#((to joke with the volunteer checking our passes))

[dimorphodon-defect]

((I'm back from my nap to report that ADVENTURE WAS INDEED FOUND TODAY!!!))

[tenderlygroovystarfish]

Parallels are funny

I was never into anime when we were friends. I just wasn't a fan, until recently. I was watching a few different animes based on another friend's recommendations. Jujutsu Kaisen is the one I am referring to as I write this. I never thought about why Satoru Gojo's and Suguru Geto's relationship really affected me until I saw this piece of art.

Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto fit us so well.

The love, the intensity, the ending. One who would do anything for the other if they asked. One who kept the other in check while allowing them to feel truly free. One who was shining too bright to notice the darkness consuming the other. The one who had endless possibilities, and the one who wanted the impossible.

From freshman year to the middle of our junior year of college, we were inseparable.

Constant rides and study sessions. Doing homework, and practicing our pass-off music together. Those first few classes in our major were hard, but don't worry, I was there to always lend a hand when you needed it. Classes just kept getting harder. We both started to get busy and overwhelmed. I know you started to feel depressed when I was advancing in classes, and you were struggling with the same ones. I was there to support you as much as I could, but I had to keep going. I just didn't realize that I was leaving you behind. I thought you just needed more time, but you were focused on other things.

We were a duo- connected at the hip. Always together, never too far apart.

The friendship was innocent. Sharing laughs and having late night conversations. Small, drunk kisses that didn't mean anything, right? Cuddling and sharing blankets. Matching outfits and saying I love you. We talked about getting matching tattoos. I swore you were my soulmate. We shared so many late night drives. Remember when we went to the beach at midnight and didn't get back home until 4am? Yeah, I replay the video sometimes just to hear your voice.

Everyone thought we were dating.

That was so funny, right? Of course as best friends we shared locations, had specific nights just for us to get dinner, had sleepovers every weekend, and joked about why we haven't slept together, yet. Of course, as best friends we would push the limits of what other friends do. Of course, I noticed you were struggling, I tried my best to help you. It wasn't always what you needed, but I tried. -Did you notice my struggle? No? That's okay. I hid it pretty well.- Of course, I got upset when you started to use guys to make other guys jealous. I didn't want to see you play with people's emotions like that, but I also didn't know how to stop you. You couldn't see how it affected you. You didn't see the changes it made.

Some words were said- words I wish I could take back, but it's too late for that.

We didn't speak for quite some time after that. I left my final 'I love you' on your doorstep- a scrapbook of us. The times we did speak were brief and out of pure necessity. Until, one day you volunteered a comment on my performance. I was frozen. You didn't need to compliment me- I didn't need it, rather. This was a critique, but you offered me love, instead.

That was your final 'I love you.'

I know that many other people have experienced a friendship like SatoSugu, but I think we truly encapsulated it, unfortunately. From the intense friendship with wild adventures, to blurring the lines between friend and lover, to losing each other, and to, finally, saying our final 'I love yous' to each other in our own ways.

Just like Satoru Gojo's happiness around Suguru Geto, my happiness was so loud when I was with you that I could not hear your silence. I’m sorry Satoru- Suguru didn’t stay in this universe either. Maybe the next one. In this universe, I spent 3 years loving you, and, now, I will spend the rest of forever missing you. There is no curse more twisted than love.

You're not dead, but I will never see you again. Even if I did, you wouldn’t be the same. You are my best friend, and I was yours.

[crowdeerdire]

Incredibly stupid Our Life AU - Ribfest

Background: Where I live there's an event going on called "Ribfest" where a ton of vendors come out, selling, as you can guess: ribs! It's really good! But... to get people interested in their stalls, they have 'conventionally attractive' people standing out front, wearing tank tops and shorts and handing out samples (mostly BBQ sauce to get you interested in their products). Because I'm a silly little goose, my mind went to: 'what if the OLBA boys were those conventionally attractive people standing out front to get people to try their BBQ'... Synopise: OLBA boys volunteer their time to help a friend in a rib competition by attracting customers to their stands with samples. (would take place in Step 4 after all the events for the sake of y'all being friends!)

Cove

Would be generally comfortable in the outfit (reminder: tank tops and shorts because it's hot af outside, but also designed to attract the customers ;) ), but trying to persuade passer-bys to try the sample would be hard at first

We know he can do that kind of stuff because he volunteers for ORCA and he's done it in the past for the funraising event

BUT

this time he knows the concept around why he was choosen and is dressed up like this

he's eye candy to get people to try BBQ

If he got to do it with someone else (i.e. Derek or MC) I think he would relax a bit more and maybe get into it, especially by Step 4 I see him a lot more comfortable in his own skin

If he was working with Baxter, I think he would still be awkward af (you'll see in a minute)

but if he's left on the front lines all by himself, he would be blushing and awkwardly standing there as people check him out and the booth he's working at

might be sweating bullets

get this man some WATER before he passes out

but since he did volunteer he would try his best and be geninuely friendly, I think? 'No pressure if you don't wanna try! But you should!! It's really good!!' *smiles*

btw would go 10x as red and be 10x as awkward if MC whistles and cat calls him (as a joke)

in the end he would try his best!

Baxter

Step 4 Baxter would get into it

Maybe a little embarrassed by the concept at first, knowing why he was choosen as eye candy to get people to try BBQ, but it wouldn't take him long to get into it

he understands a good business opportunity when he sees one

I think he would really get into it

like giving people a sly wink and a smirk

urging them to come over with his nice voice, almost purring

like I think this man is smooth when he's just playing

when he's not and genuinly likes someone, he's awkward af (but that's another story)

I think he would also be really good at remembering repeat customers??

like he would know why they're coming back, but would still play with them and be like 'Oh, how wonderful~ You came back for more?' with a smirk and a wink

making people giggle and blush

If he's working with the others I think he would play off them well, even try to help someone as nervous as Cove to relax a bit (or a nervous MC)

In the end I would think he would somehow find himself in the back, running the show rather then being up front. Somehow - even if he doesn't really know the friend he's helping. He just has good business sense

Derek

Derek is mister sunshine

If he's been asked to help, even if it's from a distant friend, he's putting 110% effort into it

Embarrassed by the concept of why he's dressed that way/put on display... BUT!!

he still tries REALLY hard

I think he would be the type that's kind of loud - cheering and getting people's attention?

But if that was getting a bad reaction (depending on the crowd) he would be calm and super nice, like Cove. Not wanting to pressure you into trying the BBQ, but SUPER excited when you do

If he got a sale because of his samples, he would high five who ever he's working with - or maybe a random stranger lol

he's just such a happy go lucky guy on the outside (although we all know the truth... but shush...)

working with others he would get really pumped up - especially with Cove and MC

Might be awkward with Baxter at first but I honestly see them getting along???

tbh Derek will just be a great sales person

big hype man

a/n: Hi, this is dumb but I couldn't get this out of my head and being really into Our Life lately has gotten me wanting to write again.. :))) Maybe I'll write more? Also I apologize if any of the characters seem OOC or anything. I was really trying to get them down right, but idk :))))

dividers by: @/cafekitsune

[mollywog]

Everlark Executioner AU inspired by this post

Read on Ao3

Had the messenger arrived a day earlier, he would have been greeted by a yellow flag above our door, and had to turn back, summons undelivered.

The odds, however, are not in my favor.

My sister, having been ill the week prior, had quarantined us both at home. She hadn’t been fearfully sick, just unwilling to put her patients at risk. The flag hadn’t prohibited me from hunting alone but it had kept the townspeople and duties away for a spell.

I should have known my temporary reprieve would need repaid in spades.

So as my luck would have it, there's no obstacle to the trembling messenger boy delivering the summons. It seems my services are needed for a midnight hanging.

I am an executioner by chance, not choice. Well that’s not exactly true.

Though the Capital acts as judge and jury, the districts must supply the hangman. And because no one willingly seeks the position, about once a generation, they hold a ceremony to select a new one. They call it a reaping: someone’s idea of a joke. Haymitch Abernathy’s name had been drawn twenty odd years ago after the previous executioner had disappeared into the wild, never to be seen again. Haymitch should have been it for another decade or so, but he’d given everyone a scare two years back when he fell off his horse and into a coma for a week. He came to no worse for the wear but the district officials decided he needed an apprentice lest they discover him face down in a ditch with no one to measure their next noose. My name had not been called, but my sister’s had.

I ‘volunteered’ to take her place, but there was really never a choice in it. She never would’ve survived the social isolation let alone the job requirements.

After that my sister and I moved to the far edge of the District near the woods. It’s better not to know the condemned or subject the town to my presence. Most people know the proper direction of their anger, most don’t blame the executioner, but they still avert their gaze and hold their children tighter to their chest as I pass.

My sister, Primrose, on the other hand, is universally admired; a born healer in a place where there are few and the need is great. If I keep myself scarce, they still seek her out for treatments.

Prim is somber as she hands my satchel up to me. She’s used to hearing news from town ahead of time but with our week sequestered, we know nothing of who I may face. But Midnight hangings are reserved for the most deprived criminals,so I’ll take solace that the wearer of my necklace will be worthy of it.

The hanging tree mars the district skyline. It looms ominously over the landscape, growing as I approach the center of town.

The fog thins as I arrive at the tree, a noose is already in place as invitation to the crowd. The messenger this morning claimed the hangman was indisposed, but Haymitch has at least prepared that much before absconding into his bottle; He will have taken into account the wearer’s height and weight when selecting the rope's gauge and length: I inspect his work. Likely a man: Average height, but well fed. I release a breath: no chance it will be a child today.

In the Justice building I check in with the clerk and settle in a seat. Dropping my head back, I close my eyes, pretending to nap, lest someone try to speak to me. I hear fragments of the gossip: three murdered.. a fire… caught red-handed. At least this time my nightmares will revolve around the condemned’s actions and not my own.

Time crawls by. The growing clamor outside is my cue that the time is nearing and I shrug on the executioner's robe, rubbing my sweaty palms down the fabric at the thighs. The hood isn’t necessary, Haymitch gave it up years ago, everyone knows who we are, but I flip the material over my head anyways. If only it could shield me from my conscience.

I had always assumed Haymitch drank because he didn’t care. Now I know it’s the opposite; he drinks because he can’t help caring. I refuse to fall victim to the bottle, it doesn’t solve the guilt, I suppose nothing will, but there are other ways to live with myself.

I take the dose of elixer Prim packed with enough time for the herbs to take effect, making me feel hollow enough to perform the job, but as I exit the Justice building, I'm immediately on edge despite the tonic

Something’s not right.

Through the numbness I can feel the stilted weight of the crowd. The low simmering of discontent is unexpected. With the allegations, I’d expected eagerness if not indifference.

I take my place on the platform. The mayor nods in my direction distractedly.

Head Peacekeeper, Thread, emerges from the prison, two uniformed men in tow, dragging the limping convict. His head is bent, obstructing my view of his face, but I take in the broad shoulders and yellow hair. Another surprise. The man I am to execute is from the merchant side of town, where most have the means to survive without breaking the laws or bribe the Peacekeepers into turning a blind eye.

The man is placed beside me and I discreetly peer around my hood for a better look. The name registers right before it is spoken. My stomach drops.

Peeta Mellark

Oh, no. Not him. No, the odds are not in my favor today.

Why him? I think. Then I try to convince myself it doesn’t matter. Peeta Mellark and I are not friends. Not even neighbors. We don’t speak. Our only real interaction happened years ago. He’s probably forgotten it. But I haven’t and I know I never will.

At eleven and in my lowest moment a boy had risked a beating to give me two loaves of hardy bread. The loaves and the hope it provided saved my life. I haven’t yet found the courage to thank him, and now I never will I think as I stare at the boy with the bread’s limp form.

I’ve broken into a sweat despite the chilled breeze. The Mayor reads the charges, but I hear nothing except a buzzing in my ears.

I’m fighting through a violet haze to make sense of my dilemma. I cannot kill this man, but refusal to do so will earn me a spot swinging beside him. Damn Haymitch! This should have been his problem, and I could have wiped my hands clean if Peeta Mellark. But no, that’s not right either. My debt and his death would haunt me for the rest of my miserable life. Besides, something in my gut tells me I am meant to be here, that there’s still yet something I can do.

A single word floats to the top of my memory.

“Nightlock,” I murmur, no more than a whisper, but it’s enough for the mayor to pause his reading. In the years of my apprenticeship it was only mentioned once. Haymitch had been drunk. Much drunker than usual when he’d discussed a small list of extenuating circumstances and loopholes. When I’d pressed him for more, he’d told me to ‘forget it’ before shattering a bottle and demanding I leave. I had left, but not before hearing him break down in sobs. I’d seen him in all forms of drunk, but never so much as to weep. So, of course, the word was immediately, irrevocably branded into my brain.

“Excuse me?” The Mayor interrupts my muddled memories.

“Nightlock,” I state more firmly.

At the sound of my voice Peeta lifts his head and sways on his feet. The motion reveals what his hair has concealed; a lump, angry and purple over his eye. He’s likely concussed.

There is a mixed reaction among the crowd at my outcry: mostly confusion, but some of the older spectators understand the implications of what I have said and begin whispering among the crowd. The Mayor mops his brow, his pained expression cautiously hopeful, “Do you wish to enact the nightlock clause Ms Everdeen?”

“I do” my voice sounds foreign to me; More fierce and decisive than my foggy mind.

“And Mr Mellark do you accept?” I grasp his arm urging him to stand straighter, supporting him under my shoulders. “Trust me,” I whisper. He has no reason to believe me, but I suppose it doesn’t matter; his only other option is the dangling rope.

His mouth twitches in something of a grin. It can only be a reflex though, I’m surprised he’s lucid enough to slur out, “I do,” and when he does, I’m uncertain whether it’s in response to the mayor or in answer to my plea.

Either way he’s said the words; The ones that will save him from the gallows and bind him to a new fate

“Then I now pronounce you man and wife,” The Mayor’s voice booms over the crowd. “Congratulations Mr Mellark, you’ve been granted a pardon.”

The Hanging Tree Series

[outermaybanks]

Out of the Woods - ch 4

a/n: tw for violence, but nothing worse than what they show in outer banks so

prev ☆ next

When John B returned, the five of us got on the H.M.S. Pogue, with Pope steering, but once we got out into the Marsh, Kie noticed the tanks were almost completely empty, only enough for one person. But none of us knew how to dive.

“You put the thing in your mouth and breath. How hard could it be?” JJ asked. “Well, if you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends,” Pope explained. “Bends like… bend over and-” JJ joked, bending over. “The bends kill you,” Pope corrected, making JJ awkwardly stand back up. “I can dive,” John B volunteered. “You can dive. I’m cool with that,” JJ replied. “Since when can you dive?” Kie questioned. “I’ll do it, it’s fine.” “Let me do some calculations real quick,” Pope said.

I took the opportunity to hit JJ’s arm. “Bend over? Really? Are you 12?” “Been bending girls over since I was 12, gimme some-” JJ said, holding his hand out to Pope who just shook his head.

“That boat’s about 30 feet down. So it’ll take 25 minutes at that depth, which means you need to make your safety stop at about… ten feet. Alright? For two minutes, got it?” “Two minutes, got it,” John B said, then without a word, Kie took her shirt off and dove into the water. “What was that about?” Pope asked. “I don’t know, but I liked it. A lot,” JJ answered. I rolled my eyes. “Are all teenage boys like this?” “I can assure you, we’re not.” Pope spoke up, making me laugh. JJ rolled his eyes and explained how the key worked, and what John B needed to look for, Kie resurfaced and explained she had tied her shirt around the anchor where John B would need to do his stop. 

“If we get caught in the marsh, we’re basically screwed so… better get a move on,” Pope reminded him. “Copy that,” John B replied. “Please don’t die, Jeeb, that would seriously suck,” I spoke up, making John B chuckle. “I’ll try not to.”

Kie stepped forward and kissed John B’s cheek, which I think took all of us by surprise. “Diver down?” “Diver down.”

John B went under, and each passing second was anxiety ridden, and it only got  worse when we heard the sirens of a police boat. The deputy, Shoupe, came aboard to tell us the Marsh was closed, and we all feigned ignorance. He asked us where John B was, and Kie told him he’s working. Then he decided to check our boat out. I sat beside Kie to stay out of the officer’s way. He inspected our gear, checked to make sure we had life jackets, but then he just stood on the edge, staring down. I looked to JJ nervously before bringing my thumbnail up to my mouth to bite. But then, the deputy just left. And immediately after, John B resurfaced, bringing a bag on board.

But before we could catch our breath, Kie spotted a bogey headed our way. Like they were coming towards us, John B drove us further into the marsh but they followed us. JJ told him to speed it up, and then we heard a gunshot. We all hit the deck, minus John B who couldn’t duck and steer. After the second gunshot I leaned up to try and pull John B down more, but JJ pulled me back down to the deck.

“Stay down!” JJ whispered, his grip on my arm tightened, like he was scared to let me go.Kie stood up, ignoring our shouts to get down, and she untangled a net before throwing it into the water behind us, clogging up their motor.

I let out a chuckle in disbelief as I got up. “Kie, you’re a genius!” I cheered. The boys let out cheers and howls in celebration. We were safe, we got the stash.

We drove the boat back to John B’s, and couldn’t even make it to his house. He dug into the bag, pulling out a sealed container that held a compass. “Yeah that’s about right. Good job, everyone, we found a compass.” Pope said sarcastically. JJ took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. But John B wouldn’t take his eyes off it.

“This was my father’s…” He said softly.

It was practically unbelievable. But he wasn’t lying, it was his father’s compass. But for now, the compass was all we had, and it was getting dark soon. “You spending the night?” JJ asked me as we all walked off the dock. “No, gotta soak in the Theodore-free time while I can.” JJ stopped suddenly. “Is he still messing with you?” I sighed, not wanting to make a big deal about it. “JJ, I’m a big girl.” “Is he still messing with you, yes or no?” “Why does it matter?” I shot back. “Because if he is, I’ll handle it.” “You’ll handle it?” I questioned and without a word, JJ pulled the gun from his waistband. “Yeah. I’ll handle it.”

Suddenly the conversation felt much heavier. “I said don’t worry about it.” I mumbled, walking past him. 

JJ was the only one who knew about my tumultuous relationship with my stepfather, just like I was the only one who really knew how bad JJ’s dad was. Neither of us liked to talk about it too much, but both of us found a sort of twisted comfort in the other.

-

When I got back to the Chateau the next morning, it was empty, no sign of John B or anyone else. Power still wasn’t on. Not much to do, so I decided to take a nap on the couch in the mudroom, it felt like no time had passed at all when I was startled awake by the door slamming shut. Kie and Pope followed in after John B and JJ, who seemed to be talking a mile a minute. 

“JJ calm down!” I said, running a hand through my hair, trying to wake up.  “You say that Junie, but you weren’t there!” I stood up and walked over to him, but he kept pacing. “JJ- just- tell us what happened.” “We were right outside Ms. Lana’s house, like this-” JJ leaned against the brick chimney. “-and all we hear is just, bam bam bam! Knocking paint off the wall, G, from the inside, alright, and I’m just looking at him like- and look at this!” JJ began shaking his hair like a dog, running his fingers through it as white things fell from his hair.

“That’s dandruff…” Kie teased. “That’s paint. And at that point, I was just, like, I’m waiting for death,” JJ finished, finally taking a breath. “Okay, okay, come sit down,” I said pulling his arm to sit on the couch with me, hoping that sitting would help him calm down.

“Okay, so, you saw the guys that shot at us, right?” Pope questioned.  “Yeah.” “Did you get a good description of them? What they look like? Anything we can bring to a police report?” JJ struggled to find words. “Burly.” “Burly?” “Yeah.” “That’s not very helpful,” Kie spoke up. “Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad’s garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers. So I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers-” JJ paused to take a hit of his cart. “-they’re square groupers.” “Square groupers, like narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?” “Yeah man!” JJ replied, before handing me the cart. I took a hit and looked to Kie. “You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie,” Kie spoke up. “Okay, so what does this  square grouper look like specifically? Because-” “You weren’t there bro!” JJ interrupted “Apparently, you don’t know what to look for!” Pope shouted.

 JJ shot back to his feet. “I wasn’t taking little mental polaroids the entire time, I was under duress, okay?” JJ shouted, his voice breaking. “But I can tell you… I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming that these guys are serious, serious hombres, man,” JJ calmed a bit, catching his breath.

JJ walked back over to sit beside me. He looked at me, like he was desperate for me to believe him. I handed him back the cart. “If JJ says these guys are dangerous, it’s safer to assume they’re dangerous than to assume they’re not. So… Square groupers.” “Thank you, Junie,” JJ said, his hand coming down to pat my knee. “Why do they want the compass?” Kie asked. “It’s a piece of shit. You couldn’t pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to, no offense John B, I know it’s in your family,” Pope quickly saved.

I ran a hand through my hair, my brain felt like it was still playing catch up, so I got up and went into the house to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. I looked in the mirror and saw my face was pink, and my mind flashed back to JJ putting his hand on my knee. I turned the water cold before putting more on my face. 

When I came out of the bathroom, I could here clammoring and followed it to Big John’s office, where everyone was listening to John B point to a corkboard. I walked over and looked over his shoulder, it was a bunch of pictures of family members who the compass belonged to, all died while owning it, which didn’t exactly track well for JB. Then he remembered what his dad told him, there was a secret compartment, and he opened it to see the word ‘Redfield’ engraved in the back.

Pope immediately got to work on anagrams, and we helped him, until John B shouted to get our attention. Someone was here. John B asked JJ about the gun, but he said he left it on the porch and ran out the door, only to return seconds later.

“They’re on the front porch.” JJ whispered.

JJ and Pope got to work trying to open windows, but I was frozen, staring at John B with his back against the door as we could hear the men shouting, throwing things. Suddenly I understood JJ’s panic from earlier. 

John B ran from the door as the man starting kicking it in. I covered my mouth to hold in any sounds. The second Kie got the window unstuck, we were all rushing out, but we didn’t have a lot of time and the five of us scrambled into the chicken coop.

We watched silently as the men stole Big John’s documents. The rooster kept making noise and when the men were packing up, one paused.

“Do something Pope, shut him up!” JJ whispered. “What do you want me to do?” Pope countered. “Pet it, or talk to it. I don’t know.” Kie whispered, but when Pope reached for him, he flew at his face and squawked loudly.

Without a word, JJ got up and tried to grab the rooster. Tried to hold him still, but he broke his neck. I brought my hands up to my mouth again to stifle a gasp, JJ looked at me, horrified.

The second the men were gone, we all ran to get into the van, in case they came back. I was sitting in the back with JJ and Pope, chewing at my lip while I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening. But John B had an idea.

“I mean, it’s obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?” John B asked. “Yeah, it’s possible,” Kie said, wanting to support him without giving him false hope. “It could also be possible that you’re concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels,” Pope suggested, ever the realist. I looked up to JJ and he looked at me and softly shook his head to tell me what he thought.

“Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that’s how I do it,” JJ spoke up, and I nodded in agreement.

“I’m not concocting, okay? My dad’s trying to give me a message.” “If it helps you believe, John B,” Kie spoke up. “Look, I-I don’t need a therapy session, okay? Look, I’m not tripping out.” “It’s okay to trip, bro-” JJ tried. “Look, my-my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don’t know what it’s like to have the person closest to you vanish, and then have no idea what happened, just wake up every morning wondering.”

I looked up to JJ, who was already looking at me. I tried to imagine what I would do if one day he was just gone, without a trace. I probably wouldn’t believe he was dead either.

“It’s been almost a year,” Kie mumbled. “I don’t know… Knowing Big John… even if his boat sank, he’d probably be down there looking for the city of Atlantis,” I said, which made John B chuckle. “Junie’s right, he could have been kidnapped, that’s definitely a possibility,” JJ said. “Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub, getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere,” Pope added “Look, what do you think the message is?” Kie asked. “Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse, that’s my dad’s favorite place,” John B explained just as we pulled in.

“Right, here’s what’s gonna happen. You three are gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay? “Wait, why me?” JJ asked. “Because you’re not coming,” Pope explained. “Why?” “Look JJ, there are independent and dependent variables and you’re and independent variable. We don’t know what you’re gonna do!” “Shut up, just shut up!” JJ shouted over him. “Listen to me for a second. Junie and Pope, you stand look out with JJ, okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ’s house,” John B said, putting an end to the arguing.

JJ rolled his eyes, and pulled his hacky sack from his pocket, starting to kick it around.

“I’m gonna work on my merit scholarship essay. I'm trying to keep felonies down to a minimum” Pope spoke up, getting back into the van.  “Alright, would you just shut up already?” JJ shot back, his focus on his hacky sack. I sighed and sat on a rock, looking out at the horizon. What the fuck happened? How had this all snowballed into John B’s missing dad? And why were people trying to kill us over it. The sound of JJ kicking his hackey sack stopped, but I was too focused on where the sun was going down to notice, until he spoke up.

“You know I didn’t mean to, right?” JJ asked, causing me to turn and look at him.  “What?” “I didn’t mean to kill the rooster… damn thing wouldn’t stop-” “JJ, I know you didn’t kill the rooster on purpose.” I reassured him, standing up. “I just-” JJ moved from leaning on the Twinkie to walk closer to me. “I saw the way you looked at me after.” “I was scared, JJ.” “But not… not scared of me? Right?”

My eyebrows furrowed together. I reached down to grab his hand, “Hey. I’d never be scared of you, J. Never.” I reassured him and he nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around him. I could feel JJ’s tense body relax, and he hugged me back, tightly, but neither of us were very good at being serious for long.

“But I do think you should steer clear from PETA for a while. They might not be as forgiving.” I mumbled into JJ’s shoulder, making him chuckle.

The nice moment was cut short by the sound of sirens.

“Shit- go go go” JJ said, pulling away and practically pushing me into the Twinkie. Pope was climbing into the driver’s side. “Guys, what about-” I tried. “John B said meet up at my house, that’s what we’ll do.” JJ interrupted. “Pope, drive!” In an instant I was thrashed back as Pope swerved to get on the road and drive us out of there. I frantically ran a hand through my hair as I tried to think. “Wait… wait- take me home.” “What? Why?” Pope asked. “Will you please just take me home?” I said again, louder. “Jesus- okay.” Pope said, allowing me to relax.

When Pope parked the car in the gravel leading up to my trailer, I immediately hopped out, JJ climbing up to sit shotgun. 

“Bring Jeeb his van back, I’ll meet up with you guys later.” I said tapping the ledge of the open window to say goodbye. I didn’t wait for a response before I ran up to the screen door. 

But I was met with the sight of Theodore, home early, sitting in his recliner with a can of beer. 

“There she is.” He announced. I quickly broke my surprised trance to get to my bedroom in the back, but my room was half packed into boxes. “What the hell is this? Mom?” I called, before turning to find her but Theodore was right behind me. “Cody needs to get out of our room. Figured you wouldn’t mind since you practically live with those boys. What are you doing with those boys anyway?” My mom was behind him, looking a mix of apologetic and scared.

I tried to move past him but he shoved me back. 

“Teddy, stop!” My mom said, but he just turned to her. “What? She’s disrespecting me! This wouldn’t be a problem if you hadn’t raised her to be such a whore!”

I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was just so tired of it all. So I forced myself up to push him away from her, but he was fast, grabbed my arm and shoved me to the ground before he kicked my side, knocking the wind out of me. All I could hear was crying, it was all I could focus on. 

“You gonna try that again?” Theodore’s voice boomed. 

I tried taking deep breaths, tried using the table to pull myself up but then he was right back in my place. I never learned how to back down, and sometimes that was a good thing. But sometimes-

“Yeah, whores like you just need to be pushed around a little. Ain’t that right?”

I spat in his face. I saw the anger in his face as he wiped it before that hand formed a fist and connected with my face. More crying, some screaming. My vision was blurred, but I saw my mom grab a knife and hold it out, like she had done every time one of Theodore and I’s fights got out of hand. I knew this play well.

She screamed that she’d call the cops if he didn’t get out, but he was in no hurry. He knew this play well too. He’d go to a bar for a few hours until my mom calmed down, and then it’ll be like it never happened. When she got him out the door, she was suddenly in my eyesight, still blurry. Her face covered in tears as she held me and whispered “I’m sorry” over and over. I had half a mind to tell her she can’t say sorry if it’ll happen again. But sometimes it’s just nice for your mom to hold you.  

She brought me an ice pack as I caught my breath, and then moved to calm Cody down. That’s where the crying had come from. 

Once I caught my breath, I held the ice pack to my eye, and used the table to help me stand. I had come in here with a mission, one I especially couldn’t forget about now. 

“What are you doing?” My mom asked, Cody still whimpering in her arms.

“I’m doing you a favor. I’m leaving. For good,” I said as I walked through the trailer. There was a bedroom on each side, my mom and Teddy’s room, and mine on the other. I grabbed a backpack and filled it with as much clothes as I could. Then I took my knapsack off my back and stuffed as much as I could.

“What? No, no, sweetie. He’s just upset because he had to come home early, he’ll calm down.”

I ignored her, walking past her to get to the kitchen. I bent down to grab a container from underneath and shoved it into my bag before closing it.

“Junie, wait, okay, just wait. It’ll get better. I know it will. Please-”

“You’ve been saying that since I was 8, mom. He won’t get better. You want to live like this? Fine. I’m done. I can’t spend my life only coming home when that asshole is gone.” I walked to her and Teddy’s room, she had no objections since she was too busy blubbering, begging me to stay. Teddy kept a gun in his dresser, and I figured I needed it more than he did right now.

“I’ll come back for my stuff if you don’t throw it out.” I said before putting the gun in the top of my knapsack. “You two were just going to share a room, he’s not kicking you out, I’d never let him do that to you.” Now I was mad. “Yeah?” I asked before walking closer to her. “You let him do this to me.” I spat, pointing to where his fist hit. That just made her cry more.  “Junie, please…Cody needs you.” That was always her last resort, because it always worked. I looked at the six year old in her arms, still wiping his eyes.  “I’m more useful to him alive.” I said, before opening the screen door and slamming it shut behind me. 

She wouldn’t chase me, she never did when I left. But I couldn’t go to JJ’s now. I couldn’t face any of them. Not until the mark faded. It wouldn’t be the first time I went MIA. The good thing about growing up in the Cut, there were plenty of abandoned houses. It’s been a while since I had to utilize one. Even before Big John disappeared and left John B alone in the Chateau, if I needed somewhere to go he always let me stay. But with the square groupers on our tail, I couldn’t risk going there alone, even with a gun. 

©outermaybanks 2024

[usafphantom2]

When my Dad, Richard “Butch” Sheffield, was flying the B-47, he volunteered for a brand new airplane called the B-58. He lost his spot promotion and had to go back to being a lieutenant. He writes about it in a book he left for his family. I am sharing this for the first time today.

I entered the B-58 Combat Crew Training School (CCTS) as a student. The school was about two months long with academics and simulators. I was crewed with Captain Sparks (Sparky), aircraft Commander (AC), and Lt. Patrick, Defense Systems Officer (DSO).

We soon started flying, and I loved the B-58. The bombing and navigation system, plus the cockpit, were excellent. We became combat-ready fast and were one of the first crews checked out in the aircraft, number fourteen, I believe.

CENTRAL EVALUATION GROUP (CEG)

General LeMay wanted all SAC crews to be changeable. Each crew and crew position was to have procedures alike for the aircraft they were flying in. The Central Evaluations Group (CEG) visited each wing and tested and evaluated the crew force to see if all wings performed the same procedures. To pass CEG was a big deal in B-47’s.

The first B-58 crew to go through CEG

The CEG people wanted to get their foot in the door on this new program, so they decided that they should come in and give a check ride to one of the crews. We were selected.

It was a joke; they didn’t know anything about the aircraft, but they went through the motions and checked us; it was a piece of cake; we passed. So, we became the first B-58 crew ever to pass CEG.

-The first pilot quits, stalls over Dallas

About six months after we became combat-ready, we flew a Mach 2 bomb run on Dallas at night. When the run was over, and we went to start our descent from fifty thousand feet, Capt. Sparks pulled back the power but FORGOT to take the altitude hold off.

The aircraft went into a nose-high stall, and we began to drop quickly; the engine’s compressor stalled, and the generators all went offline. We lost all electrical power; I had only a tiny battery-powered light in the cockpit. The only thing I could see was the airspeed and altimeter. I called the pilot, who said the flight controls had locked up.

It took one hundred and fifteen pounds of pressure to override the autopilot. He was a petite guy trying to override it, not knowing that altitude hold was on. It was a wild ride down. We were falling tail first with very little forward motion.

I decided to eject at fifteen thousand feet as we were trained. At about twenty thousand feet, I felt the nose of the aircraft starting to drop, and he said, I think I have got it (he had overridden the autopilot). Once the nose came down, the engines could be re-started, and we recovered at about ten thousand feet; we landed at Carswell. No one said a thing.

The following day, when I went into the Squadron, everyone was saying, did you hear about “Sparky?” I said no. They said he went into the commander (CO) office this morning and threw his wings on his desk, and said, “I quit!” He then went around the Squadron bad-mouthing the B-58 and telling the other crews they should quit the program, too, because the aircraft was unsafe; the CO told him to get out.

Someone recently asked if I had any B-58 stories, so I saved this beautiful picture of a B-58 and found the story in my dad‘s book. Dad stayed with the B-58s until he was hired away to the SR 71 program in 1964. He had to pass the astronaut physical at Brooks, Air Force Base, Texas and then he arrived at Beale Air Force Base in 1965.~Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[mikhardwheat]

Eddie learns who the well-known “babysitter” is.

Eddie: hey, so I was wondering, who is your "babysitter", as you say, because it never came to my mind, how can you all have one babysitter and aren't you, like, too old to have someone looking for you for money Lucas: he isn't getting paid Eddie: what Mike: he's basically volunteering as our chauffeur Dustin: he asked me once if we're going to pay for his fuel Lucas: not happening Mike: wasn't he the one who offered? Lucas: yeah, we didn't even ask for it Dustin: it was months ago, he didn't bring it up since Lucas: he probably just tried to be funny, man is hopeless Mike: tell me you laughed, because he'd try to make the same joke again, just to prove something Dustin: no, I didn't Eddie: so, who is he? They hear some shouting outside, sounds like Erica and someone else are arguing. Lucas: please, not again Dustin: hurry up, before she makes him cry and we all go home on our own Gareth: did this happen before? Mike: not really, but we try not to underestimate Erica Jeff: fair enough They all go outside, Dustin already is annoyed. Steve: are we talking in different languages or something?! Erica: your’s called "dumb and irrational" Steve: how's it me who is irrational? kids aren't allowed to the front seat Erica: says who? Steve: the law?? Erica: excuses, excuses Steve: what can be a possible reason for me to make this up? Erica: others are kids too, you let them sit there Steve: they are older, and we don't have enough space in my car for y'all to be in the back Erica: someone can use your trunk Steve: no. Erica: why not Steve: because we have enough seats, and if someone is going to the trunk, it is you Erica: that's discrimination. Steve: no, that's because you're sho- They notice other members of Hellfire club, standing silently not far away. Steve's expression immediately changes. Steve: hi, guys, how was the- Lucas: don't you dare pretend like we didn't see you arguing with an eleven years old just now Dustin, to Eddie: it happens frequently, but we usually don't let them be together for long Dustin: Erica, I own the front seat Erica: didn't know it was signed Dustin: look under, I left a signature ages ago Steve: you did what?? Steve runs towards his car to check out the bottom of the front seat, meanwhile Hellfire club starts saying their goodbyes to each other. Steve: Henderson, I almost had a heart attack, why would you lie about vandalizing my car... Steve looks around, all kids all already in their seats, even Erica. Dustin pushes him away and sits down in his place too, leaving no room left for arguing. Steve sighs, closing the door, and turns towards Eddie, who's still standing, watching them with a clear disbelief behind his eyes. Steve, smiling: kids, amirite? Eddie: Steve: Eddie: Steve, already concerned: dude, you okay? Eddie clears his throat. Eddie: ye- yeah, I'm fine, thanks Steve: well, it's already late, so we should head back Eddie: yeah, you do that Steve: thanks for your permission Eddie: I didn't mean it like... Steve: I know Eddie: so, you are the mysterious "babysitter" I heard so much about Steve: babysi- He looks at the car, full of awaiting kids. Dustin checks time on his wristwatch and Mike sends him glares. He purposefully ignores both. Steve: yes, that'll be me Eddie: cool. Steve: cool. Eddie: see ya later? Steve: I guess? They stare at each other, time's passing. They keep eye contact for half of minute or so. Someone in the car makes a noise, it snaps whatever these two had there going on between them. Steve: bye, Munson. Steve: bye, Harrington. Eddie doesn't move until the car disappears from his sight. Eddie: Eddie: did I really just said "see ya later" to the king of Hawkings?

[thecoddaughter]

Jimmy's Memory Drabble

Y’all said I could post drabble, then AO3 came back! (Thank you, volunteers! Our saviors!) So, I probably won’t post that many, except the fully unserious and jokey ones. I apologize for the absolute nonsense meme this will be but it literally haunted me in my sleep. 

[headcannon this is based around: the Evo folk still have any marks, scars, and stuff from that world, no matter where they go… Also, out of everyone from Evo, Jimmy’s memory wanes.]

Scott sat next to Jimmy, checking for any wounds. Slowly rolling up his shelves and examining his arm, Scott stopped in silence. 

“Jim, darling, who is Morty?”

Jimmy blinked. “Morty?”

“You have a tattoo with a heart that says Morty. So, is this something I have to worry about?” Scott said, not letting go of his partner’s hand. 

For a moment, just a moment, Jimmy couldn’t recall knowing anyone named Morty. Just for a moment though, then all the pain rushed through his bones and a tear welled up. 

“No… he was a friend a long time ago but we parted ways. I always cared a little bit more about him I think…” He didn’t want to confess the unrequited live he fought for years as his eyes wandered over the hill to where Dogwarts sat. “You don’t have to worry one bit.”

The Southerners were proud of their connection, but there was always a lack of trust within the group. Whispers. Side teams. Jimmy was glad he was on a team with Martin and Grian this time. Maybe it meant he would survive. Maybe it didn’t… That was the thought he had once Grian was exiled and he grabbed at the extra life as if it was the only way to be. Martyn followed him out of the camp, saying he’d run away with him. Saying all he had to do was give him the life. 

“It could you and me again, Pete…”

Jimmy frowned. “Don’t… Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

“I saw the tattoo when you were building your tower.” Martyn moved closer, but Jim stepped back, grasping his upper arm. “It could be us again, just give me the life back.”

“Yeah, okay!” 

Martyn smiled, stepping back. “Thanks for that, Bills. Now get out.”

“What?”

“You can’t be serious?! You believed that?” 

Jim blinked. “I always believe you.”

“Wow, maybe that’s why you are always such an easy target for them.”

Jimmy looked up at the sky. “Don’t!”

“Whatever! Don’t come back.”

Jimmy squeezed his arm. “Fine by me!”

By the end of a long day in the hot sun, Jimmy sat in the shade. The blue flannel he normally sported wrapped around his waist. Tango slouched down next to him, resting his head on his partner’s shoulder. 

“You have a tattoo?” Tango’s voice strained. 

Jimmy looked down at his arm. He had forgotten about that awful thing. He had a tendency to wear longer sleeves, now he was just in a tank. The silly little tattoo was more heartbreaking the sentimental these days and yet he always forgot he had it. 

“Yeah,” he laughed. “I totally forgot about it…”

“How do you forget about a tattoo?”

“I don’t know… I got it so long ago.”

“So, who is this Morty guy?” 

The words hung in the air like a blasting potion. Jimmy scrunched his nose at the name. 

“It was just a joke between me and a friend,” He said but he couldn’t look his soulbound in the eyes. “We don’t even talk anymore.”

“Oh… Where is he now?”

Jimmy’s gaze fell on the poorly structured heart in the middle of the river’s pass. “No idea.”

Grian sat on the bread bridge next to Jimmy. “So, how are things with you, Tim?”

“Why are you asking?”

“I see you longingly looking toward the Mean Gills base.” 

Jimmy rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh, come on. I know you wished Martyn would partner up with you. You miss him.” Grian poked Jimmy’s shoulder, right were the tattoo was. “You still got that old thing?”

Jimmy rolled his sleeve up and nodded. “I wish I didn’t. I always forget about it and every death game someone points it out.” 

“Is your memory really that bad? How much from back then do your remember?”

“You know the Watchers hate me.”

“Well, they hate me too. I remember everything.”

“That’s different, G. You are one of them. Same with Pearl. Martyn is blessed by the Listeners. BigB seems to not have any worries, they leave him be.” Jimmy pulled his knees to his chest. “But me… I’m the little bird they love to strangle.”

“Do you want me to get rid of the tattoo?”

Jimmy looked at the little heart and the unused name, then back out at the ocean. “No… It might just be the only thing that makes me not forget.”

“Okay. Let’s go find Joel.”

“Sure.”

[dryad-of-the-dogwood]

The Grav Jump Tango Chapter 10: The Bridges We’ve Burned Pairing: Sam Coe x Spacefarer

Excerpt below the cut for main story spoilers

Much to Cora’s disappointment, the second temple hadn’t made Cass’s gravity powers stronger after all. Instead, it had given her the ability to create some strange… bubble of clean air, which was an odd thing to try to connect to the gravity-related nature of the Artifacts and temples themselves. Sam had joked it would come in handy if she ever accidentally spaced herself. Cass had looked thoughtful and pointed out that it could save someone with a suit leak, too. Not that either of those things were particularly likely, but it couldn’t hurt to have in her back pocket just in case.

Things settled into a kind of routine, after that. Sometimes Sarah would stay in the Lodge and Andreja or Barrett would join in for the surveys Vlad set for Cass, but every time she’d extend an invite to Sam and Cora, too. A few times they stopped a while in Cydonia or Akila, to shop or hunt down rumors. Often as not, Cass would find someone like that little girl in Akila City who she couldn’t say no to helping out—including another kid who had wanted help hanging drawings of a space frog, of all things. He’d expected that one once the girl pulled out the puppy dog eyes at least, and Cora had been over the moon when Cass sneaked out one of the posters for her room in the Lodge.

Their most recent visit had seen Cass first break out her mining laser to help the crew meet their quotas, and then somehow managed to snowball into her leveraging her background in corporate espionage to get them new mining equipment, talk down a miner turned attempted thief, and ended with her handing evidence to the head of security that cost the governor of Cydonia his job. Personally, Sam didn’t think the murderer deserved the dignity of stepping down before he stood trial, but with bureaucracy there was never a real win, just a mildly less distasteful solution.

They’d been on downtime since then, and Cass seemed to keep herself busy in the city a lot when they were on Jemison, so it had been a couple of days since he’d more than passed her having dinner. Not that he was keeping an eye out or anything, but her absence from the Lodge seemed oddly obvious already, despite what a relatively short time she’d been there. Nobody to referee Mattias and Noel except Barrett without her, after all, and his version of refereeing was usually more like goading them both.

So Sam had made sure Cora was tucked in—with her reading lamp on and some dusty novel in her hands, naturally, but tucked in nonetheless—and then gone to check on his ship to avoid the latest disagreement over the nature of the divine, or whatever Mattias was most recently convinced the Artifacts really were. Sam hadn’t taken his ship into the ’field in a couple of weeks by that point, but he didn’t feel like trying to squeeze in an evening departure slot so he settled for giving the drive a little TLC. Until Lillian called, and then he was glad he was far out of Cora’s earshot.

That conversation had gone about as well as it ever did, especially after Lillian tried berating Sam for putting Cora in danger again. Apparently, based off something she had heard from Pryce in Neon about Cass. Like Lillian had any damn ground to stand on as far as protecting Cora was concerned, when she couldn’t even manage to show up for visits. Whether Jaylen’s info was true, Sam didn’t know or care, because it didn’t much matter. He’d seen by now how high keeping Cora busy enough to stay safe ranked on Cass’s priority list, and also how much having someone to talk to who loved books as much as she did meant to his little girl. Cass had volunteered to stay away entirely rather than risk being a bad influence, for fuck’s sake. Those were the important things as far as he was concerned.

Sam was still fuming when he made it back to the Lodge sometime around midnight, glad that at least everyone else should be asleep. Maybe he could get in a few rounds on the punching bag until he was too exhausted to be angry. But despite the hour, Sam heard a glass clinking as he came up the stairs. He paused on the landing and then let his feet carry on past the hall. He was curious to see who might have stayed up for a nightcap, and then only more so when he realized it was Cass. He’d never seen her in the bar before, but she was pouring what appeared to be at least her second glass.

“Long night?” he asked cautiously as he approached. She seemed like the type who when she did drink, might prefer to do so alone.

Cass didn’t exactly startle but her head did snap toward him unusually quickly, so he thought he might have still caught her off guard. The tension in her shoulders relaxed fast enough though. Maybe she preferred having her late night drink witnessed by him rather than Sarah. He knew he sure would, in her place.

“For you too, it looks like,” she said, taking a sip. Sam would’ve liked to have been able to say his eyes didn’t focus on the way the tip of her tongue ran over her lips afterward, but that would’ve been a lie. Still failing at not paying attention to those small, tantalizing little motions, no matter how many times he reminded himself he should. She frowned once she got a look at him. “You all right?”

“Well, managed not to break my neck trippin’ over another one of Cora’s experiments, so I’d say I’m ahead so far for today,” Sam evaded, though he still didn’t take his eyes off her. “Have I just missed every other time you’ve come up here, or is there a special occasion?”

Cass hummed noncommittally, taking another drink and then staring down into the glass as she swirled the liquid around inside. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a special occasion. More like a nice trip through purgatory, with a non-zero chance of a detour to hell.”

[whiskeyswriting]

Mama Whiskey

Whiskey and Slider in the beginning had a hard time accepting the truth that they would never have kids of their own. However, that never stopped them from wanting that for themselves. Whenever news that a couple they knew was expecting, they were the first to volunteer for any babysitting as well as buying them any essentials.

With time, the longing lessened but never fully went away. They both always longed to be called Mama or Papa (or any variation of it). Between the two, they always joked they would adopt their favorite student. “Maybe one will call you mama,” Slider teased. The moment it happened will forever live in Whiskey’s mind and heart.

They had just finished some flying exercises and were going to go over what each person or team did wrong and how they could improve. “Now before you leave make sure to pass by the admiral’s office for your assignment for the week.”

“Yes, mama Whiskey.”

“I’m sorry. What did you call her Garcia?” Baylie asks

“Mama Whiskey… She’s like a momma bird trying to teach her babies to fly.”

“Mama Whiskey! I love it! That’s it I’m calling her that from now on,” Reuben says.

“Besides, she looks like she gives good mom hugs…” Mickey says with a shrug.

Jade felt like she was floating at the sound of those two words. Mama Whiskey. But then her high came crashing down. She had to excuse herself from her students as the reminder that it wasn’t a real title started the ache in her heart.

Without her students watching her, Whiskey makes her way to her shared office with Dragon. She closes the door behind her and quietly slinks down to the floor crying.

A soft knock comes at the door. “Commander Kerner?” The concerned voice of one of her students comes through.

As Jade is standing and cleaning her face to open the door, she hears a whispered voice saying “Good going Garcia. You broke my favorite Commander here.”

Mickey sighs at Baylie.

“Are you two done flirting?” Reuben asks.

Before either can answer, the door opens and Whiskey lets the three students in. She wasn’t going to lie. This trio was one of her favorites to teach. They were confident in their flying but they also were more than willing to learn and become even better aviators.

“Hi. Uhm I’m headed back to the class,” Jade tells them.

“It’s fine. Let’s go get some air. Cyclone took over teaching the class,” Baylie informs her.

“I…” Mickey starts. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Oh Mickey. No it wasn’t that… It just made me emotional hearing someone call me… that.”

The trio of students look between each other. “Mama Whiskey?”

Jade nods. “It’s just… Well I never had any children no matter how much I wanted them… So hearing someone call me mama and with an age that’s young enough to actually be my child…”

Silent tears fall from her eyes and Mickey is the first one to give her a hug. “We can be your kids. We all have our ma’s at home but we could use a ma here on base.”

Baylie nods. “Plus… A badass pilot mom would be so cool!”

“As long as we get easy questions,” Reuben teases.

That causes Jade to smile. “Thank you three. And thank you for checking in on me. I really appreciate it. Now get back to class. I’ll go talk with Ice about the flight practices today.”

In the weeks leading up to the Top Gun graduation, the Trio of Fanboy, Lucky and Payback all drew closer to Whiskey and Slider.

When graduation came in mid-March, Whiskey was introduced to their respective moms who all gave her the biggest hugs and repeatedly thanked her for looking out for them.

Dulce was the first one to welcome her as her honorary sister and as Mickey’s Navy Mama. More tears of joy were shed as pictures were taken and each of the aviators received their new assignments.

Jade and Mickey hug one last time. “Go and make me and Dulce proud Mickey… mijo.”

Mickey smiled widely at that. “Si Mama.”

Slider came and also gave him a hug. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you back here in Top Gun, son.”

*****

Soon May rolled around and going to the stores sometimes still hurt Jade when she would see all the Mother’s Day displays.

Ron would get her flowers and say it was on behalf of him and their Belgian Malinois, Lieutenant Auggie Bear Kerner. She knew he meant well but it was the same longing feeling he would get on Father’s Day every year.

When they got home that Sunday from their own picnic at the beach, they were surprised to find their front porch filled with floral arrangements and balloons saying “Happy Mother’s Day”.

Jade knew her favorite students had already graduated Top Gun and were deployed in different bases but her heart still filled with love for them when she saw their names on the cards.

Suddenly a throat cleared behind them. “Hi Mama Whiskey. Papa Slider.”

Jade shrieks and hugs Mickey tightly. “Oh Mickey! Mijo! You’re here. Were all these flowers your idea?”

He shook his head. “I wish I could but I guess everybody had the same thought…. I actually came to see my favorite parents from Top Gun and take them to dinner.”

Auggie was at the window by the door just staring adoringly at Mickey before they went in. He happily lunged at him to give Mickey sloppy kisses. 

“Aww your brother missed you, Mickey,” Jade says and gives him another hug again.

Before dinner in the backyard, Mickey has Jade close her eyes. “One more surprise.” He takes her hand and carefully leads her to the living room. “Don’t open your eyes yet.”

Once he tells her to open her eyes, Jade finds Baylie and Reuben there holding their own bags of food and gifts. “Oh my babies!” Jade rushes to hug them both.

“We decided we couldn’t let you have another Mother’s Day alone… So we came to spend time with our second mama,” Reuben says, hugging Jade.

And so, the yearly tradition of dinner at the Kerner’s for Mother’s Day was born. A few years down the road, Jade would just smile nonstop whenever any of her babies call her Mama Whiskey.

- -

The Usual Suspects: @bayisdying @callmemana @dragon-kazansky @gracespicybradshaw @breadsquash @cycbaby @callsignscupcake @starlit-epiphany @chipperxbaby @callsignthirsty

[mistahgrundy]

IRL - went outta town

ok so I was just up in Denton for a wedding. Very nice wedding, I wore a blazer, which was so nice to do. I hardly ever have a reason to dress up. Lots of fun. there's probably a photo of my husband pretending to hit me with a chair in the reception hall lol, I hope I get to see that eventually. We couldn't hear shit in there so we resorted to mime humor. violent mime.

I had hella travel anxiety because I uhhhh I don't like to travel!! I mean I have health problems and a cat I miss when I leave and it's tornado season and uh yeah. it's 90% illogical with some little for reals things thrown in.

So I didn't sleep at all the night before we left.

Then on the way up we had to drive past a tornado warned storm. TO BE CLEAR, we were in no danger. Absolutely none. We were on i35 and the storm was out kinda northwest of Killeen. Up by Gatesville. And if you're familiar with central Texas that should give you some idea of how far away it was. The red warning box wasn't yet touching where we were. But still I tried to see it from the highway to no avail. it's been a very long time since I've actually SEEN a tornado, and that last time was in Ohio when I was a little child.

It was fun to joke about flooring it when we got to Jarrell. Sorry Jarrell. You are central Texas's Moore. That's some person who watches a lot of weather related videos gallows-humor for you!

anyway it was a pretty uneventful drive tbh. It didn't even rain until we got up to Fort Worth basically, somehow. So I didn't get to roll down the windows on the south side to smell all the bread and beer factories.

Sidenote: when I was a little kid one of our field trips at school was to the Mrs. Bairds bread factory. I barely remember it.

Our hotel room in Denton was one of those weird ones that people can live in, so it had a little kitchen and a couch. Extended stay I guess. Those are nice but they are FULL of divorced dudes. Divorced men in Punisher themed trucks as far as the eye can see. When we pulled up Punisher truck guy was BBQing in his truck bed!! And later on when I was setting up the Roku we saw a wifi signal named Punisher. His very existence has owned us.

I did not sleep. Bed make back hurt. Weird room weird bed weird sounds.

At the wedding I had one job and it was to be the first to stand up when the bride entered so everyone else would see me stand and also stand and no one stood up!!! it took like... an agonizing amount of time for people to realize oh right standing. damn it guys. Oh well. Also around that time I realized I forgot to put on deodorant that morning. x_x I checked later though and it was fine, no smell.

A whole day running on two days of no sleep and barely eating I thought for sure the last night I will get some sleep. Surely! But no. I just laid there again for 8 hours like. ah. ok. cool. my brain is broken.

3 days of no sleep.

I bought a little metal sculpture for my yard in West at Slovacek's. It looks like a little piranha plant from mario 3. The little ones that would hop around. kinda.

So here I am woken up from a little 3 hour nap at home. Still exhausted.

Seth was telling me about Frenchy's when we were in Denton. I didn't grow up there so I don't know about this denton institution! There's all these little parked food lookin trucks around town that sport american flags and are all painted different. I passed a smiley face one and a remember our vets one and one about volunteering. It's just some cleaning company or something like that. Frenchy's! Some old Italian guy runs it named Frenchy. Then on the way out of town there was a billboard from Frenchy reminding us to get vaccinated. Done and Done, Frenchy.

Not Frenchy, just some ultra Texas looking old couple I snapped a secret photo of on the way out of Denton. His hands weren't grey, my phone's camera was just having a bit of a time.

Dude's rockin' a kerchief to the applebee's

[heeversee]

I just saw your answer on an ask about k-engenes and just wanted to get your take on something. I’m not sure if you’ve been to enha’s concerts before or not so I won’t assume if you have or haven’t but I’m just speaking on my own experience and stuff I’ve heard from friends friend. Do you find that k-engenes or maybe j-engenes, perhaps some c-engenes are not as friendly? I know it can come across the wrong way and as you yourself are korean, my words may offend you and you don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable with it but like i said before, its just based on my experience and i just want to know your take/opinion on it.

I, myself am asian (people usually mistake me as korean (mostly this) or chinese or japanese when i was there) but i just felt very disconnected with the fans in korea when i went for their manifesto concert last year. I was hoping to make a few friends here and there since we do share a common interest but i find that everyone seemed unapproachable in a way, like if i asked for help from a korean fan next to me when the staff was checking our queue numbers, she doesn’t seem to want to help me but it was a different reaction from her when she started making conversation with a couple other engenes around us who she realised are japanese. Same goes with the fans surrounding me when we were in the stadium already. (Some c-engenes in particular were very pushy and rude while we were in the floor area) I did manage to meet a couple lovely i-engenes along the way and they were so warm and welcoming and helped me navigate around.

Its just that being an army way before being an engene, I’ve heard so many stories from online and my friends that armys are genuinely sweet and friendly. A friend of mine went to the busan concert last year and it was hectic but every army she passed, k army or i army, they were willing to help her and even show her shortcuts to navigate around even if they didnt speak english. So i was just a bit surprised to get a different response and experience with engenes.

Sorry for the long ask hehe just wanted to hear from you on this 🫣

No probs baby.

Actually even I am an army way before an engene. My friends and I helped a lot of people who are actually not from Asia at this recent concert, since we speak good decent English.

I really wish I met you at that time but sadly I had exams.

You see engenes are different from other fandoms. Idk why, they are not helpful and are even rude to us also.

You can rarely find a few k-engenes who'd genuinely help you. You might not believe me but Korean, Japanese and especially Chinese engenes are (almost) very rude and toxic. I myself am a Korean and volunteered to help people since I also speak a bit of Japanese, but they didn't want any of our help.

Lemme tell you my love, no one is as toxic as Chinese engenes. Or any Chinese fandom (Not to mention they always create a mess in skz concerts also)

I'm really sorry for the bad experience and impression you got from the k-engenes there.

Even I wonder if perhaps k-engenes and c-engenes are forgetting to take their delusion pills before coming to the concerts😂

But trust me if I meet any of the toxic k-engenes I'll beat the shit out of them on behalf of I-engenes and all the good engenes for hurting our dear enhypen members (especially baby niki).

Good engenes also exist, but the sad fact is that we are shadowed by the toxic engenes.

Please ignore my bad English.

If I actually say this out loud in Korea maybe next time if they send protest trucks they'll put me in the truck also 🤣.

Jokes aside. No toxic fans can hurt our dear idols.

Please do look forward to coming to South Korea for the next concert.

Love you a lot 🫶🏻

[memo15g]

Flight Back to US (7/21) | Kat Tang (BOD)

Waking up at 5am in the morning, the bittersweet knowledge that we were leaving Vietnam settled in. As I finished packing up my box of leftover MEMO clinical supplies, I reminisced on the trip and all of the months of preparation we had done. It admittedly felt as if we had been in Vietnam for a long time, yet simultaneously the two weeks passed by in the blink of an eye. The mission trip was over, and so was my term as Co-Executive Director. As I look forward to the next chapter of my life, I know I will look back fondly on my 5 years in MEMO and all of the work we’ve been able to accomplish thus far for the underserved communities here in Vietnam, but also back home in Southern California. I will miss the 20 hour days, all of the yummy food, late night officer and BOD meetings, playing with the children in the schools and orphanages, and supervising the vitals room during clinic days. I will miss feeling connected to our patients, as I rub their hand comfortingly after pricking their finger at the glucose station. I will miss all of the wonderful and kind people we met in Vietnam, from our collaborators to the local volunteers who worked side by side with us during clinic days. And I will miss all of the beautiful memories I have made alongside our other MEMObers.

When 6am rolled around, our 15Gers began to head down to the hotel lobby to bring their luggages and MEMO boxes down and eat breakfast. Once the bus arrived, we loaded our things and climbed into the bus. During the ride to the airport, I opted to peer out the window, taking Vietnam for the last time. I am so grateful to everyone for being so welcoming to us during our time here.

At the airport, we ran into some problems with our MEMO check-in boxes (note for next year: no batteries in the check-in items!) but other than that, our flight from Vietnam to Taiwan went smoothly. I sat next to Wendy and we spent the majority of the flight talking and reminiscing on the trip. Kalvin was in front of us and was lucky enough to get the whole row to himself! We then had a 6 hour layover in Taiwan (big thank you to our advisors and providers for giving us access to one of the lounges there!) and some of our members parted ways with us there for their short vacation in Taiwan. Then came the long flight from Taiwan back to Ontario, California (about 12 hours!) where I got to sit with Wendy and Hallie. I honestly slept the majority of the flight. Usually I have to put a movie that I know well on to fall asleep, so I opted for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This was admittedly a bad choice when I was later awoken by a particularly loud fight scene. When we arrived to the airport and got all of our belongings, my sister and mom were waiting to pick me up. I went around to our advisors and members to give hugs and say my heartfelt goodbyes. While I was sad, thankfully it was more of a “see you next time” since I expect to attend Gala next year!

MEMO has been a huge part of my life and while I am closing this chapter, I do not plan to leave MEMO behind forever. It will always have a special place in my heart, and I look forward to seeing MEMO continue to thrive and help those in need. After 2 years on Board of Directors, I think I am more than ready to start cheering from the sidelines and allow our upcoming Board of Directors step in with their fresh outlook and exciting new ideas! I have always joked that being in MEMO feels like running a marathon rather than a sprint. Looking back now, I think it is more like a relay. At the end of the day, it’s always a group effort and we all rely on one another to accomplish our goals. Passing the baton on to the next set of directors, I have confidence that they will continue to lead MEMO into a bright future. The mission trip is such a wonderful culmination of all of our efforts throughout the school year. It was so inspiring to see all of it come to fruition after spending so many long hours planning, and I’m excited to carry that inspiration and love for serving the community into the next segment of my life.

[legendtraineremily]

Can’t get to sleep so here’s part two of my Star Wars short story I finished up in time for Star Wars day:

A Moment on Hoth (Part 2)

Commander Hahl was making her way over to him as the other aides and officers rejoined their commanders. Her russet hair was hidden beneath the same standard-issue insulated cap Benovy had grown fond of, but some strands had still found their way onto her face and made her blow and brush futilely at them. Her love aided her in removing the irritant before coming to attention and saluting. Rillian rolled her eyes at Benovy’s routine.

“Really Beno? Is the act that important?”

“What? You may joke, but half of high command still thinks of me as one of the ‘old renegades’ who can’t truly adapt to the ‘rigors of a true, organized rebellion,’ or whatever.” He handed the data-pad over to Rillian who looked over the requests. “By the way, Gav-er-Lieutenant Arlan passed these on for you. And a little note: if we want that assault carrier up and running at full readiness, we’ll need a bit more fuel than what we’d usually be allotted in normal circumstances. The crew we assigned are having troubles figuring out what it’s capable of.”

“I thought we assigned Larnal to train them?”

“We did, but remember: the crew is still used to flying those babies all Imperial-like—stiff and straight. But with our overhauls, it should fly like a Dactillion and race laps around those basic Imp crews.” Benovy’s hands gestured the flying motions with both energy and exasperation.

“This is why I’m in command of the big ships and you supervise the blockade running and ground ops.” Rillian used her open hand to lower Benovy’s flailing arms. “No matter. I’ll see what I can do and if I’ve got any remaining favors to cash in for that extra fuel.”

The pair and their droid companion made their way to the barracks and entered Commander Hahl’s makeshift quarters. The icy furnishings were accented by various metallic structural supports and technological features to make the room mostly habitable and functional. A tray of data-disks sat next to their processor and Rillian’s personal data-pad on a desk carved partially from a block of stabilized ice combined with a metal desk that would have been too small otherwise. A heater and an extra large cot sat in the far corner almost inviting a weary, cold-worn soldier to rest upon seeing them.

“Bwa-doo beep bippity?” D5 rolled in behind the couple and swiveled his head towards the heater.

“Oh, why thank you D5! You can go right ahead and check if it’s working properly.” Rillian leaned into Benovy and held his arm tightly. “I have been a little extra cold lately.” Benovy blushed and smiled bashfully.

“Well, uh, I mean, it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to spend any time off-duty together. What were you thinking?” Benovy asked as he turned and adjusted himself to hug his girlfriend-commander. “A stroll through the caves? Check to see if the weather’s right to view the mountains? Or-“

“Just…hold me,” came the answer. Benovy smiled and brushed a remaining strand of hair from Rillian’s face.

“I can do that.”

D5 had finished cycling through the space heater’s settings and returned to the couple’s side. Rillian, slipped a hand out of the embrace to pat the droid’s head.

“Good work, D5. I really appreciate all your help, little friend.”

“Doo-bwop bwoo-bwee,” he replied, quite pleased with himself.

“Hon, you’re gonna give him a head bigger than a planet one of these days,” Benovy cautioned. D5 buzzed a mechanical purr, not caring about his compatriot’s comment.

“Attention: Commander Hahl and Major Tahn, please report to the command center. Commander Hahl, Major Tahn—to the command center.” Benovy let out a long sigh.

“What did you rope me into now?” he asked suspiciously. Rillian gave an embarrassed smile and loosened her grip.

“I may have mentioned your ability to help make good escape routes in our command meeting and volunteered our skills to help create the base evacuation plan.” She shrugged then exchanged her grasp from Benovy’s side to his hand. “Come on, you old dissident, you’ve got superiors to impress so we can get back to cuddling!”

“As long as you’re the one talking directly to them. I think Major Derlin still doesn’t like me too much after my stunt with the A-wings back on Yavin…,” He paused for a second while Rillian led him on back out the door and into the frozen hallway. “Wait, does this mean you’re not heading back to the fleet?”

End

[blondie-inky-esaldir]

Chapter 5: Suspects

Chapter Text

'The Demons!'

'They're coming! Keep running!'

'Go...'

Solas’s eyes flattered open, a soft moan escaping passed his lips. He heard rustling sounds of chains to his side, before hearing Esaldir’s voice the next second. 

“Solas!” The younger elf called out, worry coloring his tone. “Are you okay?”

Solas frowned, wondering about the dimness and where he was. Then his vision cleared and he realize he was in a dungeon of sorts, gawking at the sight of Esaldir behind bars. It would explain why the blond wasn’t hovering over, despite the obvious concern. Then, he finally noticed his hand feeling heavy than usual, and there was an odd mark on it. A glow of green hue emanating from it. It sparked briefly and Solas felt a pain course through it. 

The surged passed, and as if outcry called awareness to his consciousness, the door in front of him opened, with a warrior entering the room, following by another right behind her.

Solas looked up at them as they circled the two elves, scrutinizing them. The elf returned their gazes just as warily. 

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now.” The warrior all but snarls, glaring at him heatedly.

The warrior went on to list of crimes and the other just leaves her to it. Solas noted that they were pinning the blame on him for some reason. In all this, he finds that Esaldir was bounded similar to how he was. He looked uninjured, but Solas was still concerned about his well being more than the fact that he was being questioned.

"What is that mark in your hand and does it have anything to do with the destruction at the Conclave or the hole in the sky?"

Solas ignored a question the red head directed to him, in favor of checking on his young companion. “Da’len, These Shems didn’t treat you harshly, did they?”

“What was that?!” It is plain that the warrior didn't appreciate being ignored. Her hand went for her sword, to punctuate further threats to the elf and to get him to take them seriously.

The other woman stopped her before she could even pull her sword out of its sheathe. "We need him, Cassandra!"

"Uh, Solas? Yeah, I'm not thrilled about this situation as much as you are." Esaldir made a placating gesture, much as he can with his hands bound, “But maybe try not to antagonize the suspicious humans that could kill us?”

Solas narrowed his eyes. “That didn’t answer the question.” 

“And I would answer truthfully, but I also don’t want you literally asking for an early execution... I mean, go ahead, but maybe leave me out of it?” Esaldir joked. 

“Da’len...”

“Yes hahren, they did,” Esaldir admitted at last, in resignation. “but the soldiers. Not these guys. Er, ladies.” He added in a rush. "It's okay! The, uh, commander I think? He told them to stop before they seriously tried to hurt me. Something about... Innocent until proven guilty. As it is, I just got slapped... But that's about it!"

Solas grumbled, his aura of magic flaring but then, the mysterious mark acted up again and the older elf cried out in pain, distracting him from the previous anger building up.

“We don’t have time for this,” The warrior huffed, even as she wasn’t ready to drop this interrogation. “Leliana, head to the Forward Camp. I’ll take the prisoner.”

Solas raised a brow, “Prisoner? Singular?” He scowled, “No, I’m not going anywhere unless he’s taken with us.”

“Seconded.”

"You do understand you're not in any place to make demands?" Cassandra scowled.

Solas didn't back down. "If you need me for something, which seems like the case, I would be more cooperative if I can ensure the safety of my companion."

"I won't make a fuss," Esaldir interjects quickly, "I also want to check on my friend, the elf who volunteered to go with Varric. Please? I mean, I get that you don't really trust us right now but what can we do? It's not like it would be wise to try running off with demons running around, in an attempt to escape. We at least recognize that at this side, there's still a way to talk things out... Just give us a chance to prove we're not the enemies here."

Solas stared at the elf. He knew him long enough to know that his default approach on things tended to be a tad zesty and sarcastic, but it appeared there was much more he could learn about him.  As it is, it's his first time hearing him being the voice of reason.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Esaldir raised a brow at Solas, "I know I mouth off a lot, but I'm not completely impertinent."

Solas did his best not to smile in amusement; now wasn't the time for it after all. "I'm sure if you keep trying, you will truly prove that to me someday, da’len."

Esaldir looked fairly indignant.

Cassandra made a disgruntled noise with her throat. "Let us move; we've no time to waste." 

The soldiers undid the clasps and locks bounding their ankles to the prison's floor, but for the moment, they left the ropes around their wrists. Solas and Esaldir exchanged a look before following the Cassandra out. When they stepped outside once more, they needed a moment because being in the darkness of the prison had them needing to readjust to the brightness outside.

When Solas looked to the sky, he sees the 'tear' in the sky that he heard about in Cassandra's ramblings when she had been throwing accusations at him. Solas could feel the energy all the way over it, how it was disturbing the veil, and he could feel the force of the fade. Even from this distance, he could see things falling from the sky. It wasn't entirely clear, but he knew they were demons breaking out.

He mourned the fate of the spirits forcefully taken out of their home, reducing them to demons, but there was a part of Solas that was also impressed with the sight.

"What is that?" Solas asked, marveling at the sight with apparent interest.

Esaldir nudged him a bit, "Don't look too excited; they might take it the wrong way... Not that they aren't already, but you know what I mean." he mumbled, "They started calling it the breach a while ago."

"The result of the explosion at the temple." Cassandra interjected, looking at them both. So far, she noted that they didn't seem like they were trying to escape. "It's a massive rift into the world of demons and it's not the only rift, just the largest one."

Esaldir frowned as he looked at it, "It seemed to be getting bigger, don't you think? That is... I don't remember it looking this big earlier." he shrugged, "Then again, I could've imagined it. Didn't get much of a good look, since I was focused on saving his ass."

"Hmm, if you're not imagining things though, I wager that this rift will only to continue spread. Unless something is done, worse case scenario, it may swallow the world."

Esaldir looked at Solas nervously, and side eyes on how Cassandra was looking at him. "Uh, no, he's just really knowledgeable!" He said, "He's not saying that because he did it, he's just really good at making assumptions. What do you call it... an Erudite?"

Before Solas could respond to that, pain coursed his arm once more and he crumbled to the ground. Esaldir crouched down next to him, alarmed and asking if he was okay, which was redundant. Cassandra crossed her arms.

"I suppose if he was as intelligent as you say, if he did cause this, he would find a way to do it without any expense on himself." The warrior noted, "Still, anyone can make mistakes."

Esaldir looked up at her, and glared. "You seriously think he still did this?" He asked, "And to himself?"

"Regardless of how it looks, it remains unseen whether you are offering your aid out of good will or a hidden agenda." Cassandra told them, "What we do know is that your mark grows, each time the Breach expands. It is killing you."

Solas grunted, "You do not need to tell me that, I can feel it myself." he said.

"No..." Esaldir grimaced, "There has to be a way to around it... Get rid of it, or something."

Solas nodded, not looking as helpless as you would expect for someone that may be dying. "Before that, we must figure out how to seal the breach." he said, "We will worry about this mark killing me later."

"Yeah, well, I'm worrying about it now." Esaldir grumbled, "I'm not all for getting fucking abandoned again for the third time in a row. You better live through this, old man."

Solas couldn't help the smile this time, "I assure you, I'm not that old."

"That's what you picked to dwell on? You're unbelievable."

Cassandra watched them carefully, and the more she started thinking that maybe they had nothing to do with this. Of course, this could be easily an act. She thought it best to reserve judgment until after the current problem was resolved. "Whether or not you live through this may not matter," she said. "It will all depend on how you would be judged later. After all, both of you are still our primary suspects." 

"Seriously?" Esaldir glared at the woman once more, "You are making it harder to willingly cooperate, you know that?"

Solas looked at him, "I do not believe we are given the luxury to refuse at this point, Esaldir."

"I know, that's why I said 'willingly.'"

Cassandra made a same noise she did earlier, before taking a knife and removing their binds. "There will be a trial. I can promise no more."

"When this is over, I'm going to give you lessons on how to be nicer to people you're asking help from."

[marvelsmostwanted]

Hey American voters! 🇺🇸

Guess what?!!

🚨 It’s time to start worrying about the 2022 and 2024 elections. 🚨

(Yeah. We really gotta do this. It's... not looking great.)

Long story short:

Republicans have been working hard since the 2020 election to enact voter suppression laws, overturn election results, and set themselves up to steal the 2024 presidential election if necessary.

You’ve probably heard about the Georgia voter suppression law. But did you know that “Stop the Steal” conspiracy theorist Republicans are running to be election officials like Secretary of State in several swing states, setting themselves up to overturn future elections? They are dismantling democracy before our eyes.

So what’s the worst case scenario?

...Well, let’s start with the realistic scenario.

Republicans are likely to take back the House in 2022. They are possibly capable of doing it through gerrymandering alone. Is it possible for Democrats to keep the House? Yes, but it will take a huge effort.

Republicans could also win back the Senate since it's currently 50-50 and Democrats only have a narrow majority because we won the presidency.

Even if Republicans only win back the House, the Biden administration would legislatively accomplish very little from 2022-2024. Republicans would have the power to impeach Biden for no reason and cause another constitutional crisis, enable gerrymandering and voter suppression laws, and block any Democratic priorities from becoming law (gun control, climate change, and healthcare are just a few things that would be off the table entirely).

Then comes 2024.

Donald Trump is the most likely Republican candidate to run and win in 2024. In a recent poll (May 2021), 66% of Republicans indicated that they would vote for Trump again.

Yes, Trump can run even if he’s indicted on criminal charges. He can run even if he’s in prison!

Remember, although Biden won by 7 million votes, it was really a difference of about 44,000 votes in three swing states that prevented Trump from winning the Electoral College and becoming president again. That is a frighteningly small margin.

Even if the candidate isn’t Trump, this is still going to be a close election. 85% of Republicans say they would vote for a Trump-aligned candidate (same poll as above).

If Republicans win back or maintain control of Congress in 2024, this could set up an even more dangerous scenario:

The House has the power to choose the president if Congress does not award 270 electoral votes to either candidate.

How could that happen? Well, those "Stop the Steal" Republican election officials in swing states could refuse to certify the election, claiming fraud, and a close election could end up with neither candidate getting enough electoral votes. House Republicans could literally choose the next president without any input from voters and effectively end American democracy as we know it.

Because you know that Republicans will never let go of that power once they have it.

This is not far-fetched.

This is a realistic, highly likely scenario that will happen if we don’t do something to prevent it. Journalists and election experts are trying to sound the alarm, and we should listen:

New York Times - How Republicans Could Steal the 2024 Election

Washington Post - American democracy is in even worse shape than you think

Pod Save America - Stop the 2024 Steal (Discussion at 29:00)

LA Times - Trump’s allies are prepping to steal 2024 election

The only way to prevent this from becoming reality is to fight like hell against it. And I know we just did that in 2018 and 2020. But this fight isn't over until we restore and protect our democracy.

This isn’t about how much you like Biden & Harris, or even if you’re a Democrat in general. It’s about saving democracy in America.

What can we do about it?

Unfortunately, it’s going to be an uphill battle. But if we all engage in this fight, then we can make a difference.

TLDR, we need to raise awareness about the threat to democracy, encourage Democrats to end the filibuster and pass H.R.1 immediately, and organize, organize, organize to get voters back out there in 2022 and 2024.

Specific ways to help & additional resources below the cut.

How to help:

National Level:

*High priority: Call your Democratic Senator(s) right now and tell them to pass H.R.1, the For the People Act, with urgency.

*High priority: Call your Democratic Senator(s) right now and tell them that you are strongly in favor of ending the filibuster (Especially if your Senator is Manchin or Sinema.)

Call your Democratic Senator(s) and tell them to vote for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

Call your Republican Senator(s) and tell them you are in favor of all of the above, especially if you live in a swing state.

State Level:

*High priority: Find out who is running for state legislature and other positions that have control over elections, such as Secretary of State. Donate or volunteer for their campaigns. Spread the word amongst your family and friends and make sure they know who to vote for and the date of the election.

If no one is running against the Republican, consider running! I’m not joking. Or if you know someone who is qualified and/or interested in running, encourage them to do so.

Local Level:

*High priority: Same as on the state level: Find out who is running and support the person who is supporting democracy. Local election officials can have a huge impact, especially in swing states and counties. Spread the word about this candidate, the election date, registering to vote, where to vote, etc.

Again, if no one is running, consider running! Incumbents often stay in power because they are unchallenged. And a local position is a great way to get involved in politics and help your community.

Additional ways to help:

Make sure you are registered to vote.

Check in with 3 friends/family members and help them register to vote if they are not already.

Send reminders to friends/family to vote on Election Day - not just in November, but for special elections, local elections, etc.

Volunteer with a group specifically working to help progressives win elections: SwingLeft, EMILY’s List, etc.

Donate to the candidates you support early and often! One of the reasons Democratic House candidates struggled in 2020 was that a lot of money came in at the last minute. Donating early and/or on a monthly basis ensures that they have the funds to run a long, successful campaign.

More Info & Resources:

Read: Washington Post - American democracy is in even worse shape than you think

Excerpt/TLDR: "The radicalization of the Republican Party has outpaced what even most critical observers imagined,” Georgetown University historian Thomas Zimmer told me. “We need to grapple with what that should mean for our expectations going forward and start thinking about real worst-case scenarios." - Perry Bacon Jr.

Read: New York Times - How Republicans Could Steal the 2024 Election

“It occurred to me,” [Erica Newland, counsel for Protect Democracy] told her colleagues then, “as I dug into the rules and watched what happened, that if the current Republican Party controls both Houses of Congress on Jan. 6, 2025, there’s no way if a Democrat is legitimately elected they will get certified as the president-elect.”

Listen: Pod Save America - Stop the 2024 Steal (29:00-36:27 covers the bulk of it, and they go on for about another 10 minutes after that)

Excerpt: "If you just watch what's happening... it is a very clear indication of a minority party that knows it has no path to majority status rigging elections at every level to set the stage for minority rule in this country. (...) People are not alarmed enough about [this]. The great asymmetry in American politics is that Republicans view power as an end in itself, and Democrats view power as a means to an end. Republicans are using the power they have to put in place laws that allow them to hold onto political power. (...) We need to raise the alarm. There are disturbing signs of complacency in our party." - Dan Pfeiffer

Register or check voter registration: Vote.org

Support H.R.1: VoteSaveAmerica.com/ForThePeople