#aigs

[jewel-shard]

Diary of a Camgirl

Chapter 4: DATE NIGHT WITH KIKYOKAT!

Chapter Summary: Sometimes, girl dinner just isn't enough.

Read on ao3 Read entire work ao3

Beautiful artwork by @aigs

Edited with permission

[annesbiggestfan]

NEPKATAUSGSG💗💗💗😭😭

do people still like this

[queen-ofsunflowers]

Lives on the Line; Winner Takes All - Chapter 2 Preview

The Abyss

When reality began to catch up to Aigis once more, the first thing that her sensors picked up on was the sound of a strange, yet gentle, piano’s melody. She blinked her eyes open. She wasn’t in the dorms any longer. Instead, she was standing in the middle of a strange, blue room. Everything was blue. The walls, the floors… even the table and chairs in front of her.

Aigis blinked. What… happened? She could recall a surge of power, and then…

There was a soft chuckle. “Welcome, young one.”

Aigis immediately stood at attention. Sitting before her at a table was an old man with an incredibly long nose. To his right sat a regal-looking young woman with her curls pinned out of her face with a headband. To his left was a young man with swept back hair. Both of them were dressed in royal blue, and both shared the same platinum blonde hair and golden eyes. An empty chair was to each of their sides, as if whoever once occupied it was gone.

“Ah, quite the rare guest indeed,” said the old man with intrigue. He leaned further on the table. “Are you a simulacrum or in fact human?”

“I…” Aigis began, but the words got caught on her tongue. She… She wasn’t sure what she was. She was artificial. A new species. There was no technical term for what she was other than an android. A weapon. A failed creation.

The old man chuckled once more. “It seems your destiny is very similar to our own…”

Aigis narrowed her gaze on the three figures in front of her. “Where am I? Who are you?”

“Ah, forgive my manners. I forgot to introduce myself.” Despite Aigis’s cold demeanor, neither the old man or his associates seemed intimidated. They kept calm. “My name is Igor… To my right is Margaret,” the regal woman nodded as Igor gestured to her. “And to my left is Theodore.” The man stared down at the table, not looking up at Aigis.

“...pleased to meet you,” Theodore said more out of politeness than anything else. He seemed to be upset about something.

Igor continued, not mindful of Theodore’s expression at all. “This place exists between mind and matter. It is a room that only those who have been chosen may enter, once they’ve signed their contract.” Aigis blinked. A contract…?

“We are the denizens of what you could call this… Velvet Room,” Margaret said, continuing where Igor left off. “We oversee the affairs of both worlds and act accordingly when need be. Though you have not signed a contract, we have brought you here to be a guest of ours.”

“But how…?” Aigis asked, not sure which question to start with. There were plenty to ask because she understood none of what was going on.

“How indeed…” said Igor. “Our most recent guest was a young witch with extraordinary talent. He stood to defy fate and destiny…” the smile that Igor had on his face since Aigis arrived seemed to stretch wider. “And he won. You know him rather well.”

“You…” Aigis’s eyes widened. There was only one witch that she could think of that had achieved such a task. “You know Minato-san?”

Igor nodded. “Indeed we do. What he achieved was quite the marvelous thing.”

“A thing that might be in danger if we don’t do something soon,” said Margaret, her calm demeanor cracking ever so slightly as she spoke. What was she…?

Igor held up his hand. “Patience, Margaret.” He turned to Aigis. “The power that you wield is the means to obtain a certain… answer. The answer to a question that’s been plaguing you for a quite a while.” Did he… Did he know?

Aigis’s hands balled at her sides. “This answer… if I reach it… what would it mean…?”

“All who live in search of an answer reach it at their journey’s end.” Their… end. Did that mean…? “If you have close ties to the people you call friends, remember this: ‘The strength of heart, when untied, is barred by no door’. It was the same for that young witch as well.” …Minato…

“That is all we are allowed to say,” said Theodore. He stared down at the table, digging his fingers into his pants to avoid looking at the empty seat next to him. Aigis had a suspicion that she was missing part of this story.

“We shall not keep you here any longer,” said Igor. “The beginning of your ordeal awaits…” He snapped his fingers. A wave of magical distortion washed over Aigis. She gripped her head, searching for a way to do whatever she could to make it stop.

“What is…?” she muttered to herself. She didn’t understand. What was going on? The music around her began to fade. The world went dark before she could collapse.

She had once made a choice to live. So much had happened since then. If drawing and using her power meant she was drawing closer to life… Did that mean the answer at the end of the journey was death?

...much to her surprise, that possibility didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would.

The full chapter will be up on Ao3 on June 10th!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The New Yorker :: @NewYorker [An advance look at Barry Blitt’s “Left to Their Own Devices,” the cover for next week’s issue.]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

March 28, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Mar 29, 2025

“Another wipeout walloped Wall Street Friday,” Stan Choe of the Associated Press wrote today. The S&P 500 had one of its worst days in two years, dropping 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 715 points, losing 1.7% of its value. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%. On Tuesday, news dropped that the administration’s blanket firings and wildly shifting tariff policies have dropped consumer confidence to a low it has not hit since January 2021. Today’s stock market tumble started after the Commerce Department released data showing that consumer prices are rising faster than economists expected.

AIG chief international economist James Knightley said: “We are moving in the wrong direction and the concern is that tariffs threaten higher prices, which means the inflation prints are going to remain hot.” Business leaders like lower interest rates, which reduce borrowing costs and make it cheaper to finance business initiatives, but with rising inflation, the Federal Reserve will be less likely to cut interest rates.

Makena Kelly of Wired reported today that billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is planning to move the computer system of the Social Security Administration (SSA) off the old programming language it uses, COBOL, to a new system. In 2017, the SSA estimated that such a migration would take about five years. DOGE is planning for the migration to take just a few months, using artificial intelligence to complete the change.

Experts have expressed concern. Dan Hon, who runs a technology strategy company that helps the government modernize its services, told Kelly: “If you weren’t worried about a whole bunch of people not getting benefits or getting the wrong benefits, or getting the wrong entitlements, or having to wait ages, then sure go ahead.” More than 65 million Americans currently receive Social Security benefits. Today Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) recorded himself calling the SSA and being told by a recording that the wait times were more than two hours and that he should call back. And then the system hung up on him.

Musk told the Fox News Channel today that he plans to step down from DOGE in May, apparently at the end of the 130-day cap for the “special government employee” designation that enables him to avoid financial disclosures. In February, White House staffers suggested Musk would stay despite the limit.

Today the State Department told Congress it is shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) altogether by July 1. Whatever agency functions the administration approves will move into the State Department. Founded by President John F. Kennedy and enjoying bipartisan support, USAID administers programs for global health, disaster relief, long-term economic development, education, environmental protection, and democracy. It is widely perceived to be a key element of U.S. “soft power.”

USAID was created by Congress, and its funds are appropriated by Congress. Congress and the courts have established that the executive branch—the branch of government overseen by the president—cannot kill an agency Congress has created and cannot withhold appropriations Congress has made. The authors of Project 2025 want to challenge that principle and consolidate government power in the hands of the president. It appears they have chosen USAID as the test case.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shatters science and health agencies, the nation’s top vaccine regulator, Dr. Peter Marks, submitted his resignation today after being given the choice to resign or be fired. Dan Diamond of the Washington Post noted that Marks has been at the Food and Drug Administration since 2012 and has been at the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research since 2016.

In his resignation letter, Diamond says, Marks expressed his deep concern over the ongoing measles outbreak in the Southwest—now more than 450 cases—and warned that the outbreak “reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined.” Marks said that although he was willing to work with Kennedy on his plan to review vaccine safety, “it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

On Tuesday, news broke that Kennedy has tapped anti-vaccine activist David Geier to lead a study looking to link autism to vaccines, although that alleged link has been heavily studied and thoroughly debunked. Infectious disease journalist Helen Branswell notes that Geier does not have a medical degree and was disciplined in Maryland for practicing medicine without a license.

British investigative journalist Brian Deer, who has written about the hoax that vaccines cause autism, told Branswell: “If you want an independent source,… [you] wouldn’t go to somebody with no qualifications and a long track record of impropriety and incompetence.” But, he said, “[i]f you wanted to get in anybody off the street who would come up with the result that Kennedy would like to see, this would be your man.”

Tara Copp of the Associated Press reported today that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has done some targeted staffing, too. His younger brother Phil Hegseth is traveling to the Indo-Pacific with the secretary in his role at the Pentagon as a liaison and senior advisor to the Department of Homeland Security. Hegseth also employed his brother when he ran the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America, where the younger Hegseth’s salary was $108,000 for his media work. Copp notes that a 1967 law “prohibits government officials from hiring, promoting or recommending relatives to any civilian position over which they exercise control.”

Hegseth and his colleagues are still in the hot seat for uploading the military’s attack plans against the Houthis in Yemen to Signal, an unsecure commercially available messaging app. Yesterday, Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward, and Michael R. Gordon of the Wall Street Journal reported that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz identified a Houthi missile expert whose identity Israel had provided from a human source in Yemen, angering Israeli officials.

Americans, especially those with ties to the military, aren’t happy either. Military, the leading news website for service members, veterans, and their families, titled a story about the scandal “‘Different spanks for different ranks’: Hegseth’s Signal scandal would put regular troops in the brig.” Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times reported that the story had “angered and bewildered” fighter pilots, who say “they can no longer be certain that the Pentagon is focused on their safety when they strap into cockpits.”

At a raucous town hall held today by Republican representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN), the crowd booed Spartz loudly when she said she would not call for the resignations of Waltz, Hegseth, and the rest of the people on the group chat.

All the mayhem created by the administration has created enough backlash that the White House appears concerned about upcoming special elections on April 1. One is for the seat in Florida’s District 6 that Waltz vacated when he became national security advisor. In 2024, Trump won that district by 30 points, and Republicans considered their candidate, state senator Randy Fine, whom Trump has strongly endorsed, to be such a shoo-in that he barely campaigned. His website features pictures of him with Trump but has only bullet points to explain his stand on issues.

Democrat Josh Weil, a middle-school math teacher who has outraised Fine by almost 10 to one, is polling within the margin of error for a victory in a contest where even a 10- to 15-point loss would show a dramatic collapse in Republican support. Weil has tied Fine to Musk’s unpopular DOGE and to the president, as well as to cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.

Trump is now personally campaigning for Fine and for the Republican candidate to fill the seat vacated by former representative Matt Gaetz in Florida District 1. There, Democratic candidate Gay Valimont is running against Republican Jimmy Patronis in a district that elected Trump with about 68% of the vote. Like Fine, Patronis is strongly backed by Trump and wants more cuts to the federal government; Gay is a former state leader for Moms Demand Action and focuses on healthcare and veterans’ services. She has criticized DOGE’s cuts to VA hospitals. Like Weil, she has significantly outraised her opponent.

Republicans are concerned enough about holding the seats that billionaire Elon Musk, who poured more than $291 million into the 2024 election to help Republicans, has begun to contribute to Republicans in Florida. On Tuesday he spent more than $10,000 apiece for texting services for the Florida candidates.

Musk has contributed far more than that—more than $20 million—to the April 1 election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Trump loyalist Brad Schimel is running against circuit court judge Susan Crawford in a contest that has national significance. Wisconsin is evenly split between the parties, but when Republicans control the legislature and the supreme court, they suppress voting and heavily gerrymander the state in their favor. When liberals hold the majority on the court, they ease election rules and uphold fair maps. Currently, the state gerrymander gives Republicans 75% of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives although voting in 2024 was virtually dead even. The makeup of the court could well determine the congressional districts of Wisconsin through 2041, through the redistricting that will take place after the 2030 census.

Musk has told voters that if Crawford wins, “then the Democrats will attempt to redraw the districts and cause Wisconsin to lose two Republican seats.” Not only has Musk said he is going to Wisconsin to speak before the election, but also he is handing out checks to voters who sign a petition against “activist judges,” a suggestion that it would not be fair to unskew the Republican gerrymander. Last night, Musk advertised a contest that would award two voters a million dollars each, with the condition that the winners had to have already voted.

This morning, Wisconsin Democrats issued a press release noting that Musk had “committed a blatant felony,” directly violating the Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anyone anything worth more than $1 to get them to “vote or refrain from voting.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said that if Schimel “does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit.”

Musk deleted the tweet and then, eliminating the language that said people had to have voted, posted that he would give the checks to spokespeople for his petition. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to stop Musk “from any further promotion of the million-dollar gifts” and “from making any payments to Wisconsin electors to vote.” “The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair,” Kaul said in a statement. “We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend. Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening.”

MeidasTouch reposted Musk’s offer to “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote” and noted: “No matter what side of the aisle you are on, you should be appalled that a billionaire thinks he has the right to buy elections like this.” Former chair of the Ohio Democratic Party David Pepper posted: “Have some pride, America. We are so much better than this guy thinks we are.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[maya-digitalart]

✨ "The Jeweller"

🌟 Instagram: maya_digitalart

[harlivylove]

Best peanut 🥰

gardening 🌱🪴

[boxfullaturtles]

I love a vicious, clever, twisted Agent Bishop as much as the next person.

But making Bishop and the EPF incompetent bureaucrats in Adagio in Green is so funny to me.

Earth Protection Force? Couldn't protect nothing.

They're just bullies in a position of power and can't do anything against anyone significant. And that's very funny to me specifically.

[inhurtandincomfort]

Forsaken - Cast

Eldwin Wisht, 23 (he/him) youtube/spotify

(neka for top two, top 3, 1st art by @lovelizards 2nd by @ninjasylveon)

5'4" with pale white skin, a slim build with silver eyes and mid-length black hair. A powerful sorcerer, member of the Black Syndicate, and a warlock, he has enemies on both sides of the law.

A gilded heart turned turned to stone. With his cold personality and reclusive nature, he struggles to let people in and will try to handle things on his own to his own detriment. He tends to repress his feelings to an unhealthy extent and partakes in dangerous coping mechanisms. However he feels, no matter the cost, he will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Destrian Advyre, 24 (he/she/xe/they)

(1, 2)

5'7" with a lithe build. Has brown hair with a russet undertone xe wears in braids that fall almost to his knees, and brown eyes. He has gold-coloured horns and in his full dragonkin form has golden armour-like scales on some parts of his body, and huge dragon-like wings. However, this form is cumbersome and takes a lot of energy so is rarely used.

A sturdy pillar of hope. As a Cleric of Droden she spent time interning under the forest rangers where she learned many skills relating to wilderness survival. Empathetic and compassionate, she dedicates her life to others while neglecting her own wants and needs. She is deputy leader of the Armed Investigation Guild. (AIG)

Ancassius Lailicci, 24 (he/him)

(picrew)

6'4 with a strong, board build with hazel eyes and dyed-red hair that he keeps long, either loose or in a low ponytail. (His natural hair colour is brown). Curiously, he also appears to have slightly webbed fingers.

Part-selkie and the son of a sailor, his heart belongs to the sea. He calls himself a pirate but really is just a glorified treasure-hunter - with style. Boisterous and passionate, his good-nature helps him make friends wherever he goes. He hates people who treat others badly, and has been known to get into trouble because he won't stand by and let someone be taken advantage of, bearing the guilt of who he could not save and vowing to make up for it. He is the Captain of his own ship, with a loyal crew who are as devoted to him as he is to them.

Clyde Farewell, 34 (he/him)

(1, 2)

6'1" with white skin, short brown hair and blue eyes. Heir to the Farewell name and Underboss of the Black Syndicate.

A man used to getting what he wants. He alone made the decision to purchase Eldwin, and considers him his greatest prize. He is very possessive and dislikes when his father takes an interest in Eldwin, but cannot speak against the man who's word is law... and who controls his inheritance. He is a cruel and arrogant man, but knows how to turn on the charm when he needs to. He expects to take over the Black Syndicate someday, though Alistair believes he is unfit for the job.

He enjoys exerting his power over others and demands nothing less than perfection, creating mistakes where there are none.

Nels Barbary, 45 (he/him but also doesn't really care)

(picrew) (2)

6'3 with a large, muscular build with white skin, brown eyes and rather unkempt blond hair. He has a large scar on his face, and one on his neck like someone once tried to slit his throat.

An ex-soldier turned Clyde's most trusted confidant. The man in charge of training Eldwin, he is a firm believer in cruel punishment and is harsh in his teachings. He's not someone who tortures for pleasure; He doesn't delight in it, but he won't lament over it either. He does like the feeling of control that comes with it, and finds satisfaction in his subjects personal growth. He's also a happily married father of three.

Alistair Farewell, 58 (he/him)

(picrew)

5'10" with white skin, blue eyes and greying-brown hair. Patriarch of the Farewell family and head of the Black Syndicate. A respected businessman and philanthropist. The public see him as a kind and generous man who receives commendations from politicians and even royalty.

But he's the leader of the Black Syndicate for a reason. He is level-headed, calculating and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He wields great political influence and uses his financial power to turn things in his favour. He takes a different approach with Eldwin, seeing someone who can be manipulated rather than physically forced.

Jowan Bell, 22 (he/him) (Youtube/Spotify)

(picrew) (2) 3rd by @cepheusgalaxy

5'3 with brown skin, black eyes and short, curly black hair. He rarely leaves his lab, his only passion being his experiments.

A remarkably young Doctor and scientist, he did not take formal education instead following the tutorage of his father, Doctor Bell who was a strict man who saw only flaws in his son. Jowan was a quiet child eager to please so he dedicated his life to following in the mans footsteps, proving to be a genius with a gift for medicine. Upon his fathers death, Jowan continued his work in attempting to harness the magical energy of living beings. His father worked with the Black Syndicate before and they readily took Jowan in as well as he proved he had all the skills they needed.

Once free from his fathers crushing gaze Jowan flourished, blooming into a cheerful, if a little unconventional young man who surpassed his fathers talents and succeeded where he could not. The Black Syndicate gave him a laboratory in the basement of one of their buildings and he became overseer for all Eldwin's medical care with orders/permission to use him as a test subject to complete their mission.

Mordwen, ??? (she/they)

(Picrew)

5,5. Long platinum hair, silver eyes and unnervingly pale skin. She appears to be an elf, but something's not quite right about her...

A new addition to the Black Syndicate, she didn't build up from the lower ranks instead starting straight up at the top where she answers to Clyde and Clyde alone. Even Alistair, despite being leader holds no actual authority over her.

A dark sorceress, she aids the Syndicate with her utilisation of dark healing and forbidden resurrection.

!This is a WIP and things may be subject to change!

[gorepup]

corebridge financial

[brun00u11]

[hitku]

by Xie Aige

[brightersoul2]

Tasogare Out Focus - episode 6

[harlivylove]

Every minute with you ❤️

oh i wish i’d find a lover that could hold me!!!

[aliceingrungelandcomic]

Issue One: Down the Rabbit Hole She Goes, Page Seventeen

If I remember right, people in my college class liked this one.

Page One | Prev Page | Next Page | Chronological Tag

[fabdante]

this one is extra long because i really liked this song paired with this image. i got to pick the song i had fun i liked it

(also read alice in grungeland here if you want idk he doesn't show up until issue 2)

art only blog - insta - inprnt - redbubble

[sidesaddle-queen]

tha a' chiad nobhail Gàidhlig anns a bheil caractaran leasbach dìreach air tighinn a-mach lol

(Far na Slighe le Shelagh Chaimbeul)