#State Information Commission

[nidarchhattisgarh]

गोपनीय नहीं लोक सेवकों के दस्तावेज : मप्र राज्य सूचना आयोग ने आदिवासी विकास आयुक्त एसएस भंडारी के मामले में दी नजीर

मप्र राज्य सूचना आयोग ने आदिवासी विकास आयुक्त एसएस भंडारी के मामले में दी नजीर गोपनीय नहीं लोक सेवकों के दस्तावेज भोपाल (मप्र)। राज्य सूचना आयोग ने स्पष्ट किया है कि लोक सेवकों के शैक्षणिक व अनुभव संबंधी दस्तावेजों को गोपनीय नहीं माना जा सकता है। आयोग ने कहा है कि लोक-सेवकों की मार्कशीट, मूल निवासी, अनुभव प्रमाण-पत्र ऐसी व्यक्तिगत जानकारी की श्रेणी में नहीं आते, जिन्हें आरटीआई एक्ट की धारा 8(1)…

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

not me typing a whole rant about some catholics being insufferably smug about their "better looking churches" while ignoring the history behind the barebone austerity of protestant churches and then deleting it all because my seething anger isn't christ-like either

*gnaws on wood* God help me love your children even when they are absolute prigs

[aidenwaites]

in OTHER news there's a two day class happening in a couple of months for film set design/set decoration a few hours away and its free, id just have to figure out travel and somewhere to stay for a night if i was accepted, and i,, think im gonna apply

[welcometoqueer]

I haven’t really seen any of the more recent U.S. election news hitting tumblr yet so here’s some updates (now edited with sources added):

There’s evidence of Trump cheating and interfering with the election.

Possible Russian interference.

Mail-in ballots are not being counted or “recognized” in multiple (notably swing) states.

30+ bomb threats were called in and shut down polling stations on Election Day.

20+ million votes are still unaccounted for, and that’s just to have the same voter turnout as 2020.

There was record voter turnout and new/first-time voter registration this year. We definitely should be well over the turnout in 2020.

U.S. citizens are using this site to demand, not only a recount, but a complete investigation into election fraud and interference for the reasons stated above:

Here is what I submitted as an example:

An investigation for election interference and fraud is required. We desperately need a recount or even a revote. The American people deserve the right to a free and fair election. There has been evidence unveiled of Trump cheating and committing election fraud which is illegal. There is some evidence of possible Russian interference. At least 30+ bomb threats were called in to polling places. Multiple, notably swing states, have ballots unaccounted for and voting machines not registering votes. Ballots and ballot boxes were tampered with and burned. Over 20 million votes that we know of are unaccounted for. With record turnout and new voter registration this year, there should be no possibility that there are less votes than even in the 2020 election.

Sources (working on finding more links but if anyone wants to add info, it’s appreciated):

FBI addressing Russian interference and bomb threats:

Emails released by Rachael Bellis (private account, can’t share original tweet) confirming Trump committing election fraud:

Pennsylvania's Centre County officials say they are working with their ballot scanner vendor to figure out why the county's mail-in ballot data is "not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software:”

Wisconsin recount:

[ID:

Multiple screenshots and images.

The first is a screenshot with a link and information for contacting the White House directly regarding election fraud. The instructions include choosing to leave a comment to President Joe Biden directly and to select election security as the reason.

The screenshot then instructs people to include any or all of the following information in a paragraph as a comment to the president:

32 fake bomb threats were called into Democratic leaning poll places, rendering polling places closed for at least an hour.

A lot of people reporting their ballots were not counted for various reasons.

This all occurred in swing states.

This is too coincidental that these things happen and swing in his favor after months of hinting at foul play.

Directly state that an investigation for tampering, interference, fraud is required, not just a recount.

The second image is from the FBI Twitter account that reads:

The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. https://t.co/j3YfajVK1m — FBI (@FBI) November 5, 2024

The next four Gmail screenshots of an email sent to Rachael Bellis from Chris T. Spackman that read together as follows:

Dear BELLIS, RACHAEL E., The Dauphin County Board of Elections received a challenge to your absentee ballot you applied for in the November 5, 2024 General Election. The challenge argues that a provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code takes precedence over the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires states and counties to permit U.S. citizens who move overseas to vote by absentee ballot for federal offices based on their last U.S. residential address.

The full text of the challenge that was filed appears below this email.

You may respond to the challenge in any of the following ways:

1. Call the Bureau of Registration and Election at (717) 780-6360;

2. Email a statement to the Bureau at Election election@dauphincounty.gov. Any statement you submit regarding the period during which you lived in Dauphin County, any family or connections that you still have here, and why you are now residing abroad would be read into the record.

3. Appear in person at a Board of Elections hearing scheduled for Friday, November 8 at a time to be determined in the Commissioners Public Hearing Room, 4th floor of Dauphin County Administration Building, 2 S 20d St, Harrisburg, PA 17111. The meeting is also likely to be livestreamed on Facebook on the Dauphin County channel.

Sincerely,

Christopher T Spackman

TEXT OF CHALLENGE BEGINS

Dear Dauphin County Board of Elections,

I am submitting this challenge to an absentee ballot application pursuant to 25 Pa. Stat.

3146.8(f).

25 Pa. Stat. 3146.8(f) Any person challenging an application for an absentee ballot, an absentee ballot, an application for a mail-in ballot or a mail-in ballot for any of the reasons provided in this act shall deposit the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) in cash with the county board, which sum shall only be refunded if the challenge is sustained or if the challenge is withdrawn within five (5) days after the primary or election. If the challenge is dismissed by any lawful order then the deposit shall be forfeited. The county board shall deposit all deposit money in the general fund of the…

The rest of the forwarded email is cut off.

The last image is a screenshot of the official statement from the Centre County, Pennsylvania Board of Commissioners released on November 6, 2024 that states:

Centre County Working with Ballot Scanner Vendor to Export Election Results.

(Bellefonte, PA) -Centre County Elections Office is working continuously to provide mail-in ballot data in order to post unofficial results.

To this point, all ballots have been scanned, including all mail-in ballots.

Centre County's Election team and IT team have identified that the data are successfully being exported from the mail-in ballot scanners, but that the data is not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software.

Centre County's Administrator, John Franek, Jr. stated, "We have not stopped working, and we will continue to work until unofficial results are posted and reported to the Pennsylvania Department of State."

As a next step, Centre County has begun working with the equipment vendor to adjust configurations to make the two systems-the mail-in ballot scanner and the elections software where data are uploaded -compatible with one another.

We will provide updates as we make progress.

/end ID]

[chickenhoops]

Sorry for double posting but APPARENTLY those commission scammers have showed up on Tumblr at least for the first time for me.

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, there were/are commission scams going on in Instagram and even places like Artstation where people would pretend to be interested in your work and try to commission a pet or portrait for the sake of trying to get your bank details. Here’s how to (somewhat) sniff them out:

1- They don’t seem to be an average customer/ person that would be involved in your fandom, or has a blank template for an account or don’t even follow you.

2- They ask you to draw a portrait or a pet picture either for themselves or their children/family.

3- They promise to overpay you (in the hundreds) and do not listen to you even if you firmly state the price is cheaper.

4- They are constantly asking for your email name, or private details regarding things like banking details or passwords or other private information others should not know.

5- They try and over reassure you they mean no harm, try to guilt you into giving them the info, or become aggressive over you not giving them what they want.

What should you do if you come across one of these guys? My best advice is to block and report. Sadly these people jump account to account so there isn’t really much to do other than spread this info to prevent artists from being scammed.

[mcmansionhell]

on neuschwanstein castle (part 1)

This is an essay in two parts.

Neuschwanstein Concept Drawing by the stage designer (!!) Christian Jank (1869).

There exist in architecture clear precedents to the McMansion that have nothing to do with suburban real estate. This is because “McMansionry” (let’s say) has many transferable properties. Among them can be included: 1) a diabolical amount of wealth that must be communicated architecturally in the most frivolous way possible, 2) a penchant for historical LARPing primarily informed by media (e.g. the American “Tuscan kitchen”) and 3) the execution of historical styles using contemporary building materials resulting in an aesthetic affect that can be described as uncanny or cheap-looking. By these metrics, we can absolutely call Neuschwanstein Castle, built by the architect Eduard Riedel for King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a McMansion.

Constructed from 1869 through 1886 – the year of Ludwig’s alleged suicide after having been ousted and declared insane – the castle cost the coffers of the Bavarian state and Ludwig himself no fewer than 6.2 million German gold marks. (That's an estimated 47 million euros today.) The castle's story is rife with well-known scandal. I'm sure any passing Swan Enthusiast is already familiar with Ludwig’s financial capriciousness, his called-off marriage and repressed homosexuality, his parasocial obsession with Richard Wagner, his complete and total inability to run his country, and his alleged "madness," as they used to call it. All of these combine to make Neuschwanstein inescapable from the man who commissioned it -- and the artist who inspired it. Say what you like about Ludwig and his building projects, but he is definitely remembered because of them, which is what most monarchs want. Be careful what you wish for.

Neuschwanstein gatehouse.

How should one describe Neuschwanstein architecturally? You’d need an additional blog. Its interiors alone (the subject of the next essay) range from Neo-Baroque to Neo-Byzantine to Neo-Gothic. There are many terms that can loosely define the palace's overall style: eclecticism, medieval revivalism, historicism, chateauesque, sclerotic monarchycore, etc. However, the the most specific would be what was called "castle Romanticism" (Burgenromantik). The Germans are nothing if not literal. Whatever word you want to use, Neuschwanstein is such a Sistine Chapel of pure sentimentality and sugary kitsch that theme park architecture – most famously, Disney's Cinderella’s castle itself – owes many of its medieval iterations to the palace's towering silhouette.

There is some truth to the term Burgenromantik. Neuschwanstein's exterior is a completely fabricated 19th century storybook fantasy of the Middle Ages whose precedents lie more truthfully in art for the stage. As a castle without fortification and a palace with no space for governance, Neuschwanstein's own program is indecisive about what it should be, which makes it a pretty good reflection of Ludwig II himself. To me, however, it is the last gasp of a monarchy whose power will be totally extinguished by that same industrial modernity responsible for the materials and techniques of Neuschwanstein's own, ironic construction.

In order to understand Neuschwanstein, however, we must go into two subjects that are equally a great time for me: 19th century medievalism - the subject of this essay - and the opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, the subject of the next. (1)

Part I: Medievalisms Progressive and Reactionary

The Middle Ages were inescapable in 19th century Europe. Design, music, visual art, theater, literature, and yes, architecture were all besotted with the stuff of knights and castles, old sagas, and courtly literature. From arch-conservative nationalism to pro-labor socialism, medievalism's popularity spanned the entire political spectrum. This is because it owes its existence to a number of developments that affected the whole of society.

In Ludwig’s time, the world was changing in profound, almost inconceivable ways. The first and second industrial revolutions with their socioeconomic upheavals and new technologies of transport, manufacturing, and mass communication, all completely unmade and remade how people lived and worked. This was as true of the average person as it was of the princes and nobles who were beginning to be undermined by something called “the petit bourgeoisie.”

Sustenance farming dwindled and wage labor eclipsed all other forms of working. Millions of people no longer able to make a living on piecemeal and agricultural work flocked to the cities and into the great Molochs of factories, mills, stockyards, and mines. Families and other kinship bonds were eroded or severed by the acceleration of capitalist production, large wars, and new means of transportation, especially the railroad. People became not only alienated from each other and from their labor in the classical Marxist sense but also from the results of that labor, too. No longer were chairs made by craftsmen or clothes by the single tailor -- unless you could afford the bespoke. Everything from shirtwaists to wrought iron lamps was increasingly mass produced - under wretched conditions, too. Things – including buildings – that were once built to last a lifetime became cheap, disposable, and subject to the whimsy of fashion, sold via this new thing called “the catalog.”

William Morris' painting Le Belle Iseult (1868).

Unsurprisingly, this new way of living and working caused not a little discontent. This was the climate in which Karl Marx wrote Capital and Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. More specific to our interests, however, is a different dissenter and one of the most interesting practitioners of medievalism, the English polymath William Morris.

A lover of Arthurian legend and an admirer of the architect and design reformer John Ruskin, Morris was first trained in the office of architect G. E. Street, himself a die-hard Gothic Revivalist. From the very beginning, the Middle Ages can be found everywhere in Morris' work, from the rough-hewn qualities of the furniture he helped design to the floral elements and compositions of the art nouveau textiles and graphics he's most famous for -- which, it should be said, are reminiscent of 15th century English tapestries. In addition to his design endeavors, Morris was also a gifted writer and poet. His was a profound love for medieval literature, especially Norse sagas from Iceland. Some of these he even translated including the Volsunga Saga -- also a preoccupation of Wagner's. Few among us earn the title of polymath, but Morris' claim to it is undeniable. Aside from music, there really wasn't any area of creative life he didn't touch.

However, Morris' predilection for the medieval was not just a personal and aesthetic fascination. It was also an expression of his political rejection of the capitalist mode of production. As one of the founders of the English Arts & Crafts Movement, Morris called for a rejection of piecemeal machine labor, a return to handicraft, and overall to things made well and made with dignity. While this was and remains a largely middle class argument, one that usually leads down the road of ethical consumption, Morris was right that capitalism's failing of design and architecture did not just lie with the depreciated quality of goods, but the depreciated quality of life. His was the utopian call to respect both the object and the laborer who produced it. To quote from his 1888 essay called "The Revival of Architecture," Morris dreamed of a society that "will produce to live and not live to produce, as we do." Indeed, in our current era of AI Slop, there remains much to like about the Factory Slop-era call to take back time from the foreman's clock and once more make labor an act of enjoyable and unalienated creativity. Only now it's about things like writing an essay.

I bother to describe Morris at length here for a number of reasons. The first is to reiterate that medievalism's popularity was largely a response to socioeconomic changes. Additionally, since traditionalism - in Ludwig's time and in ours - still gets weaponized by right-wing losers, it's worth pointing out that not all practitioners of medievalism were politically reactionary in nature. However – and I will return to this later – medievalism, reactionary or not, remains inescapably nostalgic. Morris is no exception. While a total rejection of mass produced goods may seem quixotic to us now, when Morris was working, the era before mass industrialization remained at the fringes of living memory. Hence the nostalgia is perhaps to be expected. Unfortunately for him and for us, the only way out of capitalism is through it.

To return again to the big picture: whether one liked it or not, the old feudal world was done. Only its necrotic leftovers, namely a hereditary nobility whose power would run out of road in WWI, remained. For Ludwig purposes, it was a fraught political time in Bavaria as well. Bavaria, weird duck that it was, remained relatively autonomous within the new German Reich. Despite the title of king, Ludwig, much to his chagrin - hence the pathetic Middle Ages fantasizing - did not rule absolutely. His was a constitutional monarchy, and an embattled one at that. During the building of Neuschwanstein, the king found himself wedged between the Franco-Prussian War and the political coup masterminded by Otto von Bismarck that would put Europe on the fast track to a global conflict many saw as the atavistic culmination of all that already violent modernity. No wonder he wanted to hide with his Schwans up in the hills of Schwangau.

The very notion of a unified German Reich (or an independent Kingdom of Bavaria) was itself indicative of another development. Regardless if one was liberal or conservative, a king, an artist or a shoe peddler, the 19th century was plagued by the rise of modern nationalism. Bolstered by new ideas in "medical" “science,” this was also a racialized nationalism. A lot of emotional, political, and artistic investment was put into the idea that there existed a fundamentally German volk, a German soil, a German soul. This, however, was a universalizing statement in need of a citation, with lots of political power on the line. Hence, in order to add historical credence to these new conceptions of one’s heritage, people turned to the old sources.

Within the hallowed halls of Europe's universities, newly minted historians and philologists scoured medieval texts for traces of a people united by a common geography and ethnicity as well as the foundations for a historically continuous state. We now know that this is a problematic and incorrect way of looking at the medieval world, a world that was so very different from our own. A great deal of subsequent medieval scholarship still devotes itself to correcting for these errors. But back then, such scholarly ethics were not to be found and people did what they liked with the sources. A lot of assumptions were made in order to make whatever point one wanted, often about one's superiority over another. Hell, anyone who's been on Trad Guy Deus Vult Twitter knows that a lot of assumptions are still made, and for the same purposes.(2)

Meanwhile, outside of the academy, mass print media meant more people were exposed to medieval content than ever before. Translations of chivalric romances such as Wolfgang von Eschenbach’s Parzival and sagas like the Poetic Edda inspired a century’s worth of artists to incorporate these characters and themes into their work. This work was often but of course not always nationalistic in character. Such adaptations for political purposes could get very granular in nature. We all like to point to the greats like William Morris or Richard Wagner (who was really a master of a larger syncretism.) But there were many lesser attempts made by weaker artists that today have an unfortunate bootlicking je nais se quoi to them.

I love a minor tangent related to my interests, so here's one: a good example of this nationalist granularity comes from Franz Grillparzer’s 1823 pro-Hapsburg play König Ottokars Glück und Ende, which took for its source a deep cut 14th century manuscript called the Styrian Rhyming Chronicle, written by Ottokar Aus Der Gaul. The play concerns the political intrigue around King Ottokar II of Bohemia and his subsequent 1278 defeat at the hands of Grillparzer’s very swagged out Rudolf of Habsburg. Present are some truly fascinating but extremely obscure characters from 13th Holy Roman Empire lore including a long-time personal obsession of mine, the Styrian ministerial and three-time traitor of the Great Interregnum, Frederick V of Pettau. But I’m getting off-topic here. Let's get back to the castle.

The Throne Room at Neuschwanstein

For architecture, perhaps the most important development in spreading medievalism was this new institution called the "big public museum." Through a professionalizing field of archaeology and the sickness that was colonialist expansion, bits and bobs of buildings were stolen from places like North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and Byzantium, all of which had an enormous impact on latter 19th century architecture. (They were also picked up by early 20th century American architects from H. H. Richardson to Louis Sullivan.) These orientalized fragments were further disseminated through new books, monographs, and later photography.

Meanwhile, developments in fabrication (standardized building materials), construction (namely iron, then steel) and mass production sped things up and reduced costs considerably. Soon, castles and churches in the image of those that once took decades if not a century to build were erected on countless hillsides or in little town squares across the continent. These changes in the material production of architecture are key for understanding "why Neuschwanstein castle looks so weird."

Part of what gives medieval architecture its character is the sheer embodiment of labor embedded in all those heavy stones, stones that were chiseled, hauled, and set by hand. The Gothic cathedral was a precarious endeavor whose appearance of lightness was not earned easily, which is why, when writing about their sublimity, Edmund Burke invoked not only the play of light and shadow, but the sheer slowness and human toil involved.

This is, of course, not true of our present estate. Neuschwanstein not only eschews the role of a castle as a “fortress to be used in war” (an inherently stereotomic program) but was erected using contemporary materials and techniques that are simply not imbued with the same age or gravitas. Built via a typical brick construction but clad in more impressive sandstone, it's all far too clean. Neuschwanstein's proportions seem not only chaotic - towers and windows are strewn about seemingly on a whim - they are also totally irreconcilable with the castle's alleged typology, in part because we know what a genuine medieval castle looks like.

Ludwig's palace was a technological marvel of the industrial revolution. Not only did Neuschwanstein have indoor plumbing and central heat, it also used the largest glass windows then in manufacture. It's not even an Iron Age building. The throne room, seen earlier in this post, required the use of structural steel. None of this is to say that 19th century construction labor was easy. It wasn't and many people still died, including 30 at Neuschwanstein. It was, however, simply different in character than medieval labor. For all the waxing poetic about handiwork, I’m sure medieval stonemasons would have loved the use of a steam crane.

It's true that architectural eclecticism (the use of many styles at once) has a knack for undermining the presumed authenticity or fidelity of each style employed. But this somewhat misunderstands the crime. The thing about Neuschwanstein is that its goal was not to be historically authentic at all. Its target realm was that of fantasy. Not only that, a fantasy informed primarily by a contemporary media source. In this, it could be said to be more architecturally successful.

The fantasy of medievalism is very different than the truth of the Middle Ages. As I hinted at before, more than anything else, medievalism was an inherently nostalgic movement, and not only because it was a bedrock of so much children's literature. People loved it because it promised a bygone past that never existed. The visual and written languages of feudalism, despite it being a terrible socioeconomic system, came into vogue in part because it wasn't capitalism. We must remember that the 19th century saw industrial capitalism at its newest and rawest. Unregulated, it destroyed every natural resource in sight and subjected people, including children, to horrific labor conditions. It still does, and will probably get worse, but the difference is, we're somewhat used to it by now. The shock's worn off.

All that upheaval I talked about earlier made people long for a simplicity they felt was missing. This took many different forms. The rapid advances of secular society and the incursion of science into belief made many crave a greater religiosity. At a time when the effects of wage labor on the family had made womanhood a contested territory, many appeals were made to a divine and innocent feminine a la Lady Guinevere. Urbanization made many wish for a quieter world with less hustle and bustle and better air. These sentiments are not without their reasons. Technological and socioeconomic changes still make us feel alienated and destabilized, hence why there are so many medieval revivals even in our own time. (Chappell Roan of Arc anyone?) Hell, our own rich people aren't so different from Ludwig either. Mark Zuckerburg owns a Hawaiian island and basically controls the fates of the people who live there lord-in-the-castle-style.

Given all this, it's not surprising that of the products of the Middle Ages, perhaps chivalric romance was and remains the most popular. While never a real depiction of medieval life (no, all those knights were not dying on the behalf of pretty ladies), such stories of good men and women and their grand adventures still capture the imaginations of children and adults alike. (You will find no greater fan of Parzival than yours truly.) It's also no wonder the nature of the romance, with its paternalistic patriarchy, its Christianity, its sentimentality around courtly love, and most of all its depiction of the ruling class as noble and benevolent – appealed to someone like Ludwig, both as a quirked-up individual and a member of his class.

It follows, then, that any artist capable of synthesizing all these elements, fears, and desires into an aesthetically transcendent package would've had a great effect on such a man. One did, of course. His name was Richard Wagner.

In our next essay, we will witness one of the most astonishing cases of kitsch imitating art. But before there could be Neuschwanstein Castle, there had to be this pretty little opera called Lohengrin.

---

(1) If you want to get a head start on the Wagner stuff, I've been writing about the Ring cycle lately on my Substack: https://www.late-review.com/p/essays-on-wagners-ring-part-1-believing

(2) My favorite insane nationalist claim comes from the 1960s, when the Slovene-American historian Joseph Felicijan claimed that the US's democracy was based off the 13th century ritual of enthronement practiced by the Dukes of Carinthia because Thomas Jefferson owned a copy of Jean Bodin's Les six livres de la Republique (1576) in which the rite was mentioned. For more information, see Peter Štih's book The Middle Ages Between the Alps and the Northern Adriatic (p. 56 for the curious.)

If you like this post and want more like it, support McMansion Hell on Patreon for as little as $1/month for access to great bonus content including a discord server, extra posts, and livestreams.

Not into recurring payments? Try the tip jar! Student loans just started back up!

[probablyasocialecologist]

The Israeli government is behind a large-scale influence campaign primarily aimed at Black lawmakers and young progressives in the United States and Canada. The operation, whose existence was first reported by Haaretz in March, was launched after the start of the war in Gaza and was intended to sway certain segments of public opinion on Israel's conduct. The influence campaign made extensive use of fake websites and social media to promote content that is pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim content, as well as disinformation about antisemitism on American campuses, according to an investigation by the Fake Reporter organization, published today. The operation was run by a private Israeli online political campaigning firm called STOIC that was hired for the project. According to sources and information obtained by Haaretz, the operation was commissioned by Israel's Diaspora Affairs Ministry but carried out by a different party, for fear that its exposure could entangle Israel in a crisis. The ministry oversees a number of firms for a number of different purposes and goals. Among the candidates for the job was the organization Voices of Israel, which received half of its original funding from the Israeli government, though it was not tapped for the task in the end.

Links: Haaretz archive.today wayback machine

June 5 2024

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #38

Oct 11-18 2024

President Biden announced that this Administration had forgiven the student loan debt of 1 million public sector workers. The cancellation of the student loan debts of 60,000 teachers, firefighters, EMTs, nurses and other public sector workers brings the total number of people who's debts have been erased by the Biden-Harris Administration using the Public Service Loan Forgiveness to 1 million. the PSLF was passed in 2007 but before President Biden took office only 7,000 people had ever had their debts forgiven through it. The Biden-Harris team have through different programs managed to bring debt relief to 5 million Americans and counting despite on going legal fights against Republican state Attorneys General.

The Federal Trade Commission finalizes its "one-click to cancel" rule. The new rule requires businesses to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up for it. It also requires more up front information to be shared before offering billing information.

The Department of Transportation announced that since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration there are 1.7 million more construction and manufacturing jobs and 700,000 more jobs in the transportation sector. There are now 400,000 more union workers than in 2021. 60,000 Infrastructure projects across the nation have been funded by the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Under this Administration 16 million jobs have been added, including 1.7 construction and manufacturing jobs, construction employment is the highest ever recorded since records started in 1939. 172,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during the Trump administration.

The Department of Energy announced $2 billion to protect the U.S. power grid against growing threats of extreme weather. This money will go to 38 projects across 42 states and Washington DC. It'll upgrade nearly 1,000 miles worth of transmission lines. The upgrades will allow 7.5 gigawatts of new grid capacity while also generating new union jobs across the country.

The EPA announced $125 million to help upgrade older diesel engines to low or zero-emission solutions. The EPA has selected 70 projects to use the funds on. They range from replacing school buses, to port equipment, to construction equipment. More than half of the selected projects will be replacing equipment with zero-emissions, such as all electric school buses.

The Department of The Interior and State of California broke ground on the Salton Sea Species Conservation Habitat Project. The Salton Sea is California's largest lake at over 300 miles of Surface area. An earlier project worked to conserve and restore shallow water habitats in over 4,000 acres on the southern end of the lake, this week over 700 acres were added bring the total to 5,000 acres of protected land. The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $250 million in the project along side California's $500 million. Part of the Administration's effort to restore wild life habitat and protect water resources.

The Department of Energy announced $900 Million in investment in next generation nuclear power. The money will help the development of Generation III+ Light-Water Small Modular Reactors, smaller lighter reactors which in theory should be easier to deploy. DoE estimates the U.S. will need approximately 700-900 GW of additional clean, firm power generation capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Currently half of America's clean energy comes from nuclear power, so lengthening the life space of current nuclear reactors and exploring the next generation is key to fighting climate change.

The federal government took two big steps to increase the rights of Alaska natives. The Departments of The Interior and Agricultural finalized an agreement to strengthen Alaska Tribal representation on the Federal Subsistence Board. The FSB oversees fish and wildlife resources for subsistence purposes on federal lands and waters in Alaska. The changes add 3 new members to the board appointed by the Alaska Native Tribes, as well as requiring the board's chair to have experience with Alaska rural subsistence. The Department of The Interior also signed 3 landmark co-stewardship agreements with Alaska Native Tribes.

The Department of Energy announced $860 million to help support solar energy in Puerto Rico. The project will remove 2.7 million tons of CO2 per year, or about the same as taking 533,000 cars off the road. It serves as an important step on the path to getting Puerto Rico to 100% renewable by 2050.

The Department of the Interior announced a major step forward in geothermal energy on public lands. The DoI announced it had approved the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, Utah. When finished it'll generate 2 gigawatts of power, enough for 2 million homes. The BLM has now green lit 32 gigawatts of clean energy projects on public lands. A major step toward the Biden-Harris Administration's goal of a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.

Bonus: President Biden meets with a Kindergarten Teacher who's student loans were forgiven this week

[batfluffs]

🍰[OPEN] 3D PIXEL COMMISSIONS!🍰

i have comms open for little low poly 3d models!! i can do humanoids and anthros, whether its fanart or your own characters/OCs! feel free to message me with any questions 💗

if you would like a model of something that doesn't fall under the basic humanoid/anthro shape, message me and we'll see if it's something I'm able to do! :D

the base price for a character model is £45 !

to order, you can message me on tumblr or order through vgen ~

my prices are in GBP, but your payment method will be able to convert it from the currency you use :)

more info/full order form below "keep reading/read more" !!

[ keep reading / read more . . . ]

💗 please make sure that you have read and agree to my terms of service before ordering! i know it's a bit lengthy, but these are always to protect me as the artist and you as the client. even if you choose not to read it, these terms will still apply to you.💗

IMPORTANT: since these are low-res models, i may have to simplify designs/omit minor details, but i'll let you know if that may be the case!~

----------------------------------------------------

ORDER FORM

when you're ready to order, please copy/paste the headings with the heart bullets, fill out your answers, then message the finished form to me!

under each heading i've included some information to provide more context to help you answer the form! you don't need to copy/paste those chunks of text.

if you have any questions about anything at all, feel free to message me first!~

❥ CHARACTER(S) (£45 each):

please include images/art of your character(s) for me to reference, and a description of their personality if you'd like!

❥ PROP(S) (+£10 each): yes / no | how many

anything you would like your character to hold, or have in the image! for example, food, weapons, books, small simple pets/creatures, etc.

❥ SIMPLE ANIMATION(S) (+£10 each): yes / no | how many

i can do various simple looping animations such as idle, walk/run, sit, spin, dance, float, etc.

if you have any other ideas or more complex animation requests, feel free to send me a message before ordering!

if you order multiple characters, please specify whether you would like them to be animated together or separately! having them together/interacting in the same animation is +£15 on top of the base fee to animate each character. (for example, 2 characters interacting would be £20 (£10 per character) +£15, for a total of £35).

(!!!) if no animation is desired, you will receive a tpose turnaround .gif of your character.

❥ PERMISSIONS: yes / no (+25% privacy/NDA fee)

i like to share my finished models to promote my artwork & commissions, and may also stream commissions as i work on them! for these, i'll give credit to you as the character owner.

if you would prefer to keep your commission and artwork private, you may do so with an additional fee of +25% of the commission subtotal added onto to the final price.

❥ OTHER ADD-ONS: (optional)

commercial use (+£30): for streaming, YouTube, anything where you may gain profit from it. if you select this option, please state what it will be for. if you have intentions to use my art for merchandise, please contact me first as this will have different pricing!

rush fee (+£15): i will complete your model within 2 - 3 days of purchase!

model files (+£15): i will send you the blockbench file & texture for your completed model to do as you wish for personal use only, unless you have also paid for commercial use.

3D print compatibility (+£30): i will create a version of the model without planes, making it compatible for 3D printing. the full charge includes both the fees for sending you the model files, and 3D printing compatibility.

❥ PAYMENT PREFERENCE: paypal / kofi

paypal: i'll create an invoice for you that outlines your order details!

kofi: i'll ask you to send the payment as a one-time donation after we've discussed the commission info!

----------------------------------------------------

i take payment upfront via paypal or kofi before i will begin working!

estimated turnaround time will be 1 month, though it tends to be shorter than that! however, i'll update you with delays or if it's expected to take any longer than that <3

thanks so much for reading this and for all your support!! 💗

----------------------------------------------------

> you can find more examples of my pixel models/animations here! <

[nooranqar1]

The war in Gaza has exhausted me and my children.😢

I am in urgent need of honest support from everyone who truly understands our situation and views our cause with humanity, to convey my message to the world.

I will tell you about part of my daily struggles.

•My little son Hussein, instead of sitting in a classroom and learning, stands in line at the soup kitchen, trying to get a bite to ease our hunger.

Last Friday, after I couldn't find anything to prepare, I had to go to the food kitchen of the Global Kitchen, taking my eldest son Hussein. I was shocked by the long lines of people in need like me, and little Hussein stood in line trying to get some food. Unfortunately, we returned disappointed because we couldn’t get anything.

Last Wednesday, I went at 9 a.m. to a government medical center to treat my children, Rajaa and Youssef, from severe coughing and cold. I waited in line for two hours, and when my turn came, the doctor informed us that the medicine was unavailable, and only advised us to drink hot beverages. We returned after a journey that lasted more than four hours with no result or treatment.

•You might think they’re just torn pieces of paper, but they are our ticket to see the doctor in the absence of proper forms at the health center.

Everything here has become surreal in terms of the availability of goods in the markets, and if they are available, they are at exorbitant prices. We can give up many luxury items, but there are essential needs for my infant child such as diapers, milk, and medicine that cannot be sacrificed.

After I successfully raised 24,000 euros, thanks to your help, I couldn’t benefit from it as I should have due to the state's commission and the donation platform fees, in addition to the commission in Gaza when withdrawing the money, which reaches 30%. In the end, I only get about half of 100 euros, and I am truly in need of every penny in light of the lack of income sources and the crazy prices.

✅️Vetted by @90-ghost and @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #245 )✅️

I thank everyone who is trying to help me, and I understand the position of those who cannot. Here in Gaza, we live between pain and hope.

[pony32099]

 Guo Wengui: The end of fraud and the trial of justice

 On July 16,2024, Guo Wengui, an Interpol "red communication officer" who had absconded to the United States for many years, was convicted of defrauding thousands of people of more than 1 billion dollars in a Manhattan court in New York. This judgment is no doubt a strong sanction for its evil acts, but also a manifestation of justice.

 Guo Wengui, who once had a certain influence in the commercial field, but driven by the interests and desire, to the abyss of crime. He used to be the actual controller of Henan Yuda Investment Co., Ltd. and Beijing Pangu Investment Co., Ltd. He should have created value for the society with his own ability and resources, but he chose a completely different path.

 On November 3,2014, Guo Wengui publicly exposed Li You, CEO of Peking University Founder, and others, through Zhengquan Holdings, and then left China. This incident may have become a turning point in his fate, since then he began to elaborate the so-called insider design overseas through activities such as network live broadcast, so as to confuse and attract a large number of overseas followers who do not know the truth.

 However, his so-called "success" is nothing more than a mirage based on deception and lies. Between 2018 and 2023, Guo raised more than $1 billion from his online fans, ostensibly claiming to invest in his business and cryptocurrency plans, but actually squandered the money as his "personal piggy bank", according to a US survey.

 He used a variety of fraud. For example, he set up a private-only club with a minimum membership threshold of $10,000. Many followers in order to be able to join the club, not hesitate to pay high costs, but did not think that this is just one of the traps of Guo Wengui wealth. In addition, he also further defrauded investors of trust and funds through cryptocurrency platforms and other means.

 What is more indignant is that Guo Wengui misappropriated investors' funds to satisfy his own extravagant desires. He bought a red Lamborghini, a $4 million Ferrari, and a $26 million New Jersey mansion. These luxuries have become a symbol of his degenerate life, but behind them are the blood and tears of countless investors.

 In 2021, three companies associated with Guo, including GTV, paid $539 million to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over illegal stock offerings. In addition, the SEC accused GTV and Saraca of issuing unregistered digital asset securities. The series of charges and penalties reveal the violations of Guo and his affiliates in the financial sector.

 Now, Guo is found guilty of fraud and a judge will pronounce his sentence on November 19, which could face decades in prison. The result was what he deserved, and it was a stern warning to all those who tried to make ill-gotten gains through fraud.

 Guo Wengui's case brings us a profound reflection. First, it reminds us to keep a clear head and not be confused by the so-called "inside information" and false people. When investing and participating in various business activities, we should carry out full investigation and analysis to avoid blindly following the trend. Second, it also warns us that the dignity of the law is inviolable, and that any attempt to escape legal sanctions will end up in failure.

 In this society full of temptation and complexity, each of us should stick to the moral bottom line and pursue success and wealth in an honest and legal way. Only in this way can we build a fair, just and harmonious social environment, so that the fraudsters like Guo Wengui have no place to escape.

Justice may be late, but never absent. Guo Wengui's end once again proves this truth. Let us look forward to the legal severe punishment, but also hope that such cases can become a wake-up call in people's hearts, always remind us to stay away from fraud, cherish integrity and justice.

[afanofmanyships]

Part 1 (There is a trial.)

You don't get to be a god without a small piece of you getting reincarnated. Though they kinda wish they knew when that small piece of them is in the reincarnation cycle.

Ghost Lawyer: -Danny Phantom, the defeater of Pariah Dark is called to the council under the pretense that Amity Park is grave and not his hunt that he led us to believe. Johnny 13 is called by the commission to be Phantom's witness as he foretells the Realms that Amity Park is Phantom's Grave instead of Danny Phantom himself.

Meanwhile

Johnny 13: Yeah I know *he scratches his head as he checks over Danny* dick move and I shouldn't have done that but on the bright side. *Jazz hands* No more ghost attacks.

Phantom: *Growls*

Johnny 13: I know this is not an ideal situation. *He gestures to the muzzle, power suppression cuffs, and ankle chains attached to metal balls that keep him on the ground.* But when the court agrees that we- I'm telling the truth, you'll get your full powers.

Phantom eyes widen as he begins to thrash: *He begins banging his cuffs onto the ground and growling, to the point that nearby ghosts have to restrain him, and other nearby ghosts force him into a straight jacket.*

Johnny 13 could only calm Phantom down when they were called to the courtroom.

The courtroom

Ghost Lawyer: The court would like to call Danny Phantom to the stand.

A ghost wheels Phantom to the stand takes the straight jacket off him, and forces him to stand. The ghost leaves. Johnny sits on one of the benches.

Phantom: *Glares at the ancients on the podium*

Pandora: The council has seen the evidence and agreed that Amity Park is Danny Phantom's grave. Therefore-

Johnny 13: *Smiles and clutches his hands in anticipation*

Phantom: *Glares harder*

Ghost Lawyer gets up and bows: I have already made preparations to inform the Realms about this wonderous news-

Pandora: -We, as the Rulers of the Realms, DO. NOT. Recognize Amity Park as the grave of, The Great One; Defeater of Pariah Dark, Danny Phantom.

Ghost Lawyer & Johnny looks towards the counsel in shock: Wha-

Phantom: *Lessens his glare and relaxes a little*

The Ghost Lawyer and Ancients argue back and forth as Phantom stands silently with a relaxed face as if reminiscing about the past.

Phantom: ......

Johnny was not like Phantom, who seemed to accept his fate, or the Ghost Lawyer who could argue back at the ancients. The authorities of the Realms. But as the witness he has to do something.

Johnny stands up: As the witness, I feel like I also have a say in this.

*Johnny 13 has decided to roll for a persuasion check.*

Johnny: It is known that a being who turned into a ghost has the basic abilities of a ghost and their own powers that they had once alive. The council was created to help ghosts find and accept their grave for not only the betterment of the ghost but the Realms itself. Therefore, as a halfa wouldn't it be useful for Phantom to have access to his full potential and for the betterment of the Realms.

*Johnny 13 has rolled a nat 1 on the persuasion check. Persuasion check has failed.*

Pandora: And, for that reason. For the betterment of the Realms, we do not recognize Amity Park as a grave. End. Of. Discussion.

Ghost Lawyer looks down at their clutched hands before shooting their head up to look straight at Pandora: Then you leave me no choice, Lady Pandora.

Pandora: *Squints her eyes in confusion before widening in realization.*

Ghost Lawyer raises their hand to gesture to the seat behind the Ancients: I call upon the vessel of Zeus to the stand.

Phantom snaps out of his relaxed state, eyes filled with panic and rage: *Low growl*

Johnny looks over in confusion: ......

The Ancients turn to the chair in anticipation: ......

???: Kekeke-

The chair turns around and reviled Vladimir Masters with yellow electronic-filled eyes.

Vladimir Masters: Well this just got interesting.

Zeus!Vlad

To Be Continued......

[torpublishinggroup]

This advertisement is for The Archive Undying—a debut science fantasy epic from Emma Mieko Candon, and book one in their Downworld Sequence, featuring commissioned fanart of Sunai, the book's main character. The artist is Caitlin Ono.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT

Plugged into his AI god when its corruption renders him unfortunately immortal, sad gay disaster Sunai takes a die-again-or-die-trying approach to his tragically unending life. Despotic police states want to leash him and giant robots want to eat him, but reuniting with the small handful of people he cares about is what’s actually horrifying.

Adrift in the wilds, Sunai makes several unwise decisions such as:

Scavenging old ruins haunted by hostile fragments of another shattered technological deity

Allowing his mind to become further compromised

Sleeping with his mysterious employer for information and fun

Joining a haphazard crew of pirates who all have different motives for hunting a feral remnant of the same god that cursed him, all those years ago

This brain-melting series-starter is like a Neon Genesis Evangelion AMV set to a bass-boosted cover of George Michael’s "Careless Whisper."

[novemberheart]

{overview} While John is out of commission you learn some startling information

{warnings} a/b/o dynamics, poly 141, fem reader, cursing, mentions of violence, pricesoap, handjobs (not very explicit)

Chapter 12 <- Chapter 13 -> Chapter 14

“I thought this could only happen when an omega is in heat?” Simon questioned, standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Kyle was on the phone with a doctor. John had buried himself under his blankets, despite the heat building up in his body.

“It's a reaction that can happen when you become close to an omega you haven't claimed yet. Your body's way of speeding up the process.” the doctor explained from the other end. “Make sure to keep the omega away from him if it’s not what you want yet. It could also send them into a heat.”

John groaned from his bed. Out of worry. What if he lost control? He was normally a man of great control, would it still apply to this situation? He would make sure of it.

“How long does it last?” Kyle spoke.

“Well it usually depends on the length of the omegas heat- but without that, I would say 3 to 6 days.” the doctor shared. “He’ll be fine. Just make sure he stays hydrated, quarantined, and fed.”

“Thanks, doctor.” Kyle sighed, beginning to hang up.

“Sometimes it can be useful to incorporate some belongings of the omega in the nest.” the doctor added. They shared pleasantries once again before hanging up.

“You’ll be alright, alpha,” Simon spoke. The title made John huff.

“Easy for you to bloody say,” John growled. “Turn the fuckin’ lights off.” he snarled. Kyle quickly sprung into action flicking the bright overhead lights off.

“Go let Johnny and the pup know,” Simon instructed Kyle. “See if she wants to donate any of those pretty dresses of hers.” Kyle nodded his head, heading through the conjoined bathroom and into Simon’s room out the door. The last thing they needed was the smell of a rutting alpha in the living area.

Johnny groaned at the knock on the door. You were still fast asleep but started to stir once Kyle opened the door letting the light in.

“We've got a problem,” Kyle explained. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Why are you coming to me?” Johnny groaned, beginning to roll over to protect both of you from the light.

“John’s in a rut.”

The two of you shot up.

“How? I'm not in heat.” you sputtered, rubbing at your eyes.

“Doctor says it can happen when you grow close to an omega, but haven't claimed them yet,�� Kyle explained.

Your heart sank, the comfort in your body slowly slipping away by the second.

“I'm not ready to”-

“We know, lovie,” Kyle interjected quickly. “We would never ask or expect that from you. Just have to tell you to keep your distance for a few days till it wears off. But we do need a favor.” Kyle trailed off.

“Anything I can do.” you assured.

“Can we borrow some clothes? Or a blanket or anything that has your scent?”

“Of course.” you jumped out of bed, your legs a bit wobbly. Kyle rested his hand against your back to steady you. You grabbed one of your dresses and one of the three pillows on your bed.

“I would donate a pair of underwear, but I don't have any cute ones.” you attempted a joke.

“This’ll be fine.” Kyle assured a small smile on his lips. “You two go back to bed,” he shouted over his shoulder, heading back into Simon’s room.

“I feel bad for him,” you mumbled against Johnny's chest. “I caused it.”

“Don't go there bonnie. He's a hard bastard, he’ll make it.”

“Well now he really is hard.” you sighed, causing Johnny to erupt in laughter.

It was one of his clear-headed moments. Johnny was curled up next to him, his sun-kissed skin rising up and down in a relaxed state. The bastard had waltzed into his room, without bothering to wash any trace of you off. He quickly turned into a chew toy.

“You alright?” Johnny mumbled, against his side. His hand rested against John’s lower abdomen fiddling with the dark forest there.

“Should be askin’ you that.” John yawned, stretching his legs out.

“Better not toss her around like that. You'll break her.” Johnny continued. John chuckled, tracing Johnny’s pronounced back muscles. Bite marks littered his back and shoulders, along with a red ass. He shivered under his touch.

“I’d never,” he assured. The thought of you had him swirling a bit. Your eyes. Your eyes hadn't left his mind. The way you had looked up at him in the movie theater. Tangled in his arm, melted eyes staring up at him so heated and needy.

“Already?” Johnny groaned, the thin blanket growing a new outline. “What’re you thinking about?” he whispered, his lips grazing the alpha's chest.

“You know what I'm thinking about.” John groaned, raising his hips in hopes of catching Johnny’s hand.

“I want you to tell me.” Johnny hummed. The beta was pushing his luck, but they both knew he held all the cards. “All Captain till it's your turn to take some directions. Spit it out.”

“Her.” John groaned. He shuts his eyes tightly, his chest relaxing as Johnny finally wraps his hand around him. No matter how many times Johnny touched him, he was always taken aback by how thick and heavy the alpha was.

“What about her?” Johnny hummed, his movements slow, but tight.

“Those fuckin’ eyes, and mouth.” His words came out strangled, not so much from Johnny’s movements but from the picture playing in his mind.

“And her in your shirt. Remember that?” Johnny continued.

Remember that? He’s fairly sure that's what threw him into this rut.

It had been four days. You've been mostly by yourself in those times- except during meals and nighttime. Kyle or Johnny herding you into their beds. Simon had been extremely busy, taking on some of the captain's work. Someone was always there with John.

Deep moans and groans seeped into your core. Johnny was loud- but when you got close enough to the door you could hear Kyle growl out the dirtiest things.

You needed to get out before you barged in there with them.

Luckily for you, the doorbell rang. Were you supposed to answer it? No. Regardless you tiptoed to it, looking out the peephole. Anais. Simon's bedroom door swung open.

“Get away from that,” Kyle growled playfully.

“It’s Anais! Can I please answer it!” you begged, loud enough to where she would be able to hear you from the other side. He nodded his head, and you quickly flung open the door.

“I'm so happy to see you!” you cheered, wrapping your arms around her shoulders. She giggled, squeezing you back. She smelled like honey and grapefruit.

“I missed you too, PC.” she smiled. “The omega committee is having a baking contest today and I took it upon myself to enter both of us- well plus Jane.” she was nearly bouncing with excitement. You looked over your shoulder at Kyle, giving him your best puppy eye.

“You can go. Wear scent blockers and I expect a text every twenty minutes,” he demanded. “It's nice to meet you, Anais. Thanks for helping our girl out when she needed it.” Kyle thanked.

“Yes, Sir!” you smiled, digging through a kitchen cabinet for the can. Anais flushed at the praise.

“Of course.” She smiled.

“Bye, KyKy! Thank you!” you grabbed Anais pulling her out the door. He rolled his eyes, heading back into the humid room.

You kept good on your promise, setting an alarm to text Kyle every twenty minutes.

You three even won third place. You recognized some of the omegas from the pink blanket. They came in first.

“Who are they anyways?” you questioned, digging into one of the cupcakes you had made.

Anais snorted unpleasantly, licking the chocolate from her fingers.

“You don't want to know.” she sneered. You and Jane side-eyed each other.

“Well, now I really have to know. I was told to stay away from them,” you explained and Jane nodded her head.

“I was too,” Jane whispered.

“That's good. Keep with it.” Anais huffed. She rolled her eyes as the two of you continued to stare at her, obviously not going to drop the topic. “They're wicked. They are bullies who peaked when they were sixteen and never grew up. And their alphas- Lieutenant Hale and Sergeant Connoway are supposedly into really sketchy stuff, like taking bribes and deals. Lieutenant Hale even went through a trial and everything but he was never convicted. They left for a few months and I thought I'd never see them again, then a month ago they reappeared.”

“That's horrible,” Jane spoke first. You nodded your head in agreement.

“I met Lieutenant Hale a while ago, something about him seemed a little weird.” you admitted, shifting. Your eyes naturally drifted to where their group was hanging out, but you tried your best to not look suspicious.

“Well you won't be seeing much of Connoway. He was attacked, his whole face was scratched up, and two broken legs.” Anais explained. Your breath got caught in your throat.

“Scratched face?” you questioned.

“And broken legs,” Anais reminded. “Their beta is missing too. No clue where he is.” You swallowed thickly. It was lucky you wore scent blockers, your scent would've been horrendous.

“Well whatever it is, they probably deserved it,” you spoke finally.

“That’s cold, PC,” Anais chuckled. “You’re not wrong though.” You wrapped up the rest of your cupcake, no longer hungry. “Hey, you know what we should do? Go to the library. They have an old TV with VHS tapes. Ms. Walker always lets me make popcorn and we can watch movies with horrible acting.”

Anything to get you away from there.

The knock against the door caused all three of you to scream. You could hear multiple people shushing you from the other side of the door.

“Fuckin’ hell,” Simon growled. You three had spent two hours watching the worst horror movies on the face of the earth- they still made you skittish. “Come on, pup. Time for dinner.” Simon nodded his head towards the door. “You two need to be walked home?” he added, looking between the two other omegas.

“It is about to be dark,” you added looking out the window.

“If it's not too much trouble,” Anais said slowly.

“I wouldn't offer it if it was,” Simon grunted. “Clean up your messes.” the three of you sprang into action throwing away the empty popcorn bags, and the kernels from the floor. You put the movies back, and the couch cushions. “Gonna have to take a shower when you get home. Don't need you getting lice,” he commented, staring down at your head. You rolled your eyes, the chill in the air causing you to drift closer to him. He didn't seem to mind.

“Thank you!” Anais and Jane said. You and Anais hugged each other goodbye and you were pleasantly surprised when Jane extended her arms.

“Quite popular, aren't you.” Simon teased as you two walked to get some real food.

“I know you are going to find this hard to believe but people enjoy being around me.” you complimented yourself.

“I do find it hard to believe.” Simon shot back, holding the door open for you. You giggled catching him a twinge of guard. You could take a joke. He appreciated that. You loaded up on spaghetti and salad, marching your way over to the tables you always sat in.

The empty space next to you gave you pause.

You missed John. He always sat next to you turning meals, his arm pressed against yours. You always felt so safe. Not that you weren't safe with Simon, but you felt so exposed not having someone next to you.

“Hold your head up, pup. He started coming out of it today.” Simon assured.

“Really?” you beamed.

“You’ll need to keep away for another night, but by tomorrow things should be back to normal.”

Looks like you are a part of the new normal now.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you in three days for chapter 14! 🧡

Dividers by @cafekitsune

[notherpuppet]

What are the questions you hate??

Okay so I don’t really HATE anything (so far) but how bout an FAQ? There are some asks I’m kind of tired of answering lol. Such as;

• “FEED ME” For one thing, it’s not even an ask 💀 So I don’t love this energy, it’s -2 charm for me. Whilst I’m grateful that folks really like the art I share (like SUPER GRATEFUL!!) I am not particularly enchanted by a demanding aura

• “when is ____ coming out”? The answer is always “I don’t know” because I draw for FUN and I draw in my FREE TIME and that varies. So for the foreseeable future, unless I EXPLICITLY state otherwise, you can expect my next post to appear on your screen whenever I post it 🥰😘

• “what programs do you use”? I don’t have a problem AT ALL with inquiring minds, I just get this ask a lot and I’ve already answered it a few times (for the inquisitive minds, please consider checking the tag ‘answers’ on this blog to find information. I’ll tag this ‘faq’) Anyway, I use pens, paper, my iPad, Apple Pencil, and Procreate. I often use brush packs made by Shiyoon Kim and Kyle Webster. I find brush packs on the creative market as well. wanna learn Clip Studio Paint, but haven’t gotten to it.

• “advice on improving in drawing”? This is a beautiful question, and I’m happy there are people who want to improve their drawing skills! I am one of you. I frequently use “YouTube university” where I will find drawing focused channels that teach you this very thing. Andrew Loomis books on drawing are like textbooks that break down the fundamentals really effectively. Like any skill, you have to research, study, and practice. The more you do of each, the better you will get. I’m trying my best to improve and master the craft eventually. (A fool’s errand haha) anyway, have fun!

• “can I fandub this”? The answer is yes!! And I hope you have a lot of fun!!! Please credit me and no monetizing. 🥰 Also, please no posting on twitter (X) or meta (instagram, facebook), as I feel uncomfortable with the Gen AI social media platforms.

• “can I make fanfiction/fanart/cosplay based on your fanart?” FUCK YEAHHHHHH!!! I LOVE people being creative. We’re all having fun in this fandom and I think it makes life more exciting when we create! Same with fandubs, please credit and no monetizing 🥰

• “do you do commissions”? I am not accepting any right now, but that can change! Please trust that if/when I do start taking commissions, I will be letting y’all know!! And I really appreciate that you’d want to commission me 🥹♥️

• “in your comic, will ____ happen?” I’m not just gonna TELL you that lol. But clarifying what’s ALREADY happened is always a welcomed ask :)

I just want to thank everyone who tunes into this blog!! I really have a great time creating fanart, fanfiction, and comics and I’m VERY SHOCKED that what I’ve made has had the reception it has. It’s fun to be in this fandom with you all!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SENDS ME SWEET ENCOURAGING MESSAGES ILYYY 🥹💖💘💞💓💝

[searchingforserendipity25]

felix knightly, julian's much-mentioned friend felix, comes to the station, and he's this dashing and effete and supremely successful older human man. he wears excellent fabrics and dedicates his life to constructing beautiful fictions.

he calls julian darling and sweetheart all the time. he speaks often of how they met - something about old hardcover books and competitive bidding in a san francisco auction house for history and literature lovers.

so it went: a long chat that turned to a long night haunting bars, showing this bright young thing the best old spots in the city, where real bands play real songs, history clings to the walls and a holoprogrammer could see nearly into the past, the future, the heart of things.

we walked the bridge with dawn on our shoulders, spent the night without losing reasons to keep talking together, and i knew this was a very special young man i had just befriended, he says.

and julian bashir, chief medical officer, war-tried and brave, looks at him through his lashes, a little bit twenty and awe-struck at being liked still.

felix speaks often about how so much of the reliable realism in his holonovels depends on having his own clever doctor to give him accurate medical information. how his gifts of custom-made programs are nothing, barely anything in comparison to the pleasure of making sweet julian enjoy himself in his intervals between wonderful adventures and admirable medical work.

he is flighty and shameless and self-satisfied and he never fails to make julian flush and brighten - something flickering open around his eyes.

he kisses the back of his hands, and plays with his hair. as if it easy and natural; as if he should be allowed always to lay a hand on julian's shoulder, and smile down at him with a conspiratorial look.

it would be easier, perhaps, if it were more sordid. but they tease each other endlessly, argue like old friends, there is history between them and not only old infatuation.

to watch him is to see an image repeated. there is the twist of the wrist doctor bashir does, the way he raises his chin and picks a glass with elegance and flirts relentlessly, as he himself had been flirted with until he relented.

it is clear enough that knightly has been a guiding figure to him, a teacher in some fashion in the arts of playing the gentleman.

a mildly chiding word from him in a specific tone, and julian straightens his back and pays attentions, rethinks his position, eases back the strain in his shoulders, lets himself be challenged, seduced into a proper debate. so perhaps he was the one who taught him that, too; to argue without spite, with wit, brash but not bull-headed.

it is clear enough julian bashir trusts him fully with his fantasies, and does not fear any mockery.

it is clear he is a weak man, a man of vice, an hedonist with no sense of responsibility, who cannot stand to live outside his programs. he drinks prodigiously and gambles recklessly, enjoys the sort of mind-whirling substances the federation permits only in careful dosages -

he is not the one to mention how it was that a medical student came to be well-versed in treating withdrawals, in dealing with hateful words said in dire states. doctor bashir himself, of course, would never breach patient confidentiality. but one may guess; one may assume.

his presence is temporary, he will go away to do research on another singular and distant place, he'll leave his friend behind for the hundredth time and send back a consolation game whenever he remembers he exists at all.

anyone can see it, in the doctor's eyes. he is has been wounded many times, he has been trained well to be expect to be liked but not wanted long.

in unrelated news, garak of garak's clothiers has had to cite complications to explain the delay of his present and forthcoming commissions. several of his needles and sewing machines have taken unexpected tumbles against the floor, and a remarkable amount of his fabric has appeared shredded to rags, almost as if a vole or beast of some sort had laid furious claws on them.

well, so it goes: life is not an holonovel. in real life, sometimes accidents can't be avoided, and mistakes have consequences.

someone ought to remind felix knightly of that, perhaps.