#and the methods used are inhumane
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william-teddy-grahams · 3 months ago
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My mom and I both enjoy watching interrogation tapes, but for completely different reasons. I only discovered this recently.
My mom, watching an interrogation: “wow. Criminals are so dumb, I’m glad cops are so much smarter and can always get them to confess. :)”
Me, watching them: “wow. That’s illegal. That’s unethical. That’s literally just torture. That should have gotten the whole case dropped. That cop just cited the ten commandments(???) incorrectly. Cops are so stupid, but aren’t at risk of consequences in this scenario, so don’t fear ruining lives.”
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dostoyevsky-official · 15 days ago
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The existence of an immigration-enforcement agency isn’t inherently the problem. Most people accept that states have a right to control their borders and that there’s a legitimate role for authorities charged with enforcing immigration policy, especially when it comes to those who have committed serious crimes. ICE also investigates trafficking, smuggling and other transnational offenses that clearly require federal oversight. The core issue is less the agency’s mandate than its methods. Well-documented abuses — denials of due process, inhumane conditions and politically motivated enforcement — have undermined public trust and raised serious ethical concerns. The worry is not whether immigration law should be enforced but how, and at what human cost. The holding facilities ICE uses are part of this system: They house people awaiting deportation, court appearances or further investigation. What’s in dispute isn’t the need for such spaces; it’s the treatment of detainees within those spaces. Many facilities have drawn criticism for degrading or dangerous conditions. Still, as a beneficiary of a trust that rents a property to ICE, your leverage is minuscule. You can’t unilaterally break the lease. Even if you could, ICE would simply relocate its facility. And while moral complicity is a serious concern, receiving income from a legal tenant, however problematic, isn’t generally considered an ethical transgression on its own. We’re all entangled in systems we don’t control. As citizens, we’re already implicated in the actions of government agencies that act in our name and that we help fund. If those actions are shameful, they cast a shadow on all of us. But that shared entanglement also opens the door to shared responsibility — and response. [...] Here’s one constructive path: If this money feels tainted, redirect it. Use it to support organizations that advocate for the rights you believe ICE has violated — groups like the A.C.L.U., the American Immigration Council or local legal-aid nonprofits that provide support for detainees. Back candidates pushing for humane immigration reform.
jaw-dropping new york times column reassuring readers that receiving blood money from the gestapo is ok
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that-neurodivergent-gay · 1 year ago
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(not so) friendly reminder that a non-exaustive list of war crimes that isreal has committed is:
Wilful killing
Torture or inhumane treatment, including biological experiments
Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health
Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking part in direct hostilities
Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects which are non-military
Intentionally directing attacks against humanitarian assistance
Intentionally launching an attack knowing that it will cause loss of life, injury or harm to civilians or civil properties
Intentionally launching an attack knowing it will cause significant damage to the natural environment without necessity
Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not military objectives
Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science, charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the wounded are collected, assuming they are not military objectives
Employing asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gasses, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices
Employing weapons, projectiles, and material and methods or warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering
Intentionally directing attacks against buildings, material, medical units and transport and personnel
Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival
If you still think this is isreal defending itself, you're ignoring the signs. This is a genocide. These are war crimes. More than 25,000 civilians have been murdered. This is not okay.
Edit:
For all the people asking me for a source, here is a list:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza
Any of Bisan's videos/writings. There are so many people on the ground in Gaza who are documenting this. Stay safe and stay educated
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tritoch · 11 months ago
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i have seen people be like "if you think what the dawntrail protagonists do in zone six is valid you have to conceded emet's approach/perspective was valid, what you do is basically what he does" and it's like...nah. it's obviously intentionally very similar ("it's like poetry, it rhymes") but there's some key differences:
emet is disgusted by sundered life, which he sees as inhuman, and longs to return to the unrecoverable past. so he does seven(ish) planet-wide genocides. the endless aren't new life, their ability to grow and learn is specifically in question (at the very least they are fundamentally incapable of taking in new sensory experience of certain forms), they're shades from the unrecoverable past, and you are destroying them in favor of those still alive.
also, we aren't disgusted by them nor do we think anything is fundamentally justified if done to them (everyone pretty much no-sells cahciua "we aren't alive so it doesn't matter if you kill us :)," in fact). we don't have like 12,000 years and the most advanced magic known to anyone alive. we are forced by serious exigency to destroy them due to a political impasse with their leadership's policy re: resource extraction. this tonal difference is in fact extremely important.
the endless themselves seem pretty ambivalent about the whole deal. they're bored or they're wary of the way their world keeps shrinking, and it's very explicitly neither a functioning society by any recognizable human terms nor a paradise.
related to the above, basically every named endless turns to the person most relevant to them (cahciua to erenville, krile's parents to her, namikka to wuk lamat, otis to you) and is like, huh, i really appreciate having this moment of grace at the end of my journey to see that it was all worthwhile and to resolve my lasting regrets, but i understand what you're here to do and yeah, it's probably time for us to go. (does the writing put a finger on the scale by doing this? sure, but the writers also designed and built the scales and everything they're weighing on them, so i find it hard to discredit any one aspect for being the writers' invention.)
finally uh no one in the party has kids with the endless or lives a full human lifetime as one of them lol.
it's important to remember that emet was definitely at least somewhat lying about not seeing the sundered as real people. the fact that he has "lived a thousand thousand of your lives . . . broken bread with you, fought with you, grown ill, grown old, sired children and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace" makes everything he did soooooo much crazier than what you do. if i managed to convince an endless to fall in love with me and i had a kid with them and i loved that kid so much that their death threw me into a permanent grief spiral then like. yeah i guess i would have to be like "well hats off to emet, folks." but luckily the game doesn't make you do that.
even if you insist everyone in living memory was a full living person that we killed, you're still weighing like a city of people versus 7+ planet-wide mass murders. you do not under any circumstances got to hand it to him.
living memory absolutely is evocative of everything that happens in shadowbringers. but rather than placing us in emet's shoes, it forces us to relive what we already did, to really fully face up to what we have done by promising to remember emet's culture after destroying any chance of its return. after two games going hard on the hope part of the game's central theme of hope arising from grief, now we're doing grief. we are forced to see the past of our memories not as a cold, ghostly art deco cubus-plagued socratic method hellscape but as the most beautiful technicolor theme park where everyone's happy and no one's sad and there's parades every day and your parents are alive and they love you so much. and then the game's conclusion is, yeah, you were still right to let go. in fact, you were and are morally obliged to let go. the living were and are worth more than the dead. our grief in letting go of them may be immense and turns our world to bleak nothingness for a time, and that is important to recognize, but at the end of the day our most pressing duty is to those we can yet save, not those we have lost.
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sunderwight · 11 months ago
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Thinking about SV demon culture as one struggling under the weight of imperialism, a violent ruling class with a might-makes-right mindset, and a lot of warfare.
I really don't like fics that imply that Luo Binghe's conquest of the demon realms just automatically improved living conditions there. I think both versions believed that they could conquer things, establish a new regime, and fix a lot of political issues in the process, I just don't think that would actually be the result of a violent takeover on the part of a cultural outsider with a patchy understanding of the actual multitude of demon cultures involved, whose only asset was an extreme capacity for physical violence and resilience against death.
Like, no wonder Bingge was always putting down uprisings and "rivals" for power -- a lot of his empire was probably actually being run by the demon wives or families of the demon wives he favored most, like Sha Hualing, or by preferred subordinates like Mobei Jun, who very probably pursued their own interests just as doggedly as they had prior to his rule. Only, this time they'd have been doing so with the added leverage of Luo Binghe's violence answering anyone who "rebelled" against "his" authority.
Demons in SV have myriad subtypes and subcultures. It seems really likely that a lot of them have been persecuted by others, that there are demon communities who have been subjugated, muscled out of ancestral homes, enslaved, wiped out, etc. This would probably even explain some "invasions" by demons into the human realm -- I'd imagine numerous cases across history of refugees being taken for (or described as) marauders by cultivation sects, or human communities unprepared or unwilling to deal fairly with visibly inhuman "monsters" and answering their approach with violence, or even displaced demons who did in fact become bandits and such in the fallout of various conflicts causing problems.
But there also would probably have been demons that succeeded in making their way in the human realm, and disguising what they were well enough that the sects never even knew. After all, most of the methods for alerting the sects to the presence of demons involve demons doing something violent (like the Skinner demon) or people seeing demons and going "ahhh!" about it. A demon or a family of demons uninterested in serial killing and only looking to get by and avoid the violence would likely not attract that kind of attention, just so long as they could pass as human too.
I do wonder if the reverse has ever happened as well. Human wars driving humans to seek refuge in the demon realms. It would conversely seem a lot more dangerous (demons are physically tougher than humans, and the demon realms are notoriously harsh), but in some cases it was probably like, well, life is hell already, at least the things trying to kill us in the demon realm are straightforward about it?
There are probably way more half-demons out there than just Luo Binghe, and even more demons with human ancestry or humans with demon ancestry. I wouldn't be surprised if demon ancestry actually played a roll in some humans being cultivation prodigies compared to others -- demons seem to have a natural physical power that most humans don't, and while their cultivation uses different energy, it would make sense of some aspects of things like a physical inclination to store, accrue, or manipulate energy in general could benefit even predominately human descendants of mixed blood.
But anyway, back to politics.
Tianlang Jun didn't seem to be a terribly proactive ruler either. Which on the one hand can be a good thing (he wasn't a tyrant, wasn't interested in waging wars or conquering others, didn't much care to throw his weight around), but someone was actually ruling in his absence. Conflicts were still happening, and being resolved. Tributes or taxes were still being paid to him, for him to live any kind of lavish lifestyle, which means they were being collected, rates were being determined, enforced, etc, which does beg the question of who was doing it. Not Zhuzhi Lang, certainly.
In Bingmei's time, the person actually running things is Shang Qinghua, which means also Mobei Jun is actually running things to some extent too. Shen Qingqiu loves demonic beasts but doesn't seem like he could care less about politics, and Luo Binghe only got this job in the first place because he was trying to impress him, and the post-canon extras would seem to indicate that they check out of the process as often as possible.
Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua's rule probably makes things pretty hard for the southern demons who are traditionally loyal to the Heavenly Demons. I mean, apart from not being able to beat Luo Binghe in a fight, self-serving ambition would definitely be a motive for Mobei Jun to throw his lot in with him as soon as possible, right? "Give" the emperor your palace, your service, your resources, etc, and the emperor basically becomes Mobei's own tool to reinforce his sovereignty. In PIDW he even uses him to do that in a more immediate sense by bringing him to the fight with his uncle. In SV he decides Shang Qinghua is more suitable, which, symbolically, is even true. The cost of wielding Luo Binghe's authority is having to submit to it, but Shang Qinghua has elevated Mobei Jun even without that.
No wonder the southern demons couldn't get on Tianlang Jun's side fast enough when he reappeared. Given both Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua's bias, the North has probably been running rampant with their own interests while the South gets hamstrung and dealt crumbs by comparison. Sha Hualing's clearly been trying to get on Luo Binghe's good side with minimal success ever since he got out of the Abyss. Unlike in PIDW, where she's a major player, here she's just an underling desperately playing catch-up and accidentally offending him all the time.
I wonder how that's impacting the complex arrangement of political alliances, cultures, and conflicts among the various factions in the demon realm. It'd probably be like if the remote and somewhat isolated North and Winterfell in ASOIAF/Game of Thrones suddenly became the new capital of the empire, and White Harbor became the main trade hub, while all the southern lords struggled to even get a foot in the door with the new king and kept pissing him off all the time. And every time they try to break free or rebel or kill him, it doesn't work and they get personally murdered by him. Meanwhile the northern lords are making off like bandits, with the current Lord Stark gay married to some inhuman warlock who does all his paperwork and somehow knows all your embarrassing secrets.
...That comparison got away from me. But I mean, it's kind of fascinating? A huge mess and likely miserable for a lot of demons, but still. The implications...
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writingwithcolor · 2 months ago
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Does the way my alien character disguises himself as a POC perpetuate harmful tropes?
Anonymous asks:
"Hi all! I'm a longtime follower, first time asker. There's something about my current story that feels a little sticky, and I haven't been able to find any applicable information on the blog. I'm working on a queer monster romance. The setting is a modern one with supernatural elements. One of the main characters is an alien refugee, and his species has an ability to possess corpses and retain some of the last soul's memories to disguise themselves. It's morbid, but it's supposed to be a story about monsters, and he doesn't do worse beyond that. I've read a lot of posts by Latinx and Jewish people talking about aliens on Earth as a metaphor for immigrants, with the struggle of adapting to a new culture and being separated from the one you were born into, and since my story takes place in Southern California, which has a large population of Mexican immigrants, I thought it made sense to make his ""host body"" Mexican. However, the more I think on it, I'm worried that his ""disguise"" method could be viewed as a violation of a brown body. I'm also concerned that he's just TOO monstrous, and could play into a harmful trope of making POC inhuman. The other main character is white and more visibly monstrous, and there are other POC who aren't monsters, but is it enough? Should my alien disguise himself in another way? I know mods aren't answering questions about Latino culture right now, but I think this is more about harmful tropes against POC in general. Thanks for reading."
I appreciate that your response is about the Mexican community rather than the Jewish community, but still take a look at Mod Shira’s post on Jewish Monster Characters Doing Harm  as well as Monsters in General.
Consider the tension that your monsters create. As those posts suggested,  could you swap out “monster” and replace it with “immigrant,” “Latine,” or "Mexican" and see real-world conflict? If so, then the story could be veering towards a metaphor for race-relations, despite being a romance genre and not an #ownvoices narrative. 
You mentioned that some monsters disguise themselves in white bodies but are “more monstrous.” That’s interesting, but I’m still unclear: does your alien monster merge with its host, or is it just wearing their skin? In the anime Parasyte, the alien Migi and its human host have deep conversations about humanity, culture, and perspective. These are all things Migi doesn’t initially understand. This exchange gives the human host agency while preserving their cultural identity. Will your Latine MC receive that kind of humanization?
If not, and these aliens are simply using a Latine appearance as a disguise, that’s a problem. It effectively erases the Latino experience while using a Latine character’s face, which feels deeply unsettling. It risks reducing Mexican identity to an aesthetic rather than acknowledging its depth of culture, traditions, history, food, music, humor, or language.
Since this is a queer romance, it also raises another issue: if the alien is just impersonating a Latine person, then the Latine love interest is, in reality, falling for someone who isn’t actually Latine. Does the love interest teach the alien about Latino culture? That could work, or fall flat depending on execution.
Ultimately, if there’s no strong narrative reason for this alien to present as Latine, it might be worth reconsidering their ethnicity. Maybe your next story could have a Latine MC without this sort of ambiguity, or you could make the alien merge with a real Latine host, similar to Parasyte. Alternatively, the love interest could be Latine, allowing for meaningful cultural exchange. Personally, I’d pass on a book where a non-Latine entity is running around murdering and romancing in Latine skin. But that’s just me. 
~  Melanie 🌻
since my story takes place in Southern California, which has a large population of Mexican immigrants, I thought it made sense to make his "host body" Mexican.
This just sounds exactly like the aliens disguising themselves as Latin American immigrants in The Men In Black (1997) lol. In MIB, it is an intentional joke/play on the word “alien” that only worked in the 90s. That’s going to be the first thing audiences think of when they read this scenario. 
~ Rina
Rina and Melanie’s Required Reading/Watching Recs:
The Men In Black (Columbia Pictures, 1997) 
The Host (Stephenie Meyer, 2008) 😖
Parasyte (dir. Shimizu Kenichi, Madhouse, 2014)
Our prescription: more research and genre awareness.
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bunnieswithknives · 1 month ago
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Did I ever mention my Lyle conspiracy theory/hc that he was transformed even before the Visitor arrived?
Lyle one of the few lucid characters you cant directly ask if he looked outside, which is interesting because you can ask a lot of characters who its dead obvious did.
We know its possible to have mutated before the Visitor fully showed up because of what happened to Fredrick. The painting of the sky revealed something not visible to the naked eye, and if it worked for a painting why not a photograph? We know digital methods don't keep images of the Visitor well which would be a natural limit on ppl getting exposed beforehand, but polaroids specifically do capture it and surely if the sky was so alluring both artists would be drawn to it.
We don't have a strict timeline on Fredrick's exposure, but some kinds of paint take weeks or months to fully dry, and considering how many wet paintings he has laying around its safe to say he uses the slow drying stuff.
There's also Lyles other photographs, the soul stealing ones. You can meet Lyle as early as the first day, but if you chose to attack him he's already acquired quite the collection. You could write that off as game design of course, but more intriguing is the contrast of his reaction to his transformation to Jeanne's right across the hall. That being basically no reaction at all. He's obviously not fine with it per-say, but he certainly seems a lot more settled in. And if Sam caught sight of Lyle before the apocalypse hiding himself with his cloak, it might explain why Sam's stupid ass doesn't immediately clock him as inhuman. It would be slightly more reasonable to assume Lyle's just shy like that if there's precedent, and he doesn't have the context of Fredrick existing yet.
Is this an intended implication? Probably not but I like to think about it, and now you can too!!
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sayruq · 10 months ago
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Hi world, it’s Eman Please read this as if I’m a member of your family, may be your sister , daughter or a friend and as if my family who’s under death now is yours.Today, I reach out with a heavy heart and a place for your kindness and support . I am not just seeking to fundraise. I am seeking to save the lives of my beloved family members who are currently trapped in a nightmare. All of whom depend on your generosity to escape Gaza Strip to Egypt , get the medical help needed and begin a new life where we are seeking safety. This is me Eman
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My name is Eman , a girl in her thirties (39- years old) and a computer science graduate .Iam speaking from the heart of Gaza, a place that was once vibrant with life and has now become painfully marked by the effects of wars that spared no war. I live with my mother, Etemad (60 years old ) and my father, Saed (70 years old . My mother and my father
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My sister Khaleda is ( 41 years old ) She has four children. Three sons .Saed ,3 years old. Abdul Rahman, 5 years old ,and Adam, 9 years old .Her daughter, Lyan, is (4 years old) .
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Khaleda's Children
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Iam suffering of one of the most common generic disorders which is thalassaemia. It’s so tiring and difficult disease. And due to the war, I lack medical care and treatments. My health is getting worse and deteriorating as treatment became insufficient. Iam in need to plasma exchange regularly ,the thing that my family find so difficult because of blockage and destruction of hospitals , in addition to the risks of going out our shelters every day as the bombs everywhere . My family deserve the opportunity to live a full life. I can’t bear the thought of losing any member of them.
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My father, Saed, is suffering from heart disease .He has blockage of the heart arteries . Doctors advised him not to expose himself to the news and events that affect his mental and physical health. He urgently needs to undergo the necessary tests and surgery.
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My mother, Etemad, has chronic diseases (blood pressure and diabetes ) . She needs regular follow up and medical treatment .She is struggling to obtain the necessary medications , waiting too long in clinics for subpar alternatives if found.
My family and I were very close knit enjoying simple pleasure and cherishing moment together. Now all that remains are memories scattered among the rubble of our destroyed home in Gaza. We witnessed death with our own eyes and were forced to flee our home in fear of our lives .During this time , we also received the news of the deaths of several relatives and friends due to indiscriminate bombardments. Now, I find Myself with my family displaced in a plastic tent in Al-Zawaydah , our last refuge, living inhuman conditions and enduring unimaginable hardships along the way.
We’re currently sleeping on the ground in a tent that does not protect us from the heat of summer or the cold of winter . We are located there ,with no access to essential items like clean drinking water , electricity , healthy food and cooking gas .Death and destruction followed us everywhere , Our home was bombed and bulldozed and our hopes and dreams were shattered along with it .We are enduring a suffering that is beyond anything you can imagine. Me with my family are in a very critical situation in tents .Tasks are divided among us to sustain ourselves. My father fetches water if ever found from a distant area early every morning. My mother cooks and washes our clothes using traditional methods .This is why we are asking for your help, as we are still in danger in South Gaza and can’t receive the medical care needed. Our new life in tents
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Since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza, we were forced to evacuate several times leaving behind our home and the future we had been working towards. Walking without carrying our personal belongings, our clothes or even money in search of a safe place until we managed to escape to the south of Gaza Strip .
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Gaza, a place that I call home has been transformed into a landscape of destructions and despair . The reality we live in is one of the constant fear, where the sounds of explosions drown out the dreams and aspirations of its people .In what seems like an instant , everything my family and I held there had been ripped away by the chaos of war . A side of our suffering in tents
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This campaign is not just about escaping Gaza. It’s about reclaiming a future where my family can live without the shadow of fear , where we can get the medical care and treatment needed and where we can once again embrace the joys of life without grief . The price of leaving Gaza is high and far beyond my family means. so I have initiated this fundraising campaign to urgently gather funds to help my family leave Gaza as soon as possible. The funds collected will be carefully allocated for the following purposes: Firstly , it will contribute to providing a safe passage to Egypt , which is a vital step for the family’s safety. Secondly: covering the medical treatment. Costs and medications for me , my father and my mother . In addition to the need for comprehensive examinations in Egypt to ensure our safety after the war. Thirdly : the funds will be allocated to provide temporary accommodation for the family in Egypt, giving them stability and the opportunity to explore the best path for their future . Finally , it will cover initial living expenses in Egypt granting the family the time and space needed to relax and rebuild their lives after the ordeal of the genocide in Gaza .
Eman's family has only raised $610 USD out of $50,000 goal. Please support the family by sharing. Donate if you can
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bwat5-blog · 5 months ago
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Caitlyn Kiramman: The Perfect Scapegoat
*Spoilers For Arcane*
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Good morning all! So continuing my slow descent into insanity let us discuss Arcane once more. Last night trying to fall asleep I was scrolling Archive and came across another of what I think I have seen being called "aftermath" works, just meaning it is the particular author's spin on Cait and Vi's life fairly immediately following the end of season two.
I am not going to name the work or the author because fan-fiction is literally creative art for the author to do with as they please, and I certainly don't have to read anything I don't want to, so I have no desire to call this person out. But I have seen this sort of thing a lot and wanted to discuss it.
"Caitlyn has to face the consequences for her crimes"
Now I have read some truly abhorrent concepts of "justice" people have put Caitlyn through for her actions, and won't be going there. Some are downright inhuman and others just display a hilarious lack of understanding. But the reason this one stuck with me and really had me thinking is that even though it was not the author's intent based on their notes, I actually think they actually did a fantastic job sharing another side of how Caitlyn was utterly failed by almost everyone around her.
In this particular work, the surviving councilors and the prominent people of Piltover have Caitlyn arrested and conduct a tribunal. Including Mel and Shoola. She is called to answer for a host of charges such as allying with a foreign power against her own people, wrongful imprisonment and so on. You get the idea.
So why does this particular idea stick out to me? Because the audacity of the same people who practically fed Caitlyn to Ambessa, as well as surrendered Piltover while pounding their chests and cheering blaming Caitlyn is so nauseatingly realistic it hurts.
QUICK THING ON MEL:
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Now let me clear. Mel would never. And had she been there she would have put a stop to that shit or at the very least nodded along while her mother called Caitlyn up then went to Caitlyn afterward in private and started fixing things. But, it is worth noting that Mel knew full and completely what her mother was planning in terms of starting a war to weaponize hex-tech. And as far as we are aware (I think we can assume she told Alora but we don't know for sure) didn't tell anyone. She was trying to stop her behind the scenes through her shadow games. And there are reasons and justifications for that certainly. In fact I think it's safe to assume Mel may have been afraid her mother would just outright attack if Mel was too aggressive in opposing her. Mel was a politician only at this time, and solved problems through more cerebral methods. Even when her magic manifests it is one primarily of protection and deflection, not head on aggression. Not to mention Mel's unavoidable conflicting emotions opposing her at all. But we will never how things could have been different if the rest of the council were aware of Ambessa's plan to begin with.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED:
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This is primarily about her actual time as commander but I wanted to touch on the task force. I recently was discussing the task force/use of The Grey with another user and they stated Caitlyn staged a coup to lead the task force. This of course is in no way true, but as my wife put it:
"She didn't stage a coup but not a single one of those spineless adults thought to look at the emotionally sandblasted college kid and say -No. You haven't even taken a beat since you were abducted and terrorized by your mother's killer and you have just survived another fight. We will figure this out but you don't need this right now. Go hug your incredibly hot girlfriend and take like a fifteen hour nap- instead they let themselves take the easy way out and pinned it all on Caitlyn."
The Commander:
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I am not gonna do a whole recap or a break-down of how Ambessa plays these people like a fiddle again. If you are interested I'd love to hear your thoughts on the documents where I have covered those topics!
In Summary: Caitlyn has returned from her mission with the strike team ending in heartbreak and failure in terms of Jinx at least. Totally isolated and alone, not having healed from any of the trauma she has suffered since the beginning of S1 A2, she stands with the other Enforcers while Ambessa expertly manipulates the prominent families of Piltover, the two surviving councilors, and a large amount of Enforcers you would have to assume included leadership (given their presence here and that there clearly many more than this total) into not only agreeing to Martial Law, but to Caitlyn as their commander.
"Caitlyn could have said no"- This is certainly true. I don't think anyone is arguing that myself included. Bu it is extraordinarily important to factor in Caitlyn's mental state at this point which includes a completely mind-boggling amount of trauma. As well as the fact that her people are angry and afraid, and as a Kiramman even at her young age she is someone they look to. Now sprinkle in a healthy amount of mob mentality and manipulation by Ambessa, as she is standing in a crowd of people thumping their chests while the only speaking member of her team stands by her side smiling and encouraging her to go up and accept. And then just to seal the deal Ambessa promises what Caitlyn wants most "your mother will have justice". She absolutely had the choice to say no. I am not negating that. But I do think unless you are intentionally disregarding all of the other factors involved in order to demonize her it is quite clear that things were not so simple. She ultimately made the choice, but ignoring the context doesn't make you righteous. Only ignorant, unfeeling, or both.
And for all those who love rolling out the old "Caitlyn jumped at the first chance to take power and punish all of Zaun just because her mom died" speech, lets take a look at how Caitlyn is actually feeling:
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I can only speak for me, but let me tell you what I see playing out in these images point by point:
Shock
Fear
Conflict
Reassurance
Nervousness
Stoic sadness
Acceptance of responsibility
A FUCKING FIFTY SOMETHING YEAR OLD CONQUERING WAR-MONGER SEEING HER DREAM COME TRUE
But! Stepping away from Caitlyn for a moment back to more of my original point. Caitlyn and Ambessa were not alone during this moment. Ambessa had instructed Salo to summon all people of prominence and power or something to that effect. Basically the people who had a say in how things go. These are the people she puppets into agreeing to Martial Law and Caitlyn as their commander. Let's take a look at these heroes:
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*Salo was there but I couldn't get a great still of him and I will give him a pass at least in the moment because Rictus was threatening him*
There were more people than this but these were the ones that I could grab in decent quality. And these were the people to make the decision. Otherwise Ambessa would not have needed them all there and gone through her whole song and dance. And I understand the argument that some of them were probably afraid due to the Noxian's doing their stomp dance, but guess what? If the adult politicians and people in power get that grace so does the college kid who recently got emotionally and mentally nuked back to the stone age.
Every single one of them let this happen. They could have stepped during it, they could have taken action after. Salo and Shoola were on the council with Cassandra. They both watch her daughter get served up on a plate to Ambessa so everyone can go about their lives feeling safer and pretending its all handled. There were enforcers there more than twice Caitlyn's age. Someone there was a position of leadership at some level. Not a single damn one made a move? Questioned? An assembly of probably between 30-50 people made up of Piltover's elite all bury their heads in the sand and let the grieving, inexperienced, young, recently returned from violent conflict college kid take the heat so they can go back to easy street and blame someone else if things go wrong.
AWARD FOR SPECTACULAR FAILURE:
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We of course cannot touch on the prominent people of Piltover who might as well have spartan kicked Caitlyn into Ambessa's open maw without talking about Tobias. Listen, Anyone who has been following me for any length of time has seen my relentless attempts to get people to recognize the importance of understanding how grief and loss hits people. This man lost his wife. His entire world got turned upside down. And I don't deny that at a point even if he had stepped in Caitlyn may have shut him down as she became the leader of house Kiramman anyway. But he does.... nothing... Part of this probably just comes down to the decision by the writers for him to kind of vanish but we see him defending her efforts to help early on and then when she has so clearly lost her way we get nothing from him.
Martial Law:
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So as I said, I have been through all of this in detail. Not doing it again. But since we are talking about it what did Caitlyn actually do?
Establish Checkpoints and take martial control of Zaun.
Arrest people who violated the law.
.............
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Piltover elite willingly agree to Martial Law
Piltover elite agree to Caitlyn being made leader
Zaun falls under Piltover jurisdiction regardless of Martial Law or not
Somewhere in Zaun is a dangerous terrorist guilty of multiple political assassinations, the deaths of several enforcers, tremendous destruction of property, multiple attempts to murder Caitlyn herself, and violent abduction of Caitlyn who at the time was a councilor's daughter from her own home.
Zaunite fighters conduct devastating attack on memorial service in what is supposed to be a secure location. Jinx would almost certainly be suspected of involvement but even if not once again the threat comes from Zaun.
The leader they chose, who is the leader because of the martial law they agreed to, places Zaun under occupation until this clear and unquestionable threat to public safety is located. She challenges unlawful arrests, unnecessary violence, bans the use of the worst cells in Stillwater she found Vi in, and has no part in Ambessa's secret experiments and brutality in the bowels of the prison.
None of this is to say that Caitlyn did not make mistakes, did not lose herself to her rage and hate, or does not share in the blame to a degree for the suffering Ambessa caused. I think it is fair to say that Caitlyn, much like those who failed her so spectacularly, looked away from the truth because it was easier to do so at first. And that is not even factoring the massive manipulation of Ambessa upon Caitlyn during this time to keep the occupation going while she continues to try and crack hex-tech, and attempting to control Caitlyn and bend her to her will.
But the idea of the people who all turned away while Caitlyn was made Ambessa's scapegoat so they could sleep peacefully at night condemning her from on high is both disgusting, and sadly all too believable. They have already proved their cowardice and stupidity. And it would be the final betrayal of someone who wanted above all else to protect her people to subject her to some sort of tribunal/punishment in the wake of surviving her cities complete abandonment of her. Especially considering her massive life-changing injuries sustained in the defense of humanity itself while setting things right.
Regarding Zaun:
The people of Zaun are for obvious reasons another matter. There is the larger picture ongoing oppression of Zaun by Piltover to consider, and even considering all the above factors the people of Zaun:
A- Would not have any way to know how much of part Ambessa played behind the scenes until someone made it all public
B- Were the ones who actually suffered during the occupation that Caitlyn did authorize regardless of reasoning.
And just like above, I am not saying Caitlyn does not share in the blame for what occurred. While everything she did was within her scope of authority, an authority lawfully granted to her, and in response to a very legitimate threat to Piltover's safety, it does not change the fact that people imprisoned during the occupation were potentially subjected to Ambessa's brutality. Never mind the day-to-day brutality enacted by Rictus and his men.
But again there are other factors that need to be considered before constructing the gallows:
Piltover's oppression of Zaun is unquestionable. But neither is Piltover's current legal jurisdiction over Zaun. Every action Caitlyn took and was knowledgeable of was completely legal, no matter how wrong you find the law.
The Grey- I am absolutely not doing my whole breakdown again. But through the use of the grey they helped take down Shimmer and the Chem-Barons, which were both enormous threats to the under city. And while it uncomfortable and clearly dangerous when exposed over long periods of time, there is absolutely no evidence of it being dangerous from short term exposure how Caitlyn used it.
And of course, the biggest factor: JINX.
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I'll make all of you a deal. Caitlyn gets a noose if Jinx hops up next to her. I love Jinx but it serves no purpose to pretend she's an angel. Jinx is the one who kicks all of this off to begin with. It is because of her that Piltover retaliation is guaranteed, because of her Caitlyn's entire life so violently and radically changes course. And let's be clear here, before you start with all that Jinx was striking out against the oppressors who had ruined her peoples lives in the name of justice and blah blah blah. Nope. Know how I know that? She hid during the entire occupation until Isha got taken. She wasn't speaking truth to power in the name of her people. She was a mentally ill child lashing out at a symbol of her rage in a moment of extraordinary grief and pain. And regarding her hiding by the way, I applauded her for it. Getting away from all of that shit is how she started to get better. As far as I'm concerned I would have cheered to see she and Isha leave that temple fight, board an airship, and head off for adventures far away from Piltover and Zaun forever (Same for Caitlyn and Vi but that's a different document).
So all that said, while Caitlyn certainly has a debt to the people of Zaun, we need to take care not to wrap that up with the debt Piltover owes to Zaun.
Caitlyn is not to blame for the entire history of the two cities. She only played a part in this series of events. And it would be dishonest not to admit that it was a Zaunite that started in the first place, the same Zaunite who changed Caitlyn's life forever through her violence and terrorism. And that the same woman who manipulated Zaunite warriors into attacking Piltover to help kick the war off manipulated Caitlyn herself.
If Silco's mad daughter can become their symbol of hope, and his most trusted lieutenant can become their first councilor, perhaps the people of Zaun can find mercy in their heart for a young woman who recently almost gave her life to make things right. Not to mention her families seat on the council.
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Anyway. You have all heard most of this from me before in some form or fashion. So I apologize for that. And again I really am not coming for fan-fiction. I would be the ULTIMATE hypocrite given my recent small efforts. The particular story that got my attention just made me think about it, and then realize it would be sickeningly true to form for the Piltover elite to try and turn on Caitlyn when it was all said and done when they abandoned her the first time. And spawned into this. Thank you for reading.
Have a great day!
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malcolmschmitz · 7 days ago
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ANNOUNCING: BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
Hey, friends! I've got an exciting new announcement for you- the Super Secret Project that's been taking up most of my writing time is (starting to) come to fruition!
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I'm partnering with Choice of Games to bring you an interactive fiction story called Bright Young Things: a game of justice, heroics, and an ever-widening gyre. It's a 1920s superhero story- think one part Jeeves and Wooster and one part The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
The world’s hung over from the War and the Flu. But the night’s young, the music’s loud, and you’ve got a city to protect… During the Great War, both sides used xyltraxazine- a dangerous new chemical weapon- to incapacitate the enemy. After the War, people who’d been exposed to xyltraxazine began to change, and not all for the better. Some of them gained strange abilities- incredible strength, inhuman speed, flight, shapeshifting, invisibility, or even mind control. The zills walk among us, and you never know who is one until they lift a motorcar. Some lost their minds, becoming anti-social, vicious, or outright murderous. The d—-ed blighters want to destroy the world for the fun of it.   Unfortunately, these two categories overlap… and that’s where you come in. London needs a hero; you need a distraction.     Discover your superpowers in 1920s London. Choose your past- were you a poor soldier? An ambulance driver? A rich kid in the officers’ tents? Choose your powers- are you a Herculaen, a speedster, an icarus, a skinchanger, or an invisible? Help the citizens of London - for fame, fortune, or the joy of doing the right thing. Fight petty crime, stop a runaway train, and kick the blighters into next week. Keep up a double life- or don’t. As a widowed person of quality, you’ve got to keep up appearances. Lords and ladies don’t acknowledge all this super-hero rot– and they certainly don’t participate in it. Will you hide behind a mask, or defend your do-gooding? What will you do when you have to be in two places at once? Fend off your feckless “friends” and hangers-on… or convince them to help you stop the end of the world as you know it.  Romance a messy young lord, an excitable pilot, your steadfast valet/lady’s maid, a canny cub reporter, or your childhood friend turned anarchist blighter. Or love them all, come what may. Balance Society’s expectations on your love- or flout them, and pursue forbidden romance. Uncover a blighter conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government… or discover the method to the blighters’ madness, and join them. Save London from utter destruction, or rebuild it in your image in the aftermath. 
I'll talk more about this project on Patreon (and on Tumblr) as it progresses. Release date TBA- keep an eye on my Patreon (and/or email list and/or Tumblr) to see when it's coming out!
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scribbledghost · 3 months ago
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Hi Ghost!
I would like some fluffy sexy smuty inhuman ivy in readers dream...like wet dream yk.
Thank you very much!! Worship 🖤🙏
ooooh, i won't lie, I've been kind of toying with the idea of the vessels sort of using your dream connection in such a way 👀, so thank you for requesting this one! Tried to make it as gender neutral as possible, so hopefully I managed.
You can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your face as you rest in a bed of wildflowers. Birdsong fills your ears, and among the sights and sounds of your little garden of Eden, footsteps approach.
"Havin' a good dream, dove?"
You instantly know it's IV.
"It'd be better if you'd lay here with me."
A low chuckle reverberates around your subconscious.
"Don't gotta tell me twice."
It's rare for IV to infiltrate your dreams like this, but not at all unwelcome.
"The others busy?" you ask as IV tucks an arm beneath your head, curling you towards his chest.
"Yeah," he grunts. "Off doin' their own thing. Just as well, been wantin' some alone time with you."
If you couldn't tell where your dream was going by the tone of his voice, you can certainly tell by the way he turns towards you and begins to run his free hand up your body. He starts at your hip, trailing upwards until he reaches your jaw. IV pulls you to him, pressing his lips to yours gently.
Typically, intimacy with IV is fast and messy - a physical display of a desire so encompassing it has nowhere to go except from one body to another. But this... this is different. This is slow, almost methodical in the way IV moves his mouth and traces his tongue along your lips.
"Just want you all to myself for a little while," he whispers against you.
"Then have me."
IV takes a deep breath through his nose, emitting a satisfied growl as he exhales. He rolls you onto your back, moving himself atop you in the process. The next few moments of time are spent in somewhat of a struggle between you and him - you keep trying to will your clothes away all at once, the way one can only do in dreams, and IV keeps willing them back on.
"Ah, ah," IV scolds with a smile. "No takin' the easy way outta this. You're gonna let me slowly peel off every bit of clothing you've got on. Got it?"
You huff, but allow him to do as he pleases in this case.
True to form, IV is slow in removing your clothes. He methodically trails his hands up your shirt, ghosting his touches just close enough to where you want him without fully putting his hands on you. Once you're left bare-chested, he leans to the side and nips at your neck, drinking in the whines you give him in response. Your hips buck against him, and you can feel the outline of his cock against you.
With another low growl, IV sits up, helping you to remove your pants while leaving your underwear in place. He slowly traces his finger along the hemline, earning him another impatient huff that tapers into a whine.
"Tell me what you want, baby," he coos in false gentleness.
"Want you to touch me," you tell him.
"Aw, but I am touchin' you," IV replies, an infuriating grin on his face. "Gonna have to be more specific than that, dove."
Another grumble leaves you, but you once again acquiesce to his demands. Once you've been specific enough in your desires to satisfy him, IV returns the favor tenfold, wasting no time in driving your pleasure higher with his hands.
Arousal in dreams is a nebulous thing, and this is something that IV takes advantage of. Instead of a concentrated feeling in the core of your body, it's all-encompassing, too much and not enough all at once. Your climax approaches quickly, but you hang at the edge for far longer than you would in your waking hours, despite IV continuing his ministrations without cease.
"Wanna come," you breathe to him.
"I know, baby, I know," he soothes, kissing you deeply. "I'll get you there. Just lemme have a bit more fun, yeah?"
You can only nod, letting yourself feel the sensations IV's imparting on you.
And then, just as you're sure you're about to tip over the edge, he stops. You respond with a confused whine, only to have him gently shush you as he maneuvers atop you and snaps his fingers. His clothing vanishes in a blink, and without thinking you reach up to gently press your fingers to the small spot on his chest that has yet to be filled in with the permanent black paint that adorns the rest of him.
You feel him tense slightly as he grabs your hand, but he makes no motion to move it.
"...It's beautiful, you know," you murmur.
IV's face contorts into an unreadable expression, brows furrowed as he grips your hand tighter. A soft "c'mere" is all he responds with before he leans down to kiss you once more.
Typically you require more prep to take IV fully, but dream logic allows him to enter you to the hilt in one swift movement.
Things become more nebulous the longer IV is inside of you; positions change, and soft words are exchanged that you can't quite make out but can still feel the affection behind. The world around you bleeds into itself, shapes becoming less defined, leaving just you and IV in your own realm together.
It doesn't take long for you to sit at the edge of orgasm again, and after a few strokes, IV makes good on his previous promise to tip you over. Your muscles contract, the pleasure seeping into every part of you as you're enveloped by it.
"That's it," IV says lowly into your ear. "That's it. Give it to me."
You vaguely sense him follow you into climax, your bond with him allowing you to feel a fraction of his own pleasure as he throbs within you. He tangles you in his arms as the two of you come down, melding his mouth with yours as he cradles you to his body.
"Always so good t'me, y'know that?" he says softly, nudging his nose against yours.
You hum contentedly, sharing a soft look with him as the world around you continues to shift out of focus.
"Think I'm waking up," you say.
"Good," IV responds, leaning down to nip at your pulse. "Means I can make this real."
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on-leatheredwings · 1 year ago
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House Arrest
Yandere! Batfam / Bruce Wayne x (Fem!) Reader
For a request, Munchausen's syndrome by proxy with Bruce? Like, he keeps reader sick so she can't leave him or interact with someone outside the family. And maybe the rest of the batfam is in on it?
[a/n: Didn’t know if you wanted this platonic or not so I didn’t specify! In my head its romantic with bruce though lmao]
> word count: 1581
> Tw: gaslighting, munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, yandere-typical behaviors!
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You sit in anticipation, foot tapping against the stone floor. There’s an entire miniature hospital set up for you down here in the Batcave. Respirators, diagnostics machines, and other expensive medical equipment that would be better served in Gotham General. 
Helping people recover. 
So patients could some day leave. 
You used to love being in the Batcave. It was the family’s little secret. When you officially joined the family, the Batcave was now your secret as well. But ever since falling ill months ago, bedridden with a sickness whose cause continues to elude everyone… being here is depressing. You now notice it’s damp down here. Dark. Lifeless.
Bruce sits at the Batcomputer, the screen’s light painting over his face in a green wash. You watch his eyes scan line after line of your results. Reminds you of a typewriter. Methodical. Orderly. Nearly inhuman. When he sighs, your heart stops. 
Fuck.
He turns to you, face grave. “You’re still ill.” 
Your eyes start stinging with an onset of tears that you furiously try to blink back. 
“... H-How ill? How bad? Am I any better?” you ask, as if bartering with him will make the situation any different. As if bartering with God ever made any difference for mere mortals such as yourself.
Bruce’s face is still. 
“You haven’t improved.” 
Your hopes crash down around you like glass. You aren’t better at all? Even though you haven’t had a fever in weeks? Even though you’ve been working out with enough energy to keep up with Damian? He was exerting perhaps only 10% of his effort, but still. Your lymph nodes aren’t even swollen anymore. Tim had told you as much, accidentally contradicting Bruce’s insistence that they had been earlier that morning. 
“But I feel better,” you croak. You hear footsteps behind you approach and you swallow drily, nearly hissing at the offender. It’s Dick, and damn him. You don’t want to be placated right now.
“Are you experiencing any headaches? Shortness of breath?” Bruce asks, eyes still trained on you. You try to recall. 
“... I may have had a migraine this morning…” At Bruce’s weary shake of the head, you blurt, “But it’s passed. I’m perfectly fine. And no shortness of breath.”
“... I’m sorry. But if you’ve been having symptoms like that, along with your being immunocompromised…” Bruce doesn’t even have to finish the sentence. You won’t be leaving the Wayne Manor grounds for a long time. 
Fuck. 
Fuck. 
You feel a hand on your shoulder. You look up and see Dick, whose face is somber but offers an encouraging smile. 
“Well, I’m back in town for the time being. We can hang out all the time.” His expression brightens as an idea pops into his head. “And I can call Tim, Jason, Duke–! Maybe even Cass and Steph… We can have a board game night tonight!” He sounds as chipper as you are miserable.
Damian approaches from behind, leaving the shadows. His arms are folded. “If that’s the case, I’ll humor Grayson and let him capture some of my fleet for once.” A popular choice was Risk, perfect for the family who’s entire lives revolved around combat and strategy. But you didn’t want to play Risk again. You didn’t want to have a board game night, no matter how many of the family came. You wanted to see people. 
Other people. Everyone here is your family. 
You want fucking friends again. You wanted a job again – a sentiment you would’ve laughed at even just five months ago. You wanted any semblance of a life again.
Bruce’s eyes haven’t left your trembling form once, two chips of slate-gray peering over steepled hands.
“Thank you, Dick. Damian. But I think she could use some time alone.”
Dick’s hand releases your shoulder, retracting as if burned. None of them are the boss here. It’s Bruce who is my warden, your mind whispers darkly. 
“Right! Don’t want you to feel overwhelmed.” Dick sees himself out, taking Damian with him. “See you tonight.” And that feels like a sentencing to your fate.
Now the two of you alone, Bruce stands, offering his arm wordlessly. You know what this means. You take it, linking yours with his without thought or protest. Bruce liked to ensure you were always within his reach, as if you were prone to fainting spells. This was less humiliating for you than him carrying you through the estate, you suppose. 
“Why, yes, let’s take a turn around the grounds!” you used to exclaim, making your voice posh and British, mimicking the regency romance movies you had been watching all the time. 
Now, months later, you just sullenly allow him to lead you. Your surroundings pass by and you vaguely recognize that you are exiting the Batcave, walking through the manor, and out into the never-ending expanse of a well-kept lawn. 
It’s a sunny, idyllic spring day after months of overcast winter. 
And thank god you could still traipse outside when you wanted, even if fenced in. Bruce told you when you had first fallen ill that he had installed some high-tech, anti-air pollution gadget. Wayne Manor was effectively your own personal bubble. Fresh air was the only thing keeping you sane, lately. 
You two pass by the garden, a labor of love Alfred started. You and Damian tend to it now… and mainly the latter, these days. You haven’t had any energy for gardening as of late. Fatigue is a symptom, you hear Bruce’s voice whisper in the back of your mind. But you don’t feel fatigue… rather, just depressed. But of course, isn’t fatigue a symptom of being depressed…? A familiar brain fog crawls into your mind. Your head was starting to hurt.
You look across the lawn, onto the horizon. Gotham’s dark skyline sits there, enticing. When night falls, it’ll glimmer and twinkle with light. There is a whole world out there. And, God, you love the Waynes, but they aren’t the world. You need to distract yourself. Bruce, ever the lover of pleasant silences, is going to have to distract you from thoughts that make you want to leap off the second story balcony of your bedroom.
Should you ask, “How’s work?” No. You find you don’t care. 
“How’s Jason?” you say instead, feeling Bruce stiffen at the mention of his most tenuous relation.
He wasn’t around as much, but when he was, he was always relaxing with you in your room. You have a whole shelf for the knick knacks he brings. “Don’t worry. They’re clean,” he’d snort at his former mentor, because Bruce required everything to be thrice sanitized before coming into your possession.
“... Better.”
You’re glad. That’s one good thing, you guess. 
“Bruce,” you croak. 
He looks at you, face alight in expectation. 
“Maybe I should just go,” you say, small and weak. Your eyes don’t leave the sight of Gotham skyscrapers, stretching to the sky. Bruce stills, stopping you both in your tracks.
“What do you mean, ‘go’?” he says carefully.
You remove yourself from his arm and gesture to the city. “Just go. Leave. I mean, I can’t stay here forever.” Bruce looks genuinely confused, as much as he can. 
“Of course you can.”
“No, I can’t!” you screech. Frustrated, you tear at your hair. “I can just be an outpatient somewhere– I can go for hospital treatments every week– or everyday– whatever!
Bruce places his hands on your shoulders.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
Rage flares in you and you gnash your teeth at him. By now, that all-too-familiar brain fog has flooded your brain. But you try to fight it. You have to fight it. Like trying to crawl out of rapidly-sinking quicksand, you fight it.
“I-I know what I’m saying. I’m saying–”
“You’re saying to just let you die,” Bruce sharply returns. “To give up, let you die, and leave us to grieve.” 
“No–”
“Stephanie.” 
You meet his eyes again at the name, which are resolute and as blue as ever. 
“Cassandra. Duke.” Your stomach churns, imagining their smiling faces, turned into ash as your hypothetical passing. “Barbara.” 
“Bruce,” you croak, pleading inwardly for him to stop. 
“Damian.” 
“Tim.”
“Jason.” 
“Dick. Alfred.” You duck your head and your eyes meet the ground. The listing of all your loved ones pinches your heart, and you feel nauseous. You weren’t trying to leave them. You didn’t want to leave them at all. 
“... Me.” 
Your eyes sting with tears again. Why did he have to make it sound like that? Like you were seeking some selfish want, rather than trying to improve your quality of life. You feel your ambition and desire wane under the weight of guilt. You feel all sense of struggle start to disintegrate, lost to the fog in your head. Lost. You’ve lost.
Bruce’s eyes scrutinize you.
“As I suspected. You’re acting delirious. Manic. Delusional.”
Any semblance of protest dies in your throat. 
“What?” you say. But Bruce is already leading you away towards the looming doors of Wayne Manor, away from the green of the grounds. Away from the light of the sun, and away from the skyline. He comforts you with familiar lines on the way to your bedroom. 
You need rest. Alfred will brew his tea for you. I’ll call the kids to come tonight. We can play Risk. He pats your shoulder, stroking soft, deceptively warm circles with his thumb.
“You just need some rest.” 
And not for the first time, you believe he may be right.
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guerillas-of-history · 4 months ago
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🚨 Today, the occupation published footage of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya shackled in prison.
Dr. Abu Safiya was arrested on December 28, 2024, after occupation forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital. During the raid, he was severely beaten and used as a human shield.
Abu Safiya lost his son who ascended to martyrdom due to occupation forces’ gunfire during the siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital. He was also injured by shrapnel from an IOF shell when occupation soldiers targeted the hospital, which was then destroyed and set on fire after being forcibly evacuating all medical staff and patients, some of whom were martyred.
He was held in solitary confinement for 24 days.
Lawyer of Dr. Abu Safiya from Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights to Safa News Agency:
- Dr. Abu Safiya is suffering from severe health complications due to the torture he endured in occupation prisons.
- The torture he faced in Gaza before being transferred to the occupation’s prisons was brutal, involving inhumane methods that disregarded his status as a doctor.
- The charge against Dr. Abu Safiya is that he continued working at Kamal Adwan Hospital despite threats from the occupation army, in addition to working within the Gaza government affiliated with Hamas.
- These accusations do not classify him as an "unlawful combatant" and therefore do not strip him of his rights as a prisoner under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- The Southern Command Chief of the occupation army issued a decision to detain Abu Safiya for 45 days until the "israeli" court upholds the arrest order.
- If the court confirms the "unlawful combatant" designation, Abu Safiya will be sentenced to six months of actual imprisonment, subject to renewal.
- The "unlawful combatant" status is similar to administrative detention in that the period can be extended. However, it differs in definition:
- An "unlawful combatant" is detained in war zones.
Administrative detention ends when the occupation deems the prisoner "no longer a threat," whereas an "unlawful combatant" remains in detention indefinitely.
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girlactionfigure · 11 months ago
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Yes, You Are Right, 6 Million Is Not a True Number... It Might Actually Be Higher...
To those who dare question the reality of the Holocaust or minimize its horrors: your denial is an insult to history, truth, and the memory of millions who perished. plus the evidence is overwhelming, the testimonies irrefutable, and the suffering immeasurable. Holocaust denial is not just ignorance—it's an sinister form of antisemitism that seeks to erase the atrocities committed by the Nazis. 
As we witness more and more how some try to deny out painful history, here's a detailed account to reaffirm the undeniable truth, we will review some of the death camps, killing techniques, and casualty figures.
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1/ Intro: The Holocaust, well recorded.
Orchestrated by Nazi Germany, it resulted in the systematic murder of approximately 6 million Jews. However, recent research suggests this figure might be even higher. The full extent of the atrocities is staggering and still being uncovered. The scope of this genocide went beyond the initial estimates, with ongoing studies revealing more mass graves, hidden documents, and survivor testimonies that paint a grimmer picture of the Holocaust's true scale. The meticulous records kept by the Germans provide detailed insights into the numbers and methods of murder, underscoring the planned and methodical nature of this genocide.
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2/ Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The largest and most infamous Nazi concentration and extermination camp, saw the deaths of at least 1.1 million Jews. Located in Poland, it became a symbol of the Holocaust's horror. Victims were subjected to inhumane conditions, forced labor, and medical experiments before being murdered. The camp's infrastructure, designed for maximum extermination efficiency, included gas chambers capable of killing thousands at a time and crematoriums to dispose of the bodies, highlighting the industrial nature of the genocide. Detailed records of transports, prisoner numbers, and deaths were meticulously kept, leaving a chilling account of the atrocities committed.
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3/ Treblinka.
Another extermination camp in Poland, witnessed the murder of around 870,000 Jews. The camp operated with a singular purpose: mass murder, primarily through gas chambers. Victims were transported to Treblinka in tightly packed trains that was made to use to transport livestock, often enduring days without food or water, only to be killed upon arrival. The camp's operations were covered in secrecy, with few survivors to testify to the horrors. This near-total annihilation of those sent to Treblinka exemplifies the ruthless efficiency of the Nazi death machine, and here again they detailed and saved all transport lists and death counts and meticulously recorded it.
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4/ At Belzec. 
Also in Poland, approximately 600,000 Jews were killed. The camp's efficiency in extermination, with most victims murdered upon arrival, underscores the industrial scale of the Holocaust. Belzec's gas chambers, initially primitive and later more sophisticated, were capable of killing thousands daily. The camp's location, chosen for its proximity to major Jewish populations, ensured a steady stream of victims. The methods of murder at Belzec were continuously refined, demonstrating the Nazis' relentless pursuit of their genocidal goals. Detailed records of each transport and extermination were kept, providing a grim accounting of the lives lost.
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5/ Sobibor. 
Yet another death camp in Poland, saw the deaths of about 250,000 Jews. Sobibor was part of Operation Reinhard, the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews of occupied Poland. The camp's gas chambers, disguised as showers, were used to deceive and murder. Despite its short operational period, Sobibor's impact was devastating. The camp's destruction by the Nazis in an attempt to hide their crimes could not erase the evidence of the atrocities committed there, which have been painstakingly reconstructed through survivor testimonies and archaeological efforts. The Nazis' meticulous record-keeping included transport lists and death counts, which have been crucial in reconstructing the scale of the atrocities.
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6/ Majdanek. 
A concentration and extermination camp near Lublin, Poland, resulted in the deaths of around 78,000 Jews. Originally a labor camp, it later incorporated gas chambers to increase the killing efficiency. Unlike other camps, Majdanek was liberated largely intact, providing a grimly detailed picture of the Holocaust's mechanisms. The camp's dual function as a labor and death camp highlights the varied methods the Nazis used to exploit and exterminate Jews. The vast array of personal belongings left behind bears silent witness to the lives lost. Detailed German records, including death certificates and transport logs, provide further evidence of the systematic nature of the genocide.
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7/ Chelmno. 
The first extermination camp established, killed approximately 152,000 Jews. Located in Poland, Chelmno used gas vans to murder its victims. The victims were deceived into entering these mobile gas chambers, believing they were being transported to new locations. This method of murder, though less well-known, was an early experiment in mass killing that paved the way for the more extensive gas chambers of other camps. Chelmno's role in the Holocaust was crucial, setting a precedent for subsequent extermination efforts. The Germans kept detailed records of each transport and the number of victims, underscoring the methodical planning behind the genocide.
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8/ The Einsatzgruppen. 
Nazi death squads, were responsible for the mass shootings of over 1 million Jews across Eastern Europe, particularly in the Soviet Union. Mass graves continue to be discovered, revealing the true scale of their operations. These mobile killing units followed the advancing German army, executing Jews and other perceived enemies in mass shootings. The Einsatzgruppen's activities are among the most brutal and direct forms of genocide, often involving local collaborators and leaving behind a legacy of terror and loss in countless communities. The Germans meticulously documented these operations, with reports detailing the number of victims and locations of mass shootings.
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9/ Ghettos.
In addition to extermination camps, ghettos played a significant role in the Holocaust. The Warsaw Ghetto, the largest, confined over 400,000 Jews. Starvation, disease, and deportations to death camps decimated the population. The living conditions in the ghetto were inhumane, with overcrowding, insufficient food, and rampant disease. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a heroic but doomed resistance effort, stands as a testament to the resilience and courage of the Jewish people in the face of systematic annihilation. The ghetto's eventual destruction symbolized the relentless nature of Nazi persecution. German records of ghetto populations and deportations provide detailed accounts of the suffering endured by its inhabitants.
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10/ The Lodz Ghetto. 
With around 160,000 Jews, suffered similar fates. Ghettos served as holding areas before deportations to extermination camps, with many inhabitants perishing due to inhumane conditions. The Lodz Ghetto, one of the longest-lasting, was marked by forced labor and brutal living conditions. Its eventual liquidation sent tens of thousands to their deaths in Auschwitz. The ghettos' purpose was multifaceted: to isolate Jews, strip them of their possessions, and ultimately, to facilitate their extermination. The Nazis kept detailed records of ghetto inhabitants, work assignments, and deportation lists, all of which contribute to the historical understanding of the genocide's scope.
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11/ Theresienstadt.
Presented as a "model ghetto" to deceive the world, was actually a transit camp for Jews sent to extermination camps. Around 33,000 Jews died within its walls, while many more were deported to their deaths. Theresienstadt was used for Nazi propaganda, showcasing it as a "self-governing" Jewish settlement to mislead international observers. In reality, it was a place of suffering and death, where cultural and intellectual life persisted only as a fragile form of resistance against the overwhelming oppression and impending doom.
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Too much for 1 thread.
There are dozens of more camps, massacres, events and figures, that it is impossible to include everyone, so in the next chapter we will briefly go over all the other known facts. 
Summing up the horrific toll, we have:
- Auschwitz-Birkenau: 1.1 million Jews - Treblinka: 870,000 Jews - Belzec: 600,000 Jews - Sobibor: 250,000 Jews - Majdanek: 78,000 Jews - Chelmno: 152,000 Jews - Einsatzgruppen mass shootings: 1 million Jews - Warsaw Ghetto: over 400,000 Jews - Lodz Ghetto: 160,000 Jews - Theresienstadt: 33,000 Jews - Mauthausen: approximately 38,000 Jews - Bergen-Belsen: around 37,000 Jews - Dachau: about 28,000 Jews - Buchenwald: approximately 56,000 Jews - Ravensbrück: around 20,000 Jews - Sachsenhausen: about 30,000 Jews - Gross-Rosen: around 46,000 Jews - Stutthof: approximately 65,000 Jews - Plaszow: around 8,000 Jews - Westerbork: about 103,000 Jews - Drancy: approximately 70,000 Jews - Natzweiler-Struthof: around 20,000 Jews - Neuengamme: approximately 42,000 Jews - Poniatowa: approximately 14,000 Jews - Janowska: about 40,000 Jews - Kaiserwald: around 25,000 Jews - Malines (Mechelen): approximately 17,000 Jews - Sered: around 12,000 Jews - Jasenovac: around 25,000 Jews - Maly Trostenets: about 65,000 Jews - Babi Yar: over 33,000 Jews killed in just two days - Kovno Ghetto: approximately 30,000 Jews - Vilna Ghetto: about 55,000 Jews - Rumbula: around 25,000 Jews - Riga Ghetto: approximately 30,000 Jews - Minsk Ghetto: around 50,000 Jews - Kaunas Ninth Fort: over 30,000 Jews - Minsk Fort: around 65,000 Jews - Lublin Ghetto: about 40,000 Jews - Lvov Ghetto: approximately 100,000 Jews
Adding these additional figures gives us: 1.1 million (Auschwitz-Birkenau) + 870,000 (Treblinka) + 600,000 (Belzec) + 250,000 (Sobibor) + 78,000 (Majdanek) + 152,000 (Chelmno) + 1 million (Einsatzgruppen mass shootings) + 400,000 (Warsaw Ghetto) + 160,000 (Lodz Ghetto) + 33,000 (Theresienstadt) + 38,000 (Mauthausen) + 37,000 (Bergen-Belsen) + 28,000 (Dachau) + 56,000 (Buchenwald) + 20,000 (Ravensbrück) + 30,000 (Sachsenhausen) + 46,000 (Gross-Rosen) + 65,000 (Stutthof) + 8,000 (Plaszow) + 103,000 (Westerbork) + 70,000 (Drancy) + 20,000 (Natzweiler-Struthof) + 42,000 (Neuengamme) + 14,000 (Poniatowa) + 40,000 (Janowska) + 25,000 (Kaiserwald) + 17,000 (Malines) + 12,000 (Sered) + 25,000 (Jasenovac) + 65,000 (Maly Trostenets) + 33,000 (Babi Yar) + 30,000 (Kovno Ghetto) + 55,000 (Vilna Ghetto) + 25,000 (Rumbula) + 30,000 (Riga Ghetto) + 50,000 (Minsk Ghetto) + 30,000 (Kaunas Ninth Fort) + 65,000 (Minsk Fort) + 40,000 (Lublin Ghetto) + 100,000 (Lvov Ghetto) = 6,706,000 Jews.
This sum, combined with other unrecorded deaths, ghetto liquidations, and hidden or lesser-known massacres, underscores the sheer scale of the tragedy. 
So when you feel the need to gain some attention by exploiting our painful history, know that this is one of the most recorded events ever, so beside being an absolute evil person, you also expose yourself as a dumb person as well.
REMEMBER, THAT EACH NUMBER REPRESENTS A LIFE BRUTALLY CUT SHORT!! 
NEVER AGAIN!! 
AP
@APbrooklyn_NY
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rosenclaws · 25 days ago
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Hi I have an idea for headcanons.. (I’m not sure if it’s good or not) what will be Logan’s reaction to the reader crying after seeing how much he’s been hurt during the mission or maybe crying after seeing him in a long time and thankful that he’s safe.
awww this is too cute, I love some comforting Logan.
Origins Logan -
There's a massive thunderstorm brewing and you were worried about Logan going to work. Being around all those trees what if something bad happened? You know he can heal but he can't heal everything. It just makes you nervous. So when the rain starts to pour and lighting starts a massive fire that isn't being put out by the rain, well fuck you don't know what to do. Against your better judgement you got into the truck and drove down to the lumberyard.
You were soaked to the bone as you ran inside the office and you swore you could have cried there because you saw Logan waiting out the storm with some of his coworkers. He was shocked to see you there and rushes over immediately. Scolding you for even thinking about driving in a storm like this and thanking god you were safe. You were just so worried and it warms his heart that you are that much BUT he makes you swear to never drive in conditions like this again. He takes off his flannel and makes you wear it so you're in something warm. Yes he is shirtless because I said so.
Trilogy Logan -
You knew something was wrong when Charles called you into his office. The solo mission Logan had gone on made your stomach twist just hearing about it. Logan isn't exactly stealthy, his methods are much more straight forward and bloody. So when he went away for a week you were a nervous wreck. A week passed and Logan wasn't back and your mind went to the worst places. Charles called you into his office to tell you that Logan's tracker had been turned off only 3 days into the mission. They waited because they knew Logan often goes off on his own but he missed the return deadline.
It was horrible. You couldn't eat or sleep. Just waiting for Logan to come home. You stayed away analyzing everything you could. Calling in favors and staring at the empty map where his tracker should be. It's not until a week later where he walks through the door. His suit is torn and he looks tired but he's home. You burst into tears the second you two were alone. Holding onto him tight as you cry. It breaks his heart to see you so worried. He's a survivor and he tells you that but it doesn't make the worry any less. He cups your face and promises that he'll always come home. That he has you and nothing will stop him from getting back to you.
DOFP Logan -
Okay so this one's a little different. There's not much need for missions and fighting anymore after Logan reset the timeline but sometimes he still thinks about what his world used to be. So much so that Charles tasked you with helping him clear his mind. Logan didn't want you to because he didn't want you to see what he's been through but you promise you can handle it. Logan has a soft spot for you and he always has so he really doesn't want you to. But there isn't much room for argument.
You see everything. All the pain and loss he's been through. The trauma of losing people he's loved and the things that were done to him. How inhumane he was treated. It broke your heart. You started to cry and Logan refused to ever let you in his head again. He held you as you cried from how much he's been hurt. He promises you that everything's okay and that he's strong and a fighter. His life hasn't been easy but he's here now and he's alright. He promises.
Old Man Logan -
Logan would disappear a lot. You don't know much about his life. Just that he drives a limo and takes care of his father. At least that's what he's told you. He won't bring you over to his place and he tends to keep to himself. Still you love him and he loves you even if he's not the best at showing it. When he does show up at your place he's dressed his best. Switching to a shirt that doesn't have blood and brining you flowers he took an extra couple rides to afford. Still you worried about him. You could see he was in constant pain and he would never let you in. It had been a couple days since you saw him and you were flipping through some channels when you see the news reporting on an attempted carjacking. The car got away but it had left blood, hubcaps, and a license plate. A license plate you recognized as Logan's.
You were terrified. Telling yourself that he's fine and it wasn't his car but you can't stop yourself from calling over and over. You don't get a response until the next morning. You could barely sleep when you got a knock at your door, there was Logan looking as exhausted as ever but still had a smile on his face seeing you. You hugged him tight and let a few tears slip which made him confused. You could barely get the story out before he was shushing you and telling you he's alright. He hides the blood that was still on his shirt and the pain in his chest from getting shot. You don't need to know that. He tells you he's alright and that nothings gonna happen to him. What a liar.
Worst Logan -
Logan was gone because of the damn TVA again. Sending him on dangerous missions as a favor for letting him stay in your universe. His healing factor made things easier but you still missed him. Still you waited and then he came home. Covered in blood. You freaked when you saw Wade half dragging him through the orange portal. Something had fucked with his healing and it was taking longer than it should. Logan tries to pretend he's fine but he's weak and his wounds aren't healing. He never wanted you to see him like this. He feels horrible seeing those tears in your eyes as you help clean him up. He brushes his thumb across your cheek and tells you not to cry for him. He's not worth it. But you tell him he's an idiot and you care about him more than he cares about himself so of course you're gonna cry. Logan commits your tears to memory to serve as a reminder to never let you see him like this again.
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erwinsvow · 1 year ago
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“I want them to like you,” you say, tugging on Rafe’s arm to drag him away from his truck and towards the beach. “I want them to love you.” He’s standing still, feet planted firmly on the pavement. 
You’ve wanted Rafe to meet your friends for the longest time, so much so that it’s the only thing you’ve been thinking about recently. It’s not exactly accurate—he has met them before, many times, actually, but they’ve never been good encounters. You recall a bruise on Pope’s back and JJ’s busted lip, back before they knew Rafe was your boyfriend and he was just public enemy number one.
But things are better now—really, they are. You try to convince yourself all of those incidents are in the past, that everyone’s over it now. You want your friends to like your boyfriend. You want your boyfriend to like your friends. You want it so bad you’re willing to drag Rafe to the beach yourself, if that’s what it takes.
“They can’t stand me,” Rafe replies, scanning the surroundings. He doesn’t like them, but he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings either, if they overhear the two of you right now. “Can’t stand them, either, y’know.”
“But you like me, don’t you?” you ask, smiling wide, all cheery and bright. Like he has to tell you again. He rolls his eyes, making you laugh.
“Not at all. What gave y’that stupid idea?” You roll your own pretty eyes in a matching response.
“C’mon, Rafe, look, they’re already here-” you whine, pointing at the giant, junky thing your Pogue friends call a car. He doesn’t let you anywhere near the thing anymore if he can help it—drops you off and picks you up because that thing is a death trap, even more so with one of the stoned idiots driving it. “I don’t wanna be late, so move-” you start pushing at his chest, but he doesn’t give you an inch. 
You huff, hot sun beating down on you, muscles tired from trying to move your entirely too strong boyfriend. 
“Fine,” you finally let out, giving up. “I’ll just go by myself.”
“Good girl. I’ll swing by to get you in a couple hours and then we can go for dinner-”
“Sounds good,” you interrupt, causing Rafe to look at you with an eyebrow raised—you never interrupt him. “I’ll just have Pope put the sunscreen on my back for me. Since you won’t be there.”
“Wait a minute-”
“And JJ’s been dying to teach me how to surf. Y’know, last time I tried though, my top fell off. But I guess it’s no big deal. I bet John B can put it back on for me.”
Rafe thinks he’s mastered the look of not caring sometimes, face blank, eyes showing nothing but mild disturbance. This is not one of those times. You smile, because you can’t help it, watching your boyfriend’s ears turn bright pink, the muscles in his jaw clench, his fist tighten around your pink beach bag.
You put your hand over his, gently, trying to take the bag so you can walk away with it. You’re not sure if your plan worked until he snatches the bag back, hand holding your wrist tightly. 
“Come on, kid,” he mutters, heading in the direction of the beach. “Pain in my ass,” you hear him say quietly, but you feel giddy that he agreed to join you after all. 
Your friends are set up by the water, towels haphazardly thrown on the sand, a case of beer resting in the shade under the umbrella. JJ is waxing his board, Pope is standing next to him, critiquing his method. John has just crushed a beer can down, and chucks it at Kie, who ducks and starts yelling about how inhumane littering is. 
“Hey!” you hear Pope beam, a smile lighting up your face. “Look who’s here-” and Kie joins in with an excited yell, tossing the empty can back at John B and hitting the back of his head. 
“Thought you’d never come back to us now that you’re a fancy Kook girl. Where’s that-” JJ goes silent, watching Rafe walking behind you, staring blankly, looking pissed. “-asshole boyfriend. Nevermind, I found him.”
“I brought Rafe,” you say, a big smile taking over again. You look expectantly at everyone, and then stare until they give you the reaction you want. They mumble hi and hey, Kook, and you turn back to Rafe, taking your bag and figuring out where to put your towels—pink, like the bag, like your bikini. Rafe’s shorts are white, with little pink stripes to match you. 
You both sit down on the sand before you finally offer him the bottle of sunscreen and lay flat on your stomach so he can put it on. He squirts some onto his hands, rubbing them together to spread it out and then first slaps your ass, leaving a sandy, white handprint on the skin. Your body jerks, whining against the towel.
“Had to. Practically asking for it. M’not apologizing,” he says, quiet enough that only the two of you can hear. His hands rub the sunscreen onto your back and arms, but then you decide everything he does is too erotic for public, so you turn back, insisting that’s enough sun protection. You just got here and you don’t want to leave because you can’t resist your boyfriend just yet.
You turn your head, noticing Kie walking towards you with a can of hard seltzer, the fruity kind she knows you prefer. The boys are by the other umbrella, tossing beers at each other. You tug on Rafe’s arm again.
“Why don’t you go get a beer with them. You can talk. It’ll be nice!” 
There’s nothing he’d rather do less. 
“Came here to hang with you, not them,” he says curtly, head resting back on the towel.
“Rafe!” The things he does for you. “Please?” He shouldn’t have looked at you—that was his mistake. Five seconds of your pout and your sincere eyes is enough to make him do whatever you want.
“Five minutes, then I’m coming back. That’s it.”
“Thank you,” you sing sweetly. Kiara comes and settles down next to you. “Is it strawberry? My favorite!” he hears you say, followed by the hiss of you opening the can, as he gets up and stalks towards your friends.
Their conversation dies when Rafe steps up—something he doesn’t like. He could care less about these idiots, but he really doesn’t want you to get caught in the middle of this shit. He can see it already—your pretty face covered in tears, crying because you care too much about him, care too much about your friends.
Rafe knows you’d pick him over them, he just doesn’t want to force you to make that choice.
“What’re you drinking?” he questions. Three pairs of eyes stare at him blankly. A retort bubbles inside him angrily—Stupid and deaf? You losers can’t catch a break, huh? He turns to look at you, hoping you’re in conversation with Kie and sipping your sugary drink. You’re not. You’re staring at the four of them with a hopeful smile.
He swallows the comment and turns with a forced, hard smile. “Beer? That’s great. Toss me one.” Pope does as he says, and then goes back to drinking his own. 
“S’like weird, to see you smile. Didn’t know you could do that,” JJ comments, crushing his own beer can up now that it was empty. Rafe wishes you were here, listening, because-
“What the hell am I supposed to say to that?” John B lets out a laugh at that, Pope joins in. Rafe cracks another smile, they’re pretty goofy, just like you had said. “Nah, I’m just saying, like, didn’t think you could be nice. Must be, if she likes you.”
Rafe turns to look back at you again, quickly. You’re talking to Kie now, head thrown back, laughing. You look prettiest like this, when you’re happy. 
“Yeah, for her.” Then he takes another long chug of the beer, looking back at them. “You idiots don’t make it easy.”
“It’s not easy for us, either,” Pope interjects. “I mean, you did hit me with a golf club.” Rafe runs a hand through his hair, unsure what to say, because he did do that. 
“Yeah, I, uh-” he trails off. “Sorry, sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” JJ says.
“All in the past,” John B tacks on. 
It must be several beers later, because you hear the boys laughing and… getting along? You decide to walk over, just to make sure your eyes and ears aren’t deceiving you. The box they had just bought earlier today was filled with the empties, the unmistakable sound of your boyfriend’s laugh filling your ears, your friends all engaged in conversations. You decide to turn back rather than interrupt, giddiness filling your heart that everything worked out. You don’t catch the end of their conversation, already back to your towel and opening another drink with Kie.
“And then I went there,” JJ starts, “-and I was like should I leave, because then her parents might wake up, because I forgot the condom-”
JJ stops to take another sip of the beer, and Rafe cuts him off.
“Wait, you guys use condoms?” 
Three pairs of eyes turn on him.
When you two walk back to his truck a little later, he swings his arm around you and presses a kiss to your forehead.
“What was that for?” you ask, happy and tired.
“Yeah, I don’t think they like me much.”
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