#this one is only 1.5 yrs old

[spaghett-onaplate]

depression is really weird actually wdym i spent 2.5 years of my life in bed

[lalalian]

lifespans and age of riders vs dragons

date: september 22, 2024

A fundamental aspect of riders is their is link to dragons, yes, we know that, but what if one part of the link disappears?

The life of a human is a mere speck compared to that of a dragon-- do riders, a species similar to humans, age similarly to their human counterparts?

Today, I'll be tackling these questions!

dragon age

This has been bothering me for awhile-- if a dragon has a human form (cough cough, your dragon), they will appear to be the same age as you. Dragons are considered mature enough (mentally and physically) in the beginning of your second year to fly with a rider, so about maybe a 1 yr - 1.5 yrs give or take. Imagine teaching a one and a half yr old how to operate a plane or drive... riders and humans do not develop as quickly brain wise as dragons.

Dragons also don't take long to mature to adulthood. They're essentially a young adult by the time you have to graduate. Likewise, they learn fast, and many would be wise enough to support you academically (mostly with magic).

So... now that's out the way, let's get to the more interesting bits.

riders aging

The more you’re in tune with your magic, the more you’re intertwined with your dragon’s soul. After Aethergarde Academy, your lifespan will slow down drastically. Here's a short summary of the stages of life for a rider.

0-20: Pre-Rider Stage - You’re body is still getting used to its qualities in this stage. At 20, your body is about used to your heightened senses and niche (depending on when you go through an awakening).

21-100: Young adult

101-300: Adult

301-400: Older Adult - Some signs of aging may start to appear. Equivalent to your 40s (like this stage of life is considered similar to a human's 40s, but not appearance wise).

401-500: Mid-life - Equivalent to your 50-60s. You stop physically aging around here, most riders maintain an appearance of a 40 yr old because of the many sun protectant trinkets and creams.

501+: Elder - From 600 and above, if your dragon dies, you die! Keeping up sun protecting procedures will maintain your 40s appearance.

Because your lifespan's been lengthened to such an extent, I advise you to form closer bonds with riders rather than humans.

Do all riders, regardless of rank, age like this? No, only riders C and above age this way, though, the lower the rank, the more quickly your body ages. E and D ranked riders do age a little slower appearance wise, and are far more likely to live to 100. They typically don't live past 115~.

Higher ranked riders who retire tend to live for around 600 yrs. Riders who dedicate their lives to battle often die anywhere between 100-200 yrs old, though, more skilled riders tend to live well past this age.

do dragons live longer?

Dragons can be thousands upon thousands of years old. The oldest dragon that is currently alive (when you first shift there, I mean) is around 63,000 yrs old. His name is Siege, and he currently resides in the most opulent care facility in The Rookery. He has visited Aethergarde Academy a few times... he is always accompanied by at least 4 other dragons to help him throughout his trip. Siege is the only dragon who does not need explicit permission to enter Aethergarde and the other four schools outlined in the script, so he literally can just fly onto campus without reporting to Harklorn.

It is not uncommon for dragons to outlive their riders. Many may either die in battle or even be poisoned, but I'm sure you can imagine the amount of grief a dragon feels when their rider passes. Dragons often hide in their nests, or stay near their nests, for 100s of years. Dragons who have developed an extremely close bond to their riders will undergo a very deep depression, causing them to hibernate anywhere from 100 yrs to 300 yrs-- upon waking up, their body's are quite weak. Luckily, The Rookery has many many facilities for these dragons. Either workers will find these dragons and report them to The Rookery, or these dragons will simply fly to The Rookery themselves.

what if your dragon dies?

It really depends on when your dragon dies.

If your dragon dies within the first or second year you bond with them, assuming you're actively attending your magic classes, it's really hard to build yourself up magically. If your dragon dies before you undergo an awakening, you will go through an awakening soon after your dragon dies. This is due to the sudden change/disruption within your aura. Your awakened state will not be as powerful as it would be if your dragon didn't die. It's also not uncommon to get pretty ill, like I mean bedridden ill, soon after their death.

Despite your grief, it's recommended to continue focusing on controlling your mana and practicing magic to ensure that you won't lose the ability to do all forms of magic.

If your dragon dies after 4 yrs, also assuming you're attending your classes, you will not lose your ability to do magic completely, though, it's still recommended to practice casting spells or even just doing some simple mana meditation exercises to retain your skill. Not doing this can easily take you down a rank in terms of magic.

Why does this happen?

For most people, their dragon's aura makes up at least 3/4s of their supply of mana (for higher ranked riders, it's more around 50%). In terms of mana, you and your dragon essentially have a give and take kind of relationship. When one vessel dies, that mana can easily just be absorbed by the environment (some people actually don't try to maintain their skills, usually for religious or sentimental reasons).

Guiding that mana back to you will expand your mana capacity. Because those particles of mana are drawn to you due to your bond with your dragon, you can reabsorb them. This is the only way to expand your mana capacity after 20 yrs of age, though, it's not like you'll be stronger, you're just making up for the space you lost.

There is a way that you can absorb the mana of another dragon that isn't bonded to you-- even another rider-- but that is quite illegal.

dragon aging

Dragons can live for a lonnggg time if they get through the grieving process. Dragons usually die when their riders die, the mourning practices they go through is usually too tough for their bodies to handle even if they're taken care of.

This whole post is making me so sad... Honestly it's hard to continue 😭😭 Let's end this post on a less sad note with... Humans!

how do humans feel about riders' lengthened lifespan?

There is a bit of a divide on this topic-- some humans want their life to be lengthened, while others prefer to live short lives. Rider blood used to be used as an 'antidote to aging' but of course, drinking rider blood will not lengthen your lifespan or stop the aging process. It's the bond between the rider and their dragon that's keeping riders' alive for so long.

The government is always cracking down on 'youth potions' and 'death antidotes', there's always something related to dragons or riders involved in them. It wouldn't surprise me if there was like a 'youth fountain' filled with... rider piss and nail clippings.

Humans cannot drink dragon blood! Even a vial sized portion of dragon blood can cause many health issues, especially related to things like stomach acid regulation or stomach lining thinning. Oh, but some people still try this shit.

Riders actually can drink dragon blood, in fact, there are some potion recipes that do have some blood in them; however, it does have to be from your dragon. Drinking blood from another dragon typically just doesn't digest well, but it's not like it causes serious health issues (unless you drink a ton of it). Instead, riders simply get diarrhea.

If you do need a potion that contains dragon's blood, contact a potionmaker to custom make a potion. Usually, the potionmaker will tell you that a certain potion needs dragon blood. They'll hand you a vial; fill that vial completely and hand it to the potionmaker.

wanna know more about my aethergarde academy dr? here's a masterlist with everything I've posted about it!

after reading into inzoi's generative ai controversy more, I just wanted to say that I don't use AI to write the storyline, worldbuilding, or plot of my scripts.

I do and think of everything myself, this is why everything takes so long.

The few things I have used AI for is to get ideas for names (I got Straus' last name from chatgpt) and I used chatgpt to write a summary of the scholarship Laurier offers (I didn't feel like writing that shit).

I would also like to note that it isn't a bad idea to use AI to write your scripts! It's hard to get ideas yall, I don't blame anyone that uses AI to write their scripts!!!

I do use AI to generate images for my scripts and of my DRself, so I'm not completely safe lmao😭😭

[mimikoolover]

https://www.tumblr.com/mimikoolover/770315495593410560/support-comes-in-different-ways-anon-do-you?source=share

Jimin is getting the same hate for over a year with how "it's only jimin who talks about their enlistmemt, it's only jimin who talks about being grateful to jk for joint enlistmemt and how jungkook doens't give a fk" and i didn't see jk mentioning he's serving with jm in that whole year uptil now anon so how is him talking about his enlistmemt with jm or him serving with jm a whole year later is a "support" ?? He's had chances for a whole year when he posted on weverse for armys he could have mentioned jm this whole time like jimin did but jk chose not to but him talking about it a yr later is the epitome of support? after jm got dragged for over a year? Not saying he's the reason jm got dragged but you making his live and him mentioning jm (because he's obviously serving with jm so one way or another he had to mention it) is because "he was slapping haters" dang like maybe he's a year late to say he's serving with jm anon after the enlistmemt.

ppl dragging taehyung saying he was letting jennie get hate for 1.5 yrs is a coward behaviour jimin is getting hate for being jk's frnd for a decade now so ??

the issue is that you're giving haters too much power. why should they get the satisfaction of being acknowledged? that's their entire goal btw apart from escaping whatever they want to escape from in their lives. people like that shouldn't get anything. jungkook said numerous times, 'like me or gtfo'. he's not interested in haters or giving them any satisfaction.

what jungkook does care about is jimin and what do you think jimin would care about more? jungkook going off on fans online to 'defend him' or him posting on the military forum about how grateful is he is that jimin is with him, which fans weren't meant to see? idk if this crossed your mind but jimin is very conscious about his interactions with fans as an idol. he's not as open as jungkook is at all and likes to keep it a lot more professional. he would never demand jungkook 'commit sins' as an idol and curse people. the point is i am willing to bet that jungkook does a lot for jimin in their personal lives that we never know about, and vice versa, they don't need to do shit online for the other. jimin and jungkook have a close emotional bond and if jungkook felt like jimin wants him to defend him online he would, but they are both more mature than haters (and apparently some fans) to realise that haters don't matter at the end of the day.

look idk your maturity level. i was gonna say age but even that doesn't guarantee anything cause i've seen 50 year olds behave like fools. if you're not at the level to realise that twitter does not matter, haters do not matter, and that these people (haters) are hated by their faves so they want to avoid them rather than give them satisfaction, then that's concerning.

the only celeb i know who tells people off on purpose (not because she was pushed to her limit) is ariana but even then was she out here defending ethan? nah. what celeb do you see defend their partner really? or even friend? personal shit is way too real.

i would ask why do you want jungkook to defend jimin? what would that achieve? are you being selfish and want to win a stan war or do you actually care about jimin (let alone jungkook cause i bet you don't)?

[ruvviks]

BONESSSSSS i absolutely adored the graphic (and playlist!!) you made for urban dynamite so ofc i have to ask, who are the members that make up urban dynamite?? specificall,y i'd love to hear abt the drummer or main vocalist <3

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH AAAAA <3333 i shall put this under a read more because idk how long this will end up being ASGHJFDHG but yeas all info safely stored under the cut >:^) for anyone wondering, this is the graphic i made and this is the playlist!

rowdy mccain (she/they, 26 yrs old) is the lead vocalist of the band. she can also play the guitar and can often be seen with one on stage. she has heavy neck cyberware installed which came with a voice module; it emphasizes the raw edge of their voice and causes it to sound lightly mechanical, which is what makes their voice stand out from other musicians. she mostly sings in english but also occasionally writes in her first language, spanish

rowdy is a bit messy and while they enjoy being in the spotlight, they're also shameless and honest and blunt which makes them controversial in the bigger picture of things in night city; many politicians and corporations- usually rowdy's first targets in the songs she writes- do NOT like her ass at all. but rowdy does mercenary work on the side so even if it would come down to having to fight for their life, this isn't a problem at all for them <3

she comes from the acting industry, having done several small gigs in and around night city and she made a decent living off it but she wanted More out of life. the band started as a garage band kind of deal with billie (their childhood bestie) and nikita (who they met at a tv-show they both starred in) and lalo joined later after getting back in touch with them, and casey joined after that through lalo

rowdy brings amazing energy on stage, hyping the crowd up and taking her time to set the mood for the rest of the night. she often places her mic stand near billie for homoerotic purposes

billie bernhart (she/her, 27 yrs old) is the lead guitarist of the band, but she also plays the cello and violin which they sometimes use as background instruments. she's less of a spotlight person than rowdy but with her bright pink afro hairstyle and best outfits of the entire band (in my honest opinion) it's kinda hard to miss her in a crowd and she gets a LOT more attention than she was initially expecting to get

billie is basically the only one of the whole band who's always been into music. after high school she started doing small gigs as background guitarist for. well. whoever wanted her really LMAO and she made a living like that for a very long time. when rowdy reached out to her again to ask if she wanted to help set up the band obviously she couldn't refuse <3 she's very well-spoken and with that the social backbone of the band because she's the only one who can talk to the public normally without accidentally starting some shit with some random politician

lalo gutierrez (he/him, 24 yrs old) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of the band. he can also play the piano and occasionally swaps roles with rowdy as lead vocalist. he's the most reserved and quietest member of the band, yet simultaneously the one with the wildest backstory since he basically got hunted for sports for about 1.5 year because of how vocal he was about evil megacorporations, raising awareness about homelessness, and how the streets of night city were too dangerous for innocent people

like rowdy, lalo comes from the acting industry and actually played in the same tv-show with her and nikita! after that is when life went downhill for him because he tried to use his platform for good, and he lost contact with all his friends because he didn't want to get them in danger. this is when he met casey, a netrunner who helped him hide, and he even was under brief protection of vitali dobrynin after lalo reached out to a fixer for help. he's no longer being hunted nowadays and tries to stay out of mercenary business to keep it that way

nikita maślany (he/him, 24 yrs old) is the drummer of the band. he also has experience with mixing so whenever they make a song that leans more into edm territory he can help casey out with that. he's essentially a musical miracle as he can come up with stuff on the spot and has great intuition, which allows him to perfectly understand what the other band members are going for and he can adjust accordingly to that

niki moved to the nusa around the age of 18 and when he and lalo met, they bonded over both being all alone in a foreign country in a big city that moved way too fast for them. the tv-show they played in together had their characters end up in a romantic relationship; all of that, plus the fact lalo had to move in with niki at some point because he had ended up homeless, caused niki to get a crush on his friend, but they never ended up in a relationship

much like rowdy, nikita is very blunt and not scared of what people think of him. he rarely sings, but when he does, he makes no effort to try and cover up his polish accent which is very sexy of him if you ask me

casey parker (they/any, 26 yrs old) is the latest addition to the band and basically plays all the other instruments. she also takes care of mixing and/or dj-ing for the band's edm songs. they come from the mercenary life and then specifically techie stuff and netrunning gigs; this is also how they met lalo and he decided to try and keep the guy safe, and they stayed friends after that period of time in lalo's life was over

casey is a bit less involved in the band's things and mostly just joins to do her thing and then bounces to focus on her own shit again; though they do consider the others their best friends and whenever rowdy and niki need assistance in a merc gig, casey is more than ready to support them through the net >:^)

[oleander-teacup]

i work w 1.5 to 3 yr olds in a little class on the weekend and while they do not talk very much here are some convos ive had w them

little boy who does not talk: *points to truck puzzle*

me: oh! truck puzzle! okay :) do you like this one?

little boy: excavator

me: yeah- WOAH!!!

little girl with several toys in her hands and a balloon swinging at other kids: GET OUT OF THE WAY

2 yr old who only uses sign language looking at my hands (i have dermatillomania): *booboo??*

me: yeah but its all better now :) it doesnt hurt

2 yr old: *does one of those toddler kisses where hes like OWAH on my thumb clearly mimicking parents giving kisses to booboos*

little boy who doesnt talk seeing me in a boot after i tore my achilles: *makes face like he has just smelled something bad while looking at it*

me: its okay! its just a funny shoe.

little boy: *looks at me as if to question why i would decide on this shoe*

i have many more but thats all for now lol

Hanging with 6 year olds is REALLY funny

[indiejones]

THE GANDHI- ATATURK PUZZLE, FINALLY SOLVED?!

And it takes a full 1.5 yrs, after asking this most baffling of questions (blog below), that we find a most plausible answer, an answer none of us explorers of history, searching for past 100 yrs, have been able to figure out! Qu being - Just what the hell was Gandhi doing or wishing to achieve, pushing the Indian population into opposing some political activity in Turkey of all places, far removed from any of our imaginations 100 yrs back??!

Ans being - Per noted historians & authors, in their own fields, Dr. Selwyn Stevens (author of 'Unmasking Freemasonry')( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAx5W821tqQ ), & G. B. Singh-Tim Watson (authors of 'Gandhi Under Cross Examination'), Gandhi had become a Freemason by mid 1890's, while Ataturk, much younger in age, who took over Turkey in 1921, was inducted into (or made to become part of) The British Empire's Freemasonry cult by late 1920's.

Gandhi, if this is to be believed, & it is till today the only logical answer we have, was using the Indians all along, to merely push (or coerce!) the Freemasonry agenda wherever he could around the world, by any & all means!

Attached blog-

GANDHI - THE CUNNING POLITICIAN

INNER POLITICS OF INDIA'S MOST PIVOTAL POLITICAL TIMES.

KHILAFAT…OF WHAT?

A key presentation, by noted historian Abhijit Chavda, on 'The Turkish origins of India's partition'.

Also clandestinely & indirectly, continuing to ask the same old qu, that has bothered onlookers for past 75 yrs- "Was Gandhi inherently a pro-Muslim or Muslim-biased British secularist"?

All revolving around the invasion & takeover by the great military general Mustafa Kemal ie Ataturk, of the Ottoman Caliphate ie the last of 4 Islamic Caliphates, Islamic Caliphates that ruled & overlorded over the combined region of South-Eastern Europe, North Africa & West Asia, for ~1300 yrs, from early 600's to early 1900's.

Gandhi was so seemingly agitated by this world event totally disconnected from his part of the world, that he pushed the entire Indian populace into opposing such a destruction of this supposedly revered Caliphate structure, that almost entire nation of India wasn't even aware of, infact a support that most Hindu accounts of the time divulge as having been procured on the sly, in guise of this "Khilafat (Urdu for 'Opposition') Movement" phrasology, making it sound like some routine anti-British movement.

Ironically enuf, twas Mr. Jinnah,a totally diff politician in 1920s to what associated with few yrs later by 1940s, who then opposed Gandhi,for unnecessarily dividing Indian masses along religious lines,& sowing hardline religious positions among the populace.

Yet twas blind following of Gandhi,that'd cruelly thrown Jinnah into wilderness,that forced him to change his soulful political style,into the conniving cunning ruthless politician of few yrs later,fashioned ala Ataturk, to be "Father of Pak",as Gandhi had become for Indians,& Mustafa Kemal for Turks.

Tis another matter,Kemal,totally transformed his nation,by disbanding every trace of previous Islamic structure,into one o' most curious nations ever-with completely Muslim popn,yet completely non-Islamic system. That's when,curiously enuf,Gandhi's oppn to it too stopped.

While Jinnah,based his partition,into Ind & Pak,solely along Islamic lines,& rule of Sharia law,only way for him to justify partition.And ofcourse none know what steps Mr. Jinnah could've taken,being true moderate secularist at heart,as most who knew him all his life vouch for,with dust settled,& his place in pantheon of world leaders permanently estd,to be more along Turkey's exalted lines,a nation he'd come to greatly admire by then,by every known acc,since passed away soon after Pak's founding..

But key contentions- Why did Gandhi support Christian(Turk Ottoman was 1/3rd Chr)defense of Ottoman,but opposed Hindu defense to Muslim aggression in Ind,as seen many times? Why was he openly in favor of Jinnah or Nehru for Ind's PM'ship,but opposed Patel tooth & nail,after Brits left? If he was against violence,why volunteered Ind help to Brits in WWI,& not opposed the war as his morality demanded?

[toffie-tux]

Confound

Confound

con·foundkənˈfound/

verb

1.cause surprise or confusion in (someone), especially by acting against their expectations.

(A Gaster/Grillby centric ficlet. As always, if you have any suggestions or critique, let me know! Drabble under ‘read more’. Warning for NSFW allusions, I suppose?)

                                                            Confounding.

His presence was one that simultaneously invoked total frustration and interest. There was no sign of the other having a mental deficiency that would cause his near silence. When needled into one of his brief responses, he displayed no verbal inconsistencies; or rather, if he did, he did not speak enough for them to be evident. His quiet nature was one of choice.

                              And, what a distasteful choice that was.

One of many actually. It was certainly one of the worst, perhaps second only to the act of abandoning his admirable position in the King’s Army. Had he not witnessed the shocking depth of the elemental’s gift in magic, he wouldn’t have believed the simple, old, plain bartender was capable of anything past shaking a cocktail tin. The diligence behind every motion, the cutting ribbons of fire, the remarkable control over something so oft considered as ‘wild’ was astounding. The few papers regarding a 'Mr. Grillby’ and his former rank did not give proper weight to his underlying abilities. Oh, it definitely hinted somewhat, but otherwise, the talent was hidden, buried underneath layer upon layer of stubborn muteness and impassive features.

Little seemed to impact the other. This he could not decide if it was intentional or not. Internal ire suggested the former. When not in direct contact with the elemental, he’d noted the creature crack a wry grin in response to an associate’s simple joke. Not only was the man capable of smiling, he simply didn’t around Doctor Gaster. It was a gesture to spite him, surely. No monster could be that incapable of emoting. Select few stimuli could strike a blatant shift in demeanor. Pain, particularly in the form of water, and…Certain touches did the task.

Really, to risk his career over such an irritating participant was laughable. Had he been told he’d permit an “arrangement” to form between he and the overgrown matchstick a few months prior, he would have offered a few tests to tell exactly what sort of neurological damage the soul was so obviously plagued with.

Ivory fingertips reached out then. The dancing roll of flames that made the individual’s form never wavered. What he lacked in forthright character, Grillby made up for in other aspects. To watch the spectacle of reds and faded yellows and fierce oranges burn was a private favorite of his. The heat was pleasant too, a delightful contrast to the cutting cold of Snowdin. Strange how something that looked so unrestrained managed to be so very mild in this moment. Bony digits trailed down the other’s chest, touch light as the monster slept on. Breaths were slow, measured. How this soul could fall asleep so quickly after was almost unnerving. Understandable, yes. Unnerving still. Though his position as a local server was a disappointment to the crown itself, at least it had the single benefit of letting Grillby maintain his physique. It wasn’t quite impressive as his combative spellcasting, but the precision behind his flair bartending was praiseworthy.

The regulars over in Hotland would agree to such a sentiment.

Fingers idly press into the firm flesh of fire, the pressure remaining soft. Yet another wonder; how did he exist? How was he touchable? What exact components assembled the monster’s core to where he could have a solid body but the light tangibility of hair come the flames crowning his head? The oddity of all was near maddening. Questions were never an issue. To question something was the very basis to learning.  

Having no answers, or worse, be granted answers with little, useless information was what drove one inevitably insane.

Titian skin was further explored. Lines of definition were drawn with tired fervor. Shades may have varied in vivacity, indicating the folds and shifts of his form, but there were no clear edges. Why would there be? Grillby consisted of fire, not compact components. There was nothing distinct about the man anywhere. The only possible, clear feature was his mouth, when the elemental would actually open it, and his eyes. The latter of which was a far better gauge of his emotions. The slant of a gaze was a sign of discomfort, or in select few cases, lust. A squint was an obvious show of agitation. On rare occasions, he’d managed to elicit such a terse glance. If neither cast down or thin with distaste, his eyes remained wide, unmoved.

Now THAT was a look he held too often.

Regardless of the material mentioned, he handled it with aggravating stoicism. Honestly, he’d presume brain damage if it wasn’t for, well, the lack of a brain. Curious caresses trailed upward. Knuckles brushed along the curve of his throat. Again. The warmth radiating from the fellow was just that: warmth. It did not burn to touch him in the slightest.

Questions, questions—

“...................you’re poking me.”

Gaster’s hand jerked back, eyesockets widening as his gaze fell on the monster’s features. His eyes, a sharp white that contrasted the ginger of his face, were open. With the lack of glasses, his ogling was made even more blatant. A touch of confusion colors his expression, the dregs of sleep since disappearing in lieu of quiet alertness. There’s no tension. Not even in the slightest. How his touch, as lax as it was, awoke the other so quick was beyond him. Considering how heavy the torch seemed to sleep, he would have thought it’d taken borderline strangulation to rouse him; truly, how many evenings had been spent trying to regain lost covers from the elemental? Simple.

                                  Too many.

A deep breath rattled through the skeleton’s teeth. The lights of his own eyes rolled as he replied, tone hushed.

“I was not poking you. Go back to sleep.”

“ You’ve...got cold hands.”

“Funny. I didn’t hear any complaints earlier. Moving past the obvious question as to how you can even register such a sensation, I dare say I might have to save future testing for this late hour. After all, a reply that’s more than three words? You’re rather chatty tonight, Grillby.”

Though it is different in sound, the sigh that leaves Grillby is unmistakable. He does not respond any further. At least, not in any verbal sense. Instead, he shifts to his side, fixing Gaster with a look all the while, and brings a hand up to the other’s. Heated fingertips entwine with ones of bone. Clasped hands are brought to rest on the covers between the two. There’s an odd feeling of intimacy right then. The physicality of it felt close, personal. Pointed silence aside, there’s no other indication of the elemental being displeased. Perhaps there was a vague notion of the monster being annoying, what with the nonexistent response, but there was no genuine annoyance in his own stare. Settling down, the Royal Scientist permitted the hold, letting idle inquiries fester as the other dozed off once more.

…..Confounding. Grillby was absolutely, positively, and alluringly confounding.

[pebblethief]

top five books u want to read but havent yet, and top five tips for beginner knitter/crafter type people!

aaaa. ok

i have 1.5 books left of the Realm of the Elderling series. and i am SO looking forward to the last one as much as i am sure it is going to D E S T R O Y me holy shit. cannot emphasise how much i know it is going to ruin me. i know 2 death spoilers (both of which aren't surprising. cant follow a whole life without...following a whole life. and the other one is Old lol) but i dont know specifics and im fully going to be a sobbing mess when i get there and i cannot wait

legends and lattes is...12th on my TBR but im rly looking forward to it! constantly seeing it at the top of cosy fantasy recommendations and there is a lady orc on the cover, im gonna love it

really looking forward to when i get around to the 3rd Bone Ships book! its a very cool series about giant sea beasts and ships made of bone and just. exceptional wordbuilding. loved the first 2 books a lot. bumping this up my tbr as i type this

have decided 2023 is the year i will get around to starting Wheel of Time. it's one of the Big Fantasy series i havent touched yet and i wanna (i think the only others are Dark Tower which im ehhh about starting and Mazlan which i think i will love if i go into at the right time, and hate if it is the wrong time lol)

hmmmm. god there are so many books im excited to read, this is difficult. i have 3 full amazon wishlists of books lol. just gonna put the next fantasy book Jen Williams puts out. i love her and i love how....maximalist her fantasy worlds are. she doesnt just go "ok this is a world with dragons" she goes "ok this place has mushroom forests and a giant tree that births mythological beasts and sexy vampire elves and life magic and WEIRD BUG ALIEN INVADERS and lesbians and gruff axe weilding gay men and so much more" (go read the winnowing flame series, people!!!!!!!!!!!!) and i will buy her next book without a milisecond of hesitation

ok. *breathes* im ok. promise.

CRAFTING.

[every craft] everyone tells you to start with something simple. fuck that. start with something COOL. you will be 10000% more motivated to work on something if its gonna look rad. garter stitch scarf is gonna be boring even if it is simple. i believe in u, u can google and learn and make that weird project

[knit/crochet] skip the cheapo acrylic yarn if you can. it is cheap but yr gonna stick a WHOLE BUNCH of hours into this, i promise it will be more fun if it feels NICE while yr doing it!! there are some really pleasant feeling yarns that aren't much more expensive, and it will just be a much nicer experience.

[every craft] ignore everyone telling you you need a billion accessories. most of them are completely unnecessary. you dont need the fanciest needles or fancy stitch markers or expensive whatevers. dont sink a bunch of money into something yr just trying out

[all] try out different methods!! i spent ages trying to learn continental knitting when i was starting, bc people said it was Better but. i tried and i didnt enjoy it. but i know more for trying it!

[all] if it works, it works. if u are making fabric and you like it, s'all good!! maybe yr doing it in a weird way but if it is comfy for you fuck what the internet says. things Do Not need to be perfect!!!!!!

[knitting] bonus one: google twisted stitches. this is a common mistake and itll fuck you over if you get used to making them when youre not meant to lmao

thank u for letting me ramble about 2 of my favourite topics lol. and if u want some fun beginner friendly knit projects lmk 💚

[nct-krown]

❝ 𝐆 𝐈 𝐍 𝐀 ❞

ⓘ BASICS ¡!

STAGE NAME gina ˒ 진아

BIRTH NAME liu ji-an ˒ 刘 吉安

ENGLISH NAME gina liu

REPRESENTATIVE GEM sapphire

BIRTHDAY 19 sept 1999

ZODIAC virgo ˒ ♍︎

PLACE OF BIRTH beijing ˒ china

HOMETOWN beijing ˒ china / brisbane ˒ australia

ETHNICITY chinese

NATIONALITY chinese / australian

LANGUAGES chinese ˒ english ˒ korean

ⓘ PHYSIQUE ¡!

FACE CLAIM song yuqi

HEIGHT 160cm ˒ 5'3

BLOOD TYPE O-

ⓘ CAREER ¡!

OCCUPATION idol ˒ lyricist ❪ occasional ❫

LABEL sm ent.

GROUP nct ❪ 2018 - ❫

SUB-UNIT nct u ❪ 2018 - ❫ ˒ nct krown ❪ 2019 - ❫

POSITION lead rapper ˒ lead vocalist ˒ lead dancer

TRAINING 1.5 yrs @ sm ent

DEBUT 18 feb 2018 ❪ nct u ❫ ˒ 20 may 2019 ❪ nct krown ❫

ⓘ FAMILY ¡!

MOTHER zhang hui-fen

FATHER liu chen

BROTHER liu yìchén ❪ ‘03 ❫

SISTER liu mei ❪ ‘01 ❫

ⓘ PERSONALITY ¡!

MBTI enfp

POSITIVE funny ˒ life of the party ˒ loving ˒ creative

NEGATIVE tactless ˒ naïve ˒ spineless ˒ indecisive

ⓘ HISTORY ¡!

liu ji-an is the first born of zhang hui-fen and liu chen born on the 19th of september 1999. ji-an’s family moved to australia when she was 5 years old , just after her baby brother was born. she lived in brisbane where she went by gina liu and despite being born in china she has spent the greater part of her life in australia. her mother and siblings still live there but her dad moved back to china in 2019.

gina has never been super close with her parents , they used to fight a lot when she was younger and she hated what they put her and her siblings through before they got divorced when she was 12. during her teen years her relationship with her dad strengthed whilst the one with her mother worsened. as she’s gotten older their relationship although not perfect has gotten better. her younger siblings however are her best friends , she loves them more than anything and the idea of leaving them when she went to train almost made her not go.

in october 2016 gina sent in her cover of genie by snsd for her audition. she originally planned on being a singer but through training she became a strong rapper and dancer as well and eventually became known for her all rounded talent. after only 6 months of training in april 2017 gina was announced as a new smrookie. although she was an smrookie unlike stella and minji she was not apart of the mickey mouse club. in 2018 gina was announced as the second female member of nct with her debut in nct u boss. from her debut she was labeled as the ‘cutie ace’ for her all rounded talent and her naturally sweet and cute personality.

[sweetescapeartist]

DRAGON BALL MINUS FILLS IN THE BLANKS

Many fans scream about how DB-Minus ruined continuity of Dragon Ball & how it erased the Bardock Special. In truth, Minus did the opposite. But many fans didn't realize it.

Toriyama actually put a lot of thought into DB-Minus (& the Jaco The Galactic Patrolman manga by extension). Not as a stand alone comic, but as a story that fills in the blanks of Dragon Ball.

Here comes the splainin'...

RAMBUNCTIOUS GOKU

Young Goku was a wild and dangerous little boy. Grampa Gohan had to fight with him and tried to teach him manners, but he couldn't be tamed. Then, one day Goku fell & hit his head. From there, Goku's personality changed and he became very kind.

In the Dragon Ball manga, Roshi explains that Gohan told him about how Goku was a wild baby. Then, Toriyama shows Grampa Gohan with a wild young Goku after their battle in the Jaco The Galactic Patrolman manga.

"BABY" GOKU

Next is Raditz's memory of Goku as a baby. DB Minus stays consistent with continuity & has "baby" Kakarrot in an incubator. Toriyama made sure that young Kakarrot in DB-Minus is in the same position that Raditz remembered.

(Goku only looks skinnier because Toriyama's drawing style changed).

GOKU'S AGE

Then we have Goku's age. Originally Toriyama said Goku was 14, then he later changed it to 12. This made Goku 3 years younger than he was originally stated to be.

Toriyama cleverly references the original age that he intended for Goku to be by having Gine mention that Kakarrot has been in the incubator for 3 yrs. This is during AGE 734. Then, after toddler Kakarrot was sent away from Planet Vegeta, he then lands on Earth in AGE 737.

Grampa Gohan does not know how old Goku is. But, since Son Gohan was unsure when this child was truly born, Gohan decided to start Goku's age from this moment that he encountered Goku during AGE 737.

From there, Goku grew up with the age that Grampa Gohan gave him. Then, Goku messed up on his math & thought he was 14 (which is actually his true age).

Then, 1 year later, he realized he would be 12 after he was taught to do math correctly by Roshi (this is going by the age he was told he is on Earth).

Toriyama made it so that both ages for Goku work.

Now we get to have it both ways. Just pick between Goku's Earth age or his true age & you can always be right (from a certain perspective).

It can still be a bit confusing, but I don't mind it.

BIRTH YEARS

Goku - AGE 734 (he was given the birth year of AGE 737 by Grampa Gohan since that was when Son Gohan first met him.)

Bulma - AGE 733 (she is about 1.5 years older than Goku, which makes it seem like she is 2 yrs older than him during certain times of the year. This explains why Bulma is 5 & Goku is 3 in DB Minus. But, Goku's real age is unknown to Bulma & she believes that she is about 4 years older than Goku.)

Vegeta - AGE 732? (because it seems to be that Saiyans are left in incubators for 1 to 3 years, Vegeta may have actually been born in AGE 731, AGE 730, or even AGE 729. Broly was sent away to Vampa and appeared to be the age of an older toddler. If Broly was just born, he would be crawling instead of walking. Vegeta & Broly were born around the same time, meaning that Vegeta was not a newborn.)

Krillin - AGE 736 (at first, Krillin believed that Goku was almost 2 years older than him. Now, Krillin believes Goku is about 1 year younger than him. In reality, Goku is actually almost 2 years older than Krillin.)

Just thought I'd clarify some stuff about Dragon Ball Minus. Or at least clarify to the best of my ability.

Side-note... Ppl think DB Minus erased the Bardock Special completely. Untrue. Events of the Bardock Special still happened in DB Minus as we were shown in the "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" movie. Things just happened a bit differently & were done off-screen.

[cruelfeline]

Hope you don’t mind a vet related question! If so, please feel free to ignore.

Our family dog is a 1.5 yr old Irish setter x poodle mix with wavy-ish fur, slightly curly. And she *hates* brushing. With a passion. She has since she was a puppy, but she doesn’t appear to have sensitive skin in any other aspect. In order to brush her, I usually have to follow her around the house with a brush and sometimes crawl under the table. As you can imagine, with a curly dog, she can get very matted easily. And it takes a long time where she gets more and more agitated.

Unfortunately, I am usually the one in the house to remind my parents to book vets, grooming, brush, etc, etc for all of our pets. Lately, I’ve been very busy and have been struggling to find time to chase her down and brush/cut out mats when necessary between groomings. Is there a brush/grooming products or tips that you recommend for dogs like her? For additional information, she’s naturally rather shy and doesn’t take kindly to groomers so we try to do as much grooming at home as we can. (She’s a quarantine puppy for reference)

With my late dog, she was only 5 lbs and her fur never got too long, so grooming was much easier. Holding her in my lap or in my arms was enough to calm her down enough to bath or brush. However, this is not as feasibly with a 50 lb dog of pure energy.

For additional cuteness: a picture of my Pepper

I don't mind at all! Your dog is cute c:

Hmm... if she is really high maintenance in terms of maintaining her coat, then I feel like there are two main options. Either employ desensitization/counter conditioning training to help her enjoy brushing more, or have her groomed in such a way that provides easy maintenance. For example: having her clipped quite short to increase times between groomings.

I don't know if any product that makes this easier; there not anything that just prevents mats, for example.

It might be worthwhile to start with soft brushes and work with her daily, not just when she's matted. If you do it just when she's matted, then she'll associate the activity with the discomfort of pulling and whatnot. Performing it often, in a scheduled, regular manner, with high value treats paired with it might be helpful. Along with using a very gentle brush.

[acti-veg]

Apart from the obvious debates about the military and its uses... I find it baffling that they do not provide vegan food, especially as I am conscripted (all Swiss males between 18 - 25) into the Swiss military and only have 3 choices: Military (300 days if serving continuously, otherwise 245), Civil service (takes 1.5 times as long as the military) or you are not serving at all and have to pay 3% of your income or atleast 400 CHF / 435.31 US$ per year.

BUT! If you tell the military on your recrution day(s) that you are vegan, they will automatically kick you out of the military + civil service and force you to pay the 3%. So obviously, people that aren't wealthy (like a lot of 18 - 25 yr olds) would rather go vegetarian (which surprisingly the military provides for), basically forcing young people to ignore their morals. Additionally, if you are disabled you will get kicked out and you'll have to pay the 3% of your income / 400 CHF anyways to no fault of your own.

I think that if the military is using conscription, it should have to provide for all of the needs of its conscripts, especially considering that there are many reasons that people won't be able to consume animal products (ethics, allergies, faith etc).

While I personally disagree with what the military is doing, I also don't understand why the military is relying on animal products this much in the first place, because 1) animal products are difficult to store and keep safe 2) need preparation to be safe and 3) are much more difficult/resource expensive to obtain in the (admittedly very, very small possibility) case of war. For point 3) we even have direct evidence from WW2 when the Swiss government tried to convert land used for cattle into farming land for vegetables in order to achieve more autarky in these times.

All in all I am disappointed and hope to be able to speak to a military official to try and find a solution for myself and hopefully future conscripts.

What do you think of this debate, which shouldn't be one in the first place?

I think that the focus has to be on opposing conscription as the utterly immoral practice that it is, rather than making it more bearable for any particular group. No one should be forced to serve or fund a military they don’t agree with, and I think that advocating for changes within the structure is playing into the idea that we can somehow make this horrific practice acceptable.

It would of course be a good thing for the army to cater for vegans, but vegans shouldn’t be serving in the first place, and nor should anyone else who doesn’t want to, which is the real issue with this. I think that calling for anything less than abolition of conscription would be a mistake, and that reform and inclusion really shouldn’t be the goal here.

Take all this with a pinch of salt though, coming from someone who will never be effected by this. It is easy for me to say a blanket no to any conscription because it will never happen to me, and if you feel like joining campaigns for better inclusion in the military is a good use of your time and energy then that is what you should do, and I wish you every success with it.

[survivus]

@towercursed​ said:  👶🏻 punz and tadashi bc punz wants lots of babies

send me 👶🏻and i’ll hc about our muses’ child   /   currently  accepting   !

name:   Clara Hamada

birthdate:  August 17th

personality headcanon:   this child is a nightmare at first !!   she has the curiosity of both her parents,   and so the minute she learns to crawl they cannot take their eyes off her.   tadashi ends up making her an ankle bracelet with a gps tracker in that beeps when he presses a button so they know where she is at all times skdhbfsdf.   as she gets older she doesn’t change that much,   but she does become better at letting her parents know where she’s going and what she’s doing     (     but not until after tadashi called the police on her     ).

what was their first word and how old were they when they said it:   clara’s first word is up for debate.   she started speaking a little later than the other kids so both tadashi and rapunzel were on high alert for any potential words;   tadashi swears she said  ‘ ball ‘  when he was giving her a bath on a tuesday night,   but rapunzel claims she said  ‘ mama ‘  the sunday before.   the truth is,   her first word was   ‘ cass ‘   ,   aunt cass just doesn’t want to burst their bubbles.

did they get in trouble in school:     constantly,   though not for actually being bad.   she was just really curious,   and really smart;   so smart she would get bored in class and start messing around/experimenting.   she also went through an   ‘ experimental art ‘   phase which often involved spilling lots of paint everywhere,   often over her friends.   they soon learned not to send her to school in WHITE,   plus a change of clothes in her backpack.  

which parent were they more attached to:     clara was pretty attached to both of her parents,   despite her independent nature.   neither rapunzel nor tadashi would admit it,   but the person she was MOST attached to was aunt cass,   whom hiro dubbed  ‘ graunt cass ‘      (   pronounced  ‘ grant ‘   -   as in,   grandma/aunt cass    )  and it stuck.   the minute rapunzel goes to drop her at cass’ to be babysat she would squirm out of her mother’s hold,   yell  ‘ graunt cass ! ‘   and toddle off into the kitchen without so much as a goodye wave.

what was their favorite toy:      rapunzel bought her a paint set when she was three and she was totally obsessed.   tadashi tried to convince her that the   ‘ my first science kit ‘   was better,   but very quickly admitted defeat and started bulk buying non-toxic paints.   also more cleaning products.

did they cry a lot as a baby:     yes  !!   this baby wanted attention,   like,   ALWAYS.   as she got older she became much quieter   (   like between 1.5 / 4 yrs   )     and began to enjoy her independence more,   but at first she would scream whenever one of her parents left the room.

movie they watched over and over:     finding nemo;   she didn’t care that it was old by the time she was born she was just  O B S E S S E D  with the lil fishies  !!!

what was their favorite subject in school:     art   !     she enjoys physics as a whole but she often found the classes too easy because they are so linear.   with art she could memorise as much info as she wanted,   but it was work that made her a good artist   -   she enjoyed that.

were they social growing up or quiet:     clara loved socialising,   she was happy to chill out and play with her friends all day,   but at a certain point she would become tired and want to spend some time either with her parents or on her own reading or something,   to recharge.   at that point she would crawl into the lap of whichever parent was closer and tug on their shirt until they listened to her whisper   ‘ home now ? ‘

which parent do they take after:     both  !   mostly rapunzel,   but she has tadashi’s sense of humour.

what do they grow up to be:      after a lot of bouncing around,   just making things work and doing odd jobs,   she becomes an architectural designer.   she gets to use both art and science,   and enjoys the challenge of coming up with illogical and mind bending builds that are seemingly impossible.

three random headcanons:    

i.   she thinks uncle hiro’s robots are stupid,   until tadashi confiscates her phone and she needs one to get it back.      

ii.   despite her parentage,   her hair has a ginger shine to it,   just like tadashi’s mother.   the first time he noticed this,   he cried.    

iii.   she loves eating sweet foods,   but baking is possibly the only thing she isn’t naturally good at.   she gets incredibly frustrated every time aunt cass tries to teach her,   and it often ends with her throwing her oven gloves on the counter and storming off.   she only comes back when aunt cass brings the batter spoon for her to lick and sweet talks her into trying again.

likes & dislikes:    

likes.     sweets,   painting,   charcoal,   finding nemo,   her finding nemo plushie,   all her other plushies,   riding on her dad’s moped.

dislikes.      baking,   teachers,   being told what to do,   being grounded,   black and white movies,   cringey sitcoms.

do they get along with their parents:     yes   !   she  definitely had rebellious phases,   but for the most part she’s really close to tadashi and rapunzel and will often call them to catch up or just hang out with them in the city for no reason other than she misses them.

faceclaim:      picrew here  !

[shotglassblog-blog]

How Many Shots Are in a Handle of Liquor

After a fun-crammed night time of ingesting, you awoke with a headache and an dissatisfied stomach. Recalling what took place, you only had around 1 to two pictures of your favorite spirit. But why did you sense nauseous and very tired? When requested what number of ounces in a shot glass, maximum people might solution “one”. But that is not the case.

In Utah, their definition of a shot is 1.Five oz.At the same time as some place else in the U.S., a shot can variety from 1.25 ouncesto 1.5 oz. There is no trendy length of a shot as it varies at the glass and the us of a you are in. Why is understanding this vital? how many ounces in a shot glass Being privy to how many ounces in a shot you're drinking helps prevent any unwanted incidents even as you are beneath the have an impact on of alcohol.

Shot glasses are the same old measuring device we're familiar with while ingesting. Since we be counted each shot as one, we had been made to consider that a shot glass is equal to 1 oz.Of alcohol. But in reality, these small ingesting glasses commonly maintain round 1.5 oz.To 2 ouncesof liquor.

If by way of any method you cannot find a shot glass, the usage of a tablespoon to measure what number of oz. In a shot is a superb choice. A tablespoon holds around ½ oz.Of liquid. Taking into attention the U.S. Wellknown length of a shot, you'll need round 3 tablespoons of liquor to come up with a unmarried shot. When a tablespoon isn't always round, you can also use a teaspoon as an alternative. A 1.Five ozof liquor is equal to 9 teaspoons.

As a announcing goes, “Life isn't always approximately what number of breaths you take, but as an alternative what number of moments take your breath away.” Those treasured moments are measured by way of minutes or maybe seconds. Every minute counts in life.

Have you ever questioned what number of minutes or hours are in a 12 months? The short answer is, there are about 525,six hundred minutes or 8760 hours in a commonplace yr and 527,040 minutes or 8784 hours in a bounce yr. This is based totally on a calendar 12 months of 365 days. The extra exact answer is 525,948.7666 mins or 8765.8128 hours in keeping with calendar yr.

As we mentioned in this post, there are commonplace years and soar years. Leap yr has 366 days and it happens every 4 years. A calendar year has twelve months. However, it takes Earth about 365.242189 days, or twelve months, 5 hours, 48 mins, and 46 seconds, to circle once across the Sun. It’s referred to as an astronomical 12 months. That’s why we want to feature one soar day each 4 years to account for the discrepancy.

If we base our calculation on 365 days a year, right here is the calculation for what number of hours, minutes and seconds in a yr: how many minutes in a year There are 1440 minutes or 86,four hundred seconds a day. One day has 24 hours, and one hour has 60 mins

[thechosenburrito]

Intro to Love: 1.4-Thanks for Ghosting Me

Word Count: 1,581

Description:

Xochi and Carson are on their way to study when they’re rudely interrupted.

Author’s Note:

Almost done with Chapter 1!  Maybe I’ll be done tonight!

Previous Chapter: 1.3-I Can See Right Through You

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It's hard to sleep when you feel like shit.  That's why I only slept for 30 minutes after my little episode the night before.  The clock read 7 o'clock which came as a shock to me as I usually only see it followed by a "pm".  I stayed in bed for a couple of hours, scrolling through an endless stream of nothing on my phone.

My stomach growled out of nowhere.  I smiled a bit when it wasn't immediately followed by nausea.  I got up and pulled a cold slice of pizza from the fridge.  I was able to finish a small slice and figured I could use this time to take an extra-long shower.

It was nice to shower some of the sadness away.   But, when I got out, my eyes were still puffy and had dark circles under them.  This wasn't unusual for a college student.  However, I generally try to present myself as someone who didn't have a mental breakdown the night before.  I dried my hair in front of the mirror in my room.  Drying my thick dark hair required using my blow-dryer on the maximum setting, which isn't optimal for dorms with paper walls.  My true hair revealed itself.  It was wavy in strange places and I had a sort of cowlick in the front.  I plugged in a flat iron to tame the crazy mess.  

I touched the dark bags under my eyes.  I considered putting concealer over them, then on the red marks on the side of my nose, and maybe followed by the weird freckle on my right cheek.  At that point, I didn't really feel like doing make-up anymore.  I looked closely at my eyebrows.  A bit over-grown, but thick brows were in.  I think? Oh well.  I toweled off and pulled on a tank top and hoodie ( Of course with proper supportive garments underneath).  I pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped on my black canvas sneakers.  The iron was finally hot enough and I got to work on my hair.  I've done this a million times, which made it the perfect time to let all my stupid thoughts out.

What if they made really tiny curling irons for eyelashes?  Actually, I don't want that THAT close to my vulnerable eyeball.

Am I strong enough to stand on the tips of my toes in these shoes?

Of course, I put the iron down and tried it out.

"Ow."

Not yet.  Next time for sure.

Should I become a beanie person?  Are beanies secretly my thing?

I pressed my hair to my head and imagined a beanie there.

Nope.  My head is a weird shape.  Guess I can't go bald either.

I finished up my hair and unplugged the iron.  I still had a couple of hours to kill and an orange soda from the vending machine down the hall was calling my name. I grabbed my room keys and wallet and headed down the hallway.  I passed a few early risers on the way.  Do people actually wake up this early? For fun?  I kept scrolling through my phone to avoid eye contact.  I wasn't really feeling the whole 'interaction' thing.  At some point, I realized I was scrolling and not even looking at anything.  Not my best moment.  A sponsored post caught my eye and made me audibly groan.

God, another ad for a Team StrikeForce! (TM).

"Even Superheroes need clean teeth!  Use StrikeForce SuperClean Toothpaste to fight back against plaque!"

StrikeForce was essentially a government-backed superhero team.  They purposely sought out conventionally attractive people with the most vanilla powers ever to represent the "ideal striker".  And they made sure to throw in some token minorities.  You had a strong girl, a flying man, someone that blasted fire from their hands,  and some other generic power. Speed maybe?  Telekinesis?  I did my best to avoid any media with them in it. They were essentially glorified cops who spouted government-approved messages like "It's cool to protect your chip from harm so keep yourself and others safe!  " and "Remember: Public use of powers is against the law!  Only teams like StrikeForce are allowed so everyone can be safe!". Right after the lightning storm, they actually did some important things like stopping individuals who abused their powers.  But, once people realized they could get away with more crimes by keeping on the down-low,  the StrikeForce lost their bite and became the government puppets on kids' backpacks we all knew and loved.

I sighed a bit.  Being critical was too tiring.  I quickly realized that I was going to crash. I didn't expect my sleep debt to catch up to me so quickly. I started getting everything to make coffee but hesitated at the thought of drinking something caffeinated after last night.  

I'll make a cup of tea first.  That'll cancel out the caffeine.

Yes, that's exactly how biology works.

I put on water to heat up and chugged an iced coffee from the fridge while it brewed.  Chasing ice cold coffee with nearly-boiling tea made my insides feel like an absolute mess of clashing temperatures.  

Phone buzzed.

(C) I forgot there's a staff meeting in the study room today.  Wanna go to the library instead?

I paused a moment before replying.

(X) Yeah that works.  I'm good to leave whenever you are

(C) Cool, I'll be downstairs in 5

(X) ok see you then

I threw all my supplies in my backpack, grabbed my keys, and started making my way to the dorm lobby.

I saw Carson chatting with someone at the front desk and laughing.  I'd seen the guy at the front desk a million times and barely made eye contact, except the time I got locked out of my room and was forced to talk to him.

I slowed down my pace and stared at my phone as if I didn't notice before taking a breath and walking up to him.

I struggled to plaster on a normal-looking smile.

"Hey! Ready to get going?" I asked, too cheerily.

"Yeah, just-"

A phone alert when off on all three of our phones.

"MISSING: 20 YR OLD FEMALE, 150 LBS., 5'6", STRIKER, LAST SEEN IN PURPLE SWEATER ON JUAREZ ST 9 AM. SEE LOCAL MEDIA."

My breath caught in my throat.

"Oh no.." I whispered.

"Wow," said Carson. "Juarez Street isn't even that far from here.  Do you think she was a student?"

I shrugged.  The guy at the desks scoffed.

"How do I turn these off? I hate the sound of those dumb ass alerts going off all the time," he said in a huff.

It was Carson's turn to shrug.  He pulled on this backpack.

"Ok, we should get going.  Let's be careful though.  We don't wanna get snatched up!" he said with a laugh.

I smiled and we headed out the door.  We walked for a bit in awkward silence before Carson casually broke it.

"So why did they have to put that the girl was a Striker? Doesn't exactly help identify her," he asked.

"Probably to make sure no one ever looks for her,"  I sighed.

"Really?" he responded innocently.

"Uh no. Ha, not really. I was just making a joke about how people don't tend to like Strikers," I tried to keep from stumbling over my words. "A lot of the time, when they find..uh...a body... they check to see if they're a Striker to help identify them."

We stopped at an intersection.  I decided to let Carson cross first, thinking they wouldn't try to hit me if they saw him first, even though there was only one car quite a bit away.

"Oh yeah.  That actually makes sense since they have..." he rubbed his shoulder "..those chip things.  Do you think it hurts?"

"I don't..." I heard the sound of a car speeding up.  I turned only to be met with the unmarked marked white van only 10 feet away from us.

I didn't have time to scream.  I lunged at Carson, praying that I'd grab onto him in time.  As soon as I got my hands on him, I did my best to think permeable thoughts.  

I watched the bumper pass right through us.  For a split second, I could see into the interior of the van.  The driver was wearing a bandana over his face and sunglasses, but even with both of those, you could tell he was sure that he turned me to roadkill.  I caught a brief glimpse of the back of the van.  I could make out a dark hunched figure and maybe some rope, but it was all going too fast.

We both hit the ground hard.  I was pretty grateful that I landed on a person and not the asphalt.  I rolled off him and tried to catch the breath that got knocked out of me.   It immediately occurred to me that we were both still in street, and I started helping Carson onto the curb.  His arms had some scrapes on his arms and a couple of holes in his T-Shirt, but otherwise, he didn't look too bad.  We collapsed onto the curb.

"Holy shit.  We got lucky." I managed between breaths.

I turned to him, but his face wore an expression of shock rather than relief.

"No.  That was beyond luck.  We should be dead." he said darkly.

He turned to look at me so quickly, I shot right up.

"How did you do that?"

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Next Chapter: 1.5-The Good, The Bad, and The Unmasked

a/n:

I can’t think of anything clever to put here but you should totally send me asks and stuff

[namjoohyuk]

am I the only one who finds the BTS fandom and dealing with Armys super stressful?!? I’ve been here for about a year and ngl it can be draining when all you want to do is support the boys but there’s always unnecessary drama attached to everything. I’ve been in other fandoms too but Armys are for sure the most intense.

in short summary: no you’re not the only one 💛

hey bestie I’m sooo sorry that you find it stressful!!! 😓 I’m certain that you’re not the only person who feels that type of way....I can honestly say I’ve had moments where I felt like that too and that’s why I just...don’t.....participate lol

specifically about bts, I spent my first 1.5 years of getting into them by mainly staying offline and sharing things with one of my real life best friends who is an OG stan, and trusttttt the difference in sharing your opinions with close friends than with random strangers online has such an immense effect on your freaking mental health!!!! love entertaining hot controversial topics with my girl, I can never do that on any app. like my friend and I don’t agree on everything, but she’s never gone so far to say that I’m not really here for them bc of the opinions I’ve held (that she has disagreed with) which is something that I’ve gotten from people on this website, idk I was super hurt by that comment that was obvs directed towards me.... so if I’m being critical or joking around or reminiscing about past moments then I’m not supporting their current happiness or wtv???? sorry I simply cannot blindly support anyone no matter how much I may love them.....armys are the main reason why people get turned off by bts imho and it’s not just armys on twitter but here as well....but unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about that. there’s always a handful of rude and obnoxious people in every fandom who can sour everyone’s experience! I just end up unfollowing people like that and follow the people that I love seeing on my dash!!!

I don’t want to give unsolicited advice....personally I find being a multi helps bc if the discourse gets unnecessarily intense in one fandom, I just go look at pics from another fandom something. I’m just here for the vibes baby and we should all just be here for vibes only!!!! at the end of the day, I just remind myself that I’m a grown 26 yr old woman and they are all just some guy!!!

anyway I hope you feel better knowing that you’re not alone but pls don’t drain yourself. you matter but none of this other stuff matters. if you need someone to talk just come off anon and I will give you a virtual hug