#you gotta vote people even if you think its dumb you gotta vote

[extensionallydefined]

Wait. You're telling me you can vote AND be an activist??? What???? /j

here's the thing they dont tell you when tumblr wants you to pick a side in the minutia of political participation:

you can vote AND take direct action.

just as voting legally does not lock you into being a propaganda guzzling drone for the rest of your life, acts of praxis do not spiritually bar you from playing your hand within the system as well.

im not going to sit here and tell you "you should go vote instead of blowing up an oil pipeline" or "you should go mangle hostile architecture instead of casting a ballot" because it's not on me to make those choices for you. that said, i feel like the desire people have for writing in concrete "you should be like this" terms on tumblr has made it so some people haven't really mentally registered that there is no actual need to choose definitively between the two.

whichever one you find to be more effective is in your head, not mine. i know and see the advantages of both strategies, and im sure to some extent you do too. im sure you're also probably pretty frustrated with how others on the left don't see eye to eye with your strategy. because that's the point of all the rah-rah; the republican party and its media hives want to spark infighting, and im not gonna abide. the true ground you cede is when you foresake the people fighting alongside you.

[koszmarnybudyn]

Here's a long poem about the teens, and growing up and about a lot of things, its called "You have to kill god"

You and your besties need to kill god, maybe you were always destined to, fate is such a picky woman after all, you didnt ask for it, there should have been better options, maybe there were, older, stronger wiser, but there all useless now. You didn't want to kill god, not untill you were in highschool, not untill you saw the incocent die, not untill you saw the ones in power as corrupt, your kindegarden teacher smiled so wide as those kids grew up much faster than they should, oh so wide, you did too you think, the clothes from a few weeks ago dont fit anymore, the photos on the walls feel fake, you shouldnt look so young, it doesnt feel like you, but it is, youve changed, it hurts, and isnt that the thing that comes for us all, after all youve seen death, you know heaven and you know hell and you know they are both shells of what they told you, both run by incompetent assholes, so you have to kill god, there is no debate. The mayor died, i guess nurture failed after all, youve been destined to be what you are, and what you are is nothing, the blood you have has always dragged you here, the first hands to hold you were the ones to burn those marks into your soul, do you have a soul? You share one, so you must, but maybe you dont maybe you are as hollow as you feel, he didn't, do you even remember him? You never did. hes back, he is going to die, he said he loved you, you dont think he lied, but youve been wrong about many things. You know this one, you have to kill god, he never hugged you enough, he wasnt there enough, will you be the same? Will your hands also hurt more than they create, will the act of creation be something worse than that of destroying. Will your children ever forgive you, will you love them enough? You were never enough, they never liked you, you now know there is a diffrence. It hurts, it always hurts. You have to kill god, they were suppose to do it, they failed, they always fail, dont you always fail as well? You tried so so hard, you studied, you learned you listened, it wasnt enough, its stupid, its like soooo stupid, you shouldnt care, youre cool like that, you still care. You always cared, more than you should have. You have to kill god, hes stupid, he tried to be like you, well he pretended to be, you belived him, you freed him, he lied. They voted for him, he was beloved, your mom loves him, your dad loves him, you never got the hype, maybe you tried it, they spoke so highly of him, in his nice suit and with his firm handshake, with his perfect smile, he nearly got you and your friends arrested, he nearly got you killed, he made the public hate you, you were never safe, were you ever safe? Is anyone ever safe? You dont know, you wish you did, you wish for so many things. That's youth isnt it, being foolish and dumb and trusting people you shouldnt, maybe all adults suck, maybe they all want to see you fail so they can scream about your generation as you crawl up clifs they made by destroying bridges their parents built. Maybe all life is a battle, you were too young to know anything else, they were always fighting, they didnt rest they sacrificed everything, you should be greatful why arent you greatful!! You are so disrespectful!!

...Why dont we talk anymore? You used to be so small, and life was simple, and now with the strechmarks and the too short tshirts came the difficult, there came the power the independance, the knowledge, but you still know nothing, how can you be so dumb. You used to be soooo smart, maybe the world got dumber, the adults seem to, they dont get it, you have to kill god and then theres homework and the extracuricullums and well you gotta sleep sometime so no sorry can't hang out schedules pretty tight sorry guys maybe next month. You know they didnt require seatbellts in cars once? The world got safer, simpler, so why arent you? Why are you still fighting, you should be at the club, sonics maybe, sneaking alcohol into parties, trying vaping, dancing to shitty pop songs, but you arent, you maybe never will, will you even go back to highschool, its probablly ash now, rubble maybe, youve been absent for months, dad talkes about going to sleepovers, the one you did ended in a double kiddnapping. You dont know what youll do in the future, will you have a future? After you kill god maybe, youll go to school, collage, get a job act like everythings normal, carry on, smile, act like the scars you have are from fireworks or dumb accidents, not enemies and spells. You have to kill god, you dont know how, youll have to figure it out, yoy always do, they never gave instuctions for this stuff. You have to kill god, and maybe its not alright, and maybe it never will, but you are trying and you are here with your besties so maybe you can do it, this once.

[pixeljade]

Sorry but im gonna make this its own post bc i know a lot of my "Biden isnt getting my vote" followers arent even gonna click into that last one but its IMPORTANT. While you are focused on how Biden is an evil fucked up man (he is, I agree), Trump is standing there saying "But I can be FAR MORE EVIL" in the sidelines!!!

Fucking, I get it, I hate Biden, but VOTES ARE NOT ENDORSEMENTS. THEY ARE NOT A STATEMENT THAT YOU THINK THIS PERSON IS 100% OKAY. Voting is a COMPARATIVE SYSTEM, which means that your vote could be just as much AGAINST the other guy as it is IN FAVOR of the guy you're voting! Its okay! You can vote for Biden and its not endorsing even a single thing he does. Its just who out of these two horrid horrid people that you'd rather have in the role of president.

Some other arguments I have heard against voting for Biden:

"Withholding your vote can be a powerful political statement!" No it isnt. Every single election theres literally MILLIONS who dont vote. Has any of those withheld votes mattered? Has even a single candidate ever even mentioned non-voters as worth their time?

"The time spent voting is better spent doing other, more effective activism!" Even setting aside that the vast majority of people who dont vote simply AREN'T doing other activism, its literally one day, every four years, and its not even the full day. Its like fifteen minutes at most places, it can be hours at the most repressed areas. But even then, a few hours to choose who is the guy you'll be dealing with for four years is a pretty solid deal! I've been an activist in every conceivable way for almost two decades, and there's almost none of them that give you as much bang for your buck, especially without risk of prison.

"Okay it may not be an endorsement but Biden will take it as one" He might. But also that's why you do the other activism, you gotta keep the hot coals to any politician's feet if you want them to listen.

"Ah-ha! So you admit the activism between elections would be the same regardless, so why even vote?" Because one candidate is more susceptible to public opinion than the other, dipshit. Biden is caving bit by bit, but if Trump were in office, as the above image shows, HE'D SIMPLY JAIL US FOR SPEAKING AGAINST HIM. And then how would our activism work? Prison riots? Congrats, thats how you end up killed yourself.

Simply put this isnt me being some dumb neolib this is me saying BIDEN FOR ALL OF HIS EVILS IS STILL AN EASIER OPPONENT OF FREEDOM TO DEAL WITH THAN TRUMP IS. IF TRUMP WINS WE HAVE ZERO CHANCE OF FREEDOM. IF TRUMP WINS WE CAN BE PROUD OF OUR PRINCIPLES AS HE KILLS US ALONG WITH THE PALESTINEANS. IF BIDEN WINS WE CAN ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING TO STOP HIM. DO NOT BE AN EMOTIONAL LITTLE SHITHEAD ABOUT YOUR ACTIVISM.

alright sorry im just a little fucking salty over this but MY GOD some of yall are dumb as shit

[bluebeetle]

Not surprised to see total drama Island and 6teen as getting the most votes but I was also religiously watching martin mystery as a child and if u hadnt put TDI I would have voted for it cause it is iconic to me ... also remember watching cybersix and stormhawks (had to activate some deep memory by watching the clip you provided for stormhawks cause holyshit) also atomic betty was apparently very popular with my age range in France cause nearly every girl IRL I know my age always mentions it to me but I'm always like ... ? Cause I dont remember seeing a single episode or even trailer

yeah ngl i really did consider NOT putting TDI on but i was scared of people being like WHERS TOTAL DRAMA ISLAND?!?!?!?! and just put it on out of fear. I did watch it a lot tho (i only put shows i watched and liked on there because im biased.) but its def the most popular show on that list I'd say. 6teen I didn't realise was as well liked but it makes sense, it was a good show. Same with Ruby Gloom? But I guess its very Aesthetic for the Tumblr Girlies.

YESSSSSS i loved martin mystery so much it was def my second or third pick, it was sooooo good. I still remember a few eps pretty well.

cybersix is what i voted for i love it a lot. they reran it for a number of years (ReBoot as well, and a lot of those shows--gotta get that canadian content quota!!!!)

ahaha YEAH i kind of forgot all about stormhawks until i was making that list and making sure what was Canadian and what was just French (like Code Lyoko) and was like fuck i remember watching that all the time with sean. it was so dumb but fun. still love the setting.

i think w/ atomic betty its because it was a french co-production? so it probably got aired there a lot, my best guess anyways. it wasn't huge here but teletoon played it pretty regularly in both languages if I remember correctly (I only watched in english). I have no idea how popular any of these were outside of canada minus TDI because. well. it's TDI lol.

[azlovesem]

Hey youre a dumb white guy too Will.. i love these race discussions makes you sll look like idiots on boyh sides and itll prepare us nicely gir the covil war..i said youre a dumb fn whote giy too yiu sint genius like on start trek smart ass. Ots easy fir me to dissect and then dmack around you americans youre sll kind of a fuckn joke wh Will. Go shead snd argue are you in cslifornia?? Bad place to be ouf yiu wanna argue with me. But id take the broad over that bastsrd too. So what that doesnt mean she ll get elected. Its close snd i hot my two states lovked fown they vote how i tell tgem to. Will..lets see if you can fo the same. I give a shit if that kid thatvwas SENT blew his fn head off. Earth dowsnt end well like one of yiur star trek episodes. K yiure not a genius but youre not completely dumb either. You gotta know this fuckn planets doomed no matter who gets elected. And the people you elect dont actually have much real power to do anything much different than the last guy or whomever. Shes gonna have a tough go even if she is ekected. I like how you ding bat americans think something you tweet like a bird or see on tv will change shit. It never does. Tvs too dtupid and fast lifes dliwer snd deadlier. Have a nice day will ya fuckn dmart ass tweeter you. What are you honna do in ww3? Tweet like a bird. I think you gucon americans over estimate your abilities and your intelligence continuously to your oen detriment.

The myth of white superiority on full display.

The dumb, vile white guy will be exposed as the dumb, vile white guy.

Elect competent politicians. Elect more women.

[want2belikegracekelly]

The Diddler and other stories

I'm back dah-lings

It's mid September and alot of things have happened and so I shall begin with the arrest by the (actual) Feds of Brother Love. Wow it get's better the ninja just got denied bail. Even after he diabolically offered a 50 M bond. how much evil money does this guy have. it's quiet all over celebrity land as the indictment was unsealed and the government confirmed there was videos. So DIddy Evil or Sean Johnson n' Johnson (1000 bottles of baby oil is beyond narsty sir!! its fcken diabolical)

is wearing the orange jumpsuit in fed jail awaiting his next court hearing. I know all them attendees of the "freak offs" needing IV transfusions coz the sessions be so back-to-back are all wondering am I next on the meet the Feds? I feel that this mans need to be under the jail. For all those caught up in his evil web may your freedom be soon and may your peace be abundant.

I will never be able to articulate the fact that black women survivors are rarely believed and that a video of an egregious act had to surface for y'all to believe that brother Love was a monster. May he get all the years

Onto other stories, so this couple of weeks have been hard for the women who have been putting trust in ninjas. all I have to say to you is you have got to listen to the prophetic message of sister Khia when the she said Don't Trust No Niggaz

It all began when everybody was shocked when Dave Grohl had a baby on his wife after 21 years of marriage. Gworls were crying, vomiting, losing their damn breath but since i have been on the words of Khia I knew "you put your trust in a nigga? Stupid ho, how you figure He won't fuck your best friend and your sister? lie to ya, a-then screw ya" so 21 years hasn't changed who he is inside

the were still trusting in some British podcaster whose platform is mainly black women and they went to a white very racist podcasters show in USof A to keke with him. Shucking and jiving to derogatory stereotypes of black women, Nigerians and Muslims. My brothers just sat there and got dog walked on a podcast laughing at themselves. that white boy played you like a fiddle and laughed at you. we knew you were for the snow but to just sit there and take it like that, bruh STAND the FUCK UP!!!

but to say fight or flight in your apology. both you dudes was bigger than that guy and could have made his ass uncomfortable with just a "What do you mean by that?" make everybody uncomfortable.

but now you know Khia wasn't lying!!!

(also to say you didn't find a hot babe in ATL we know you fucking lying!)

so, before you go forgiving them coz of that weak ass apology remember Khia's words " Oh, you forgave him, ho? Dumb, silly ho That nigga don't mean you no good"

What I'm trying to put across to all you ladies with list of "non-problematic " men including Chosen running mate Tim you had better decenter these men from your lives, free yourself, stay knowing it could all blow up in your face coz good men also be benefiting from the systems of oppression. Hope for the best on your list sis but anything can change

Finally, I remember wondering how extremely racist DT campaign was going to be and I must say, final boss racist statements were not on my bingo card. to have the audacity to say immigrants are eating pets. Wow! Turns out some Karen in Ohio wrote this in her Facebook post and the thing caught traction. Now schools be closing early in Ohio due to death threats all on the backdrop of white woman lies! JD I fuck couches guy even has the gall to say they will make up lies to get people to listen. The brown woman who bore your kids must be one of them self-hating ones. this also applies to all the black and brown people descendants of immigrants voting for this man. you gotta hate yourself alot to think racist whitpypo will be salvation!

I can't help you see the truth but imma just leave it at how long will they play in your face before you stop licking them boots. As for the whites riding with this madness, under the banner of God's chosen or saving America, I never fucked with you, never will and stay losing forever!!

It will always be black women, believe black women, black women are beautiful up in here

[cyarsk52-20]

It’s Black people fault racists being racist? Shut the hell up.

It’s Black people fault this piss ass state has a Democratic party run by a Republican oil heiress who likely PURPOSELY handicapped this race?

Go shoe shine somewhere the fuck else

Black people dont even have the NUMBERS to do that in Louisiana. Yall dumb as FUCK.

Whole state party run by bitches who were at work when the Challenger exploded but want the KIDS to give a fuck about any of this

NO SMOKE for any other race. Black folks gotta fix it all? Suck my imaginary dick!

Shawn Wilson didnt even start campaigning around the state til THIS FUCKING SUMMER. The Democrats did not even TRY.

You slew foot ass unseasoned chicken flavored bitches really couldnt wait til MONDAY after the election to blame Black folks. Have they even finished the TALLY?! LIKEEEEEEEEE

It’s always BLACK PEOPLE fault for you piss poor ass bitches not wanting to do your jobs.

Kiss my ass!

Its Black people holding this PISS ASS STATE TOGETHER

and that piss ass state doesn’t deserve nann black body a resident or tourist

It’s Black people fault the LA Democratic Party spending time funding Dem vs. Dem races instead of recruiting new talent so we dont all have to vote DOWN BALLOT for Republicans? Go choke on a bag of weiners

So if you are on this app blaming BLACK PEOPLE IN LOUISIANA, a 3rd of this population and many of whom are ineligible to vote and are gerrymandered out of being able TO vote, you a shoeshining ass bitch and I wish the worst for you

This piss ass state is what it is CAUSE THE LA DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS A CLOWN CAR

How is this even ACCEPTABLE? To just outright LIE and claim Black people are the reason Jeff Landry is now governor? You dont think we dont know he HATES US? But guess what? So do LOUISIANA Dems.

We supposed to look at Katrina Jackson or Troy Carter like KINFOLK? PLEASE

LMAO at blaming low voter turnout on voting day being the same weekend as 2 HBCU homecomings (as if that wasnt by design by those fucking racists) AND NOT DEMOCRATS BEING FUCKING TRASH

Also bitching about low voter turnout? BABY GIRL /BOY OR BETTER YET BIIITCH FUCK OFF.

You fuckers didnt run on WOMEN despite THESE headlines circulating the block all year, if I had a penis you can choke on it

Also LEST WE FORGET:

Black Democrats outlawed abortion in Louisiana. That bill was signed into law by a DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR.

YOU fquckasses NEED TO BURN IN HELL blaming Black residents of this ridiculous state for the disarray of the Party and the harm we experience. Heck I’ll take you down there myself if I could

Also ALOT OF PEOPLE are ineligible to vote due to their immigration status and criminal records. 1 in 3 Americans has a criminal record and Louisiana incarcerates the most people per capita IN. THE. WORLD. I dont wanna hear this goddamn bullshit narrative around us.

ALL you nigclears and nig hew bitches (along with actual hews and clears ) need to turn that mirror onto yourselves.

Fucking Carter out here shoeshining for Steve Scalise of all people and you want Black folks to swoop in and save the day for you ungrateful bitches.

YALL gave Jeff Landry this race. Leave Black Louisianians ALONE

And let me tell you something else! If Jeff Landry

1. Stealing taxpayer money

2. Using the LA police as hired guns for his donors

3. Running an interstate coalition of AGs to hunt women for abortions & supporting the DEATH penalty for them

wasnt ENOUGH? Nothing was gonna be.

And the ONLY reason y’all blaming Black people is b/c y’all are deluded enough into thinking we ALL experience harm the same. Black people suffer no matter WHO is in office. Bel Edwards signed the first Blue Lives Matter bill into law in the NATION & HID CORRUPT COPS FROM THE LAW

Honestly Yall mothers are BITCH MADE! And y’all daddy’s mommas some ugly HOES! And so are you

And that’s what the problem is. So on DAY 1 post-election in one of the WORST DEFEATS this state’s Democratic party has ever seen, maybe sit with THAT instead of uniting under a “Blame Black folks” narrative

The state with the WORST maternal mortality rate in the nation has DEMOCRATS ban abortion.

WORST education in the country and they banning Black history and books

HIGHEST incarceration rate & a Democrat shielded murderous cops from the FBI.

BUT WANT BLACK FOLKS TO SHOW UP?

Like this state doesn’t deserve them!

let the state drown in the mess they made. Drown!

Sorry for the rant but I had to LET THEIR ASSES KNOW!! They always wanna blame the utter failures on black folks. Nah! The turnout sucked because your policies sucked and you didn’t want to do the work.

This is the same rhetoric that will be floating around next year in Florida if the Democratic and progressives orgs do not get it together. They have so much work to do to rebuild infrastructure & re-engage voters and I have yet to see it.

don’t you dare blame black folks because you’re incompetent af!

[tower-of-erinyes]

Hm. | Beni | Trial. Ruri?

It would have been kind of obvious to anyone if Beni was the one behind things. Again. But... wasn't this even more obvious...?

There had been no big emotional outbursts, no real reactions at all from Beni. He'd seen Kesley, bled out on the ground, and he didn't have to spend a lot of time looking around for Memory to replace him in his main interest spot, since she was soon to follow. Though he didn't do that enthusiastically either. But seeing them both, all he'd given was a single, detached 'Hm.'

And  since then it'd just been pretty clear to him what he'd be doing.

Well, he shouldn't lie. Nothing had actually been clear to him. The outline had been, the "move on like nothing happened" had been, the detachment. And he had been. He'd been utterly useless during all that had led up to the trial, had shrugged off questions ('Don't know, haven't seen anything, wasn't there.') hadn't raised a finger to help.And during the trial? Silence. Not a word, not a smile even, eyes wandering with open disinterest over the others. He'd say his thoughts are his own but... he wasn't honestly thinking of things of more substance than what he'd have for dinner this night.Sure, he might be accused here and there, but what else is new. What else is ever new under the sun...

Honestly he figured if he had to put in a vote, it'd be Ruri, for no other reason than, well... He doesn't like her. And it'd round things out, right? Remove that whole part of the group at once, like an abnormalty, because it kind of was to him. Except, well, for her. She hadn't really won him over, he'd never understood just what Kesley had seen in her. And even as the claws come out and the words are said, she doesn't. She just doesn't. He'd tried. Absently, he thinks that he should probably have killed her, but that's what he gets for not following on urges all the time.

He'd just pulled out a cigarette when she'd started talking too, his last actually. It goes back in the package, which is something he has to focus on for a bit instead of whateeeever she's talking about.

"Hm."

Everyone is kind of going off on stuff like... Oh, come on, he isn't even listening. He figures it's the usual. Justice and truth and such.

Blah blah blah.... If she'd been this way since the start he might have held an iota of interest in her... But doing that now...?

"God, you're so boring..."

He mumbles, not even loud enough to carry perhaps. What is this, some kind of dumb plot twist...? Who does those anymore...? Now has Beni met a lot of people who are that twisted? No, not really. But that doesn't make it interesting.

He hadn't heard her before, so he doesn't realise that he's echoing her. Even if he had, it doesn't make them similar in nature. He's better than her. At virtually everything he's pretty sure. Because she's, well. A boring little nothing of a person holding two thoughts at a time in her head, and never any more.

But he's not mad. Not even disappointed honestly.

"So.... Kesley's not a dog, honestly. You really gotta stop calling him some kind of animal, he was just a guy. It's not healthy."

Not that that matters, at all. He tosses the package of cigarettes and its one remaining cig on the podium, and raises his hand, and there you go, the smile is back, as if it'd never left when he turns to Atropos and Lachesis.

"Hey heyyyy~ I got a whooole lot of rest and I don't plan on doing anything with the rest of my life, so wouldn't it be super cool and fun if I killed her? You could do a deathmatch for your viewers, or just let me stab her, it's whatever. Or you could execute me after if you want? If you need an execution I mean. Heads up that I'm going to try anyways. So you might as well get the most entertainment value you can out of it."

Look at him now mom. He does learn from his mistakes.So, he will make sure to kill her this time.

[transwrongs]

humans are humans are humans

i’ve been thinking a lot about the sentiment of “everything happens for a reason” and i think i’m comfortable saying that that’s true. i actually think it’s kinda insane how true it is. but explicitly not in any fucked up christian way. in fact these thoughts come about specifically because of my former hatred of the phrase bc of its religious connotations. i hated it bc it was used to *justify horrid behaviours/events, or justify inaction in response to said behaviours/events. it was used as an excuse for christians to avoid difficult conversations about reality, to push anti-intellectualism.

the thing is, everything does happen for a reason. simply cause and effect. religion warped this to mean “everything happens for [Gods] reason (and therefore technically nothing bad can ever happen)”. but reality tells us that, no, reason is neutral. neither good nor bad. if you push someone and they fall over and got hurt, they got hurt for a reason. everything literally does happen for a reason, or else nothing would happen. but i wanted to push this further. bc it started to sound like… really profound when i started to actually apply it.

(i might just be describing me discovering critical thinking and empathy right now, i’m not totally sure <3)

so, i’ve been thinking about how jarring certain things feel to me, like an opinion/worldview someone has or some cultural phenomena that just doesn’t make sense to me,,, and this kinda helped me feel less, idk, lost? because i think of myself, and all humans, as inherently and naturally creatures of reason so when i see or hear people doing things that seem to go against that worldview it’s hard to reconcile ya know? hejanfhsjakd

thinking about why people think the way they do, vote the way they do, watch what they watch, make what they make, etc. it all happens for a reason. nothing happens in a vacuum. and because humans, IMO, are naturally “logical”, if you step back and look from a truly objective standpoint, you can see the “logic”. i think seeing that reason is the first step to bringing people away from the harmful patterns. because sure everything happens for a reason, cancer happens for a reason, disease happens (spreads…) for a reason, natural disasters happen for a reason, death happens for a reason.

but they don’t HAVE to happen. or we don’t HAVE to let them destroy us. another amazing human trait is our resilience and our adaptability. abilities that WE fundamentally have. everything happens for a reason and that means we have ways of preparing, predicting, and planning accordingly.

PS: more lighthearted, WRT to pop culture. pop culture is popular for a reason. they may not all be great reasons but to deny this fact by sticking your head in the sand and going “booo popular thing dumb” you’re really…. you’re really missing out on life… take it from a fellow hater/contrarian, you gotta let it go a bit and at least acknowledge that even the dumbest thing in the world that you fucking hate the most is liked by somebody because…. reasons!

[pumpacti0n]

people get so mad and think it’s a gotcha when you can’t dream up some easy and simple universal alternative to voting that produces immediate results. they’ll also say its unrealistic and too risky to engage outside of electoralism while ignoring the inherent risks of voting.

what kills me is when they insinuate that people are just “lazy” but are themselves too lazy to even bother with imagining or implementing these alternatives, because it’s too much work, doesn’t produce automatic results, or they’re immobilized with their own cynicism and fear. the same arguments they love to lob at non-voters, with no self-awareness.

it’s wild too bc when your favorite capitalist flunky candidate doesn’t win, that’s not viewed as a waste of time or energy when it definitely is…you put all that effort into their campaign, and what do you have to show for it? Not shit.

there’s so many excuses... “You want everybody to be perfect!” No I don’t, I want a system that actually works and doesn’t favor a few individuals. “You just want to do nothing and let XYZ party take over!” No I don’t, I’m an anarchist. I think parties are obsolete. “You just gotta keep voting, things won’t change otherwise!” Incorrect. We have more things we can do outside of electoral politics and begging for representatives to have a conscious.

but all this never gets through. bc voting leads to more voting which leads to more voting, and they’ll even admit as much if pushed. there’s no actual desire to overturn or meaningfully challenge the class dictatorship and social hierarchies that undergird this form of “democracy”. they don’t want to hear about options that don’t legitimize the states control over our lives and bodies.

It’s a lot easier to give into the myth of there being some significant difference between these politicians except for branding and the corporate sponsors. they’re all rich and believe capitalism & nationalism is good. this never seems to change no matter how often we vote. but it doesn’t matter to the vote or die folks, because that isn’t their main issue.

what matters to them is that someone who acts the way they want them to and says all the nice buzzwords gets a turn on the stage. it doesn’t matter how violent their policies actually are, how often they go back on their promises during campaigns or whether they collude with the same boogeymen they love to use as an excuse to guilt trip people into voting.

“We can’t let XYZ win! Vote ZYX instead!" both of them had dinner together last night and had a lovely time.

The differences are insignificant in the wake of capital interests and preserving the state’s domination. voting won’t change their interests. they have multiple tactics that are used to ensure that their economic power doesn’t disseminate. true change, not impotent reforms, comes as a result of mass action and social pressure, not from shuffling a deck of cards with blue or red dollar signs on them in perpetuity and expecting different results.

people who vote aren’t just dumb dummies, of course, but they’re definitely severely lacking in imagination if they believe votings the only good solution to a growing fascist and reactionary system doing what its always been designed to do. we’re running out of time to waste on this broken record of excuse after excuse for a system that’s not ever represented the masses. we’re worn out and tired of being the scapegoat for fascists and the social problems killing us.

~

Voting Vs. Direct Action

Voting Is Not Harm Reduction

No More Presidents

Your Democracy Is A Sham

The Myth Of Human Nature

The Party’s Over: Beyond Politics, Beyond Democracy

[makeste]

BnHA 323: “I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Should Care About Other People”

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan was all, “Izuku, I’m sorry.” Bakugou Stans were all, “[sobs for a week straight and tearfully awards him the Nobel Prize for character development].” Deku was all, “[faints in Kacchan’s arms].” Iida was all, “[trying to decide if Ochako genuinely tried to kill him a few minutes ago].” Horikoshi was all, “NO TIME FOR HUGS WE MUST GET BACK TO UA.” The civilians holed up at U.A. were all, “WE TOOK A VOTE AND DECIDED THAT WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE JERKS ABOUT THIS AND MAKE A BIG FUSS ABOUT YOU LETTING DEKU BACK INTO THE SCHOOL.” Deku was all “[stands there looking like he expected nothing less and breaking my heart more and more with each passing moment].” Ochako was all, “that does it, looks like I’m gonna have to do something about this... next chapter, that is.”

Today on BnHA: Flashback!Rat Principal is all “I just want you all to know that I spent nine million dollars turning U.A. into a giant Battleship-style grid that can burrow underground and zoom around in a giant subway maze because Horikoshi lacks a grounded understanding of both civil engineering and economics.” Back in the present day, Jeanist is all, “EVERYONE TAKE HEED, MY COMRADES AND I HAVE DEEMED IT EXPEDIENT TO CONVEY THIS AUSPICIOUS YOUTH BACK TO THIS STRONGHOLD. WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE MAY DEPEND UPON YOUR GOODWILL AND ACQUIESCENCE TO THESE TERMS.” The civilians were all, “NO.” Ochako was all, “EMPATHY, MOTHERFUCKERS, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!” The civilians were all, “oh shit.” Anyway so Ochako is a giant badass, but I’m a little worried that she’s going to get struck by lightning. Please come down from there.

so before we start this chapter, I would just like to apologize for having not posted the ch 321 recap yet, and would like to reassure everyone, and especially Iida who is staring at me with Sad Wobbly Guilt Trip Eyes, that I will get to that as soon as I can

OMG FLASHBACK??

yes please Horikoshi please show us more of class 1-A and their Deku intervention strategy jam sessions

oh dear

Iida you are too pure and good for this cruel world. [sprays the U.A. civilians with a water bottle] NO. BAD CIVILIANS! NO OSTRACIZING SCARED AND EXHAUSTED CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE

EXCUSE ME RAT PRINCIPAL WHAT’S WITH THESE MIXED MESSAGES

???

RAT PRINCIPAL: he’s free to return to us at any time!!

ALSO RAT PRINCIPAL: but it’s too risky for him to return to us

?? ??????? ?????????????????????

so now he’s going on about how strong the U.A. Barrier is, and how it’s comparable to the defensive capabilities of Tartarus. this would have sounded a lot more impressive before chapter 297 lol

OH!!!! HELLO, WHAT’S THIS!!!

A TIMELY CALLBACK TO A CERTAIN MYSTERIOUS EVENT WHICH HASN’T BEEN REFERENCED SINCE USJ? [U.A. TRAITOR MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

so now Rat Principal says he upgraded U.A.’s security systems with his own “modifications”, whatever the fuck that means. I mean look, I’ve been saying for a long time now that U.A. is the best place for everyone to hole up, don’t get me wrong. but that was mostly on account of there not being any other practical alternatives. but you’re making it sound like you figured out a way to actually make it Decay-proof or some wild shit like that

-- hold up, DID YOU ADD A FORCE FIELD. DID YOU TRICK THIS SCHOOL OUT WAKANDA-STYLE YOU CRAZY MARSUPIAL. HOLY SHIT. because that would actually be perfect

LMAO

WHAT KIND OF GALAXY BRAIN BULLSHIT. “NAH THERE’S NO NEED FOR A FORCE FIELD, LET’S JUST PUT WHEELS ON IT”

oh okay so the whole campus is basically capable of burrowing itself underground. that’s insane lol I wonder how they pulled that off. probably got poor Cementoss working overtime

blah blah blah so basically the entire campus is split into a grid and each section of the grid is capable of its own independent movement. lol this is just the Merone Base from KHR. you thought no one would notice this casual plagiarism ten years after the fact, but YOU UNDERESTIMATED YOUR AUDIENCE, HORIKOSHI

“joke’s on you imma just lampshade it” WELL ALL RIGHT THEN

“look at me I’m so fucking self-aware” fucking swear to god. I can’t believe this man is my favorite mangaka of all time smdh

“excuse me, I wasn’t finished describing all the rest of this bullshit yet,” Rat Principal breaks in impatiently. “we also added a steel wall all around the underground of the campus that’s 3000 steel plates thick. that’s fifteen fucking meters of solid fucking steel just fyi. and if anyone fucks around with any part of it the defense system will activate immediately! and also all of the plates are independently motorized, whatever the fuck that means!! in conclusion you’re gonna need a fucking tower crane to suspend all of your disbelief by the time I’m through with this paragraph”

“also Shiketsu is almost as reinforced as U.A. but not quite because we still had to make sure we were better.” but of course. and apparently the two schools are connected via a secret tunnel as Hagakure mentioned earlier

LSDKFJLSDKJFLK

“WAIT WHAT” LMAO YOU HEARD HIM, NOW INASA CAN VISIT YOU BOTH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE WEIRD DREAM HE HAD. GOD BLESS YOU HORIKOSHI

(ETA: moment of appreciation for Shouto and Katsuki having the same thought at the same time and making Knowing Eye Contact and saying the exact same thing out loud in perfect unison like the best friends they are. what a blessed day.)

so Tokoyami is all “but wait if you engineered all this shit all the way back during the Band arc how did you even know that Tomura’s quirk awakening would become a thing, Horikoshi -- uh, I mean, Principal Nezu”

and Rat Principal is all “lol idk”

“basically I just woke up one morning and was all ‘say, you know what this school really needs? a fifteen-meter-thick underground steel wall, and the ability to break up into little pieces that individually zoom around wherever the fuck they want.’ jesus christ. lol if money and common sense were apparently no obstacle why didn’t you just teleport U.A. to the fucking moon or something. maybe I should shut up before I given him any ideas

dsfaelkjldkjgl

you heard it here first, folks, all of this cost a grand total of nine million U.S. dollars. well technically it cost “more than” nine million dollars. never has that distinction been more important lmao. are we sure this barrier was really made of steel and not cardboard? who the hell sold it to them, Ea-Nasir??

this is my favorite manga series of all time. yes I am ashamed

“in conclusion please do your best to reach Deku-kun” SO WHAT WAS ALL THAT NONSENSE ABOUT IT BEING TOO RISKY THEN. anyway thank you for this super informative and edifying flashback, Horikoshi. I will cherish it always. I don’t even want to read another translation of this absurdity lmao, there’s something special about it just the way it is. pretty sure Horikoshi just had a cracked out fever dream one night and transferred it to the pages of the manga verbatim

anyway so back to the unruly mob

not their finest moment. please excuse me while I cover poor Deku’s ears and give him a good shoosh pap

oh wow the parents are out here too

is Mitsuki trying to hold Inko back?? that’s the last thing this fandom needs right now is more Mitsuki discourse fffwlkjs. and even Jiroudad, scientifically proven to be the best dad in all of BnHA, is just standing there silently looking vaguely unhappy. way to rise to the moment you guys

MONOMA

so this settles it for me that Aizawa is not at UA. I know a lot of people have been wondering about his whereabouts, and if I had to wager a guess it would be that something happened with Shirakumo/Kurogiri. I can’t think of anything else -- even the loss of an eye and a limb -- that would keep him from his kids at a time like this

anyway but this is excellent Monoma content right here though. I love that he apparently adopted Eri after a single interaction with her. also WHERE IS SHINSOU DAMMIT. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW

and Kouta’s there too looking like he wants to run over to Deku but Ragdoll won’t let him :/

it’s gotta be pretty upsetting for him to see his hero like this and not having anyone stand up for him. [taps megaphone] IS THIS THING ON. OKAY YEAH IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING. AHEM. PAGING URARAKA OCHAKO. GONNA NEED YOU TO GET OVER HERE ALREADY AND MAKE THAT BIG DRAMATIC SPEECH WHICH YOU ARE CLEARLY DYING TO MAKE. IF YOU DON’T DO IT SOON I’M GONNA HAVE TO STEP IN, AND YOU REALLY DON’T WANT ME TO DO THAT SINCE MY SPEECH WILL NOT BE VERY GOOD OR INSPIRING, AND WILL PROBABLY JUST CONSIST OF “HELLO, YOU ARE ALL STUPID, PLEASE SHUT UP AND GO AWAY”

so now Mic is telling them to calm down. at least someone’s speaking up here, geez

OH MY GOD

MY MAN JEANIST OUT HERE DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST: MAKING EVERYONE FEEL GUILTY AND JUDGED

OH MY GOD HE IS GIVING SUCH A LONG AND BORING SPEECH LMAO IS YOUR STRATEGY TO PUT THEM ALL TO SLEEP OR WHAT

truly in awe of this man’s ability to take messages which could easily be conveyed in ELI5-speak, and stubbornly convert them into incomprehensible language the likes of which you need a graduate degree in order to understand

“hey guys, so originally our plan was to use Deku as bait for the villains, but that didn’t really work and also we realized it was kinda dumb and was probably gonna get him killed, so we brought him back here instead.” was that really so hard, Jeanist. also are we all really just gonna sit back here and watch Jeanist take full credit for Bakugou’s plan just like that lmao

(ETA:

WHERE DID ENDEAVOR GO AND WHO IS THIS DIABOLICAL MASTER OF DISGUISE. lol I genuinely didn’t notice this because I was too busy digging through thesauruses trying to rewrite Jeanist’s speech; many thanks to @class1akids​ for pointing it out and making my day immeasurably better. take it easy there Dick Tracy.)

“anyway so please stop being dicks and let him fucking rest so he can save all your ungrateful asses” what an impassioned and inspiring plea. time to see if the masses will listen to reason

narrator: they did not listen to reason

oh my god finally Ochako is doing something. YEAH OCHAKO WOOOO SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE

hmm

this entire chapter is truly and utterly nonsensical to me lol

(ETA: on my second readthrough I’m fucking dying at how she stole the megaphone right out of Mic’s hand lmao. and how Kacchan is all “fuck yeah nothing I appreciate more than some quality fucking larceny.”)

oh I see she was jumping on top of the main building so as to scream down at them all more impressively

“ANYWAY DEKU IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY, YOU GUYS ARE JUST MEAN” couldn’t have said it better myself Ochako

lol uh

gotta say I did not have “Ochako reveals the secret of OFA to the entire U.A. Citizen Clown Parade” on my bingo card for this week. it’s a bold strategy cotton let’s see if it pays off

SDLFKJSL

“NO, SERIOUSLY, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HIM YOU GUYS. YOU THINK HE LIKES RUNNING AROUND DRESSED LIKE A RUSTED OIL DRUM?? HE DID THAT FOR YOU YOU UNGRATEFUL SLOBS”

so she is basically explaining the entire Deku Angst arc to them and explaining what a good and selfless protagonist Deku is, YES, PREACH

OMG IT’S THE GIGANTIC FOX LADY

not to insinuate anything, but what exactly were you doing standing out here with the hysterical mob, Gigantic Fox Lady? you’re better than that

-- KACCHAN SIGHTING!!

sdlkfjl. thanks for weighing in with that helpful and important observation. where have you been for the last five minutes. were you asleep. was it Jeanist’s speech

never mind, now he’s yelling at the civilians so I instantly forgive him

THE FUTURE NUMBER ONE HERO, EVERYONE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. HE’LL BE HERE ALL WEEK

“anyway so I’m just going to end the chapter here” lmao seventeen pages truly do go by so fast. at least he didn’t try to force in a cliffhanger at the end this time. dare I say, growth

so I guess the civilians are either gonna have a Kamino and/or Fukuoka-esque moment where they remember how to be decent people and apologize to this poor young man, or else they’ll remain unpersuaded, and so Kacchan will have to knock a few of their heads around until they become more inclined to be reasonable. either option is fine by me lol

[jayaury]

Look with Your Hands

Another old short that people on my patreon voted for! Demons and warlocks are always fun, especially when both are so very cocky. But only one can ever win...

~ ~ ~

Liam Avex, warlock of the Eighth Ring, threw open the doors to his dungeon with a grin. It was all he could do not to dance down the steps, but instead take them with mocking gravity, descending into the pit at the center of the room where a cage of steel stood like ribs curving up from the floor.

There was a woman within the cell. She had an impossibly perfect figure, amply demonstrated by the fact her ‘clothes’ consisted of some leather straps bound across her curves. Her skin was a deep red, her bat-like wings cramped about her shoulders by the cage, her horns curling up before a mane of black hair. Liam’s eyes lingered on her firm, large breasts and the soft curves of her rump, thrown into sharp relief by fluttering torches on the walls. He brazenly ogled his captive, his smile widening at actually seeing his accursed rival behind bars. He was going to have so much fun!

“Well well well,” Liam said, arms clasped behind his back and cloak fanning about him impressively as he eyed the figure in the cage. “At last. Janine, Demoness of the Lash, mistress of the Tower of Ecstasy, and now, my prisoner.”

“Am I?” Janine said with an arch of a flawless brow.

“Of course you are!” Liam scoffed, gesturing grandly at the cage. “This device prevents you from casting any spell beyond its confines. Go ahead! Drop a fireball at me. All you’ll do is roast that pretty flesh of yours. You’ve evaded me before, slut. But at last you’re mine. And you’ll not escape me! Now, you will tell me all the secrets of your realm, or I promise you, my dear, I will drag them from your tongue with hot pokers!”

Janine ran her eyes over the dark steel of the cage. Her eyes came to rest on him once more and she sighed. “Yes,” the succubus said. “It seems you have me, Liam.”

“Lord Liam,” he corrected. “I think it high time you begin to use my title.”

“Too true, Lord Liam. Forgive me. I suppose now you’ll use my body for your own pleasures as well.”

“Ha!” Liam barked. “As lovely as you are, my dear, you’ll not be leaving that cage!”

“Oh? Then… you don’t intend to enjoy the feel of my breasts?” she asked, cupping those plump orbs, gently lifting them, the rings that pierced her nipples jangling.

Liam watched them, smirking. “Hmph! No need.”

“Not even to kiss them, my lord? Surely I am your slave now?”

“You’ll not trick me like that,” Liam said as he watched her fondle her breasts. “I’m too clever by half to even think of releasing you.”

“Of course you are, my lord,” Janine said, her voice softening. Soft as those big red breasts as she fondled them. Squeezed them. Bounced them in her hands. “Much too smart for a poor demoness like me. I hadn’t a prayer of defeating you.”

“No,” Liam said, shifting as his cock thickened against his pants. “No, you didn’t. Those years of you eluding me… it’s all come to this.”

“It has, my lord. This is your triumph.”

“Yes. It is.” Liam blinked, shook his head and glanced at her face. “You’re awfully calm about this.”

“I have accepted my fate,” Janine sighed, and Liam’s eyes were drawn back down to her shapely breasts as she continued to mold them in her hands. Gods, but to fill his palms with those orbs… “I was much too foolish to think I could best you, my lord. Your triumph was inevitable.”

“Inevitable,” Liam agreed, nodding slowly.

“Will you not celebrate? Use me for your pleasure?”

“Ha! You wish I’d… I’d do that. Let you out of that cage…”

“Of course, my lord. But you’re far too smart for that. You’re not some brainless mortal easily tricked. You know I cannot cast a spell on you from within this cage. So, it should be okay to… touch yourself a little.”

“Touch?” Liam said, watching her breasts sway. He sucked in a breath as he felt his hand stroke the bulge of his pants. “Ooooh…”

“Of course, my lord. For you have trapped me. Why let your success wait? Why not use my body with your eyes? Stroke yourself with your hand while I’m at your mercy.”

“Yesssss,” Liam hissed as he ran his finger up and down his bulge, feeling it thicken further in his pants. He licked his lips, and after all, what was the harm? He had her. Captured her. She was his. All his…

“Just like that, my lord,” Janine said, her voice so soft. Almost a hum that seemed to thrum up his cock as he undid the front of his pants, letting his cock pop into the open. “Oh my. If I knew what an impressive specimen you were, I would have surrendered ages ago. Your cock is so big, my lord. So mighty.”

“Yessss,” Liam groaned as his fingers engulfed his manhood. As he began to slowly pump.

“In fact, my lord,” Janine continued, lifting her breasts, dropping them, bouncing them, squeezing them, rubbing them together as if his cock were between them. “In fact, I think it almost equals your intelligence. So well endowed in wisdom and manhood. So potent. So virile. So smart.”

“Yes,” Liam panted, grinning, his eyes glued to her breasts, only to be caught by her hips as they began to sway side to side, her tail flicking behind her, teasing like a beckoning hand.

“Why, I bet you put all your power into that cock. All your thoughts and mind fill it fit to bursting. Such big thoughts. Big, swirling thoughts. My lord always thinks with his cock. His big, powerful cock. My lord always obeys his cock. And his cock is so hard now. Isn’t it, my lord?”

“Yessss!” Liam groaned, frantically pumping his shaft, fairly drooling over her body. Why not? She was helpless. Helpless before him. Before his cock. He was so smart and she was so dumb.

“Your cock is far too smart to be tricked, my lord. You simply must listen to it. Let it tell you what to do. That’s the only way forward. Only way to power is to obey your cock. And your cock so wants to obey my big… bouncy… breasts…”

Liam’s whole body twitched as his hand pumped his cock. His mind was awhirl as he watched her breasts bounce. He found himself nodding. Was he nodding? Sure, why not. Why not listen to her? Her breasts were so big. So soft…

“Oh my lord, I think I know what your cock wants to do. I think it wants to cum. I think it wants to cum all your silly thoughts out. Because if you think with your cock, and your cock tells you to obey my breasts, you must do so. Mustn’t you, my lord?”

“Yes,” Liam gasped. “Yes. Obey… obey cock… obey breasts… obey… obey…”

“My lord! How clever of you to listen so closely to your cock. To let it obey my big breasts. My swinging hips. But I think you don’t want to be clever. Because only dumb cocks get to go between my big breasts. My lord, are you perhaps wanting to be a dumb cock bimbo?”

“Yes!” Liam cried, the word escaping him in a rush. He wanted that! He wanted it so bad. He needed it so much! “Yes! Want to cum… gotta cum… cum… cum bimbo cock. Cock have to… to cum dumb cock. Dumb…”

“Then cum, my lord. Cum those brains out. Cum for my breasts. Cum for my hips. Cum for mistress. Cum! Cum!”

“Nyaaaaaaa!” Liam howled as he came, the pleasure so intense it was like nothing he’d known before. His mind went white, spurted out from his cock, splattering on the floor of the dungeon and bars of the cage. The warlock whimpered, sagging where he stood, as if all the strength had gone from him.

“What a good boy.”

Into the emptiness of his post orgasmic bliss rushed those words. He shuddered, lifting his head to the succubus. To her. Radiant. Confident. To her big, soft breasts just tantalizingly out of reach.

“Open the cage, pet,”

His hands seemed to move on their own, a mechanical gesture made frantic by his need to obey. With a creak and a rumble, the spikes that made the cage opened like an iron flower, sinking into the floor even as Janine delicately stepped over their points. She swayed towards him, and Liam’s eyes were glued to the soft, rhythmic back and forth of her breasts.

The succubus smirked, pointed down. “Kneel.”

Liam obeyed.

Janine giggled, leaning forward and squeezing his cheeks in her hand. “Awww. What a good, dumb boy you are. You just couldn’t help but fall for my big tits, could you?”

“No mishtresh,” Liam squeaked out, his pupils fairly throbbing with love for the demoness.

“Of course not. And you thought you were so clever. But silly bimbo, you forgot! I may not be able to cast a spell on you, but I could certainly cast one on myself. And you were just so eager to watch my big hypnotits, weren’t you?”

Liam nodded as eagerly as he could with his face pinched in her hand. “Yesh mishtresh! Love your breashtsh! Love them. Good bimbosh obey!”

“That they do. And cum all their silly brains out. What little they had, anyway. And now that you’ve had your fun,” she added, straightening and grabbing his head, shoving it into the delta of her thighs. “It’s my turn!”

Liam moaned, his tongue drawn out, adoringly running up the velvet sweetness of her pussy. His tastebuds sang with the powerful flavour of mistress. That wonderful taste. Already he could feel his silly bimbo cock hardening again as he adored her cunny.

“Mmm. Good slave,” Janine moaned as she rode her new toy’s face. “Good bimbo. I think we’re going to have so… much… fun…”

Liam agreed, and as he resumed pumping his dumb cock, he knew that mistress would make it a joy forever and ever.

[itsbenedict]

I just finished hosting a 15-person game of Mafia for some friends. One tradition we have for these games is that every death is accompanied by some themed narration, so for my game I opted to spice it up with some art on top. Had to draw it real quick since I didn't know for sure who was going to die next until it happened.

The game's theme was "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", with the hidden subtheme that all the roles (stands) were named after They Might Be Giants (@tmbgareok) songs! A list of their powers, links to songs, and a recap of the game under the cut.

01) Mogis - 「Flo Wheeler」

02) TD260 - 「Working Undercover For The Man」

03) JGH27 - 「Good To Be Alive」

04) Raya - 「Stone Cold Coup D'Etat」

05) KK / Sahrimnir - 「Thinking Machine」

06) Spontaneous Combustion - 「The Statue Got Me High」

07) Leviwulf - 「Push Back The Hands」

08) DarkFalco - 「I Am Alone」

09) Deli064 - 「Doctor Worm」

10) Fedaykin - 「Letterbox」

11) Surge - 「I Am Alone」

12) Wikxen - 「Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head」

13) Minby - 「Where Your Eyes Don't Go」

14) Bel - 「(She Was A) Hotel Detective」

15) SnakeInABox - 「By The Time You Get This」

Bold roles were Jotunheim (Mafia), normal roles were Johnsburg (Town), and italicized roles were third parties. (Jotunheim is the realm of giants from Norse mythology! The mafia were, in fact, giants! And the town's job was to figure out who might be giants! And the two sides were Jo and Jo! JOKES!)

「Flo Wheeler」 was a town role with a power that was pretty dangerous to the user- if anyone happened to be watching or tracking when a kill took place at night, Mogis would look like they'd visited the target that night in addition to whoever actually did. It could potentially be used to catch a mafioso in a lie, but otherwise it was more of an obstacle for the town to overcome- a miller-type role.

♪ You can't do the time, therefore you didn't do the crime ♪

「Working Undercover For The Man」 was a third-party role working for the Speedwagon Foundation to perform a threat assessment. TD could win with the town, but could win and leave early if he could guess all the names or powers of every other stand in the game. He could scan a name every night, to help that along.

♪ Planning midnight raids / On our unsuspecting fans / While the roadies rig / The video surveillance van ♪

「Good To Be Alive」 was a spin on the usual town doctor role- normally, a doctor can target a player and prevent their death if they would die that night. But... JGH couldn't actually prevent deaths- just fake it. The dead would become ghosts, who couldn't vote and couldn't be killed but were still allowed to talk as if they were alive.

♪ Hello leg / such a shaky leg / Just barely more than decoration ♪

「Stone Cold Coup D'Etat」 was a third party with an unusual win condition. They had to recruit a certain number of people to a private side-chat- and then make sure all those people got killed. Plus, she could redirect anything that happened to her at night to her recruits. If the recruits figured out what she was doing and got rid of her, they'd get a boost to their power.

♪ The bark now commands the trees / The queen is overruled by the bees ♪

「Thinking Machine」 was a town role with a mysterious purpose that didn't seem to make much sense at first. Sah would get, every morning, a strange series of numbers and letters of uncertain origin. It was information, somehow, but how to use it?

♪ Tape has brightening arm connect (Wait, that didn't make sense.) / Self-paint lever itching does! (That made even less sense!) ♪

「The Statue Got Me High」 was a mafia power. As the song describes, the victim is enthralled by the monolith and forced to obey its commands, until their eventual death. That is, Spont could recruit a player to the mafia, but they'd die one night later- and if he wasn't careful, he could die and his recruit would flip back.

♪ And now it is your turn (your turn to hear the stone and then your turn to burn) / The stone, it calls to you (you can't refuse to do the things it tells you to) ♪

「Push Back The Hands」 was a passive ability that caused anything that would happen to Levi- a nightkill, an execution, some other power- to be delayed by one day, giving him some time to react. He'd be told who it was that targeted him, so going after him as mafia was risky.

♪ Screeching tires but never a collision / Endless day without a sunset provision ♪

「I Am Alone」 was a weird one. See, DarkFalco, who was mafia, didn't have a stand as such. She was the stand- and she was the stand of Surge, who was town. They were linked together in everything, meaning the mafia had to work to keep Surge alive on top of their own people. She could send messages to Surge at night to mess with him, though.

♪ Before you fire I should inform you / One of us is a double ♪

「Doctor Worm」 had no real special abilities. His ability was to be pretty good at playing the drums, a power that had absolutely no relevance in a game of Mafia.

♪ I'm not a real doctor, but I am a real worm I am an actual worm ♪

「Letterbox」 was a mafia ability that let Fedaykin pick another player, and offer that player a chance to deliver a private message to one other player of their choice. He could see the "secret" communications, though, and once per game he could edit the message before delivering it.

♪ I'll never know what you'll find when you open up your letter box tomorrow ♪

「Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head」 is a classically mafia ability, but in the hands of a town player: the ability to force another player to vote for another. Normally the manipulated person isn't allowed to say what happened, but there was no such restriction here- confusion's no good for the town.

♪ Memo to myself: do the dumb things i gotta do: Touch the puppet head ♪

「Where Your Eyes Don't Go」 let Minby pick someone else to watch him at night. If anyone visited him to target him with an ability, the person he designated would be told the names of those people. A nasty trap for the mafia, as long as Minby doesn't pick a mafioso to share the information with.

♪ Where your eyes don't go, a part of you is hovering / It's a nightmare that you'll never be discovering / You're free to come and go / Or talk like Kurtis Blow / But there's a pair of eyes in back of your head ♪

「(She Was A) Hotel Detective」 was a very powerful town role- Bel was the cop, and could scan another player's alignment at night, plus track or watch them. Except... not directly. She couldn't scan players- she could scan hotel rooms, and if other players didn't check into the hotel at night or give up their room numbers, her information was useless.

Here are the room numbers, in order: Levi (1) Snake (2) JGH (3) TD (4) Spont (5) Sah (6) Deli (7) Fed (8) Minby (9) Falco/Surge (10) Raya (11) Wikxen (12) Mogis (13).

(Oh, and Thinking Machine's codes were actually encoded versions of her results, and Sah would get a weaker version of her power if she ever died.)

♪ She's got her ear to the walls / And she's tappin' the calls / If you've got a secret, boy / Forget about it! ♪

「By The Time You Get This」 imbued its wielder with the incredible powers of... an estate lawyer! Which meant Snake could leave a will behind when he died, naming another player and casting a vote on them from beyond the grave the next day.

♪ By the time you get this note / We'll no longer be alive / But our skulls are smiling still / At the thought of things to come ♪

So! Here's how it all shook out.

Day 1: The first day is always kind of a tossup, since no one has any information yet, and everyone's just trying to verbally stir the pot. Levi soft-claims his role right out the gate, warning town not to try targeting him or else. Mogis is executed, casting a vote on himself to save the town the trouble of dealing with Flo Wheeler.

Night 1: Spont uses the statue to recruit Wikxen, at the same time that Wikxen forces Snake to vote for Levi. So, now the usually-scum power in the hands of town is in the hands of scum for real. Bel scans room 3, and learns that its occupant is innocent. Raya recruits DarkFalco, and accidentally recruits Surge alongside her, to her surprise. JGH tries protecting Levi, to test if his claim was a bluff.

Day 2: Levi tries to push JGH on the basis of having targeted him last night, but everyone agrees to wait and see if Levi actually dies first. Votes circle around Wikxen and Raya for suspicious-seeming defensiveness on Day 1, and ultimately, when it seems like Wikxen's about to be executed, a small group of players flip their votes at the last minute and vote Raya out while she's asleep and can't defend herself. Rude! She was poised to win the game for herself and the town, since she'd convinced Falco that the mafia would benefit somehow if they were all recruited.

Night 2: The mafia kills Minby- and Minby opts to tell have Fed watch him, wasting his power. Lucky for town, though, Bel happens to scan room 8, confirming Fed is mafia since he volunteered his room number. Wikxen's coat contains a furnace where there used to be a guy.

Day 3: Wikxen forced Snake to vote for J, making him look bad- but Sah begins sharing his bizarre results from Thinking Machine, and Bel confirms that they're a log of her detective power. Then she points out that Fed is mafia, and the town falls in line behind the accusation with Sah to confirm.

Night 3: Spont uses the statue to recruit Bel, to keep any more problematic scans from ruining them. Bel, before being recruited, scans room 10, though- and now the town knows there's something funky with Falco and Surge, because Sah gets the results and knows what they mean. Due to their mismatched alignments, though, the encoded version is still misleading, so there's wiggle room. TD scans Spont and learns his role name.

Day 4: Spont concocts a daring scheme. He has Bel lie and claim to have received an incriminating result on him- so that Bel will be caught in said lie when Sah produces his own results. The plan is to frame Bel, who's a dead girl walking anyway, and clear Spont's name going forward. But the town talks themselves into explaining away the contradiction- even when TD reveals Spont's stand name, and Spont denies it outright and claims 「Combustible Head」, a fake vigilante (town nightkiller) role instead, the town explains away that, too. After a few more people claim, TD260 has completed his mission- his correct guess wins him the game and he leaves. Spont cleverly excuses himself by claiming that TD lied about his role to get him to claim his "real" one. Afterwards, the town ends up executing Deli064 instead, for some reason- poor Doctor Worm!

Night 4: The evidence vanishes from Bel's charred and smoking chair- because JGH tries to protect her at the same time the mafia are killing him! Bel is a ghost now, and the town never finds out her alignment.

Day 5: Bel not dying poses a problem for the mafia, because Spont was supposed to prove his own innocence by pretending to kill her! The mafia tries to misdirect by having Bel lie again, claiming to scan room 10 when she actually scanned room 6, Sah. Ultimately, though, the town is able to coordinate behind killing Surge and Falco, which- because they're linked- is a compromise option that both parties are happy with (when perhaps they shouldn't be).

Night 5: Since Bel is technically dead, Spont recruits again, grabbing Sah and removing the threat of scans entirely. If he'd recruited Snake instead, they'd have won on the spot, since only his will-vote prevented them from winning instantly due to outnumbering the town. We move on to a somewhat redundant...

Day 6: It's now down to five players- Spont, Sah, and Bel vs Levi and Snake. The mafia technically outnumber the town, but Bel's vote doesn't count, and Sah's going to burn the next night- so the town can still win by forcing a tie and then using Snake's By The Time You Get This power to place a vote on Spont. But that's if they can figure it out and get on the same page, and... they don't. There's no way there could be three mafia still alive, so the mafia are able to sow total confusion and ultimately get the town all voting for Bel... who's a ghost, and can't vote or be executed, which the town doesn't know because JGH died before he could fully explain. The execution defaults to Snake, and the mafia win the game.

[pumpumdemsugah]

The ‘Listen to Black Women” bullshit cracks me up because so much scammery gets through because the whities don’t see us as individuals so they let anyone with a tan and a slight kink in their hair have the mic. And a lot of these dummies don’t be saying shit. It’s luxury and divest or lying about gender and colonization or ‘here’s my cash app’ LMAO. Whites love to be lazy so they don’t care but if they actually did the reading, they’d realize that a lot of those folk are airheads lmao. Gotta say though, i lowkey love that some BW figured that out and play the game. Like it’s terrible but the ‘dumb Black girl industrial complex’(as you put it lol)is amazing because like, yes, we too can have peas for brains and have people think otherwise. Yes We Can!!

"yes, we too can have peas for brains and have people think otherwise. Yes We Can!!" LMAOO

It shows they ( non-Blacks) aren't really digesting what's being said they just need a token to tick a box. Before saying you're a Black feminist meant explaining to everyone you aren't plotting the destruction of the Black community but now there's social cred in being a vocal Black woman on social media cause its easier for them to passively engage with that than reading actual books Black women have written. Its easy to deal with people who aren't really saying anything.

If i wasn't into Black feminism for over a decade this might of been harder to clock all this. Had a friend show me the mustiest essay written by some non-Black making claims about Black feminist and women and immediately i could tell, the most you ever engage is through tweets, i hope you get food poisoning

Our experiences as Black women are valuable without any academia on top but there comes a point where you need further reading or knowledge or shut your mouth . Some convos require a base amount of knowledge that is more than "this person on social media from X group said this". People have come full circle to behaving as if people who are traditionally outside the ivory tower are too dumb to grasp these concepts and its very race sciencey , even if they're thick themselves as a white person

On the other hand, a lot of leftiest treat Black people as automatically stupid. The way these whites acted when older Black American help give Biden the US Dem nomination but they don't have that vim for racist as fuck working class white people beyond "they vote against their interest : ( " but were very close to calling these people dumb n*gg*rs. These people don't respect Black people at all and you better not be smarter than them. They don't engage with us like we're people. They either act like they're automatically the teacher or Black people are personally responsible for making sure them as a white person behaves. You see it in all political stripes, some of them are more disrespectful and demeaning than others, that's all. Let me not even start on white queer activist types bringing up slavery flippantly

[macgyvertape]

FF14 ARR base campaign notes

My notes from ARR through pre-Heavensward patches, mostly for reference to myself of what happened since I’m playing very slowly with a friend, and marking story points I’m confused by since the lore for this game is overwhelmingly confusing. In hindsight this list might seem critical but I am having fun, and its kinda obvious what parts I found engaging. I welcome explanations for lore stuff I’m confused on.

Started playing the game b/c free trial and a lot of people I know who play Destiny 2 also play it, but I stopped right after unlocking chocobo because of how boring the story was.

Got back into it to play with a friend and people were telling me to stick with it saying early story is bad, but yikes it’s real bad/boring

All i know of the plot from fandom osmosis is people meming on catboi being shot in Shadowbringers, and being horny for the guy who shot him. This is apparently big spoilers  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Really its a problem with Stakes/pacing: oh there's this big threat but now you gotta spend the next 5 hours or so doing a dumb fetch quest for the feast. Even the reveal that the feast is for you did not lessen my annoyance, since that took more than 1 gaming session

Points for them leaning into the angst with your organization getting wiped out first high point of the game for me

Time to go deal with racist snow elves for the next 4 hours, theyre obstructionist enough its really fucking annoying. I was catching up on the archer quest line at the same time and had to ask in a discord if all the elves were just assholes. Its definitely because I don’t know the lore that I found myself so frustrated: their anti-dragon dogma won’t matter if the Empire conquers the realm

Doing the lvl 40 dungeon for the first time, i like the "vote abandon" system a lot more than wow's /.vote kick. I’m at lvl 41 in bad gear and i keep telling the tank i can't heal their big pulls and struggling with boss fights because the mechanics are hard. After every time I die/wipe tank is voting to abandon activity, till at the final boss where we wipe the tank just quits, so then dps leaves too after trying to get us to vote abandon again

the 2 new people who join literally open with "who abandoned the sprouts!?" and help explain what we are doing wrong. In wow i would have been vote kicked 2-1, with my friend we were able to vote no on abandon instead of having to restart it

I think they lean too heavily on star trek references with this airship. Later Note: i think they lean too hard on pop culture references generally

Cid’s whole cutsene: another example of how totally lost i am with this lore

Y'shtola can titan bubble? I hope she and Yda are girlfriends

The voice acting is SO FUCKING STILTED

These lvl 49 & 50 9 person groups for big story moments are fun, i don’t have to sweat as healer

Soooo many cutscenes, sooo many credits. 

I can tell the budget went up, characters have facial animations now

Ok that lvl 50 moogle king fight was very cute, no idea what to do in it so I just AOEd heals and enjoyed the atmosphere and music

The voice acting has gotten better, but its kind of weird how some random cutscenes are voiced and others aren't. Guess its based on how important they are

Think I spent over an hour crossing across maps to unlock hard versions of dungeons, and all the other lvl 50 unlocks. Would have been a lot worse without teleports and flying mount

Trachtoum, can’t believe this assholes back again

I do like this character building long plot where you help the refugees and defeat Primals. I like Y'shtola going “history is going to keep repeating itself if we just keep driving the beastmen to desperation then killing them to stop a primal”

Uuhhhh BIG YIKES, with the cultural appropriation Blue Mage questline, where the plot is a scummy dude goes to the “New World” to learn magic from characters that are visually coded to be Native Americans. Looking this up, seems like it's an issue that’s already been repeatedly discussed.

After not being able to play for 3 weeks due to Endwalker queue times, its confusing to return and have part of a plot about a politician manipulating sentiment around refugees to get access to some weapon tech then go fight another Primal and then set through a lore dump and overly cryptic Ascian cutscene

A nice person stranger invited me to a FC after giving some advice, wow didn’t realize housing was so big and complicated. I’m making the resolution to never get invested in that, I don’t even have a good house in ACNH

Why are we getting story with this dude Ilberd instead of the old bearded pope guy the audience was shown an ominous cutscene of

iceheart seems super based, like everyone’s criticizing  her for laying with dragons, but the dragons pass the Harkness test I’d fuck one. All the stuff she’s talking about after the hard mode dungeon fight i just have no clue whats going on

Midgardsormr: both a corpse and alive? (is he the God-Emperor of dragons??) Talking about how he doesn’t forgive or forget, and I’m like ok I have no clue what’s going on other than the dragons seem to fight the Empire and the Ishtar elves? The dragon says he won’t harm me but removed the rainbow crystal group blessing?!  We get a little baby midgardsormr minion??

So glad Moenbryda gives recaps like the pace of the story is so fucking slow and with so many sidetracks, I had tuned out somewhere around Ascians bad gotta build a special magic device to kill them. The game even does an almost 4th wall break acknowledging their recapping exposition 

I like Moenbryda a lot but i cant not think how impractically short her outfit is, like it should be flashing everyone in combat

Ok i will give Nabriales points for grandstanding and the “enlighten” pun, but im so confused why this staff matters. Oh shit Moenbryda got 1 shot that sure raised the stakes. I’d be sadder about her death if she wasn’t introduced to be tragic when killed off same patch

This disembodied voice is G’raha Tia? Very curious to see his journey into the catboi who gets shot and the internet is also horny for. I see why, the archer outfit with the beefy arms, the mysterious entrance, the mismatched eyes, being a CATBOI

Ok so the instigator of the crystal tower questline is a Garlean named Nero, with a infamously historical name like that I’m sure this guy is gonna be a villain. Honestly time to be suspicious of anyone covering their eyes

Ok so red eyed people show up and are mysterious and we get backstory with G’raha, then its revealed they’re clones, then the plot just moves on. This is why I don’t fucking remember Nero or characters like him, too much shit happens in this game

Im increasingly amused that G’raha Tia’s heterochromia isn’t like a normal cat thing in this world but has a magic backstory. I think its a totally different experience playing this quest line and knowing its required because G’raha is in Shadowbringers vs playing it when this questline was released then years later being surprised at his return as a main character

I know someone’s supposed to be important when there’s a slow-mo body pan of them and their armor, which Estinien’s armor looks peak final fantasy bullshit. Apparently he wields the powers of dragons but that isn’t heretical?? Seems hypocritical 

Steps of Faith dungeon was actually novel and fun, i spent most of my time as white mage doing damage

Glad the game warns me when there will be a lot of cutscene so i can get a snack.     Teledji really is a scheming type villain, and damn I liked Ilberd :(  that “it was me” moment goes hard in the cutscene

I’m very gay for Yda, her mask cracks then she goes to One Punch mode. Everyone’s so desperate to make a “I’ll hold them off” that I have to wonder if they would have succeeded better grouping up. I’d be more worried if I didn’t know they wouldn’t kill off any of these beloved characters offscreen since they played that hand once 

Wow Haurchefant has a bro moment, using the snow elf xenophobia for our benefit 

Ah what would it be without cryptic Ascian shit after the credits, I was wondering where Urianger was, I guess hanging out with the ascians 

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Drifters ch.10 (spicyhoney)

Summary:  Red's been going along with all this, but it turns out that he has a thing or three to say to his brother.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones

Read it on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Edge had always had a plan for his life. Since he was a small child forced to spend his days watching Red beg, barter and steal for their meals and shelter, he’d been determined to help his brother provide for them as soon as he could. To bring them out of the dump and the back alleys to something better, from gutter trash to the Royal Guard.

It hadn’t been easy, but he’d done it, and between the two of them they’d managed to make a home for themselves, a decent one he’d always believed. Until his brother began tinkering with that old machine in the basement, the one that would never do anything until it did, and he discovered there was more outside their own little, dust-filled world. So much more, other Universes that didn’t abide by the rule of kill or be killed, where children might be trapped beneath the mountain but still played safely in the street.

There were times he’d thought about leaving their universe, in the darkest nights when fresh LV was settling heavily into his soul like lead while Edge fought his way back out from its shrouding numbness, struggling to keep his sense of self. He’d never let those longing ideas take hold; despite everything, Underfell was their home, there were people that needed him there, Monsters who depended on him.

He’d abandoned it all for the sake of this one child and if this was the new plan for his life, then he would handle it, as he had everything else, no matter what.

Whatever protests Red and Stretch were offering to that decision were drowned out by Blue’s dismissive, “Don’t be silly, of course you’re staying. Aren’t you?” Then with rising alarm, “You wouldn’t be going back to Underfell with her, would you?”

“No,” Edge said, “Not Underfell.” Again, he kept it to himself that that was no longer possible. In his arms, the baby was slowly settling, her drowsy sockets sinking closed again.

Blue was still nattering on in his relief, lowering his voice in deference to the baby’s whimpers easing back into sleep. “Then of course you’ll be staying with us! Oh, but we’ll need to make some changes around here. There’s only two bedrooms, that isn’t enough. Maybe the garage, yes, yes, the garage!” He clapped his hands together in quiet delight. “We can turn it into an apartment, I’ll put my Human cage somewhere else, yes, that’ll be perfect for you and Edge, Papy!”

Stretch only sat on the sofa, blinking a few times, as if the light was suddenly too bright. He was looking at Edge and the baby, but turned to his brother at that, “uh, say what?”

“An apartment for you and Edge, do keep up,” Blue said primly. He raised both brow bones in obvious implication, “Unless you’re about to tell me that the two of you weren’t going to share your room?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Edge repeated patiently before Stretch could answer him. “This is only a temporary arrangement. As soon as I find some employment, we’ll work on getting our own place, you don’t need to rearrange your entire home.”

Red sat up, sputtering, “okay, back it up there, bro, what, now?”

“Why would you do that?” Blue said, perplexed. He tilted his head to the side, reminiscent of the Dogs back in Underfell when Edge gave them an order they didn’t quite understand. “We can’t help take care of the baby if you move out.”

“You don’t need to help care for her,” Edge said, “she’s my responsibility.”

“Nonsense, it takes two to tango as they say and there are four of us!”

“Not if the child is created in a lab!” Edge snapped. The baby stirred and he lowered his voice, “This isn’t about birth control, this is about taking her away from someone who intended to use her as a lab experiment. I chose to take her, she’s my responsibility, and I will do my duty. The three of us won’t be staying here any longer than necessary.”

The silence hung in the air, nearly tangible.

After a moment, Stretch rolled to his feet, slouching across the living room to a side table where he started rummaging through the drawer. He came out with a pack of cigarettes, already stripping off the cellophane as he said, “you heard the man, she’s not ours, she’s his. he’s got a handle on it, let him take care of everything. i’m sure he’s got it all figured out.”

He didn’t look at Edge, walking straight past him in his disheveled shorts and mismatched sweatshirt to the rug where he shoved his feet into a pair of slippers before jerking open the front door, cold air pouring in. He went out, closed the door carefully behind him.

Red groaned loudly, “you really are a dumb fucker, aren’t you, bro.”

Arguing was familiar to Edge, but not while holding a sleeping infant. His kept his voice low and even, did not think of Stretch out in the cold lighting what would surely be the first of several cigarettes. “He doesn’t need to feel responsible. He didn’t choose this.”

The only person responsible was Edge, for coming here to begin with. There hadn’t been much in the way of choice on that, all he could do now was try not to compound the damages by leaving as soon as possible, before his debts grew past his ability to pay them.

Red only glared at him. simmering fury in his crimson eye lights, “yeah? me either, but i’m still fucking here, so i think i get a vote.”

“You’re different.”

“about three feet of different, yeah.”

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it!” Edge snapped, “You’re my brother.”

“that i am. but i ain’t the only other person with a stake.” Red sounded frustrated and they glared at each other, Blue standing to the side, hands clasped in front of him as he looked nervously between them.

Red did not look away from Edge as he said slowly, "blue. why'nt you go upstairs to your room with your gear, get unpacked, settle in."

Blue didn’t move. He stood uncertainly, his feet shuffling as if they wished to obey.

"blue," Red said, terribly soft and the undertone was pure Underfell, "i ain't askin'.

He nodded then, snatching up his bag and heading up the stairs. His bedroom door closed as softly as the front door had and they were alone.

"okay, just you and me, bro. first things first,” Red held out his arms, “hand me the kid.”

“She’s my responsibility,” Edge repeated doggedly. “I chose this, you didn’t.”

“yeah?” Red demanded, “you come up with that idea all by your bad self? why the fuck you think i brought you to the lab, sightseein’? she was never not gonna leave with us, you just grabbed her first. you so busy tryin' to call dibs, you're forgettin' i saw her first.” Red never looked away, met Edge’s eye lights unblinkingly as he told him, “i been letting it go on account of you bein' new to all this, but now i’m tellin ya. give her here.”

Edge hesitated a moment longer, then stepped over to the sofa.

It was somewhat disturbing to see how easily Red folded her into his arms, cradling her expertly. She settled in with a contended little sigh, snuggling into the fur lining of his jacket. “there we go, honey.” Red crooned with a gentleness that he had never seen in his brother before.

Red said nothing else, only sat with the baby and Edge stood, waiting impatiently, until his brittle endurance broke. “Well? I’m sure you’re waiting to explain to me how I can’t handle this, so let me stop you before you begin. I can and I will, I’m doing fine so far.”

“oh, yeah, you’re doin’ swell,” Red snorted. “wanna take a good look at yourself in the mirror right now?”

Edge resisted the urge to shrink from that pointed comment, tugging Stretch’s robe tighter around himself. “That’s hardly fair, it was my first night with her!”

“ain’t none of this fair,” Red said agreeably. “‘specially not to her. wasn’t fair to you when i slipped us out of the lab before you could get your own special tattoo and we ended up on the streets.”

“Red—“

“wasn’t fair to me that i had ta do it,” Red went on, relentlessly, “but life ain’t fair, that’s a lesson i never had to teach you. you learned it all on your own.” He sighed heavily and settled deeper into the sofa cushions, drawing up his knees into a sort of cage around the sleeping child. “you know all that shit. so, now you wanna tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?” He jerked his chin towards the stairs, then back towards the front door. “we got her outta there and now you got people throwin' themselves at you to help and you just gotta do it all on your own, dontcha. lemme clue you in to something, little brother, the reason i raised you up on my own is ‘cause there wasn't anyone else to help!"

“I don’t need anyone else to help,” Edge hissed. He crossed his empty arms over his chest, gripping his upper arms in both hands so tightly that his phalanges ached. “I can do this on my own!”

“so, what then? we move out of this place and i move in with ya, but i don't get to help with the little miss?” His crimson eye lights were coolly assessing. “gonna go out there and get a job, right? whose gonna watch her while you're raking in the g?”

"I…” Edge faltered, "I'll pay someone. A babysitter."

"someone. someone you can trust more'n us?"

“No!” His soul clenched in his chest, already rejecting his own idea. Who could he possibly trust with her, even in this world, who could look at the symbols on her ribs and not rouse curiosity, perhaps take their questions to another scientist at another lab who might well have read the old paperwork left behind and— "Of course not, that isn't what I meant. I’ll handle it!"

“oh, i getcha. you’re the only you're allowed to take care of her.” Red rubbed a thumb gently down her rounded cheek and her mouth moved briefly as if readying itself for a bottle within her dreams. So small, so fragile in the cradle of his brother’s arms. “lemme ask you somethin' bro, are any of the rest of us allowed to love her, or are you callin' all of that, too?"

He’d never heard his brother so much as mention the word love before and something already tight in his soul clenched harder, painfully. "I can't ask you all to help me with this!"

"bro.” Red looked up at him and his expression was deeply pained and conflicted, none of his emotions hidden behind his normal veneer of sneering indifference. “i know it's hard for you, but you gotta pay attention. you ain't asking for help, heh, really not, not even close. we're offerin'. so let us offer.”

It must be his exhaustion, Edge thought, that made his emotions rise so close to the surface. Lingering heavily in his chest, rising into his throat and refusing to be swallowed away no matter how hard he tried. He was tired, so tired, and not simply from being kept up throughout the night. There was so much he’d lost in only a day’s time, lost and gained, and what he felt most strongly in this moment was a complicated grief.

Red nodded as if he could read every unspoken sentiment on his face. He patted the sofa next to him, scooting to the side, and Edge lurched over to sit next to him on legs that felt detached and shaky, sinking into the cushions. The moment he was settled, Red leaned over to lay the sleeping baby in his arms and he swore she was already putting on tangible weight since he’d first carried her away. She was already growing and changing, all he could do was try to guide it, to make sure she was cared for properly. That she was loved.

Red shifted up to sit on the back of the sofa, his shoulders against the wall. It put him taller than Edge, for once. “i don’t wanna see you running yourself ragged trying to do everything. been there, done that, ya know?"

“I can’t,” Edge whispered, the words soft and broken. He looked at the baby in his arms, at her peacefully sleeping face. He was so tired. Everything was so clear yesterday and now the course of his life was clouded, the linear line of it veering drunkenly along an unknown road.

“sure you can. am i your brother or not?” Edge nearly flinched from the hand that settled on his skull, caught himself just in time and instead leaned into it. He closed his sockets as his brother gently stroked his coronal sutures, the same way he had so many years ago now, on cold nights when Edge couldn’t sleep, holding him close as he crooned vulgar lullabies. There were no songs this time, only words drenched in unspoken promise, “‘cause little brother, i’m still plannin’ on taking care of you, too.”

Edge couldn’t say anything to that, he only nodded.

“good.” That stroking turned into a gentle rap of knuckles against the top of his skull. “now get your head on straight. go out there and apologize to the honey bun for tryin' to take away his kid just when he was gettin' used to the idea of havin' one.

“Our relationship isn’t like that.” Fuckbuddies was the word Stretch used, and it was not one that implied any form of shared parenthood.

“no?” Red said doubtfully. His chuckle was familiar, his humor tickling along the side of unkind. “then you better make damn well sure he knows it. mebbe you should start by askin’ him how he feels before you go on makin’ up his mind for him.”

Edge didn’t reply, but his brother’s point was brutally accurate. He owed Stretch that much and a great deal more. Now all he needed was to shore up his faltering courage and start paying his debts.

tbc