#2022 book purge

[randombookreadersworld]

Um, does anyone wanna force me to update my reviews? Like i know I’m behind here but I have they written down I just need someone to make me do it 🙈

#book reviews #2022 reads #2022 book purge #april 2022 reads #may 2022 reads #june 2022 reads #july 2022 reads #march 2022 reads

[vague-humanoid]

To fully grasp the current situation in San Francisco, where venture capitalists are trying to take control of City Hall, you must listen to Balaji Srinivasan. Before you do, steel yourself for what’s to come: A normal person could easily mistake his rambling train wrecks of thought for a crackpot’s ravings, but influential Silicon Valley billionaires regard him as a genius.

“Balaji has the highest rate of output per minute of good new ideas of anybody I’ve ever met,” wrote Marc Andreessen, co-founder of the V.C. firm Andreessen-Horowitz, in a blurb for Balaji’s 2022 book, The Network State: How to Start a New Country. The book outlines a plan for tech plutocrats to exit democracy and establish new sovereign territories. I mentioned Balaji’s ideas in two previous stories about Network State–related efforts in California—a proposed tech colony called California Forever and the tech-funded campaign to capture San Francisco’s government.

Balaji, a 43-year-old Long Island native who goes by his first name, has a solid Valley pedigree: He earned multiple degrees from Stanford University, founded multiple startups, became a partner at Andreessen-Horowitz and then served as chief technology officer at Coinbase. He is also the leader of a cultish and increasingly strident neo-reactionary tech political movement that sees American democracy as an enemy. In 2013, a New York Times story headlined “Silicon Valley Roused by Secession Call” described a speech in which he “told a group of young entrepreneurs that the United States had become ‘the Microsoft of nations’: outdated and obsolescent.”

“The speech won roars from the audience at Y Combinator, a leading start-up incubator,” reported the Times. Balaji paints a bleak picture of a dystopian future in a U.S. in chaos and decline, but his prophecies sometimes fall short. Last year, he lost $1 million in a public bet after wrongly predicting a massive surge in the price of Bitcoin.

Still, his appetite for autocracy is bottomless. Last October, Balaji hosted the first-ever Network State Conference. Garry Tan—the current Y Combinator CEO who’s attempting to spearhead a political takeover of San Francisco—participated in an interview with Balaji and cast the effort as part of the Network State movement. Tan, who made headlines in January after tweeting “die slow motherfuckers” at local progressive politicians, frames his campaign as an experiment in “moderate” politics. But in a podcast interview one month before the conference, Balaji laid out a more disturbing and extreme vision.

“What I’m really calling for is something like tech Zionism,” he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (“spiritual father” of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore). Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. “And if you see another Gray on the street … you do the nod,” he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. “You’re a fellow Gray.”

The Grays’ shirts would feature “Bitcoin or Elon or other kinds of logos … Y Combinator is a good one for the city of San Francisco in particular.” Grays would also receive special ID cards providing access to exclusive, Gray-controlled sectors of the city. In addition, the Grays would make an alliance with the police department, funding weekly “policeman’s banquets” to win them over.

“Grays should embrace the police, okay? All-in on the police,” said Srinivasan. “What does that mean? That’s, as I said, banquets. That means every policeman’s son, daughter, wife, cousin, you know, sibling, whatever, should get a job at a tech company in security.”

@karpad @quasi-normalcy @ubernegro

#cool and normal

[reasoningdaily]

Florida leads the nation in book bans.

It had more than double the bans of No. 2 Texas, according to a new report by national free speech group PEN America.

The report found 3,362 instances of books banned across the nation in the 2022-23 school year, up 33% from the previous one. Forty percent of those were courtesy of Florida school districts.

"Over two years, there's a pretty clear trend line of this getting worse, and this is becoming normalized," said Jonathan Friedman, PEN America's director of free expression and education programs. "I think the situation in Florida is really just escalating to a place that feels almost unimaginable to a year ago."

A year ago...

School districts across Florida have purged titles from their library shelves since DeSantis signed the Curriculum Transparency Act last year. It came as COVID-19 controversies brought more attention to what was happening in schools, especially from conservative activists and groups like Moms for Liberty. 

As local chapters spring up across the state and nation, Moms for Liberty has become one of the leading voices trying to remove “inappropriate” books from schools.

DeSantis touted the law as a way to increase parental involvement in education and prevent "indoctrination."  It requires districts to catalog every book they offer and put a formal review process in place for complaints

Then came House Bill 1069, which took effect July 1, further creating wildly-varyinginterpretations on what books should be removed from schools — and putting in question even more books. The law requires school districts to remove within five days any book challenged for including pornography or sexual conduct until the complaint is resolved.

Also coming into play over the last two years are state laws prohibiting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in school. School districts have removed books citing that law, though Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody recently said it doesn't apply to books.

A look at the books

The Florida Department of Education recently released a list that school districts removed 386 book removals from 1,218 total objections last year.

But those are just titles that school boards decided to remove after receiving objections. PEN America's report goes beyond that and says state school districts banned 1,406. That's up from 566 last year.

The group's definition of a school book ban: "Any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished."

The list included books that were removed following official objections as well as unofficial ones, such as from concerned emails. The biggest portion of listed banned books are ones school districts removed pending a review of its content.

More than three quarters of books banned across the nation were books meant for younger audiences, like young adult, middle grade and picture books.

Nearly half of banned books included instances of violence or physical abuse, according to the report. Books with topics on student health and wellbeing made up 42%, and a third depicted sexual experiences.

Books with characters of color and themes or race and racism made up 30%. So did titles with LGTBQ characters or themes.

"Hyperbolic and misleading rhetoric about 'porn in schools,' 'sexually explicit,' 'harmful,' and 'age inappropriate' materials led to the removal of thousands of books covering a range of topics and themes for young audiences," reads the report. "Overwhelmingly, book bans target books on race or racism or featuring characters of color, as well as books with LGBTQ+ characters."

Federal lawmakers bicker on book bans:U.S. Senate hearing takes on book bans; Democrats highlight DeSantis' Florida policies

How one group goes after school books:Rockin' and rollin' with book challenges: Internal emails show Moms for Liberty plans

Context on the culture wars

What books should be on school shelves has been not only a question but a pivotal battle in Florida — and national — culture wars.

It’s far from resolved. The two sides can't even agree on the term "book ban."

This was highlighted during a United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing from earlier this month.

“To put it bluntly, books aren’t being banned,” said Max Eden, one of the Republicans' witnesses and a research fellow for the American Enterprise Institute. 

Eden, who has done research disputing book ban claims, pointed to how removed books could still be purchased on Amazon. He said that most of the books claimed to be banned by national book access advocates are still in school libraries. 

But, for books that are removed, he said communities have to draw a line somewhere. He went on to read an explicit passage from “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” a memoir and manifesto by George M. Johnson, who reflects on growing up Black and queer. It’s listed as one of the nation’s most banned books by PEN America.

DeSantis has taken a similar tack in responding to the controversy. 

He’s maintained that the idea of book bans across Florida, which have made many headlines, is a "hoax." Conversely, though, he’s bashed books that have been recently restricted in public schools as pornographic, violent or otherwise inappropriate.

“Exposing the ‘book ban’ hoax is important because it reveals that some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination,” DeSantis said in a statement. “In Florida, pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards."

#Florida is the nation's book banning leader #according to national free speech group #florida #education #Black History #Black Florida History #Black Books Matter #book banning #florida is the book banning haven of white supremacy #desantistan #white hate

[goryhorroor]

do you have the full list for horror movies condemned by the church? Thank you

so there's kinda seperate lists for it, ones condemned by the Legion of Decency, during the years of

Legion of Decency (before it was stopped in 1978):

Rosemary's Baby (because it depicts satanism)

The Devils

The Wicker Man (promotion of sexuality & violence)

Lemora, A Child's Tale of Supernatural

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (promotion of sexuality)

Carrie

The Omen (because it depicts that idea that there is an antichrist in the book of revelations)

J.D.'s Revenge

Dawn of the Dead

The Exorcist (this one is so-so because it was still banned for its profanity & sexual situation, but it's not like they hated the idea that it promoted the catholic church; no the church did not help the exorcist production)

These modern ones morally offended the Catholic Church (this list is offically complete from starting in 2003-July 2022, since OSC News took them over to do movies reviews)

28 Weeks Later

30 Days Later

The Belko Experiment

Black Swan

Brightburn

The Cabin in the Woods

Candyman (newer one)

Child's Play (remake)

The Collection & The Collector

The Crazies (remake)

Crimson Peak

The Descent

The Devil's Rejects

The Devil Inside

The Evil Dead (remake)

Final Destination 3 & 5

The entire of the Purge movies

Freaky

Friday the 13th (remake)

Friend Request

Fright Night (remake)

The Green Inferno

The Grudge (remake: 2019)

Halloween (remake: 2007) & Halloween II

Halloween (2018) & Halloween Kills

Hell Fest

High Tension

The Hills Have Eyes (remake)

Hostel & Part 2

The Hunt

It Follows

It Chapter 2

Jennifer's Body

Jigsaw (2017)

The Last House on the Left (remake)

Let me In

Ma

Malignant

Midsommar

Mother!

My Bloody Valentine (remake)

My Soul to Take

A Nightmare on Elm Street (remake)

One Missed Call (remake)

Pet Sematary (remake)

Piranha 3d

Prometheus

Ready or Not

The Ruins

All Saw movies

Scream (2022) & Scream 4

Shark Night 3D

Silent Hill

Slither

Sorority Row

Spiral

Splice

The Stepfather (remake)

The Strangers: Prey at Night

Studio 666

The Texas Chainsaw 3D

Tusk

Underworld series

Unfriended

We Summon the Darkness

Wolf Creek

X

You're Next

Zombieland 2

#answered #horror #horror movies #essentially anything fun

[gayformcveigh]

On 6/8/2005 Adam submitted this drawing titled "Elder crying over Nuclear Weapon" to the website 2draw.com. There are several things I find interesting about this:

The art is drawn in a similar style to "The Big Book of Granny". In the Connecticut police report it's shown that another boy did the drawing for the cover of the book, but the similarities are still noteworthy.

Adam was 13 when he made the original post and 17 when he commented on it a second time. My best guess is he kept it bookmarked so he could purge it later.

The account was accessed twice after the shooting. Once in 2018 and again in 2022.

Hopefully I'm not the only one that hasn't seen all this before, it was a fun rabbit hole to go down since I've never seen it discussed anywhere else. Correct me if I got anything wrong.

#tcc #adam lanza #smiggles

[unhonestlymirror]

Just negotiate with russia to end the war, they said.

In the 1990s, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria made multiple ‘peace’ deals with russia.

Each time, russia used the lull to prepare its next more devastating military offensive while still waging war through other means to destabilise the fledgling nation.

In reality, russia’s war against the Chechens never stopped until the territory and its people - who were striving again for independence after centuries of russian attempts erase them - were consumed and then weaponised for russia’s next war against others.

This is Dzhokkar Dudayev, the first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, eventually murdered by a russian missile.

If Ukrainians stopped resisting, the fate of the Chechens today would be theirs tomorrow. It could be your nation after that, using the children of Ukrainians being attacked and stolen today.

“But Chechnya is part of russia,” the world tried to reason when looking away in the 90s.

Now the goalposts have shifted to “But Ukraine was part of the russian empire”.

Imperial logic can lead anywhere. And russia will always find a pretext to advance. Sacrificing one more nation to russian aggression will never make it stop.

But, for Chechens, another future was possible without russia.

If you’ve never heard of Dudayev, then that’s understandable. The russian empire, throughout its various rebrandings, has continuously erased people, physically but also from memory. Sometimes, the problem isn’t bad takes, but no takes at all.

But Dudayev is still a legend to us here in the Baltics.

Dudayev was born into russian genocide. As a newborn baby, he was deported along with the rest of his nation. Let that sentence sink in.

In that purge of Chechens and the related Ingush, Soviet records show that half a million were snatched and locked into wagons, although the real number is likely much higher. At least a quarter of the nation died through the brutality of the deportation process.

The goal was to erase their nation, exploit their labour in remote parts of russia, and let russian settlers move into their land. Their books and records were destroyed, their cultural heritage torn down, even their graves removed.

It’s a familiar story everywhere people have come into contact with russia over centuries.

In an attempt to detoxify and consolidate itself after Stalin, russia did its periodic display of mysterious soul searching and unlocked the survivors. A large scale return of Chechens began, including a 13 year old Dudayev.

Fast forward.

Dudayev became Major-General in the Soviet Air Force and was stationed in occupied Estonia with 4,000 occupiers under his command.

Yet Dudayev displayed a genuine fondness for Baltic peoples, even learning Estonian.

At the height of the Signing Revolution, Moscow ordered Dudayev to crush the re-independence movement. He refused. “I will not throw a bomb on a people fighting for the independence of their homeland,” he said.

He even went on radio to reassure Estonians that he’d prevent soviet forces entering Estonian airspace to replicate the deadly January Events seen in Lithuania.

Moscow pulled his whole division out of Estonia and forced his resignation - which meant he could dedicate himself to Chechen independence, ironically inspired by the Baltic movements he was ordered to crush.

Following a referendum, Dudayev was elected President of the newly proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in autumn 1991.

But in Ichkeria, the empire strikes back, desperate to halt the continued break up of the russian empire.

Today, Dudayev is remembered across the free part of the former empire, including with a plaque in Estonia, a street in Latvia, and a square in Lithuania.

Dudayev admired Ukrainians too. He once wrote that the biggest mistake is to consider the Ukrainians weak. “Ukrainians always come back,” he said.

As of 2022, Ukraine recognises the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as temporarily russian-occupied.

#stop russian aggression #support ukraine #genocide of ukrainians #russia is a terrorist state #ichkeria #chechnya

[banditthewriter]

In Time - Billy Russo

And here we have the 2022 Halloween Fic! I want to thank everyone for supporting me and helping me get to the point where I was able to write this this year. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it. And a very special thank you to @dragon-of-winterfell​ for sending in the idea that sparked this thing! 

Summary: It’s time for the annual Purge. The reader usually hides in a bunker with Billy, Frank, Karen, and the Lieberman family. This year, things are going to get bloody.

Warnings: Torture. Writer has never seen Purge movies so don’t expect me to be too true to those stores. But seriously, the reader is tortured. Some things happen explicitly, but most are just described afterwards. Also writer barely edited this so...my bad.

Enjoy!

*gif is mine*

------

The chime above the door to Slice of Heaven made you look up from where you were balancing the books. An older couple came in and waved at you as they went to their usual booth. One of your waitresses was at their side a few moments later, chatting happily. 

The diner had been left to you by your parents and you took a lot of pride in the environment that had been created. No such thing as a stranger, you treated everyone who came in as regulars. Of course this meant a lot of them did become regulars. Your staff was the same way.

A group of rowdy college boys were in the far corner goofing off. It was mid afternoon, not exactly your busiest time, but the laughter and excitement that poured off of them made the diner feel small. 

Or maybe it was because you could hear what they were discussing. 

"C'mon, what about going to like Ithaca or something? Smaller areas are less protected."

"Nah, that's why we need to stay near the city. We don't want to be away from all of it."

"Yea! It's gonna be wild. We could pick a small borough to stay near though."

Your skin prickled as you listened to them plan. A group of six guys all discussing the pros and cons of where they should settle down made you uneasy but you couldn't exactly kick them out. Even if a few of them seemed a little uneasy at the thought of being in the city.

A clatter from the kitchen had you turning away from the guys. One of the waitresses had dropped a tray of dishes. Thankfully nothing looked broken, but she was ashen as she bent down to pick them up.

"Let me help you," you offered softly as you knelt down beside her. 

Emily was your newest waitress. Putting herself through college, she was a sweet and devoted worker. Her dream of coming to New York City for college hadn't been dampened by the laws, but you knew she wasn't looking forward to her first year here.

"It's going to be okay Em," you promised as you scooped the dishes back onto the tray. "You have your plan, right? It's been verified."

Her hands shook as she picked up the last few pieces of cutlery. 

"I know. I went over it with the people you got me in touch with. I just…" Her eyes cut to the left. Even though you were both crouched on the floor in the kitchen and couldn't even see the dining room, you knew she was looking towards the college boys. 

You took the spoons and forks from her hands. Then you helped her stand and pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay Emily. I know you're worried right now, but it's going to be okay."

You desperately hoped you weren't wrong about that. 

—

The soft chime of your cell phone made you look over from where you were wiping the counter. It was turned to a weird angle so you couldn't clearly read the name but the familiar picture of your best friend made you smile. Rag in one hand, you reached out and snagged the device with your other. 

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Billy Russo snorted in amusement.

"You're ridiculous. I always call you when you're closing by yourself."

You rolled your eyes at that, but it was out of fondness. You tucked the phone against your ear as you went back to cleaning. 

"Nothing is going to happen to me, you know that."

"Some of us still very clearly remember what it was like before…"

Before. You remembered what it was like before as well. 

Your eyes went to the picture of your parents in front of the door to Slice of Heaven the first day they opened it. They were from before as well. 

A shudder ran through you at that. You shook away the memories and focused back on the conversation. 

"Thanks again for helping Emily with her plan. I really appreciate it."

"Frank and I are happy to help. This time of year is our busiest for consulting, but Anvil is equipped for it."

"I know it is. I also know you don't charge my referrals like you're supposed to."

Billy snorted again. You heard a faint creak, most likely from his office chair as he readjusted his position.

"Your referrals are usually your employees. I know you pay them better than most but I also know most of them are either working multiple jobs already or putting themselves through school. They qualify for the friends of a friend discount."

"You also didn't let me pay when I had you guys consult for me."

"Because we didn't help you plan for what you were going to do. We just told you what you were going to do."

You laughed at that, but it was tinged with a little sadness. 

"Can't believe this is the fourth time this is happening."

When the law had passed, you'd thought it was impossible. Who in the hell thought that making all crime legal for twelve hours would actually help the crime rate? And while the numbers seemed to support it, that didn't change the fact that it meant devastation for the people who couldn't afford to turn their homes into Fort Knox knock offs. 

"There's talk about reversing the law. Maybe this will be the last one."

Your fingers clenched in the rag before you tossed it onto the counter. 

"They've talked about that since it was put into effect. It's just a way for them to shut us up from complaining."

This was a constant worry for people even though it only took place once a year. People spent all year preparing for this. Most of them prepare to survive but some like the college kids from earlier were preparing to participate. 

"Just remember to get to the bunker by 6:30, okay? You'll be safe with us." 

That was putting it mildly. The bunker that they used was impenetrable and protected by so many counter measures that it would take an army to get through. It had been Frank's hideout at one point and then reinforced and updated with Billy's tech and money. 

It would be their friend David "Micro" Leiberman and his family, Frank's girlfriend Karen Page, her friend and coworker Foggy Nelson, and you. Your first year had been spent alone and terrified, but since then you've been sequestered with them. 

Frank and Billy sometimes started the night there, but usually they stayed out in the city. So did Matt Murdock, the blind lawyer with heightened senses who fought what little crime there was during the rest of the year. Frank and Billy stayed out to protect people as best they could. 

Billy changed the subject to talk about something he had seen on television but your mind still strayed to what was coming in just a few days.

The fourth annual Purge was almost there.

—

Five Hours Until Purge

—

The atmosphere in the diner was different than it was every other day of the year. Most of your staff didn't work on the day of the purge, but you stayed open for a few hours. You provided a good meal to anyone and didn't charge. It had been your routine since the purge started.

Tensions always ran higher near the purge, but it was nothing like the day of. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells, careful not to tip the balances in case the stranger you interacted with was someone who would want to hunt you that night. Many people probably thought that's why you didn't charge for serving day of.

Except you had a very different reason. You saw these people come in for a meal and recognized that for some of them, it was either going to be their last meal or the last meal before their lives changed irreparably. You wanted to take some of that stress away for them.

Billy thought you were insane for working the day of the purge but as long as you closed early, he wouldn't push the issue. The purge started at 7pm so you always closed by 5 at the latest. 

Your phone rang as you handed one of your three customers their food. With an apologetic smile you stepped away and pulled it out of your pocket. 

Speak of the devil. 

"It's only 2pm. You're early."

There was a stretch of silence on the other side that made you groan. 

"You need to wrap up early today."

There was a seriousness in Billy's voice that made a chill run up your spine. You waved at your lone waiter Enrique to let him know you were going to step in the back for a second. Once you were in your office, you sat down on the edge of your desk. 

"What's the matter? What's going on?"

One of the things you had learned about Billy was that there was always a reason for what he was doing. He was a very particular person that way. And even when he was serious about things, when he talked to you, it was always with a lightness in his voice. That lightness was gone. 

"I mean it. Close up now and come to the bunker."

A sense of foreboding went over you as you listened to Billy's deep breaths. 

"Billy, you're scaring me. Tell me what's going on?"

It wasn't your plea that made him sigh; it was you saying he was scaring you. 

"The person that…the guy that Frank and I dealt with overseas…he's made some threats about this purge. Just, please, come to the bunker."

You rubbed your hand over your bare arm. You didn't know much about the guy himself, but you knew what he was referring to. Agent Orange as he was known while they were overseas, someone high up in the government who made Frank and Billy do things they regretted. If he was making threats, something had to have happened recently. 

And it wasn't like they could handle it themselves. Sure, some crime happened during the rest of the year, but nothing that large. And higher up government officials were some of the only people off limits during the purge. 

"The purge doesn't start until 7. I have plenty of time to get there Billy. I promise I'll close at five on the dot and I'll head straight there."

He swore, your name mixed in the middle. Then you could almost imagine him gathering himself before he spoke again. 

"Get here as soon as you can. Promise me."

The ice that had gathered around your heart at the seriousness in his voice melted.

"I promise Billy."

—

Two Hours Before Purge

—

The sign on the door was flipped around to read that the diner was closed. Normally you opened up at 7 in the morning but you would be closed tomorrow as well. The diner had been covered in graffiti before, windows broken and some stuff stolen, so you always pushed back reopening for a few days so you could clean it up. Thankfully your insurance covered purge related damages. 

You finished your locking up and made sure everything you cared about was in the safe under the floor. Then you checked your purse for the bank deposit which you'd drop off in the morning. 

The mental checklist you had for the purge was mostly complete. Just needed to grab your bag which you'd already brought to the front and you could leave. You'd pull down the metal gate and lock up before you would head to the bunker.

The bell chiming over the door made you spin around. Then you cautiously poked your head out of your office.

Three men stood in the middle of the dinner. They looked normal enough, jeans and long sleeve shirts. One was wearing dress shoes as he looked up at the menu over the counter. 

"HI, sorry guys, I'm closed for the day."

The one closest to you spun around to face you with a confused look.

"The door was unlocked and the sign said open?"

You glanced at the door and sure enough, your sign was turned around. Unease settled in your stomach as you stared at the lock on the door which was obviously unlocked. But you remembered locking it and flipping the sign. 

"Must have slipped my mind, sorry about that. We are closed though."

The guy in the dress shoes smiled and pressed his hands onto the counter. 

"C'mon, we just want some coffee. Gonna be a long night."

That unease grew as the three men stayed standing on the other side of the counter. Your eyes darted to the clock on the wall.

"I already emptied the pot," you said as you clutched your bag a little tighter. 

"Fresh pot sounds good to me," the guy you assumed was the leader said before he pulled down a stool to sit. The others followed suit.

Shit. Okay, well you'd make some coffee and put it in to go cups. You almost wanted to lock the door again but with them in there, you weren't about to do that. Instead you walked out into the dining room and flipped the sign around. Then you grabbed your bag and carried it back to your office. You tucked your duffle and purse in a corner behind a cabinet before you headed back to the counter.

You kept one eye on the three of them as you started a new pot of coffee. They talked quietly amongst themselves, loud enough for you to hear they were discussing some sporting event they had gone to recently. A little of the unease let up but you didn't drop your guard.

The melody of your ring tone made you jump. As you pulled it out, you saw at least one of the guys sit up a little straighter. 

You didn't even look at the phone to know who it was.

"I haven't left yet," you said immediately, phone to your ear. 

God how slow was this coffee pot?

"It's after five, you should have closed. Leave the cleaning until later."

You made your way into the kitchen. When the swinging door shut behind you, you sighed.

"Had some stragglers want some coffee."

Billy's voice was cold when he spoke. 

"Fuck 'em. Tell them to get out. You're pushing it right now and you need to get out of there."

You moved to the side so you could see through the small window on the door. The men were all still talking but you had a feeling they were all on alert. 

Red flags shot up and made your hands shake. 

"Billy, I think…I think they may be…I might be in trouble."

You heard a swear. Then in the background you heard another voice. It was obviously Frank even if you couldn't make out what he was saying. 

"Yea, I got it," Billy said to Frank. Then to you, "Go back out there and talk to me. Make it loud but not obvious. Talk like you're talking to your boyfriend or husband, okay?"

You didn't want to go back out there but you had to. As much as you wanted to leave out the back door, you didn't want to leave them in your diner.

With Billy's steady voice in your ear, you stepped through the swinging door and went over to the coffee pot. Then, a little louder than you normally would have, you began to talk to Billy.

"Don't worry babe, I'll be finished here in a few minutes. I'm grabbing the to go cups now."

You grabbed the thickened Styrofoam cups and started to pour the coffee.

"Good, good. Alright, now I'm coming to you okay?"

"You're coming here? I thought I was meeting you there," you said loudly, half so they would hear and half because you were surprised. 

"Not anymore, not with you in danger. I'm leaving the bunker now and I'm speeding all the way."

The bunker was about 30 minutes away. You glanced up at the clock. Almost five thirty. 

"Okay, I'll see you in ten minutes," you said nonchalantly as you finished off the last cup. 

"Good girl, lie through your teeth. I'll be there in fifteen. Act like you're hanging up and put the phone down but don't disconnect. You're not going to be alone, okay?"

"Okay Billy, I'll see you in ten. Bye."

You pretended to hit a button on the screen and then locked it so that the light went away. You placed the phone face up. Then you grabbed the three cups and lids and carried them over to the guys.

"There's cream and sugar on the counter or by the door. I really do need to close up though."

The one who had done all the talking grinned and raised his hands after he dropped some bills on the counter. 

"We know when we're not welcome. Thanks for the coffee."

They grabbed a few packets of sugar and creamer and all made their way to the door. You watched it close behind them and sighed out gratefully. They really did just stop by for coffee. 

You grabbed your phone and put it back to your ear.

"They left."

"Lock the door and get your stuff. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Your heart skipped a beat. Even with the immediate danger being gone, you didn't want to be alone. 

"Please don't hang up."

"I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, I'm still on the phone. Go lock the door."

You sighed gratefully. Then you scurried to do as you were told. You locked the door and peered through the blinds.

The street was abandoned. The other stores you could see already had their gates pulled down. No cars were on the street, no people walking this way or that. Completely empty. 

You hurried back to your office and grabbed your bags again. You leaned against the wall and sighed. 

"Next year I'm not opening day of," you said as you closed your eyes and tried to slow your racing heart.

"No shit," Billy said sarcastically with a little relief in his voice. "I'm locking you in the bunker at 7am the day before. You have no idea how terrified I was when you said you thought you were in trouble."

You thought about the threats he had mentioned. Yea, you imagined he would have been scared. 

"I know that you're scared they might go through me to get to you, but–"

"I'm not worried about myself. Just like Frank isn't worried about himself. He worries about Karen and I'm worried about you."

Your heart skipped a beat for a very different reason.

"You don't have to worry about me Billy. I'm okay."

You heard him sigh over the low hum of the engine of his car.

"I can't help it. That's what you do when you lov–"

Billy's words were drowned out by glass shattering in the other room. You let out a scream and jumped away from the door. 

"What? What is it?!" 

"I don't know. It sounds like the window was shattered or something."

That low hum of his engine increased. 

"I'm almost there, okay? Just stay in your office. I'm almost there."

You opened your mouth to say you would, that you knew he'd be there soon. Instead all you could do was start to cough.

Some sort of smoke was filling your office. You coughed and tried to wave it away from your face.

"There's smoke…" you said as you coughed, trying to let Billy know what was going on.

"Smoke? Is the diner on fire?"

You opened your mouth to say no, it didn't smell like that kind of smoke. But your eyes drooped shut and you felt your body folding in on itself.

Your last thoughts as you distantly heard Billy yell your name was that this wasn't supposed to be happening yet. It was too early. 

—

There seemed to be a marching band performing in your head. Deep thudding and loud crashing, over and over. You squeezed your eyes shut as if that would help block the noise. Then with a groan you reached up to block your ears.

Well you would have if your hands would move. You frowned and opened your eyes, a process that took forever. Except…no, your eyes were open. So why was it so dark?

You took a deep breath out of fear. A cough erupted from your lungs from the force, but it didn't make it past whatever was in your mouth. 

Everything came screaming to a halt as it all came back to you. The men in the diner. Them leaving. The glass shattering in the front of the diner. Smoke filling your office. Billy telling you he was on his way. 

Billy. You'd been on the phone with you. He would have heard, wouldn't he? He had been close to the diner, he said he was almost there. 

Slowly you become aware of your body aching. Your right arm was stretched above you, tied to something with no slack. Your left arm was tied to something else that was lower but still tight enough you couldn't even wiggle them. Your legs were under you, bound at the ankles it felt like. Then you focused on your face. A blindfold and some sort of gag were on your face, keeping you disoriented and silent. 

And there was something heavy around your neck, resting on your sternum. You lowered your head to poke it with your chin. Metal, bulky. 

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice said from your left. When you jerked, they chuckled. "Welcome back to the land of the living. Don't start messing with your necklace, okay? Unless you aren't interested in keeping your head attached to your neck."

You froze. It was some sort of device, whether a bomb or something even more nefarious, and it was primed to hurt you. 

"Is our guest awake?"

A second voice. You forced yourself to clear your mind of the fears that were growing. A sense of calm fell over you. Then you turned your remaining sense to the task at hand. You listened as the two men spoke. 

"She's up. Grab that for me, will ya?"

You heard something clang which made you jump. Then there was pressure on your arms. Whatever you were tied to started to adjust until you were standing, both arms outstretched. Your shoulders ached from the angle and the way your body was being lifted. 

With your ankles tied together, you probably would have wobbled or been unbalanced, but the mechanism holding you up bore most of your weight. 

"Did you grab the…ah, there. Let me see. Shit, locked. Hold on."

You felt something touch your right hand and you tried to flinch away. When that didn't work you forced your fingers inward. 

That didn't stop the man from prying your fingers open. When you tried to do it again, he yanked your pointer finger backwards to the point where you felt it pop. The scream you let out was muffled through the gag as pain washed over you from what was probably a broken finger. 

"Stop moving, jeez."

The nonchalance in his voice made your blood run cold. Then something was pressed against your newly broken finger making you cry out again but you forced yourself not to move. 

"There we go. Aaaaand…there!"

Your phone. That was the thing they had, the thing that was pressed against your pointer finger. They needed it unlocked. 

Not that you had any idea what he'd done with it. 

"I almost feel bad for her," the first voice said without a shred of sympathy in his voice. "Innocent bystander in this."

"No one is innocent. Remember that. And especially not–"

Whatever he was going to say was drowned out by a noise in the distance. It took you a minute minute recognize the sound. 

It was the siren that marked the beginning of the purge. Your blood ran cold even as you felt the heat of fear rush over your skin. 

"Ah, perfect timing."

Hands came to your head but you didn't move, frozen in fear. It didn't matter because all that happened was that your blindfold was removed. You blinked a few times to get your eyes adjusted to the dim light above you and take in your surroundings. Some sort of warehouse. Two men in front of you. 

One was one of the guys from the diner. The other was a shorter bald man who you didn't recognize. You'd definitely remember someone with a glass eye. 

"Let the games begin," the man with the glass eye said as he smiled at you. 

—

7pm

—

You'd never seen a shark up close but you imagined it looked a lot like the man with the glass eye that paced back and forth in front of you. There was something so unsettling about the man as he stood in a button up shirt and slacks. His attire wasn't threatening, his features weren't either. It was something else, something under the surface. Some animal instinct that made you sense that this was a predator and you were the prey.

The second man came over and undid the knot that held the gag in your mouth. He pulled it away and you immediately took a deep breath. Your chest hurt, a byproduct of whatever gas they used to knock you out, but you didn't cough this time. 

"Rawlins, here."

Something was passed to the man with a glass eye. You caught a glimpse of your phone case before he slid it into his pocket.

"You're in for a long night. Don't bother screaming for help. No one will hear you."

They kept you blindfolded and gagged before the start because if you somehow got away, you wouldn't be able to describe them. But now it was fair game. Except…

"You kidnapped me before the start," you said, your voice shaking a bit. 

The glass eyed man walked up until he was in front of you, his breath fanning against your face.

"That will be our little secret."

Because you weren't getting out of here alive. No one would know you'd gotten kidnapped before the start because there was no one around and you'd be unable to tell anyone after it was over because they were going to kill you. 

Billy. You'd been on the phone with Billy when it happened. You almost said as much, wanted to tell them they wouldn't get away with it, but you bit your tongue. You didn't want him to be a target. 

What did think when he got to the diner and saw that you were gone? He'd be worried, frantic. He'd probably try to find you, to bring you back. 

Maybe he'd avenge you. Like Frank did with the loss of his wife and kids. The first purge, he went after the people who killed them. Part of you thought that that's why he and Billy kept going out during the purge. To keep anyone else from going through the pain that Frank still carried with him. 

Then you thought about Billy. The phone conversation before the attack. 

You'd told him he didn't have to worry about you and he'd said he couldn't help it. The next part had been interrupted by the attack, but it'd sounded like he was going to say that's what you do when you love someone. 

You straightened your spine and stared straight at the man that had taken you. Pain radiated from your finger, your head was pounding. 

You weren't going to give in without a fight. That's what Billy would do, what Frank or Karen would do. It's what your parents would want you to do. 

This man could break your bones and your body but he wasn't going to break your spirit. If there was a way for you to survive, you'd find it. If there wasn't a way, you'd make him regret ever targeting you. 

Let the games begin indeed.

—

8pm

—

You had been mostly left alone. Every now and then someone would come in and take a picture of you with their phone, but you hadn't seen Glass Eye since the first confrontation.

The delay was probably part of the torture. Being constantly on edge was making you paranoid of every noise in the distance. The lack of distraction also meant your finger was hurting twice as much. You could just barely see it from your position but you didn't want to look at it.

Now that you didn't have people in the room with you, you looked around to get your bearings. It was definitely some sort of a warehouse. Your arms were strung from pieces of equipment that hung from the rafters but you didn't recognize any of it. There was a stale smell, like it hadn't been used in a while. 

You couldn't move around much because you didn't know anything about the contraption around your neck, but you could turn just enough to see a clock on the far wall. The hands were moving and it seemed to be correct. You watched the minute hand tick and tick from 8:05 to 8:10 to 8:15.

The door opened and someone came in. It was the leader of the group that you remembered from the diner. He grinned at you as he raised his phone to snap a picture of you. 

"Why are you doing this?"

He was as surprised as you were that you spoke. Then the question sunk in and he shrugged. 

"It's the purge. We can do whatever we want."

You shifted a bit, internally wishing your legs weren't tied together because you wanted to stand your ground. 

"And this is what you want? To kidnap and torture a stranger who has never done anything to you?"

He walked a little closer to you, looking you over. There was nothing sexual in his eyes, just a clinical once over. When he met your gaze again, you had a brief moment to think you might have misjudged him before he spoke. 

"I don't care what happens to you. I don't care about what happens to anyone. In the morning I'm getting paid a hefty sum, no matter if you're alive or not. That's all I care about."

The cold detachment in his voice made you shudder. Then he gave you that same grin from before as he turned to leave you alone once more. 

Your eyes went to the clock and you watched the minutes tick by. At 8:30 the door opened and someone else came in to take a picture of you. You didn't engage this time, just waited until they shut the door before you looked at the clock again. 

Once more at 8:45, another picture. Every fifteen minutes. You wondered why they'd be doing that if they weren't doing anything to you. It wasn't like you were changing much just hanging here.

Unless it was going to become some sort of sick flipbook of your twelve hours of captivation, you could only think of one reason that they were taking pictures of you like this. 

Proof of life.

—

9pm

—

After the picture at 9, you decided you needed to do something. Hanging here and waiting wasn't working for you. You were just about to start wiggling your left arm to see if you could work the ropes loose when the door opened again. 

Glass Eye walked in. He didn't immediately head over to you. First he went over to a table that had some black cloth on it. When he pulled back the cloth, you wanted to recoil. Laid out were different kinds of instruments. They all probably had legitimate uses, but in this room, you could think of only one.

He pushed the table over so that it was closer to you. Then he stepped back and raised a phone. It took you a second to realize he was holding your phone still. He snapped a picture and tapped away for a second before he stepped back and took another photo. 

The table. He was making sure the table was in view. What had been pictures for proof of life were taking a turn. This was more a threat of what was to come.

"Won't be long now," he said as he slid your phone back into his pocket. 

Then he turned and started away from you. Anger and fear rose in you until you blurted something out.

"Just do something you asshole!"

The outburst made him pause. He turned to look at you over his shoulder. Then he turned to face you fully. Your body began to shake as he walked towards you. A sigh of relief almost passed your lips as he bypassed the table, but it was turned into a groan as his fist came flying and slammed into your stomach. Another caught the side of your face and made your head jerk sideways. Another in your stomach again. 

As you doubled over as much as your arms would let you, you tried to catch your breath. You saw a movement and then flinched backwards as his hand grabbed your chin to raise your face.

Your phone was in front of you for a second before he pulled away. Then he turned to leave without a word.

The pain in your stomach was mild compared to the pain in your face. You felt something slowly dripping from your cheek and realized he must have split the skin over your cheekbone. Hell with that much pain he might have shattered your cheekbone. 

Taunting him obviously wasn't the way to go about things. 

You glanced at the clock and sighed. 9:12. Someone would be in soon for the next picture. Until then you'd close your eyes and wait.

—

9:56pm

—

The door opening made you look up in a rush. After Glass Eye had used you as a punching bag, no one had come in for the routine pictures. While you hadn't let your guard down entirely, you'd relaxed a bit to try to conserve energy. 

From the angry look on Glass Eye's face, you had to think you'd definitely need that energy. 

He moved over to the table and let his fingers run over the handles of various instruments before they landed on what looked like a scalpel. Your eyes narrowed as he picked it up and tested the sharpness on the pad of his thumb. 

Then he turned towards you with it. 

"You can scream if you need to. I won't let it disturb me."

You swallowed thickly as you stared at the item in his hand. You had a feeling you would definitely need to scream.

—

10:42pm

—

A flash made you squint your eyes. The sight of your phone disappearing in Glass Eye's blood stained pocket would have made you frown if you had the energy. Instead you just hung limply as you watched him leave. 

A glance at the clock told you it had been almost an hour. There were dozens of cuts and stabs all over your body. Nowhere that would kill you or make you bleed out. He was careful about that.

Tears ran over your face and mixed with the blood there. You weren't sure how many cuts he'd made in your face as you'd passed out at some point, but blood had dripped into your eyes. He'd taken a washcloth and cleaned your eyes because he wanted to make sure you could see him. 

Your eyes shut and you let yourself cry even though it hurt. The pain was too much. The scent of blood mixed with the vomit where you'd gotten sick at some point. 

In and out of the daze you found yourself in, you thought about the bunker. If you were there, you would all be settling in in the bedroom. There were cots and couches in there now so people could rest. Micro's kids would sleep but the adults would never fully give in to the need. Not until the siren went off again to say the purge was over. 

You wouldn't even close your eyes until Billy and Frank walked back through the door. Until you could personally check Billy to make sure he wasn't injured. 

You thought about all the times you tried to convince yourself--and sometimes Karen--that you weren't in love with Billy. The number of times you told yourself you were just friends. The number of times you tried to ignore the fact that Billy always looked for you first in a crowd, that when he got to the bunker he immediately went to your side so you could look him over, that he put your safety before everything. 

The fact that you would die before you got to say those words to him hurt you worse than anything Glass Eye could do to you.

—

11:27pm

—

"You've lasted longer than I expected," Glass Eye said as he dropped another of your fingernails onto the table. "Only passed out once that time."

You swallowed thickly to hold in more bile. Your lips were split from his punches and your teeth as you bit them to keep from begging him to just kill you. 

"I can see what Russo sees in you." 

It took a moment for that to sink in. You blinked the tears out of your eyes and turned your head a bit to look at him. 

He met your gaze with his one functioning eye, your blood splattered on his face and shirt. 

"Did you think this was random? That I just felt the urge to torture some random diner owner? My job means I can torture anyone I want to. No, I picked you on purpose. You're close to him and I…I want to hurt him."

Your eyes moved over his face as you thought about all of this. 

Hated Billy. His job was torture. Someone had called him Rawlins. Glass eye. 

Glass eye. It came to you slowly, a story from long ago. Back when Billy and Frank first told you and Karen what had happened overseas. Frank punched Agent Orange and shattered his cheekbone, ruining his eye. 

Glass Eye was Agent Orange. 

"I can see the wheels turning now. I guess I should be flattered that Russo would tell you about me." 

He shook his head as he put the pliers down on the table. You waited to see what he would pick up next. Instead of anything on the table he reached into his pocket and grabbed your phone. You looked up at him as he was getting the camera ready.

He looked surprised as he stared at you. You weren't sure why until he spoke. 

"Why are you smiling?"

Were you? You probably were. Only because a very important thought had come to you. 

"Billy is going to kill you."

The words felt like sandpaper in your throat from the screams, but the sentiment soothed your soul. Billy would avenge you and get his revenge all at the same time. 

Rawlins shook his head. He snapped the picture, tapped a few things in the phone before he put it back in his pocket. 

"I'm high up in the government. I'm untouchable."

You remembered that now. You'd heard Billy and Frank lamenting that fact sometimes. 

But now? You look at the pile of your nails on the table, the amount of blood you'd already lost. Felt every wound he had inflicted. Then you raised your gaze back to his.

"You won't be untouchable once Billy gets his hands on you."

A flash of something like fear went through Rawlins. For the first time since this all started, you had gotten under his skin.

It was small compared to everything he had done to you, but you still felt like you won this round. 

—

12:04am

—

In and out of consciousness, your mind drifted away from your body. You tried to imagine arriving at the bunker like this, but your mind refused. You couldn't see yourself with your friends again. 

You were going to die here. It had been your fear when you first realized you were kidnapped before the purge officially started, but as your entire body ached from the torture, you knew it was inevitable. Rawlins wanted to make Billy suffer but you had a feeling right now he was just playing with you both. The endgame was death; yours and Billy's probably. But yours would happen first. 

The door creaked open but you didn't look up. Not until you heard Rawlins speak.

"Someone wants to talk to you."

It took you a moment to register the words. Then it took another few moments to register he was holding a phone out towards you. Your phone. 

Since you highly doubted that he expected you to grab the phone, you just swallowed and tried to speak. 

"H-hello?"

Seconds later you heard a voice that made you want to cry. Billy. He said your name once, then again softer. 

"Are you okay?"

You thought about everything you'd been through since you'd been taken. The pain you were in, the blood you'd lost, everything. Then you let out a small laugh. 

"I've been better," you hedged instead of being honest. 

"Now you know she's alive, what about my terms?" Rawlins met your gaze as he said the next part. "You for her life. Turn yourself over to me and I'll release her."

You could see it in his eyes that this was a trap. He had no intention of letting you go. He never did. You felt the heavy weight of the device around your neck, felt every ache as it resounded through your body. 

You weren't getting out alive but that didn't mean that Billy had to suffer. He could stay safe, plan. Avenge you. 

"Wait, wait, please," you begged, your face a mask of fear that wasn't exactly faked. You needed Rawlins to believe you were about to plead for your life so he would let you speak. 

And it seemed like it worked because he gestured for you to speak. 

"Billy? Can you hear me?"

His voice cracked as he answered, "I can hear you."

You swallowed and closed your eyes, begged whoever was listening for the strength to do what you needed to. Then you opened your eyes and looked Rawlins in the eye. 

"Don't turn yourself in. He's going to kill me either way."

Rawlins looked like he wanted to hit you but he didn't give in to the urge. Instead he shifted a bit on his feet as he waited for Billy's response. 

"Rawlins. You've spent these years protected because of your position. That's the only reason that Frank and I haven't gone after you. You were untouchable, safe. But you made a mistake. You took someone else that we care about. You hurt her, you tortured her. You spent years safe in your anonymity but you came down to our level just to get to me. It means you're not untouchable anymore."

Rawlins swallowed thickly. He looked like he was trying to compose himself but there was an underlying anxiety that was coming out of him. 

You heard Billy release a breath and you realized you'd heard it before. That noise was one he made when he was centering himself. 

"Hey Rawlins? You look a little pale."

You understood the comment seconds before Rawlins did. He immediately started towards you, pulling a gun out from where it was tucked in the back of his pants. He didn't even get it raised before there was a loud pop. You'd been to the shooting range with Karen before so you recognized the sound of a gunshot. In the second after the sound you expected pain but none came. Instead you watched Rawlins spin around and clutch at his shoulder where you saw a darker blood spot blooming. 

"HE'S HERE! GET IN HERE!"

The other guys flooded in, somewhere between six and eight in total. You forced yourself not to close your eyes as gunshots exploded. The shot came through a window to the side and they all fired in that direction. Except you doubted they'd reach him.

Billy was a sniper. He didn't have to be nearby. 

The lights shattered as they were shot out. You bit back a scream as the sounds of the gunshots got more chaotic. You could imagine from various grunts and hollers that the other guys were getting struck, but you forced your attention to Rawlins as he approached you.

He reached up and undid the rope that held your left hand up. He held his gun to your forehead as he worked on the second rope on your right hand. 

You couldn't walk because your legs were still tied together, but there was a relief in not having your body being held up by your arms. And it seemed you didn't need to walk because Rawlins threw his arm around you and started to drag you sideways. 

You didn't get a chance to fight back because before Rawlins had pulled you three feet from where you'd been held captive for the last few hours, you felt your body being yanked to the side. Then you watched as a dark figure struck out at Rawlins. The gun went off but the bullet missed its mark as his arm was struck. 

The blanks were filled in by your hectic mind as you fell to your knees and dove for the dropped gun. The dark figure that was fighting Rawlins was Matt–Daredevil currently. 

Gun in hand, you crawled backwards until your back hit a piece of equipment. Gunshots lit up areas of the room, enough to see that there were people in the room fighting, not just shooting at each other. You recognized Jessica Jones, the alcoholic PI who also had super strength, and Luke Cage, the invulnerable man. Seeing all of them made you realize the scale of this rescue mission.

Someone came to your corner and you raised your gun. Hands flew up, one holding a small pen light. It gave off enough illumination to realize it was David. 

"Micro," you exclaimed in confusion. 

"I heard there was a need for IT support," he said with a gesture towards your neck. "Just keep that gun handy and shoot any unfriendlies that might come our way."

He knelt down beside you and started fiddling with the device on your neck. You kept your gaze on the rest of the room while he worked, barely letting yourself think that this might still end with you dying after all. 

You caught a familiar sight coming through the door. Frank and Billy marched in wearing dark tactical gear. They both went over to where Matt was fighting Rawlins but you thought you saw them both look your way first. 

"Only one missing is Karen," you muttered as you cooked your head to the side to give Micro more room. 

"She's driving the getaway car and has a rocket launcher for protection," he offered through teeth clenched around the pen light. 

A rocket launcher? Jesus. 

A yell made you look forward once more. It looked like someone was down and was surrounded. Your stomach flipped until you realized who was still standing. Matt, Jessica, and Luke were on one side, Frank and Billy on the other. There were lumps all over the ground, the other men that had been keeping you captive. That meant the person on the ground was…

Frank knelt down beside the man and started to slam his fists into his face. Over and over and over. 

Then you couldn't see it anymore. Instead you were looking at legs. The person that was standing in front of you knelt down until you could see their face.

"Billy."

Your eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see that he was looking you over. Since you could feel every bruise, abrasion, and cut on your face, you imagined what he was seeing wasn't very good. You gave him a smile that was probably more of a wince. 

"Shit. Are you…" 

You didn't think he was going to finish that sentence. It was obvious you weren't okay. Instead you took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain that that brought. 

"You came for me."

He did a double take at that. Then he reached out and placed his hand gently on your knees which were bent at an odd angle. 

"Of course I…we did. Of course we did."

He pulled a knife from seemingly nowhere but you knew he usually kept one stashed on him. When you flinched, he clenched his jaw. Then he slowly moved the hand with the knife until he could cut the bonds around your ankles and knees.

"Aaaaand done!"

There was a click that accompanied Micro's words and then the device around your neck released some of the tension. He gently removed it from your neck and shoulders and stood up with it in his hands.

"This is a diabolical piece of hardware. If it had gone off, it would have been…I'm going to go…get rid of it."

You furrowed your eyebrows at his weirder than usual antics. When you turned to look at Billy to see if he noticed, he was glaring at Micro. 

Ah. That made sense. 

Frank came up to the two of you a moment later. Even though his suit was black, you could see the slickness of blood on him. You knew without a doubt Rawlins was dead. At this point they'd probably need to do DNA testing to get a positive ID. 

"Shit, how did you survive that? We need to get you out of here."

You tried to give him a smile but the reality of being safe meant that the adrenaline that had carried you through the events of the night was disappearing. All that was left in its wake was exhaustion and pain.

"I don't think I can walk," you admitted as you tried to force yourself to stand.

"I've got you. Just…I'm sorry, it's going to hurt."

Billy lifted you up, his arm around your waist. You winced but held on as tight as you could. Once you were upright, he ducked down and lifted your legs up in his other arm. Fully in his hold, you turned your face into his neck and closed your eyes. 

"You're safe now," Billy whispered into your ear.

You tried to stay awake and aware, but exhaustion swept over you. The feeling of being safe overwhelmed you and you slowly drifted off. 

—

1:12am

—

You woke up in the back of a car, your head pillowed on someone's lap. You squinted into the front and saw Karen in the passenger seat beside Frank. And Frank was…raising his gun out of the window?

And so was Karen. And so was whoever you were curled up on. You followed the arm above you to see Billy's face. He looked tense as he pointed the gun at something outside.

"You don't wanna do that kid," Frank said from the front seat. "This is not the car for you, you understand me?"

Oh. Someone must have been threatening to carjack you guys. Even if it wasn't the purge, you had a feeling that the reaction would have been the same. A few moments later you felt the car start moving again. 

Billy didn't drop the gun but his free hand lightly rested against your wrist. You reached up with your hand and covered his. 

"I'm right here sweetheart," he whispered down to you as he soothed his thumb over your wrist. "It's okay."

You closed your eyes again and nodded.

"I know it's okay. I'm safe with you."

The thumb paused and then continued to rub back and forth until you fell asleep again. 

—

2:30am

—

"All done," Curtis said quietly as he pulled off his gloves.

You peered up at him from where you were on a table in a secluded corner of the bunker. He'd met you all at the bunker and immediately started to work at patching you up. It had taken most of the first aid materials that were stored in the bunker before he was satisfied. 

"It'll take a few months for the nails to grow back," he said as he gestured to your wrapped fingertips. "The broken finger should heal in a few weeks. Everything else will take a few weeks but…you'll probably always have the scars."

You reached up and touched your face where you could feel various butterfly bandages. Curtis covered your hand and gently lowered it back down. 

"Not just those. The mental and emotional scars of your ordeal? Those are going to stick with you for a long time."

You nodded and closed your eyes. The moment you did, you saw Rawlins’ face. It made your eyes immediately pop back open. 

"I'll send Billy in."

With that Curtis went around the wall that separated this area from the rest of the bunker. You were alone for only a few moments before the anxiety fully gripped you. You slowly sat up on the table. As you started to swing your legs over the edge of the table, Billy came around from the direction Curtis had disappeared. 

"You shouldn't be getting up alone. Here. Let me help you to one of the cots."

He went to your side but hesitated. You sighed and tucked your hands against your stomach. 

"I'm sorry," you whispered. 

Billy nearly jumped away from you at that. 

"What in the hell are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong."

"If I'd just closed earlier, none of this would have happened."

He swore at that. 

"You think this is your fault? You're an innocent bystander in all of this. You didn't deserve this. Rawlins only took you because he knew it would hurt me." He pressed his freehand on the table near you. "If either of us are to blame, it's me. Me and Frank are the reason…"

You reached out and covered Billy's hand with yours. He hesitated before he covered yours as well. 

"How about we just agree that he was a monster and the fault lies with him?"

Billy laughed at that. He bowed his head down and shook his head. 

"Have I thanked you for saving me?" 

His head shot up and he met your gaze. You watched as he seemed to fight with himself for a second before he leaned in and pressed a very gentle and chaste kiss against your lips. 

"You never have to thank me for that. You are one of the few people I actually care about. It's my job to protect you."

You thought about the words that he had almost said before you were kidnapped, the words you longed to say back to him. Then you leaned in and pressed a slightly longer kiss to his lips. 

For now you would keep the words to yourself, but not for long. You knew for a fact how short life could be.

—

7am

—

The siren sounded in the distance, a voice saying the annual purge was over. You heard the soft sighs of David and his family. Karen rubbed her red eyes and leaned a little heavier against a freshly showered Frank. He kissed her forehead before he looked over at you and Billy.

"It's over."

This year. You didn't want to think about that so instead you nodded. Billy's arm around you tightened. 

"Same routine as usual. Stay here for another hour to make sure everything is done out there. Then we go home and try to rest."

You thought about your diner, wondered if it was even still standing. As if he was reading your mind, Billy pressed a kiss to your temple.

"We'll check it but then I'm taking you home. I want to keep an eye on you for a few days."

"No complaints here," you said quietly as you leaned against his shoulder.

You met Karen's eye across the room. You knew that this has been a big deal for everyone. Not just your kidnapping although you knew they all cared about you. Also because this was the final revenge for both men. Frank got to kill the man that caused the death of his family and Billy apparently got to put a few bullets into him to start with. 

The purge was over. Maybe things would change and it would be the last one. Hopefully. If not, you knew next year you'd do things differently. 

Billy would see to that. He would keep you safe.

You felt him press a kiss to your temple again and you smiled in spite of your pain. It wasn't exactly a happy ending, but it was a good one either way. 

X

Thank you for reading this year’s Halloween fic! I hope you enjoyed.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo imagine #billy russo fanfic #my writing #stay don't go #halloween fic

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Capitalism: trickling down bootstraps since the Industrial Revolution.

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 6, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 7, 2023

In the Washington Post today, Marianne LeVine, Isaac Arnsdorf, and Josh Dawsey reported that the Trump camp is eager to get people to stop focusing on Trump’s authoritarian talk, noting that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the presidential candidate was just joking when he said he would be a dictator on the first day of a return to the White House. While the Republican base appears to like Trump’s threats against the people they have come to hate, two Trump advisers told the reporters that “recent stories about his plans for a second term are not viewed as helpful for the general election.”

Republicans have also moved quickly to cut ties with Florida Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler, who is under police investigation for rape. Ziegler’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, co-founded Moms for Liberty, an organization that has focused on removing from schools books that they find objectionable, generally books by or about racial or ethnic minorities or LGBTQ+ people. Often Moms for Liberty members have implied, or even claimed, that those trying to protect school libraries are sexual predators or “groomers.” Ziegler herself has been active in shaping anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the state.

But the police and court documents about the case revealed that the Zieglers and the woman Ziegler allegedly raped had participated in a three-way sexual relationship in the past. The rape allegedly occurred after they had set up another encounter that Bridget could not make. The woman then canceled, telling Ziegler “I was mainly in it for her.” He went to her home anyway.

The story of a key anti-LGBTQ+ activist engaging in same-sex activity as part of a threesome sent Moms for Liberty hurrying to say that Bridget Ziegler was no longer on their board (although both Zieglers were still on their advisory board) and purge her name from their website. And though no charges have yet been filed, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has called on Christian Ziegler to resign from his position at the head of the state Republican Party. 

The Zieglers helped to tie the Republican Party to Moms for Liberty shortly after the organization formed in January 2021, and DeSantis was very much on board, apparently seeing their message of taking the war against “woke” to the schools as a political winner. But, as Amanda Marcotte pointed out in Salon, the 2022 midterms revealed that most voters did not like the extremism of that group and that it was a political liability. 

The fact that DeSantis is dropping his former ally Ziegler so fast suggests that DeSantis is eager to divorce himself from both the story and from the extremism of Moms for Liberty. 

The Trump Republicans took another hit today as well, when a grand jury in the state of Nevada charged six people who falsely posed as electors in 2020 in order to file fake electoral votes for Trump to replace the state’s real votes for now-President Joe Biden. The six Republicans charged with filing false documents include the chair and the vice chair of the Nevada Republican Party. If convicted, they face up to nine years in prison and $15,000 in fines. 

Nevada is the third state to charge the fake electors with crimes. Georgia and Michigan have also done so. 

Ten fake electors in Wisconsin today settled a civil lawsuit over their own participation in Trump’s false-elector scheme. The settlement involved correcting the historical record. The ten agreed to withdraw their paperwork with the false information, explain in writing to the federal offices that the filings had been “part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” and acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election. Going forward, they agreed never again to serve as presidential electors in an election in which Trump is running. 

But while there are signs that even leading Republicans recognize that the extremism of the Trump Republicans is unpopular in the country, Trump Republicans are tightening their hold on Congress. Today former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced that he will resign from Congress at the end of this month. Far-right MAGA Republicans ousted McCarthy from the speaker’s chair in October.

Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC), a McCarthy ally who took over as acting House speaker after McCarthy’s removal, announced yesterday that he had changed his plans from earlier this year and will not run for reelection.    

While hardly moderates—both refused to work with Democrats either to pass legislation or to elect a speaker—they appear to be ceding ground to the MAGA Republicans. 

Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone reported today that one of those MAGA Republicans, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), spoke freely Tuesday night at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., at a celebration for the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. Although the address was being livestreamed, Johnson apparently believed he was speaking privately. He told the audience that the Lord called him to be “a new Moses.”

Johnson, an evangelical Christian, told the audience that the U.S. is “engaged in a battle between worldviews” and “a great struggle for the future of the Republic.” He said he believed far-right Christians would prevail. 

The influence of Trump is also evident in the Senate, where there is broad, bipartisan support for supplemental funding for Ukraine, but where Republicans are refusing to pass such a measure without attaching to it an immigration package that overrides current law, replacing it with Trump’s immigration plans. Such plans could not pass on their own, as Democrats would stop them in the Senate. But by attaching them to a bill that is imperative for national security, Republicans hope to force Biden into it.

Democrats have repeatedly called for new immigration legislation, but their refusal to remake immigration policy as the hard-right wants has made Republicans balk. Now Democrats are still offering to negotiate a reasonable package, but as Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said earlier this week: “I think there’s a misunderstanding on the part of Senator Schumer and some of our Democratic friends…. This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.”

In a speech this afternoon—just a day after Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) finally permitted the Senate to fill 425 senior positions in the U.S. military and while he is still preventing 11 top-level positions from being filled—President Biden called it “stunning that we’ve gotten to this point…. Republicans in Congress…are willing to give [Russian president Vladimir] Putin the greatest gift he could hope for and abandon our global leadership not just to Ukraine, but beyond that.” 

“If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” Biden warned. “It’s important to see the long run here. He’s going to keep going. He’s made that pretty clear. If Putin attacks a NATO Ally—if he keeps going and then he attacks a NATO Ally—well, we’ve committed as a NATO member that we’d defend every inch of NATO territory. Then we’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today: American troops fighting Russian troops—American troops fighting Russian troops if he moves into other parts of NATO. 

“Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”

“Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies,” he said. 

Biden reiterated that he and the Democrats are eager to pass new immigration legislation, but “Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise.  That’s not the answer.... And now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.” He begged Republicans to get past partisan divisions and step up to “our responsibilities as a leading nation in the world.” 

Hours later, Senate Republicans voted against the supplemental aid package.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#U.S.Senate #political #Jesse Duquette #The Daily Don #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #authoritarianism #fascism #NATO #Extreme Republican #national security

[the-kittylorian-writes]

🖌️ Kittylorian's Fanfiction Masterlist 🖌️

(As of 14 March 2024) **underlined words in color are links to the stories**

I. HONOR THY CLAN SERIES - AO3

Fandoms: Star Wars/The Mandalorian/Star Wars Rebels

For Only The Strongest Shall Rule - AO3 Type: Multi-chapter, longfic, part 1 of 2 in main fic Status: Ongoing; 65/77 chapters Brief description: Mand'alor Din Djarin who slowly learns he’s Force-sensitive; Purge survivors are mostly teenagers and little kids; worldbuilding; healing of traumas; facing destiny head-on for many canon characters; leads to the reclaiming of Mandalore

Perfect World - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete (but may potentially continue as a one-shot series) Brief description: A teenage OC's POV before Din Djarin enters his life and becomes his only hope.

Dinui ("Gift") Type: One-shot series Status: On-going *Dinui - AO3 || Tumblr Brief description: A "then vs now" slice of life between Din's childhood with the Tribe vs adult Din as a provider for the Covert post-Purge *No Place Like Home - AO3 || Tumblr Brief description: 17 year-old Din returns to Aq Vetina with his adoptive Mandalorian father and faces a part of his past *A Child Called Din - AO3 || Tumblr Brief description: Teen Din runs into a little big problem. Set immediately after "No Place Like Home" feat. teenage!Paz and friends

II. MANDOMERA WEEK 2022

Fandoms: Star Wars/The Mandalorian (Fanfiction centered on the Din Djarin x Omera pairing; all are rated G or Teen; some fluff and some angst)

The Routine - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Omera's POV, set immediately after the events of Mando s01ep04

To The Letter - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Omera's POV; Omera thinks of a way to thank the Mandalorian (don't worry, it's wholesome)

Starship Down - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Din's POV; Din and Grogu "crash land" on Sorgan, a rescue ensues; set after BoBF s01ep07

Priceless - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Shared POV; Din takes Omera to a memorable vacation spot, but a lot of things have changed

Battle Scar - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Canon-divergent, shared POV; Din is Mand'alor and Omera is queen; Omera argues with Din and Din tries to set things right

IV. MISCELLANOUS FICS

Fandoms: Star Wars/The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett/The Bad Batch

A Good Night's Sleep For Once - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Migs Mayfeld POV, post Mando s02ep07

Double Tap - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Din double checks if he really took Moff Gideon down; post Mando s01ep08

Putting the Weep in Sweep - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Paz Vizsla is tasked to sweep the Forge because he's a responsible adult

Fatalitea - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Fennec Shand and Boba Fett try boba tea

The Test - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Din's thoughts as he visits Grogu; during BoBF s01ep06

I'm Just A Kid - AO3 Type: Multi-chapter Status: On-going; 4/7 chapters Brief description: Din and Boba transform into kids and Paz Vizsla babysits

Heart And Mind - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Tech's POV when he and Omega have a brief talk during s02ep09

A New Age of Mandalore - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Semi-crackfic; an old scientist visits the Covert with a theory, and only Grogu understands. Set after s03ep02

V. FERRIX: A SERIES OF ONE-SHOTS - AO3

Fandoms: Star Wars/Andor

1.A Daughter Of Ferrix - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete: Brief description: Maarva Andor copes with her teenage son Cassian's arrest after he avenges the death of his father, Clem Andor

2. Alone - AO3 Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: B2EMO's POV of the night after Maarva passes away

VI. A CHILD OF THE WATCH - AO3

Fandoms: Star Wars/The Mandalorian

A Future Yet Unknown- AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Din and Grogu are greeted by an unexpected new member of the Covert. A "missing scene" in s03ep01 "The Apostate."

Only One Creed- AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Paz's son Ragnar has questions, and Paz isn't sure if he can answer them all, not where he stands with Din. Set after s03ep01 "The Apostate"

From The Ashes- AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Paz begins to teach Ragnar about the legacy of House Vizsla.

All The Little Foundlings- AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Ragnar copes with fears and loss of self-confidence as he recovers from his harrowing rescue adventure; clan Djarin step in to help. Set after s03ep4 "The Foundling."

We Are Eternal - AO3 || Tumblr Type: One-shot Status: Complete Brief description: Paz Vizsla leaves a holo-recording to his son Ragnar before he accompanies Bo-Katan to scout Mandalore, knowing well that it could be his last mission. Epistle style. (Spoilers for s03ep07 "The Spies")

In Dreams, We Wake - AO3 || Tumblr Type: Multi-chapter (2/?) Status: Ongoing Brief description: Ragnar Vizsla is Axe Woves' apprentice. Two years have passed since Mandalore's reclamation and Paz Vizsla's selfless sacrifice. Ragnar lives a double life for the sake of his father, in life or in death.

***end of list***

#star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfics #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian fanfic #mando fanfiction #andor fanfiction #fanfiction masterlist #reblog for a fellow creator plsthanks #my fics #my wips #my writing #fluff and angst #some dark and mature themes #generally rated GA and Teen #mand’alor din djarin

[ukrfeminism]

2 minute read

Swansea University has been accused of “telling women to shut up” after its feminist society was closed down for apparently making book recommendations that upset trans activists.

Staff and women’s rights groups said it was shameful that students would have no women-only group when they began the new academic year, after the Feminist Society was quietly removed from university directories over the summer.

Abby Claron, the outgoing president of the society, said it had been “purged” by trans activists, as punishment for openly supporting women’s sex-based rights on Instagram.

The Students’ Union, which manages the university societies, insisted that the society was “dormant” because of a technicality relating to the election of its committee.

However, Claron denied the claim, saying that it was being used as an excuse to ban a society that did not conform with student activists’ beliefs on transgender rights.

She and other members of the group had been vilified online by activists for recommending books such as Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality by the journalist Helen Joyce and for expressing support for Kathleen Stock, the philosophy professor bullied for her views at Sussex University. Other “hateful” posts also called for her to be expelled from her university course.

The Students’ Union confirmed that an investigation was taking place into a secret complaint against the Feminist Society.

Claron, who has since graduated, said: “The behaviour of the Students’ Union towards us this year has been appalling, and if I hadn’t been in my final year, with otherwise very little to lose, I would have definitely felt coerced and threatened by the Students’ Union, especially their so-called investigation.”

The university said in a statement that it had nothing to do with the management of student societies, which was “a matter for the Students’ Union, which is an independent body”.

However, one staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was a feeling among staff that the closure of the society was the latest example of the university’s “capture” by Stonewall.

This year Swansea University was placed 26th, its highest ranking yet, in the lobby group’s list of its 100 favourite employers.

The staff member said: “The university has effectively told women to shut up . . . a lot of staff members have been quietly whispering among themselves about how we have been captured by Stonewall.”

Cathy Larkman, of the Welsh branch of the Women’s Rights Network, said: “As an observer, you’d be quite entitled to suspect that the Students’ Union has taken whatever steps it could for women who believe in sex-based rights to be silenced.”

In a statement Esyllt Rosser, president of the Students’ Union, said: “All societies are expected to elect their committees through a fair and transparent democratic process. The Feminist Society were unable to form an elected committee following the 2022-23 elections and, as a result, the society was deemed dormant until a committee can be elected. The complaint refers to a separate issue of transphobia allegations made against individuals within the Feminist Society. This investigation is ongoing.”

[chocolatepot]

Completed chaptered fic:

If You Don't Love Me Now: Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better. Ed goes back to playing Blackbeard before he finally comes face-to-face with Stede again. (9k, 3 chapters, rated T)

Prisons Of Our Own Perceptions: A hurt/comfort epic. Instead of being saved by Ed from the Spanish, the Revenge was captured by a crueler captain, and the crew scattered. (60k, 18 chapters, rated M)

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: AU in which Stede makes it to the docks and Ed doesn't. (16k, 7 chapters, rated T)

Works in progress:

I Saw You And Sealed My Fate: Stede's become resigned to living a quiet life under his parents' thumbs when they introduce him to Benjamin Hornigold and slowly slide him into an engagement. Ed, meanwhile, chafes in his position in Hornigold's massive corporation and is in fact planning a way out. The two of them meet at the engagement dinner and immediately hit it off … (6.5k, 2/5 chapters, rated T)

Dirty Rotten Pirates: Ed is the most successful con artist of the twenty-first century. Stede is a nobody with a penny-ante grift. When they meet, everything changes. (3k, 1/? chapters, rated T)

Series:

Sweet Damsels: Genderbend fics with lesbian Blackbonnet, mostly not in continuity, ranging from sweet to smutty.

A Kiss on the Hand: A series of fics based on a prompt list of different types of hand kisses.

Twelvetide Drabbles 2022: Drabbles, drabble multiples, and ficlets written for a fest. Multiple ships and characters!

My one important meta: Stede's presentation and historical standards of masculinity in clothing

One-shots:

Canon compliant one-shots:

The To-Read Stack: Domestic fluff, post-reunion, Stede finds some books missed in the purge.

First Night Home: Stede returns to his ship.

Beside the One You Have Waited For: A missing moment when Ed and Stede are up in the maintop that first night.

What Dreams May Come: Stede has a steamy dream about two Eds on his way back to the Revenge. (Not explicit.)

Sugar Baby: How Lucius got hired by Stede, somewhat by accident.

More Nicer: A missing moment - Stede's conversation with Doug in the kitchen in ep 10.

Waitin' For My Dearie: An exploration of what it's like to be queer and autistic when you don't really realize that's what's going on with you. (Has a happy ending.)

Parched: After Stede leaves home in the middle of the night, Mary grows and changes.

I See A New Horizon: Stede and Ed escape the Academy, and begin to navigate the new changes to their relationship.

Interesting Accounts: Wellington's interrogation on the subject of Stede Bonnet.

An Officer and a Gentleman, or, All Kinds of Situations: Samuel Hornberry hopes that by writing some of his fantasies out, he can escape them.

Momentum: An angsty reunion, illustrated by @feriowind.

there'll be peace of mind: Reunion where Ed and the crew rescue Stede and nurse him back to health.

Proud of You: Ed realizes Stede has a praise kink, and he enjoys playing into it. (Rated E)

no sign of land: Ed/Izzy, the latter topping from the bottom.

Watching Over Olu: Olu is ill, and Jim watches over him.

Rescue Me: Stede is captured.

Take Me In Your Arms: (Sequel to the previous.) Stede's been rescued, and now Ed's in trouble.

Those Savage Beats: Things have gotten stale since Anne and Mary left the seas. Anne takes matters into her own hands. Or rather, teeth.

Fresh Towels: Ed and Stede have retired to run the inn of Ed's dreams. Ed is still nervous about customer service, and Stede does what he can to help.

Alternate universe one-shots:

Going Nautical: A Going Postal AU.

What Else Could I Do (Again): An AU where Stede did stop the Revenge's construction, but still goes to sea.

Making An Entrance: Role reversal AU about the famed Gentleman Pirate and newcomer Edward Teach.

A Perfectly Diabolical Angel: A Good Omens AU.

It Might Be All That You Get: A Ted Lasso AU.

Be Careful, It's My Heart: AU in which Stede gets back to the Revenge when Ed is still in his depression-robe era.

An Offer of Matrimony: A Regency AU where Ed is a rake and Stede is a wallflower, and they have a marriage of convenience.

In the Conjugal Sense: Sequel to the previous - the wedding night!

Drinking Out of the Same Bottle: A Prohibition-era speakeasy AU.

Fiftieth Ficlets (A Miscellany): Five ficlets, written to celebrate a milestone.

Bird of Paradise: A soulmate is a complicated thing. (Stede/Lucius and Stede/Ed.)

#my fic #ofmd #ofmd fic #our flag means death fic #our flag means death #pinned post

[reynard61]

Since the challenge form has not been released, it is not certain who challenged Arthur's Birthday. But nearly all the book challenges in Clay County schools have been submitted by Bruce Friedman, an activist associated with the right-wing group No Left Turn in Education. Among other things, No Left Turn in Education seeks to "screen and monitor the curriculum, materials and any other resources used in all classes" to prevent the "sexualization of children."  Friedman did not respond to texts or an email seeking comment. But in an interview with Popular Information in December 2022, Friedman said he had compiled "a list of over 3,600 titles" that he was considering challenging. Friedman said that unless the school district voluntarily purged all the books he believed were inappropriate from the library, he would "perform 3,600 challenges and overwhelm your awful, awful procedures and policies." The goal, according to Friedman, is to use Clay County school libraries to "set a good example for what a clean library looks like" for Florida and the country. If anyone gets in his way, Friedman vowed to "run over them like a dead body." Over the last year, Friedman has filed hundreds of challenges. And according to records requested by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and obtained by Popular Information, Friedman has had considerable success. Challenges submitted since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year have resulted in the district permanently banning at least 120 books from school libraries through June 30. 

So if you live in Clay County, FL (and, at some possible future date, in the United States as a whole), and can't find that copy of The Handmaid's Tale or It or Carrie or even Arthur's Birthday at your local public library; well, Bruce Friedman and his merrie band of fascists at No Left Turn in Education are the ones that you can thank for that. 🙄😒

#censorship

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

#20yrsago Print-to-toilet-roll https://web.archive.org/web/20030406045030/http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk/content/attractions/content.asp?location=32

#20yrsago Ian Clarke is leaving America https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=73841&cid=6632511

#15yrsago Defunct pizza parlor robot band repurposed for fan music-vids https://www.wired.com/2008/08/showbiz-pizzas/

#10yrsago Lavabit founder has stopped using email: “If you knew what I know, you might not use it either” https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/08/09/lavabits-ladar-levison-if-you-knew-what-i-know-about-email-you-might-not-use-it/?sh=745a0549648a

#10yrsago Stephen Fry explains what a hateful, terrible thing is the Daily Mail https://web.archive.org/web/20130812055755/http://stephen-fry-me.tumblr.com/post/57805910021/the-daily-mail-and-lord-dacre-appeasing-again

#10yrsago NSA firing 90% of its sysadmins to eliminate potential Snowdens https://www.nbcnews.com/technolog/nsa-cut-system-administrators-90-percent-limit-data-access-6c10884390

#5yrsago The EPA’s own staff are aghast that Trump is bringing back asbestos https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/climate/epa-asbestos-rule.html

#5yrsago Reminder: your state may be purging you from its voter rolls https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2018/08/10/democracy-dies-in-the-darkness/

#5yrsago TSA: the fact that our secret surveillance program hasn’t caught anyone means it’s working https://www.techdirt.com/2018/08/10/tsa-admits-quiet-skies-surveillance-program-is-useless-promises-to-continue-engaging-useless-surveillance/

#5yrsago American Conservative laments market concentration and private property as bad for free expression https://www.theamericanconservative.com/i-was-banned-for-life-from-twitter/

#5yrsago Missouri voters kill the state’s anti-union law with a massively successful ballot initiative https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-missouri-unions-ballot-primary-janus.html

#1yrsago A modest proposal to fix contracts https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/10/be-reasonable/#i-would-prefer-not-to

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

#pluralistic

[csuitebitches]

My Personal Goal Progress and Steps to Achieving Them: Part 3, Skin Care

Hello there. For today’s article, I decided to talk about what my personal goals are and how I plan to go about reaching them.

I’ve realised that I’ve made a lot of content on creating goals, but I haven’t shown how it works for me with real life examples. Maybe showing this little insight in my life will help you manage your own goals better.

My Goals for 2022-end

* Read 6 books

* Lose 5 inches off my lower waist

* Get rid of acne scars

* 20 Medium articles by the end of the year

* Go back to playing tennis

* Be able to read the language I’m studying fluently

Getting rid of my acne scars. Phew!

I struggled with acne because of PCOS for many years. Let me get straight to the point- Accutane, in my experience and my friends, is the only drug that 100% works.

I tried everything. I tried the herbal methods, I tried cutting dairy out, I went as far as having collagen injected into my face- nothing worked. Until I completed one round of Accutane, which I began in April.

I did experience a slight purge but the way my active acne went away… miraculous. Why didn’t my doctor give this to me before?!

The reality is that to treat acne scars you have to be treating the acne as well. So here’s what I use for my skin in addition to the meds:

Morning

- Cerave face wash

- Toner

- Vitamin C from Sephora

- Sunscreen

- Moisturiser

- Make up

Evening

- Cerave face wash

- Toner

- High Frequency: Neon (bought it from Amazon, I try to do this everyday for 1.5 minutes on my face)

- Sacara goji berry moisturiser

- MeDerma intensive repair scar cream (the overnight one)

- High Frequency: Argon (bought it from Amazon, I try to do this everyday for 1.5 minutes on my face)

Once a week

- The ordinary’s AHA+BHA red serum

- Clay mask for my oily skin

- Steam face + remove blackheads

- Remove facial hair

You can see my progress below.

(row one, L-R) Pic 1: April 2022, Pic 2: May 2022

(row two, L-R) Pic 3: April 2022, Pic 4: August 2022

#c suite #powerful woman #ceo aesthetic #personal growth #that girl #productivity #strong women #getting your life together #feminine energy #balance #acne #acne treatment #acne scars #pcos #pcod #pcod problem symptoms #pcos women #skin #skincare #get rid of acne #Accutane #Accutane experience #scarring #scars #skin treatment #skin routine #morning routine #evening routine #skin goals #glass skin

[televinita]

Me, reading John Stamos' book: Oh yeah, Big Shot! THAT'S the show w/ him and Jessalyn Gilsig; I forgot to investigate it further before but I've definitely gotta watch it now. I'm actually very excited about this, so...

Wikipedia: The series premiered on April 16, 2021. In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 12, 2022. In February 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons. The series was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst a Disney+ and Hulu content removal purge as part of a broader cost cutting initiative under Disney CEO Bob Iger.

#CAN'T BELIEVE THE PURGE GOT ME AT LAST #but seriously what the hell is that timeline?? #'i premiere on a streaming service. i air a second season. i am forcibly removed from the streaming service'

[delshorrorlist]

My Horror List

-Here is a list of my finished horror movies. The first portion is in an unknown order, and the second portion is when I started documenting the order-

1408 (2007)

#Alive (2020)

•REC (2007)

13 Ghosts (2001)

28 Days Later… (2002)

30 Days of Night (2007)

A Classic Horror Story (2021)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A Quiet Place (2018)

Anaconda (1997)

Annabelle (2014)

Army of the Dead (2021)

As Above, So Below (2014)

Banana Splits Movie (2019)

Before I Awake (2016)

Bird Box (2018)

Black Sheep (2006)

Blood Red Sky (2021)

Brainscan (1994)

Butchers (2020)

Cadaver (2020)

Cargo (2017)

Carrie (1976)

Carrie (2013)

Child’s Play (1988)

Child’s Play (2019)

Children of the Corn (1984)

Christine (1983)

Color Out of Space (2019)

Cube (1997)

Dave Made a Maze (2017)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Day of the Dead (2008)

Death of Me (2020)

Devil (2010)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Don’t Breathe (2016)

Eli (2019)

Escape Room (2019)

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)

Evil Ed (1995)

Fear Street: Part 1 - 1994 (2021)

Fear Street: Part 2 - 1978 (2021)

Fear Street: Part 3 - 1666 (2021)

Final Destination (2000)

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Final Destination 3 (2006)

The Final Destination (2009)

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Friday the 13th (2009)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Get Out (2017)

Grave Encounters (2011)

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

Graveyard Shift (1990)

Gremlins (1984)

Halloween (1978)

Hellraiser (1987)

Hereditary (2018)

His House (2020)

Hostel (2005)

Housebound (2014)

Hush (2016)

Idle Hands (1999)

In the Tall Grass (2019)

Incantation (2022)

Insidious (2010)

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

IT (2017)

IT: Chapter Two (2019)

Jaws (1975)

Jigsaw (2017)

Krampus (2015)

Lake Placid (1999)

Leatherface (2017)

Legion (2010)

Life (2017)

Lights Out (2016)

Little Evil (2017)

Ma (2019)

Mama (2013)

Maximum Overdrive (1986)

Midsommar (2019)

Monster House (2006)

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

No Escape Room (2018)

Nope (2022)

Oculus (2013)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Peninsula (2020)

Pet Sematary (1989)

Pet Sematary (2019)

Poltergeist (1982)

Psycho (1960)

Purge (2013)

Purge II (2014)

Purge III (2016)

Purge IV (2018)

Purge V (2021)

Ready or Not (2019)

Saw (2004)

Saw II (2005)

Saw III (2006)

Saw IV (2007)

Saw V (2008)

Saw VI (2009)

Saw VII (2010)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Scream (1996)

Scream 2 (1997)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Silver Bullet (1985)

Sinister (2012)

Society (1989)

Spiral (2019)

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

Splice (2009)

Summer of Fear (1978)

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Texas Chainsaw (2013)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

The Babadook (2014)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The Conjuring (2013)

The Craft (1996)

The Crazies (2010)

The Darkness (2016)

The Descent (2005)

The Empty Man (2020)

The Endless (2017)

The Escape Room (2018)

The Evil Dead (1981)

The Final Girls (2015)

The Forest (2016)

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

The Ice Cream Truck (2017)

The Lazarus Effect (2015)

The Lost Boys (1987)

The Mist (2007)

The Nun (2018)

The Platform (2019)

The Possession (2012)

The Resort (2021)

The Ring (2002)

The Ritual (2018)

The Ruins (2008)

The Shining (1980)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

The Strangers (2008)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The Thing (1982)

The Void (2016)

The Woman in Black (2012)

There’s Someone Inside Your House (2021)

Train to Busan (2016)

Tremors (1990)

Truth or Dare (2018)

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

Tusk (2014)

Unfriended (2014)

Us (2019)

Uzumaki (2000)

Vivarium (2019)

Warm Bodies (2013)

What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Willy’s Wonderland (2021)

Winchester (2018)

Wish Upon (2017)

Would You Rather? (2012)

Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Dated Movies

-From this point on I have the date and order I watched these movies, everything above I watched before everything below-

Drag Me to Hell (2009) - October 4th 2022, #176

The Privilege (2022) - October 12th 2022, #177

Halloween Ends (2022) - October 15th 2022, #178

The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - October 24th 2022, #179

The Perfection (2019) - October 25th 2022, #180

Barbarian (2021) - October 25th 2022, #181

The Faculty (1998) - October 30th 2022, #182

The Exorcist (1973) - October 31th 2022, #183

Smile (2022) - November 27th 2022, #184

The Menu (2022) - January 8th 2023, #185

Ghostwatch (1992) - January 28th 2023, #186

Skinamarink (2023) - February 2nd 2023, #187

The Collection (2012) - February 4th 2023, #188

The Innocents (2021) - February 7th 2023, #189

Deadstream (2022) - February 7th 2023, #190

The Dark and the Wicked (2020) - February 7th 2023, #191

Kolobos (1999) - February 8th 2023, #192

Scare Package (2019) - February 9th 2023, #193

Re-Animator (1985) - February 10th 2023, #194

The Boy (2016) - February 15th 2023, #197

The Invitation (2022) - February 18th 2023, #198

Grizzly (1976) - February 18th 2023, #199

C.O.R.N.: Field of Screams (2021) - March 2nd 2023, #200

Slumber Party Masscare II (1987) - March 2nd 2023, #201

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) - March 3rd 2023, #202

The Silence (2019) - March 5th 2023, #203

Once Upon a Time at Christmas (2017) - March 5th 2023, #204

Evil Toons (1991) - March 15th 2023, #205

Sleepaway Camp (1983) - March 15th 2023, #206

Prom Night (1980) - March 15th 2023, #207

Cooties (2014) - March 19th 2023, #208

House (1985) - March 20th 2023, #209

House of Wax (2005) - March 25th 2023, #210

Prom Night (2008) - March 25th 2023, #211

Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory (1961) - March 31st 2023, #212

Wolf Creek (2005) - April 2nd 2023, #213

Body Melt (1993) - April 2nd 2023, #214

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) - April 5th 2023, #215

Death Becomes Her (1992) - April 18th 2023, #216

Stigmata (1999) - April 19th 2023, #217

Dead Silence (2007) - April 19th 2023, #218

Elevator (2012) - April 20th 2023, #219

Bad Hair (2020) - April 22nd 2023, #220

We Need to Do Something (2021) - 25th 2023, #221

Good Boy (2020) - April 25th 2023, #222

Pilgrim (2019) - April 27th 2023, #223

Piggy (2022) - April 28th 2023, #224

They Come Knocking (2019) - April 28th 2023, #225

Death Spa (1989) - April 30th 2023, #226

The Naked Witch (1961) - April 30th 2023, #227

I'm Just Fucking With You (2019) - May 2nd 2023, #228

Critters (1986) - May 3rd 2023, #229

Chopping Mall (1986) - May 5th 2023, #230

The Farm (2018) - May 12th 2023, #231

Motel Hell (1980) - May 12th 2023, #232

Jeepers Creepers (2001) - May 14th 2023, #233

Mother's Day (1980) - May 15th 2023, #234

Slaxx (2020) - May 15th 2023, #235

Slaughterhouse (1987) - May 16th 2023, #236

One Missed Call (2008) - May 19th 2023, #237

Mayhem (2017) - May 19th 2023, #238

Boar (2017) - May 19th 2023, #239

Pieces (1983) - May 22nd 2023, #240

Pandamonium (2020) - May 24th 2023, #241

All Cheerleaders Die (2014) - May 27th 2023, #242

Waxwork (1985) - May 28th 2023, #243

They Look Like People (2015) - May 28th 2023, #244

Class of Nuke'em High (1986) - May 28th 2023, #245

Fear PHarm (2020) - May 29th 2023, #246

The Stuff (1985) - June 1st 2023, #247

Planet Terror (2007) - June 2nd 2023, #248

Fear PHarm 2 (2021) - June 5th 2023, #249

Mom and Dad (2018) - June 8th 2023, #250

Renfield (2023) - June 11th 2023, #251

After Dark: The Task (2011) - June 12th 2023, #252

Terrifier (2016) - June 19th 2023, #253

It Follows (2015) - June 20th 2023, #254

Choose Or Die (2022) - June 20th 2023, #255

31 (2016) - June 21st 2023, #256

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) - June 22nd 2023, #257

Apollo 18 (2011) - June 22nd 2023, #258

Triangle (2009) - June 23rd 2023, #259

Sorority House Massacre (1986) - June 23rd 2023, #260

Braid (2018) - June 24th 2023, #261

Await Further Instructions (2018) - June 26th 2023, #262

Ghost Ship (2002) - July 9th 2023, #263

Annihilation (2018) - July 11th 2023, #264

Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018) - July 13th 2023, #265

Scare BNB (2019) - July 19th 2023, #266

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) - July 20th 2023, #267

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989) - July 20th 2023, #268

The Bunnyman Massacre (2014) - July 26th 2023, #269

House (1977) - July 26th 2023, #270

Night of the Comet (1983) - August 3rd 2023, #271

Phantasm (1979) - August 8th 2023, #272

Evil Dead 2 (1987) - August 8th 2023, #273

Battle Royale (2000) - August 8th 2023, #274

Trucks (1998) - August 8th 2023, #275

247F (2011) - August 15th 2023, #276

2001 Maniacs (2005) - August 15th 2023, #277

The Video Dead (1987) - August 17th 2023, #278

Human Resources (2021) - August 17th 2023, #279

Parents (1989) - August 18th 2023, #280

Urban Legend (1998) - September 8th 2023, #281

You’re Next (2011) - November 21st 2023, #282

Frogs (1972) - November 21st 2023, #283

Jennifer’s Body (2009) - January 8th 2024, #284

The Hunt (2020) - January 8th 2024, #285

The Amusement Park (1975) - January 21st 202;, #286

Diary of the Dead (2007) - February 2nd 2024, #287

Corporate Animals (2019) - February 7th, 2024, #288

The Vampire Bat (1933) - February 7th 2024, #289

Blades (1989) - February 7th 2024, #290

Martyrs (2008) - February 7th 2024, #291

Game of Death (2017) - February 14th 2024, #292

Night Swim (2024) - February 16th 2024, #293

976-EVIL (1988) - February 18th 2024, #294

Microwave Massacre (1979) - February 18th 2024, #295

Street Trash (1987) - February 20th 2024, #296

Escape the Field (2022) - February 21st 2024, #297

Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies (1992) - March 3rd 2024, #298

Return to Horror High (1987) - March 23rd 2024, #299

The Beach House (2019) - April 14th 2024, #300

#horror movies #horror genre #horror #horror review #delshorrorlist