y'all have to meet one of my most treasured possessions, who i got for $1 at a thift store, but is priceless in my heart. 1999 officially licensed star wars the phantom menace collectors drink cup exclusive to pizza hut, KFC, and taco bell:
important detail: his arms are posable. 360° jar jar action 24/7.
he was first christened Jar Jar Drinks, on account of being able to stick a straw through his skull and. drink. however, he tastes strongly carcinogenic and probably contains several types of plastic that have been banned since his manufacture in 1999.
so, when i was working food service and a good chunk of my income was from cash tips, i started stuffing a fat roll of cash inside him for safe keeping. he became known as Jar Jar Banks.
since i stopped living a life where i have large sums of cash money i need to squirrel away regularly, the name fell out of favor. but i still cherish him, and i knew he's destined to be filled with something someday.
well. i just realized i can hide my weed stash in his torso. so, without further ado, i would like to introduce you to this thrice-christened icon: Jar Jar Danks.
The way twst intentionally made it a big slap to the face that Idia's and Ortho's mom and dad would go through heaven and hell to save their children, yet Malleus' only living blood relative is completely silent throughout the disaster...
The way the Shrouds would exhaust everything they have just to retrieve their robot son who isn't even alive, yet the remaining Draconia can't even stand up from her throne to check if her grandson is still alive.
After the dust cleared, it was dead silent. The air was thick with moisture from the dark clouds looming above them all. Someone, probably Raphael, yelled out something Two didn't quite process, his ears still ringing as his vision slowly cleared.
A faint blue glow flickered in the near distance, not too far from where Two was slumped on the ground. More muffled shouts rang out as Two attempted to collect himself, staggering to his feet and trudging over to the source of-
No.
Just the image alone was enough to bring Two collapsing back to his knees. Stupid, he thought.
"H-hey..." One's weak voice just barely got through to Two, snapping him right out of his thoughts.
He stared down at the dimming blue glow, watching it flicker and fade in and out. How the hell are you still here, breathing?
His thoughts became flooded in his head, even more so as he felt his arms cradle his brother's near-lifeless body.
"Did we win?"
Two felt his jaw clench at One's question, feeling frighteningly close to grinding his teeth until they were flat.
Did we win?
The question echoed in Two’s head, as if that would better help him process this moment. In any other instance, he would have deflected and scoffed at such an empty, meaningless question. Did it matter? he thought as he titled his head up, looking around briefly at the wasteland that surrounded them. It was over, that much was apparent.
"Yes,” he huffed, looking down at his brother in his arms as he continued, “Now, shut it and save your strength. Your heart-"
"I know," One croaked out in between a few sputtering breaths, interrupting Two in more ways than one. Two tried to ignore the cast-off of blood coming from his brother's mouth, despising the sickening feeling settling in his stomach as it hit his chin. One smiled weakly up at his brother, his eyes dull and unfocused.
How dare you, Two thought to himself.
His eyes flickered from One's exposed heart, bleeding out and hardly beating, and back to his brother’s face. His brother looked beaten, bloody...broken. It wasn't a look he saw from him often, if at all. It was that damn smile that he watched waver as One's heart beat softer and softer. What cruel irony, Two couldn't help but think, a metaphorical expression brought to life by his stupid, thoughtless, idiotic brother.
Two could still fix this. Even as he held his brother tighter against his own plastron and felt his shirt get soaked by the horrid mix of blood and empyrean; he thought to himself how he'd be the one to fix this.
There was no other choice left.
“Good…” One let out the softest of chuckles, “…we…we can s-start over.”
Something in Two’s own chest faltered, even just briefly. It was enough to shut out the feeling of One’s pathetic coughs and wheezes against him. He watched how One's eyes dulled further, his gaze wandering away from Two's face.
Starting over? That wasn’t ever an option, not one that Two had ever weighed in his mind. He wasn’t sure if that was even an option now. After everything he had done, everything he sacrificed, worked for…his brother still wanted to burn it, bury everything down and out of Two’s reach. One wanted this win, he wanted the impossible.
“Impossible…” Two muttered under his breath.
He heard yet another faint chuckle. And then the dense silence that followed.
as someone with frequent painful plantar fasciitis, people really underestimate the importance of caring for your feet
make sure you keep up good hygiene! clean socks daily! air out your shoes/make sure they dry out!
i do a lot of field work and let me tell you, feet also dry out really fast and having the skin crack/fissure is absolutely not fun. moisturise them if you need to once a day!
keep note of any changes to your skin, colouration, foot shape, pains - keep track of any moles, keep track of circulation, note any signs of skin injury or damage
cut nails straight across (rounding corners can give you ingrowns)! pumice stone on foot to soften hard parts + remove dead skin (but do not shave calluses because that can seriously damage your feet)! if you notice peeling skin between your toes - get it checked out, look at fungal treatment. if you notice nails discoloured + bed raised - get it checked out, look at fungal treatment. if you get a wart, get it removed professionally and try to do so when it’s newer/smaller (less treatment needed to get rid of it). especially if your feet are in communal spaces a lot (think gym showers for example) these things can spread!
you can learn basic foot massages on youtube. for my plantar fasciitis i also have a range of physio exercises i do - rolling your foot on a tennis ball is good, but can also be really painful depending on where your foot is at! in which case, i often freeze a small bottle of water and use that to roll it
The Flymms should have recognized Durge, and when they read Sally’s mind, her first reaction should have been screams of terror. Durge was surely there when Enver tadpoled her, two hateful, glowing eyes looming over his shoulder. Durge was the voice begging to slay the Flymms in one big, bloody display of power. Durge was the one to hang up Gortash’s portrait while the tyrant gloated over his groveling parents. Durge was the dagger that reminded them every day was a gift that would be taken away the second Enver got tired of them.
Of course they remember Durge. Isn’t it only proper to introduce your lover to your parents after all??