#branch rename

[tamagoneko]

BONUS ART!!

the luau scene 🥥🌴🌺🍍

[blade-that-was-broken]

Me - coming up with a concept/au that doesn't involve JD and Branch centered/them bonding level: IMPOSSIBLE

Literally guys... I'm sorry. Soldier On was a mostly Bruce and JD centered thing. Like Branch isn't even in the state.

Branch: SURPRISE!!! HERE I AM!! PUT ME IN COACH, I'M READYYYYY

[lime1991]

more oc topaz

[the-pobble-terrarium]

i rly love the way u stylize trolls! your king branch au is so fun. very unique ? i added onto ur post a bit back and have been meaning to draw a silly of your very-unwell king branch and my swapped king branch pointing at each other and my swap branch being like woah. are you okay. what the wrong with you. (but genuinely very concerned).. very cool au stuff and very phenomenal artwork !!! (poses gayly)

WAAAHHHHH THANK YEWWW!!!!!!!!

Yeah my guys got something sooo seriously wrong with him <3 I'm glad you enjoy the AU and also I SAW !!! I remember when I saw your Branch I was like "NO WAY. ANOTHER KING AU OH MY GOD WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN !!!!!!!!!!" Also, for you :]

[theabstruseone]

I slept in and just woke up, so here's what I've been able to figure out while sipping coffee:

Twitter has officially rebranded to X just a day or two after the move was announced.

The official branding is that a tweet is now called "an X", for which there are too many jokes to make.

The official account is still @twitter because someone else owns @X and they didn't reclaim the username first.

The logo is 𝕏 which is the Unicode character Unicode U+1D54F so the logo cannot be copyrighted and it is highly likely that it cannot be protected as a trademark.

Outside the visual logo, the trademark for the use of the name "X" in social media is held by Meta/Facebook, while the trademark for "X" in finance/commerce is owned by Microsoft.

The rebranding has been stopped in Japan as the term "X Japan" is trademarked by the band X JAPAN.

Elon had workers taking down the "Twitter" name from the side of the building. He did not have any permits to do this. The building owner called the cops who stopped the crew midway through so the sign just says "er".

He still plans to call his streaming and media hosting branch of the company as "Xvideo". Nobody tell him.

This man wants you to give him control over all of your financial information.

Edit to add further developments:

Yes, this is all real. Check the notes and people have pictures. I understand the skepticism because it feels like a joke, but to the best of my knowledge, everything in the above is accurate.

Microsoft also owns the trademark on X for chatting and gaming because, y'know, X-box.

The logo came from a random podcaster who tweeted it at Musk.

The act of sending a tweet is now known as "Xeet". They even added a guide for how to Xeet.

The branding change is inconsistent. Some icons have changed, some have not, and the words "tweet" and "Twitter" are still all over the place on the site.

TweetDeck is currently unaffected and I hope it's because they forgot that it exists again. The complete negligence toward that tool and just leaving it the hell alone is the only thing that makes the site usable (and some of us are stuck on there for work).

This is likely because Musk was forced out of PayPal due to a failed credit line project and because he wanted to rename the site to "X-Paypal" and eventually just to "X".

This became a big deal behind the scenes as Musk paid over $1 million for the domain X.com and wanted to rebrand the company that already had the brand awareness people were using it as a verb to "pay online" (as in "I'll paypal you the money")

X.com is not currently owned by Musk. It is held by a domain registrar (I believe GoDaddy but I'm not entirely sure). Meaning as long as he's hung onto this idea of making X Corp a thing, he couldn't be arsed to pay the $15/year domain renewal.

Bloomberg estimates the rebranding wiped between $4 to $20 billion from the valuation of Twitter due to the loss of brand awareness.

The company was already worth less than half of the $44 billion Musk paid for it in the first place, meaning this may end up a worse deal than when Yahoo bought Tumblr.

One estimation (though this is with a grain of salt) said that Twitter is three months from defaulting on its loans taken out to buy the site. Those loans were secured with Tesla stock. Meaning the bank will seize that stock and, since it won't be enough to pay the debt (since it's worth around 50-75% of what it was at the time of the loan), they can start seizing personal assets of Elon Musk including the Twitter company itself and his interest in SpaceX.

Sesame Street's official accounts mocked the rebranding.

[pearlescynt]

I'm Not Glass

{ Pairing } - non-idol!Hyunjin x afab!reader

{ Genre } - forced proximity?, smut, pwp, acquaintance to lovers, developing situationship

{ Synopsis } - A vacation with your group of close knit friends? What could be better! Well, you were close with all but one person. He's an acquaintance, even after five years. A lot of things can change on vacation though... All you need is a tiny room, a bean bag, an olive branch.

(Or; the one where Hyunjin is too awkward to make any kind of move, and when you finally realize he may reciprocate your horny, lustful feelings... you make the move for both of you, or at least a comment to get things going...)

{ WC } - 5.2k

{ Warnings & Tags } - 18+ MDNI, forced proximity, smut, pwp (plot? what plot? Porn without plot!), shy Hyune, making out, dry humping, oral (f. receiving), slight nipple play, hair pulling, fingers in mouth, seriously he's fucking your mouth with his fingers, drool, spit as lube, praise kink, manhandling (as best he can in a tiny room on top of a giant bean bag), Hyune is sensitive, he is also worshipping you, unprotected sex (piv; do as I say, not as I write & pee after sex!), overstimulation, teasing, cream pie, sweating, slight aftercare, overuse of religious puns, a forgotten about game of super smash bros, everyone was basically waiting for you two to fuck but neither of you knew that, smug comments from Seungmin, not so sly comments from Jisung

{ Disclaimer } - This work is in no way associated or depicting the actual life of the members of SKZ. It is a fictional piece of work, and I do not own Stray Kids. All works of fiction are loosely inspired by SKZ, and in no way am I saying it is true to their character.

{ A/N } - Hello, I come with crumbs after... 9 months of inactivity from me... I sincerely apologize. I've made enough sad, emotional and apologetic posts though, so onto the story!

I almost renamed this fic to (I'll be honest, I'm tempted to rename it after the fact still): 'Bean Bag Shennanigans' or 'Bean Bag Mishaps' OR 'Bean Bag Escapades'. Then when I came up with the puns, it was going to be 'Blessed Bean Bag' or 'The Sanctified Bean Bag'. Can you count how many times I said "bean bag" in this fic? I think I've typed and read it so much, it doesn't feel like an actual word or piece of furniture anymore lmao.

I hope you enjoy 🩷

"Did you wanna play something? We could go check out the game room. Felix said there was a switch down there." You drawl in Hyunjins direction. 

You’re laying flat on your back on a couch, staring at the ceiling. It was relaxing at first, but now you're quickly getting bored.

"Sure, it seems like everyone else is already preoccupied." He shrugs, and pops a halved strawberry in his mouth from the bowl he’d been eating. He gets up from the table where he was sketching, abandoning his work temporarily.

You’re on holiday with your friends for the week, and currently inside the ‘bnb’ you've rented together. The place was huge, with almost too many amenities.

There’s an indoor pool, a hot tub, karaoke, and a pool table. There’s lots of activities scheduled, places to visit, and sightseeing for everyone to do. But it was still nice to be able to have things to wind down with when you were inside. So everyone had dispersed not long after arriving, choosing to explore the surroundings and settle in.

Out of all your friends in this group, Hyunjin is the one you have the most... distance with. It has to be some sort of weird cosmic joke that you’ve been left alone with him right now. In the 5 years your little friend group existed, someone always usually stuck around to act as some sort of buffer between you two. Intentionally or unintentionally, you didn’t know. It’s not that you two hate each other, you just have never clicked with each other, not like you did with the others. You simply existed within the friend group together.

It seems now is an opportunity to get to know each other more in depth.

You both go down stairs, walking across the finished basement, passing Chan and Changbin. They’re at the pool table, both too consumed by the game to truly acknowledge you two. You keep walking through the room, ignoring the thuds above you. It’s the stomping footsteps and tumbling of your friends, play fighting and shouting. Hearing them brings a smile to your face.

Yes, you were all still stuck in childish ways in your mid to late twenties, but adulting is hard. Everyone deserves some fun, and a break once in a while. 

They would even pull you into their shenanigans, often pretending to wrestle with you. Tumbling around on the ground, until one of them conceded from you tickling them nonstop.

Finishing your trek across the bottom floor of the rented house, you both stood in front of a door with a multicolored LED sign on it. It reads 'arcade'. You're unsure of what to expect, but Hyunjin opens the door, and you’re both met with... a tiny room? 

If it weren't for the mounted tv, the shelf next to it that holds a switch, controllers, a box of tissues, and a few games. You'd think it was a large closet... Actually, taking another look around, that's probably exactly what it is... with a giant bean bag taking up the whole floor.

Seriously, you've never seen a bean bag that big. On top of it are a few throw pillows and a blanket.

"Well. This is certainly cozy." He says.

And you don’t know his tone well enough to know if he’s being sarcastic or snarky. So you huff out a laugh in response.

Grabbing the controllers, you sit on one side of the bean bag, leaving enough room for him to sit next to you. When he sits though, you both immediately slide into the middle of it, pressed up against each other. The two of you start chuckling awkwardly, and try to maneuver yourselves on to your own respective sides, but nothing works. You both just end up falling back into the middle every time.

Eventually you give up, no longer wanting to struggle and adjust, and instead just relax.

"I mean I can play like this." You shrug.

It truly didn't bother you. 

"Mmkay." He hums, sinking into the bean bag further with his side flush to yours.

You scroll through the games on the switch, deciding on Super Smash Bros, but it needs to be updated. So you click on 'update', and sit up to dock it. Now you just need to wait for it to be finished.

You lay on your back again, submerging further into the bean bag, and Hyunjin, and pull your phone out. 

Nothing else is planned for today, except cooking dinner when it’s time. Like you said, everyone wanted the chance to settle in before the real vacation started. So you’re in no rush to do anything, or go anywhere, but still. You’re getting more and more bored by the second, and Hyunjin is never much of a talker around you. 

After scrolling in silence, you glance up at the screen. The game was only 24% done downloading, and you sighed. 

“NO FAIR!” You hear Changbin yelling, with loud footsteps up the stairs. 

You also hear Chans giggles as he follows after him with much softer steps. 

Well. Now you’re really alone down here with him.

Out of the corner of your eye, you look and see Hyunjin scrolling on his own phone. Surprisingly it's a comfortable silence, and you feel the awkward fog disperse while being alone in this tiny space. In your perspective anyways.

That is, until you notice that he starts fidgeting. His hips and shoulders are wiggling, trying to get comfortable. And his fingers have a death grip on his phone, and he’s double tapping a bit too harshly as he likes video after video, seemingly without even watching the whole thing. He goes to adjust himself again, lifting his thigh a bit before bringing it back down, accidentally squeezing the soft skin of your outer thigh under his own.

"Ah, sorry!" He says as a blush forms on his cheeks, and he instinctively goes to rub your pinched skin.

But then he seems to realize what he did by trying to comfort you, and retracts his hand like he’s been burned.

"It's fine." You laugh. 

His shy demeanor is astonishing, especially when you’ve seen him act quite the opposite in the past with your other friends.

You're both adjusting again, trying to fit comfortably on the damned bean bag. It results in you both laying down on your sides, your back to his chest. He's unsure what to do with his arms. One is holding his phone above your head and resting on the bean bag, the other is twitching and hovering above you. He seems to want to rest it on your waist, but is unsure. 

“You can hold me, you know, I don’t mind. We all cuddle anyways, it’s nothing new. It will probably be more comfortable anyways.” You mutter.

Which is true. You all are a cuddly and touchy friend group. Snuggle piles happen quite frequently, much to certain people’s dismay, especially on movie nights. Yet somehow, every time they happen, you and Hyunjin always end up the farthest apart from each other. 

That doesn’t matter now though, you’re trying to reassure him and extend an olive branch. There’s no reason the two of you can’t be just as close as you are to everyone else.

“Oh, uh, okay. Thanks.” He manages to stutter out. 

It’s cute, he’s always been a bit timid in his interactions with you. Not that there were ever too many. Regardless, he lets his arm fall over you, let’s his fingers dangle in that area below your navel, but above your pant line. Then he’s back to scrolling on his phone, still above your head. 

You scoot back a bit, just trying to get more comfortable, but he stiffens. He’s immediately trying to back up, and ends up dropping his phone with a quiet thud, as it slips to the floor between the bean bag and the wall. His hand comes to your hip, squeezing surprisingly tight so he can hold you in place.

 He seemingly wants to avoid his pelvis pressing into you. 

“S-sorry! I’m sorry.” He spits out, his grip relaxing on your hip, but not moving so he could keep you still, “I didn’t mean to– well I didn’t want you to– just, I’m sorry.”

It's amusing really, ending up in this situation and position, with someone who is essentially an acquaintance. The two of you never hung out one on one, and only ever saw each other in group settings. Even taking all of that into consideration, this doesn't feel unnatural to you. And you won’t lie, your mind has wandered to impure thoughts about him before. 

And there’s no way you’re connecting the puzzle pieces wrong. The way he’s always acted around you, the distance you both kept from each other, it’s got to be mutual.

So you figure, now’s as good a time as any to make a move…

A smirk spreads across your lips and despite his hand desperately trying to hold you still, you move backwards, snuggling closer to him.  "Wanna know a secret?" 

You can feel him filling out in his pants, he’s half hard already from barely anything. That gives you all the conviction you need to hopefully initiate something fun. 

"Ah, sure?" His voice is shaky, adorable.

"I'm not made of glass, you can touch me. I won't break, promise. Plus," You say in a soft and low voice, "Maybe I like it a little rough."

He looks at you for a second, registering your words, and then slowly nods. Hopefully it clicked for him too.

You're sure it did, because his lips bloomed into a smile, and his eyes lidded. Then with all the sudden confidence in the world, he tugs at you rolling you over. Both of you face to face, as you dipped further into each other. He's staring into your eyes, and then he places a hand on your arm, tracing it up to your shoulder.

"So... you're okay with being touched? Anywhere?" His voice is silky smooth now, and alluring. Not to mention his eyes are sharp with a lustful resolve.

Whatever game you started playing, he clearly just took over.

You go to speak, but he brings his hand to caress your jaw, and holds eye contact with you. Gently, he grips your chin, slowly pulling you towards his face, his eyes darting to your lips. You close your eyes in anticipation, and instead feel his breath fanning your lips. His lips are ghosting over yours. He's waiting for you to make a move.

As confident as this man just was, he's still having you make the first move.

You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, so what the hell.

Your lips brush against his, and he's kissing you back fervently. He's tender, but desperate. Deepening the kiss by slipping his tongue between your lips. The taste of him is immediately intoxicating. Mint and... strawberries?

You never thought an odder pairing tasted better.

Where he was once too nervous to even accidentally touch you, he had all the intent to make you feel on fire now.

Your bodies pressed together felt so warm. One hand clutching a fistful of his shirt, and the other wrapped around him. His hand slides down your back, resting on your butt and kneading it. Both of your legs are a tangled mess, intertwined in a way that he was able to perch his thigh between yours. He presses his thigh up, and you catch his bottom lip between your teeth, earning a groan.

Something kept changing in him, or maybe it just kept revealing the true version of him, and you weren't prepared when he slipped his other arm underneath you, grabbed you and twisted, hauling your body on top of his. You were straddling him. His hands resting on your thighs, rubbing his thumbs in little circles. Looking down on him, you see the desire in his eyes, and you can only hope he sees the same in yours.

He no longer seems to be shy as he sits up a bit. It seems like he's admiring you, looking your body up and down. You watch as his eyes trail down to your lips, to your neck, to your heaving chest, and then lower... Where your body sat atop his, heat meeting heat. Then he's holding eye contact again as he grabs your hips, rolling you into his hardened length. Your head was clouded with lust and nothing else. He was letting you know exactly what he wanted. So when you started to move your hips of your own volition, his jaw dropped, his eyes fluttered closed, as his breath hitched.

This man is gratifyingly sensitive.

He wasn't gentle this time when he kissed you again. He sat up fully, wrapping his hand around the back of your neck. His tongue explored yours, kissing him felt like experiencing the hunger of a starved man. You were more than happy to feed him. He devoured you, and you savored each flick of his tongue. He cards his hand up into your hair from the base of your neck, and a shiver goes down your spine. His touch feels magnified. When he gripped a fistful of hair tightly, you moaned into his mouth. 

He tugged you away from his lips by your hair, craning your head back and exposing your throat to him. And you're stuck, staring up at the ceiling and breathing heavily. You want to pout in protest, but when he starts peppering kisses on your neck, you sigh and close your eyes. His lips were so plush and warm as he pressed them against your skin.

He's loosening his grip on your hair, and dragging his hand down your neck. You jolted a bit at him groping your chest. His palm is warm against you, and he gives a little squeeze before massaging your tit. When his teeth nip your collar bone, you're whining and biting your lip. He soothes it with his tongue, and goosebumps bloom across your body. His kisses trail down further until they can't, and he's lifting your hoodie off roughly. Irritated at the boundary between you and him. You feel so overwhelmed with want, that it aches.

You started moving your hips, trying to relieve the throbbing between your thighs. He stops to look at you reverently, his eyes lost in your expression as you attempt to pleasure yourself. You take the opportunity of him being distracted to push him down onto his back, and he grunts as he lands. It gives you a better position to roll your hips against his bulge again, sending tingles throughout your body. His hands find your hips again, and he starts rocking you faster, and rougher against his cock. His own hips meeting yours in sync.

You hear the switch remotes fall off the bean bag, lodging themselves against the door, but you choose to ignore it.

Even through layers of clothing, the sensation feels completely electric, and you sit straight up to catch your breath. But he never stops moving your hips, and you have to bite your lip to silence a moan. He had found a better angle to rub himself on your clit, and you felt the pleasure building slowly. How in the hell does this man get you close without even undressing you?

Sure you've done this before, particularly in the early days of your sexual exploration. Usually in a rushed and fumbled manner, young adults trying to figure out what feels good for them and whatnot. But this man makes dry humping feel like a whole new experience.

He looks completely disheveled underneath you, as he starts to rub and flick your exposed nipples. His eyes boring into yours again is overwhelming, almost unbearable. But you never want him to look away. You were so overheated with anticipation, that his fingers felt so cold against you now. But his lips were still so hot, as you bent down to kiss him again. It was all tongue, and spit, and incredibly messy. That's when he snapped, fully and finally, letting go completely.

He lets out the smallest growl as he flips you yet again, pinning you on your back, both your wrists being held by only one of his hands.

"You said maybe you like playing rough?" He smirks down at you, fingers tracing up your ribs.

"Love it, actually." You answer breathlessly.

He nuzzles into your neck and turns to whisper in your ear, "Good girl."

You're melting at his words, head clouding up with compliance as soon as you hear his praise. Up until now the entire ordeal was nearly silent aside from panting, moaning and groaning. If he keeps talking to you like that, your head is going to be floating away from you.

He's too busy slipping his fingers underneath the waistband of your shorts to notice. He sits up on his knees, and has your shorts and panties down to your ankles in one smooth motion. You, however, were kicking them off desperately.

He proceeds to spread your thighs, gazing at your center through those foxy eyes, "Look at this pretty, wet cunt." He mumbles.

You try not to clench your thighs, as he's holding them open still. But he feels your muscles tense. He leans closer, eyes still glued to wear you can feel slick leaking out, and licks his lips. His eyes shoot back up to you, and he tilts his head with a smile.

"Is it for me, angel?"

You whimper at the puff of warm air against you, before letting out a pathetically strangled, "hnng..." in an attempt to say yes.

He's massaging and kneading your thighs up and down. His hand draws closer to where you're craving his touch.

"We’re moving awfully fast, love. I need your consent if you want me to make you feel good. Yes or no?"

"Yes, please, I can't tak-" You're pleading without hesitation.

Before you could even finish your sentence, his tongue is licking a long strip from your opening to your clit. And you let out a pornographic moan.

He peeks up, wetness shining on his chin already, "Now, now. We wouldn't want anyone to find us in this compromising position, would we?"

"No..." You whine, bucking your hips towards his face, uncaring of how desperate you might look.

He just chuckles darkly, "Good, then keep quiet or I'll make you quiet. You'd look so adorable with your panties stuffed in your mouth."

Fuck, you had no idea he was like this. You thought he was the adorable one, all timid and cute and shy. Clearly he’d been hiding this other side of himself from you. All this time, you could have been experiencing this with Hyunjin. You curse yourself for not trying to break whatever resolve he was clearly holding back from you, earlier. 

You clamp a hand over your mouth as he goes back to pleasuring you. His tongue is focused on your clit, teasing you with kitten licks. You need more, and try to roll your hips against his mouth. But he grunted softly while holding one of your hips down.

He’s swirling circles over your clit now, and brings two fingers to your entrance. He slips them in harshly, giving you no time to adjust, and you’re thankful for how wet he had gotten you first. You feel the tears welling up in your eyes.

"You're doing so well," He whispers against your cunt.

It feels so good, even better when he curls them and starts pumping into you quickly. Reaching that gummy spot inside you repeatedly.

It was nearly impossible to stay quiet, but you managed by panting through it. 

Saliva starts collecting in your mouth from it, drool slipping out of your mouth.

You’re so close, you can’t help it when a quiet and whiny "Fuck..." Flies out of your mouth. You knew quickly though, that was the wrong move.

His fingers slow down to a lazy rhythm, still working into you but not enough to push you over the edge. He lifts his head to look at you. A smug smile plastered to his face, "Angeeeeel" He sings quietly, and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever heard.

You hope he never stops calling you angel.

"Didn't I say to be quiet?" He asks as he removes his fingers from your pussy.

"I-I'm sorry, it just... you're so... God, it was so good." You're struggling to find your words, chest heaving, and walls clenching, searching to be filled again.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." He vocalizes and climbs up to face you, "I know a way to keep you quiet."

His fingers are prodding against your lips, and you open them automatically. He's shoving them deep, sliding against your tongue. Your lips close around them, and your tongue starts laving at them. You can taste yourself, and feel his fingers caressing your tongue. It’s like he’s teasing you, showing you what you could be feeling a little lower, if only you could be a little quieter. All it's doing is winding you up even more.

He's watching you in awe, his lips parted, eyes glued to your mouth engulfing his fingers. He pulls them out slightly and pushes them back in repeatedly, and you start drooling even more. Spit is gathering at the corner of your mouth and sliding out, his eyes tracking the glistening path it's leaving.

"When we're not in this cramped closet, I'm going to fuck your face like this." 

You gurgled a bit at that, and that was enough to push him even further. You didn’t think he was holding anything more back, but you were wrong.

He pulls his fingers out of your mouth, and kneels, pulling his pants and boxers down enough to free his cock. It springs up, bouncing off his stomach. He spreads the mixture of your wetness and saliva from his fingers onto his cock, and lets out a soft moan. Giving himself a few pumps, he lines himself up with your entrance, still on his knees.

He was looking down at you, seemingly admiring how fucked out you looked before his cock even entered you. You’re looking up at him expectantly. 

Without warning he thrusts into you, this time pausing for a second. You moan again and that's when he lays on top of you, kissing you. You taste yourself once more, just on his tongue this time. Nearly all your senses are overwhelmed, and you feel your mind slipping into the abyss.

He whispers against your lips, "You need something in your mouth constantly, don't you, love?"

You whimper softly, and that triggers him to start moving, barely any build up to him snapping his hips against yours. His fingers slip back into your mouth, and his head drops to your shoulder, nosing against it and humming. He was whispering sweet praises into the crook of your neck, you were barely registering it.

“You feel so good, love.”

“I’ve imagined a lot, but I never imagined you’d get this wet for me.”

“You sound so pretty trying to hold back for me.”

”Taste divine, too.”

”Such a good angel.”

You weren't going to last long, you felt about three seconds away from cumming.

What you did register very clearly, was him letting out the softest whimper directly in your ear, and nipping your earlobe afterwards. Then you were falling apart. Pleasure crashing over you, and body jerking against his. He was kissing your neck now, but his pace never faltered. Instead of helping you ride it out by slowing down, he kept pushing you higher. Your thighs were shaking, it felt like this orgasm would never end. 

It was hard to find the words you wanted to say in your hazy mind, but you found one,"S-sensitive." You whispered.

At that he did slow down a bit, and faced you again. Pressing more soft kisses to your jaw, cheeks, and lips. And you could breathe again.

"But angeeel," He sing-songed again, "Hyunie made you feel so good, don't you want me to cum too?"

You blinked up at him through teary eyes, trying to see him clearly as he was still slowly fucking you. It was still sensitive, and sore in the best way. 

"Answer me love."

Your response was on instinct at this point.

"Yes sir."

And his eyes darkened, his grip on your thighs tightened and he pushed your knees further into your chest. 

"Good girl." He praised you again, and you whimpered.

He gave no mercy though, skin slapping against skin as his hips jerked roughly into you. This time it was him clamping a hand against your mouth, he knew immediately you wouldn’t be able to stay quiet.

Your walls clenched around him, and you were in shock at the fact it felt like you were about to cum again so quickly. He grunted softly, eyes squeezing shut, and hips faltering.

"My angel feels so. fucking. perfect." He whispered, and punctuated it with one last pump into you.

His jaw dropped, and he was holding back strangled noises as he emptied his load inside you. 

You were squirming, you’re so close, just a little more and you could–

But your thoughts were blown away when he brought his fingers to your clit, and started rubbing in quick circles. Your breath stuttered, and he still held his palm over your mouth. You were grateful, because you were cumming again in seconds, a long and muffled whine breaking through. 

He didn’t keep going this time, he tapered his motions off, and as soon as he retracted his hand you were gulping for air. 

“Fuck.” You panted.

He chuckled lowly, wiping the sweat from his brow with his inner wrist, and pushing his hair back off his face. Those piercing eyes were watching you still, as you heaved for oxygen. 

“Holy fuck.” You murmured again.

“I wouldn’t say I’m all that Holy honestly, you’re the angel.” He smirked.

“No, but that was still a spiritual experience.” You laughed breathlessly, trying not to let the pet name fluster you further.

“Mmm… transcendent even.” He hummed.

Then he pulled out of you, and you hissed at the loss and the sting. 

“Stay still, I’ll clean you up.” 

You listened, letting the bean bag engulf you further as he moved towards the shelves. It’s a good thing this blanket was here. You weren’t sure how you’d be able to clean a bean bag. 

He wiped you down as best as he could with the conveniently placed tissues, and then wiped himself before tucking himself back into his pants, and then the used tissues in his pocket. 

He slid your bottoms and shorts back on, and tugged your hoodie over your head, before collapsing next to you with a huff. No hesitation in pulling you close to him this time. 

You both lay there, eyes closed, listening to nothing but each other's breathing for a few moments. Then he breaks the blissful silence. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to keep going without talking to you about it first.” He muttered, giving you a squeeze. 

“Overstimulation is 100% my thing, I’m not mad about it.” You mumble and peek an eye open to look at him. 

He’s gorgeous, face still glistening in sweat, down to his neck, and hair stuck to his forehead. You sit up to reach for the tissues, wiping his face and neck down and attempting to pat his hair dry. You push it out of his face again, and look into his eyes. 

“If I’m mad about anything, it’s the fact we could’ve been doing that for years.” You smirked. 

He’s grinning now, and putting a hand around the back of your neck while you play with his hair. 

“Well, we-”

But he’s cut off, because you both hear somebody outside of the door. You both scramble to sit up straight and apart from each other. You stuff the tissues you were holding into your hoodie pocket. Just in time for the door to swing open.

There stands a curious looking Seungmin, eyeing you both and then the surroundings of the tiny room.

"What were YOU guys doing?" He says with a sly smirk.

Jisung’s head pops into view and he's squinting at the two of you suspiciously. 

You didn’t even hear anyone come down the stairs, then again that wasn’t a priority when you were too busy getting your guts rearranged sporadically. Just how much did these two hear?

"Oh, we were just playing a video game." You wave your hand at the tv, hoping to come off nonchalant.

"You were playing a game. Really?" Seungmin asks dryly.

“Must have been some game.” You hear Jisung chime in.

"Yeah," Hyunjin chuckles, "why, what's up?”

"Oh nothing, it's just funny how you can play a game with the controllers wedged underneath this bean bag here.” He says pulling them out and tossing them towards you and Hyunjin. “And the game is still on the start screen." Seungmin shrugged.

Hyunjin just smirked, and combed his hair back with his hand. You, however, feel the heat rising to your cheeks as you stare at the screen.

"Anyways." Jisung says, "We've decided we're going to play a drinking game! Come with us!" He says bouncing up and down on his heels and dashing towards the stairs.

Seungmin looks you both up and down, before he hums and walks away. As they ascend the stairs, you hear Jisung not so quietly whispering. 

“You think one of them finally made a move?” 

Then you hear a smack, and Jisung shouting about violence not being his love language.

You let yourself exhale finally with a shaky breath, and look over to Hyunjin. He’s smiling entirely too brightly for just having almost been caught in a compromising position. 

So you smack him halfheartedly in the shoulder. 

“Now what was that for?” He says, his smile seemingly not going anywhere. 

“Next time, we need a locked door, and preferably not a bean bag.” 

“Oh, next time?” He raises an eyebrow, and you want nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face. 

But if you do that, you know it will escalate. And you two still need a proper conversation about whatever just happened, because you definitely want it to happen again. Plus you don’t think you can handle anymore beanbag shenanigans. 

“Shut up.” You say instead, with a smile to match his own, “I need a shower before I play, good luck enduring the masses about what just happened.” 

“Masses? More religious puns?” He jokes. 

And it feels a little strange now, having a complete 180 and being able to converse lightly and joke with him. When not even two hours ago, you struggled with awkward silences. Then again, he was inside of you not even ten minutes ago. 

Yeah, a shower, the drinking game, a proper conversation, and hopefully more fucking. 

“What can I say, I feel blessed.” 

“I feel sinful, in the best way though.” He continues.

“I will deliver your penance later, first, I shower.” You joke and finally get off the bean bag and out of the tiny room. 

He follows behind you, as you both walk towards the stairs. But before you can get up the first step, he bends down to whisper in your ear. 

“I'll be waiting for you, I am but a devoted worshipper.”

Holy fuck, this man is going to ruin you. 

Taglist:

@eczlipse @sailor--sun @maisyyyyyy @jupire @prettiichocolateprincess

@meowmeowminnie @joyofbebbanburg @adieu-lisette @sleeping-beau-tay @staytinyluv

@lookitsjess @majorlymismanaged @kpopsstuffs @helloimacalumgirl @bbokarimenu

@bubblepop-stay @mauvemelon @ohhlittlegirl @ang4lheart @spnwinchestersd

@adieu-lisette @loud-minhoe @juwire @anylady-fics @antisocialties

@nebugalaxy @wowitsafemale @fox-in-y @irrevocable-exposure

I genuinely hope you enjoyed reading this, as much as I enjoyed writing it, let me know if you did! And I hope I receive a warm welcome back to the world of writing ♡

As always, please let me know if you'd like to join the taglist. And if you do, pretty please interact with my fics besides liking (ie; replying/commenting/reblogging). Although I will always appreciate liking as well! Feedback is always cherished! ♡

But again, please be gentle in your criticism! I am but a sensitive soul.

[midnitetech]

Download All My Mods in One Zip!

This folder includes everything that is up-to-date!

NOTEWORTHY NOTEBOOK

DOOMSCROLLING 

MEET UP APP  

LYRICAL ICON SCENARIO 

POWER OUTAGES 

SIMAZON UNLIMITED

SIMOLEONS SIDE HUSTLEZ 

SIMU ONLINE DEGREES 

SIMU ONLINE SKILL CLASSES

WRITE BOOKS OVERHAUL 

GAME DEVELOPER

HOLISTIC HEALTH CONSULTANT

CHIROPRACTOR

FREELANCE 3D MODELER

ALL HOURS CAREER PACK 

FLEX PART-TIME CAREER PACK 

RETAIL CAREER PACK 

LIBRARIAN

ODD JOBS MEGAPACK 

SEQUENTIAL ARTIST

STORYTELLING CAREER PACK 

CYBERSECURITY HACKER

REAL ESTATE AGENT

HR

BANKING

WELL-ROUNDED ASPIRATION (CHILD)

CAREER-FOCUSED ASPIRATION 

DISCOVER LIFE ASPIRATION 

CUSTOM CAREER UNIFORMS

RENAME WORLDS MOD 

SWITCH CAREER BRANCHES

FACIAL CLEANSER 4 ALL

GENERIC LOTS: EMPTY NO MORE 

CAS NAME RANDOMIZER 

EP17_DISABLESPECTERS

EP15_LESSPOVISITS

ODDJOBS_HIDEMAXIS

MAKEUPHIDER

STYLEDLOOKHIDER

STAY ASLEEP

THUNDERSTORMS_NOSCARED

⚠️REQUIRED⚠️

🌐Lot 51's Core Library 📁midnitetech_modlibrary 🎮Required DLC: Any DLC requirements are listed in the original posts above. You can now delete all midnitetech...ts4script files, bar midnitetech_RenameWorlds.ts4script (if you have it). My new midnitetech_modlibrary includes everything you'll need. Lot 51's Core Library is still required. This does NOT include my very old careers—they're being updated separately. See the link below the cut to track old content updates.

Get help, reach out, or explore more of my creations—all in one place!

Download & extract to C:\Users\....\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods

PATREON ($5 or Patreon membership)

NOT INCLUDED:

FIXED CC OBJECTS BY PBOX

LUXURY PARTY HAIR EDIT

ECO LIFESTYLE HAIR EDIT

EMPTY SAVE FILE

OLD CAREERS✳️

OLD CAREER PACK✳️ 

SATURDAY JOBS PACK✳️

TRAVEL WRITER CAREER ✳️ ✳️ Due for an overhaul. Track old content updates here.

[ladymrf]

kinda a wip? who knows.

how Conner Kent became Conner Luthor Kent

Kon realizes one afternoon when he, Tim, Bart and the girls are relaxing at a resort that is too expensive for any of them (except Cissie) to afford that, damn it, he can't go out with Timothy Drake if he's a nobody.

Tim is a prodigy, smart, rich and handsome and Conner could be the trophy husband, he would be so happy with that, but YJ's life plan is to get Tim out of Gotham and keep him from killing himself working as a civilian and in the nightlife.

Conner would never take Tim from his comfortable life, ruled by luxury and money, in Gotham to stick him in a student apartment in a corner of Metropolis, no, that wasn't right, if he wanted to date Tim Drake he should be someone important, someone who can afford the life of luxury that his dear Robin was born into.

People tend to think of Conner as a good country soul, he is, but half of him comes from a hateful little man who conquered Metropolis and made his entire empire.

Kon is intelligent, he has a lot of knowledge dormant in his mind, above all, people underestimate him because of the exterior he shows, so it's very easy.

He shows up at Luthor Corp (formerly Lex Corp, renamed after, well, Lex Luthor screwed up and got arrested, he did a lot for Kon to remember). Lex's sister is officially in charge, but the board of directors runs the company, so Kon schedules a meeting with Lena Luthor, arrives in his civilian clothes, tells her he'd like to know what's going on with the company now that Lex is in jail. Lena explains that the company is only in one piece thanks to the board's herculean effort to prevent bankruptcy (a lot of people would lose their jobs and benefits because of that), Lex was the entire mind behind that company, no one could understand the notes he left or decode what his plans for the future of the company were about.

Kon looks at the sheets of notes from the notebooks Lex left and translates: You should sell the branches of the department stores in Australia, despite the profit, something will happen in the market that will make them bankrupt, it's better to sell at the peak of profit.

The board of directors looks at him like he's Jesus come back.

So it starts, he sits in on meetings translating and decoding the crap Luthor left behind and a few weeks later he has an office, months later he's using the man's old office and by the end of that year he's managed to get Lena to sign the company over to him with the full support of everyone important who worked there.

And boy, is that a lot of money, Kon manages to set up a college fund for Jon, buys new tractors for the farm and rebuilds the barn into something decent, he donates new computers to the Daily Planet (Lois almost cried over that), he also helped Kara finance an apartment in Metropolis for when she needed it.

The best part is that Kon loves his job and everyone else in the company loves him. All the money that Luthor Corp makes is practically given back to the community. In the space of a year, Conner Luthor (whose family relationship with Lex is unknown) built homes for the unfortunate, paid off student loans, created thousands of jobs, helped schools, donated to queer causes, and even planted hundreds of trees in the city. It was great. Kon was able to help out both inside and outside of the uniform.

So what if he used the money to sponsor Cissie's projects? Give Greta a comfortable life? Put Anita's parents in a good boarding school so that her friend could study without worries? So what if he paid for her and Greta's college? Who cares if he put Bart to work in the company's engineering department? (Like, the world thinks the Luthor Corp engineer is a genius, thank goodness they've never seen Bart work, or they'd think he's crazy) So what if Cassie Sandsmark gets hired as a lawyer for one of the biggest companies in the world right out of college?

So Kon finally has a name, he confesses his love to Tim, they date for months, Tim doesn't even notice his days in Kon's apartment getting longer, his clothes ending up in his boyfriend's wardrobe, he doesn't realize that by the end of their first year of dating, he's practically living in Kon's penthouse.

(It takes almost two years of hard work from all of them, Tim moves out of Gotham, finds himself working alongside Bart, before he realizes it he's already heading up the engineering department with his friend, he works reasonable hours, takes photography courses, helps the police as the only vigilante in Metropolis, the whole YJ moves into their neighborhood, it's perfect.)

(Clark was so happy, with YJ in town he could shorten his time as Superman and finally have some peace, of course he miscalculated this, in fact the need for Superman decreased with more heroes in town, but Rao knows that Clark's headaches only increased with the children running around town, he stopped trying to talk sense into them after seeing Red Robin hang Impulse upside down from a rooftop after the speedster ate his slice of cake, at least Jon was in the care of the best babysitters in town whether as a hero or civilian.)

Kon discovered himself, he was good at doing business, a shark like Lex was disguised by the Kents' easy charm, he smiled at each older executive already thinking "how am I going to use this one for my purposes?" He could come up with Lex's most crazy ideas to run the company, without violating any human rights in the process of making more money.

(Lex couldn't even get angry, because now the Luthor name was associated with Conner not him, the company was something to be remembered for the good things the boy was doing, not for the crazy things he did. His legacy would live on, his creation would guide Metropolis when he was gone.)

[mclarensims]

**NEW** The Princess Peach Challenge 🍄👑

Starter house on the gallery: @AhriOW

Hi there, royal builder! Welcome to the Princess Peach Challenge for The Sims 4! 🌟 In this magical adventure, you’ll guide Peach through her journey to build a castle, grow her kingdom, and prove she’s the ultimate boss princess! 💕 Each phase is packed with fun goals, storytelling, and some epic building moments. So, grab your crown and let’s get started! 👑🎮

🌟 Setup

Before Peach can start her royal quest, we’ve gotta set the stage!

🏰 1. Manage Worlds:

Bulldoze and convert the Von Haunt Estate into a residential lot. (You’ll need the Venue Changes mod by Zerbu 🛠️).

Rename the lot: Mushroom Castle. 🍄✨

🌞 2. Lot Traits:

Add these magical traits to Peach’s new kingdom:

🌱 Great Soil (perfect for gardening!).

☀️ Sunny Aspect (keep it positive and happy).

🌬️ Bracing Breezes (gotta keep fit for all that adventuring!).

💸 3. Starting Funds:

Reduce Peach’s starting funds to 8,000 simoleons (even princesses have to budget sometimes 😅).

👸 4. Create Peach:

Aspiration: Friend of the World (because Peach is a sweetheart 💖).

Traits: Cheerful 😄, Good 💕, Outgoing 🌟.

Career: Politician (Charity Organizer branch) 💼✨.

🏡 5. The Royal Shed (aka Her Starter Home):

Peach starts her journey in a tiny shed (humble beginnings, am I right? 😅):

Inside: A basic bed, desk, chair, mini fridge, and a small bathroom (toilet, sink, shower 🚿).

Outside: A little garden patch for growing flowers and veggies 🌸🥕.

👑 Phase 1: Becoming a Princess

Peach is just starting out, full of dreams and determination! 🌟 This phase is all about laying the foundation for her role as a princess.

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Join the Politician career and reach Level 3.

Use your Charisma (Level 3) to deliver a speech on a community lot 🎤💬.

📚 Writing Goals:

Write and publish your first children’s book: The Toad Who Could 🐸📖.

Earn at least 500 simoleons in royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 5 friends to build your royal crew 👑✨.

🤝 Skill Goals:

Reach Level 3 Gardening Skill.

🏡 Building Goals:

Keep living in the Royal Shed for now—it’s not castle time yet!

🏰 Phase 2: Building the Ground Floor

Time to level up, literally! Peach starts constructing the ground floor of her castle while still living in her Royal Shed (progress takes time, bestie!).

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Build the following rooms:

Entrance Hallway: Add some cute flooring, wall lights, and maybe a rug or table ✨🪞.

Bathroom: Sink, toilet, and shower—basic but functional 🚿.

Kitchen: Fridge, stove, and one counter (no fancy upgrades yet, sorry! 🍳).

Dining Room: A dining table with four chairs (keep it simple for now 🪑).

Office: Desk, computer, and maybe a bookshelf for decor 📚💻.

Grand Staircase (Placeholder): Add a staircase to hint at future expansion—it doesn’t go anywhere yet, though 😅.

⛔ Restrictions:

Peach still has to live in the Royal Shed—no castle bedrooms yet!

Keep the decor modest (save the fancy stuff for later ✨).

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 6 in the Politician career.

Use Charisma Level 5 to deliver another speech on a public lot 🎤.

Raise 2,000 simoleons for charity 💖.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more children’s books: Piranha Plant Picnic 🪴 and Adventure Under the Mushroom Tree 🍄📖.

Earn 1,500 simoleons in total royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 10 friends—your kingdom is growing! 🥳.

Host a Silver-Level Dinner Party in your new Dining Room 🎉.

🏡 Building Goals:

Complete and furnish all ground floor rooms (keeping it basic, there will be upgrades!) 🏰.

👑 Phase 3: Expanding the Castle

The castle gets an upgrade, and Peach finally gets her own fancy bedroom! ✨

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Build the second floor, adding:

Princess’s Bedroom: Luxurious bed, vanity, and wardrobe—time to live like royalty! 👸🛏️.

Second-Floor Bathroom: Fancy fixtures, of course! 🚿🛁.

Royal Hallways: Connect those new rooms for a cohesive look.

Functional Grand Staircase: It finally works—no more pretending! 😅.

⛔ Restrictions:

Still no extravagant luxury items (save the chandeliers for Phase 4!).

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 8 in the Politician career.

Host a public protest on a community lot ✊.

Raise 5,000 simoleons for charity 💖.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more books: Royal Mushroom Adventures 🍄 and The Brave Garden Bloom 🌼📖.

Earn 3,500 simoleons in total royalties.

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 15 friends—Peach is becoming everyone’s favorite princess! 💕.

Host a Gold-Level Dinner Party in your castle 🎉.

🏡 Building Goals:

Move into your Princess Bedroom (bye-bye, Royal Shed for now! - do not delete it) and finish the second floor 🛏️.

👑 Phase 4: Restoring Royalty

Peach is thriving now, but there’s always room to level up! 🌟 This phase is all about making her castle shine, expanding the kingdom, and preparing for future challenges (Bowser might be lurking 👀).

🏗️ Construction Unlocks:

Time to add some extra flair to Peach’s castle:

Grand Banquet Room:

Upgrade the Dining Room into a banquet space fit for royalty. 👑

Add a large table (seats at least 8 Sims), fancy lighting (chandeliers, anyone? 💡✨), and decor.

Royal Garden Expansion:

Add 10 plants (flowers, fruits, or veggies—get creative 🌷🍓).

Include a fountain or pond and some outdoor seating for a peaceful vibe 🪷.

Royal Sitting Room:

Build a cozy living room with:

Plush sofas or armchairs 🛋️.

Optional fireplace for extra charm 🔥.

A creative hobby item like a chess table ♟️ or easel 🎨.

Servants’ Quarters:

Add a spare bedroom with basic furnishings (bed, side table, lamp).

⛔ Restrictions:

No building the third floor or any secret rooms yet—save that for Phase 5!

✨ Goals:

🌟 Career Goals:

Reach Level 9 in the Politician career.

Host a Gold-Level Royal Fundraiser or Charity Benefit Party in the Banquet Room 🎉💖.

Raise 8,000 simoleons for charity.

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 2 more children’s books: Toad and the Great Fountain 🐸💦 and Peach’s Royal Banquet 🍑🍽️.

Earn 5,000 simoleons in total royalties (cumulative).

🤝 Social Goals:

Make 20 friends to show Peach’s growing popularity and beloved status 🌟.

Host a Gold-Level Social Event in the Banquet Room.

🏡 Building Goals:

Complete all new construction (Banquet Room, Royal Garden, Sitting Room, Servants’ Quarters).

Convert the Royal Shed into a greenhouse for gardening 🌱.

😱 Phase 5: Kidnapping and Self-Rescue

Plot twist! A villain (cough Bowser cough 🐢🔥) disrupts Peach’s perfect life by taking over her castle! Peach must now rise to the challenge, prove her independence, and reclaim her kingdom on her own terms. 💪👸

🏚️ Kidnapping Setup:

Story Setup:

Create a rival Sim (your Bowser equivalent) with traits like Mean, Hot-Headed, or Kleptomaniac 🥴.

Move this rival into Peach’s castle (using Manage Households) and lock the lot for Peach—she’s officially kicked out! 🚫🏰.

Peach moves to a rundown micro-home (maximum 32 tiles) on a tiny lot. Use cheats to reduce her funds to 1,000 simoleons.

Living Situation:

Build her new tiny home with only the bare essentials:

1 bed, mini fridge, toilet, shower, and a cheap desk with a broken-looking computer 💻💔.

Castle Rules:

Peach may not return to the castle or interact with it until she completes her self-rescue goals.

✨ Goals to Escape and Reclaim the Castle:

🌟 Career Goals:

Maintain her Politician career and reach Level 10 while living in her tiny home.

💪 Fitness Goals:

Max the Fitness skill (Level 10)—Peach has to train to defeat her rival 🏋️‍♀️💥.

📚 Writing Goals:

Write and publish 1 motivational book about overcoming obstacles: The Princess Who Saved Herself ✨📖.

Earn 2,000 simoleons in royalties during this phase.

🤝 Social Goals:

Befriend 2 new Sims in her new neighborhood to show her resilience.

Meet Mario (add him to the neighborhood!) and fall in love 💕.

💰 Earnings Goals:

Save up 15,000 simoleons through work, writing, painting, or gardening to “fund her escape.”

🎉 Reclaiming the Castle:

Once Peach completes her goals, she can return to her castle! 🏰✨ Here’s what she needs to do to fully reclaim her kingdom:

Defeat the Rival:

Win a Fight interaction against Bowser. Show him who’s boss! 💥👊

Host a “Reclaim the Kingdom” Party:

Throw a Gold-Level Party to celebrate her victory 🎉🍑.

🏗️ Unlockable Upgrades:

After reclaiming her castle, Peach gets to add some well-deserved luxury:

Secret Tower Room:

A hidden or private tower room with luxury decor (e.g., yoga mat, meditation stool, or vanity table). 🗝️✨

Expanded Bedrooms:

Add a fully decorated heir’s bedroom for the next generation 🌼.

Royal Garden Upgrades:

Add a gazebo, statues, or seating areas to reflect Peach’s triumph 🌷🪑.

Banquet Hall Enhancements:

Add extra elegance to the Banquet Room, like a piano or bar 🎹🍸.

🌸 Phase 6: The Legacy of the Princess

Peach has done it all—built her castle, defeated her rival, and earned her happily ever after. Now, it’s time to prepare the next generation (and wrap things up with a bow 🎀).

✨ Goals:

📚 Writing Goals:

Publish 1 final children’s book about her journey: The Legacy of the Mushroom Kingdom 🍄✨.

Earn 10,000 simoleons in total royalties (cumulative).

💕 Social Goals:

Marry Mario in a lavish wedding 💍🍑.

Make 20 total friends (symbolizing Peach’s beloved status).

Befriend 1 child or teen Sim (as a mentor to the next generation).

👶 Heir Goals:

Have at least 1 female child (Daisy), who will continue her legacy.

🏰 Final Castle Completion:

Peach’s castle must be 100% complete before her heir takes over:

Throne Room: Luxury furniture fit for royalty 👑.

Princess’s Bedroom: Fully upgraded and personalized 🌸.

Heir’s Bedroom: Ready for Daisy’s reign 🌼.

Banquet Hall: Lavishly furnished with chandeliers, a piano, and more 🎹.

Royal Garden: Includes a gazebo, fountain, and 10 Perfect-quality plants 🌷.

🎉 Farewell Celebration:

Before passing the crown to Daisy, Peach must host a Gold-Level Farewell Party to mark the end of her journey and the start of the heir’s! 🌟

Enjoy!!

[jiubilant]

“Get up,” whispers Camilla Valeria, patting the face of the stranger in her bed. “Get up! My brother’s back early from Delphine’s.”

In a few days, the woman sprawled in Camilla’s strewn sheets will be renamed by a thunderclap. Dragons will dread her. Skalds will sing of her first battle-feats. Now she twists her face, assailed by hurried hands and the light lancing in from the window, and makes a muzzy noise.

“Here,” says Camilla. “Here, your shirt, your breeks, your rock—”

The voice that will kindle fires is hoarse with sleep. “Dragonstone.”

“—your belt, your boots—”

The woman in the bed, with groggy amusement, lifts her chin. “And?”

Camilla blinks down at her. Then, with a swift, sweet shopgirl’s smile, she drops a kiss on the other woman’s lips.

“I think you’re right,” she says, breathless. “I’ll marry Faendal. Then I won’t have to put up with Sven’s mother.” She grins down at her companion. “Unless you have a farm you haven’t told me about?”

The woman who will be called Dragonborn smiles with some effort.

“No,” she says, and stretches like a dancer. Her bruises burn. “I don’t have anything."

* * *

She has the rock—the Dragonstone, she corrects herself, following the Jarl’s plodding packhorse down the switchbacks of the Hvit. She has, too, the hundred aches and scrapes suffered in Helgen—she tries not to think of the screams, the charred-meat smell, the severed heads rolling from the upended basket—and last night in the barrow of the wight. The thing had probably been interred with the rock in its frail arms. But the ages had crumbled armor to rust and bones to dust; she’d lifted the Dragonstone from the sunken cavity of its chest, choking every Khefrish prayer she knew for quieting the dead. When she ran out of invocations, she made up soothing words that meant nothing in any tongue.

Drem, she’d murmured to the corpse, prying its withered hands from the stone. Her own hands shook. In the flicker of her torch, the scratches on the walls had seemed to burn. Praan, midaargolz, vodahmaan faazselaas—

The horse tugs its lead with an impatient huff. She staggers after it through the scratchy scrub, the sap-sticky branches, the patches of shade and light. Sun dapples the beast’s flanks. The river flashes as it polishes its stones. The leaves shriveling in the foreign trees blaze in all the colors of fire.

The burning standards, she thinks, the sun hot as fever on her neck. The horse-thief with his face in the dirt, his breath a wet, punctured noise. The severed heads rolling from the upended basket.

Then she grins, forcibly, like the dragon-skull mounted on hooks behind the Jarl’s throne. She draws the parcel wrapped in oilskin from the horse’s twitching back, soothing it with the praises she’d overheard in the Jarl’s stable; she doubts the wizard will let her look at her prize later. She thinks hard of the coinpurse in wait for her, the leg of mutton at the table of the Jarl, the smiling woman who fills the cups. The folds of waxy cloth fall open.

She blinks. She is, she realizes after a moment, holding the rock wrong-side up. The obverse side stares back at her, chiseled with scratches that mean nothing in any tongue.

The wind sticks, whispering, to the sweat at the back of her neck. Something in her stirs with a rattle of scales.

“Here lie our fallen lords,” she murmurs—aloud, halting, as though one of her old tutors scowls over her shoulder still. The words flower in the back of her throat like fire. “Until might of al du in—”

The trees shiver. The horse shakes its head and stamps. A head with suns for eyes tilts somewhere, listening.

[lets-steal-an-archive]

Missing 'Notable Graves' webpages

African American History/(archived version)

Hispanic American History/(archived version)

Women’s History/(archived version)

Missing educational materials

"Civil War" (archived version) – 7 educational modules removed.

"Environment at ANC" (archived version) – page renamed and 1 educational module removed.

"Medal of Honor" (archived version) – 1 module removed with three walking tour guides.

"Service Branches" (archived version) – 5 walking tour modules for notables graves of veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

"Women’s History" (archived version) – 7 educational modules removed.

"African-American History" (archived version) – 14 educational modules removed.

[uwmspeccoll]

Typography Tuesday

STEPHENSON BLAKE

Today we're showing a new acquisition from one of the giants of British type founding, Specimens of Printing Types from Stephenson, Blake, the Caslon Letter Foundry, Sheffield, published in Sheffield, England by Stephenson Blake & Co. in 1959. Stephenson Blake claims a lineage directly back to William Caxton, the founder of English type and printing in 1476. We think they stand on firmer ground, however, in also claiming descent from William Caslon, the founder of the first truly British typefaces beginning in 1734.

Silversmith and mechanic William Garnett and toolmaker John Stephenson began foundry operations in 1818 with financial support from James Blake. A year later, they acquired the firm of William Caslon III and IV, an offshoot of the Caslon family business. Garnett left the firm in 1829 and the company was renamed Blake & Stephenson in 1830, but Blake died soon after. Stephenson himself died in 1864 and passed the business onto his son Henry. The company was purchased in 1905 Sir Charles Reed and Sons, but the Stephenson name was retained. In 1937, the company purchased H.W. Caslon & Sons, the other branch of the storied Caslon dynasty, securing its right to claim full Caslon heritage.

Stephenson Blake continued to make some type until 2001, but it finally closed its foundry in 2005, with much of its historical stock going to the Type Archive in London. Because of financial issues, the Type Archive also had to close its doors in 2022, and the Stephenson Blake collection was transferred to the Victoria & Albert Museum as the interim custodian.

Shown here are some shaded typefaces and ornaments from the 1959 catalog.

View more Typography Tuesday posts.

[mtnman451]

Leftist's, Liberals and Democrats: It's All Perfectly Legal

grownoutandabout

First off, Trump did NOT create a new agency. That’s the lie the media is pushing because they know most people are too lazy to actually read the executive order. What Trump did was repurpose an existing agency—the United States Digital Service (USDS)—which was originally created under Obama to “modernize government software.” He renamed it the United States DOGE Service and kept the same acronym. Why does that matter? Because repurposing an existing department that already has funding means Congress has no say in it. No approval needed. No funding battles. Perfectly legal. Now, let’s talk about how Trump and Musk are executing this legally. First, DOGE’s mission is covered under 44 USC Chapter 36, which governs federal IT modernization. That’s what the original USDS was already supposed to be doing—Trump just made sure it was being done correctly instead of as another bloated bureaucratic disaster. Second, Trump invoked 5 USC 3161, which allows for the creation of a temporary organization within the federal government. That’s right—temporary. DOGE’s core audit team (led by Musk, originally including Vivek Ramaswamy) is legally structured to exist for 18 months. That means it’s not a new administrative agency—it’s a temporary oversight body. That’s not some shady loophole—it’s literally federal law. Now, here’s where it gets even better. The executive branch has full authority over executive agencies. That’s just how the Constitution works. Under the Take Care Clause (Article II, Section 3), the President is required to ensure that laws are faithfully executed. That means if agencies like USAID or OPM are mismanaging funds, Trump has every right—no, the constitutional obligation—to intervene and restructure them. And that’s exactly what DOGE teams are doing by embedding within each agency, conducting audits, and identifying waste. For the people screeching, “But Congress has oversight!”

I posted this because THIS is the best explanation of what President Trump has done and done completely inside the Law!

Thanks and ALL the credit goes to grownoutandabout

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jason Easley at PoliticusUSA:

Donald Trump wants all Americans to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The Associated Press has refused this silly executive order, which has no bearing on anyone outside of the Executive Branch, so Donald Trump responded by banning the AP from the Oval Office, press briefings, Air Force One, and threatening to remove their workspace from the White House. CNN’s Brian Stelter posted on X: [The Associated Press is contemplating next steps now that it has been banned from Air Force One, including from President Trump's flight to Mar-a-Lago this afternoon. Here's why it is a big deal >>> Blocking the AP from what are known as "pooled" events, like Air Force One flights and Oval Office photo ops, interferes with the news outlet's ability to do its job. The "press pool" travels with the president at all times and shares information with the wider press corps. The Associated Press is foundational to White House coverage – and serves many news outlets all around the world. In fact, The AP helped create the pool in the first place!] The AP’s history in the White House dates back to 1881. It is a wire service that provides news around the world. In the United States, it is a foundational pillar of news coverage. It is important to understand that Trump’s attack on the AP isn’t really about the Gulf of Mexico. The real motive here is control. Trump wants to control the news coverage. The administration is trying to make an example out of the AP because they can break the legendary Associated Press, and the rest of any remaining media resistance will crumble.

Thank God the AP isn’t bending to the anti-American Tyrant 47’s wishes on renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

The AP got wrongly barred from being in the Oval Office and Air Force One for not bending to Traitor Tot’s un-American order to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” This is an egregious attack on the free press.

See Also:

Public Notice: The AP provides a model of effective press resistance

[deltamune]

Small collection of little Floyd and Bitty B because I love them

I like to imagine if they had internet like we do, Floyd would create a vlog channel starring him and Branch so they can do their own thing for fans without worrying about John Dory telling them what to do. Sometimes Clay would join them, and Bruce Spruce(?) would occasionally join as well if they go out somewhere so he could supervise

They all keep it a secret from John Dory and he still doesn’t know about it

20 years later, Floyd would upload a video after a 20-year-silence where he, Branch, and Clay rename the channel to “Bunker Bros”, where the three of them just have fun as adults free of their oldest brother’s control

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

hey..... come here..... take some of my isat/pokemon au headcanons that were spinning around in my brain while i was figuring out how to write yesterday night. i know you want them.

Worldbuilding Specific

On account of humans being able to master Craft skills as a use of self defense, it's less common- but not unheard of- for children to get their first pokemon when they're so young. Many consider it a better use of time to learn how to master your own Crafts first, before relying on a pokemon to protect you. Then, in a worse case scenario if your pokemon were to faint, you aren't completely defenseless

Receiving your first pokemon, then, becomes a sort of rite of passage for a lot of children. A demonstration that they've internalized and practiced their Craft to the point where their parents trust them enough to bestow them a pokemon

Scholars are constantly at each other's throats about the nuance of Craft types and how they compare to pokemon's elemental abilities. Some believe that Craft types are exclusive to humans. Others believe that some pokemon can learn Craft, but only if they have a strong enough sense of self. Others still believe that every attack can be sorted into some classification of a Craft type (slicing physical damage for Piercing Craft, bludgeoning damage for Protector Craft, and special/ranged damage for Creative Craft)

The only thing that they can come to a consensus on is that Craft attacks from humans are classified as 'normal' type attacks to pokemon (leading some to believe that pokemon may have evolved from humans, or vice versa). This can be proven rather easily, considering Craft attacks are completely ineffective against ghost type pokemon

There was a brief attempt made to rename either Rock Craft or the rock elemental type due to the fact that they are two separate things. Trying to change it, however, proved more difficult and confusing than the previous issue they had, so they just leave it as is. Worst case scenario, you just elaborate by specifying Protector Craft.

Though pokemon battling is pretty much a worldwide sport, it originated in Ka Bue, and to this day that's the country that goes in the hardest on it. Pokemon battling is to Ka Bue as football is to America (<- most terrifying sentence I think I've ever written but it's true)

However, pokemon contests, on the other hand, originated in Vaugarde and spread from there. While not nearly as popular, it's taken root in the world all the same.

For those who follow the Change belief, it's very common to have at least one pokemon with a branching evolutionary line. It doesn't have to be a battling pokemon- usually it's just something to keep you company around the house. A lot of the times, children will grow up alongside their family pokemon, and seeing them change in fascinating ways affirms their beliefs about the religion and the beauty of change

Minior only crash land in one place

Jirachi is I think something but you'll have to come back to me later on that one

Character Specific

Bonnie didn't reach a point where their sister officially gave them a pokemon partner before everything started freezing in time. On their journey, however, they found a Cyndaquil, and the whole gang helped them catch it for themself

(Note that catching it was not at all essential to them having it. It already liked them. It probably would have stayed regardless. Bonnie wandered into camp one night just holding it like a cat and asked to keep it. It was just a fun bonding moment for them all)

Isabeau has a few pokemon, but his branching-evolutionary one was a Rockruff he had since childhood. Outgoing, energetic, playful, brave. It was everything he wasn't, back then.

The two of them Changed at around the same time, Isabeau first, and his Rockruff second, into a Midday Lycanroc. Normally, you give your pokemon a different name after its Changed to better reflect who it's Changed into. Isabeau could never figure out what to name it, though, and has just been calling it Lycanroc until he can think of a good name. He doesn't tell anyone but it's kind of stressing him out a little.

Mira has an Eevee, which is rather predictable of Housemaidens. However, it's kind of stressful for her because so many of the evolutions are triggered via a stone, which means that she would have to choose what the Eevee would become, and that's!! So much weight on her shoulders! What if it doesn't want to be what she chooses it to be?! What if she forces it to become something it hates and she hurts it on accident?!

It takes her a while to realize that 85% of this is self projection

Odile doesn't really have the time to care for a lot of pokemon, so she only has one. A very large Persian that's probably older than she is. It is terribly strong, but also terribly lazy, so there's a 50% chance it simply won't participate in a battle at all unless it really wants to (or, of course, if Odile is in genuine danger)

In her youth, the only social interaction Odile ever really had with her peers was battling them. And she was good at it, too. Wiping out someone's team of pokemon was the quickest way to get people off her back, so she did this easily and often.

Eventually though, this begun to backfire when people begun seeking her out looking for difficult fights. As a result, this intensified her shut-in behavior tenfold.

To this day she could still probably sweep a full team with just a handful of pokemon, battle strategist she is. She's not a braggart, though, so it's just another one of those things that her friends don't know about until she just blurts it out one day out of the blue and now everyone has several questions that she's purposefully never going to answer.

Siffrin

... Um. Hah. Siffrin, uh-

Siffrin...

...

Well, uh. Siffrin can't remember ever owning any pokemon! Haha!

Isabeau's helped them catch a few once or twice, but it never felt quite right, and they would always let them go soon after... It's a good skill to learn, certainly, but something about it feels... off, and they can never really explain why.