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vminity21 · 4 years ago

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sweet on you | ksj

Pairing: baker!seokjin x female!reader

Word Count: 3,087

Genre: fluff, absolute fluff on the valentine’s day

Warning(s): other than i have the biggest sweet tooth whether it is for seokjin or a colossal of desserts but you have been warned otherwise none; Rated: pg

Summary: after every excuse you take to visit your favorite local bakery to see your favorite employee, in a sweet surprise, you learn that the baker happens to share an immense crush on you as you do him.

Credits to: @suhdays once again for creating the cover! Happy Valentines day!

Seokjin kneads at the dough of what is to become the toastiest of baguettes while flour paints his arms, and his gloved hands grow achy from the continuous batches. Special orders flow numerously as the holidays inch closer, and with Valentine’s day approaching its turn, it has been long hours of consistently baking and recreating desserts for the hopeless romantics. Inwardly he knows he is guilty of such fondness for a face haunts every crevice of his mind even in the odd hours of the evening when he tosses and turns in his sleep.

The ring of the door signals another customer prompting Seokjin to slip off his current gloves to exchange for new ones, lifting his head to see none other than who makes his heart leap every single time- you. Smiling brightly in his direction, he gulps before putting on his confident face. “Welcome back! I’m glad to see the macarons didn’t scare you away,” he chuckles while you press fingertips of pure chagrin to your forehead.

“I consumed all thirty of them and I’m not sure if I should be ashamed or proud, but I surprisingly survived,”

Quiet murmurs of customers are sporadic throughout the space, yet their wandering eyes remain on the décor of the bakery, hardly noticing the sparks glimmering between you and your favorite worker. “Whoa,” Seokjin bellows, “And, I’m not sure if I should applaud you or tell you to beware. Sugar can be brutal,”

“Well, with your recipes, I’d say it’s worth the risk.” It’s a subtle flirt, yet the flattery in Seokjin’s eyes melt your heart.

“What can I get for you today?” Seokjin’s covered palms press against the freshly sanitized glass as he stares at you contently. Every chance you get, you enter this very bakery in the hopes of seeing Kim Seokjin, and every chance you get, you take home another treat that you save for your cheat day after a long week of work. Out of every local bakery, you have yet to find one that tops the way Seokjin bakes. He has a knack for ingredients and everything you have tried has been sent straight from the pearly gates of Heaven. But you are also convinced that Seokjin was God sent too because when you first discovered this place, you did not expect the immediate spark when you locked with his kind, umber eyes.

Hearts must have danced in elegant spirals around your frame while you witnessed the light movement of his hair when he turned in what seemed in slow motion to face you- plump, pink lips spread into a warm smile, teeth whiter than the whites of your eyeballs, his skin was clearer than the windows, and the way your mouth watered at the sight of his broad shoulders- you are not sure if you even breathed for a straight minute. He welcomed you with kindness and surprisingly tolerated your indecisiveness on what to purchase, but inwardly you were trying all you could to remain in his presence because something about him reveled serenity. And you wanted every part of it.

Seeing Seokjin sparked slumbers of exuberant pink paths prodding beneath your dancing shoes that are clacking in the direction of the delightful smell of marshmellows where sky tower lollipops align the world with their colorful swirls glistening beneath the brightly lit sky without a sign of melting. Vines of licorice would twist along chocolate trunks with branches growing gummy-like leaves matching the scrumptious hues of your surroundings. Rainbows of hard candies trickled along the ground to decorate the view prompting the compulsion to sink your teeth into every delicacy especially when your eyes would cast upon the pastel colors of macarons- flavors of creams protruding between the slices. You would barely miss his silhouette exploring amongst a bed of gumdrops that sat a far distance from an enormous peppermint pinwheel breezing against stalks of blue and pink clouds of cotton candy.

Visions of prancing gummy bears decorate a mountain of frozen ice cream while gingerbread men scope the milky river to avoid being caught by the currents desperate to travel the terrain as you longed to with the man lost in this wonderland of a universe. Oreo crumbs trail on either side of the stream, the smell of chocolate wafts in your direction while you continue the journey. Humming to yourself, your adventure is to endeavor the red velvet island- cream cheese frosting fluffing in an appearance of frames of pictures of more delights as well as smeared professionally into an imagined ceiling. The deep red, walls caked firmly with countless desserts poised in different areas of the domain tempted tourists passing by into taking a bite of their delectable treats.

Nearing the entrance, you would pause, recognizing him pirouetting throughout the greenery resembling grass but is edible as everything made in this dream you are infatuated by. When the pang of something grasps your attention, you searched your eyes along the sky- not noticing anything right away and when you returned your glance to where you found him, he disappeared. Halted in curiosity, you gasp at the tap on your shoulder. Crescent eyes beaming while he brushes his fingers along your gleaming lips, and that’s when your fantasy would wonder the feel of his kiss. The taste of strawberries encompassed your tongue once you would lean into him, but when something else nickered your frame, you pulled away. In awe, you observe minuscule, circular sprinkles shower the two of you in surprise. They tangle within your hair while boisterous laughter escapes both of you simultaneously- palms rising above your head while you spin, attempting to catch them as they rain. Shuffling the sprinklings within your hands, you are in love with the resilient colors brightening the atmosphere as it heightened the happiness.

The dream that has become your most cherished- golden pinecones stick to floating silvery cotton where chocolate cupcakes with thick swirls of white icing blend with red, glistening ornaments- the aroma of fresh pastries with shiny, red jelly are enticed with powdered sugar; thistles of brush dangling above while you whirl around at the enchanting view. Polka dots beautify the walls imaging fondant icing while slithers of whipped cream dazzle the rest of the desserts present. It doesn’t take long before an existence melts behind you, wrapping his arms around your frame, plopping his chin onto your shoulder. It’s the sweetness of his countenance, the plush kiss he places on the corner of your jaw; the delicate aura you are scared can magically disappear; the delicious taste of his kiss when he twirls you to capture your lips, pinning you against another wall reflecting swirls of cinnamon, fingers pressing into your waist while your hands grip his plumy tufts in desperation for more. Sprinkles clang numerously within the walls miraculously not needing a sky to downpour; lips locked and lost in time, it finalizes the fantasy where you wake up with a dazed smile.

“Please tell me you’re not contemplating macarons again,” Seokjin’s voice breaks through the cloud of thoughts bringing you back to reality while you awkwardly suppress the burn of a blush flooding your chest. “I purposely withheld your favorite flavors in hopes of you trying something new.”

“Oh, you brute, I should have known!” You laugh, seeing his shoulders shake in response to his teasing toward you, “So new? Like, new new or never had before new? I um… You know, I was actually planning on trying something new today,” you do not mean to lie, but you kind of lie.

“You had every intention on getting your usuals, and I have bamboozled you.”

“Alright, sir, two can play at this game because I can always go to Hoseok’s bakery-”

“Okay now you’re just being cruel!” Seokjin’s laugh is your favorite sound as he chuckles. Hoseok is his competition but also his best friend, and he is aware that Hoseok has been gaining much success with the recent opening of his bakery, but of course your heart belongs with Seokjin and his glorious, scrumptious delicacies warm and inviting within the glass casings.

“It is called revenge, and I shall prevail.” You wink.

Shaking his head, he quiets but only enough before he lifts his gaze to yours once again, “Speaking of anything new, I think I may have something in mind that you might like actually. I’m preparing to add another dessert to the menu, but I need someone to taste test to make sure it’s good enough to sell to the general public. Would you like to be the judge?” Seokjin leans off the glass casing still smiling at you while your eyebrows shoot up in excitement.

“Hm,” you release a purposeful ponder, “When are you wanting to showcase?”

“How about on Valentine’s day itself? I will be closing the shop early and you can come by after hours. Besides, I don’t really have anything else to do, and when I get bored, I bake.”

Boldly, you tilt your head, a knowing smile budding on your lips, “Are you asking me on a date, Seokjin?”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t.” Your heart flutters in reaction to his tender grin that follows his words. You have dreamed for countless months to win this man’s affections and here you are, about to experience your first date with him on Valentine’s day of all days.

“Well, I guess I will see you this weekend,” you muse, “I have high expectations for whatever you create, Seokjin.” Turning on a heel, you shift ever so slightly to throw him a chirpy shrug. Outwardly, it is all a show of composure though your inner self is screaming in joyous bursts mirroring the fireworks going off beneath his chest.

When Valentine’s day comes, Seokjin goes all out in early hours of the morning before the shop opens, red streams curl from the walls where he carefully tapes them- red, pink, and white balloons hover along the ceiling to bring more colors and the very second, he closes for the day, he will paint the floor with a myriad of rose petals while candles flicker upon the tables sporadically. He wants to prove to you that he has been waiting for this moment for a long time and he will celebrate you every day if you let him. A bundle of dark red roses lay hidden in his office as well as a heart shaped box of what one would assume is the typical fill of chocolates, but nay, it is holding the surprise of your favorite macaron flavors, just to add to the dessert that he is elated to make. He begins his swift trek to the kitchen, collecting all the ingredients and sprawling them along the counter in preparation before the crowd sets in. And when they do, he serves the happy couples with all smiles, looking forward to whenever he gets to see you.

When the hour comes for the bakery to close, he rushes to finish up the pastry, pouring melted chocolate as the completing touch. “Perfect,” he whispers, protecting the sweets with a lid to maintain the heat. A soft knock on the door makes his heart skip a beat as he briefly flings his apron on the counter, dusting off any crumb excess off his clothes and ruffling his hair before throwing a mint in his mouth. Releasing a slow exhale, he smiles, “Operation, win her heart.”

Sauntering to the entrance, he pauses in awe. Your hair is styled flawlessly while the red, shimmery dress clings to your figure complimenting a pair of high heels. Makeup covers your face in an exceptional amount where the color of your eyes shine, once you see him- mouth ajar, eyes widening in reaction, he robotically opens the door to invite you in. The smell of roses and small hints of lemon reach your nostrils calming the anxiety quivering within your fingertips. Seokjin looks so handsome as he always does, the black turtleneck hugging his torso while the tan slacks hang slightly loose against his long legs. “You look amazing,” you murmur, him shaking his head to bring himself back to the present.

“I can say the exact same to you. You look… God, you look-”

“Proper? Trim? Elegant? …Alluring-”

“All of the above,” he says breathlessly, “But you always look so beautiful,”

Blushing at his compliment, it is hard for you to stay serious sometimes especially when you are nervous, so your eyes scan the décor of the building, “I love what you’ve done with the place,” you step forward with the click of a heel, noticing the rose petals glinting upon the mahogany colored floor.

“I was hoping you would say that.” he clears his throat, “But here, have a seat, I have the dessert ready as well as a few other surprises,” he skids a chair out for you as you descend in shock. Other surprises? He disappears but only for a few minutes before he confidently returns with a lidded case covering whatever it is, he has made just for you. His other hand hides behind his back as he effortlessly places the tray upon the table. “And walla,” he smirks, lifting the lid as your eyes enlarge at the golden brown pastries pressing against a truffle of cream, some protruding delicately on the sides as melted chocolate trickles from the pastry and onto the plate. The sight is so tasty, and you can feel your mouth watering as the smell of the treat becomes prevalent.

“What is this?” You say in uttermost anticipation as he chuckles at your readiness.

“Profiteroles,” he replies, “They are one of my absolute favorites, and I have been wanting to make them for some time but haven’t until now.”

“Try one with me,” you break eye contact with the mesmerizing profiteroles to stare into the chocolate of Seokjin’s eyes, “But after you reveal what is behind your back.”

When a hearty laugh brushes past his widened smile, you are beyond yourself when he gradually brings into your line of vision, a bundle of roses and a heart shaped box, “You are not allowed to open the box until you eat a profiterole though,” Seokjin playfully demands, “So until then, I will protect this box at all costs.”

“I promise I will not touch until you say so. You have my word,” you raise your hands in defense to add to your statement. Seokjin sits across from you, settling the gifts next to the plate. Soft music reverberates suddenly to drown the silence as you feel your heart flying- you are certain that no one has ever done anything as sweet as this for you.

“Are you ready?” He says, scooting the plate closer to you.

“Very ready,” reaching carefully, you grab the treat, knowing very well that you want to devour it whole, and when you do, the cream mingled with the chocolate melts on your tongue deliciously as you close your eyes hazy. “Oh, my word,” you breathe, wanting another one immediately. “This is delicious! You have met every expectation! Jin, customers are going to love these!” The nickname flew from your mouth so naturally and instead of verbally responding, Seokjin chortling a high pitch laugh, leans forward, reaching his thumb to swipe a spot of chocolate from the corner of your mouth. The gesture is so sweet, you can’t help but gaze at him as he returns his hand back to lay on the table. “Have you tried one yet?” You speak softly. “You should. You’re phenomenal.”

He swats the air, “I’ll have one later. Your opinion matters to me the most anyways,”

“You?” Speechless, your eyes flit between his, nothing but admiration falls from his stare. “How do you do it? How do you make my mind drift to the happiest of places? I swear you just- I can’t- it doesn’t matter where I am, I am not happy until I see you.”

Reaching across the table, he leans forward, intertwining his fingers with yours as cliché as a movie, but this is the only movie you are willing to watch where the fairytale of him is connecting with you. “That’s why I always made sure your usuals were made as soon as I arrived. I didn’t want to disappoint nor have you betray me for Hoseok. Plus, he prefers coconut macaroons, not macarons.”

“The distinction between how they are actually pronounced. Thank you for clarifying,” there is nobody that has made you laugh as much as he has. “In all seriousness though, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything to look forward to until I found you.”

“And I couldn’t focus unless I knew who you were and if I was going to see you again. That’s why I always made conversation no matter how small until time gave me enough courage to finally ask you to be here.”

“Well, I am very glad that you asked.” Smiles linger while eyes remain connected. He has the most eloquent, gentle manly charm and you hope he will end up being your eventual forever one day.

“Come here,” In one flawless swoop, Seokjin reaches for the arm of your chair, sliding it closer to where your legs touch. Surprised laughter serenades his ears once the chair is paused, but the nearness of him sends tingles along your skin. A faint scent of cologne grips to his clothes igniting the further desire building from the crave on your lips. He leans in, you meeting halfway to close the gap in the softest brush of his kiss. Sunlight exposes through the windows to illuminate in response to the magic happening right now in this moment. Linking your arms behind his neck, he wraps his around you, tugging you closer, deepening the kiss- getting so lost in you that nothing else outside of this bakery matters- only you matter.

Feeling his smile within his kiss, you pull away but still close enough to feel his breath swiping your chin, you giggle, “So what’s in the box?”

“I guess you’ll have to see,” he presses a quick, giddy kiss. You squeezing him once ecstatically.

“Okay, but first, let me get some more sugar.” You move your palms to squish his cheeks to where his lips pucker. “I don’t know about you, but I like it brutal.” And with that, you kiss him again, letting destiny complete its story on a day you never dreamed would mean so much.

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goldencorecrunches · 4 years ago

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@lady-of-the-lotus I’ve done it. I’ve written, G-d help me, YaoYang fanfiction. I hope you’re happy. I hope you forget about your soup on the burner and it scorches. (Also on AO3 for fancy linked footnotes)

---

Must one dread what others dread?

--Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

What have I done? Sweet Jesus, what have I done?

--Jean Valjean, Les Misérables (Musical)

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.[1]

--Jewish blessing said prior to eating an olive-bulk or more of bread (unless, of course, you disagree).

---------

It was a bright and balmy day, the third of the cultivation conference, and Sect Leader Yao was being insufferable. He was well outfitted for it. He had woken from his insufferable, snoring sleep and demanded an insufferable breakfast, the specifications of which made the most highly-ranked, honor-festooned cook in Jin Tower break down into tears and resign on the spot. He put on his most insufferable underpants on under his most insufferable robes, and tied back his hair in the insufferable style that he favored, the one that made him look like a badly turned rotten beet.[2] He had even spent fifty minutes manipulating his face in an insufferable series of facial expressions in the mirror, involving him at several points “losing” his own reflection only to “find” it again at the corner of the polished bronze, much to his own amusement—though not, it might be stated, to the amusement of the junior launderer he demanded watch his performance.

The hall had been surprisingly vacant of other unoccupied servants, when Sect Leader Yao had checked. All that scurrying and burrying! Well, servants should be busy, anyway: that was the way, and the way was right, HRRGNH. “That Was the Way, And The Way Was Right, HRRGNH,” was the latest of the updated mottos Sect Leader Yao had thought of for his sect. Though it was an excellent guiding principal and pure poetry upon the senses, it had two drawbacks. The first was that the tonally-important HRRGNH at the posterior end of the phrase was obtained by means of thrusting the hips forward, curling the torso, and letting the resulting force of air displaced escape through the mouth. This was, Sect Leader Yao allowed, not very dignified.

Still, all was not lost. Sect Leader Jiang had scowled upon seeing it, but he was always scowling so he didn’t count. Sect Leader Lan had looked intrigued. Sect Leader Nie had applauded, and asked whether it would be possible to pass gas from below at the same time; a very tactless comment, Sect Leader Yao had thought, considering the gastrointestinal distress he was so often plagued by, which Sect Leader Nie should know about, as Sect Leader Yao had described it to him at length, frequently. He had reminded Sect Leader Nie of this with appropriate grace. It was good to show these young sprites how to conduct oneself with the proper manners. The second problem was that Sect Leader Yao did not, and had not for several years, have a sect. It was not something Sect Leader Yao liked to think about, so he largely didn't.

On the way to the discussion hall Sect Leader Yao felt a whisper, on the back of his neck. It was the slimiest whisper anyone had ever felt, and it carried with it the vague sense that someone had been watching you, through a crack in the wall, the last time you were alone in the bathroom. It also carried the powerful scent of moldy incense. Sect Leader Yao turned and spread his arms wide. “Sect Leader Ouyang!” It was his best, insufferable, friend. His worst friend, too, being his only, but Sect Leader Ouyang took on both roles with ease. They’d stabbed each other, once, over a hunk of demonic metal. Ah, memories were truly the jewels of life. Sect Leader Ouyang grimaced like a dead cat, which was his version of a pleased smile, and bowed. Sect Leader Yao bowed back. When he rose he waggled his eyebrows. Sect Leader Ouyang snapped open his fan and wafted, with the gentle flutter of a category five hurricane, several lungfuls of moldy incense. They had totally sucked face last night. It had been swag.[3] “What’s on the docket for today?” “I believe it is something to do with that Jin boy. An honor ceremony he’s attempting to put together. If he expects my sect to pay for it, I’ll want to know why.” Sect Leader Ouyang sniffed. He did that a lot. Sect Leader Yao lovingly passed over a handkerchief.

The Jin boy’s proposal was indeed the first major case discussed, after the necessary canapés and complaints about the accommodations had been passed around.[5] It was a matter the boy had clearly put much thought into, and one dear to his heart; he presented it with an earnest timbre that would have swayed a petrified forest. Unfortunately, earnestness was outside of Sect Leader Yao’s testicular-sized sphere of understanding. “He’s grubbing for money, you’ll see,” Sect Leader Yao said, in an overtone[6] to Sect Leader Ouyang. Sect Leader Yao considered himself wise to the ways of the conniving, since he, the aforementioned, sometimes cheated at cards. His friend-now-daring-conquest nodded and glared across the room. He was aiming for the Jin boy, but missed, and caught a rather startled wine-pourer on the side. “You ought to say something,” Sect Leader Ouyang said. That was an excellent idea. It was always, in Sect Leader Yao’s opinion, the right time for him to be talking. “Hey!” he shouted, waving his arms over his head like an extremely drunk aircraft marshal. “Hey! What’s this got to do with Wei Wuxian?” “It…doesn’t,” said the Jin boy, who was in fact Sect Leader Jin, and who while admittedly young outranked Sect Leader Yao to a degree that would make you wince and say whoee it’s a scorcher if you saw it on an outdoor thermometer. “Ridiculous!” Sect Leader Yao said. “We all know it does! Stop trying to bamboozle us with dacquoise!”[7] Sect Leader Jiang had stopped scowling in approval and had begun to scowl in apparent constipation. The history between him and Wei Wuxian was somewhat rocky.[8] “Exactly as he says!” Sect Leader Ouyang, the most and least loyal of Sect Leader Yao’s comrades, cut in. He leapt to his feet; several of his neighbors checked, instinctively, to make sure their pants were still up. “You won’t catch us sleeping!” “Hear, hear!” Sect Leader Yao thundered. “Please don’t shout,” Sect Leader Nie hangovered. He had one hand clasped around his temples, the other clutching a cup of water. Sect Leader Yao was surprised he was so bad off. He’d seemed quite sober when he’d stumbled across the totally swag face-sucking betwixt Sect Leaders Yao and Ouyang. Speaking of. Sect Leader Yao turned to look sideways conspiratorially at Sect Leader Ouyang and shoot him finger-bow-and-arrows.[9] Sect Leader Ouyang mimed catching one. Damn, Sect Leader Yao was for sure going to propose marriage after this Wei Wuxian dacquoise was smoked out.

Oh yeah, it was all comin’ up Yao, baby. That was the way, and the way was right.

HRRGNH.

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1This blessing has no relevance to the contents of this work. “Honestly,” the author said when questioned, “I’m just trying for all the help I can get.”[return to text]

2A confusing feat, as this was China prior to the year 1000 BCE, Gregorian, and beets had not been invented yet.[return to text]

3“Swag” is neither a genre- nor period-accurate term for the emotion Sect Leader Yao was feeling. However, translation is an art rather than a science,[4] and more atmospheric words fail to communicate to modern English-speaking audiences the true depth of Sect Leader Yao’s douchebaggery. Thus: swag.[return to text]

4"An art rather than a science” is a common phrase used by people who are neither artists nor scientists to describe what they believe to be the difference between these disciplines. One might as well say “a boot rather than a canary”—that is, not the same, but having more in common than people might think.

5There was nothing wrong with the accommodations, and especially nothing any of the poorly-used common folk the attendees lorded over would have found, but if there is one unifying factor among humans it is that they love to complain.[return to text]

6Like an undertone, but the opposite.[return to text]

7A word Sect Leader Yao thought meant “deceit,” but which in fact refers to a tasty meringue-and-cream French pastry.[return to text]

8If by “somewhat rocky” you mean “a high-speed chase over deadly-fast rapids between simultaneous avalanches, and also, there are sharks.”[return to text]

9Small handheld firearms, aka “guns,” had also not been invented yet.[return to text]

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #yaoyang #sect leader yao #sect leader ouyang #my fics #*deep sigh*#*pause*#*DEEPER SIGH*

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helly-watermelonsmellinfellon · 4 years ago

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I ran a Ghost Face on the Disturbed Ward main building with my ninja vaulting build and it was so long! Quick & Quiet with Dance With Me really fucked shit up because I was going every which way in and out of that place and he could not for the life of him keep up, meanwhile, I eventually ran up behind him and followed him for like a minute and he never knew! IDK how! Claudette’s breathing isn’t as loud as Jane’s but you can still hear her.

Got some matches with Twitch streamers. I had their streams open to listen in on what’s going on. We got some great plays. The one match we were accused of cheating by a Leatherface who Insidious Camped and still got no one dead in the end.

Got a Wraith who came upon me bobbing my green head at mach speed in the middle of the map, and apparently decided that I was a fucking trip so he joined in and then let me and the other Feng Min finish the Gens and leave. We got 32K points..

I ran a Bamboozle Bubba on the dock for 4 minutes, and I know this because I had a Challenge to get Chased for 240 seconds(which I wanted to die from IstG) and that was the first match after setting the Challenge. I only got into a Chase once that match so it had to have been from that alone since I completed the Challenge in 1 match. With Adrenaline I was finally able to fucking leave the dock! I hate the swamp maps so much. I Escaped too. I remember the acute sense of terror when he vaulted a window at a very small loop when it would seem counter-intuitive to do so. And then the window was blocked. BUT, no Bloodlust at the time so he never caught up so matter how hard he tried.

btw the no Bloodlust experiment was very interesting on the Survivor side. I encountered many Killers who were not good despite being Rank 1, all because they couldn’t Bloodlust to victory.

On my end as Killer, I didn’t notice much, but I think that’s because the Survivors I faced were Yellow Ranks. The highest I’ve gotten before Rank Reset is Rank 8. I don’t play much Killer so I just haven’t tried getting higher. So when it resets, I’m stuck with Rank 13s and below. And like, getting them down is no struggle so I didn’t need Bloodlust to begin with. For me, it wasn’t a life-changing thing.

A Michael was run by a Dwight on the Pale Rose main building for so long that he gave up and walked away to find someone else. And I was just watching from that little building on the map as Dwight and he went in circles while I finished the Gen.

I found a Pink Key in the one game so when all Gens were done, we left through the Hatch! XD

Killers really don’t handle Head On stuns very well. Like, you get them once and they tunnel and camp you. I’ve managed to use all the pallets on a map to stun a Killer in a 5-GenChase and not get camped by them when I was finally downed. But a Leatherface gets hit with Head On one time and he has a tantrum over it. And still got no kills cuz someone had Borrowed Time and I had Adrenaline.

Ah, Macmillan’s Phalanx Bone. Don’t you mean “Shelter Woods Offering”? Every. Fucking. Time.

I need to get used to playing the dudes. I typically don’t cuz they’re much bigger and harder to hide. Their breathing and grunts of pain are louder. And idk if it’s me but they feel clunky. Playing as any of the dudes just has a weird feel to the gameplay and idk why.

You ever see someone in just the ugliest match up of cosmetics ever, and wonder if they’re getting tunneled because the Killer hates their clothes? I often do.

Claudette, Min, and Yui are all P3 and have all Perks I currently possess now! *applause*

I was saving up to get Legion but I think I want Elodie first. Legion can wait since I have so many free cosmetics for them and they aren’t going anywhere.

I used to think Kate was the prettiest of all Survivors even if blondes don’t do it for me, but now we have Elodie who is far prettier, and mainly I want her just so I can look at her. I’m very queer. She has cool Perks too but the gay is way stronger.

Playing swf in a lobby with Rank 10, Rank 13, and Rank 17 teammates. Rank 13: If we get a Rank 1 Killer because someone is Rank 2(it’s me) I’m going to scream. [We got a Rank 1 Spirit and he did in fact scream. XD]

Got the same Freddy 3 times in a row today! I was playing different Survivors with different builds though, so he couldn’t predict my playstyle in the 2nd and 3rd games. Blendette with the good ol’ ninja vaulting build, Fluorescent Feng Min with a standard solo build, and then a Breakout Yui build in which I sabotaged so many Hooks and Dead Harded a shit ton that it took until I was out of charges in the end, for him to Hook someone! BUT!!! A Dweet gave me his unused yellow Toolbox, and I got in one last sabo to save someone! I Escaped each match too.

I managed to lose a Nurse in every chase because she kept assuming I would camp pallets, but I just kept running and pathing oddly around Ormond by taking random sharp turns and turning every which way to confuse her. It was great and I never got Hooked!

New Ormond looks a lot better btw... but I still hate the map tho.

Got a Spirit to DC because my ninja vaulting build fooled her even though she had Stridor and I was Injured. I was running to a pallet, she started phasing to get ahead of me, I backtracked and went elsewhere, so she appeared on the other side of the pallet, swinging, but I wasn’t there. I was already across the corn at a new loop where I vaulted a window and Lithed toward the shack. Seconds later, the game ends.

I hate Hags!

youtube

I dodged a hatchet and proceeded to stop getting prompts to vault/throw pallets down. That’s how I ended up in the Dying State. And I asked the other PS4 players if they faced any weird glitches and both explained that she missed a hit and then they suddenly froze in place/couldn’t throw down the pallet they were at.

I even checked if my internet was effed up, but we were all under 85 in terms of ping so it couldn’t have been the Survivors.

Like, she Hooked Dude #2 and while Adam went to save the Dude #1, I went to Dude #2. I hid behind a rock as the Huntress ran by me and around the corner of the map to intercept the other rescue, which she failed to do. I ran to the hook, watching behind me the whole time, and just as I was about to pull them off she appeared out of nowhere in the wide, open space of the Disturbed Ward map. She wasn’t there, and then she was.

I dodge her hatchet as I flee toward the building and right up against a window, the prompt wouldn’t show and I wasted several seconds before I could finally use my Lithe. As I run through the building, I’m spamming R1 to throw down the pallet I’m running to, but it didn’t go. I got hit. Suddenly I was stuck in place and unable to move, and then found myself on the ground.

#dead by daylight #dbd

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midtownsciences · 7 years ago

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Just a Push

gif by @tomshollandss isn’t it beautiful

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Summary: Peter thinks he has discovered the key to predicting his crush’s mood just by looking at her. It’s a completely harmless investigation, until someone stumbles upon his notes and delivers an ultimatum which threatens to expose him.

Warnings: none that I can think of

A/N: this was based on a stupid thing I told @thekillingquill and she said I should write a short blurb about it just because I’ve been in a slump. It’s literally the weirdest idea ever but here we are. She tricked me guys she bamboozled me into writing a full fic based off an offhand comment. She is devious, but I also owe her a huge thanks for beta-ing this and getting me out of my funk. Sorry if it’s not great friends

I present to you: ZipperFic version 3.01

{ Also: N.B. is used in here to denote the Latin phrase Nota Bene, which basically means take note <3 }

The Grey Hoodie Hypothesis

Investigation conducted by: Parker, Peter

Start date: 9/1/17

End date: N/A

Hypothesis:

A person’s mood can be observed through their physical appearance. Specifically, the subject’s mood is directly reflected in the way she wears her grey hoodie.

9/1/17

Subject enters homeroom ten minutes early. Grey hoodie is zipped approximately three quarters to the top.

Prediction: Subject is feeling reserved, but content.

Observations: She takes a book from her bag in homeroom, electing to read, rather than talk to her friend as she usually would. At 08:57, she reads something which causes her to smile softly. (N.B. It is beautiful.)

Conclusion: Prediction affirmed.

9/12/17

Subject arrives on time, hoodie zipped to the top. She wears a leather jacket over the hoodie.

Prediction: Subject is feeling guarded, uncommunicative.

Observations: She takes the leather jacket off and hangs it on her chair, then pulls the sleeves of her hoodie down so they engulf her hands. With her arms wrapped around herself, she grins at her friend. They converse at length about a new Jake Gyllenhaal movie which is yet to be released.

Additional note: in chemistry, subject tells me she likes my shirt. I’m still blushing two hours later.

Conclusion: Inconclusive due to my failure to consider weather as a confounding variable. (It is just over forty degrees today.) (She is cold.)

9/27/17

Subject is late for class. Her hoodie is unzipped, hanging lopsidedly so that her right shoulder is exposed.

Prediction: Subject overslept, therefore one could assume she had trouble sleeping. She is feeling tired and possibly irritable.

Observations: Subject yawns three times during homeroom, wiping the sleep from her eyes with her sleeves. (N.B. She looks adorable when she’s sleepy.) She folds her arms over the desk in physics at 10:43 and promptly falls asleep with her head resting on them. She jolts awake at the sound of the bell.

At 13:21, in the hallway, subject punches her locker, presumably because she is having trouble opening it. She rests her head against her arm, propped up on her locker door. She remains this way for several minutes. I think she’s asleep.

Conclusion: Prediction affirmed.

“I know you probably think I’m crazy.”

MJ remains silent. Her expression is unreadable, as always. My hands are twitching at my sides, itching to grab the notebook from her. I could totally do that—take my book and swing my way out of here, to another school, another state.

With a heavy sigh, she finally drags her gaze from the book to meet mine. “This is pathetic.”

I groan, toss my hands in the air. “Hear me out, alright? It’s not as weird as it looks. I just—”

“You think that the way this girl wears her hoodie is tied to her mood on any given day,” she says flatly. “I gathered.”

“It’s more complex than that,” I argue. “Okay, so look. In general, I think her openness, and approachability, is inversely proportional to the height to which she zips her hoodie. But some days, the position of the zipper changes.” I’m pacing now, hands flying in every direction as I try to illustrate my point. “This could be attributed to the weather and other external factors, but on more than one occasion it has given me a valuable insight into how her day has progressed. Last week, she arrived at school with her hoodie around her waist. I saw her leave with it zipped to the top, her hood pulled down over her eyes. That was the day Flash humiliated her in the hallway in front of all those seniors.”

I glance back at MJ, and can tell by the quirk of her eyebrow that I’ve been rambling for too long. “You are such a dork. And I know all that. You wrote it in your notes, right here,” she says, pointing at the page. She clears her throat, and reads directly from my notebook. “There are other factors, too. Sometimes, she rolls her sleeves up when we have a test. She shoves her hands deep into her pockets when she’s nervous. She even has a habit of chewing on the drawstrings when she’s concentrating which, by the way, is the most frustrating thing to watch. Mainly because it draws so much attention to her—”

“Okay okay,” I hurry to cut her off, aware of how the sentence ends and unwilling to hear it spoken aloud. “Just give it back, MJ.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Peter, if you really like this girl, you have to talk to her. Making weird notes about her in this book isn’t doing anything. Do you seriously think you can write a cheat sheet for a human being? And I don’t even want to get into the discussion about how demeaning it is that you’re referring to her as ‘subject’,” she says with a wince.

“I can’t just talk to her, MJ.” I fall into a chair and slump forward, elbows resting on my knees. “She makes me nervous.” That’s an understatement: (Y/N) makes my heart run laps around my ribcage.

“It can’t be that difficult.”

“You don’t get it,” I sigh, running a hand over my face. “I’ve only spoken to her a couple of times, and even then, she’s done all the talking. When she’s around it’s like I forget how to form words. I just stand there stuttering like an idiot. Our longest conversation to date lasted eighteen seconds, and it was only because I was concentrating on taking readings during a physics experiment and didn’t fully register that it was her I was talking to.”

MJ laughs. “(Y/N) is the least intimidating person I’ve ever met. You’re being ridiculous.”

I gape at her. “How did you know this was about (Y/N)?”

“Please, Peter,” she sighs, closing the notebook in her lap. “Do you think I can’t see the way you look at her?” She stands up, shoulders her backpack and walks towards the door. “The whole school knows you have a crush on her. Hell, she probably knows, too.” Just as she’s halfway out the door, MJ turns back to me. “You need a push, Parker. And since I’m a friend, I’ll give you that push. You have until Homecoming. If you don’t ask her out by then, I’ll tell her everything. That includes the stuff in that book.”

“What?” I exclaim. “MJ no you can’t—”

But she’s gone. And she took the notebook with her.

“You have to tell her,” Ned says as he fills a cup with punch. “Tonight is your last chance.”

I shake my head. “MJ was bluffing. She would never give (Y/N) my notebook.” I say it more to reassure myself than Ned, because MJ is staring at us from across the hall and she looks like she means business.

“I don’t know, man. She wouldn’t even have to give it to her. She could just leave it somewhere she knows (Y/N) would find it. She could slide it into her locker, or underneath a bathroom stall.”

I glare at him. “Dude. Not helping.”

And you know what else isn’t helping? I have spent months observing a girl, picking up on her behaviours and habits. I’ve learned how to read her mood through her appearance alone. And tonight—the night I have to ask her out—I don’t have my cheat sheet.

Turns out girls don’t wear hoodies to Homecoming.

I do my best to both avoid (Y/N) and keep an eye on MJ by sticking with Ned, hiding behind him when necessary. The few times MJ catches my eye, she raises her eyebrow and points at her watch. She wouldn’t. She won’t. If she really is my friend, there’s no way she would show anyone that notebook.

I hope.

It’s all smooth sailing until I lose Ned. As we’re walking out of the bathroom, he hears the end of Mr Brightside playing, and he sprints off onto the dancefloor. He disappears instantly, and I’m left alone beside the punch bowl waiting for him to come back. I’m standing on my tiptoes, trying to catch sight of his hat in the crowd, when I notice MJ walking purposefully through the doors. She heads straight for the photo booth, where (Y/N) stands with her friend, admiring their photos together.

“No,” I breathe, but there’s no denying it anymore. MJ is clutching my notebook, and it’s midnight. I’ve run out of time.

I dive into the crowd, darting between couples and weaving through groups of dancers. Breaking out at the other end of the crowd, I sprint for (Y/N). MJ already has her cornered.

“MJ, you’re kind of freaking me out,” (Y/N) laughs uncertainly.

“No, you don’t have to worry,” MJ waves her off. She looks at the notebook in her hands and takes a breath to speak, but I rush to her side.

“MJ!” I plaster on a fake smile, bringing my hand up to rest on her arm. “Ned has been looking everywhere for you.”

She cocks her head to the side, narrows her eyes at me. “Really? What does he want?”

I clench my jaw, pushing the words out past my teeth. “Why don’t you go find out?”

MJ’s narrowed eyes flit from me to (Y/N) and back again. After a brief pause, she concedes. “Fine. I’ll text you later, (Y/N),” she says, and although the words are directed at (Y/N), MJ’s eyes never leave mine. It’s a threat. I nod slightly, so she knows I understand, and she slinks off into the crowd.

I grind my teeth together, trying to arrange the words in my head. I can already feel them fighting back down my throat. I glance up and when my eyes land on her, I can’t look away. She’s wearing this pale blue dress, her hair tucked behind her left ear, falling over her right shoulder. The lights dance over her face. I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes sparkle the way hers do; like the ocean reflecting glints of sunlight. And her lips: the way she bites them uncertainly, the way they move when she speaks—

Wait, she’s speaking?

“W-what?” I ask. She smiles at me, and my heart jumps up into my throat. I don’t know what to do with my hands. What do I normally do with my hands? I shove them in my pockets, but then it feels like my hands are in little straitjackets so I take them out and rake one through my hair. I instantly regret it as the product that May combed through it sticks my fingers together.

“I was just asking if you wanted to dance,” she replies. I almost flinch back as her eyes roam my face, her hands fiddling behind her back.

“D-dance,” I say dumbly. This can’t be real. “With you?”

She runs her tongue along her lower lip, not quite managing to disguise the smile forming there. “Yes, Peter. With me.” She pauses for a moment, eyebrows furrowed as a thought surfaces. “Unless I’d be dragging you away from your date, that is.”

“Um, I didn’t bring one. A date,” I tell her.

She flashes a dazzling smile. “Me neither. So how about that dance?”

My mouth drops open and I try to reply to her, but my brain has frozen. There’s nothing except her, playfully rolling her eyes, taking my hand. She leads me to the middle of the dancefloor and turns to face me, eyebrows set in expectation as the music washes over us, warm and slow.

I gulp. Sure, May’s tips are simple in theory, but in practice? How am I supposed to put my hands on her hips when her stare has me frozen in place?

“Peter?” she asks. Tiny creases form between her eyebrows, her eyes wide with concern. “Are you alright? You look pale.”

I shake my head slightly, heart hammering a hole through my chest. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just… you look so beautiful.” It’s out before I have time to stop it, and I would be embarrassed, if it weren’t for the blush burning across her cheeks. She stares at the ground, shuffling her feet. The thought occurs to me that I might have a similar effect on her as she has on me, and it’s enough for my heart to surge towards her, dragging me with it.

I rest my hands on her hips—touch so light she mightn’t be able to feel it. I’m holding her at arm’s length but she moves closer, hands climbing up my chest and across my shoulders.

“You look really handsome, too, Peter,” she smiles. She inches closer — so close that my cheek brushes against her temple. I’m glad she can’t see my face, because my cheeks are on fire.

I stare over her shoulder, where MJ and Ned are both standing by the punchbowl, watching us. MJ smiles when she catches my eye. Ned grins, giving two thumbs up and a wink. I shake them both from my thoughts, distracting myself by asking, “So, um, why didn’t you bring a date?”

She’s silent. I can feel her hands fiddling behind my neck, tickling the hair just above my collar. “I guess I was hoping someone would ask me, but it didn’t happen,” she says softly.

“Someone in particular?” I ask, and curse the way my voice breaks.

Her hair tickles my cheek when she nods.

“He’s an idiot,” I mutter. “For not asking you.”

“Mmhmm. I agree,” she replies. Then she tilts her head so that her lips almost brush my earlobe when she whispers, “But I won’t hold it against you.”

And it doesn’t take a thought. There’s no moment when I make the decision and start to move. I just can’t keep myself away any longer. All these months I thought I was protecting myself, keeping a safe distance from her, but I’ve just been building up potential energy. I’m a rubber band stretched tight, and there are two possible outcomes: I let go, or I break.

Then we’re falling into each other and it’s the most natural thing in the world.

As soon as my lips meet hers the world disappears. She’s warm, and her lips are soft and my heart is taking leaps at my ribcage, desperate to be closer to hers. She traces one hand across my jaw, bringing it to rest on my cheek, tangling the other in my hair. I can taste the punch on her breath. I pull her closer, because even though we’re chest-to-chest, it doesn’t feel close enough.

When I swing from my webs, there’s a moment when I switch from one web to another, that I’m completely free. I’m hurtling, untethered, through the air, and I can’t tell if what I feel is overwhelming joy or immense terror. I thought that’s the closest I’d ever come to flying. I was wrong. That feeling is nothing compared to this.

And she pulls away too soon.

“Song’s over,” she whispers.

I hadn’t even noticed. I open my eyes, and she’s smiling softly at me. I know I should probably say something, but I’m too busy committing this moment to memory to find the words. And from the way she’s looking at me, I think she’s doing the same.

10/15/17

Subject arrives at her locker ten minutes before homeroom, wearing a blue hoodie. It’s too big, and the sleeves hang over her hands.

Prediction: I’ll walk up to her, lean on the locker next to hers. When she notices me, she’ll flash me that smile that makes my heart skip no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

Observations: Her smile is just as bright as it was yesterday. She wraps her arms around my neck in a hug, and I let my head fall forward onto her shoulder. The hoodie smells like her—like vanilla and rain.

Conclusion: I should leave my hoodie in her house more often.

tags: @jvghead-jones-iii, @cutie1365

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undergroundbandimagines · 4 years ago

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7 Lessons from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” That Will Get You Through a Divorce

7 Lessons from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” to Get You Through a Divorce

Recovering from a marriage to a narcissist adds an added layer of complexity

By dmitry_islentev for Shutterstock

Recovering from a divorce after a 20-year marriage is never an easy feat. Therapist Susan Pease Gadua in Psychology Today likens the undoing of a marriage to, “Trying to disentangle two trees that have grown next to each other for years. The more intertwined the root systems are, the longer it will take for the trees to go their separate ways.”

Recovering from a marriage to a narcissist adds an added layer of complexity and a few extra hurdles to get over before you can feel whole again. And divorcing a narcissist is not for the faint of heart. Yes, this too (like a gallstone) shall pass, but first, it’s going to hurt. And you’re going to need to strategize.

If you’re like me, you may not have unpacked this emotional baggage until after the marriage, and you may not have a full understanding that you are, in fact, married/separating from a narcissist. All you know is you’ve been lied to, lied about, and he is accusing you of his actual behavior, which is maddening.

According to Dr. Ramani Durvasula, someone who is an expert in the field of narcissism, “narcissistic” is an adjective, it’s not a diagnosis. It’s a descriptive term that usually signifies a personality pattern. It is characterized by patterns like inconsistent or superficial empathy, entitlement, grandiosity, arrogance, superficiality, chronic validation-seeking, hypersensitivity, a propensity towards rage, especially when the person is frustrated or disappointed, and then incapacity to deal with frustration and disappointment.

The first thing to understand, according to Dr. Ramani Durvasula, is that narcissists love to win. “It motivates everything they do. They actually believe you can win in relationships, so it’s a big thing to them. They really love the idea that their partner will get destroyed after the relationship ends, which is why narcissistic divorces can be very expensive.”

Now, you may be a kind and gentle, loving soul. The kind of person who scoops up spiders to let them live, just not in your house. (OK, I am not that person). The point is, it’s time to grow a pair. You don’t have to sink to their level — instead, you must rise above it.

You might be wondering what a Chinese general, military strategist and reputed author born in 544 BC could know about egomaniacal showrunners, forensic accounting, and family court, but I find that Sun Tzu’s profound wisdom of outsmarting your enemy, plotting several moves ahead, and getting inside the head of your opponent are time-tested winning strategies.

Even if you have to stomach an expensive divorce, you will be better prepared going in with Sun Tzu’s knowledge. And hopefully, with fewer surprises, it will be a shorter ordeal.

The Art of War lesson #1

“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”

Translation: you cannot mediate. You may have a loving friend or relative advise you to mediate because it is the kinder and gentler route, the route that saves money. The problem with this is that successful mediation requires complete disclosure, laying everything on the table and there can be no power imbalance. If you are married to someone who lies and cheats, what makes you think you will have fairness and transparency in mediation?

This is a waste of everyone’s time and money. I still receive polite bills from Geraldine, the kind woman who did her level best for two years to try to end this marriage before she pulled me aside at our fifth mediation and said, “You cannot mediate with this person.”

File for divorce. It’s the only way.

Lesson #2

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

If he is sneaky, guess what? He will try things in court that are dirty and sneaky. He will hire sleazy lawyers that specialize in high-end bullshit. Remember, you are that closely-formed wood. Know yourself, and don’t be rattled by his bullshit tactics.

Case in point: One of my husband’s strategies was to convince the court I was a dreadful parent who drove the family to financial ruin. But, like the Peanuts characters listening to an adult, what the state of California hears is, “wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah.” It still comes down to: what is your shit worth? How much does this guy make? I put my career on hold to raise our children and create a lovely home. Alimony, child support, bing, bang, boom.

In his arrogance, the ex and his lawyers announced that since I had driven the family to financial ruin he would be keeping the pension. The only problem with that is — the law! We didn’t really need to reinvent the wheel, yet here we were, reinventing the wheel, to the tune of a six-figure legal fee.

Lesson #3 (a two-parter)

“It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”

“Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.”

Subpoena folks. Have your team seek records from reliable sources to get the actual factual documents you need. Subpoena people who have his documents and his contracts. Do a forensic accounting. Check out his girlfriend’s Instagram. It may be quite enlightening. Even better if she has a blog detailing the timeline with everything you need to know.

Lesson#4

“Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.”

If you’re feeling a little bamboozled and you’ve just gotten out of a marriage in which you were emotionally manipulated for years, you may not be used to standing your ground and remaining poker-faced.

What the narcissist desperately needs is attention and he/she needs to know that he matters in your life. When you resist those crazy calls, emails, and texts and simply don’t engage, it is maddening for them. Dr. Durvasula says, “You win when you don’t give them the fight because the fight is what they want.”

I say, not mattering is the biggest wound the narcissist can receive from the person who used to hold his hand in empathy and believe the crap he shoveled. It throws them off their center. It also enrages them, but your secret weapon is not giving a shit anymore. It helps unnerve them, and more importantly, it helps you lay the ground for getting back to yourself, remembering how strong you can be, and finding your way out so you can move on.

Lesson #5

“It is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead seeking vengeance and not the ambitious seeker of fortune.”

You may want to seek revenge on your ex for any number of grievances, but consider whether going for the jugular in court is just something you could work out (much less expensively and without involving law enforcement) in therapy. Dragging things out will drain both of you, both emotionally and financially. It’s time to break free and leave emotion out of the proceedings.

Lesson #6

“Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”

No, we won’t be having Thanksgiving together, thanks.

My ex-husband is mortally offended when he is not invited to Thanksgiving. At my apartment. With my family, who hates him. And yet he engages my younger daughter in this fantasy that, gee, it would be so nice if we could all do things as a family if only Mom wasn’t so bitter!

A huge part of separating from this person is becoming grounded, once again, in your own reality. You are entitled to your feelings, and the idea of sucking it up because it’s good for the kids is bullshit. What’s good for the kids is living in reality. What’s good for the kids is knowing their mother is true to her feelings. That she matters. We can now have lovely, separate, but equal holiday events. You don’t get to sit down and have a slice of my bitchin’ pecan pie at my table that would put Martha Stewart to shame. No. Not this year, not any year. Boundaries.

Right now you’re swimming with sharks, and this may well be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but you will get through it, one day at a time. You are fierce. Rely on your senses — no one can tell you that what you heard must have been a mistake, what you witnessed was distorted, and no one can deny your experience. Hold your center, no matter how much he tries to throw you off.

Lesson #7

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

When you are finally divorced, that is an accomplishment in itself. The going got tough, and you proved you could get going and get it done. You fought for yourself and you probably turned out to be much stronger than you realized.

The truth is, up is the only way to go now. Hold a vision of yourself in a happier place where you are in control of your life. It will be a lot to unpack — therapy is an excellent tool to help with this — but get through the fight and lean on your village for all the support you need.

It’s a beautiful thing to regain freedom, peace, and financial independence, and when you get there, it’s going to feel so good.

7 Lessons from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” That Will Get You Through a Divorce was originally published in P.S. I Love You on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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sage-nebula · 7 years ago

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Some of you may remember that I made a post a few days ago about an e-mail I received from GameStop saying that I had $61 in trade credit waiting for me thanks to trade-ins that I did at a store in my hometown ages ago that I honestly forgot about. You may also remember how GameStop’s website insisted that my e-mail address didn’t match what they had on file, despite how little that made sense.

Well, it’s time I brought you up to speed on that ongoing saga, because there have been updates.

I didn’t have time to call GameStop during the week because I work a full time job and kept forgetting about needing to call GameStop Power-Up Rewards Support during my working hours. (They are open for a couple hours after I get off work, but honest to god, I just kept forgetting.) It’s the weekend now, though, and was at 1am last night / this morning as well, so I decided to go ahead and give it another shot. Both to get the support number and just to see if it would work, I tried entering my information on the website again last night and---voila. It worked. I don’t know why they suddely recognized my e-mail address now, but it worked, and their site said that they would send me a code with my digital card information within four hours.

Cool! I don’t know why it would take four hours, but cool.

Anyway, so the first attempt at this was actually at 9pm last night. I waited four hours, and never received an e-mail. I checked in my spam folders, and nope. Nothing. The e-mail was just not there. So I went to the site and tried again (it was 1am by this point), and then waited another four hours, and still, nothing.

So today, when I woke up, I once again checked my spam folders and the like. No e-mail. That being the case, I called GameStop Power-Up Rewards support at last, and after waiting on hold for about twenty minutes, I finally spoke with a person who was able to help me. (There were plenty of moments waiting on hold once I explained the situation as well, but whatever, no big deal, I got the help I needed.) She ended up giving me a digital card number and PIN that I could use to use my $61 in trade credit. Awesome.

Now, by this point it has come to my attention that not only is Pokémon Ultra Sun coming out on the 17th, but Sonic Forces is also coming out on the 7th---and yes, I do want to play that game, don’t judge me. $61 is not enough to afford both of these games, and I can’t afford to pay money out of pocket for games right now. Those are a luxury, and every cent I have needs to go to necessities. However . . .

Way back when Sonic Mania released, I traded in my Wii U and Wii U games in order to afford it. Well, that, and I had no use for my Wii U anymore since Splatoon 2 came out on Switch, so I figured I might as well. Anyway, that trade-in earned me more money than I needed for Sonic Mania, but I had to download Sonic Mania off the eShop since no stores in the area had it. For this reason, I put all the trade-in money on an eShop card, and then loaded that eShop money into my Switch’s eShop account (which is apparently not shared between the Switch and 3DS despite both using Nintendo Network, and yes, I’ve checked). After purchasing Sonic Mania, I still had $30 left over in my Switch’s eShop account (yes, I’ve checked). This means that I technically have $90 to spend on games right now, albeit $30 of which is locked into the Switch’s eShop at present.

With that in mind . . .

Although I prefer to have physical copies of games because I like to see the game cases lined up on my shelf (and to that end I need to get a couple cases for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Sonic Mania), desperate times call for desperate measures. The plan I concocted was as such: Using GameStop’s website, I would purchase one $10 eShop card, and then put the remaining $50 on another eShop card. The $10 eShop card would be added to my Switch funds so that I would have the $40 to purchase Sonic Forces (since it’s $39.99---might have a little more to pay due to taxes and such, but a couple cents never hurt anyone). The $50 eShop card would then go to the 3DS to buy Ultra Sun (probably I should have just saved the $50 to buy the game physically, but whatever, I don’t care if I have to download it onto the 3DS, it’s not like I’ll use the 3DS after this, and besides, I can use the remaining funds for PokéBank, or merge them with the Switch later---or alternatively, maybe I can even return the $50, anything is possible). I completed these purchases, and GameStop’s website said they would e-mail me the download codes.

I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.

So far, I have received an order confirmation for the cards. However, I have not received the download codes. They’re not in my spam folder, either. I have a strong feeling that GameStop is bamboozling me again, which means guess who is going to get to have another fun time on the phone with GameStop support?

Honestly, GameStop, you practically have a monopoly on the video game retail industry. There’s really no excuse for this. Please just send people e-mails when they need them and stop trying to cheat them out of money, thanks.

Anyway, wish me luck. Hopefully this saga will be resolved peacefully.

(please don’t reblog this, thanks)

#really might return that $50 card so i can get Ultra Sun physically #should have thought that one through more #but also at the same time maybe not? i can download it immediately if i get it digitally #and again i won't use my 3DS after this since future games will be on Switch so #hm #i'll consider it #anyway if GS could stop being terrible that would be great #aaaaany time now GS #any time now

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justsomegirlyness · 8 years ago

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BBC Sherlock Season 4 Reaction

I’m not terribly active on tumblr, but I’m thinking maybe I should start making more of an effort.

Last night, I was finally able to watch Season Four of BBC Sherlock. There were many good moments that I greatly enjoyed. Many of Sherlock’s expressions were incredible, the way suicide was presented and handled, the lovely hug at the end of episode two, etc. Lovely, lovely moments.

Overall, though... What? I don’t understand. My day today has been consumed with confusion and research on what in the world just happened. I was led to believe that this series was not only amazing, but groundbreaking! That it was going to make history. I was surprised that after the series aired that I apparently wasn’t going to have to avoid any spoilers that were celebrating a gay romance (hate to be that person, all you homophobic humans out there, but there it is). I attributed the lack of hype to the fact that many of my friends on social media just don’t care as much as I do about BBC Sherlock.

Now, here I come, waltzing into the funeral late with a party hat and balloons.

I feel... confused. Mocked. Bamboozled.

It didn’t feel like Sherlock. It felt like a Bond/Batman Drug Trip, that was slightly derivative of Saw and The Ring. John cheating on his wife? That doesn’t fit into his characterization in any way. One of the earliest observations about him was that he’s, “Very loyal, very quickly.” I feel like this was meant to make him relatable to bored, middle aged men like my misogynistic father, and was completely outside his character scope. Mary’s death was terrible, and not even in a good way. I generally dislike the way female characters are written in this series, and this was almost the crowning moment of my disdain. She existed to do what? What? Stir up conflict between our two main men? Give one of them a baby? And then she’s killed off? I was on the bandwagon that Mary was still a real villain and I still hate the way this was handled.

And the queerbaiting... Oh my God. I can’t. It’s too hard. I feel so stupid. How could the writers care so much about the details and then laugh at us for paying attention to the details? I just don’t understand. I may be completely ruined from BBC now. They say they care about LGB representation and then slap us in the face when we faithfully follow their breadcrumbs for YEARS. So much of our time and so many of our hearts were so invested in this show.

And I was looking for my favourite TJLC girl here on tumblr (I found her on youtube a while ago) @softsons or Rebekah TJLC Explained, only to find that she’s deleted all of her stuff. She’s vanished. She’s the one who pointed out to me all of the subtext, and I’ve obsessively watched her youtube series several times over, and I miss her. Does anyone know where she is? I’m worried, which is weird because I’ve never met her, and I would really like to know how she’s reacted to Season Four.

#sherlock #johnlock #rant #what #whatever #queer #queerbaiting #done

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divinationcentral · 3 years ago

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General Reading.

WOW. Today’s spread is terrible, but none-the-less - it must be read.

Main Energy: The Star & The Nine of Pentacles

Here is the buffer: you are better doing things on your own.

You make progress when you don’t have to concern yourself with other people’s expectations or opinions of you. You are also coming into a time where your financial independence is healing. You’re going to find that as long as you maintain things for yourself, everything will go as planned.

Spread: This to me seems like a lot of bad luck.

Ten of Swords

Four of Cups

Seven of Swords

Someone promised you something, and they did not deliver. Though the result was challenging and at times it felt like you could never grow past this or live after this...the truth is that you have grown complacent due to the pain.

You remain stuck in what could have been. Meanwhile, this person just gets away with what they have done (or what they have taken).

Know that your pain is valid. This person has wronged you, and they were hurtful towards you. But the deception is gone, and you see this person for who they really are.

You are not a victim anymore. You do not have to wait for more hurt. You can get up and go as you please, even if it seems impossible.

Simply, avoid this person at all costs. Sooner or later, everyone will see them for who they truly are (their true colors will show as they say), and if they do not, at some point they will be engaging in the same activities as you - and people will know they are not who they say they are...by the look of your expressions alone. You cannot hide who you do not like - it’s best to avoid any interactions with that person.

Ominous as that is: you can apply that to all sorts of things.

In a relationship, you are being offered a chance. Perhaps to break away from a dynamic you have grown far too familiar with and attached to. As I’ve said: you’ve grown far too complacent, and so assume this is “as good as it gets.”

A chance opportunity awaits you. The truth is you have to learn to seize an opportunity when it comes to you.

By seeing your situation as “this is as good as it gets,” you cheat yourself out of the possibilities and the opportunities that await you. Things may not be perfect, but they do offer fulfillment.

You are distracted by what you wish they could be.

Is this how you want to live? Being bamboozled by other people? Who promise you good things.

Or would you prefer to reach a state of your own happy? Where you are in control of what you say and do, and no one has any authority over who and what you wish to be?

That choice is all your own, and you can start experiencing it the moment you let all the treachery go.

It’s not easy. People should answer for what they have done. But why can we not expose them for the people they clearly are? And you will have that time. But you must let the universe offer you healing right now.

Additional:

Where you want to go next is determined by the actions you take. No one can pull you into one direction or the next (not unless you let them by carelessly offering your own agency).

You have to make that choice all on your own. An opportunity awaits you that is sitting right in front of you. To recognize it, pull away from all the drama...set yourself apart to consider the options you have, and view them as more than just a possibility of what could have been and instead what could be. It starts with your mindset, first and foremost, before anything.

Your path is different from what you expected it to be. That should not stop you.

You’ve come to realize that what you’re doing is currently too difficult for you. But it does not mean it cannot be done.

Pick yourself back up. Understand that you are closer to the end result than it seems. Everything you have learned is culminating into one. And once you gain mastery over one thing - you master the next. And you become better at it, better for it.

Do not let constant challenge be the determining factor for how and when you will give up again. Instead rise up to the challenge and learn that each time you get back up again, you are stronger and wiser than the next. And that these moments are actually considered victories. Not failures, as you make them out to be.

While I’m not providing you a solution to your problems, the truth is that you are coming into a period of healing, AND a very, much needed break.

That is going to allow you to make the right choices again.

Release the old, and come into the new.

The old way you saw your life doesn’t work anymore. Either those opportunities have come and gone, or those people are no longer a part of your life (and therefore no longer a part of your path; they cannot weigh on your decisions anymore, do not consult the past) - whatever it meant to you before, whatever is now, though it may not seem like what it was you were looking for - you are better off seeing it as though it’s an opportunity to create something new with your life.

At this point in time - you have to move on. The melancholy will remain strong, but you must attempt to get back up.

That can help you replenish your expectations for the future.

You are doing just fine, even though you feel like it is never enough.

It is enough. You are doing just fine.

You are moving into a new path, even if you don’t really know how. You just are, by simply getting back up. And starting to crawl.

Protect yourself from those who wish to do you harm.

I recommend an evil eye charm. They are rich in history and have a lot of ancestral backing to do the job.

#general reading #tarot

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a-travels · 5 years ago

Photo

taken: 27 may, 2018 Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

I resized this image about 20 times from the original resolution to find the largest size that would still upload. Hopefully, compression hasn’t destroyed this photo. For those just joining us and who don’t follow this dumb little project of mine, I’d probably say this is up there with that Hanuman shot below as one of my all-time favorite shots. This is probably a cheat because this is about four to five shots stitched together to make this actually work. And no, this isn’t my phone pano, which granted, can take some pretty banger shots. I won’t bore any of you with the details of this shot, but this was on my DSLR.

I have had this picture sitting in my drafts now for over a year+ at this point, not really having any sort of post to go with it. I think with the quarantine and pandemic and such going on, this is the perfect time to highlight an isolated farm in the middle of a field miles away from the closest city.

For all the doom and gloom this period has brought, which it certainly has, I think this period of time has highlighted the value of human connection. Each in our Schrodinger-esque isolation in our homes, apartments, studios, I’m sure we’re all seeing on one hand just how close our various relationships are, while simultaneously realizing how distant we are from people on the other hand. At least, I definitely have found this interesting duality in my interactions and lack thereof with other people.

Definitely, being apart today never truly means being apart. The presence of social media, video communication, even a phone call, these are all beyond luxuries that society did not have back in our last pandemic, the Spanish flu of 1918. I’ve seen and heard of happy hours, weddings, funerals, movie watch parties, birthday parties, all through the magic of ones and zeros flying through the air. And at the same time, elderly patients in nursing homes can’t see their loved ones anymore. The only human contact for those in the hospital with this virus is through a few millimeters of gloves and PPE.

And yet you look outside, the sun shining, the birds singing, newly grown leaves rustling, and wonder just how different the world really is in this imperiled time. Despite the pains of shifting to a new normal, After now almost a month, life might finally be settling, or so it seems. Even with the new routines, perhaps a mild onset of vitamin D deficiency and staying longer in your PJs on a Tuesday than you have in a long time, somehow life has found a way to continue, and in some ways thrive like it never has. Somehow the stark confrontation of our own mortality has brought us back to out hobbies, a part of life that seemed to be slowly dying amidst the ever-increasing bustle and rat-race of work and societal progression. Yeast has been out of stock at grocery stores for weeks as people have been baking more. People are sharing drawings, starting new TV shows, playing a crap-ton of Animal Crossing, chewing through that backlog of games in their Steam library, and finishing four-month old movie reviews full of pain and disdain.

At the start of this whole quarantine period, I was listening to a podcast on a walk (once a rare luxury is now something I get to do almost every night), and heard an excerpt from an essay written by C.S. Lewis in the late 40′s, just at the end of WWII, called “On Living In An Atomic Age”. I won’t recount the whole piece to you, but I’ll link it here for your listening pleasure. I’ll just highlight the part of it I liked the most, and seemed perhaps most prescient, here:

“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.“

If anything, this whole situation just seems to put things in to perspective, in terms of what matters and what doesn’t, about who matters and who doesn’t. I guess to the last point, first: everyone matters, even if not everyone thinks so (certainly some orange oaf out there certainly doesn’t). It has shown us just how much of life is a social construct⸺the idea that life has to be centered around a nine-to-five job, leaving such little time for ourselves that we barely seem to actually live for ourselves than live for the system; the idea of a stock market and economy. Life as we knew it has grinded to a halt, and our societally ordained rigamarole has been relegated to the home, whether someone is sick or not, because everyone matters and that is the only way we can keep most of everyone safe. And for that first point, last: though a bit repetitive and overly sappy, our health and connections to other people are what matter most. In those connections, it’s worth rekindling or talking to those people you didn’t have the time for, the people that seemed to slip away or faded away with time. And if anything, it’s time to ditch those people where that energy isn’t fruitful or helpful. This pandemic is not our death sentences, as C.S. Lewis said, “��you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented…,” but our sentence is not infinite. It’s worth sharing it with the people who cherish and value you and your time and energy as much as you cherish and value them and their time.

Maybe I say this out of my continued efforts to remain in contact with people, who perhaps aren’t as keen to do so themselves. I’ve already talked about my own self-doubt about what people think of me so I’ll leave that topic be, but I am tired of constantly thinking that I’m bothering someone or a burden on someone just for shooting a message or staying in touch. It’s not fair on that person to assume their thought process, to spam them with messages if they’re not keen to talk, and it’s definitely not fair on myself to weigh myself down worrying about these sorts of things.

It’s at moments like those, riddled with self-doubt and confusion about my interactions with others that I feel perhaps as mentally isolated as a farm in a field in an island in the ocean. Trust me, my mind alone for extended periods is perhaps not the best for whatever you’d call my fledgling self-diagnosed psychosis. But, invariably, it’s the force-fed medicine I need to train myself to think differently about this, to think healthier about life, my relationship with others and my relationship with myself.

Back to talking about not me, this time sucks in many ways, it does. But I think there’s a lot of good that we as people, as a human race, are uncovering about ourselves and each other. And when life gets back to its regularly scheduled programming at the top, we’ll hopefully be refreshed like we would from a bathroom break during the commercials, with this time period hopefully feeling as transitory in hindsight.

So it goes.

tl;dr - “You’re all alone, what are you gonna do about it?”

(Side note, can I just say how genius the Vikings were to name their home Iceland, even though it’s all just volcanic rock and not nearly as much ice as its much larger, and decidedly icier brother island, Greenland. Greenland isn’t green folks, and yet the Vikings bamboozled generations of pillagers and explorers looking to take over the Vikings.)

(Side side note, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give my heartfelt gratitude and respect to the essential and healthcare workers out there risking their lives every day for us to maintain some semblance of normalcy in our homes. As meaningless as any social media callout may seem to be, you all truly do inspire me and I’m sure many others out there with your selflessness.)

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truesportsfan · 5 years ago

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NHL Heroes and Heels: We are not worthy of Dave Ayres

Heroes and Heels is a weekly NHL column highlighting the heroes and villains of the last week of hockey. This week, a certain EBUG has stolen our hearts.

The last week or so of hockey news has been dominated by the NHL trade deadline, which is the last major barrier of the season before the upcoming playoff push. Now that teams can no longer bulk up their rosters for an impending postseason run, the real crunch of the season begins.

Usually around this time of year, the doldrums of the hockey season that sets in after the holidays begin to fade into waves of activity. Most hockey teams at this stage have just 20 or so games left to play in the 2019-20 season, meaning every point counts and every game matters.

These next few weeks often showcase what teams are made of, and with the stakes so high, games start to really finally matter again. Time to brush those cobwebs out — fun hockey games are right around the corner.

Hero: Dave Ayres

How I feel about emergency backup goaltender Dave Ayres is basically akin to that Brooklyn 99 meme: “I’ve only had Dave Ayres for a day and a half, but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

The 42-year-old EBUG burst onto the scene on Saturday night for the Carolina Hurricanes in a desperate situation. The Hurricanes lost both starter James Reimer and backup Petr Mrazek to injury halfway through their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, causing the in-arena EBUG (and zamboni driver!) to be pulled into the game.

Ayres then proceeded to make eight saves — allowing just two goals during his 29 minutes of ice time — to carry the Hurricanes to 6-3 victory. During his time on the ice, and afterwards, Ayres became an instant sensation online — as an EBUG often becomes — as the Hurricanes rallied around the netminder and won the game with a tight defensive effort.

The story became national news and Ayres was even featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Hurricanes are also looking to give some of the funds from the shirts they’re selling with his name and number on the back to a kidney foundation — as Ayres is a kidney transplant survivor.

On Tuesday, the governor of North Carolina made Ayres an honorary North Carolinian for giving “North Carolina hockey fans a memory that we will never forget.”

David Ayres had so many astonished North Carolinians, including me, yelling with glee at their televisions Saturday night that we had to officially make him one of us. – RC pic.twitter.com/Sa7VDPLypj

— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) February 25, 2020

Ayres did, however, have his detractors, as former NHLer Kris Versteeg believes the EBUG system should not be allowed to happen again, as it — seemingly — ruins the integrity of the sport of hockey.

On the contrary, Ayres’ story transcended the sport and became an incredibly heartwarming story of triumph and camaraderie. Ayres will go down in history as the oldest goaltender to make their NHL debut, and win! The story was the most talked about narrative that day, even beating out the major talking point of Alex Ovechkin hitting the 700 career goal mark that happened earlier that same Saturday.

Hockey is made better by the stories like Ayres, which surpass the sport all-together and become just a human interest story at its heart. Ayres will be forever remembered by the hockey community at large, not just for his on-ice performance but also for the wide-eyed gusto with which he approached the entire experience.

So to the critics and naysayers of the Ayres story, we’ll let the Hurricanes themselves do the talking:

Heel: The failed Zach Parise trade

On Monday during the trade deadline, social media went aflutter with the possible news that the Minnesota Wild were set to deal 35-year-old forward Zach Parise to the New York Islanders in exchange for Andrew Ladd. The pair had reportedly waived their no-trade clauses, and a deal was set to be complete once the teams found a way to make the complicated deal work.

Fans waited. The 3 p.m. ET deadline drew closer. Then hit, and promptly expired. At the end of the day, no Parise deal was made, leaving fans wondering, what went wrong? Why were we denied such a surprise, out-of-left-field transaction that would have shaken up the cores of two hockey clubs?

Signs point to the salary cap tango both the Wild and the Islanders would have had to dance should they have traded their respective forwards as the reason this fell apart. Parise has five years left on his contract with a $7.54 million AAV while Ladd has three years left at a $5.5 million AAV.

Both Wild general manager Bill Guerin and Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello would not elaborate on what turned the deal sour, but given the quality reporting behind bringing this possible deal to light, there was definitely smoke with this fire.

And it’s a shame this deal never actualized into this reality! The 2020 NHL trade deadline was quite frantic, with over 30 deals being made by the time the 3 p.m. deadline hit. However, there were no real surprises this deadline. The players that moved were ones we all expected to move, though Chris Kreider‘s extension threw a wrench into the mix partway through the day.

When the news of Parise’s possible movement floated down the Twitter timeline on Monday, hockey fans went bananas at the tease. Parise’s 13-year, $98 million deal has essentially been unmovable for the Wild, who signed the forward and defenseman Ryan Suter to the exact same contract in 2012 as a package deal.

“I don’t know how close it got, I really don’t. Hey, I love it here. I always have.”

The possibility of having a surprise blockbuster trade of that magnitude come down the pipeline on trade deadline day was exactly the right amount of spice the day needed for hockey fans to go wild. Instead, however, the deadline came and went and we had no blockbuster Parise trade to speak of.

Honestly, I feel cheated. Bamboozled. Swindled. Hoodwinked. We had a real curveball thrown our way on Monday and instead of squaring up to hit a home run, we watched it pass us by as we struck out looking.

Parise, to his credit to calm Wild fans, told reporters on Tuesday that the deal was not of his making and that he’s not demanding a trade out of Minnesota.

Parise on trade not transpiring: “I don’t know how close it got, I really don’t. Hey, I love it here. I always have. My goal’s here haven’t change — to help this team win. I’m not disappointed by any means that I’m here at all. I really enjoy playing here.” #mnwild

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 25, 2020

Still, we lost something we didn’t really know we even had on Monday with this disappearing Parise deal. This time next trade deadline, we may not even remember this failed exchange, as it will likely be lost to the annals of history. Thanks, whichever front office member in Minnesota or New York that nixed this trade.

Next: Grading every NHL team’s 2020 trade deadline

Follow FanSided NHL for more news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage about hockey in all forms throughout the entire 2019-20 NHL season and beyond.

source https://truesportsfan.com/sport-today/nhl-heroes-and-heels-we-are-not-worthy-of-dave-ayres/

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foreverrhapsody · 7 years ago

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Holby City S2E2

“Puppy Love”

Aw, Dr. Meyer going on Blue Peter. That’s hilar. wait i forgot why she’s in hospital. what is going on here i feel like i missed a lot of things Hm. Nick Jordan getting schooled on how to be a Proper Surgeon. Ugh, sexist patient alert. Gross. Stop. MORE TALK ABOUT BEDS. God, it’s like property wars or something. UGH fuck off, gross man. Why are men so gross. :-/

Fucking hell, stop. I mean, I guess they’re portraying them as they are. MISTLETOE IN THE WARD. Yes. My favorite trope. Hopefully they put it to use. Oooh, dangerous patients. I wonder what’s going on here. aww not so dangerous. he was in a home and i’m guessing she’s from a rich fam? my fave trope geez this wife is not a very pleasant person at all oh noooooo is he cheating oh geez what is this oh man oh man all this fashion is such a throwback drink every time they say hematoma LMAO they’re still going at it aw this danny guy is cute wait how did i miss him last ep ha it’s pass the flowers around the ward day :( aw jasmine. BOOM SUDDEN CRAMPS ALL AT ONCE. how sudden. oh nooo :( that was really sudden and dramatic hahahaha Nick’s getting shot down all episode. no one wants to go to paris with him, ahah. I wouldn’t either, so i agree with all of them. ugh men this guy looks really familiar but nothing stands out on his IMDB page so that was the most anticlimactic miscarriage i’ve ever seen wait what is going on here OH. OH SHIT. the parents. this guy looks like a blend of karl davies and some other actor, but i can’t think of who this actor is LMAO A RADIO APPEAL. man, i wonder if that would work today. what luck, the taxi driver was playing that specific station and they happened to hear it that time. CHOCOLATE BODY PAINT omg OMG KAREN SAID NO. lmao i love her. she’s beautiful. OMG that guy from Corrie? maybe. hm. there’s another guy i’m trying to think of. oh shit he’s gonna kill himself - this is dramatic. mate, killing yourself to give your girl your heart is not romantic. tho it’s reminds me of that copypasta lmao. neil cries really pretty tho lmao hm he was in whitechapel. maybe i know him from there. i think that might be it. or torchwood? Hm. I don’t think this counts as an actor i recognize because it didn’t really stand out to me. oh nooooo she’s meddling where she shouldn’t. n’aw karen is my fave, thats my final decision. WHAT. they split because they couldn’t/didn’t have kids? WHAT. where did that come from. oh nooooo so sad. :( NEIL BACK OFF THO. let the doctors work. lol dr. meyer you’re hilarious why do i get the feeling you hate this game. omg he charged the airline for his surgeons fees. ew dr. meyer fuck off you’re gross. Oh no. He got bamboozled because she knew she was probably going to die. I get where she’s coming from but. :( ugh cut him, plz. he’s so gross. HA. DRUNK NICK IS MY FAVE. he’s going to blow up at all these stodgy old farts. Oh geez. :( i’m a sucker for tragic romances. this poor lad. JOHNNY USED TO WORK ON THE DOCKS. ugh who does he remind me of this is going to kill me. hm that was kind of an unsatisfactory end to this ep

Number of Characters I Recognize: 0 (this is not counting characters that I know from previous episodes of early Holby City, it only includes characters from episodes of current Holby City and Casualty that I’ve seen before.) Number of Actors I Recognize: 3 (Tess Stephenson, Phyllis Logan, and Michael French.) Best Scenes: any scene in which nick gets turned down after asking someone to go with him to paris, OMG this waitress is amazing i love her,

#holby city #rhapsody has feelings about soap operas #holby from the beginning

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comeonthinkers · 8 years ago

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Day 8: The Plot Thickens

(Note: The following is a slight dramatization. I’ve been watching a lot of West Wing lately)

Yesterday, Andy and I had a horrible realization.

I have had soy.

NO! I thought to myself. How could this be? How could this tiny ingredient get past the tracks? Is there REALLY soy lecithin in my tea???

Apparently, yes. Bigelow French Vanilla black tea has soy lecithin in it. I didn’t even think to check the label of my TEA. Never the less, early yesterday morning I found the small print staring me down in the face while I was boiling my water.

Andy thought I should start over. He seemed to think that if I allowed this tiny infraction, I was missing the point of the Whole30 and I wasn’t taking it seriously enough. After all, the website and book are very clear: if you cheat, you do NOT pass GO, you do NOT collect $200, you are to go back to the beginning and start OVER! Cheaters are not to be tolerated in Whole30! You either go big or GO HOME!

I tried explaining that the whole point is to consciously cut everything out of your diet, and to not allow yourself to be tempted by something outside the Whole30 restrictions. It’s not there for the person that asks if there’s sugar in this salad dressing, is told there isn’t, and then is told after dinner “Oh I’m sorry- I know you asked about the dressing, which is sugar-free, but the dried cranberries were sweetened.” The rules are strict for the person that thinks if they’re at a party they’re required to eat cake. The person who has been choosing the right path and is bamboozled is not as guilty as the person sneaking Twinkies after bedtime.

We settled on an agreement that I would continue avoiding soy in particular a full 7 days after we completed the Whole30. Chances are, we’ll both probably still stay on a Whole30-esque diet for the rest of our lives (we’ve been feeling really good lately), and I’m not even tempted to order Chinese food anytime soon. A latte would be nice. But in general? I haven’t wanted bread, or even cheese. CHEESE! My cravings (which would usually start right after dinner) have virtually stopped. I’m not “itching” for a soy fix. I was just making tea. Sugarless, milkless, tea. But it has artificial vanilla flavor, which is apparently made with soy.

Today we had roasted red pepper and spinach omelettes with avocado and roasted potatoes for breakfast, and I had pork chops and a strawberry kale salad with a balsamic vinaigrette for lunch (/dinner) and some nuts for a snack. I love the way I’ve been eating- I love how colorful it is, how tasty, and how surprisingly affordable it’s all been. I like that we’re eating so many veggies we’re running out of them. And it’s only the 11th! Even though we spent a good amount on groceries last week, we’d still be under budget if we hadn’t wasted money on some non-whole30 compliant pantry items before we started. We bought 5 different kinds of vinegar and oil. But hey! That’s like, 20 different vinaigrettes I can make!

I think we’re becoming the type of people that will spend $60 on groceries each week, instead of $300 on groceries each month.

You know what I’ve been craving? Beef. Roasted sweet potatoes. A nice, juicy orange. Fruit salad. I’m not even missing mayonnaise right now (and technically, even if I was, it wouldn’t be hard to make some that wasn’t breaking the rules). And it’s been over a week since I’ve had a drink. Which, honestly, might be the most surprising change of all, seeing as I work in a bar 5 nights a week.

Yesterday night I did have a pretty bad migraine. When it started I was a little miffed that I couldn’t take ibuprofen because there’s cornstarch in the pill, but then I called into work, went home, ate some protein and salt, drank some water, and slept. I got better. I gave my body the time and rest it needed, and the nourishment. Once I ate, my nausea went away. Half an hour later, the searing pain turned into more of a dull ache. I realized maybe I hadn’t been eating enough animal protein (as most of my protein had been coming from egg sources the past few days). This morning the only thing that hurt was my lower back, and even that was just a little. It used to be so bad I could hardly move some mornings. It helps that I actually feel rested when I wake up now, too.

Anyway, I’m at work now waiting for a Fleetwood Mac Tribute band to arrive for soundcheck! So I will post more about my whole30 observations later.

But before I sign off- it’s worth noting that my clothes are fitting a lot better, and I’m starting to see myself slim down. Yay!

#whole30

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