, and to this day, I don’t just blame them, but also all the adults who knew what was happening and did nothing.

6) I don’t hate Lily, but I think she was a terrible friend. But that’s just my idea of friendship and the experiences I’ve had. I’ve had friends who went off the deep end, and we’ve said and done horrible things to each other. But in the end, if you care about someone, your issues are a personal matter, and I can assure you that even after months without speaking to one of my friends, I would have fought anyone who tried to bully them. I don’t think that insult was that bad given the circumstances. It seems to me she was already tired of justifying being friends with the “weird kid” obsessed with the Dark Arts and used the opportunity to cut ties. That’s fair, and she had every right to do so, but that’s not what a true friend would do. And of course datibg yout ex best friend bully is gross as hell.

Canon Snape defenders are fucking delusional. Do I find him an extremely complex and intriguing character? Yes. I actually love it. But yall wanna play the "poor baby he did no wrong" card.

Tell me how you can justify him when he BULLIED children while he was an ADULT, and worse, he was their fucking PROFESSOR. THAT MAN WAS A TEACHER. He was supposed to teach the children, help them out on a subject HE taught, with incredible patience because they're ELEVEN YEARS OLD. Yes he was bullied, I know (the hows and whys of it - that's literally a whole another discussion tho). JUST BECAUSE HE WAS BULLIED AS A CHILD DOESN'T MEAN HE CAN BULLY CHILDREN AS AN ADULT

Your trauma doesn't excuse and allow you to abuse other people.

"Oh but Dumbledore forced him to join Hogwarts as a teacher so he could keep a close eye on him!", "oh but he was a spy!" How could he actually act civil towards literal children while teaching them, am I right? FUCK YOU. Literally fuck you, I don't care what he did. His redemption, his mistakes, his flaws aside, he could at least try to be a decent fucking teacher. I know he was miserable all the time, but that doesn't excuse him actually being such an asshole to literally babies. Him being an interesting character doesn't absolve him of his crimes or flaws, and it's NOT BECAUSE HE'S UGLY. IT'S BECAUSE HE BULLIED THE CHILDREN HE WAS SUPPOSED TO TEACH. ALSO BECAUSE he was a RACIST and he called his best friend, the supposed love of his life a FUCKING SLUR. How do you even excuse that?