#everyone form an orderly queue...

[sophsun1]

Supernatural – 2.07: The Usual Suspects

[tiptoelightlypastmymind]

I THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN YOU BUT I WASN'T 100% SURE SO I DIDN'T WANT TO SEND A CONFUSING MESSAGE

also yes hello i have missed you <3 been a wild ride these past many years (six years ago i think it was i lost internet for over a year and a half? time flies) but things have been on the right track for me for several years now :D i hope you can be saying the same!! someday still i hope to visit MA so i can say hello in person!

[feralkuromi]

Okay so before I developed my chronic illness, I was actually on track to be an academic 😎 (I know I know everyone, please calm down and form an orderly queue) and whist I have no intention to return to that field, stuff like video game lore really makes me want to deep dive into things like lore and character development (it was a humanities based field, so you can guarantee I’m all over that “using x colour symbolises y” and shit like that.)

And I won’t lie, the Caleb myth is making me froth at the mouth (academically, affectionately, yearningly, monetarily bc rip my bank account) because in comparison with the others, I feel as though my ‘late’ arrival to the game doesn’t hinder my accumulation of knowledge and understand of him (I started playing like 2 weeks after he dropped as a LI) like I’ve not missed cards or that many events with him (apart from me not understanding gacha mechanics and screwing up his Painful Signal event… yeah if I could slap past me, I would)

All this to say, is I am itching to write essays about Love and Deepspace, they won’t be like actual academic articles because that shit is so stressful and the thought of having to go through references with a fine tooth comb makes me want to spew (I would obvious mention references when needed, hut it would be “in this book —-“ rather than MLA or Chicago format with a reference list at the end lmaooo)

So whilst I’m not gifted in creative writing, I absolutely smash it in the non-fiction/academic side (if I do say so myself)

And yeah I am so fucking feral for the new Caleb myth. Garden of Eden references (you KNOW that “Garden of Eden” by Lady Gaga is on repeat rn)? Futurism? Concept of sin? Rebirth? Post apocalyptic society rebuilding/dismantling? Fucking hell yeah 😎

But these also might take an absolute age to be posted lol (like my HC and song association lists… I’ll get there some day 🙃)

I would also do it for the other LIs, but that would take much longer because they have more resources available and some of their themes and concepts aren’t something I specialised in or came across a lot in my work so would need to brush up on that first)

Me rn:

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Too many assassins ruined the soup!

Everyone who wants to kill Wang Lin needs to form an orderly queue

[thecrazyworldbuilder]

Worldbuilding rambles #1

What is a Utopia exactly? Let's make one.

A land without problems. Housing? There's countless plants, ground corals and zooplanta that grow around the world, forming elaborate and easy to inhabit burrows for anyone to reside in. Food? The spores/seeds of said vegetation are highly nutritious, and the populations of countless swarming animals are maintained healthy by predators in the wild; Hunting is easy via kill-pits, formed naturally via said vegetation. Water? Rains, and again, vegetation that stores water in various ways; Open bowls, root canisters, and leaf water bulbs.

I'm picturing something like if Scorn (biomech world) had Pandora's (JC Avatar) vibe.

What problems could possibly arise from there, one might ask? I believe there would be, still, just… With lesser stakes.

.

Do you have any army structures in your projects? Ranks, divisions sizes, names, et.c.

I always thought irl armies got confusing as hell naming systems and lots of inconsistency. Like if some big ass general at some point hated being called general because it sounds bad so he invents some "Grand Admiral" rank or something idk. I've had a complex rank system (which I am ought to use in Voice of Steel) with… I think about 50+ ranks?

But also have been thinking of systems like… Based on powers of two, on multiples of ten, on dozenal numbers, et.c. In terms of division sizes that is.

.

It's… Curious how oftentimes folks try to make gods of opposites and all for worldbuilding, uniting way too many ideologies that end up just. Too vague.

I thought of a matrix of gods of sorts, it being a 3x3x3 cube with dimensions of:

Benevolence vs Malevolence (keeping to the Four Universal Rules, or not keeping to them for personal profit)

Order vs Chaos (stagnation, or change)

Creation vs Destruction

The whole thing can be expanded into a tesseract by adding another axis, or even higher hypercubes, by adding even more axis. Each time, the amount of "alignments" of this sort will triple. So, there's 3, 9, 27, 81, et.c. alignments possible. Benevolent, orderly destruction - And you get a crusader god of sorts, a blind judge with a sword off to serve the Steel Law.

Malevolent, chaotic creation - And you get cancer cells, which spread out and bring land to ruin with their presence.

I love those meta ideas because this already sounds flawed. Who is to judge what is what? Who is who? Misused, this system will be used to motivate genocide and whatnot.

.

Concept: Suit-heroica.

The whole idea of this is that it is the suits that bring people powers. Think Ironman, who, even though he is hella smart rich and everything without the armor, does rely on his MARKs about 95% of the time.

Characters wear mantles of heroes, and gain powers related to them. Can be just one clothespiece, like a cape, mask, hat that gives you these powers. But could be also the stereotypical spandex or outright, yet again, Ironman-type full-body suit of armor.

The "heroes" live on, changing "wearers" over time. Some hunters take away the powerful clothespieces and wear several at once; Some kind of Tiger Amulet, Wizard Cloak, and idk, Spring-Heel Jack Boots. In total, you get people who would rather be what they are not - Just to have the powers associated with this something. Come on, a tiger-wizard-vampire gentleman dude is an interesting thought, but I doubt that normies would line up in queue to be something like this.

.

World of ITEMAGICKA: All magic resides within artifacts, which, when possessed allow users to cast specific spells or gain specific powers. Everyone got overcomplicated designs, and countless spells ready to go.

.

Thought of this: We all know concubi (sing. "concubus" - a gender neutral term for sexual energy feeding demons: Succubi and Incubi, female and male respectively¹), right? Those are of lust, as a mortal sin. What the other six mortal sins would look like? Tempting entities that corrupt mortals and push them to do things related to their respective sin²?

¹ Although, the etymology of those words implies a little bit different story, where rather than meaning "female" and "male" horny demons, it means "bottom" and "top" horny demons. ² As well the definition of "sin" itself is somewhat vague to me. As a person who has designed their own ideology (Four Universal Rules), based on the Golden rule (do upon others as you'd wish them to do upon you), "sins" per their definition do not make sense. Gluttony as "overconsumption to the point of waste" makes sense, but as "the innate human need to eat Something Tasty" it does not. Lust is vaguemost as it mashes too many things together - As long as sexual acts fit the Harkness test, to me, they simply cannot be sinful. Greed is a good take, capitalism be damned. Sloth is the most bullshit one since laziness does not exist and the word itself is more often used as a way to force people into labor/paint ideological enemies in a bad color. Wrath is just the violation of the Golden Rule, if put simply. Envy sounds like it's a good take, to some degree, until you remember it's been weaponized so that higher-ups could say to the lower-class folks "You are envious of me being a parasite of society and that's bad, you should be exiled to live in a monastery". Pride is just "thinking yourself first before God" and is just another organized religion/cult manipulation technique.

. Actually had a somewhat dope idea regarding magic, runes and wayshrines.

Hear me out.

A magic system built around wayshrines, each of which bears a single rune out of a complete alphabet. Each stone can be activated daily at high noon, and imprint onto whoever activated it.

By traveling from stone to stone and activating them at midday, you can pretty much just type out spells.

I -ten miles later- M -waits a whole day- M -travels to a remote island- O -travels back to main land, then 58 miles later- R -breaks leg, heals up for several months, returns on the quest now with a sick ass cane- T -77 miles later- A -158.5 miles later- L -goes waaay back to a familiar place- I -goes by a memorized path to another familiar place- T -300+ miles later on a different part of the continent- Y -returns to homeland, gets robbed and dies in a ditch before getting to the ENTER/SEND/CAST stone-

[ana-chronista]

I'm not sure if I can give you something funny but random trivia I can definitely do!

Fish form orderly queues in emergencies. When evacuating through narrow spaces in sketchy situations, schools of neon tetra fish queue so that they don't collide or clog up the line. Scientists interpret this behaviour as showing that fish can respect social rules even in emergency situations, unlike us humans.

I never knew this! And also, being from a country that's well known for its love of queuing, this is actually pretty funny to me too, so it's a doubly well chosen fact 🤭 I will absolutely be sharing this with everyone now. (People I know, I mean, but I can't rule out just sharing it with strangers as well. Why limit myself?) Thank you for sharing, I love random trivia 🫶

[roxyco-deliverygirl]

I wanna unlock the roxy dating route so I have to date everyone else first. Please form an orderly queue so I can use you date you to reach roxy :)

[dailymanners]

A queue is nothing more than a waiting line. Key word: waiting. Then why is it so hard for some people to wait their turn?

The word queue is French in origin, and it is also one of the most commonly misspelled words in English, right up there with etiquette and dessert (or is it desert?). It's a word more used by the Brits than by Americans, who say "in line" (or "on line," for New Yorkers). Some cultures are much more amenable to forming orderly lines than others (the ones who don't will not be mentioned here). But cutting into the queue or the line is frowned on everywhere.

So why is it that some people can't resist cutting in line? Is it possible that they have more of a sense of entitlement than others, and that what they have to do is more important than those who are waiting their turn. People who are waiting in line correctly almost always notice when anyone cuts in line (especially in this country, where it is truly frowned on), though they may be too polite to say anything. They may not be too polite to take a photo or a video of the miscreants, though, so if you are one of them, be aware that you might end up on YouTube or Facebook as a scofflaw.

Here are some tips that make standing in line easier for everyone:

• Queue early. If you hate standing in line, practice being early to events, especially those that you know will be crowded, such as Disneyland, a museum exhibition, or a movie premiere. And get to the airport a little before your airline advises.

• Wait your turn. Don't even think about cutting in line. You will leave a group of disgruntled, not to say angry, people behind you, and bad karma ahead of you. An exception here is if you know you will miss something very important, such as a airline connection, by waiting in line. In case of this kind of emergency, explain to people ahead of you in line what your problem is, and ask them if you can go ahead of them. Even better, contact an airline assistant and ask them to take you to the head of the line. They will do so if you will miss your connection otherwise.

• Offer your place in line to someone who needs it more. If you're standing in a grocery line with a full basket of purchases and the person behind you has just a few, offer to trade places! This is a simple act of kindness that costs nothing but a few minutes of your time. And whenever possible, offer to let older people, pregnant women, disabled people, and parents/caregivers with babies or young children go ahead of you.

• Children. If you suspect you will have to wait in line with your children, tell them ahead of time that will probably have to do so and that they will need to practice patience. It's never too early to teach children how to behave in public. But also bring something to keep them occupied, such as a book.

[fromtraveldiaries]

Notes from the land of the rising sun

If you think the Paris subway is a marvel, wait until you step into Tokyo's intricate underground labyrinth. The Japanese subway system is an experience that best reflects the essence of Japanese culture and efficiency.

The first thing you notice when you step into a Tokyo subway station are the orderly queues - on the escalators, at ticket counters, at entry and exit gates, and while boarding trains. The Japanese have transformed queuing into a well-organized and methodical art form, much unlike the Indians for who queueing is a rather abstract and a largely inscrutable exercise. This queue discipline extends beyond transportation to restaurants, take-away counters, and billing counters, where you find patrons patiently waiting their turn for service.

Another striking feature of Tokyo's subways is the pervasive silence. Compared to the prattle on the Paris metro or the pandemonium on the Indian metros, the Japanese subway is a quiet sanctuary. The Japanese are a quiet people who keep to themselves during public transit, their animated conversations are reserved for meal times. Food, often accompanied by drinks, is a more communal experience that's filled with lively discussions and noisy chatter. On buses, trains, and the subway, one finds commuters reading novels, manga, news, diaries, or watching anime or otherwise engaged on their phones. This quietude carries onto the roads, streets, and other public places. There's no honking and people talk in whispers in most places, except of course in eateries. Most Japanese folks like to go out with their friends and colleagues or have social gatherings in eateries. They love to take their time during such meals, which are almost always accompanied by drinks. The conversations are loud, full of banter and laughter.

At every station, you also have a helpdesk that actually works. We used these at many stations and were very impressed by the service we got. While returning from Kanazawa to Tokyo, our Shinkansen (bullet train) developed a snag. We were informed on board about this by the railway staff. They dropped us off at Nagano, where more railway staff were waiting to assist us. They put us on a train to Matsumoto, where more staff were waiting to help. We were put on a train to Shiojiri, where another set of helpful staff put us on a slow Azusa train to Shinjuku. During the whole time, everyone was apologetic and insisted that we collect our refund for the Shinkansen from the Shinjuku station. We had booked our tickets through Klook, so weren't really sure if we were eligible for a refund and how and when (if at all), we would get any refund. To our surprise, the lady at the helpdesk counter gave us an almost complete refund in cash, no questions asked. She said that they had been informed of the Shinkansen glitch and were expecting passengers such as us to alight at Shinjuku. She also profusely apologized for the inconvenience. At how many Indian stations can you expect this service?

In contrast to India's metro stations, where photography is 'strictly prohibited', one is free to click away in Japanese subways. We didn't find a single place where photography wasn't allowed or one had to pay extra charges just to click.

Respect for individuals is on display everywhere and in everyone. Courteous gestures greet one at every turn and we were quite surprised to find people bowing to us even for trivial interactions. We also learnt to bow in return with gratitude. Starting from clearly designated 'foreign friendly taxis' to courteous strangers going out of their way to assist you, you feel truly welcomed in Japan. You also feel as if you are a celebrity when you step into an eatery, for as you step in, the staff, including the chefs and the kitchen staff, boisterously greet you with a loud shout. Google what this means and you'll see what I mean.

At restaurants, you are invariably served ice cold water with ice cubes in long tumblers. This is the way of life even in cold winters. You can, however, also order warm/hot sake that really fires you up on wintry nights. While Tokyo offers a plethora of culinary delights, vegetarians might feel the need to seek out specific eateries. The cuisine draws heavily on raw food, mostly seafood, with minimal oil and spices. This is where the super helpful convenience stores like 7-11 and Family Mart offer a variety of options, including liquor. Japanese convenience stores have more variety of liquor than one finds in the regular wine shops back home.

That the Japanese are punctual is well known, but their service levels are at a different level altogether. At Kanazawa, we requested for a taxi at the hotel reception which was on the first floor. The receptionist made a call to a local cab company and informed that a taxi would arrive in three minutes. True to their word, by the time we descended the stairs and reached the ground floor, the taxi was already waiting for us. In both Kyoto and Tokyo, we noticed many shops displaying merchandise outside their doors and well out of their sight. In several grocers' vegetables were left unattended with price boards. People leave their umbrellas outside when entering shops. We also observed most households leaving their stuff outside at night.

Despite the absence of dustbins, Tokyo remains remarkably clean. Littering is a rare sight, thanks to the civic sense instilled in its residents. Further, there's no expectation of a tip for any service that you hire. Taxis and restaurants return you the exact change and you are expected to pocket your change before leaving. In fact, tipping might be considered offensive in many places. Should you run out of coins, there are machines installed in most public places that take your notes and provide you with coins. To help you tender exact change, these machines are also installed in all buses. By the way, the Japanese bus drivers are smartly dressed, polite, and greet you when you pay and get off. Compare that with the Indian buses and our drivers.

An ubiquitous presence throughout Japan are the vending machines. The offer everything, from beverages to snacks, and refreshments to souvenirs. Game arcades are also quite popular, lined up in most tourist locations. We spent a fortune on the vending machines, collecting souvenirs that are quite cheap but of exquisite quality. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kanazawa are filled with rows and rows of these vending machines stretching on for blocks altogether.

Tokyo is unbelievably busy at all times of the day and night. The trains are always filled and the stations are always crowded. Folks are either going to work or returning from work at all hours. Whether the well-groomed crowd of Ginza, the diverse crowd of Shibuya, the aloof funky of Shinjuku or the dignified crowd of Monzennakacho, the residents of each district have their own way to go about their lives. School kids, even when returning late, show impeccable discipline, immersed in their phones, reading manga, playing games, or watching anime. There were many places in the US and in France where we felt unsafe during our travels. The less said about India, the better. In comparison, we never felt unsafe throughout our visit in Japan, not even for a moment.

This trip to Japan has been a revealation to say the least. From the land of the rising sun, arigato gozaimas.

[cliperry]

OMG! IT'S THE TEEN ISSUE

September 27, 2011

ONE DIRECTION

They entered last year’s X Factor as five solo artists and finished it as potentially the biggest boy band in Britain.

Meet ONE DIRECTION, the nation's newest teen idols.

By Beth Neil and Karen Edwards Photography by Derrick Santini

BAND ON THE RUN

The studio is brimming with hairspray, hormones, and five topless One Directioners as they get ready for our shoot.

Grown women swoon while trying to remember they’re probably

Here’s the updated formatting while keeping the original text intact:

Behind the Scenes with One Direction

The studio is brimming with hairspray, hormones, and five topless One Directioners as they get ready for our shoot.

Grown women swoon while trying to remember they’re probably (er, definitely, in some cases) old enough to be the boys’ mothers.

Liam (the wise one)

Louis (class clown)

Zayn (mean and mysterious)

Niall (cute and cheeky)

Harry (that hair)

They lark around like typical teens, perfecting dance moves, swigging Diet Coke, and charming the knickers off everyone.

They’re properly lovely.

And they’re on course to become Britain’s biggest boy band with their debut single What Makes You Beautiful, which has "No. 1? Easy!" written all over it.

They’ve also just signed a lucrative advertising deal with Nintendo, which will line the pockets of their skinny jeans.

They might have only come third on last year’s X Factor, but the odds are on One Direction (or, guffaw, Wand Erection, as they’re known on Twitter) turning out to be the biggest success story from the series.

Five teenage lads are set to steamroller their way into a million girls’ hearts...

Harry: "I'm SINGLE and don’t really HAVE A TYPE"

His mop of curly hair alone has spawned a glut of internet appreciation pages and helped install Harry Styles as the fans’ fave. And yes, the famous locks are just as lush in the flesh.

But curls aside, it was 17-year-old Harry’s quiet word in X Factor winner Matt Cardle’s ear on final night—the famous "P***ygate" incident—that elevated him to legend status.

We ask him to explain while looking us in the eye and keeping a straight face.

Harry: "I’ve got this well-rehearsed, word for word. Basically, me and Matt were talking about Christmas presents for our mums, and he said he wanted to get her as many cats as he could. When he won, I told him he could get her as many cats as he wanted now."

A likely story.

"I didn’t have a clue it had been picked up by the cameras. It wasn’t until I watched it back that I thought: 'Ah no, now I’m going to have some explaining to do,’" he confesses. "I went to see my sister a few days later, and a load of her uni friends were having a party. All the guys were like: 'Respect!’"

Having quit school and given up on A levels to pursue his pop career, Cheshire-born Harry is having the time of his life.

Harry: "What 17-year-old boy wouldn’t like this? It still feels really weird, but it’s a lot of fun. I’ve met so many nice people."

Some more friendly than others, it would seem.

Harry: "I was in the park the other day, and a woman ran up to me and asked for my autograph. She handed me a pen, and I asked her if she had a piece of paper. She just looked at me and got out her boobs."

Did he oblige? "No! What do you take me for?"

Luckily, Harry doesn’t have a girlfriend to get jealous of the amorous attentions of lust-filled fans. Form an orderly queue, girlies, because he’s currently 100 per cent unattached.

Harry: "I’m single—I’m not looking, but if someone special came along, then I’m not against it.

"I like cute girls who are funny. I don’t really have a type, but I do like girls with short hair…"

Cue a generation of teens chopping off their tresses.

"But I also like girls with long hair."

Hold the scissors already! We think he’s keeping his options open.

[ivory--raven]

day 26, Apocalypse! During Armageddon (or not).

Demons milling around, restless. Armageddon.

“Encourage the troops, Dagon,” says Beelzebub. They’re all waiting. Why are they still waiting? Why is it taking so bloody long? Beelzebub’s nails have jagged edges painted black where they’re gripping the front of their jacket like it’s a shield. 

Dagon looks around. “Right. Listen up!” She’s got to say something to them all. She’s ready to be fighting, ready to be done. “Any moment now, we’ll be leaving Hell, and we’ll be going up against an army of angels!” They really ought to know that bit. She hopes they do. Some of these demons haven’t left Hell since they first arrived.

When they first arrived. That’s the anger they need to tap into to fight. “Now all of you were angels once, and we fought in the glorious revolution! And we lost. But that was then. We have had thousands of years to get tougher!”

“Tougher!” calls out the crowd.

“Smarter!”

“Smarter!” they repeat.

“And more dangerous!”

It’s working. The troops are getting riled up. “I want you to repeat after me,” says Dagon. “Tougher!”

“Tougher!”

“Smarter!”

“Smarter!”

Dagon lifts a fist into the air. “And-”

“Something’s happening,” snaps Beelzebub. “Something’s wrong.”

Beelzebub goes to deal with the problem, and Dagon is left alone with the troops. “Any moment now,” she says to console them. “Lord Beelzebub will return for the battle.”

“Kill all the angels!” cries a demon in the crowd. There are enthusiastic whoops of agreement. Dagon shifts. Not all the angels. Not Michael. These soldiers, worse than the scum of the Earth, they couldn’t kill Michael if they tried.

When Beelzebub reappears, it’s not at Dagon’s side to lead the troops. They shove their way through the assembled demons. “He’s going up to talk to him,” they say, “the Antichrist - is - refusing.”

Refusing. How can he refuse? He’s the Antichrist. Starting Armageddon is why he exists at all. They’ve all been waiting for this for years. Dagon has been waiting for this for years. Preparing.

“The demon Crowley is there,” Beelzebub adds. “He’s betrayed us.”

“His angel too?”

Beelzebub twitches. “He’s Gabriel’s problem. Crowley is ours.”

“Damn it.” Dagon waves a hand to attract attention. “Right! You lot!”

The demons’ muttering quiets down. They’re all looking at Dagon and Beelzebub. Satan fucking help them. Except he can’t.

“Our Lord Satan is on Earth,” Dagon announces, because that doesn’t sound too bad to start with - they’re going to be crucified.

Beelzebub stiffens, jerks. Their shoulder bumps Dagon’s, but they catch themself. They can’t. Not in front of the troops. Not in front of everyone.

“He says no,” they hiss, and there is so much pain colouring their voice. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

“No Armageddon?”

“No,” agrees Beelzebub.

Fuck. Right. “There’s been a change of plans!” yells Dagon. “Armageddon will not be happening today! The traitor responsible has been identified and will be punished!”

While the crowd is still reeling in shock, they slice their way through with a blade, carving a pathway with discorporated demons. Ten thousand demons. Ten thousand demons about to realize Armageddon is cancelled. Armageddon has been cancelled.

Pure terror runs through Dagon’s veins.

Disarming the Heavenly Host is surprisingly easy. Gabriel returns from Earth and explains what’s going on, and Michael gives the order. Every platoon lays down their weapons and stands, restless and confused.

“Aren’t we going to war?” they say.

“Aren’t we going to fight evil?” they say.

Questions are bad, they can’t have questions in Heaven. Especially not now, when the fabric of the universe is vulnerable. How can this be right? Is this how the demons felt, before they Fell?

“Anyone who would like to complain, you will form an orderly queue.”

There will be no war. No apocalypse. Heaven is disarming, and presumably Hell is too. Angels are generally obedient, demons… are demons obedient?

Will demons listen when Beelzebub (and Dagon, will it be Dagon’s job to insist?) tell them there will be no war?

Michael really doesn’t know.

[huggingtentacles]

What is your stance on blues and yellows that try to form an orderly queue to fight an invader. That's how I try and fight whenever I get summoned because it is more fun than everyone press buttons at the invader.

I like when people give me a break like that but those kinda situations rarely end as well as they start. I will be always mistrustful and I won't bow in those kinds of situations because almost nobody respects the duel.

I cook the phantom too hard, they heal, the host calculates that it's easier to just swarm me now? I get ganked.

I hit the host on accident? I get ganked.

I kill the blue a little too fast? Ganked.

They don't like my weapon? They don't like that I heal? They don't like that I don't bow? Ganked.

My "favourite" is when I do accept an honourable duel with one of the phantoms, I get low on hp, and the host is like "it would be very easy to just throw some shit at her!" and they do and it kills me.

Or when the phantom is pretty hard to beat, I spend 4 of my heals fighting him. I calculate in my head that the host is pretty bad I could kill him without getting hit, so I waste my resources and play aggressively for fun, and then a blue comes in and I die because I just ran out of my limited resources. Or even if I kill the blue the host just gets another one when I'm fighting the previous one and all of them want to win so bad they need to gank me right now even if the host is just standing around waiting for the turn.

I appreciate those situations but they're rare and I don't trust anyone to respect the duel anymore. Too many "duels" ended in my immediate death the moment I made myself vulnerable.

[orthancnz]

The lights flashed and the the sirens went off

**Woop Woop Woop, this is a red alert, all characters to your stations, repeat, this is a red alert***

Suddenly the corridors were full of the most diverse cast of characters you could imagine. A space explore still pulling on her helmet running beside what looked like a cave man with a ridiculous club. A whole gaggle of Victorian ladies, fending off the gremlins with their parasols.

A motley collection most definitely, but all running in a single direction, all with the same destination.

The elevator banks ran as far as the eye could see in both directions, gleaming steal, whooshing up and down to the loading gantries. A puff of air each time they opened and disgorged a load of characters before returning back to base.

But there was still a crush every time the alert went off, characters bumping into each other as they made their way to the right elevator. And there was always someone confused because they had to go to the wrong elevator. Still, overall it worked, orderly queues formed and the elevators moved us at top speed.

"Must be another school group" I said to Scarlet as we reached the front of our queue and packed into the elevator. Normally dispatch wouldn't summon everyone, they could put out the call to whoever was needed and they'd get there in time. They'd only put out a red alert if they were expecting to be totally overwhelmed by a large group and needed everyone already in place.

Scarlet rolled her eyes at me "Of course it's a school group, it's been school groups every day this week. I know the holidays will be their own kind of madness, but at least it won't be all hands scrambling at once.".

If you didn't know Scarlet you'd think the complaint was genuine, but there was a light in her eyes, her friends knew it was a facade. She thrived on the chaos and the rush, the only thing she enjoyed more was inspiring the young girls who came in to seek her out.

"Level 3, Adventure. Remember to take all your items as you leave the elevator" said the automated announcement as the doors slid open and we hustled off and down the corridor to our stations.

"So who are you hoping for today?" I asked Scarlet as we walked "One of your regulars? Alice hasn't seen you for a while."

Scarlet almost sighed "I love Alice, you know I do, but I'm hoping for someone new today, someone I can inspire rather than reassure, someone who needs to know that princesses don't have to marry the prince."

"Happy hunting then, I'm sure you'll find your princess today" I paused for a moment at the junction as we parted. Watching Scarlet continue to her station, red hair tied with a thong, bow over one shoulder. I could see why the girls loved her, why they wanted to be her.

But I couldn't linger long in a red alert, had to get to my station before the group arrived. Tales of the high sea were not as popular these days, but still, every now and again one of the child decided that The Pirate Atoll was a world they wanted to escape to for a time.

[toficoncebu]

Reminder for All About Exhibit Viewing Etiquette:

To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, please adhere to the following guidelines:

-No Touching: Only exhibitors or authorized staff with badges may handle exhibits.

-Stay Behind Barriers: Do not cross or lean over warning tape or barriers.

-No Overreaching: Keep hands, cameras, and smartphones away from exhibit items.

-No Food or Drinks: Keep these at least 4 feet away from exhibits.

-Restricted Items: Avoid bringing sticks, umbrellas, large props, or similar objects.

-Supervise Children: Ensure children remain under adult supervision at all times.

-Form Orderly Queues: Maintain orderly lines to ensure a smooth experience.

-CCTV in Use: Activities are monitored and recorded for safety and security.

Thank you for observing these rules and helping us maintain a respectful and secure environment for all!

[here2bbtstrash]

i would like to thank all of you babes who follow me for not being ugly and homophobic in my ask box this week and every week (or at least being fucking silent if you are lmaooooo)

i’m so happy to have this little safe space porn corner where i can be as gay as i want!!! i really don’t take it for granted. i hope you all feel safe in this space to be whoever you are too 😘💜

[athelari]

The fact that FL allows me to hyperfocus, but only for one hour or less at a time, is such a big fat Mood™. That they’re literally called Mood cards only makes it even better.