#hard work=donuts LOGIC
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peppertoastuniverse · 25 days ago
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more than a late night snack – gojo satoru chapter 9: donut– appetizer!
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contents: gojo satoru x reader, really bad flirting attempts, swearing, fluff, gojo calls you babe, forced proximity summary: after returning from kyoto, gojo asks you to sneak out with him to get late night donuts. after he gives you a thoughtful gift, you can't help but admit that he makes you happy full wc: 5.2k ~ ish 7.7k
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previous chapter ll master list ll chapter 9 out now!
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“i could teleport us there,”  shooting you a proud look.
“..what?! when did you manage that!?”  
he smiles cockily, “earlier this week, when you were in nagoya!” he puffs his chest out, pleased with your impressed stare.
you knew that he was working hard to perfect his teleportation. more than a few times gojo would saunter in pompously during the middle of your sparring sessions with suguru, somehow always annoyingly interrupting when you were on top of suguru just on the verge of pining him. you and geto even started making a bet at the beginning of each sparring session as to what time gojo would make his appearance. you’d laugh in victory when you would win, making the groaning geto buy your favourite chips at the corner store. or on the rare occasion when he’d win, you’d buy his favourite seaweed rice crackers. 
gojo would loudly insist that you and suguru keep him company while he was training, complaining that he needed the distraction so that he would be able to easily teleport during  chaotic missions. he’d even make you stay after geto had retreated for the night, insisting that he still needed your help. begrudgingly you often found yourself sitting crossed legged on the gym mats, watching him with equal parts curiosity and exasperation. his usually blue buggy eyes closed in concentration. his brows furrowed, his shoulder still, his usual chaotic energy cloaked in an almost eerie silence. gojo was undoubtedly hardworking and persistent  – most likely the results of strict training implemented when he was young. you were glad that he accomplished your goals albeit admittedly  a bit annoyed that you weren’t there to see it first hand. 
“pleaseeeeee, let’s goooo. you’re thinking too hard about it grumps!” he turns to you dramatically, gearing up for a lengthy conversation to convince – to beg you even – to go with him. but he’s used to it.
gojo had a smart mouth, one that he cultivated during his youth. growing up he’s learned to weaponize his strengths, easily talking his way out of many things. effortlessly convincing shoko and to a lesser extent suguru to actively participate in his mischief. like that one time after a rare mission with you and suguru, he convinced his best friend that the spiciest ramen in ginza wasn’t even that big of a deal and that if anyone could do it, suguru surely could. you could still remember gojo’s manic laughter as suguru downed two cartons of milk as you patted his back while rolling your eyes. Or when shoko had told you about that infamous time last year before your arrival when gojo had convinced suguru and her to jump in the ocean with him in naha in the middle of a particularly frigid october resulting in all of them getting sick for a week – yaga was not happy.
gojo was used to getting what he wanted and never failed to resort to playing dirty if he really had to. satoru gojo always got what he wanted. although you were a harder case to crack with the right approach, an abundance of patience and a bit of luck, he could convince you. perhaps if he applied some logic to his fun, amazing, incredible adventure, you’ll surely fold, right? 
“look, i swear I can get us back in half an hour, tops. no one will notice, i’ll even – ”
“okay.”
he blinks at you. 
what? that’s it? that was easy. you always surprising him.  
“w-what?” his trilogy of groveling disappearing instantly on his tongue at the sight of your teasing smile.
“let’s go, I wanna get that yuzu donut they have,” you say as you grin up at him, amused by his confused face. giggling at his rare silence, gojo watches you ecstatically as you stand to rustle through your dresser, quickly picking out a warm sweater and some soft pants and practically skipping into your bathroom to change.
gojo scoffs, almost disbelievingly, a hand reaching behind his head to card his hands through his hair. a soft grin creeping on his face at how you easily smiled at him. a few months ago, he’d have to almost beg you to do anything with him. hell, it took him almost two months and daily nagging to get you to sit beside him at lunch when you first arrived. nowadays, you’d let him lounge in your room or even text him first sometimes, he’d catch you grinning at him more than pouting – the thought made him giggly, a weird fluttering feeling exploding in his stomach. 
happily he tosses his body deeper into your bed to cuddle bun bun, excitedly whispering to him about his plans- luckily bun bun was a good listener.
hearing his soft baritone, you turn your head to see what he was up to. promptly turning around before he could see your creeping smile, you attempt to shooing away the warm staticky feeling that bloomed within you when you sneak a peak gojo’s warm expression. he strangely didn’t look out of place laying in your bed, easily blending into with all of your other personal belongings. you wondered when your room became the place where he was found more regularly. 
finally shutting your bathroom door, you hear his muffled laugh as you quickly change out of your pajamas. before you could wonder what he was up to, you see an alert flash on your phone: a photo from gojo. exhaling through your nose, you flip open your phone to see that he sent a photo of himself and bun bun, the stuffie’s pink little arms around gojo’s beaming face, the bunny’s cheek leaning on gojo’s. you giggle, saving the photo immediately before shrugging your head into your sweater.
“… okay? so this will be our little secret, bun – i’m serious!  i’m counting on you.” you hear him say seriously to the plushie as you shut the bathroom door, facing gojo with a raised eyebrow.
“what are you poisoning his mind with, gojo?”
“sheesh, babe. nothing! just guy talk, you wouldn’t get it.” you roll your eyes as he rises from your bed before looking back to ensure that bun bun was still tucked in comfortably.
“okay, so how does this work?” you ask him, as he grunts, distractingly stretching out his too long body, his joints popping. 
“well, the more surface area i'm in contact with while I teleport, the easier it’ll be for me –”
your eyes widen. surface area? does that  mean –
“- to get us to our destination accurately. which means, babe – c’mere.” he moves closer to you, almost chest to chest, arms reaching around you. you can feel the warmth radiating off of his body, his comforting scent close and aggressive. 
“uh – what?” you ask, surprised at the quick closeness, placing a hand on his firm chest to prevent him from moving any closer. gojo rolls his eyes sassily, his arms falling limply at his side.
“this worked the best. me and baby did some tests. i had suguru touch my shoulder, hold my hand and then hug me. naturally, the hug got the most accurate results, ‘cause ya know, surface area. but babe, like  sugu actually smells so good, m’not sure what it is but, he definitely changed his shower gel or something ‘cause he smells different but like good diff – ”
you cackle loudly. “pff – i bet suguru hated that hug. he probably showered twice to get the extra stupid off him.” you poke at him, deflecting easily hoping he doesn’t sense your nervousness.
“hey don’t be mean! that’s not the point! the point is, that’s what worked the best.”
you avoid his stare as you fidget with the buttons of your coat that you shrugged on, the low warm lighting of the room almost amplifying your nerves. 
why were you even feeling this way?
you trusted gojo, you knew that he'd get you there safely, you never questioned his abilities, you saw how hard he trained, you knew he was capable. was it the proximity?  but you were used to him sitting too close to you or poking your cheeks, but somehow lately things were different. you could no longer ignore how grossly your heart would flutter when he was near you or how you would annoyingly grin when he texted you. you couldn’t keep away from him any longer, and that annoyed you. 
he cocks his head to the side studying your strange silence, “..hey, it’s okay to be nervous.” 
“m’ not nervous…” you mumbled. sure, you'd let him believe that you were nervous just because of teleporting.
“if you’re not comfy with it you can just hold my arm or something." 
you nod shyly, avoiding looking into his eyes, too proud to see your embarrassment reflected in them. "ughhh guess i'll just have to work a little harder," he teasingly groans, hoping to make you smile. 
when you dont say anything he tries again, moving his hand to rub your shoulder, hoping to reassure you. "i got you.” he says, head turning to decipher your loaded expression. “i wont let anything happen to you, i swear." he whispers seriously.
catching your breath, you meet his unwavering gaze before slowly lowering your hand on his chest. instead you move to gently hook your arm around his right bicep. he smiles encouragingly at you, still soothingly rubbing your arm. you feel his towering stare as your cheeks heat up. his eyes twinkle, like being close this close to you was normal.
he lowers his head, "hold on tight, kay?" he whispers as you feel his arm wind around your waist. 
“gojo, you’d better get us there or else.” 
“c’mon babe! i promise! where’s the trust?” he says brightly as you scoff, shaking your head. 
“god, your ego is bigger than all of japan –”
“heh, not as big as my –”
your eye twitches in irritation. for the second that night you find your hands over gojo’s mouth, berating him of his idiotic behavior.
“ geez okay grumps” he says jerking his head back, “now let’s get those donuts!” he says enthusiastically after shrugging your hands away from his face with a smile, once again trying to ease the pout off of your face.  
you squeeze your eyes shut, increasing your grip on him, concentrating on how his soft hand felt around you. 
if you were with him, it would be fine – you trusted him before, this would be a walk in the park, right?
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read the full chapter now! a/n: hi everyone! thank your for your patience – i'm still here! chapter 9 is going to be so cute and fun, thanks for sticking around.
a/n 2: this sneak peak has been updated to reflect the officially released version of chapter 9!
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bengaly · 1 year ago
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I did it. I made a blender donut
This is my first blender project and its been super fun to work on! I particularly loved playing with nodes - before I knew anything abt them, just looking at the interface made me groan like, this is probably gonna be a pain in the ass to learn. But the moment I understood what they' are and what you can make with them I got immediately hooked up. They're not hard to learn imo! Its like a little logic puzzle, and I find it almost magical that you can use a puzzle and some math to generate visual data that'd be a real pain to render. And you can change those values whenever too so if something looks odd you don't have to manually remodel stuff one by one! Really loving that concept rn.
I've made a playlist here in which I'll add the blender tutorials I use, so you can check what I used for this donut.
Also don't think I'll ever render something other than a snapshop in cycles... at least not in the machine i have rn.. my laptop was hyperventilating here trying to render that donut with eevee
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coffeelomort · 8 months ago
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Fragaria Memories Collab Cafe menu translation
I'm sure a translation is already out there, but I'll throw my hat in the ring for the fun of it. At the moment I've only translated the titles, but I'll probably come back and translate all the descriptions. I'm no professional by any means (a lot of my translations are purely vibe-based) and I'll leave notes for things that are weird.
As always, feel free to let me know if anything's off with the translations! My ask box is open (and I believe you can comment anonymously if you'd like).
(Also pleasantly surprised that the menu is pretty broad compared to a lot of collab cafes I've seen. I think the speculation was that we'd get a main meal per Bouquet and then some random sides or drinks.)
FOOD MENU:
Rimicha's love limit salmon ♡ burger plate (リミチャの限界ラブ・サーモン♡バーガープレート)
Kurode's hidden hard working and inferior omelette katsu curry with crispy rakkyo (クロードの隠れた努力と劣等のオムカツカレーwithパリパリらっきょう)*
Myunna's flour-filled lemon cream pasta ~with deep fried prawn~ (ミュンナの粉いっぱいレモンクリームパスタ〜エビフライもいっしょ〜)
Badobarm's longed for chirashi sushi. "I'll eat it for sure one day!" (バドバルマのいつか絶対食べてやるぜ!憧れのちらし寿司)
Hangyon's everyday would be boring without any surprises~ chilled Chinese Noodles?! (ハンギョンの日々サプライズがないとつまらないですよね〜冷やし中華!?)
DESSERT MENU:
Hallritt's apple pie-like eton mess present (ハルリットのアップルパイのようなマンリーメスの贈り物)*
Merold's Lord's resounding sweet tune-like strawberry ice cream tart (メロルドの主への甘い音色響かせる いちごアイスタルト)*
Cielomort's cafe croissaint roll that floats in the blue sky (シエロモートの青空に浮かぶカフェクロワッサンロール)
Louterstella's star-shaped hotcakes that Kura likes (ルタールステラのクラも好きなお星様形ホットケーキ)
Pikero's experiment? A chou donut that I've stuffed with matcha whipped cream made from your trivial and pointless logic (ピケロの実験?君の軽くて空虚なロジックに俺が抹茶ホイップを詰めてあげようかシュードーナツ)*
DRINK MENU:
Puruth's wanting to drink pudding pudding-style milkshake (プルースのプリンと飲みたいプリン風ミルクセーキ)
Romarriche's rosehip tea which conveys heartfelt warmth and consideration (ロマリシュの温かい思いやりが心に伝わるローズヒップティー)
Sanah's full bloom nahaha~♪-like colourful frozen drink (サナーの満開なはは〜♪なカラフルフローズンドリンク)
Willmesh's gathered thoughts fluffy pastel soda (ウィルメッシュの想いしたためる ふんわりパステルソーダ)*
Klarkstella's dreams of stars and clouds' white water* (クラークステラの夢見るお星様と雲のホワイトウォーター)
Chaco's chocolate banana milk that he found on a detour (チャコの寄り道で見つけた とっておきのチョコバナナミルク)
Arupek's fired up kabosu lemon squash (アルペックの気合い入れのかぼすレモンスカッシュ)
Tuxam's Awesome! Cream soda that has the grace valued by gentlemen (タッサムのAwesome!紳士たるもの品格が大切なクリームソーダ)
Drinks with a Fragaria Bouquet cookie (フラガリアブーケクッキー付きドリンク)
Notes:
I'm sure people know about rakkyo, but for the sake of it I'll just note that this is what it is. It's a side dish often paired with Japanese curry.
So this by far gave me the most trouble, mostly because I had no idea what マンリーメス is and any articles on it were from 2017 about a cafe in Japan claiming that they're popular in Australia. (They weren't, from what I can tell.) A theory posed to me is that a cafe somewhere in Australia (likely Manly, Sydney) had an eton mess on their menu called a "Manly Mess".
Noting here that I... really have no idea what Merold's dish's title actually is. This is my best guess considering the kanji and the vibes I get from it.
Whatever's going on with Pikero's dish, I had a hard time translating it. There's nothing really implying that the matcha whipped cream is made from 'your logic' nor is that really the vibe I get, but I'm not quite sure how else to translate it.
Just wanted to note here that "white water" probably means it's a yoghurt-based drink, according to one of my sources.
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Hat Trick
Eustass Kid x cisfem!Reader x Trafalgar Law
CW: Language, violence, sexual themes, crass humor -
Summary: Hat Trick is a purely self-indulgent story. It's more porn than plot (at least at the start), but there's a story in there too.
It's my first multi-love story, and little slow going, but I hope you enjoy it.
18+ as always.
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Chapter 2: Terms of Endearment
“You wrote a contract?” Eustass Kid questions, reading over the single page you handed to him and Law.
You had really sat down and chewed on the entire idea once you had gotten home, and had started to list out notes to make sure you were keeping everything in order. That had shifted into drafting something like a contract, not that it was meant to be legally binding in any way. You had titled it “Terms of Endearment” because you’re a nerd and it amused you, but now that the two of them were reading it with bemused smirks on their faces you wanted to take the pages back and just disappear.
You were all having coffee and donuts at a café down the street from the Gym. Having this conversation at the Gym felt wildly uncomfortable so you had all opted for the small café.
You were also acutely aware of how good the two of them looked right now. They weren’t wearing anything special, jeans and t-shirts both of them, but maybe it was because everything was out in the open about, but it just wasn’t fair. It was hard to focus on them before now, and it was certainly worse now.
Worse? Better? Right now it was really hard to say.
“It’s… yeah.” You admit your face going red. “I got worked up last night thinking about everything and this helped me calm down, and -.”
“No, it’s fine Mouse.” He interrupts, his face twisting as he fights to stifle a laugh. “It’s very you.”
You make a displeased noise, and Kid covers his mouth with his hand.
“You want Eustass-ya and I to spend time together… without you?” Law questions. Unlike Kid he had been reading over it for the last couple minutes.
“Eh?!” Kid turns his attention back to the paper and starts reading, you can see his golden-brown eyes moving back and forth.
“Yeah, I mean, you guys don’t have to get along 100%, but I’d like you to be able to get along with each other without me around. I don’t want to worry I’ll be coming back to a fight or something every time I leave you on your own.” You explain. “Not that that’s really ever been a problem, but-.”
“I get it. You’re worried the change in dynamic from friends to lovers would make things worse.” Law interrupts with a sigh. His expression says he wants to argue but can’t. “The logic’s sound.”
“This is all Honor System based.” Kid says after reading the whole thing.
“Yeah, I’m not trying to get lawyers or blood oaths involved.” You’re grinning as you look between the two of them. “Besides, I trust you two. If not then, well, I mean, I probably wouldn’t have been willing to try this.”
Kid makes a face as he looks over it again.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s nothing in here to protect you.” He says, setting the paper down and tapping it. “What if we get to the end of this trial and you decide you don’t like either of us? I mean, if you pick one or the other, then the other just bounces – finds a different gym, keeps their distance on campus, that sort of thing.”
“I… huh? I mean… we would just… go back to being friends, right?” You had been so sure about that, but seeing Kid and Law’s faces was making you feel weird.
“(Y/N)-ya…” Law hesitated, but you could understand the look on his face.
“Sorry Mouse, but we did this because… I mean, shit. It sounds like a punk-ass thing to say, but I’d need some time if you picked that emo-fuck.” Kid’s expression was caught between embarrassment and frustration.
“He’s not wrong.” Law admits.
“Oh. Oh… ah hahaha, aahh – heck.” You put your hands over your face. “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t realize.”
“It’s alright, we were trying to not pressure you.” Law explains.
“… The way you two keep talking, it’s like you’ve been talking about this between yourselves before now.” You say, peeking from between your fingers enough to see them both flinch.
“It was… a few weeks ago.” Law starts explaining. “We both knew how the other felt about you long before then (Y/N)-ya, but-.”
“Long before then?” You repeat. You’re not mad, but you were starting to wonder how long you had been oblivious about these two. You’re starting to feel a little horrified that you never noticed before now.
“… I’m not gonna recount sappy shit like that in front of him.” Kid grumbles. “But yeah, long before.”
Law clears his throat and pulls the conversation back. “A few weeks ago, we heard someone talking about Sweetest Day. We made, well, a Gentleman’s Bet. We’d ask at the same time, the same way, and take whatever happened.”
“I said you wouldn’t be able to choose,” Kid interjects with a grin. “You’re too nice, Mouse.”
“That’s when we agreed to offer the compromise.” Law finishes dryly. “The counteroffer,” he says tapping the paper, “wasn’t exactly expected, but I can’t say I’m completely surprised.”
You’re quiet for a moment before you sigh. “So, everything’s going to change just before winter break no matter what.”
“Everything was going to change once you graduated,” Kid says, and when you catch his gaze you can feel the heat rising in your face. “We weren’t exactly oblivious, Mouse.”
“It’s another reason why we were willing to take the risk.” Law adds.
“I wasn’t… I mean, I meant to… um.”
“Meant to say nothing and just let that ship sail, eh? Gonna move back to whatever part of the Metro you came from and let it go?” Kid’s voice was mostly teasing, but there was a twinge of irritation. “That’s letting things change for shitty reasons, Mouse.”
“For what it’s worth,” Law offers. “You weren’t overt, but it wasn’t impossible to notice either, and the two of us are around you more than most.”
Kid grunts. “You didn’t smile at Killer the same way, and your voice wouldn’t hit the same pitch, unless it was him.” He explains, jerking his thumb toward Law.
“Oh gods don’t start telling me my tells.” You say, putting your head down onto the table and covering the back of your head as you face goes red. “It’s too late for me to stop and I don’t need to hear it.”
Kid chuckles. “Alright, but there is one more thing we need to talk about, Mouse.”
“Somewhere other than here, though.” Law says, standing up. “It’s not a conversation that needs to be overheard.”
“You comfortable having us over?” Kid asks as you and he get up as well.
“I mean, yeah?” You did just admit you trusted them, and they were more likely to behave with the other around to keep them in check.
“Let’s head over there then,” Law says, “I’ll drive.”
“Do you even have a car? Your whole crew’s a buncha eco-freaks.” Kid asks as you all file out of the café. “I just can’t imagine rocking anything with more leg-room than a Prius.”
“You make it sound like you haven’t customized that beast of yours to be practically zero emissions.” Law retorts easily, clicking a button and flashing the lights on a black Audi with gold rims.
“That’s not a Prius,” you grin at Eustass as he snorts. “Is that an RS7?”
“It’s the limited edition,” Kid grumbles before Law could answer.
You made Kid sit up front with Law and gave directions to your apartment from the café. It was a short enough drive, and nothing happened in the car. You took them up to the fourth, and top, floor of the complex and brought them into your space.
It was a simple enough design. A small hall with a coat closet and space for shoes that opened into a kitchen on the right and a living room space beyond that. Your bedroom was to the left, just after a door to a half-bath that was meant for guest usage. The full bathroom was beyond that, with a better entrance from your room. It was almost completely square, and easy enough to maintain. Ideal for one person with enough extra space for a couple guests.
The living room had just enough space for a sectional couch and a TV, with a couple stools that were under the breakfast counter that separated the living room and kitchen.
You made coffee and tea for drinks for everyone and Kid and Law settled into either side of the sectional. Setting drinks down, you pulled a stool over to the coffee table and sat on it, facing the two of them.
“So, what’s the clandestine topic you have to share that can’t be said in a café?”
“How much do you know about the Metro’s underground?” Law asks calmly.
You almost choke on your tea.
“I mean, I grew up close to the center of the city.” You admit, regaining your composure easily. “I’m sure I know more than most. Like, I know the Warlords by name, and I know they’re meant to keep the Emperors in check. I know the outer sections have, um, Kings – people who establish themselves in those areas and make a bid for either a Warlord position or Emperor position.
“And all that is because everyone believes the legendary One Piece is somewhere in the center of the Metro.” You take a sip of your tea as you finish.
“Wow, Mouse.” Kid looks genuinely surprised. “Here I thought you were just a little house mouse.”
“Do you know who the King of East Blue is?” Law sets his tea down as he asks. If he was surprised by what you knew you hadn’t caught his expression.
You nod. “I would like to hope so.”
“Friends of yours?” Kid questions and you nod again. He laughs, and it’s full of amusement. “Fuck Mouse, we were walking around on our tiptoes and here you’re practically in the same boat.”
“Eh?”
“Eustass-ya is the King of South Blue, and I’m the King of North Blue.” Law explains. “Half of why I’m finishing my degree here, and why Eustass is here, is so we can watch over East Blue for Luffy while his crew’s traveling.”
“So… you’re all friends?”
Law shrugs. “It’s more like an alliance.”
“It turns out what we’re all after is just different enough there’s no reason for us not to help one another.” Kid explains.
“I… huh.” You sit on the stool and mull over what you were hearing.
“We wanted you to know what you were potentially getting into, if this goes forward.” Law says. “It’s not the kind of information that should said lightly, but it would be -.”
“It’d be fucked up if you fell for us without knowing we’re basically criminals, Mouse.” Kid interrupts.
“Yeah… I…” You make a weird noise of frustration. “Hang on.”
You get up and go into your bedroom, pulling a picture down that has you, Luffy, and Shanks. You’re barely even ten in the photo and Luffy’s a couple years younger, and Shanks wasn’t pushing forty. You go back out into the living room, looking down at the picture, before sighing and handing it over.
“I’m… not allowed to speak on the details, but I think that says enough.”
You might not have seen any surprise on Law’s face before, but you certainly saw it now. He handed the photo over to Kid who nearly dropped it.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing he’s not part of our plans.” Law admits, shaking his head lightly. “Of all the possibilities to expect, this was not one of them.”
Kid laughs, setting the picture down on the coffee table. “We’re all a bunch of idiots. No wonder you were always so vague about your family, Mouse. Fuck, we were all worried about running the others off by bein’ honest.” He leans back, putting his arms out along the back of the couch. “This all sounds like the best outcome we coulda hoped for.”
“I mean, yeah, but… ah, I hope I don’t come across as rude for saying this, but I’m not officially associated with, um-.”
“Neither of us are here ‘cause we’re trying for anything like that.” Kid says with a crooked smile, waving his hand idly. “I mean, we didn’t know about any of this until just now.”
“And we’re not like the Charlottes,” Law added. “We’re not going exploit you.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t, I just -.”
“It’s fine, Mouse. We get it.” Kid pats the couch. “We got all the details covered, come sit down.”
“I am sitting.” You insist, motioning to your stool.
“You’re not sitting. You’re perched like you’re a sneeze away from locking yourself in your room.” Kid says, giving you a sarcastic look. “Your paper thing said you wanted the three of us to hang out from time to time, and not just one or the other of us, so,” he pats the couch again. “I’m not going to eat you. I mean, not unless you ask me to.”
“You’ve sat between us before,” Law points out.
“Yes, before uh…” You wave your hand idly, but get up with a bit of a sigh, walking past Law’s legs to sit in the turn of the sectional. “It was easier when I didn’t know that anyone knew.”
Kid slides a little closer, turning at the last minute and bringing his leg up so there was a buffer between the two of you. He’s still tall enough to close the distance, but he stays back for the most part.
“If anything makes you uncomfortable, just use a color system, Mouse.” He offers with a sure grin. “Green means you’re good, yellow means you’re not sure and things need to slow down, and red means you need things to stop.”
“That sounds like safe words for BDSM,” you muse, glancing over and seeing Law’s moved closer as well, his position mirroring Kid’s.
“It’s a straightforward way to communicate that’s easy to remember in the heat of the moment.” Law explains, the look in his eyes making your face go red. You can’t hold onto the golden gaze and look away, opting instead to look at your knees and feet. “What color are you at now?”
You can feel Law and Kid leaning closer. You can feel your heart thundering in your chest, and you’re certainly you’re lit up like a Christmas tree right now, but you’re not uncomfortable. Embarrassed, sure, and certainly not in a mind to initiate anything yourself, but you don’t feel unsafe.
“G-green.”
“You’re beet-red and you’re saying green?” Kid muses. He doesn’t sound argumentative, just curious.
You nod.
“Can you explain it to me, (Y/N)-ya?”
“I… I’m not afraid, and, um, even though I’m – I’m,” you stumble over the word and just wave your hand around your obviously red face. “It’s… not… uncomfortable. I’m not worried or… anything.”
“So, if we go a little further,” Kid’s voice is heavy in your ear and you can feel the tickle of his breath against your skin.
His fingers slip over your yours lightly, and Law’s do the same with your other hand. You can’t believe these two coordinated this, but you can imagine they’re both caught up in the moment in similar ways. Kid’s hand is hot, almost feverishly so, and Law’s hand is cool by comparison, almost cold. Neither were uncomfortable, but you were reminded of red vs blue, fire vs ice, night and day.
Definably different, but oddly similar at the same time.
“If you just turn your head a little,” Kid prompts.
You shake your head. “I… I don’t want to choose, I’m sorry.”
“Then me first,” Law’s voice is practically a command. “I don’t want that punk’s lipstick all over the place,” he grumbles, a thin cool finger pressed against your chin, turning you gently toward him.
You can hear Eustass click his tongue, but he doesn’t argue. Law’s lips find yours, soft and dry and warm, with a kiss that’s restrained. You can almost feel the need and want that lingers behind it, it’s practically chaste, if not for the emotions behind it. You could feel your heart flutter, and the little zip of electricity that skip through your chest made your breath come out just a little heavy.
You smiled softly at Law before you turned toward Eustass.
“Don’t start being competitive already,” You say, seeing the wolfish grin on Kid’s face.
“Yeah, yeah, c’mere, Mouse.” His words are grinning more than his mouth as his lips push against yours. The hot kiss carried the scent and feel of lipstick, but the same restrained emotions swirled behind it. Given his usual default level of fire and passion you felt like he was restraining himself even more, to avoid making you think he was being competitive.
The flutter and zing of your heart was different from what Law did to you, but it was still deeply pleasant and, admittedly, addicting.
If these first kisses were any indication, you were going to face a terribly difficult choice come winter break.
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cardcaptorsakura96 · 6 months ago
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Preparing for the Future-Chapter 1
Fandom: Supergirl
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Rose Zen (Original Character), Marigold Zen (Original Character), Violet Zen (Original Character), J'onn J'onzz, Winn Schott, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Zatanna, Barry Allen
Summary: Kara, Lena, and the Zen girls start preparing for the upcoming battle. The training is hard, but they meet interesting new people along the way that will help them on their journey.
This is Part 2 of the World Collector Trilogy. Part 1 is Unwitting Rescue.
Lena leaned back and stretched in her chair. She closed her laptop and looked around her office. She was done with work-related activities for the day. Now, she had to handle personal stuff which she was a little skeptical about. Lena was startled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. 
Lena looked up and said, “Come in.”
Lena smiled as she saw Kara come through the door carrying three cups of coffee and a box of donuts. 
“Hello darling,” purred Lena. 
Kara smiled and said, “Hello, my love. Hope I made it in time.”
Lena looked down at her watch and mused, “We still have five minutes before our guest arrives.”
Kara breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down and put the food and drink on Lena’s desk. 
“I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it. It took me a little bit to wrangle the girls to get them ready.”
Lena looked around curiously and asked, “Speaking of the girls….”
Kara smiled and said, “They are with Jess. She offered to take them to the conference room to get cake and hot chocolate.”
Lena breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I am glad that she was able to distract them. I thought about having them in for this conversation…but…”
Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “You want to vet her first?”
Lena smiled warily and said, “Well, we don’t know that much about her. Plus, Batman just arranged this meeting. There is no guarantee that she will take on the girls as pupils. I don’t want to get the girls’ hopes up of meeting the woman and she just turns us down.”
Kara nodded and said, “That is very sound logic…” Kara looked up at Lena with a smirk and said, “…but that is your politically correct answer. What is the real reason that you want to vet her?”
Lena looked down with a slight pout and said, “I know Batman heavily vouches for this woman since they date, but his dating history from what you told me is…how do I put this nicely….”
Kara smirked and said, “Less than desirable.”
Lena sighed and said, “Well, yeah. You don’t think so?”
Kara looked up thoughtfully and said, “I know he hasn’t had the best track record, but this girl seems nice and Clark likes her even though he hates magic with a passion.”
Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “Really? Are you really not concerned considering the last several people he dated? Catwoman is a kleptomaniac, Talia is a cult leader, Poison Ivy is an eco-terrorist….”
Suddenly a young woman’s voice said, “I know I tend to be secretive, but I believe that I have enough morals not to be grouped with the likes of those maniacs.”
Kara and Lena yelped as they turned to the right and saw a young woman who appeared to be in her mid-20s. She had tan skin, brown eyes, and long black hair. She was wearing a black top hat, black jacket, white button-down shirt, a black bowtie, black skirt, black six-inch high heels, and fishnet stockings. 
The woman took off her top hat, bowed, and said, “The amazing Zatanna at your service.”
Lena took a couple of moments to catch her breath and frowned. 
“I do have a door for a reason.”
Zatanna smirked as she went to sit next to Kara and asked, “What is the fun in that?”
Lena rubbed her head and muttered, “I am already regretting this choice.”
Zatanna chuckled and said, “I am sorry for the theatrics. I thought that Batman would have explained my…flair for the dramatics considering my background.”
Kara nodded and said, “He did mention that you are a world-renowned magician that tours worldwide. I heard that your tour made over a billion dollars last year.”
Zatanna smiled and said, “I have become quite popular.”
Lena leaned back in her chair while eyeing Zatanna carefully and said, “Which begs to question, why would you be willing to take on three students during the middle of your tour?”
Zatanna eyed Lena coyly and said, “Well, it is not every day that you get told that an evil being is going to just pluck up our world out of existence in so many years. I know I may come across as silly to you, but I do take something like that quite seriously. I think more heroes should honestly be training our children to be ready for what is to come. Zatanna leaned back, narrowed her eyes, and asked, “One thing I am curious about though. Considering your background, why don’t you just teach the children magic?”
Lena looked at her startled while Kara chuckled and said, “Lena doesn’t have magical powers.”
Zatanna looked back and forth between Kara and Lena frowning and said, “I don’t understand.”
Lena looked at her baffled and said, “I think you are confused. I have never used magic once in my life.”
Zatanna leaned back in her chair and tapped her fingers together. 
“Very curious indeed,” mused Zatanna. She got up and circled around Lena and said, “You have a huge magical aura that surrounds you.”
Lena chuckled nervously and said, “That can’t be right. I think that I would have realized if I had magical powers.”
Zatanna cocked her head at Lena and then shouted, “Laever Egaenil.”
Suddenly, Lena’s forehead glowed yellow before revealing an owl with a crown symbol on her forehead.”
Zatanna looked at Lena surprised and muttered, “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.”
Read the rest on AO3
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grimalkinmessor · 1 year ago
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ribbon & smut for AFOFA pretty please 🖤🎀 I need smth to comfort me after reading about Yoichi poisoning Afo 🥲
I tried to make this super fluffy for you, Anon 🙏 As a treat ✨
AFOFA/Smut/Ribbon
———
Yoichi was irked.
He didn't want to be. Honestly—it felt ungrateful to be upset that Takashi had seemingly forgotten his birthday. Yoichi didn't need a flood of presents, or a seven-tier gourmet cake like the one Takashi had commissioned for him last year.
But a simple 'happy birthday' wouldn't have been amiss either.
Yoichi was trying not to think about it. His brother was busy, that was all. His businesses were taking off, and every day it seemed like more and more of Takashi's time was spent on the phone directing someone or other; in annoyed tones more often than not. Takashi had so many other more important things to worry about—Yoichi shouldn't hold it against him.
Takashi was the reason they were able to live so well now, after all. They'd gone from broken abandoned buildings to shady apartment buildings to, now, their own buildings—all thanks to Takashi's hard work doing...whatever it was he did. Yoichi wasn't quite sure, given that his eyes always glazed over whenever Takashi started talking technobabble. Stocks? Or something?
Well, whatever it was had Takashi pulling in so much cash that he'd been able to get their very own house built, as well as an office building across town close to Yoichi's university. There was a living space in the office building, which was where Takashi (and Yoichi, by extension) spent most of his time. Takashi would crash on one of the many plush couches every few days, having pushed the limits of his recently acquired wakefulness power, and Yoichi would curl up in one of the cushy armchairs and do his homework over the sound of Takashi's snoring. More often than not Yoichi ended up sleeping in the office building too.
The house was...lonely, without Takashi there.
But, as Yoichi wasn't particularly in the mood to see his brother (because his temper wasn't a logical thing, and the venom it fostered from his mouth was seldom reasonable or deserved), he went straight from his university to the house. If nothing else, he'd decided he could bake himself his own birthday cake. Takashi always had the pantry stocked with the finest ingredients, and over the years Yoichi had grown from 'amateur chef' to 'skilled chocolatier'. Nothing too fancy, of course, but a two-tiered French vanilla cake certainly wasn't outside his purview.
In his earliest memories, Yoichi remembered shared donuts, mochi, even a whole box of nerikiri gifted to him on his birthday. His first ever cake was a Castella cake, and Takashi had looked so proud of himself when he presented it that Yoichi had immediately resolved to eat the whole thing, even if he didn't like it. He's never needed fancy things for his birthday, just...to spend it with the one person who gave a damn about him.
Yoichi stepped into the house, keys jingling, but paused when he noticed the light in the kitchen was already on. His brow furrowed. Takashi should still be at the office building, and his paranoid brother wouldn't have sent any of his lackeys into their personal space. Toeing off his shoes, Yoichi padded silently over to the fireplace and slid the iron poker from its holder.
It had been a while since he'd had to fight anyone, but Yoichi's sickness hadn't acted up recently; he was fairly confident that he could take them. Besides, any intruders would've tripped at least one of the tens of alarms Takashi had set up—his brother would likely be on his way right now. And Yoichi'd like to see anyone take on Takashi on his own turf and win.
Grip tight on his makeshift weapon, Yoichi carefully peeked around the corner of the kitchen arch. A heavy sigh of relief gusted out of his mouth at the sight of, not an intruder, but a myriad of treats set out over the counter. Yoichi returned the poker quickly to its place and slid eagerly back into the kitchen, heart lifting.
Platters of donuts, wagashi, and cupcakes glittered in the soft kitchen light. There was even a bouquet of fresh fruit next to a small chocolate fountain. Yoichi plucked up a strawberry and dipped it, munching on it with a pleased hum.
At the epicenter of it all was a three-tiered cake, shimmering with glittery sprinkles and bright white frosting. There were green roses and red daisies iced in a trail across all three tiers, spotted with the occasional rainflower. Yoichi swiped his finger through one of the lower petals, sticking it in his mouth. Yes, it was buttercream. A warm feeling began to bloom in his chest, a soft smile curling his lips.
Takashi hadn't forgotten his birthday at all.
Yoichi startled when there was a sudden flash of light from down the hall, further into the house. There was a thud, and then a quiet flood of familiar cursing.
Poking his head out into the hall, he saw that the door to his bedroom was ajar. Mood lifted and curious, Yoichi made his way down the hall and flicked on his bedroom light.
On the floor, completely naked and shibaried up in red ribbon, Takashi froze. His eyes went wide, and his face paled and flushed in rapid succession.
Yoichi...stared.
"This is...exactly what it looks like, but let me explain," Takashi tried, wiggling on the floor to try and get himself upright, and failing.
Yoichi pressed a hand to his mouth to muffle the delighted giggles that assailed him, laughing so hard it nearly sounded like his brother's cackle, the other hand clutching the doorframe to keep himself upright. Takashi's eyes hooded, his expression deadpan and unimpressed even as his cheeks dusted pink.
"And what," Yoichi managed to gasp after a few moments, "exactly, a-am I looking at?"
"Your birthday present, which I am considering taking away," Takashi snapped, ruffled. "You ungrateful brat. Do you even know how hard it was to find a beribboning power?" he complained.
Yoichi smirked, humming as he ventured into his room and knelt before Takashi's prone form. Crimson ribbon crisscrossed over Takashi's broad chest, angling in at his hips and tying his calves to his thighs, his arms held neatly behind his back. It was tied in a big red bow at his neck. Yoichi curled a finger under the tight satin wrapped around Takashi's stomach, pulling a bit to test its give. Of which there was none. "I'm guessing hard enough that you didn't have time to practice with it first?" Yoichi grinned when Takashi grumbled, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. "Only you would be arrogant enough to present yourself as a birthday gift."
"Do you not like it?" Takashi demanded, affronted. He sucked in a sharp breath when Yoichi pushed him onto his back, chuckling.
"I like it very much," Yoichi mused, leaning down to press a kiss to his brother's pout. He ran his hands appreciatively down Takashi's sides and traced the angled ribbons down to his cock, which had started to thicken as soon as Yoichi stepped in the room. "It's not often that you give me something so rare," he murmured, trailing his fingertips up the underside of the hot flesh.
"Tease," Takashi accused, sounding a little breathless. Yoichi grinned.
His brother giving up control was rare. The rarest thing on God's green Earth, in fact, the rarest thing in the entire mint cosmos. And Yoichi intended to take full advantage of it.
With a hum, he leaned back and drifted his hand lower, slender fingers pushing against the inside of Takashi's thigh to spread his legs. The bit of ribbon wrapped around the base of Takashi's cock (ridiculous) trailed down between his cheeks to tie into the ones crisscrossed over his back. Takashi's breath stuttered when Yoichi traced a finger down the satin line, red eyes wide.
"Is this your way of letting me top for once?" Yoichi cooed. He smirked when Takashi's muscles twitched under his hands.
"Is that...what you want?" Takashi asked carefully.
Yoichi made a show of thinking about it. Takashi's thigh flexed and shuddered in his grasp, but Yoichi wouldn't be able to hold him open like this if Takashi didn't let him.
With a put-upon sigh, Yoichi retracted his other hand and scrubbed his palms up Takashi's bound legs. He crawled up to sit on his brother's hips, shedding his own soft corduroy pants as he went. "All of our lube is at the office, and that slickening power of yours doesn't work on you," he said by way of answer, and felt Takashi relax underneath him. Yoichi smiled serenely and leaned down to murmur, "So maybe later."
Takashi froze again, and Yoichi laughed at him. Lifting his hips a little, Yoichi shed his boxers and tossed them aside. He rocked his hips down with a sigh, grinding against Takashi's erection to get some friction on his own.
Takashi's head fell back against the floorboards, neck bared, and Yoichi dived down to kiss his throat with the fervor of a man finding gold for the first time. He kissed the underside of Takashi's jaw, nipping, and moaned softly when Takashi bucked up to rub their cocks together.
Yoichi wanted to take his time here, wanted to work his way to the main event at his leisure—but Takashi had always been demanding, even when trying to give gifts. Hungry for praise and gratitude and adoration and everything else Yoichi had to give.
So Yoichi sighed, fumbling a bit to get a hand underneath Takashi's back. He grasped one of his brother's bound hands, fingers instantly interlocking in a vice grip. Yoichi sucked in a breath as that familiar fluttering sensation zipped through his gut; the feeling of the slickening power taking effect.
When he dragged himself a little further up Takashi's chest (god why did his brother have to be so tall), he slid Takashi's cock between his cheeks, rocking back against it with a heavy breath.
Yoichi could take his time later—after he'd gotten some of Takashi's impatience out of the way.
He reached back to guide the head of that thick cock into him, sinking slowly back onto it and hiccuping out a surprised noise when it popped past his rim. He clenched instinctively, and Takashi groaned, a bead of sweat dripping down his temple. Yoichi could feel Takashi's muscles shiver and twitch, straining to keep still against every instinct demanding otherwise. Yoichi appreciated it—the initial stretch was always a bit overwhelming.
Panting, Yoichi pushed his palms against Takashi's chest to keep himself steady as he took in inch by steady inch of his brother's dick. He took and took and took until he couldn't take anymore...and then some. Until he sat with his ass flush against Takashi's hips, trembling and flushed and sweating. He pressed a hand to his stomach and marvelled at the full feeling, arousal mounting quickly to match Takashi's own frantic whines.
"Je t'aime," Takashi panted, voice rough. "Je t'aime, mon coeur, mon âme, à moi—I love you, Yoichi, I love you, move—"
"Takashi," Yoichi moaned, rising shakily on his knees before dropping back down. It punched an almost wounded noise out of him, and Takashi was quick to echo it. Yoichi braced his hands against Takashi's chest for leverage as he started to ride him. His legs quickly began to burn from the effort, but Yoichi didn't want to stop.
He loved the sound of Takashi begging.
"I love my present," Yoichi breathed. "I love you. I love seeing you like this." He leaned down and kissed Takashi's gasping mouth, murmuring against his lips, "Like no one else gets to. Like you're just for me."
"Always," Takashi promised wildly, pupils blown plate-wide. "Just for you."
A purr escaped Yoichi's lips, his own pupils swallowing the green of his irises as his arousal mounted. He tipped back to ride Takashi faster, harder, sliding past that spot inside that set his nerves alight on every new push downwards. He lost time then, so focused on the sensation of his straining muscles and the pleasure of Takashi inside him, the sight of his strong, stubborn, invincible brother coming apart beneath him, vulnerable and wanting. Yoichi now understood Takashi's fascination with fucking him to tears—it was an intoxicating feeling.
Then, so abruptly it stunned him, Yoichi's legs gave out beneath him. Takashi grit his teeth and bucked his hips up without waiting for Yoichi to recover, fucking a surprised cry out of him. Sweat sheened Takashi's skin, the position awkward and no doubt a little painful, but Takashi seemed determined. A breathless laugh escaped Yoichi's mouth, and he fell forward to collapse against Takashi's chest, so near the finish line but far too short of breath and energy to continue. Damn fragile body.
"Keep this bit," Yoichi said, plucking at the bow around Takashi's throat, the ribbon gleaming between them. "You can get rid of the rest."
Takashi needed no more encouragement. He tore through the ribbons like paper, showing how little they were really doing to restrain him, and lifted Yoichi off the floor only to turn and immediately tackle him back onto the bed. Yoichi gasped as Takashi began to fuck him in earnest, much more roughly than he would usually allow himself to be. Yoichi laughed again, though it became more of a moan as Takashi set about driving him to the edge of orgasm—always more about the destination than the journey, his brother.
Yoichi hooked his arms around Takashi's shoulders, smiling against the pretty bow still tied around his brother's neck. He sucked a hickey above the crimson satin, pleased as punch to have ruined Takashi's oh-so-perfect composure.
Takashi buried his face in Yoichi's hair, clutching him close and making more noise than Yoichi had ever heard him make before. It only served to drive Yoichi that much more wild, back arching as Takashi fucked him so hard he saw stars, pleasure coiling tight and hot in his gut.
"Takashi—Takashi, I'm—" Yoichi gasped, before the coil snapped. His eyes rolled back in his head, muscles spasming as he came all over his stomach, moaning and whining in Takashi's ear. Vaguely, through a fog of nirvana, Yoichi registered Takashi following right after him, whispering fierce and fevered accolades into his hair as he sank deep into Yoichi and stayed.
For moment, it was quiet. Heated skin against heated skin, heavy breaths puffing past sensitive ear as they came down from their respective highs. Heart beat against heart beat.
Yoichi was the first to break the silence.
"So...cake?"
Takashi buried his face in Yoichi's shoulder and laughed.
———
And a little gift from my AFOFA playlist for you Anon :)
...I'm sorry. Have the real one for this one lol
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shaftking · 7 months ago
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It would be one thing if the fat acceptance people accepted that they were obese and the consequences that come with it, but they don't. They try to push it as a good thing to be with no consequences. Even the heavily increased food budget cannot be mentioned. They try to snuff me out if I bring up how my binge eating disorder is genuinely affecting me and is an eating disorder. That is what I hate about the fat acceptance people.
But I dont ride that wavelength. I recently broke my binge eating trend by figuring out allulose pulls me out of the binge eating-mindset almost immediately. Add in the fact that my doctor and I figured out a medication that reduces my heavy muscle fatigue, making me able to lift some weights again, and I am set. I am now at a point where I am eating around 1200 calories a day and lifting weights while watching/listening to My 600 Pound Life as motivation (you know, it is what not to be.) They're 10 pound weights, sure, but I am a girl and do not want to be strong. I just need to do enough to both lose some weight and reduce some of the constant pain.
Will I post this on my own account? Maybe once I am far enough to not be called a hypocrite by the fat acceptance group. But it's a big change that definitely feels better than their stupid logic. I wish they would let there be discussion on how other disabilities can lead one down the path and how the weight just makes those disabilities worse. I wish saying "binge eating is an eating disorder" wasn't taboo. It just all sucks.
Good for you on working on yourself! I know that shit is hard. Tbh if you’re morbidly obese, even taking daily walks counts as exercise in the beginning of a weightloss journey. I wouldn’t stress about them too much as it relates to your own health and wellness journey, because it seems to me that no matter what you do you can’t please them because they are largely just looking for ways to excuse their own behaviors and put others down to try and quell their own insecurities.
And yeah fat activists absolutely hate people talking about their binge eating disorder because they’ve either decided to categorically ignore that it exists, or they have just decided that their binge-restrict cycle (if they binge eat and aren’t simply just eating way more than normal) is actually normal.
You also do bring up a good point about the cost it takes to maintain such a large weight a lot of the time. It can cost a whole lot to be eating what it takes to be morbidly obese, and it’s pretty laughable that fat activists will try to claim they are “food insecure” or aren’t eating enough when they’re either secret eaters (ie unaware of how much they are actually eating on the regular) or they are unaware of just how man empty calories are in the ultra processed food that dominates their diet.
Not to shame snacking or the occasional bag of hotchips, donut, ice cream sundae, or big mac, etc because I think a truly healthy relationship with food means that you can still generally have fun, nothing foods like these now and then but that most of the time you eat mostly healthy and stay as mobile and active as you are able. I just want people to be honest with themselves and do the best for themselves that they can, and to be realistic about goals and expectations.
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galaxythixf · 7 months ago
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Cont. || X || @tacitusauxilium
There were certain treats he just couldn't resist and the innocent longing for something sweetly baked was one of them. Ken didn't have a sweet tooth per se, but something this delicious felt like a reward of sorts for all of his hard work. Maybe a part of himself felt like he had earned this somehow and Fuuka was doing a decent job at encouraging this line of logic with her own. "We could always make him something but it always feels better getting him a special treat." They were capable of making him treats at any point of the day but buying a few was a rare occurrence.
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His insistence to buy was likely due to pride, something he wanted to use as a means of proving to himself that he was capable rather than making the logically sound choice. Realistically he knows his money would likely only be spent on something trivial anyway, Featherman merchandise if he would allow himself, so spending it on someone else was the mature option was it not? Ken didn't seem to mind that explanation or at least that's how he was going to justify this purchase it seemed. "I think I'll have a cinnamon twist and a strawberry frosted donut." He would be lying if he said the sprinkles and the frosting didn't appeal to him even a little bit. Change rests in the palm of his hand as he digs into his pockets, pleased to be able to pay for something as their treats were prepared.
"I think Koromaru can keep our little secret. Do you think we could come back here sometime again?"
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grace-kloeckl · 1 year ago
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Discussion Leader Presentation
SABOTAGE - BEASTIE BOYS (JAN 1994)
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The Beastie Boys song Sabotage and music video was released in 1994. It was filmed throughout L.A. in Los Feliz, Echo Park, Silverlake, Hollywood, and Downtown Los Angeles. The message of this song is considered to be “anti-authority”. Although not revealed until 2020 in their documentary, the inspiration behind Sabotage was their former producer whom they felt was constantly "sabotaging" them. This song and music video has been reproduced in many formats. Different versions have been made, it has been featured in TV shows and movies (such as Futurama and an advertisement for Minions: the Rise of Gru), and performed on Saturday Night Live. In 2020, it was used as background music for a Biden campaign ad, criticising Trump's COVID response and featuring Biden wearing black shades jogging up into a plane.
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Our readings have introduced different perspectives on mass culture: the disappearance of the aura in Walter Benjamin's essay, how the culture industry functions within existing power structures in Horkheimer and Adorno’s essay, and how messages are created and received in Hall’s essay.
Considering these perspectives, the mass production and popularity of the music video for Sabotage by Beastie Boys reveals how the culture industry elevates and thrives off pieces which have vague and digestible meanings.
Sabotage in particular demonstrates the lack of autonomy a piece has after becoming a part of culture. Rather than having a clear intention or message, this song and music video seems to use vague emotional appeals, humour, and action to catch people's attention. The storyline is hard to follow, but it is reminiscent of crime dramas, except there's no distinction between "good" guys or "bad" guys. It shows authority figures causing chaos rather than fulfilling their supposed role. The appearance and behaviour of the policemen characters are exaggerated and silly. They're wearing fake moustaches, fake mullets, and sunglasses and are shown doing ridiculous and unnecessary things like jumping from building to building, spontaneously somersaulting, and eating donuts. This has the effect of making fun of policemen.
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I wonder if there's a connection between the "anti-authority" interpretation and the L.A. Riots following the videotaped beating of Rodney King. Despite the proximity, the video doesn't seem to directly address this.
Regardless, the way it was received by the audience as “anti-authority” doesn’t take precedence over the way the culture industry functions, which is to produce copies and further profit off of the popularity of the song and music video. Through this process, the piece’s supposed “anti-authority” message gets distorted and weakened.
Taking from Walter Benjamin, its video format “substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence” (1236). The audience is separated from the context in which it was filmed. Taken out of context, the purposiveness of the piece is lost as it occupies new settings and may be interpreted completely differently. Because it is produced with this intention of mass consumption, which thrives off emotional appeal and relatability, the purpose or message gets somewhat diluted. According to Walter Benjamin, "it begins to be based on another practice - politics” (1237). This brings me back to the Biden campaign ad which uses this song with a supposed "anti-authority" reputation to criticise Trump (linked below 0:07 - 1:07).
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According to Horkheimer and Adorno, the logic of a work is congruous with that of the social system (1242). In this case, while the Sabotage video might be considered anti-authority for its utter chaos and destruction, it doesn't specifically critique authority or demand an action. Rather, it seems like a crime drama parody, and it affirms what we already think. The theme of “anti-authority” may make people feel empowered, but this is similar to the aestheticization of war. It glorifies this catharsis of emotion that justifies the social system and power structures in place.
“The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion.” (Horkheimer and Adorno 1237)
FEEL GOOD - GORILLAZ (MAY 2005)
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This is a very popular song by the Gorillaz, and it offers a critique of culture by depicting how consumers are numbed out on "good" emotions and trapped inside this system that exists to profit off of musicians and consumers. Ironically, this song also hit No. 2 in the U.K. and No. 14 in the U.S., so its success depends very system that it criticises.
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Above is a moving image of the character 2D, using a megaphone to try to get people to listen. He says,
City's breaking down on a camel's back They just have to go, 'cause they don't know wack So while you fill the streets, it's appealing to see You won't get out the county, 'cause you're bad and free
You got a new horizon, it's ephemeral style A melancholy town where we never smile And all I wanna hear is the message beep My dreams, they got a kissing 'Cause I don't get sleep, no
The lyrics are hard to understand on their own, but paired with the visual of 2D walking over all these people lying on the ground, not paying attention to him, it becomes clear that he's trying to get a message out, but no one is listening. The words he speaks into the microphone become thin air, and everyone is too numb to hear him.
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He then looks out the window and sees Noodle floating on an island peacefully playing music. Birds are chirping in the background, and during this part of the song, the sound and voice changes creating a more peaceful and faraway feeling. However, in the video, you can see that there are helicopters chasing Noodle down, suggesting that she will inevitably get trapped in the culture industry. This reminds me of a quote from Horkheimer and Adorno: "Talented performers belong to the industry long before it displays them; otherwise they would not be so eager to fit in" (1243).
The reading and the music video suggest the inevitability that the forces of the culture industry are too strong to be resisted, and any talent will be pulled into its orbit and pushed through its system to the masses.
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Throughout the music video 2D seems stuck and anxious to find a way to escape and get other people to hear what he's saying. When De La Soul comes on speaking on the big screens, 2D looks up frightened and seems to feel cornered into becoming part of the system although he doesn't want to. There's a lyric sung by De La Soul that goes,
Gon' bite the dust, can't fight with us With yo' sound, you kill the Inc
So don't stop, get it, get it (get it) Until you're cheddar headed
It demonstrates the feeling of pressure on 2D to keep going, and De La Soul is convincing him that his song with this message can "kill the Inc".
What I find interesting about this song is that while it is a critique of the music industry and mass culture, because it functions within that very system, its message may be overlooked. Horkheimer and Adorno say that culture has an "economic mechanism of selection... there is the agreement - or at least the determination - of all executive authorities not to produce or sanction anything that in any way differs from their own rules, their own ideas about consumers, or above all themselves" (1244). Despite its critique of the system, this song still abides to the rules of the culture industry, in the way that it has been produced and received by the public. Producers are aware of this, so producing a song that critiques the music industry doesn't worry them because it doesn't change the power structures. In this instance, the song became very popular. This reminds me of a quote from Walter Benjamin:
"Its self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order." (1210)
This song is a good example of this because it was created with a message that reflects a feeling of alienation, yet it is an upbeat song meant to make us "feel good" and succeeds at that. Without analysing it, the meaning can go completely overlooked. Like Hall says, "if the meaning is not articulated in practice, it has no effect" (508).
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Questions for analysis:
How does the transferability of media to different platforms and contexts enhance or dilute the meaningfulness/impact of a piece?
In both music videos, to what extent does the author's intention have authority over the meaning and significance of the piece?
Do you think the culture industry is always self-reinforcing, or are there areas of contradiction where multiple forces are at play? How do these potential areas of contradiction shape or change the way the culture industry functions? 
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presleyhearted · 2 years ago
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Yours Truly - Chapter 4: How Do You Know?
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・❥・Pairing: Elvis Presley x original female character
・❥・Genre: slow burn, mystery, angst, fluff.
・❥・Word Count: 3.3k
・❥・Summary: In which a 21-year-old girl suddenly finds herself having consecutive dreams of a particular rock ‘n’ roll star whom she has never met and who died 45 years ago.
・❥・ Ratings & Warnings: SFW. curse words, brief mentions of sex (literally a single sentence).
|chapter index |prev | chapter 5
--
NOVA 
As the door swung open, the bell above it dings to signify the presence of us. The smell of roasted coffee beans fill my nostrils, its scent permanently nestle in the air of the cafe. The cafe tables adorn the small, but inviting space - its mahogany wood nicely greeted by the warm, ambient lighting. A few chalkboards adorn the walls above the counter, listing the selection of choices that we may purchase. We approach the long counter, and my eyes immediately flock to the contents to the three layers of the glass display case. An assortment of luscious pastries sit invitingly on pastry tray displays; cakes, donuts, cinnamon rolls, croissants, pie and muffins. 
The various baked goods make me unconsciously lick my lips. 
"I take that you like what you see, huh?" Elvis questions in a rhetorical tone, his voice taking my attention away from the sweet delights. 
I smiled, "Very much so." 
Before he could say another word, we are interrupted by a loud and cheery voice of a woman.  
"Elvis!" A woman who looked to be in her late fifties wore a bright smile on her face, as she quickly rounded the counter and enveloped the man beside me in a tight hug. She had red hair secured in a  tight bun, and welcoming brown eyes. She wore an apron over a burgundy dress and a shinning name tag clipped on it. 
She parted from the hug with her hands cupping his face, "Aw look at you sweet boy, still handsome as ever." 
"Not as beautiful as you are Miss Esther." Elvis muses, with a beaming smile that provided a small glimpse of child-like happiness. 
The lady chuckles "Ever the charmer."
Elvis chuckles at this, he returns to my side with his right hand lightly touching my lower back. I feel a rush of warmth through my body, like a jolt of electricity. I intake a sharp breath and pull my lips into my best smile, although my mind is captivated by the lightest touch of his hand. 
"I have brought someone special with me. This is-"
"Heavens above. . .Nova?" A gasp escapes her, her hand quickly covering her mouth as her eyes widened - staring into mine. My brain was still processing Elvis' description of me as 'someone special' and now, on top of that is this wave of shock that seems to be aimed at me. 
How does she know me? I am dreaming. I am dreaming. I am dreaming. I repeat this in my mind because it is the only logical explanation. This is not real. 
I slowly nodded, "Yes, that's me." 
"Nova, meet the great Miss Esther." Elvis says, as she envelops me into her arms. I am beyond confused, but her warm motherly nature eases me a little - I return her hug. She parts from the hug, and her hands slide down to my arms as she smiles brightly at me. But the pure picture of disbelief still very much evident on her face. 
"Oh my, it is such a pleasure to meet you, dear." Her voice is filled with clear delight. 
"It is so nice to meet you too, Miss Esther. I like this place, its calming." I smile, finally mustering a string of words despite my brain running with a million questions. 
"Well, it's hard not to like when it is owned by someone as great as Miss Esther." Elvis smiles, putting his arm around her shoulder into a side hug. 
Miss Esther shakes her head, "You flatter me too much, sweet boy. I know that you only say that because of the food and hot drinks." 
"That's only half true." Elvis shrugs jokingly. 
Miss Esther mocks a gasp, "I knew it! My, my, I feel sorry for that this nice girl is stuck with you." She gestures at me. 
I let out a laugh, "He is a bit of work." I sigh very dramatically. 
"Hey, don't be lying honey!" Elvis plays along, his eyes intense as ever - his level of eye contact make my cheeks heat up a little. 
Our laughter eventually dies down.
Miss Esther's eyes flicker between me and Elvis, a glint in her eyes that I can't quite decipher. 
"Now, what can I get you both?" 
Elvis' eyes light up at the question, removing his hand from my back and steps forward to the selection of choices displayed. I try my best to ignore the absence of the warmth, and instead focus on Miss Esther coming beside me to lean forward - her voice lowered to a whisper in my ear. 
"Truthfully dear, I am not the least bit surprised that this boy was so hung up on looking for you." Miss Esther placed a finger under my chin, tilting it up a little - a gesture that I was all too familiar with that my grandmother does, "You are a beauty." 
I am relieved that Elvis is not within earshot to hear this, as I feel my cheeks bloom a shade of rose embarrassingly. He is far too distracted with picking what to order. 
"Looking for me? What do you mean?" I furrow my eyebrows at her.
Miss Esther tilts her head, appearing to be wearing the same confusion on her features, "Oh, didn't he tell you Nova?"
"Tell me what?" 
Miss Esther's mouth opens to begin a response, but is interrupted by the sound of Elvis' voice. We both turn our heads towards him, his hands on his hips with an eyebrow arched at me. 
My mind is puzzled even more by Miss Esther's words, and I do appear to be zoned-out when Elvis looks at me questioningly. I shake my head, "Sorry. . . what were you saying?"
He chuckles at this, "I was asking you if you want anything else. " I approach him and peer at the pastries displayed on top of the round glass trays.  In the corner of my eye, I see Miss Esther walk around and position herself behind the counter as she taps her fingers on the counter - humming a tune. 
"I've chosen two slices of the red velvet cake and two cups of coffee for us. So, anything you wanna add?" He asks, but I freeze at  the mention of the choices he has picked.  He quickly notices this. 
"Why? What's wrong?" 
I shake my head, "Nothing. It's just, um, what made you pick the red velvet cake?" 
"Because what kind of guy does that make me if I don't order it for the birthday girl?" His southern drawl evident, as his lips pull into a crooked grin.
It's a dream. It's a dream. It's a dream. Is it really?
A chuckle escapes me in disbelief, "I- I have no words. Red velvet is my favorite." 
A dream is a product of my subconscious mind, so of course Elvis would know this because everything about who I am is stored within the corners of my mind. All of this has to be a dream. I created this all. Well, my subconscious mind did. 
Miss Esther suggests her special pie that I 'must' try, in which I was hesitant at first due to my nature of not being an adventurous eater at all. But eventually I gave in. We insist to wait for our orders, but Miss Esther ushers us to a table near the front window and informs us that she will bring it out to us when it's ready.
"Well, she is the boss." I chuckle, as we sat down opposite each other. 
"That's Miss Esther for you, the nicest lady but no point being stubborn around her." Elvis laughs, shaking his head. 
A silence falls on us with the only noise being the chatter of the other customers occupying the cafe. 
I don't want to wrestle with my thoughts anymore, it might cause an unfortunate headache which would ruin this dream. I think out of the million questions that ares swimming in my head, there is one that I can keep whilst filtering out all the rest; why is Elvis Presley in my dream? I understand that dreaming about celebrities  is not an experience that is uniquely for me because everyone dreams about celebrities. But I always believed that, if someone were to dream about a celebrity; it would often be a celebrity that they have spent a lot of time thinking about. A celebrity that they are a huge fan of. 
I'm not a huge fan of Elvis Presley, but I am also not a hater. I only just begun learning about him after watching that Elvis movie that came out in the summer. But for him to appear in my dreams? It was not like he was actively occupying my mind throughout the day; because he wasn't. 
It just does not make sense. No matter how much I try, I just keep running back to square one. I guess the only thing that calms my rational mind is that this dream will end eventually, might as well make the most of it. 
As I return my gaze on the present time, I study him. His black hair matched perfectly with his tanned skin, and those smouldering blue eyes with that twinkle of wonder and amusement in them. His features are chiseled, a maturity to him that eliminates the baby fat on his face. He does not have that boyish look about him anymore, there is sureness and confidence that comes from maturity. 
I pursed my lips in wonder.
"What is it , honey?" Elvis asks, snapping me out of my stare on him. 
"Hmm?"
"I ain't a mind reader. Would you tell me what's going on in that pretty mind of yours?" Elvis smirks, biting on his bottom lip. 
I feel  a rush of heat on my cheeks, as I try to fight back a smile. 
"My goodness, you are such a flirt." 
He leads forward a little and holds his hand up as if to count on his fingers, "So now I'm a psychopathic, impulsive, flirty guy? Hot damn." He jokes, letting out a whistle. 
"You really are a wild combo." I squinted my eyes jokingly at him, pointing my finger at him. 
He suddenly leans forward even more, and without any warning - bites onto my finger. I yelp in surprise, his eyes stare at me intently as I giggle uncontrollably trying to retract my finger. 
"Hey!"
He lets me go and casually leans back on his chair with his arms folded over his chest, a laugh bubbling out of him. 
I cannot help but join him in his laughter, it's a laugh that just really encapsulates his entire being. His shoulders moving up and down, as he looks up and then gazes back down to me. 
"You are a strange, strange man." I said in between my laughs. 
"Gotta keep things interesting, honey."
Before I could respond to him, we are interrupted by Miss Esther approaching our table holding a tray of our order. She places it on the table, and transfer the contents from the tray, in which I notice a candle on top of the slice of cake in front of me. 
"Enjoy, kids." Miss Esther smiles and then rubs my shoulder, "Happy birthday, sweetie."  
"Thank you, Miss Esther." 
"Thank you Miss Esther, this looks good." Elvis says. 
She then leaves and Elvis turns to me, "Are you gonna make a wish?"
I close my eyes and think for a second. . .
I wish to have the answers to my questions. 
I open my eyes and blow out the single candle. 
"Happy Birthday, Nova." He smiles at me, and it's not a smile that stops at the lips. It's a smile that reaches his eyes, it's the kind that you cannot help but smile back. 
"Thanks, E.P." 
His blue eyes widen a little in surprise, and my forehead creases in surprises and confusion. Where did that come from? Why did I call him that?
"You haven't called me that-"
I wave my hands quickly in embarrassment, "Oh god, so sorry I don't know what came over me."
"Relax, darlin'. Relax. It's okay." Elvis shrugs, chuckling. I see him lift his hand, as he nervously scratches the nape of his neck, "I was surprised, that's all. You haven't called me that in a long time."  His tone seems to be in a daze. 
I squinted at him, "What do you-"
Elvis clears his throat and turns his gaze to the food on the table. 
"We should eat." He interrupts, "and you have to try this pie!" He takes a bite out of the slice of cake and then the Banoffee pie afterwards. 
I shake my head at this and remind myself 'do not think too much of it Nova.' I first take a bite out of the red velvet cake and the familiar luscious delight makes me beam. It was always either chocolate or red velvet for me, I've tended to switch between the two for each of my previous birthdays. 
I take a small portion out of the Banoffee pie, as Elvis anticipates my reaction, "What'd you think?" 
"Oh my gosh, that is amazing!" I exclaimed, quickly taking another bite out of it.
--
After we finished eating, we bid goodbye to Miss Esther in which she wishes for us to come back soon. And I truly do want to, but this is not real life. 
We step out of the cafe with Elvis ahead of me, he stops and faces me. 
"I have a birthday present for you." 
"You do?"
He nods, "So we need to get to where it is." 
"How?" 
He flashes me his signature smirk at my question, in which I panic a little, "Oh no, what do you have planned now?"
He tucks his hands into his front pockets, facing away from me and began to walk across the street. 
"Elvis! Where are you going?" 
He briefly turns to me and uses his head to beckon me to follow him. I sigh and follow him into yet, another unknown. 
"Wrong question, honey. It's where are WE going?"
--
"Nova? Nova?" 
A hand is rapidly shaking my arm, I gasped bolting my eyes open. I blink my eyes a few times and survey my surroundings; beige walls, photos, posters, a closet. It seems to be that I am laying down, my hands move around and feel soft material beneath it; my bed. I am in my bedroom. I slowly slide myself up in a sitting position. 
"It was a dream. It was all a dream." I mutter to myself, swallowing hard at the realisation. 
"Of course it was, you nutcase!" I turn to my right and see Luke with his backpack slung over his shoulder, holding a jug of water. 
I yawn, "Luke? What?" 
"F.ucking hell, woman! I have been trying to wake your ass up for the past, " He pauses, looking at the watch on his wrist, "Fifteen minutes now!" 
I shake my head a little, "Why?"
He takes out his phone from his pocket and faces the screen to me. It's Monday. Monday which means we have a lecture today. 
"Oh s.hit." 
"Exactly! You better get dressed now, or I will be using this jug of water after all!" He threatens to spill it on me. 
"Okay! Okay. I'm up." I get up from the bed, rush to my closet to retrieve the outfit that I have planned a week ago and then rush to my bathroom with a quick shut of the door. 
It's not that Luke particularly cares about being late for class, because he doesn't. It's just that the seats in this specific class become full very quickly, and the only unoccupied seats that would be left are the ones at the very front. Ones that both myself and Luke hate since this particular professor just loves to aim the questions at the people in front row. And there is no room for error; this professor wants the right answer. If you are not precisely providing him the right answer - it is the humiliating. That is why the very back row is the safe haven in this class. 
I plop my clothes on the bathroom counter near the sink, as I start to brush my teeth. 
"Luke, I am so so sorry! This never happens."
I hear Luke pacing back and forth outside the door. 
"It never does which makes me think. . . " Luke gasps, "Were you having a s.ex dream?" Luke questions in a hush whisper, his pacing steps stops. 
"What?! Oh god, no!" My cheeks flare up in embarrassment at the thought. 
"You sure?" 
I shake my head, even though he cannot see me. 
"I am positive, Luke!"
"Positive that you were having one or positive you weren't?" He asks further, his voice closer now as I imagine him closer to the door. 
I quickly finish changing into my clothes and swung the door open as I brushed through my hair. 
"I did not have a s.ex dream. "
He puts his hands up in defence, "Just making sure. I mean, even if you did - I would not be the one to judge you, bestie. I myself indulge in my own share of pleasurable dreams, so-"
I shut my eyes and wave my hands, "No, no, no. let's drop it now, okay?"
Luke laughs at my reaction, "Alright. But you can't blame me for asking though since I have never seen you in such a deep sleep. Plus,  you did have a really big smile on your face." He arched an eyebrow at me with an amused grin, teasing me. 
"I did?" 
"Uh-huh. Like a child on Christmas morning. You were glowing, missy." He elbowed me playfully. 
We exit the apartment and make our way to the parking lot. As I close the door to my car, all that fills my mind is the fact that for the first time in my lifetime; I can remember it all. I remember my dream. Every detail, and it is so vivid in my mind. 
It was so real. It felt so real. 
I let out a deep sigh, and start the engine as I turn the radio on. I reverse out the parking lot, as Luke drives closely behind. 
"Good morning to all our listeners. Ah, Monday. Another week continues! If you are a student dreading the classroom, or an office worker mustering the strength to get though that 9 to 5 routine - we are here at HITS 101. Bringing you all music that will get you through whatever the season. Now we have requests coming in very fast. Our first request is an old, but gold tune. This person requested this to be played for their friend whose recently celebrated their birthday. Here is A Little Less Conversation by The King, Elvis Presley!" 
I almost slammed my brakes. 
next chapter
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tamedbyafox · 10 months ago
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Every time I explain asset forfeiture to someone; I start the same way “If what I’m saying sounds like absolute bullshit, and you think I must be wrong because it sounds so fucked up; you’ve understood correctly and I’m not wrong. It is that fucked up.”
Asset Forfeiture is when the cops take your stuff and charge your stuff with a crime; and claim that unless you or someone else can prove the stuff was not connected to any crime, they get to keep it, sell it, and do what they want with it.
The way you can prove that is to show recipts, with the exact source of either the money or the thing in question; or prove that someone else owns it; or somehow show that the cops were wrong.
Now; lets say they take $100 from you. If you go in and say “here’s my paystub from working at Job Inc, thats how I got $100”; they can absolutely say “Thats nice, but we don’t know that thats where *this* $100 came from, so you lose.” You need to actively prove that that $100 came from a legal source. I cannot explain to you how hard it is to prove where your money came from without literally opening every transaction you’ve ever had. God forbid anyone gets paid in cash or that you had a gift-giving situation recently, because then there’s no way. They’re going to say thats a crime and your making excuses, so they get to keep your stuff.
So the reason its not blocked by the fifth amendment is that the fifth protects you; not your stuff (similar to the meme’d “the first amendment protects you from the government not the justin”)
Here; the STUFF is charged with a crime. Your $100 is not extended the same protection as yourself; because the Fifth Amendments protection are tied to “life and liberty”. So the bullshit logic is that the stuff doesn’t have “life” or “liberty” so it can be presumed guilty. THe idea that taking someone’s stuff impacts their life and liberty is hand-waived away.
Civil Asset Forfeiture makes the most sense when you’re talking about guys on El Chapo’s level who have houses and cars and helicopters and millions of dollars that he absolutely definitely got through drug dealing. What happens to his property when those guys are caught is a real question and “the state gets it unless you can prove you got it innocently” is not a terrible answer; instead of something like it passing to the next in charge to use it to continue the operations or to keep his family in riches despite his incarceration. On that level, you can kinda see how you don’t just want that amount of crime-connected resources to just stay. And if it was limited to that sort of situation, I doubt most people would ever have a problem with it.
But of course, welcome to America, where if cops see an opportunity to squeeze another penny from the public’s pocket into theirs they will absolutely do it. So they do jump outs and steal cars and stuff. People have lost their homes because their son was growing weed in the basement.
Even if you’re not charged; even if you beat your case at trial or the prosecution dismisses your case, the cops get to continue legal proceedings against your stuff. And then they sell it at a police auction, and the money goes right back to the department. Sometimes they sell it for what its worth, sometimes you see them selling brand new cars for 4k.
And what is EXTRA fun is that there are very few limits on what cops can do with things and money obtained from CAF. Its literally a slush fund. They wanna buy a really nice espresso machine? Sure. Want to cater donuts every friday? Why not. Wanna pick up a few “tactical training tools”; which are inevitably big guns? Sure. There’s very little oversight and they can do as they please.
And that specific incentive: the money goes to the COPS, not the state; that can make this such a problem. If the cops knew that everything they seized would have to go to the state government and could be used as the state sees fit, reappropriated among all the agencies and needs of the community…they may not go out of their way to take stuff as often as they do. Because now there’s strings.
This has been your Niche Criminal Legal Lecture for the day. Next time you’re talking to candidates or evaluating criminal legal issues, push them on putting restrictions in place or, hopefully, eliminating Civil Asset Forfeiture.
And remember; don’t talk to cops.
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thehonksstuff · 1 year ago
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• Welcome to Honkdom •
This page gives a inside look to the goosey minds of the most powerful geese in Honkdom. Can you handle what the geese are honking?
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The serious geese
These geese condone no tomfoolery, Don’t let the cute accessories and fluffy feathers fool you, they do honk and they take their jobs very seriously.
~ 🧮 Analysis goose - a brain-smart goose with an all-work-no-play attitude. Does the logistics and tends to the more mathematical needs of Honkdom - Ask her for advice and get some logical and sarcastic answers 🧮 ~
~ 🚔 Justice goose - the overseer of law enforcement in Honkdom. He works hard to keep everyone safe and calm. He’s happy as long as you follow the rules - he comes out to respond to rule breaking asks(and donuts) 🚔 ~
~ 💎 Queen goose - the first (and almost retired) ruler of Honkdom. She’s a rather benevolent queen but can’t stand too much chaos. She almost at the end of what she believes as her time as ruler so she’s been training her son. Don’t let her kind smile or wise eyes get to you, she’s much rather be in bed - help her learn to relax and ask her for some advice and get very blunt and sleepy answers
The silly geese
The goofiest of gooses, they love a good time. Cause chaos or try to keep things nice, either way, they’ll have a good time.
~ 🎈Clown goose - a funny goose! He usually just works at parties, but he’s passionate about his goosey craft - send memes or jokes and see if he approves OR ask for advice and get some that you should never take. 🎈~
~ 🍼 Baby gosling - “Adorable gosling!” : every being ever. - we are trying to get Baby to grow into a functioning goose, got any parenting advice we should try? 🍼 ~
~ 🧁 📔 Chef/Writer geese - double package duo. Friends till the end, can’t get one without the other. Writer is socially awkward and doesn’t like to be spoken to, so Chef handles the requests in her own way - send in a menu request and Chef will get the order to Writer. 🧁 📔 ~
The good geese
These are the sweetest of the cakes and the kindest of honkers. Be kind to them, they’re fragile and a little dumb.
~ 💐 Florist goose - As sweet as honeysuckle and as cute as a poppy, this is the florist and gardener of Honkdom. She’s a great listener even if she’s pretty sheltered. - vent to her and she’ll try to offer an ear or will direct you to another goose for proper advice. She might even make you a bouquet! 💐 ~
~ 👑 Prince goose - He’s the second leader of Honkdom, he prefers to be close with his subjects and makes most the decisions so his dear mother can relax (even if she does have to take over sometimes) - Send him random things and watch him try to figure it out OR give him pop quiz questions on what he would do as a ruler. 👑 ~
!!! Do’s and Don’t’s !!!
Do’s
• Do be kind and respectful
• Do be child friendly (There’s a baby here.)
• Do act like you have home training and common sense
• Do remember, some of the geese get really busy
• Do have fun!
Don’t’s
• Don’t act like a jerk
• Don’t be a pervert
• Don’t try to start a fight between geese
• Don’t try to feed the geese bread
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• Enjoy the stay, Human •
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First of all, oh good grief, how has it been a year since last Yuletide? Thank you SO MUCH for writing for me. I know I’m going to love whatever you come up with! I truly appreciate the time and effort you are going to put into this. PLEASE do not stress over it; I am really very easy to please and just looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I’ve jotted down some basic prompts here, follow them or don’t--the choice is yours!
Competency is absolutely my greatest kink. I also have a decent-sized hair kink and love hair-touching/stroking/brushing, etc, as well as any kind of safe touch. I like friendship in love, equal partnerships, ass-kicking females, friends to lovers, grudging respect that becomes not so grudging, fluff and cuteness, light angst, caretaking, hairbrushing, cuddling and tender kissing, blanket/bed-sharing in a totally platonic way, all the non-sexual intimacy and tenderness, late-night talks, letters. Tenderly-described safe touch makes me squee. I don’t mind sex so long as it’s consensual between adults, well-written, driven by emotions, and true to character. My favorite AUs are coffee shop and library.
General Likes: Fluff, angst with a happy or happy-for-now ending, humor, hurt/comfort with comfort emphasis, team bonding, mission fic, casefic, slice of life, missions gone bad, bad missions gone good in unexpected ways. Snowed in, locked in a closet, days off that turn into work days due to unforeseen circumstances, Undercover as a couple, enemies to friends to more, fake dating with sparks flying.
I adore setting detail and good descriptive writing. Fall is absolutely my favorite season--so perfect for walks, crisp air, toasted marshmallows, apple orchard trips, cider and donuts, colorful leaves that crunch underfoot, hay rides, warm drinks, cozy sweaters, knitting, lazy weekends, bonfires (or fires in fireplaces) new pens and notebooks, etc. I also love holidays and celebrations--all of them equally, so whatever feels natural to you and the characters is great. Cultural descriptions and events are fabulous, as well as setting, time period, and seasonal details.
DNW
D/s relationships, PWP, A/B/O dynamics (I don’t understand how these work), dark/dystopian or supernatural AUs. Please no kidfic. I squick hard on rape/non- or dub-con, underage, graphic violence, suicide or self-harm, depression, or non-canonical character death, so please avoid those. !
Gallagher Girls: Cammie, Macey, Joe Solomon
This is one of my favorite girl power/humor stories that I go back to all the time. I love the nuances of spy school, like the edible paper in fun flavors and the meals where they’re told what language they have to speak and all the classes. I love how Cammie embraces her tribe and how Macy finds her feet and her place even though logically she shouldn’t. One of my favorite scenes is in the very first book where they have to tail a teacher through a civilian carnival. Give me more missions like that, infiltrating the civilian population to make sure the school’s still secure, or school shenanigans where they reinforce their learning by evading security to sneak around and have some fun or play tricks on the teachers and instead of getting in trouble, get extra credit. Or I would really enjoy some post-canon here. Did Macy grow up and revolutionize the Secret Service and become known as the absolute best agent for protective details on the children of presidents and politicians? Or does she recruit Cammie out of the CIA to come join her when she gets in a tight spot? Give me missions and cases and the ultimate high school reunion that ends with stopping a heist or a national security threat or… the possibilities are endless
Sports Night: Casey, Dan
I just recently rediscovered this, which was my favorite show in its first run. I would love to see some pre-canon with these three together in j-school or some post-canon, like now. What would it look like with Sports Night covering the Winter Olympics? Were any of them in the “bubbles” of pandemic pro sports? Was there a political/ethical debate about pandemic college sports? Were Casey and Dan together in college or were they together off the air and closeted during the show? Give me some backstage shenanigans here if you want, too.
American Girls: Kit
My main ships in ths story are Ruthie/Charlie and Kit/Stirling. I know Stirling wasn’t nominated, but I love him, so please feel free to bring him in if you’d like. In my headcanon, Kit finishes school and becomes one of the first female war correspondents during WWII, perhaps doing time in London during or after the Blitz. I love her adventurous, can-do, change-the-world spirit and I also love Ruthie’s dreaminess and how they play off each other. I also like to think that Ruthie grew up, maybe lost a bit of her dreaminess (but not all of it!), and eventually got together with Charlie. And if you happen to be writing a WWII future Kit story for me and want to throw in some letters from characters to other characters, great! I am probably one of the last people alive that prefers to write letters on actual stationery, so play on that all you want! Wartime courtship is one of my favorite story tropes, too!
Code Name Verity
This is one of my absolute favorite books ever. I would love to see the early days of the war, how they became best friends and maybe something more. Show me each of them knowing more about the other’s job than they strictly should--Maddie showing Julie how to navigate/fly or fix an engine, Julie teaching Maddie how to communicate in code. Did they write each other letters in a code known only to the two of them? Give me their stolen moments of friendship or dates in the middle of mayhem, nights at the pub, bike rides, perfecting cover stories, meeting each other’s families, days when Julie doesn’t have an assignment and Maddie is grounded because of weather or the need for repairs, sharing newspapers and iced buns and making jokes out of their fears. Show me the cuddling and comforting that goes on after missions/interrogations. Give me a missing scene from that time that they don’t see each other, during which Julie’s brother Jamie gets hurt. Do they have an umbrella that they pass between the two of them as a token, a reminder of their first meeting? Was the whole meeting between Maddie and Jamie a setup on Julie’s part, so that Maddie could be taken care of/stay in Julie’s family if something happened to Julie? How does a lesbian couple manage to date in the middle of a war, and particularly World War II? How much pining goes on before it comes to fruition?
Thanks so much again for whatever you create!
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dailyrandomwriter · 1 year ago
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Day 437
Logically, logically, when I started this weird road trip of trying to get my life together, and do all the things that a normal functioning adult would do, I would hit a wall. Hell, even Youtube warned me I would hit a wall by having a video titled “Productivity Burnout” in my dashboard. 
Because in the end, this isn’t just about forgetting to do basic care tasks for myself or my home. It���s a symptom of a problem, yes, but it’s one of many. I’ve mentioned in the past that I have mild anxiety. I’ve also talked about how hard it is sometimes for me to reign my focus in, or how sometimes I get too focused on something, like my writing. 
And all of these are symptoms of a larger issue that has always been there, but has been for most of my life easy to ignore. 
In part because they’re not as severe as other people who experience this, but in large part because there have been other people in my life carrying that burden for me. My parents are very typical Asian parents, my mother especially. This means love is shown through clothes, food, daily care things… coming into my home while I’m at work to clean….
So when my parents went traveling, leaving me to be the responsible one and care for their many plants, and myself, I unexpectedly hit the proverbial wall. It was more complex than that, there were adult work obligations that were required of me (bringing food to a potluck) on top of the usual responsibilities. And my brain gremlins decided to make it worse by pestering me with concerns that in the long term didn’t matter.
But it all built up to me feeling overwhelmed yesterday while watering the plants. And it wasn’t that I was behind on anything, and it wasn’t anything world ending. The simple solution was to buy frozen meals that I could heat up quickly or reduce my usual food prep time. They wouldn’t be healthier than what I could make myself, but I had no capacity in my brain to make cooking plans for Thursday. 
And if it meant that I was going to be eating some sort of pasta for three days straight so be it.
The worst part about yesterday, is that I enjoyed my outing to the potluck. It was nice that my co-workers liked that I took the extra time to bring in appetizers, even if they were the frozen ones. It was something nice and savoury. I had fun playing the little team building games, talking to my co-workers and I even got to take away some of my favourite little donuts from the gathering. It was a good trip, and yet yesterday I felt like a pit I had to jump into because there were things to do.
So today I’m just going to do the chores I put in my to-do list and nothing more than that. I’ll try to be a bit more mindful of what I can and cannot manage.
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its-no-biggie · 1 year ago
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OMG ive been summoned!!! okay okay lets see
first off. getting this one out of the way. i havent voted yet but i swear to god if calculus is winning right now im gonna be /pissed/ (not really lmao). not because its BAD or anything, i enjoyed learning about it, but its sooooo overhyped as The Hard One when conceptually its not even that interesting. wooaahhhhh find the area under a curve!! revolutionary!! like yeah the calculations are long and often difficult ESPECIALLY once you get into multivariable calculus but like. it gets way too much hype for what it is.
im tempted to vote algebra for how foundational it is but thats a boring answer. same with functions and relations. im also not voting for trig because i tutor high schoolers and im sick of it tbh. its basically just geometry a little to the left anyway.
ok at first i kinda skipped over geometry but you know what. thats a little unfair. euclidean geometry is generally very boring but higher dimensional geometry? hyperbolic or circular geometry???? where would we be as a society without klein bottles and mobius strips and hyper cubes and hyperbolic crochet. anyway if youre reading this you need to play hyperbolica its a simple puzzle game a la portal but instead of thinking with portals you have to think in hyperbolic space. where space has more. space. everything looks a little distorted and it totally fucks your spatial awareness its so fun. even something as simple as a maze becomes difficult because when you turn left 4 times you DONT end up where you started and it just doesnt compute in your brain. also the npcs are little robot guys and its so cute and charming. 10/10 excellent game. anyway yeah im not voting for geometry because a lot of it is boring but it does have its moments!
i went to university for statistics (well. technically actuarial science but its pretty much the same thing) so im a bit biased towards it. but its definitely the most useful kind of math for the average person to understand (aside from basic algebra) but its also like. really wild that it works?? that you can collect a big chunk of data and then determine correlations between variables with a high degree of accuracy. its basically the antithesis of what people think of math (rules and hard logic and one correct answer) but its still so rigorous and useful and so so important to understand
but more than statistics i am a huge fan of matrix theory. i really love matrix operations theyre SO SATISFYING and just really fun to do. especially when you apply them to linear algebra and solve a really messy system of equations that cant even be conceptualized on a graph.... augh its great. and its also one of the few kinds of math that i learned with a bunch of different number systems pretty much right away (bc its related to cryptography so using binary or mod 5 or whatever is actually useful) and that was really refreshing!! i love using different number systems. im not sure why its grouped together with set theory but i do also like set theory, its really fundamental like algebra (although its not nearly as well taught as algebra) and a lot of the operations are really unique so it kinda opens up what math is when you start learning about it. and of course there are a lot of number sets that i really like but that doesnt really have to do with set theory itself lmao
ANYWAY i think im gonna vote matrix theory. theres a few really interesting ones that arent listed here like game theory (ever heard of the prisoners dilemma?), topology (did you know that a mug is the same as a donut? also a straw definitively has one hole), and graph theory (i dont know that much about graph theory tbh i just think it looks really cool), but i really love matrices. i mean come on like
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that rules. objectively that rules
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hopefulfuturenovelauthor · 1 year ago
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(1/3) I'M FREE TO COMMENT!!! Don't worry about it since I was busy myself too! You also did this out of your own free will, time, and energy to do my request with your own life to worry about & it's for free too! I'm glad you only did it when you can rather than force yourself to do it! I can wait since it's the least I can do! You're right that I meant Martin Manhunter! I also didn't know Miss Martin existed until you mentioned her name XD My Headcanons of what's like to date Bruce, Dick, Jason, Martian, Wally, and Clark request is so good! I love this especially how rocky their relationship with Bruce is at first, they disagree with him a lot because they're worried & frustrated from knowing how often he gets hurt, they were so upset when he let Dick join him in crime fighting that they didn't talk to him in days, they know the dangers because they used to be a vigilante, Dick managed to convince them...after they kicked him down there XD, he gave them a lot of gifts, he met them when they were a hero but not knowing their identity & gave them some gadgets, he met them out of crime fighting & treats them with coffee or donuts, he treats them with something like sweets knowing they don't care for expensive gifts, both of them are modestly affectionate to each other in public but their constant flirting can make others uncomfortable, they're often at his home but they still live at their home since it's a place they paid for & can afford, he understands that they want to be independent & have a place of their own at least, they're quite close to his family including his adopted children, Jason prefers them over him, Alfred likes them more because they're more logical than Bruce XD, both of them work quite well together despite their similar traits & flaws, they're glad that they found someone supportive & understanding, both of them are glad that they made the first move because it would be a disaster if he did XD, they set the couple goals high with Dick, they won't let anyone who hurt him off the hook so easily, how simple but cute the nicknames are for each other, they worry about him sometimes XD, they were there for him since he became Robin to Nightwing, the mistake of him wearing tights is hard on them XD, both of them are affectionate even in public but it's more prominent when it's been awhile or one of them almost died, they would often have tickle fights with him, they get along with his family but they also won't just stand there to do nothing if even his family is being a jerk to him, the only reason both of them would fight....is because someone finished the ice cream XD, both of them are a cute couple,
I’m going to be making like three posts based on this cause it’s in three parts, but omg! I always love hearing from you! Your feedback on my stuff is so kind and wonderful! Like how? How do you have the time to comb through it all? But it is so nice to receive this so thank you so much!
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