#not temporary measures that are reversible
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“akschually, it’s classist to say people shouldn’t visually modernize Victorian homes!!! what if they can’t afford restoration?!?!?!”
then how the hell could they afford to IKEA-fy the place, Deborah? you have to pay contractors to do all those major modifications, after all, just as you would to restore
nobody’s mad about temporary, cheap wall-to-wall carpeting to make the floors warmer. that can be removed whenever someone else wants it gone, down the line, and the wood underneath will still be there
we’re mad about knocking down all the interior walls, replacing sconces and chandeliers with recessed can lighting, and painting the whole place greige
#old houses#permanent alterations beyond making the place basically safe to live in are what piss me offl#(and accessibility is fine too obviously)#not temporary measures that are reversible#and in my area the IKEA-fication actually jacks up the price so#nobody's doing it to save money
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Hi! If you are up for it and feel inspired: maybe Jake let’s his girl decorate the passenger seat in his car (I feel like he would have a pickup truck but literally any car works) because she is his certified passenger princess. I can see her adding a ton of cute little things to her seat/area that just make it pink and comfy and Jake still being like “that’s not enough, add more”, because he wants her to be happy and comfy and he loves looking over at the seat and being reminded of her?
The stare that Jake gives Fanboy when the man tries climbing into the passengers seat of his truck has the potential to raze a city to the ground. It's withering, condescending, and Fanboy feels frozen by it.
"Uh-"
"What are you doing?" Jake asks, his hands poised on the wheel. Fanboy had thought his behavior was somewhat self-explanatory - getting into the car? - but he suddenly can barely speak under the weight of Jake's gaze. He lets his eyes drop instead to the seat, formerly covered in black fabric and now shrouded in pink. There's a blanket tucked beneath the glove box, a silicon cupholder affixed to the door, a pillow strapped to the headrest, and candy - pink starburst- waiting on the dashboard.
Fanboy only has one guess, and he hopes it's the right one: "Is this seat saved for your girlfriend?"
"Well those aren't your panda bear slippers on the floor, are they?" Jake drawls, and Fanboy resists the urge to roll his eyes if only to avoid getting abandoned in the parking lot of his apartment complex.
"I'll get in the back," He grumbles, shutting the door perhaps a tad harder than he needs to. Jake doesn't comment, but he makes casual conversation on the way to their next stop. One by one, the truck fills up, until there's no seats left and they need to hide away in the bed. Legal? No. Fun? Yes.
The last stop that Jake pulls up to is a little townhouse, and you're waiting on the steps. His team has met you before, and you're giddy to reunite with them, laughing cheerily as four men wave clumsily at you from the bed of the truck that they're not supposed to be in.
Jake leans over with that charming grin of his to ask for a kiss before you've even settled in your seat, and you're happy to lean over and smooch him as an entry fee for your ride.
"Hi, pretty girl," Jake hums, voice infinitely softer than when he'd greeted Fanboy, "Saved a seat for 'ya."
"I bought new stuff to put in your car," You admit sheepishly, revealing a mirror charm with the moon on one end, and stars on the other, "Is it okay if I put it up? I don't want to distract you. Or- or mess with the vibe of your space."
"Give it here, darlin'." Jake holds out his hand in lieu of a direct answer, delicately stringing the charm over the arm of his mirror, "There, makes the buffoons in the back look a whole lot prettier."
"Hi, buffoons," You greet teasingly, peering back once you settle in your seat to greet Fanboy, Payback, and Coyote, "Do we need to go get anyone else?"
"Nope," Jake checks to make sure your seatbelt is secure by gently tugging on the strap, acquiescing when it stays firmly in its latch. He throws an arm over the headrest of your seat, his large hand enveloping the pink straps of your headrest completely as he peers behind him to back out of his temporary parking spot. Satisfied, he steals one more kiss for good measure before putting the car in reverse, "Saved the best for last, baby doll."
#jake seresin x reader#jake seresin imagine#jake seresin fanfiction#jake seresin x you#jake seresin x y/n#hangman#hangman x reader#hangman x you#hangman x y/n#hangman fanfiction#hangman imagine#jake hangman seresin#jake hangman seresin x reader#jake hangman seresin imagine#jake hangman seresin fanfiction#jake hangman seresin x you#jake hangman seresin x y/n#top gun x reader#top gun maverick x reader
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for the talented genius @powerful-owl... a wise woman once prompted "Bodyswap but it’s just dick swap! 😈😈😈 You have to figure out the owner of your temporary dick. Also, it responds to its usual owner's brain!" cw for size difference & small dick max
Max wakes up slowly at first, and then all at once: because although his body is heavy and warm under covers, as usual, something isn’t right. Something is different, is differentnewstrangegood—new but juuuuust right—he’s grinding his dick against the mattress, he’s feeling the unfamilar length of it pressed against his stomach, the strange tug of something in the tip that must be a piercing—
He bolts immediately awake, panting, and flips onto his back. And then he lies still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, before curling back on his side and willing himself back into sleep, on the grounds that maybe everything will be back to normal when he wakes up again.
Yeah, it isn’t.
He decides to ignore the situation, for the time being. He gets dressed and walks over to the fridge to get himself a premixed protein shake without thinking any thoughts at all, without even noticing—anything. There’s nothing to see here. And definitely nothing to feel.
He drinks the shake, which takes about two minutes, and then figures he should probably try to man up. Deal with the situation. He gets out his phone and scrolls to his text thread with Daniel, because Daniel is, he’s pretty sure, the only person he knows with a dick piercing.
Daniel, it turns out, has texted. Many times.
Hey max, how’s things, little out of the blue here but like
Anything weird going on with you, today? Pants-wise?
Hello
Maaaaaaaaaax
[missed call from Daniel Teammate]
Answer me motherfucker
Hey you know it’s really fucking annoying that you never have notifs turned on?
I THINK I HAVE YOUR FUCKING DICK MAX
[missed call from Daniel Teammate]
I know you’re overthinking this cmon just call me
Otherwise I’m going to take drastic measures
Max mentally rolls his eyes. Drastic measures like what, text some dick pics to the press with the caption “Hey anything look different?”? He texts Daniel back, Please calm down you’re embarrassing me. And then, This happens sometimes, right? He thinks about saying more—how it happens between people with a strong emotional connection, how some people say it’s a soulmate thing—but that feels way too mortifying to type out. Also, Daniel probably already knows. Instead he writes KMag and Charles, everyone says, before they got married. Although that maybe is a rumour. He’s about to keep listing grid dickswap incidents—there have been quite a few, more than you’d expect, really—when Daniel calls again.
Max picks up this time. “Hello, Daniel.”
Daniel is breathing heavily, as if he’s just come back from a run. “Fuck you. How are you so calm about this? You should be the one freaking out and I should be calm. This is bullshit. How has this fucking happened? I want my dick back, Max!”
Max feels a small bloom of hurt in his chest, which he tries to ignore. Of course Daniel wants his dick back. First of all, it’s his dick, the one he’s used to. Secondly, it’s—Max shakes his head to clear it. “Look, Daniel, I of course do not want your stupid dick. So. Come back to Monaco so we can jerk each other off.”
“I—what?”
“So we can jerk each other off,” Max repeats patiently. “That’s how you reverse this, everyone knows that.”
“I guess I’m just a little confused about how we’re supposed to go from teammates and friends to mutual masturbators, but if that’s the solution then sure, let’s go!” Daniel says. He sounds slightly hysterical. “I’ll just get me and my Max Verstappen junk on a plane and get myself over to your boudoir.” He says “boudoir” sarcastically, as if he’s assuming Max’s bedroom is some spare, utilitarian space with no personality. Which is very rude, because actually Max has some of his most important helmets on display there.
“We can wait, if you want,” Max says. “We can see if it just goes away naturally. Only Pierre and Esteban, they are trying this, and they have been waiting now for seven years.”
“Pierre and Esteban,” Daniel scoffs. “They’re fucking idiots.”
Max leaves a significant pause. Eventually, Daniel says “Fine, I’ll get on a plane.”
While Max is waiting for Daniel, he goes for a run. Running has never really cleared his mind or whatever it’s meant to do, but it’s nice, feeling tired afterwards, feeling his leg muscles aching virtuously.
It’s in the shower that it happens. Max is very assiduously not looking down—he is staring, in fact, at the fucking ceiling—and he’s not venturing anywhere near the region of his junk. Daniel’s junk. Whatever. But then he feels himself getting hard, and it’s not just—he can feel the pressure of a hand on his dick. The pressure keeps on going, gliding and squeezing, and it’s like getting a handjob from a ghost, except the ghost is Max’s teammate who has Max’s dick. Max shoves his fist as far into his mouth as he can and screams a little bit, and then reaches down and cautiously wraps a hand around himself. He still can’t look, but the feel of it shocks him, fills his mind and sets it buzzing. Daniel’s dick is big, as Max had suspected, but feeling it with his own hand is different than suspecting it. The piercing at the end, right through the tip, that feels different too. When Max tugs it gently his eyes roll back, partly from the feeling and partly from knowing that Daniel is feeling it too, that Daniel, wherever he is, is responding to Max's hand—
Max comes so hard his vision blacks out; when he can see again, he’s still staring at the ceiling.
Once he’s dried off and dressed he texts Daniel. Was that really necessary? Daniel responds with a middle finger emoji. Then Max realises that while he was in the shower Daniel sent a photo. Max stares at the photo with his head swimming, and quickly makes the executive decision that he needs to be sitting down in a non-bathroom environment in order to really appreciate it and make sure that he’s seeing what he thinks he’s seeing. He makes it to the couch on numb legs and sinks into the cushions.
And when he looks at his phone again, there it is—there’s fucking proof positive of everything Max was trying not to think about. Max’s dick, pink and erect, gripped in Daniel’s hand, the tip barely peeking out. He can feel himself starting to get turned on again, thinking about Daniel touching himself, Daniel’s hand on Max’s dick: except the dick on his body doesn’t respond. Which means Daniel must be getting hard right now, with Max’s dick.
You’re sick, he texts. Daniel replies right away: Yeah yeah c’mon, give me a picture. So Max does, reluctantly, heading back to the bathroom where the biggest mirror is, feeling stupid the whole time. The mirror is still kind of steamy from his shower, which lends a softcore kind of vibe to the scene that Daniel will hopefully think is funny. Max rucks his shirt up, over his nipples, and gets his other hand on Daniel’s dick, at the base. He's hard again, can feel the ghost-strokes of Daniel touching himself, and he looks—he looks pretty good, he thinks. Then he realises that his pose leaves him without a hand to take the photo. He takes his shirt off and tries again, and sends the pic to Daniel before he can think too much about it. Daniel responds with a row of flame emojis, which should maybe be off-putting but just makes Max crack up.
They jerk off two more times before Daniel gets to the apartment, and Max is starting to feel familiar with the shape of Daniel’s dick, the heft of it, where it’s sensitive, what to do with the piercing. When the man himself arrives Max feels ready. “Daniel! Come in,” he says, and can hear how oddly formal he sounds, as if the undoing of a dickswap is some grand social occasion.
He leads Daniel into the living room, and then before he can chicken out, he asks the question that’s been nagging at him since the morning. “Daniel, why did you straightaway think it was my dick?”
Daniel gets the mildly electrocuted expression he gets sometimes when he thinks a situation is about to get awkward. “Did I?” he says. “Think that?”
Max flicks him in the ribs. “You texted me about eight hundred times,” he says. “I assume you did not also send those messages to anyone else on the grid, but I don’t know your life. Maybe you did.”
“Ah, no, you got me,” Daniel says. “I guess I just, uh. Suspected, maybe?” He clears his throat. “Because of, just, like. Uh. And like, people say it’s always like someone you’re close to, right, so like—”
Max cuts him off. It’s embarrassing for Daniel, hearing him dance around trying not to say I thought you had a small dick, so when I woke up with a small dick I assumed it was yours. “Okay, enough,” Max says. “Thank you Daniel, that is a great explanation that definitely is very plausible.” Daniel makes a protesting noise, but Max powers on. “Before we swap back I anyway have something I want to ask you. You do not have to say yes, it is not—I will not mind, if you say no. I will understand.”
He looks at Daniel, to make sure Daniel is listening. Daniel doesn’t look electrocuted anymore: he’s half-smiling, eyes warm, so. That’s good. “Yeah, Maxy, I got you. What’s your question?”
Max takes a deep breath, and says, “Before we swap back, can I fuck someone with your dick?”
huge thank you to @lights-out-go for a) organising this and b) helping me take this ficlet from "pile o' words" to "pile o' words i can post on tumblr" 💖
DON'T MISS: previously, on emfest! @officialmood's soulmates masterpiece and @onadarklingplain's scholarship in the key of alpha toto/omega george!
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Pornhub disabled its website in Texas after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the age-verification requirement in a ruling last week that cited a 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision preventing the sale of obscene materials to minors. But the question of regulating minors’ access to online material has already been well established, legal experts say, and it stands in sharp contrast to the most recent decision from the 5th Circuit.
The appeals court previously reversed an injunction of a U.S. District Court judge, which had blocked the law from going into effect in August. The 5th Circuit’s temporary stay required pornography websites to impose age-verification measures and display health warnings that said pornography is proven to harm brain development.
In the most recent decision on March 7, the 5th Circuit decided the age-verification component of the law could stand, but ruled that the law’s required health warnings unconstitutionally compelled speech.
In response to the 5th Circuit’s decision, Pornhub blocked Texans from their site.
“Unfortunately the Texas law for age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Not only will it not actually protect children, it will inevitably reduce content creators’ ability to post and distribute legal adult content and directly impact their ability to share the artistic messages they want to convey with it,” said Alex Kekesi, vice president of brand and community at Aylo, Pornhub’s Canadian-based parent company.
Kekesi said content creators would lose out on revenue from the millions of Texas users no longer able to access Pornhub. Kekesi added that Aylo planned to appeal the decision and continue fighting for the adult entertainment industry and the performers who earn a living through it.
[...]In Ginsberg v. New York, the nation’s highest court decided that children could be constitutionally denied access to material that was “harmful to minors.”
KOSA hasn't been passed but it seems Texas doesn't intend to wait.
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"Spanish lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to a law granting paid medical leave to women suffering severe period pain, becoming the first European country to advance such legislation.
The law, which passed by 185 votes in favour to 154 against, is aimed at breaking a taboo on the subject, the government has said.
Menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries across the globe, among them Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.
"It is a historic day for feminist progress," Equality Minister Irene Montero tweeted ahead of the vote.
The legislation entitles workers experiencing period pain to as much time off as they need, with the state social security system -- not employers -- picking up the tab for the sick leave.
As with paid leave for other health reasons, a doctor must approve the temporary medical incapacity.
The length of sick leave that doctors will be able to grant to women suffering from painful periods has not been specified in the law.
About a third of women who menstruate suffer from severe pain, according to the Spanish Gynaecology and Obstetrics Society...
"Menstrual leave" is one of the key measures in the broader legislation, which also provides for increased access to abortion in public hospitals.
Less than 15 percent of abortions performed in the country take place in such institutions, mainly because of conscientious objections by doctors.
The new law also allows minors to have abortions without parental permission at 16 and 17 years of age, reversing a requirement introduced by a previous conservative government in 2015.
Spain, a European leader in women's rights, decriminalised abortion in 1985, and in 2010, it passed a law that allows women to opt freely for abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy in most cases."
-via Hindustan Times, 2/17/23
Note: Obviously there are plenty of trans men and nonbinary, etc. people who have periods, and many women—whether cis, trans, and/or intersex—who don't. In this case, though, I'm choosing to leave the article's text unmodified to more accurately convey the technicalities of and rhetoric/political context around these laws.
#menstrual products#menstruation#menstrual leave#periods#period problems#period cramps#endometriosis#pcos#spain#europe#women's rights#public health#women's health
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There’s a real chance that someone else has said this before, in which case I sincerely apologise. But I’ve been thinking about the Bentley and the bookshop, and what they represent in terms of Aziraphale and Crowley.
We are shown in s1 how Crowley is consistently moving- his presentation reflects the changing of the times, and he often rescues Aziraphale- to be rescued suggests a passivity, whereas to be the rescuer is active. This all culminates in the line “you go too fast for me Crowley,” in which Aziraphale specifically acknowledges this as a source of conflict between them. Of course, Aziraphale stays primarily the same throughout history, making only small amendments to his appearance. Now, how does this link to the car and the bookshop?
In Good Omens 2, Crowley lives in the Bentley, and Aziraphale in the bookshop. Crowley is not settled down- his house constantly moves, and the car seems to be very much a temporary measure. No one intends to live in their car permanently. This works in tandem with his offers to run away with Aziraphale- despite the ostensible calm of Good Omens 2, he seems always on the brink of running away. We may see this as a nod to his very origins- he falls. He moves. On the other hand, a bookshop is a set location, and this is emphasised by the care with which it is decorated and maintained- barely a book sold. To move the bookshop would be an immense upheaval. We can argue that this key difference is the undoing of the pair. One could contest this by saying that in the end, Aziraphale leaves Crowley, in a reversal of the roles. While this is one interpretation, I would say that actually both characters here display the same traits which have perused them throughout the course of the series. Crowley wants to move their relationship, to shift it into something definitively romantic- this is moving, this is progressing. The problem here, is that Aziraphale is not only not progressing, but is regressing- returning to heaven. This is what makes it such an impactful moment. At the series conclusion, Aziraphale still rejects change and Crowley still follows it. This is presented in the closing credits- Aziraphale is in a lift. He is passive, he is moving, in a way, but not in a way which he controls. In contrast, Crowley drives- propelling his own narrative further and going forwards.
Moreover, it is significant that the Bentley and the bookshop embody these differences as we have seen how they come to symbolise the characters. The car is stylised and (for a demon) modern- similar to Crowley’s manner, charming and self assured. It also is quite intimidating, and only has room for a certain number of people/objects. The bookshop is inviting, with its warm colours, indicative of Aziraphale’s personality. He may be unhappy at the prospect of many people in his bookshop, but he still allows Gabriel and the angels in. Thus, in what could be construed as metonymy, both the bookshop and the Bentley come to represent their owners.
In conclusion, I should stop procrastinating my English essay.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Public safety legislation unveiled Wednesday by local lawmakers in the nation's capital is aimed at bringing down spiraling violent crimes rates that have stoked public anxiety and prompted congressional scrutiny.
The measure largely repackages and consolidates previous proposals and temporary anti-crime legislation, including stiffer penalties for a host of gun-related offenses and wider leeway for judges to detain suspects prior to their trial.
“Pretty much everything in here are bills that were introduced, had a hearing and had a public process,” said Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, who chairs the Council's judiciary and public safety committee.
Homicides jumped by 35% in 2023 in Washington while car thefts and carjackings both essentially doubled. The carjacking victims in D.C. last year included a U.S. Congressmen and a diplomat from the United Arab Emirates. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Lyndsey Appiah openly admitted before a congressional hearing last year that the District is in the midst of a crime crisis.
Violent crime jumped in several American cities during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. But while homicides have dropped post-pandemic in places like New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore, the trends have only accelerated in Washington.
The proposed bill loosens restrictions for police officers on physically handling suspects and when they are authorized to engage in vehicular pursuits. It would also allow police officer to review their own body camera footage prior to making their report in cases not involving serious use of force.
Certain elements seem sure to be hotly debated on the 13-member D.C. Council, which is split between judicial reformers and those pushing for more aggressive policing and prosecutions. One potentially controversial proposal would allow the Metropolitan Police Department to declare 1,000 square foot areas of the city as “drug free zones” for 120 hours, or five days. Loitering in those zones would be heavily restricted and those inside would have to essentially justify their presence there.
“It gives the police discretion to make that determination ... that this area can not be frequented,” Pinto said, adding that the measure is meant to cool off blocks that have witnessed recent cycles of violence and retaliation.
Pinto said she hopes to bring the bill to the D.C. Council floor next week with a proper vote scheduled for late January.
“My hope and expectation is that the council supports this common sense package,” she said.
The proposal has already received an endorsement from Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has worked closely with Pinto on recent other crime legislation. Bowser has fought multiple battles with the council over criminal justice issues; last year she vetoed a sweeping rewrite of the District's criminal code claiming that the reduction in maximum sentences on some major crimes “sent the wrong message” in the midst of a crime wave.
The council overrode her veto but Republicans in Congress took up Bowser's cause and drew enough Democratic support to cancel the legislation — an embarrassing reversal for the Council.
Bowser expressed her support for Pinto's bill, which incorporates several elements of previous proposals endorsed by the mayor's office.
“We know that driving down crime requires us to send a clear message that if you make our city less safe, if you bring violence to our community, you will be held accountable," Bowser said in a statement Wednesday. "I look forward to signing this bill into law and urge the Council to move with urgency to unanimously pass this legislation.”
But judicial reform advocates quickly dismissed the proposal as an extension of the same ineffective enforcement-heavy tactics that have been rolled back and declared ineffective around the country.
“It's just doubling down on the solutions that are failing,” said Patrice Sulton head of the D.C. Justice Lab. Sulton, who played a major role in the rejected criminal code rewrite, said the bill appeared to be “ghost written” by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves' office, which handles most felony prosecutions due to Washington's status as a non-state.
The American Civil Liberties Union also blasted several of the proposals as either archaic or unconstitutional.
“The proposed changes to body-worn camera provisions would spread distrust of police. Such distrust undermines the legitimacy of law enforcement and erodes any sense of cooperation between harmed communities and the police,” ACLU-D.C. Policy Counsel Melissa Wasser said in a statement. "Similarly, failed and ineffective ‘drug-free’ zones do little to prevent crime; instead, they open the door for police officers to harass people and violate our rights. The District can’t make it a crime to simply stand around."
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Quarterly Debut Review: Q1 2024
Quarterly Debut Reviews are a supplementary series to my biannual Periodic Rookie Group Reports, which are published quarterly. Each installment covers three rookie groups that debuted over the past three months. For the fifth installment, I covered ALL(H)OURS (January), YDS (February), and Heimish (March).
As always, a full list of rookie groups that have debuted thus far in 2024 is available here: 2024 Rookie Groups Debuts
January / ALL(H)OURS
Debut: January 10, 2024
Debut Song: “GOTCHA”
Although I have been tracking rookie groups for over a decade, I am no soothsayer. I cannot predict with any accuracy the number of new groups that will debut in 2024 or if more groups will disband this year than last year. Nor can I tell if the recent reversal of a multi-year decline in the number of boy groups I covered in Periodic Rookie Groups Report No. 22 is permanent or a temporary deviation. At best, what the numbers tell me is. 2024 is not off to a bad start, especially regarding boy groups. The four boy groups that debuted this year in January mirrors the previous year's total. While this may not crack 2019’s record of nine boy groups in January, it is better than 2018's where boy groups' poor performance was foreshadowed by a single debut at the start of the year.
No matter how this year shakes out for boy groups, it cannot be said that boy groups did not try like ALL(H)OURS who was one of the four boy groups to debut. Their name externalizes their ambition signaling, according to Korea JoongAng Daily, their intention to “pour everything it has at all times.” Their debut song doubles down on this message with the chorus, punctuated by a deep bass sound, emphasizing their laser focus on their goal.
Of course, it takes more than focus and hard work for idols to achieve their dreams—or stardom —in the industry. Those are only parts of an equation with multiple variables, many of which idols have no control over, including their image, musical director, or whether a group gets to come back and try again or build on the momentum. But at least ALL(H)OURS are committed to doing what they can do and working with what they have control over.
February / YDS (YeoDongSaeng)
Debut: February 21, 2024
Debut Song: “A Fluttering Love”
YDS’s debut single “A Fluttering Love” can claim more so-called ‘firsts’ than your average debut single. The song is the group’s first release under a proper label, as well as, their official debut and first single. Contrarily, it is also the first song in the industry's history to qualify as both a debut and a comeback single, a fact that the marketing has not hidden but highlighted. On a teaser image released to promote the song’s release, above the two members seated back-to-back on a white table, it reads “YDS 7TH DIGITAL SINGLE ALBUM.”
This discrepancy in qualification is a byproduct of YDS’ unorthodox career trajectory. The duo began their career uploading covers of k-pop songs to their YouTube channel, before pivoting to producing their original songs in 2022. They released six singles and built up a small following before according to their December 2023 Instagram post, signing with HO Entertainment. Then as established above, in February they released their seventh single that doubled as their major label debut. In other words, unlike most k-pop groups who debut after being assembled through the industry’s traditional top-down method, YDS debuted in reverse.
While there are tradeoffs for both YDS and HO Entertainment for bypassing this usual path, I see the appeal. For HO Entertainment, in particular, it is a cost-saving measure. A group with a pre-determined lineup eliminates the need to recruit and train future members of a group, a process so expensive that according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)’s 2023 Pop Culture & Arts Industry Survey, most agencies do not even maintain a pool of trainees. They also come with a pre-defined image and sound, which although certainly adjustable, HO Entertainment has left unchanged. Indeed “A Fluttering Love”, features their signature sweet acoustic sound and lyrics about a love confession. This is consistent with their previous releases, only this time it comes with a name attached to it and an accompanying promotional rollout, typical of your average group.
March / Heimish
Debut: March 15, 2024
Debut Song: “Golden Hour”
So far, this year has gone according to Rainbow E&M’s plan. That plan, laid out across their 2023 year-end Instagram posts, indicated that they aimed to debut one group per month – a feat they have pulled off. Three months into 2024, they debuted at least one group under the Future Idol Asia banner every month: Flora in January, Bluebell in February, and now Heimish and Pearlys in March.
Practically speaking, these are all new groups in the sense that Future Idol Asia has never debuted a group under these names or with these lineups. Of the four groups that debuted, Flora and Heimish’s lineups are partly a patchwork of members from prior Future Idol Asia groups. In the case of Flora, of the group’s six members, four previously debuted under Redplum and Closer, respectively. As for Heimish, their group is comprised of one new member, two members of Blossom, and one member of Winsome.
This is a byproduct of the nature of the project. As I have written before Future Idol Asia groups are not intended to be permanent homes for aspiring idols but a temporary waypoint on their journey. Ideally, a member who debuts as part of a Future Idol Asia group would catch the attention of an entertainment agency scout at a showcase who invites them for further auditioning before inviting them to join their agency. In reality, though not every member gets picked. For example, in the case of Closer, two of whose members re-debuted this year as part of Flora, only one of the ten members in the group was chosen for additional auditions with other agencies.
This poses a conundrum for the Future Idol Asia project, as they are left with groups with gaps in their lineup, although groups like Flora and Heimish point to their solution. Since last year they have been repackaging members from their previous groups into these new groups. That allows the project to pad its numbers, giving the illusion that the project has more recruits than it actually does, especially if recruitment does not meet expectations. More importantly, it also gives those not picked the first time another chance. With a new group, concept, song, choreography, and opportunity to perform at the showcase this time might be the charm.
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I've been reading a lot of Resident Evil fanfiction lately, and I've had a bunch of headcanons (and other details) for my RE muses bouncing around in my head, so I'm just gonna dump them under the cut for y'all to enjoy because this is LONG.
(Note that some of these have probably already been posted about on my blog before.)
Leon:
Ever since his mission in Spain, he's had a strong fear of parasites. Or rather, the idea of being infected by parasites - he can handle seeing something like a tick or tapeworm with the same reaction as any normal person would. But when it comes to more extreme organisms like Las Plagas, it's going to get a much stronger negative reaction out of him. Just thinking about it is enough to make his skin crawl - god forbid if he actually gets infected by it again.
While my portrayal of him is based exclusively on the remake of RE2/RE4 (so far), he does have a scar on his cheek from his first encounter with Krauser in Spain (which is something that normally only happens in the original RE4).
For any scenarios involving his infected verse where Las Plagas is involved; the mutations he gets are heavily derived from insects, similar to that of the Vertugo, rather than being more "fleshy" like Krauser, Salazar, or Saddler's mutations. The exact details of his infection may vary depending on the thread (or the exact parasite/virus he's infected with in the first place!), but by "default", he undergoes a gradual metamorphosis where his Plaga-derived attributes will develop, as a result of leftover DNA from the Plagas parasite back in Spain. Basically; he's mutating, but because there's no parasite in him, he still has free will and actually has a measure of control over his mutations. Not at first, though.
For the process of mutation, it's not necessarily (severely) painful, but it is an unpleasant process. He develops chitin plates on various parts of his body, mainly along the spine and on his forelimbs. These develop directly underneath the skin before said skin literally sheds off - think of something like the velvet on antlers. Other features, such as spines, the tail, or the extra pair of limbs, just sprout from his body ""normally"".
The first time he undergoes the mutation process, it's something he can't control, and he's basically forced to gradually morph from a full-on human to what is basically a Verdugo. It is, however, reversible - whether by his own will or by a suppressive temporary vaccine. Later on, he gets the hang of controlling when and what to mutate, but it's still possible for it to occur when he doesn't want it to. This only occurs when his life is actively at risk.
A side effect of mutations is that Leon, when either in the middle of mutating or after, gets strong cravings for basically anything made from animal products. This is so that his body can replenish nutrients and other resources spent from... you know. Turning into a giant bug-human hybrid monster thing. He can still eat other foods just fine, thankfully.
Even though Krauser was responsible for Ashley's kidnapping, Leon was still ultimately against outright killing him, even though his former mentor/comrade/possibly ex-bf was literally trying to gut him open. When he beat Krauser and finished him off, he took his cap and knife as commemorative keepsakes to remember him by despite what he had done.
Ethan:
Post-RE7, while Ethan is biologically a human being, the Mold makes up such an extensive part of his body that it'd probably be more accurate to refer to him as a walking Mold colony in a near-perfect replica of a human being. While he still has the same biological functions as your average male homo sapiens, this comes with... unique abilities on account of him basically being a human-Mold hybrid.
First and foremost; his capacity to regenerate from wounds is insane. Obviously, he cannot instantly heal from an injury; he still needs to use medicine and stuff like stitches or bandages to treat and close wounds. But when they're actually treated, the Mold kicks in and facilitates the rapid repair of said injuries - it's basically what allows him to literally re-attach a lost limb just by pouring a shit ton of rubbing alcohol on it.
In high-stress situations, the Mold may begin to actually physically manifest on Ethan's body. This mainly presents itself with Ethan's face appearing as though it's been draped in shadow (something like this), with the extremities of his limbs turning pitch black. This is mostly done in 'preparation' for more extensive, temporary mutations - such as when he's in a life-or-death scenario, on rare occasions he might develop claws.
These situations also allow Ethan to regenerate more readily without needing prior treatment, at the cost of leaving him utterly exhausted afterward. On the plus side? He can literally survive being shot in the head with a pistol. He is simply Built Different.
Krauser:
Similar to Leon, he has a scar on his chest from their first knife-fight back in Spain, which is also something that normally only occurs in the original RE4 rather than the remake.
Despite having sided with Illuminatos under the premise of 'power', he was still very much so doing it to get back at the US government because of what happened in Operation Javier. The fact that he still clung to all the dog tags of his fallen comrades (which is something you can actually find in game) is proof enough of that.
While Krauser's mutations mainly consist of just his blade-arm and his shield/hand-arm, it's absolutely possible for him to mutate even further than that. Unlike Leon (in his infected verse anyway), who has to undergo a much more slow and gradual process of 'mastering' his mutative abilities, Krauser has full control of his abilities from the get-go due to him having the dominant strain of Las Plagas in him.
Wesker:
Much like Krauser, he has high control of just how much his mutations present themselves, though they can grow wild and unchecked should he grow unstable with his emotions - i.e when he fought Chris and Sheva at the end of RE5.
Despite Uroboros having a weakness to fire (to my memory at least), the Uroboros bonded with Wesker, in combination to him having the T-Virus in him, allows him to have STUPIDLY HIGH HEAT RESISTANCE. He was literally able to be half-way submerged in lava in an active volcano for almost a solid minute without dying from the sheer heat or from his body tissues being incinerated. Obviously, he'd probably still die from swimming in lava for any further than, say, two minutes, but basically; he can handle a little bit of a spicy dip.
It's 100% possible for Wesker to go toe-to-toe with a Spartan-II, on account of his insane Vash the Stampede levels of reaction speed (and the fact that he can move so fast that it looks like he's fucking teleporting).
The Merchant:
The reason why the Merchant appears at seemingly convenient locations throughout Leon's mission in Spain, despite how he should not be able to have a full-on shop set up at those spots by the time Leon gets there, is rather simple; he's an Arch-Judicator of the Worm-in-Waiting. Being an envoy of what is basically The God of the Multiverse, he pretty much works to provide his services to... mix things up, if you will.
Despite being a singular person and also referring to himself with words such as "I" or "my", he also frequently refers to himself with words such as "our" or "us". It's not really known why he does it, but it's probably to do with the fact that he can access other timelines when needed by his patron. It could be that he's referring to all instances of the Merchant that ever have and will exist.
#ooc#headcanons#a deal well struck; the merchant#wheres everybody going? bingo?; leon kennedy#witness the power; jack krauser#the right to be a god; albert wesker#perseverance through mycelium; ethan winters
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The Unreality of Time
Credits to the artist
Image link: https://pin.it/29PPjDZ
The Unreality of Time: A Metaphysical Approach to Understand Time.
Have you ever looked at the sky and wondered, right now here I'm watching the sky and after a mere hour this all will be a random event of my past, so basically you are thinking of a present event that will be past in near future. Interesting right? So is the nature of time, an idea that will leave you puzzled.
Time is read by a clock and is divided into hours, minutes and seconds to make the reading a bit precise and easy to read, currently the international unit of time, the second is defined by measuring the electronic transition of cesium atoms. Scientifically speaking Time is a sequence of irreversible events, occurrence of a specific cycle in repetition. It is used to measure change in our surroundings. That's it this is what most of us know about time, but I feel there is more, as the old saying goes "Time is the Mightiest of all" and with this might come some mystery as well.
As Albert Einstein said "People like us who believe in Physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
This implies time is linear and past and future are mere memories and predictions. In order to get a gist of it let us take an account of a theory from Metaphysics called The Unreality of Time by J.M.E. McTaggart. The Theory argues that every event has a characteristic of being present and not present i.e. future or past, which directs attention to time being a self contradictory idea. McTaggart argued that things that exist in time are false.
McTaggart's arguments were segmented into three series namely A series, B series and C series. A series has the properties which are temporary i.e. past, present and future, how come they are temporary? Consider the example given in the very beginning of this article you were gazing at the sky that was your present but after an hour that very present of yours will become your past which clearly implies that time is temporary whereas B series have permanent properties and do not include terminology of past, present and future instead uses terms which depicts a sequence of events i.e. you were looking at the stars after that you thought of them as your memories. A series shows a change in time whereas B series doesn't.
Let us take an example of a timeline : your being had no existence in 1922 but now in 2022 you exist and in 2122 you will no longer exist.
According to A series 1922 is past, 2022 is present and 2122 is future and it shows a clear change of time. On the other hand if we are to describe B series it will be like: you were not in existence before 2022, you exist in 2022 and you will not exist after 2022. The B series shows a recurring pattern of existence if we take as time before 2022 be x , 2022 be y and after 2022 be z we can see a pattern.
In A series the pattern will be : x, y, z where x ≠ y ≠ z
In the B series the pattern will be : x, y, z where theoretically we can see that x ≠ y, y ≠ z but x = z because they both give the same conclusions.
This can also be noted that the sequence of B series can be reversed and will give the same conclusion.
This whole discussions direct towards the fact that A series is directional and shows a change in time and B series shows a sequence of events which leads to the fact that both the series are dependent on each other and necessarily depends on directionality but the concept of A series is contradictory as our past, present and future changes and cannot be reality which comes to an argument that time cannot be real. This is an argument of series C. So this whole discussion aligns with Albert Einstein's statement of past, present and future being an illusion.
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"You two did an excellent job stealing the Declaration of Independence. I now declare that you shall steal... Stonehenge!"
Doomsday to the Atlantis boys
@the-haunted-office
"Well, we're already breaking normal laws, why not the laws of physics, too." Milo said, "But before we go, I need to at least know where I'm reassembling this thing at."
That turned out to be easy. Rourke flew the Aktirak, while Milo marked off the site from above with the aid of several drones he'd made, and a few more he borrowed from Pollux. Then it was time to start on the second heist of his life. The Declaration of Independence, the trophy from the first one, hung in their office in its preservation case like some award they'd won.
He worked, as he had for the first scheme, for a while on their equipment. They would be even more reliant on the tech and machines for this one, to move the huge stones without damaging them. And he'd have to engineer a convincing fake. Pollux even took interest and through his assistance became the third member of the team. He was instrumental in figuring out transport as well as helping Milo engineer the fake replacement (both insisted this was necessary, and also enjoyed it as part of the challenge).
Rourke wasn't sitting idle either. He was looking into possible automated security and how to either get around it or protect themselves. He was especially interested in any anti-aircraft measures, as they would be flying in. He also charged up spare batteries just in case they needed them. Which they did.
Their route took them to a stopover in Atlantis, where Pollux got his own Aktirak and Milo fitted it with a battery rig just like his and Rourke's vehicle. From there, they took a different tunnel and cave system to the surface that came out in Europe.
They came in low and fast, low enough they would be mistaken for speeding ground cars. They landed in the center of the stone circles and got everything ready. This was a bigger job, so speed was even more critical.
Milo and Pollux's latest invention was something they called a portable tensor field generator. Rourke just called it a shrink ray. First, each stone was marked with a temporary tag, so they'd know where to put it when they reassembled the monument. Then it was shrunk using specialized electromagnetic and energy fields, small enough it could fit into its assigned space in the suitcase sized carrier Milo helped Rourke make. A similar carrier held the replacement stones, as they were indistinguishable from the originals. Once the whole thing was safely shrunk and stored, Milo reversed the tensor generator and unshrunk the replacement stones, with Pollux and Rourke positioning them. It was all very efficient and practiced. Each knew their job and did it without question. And when it was done, they left the same way they came, even eliminating any trace of their footprints (tire tracks in Pollux's case) and landed vehicles.
When they got back to the Office (Pollux kept his vehicle, wanting to study it further) they quickly unshrunk and reassembled the Stonehenge monument. Then the three stood in front of it and texted Doom to look outside. When she did, the three waved and Milo's tablet projected a hologram of the words 'WE DID IT!' in the air above them.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY 7-3-23 :: THE GRAND FINALE
f/22 @ 1 sec. ISO 200 :: [Jerry Downs]
* * * *
Our 247th Fourth of July
July 4, 2023
ROBERT B. HUBBELL
JUL 4, 2023
Americans are feeling bruised on the 247th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—with good reason. We are caught in one of those rare moments of retrograde motion of democracy in which temporary setbacks make it appear that we are losing ground. But just as the apparent retrograde motion of the planets is a trick of the eye based on our limited perspective, so too with this moment of fleeting reactionary victories. If we could observe the procession of the planets from outside our solar system, we would see that they never reverse course—they merely speed up or slow down as they move closer to and away from the sun. That variable progress creates the appearance of backward movement, which is merely an illusion for earthbound humans.
True, the reactionary victories are real, and the losses affect the lives of people in devastating ways. But viewed from the perspective of any reasonable length of time in the history of our nation—10, 25, 50, or 100 years—it is undeniable that our nation is locked onto an unchanging path toward greater freedom, liberty, and tolerance. Like the planets, our progress toward greater freedom and democracy is variable, speeding and slowing in response to the pull of momentous events that shape our destiny. This retrograde moment will pass. And, freighted with our losses, we will resume our march to secure the promises of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
How? We simply need to summon a portion of the boldness the Founders demonstrated when they risked their lives, families, and fortunes by signing the Declaration of Independence. No more half-measures or “Yes, buts” or “He’s too old” or “She’s too young” or “Won’t the Republicans turn around and do the same thing?” We cannot set our goals by fearing what Republicans might do in the future. The challenge we face is answering this simple but daunting question, “What are we willing to do now?”
As painful as the reactionary victories have been over the last few weeks, those victories contain the seeds of MAGA extremism’s defeat. The 2024 election will be hard-fought, and we can take nothing for granted. But on nearly every issue of consequence, Democrats occupy the high-ground and have aligned themselves with the desires of the electorate to be free, safe, and healthy. Republicans are fighting losing battles on reproductive liberty, gun safety, LGBTQ equality, voting rights, educational opportunity, the climate crisis, the economy, investment in infrastructure, and protection of Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans are running on false claims that “Drag Queens” and the Walt Disney Company are grooming children, a non-existent border crisis, and tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. If you were a political strategist and could choose a party to work for based on likelihood of success, which side would you choose?
On this Fourth of July, let’s reflect on the boldness of the Founders who—despite their deep flaws and personal failings—managed to step outside of themselves to dare great things. That is all it will take for us to overcome this retrograde moment—set our limitations aside and dare great things. We can do that. We have done that. We need only do it again.
Concluding Thoughts.
I wrote the above introduction in the early afternoon and then left to attend a concert at Tanglewood featuring James Taylor, thinking I would finish the newsletter when we returned home. That was a mistake in planning on my part. Nonetheless, I recommend a few articles that I had planned to discuss:
The Hartmann Report, “Is Student Debt a Crime Against America's Future?” A thought-provoking article that may change your view of student debt.
HuffPost, Amid SCOTUS Defeats Democrats Are Lining Up A New Wave Of Judges.
Talking Points Memo, John Roberts Keeps Wondering Why We Aren’t Done With This Whole Racism Thing Already.
Have a blessed, peaceful, and inspiring Fourth of July as we reflect on the sacrifices that have carried us to this moment in our young nation’s history.
#Robert B. Hubbel#Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter#4th of July#Independence Day#Student Debt#SCOTUS#racism#the USA Founders
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“To me, he is the closest thing to freedom I’ll ever know. And I’ll protect that with all I am.”
Black; timeless, secretive, hidden depths, darkness and fear. // Scarlet and Cinnabar; devotion, sacrifice, power, temper, aggression, pride and playful energy.
Red Balsam; touch me not. // Barberry; sour temper. // Love-Lies-Bleeding; hopeless, not heartless.
Raccoon; playful trickster. surprisingly courageous and ferocious. fight or flight in equal measure. secret keeper. dishonesty and denial. hiding behind a mask. chaotic energy.
Skin; too much, too much, too much. burns. put it on show but not to touch. a warning in reverse. old scratches, bruises, scars, long gone but black like oil under the surface, hiding in plain sight. comfort in their discomfort.
Autumn; hiding the rust and rot with fiery reds and golden glows. hard to see the decay when it burns so beautifully.
the Witching Hour; the lingering darkness as the night draws to a close. an omen. the coming misfortune, knowing this momentary quiet cannot last.
Humility; pride seldom survives on its knees. little choice in the bonds, but bowing to a fool far outweighs submitting to sinners.
Sloth; the little bee fleeing every fawning flower. a devil with idle hands at last.
Life; clinging on with tooth and claw. anything to delay the descent.
of the Land; below is where you belong… but anything but that.
the Wandering Star; deceptive by design to lead the unworthy astray, now hiding on the horizon whilst time allows.
Black Onyx; the demon trapped and contained. a deep sadness. layers of light hidden under a shadowy surface.
Sickle; the reaping hook. a tool for harvest now turned to protection. a small blade is just as sharp, a weapon in the right hand no matter its original purpose.
Cor Anglais; hauntingly melancholic, a resignation, yet longing and hopeful still.
XII The Hanged Man; a pause, timed, temporary. true task on hold for as long as he’ll keep you. a choice made by another, but is it still a surrender if the outcome is preferred?
#Aes Ques#A Grey Start#AGS: Edge Avarest#AGS: moodboard#other baby boi#we'll pretend this one isn't full of sad mmkay#that means you can't come for me byyyyyyyyyyye#*flees*
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I stumbled across your account and I saw that you do reading for Enhypen so can you do a reading for What is Jay's FS's personality like?
She is a "fiery" girl. Shows such qualities as dynamism, enthusiasm, activity and fearlessness.
Entrepreneurship, courage, willingness to take risks, as well as inspiration, enthusiasm and disclosure of personality. Strengthening the will, beliefs and moral principles, self-belief. It symbolizes life affirmation, optimism, personal growth. She is constantly inspired by some kind of business, to live in a special energy of an elevated level
Peak activity, fullness of fervor. Insight, tension of thought, the appearance of some exciting idea, willingness to accept a challenge. The will, the determination to fight if necessary, are her usual states.
A person constantly closes himself off from some excessive influence (of another person or situation) in order not to let himself be confused. She refuses to help, and ignores attempts to interfere.
It can also be a process of constant self-defense, it shows the desire for peace and balance, to close and concentrate, to put thoughts in order. She is not so much looking for a way out of a difficult situation, as we are engaged in restoring control over our inner world, verifying the assemblage point.
It shows temporary inactivity, external passivity, but a great inner work of the mind.
She is a cold, distrustful, skeptical, self-reliant person. She'll measure it out seven times before she decides there's no need to cut it off. In the worst case, she rejects both her own and someone else's self-expression, and leaves any feelings, be it love or anger, to die in the back of her soul.
Feelings don't really exist for her, it's just a way of speaking, and she doesn't own it yet. The task of showing emotions and expressing feelings externally is something from the category of mission impossible. But she knows how to cooperate on an intellectual basis. On the one hand, there is nothing in her life that would confuse her seriously. On the other hand, she constantly experiences anxiety in connection with the most ordinary things, and learns to suppress this anxiety so as not to lose control.
This is a lot of internal work that consumes a lot of energy, so many things are no longer enough for a person – among them there may be close communication, and truly productive intellectual work and much more that she might want to do. That's why they say "indecisive" about her - meanwhile, she is only busy deciding.
Ace of Pentacles reversed
two swords
Ace of Wands
#HeeSeung#Jay#Jake#SungHoon#Sunoo#JungWon#Ni-ki#enhypen HeeSeung#enhypen Jay#enhypen Jake#enhypen SungHoon#enhypen Sunoo#enhypen JungWon#enhypen Ni-ki#my readings#kpop tarot#future spouse#kpop astrology
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@madatobiweek2022
Day 1 - October 9: Folklore, Fantasy, & Myth | Time Travel
Snapshots from Madara and Tobirama's Fun Vacation Through Time and resulting awkward alliance while they try to get back to their own time… and how that alliance becomes more.
🔥🌊
From the moment he and Madara had landed in the future, Tobirama had known something was wrong. But he hadn't guessed time travel, not right away.
They'd been mid fight, having run into each other while each on their own solo missions, and a skirmish between the two had ensued. Tobirama, knowing he was outclassed when it came to sheer strength, had tried to retreat, but—some strange interaction between the use of the newly-invented but untested Hiraishin and the Sharingan had quite literally blown up in both their faces.
It didn't take long for them to realize that things were not right, considering both the Uchiha and Senju compounds were gone, and both of them could sense a massive amount of people (including shinobi) in a very small area.
What followed was a horrifically awkward temporary alliance. Both wanted to get back to their brothers, to their clans, of course, but it hadn't taken long to realize that it had taken the both of them to get into the mess, and would take both of them to get out of it.
🔥🌊
"Is that… you and Hashirama on the mountain?"
"Yes, it appears so."
"…Why."
Tobirama, obviously, didn't know either. After a long few minutes of time stretched between them, he spoke, half to himself. "…Do you think, perhaps, this is the future?" It seemed impossible, yet as a shinobi he'd seen many impossible things, and it seemed the only thing that could fit.
Madara bristled. "Are you saying that the Senju won?" He shot an angry glance up at the mountain, two Senju and three unknown faces, none of which seemed Uchiha.
Tobirama shook his head, however. He was a powerful sensor, yet he couldn't feel a single Senju in the village… And only one Uchiha (besides Madara.)
🔥🌊
"Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"You killed Izuna."
Tobirama scoffed. It wasn't him, it was the future version of him. In their time, Izuna was still alive.
"I should kill you right now."
"If you do, you won't get back to our time. And you won't be able to get back to your very much alive brother if you're stuck here."
Madara snarled at him, but the awkward truce remained unbroken, and the biting tension lessened.
"…When we get back, I won't kill him. We've now seen how that turned out, and it's not a fate I'd want to recreate."
Tobirama ignored the way he could feel Madara's eyes on him, judging how truthful he was being, perhaps.
🔥🌊
Papers spread all Tobirama. The accident had been effortless; reversing it was harder. Nigh on impossible.
Madara slammed his head against the desk beside him, frustrated beyond all measure.
"This is pointless."
Tobirama just hummed neutrally, glancing up. Madara, slumped on the table, just looked like a big pile of hair.
At first he'd been constantly tense around Madara, ready for attack, but as he'd kept to their peace agreement, eventually he'd stopped being so wary around him. Even trusted him, at least not to attack him without warning.
Maybe they could even manage it back in their own time.
But maybe he was just out of it; he hadn't slept in over a week, anyway, too busy working on a breakthrough that felt just out of reach…
Unthinkingly, he ran his fingers through Madara's hair. Huh. It was softer than he expected.
Madara glanced up, looking surprised and confused, and Tobirama quickly looked away, pulling his hand back. He could feel heat creeping up his neck, and he was certain the blush would be obvious with his pale skin, bright as the tattoos on his face.
He definitively needed to sleep.
🔥🌊
A good shinobi knew to be patient, and they were. Slowly they circled ever closer, like two orbiting planets on a decaying circuit, eventually bound to collide.
And like two planets colliding, they did so in a dramatic explosion.
They were sparring, both as a way to keep their physical skills sharp, and as a brief distraction, since they were stuck on their 'getting back home' problem with no progress.
Madara was a true powerhouse, but Tobirama was a flexible and skilled shinobi as well. When they weren't fighting to kill, the spars were quite enjoyable. Also, exceedingly destructive.
Sometimes, Tobirama even managed to get the upperhand and win their spars.
When one such spar ended that way, with Tobirama pining Madara down, a smirk across his lips—Madara couldn't resist grabbing him and pulling him the rest of the way down for a biting kiss.
A kiss which Tobirama eagerly returned.
It was in that moment that something clicked, and Tobirama realized the missing piece—the last thing they needed to solve the problem that would get them back home.
Tobirama darted off, leaving Madara flustered, disarrayed, and confused.
🔥🌊
To everyone back in their own time, they'd been gone only a day. To Madara and Tobirama—it had been over a year that they had spent together in the future.
To everyone else, the change between them had been dramatic—as had their newly inspired desire for peace.
Things moved quickly after that.
"Our village… it's beautiful." Tobirama murmured, standing on top of one of the newly raised buildings in their newly blooming village, with Hashirama.
Hashirama gave him a beaming smile, one that slowly softened into something contemplative. "It is. Tobi… you were so wary of this for so long, making peace. What changed?"
Tobirama thought of the broken village of the future, all but empty of both Uchiha and Senju. Of a boy broken by death and betrayal. Of a boy so bright, but oh so lonely. Of cruel and kind people alike. Of intentions and goals, of ends that could never justify the means.
Of a village that had persisted not because of the Uchiha and the Senju, but in spite of them.
"I realized the path we were on would only lead to tragedy. It was better to take a chance, take the risk that something better could be built instead, rather than stay the path I knew was rotten. I don't know what the future holds now… but no matter what happens, at least we tried."
He glanced down, and caught sight of Madara on the ground, who glanced up at him, and smiled.
Maybe there were a few more selfish reasons, too. But Tobirama thought he could be forgiven for that, as he smiled back.
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A Good Trans Medical Story
This morning I had surgery today for the phase 1/trial period/temporary version of the nerve stimulator bladder implant I'm supposed to be getting (and first of all, holy shit! A relatively minimally invasive and easily reversible trial period for implants!!!). I'm decades younger than the usual patient that needs this, but I had sepsis earlier this year and it fucked up a lot of things, including leaving me walking with a cane.
It should be noted that I'm transmasc and I live in Mississippi. Even though the doctor I was seeing wasn't in a religious hospital when I saw him for appointments, he had surgical space at one of the religious hospitals - and his people had marked me as Male in my records. Even when I had to clarify with the receptionist at the Mississippi religious hospital that I was trans because it was potentially relevant to the surgery, she was kind and happy to help me, and even went out of her way to ask a supervisor how to enter the information properly so it wouldn't get messed up.
It should be further noted that the surgery had nothing to do with transitioning in the slightest, I was just a person who happened to be trans seeking healthcare. Even the original sepsis had nothing inherently to do with my transness, really, just poverty and being brushed off as "med-seeking" until I was obviously and visibly dying.
The surgical nurse was polite when asking whether I still had the equipment needed for pregnancy to determine whether I needed the routine pre-procedure pregnancy test. No one gawked or made a big deal about anything.
There was only one person who misgendered me, but I don't remember how long they were actually in the room, and I don't know whether they even saw anything other than my long hair. So I don't know for sure whether it was malicious and will choose to believe it was accidental because the rest of the experience went well.
Beyond that, when I was (as usual) a difficult stick for the IV - I probably have some scar tissue in places from the sheer number of times I've been hospitalized or needed ER trips - the nurse tried only a couple short times before reaching for the lidocaine and using what would be a normally painful spot in the wrist. he got a great, painless IV line in only one more try and I wish hospitals would just do that sort of thing with me from now on. 11/10.
The surgery itself was also significantly less painful than other surgeries I've had before, and they provided low-dose but still completely sufficient medication and recommendations for how much ibuprofen to take. My symptoms already seem to be getting better to the extent I hadn't realized quite how bad they were before and I'm very excited to get the full implant soon after the trial period is over. My quality of life is going to increase measurably.
#personal#surgery#hospital#us healthcare#healthcare in the south#us south#mississippi#southerner#trans#trans in the south#queer in the south#disabled trans#disability#disability positivity#trans positivity#humans are good sometimes#bek speaks
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