#also yes we can't see my signature on the drawings I cut it out by accident when i cropped the pictures and was too lazy to retake pics etc

[hellothere-generalangsty]

It's way past my bedtime ans my cat is sleeping-purring next to me but I thought I'd post the process of the @ailani-reillata Ailaniversary art I made today just to talk a bit more about it

Disclaimer: doing traditional art is cool until you need to scan it or post a picture of it 😂 also kinda long post below so ofc no obligation at all to read it!

Phase one: Sketching the Idea

My inspiration for the posture was a Yara Flor comic strip I found on Pinterest. Yara looks over her shoulder and her hair falls on the side of her face, and I loved the way it framed her face and thought it would look great with Ailani's hair.

I drew a little doodle on the page to help me visualize how the hair would be divided, and focused on 3 main parts (the lines, the bubbles, the empty space) which would - supposedly- help me during the lineart stage. Below are images of the final sketch.

I was hesitant on adding details to her arms, such as the folds of a dress, but I was so anxious about ruining the drawing I abandonzd that idea. I was considering adding her tattoos and was still not decided at this stage of the drawing.

Phase 2: Line-ing the Art

Is that even a real word? Idk, I'm too tired to English properly so we will say it is. Following the sketching phase was naturalle the lineart phase, which is one of my favorite stage when drawing. I bought new inking pens too so I was able to test them out, and it went quite well!

As you can see, the ribbons, outline of the skin and facial features have been done with my new pens, and i was quite happy with the result! It gives a more natural look to the whole drawing in my opinion.

At this stage I decided not to add her arm tattoos and consider this version of Ailani as the one you would find in the early chapters of Begged and Borrowed Time, so before she would get her tattoos.

Phase 2.5: Line-ing the Hair

This stage has it's own part because it was really fun to do! The inspiration for the way I draw hair comes from @/ssavaart (aka Scott Christian Sava on Youtube). I've been following him for a while now and I'm trying to push my art beyond my comfort zone and try new stuff thanks to him, and having fun with drawing hair is one of these things!

Look how beautiful these curls are. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm really proud of the drawing at this stage 😂 it's the perfect moment where the inking went well and I have not yet ridked myself with the watercolours - so I always take a long sight (and tons of pictures) to celebrate reaching this stage without incidents.

Phase 3: Watercolours

Here comes the difficult part. It always makes me nervous because I always fear ruining my drawing and all the efforts I put into it by doing the watercolours. But I love the medium too much and if I want to get better I need to practice. So, testing the waters, I finally dive head first into this crucial stage.

The watercolouring goes well, I'm overall satisfied enough to take some pictures and even try to scan it, with the hope that the scanned rendering will be better than the usual "photographing and editing" I do with my phone.

Spoiler alert: the scan was NOT better than the pictures, and no amount of editing could change that. (Or maybe I am just very bad at editing.) So, back to my "photographing and editing" habits, I somehow managed to get a good enough result:

I still feel unsatisfied as I find these digital versions do not properly render the visuals I have on paper, IRL. With the digital versionsw the hair is either so dark we don't see the details, or too bright, the colours are too warm and light... And while Ailani looks light-skinned, the paper version has these visible brown tones that I struggled to find on the digital version, even when editing the pictures. The closest I got is the tone you see on the first picture, but the image is not lighted enough so the overall quality of the picture is a bit lessened by that.

Still, I won't complain too much, because overall it was a very fun drawing to do, I enjoyed every stage of it and I would love to do another piece like this! But for now I will go to sleep because it is Way Past My Bedtime 😂

If you've made it this far, thank you for your attention, feel free to let me know which stage is your favorite and what you liked most (or disliked most) about this drawing!

I for one really had fun doing Ailani's lips, as well as filling her hair, and colouring her eyes! 😊

#ailani #ailani art #I'm tagging just in case you wanna see more but again no obligation to read all of that or anything! #this post is mostly here to show the early stages coz I was so prouf of how smoothly it went!! #until the colours #it's always the colours 😂 #but I hope you enjoyed the drawing anyway #I've actually been working on it last weekend but couldn't finish it until this saturday because of my exams week #which is over btw which means i finally has time to read Begged And Borrowed Time!! #and I'm really excited about that!! #so yeah that's all for me now is time to sleep because it's like 4:19am right now and I am huu tired 😂 #once again happy Ailaniversary 💕💙 #also yes we can't see my signature on the drawings I cut it out by accident when i cropped the pictures and was too lazy to retake pics etc #please pretend like you see my name signed next to her hair x)

[secret-time-is-here]

Happy birthday killer! (and me, found out last year we share a bday lol) Usually don't do birthday things aside from for Error but wanted to do something self-indulgent this year.

Loved working on this and doing all the poses and colors. Working with white and black is always so difficult because all clustered up like this its easy to see the difference between the hues so you have to do miniscule differences and very slight hues. (Horror slight pink for blood, Dust and Killer slight grey, Cross is a perfect white, Killer's tears have a green hue and Nightmare I always do a blue hue and red hue for Error... Chronic has a purple hue with light freckles for reasons :} )

Sketches and (somewhat) process below cut and rants on their posing/characters.

Changed orientation of the photo halfway through because it was super awkward and not at all the closeness I was looking for. Far too much like hugging my aunt and not a close mate. (Think it's pretty obvious I'm a huge simp for all of these guys by now--chronic not included, sorry bud, you're in the son-zone.)

Also, all the proportions were off so I had to zoom out and do proper sizing and make sure everyone lined up proper. General rule of thumb is to have waist line around the same area (Error and Dust were the exceptions because Dust was on shoulders and big boi Error supremacy.)

I also changed up posing for a lot of them:

Killer's pose didn't fit him in the slightest originally, arms behind his back and closed off yet open isn't how his character would position himself. However- holding the people close to him in open display of affection with the same signature smirk of "come close I dare you" is perfect. He makes openly makes it clear that him and those around him merely a sight to behold and closed off to anyone else.

Dust was far too open for the closed off person his character usually is, so I leaned him closer to Horror. Dust's character doesn't care to uphold some mask, he'd much rather kill the person in question than have to pretend. He doesn't want to spend his energy on others unless he sees it fit to do so, out of all of them--despite his insanities--he's the closest to a sans, even with all of this magical energy. He much prefers to be open to the people he cares about.

Horror I don't work with nearly as much as I would like, hence why his pose didn't change much. At first he was simply placed and confused at the camera. Later, he is as much a part of the photo as anyone else, he's open and protective flanking them and keeping Dust held up. He's the boulder on the outside that makes sure no one will dare try and sneak up on them. He has everyone in sight and the one person he can't see is safe on his shoulders, close enough the Horror can hold him and know he's there.

Error was kinda just there originally, but it didn't seem fitting to have him pulling everyone close, far too OCC. So while it's hard to tell, his pose is crossing his arms, closed off but far from shy. Daring but not open. Error does have a mystery behind him yes, but he's far from mysterious, he's bold without explanation--and there's a difference between the two.

Cross I usually draw with the gang as stoic and alone but leaning towards everyone else, yearning but holding back. Instead for this I changed my perspective. Protective and open while still being semi-private and shy. He hides behind Secret (my OC/persona) but holds them close and protective and let's Killer hold him as well, it's not the Cross you see at the beginning of his story, it's the one that's healing and learning.

Nightmare originally was much more open and suave, the King perception of hiding himself while showing only his best. However, I changed over to fit the general perception I've come to of him. Closed off but open to those around him. He bares himself to those around him, tendrils hidden and clearly clinging tight to Killer who loves the attention and is more than happy to return it. His neck--which I love the headcanon that both Dream and NM's neck's are sensitive bc they stem from swap sans who dies by that method--is open to Horror and Dust. His blind side is to the "camera" only able to see very few of the people around him, trusting them to keep him safe as he does for them everyday.

Chronic is a little more specific. They are looming and shadowing, hidden but visible. They smile when they seemingly have no reason to do so. Their only possession on their person is open and clear when they are anything but. They push themself away watching despite being in the middle of it all. They are seemingly a contradiction to themself when if you were aware of their story they aren't. As usual the most detail they have is their eyes, marks, and freckles.

#undertale #undertale au #utmv #killer sans #nightmare sans #error sans #cross sans #horror sans #chronic sans #chronic error #OC #art

[wornoutmouse]

@midoriyaprofessionalslut

I can't even begin to describe the ask I received so I'm just going to leave screenshots😅😅

Also in the new mha season, I thought Tsu was being petty when she called Mineta Grape-Juice and Shoji Tentacle. But nope, those are their hero names.

Side note: I feel like when Mineta gets old and knows how to work his quirk better, he'll be able to control if they stick or not.

Slight racism, usual smut.

NOT PROOF READ SO LET ME KNOW IF U SEE SOMETHING

 If you imagine Mineta as in the picture above and with a mature voice, this is more enjoyable. Or you can imagine someone else entirely.. Cause even as someone who's tolerant to Mineta I can't imagine him getting any hoes much less smashing (at least not on top). It would be like watching a chiwawa top a mastiff. 

"This is some bullshit." You shuffle through various papers on your desk, each containing the receipts of Pro-Hero Grapejuice's celebratory purchases. Most of it was random appliances that could in no way be used on a day-to-day basis, but there were others….a shiver goes down your spine, there were others that were just downright perverted. "What even is a nub tickler?" 

Being an accountant was something you were good at, the numbers came easy and it was interesting to see the income and ways of business that different people in power displayed. Planning meetings and getting the occasional phone call made everything a breeze, but it wasn't what you wanted to do. Or in better words, this was not whom you wanted to work for. Even being number 6 causes the workload to be higher than should be physically possible in the hero world. That's one of the reasons you never gave praise to the rankings because no matter how low in the chain, a hero’s work is always taxing. 

Shifting in your seat you look at the analog clock on your desk. 3:45, you were supposed to come to work at 5:30 which means you once again have no time to sleep. Having these late nights had increased 10 fold whenever Mineta went up in rank even by a little. His way of celebrating was spending his money carelessly and leaving you to fix the balance. Though you supposed it may be your fault for never objecting when he barged in your office showing his trinkets as well as leaving his credit card.

"Yeah, it's time to go." You muttered as you read the words, "Dwarf Cow in the left lot of Wisconsin."

 The next hour, you take a detour from your office for the first time in months. Heading down the hall you watch the walls go from the pale greys to deep purple and violet splotches splattered along the wall before it inevitably melds into solid purple walls as you get closer to the front door of his office.

Hesitantly you knock on the door and wait until a muffled "Come in." Rings through the thick wood. The room itself was just as flamboyant as the walls leading to it. A beautiful fuchsia carpet on the floor made you realize that calling in your two weeks would have been better than walking into the Willy-Wonka factory that was this office. Various spherical decorations hung from the chandelier, and even something as simple as the legs of his desk was made up of crystal spheres.

The man himself sat perfectly balanced on a large purple ball most likely of his own creation, meanwhile, various children sat around him slipping and sliding on smaller balls in an attempt to copy him. "Ah, here is my beautiful assistant!" The compliment made you cringe as you fiddled with the end of the sleep-wrinkled white blouse you had worn for 2 days straight. "Can we talk sir? It is important." Mineta raised an eyebrow at your formal speech before shrugging. 

In an extravagant display of balance, Mineta does a handstand on the ball with one hand before flipping to the other side. "Well kids it's time for me to get done as a hero’s job is never over and blah blah blah the gift shop is giving out free plushies and you can keep your ball." The teacher does her best to usher out her students and the sound of childish screams resound down the hallway even though the door was shut. "How can I help you Y/n?" Mineta offers you his ball to sit on and you reluctantly take the offer as you grate in multiple directions in order to stay afloat. 

Mineta watches you with hidden interest as he interlocks his hands underneath his chin. "I didn't know you even knew my name?" Mineta Laughs exposing his annoyingly perfect teeth. It was hard to associate this face to the pictures you see when you search for his early years. "Of course I know your name, I stole your nameplate off your desk 2 months ago." Ah, so that's where it went  "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

You sighed, "I would like to put in my two weeks." Mineta goes slack-jawed before composing himself "Why?" Mineta looked at you earnestly, completely confused on why you'd want to abandon your post as his secretary- I mean assistant. "Working for you has become a hassle with your lack of financial maturity." Mineta mock shivers, "Oo big words, me no likey." Mineta hops onto his desk as if he weighed nothing more than paper and squats in front of you, "How about this, you don't quit and instead help me learn how to...how did you say it? Be financially mature." You lean back in your chair unconvinced that he was taking this seriously.

With the final nail ready to be hit, Mineta adds, "How about I give you a raise of 10 percent and a promotion?" You stand up in your chair with an eager grin, "That sounds great!" Mineta smirks to himself but you did not pay any mind to it. "Great, how about we discuss this over food, dinner date?" Your internal celebration screeches to a halt, " Dinner Date-" Mineta looks at you shocked, "Dinner date? Great idea, why didn't I think of it myself!?" A firm hand slides you towards the door as Mineta starts a complimentary speech giving you no room to object, "This is why I need you, you're so smart, I wish I was like you, tomorrow at 11?" You sputter trying to slip past his arms, "11 but I-?!" Mineta loudly gasps again, "There you go doing it again I'm so lucky to have you, tomorrow at 11 my treat!"

The door is shut in your face and the sound of the lock clicking seals your fate. What did you get into?

Cut to 4 years later and you are still not sure of that answer. Simply being bis accountant you had a glimpse of his perverted tendencies, but as his girlfriend, it was further exposed to depths you never could have found yourself imagining. You shuffle papers in the printing room as you do your best to ignore the faint tingling sensation in between your legs. Yet another whim you found yourself following on Mineta’s behalf despite the ever-present fear of being caught. The vibrator comes to life before going back down as quickly as it came. You toss a middle finger to the camera in the top corner of the room knowing he was watching.

"Miss L/n, can I ask you something?" You slap your arm down to your side in embarrassment. I hope he didn't see that.  Your coworker walks up to you holding a small stack of papers. "Yes, how can I help you?" The man shows you various forms as he talks, for once you were thankful for Mineta not embarrassing you in front of others. "Oh I see where you went wrong, this right here would be a 20% increase, not 18%." The man applauded you and graciously wrote down your explanation. "Thank you so much, my name is Kaminari by the way." 

"Ah hello, Kaminari, and no worries I'm always glad to help!" You turn back as your papers finally scan through but can't help notice Kaminari lingering. "Say Y/n?" You open your mouth to respond only to close it again as the vibratory comes back to life strongly. "Hmmm?!" Kaminari peers at you, your reaction was strange but he couldn't figure out why. "Um, never mind, have a nice day Miss. Y/n, maybe we can get together over coffee or something?” You shrug turning away from Kaminari in fear of your eyes rolling up. The man sways from foot to foot awkwardly before leaving the printing room. 

Snapping out of your personal flashback, you look over at your fiance signing autographs for his adoring and objectively feminine fan base. While it was extremely unnerving how unknowingly close they were to your home, you weren't resentful of their gushing.

Your engagement and your overall relationship had not been made public in fear of your personal life being exploited by paparazzi. That doesn't mean, however, the next thing you witness doesn't get your blood boiling.

A girl, no older than maybe 22 waltzes up to Mineta with the confidence of Muhammad Ali in a ring match. Her raven black hair fell flawlessly down her back with not a single split end. Almond eyes decorated with precise coal blink rapidly to draw attention to her seemingly natural eyelashes. With 4 inch wedges. a black halter top, and cuffed jean shorts, it was clear she was someone on a mission. She effortlessly pushes past the nearby fans as they stop to quack at her rivaling beauty. A smirk draws itself with her soft pink lips as she hears people muttering around and about her.

"Wow she's so pretty"

"They would look good together just look at them."

"Ugh, such an attention whore, not giving the rest of us a chance!"

"I bet a 20 she's his type."

"Is she famous?"

The chatter comes to a close as the girl hands Mineta a notebook, "Can you sign right here?" Mineta flips open the book and his eyes widen a fraction before he puts on his heroic voice, "Wow it looks like you got all of Japan's heroes in this book!" The girl smiles as she watches Mineta scratch his signature, "Don't be afraid to leave your number in there too Mr. Minoru." Mineta pauses at the statement for continuing his elaborate handwriting, "I don't think that would be very plus ultra of me so I'm gonna have to pass." Smug pride fills your chest as you watch the annoyance cross the girl's face.

Mineta finishes signing and hands her back her book, she, in turn, forces a small piece of paper in his hand before holding his chin and kissing him. At that moment nothing else mattered but beating that bitches ass as you yanked her black hair and dragged her to the ground. "This ain’t Wattpad bitch get your hands off of him!!" You turn to Mineta making him flinch with a sharp glare as you yank her hair again, hopefully pulling a few strands out. "You just gonna let her kiss you and not do anything!?" Mineta stretched his hands towards you cautiously, "Y/n calm down, if you would have given me a chance I would have settled it-" "No, settle it now!"

Your rage is diminished by the judgmental looks coming from the fans and you realize your brazen display was out of order.

"Who is she"

"I think she's the secretary l, so why is she so mad"

"Delusional just cause you're with him all the time doesn't mean you're together"

"I hope he fires her."

"This is why we shouldn't let them in Japan"

The girl whose hair you have in a chokehold stands up unbalanced before pushing your hands from her hair. Satisfied at the disheveled look of her previously perfect strands, you turn to walk back to Mineta, your anger having been sated, "Black Bitch." You turn around and go charging towards the girl again grinning when she flinches. Your rampage is stopped as Mineta wraps his arms around your waist and picks you up, "Sorry for the disturbance, we deeply apologize!"

It's almost comical how your mouth spews vulgarity that would make a sailor blush as Mineta drags you behind your apartment building. He ushers you through the back door leading to the washroom, "I can't believe she'd do that in front of me, and you let her!" Mineta shuts the door quietly, leaning his ear against it to listen out for any lingering fans. You sit on top of a washer still ranting as your blood cools down. "The nerve of some of these people is outrageous, even if she doesn't know about us that is still sexual harassment!"

Mineta doesn't look at you and instead peeks through the blinds lining the washroom windows. "I think they are gone, come on." The two of you sneak out the door and walk at a moderate speed all the way back to your front door. In hindsight, you knew that causing a scene like that was a bold move on your part. If anyone was recording the whole ordeal you knew Mineta’s name and possibly yours would be in the headlines by later this evening. 

As the last one entering, you lock the door behind you, forehead scrunched together with apprehension. "Mineta I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me. I just saw her touching you and saw red." You face away from the door with an earnest look on your face. Mineta has a cheeky look on his face that can only mean trouble. Despite your similar slim build and height, Mineta easily corners you against the door. "I know exactly what got into you." Mineta’s pointer finger taps your nose. "Jealousy."

You sighed, putting your head down nodding, "Yeah, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just-" "shhh." Mineta lips your head back up with a hand under your chin. "It's fine Y/n. It's not like I expected a perfect little cocksleeve like you to be okay with sharing." You stare blinkingly at Mineta. 'Oh, he's in one of those moods huh?' As expected from such a fiend like Mineta, he was quite possibly hard the whole time he was watching you beat that girl's ass, and for some reason that irked you even more. “Mineta I’m being serious.” The words leaving your mouth did not phase Mineta, he holds your hips and pulls you close to him in order for you to feel his bulge. 

“Oh come on, after seeing you be so possessive for me, how can you not expect me to be a lil turned on?” Mineta’s hands circle your ass before slapping it, “Made me feel special.” Rolling your eyes you lean into the lingering kisses he begins to leave on your shoulder. His grip tightens as he shuffles you to the nearest surface. “Makes me feel all giddy inside to know that you do this only for me and no one else.” Minoru unbuttons your dress pants and removes your belt, “But doing that in front of all those people was stupid.” A shiver travels up your arms from the feeling of lips caressing your ear. Mineta dips his hand into your cotton panties and immediately draws attention to your clit.

“Look at me, Mineta Minoru with a girl like you that would fight for me. Who would have thought?” You ball your fists on the table, hanging your head low. “You’re not going to make this easy for me are you?” Mineta slips his other hand beneath your blouse to cup your breasts. Short l  rub down your slit collecting your slick. The feeling was warm and buzzing just underneath your skin, the bastard was well trained on how to slowly but surely bring your pleasure to its peak and hold you there. Your muscles begin to feel more and more like jelly, you sigh “Oh God..” Mineta pushed his body further on yours, rutting against your body. Up until now, his other hand was simply resting on your skin but once impatience overcame him, he used it to pull down your pants. 

“You know this will be in articles tomorrow right?” Two fingers curl inside of you making you squeal, “Y-Yes!” Something hard and slick smacks against your bare ass as Mineta removes the bottom half of his hero costume. “So how are you going to compensate me for what I’ll have to deal with tomorrow?” You turn your head to the back with a small pout on your face, “She shouldn’t have touched you.” Mineta coyly smiles before pressing your head down against the table. “You should have let me handle it.” 

Mineta was an average of 5 inches in length with conservative girth. But so far he’s been the only man that really added proof that size doesn’t matter. Mineta pulls away from you and leans down to riffle through his pants. You hear a crisp pop of a cap being opened and a slick splatter is heard afterward. A shaky breath leaves Mineta’s lips as he lubes his cock up. Penetrating is a struggle at first, the longer it takes for him to push it in the more both of you become frustrated until he finally pulls your waist back against himself. “S-So good!” The pleasure causes his childhood lisp to slip through as he waits for you to acclimate to the stretch. 

You shift your feet when Mineta refrains from moving. "Tsk, you really don't understand the meaning of patience do you?" Your hands suddenly become cool to the touch as Mineta covers them with medium sized spheres temporarily gluing you to the table. "Mineta this isn't fair! Please just a little bit to the left!" Now having you helpless Mineta puts one hand on your back while stroking the base of his cock. "It's not about being fair, it is about teaching a sneaky brat like you to know their place." Mineta begins to move but it's not right, he needs to go more to the left, "Mineta what are you even talking about!?!" 

A sigh leaves Mineta's lips, "Don't think I forgot about that slick shit you tried to pull with Kaminari." Mineta watches your ad shake and bounce everytime your hips meet. Your arms twitch and pull at themselves wanting to find purchase on the flat surface. Groans leave your lips as Mineta comes closer to hitting your spot,  "Slick shit?! Y-You're the one that wanted to do that stupid little piano in the first place!" You couldn't see it but Mineta had a deep seated glare on his face. He loops his fingers underneath his yellow scarf and rolls it around long ways. 

"I'm really tierd of your mouth. What you think because I let you beat that girl out their I'll let you beat me?" The middle of the scarf is put in your mouth and your head is pulled back by it. Mineta holds both ends of the scarf to slam into your cunt. "Just a greedy little bitch aren't you?" You scream into the cloth as Minetas cock finally hits your spot just right. The constant pulling on the corner of your mouth burned everytime the fabric rubbed against the sensitive flesh. Your feet rise to your toes in a fruitless attempt at getting a break from the pleasure. Mineta holds his scarf in one hand and pushes down your waist. "Didnt you want this? Don't run from it now."

Your pussy squelched around his cock the faster he went making you go cross eyed. "Fuck you feel so damn good.  The table rattled and scraped across the floor with every thrust. "oh fuck, I'm gonna cum!" Your nails scraped the table as you closed your fist, had you had claws it would have been a whole different story. You beared down on his cock, trying, begging to feel more inside of your walls as he moved faster. Suddenly your argument fel worth it.

Mineta knew many things about himself. He knew his birthday, he knew where he was in life, and he knew he had come 6 minutes ago and was bordering hysteria as he pumped his overestimated cock into your wet heat. Each drag made years collect in his eyes.  Tiny whimpers left his lips and his hands squeezed your sides harder and hard.  "So fucking warm. Squeezing down on my dick like that." 

He bowed his head and rested on your back,  kissing the sweaty skin as he pushed through the painful pleasure.  "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Mineta slaps your ass  before pulling out and shoving his fingers inside your pussy. "Cum for me, Y/n. That's it cum on my hands." Mineta's fingers were the only thing that never really grew on him. They were relatively short but thick so even three of them were able to stretch your hole the way you needed. 

"Y-Yes, right there shit!" Your cum drips down his arm soiling the fabric there as you squint around him, "That's it give it to me." Mineta buried his face in your pussy licking you clean like a man starved. It wasn't until you whined did he stop and pull his fingers out. 

Luckily for you, his spheres were just about coming close to their time constraint. You stand up rubbing your wrists and drinking some water Mineta brings you. A snort captures your attention and Mineta holds up his phone, "Not even an hour." Writing in thick bold words read. 

"Obsessive Secretary Snaps on Camera!"

You snort, "I'm the obsessive one huh?" It was going to be a long day tomorrow 

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Bernie Sanders gave Washington whiplash this week — and it was all part of his plan. Barely 24 hours after the Vermont senator publicly rejected a $3.5 trillion spending deal following a Monday meeting with President Joe Biden, he turned around to tout it as the most transformational policy proposal in nearly 100 years.

The shift in tone was a tactic Sanders used to coax moderate Democrats into going far higher than they might have otherwise felt comfortable. After he had insisted on shooting for the moon with a $6 trillion budget proposal, $3.5 trillion suddenly looked pretty reasonable.

The episode revealed a conciliatory side to the liberal icon often depicted by the media and Republicans as wild-eyed and well to the left of his party. Sanders has opposed some of Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s policies and nominees, but never in instances when his vote would prove decisive. He’s also softened his opposition to a bipartisan infrastructure deal, recognizing that he can't alienate his fellow Democrats if he wants to move his own agenda.

Still, the Independent from Vermont isn’t quite ready for the “P” label. “It’s not that I’m more pragmatic. It’s that there are 50 members of the Democratic Caucus. And unfortunately not all of them agree with me on everything,” Sanders said in an interview. “It was important to have a vision going forward of where we needed to go. And I think that was the right vision,” Sanders added. “Obviously, it was a vision that was a little bit more comprehensive than some of my colleagues.”

Even after two presidential runs garnered him national stardom and effective ownership of the American left, Sanders has toiled in the Senate minority with few levers to pull. This Congress, as the Senate Budget chair and a member of Schumer’s leadership team, the 79-year-old is one of the most powerful people in Democratic-controlled Washington. He also seems to be having a good time after decades of prowling the Capitol with gruff rebuttals for reporters delivered in his signature Brooklyn accent. After his interview with POLITICO, he was pressed by another reporter to take “one more question.”

“She makes me speculate,” he teased the second reporter, his voice rising in playful incredulousness. “One more question?!”

Jokes aside, moderates surmised it wasn’t easy for Sanders to shed his uncompromising stance on this year's massive spending blueprint, which is still perhaps months away from becoming law. Tester, who quickly endorsed Sanders’ budget blueprint, despite reservations, observed that Sanders likely “had hesitation” in coming down by $2.5 trillion.

“It may have been one of those deals where it was: ‘Look, Bernie, if we don’t get this, we can’t do anything.’ And he decided to move with it,” Tester said of the haggling. Yet senators on the Budget Committee viewed Sanders as taking an extreme position precisely so that it would yield a compromise all the more fruitful for liberal Democrats. If Sanders had started off endorsing Biden’s number of $4 trillion, it’s possible he and other progressives might have had to settle for a number lower than the $3.5 trillion they agreed upon. “Bernie Sanders is like a human embodiment of shifting the Overton Window,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who serves on the Budget Committee. “We wouldn’t be there without him putting out $6 trillion.”

With a ceiling of $3.5 trillion, Sanders says he can pursue all the changes that he’s prioritized, just not for not as long as he wants. That raises the possibility of future fights over the extension of programs like the expanded child tax credits championed by Democrats. Nonetheless, Sanders argues every chance he gets that he’s pushing “the most consequential piece of legislation passed since the 1930s for working people.” On the price tag alone, he’s right: If successful, the current social spending bill will be the biggest ever passed by Congress.

Those ambitious aspirations, and his influence on the Democrat Party’s agenda, make Sanders a handy villain for Republicans. The GOP tried to use his possible ascension in the majority as an attack line in the Georgia Senate races -- only to see Democrats win those contests, giving Sanders the budget gavel. Senate Republicans still try to tie vulnerable Democrats to Sanders, more so even than Biden or Schumer. “We applaud Bernie Sanders’ commitment to socialism and his influential leadership pushing 2022 Senate Democrat candidates to the far left,” said Katharine Cooksey, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

In addition to his central role in the Democratic caucus, Sanders also has the ear of former presidential rival Biden. Since winning the nomination and throughout the first six months of his presidency, the president has kept Sanders close. White House chief of staff Ron Klain essentially had an open-door policy with Sanders as he pushed for a $15 minimum wage earlier this year. That hike was ultimately crushed by moderates and the Senate parliamentarian, an early blow for Sanders.

But Sanders returned quickly to press Biden to embrace an expansion of Medicare coverage for dental, hearing aids and vision. During a private Oval Office meeting ahead of the budget announcement, Sanders “made that case passionately” again and Biden “gave his full backing,” said a senior White House aide. Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said Biden “deeply respects Senator Sanders’ unflinching commitment to fighting for working people."

Medicare expansion is included in Senate Democrats’ budget proposal, though it’s unclear whether Sanders will be able to lower the Medicare eligibility age as he set out to do months ago. Nonetheless, Sanders seems close to cinching a major change to an entitlement program that's helped define the party's legacy for generations.

For many years, Sanders played “a kind of gadfly role,” said David Axelrod, who served as an adviser to former President Barack Obama, who Sanders briefly entertained primarying during the 2012 presidential campaign. But now, he added, Sanders “has comfortably shifted into the role of deal-maker."

“You're seeing a very pragmatic Bernie Sanders, but he's pragmatic in a principled way,” Axelrod said, observing that Biden and Sanders, “who really were from different places in the party, have come together in the sunset of their careers to do something potentially historic.”

Asked if Sanders is a pragmatist, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) offered a clipped “yes” for an answer: “I don’t want to get him in trouble.”

This isn’t the first deal Sanders has cut, and it probably won’t be the last. In 2014 he memorably teamed with the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on a landmark agreement to reform the scandal-plagued Veterans Affairs Department. As part of that agreement, Sanders signed off on expanding private care access for veterans, a concession directly at odds with his long-standing commitment to single-payer health care. Sanders also struck an alliance last year with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in pushing for new pandemic stimulus checks.

“He’s obviously a passionate advocate. But he also understands this is a moment that we can’t let go by,” said Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of the Budget Committee and Democratic leadership. “He was able to read the room.”

Sanders is already digging in for the next round of fights. He may have centrist Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and the rest of the Budget Committee on board with his budget plan, but he still needs to win over more conservative Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. Manchin said he hasn’t yet talked to Sanders about the proposal.

Once again, Sanders is drawing a line in the sand, saying he’s not coming down any more from $3.5 trillion. Time will tell whether this one is real or tactical. “No. Quite the contrary,” he said, hinting that progressive allies across the Capitol might drive the price back up. “We’ll see what happens in the House.”

#politics #us politics #news #biden administration #infrastructure #infrastructure bill #infrastructure budget #bernie gets it #bernie forever #bernie for the people #bernie sanders #sen. bernie sanders #politico

[bokuaka-4510]

Bokuaka: Weakness

hi guys!! I thought I would start posting my Bokuaka dabbles on here. I just started writing, so any feedback/support would be much appreciated :) also most of my stories are multi-chapter (just a heads up!!)

Chapter 1: Flashing Lights

(Here’s the image that inspired the first chapter! Obviously all credits to the crazy talented artist @songrnim on Twitter)

The flashing lights were like a second home to Bokuto- the way they would always blind him when he was at the apex of his spike before slamming down on the ball and being rewarded with that satisfying crunch and throbbing in his hand.

Okay, so maybe he was a little bit of a masochist, but then again weren't all spikers?

"Bokuto-san!" a low voice shouts to him.

He knows that voice better than his own. How many times had he heard it, calling his name with the same pitch, same urgency, same tone, over the last few years?

Akaashi.

As long as it feels good. We'll be sure to clear a path for you.

Sure enough, even Bokuto could see the path in front of him, clear as light. Akaashi's perfect toss, spiraling higher and higher. His legs move on instinct now, tensing before catapulting him into a flying jump, powerful and natural.

The blinding lights.

He squints against them, golden eyes stalking the ball as if there's nothing else important in this world. For a split second it's just him and the volley, his oldest companion.

Then the towering wall appears- three giant blockers seeking to return his spike.

As if.

He glances at his destination- the spot tethering on the sideline, between in and out, on the opposite side of him and the blockers. Arm slinging back, building power and momentum, he waits until the ball is at its peak before smashing it down. Time frozen, Akaashi finds himself captivated once again at the sight known as Bokuto Koutarou in front of him: toned arms, lean body defying physics, attractive face set in determination.

Magnetic.

Tempting.

Enthralling.

Bokuto looks otherworldly, and Akaashi loves the view that leaves him feeling like he's stolen a glimpse of something belonging to paradise, something not meant for human eyes.

Crack.

The ball hurls towards the exact spot Bokuto wanted. A perfect cross-court shot.

Bokuto thinks it should be illegal for something to be so beautiful.

He falls back toward the hard wooden floors, back to reality, where complete and utter silence greet him.

Then, the room erupts into cheers, so loud, so deafening he can't even hear his own heartbeat, but fuck if this isn't what he lives for. Yes, yes, yes!

The crowd is chanting his name, as if he's some divine savior, " Bokuto. Bokuto. Bokuto," and he can hear the reporters struggling to grab his attention from the sidelines.

Cameras on him, fans chanting his name, the dull throbbing in his right hand, well, he's never felt happier.

"Bokuto-san!" he hears the familiar voice boom at him, and Bokuto spins around searching for Akaashi's eyes, always stormy green like an angry sea after a victory.

Instead, he's greeted by tackling hugs from his team mates, who jump up and down with the joy from the victory, riding out the high from their win. He glances up from their hurdle, only to find Akaashi's startling eyes, sure enough sea green, locked on his own. The pretty setter smiles softly at Bokuto, and the spiker finds himself reinvigorated. Untangling his body from the embrace of his team and offering them a light pat on the back as he passes them, Bokuto strides to his best friend.

No, not best friend. They were...?

He didn't know, only knew that best friend was too insignificant a term to describe what they had built the last 5 years together.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto exclaims as he draws near the other boy, a grin splitting his face.

Akaashi holds up a hand for him to high-five, but the spiker just grabs it before engulfing the shorter boy into a bone-crushing hug. Immediately, Akaashi is enveloped in Bokuto's familiar scent- mandarin, pine, and citrus.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Akaashi sends a silent prayer to the Gods, please don't let Bokuto-san notice.

"Akaashi," Bokuto whooped in that typical, loud voice of his, "we won! We won! That toss was fucking awesome! You're awesome, wow!"

Akaashi carefully detracts himself away from the embrace. Smiling at Bokuto with a light blush dusting his fair cheeks, Akaashi congratulates him, "Bokuto-san, you're the ace. You gave us that winning shot,".

Well, Bokuto didn't think so. He sucked at tossing and his receives were decent at best, but if Akaashi, who was the smartest guy on the whole wide world- no scratch that- galaxy, was saying that, then it had to be true. Right?

Roaring with laughter, Bokuto smugly grins at him before pointing to chest, which proudly bore the number 1 in a light blue color, " Aha! I guess you're right, Akaashi. I'm the best ace, aren't I?"

Akaashi nods solemnly, now ignoring their ace's words as he focuses more on catching his breath.

"... best setter," Bokuto finishes.

Akaashi eyeballs the spiker, unsure if he heard him correctly.

"What," he pants out, hands resting on his knees, "did you say Bokuto-san?"

"I said if I'm the best ace, then you have to be the best setter, right? Right? Because a good spiker is only as good as his setter?" the star beams at him as he tilts his head side to side, reminding Akaashi of an owl. He almost wants to shield his eyes from the brightness.

Except Bokuto's smile and praise speed up Akaashi's already racing heart. Akaashi tells himself it's from the intense match they just played, but even he scoffs at the blatant lie.

Akaashi can't help the genuine smile, the one only Bokuto can only lure out, that graces his face, "Huh, I guess so Bokuto. Maybe we're just a good team in general,"

Before Bokuto can even respond, the coach calls their names. Bokuto and Akaashi. They're the only ones left standing on the court. They head over to the sidelines where the coach and the rest of the team sit before coach congratulates them for winning the first game of the season.

Which is followed right by Coach ordering them to go do 5 minutes of suicides and 3 laps of dives for every mistake they made, which was, according to Akaashi's calculations, a lot. He stopped counting at 16. Of course, most of them were made by Bokuto, but as Akaashi steals a glance at the star ace congratulating the rest of the team, arguing with Kuroo on who stole the spotlight, ruffling the freshmen's heads in genuine affection, he discovered he didn't care the slightest about Bokuto's contribution to their punishments.

They won.

Bokuto was happy.

To Akaashi, those were the only two things that really ever mattered, though not in that particular order.

"Ah, Bokuto-chan," the Coach cuts in his gruff voice, "I think the reporters wanted to talk to you. Go head over to where Hoshiumi-chan and Ushijima-chan are. They should be almost done,".

Bokuto suddenly stands erect and offers the coach a mock salute, a crazy grin on his face. With a roll of his eyes, Coach pushes his player away, but Akaashi catches the ghost of a smile on Coach's face as he turns around.

"Try not to embarrass us too much, ok horned bastard?" Kuroo calls out behind Bokuto with his signature shit-eating grin that typically put anyone on edge.

But Akaashi has known the dark-haired boy for just as long as he's known Bokuto, so Kuroo scares him about as much as a kitten does. Bokuto must feel the same because he just sticks out his tongue at the seemingly menacing man. Akaashi's eyes trail Bokuto's disappearing figure, watching him high-five the two other celebrity spikers as they pass each other. Ushijima and Hoshiumi return to their team, taking a seat right behind Akaashi.

After a rather long (and bad, the Coach was not particularly adept at expressing positive emotions, Akaashi noted) inspiring speech by their sensei, the team heads out of the gym, talking and laughing amongst themselves, all of them in high spirits, especially after Ushijima quietly announces he would be attending post-game drinks with the team, courtesy of Heishi-san.

Apparently, miracles do happen.

In the middle of Hoshiumi's monologue (something along the lines of "Take that Hinata, you orange piece of crap! I scored 7 points in the second set. I hope you get sand between your ********* and spend all your ******* days getting **** by crabs. Akaashi started tuning him out after he learned four new expletives), Akaashi picks up on Bokuto's voice amongst the cacophony of noises in the auditorium.

It's not like he was diligently looking for the spiker. That would be ridiculous, right?

"-but my team rocks! Akaashi, he's my setter, and Kuroo and Ushijima-kun and Hoshiumi-kun and Heiwajima-kun and everyone else is crazy talented! They all make me want to be a better wing spiker," Bokuto raves. The reporter in front of him looks a bit star-dazed, pupils dilated and mouth parted open, as she continues her interview with the attractive rising star.

Akaashi briefly wonders if she's even paying attention to the conversation, but he honestly can't blame her. Akaashi spent five years accustoming himself to the glory of Bokuto, and he still has to remind himself not to drool when he sees him. Six feet of pure muscle, striking golden eyes, and sharp, handsome features make up the man known as Bokuto Koutarou. The elite spiker stands proudly as he converses with the pretty woman in front of him, completely oblivious to the effect he has on her. He's loved by all of Japan, and probably soon the whole world. Even the court adores him as it seems like the bright gym lights spotlight his lean, muscular figure, emphasizing the number 1 on his back.

Akaashi stares at his back, noticing the way the white jersey hugs his muscular frame a little too snugly, back muscles tensing and relaxing every time Bokuto moved or laughed.

Yeah, Akaashi thought, Bokuto definitely looks good in white.

It's the last he sees of Bokuto before they part ways.

#bokuaka #haikyuu #bokuto #akaashi #boysinlove #bokutokotarou #bokutokotaro #akaashikeiji #volleyball #anime #fanfiction #kuroo #kurootetsuro #kurootetsurou #oikawa #iwaizumi #oikawa x iwaizumi #bokuto x akaashi #iwaoi #university #himata #tsukishima kei #tsukishima #ushijima wakatoshi #ushijima #bokutohq #akaashihq #fluff #angst