#and he's currently working on getting the others dropped

[luvyeni]

ALL FOR YOU 𝕼. ( 이민형 )

𝓲𝓲 ㅤ𓈒ㅤ𓈒𓈒 ( 이민형 x fem!reader )   ─── ❛ genre ⸝⸝ smut. content warning. idol!mark x idol!reader, unprotected sex , oral ( f ) , little bit of jealousy word count. 2.5k 「 req? ⦂ yes/no 」 library  !

synopsis … you knew mark and you would eventually cross paths; being in the same company and all — but this , this was stressing you out.

𝕼 ㅤ𓈒ㅤ𓈒 yeni’s note .ᐟ this one i like , so good job to me …

you knew mark and you would eventually cross paths; being in the same company and all — but this , this was stressing you out…

“okay yn since you’re the youngest; you can pair up with jisung since he’s also the youngest.” you and the tall boy exchanged small awkward smiles. “aren’t they so cute together?” you heard yuna whisper to mark; you boy next to you clearly heard because he started to turn a deep shade of red — not cause he liked you, but because knew you were with mark.

you and mark met when you were still a trainee under sm. you’d accidentally walked into the wrong practice room, mark so happened to be in there… to say you were embarrassed was an understatement. he found it cute and endearing, watching you scramble to find the right words — but all you could manage was a small squeak.

from that day on; he tried to seek you out, finding you in the practice room, pretending to be confused. looking for you in the cafeteria where you sat with the other trainees and future group mates. he never said anything, no, he didn’t want to get you in trouble; but that didn’t stop him from looking; and falling for what he saw.

he knew what he was getting himself into when he asked you out; he was not only asking someone younger than him, but his junior at that — he was asking for trouble, but he couldn’t help it. he liked you so much and you liked him.

your debut was announced about a month after you and mark began to secretly date, he was so excited for you; that was also the first time you two had sex and it was mind blowing.

you both didn’t want anyone to found out about your relationship; but unfortunately haechan has the code to mark’s apartment and loves to show up announced sometimes — and after a awkward first meeting with haechan and you, and mark pinning him down to the floor to get him shut his mouth; he promised not to tell staff… but that didn’t stop him from telling the other dreamies.

you decided to not tell your members at all — which you are currently regretting. “mark is kinda cute don’t you think?” yuna sat next to you as you sat down for a quick break. “huh?” you said. “and he so obviously wants me, you see how low his hands went.” you followed her gaze to your boyfriend who was talking to your manager. “he wants me for sure, should i ask for his number?”

you were stunned; how do you answer that question? “um i don’t think that’s a good idea , we really aren’t supposed to be dating.” you said , how ironic. “besides he’s probably already in a relationship.” you said , hoping she’d drop it, the jealousy starting to boil inside your stomach. “so innocent yn , of course he doesn’t a guy as fine as he is , he’s probably fucking all around world he has no time to have a girl waiting for him.” she stood up ; walking away leaving you with a heavy heart and green with jealousy. “i have to use the bathroom.” you got up. “hurry back, we have to practice , this collab has to be perfect.” yuna said , nodded walking out the room.

more like slamming the door behind you in marks eyes. “what’s wrong with her?” haechan asked. “did you two fight?” the elder shook his head; in fact he just talked to you before you guys met up and you seemed excited to be working with him and his group. “her and member seemed to be having a conversation before she stormed out , maybe they’re having a argument.” jaemin said. “should i go after her?” mark asked; normally he wouldn’t ask a question like that, he’d just go, but there were a bunch of staff and cameras around he didn’t want anyone catching on. “duh , go.” chenle said. “we’ll make sure no one finds out anything.”

he nodded , standing up walking out the door. “hey mark.” yuna batted her eyelashes at the boy. “hi.” was all he said before leaving out to find you.

why were you even mad? you could’ve told her and ended it there. you just didn’t want to jeopardize your careers and ruin your groups reputation, you were still in your early parts of your career. “get it together, you’re a professional.” you said to yourself before walking out of the bathroom , only to be pushed back in.

“mark what the hell?” you shrieked. “did anyone see you?” you questioned. “what’s wrong?” mark said , looking into your eyes; his filled with worry. “nothing im fine.” you tried to walk out but he grabbed your wrist. “mark.” you frowned. “tell me what’s wrong , the way you slammed that door.” he said. “did you and your member have a fight?” he asked. “no.” you trailed off. “then what is it?”

“its stupid.” you whispered , eyes to the floor. “hey.” he grabbed your chin, lifting your head up. “nothing you feel is stupid to me.” his hand covered your cheek, caressing it softly. “so tell me what’s wrong baby.” you sighed before speaking up. “it’s yuna , she likes you.” you said. “she wants to ask for your number.”

he didn’t want to laugh, but the cute pout on your lips as you spoke, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “are you laughing at me?” you asked. “i told you it was stupid , let me go.” you pulled away from him , but he grabbed you , pulling you close to wrap his arms around you. “you’re just too cute baby , so jealous and so cute.” he said. “it’s not funny , i told her you probably have a girlfriend and you know what she said.” he smiled listening to you ramble. “she said there’s no way a guy as fine as you are isn’t fucking all around the world.”

“she said that?” he said; of course that wasn’t true. “yeah , can you believe it.” you said. “and i guess she wants to be next.” you pouted, slapping his arm. “don’t say it like it could be a possibility mark.” he winced , rubbing the spot. “baby you know it’s not a possibility, not even a 0.01% chance i would do that,” he said. “you sure?” he giggled, kissing your pouty lips. “100%.” you smiled. “now stop pouting and let’s get back to the practice room before they start to question our whereabouts.”

“wanna stay here with you.” you said , he smiled. “come over tonight , and you’ll have me all to yourself yeah?” he had you pinned against the sink. “you’d like that?” you bit your lip nodding. “yeah.” he was about to pull you into a kiss — when you both got a ping on your phones. he groaned , pulling away from you. “we have to go.” you said. “why now when im so hard,” he said. “just 5 more minutes.” your phones going off again. “i don’t think we can.” you said. “let’s go before they send a search party.”

you made your return first; coming up with a excuse to tell your leader; luckily she didn’t question it. “just get in line and get ready.” you nodded , standing next to jisung. “happy now?” he smirked , you rolled your eyes , pushing him. “look who’s back.” mark made his way back inside the room. “there were people at the vending machine,” he said. “at the vending machines and yet not a single snack or anything.” haechan said. “i ate it on the way back.” he gritted through his teeth , silently threatening the boy. “okay , okay let’s get back to practice.” the choreographer said ; mark giving you a quick glance and a wink making you smile as the music started.

“good job everybody.” the choreographer said; mark watched you begin to pack up. “here.” someone shoved a piece of paper in his face. “uh.” he looked up, yuna staring him in the face. “it’s my number.” she said. “oh , i don’t think — yuna lets go.” your leader called out for the girl. “here.” she dropped it in his hand making her way out ; you watched the whole thing. “yn.” he called out. “bye.” you gave him a tight lipped smile as you made your way out. “she’s jealous.” jeno said. “yeah no shit.” he tossed the paper in the trash.

“baby please talk to me.” you sat on his bed later that night , arms folded stubbornly against your chest. “you know what she did as soon as we got back to the dorms?” you said. “she went on and on how you couldn’t keep your eyes off of her boobs , how you were definitely into her and you taking her number solidified that.” you spat out , he laid against the headboard , his hand coming up to your thigh. “baby i told you i wasn’t , i threw the number away.” he whined. “and i wasn’t looking at her boobs , i was looking past her , looking at your boobs.”

“now isn’t the time for jokes mark.” you said flatly , trying to hold back a smile. “but it got you to smile.” he pulled you back against a smile. “mark.” he kissed behind your ear. “i don’t want anyone else but you.” he whispered, knowing what it did to you. “you’re so cute when you’re jealous , huffing and puffing.” he said , hands traveling down to your side. “makes me so hard.” he turned your head around, pulling you into a heated kiss.

he slipped his tongue inside your mouth , both of you moaning into the kiss , he flipped you over so he was on top. “so fucking pretty.” he dipped inside your neck. “you don’t know what you do to me , how much i wanted to pull you away from jisung.” he groaned. “his hands were too low on you.” he growled. “se-seems like you were jealous too.” you whimpered , he bit down on your neck. “fuck mark don’t leave any marks.” he licked the spot on your neck. “fuck of course i was jealous baby , i wanted to dance with you , not her.” he gripped your waist tightly. “all i could think about is you while dancing.”

he kissed down the valley of your breast. “the way you looked.” *kiss* “the way you talked.” *kiss* “the way you smelled.” he gave you one final kiss. “fuck and the way you taste.” he pulled your leggings down your legs , spreading them open. “ma-mark i need you.” you desperately mewled. “yeah?” he smirked. “need me to lick your pretty pussy.” he kissed your clothed cunt. “mhm pl-please.” he pulled your panties to the side; his cock twitching in his sweats. “look how wet you are.” he groaned. “all this for me baby?” you nodded , he gave your clit another kiss. “mhm fuck , you taste so good.” he dove into your heat , passionately licking your folds. “ma-mark , fuck that feels good.”

he hummed against your heat , holding your legs apart as he feverishly licked your folds. “fuck , fuck keep going.” your hand tangled up into his hair as your hips bucked up involuntarily. “fuck mark im gonna cum.” he replaced his mouth with his fingers , pushed two inside. “you’re so wet , gonna cum for me?” you nodded , the knot in your belly getting tighter. “cum for me then , be a good girl and cum for me.” you gasped out , the knot finally snapping as you came all over her fingers. “good fucking girl.” his voice filled with lust. “made such a mess on my fingers.”

he pushed his fingers into his mouth, moaning at the taste of you on his tongue. “so sweet.” he said. “like fucking candy baby.” he untied the string to his sweats , pulling them down just enough to free his fully erected cock. “look how hard i am for you.” he pressed his tip against your hole. “only get like this for you.” he slowly slid inside you. “fuck mark , so-so big.” you moaned , he grunted. “sh-shit baby you’re so tight.” his cock slowly filling you up , his cock kissing your cervix. “love this pussy so much.”

he pulled out , stopping at the tip; pushing himself all the way in. “so so much.” he groaned. “mark faster.” you moaned. “faster?” he said , speeding up. “yes like that.” your fingers running through his hair. “no need to be jealous baby , it’s all for you.” he groaned. “all mines.” he groaned as you tugged at his hair. “it’s yours.” he whispered in your ear. “so take what’s yours baby.”

he pulled out of you; laying back letting you climb into his lap. “ride me baby , ride your cock.” he groaned as you held the base of his cock , sinking down on him. “fuck mark.” he watched in awe as you rode him; bouncing up and down on his length. “fuck that feels good princess , ride me , ride it like you own me.” he held your waist as you worked his cock. “fuck baby im about to cum.” he moaned out. “no-not yet , almost there.” you stuttered , legs faltering. “fuck , fuck mark im about to cum.”

he held your hips , bucking up into your needy cunt. “fuck baby cum.” he groaned. “cum.” both of you moaning out as you came at the same time , your head dropping in between his neck. “b-baby don’t leave any marks , my manager will kill me.” he sighed , loving the feeling on his lips … okay maybe he can’t take the scolding.

“what were you thinking , the makeup artist is gonna kill you if that isn’t gone by the performance.” you heard his manager scolding him as your group walked into the practice room. “next time at least put it somewhere no one can see.” the older man shook his head in disappointment. “so irresponsible.” you chuckled , covering your smile. he looked at you frowning. “guess he had too good of a time last night.” your other member said. “guess yuna was wrong.” you looked at yuna who looked upset upon seeing the mark on his neck. “let’s just get this over with.” she said stomping away; your other member was chuckling. “don’t worry she’ll get over it , if not oh well.” she said. “and don’t you laughed too much.” she turned to you. “what are you talking about?”

she rolled her eyes. “you think im dumb , if you aren’t careful you’ll be getting a scolding just like he is.” she said. “at least he’s smart enough to put it somewhere no one can see.” she walked away leaving you stunned; mark looking at you curiously. “what?” he mouthed , you pointed to your member. “she knows.” you mouthed back, he shrugged. “tell them all.”

guess it’s time to tell your members the truth.

©️LUVYENI

[tetsuswaifu]

Slap Ass Friday (Haikyuu! x Reader) - Pt. 2

a/n: had to continue this series with some of my other faves. there's an explanation to this idea in my author notes in part 1 if you haven't already read. masterlist still currently in the works, currently trying to post every sunday

word count: 1223

likes, reblogs, replies, and requests are always appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read my work :)

warnings: suggestive content, spanking

Part 1, Part 2

・❥・Miya Atsumu ・❥・

The sharp squeak of sneakers against the gym floor grew louder as you stepped inside, each stride bringing you closer to the volleyball court, minding your own business. Out of nowhere, a sharp smack stung your backside, making you yelp in surprise. Whipping around, you found your boyfriend, Atsumu, standing a few feet away, hands on his hips and a wide, toothy grin stretched across his face.

"Miya Atsumu!" you barked, glaring daggers at him as your face burned. Your face twitched slightly as you tried to hold back the smile threatening to creep in.

"Relax, darlin'!'' he said, holding his hands up in mock innocence. "It's slap ass Friday! I can't not participate in the tradition, especially if my girlfriend is caked up like the baddie she is," he winked.

"That is not an excuse!" you snapped, now smiling as you marched toward him.

"C'mon, it was just a lil' tap!" he teased, laughing as he sidestepped your attempt to hit his ass back. "Ain't my fault ya got such a smackable—"

"Finish that sentence, and I'll make sure you don't forget what Friday's are all about," you warned, cutting him off.

Atsumu laughed even harder, backing up as you lunged at him. "Yer cute when yer mad, ya know that?" he called over his shoulder, making a quick retreat toward the entrance of the court.

"Get back here, you coward!"

"Catch me if ya can, babe!" he shouted, jogging away with that infuriating grin plastered on his face, fully enjoying the chase.

You eventually gave up after running up and down the court a few times, panting as he doubled over in laughter. "I hate you," you muttered in between breaths, though the smile tugging at your lips betrayed your words.

"Ya love me," winking again with a wide smile, still completely unrepentant.

・❥・Miya Osamu ・❥・

You were halfway through rearranging your books in your locker when you felt a sharp, unexpected slap on your butt. Spinning around as you held rear end, you found Osamu standing there, munching on a rice ball with his free hand, looking infuriatingly calm.

"Osamu!" you whisper-yelled, your eyes wide as you looked around if anyone else saw. Luckily, no one even had batted an eye.

He glanced at you with a casual raise of his brow, chewing thoughtfully. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me! Did you just—"

"It's Friday," he interrupted, as if that explained everything.

You blinked, your jaw dropping slightly. "That doesn't give you the right to—"

"It's slap ass Friday," he clarified, his tone deadpan, though the faint smirk tugging at his lips gave him away. "Tradition."

You exhaled sharply, pressing your fingers to your temples. "Unbelievable."

Osamu leaned against the lockers beside you, leaning towards you, watching your reaction with quiet amusement. "You're not that mad though, are ya?" he asked, his voice low and teasing.

"Don't push your luck, 'Samu," you muttered, though your cheeks burned at his smirk.

He let out a quiet chuckle, his voice dipping even lower as he leaned in more, mere centimeters from your lips. "Guess I'll be seein' ya next Friday."

・❥・Iwaizumi Hajime ・❥・

You were lazily scrolling through your phone while walking to your next period, completely oblivious to the sharp-eyed boy trailing behind you.

Iwaizumi had been watching you from a few paces back, the faintest smirk playing on his lips. It was Friday after all, and he had an opportunity too perfect to pass up.

Just as you rounded the corner near the lockers, you felt it: a sudden spank on your butt that had you freezing mid-step. The sting barely registered before you spun around, your eyes wide with a mix of shock and indignation.

He stood frozen a few feet away, his hand still raised as if caught in the act. His smirk immediately gave way to panic as he saw the fire in your eyes. "W-what? It's slap ass Friday babe!" he blurted out, already stepping back defensively.

"Excuse me?!" you huffed, crossing your arms. "What makes you think you get a free pass to do that?!"

He groaned, his free hand shooting to the back of his neck as he avoided your glare. "You literally said it was fine last time," he muttered under his breath, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks.

You raised an eyebrow. "I said it was fine with a warning! Not—" You gestured to wildly at him, "—this ambush!"

"Well, sorry for making it fun," he quipped, but the redness in his face betrayed the cool exterior he was trying to maintain.

"You're impossible." You let out an exasperated sigh, but the corner twitched upward in amusement. He looked like a puppy that had just been scolded for chewing up your shoes.

"Alright, alright," he relented, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Next time, you'll get a heads up."

"I'll believe it when I see it," you retorted, brushing past him, though the faint smile on your face gave away that you weren't entirely mad.

The following week, you were standing with a group of friends, distracted by conversation. Iwaizumi slid into the seat next to you, casual as ever, but leaned in closer than usual. You turned your head, confused, only for him to murmur two words that sent you into fight-or-flight mode:

"Brace yourself."

"What—"

Before you could finish the question, he was already jogging off, throwing you a grin over his shoulder as you yelled his name loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.

It was a game to him now. And while you hated to admit it, you didn't really mind being the target.

・❥・Oikawa Tōru ・❥・

You had just stepped out into the courtyard when you heard someone shout, "Y/N-chan! Watch out!"

Before you could even process the warning, a loud slap echoed across the yard. You gasped at the fiery sting on your ass and turned around to see your boyfriend standing a few feet away, grinning like he’d just won a trophy.

"Tōru!" you shouted, your face burning as a few students nearby snickered.

"Babe, it's slap ass Friday you know!" he said dramatically, pointing at you like he'd just revealed some universal truth.

"Who even made up this stupid rule?!" you shot back, taking a step toward him, your glare promising revenge.

"You're wasting time yelling when you should be chasing me!" he teased, already jogging backward with that signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Come back here, you absolute ass!" you yelled, immediately taking off after him. He darted through the crowd with skillful footwork, weaving between classmates and laughing loudly every time you got close.

When you finally cornered him near the vending machines, you were panting and fuming. Oikawa held up his hands in surrender, still smirking. "Alright, alright, I admit it—I deserved to be chased. But you can't deny that was a perfect hit."

"Oh, I can deny it," you huffed, reaching out to smack his shoulder. He dodged at the last second, laughing as you glared at him.

"Don't be mad, Y/N-chan," he said, leaning in with an overly sweet smile. "It's all in good fun, right?"

"You're lucky I don't trip you next time, Tōru," you muttered, though a small grin tugged at your lips.

"Next time?" he echoed, grinning wider. "Does that mean you're already looking forward to next Friday?"

"You're impossible, you know that?"

tetsuswaifu © do not modify, repost, translate, copy or use my post in any way. all that is included in this post, aside from the fictional characters and universes, belong to @tetsuswaifu

[stevie-petey]

Had an idea and wanted to pester you about it (I’m kidding, I hope I’m not actually pestering you). What if you were to write a cute snow day blurb for Stug? Set in between S3 and S4? I ask because it’s currently snowing where I’m at and just thought “dang, that’d be so cute.”

you could never pester me i loooove answering blurbs <33 now if i may pester you i changed the timeline to between seasons 2 and 3 because i couldnt resist the idea of pre-dating steve n bug playing in the snow together n being all shy n cutie ugh

enjoy !

"its snowing," steve leans your desk chair back, nearly tipping over completely as he peers out your window. "like. a lot."

theres a mound of assignments on your desk and you only spare a quick glance outside. "oh," your absent minded tone doesnt go unnoticed by steve. "thats nice."

he narrows his eyes. "i thought you loved snow."

"i do," this time more genuineness comes through your voice. you look outside again and ache when you see just how snow has fallen. "but..."

your head tilts down to the work scattered between you and steve. youre insanely behind on calculus assignments and steve has a lab report three weeks overdue and today is the first real day your injuries from demodogs and billy have healed enough to even attempt to understand what a derivative is.

jonathan is stuck at home taking care of will and promised you hed help you with the math as soon as he was able, but now, with all the snow that inevitably will block the roads, you know youre doomed.

steve sees the stress that tenses your spine and an idea pops into his head. he snatches the homework from you and is running out of your room.

"what the-?" but hes already gone, annoyingly fast when he wants to be.

you run after steve, having no other option, really, and find him and dustin rushing to put their coats on.

"shes here!" dustin screeches when he sees you. he shoves at steve, urging him to hurry up, and your mother watches fondly from the kitchen.

you push past your brother. "what is happening?"

steve zips up coat and winks at you, giving no response other than flinging the front door open and chasing dustin through the snow. theyre gone in a heartbeat, giggling like children as they fucking prance through the falling snow.

"id join them if i were you, y/n." your mom says with a slight chuckle. "steve told me to hide your homework until you were 'soaked in snowflakes'."

your jaw drops. "mom-"

"im sorry, sweet girl." she laughs at you now. "blame that handsome boy of yours and go play with your brother outside. itll be good to get some fresh air!"

"but-"

"wear a coat!"

and then your mother shuts her bedroom door, leaving you to watch steve tackle dustin into the snow as they shriek and wrestle in the slippery ground.

"my eye!" steve squeals in pain, rolling around, and dustin giggles menacingly. feeling your eyes on him, steve flings a distressed hand towards you. "y/n, help a guy out here, would ya?"

even though he cant see you, you still roll your eyes at steve. dustin echoes his own sentiments of wanting you to join. the boys plead with you over and over and youre weak to them.

sighing, you grab your heaviest coat. "if either one of you even thinks about tackling me, youre dead."

dustin salutes you. "yes, ma'am."

you help steve up. his hand is cold and his nose red and eyes shining and you cant help but giggle slightly at the sight of him. theres flecks of snow that line his brown hair and hes a delicate kind of pretty that rivals the spiral of snowflakes.

"saved me again, angel." he winks at you again, causing you to blush.

"shut up." you shove at his chest, avoiding his tender eyes. they reveal more to you than you know hes ready to admit.

steve laughs and dustin throws a snowball at your face and everything is warm and soft.

-

﹂blurb masterlist

﹂if youd like to buy me a coffee ☕︎

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 66 Trepidation Posting

Well, dear void... I begged for Seitei War lore and a finger curled on the monkey's paw. Where to even begin?

Rough TL of the editor's notes:

First Page: 封じられた記憶… [fuji rareta kioku...] "Sealed memories..." Last Page: 妖刀も妖術もなくただその剣技で- [yoto mo yojutsu mo naku tada sono kengi de-] "No enchanted blades, no sorcery, just swordsmanship-"

Iori Lore and Dad Stuff

What a cute creature.

Her fake last name is Yoshiura (吉浦): 吉 (yoshi) for good luck/joy and 浦 (ura) for bay/creek/inlet. Nothing particularly interesting or exciting about it but it has a nice sentiment.

I'm in a better headspace now so I can do some thinking that needed to be done last week. Let's take some notes about the current arc and it's continued focus on one of Kagurabachi's key themes: Daddy Issues™.

Chihiro: lost his dad through tragedy, memories haunt and drive him. Was loved dearly and loved his father back in return. Acting on his grief in violent ways.

Hakuri: lost his dad through abuse, let go of his memories and found closure on that front. Was loved dearly then discarded but never stopped loving his dad.

Iori: lost her dad through his own guilt, trying to recover her memories of him. Was loved dearly and seemed to love him back in return. The memories she had with him were so upsetting that she passed out when she got them back.

Hiruhiko: mostly unknown right now, but clearly special to John and spoiled a bit by him. Surprisingly wholesome relationship despite how unhinged he is. If he was truly adopted like many fans think then John was probably a doting dad from the start.

So the "similar" traits based on what we know are...

Lost Their Dad: Chihiro, Hakuri, Iori

Dad Murdered/Killed: Chihiro, Hakuri

Dad Deliberately Abandoned Them: Hakuri, Iori

Were Always Loved by Their Dad: Chihiro, Hiruhiko, Iori

Dad was Burdened by Guilt: Chihiro, Iori

And the "unique" traits are...

Abused by Their Dad: Hakuri

Clings to Memory of Dead Dad: Chihiro

Dad Forgot About Them: Iori

Spoiled Brat Thanks to Dad: Hiruhiko

Chihiro and Iori are the ones being directly compared right now. They both lost their fathers, but Samura's a real piece of work compared to what we know about Kunishige. He chose to forget her in order to protect her whereas Kunishge went into hiding to stay with Chihiro. One child forgotten on purpose, one clinging to memories because that's all he has left.

Yeah, Samura's not winning any "Best Dad" awards any time soon- but it's hard to blame him when we see what the family was enduring because of his reputation after the war. Any half-decent parent wants their kid to grow up without having to see that kind of stuff. Samura just let guilt have too much influence over his choice on how to manage it, in my opinion. Kids should have a bit of say in how they're raised too. Not a lot but at least enough be able to feel seen and heard.

As for the other two, Hakuri and Hiruhiko are in pretty good shape. Hakuri's still smarting over the loss of his dad most likely, but he got the catharsis he was craving when Kyora finally acknowledged him right before he died. That particular wound can start to close up and heal as Hakuri moves on through the story, unlike Chihiro and Iori's at present. And Hiruhiko seems to be in the best spot out of the four as John's special little guy who can do whatever he wants. Spoiling kids isn't being a good parent but Hiruhiko's in a pretty good state all things considered- probably the best out of the four. We have plenty more to dig in with him so this'll get revisited once development happens or new information drops.

But yeah. Chihiro being rightfully angry at Samura for deciding to sever the parent/child bond so lopsidedly tracks with his unresolved trauma. Of course he thinks he wouldn't want to change a thing about living with his father. He's still deep in mourning and floundering in the morass of grief he uses to push himself forward. I wonder if we'll get commentary on this at some point... it's such a core aspect to his personality and the story that it might be saved for the end.

Iori's choice is left for another chapter but I have a feeling she'll agree with Chihiro and keep the memories despite the pain and danger they bring. Samura's guilt needs to be addressed and the daughter he chose to forget should have the biggest part in confronting him about it! The story can become an escort mission of sorts to keep Iori safe until that happens, which leads to easy action so hooray for us.

Perception and Being Perceptive

Yeah, he is. But that's not all.

And here we go, we're back to how people look at Chihiro and judge him without knowing the truth. Samura, Kunishige, and the other Bearers are "heroes" who seem to have some rather serious crimes buried in their pasts. Chihiro is a "murderer" stricken with grief killing those who try to destabilise society. Simple, no-frills parallels between guys drowning in guilt that anyone can pick up on.

What else is going on here? Well, those who were saying the hotel was inspired by John Wick are almost certainly correct with sorcery and fights being forbidden within it's walls. The Manager and his staff/followers enforce this with his own sword technique: Reigen One Sword School/Style (no relation to Reigen Arataka of Mob Psycho 100 fame). 礼 (rei): salute, thanks, gratitude, etiquette 玄 (gen): mysterious, occultness, profound

How... polite?

No, that's not Kumeyuri, and anyone who asks gets a bonk on the head for not paying attention.

Small note that wasn't kept in EN: Hiruhiko refers to Toto as "Toto-san", which is cute. He respects her and/or she's older than him.

Of course Toto summons Hiruhiko in so he can begin his own training arc by facing off against the hotel's staff. The bloody pin being used to tie his hair back will definitely not inspire a ton of fan art, trust me. It will be a Hiruhiko-free week everywhere (RIP my feeds). But Hiruhiko's really racking up the service industry experience between being bonded to Kumeyuri with it's geisha spirits and learning how to fight from hotel employees using a polite sword fighting technique.

Other than that, it's not clear if Kuguri's in this hotel or not but chances are extremely good that we'll get more hot-blooded action next chapter as Hiruhiko and Chihiro both learn by doing. Maybe they'll meet again, maybe not. The only guaranteed thing is that Sumi and Moku are wasting their time by prepping the seal on the roof because Iori's not going to want it even if it's finished before another dramatic escape is made.

Desperate cope theory while I'm here: maybe we can see Hakuri again soon since he and Hiruhiko have that "what is friendship, anyway" thing going on with Chihiro. That cut from Hiruhiko yapping about battling to the death as "equals" to Hakuri on the page turn in chapter 54 is still eating at my brain, yes. And Chihiro just reminded us that he feels inferior to Hakuri (he's gonna become his samurai it's canon no one can take this from me). Depends on how the next chapter plays out but I'm hoping. Dying. I'm dying without Hakuri. Please I miss him so bad just one new panel is all I'm begging for.

"Truth"?

OK. Time to let the brain worms squiggle freely over about two pages' worth of Seitei War information.

So, first... a translation note (sigh). The subject of how the war ended will probably come up now that the beginning of it was given to us (or at least, a particular version of it).

Chapter 9, if you forgot. Thank you Hella for catching this when I was all set to yap about the implications of an armistice vs. other ways to end a war.

How the war ended is still a mystery but it might not have actually been an armistice as implied by the English translation of the signboard. The word used in Japanese to describe it is 終戦 (shuusen), simply "end of war/cessation of hostilities" in a formal and pretty final way. The method could have been anything: surrender, peace treaty, and so on. An actual armistice would use 停戦 (teisen - temporary ceasefire for negotiations), 休戦 (kyuusen - a short-term truce/suspension of fighting), or 偃武 (enbu - mutually laying down arms but without the finality of shuusen) to describe both sides agreeing to pause the fight. So there might not have been mutual feelings that the war needed to stop for both sides' benefit like an armistice would imply, leaving a lot of room for the losing side to build up resentment.

Of course we all know that peace treaties coming from armistices can do the same thing if they are crafted poorly- The Treaty of Versailles used to end WWI is probably the most well-known example in the West. But the ambiguity exists in Japanese and should have stayed in English in my opinion. Folks who remember this signboard from early in the manga might be confused if it turns out the end of the war wasn't so peaceful or mutual after all.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about how fucking suspicious the story of how the war started is.

Keep in mind that Chihiro, Iori, and the Masumi don't know the truth of what actually happened- they're only recounting what they were taught or read about.

"But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked" this is not.

小国 (shokoku): small country. NOT the actual name of the place, just describing it for what it was. "Twenty-two years ago... a 'small island nation' appeared in the south-east seas..." would be more accurate. (Thanks as always, Hella.)

So, right out of the gate, a whole damn country appearing out of nowhere full of people using magic rocks to attack the mainland sounds like something straight out of a child's fairy tale. You're telling me that Japanese Atlantis rose out of the ocean and became hostile right away, completely unprovoked? That's the kind of framing used to justify showing a foe no mercy. It's an essential part of successful propaganda- dehumanise the enemy, make them seem unknowable, monstrous, and imminently threatening.

The datenseki bit is especially interesting. How did these undersea people have natural compatibility with a stone named as if it came from a meteor?

雫 (da) - drop, trickle 天 (ten) - sky, heavens 石 (seki) - stone

And in such quantities that they could wage a war with it, despite it being rather scarce? (Only 250kgs exist per Sojo in chapter 11; same weight as nearly 12 average-sized countertop dishwashers in Freedom Units.) I suppose a giant meteor could have dropped in the ocean on their territory, or they could have mined it from the seabed, but I don't believe this conveniently simplistic version of events for a second. Not after so much emphasis was put on how shady the Kamunabi is and that they are hiding a lot of shit from the general public.

I doubt an island rose out of the sea as the story claims at all, honestly. While Japan does sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire and sees little islands pop up then vanish back beneath the waves all the time, one big and stable enough to have a whole nation's worth of people on it would not have gone undetected for so long. It beggars belief that the mainland didn't know they had a whole bunch of people living off the coast underwater unless they were using sorcery to hide from sonar and exploratory/research missions.

My bets are on this "invading" nation to have been a populated island that existed for a while and for some reason -probably related to the datenseki- war broke out between them and the mainland. Classic grab for resources, discontent with the mainland rulers vs. the island's own government, everything's still on the table. Maybe they were a long-lost fragment of society that tried to reintegrate, who knows?! But does anyone really think a war that started with such one-sided aggression out of the blue would have the population reacting to the people that saved them like this?

Not exactly a "hero's welcome".

"Disappear", "Atone for your sins", and "mass murderer" painted on the side of someone's house with garbage dumped in front is not reflecting the sentiments of people who are happy that the threat to everything they know and love was dealt with. That's outrage! Probably something to do with how the enemy was "wiped out" (JP:掃討 [soutou], cleaned up/swept clean/mopped up, specifically of enemies.) Sounds like the so-called invaders from Japanese Atlantis were thoroughly eliminated...

Iori is very young here, probably elementary school age. So this is a few years after the war in an unknown location- there's a chance this was on the enemy's island, but why would he live among the remaining enemies? He doesn't need more guilt than he already has, seriously. Also, since he was reputable as the fastest swordsman alive when the blades were being handed out, he most certainly wasn't a defector from the enemy's side. Thus I believe this scene takes place on the mainland.

It seems to me like it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows after the war so the Kamunabi came up with a publicity campaign and squashed the truth somehow. But that doesn't erase the memories of the people involved, either as participants or witnesses. I'm extremely curious as to how other members of the war generation remember things. The blades themselves were only used in empty fields (according to Azami, ch. 9) so the Kamunabi could spin that any way they wanted and likely did. But if that was the case, then who saw what and told others to kick off the harassment campaign? Are there mainlanders who dissent to the Kamunabi's rule because of that information not being completely suppressed and thus help out the Hisaku- like Kyora and the Sazanamis were implied to be doing? Remember, Kyora wasn't quite manipulated as thoroughly as Chihiro recounted to Uruha in chapter 48. He definitely had some personal and/or political sympathies with our favourite group of silly bad guys:

Chapter 22. "Dissidents" aren't business rivals or competitors- they're specifically political opponents against the current regime. The term used in Japanese (異分子 [ibunshi], outsiders/alien elements) has slightly different connotations but can mean the same thing.

This is what I meant by the monkey's paw curling at the start of this post. We got crumbs that only really raise more questions instead of answering anything. For now I am still clinging on to the theory of the Seitei War being a civil war... mostly because I don't know if the author intends to tell a story with blunt commentary on the misdeeds of Imperialist governments.

Possible Real-World Influences

Hakuri has nothing to do with this, I just miss him.

So, I know a lot of people have Attack on Titan's swerve into "What the Hell, Author?!" territory still fresh in their minds and I do too. What Hokazono-sensei's setting up here has some eerie similarities with a corrupt government hiding a lot of shit and the mysterious enemies being more sympathetic than they should be... I just hope we don't take the same route of "both sides were bad, so the military needs to protect us all and destroy the worse evil" that seems to happen a lot in these WWII allegory stories.

Not to get political about an action manga, but the discussions in Japan over how to teach younger generations about what went down in the WWI and WWII eras are pretty tense right now. A great deal of emphasis is put on the suffering of the people that happened after Japan was nuked twice -which was a tragedy- but the real story is lost in the debates about what and how much to teach. There's a lot of folks who want to minimize and omit lessons about the war crimes the nation committed in China, Korea, the Philippines, and the rest of the Pacific. There are even a handful who vociferously defend them as "necessary" things that happened during wartime.

I see a lot of this reflected in Kagurabachi's arc right now. We've been told several times that the Kamunabi's version of events can't be trusted and that there's something awful that was covered up. The Hishaku want some secret to come to light and it will almost certainly have hugely negative impacts on the Kamunabi, the Bearers, and likely Kunishige too. Chihiro needs to know what happened as a core part of his character arc, and it will probably come with the realisation that the conflict he's embroiled in is much more complex than a simple revenge mission can solve. Whatever the truth of the situation is will shatter his worldview.

Where Attack on Titan failed in executing this sort of plotline was making the Titans a genuine threat that needed to be put down after revealing what they really were. You don't set up obvious real-world parallels to groups that have suffered greatly in the past just to say they were a real threat all along. You don't downplay government's corruption and cruelty with "well the other guys weren't great either". But this isn't an AoT blog so I'll stop there.

I don't see a reason to be nervous about Kagurabachi making the same mistakes right now after the sensitive writing around difficult topics from previous arcs. I'm paying close attention to where the Seitei War information crumbs lead us, though. I'm interested in most things the author has to say if it's well-told but I'm not going to stick around for justification of jingoist ideology. I also hope that the author will be able to tell the story he wants even if it happens to go against the government's prevailing sensibilities.

We don't know yet where this will go so I'll just wait and watch with a bit of trepidation. I trust Hokazono-sensei to not repeat mistakes author authors have made, but he could well make new ones as an author writing his first-ever serialisation. I just want whatever comes of this plotline to have something interesting to say like the others before it...

We'll leave it here for today, dear void. Thanks for reading all this if you got through it and let's sit tight for some awesome hotel fight action next week! Say something nice about yourself once a day in the meantime. Every other or even just one day is fine if that's all you can manage too- we all start somewhere.

[sprunkimortality]

rubs my hands together,, jok 2 questions

clukr when did you start wearing those big ahh glasses 💀💀 they look like you see the other side of the world with them what in the prescription......

and two when you got married did your families ever meet or what (like mother and father

Clukr: "Well, actually, I've been wearing them since college. And they work well, thank you very much. As for that other question...well, Garnold has met my parents."

Garnold: "Nice old folks, I'd say! They make great stew!"

Clukr: "Was the food really the most memorable thing about them?"

Garnold: "Honey, if you'd only appreciate it more!"

Garnold: "Well, I myself don't have sleeping problems. Clukr...well...if staying up past midnight to finish a project counts as a sleeping problem, then he's got big problems."

Clukr: "Garnold, you know how I feel about dropping those!"

Garnold: "Honey, I never ask you to drop 'em. I just wish you'd take some time off, sometimes, you know? You've got bags under your eyes, love. And your spine's not getting any better if you keep hunching over your desk."

Clukr: "Hm."

Garnold: "Hey, it's why I'm here to help."

Clukr: "Alright...I'll admit...I'd likely be in a worse state had it not been for you."

Garnold: "I'll take that as a compliment! But seriously, Clukr. Ease out sometimes, y'know?"

Clukr: "Hm..."

Garnold: "We've known each other since high school! We dated some time during freshman year and then got married right after we both finished college! So, a while, actually!"

Clukr: "I can't believe it's been years..."

Garnold: "Yeah, we never do anniversaries, do we?"

Clukr: "Nada."

Garnold: "It'd only be extra stress for ya hun."

Clukr: "Well....you're not wrong. But, still. Sorry."

Garnold: "Hey, don't apologize! Our stupid lil' dates are enough to me. All that matters is that you're here, I'm here, and we're not goin' anywhere."

Clukr: "Garnold..."

Garnold: "Yeah, cheesy, I know. But you like cheesy, don'tcha? That's why you stayed."

Clukr: "Hrrmmm..."

Garnold: "Yeah, I'm right."

[Chuckling softly, Garnold plants a soft kiss on Clukr's cheek.]

Garnold: "Let's go to bed, hun."

Clukr: "Alright. Good night."

Garnold: "Night, love."

[Clukr and Garnold are now unaskable for the rest of the night.]

---

MFC: "I'm doing just swell! Things are better with my favorite Sprunki around!"

Gray: "Mm. Thanks."

MFC: "Anytime!"

[Fun Bot is currently asleep.]

Gray: "I've listened to death metal before. It's cool."

MFC: "Hehehehehe. I'd unleash The Rodent."

[batslittlewhore]

Tease

Pairing: Jason Todd x Rapper!fem!reader

Summary: Jason was sitting in at one of your concerts, so you decide to tease him a bit.

Warnings: none, maybe a little (sexual) flirting

a/n: Dividers by @anitalenia. I don't want anyone to copy or use my work as "inspiration."

You were currently waiting backstage of the big stage where outside the curtain, hundreds, if not thousands of people were waiting for you. You were one of the biggest rappers now, ever since one of your songs blew up. This was your passion, and you were never going to stop. Besides, you loved hearing your own voice rapping like that anyway.

Tonight, you were in Gotham, your boyfriends home city. He was obviously going to be there tonight to support you. You two have kept in contact but since you were always traveling for shows, he would never miss this. You two barely get to see each other, but when you do, you make every moment count.

"Your on in 3." Your producer says, "How you feeling?"

"I'll be okay, i've done this before." You reply, giving her a warm smile.

"Okay. You'll do great out there." She says, returning the smile.

"Thanks.." You say.

She walks over to your co-producer as the curtains open and the stage is now revealed to the crowd. You take a deep breath as you walk further up onto the stage and raise the mic to your mouth.

"What is up Gotham?" You say into the mic. "How are y'all tonight?"

The crowd responds with some scattered laughter and some "Good" and "Great, what about you?"

"Oh well I'm great, thanks for asking. Lets get this started now shall we?" You say as a beat now plays to one of your most famous songs.

You look into the crowd as you wait for your part, and you spot Jason, front row center, cheering you on and giving you a thumbs up. You suddenly get an idea, giving him a smirk, one of appreciation and one of mischief. He rolls his eyes playfully at your smirk, mouthing out "you got this."

The part finally comes for you to start rapping and as you do, the crowd raps along with you. You make eye contact with him the entire time as you were singing, and he mouths out the lyrics of your song.

You wink at him before settling on your hand and knees, your upper chest, not fully your tits, revealing to only him. Your back arches slightly, but at the angle he's sitting, he could fully see it. His eyes go wide as he swallow's thickly.

The song ends as another one plays. You get back up and start to rap the next song. You lay down on your back and look into the crowd as you arch your back and slightly open your legs. You stay like that for about 30 seconds before getting back up and performing the rest of the song. You watch as Jason shift slightly and he adjusts his pants to make his boner less obvious.

For the next song, you sit at the edge of the stage, looking at only him as you rapped. He held eye contact with you and blew you a kiss. You smiled and winked at him.

The song ends and you get back up and walk over to the middle of the stage. During the middle of the song, you squat down, and open your legs, revealing the shimmery lingerie you had on. You drop to your knees and tilt your head back and hold your hair into a makeshift ponytail. You see Jason's eye roll and smirk, knowing he's just trying to hide how much he actually enjoys it.

After the show was over and you disappeared backstage, Jason comes up to you. "Great show doll." He compliments.

"Thanks Jay." You say, feeling somewhat proud. He takes a step closer, wrapping one arm around your waist while looking down at you. You look back up at him and place both of your hands on his chest.

"I loved your poses." He whispers to you.

"I know." You whisper back, like a secret between the two of you.

🏷️: @hyacinth-anon @dog-with-a-blogs-blog

Ask here to be on my taglist!

Masterlist

[greenerteacups]

OK need more on this delicious idea:

The most obvious example is the Regulus plot (which in retrospect reads like maybe vestigial foreshadowing of a different outline for Deathly Hallows?)

What do you think this different outline of DH could be?

Totally! I might have been off, but I thought the #LocketGate reveal at the end of Book 6 was meant to indicate Regulus had some role in Book 7 — possibly as a plot mechanic or as the central "mystery" of the book that the Golden Trio have to work out. Like, maybe Regulus left clues for them to find in order to figure out how to destroy the horcruxes, or to find the hallows, or to find a secret weapon to kill Voldemort, something, whatever. Because having Regulus defect from Voldemort and successfully steal/swap the lockets, only for him to die anyway and for the locket to end up stuck in a cabinet in Grimmauld Place, is like... kinda disappointing and weird for something that's so important to the plot? Because it cuts the legs out of the pre-climax of Book 6, i.e. Dumbledore's sacrifice and Harry's fight with the inferi, for the horcrux to have been stuck under the floorboards at Grimmauld Place the whole time.

Also, sorry: lame!! That's a lame development. It is dull. It is boring and dry. It gut-punches your dramatic tension for any re-reads of Book 6 and it means the ultimate "finding the horcrux" moment gets shunted into the first act of Book 7, which should have been about setting up the war conflict. It also violates the fantasy author's Rule of Cool, which demands that, all else being equal, you should choose the option that is more badass, fun, or sexy, precisely because it is more badass, fun, or sexy. Sometimes it's fine to just make a decision because it's going to be more fun to read! If it doesn't injure the story, there's nothing wrong with that! And I think the locket in the cave should have EITHER been the real thing, in which case Dumbledore's sacrifice and Harry's struggle would have been rewarded with another horcrux being destroyed and we could have dived headfirst into the "how do we kill them?" plot in 7 — OR, it could be a fakeout, but then make that note/clue part of a bigger and more interesting mystery plot in Book 7.

Also, not that it matters, but all the other Harry Potter books have central mysteries in them. It's usually what they're named for: the philosopher's stone (what's behind Fluffy?), the chamber of secrets (who's the heir?), the prisoner of azkaban (what does Sirius want with Harry?), the goblet of fire (who put in harry's name?), the order of the phoenix (what's in the Department of Mysteries?) and half-blood prince (who is he?) But then the hallows just. Aren't. I'm not interested in what they are, I don't care what they do, I'm never given reason to think they're relevant to the story that currently exists — at BEST they explain why Voldemort isn't pursuing Harry more intentionally in the story, because he's obsessed with collecting Hallows first, but was that necessary? Because i would have believed that dude was just busy prosecuting his literal war effort against the government. It would have been way cooler (imo) for the final mystery to be Harry figuring out the nature of his connection with Voldemort, unveiling the horcrux mystery for himself, rather than Ghost Dumbledore dropping it on him via Mind Limbo. So that's my case for Regulus being the setup for the central mystery of Book 7.

[dappersheep]

For 虎虎虎三 (Husan), I wouldn't think it's the case. She gets gigs to design characters for games and maybe they specifically ask her to design X but legally distinct for their game, or they allow her almost free reign to design whatever she wants within a set parameter. And from what I remember of Husan's public works (across her social medias), she had a phase where she really liked dark short hair, tall and muscular, enigmatic and handsome. So it may have reflected in her characters. Personally, I think she's got a distinct bias for drawing the Flamebringer-build-kinda-guy and may be everyone's go to for that specifically. I can't remember all of the games she's drawn for, but it's not just Arknights and Neural Cloud. Not all CN games are like AK where they showcase who the artist is for a character.

Also! Flameuwu's mama is actually still active in the Arknights sphere like submitting an entry to almost every CN anniversary artbook, and drawing Flame every now and then. She did a quick birthday doodle for him too last year. In comparison, not a lot of Aki art from her but she does retweet Neural Cloud stuff every now and then, probably the characters she specifically draws for them. So yeah, Flame's alive and well in her heart. We just don't know what her agreements are with HG if she'll ever draw more official Flamebringer assets for them, or a new character. (Remember: Namie waited nearly two years for GG to debut from her first preview. So have a lil' hope.)

And well, we don't know what's up with HG's direction with Flame's appearances.

At the very least, they haven't dropped him yet entirely from existence since we do see him in other people's Operator Records (I so love his little spotlight in the OPERATOR manga), but there is a significant lack of Flamebringer in other events and he still doesn't have an Operator Record (current or upcoming) last I recall.

We can delulu that HG is cooking up something decent for him in a significant event down the line. I mean, with the bits we know from his records, we really need some answers to this guy's existence because he's definitely not a nobody.

Maybe our prayers will be answered, maybe it won't. But just like you, all I'm asking is a little more lore expansion for Flamebringer, even if it has to be given the way Surtr's lore drop was given (if you know, you already read better than most global Doks)

... Heh. At this rate, we're gonna need to bet which one comes first: Flamebringer OpRecord or Matoimaru skin.

Just going to say this right now, if Hypergryph doesn't clear up whether or not Flamebringer is a descendant (pure or not) of the Diablos, then what's the point of his E2 beast art and his physical similarities to what's the current idea of what Diablos horns and tail look like? A red herring? A mistake from first year need to be edgy and sell our first welfare to the players? I'm not that distrustful of HG's ability to worldbuild nor believe they're that poor in character consistency.

I do not buy for one second that Flamebringer is from the Goliath sub-race either considering the examples we have with the playable ops specifically from that sub-race.

And he's mysterious enough to warrant having that lore expansion be a possibility.

I really hope for good things for our local gardener.

[thesmokinpossum]

just got some really fucked up news (that don't affect me directly but still mess me up real bad) but I still have to work and do all my school work including my latin exam in 3 days so that's super cool i guess

[book-lover85]

Stay at home dad and artist on commission Keefe

[sightoru]

hey scout!

not sure if I'm remembering this correctly, but you moved to another state somewhat recently right? I was wondering what that process was like and how you did it. I'm in a red state and really want to go to a blue one. But I'm just unsure of how to even go about it since I don't have a remote job. Any tips would be appreciated, thank you!!!

You are remembering correctly! I moved in with az (@/haruchiyos) in June of 2023. HOWEVER, I moved from a blue state in New England to a Red state in the midwest.... so the opposite direction. Tho I will say I live in a very blue area, which was kinda blinding this election season since I was like 'wow yeah its so liberal here' I forgot about the rest of the state briefly.

However, I will tell you in the 26 years of my life I have lived in 4 different states, and moved cross country 4 times :') most of these moves were not planned. when I moved to my current state it was like 3 days notice and when I moved I thought I was coming back lol (ill put those details in the tags). ANYWAYS, you'll have the benefit of... planning lmao. I'd start with looking at jobs first, and community is important. if you know someone in a blue state that lives in a city you like, I'd recommend making a visit. it would also be easier if you have a place to stay for a bit, and someone who can look at places to live for you.

the benefit of working at a major company also comes to play here, especially if you can transfer stores/offices/ etc and look for jobs. you might also have the benefit of a degree, which could make finding/switching jobs a bit easier (when I moved, I only had az. no degree, no license. it took a month for me to find a job, but I also hadn't worked in 3 years which added to the struggle. I worked for the last year at a grocery store chain, then briefly as a barista, before moving into a healthcare role which is nice and im finally in a type of job where I feel like im not at a deadend lol). Remote jobs can definitely help, but tbh remote jobs are so hard to get and very oversaturated. everyone wants one, making it harder to get one. (one of my friends WFH, and their rec is to apply directly on job sites for it instead of ziprecruiter/indeed/etc, since a lot of them are scams)

Look into subreddits for your city of choice, find what people like about it. ask questions!! ask about cost of living, safer parts of town, what's hiring. my city's subreddit has so many posts like that. if you have the stomach for it, look into working for the government offices/ city offices/ state offices in that city. the benefits you'll get are great and they tend to start much higher than minimum wage.

for friends, try Bumble friends ! look on Facebook for meet up groups. community is so important, now more than ever (which is why I recommended moving to a city where you know someone).

for states, California and New York are what come to mind for very blue states. Northern California is gorgeous and I loved living in New York. NY is where I'd consider home and I still get very homesick thinking about it sometimes. I think Vermont in particular was one of the most gorgeous states ive ever visited and the people were very friendly!!!! like unnervingly friendly idk maybe it was the proximity to Canada lol. Ive been talking to my partner lightly about moving out of this state once they finish college in a year and a half, and I mentioned moving back to New England area in general.

anyways, this feels all over the place!! I hope this helps and as always, im here if anyone has any questions!!!

[acrosstimeandspace]

first few days of summer break has NOT been good actually very stressed. i need hugs

[arolesbianism]

I've just been playing the new cotl update for most of the day and I'm so so close to being done with the main new story bits I think but it's also past midnight but also I'm so excited idk if I'll be able to sleep but also god damn do I need to sleep

[booasaur]

Something really amazing happened in France, and I think it'd help us in the US to learn about it. Forgive the long read, but I think this is genuinely great both because of what happened and how.

So as some of you might have seen, in a decision historians will debate for years (mostly to figure out just WTF he was thinking, even though he is alive right now and can be asked), the French president, Emmanuel Macron, currently in power and THREE YEARS before the scheduled election, seeing the far right rise in popularity decided to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections.

577 seats were up for grabs. Remember that number. Since half of that is 288.5, 289 seats are needed for a majority.

The first round happened last week and boy, was it bad. The far right made HUGE gains. It won or was in first place in so many races. And Macron's party ended up third!

Overall, this is how things ended up after the first round:

Far right bloc: 33%

Left bloc: 28%

Macron's centrist party: 20%

Conservatives: 7%

The way the French system works is that if a candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they win outright, and some of the far right did manage that. But, many races went to a runoff.

Immediate projections after were that the far right bloc might win anywhere from 240 to 310 seats, a catastrophe.

A shameful swing to the far right leading to the first time they'll be in power since the 1940s? Yes, but maybe not??

This is where things get interesting.

Unusually, a lot of these runoffs are 3-way, instead of a simpler 2-way choice. And in pretty much every case, that helps the far right.

So on June 30th, the night of the first round, this is how things went down:

Immediately, the left parties put out the call: anywhere they were third, they withdrew and their voters would go over to whoever was running against the far right candidate. Their goal: form a "republican front" to block the far right. The far right cannot get 289 seats.

Macron's bloc was not so...motivated. Different people put out different instructions: in some places, if they were third, they should drop out, but only to help the center left, not far left, in other places, see how far you are, only then drop out, that kind of thing.

The conservative party simply said they won't drop out and won't give their voters instruction either way in races they're not involved in.

Late night developments:

More people in Macron's party are now beginning to realize the situation and starting to coalesce around whichever candidate can beat the far right one. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, from Macron's party, says clearly the priority is to block the far right. BUT, some Macron spokespeople on TV say they'll form a coalition only with the center left and conservatives, splitting the left bloc if needed. Some individual Macronists still saying they won't drop out, even if there's no hope of winning.

Lol.

So, now July 1st:

Only half so far. In one race, where the sister of Marine Le Pen (the far right leader and the face of their movement) was leading, the third place Macronist refused to bow out.

Excellent quote from another Macronist:

Perhaps realizing the same thing, that Macronist in the race against the Le Pen sister now drops out.

In some places, third place Macronists are dropping out DESPITE Macron bewilderingly telling them NOT to?

Halfway through the day:

Of the 311 3-way or 4-way runoffs, the number is down to 135 because of these candidates dropping out: 121 Left, 56 Macronists, 1 conservative.

Oh, there was this, in case people had any doubts about how terrible the far right are:

And to show the selflessness of the left:

July 2:

The deadline to decide if they want to stay in a runoff is today.

A dozen new third place Macronists who said they'd stay in have now dropped out. One got a call from both the PM Attal AND Macron to drop out, signalling the dawning understanding of the importance of this moment.

Even some conservative party members are now backing the left candidate who faces the far right.

A Macronist who had 30.55% of the vote in the first round and came in third to the far right's 33.11% and left's 32.73% and who would have been tempted to stay has dropped out.

The deadline to stay in or not has now passed.

Look at these far right shenanigans!

Macron still being a freaking loser:

July 3rd:

In the end, of the 311 3- or 4-way run offs, only 91 left. Some polls come out that have the far right getting between 190 to 220 seats.

July 4th:

New polls say the balance of the voting itself isn't transferring between the left and center and predictions have risen for the far right, now predicted to get between 210 and 250 seats.

July 5th:

New polls again, left voters now predicted to do better transferring vote to the centrists, decreasing the far right projections again.

However, scandalous reporting emerges: while Attal was trying to fend off the far right, Macron was not only NOT taking the far right seriously, he was undermining efforts to defeat them. His team shrugged off the first round results and celebrated a BIRTHDAY as the results were still coming in?

July 6th:

A few runoffs happened yesterday, nothing much unexpected, some left and center wins.

July 7th:

The day of reckoning. At this point, the expectations are that the far right won't come close to that 289 number but could still easily have the most seats.

GUYS.

It's over and the left are in the lead!

A LOT of cases where a leftist or centrist was 2nd in the first round and now won.

Amazing:

SO many lessons to take from this.

First, you have to vote! You have to. You can't do anything without voting. The freaking French, who'll protest for anything, are showing up to vote. If you're trying to achieve any kind of result and it's not going to happen by January 2025, you have to vote now.

But just as importantly, the left and center (and even conservative) parties made very key decisions. They were all lucky that Attal, who Macron chose, saw the big picture, bigger than indeed Macron could. A stupid selfish centrist leader could have still ruined everything if it were up to him.

TL;DR: After a disastrous first round in the national French elections where the far right was on the cusp of taking power, the left and center formed a strong coalition and through the power of voting and unity, overcame the far right AND their selfish centrist president to win.

[bladeofthestars]

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[6ebe]

Wales (rugby) just dropped the worst team sheet I’ve ever seen from them in my life meanwhile the most exciting young welsh player got poached by England and is now one of our best young prospects