#》J.S. || THREADS

[judassamara]

night out / judas & chris

@chris-elkar​ 

It took a few days for them to organise all their shit but once it was done, he didn’t hesitate to take up Chris’s offer to hang out together. Besides his day leave, it would be the first time they actually got to hang out and do what they wanted. It had 120 years since Judas had been free to move about the city as they pleased and a lot had changed in that time. He’d seen parts of the city when they were out doing contracted labor but those times had always been very restricted. That was no longer the case.

“You ready to show me around?” They asked, though it wasn’t really a question. Someone had to show him around and it was going to be Chris. “Everything’s different since I last had any fun. Okay, maybe not everything, some of the clubs are the same but there are new ones, too.”

[mikrokosmos]

J.S. Bach - Contrapunctus XIV from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080

On this day 274 years ago, J.S. Bach passed away and his death was treated as the official end of an entire era. It is cliche to crown him the Best Composer of All Time, but it's hard not to be intimidated in his shadow for how influential he would become in the grand narrative of European music. And maybe it's Fate which brought me back into listening to a lot of Bach lately. At least my ears had been itching to revisit his great organ fugues, and different performances of the Well Tempered Clavier. So I thought I would commemorate his death day anniversary with the "last piece he ever wrote" (citation needed). The Art of Fugue is a collection of fugal exercises based on one theme, each fugue showing different potentials inherent in the theme. Like the WTC, this piece is more of a pedagogical work, originally not scored for any specific instruments so possibly written to be studied more than performed. But there's no reason why even a music theory exercise by Bach shouldn't be played for an audience, or by a musician for their own personal enjoyment.

The beautiful moment here is the last fugue in the set, Contrapunctus 14, which starts as a fugue on a completely different subject than the main theme that ties the rest of the pieces together. Instead, a solemn and contemplative fugue develops from this first theme, and in the middle a new subject emerges with shorter note values and moves forward quickly, bringing back the first subject and then develops as a double fugue. Then, another new subject comes in... so in German notation, they refer to the pitch B as H, and the pitch Bb is called B instead. I don't know why this is, but conveniently it allows Bach to sign his name in notes. But the motif Bb-A-C-B is chromatic and so close together, it doesn't sound like something that would work well for a baroque style fugue (at least, the later B-A-C-H pieces [i'm thinking by Liszt and Reger for example] are much more fitting for Romantic angst and drama). But Bach surprises us with his genius in writing a coherent and harmonically "correct"/"functioning" fugue around this complicated subject. And after the BACH fugue develops, the other two subjects join in and the piece re-introduces itself as a triple fugue.

Or at least, it promises to, but Bach stopped writing at this very moment. It is assumed that had he finished the work, he would have finally brought back the main fugue theme from the other contrupunctus pieces in the set and end with a developed quadruple fugue. And as someone who has tried and constantly failed at writing a decent sounding basic fugue for one subject, the dream of what could have been boggles my mind. Why did Bach stop? The score notes at the very end "While working on this fugue, which introduces the name BACH in the countersubject, the composer died." in CPE Bach's handwriting (one of Bach's many musically gifted sons, nicknamed "the Berlin Bach") but historians believe the manuscript is from a year or two earlier, before his deteriorating vision kept him from finishing. It's also a Romantic notion to imagine that Bach intentionally stopped there, letting the BACH fugue be his personal farewell to life, to composition, to music...a way to wrap up his lifelong work of trying to use difficult and contrapuntally dense music to reflect the glory of God and the intangible heavenly kingdom.

Whether he meant to or not, it's impossible not to feel this profound sense of farewell listening to this work trail off with the last threads hanging loose, as if such anticipated perfection of the quadruple fugue can only be heard in the life beyond our lives on earth. I first heard this piece in high school, and despite being young and naive and stupid in a lot of ways, the final unfinished fugue immediately hit my soul in a way nothing else had at that point, and I listened to it over and over, on piano, on organ, on guitar, as it was written along with different completions by other musicians or musicologists...

and I remember some question on some old web forum asking users "if the world was ending, what's the last song you'd want to hear". Of course I choose this one, and because of the question, any time I listen to Contrapunctus 14, I imagine myself as an astronaut, the last human alive, somehow detached from the ship and floating off into the cold and infinite abyss of the universe, listening to this piece as my oxygen runs out and I lose consciousness looking at the glittering stars, following the remains of the music into oblivion.

[bands-and-books]

"Yet I have asked myself this also: what is the point of life when it has but one texture, when the scarlet thread of transgression is removed? What is peace and security if it is brought about solely by the sword?"

- Dracula's Child by J.S. Barnes

[spacenutspod]

Science experienced many first-of-a-kind feats this year. These are the groundbreaking achievements that grabbed our attention. Cosmic web shake-up Glowing threads of gas, galaxies and dark matter provided the first tangible evidence that shock waves permeate the cosmic web, the large-scale structure of the universe (SN: 3/25/23, p. 14). Simulations had predicted that colliding threads generate shock waves, which catapult charged particles into the web’s magnetic fields and create a faint glow. That aura appeared in data from radio telescopes, confirming the shock waves exist. The glow also provides the first (if indirect) peek at the cosmic web’s magnetic fields. Hats off After more than 50 years of searching, mathematicians finally found an einstein tile (ein Stein is German for “one stone”). The shape, dubbed “the hat,” fits with its mirror image to create an infinite pattern that never repeats (SN: 4/22/23, p. 7). Soon after, researchers discovered a “vampire” einstein, a shape that doesn’t require its mirror image to create an infinite nonrepeating pattern (SN: 7/1/23, p. 9). Einstein tiles and their unique balance between order and disorder could spur new discoveries in materials science. In March, a group of mathematicians reported the first true “einstein,” a shape that can cover an infinite surface in a pattern that never repeats. The 13-sided shape was nicknamed “the hat” (left). Another milestone came in May: the first “vampire einstein,” a shape that makes a never-repeating pattern without using its mirror image (right).BOTH: D. SMITH, J.S. MYERS, C.S. KAPLAN AND C. GOODMAN-STRAUSS (CC BY 4.0) Fleeting debut The first appearance of oxygen-28, a superheavy form of the element that physicists created in a particle accelerator, was much briefer than researchers had expected (SN: 10/7/23 & 10/21/23, p. 4). The isotope decayed almost immediately after forming, despite its atomic nucleus having full outer shells of protons and neutrons — a property that is typically linked with extra stability. Oxygen-28’s instability hints that something may be wrong with our understanding of the strong nuclear force, which binds protons and neutrons. Scientists had predicted that oxygen-28 would hang around for a while before decaying. But when they finally managed to create the elusive isotope in a particle accelerator, it fell apart almost immediately — shedding four neutrons (illustrated blue) and turning into oxygen-24.Andy Sproles/Oak Ridge National Laboratory RNA retrieval Scientists isolated and decoded RNA from an extinct creature for the first time. The fragile molecules, which help ensure that cells follow their DNA instruction manuals, were extracted from a preserved Tasmanian tiger held in a museum (SN: 11/4/23, p. 10). Researchers hope that the feat will aid efforts to bring back the wolflike marsupial, which is named after its homeland and died out in 1936. The Tasmanian tiger (one shown in captivity in 1930) went extinct after the last one died in a zoo in 1936. Researchers have now extracted RNA from one museum specimen.Topical Press Agency/Stringer/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Surviving a deep freeze Adult corals can be safely flash-frozen and revived, researchers demonstrated, raising hopes that cryopreservation could be useful in coral conservation (SN: 9/23/23, p. 11). The key to preventing ice crystals from forming and damaging tissues is to bathe corals in a rigid metal container filled with a dehydrating solution before plunging them in liquid nitrogen. Whatever water remains in the tissues solidifies so quickly that it cannot crystallize and expand. Porites compressa, a finger coral, gets its name for its blunt branches. Mature chunks of it collected off the coast of Hawaii have successfully been frozen and revived, offering hope that the world’s corals could be preserved as the oceans warm and acidify.Claire Lager, Smithsonian Neutrino cartography A new map of the Milky Way is the first made without using light. Instead, cosmic cartographers used data from a detector in Antarctica and AI to chart nearly massless particles called neutrinos onto the galaxy’s plane. The resulting image (third image below; optical and gamma-ray versions shown for comparison) offered a rough idea of where the first known high-energy neutrinos to originate in the Milky Way were born (SN: 8/12/23, p. 13). With some refinement, the approach could pinpoint their birthplace and those of other amped-up ghostly particles. IceCube Collaboration/Science 2023IceCube Collaboration/Science 2023 Every letter counts This year marked the completion of the pangenome, an effort to catalog every single letter, or building block, in humankind’s genetic instruction manual (SN: 6/3/23, p. 6). The undertaking involved compiling and comparing nearly all the DNA of 47 people to get the most comprehensive snapshot yet of human genetic diversity. A few months later, researchers added the final piece: the Y chromosome (SN: 10/7/23 & 10/21/23, p. 7). The pangenome could shed light on the molecular foundations of fertility, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and more. New efforts to sequence the human Y chromosome (illustrated right; X chromosome shown left) may shed light on its role in fertility and the risk of developing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.NATHAN DEVERY/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS Star eats planet Astronomers have long suspected that stars swallow up planets, but no one had ever caught a star in the act until this year (SN: 6/3/23, p. 8). About 10,000 light-years from Earth, the sunlike star engulfed an orbiting planet that was about 10 times as massive as Jupiter. Over several days, the star grew noticeably brighter and burped a bunch of gas, suggesting it engulfed a companion star. But the relatively small amount of energy released tipped off researchers that the star had actually eaten a planet. Dust blasts into space as a star (illustrated) swallows a planet about 10 times the mass of Jupiter.K. Miller and R. Hurt/IPAC/Caltech

[jsfasteners]

[moonset-music]

A Mid-Year Update On Moonset Music

Good day, everyone! Since it’s just about the middle of the year, I wanted to share a couple of small updates about my channel’s stats and my personal goals. Click below if you’re interested!

New Content

In total, I have created 2 hours, 47 minutes and 16 seconds of new content this year. Just under 2 hours and 41 minutes are publicly available, with the remaining six minutes or so part of forthcoming projects. These are spread over 28 publicly released videos, plus an extra four forthcoming videos. I have been busy this year!

Sources of Inspiration:

I have made chip tunes based on the following properties. New properties are in bold, and linked ones have their own playlists:

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Animal Crossing (General)

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

The music of J.S. Bach

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Japanese folk music

Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

As you can see, I’ve had a chance to really expand my horizons this year!

Most Popular Videos

Thus far, my top 10 videos by views are as follows. Videos published in bold are new this year:

10. Red Thread Tied Around a Finger 9. Resetti’s Theme 8. Ocarina of Time Minigame 7. Hogwarts Grounds 6. Master Kohga’s Theme 5. Kakariko Village 4. Stone Tower Temple Upside Down 3. Happy Hogwarts 2. Stone Tower Temple 1. Deku Pałace

Yearly Goal Updates

I had hoped that in 2023, I would end the year with 1000 watch hours from this year alone and 200 total subscribers. I started the year with 80 subscribers, so I need to gain 120 this year.

I’m at about 482 watch hours, or 18 hours off being halfway to my goal, and at 135 subscribers. I’ve gained 55 of those subscribers this year, so am 5 off where I should be at the halfway mark. In short, it could be better.

(Obligatory: please listen to something if you’d be willing! Every minute counts)

Expansion Onto Other Platforms:

I recently made a Carrd website. Check it out here!!

This year, I have also begun distributing some of my music to other platforms through DistroKid. Thus far, I’ve only distributed one song like that (hyperfollow available here), but am hoping to have another finished project on there by the end of the year. It’s a little tricky, because Distrokid charges a hefty $12 per cover of music that’s not in the public domain, which means for my full catalogue of chip tunes to make it onto there I’d need to be shelling out a yearly $468, which I simply do not have. So to truly expand my non-YouTube profile, I will need to do more stuff in the public domain - classical music, very old popular music, or folk songs, basically. That is some of my least popular stuff on YouTube, however - all three of my least popular chiptunes are the three that I created to share on other platforms. You can see the dilemma here!

I’ve also started to a Ko-Fi and Patreon this year. I’m hoping to get 2 supporters by the end of the year at any tier. If you want to join, I’ve got a $1 tier on patreon and $3 and $5 tiers on both platforms. It would mean a lot to me!!

[deathrazed-moved]

[  @northsworn :  jon s.  ]

     YGRITTE LONG TOLD HIM HE KNEW NOTHING, and from the looks of his blank, nonplussed stare in the king’s tower, such a statement could only be believed.  in love? he hadn’t heard those words from anyone, not even the fiery wildling girl he promised to take with him.  

     “ adelyn, “  he begins, then stops.  in love with him?  it somehow seems an impossibility, and yet… some part of him knew.  a part he hadn’t dared to believe for fear, for rejection, for her own safety.  how could they love here? how could they…? chest rises with deep, slow breaths, face flushes hot despite the cold.

     where thoughts fail, actions seem to answer.  snow crunches under heavy boots when he steps forward to close the space between. gaze rakes that pretty face, and then lips meet lips in one sure, strong movement. there isn’t any real softness in the gesture, no gingerness or hesitation. just an arm wrapped firmly around the small of her back while the other hand braces her head.  they continue like this, kissing in the falling snows until at last he breaks away and grasps her shoulders. head is still pounding. “ i do not wish that on you, adelyn. not with what it means.”

          she’s   unsure   where   the   courage   to   reveal   her   heart   to   Jon   came   from    &    the   words   slipping   off   her   tongue   with   such   ease   surprised   her.    there   they   stand,    both   seemingly   frozen    &    hesitant    on   what   to   do   next    &    then   he   says   her   name    &    nearly   breaks   her   heart   when   he   stops   himself.

          eyes   drop   to   the   ground,    heart   pounding   in   her   ears   as   she   tries   to   take   back   her   confession.    ❝  Jon   i        ❞    his   lips   cut   her   off    &    the   shock   remains   for   all   of   a   moment   before   she’s   returning   the   kiss,    palms   cupping   his   neck   only   to   have   one   arm   wrap   around   his   shoulders   as   she   presses   closer   to   him.

          she   gasps   when   he   breaks   away,    catching   her   breath    &    watching   his   face   intently.    head   shakes   at   his   words,    hands   moving   to   his   jaw   in   order   to   bring   his   gaze   to   meet   her’s.    ❝  it   means   i   get   to   love   you   for   however   long   the   gods   allow.  ❞    fingers   gently   brush  a   few  strands   of   hair   from   his   face,    tucking   it   behind   his   ear.    ❝    &    i   wouldn’t   trade   that   for   all   the   gold   in   Westeros.  ❞    this   time   she   kisses   him,    fingers   tangling   in   the   hair   at   the   nape   of   his   neck    &    brings   him   closer.    this   time   it’s   slower,    with   a   tenderness   that   the   harsh   cold   of   the   north   has   been   missing.    when   she   pulls   away,    eyes   remained   closed   for   a   second   then   dark   hues   find   his    &    a   soft   smile   curls   the   corner   of   kiss   stained   lips.    ❝  not   a   single   coin.  ❞

[deathrazed-aa]

          when   Stiles   announced   a   short   road - trip   with   Scott,    Ravenna   offered   her   penthouse   before   he   even   attempted   to   ask   if   she   could   watch   him.   jumping   at   the   chance   to   spend   some   one - on - one   time   with   his   son,    she’s   eager   to   make   this   a   weekend   he’ll   never   forget        not   just   because   of   his   importance   to   her   boyfriend,    but   she   truly   wants   to   give   him   a   life   he   deserves.    in   order   to   do   that,    Ravenna   needs   to   build   a   relationship   with   him    &    earn   his   trust.

          after   saying   their   goodbyes,    Ravenna   closes   her   door   behind   Stiles    &    turns   to   face   Jason.    a   bright   smile   on   fair   features,    she   steps   forward    &    idly   begins   to   scratch   Theo’s   head   as   he   sits   beside   her   patiently.    ❝  how   about   a   quick   tour,    maybe   you   can   figure   out   which   guest   room   you   want   to   claim   as   yours   for   the   weekend ?   then   we   can   figure   out   lunch,    sound   good ?  ❞

starter  for :  @goodpersn​  /  jason  →  liked  for  ravenna

[corinnejmorris]

↷ little black dress | j.starke

It’s a Friday night in DC and rather than brooding over statistics with a glass of red alone in her kitchen she’s in a dress she borrowed from her gym buddy Mckenzie who at the least was half a size smaller than she was. Calico in the downtown DC district Shaw, the trendy spot, home of the young professionals, outdoor patios and fun boozy cocktails. She slides out of an uber using her carefully placed clutch to avoid a serious wardrobe malfunction. She sees the girls standing around a table and is immediately hyper aware of how she’s supposed to look and how much she doesn’t. But she pushes those thoughts away as she’s greeted by a chorus of squeals, “oh my god!”s, and “you look fucking amazing!”s. That’s all she needs to hear, the acceptance, the love, the acknowledgement whether it be factious or truthful, she relishes in it.

 She does her greetings and a drink is immediately thrusts into her hands. Always having been a lightweight, she catches up to their level of tipsy with relative ease. As the hours pass, their table overflows with empty glasses and pitchers it’s with a quick glance at her cellphone that she realizes what time it is and how low her battery percentage was, she excuses herself to the washroom, bambi legs send her stumbling down the hall. As she finishes in her stall the borrowed dress is caught in the door. Her immediate drunken reaction is to tug with all her might and she does and there’s a loud ripping sound and as she squints at the fabric in her hands, it takes her a second to realize what she’s done. 

What was once a suggestive slit up the left thigh, had become a rip that exposed the suggestive lace bottoms she decided to pair with the dress. “fuck fuck fuck,” she muttered to herself as she attempted to scrunch the fabric back together and make a mad dash back to her table. Once there she discovered it had been abandoned ( fuck! ) but the bill had been covered ( nice! ) she grabs her phone and immediately dials her assistant nick. “Nicky, oh my god nicky I need you right now— what do you mean you’re busy? No fuck whatever it is, I need you at Calico right now— no I can’t walk I ripped my fuckin’ dress and my house is on the other end of town. Nicky please, I’ll pay you any money— Nicholas fuckin’ please my phone is dead!” she pleads with her assistant as her back is pressed against the bar’s front.

@hans-starke

[bimboficationblues]

How would you define liberalism?

it's a few different things, because we're talking about both an ideology and a system of governance, but here's the big picture. the key category of liberalism is not freedom, nor is it equality. liberalism has formal versions of both but they're mostly to secure the existence of private property (equality in exchange, freedom to contract).

liberalism's key category is security. that is the common denominator running from Hobbes and Locke to Keynes and Hayek, a fundamental anxiety about the inherent insecurity of class society (or civilization, if you're nasty).

here are some of the things liberalism is.

charitably, it's a worldview and political system based on an idea of endless progress. Adam Smith and J.S. Mill conceptualized it as an eternal twin spire of accumulation - of truth and wealth. its purported values are using the self-interested pursuit of one's personal "Good" as a stabilizing social force; universal equality of moral personhood; consensual governance and the guarantee of certain rights; and efficient allocation of resources through a market system.

uncharitably, it's the organizational principles of global capitalism, the developed descendant of Smith and Ricardo's "science" of political economy. its actual values are security, property, aristocracy, and imperial chauvinism.

structurally, it's a legalistic form of aristocracy ("rule of the best"). instead of informal or arbitrary systems like honor and heredity, liberalism combines positive law (statutes, constitutions, judges) with markets, money, and state authority. this combination creates formalized, predictable results that guarantee the security of property, rather than relying on the arbitrary whims of a handful of egomaniacs who think God appointed them. the possibility for reform is built in to defuse instability. it is the tar pit in which we all reside, because we lack sufficient tools to avoid being ensnared; its dedication to procedural values (like formal equality), and its void of substantive content, means liberalism can consistently absorb parts of other political practices and patterns that would otherwise pose a threat, or force competing worldviews to fight them on liberal terrain.

economically, it's the political order that a nascent capitalism birthed to protect itself, the guarantor of private property. universal naked force for accumulating and hoarding wealth and power is ultimately inefficient because it paradoxically gives the repressed something to unify around hating. impersonal domination - more subtle forms of coercion by market forces, "invisible threads" rather than chains - and personal domination deployed primarily against internal or external enemies (of the nation, of the faith, of the social contract), is a lot more stable in the long term. meanwhile, constant expansion means there will always be new frontiers to exploit. the neutralization of class conflict is the ultimate goal here.

psychologically, it's a deep discomfort with the conflictual character of politics, and with the nature of power. fascists and other reactionaries resent liberalism because they think that wringing the blood out of the weak for the amusement and luxury of a ruling class can be achieved without the need for an impersonal bureaucratic machine [see the conservative-cum-Nazi Carl Schmitt's critique that liberals treat politics like it's a debate parlor]. ironically, this brutish desire to dominate is a lesson that fascists learned within capitalism's absorption and reproduction of preexisting hierarchies and values along the lines of gender, ethnicity, ability, and religion.

in the language of Tumblr, it's an enemies-to-lovers fic between the working class and the owning class.

personally, it's a whole heap of shit.

[kaepop-trash]

greetings. from where i’m from it’s only as late as the sun rises high. heyo. i am sorry for the gibberish i’m about to say but youu, your blog is a bleeding wound that caused me to wail every full moon. i might’ve been under the influence of legal substances BUT, HOWEVER,.. ect. i would love to request a small drabble for my dear knight who rides the black stallion since the dawn of time Lord Johnny Suh wooooeeeee- “I’m not as think as you drunk I am” + J.S.

love,

drunk anon (if the spot is still available please consider this as my application)

Now, this was so cute I'm literally uwuwuwuwu. I haven't started writing this yes but I have a feeling that this is going to get long. I just love drunk antics as a plot device. You've won my heart drunk anon. You ended up getting a full drabble.

__

Friends to Lovers Trope, Drunk Confession

Summary: Johnny tried not to be obvious, but he had a soft spot for you. Maybe it was the way you used every chance you got to make jokes at his expense. Or maybe it was how you laughed every time he made a joke at your expense. Either way, he tried his best to keep it to himself. So it was really detrimental to his cause that you were currently drunk and telling him that he had beautiful eyes.

__

"You're drunk." Johnny stated, trying and failing to purse his smile at the compliment.

"Never." She shook her head, stopping to hold her head. "Opps dizzy." She winced, quickly recovering just enough to look back up at him.

Her lips split into a dazzling smile and Johnny's heart pounded so fast that he'd give a cocaine addict a run for their money.

"Tolerance of a champ." She pointed at herself.

Johnny hummed skeptically, "You have a whole bar inside you. A horse would be drunk."

"Not me, no." She shook her head again, wincing like she learned nothing from the past attempt. "Not a horse. Just person." She nodded. "Are you drunk?" She questioned, head tilting to the side.

"A little, yeah." He nodded.

"Excellent." She clapped, excited giggles leaving her that made Johnny's brows raise a little. "You're drunk and I'm not." She pointed at him.

"Good job. Should we get you a trophy?" He questioned.

"Should we get you a bucket?" She shot back, bringing up the last time he was extremely drunk.

His lips twitched, "You're impossible." He shook his head with a light laugh.

"And you're intolerable." She mumbled, pouting down at the couch they sat on.

"You tolerate me just fine."

She looked up, brows knitting in focus. Johnny wondered if she was trying to figure out why she did tolerate him. He hoped that the conclusion she came to wasn't to stop.

"It's the eyes." She nodded, confirming whatever internal question she asked herself. "Actually, maybe it's the smile. Your smile does make people go all." She looked down, bringing her hand up to her chest to mimic an explosion.

Johnny sat up, eagerly reaching for a thread that he found thrown at him. "Who people?" He asked, his own chest lighting up in an explosion when she bit her lip.

"You know," She shrugged. "Just persons."

"No, I don't." He shook his head, pausing with a groan when he felt dizzy. "Do you happen to know anyone?"

She looked up at him, eyes wide and lips parted like a fish out of water. Johnny couldn't help the smile spreading on his face, elation filling into every crevice. Then he reminded himself that he needed confirmation. Then he realised that she was drunk.

She huffed, crossing her arms and sitting back. "Don't tease me. You're always teasing me."

"You tease me right back, (Y/N)." He reminded her, an endearing smile growing on his lips.

"Yeah, but. You know." She mumbled.

"No, I don't."

"Then you're an idiot! You're so lucky you have everything else going for you. Because you'd be a little screwed otherwise."

Johnny slid closer towards her, closing the distance she put between them. "Can I tell you a secret?" He whispered, hands reaching for hers. She took in a fragile breath and Johnny told himself that it was the final confirmation he really needed. Now he just wanted her to say it first.

"I think I'm feeling a little," He paused, biting down his embarrassment. Then he reached his free hand up to his chest, to mimic an explosion. "Right now." He squeezed her hand.

Her eyes shifted to something more focused and for a moment Johnny thought this was it. Then she scoffed.

"Are you going to talk about that girl you flirted with today again? I swear to go-"

"No." Johnny cut her off, huffing out his irritation of her ruining what he thought was the perfect moment. "It's you, dumbass. I'm so obvious about it too, always trying to talk to you. I used to think you're not interested. But you're just slow." He shook his head.

"Hey!" She sat up, "How was I supposed to know that your seduction tactics are calling someone the biggest disappointment since microwave meals."

Johnny grinned, "That was funny, you have to admit it."

"I hate you." She groaned, "I can't believe I can never stop thinking about you."

"Well, it's too bad. Because I'm in love with you."

__

Requests Closed

[judassamara]

location: chri’s place with: @chris-elkar​

“Can you meet me? At my place? I gotta take a shower or something… Yeah, I’m- I’m physically ok. Some crazy elf just attacked me… No I didn’t do anything… Can we just talk in person?”

It wasn’t what he expected to hear when he picked up Chris’s call. He’d been attacked?! Judas was filled with a wave of fear, worry and anger. How did Chris manage to get himself into these problems? They didn’t waste any time, not even bothering to put on a clean shirt, the one he was wearing splattered with paint. It wasn’t long before he was pushing his way through the door, not bothering to wait for him to answer the door. 

“Chris?” they called into the apartment, looking around for him a little frantically.

[smallheathgangsters]

Bloody Pretty Nurse | J.S.

A/N: since I want to get back into writing, but i don't have much free time, i have to keep my fics short for the moment. i still hope they are just as enjoyable! :)

Pairing: John Shelby x Reader

Word Count: 848

Type: pure fluff, even though i am so bad at it lol.

Summary: Field hospitals are not all about suffering and healing. Every now and then, there's space for a little fun.

Tag List: @livingforbarnes @shelbyreilly @multi-fandom-iimagines @lovemissyhoneybee @peakyblindersengland @lucillethings @callmesunshinexx @simonsbluee @anyasthoughts @sophieshelby

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In the beginning, the war was loud. Making you cover your ears every other minute. Shieling them from the awful sounds the men, the bombs, the guns, the horses made. But it wasn’t the yelling and gunshots and neighing that were haunting you at night. The worst was the screaming of wounded men. The agony, sending chills down your spine, making you want to close your eyes and run. Run for safety, run for silence. Run for anything else than the horrible noises war created.

But after weeks and weeks of hearing the crying and wailing and everything else that was going on outside the tents, you had gotten used to it. Not in a way that made you less affected by it. But in a way that made you able to cope with it. And do your job. Successfully and precisely.

You were carefully stitching up a large cut on a young, overall not so badly wounded man. He hissed and clenched his jaw, trying to be as brave as possible.

“Almost done,” you announce, sending the needle through his skin one last time and pulling at the thread, closing the opening completely. “Voilà.”

Just as he opened his mouth, most likely to thank you, two men barged into the tent, supporting a third on their shoulders.

Immediately, you jerked up, waving them over to you. “Over here!”

You pointed to bed at the end of the tent. “You can lay him down on there.”

After they placed him on the squeaky bed, they quickly informed you about what had happened, before leaving you alone with the soldier.

Every single time, you were in awe at how devoted those men were. Returning to the chaos right away, not using the time in the tent to take a short rest or maybe even clear their head for a second. Right back into it, without any sign of hesitation.

You moved your focus back on the wounded soldier. “Gunshot in the leg?”

He nodded, eyebrows knitted together to a frown and looked down at his blood-soaked trouser leg. “Obviously, yes.”

“Well, at least your still alive,” you said with a shrug. “And you’ll be able to take a break from duty until you’re back in shape again. I’d say that’s a plus.”

Even though he was in obvious pain, he sent you a stupid grin, amused by your remark. “You’re one of those nurses who make you forget all about the pain.”

“You’re clearly suffering,” you stated, a chuckle escaping your mouth, before leaving to get your equipment.

When you returned to the man with the wounded leg, who was audibly cursing to himself, you announced, that the first step would be taking out the bullet.

“First time in a medical tent?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he answered, his breath going fast. You could see little droplets of sweat on his forehead.

You tilted your head, confused. “Unfortunately, because …?”

He lifted his shaky arm and gestured at his surroundings. “Bloody pretty nurses.”

Instantly and without being able to control it, your eyes rolled in their sockets and you let out a deep sigh. Then, you picked up a pair of anatomical tweezers and held them in front of his face. “Another stupid word and this will be painful.”

“Excuse me?” he exclaimed, his expression panic-stricken.

You laughed. “That was a joke.”

“God, woman. That’s not something to joke about,” he exhaled while closing his eyes for a moment.

He was pretty. Despite his leg being ruined, his face was perfectly intact. Besides the dirt and the sweat, you could not spot a single scratch or scar. And you spotted freckles. Beautiful, messy freckles.

“Let us share each other’s names, so you don’t have to call me woman and I don’t have to call you idiot.”

He huffed, trying to act annoyed, but failing completely when the corners of his mouth started twitching. “John.”

“I’m –”

“No wait, let me guess!” he interrupted.

You cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“My senses are telling me your parents named you … Y/N.”

You mouth unwillingly fell agape.

John snickered childishly. “I’m surprised my reading-skills were able to impress you that much.”

“Reading …?” you questioned, before it dawned on you.

The name tag. You had completely forgotten about always being labelled.

You quickly closed your mouth and pointed the tweezers at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“I though you weren’t going to call me that?” he protested, but you ignored him and sat yourself down on a nearby stool to finally start the procedure.

When you touched his leg to cut open the trouser leg, he flinched. Reflexively, you took a hold of his clenched fist. When his eyes met yours, you gave it a little squeeze. “I’m not going to hurt you, relax.”

He gulped. “I know.”

You gave him another reassuring squeeze and felt him loosen up. He sent you a weak smile. “You know I lied to you before.”

“You did? About what?” you asked, confused about his change of subject.

“You were the only bloody pretty nurse I was talking about.”

[the-book-queen]

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[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Man of Hackpen Hill by JS Monroe

 Cunningly complicated and complex, this story was convoluted in twisty surprising ways. D.I. Silas Hart and D.C. Strover have a curious crime to figure out in this tale of evil I fear may be all too true in real life. This is the third book Hart & Strover appear in but reading it without the previous books is easily done. That said, I did wonder about the two and wish I could remember them from the previous book though I do remember enjoying the story and wonder if they had lesser roles than the woman who lost her ability to remember faces.

 What I liked:

* The crop circle messages that needed to be figured out

* Looking at the role of big pharmaceutical companies on patients through the drugs they create, the need to test them and the impact the drugs may have in the long and short run.

* Thinking about what it would have been like to be Jim, Bella, Erin, Conor or some of the others

* Thinking about what is “real” and what is not…and the realization that what might be real for me might not be real for someone else

* Being reminded that the mind is not the same in every person

* The aspects of family that Hart, Jim, and Bella had to deal with

* Wondering who might be in the big black cars and what they were up to

* Finding out who was in the big black menacing cars

* Not realizing the full truth and all of the story till it was concluded and all threads were tied up at the end

* That it stretched me and made me think

 What I didn’t like:

* Exactly what I was meant not to like…people events, and all the rest

* Thinking about some of the issues in this book and wondering if they might be occurring in real time right now

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Note: This story has a significant amount of scientific information that will appeal to some while having other skim for the “meat” of the story.

 Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

     BLURB

 It isn't unusual for crop circles to appear overnight on Hackpen Hill. In this part of Wiltshire, where golden wheat fields stretch for miles, the locals have got used to discovering strange mathematical patterns stamped into the earth. But this time, it's different. Not only because this particular design of dramatic spiralling hexagons has never been seen before. But because of the dead body positioned precisely in the centre of the circle. DI Silas Hart, of Swindon Police, is at a loss. Only Jim, a scientist at secretive government laboratory Porton Down, knows the chilling truth about the man on Hackpen Hill. And he wants Bella, a trainee journalist on her first ever story, to tell the world. But Silas has other ideas – and a boss intent on a cover up. As Bella and Jim race against time, dark forces conspire against them, leading them to confront the reality of their own past and a world in which nothing is as it seems.

    AUTHOR BIO

 J.S. Monroe read English at Cambridge, worked as a foreign correspondent in Delhi, and was Weekend editor of the Daily Telegraph in London before becoming a full-time writer. His psychological thriller Find Me became a bestseller in 2017, and, under the name Jon Stock, he is also the author of five spy thrillers. He lives in Wiltshire, with his wife and children

[jspark3000]

Is anxiety a sin? God says to be anxious for nothing. I googled it and apparently lots of Christians say anxiety is a sin. Means you don't fully trust God

Hey dear friend: No, I don’t believe that anxiety is a sin.

Anxiety results from a broken brain, originating from a world that is flawed, fractured, and has fallen short. At most, anxiety is the result of a sin-torn world. But no, it is not a sin that you’re premeditating, as if you’re somehow planning on having an anxiety attack. 

When Scripture says “Be anxious for nothing,” well—that word anxious also means distracted or divided or pulled in every direction. Later Paul says he is content with being hungry or well fed, living in plenty or in want. In other words, he does not have a consuming preoccupation with a perfect situation. He is not basing his happiness on a full stomach or material pleasures. He is writing from prison, after all, and has chosen not to to base his value on his surroundings. 

I think there’s a kind of anxiety not related to mental health, which is more of a restlessness for “better,” and it can never be content. This is not about mental health, but rather a moral choice of internal character. Paul says that by praying we’ll have “the peace of God that transcends all understanding,” which in context appears to mean that we’re not always consumed with upgrading our circumstances. It means trusting God even when we don’t have everything that we want. That sort of peace is not easy to find, but it’s possible.

But let’s assume Paul was talking about anxiety the way we understand it. Let’s say he’s not talking about morality, but mental health. If that’s the case, then Paul’s hope is that our anxiety would be replaced by joy, contentedness, and strengthening in Christ. Isn’t that a wonderful hope for us? Really, what else should Paul have written there? “Be anxious for everything constantly all the time.” And he even gives us a technique through anxiety: talking with God. This is not a cure-all, no, but certainly something worthwhile to get us through. I think Paul was tender enough to recognize that we needed something, anything, to encourage us through our internal war zones. 

It’s weird: When someone says to try meditation or EFT or CBT or yoga to help with anxiety, it’s accepted and understood. When someone says “try prayer,” suddenly it’s like you’re some evil person who’s trying to cure everybody and yelling, “Anxiety is a sin.” Wouldn’t we want all the tools at our disposal to use for our mental health? 

But here’s the other thing. Christians often use moral prescriptions for mental health, which are two separate ideas that should never be confused. In other words, “Just pray it away” or “Read your Bible more” or “You’re living in sin” or “You have to believe.�� This is absolutely the wrong thing to do. While being overly negative or cynical could be moral character issues, we also need to remember the thread of mental health that could be responsible.

While some of our problems are sin issues, some of our problems are also caused by systemic sin. This means our mental health issues are largely not something we chose, but something we are afflicted by. Our mental health is often outside-in, not inside-out. We are deeply impacted by harmful families, unjust legal systems, broken economies, and lack of resources, all which can contribute to trauma that damages our bodies. This is a moral issue only in that these systems are historically perpetuated, but it is not because of your choices or mine. We can make choices to get better, but they don’t always work, and they don’t reflect whether we are trying hard enough or not. 

No, God will not despise you because of your anxiety. Your anxiety is not due to a “lack of trusting God.” God will love you through it. Sure, it helps to trust God. But it’s not the amount of trust you have in Him that matters. What matters is that even the tiniest shred of trust is in Him. People have told me, “You wouldn’t be depressed if you really believed in God.” No. It was God who got me through the very rock bottom of depression. He loved me right through it. I hardly had faith in those times, but even faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains: especially when that mountain is me.

— J.S.