#IR get new neighbors

[currentfandomkick]

So update on roles i think DP characters would play:

Ellie: often in diplomat training, absolutely an out and about Halfa and often a go-to for diplomatic missions. (Obsessions include: finding her own identity, travel, helping her fraid specifically, learning, trade as a concept and practice, medicine (as unstable) )

Danny: mostly helps the new metas ans new liminals with their powers. He’s emperor on a technicality and is technically a baby ghost posing as a severely ecto-contaminated human. He does tag along for some of Ellie, Tucker and Sam’s outings in politics but is usually not going to. He is thriving as Some Guy with a weirdly vast knowledge of power control for many meta abilities and is functionally a meta and liminal abilities coach and councilor, but does this casually. He finds someone struggling? Here’s a bunch if tips and tricks. Here’s a blog of him explaining the ThingTM. Otherwise he is an infinite realms expert but thinks he is not, as he only cares about the alien portions and the one resembling space. No he will not be responsible, and yes his obsession is largely centered on family, responsibility and finding his own joy (i love multiple obsessions for each ghost) and yes he does love to learn skills but not information and yes space is his longtime obsession from birth as a baby liminal no i am not taking criticism on this hc.

Valerie: likely helping others adapt to new environment, probably knows more about the shield tech than most thanks to her dad overseeing its standardization and installation, absolutely seen as someone on call for dangerous ghosts appearing in Gotham Principality (nicknamed Land of Gargoyles, Grit, and Goths)

Tucker: technically a reincarnated pharaoh expected to rule upon his death. Resident of Amity, often a diplomat to Atlantis with Ellie. Drags Danny along for future practice but mostly is there for technomancy while Ellie talks trade (Tucker helps her on nitty gritty details due to Pharaoh Memories of negotiations but isn’t into the big picture aspect). Local technomancer who helps and works with other technomancers in Amity, is liminal (and can use death magic) plus is probs an embodiment of the egyptian pantheon (usual dc headcannon following tucker that i love for him interacting with Wonder Woman and other amazons). Budding obsessions: technology, videogames, magic, politics and friendship.

Sam: daughter of the MAIN Diplomat (Jeremy) and a chief organizer and leader of the Council, (Pamela). She kickstarted this entire process and led the protests against the anti-ecto acts. Often a diplomat in Gotham, seen speaking to Poison Ivy for defensive purposes and environmental policy discussions… (and eco terrorism) and is learning from her parents. Sometimes accompanied by Tucker, but more often Ellie is there with her learning too. Does welcome a lot of magic users and is seen as a local community organizer with a focus on her budding obsessions (environmentalism, photography, politics, punk-goth).

Wes: absolutely here with detailed info on everyone trying to break into amity. Gotham has oracle. Amity has Wes doxing everyone guarding the border and finding blackmail solely out of spite. Does wes have the curse of cassandra? Yep. Does he know Danny is King of the IR via combat? Yes. Is he annoyed Danny isnt setting up a role in politics and trying to bully him into it? Big time. Is it failing on the convincing part? Yes, as Danny wants to be Some Guy.

Fenton Parents: terrifying inventors who are team Amity Park first and foremost. They love having Vlad act like their old friend at last and rubbing their inventions in the face of everyone who made fun of them in the past. Yes they are thriving. Obsessions are shared and focus on science (concentrated to anything ecto), inventing, their family and friends.

The Mansons: see post above. Obsessions boil down to family, their daughter, organization, rules, politeness and by proxy politics.

Jazz: a baby therapist who runs a dead clone rehab in the Infinite Realms with ghosts who’s obsession is helping others, psychology, and rehabilitation centric. Her baby obsessions are psychology, assisting others, family, and (surprisingly) baking.

Paulina: Vlad’s social media campaign manager. As she’s most of his social media team (Sam helps her but they refuse to admit it). Yes she is helping Amity and works with Pamela and Jeremy, no she is not overly involved. Yes she knows more than you, she works here, and here is where things happen. Budding obsessions: gossip/social information, popularity, social media, politics (fell into), fashion and its impact and influence on culture and vice versa. Cheerleading is her hobby, as is gymnastics. Great for self-defense.

Dash: joined “border” patrols but is mostly a jock. Yes he still kicks Danny’s butt as Fenton and adores Phantom. He vexes Wes. Dash’s obsessions are sports, hierarchy/being ‘on top’, safety and the town/Amity.

Vlad: billionaire bamboozling the USA, opportunist keeping Amity relevant and unintentionally the main “recruiter” for most that seek asylum or move to Amity due to meta, magic or being liminal. Helps the Fentons with inventions, works with the Mansons on politics, somehow in charge of border patrols as a result and debates taunting the idiots holding the line pointing weapons at the Amity and her border. Obsessions: family (Maddie and Danny mostly, includes Ellie), acceptance, ecto science, inventing (man has to be obsessed with it to be besties with Jack and Maddie in college), and Power (politics is often a means to this, as is money and buisness).

I will attempt more roles another time, but comment characters for me to use and expand on for “not today satan” residents, or residents of the Gotham Principality.

Also help me please, does Ra’s cult and various cities around lazarus pits make him a leader of many small city states or something of the sort? Or is he just like, a pirate king that the IR side eye but dont care enough about to shoo away? Legit stuck on this

*slams the door open, eyes manic* Sovereign State!

A Sovereign State: "International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, a government not under another, and the capacity to interact with other sovereign states."

The USA already HAS several that exsist within its boarders? And there was that Gay Island of Australia (no really, look it up.) There is a LONG history of humanity going "well fuck you too then, I'm leaving. But also I refuse to leave. I am METAPHORICALLY leaving." *leaves your country and makes their own*

And??

Where's the FUCK were you? Mr. President? During that INVASION by Pariah Dark??

No, really. Social contracts, my dude. That is WHY you have AN ARMY. For INVADING FORCES.

You ALSO have declared us, your citizens, non-sentient and stripped of us our Constitutional Rights WITHOUT hearings, studies, or any due processes. Not to mention just desecrating the dead like it's NOT a well known religious and moral taboo. AND attacking out dead family members! The list goes on!

Why do we pay you taxes, if YOU are the active threat to us AND you offer us no social services?? You've all but cut Amity off anyway!

.......*Takes our ball and goes home* FUCK IT.

They are literally Limnals. It's a TOWN OF METAS. Can you honestly tell me that they WOULDN'T look at the Ecto-Acts and just think: "Yeeeeeah, how about No. Hard Pass."

You can have your INCREDIBLY stupid and offensive law. In OUR country, that's illegal. "We can't do that?" Yes. We can. We informed you in a Formal Document, which you received, you had the opportunity to STOP us, you did or could not, AND we got Regonized by another government.

It's a Ghost Goverment. We, the city state of Amity, were recognized by like... going on 23 at this point. We have a list. All Ghost Goverments, too. Sucks for you that you don't recognize those, they've decided not to recognize YOURS back until you do.

Politics, baby~

Aaaw D:> Does the Upset Baby wanna call, Superman? Boo Hoo. Somebody's forgetting the Justice League serves EARTH, not AMERICA. Suck on a lemon and die mad about it. Better not come back as a Ghost though! Your Goverment will declare you a lab specimen!

Now if you'll excuse us, WE have interplanetary trade routes. Because WE can use alien tech from our Ghost Buddies. And the Fenton Anti-Creep Barrier means you can't do SHIT. So *large crowd of teenagers making rude noises at frustrated government officials*

*Justice Leauge taking picture in the background* You're doing great sweeties! Aquaman is? So proud of the younger generation? They really are the future, you guys. Can he come in?

Oh of COURSE, your Majesty! *somehow ONLY Aquaman is able to get past the barrier, much to the impotent fury of the GIW and various officials*

@hdgnj @stealingyourbones

[blog-name-idk]

The Package Thief (KNJ)

Beautiful banner by @btsstan12

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x Fem Reader

Genre: Neighbors/Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Humor

Summary: You have a new neighbor who is incredibly attractive. Unfortunately, he seems to hate you for no discernable reason at all. Does he think that just because he's hot, he can get away with being an asshole?

Pairing: Kim Namjoon x Fem Reader

Genre: Neighbors/Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Humor

Word Count: 3,473

Warnings: Language, dimples, Namtiddies

~~~~~

The first time you saw your tall, handsome, dimple-cheeked neighbor, you were thrilled to have some eye candy in your apartment building. You had just moved in, and when he smiled at you in the lobby, you could have sworn you heard birds chirp and angels sing.

When you spotted him again while gathering up the packages for your floor, you perked up, hoping it would be your chance to get his name.

"Oh hey! Could you hold that for me?" you called as he stepped past the sliding doors. You juggled the boxes awkwardly in your hand as you hurried forward with a smile, only for the handsome stranger to glare at you as if you were doing something wrong. He then pressed a button that was clearly not to keep the door open, because it slid shut in your face.

"What the fuck?" you asked the air, staring at the metal frame incredulously. Who the hell did something like that? Did this asshole think he was too good to share the elevator with you?

Ugh, it figured. Of course someone that hot would never have learned to be a good person.

With a sigh, you jammed the "up" button with your elbow to wait for the next one. Your ire cooled as you waited, and you decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he just had to take a shit really badly or something, and what you thought was a glare was actually his constipated face. He would probably apologize the next time you ran into each other.

~~~~~

Your neighbor did not apologize the next time you ran into each other.

If anything, he seemed to glare harder. And then the prick closed the door in your face, again. Unbelievable.

You weren't going to take this abuse laying down, so whenever you were in the position to do so, you returned the favor. It felt good to see the same irritation on his face each time the metal door slid shut, and you relished in your petty victories. He deserved a taste of his own medicine. Did he really think that just because he was hot, he could get away with being a dick?

On this particular day, you had worked late to clean up after a coworker's mistakes, and you were exhausted. All you wanted to do was take off your shoes and bra and listen to some music while you fought off the urge to angry cry.

Of course, because the universe hated you, you got to the lobby to see the smug, obnoxious smirk on your neighbor's face as he jammed the door close button. You clenched your teeth, feeling heat and frustration build behind your eyes, and gave him your most venomous glare as you flipped him off. You were not going to give this horrible piece of shit the satisfaction of seeing you upset.

Once he was gone, you pressed the elevator button, only to notice the sign indicating the other was broken. So you had to wait for piece-of-shit to get to whatever the fuck floor he lived on before it came back. It was a small thing, but enough to break through the cracks of your composure, and you felt hot tears begin to leak down your face.

You wiped your eyes angrily and took several deep breaths while you pulled yourself back together. Well, if you were going to have to wait, you might as well bring the packages up to your floor again. No point in leaving them down here for anyone to take.

As you waited for the elevator, you wondered how in the world anyone could be such a raging asshole.

~~~~~

"God, someone stole a package again yesterday," groaned Namjoon over a glass of scotch. It was Friday, the first night he had free in weeks, and it felt good to unwind after being frustrated by his bitchy neighbor for so long. Seriously, what was up with her? Did she think that just because she was hot she could get away with stealing peoples' mail?

"Again?" Jimin said in surprise, taking a sip of his own drink. "What about building management?"

"What do you mean?" Namjoon asked with a baffled furrow of his brow. Jimin lived in the same building, but on a different floor. Now that Namjoon thought about it, he'd also never heard his friend complain about a single package stolen.

"Do they just not bring up your stuff soon enough?" Jimin questioned, cocking his head. "The girl who brings the packages for my floor even organizes them by unit order."

What the hell was Jimin on about? That wasn't a thing. Oblivious to his friend's confusion, Jimin rambled on, and Namjoon pondered on this new mystery. The only person he'd ever seen picking up several packages was –

"She's really cute too, and she's always smiling."

Okay nevermind, it wasn't her. He doubted he'd seen an expression on her face other than irritation and spite. She was definitely attractive, but hot bitch wasn't really the type that turned him on.

"Oh, there she is, actually!" Jimin chirped in excitement, eyes sparkling as he waved at someone over Namjoon's shoulder. "Hey, [y/n]!"

The mystery girl in question greeted his friend with a vaguely familiar voice, and when Namjoon turned to see who it was, he felt his stomach drop.

You stared back, clearly just as shocked, and Namjoon did his best not to ogle. You weren't wearing anything outrageous, just tight-fitting jeans, a slinky top that hugged your curves, and heels that highlighted how your ass filled out said tight-fitting jeans. Even without the clothes, the smile on your face was enough to make his stomach do something funny, though it quickly faded when you recognized him.

"This is my friend Namjoon!" Jimin continued cheerfully, oblivious to the tense atmosphere suddenly hanging over the table. "He lives in our building! Namjoon, this is [y/n], she's the building person that brings up our packages."

You gave a forced smile, and Namjoon felt the beginning prickles of nausea and anxiety as he realized he might have made a tiny misjudgment.

"I just do it for our floor because it's on the way," you explained quietly, avoiding his gaze. The edges of your smile grew warmer when you looked at Jimin, transforming your face from glacial beauty to soft sincerity.

"Then I definitely owe you a drink," Jimin responded with a laugh, motioning for Namjoon to scoot over to give you room to sit. He obeyed woodenly, mind racing as guilt weighed down his heart.

"Don't worry about it," you assured him with a chuckle that made something in Namjoon's chest ache. "I'm about to walk home, anyway."

"Alone?"

You looked at Namjoon in surprise, and he realized he spoke aloud. He cleared his throat, feeling like a stupid lump as he looked down at his drink with warm cheeks. Despite the relative proximity of the apartment, he didn't like the idea of you alone this late at night.

"Yeah? It's not that far," you said suspiciously, as if waiting for a snide comment. It made his chest sink, though it wasn't as if you didn't have a good reason for your misgivings. He spoke up again, hoping maybe he could talk to you and have the chance to explain his earlier behavior.

"Why don't you have a drink with us, and we can all walk back together?"

To his surprise, you stiffened and the corners of your mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Why? So you can make me take another elevator?" you asked angrily, making Namjoon flush and Jimin look between the two of you in confusion. "No thanks, my week has been exhausting enough already. I'll see you around, Jimin."

With that, you stomped away in unfortunately righteous indignation, and Namjoon barely had time to admire the sway of your hips before Jimin piped up.

"What was that all about?" his friend asked with a frown, his usually twinkling eyes now boring into Namjoon's. He felt heat creep up his face as he sighed and began to tell Jimin the entire saga, from how he had assumed you were stealing packages and proceeded to close the elevator door in your face, to the current state of antagonism. By the time he was finished, his friend's mouth was hanging open, and he felt more embarrassment at just how childishly he had acted.

"Joonie, I'm just really surprised," said Jimin wonderingly as he rubbed his forehead. "It's not like you to be like that."

Namjoon winced, knowing he was right. He liked to think that he was the more mature, level-headed one of their friend group, above silly squabbles and petty revenge. Obviously he had overestimated himself.

"I hope you haven't done anything recently, I think she's been having a hard time at work," Jimin mused, and Namjoon felt the lead weight of guilt in his stomach grow heavier. At this rate it was going to fall out of his butt. "She was crying in the lobby yesterday."

Well fuck. He really was an asshole.

~~~~~

You had just arrived home and flopped facedown on your couch when your recharging was rudely interrupted by a knock at the door. With a groan, you forced yourself up and peered through your peephole. What the fuck?

You made sure your chain lock was fastened before you unlocked the latch and cracked the door open, peering at your visitor dubiously.

"What do you want?" you asked, eyeing a beaming Namjoon in suspicion. You had never seen him look so cheerful, and you had to remind yourself he was not a golden retriever, no matter how cute he looked with flour dusting his nose or how deep his dimples were.

"I made cookies," he said happily, and you realized he was holding a paper plate covered in crumpled tin foil. "To apologize for the way I've been acting towards you."

You felt your brows raise at his statement, and you cast your eyes behind him in mistrust. Where had this one-eighty come from? Was it just because his friend lived on your floor?

Namjoon's shoulders drooped slightly at your lack of response, and he began to shift in place awkwardly.

"Um, I just – so I know I've been a dick to you," he began, chewing his lip and looking adorably embarrassed. "This is gonna sound stupid but I thought you were stealing packages when I saw you holding all of them."

For a moment, all you could do was stare.

"You thought that I would steal a bunch of packages, in the building I live in, while other residents were around?" you asked incredulously, making Namjoon turn bright red and clear his throat.

"Well, when you put it that way…" he mumbled awkwardly. "I just… I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I hope we can start over."

He peered at you with such hopeful eyes that you felt your resolve crumble, and when you unhooked the chain from your door you could have sworn you saw a tail wagging.

"Okay," you replied, unable to keep yourself from smiling at the way he had perked up. Those dimples were serious weapons against your ability to hold a grudge. You held out your hand. "I'm [y/n], and I do not steal packages."

Namjoon laughed, a low, rich sound that you felt vibrate in your stomach, and took your hand in a firm, warm grip.

"I'm Namjoon, and I'm an idiot who jumps to crazy conclusions," he said with a grin that deepened the stupidly cute divots in his cheeks. Then he had to let go to save the wobbling plate of cookies from an untimely demise before holding it toward you with a look of chagrin.

You accepted his offering with a laugh, feeling like a warm bubble was floating in your chest. Then you bade your hot, not-asshole neighbor goodbye and set the plate on your kitchen table. You peeked under the foil, and decided maybe one cookie before dinner was acceptable. Or maybe two, if –

You took a bite of the soft, delicious looking pastry and immediately spat it out in disgust. What the fuck.

~~~~~

Namjoon Hyung! It worked!

Jin Wait, you actually made the cookies?

Namjoon Yes! They came out perfectly No fires and only a few cracked eggs on my floor!

Jin I'm impressed How'd they taste?

Namjoon Oh fuck

~~~~~

For the second time tonight, your evening was interrupted by unwelcome pounding at your door. You didn't even bother to check who it was this time.

"What do you have this time?" you snarled through the door, wondering if it was worth it to open it so you could strangle Namjoon's handsome neck. "Oreos with toothpaste filling?"

The knocking ceased, and a small, timid voice spoke up on the other side of the wood.

"Oh… you had one…"

"Unfortunately," you said shortly, crossing your arms in an attempt to keep his woebegone tone from softening your ire.

"I was hoping you hadn't yet," he wheezed through the door. "I forgot to taste them before I gave them to you."

He sounded sincere, and suddenly you realized he was speaking through pants, as if he was out of breath.

"Did you run all the way up here to warn me?" you asked in surprise, mollified enough to unlock your door and open it to reveal a rumpled looking Namjoon, bent over with his hands on his knees.

"Yeah – I didn't want to wait for the elevator," he replied, red-cheeked from exertion. "I'm sorry, I'm actually a disaster cook but I really thought I did a good job this time."

You felt your lips twitch into a smile at the imagine of tall, handsome Namjoon tasting a cookie and then immediately bolting up however many flights of stairs to stop you from eating them. What a clumsy idiot. A clumsy, adorable idiot.

"Do you want some water?" you asked, stepping aside to invite him in.

"That would be amazing," he gasped, giving you a grateful look as he walked inside. As he passed you, you noticed a few beads of sweat rolling down his temple. He really was even more attractive up close.

You directed him to sit on your couch as you grabbed a glass of water, and he picked up the book you had left on your coffee table.

"Oh, you read Murakami?" he asked as he looked at the cover. "I haven't read this one yet, is it any good?"

"It's my first, actually," you replied as you set the glass in front of him, sitting on the couch a respectable distance away. "I think he presents ideas of loneliness and intimacy in interesting ways. Does he always write the women as accessories to the male protagonists, though?"

"Haha… unfortunately, yes," Namjoon agreed, his dangerous dimples making another appearance as he smiled apologetically at you. "Do you read a lot?"

"I try, but not as much as I used to," you said with a sigh, letting your head fall back to rest on the back of your couch. "After work sometimes I'm too mentally exhausted to do anything but exist."

"But you still bring your floor's packages up?" Namjoon said in surprise, turning his wide chest towards you and giving you his full attention. You tried not to stare at the way his pecs strained against his plain white shirt, but between his body and his face there was nowhere safe for your gaze to land.

"It's not like it's that much extra effort," you said with a shrug. "Why wouldn't I when it's easy?"

"It wouldn't even cross most peoples' minds to do it," Namjoon replied, eyes locked on yours and making your cheeks feel warm. "You're a nice person, [y/n]."

"I-it's really not a big deal," you said feebly, your chest fluttering at the sincerity in his voice. You cast about your mind for a change in subject, because the way he was smiling at you was dangerous for your heart. "How did you fuck up those cookies so spectacularly, anyway?"

Your question worked to take that piercing gaze off of you, and Namjoon turned a pretty shade of pink as he looked down at his knees.

"I uh – I'm really not sure," he muttered in embarrassment, making you want to coo at how cute he was.

"Did you… follow a recipe?" you asked in consternation, watching his cheeks grow even redder.

"I… yeah, but…" he mumbled, eyes glancing around before settling on the glass of water. He grabbed it and took a large swig, and you did your best to ignore the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed.

"But?" you urged, amusement lacing your voice as this once-asshole stammered and squirmed uncomfortably on your sofa.

"Why wouldn't more vanilla extract make it taste better?" Namjoon whined, making you put your hand over your mouth to hide a snort.

"Oh my god, you didn't," you giggled, his chagrined pout doing as much to endear him to you as the previous half our combined. "It also tasted like you switched salt for sugar."

"Dammit," he groaned, flopping backwards so he was oddly contorted on the couch, feet still on the ground but his hips twisted so his back was laying on your cushions. His knees knocked against yours and he shot back up with an apologetic look, but all you could do was laugh harder.

"My friend who gave me the recipe was just impressed I didn't burn anything down," he sighed, though he seemed relieved that you looked more amused than irritated.

"You… you really don't cook, do you?" you chortled, scooting a little closer so you could nudge his shoulder with yours.

"I'm your stereotypical bachelor," he replied with a sigh, draping an arm behind you, across the back of the couch. You felt your heart flutter again at the smooth combination of the physical action with the way he confirmed he was single.

"So no pretty ladies – or men – to teach you?" you teased, leaning further into his body. He met your eyes with his warm gaze, making butterflies erupt in your stomach.

"Nope," he murmured, arm slipping off the sofa to rest lightly atop your shoulders, so precarious that it was clear he was half-expecting you to shrug him off.

"I guess that means I should invite you to stay for dinner," you said with a smile, enjoying the ego boost when his eyes brightened.

"No pretty men – or ladies – who would be upset by that?" he hedged, those dastardly dimples making their reappearance as he leaned closer, gaze flickering to your lips. His arm slipped lower to hug your waist, and you let him pull you closer.

"Only one who would be upset if you refused," you murmured with a smirk, tangling your fingers in his shirt as you tugged him toward you.

His lips were warm against yours, even softer than they looked, and you let out a pleased sigh as you melted into his firm chest. A low groan rumbled from his throat, sending warm tingles shooting from your chest through your limbs, and you sucked his plump lower lip between your teeth.

"I really just thought you were a hot asshole," you said with a laugh, pulling away despite the heat beginning to settle in your core.

"I mean, I was definitely an asshole," he mumbled, cheeks pink as his gaze stayed glued to your lips. Then his eyes widened. "Uh, h-hot?"

You snorted at his surprise, giving him a very obvious once over. Namjoon's face flamed even redder, which was absolutely adorable.

"Have you seen yourself?" you teased, letting your hands rest on his shoulders.

"Nah, too busy looking at you," he replied quietly, and it was your turn to be flustered. How had he turned the tables like that so quickly?

"Ha ha," you said awkwardly, cursing yourself for your inability to formulate a coherent response. He was supposed to be the idiot, not you. At your response, those dimples made their reappearance, and you stood up to prevent yourself from melting into a gooey puddle.

"Anyway, I'm gonna start dinner."

You said it in a rush, in the hopes that Namjoon didn't realize how giddy he was making you.

"Oh! Let me help!"

He began to get up from the couch, and you promptly shoved him back down.

"For the love of god, please don't," you teased with a laugh, pressing a kiss on his nose to ease the sting of your words. "Just sit there and look pretty. Moral support."

Namjoon smiled back at you, eyes warm and affectionate, and you wondered if you would even be able to focus properly while this mancake was lounging on your couch.

"As you wish."

~~~~~

[yuurei20]

Epel Facts Part 30: Epel and Ace (pt2)

Ace sacrifices Epel to Floyd during the Halloween vignette in order to save himself, but Epel indirectly gets his revenge shortly after when Ace insults Leona and Leona declares, “I don’t care who comes at you, or what happens to you. Ain’t my problem.”

Epel responds, “That’s what you get for setting me up. Serves you right!”

Ace begin Book 5 with wanting to protect Epel from Vil, deciding that he wants to “knock him out of the running for the contest” since Epel doesn’t want to participate anyway.

After seeing how harsh Vil can be, however, Ace’s stance changes to wanting to keep his head down so as not to attract Vil’s ire.

Ace and Epel are seen together during the first New Year’s event, but as Ace leaves Epel behind after he gets what he has come for they may have just coincidentally met in line rather than intentionally spent time together.

Ace seems hung up on Epel’s physical appearance, commenting that Vil forcing Epel to participate in the VDC is mean because, “just look at the guy,” saying that he has a “Pomefiore vibe” and that the over-the-top cuteness of the ghost that possesses Epel “fits perfectly with your look.”

He seems surprised when Epel reacts with, “THAT AIN’T A COMPLIMENT!”

Ace says that, “on the inside, Epel’s basically like Deuce,” saying that, “the way (Epel) powers through on sheer determination alone kinda reminds me of Deuce,” that Jack is the same way and that he himself just doesn’t “get” the athletic mindset.

Azul makes a similar observation about Epel during Book 6: Epel gets excited about a “pre-game huddle” before the group disbands to go after Idia and Azul says, “I’m not really into the whole jock thing, you know.”

Epel is Ace’s interviewer for his third birthday vignette, during which Ace asks Epel to teach him how to become a better flyer.

Epel is surprised that Ace would go to him for help and Ace explains that it would be easier to ask questions of him than a senpai. Epel agrees.

Ace invites Epel out to a hamburger shop on the island, surprised to hear that Epel didn’t have access to such a common fast food chain in his village and he would have to take a car into a neighboring town to eat there at all.

Ace compliments Epel during Phantom Bride, saying that he ticks all the classic prince boxes.

When Riddle starts praising Epel’s bravery, however, Ace interrupts with, “You and Epel wouldn’t even get a turn if I was there!," and he takes offense at a guardsman ghost mistaking him for a retainer to the more princely Epel, saying, “Now that’s funny. As if I’m anything like these other plebes.”

When Epel shows up on a white horse Ace reacts with, “Does any prince from this century do that!?” Ace tries to get support from Riddle and Rook, but they both approve of Epel’s idea of the horse.

Ace reflects, “Does that mean I was wrong and (Epel) was right?”

[mariacallous]

@stephantradez thought he was going to be fine. In his first TikTok about Hurricane Milton, he vowed to stay at his Tampa apartment. In a follow-up video, he said the media was “rage-baiting” everyone into thinking the storm “was going to be some catastrophic thing” but that it wouldn’t be that bad “as long as you can swim.” Late Wednesday night, he posted another video saying that he thought he’d survived but then lost his power. “This is so much worse than I expected,” he said while pointing the camera out the window of his home, showing the destruction from several floors up. Thursday morning, he posted a video saying he’d survived, adding “They have to ban hurricane’s at night, that was the most stressful thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

I attempted to reach the creator through TikTok and Instagram DM, but got no response. @stephantradez, though, was one of many people who kept posting on TikTok, and other social media platforms throughout the storm, despite, as the warning on one of the creator’s videos noted, “participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt.”

When Milton made landfall Wednesday night local time in Sarasota, it was a Category 3 hurricane. As it traversed Florida, it took the roof off of Tropicana Field, left millions without electricity, and killed several people. It also became the subject of TikToks with millions of views, and, according to a report in Rolling Stone turned the platform into “a hellscape of people staying in Hurricane Milton’s path for clout.”

While it’s true that some people likely stayed, and kept posting, because there was nowhere for them to go, others definitely seemed to be sticking around in an attempt to keep attention on their feeds. Rather than a hellscape, it became a demonstration of the best and worst of TikTok.

For every mom getting told to flee the storm’s path even as she explains that she can’t afford to, there’s someone saying they’re in an evacuation zone but sticking around while also offering up sports betting tips.

Then there’s Caroline Calloway. The influencer and author, who lives in Sarasota, drew the ire of the internet when she posted on X “where there’s a Callowill, there’s a Calloway” and said she wouldn’t be leaving her home, even as officials were stressing the importance of evacuating. (“You are going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned anyone who stayed put.) In an interview with New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, Calloway said she was staying to check on elderly neighbors, adding that her sense of humor is just “very dark.” On Thursday, she apparently sent a text to Intelligencer’s writer with a picture of herself and her cat with the message “I lived bitch.”

All of this wouldn’t feel so dystopian if the US—and the world—wasn’t hurtling toward a scenario when social media platforms, particularly TikTok, weren’t becoming a lot of people’s go-to news source. Even as Anderson Cooper braves the storm to give CNN viewers updates on Milton, a new report from Pew Research shows 52 percent of Americans who are on TikTok regularly get their news there. Not from media outlets, but from influencers and content creators.

While these accounts may be relying on reports from traditional outlets when they deliver news, their posts are “probably interspersed with a lot of very non-traditional content—like skits, funny dances or promotional content,” Aaron Smith, Pew’s managing director of data labs, told Axios. On-the-ground reporting from influencers, then, becomes mixed with entertainment. Watching it, or, admittedly, writing about it, feels like missing the point.

[offbeatcappuccino]

the impossible heir episodes 1-4 ramblings

Last week was an eventful one for Lee Jae Wook, Hong Su Zu, and Lee Jun-young's The Impossible Heir. Not only was last week the premiere of the series, but Dispatch, the popular Korean tabloid, released "earth-shattering" news that Lee Jae Wook was dating aespa's Karina. This garnered controversy and scrutiny towards the show and could have contributed to its ratings. However, as a self-professed Lee Jae Wook fan, I tuned in to watch the show last week regardless of the news. The Impossible Heir is arguable Lee Jae Wook's first "adult" show. Much of his prior work involved dramas that catered to the YA audience and for the first time we see him essaying a far more mature and morally dubious character as Han Tae Oh. While the show is marketed as having three leads, in my opinion, Tae Oh steals the show.

In the first episode, we are introduced to a teenage Han Tae Oh. The son of a murderer, for the sake of his and his mother's safety, he's forced by himself to a small town. Unlike his peers, he has no legal guardian and rents a rundown house in the village. Before the first day of school, he manages to provoke the ire of Kang In Ha, the illegitimate son of the Kang-Oh chaebol family. While the two boys are initially at odds with each other and even end up having a dramatic fight in the school lunchroom, the episode ends with an unlikely partnership- Tae Oh offering to use his intelligence to help In Ha achieve the impossible- the opportunity to be the next heir of Kang Oh Group over his two legitimate half brothers.

Over the next three episodes, we see Tae Oh and In Ha grow up as college students and later employees at Kang Oh. During their college years, we see a blossoming friendship between the two as In Ha becomes Tae Oh's only companion during their time at Hankuk University. Alongside their internal scheming to take over Kang Oh, we see glimpses that their friendship is no different from any other peers. They have birthday meals, eat lunch together in the cafeteria, and drink late night beers from the convenience. In Ha constantly chides Tae Oh for working too many part time jobs, but remains the dutiful wealthy friend that is willing to book a tutoring gig for Tae Oh or drop him off at work to help him financially stay afloat. The dynamics between both men take a sharp turn with the introduction of Na Hye-Won, who both male leads end up falling for though she ultimately ends up dating In Ha, mainly because she views In Ha as her key to overcoming poverty and acquiring wealth and prestige.

Just as episode two ends, the show takes another five year time leap and both men are working for Kang Oh group. Hye-Won also becomes what appears to be a staff member for a political party. The three remain as co-conspirators in their efforts to take over Kang Oh Group. Of the three, perhaps the person who gets closest to the chairman, Kang Jun Mo, is Tae Oh, who ascends to the role of his personal secretary. Tae Oh becomes Jun Mo's greatest asset and trusted confidante. Through his role, he starts to move the game pieces that would create a clear path of succession for In Ha.

The weakest aspect of the The Impossible Heir 's writing has to be Na Hye Won's character arc. Nothing about her frankly makes any sense. During the second episode, we are introduced to Hye Won as both In Ha's and Tae Oh's classmate and Tae Oh's neighbor. While its obvious that Tae Oh may have developed feelings for Hye Won due to their chance encounters, In Ha's feelings arise out of nowhere- to the point that it almost feels like he only wants Hye Won because he wants to take a person Tae Oh cherishes from him. However, if this was the case, the intensity of love that In Ha develops for Hye Won makes no sense. Furthermore, its puzzling to see the two boys so readily accept a stranger as a partner in developing and implementing a plan they have spent years working on together. Exacerbating this poor placement of the female lead is her poor portrayal by Hong Su Zu. Hong Su Zu's acting has been widely criticized by the Korean audience since the airing of the second episode. While I could see others' complaints last week, it did not initially bother me as much. However, the poor acting has become glaringly apparent in this week's episodes. If Hye Won is supposed to be who she's written to be- a morally grey character who is willing to do whatever it takes, including playing with someone's feelings, to escape her present circumstances, I would expect her to be desperate, shrewd, cunning, manipulative, and charismatic. However, the version that is presented to us is so blasé, stoic, and mediocre. Hong Su Zu's expressions and delivery are extremely limited- it's hard to swallow the thought that she's supposed to be a crucial main character.

Conversely, Tae-Oh's arc is the strongest point in the writing. As audience members, we are gripped by the elusive question- what does Tae-Oh get from this partnership? Why is he fiercely loyal to In Ha? and Does he truly want the best for his friend or is he planning on throwing him under the bus? Lee Jae Wook excels in playing the ambitious yet guarded Tae Oh, who becomes the "catalyst" of the story. Without Tae Oh, there's no plot. While Hye Won is a disappointing female lead, I was surprised by the chemistry between Tae-Oh and Choi Hee Jin's Kang Huiju, the younger half sister of Kang In Ha. Huiju develops an obsessive never-ending one-sided crush on Tae Oh when he becomes her short-lived mathematics tutor. At first glance, it's easy to brush her off as a minor character, but the amount of screen time she receives on the show suggests otherwise and Choi Hee Jin excels in playing the "petulant spoiled brat who surprisingly may be the only person in her family with a conscience".

If Tae Oh is a volcano patiently waiting to erupt at the right time,Huiju is a raging forest fire traveling at 100 mph. Her love and desire for Tae Oh is all consuming and destructive- something she wholeheartedly embraces but Tae-Oh fears. When Huiju's spontaneity comes to a head with Tae Oh's restraint, we see an electrifying chemistry between the two and we see another dimension of Tae Oh. While he can be avoidant and harsh, he is also gentle, kind, and protective. Its this internal push and pull that makes their relationship worth exploring.

One of the highlights of the latest episode was when Huiji confronts Tae Oh in a parking garage adamantly professing that she will force her parents to agree to their marriage and that she "will protect" Tae-Oh. I found her confession interesting on many levels because so far, all of Tae-Oh's relationships are exploitative. The other characters including his closest friend In Ha are only concerned about what Tae Oh can do for them and this is the first time we see someone offering to do something for him with no reciprocity. It's unclear if Hui Ju is a red herring or someone who will grow to be an integral part of Tae-Oh's life. As a viewer, I have to say that this relationship is one of the main draws to the show and is something that the writers utilize appropriately.

Overall, Impossible Heir is a Malthusian and Machiavellian drama that wholeheartedly embraces the capitalistic jungle. It may not be a show that fans of prior Lee Jae Wook's dramas will love, but it still deserves to be given a chance.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️.75/5

[luminalunii97]

Racism of the Islamic Republic regime

Something that has been neglected in topics of protests in Iran is racism. It is often left out of discussions by those of us in or outside of Iran who weren't the direct victims of these antihuman crimes. There's a huge difference between human rights violations in central Persian cities and border non-Persian ones. Persians and other ethnic groups who live in central areas are the targets of enough antihuman acts by this regime that shows the terrorist face of them, just imagine how everything is ×100 worse in non-central areas. Here are some examples:

Arabs in the south: it is estimated that more than 2 million Arabs live in iran. This ethnic minority is severely oppressed and violated. The regime has been capturing and executing Arabs and Arab activists with no clear reason other than being criminal dictators themselves, like how they've been violating and killing Kurds and Balochs in the past 4 decades. Many Arab families have been forcefully moved and pushed to corners, literally in a geographic sense. Racism exist in the Iranian populations like any other country and nation in the world. But it is promoted and supported by the regime. Jina revolution has brought this issue to attention and social activists are doing anti racist activism now, something that wasn't addressed enough before.

Kurds in the west: people of Kurd never accepted the authority of this regime and fought their forces with all their might. Many Kurds citizens and Kurd activists have been the victims of government murder or long imprisonments simply for being freedom fighters. Also, kurds are denied many legal and social rights in Iran, for example not getting hired by governmental organizations, unless they sell their souls to the regime. Because of this many highly educated Kurds can't find a job and they're forced into doing unrelated or illegal labor that often gets them killed. To understand the severity of this issue I recommend you read this article "koolbars new slaves" thoroughly.

Balochs in the east: people of Baloch are victims of the IR regime's racism towards our neighbors, Afghans and Pakistanis. The regime refuses to provide ID papers for Balochs with the excuse that they might be Afghan and not Iranian. The Balochistan province is kept extremely underdeveloped by the regime to the point that many people don't have drinking water there. Kurd and Arab cities are also kept underdeveloped even though most of those areas are rich with natural resources that could easily be used for development. Since many Baloch people are denied id papers they have no legal rights and the regime often gets away with whatever human rights violations, like executions, r*pe, and torture, they do there. Other than the issue of legal rights, the islamic republic had been very successful in isolating Balochistan and keeping the rest of the world including the rest of Iran of knowing who Balochs are and what is really going on in that region. Jina revolution has also brought the issues in Balochistan to attention.

Aside from these intentional neglects, the language and culture of these ethnicities are under attack by the regime.

Other ethnic groups in Iran face discrimination to different degrees by IR. One thing that plays a great role in the level of racism by the regime is religion. Sunni Muslims are very hated and suppressed by the Islamic Republic here. Therefore kurd cities with a majority of Sunni Muslim population face a worse fate than the majority of shia cities. The regime also spreads a lot of hate towards sunni Muslims by accusing them of fanaticism and animosity which used to work on the old shia religious population. Kurds, Balochs, Arab and Turkmens in Iran have the majority sunni Muslim population. They are also the most repressed. Apart from sunni Muslims, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Baha'i and christian believers face discrimination in different ways by the regime.

The only way a war against big criminal bullies like the Islamic Republic can be won is by coming together and unite as people regardless of race, religion, sexuality and gender. Something that seemed not possible 2 years ago but Jîna revolution showed us that it is very much a possibility. We still have a lot of work to do but people took the first step in unity and solidarity. I recommend you read the article below twice to see the dept of what's going on in Iran and why the Islamic Republic overthrow and this revolution is vital to many marginalized people:

[massivechildtidalwave]

things heard in my freshman year OF MARCHING BAND

I feel like a sassage 

Shame is powerful, if something isn’t listening to you shame them.

Today we are talking about who has the best shakes and if you say Zach after a bad rep your cut

“You can get anything at Buckys” “you can’t get Coc-“ 

“Everybody cLap your hands!” “Clap his cheeks”.  ….”sorry what.”

“I’m a fetus!”

“Come on everyone were doing foundations outside. If we all gather into the dry spot we can do it!”

“The IRS has hired 80 new agents, everyone let’s not pay our taxes! Make them do their jobs”

“Wanna see his toe pics” “shows a colorgaurd rifle.”

“Yeah! You bumped me during lunch! Your hair touched me! YEAH!”- homecoming court”

“God forgive me for the jokes I have made they weren’t good”

“The only thing I throw is throw down” “the only thing I throw is when I throw my life away” 

“You already have a hole so let’s just make it bigger” throws Someone on the ground after seeing a small hole in their uniform.

“ I hate it but my brother is getting married” 

“I don’t hate that he’s getting married I just hate that he isn’t going to be here”

“They installed a stereo in my head”

“Pick them up! if a tuba smashes a low g it’s going to die”

“No! We are not “All in this together” we are playing symbols!”

“The keys are made of wood, so they can break easily. That’s why we need to wrap them- “as easy as the resonators disconnect?”

“We don’t want to see Pinocchio in there!”

“If lying would cause your #### to get bigger like Pinocchio’s nose” 

“ I would lie all the time-“ “No honey I didn’t sleep with the neighbor”

“We’ll wait for the hallways to clear out… and for Jacob to stop kissing his girlfriend in the Hallway

“(Our school names) front ensemble featuring the winds!”

“Where’s Jeniah Jean, the real loud voice of the southeast “

“One day this movie will be studied, shrek was a cultural reset”

“I am waiting to yell at someone. If an adult does something At universal, I’m screaming at them. Hey sir there are teenagers! I don’t like how you are looking at those girls sir.”

“What you think you are, a dollar store Chris brown”

“ can we just forfeit” “everyone get sick at the same time”

“Band is a cult” 

“You were watching porn on the bus!”

“You were showing pornhub on your screen”

“Shes the person who would be like “is this chloroform?”

“ they wouldn’t know how to spell drum if it was in their birth certificate”

“She’s five four with shoes on, has four ear precings, is dating Trey’s brother.” “Wait what” 

“Could be a white superemist”

“ could you not I got hit by a golf club when I was a child.”

“ suck my right nut and make my left nut jealous.” 

“If your gay and you know it clap your hands!”

“One time it was raining so hard people got out their shampoo and conditioner and took showers in the rain. I was one of those people so..”

“He said ‘you live in the Arby’s dumpster’l

“We should start adding slay bells to pep tunes.”

“No you don’t want to give that to her, she had an eating disorder that makes her eat inanimate objects. She’d eat the lid” the girl-“and the plume and the box and this hat” “that’s a lot of violence”

“My (short study period nicknamed free the school mascot for freshman) class is super racist” “this class isn’t much better.”

“The donuts are there if you want to sample them at your own risk”

The door is closed “this calls for skipping”

“ I don’t see Seth. You know that may be because of he’s height… sorry that joke just wrote itself”

“If you were wearing a Nike shirt we would be asking when are you going to just do it right”

[void-botanist]

🖊 🖊 🖊 🖊 !!!!!!!!!

Hello Ren!!! You get several paragraphs about Fay and Lou's terrible divorce :D

They're like the inverse of Sorian and Avis, because it was less clear-cut what exactly made everything fall apart. There were first the general resentments of Fay being mostly a stay-at-home mom while Lou sunk way too much of his time in the bakery - simultaneously a moneymaker, a status symbol, and the target of Fay's ire. But this was a simmer of a conflict. Things didn't start escalating until Isabel came out as trans when she was 11. Neither Fay nor Lou had any trouble with this, at least until Lou made it all about him. He would never ask Isabel to be someone she wasn't, no, but now he was left high and dry with no son to inherit his bakery, to carry on the patrilineal tradition he'd singlehandedly revived. All that time he spent there was a waste without an heir, you know?

Fay took this as proof that he did care about the bakery more than his family, and they started to fight more and more. In his deepening unhappiness Lou accidentally found a new love interest (along the lines of "she happened to help me with bakery taxes" or something) and realized that oh, maybe he really didn't need to be in this miserable marriage anymore. I think it's actually more interesting if they were "good" and never banged prior to the divorce, because that was immaterial as soon as Lou told Fay that he'd found a new partner so maybe it was time they broke up. This was the moment when Fay's poorly attached hinges flew off and she began throwing everything of his in a pile at the bottom of the stairs, followed by screaming at him to leave so loudly that the neighbors could hear.

After that the divorce should have been quick but they argued about the bakery revenues and the house and custody of Rodney and Isabel (who were 10 and 13 when the whole debacle started and pretty clearly sided with Fay, because at least she'd always been there) and whether they could get a fault divorce (honestly I'm not sure but Fay wanted one) and finally, a year and a half later, the divorce was finalized. Lou let Fay offload the house onto him and she, Isabel, and Rodney left for Antarac. He got remarried to his new partner, Annette, who he's still married to, and they later adopted a kid, Hatt, who's the middle sibling age-wise between them, Rodney, and Isabel. I have yet to work out a lot of Hatt's background but between them and Annette, Lou has learned quite a lot about how not to be transphobic and also how not to be weird by adding a "Be My Heir" letter into the mix of yearly birthday cards to your son (just don't do that). Hatt is all too happy to be the heir to the bakery but had the advantage of being adopted as a teenager and therefore not raised with Expectations like Isabel and Rodney (I suspect they were like Annette's nibling or cousin to begin with). Annette ends up low-key being Isabel's hero because she had a double mastectomy for cancer reasons and therefore also has a flat chest.

I'm indisposed for doodles/picrews atm but I want to make some of them later and get their designs a little more nailed down.

🖊️ send me a pen and get some cool OC facts 🖊️

Nicea taglist: @kahvilahuhut @malloen8c @outpost51 @writernopal @athenswrites

[6em4k]

"Outside perspective" + witnessing a fight between two demons in the city//

[Outside Perspective]

She woke up from the first crash, only by the technicality of no longer being unconscious. She was fully awake after the second and third and fully upright by the fourth of them.

Her partner, turned away and comfortably cocooned in the blanket, certainly wasn't asleep either but she was much better at pretending to be.

She knew what caused the crashes, knew who caused the crashes, sounds of garbage being crushed, concrete shattered and windows smashed. There was only one pair that consistently woke them up at--

She turned on her phone, wincing from the bright light.

--Four-thirteen in the morning.

But, because of one instance of a lost cat rummaging through garbage - a little girl's lost pet that they had burdened themselves with protecting for much longer than she'd liked - she didn't have it in her heart to not check. Not that she was keen to house any more animals.

Thick carpet wove between her toes as she stood and walked to the window. As she parted the curtains, a flash of red flames, red hair, red staff, red bandana's - a wave of red over her eyes, and none of it from her own ire.

"It's the Monkie Kid again." She groaned to her beloved, only to be cut off by the shrill cackling of the demon he was with, easily besting whatever sound-muffling the walls of their apartment could provide. "And his demon friend." At least, she assumed they were friends. Why else would he still be allowed to destroy the city.

"At least they're having fun." Her dearest said, almost muffled by the sound of. "At least they have the energy for fun."

She sniffed sharply. "Don't do this now."

"We'd be sleeping better in Brickton." Her darling struck at the fresh cut of conversation. "Without any demons and closer to my family."

"Where I'd need a new job and apartments are way more expensive, so we'd end up living with your family." She was sharper than she'd intended - her dear one wasn't wrong to want to move, but the thought of such shared spaces made her itch. Better to have security, financial and professional, than to live uncertain of your independence.

The Monkie Kid's staff came out again, the golden tip piercing into the pacement, and into any chances of getting to work on time tomorrow.

"They busted the road again." She grumbled to herself more than her sweetheart, though clearly she was heard.

"Brickton has a great road system." As her love spoke, the spare tin and waste seemed to rattle, the Monkie Kid's face splitting with a wide, confident grin. "And my family loves you."

"HERE."

Oh, no. She thought, lifting the window's latch-lock. Absolutely not.

"COMES."

She threw the window open, her body coming halfway out the window and a deep breath heaving into her lungs.

"MONKIE--"

"IT'S FOUR IN THE MORNING!" She screamed.

The Monkie Kid stopped. His demon friend stopped too, looking at her with a stunned expression before rummaging through his coat for his phone.

"SOME OF US HAVE JOOOOBS!"

The Monkie Kid stammered, eyes darting from her to the demon, and further shrinking back as her neighbors bellowed similar complains from the windows around hers.

"S-SORRY!" He called, grinning sheepishly. "SORRY, WE - WE'LL KEEP IT DOWN!"

The demon spoke, unintelligible over the din of her fellow humans, but the Monkie Kid seemed keen to hear it, nodding and waving hands at him in assurance.

It didn't actually matter to her. She shut the window again, locking it and drawing the curtains tightly closed.

There was blissful quiet, outside of the chitters from outside. She tapped her forehead against the window, the embroidered fabric of the curtains pressing into her skin as she breathed, deeply, to calm the fire in her veins from what was almost a disaster.

"My family really does love you." Her sweet one said again, softer this time, sounding hurt by being ignored. "They'd be fine with us needing to move in."

She exhaled, again. Her girlfriend's tone poked poisonous guilt at her insides.

"And I'm sick of demons."

She couldn't blame her - she was too.

"There's demons in Brickton, too." She said. "They just disguise themselves more." She heard a shift from the bed. She turned to look, seeing her lover curling tighter into a ball.

The somber air cooled the air around them, and pulled her back to the bed. She kneed her way back onto the mattress, sliding onto her side, her arms around her dear one. and pulling her close. She nosed at the neck before her, the faint sniffles causing it to tremble.

"I'll keep looking at jobs for now, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she pressed a kiss to her partner's neck, holding her tighter. She screwed her eyes shut, willing herself to at least try to rest before the day unfolded and she'd need to explain, again, that she'd be late for work.

[radio-charlie]

Markedly strange dream given to me. Need to get it out before falling asleep again. I am worried I will forget it. It feels significant

I am in a house. Two strange people have been assigned my guardians. There is something I can do to warp myself into a different universe. But doing this invites ire. They do not want me to leave. They are not benevolent presences

The dream switches to a world so idyllic it looks like a video game made for fans of animal crossing and harvest moon. It's a cozier house now. I am a kid with a number of siblings, we live in that house with our two parents. The dreams details are slipping away from me as I write. Please bear w me if messy

Something is very wrong. Nobody will tell me what. My siblings do not sound like people w real personalities. They and our guardians talk like ppl reading from scripts. The only time the script appears broken is when I ask questions like, can I just go out of the house and wander around? There's an area next to us that appears under construction, are we getting new neighbors? (the answer: it's going to be a new recreational area with things to do. this question evoked a worried and stunned look and a bit of a pause before the answer)

To the first question, the answer was yes, so I walked down the mountain our house was on to a very cute little port area tucked within a bay. There, I was subjected to a weird test where I had to put both my index fingers on a gadget and try to light a bulb with my thoughts. When I first touched it and almost by accident, a bright light came out. After that, earnest attempts produced only a faint light at best. One of the people surveying the test was someone I know who's very involved in US intelligence shit in foreign waters.

I was sent away and ended up in a party by the sea. It was already getting dark by then. After almost getting sexually assaulted at the party, something said: I will protect you. And I was all of a sudden back at the house. It was a new day.

Except now there was a new rule. And it was made out to always have been there. We, the children, were no longer allowed to wander freely. There seemed to be an 11pm curfew. I was talking to one of my guardians when something weird happened. Heard a man's voice, then the voice said no! Stop! Don't let him do this, it's messing up the dream

And then I'm shown a terrible script. It's a bunch of lines that are meant to be fed into my brain as I'm unconscious. Some are meant to elicit a conversation w my mind while I cannot control it. Others look like they are meant to implant bad things

I notice that I have shrunk in stature in the house, and am now the same cute little chibi size as my siblings. Our cartoony shoes are arranged in a messy row in the foyer. Desperate to escape the dream before something happens, i begin violently slashing at the guardian i'm talking to. The voice of the man who'd been speaking earlier falls silent, even though i'd been hoping for him to protest to indicate that i was doing something that would break the dream. I end up slashing at our other guardian too. They break up into glitched out pieces. I then wake up

Overall the dream was frightening. If I recall correctly, all throughout it something would tell me that there is no escape. "There is no escape so why not let us make it nice for you here? We can make it so nice. Don't mess it up"

I do not consent. My dreams, like the rest of my life, are my own

[v-anrouge]

Okay, but picture twisted doggie land and the owners of each dorm are the villians! So

queen of hearts has her pups trained and pampered, a lot like how the queen of England was with her digs. They were spoiled, and kinda bratty. They behave for her, most of the time, and don’t like most other people. Riddle is her clingy baby, Trey and Cater are the two who are nice to kids, and Ace and Deuce are fighting in the background. They’re the ones who dig up the rose garden.

Scar lets his boys do what they want, all the time! They are reckless, and not behaved. Ruggie steals food, Leona snarls to scare kids, Jack behaves but that’s cause he just wants to be friends. Scar has them as guard dogs, the hyenas are the main carers for them.

Ursula also babies her boys, but the twins hate her pampering. They wanna run around! Azul sits there and preens, he’s Ursula’s doll, dress him up, he can pose, sit pretty, just praise him! Don’t worry about the twins murdering that one neighbor, just look at pretty Azul!

Jafar has his boys well behaved, silent, poised, they sit on either side of him, Jamil has perfected the deadpan, staring into your soul look, Kalim is vibrating in joy, wants to be friends. Kalim helps soften Jafar, he sighs exasperatedly as Kalim comes in covered in glitter somehow.

Queen has her beautiful boys, Vil and Rook are her two pride and joys, sitting perfectly, they know how to pose, how to walk gracefully, how to just be super elegant. Epel is her new puppy, who is still very much puppy. What’s worst is Epel sometimes drags Rook into running around and making a mess. Vil stares on in disgust. Queen has her hunter clean Rook and Epel.

Hades has his two boys, and is so tired. Idia looks the scariest, but is always cowering and hiding behind him, and Ortho looks adorable but is willing to fight to the death. He got the worst of both worlds! He still loves his doggies though! Hades entire camera roll is of his boys. He shows them off to Zeus.

Malifacent has the best behaved out of them all, all sit poised and ready, they all March beautifully behind her, only problem is Silver falls asleep while sitting and she needs to wake him up sometimes, Sebek barks so loudly metal poles ring, and Lilia likes causing problems when left alone. Malleus is her Velcro dog, if he was smaller he would love to be her little lap dog. Is jealous Lilia gets to be.

OK BUT GIS IS GENUINELY SUCH A GOOD CONCEPTT IM CRYING QUEEN OD HEARTS GETTING ANGRY UNGIL SHE SEES IR WAS DEUCE AND ACE RHAT DIG UP ANS AHE JUST GOES SIGHS...I GUESS U TWO JUST COULDN'T HELP IT...ITS OKAY...ILL LET IT OASS AHJSJDJ

scar would db the type to say they don't bite knowing damn well they'll bite anything that gets close to them 😭

URSUAL SPOILING HER DOGS ROTTEN AHSHSHA she thinks they're such angels she never believes when anyone says they bit a kid or something like that to her they're just perfect

love jafar w a beautiful serious elegant dog and then kalim comes in barking wagging his tail and covered in mud goes to lick him truly the dogs ever

QUEEN HER THE ICON they'd be so pampered... they smell delicious their fur is so soft and shine so beautifully her dogs are the envy of any dogs, especially because they're not only beautiful but super healthy and she clearly loves them a lot, she'd always scold epel but never ever manages to really be harsh because he's just so cute and she knows he's just doing that because he's still a puppy...she can't resist the little blue eyes

HADES AJSJJWHSHF IM GIGGLING SO KUCH he tries to walk Idia and idia just refuses to walk and gets scared of everything meanwhile ortho who looks easy to walk runs SO FAST hades constantly falls and injures himself, but yeah 100% proud dog dad

MALEFICENT WOULD BE AN AMAZING DOG MOM SERIOUSLY she'd pamper them treat them so well spoil them so much and it's always the mosy intimidating dogs that just melt in her lap<3

THIS IS SO SILLY

[lavenoon]

early morning blorbo thoughts here we go

have there been any instances where Dusk/Dawn/Robin have been 'grounded'? whether due to a near-miss with their identity on a mission, a need for HQ to fill in some vital paperwork, because someone in command said "hey this guy/these guys did 3 missions in 3 days, they're at risk of burnout", or some other reason - one or all of them are now off missions for a few days to a week.

how would Dusk/Dawn and Robin deal with being kept off missions for that long? do they even go into the agency, or does it end up with Sun, Moon and Y/N hanging out in the apartment until they get a call in? - @clxckwork-sun-n-moon

It's not quite common practice, at least in regards to overworking. The agency pays per gig - of course the paperwork gets considered, too, but how long an agent takes is not really their business. They only start caring when it gets really concerning, supervisors reaching out to higher ups to demand some executive power and keep agents off the field (and out of their offices, if need be).

What does sometimes happen, adjacently to this, is when agents overdo it on the action and neglect the paperwork - then they get grounded to their office until the backlog is taken care of. Boring, but not quite as maddening as being stuck at home!

If they get a near miss however? Almost get caught, or get injured on the job? Nope, that's when the agency develops some common sense (for selfish reasons), and keeps them home for a while as paid time off. The pay isn't good, and only trickling in as long as the absence is justified in the agency's eyes, but it's something to keep them afloat while they recover/ lay low.

If it's just to lay low there is some paperwork to take care of usually, but after that? Just stay home, and wait until you get the okay to come back in again. You get no timeline. Good luck, have fun.

Robin had that after the stabbing. They had to stay home for a good while, and even upon return were limited to paperwork only before getting only easy missions requiring barely any parkour.

For them, that was near unbearable. Sun definitely noticed his neighbor getting antsy, and it's about the most information he got on their job - something physical then, if they still can't work? Y/N is frustrated, their job is the one thing they feel proud of, and now they can't even do that because of their own mistake! It's maddening, and I can honestly see the outings with Sun picking up here as he takes pity on them, getting them out of the house and out of their own head. There's so much time in the day without work! And there's this new craft store, or market in town, and why don't they join him as he checks it out? And as much as they appreciate it, and even though it does help, the fact remains that they messed up and are now reaping the consequences, all while they can't even let Dusk know they're fine. (Agent River tells him they're grounded until they're recovered. The blasé way she relays the information assures him they are recovering)

In the end, they do go back to work, and by then they have a lot of restless energy to get out. Dusk "helpfully" comes by after his field missions to keep them from doing something stupid, and offers them his paperwork if they ever get bored <3 Directs their ire towards himself and distracts them, and it makes the rest of the wait a bit more bearable

Dawn may run into the issue of his reverse psychology "no one will suspect me if I look like the flashiest guy around" backfiring into almost being discovered. On the outside, he may seem fine, and takes the order to lay low in stride. Goes home, and gets busy in the workshop - but really, it's just a ruse. He's very proud of his job, too, and now has to deal with the sting of having messed up and being pulled from said job until someone else declares the risk as low enough again.

So he gets all that time to ruminate and at some point runs out of gadgets to fix or build, and then he just does so many craft projects that even Y/N has to take notice. They're a little concerned, but he promptly assures them his leave of absence at work is temporary, and he'll have enough for rent - not that that's what they're concerned about.

Sun needs to feel competent and useful. At this point, he thinks he's neither. It's not a good time for him in any way, though he doesn't show it/ refuses to acknowledge it. Moon can't help much - but then Y/N invites him out for their grocery runs, and asks him for advice on a couple repairs/ renovations they planned for the duplex. He's smart enough to realize it's a ploy - but they shrug and explain that sure, they want him to feel better, but also they have been up for like one hour and cannot be trusted to make a decision right now, so which brown for the new coat of paint on the porch?

He's easy. He gets into it, and it keeps his mind off things for the time he's with them and after, when he has that to think about. The first few hours of the day when they're asleep however just aren't fun until he can actually work again, and not just play helpful tenant doing the landlord's jobs (he offered, once he ran out of craft projects)

Dusk almost being discovered honestly handles it the best out of these three. It's not that he isn't proud of his job - but he doesn't make it his identity. He's miffed, and bored, but all in all shrugs it off as "Well, this is bound to happen at some point, it's gonna happen again, I wasn't fired, so it'll be fine."

That is, until he spends extended time alone in a house where the neighbor/ landlord doesn't even know him and frankly, this is not the time for introductions, he's really not feeling up to that right now. So he's bored, thinking of all the fun he's missing out on, and slowly there's some doubt cropping up, mostly regarding his rivalry with Robin. What if they think he's an idiot for the near miss? They wouldn't, right?

... Right?

And so when being confined to his home is driving him too crazy, he starts parkouring at night. Purely his hobby! He's not working! But he knows a certain someone's favorite leisure routes, too (at least, some of them), and Robin spots him easily, as bewildered as they are. Roof hangouts for them, then - Robin starts pressing him for the reason of his absence, as they only got the memo he's been grounded to ensure his identity is safe. They maybe laugh a little when he admits to the details, but then remind him that hey, they were grounded for much longer. He's got a lot of catching up to do to reach their level of house arrest!

Until he's allowed back for paperwork and then missions again, that becomes routine. Robin spends a little while every night with him, moving their hangouts to the roof of the agency, and he's reassured that even grounded he hasn't lost what's important, so really, all is well. Will be much more of a menace still once he's allowed back in the field, he's got a lot of shenanigans to catch up on!

(They all do semi well when just confined to paperwork - getting restless and bored, but at least it's work, and already something they're used to doing, so it's bearable. They're still gonna be happy once they return to missions though, it'll feel like finally stretching your legs at your destination after spending hours sitting cramped in a car <3)

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Mousebraingirl Au Episode 1: Of Pies and Lies - Part 1

(Disclaimer: Wordgirl and it's characters belong to PBS at Soup 2 Nuts. Dr. James Jenkins is an oc made by my friend Eris. The name Wordman and the Mousebraingirl au are mine.)

Steven Boxleitner never took to gardening before as much as a hobby. He never had a dislike of it per say, he just never had the time with his schedule to do it. Now if you asked Steven a while back if he wanted to try it with some others, Steven would have been normally hesitant being with a new crowd of people but would later end up eagerly getting involved and having a lot of fun with the activity. But now, Steven would view something like gardening as a frivolous activity now worth his time. Unfortunately for Steven today, his neighbor Tim Botsford did not share Steven's sentiment's about gardening.

"I'm telling you Steven, there is nothing like gardening to help you relax and relieve you from stress." Tim stated joyfully as he dug a small, linear, ditch in front of his rosebushes. "Uh huh." Steven absentmindedly replied, tuning out his neighbor's enjoyment over just digging in the dirt and planting flora that will just wither one day. Honestly Steven had better things to do today which centered around trying to figure a way to safely remove the mouse brain from Becky's head. Unfortunately Tim, in all his stubborn, overly cheerful, and annoying persistence, according to Steven, decided that his neighbor should spend this sunny day outdoors relaxing rather than having to work in a stuffy basement. Tim had also offered Mouse to join them but Mouse appeared very disinterested rather opting for one of her books and some cheese. Steven had also turned on the television for her to watch Pretty Princess as well before being led, "dragged" in Steven's mind, out to his neighbor's yard. Steven didn't want his daughter to come and start digging holes in the yard again. Tim then picked up a fertilizer bag he brought with him so he and his neighbor friend, and Bob who tagged along, could help their plants grow beautifully and brighten up the block. Tim examined the text printed on the bag as if he were reading a contract. "Enormogrow, it will help plants grow enormous. huh. Hey Steven, how much of this should I use for the plants?" Tim asked his science friend. Steven rolled his eyes. "Just pour the amount you think the plants need." Steven groaned annoyed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He wanted to get done as soon as possible and not waste another minute with this dumb outdoors activity. Tim did not note his tone of voice and gave Steven a thumbs up. "Righty-ho." Tim responded as he poured the whole bag onto the flowers. A sudden tremor startled the two men and monkey as a giant, monstrous flower sprouted out of Tim's rosebush and towered over the three. Steven tensed, ready to try and escape with Tim and Bob before the monster flower could attack. Bob seemed to get ready to act as a distraction for Steven in Tim as the monkey prepared to fight the creature off with the shears he was using earlier to trim the bushes. Before the giant flower could lunge, a robotic foot appeared and squished the monster along with the bushes flat as pancakes. Just avoiding harm to the three individuals. "Holy anchovies and pineapple!" Tim exclaimed in surprise and shock, a feeling that Steven and Bob also shared. The giant robot whose foot crushed the monster earlier stared at them temporarily before walking away. Steven followed the robot's direction and saw it was walking towards the downtown area of Fair City. "Tobey." Steven grumbled with an angry scowl. It looked like Tobey was causing trouble again with his giant robots. Steven's ire for the kid ignited as he recalled his last encounter with the twerp. Steven looked toward Bob with a determined expression that was shared by the monkey. "Come on Bob." Steven said to the monkey as the two began to follow the robot. "Hey where are you going?" Tim called out causing to the two to freeze. Steven turned around towards Tim and tried to come up with an excuse so he and Bob could head off to transform without creating suspicion. "Well as a scientist it is part of my job to follow giant robots and observe what they do." Steven lied, giving a fake grin. Tim luckily bought the lie as he gave a smile in response. "Okay then." Tim said. Steven clapped his hands together. "Great. Um can you do me a favor and keep an eye on Mouse while I'm gone?" Steven requested. Tim nodded. "Can do buddy." he agreed. "Thanks." Steven said quickly as he headed off to transform into Wordman. "Don't let Mouse dig any holes to the Earth's core!" Steven yelled before disappeared from Tim's sight. Tim then looked down at his yard with a frown. "Darn it, I forgot to bring my watering can from the shed."

@drtwobrainsstuff

@melodythebunny

[zanmor]

playing Pontus in Total War: Rome Remastered has surprisingly been the most enjoyable experience I've had in the game.

the early game is the hardest I've had. after failing in the short campaign twice, my third run found using diplomats to sell map info for every sestertius I could get gave me the funding necessary to power out of the early game with armies that could actually do something. that and securing trade deals and alliances with as many neighbors as I could manage set me up to build a small empire before exterminating city after city on the march to 15 provinces with Thrace and Armenia crushed

enraptured, I jumped straight into the long campaign

same opening strat, raising armies with my map money, sending diplomats far and wide. but a major hiccup in this run, everyone refused an alliance save for Egypt, and they didn't even bother to fight anyone else aside from, best as I can tell, taking one Numidian and one Seleucid town

and all those folks refused to ally with me, instead allying with each other and almost simultaneously all declaring war. at one point I was actively at war with Greece, Seleucia, Macedonia, Armenia, and Thrace. I managed to knock Thrace out only for Dacia and Scythia to jump me shortly thereafter

but one by one I managed to fend off my attackers in some truly desperate defenses as my offensive armies took an eternity to consign them each to oblivion in turn. one of my favorite defenses saw me sally forth with 400 light cavalry, knocking out 4 of 6 Scythian battering rams but losing all my horse in trade. but it was exactly what I needed as then the walls were breeched in only two places and my 4 phalanxes massacred the assaulting forces. even just one more successful ram would have turned that into a defeat

I've also had to do similar but without the cavalry: just a small horde of eastern spearmen rushing from my gates to take out a ram so that my single phalanx can post up at one opening and repel the invaders

overall it's just made every battle, every settlement, and every unit feel immensely more important. I've since pushed through to the mid/late game and it's a little bit more like a more typical game of Rome now, but there are still some intensely close battles because overall my troops still have a lot of weak units. also with the early diplomat rush I now have more diplomats spread more widely than ever before with bribe money to spare. I've "gone to war" with my Egyptian ally by bribing Memphis and Thebes without gaining their ire yet

also have encountered some errors I haven't seen before. once defended against a siege force only for them to turn around and attack again the next turn, without taking a turn to build any equipment in between. the game loaded the battle map and the enemy army just turned and ran, lifting the siege, because they didn't actually have any means to break my walls

also at one point my bank account had nearly $70k in it and I took a look at the graphs and saw something odd. the Scipii were down to 3 provinces, one of which I had under siege--at their height I believe they had 6 or 7 provinces, so still not a lot--and yet the finances graph showed them with nearly $160k in the bank. definitely more than double my own position on the graph. had they just been stockpiling gold since the start of the game? why not spend more of that on war?

just a surprisingly enjoyable campaign that's made me approach the game in some new ways I never would have considered before. doing more with less, especially in the early game, aware that everything matters then

[ohifonlyx33]

Over-regulation is stifling our freedoms! You try to do this and you get the official osha regulation guy, your mandatory insurance company, the fda, the epa, the fbi (noose department), the doj, the irs, the csi, and at least 3 New York City judges and, a property inspector called in by your HOA neighbor Karen all breathing down your neck and slapping you with fines for your thread count, knot techniques, anchoring, length, position, color.... it's endless.

Dude you cant even tie a bunch of bed sheets together to make a makeshift rope and descend from a window anymore

[eishtmo]

Dream Houses: Rapid Reno

This dream was from last night so it's still mostly fresh.

I live in a small, one story house. It contains everything 3 adults could need, but it's small. One of our neighbors is a rental house that was recently made vacant. The owners did some minor renovations, new paint, new door, replaced the flooring, that kind of thing. It's still vacant.

In the dream, this is much the same, though the exact layouts of the houses were different (and being a dream, shifting). Same idea, the rental next door was getting renovations and they were getting more elaborate every day.

I leave for some reason, work, maybe a side dream where I go to a concert, hard to say. I'm gone for as little as 12 hours, and as much as a couple of days.

When I get home, the renovation on the rental has escaped and climbed over the top of my house.

The front door isn't quite the front door any more. It's still there, the old house is mostly there, but now it has a wide area with a couple pillars in it, not rooms yet, but getting there. I think the stairs to the upstairs are there, which the renovation added.

Outside is what got my ire because I have solar panels and the renovation, which added at least 2 stories to my house, had to move them around. Maybe add them, but certainly they were covered in graffiti for some damn reason. I think the placement was fine, but they moved and were covered so they weren't going to generate power.

Then I went inside. Family members were still there, but they like, didn't know this had happened. One of our extra rooms (which we don't have here but did in a previous house) had been removed and as we went around the house we found the stuff from that room in a room on the 3rd floor with a window with no glass that just about anyone could get to from the outside.

Then it got weird. The 3rd floor was built like some kind of museum. I think it had a not-chuck wagon and a not-ship galley. And a gift shop that had more food than some stores. A 4 foot section of coffee, a massive block of canned foods, chips and snacks all over.

My dream brain was trying to figure out WHY this happened and the only thought is the owner of the rental wanted to buy us out and built this elaborate renovation on top of us for reasons.

Ultimately I never discovered why because I got a text from my boss that woke me up. Nothing serious except that it woke me up.