#this is related to the doubles tournament thing

[starfallchampion]

Deciding whether to dress like your Pokémon or match outfits with your significant other is medieval torture I think

[cringefailkralie]

ridiculously long list of things i’ve noticed about thomas grant and adam wadsworth’s portrayals of albus and scorpius

sorry in advance if this is messy, i wrote this at like 4am

albus flinches away when james steps too close to him!!!

when scorpius asks albus whether he prefers albus or al, he doesn’t have to think about his answer. instead he just looks shocked that someone was actually asking that, like nobody’s ever considered his feelings before. makes me feel like he’d been waiting his entire life for someone to actually ask him that.

tom’s albus doesn’t cry during the fight with harry like i’ve seen a lot of the other actors do. he just stares blankly ahead of him and completely shuts down. i’m head over heels in love with this choice because it really hammers home how hard it is for albus to express his feelings or communicate with anyone.

albus’s reaction to the love potion really really makes me believe that ron intended it to be a mean gay joke. even if ron didn’t intend for it to come across that way, that’s definitely what albus takes it as.

scorpius is just staring vacantly at a wall before he spots albus on the train in their 4th year. not sure if this is a specific acting choice or if i’m just reading into it too much?

they hold hands for a second and stand with their faces an inch away from each other as soon as they duck into their train compartment. their body language in private is so different from their body language in public.

albus squeezes his eyes closed when they hug. he really needed that physical affection but he hates anyone but scorpius being near him.

scorpius puts his hand on albus’s chest when the train starts moving. nothing to say about that its just really gay.

my favorite delivery of “oooo a quiz… WIZZO!!!” i fucking love how he does jazz hands when he says it, especially because it’s the second time he does jazz hands in that scene. he’s so me.

albus does so many little hand gestures in this scene, he’s way more comfortable being expressive around scorpius. he almost mirrors scorpius’s stupid little mannerisms.

bonus- not scorbus related but craig is first seen wearing his beanie on the train during the this sequence (where albus and scorpius decide to run away)!! idk if they don’t do this in other productions or if i just hadn’t ever picked up on it before, but it’s a really cute detail. does anyone know if he canonically got it when he became head boy?

when amos first tells them to leave, scorpius grabs onto albus’s sleeve

not even technically them but the ron and harry actors grab onto each other sooooo much (as albus and scorpius)

in love with how long scorpius hold out his “WIIIIIIIZZZOOOO” and how albus tries to match his energy with the “DOUBLE WIZZO”

delphi steals scorp’s little phrases and his awkward way of speaking and his mannerisms to try and appeal to albus because she knows that he reeeeally likes him- and i hate hate HATEEEE how she makes him feel like a freak for being himself when all the while she’s stealing his personality. scorpius plays with the fabric of his sweater and then fidgets with his hands after she tries to make him feel left out in the forbidden forest and i can FEEL what he’s feeling through the screen.

scorpius is JEALOUS jealous of delphi and when he talks to her his voice is quiet and monotone, which is the most un-scorpius thing ever. i love it. you can feel how much he hates her. i hate her too, this delphi is despicable. (very talented actress!!)

when scorpius tears his eyes away from the beautiful sight in front of them to look at albus and say “you’re my best friend” (which is crazy enough on its own) he talks in a really sweet, low voice before returning really quickly to his normal scorp-voice, as if he was afraid to let albus think about what had just happened

albus jumps up and down with excitement when they announce the triwizard tournament. he starts and then has to stop himself from cheering for hogwarts. funny that a guy who was just saying how much he hates hogwarts would do a thing like that.

everyone around scorpius gets startled when he starts cheering for krum because his screaming is so weird lmao

at the end of the scene where albus tells scorpius they’ll be better off without each other, scorpius just slumps over on the steps and stays there for the ENTIRETY of the next scene until he eventually gets wheeled off with the stairs. it looks like he’s fiddling with something? maybe his wand? maybe just his hands?

obviously the staircase ballet is the staircase ballet, but the way they look at each other is just AAAAUUUUGHHHHHHH

at the end of the ballet scorpius steps towards albus first, but albus is the one who reaches his hand out and slinks down onto the steps

obsessed with that gay little purse scorpius carries the time turner in

delphi gets scorpius to let his guard down during their conversation and scorpius starts talking like himself in front of her again!!!

albus does the little puke-gag-joke-thing in the library to try and make scorpius feel better </3

they’re both fidgeting with their hands throughout their whole conversation :(

ALBUS’S LITTLE GIGGLE WHEN SCORPIUS AGREES TO COME WITH HIM TO FIX TIME

this isn’t specific to this production but scorpius’s shoes are one of my favorite details. in the normal world, he wears big clunky shoes to showcase his awkwardness, whereas in the dark dimension he wears running shoes!! evil scorp is athletic!!!

the second “im fighting for albus” that comes out of scorpius’s mouth is said almost entirely to himself

their little hug in the water :,)

i LOVE LOVE LOVE that scorpius tries to hug draco and he pushes him away and throws his jacket at him in such a cold manner. it makes their hug near the end feel so much more important to their relationship. as soon as we meet scorpius he immediately refers to himself as having daddy issues and we don’t see nearly enough of that in this play.

bonus p2- one of my favorite parts of this show is the in trouble again number!!! i love the background gang and all of their little scenes like this. craig being a little gossip monger is funny as shit!!!! it gives him so much personality and makes his death that much sadder :(

the delivery of “scorpius….. he matters to me…. you know that don’t you?” is INSANE. tom grant delivers all of the coming out adjacent lines so perfectly.

i love how scorpius moves his body. he waves his arms around in the air so often.

scorpius tickled albus lmao they’re so weird

when scorpius talks about hating the other world, albus throws in “apart from polly chapman fancying you” quite bitterly and scorpius almost completely cuts him off. he doesn’t acknowledge what he said in any way shape or form and albus seems to notice that he’s not interested in polly.

scorpius rubs his socks on the floor while he talks :3

the choice to have scorpius move from his bed to albus’s bed and pull albus’s blanket into his lap when he tells him that he changed himself back for him is so AAAUGHHH

AND SCORPIUS DOES THE SAME THING THAT HE DID EARLIER AGAIN!!! he gets all quiet and sweet when he’s sort of admitting his feelings to albus and then all of a sudden he stands up and goes back to his normal loud voice

“MALFOY THE UNANXIOUS IS A PRRRRRETTY GOOD LIIIIAAAR”

delphi mocking scorpius and him immediately tensing up oh he hates her ass so much

scorpius reaches out to try and intercept albus handing delphi the time turner and albus giggles at scorpius because he’s happy she’s not extremely pissed at them

scorpius holds onto the railing right up until he gets his hands bound together because he’s afraid of heights. thought it was cute that adam chose to do this even though his fear of heights isn’t mentioned anywhere in this version.

i LOVE the torture scene in this version. albus is stone faced when delphi is threatening to torture him and then he IMMEDIATELY falls to his knees begging and pleading when she turns toward scorpius.

delphi is quite literally outing albus in this scene. the silence after she says that love is his weakness and points to scorpius is SO long and SO loud omg. it’s quite literally ten whole seconds (i counted) of albus and scorpius just looking at each other. it genuinely feels like she just spilled out what he’s been keeping inside of himself for so long, it’s gutwrenching. i guess they did just watch craig die so they do in fact have bigger problems, but you can see albus’s heart stop beating and its so terrible.

i love how albus turns to scorpius when the stationmaster starts unintelligibly talking to them like “hey, you’re doing the talking rn just so you know”

i’m obsessed with how excited scorpius is to tell albus all about the history of the place they’re in. in love with his little gasps at everything he sees and his jump when he says “SQUEAK!”

albus motioning for scorpius to stop when he’s demonstrating how to scream for help lmaoooo

albus pointing with both hands at scorpius while they try to come up with a plan is so cute. albus believes in him so much.

i love how scorpius keeps hugging draco even as he’s talking

their foreheads are literally brushing against each other my god these bitches gay

albus asks “and thats who you want in your palace?” in an almost panicked way like he’s afraid scorpius doesn’t feel the same way about him.

albus holds onto scorpius’s shoulders while rose tries to reassure them that they didn’t just get walked in on lmao

3rd and final instance of scorpius trying to change the subject- asking immediately about quidditch so albus doesn’t get the chance to say anything related to what just happened

scorpius says “come on” like he’s trying to get albus to come cut a rug with him at a middle school dance

obsessed with their little gagging and puking bit and how they made it a callback to what albus does in the library

maybe my favorite hug moment from any scorbus duo. i love how albus initially reacts with shock but then melts into it and closes his eyes, only pulling away to make sure he’s not reading the situation entirely wrong (he’s not)

my favorite ending scene by far. the coming out hits SO hard. the way albus fiddles with his zipper and scrunches up his sleeve in his hand, you can tell how absolutely terrified he is of saying this to his dad. the line delivery is genuinely fantastic. the more he pauses the longer you have to take it all in- and he pauses a LOT.

okie thanks for reading!!!!!

[ickysubbyboi]

hey pretty, please talk more about more stuff that you like, you’re so cute <3

Another one that I haven’t really talked about is liking math but not in a normal way probably more like a degenerate way…

Growing up I was like a lot into it. I used to compete in those math Olympiad tournaments. And as any other regular normal kid my dream was to go to the IMO (like the highest level international Olympiad) which is unrealistic af but I only found out that years later…

When I was in high school I started going to these other courses math course offered by my local university, which was 100% focused on math competitions. And you took like Number theory, algebra, geometry and combinatorics (number theory is obviously the nicer one) and they were really hard, some of it was in a college level so that’s probably why. But it’s funny how I was pretty average on those and it wasn’t easy for me. But on my class there was this dude who’d sit at the back and read books because the already college level math was too boring for him (he was like 14 💀) so it puts into perspective how good some of these people are…

Another weird thing is that at school sometimes I’d do math in even non math related classes 😭 and I never liked notebooks so I’d write stuff down on my table then erase it afterwards…pretty sure I got in trouble at some point for that but it was so much easier

One time when I was like 13/14 me and a couple friends decided to calculate 38! Factorial by hand (terrible idea) to calculate the total amount of possibilities we could arrange all students on the class room. This took hours, I mean hours we pretty much spent the whole school period doing it, for some reason I still don’t know why. There are more math related stories I think but I already typed way too much so…anyways. I almost ended up doing a mathematics bachelors but I went for engineering instead. But I’ll probably do a double major, or at least a mathematics minor just for fun

38! Is equal to: 523022617466601111760007224100074291200000000

Just to put into perspective how stupid that is 😭

[prettyflyshyguy]

Hi everyone I survived my big trip for the miniature convention/painting competition and it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster (for me) cause the category I entered (Standard & Masters were the options, I entered my work in Standard) was really tough in the end and the judging did not hold back. This was terrifying. I got to chat and get crit from the judges which was awesome, and the turnout of models was incredible. I'm really proud of how I did in the end. Anyway quick trip highlights:

The National Dinosaur museum was incredible. I spammed my insta stories with pics and when we arrived at the event a bunch of friends were like "hey did you enjoy the museum :^)" like SHUT UP

The event had a bunch of wargames tournaments on and the map had some questionable names attached to the zones/rooms things were held in.

I won a silver and bronze in standard for two out of four of my entries, and I won a fucking airbrush in the lucky dip prizes (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so overall: it was a good weekend.

I'm back to feeling weird and nebulous again so I'm gonna try and fight that best I can by getting back on track -- I've got to prep for KAICON MELB in one and a half weeks, and I've got to make new stuff including those inFAMOUS charms I promised SO.

The to-do is looking like this currently:

-highest priority is make Cole MacGrath double sided charm design and throw up pre-orders

-Maybe make a last-minute sticker design for kaicon melb

-I've got to make sticker rally art for MelbNova in a few months

-I've got to also make new designs for MelbNova (in association with the sticker rally) - current top ideas are something spyro related and something sonic related

The grind to make myself a happier, more fruitful life in selling my art never stops.

[fighting-these-demons]

I had another thought on the Rising Arrow front:

A series rewrite where All*nby and the berserker project are part of Ne*-J*pan's plot instead of Ne*-Sw*den's and All*nby was adopted by someone like Kur*to on-paper as a baby and SHE is INTENDED to be Ne*-J*pan's G*nd*m Fighter…. until The Incident.

And then things happen sort of similarly to canon but All*nby is an official backup fighter for Ne*-J*pan.

Like in this AU they have 1 backup fighter for every nation - the tournament is still a year but it's slightly more organized in the pre finals timespan.

So she has more of a situational built in jealousy over D*m*n in the first place as opposed to falling in love at first sight and forming a jealousy over his friends…

Because she feels like D*m*n stole her place and when that's the only reason she's even around at all it cuts incredibly deep.

And then on top of that when she meets Rain, D*m*n's handler and the mechanical assistance for both of them, she's like the only person that sees All*nby and her pain and all of her good qualities and treats her with care.

All*nby immediately has yet another reason to be sour about D*m*n.

But over time, as they practice together, she finds D*m*n EXTREMELY relatable. From what she feels when they fight - to the bits of his history that she picks up along the way, to conversations with Rain and eventually conversations with D*m*n (probably with him during the G*yana arc).

She's mostly let go of being angry with him over his position as Ne*-J*pan's main fighter. She's even gotten to fight in a few official matches so far due to stuff going on with Master!

Especially when they get to the finals and there are a lot of Doubles Battles

She's gotten some chances to shine and to prove herself! She feels like she's doing fine....

But Rain is zeroed in on D*m*n .

Rain is desperately trying to flirt with and be appealing to D*m*n .

Rain always checks on D*m*n first when something happens to all of them.

Because Rain has been in love with D*m*n since she was little and she hasn't let that go.

And so the mostly-friendly rivalry I talked about in the wrestling pic and other stuff blooms out of that.

Idk I just liked the idea of an alternative timeline where things could have worked out similarly but different.

I'm looking at it as more if a Rising Arrow thing but it could just as easily go into All*nby/Rain/D*m*n.... we know All*nby is awful charitable with those pep talks to D*m*n about what Rain (or anyone that loves him) needs to hear from him.

She may do that again here if she feels like she'll never be the one to get Rain's attention or make her happy, so she decides to help D*m*n make her happy instead.

Then with more communication and finding out how All*nby helped on that front things could progress from there.

This is partially inspired from a talk I had with @disasterbijupiter yesterday about Rising Arrow (especially the last bit) and partially from some other Series Re-Write/Re-Imagining AUs I'm fiddling with that aren't Rising Arrow and my just wanting to make one for Rising Arrow too because I love them so much. 😂💖

Anyway. I just think they're neat.

Censored to keep it out of character tags. 🎉

I love them all so much but like. I know that my takes on them aren't particularly popular. 😂

[universestreasures]

@path-of-blue-eyes (Plotted Starter)

"Mr. Ryuenji, you can't go in there! Mr. Kaiba is busy preparing for-"

He ignores the pleasing words of Isono, the suited male obviously panicked by the sudden intrusion. While Tasuku knows the pressure he is putting on the innocent staff of this blimp by his arrival, he has more important things to attend to. Everyone aboard this aircraft was in danger, after all.

And so, with no hesitation, he opens the door, revealing to him the sight of both of the Kaiba Brothers seemingly in the midst of gaming-related activities. The younger of the two, noticing the sound and looking up from his handheld, looks up, and his eyes widen at the sight of his friend, who is somehow here in the flesh despite the fact they double-checked the blimp for stowaways.

"Tasuku?!" Mokuba drops his console to the ground in surprise. "What are you doing here?! How did you get here?! Did you use-"

He covers his mouth abruptly then. Mokuba knew well the powers Tasuku possessed were meant to be kept secret, and he's kept that secret up until now. He hasn't even told his elder brother, who he hated to keep secrets from.

"That's not important. What is important is the reason why I'm here." Tasuku, with his ruby hues showcasing his determination, approaches the elder Kaiba without hesitation. "Seto Kaiba. As I'm sure you're well aware by now, the Battle City tournament has been infiltrated by dangerous criminals, at least one of which I know is aboard this aircraft."

He then takes out his Buddy Police badge from his pocket, showcasing it to him. The details and official seal on it make it clear it was authentic and not some prop. Tasuku was a true officer of the law, despite his age.

"By order of the Buddy Police, you are to shut down this tournament immediately to ensure the safety of everyone on board. And Marik Ishtar and any of his Rare Hunter comrades found among the finalists will be brought into custody. Failure to cooperate will result in grave consequences."

[falins-dragon-meat]

Naruto is so fucked up it takes like 100 episodes to get good it's paced so bad I can only care about the characters half the time, Rock and Guy are the Best Characters. It takes like 100 episodes for Naruto and Sasuke to have a Real Fight. Gaara is so interesting and his backstory could have been insanely impactful if they didn't dump it down all at once. I think they wasted his fight as being part of the Chunin exam. Everything about this show is so Emo. And it really really hates women, I am a staunch Sakura defender. And the people who compare it to Dragon Ball are not only fighting a losing battle but I think it's setting DBZ fans up for failure if you pitch it like this. It's not even fucking close, I think the average anime fan can related to Naruto more directly than they can to Goku, so they think it's better.

I'll have more to report I think I'm about 120 episodes in, watching it curated on double speed so I haven't seen Every Single Thing, but I domt want to this show slow af I can't possibly give a shit abt ALL these random ninjas. I have so many questions about their economy. The best part so far is when Naruto gets a huge Power Boost while learning the Rasengan because he's like "wait a min.... if I FOCUS.... I could make things happen" He's so brave being so ADHD living in a no methylphenidate world.

My final word atm is, it's kinda crazy how this Shonen doesn't really give a fuck about training arcs, Power scaling (atm), or tournaments. They Do these things but they aren't really executed well imo. Who give a fuuuuuck abt Jiraiya

[milogreer]

david, obviously

@angelicaether asked: David for the send me a character ask game ^^

thank you both !! let's talk about our beloved alpha 🫶🏼 ↳ send me a character!

My first impression: REALLY REALLY GOOD. really good. immediately felt on top of the world getting to be a little shithead bc i love to push a tsundere’s buttons. i did get so embarrassed listening to one of them that i had to stop listening for the night LMAO that didn’t have anything to do with david himself but it was related to the jealousy audio

My impression now: a new davey audio is like a one way ticket to sleepy town for me, he is such a comforting presence and his voice is like magic. i love him very much and i don’t know if it’s because he’s courtney’s fave or because i’m a milo girl or what, but he’s like a brother in law to me most of the time. and i have like…. object impermanence with him HAHA like i tend to forget just how much i adore him until he comes back around. i can sit here and be like “teehee he’s my BIL!” but if i were to go listen to a davey audio rn i’d get all melty 😭 he’s like a sleeper agent

A favorite thing: nooobodyyyy does family like david. NOBODY. getting the pack in line when they started bullying milo too much. taking milo to the side after the inversion to make sure he knows that no matter what, he’s still going to be part of the pack. sharing stories of gabe with angel. agreeing to a double wedding with his best friend so they can celebrate being with their unempowered mates in a grand, public display of love. everything he did for darlin. he would move hell itself for anyone in the pack

Least favorite thing: doesn’t like minecraft and his go to smash level is final destination with the smash ball only. where is your WHIMSY!

Favorite line/scene: hmm…. i haven’t listened to davey’s playlist in A While so this is hard. i think i’ve gotta go with the lottery ticket scene in the camping audio 💕 him asking angel to scratch it with him sent me into fuckin orbit with all the emotions i was experiencing. i love when david talks about gabe 🥺 it’s always so sweet

Favorite interaction they have with another: THE DAVID/DARLIN HUG MEANS EVERYTHING TO ME. i was so glad he was there during that run of audios bc god knows darlin needed all the support they could get and the hug was really the icing on the cake. loveee when characters who don’t typically hug or seem the type to hug do finally get a hug 💖

A character that I wish they would interact with more: sweetheart sweetheart sweetheart oh my god please . PLEASE even with the party audios there is not nearly enough inter-pack mingling !!! those two going head to head in the smash tournament was sooo awesome

A headcanon: this kinda goes with my answer above bc i want them to be friends SO BADLY: i love the thought of davey and sweetheart exchanging horror movie recommendations and having in-depth discussions about them !! 

A song: teeth by aviators 😵‍💫💕 if anyone reading this hasn’t heard it then please listen to it rn it makes me feel feral

An unpopular opinion: JUSTICE FOR THE JEALOUSY AUDIO. i haven’t listened to it in a while but i stand by the opinion that angel was acting shady as hell for no reason and i mean maybe he was a little rough around the edges about it but he handled the situation better than i would’ve expected. i’ve seen people call him toxic and say they never would’ve stuck around but like would you have stuck around if you were in his shoes and the person you loved was acting the way angel did? the jealousy audio rly isn’t as bad as people make it out to be imho

[soapver4]

Floral Bomb Bowling

Physical Experience Bubble: For a touch of nature and a grit-cultivating element of unpredictability, players in medieval village garb or animal mascot costumes take turns to pick from a cart of transparent balloons stuffed with flower heads and petal powder. A greener alternative is Kenneth Kawamura's origami butterfly balls, each an assembly of jigsaw-like polyhedrals, but substituting grass-made (or, if feasible, petal-made) paper for ordinary paper and similarly enclosing flower heads and petal powder. Complicated impact dynamics are introduced as the balloon or ball selected for the turn may burst as it is rolled down the bowling lane. The elevated labor cost is justified because watching the jolly but starvation anxiety-inducing original game, Netflix's cabbage-bowling challenge (scroll to the bottom) for cast members of Avatar: The Last Airbender, sets off waves of warmth and guilt in relation to a tomato tennis tournament few know about. Food insecurity and crop wastage are real issues a double major in air-castle bending and soap bending readily overlooks until they see the real thing.

Note that Soap 4.0 is so far a text AI-free zone.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Robert Faturechi, Justin Elliott, and Alex Mierjeski at ProPublica:

Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company. The benefits have flowed from Trump’s businesses and campaign committees, according to a ProPublica analysis of public disclosures, court records and securities filings. One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement. And one of the campaign’s top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee. These pay increases and other benefits often came at delicate moments in the legal proceedings against Trump. One aide who was given a plum position on the board of Trump’s social media company, for example, got the seat after he was subpoenaed but before he testified.

Significant changes to a staffer’s work situation, such as bonuses, pay raises, firings or promotions, can be evidence of a crime if they come outside the normal course of business. To prove witness tampering, prosecutors would need to show that perks or punishments were intended to influence testimony. White-collar defense lawyers say the situation Trump finds himself in — in the dual role of defendant and boss of many of the people who are the primary witnesses to his alleged crimes — is not uncommon. Their standard advice is not to provide any unusual benefits or penalties to such employees. Ideally, decisions about employees slated to give evidence should be made by an independent body such as a board, not the boss who is under investigation. In addition to the New York case in which Trump was convicted last week, stemming from hidden payments to a porn star, Trump is facing separate charges federally and in Georgia for election interference and in another federal case for mishandling classified documents.

Attempts to exert undue influence on witnesses have been a repeated theme of Trump-related investigations and criminal cases over the years. Trump’s former campaign manager and former campaign adviser were convicted on federal witness tampering charges in 2018 and 2019. The campaign adviser had told a witness to “do a ‘Frank Pentangeli,’” referencing a character in “The Godfather Part II” who lies to a Senate committee investigating organized crime. Trump later pardoned both men in the waning days of his presidency. (He did not pardon a co-defendant of the campaign manager who had cooperated with the government.) During the congressional investigation into the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a former White House staffer testified that she got a call from a colleague the night before an interview with investigators. The colleague told her Trump’s chief of staff “wants me to let you know that he knows you’re loyal and he knows you’ll do the right thing tomorrow and that you’re going to protect him and the boss.” (A spokesperson for the chief of staff denied that he tried to influence testimony.)

Last year, Trump himself publicly discouraged a witness from testifying in the Georgia case. Trump posted on social media that he had read about a Georgia politician who “will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury. He shouldn’t.” One witness has said publicly that, when he quit working for Trump in the midst of the classified documents criminal investigation, he was offered golf tournament tickets, a lawyer paid for by Trump and a new job that would have come with a raise. The witness, a valet and manager at Mar-a-Lago, had direct knowledge of the handling of the government documents at the club, the focus of one of the criminal cases against the former president. “I’m sure the boss would love to see you,” the employee, Brian Butler, recalled Trump’s property manager telling him. (The episode was first reported by CNN.) In an interview with ProPublica, Butler, who declined the offers, said he looked at them “innocently for a while.” But when he added up the benefits plus the timing, he thought “it could be them trying to get me back in the circle.”

ProPublica with some hard-hitting journalism here, as 9 witnesses in Donald Trump’s multiple criminal cases have received significant financial benefits from both his campaign and his businesses.

See Also:

MMFA: National news media are glossing over Trump’s “shady” financial benefits to witnesses

[simpingforcys]

OK OC TIME LETS GO

💖🧁𝐵𝒜𝒦𝐼𝒩𝒢 𝐵𝒰𝒩�� 🍰💖 AND 🤎🥖TOASTETTE🥐🤎

Buns and Toastette are two NPCs from a Japanese cooking-themed game in the arcade called Tiramisu Tournaments. They’re part of a mini game where the Player makes sweets and bread respectively for extra points and ingredients.

💕Buns🧁 is a chirpy, sometimes air-headed baker girl who’s specialty is anything baking; cupcakes, cookies, tiramisu, macarons. The on-going theory is if her hat comes with bunny ears or if she’s actually part rabbit. She’s the livelier of the two and always tries to include and drag her mini-game partner Toastette into activities or meeting new people.

🤎Toastette🥖 is the calmer, stoic and more reserved of the pair. Her speciality is anything with bread-making, whether it’s croissants, brioche, boule, pretzels, anpans, etc. Despite her expression, she’s more social than she leads on and will act if needed, if sometimes brashly or too extremely. She’s protective of her best friend Buns and may or may not carry a baking-related weapon on her at all times (dough cutter butterfly knife, for one).

Also they’re dating 💖

🍬STORY🍬

Upon hearing of a candy-themed video game in the arcade, Buns persuaded Toastette to go meet them while taking baked goods of their own as an offering. Buns immediately looked the environment and the adorable designs of the racers as they were guided to meet the ruler of the Sugar Rush kingdom. Just as they finished looking at the hard candy castle, a green sour ball attendant presented them to the car throne, where a short but larger-than-himself personality-wise eccentric King Candy greeted the two of them in a prideful gesture.

And they were immediately infatuated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buns and Toastette double as the hosts of their own game’s mini game by arcade hours, and the new escorts of the Sugar Rush game’s ruler King Candy by after hours. KC himself, while not saying it out loud, felt the stroke to his ego by having two ladies from a different game than his own fawn over him and allowing them to stay by his side. Both of them had fallen for him mutually, while still dating each other, thus inadvertently creating a poly. They still would ‘take turns’ with each other so one could spend more time with the other.

Buns loved having her loving, doting, silly, eccentric, adorable king’s attention and didn’t mind sharing with her girlfriend. And while Toastette liked the same traits, her preference grew more when, during a more passionate one-on-one interaction, KC accidentally revealed his true form as Turbo did his more ‘silly’ traits fell into a more moodier and rough personality, attracting Toastette even more.

Thus, while with the same person, they developed a ‘preference’ for each of his two personas. Made things much more exciting~ 🤍

[satanslittlepup]

Propaganda for Rosa

Okay (sorry if I ramble, I just love her so much)

this is for the @lawyerbloodbath tournament (please read)

I think everyone should vote for Rosa

First off The game is called Tears of Themis

Themis as in the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, law, and custom

it is implied in the art for the game that Rosa acts as Themis

(The statue for the entrance of the game being Rosa)

(Rosa being dressed up by the male leads as Goddess Themis)

second off Rosa is literally so pretty and relatable,

She has 4 whole top teir men simping for her as well, like come on, wish that was me

(she is a member of the simp life)

(like girl me too, damn)

also look how cute her lawyer outfit is during the debates

The game also makes a lot of references to another hit lawyer type game, Ace attorney

Also one of the love interests in the game is also a Lawyer so it's double the lawyer for one

(look how cute they are together omg)

lastly, (but of course not all)

She debated with a pigeon in one of the events

Like isn't that just the funniest thing ever

(I love her so much, if she wins I will draw so much fan art)

[umichenginabroad]

San Sebastian pre-arrival thoughts!

Week 0

Hello everyone!

I really can't believe that in just a few short hours I'll be boarding my plane and traveling for the first time internationally. It's safe to say that I'm definitely more excited than nervous, and I like the thrill of having to figure things out on my own. Before I get into it, I'll start off with a little introduction. My name is Emily Dobao and I'm a sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering and Spanish. One of my favorite hobbies is art; I've loved creating and crafting things ever since I was small. When it comes to what I do with art, you can pretty much name anything under the sun and I've given it a try. Sculpting, quilting, and sketching are my top choices though! During the school year, I spend a lot of time with the taekwondo club where I both try and fail to not get kicked in the head. We travel a decent amount for tournaments, but 8 hours in a car is definitely different than 8 hours on a plane (waaay less potholes in the air). I like to stay active so going on hot girl walks and longboarding are my go-tos, and when in Spain I'm super excited to explore the city's footpaths and its hiking trails. While I'm there, I have some goals in mind that I want to stay on top of over the course of the 10 weeks:

I’ve heard so many great things about Spain, and since I’m minoring in Spanish, I’m hoping that I can improve my fluency. I consider it a double win being able to go abroad for research in my major as well as a country that speaks the language I’m also studying. I think it would be really interesting to learn the differences in dialect, pick up local slang, and in general feel more connected to the culture through the Spanish-language.

What I’m really looking forward to when I first get there is trying the food. I’m a die-hard foodie and absolutely looove trying new things, so I’ve already been making a list of what I want to taste test! Being immersed in the local culture and learning of their traditions is super intriguing to me as well, and by the end of my time in Spain I want to have found friends that I’ll form lifetime connections with.

Lastly, and most importantly, I’ll have the opportunity of doing biomedical-related research with a professor leading in the university’s Tissue Engineering Group! This opportunity is perfect since I’ve been trying to decide on a track that I want to focus on for my major, so by having that hands-on experience with tissue engineering, I could see if it’s something that I would like doing in the future (I’m already very interested in it and can’t wait to see what project I’ll be working on!!). 

That's all for now, but keep following for more updates coming soon!

Below are some pictures of me celebrating my birthday with the skillet cookie from chilis, along with my travel buddy eggdar who will be making some appearances in future posts.

¡Que tenga un buen día y nos vemos pronto!

Emily Dobao

Biomedical Engineering

IPE San Sebastian, Spain

May 16th, 2024

[drawnbinary]

It's me again! I hope that you don't mind me chatting you up, just say so if you do, I'll understand! 😅

Do you think that Hassel can be originally from Johto? Since Blackthorn City is a home of probably the most well-known active dragon clan in the series so far (since Draconids, the people Zinnia's from, are mostly gone)? I've seen theories that the little cape Hassel has on his jacket is a call back to the capes "dragon tamer" trainer class has (and I'm mostly agreeing with this). And when I thought about it, I had this idea: What if Hassel's first pokemon wasn't the baxcalibur that's his ace now, but the dragonite he uses in the school champion tournament? Since the dragon clan from Blackthorn mostly uses the dratini line. What if he got that dragonite as a dratini when he was a kid and raised it his whole life, and now kinda retired it after a lifetime of battling? Baxcalibur is his main now during champion assesment, but he brings out dragonite for some friendly competition every once in a while, like the school championship. And, of course, that would mean that Hassel, Lance and Claire are distantly related.

Oh and I think that Hassel is totally besties with Rika. Gay/lesbian solidarity who go to brunches together. I think that it would be a fun contrast between his husband being such a grandiose artistic mind and his bestie being a very grounded and sober-thinking person.

Oh my god, could you imagine if the DLC will allow us to have some kind of a gym leader/elite four doubles tournament like they did in SWSH? If I'll get to see Hassel and Brassius fight together in doubles as partners I think that I will explode.

I'm also super excited to see them both in the anime and maybe, down the line, in masters. And I hope that they will somehow will return/be referenced in the DLCs- the first one is a school trip, so maybe Hassel will go as a chaperone.

And I totally get you about fanfics and such- I'd love to write something for them one day, when I will have a specific concept in mind. I'm thoroughly disappointed that I can't find any character studies for them, my favorite genre 😔 do you have any headcanons you'd like to share? 👀

You're definitely not alone on pretty much all of those >:D

Again, under a cut because I'm long-winded lol

I've got Hassel from Johto, Galar, or a region we haven't been to yet. Regardless of which region, I figure all the dragon clans are connected in some way so he's cousins with Lance and Clair in some sort of way. The childhood dratini -> semi-retired dragonite is definitely one I've seen and discussed before. I think the fic where Hassel rescues/nurtures a sick baby one isn't on AO3 but it's cemented for me that he's had it since he was young <3

The cape is a nice visual to connect him to other dragon tamers and it being short and part of his jacket also separates him from the dramatic looks of Lance and Clair

I think Rika teases Hassel for being old and out of touch but it's just friendly banter. I hope she was the one who told him about "fleek" over a cup of coffee with pastries.

I pray so hard for them teaming up for double battles (my drawing of them in a silly double battle pose) and/or for them to be at the festival at all (I drew them in the outfits from the trailer). I'm hoping for crumbs at most but I definitely want so much more of these two. They're so interesting.

I am so impatient to see Hassel in the anime. Besides that I love him, I also need to see him moving in 2D so I can figure out how to draw him better/more easily because he gives me so much trouble 😅. I want to know what kind of voice they give him too. Brassius' voice surprised me but it worked really well and wasn't distracting

If they end up in Masters, then I will be downloading Masters. God I want to see them put in funky alternate outfits. And whatever else happens in that game.

I'm super self-conscious about writing (and as you can imagine from my drawings, I'm all about that soft, tender shit) so most things I write pretty much live on Discord

I'm a little head-empty right now so the only headcanon that immediately comes to mind is that Brassius being ill and them spending a lot of quiet time together while Hassel helps care for him gave them both time to figure out their feelings and they don't do anything about it until after Brassius is better.

[brightlight-dazzlingeyes]

love means nothing | chapter 01

leon goretzka x original female character [+18]

synopsis: 10 years ago, after winning wimbledon at the age of 18, olivia araujo was tennis's biggest rising star. she had a cosmopolitan social life, a handsome boyfriend and all the time in the world. now she was pushing 30, single, lonely and after several complicated injuries she could feel her career coming to an end. warnings: sports-typical violence; mentions of depression; angst; timeline of events are not based on real life; minors dni.

masterlist | next chapter

Chapter 01 | Everybody’s Changing

“Trying to make a move just to stay in the game

I try to stay awake and remember my name

But Everybody's Changing, and I don't feel the same”

February, 2023, Lyon

Every sport has its own language, with every little detail about them having its own particular overcomplicated term. It helps to keep the normal people clueless and it makes us weirdos feel like we are better than everybody else. When explaining tennis to my normal friends the part they struggle the most is accepting the scoring nomenclature. So, let me try to explain it to you. A tennis match is divided in ‘sets’ and every set is divided in what we call ‘games’. To win a tennis match you need to win 2 sets, and to win a set you need to win at least 6 games. To win a game you need to score at least four points. The first point a player scores in a game is called fifteen; the second is called thirty; zero points is called Love. Why? I have no idea; it’s just the way it is. It’s a cute nickname. Basically, in tennis, Love means nothing.

I have been a professional tennis player for 10 years now. I heard every stupid pun and felt compelled to buy every stupid t-shirt related to the Love being zero thing. But now, alone in a 5 star hotel in France, the reality of the irony is weighing on me. You get used to hear it and I'm starting to think the corelation fucked up my head. I'm 28 and have been single for the past 5 years. To make the irony greater, I'm a singles specialist. In fact I haven't played in a doubles match for a couple seasons. For multiple reasons, my health being the main one. I had to prioritize. Can't play every tournament anymore, can't play all the categories.

It’s a life of sacrifices, being a pro athlete. That’s not news for me. But when you’re young what drives you is the belief it will all be worth it. It’s okay to skip college, lose friendships, miss your little sister’s birthdays– you’re doing it for a cause, for a passion. Because you already spent too much time in it, and you just can’t go back.

When youth fades the passion fades with it. The cause doesn’t feel as important anymore. The trophies don’t shine as bright. The cities you travel to are not as interesting. Or maybe it’s not an age thing. Maybe I'm just depressed. Or maybe it’s because my ankle is twice the size it should be. Another injury and it’s just the start of the season. I was playing Caroline Garcia in the Lyon Open semi final yesterday. She was defending like a lion and I was serving like I was 22 again. And then I slipped.

My week actually started pretty decently. I was in Paris, my favorite city in the world, having brunch with my dashing ex boyfriend. Sure, it didn’t go exactly as I planned, and he didn’t fall to my feet professing his love for me. If anything it was the other way around. You can’t blame me, Leon has changed so much since the last time we’ve met. He had just played against PSG for the Champions League round of 16, and before traveling back to Munich he agreed on having brunch together. We were staying at the same hotel and it was too much of a coincidence for me to let it pass. A once in a lifetime opportunity, really. In the past ten years of travel that didn’t happen once.

Leon and I dated for six months back when we were eighteen. That was a long time ago and we were young enough to be certain we were soulmates. We planned a beautiful wedding in Italy and two well-behaved children who would, naturally, become legends in our sports when they grew up. Well, none of that happened.

“You’re looking good.” He was being polite when he said that, and I was practically drooling for him. The man looked spectacular. I tried to behave in a friendly manner, it was brunch so it didn’t really feel like a date. 

“It’s been so long!”

“I know, I’m glad you texted. I had no idea you were in town.”

“To be fair, the entire Bayern Munich squad is a bit easier to spot. And I’m in Paris practicing, I’m only competing next week, in Lyon.”

“Oh, I see. I’ll make sure I’ll watch you on the tv.”

“I watched you last night! I was in the stadium.”

“Really?”

It was so strange being in the same room again. He looked amazing and sounded so mature. He was a grown man in front of me. So bizarre that I didn’t get to watch that change happen. We hugged when we said goodbye and it was so hard letting him go. We promised to keep in touch but I remember how that went last time.

Now, I’m lying in bed after my physio shoved as many anti-inflammatory down my throat as she was legally allowed. Tomorrow morning I’m back in Paris and we’ll run some tests. After the pills kick in and the pains get easier to deal with, it's the boredom that drives me crazy. Recently, when I’m feeling especially sorry for myself, I’ll google my own name. And there it was, first link! A condescending sky sports article about my injury.

The image reads: Olivia Araujo withdraws from Lyon Open due to ankle injury. Later, in the same article, there was a link to the tweet the Open posted.

The tweet reads: “Unfortunately, Araujo has withdrawn from the tournament due to injury ❤️‍🩹Thank you for the incredible play, Liv! Congrats to Garcia who moves through to the final!”

After the night reading and almost crashing my phone on the wall, I finally passed out from the pills.

***

“Say goodbye to Indian Wells.” Sara, my longtime physio and close friend, whistled. She was reading me the results of my exams.

“Never liked the desert anyway.”

“But if you behave we can get you to Miami! Or if you decide to take a vacation as I have been suggesting, you could just skip it and jump to the clay season.”

“Miami sounds like a vacation.”

“You know I can only get you 100% physically, right? The mental part, Liv, that’s not with me. But I can tell something's off with you.”

“Of course something is off with me, Sara, my ankle is all fucked up! Just get me fit and I’ll be fine. Promise.”

My phone becomes much more important than that conversation when Leon texts me. 

leon:

how did the exams go

feeling better?

:(

liv:

i’ll be fine to play miami next month

what are you up to

True to his words, Leon did watch me play and he did keep in touch. He sends me a pic of himself at the gym and I feel like dying. I’m still not sure if he’s flirting with me or what. I do know he’s single so at least it’s okay for me to thirst.

liv: you’re looking fit don’t make me jealous

leon: can’t help being young and healthy but seriously i do know how much it sucks to be injured you want to talk? i can call

I called him immediately after reading his text.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

We both giggle.

“I’m actually not upset anymore. It could be better, but it could be worse.”

“So you’re an optimist now? Since when?” I can practically see him smiling on the other side of the call.

“Don't sound so surprised, you changed a lot too.”

“Yes? How so?”

“You’re all buff now.” I’m blushing as I say it and he laughs.

“But that, I just showed you how I did it.”

“I didn’t turn into an optimist. I just went through worse, so I can’t be too bothered over a sprained ankle.”

“Trust me, I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

Those phone calls quickly became routine. I went back to Lisbon for my treatment, and the nostalgia hit me like a truck. Being in my family home while calling Leon and giggling hiding from my parents. It felt too much like being 18 again. For my parents, they couldn't see much of a change. They got used to me being here over the last couple of years. I don’t remember the last time I went over 6 months without an injury, and dealing with that in Lisbon was so much easier. My father, who’s my coach, and my physio Sara, both live here. The place I used to call home is now an abandoned apartment in Monte Carlo.

“At least it wasn’t your wrist.” My dad spoke nonchalantly over breakfast. I am the daughter of Fabio Araujo, still the best ranking male Portuguese tennis player in history, 20 years after his retirement. The best ranking Portuguese tennis player in all categories would be me. I’ve reached number 1 in both singles and doubles. But that was a long time ago, now I sit comfortably under the 100’s.

“Yes, at least it wasn’t my wrist. Could be worse, right?”

My mother was Eva Borges, she was a supermodel in the 90’s and was terribly disappointed when I decided to follow my dad’s steps. But she got lucky and around the same time she got pregnant again. My baby sister Chiara was a perfect copy of our mother. Mom’s obsessed with the idea of turning Chiara into a mini her. Making her a model, marrying her off to a rich man. It’s been working well for her so far.

“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Chiara said when I arrived. “He’s very handsome. His name is John.”

John was a puppy. A baby pug. We never got to have dogs when we were kids, our parents were too busy and didn’t really like animals. Now Chiara was 21 and had her own place. She seemed responsible enough for the job, unlike me at her age.

“I’m talking to Leon again.”

“The football player?”

“Yes. The football player.”

We’re in her bed and I show her pictures of him. The pictures he sends me.

“He’s so hitting on you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know.” Chiara laughs when I say that.

“Well, I know. For sure.”

In my childhood room there’s a box with special items from my previous relationships. From Leon I’ve only kept two things: a Maroon 5 album he gifted me on our 3 month anniversary and a polaroid of us kissing. In the picture I was a blonde girl, baby cheeks being 90% of my face. At the time I also had a killer backhand that got lost along the way. Looking in the mirror I couldn't find a single trace of the girl in the brunette woman in front of me.

March, 2023, Key Biscayne

I was once a Grand Slam winner, now I'm out of the Miami Open after my first match. I got beaten 6-1, 6-2, in a 49 minute match. My physio blamed the injury and my father couldn’t really look me in the eye. He always gets like that when I lose. ‘Let’s go back to training.’ He’ll say tomorrow.

Florida is not an ideal place to be sad, at least not at this time of the year. The sun is shining too brightly and the palm trees are standing way too pretty for me to feel bad. Or guilty. I have been to the final of every Grand Slam. Wimbledon, I won twice. Roland Garros once. In hard courts there was only disappointment. Three years ago when I lost the Australian Open, I seriously considered retiring. The mental exhaustion of the sport became too much for me. So losing in Miami now isn’t exactly a tragedy. My ego has been bruised for a while.

So why keep going? I don’t know what else to do. Tennis is my life, is all I know. I can’t imagine starting over, and I do know the time for retirement will come no matter what. There’s nothing I can do to avoid it. I understand my father a lot better now, he made an heir, he taught me his trade, and now he still has a taste of the life he used to live. Maybe that’s what I should do. Pop a baby, repeat the cycle.

Back in the hotel room the realization of the loss hits me. I feel like crying. Or maybe punching someone would help too. Instead, I text Leon.

liv: i lost again and i’m in florida, that’s the worst part this place is awful leon: let’s meet up let’s have dinner together

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, February 22

Xander: Do you think she's gonna be okay in here? Cordelia: (pacing) I don't know, Lysette got her nose done here, and she came in looking for the Gwyneth Paltrow, and it looked more like the Mr. Potatohead. Xander: Cordy... Willow: Buffy's not here for cosmetic surgery. Cordelia: No, but while she's in here, she might as well get that thing done. Willow gives Xander a look. Cordelia: You know, that thing on her face? (faces them) You know that thing.

~~~Killed by Death~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Sweets For The Sweet by badly_knitted (Buffy, Angel, PG)

Team Buffy by apachefirecat (Spike/Buffy, Dawn, PG/K+)

A New Life Sentence by ifonlyiwaswittier (Buffy & Giles, G)

Someplace to Be by Rossi (Tara, Anya, G)

Comfort Food by Rossi (Joyce, G)

Agent and Mr. Miller by calikocat (NCIS crossover, Xander/Graham Miller, T)

Double Double, Toil and Trouble by Rossi (Tara/Willow, G)

i wanna feel (i know you can show me) by ElasticElla (Cordelia/Vampire Willow, T)

[Chaptered Fiction]

say you're out of time - Chapter 1 by Evil_irish_batman (Spike/Drusilla, Tara/Willow, T)

Into Purgatory - Chapter 1 by Rutkowski (Wynonna Earp crossover, Willow, T)

Nights Like This - Chapter 1 by ashcrashed (Buffy/Spike, E)

Bleeding Poetry, Ch. 66 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

What Lies Within, Ch. 31 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Colonial Bride, Ch. 13 by Feanix88 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

I've Got Soul (But I'm Not A Soldier), Ch. 2 by almondcat (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Sculpture of Dance, Ch. 2 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Bleeding Poetry, Ch. 66 by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Colonial Bride, Ch. 13 by Feanix88 (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Digimon AU artwork by frolis-maneuver (Spike, worksafe)

Multifandom: weird white dude alignment chart by j-goffik (includes Giles, worksafe)

Vid: the saddest vampire family on earth by pomodorinoblu (Angel/Darla & Connor, worksafe)

Season 5 icons by seriesluticons (Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: ATS | “Birthday” (3.11) + Taylor Swift by someonefantastic (Cordelia, worksafe)

Playlist: mini skirts, stakes, scrunchies, bruises by birds-nest-trinkets ()

Playlist: The Vampire With a Soul by birds-nest-trinkets ()

Embroidery: Sunnydale High and Buffy by stakeswandsandcoffee (worksafe)

Embroidery: Buffy by stakeswandsandcoffee (worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

"In Every Generation" by Kendare Blake - by tarbalien

5.09 Harm's Way | Angel on Top

Pop Culture Role Call: Implied Chair - Angel S04E05 - Supersymmetry

[Recs & In Search Of]

Book recommendations (nonfiction) requested by Dry-Dragonfruit5216

[Fandom Discussions]

Polls: Buffyverse Characters Tournament Round 1 Part 2 by all-seeing-ifer

What was the message in "Ted"? (cont'd) by multiple people

Watching season 5 with someone who's never seen it before is a lot of fun! by BitOfACraic

Who was the best surprise duo? by GoblinQueenForever

Poll: I watch Buffy mainly for the… by GamesterOfTriskelion

Spike’s line in “Pangs” translated for subtitles. by goldenhoneyheart

Which character do you relate to the least? by Johnnystation

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Masters and Charisma Carpenter zoom event via Al_to_Zi

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