#also you're welcome own

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[eliasdrid]

💙 I could go on tbh but I'm on mobile ><

Also I love suit design so much I completely forgot to mention the protagonists are usually human lmao. But there's plenty of creatures (biologic and otherwise)! Both as enemies and allies. Ultraman for example has a lot of aliens. In the other two it depends on the season what flavor of creature you get. In Zenkaiger there's the kikanoids (which are more or less robots) and they are both in the main team and the enemy team. In Kamen Rider Blade there's the undead (monsters sealed in cards). In Ohsama Sentai King Ohger the Bugnarak are all based on insects.

you keep putting these tokusatsu shows on my dash for months and I have less than zero context what they're about. what's the cliffnotes version to get me interested in whatever these odd looking robots or perhaps creatures are doing?

Alright I'll try my best but it might get long.

To me, the most appealing thing about them is that the suits are very much suits, they often try to use practical effects where they can and there's a lot of neat choreographed fights. There's also often sci-fi elements (which I'm a fan of). Each season of each show seems to be made with love and passion for the genre* too and I've read/seen a few interviews which support this. There's also some very talented actors and it's amazing to watch them play pretend the colorful plastic weapons are real and can hurt you (they really sell it to you if you can suspend your disbelief a little and have some fun).

*edited - I wrote labor of love but forgot it is a specific thing and might not apply very well here?

Anyway. I'll give you the basics. The three big tokusatsu shows you may often see around are: Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (both from Toei) and Ultraman (from Tsuburaya).

Screenshots from: Kamen Rider OOO (2010), Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger (2021) and Ultraman Blazar (2023)

There's others! like Dogengers (screenshot below) - but I'll try to focus on those three.

In general these shows are aimed at young audiences so you have to watch with that in mind. Also, like any superhero show, they will want to sell you merch (figures, toys, plushies, etc).

Another important thing to know is that the seasons of these shows are usually self contained, and each have their own theme, so you can pick any season that catches your eye to check out with no previous knowledge. There are crossovers events (movies and especials) and anniversary seasons which will explore and/or showcase previous content too! I personally really enjoyed Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger (2021) which is a 45th Anniversary Sentai season and I had watched only two other sentais before it.

Now, some differences! so you can tell the shows apart and also know what you will potentially have in store if you decide to watch any. I'll put a read more because this is getting long 👍

Kamen Rider and Super Sentai air all year long, for this reason, seasons usually have 45-50 episodes. All the Ultraman shows I've watched have 25 episodes per season. Meanwhile Dogengers has kept a 12 episodes per season formula so far. Spin offs, specials and reboots have no defined number of episodes (to my knowledge).

I feel like I should mention that (especially in the case of 45-50 episodes shows) the episodes might feel a bit off sometimes? Be aware there's often release schedules with toylines involved* From what I've noticed this usually happens past the mid-season point the closer you get to finale territory. My guess is that, generally at that point, the writing team (or writer) was trying to do things they forgot to properly set up before, tie loose ends and/or finish arcs quickly. *Sometimes other things affect production, like COVID or an actor suddenly not being able to continue with their role.

All shows value The Power Of Love and Friendship and usually feature a team of heroes (or allies) fighting against an enemy faction. There's also, almost always, some sort of transformation device involved and in all these shows the heroes must collect some season-themed item to get power ups. The key difference between each show will be how they decide to play with these things.

Super Sentai is what Power Rangers is based on. If that tells you nothing: there's a team of heroes ("rangers"), color coded suits that are generally not too complex in design and one giant mech vs. giant monster fight per episode (on average). I've not seen too much Sentai so that's all I got for you.

Kamen Rider gives its heroes more complex suit designs and (usually) multiple forms (ascending in strength/skill). Kamen Rider's signature elements are probably: the drivers (belts), the henshins (transformation scenes) and the fact that they often have motorbikes (they gotta ride something).

Ultraman has more of a shared universe between seasons situation going on than the previous two so there's recurring lore. I won't explain that lore to keep this as short as possible. Either there's a host-alien situation (to varying degrees) or the protagonist has the ability to transform. In this show there's always an almost guaranteed Titular Ultraman vs. giant monster fight per episode.

More visuals that might help you tell them apart:

Screenshots from Ohsama Sentai King Ohger (2023)

Screenshots from Kamen Rider Ryuki (2002), Kamen Rider Den-O (2007), Kamen Rider OOO (2010), Kamen Rider Build (2017)

Screenshots from Ultraman Orb (2016), Ultraman Geed (2017) and Ultraman Blazar (2023)

I hope this was helpful! sorry it got long!

[deiaiko]

#23 - Kiss

Masterlist

Previous

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Let me know your thoughts in the reblogs <3

☕ Buy me coffee ☕

[thecursedanon]

Rainy Day

Characters: Lee!Yuji, Ler!Nanami, Sukuna(only in Yuji's head), Megumi, Nobara, Inumaki (because I love this little dork, okay? lol) Genre: Comfort <3 Word Count: 3166 Summary: Yuji Is super down today, that and he's not been sleeping well due to the nightmares he's been having. His friends, concerned about him go to Nanami with their concerns, and the stoic teacher takes it upon himself to cheer Itadori up. A/N: Hey, Curse here! This was originally intended to be part of the Amusement Park Aftermath fic, but I couldn't organically fit it in so I split them up... so that's why there are similarities in the setting. Enjoy!

Though the mood had been upbeat and calm in the days before, today it seemed as though a rain cloud loomed over Jujutsu Tech-- both figuratively and literally. Everyone seemed a bit more somber today.

Even Yuji wasn’t immune to the effects as he gazed out his window at the bleak gray sky, winds whipping the trees around and causing the leaves to drift around with reckless abandon.

He sighed softly, leaning over and resting his face on his palms as he watched the gloominess outside from the edge of his bed.

He heard his door open, but didn’t turn around or acknowledge it. Nobara and Megumi had been peeking in on him periodically to make sure he was still alive, clearly unused to the pink haired teen being a recluse.

“He’s still moping.” Megumi sighed.

“Should we go get Gojo sensei?” Nobara asked.

“We want to cheer him up, not make him worse.”

“I dunno, he seems pretty good at this kind of thing...”

Inumaki poked his head into the room with them, signing as he spoke. “Bonito flakes…” Megumi is right… “Mustard Leaf.” Gojo would just overwhelm him more.

“Well, do you have a better idea?”

Inumaki paused, the blonde tapped his chin as he became deep in thought. Nobara shot Megumi a look that screamed; ‘this is who we’re taking ideas from?’ as she gestured to the other teen.

“Tuna mayo?” Maybe Nanami can help?

“If Gojo can’t help, what makes you think Nanami sensei can?”

“He’s right.” Megumi nodded in agreement with Toge’s idea. “Nanami is our best bet. If something serious is going on, Yuji might be more comfortable talking to Nanami about it.”

Inumaki nodded his head, looking quite pleased with himself as Nobara sighed. “Fine, let’s go find him…” With that, the trio headed to Nanami’s classroom and explained the worrying situation to him.

“That explains why he hasn’t been blowing my phone up this morning…” He sighed softly. Yuji had a bad habit of spamming his phone with an overabundance of positive texts, or any and all memes he found that he thought were funny… most of the time they weren’t.

“I’ll go talk to him,” He nodded, standing up from his desk. “Thank you for coming to me.”

Back In Yuji’s room, he had actually started to doze off watching the rain fall down his window when there was a knock at his door. He sighed, trying to ignore their efforts.

There was another knock, this one softer and a bit more hesitant than the first. 

“Guys, I’m not dead in here. you can stop checking on me.” He called out, half asleep.

“Itadori?”

Yuji perked up at the sound of the voice. “Nanamin?”

“Is it alright if I come in?”

The pinkette nodded, but realized he couldn’t see him. “Yeah, you can come in.” he responded, turning around to look at the door.

Nanami walked in and closed the door behind him, assessing Yuji carefully for any signs of distress. “I haven’t heard from you In a while… I wanted to check in on you.” He said, his voice softer than usual.

Itadori smiled a little, and when he did, Nanami could see just how exhausted the teen looked. “Yeah, sorry… I haven’t been on my phone.”

That in and of itself was alarming.

The blonde teacher approached him cautiously. “Yuji, you look like you haven’t been sleeping.” He observed out loud. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Itadori brushed off his concern, trying to shake off the fatigue. “Just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Watching too many Jennifer Lawrence movies, again?” There was a note of teasing on his words as he spoke to the pink haired boy. (Okay, more than a note.)

Yuji felt his face heat up. “Noooo…” He subtly nudged his chair to conceal a stack of Jennifer Lawrence movies he had in fact been watching the night before. 

Nanami, of course, saw this. He let out a small chuckle as he idly picked up one of Itadori’s blankets from the floor, folding it as he spoke. “Yuji, if something is bothering you… you know you can talk to me, right?” He asked, glancing up at the teen as he neatly set it down on the bed. “Even if you think it’s something minor…”

Yuji bit his lip and looked back out the window. “Yeah… I know that…It’s just my thoughts are so scrambled right now… I don’t even know how to start talking about what’s bothering me...”

Nanami frowned, picking up another blanket and approaching the pinkette with it. He carefully draped it around him and sat down next to him. “I understand…”

A memory flickered to the forefront of his mind, he recalled saying something similar to his best friend when he was Yuji’s age. Haibara had responded by looking for the fluffiest, most comforting blanket he could find in their dorm room and damn near smothered Kento with it as he wrapped him up in it and hugged him tightly.  

It was times like this that he wished Yu had still been alive, he’d be much better at this sort of thing than he was… “I’m sorry.” Kento said softly, his hands firmly grasping his students shoulders. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Yuji looked at the window, the rain and wind had kicked up even more outside. “Can I… have a hug?”

Nanami nodded, not hesitating to engulf him in a big protective hug at his request. “Of course you can.”

Yuji smiled, the warmth from the blanket and the warmth radiating from the tight hug was soothing to him. He wrapped his arms around Nanami in response, resting his head on his shoulder. 

As he sat there with him, the room silent save for the rain falling outside and the soft breathing, he felt his racing thoughts slowing down a bit… making more sense rather than being incoherent whispers speaking over each other.

But that soon became a problem too, as the reason for his anguish presented itself.

He was sad.

He was really fucking sad… He missed his grandpa. He was exhausted from trying to put on a brave front all the time, when the truth of the matter was; he was still just a scared, sad kid who missed the only family he had ever truly had...

As Nanami sat there holding the student, he felt him begin to tremble in his arms. “Itadori?” He asked softly, holding the teen tighter to try to silently reassure him he was okay.

“I’m… sorry…” Came the small, whimper of a reply. Small sobs escaped his shaking form as he buried his face in the blonde’s chest, his tears soaking into the blue fabric.

“Hey… don’t be sorry.” Kento responded, keeping his tone low and gentle in an attempt to soothe the boy. “It’s okay… shh… you’re okay.” He began rubbing circles into the pinkette’s back as he spoke. “I’m here with you and I’m not going anywhere…”

If Yuji hadn’t have already been crying, he would have been now. He clung onto his mentor like a scared child as he sobbed harder.

It became clear to Nanami just how much pain the boy was in, his muffled cries sounding anguished and terrified. It absolutely broke his heart, he wasn’t sure how to take the pain away from the usually bright light hearted teen, and he desperately wanted to.

“I’m so tired of being scared, Nanami!” he cried into his chest.

“Yuji… It’s going to be okay, you have nothing to be afraid of here. I’ll protect you.” The usually stoic teacher whispered in response.

“But who will protect you?” Itadori whimpered, burrowing further into his protective hold. “I can’t lose you too!!”

“Yuji…” Nanami felt his heart twist at the student’s outburst, he wished more than anything he could say that he wouldn’t lose him, and that everything would be okay in the end… but he knew from his own experience that wasn’t the case. He knew how cruel this line of work was… it didn’t discriminate with the lives it claimed.

“I can’t lose you…!” The boy sobbed, his frame shaking like a leaf in the blonde teacher’s strong arms. “P-Please…!”

“Shhh… hey, listen to me okay? I have no intentions of going anywhere.” Kento whispered, gently rocking Itadori in his arms. “Why are you so worried about me? I haven’t died yet.”

“I…” Yuji pulled back, looking up at Nanami with tears falling down his face. That also broke his heart. “I-I’ve been having these nightmares… Where y-you… you…”

“Shhh…” Nanami reached forward and gently pulled the crying pinkette back into his warm embrace, stroking his hair gently as he guided his head to rest against his chest. “Yuji, they’re just bad dreams… do you hear that? My heart is still beating. I’m still here. You’re okay… I’ve got you.”

This seemed to soothe some of anguish the boy was feeling, his sobs becoming small whimpers as he began to calm down at the sound of Nanami’s heartbeat in his ear.

They sat there In silence together for a while, the only other sound in the room was the rain hitting Yuji’s window and his sniffles and whimpers.

But soon those would silence too, and Itadori would slowly pull away from Nanami again. His eyes were puffy from all the crying he’d done, and his face was tear stained. “N-Nanamin?”

“Yes?”

“Th-Thank you…”

The blonde smiled softly at him, gently wiping away some of the remaining tears from his face. “Of course…” 

Yuji giggled a bit as Kento grazed against his neck when wiping his tears away, causing the blonde to pause and give him a confused look. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” Itadori said quickly, smiling nervously as his mentor stared at him.

Oh?

Nanami smirked, ghosting his fingers along Itadori’s neck, causing him to squeak and recoil with a giggle. “Nothing? Are you sure about that?”

“Nanami…”

“Itadori… you wouldn’t happen to be… ticklish, would you?”

“W-Well would you look at the time? I’m gonna be late for my training session with Gojo and-- ACK!”

“Oh no you don’t.” Kento grabbed onto the pinkette before he could escape, pulling him back into his arms and pinning him against him. “Even if you did have training with Gojo right now, which you don’t because he’s out of town… I’m not letting you off the hook that easily.”

“Wh-What did I do?”

“I told you I’d protect you… that includes from yourself and your sadness.”

“But Nanamin… I’m not sad any--eeeeehehehehehe!” Yuji’s protests were interrupted by a squeal followed by adorably bubbly giggles as Nanami began to tickle him.

“Oh please, don’t insult my intelligence… I know you’re still sad, you’re just not crying anymore.” Nanami rolled his eyes fondly at the boy, squeezing at his side teasingly.

“Nahahahahanami! Ihihihit tickles!” Itadori whined, but despite his complaints he made no attempts to get away.

Nanami chuckled at his reactions, sneaking his hand underneath Yuji’s shirt to lightly tickle his bare side. “Does it now~? How unfortunate for you… because I have no intentions of stopping until you feel better~”

Yuji giggled harder as he leaned into Nanami’s hold. “Ihihihihi’m not sahahahahad anymore!”

“Itadori, It’s okay to be sad…” Nanami said soothingly, skittering his fingers up and down his ribs as he spoke. “It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you suffer through it alone.”

The most adorable thing about this whole thing? Yuji wasn’t resisting, he was actually angling himself in ways that would give Nanami more access to his ticklish spots… which he found utterly adorable.

“Itadori, you know… you could at least pretend to want to get away~” Kento chuckled in amusement at his student.

“I dohohoho want to get ahahaway!” Yuji lied… because If he really wanted to get away, he totally could.

“Oh, you do, hm? Is that why you’re rolling around like a puppy trying to get me to scratch its belly?” Nanami couldn’t help but tease the boy, his fingers drifting to Yuji’s stomach. “Is this what you were looking for~?”

Itadori squealed as he felt Nanami’s fingers lightly dance across his toned stomach, practically melting in his mentor's hold as he laughed harder. “EHEHEHEHEEK!”

It’s now coming to Itadori’s attention that he may… and I repeat; may be… enjoying this. (He is.) 

Sure, every once In a while he’ll get the occasional poke here and there, or Gojo will be… well, Gojo… and tickle the absolute snot out of him but… Nanami’s tickles are much more gentle and affectionate. It’s almost relaxing in a sense… plus he never knew his parents, and his grandfather wasn’t exactly the most physically affectionate so it’s kind of healing to his inner child right now to be tickled by someone he views as a father figure.

Also, he just really loves playing around with him like this… this isn’t a side anyone sees of Nanami.

Did I mention Yuji is an adorable ball of sunshine yet? because he totally is.

“Ah, that was definitely what you wanted…” Nanami teased, his fingers tracing teasingly along his stomach, producing the most adorable giggles he’s heard in a very long time.

“Nahahahahanamin! Nohohohoho! Nahahat the behehehelly!” Yuji squealed, covering his face as his half hearted protests fell on deaf ears.

“Not the belly? why not? It seems like as good a spot as any…” Nanami hummed thoughtfully, pretending to consider it for a moment. “Hmm… Nope, sorry. I think I’m going to stay right here for a bit longer, you’re a tough kid, you can take it.”

Yuji squealed again as his stomach was tickled with more vigor.

‘Seriously, brat? He’s not kidding… You really are like a dog who wants his stomach rubbed. The only thing you’re missing is the damn leg kick.’ Sukuna taunted Yuji internally.  

‘Suhuhuhukuna shuhuhuhut up!’ Poor Yuji couldn’t even escape the teasing in his mind.

‘You know you could easily get this to stop, don’t you? Just allow me control and--’

‘Absolutely nahahahat!’

‘Why not? Don’t tell me… you actually ENJOY this, do you?’

‘Ihihihim not gonna lehehehet you hurt him!’

‘How pathetic… you truly are an annoying brat.’

“Nahahahanamihihihi plehehehease!”

The blond relented his attack, allowing the pinkette to catch his breath. “Are you feeling any better yet?” He asked gently, keeping his unofficial son trapped in his grasp as he calmed down.

Yuji nodded, giggling a bit still. “Y-Yeah.. thanks dad.”

Oh fuck.

He didn’t just…

Nanami froze as he heard those words come out of Itadori’s mouth.

Itadori panicked inwardly, his distress making Sukuna chuckle in amusement in the back of his mind. “I-I mean… yeah, thanks dad.” He said much more sarcastically this time, hoping that Nanami would go for it.

He did not. 

“Yuji… did you just… call me dad?”

Yuji felt himself tear up, fearful that he just ruined the relationship he had with Nanami. “Y-Yeah, but I meant it in a joking way.”

Kento frowned, he knew by the way the boy’s voice quivered that he was lying. “Yuji…”

“I-I’m sorry.” Yuji shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to contain his emotions. “I-I didn’t mean to… I-It… It jus-- EEK!”

Yuji shrieked as Nanami resumed his ticklish attack, now holding the teen’s arms above his head and tickling under his arms.

“NAHAHAHAHANAMI?? AHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHYHYHYHYHY ARE YOU TICKLING MEHEHEHE??”

“Because you’re sad again.” Nanami answered simply.

“AHAHAHAHAREN’T YOU MAHAHAHAD AT MEHEHE??”

Nanami leaned down a bit so he could speak directly into Yuji’s ear. “Why would I be mad?” His voice was low and calm, as if he wasn’t completely annihilating Yuji with tickles right now.

“BEHEHEHECAUSE IHIHIHI CALLED YOU-- EeEeEeEeEEEEK!” Yuji shrieked as Nanami blew a raspberry against his neck, cutting him off. “NAHAHAHAHA!!”

“I seem to have missed the part where you did something to make me mad…” Nanami smiled a bit, his fingers not slowing their pace against Itadori’s ticklish armpit whatsoever.

“BUHUHUHUT IHIHI… IHIHI CALLED YOUHUHU DAHAHAD-- AIEEE!”

Itadori was interrupted by another raspberry against his neck. “And?”

“IHIHIHIHIM SOHOHOHORRYEEEEHEHEHEHE!” Yuji shrieked again as he dealt another massive raspberry against his neck. Before he could form semi coherent sentences again, Nanami laid him down on his back on his bed and pinned his arms down above his head.

“Yuji Itadori… If you apologize to me again, you’re going to regret it.” Nanami said sternly, though his green eyes sparkled as his gaze remained gentle on the teen. “My cursed technique isn’t just useful for inflicting pain…It can also be used to make ticklish troublemakers even more ticklish…”

Yuji took a moment to catch his breath, and tried to collect his thoughts before responding. “N-Nanamin… Why aren’t you mad at me…?”

“I told you, you haven’t said anything to upset me.”

“But… I called you… D-Dad… That doesn’t upset you?”

Nanami smiled. “No… It doesn’t.” He let go of Itadori’s arms, and just let him lay there instead.

Yuji frowned, tears quickly flooding his eyes as he looked away. “You can’t possibly mean that… you’re just trying to reassure me-EEEE--” the pinkette squealed and began cackling again as Nanami blew a raspberry on his stomach.

“New rule, every time you apologize for no reason or overthink, I’m going to tickle you.” Kento smirked, watching as the boy composed himself again.

“B-But…”

“Yuji… I’m not just trying to reassure you. I meant that.” Nanami’s voice was gentle as he spoke. “If calling me Dad makes you happy then… you can call me that any time you want.”

Itadori sat up slowly, his eyes still sparkly with tears. “Y-You… really don’t mind?”

“Of course not.” Kento reached forward and wiped Yuji’s tears. “I happen to care about you.”

Welp. That did it… again.

Yuji started sobbing again, leaning forward and burying his face in Nanami’s chest as he ugly cried

Kento pulled him into a comforting hug, rubbing soothing circles into his back. “Shh… It’s okay now… You’re safe.”

‘You truly are a pathetic creature, you know that?’

‘That may be… but at least I’M loved sooo… suck it.’

After a few more minutes Yuji began to calm down, and he pulled back from Nanami. “Thank you… I needed that.” He smiled, wiping his eyes.

“You don’t have to thank me for comforting you, you know…” Nanami mused. “I really don’t mind.”

“Heh… Yeah I guess you’re right… sorry-- EEHEHEHE!” Yuji shrieked as Nanami reached forward and tickled his stomach, after using ratio to make him even more ticklish, of course.

“You never learn, do you?” Nanami sighed, though his words may have come out as disappointed, the playful glimmer in his eyes betrayed him.

It seemed It was going to take some time for Yuji to learn not to be so apologetic and overthink so much, and Nanami was content to keep tickling him until he got that message through his skull… Yuji was also content to let it happen.

[damianito]

The fiancees ♡

[userautumn]

Fact Check & Recap (Oct. 8, 2024):

Mike Johnson, a Republican in the House of Representatives [Legislative Branch, the branch of US Government that has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an Electoral College tie] is hesitant to reconvene the House to provide disaster relief funding until after United States Presidential election, which will occur on November 5th, 2024.

Joe Biden, the current United States President, wrote a letter urging Congress [Congress is comprised of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate takes action on bills, resolutions, amendments, motions, nominations, and treaties by voting] to provide funding to the Small Business Administration's disaster relief loan program to help the effected communities rebuild and cover financial losses due to natural disaster.

Mike Johnson is refusing on the grounds that the individual states which were effected "need some time to [calculate the actual damages]."

Donald Trump and the Republican party are claiming that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is allocating funds toward aiding migrants who are entering the country illegally. This information is false. FEMA and Border Control are two different divisions with two different avenues of funding [FEMA is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, and the funds cannot be reappropriated for another division. Source: Congressional Budget Office; FEMA Hurrican Helene Fact Check Rumor Response]

Mike Johnson is using this lie to divide the American people and to foster a sense of distrust in FEMA, one of the agency's Donald Trump plans to gut and disable through state-by-state privatization once he enacts his harrowing Project 2025 plan.

Johnson has said, "The American people are disgusted by [the Biden Administration allegedly using FEMA money for migrant relocation], up with it, and so are Republicans in Congress. And it will stop after Nov. 5, because we’re going to have unified government with Republicans in charge and we will bring sanity back to this situation.”

Source (NBC News):

Mike Johnson won't commit to bringing House back before the election for more hurricane relief.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Biden urged Congress to restore funding to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program as it faces potential funding shortfalls.

By Summer Concepcion

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday did not commit to calling Congress back into session before the election after President Joe Biden pressed congressional leaders about potential funding shortfalls in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Johnson was asked about Biden’s letter to congressional leaders on Friday requesting more money for federal disaster recovery efforts and after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that the department doesn’t have enough money to get through the rest of hurricane season.

In his letter, the president urged Congress to restore funding to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, which was facing potential funding shortfalls even before Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast. The president noted that the White House requested more funding for the program as Congress prepared a short-term funding bill that passed last month to avert a government shutdown.

Pressed on whether he would call Congress back into session before the election, Johnson replied, “We’ll be back in session immediately after the election.”

“That’s 30 days from now. The thing about these hurricanes and disasters of this magnitude is it takes a while to calculate the actual damages, and the states are going to need some time to do that,” Johnson said, adding that determining “specific needs and requests based upon the actual damages” from natural disasters takes time.

Johnson noted that before Congress went on recess, the day before Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, Congress appropriated $20 billion additional dollars to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address immediate needs.

“Then after that, Congress always takes its the due approach of providing what is necessary,” he said. “Congress will provide. We will help people in these disaster-prone areas. It’s an appropriate role for the federal government, and you’ll have bipartisan support for that, and it’ll all happen in due time, and we’ll get that job done. There shouldn’t be any concern about that.”

Johnson’s comments come after Biden said in remarks at the White House last week he expects to ask Congress for a supplemental funding request for areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

Asked at the time whether he would ask Congress to return from recess for a special session for a supplemental request, the president left the possibility open, saying, “That is something I may have to request, but no decision’s been made yet.”

Congress has taken swift action on funding natural disaster relief efforts in the past even when it was on recess, a Biden administration official noted when reached for comment.

Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Johnson was also pressed about false claims by some Republicans that FEMA was using funds on migrants who have illegally entered the country instead of on the disaster response, which White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called “categorically false” on Friday.

The speaker acknowledged that the streams of funding for the border and hurricane response are different at FEMA before going on to insist that FEMA’s mission is to help people affected by natural disasters, and not engage in funding that helps migrants who crossed the southern border.

Johnson claimed, without evidence, that the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris and Mayorkas “have been engaged in this program,” saying they used taxpayer dollars to assist migrants with resettlement by reimbursing nongovernmental organizations transporting migrants into the country.

“The American people are disgusted by this, up with it, and so are Republicans in Congress,” he said. “And it will stop after Nov. 5, because we’re going to have unified government with Republicans in charge and we will bring sanity back to this situation.”

[anjalikestodraw]

This is a story in three parts. It starts with a random photo of Aubrey Plaza watching basketball that appeared on my Pinterest. Followed by me frantically trying to find where I can buy that merch, because reasons. Just to find out that this was the exclusive cast/crew sweater that people got who worked on Agatha All Along. Thankfully, one of the Marvel peeps auctioned the prototype on eBay (I think it was sold for about $499 o__O) and that listing came with a lovely photo of the design.

And then I sat down for about 5 hours and recreated it based on the original. So here we are.

NOT my design, but had to handraw quite a bit of it, and also sharing with the world because look how pretty that is.

[spirit-of-a-kiger]

I think I found the closest approximation to what centipedes might actually look like in the Digital Circus

The Scolopendra hardwickei, aka Indian tiger centipede

I was scrolling through Morphmarket for pets I can't buy, as ya do, and I saw this:

To me, that just SCREAMS Digital Circus. Plus, it looks a lot like fanart I've seen, so I think that just proves it, lol.

[necrotic-nephilim]

i recently remembered DickTim Week 2024 is happening very soon and i looked at the prompts again to see if i could get anything out for it and. the Hades & Persephone AU prompt for day 1 has got me really thinking so here's a vague concept i plan to write.

i've been pretty burnt out on modern Hades & Persephone retellings because of how they always seem to fall into the same generic "innocent wide-eyed girl runs from her evil mean mother into the arms of a dark mysterious man because actually she went willingly and chose to marry him" which has gotten repetitive for my tastes. (for clarity i don't care if this retelling is your cup of tea personally, so long as you're not actively trying to rewrite the original myth and claim untrue things about it, if this is your favorite flavor i sincerely hope you enjoy the buffet i just have little interest in it since it feels overdone for me and exhausted of it's supposed commentary atp)

but? but. biblically accurate Hades & Persephone AU has me all kinds of interested. because wait listen so hear me out right. Hades!Dick and Persephone!Tim, obviously. i feel it'd be more loosely inspired by with themes and imagery (though playing with death and nature powers could be interesting, i haven't decided) rather than explicitly making them gods and all. but. something dark and fucked up where Dick and Bruce are especially estranged. maybe to do with Jason's return, maybe to do with them just clashing and having their usual explosive arguments. and Bruce knows the peace needs to be kept, if he and Dick are at odds then everyone starts to pick sides and things just fracture so he needs a peace offering.

and the peace offering is Tim.

Bruce (the stand-in for Zeus) offers up Tim. agrees to have Tim move to Bludhaven and be Dick's... whatever Dick wants him to be. knowing that with the implication comes the likelihood of Dick grooming Tim. and Tim has no real say and is hesitant to put up a real fight. he doesn't want this, he knows what this is going to imply Dick will do to him, but he also knows if he says no things have the possibility to just... fall apart. so he's the unwilling bride, dragged off to the metaphorical underworld (Bludhaven) with Dick, away from his family, his friends, the life he built.

and on the flip side, i think weirdly enough, your best pick for the Demeter stand-in is *Jason*. just, hear me out on that. not necessarily on the side of it being motherly, but on Jason being just estranged enough from the Batfamily to be the one willing to call it out for being bad and wrong and raising bloody hell to get Tim back. maybe it's because Jason wants Tim for himself, maybe it's truly out of a concern for Tim to have autonomy, i'm toying with the idea of it primarily being Tim's POV and him genuinely not knowing which of these is true. (and the truth possibly ends up being a complicated middle ground) and because i like Helena, i think you can use her as the Hekate stand in, the one who strikes a tentative alliance with Jason and tries to go find Tim and bring him back. Tim stuck with Dick, getting groomed and hyperaware of it, possibly even getting fucked the whole time as well, knowing he can't go back without causing massive issues for Dick and Bruce because well, Bruce did promise him to Dick. so he has to adjust his whole life, try to figure out being a vigilante in this new city with Dick breathing down his neck the whole time.

and then much like the ending of the myth, a sort of compromise is struck that's a shaky deal for everyone involved. Tim is put on an essential timeshare, going back and forth between Gotham, where he has friends and family and a support system, then getting dragged right back to Bludhaven with Dick in this brutal cycle that he slowly gets used to and stockholm'd into even liking it. Dick isn't so bad, once he gets used to the quirks of their unbalanced 'relationship'. the sex is even something he can adjust to as well. not quite a happy ending but one that sits in this realistic grey area that becomes Tim's life.

i will write this, eventually, but i don't know if i'll get to it before DickTim Week ends so by posting the idea i'm essentially putting it out into the world so the peer pressure holds me accountable. i just. really like the potential of making Hades/Persephone AUs as fucked up as they can be simply by adhering to the source material and making it a raw story of being stolen away and forced to like this new home you didn't ask for.

also a less fleshed-out aspect of this idea i have ties into Persephone becoming the Queen of the Underworld when she's taken and how the transition from Kore to Persephone could be reflected in Tim. how he makes the best of the worst situation and becomes something far more dangerous and dark when he's in Bludhaven, possibly takes on a new vigilante name/identity and leans into the worst quirks of his personality he tries to tamper because there's no point in not going full tilt Obsessively Weird if he has no choice anyway and it being one small way he takes back his autonomy, and that inevitably making Dick *more* into him, because he gets to see Tim finally just. let loose.

[firsttraintovictoriaville]

Debated on whether or not to make this poll or an open-ended question, so why not both? :3c

For me I would vote occasionally but honestly it's more of a no than an occasionally if I'm being honest. For example, everyone I have ever met from Texas IRL has been Jewish and I've met enough to the point where if I never looked at trufax Texan demographics I would have thought they had more Jews than anywhere else in America. Yet, Texas is canonically a Christian and I don't feel the need to change that in my fics and I don't view him as having an ethnic Jewish DNA. Every single Wisconsinite that I've met IRL has been East Asian but to me WTTT Wisconsin is 100% white.

Yet, I maintain the canon of New Mexico being vaguely Latino and view him as 100% Latino in my personal headcanon despite the fact that every single New Mexican I ever met IRL has been white. I maintain the canon of New Jersey being white yet every New Jerseyan I know in real life is Latino.

[onaperduamedee]

Was fooling around with the concept of a WoT modern AU and ended up with a kind of breakdown of characters for adaptation purpose that was quite interesting:

Egwene: ambitious overachiever who got burnt out as a teen, never realized and has never stopped since. Sensible and resilient, but stressed to a degree. Hides it well, especially to herself. Doesn't know when to stop and not overextend herself. Strong sense of justice. She will protect the people under her care no matter what

Nynaeve: her temper is her greatest foe. Struggles to consider a POV other than hers but because she loves you she will put aside the fact that you are wrong. Stubborn and impulsive with zero self-awareness. Will never give up on you and there is nothing that will prevent her from caring. Is the one you want on a roadtrip if you don't mind the occasional commotion she accidentally started

Mat: bit of an edgelord and plays up the edgelord bit. Doesn't have a single goal in life except making money and enjoying himself. Has war tactics as special interest. Will joke and complain, but always help, even strangers, even at great cost for him. Is a magnet for people needing help

Perrin: quiet but a lot is happening inside his mind. Asks himself too many questions and tends to get stuck in his doubts. Solid, devoted and loving, even if he struggles to see himself as such. Sees himself as simple but is remarkably deep. Can be a Mr Grump

Rand: reactive, as a consequence self-isolating. Takes everything personally although he tries to project detachment. Fools no one but his emotions tend to be contagious so he badly needs people with him. Wants to do what is best and puts too much pressure on himself

Moiraine: trust issues. Will not ask for help until she is dying in a ditch. Passive aggressive but genuinely believes in you. Looks detached and in control, but has a short temper and is wracked with doubts. Is tired, doesn't know how to give up. Will be there when you need it most

Siuan: very smart. Is used to be in control and worked very hard to be in control. Down-to-earth and does not tolerate fools. Doesn't old a grudge although she will curse you. The one you want to be in a desperate situation with because she will just not throw in the towel and has a mind for problem-solving

Lan: reliable and caring on the outside, absolute mess on the inside. Will not ask for help, even when the problems become yours. Terrible coping mechanism. Ideal travel companion, especially when the travel is pretty shitty because he will get you through the soldiering on

Thom: weird absent uncle. Dates questionably younger women and disappears sometimes but will look after you when he's there. The one to call for help in a weird questionable situation if you don't want to be judged. If you don't care about being judged call Moiraine and Lan

Elayne: grew up in a very different world and as such can be oblivious to what the reality of the world is. Incapable of gauging danger correctly and as a consequence is absolutely fearless. Can be condescending, but caring and wants to do what is good for the people around her

Aviendha: chill lesbian sports girl. Earnest and devoted. Of few words. Gets bossed around far more than one would expect and doesn't really fight back which is why she makes quick friends with people who kick up a storm

Min: girl who seemed to be very free-thinking and independent on first meeting, but ends up in a conforming mold and you're not quite sure if this is really a choice or she just hung up with people who put her back in what they deemed her place. Very resourceful and friendly

Cadsuane: dopest grandma. Has had the most outrageous life. Mean old bat, but has the living experience that makes the meanness worthwhile. Picks up gadgets and latest technologies line no other although she complains about it

Verin: chill old nerd who enjoys the good simple stuff in life. Seems like a dotty aunt but is actually quite perceptive and sharp when needed. Dont act clever with her: if you think she can be taken for a fool you will lose

Elaida: is supposedly well-intentioned but is so thoroughly trapped in her point of view that she cannot see how wrong she is and how dire the situation is. Always extra and anxious, which is no explosive cocktail

[journey-to-the-attic]

3rd anni req 24: luke / outing

ao3 link

note: okay, so the original request did refer to a restaurant, but i was having trouble figuring out what to write for that setting, so i ended up swapping it - but the scenario still works as a silly little date as specified, so hopefully that's okay!

∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎

“I still don’t get what we’re doing here.”

“You’ll understand as soon as you get in.”

“Are you sure you can’t come with me?”

“So many questions. Yes, I’m sure.” Lucifer sighs. “You’ll have company once you get inside. Call me once you’re finished.”

“...fine.” I huff, allowing him to push me through the door.

A bell rings, and Lucifer nods at me one final time before disappearing back out onto the street. I don’t even know where this is, but this looks like a reception, so I shuffle hesitantly to the demon at the front desk.

She looks up from a notepad as I approach, and offers a friendly smile. “Can I help you?”

My mind blanks. I think Lucifer told me what to say, but—

“IK!”

“Luke?”

“You took ages! I was getting worried.” He turns to the receptionist with a polite cough. “Oh, um, this is the friend I was talking about.”

“I see,” She says with the same smile as before, then indicates a door to her left. “Well, go ahead. Enjoy yourselves.”

“Thank you! IK, come on.”

“What’s going on?” I ask, bewildered, as we step into a finely carpeted hallway. “Is there a party or something?”

“It’s afternoon tea,” He says patiently - as if he’s reminding me of something I already know. “Did you forget?”

“I didn’t know there was anything to forget.”

“Lucifer didn’t tell you?”

“No?”

He stops walking. I do the same. We stare at each other for a moment.

Clearly something’s been lost in communication here. Was Lucifer meant to tell me? He certainly wasn’t acting like he intended to. He’s got to have set this up, right? It’s definitely not a coincidence that Asmo had a new tie for me this morning, either. Maybe everyone’s in on it…

“...well, never mind,” I say after a moment - Luke is beginning to look panicked. “Did you say afternoon tea?”

“Barbatos recommended it. I thought…” He trails off for a moment. “...well, I wanted to try the sweets. And I felt bad about the thing in Enchantments.”

I’d forgotten about that as soon as we left the classroom, to be honest. (I’m not one hundred percent sure I didn’t break something, but Simeon was so quick on the ball with his healing that I couldn’t tell.)

“I did tell you it was fine,” I say, indicating for him to start moving again. “But this is nice. You didn’t invite Simeon?”

“Oh, um… no.” He looks a little embarrassed. “He said he was busy.”

He indicates a door and ushers me into a dainty little parlour room. It’s opulent in a subtle sort of way; the decor is quaint, but it’s clear that whoever owns the place isn’t skimping on costs to keep the charm of the aesthetic up. I recognise those special ambient candles - Asmo uses them for photoshoots, and they definitely don’t come cheap.

One of the chairs is already pulled out, but despite the vast spread of sweets across the table, Luke clearly hasn’t touched anything yet. He shows me the catalogue of teas on offer - the names are so flowery that they all kind of melt together into an indistinguishable haze. Eventually I spot one that I recognise from Barbatos’s own collection, and quickly latch onto it.

“You’re really good at this,” Luke says happily as I pour him a cup. “Oh, wait!”

He leaps up, rounds the table, and quickly pulls out my chair for me with a little bow. “There. Like a gentleman does it.”

“Thanks,” I say with a laugh. “Did Barbatos teach you that?”

Luke returns to his seat, a little pink-cheeked. “Raphael, actually. Okay! Let’s try some of these cakes!”

The menu is extensive: a vast array of confections, iced in a colour wheel of hues, topped with everything from spun sugar to dried fruit to little edible figurines. There are some I recognise - Battenberg, castella, chiffon, babka - and even more that I don’t.

Most of them are rendered in miniature form, so that as many can be sampled as possible, with the exception of the house special. This one is a pure Devildom creation, though it looks to me a lot like a Swiss roll with an especially large, almost dizzying swirl. It feels like I’ll fall into it if I stare too long…

“Look at the rise on that,” Luke says in awe, holding up one of the ones I don’t recognise. “They’re so teeny, but they look absolutely perfect. Mm! It’s not sour at all, either! Mine always come out too tart.”

“Hey, I know this one.” I pick out a little rectangular one with layers of puff pastry. “This guy’s French. I think it’s called mille-feuille.”

“Mille-feuille,” Luke repeats, then giggles. “That’s fun, isn’t it? Mille-feuille.”

“A lot of these are French, actually,” I ponder, pointing at several in quick succession. “Eclairs, macarons, and… well, we call those French fancies, but I don’t think they actually are. You call all these petits fours.”

“Petits fours,” He copies, then draws out the vowels a bit more. “Petits fours.”

“Petits fours,” I agree.

“Petits fours...”

We pass the words back and forth, making it a little more French each time, until the consonants completely disappear and we’re practically just cawing at each other, and finally reduce ourselves to laughter.

“You’re good!” I manage once we’ve calmed down enough. “Your French is really good!”

“Is it?” He takes a few deep breaths and grins helplessly across the table. “I was just copying you.”

“You do it better than I do, I reckon. Whew…” I compose myself with a sip of tea. “And you don’t even have France in the Celestial Realm. Actually, the Devildom doesn’t, either, so what’re all these French sweets doing here?”

“Maybe they’re just that good! Actually, even in the Celestial Realm, human-world sweets are even more popular than our traditional ones.”

“The French do really know how to bake. It might the second best thing they do. After revolution.”

“Revolution?”

“And chopping people’s heads off.”

“What?”

“Did I never tell you about the guillotines?”

I wouldn’t have blamed him for asking me to stop (we’re eating, after all), but Luke listens to the whole history lesson with starry-eyed fascination, and it doesn’t stop him from sampling a mini madeleine and two financiers while he’s listening. Morbid history is much more Belphie’s thing, but Luke asks questions even he hadn’t thought of - like how long the heads stayed ‘awake’ for after they were cut off, which is possibly the most unsettling way he could have phrased it.

A year or so ago, I don’t think he could’ve gotten past de Launay’s head being on a pike. I don’t think I could’ve identified nearly as many of the cakes laid out in front of us, either. (Now that I think about it, it’s a shame there isn’t any angel cake.) Clearly we’ve had very different effects on each other.

Once I’ve exhausted about as much of the history lesson as I can recall, it’s Luke’s turn to tell me about the time a seraph, pursued by some heavenly equivalent of a polar bear, crossed the entire Celestial Realm thrice over in a trial of justice and courage. Though the point seems to be more about the spectacle - and it sounds more like the seraph Uriel just did it for fun. A trial of courage probably doesn’t involve pole-vaulting over a perfectly level field.

Somehow, no matter how long we talk, the sweets never get sickly, for all there are so many of them. I really must have learnt something from Barbatos; something about the occasional sip of tea stops the cakes from getting too cloyingly sweet. Still, eventually we’ve both had enough for the day.

I can’t say I’m not worried about all the sugar - but somehow I don’t feel the buzz as we keep talking, either. Maybe it’s cancelling out, somehow. It’s easy to keep up the energy with such good company.

Luke excuses himself to go ask for something, and it’s only once the room is silent that I realise how much time we’ve whiled away. I decide to shoot Lucifer a message - because he likes to fret about timings, even if he denies it - just to let him know that we’re still doing fine.

As soon as I press send, there’s a muffled musical note from somewhere suspiciously close by. I pause, then turn around. There’s a large potted plant blocking the window from the direct view of the table.

I narrow my eyes. Then I get up, round the table, side-step aside the potted plant, look out through the window - and make direct eye contact with Simeon.

He, at least, has the grace to look embarrassed. Lucifer, standing plainly beside him, does not; he just raises an eyebrow at me and jerks his head, as if to say ‘continue’.

I don’t know whether or not to be annoyed at him. Actually, I still don’t know why he made such a performance of getting me here in the first place. ‘Do you want to go to a sweets parlour with Luke?’ would have been a perfectly fine way to set it up. Did he think the fancy hotel would intimidate me too much?

Luke isn’t back yet. I unfasten the latch and open the window, half-expecting them both to disappear, then hiss, “I thought you were busy.”

Simeon smiles sheepishly. “I wanted to make sure things were going well.”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

“Oh, no, just for a few minutes. There’s a little cafe just out front. We were having coffee…”

“And spying on us.”

He winces a little. “That’s a strong word.”

I turn to Lucifer, who still doesn’t look as if he thinks he’s done anything wrong. “Why wouldn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“I thought it might spoil the surprise,” He says lightly. “Well? Are you having fun? Is Luke behaving himself?”

Simeon shoots him a look. “Of course he is."

“I’m afraid I wasn’t asking you.”

“We’re having fun,” I interject, exasperated. “Lucifer, behave.”

He quirks a brow and folds his arms. “That’s an odd way to speak to the demon who’s paying for this.”

“Don’t listen to him, IK,” Simeon says. “We agreed to split the bill.”

“If you’re so quick to make corrections, perhaps you should pay for the whole—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I announce. “Go do something fun, alright? I’ll save you some cake.”

I shut the window (Simeon waves a little meekly), then draw both the blinds and the thick velvety curtains for good measure. To be honest, without magic, there’s very little I could do about them eavesdropping if they really wanted to, but it’s better for all of us if they just listen.

I’d better light some more of these candles, too. It’s kind of dark in here now.

Luke returns just as I’m done doing that. He shuts the door behind him, then pauses. “...what’s this?”

“There, uh… there were a lot of people walking by the window.” He might start panicking if I told him the truth. Or, worse, get mad, and storm off to chew Simeon out. “It was kind of dark, so…”

“Oh! Right.” He coughs and comes further into the room. He seems a little flushed. “Ahem, anyway, I asked, and all the cakes come with the package, so we can take the ones we don’t finish home. I got some bags from the front desk - they’re really cute.

“Alright… are we leaving?”

“Well, we don’t have to. The lady at the desk said the room wasn’t booked for the rest of the afternoon. I was just thinking…”

“I could put on a bit more tea,” I suggest. “Barbatos says the neptune-blue is good for talking after sweets. If you’re not sick of me, I mean.”

He beams. “Come on, I could never get sick of you. Yeah, let’s stay a little longer!”

[melien]

Jena💚

[sukibenders]

I find it real funny how some HOTD fans will rally behind the notion of Luke (+ Jace and Joffery) being BOTH Rhaenyra's and Daemon's sons, but will be real quiet when you bring up on, in the same regards, Baela and Rhaena are also Rhaenyra's daughters. Like they will spin their words in so many ways, trying to paint it as if they aren't throwing aside these two main black characters and it shows. Following the logic of Rhae's oldest sons being Daemon's as well, why do so many believe that without Visenya Rhaenyra no longer has a daughter? She has two now, who I'm sure she even considers as such, so what's the problem with the fandom? Hmm? 🤨.

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

there's so many del conversations i really fucking love and wanted to put my own spin on before we get an officially cast delirium, so starting off with this fun one from kindly ones!

(i have also started a del themed tiktok bc i have a lot more audio/video stuff in the works, so if you're interested you can find this video cross-posted here)

[ghetto-omega]

"Incredibly common white people space" is so true

Like no shade to white people fr but as someone who is poc, I'm always like- "man.. where's the bipoc 😭"

It doesn't make feel lonely but I'd definitely feel less? Alienated if there was more melanin in the both the misces and alterhu communities

Yes absolutely !! I'm still so afraid of talking about any serious experiences I've had as a black person on here, I just don't wanna be alienated anymore than I already am both IRL and online 😭🤚🏾 it's just the little things that make you feel estranged, like if I use a lot of AAVE in a post it never gets as much interaction as it would if I just talked "properly".

Like I'm already stepping so far out of my comfort zone just making my blackness known, and like.. kinda a central part of my blog !! I just really hope other POC/BIPOC take a little comfort in it maybe U⁠^⁠ｪ⁠^⁠U

Besides, I'm having a lot of fun here !! Even tho I have a couple miscecanis friends irl, they've never been really interested in the world building side of things so I'm glad I get to share it with people who DO care about that lol

Thanks for the ask anon, I love you I love you I love you U｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡U