#number ix

[notedchampagne]

harrow the ninth, gideon pov & seven stages of grief feat. harrowhark nonagesimus

[frumfrumfroo]

The sooner people realize that Reylo is not just a ‘ship’ but rather a trope or concept. The better they will move on. DLF wants nothing to do with this concept except until they realize how monetarily valuable it is. Which shocking they have no clue of despite the NYT best sellers the community has been cranking out the last 3 years. Only then will they revisit this trope.

They won’t give us Ben Solo back, but they’ll use the Reylo trope for Lord only knows what. So I highly suggest to all of the people who are still holding out hope of Ben’s return. To just accept his senseless lazily written death and pretend that he got Sailor Moon’d into another universe where he gets to be loved and so that he heals.

I wouldn't say it's 'a' trope, it's a few dozen tropes. I call it 'The Dynamic' because I have a lot of ships which fit into a rough framework of similar themes, but they're all tonally different and have different storytelling concerns or occupy different genres. The kind of psychological complexity plus innocence, intimate emotional realism plus grand mythological symbolic splendour that Reylo has is extremely rare. There aren't stories being told like that very often. This was a generational opportunity to make something that would last, a defining pop culture moment.

Whereas The Dynamic is extremely popular and does pop up fairly often, it's VANISHINGLY RARE for it to be a) in a story with the balls to fulfil it and have it be redemptive/healing with both characters surviving b) for it to be both intentional and earnest on the part of the writers, not an accident or some cautionary tale bullshit or simply depicted as inevitably a tragedy.

Women write this story with an affirming ending all the time, but it mostly stays in the romance ghetto. When it pops up in the mainstream everyone loses their minds, so you'd think we'd have had someone realise by now it's a money printing machine but lol misogyny. Just like Hollywood has completely stopped making romcoms and no one wants to cater to the female audience despite the female audience being the biggest movie-going demographic and romance being the most profitable genre in publishing by a huge margin.

Disney are cowards who seem increasingly terrified of romance and I doubt they will do anything with the dynamic unless they happen to hire a real artist who wants to do it and they just stay out of the way. Which seems unlikely given how things have been going.

[solas-backpack-mug]

Edgy asks: 1,2,3,4?

edgy/misc OC ask meme

1. What memory would your OC rather just forget?

oh fjsgwvdbdnss there is so many things she doesn't enjoy remembering, mostly from her asaria days. the worst ones for her are:

betraying iovara

iovara's trial

her death by suicide

but they are also important memories about lifechanging events. for the most part she would rather suffer by remembering them than forget them. after poe1 she's had enough of trying to remember things she's forgotten.

if she had to choose one memory to forget, it would be her death. she'd like to remember that it happened, just not how it felt

2. What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

just how dangerous she is. she's a cipher, a watcher, and a former well-trained rauataian spy, and she hides it all pretty well.

3. What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw?

i'd say the most significant flaw she's had in her life was trusting authority figures despite her own convictions (as asaria). she worked as an inquisitor under orders from thaos and with eothas' subtle encouragement. at the time she did believe that the apostates (and by extension iovara) were bad people, but she didn't like the methods thaos proposed to deal with them. despite that, she still trusted him completely. she wasn't aware that it was a fatal flaw until it destroyed her life

4. When scared, does your OC fight, flee, freeze or fawn?

because of her spy training and cipher skills specifically for this purpose, rangi doesn't get scared easily. when she does get scared she is most likely to react with Fight

[cronengirly]

Okay so I'm FINALLY getting around to marathoning the Saw movies (something I'd planned to do before Saw X released last year but never got around to) and something has really irked me about the naming convention of these movies.

Saw is maybe one of the best names they could've landed on, having that level of brand recognition for such a simple title is incredible.

For the first SIX FILMS they managed to maintain that level of straightforwardness. Saw II, Saw III, etc. Just plain old Roman numerals. Kept with the simplicity of the original title, left no room for confusion.

Then they made Saw 3D, also known as Saw: The Final Chapter. Pro-tip: if you want to guarantee your film will have a sequel greenlit, put "the final chapter" in the title. I can't think of a single franchise that actually ended on their "final chapter." Looking at you, F13. You had a final chapter AND a final Friday.

Then they made Jigsaw. Sure, fair enough. It's not as snappy as the old titles but it gets the point across.

Then, Spiral: From the Book of Saw. That's a fucking spinoff title if I've ever heard one. And considering we already have a Final Chapter, you'd think it's safe to assume that Jigsaw and Spiral *are* both spinoffs, outside the main numbered sequels.

Except the next film is Saw X. Meaning Saw 3D, Jigsaw and Spiral are actually Saw VII, VIII and IX respectively.

I really find these systems annoying. As a rule, if you need to Google the correct order to watch a series in, something has gone horribly wrong

[argonphoenix]

update on birds. they look like beafts now

[xsumire]

Thanks, Kafka. I'm officially converted to Nihility path in Simulated Universe

Simulated Universe - World 3 Level 5

[azelf101]

Actually now that we have have to basically evacuate Twitter while it crumbles into a pile of ashes, I wanna know something:

So I had a project that was/is in the works to over a bunch of tweets I found on Twitter about people talking about…or even so much as mentioning Azure Striker Gunvolt 3. Usually people talking about the story and characters.

So I figured I can ask Tumblr, have you guys seen any spicy takes about the third Gunvolt game on here that I can read about? Maybe I can rework the project? Possibly?

[witchblade]

for a decades old series there’s almost nothing going on on the wiki it’s kinda frail and sickly

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

my brain is leaking out of my ears fam, these last two and a half weeks of school are going to be ROUGH

[srslyd]

[fair-lead]

god i love math

[prettyiwa]

Relationship: Vampire!Miyuki Kazuya x Human!Reader Rating: Mature Content Tags: Monsters (ergo, monstrous things), Blood, Profanity, Vampire Magic, Hints of Ancient Monster Magic, Stalking (we're talking vampires here), Attempted Abduction (not by Miyuki), Attempted Vampire Attack (not by Miyuki), Possessive Language, Hints of Miscommunication (in that he's a monster and reader isn't), Miyuki Kazuya Calls Reader "Little Human," Accidentally Accepting Monster Courtship Word Count: 3,120 A/N: I might turn this into a series or smth. There's a lot more than what's written but I'm still getting used to publishing unfinished and unpolished works.

You’re lucky in your location. You’re lucky that the city you grew up in, the city you still work and live in, is deemed neutral grounds by the local vampires, setting precedence for all other monsters in the vicinity.

Just outside city boundaries lie three separate nests, all openly at war with the next. Historically, fights have broken out as they’ve tried to claim separate parts of the city, confusion arising from where the city has evolved in its growth. It’s since been deemed “untouchable” for the sake of survival. Whose survival, you’re not entirely sure, as hunting isn't banned outright within the city, but things remain otherwise peaceful for the monsters. 

The ceasefire attracts all kinds of nomadic vampires—vampires who will not or cannot join nests—but the city remains large enough that it’s still not a problem. If anything, it’s enriched by their presence, especially as most fall in line quickly.

You’re more than familiar with vampire lore and laws for the city, what with your best friend and neighbor being a vampire belonging to the southern nest. It’s thanks to him that you’ve gotten pretty good at identifying vampires even when they wish to remain anonymous and blend in. 

You know which vampires to avoid and which ones want privacy, which ones will entertain a curious mind, and which ones will try to bend the rules for one motive or another. You can spot a friendly vampire (friendly within reason) and you can spot a remarkably dangerous one, picking them out easily in a crowd. 

It’s funny, then, the way he seems to fit into most of the categories at once. A vampire who wants to talk, watching with eyes bright and full of interest and mischief, exuding an air of elusiveness to contrast the welcoming quality of his presence. It’s a little funny how he makes every single cell in your body scream RUN. It’s a little funny how you don’t.

The shadows move with him and you know he’s likely one of the oldest vampires you’ve come across, and the way he watches you makes you think it’s been some time since he’s been around humans, much less other people. Maybe that’s what does you in, what makes you stay and talk to him when you should call your manager and leave. Maybe it’s the way his eyes pull you in while his words, so carefully chosen, half-heartedly try to push you away.

And he doesn’t use charms on you.

No, Kuramochi thoroughly checks each time you come home, growing increasingly wary of this newcomer, increasingly distressed in the way that you’re becoming obviously drawn to him. You’re curious, wanting to know more, always left learning more about history while discovering almost nothing about him. The more he talks, the less you think you know of him, though you’re certain he likes that.

As certain as you are that he likes you.

The voice in the back of your mind, the same one that sounds alarms whenever he’s near, the one that’s so aware of him you can feel him when you’re blocks away, doesn’t let up, only growing stronger. Kuramochi becomes so on edge that he rarely returns to his nest anymore, borderline threatening to escort you to and from work (and you’ve a feeling it wouldn’t stop there). It’s enough that you can no longer in good conscience ignore them both, as much as you may feel dismayed.

(It surprises you how disappointed your heart is by that decision. How terrifying, truly.)

You’re not cruel; you’ll be honest with him and let him down gently. There’s no need to fear violation of the ceasefire (or an inciting incident to prompt a violation). Similarly, you’re certain that whatever danger he does present to you isn’t that of an out-and-out murderer.

Almost as if he knows, you find him waiting for you outside of the bar—while he’s always loved visiting, even if never properly ordering a drink, you’ve seen him outside only twice. Again, the shadows follow him, much thicker than before, providing an almost film noir filter to everything. Despite this, you can see his eyes clearly—the golden amber a favorite of yours ever since he first slithered into your life.

Perhaps telling him now will be easier. He’s still a man, after all, and more than once you’ve rejected men at the end of the evening only for them to curse you for wasting the time that came before. So you do.

“Good evening, Miyuki.”

“Good evening, Little Human. You look like you have something on your mind.”

“I do.”

“Care to share with the class?”

“Wow, this feels so silly.” It feels like a high school breakup, in all honesty. Which is stupid because you aren’t even together. “Miyuki, I must ask that you leave me alone.”

“Leave you alone?” Your alarms sound, but you otherwise can’t spot a difference in his demeanor. He seems as unbothered as ever. “May I know why?”

“My… friend is concerned and I trust his judgment.”

“Your… friend?” he imitates, watching you carefully as he does. “Have I met this friend? There aren’t many humans I bother talking to; only the ones at the bar.”

You didn’t know that. It’s stupid, but for a moment your heart stutters and you feel special. And it’s annoying when you see the uptick of his lips, the acknowledgment that he heard a reaction you cannot control.

“No, he doesn’t come out this way.” For some reason, you know better than to mention that Kuramochi’s a vampire.

“Are our talks no longer interesting? I find them to be rather enjoyable.”

“No, I enjoy our conversations.”

“Is it something I said? I know I can come across callous at times.”

“You can be an ass at times,” you correct, suddenly feeling breathless at the toothy smile he gives, “but no, you’ve never said anything to offend me.”

“Is there any concrete reason why you would want me to leave you alone, aside from your… friend?”

You feel like it’s a trap, like he knows it’s something intangible like your survival instinct, but that’s not necessarily concrete. And still, like an idiot, you answer honestly. “No. You’re fun to shoot the shit with. I have fun with you.”

He smiles again, eyes brightening when he hears what that does to you. “I figured as much, considering you’ve told your friend about me in the first place and haven’t asked for this a year ago.”

“Shut up. You’re not making this any easier.”

“Why would I?” He doesn’t sound angry or like he feels any emotion close to the negative end of the spectrum. If anything, he sounds like he’s having fun while you’re trying to end this friendship.

“God, this feels like a high school breakup.”

“Oh? Oh? Are you interested in me? Is that why your friend is concerned? Is it a case of jealousy?”

“No!” Despite the honesty of your answer, you can’t deny the increasing warmth and the feeling that you’ve been caught. “No, I am not romantically interested in you. That is not what this is, even though the more you say makes this feel all the more juvenile.”

“The lady doth protest too much.” He laughs, laughs while you fluster at the notion he bothered to remember that passing remark about enjoying Hamlet sometime after you two had met. “Well, it wouldn’t do to have my favorite human upset with me. If that’s truly what you want—”

“It is.”

His eyes gleam in the night and you know he hears the “not” that waits at the back of your throat. His smile never wavers, nor does it change flavor, never indicating anything other than mirth. “I wouldn’t want to upset you.”

Your heart drops a bit and cold washes over your chest, though you’re the one to do this. He knows this. You know that he knows this. Maybe that’s why he steps closer, bringing the distance between you to arm’s reach. Despite this being over—and God, what a dramatic way to feel about the ending of something you could barely call a friendship—you know he’s not yet done with you.

In a fluid motion, he takes your hand and brings it to his lips, never breaking eye contact, simply telling you, “If ever you change your mind, you need merely call my name.” He presses his lips to your knuckles and you can nearly feel his fangs.

Before you can think about it, before you can comment on it, he’s gone, taking the shadows with him. 

Kuramochi is visibly relieved when you tell him, though you don’t tell him of the kiss or the joke about your interest or the way your heart’s been flipping in your chest each time you’ve thought of it since (and you’re quick to change the subject when he tries to bring up your apparent arrhythmia). He still doesn’t go home, but you don’t mind seeing as much of him as you do now.

It annoys you how you miss him. Miyuki Kazuya. An unsolvable enigma, though you didn’t mind it at the time. Now it just pisses you off. How much did you tell him of your life only for him to give you nothing of his? How much of what you know about him is the result of observations and deductions rather than answers? How often did you reward his questions with truths while he shut yours down? You know next to nothing about him, and yet your heart has the audacity to miss him?

But you do.

Something else you don’t tell Kuramochi about is the dreams. About how they started the night you said goodbye, how they’re all vivid and feature Miyuki. You don’t mention how, when you’re out in the city, you swear you can spot him in the shadows—in the alleyway near the library or perched atop the bank or across the street from your bar when winter draws near and the days grow short. You don’t tell Kuramochi about how your idle thoughts often turn to him, how clearly you can still hear his laugh. 

All of it makes your traitorous heart race a bit. It makes your lips curl into a smile. It gives you the physical sensations of a crush and again you feel like you’re in some kind of high school romance.

And the alarm bells that ring whenever danger’s around (and whenever he’s around) are nearly constant, though it coincides with the influx of monsters in search of either a home in the city or the protection of one of the vampyric nests. Sometimes you’re reminded of him, as if he grows near, though you push it aside as annoyingly hopeful thinking, the vague acceptance that this has become his city, too.

It takes you a bit too long to notice that your walks home, the ones that were once quiet and devoid of any cause for panic, now also bring the alarms.

All it takes is one night.

Kuramochi has returned to his nest, satisfied that Miyuki is no longer around, letting you know that he’ll likely be gone for a couple of weeks due to his prolonged absence. You don’t mind; your street has always been safe, your apartment more so, thanks to the resident vampire that lives at the corner townhouse next door.

You aren’t paying attention when you reach the door to the building and by the time you’re aware that you’re in danger, it’s too late, one hand already circling around your wrist while the other grabs the back of your neck. They drag you into the alley across the way, nice and dark and out of view and you know this isn’t some ordinary robber. This has to be a feral or starving vampire, given their speed and the particular bite of their nails in your skin. 

To attack you like this, in the open of the city even if at night, they’re probably both.

You’ve heard the stories, had them confirmed by the vampires you know—feral vampire attacks always end with a trail of human bodies before they regain control of themselves. Assuming they aren’t in control of themselves and that they truly are feral.

Kuramochi’s name is halfway through your mouth before you remember—he’s miles away and can’t hear you. He’s fast, but not fast enough to get here before you’ll be dead. And then you hear his voice in the back of your mind.

If you ever change your mind, you need merely call my name.

It’s a long shot. He meant it as an extension of friendship, not as a “call me if ever you’re in trouble.” Who knows if it’ll work or if he’d even get here in time? But his name comes out anyway.

Your heart’s pounding and your adrenaline’s pumping, only making you smell sweeter to this wild vampire and you aren’t sure whether your voice actually came out, so you call him again, sounding like half a plea and half a prayer and you’re growing more and more sure that this is how you’ll die when you hear the voice that’s been haunting you.

“I didn’t expect you to call so soon. To what—”

You don’t see him, but you feel him. For the first time since you met him, you feel safe. Terrifying, on top of the way you feel claws dig into you, sure to draw blood. The more you feel Miyuki’s cold fury as it rolls off him in waves, the more secure you feel. The shadows grow into something absolutely menacing, but you feel protected. Invulnerable despite your vulnerability dripping from your wrist as your assailant is torn from you and flung in the opposite direction.

While you’re trying to catch your breath, trying to regain your footing, you try to spot him, though you’re given but a glimpse.

What a terrifying monster you’ve summoned. Never have you heard of making a feral vampire cease their attack before their end, but here you are staring at a look of pure terror from he who would spell your doom. You almost feel… sorry for him. Darkness engulfs the alleyway until you can’t see anything but the horrifying, empty void before it recedes, leaving you against the building you always thought hideous with Miyuki at the end, furthest the street, standing in a growing pool of blood. There is no body, seemingly no source for the blood. Only him with his back turned to you.

As you step back out of reflex more than a conscious desire to run, you stumble, falling backward as your legs give out from under you. 

“Are you okay?”

His voice sounds so far away, so foreign without the weight of the impending laugh on his tongue, and you aren’t sure that it isn’t imagined. For all you know, this is all in your mind, some kind of comforting fantasy as it all goes tits up.

When you don’t answer, he turns, slowly, revealing the front of him covered in blood. His eyes are positively shining despite the mask of calm that he’s wearing. For the first time since you’ve met him, his fangs are drawn, completely visible. At one point you believed seeing him with his fangs would change your perception of him entirely, that it would make him look completely different.

Instead, you find him the same Miyuki as you have ever known him.

He removes his gloves, shaking them once, twice, before placing them in his back pocket, and starts making his way over to you.

“Are you okay, Little Human?” he asks again and you can’t manage anything past a simple, dumbfounded nod. “I’m going to help you up now, alright?”

It’s not even a thought when he offers you his hand, the same one that undoubtedly tore someone to shreds not moments ago. You take it without hesitation, body moving of its own volition, and the relief you feel is instantaneous. 

He convinces you to invite him inside, to guarantee that you’re safe and to avoid any misunderstandings given his appearance right now. As you come out of your stupor, you find it only mildly annoying how easily he fits in your space, but it’s nothing you’ll complain about, not when he came so quickly after you called.

Perhaps the entire event has made you a little careless, but you’ve yet to process the possibility of how he was able to come so quickly—mere seconds after the last syllable fell from your lips the first time you spoke it. And there’s something that you remember, the more your mind forces you to think back to it. A single utterance before everything went black. Maybe you just don’t want to think about the way he called you “his human.”

You don’t ask him about either as he coaxes words from you. You don’t mention it when you offer him a pair of pajamas that your ex had left years ago. You don’t think about it as you help him try to wash the blood from his clothes, used to this problem thanks to Kuramochi.

The only thing you can focus on—such a silly little thing, too—is the way he looked the same, even with his fangs drawn. The only thing you can focus on is the way your heart beats out, “That was my Miyuki.”

How… annoyingly out of character. How out of left field. How—

Shit. Kuramochi once mentioned this, years ago, but Miyuki doesn’t let you dwell on that thought (or maybe he knows what’s coming, where your logic is taking you. You wouldn’t put it past him).

“You seem to be particularly popular with vampires,” he teases lightly, obvious in his attempt to gauge your mood. “If I had known more would come for you, I would have started things sooner.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s not the first who’s thirsted for you and followed you, though I’m surprised I caught him so late, and the stench of your friend sticks to everything here except your bedroom.”

“No, what do you mean, ‘started things sooner?’”

He comes closer and it feels like his golden irises are burning into your soul. His smile is wide and gentle, very unlike the excitement in his eyes.

“I would have started courting you sooner.”

Your mind blanks but you think you feel the barest edges of an invisible tether, the ghost of a link between your soul and his. Something almost fitting into place, but not quite. An unremarkable voice in the back of your mind telling you something horrifyingly remarkable—the inevitability of what's to come, wrapped up in the not-so-tender reminder that words have power.

tagging @tyga-lily because I can't believe I'm stuck on Vampire!Kazuya again. Pls send help

Daiya no Ace Masterlist

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #29

July 26-August 2 2024

President Biden announced his plan to reform the Supreme Court and make sure no President is above the law. The conservative majority on the court ruled that Trump has "absolute immunity" from any prosecution for "official acts" while he was President. In response President Biden is calling for a constitutional amendment to make it clear that Presidents aren't above the law and don't have immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. In response to a wide ranging corruption scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas, President Biden called on Congress to pass a legally binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. The code would force Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political actions, and force them to recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have conflicts of interest. President Biden also endorsed the idea of term limits for the Justices.

The Biden Administration sent out an email to everyone who has a federal student loan informing them of upcoming debt relief. The debt relief plan will bring the total number of a borrowers who've gotten relief from the Biden-Harris Administration to 30 million. The plan is due to be finalized this fall, and the Department of Education wanted to alert people early to allow them to be ready to quickly take advantage of it when it was in place and get relief as soon as possible.

President Biden announced that the federal government would step in and protect the pension of 600,000 Teamsters. Under the American Rescue Plan, passed by President Biden and the Democrats with no Republican votes, the government was empowered to bail out Union retirement funds which in recent years have faced devastating cut of up to 75% in some cases, leaving retired union workers in desperate situations. The Teamster union is just the latest in a number of such pension protections the President has done in office.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris oversaw the dramatic release of American hostages from Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan held since 2018, Russian-American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Alsu Kurmasheva convicted of criticizing the Russian Military, were all released from captivity and returned to the US at around midnight August 2nd. They were greeted on the tarmac by the President and Vice-President and their waiting families. The deal also secured the release of German medical worker Rico Krieger sentenced to death in Belarus, Russian-British opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, and 11 Russians convicted of opposing the war against Ukraine or being involved in Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption organization. Early drafts of the hostage deal were meant to include Navalny before his death in Russian custody early this year.

A new Biden Administration rule banning discrimination against LGBT students takes effect, but faces major Republican resistance. The new rule declares that Title IX protects Queer students from discrimination in public schools and any college that takes federal funds. The new rule also expands protections for victims of sexual misconduct and pregnant or parenting students. However Republican resistance means the rule can't take effect nation wide. Lawsuits from Republican controlled states, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, means the new protections won't come into effect those states till the case is ruled on likely in a Supreme Court ruling. The Biden administration crafted these Title IX rules to reflect the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock case.

The Biden administration awarded $2 billion to black and minority farmers who were the victims of historic discrimination. Historically black farmers have been denied important loans from the USDA, or given smaller amounts than white farmers. This massive investment will grant 23,000 minority farmers between $10,000 and $500,000 each and a further 20,000 people who wanted to start farms by were improperly denied the loans they needed between $3,500-$6,000 to get started. Most payments went to farmers in Mississippi and Alabama.

The Biden Administration took an important step to stop the criminalization of poverty by changing child safety guidelines so that poverty alone isn't grounds for taking a child into foster care. Studies show that children able to stay with parents or other family have much better outcomes then those separated. Many states have already removed poverty from their guidelines when it comes to removing children from the home, and the HHS guidelines push the remaining states to do the same.

Vice-President Harris announced the Biden Administration's agreement to a plan by North Carolina to forgive the state's medical debt. The plan by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper would forgive the medical debt of 2 million people in the state. North Carolina has the 3rd highest rate of medical debt in the nation. Vice-President Harris applauded the plan, pointing out that the Biden Administration has forgiven $650 million dollars worth of medical debt so far with plans to forgive up to $7 billion by 2026. The Vice-President unveiled plans to exclude medical debt from credit scores and issued a call for states and local governments to forgive debt, like North Carolina is, last month.

The Department of Transportation put forward a new rule to bank junk fees for family air travel. The new rule forces airlines to seat parents next to their children, with no extra cost. Currently parents are forced to pay extra to assure they are seated next to their children, no matter what age, if they don't they run the risk of being separated on a long flight. Airlines would be required to seat children age 13 and under with their parent or accompanying adult at no extra charge.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it is giving $3.5 billion to combat homelessness. This represents the single largest one year investment in fighting homelessness in HUD's history. The money will be distributed by grants to local organizations and programs. HUD has a special focus on survivors of domestic violence, youth homeless, and people experiencing the unique challenges of homelessness in rural areas.

The Treasury Department announced that Pennsylvania and New Mexico would be joining the IRS' direct file program for 2025. The program was tested as a pilot in a number of states in 2024, saving 140,000 tax payers $5.6 million in filing charges and getting tax returns of $90 million. The program, paid for by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, will be available to all 50 states, but Republicans strong object. Pennsylvania and New Mexico join Oregon and New Jersey in being new states to join.

Bonus: President Biden with the families of the released hostages calling their loved ones on the plane out of Russia

[tulippanes]

𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐃𝐎𝐆

hajime i. x f!reader

▼• ᴥ •▼ 𝗦𝗬𝗡𝗢𝗣𝗦𝗜𝗦

. . ↷ He's an athletic trainer and she works at a doggie daycare. By coincidence, an escaped dog ran up and jumped on him while he was leaving his gym. Maybe it was fate, but he just so happened to have taken interest in her at first glance. While she's getting over a rough breakup, he wants to be the one to mend her heart. His mind is always wandering whenever he's around her though, and it's certainly not helping with anything.

╭ ܀ ✧ WARNINGS

language, suggestive content, kms/kys jokes, FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF, humor hopefully, mentions of emotional manipulation and cheating, a drop of angst, MAYBE 2nd hand embarrassment, horrible flirting, lots of cuteness tho, HAJIME IWAIZUMI.

╭ ܀ ✧ DYNAMICS

Blended SMAU, Strangers to friends to lovers, Hurt/Comfort but make it more comfort, Healing, Romance, Love at First Sight, Slight Slow Burn

status ➺ coming soon

taglist ➺ open

✼ PROFILES

dog whisperers | the 3 musketeers + gym rat

✼ NOTES

(🦴) means there's a written portion!

✼ PLAYLIST

here!

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒!

𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗜 — The Runaway

i. catch that dog! (🦴)

ii. it was just a coincidence. nothing more.

iii. hey. again. I guess? (🦴)

iv. thoughts of a stranger

v. catch that dog.. again! (🦴)

vi. introductions, finally (🦴)

vii. planning

viii. operation: get her number

ix. oh he's wimping out

x. operation maybe failed

xi. operation failed (🦴)

xii. plan b?

xiii. you can do it, hajime!

xiv. task failed successfully (🦴)

xv. the first message of a blooming friendship (or love)

𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗟𝗘 — The Know-It-All

xvi. suspicion

xvii. thoughts of the well-known (🦴)

TBA...

𝗚𝗢𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 – The Affectionate

TBA...

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

Can a dog say "I love you"?

a/n ok i'm js flowing w ideas mbmb LMFAOO this one was itching my brain I had to get it out plus I think it's a cute concept but I rlly need to stop tho b4 I over exert myself w all the series I have

[kaerik]

All of Hell's layout shots from Edwin's journal, in order

Heya! I needed to take some screenshots for reference when writing a fic, so I thought it'd be nice to share :)

(Under the cut I've added everything I could make out in the writtings)

"LAYERS OF HELL" across two pages. These are based on Dante's Inferno, the first part of Divine Comedy, and the nine circles of hell. (Shout out to my friend who helped me with the 10 "rooms" of Fraud <3)

Left page:

- Vestibule (unnumbered, right on top of Limbo, referring to the staircase)

I - Limbo

II - Lust

III - Gluttony

IV - Avarice

V - Wrath

VI - Heresy

VII - Violence

VIII - Fraud

IX - Treachery

- There are 10 "rooms" described between Violence and Fraud, referring to the 10 trenches of the eight circle of hell (Fraud) and numbered as such.

Room I reads: whipped.

Room II reads: covered in excrement.

Room III reads: flipped (?) feet set on fire.

Room IV reads: encased(?) in boiled pitch.

Room V reads: head turned backwards.

Room VI reads: wear lead robes.

Room VII reads: snake(?) pit turn(?) into snake.

Room VIII reads: (?) big flames.

Room IX reads: (?) -> quality is too low to tell; considering the trench of which it is based on, probably along the lines of 'mangled', 'mutilated', 'maimed', etc

Room X reads: leprosy, hungry(?), dark.

Right page:

- Endless staircase

- "UPPER HELL" encompassing layers I to IV.

Beside layers III and IV, read: heavy labour(?), everyone in your way

- "LOWER HELL" encompassing layers V to IX.

Beside layers VI and VII, read: trapped, impaled, submerged in blood. Beside layer VIII, read: snake pit, gain human form by biting other humans. Beside layer IX, read: frozen + stuck + chewed on

Left page:

- LIMBO

Right page:

- "DO NOT RING" is crossed out near a bell. Dashed line points to where the bell is on the room.

Left page:

- Arrow pointing to the claw machine, referencing the passage behind it. Note reads: Back to Doll House. No.

- Circle on the bottom right, just above a door: Wrong way. AVARICE. Everything too heavy.

- GLUTTONY

Right page:

- LUST

[scary-grace]

(secret) santa, baby - part 12 of a shigaraki x f!reader fic

Shigaraki doesn't want to participate in the office's Secret Santa exchange, but when Toga promises to make it easy on him, he gives in. But making it easy for him makes it a lot harder for you -- you're the one who got his list. Office AU, no quirks. A fic in 12 parts. Divider by @ wcnderlnds

i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi

part xii (opening presents)

“What?” Spinner asks anxiously. “Do you think it’s too much or something?”

“Um – no.” You’re definitely lying. You can barely see Spinner around the enormous box he’s carrying. You’re not sure if he can see anything, either. “I mean, it’s the last Secret Santa gift of the year. Go big or go home, right?”

“Yeah,” Spinner agrees. He sounds relieved. “And after what happened – she deserves something extra nice, don’t you think?”

“Definitely.”

You weren’t sure how Spinner would react to the news that Aiba and her boyfriend have broken up – or rather, that Aiba dumped him when she found out about the kiss. You know people who’d have been happy to find out that the person they’d liked from afar was finally single. But Spinner wasn’t happy. He looked so unhappy when he found out that Twice elbowed him and said he’d never seen anybody be that upset over good news.

Spinner stared at him like he was crazy. It’s not good news, he said. She’s really sad. Why would I be happy about her being sad?

Spinner’s a good guy, and you’re pretty sure the giant gift he’s carrying is something he bought before the mistletoe-day disaster. When you look around the ballroom where the party’s being held, you see a lot of giant gifts, enough that going all-out with the last gift must be a tradition or something. It’s a tradition, and you missed the memo. Your last gift for Tomura is small enough to fit in your purse.

It was hard to find, and you’re pretty sure you outed yourself as Tomura’s Secret Santa to Spinner in the process of figuring out what “video games” meant on Tomura’s list. Tomura apparently has a thing for retro consoles, and retro consoles only play old games. Spinner mentioned a game Tomura’s been half-assedly searching for since last year, and you decided to find it. It took a lot of time spent scrolling on Ebay and picking through thrift store discount bins, but you finally found it, and you even found an old console to test it on to make sure it worked. You were really excited to give it to him until you got here and saw what everybody else did.

But it’s too late to change anything now. You’re here with your tiny gift, and Tomura’s going to think you didn’t try at all. If he’s even here. “Do you know if Tomura’s going to be here?”

“Last I heard, yeah,” Spinner says. “He changes his mind last-minute about stuff, though. I can text him if you want?”

“I have his number,” you say. “I can do it.”

You can, but you won’t. You know Tomura hates parties, and you don’t want to put his maybe liking you to the test against how much he hates getting dressed up and going out. It’s what kept you from asking him yourself, even though the two of you have been texting more than two people who see each other every day at work really should. The only person who brought up the party was him, when he asked if you were going. You said yes, and then he asked why. There’s going to be free food, you said. And I want to meet my Secret Santa.

As far as you can tell, most people have at least some idea of who their Secret Santa is, but you don’t have a clue. Your Secret Santa’s never written a note to go with any of their gifts, and nothing about the gift-wrapping style – or lack thereof, with the first few gifts – has given them away. The only thing you know is that they haven’t been following your hyper-specific list to the letter. While everything they’ve gotten you has been on the list, it’s all been an upgrade from the versions you asked for.

So they’re generous and bad at wrapping gifts. That could describe half the office. You’d like to know who it is, and there’s free food, so you’re here. And if you might have dressed up a little more than you usually would for an office holiday party on the off chance that Tomura makes an appearance, you’re going to keep that to yourself. Nobody has to know. And you can have fun at the party whether or not he’s here.

It is a really nice party – probably the nicest one you’ve ever been to. The decorating committee went berserk, to the point where there are multiple live Christmas trees on each wall and food tables on either end of the ballroom, each stocked with its own chocolate fountain and champagne tower. There’s music, which Yamada apparently arranged for but isn’t actually performing. Yamada’s in a good mood. When you run into him while trying to grab a glass of champagne, he grins at you. “Next year. Acapella. Are you in?”

“Ask me next year,” you say. “Once the holiday spirit’s worn off.”

Yamada cracks up at that, snags two glasses of champagne, and speeds off through the crowd. You finally manage to separate one for yourself and get clear of the table. Half a glass of champagne later, you’re ready to mingle. Time to see if participating in the office’s holiday traditions as a way to make friends actually worked.

It feels like it did. People say hi to you, and when you stop to talk to them, it doesn’t feel awkward at all. You’re willing to admit that some of it might be because you’ve all been drinking a little bit, but at the same time, you’ve gone to office parties where people were drunker than this and still silent as the grave. Some of your coworkers have already found out who their Secret Santas are, and some of them are carrying gifts that look even more over-the-top unwrapped than they did when they were covered in festive wrapping paper. Maybe it’s better if Tomura doesn’t show up. You can find a bigger gift and leave it on his desk next week, and no one will have to know that you messed up.

You cross paths with Tomura’s friends here. They’re all dressed up, probably more than anyone else at the party, although it looks more like they’re here for a costume party than a Christmas party. “Like it? It’s an Enji’s credit card special,” Twice says, tugging at the lapel of his purple suit. “He really wanted Dabi to come home for Christmas this year.”

“Did you?” you ask Dabi.

“Yeah, but I brought everybody with me,” Dabi says. Everybody. Even – “Shigaraki, too. He hates this shit, but he never misses a chance to stick it to somebody else’s shitty dad.”

“It was fun this year,” Magne says. “Fuyumi made us our own stockings and everything. That thing was nicer than any of my actual socks.”

“It sounds fun,” you say.

“Could have been worse,” Dabi says. He glances at you. “What did you do?”

You didn’t, really, which is the other reason you’re here – Christmas alone in your apartment was fun or at least peaceful the first few years, but lately it’s been feeling lonely. “Not too much. I just slept in and then came here.”

Tomura’s friends exchange glances. “Next year you’ll hang with us,” Twice announces. “You can still sleep in. We always show up late anyway.”

“You don’t have to invite me,” you say at once. You must have sounded a lot more pathetic than you meant to. “And Twice, you probably shouldn’t invite me to Dabi’s house –”

“First, it’s not my house,” Dabi says. “Second, I invite whoever I want. The more of my friends I bring, the more uncomfortable I make my jackass of a father. As long as you don’t hit on my sister –”

“Come on, that was one time,” Twice protests.

“Yeah, one time too many –”

You sidle sideways out of the conversation while they’re still debating exactly how many times one of Dabi’s friends have made a pass at his siblings. Dabi probably didn’t mean the invitation. You won’t count on it. But it’s nice that they’re thinking about it tonight. Hearing it makes you feel a little better, even if it’ll evaporate well before next Christmas.

The party ebbs and flows around you. Sometimes there are people dancing, but other times, the music quiets enough to let people talk. There are fewer and fewer unopened gifts floating around. You see Spinner still toting his gift for Aiba, which means that Aiba’s either not here or he just can’t see her around the box. The latter seems more likely to you. She’s really tiny. No matter where you look, there’s no sign of Tomura.

You do find Aiba, though, when you stop by the chocolate fountain. You can’t tell if she’s trying to hide. “Hi,” you say, and she looks up. “He’s not here, if that’s what you’re worried about. I haven’t seen him.”

“He said he wouldn’t come to it,” Aiba says. She looks like she didn’t sleep well last night, but her outfit’s on point. “I’m not worried about him. I’m just not very – fun right now. I only came to it because I wanted to meet my Secret Santa.”

“Really?”

“I thought the Secret Santa was going to be ruined because of – him. But then I found out it wasn’t him,” Aiba says. You nod. “And that makes it – nicer, I think. All the gifts I got were perfect, and none of it had anything to do with him. So there’s still one part of my Christmas that’s nice. I want to say thank you.”

Spinner had better have a game plan. “They haven’t come to talk to me yet, though,” Aiba says. She frowns. “Do you think they’re even here?”

“I know they’re here,” you say. “If you stay here, I can go find them and tell them to come over.”

Aiba nods. “Thank you,” she says. “And thank you. For the other day. That was nice, too.”

“No problem,” you say. “Just stay there.”

Courtesy of the giant present, Spinner’s really easy to find. You give him specific directions to where Aiba’s standing, tell him to take it easy, and wish him luck. As you watch him go, you find yourself wondering what’s in the box. Maybe you should have asked. It would have given you a better idea about the kind of thing you should have gotten for Tomura.

“Hey.”

That’s Tomura’s voice. You turn and find him standing behind you, a haphazardly wrapped present in one hand. You feel a temporary surge of relief at the sight. He got something small, too. At least you aren’t alone in totally missing the boat. But then you take a look at the rest of him, and the relief evaporates into something you can only describe as a kind of awestruck surprise. Tomura cleans up nice. Really nice.

Like the rest of his friends, he’s dressed up. Unlike the rest of them, he went pretty standard with it – black suit and tie, although he’s got a red cape around his shoulders. It should be incongruous, but he makes it work. He’s done something to his hair. Brushed it, maybe. Either way, it looks good. You can’t help but stare.

But even though he looks great – he has to know he looks great, right? – he doesn’t look quite comfortable. Maybe because you’re staring at him, and you haven’t said a word. “You look really nice,” you say, and a faint flush comes up in his cheeks. “I didn’t know if you were coming. I know this isn’t really your thing.”

“It’s what you’re doing,” Tomura says, and your face turns red, too. “I want to meet my Secret Santa.”

That’s you. You and your stupid gift that’s too small. “Right,” you say. You fumble in your purse and pull it out, then offer it to him. At least you did a decent job wrapping it. “It was me. I’m your Secret Santa. Here.”

Tomura takes the gift, then holds out the one he’s carrying to you. You did a decent job wrapping it; he probably needs both hands to get it open. “The wrapping on this looks nice,” you say nonsensically while he picks at the tape on yours. “You don’t have to open mine right now. You probably want to give this to the person you were Secret Santa for.”

“I just did.”

It takes way too long for you to figure that one out. “Wait, it was you?”

“You didn’t guess?” Tomura looks almost affronted. “I figured out you were mine days ago.”

“How? Was it my handwriting on the notes?”

“No,” Tomura says. He gives you a weird look. “I wrote on my list that I hate the cold, but I don’t tell anybody that. The only way you would have known is if you got my list.”

“Oh.” You would have thought the thing that gave you away would be bigger than that – like getting too familiar in your notes, slipping up and using his given name and not going back to his surname when you realized your mistake. “Okay.”

“You really didn’t know it was me?” Tomura’s stopped trying to open your gift for the sole purpose of staring at you. “I thought Dabi gave me away. When he was talking about how shitty I am at wrapping gifts.”

You vaguely remember a joke Dabi made. You really shouldn’t have had so much champagne. “Sorry. I should have thought about it a little more.”

“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Tomura says. It’s quiet for a second. “A bad surprise?”

“No,” you say at once. “A good surprise. But – you could have just told me it was you. Then you wouldn’t have had to come to the party.”

“This is what you’re doing.”

“I know, but we could have done something else. Something you wouldn’t hate as much.”

“I don’t hate it as much as last year,” Tomura says. He nods at the gift. “Are you going to open that or what?”

“Yes,” you say. “Thank you.”

“Don’t say thank-you when you don’t know what it is,” Tomura says. “Just – open it.”

You don’t have any idea of what it could be. You know Tomura’s gone through everything on your list already. His wrapping job is easier to get through than yours. You peel back the paper and untie the ribbons and find yourself holding a hat.

It looks sort of like your hat. The one you gave him. But you found that hat on sale somewhere, ages ago, and this one is a lot nicer. Yours is just knitted, but this one has a soft lining, and the fabric on the outside feels like it might be water-resistant. It also has a goofy little pompom on it, which yours definitely doesn’t have. This isn’t anything you’d have bought for yourself. But you like it a lot.

You look up, ready to thank Tomura, and find him staring down at your gift, unwrapped in his hand. “You didn’t leave a note,” he says. “I like the notes.”

You’d facepalm if you weren’t holding the hat. “I thought I would just say what I would have said in the note to you. Face to face.”

He looks up. You’ve never seen that look on his face before. In fact, you’re not sure you’ve seen that look on anybody’s face – wary, expectant, maybe surprised, maybe hopeful. You should have planned what you were going to say a little better. Before you can say anything, though, Tomura speaks up. “How did you know about this game? I’ve been looking for it. Where did you even find it?”

“I found it on Ebay,” you say. “It wouldn’t have shipped in time, so I picked it up in person. I made sure to test it. It works. And as far as finding out about it – I asked Spinner about the kind of games you liked. I wanted to get it right.”

“I half-assed my list. Why would you try that hard?”

“I just – I don’t know,” you say. “I know Toga kind of bullied you into doing this. I wanted you to get something nice out of it. Sad Christmas might make more sense to you – and me, sometimes – but I thought it would be nice for you to have a happy one.”

That was a dumb thing to say. Tomura hasn’t told you a lot about his background – you’ve really only gotten close recently – but what you know isn’t good. It’s dumb of you to think that one video game and a handful of other gifts could rewrite any of that. You avert your eyes in a hurry. “Thank you for the hat. I didn’t mean to make you go off-list.”

“You didn’t make me do anything,” Tomura says. “I just thought you needed a new one. Since I’m keeping yours.”

Your heart skips a beat. “You are?”

“If you weren’t lying when you said it looked okay,” Tomura says. His hand brushes against your jaw, then applies pressure, turning you back to face him. He looks almost frustrated, but his face is flushed in a way you recognize. “And if you like me.”

“Do you like me?” you ask without thinking, and Tomura kisses you.

You’ve been regretting not giving him a real kiss under the mistletoe at work, but now you think it’s for the best that you didn’t. You haven’t had very many good first kisses, and you want a chance to savor this one. You wrap one arm around Tomura’s waist and pull him a little closer, and even though he startles, he keeps kissing you. He’s not hesitant, so you aren’t, either. There’s no way you’re going to be the first one to pull away.

When you do separate, it’s at the same time, and for what you’re pretty sure is the same reason. The music’s kicked back up. “Is that the stupid Grinch song?” Tomura asks, and you nod. He’s ever so slightly out of breath. He looks kind of flustered, but not nearly as much as you want him to. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“I mean, I could always sing All I Want For Christmas Is You again –” You see the face Tomura’s making. “I’m kidding. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care,” Tomura says. He unwraps your hand from around his waist, then keeps holding it as he leads you towards the doors. “It doesn’t matter, if you’re coming with me.”

The wind hits you in a sharp blast as soon as you’re outside, and you pull your new hat on one-handed. “Maybe somewhere warm?”

Tomura pulls on your hand, and when you turn towards him, he kisses you again. Now that you’ve got both your hands free and you’re not in the middle of a crowd, you can kiss him how you want to – one arm around his waist, your other hand gathering up a few strands of his hair. Tomura’s breath catches, and a moment later, so does yours, and although it takes a while for you to separate again, you’re both out of breath when you do.

Tomura doesn’t go far. His arms are tight around you, and when he answers a question you’ve almost forgotten, you can feel his breath against your skin. “I’m warm enough.”

the end

<- part xi