#bill defense squad

[hchollym]

Percy & His Siblings Memes

*Mostly Fred & George

[neowriterperciver]

Headcanon 7

Percy Weasley self-harmed during his final years at Hogwarts and relapsed for a few months after the battle, with the memory of Fred dying in front of him and the guilt of not being able to save him and feeling that he had killed him.

Oliver Wood did everything at all times for Percy to recover.

[probablygayattorneys]

I am OBSESSED with the implication that Emiliana doesn't really need her glasses and it's a fashion statement instead.

[artbyblastweave]

Heroify: Kingpin

Compared to some of the other characters people have sent in today this is like shooting monkeys in a barrel!

Part of the reason Fisk is such a good Daredevil villain is that he's already got a lot of the basic elements you need to make a street-level hero work- the will, the drive, the protectiveness, the territoriality, and the quote-unquote "badass normal" peak human fighting ability that, let's not fuck around here, is absolutely a superpower even if the chickenshit writers won't directly admit to that. It's just that he uses those abilities to be a crime boss rather than to fight crime bosses. To put himself in charge of his childhood bullies instead of fighting his bullies. A classic case of "If only he'd used his immense capacity for interpersonal violence for good." What would make him stand out from all the other heroes in his niche is his propensity for Empire-building, his complete inability not to build up some kind of organization from scratch, and what that impulse might look like in a superheroic context.

I'm imagining that his initial schtick is that of a Bully Hunter. After getting ripped and wiping the floor with his childhood bullies-or maybe this is one of the versions who offed his own father for beating on his Mother- he embraces the specific high of the "pick on someone your own size" routine, and he becomes The Big Man, the guy you go to when you need somebody who's been getting away with something for a while cut down to size. Upstairs neighbor is beating his wife and kid senseless, and nobody does anything because his brother's a cop? Call The Big Man. Real Estate Baron's using his connections to try to muscle out the residents of a tenement? The Big Man's gonna pay them a visit. Boss at the diner's withholding your paychecks and getting away with it because you're undocumented? You get where this is going. He usually doesn't kill people- not out of any particular code, but out of a combination of pragmatism and sadism. He's smart enough to engineer situations in a way that he can claim self-defense or frame someone's tumble down the stairs as an unfortunate accident or rely on the unexamined illegality of whatever his target was doing to prevent them from getting the police involved. He's got a bit of a financial cushion, as well, because all of this is actually his side gig- he's still a very successful, if not as cutthroat, local businessman, because hospitalizing domestic abusers doesn't pay the bills. As a power move, he does most of this under his own name- he's got a "costume" in the form of the distinct suit, and a nominal codename, but part of the bit, part of the point he's making, is that he's slightly better at weaseling out of the consequences of his actions than the people he targets. Always a bigger fish, after all. Power is relative. His thematic niche is distinct from Daredevil's abstract sense of idealized justice. It's not Frank Castles mechanical eye-for-an-eye approach. It's about the satisfaction of leaving a certain category of wrongdoer alive, so that they can remain very, very afraid.

Of course, since his entire bit is that he keeps putting untouchable assholes in fullbody casts, the attempts on his life start stacking up- First it's Ed the domestic abuser and his buddies from the bar coming around for a rematch, and then goon squads, then hand ninjas, then low-rent supervillains- and because The Big Man toes the line of being an actual superhuman, he's usually winning these things, and coming out ahead in the PR game for beating down a bunch of costumed thugs attacking his Perfectly Legitimate Art Gallery- but it's a pain that his office keeps getting firebombed. And this is where you start to reap the benefits of having done under-the-table favors for hundreds of people all over New York- The Big Man has a network now. The Big Man knows guys who knows guys, some of whom owe him favors, some of whom are just really afraid of him coming back for round two. The Big Man can pull together a hundred guys with crowbars and hammers on a day's notice, if he happens to need something like that. If he doesn't know someone with a backdoor into Tombstone's fortified penthouse or Hammerhead's mansion, if he doesn't know someone with incriminating information on Silvermane or Norman Osborn, well. He knows their cousin. And once he thinks to begin leveraging this? If the people escalating things have specific addresses, by the end of the week they very likely don't.

It's not as if he eliminates all criminal activity. He's not even interested in doing so. Like half the painting's he's selling are really convincing forgeries. But things hit a point where there's simply a hard practical limit on how imperial a supercriminal's ambitions in New York can become, how domineering, how visible to the man on the street, before The Big Man decides it's time to make a point and starts calling people, who in turn start calling people.

[beartitled]

I think Normal Bill is almost just as intelligent and knowledgeable as his canon counterpart, since he had more time to focus on science and such instead of chaos and despair and.. just about every problem in the book.

Can he also still see through trees and The All Seeing Eye on the dollar bill?

Does he have all the powers of Canon Bill?

How does he feel about Ford and Dipper?

What would he think if he saw his parents?

And.. how does he feel about all the.. imagery of him throughout the world? (Remember how Ford had a fucking golden statue of him? And with the cave paintings.. and the dollar bill, the pyramids have a vague eye shape on them (since canonically they were statues of Bill until the top hat and hands fell off) The Eye Of Providence being a sign for God.. yeah it’s REALLY suspicious, I don’t think he really trusts the Pines family at this point, because they are horrible at hiding things, you don’t need to be an all seeing god to know that.

(Sorry for the long rant, I just love this AU)

Don’t apologise for a rant 🫵 I love rants, my brain just can’t comprehend them sometimes 💥

And also aww 🥹 glad you enjoy this AU ❤️

Okay lemme try answering 👏

First yes, absolutely, he’s a smart boi

His energy is just in the nerd stuff now, instead of chaotic insane vibes he has in the canon

Yea and I think he considers it normal lmao

“Wait what do you mean you don’t see through trees Mabel? Like.. I thought everyone did??”

He’s a smart boi, but he is oblivious in some instances

Not sure about all powers, but some for sure

Also this Bill walks everywhere, bc he never saw humans fly and didn’t consider trying (maybe he saw one human attempt it and decided to never try it himself 💀)

I honestly not really sure

Again not my initial idea, but remember one person saying that Bill would have some intrusive thoughts about Pines time to time, not understanding where they come from and probably feeling really guilty about those

But ultimately I think he would consider them a semi family to him

If y’all want a more detailed answer

He’s probably the closest to Mabel, bc she’s a forgiving person and treats Bill as a new person

This version of Bill would be in a girls squad and hang out with them during sleepovers (he’s a gossip girl come on 💅)

Dipper would still be cautious around Bill (as well as Ford), but would get used to him over time forming some sort of brotherly bond

Also Bill would ship Dipper and Pacifica, occasionally playing cupid for them during Dipper crushing on Wendy

He saw an opportunity to tease Dipper (and he said it would be a good enemies to lovers trope)

When people said “Stan would’ve taken that shot” yea, he would kill the child

But perhaps after seeing Mabel being buds with Bill, he just might be a little less defensive

It could both ways really: either Stan would be completely against Bill, but grow to tolerate his presence with occasional (semi)friendly bullying; or Stan would double down and just actively trying to kick Bill out

Either way they would have some sort of rivalry for sure

He would be buds with Soos and Wendy, just chilling with em on the occasion

And the last but not least Ford

He would be the most paranoid and cautious, not because he’s afraid of Bill like Dipper, but because Ford is afraid of “trigger the old Bill inside”

He and Dipper had an agreement to hide all possible information that could potentially remind Bill about his old self (all the Pines agreed to it too to some extent)

Were they successful in it? Who’s to say

Bill obliviousness saved em a bunch of times

And to address the elephant in the room: no, Billford does not exist in this AU

*booing can be heard across the fandom space* NO, YOU’RE NOT GETTING OLD MAN YAOI ON THIS ONE

🍅💥🐻‍❄️ *tiny bear screaming*

Anyway

I just don’t think it would be fitting in that particular scenario

Don’t get me wrong I like canon Billford (I love the memes and the fact that they are implied to be canon exes is hilarious), but canon Billford

This particular AU just makes the situation incredibly specific 💥

I tried to imagine a scenario where Billford could happen (like i dunno, they gave baby Bill to Oracle and then met his “normal” version)

But with the direction in which this AU went, I think it’s best to leave Ford and Bill with a platonic/parental relationship

To be fair it would be incredibly weird to raise your ex in a baby form 😭💥

But I never actually considered to continue this AU originally, so um 💥💥

I think Ford would just eventually start treating Bill like Mabel: he’s a new person now and to keep that new person undamaged, you need to keep a lot of information hidden (for everyone’s and Bill’s own sake)

This version of Bill and Ford would get along, bc they would both be nerds

(btw Bill’s design is similar to Ford, bc this is how nerds look 🤓💅/silly) (but you can adapt it in a way that Ford just had an influence on Bill, they have a family nerd look™️)

I’m still not sure what kind of time paradox shenanigans the went through to raise Bill tho 💥

This

Honestly I think it would be hilarious if he just thought it was some different guy

“A triangle… with one eye… what if.. naaaah I don’t have a top-hat”

Anyway thank u for the ask ❤️ hope it was fun to read through💥

[writercole]

Cat's Out of the Bag

Summary: Jake has secrets Words: 1500ish Warnings: angsty-ish, twist, found family, Jake Seresin. A/N: I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM THAT I HAVE MUSES FOR SOMEONE OTHER THAN CHARLES LECLERC RIGHT NOW. A/N 2: Enjoy this word vomit that took all of 30 minutes to write.

Jake Seresin sat quietly at the bar, his fingers twirling the short glass of whiskey in front of him. The behavior struck the entire bar as out of character, the blond pilot’s general demeanor being loud, boastful, and needing to be the center of attention.

“What’s wrong with him?” Rooster whispered to Coyote.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Coyote, you’re his best friend. You know more than any of the rest of us will ever hope to know. What is wrong with Hangman?”

Coyote sighed as he looked over at the man seated at the bar. He knew there were things the team didn’t know, things Jake didn’t want them to know. But the pleading stares of their co-workers wore him down. “His wife left.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Rooster stammered.

The only one in the group unfazed by the news of the cocky pilot’s spouse was Bob, something that didn’t shock Coyote at all.

“So you’re telling me,” Phoenix started, setting her beer down, “that not only has Bagman been married this whole time, but now he’s pouting at the bar because she’s gone?”

“He’s never mentioned a wife, though,” Fanboy commented.

“I can’t believe he’d do that to his wife,” Payback scoffed. “No wonder she left.”

“Do what to her?” Coyote questioned, his tone defensive as he squared his shoulders.

“The women, the drinking, you know, his basic weekend,” Payback clarified.

“The women he never left with? The ones he bought a drink for and sent to someone else? The max of two beers he nursed through the night while buying us multiple rounds?” Coyote rebutted, his temper flaring as he stared down the other pilot.

“We never actually saw anything besides talking,” Bob added with a shrug.

“Not only are you telling us that Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin is not the ladies man he pretended to be, but that he’s married.” Fanboy shook his head and swallowed a mouthful of beer as he processed the information.

“I’m honestly surprised no one else picked up on it,” Coyote shrugged, relaxing a little after Bob took his side.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Phoenix asked.

“Not my place to tell. Besides, Jake asked me for discretion.”

“And you, Bob?”

“No one asked me. Besides, I don’t like betraying my friends’ confidence.”

“They knew you know?!” Fanboy stared, slack-jawed at the quiet backseater, mentally running through all of their conversations for any mention of the crucial detail.

“She’s got a killer brownie recipe,” Bob squeaked as his cheeks reddened with the attention focused on him.

“What are we going to do?” Rooster sighed as he watched his rival toss a bill on the counter and leave his unfinished drink.

“I have an idea,” Phoenix smirked.

Jake sighed as he put away the last plate. Seven o’clock on a Saturday morning and he had worked out for two hours, cooked and ate breakfast, showered, and cleaned the entire house.

He always had trouble sleeping alone.

His brows furrowed when he heard a knock on the front door. His muscles tensed and he crept forward quietly, shaking his head and relaxing when he saw who was there.

“Hey Jake!” a chorus greeted as he opened the door to his squad.

“Guys, what are you doing here?” Jake questioned, his eyes boring into Coyote’s forehead as his best friend actively avoided his gaze.

“Coyote mentioned what happened a few days ago and Phoenix – oof – we decided to come hang out for the day,” Rooster explained with the help of Phoenix’s elbow.

“Guys, really, it’s fine -”

“We aren’t leaving until after lunch at the earliest,” Phoenix interrupted.

Jake regarded the brunette carefully before stepping aside and allowing his friends into his home. “Shoes,” he barked to the four who weren’t already removing their footwear.

“Nice place you have here Ba- Jake,” Fanboy complimented as he took in the bright spaces.

“Thanks. It’s small but it’s home,” Jake replied. “Living room’s through here.” He led them to a spacious room with vaulted ceilings, built in bookcases framing a large television set.

“Call of Duty?” He asked as he picked up a controller and powered on a gaming console.

Payback was quick to pick up the second controller and settle into an armchair. “Man, we live Call of Duty. You got Madden?”

“Do I have Madden? Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Phoenix and Rooster shared a look of relief at the almost immediate improvement in their friend’s mood.

Several hours and a coffee table covered in snacks later, Jake was yelling instructions at Bob on which buttons to press to run a play that would win the match against Phoenix.

The overlapping voices in the room were so loud that they didn’t hear the door open and shut.

“Jakey, what is all of this?” An amused voice called out over the ruckus.

“Baby, you’re back!” Jake shouted as he vaulted across the room, leaping over bodies like a golden retriever to scoop the woman up in his arms and twirl her around. His lips met hers as her feet dangled off the ground, the pair of them oblivious to the way all noise had stopped.

“Jake, please put me down. I’m getting sick!”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he apologized as he set her feet back on the floor.

“Will someone please explain what’s going on?” Fanboy said.

“Hi, I’m Jake’s wife,” she giggled as Jake wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You must be the rest of his squad. Fanboy, Phoenix, Payback and...Chicken? Right?”

Jake stifled his laughter with her shoulder as Rooster gawked at her. “Rooster, not chicken.”

“I’m so sorry,” she blurted. “I just hadn’t been able to put faces to the names Jake always mentioned.”

“Coyote said you left,” Rooster stated.

“Yeah, I had to go home for a few days for a dress fitting. Jake’s sister is getting married next month.”

“Is everything else okay?” Jake questioned, taking her attention back to him.

“Yeah, your mom sends her love. Gran can’t wait. You know, everyone so excited for everything.”

“Did Leah agree to our idea?”

“Oh my god she’s thrilled, Jake! I wish you could have seen her face! As maid of honor and best man, we’ll do a joint speech at the rehearsal.”

“And the other thing?”

“Of course she and Derek agreed!”

“Hey, uh, there’s five –“ Rooster stopped and looked at Bob who seemed like he would melt into the couch with relief – “okay, four very confused squad mates here need to know what the fuck is going on.”

“Can I? PLEASE JAKE!?” she pleaded as she turned to face her husband. He nodded slightly and she squealed, planting a kiss to his cheek before rushing out of the room.

“Coyote, what did you tell them?” Jake asked as he took in the faces of his friends around the room.

“I said your wife left,” Coyote shrugged.

“That’s ALL he said!” Payback shouted.

“Bob, you didn’t tell them either?”

“BOB KNEW?!”

“Bob is technically family at this point. My sister, Leah, is marrying his brother, Derek,” Jake explained as his wife came back with a small bundle.

She handed Jake a box and unfurled a piece of cloth, grinning as gasps rang out around the room.

“Coming soon...baby Seresin,” Rooster read aloud.

“You’re pregnant!” Phoenix exclaimed, crossing the room to give her congratulations up close.

“So...you’re married, your wife didn’t leave you for good, and she’s having your kid?” Fanboy scrunched his face as he attempted to process the information he’d been given in such a small amount of time.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Jake confirmed with a grin, his arm wrapped around his wife’s waist as Phoenix begged for details.

“Jake, baby, why don’t we throw something on the grill for everyone?” she asked as she looked up at him.

“If that’s what you want, absolutely,” he responded with a kiss to her head.

“It would be nice to get to know everyone. Now that all of the cats are out of their respective bags.”

“You’re going to make me socialize outside of work with them, aren’t you?” Jake pouted.

“Well, we already see Bob and Javy all the time. We might as well throw in the rest as well.”

Jake groaned dramatically, smiling when he saw how happy the idea made her. “Fine. Coyote, you’re coming to the store with me. Bob, you keep her off of her feet.”

“I’m not telling her what to do,” Bob balked.

“Don’t worry, baby,” she cooed as she turned his face to her and kissed his lips again. “I will sit down in that chair and not move until it’s time for dinner.”

“Good.”

“Sorry for letting the cat out of the bag, man,” Coyote  apologized, clapping his shoulder.

“Maybe I should have done it sooner,” Jake mused. “It seems to make her happy to have another girl around.”

Jake slipped on his shoes and grabbed his keys, turning back before stepping out of the door. These people may not be blood, but they were his family.

[demxters]

—LOVING YOU IS A LOSING GAME

frat!jake seresin x f!reader

dagger squad college!au

summary: jake's attempt to see his girl the week before finals backfires on him leading them to their first fight and an outcome neither of them saw coming.

wc: 3.8k

warning(s): 18+, fem!reader, no y/n (reader goes by nickname ace), angst galore, swearing, mentions of alcohol and weed, drunk driving (don't do it), bad parental relationships, academic pressure

part of the loving you universe || also find it on ao3 here

𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊, 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃!

Finals sucked. Balancing studying and your social life sucked. Balancing studying, your social life, and your relationship sucked. This was the third week you’ve had to drive Jake away and you hated it. In the beginning he was understanding, giving you a kiss to your forehead when you asked him to leave. Or dropping by the apartment with some take out because he knew you weren’t taking care of yourself. He’d even send the occasional Don’t forget to hydrate! text, to which he would get nothing more than a thumbs up in response. 

He got it, really he did. He understood how much your studies meant to you. You made it very clear at the beginning of your relationship that you weren’t going to drop everything for him. And he respected that. Hell, he admired you for it. He definitely didn’t have the guts to do it.  But it’s been three weeks of him trying to chase you down. Three weeks of quick hugs in passing and good night and good morning texts. Jake missed you. He missed you so fucking much and it seemed like you’ve barely given him a second thought. 

Jake knew he was being irrational. Of course you missed him. You wouldn’t have promised him to go out to lunch today if you didn’t. Yet here he was sitting alone at your favorite diner, reaching the top of the hour, and you still hadn’t shown up. His leg is bouncing up and down impatiently and the apples of his cheeks are red in embarrassment. An older couple a few booths away eye him with pitiful looks and not so silently whisper to each other, Poor boy got stood up. 

He checks his phone for the fifth time in the last three minutes to find no texts or calls from you. Jake desperately tries again, clicking on your contact and sending a distressed Where are you??? He barely waits another minute until he’s calling you once more. 

“Hey, this is Ace, sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message–Jake, stop tickling me! Leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon.”

“Unless you're a guy. In that case lose this number! She’s taken!” 

“Jake!” 

He sighs longingly at the sound of the dial tone, remembering the day you two recorded that message. Jake hadn’t seen you in so long. You felt like a lifetime ago. He missed his girl so much that his chest hurt. He’s frustrated beyond comprehension. Before he can even take a second to think about what he’s doing, he slams a wad of dollar bills onto the table, storms out of the diner, and hops into his truck like a man on a mission. 

Jake reaches your apartment in record time. Looking back on it now, he probably should’ve just called Nat, Bob, or Mickey. They would know where you were. Though in his defense, he took your radio silence as a sign that something was wrong. Maybe you were hurt or in trouble and couldn’t reach your phone. In this day and age, anything seemed possible. Could you blame him for being paranoid? 

Hastily making his way to the second floor, he barely blinks an eye until he makes it to the front of your apartment door. The faded gold 86 number plaque is staring him straight in the face and he can barely remember the last time he saw it. Out of respect for you, in case he really was overthinking things, he knocks on the door once. Twice. Three times. 

When he still doesn’t get a response, his heart begins to race, breathing heavy. He fumbles with his keys, fingers trembling as he tries to find the bright pink Hello Kitty replica key to your apartment. So it’s easy to find in emergencies, you had reasoned with him. He thought you were teasing him in the moment, but right now he has never been more thankful for your sharp thinking. 

He jams the key into the knob, turning it counterclockwise a little too strongly, and bursts through the door by his shoulders. 

“Ace?” He hollers into the quiet apartment. 

Jake looks around for any signs that you were there, only to be met with a spick and span living room and kitchen. Curse your stress cleaning intuition. He practically runs down the hall to your room. He sees nothing but your door and the yellow light illuminating from beneath. 

He’s barely thinking as he barrels into your room. He all but falls to the floor as you bolt up from your desk chair at the sight of him. 

“Jake?” You exclaim, rushing over to where he has fallen onto your floor. 

You grab him by the elbows, gently pulling him up. He groans into your touch, just now realizing how much he missed the feeling of your skin on his. Jake has to bite his tongue to stop the moan that wants to leave his lips. 

“Jesus, Ace, you scared me,” he breathes, steadying himself in your hold. Standing back up on his feet, he releases his hold on your arms and brings them up to your face. “You okay?” 

You nod as he continues to look you up and down with concern shining in his eyes. It makes you laugh lightly when he squishes your cheeks just a little more. “I’m fine, are you okay? I think I almost gave you a heart attack…” 

Jake opens his mouth to speak when a slightly staticy sounding voice cuts him off. 

“Hey, Ace? I think I’ll just call you later, yeah?” 

Jake’s heart drops to his stomach at the sound, and not in the way it did when you kissed him for the first time. This feeling was something less comforting and much more painful. It made him want to throw up on your linoleum floor. 

“Yeah, yeah Connor, I’ll call you back later,” you say, rushing back to your desk where your phone was lying face up on an open FaceTime call. You don’t even wait for him to say goodbye as you end the call. 

A burning heat crawls its way up Jake’s features. He’s sure his cheeks are probably inflamed in dark red. Who the hell was Connor and how the hell did you have time for him and not for your own boyfriend? 

“Jake?” You call out, breaking him from the fury that begins to build up in his chest. 

He doesn’t want to be that guy. He will not be that guy. He trusts you and he knows you would never do that to him. That still doesn’t stop the hurt that floods his senses. 

His mouth is open before he can even process the rest. “Do you know what today is?” 

You look at him with wide eyes and your lips quirked downward. “Saturday?” 

He hums. “Yeah, the Saturday we were supposed to have lunch at–” He pauses, giving you the benefit of the doubt. Hoping that you hadn’t forgotten and were just running late. But you don’t jump in and that makes his heart hurt even more. You just continue to look at him questioningly in a way that he would’ve found adorable in any other circumstance. “Rosie’s,” He finishes for you. “We were supposed to have lunch at Rosie’s.” 

“Rosie’s, shit!” You come rushing back towards him, grabbing his hands. You caress the back of his hands with your thumbs and you can only hope that he could feel how sorry you are; how horrible you feel for forgetting about your date. “I’m so, so sorry, Jake. I just caught up with…” 

“Connor,” he deadpans. “Yeah, I know.” 

He doesn’t meet your eye, and you pout at his clear irritation. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. I can do next Saturday? We could do Rosie’s then walk down the coast by The Hard Deck.” 

Jake doesn’t mean to, but he scoffs–much too harshly for your taste. “Oh, I don’t know, I’m afraid my girlfriend won’t be available again. Or worse, she might even forget.” 

You drop his hands, stepping back with obvious hurt in your eyes. “I’m sorry, what else do you want me to say?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe that you’ll try harder to make some time for me? I haven’t heard from you in days! Hell, I haven’t seen you in weeks! Yet, somehow, you have the time of day to call this Connor dude, on the day we’re supposed to see each other!” 

You’re pacing the floor with your own anger bubbling up inside you. You clench your fist before pointing at him with your other hand. “It is not my fault that finals are right around the corner! I have been studying my ass off night and day. Which you obviously wouldn’t understand.” You take a deep breath. “As for Connor, we were just studying together! Something that I can’t do with you!” 

“Cheap hit, Ace.” It was a known fact that he wasn’t the best at academics, but you knew better than anyone how hard he was trying, making your words hurt more than he cared to admit. Jake exhales deeply from his mouth, attempting to calm his beating heart so he doesn’t say something he doesn’t mean. “Finals aren’t until another week! All I’m asking for is a day. Just one day.” 

“It’s not just finals, Jake,” you groan. “Not to me, you know that.” The two of you have been going in circles for the last fifteen minutes. You get where Jake is coming from, really you do. But you also need him to understand you. He knew going into this how important your studies were to you. One day could jeopardize your entire study schedule. 

“I know. But is it so bad for me to want to spend some time with my girlfriend? I mean, we haven’t gone on a proper date in months. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time we had an actual conversation!” 

You turn to him with narrowed eyes, furiously shutting your physics book. “So now I’m the bad guy? It’s my fault that we can’t hang out?” 

“That’s not what I’m saying!” Jake frustratingly runs his hands through his already messy blond hair. He doesn’t know what to do with the overwhelming flood of emotions passing over him. 

You’re sat on the edge of your bed now, too worked up from all your pacing. “You know, I just don’t get you, Seresin. I’ve asked if you wanted to sit in with me. You’ve denied me every time.”

The sound of his last name falling from your lips feels like salt in an open wound. He hasn’t heard you call him that in ages. He knows he’s in deep shit now, but his pride won’t let him admit it. “Sweetheart, it’s not my fault that I don’t find Plato and standard deviation appealing, ” he sasses. 

“So, what? You’d rather I go out and party all night because, ‘Hey! It’s just finals!’” You throw your hands up in anguish as you deepen your voice in a clearly mocking tone of his voice. 

Jake pinches the bridge of his nose. “Do you even hear yourself right now, Ace? You need to take a break! I’m trying to look out for you. It’s not healthy to be cooped up inside like this all day.” 

“Well, I’m sorry I have other priorities that don’t involve you, Jake,” you sigh. 

“And yet, you don’t have a problem making Connor one of them,” he sneers. 

“He’s helping me study!” 

“I offered to help you study, but instead you told me to sit back because you could do it yourself.” He swallows harshly, feeling the reality of your admission sink in. 

If it hadn’t been for the tension between the two of you, you would’ve been able to bite your tongue and let the moment pass. However, you were so high strung at the moment that you let your temper get the best of you. “Well, it’s not my fault that I can’t just charm my professors and tutors into giving me a pass. Unlike some people, I have actually put in the work.” The moment the words leave your lips, you regret it. Jake’s shoulders fall and you see the way he visibly deflates and shrinks into himself. You desperately want to take it back, but you did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing you felt guilty. 

A moment of silence passes between you both. The only sound to be heard is the heavy breathing that escapes you both. 

Amidst the silence, Jake stifles the tears that threaten to spill from his eyes by running a hand down his face. Of all the people to insult his intelligence, you were the last person he ever expected to do so. Not once, even before you started dating, had you said anything about how he struggled with school. Sure, you got frustrated with him, but you of all people knew how much work he put into his studies. Unlike everyone else, you were able to see him as something more than the dumb blond frat boy people joked that he was. When everyone else would claim to be teasing Jake about his studies, you were always the first to stand up for him. Saying, Jake Seresin is capable of more than you know!, making him feel validated and more confident in himself. Now, your words felt like a slap to the face and for the first time, he found himself questioning everything you’ve said about him. 

He should’ve known the honeymoon phase wouldn’t last forever. Everything was going so well, he didn’t have any reason to think things would go downhill so fast. Of course, Jake was too overconfident about your infatuation with him. He shouldn’t have assumed that you were as in love with him as he was with you. That was his first mistake. 

“You know what? I really thought you were different,” he says softly. 

“Jake–” Take it back! The voice in your head shouts. Take it back, you idiot! But the apology, the words of affirmation, the reassurances–they all get stuck in the back of your throat like molasses. 

“I guess I was wrong about you, Ace.” 

You furiously shake your head. You didn’t mean it, you swear you didn’t mean it. In the heat of the moment, you let your emotions get the best of you. You knew it wasn’t an excuse, but you needed him to know that you would never mean what you said. 

You thought the world of Jake Seresin. He is smart and he has so much potential. He was better than you at physics and knew all the parts to an F/A-18 Super Hornet. He could calculate distance, time, and speed, like it was nobody's business. He impressed you in so many ways and you were so proud of him and how much he has improved. Deep down, you knew he was right too. This wasn’t healthy. You should’ve tried harder to make time for him after everything he has done for you. But the shame of the hurt you’ve caused, the shame of what you did prevented you from saying it. 

“You know what? You can have all the time you need with Connor because I’m done.” 

You push yourself to a stand with teary eyes. “Done? Jake, what are you saying?” It was like a nightmare come true, hearing the words you’ve feared to hear since the moment you called it official. But it was probably inevitable, right? You always bring yourself to your own demise. You’re not sure what hurt you more–Jake’s words or the fact that you weren’t so surprised to hear him say it? It was almost like you were waiting for this day to come, knowing Jake Seresin was just too good to be true. 

His heart is fighting against itself. One part of him is begging him to stay and work this out with you. The other is too hurt to even look at you right now. In the end, he ends up listening to the side of him he didn’t even think existed until now: the side that didn’t want him to be with you. “I don’t know. I think I need some time.” 

You nod, agreeing with him wholeheartedly. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you need, Jake.” 

He sighs before turning on his heel and grabbing the door knob. 

“Wait,” your voice cracks. “I love you.” 

Jake swings the door open and leaves. It takes everything in him to not turn around and gather you up in his arms right then and there. For the first time, he doesn’t say it back. 

__________

You don’t see him for a week after that. You’re so distraught that you throw your entire study schedule out the window. This was all your fault. You know it is, there was no denying it. All Jake wanted was to be with you and you couldn’t give him that. You were so obsessed with the fact that everyone expected you to get perfect grades each semester, that you didn’t even notice you driving away one of the most important people in your life who didn’t care about any of that. That loved you with or without the academic achievements. The only person who cared more about your wellbeing than your stupid grade point average. 

The truth is, you were scared. Things with Jake have been going so good that the fear of something bursting into your little bubble and setting it all aflame only continued to intensify. 

Because you don’t deserve good things unless you earn it, your mother had warned. Because you can’t be loved unless you’re perfect, your father berated you. 

And you are far from perfect, you know that. You also knew that Jake wasn’t your parents. But no matter how many times you told yourself your parents were wrong, their words continued to seep in every single time Jake reminded you that love shouldn’t be conditional. 

So you did what you did best, you studied. You strived for perfection. You hoped that Jake could see that you were worth sticking around for. 

He left and in the end, it just confirmed that nothing you do could guarantee anyone to stay. 

You ended up failing your finals. They don’t hurt your overall grade too much, only bringing them down one letter grade from your solid A’s. 

You don’t tell anyone about the fight you had with Jake. You don’t want to burden them with anything else. Everyone was busy. Nat was happy with Javy and Bob and Mickey were busy planning their San Diego Comic Con trip. You hadn’t talked to Bradley and you assumed that Jake had already told him everything. You hadn’t even texted Reuben about joining him for trivia night at a nearby bar. 

But you do text Jake. You don’t know if he’s read any of them or not, but you text him anyway. You told him that you failed. You told him that you weren’t planning on going home for the summer because you didn’t want to face your parents. You told him you missed him and that you hoped this isn’t the end. But most importantly, you told him that you loved him and that if you could take it all back you would. 

You so desperately wanted to knock on his door and apologize for what you said. To continue apologizing until he knew it in his heart and soul that you didn’t mean a damn thing. You’d imagine how it would go. He would open the door and you would quite literally pour your heart out to him. Then you’d throw your arms around him and tell him you love him before kissing him senseless. 

You imagine that he’d smile against your lips, an action that you loved so much. He’d pull away and tell you that he forgives you. He would hold you close and tell you that he still loves you. 

However, you weren’t naive. He probably hated you now and you wouldn’t blame him if he actually did because you hate yourself too. 

Heartbroken and intoxicated to the bone is how you find yourself after another unanswered text to Jake. You remember him telling you to let loose and take a break so that is exactly what you did. 

The frat house is loud. You’re not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that you showed up to a frat party without telling any of your friends or that you’ve had more alcohol than the amount of water you’ve had in a day. 

Everyone knew about Delta Chi’s rivalry with Alpha Sig, so you didn’t have to worry about running into anyone you knew here. 

You had lost count of how many drinks you’ve had three cups ago and you’re a bit impressed with your own resilience considering how much you hate the smell of alcohol, let alone the taste of it. You find yourself wishing that Jake were here to see you taking a break. That way you could prove to him that you were capable of doing things for him too. 

The Alpha Sig house is packed to the brim with people. Everyone’s faces are a blur as you stumble your way through the crowded rooms and hallways, following the smells of sweat and weed to take you where you want to go. 

You end up making your way to the patio and meeting some Alpha Sigs and sorority girls who were planning on driving into the city to hang out at a bar instead. They shockingly invite you to tag along and your inebriated self happily accepts. 

You find yourself forgetting all about Jake, grades, and your shitty parents. You were just a girl in college who stopped giving a fuck and decided to have some fun. As you continue to giggle with some of the girls in the backseat of a car you don’t even remember getting into, for a moment, you see yourself with Nat, Javy, Bradley, Mickey, Reuben, and Bob. You hear Bradley’s dad jokes and Natasha’s giggles. Mickey and Reuben’s obnoxious singing and Bob’s own laughter follows. Then you see the guy sitting beside you with his arm around you. It takes you a second to recognize that his eyes aren’t your favorite shade of green. Hell, they weren’t green at all. 

Your world comes crashing down in an instant. You’re not with your friends and you’re not with Jake. You don’t even know where and who you are with. You just know that you want to go home, that you want to be with Jake. 

Before you can even think about begging the person in the driver’s seat to stop the car, you hear a scream then suddenly, your vision goes dark. 

a/n: in my defense, i haven't done a good angsty fic in awhile*immediately goes into hiding* pls don’t hate me….. and again, as always the inbox is always open and thank you all for reading!!

a/n 2: also ty @intrepidacious for giving me their first fight idea it was a big help!!

add yourself to my taglist!

tgm taglist: @joaquinwhorres @harrycherrylove @smoothdogsgirl @t-nd-rfoot @dempy @ollyoxenfrees @potato-girl99981 @averyhotchner @2guysonascooter @loveforaugust @blue-aconite @fandom-life-12 @stiles-banshees @iamdannyday @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @bradshawseresinbabe @breezemood @emorychase @eli2447 @angelbabyange @finelytaylored @pono-pura-vida @hecate-steps-on-me @blueoorchid @aviatorobsessed @blackwidownat2814

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

What Needs to Be Done

Summer of Bad Batch | Week 13 | Prompt: Crashing Hard

Summary: Crosshair was so sure he made the right choice, the only choice... But now he has doubts.

POV: Crosshair

Rating: PG

(Word Count: 650)

Notes: I've been wanting to delve more into what Crosshair might have gone through in season 2 before "The Outpost," especially since I think his confession to Hunter of "I've done things. I've made mistakes" refers to far more than just the Imperial missions we saw him on. I might expand on this storyline in the future; for now, here's a short little ficlet since there's only so much Crosshair angst I can write at the moment.

"CT-9904, report to Captain Dask for your next mission."

The operation involved relocating the inhabitants of Quwan to an Imperial holding facility to await the construction of a factory on their homeworld, a factory they would man in service to the Empire. Those who did not appreciate the opportunity, those who resisted, were not given a second chance, and so the people learned very quickly not to resist. The families cried as their homes were burned to make way for the factory; the children cried as they were hustled onto ships by armed troopers. Crosshair had completed operations very similar to this before; but for some reason, this time he heard Hunter's voice echoing through his mind: Crosshair, I've seen what the Empire's doing, occupying planets and silencing anyone who stands against them. You know it's not right.

But it didn't matter what he thought was right. "Good soldiers follow orders," he thought to himself, though the words had started to grow stale. "We do what needs to be done," he repeated like a mantra, drowning out the memory of Hunter's plea.

******

He heard the rumors, whispers about an attack on Rampart's Venator, intel extracted that proved instrumental in causing Rampart's demise. The Defense Recruitment Bill was passed, but Rampart was gone. And while no one had been able to ID the infiltration team, Crosshair listened to the details of the attack, and he knew who had done it. "They were fools, they won't let themselves see the bigger picture," he told himself, ignoring the painful wrenching in his gut at the reminder of his old squad, though the traitorous thought crossed his mind that he wished he had been with them, wished he was with his brothers now.

******

"Three CTs have gone AWOL and were recently spotted in the market district," the lieutenant addressed the hand-picked squad. "You are to apprehend them. One chance to surrender, one chance only. That is all."

"Traitors," he scoffed to himself, pushing down his unease upon learning that the CTs in question had been part of his detachment during their most recent operation on Vurun. He knew nothing about them, they hadn't even spoken to him the entire mission... so why did he worry about what he might have to do? And why did wish he could have left too? Going AWOL was pointless; they were tracked down soon enough.

"Traitor," he thought again, carefully aiming as one of them tried to run, though his finger trembled on the trigger...

Cody weighed on his mind, haunted his dreams for weeks afterwards...

******

He waited outside the ship preparing to depart for Barton IV; there was no point standing any longer than he had to inside the ship with all the other clones who always ignored him. A group of unarmored clones passed by, questioning an Imperial officer about forced retirement. He knew more clones were being decommissioned, but he wasn't concerned. That wouldn't happen to him. He was useful to the Empire. He had purpose as a soldier.

And he tried not to think about the long years stretching before him, serving as a soldier until the day he died, no friends, brothers gone, all alone.

******

Mayday.

Gone.

He had served as a soldier until the day he died, had outlasted most of his friends, all his brothers gone, and the lieutenant was now ordering Crosshair to leave him... to leave him all alone.

Crosshair had believed the Empire offered him purpose.

He didn't believe it anymore.

"Lieutenant," Crosshair said, the only warning he was willing to give.

He released all his anger and doubts as he avenged Mayday, and suddenly found that this release had sapped all his strength, sapped all his belief in purpose, and he collapsed, no longer caring what happened to him.

I... It needed to be done, was his final thought as the darkness closed in around him.

@summer-of-bad-batch

[brokehorrorfan]

4K UHD Review: The Guyver

Following in the wildly successful footsteps of Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Guyver takes a (relatively) grounded approach to its outlandish source material — in this case, a Japanese manga series — without divorcing itself from its comic book roots. Produced by Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator, Society), the 1991 film is directed by special effects wizards Screaming Mad George (Society, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) and Steve Wang (Predator, The Monster Squad).

As the Star Wars-esque expository opening crawl explains, mankind was created by aliens as an organic weapon. The evil Chronos corporation is further developing a technology that allows humans to change into "super monster soldiers" known as Zoanoids for world domination. The only viable defense against them is The Unit, a piece of bio-booster alien armor that increases a human's natural powers a hundredfold, turning them into The Guyver.

Mark Hamill's top billing may lead you to believe that he's the titular hero, but he instead plays a supporting role as a CIA agent investigating Chronos. The real lead is Jack Armstrong (Student Bodies) as Sean Barker, an amateur martial artist who's the only person that can activate The Unit. When his girlfriend (Vivian Wu, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III) is endangered, Sean utilizes his newfound powers to take down Chronos and the Zoanoids.

Armstrong is a bland lead, but it's not entirely his fault. In addition to a mustachioed Hamill channeling Colombo, he has to compete with several scene-stealing character actors. Re-Animator's David Gale chews the scenery as the malevolent head of Chronos, briefly reuniting with Jeffrey Combs as the company's scientist, Dr. East (get it?). Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) plays Gale's right-hand Zoanoid with Jimmie Walker (Good Times) as his rapping goon. Linnea Quigley (The Return of the Living Dead) cameos as a scream queen.

But the real stars of the show are the creatures, the designs of which showcase boundless creativity. The Guyver looks like Ultraman by way of Clive Barker, and each Zoanoid adopts a different animal's traits. While a number of other artists were employed to pull off the myriad of monsters, George and Wang's fingerprints are all over the effects, imbuing the alien superhero movie with some disturbing body-horror.

Jon Purdy's script deviates significantly from source material not only in terms of story but also tone. While some of the manga's dark atmosphere and violence remain intact, it's undercut by goofy humor in an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. Fans of Yoshiki Takaya's original creation were no doubt disappointed (Wang attempted a bit of a course correction with his 1994 sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero), but the tonal confusion is actually charming.

Originally cut down to a PG-13 rating in the US, The Guyver has been newly restored in 4K from the original, R-rated 35mm camera negative with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 options for Unearthed Films' 4K UHD + Blu-ray release. Far removed from the days of Jaws and Alien in which the monster was largely hidden in shadows, George and Wang put their creations on full display — and even with a crystal-clear restoration, the in-camera effects shine.

Two new audio commentaries are included. The first is a lively one with George and Wang, moderated by Budget Biomorphs: The Making of The Guyver Films author Dom O’Brien. It's not the most informative track — the filmmakers admit to not having seen the film in over two decades — but they're enjoying themselves so much that it hardly matters. The second commentary features creature crew members "Evil" Ted Smith and Wyatt Weed, who delve into the nitty-gritty of the effects.

Yuzna and George each sit down for thorough new interviews. Yuzna reveals that he's been approached about a remake, but the rights are complicated, while George's infectious energy lasts the entire 56 (!) minutes. Creature suit camera test footage is included with commentary options from George and Wang or Smith and Weed, while outtakes and a gag reel feature George and Wang commentary.

Other extras include: alternate title sequences in English, German and Spanish; English, German, Spanish, and French trailers (all carrying the alternate title Mutronics); and extensive promotional and production galleries. The collector's edition also comes with the soundtrack CD composed by Matthew Morse (Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker) and a booklet featuring liner notes by O’Brien and Morse.

The Guyver is available now on 4K UHD via Unearthed Films.

[hchollym]

How would the Weasleys react if Fleur and Percy were exes? They broke up because long distance but they're still on friendly terms. I don't think Percy and Fleur interact after she's reintroduced as Bill's girlfriend until after the battle at hogwarts? In canon, Percy has shown willingness to hide his relationships from his family (Penelope) so I could see him never mentioning Fleur to them and Fleur never mentioning Percy because she thought Bill already knew?

Ooh, anon, I love the way you think. 🥰

I've actually considered this idea before, but in a slightly different way. I personally pictured them dating during Book 4 because they started talking after Percy was a judge for the Second Task (but it wasn't unethical because Percy wouldn't be judging the Third Task). I imagine that they broke up because even though they cared about each other and enjoyed being together, they simply weren't right for one another in the long run, but they parted on good terms.

I'll admit, I find Percy x Fleur less problematic than Bill x Fleur. At least they're almost the same age, and I definitely think Percy would have stood up to his family for her, so I'm a little biased. 😉

You're right that Percy has shown his willingness (and desire) to keep his dating life private from his family (for good reason), so I don't think that your idea is unrealistic. Plus, I can imagine that Fleur wouldn't bring it up, because either 1. She assumed Bill knew, or 2. They agreed not to talk about their past relationships (since a lot of couples prefer to leave the past behind and not dwell on it, and I can picture Bill & Fleur being like that).

So how would the Weasleys react to this? With shock and disbelief.

Let's be honest, most of the family has a very negative view on Percy, and a lot of them would wonder how the hell Percy managed to date someone like Fleur (which is also messed up, because they basically equate her worth to her looks, but that's another topic entirely). I wouldn't be surprised if some of them wondered whether Percy used a love potion or enchanted her (because that's how badly they think of him).

I think Bill would secretly think this too (though he'd likely never say it out loud), and he'd be super bothered by the fact that Percy once dated his wife. It's almost embarrassing to him. He'd probably console himself with the idea that Fleur ended up with him because he's "better." However, I do also think that a small part of Bill would wonder if that's the real reason why Percy didn't come to his wedding.

I think Molly would be furious. This just gives her more ammunition to hate Fleur, because - in her mind - Fleur is a liar who broke Percy's heart (because I'm sure that's what even Molly would assume happened) before moving onto another one of her children and using him. Ginny would likely accuse Fleur of using Percy because of his potential career at the Ministry.

Basically, they're mostly all jerks.

Ironically enough, in this one situation, I think Arthur is one of the only family members to not react terribly. I don't think he would be overly shocked that Fleur dated Percy (aside from the fact that he didn't know), because despite his frustrations with Percy, he knows that Percy would make a worthy partner, and I actually don't think he would assume anything malicious happened on Fleur's part. He's just sort of there and trying to avoid the conversations, and Charlie probably does the same. Charlie might reassure Bill a little bit, but he's not a fan of drama, so he removes himself as much as possible.

Fleur is just offended by all of their reactions and thinks they're being gits (which is true). It would likely lead to some ugly arguments with Bill before they finally work through it (or not, if you're like me and think they end up divorced).

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this!

Thanks for the ask! 😊

[neowriterperciver]

Percy is gay

X: Did you know every 1 out of 4 siblings is gay?

–Weasley siblings are shocked except for one–

Percy Weasley be like: iits gonna be me…

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Mon morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day - in Israel today.

🔻ROCKET BARRAGE - from Hezbollah - at the GOLAN: Kidmat Zvi x2, Neot Mordechai, Kidmat Zvi, Katzrin - Industrial Zone, Katzrin

(What’s a ‘barrage’?  10 or more.)

🟡 NO DEAL..  Senior Hamas official, Musa Abu Marzouk: "The leaders of the occupation have already admitted defeat to Hamas and only Netanyahu is still insisting. The positions of the American government are related to the interests of elections and therefore the government makes contradictory statements.

Our demands are to stop the war, withdraw the occupation, restore the Gaza Strip, lift the blockade and release prisoners.  The other groups insist that there be a permanent ceasefire.  As far as we are concerned, the American guarantees cannot be trusted . We aim to add Russia, Turkey and China as guarantors."

.. Defense Minister Gallant told American Defense Minister Austin last night: “Hamas' refusal of the deal and the killing of the soldiers left no choice and the meaning is the beginning of the Israeli operation in Rafah.”

.. The head of the CIA, Bill Burns, is expected to arrive in Israel today for talks on the hostage deal.

🟢 RAFAH PREP.. The IDF is expanding the humanitarian zone in Mawasi. The expanded humanitarian zone includes field hospitals, tents and increased quantities of food, water, medicine and other supplies.  The IDF is calling on residents in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to temporarily evacuate to the expanded humanitarian zone through announcements, SMS messages, phone calls and media broadcasts in Arabic.

.. Targeted airstrikes on Rafah overnight.

.. Israeli security officials informed Egypt early this morning of the beginning of the expected evacuation of civilians from Rafah, a few hours before the evacuation began.

❌ Details of the Kerem Shalom attack.. 14 rockets were fired from Rafih at IDF posts and assembly points in the Kerem Shalom area.  Two hit in Camp Amitai, near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, on a squad that was guarding equipment.  The IDF is investigating: why no interceptions, they were aware of this possibility as it is within visual range of Gaza (meaning Hamas could see it), so the troops were minimized and defensive positions set up - how was there such a large hit?

♦️TULKARM (Samaria - Arab city on the Green Line).. IDF forces launched a wide operation. Forces raided the city and engineering teams began detonating charges buried under the roads via combat bulldozers.

▪️EU COMMANDER SAYS (Red Sea).. "The danger arising from attacks from Yemen has become more acute than ever. The Yemenis managed to overcome the air defense of the EU ships using swarms of drones, and hit a merchant ship that was under the protection of the mission ships.”

[themoonweaversden]

Messeges that were found so far: AD ASTRA PER ASPERA (spoilers)

This is just to collect all the codes that you can type in in thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com and their effects only (please click images for better quality)

Masterpost with all messeges / codes

Transcript:

"CIPHER'S CORPSE?

I spent yesterday with Mabel applying apells, curses and unicorn hair to the base of Cipher's remains. Mabel is talking her role as my "Cipher Defense Squad Assistant" very seriously, but asked us both to wear witch hats for some reason, which I happily abliged! I have always seen Dipper as cut from a similar cloth as me, but I'm delighted to report that Mabel has a vibrant curious mind well suited to discovery and adventure. Anomalies are indeed present at the site of the statue. Nearbye shadows stretch into triangular shapes, compasses point directly away from Cipher, (as though he is the anti-North.) There is no sound, not even birds will come near. Mabel, perhaps sensiing my unease, threw an impromtu eulogy for Bill, which involved a lot more sock puppets than you usually expect at a funeral.

"Goodbye Cipher, you are dead. Blown up in my Grunkle's head. Too much power hurt your soul. Reincarnate as a vole. Amen.""

Transcript:

"←SOUVENIR PEN QUESTION MARKS DRAWN TOWARDS STATUE!

Wise words from my assistant.

His «funeral» gave me a bittersweet sense of closure. How strange it is to look back on it now. I once considered him the center of my life, the sun in my galaxy, when all along he was a black hole sucking everything bright into his bottomless ego.

Is this statue the lost, sun bleached husk of a powerless forgotten failure? Or a warning of something sinister yet to come? You tell me, dear reader.

What do YOU see when you look in Cipher's eye?

Ad astra per aspera, STANFORD and MABEL PINES"

Speech bubble: "No way! I like sweaters & writing in my diary too!"

[victoriadallonfan]

Apologies for the long analysis!

I think Victoria and Taylor share an interesting character in hating people who serve as projections of themselves

For example, here’s Taylor describing the Merchants:

- Worm 10.2

Remove the Merchant label, and you basically described not only Taylor, but her entire team of Undersiders.

Taylor latched onto the only group that would take her (in her mind), Regent is an addict (for emotions), Rachel is a vagrant, and the entire team are thugs, looters, scavengers, and thieves. Like, it was only an arc ago that Taylor had attacked a PRT supply truck to steal from it, and then the PRT HQ itself. Coil has been supplying drugs to the city to pay for the Undersiders, and both of them mooch off of the US government to “rule” Brockton Bay (which is why they panicked at the idea of the Government closing down the city and paying off the residents).

This goes on even after: Taylor hates the Merchants for kidnapping people for their pleasure and thinks being trapped in one’s body is a fate worse than death… which are things Regent does and she *supports* him (by this point he not only had Sophia but a half dozen other victims as well), and later what she does as Khepri.

Taylor (though some may argue otherwise), never reaches the mass depravity and sadism of the Merchants personally, but she has more in common with them than she wants to admit and would make allowances that line up with them (and hates them because of those similarities).

And then we have Victoria:

- Ward 13.3

Victoria last arc had killed a lot of people. She unloaded an assault rifle into mercenaries, she crushed an entire squad with a cave in, and at this point believed that she had killed Etna in self-defense. We later learn that as GG she had night terrors about people dying, showing that this is a deep seated root of fear, possibly stemming from her Aunt’s murder.

Victoria didn’t do drugs*, but she was an addict: she craved Amy’s love/attention to the point that, to paraphrase her own words, she felt like an animal. How it consumed her life and made her thoughts spiral, even when she tried to learn coping mechanisms to handle the cravings. *There might be some connected shame to her needing to take medication to handle her night terrors as we learn in arc 16.

Victoria didn’t really care about money per se, but it was an important argument she had with Tristan, talking about how she used to watch Carol stay up late at night, trying to handle bills and stressing out about them (probably because Carol was supporting two families by herself good lord). She focuses a LOT on paying back the local residents when street fights get nasty and damages property (:insertmemehere:), or making villains pay for it. And while not necessarily monetary, there is the fact that she craves recognition and - in her own words - hates being ignored. She does want fame and the good that comes with it.

I think a point of diversion is how they handle this being pointed out to them. Well, not necessarily these moments above (though Vic does admit she fails her own benchmark and Taylor almost has an epiphany when Piggot is telling her all the details), but similarity moments.

Taylor:

- Worm 21.2

Victoria:

- Ward 18.9

(Sorry for the large images)

We see that Taylor and Victoria both try to deflect and counter argue when their behaviors are called out (TT noting that she’s not thinking straight and not acknowledging the reality of the situation; Sveta and Natalie both pointing out that Victoria is acting more and more desperate and reckless in each fight and maybe pushing that on others).

And then a key difference happens:

Taylor - in a mirror to her conflicts with Danny - leaves. She doesn’t have a counterpoint to make, so she doesn’t, and just leaves to stew on her anger. It’s not like she could gag TT like she did Piggot after all; the only winning move was to not play. Or change the rules so that she would have the advantage (or gun to the head, as TT so aptly puts it later on as Khepri goes into full swing).

Victoria admits defeat. She treated the argument as, well, an argument and conceded her loss when she found that she had no proper rebuttal. Even though she disagreed (and heavily at that; even trying to forget that she had judged Switch Hitter for breaking down for a bit) she couldn’t find the words to do so, thus she lost. Which later plays out into her deciding to trust others to handle defeating Fortuna (and awakening them) instead of herself.

What do y’all think? Am I just spewing nonsense? If not, any other points that you think where they have similar character flaws but different ways of handling them?

[warsofasoiaf]

Not surprised but still saddened to hear about Navalny. Do you think his murder will trigger any serious repercussions for Putin from either the Russian people who supported Navalny or US politicians gaining a backbone and getting Ukraine the aid they need?

I would love to say that Navalny's death would trigger domestic unrest when combined with Kara-Murza's arrest and Nazdezdhin's banning from the upcoming Russian elections, but I'm not very optimistic. While Navalny was the best-known of the opposition figures, opposition to Putin is still quite fringe. The majority of Russians, especially those in places like Moscow and St. Petersburg, are broadly popular of Putin and largely support what he's doing (provided of course, that someone else goes to get themselves thrown into the Avdiivka meat grinder - some convict or minority). Even the predominantly non-Slavic regions have yet to see any serious separatism, there are plenty of collaborators that are willing to take the Kadyrov treatment.

But here's hoping I'm wrong, and Russia experiences domestic protests that causes them to withdraw their troops.

Mike Johnson just gave a big statement regarding Navalny's death, but before his appointment to Speaker he was actually making statements supportive of Ukraine - he's since gone mum on that largely because the same rules changes that got him into the Speakership can be used against him and MTG is eager to oust him. Johnson is a political rookie, elected in 2016, he rose very high and very rapidly, and isn't likely to risk his cushy job. So I don't predict the GOP will actually advance the Ukraine aid.

From a Congressional perspective, the smart play would be if the Democrats and the pro-Ukraine Republicans put a discharge petition onto the foreign aid bill. The MAGA-ites and the Squad are going to vote against that, but they could probably secure enough aisle-crossers to get it on the floor. Likely it's too late to help Avdiivka, which is a real shame. If Biden decided to go the executive route, he could write off equipment as Excess Defense Articles and ship them to Ukraine - he's been using the Presidential Drawdown Authority clause instead. Why Biden is doing that - trying (vainly) to maintain bipartisanship, or saving it for an emergency so that he can throw a wrench into Republican plans closer to the election, I do not know.

Thanks for the question, Speedy.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[the-whispers-of-death]

rich reader when Kali dumps paperwork on Sarabi: *posh laugh* NO *steals Sarabi away*

both Graves and Kali get to find out how fucking TERRIFYING rich reader can be when he's "upset" by Sarabi being overworked and not spending time with him. seeing rich reader angry is like standing before an angry God because that man is strong has connections that could send entire countries into complete crisis and has the networth of a country. readers voice changes when he's angry from a pleasant polite tone to a deep, baritone, almost haughty tone which he uses to tear peoples self confidence to shit. readers voice is naturally deeper than the mariana trench (just like his fathers) but he intentionally speaks higher and softer to seem more approachable and to put potential business partners at ease.

anyway reader takes Sarabi to one of those mountain springs to have a spa day and gives him plenty of massages

Graves is turning to Kali and asking, "Why did you dump paperwork onto Sarabi??"

Poor Kali is just like "He asked to help! No one ever gets that side of the story, that the bastard asks to help with the paperwork!"

In Kali's defense, Sarabi does ask to help him with the paperwork. He knows his best friend (you can't tell me Kali & Sarabi aren't best friends, they're the only two in the squad who have been in the Marines together since even before Kali became a captain) took it upon himself to pay the bills for his parents' ranch despite being oversea. So he just wants to help unburden Kali of the military paperwork, his comments about Kali dumping paperwork onto him are just for funny.

He tries to tell you this when you whisk him away, but you're too busy seething at both Graves and Kali and well, he can't deny that he loves being pampered. He makes a mental note to make it up to Kali for just leaving him to be ripped apart by your words. For now, though, Sarabi is falling asleep due to the wonderful massages.