#we're living through a fucking disaster right now

[inkskinned]

one of the things that's the most fucking frustrating for me about arguing with climate change deniers is the sheer fucking scope of how much it matters. sweating in my father's car, thinking about how it's the "hottest summer so far," every summer. and there's this deep, roiling rage that comes over me, every time.

the stakes are wrong, is the thing. that's part of what makes it not an actual debate: the other side isn't coming to the table with anything to fucking lose.

like okay. i am obviously pro gun control. but there is a basic human part of me that can understand and empathize with someone who says, "i'm worried that would lead to the law-abiding citizens being punished while criminals now essentially have a superpower." i don't agree, but i can tell the stakes for them are also very high.

but let's say the science is wrong and i'm wrong and the visible reality is wrong and every climate disaster refugee is wrong. let's say you're right, humans aren't causing it or it's not happening or whatever else. let's just say that, for fun.

so we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making the earth cleaner, and then it turns out we didn't need to do that. oops! we cleaned the earth. our children grow up with skies full of more butterflies and bees. lawns are taken over with rich local biodiversity. we don't cry over our electric bills anymore. and, if you're staunchly capitalist and i need to speak ROI with you - we've created so many jobs in developing sectors and we have exciting new investment opportunities.

i am reminded of kodak, and how they did not make "the switch" to digital photography; how within 20 years kodak was no longer a household brand. do we, as a nation, feel comfortable watching as the world makes "the switch" while we ride the laurels of oil? this boggles me. i have heard so much propaganda about how america cannot "fall behind" other countries, but in this crucial sector - the one that could actually influence our own monopolies - suddenly we turn the other cheek. but maybe you're right! maybe it will collapse like just another silicone valley dream. but isn't that the crux of capitalism? that some economies will peter out eventually?

but let's say you're right, and i'm wrong, and we stopped fracking for no good reason. that they re-seed quarries. that we tear down unused corporate-owned buildings or at least repurpose them for communities. that we make an effort, and that effort doesn't really help. what happens then? what are the stakes. what have we lost, and what have we gained?

sometimes we take our cars through a car wash and then later, it rains. "oh," we laugh to ourselves. we gripe about it over coffee with our coworkers. what a shame! but we are also aware: the car is cleaner. is that what you are worried about? that you'll make the effort but things will resolve naturally? that it will just be "a waste"?

and what i'm right. what if we're already seeing people lose their houses and their lives. what if it is happening everywhere, not just in coastal towns or equatorial countries you don't care about. what if i'm right and you're wrong but you're yelling and rich and powerful. so we ignore all of the bellwethers and all of the indicators and all of the sirens. what if we say - well, if it happens, it's fate.

nevermind. you wouldn't even wear a mask, anyway. i know what happens when you see disaster. you think the disaster will flinch if you just shout louder. that you can toss enough lives into the storm for the storm to recognize your sacrifice and balk. you argue because it feels good to stand up against "the liberals" even when the situation should not be political. you are busy crying for jesus with a bullhorn while i am trying to usher people into a shelter. you've already locked the doors, even on the church.

the stakes are skewed. you think this is some intellectual "debate" to win, some funny banter. you fuel up your huge unmuddied truck and say suck it to every citizen of that shitbird state california. serves them right for voting blue!

and the rest of us are terrified of the entire fucking environment collapsing.

[reasonsforhope]

Climate change in 2025: So, what now?

Some real talk for the new year, about where we now stand, and what the next years are going to look like.

(Still ends on a “be hopeful!! or else” kind of note, but definitely gets into some heavy truths about the meaning of recent events.)

--

Obviously, between Trump's reelection at the Los Angeles fires, things are feeling a lot more precarious than they did just a few months ago. I know a lot of people are incredibly stressed. I know I'm certainly stressed.

But this isn't the end. This isn't the beginning of the end, either. We're not doomed.

Don't despair.

Yes, things are about to get harder. Yes, the effects of climate change are now becoming truly apparent.

But here's what you need to hold on to:

We have already cut expected warming in half.

More about that including sources here: (x) I'm not going to go into it again in detail, read the source for that. But it's true. In 2000, when I was a kid, they were predicting 4, 5, 6 degrees of warming, plus a runaway greenhouse effect that would boil the planet.

Now, scientists expect that global temperatures will likely land between 2 and 3 degrees.

Which is incredibly shitty, yes. But it's survivable.

And I have for a lot of reasons (check these masterposts on this) to believe with the confidence of knowing that we're going to get expected warming down even further.

And that's something to celebrate.

I’m not saying that the effects of warming aren’t already bad, or won’t get worse. I’m from California, I currently live in LA. My state’s been on fire for half my life. Natural disasters starting amping up early here (and we’re certainly in the middle of another historic number now). And yeah, it's fucking stressful right now.

But like I said, my state’s been breaking horrible disaster records constantly for the past ten years. I've done this before. And you know what? Natural disasters have been getting more and more survivable for years, largely thanks to faster warnings and better mass communication (x).

Does it suck how many natural disasters there are now? Yeah.

Does it suck how many more still there will be? Yeah.

Do we need to keep working our asses off to beat climate change? Yeah.

Are we going to need to organize and mobilize (both politically and especially community-wise) like never before to see as many people through these times as best as possible? Yeah.

But that doesn't mean we should despair. It absolutely does not mean that we've already lost.

An unknown number of the most optimistic futures were foreclosed when Trump won the US election. That’s painful but a reality.

But for twenty-ish of the past twenty-five years, the science said we weren’t going to survive climate change at all.

For most of my life, we were worried that we had set Earth on a course to become like fucking Venus (which is, on average, well over 800 degrees Farenheit). Even if it didn’t get that bad, we were so worried that global warming might wipe out all life on earth - except maybe the cockroaches.

(Literally, when I was a younger the kids at my church put on a play about that. It was like an adaptation of A Christmas Carol where the future only had talking cockroaches. I grew up so worried about this. (Not the cockroaches thing specifically. Mostly the general concept. Only a little about the cockroaches. Also yes my church was very granola why do you ask.))

But starting a few years ago, studies have shown that there wasn’t going to be a runaway greenhouse effect that could turn us into Venus; that earth is warming, yes, but we don’t seem to be in danger of that.

Between that and the fact that the adoption of renewables globally is too fast to be stopped, and we do have the technology and environmental science knowledge to eventually re-lower global temperatures by getting to net negative carbon emissions (x), and most countries and at least 73% of people in all countries for which there is data (x) actually care very much about the climate, yeah, we have closed the door on the lava planet future.

And yeah, I do think that’s worth celebrating.

That’s a massive fucking victory.

There's still more work to do, and I have every confidence that we're going to do it. I also think that, given the loss of the US election, there’s a really, really strong chance the developing world will be what saves us, and we’ll just be lucky to be along for the ride.

Most people have no idea of the kinds of amazing stories and statistics coming out of the developing world and Indigenous communities. The world is changing for the better on the environment, even as disasters (and the US) are getting worse. Solar power is going to revolutionize the fucking world, because it’s going to grant humanity universal access to electricity, and that’s going to revolutionize the world, especially the developing world (aka the global majority). And most people have no idea at all, much less how much it’s going to change.

So, yeah, natural disasters are going to keep getting worse.

But there’s a long, long long fucking way between “natural disasters are going to keep getting worse” and “the extinction of all of humanity and/or the vast majority of life on earth”

So, in the face of Trump, in the face of everything, I still choose to hope. I still choose to celebrate this as a true and profound accomplishment.

Because for over twenty years, I was afraid I’d never get to.

That difference is absolutely worth celebrating.

[batboyblog]

I fundamentally disagree with your take that any future/ongoing users of TikTok are supporting or enabling trump.

We don’t use TikTok or any other social platform because of the CEO. We use social media because of the communities we form and love.

Obviously trump wants it back because it helped his election campaign, but that doesn’t negate every positive collective action or community that formed on the app. Everything good also has bad, because as the saying goes, there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. We can try to be good, but we can’t only support ethical companies.

Also, what about international users? I’m Australian, and trump impacts Australian politics directly and indirectly, but does me using TikTok support him? It’s still an independent company.

Given the ban was done by congress, not the executive, I have every reason to believe that a Harris/democrat office would also make efforts to stop the ban. It’s easy political points.

I'm gonna try to be nice, which given my mood today, the impending Trumpalypse and the hostage release today have me in a bad mood.

Sooooo I have to reject the idea that helping re-elect Trump could ever be balanced out by any other "good", if such good even exists, that any app, person, or organization does.

before anyone jumps in to smugly tell me they're not an American so Trump being the American President doesn't matter, I'll remind you, we all live on the same planet. One thats getting warmer? in case you hadn't noticed. 2024 was the first year on record to breach the 1.5 degree warming mark that is very bad news. President Biden passed the biggest climate action bill that any government anywhere on earth ever ever has passed. Trump has pledged to repeal that law, and also hold back all the money in it not already spent.

as you can see under Biden we're on goal through 2030, and then more and different policies would be needed to get us where we need to go, which Biden team in the dying days of his administration has set not that Trump will follow through.

so point being helping re-elect Trump might have doomed the planet so idk about anything "good" TikTok could possibly do to make up for being Responsible or the single biggest climate disaster in human history.

any ways, as a Jew when I think of TikTok I think antisemitism

"Jewish teens say life on TikTok comes with anti-Semitism" 2020

"Sliding Through: Spreading Antisemitism on TikTok by Exploiting Moderation Gaps" 2023

"How fast does TikTok send users down the antisemitic rabbit hole?" 2024

being on the internet right now as a Jewish person is fucking wild, buck wild, seeing people in their teens and 20s say NAZI, old school, 1940s Nazi shit on-line, in videos with their faces, it is everywhere and TikTok is some of the worst of it.

on top of which TikTok is spoon feeding massive amount of disinformation to users all the time, from mental health, to Covid Vaccines, to conspiracy theories that are effecting the real world. And studies show its actively hurting teens, pushing them toward self harm

speaking of Australia, its very clear that China is REALLY interested in influencing your country seeking to shift Australian public opinion against Taiwan and in favor of China, as well as push the country toward a more isolationist view. Also they're using data from not just TikTok but other apps to track people, and actively kidnap Chinese nationals in Australia who offend Xi's government. That's a wider problem than just TikTok of course, but it's super fucking scary.

So sorry the app you like is getting the axe in the US? I guess? but short form video in and of itself might be bad for your health. Apps like TikTok don't allow you to do what I've done here, offer links and data to back up what I'm saying so fact checking and accountability is basically 0. Finally there's a lot of evidence that TikTok has put its finger on the scale to push propaganda for Trump, for Xi and generally destabilize the world.

finally, what community? watching videos fed to you by a computer isn't a connection, its certainly not a conversation.

oh also "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" is not some magical spell, it doesn't do away with the need to do good in the world, its meant to say don't let perfect be the enemy of good, whats the least bad option, nothing is flawless, but that doesn't mean going on to the app who's parting message to America was "big good daddy Trump gonna come save us" like fuck man thats bad

[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - A Survivor's Story - Forward But Never Forget/XOXO

Sevika spittin' facts...

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Snippet:

"I hear you thinking," Sevika warns, without opening her eyes.

"Thinking?"

"About how to get Jinx away from him."

Despite reflex, Vi doesn't ball her hands into fists. She's getting better at concealment. Not a pro like Sevika. Not a savant like Silco. But she's learning. These past five months, she's learnt enough to last a lifetime. Yet she has so much left to know.

"He's not a monster," Vi says. "I thought he was. Now I understand he's just a fucked-up asshole. But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous."

"He's got his reasons."

"I'm tired of you defending him, Sevika."

"I'm defending—"

"—Zaun?" Vi's jaw grates. "Yeah. That's your big religion. The cause you've given everything to. And he's the messiah. You worship him. The rest of us have to believe too, or be cast out." Her eyes seize Sevika's, daring her to contradict. "It's easy to believe in him, too. I'd like to say otherwise. But I've seen him work in real-time. He's got a mojo. A pull, and he pulls who he wants. But that's not faith, Sevika. That's smokescreen to hide the rot inside. And someone like that, they learn all sorts of strategies to hide it. All that smooth talk, all that drive and charisma—they aren't Silco. They're the bracing that hides the sickness." 

"Look—"

"I have looked," Vi snaps, then takes a stabilizing breath. "I get it, okay? If he hadn't fought for Zaun, we'd still be under Piltover. If he hadn't done awful things, the Fissurefolk would be suffering worse. I understand that. He—Jinx—changed the city in ways no one else could've done. You can't scare monsters unless you're the scarier monster." She shakes her head. "Maybe he's the leader the Undercity—Zaun—needs right now. But what about ten years down the line? Twenty? What kind of shape will our home be if it's just a game of whack-a-villain every minute of every day? How do we take care of each other, if we're at each other's throats? How will Jinx take care of herself as she gets older? She doesn't need more monsters in her life, Sevika. She's got enough. She needs to feel safe. To know that her own city won't chew her up and spit her out if she slips up. To know her own home is behind her and not just a snakepit."

Sevika's features hold a deliberate smoothness. She says nothing.

"What people do isn't always who they are," Vi goes on. "Vander always told me that. I think it's true. For you. For a lot of folks who fought for Silco's cause. It's not true for Silco. Living means changing. Someone who can't change isn't really alive. Silco isn't." She swallows. "Not since Vander drowned him." 

Sevika takes a swallow of her beer. When she's finished, there's a half-smile on her face. Too old a smile, too knowing.

"You're right," she says. "He isn't alive."

Vi stares.

House odds were that Sevika would argue. That she'd shrug off Vi's outburst. Not that she'd pay it off with plainspoken fact.

"He's not alive," she repeats, "because he's forgotten how to be."

"Forgotten?"

"He's not you, Vi." Sevika's tone holds a weird stoicism. "If he was, he'd have had a different story. Not everyone's so lucky."

"Lucky?" Resentment creeps under Vi's skin. "I grew up in the Lanes. Same as you and Silco. I lost my family. My sister was stolen. I spent six years in Stillwater."

"A hard-knock life."

"What's that mean?"

Sevika shrugs. No sarcasm. Just blunt fact. "People in the Lanes—hell, people all over—go through all kinds of shit. They survive wars and famines. They get sold to slavers. They wake up one morning and a crazy Mage burns their village down. Or Noxus rolls in and salts all their fields. It's disaster after disaster. A life of hardship. Some learn early on how to cope. How to deal with pain. Others... it's like they just stop. Stop in time. Stop living completely." Her eyes go heavy-lidded. "Nobody has a perfect childhood. But some kids learn how to be happy, or at least float on when things aren't happy. A lot of it's down to nature. The rest? That's how you grow up. Who teaches you to be strong, and smart, and resilient. For you, it was Vander and your folks. Whoever gave you hope and kept you sane. For me..."

Belatedly, Vi understands.

"It was your sister."

Sevika doesn't flinch. Withdrawing a cigarillo from her pocket, she lights up perfunctorily. Brightleaf drifts in Vi's airspace.

"Don't recall mentioning Nandi to you," Sevika says.

"Silco did." Vi's eyelids droop. She feels tired all of a sudden. Torpid with the humidity; the slanting sunrays. With the surreal passage of time and the inexorable weight of history. "So did Vander, when I was a kid. She was the Priestess at Janna's Temple. Mom liked her." She looks away. "Mom was a believer in the old gods. Said they were a part of us, same as blood. She'd always visit the Temple for the Priestess' prayers. She'd stay for her stories. I remember those stories. I didn't understand 'em much, but I liked listening to her voice. I just never connected..."

That you two were family.

That you lost someone, same as me.

Vi's eyes are dry. But she feels the emotion lodged inside: half-processed.

"I didn't connect the dots," she repeats. "I'm sorry."

A plume of smoke rises pensively from Sevika's lips.

"She was a good woman," she says at length "Better one than me. I've made a career out of breaking bones. Nandi made a calling out of binding them back together.  But it was just a different kind of faith, y'know? She had faith in the divine. I had faith in me and mine. So I took care of her. She took care of me. We were family."

"Like me and Powder."

Sevika says nothing. She tips her chin back, staring at the sun-spangled sky.

"After she passed," Vi says, more tentatively, "you took up with Silco?"

The orientation of Sevika's body shifts.  "Don't recall mentioning that either."

"I—I saw you two."

"Saw us?" 

"Last night." Vi’s tongue burns as the confession slips past. " At the penthouse."

The cigarillo smolders in Sevika's prosthetic fingers: spark and flint. Smoke drifts over her face. Her hair's tied in a high tail today. There's nothing to conceal her expression. Not that there's an expression to conceal. Her eyes, meeting Vi's, reflect nothing in the metalhazy glints.

She is a monolith, and monoliths don't flinch.

Neither does Vi. This isn't a place for shame. They've known each other too long and too bitterly for that.

"I know," Vi mutters. "I know it wasn't my business."

"Then why make it your business?"

"Because—" It's an effort to match Sevika's stare "Because you and him... it's like you're stuck. Stuck on him. Stuck to him. He's bad news, Sevika. Not just for you, but everyone." She takes a shuddery breath, trying to keep the kneejerk anger out. "Whatever you're getting out of it, you can get better elsewhere."

"You offering, Vi?"

The near-flinch becomes a flush. "That's not what I—"

Except Sevika's not challenging her. Her demeanor's the same as when she and Vi used to spar: calm, level, blunt.

The bond between them doesn't go deep. Can't—given their convoluted history. Yet territorial as Sevika is, she takes care of her turf. Looks out for her own. Since Vi's return to the Lanes, she's treated her... not as an ally, but as a fellow Trencher.

They've both known hardship and come out stronger. They both understand that when disaster hits, it can make enemies out of friends—and friends out of enemies. 

Vi and Sevika are neither. They inhabit a shadowy zone in between. But that zone has its own language, and it's a clean one. No deadweight. No dredged-up debts.

Just the give-and-take of hard-hitting truth.

"It's funny," Sevika says. "The way folks throw that word around. Better. They're always thinking of what-ifs. What could be, instead of what is. Me, I like the facts. What's real, not what may come to pass."

"What's real is he's using you," Vi snaps. "Same as he uses everybody. He doesn't love you, Sevika."

"Love." Sevika's lip curls up at one corner. "What’s love got to do with it, little girl?"

"I—what?"

"You say Zaun's my big religion? Well, let me tell you. Love's yours. And it's got you—you, Jinx, Silco—so twisted up in knots, you're a fucking mess."

"I'm not a—"

"A fucking mess," Sevika repeats, and the tone brooks no argument. "All of you. That's the problem. You've got no perspective. No sense of self. No clue what's what. Everything's love, and you tote that word around like junkies with a fix. As if it's the answer to everything. The cure-all. Well, let me break it to you: it's not. Not even close."

"But—" Vi is stunned. "Then what's it for? What's the point?"

"There is no point," Sevika snaps. "Love's not a solution. It's not even a problem. It's just an emotion. And it's not the only one. There's rage. There's grief. There's hate. And they're just as real. Just another part of living." Her jaw hardens. "I loved my sister, Vi. Loved her enough that I'd strangle anybody who'd put a hand on her. Not because she was the best woman in the world—and she was—but because she was the best part of me. She was my family, same way Jinx is yours. When I lost her, I went to war. Didn't care if it was Enforcers, or Topside, or the whole goddamn world. I was ready to tear the planet down. Because I'd already been torn apart. I didn't have anything left."

"Sevika," Vi says, but doesn't finish.

She's been where Sevika has. She understands.

"I was broken," Sevika goes on. "I thought, without love, I'd stay broken. I was wrong. There's a whole lot more to life than that. And Silco..."

Her cadence doesn't waver. But there's a different undercurrent. Something raw, and blisteringly real.

"We had a thing, once," she says. "A shortlived thing. But that's the least of our history, Vi. It's not why I follow him. And it's not why I was with him last night."

"Why, then?" Vi's throat is tight. "Why stay with him?"

"Because… when I was broken, he knew what to do with the brokenness. He didn't ask me to be someone else. Didn't try to put me back together. He took me as I was. Because he understood that grief doesn't just end. It can't. There's no escaping it. But you can't let it end you, either. People have it worse; they have less. Me? I had more. When I had Nandi, I had everything. When I lost her, I lost it all. And what's left was an empty space, and filling it with something. Something that'd last the distance." She lets off a breath. A single strand of smoke uncurls. "Silco gave me that. He put his life in my hands. He laid his cause at my feet. He had faith in me. And that faith meant something."

"A way to go on," Vi says.

"That's the best anyone can ask for." Sevika smiles, and her hard face fills with soft lines. "Love's a fine thing, Vi. But it can't protect your family. It can't keep them safe. You gotta fight for that. And when you've fought as long as I have—taken more lives than you've seen years—it's not about the love. It's about what's left. About doing your part to keep it standing."

"Even if it means dying?"

Sevika doesn't miss a beat. "It's never about dying, Vi. It's about the life you choose before that."

"Silco can't give you a life."

"I know." Sevika's smile dwindles. The softness and hardness don't. "But he's given me everything else. The rest? I'll make do. My sister taught me how."

Vi says nothing. She's run out of arguments. Run, too, out of anger.

They sit in silence, watching the afternoon unfold.

[yinwaryuri]

Okay here I come with thoughts that I'm not sure many people will be on board with, but I'm gonna share anyway because who cares! Wandee Goodday is doing a fantastic job selling characters who are ridiulous, and many of them are charming. I'm gonna talk about the guy who isn't. Charming that is.

I Think Ter Is In The Closet

And I'm only using bits from episode 4 to demonstrate this. Sorry if you need more to be convinced.

Ter is a strange character because we meet him through Wandee, when he's still up on a pedestal. That image almost immediately gets crumpled and tossed into oncoming traffic to be flattened in a rubbery, Bangkok traffic death. Dee confesses his feelings and Ter insists he's straight. He's straight. He's straight! He likes women, not men. Sorry. To make matters worse, he pulls the asshole move of just asking Dee to leave the scholarship to him.

These men have known each other for eight years. Eight fucking years and this is where things are going? If we know how much of a disaster Dee is, then it really makes me wonder what disaster side of himself Ter has (aside from what we know).

(thinking them gaaayyy thoughts) (also this weirdo doesn't listen to music while working out? no wonder he's the devil)

Ter is recalling the moment when Yak came into the hospital with flowers for Dee, called him tee-rak, and the two of them are looking at each other like. Like That.

Super normal for a hetero dude to focus on that part of his long-term colleague's life. And if he were a huge homophobe, I could understand it being a possible upset, but then he wouldn't be so close to Dee if that were the case. This is Golf Tanwarin we're being led by here.

Our Devil Doctor is pulled out of his train of thought by the appearance of a shirtless Plakao

Guys, I won't lie to you, I yelled NO aloud because for a second I thought he was going to have his come to Jesus with our favorite asexual king, and as an asexual who worships Plakao and how amazing he is, I just wasn't gonna have it!

And the first thing Ter notices? Kao is alone - specifically, he isn't accompanied as usual by his bestie Wandee. So Ter immediately interrupts his workout to question him. Kao responds that Dee's with his boyfriend now, which prompts more questioning about their relationship from Ter.

Yeah, Ter. What's it matter to you?

You turned Wandee away because you're straight. So, obviously that's a no, right? Right?

Not addressing that then. Okay. We'll just hit the skip button for that dialogue option, I guess.

As a tenured colleague and friend, that would be the natural reaction to this. Kao is a wise, wise man, and like many an asexual, he has done the work of figuring himself out while living in an allonormative world (while also recognizing he likes men! I cannot stress enough how beautifully nuanced his okay). From what he understands (and is stating for Ter to ponder), is that this would make sense for someone who doesn't harbor any other kinds of feelings toward Dee and until recently, has been on good terms with him.

But Ter doesn't get to ponder because he gets called away and immediately forced to face Dee happily walking hand in hand with Yak. It's awkward. Dee excuses himself and Yak. And then Ter's eyes foooolloooww.....

And later he gets back to his room with the number of the beast and fondly recalls when Dee used to leave snacks on his door....

(crowd goes awww)

But this guy can't help but notice while he's doing an evening workout -

Hey! There are Dee and Yak again! Being all cute in the pool! It's too coincidental! (He had not considered that his colleague works at the same place and has a similar schedule, therefore all this appropriately timed boyfriendism could only happen within that schedule)

So he has to conclude that it isn't real.

Little does Ter know that it was originally intended for YakDee to be fake boyfriends; that he'd stumbled upon the truth immediately. What he wasn't expecting was for Dee to double down not only to not be caught plotting like that, but because he's way further into his feelings for Yak than he is fully aware of.

I cannot stress how interesting it is so see this man be so obsessed over their relationship. Anyone who would call themselves a close friend or colleague would simply be happy for Dee, maybe warn him about some people who are less accepting if that were an issue, and then continue focusing on whatever it is he's doing for the scholarship. And maybe he does focus on the scholarship - we aren't shown his side of it because it's not important - but if that's true and his secondary focus is theorizing that Dee's relationship is fake? TER? WORSTIE?????

And then this happens!

Now I've seen a lot of people taking this as manipulation and I'm not going to call them wrong. It is exactly that. But I think he's also seeing if maybe he missed a chance? It wasn't that long ago that Dee was reminiscing about the past eight years together and Ter had decided the scholarship was more important than pursuing whatever thing they had between each other. Ter is realizing he doesn't want to throw either of them away, but still has his heart with the money. So he improvises a lame little plea, it's badly executed, and we get sad eyes watching Dee leave.

I would've expected him to curse under his breath, or have some sort of small scale tantrum after that interaction if he was fully planning to manipulate Dee like that. His melancholy here is what has me thinking that it wasn't well thought out, and there's a part of him who cares about his relationship with Dee and wishes it could carry on as it used to.

Ter continues to obsess. We know he'd immediately seen the story Dee posted, and it seems he's returning to it again (knowing social media habits, he's likely checked it several times in between).

CAUGHT.

Kwan, in contrast to Ter, is also Dee's colleague. She finds him and his boxer boyfriend just charming!

This line kills the entire conversation. There's very obvious tension about this subject.

To me this is where Ter has kinda said the quiet part out loud. He's more concerned about his own image. To whom? His family? His patients? Future opportunities? To himself? Not that there's nothing for Dee to be worried about (this is in Thailand where gay marriage is not legal yet, after all), but he has had a good reception of being publicly queer so far. Is that due to his queerness being more pronounced? Has Ter ridden for most of his life on being able to pass as straight because he was afraid of the consequences?

I'm gonna take a hard left for a moment, and then redirect.

There's a scene in the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar where a sheriff (who has had an altercation with a drag queen and is looking for her for severely homophobic reasons) sits in a saloon and essentially narrates gay erotica aloud like he's trying to process the concept of homosexuality. He's disturbed about the idea. The people around him are also disturbed by his imaginings. It almost gives the sense that his thoughts come from desire, but he's been taught too much hate about that desire to recognize it.

And this is the moment where I just felt sorry for Ter. It seems like he maybe has some deep-seated denial, and it's being overturned by everything Dee is doing. It doesn't excuse him, but shit's gotta suck. And it's clear his disturbance with the idea of Dee having gotten over any feelings for him will be hard to reckon with on top of deciding how he feels about Dee himself. P'Golf does their antagonistic and confused gays well.

[legobiwan]

Gravity Falls fic rec list...Part 2.

I should be grading writing right now, but in the spirit of procrastination, I'm going to instead post about my favorite new fics that have emerged in the post-Book of Bill era.

~~~~~~

Gen Fics

A Mariner’s Guide to the Unexplained by mariezies

Another fic that tackles the idea of Stan's criminal past coming back to haunt him as the elder Pines twins take to the sea. What I really like about this fic are Ford's inner monologues and in particular, the way he overthinks his interactions with his brother post-Weirdmaggedon due to the crushing level of guilt he feels. Bonus points for the incredibly adorable cat OC who joins the twins on the Stan o'War II. Incomplete.

We're Still Here by Simplistic_Apricity

What if Stan hadn't knocked Ford through the portal in 1982 and stuck around Gravity Falls instead? A bajillion fics have been written about this concept, but this one takes a slightly different approach as to the fallout from a Bill-possessed Ford attacking his brother as Ford slowly (slowly) comes to terms with what exactly he has wrought in that basement. The characterization and interactions of the twins and Fiddleford are incredibly grounded, avoiding melodrama while still being wildly effective. Incomplete. TWs for violence and medical trauma.

~~~~~~

Billford Fics

Not to sound like a 2013 hipster, but I do want to state that I hopped on this seafaring vessel pre-BoB and am delighted to witness the explosion of works exploring the demented, tortured relationship between these two absolute disasters. I've decided to let my cringe flag fly high and free here, with the caveat that I only indulge in triangle!Bill stories (accept no substitutions), as, let's face it, Ford is a freak (affectionate) and he loves his geometry.

Statement Abnegation by Anonymous

This one probably needs no introduction, but I'd be wholly remiss if I didn't include it on my list. A+ characterization of both Ford and Bill and it fucking nails the landing. Ford is taken prisoner during Weirdmaggedon, but this time Bill's playing for keeps. Complete. TWs for torture, death (temporary), Stockholm syndrome, and explicit sexual content.

apology tour by dolorous

There's something downright wistful about this story, which presents as "crack taken seriously" when Bill chooses Ford to be his keeper/chaperone as part of a Theraprism-mandated apology tour to those he has wronged post-BoB. Ford hates Bill. Ford sometimes doesn't hate Bill. Ford definitely hates Bill. And now they're stuck on the road trip from hell. Complete. Implied past (current/future?) relationship, no sexual content.

Then it becomes, it becomes, it becomes a problem by tempusedaxrerum

Takes place post-Betrayal but (so far) pre-Stanley arriving in Gravity Falls. Bill is determined to drag Ford into opening the Portal, kicking and screaming (limbs optional). Features an incredibly well-developed OC who is battling demons of her own when she has the misfortune of crossing paths with both Bill and Ford on a snowy evening in Oregon. Incomplete. TWs for violence, attempted sexual assault via possession, substance abuse.

Live, Laugh, Lather, Rinse, Repeat by ShibaIntuit

The conceit of this story is absolutely wild. Essentially, Ford eats a cursed piece of pizza and suffers from existential indigestion. The world-building once Ford is in the multiverse is delightful as an older Ford tries to renegotiate his past with a Bill Cipher of thirty years previous. Incomplete. TWs for violence.

as falls gravity so falls gravity falls by underwater_owl

A series of three stories that take a deep dive into Ford's subconscious while exploring the idea of the Axolotl placing Bill under Ford's mental power due to shenanigans you are better off reading about than me explaining here. Bait & Switch is the main narrative, which is a gen work featuring the whole extended Pines family plus Mabel and Dipper's mother, while Because & Despite and Cause & Effect explore the intense psychosexual relationship between Ford and Bill before and during the events of Bait & Switch. These last two stories really dig into the nature of Ford's deepest and darkest desires and the utterly twisted relationship between Ford and Bill. Incomplete. TWs for explicit sexual content (read the tags on those two last stories, folks! This author isn't, or is, I suppose, fucking around).

Snakes in the Garden by Miss_Ginger_Bread

Another Jimmy Snakes story! Because both Pines twins have terrible taste in men/demonic entities. A ghost from Stan's past shows up in Norway, prompting Ford to take matters into his own hands. Lovely interactions between the Pines twins, including a murderous, protective Ford and a Ford who is harboring a gigantic, triangle-shaped secret from his brother. Incomplete. TWs for abusive relationships.

[allouttaink]

. ݁₊ ݁˖ . let me make it up to you . ݁₊ ⊹ .˖ .

this is a superbat fic based on season 2 episode 2 of the 2000 series “Justice League”. ◡̈

They fight.. make up… and then make out. NSFW!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

“That’s the last time I ever let you be in charge of any important decision.” Batman spat at Superman, sending him reeling him forwards with a shove.

Superman staggered but easily caught his footing.

S: “You don’t know what it’s like Batman. You don’t know what Darkseid did to me, to my family, to my planet.”

B: “Were you even thinking? Logic is essential in these situations, what the hell could’ve prompted you to endanger everyone else’s lives? You’re getting sloppy Superman.”

Superman approached him with large and steady footsteps, grabbing him by the collar of his suit and lifting him off the ground, meeting him eye to eye. His voice shook as he tried to maintain his last shred of self control.

S: “Logic isn’t everything Batman. Some days, I feel like I have more humanity than you could ever.”

He released his grip on Batman’s suit when he started to hear a piece of mesh fabric tear. He ran his hand through his now tousled hair and opened the hangar.

Before flying out, he looked over his shoulder.

S: "You know... you aren't always right."

Superman was too headstrong for his own good sometimes, but he seemed genuinely affected by what Batman had said. It was a momentary analysis Batman made, but he couldn't retort because by the time he'd blinked Superman was already gone.

He adjusted his cowl and huffed bitterly, flicking off a piece of meteorite debris from his shoulder. Un-fucking-believable. He drags himself to the main foyer where the rest of the JL was waiting.

W: "Great Hera... are you both alright? Where's Superman?"

B: "Tsk, we're both fine."

Everyone looked around the room and shared confused glances. They checked it off as Batman being hurt or annoyed that the mission didn't go according to plan. In times like these they knew it was better not to pry, especially when the Bat's ego was at stake.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

When there weren't petty crimes to stop, the league would relax at the watch tower. It'd been a week since Batman and Superman's little disagreement, but it felt like it'd been dragging on for months. Both parties were irritated and the entirety of the team felt like they were walking on eggshells around them. There had been numerous incidents where Batman would walk into a room and Superman would stop his current conversation to excuse himself.

A few days later, the league had been searching for an Arkham escapee. There was an uncomfortable tension lingering in the air as they were determining the best way to catch the convict.

GL: "I say we split up, I'll go with Hawkgirl. Diana, take Flash. Jonn, you should be able to cover more than enough ground on your own. That leaves.. Superman and Batman."

S: "I think it'd be best if we went separately."

Things simultaneously clicked, and the source of the tension was now understood. The JL looked around, unsure of what to say. Flash leaned against a streetlight, whistling and avoiding eye contact with the two. Wonder Woman finally decided to speak up, scoffing as she approached them.

W: "You better squash whatever it is going on between the two of you. People's lives are at stake in case you forgot."

GL: "..Maybe it'd be best if we changed the pairings. I wouldn't mind going with Super–"

W: "No, we have a job to do, and teams will stay as they are. You'll both patrol the outskirts of the city. The longer we wait this out the more room there is for disaster. I don't want to hear it from either of you."

Wonder Woman crossed her arms and made sure they both left together. Batman's expression was unreadable and the only way you could measure Superman's annoyance was by the slight furrow in his brows.

When they were gone, Wonder Woman addressed the rest of the team.

W: "Hera help us.. at least if they fight it'll make for easy damage control."

Hawkgirl chuckled as she spun her mace.

H: "Smart."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Superman flew ahead of Batman, leaving the city lights behind as they entered the outskirts. Surrounded by dense foliage he sighed.

If there was someone here, it'd take forever to find them, no matter how good his x-ray vision was.

When Batman caught up to him, he didn't make his presence known. He stared at his back for a few minutes, contemplating what he wanted to say.

B: "Superma–"

S: "Don't."

B: "Can we-"

Superman cut him off once more, already frustrated with the grueling task of creating an opening into the forest.

S: "This isn't the place for that. Just help me clear out these branches so we can do our job," he managed to grit out.

Batman rolled his eyes before grabbing a blade from his utility belt. He made easy work of reducing the surrounding greenery to shreds.

B: "Now can we talk?"

Superman walked past him with an intentional shove to his shoulder. Every man had his limits, and Batman had just about reached his. He took Superman by the back of his shoulder and reeled him around, pressing a finger into the center of his chest.

B: "Enough of this petty bullshit, you're being unreasonable."

Superman's eyes snapped down to meet Batman's through his cowl. He shoved him backward, knocking the wind out of him as his back pressed against a tree. With one hand he held Batman's neck, using the other to force him to look up at him.

S: "I'm unreasonable? Where'd this attitude come from? What were your words a few days ago... I'm getting sloppy?"

He leaned in closer to the other man's face, who breathed heavily against him.

S: "Don't be a hypocrite Batman, it's not in your character."

B: "Yeah?" He hissed.

Batman's gaze moved to Superman's lips, then back up to his eyes.

B: "Do you want this?" (<- You ALWAYS ask for consent.)

S: "Fuck you."

Superman's lips locked onto his in a bruising kiss. He nipped at his lower lip, drawing blood as Batman granted him access to the rest of his mouth. The metallic taste mixed with their saliva as he hummed into the kiss. He moved his knee in-between Superman's thighs, causing the other to start rutting against him.

S: "Mm... hahh.. fuck you..," he grunted, burying his face in the crook of the other mans neck. Batman moved his hand down, palming his erection.

B: "'Wanna make it up to you, wanted to.. apologize."

Superman still had his hand wrapped around his neck, but the pressure felt so nice he didn't want him to stop. He was so lightheaded that when Superman flipped him around, even his cheek pressing into the bark felt good. He arched against Superman’s bulge, begging him to do something.

B: “Please… I need it.. need you..” He wasn’t one to beg, but who’d hear him in this desolate place?

From behind, Superman shoved two fingers into his mouth, inhaling sharply at the lewd way Batman was sucking on them.

S: “This all I have to do to get you to behave?” He chuckled.

Superman withdrew his fingers and made quick work of tearing the bottom of Batman’s suit. He hastily lifted Batman’s hips as he entered two fingers. Batman hissed at the sudden stretch, but after a few minutes his eyes were rolling to the back of his head.

B: “Super…man… pleashehh..” He slurred.

S: “If you’re that touch starved you just had to say so.”

In one fell swoop Superman entered him, bottoming out. With one hand on the small of his back and the other gripping his hip with bruising strength, he began thrusting into the other male. Batman was a personal fan of this method of stress relief.

B: “Yo…u…shitll.. mad?” He said between thrusts, struggling to catch his breath.

S: “Mm.. no.. shit, don’t.. do.. that.. again.”

A few minutes later Superman could no longer ignore the burning heat in his core. As he moved to pull out he felt two hands grab at his.

B: “Inside.”

Superman’s breathing picked up and he finished inside him with a growl in his ear. He kissed down the others neck, wrapping his hand around his dick. When Batman finished, his vision turned white momentarily and his legs went weak. Superman held him up and turned him back around to kiss him. There was something different about this one, it was sweet and passionate, evident that the bitterness from an hour ago had dissipated.

As Superman allowed him to catch his breath, he wiped the sweat off the bottom half of his face, taking a moment to appreciate his dazed expression.

B: “I really am sorry.” His voice came out more hoarse than expected.

S: “I’m sorry I had to take you here. I’m not one for quickies. I’ll make it up to you on a real bed, yeah?” He kissed his jaw.

It definitely seemed like Batman was forgiven.

[alexihollis]

Estimations

The door slammed behind Ajax. She heard the table next to the door rattle, something jangly fall off - keys, probably. She didn't care, though. She didn't even care about the stern look on Cleon's face or the clear way she readied to lecture Ajax.

"You sent Swan out alone!" Ajax roared, before Cleon even got a chance to open her mouth.

At this, Cleon sighed, raised a hand to her brow. "Ajax-"

"You sent her out alone!" Ajax repeated, the anger surging through her hot and uncontrollable. "Alone, Cleon!"

"She is more than capable-"

"I don't give a fuck!" Ajax interrupted. Again. "She is my recruit. You told me to train her, that's what I've been doing, and I told you she wasn't fucking ready!"

It would be better if they were alone. Rembrandt would have a heart attack if she knew Ajax were yelling at Cleon this way in front of others, even if it was just Cochise and Cowgirl. Who both looked ready to dive out the window to escape this conversation.

The one without a fire escape.

"It has been over six months," Cleon said, stern. "I brought her in and have been closely monitoring her training. She is strong, fast, and a good fighter. I would never give her a job she couldn't handle-"

"Really? So that's why she's beat to absolute shit in my apartment too scared to come home!" Ajax could actually hit Cleon. She never got close to feeling that way before, not even once, but in that moment?

She wanted to. She really, really wanted to.

The room went unnaturally still and Ajax flexed her fingers just to get out some of her energy as the others stared.

"What?" Cleon asked, her voice deathly quiet yet shatteringly loud in the room.

"Whatever you sent her out to do? She didn't swing it," Ajax said. Swan never got around to the reason why Cleon sent her out of their turf. It didn't matter to Ajax. "Instead, she got the living crap beat out of her, probably has a broken rib, and thinks you're going to jump her out, so, good fucking job, Warchief."

"What do you mean she got jumped?" Cleon demanded. "What happened?"

"I don't know, it was kind of hard to understand over the sound of hysterical teenager!" Ajax mocked, as if she was so much older at twenty. But God, she did feel so much older sometimes. Three years felt vast, even if Swan claimed to be turning eighteen soon.

Swan refused to tell anyone a date, though, so either "soon" was a lie or she was worried about a party being thrown in her honor. Probably a bit of both, if Ajax needed to guess. Not that it mattered at the moment, because any progress Cochise made with Swan and Swan's emotional stability? Out the damn window, the girl was a disaster.

"Is she okay?" Cleon asked, concerned and near frantic sounding. She always was, Cleon cared about Swan in a way Ajax never saw her care about recruits before.

"No. No, she's not okay, Cleon," Ajax tried her best not to snarl. She did not believe she succeeded. Rembrandt was going to kill her.

Ajax tried to follow Rembrandt's advice: remove herself from the situation. So she went to move down the hallway to Swan's bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Cleon asked, stopping Ajax in her tracks.

"I'm getting Swan's stuff," Ajax said. Politely, even. Or as politely as she could manage.

"I'm not jumping her out just because the mission didn't go to plan," Cleon looked downright offended at the implication. "You know that. You don't need to get her stuff, just bring her home-"

"You think Rembrandt hasn't been telling her that?" Ajax interrupted. "She's freaked. We're gonna let her sleep it off, hopefully she feels better in the morning, but she can't deal with this tonight."

"I don't like-"

"It isn't about you right now!"

That got Cleon to shut up, take a moment as she stared at Ajax, before finally nodding, slow. "You're right. This isn't about me."

"It's about Swan," Ajax said. "Who doesn't want to be here right now. We've got the room, we can take care of her for a night."

"Her toothbrush is the dark blue one. And she likes the green toothpaste," was all Cleon said before going to her own bedroom. Slammed the door, too, which was very unlike Cleon.

"Fucking Christ, dude," Cowgirl said after a heavy silence settled over the apartment. "Would've been nicer to just carve out her heart."

"Whatever, Cowgirl," Ajax sneered, making her way to the bathroom to grab Swan's fucking toothbrush. "She fucked up and she knows it."

When Ajax got back to the apartment, Swan seemed at least a bit calmer, laying down on the couch and blinking at the TV. Rembrandt must have turned the news on, but the volume was low enough Ajax wasn't convinced Swan could hear it.

Speaking of Rembrandt...

"Rem go out or something?" Ajax asked, trying for casual as she dropped Swan's stuff to the floor, then moved to kick off her boots and shrug off her jacket.

Swan said nothing, but Rembrandt did, popping out of the bedroom, "Nope! Just needed to grab something." She held up and shook a small pill bottle, "Tylenol! Finally found it."

"Oh, nice," Ajax nodded. They didn't usually have that stuff laying around, going to Cleon's where Cochise kept a large med kit for that sort of thing. Every now and then, though, Rembrandt would get a series of headaches or Ajax would do something stupid that necessitated going out and actually getting pain killers for their own apartment.

Rembrandt nodded, twisting open the cap and spilling a pair of pills into her hand. "Swan, do you need water with these?"

"Don't need them," came Swan's quiet voice from the couch.

Ajax saw the state of her ribs. Swan needed the Tylenol. Moving to the couch, Ajax rested her forearms on the back of it, rocking forward on the balls of her feet to look down at Swan. "Yeah, you do. Cracked ribs hurt like a son of a bitch. You need water or not?"

"Don't want the pills," Swan muttered again. Her eyes were narrowed, brow furrowed, all but glaring at the TV.

Where they were talking about the rise in puppy adoptions from the local shelter, so not exactly glare-worthy. "You're taking the pills."

"No."

"It's just Tylenol," Ajax said. Maybe Swan hadn't heard Rembrandt say that earlier. That it was only Tylenol.

"I don't take any of that stuff," Swan said.

"Swan, you took plenty of Tylenol a few months ago when you were dying on Cleon's couch, it doesn't make you less tough or something," Rembrandt tried.

That got Swan's attention. Swan tried to sit up, to both Ajax and Rembrandt's alarm, eyes wide as she looked at Rembrandt. "I what?!"

...oh, shit.

"Uh-" Rembrandt looked to Ajax, clearly confused.

Ajax was unfortunately starting to maybe understand what was happening. "You took some medicine when you were sick to stop you from dying on Cleon's couch. Now, you're going to take some medicine to stop you from dying on our couch."

Please let this not be what Ajax thought it was, please let this not be what Ajax thought it was, please let this not be what-

"I don't remember that," Swan said, more to herself than anything. "It doesn't count if I don't remember it. If I didn't mean to. Intention matters. Intention has to matter."

"I mean, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions," Rembrandt joked.

Because Rembrandt made jokes when she got nervous.

Which Ajax deeply loved about her.

Her saying that right that second, though?

Not helpful. At all.

Swan's eyes went wide.

"Swan. It's fine. It's absolutely fine. Just- take the Tylenol. We'll look away. I'll take you to church on Sunday, get you to confession- or take communion or whatever the fuck you need to do, forgiveness is a whole thing, it's fine," Ajax said. Completely calm and collected, because she was a bad-ass who definitely was not about to panic about the clear religious crisis occurring on her couch in that moment.

"That is not how that works," Swan said, looking at Ajax like she sprouted six heads. Amazing.

"I'm sorry, God cares about Tylenol?" Rembrandt asked. Which could have either been a joke or completely serious, but Ajax was not sure in that moment.

"I'm not taking it," Swan said. "Pain is penance."

Oh. Oh-ho-ho, Ajax really did not want to know what that meant. Needless to say, Ajax and Rembrandt lost the Tylenol battle that night.

Though Ajax did try again, as she helped Swan make a better bed on the couch.

"You look like shit," Ajax said as Swan collapsed into the sheets and blankets. Swan half-heartedly glared up at Ajax, but said nothing. "Do you actually believe all that crap?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Swan looked away, melancholy as anything. "It feels better not to take it."

Ajax hated that idea. "If you can't sleep cause it hurts..."

"I'm fine," Swan was quiet for a moment. "I can be out of your hair by lunch tomorrow."

"Kid-"

"Catch a north-bound train," now Swan was just talking to herself. "There's a good shelter up in Harlem..."

"You aren't going anywhere," Ajax stopped that train of thought right then and there. "And if you do, I'm grabbing Cochise and we're dragging your ass back home, you got that?"

"Cleon-"

"Cleon isn't going to jump you out, dumbass, how many times do we have to tell you that?!" Ajax tried not to yell, but at least Swan was looking at her now. "Cleon gave you a job you couldn't handle. I told her not to send you out alone. That is on Cleon, not you, you got that?"

"But-"

"No," Ajax interrupted, shaking her head. "No buts. Cleon fucked up. Big time. And she's going to come over here and apologize, or we'll take you home and she'll apologize there, but this was her fault. Not yours. I don't care what happened on that job, you weren't ready, and that's okay. You got it?"

Swan's eyes were wide as she nodded, slightly. "Yes."

"Now, will you take some Tylenol?" Might as well try, when the kid looked scared enough to maybe get over that little hurdle.

"No." Goddammit.

Swan did sleep, at the least. When Rembrandt and Ajax got up the next morning, she was still fast asleep on the couch, forcing them to tiptoe around the kitchen to get food and try not to wake her up. Then Ajax accidentally stubbed her toe and cursed loud enough to wake the dead, yet Swan still slept, so they realized they did not need to be that quiet.

"You think Cleon will be over?" Rembrandt asked as they settled at their tiny table next to the window, off in the corner of their living room. The table was technically a tv tray, but it held two cups of coffee just fine.

Ajax shrugged, looking out the window into the alley, at the windows that people started to open and the lives occurring in the building next door. "Probably."

"I just don't understand what she was thinking," Rembrandt sighed, resting an elbow on the edge of the tray and rubbing at her forehead. "Swan's still new, why would she...?"

"Freaked out maybe," Ajax said after a moment. At Rembrandt's confusion, "It's why she made Swan my recruit and didn't keep her for herself. Cleon's attached to Swan, has been since she pulled her out from the boardwalk. I think she's trying to prove that she won't give Swan special treatment because of it."

Rembrandt raised an eyebrow, "What other recruit has she sent on a solo mission outside our turf this early?"

What other soldier has Cleon sent on a solo mission outside their turf? They were rare and Swan wasn't even ready to go on one with Ajax.

"She went a bit overboard," Ajax said. "Overestimated Swan."

"Yeah, I'd say," Rembrandt snorted, shaking her head.

When Cleon showed up, thankfully after Swan woke up on her own, it wasn't a huge surprise. Rembrandt and Ajax gave them the apartment - Rembrandt forced to drag Ajax out of said apartment - and, when they came back, Swan seemed better. Lighter.

And the Tylenol bottle sat on the coffee table next to a half-drunk glass of water.

"Did you take some?" Ajax asked once she noticed, trying for casual.

"Oh, yeah, she said she hadn't taken some yet today," Cleon said, glancing at her watch. "She took some, like, twenty minutes ago, if you're trying to keep track or something."

Ajax raised her eyebrows at Swan who refused to look at her. Uh-huh.

"Cleon, can we talk?" Ajax asked. Not politely.

She did politely ignore the way Rembrandt tried to crush all of the toes in her right foot, though.

"Yeah. We probably should," Cleon said. Which, yeah, Ajax expected after her stunt yesterday.

"Before you say anything," Ajax started as soon as the door to the roof closed. "You need to understand that I was looking out for my recruit. That you assigned to me."

"Ajax-"

"And that you should have listened to me, but you, instead, pulled a crap move and sent her on a solo mission you wouldn't have sent me on, let alone another recruit."

"Ajax-"

"And Swan hasn't taken any Tylenol, ever, of her own accord, because she has some weird religious hang up. But she took some when you offered it to her and you need to realize that you have an insane amount of sway over that girl before you do something stupid-"

"Ajax!" Cleon finally yelled.

It was fine. Ajax was basically finished anyway.

"Thank you," Cleon said.

Which- "The fuck?"

"Thank you for helping her last night," Cleon said. "And for everything you said. I was being stupid. I shouldn't have done that, I should have listened to you, and Swan got hurt because of me. Thank you for taking care of Swan while I worked through all of that."

Ajax crossed her arms. Kissed her teeth. Nodded. "You're welcome."

"I underestimated my influence. Not just on Swan, but on the Warriors as a whole," Cleon sighed, moved over the ledge and rested her forearms on it as she looked out over the city. Ajax took a moment to join her, their arms brushing. "I thought Swan would tell me if she was worried about it. Cochise and Cowgirl didn't know until after Swan left, but- All Cochise did was ask if I was sure and Cowgirl...looked surprised, but she didn't say anything."

"So, what, you thought I was being overprotective?" Ajax asked. Because Ajax had said something. She was only a little surprise Cowgirl and Cochise hadn't, but if it happened after the fact...

"You have a tendency for it," Cleon said. Fair enough. "You woke me up last night."

"I shouldn't have had to," if they were being honest and all.

Cleon winced. "Fair enough."

"I trust you," Ajax said. "We all do, but I trust you with Rembrandt. You know what that means."

"I do."

Swan went home with Cleon, after thanking Ajax and Rembrandt for letting her crash on their couch. When the door closed behind them, Rembrandt looked at Ajax.

"What's this about you yelling at Cleon?" Rembrandt asked.

Oh, Jesus. "Who called you?"

"Cowgirl." Of course it was.

"Cleon thanked me for it," Ajax tried.

Rembrandt was eventually talked down from trying to murder Ajax, but it was a near thing that involved many promises to learn to control her temper.

[writerobscura]

The USA

Sorry for the radio silence; I'm still processing how 51% of my country thinks it's okay to elect a bigoted, misogynistic felon to the presidency.

This election is a reminder that half of this country is so fucking hateful that they're willing to elect someone that makes us a laughing stock around the globe while those who bought and paid for his campaign gut democracy.

Are you doing better than you were four years ago? Of course not. You were getting subsidy checks Biden pushed through a Republican congress post-pandemic.

Wages went up for essential workers, and that expense got passed on to you because corporations aren't going to short to their shareholders - and the President can do nothing about that without holding companies accountable to regulation - which our new president has no intention of doing.

The next two years:

My adult children will lose their healthcare when he and his Republican senate quash the Affordable Care Act - but hey, so long as you have a few extra bucks at the end of the month for cigs and beer, what do you care?

Some states will be able to seize the medical records of women and mothers and use those records to fine or put them in jail (abortion, IVF, getting your trans teen the care they need) - but hey, none of those things affect you personally, so fuck 'em and hey, women aren't even human, am I right you newly registered voting Gen Z fellas?

College debt, infrastructure repairs, social programs - kiss all that goodbye because fucking the planet up is a small price to pay so you can get gasoline for under $2.99. Oh, and that Latino spouse? All it takes is one call from a disgruntled 'Murican and our new INS will be there with 'post-citizenship deportation review' papers.

Wars? How easily everyone forgets that Ukraine is at war right now because your guy failed to help him when Russia flooded his country with separatists. You think he's going to stop arming Israel? Where's the money in that?

Xenophobia may have worked when the USA was 100% self-sufficient in the 1900s, but it cannot be done in this day and age - but hey, going back to the old days is what it's all about, right?

Living in a hurricane or natural disaster prone state? You better pray to whatever G*d you worship that nothing happens in the next 2 years because the Pubs have the Senate and the presidency - no more FEMA funds and 'emergency handouts.'

Tariffs instead of taxes on the rich? Zero-sum situation. Guess how many companies import basic things just to make the shit you eat and use daily? Monsanto is no longer an American company, most farmers in the USA 'import' their seed, though because lack of corporate regulation has allowed them to destroy all farms that don't use their seed. While we're on the subject of tariffs, any foreign company can say, "We just won't sell to you, America." What's the backup plan? Oh, right, he has none.

Prices will rise, wages will stagnate, tariffs won't work, so guess who gets billed for that deficit? Not the wealthy—they spent billions electing this assclown, and there's no way they're investing one damned penny in the rest of us.

But hey, they know you can take it because you voted to have all this...You voted for all of the above at the expense of literally half your fellow countrymen.

If Kamala won, you would've lost NOTHING. Your worst case scenario under her presidency is that you would've been running in place financially while those you consider morally or racially beneath you, might've been gotten ahead a few steps.

So yeah, 51% of my country would rather watch it all burn down than suffer anyone they consider less of a human being, be given an equal chance.

[mcl602023]

summary: y/n and drew break up and she writes a song about him what will his reaction be?

⏳-angst/sad.

warnings? not really apart from crying and arguing.

i recommend listening to the song whilst reading!!!!

who do i call now?

4 months ago.

still in the blue say that i miss you silence.

i sit on my bed staring at nothing. i feel empty like ive been used and like i was never anything but a place holder.

sit on my phone tryna refrain from dialling.

looking at his contact on my phone. i still haven't changed his name or his picture.

wondering do i call? or do i leave him alone?

say when we're good then we're good when we're bad we're a disaster.

(flashback)

were sat here laughing over a joke about something silly he heard earlier whilst he was at set "god i love you" he says making my stomach erupt into butterfly's

"i love you so much more" i reply kissing his cheek.

(...)

2 hours later.

"god your so insecure it's actually a joke!"he screams at me.

i feel the tears filling up my eyes blurring my vision.

"it's not my fault okay? you know what i've been through im sorry"i shout back with a wobbly and shaky voice.

he scoffs rubbing his hands over his face.

"it's honestly pathetic you really think there's something going on with me and her?"he questions with anger written all over his face and venom in his words.

"well it's a little bit hard not to overthink it when your hand is on her ass!"i spit back.

make out, slam the door then text you right after.

he walks up to me grabbing my face in his hands and giving me a harsh kiss before walking over to the door opening it and slamming it shut as he walks out.

drew💗

__________________________________

i'm sorry, come home x

read 16:21.

__________________________________

i don't miss the drama but god i miss your laughter.

(end of flashback)

present day.

drew's pov.

"guys quick she's on stage in a minute!" i hear madelyn shout from hers and chases living room.

jesus why am i even here i think to myself sitting down on the couch.

just then the tv presenter starts speaking.

"please welcome to the stage y/n y/l/n!."

she appears on the screen looking beautiful. she's dyed her hair y/h/c and is now y/h/l.

and oh my god does she look so good in the outfit she's wearing.

austin shushes everyone as y/n begins singing.

"so who do i call now? i'd give it all now just to be fighting in the kitchen hearing the crash of broken dishes."

i start to get flashbacks of us arguing and me smashing dishes when everything got too much.

"thought it was bad then this heartache is hellbent id fall asleep to the television drown out the sound of your voice missing."

"now i'd do anything for you to yell at me."

"she looks heartbroken. why did i do this to her?" i silently question myself.

(flashback)

y/ns pov.

you left so quietly

but your silence is deafening.

i wake up the morning after another big argument with drew.

i reach over and pat the bed expecting his warmth to be there.

but there's nothing? he was in bed when i came back home though?

where is he?

i brush of the negative feeling in my gut that tells me something isn't right.

i walk out of our shared bedroom and begin to make myself coffee when i notice nearly all of his belongings are gone.

what the fuck?

i notice a note left on the coffee table.

"y/n im sorry but i need to focus on myself and i cannot do that if i am with you.i love you and im sorry it ended like this -drew."

(end of flashback)

drew's pov.

"hung by a thread sometimes i wish you'd cut it hit me so low then act like your so above it"

i can feel the intense stares of my friends but my focus remains on y/n as she sings i can see small tears falling down her beautiful face that you wouldn't notice unless you were actually looking.

"see when we're high we're so high then we crash and we shatter and make out like we're fine and fall back into old patterns"

"i don't miss the drama but god i miss your laughter"

"bro you messed up" i hear jd saying while slightly shaking his head.

"i know okay you don't have to tell me"i reply with a tear running across my cheek.

i zone out while she's singing a verse but eventually come back into reality when i hear the beat fasten up and get bassiser.

"i always come back like a sickness built the antibodies up get you out my system the audacity to call yourself the victim kick me down say it's not malicious"

"you use it all against me when i tell you things or even worse your not listening i used to go to you for everything"

i remember all the times she showed up at my doorstep before we moved in together crying about a minor thing that she didn't really need to be crying over.

"so who do i, who do i call now?".

And just like that the songs over and the crowd is cheering.

“i'd just like to thank you all for listening to this song tonight it means the world to finally be able to perform this for you"

she begins speaking and just hearing her voice is enough to have a few more tears stream down my face.

"i love you all thank you for tonight, goodnight!"

she shouts into the mic before running off stage.

what have i done?

my sweet beautiful y/n. i miss the way after every argument you'd still have a glimmer of hope in your eyes. i miss the way your eyes would sparkle with joy and happiness.

i took that from you.

i'm so sorry angel.

i will forever regret my mistake.

______________________________________

a/n: okay so this is my first time writing an imagine and idk this feels so cringe 😭

[autumngracy]

So my county (Orange County, New York) is in a drought rn with no real end in sight; it's been two and half months since we got any substantial rain, and in that time it's only lightly drizzled for a maybe a few hours, like twice.

There is currently a wildfire burning close by, which has burned over 2000 acres already and was started by a guy in New Jersey illegally firing tracer bullets (which contain magnesium) at the Central Jersey Firing Range. (He has since been charged with arson.)

This morning, the sky was red at sunrise. The air quality is getting steadily worse. The wildfires are a 0% containment. A firefighter has already died because of a tree falling on him. People are worried about the fire (which is burning on BOTH sides of the Hudson) reaching large residential areas nearby.

The only thing that can help us now is rain, but it has to be a slow and steady rain, because the ground is so dry and hard-packed that if we get a heavy rainfall, the ground will not be able to absorb it fast enough, and it will cause flash flooding.

There was a massive flash flood last year, considered a "once in a thousand years" event, that damaged or destroyed a huge amount of infrastructure, roads, and buildings in this area, many of which still have not been fully repaired or protected from further storm damage.

About 30% of the land at our house was literally washed away down the creek that runs though it, which had been at a trickle before, and turned into a 8 foot flood surge in the course of few hours.

The government had promised disaster relief money for our town (and surrounding towns) due to the damage from this event, but later, after much of the repair had already gotten underway, backed out and left the towns to foot the bill themselves.

My family would have been completely financially devastated if we had been forced to pay for the repairs to our property (we're talking like, over a million dollars of damage; SEVERAL times what the property is worth), but because there were key public infrastructure elements running through it (a storm drain, a sewer manhole, and an overpass for the road that went over the creek) the town ended up paying for ALL of the repairs, because they were all issues that needed to be fixed immediately and affected everyone in the town.

I am so fucking worried right now that either the wildfires are going to reach us, or rain comes in time to stave them off but it comes too heavy and causes another massive flash flood.

I need people to understand how completely bonkers it is that this is happening in this area. Like. I've lived here for around 15 years and that WHOLE time this area has only ever had like, one other official drought, and only for like, a day or two. We are RIGHT on the Hudson river, with creeks running all over, but the creeks have mostly dried up, we've been under a Red Flag burn ban for weeks, and our town is having a water shortage.

Also, besides the lack of rain, it's the second fucking week of November, but we've been having days in the high 60's, 70's, and even 80's, and there's only been a few days recently that dropped down into 50's, 40's or 30's, and only in the coolest parts of the night.

I've only had to wear an actual coat so far this season like, twice. It was in the high 70's and low to mid 80's all through the week of Halloween. When I stood in line for 2+ hours to vote, during sunset, it was balmy out. The previous presidential election, at the same location and time, had been so cold that I'd been freezing despite many layers of warm clothing, and I couldn't feel my extremities by the time I was able to cast my vote. But last week? It was BALMY.

There are still flowers blooming and putting out buds. There are tomatoes ripening on the vine. There are still flying insects outside. All these things should have been getting hit by frost like a month ago and started the process of going dormant. Now, if cold does suddenly hit, it's probably going to shock and kill off a lot of plant life.

This shit is NOT normal. Climate change is real.

[florexyy]

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 / 𝐍𝐢-𝐊𝐢

𝟓. 𝐀 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫(𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭) Genre: Enemies to lovers, a bit of smau Pairing: ni-ki x fem!reader WC: 1.9k Warning(TBU!): profanity, angst, mentions of suicidal thoughts, depression & anxiety, family issues, slow burnish, y/n & riki have an attitude problem, alcohol abuse, Blackout, brutality, might contain bad grammar, may be illogical sometimes. ༻꧁✬꧂༺ ⇝26.08.22⇜

Y/N sighed heavily as she walked out of school with Nao-mi, her bag slung over her shoulder. It had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was head home, curl up in bed, and avoid anything that required social interaction. Unfortunately, she only just remembered about the party, jay was forcing her to go to. A slight sigh escaped her lips.

"C'mon, Y/N," Nao-Mi said, walking next to her. "Itll be fun. You need to loosen up a little." "You almost sound like my brother." She whined, "You wont be there, how am i meant to 'loosen up'" "Youll be fine, and besides its not my fault i have to babysit my little sister. My brothers going to the same party, and moms outta house tonight" She rolled her eyes.

"I just dont see why I need to waste my night at some party." Y/N groaned.

Nao-mi snickered. "Youre hopeless. Youre like a grandma in a teenagers body." "Whatever.." As they walked, she pulled out her phone, scrolling aimlessly until her thumb froze over a tweet.

Her stomach dropped. The party was at Heeseung's house. Great. That meant she'd not only have to endure loud music and drunken chaos but also the possibility of running into Riki. Again.

"Ah hell no, i aint going to this damn party." Y/N sneered in disbelief. "What now" Nao-Mi asked taking a peak at her phone.   Y/N raised her head,"Its at fucking Heeseungs house."  "You didnt know?" Nao-MI asked confused. "Fuck no" Y/N said fuming. This could mean only one thing. Complete disaster.  ༻꧁✬꧂༺

Y/N leaned against the car door, glaring at her brother, Jay. "I still dont understand why I have to go to this stupid party."

Jay chuckled, keeping his eyes on the road. "Because you need to get out of the house once in a while. Plus, it's Heeseung's party. Everyone's going to be there."

She shifted in her seat, "Couldve told me that sooner.. thats exactly why I dont want to go"

Moments later, they were pulling up to Heeseungs house, music already thumping from inside. The place was packed, the porch crowded with laughing, shouting people. As Y/N got out the car she brushed over her unironed shirt trying to straighten it

Her stomach twisted. She wasn't nervous about the party it was the people inside she wanted to avoid. Specifically, one person.

The second Nao-Mi mentioned the party earlier, Y/N had a sinking feeling Riki would be there. And now, standing in Heeseungs living room, her fears were confirmed.

Riki stood near the couch, a drink in his hand as he laughed with some friends. His sharp jawline and confident posture made him impossible to miss. 

"Ill go catch up with some friends, be right back yeah," Jay said, patting her shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

"Great," Y/N muttered under her breath.

Determined to avoid Riki, she stuck to the far side of the room, keeping her distance as much as possible. It seemed to work for a while. Riki didn't even glance in her direction, which was fine by her.

But fate had other plans.

"Alright, everybody!" Heeseung's voice boomed over the music, drawing everyones attention. "Time for a game!"

Groans and cheers echoed through the room. Y/N tried to step back, but before she could make an escape, someone grabbed her arm.

"Cmon, Y/N!" Jay appeared out of nowhere, dragging her into the crowd forming in the center of the room.

"No, no, no-"

"Yes, yes, yes," Jay interrupted, pushing her down into the circle.

To make matters worse, Riki was also dragged into the group. He caught her eye and immediately rolled his, clearly as annoyed as she was.

Heeseung smirked. "Alright, we're playing 'Find a Way.' Rules are simple: Ill pair you up, and each pair gets a card with a small challenge. Youve got to complete it together. Easy enough, right?"

Y/Ns heart sank. She already knew where this was going.

And then Heeseung grinned at her. "Y/N...Riki... you two are a pair."

"What?!" they both said in unison.

"No way," Y/N added, her voice sharp.

"Not happening," Riki said, slapping Heeseungs back.

"Oh, its happening," Heeseung said, clearly enjoying himself. He handed them a card and shooed them off.

Y/N snatched the card from his hand, reading it quickly: "Find something hidden in the house. Work together."

She groaned. "This is stupid."

"Couldnt agree more," Riki replied, already looking bored. "Lets just get it over with." "Cant believe im doing this" He sighed under his breath.

They rushed off together, forced to search the house. The first few minutes were silent, neither of them willing to break the awkward tension.

"Try looking over there," Riki said finally, nodding towards a shelf.

"Dont tell me what to do" Y/N shot back, but she checked anyway.

He snorted. "Still as stubborn as ever."

"And youre still as annoying as ever."

"Charming," he replied dryly.

They bickered as they moved through the house, their voices low but sharp. Eventually, they ended up in one of the upstairs rooms, still searching.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult?" Riki asked, leaning against the wall as Y/N rifled through a drawer. "Can you help instead of watching me do all the work, why do you always have to be around?" she shot back.

"It's not like I enjoy your company," he retorted.

She turned to glare at him "Likewise" But before hecould respond, the door suddenly opened.

"Hey, Y/N!" a familiar voice called.

She turned to see Jiro, standing in the doorway with a wide grin. Relief flooded through her chest.

"Jiro!" she said, smiling. "Its been forever."

"I didnt know youd be here," he said, stepping into the room. His gaze flicked briefly to Riki, who had gone quiet, before returning to her.

They started chatting, their conversation light and easy. Jiro was someone Y/N genuinely liked, and it was nice talking to someone who didnt irritate her.

Riki, on the other hand, looked annoyed. He lingered near the door, his arms crossed as he watched them. Y/N didnt know why but for some reason the tension in the room felt thicker since jiro entered the room. She took a quick glance at riki just to see him surprisingly vexed Jiro gave her a quick smile. "Ill speak to you later, Y/N."

He left the room, leaving her alone with Riki again.

"Friend of yours?" Riki asked, his tone icy.

"Whats it to you?" she replied, turning away.

"Nothing." He said coolly, and they returned to their task in strained silence.

By the time they finally found the hidden object and returned to the party, Y/Ns patience was worn thin. She grabbed a drink and found herself downing it faster than she intended.

Until she felt a tap on her shoulder,"Take it easy, Y/N" She turned around to find Jiro standing behind her. "Oh hey, its you again" She hiccuped. "Wanna sit down and chat? I see youre kinda lonely" He smiled. "Id love to" She replied following close behind him through the crowd. They saved themselves a spot on the soft grey couch in the living room "Whats up with you, youve been drinking a lot" He asked carefully. "Ugh, I dont know, ive been feeling shitty lately" She tightened her grip around her red plastic cup. He gave her a careful look, his eyes softening. "Ever since we moved to korea, mums barely been around." "What do you mean." He asked hoping not to pressure her into saying something she wouldnt want to.

One drink turned into two, and before she knew it, the world around her was spinning.

"We moved her due to my mothers business, and since my parents are divorced she took us with her. Shes basically a workaholic, havent seen her in days." She leaned against the couch feeling the soft texture on her skin.   "When my parents got divorced everything went downhill, i used to love dad, but well, lets say he's changed. Depression got the best of me, so did anxiety, a few years ago i thought about ending it all. Well.." She paused. "Jay realised something was wrong with me and started taking care of me, back then i was fragile and vulnerable but he taught me to be strong and rely on myself im really grateful for my brother.."  "Im lost for words im so sorry you had to go through that." He replied gently, grabbing her hand Hesitantly. Her throat tightened, a sharp ache blooming in her chest as she felt tears welling in the corner of her eyes, the overwhelming weight of emotions came crashing down on her making it hard to breathe steady, her vision blurred as she quickly pushed herself up storming to the nearest room, slamming the door behind her. She sank to the floor, her back pressed against the door, emotions and the alcohol in her system swirled together, casting her into a daze. Drunk and dazed, causing her vision to darken..  ༻꧁✬꧂༺ His eyes glistened, and as she parted her lips to speak, the words got caught in her throat. Who could it be? Her vision was too blurry to make out his face.

Suddenly she felt two firm hands lifting her, helping her to her feet. Wrapping her arms around his neck for support. She blinked rapidly, trying to figure out who he was. 'Those eyes..' She thought and froze, a wave of realization washing over her as she processed who it was that had just helped her get to her feet. "Riki..?!" The shock in her voice made her loosen the grip on his neck, causing her to tumble backwards landing on her butt. "What are you doing here Y/N, you look like shit." He scoffed running a hand through his messy hair. He frowned as he didnt get an answer, looking around the room searching for answers. "Are you drunk?" He turned to look at her.

'There it was again...that glistening gaze of his..'  She gave a slow, hesitant nod in response. He rolled his eyes "Are you fucking braindead? Your brother asked me to look for you and keep an eye on you" His tone flat, pausing. "I cant stand you, but im doing this for Jay" Her eyes widened "Jay asked for me?"

He just watched her silently- "He cant find out about this, you hear me?!" She hissed, holding out her hand.  He rolled his eyes a soft sigh escaping his lips, grabbing  her hand. helping her to her feet once again. "Youre smart enough to walk on your own arent you?"  He drastically let go of her, as she tried marching out the room stumbling against the door hitting her head. "Bruh you cant even walk stupid idiot" He said sliding one of her arms over his shoulder, helping her walk.  The rest of the night blurred into nothingness, as darkness overtook her mind completely.  ༻꧁✬꧂༺ Y/N slowly opened her eyes, the soft sunlight shining through the curtains bathing the room in a soft golden light. She blinked once or twice grabbing for her phone on her nightstand.  She has recieved a few messages. Y/N slowly unlocked her phone rubbing her eyes.

'Right...how did i even make it home last night' Thinking about last night left her in confusion, everything blurry and unclear, what even happened?.. She kept scrolling through her phone seeing a few notifications from twitter, curiously clicking on it. 

"Theres no way.." She muttered under her breath.

Someone had posted THIS picture of her, on HER phone??? 'Fuck fuck fuck fuck..23 likes' She quickly deleted the tweet, hoping not too many people had seen it..

She held her head in agony trying to think about what had exactly happened last night..

She hoped to remember quickly(or not).. ⇜Last Part ❀ Next Part⇝

[casanovawrites]

random sentence prompts  ━ from various tv shows, part 8

it’s hard to figure out where you fit in. 

it’s not so easy for me to make friends. i’m not cool like you.

you’re making it really hard for me to be mad at you right now.

it was my fault. i made a mess of it.

something dreadful is about to happen.

high school is the best your life was ever going to get.

you’re gonna leave here thinking that you need to worry about me, but you’re wrong.

we did so much fucked up shit out there. and yeah, maybe it was to survive. maybe. but i don’t think we deserved to.

if you’re done crying, i can tell you some stories.

you sound like you’re about to snap someone in half with that tongue of yours. 

what are you saying, i’m not innocent?

i don’t want to be something you have to learn to live with.

you know me. i don’t always listen.

you are my ghost story.

i know you don’t think you’re strong enough, but that’s not true.

it’s family. there’s always an explosion. 

someone like you, you seem serious. i’m not sure i’m ready for serious.

understand that i love you, but i will not be waiting up for you.

i spent a long time feeling like i wasn’t enough, and i don’t want to do that anymore.

what about you and me against the world? you and me in the world.

you think i’m lonely?

your job is cooler than mine.

stop smiling, i’m kicking your ass.

i’m chasing ghosts. long story.

you’re itching for a fight.

your neck, it’s bleeding.

there’s “packing away” and there’s “throwing away.”

this is what i get for disobeying your orders.

do you wanna die? answer me. do you wanna die?

you can’t put all your feelings in a box.

we’re actually back on the same side.

if what matters to you most is how other people see you, then you haven’t learned a damn thing.

you think pain is weakness?

why are you worried about a lack of trauma?

we're finally hot, at least according to me.

with them, it’s always two steps forward, then get stabbed in the back.

i crack myself open for 50 minutes, walk out feeling like i was hit by a bus.

i kissed someone. or, they kissed me.

i don’t want to keep on making the same mistakes.

you’re family. it’s what we do. we look out for each other.

are you going to come back?

i don’t have anywhere else to go. you made sure of that.

you were worth the wait.

i guess now i know all your secrets. 

don’t make it weird. i love you.

i’d hate for things to get messy again.

talk about your dumb luck.

it doesn’t matter. you always come first.

why is it your job to take those risks?

i’m saying, i love you. and i want you to quit. 

it was a big deal to me. you saved my life.

the truth is worth everything.

don’t settle for being half of anything. go out there and do something that allows you to be 100% you.

people go away. i don’t want to miss anyone else.

people go away. and it’s sad and it hurts. but you know, not everyone goes away forever. sometimes they come back.

i know what it’s like to be stuck inside the worst part of your life.

no offense, but you’re never the one getting left behind. you’re the one who leaves.

now it’s time for me to figure out who i am without you.

you are like, out of control. 

you know i’m really in love with you, right?

if today can be a good day, maybe tomorrow can, too. 

i already feel like a fool. i don’t need the rest of the world to know the joke.

everyone wants to save the world, they just disagree on how.

i wonder if anyone survived.

i’m not usually the “take it easy” type.

do you ever want something good to happen? a really good thing?

there are no answers here.

your type is losers.

one nightmare isn’t necessarily a reason for concern.

that’s not why i came. i’m only here for you, in case you needed me.

i have walked through fire every single day of my life because of you.

you're so hot when you talk shit like that.

it’s all a goddamn prison anyway.

you want a natural disaster? look no further than my life.

i haven’t felt it in years, and it feels wonderful. but it also feels fucking terrifying.

if i’m repressing things i don’t know about, i’m very okay with never figuring it out.

you should be ashamed.

i love you. and as long as i know you feel the same, i can say it enough for the both of us.

i feel a lot of things when i’m with you. happy, safe, a million other things that i can’t explain right now. but i do feel all of that for you.

i’m not pushing anyone away. i’m taking steps back.

home isn’t a place, it’s a people.

all you’ve got out there is your instincts.

love me anyway.

i don’t think good things are gonna happen to me anymore.

sometimes the hardest part is going home by yourself, being alone with all that quiet.

if it’s meant to be, they’ll find their way home.

no one gets under their daughter’s skin like a mom.

i’m not ashamed. i’m glad i’m alive, just like you are.

you’re a good person. you really don’t belong in this place.

life isn’t a science experiment. you can’t control your world forever.

do you ever get tired of winning? or being the fucking worst?

you two together, you are unstoppable.

so who’s gonna die today? you? or me?

hey, you’re back. are you back…?

i know you’re afraid of people leaving you.

i’m afraid that i’m never going to feel normal again.

[she-ismysun]

The Rookie 6x06 Live Blog Thread

Obvious spoilers ahead 🫡💫

I can't . for your own good. LMAO Angela !! First off, why is tim just leaving his car unlocked. Second, how long has he been in his car?? I didn't strike tim as a man to leave that many wrappers in the front seat of his car

"If I get fired.. I start living off my husband's trust fund :D" i love you angela

Oh boy. RIP Nolan, getting turned left and right with disaster. Unsolved murder, escaped convict, BAILEY WANTING A KID

I do really enjoy ad breaks for live Television. it gives me a minute to breathe and process and pee LMAO

Really? You're gonna walk away from your job, your relationship with Lucy.. angela's saying what we're all thinking. She's the realest.

*reminder to look for that Tim gif

"This is very annoying" [angela look]

PFFFF "I'm a grown man, I don't have a bff"

why confess to the murder by lie about the method indeed...

anyone else think this mom and daughter look wayy too close in age to be mom and daughter? No shade to teen moms, she just looks so super young and good for a mom

CUNTY? WHY HE COME OUT THE CAR LIKE THAT?? A good ol twirl and all. Slayful

oh yeah. timothy "the reaper" bradford

ok what the hell is the tea. it can't have just been lying on a report says Angela.

"I put my career above my oath" 💔

OAHDLK NOT THE "expecting mommy" book. Bailey, this is the whole reason he didn't continue dating Jessica (well there was more but he didn't want more kids!) "The longer you let me have hope, the more painful it'll be"

welcome back lucy. its been the whole half episode HEUHFDLJAKS WHAT THE FUCK. RAY? GE THT EFUCK AWAY FROM HERE. YOU CANT JUST COME IN

the way my heart just dropped. chat i am NOT ok

"YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHATS GOING ON RIGHT NOW. NOW!!!! STOP TRYING TO PROTECT ME!"

I am DONE being the good girlfriend! You don't have to tell me everything but you HAVE to let me in *cue ad break*

PHEWWW. Nyla and Aaron are always beefing bro. I mean fair! Fair maiming from Nyla but whew.

I'm so used to watching on Hulu and being back to rewind every 5 seconds because i Didn't catch everything. lmao nice moves Nolan with da soap

also i desperately need captions and there are *none* rewatching tomorrow in class <3

oh what the fish. my stream FROZE . AND i got spoilers for Greys 😭

OH HELLO???? IA INVESTIGATION. Timothy?!?! why the HELL are you lying?! to IA!!! and how the hell is this going to come back to bite him in the ass. Tim *knowingly* falsified reports. Lying through his damn teeth. Not something I wa slooking forward to or expecting.

NYLA PRETENDING TO NOT KNOW HOW TO SHOOT A GUN IS SO FUCKING FUNNY.

so IA investigation closes without a hitch. No one gets in trouble. Not Tim. Not Angela. Not Lucy.

OU. THE HUG. THERE WAS SO MUCH HURT IN THAT. QUICK. -

UM SO. i quickly had to abandon this thread beacuse I couldn't even enjoy a chenford comfort hug. because it wasn't that. TIMOTHY BRADFORD. WHAT IS HAPPENING

[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - Big Plans - Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

cw: sex, angst

Let's proceed to the next stage.

The Day of Ash. Its conclusion's already foregone, and he has little patience for repetition. But this part is key.

For context's sake, it bears revisiting.

The scene's already been painted. If a courtroom were a stage, the gallery would be breathless for the denouement. Which will arrive, and in due course. As the High Priestess says: Patience is the companion of wisdom.

For now, picture this:

The banquet at the Last Drop, and Fissurefolk with crumbs clinging to their smiles. The songs, the stories, the slow-reeling hours.  The bundt cake had been served up in generous helpings, each portion with a dollop of sugar. Sweetness: too rich to taste of scarcity.

Too real to taste the bitter arsenic of disaster.

In the backroom, Sevika treated Silco to a different song. They'd swapped a stogie of potent brightleaf, each drag burning a sultry line from throat to belly. Silco had draped a stolen sheepskin pelt on the floorboards, and spread Sevika down upon it.  Her nails were in his back, and her tongue filled his mouth, and her sighs filled the air.

"Fuck me," she said. "Fuck me now."

He went into her, exquisitely slick depths parting for him, inch by inch. His vision blotted out to static, his ears ringing bells. Outside, the thunderstorm of boots and bodies gathered its charge.

That is how he recalls that final night.

Everything hung in perfect equilibrium. One side tilting toward delirium; the other, disaster.

They kissed and gasped and kissed again. His teeth closed around her bottom lip, piercing its fullness. He swallowed her sounds as they rocked together, slow and steady. Every second of pleasure counted. Every gasped cry and shivered moan were an offering. 

To gods unnamed; or to Zaun.

When you fuck and live, you fuck for them both.

His climax was a gut-shot—bang, bang, bang, nailed to completion. He collapsed against her, sobbing behind gritted teeth. Sevika's own climax was unending. Every small movement set off an aftershock that fluttered from her womb all the way to her eyelashes. By the end, they were gummed wetly together with tears.

From rawness of hurt and hope and whatever lay beneath.

After, they lay in a languid, sweat-sticky tangle. Their heavy breaths sawed through the dusty air. The stillness felt holy. As if they'd found some secret within themselves, and were listening to it resonate. Sevika nuzzled into the damp hairs curling over at his temple. Silco dropped a wet kiss to the hollow of her throat, followed by a hard, deliberate rasp of stubbled cheekbone between her breasts. The burn glowed in his wake.

Even then, he'd liked to leave marks. Reminders of where she belonged. With him, and the future they'd seize. No takebacks; no middle ground. 

Glory or dust.

Sevika jittered out a sigh. "Sil?"

"Mmm?"

"When all this is over..." Her fingertips traced his hairline. "What d'you want to do?" 

"What?" he murmured, barely cogent. "Why think of that now?" 

"Just... something I'm tellin' myself. For motivation's sake."

"We're motivated."

"We are." She kissed him again: soft, sweet, uncertain. "Still. I wanna hear. You fought for this shit your entire life. Thought you might have plans for after."

"Visualizing, are we?"

"Well, yeah. Like, I see myself walking on the Bridge, without getting frisked. Without those degrading searchlights and the names they call us. You know what I mean, right?" 

"I do." Silco's jaw hardened. "Personally, I'd tear the Bridge down. Reroute everything so we aren't dependent on one mode of transit across the Pilt.  Our harbor still opens out to sea. Our trade could be redirected. We could do business with foreign merchants. I've no doubt there's a market for our wares across Runeterra. Places less sanctimonious and more eager to profit."

"What wares?"

"The gold and gems. But there's more to our domestic industry than the treasures below. You've seen the construction boom in Topside's residential sectors. All from our marble, our slate, our granite. Once Zaun's ours, we'd tap into that sector. No need for a bridge. Or the thieves squatting on the other end."

"See? You do have big plans!"

"Schematics. That's all."

"Helluva lot more than most of us got." Cupping his head in both hands, she sought his eyes. "What else?"

He rested his interlaced palms on her sternum, and his chin atop them.  "Reforms. Top to bottom. Law, infrastructure, security. Chaos without an axis devolves a society to madmen. But we won't survive as a monoculture, either. A diversified economy's the best path forward. We could open our borders to trade with merchants from across Valoran. Build the docks into proper berths, so we're dealing with international vessels on our terms, without them trying to get a foothold in our territory." His eyes slitted, drowsy yet speculative. "What we need is a haven for entrepreneurs and free thinkers alike."

"People who'll treat us as equals instead of animals?"

He grinned: a tiny bite of incisors into her skin. "Exactly. A whole world of profit's out there. We'll tap into it. Show the world that we're more than just gutter-trash."

"And here, I'd be satisfied with a plumbing system that doesn't freeze my tits off come winter."

"Copper piping—" he was warming to the subject— "is where the solution lies. We'll invest in citywide upgrades. A sewage network that leads to treatment plants outside of town. Lessens the runoff so the river fish are fit to eat year-round. We'd also start a sanitation corps. Their sole objective would be to rid the streets of refuse."

"Big plans. Real big." Her touch didn't falter, but he felt a shift in her voice. A sidestep more than a withdrawal. "What about... y'know. The kids?"

 A chill crept through Silco. Gently, he disentangled, easing himself upright. His bare arms roped around his knees. He let out a slow breath, measuring how much to reveal.

Then—

"More reforms. Loads of 'em. No more debts inherited from parent to child. Anyone in arrears would be offered financial advice, and legal recourse. Then there's the quality of education. Most sumpsnipes can barely scrawl their names. How's a nation meant to advance if its children can't count coin? Universal schooling is the least Zaun can provide. Medical centers that offer basic services. Soup kitchens with free meals. All of it must happen, if our folk are to succeed."

"Mighty generous. What's the catch?"

"No catch. Only stipulations." He met her eyes, aglow in the gloom. "These children have spent a lifetime dodging Topside boots. They should be given safe spaces, where they can explore their talents. Without the constant threat of those spaces being torn down, the way our orphanages were."

"Some of those little boot-dodgers could do with a kick, though."

"Maybe. But there's a difference between coddling and support."  His palm rolled open. An invisible blade balanced on either side: compromise and conviction. "The right to learn in safety is as necessary as the freedom to grow from mistakes. The kids would get their licks. But they'd also get a choice." His voice softened. "The rest would follow."

Sevika softened in turn. "Knew it."

"Knew what?"

"You're a big sap when it comes to kids."

"Quit taking the piss."

She shook her head. "Always knew you cared. Deep down. Otherwise, why go through with this at all?" Her palm squeezed his forearm; a caress bordering on worship. "It's gonna change, Sil. You'll change it. The kids'll have better than we ever did."

Her eyes met his. The compassion seared. Because of course she could see straight through him, to the gnashing fears hidden below. Same way he could see through her, to the long-dead hopes buried in her bones.

Like fossils: fragile but irrefutable.

They'd been told since birth they were inferior, and inferior beings must perish. Yet they'd survived. Doggedly, brutally, defiantly. And having done so, deserved a shot at more.

Tonight, they'd seize it. They'd turn the tables forever.

No fairness; only equity.

"After..." Sevika swallowed. "Y'think we'll have something more stable?"

"Stable?"

"Y'know. More than night-rallies, and smuggling and stabbing bootlickers in back alleys."

"Why? Got the itch to settle down?"

A flush stole across her cheeks. Her eyes cut away. "Nah. Just wondering."

"Wondering what?"

"Don't make me spell it out."

A few beats. Then realization sank home. The ice thawed; a smile crept across Silco's lips.

"Are you implying...?"

"What?" Sevika challenged, knowing exactly what was implied. The blush deepened, a charming mottle of deep rose. In a fistfight, she was seldom caught off-kilter. But intimacy always did it for her; abraded the roughness down to the girl she'd been: bruises on her knees and big dreams tucked close to her heart.

Like his stolen bergamots stuffed in her pockets.

"Say it, love," he goaded gently.

"Naw."

"Say it."

"Fuck off!"

"Say it, or I'll guess." He slid back down into the lovely warm circle of her arms. His head settled into the lovelier, warmer declivity between her breasts. He nuzzled, playfully. "Are you, by chance, expressing an interest in—don't be shy—sharing your bolthole?"

"Never... never said that." But she was shivering; a different thrill entirely. "Just wondering if I should start clearing out some drawers."

"Making room, hmm?"

"Place could do with a fixer-upper."

"My skillset does extend to home repairs."

She scoffed. "Being handy with a hammer's not a skillset." But her arms found their home around him, as he found his in the shelter of her. "We could split chores."

"Equitable distribution of labor?"

"Someone cooks, someone scrubs the dishes. Someone sets the table, someone brews the tea..."

"Better be me. Not sure I'd survive another mug of leaves-and-grit."

Her ribcage jerked; a peal of laughter that threatened to break into tears. Silco's own chest felt vaguely smothered. By emotion; by hope.

They'd seen enough of sorrow for a lifetime. Why not dream a little?

 "Let's see," he went on, kissing his way from one breast to the next. "The labor's divvied. But what about the living space? It'd need renovations. New plaster for the ceiling, so the cockroaches don't rain down from the cracks. New floorboards, too. Solid wood so the place stays dry. Nothing like this—" He rapped his knuckle against the nearest plank, eliciting a resounding echo of termite damage, "—so during our more, ah, exuberant endeavors, we don't drop down two stories and land right in old Josiah's stewpot."

This time, her laughter bubbled up without reserve. "Soundproof the walls, too. So the neighbors don't cuss us out every night."

"And morning."

"And evening."

"And afternoon."

"And—" Her laughter sank, husky; the kissing had become an openmouthed sampling, "—whenever we feel like it."

"There's the spirit."  He lapped the roseate bloom of one aureole, savoring her whimper. "What else? Oh. A balcony facing south, with geranium pots. Or a row of night-blooming jasmine. You could dry the petals, press them, crush them for sachets. Or better yet, grow your hair long and wind the flowers through it."

"Fucking sap. My hair's not fit for braids. Gets greasy five seconds after washing." The laughter ebbed. Her mood receded into something both sweeter and more pained. "Nothing like Nandi's."

"Nothing like Nandi," he agreed.

He felt it immediately: the full-bodied flinch, struggling and failing to disguise itself. But he understood. It wasn't envy; only memory. Loss was loss. There was no cure but time.

The question was how much to steal.

Taking her chin, he kissed her again. Kissed the burn to bed; the flame to smoke. He made love to her lips until they parted. Until that sweet pain ebbed, into the background, where it belonged. Her thighs shifted, enfolding his hips; her breath stirred on hungry hums. Each kiss tasting like a gift she couldn't give herself.

A gift he couldn't deny her.

She'd never be Nandi. Nor would she ever stop feeling her sister's absence. But he wasn't here, on the last night before the final charge, for a specter.  

He wanted what they had now, real and alive between them.

A second chance.

"Listen, love," he breathed, thumbing the wetness beneath her eyes. "No one will ever replace your sister. No one. But you are your own. And you're mine. And I swear to you—if tonight doesn't fuck us into the ground—we'll do everything we've planned. We'll fix up that bolthole. Fix up this whole damned city. And then we'll live our fucking lives."

"Sap," she said again.

"Not if it's true."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He held her gaze. "Do you want it?"

"Want what?"

"All of it. The balcony with geraniums. The jasmine in your hair. The new roof, and new walls. The new life." His stare deepened. "With me."

She bit her lip; the flush faded into resolve. "Yeah."

"So let's have it."

"With what coin, Sil?"

"I've got a cache of loose rubies in my mattress. You're welcome to pocket a few, as a down-payment. Hell, if it means selling all my loot in the lockbox, we'll do it. If we've got to wait fifteen years before we can afford even one seed of jasmine, we'll still do it." A sudden honesty creased the conversation, cutting through their banter. "Anything. Everything. As long as you're game."

For a moment, she looked at him, as if seeing beyond his words. Her pragmatism never failed, even when her temper veered off course. But it was as if his confession had opened a different door, and longing beckoned.

There were many avenues they'd never gone down. Places they'd both learned were dangerous: Tomorrow and Always; Safe and Sound; Nothing's lost and Anything's Possible.

Paths that weren't lies but far-off lights in the distance. Too far to cross on foot.

But now...

"Would everything," she whispered, "include the usual?"

"The usual?"

"I mean… d’you see yourself wanting a family?"

Silco fell still.

"An anklebiter, or two? The chance to do better for someone than anyone's ever done for us?"

The stillness deepened. Their stares locked. The silence looped into an eternal second. In that space, Bloody Sunday’s screams echoed and re-echoed.

"I...I don't know," Silco said at last. "Maybe not now. But... someday."

"Someday?"

"When Zaun is real. When this city stands on its own. When the future's set in stone, not a whisper in the wind." He smoothed the furrow between her brows, trying for levity. "Why? Don't tell me you've slipped your dose?"

"'Course not!" she snapped. "I take that crap everytime we go to bed!"

"But you've thought about the alternatives."

She chewed the corner of her lip, rolling the answer around. The dream was no longer dead in her eyes. It had transformed. "I think..."

"What?"

"Someday."

"Someday?"

"Zaun's gotta be real, first." She cupped his left cheekbone. The future pulled them down, into each other's grip. The scent of jasmine blooming from somewhere unseen. "And Zaun needs you, Sil. So after everything goes down... after things settle..."

"...there's more to look forward to." His face split on a smile. Contentment finding a home in their shadows. "Forward being the operative word."

"Damn straight."

He shut his eyes, drinking in the heat at the crook of her neck. The rest of him sank against her body. Down between her thighs, to that familiar dip that was wet and waiting for him. To a place that kept him warm, but one he couldn't lay claim to as a home. Not yet.

But someday. 

Yes.

And just like that, the revolution burned bright. On a peltstrewn-strewn pallet on the backroom floor, they began making their plans all over again.

"Marble stairs," he breathed, as he slid inside her. "Lapis-laid floors."

"Fucking bougie," she gasped, palms starfishing his hips. "I'd never set foot on 'em."

"I'd haul your arse inside by the ankles. Every day. With fresh jasmine twined in your hair..."

"Greasy fucking hair..."

"Beautiful hair." His head hung down, forehead touching hers. Her lashes fanned velvet over his cheek; her breaths grew short against his throat. "Shining and strong, and I swear—"

"Swear...?"

He rolled his hips, dragging himself over her sweet-spot, just the way she liked. Her belly quaked; her head tossed back on a cry.

"I swear it'll only be the start."

"Yeah?"

"Hmm." He thrust deeper, dizzy on her rising sobs. "Zaun's owed so much more. And we'll take it all. Everything."

"Everything," she groaned, arching up to take him fully. "Everything, fuck..."

"Like that?"

"Gods, Sil, don't fucking stop—"

Silco's spine tautened. His body had gone rigid, poised at breakage. Still he held himself steady, prolonging the moment as he did the promise.

Each syllable sinking deeper than a knife to the gut. The cuts would last a lifetime, but the scars would be worth it.

They'd last the distance when all else bled away.

Sevika shuddered; a tear slid over her temples, vanishing into the darkly clinging hair along her scalp. It was greasy, from hard hours of work, and the slew of harder nights leading to this. But it was beautiful, too, for how alive it was: how resilient she was.

How real she felt, falling apart beneath him. Keeping him tethered in all the places he was unraveling, too.

When she came down, she was laughing again. Laughing, and crying, both.

"Not the worst thing," she gasped, "a girl could hear before dying."

"Fuck that," he gritted, locking in for the home stretch. His nerves sang high; a keening pitch he chased the limit. "You'll die old. On—on feather pillows and cotton sheets. After a full life of scrapping, and the best bloody sleep you've. Ever. Had."

"And y-you...?"

"Me?"

"You'll be there?"

He caught her hand, kissing her rough knuckles. "No."

She gasped as he pinned her arms above her head. Sank his full weight down, till the burn between their bodies, blissful bright electricity, stole every doubt beyond the room.

Wiped everything beyond the moment.

"I'm not dying," he grunted, seconds from bursting, "until Zaun's come to life."

She shuddered. He surged. The finish struck like lightning.  Bright static spooling through his skull to ignite a fire in the blackness.

Revolution was like that: just another word for apocalypse, stripped of the terrors.  Not that they'd be spared the latter. Freedom always had a price. Always broke bones and bruised souls.

But the vows, in their shared gutter-tongue, were binding. Full of crude designs and raw hopes, but as real as that night.

Real as the scars.

[eriexplosion]

I have nothing to do this weekend so it is Catch Up On Rewatch time. We're up to Decomissioned!

I genuinely love that this episode begins a very long tradition of the batch making basically Zero goddamn money for Cid because they never accomplish the actual goal she sent them there for

I love the Grime of Ord Mantell so much

Like this? It is a fucking look.

"What if it was shiny" WHAT IF IT WAS GROSS AND COVERED IN DIRT AND RUST AND HAD SOME GUY SLEEPING ON IT?

The woman wandering into Cid's looked drunk already but Omega nearly shooting her in the face sobered her up REAL goddamn quick.

Bolo and Ketch are my beloved boys, crime uncles to go with the crime grandma for Omega. I don't know what their crimes actually are but look at them. They're definitely up to crimes.

This is just a sweet moment though, even if Omega is getting frustrated, everyone gathered around to watch her practice. She's not a natural but SHE'S LEARNING.

Cid: I assume you boys know what a tactical droid is?

Tech:

This is unsurprisingly one of my favorite moments he literally looks like he's going to explode when no one speaks up. IS NO ONE ELSE GOING TO TAKE THIS INCREDIBLY EASY QUESTION?

"You make money, I make money, and I watch your back." You fool. You will never get any money from these people.

CID WITH THE BOW IS HOT OKAY, I AM AN EASY MARK.

You know I'm surprised this facility doesn't sell the tactical droid modules themselves, like I'm sure it's imperial funded to get rid of all the separatist droids but come on, no one in the factory other than the Martez sisters is stealing these things?

BEING THE LOOKOUT WAS CROSSHAIR'S JOB. I'm sure Hunter loves getting that reminder of his Failure to keep his family together.

THE GIRLS ARE HERE <3

DON'T JUST STAND THERE. GRAB A WEAPON. "I had one >:T"

Omega was literally about to shoot Rafa at point blank range though like imagine her first kill was from about 2 feet away

SHOULD I HAVE LET THE DROID SHOOT YOU? Hunter has zero patience right now he is So Grouchy the instant Rafa opens her mouth

No worries just jump over the flaming pit of death Wrecker. Nothing bad can happen when you jump over the flaming pit of death.

LITERALLY STOLE THE DROID HEAD AND LEFT THE CHILD TRAPPED ON THE CONVEYOR BELT TO HELL.

God this moment with Wrecker's chip partially activating is so good.

Trace literally stops and realizes the child is going to be dumped into the slag and does NOTHING ABOUT IT FOR SO DAMN LONG. SHE COMES THROUGH IN THE END BUT GOD HOW LONG YOU GONNA STAND THERE?

I love them, they're disasters.

"Fine but I still don't like you." "I'M USED TO IT." This is very much like Hunter with Phee in season 2 he just gets so fucking cranky.

WRECKER HEARING "GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS" IN CROSSHAIR'S VOICE IS SO FUCKING MUCH. Love this set up for next episode by which I mean I am horrified by it.

I'm easy, I find it hilarious when Echo makes a dad joke about their name.

THIS WILL HELP ME ACCESS THE PROGRAM. *TECH LITERALLY STABS THE DROID WITH SOME FORM OF SPIKE*

Honestly seeing Rafa again makes me remember those fake leaks when everyone was freaking the absolute fuck out over the idea that Rex/Rafa was going to be a thing in season 2 and honestly I still love the idea. I think that Rex falling for a garbage girl with thieving little raccoon hands is the funniest thing I've ever heard. He found a girlfriend in the dumpster.

Our first real push towards 'you can't just endlessly run away while doing it all for the money' from Trace. Again I am stuck on this, that you can't push for two seasons for the batch to actually stand up to the Empire and fight, to actually push back, and then have it turn out they should have just kept never getting involved anyway if they wanted to live. I'm chewing on the walls and the beams.

"in the end, we all choose sides" anyway this is why I think the very end of the show will be the batch together and actively choosing to go against the Empire, not because they're soldiers but because they're a family and they're fighting for each other. But unfortunately I don't think it will be as simple as retirement even if it's what they deserve, because of bits like this. At the very least, they're active in helping Rex get the other clones somewhere safe, even if they're not diving in to fight directly.

The way they hide who Rex is to make it look like the girls immediately turned on them doijsofd

SOON WE'RE GONNA HAVE REX THOUGH. THE BOY.