#Week 4: Individual Project

[booasaur]

Something really amazing happened in France, and I think it'd help us in the US to learn about it. Forgive the long read, but I think this is genuinely great both because of what happened and how.

So as some of you might have seen, in a decision historians will debate for years (mostly to figure out just WTF he was thinking, even though he is alive right now and can be asked), the French president, Emmanuel Macron, currently in power and THREE YEARS before the scheduled election, seeing the far right rise in popularity decided to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections.

577 seats were up for grabs. Remember that number. Since half of that is 288.5, 289 seats are needed for a majority.

The first round happened last week and boy, was it bad. The far right made HUGE gains. It won or was in first place in so many races. And Macron's party ended up third!

Overall, this is how things ended up after the first round:

Far right bloc: 33%

Left bloc: 28%

Macron's centrist party: 20%

Conservatives: 7%

The way the French system works is that if a candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they win outright, and some of the far right did manage that. But, many races went to a runoff.

Immediate projections after were that the far right bloc might win anywhere from 240 to 310 seats, a catastrophe.

A shameful swing to the far right leading to the first time they'll be in power since the 1940s? Yes, but maybe not??

This is where things get interesting.

Unusually, a lot of these runoffs are 3-way, instead of a simpler 2-way choice. And in pretty much every case, that helps the far right.

So on June 30th, the night of the first round, this is how things went down:

Immediately, the left parties put out the call: anywhere they were third, they withdrew and their voters would go over to whoever was running against the far right candidate. Their goal: form a "republican front" to block the far right. The far right cannot get 289 seats.

Macron's bloc was not so...motivated. Different people put out different instructions: in some places, if they were third, they should drop out, but only to help the center left, not far left, in other places, see how far you are, only then drop out, that kind of thing.

The conservative party simply said they won't drop out and won't give their voters instruction either way in races they're not involved in.

Late night developments:

More people in Macron's party are now beginning to realize the situation and starting to coalesce around whichever candidate can beat the far right one. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, from Macron's party, says clearly the priority is to block the far right. BUT, some Macron spokespeople on TV say they'll form a coalition only with the center left and conservatives, splitting the left bloc if needed. Some individual Macronists still saying they won't drop out, even if there's no hope of winning.

Lol.

So, now July 1st:

Only half so far. In one race, where the sister of Marine Le Pen (the far right leader and the face of their movement) was leading, the third place Macronist refused to bow out.

Excellent quote from another Macronist:

Perhaps realizing the same thing, that Macronist in the race against the Le Pen sister now drops out.

In some places, third place Macronists are dropping out DESPITE Macron bewilderingly telling them NOT to?

Halfway through the day:

Of the 311 3-way or 4-way runoffs, the number is down to 135 because of these candidates dropping out: 121 Left, 56 Macronists, 1 conservative.

Oh, there was this, in case people had any doubts about how terrible the far right are:

And to show the selflessness of the left:

July 2:

The deadline to decide if they want to stay in a runoff is today.

A dozen new third place Macronists who said they'd stay in have now dropped out. One got a call from both the PM Attal AND Macron to drop out, signalling the dawning understanding of the importance of this moment.

Even some conservative party members are now backing the left candidate who faces the far right.

A Macronist who had 30.55% of the vote in the first round and came in third to the far right's 33.11% and left's 32.73% and who would have been tempted to stay has dropped out.

The deadline to stay in or not has now passed.

Look at these far right shenanigans!

Macron still being a freaking loser:

July 3rd:

In the end, of the 311 3- or 4-way run offs, only 91 left. Some polls come out that have the far right getting between 190 to 220 seats.

July 4th:

New polls say the balance of the voting itself isn't transferring between the left and center and predictions have risen for the far right, now predicted to get between 210 and 250 seats.

July 5th:

New polls again, left voters now predicted to do better transferring vote to the centrists, decreasing the far right projections again.

However, scandalous reporting emerges: while Attal was trying to fend off the far right, Macron was not only NOT taking the far right seriously, he was undermining efforts to defeat them. His team shrugged off the first round results and celebrated a BIRTHDAY as the results were still coming in?

July 6th:

A few runoffs happened yesterday, nothing much unexpected, some left and center wins.

July 7th:

The day of reckoning. At this point, the expectations are that the far right won't come close to that 289 number but could still easily have the most seats.

GUYS.

It's over and the left are in the lead!

A LOT of cases where a leftist or centrist was 2nd in the first round and now won.

Amazing:

SO many lessons to take from this.

First, you have to vote! You have to. You can't do anything without voting. The freaking French, who'll protest for anything, are showing up to vote. If you're trying to achieve any kind of result and it's not going to happen by January 2025, you have to vote now.

But just as importantly, the left and center (and even conservative) parties made very key decisions. They were all lucky that Attal, who Macron chose, saw the big picture, bigger than indeed Macron could. A stupid selfish centrist leader could have still ruined everything if it were up to him.

TL;DR: After a disastrous first round in the national French elections where the far right was on the cusp of taking power, the left and center formed a strong coalition and through the power of voting and unity, overcame the far right AND their selfish centrist president to win.

[thelocalconstellation]

(tags from @betweenlands )

aight 👍

I'm Going to work on a post of theories and supporting evidence (gotta go find all of it), I'm going to write an essay my english teacher would be proud of, but until then I'm just going to address the Other set of tags I want to

THIS GETS LONG AGAIN

(tags from @crystalline-fragmentation )

I think the on/off obelisks he could have figured out from the first desert video, I think he saw it off and then could have noted it as 'on' by the time he got nabbed. Yeah, he figured out Really early on that the crying obsidian pillar means On given his reaction to it at the end of the fantasy one. He actually notes it as "familiar and dangerous" which might mean Something but hell if I know what? I kind of wonder if there's a little bit of downtime between worlds actually, given the way he seems to react to certain events? Namely the end of the random mods 100 days seems to imply that Decem doesn't Always come get him right at day 99 or day 100. that there's a little bit of leeway? We don't see Anything Really to indicate the other worlds deteriorate which would bring the assumption that they do so sometime after the 100 day mark, ergo Legundo isn't Always grabbed when he is? The deal comes up as a topic at day total 478 by the looks of it, on the 5th world, which means that *has* to be something verbally established right??? The obelisks come up at the end of world three, or so I assume because Legundo doesn't show any initial wariness in the desert video. He actually declares the obelisk his "favourite thing ever" on day 18! So either he doesn't see the obelisks or they didn't manifest prior to the desert video. Given we see and hear his general activity for the 160-ish days prior to his "we had a deal" I don't see how he could have reasonably assumed he had a deal with The Entity without some method of confirmation! It's partially for that reason and the way that The Alterans tend to interact with Legundo and the viewers that I doubt they actually interacted with him at all prior to his being unceremoniously dumped into a cosmic kidnapping scenario.

Now, this is still fucking Weird because when the hell would he have made this deal with Decem???? Much less had a conversation with them???

Because if we look at his behavior in regards to the obelisk throughout the desert video he has nothing against it at the start, but when it turns on at day 80 he's almost more wary? The trigger is implied to be having killed the dragon, which when you think about the 100 days undercover episode has some Strange implications but I need more evidence before I continue down that rabbit hole. Anyways. He's definitely more sus of the obelisk after day 80, joking "You have accepted my offering?" and kind of scuttles back to the village saying "I'm concerned!" so I reckon once on it starts giving off a weirder vibe? I think it might have been weird before, because he notes the obelisk was "Definitely now freaking me out" implying it was freaking him out to begin with but he was loosely brushing it off?I need to rewatch it and clarify when the obelisks showed up and his reaction to it. anyways. He's Concerned by the obelisk turning on in the desert video. and next time he sees it is when he gets launched from the fantasy world after that. and then he shouts at it at the end of random mods. There's not nearly enough time to establish a deal without Some Kind of communication and we can see from the end of the first sculk apocalypse video that Decem can talk to him because they go "hahahahahaha- found you" when he sees the obelisk and goes "oh wait-" and gets launched again!

WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION. DO THEY TALK AND WE DON'T HEAR IT?? DOES DECEM TALK TO US AND NOT LEGS?? WHEN DO YOU TALK TO EACH OTHER????

Because the deal!!! the blasted flipping deal!!! surfaced! conceptually!! sometime between the end of 100 days fantasy and 100 days random mods! because otherwise! his reaction to the obelisk at the end of the 100 days fantasy video doesn't make sense! Because he sees it and says "Ohhh, not again-" before! Getting launched! Are there more worlds between the ones we see? is the timeline non-linear? Are the videos out of order? How does he go from "Oh not again" to "We had!! a deal!!!" how does he go from kind of dreading the obelisks showing up to "Hey! Fucking quit that!" and claiming control over where he goes at the end of 100 days manhunt!

AS I JUMP AROUND IN THE FIRST SEASON OF 100 DAYS HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE. 1:33:55 "All I really had was my identity erased, and I've been through that before. I'm. not having that happen again." is WILD but I'll let that sit for not 1 am brain to stare at. Also! When I stare VERY intently at that scene the set of armor fucking Vanished when The Warrior Appeared so there's That!

ANYWAYS.

Having the context of When the Deal comes into play I can Assume that Legundo wouldn't have had the murderous context of Decem to immediately ditch? He seems Relatively Curious and while when things Freak Him Out he ABSOLUTELY bolts when the information to be gained is better than the background alarm bells he tends to stick around so long as he has an exit strategy? I've no confirmation on that but I assume character Legundo Also has braincells that function.

Based largely on the monologue by who we generally assume to be The Warrior in the 2000 days movie (flipping NINETEEN HOURS) it seems?? like Decem was trying to get Legundo generally closer to where the organization as a whole is stuck? Because they're stuck in cosmic jail Somewhere or something if I remember correctly.

I have no idea if I like. hallucinated this btw but I'm Pretty Sure the viewers Found Something from the Alterans at some point implying they Completely wiped Legundo's memory save for his name, which they were hesitant to leave him with to begin with? which just adds fuel to the fire of "The Alterans are fucking Weird" which brings me no small amount of confusion? Anyways.

I'm currently running on option b.5 of he remembers a lot but only Actively remembers a little bit as of right now. A lot of the stuff he remembers is intuitive or vibes based and has no concrete information, but he's remembering more the longer this circus goes on. I don't know that he would have called them his "frenemy" under other circumstances? There's also the running concern of red herrings or changed plotlines, because some of the specifics said may not apply correctly anymore because this Has been going for THREE YEARS.

ANYWAYS ANYWAYS

TLDR: Legundo has probably had a conversation with Decem at some point and I'm about to start guessing there are other worlds Legundo is on and has contact with Decem on that we completely miss otherwise the tone of interaction loses coherency between 300-400 and 400-478. either that or the timeline is broken. I'm running on the theory that Legundo Kind Of remembers things but 98% of what he does remember isn't something he can actively recall, it's just sudden reminders of certain details. I don't think the Alterans have Directly Interacted with the guy or given him. Any. information because they were hesitant to let the guy remember his name (which does beg the question- what did Legundo's role as the Architect mean exactly) and I am about to start gnawing on my desk.

One of my recurring concerns about my Legundo theorizing is that I'm nitpicking his words too much. I pay a lot of attention to specific wording or phrases or the connotations of certain things and I'm like. Staring. Very intently.

Hold on this is going to get unhinged more rambling under the cut

Something something "staying on the treetops to avoid the danger on the ground" something something "the danger from within. The danger from all around" what does "the danger from within" mean. Does he remember anything now? From within would imply the inherent danger of himself. How does one reconcile the memories you made now versus memories you lost? Who you used to be compared to who you are now? Is he remembering? Is that the danger from within?

(Also tHE FUCKING DEAL. WHAT DEAL.)

To what extent is Legundo knowingly, and actively, connected to Decem. To what extent does he willingly work with or alongside decem? Does he remember anything? Or had he just discovered new information from other sources?

What's with the cultist location from the 100 nights video? I feel like we brushed over that too much Decem wasn't there but their influence certainly was. What is up with the cultists. Is there a cult surrounding decem? Why? How well known is their presence in the multiverse? Is decem both the group and also a specific guy? I don't remember some of this and I can't currently check but what is Happening. Why is happening. Who. What.

My one major question right now is How Much Does Legundo Remember? Because depending on that answer I get to figure out which list of next questions/theories I get to run on

Because option a is Legundo still remembers Nothing. Which means all of his information has been given by one of the various entities we've encountered thus far, or, books he's found on the subject matter. What does he know given his information sources? Which sources does he rely on mostly? Given the undoubtedly biased information, who does he listen to? What has Decem told him? Have the Alterans made any sort of contact? I assume not given the fact that I don't know that they've been mentioned by name by legundo in canon. But how well known is either group in the general multiverse? Legundo's not the only guy hopping worlds presumably given the hunters video, which isn't specifically relevant to this but how well known is Decem and the Alterans? How public is their conflict? How exactly does the whole transport between worlds sequence go? Can Legundo and Decem interact in the interim between worlds? How has Legundo come to the conclusion that despite their more violent habits towards him currently come to the conclusion of frenemies? What deal was made? How much does Legundo understand about the deal given his information sources?

Option b is that he remembers a little bit. Not a lot still, not his role in Decem, but he's starting to remember certain things about the way Decem works. The obelisks, the on/off inducators, the name of the group, etc. Also less relevant but Decem was able to appear in the same world as Legundo at one point. I fucking forgot about that the warrior just Showed Up presumably. They were ominous about it too. Anyways. Back on topic. Theres so much information variation available in option b and c that makes me want to gnaw on my keyboard again.

Option c btw is that Legundo remembers most of it but is missing stuff still and I have so many questions but a lot of them are still general inquiries about worldbuilding and also the general interaction dynamic of the involved parties.

Option d is that he remembers everything but has at some point had a moral conflict between who he is now, what he's learned about the way Decem operates, etc. And has decided he's mad at them or something (overly simplified and poor wording but Man idk) and ergo has refused to return to work with Decem again or something at which point I still have several questions about his joining of decem, his involvement with Decem, etc. And I'm still trying (failing) to decipher answers from things I'm still not sure were 100% intentionally worded so I just suffer I guess but anyways what deal???? What does the deal mean in each context?? What did Decem offer him? What does he do in return?

Option e is Legundo remembers everything and is just being weird and undercover again but that doesn't explain much still actually. This one feels really unlikely so I'm hanging it on my crack theories board with Decem Is a guy and it's Legundo hence their constant badgering of the poor man and also Decem doesn't know how to get legundo to remember so they're just tricking him into doing stuff for them anyways via engaging in the methods of gaslight gatekeep girlboss I have no evidence for this one but you gotta leave doors open yknow

Also how much does Decem know?? Are they free?? Didn't the alterans put them in some kind of prison at some point. How did the warrior just Appear to harass legs during the dimension door episode. Was it the dimension doors?? I need to go through everything and compile the lore bits I'm. What. What he doin. Why. Who knows anything even.

Also why was The Warrior the one they sent to go get Legundo?? Did they just Assume he defected or something and want his ass dead?? THEY HAVE CONVERSATIONS. EVEN IF THEY'RE WEIRD AND ONE-WAY. THEY KIND OF TALK. I have No Idea what Legundo does or does not know right now and I also have no idea what anybody has told him. Everybody could be lying too I don't know. Also how does the interactions between members of decem go?? We don't have much to go on other than a couple clips here or there and even then that only says so much???? Some of this works on the assumption that decem were close to each other but if we work on the assumption that they were largely friendly but otherwise neutral or just kind of pushing for the same cause for other inexplicable reasons I'm shuffling my questions list again.

[moluvies]

in your orbit ꔛ armin arlert x reader

a/n: made the banner in 2 seconds on picsart myb 🫡👍 i usually dont fw the modern/college au for aot but nerdmin has so much potential :3 read part two here !!

words: 5.9k

cw: nerd!armin, college au, she/her pronouns and fem anatomy for reader, somewhat inexperienced armin #idk, armin is actually a nice person in this au, frat boy eren makes an appearance (obvi), armin gets drunk, reader gets drunk, SMUT!!, so drunk sex, mutual attraction, blowjobs, p in v sex, doggystyle, dirty talk, he whines and whimpers 😦‼️, MDNI !!

˚₊·—̳͟͞͞♡

The rec center was lively, as it usually was this time of day. You checked your phone to look at the time—3:56 P.M. Would it be weird to go in 4 minutes early? You wondered to yourself, anxiety getting the best of you. Especially when you couldn't hear even the smallest sound come from the small study room, though you told yourself maybe it was a soundproof design.

Armin Arlert, one of your classmates and now a member of the group project you had been assigned, was the one to set this meeting up. The group project from your astronomy class was a semester-long task, given to you during syllabus week and not to be turned in until finals. Half of the semester had passed and you hadn't even really met the rest of your group members—aside from Armin.

The two of you hadn't really talked, though. You followed each other on Instagram now and you sat at the same table as him in class (along with a few other people you didn't really know). Aside from that, the guy was practically a stranger to you. But you couldn't deny how you admired him. He always raised his hand in class, never sounding too full of himself or annoying like other people typically sounded to you in lecture. He was also helpful if you ever had a question, especially because you hated going to office hours with professors you hardly knew.

Armin had texted the group chat he made with all the group members a week ago asking if everyone had availability that Friday. A couple people said yes while others just put a thumbs up emoji to react to his message. He didn't mind if they didn't show to the first meeting, really. It was individually graded and if they didn't have availability to meet Friday they could have said so.

You took a deep breath, trying your best to compose yourself before you knocked once and then entered the tiny study room. It contained one table with 6 chairs around it, a TV you could connect your laptop to, and a trash can off in the corner.

And it also contained only one person—Armin.

"Hey," you greeted with a smile, shutting the door behind you and seating yourself down in a chair across from him.

"Hi, you made it," Armin smiled, looking up from his laptop as you entered. "I was just setting things up so we all have access to the slides, just in case anyone wants to make changes."

You nodded, putting your bag on the chair next to you and taking out your notebook and your own laptop. Armin turned his screen slightly so you could see the Google Slides presentation he'd already started.

“So,” he began, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “the project is basically split into three parts. We each pick a topic from the syllabus—we're focusing on one planetary system or celestial phenomenon—and then tie it back to a central question or theme. I thought we could go with, like… how different environments in space might support life? It leaves a lot of room for interpretation.”

“That actually sounds really cool,” you said, surprised by how easily the conversation was flowing. Armin was easy to talk to—calm, thoughtful, never pushing too hard. “I was kind of thinking about Europa. Like, that moon of Jupiter? There’s been speculation that it could have an ocean under the ice.”

Armin’s eyes lit up. “That would be perfect for your section. I was thinking of doing something about Titan, Saturn’s moon. We could compare how the chemical compositions of each moon might influence the potential for life—or even just how scientists are studying them.”

The hour passed quicker than you expected. Armin’s presence, though quiet, was reassuring. The two of you bounced ideas back and forth, shared articles, and even got a little distracted googling strange facts about different moons. At one point, Armin laughed quietly at a meme someone had edited into one of Titan's photos, and you felt your shoulders finally relax.

“No one else showing up kinda worked out,” you said as you started packing up your things.

“Yeah,” Armin replied, unplugging his laptop from the monitor. “Honestly, I don’t mind. We got a lot done. I’ll just post our outline in the chat and if they don’t contribute by the next meeting, I’ll talk to the professor. He said we could document that stuff.”

You both walked out into the early evening sunlight, your backpacks slung over your shoulders as the automatic doors of the rec center whooshed open.

As you and Armin stepped outside, the soft warmth of the sun casting long shadows on the pavement, he glanced over at you with a relaxed expression.

“Got any plans this weekend?” he asked, shifting his backpack on his shoulder.

You sighed, a little amused. “My friend’s been begging me to go to this frat party Saturday night. I haven't been to one since my first week of freshman year."

Armin raised an eyebrow, a small grin tugging at his lips. “At Delta Sig?”

You blinked in surprise. “Yeah. Are you in that frat?”

He laughed—soft, a little disbelieving. “God, no. Not even close. But my friend Eren is. Our friend Mikasa and I usually end up at those parties to keep him from doing something insane.”

You tilted your head curiously. “So… you do go sometimes?”

“Sometimes,” Armin admitted, his tone casual. “Delta Sig almost got shut down, actually. They had, like, a ton of hazing violations documented over the past decade. I tried convincing Eren not to rush, but he did anyway. Even after I showed him an article about it online.”

You laughed. “Wow. That makes me feel so great about possibly going.”

He smiled, nudging your arm lightly with his elbow. “If you do end up there, try to find me, alright?”

“Yeah?” you asked, a little surprised by the offer.

“I’m not a big drinker or anything,” Armin said with a small shrug, “but I’ll probably be hanging around Eren and Mikasa, keeping them out of trouble. If you go, say hi.”

You nodded, a little smile growing on your face and a flutter in your heart at the idea. “Okay. I will.”

ꔛ

"I look like an idiot," you whined, eyeing yourself in the mirror as you looked over your outfit. As a freshman, you might've worn something like this to these types of parties, but now you weren't sure anyone should wear this kind of outfit. The top was so low cut and the jeans were just simply not it, you weren't sure if you were going for slutty or casual.

"Come on, you look great," your friend, Hitch, said. Her dirty blonde hair was neatly styled and she wore an outfit combination similar to yours—tiny top with jeans.

"We look like we're matching," you replied, but with no malice. That could be cute, you thought.

"Ugh, you're right. Be right back."

You glared at the back of her head as she turned to presumably go get changed. Your hair looked nice, and so did your makeup. The outfit felt dumb but it wasn't terrible. So why did you feel like throwing up?

"Armin really said to come find you?" Hitch asked when she returned with a grin and different outfit, bringing up the conversation you had in her car when she picked you up. Hitch seemed to be a frequent partygoer to this specific frat, and had met Armin a few times at these functions. When you brought it up in the car, she confirmed that Armin hardly ever drank and mostly stayed near Eren and Mikasa.

"Yeah. He's really sweet, so I didn't expect him to even go to these," you replied honestly, applying more lip gloss. "It wasn't a surprise when he said he doesn't drink, though."

"I'm sure you guys will really hit it off then. You even turned down my 'getting ready shots'."

You rolled your eyes, and soon you were on your way, taking the short walk towards Greek row where the party was presumably already in full swing—Hitch insisting on being late so you two didn't look lame waiting for people to show up.

ꔛ

Armin was a mess.

He didn't know why, or how, but in the hours leading up to the party he convinced himself he was awkward and weird for telling you to come see him. He even went to Jean and Eren and begged for advice.

He had so much trouble reading you, but he knew you were kind. And pretty. What he didn't really know was—well, everything else. Did you drink? What kind of clothes would you wear? Would you care that he didn't like dancing?

None of the questions made sense, but neithed did anything in his mind. Why was he this stressed over a party? He was practically the babysitter when attending, and it's not like he personally invited you. He just said you should come see him. God, was that even more weird?

Somehow, some way, Jean and Eren convinced Armin to take some shots. Three shots, actually. To "ease his mind" and to "calm his nerves" apparently.

Now, there Armin was in the back of Eren's car, finding the way the streetlights passed the window and the bass of the music electrifying. Everything was warm and fuzzy, and he felt his head spin the entire drive.

ꔛ

The music hit you before anything else—thick, throbbing bass that vibrated through the concrete steps leading up to the frat house. Red cups were already scattered across the yard, and the dim porch light revealed clusters of people smoking and laughing.

"This is going to be fun," Hitch said, linking her arm through yours. "Come on, let's find your astronomy boy."

You felt heat rise to your face at the nickname. "He's not my—"

"Yeah, yeah," Hitch interrupted with a knowing smile.

As you squeezed your way through the packed living room, the scent of cheap beer and cologne made your nose scrunch. Bodies were pressed together everywhere, dancing and swaying to music that was way too loud for any actual conversation. You were starting to regret coming when Hitch suddenly squealed and pointed toward the kitchen.

"There he is! Armin's over there with Eren and Jean."

You followed her gaze, and sure enough, there was Armin—but not the Armin you expected. His normally neat blond hair was slightly mussed, cheeks flushed pink, and he was... laughing? Not the reserved, thoughtful chuckle you'd heard in the study room, but a full, uninhibited laugh that made his whole face light up.

"Is he..." you trailed off, not quite believing what you were seeing.

Hitch's eyes widened with delight. "Oh my god, I think he's drunk! This is amazing. I've literally never seen Armin anything but sober."

You made your way over to the kitchen, Hitch practically dragging you. Armin was leaning against the counter, talking animatedly with two guys you assumed were Eren and Jean. He was gesturing with his hands, something about... constellations? It was hard to hear over the music.

When he spotted you, his eyes widened almost comically.

"You came!" Armin said with such genuine excitement that it made your heart do a strange flip. He pushed himself off the counter—a bit unsteadily—and made his way over. "I wasn't sure if you would. But you did!"

"I said I would," you replied with a smile, surprised by how endearing his enthusiasm was.

"Hey, Armin," Hitch said, giving him a little wave. "Looking good tonight! Where's Marlowe at?"

"Marlowe? Oh! He's out back, I think. By the beer pong tables." Armin seemed to remember his friends then, turning back to the two guys watching with amused expressions. "Oh! This is (Y/N)," he said your name with such care it made your cheeks warm again. "She's in my astronomy group. We're doing Europa and Titan and life possibilities and it's really cool. And she's friends with Hitch."

The shorter of the two guys—brown hair, intense eyes—reached out a hand. "I'm Eren. This is Jean." He nodded toward a guy with an undercut and a smirk.

"Nice to meet you," you said, shaking hands with both of them.

"You're in Armin's class? Good luck with that. He's been talking about space for the past hour," Jean said, but there was affection in his voice.

Hitch was already scanning the room. "I'm going to find Marlowe. You good here?" she asked you.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you assured her, secretly relieved to have an out from being around her boyfriend. Marlowe was nice enough, but he was so serious it made conversations feel like job interviews.

"Don't wait up," she winked, then disappeared into the crowd.

Armin was staring at you with an expression of pure fascination. "Your hair looks really nice," he said, the filter between his thoughts and words clearly compromised. "Like—like starlight. Did you know some stars have different colors? Red giants, blue dwarfs—"

"You're such a nerd," Eren cut him off, but ruffled Armin's hair affectionately. "Even drunk you're giving astronomy lectures."

"How much did you drink?" you asked Armin, unable to keep the amusement from your voice.

"Three shots!" Armin held up only two fingers, then frowned and corrected himself. "Only three. They said it would help with nerves. I don't usually drink." He leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice but still speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I feel weird. Like my brain is swimming."

Jean snorted. "Lightweight."

Eren reached into a nearby cooler and pulled out a beer, offering it to you. "Want one? Fair warning, I think we've corrupted your study buddy."

You hesitated. You weren't planning on drinking much tonight, but Armin was looking at you with such hopeful eyes.

"Please?" Armin said, swaying slightly. "I feel like an alien right now. Everyone's having fun and I'm just... vibrating on a different frequency."

The way he said it made you laugh. "Okay, fine. One beer. Maybe three, eventually."

Armin's face lit up again as you accepted the beer from Eren. You popped the tab and took a small sip, grimacing at the taste. Cheap beer was still cheap beer.

"Well, now that Armin's in good hands," Eren said with an exaggerated stretch, "Jean and I are gonna go find Mikasa. She texted that she just got here."

"Wait, you're leaving?" Armin asked, a flash of panic crossing his face.

"Relax, we'll be back," Jean said, already backing away. "Besides, you've got your project partner now."

Before Armin could protest further, they disappeared into the crowd, leaving you alone with a slightly swaying Armin Arlert.

"They always do that," Armin said, leaning back against the counter for stability. "Leave me places."

"Looks like I'm on babysitting duty," you teased, taking another small sip of your beer.

"No, no," Armin protested, reaching out and nearly missing as he tried to touch your arm. "You should have fun too. Not just—just watch me being weird."

"Who says watching you being weird isn't fun?" you replied, finding yourself genuinely enjoying this uninhibited version of him.

Armin stared at you for a moment, then broke into a wide smile. "You're really nice, you know that? And smart. Your Europa idea was so good. I went home and read, like, three papers about it."

"After our meeting? I thought you said you were going to meet Eren and Mikasa."

"I did! But after. I couldn't stop thinking about the project. And..." he trailed off, that flush on his cheeks deepening.

"And what?" you prompted, suddenly curious.

Armin took a sip from his cup—soda, you noticed—and looked around at the party as if gathering courage. "And I was kind of hoping you'd come tonight. I don't know why. I just... wanted to see you outside of class."

Your heart did that strange flip again. "Well, here I am," you said softly, not sure what else to say.

"Here you are," Armin echoed, his eyes meeting yours with surprising clarity despite his intoxication. "Want to go somewhere quieter? I can't hear myself think in here, and I have so many thoughts right now."

You laughed, finding his honesty refreshing. "Lead the way."

Armin grinned and pushed himself off the counter, taking your hand with a boldness you suspected was alcohol-induced, pulling you through the crowded living room toward the staircase.

As you followed him, fingers intertwined with his, you found yourself thinking that this was definitely not how you expected your Friday night to go—but somehow, it was exactly what you needed.

Armin led you up the stairs, his hand still holding yours as you weaved through small clusters of people gathered on the steps. You were glad for his guidance—the house was a maze of narrow hallways, dimly lit and pulsing with the bass from downstairs. Finally, he stopped in front of a door and turned the handle, peeking in before ushering you inside.

"Jean's room," he explained, closing the door behind you both. The music instantly became muffled, a distant thumping rather than the overwhelming roar from downstairs.

The room was surprisingly clean for a frat house bedroom—minimal clutter, a neatly made bed, and even a small bookshelf in the corner. You glanced around, suddenly feeling like you were intruding.

"Should we be in here? I feel bad taking his room," you said, hovering awkwardly near the door.

Armin shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "He won't even need it until like 4 AM. Trust me. He's either going to be downstairs until everyone leaves or..." He trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Got it," you laughed, understanding the implication. You took another sip of your beer, feeling the pleasant warmth spreading through your limbs as you made your way to sit on the edge of the bed.

Armin joined you, leaving a respectful few inches between you. "Better, right? I can actually hear you now."

"Much better," you agreed, finding it easier to relax now that you weren't surrounded by sweaty strangers. "So... you really went home and read scientific papers after our meeting?"

His face lit up immediately. "Yeah! There was this one about the chemical composition of Europa's ocean and how it might compare to Earth's deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Did you know there are organisms on Earth that don't need sunlight at all? They just use chemical energy from the vents."

You watched him as he spoke, his hands gesturing enthusiastically, eyes bright with genuine passion. The alcohol had lowered his usual reserve, but it was still Armin—brilliant, thoughtful Armin—just with his thoughts flowing more freely. You found yourself drawn to this version of him, the slight flush on his cheeks and the way his hair fell across his forehead when he leaned forward.

"That's actually fascinating," you said, taking another long sip of your beer. You were starting to feel it now, that pleasant buzz that made everything seem warmer, more immediate. "So you think there could be something like that on Europa?"

"It's possible! That's what makes it so exciting," he said, shifting to face you more directly. "We're just beginning to understand how diverse life can be. The universe is so much stranger than we imagine."

You nodded, feeling a pleasant heaviness in your limbs as you leaned back on your elbows. "I need to catch up to your level of intoxication if we're going to have deep space conversations all night."

Armin laughed, the sound soft and genuine. "Trust me, you don't. I feel like my brain is both racing and moving through molasses at the same time."

"That actually sounds kind of nice right now," you admitted, finishing the last of your beer. The room had taken on a gentle, swaying quality, and you found yourself increasingly aware of how close Armin was sitting.

"Here," he said, reaching over to take your empty can and placing it on Jean's desk. As he moved, his shoulder brushed against yours, and you felt a small jolt at the contact.

When he settled back beside you, he seemed to hesitate for a moment before lying back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. You joined him, both of you lying side by side, shoulders almost touching.

"There are glow-in-the-dark stars up there," Armin pointed out quietly. Sure enough, faint green stars were stuck to the ceiling in no particular pattern. "Jean would die if he knew I told anyone. He says they were there when he moved in."

You laughed softly, still tipsy but feeling more sober now.

The dim glow from the ceiling stars cast a soft, ethereal light over Armin’s face as you lay beside him. The alcohol had settled warmly in your veins, making every sensation just a little more intense—the softness of the bed beneath you, the muffled bass of the music downstairs, the way Armin’s breathing had slowed into something deep and steady beside you.

You turned your head slightly to look at him, studying the delicate slope of his button nose, the way his eyelashes fluttered when he blinked behind his glasses. His cheeks were still flushed pink from the drinks, and his lips—soft, slightly parted—were just inches from yours. His hair, usually so neat, was tousled from the night’s chaos, falling in golden strands across his forehead. You had the sudden, overwhelming urge to run your fingers through it, to see if it was as silky as it looked.

Armin must have noticed you staring, because his eyes flicked to yours, and for a moment, the air between you stilled. His gaze was warm, hazy with alcohol but still so Armin, so full of quiet intensity.

Then, without a word, he shifted onto his elbow, leaning over you. His free hand came up, fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from your face, tucking it behind your ear with a tenderness that made your pulse jump.

You barely had time to process it before he was kissing you.

His lips were warm, slightly chapped, and tasted faintly of cheap beer and something sweet—maybe the soda he’d been drinking earlier. The kiss was soft at first, hesitant, as if he was still unsure if this was okay. But when you sighed against his mouth, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt to pull him closer, he deepened it with a quiet urgency that sent heat spiraling through your stomach.

His hand slid from your hair to cradle your jaw, thumb brushing your cheek as he kissed you again, slower this time, more deliberate. You could feel the warmth of his body pressing into yours, the way his breath hitched when you nipped lightly at his lower lip.

“Is this okay?” he murmured against your mouth, voice rough.

You answered by tangling your fingers in his hair, pulling him back down to you. He groaned softly, the sound vibrating against your lips, and suddenly his weight was pressing you into the mattress, his hips slotting between your thighs in a way that made your breath catch.

The kiss turned hotter, messier—his tongue sliding against yours, his hands roaming your sides, tracing the curve of your waist before settling on your hips. You could feel the heat of his skin through your clothes, the way his fingers flexed against you like he was holding back from touching you everywhere.

Armin’s breath was hot against your lips as he kissed you again, deeper this time, his tongue sliding against yours in a slow, filthy drag that sent a shiver down your spine. His hands were everywhere—tangling in your hair, skimming down your sides, gripping your hips hard enough to leave marks. You could feel the heat of him pressed against you, the way his body trembled slightly with restraint, like he was holding himself back from just taking what he wanted.

You arched up into him, grinding your hips against his, and he let out a broken groan against your mouth.

“Fuck,” he panted, pulling back just enough to look at you, his pupils blown wide with want. His lips were swollen, his cheeks flushed, and his voice was rough when he spoke again. “I—I wanna fuck you. So bad.”

The words sent a jolt of heat straight between your legs. You could feel how hard he was already, the thick line of his cock pressing insistently against your thigh through his jeans.

“Yeah?” you breathed, your own voice shaky.

Armin nodded, biting his lower lip as his hands slid under the hem of your top, fingers brushing against the bare skin of your stomach. “Yeah. God, you feel—you feel so good. Can I—?”

You didn’t let him finish. Instead, you unzipped your jeans and grabbed his wrist to guide his hand lower, past the waistband of your jeans, letting him feel the damp heat of your panties. His breath hitched, fingers twitching against you.

“Fuck,” he whispered again, voice wrecked. “You’re—you’re already—”

You cut him off with another kiss, sucking his tongue into your mouth as your own hands wandered lower, palming the hard bulge in his jeans. He jerked against your touch, hips bucking forward with a desperate little noise.

“You too,” you murmured against his lips, squeezing him through the fabric.

Armin shuddered, his forehead dropping against yours as he let out a shaky exhale. “Shit—shit—keep doing that—”

You did, rubbing him slowly, feeling him throb under your fingers. His breath came in ragged gasps, his hips rocking into your hand, chasing the friction.

“You’re so hard,” you whispered, biting at his jaw.

Armin whined, his fingers digging into your hips. “Because of you—fuck, I—I wanna fuck you—”

His hand slid back down, slipping beneath your panties this time, fingers brushing through your slick folds. You gasped, arching into his touch, and he groaned against your neck.

Armin’s breath hitched when you suddenly switched positions and pushed him back onto the bed, his chest rising and falling rapidly as you straddled his thighs. His cock strained against his jeans, the fabric damp with pre-cum, and his fingers twitched at his sides like he wasn’t sure if he should touch you or not.

“You—you don’t have to—” he started, voice already wrecked.

You silenced him with a smirk, taking his glasses off which were slightly fogged up and folding them to put on the nearby nightstand, then popping the button of his jeans and dragging the zipper down agonizingly slow. His hips jerked up, chasing your touch, and you could see the way his cock twitched under his boxers, desperate for relief.

“I want to,” you murmured, hooking your fingers into the waistband of his boxers and pulling them down just enough to free him.

Armin gasped as the cool air hit his flushed skin, his cock springing free—hard, leaking, and so fucking pretty. You licked your lips, watching the way his stomach clenched as you wrapped your fingers around him, giving him a slow stroke.

“Fuck,” he whined, his head falling back against the pillow.

You didn’t tease him any longer. Leaning down, you dragged your tongue over the head of his cock, tasting the salty-sweet pre-cum beading at the tip. Armin’s hips jerked, a broken noise tearing from his throat as you took him into your mouth.

It was messy—you were both still a little drunk, your movements sloppy and uncoordinated—but that just made it hotter. You sucked him deep, your tongue swirling around his shaft as you bobbed your head, spit dripping down your chin.

Armin was losing it. His fingers tangled in your hair, not pushing, just holding on for dear life as he whimpered above you. “Oh—oh God—your mouth—fuck—”

You hollowed your cheeks, sucking harder, and his thighs trembled under you. His cock pulsed against your tongue, and you could tell he was already close—his breath was coming in ragged gasps, his hips twitching like he was trying not to thrust up into your throat.

“I—I’m gonna—” he choked out, his voice high and desperate.

You didn’t let up. Instead, you took him deeper, your nose brushing the coarse blond curls at the base of his cock, and that was all it took.

Armin came with a broken cry, his back arching off the bed as he spilled hot and thick down your throat. You swallowed around him, milking him through it until he was squirming from oversensitivity, his hands weakly tugging at your hair.

“Too much—too much—” he whined, his whole body trembling.

You pulled off with a wet pop, licking your lips as you looked up at him. His face was flushed, his lips parted as he panted, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

Armin’s chest heaved as he blinked up at you, dazed and wrecked, his cock still twitching against his stomach. His cheeks burned even redder as he stammered,

“S-Sorry—I didn’t mean to—fuck, I just—”

You cut him off with a kiss, licking into his mouth so he could taste himself on your tongue. He moaned, his hands gripping your hips like he was afraid you’d pull away.

“Don’t apologize,” you murmured against his lips, grinding down against his thigh, letting him feel how soaked you still were. “Just fuck me.”

Armin’s breath hitched, his cock already stiffening again at the words. His hands slid down to your ass, squeezing greedily as he nodded, his voice rough.

“Yeah—yeah, okay—turn around—”

Armin's hands trembled as he helped you turn around, his breath coming in ragged gasps against the back of your neck. You could feel the heat radiating off his body as he knelt behind you, his fingers hooking into the waistband of your jeans.

"Fuck," he groaned, dragging the denim down your thighs inch by inch, his voice thick with want. "Look at you—fuck—your ass is so perfect—"

The cool air hit your bare skin as he peeled your jeans off completely, leaving you in just your soaked panties. His fingers traced the curve of your ass, squeezing lightly before sliding between your thighs, rubbing over the damp fabric.

"So wet," he murmured, his voice wrecked. He hooked his fingers into your panties next, pulling them down slowly, his breath hitching as your pussy was finally exposed to him. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard."

His thumbs spread you open, and you could feel his hot gaze raking over every inch of you—your swollen lips, the way you dripped for him, the way your ass arched back, begging for him.

"Hang on, okay?" He said quietly, and you felt the bed shift with his weight. Then you heard the unmistakeable sound of a wrapper being opened. "Don't ask why I know where Jean keeps his condoms. He... likes to brag," Armin said sheepishly, making you giggle as you heard him whimper slightly as he presumably rolled the condom on.

Armin’s fingers dug into your hips as he lined himself up, the blunt head of his cock nudging against your soaked entrance. He hesitated just for a second, his voice shaky with drunken lust and nerves.

“Fuck—I—I might not last, I’m sorry—”

But you barely heard him, because then he was pushing in, slow, that perfect curve of his cock hitting every sweet spot on the way. Your breath stuttered as he filled you, thick and throbbing, and a greedy moan tore from your throat before you could stop it.

“Oh fuck—” Your hands fisted the sheets, your back arching deeper, chest pressing into the mattress. “Yes—just like that, Armin.”

Armin groaned behind you, his hips stuttering as he bottomed out, his grip on you tightening like he was afraid you’d disappear. “You feel—fuck—you feel so good."

You clenched around him, and he whimpered, his cock twitching inside you like he was already fighting not to spill. But you didn’t care—not when he fit this perfectly, not when every ragged breath he took sent sparks through your veins.

Your fingers curled into the sheets, knuckles white, as you rolled your hips back to meet his shallow thrusts. The new angle let you feel him even deeper, and you gasped, your back bowing as a shiver ran down your spine.

Armin choked out a whimper, his hands scrambling for purchase on your hips as he bottomed out, his thighs trembling against yours. “Y-You feel—fuck—so tight—”

You grinned into the mattress, rolling your hips to take him deeper, and he let out a broken noise, his nails biting into your skin. He was already unraveling, his cock pulsing inside you, and you loved it—the way he couldn’t hold back, the way he was falling apart just for you.

Armin’s hips snapped forward with a desperate, sloppy thrust, his cock sinking deep into your dripping cunt as a broken moan tore from his throat. His hands gripped your ass, spreading you wider as he watched, his dick glistening with your slick as it disappeared inside you again and again.

“Fuck—look at you—” he panted, his voice wrecked, pupils blown black with lust. “Taking me so good—your pussy’s sucking me in.”

You whimpered, your fingers clawing at the sheets as his cock dragged against your walls, the curve of him hitting that sweet spot with every rough snap of his hips. Your vision blurred, pleasure coiling tight in your stomach as he fucked into you with unsteady, frantic strokes—like he was already on the edge, but needed to make you feel it too.

“You’re—ngh—you’re so tight—” Armin groaned, his hips stuttering as he tried to hold back. His cock twitched inside you, swollen and throbbing, his balls drawing up tight. “Gonna—gonna cum—shit—but I wanna make you feel it first—”

His hand slid around your hip, his fingers finding your clit and rubbing rough, frantic circles as he fucked you harder. You gasped, your back arching, your cunt clenching around him as pleasure sparked white-hot under your skin.

“There—right there—” you babbled, your voice shaking. “Armin—fuck—don’t stop—”

He whined, his thrusts turning erratic, his cock pulsing inside you as he teetered on the edge. “You—you like that? Like how I fuck you?” he slurred, his words dripping with filthy praise. “God, your pussy’s gripping me—squeezing my cock—fuck, I can’t—can’t—”

His hips jerked, his rhythm faltering as his orgasm ripped through him. He buried himself to the hilt with a choked-off moan, his cum flooding the inside of the condom.

You felt it—every twitch, every throb of his cock as he emptied himself inside you, his fingers still working your clit desperately, like he couldn’t stop even as he came.

“Fuck—fuck—” he gasped, his voice wrecked, his forehead dropping between your shoulder blades as he shuddered through the aftershocks.

You weren’t far behind. The filthy sound of him filling you, the way his cock kept twitching inside you as he panted against your back—it pushed you over the edge. Your orgasm crashed over you, your cunt clenching around him as you cried out, your thighs shaking, your nails digging into the mattress.

Armin groaned, his hips grinding weakly against your ass as he milked his own pleasure.

“Shit—” he mumbled, dazed, his voice slurred with booze and bliss. “You—you just came on my dick..." He pulled out, discarding the condom into a nearby trashcan.

You laughed breathlessly, your body still thrumming with pleasure as you collapsed onto the mattress beneath you. Armin followed, his chest pressing against your back as he nuzzled into your neck.

“You’re… really good at that,” you murmured, your voice hazy.

Armin huffed a drunken laugh against your skin, his fingers tracing lazy circles on your hip. “Yeah?”

“Yeah," you sighed, grinning as you felt his dick twitch against the skin of your ass.

He kissed your shoulder, his lips soft and sweet despite the filth that had just spilled from them. “...Wanna go again?”

You turned your head just enough to catch his gaze—his flushed cheeks, his messy hair, his stupidly pretty eyes—and grinned.

“Obviously.”

[apparentlysexy-rexy]

Happy New Year! Here's the 3rd pg of my Secret Santa comic for @buggachat for @mlsecretsanta! I didn't get it done by the 31st as I'd hoped. 4 different houses for 3 days of Christmas with 2 toddlers will really throw you off your rhythm. That and throwing your back out bc you're old as dirt 🥴 Hoping to get the last 2 pages up within a week. Last page will be full color! Coloring pages 2-4 may just be my pet project 😬

Pg 1 & 2 | 4 | 5

BTS

Individual panels below the cut

[matchatarot]

Love & abundance are in the air, Bunny! The strawberry full moon is opening up a sweet portal to emotional clarity. Let’s see how it will bless you specifically. To pick a pile, don’t overthink it; choose the one that draws you in the most while considering the reading’s intent.

Love, Matcha ♡

☆ masterlist

1 ₊˚.༄

You’ve never been able to deny your potential. Deep in your heart, even during your worst moments, you knew everything you’ve been through wasn’t in vain. You’ve suffered but your hope and ambition lead you through it all. This strawberry full moon you are taking action on this belief! You’ve decided to take yourself seriously. You’re willing to walk the path, gladly accepting any challenges that may arise… However, Bunny, you’ll realize that this was the last challenge. Overcoming your inner blockages and deciding to go towards what your heart desires will simply allow the universe to hand you what you’ve always dreamed of! Isn’t it lovely? The path ahead is beautiful and peaceful! You’ll be coming into union with a soulmate or entering a prosperous time in your career. Abundance and love will be flowing effortlessly in your life.

In this new phase of your life, you’ll be able to feel gratitude at a level you’ve never experienced before. You’ll be stepping into a new sense of self because experiencing these overwhelmingly beautiful blessings will switch your perception of reality itself! You’ve always thrived for self-growth, perhaps you’ve been a bit obsessed with it, so you’ve never imagined that you could one day feel satisfied to this degree!

This growth and expansion will be supported by someone in your life who sees you for who you truly are. Being perceived as your best self will feel so empowering that it’ll activate this intense rebirth! This individual is not pushing you to change in any way, the strong love (platonic or romantic) is simply transformative.

Speak your mind and take action, your heart’s wishes will be granted!

butterfly, tiger, 222, 4, 777, pink bow, ram, taurus, capricorn, virgo, sagittarius

↳ book a personal reading with me on ko-fi ★

2 ⊹˚˖ ☆

You’ve decided to stop fighting and to accept that what you thought was the key to your happiness wasn’t. You’re coming out of a toxic cycle. You’ve fought so hard for something that was never destined for you. You’re breaking free from your chains and accepting to start over! However, you’re doing it differently this time. Now, you’ll shamelessly follow your own values and your intuition. You’ll give yourself love and patience. You’re deciding to trust in the universe and to let go of expectations.

Your blessing is that you’re getting over your past and you’ll no longer hold on to what could’ve been. You’re experiencing an ego death. You’re actively manifesting unconditional love while learning to love yourself unconditionally. You need to heal and detach from your toxic past! This full moon will help you do just that.

You’re also stepping into a very attractive and sensual energy! If you’ve been meaning to seduce someone, it’s your time to shine. It could be in any area of your life, romantic or professional. Ask your boss for a raise or ask that cute girl on a date, luck is on your side, Bunny!

ant, 333, 4, 5, bee, wheat, oak tree, gemini

↳ book a personal reading with me on ko-fi ★

3 ‧₊˚ ♡

You’re finally stepping out of stagnation and going towards what your heart desires, Bunny! In the past weeks, you’ve been dealing with doubt that has hindered your progress towards your heart’s fulfillment. There’s someone or a project that matters a lot to you right now. However, you have been scared to repeat past mistakes during your pursuit. This strawberry full moon is offering you to reconnect with your intuition! The fog is dissipating, love is winning against the ego. You’re ready to take action and to not let the uncertainty of the future paralyze you anymore. You are being blessed with a clear mind and an energy boost!

You’ll be adopting a new sense of self-respect that’ll empower you to get your priorities straight. This newfound dedication to your heart’s desire is attractive to people around you. You are easily making new friends. Life-changing relationships are heading your way. You’ll be loved like you’ve never been before, Bunny! Your circle is going to be more vocal about the value you bring to their life and a secret admirer is getting ready to declare their flame.

You’ll be blessed with a lot of help from people around you. People are fighting for a place in your life because your loving energy is addictive to them. They perceive any challenge you encounter as an opportunity for them to show you the value they aspire to bring to your life!

Words of affirmation and acts of service are coming your way, Bunny! You’ll feel loved and held by your community.

pisces, scorpio, virgo, leo, aries, reggae, sunflower

↳ book a personal reading with me on ko-fi ★

decks used: Animaux totems by Else Oreve & Pricilla Moore, the power of love activation cards by James Van Praagh, modern witch tarot deck by Lisa Steele

★ ★ ★ photo credits go to their rightful owner

[glowettee]

✧・゜: how i organize my google drive for maximum efficiency :・゜✧:・゜✧

hey lovelies! ✨

i use google drive to organize mostly everything, and the truth is, my google drive used to be an absolute disaster zone, we're talking hundreds of "untitled document" files and random screenshots saved who knows when. but after one particularly stressful finals week where i lost a paper for three hours, i completely overhauled my system. here's exactly how i organize everything now!

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ the folder structure that changed everything ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

first things first, i use a simple top-level organization system:

📁 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴: all school-related files

📁 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭: journals, goal tracking, finances, etc.

📁 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦: blog drafts, design projects, photos

📁 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦: completed classes and old projects

📁 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴: templates, reference materials, guides

the key is keeping your top level super simple, i used to have 20+ folders here and it was overwhelming! now i can find anything within seconds because i know exactly which category it falls under.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my academic folder system ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

this is the most detailed section of my drive! inside my academics folder:

📁 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳

📁 class 1

📁 class 2

📁 class 3

📁 class 4

📄 semester schedule

📄 assignment tracker

inside each class folder:

📁 notes

📁 assignments

📁 readings

📁 projects

📄 syllabus

i color-code each class folder to match my physical notebooks and planner tabs, this visual consistency helps my brain switch between subjects more easily!

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ file naming conventions that save me ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

the absolute game-changer was developing a consistent naming system:

for class notes: DATE_CLASS_TOPIC example: 06.10_psych101_memory_systems

for assignments: CLASS_ASSIGNMENT_STATUS example: econ202_midterm_essay_final

for group projects: CLASS_PROJECT_MYPART_VERSION example: marketing300_campaign_research_v2

this might seem excessive, but it means i never have to open files to figure out what they are! plus, sorting by name automatically puts everything in chronological order.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my favorite google drive hacks ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

these little tricks make everything run even smoother:

𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: i star current project files so they always appear at the top of my drive

𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: right-click folders to give them colors that match your physical organization system

𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺: i keep a "templates" folder with pre-formatted docs for essays, lab reports, notes, etc.

𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴: i set important folders to be available offline (has saved me during wifi emergencies!)

𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴: using "type:pdf" or "after:2023-09-01" in the search bar to filter results

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ maintenance routines ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

even the best system falls apart without regular maintenance! here's my schedule:

𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘱 (15 min): every friday afternoon, i sort any stray files into their proper folders and rename anything with default names

𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵 (30 min): halfway through each semester, i check that everything is where it should be and create any new folders needed

𝘦𝘯𝘥-��𝘧-𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 (1 hour): i move completed classes to my archive folder and set up the next semester's structure

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ sharing & collaboration settings ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

as someone who works on lots of group projects, getting these settings right is crucial:

𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴: i create specific shared folders for each group project rather than sharing individual files

𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴: i'm careful about giving "edit" vs "comment" access depending on the project

𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: i always disable "anyone with the link can edit" to avoid accidental changes

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my best google drive tips ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

create a "quick access" document with links to your most-used files

use google drive's "workspaces" feature to group project files temporarily

download the desktop app to easily drag and drop files

set up automatic google photos backup for screenshots and images

use keyboard shortcuts (shift + n for new folder is my favorite!)

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ final thoughts ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

remember that the perfect organization system is one that works for your brain! mine has evolved over years of trial and error, and i still tweak it each semester. the key is consistency, whatever system you choose, stick with it long enough to make it habit.

xoxo, mindy 🤍

[ateliersss]

Predator Masterlist

⇨ Want to join the tag list?

Mi‘ytiar

The plots of the series as a whole and the individual oneshots are already in order regarding the timeline, but I would recommend to start with the series as that's where my journey with those characters started. Every work takes place in one timeline as displayed and are interconnected with one another.

⇨ Her Protector Summary: Still new to life on Yautja Prime, you’re struggling to find your place among a clan that sees you as fragile, unworthy and unfit to stand at the side of their great leader.

⇨ Downtime and a Bath Summary: Your mate returns from a hunt, in desperate need of a bath.

⇨ Bandaids and Kisses Summary: One part of motherhood seemed to be patching up your reckless pup after another adventure in the wild against his parents' wishes.

Blooming Family Series (Finished) ⇨ Part 1 — He Will Come Summary: You were caught three days after you and your son's arrival on earth by an organization called Project Stargazer. Now you both were treated like guinea pigs. No wonder, considering said son was a hybrid of human and Yautja. ⇨ Part 2 — He Is Here Summary: After Akail freed himself and then you from your captors, you both had only one thing on your mind — to return home where his father and your mate was waiting for you. ⇨ Part 3 — He Shan't Lose Summary: Mere two months ago, you had returned home after the incident on Earth. Now you were back, ready to indulge yourself and go on the weekly "date night" with your mate. If only your unborn pup had better timing… ⇨ Part 4 — He Shall Prevail Summary: In your past life on earth, when someone would ask you how you managed your job as a nurse with the occasional death of a mother during birth, you told them that you never took it too personal because you would never find yourself in their position. Then why were you now so adamant on giving your life for your pup? Edited: 24.08.2024 (only a few details that contradicted each other in the course of the fanfic)

⇨ Don't worry, only You and Him Summary: Waking up from the week of bed rest after giving birth, you hadn't expected how your eldest seemed to resent the newest addition to your family.

⇨ The Huntress Summary: It's the first time you and your mate go on a hunt after your pregnancy.

⇨ Oh, take me back to The Night we met Summary: 1936, eighty-eight years ago, you met him, the creature that changed your life in a way that goes beyond human imagination.

⇨ Main Masterlist

[triangularz]

6-19-2025: I occasionally think about revving this back up, but need some direct input. Whether I do or not, please let me know specifically (dm) if you've found benefit using the list. See red text below for context. Yes we're consumers, but caring as a community isn't a one-way thing, and connection can happen simply be dropping a note. Does wonders for the heart and soul, yeah? And I ain't too proud to ask, babes.

@creatingblackcharacters thank you for your words a few weeks ago ♥️

4-24-2025: Alright loves, with no responses/feedback to the red-text paragraph below, I'm sunsetting updates. wish I'd heard from y'all; I'll miss this! besos 💋 -> hazel

◼︎

2-2025- List usage: Thoughts welcome- is it being used? This project is my little contribution to our space here on tumblr, having seen comments about difficulties finding black authors and artists. I'm familiar with an incredible number of creators now; I'm so proud of us. I choose to do this unsolicited and unfortunately, this may not be a needed solution. I formatted the list about a year ago and have maintained it, which I think is something important and unique about it (every entry checked about once a month), hoping it might be beneficial. Many of you send thanks for being added to the list. But within the last year, less than five individuals have shared with me that they've actually used it (likes and reblogs aren't necessarily indicative of that) and very, very few have either asked to be added or sent additional writers/artists my way. Those requests have been clear virtually since the beginning. Without feedback I assume the list isn't impactful and that's fine. I'll wait until the end of March to decide whether to continue. Love you all! ❤︎

IMPORTANT: Reblogged versions of the list may not be most recent; click here for the latest. Monthly upkeep: 2/3/2025. List includes blogs active within the last 3 months. See also "Inactive with Content" section

We're here: Support, enjoy, follow, comment, reblog- pin/save and spread!

List begins below housekeeping, then a few of my thoughts.

Using the list? If you find works you enjoy, let me know; I'd like to know whether this is helpful.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THE LIST | #-G

H-O | P-Z

Welcome & Celebrate! Darlings: This is a directory of Black individuals who create- different backgrounds, experiences, interests, etc-incl. a variety of preferences, writing styles, subgenres, fandoms, etc. Remember as you read: We don't all look alike, talk a like, live alike- and that's to be praised.

The focus is fan works creators: You’ll see some original fics/original art, and plenty of original characters in general.

Initial seeds for the list here: Thanks to @cardierreh15 who posted a request for black creators -> I organized, aggregated and continue to add.

Growing it:

The list ISN’T exclusive, no requirements for inclusion**.

DM me- incl. fandoms and tags (see below). Please spell correctly. I strongly encourage masterlist and/or featured tags for your blog!

Tag examples- smut, fluff, plot (plot plot) drama, mature, comfort, angst, series, 5k+ fics, humor, dark content, lgbtq+; illustration, comics; or your own.

Upkeep: I check the entire list monthly for removed blogs, name changes, etc. If you notice something, let me know. I will remove your entry if you ever prefer that.

Check out: @blkwriters ( @ramonathinks damn, the tags the organization of it wow)

content tags are not all inclusive.

abbrevs/definitions/listing of genres, styles, etc. here

no masterlist? search within the blog for fandom titles, characters, etc.

Find something you love? Reblog comment repeat!

Looking for something in particular? DM me.

#

555sage (wwe- jay critch, dave east, more)

A

a-lumos-in-the-nox (harry potter, mcu- character x oc, fluff,

smut, angst, dead dove don't eat, series, multi-chapter)

abinitioart

@ablackfangirl (mha, jjk, h!!, naruto, aot, seraph of

the end,🔹)

ackee (original art; writing-ocs) akm87 (original art, ocs)

annie-manga (original art, ocs) aquiboni (original art, ocs)

arachine (stranger things, marvel, avatar- angst, fluff, dc,

nsfw) auraee (ds, genshin impact- sfw, fluff)

B

blkkizzat (jjk - smut, pwp, plot, ✒️ incl. 5k+,

black-coded reader)

bleach-your-panties (bleach, mha, aot, jjk, tr, tg, h!!, hxh,

ds, cm- smut, plot/pwp, dc, angst, fluff, x blk reader)

bluumey (original art, ocs, lgbtq)

bluesidez (miguel o’hara/astv- smut, fluff, angst)

boxofbonesfic (star wars, thor odinson, lotr/the hobbit,

h. cavill, marvel, c. evans, s. stan- angst, fluff, dc,

comedy, horror)

breyspage (aot, mha- fluff, nsfw)

bunnerscrib-28 (fanart, original art, ocs- toontown,

danganronpa, total drama, more)

bunnyboowrites (op- smut, occasional fluff, series)

C

c-nstantine (dc comics, marvel, mha, ocs)

c0pkiller (alt, jjk, ds, cm, hxh, op- sfw, nsfw, ocs)

caashmoneynae (tupac, method man, devante

swing, d’angelo, joey bada$$, more- plot, nsfw)

cardierreh15 (h. cavill- smut, angst, fluff, violence, series,✒️ )

captwaddledoo (xenoblade, final fantasy xv, octopath

traveler II- character study, introspection)

cevansbrat0007 (c. evans roles, a. mackie, s. stan (bucky

barnes)- plot, smut/explicit, series, ✒️ )

charee (original art)

@chrollohearttags (aot, ds, hxh, jjk, tr, kuroko no basket, h!!,

op- smut, fluff, dc, series,✒️ )

clouzyday (jjk- fanart and writing, series✒️ )

cocoamoonmalfoy (timothée chalamet, zendaya

and florence pugh characters, eivor varinsdóttir, loki

laufeyson, peter parker- various genres, series, ✒️ )

cocoadropp (aot, jjk, h!!, cod- smut)

cookiepie111 (marvel, könig, op)

cowinf (fanart, ocs, original art- deltarune, final fantasy, d&d,

berserk, more)

cozystars (fanart, original art- dungeon meshi, superstar

saga, more, lgbtq, mature themes)

creatingblackcharacters (art, writing, character design,

and racial sensitivity)

crescentmoontsuki (ds, jjk, mha, aot- fluff, comfort, angst)

crxssjae (honkai star rail, wwe- sami zayn, jey uso- smut,

plot, lgbtq, series,✒️ )

crystolnaut (original art, ocs, lgbtq)

cuddledot (original art)

D

darksideofthecocoamoon (timothée chalamet characters,

prince hal- dark content, series,✒️ )

darqchilddaydreamz (sons of anarchy, mayans, chicago pd,

good girls- humor, smut, angst, fluff)

dearkiryu (wind breaker, tr, mha, jjk, bungou stray dogs- sfw

& nsfw, smut, plot, dc, some fluff, series)

decodium (original art/fanart- iron giant, lupin the

third, lucky luke)

dejwrld (archived- aot, jjk, cod, h!!, mortal kombat,

vinland saga- sfw, nsfw, series,✒️ )

desavine (original art- lgbtq, blood, gore, horror)

dimikira (original art)

dreamsinfocus (roman reigns- smut/nsfw, series,✒️ incl. 5k)

dumbbunneybabey/regalityandcoffee- (ocs, wwe nxt,

william regal, jon morley, bret hart, dexter lumis, more- sfw,

nsfw)

E

ebonyslasher (slashers- michael myers, billy lenz, jason

voorhees, stu matcher, more- fluff, smut, humor)

elfqueen006 (sunny day jack- plot, horror, humor, plot, dc,

angst) ellethespaceunicorn (h. cavill, c. evans and

s. stan characters- explicit, mature, general, fluff, series,✒️ )

empressdede (wwe- smut, plot, series,✒️ )

F

fairune (original art, ocs) @fastlikealambo (hunger games,

dune, barbie, the last of us, marvel, dc, stranger things, feyd

rautha harkonnen- plot, series)

fineanddandy (character roles- brandon boyd, s. stan, aldis

hodge, charlie hunnam, manny montana, tess thompson,

more- plot, smut, angst, series,✒️ incl. 12k)

frogwhomp (original art)

G

gardenof-venus (euphoria, criminal minds, stranger

things, marvel- smut, fluff, angst)

getosbigballsack (jjk- smut, fluff, series,✒️ )

glorious-imagines (dc, marvel, naruto, tr, umbrella academy,

more- incorrect quotes, angst, fluff)

greyspaceghost (original art, ocs)

INACTIVE (>3 MONTHS) W/CONTENT OR ARCHIVED

(Then removed after six months of blog inactivity)

deathc-re (op, jjk, mha, angel of death, (marvel, more- suggestive, nsfw)

▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

Some thoughts, with respect (roll your eyes if you’d like, it’s a lot of the same ole same old… if you do roll your eyes, send me a video of you doing it and I’ll try to care… jk I’m being cheeky, but there may be some newer folks here who might find this helpful!!):.

We’re very obviously diverse in artistic/creative style, speech, experience, philosophies, takes on the world, how frequently we post/ how prolific, our perspectives, personalities, all that… so find what you like, skip what you don't (Settings - Filtering for what you don’t want to fully see or just block). REBLOG (THEY’RE FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIKES). GIVE PRAISE. THANK PEOPLE. particularly with specifics (I’m working on all this too, my lazy ass), we don’t need more of us to leave… ✔️

Creating and pinning a masterlist is SO HELPFUL! ppl can better find your original works OR use a unique tag for each of your works so that ppl can search within your blog. ✔️

Tagging is important for your works and what you reblog- character or fandom x black reader, x black!reader, x fluff, x smut, x smut with feelings, #blk fanfic writers, #blk writers, # blk fanfiction, see how others use tags, there are a shit ton more ✔️

Adding name and age to your blog is smart. Many, many folks have blogs that include explicit content and topics, and they choose to use age restrictions block those who follow or reach out to interact if a name/age aren’t listed on that person’s blog ✔️

▪️

Besos, Hazel 💋

blk fanfic writer, triangularz

▪️

**Nothing about this list is official or bound by any kind of external requirements/others' expectations- this is a project l've created. There are some content topics I'm uncomfortable with, so if I happen to skim, and note that a blog contains:

glorification of/detail recounting of themes like inc*st, harm to minors, r*pe/noncon, glorification of abuse or similar, I will not add.

As I spot check or if others notify me and I verify, I'll remove. I'll do so quietly, no call outs or big to do's

If I don't feel comfortable with other topics, etc. I have the right to exclude and again, that would be discretely. I'm talking primarily about content concerns, not blog exclusion because of petty foolishness or anything like that. I want as many of us as possible to be listed! ✔️

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - April 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles! Last month’s Doodles are free to the public, so go take a look :D

1. Galapagos tortoises at Philadelphia Zoo become first-time parents at nearly 100

“Mommy, the female tortoise, is considered one of the most genetically valuable Galapagos tortoises in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ species survival plan. [… T]he zoo said it is “overjoyed” at the arrivals of the four hatchlings, a first in its more than 150-year history.”

2. Massachusetts home-electrification pilot could offer a national model

“In total, the program is providing free or heavily subsidized solar panels and heat pumps to 55 participating households, 12 of which also received batteries at no cost. […] It’s a strategy that program planners hope can help address the disproportionate energy burden felt by lower-income residents of the region[….]”

3. National Park Rangers rebel against queer erasure on Trans Day of Visibility

“[… A] group of over 1,000 off-duty, fired, and retired National Park Service employees launched Rangers Uncensored, an online archive that restores and amplifies LGBTQ+ stories quietly scrubbed from government websites since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.”

4. World's largest wildlife crossing reaches critical milestone

“Over the next few days they'll be adding 6,000 cubic yards of specially manufactured soil to cover the crossing, a mix of sand, silt and clay inoculated with a bit of compost and hyperlocal mycorrhizal fungi, carefully designed and tested to mimic the biological makeup of native soils around the site.“

5. Bipartisan bill to boost green building materials glides through House

“[B]ipartisan legislation the House of Representatives passed in a 350-73 vote last week would give the Department of Energy a clear mandate to develop a full program to research, develop, and deploy clean versions of the building materials.”

6. Tribal Wildlife Grants Funding Announced

“Tribal Wildlife Grants are intended to help Tribes develop programs for the conservation of habitat and species of traditional or cultural importance[….] Typically funded projects include: conservation planning, fish and wildlife management and research, habitat mapping and restoration, inventory and monitoring, and habitat preservation. […] A total of $6.1 million is available for this round of funding[….]”

7. Germany adds another one million PV arrays to take solar total to 104 gigawatts

“Following a rapid rise in household solar panel installations, Germany’s total number of PV arrays has passed the five million “milestone[.…]” Solar systems already cover almost 15 percent of Germany’s electricity demand, BSW-Solar said. […] The total capacity of all PV systems installed in Germany surpassed 100 GW at the start of the year.”

8. Stronger together: Bilby conservation efforts enhanced by Indigenous knowledge

“Ms. Geyle said the results showed combining [conventional science and traditional tracking methods] more accurately estimated bilby abundance than using either technique individually[….] "[… ensuring] that Indigenous people remain central to decision-making about their lands and species that inhabit them," Ms. Geyle said.”

9. Lennar will build 1,500new Colorado homes with geothermal heat pumps

“The homebuilder is partnering with Dandelion Energy to install the tech, which is efficient but expensive — unless it’s built into new homes from the start. […] And by eliminating the need for new gas pipelines and reducing the peak electricity demands on the power grid, subdivisions built on this model could save a bundle on utilities as well[….]”

10. New strategy launched to protect Tanzanian biodiversity hotspot

“Conservationists have launched a 20-year-long project to protect what is arguably Tanzania’s most biologically rich landscape: the Udzungwa Mountains. The strategy places notable emphasis on communities living here, with more than half of its budget allocated to social and economic projects and managing human-wildlife conflict.”

March 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[unsolicited-opinions]

3/16/25 Reality Check: Mahmoud Khalil

1. Mahmoud Khalil is a spokesperson, organizer, and leader of CUAD.

2. CUAD is not a peace activist organization. It has repeatedly endorsed Hamas, violence towards Jews, and the destruction of Western civilization.

- CUAD endorsed Khymani James saying "Zionists do not deserve to live."

- Said CUAD: "We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance."

- CUAD says it is "fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization" which must "continue to escalate until the empire crumbles," citing the violent takeover of a prison in Bangladesh by Islamists as a model of escalation. It endorsed Casey Goonan's attempt to firebomb federal buildings in Oakland, CA and Goonan setting fires at UC Berkeley.

- This week, CUAD proudly painted the triangular target on the residence of Columbia's interim president Katrina Armstrong and threatened her. The same target has been painted on many US synogogues...by people who dishonestly claim their beef is with Israel, not Jews.

3. Khalil has not been "disappeared," his location is quite public.

4. Khalil does not need to have been convicted of a crime to be deported. Endorsing terrorism is more than legally sufficient grounds for deporting a green card holder.

§1227(a) states:

Any alien (including an alien crewman) in and admitted to the United States shall, upon the order of the Attorney General, be removed if the alien is within one or more of the following classes of deportable aliens...

And section 1227(a)(4)(B) states:

Any alien who is described in subparagraph (B) or (F) of section 1182(a)(3) of this title is deportable.

Section §1182(a)(3)(B)(i)(VII) extends deportability to any alien who:

...endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization

This is not a first amendment issue.

5. It is 100% valid to demand due process for Khalil and oppose any attempts by the Trump administration to skip, subver, or deny die process. Due process must always take place. Without it, we delegitimize our legal system and erode civil rights for all. I'm very glad Khalil is getting his due process.

6. Trump is using antisemitism as an excuse to attack individuals and institutions he opposes.

Trump is also using antisemitism in this way as a political wedge and to deepen the left's growing antisemitism. Hence the "Shalom Mahmoud" social media posts from the White House.

It's working because the leftist antisemites are about as gullible and intellectually lazy as their mirror-image opposites on the right, the MAGA/QAnon/Jan 6 crowd.

Leftist fears about Trump's desire and efforts to turn the US into a Turkey-style autocracy are valid and I share them- but it would have been 100% legal for Biden to enforce these laws. I dearly wish he had done so.

Trump's doing it immediately projects vibes of wrongdoing, worsened by his godawful philosemitic messaging.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #21

May 31-June 7 2024

As part of President Biden's goal to bring the number of traffic deaths to zero, the Department of Transportation has sent $480 million in safety grants to all 50 states, DC, and all the US territories. The grants will focus on trucks, buses and other large vehicles. Thanks to DoT safety actions deaths involving heavy vehicles dropped by 8% from 2022 to 2023 and the department wants to keep pushing till the number is 0.

The Departments of Interior and Agriculture announced $2.8 billion plan to protect public land and support local government Conservation Efforts. $1.9 billion will be used to repair and restore national parks and public land, restoring historic sites, as well as Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools. $900 million will go to conservation funding, allowing the government to buy land to protect it. Half the funds will go to the federal government half to state and local governments and for the first time ever a tribal Conservation Land Acquisition program has been set up to allow tribal governments to buy land to protect nature.

The Department of Transportation announced that it had managed to get customers nearly $1 Billion dollars worth of flight reimbursements. The DoT reached an agreement with 3 airlines, Lufthansa, KLM, and South African Airways to pay between them $900 million to passengers effected by Covid related cancellations and delays. This adds to the $4 billion dollars of refunds and reimbursements to airline passengers under the Biden Administration.

The Department of Interior announced $725 million to clean up legacy coal pollution. This is the 3rd pay out from the $11.3 billion dollars President Biden signed into law in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to clean up coal pollution and invest in communities that used to rely on the coal industry. The money will be spent across 22 states and the Navajo Nation. Closing dangerous mine shafts, reclaim unstable slopes, improve water quality by treating acid mine drainage, and restore water supplies damaged by mining.

HUD launches the first of its kind investment program in manufactured homes. Manufactured homes represent a major market for affordable housing and the Biden Administration is the first to offer support to people trying to buy. HUD hopes the program will help 5,000 families and individuals buy their own home over the next 5 years.

The Department of the Interior announced $700 million for long-term water conservation projects across the Lower Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people, electric power to 7 US States and is a critical crucial resource for 30 Tribal nations and two Mexican states. The project hopes to save more than 700,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead. In the face of climate change causing a historic 23-year drought, there is record low water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The Biden Administration has moved aggressively to try to protect the Colorado River and make sure there's enough water in the West.

HUD makes $123 million for fighting Youth Homelessness available. This represents the 8th round of investment in Youth Homelessness since 2021 for a total of $440 million so far. The Biden Administration is focusing on innovative answers, like host homes, and kinship care models, with emphasis on creating equitable strategies to assist youth who are most vulnerable, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and youth with disabilities. This is part of the Biden Administration goal of cutting homelessness by 25% by the end of 2025

The Department of Agriculture announced a series of actions to strength Tribal food sovereignty. The USDA will grant tribes in Maine, Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington $42 million through the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grants to support native animal harvesting. $18 million for projects under the Tribal Forest Protection Act. As well as $2.3 million to support the service of Indigenous foods in school meal programs. The USDA also plans its first ever class of interns specifically focused on Tribal agriculture and food sovereignty. The USDA also plans to host a first ever international trade mission focused on Tribal Nation and Native Hawaiian Community businesses.

Bonus: President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Secretaries of Defense Lloyd Austin and State Antony Blinken traveled to Normandy France to mark the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. They were joined by a handful of surviving veterans of the landings many over 100 years old.

[gb-patch]

Our Life Now & Forever: Polyamorous Relationship Feature Announcement!

So, I’ve changed my own mind! You will be able to end up in a relationship with both Qiu and Tamarack if you want to when Our Life: Now & Forever is fully released. I originally didn't guarantee a polyamorous relationship option because I didn’t know for sure if it'd be possible to add it without pushing the game back, however this story would simply feel incomplete without that. It was very obvious when writing the Step 2 preview for the soon-to-release demo update. Qiu, Tamarack, and the MC are as important as a group as they are in individual pairings. It has to be done. Besides, tons of choice and having relationships be whatever makes you most comfortable is why people wait years for GB Patch to finish these games in the first place, haha.

Now, the way the optional poly relationship will work is that Qiu and Tamarack would be in a committed platonic relationship with each other and can be in a committed platonic or romantic relationship with the MC. Qiu and Tamarack won’t be romantically involved with each other regardless of the choices the MC makes.

This relationship dynamic will only be available in Step 4: Adulthood. It won’t be something you can get together during the bulk of the story because Qiu and Tamarack do need time to sort things with each other over the years before taking that kind of step.

Nothing is going to change with our plans so far. Our Life: Now & Forever will have a Kickstarter that's launching less than two weeks. If everything goes well, the goal will be to release the first three Steps and most of the DLCs in late 2025. The Step 4 Epilogue with the poly relationship option and any bonus DLCs that get funded by the Kickstarter would come out later on. 

Our Life: Now & Forever Kickstarter Pre-Launch Page

I’ll be updating the game’s information to reflect this new element as a basic part of the project ✨.

Thank you to everyone who’s loved both Tamarack and Qiu already! I hope this will make the story that much happier to experience.

[howtofightwrite]

So I have a character that heals faster than normal. Nothing like Wolverine, where he basically gets stabbed and although it hurts, he keeps rolling because he'll heal in 5 seconds. Or even Deadpool who can regrow limbs. My character would heal way slowlier. Where maybe a wound that would take someone a week to recover from would take them a day.

But my problem is that, determining the speed of the healing process in comparison to the wounds. Someone like Wolverine and Deadpool have their healing abilities cranked up to a 10, which makes it easier to write imo. When mine is dialed up to a 4 or 5, how do I determine the healing speed and keep it consistent with each wound, even if they're all different from each other? Especially with deadly wounds. I hope that makes sense.

It's not that Wolverine and Deadpool's regenerative abilities are, “cranked up to 10,” those operate strictly under, “the power of plot compels thee!” There's nothing inherently wrong with that approach, but it can cause problems down the line. (At this point, it's functionally impossible to kill Wolverine because he's been shown to be able to regenerate from any surviving tissue. Which does make it a little harder to hold him up as being in significant peril.)

So, really, the question becomes, “how fast do you want your character to heal?” “What can they recover from?” And, “how realistic do you want to be?”

In a lot of cases, you can look up projected medical recovery times from injuries. This is usually calculated around a healthy adult (18-35), and will increase as you get older. Or as other health factors slow your ability to heal.

It's pretty easy to take wound recovery estimates and just divide them by a fixed value. So, for example, recovery from a minor gunshot wound is estimated at a few weeks, so if your character heals 7 times faster than a normal human, then they'd be back up and going in a few days. If you want, you can pretty much stop there.

This practice of looking up how long it takes to recover from a given injury will also apply to a lot of those mortal wounds. It doesn't matter how horrific the injury is, someone has probably lived through it.

The question of what they can recover from is a little more involved.

On one end, you have the normal limitations of a character who can only recover from injuries they'd be able to naturally heal from. While in other cases (like broken bones or severed tendons) they'd still need significant medical attention, even if the resulting recovery times would be dramatically reduced. On the other end, you might have a situation where these kinds of injuries can self correct with minimal assistance from your character (and no, formal, medical assistance.)

Then there's the question of being able to regenerate lost limbs. That is biologically possible, and in fact young children can regrow lost digits, though the ability to do so genetically shuts off as we age.

At the same time, humans cannot heal off nerve or spinal damage. Again, this is biologically possible, but the ability is genetically shut down. (In this case, it's theorized because scarring on the nerves could result in horrific issues down the line.)

Ironically, one of Wolverine's more plausible powers is his biological immortality. If his healing factor regenerates his telomeres (which, again, is quite possible. In the real world, some cancer cells exhibit this behavior already), then that would mean that he is not subject to the Hayflick limit. The Hayflick limit is the number of times an individual cell in your body can undergo mitosis, and once it's expended, when the cell dies, it cannot be replaced. In a very real sense, the Hayflick limit, and telomere shortening are what causes biological aging. Regenerating the telomeres would mean that a cell could, potentially, undergo mitosis an indefinite number of times. So, if a character's regenerative abilities do prevent telomere shortening, it's likely that they would be biologically immortal.

If your character's regenerative abilities can restore brain damage fast enough, it might also be impossible for your character to die from bloodloss. So, this probably needs a little more explanation. Bleeding to death is, really, just suffocation with extra steps. Blood is critical for getting oxygen to the brain, and when your cardiovascular system can't do so (for example, because someone's punched too many holes in it) then your brain asphyxiates and dies. With a fast enough healing factor, your character would literally immune to death from bloodloss. (And, you'd probably need to tap them in the head to kill them.)

How fast does that regeneration need to be? I'm honestly not sure. Brain death tends to occur within a few minutes of lack of oxygen to the brain.

This also creates a related potential outcome, depending on whether or not their regenerative abilities shut down when they died. If their abilities are dependent on them being alive, so killing them is enough, then that's normal. However, if their healing persists after brain death (which can happen, as some autonomic functions can continue after death, at least, for a little while), killing them could easily see them regaining consciousness some time after the lethal injury was inflicted, with most of the damage having been regenerated.

One final consideration (and one that doesn't happen that often with superheroes) is the consideration of how you actually fuel all of this. Regenerating an arm is going to require a lot of energy, and your character's going to need to get that from somewhere. Whether they're literally pulling in power from some fixed source (as with the early Spawn comics), or if they just have an implausibly aggressive appetite for food. They will need to get the energy from somewhere. Again, there isn't really a correct answer here, just an answer that fits the story you want to tell. (A fixed power source, like Spawn's, does give you a lot of room to have healing at the speed of plot while still maintaining tension. Or, at least it did, until the countdown was removed.) Of course, if they do run out of energy to fuel their healing ability, that probably means it will fall off, though it could potentially kill them in the process.

One legitimate concern over running out of juice would be scurvy like symptoms, which causes previously healed wounds to reopen. It's pretty horrifying, but might be a way to inject some serious tension into the story, if you've set up the rules to support it.

-Starke

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[gyeomsweetgyeom]

[4:19 pm]

You sighed, tightening the covers around your body even tighter. You closed your eyes and willed the day to end already. It had been an awful day. You slept through your alarm and gotten to class late. Usually, this wouldn't have been an issue, but you had a test and the TA was such a douche. You had to beg the professor to let you retake it later in the week and gotten the meanest stare from the TA while you walked out of the classroom.

Then you left your key in your room and only found out after walking through the windiest day you'd ever experienced. And your roommate wasn't answering her texts, which you should have guessed because she told you she was going out of town with her "maybe girlfriend."

Then to top it all off, your group mates for a group project were all texting you individually to ask what their part of the project was, despite it all being planned out on a shared document already.

So here you were, bundled up under the covers of frat!Jaehyun's shitty sheets. Thankfully, when you arrived, Doyoung had been leaving and was happy to let you in.

His sheets smelled like they hadn't been washed since the last time you made him wash them, but his bed was enough to ease your annoyance and general hate for the day.

After maybe an hour or even half an hour, you weren't sure, the door creaked open. "Hey, Baby," Jaehyun greeted quietly and hesitantly, "not that I'm not happy to see you, or rather a you shaped lump in my bed, but weren't you planning on locking yourself in and studying tonight?"

You pulled the covers off your face, a pout present and tears building in your lash line, "I had a really bad day and I got locked out of my room."

His eyes soften, crawling onto the bed and pulling you into his warm hold as big spoon. "It's over now, Baby," Jaehyun coos as he rubs soothing circles on your arms.

You sighed out, sniffling while a few tears escaped. "It was just such a bad day."

Jaehyun turned you, holding your head to his chest. He let you cry it out, kissing your forehead, and muttering reassurances. When you calmed down, he pulled your head back gently, brushing your hair from your face. "Let's order your favorites for dinner and I'll get Taeyong to talk to the RA tomorrow morning to get you into your room. We can catch up on your shows and... I'll even let Haechan watch with us."

You pouted again, jutting out your bottom lip, "you love me so much."

"You're my girl, ‘course I do," he replied nonchalantly while both of you ignored how red he got. You loved him a whole lot too.

[yuurivoice]

Seth doing boxing presumably as a hobbies to maybe like cope and express his anger and frustration in a more healthy way is SO AMAZINGGG! First off.. he looks great in that thumbnail omg, second it's so nice to see the man having a safe space to work through his emotions through a way that's comfortable with him, and through his own pace. He doesn't HAVE to do anything, and he doesn't have Derek kind of pressuring him into hurting people. HE chooses when and wear to pick up the boxing gloves, and he chooses when to put them down and it's just so great I love seeing characters healing thank you for your service man

I love fans like you because tbh, it really was just a case of "he'd be hot if he was sweaty and punched stuff" but yes you did identify why my brain told me it was a logical choice to make and I didn't hit any road bumps writing it into the plot.

The meta of it all is that I used to have a shitty garage that was a club house with a punching bag in it, and it makes sense for my Southern Queer Projection to get another slice of the inspirational pie because that was a big part of me for a while.

But any sort of martial art is actually a great combo for characters that seek control in healthy ways. Being able to defend yourself and others, especially when you've been used by others as a weapon or have been physically taken advantage of, is a big deal. It just makes sense. Seth mentions that the actual boxing skills were a thing he picked up while locked up, also makes sense that he might not have been trained until then. Seth probably made a friend who trained him up a bit while imprisoned.

So, Seth taking some of that with him into this new chapter of his life is cool. But him basically recreating a small, stripped down living space with a handful of comforts that happen to be tied to his incarceration probably means that even though he's in a much better place (certainly than Alphonse is in Chapter 4) he is not quite ready to reintegrate to an entirely normal setting. Maybe it's lingering guilt, shame, or fear. Probably a little bit of all of that. He probably feels like he's still got a price to pay, and nowhere that feels quite like he's earned the right to be just yet.

And if I psychoanalyze myself a little bit, I think it could be a projection of how I spent a lot of my adult life. I was very isolated, lived in a single room, avoided contact with others in the house, etc. and as I became more financially stable I hardly knew what to do with a whole apartment or home. I often recreate several individual spaces that are built with the ability to entirely isolate in rather than have designated spaces for individual activities around the house. Everything is made to be able to shut yourself away in and not have to run into any other housemates. So that's...probably where that came from.

That's next level shit, analysis on a video that doesn't come out for another week. Hot damn!

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - 29 April 2024

1. Net neutrality rules restored by US agency

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 on Thursday to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules and reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet rescinded under former President Donald Trump.

2. Airlines required to refund passengers for canceled, delayed flights

DOT will also require airlines to give cash refunds if your bags are lost and not delivered within 12 hours.

The refunds must be issued within seven days, according to the new DOT rules, and must be in cash unless the passenger chooses another form of compensation. Airlines can no longer issue refunds in forms of vouchers or credits when consumers are entitled to receive cash.

3. How new mosquito nets averted 13 million malaria cases

Compared to standard nets, the introduction of 56 million state-of-the-art mosquito nets in 17 countries across sub-Saharan Africa averted an estimated 13 million malaria cases and 24,600 deaths. The New Nets Project, an initiative funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund and led by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), piloted the use of dual-insecticide nets in malaria-endemic countries between 2019 and 2022 to address the growing threat of insecticide resistance.

4. Germany has installed over 400,000 ‘solar balconies’

This new wave of solar producers aren’t just getting cheap electricity, they’re also participating in the energy transition.

More than 400,000 plug-in solar systems have been installed in Germany, most of them taking up a seamless spot on people’s balconies.

5. Voyager-1 sends readable data again from deep space

The US space agency says its Voyager-1 probe is once again sending usable information back to Earth after months of spouting gibberish.

The 46-year-old Nasa spacecraft is humanity's most distant object.

6. Missing cat found after 5 years makes 2,000-km journey home

Five years after it ran out the door, a lost cat was returned to a couple in Nevada after it was found thousands of kilometres away. The couple are praising the cat’s microchip for helping reunite them.

7. Restoring sight is possible now with optogenetics

Max Hodak's startup, Science, is developing gene therapy solutions to restore vision for individuals with macular degeneration and similar conditions. The Science Eye utilizes optogenetics, injecting opsins into the eye to enhance light sensitivity in retinal cells.

Clinical trials and advancements in optogenetics are showing promising results, with the potential to significantly improve vision for those affected by retinal diseases.

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That's it for this week :)

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