#francene said

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

“Described by its authors as the largest study of its kind ever undertaken globally, the study, titled Identifying and understanding child sexual offending behaviour and attitudes among Australian men, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,945 Australian men and found 9.4% said they had offended against a child. That would equate to about one million Australian men.

The figure includes online offending such as those who reported to have had online sexual conversations with children (4.3%) or deliberately watched pornographic material containing people below the age of 18 (2.5%).

…

It reported that child offenders are also prolific consumers of deviant or violent adult pornography, signalling to Salter that “the overall porn-saturated online environment does have a role to play in sexual harm to children”.”

Francene Reo’s step-dad told her it was therapy. In 1976, the Newcastle supreme court found it was child sexual abuse.

At that time, charging someone for incest was so unusual “they didn’t even know how to word the charges”, she said. Reo’s step-dad spent five years behind bars for his years of severe offending, which took place for 10 years when she was aged six to 16. She didn’t speak about it for decades.

“I felt that if I’d gone public in those days, that I would have been seen as a nutcase,” Reo said.

“People were so unable to discuss their own sexuality, let alone confront little children being sexually abused.”

At the time paedophilia was believed to be rare. But according to University of New South Wales research published today, there is nothing rare about the sexual abuse of children.

Described by its authors as the largest study of its kind ever undertaken globally, the study, titled Identifying and understanding child sexual offending behaviour and attitudes among Australian men, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,945 Australian men and found 9.4% said they had offended against a child. That would equate to about one million Australian men.

The figure includes online offending such as those who reported to have had online sexual conversations with children (4.3%) or deliberately watched pornographic material containing people below the age of 18 (2.5%).

The study found 3.2% of men said they had had sexual contact with a person below the age of 18 when they were over 18. The age of consent in Australia is 16 or 17, depending on the state, which researchers admit is a limitation of the study which was set up to align with international surveys.

However, they said the rate of contact offending was consistent with other studies worldwide.

“People really need to ask themselves, we’ve got so many victims in the community, we’ve got so many lives that are impacted by child sexual abuse, but we have comparatively few men in prison for this offence. So who’s responsible for all of this damage?” asked Michael Salter, an associate professor in criminology at UNSW, who helped develop the study. “And that’s what our survey’s highlighting.”

The report found nearly one in six men (15.1%) had sexual feelings towards children under 18.

It reported that child offenders are also prolific consumers of deviant or violent adult pornography, signalling to Salter that “the overall porn-saturated online environment does have a role to play in sexual harm to children”.

“Unfortunately, the commonwealth government has kicked the can down the road when it comes to age verification for adult content, and I think our survey signals [the] need to revisit that decision.”

The findings add to groundbreaking research into victims of child abuse published in April. The landmark Australian child maltreatment study found that about 23.7% of Australians had experienced child sexual abuse; about 8.7% had been forced into sex. More than one in three Australian girls experience child sexual abuse, it found.

The UNSW research found two distinct cohorts of child sex offenders: “one which is motivated by sexual interest in children, and a second group who may be offending for situational or opportunistic reasons”.

It also revealed the existence of a large group of undetected men who Salter called “specialist” offenders: otherwise pro-social, well-liked, high status men who repeatedly groom and then abuse children without detection. The study showed they tend to have higher incomes, are more likely to be married and are more likely to work in a field giving them access to kids.

He said governments – and social media providers – need to do more to uncover their offending.

“We have commercial products that are actively facilitating child sexual exploitation,” he said.

The study also found that perpetrators were also more likely to have been themselves the victim of sexual abuse or had adverse experiences as a child, to have anxiety, depression and binge drinking.

Stop It Now! Australia, the country’s only helpline for people sexually attracted to children, helped develop the study. It found that about one-third of men with sexual feelings towards children wanted help.

Georgia Naldrett, clinical manager at the helpline, called for governments to invest in initiatives that address boys and men who report “troubling thoughts and behaviours”.

Now 77, Reo spent years fighting for compensation even after proving the offending took place.

She said the offending had lifelong deleterious effects on her, but urged victims to seek therapeutic support and guidance.

“You can get through it, and you can live a normal life. You can get it into perspective to the point where … you don’t relive it and … you’re not having nightmares any more,” she said.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html


[gatabella]

Lauren Bacall and Charles Boyer on the set of Confidential Agent, 1945

“He had reason to laugh, the morning I came on the set and in my best high school French said, ‘Bonjour, Charles. Comment allez-vous?’ I saw the muscles in his face twitch politely, so I just burst out laughing and said, ‘All right, my French smells.’ The next day he brought a French dictionary and a text book to the set, and has been teaching me French ever since. He says I have a very good ear. Victor Francen, who is also from France, is in the picture, and he has joined our study group. Well, I guess few American girls ever had two such excellent French teachers."

-Lauren Bacall, Screenland, Nov. 1945

[miuyanna]

To everybody who may read this, I hope you have a pleasant day. I am Ayannah Francene W. Tuddao, 16 years old, a dramatic girl who is very passionate about instruments, animals, music, books, foods, and Egyptian mythology. As someone who grew up in a household where I'm surrounded by animals, I've developed an intense fascination with them and spend a lot of time exploring and learning about them. I believe that being confident and having self-discipline while prioritizing peace, respect, independence, equality, and self-growth is the cornerstone of my personality and the reason that drives me to be the person I am today. For the time being, I'm expressing my vision of myself in ten years on this blog. Was what I learned at SPUP helpful in where I'm leading to? In the end, was STEM the right choice? Which college course will I enroll in, and why? 

"Where do I see myself 10 years from now?"

Honestly, I don't have a concrete answer, but I can envision myself still completing my six-year DVM program and having fun studying animals. 

"Was my learning in SPUP vital to where I'm leading to?"

I think so; studying in SPUP is a stepping stone in my journey. The academic rigor and my mental and personal development will be greatly influenced by the diverse learning environment. I will acquire the values, knowledge, and skills indispensable to thrive in life and reach my goals by attending SPUP. 

"Was STEM the best choice after all?" 

Looking back when I was still in grade 10, I always find myself in a crossword wherever I'm thinking about what strand I'm going to take. My friends will try to tell me that I should take Humss since I have the qualities that align with Humss. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be in that strand, but is it really what I want? Then I realized that my dream profession is to become a veterinarian, and I feel that choosing stem as my strand is the first step in achieving my ideal profession. 

"What course will I take in college and why?" 

A 14-year-old me will actually freak out when she hears this question, since that 14-year-old is used to people telling her what she should be that she actually freaks out when getting asked what she really wants to become in life. But the 16-year-old me is certain that the course she will take in college is veterinarian. Why? As I said earlier, I grew up having different kinds of animals inside our house. I've come to the point that I want to continue myself surrounded by animals and doting myself protecting, mending, and loving them. I want to take a course that I will enjoy, even though I know it's hard to study it. For me, the veterinarian course is the epitome of that. I also believe that pursuing this is necessary for me to obtain a fulfilling life, and I'm certain that it aligns with my long-term goals. Of course, I can envision myself having a fun and positive learning journey in this field. 

This blog is my space to share my thoughts and experience as I navigate this exciting and daunting journey of mine.

#blog#parasaetech#morethan500tomaam#peta#loveyoumaam#donenasaetech

[1800nosleep]

THE OUTSIDERS HCS

hcs for dally

warnings; child abuse, alcoholism, child loss, cig smoking, ppl getting jumped

a/n these are my outsiders hcs so pls do be mean or rude :/

DALLAS

dallas was born in NYC on a cold late October day in 1949 which makes him a Scorpio.

he was born to mrs and mr winston who at the time had one child, francene winston who is older than dallas by three years

dallas was decently raised by his older sister till she ran away when she was 14

dallas then had to take care of his new baby siblings, greta and james by himself

their parents were very mean drunks so dallas had to protect himself and his siblings from their parent's beatings

dallas goes to jail for the first time when he is ten for stealing from a drug store

he gets bailed out by a drag queen who spots young dally in the holding cell

he gets "adopted" by said drag queen and he spends a lot of his time in bars and clubs as a teen

soon after he is accepted into the NYC club and bar scene he is also quickly disowned by his parents after his younger sister passed away from "unknown" causes

which his parents blame him

in an attempt to get away from his parents and their empty and furniture-less house, he squats in an abandoned house

which gets him arrested and he gets bailed out by the drag queen once again

he turns to stealing and squatting in order to survive without feeling like a burden

inturn that results in fifteen yr old dal getting arrested and the drag queen telling him

"sorry dal, I can't keep bailing you out, you've gotta learn your lesson hun."

he spends six weeks in juvie before getting released on "good behavior"

he decided to attempt to find a better way of living (breaking and entering and stealing from upper-class houses) which again ends him up in the slammer for another six weeks

which makes the cops who keeps arresting him tell him

"son, your best bet is getting your ass out of the city, go somewhere south, and I mean south, like tennesee or kentucky."

dallas takes this advice and moves to Oklahoma at the ripe age of 16, he hops on the soonest bus to tulsa

once he gets off the bus he hitchhikes to the town from the bus station

he gets out at some drugstore, which is where he meets buck merrill, who he quickly makes friends with

"want a weed, city boy?"

"a what?"

"wow you really are a city boy"

buck introduces dally to tim shepard and his boys and the curtis' and their group

buck warns dal about the socs and their terf but obviously, dal doesn't care, no one is gonna tell him where he can and can't go

which results in dal getting jumped by socs in the first week he is there

he quickly "learns" his lesson and only goes in the socs terf when its dark or when he's with the others

after a while, dal gets used to being alone and doesn't go with anyone

dal soon gets very close to johnny, simply for the fact of he can relate to a lot of things johnny has been through

he is very protective of johnny for reasons he will keep to himself

but regarding his "disliking" of children, he doesn't dislike them, he just hates the fact that he lost his younger sister and that he was blamed for her death

so he avoids children at any cost

he spends a lot of nights getting drunk at bucks before getting in trouble with the law (fighting, stealing, arson, you name it)

buck usually bails him out or tim bails him out, it depends on who has money and if their willing to bail him out

last but not least, dal is a very heavy smoker once buck introduced it to him

most of his clothes and belongings smell like cheap cologne and cigarette smoke

reblogs and likes are very much appreciated

pls do not repost or steal my work as for that would be plagurism and that my friends and foes is a crime

[achie-blog]

Week 1-2: Business Interview 👨‍💼

This blog will provide insights and information about various companies and businesses. On August 30, 2024, my groupmates—Jessa, Ian, and Francen—and I had the opportunity to interview five different businesses. These businesses are N JESS GENERAL MERCHANDISE, HAPPY SIP, AJ WATER REFILLING STATION, JASMINE GARDEN, and AQUARIST FISH SHOP. During these interviews, we gathered valuable information about their operations and the stories behind how each business was established.

N JESS GENERAL MERCHANDISE

The business is owned by Ms. Carmela Barton along with his father. It was established in 2015 and it is located at Zone 12, Upper Carmen, Door 3 LACAR Bldg.  Initially, they focused on selling wholesale Beer, Coke, and nails (lansang). However, the wholesale side of the business struggled due to an employee's failure to perform adequately, and the profit margins were low. On the other hand, nails became a fast-selling item, prompting them to expand their product offerings. Using the profits from nail sales, they reinvested in additional construction materials to attract more customers by providing a wider variety of choices. The business has 17 staff and mostly our labor since the nature of the hardware store requires handling heavy materials. Ms. Carmela said that their business is partnered with contractors, so the materials used in the project come from them. 

Ms.Barton shared that when starting the business, she first found a good location and a supplier. But despite the fact that business is in a good place and sales, it cannot be avoided that there are times they will experience slow sales but still she can manage to pay their financial obligations. And the reason why they decided to venture in business is to allow her father to retire from working abroad as an OFW, ensuring the business as her father`s retirement. 

HAPPY SIP

Happy Sip is a store that is owned by Ms. Rema Hassan along with his sister Merlyn Hassan. It was a franchised store established on March 5, 2024 and the main store was in Manila. It is located in Zone 12, Upper Carmen, near the multicab terminal. The business is focused only on selling milktea but they just added other options like coffee and snacks, including siomai and fires. They have only 2 staff, Ms.Rema and her mother, and they don't have any business partners. Before the Happy Sip was established the family had an ukay-ukayan that was managed by their mother. However, due to poor sales, Ms.Rema decided to venture into another business which led to the creation of the Happy Sip. She just wanted to have an extra income given the situation on their first business. 

Ms. Rema shared that the first process she did in building the business is to contact the supplier since the supplies are sourced from Manila. So basically she needs to wait a while for her to restock again. And it becomes one of the challenges she encounters along with the fact that they have a slow sale since tea is not a known necessity as the basic needs of people like rice. 

AJ WATER REFILLING STATION 

The business was owned by Mrs.Leonor Jamito and was established on June 28, 2024. It is located at Zone 12-C Uzlai Upper Zayas, CDO. It doesn't have a business partner and operates with a small team of just 3 staff since the business was just starting. Mrs.Jamito shared that the first thing she did in making this business is to save a big amount of money since the capital in this kind of business requires a big amount of money. Especially, it needs machines that generate mineral water.   

The reason behind this business is for Mrs. Jamito will have something to leave for her children as she doesn't know how long she will live. She wanted for her children to have a business that will help them to have extra income. And she also said that you just have to be patient because the sales are not consistent. There will be times that are going to be high sales, it also has slow sales moments.

JASMINE GARDEN 

The Jasmine Garden is owned by Amelita Dap-og and it was established in 1992. It was located at Gusa, CDO but now she is currently residing in Tagaloan. The business operates as a sole proprietorship with no partnerships. In 1992, the business started by selling only a few flowers, but over time, it expanded to offer a wide variety of flowers and plants. In addition to this, they now provide landscaping services. At the start, the business had just three staff members, Mrs. Dap-og, her husband Alejandro Dap-og, and her son Staline Dap-og. Mrs. Dap-og shared that they secured their location in Gusa through the support of the local government unit (LGU), and they have remained there because their business contributes to the beautification of the community.

Mrs. Dap-og shared that they were involved in several floral displays, such as festivals like kaamulan and higalaay. That is why if she wanted to display her products in any event she needed to submit a business permit. She also shared that they participated in a contest and won awards for "Best in Flowering" and "Best in Bonsai Plants." This involvement has allowed Mrs. Dap-og to connect with new suppliers and acquire new varieties of flowers that she can propagate and sell. Additionally, she has become a supplier to other gardens, creating a network of mutual support in the industry.

AQUARIST FISH SHOP 

The business was owned by Mrs. Devenia Soccoro M. Chua, who established the business in 1993. However, the physical store in Rizal Fernandez Streets. Brgy. 1 CDO was established in 2010. It is a sole proprietorship and only has 3 staff members, Mrs. Chua, her  husband and their child.  The business is all about selling different types of fish, along with other pets, accessories for aquariums and fish foods. They created this business to generate income but the inspiration as to why they did choose this kind of business is because of her husband who likes to take good care and collect fish. 

Mrs. Chua shared that the first thing they did to start the business was to invest and set-up a different aquarium size since this was where the fish will be put. They also sought out suppliers for their products, and as they built relationships with these suppliers, they were approached with offers for new varieties of fish, helping to expand their inventory.

❤️

Insight Link:

[eiyuhnnn]

FIRST WEEK OF BUSINESS INTERVIEWS

Last August 30, Jessa, Francen, Angel, and I, interviewed 5 business owners. Each of them has different businesses. Before we started the interview, we asked them for their permission to let us take a video for documentation purposes. Some of them agreed, but some of them told us not to take a video and just let us take a voice recording. We made some questions for them to answer based on all the business itself.

1. N JESS GENERAL MERCHANDISE

Miss Carmela Barton owns N Jess General Merchandise, a hardware store located at Zone 12 Upper Carmen, Door 3 LACAR Bldg. Her business started in 2015. They were also selling wholesale products of soft drinks and beers before, but the business went down as one of their staff members failed to do his/her job. Moreover, before the N Jess General Merchandise established, they were only selling nail hardware. The money they made from selling these nails was the one they used to start this business. Also, with the help of her father, who was an OFW before. They built this business so that her father does not need to go abroad anymore. Miss Barton also said that this serves as a retirement plan for her father. Moreover, we asked them about the first process they made before creating this business.

Miss Barton said that the first thing they did was to find a place, then the location, and lastly, to find suppliers. They have an estimated total of 17 staff working for them, especially since their business requires manpower. Their business also deals with partner contractors, where contractors, engineers, etc. will ask for their supplies. Furthermore, they also encounter a downfall where the sales are not that high, but nevertheless they are still able to pay for things they need to pay.

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2. HAPPY SIP

Happy Sip is owned by Ms. Rema Hasan and Ms. Merlyn Hasan, sisters who decided to start a business together. It is located in Zone 12, Upper Carmen, near the multicab terminal. This business, owned by the sisters, is a franchise store, with the main branch located in Manila. Happy Sip primarily focuses on selling milk tea, but the sisters decided to expand the menu, and now they also sell coffee and snacks like fries, siomai, and more. They started this business on March 5 of this year.

The business is solely managed by Ms. Rema and her mother, with no partnerships with other companies. Before Happy Sip started, Ms. Hasan's mother ran a business selling second-hand clothes (ukay-ukay), but sales declined. This decline prompted the Hasan sisters to create a separate business to generate additional income.

Regarding the process of starting the business, Ms. Rema explained that the first step they took was contacting the franchise. After receiving approval, they then made arrangements with the supplier for their products. However, Ms. Rema noted that one of the challenges they face is managing inventory, as they need to request supplies from Manila, which can take time to arrive.

Additionally, Ms. Rema mentioned that sales are not as high as they would like, which she anticipated because their products are not essential goods. She compared it to rice, a basic necessity that people need regularly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3. AJ WATER REFILLING STATION

The third one is the AJ Water Refilling Station, this business is owned by Mrs. Leonor Jamito and located at Zone 12-C UZLAI. The business started operating on June 28, 2024. Their business also has no partnerships with other companies and is just solely managed by them. There are only 3 people who are working in their store, which is their family member. We asked about how the business was going, and she told us that they needed to be patient because there are times when sales are high and also sometimes they're low.

Mrs. Jamito's reason as to why she created this business is because she wants to leave something for her children, and this is their business. She said that she wanted her children to have this business because we do not know how long we will still be in this world. Furthermore, Mrs. Jamito's first step before diving into this business is to save money because she knows that they need a large amount of capital to build this business.

..............................................................................................................................

4. JASMINE GARDEN

The fourth one is the Jasmine Garden, which is owned by Mrs. Amelita Dap-og. She started selling since 1992, up to this day. However, during that time she said that she was only selling a small amount of flowers or that there were not that many variations of the flowers she was selling. Her store is located in Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City. There were no partnerships involved from other companies; she and her family are solely managing the business. Additionally, there are 3 staff working on her business, which are just her family members, the husband, Alejandro Dap-og, and her son, Staline Dap-og.

Mrs. Dap-og is not just focusing on selling varieties of flowers; they also cater to landscaping. They joined a lot of floral displays, such as festivals, for example, this Higalaay Festival. They were invited from the LGU to display their florals in Gaston Park also for the beautification of the place. Moreover, they have participated in contests and won some prizes, specifically "Best in Flowering" and "Best in Bonsai Plant."  Furthermore, in order for them to have their business displayed, they are required to submit their business permit.

================================================

5. AQUARIST FISH SHOP

Our last stop is AQUARIST AQUARIUM FISHSHOP, owned by Mrs. Devenia Socorro M. Chua, located on Rizal Fernandez Streets, Brgy 1. The store was built in 2010, but the business has been operating since 1993. The owner manages the business herself, with no partnerships involved. There are three people working in the business: Mrs. Chua, her husband, and their son.

The business primarily sells different types of fish, although they have expanded to include other animals and pets. They also sell aquarium accessories and fish food. The business was created to generate extra income, and also because her husband has a passion for fish and enjoys keeping various kinds.

To start the business, they invested in setting up aquariums to house the fish. Mrs. Chua mentioned that their first step was to find a reliable supplier who could provide them with a steady supply of products over the long term.

LINK TO THE INSIGHTS OF THE FIRST PART OF BUSINESS INTERVIEWS: https://www.tumblr.com/eiyuhnnn/763238664659763200/written-below-are-my-insights-for-the-first-part?source=share

LINK TO THE SECOND PART OF BUSINESS INTERVIEWS: https://www.tumblr.com/eiyuhnnn/763239019034312704/second-part-of-business-interviews?source=share

[hollyannewrites]

No Way to Move On...

“Glad to hear you’ve been enjoying the warmer weather, Myra,” Francene said, crossing her ankles. “Now, I know we had an appointment set for next week, but you called to move up our session. Is everything alright?”

I folded my hands in my lap, considering for a few seconds before I replied. “I think I’m in love.”

Francene grinned, brown smile lines creasing her face. “Well, isn’t that lovely.” She picked up her pen and notepad from the table beside her without looking—she always made an effort to make our conversations feel natural, not like she was observing me clinically. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I nodded, picking absently at my nails. I’d thought about how I wanted to explain the situation on the train ride here, but the details still caught in my throat. What if she thought I was crazy? I’d never brought anything like this to her before—usually we focused heavily on managing my anxiety, or the stresses of living far away from my family. This was… not the same.

“Myra?”

My gaze flicked up and caught her expectant gaze. I’d let the silence hang.

            ��Right, sorry. Just figuring out where to start.”

            “Don’t worry about getting it exactly right. You can just say what you’re thinking.”

            I took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, then slowly releasing. No way around it, I just needed to get it out.

“Ok, yeah. So, like I said, I think I’m in love. I’m in love with my roommate, Lucas. I might have mentioned him a few times before. He moved in a few days before me, was subletting from someone I didn’t really know. We were awkward at first, but now we get along fine. When I turn on the TV, he’ll come sit and watch with me, or sometimes we just settle on the couch and talk for hours.

We’re a lot alike, in some ways. His family also lives pretty far away, all the way out in Portland, and he almost never sees them. He works from home, does some sort of computer job, and feels a little isolated because he doesn’t really interact with coworkers much. We like the same genre of music—classic rock—and we both love to put on Led Zeppelin while we clean. We’re both left-handed but neither of us own left-handed scissors so we always rock-paper-scissors whenever something needs cutting out. Our politics are similar, we share similar feelings about faith, or rather, lack thereof, and we’ve always agreed easily about how we want to take care of our space.

It’s not like we’re identical or anything, like, he’s a night owl and I’m a morning person, and he is very introverted and I love meeting new people, but there’s nothing so glaringly different between us that we have tension about it. It’s genuinely nice to come home from the grocery store, or therapy, or a walk in the park, and know that he’ll be around the house, and we can hang out.

He sometimes goes out of his way to do nice things for me—like he’ll clean the apartment while I’m gone or turn off all the lights before he goes to sleep because I always forget. He’s sweet, and polite about it. If I bring up the things he does for me, he’ll just shrug and say it makes him feel good to do things for people, especially stuff that makes their life easier. Once he even said that hard work doesn’t count if it’s for people he really cares about.”

My face flushed at the memory. Lucas, in the kitchen, with a dish towel slung over one shoulder, grinning casually. His stormy gray eyes had twinkled a little, and his smile made my stomach flutter. He’d cleaned the mountain of dirty dishes even though it was my turn to do it and primarily my mess—he never seemed to contribute to the pile of sauced-up plates and coffee-ringed cups. I hadn’t thought anything of it then, but now, knowing that he really didn’t use the kitchen, didn’t need to… Well, it makes sense.

“I’ve really grown close with him in the months that I’ve lived there. He’s helped me get past feeling isolated here, since he so often seeks me out. He makes me feel like a valuable presence at home, which has boosted my confidence. I get this rush of comfort and happiness when I think about spending time with him. That’s new for me. I’m pretty sure that I’m really falling in love with him.”

I couldn’t keep gushing about how lovely he was—or rather, I could, but that wasn’t the reason I’d scheduled this session with Francene.

Her face had its practiced, neutral expression in place, the one she reserved for listening and withholding judgement. That careful detachment was the reason I decided to stick with her as my therapist when I moved out here. Her reactions and feelings didn’t cut me off when I started to open up. The uncreased, slightly-head-tilted look relieved the tension that usually coiled around my shoulders, and the words just flew.

As I watched her, she nodded once, an invitation for me to continue. I squeezed my hands together, tight, then picked up my story.

“There’s basically only one thing that frustrates me about Lucas. He has no interest in the exterior. What I mean is, he never wants to go out anywhere or go do anything. I’ve invited him to parties, restaurants, I asked him to come to a Joan Jett concert with me, but no matter what it is or how much I’m certain he’d enjoy it, he always says no. He’s polite about it, for sure, but he literally always rejects the offer. And he doesn’t like when the exterior becomes the interior. Whenever I have friends over, he always hides away in his room and will not come out. He’s literally never met any of my friends or our neighbors, even if I invite him to hang out with us and no matter how much I emphasize that he’s welcome to join our plans.

Like I said, I’m more of an extrovert, so I guess he’s just a tiny bit anti-social sometimes or easily overwhelmed by new people and situations, but it’s still frustrating to try to share my life and invite him in and to meet with such strong resistance. Like, would it kill him to go to the park just once?”

I winced at my choice of words. Across from me, Francene’s pen was scratching along the lines of her notepad, picking up in pace when she saw clocked my reaction.

“How does it make you feel that he doesn’t agree to these things?” she questioned.

“I mean, I get it now. It’s difficult, yeah, but like I said, I really do like him, so I can usually overlook it.”

If I wanted this to work out, I’d have to overlook it.

Francene cleared her throat softly—I’d let the silence hang for longer than I meant to. “So, you came to see me about your relationship with Lucas?”

Time for the moment of truth. “Sort of. On Monday, something happened…” How was she going to react to this? The thought tightened my throat.

“What happened on Monday, Myra?” A glow of concern colored her brown eyes.

“My landlord came over, with someone looking to sublet. A very nice girl from Seattle.”

“Ah. So you didn’t know Lucas wasn’t going to continue subletting there?”

“Not exactly. I asked Andy—that’s my landlord—about Lucas leaving, since he hadn’t said anything to me. And Andy got a little upset with me. He asked me if I’d been lying, if I’d had another person living there with me even though I’d only paid for my room, not both.”

His face had been rather red, and spittle gathered on the lower bristles of his mustache as he’d blustered about rental agreements and improper use of his property and a dozen other things that were lost on me. The girl who’d come with had stared at me openly, confused and suspicious but not unsympathetic as the tirade dragged on.

“I managed to explain to him that I hadn’t brought Lucas to live there—he’d moved in before me, after all. We’d never met before I arrived here that first day. Andy asked to speak to ‘this Lucas character’, so I led him to Lucas’ room, and knocked on the door. He was almost certainly home—like I said, he never goes out much, but like usual, his bedroom door was shut. I realized while I was knocking that I’d actually never been inside of his room or seen what it looked like inside.”

Francene was frowning at this point, and she flipped to a new page of notes.

“After a minute or so of knocking, Andy just loudly announced that he was coming in, and he opened the door. And…” My breath hitched. “And the room was empty. I don’t just mean he wasn’t there; it was completely empty. Four blank white walls, a hardwood floor, and a thick layer of dust on the single windowsill.”

The pen stopped scratching. I squeezed my eyes shut—it was too late to take it back.

“Andy turned on me, and glared, and said he didn’t appreciate me wasting his time with pranks. He asked me to give him some space to show the apartment and waved me off. I tried to explain but I really couldn’t think of anything to say. What explanation was there? My roommate who was apparently a squatter had moved out all of his things and vanished overnight without me noticing? It just didn’t make sense.

So I went into my room, and sat on my bed, and just sorta spaced out until I heard the front door slam shut behind Andy. I crept out of my room and wandered from room to room, trying to find anything that belonged to Lucas, a note he’d left or a missing sock he’d forgotten or anything at all, but there wasn’t anything. It was like he’d never been there at all.”

I spared Francene the details of how hard I’d been crying as I ended up in his empty room and curled up on the dirty ground for hours—it wouldn’t matter in just a few minutes anyway.

“I was shocked, confused. I couldn’t imagine him disappearing without saying anything—we were closer than that, or at least I had thought so. After a bit, I made up my mind to reach out and ask him what had happened, but then I remembered I didn’t actually have his phone number. We saw each other constantly, so it just somehow never came up. We’d left each other occasional notes on the fridge, although there weren’t any still stuck on there when I looked for them.

So I didn’t know how to get ahold of him. It’s not the dark ages, so I decided to try social media. Who doesn’t have any socials these days, right? I went on my phone, opened Facebook, and typed in his name. Lucas Planck. A small handful of accounts came up, but I felt like I knew enough to figure out which one was his. I clicked through a few until I found one that I thought was his, even though the profile picture was just some sunflowers. It listed the hometown as Portland, showed what college he’d gone to, and had a few liked posts about Metallica and some old articles about developments in computer science. I opened the old profile pictures and found one that had his face in it—and sure enough, it was him.

I sent him a friend request and a quick message asking him if we could talk. I didn’t get a response right away, and I was feeling really anxious, so I just wanted to see if he came up anywhere else online. I typed his name into my browser, and the first few things that popped up were about other Lucas’, but near the bottom of the first page of results, there was an article from a few years ago. It was published in the local paper here, and I opened it in a new tab.”

It was a mistake, bringing this to Francene. I could feel myself shaking as I spoke, and I didn’t want to see her reaction to this. I didn’t want her to know—she’d call me crazy. I’d sound crazy. But there was no way out, now—I couldn’t leave without an explanation, and there was no explanation for everything I’d said so far except the truth.

“Local man’s body discovered in apartment after several days—the smell alerted neighbors. That’s what the article was called.” I swallowed hard. “Just underneath was a picture of Lucas, and a short article about how a neighbor smelled something horrible and called the police, and they discovered a body that had been dead for some time, after a head injury from an accidental fall in the bedroom had caused bleeding in the brain, or something like that. It said—the article claimed—that the dead man was Lucas. My Lucas. My roommate Lucas. And it was his picture on the article.”

My knuckles were white where I squeezed my fingers together.

“I almost threw up, reading the page over and over. And then… And then Lucas walked into the room from the hallway, frowning.”

He’d been paler than usual and sighed heavily as he came into view. With a slow nod, he’d settled down on the far end of the couch, cross-legged as always, and pointed at my screen.

“He apologized that I’d found out like this, that he’d meant to tell me. I was pinching myself to see if I was having a nightmare, but I wasn’t. Lucas stayed very calm as he explained to me that the article was correct, that that was him, and that he’d been drifting around this empty apartment, unseen and unheard, until I’d shown up, and I saw him. He said as far as he could tell no one else had been able to see him, and I seemed nice and it felt so good to just have someone to talk to, and so he’d hidden the truth.”

His eyes—or what looked like eyes to me—had watered, and he’d swiped at them with the back of his sweater. Would his sleeve have felt wet if I touched it? Could I have touched it? I realized that we’d never physically touched, never brushed up against each other, never even come close. He had pushed up his thick curls where they flopped over his left ear, and under it, I could see an angry, inky-purple bruise, swollen and yet obviously indented. Saliva had coated my tongue, and I’d swallowed down the bile that crept up my throat.

“I didn’t know what to do, pinned in place by the surrealness of what was happening. He didn’t seem to know where to go from there either, so we just sat, silently, for what felt like hours. Then he stood, and walked out of the room, and said if I wanted to, we could talk about it in the morning.

I didn’t sleep—I couldn’t. I just kept thinking about how much I cared about him, and then lurching feeling I’d felt when I saw the empty room and thought he’d vanished and I didn’t know how to reconcile that my close friend, the person I’d started to really fall in love with, was dead and had been the whole entire time.”

I was staring into my lap—I didn’t want to know what Francene was doing, and I couldn’t really hear her pen over the roaring blood in my ears.

“I thought I’d have time to figure out what I wanted to do, but my landlord texted me yesterday that the girl from Seattle had agreed to sublet, and she’s moving in next week. She’s moving into Lucas’ room. I can’t tell her we’ll be sharing our home with a ghost that she might not even be able to see, but I also don’t want to stop being able to hang out with Lucas. I’ m not... I’m not afraid of him, of what he is, and somehow, I still want him there. I still feel that connection. But she’s coming, and I’m going to lose that, and I don’t know what to do even do. It’s not like I could move out—Lucas couldn’t come with. And I can’t stop her from coming. But what can I do?” My voice got louder and louder as the questions spilled over.

When I finally paused and looked up, Francene was staring. She was trying hard to keep her face clear of emotion, but underneath, the fear and disappointment and concern were obvious.

“Alright, Myra, why don’t we slow down and talk a little more about this? Is there anything you haven’t mentioned about when you see Lucas, or how he acts toward you?”

She spoke very gently, and even though the word never crossed her lips, I heard it plain as day. Crazy. Francene had decided I was crazy, delusional, insane. This conversation wasn’t going to help me figure out how to stay with Lucas. She’d diagnose me with something or other, ship me off to a facility or drug me into a haze—I couldn’t bear it.

I pushed up from the leather seat, grabbing my purse and quickly going to the door. “Thanks for listening, Francene. That helped, really. I feel better about it. I think I’m good now. I’m gonna go,” I gushed as I opened the door and hurried into the hall.

I heard her footsteps coming after me, but I just called out to the receptionist, asking her to cancel my future appointments, and hustled out the front door as fast as possible, briskly making my way out onto the busy sidewalk towards our apartment.

Lucas and I would just have to come up with our own solution. He’d listened to me all evening yesterday while I rambled, and he’d even suggested I try talking to Francene, since she usually helped me so much when I was upset—he couldn’t have known how she’d react.

We’d figure it out, somehow. We’d figure it out together. It’ll be hard, but that doesn’t matter—I care about him. I might even be in love.

[purplespacecats]

on the first sunny warm afternoon this year i was, of course, out front gardening, and my neighbor francene, a cis straight woman (afaik) in her 60s, was chilling on her balcony. at one point she got my attention and asked "where's your beautiful flag?" i explained that i'd taken my pride flag down bc it was ripped (with charades bc i wasn't sure how to say that in french lol) and i'd been meaning to fix it. she immediately offered to fix it for me, saying that she has a sewing maching so it'll take 5 minutes!

so ofc i ran in to get the flag and pass it up to her, and sure enough she came back in 5 minutes with it hemmed and mended!!!

i thanked her profusely saying how happy it would make me to see it flying again, and she said it'll make her happy too :')

[jessadaloro]

Week 1-2 of Interviewing Different Businesses

Me and my groupmates, Angel Jean Obsioma, Ian Gariel B. Ramas, and Francen P. Sellote, roam around the city to look for businesses that we can go to and ask the business owner or staff if we can ask a few questions regarding their business, so that we can gain knowledge and in-depth understanding about how business works, and we also asked permission if it is okay to take a picture.

Here is the list of the businesses we interviewed and the key information we gathered for week 1-2.

1. N Jess General Merchandise

The N Jess General Merchandise is a hardware business that is owned by Ms. Carmela Barton and her father, and was established in the year 2015. It is located in Door 3 Lacar Building, Zone 12 Upper Carmen, CDOC. Before it became hardware, the very first business that they did, with her family, was they were a wholesaler of Coke and beer. Additionally, they were engaged in the sale of nails. But because the nails are more in demand or needed than their coke and beer and the staff member that was assigned to their wholesale business failed to do his/her duty, they focused more on this. They are rolling the money that they got from selling nails to grow their business, but now it is in line with hardware. Their family also wants to build this business so that her father won't go back as an OFW, as it will serve his retirement venture.

Now that their business grows, aside from selling hardware, they also do partner contractors. They also have 17 staff. But she also said that even though their business is now established, there are really months that their business is slow in sales, but still they were able to pay their expenses. 

Then we also asked about how they were able to start or build their business. She answered that they first looked for a place or location as to where to put the business, a location where it can be seen by people, and then look for suppliers.

2. Happy Sip

Happy Sip is a milk tea business owned by two sisters, Rema Hasan and Merlyn Hasan, built on March 5, 2024, in Zone 12 Upper Zayas Carmen, CDOC. Aside from selling milk tea, they also have coffee and snacks. They solely own the business, as they don't have any partnerships, but they franchise it. They also have another business, which is an ukay-ukayan.

They came up with this business since their other business, ukay-ukayan, is not that good in terms of sales, so they did this business to have other income. We also asked the first thing they did to have this business, and Ms. Rema Hasan said that they first contacted someone on Happy Sip as they want to franchise it, as this business has a main store in Manila, and then asked a deal about the supplier. She also added that when they ask for supplies, they usually get those supplies, like around a month, since the supply is from Manila, and the delivery can usually take a month, and that is why they also ask for a supply in advance.

And lastly, she said that there are really times that the sales of their business are not that big since a milk tea is not something that people need on a daily basis, unlike rice that people really needs in their daily lives, as it is just a want and people do not crave for it every day.

3. AJ Water Refilling Station

AJ Water Refilling Station is owned by Mrs. Leonor Jamito and was established on June 28, 2024. It is located in Zone 12-C Uzlai Upper Zayas Carmen, CDOC. Mrs. Jamito shared with us that she put this business up so that her children will have something left or depend on, because we do not know when will be our last time on earth. She also said that there are only a maximum of 3 staff that she has, including her, as they are just starting. She added that you should just keep holding on, as there are really times that there are not that many customers, but there are also times that there are a lot. We also asked her about what she did first to put up this business, she answered that she saved money first, as this kind of business needs to have a large amount of capital because of the materials that are needed in this business.

4. Jasmine Garden

Jasmine Garden is a business owned by Mrs. Amelita Dap-og which was established in the year 1992, and the main garden is located in Gusa, CDOC, which where they are invited by the LGU so that they can help in the beautification of the place, but her and her family is currently residing in Tagoloan. Her business is about the different kinds or variaties of flowers, and also landscapping, which is where her son, Alejandro Dap-og is in-charge.

In the beginning of her business, she and her family, which is also the ones who's with her in managing her business, they only sell small amount of flowers. Additionally, she also said that upon raising her business, she first propagated her plants. And now, she can accepts suppliers of her plants regardless of how big the display would be.

We also asked her as to what is the first thing that she does to established their business, and she said that she looks for a perfect location as to where to placed it.

And she shared to us that their business is mostly invited and participated in several floral diplays such as festivals, just like the Kaamulan. They also joined in different contests and won some prizes, like Best in Flowering, and Best in Bonsai Plant. And in the recent Higalaay festival, she also participated in the display, located in the Gaston Park, and said that for them to join the displays, they must submit their business permit.

5. Aquarist Fish Shop

Aquarist Fish Shop is a business owned by Mrs. Devenia Socorro M. Chua, and their store was built in the year 2010 at Rizal Fernandez Streets, Barangay 1, CDOC, but they were already selling fish in 1993. Their business is not only selling different kinds of fish, but they also have different animals, accessories for aquariums, and fish foods.

They do not have any partnerships; they solely manage their family business. Their store only has 3 staff, which is also just her, her husband, and her son.

We also asked her what are the things that they did to start this business and why did they came up with it, and she answered that the first was to invest and then set up the aquariums since this is where the fish will be placed. She added that they also searched for suppliers, and then along the way, their suppliers will be the ones to contact them to ask if they still have supplies. She also said that they created this business so that they have income, and they chose to sell fish as his husband is fond of different kinds of fish.

Here is the link to directly access my insights.

- J

[mikewxrren]

‘I’d hope so. We can achieve a lot more together, don’t you think?’ Mike took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee. ‘But I don’t have an ulterior motive. We both know why this partnership started. But it doesn’t have to be how it ends.’ 

Mike couldn’t read Francene as well as he could other people. He had to remind himself that she wasn’t really a person, anyway. Monsters worked on very different rules. But something she said shortly before the distraction had Mike’s cogs turning. 

Did she want a life? Children? Mike understood that nowadays, women don’t have much without those. But what good was motherhood to a vampire? He didn’t feel comfortable with it, but maybe that was an angle he could play. 

The red head turned her head downward the the longer Mike went on about the stressful reality of being a parent, her finger softly tapping the side of the mug. "...That's fair. What good are is someone to anyone these days if you don't have all your ducks in a row?" She sounded almost ashamed. " It's still like I said; if I could, I'd switch-"

Francene's eyes lit up, as if Mike suddenly grew two other heads, her own head tilting slightly to the side. " So we're friends, are we? The night when we first met, I thought it was strictly business but...you've being such a good, loyal friend as of late, well-" She shrugged one shoulder, some of her hair falling over her shoulder, "-all goes well, I don't any issue helping you in return. That's what friends do for each other, isn't it?"

[thehatakefamily]

Muse: Kiki Hatake (Francene Lamb by the courtesy of the lovely @brimfire-and-hellstone, thank you once again for permission to write her. Hopefully I did this goddess justice.)

Rating: T

Warnings: Scenes of Violence, Language

Out in the middle of the Queens there was a popular biker bar, known to almost every passersby as Angel’s Dust, but to the bikers it was just the Angel Bar. It had expansive old furnished wood, giving it the look of an old saloon. The front doors were designed to look like swinging doors, looking both way too nice for its area and just shady enough to not raise too many eyebrows. Formerly a slaughterhouse, it was completely overhauled and refurbished to be a nice bar. 

Once inside, there was an array of tables and booths near the middle, framing the building as you walked in, leading to the wide bar. To the right side was several pool tables separated from the main area with a simple wall and railing, a slight step down, leading to the array of pool tables. At the bar was a huge wall of several bottles ranging from wine, to sake, to vodka, to whiskey. Several women walking around with trays in their hands, dressed to cater to the bikers, hoping to get the most in tips. 

Back at the bar was a young woman, stationed always behind the bar, maintaining clean surfaces and glasses, considered by many to be one of the main attractions. Long brunette hair framing her face, lips curved in an easy smile as she talked to the patrons, eyes shimmering with light brown, shining with playfulness. Kiki Hatake was her name, and she moved like she owned the entire club, and many actually believed that too. Her boss was entirely grateful with how well Kiki managed the bar, an arrangement they came to when Kiki punched a biker in the face, breaking his nose. She could play nice but she wasn’t about to allow herself to be groped. 

Today, she was clad in a simple black tee, knowing that wearing white tee would never be a good idea, Under bar level she was wearing faded denim jeans that hugged her hips and legs as she moved. Being the bartender had it’s advantages.

“Hey sexy!” A burly biker catcalled out to Kiki before raising his glass, very clearly drunk.

Kiki sighed, as the bartender also had it’s disadvantages. “I think you’re done for the night Will,” She said with a slight smile. 

The biker laughed before slamming his glass on the table, going back to talking with his bikers. She shook her head and began to wipe down the bar again, but the sound of the door opening made her perk her ears up. She looked up and saw a young gorgeous woman walk in, making her stop what she was doing. Kiki couldn’t help but take in the gorgeous dark hair that flowed down the woman’s shoulders, the bright green eyes slightly downcast, not wanting attention, but to Kiki stood out more than anyone else. He took in her more formal attire, something not uncommon around the bar, but certainly not the norm. Her blazer and skirt gave her the appearance of a businesswoman dealing with shit businessman all day. 

Kiki kept following her as she headed to the far end of the bar, the place people go when even the bartender isn’t who they want to talk to. Kiki cleaned the area she was at before tossing the towel over her shoulder and brushing her hands together. She grabbed a glass from under the bar and walked over to the new patron. She slowly stood in front of her and smiled. “Hey there,” She said softly. 

The patron slowly looked up, eyes wary, as she quickly took in the bartender, she straightened up a bit, before fiddling with her fingers. “Hey,” The woman answered back as she kept to herself. 

Kiki saw how nervous she was and gently placed the glass down. “You know out of every person I’ve seen walk in here with a suit, you’ve definitely worked it the best,” She complimented as she gave a quick wipe on the rim of the glass. “So, what would you like?”

The woman, Francene Lamb, smiled at the simple compliment but shook her head a bit. “A Manhattan please,” She said softly. “I’m sure you’eve seen better looking people.”

Kiki smiled as she chuckled a bit. “Not to mention good taste in drinks,” She said with a chuckle as she began to prep the drink. “Take a look around, I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Kiki said with a smile. 

Francene couldn’t help but take a quick look around at the patrons, unable to stop herself from chuckling, even cracking a small smile. Kiki gave a small smile, loving the sound of Francene’s laugh. She made Francene’s drink of choice and handed her the glass. Francene whispered a thank you and grabbed the glass, bring it close to her. 

Kiki couldn’t help but be reminded by her brother, Kasuna Hatake, with Francene’s desire to keep to herself. Kiki placed her hands on the bar as she watched her for a moment, before a noise grabbed her attention. Kiki looked up and saw a punk type of biker strolling up like he owned the place and leaned against the bar as he leered at Kiki. Kiki’s face was a mask of impassive boredom, but Francene detected a hint of annoyance in Kiki’s jaw before moving her eyes back down and shrinking a bit from the man’s presence.

“And what are we getting today?” Kiki asked, keeping her tone civil with a forced smile. 

“How about your name for starters,” He said with a smooth baritone voice, a grin annoyingly etched on his face. “Then I think I would fancy a taste of this place’s finest.”

Kiki’s eyebrow barely twitched as she grabbed a glass and poured some cheap whiskey. While it wasn’t the “finest”, it was the most requested, which as far as this douche was considered was the same thing. Kiki pushed the glass towards the guy. “Open tab?” She asked simply. 

“I’m hoping that won’t be the only thing open tonight,” He said as he raised the glass and took it down with one swig. He then smirked as he looked at Francene. 

“And if she’s not, maybe you will be,” He said with disgusting bravado.

Francene bristled and leaned away from the creep as Kiki narrowed her eyes. “Are you going to get another shot?” She asked as she crossed her arms. “Because if not, please find a place to sit, I’m not a babysitter.”

The biker got very offended and stood up, puffing out his chest, and sticking out his finger at Kiki. He stared down at her like she was a child who had disobeyed their parent, trying to intimidate her. Kiki glared at the man, ignoring the finger in her face, feeling her own anger rise at the apparent disrespect. The lack of fear coming off of Kiki made the biker extremely pissed. 

“Don’t get all bitchy with me like you’re hot shit,” He said with a growl as he leaned closer to Kiki. “You’re barely a cute girl, and I was being generous with you, so how about a fucking thank you for my fucking courtesy!”

Everyone in the bar was now looking at the commotion, some bikers already making bets about what was about to happen. Francene was afraid for the bartender, already plotting to deal with the biker after he left. But Kiki just gave a falsely sweet smile before grabbing the bikers hair and slamming his face down hard onto the bar, breaking his nose.

“OH YOU BITCH!” He cried out as he grabbed his face, stumbling back. 

“Ohhh look you got your wish,” Kiki taunted with a grin. “Your blood flow is also open.”

Francene couldn’t help but be impressed as bikers paid each other from the bets, the regular patrons grinning as the profited off others ignorance of the bartender. Kiki had gotten herself a fierce reputation as one to not be fucked with. Kiki cracked her neck as she vaulted over the bar real quick, leaning against it, now closer to the injured biker. 

“Now I’ll give you a choice,” She said simply, tilting her head. “Apologize and leave the establishment. Or you can leave in an ambulance.”

The biker, wounded both in ego and body, roared in anger as he charged at the little uppity bitch. Francene got to her feet, not about to let this guy hurt Kiki, however she needed not worry. Once he was close enough, he was met with a brutal roundhouse kick. The heel of Kiki’s converse slammed into his temple, dropping him to the ground like a log. Francene’s eyes widened as Kiki blew a few strands of hair out of her face, and brushing her hair back behind her ear. A quick thud of Francene’s heart made her swallow hard as she observed the woman as she simply walked back behind the bar. 

Holy shit Francene thought as Kiki turned back to her. 

“Now,” Kiki said cheerfully, like the last few moments hadn’t happened. “Sorry about that, let me properly introduce myself. I’m Kiki.” 

[renatedagmarmilada]

by sound from lab

every idea and thought

’’I told you I would use your every thought,  every idea you have..you are not allowed even a sound whilst you live.’‘

27.4.06 12.30am ’’The Queen did not know we had returned you to prisonship, nor Churchill nor the Spencers  - . Every pressure we know was tried on you..she’ll soon leave once we start we thought.. so thank you for being a good citizen after all we have done to you for these twenty years. We took all your Citizens Rights. We look at you as an imaginary case, not as humans. As long as all we at the lab remain safe. Here in England, it is not a case of innocent and guilty, rather of strong and weak. We know you’ll never have another good word for us as long as you live- or worse.

We wrecked everything, her personal life, (this time her referred to is me)everything. I write willy nilly (this is Francene Powers) so I started taking hers.  I saw the number of her account as we watch constantly, I helped myself to seven hundred pounds, their house alarm code so we can send thieves into their house..you guessed the rest. She darn’t open her official post, and we don’t let her have personal post, she knows we are watching and will mess everything up. Anna (the bossess) knew I took the money. The Asians took a couple of hundred too, they took some from the old mother too as they are all on the machine, the whole family. -Get off that machine we have you on.- Anna’s got a screw loose, we all know that. Some of the old ones know what’s going on, that’s why Anna gives out gifts all the while.  I just take every idea, phrase, sentence, piece. I never knew there were so many.  Do you know what our wages are? (lab technician) MY books, copies of your work, still bring in Royalties. We even get the banks to cheat her accounts.  Making ‘circles’ was another psychiatric idea.  It was a very nasty affair. She knows she can’t do anything, we have total control in England, total power. We said the police were in it, that was another lie, but we do do something else, very clever….’‘ (today’s rant)

a select teaching establishment, which you had hoped to start with your hand-chosen people in CHina, but cannot now because the lab has destroyed you there, will be created by the evil lab’s people. We told you we would use everyone of you ideas.’‘

(I have taught twice in China..mainly to get away from St Barths Evil Research sadists.  They are terrified I will talk, so they pay which ever country it is, and offer them this american technology and teach them how to torture on line. When I was at University in Germany, they sent one of the psychologists..when I visit friends there, another psychologist also goes and uses head hammering techniques all night.

I am now no longer allowed post in Germany, I sent about twenty books about my time in a Bavarian CHildren’s Home to various places whilst visiting there. The German Research, which were paid to come to St Barths and take part in torture, get their orders from the evil lab.  The last visit to my children’s home was hell, they will not let me go in peace..now all civil rights there are also destroyed. They say I must take it to the european parliament. but england blocks that.

’’SHE HAS A GENIUS FOR FINDING NICHES’ (but for my kind of skills) ANY PLACE THEY HAVE USED, THEY EITHER CLOSE DOWN OR CHANGE ALL STAFF AND ITS RUNNING FROM THE FIRST HOSPTAL THEY USED IN SHEFFIELD ONWARDS. SO OCEAN UNIVERSITY WILL BE STOPPED FROM EMPLOYING ME EVER AGAIN. IT IS A PATTERN THEY USE FOR CONFUSING ANYONE WHO MIGHT FOLLOW THEIR TRAIL.

over my CD music this very moment: ’’ok start sending them when I tell you.’‘ (that will be the QUEEN of England research lab boss Anna.. they call the Bavarian sadist research ‘Franz’ as they are all crackpots, they give each other names. And isn’t that like the english, use their old enemies, against those who built up their country for them.

Twenty years ago, when I visited Donetsk/Ukraine with Sheffield University, they used microsound all over Moscow, it was terrifying.. I had no idea what it was about then. In russian classes (I went for something to do and because I missed my family) they used microsound constantly over the lecturer.. ’’don’t you like me?’’ etc stuff like that, like you listen to the lecturer but not what he says, his coordinates are on the lab machine so you hear their idiotic rhetoric, and my dear Jesus, are these people idiots..they destroy your life and then go on endlessly about ‘stay slim’ and stupidity like that. In the event I speak and read Russian perfectly so didn’t need thelessons to learn. They have been terrorising us everywhere for twenty years. This is what our taxes and america’s are used for. Their opinion of themselves is so great, that they put their stupid little ideas on these sound waves.. It was just a cultural visit..They told Russia I was their patient.. A man in a blue suit walked out, waved, then one at Moscow University, these are the people they deal with and lie to.. when I stayed with friends in St Petersburg they messed about constantly. Is everyone scared of the British, they are such nothings and always run for help..then stab us in the back when we have saved them.

SOMETHING SIMILAR BUT ACCIDENTAL HAPPENED IN AMERICA. A WOMAN APPEARED ON THE SCREEN, THEY JUST TALKED TO HER PER MICROSOUND FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE AND WATCHED HER TILL SHE DIED THEN PUT THE WHOLE THING IN FOLDERS. THEY DID NOT TORTURE HER OR USE HER IN THIS HORRENDOUS WAY AS WE ARE BEING USED BY THESE SADISTS AND LECHERS AND THEIR ‘SEX EXPERIMENT’.. however plenty of others have died whom they have handled.

[potionwitchmaya-15]

listen i know @papyrusswaghetti already did an Afton descendant, but i had my own idea for one before i saw their post, inspired by foxxybro's William and Elizabeth. i love Springtrisha tho, she's such a vibe. plus a glamrock freddy descendant bc i wanted to do smth vaguely with the """true ending""" of security breach. they are a package deal, please separate them

[the-heaminator]

Oh can you write ukfrain? I thought like a love triangle (real one) and they're all too dumb to notice they're in love with each other. I do like Frain being very close and lot of PDA dispite them not saying and England feeling jealous because he/she isn't between them.

Oh wait. It can be nyo if you want 👀

OH, OH ok apparentl;y this turned into the horniest thing ive ever written. maybe im just feeling gayer than usual. A lot of this went into describing what i like about women im so sorry

Y E S. These shits being oblivious and England being jealous and all being very gay

Names bc Nyos: Isabella (Spain) Francene (France) Elizabeth (England)

Dammit why was Isabella so pretty!

This was the simultaneous thought of more than one very gay women in the conference room as Spain flounced up to give her speech.

Spain in a suit could turn most women gay, let's be real here, but if they were already gay, that could be a small problem.

As she droned on about agriculture most people had tuned out and were busy doing various things, like being on their phones, irritating someone or staring at Isabella's hips, luckily for Isa, only 2 people were staring at her hips. But unluckily for her, it was Francene and Elizabeth, one was her best friend (and fuck buddy) and the other was her past rival (now occasional fuck buddy.) 

Now you could argue that  Francene and Isabella's relationship had long surpassed being just fuck buddies, looking after each other and cuddling in the rain, being there when the other was down, kissing eachther goodnight, while sleeping in the same bed.

Normal homie behaviour at its finest.

After that it was Francene, she gave an actually well delivered and structured speech about strikes and why they happen and how to prevent them to avoid major closures. Most people were listening and to some extent Isa and Elizabeth were too, but they were also getting occationally sidetracked by Francenes clothing choices. A very close fitting waistcoat that left little to imagination and even though the skirt reached the knee, it showed her stocking clad calves and if she stretched, parts of her thigh and it was really sending Elizabeth around the bend.

She knew that Francene was mostly occupied by Isabella, but she really wanted to be held dammit. Preferably by either or both of those 2.

When it was finally Elizabeth's turn to speak, she pointedly avoided looking at either of the two. After all she was not wearing anything exactly provocative and her bodily dimensions left a lot to be desired, so she wouldnt have to worry.

At least that's what she thought.

Her bin provocative clothing and her overall dimensions did nothing to stop the two romance nations imagining things that would have gotten them flogged in centuries past.

I mean Elizabeth has done it before, so why not again.

Elizabeth's presentation on urban and rural development was the end to the incredibly long meeting.

Most nations had agreed to go to the pub before going to their hotels and probably sleeping, though some noises occasionally said otherwise.

Elizabeth walked to the canteen, avoiding Isabella and Francene like the plague, even if that meant being around Julchen and Amelia, two women who had no idea what being quiet was.

Except today, they were mostly silent, only muttering to each other under their breaths.

After an infuriating 5 minutes she asked "What is wrong with you two, neither of you have said awesome or dude yet and you're being awfully quiet."

Julchen, being an absolute beast at covering up her tracks and 100% wanted to torture Elizabeth said "We were talking about how I'm pretty sure that Isa and Francene have a thing going on."

"Oh you think I dont know that? I hear ✨sounds✨" she said, quite disgruntled as you would imagine.

She looked over at the two who were being so sappy that she couldn't look away defo not imagining herself in some questionable positions .

Elizabeth stopped her beer while Julchen did as well, Amelia was being a pussy in the corner and drinking coke.

But a couple of beers later, everyone is understandably a bit tipsy and whilst Amelia was stuck with dragging a mooning Elizabeth and a very depressed Julchen out of the bar.

Amelia looked on in dismay as Elizabeth sort of walked (she wasn't stumbling but like still a bit wobbly) over to the very passionately making out duo in the back.

And her tongue being plied with a generous amount of liquid courage says "Can I join you?"

The two considered it and debated for all of a minute and said "Sure, but this commitment lasts the night, kay?"

Oh and indeed it did

[thegodthief]

Walking around work, thinking about the tasks I have to do and the few resources I have to do them, wondering how am I going to get the assistance I need, when suddenly...

a "stray" thought resounds...

"St. Francis."

Oh. Alright. I heard about a St. Francis of Assisi, would that be the name drop? But when I looked up said specific said, the context wasn't matching up well. Not to mention DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY ST. FRANCIS THERE ARE? (wtf even is the plural of francis? frances? francises? francen?) And that's just the Vatican 2.0 Approved™ list.

I'm not nearly Catholic enough to figure this out, folk and/or otherwise.

(The context is Murder™, as in if one more thing happens to get in my way, some concerns were about to be permanently scratched off the To Worry list. and placed on the Asset Unrecoverable™ list.)

[nsula]

NSU, SLCC agreement allows civil survey/mapping credits to transfer into UPSA program

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University and South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette formalized an agreement in which students who earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in civil survey and mapping from SLCC can transfer into NSU’s bachelor’s degree program in Unified Public Safety Administration with a concentration in GEO Computation.  

 The agreement will help students fulfill requirements to become civil surveyors without having to go out of state for credentials. UPSA classes are offered online so students are not limited by time or location.

 “This is an in-state opportunity for students,” said Dr. Jack Atherton, UPSA coordinator. “Louisiana state statute requires a bachelor’s degree for state licensure as a surveyor.  This concentration meets an identified workforce need.”

 Expertise in geomeasurement is important to public safety, Atherton said, and fulfills needs in several fields, such as civil engineering, construction, architecture and real estate.  NSU was able to bundle several existing UPSA course offerings to create the GEO Computation concentration.

 “Geo Computation has a direct connection to safeguarding life, health and property and promoting the public welfare. Louisiana, especially in coastal areas, has a significant subterranean infrastructure with pipelines and cables and knowing where they are is crucial.  Damage to petroleum fuel lines could be devastating,” Atherton said. “Because a portion of the statutory mandate for surveying in Louisiana is grounded in public safety, this fits perfectly in a public safety administration program.”  

 “This is a gold star day for students,” said Darcee Bex, SLCC’s dean of STEM, Transportation and Energy.  “It saves students time and money when they can transfer credit hours and is a great foundation for work in oil and gas, construction and transportation.”

 “Our students have an opportunity here that they’ve never had before,” said SLCC Chancellor Dr. Natalie Harder.  “They can move into a four-year degree online so it’s convenient for them.”

             “This could not have happened without the hard work of faculty at both institutions,” said NSU President Dr. Chris Maggio.  “These agreements are for the end goal of helping our students.”  

              NSU’s UPSA degree program is housed in the Department of Criminal Justice, History and Social Sciences and equips graduates for careers in federal, state and local agencies.  In addition to Geo Computation, concentrations are available in law enforcement administration, fire and emergency medical service administration, emergency management administration and public facilities management.

             Two years ago, NSU and SLCC formalized a 2 + 2 agreement in which students who earn an associate degree in criminal justice can transfer those credits towards a four-year degree in criminal justice at NSU.

             Information on NSU’s Unified Public Safety Administration program can be accessed at https://nsu.la/BSinUPSA.  Atherton can be reached at athertonj@nsula.edu.  

  NSU, SLCC Agreement:  

 An agreement between Northwestern State University and south Louisiana Community College will allow students who earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in civil survey and mapping from SLCC can transfer into NSU’s bachelor’s degree program in Unified Public Safety Administration with a concentration in GEO Computation.   Formalizing the agreement were, seated from left, Dr. Francene Lemoine, dean of NSU’s College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Greg Handel, NSU’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs;  NSU President Dr. Chris Maggio, SLCC Chancellor Dr. Natalie Harder, Dr. Vincent June, SLCC’s vice chancellor for Student Services, and Dr. Darcee Bex, SLCC’s dean of STEM, Transportation and Energy. Standing are Dr. Mark Melder, dean of NSU’s Department of Criminal Justice, History and Social Sciences; Dr. Jack Atherton, coordinator of NSU’s Unified Public Safety Administration program, and Michael O'Pry, instructor for Civil Survey and Mapping at SLCC.